The Book Club Review

Join us as we discuss Benjamin Labatut's Booker International shortlisted novel When We Cease to Understand the World, 2020 Baillie Gifford prizewinner One, Two, Three, Four: The Beatles in Time by Craig Brown and 2021 Costa biography prizewinner Fall: A Life of Robert Maxwell by John Preston, The Outlander by Gil Adams, The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab and The Sanitorium by Sarah Pearse. Did we love them? Did we loathe them? Listen in to find out. Booklist When We Cease to Understand the World, Benjamín Labatut One, Two, Three, Four: The Beatles in Time by Craig Brown Fall: A Life of Robert Maxwell by John Preston The Outlander by Gil Adams The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab The Sanitorium by Sarah Pearse Notes Get Back film trailer Carpool Karaoke with Sir Paul McCartney Join the bookish conversation with us on Instagram or Facebook @BookClubReview podcast, on Twitter @bookclubrvwpod or email thebookclubreview@gmail.com. Do subscribe to us on iTunes or wherever you get your podcasts. You can support us by rating and reviewing the show, and most importantly by telling your friends. Please share on social media and help us reach new listeners. Full show notes and our complete episode archive at our website thebookclubreview.co.uk. Sign up for our bi-weekly-ish newsletter. Drop us a line and let us know what you are reading. We always love to hear from you. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

We've all felt the lure of the short, sweet read, one of those slim books you can finish in a few hours, maybe over a hot cup of tea. But what about the books that may take weeks, even months, to read? The door stoppers, the heavy weights, the long reads. Think Dickens, Tolstoy, and George Eliot, think Hilary Mantel, David Foster Wallace, and Donna Tartt. We dive into The Magic Mountain, Thomas Mann's 226,000 book set in a sanitorium in the Swiss Alps in which not much happens. What did we think of it? Should you try it? And if not, what long books do we recommend? We're joined by Toby Brothers of the London Literary Salon and pod-regular Phil Chaffee as we discover the pleasures and perils that come with a book that takes weeks, even months, to read. Books mentioned A Little Life by Hanya Yanigahara War & Peace by Leo Tolstoy all seven volumes of Proust Ulysses by James Joyce The Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoyevsky Middlemarch by George Eliot The Books of Jacob by Olga Tocarczuk Ducks, Newburyport by Lucy Ellman Pilgrimage by Dorothy Richardson The Alex Ross article Phil mentions is here. Follow us on Instagram or Facebook @BookClubReview podcast, on Twitter @bookclubrvwpod or email thebookclubreview@gmail.com. Subscribe to us to be sure you never miss an episode. And if you like what we do please rate and review the show, it helps other listeners find us. If you want to go one better please spread the word about us on your social media channels. Reaching new listeners makes us so happy, we treasure each and every one, and your support helps us do that.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Wondering what books 2022 has in store for you? What will be your next great read? We're joined by industry insiders Chrissy Ryan, of dream bookshop Bookbar, and Elizabeth Morris of the Crib Notes newsletter to talk what's hot and what to look forward to. We've got your #tbr future-proofed. Book list: Beautiful World Where Are You by Sally Rooney Brown Girls by Daphne Palasi Andreades The Heavens and The Men by Sandra Newman A Little Life and To Paradise by Hanya Yanigahara Violets by Alex Hyde Love, Marriage by Monica Ali House of Sky and Breath by Sarah J. Maas Lapvona by Otessa Moshfegh Free Love by Tessa Hadley Salt Slow and Our Wives Under The Sea by Julia Armfield Wahala by Nikki May Check out the episode page on our The Book Club Review website for more. If you like this show please take a moment to rate and review, it really helps us reach new listeners. Tell your friends, share on social media, it means so much to us when you do. Follow us on Instagram or Facebook @BookClubReview podcast, on Twitter @bookclubrvwpod or email thebookclubreview@gmail.com.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Dazzling, original, heartfelt and exhilarating, or bleak, depressing, incoherent and unrealistic? What did Kate's book club make of The Promise, Damon Galgut's Booker-winning novel, which tells the story of one white South-African family, and the promise made to their black servant, Salome. Join us as we discuss the book with Stuart Marshall and listen out for our follow-on book recommendations, from Trevor Noah's Born A Crime to Claire Keegan's impactful novella Small Things Like These.