The Radio 2 Book Club

Niall gives us some brilliant writing tips - and shares a little of his own writing routine too. As well as talking about his brilliant new novel, which takes place in the same village as his previous. He tells Sara about his fascination with this made-up village - Faha - and why he doesn't want to leave it on the page. The novel tells the story of Doctor Jack Troy and his daughter, Ronnie. Doctor...

This week's listener reviewer is Rosa Miller from Bedfordshire. She gives us a review of our latest Book Club choice - "Playground" by Richard Powers - as well as telling us her Top 5 reads of this year. Sara also quizzes Rosa about her book group! (they've been going for over 9 years, and have read over 50 books dontcha know!?) We also hear from three authors about their brilliant new novels, whi...

Our latest Book Club choice is 'Playground' by Richard Powers. Richard won the Pulitzer in 2019, for his novel 'The Overstory' and his latest book is an epic tale told through three different stories, covering themes of AI, the environment and our shared humanity. Sara chats to Richard about his love and fascination with coral reefs, his writing processes and whether publishing a book gets any eas...

This week on the Radio 2 Book Club podcast, Sara welcomes listener reviewer Sadia Rana to share her Top 5 Reads of 2024 so far. She has been reading really widely and recommends us five different novels, new and old, from Patrick Hamilton to Sebastian Barry. We also hear from three bestselling authors about their latest novels, all of which were chosen for the Radio 2 Book Club earlier in the year...

Our latest Radio 2 Book Club choice is 'The Glass Girl' by Kathleen Glasgow. It's officially a Young Adult book, but can be enjoyed by all readers (14+). It tells the story of Bella, a teenage girl on the brink, and the bumpy road back to recovery. Kathleen joins Sara to talk about her inspirations for this novel, her writing processes and why she still loves journalling. They also talk about bala...

Sara features three books that her and the team have loved reading recently. These are: You Are Here by international bestselling author David Nicholls. Alter Ego by debut novelist Helen Heckety Table For Two by international bestselling author Amor Towles. Each author joins us to talk about their novels, the inspiration behind them and give us a book recommendation of their own too. We're also tr...

C.J. Cooke joins Sara in the Radio 2 Book Club to talk about her new gothic novel, The Book Of Witching. This is her tenth book and is based on a real-life Scottish Witch-Trial. She tells Sara about her inspirations for this novel, her research trip to Orkney and how the word 'Witch' is slowly, but surely being reclaimed. C.J. (Carolyn) often writes strong, female characters - and from a feminist...

In this episode, Sara features three of our Book Club choices from the summer, that we think you will really enjoy. We'll hear about each of the books from the author's themselves, and get some book recommendations from them too. This week we're featuring: 'Precipice' by the international bestselling author Robert Harris. Based on real-life events in 1914, when then Prime Minister H.H. Asquith wro...

Booker Prize winning author, Alan Hollinghurst, joins Sara in the Radio 2 Book Club for a chat about his new novel, 'Our Evenings'. It's been seven years since Alan published his last book - and so there has been much excitement and anticipation for this new one, and it does not disappoint. The book is written as a memoir of an actor called Dave Win, and spans his life from when he was thirteen, t...

Vanessa Chan's debut novel - The Storm We Made - was fought over in a seven way publishing auction! It's now out in the world, and it's our first Radio 2 Book Club choice of 2024. Zoe chats to Vanessa, from her apartment in Brooklyn, about the inspirations for the story, her Malaysian upbringing and her writing routine. Here's a little bit more about the book: Her decision changed history. Now her...

For our last Book Club of 2023, Zoe chats to bestselling author Katherine Howe about her latest novel, 'A True Account' Katherine talks about her fascination with pirates, her love of history and her personal connection with the story she has just published. Zoe also asks about her writing routine and her inspirations. A little more about the novel: In Boston, as the Golden Age of Piracy comes to...

Zoe welcomes author and screenwriter Femi Kayode to the Book Club to discuss his brilliant new novel, 'Gaslight'. Femi has spent the last two decades in advertising, whilst also building an impressive resume on prime-time television, by creating and writing several award-winning TV dramas. He recently completed an MA in Crime Fiction - and is finishing a PHD now too (it seems he likes letters). Fe...

This week, Zoe is joined by international bestselling novelist Terry Hayes. His new novel, The Year Of The Locus, is our lates Radio 2 Book Club pick - and it's quite the page-turner. It's been 10 years since Terry published his debut smash hit, I Am Pilgrim', but we think it has been worth the wait. Zoe chats to Terry about what has taken his so long, the status of the film adaptation, his writin...

Zoe welcomes Sarah Davis, one of our Superstar Librarians, to the podcast. Sarah has been working in libraries for 43 years! And is one of the original panel members for the Radio 2 Book Club. She talks to Zoe about her love of reading, why she loves her job - and - recommends us a few books and authors too.

Zoe welcomes Caroline Bond to the Book Club to discuss her new novel, The Day We Left. It's a powerful and moving story about identical twins, and Caroline draws on some of her own life experience for this book. They chat about her writing routine, inspirations, habits and how some characters can steal the show (or book) even when they're only in it for a short time. More on the book: Oli and Joe...

Sarah and Louise from a reading group in Westward Ho! join Zoe to chat about their book club and what books they have been reading and enjoying recently. They recommend 'Lessons In Chemistry' by Bonnie Garmus and 'The Witch Elm' by Tara French - both which they have read as a group recently. Zoe also discusses the importance of strong female characters in fiction and why Radio 2's very own Jeremy...

Zoe chats with librarian Pete Hughes about his library, career and reading recommendations. They discuss books by Patrick Gale, Gabrielle Zevin, Andy Weir and Sally Rooney. They also talk about reading out of your comfort zone and the importance of libraries within communities.