Service95 Book Club With Dua Lipa

For November’s Service95 Book Club Monthly Read, Dua Lipa is joined by acclaimed British author Zadie Smith for a special live conversation at London Literature Festival 2026, as part of the programme curated by Dua. Together, they revisit Zadie’s extraordinary debut, White Teeth. Published in 2000, when Zadie was just 24, the novel became an instant literary sensation and is still a defining portrait of London and the communities that call it home.

Looking back on the book all these years later, Zadie reflects on the experience of writing her debut in her early twenties, its unexpected success and her complicated but affectionate relationship with the novel today. The pair also discuss growing up between cultures, belonging and how economic insecurity can deepen divisions. Along with the novel’s questions around faith and genetic engineering, there are also plenty of laughs.

Whether White Teeth is already on your bookshelf or you've yet to discover it, consider this your sign to dive into Zadie’s body of work from the very beginning. And if you're already a fan, there's plenty to enjoy in hearing her reflect on the novel that first introduced her to readers around the world.

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Following the much-anticipated release of Min Jin Lee’s new novel, American Hagwon, we revisit Dua’s July 2023 Book Club conversation with the author about Pachinko, which follows four generations of a Korean family as they navigate identity, displacement and belonging in Japan.

At the heart of Pachinko is a question about the people history leaves behind. Through the immigrant experience, life as an outsider, motherhood, faith and the place of women in a patriarchal society, Lee examines the forces that shape a life, and the resilience it takes to find a place in the world. Dua and Min discuss the years of research behind the book and the craft of writing characters who are complex, flawed and deeply human.

The conversation also turns to how literature widens our understanding of the world, why stories that might otherwise go unheard deserve preserving, and what it means to see ourselves – and one another – reflected on the page.

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In this special bonus episode for Dua’s October Monthly Read, Klara And The Sun, Nobel Prize-winning author Kazuo Ishiguro answers questions from fellow writers at the London Literature Festival: Mustafa, Omar Musa and Nelio Biedermann.

How do you stay creatively free without becoming too self-referential? How does translation shape the way you write? Ishiguro opens up about craft and the ideas he keeps returning to.

Listen to find out what they asked in full, exclusively on the Service95 Book Club podcast.

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For the Service95 Book Club this month, Dua is joined by Nobel Prize-winning author Kazuo Ishiguro to discuss Klara And The Sun, her October Monthly Read. As Taika Waititi’s film adaptation arrives in cinemas this month, they explore Ishiguro’s speculative novel and its questions around technology, loneliness, hope and what makes us uniquely human.

At the heart of the novel is Klara, an artificial friend chosen to be a companion to 14-year-old Josie, a “lifted” teenager whose health is deteriorating. In this conversation, the pair discuss why Ishiguro chose Klara as the narrator, the ethical questions raised by a society where children can be genetically edited, and the novel’s central question: can our memories, behaviours and qualities be captured through data and what makes us human?

The pair also explore the importance of hope, connection, and art, as well as Ishiguro’s thoughts on seeing his novel brought to the big screen and what his much anticipated upcoming novel is all about.

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From the Service95 Book Club archive this month, we’re bringing you Dua’s May 2025 interview with Mexican author Guadalupe Nettel, on her novel Still Born.

Set in Mexico City, friends Alina and Laura are united in their decision to be childfree, refusing to fall into a trap of the patriarchy. When Alina changes her mind, their friendship doesn’t fracture – it deepens, becoming more vital than ever.

Alina’s life is upended when she receives a devastating medical diagnosis for her baby daughter. This is a story that doesn’t shy away from the complexities of raising a child with profound disabilities. But it also celebrates the transformative experience of caregiving, including for chosen family like Laura.

In their conversation, Guadalupe and Dua discuss how giving birth is not the only way to be a mother, “you can also be an adoptive mother; you can also be a stepmother or a mother for a little while. Motherhood is also more like an attitude and not only a title that you get.”

If you are dealing with any of the issues tackled in the book, please explore this story at your own pace.

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For the Service95 Book Club this month, Dua is joined by award-winning poet and novelist Kaveh Akbar to discuss his debut novel – and Dua’s Monthly Read for September – Martyr!, a poignant and generous exploration of addiction, identity, art and exile.

At the heart of the novel is Cyrus Shams, a newly sober poet struggling to find his footing in life while reckoning with the loss of his mother decades earlier. Together, Dua and Kaveh explore Cyrus’ grief, addiction and search for a sense of place, as well as the real-life events woven into the novel and the power of fiction to bring the human consequences of history into focus. They also discuss Kaveh’s philosophy on art, his journey from poetry into fiction and his friendship with fellow author Tommy Orange, which shaped his writing rituals.

Whether you’ve read Martyr!, plan to, or still need convincing, this is a conversation worth listening to. Rich, illuminating and deeply human, it’s a conversation about life, death and how we make sense of everything that happens in between.

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From the archives: Dua Lipa’s April 2025 conversation with author Max Porter on his novel Grief Is The Thing With Feathers.

