Chatting books with Leanne Leveaux of The Book Club
Super excited today as we’ve got that lovely Leanne coming over from The Book Club – she talks books and book related things even more than us booktrailers so we just had to get her on here. So the obvious thing to do was to promise her a pile of books if she came over AND a selection of the finest cupcakes this side of Hadrian’s Wall, plus all the tea she could drink. Turns out she would have come anyway hehe.
Well now, the table is all set, the books are in the book suitcase ready for Leanne to take on a booktrail….and the kettle has just boiled. (The doorbell rings) Ooh here she is! Dead excited I am. Hold on back in a minute…
Hi Leanne! So happy for you to come over today. Isn’t it getting cold out there? Soon be wearing coats. Here I’ve got the fire on low and the kettle’s just boiled – warming the tea pot as we speak. Do you take sugar?
We get ourselves settled and we take our first cup cake of many. Leanne, I’ve been dying to ask you these questions for quite a while!
How did you start The Book Club? It’s a huge success so I’m very interested to know how you came up with the idea and where the passion comes from.
Hello! Thanks for inviting me to chat today– how exciting! My day job is in social media, and in my spare time I am obsessed with books, so I was looking to do something that meant I could combine the two without making a huge leap into the unknown, and this is where The Book Club was born.
I love speaking to people online about what books they have enjoyed, reading reviews and also following author Q&A’s. I had seen a lot of publishing houses doing their own sorts of promotions and activities for their authors, and I wanted to create something that allowed me to incorporate a wide range of authors and books as well as other aspects that people interested in reading would like.
You have amazing plans for the Book Club and for your new website. Can you share any secrets of what you have in store?
It’s all very exciting at the moment while I get everything set up and planned out, and the response and support from people in the book and blogging community has been really overwhelming. Everyone has been fantastically positive!
I don’t want to give too much away but I have some great giveaways planned, as well as some really interesting interviews with various people in the book world, so stay tuned!
What kind of books do you prefer to read if any?
Generally, I’m very open about the types of books I read, and I especially love when someone recommends me a book I wouldn’t ever have picked up, but that I thoroughly enjoy – it just goes to show, as the old saying goes, you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover! I do have favourite types of books though, and the things I generally prefer to read are crime and thrillers, and I also have a real penchant for books set in an American History backdrop. My recent favourites have been The Son and American Rust, both by Philipp Meyer, Butcher’s Crossing by John Williams and The Road by Cormac McCarthy.
Do you write yourself? If so what or which kind of book would you like to write?
I do write myself, and currently have a couple of things that I’m working on. Generally I find the news to be really interesting, and I find inspiration in real-life events and people. I would love to write a story around a real-life event, and submerge myself in the process of the research that goes into writing something like this – I think it must be very interesting.
At a book club, you’re sitting with five writers living or dead. Who would you like to be there and why?
Wow, what a great question! Hmm, interesting. I would have to say, I would love to have Jack Kerouac, Harriet Lane, Jamie Mason, Charles Bukowski and Cormac McCarthy.
I’m sure it comes as no surprise I would have some American icons in attendance! I could spend hours just talking to them about the books that shaped their writing and also what inspires them.
Jamie Mason because I ADORED her book Three Graves Full when I read it for the Waterstones Book Club, and I would just love to discuss the story with her. And Harriet Lane because I am currently reading her novel ‘Her’ and it is so creepy! I would just like to tap into her brain and find out how she writes so well.
What has been your favourite book recently? An ultimate favourite?
Oops, I think I answered this in my excitement over the book club question! My favourite books change all the time, though there are a selection that I would read over and over. Two of these being The Son by Philipp Meyer and Carter Beats the Devil by Glen David Gold. They’re both fantastic books!
Have you ever been on a booktrail? hehe
Sadly I haven’t ever been on a booktrail! Does this make me a terrible person? Haha! But I would love to, it sounds fantastic!
Perhaps this is the start of me embarking on one.. (the booktralier rubs hands in glee )
Describe a day organising The Book Club and your new site! You must be so busy! What do you need to do? How do you plan everything and keep things organised?
A typical day organizing The Book Club and the new site involves a LOT of planning. I’m constantly writing lists about what I want to include, what I want to tweet about and when to actually make all of this happen!
I’ve been busy organizing interviews, as well as working with some fantastic people in the book community to help me push the word out – so it’s all go go go! at the moment!
You HAVE to visit Leanne’s new site as well, its essential viewing if you love books – the book club is of course essential viewing to and full of books that you can discuss, recommend and maybe try one that you haven’t considered before like Leanne herself. It’s amazing what you find when you just try a book you would not have considered before!
Thanks Leanne! Now there are quite a few cakes left. I can’t let you leave empty handed!
Booktrail Boarding Pass Information:
Twitter: @_bookclub
Web: Leanneleveaux.com
