Our society tells us over and over that if we're going to achieve anything, we'd better do it while we're young. We fixate on stories of prodigies; we put our children in piano lessons or language classes as toddlers, hoping to give them the best shot at success we can. As for ourselves, too many people feel it's too late to change the course of their own lives. Whether we are at the start of our careers and sense we're on the wrong path, or feeling unsettled in our late or middle years, we all wonder how we can reinvent ourselves? Is it too late? This book by <a href="https://www.commonreader.co.uk/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Henry Oliver</a> has answers. Late bloomers - individuals who experience significant success later in life - offer lessons for people who feel frustrated. This book encourages people to think about themselves as potential late bloomers and to discover and encourage and advocate for late blooming in others. After all, it's never too late to discover our hidden talents and our accomplish our goals - the road to success is never as straightforward as we are lead to believe. Julia Child didn't discover that she loved to cook until she was thirty-seven. Vera Wang started her design business at forty. And Michelangelo painted The Last Judgment in his sixties. This inspiring, passionate book combines wonderful story-telling with fascinating new research, to shift expectations around our life trajectories. You'll discover a range of blueprints for self-reinvention, pairing the newest insights from psychology and neuroscience with late bloomers' remarkable life stories. Henry meets Jack at <a href="https://ye-olde-cheshire-cheese.co.uk/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Ye Olde Chesire Cheese</a> on Fleet Street. Follow and subscribe to The Booking Club: YouTube:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/@bookingclubpod" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@bookingclubpod</a>Twitter/X:&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/bookingclubpod" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@bookingclubpod</a>Blue Sky: <a href="https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:y6w4mjbcqlqpr3sb2qzmljpb" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@bookingclubpod.bsky.social</a>Instagram:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.instagram.com/bookingclubpod/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@bookingclubpod</a>TikTok:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@bookingclubpod" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@bookingclubpod</a>

What Late Bloomers Can Tell You About Reinventing Your Life, with Henry Oliver

When <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miranda_Sawyer" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Miranda Sawyer</a> interviewed Noel Gallagher in 1995, his gag wishing Damon Albarn would die of AIDS became front-page news. This fascinating pop history, exploring the mid-90s moment when British music suddenly meant everything, explains why. Picking out twenty key songs, delving into the surprising stories behind them and their unlikely creators,&nbsp;Uncommon People&nbsp;takes us back to when Jarvis Cocker became a national hero,&nbsp;Trainspotting&nbsp;was a global hit, fire-starting seemed like a good night out - and it felt as though the revolution was happening. Initially a music press nickname, Britpop became an unexpected musical movement centred around outsiders and misfits, drop-outs and weirdos who refused to compromise on their ideas, even when they were thrust into the international spotlight. Not just a scene for white guys with guitars, but something wilder and more interesting, with songs that have proved timeless. Exploring the era's key artists - Oasis, Blur, Tricky, Pulp, Underworld, Manic Street Preachers, The Prodigy, Suede, Chemical Brothers, Garbage, Supergrass, Radiohead, PJ Harvey and more - through their definitive anthems, Miranda Sawyer transports us back to the beating heart of the nineties. Uncommon People&nbsp;re-lives the mad exhilaration of what it was like to hear these songs for the very first time - and what it was like to make them. With amazing new interviews, and I-was-there insights, this book offers a backstage pass to all the most interesting bits of Britpop's Greatest Hits.Forget New Labour, forget earnest trend theories, this book is all about the music, the people and being&nbsp;right there, right now. (John Murray Press) Miranda meets Jack at <a href="https://goodfareitalian.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Goodfare Italian</a> in Camden, London Follow and subscribe to The Booking Club: YouTube:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/@bookingclubpod" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@bookingclubpod</a>Twitter/X:&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/bookingclubpod" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@bookingclubpod</a>Blue Sky: <a href="https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:y6w4mjbcqlqpr3sb2qzmljpb" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@bookingclubpod.bsky.social</a>Instagram:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.instagram.com/bookingclubpod/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@bookingclubpod</a>TikTok:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@bookingclubpod" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@bookingclubpod</a>

