The Book Club Review

New year, new intentions – but if you're in the northern hemisphere, January can feel less like renewal and more like the darkest, coldest stretch of endless winter. Maybe what you need isn't another resolution. Maybe you just need the right book.Ella Berthoud is an writer and an artist, but most importantly from our point of view a bibliotherapist. She has been prescribing fiction for life's ailments for over a decade. She co-wrote The Novel Cure, a brilliant guide that matches books to every psychological state and is packed with sound recommendations.Who better then to give me some great suggestions for avoiding the January blues. Join Kate and Ella as they talk about the questions that vex every reader: how do we find more time for reading? How do we escape reading slumps? And how can we read more deeply without it feeling like homework?Plus of course we're swapping lots of great book recommendations for January and the year ahead. Listen in for a shot of literary inspiration that might be just what you need.BooklistThe Novel Cure by Ella Berthoud Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins ReedCursed Daughters by Oyinkan BraithwaiteJitterbug Perfume by Tom RobbinsThe Enchanted April by Elizabeth von ArnimA Place Called Winter by Patrick GaleNotes from an Exhibition by Patrick GaleMetamorphoses by Ovid Humanly Possible by Sarah BakewellThe Golden Ass by ApuleiusA Woman in the Polar Night by Christiane Ritter (Jane Degras)Dálvi by Laura GallowayThe Artist by Lucy SteedsThe Homemade God by Rachel JoyceThe Hounding by Xenobe PurvisCall Me Ishmaelle by Xiaolu GuoPerfection by Vincenzo LatronicoThings: A Story of the Sixties by Georges PerecSky Daddy by Kate FolkThe Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas (Robin Buss)Find out more about Ella at ellaberthoud.comFind all the books mentioned in this episode in the Book Club Review Bookshop, on Bookshop UK, the online retailer that supports independent bookshops.PatreonHead to Patreon.com/thebookclubreview to join The Book Club Review community for book recommendations, readalongs, book club and, new for 2026, Kate’s Reading Diaries. You can also buy someone gift membership at https://www.patreon.com/thebookclubreview/gift Serious ReadersTake advantage of the Serious Readers offer. Head to seriousreaders.com/bcr and use the code BCR at checkout for £150 off any HD light.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

We're celebrating the end of the year with a look back over our favourite reads of 2025, from new releases to backlist gems, best book club books, best non-fiction, best comfort reads and more. Between us we read over 350 books in 2025. Listen in to hear the ones we loved best. We've also got a radical new idea for a book club involving cold-water swimming and the works of Robert B. Parker, and how to embrace DNFing without guilt. Join us for recommendations to see you through the festive season and set your new reading year off in style.With Phil Chaffee and Sarah OliverSerious ReadersTake advantage of Serious Readers offer. Head to seriousreaders.com/bcr and use the code BCR at checkout for £150 off any HD light.PatreonHead to Patreon.com/thebookclubreview for all the benefits of membership and how to sign up.You can also buy someone gift membership at https://www.patreon.com/thebookclubreview/gift BooklistMother Mary Come to Me by Arundhati RoyThe Silver Book by Olivia LaingCrudo by Olivia LaingDream Count by Chimamanda Ngoze AdicheThe Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny by Kiran DesaiHeart the Lover by Lily KingDeep Cuts by Holly BrickleyThe Transit of Venus by Shirley HazzardPet Sematary by Stephen KingYou Dreamed of Empires by Alvaro EnrigueVera, or Faith by Gary ShteyngartLake Shore by Gary ShteyngartOur Country Friends by Gary ShteyngartGlorious Exploits by Ferdia LennonA Waiter in Paris by Edward ChisholmThe First Man by Albert CamusRobert B. Parker novelsQuestion 7 by Richard FlanaganThe Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre DumasMuybridge by Guy DelisleThe Sense & Sensibility Diaries by Emma ThompsonThe Lockwood & Co novels by Jonathan StroudThe Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion by Beth BrowerShattered Lands by Sam DalrympleMaurice and Marilyn, or A Marriage at Sea by Sophie ElmhurstAgent Zo by Clare MulleyThe Devil Two Step by Jamie QuattroTrain Dreams by Denis JohnstonTree of Smoke by Denis JohnstonThe Director by Daniel KelmanWe Do Not Part by Han KangHow to End a Story by Helen Garner (3 volume diaries collection)The Children’s Bach by Helen GarnerThis House of Grief by Helen GarnerEucalyptus by Murray BailWild Thing by Sue PrideauxNonesuch by Francis SpuffordPet Sematary 1983 coverSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

