The Book Club Review

Laura reports in on The Wych Elm by Tana French, The Heart's Invisible Furies by John Boyne and The Secret Commonwealth by Philip Pullman. Kate's stack consists of Love by Hanne Ostavik, The Anna Karenina Effect by Viv Groskop and Cold Comfort Farm by Stella Gibbons. Join us as we review them and figure out if there are any book club gems in there. • Drop us a line at thebookclubreview@gmail.com, follow us on facebook or instagram @bookclubreviewpodcast or on twitter @bookclubrvwpod. And if you enjoy the show do take a moment to rate and review us on iTunes, it helps other listeners find us and brings us joy.

Fleishman is in Trouble tells the story of Toby, a successful NYC doctor whose almost ex-wife Rachel has vanished, leaving him alone with their two children. But is she the selfish, self-absorbed, neglectful mother he portrays? It's been described as a Trojan Horse of a novel, a sharp, dry portrait of the blind spots that come with male privilege and entitlement. But what did Laura's book club make of it? Listen in to find out. • This Tom Hanks Story Will Help You Feel Less Bad (New York Times) How Taffy Brodesser-Akner Thrives on Stress (Real Simple magazine)

Reading the right books is key to making your book club a success. But how to choose? Listen in to hear the top 10 books we think make for perfect book club reads. They vary from fiction to non-fiction, and cut across every genre and subject. But they're all highly readable, packed full of ideas and will divide opinion – always good for a sparky debate. Want more? See below for links to the episodes where we've discussed these books in more detail. • 1. Educated by Tara Westover. Episode 22 2. Putney by Sofka Zinovieff 3. Bad Blood by John Carreyrou. Episode 55 4. Supper Club by Lara Williams 5. The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson. Episode 33 6. Sapiens by Yuval Noah Harari. 7. East West Street by Philippe Sands. Episode 18 8. The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead 9. Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders. Episode 8 10. This is London by Ben Judah. Episode 9

Ready to start your own book club? This special episode tells you how, from who to invite and what books (or genre) to read, to the pitfalls you'll want to avoid. It's packed full of inspiration and advice from book clubs we've interviewed over the years, including the Proust Book Group in Paris, London's own Jilly Cooper book club, a Horror Book Club and the Walking Book Club of Hampstead Heath. We've even come up with the top 10 recommended book club books guaranteed to get the discussing going. So, listen in for everything you need to know to start and run a flourishing book group. How to find the right book club books? Here are some of our recommended places to look: newspapers summer reading guides and end of year lists, in particular The Times and Sunday Times, The Guardian, The Observer and The Financial Times, The Washington Post and the New York Times; prizes The Booker Prize, The Booker International Prize (for books in translation), The Women's Prize, The Wainwright Prize (for nature writing), The Costa Book Awards, The Goldsmiths Prize (for books that open up new possibilities in the novel form), The Baillie Gifford Prize (for non-fiction), The Walter Scott Prize (for historical-fiction), in the US The National Book Award, the Pulitzer, Barack Obama's annual reading list, in Australia the Miles Franklin and the Stella Prize, and back in Europe Kate's favourite, The Dublin Literary Award (for books nominated by libraries around the world) Book clubs mentioned in the show: Emily's Walking Book Club of Hampstead Heath Simon Thomas's Book of the Year Club The Horror Book Club The Lesbian Book Club The London Literary Salon (Toby Brothers) Ink84 Bookshop book club

In our stacks this episode: Born a Crime by Trevor Noah, Becoming by Michelle Obama, Seven Days in the Artworld by Sarah Thornton, 84 Charing Cross Road and The Duchess of Bloomsbury by Helene Hanff and Help Me! by Marianne Power. Listen in to find out what we thought of them, and whether there are any gems in there for your next book club read.

Pat Barker's retelling of the Iliad from the female perspective proves a surprisingly marmite read. It was shortlisted for the Women's Prize and received widespread critical praise but Kate's book club was less convinced. Listen in to find out whether we loved or loathed it, plus some recommendations for your next book club read. Laura's off for this episode, back for our next Bookshelf show, coming soon. THIS SHOW CONTAINS PLOT SPOILERS.

A book club for people who don't like the idea of all having to read the same book. At Bee's Bookshare everyone brings a book they've loved, loathed, can't put down or can't get into and shares them – best of all everyone gets to take away a new read at the end. We met up with Bryony Bishop, founder of Bee's Bookshare, to find out more. • Books mentioned: The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown Norwegian Wood by Lars Mytting Stoner by John Williams God Help the Child by Toni Morrison Having a Wonderful Crime by Craig Rice Salt on your Tongue by Charlotte Runcie. • Bees Bookshare meets every other month, visit beesbookshare.co.uk for the latest event details and news. • Follow us on Instagram or Facebook @BookClubReview podcast, on Twitter @bookclubrvwpod or email thebookclubreview@gmail.com. If you like what we do please do take a moment to rate, review and subscribe to us on iTunes, it helps other listeners find us and means you'll never miss an episode. Thanks :)

We delve into the whirlwind story of Elizabeth Holmes and her biotech company Theranos. At its height, valued at 9 billion dollars. At its heart, a product that didn't work. In this compelling book, Wall Street Journal writer John Carreyrou sets out his dogged efforts to penetrate the wall of fear and intimidation that hid the truth. Gripping stuff, but did it make for a good book club read? What did Kate's book club think? Listen in to find out.

Listen in as we discuss the books we've reading outside of book club. In Laura's stack: Washington Black by Esi Edugyan, The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch and Queenie, by Candice Carty Williams, while Kate has The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead, The Friend by Sigrid Nunez and The Easternmost House by Juliet Blaxland. We also discuss the Wainwright Prize shortlist, how to dip into your TBR and whether there are any gems in all of these for your next book club read.

Annie and Dave tell us about their family book club that has kept their family engaging with books and debating their merits for seven years now. They give us their tips for making it work and we follow up with some recommendations for books we might try out on our own families.