Britpop and Beyond in 20 Songs, with Miranda Sawyer

<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_McRae_(author)" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Donald McRae</a> has been immersed in boxing for fifty years. He has followed fighters around the world and won multiple awards for his writing. But, in recent years, McRae’s love has waned, as criminality and corruption consume the soul of boxing.&nbsp;&nbsp;In 2018, grieving the death of his sister and with his parents terminally ill, he sought refuge in boxing again – just as Tyson Fury completed an incredible comeback, proving that the ring can still offer exhilaration and redemption.&nbsp;From Fury’s resurrection to the first undisputed heavyweight champion this century, boxing can be epic and electrifying. It can also be disappointing, as McRae discovers when he documents doping’s insidious rise or travels to Saudi Arabia where boxing ignores state repression. In&nbsp;The Last Bell,&nbsp;McRae takes us ringside to thrilling bouts with great contemporary champions and fighters as different as Fury, Canelo Álvarez, Oleksandr Usyk, Katie Taylor, Regis Prograis and Isaac Chamberlain. Whether in London or Las Vegas, he shows us what it is like to see joy pour out of a boxer in the dressing room after a magnificent victory or to hold the hand of a fighter being wheeled away on a stretcher after a devastating defeat. As he tries to reconcile the contradictions which lie at boxing’s murky heart, McRae is unflinching and compelling.&nbsp;McRae helps boxers open up about their doubts and fears and charts the courage of fighters facing ordeals from depression to war. And in telling the heartbreaking story of Patrick Day, he faces death in the ring.&nbsp;The Last Bell&nbsp;is his most powerful and personal book yet, a riveting account of life, death and boxing. Donald meets Jack at <a href="https://supawan.co.uk/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Superwan Thai</a> Follow and subscribe to The Booking Club: YouTube:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/@bookingclubpod" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@bookingclubpod</a>Twitter/X:&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/bookingclubpod" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@bookingclubpod</a>Blue Sky: <a href="https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:y6w4mjbcqlqpr3sb2qzmljpb" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@bookingclubpod.bsky.social</a>Instagram:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.instagram.com/bookingclubpod/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@bookingclubpod</a>TikTok:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@bookingclubpod" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@bookingclubpod</a>

Life, Death and Boxing, with Donald McRae

The British empire was built on slavery, but it also pioneered abolition. It spread democracy, but it also seeded geopolitical instability. It devastated nature but it also gave birth to modern notions of environmentalism. In this urgent sequel to <a href="https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/317240/empireland-by-sanghera-sathnam/9780241445310" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Empireland</a>, award-winning author and journalist <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sathnam_Sanghera" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Sathnam Sanghera</a> extends his examination of British imperial legacies beyond Britain to the wider world. Travelling across outposts of the former empire from Barbados and Mauritius to India and Nigeria and beyond, Sanghera puts to bed the conventional balance-sheet view of imperial history where the good is merely weighed up against the bad. In Empireworld, Sanghera instead seeks out nuance to reveal how contradictory forces of the British empire have shaped our world and what they mean for our place within it today. (Penguin) Sathnam meets Jack at Pizza Express Follow and subscribe to The Booking Club: YouTube:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/@bookingclubpod" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@bookingclubpod</a>Twitter/X:&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/bookingclubpod" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@bookingclubpod</a>Blue Sky: <a href="https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:y6w4mjbcqlqpr3sb2qzmljpb" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@bookingclubpod.bsky.social</a>Instagram:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.instagram.com/bookingclubpod/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@bookingclubpod</a>TikTok:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@bookingclubpod" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@bookingclubpod</a>

