The Book Club Review The Book Club Review

Laura’s on a flying visit to London, and so of course we took the opportunity to get together and swap notes on our recent reading. Regular guest Phil Chaffee dialled in from New York to add his picks to the mix.
Find out what we thought of summer it-book The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley, we consider the auto fictional world of Deborah Levy, Kate reports back on Francis Spufford’s new novel – and podcast book club read – Cahokia Jazz and we round it off with art-world memoir All That Glitters by Orlando Whitfield – unputdownable in Kate’s opinion, find out why.
It’s also our first ever sponsored episode. Introducing the Serious Readers lamp company, a business dedicated to creating the world’s best reading lamps. Listen in for Kate’s interview with founder Alex Pratt, and learn more about why your eyes might struggle under standard LED lighting. We know how much as readers you care about your eyes, and we’re delighted to endorse a product that feels like just what they need. Listen in for all the details, and see below for our special offer code.
BOOKS FEATURED IN THIS EPISODE The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley
Cahokia Jazz by Francis Spufford
The Dragon Waiting by John M. Ford
Real Estate by Deborah Levy
All That Glitters by Orlando Whitfield
SERIOUS READERS Like the sound of Serious Readers? Visit the Serious Readers website to find out more and browse their range. Don’t forget you can head to seriousreaders.com/BCR and use code BCR for £100 off any HD light, you’ll also get free delivery and you have 30 days to try them out.
PATREON
Support the show, and get extras in return
Head over to our Patreon to find out how to support the pod, and the things you'll get in return, from book recommendations to extra episodes. At the higher tier you can join our monthly book club – if you look at that membership level you'll find a link to the full list of books for 2024. This month we're reading Wifedom by Anna Funder.
Or to hear about books between shows come find the pod on Instagram or Threads @bookclubreviewpodcast

Inspired by the folk at the New York Times article ‘22 of the funniest novels since Catch 22’, join me (Kate), Phil and Laura as we consider the books that make us laugh. Listen in as we explore the NYT's suggestions and add in a few of our own. Find out the author we can’t believe they missed, and the book that reliably makes Laura – a tough customer when it comes to funny books – laugh every time. 
 
Books mentioned 
 
The New York Times article ‘22 of the funniest novels since Catch 22’ 
Slaughterhouse 5 by Kurt Vonnegut
 
The Idiot and Either/Or by Elif Batuman
 
The Possessed by Elif Batuman
 
Uncle Napoleon by Iraj Pezeshkzad
 
Martyr by Kaveh Akbar
 
Reading Lolita in Tehran by Azar Nafisi
 
Where d’You Go Bernadette by Maria Semple
 
The Ascent of Rum Doodle by W.E. Bowman
 
Three Men and a Boat by Jerome K. Jerome
 
Scoop by Evelyn Waugh
 
Vanity Fair by William MakepieceThackarey
 
The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams
 
The Bookshop by Penelope Fitzgerald
 
The Blue Flower by Penelope Fitzgerald
 
Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders
 
Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel
 
Notes
 
Here’s the Patreon link If you’d like to get more involved and support the show, and you’ll get lots of good things in return: Patreon.com/thebookclubreview
 
Keep up to date between shows, follow The Book Club Review podcast on Instagram
 
Next book club read: Wifedom by Anna Funder
 
Do take a quick moment to rate and review us via your podcast app, your support is really appreciated. And hey, if you have bookish friends, tell them about the show, maybe they will like it too.
 

Exploring literary worlds beyond fiction: a dive into non-fiction
 
Join Kate, as she ventures to South London to visit Backstory, a unique indie bookstore founded by former journalist Tom Rowley. Rowley shares his journey from journalism to opening a bookshop, the challenges and joys of running a bookstore, the importance of community engagement, and launching the second issue of the Backstory Magazine. 
 
We then turn our attention to non-fiction, pulling out some favourites, both backlist and new releases. As Tom says, 'I just read. I want good stories, I don't care whether they're true or not'
 
00:40 A visit to south London's indie bookshop Backstory, and why Kate's name is on the wall
 
01:53 From journalism to bookshop owner: Tom's lockdown dream comes true
 
04:25 Embracing the community: the transition from market stall to bookshop
 
09:26 Launching Backstory Magazine: a new chapter in storytelling
 
14:54 Exploring non-fiction: feel the fear and read it anyway
 
17:49 Just what is deep backlist? Tom's first recommendation is My War Gone By, I Miss it So by Anthony Lloyd (September Publishing)
 
20:18 Kate recommends Fall: The Mystery of Robert Maxwell by John Preston (Penguin)
 
22:46 Tom's next pick: Maurice and Marilyn: A Whale, A Shipwreck, A Love Story by Sophie Elmhurst (Penguin)
 
25:52 Kate pulls out The Wager by David Grann (Simon & Schuster) (and we also talk about Devil in the White City by Erik Larson [Penguin])
 
29:08 Tom recommends The Trading Game by Gary Stevenson (Penguin)
 
31:15 Great minds think alike: Kate and Tom both recommend The Moth and the Mountain by Ed Caesar (Penguin), author and now DJ!
 