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Charmingly eccentric tale with a sharply feminist point of view or a 'hot mess' – what did Laura's book club make of Lolly Willowes by Silvia Townsend Warner? Meanwhile The Heart is a Lonely Hunter Carson McCullers explores loneliness, the human need for understanding and the search for love. What did Kate's book club think. Should you pick it up? Listen in to find out. We also discuss Furious Hours by Casey Cep and A Start in Life by Anita Brookner. Robert McCrumb's 100 Best Novels Written in English 1 in 5 does not represent over 300 years of women in literature: Rachel Cooke's response. Join the conversation between episodes: follow us on Instagram or Facebook @BookClubReview podcast, on Twitter @bookclubrvwpod or email thebookclubreview@gmail.com. If you like what we do, please pass it on, share the episode link on social media, and help us spread the word.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

It's part 2 of our end-of-year special, in which we look back over the books we read outside of book club, the ones we chose for ourselves, and pick out our favourites. And so listen in for more book recommendations than you can shake a stick a, plus recommendations from our book clubs and friends of the pod. We also look ahead to some new releases coming out in 2022. Booklist Kate's top three favourites from 2021 Don't Touch My Hair, Emma Dabiri A Ghost in the Throat, Doireann ní Ghrí­ofa Lean, Fall, Stand, Jon McGregor Laura's top three favourites from 2021 A Life's Work, Rachel Cusk Miss Iceland, Audur Ava Olafsdottir Indian Horse, Richard Wagamese Kate's longlist of favourite reads in 2021 The Moth and the Mountain, Ed Caesar Writers and Lovers and Euphoria Lily King Real Estate, Deborah Levy The Library Book and The Orchid Thief, Susan Orlean All My Friends are Superheroes, Andrew Kaufman Owls of the Eastern Ice, Jonathan C. Slaght Nightbitch, Rachel Yoder Don't Touch My Hair, Emma Dabiri Fun Home, Alison Bechdel Parisan Lives, Deidre Bair Nightbitch, Rachel Yoder Early Morning Riser, Katherine Heiny Love Letters, Virginia Woolf and Vita Sackville-West (Alison Bechdel, ed.) A Ghost in the Throat, Doireann ni Ghriofa Re-Educated, Lucy Kellaway Pew, Catherine Lacey Happy All the Time, Laurie Colwin Whereabouts, Jhumpa Lahiri Sorrow and Bliss, Meg Mason Lean, Fall, Stand, Jon McGregor Assembly, Natasha Brown The Stranding, Kate Sawyer The Heart is a Lonely Hunter, Carson McCullers Empire of Pain, Patrick Radden-Keefe Matrix, Lauren Groff The See-Through House, Shelley Klein Laura's longlist of favourite reads in 2021 His Only Wife, Peace Adzo Medie Miss Iceland, Hotel Silence and Butterflies in November, Audur Ava Olafsdottir Indian Horse, Richard Wagamese On Earth We Are Briefly Gorgeous, Ocean Vuong Homeland Elegies, Ayad Akhtar No-One is Talking About This, Patricia Lockwood Great Circle, Maggie Shipstead D: A Tale of Two Worlds, Michael Faber Graceling, Kristin Cashore A Deadly Education and The Last Graduate by Naomi Novik The Annals of the Western Shore, Ursula Le Guin The Book of Hidden Things, Francesco Dimitri Frederica, Georgette Heyer Conundrum, Jan Morris A High Wind in Jamaica, Richard Hughes The Rules of Civility, Amor Towles Chrissy Ryan's recommendations Open Water, Caleb Azumah Nelson Assembly, Natasha Brown Detransition Baby, Torrey Peters Elizabeth Morris' recommendations Nightbitch, Rachel Yoder Book club recommendations The Summer Book, Tove Jansson The Mermaid of Black Conch, Monique Roffey Whereabouts, Jhumpa Lahiri The Tenant of Wildfell Hall, Anne Brontë A Dance to the Music of Time, Anthony Powell The Siege of Krishnapur, J. G. Farrell The Line of Beauty, Alan Hollinghurst Isaac Steele and the Forever Man, Daniel Rigby Braiding Sweetgrass, Robin Wall Kimmerer Albert and the Whale, Philip Hoare Trieste or the Meaning of Nowhere, Jan Morris The Bass Rock, Evie Wyld Autumn, Ali Smith The Underground Railroad, Colson Whitehead Small Things Like These, Claire Keegan The Offing, Benjamin Myers Circe, Madeleine Miller Three Women, Lisa Taddeo My Dark Vanessa, Kate Elizabeth Russell Daisy Jones and the Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid Upcoming books in 2022 We also discussed our inordinate desire for The Doors of Stone by Patrick Rothfuss to finally be published, and Sea of Tranquility by Emily St. John Mandel Notes Full details of all the titles discussed in this episode can be found in the shownotes on our website thebookclubreview.co.uk. Do keep up with us between episodes on Instagram and Facebook @bookclubreviewpodcast, on Twitter @bookclubrvwpod or email thebookclubreview@gmail.com. We always love to hear from you.