In this lyrical, surreal meditation on loss – in which a crow guides a father and his sons through the grief of losing their wife and mother – Max Porter tears up the rule book of what a novel should be.

Throughout the episode, Dua and Max discuss his playful approach to novel writing – particularly its experimental form and the impact of Crow. “The thing about Crow is that he’s yours to make your own mind up about,” says Max. “Someone once said, ‘Oh, yeah, I get it, he’s a metaphor for grief.’ And that is one interpretation of him. He’s also real. He’s also a study of care. He’s also their babysitter. He’s also a study of domesticity. I hope he’s also a joke.”

Expect a conversation about grief, love and what it means to care. And look out for a very special cameo partway through…

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For her August Service95 Book Club interview, Dua Lipa is joined by author Madeline Cash to discuss her breakthrough debut novel, Lost Lambs. Set in an unremarkable American suburb, the story follows the Flynn family, who are on the brink of unravelling: parents Bud and Catherine are trying to make an open marriage work while their three daughters each test the limits of adolescence. Holding a funhouse mirror up to contemporary America, the novel is at once laugh-out-loud funny, hyper-real and thought-provoking. Dua and Madeline’s conversation follows suit. Together, they explore the strange contradictions of modern life, from religion and conspiracy theories to beauty, identity and why so many of us continue searching for meaning even when our lives look exactly as we’re told they should. They also delve into Madeline’s meticulous world-building, the inspiration beneath her most eccentric characters and why the novel’s most absurd moments often feel closest to the truth. Watch (or listen to) the full conversation to discover why Lost Lambs is Dua’s August Monthly Read for the Service95 Book Club. Join the club: 📩 Email us your thoughts – books@service95.com 📲 Follow @service95bookclub and @service95 on Instagram for more 📚 Subscribe to the Service95 Book Club newsletter – and be the first to discover Dua’s next pick – at ⁠https://www.service95.com⁠ And don’t forget to hit ‘subscribe’ wherever you get your podcasts.

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From the Service95 Book Club archives, this episode from March 2025 sees Dua sit down with Tommy Orange to discuss There There – his powerful novel that follows 12 Native Americans whose lives converge at the Big Oakland Powwow.

Dua and Tommy trace the histories often omitted from America’s national story and talk about what fiction can do that history books alone cannot. Tommy reflects on the real-life events that inspired the novel, including the 1969 to 1971 occupation of Alcatraz and the Standing Rock protests, and how those moments found their way into his characters.

He describes personal experiences woven into the book through the character of Thomas Frank, and explains why he left the novels ending unresolved, handing the reader the job of imagining what comes next.

It’s a story of identity, belonging, inherited trauma and resilience – and a conversation you’ll think about long after hearing it.

Join the club:

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For her July Service95 Book Club interview, Dua Lipa is joined by award-winning author and academic Lea Ypi to discuss Free, Lea’s internationally acclaimed memoir, which recounts her childhood in Albania during the collapse of communism.

From hidden family histories and state surveillance to protest and modern-day Albania, Dua and Lea explore how political systems continue to shape individual lives, collective memory and the country’s evolving identity, returning to the question at the heart of the book: what does it really mean to be free?

Watch (or listen to) the full conversation here to delve deeper into Free, Dua Lipa’s Monthly Read for the Service95 Book Club.

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From the archives this month: Dua’s February 2025 conversation with Irish author Paul Murray, on his novel The Bee Sting.

An epic family saga set in contemporary Ireland, the novel follows the Barnes family through financial collapse, fractured relationships and the secrets that have shaped their lives across generations.

Paul talks about growing up in 1990s Ireland, a country deeply influenced by the Catholic Church and its conservative values, and how that environment dictated what people could or couldn’t say about themselves.

He and Dua discuss the loneliness of adolescence, the ‘friendships’ that define those years and the difficulty of leaving behind relationships that no longer serve you.

They also get into the novel’s unforgettable ending and the case for ambiguity in storytelling. Paul draws on Twin Peaks and why David Lynch’s unanswered questions can sometimes be more compelling than definitive answers.

Expect a conversation about family, identity, secrecy and the stories we tell ourselves to survive.

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For the Service95 Book Club this month, Dua is joined by writer, poet, playwright and musician Kae Tempest to discuss his latest novel, Having Spent Life Seeking, which is Dua’s Monthly Read for June.

Together, Dua and Kae explore the novel’s core themes: forgiveness and atonement, the instability of home when both the person and the place have changed, and the difficult process of becoming fully ‘alive’ again after years spent disconnected from the world. At the centre of their discussion is Rothko, a character Kae describes as “dislocated from life”, alongside the novel’s wider cast, each carrying their own desires, wounds and ways of surviving.

Kae also reflects on his immersive writing process, describing characters less as inventions than people he has spent years getting to know. The conversation moves through addiction, shame, creativity, identity and the role of art as a means of processing experience and remaining open to the world.