35:32 An aside from Kate about The Possessed by Elif Batuman (Granta)
 
37:17 Towards the end of the episode we reach 'peak Tom', with Little Englanders by Alwyn Turner (Profile)
 
41:17 Book club reads: Red Memory by Tania Branigan (Faber) and Close to Home by Michael Magee (Penguin)
 
42:25 Tom's book of the summer: The Safe Keep by Yael van der Wouden (Penguin)
 
44:18 List of books, how to get support the pod and get extras via our Patreon account and details of our upcoming episode in which Phil and Laura join Kate to talk about books that make us laugh
 
Notes
Visit Backstory online at www.backstory.london
 

So Many Damn Books podcast creator and host Christoper Hermelin joins Kate to swap book recommendations and discuss the magic of book club, recent book discoveries and bookish pet peeves.
EPISODE BOOK LIST
The Eyes & The Impossible by Dave Eggers
A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius by Dave Eggers
McSweeney’s magazine, including The Panorama issue
How I Won A Nobel Prize by Julius Taranto
Non-Fiction by Julie Myerson
Butter by Asako Yuzuki (Polly Barton, trans.)
Mild Vertigo by Mieko Kanai (Polly Barton, trans.)
Fifty Sounds by Polly Barton
The Extinction of Irena Ray by Jennifer Croft
James by Percival Everett, and we also mentioned Erasure and The Trees
Funny Things: A Comic Strip Biography of Charles M. Schultz by Luca Debus and Francesco Mateuzzi
NOTES
Join the club and support us on Patreon
Follow The Book Club Review on Instagram and Threads @bookclubreviewpodcast
 

Two marriages, two forbidden love affairs, and the passionate search for social and sexual freedom in late 19th-century London. Publishers Penguin call The New Life by Tom Crewe ‘A brilliant and captivating debut, in the tradition of Alan Hollinghurst and Colm Tóibín' but what did our book club make of it? Kate is reporting back, with regular guest Philip Chaffee joining from New York. We'll be catching up on the discussion as well as bringing you our take on recent reads FAKE ACCOUNTS by Lauren Oyler and NORTH WOODS by Daniel Mason, as well as our recommendations for books inspired by Crewe's novel.
Booklist
Fake Accounts by Lauren Oyler
The Smiley Novels by John Le Carre
North Woods by Daniel Mason
Maurice by E. M. Forster
Alec by William di Canzio
Young Bloomsbury by Nino Strachey
Blackouts by Justin Torres
Miss Marjoribanks by Margaret Oliphant
The Ladies Lindores by Margaret Oliphant
Tom Crewe's booklist on bookshop.org.uk
Podcast episode on Young Bloomsbury
The audiobook of The New Life is read by Freddie Fox and published by Penguin Audio, available wherever you get your audiobooks
Keep up with us between shows. Follow us on Instagram or Threads @bookclubreviewpodcast, browse our website for our full archive, or drop us a line at thebookclubreview@gmail.com
Want the deep dive? All the details of our Patreon extras and how to sign up here.
Thanks for listening, happy reading, happy book clubbing

What did our podcast book club make of Mild Vertigo, Japanese author Mieko Kanai's 1997 novel, recently translated into English by Polly Barton. A 'modernist masterpiece' written in sentences that go on for pages with hardly any paragraph breaks might not seem like an obvious book club winner; listen in to find out if we were won over.
To discuss it Kate is joined by Yuki Tejima, also known as @booknerdtokyo, and Shawn Mooney, aka Shawn the Book Maniac. Listen in for their thoughts on Mild Vertigo, their current reads and our book recommendations for anyone wanting the inside track on great Japanese fiction.
Book list
A Woman of Pleasure by Kiyoko Murata (trans. Juliet Winters Carpenter) 
Home Reading Service by Fabio Morábito (trans. Curtis Bauer)
Woman Running in the Mountains by Yūko Tsushima (trans. Geraldine Harcourt)
Also Territory of Light and Child of Fortune by Yoko Tsutshima
Grass for my Pillow by Sayiichi Maruya (trans. Dennis Keene)
The Little House by Kyoto Nakajima (trans. Ginny Tapley Takamori)
There’s No Such Thing as an Easy Job by Kikuo Tsumura (trans. Polly Barton)
Fifty Sounds by Polly Barton
Porn: An Oral History by Polly Barton
Butter by Asako Yuzuki (trans. Polly Barton)
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Support the show and get Kate's weekly book-recommendations email, access to our book spreadsheets, connect with fellow readers and join our book club: find all the details on our Patreon page.
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Find full shownotes and our episode archive at our website thebookclubreview.co.uk