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In part one of our 2021 end-of-year special episode we look back over the books we've covered for book club. Which ones have stayed with us? Which were our stand outs? And which are we going to crown our book club book of the year. Whether you're looking for your next book club read or just a great book for your personal reading pile, don't miss it. We also look forward to new book club plans and projects for the coming year. For our best books of 2021 (from our own personal reading piles) go to Part 2, available in your podcast feed now. Booklist Writers and Lovers, Lily King Early Work, Andrew Martin Euphoria, Lily King Shuggie Bain, Douglas Stuart The Mermaid of Black Conch, Monique Roffey Mrs Death Misses Death by Salena Godden A Lonely Man, Chris Power (recommended by Gary) The Remains of the Day, Kazuo Ishiguro Like a Sword Wound by Ahmet Altan I Will Never See the World Again by Ahmet Altan How Beautiful We Were by Imbolo Mbue, As Meat Loves Salt by Maria McCann and The Barsetshire Chronicles by Anthony Trollope (Phil's recommendations) Second Place by Rachel Cusk Matrix by Lauren Groff Full shownotes are on our website thebookclubreview.co.uk, where you can browse our full episode archive and sign up for our bi-weekly-ish newsletter, full of recommendations and bookish links. Keep up with us between episodes on Instagram and Facebook @bookclubreviewpodcast, on Twitter @bookclubrvwpod or email thebookclubreview@gmail.com. We always love to hear from you. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Join us as we talk all things books, apocalypses, whales and the Costa Prize shortlist with Kate Sawyer, author of The Stranding. It's a novel about a woman who survives the end-of-the-world by hiding inside the belly of a whale. Find out why we loved it, as we consider its place in the canon of apocalypse novels from Z for Zachariah to The Road. We've also got a ton of book club recommendations, find out what Kate's been reading recently and have some follow-on read suggestions for when you've finished The Stranding. Book list Moby Dick by Herman Melville The Road by Cormac McCarthy Children of the Dust by Louise Lawrence Z for Zachariah by Robert C. O'Brien Nights at the Circus and Wise Children by Angela Carter Matrix and Fates and Furies by Lauren Groff Larry's Party and Unless by Carol Shields Assembly by Natasha Brown Still Life by Sarah Winman Wahala by Nikki May (out Spring 2022) Burntcoat by Sarah Hall The Smallest Man by Frances Quinn Weather by Jenny Offill Humankind by Rutger Bregman The Life of the Mind by Christine Smallwood Follow us on Instagram or Facebook @BookClubReview podcast, on Twitter @bookclubrvwpod or email thebookclubreview@gmail.com. Don't miss our website where you can find our archive of over 100 shows to browse through. Don't miss our recent Booker Prize special, or our discussion of Lauren Groff's latest book Matrix and find out why we just can't stop thinking about nuns. You can also find our library of articles including our recent one on our favourite book podcasts. And you can sign up to our bi-weekly newsletter for book reviews, recommendations and more.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Join us as we dive, in spoiler-free fashion, into Lauren Groff's latest novel, Matrix. It tells of Marie de France, a cast-off from Queen Eleanor of Aquitaine's court, exiled to be a prioress at a run-down Abbey inhabited by starving nuns. Devastated and grieving the young Marie thinks only of regaining the queen's favour and returning to court. Gradually, though, she comes to see that if she is to stay, she must change, and the Abbey with her. The book has been a New York Times bestseller and National Book Award finalist but what did Laura's book club think? We're joined by pod-regulars Phillip Chaffee and Sarah Oliver to discuss it.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Join us as we discuss the 2021 Booker shortlist in typical book club style, with journalist Phil Chaffee and Chrissy Ryan, owner of Bookbar. We livestream the Booker ceremony so you can catch our immediate reactions to the winner. Did we agree? Was there a book we loved more? Was there one we loathed? Whether we loved them or loathed them, as ever, you can be assured of good debate. We thoroughly recommend any and all of these books for a good read and good discussion. Notes The Paris Review article on Anuk Arudpragasam Phil mentions is here Click here if you're wondering what a nudibranch looks like? Check out our website for our episode archive and more. Follow us on Instagram or Facebook @BookClubReview podcast, on Twitter @bookclubrvwpod or email thebookclubreview@gmail.com. Tell us what you're reading for book club right now – we love to hear from you. If you've enjoyed this episode please leave us a quick online review, it helps other listeners find us :) See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.