The Book Club: 5 Of The Best

Next week The Book Club ends its 11 year run with a special, 5 Of The Best to discuss standout 2017 reads.

Jennifer Byrne, Marieke Hardy and Jason Steger are joined by author and screenwriter Benjamin Law, and Wheeler Centre director Michael Williams.

The show will culminate with Jimmy Barnes performing Flame Trees live in the studio.

As the series comes to an end, it’s time to celebrate a year of great reads… and to look back through the archive at 11 years of Book Club guests, disputes, funny moments and in-depth reviews.

Jennifer’s choice is the long-awaited The Book of Dust by Philip Pullman; Jason has chosen The Restorer by Australian author Michael Sala, and set at the time of the 1989 Newcastle earthquake; Marieke looks to her unofficial “life coach”, Robert Dessaix, for The Pleasures of Leisure. Benjamin brings Why I’m No Longer Talking to White People About Race by Reni Eddo-Lodge; and rounding out the list Michael recommends is the Man Booker Prize- nominated Home Fire, by Kamila Shamsie.

Throughout the show, discover what other enthusiastic readers – children and booksellers – picked as their top books of 2017. Plus, don’t miss the big reveal of The Book Club’s Audience Poll winners – your Five of the Best.

Michael Williams is the Director of the Wheeler Centre for Books, Writing and Ideas in Melbourne. Previous host of ABC Radio National’s Blueprint for Living, he now hosts Talkfest and is a regular guest on other ABC Radio and TV programs. He has written extensively for The Guardian, The Age, Sydney Morning Herald, The Australian among others.

Benjamin Law is a journalist, TV screenwriter, columnist and the author of two books: The Family Law (2010) and Gaysia: Adventures in the Queer East (2012), both of which were nominated for Australian Book Industry Awards. The Family Law is now an award-winning series on SBS. He was also an associate producer and researcher on the SBS feature documentary Deep Water: The Real Story, is the author on the current Quarterly Essay on Safe Schools and has a PhD in writing from QUT.

8:30pm Tuesday on ABC.