How the British Empire Has Shaped the Globe, with Sathnam Sanghera

How we live is shaped by how we eat. You can see this in the vastly different approaches to growing, preparing and eating food around the world, such as the hunter-gatherer Hadza in Tanzania whose sustainable lifestyle is under threat in a crowded planet, or Western societies whose food is farmed or bred in vast intensive enterprises. And most of us now rely on a complex global food web of production, distribution, consumption and disposal, which is now contending with unprecedented challenges. The need for a better understanding of how we feed ourselves has never been more urgent. In this wide-ranging and definitive book, philosopher Julian Baggini expertly delves into the best and worst food practises in a huge array of different societies, past and present. His exploration takes him from cutting-edge technologies, such as new farming methods, cultured meat, GM and astronaut food, to the ethics and health of ultra processed food and aquaculture, as he takes a forensic look at the effectiveness of our food governance, the difficulties of food wastage and the effects of commodification. Extracting essential principles to guide how we eat in the future, How the World Eats advocates for a pluralistic, humane, resourceful and equitable global food philosophy, so we can build a food system fit for the twenty-first century and beyond. (Philosopher's Synopsis). On this episode, Julian meets Jack at&nbsp;<a href="https://www.boxebristol.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">BOX-E</a> in Bristol Follow and subscribe to The Booking Club: YouTube:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/@bookingclubpod" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@bookingclubpod</a>Twitter/X:&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/bookingclubpod" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@bookingclubpod</a>Instagram:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.instagram.com/bookingclubpod/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@bookingclubpod</a>TikTok:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@bookingclubpod" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@bookingclubpod</a>

Why We Need a Global Food Philosophy, with Julian Baggini

Post-university life doesn’t suit Phyl. Time passes slowly living back home with her parents, working a zero-hour contract serving Japanese food to holidaymakers at Heathrow’s Terminal 5. As for her budding plans of becoming a writer, those are going nowhere. That is, until family friend Chris comes to stay. He’s been on the path to uncover a sinister think-tank, founded at Cambridge University in the 1980s, that’s been scheming to push the British government in a more extreme direction. One that’s finally poised to put their plans into action. But speaking truth to power can be dangerous - and power will stop at nothing to stay on top. As Britain finds itself under the leadership of a new Prime Minister whose tenure will only last for seven weeks, Chris pursues his story to a conference being held deep in the Cotswolds, where events take a sinister turn and a murder enquiry is soon in progress. But will the solution to the mystery lie in contemporary politics, or in a literary enigma that is almost forty years old? Darting between decades and genres, <a href="https://jonathancoewriter.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Jonathan Coe</a>'s latest novel THE PROOF OF MY INNOCENCE is a wickedly funny and razor-sharp new novel from one of Britain’s most beloved novelists, showing how the key to understanding the present can often be found in the murkiest corners of the past. Jonathan's work has received many prizes and awards, including both Costa Novel of the Year and Prix du Livre Européen for&nbsp;Middle England. In France he won the Prix Médicis for&nbsp;The House of Sleep&nbsp;and has been appointed&nbsp;Officier de l’ordre des arts et des lettres.&nbsp;In Italy he has also won the Premio Flaiano (for&nbsp;Number 11) and the Premio Bauer-Ca’ Foscari. The citation for the latter prize concluded that ‘for his keen interest in the most crucial issues of contemporary civilization, Jonathan Coe may be considered a complete novelist and a classic of our times’. On this episode, Jonathan meets Jack at&nbsp;<a href="http://northseafishrestaurant.co.uk/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">North Sea Fish</a> in Bloomsbury, London Follow and subscribe to The Booking Club: YouTube:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/@bookingclubpod" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@bookingclubpod</a>Twitter/X:&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/bookingclubpod" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@bookingclubpod</a>Instagram:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.instagram.com/bookingclubpod/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@bookingclubpod</a>TikTok:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@bookingclubpod" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@bookingclubpod</a>

