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.

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.

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.

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 :)

It's our latest Book Club episode, and we're discussing Rachel Cusk's latest novel, Second Place. It was longlisted for the 2021 Booker Prize, but didn’t make the cut for the shortlist. Sally Rooney calls it ‘masterful’, saying it ‘achieves a kind of formal perfection’ while the Observer newspaper lauds it as ‘A landmark in twenty-first-century English literature.' But what did Laura’s book club make of it? And who would we rather have to dinner, Rachel Cusk or Deborah Levy? Listen in to find out.

Book recommendations

To The Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf

The Outline trilogy, by Rachel Cusk, read on audio by Kristen Scott Thomas

Things I Don’t Want to Know by Deborah Levy

The Sorrows of Young Werther by Goethe

The audiobook of Second Place by Rachel Cusk is published by Faber & Faber and narrated by Kate Fleetwood. It’s available for download now.

Listen to the Rachel Cusk interview Phil mentioned at the Edinburgh Literary Festival

Find our full episode archive and sign-up link for our newsletter at our The Book Club Review website. Follow us on Instagram or Facebook @BookClubReview podcast, on Twitter @bookclubrvwpod or email thebookclubreview@gmail.com. And if you’re not already, why not subscribe to us on iTunes or wherever you get your podcasts. If you like what we do please help spread the word and tell a book-loving friend about our show. 

We've shaken the sand from our flip-flops and put our suitcases away. Now it's back to business as Kate and Laura catch up on their recent reads, everything from this year's Booker International Prize winner to a fantasy romp about teenage wizards.

Booklist

Great Circle by Maggie Shipstead

On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong

At Night All Blood is Black by David Diop

Mud and Stars by travel writer Sara Wheeler

A Deadly Education by Naomi Novik

Re-Educated by Lucy Kellaway

We also discuss the property website themodernhouse.com

if you’d like to see what we’re up to between episodes check out the website at www.thebookclubreview.co.uk, find us on Instagram or Facebook @BookClubReview podcast, on Twitter @bookclubrvwpod or email thebookclubreview@gmail.com. Drop us a line and tell us what you’re reading, we always love to hear from you.

Next episode: Book club on Second Place by Rachel Cusk

"Ashto" and "Jonesy" are two Australians who devour books on everything from self-improvement to business and marketing for their weekly podcast, What You Will Learn. They’ve recently launched their own book, The Sh*t They Never Taught You. They joined Kate to discuss what books have taught them, and provide her with some personal bibliotherapy to kick her out of her counter-productive ways. Listen in to find out what you can learn.