'I never travel without my diary. One should always have something sensational to read in the train' wrote Oscar Wilde, in the Importance of Being Ernest. In this episode Kate is joined by critic, editor and podcaster Lucy Scholes and regular pod guest Phil Chaffee to explore the intimate world of diaries. Can immersing ourselves in the details of other people's lives offer us valuable insight into how to fully appreciate the passing moments of our own? From gossipy self-mythologising Samuel Pepys right up to the present with the experimentation of Sheila Heti's Alphabetical Diaries, and the beauty and hard-won insight of Helen Garner's Baillie Gifford prize-winning diaries. Also not to be missed, living it up Vanity Fair style through the glitz and glamour of 80s New York, with Tina Brown.And if you enjoy this conversation don't miss Part II, over on the Patreon, where we swap notes on our favourite fictional diaries, consider the diaries we'd love to read if they had only been published and share some thoughts on our own diary keeping. You'll find that episode plus lots of benefits including ad-free listening, extra episodes, our community of readers and the pod book club over at patreon.com/thebookclubreview.And to take advantage of that Serious Readers offer of £150 off any HD light head to serious readers.com/bcr and use the code BCR at checkout.Book listThe Private Life of the Diary by Sally BayleyThe Paris ReviewThey by Kay DickLord Jim at Home by Dinah BrookeLove Life of a Cheltenham Lady by Dinah BrookePart of the Story by Margaret BusbyWoman Alive by Susan ErtzShow Don't Tell by Curtis SittenfeldSome People Need Killing by Patricia EvangelistaLook Closer by Robert Douglas FairhurstThe Correspondent by Virginia EvansThe Diary of Samuel Pepys, Robert Latham (ed)The Diaries of Virginia WoolfHow To End a Story by Helen GarnerHenry Chips Channon: The DiariesThe James Lees Milne diariesWriting Home by Alan BennettThere and Back: 1999–2009 by Michael PalinThe Vanity Fair Diaries 1983–1992 by Tina BrownEnd of a Berlin Diary by William L. ShirerWar in Val D'Orcia by Iris OrigoRussian Journal by Andrea LeeBeloved Son Felix: Coming of Age in the Renaissance by Felix PlatterDiary of a Tuscan Bookshop by Alba DonatiModern Nature by Derek JarmanPharmacopeia by Derek JarmanWent to London, Took the Dog by Nina StibbeAlphabetical Diaries by Sheila HetiA Woman in the Polar Night by Christiane RitterSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Explore this year's Booker Prize shortlist on the latest episode of the Book Club Review! Hosts Kate and Laura and contributors Phil Chaffee and Martin Vovk discuss and debate the six shortlisted novels.Listen in to hear our predictions, and then find out our reaction to the winner as we listen in to the live Booker Prize ceremony. We won't spoil the plots for you, just whet your appetite to read some or all of the books, all of which make for brilliant discussion.BooklistPaddy Clark, Ha, H, Ha by Roddy DoyleLincoln in the Bardo by George SaundersFlesh by David SzalayAll That Man Is by David SzalayStarling House by Alex E. HarrowAny Human Heart by William BoydThe Rest of Our Lives by Ben MarkowitsCarmageddon by Daniel KnowlesYou Don't Have To Live Like This by Ben MarkowitsOh William by Elizabeth StroutAll Fours by Miranda JulyThe Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny by Kiran DesaiThe Inheritance of Loss by Kiran DesaiAudition by Katie KitamuraOrbital by Samantha HarveyFlashlight by Susan ChoiNothing to Envy by Barbara DemickPachinko by Min Jin LeeThe White Tiger by Aravind AdigaProphet Song by Paul LynchSeascraper by Benjamin WoodBooker Longlist episodeEpisode 181 of The Book Club ReviewLinksA Good Read: Colm Toibin and Zadie Smith discuss FleshMartin's Eyes On the Prize blogBrowse Martin's archive and discover his extensive reviews (including The Women's Prize) here.PatreonHead to www.patreon.com/thebookclubreview for all the benefits (extra shows, readalongs, book club and more) and how to sign up.Serious ReadersTo take advantage of the special offer code for any Serious Readers HD Essential Reading Light head to SeriousReaders.com/bcr and use the code BCR at checkoutInstagramFollow Kate for updates between shows @bookclubreviewpodcastSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In which Kate is joined by pod regular, journalist Phil Chaffee and Professor Elizabeth Eva Leach. Both read over 200 books a year, and their reading stacks this year have included the Booker longlist. And so who better to consider the books that didn't make the final cut – but which are, notwithstanding, the 'best' books selected from over 150 submitted titles. As we know, really great books can get overlooked for the shortlist. Consider Trust by Hernan Diaz, longlisted but not shortlisted, or, going further back Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro and before that Penelope Fitzgerald's miraculous novel The Blue Flower. The fallibility of the judging process thus proven let's leave no stone unturned in considering this year's selection. Did the judges overlook a new favourite read? The Booker Prize is announced on 10th November and we'll be recording an episode on the shortlist on the night. Coming soon! Booklist Misinterpretation by Ledia Xhoga Seascraper by Benjamin Wood Endling by Maria Reva One Boat by Jonathan Buckley The Outline Trilogy by Rachel Cusk The Rough Guide to Venice and the Veneto Universality by Natasha Brown The South by Tash Aw Love Forms by Claire Adam Barn 8 by Deb Olin Unferth The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny by Kiran Desai Patreon Head to www.patreon.com/thebookclubreview for all the benefits (extra shows, readalongs, book club and more) and how to sign up, and know that you'll be supporting a show that takes a lot of time and love to make. Serious Readers To take advantage of the special offer code for any Serious Readers HD Essential Reading Light head to SeriousReaders.com/bcr and use the code BCR at checkout Instagram Follow Kate for updates between shows @bookclubreviewpodcastSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.