Can a sci-fi novel make for a good book club book? We find out with The Left-Hand of Darkness by Ursula Le Guin – did Laura's book club, mostly sci-fi newbies, like it or loathe it? From fantasy dystopias to the real world, we also tackle Second-Hand Time, Svetlana Alexievich's history of life in Soviet and post-Soviet Russia, an emotionally challenging read on a difficult subject. But did Kate's book club think it worth the effort?

We discuss South Korean author Han Kang's short novel about a troubled woman who decides to stop eating meat.

We also look at international bestseller of yesteryear The Reader by Bernhard Schlink, which found fame in the author's native Germany before making its way onto Oprah Winfrey's book club list, and becoming an Oscar winning film starring Ralph Fiennes and Kate Winslet. But twenty years on, does the book still hold its appeal? And more to the point, were either of these books good book club books?

We also interview science journalist Sue Nelson about starting her book club in a small village where she didn't really know anybody.

Books mentioned on this episode:

• Nothing to Envy: Real Lives in North Korea by Barbara Demick
• All for Nothing by Walter Kempowski
• The Tobacconist and A Whole Life by Robert Seethaler

 

We discuss South Korean author Han Kang's short novel about a troubled woman who decides to stop eating meat. We also look at international bestseller of yesteryear The Reader by Bernhard Schlink, which found fame in the author's native Germany before making its way onto Oprah Winfrey's book club list, and becoming an Oscar winning film starring Ralph Fiennes and Kate Winslet. But twenty years on, does the book still hold its appeal?

In our first episode Kate's book club dive into Paul Beatty's 2016 Booker Prize winning novel THE SELLOUT while Laura's have been reading HILLBILLY ELEGY, Jack Vance's memoir of growing up poor in an Appalachian town.

Does Vance's book explain the rise of Donald Trump, as many commentators claimed? Did The Sellout make us laugh, as the blurb promised it would? And did these two books make good book club reads?

For a change of pace we talk to Howard Green, a book-clubber whose book clubs prioritise a sense of community and spiritual reflection and meditation.

And we've got plenty of recommendations for your next read.

We discuss Paul Beatty's 2016 Booker Prize winning novel The Sellout and Hillbilly Elegy, Jack Vance's memoir of growing up in a poor Appalachian town. Does Vance's book explain the rise of Donald Trump, as many commentators claimed? Did The Sellout make us laugh, as the blurb promised it would? And did these two books make good book club reads? We also talk to Howard Green whose book clubs explore a sense of community and spiritual reflection and meditation.