The Proof of My Innocence, with Jonathan Coe

From famous wordsmith <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Read_Wilson" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Tom Read Wilson</a> comes another breathtaking adventure through the English language. Discover the fascinating origin stories behind the words we use in this delightful follow-up to&nbsp;Every Word Tells a Story, <a href="https://www.quarto.com/books/9780711291638/wonderful-words-that-tell-a-tale" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Wonderful Words That Tell A Tale</a>, illustrated by <a href="https://x.com/ianmorris_22?lang=en" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Ian Morris</a>. Unlock a whole new side to language&nbsp;in this abundant literary adventure. The etymological route, definition and word origin are explored for four words from every letter of the alphabet, unlocking over 100 wonderful word tales. One word per letter is brought to even more life with an extended poem that can be read or enjoyed aloud, making this&nbsp;a wonderful book to read alone or share with friends and family. Every word is paired with timeless, characterful watercolour illustrations by Ian Morris.&nbsp;Wonderful Words to Tell a Tale&nbsp;is a journey into the English language through beautiful stories and artwork,&nbsp;a venture to be dipped into&nbsp;and enjoyed over and over again. (Quarto) On this episode, Tom meets Jack at&nbsp;<a href="https://kutir.co.uk/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Kutir</a> in Chelsea Follow and subscribe to The Booking Club: YouTube:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/@bookingclubpod" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@bookingclubpod</a>Twitter/X:&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/bookingclubpod" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@bookingclubpod</a>Instagram:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.instagram.com/bookingclubpod/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@bookingclubpod</a>TikTok:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@bookingclubpod" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@bookingclubpod</a>

Wonderful Words That Tell A Tale, with Tom Read Wilson

<h3><a href="https://www.battleofideas.org.uk/speaker/jack-aldane/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">The Battle of Ideas festival 2024</a>, which took place at Church House in Westminster on 19 &amp; 20 October, was a sell-out success.&nbsp;</h3><h3> </h3><h3>As part of the event, Jack Aldane hosted English comedian Geoff Norcott live for a lunchtime recording of The Booking Club in front of a packed room to discuss Geoff's latest book: <a href="https://www.waterstones.com/book/the-british-bloke-decoded/geoff-norcott/9781800961302" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">The British Bloke Decoded</a>.</h3><h3> </h3><h3>Laughing from beginning to end, they dissect what makes two British blokes from two successive generations both similar yet fundamentally distinct, why women and men tend to gravitate towards specific tasks around the house, the good that could come from installing a Minister for Men in the UK Government, and more.</h3> <h3>FULL LIVE VIDEO AVAILABLE ON YOUTUBE.</h3><h3> </h3><h3>Follow and subscribe to The Booking Club:</h3><h3> </h3><h3>YouTube:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/@bookingclubpod" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@bookingclubpod</a></h3><h3>Twitter/X:&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/bookingclubpod" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@bookingclubpod</a></h3><h3>Instagram:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.instagram.com/bookingclubpod/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@bookingclubpod</a></h3><h3>TikTok:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@bookingclubpod" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@bookingclubpod</a></h3>

LIVE from The Battle of Ideas Festival 2024, with Geoff Norcott

People have been drawing lines on maps for as long as there have been maps to draw on. Sometimes rooted in physical geography, sometimes entirely arbitrary, these lines might often have looked very different if a war or treaty or the decisions of a handful of tired Europeans had gone a different way. By telling the stories of these borders, we can learn a lot about how political identities are shaped, why the world looks the way it does – and about the scale of human folly. From the Roman attempts to define the boundaries of civilisation, to the secret British-French agreement to carve up the Ottoman Empire during the First World War, to the reason why landlocked Bolivia still maintains a navy, this is a fascinating, witty and surprising look at the history of the world told through its borders. (Hachette) On this episode, Jonn meets Jack at&nbsp;<a href="https://bellanger.co.uk/?gad_source=1&amp;gclid=CjwKCAjwmaO4BhAhEiwA5p4YL82tqcIhdM0ooqThDl07W6GbJJPdJdSEOhEdRCRjzEsNkNGXgqWEeRoCywMQAvD_BwE" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Bellanger</a> Follow and subscribe to The Booking Club: YouTube:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/@bookingclubpod" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@bookingclubpod</a>Twitter/X:&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/bookingclubpod" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@bookingclubpod</a>Instagram:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.instagram.com/bookingclubpod/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@bookingclubpod</a>TikTok:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@bookingclubpod" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@bookingclubpod</a>

A History of the World in 47 Borders, with Jonn Elledge

Leading authors and commentators discuss their la…

Leading authors and commentators discuss their latest books and breakthroughs at their favourite restaurants | Hosted by Jack Aldane | Music by Boogie Belgique.

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