Watch (or listen to) the full conversation here to dive deeper into Having Spent Life Seeking, Dua Lipa’s Monthly Read for the Service95 Book Club.

Join the club:

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From the archives this month, we revisit Dua’s conversation with Malorie Blackman, the former Children’s Laureate and author of the groundbreaking young adult series Noughts & Crosses.

The novel follows Callum and Sephy, childhood friends growing up on opposite sides of a violently segregated society, where the ruling Crosses hold power over the oppressed Noughts.

More than 20 years after its release, Dua and Malorie discuss Noughts & Crosses’ lasting impact and why its themes of inequality, identity and division remain so relevant today. Together, they explore the lived experiences and inspirations behind the novel, as well as touching on the role of language, prejudice and storytelling, as well as how fiction can challenge the way we see one another.

Tune into the full conversation above.

Join the club:

📩 Email us your thoughts – books@service95.com

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For her May Service95 Book Club interview, Dua Lipa is joined by one of Ireland’s most celebrated short story writers, Claire Keegan.

Together, they explore Keegan’s powerful read So Late In The Day: a sharp, unsettling portrait of a man whose lack of generosity towards his fiancée gradually reveals the often quiet yet destructive nature of modern misogyny.

Dua and Claire unpack the story’s subtle details, discussing how the author’s experiences as a woman living in Ireland helped to shape the narrative, and how – in a book that takes less than an hour to read – she captures an unsettling dynamic that resonates in relationships worldwide.

There’s also a special bonus for dog lovers: keep watching for a charming appearance from a four-legged guest…

Join the club:

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From the archives this month, we bring you Dua’s conversation with Polish-German author Tomasz Jedrowski, author of Swimming In The Dark.

Set in 1980, it’s a story of first love between Ludwig and Janus, told against the backdrop of communist Poland as the regime starts to crumble.

This queer coming of age story explores a time and place where love, class and politics do not exist in isolation. The communist party looms large in this story, impacting both professional and personal relationships.

Dua and Tomasz reflect on what might have been if their parents had not made the choices they did. Tomasz asks what life would have been like for a young gay man in Warsaw in his parents’ generation and Dua imagines growing up in Kosovo under the shadow of war.

It’s an intimate and beautiful conversation that illuminates a turbulent period of recent history that many people today know little about.

Join the club:

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In this episode of the Service95 Book Club With Dua Lipa, we’re passing the mic back to you. Dua put your questions to Jez Butterworth about her April Monthly Read, Jerusalem – and here, he answers them.

Jez traces the play’s origins back to New Year’s Eve 2000, explains how it came to find its name and goes inside his writing process: what tends to come first, which scene he found most difficult to write and the unique rituals that shape his writing.

Watch (or listen to) the full conversation to go deeper into Jerusalem, Dua Lipa’s April read for the Service95 Book Club.

Join the club:

📩 Email us your thoughts – books@service95.com

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For the April edition of the Service95 Book Club, Dua Lipa sits down with playwright Jez Butterworth to discuss his modern masterpiece, Jerusalem. If you’ve never read a play before, this is the place to start.

With its raw, visceral portrait of myth, rebellion and a nation wrestling with its own identity, it’s widely regarded as one of the greatest British plays of the 21st century.

In this special video, Jez Butterworth reads a powerful excerpt from the play featuring Johnny ‘Rooster’ Byron dispensing life advice to his young son Marky – a rare father-son moment filled with folklore and the wild inheritance of blood and belonging. “It was, at that point in 2009, the hardest thing I’d ever attempted to write… It was a massive challenge for me,” says Jez of the passage.

Jerusalem blurs the line between truth and myth, capturing Rooster’s attempt to pass down something larger than himself; an inheritance of wildness, belonging and belief.

If you haven’t already, be sure to catch Dua and Jez’s full interview, too, available to watch now here.

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📩 Email us your thoughts – ⁠books@service95.com⁠

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For April, Dua has chosen Service95’s first play: Jerusalem by award-winning British playwright Jez Butterworth. He’s widely regarded as one of the leading voices in contemporary theatre – with this conversation with Dua showing exactly what that reputation is built on.

Here, Dua and Jez trace the creative forces behind Jerusalem, which unfolds across a single day in a fictional rural English village and centres on the anarchic Johnny ‘Rooster’ Byron as he resists eviction from the woodland clearing he calls home.

The conversation begins with the real figures and encounters that shaped the play’s characters, before turning to Jez’s instinctive approach to writing and the ideas that underpin Jerusalem. Together, they consider the play’s elusive staying power; as Jez puts it, it lingers like “a great song that you can never work out the meaning of”.

Jerusalem is an exploration of belonging: who is permitted to remain, and who is forced out.

Join the club:

📩 Email us your thoughts – books@service95.com

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From the archives this month, we bring you Dua’s conversation with Nigerian author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie on her multi award-winning novel Half Of A Yellow Sun from August 2023.

Dua says: “The story takes place in 1960s Nigeria, both before and during the Nigerian Civil War, also known as the Biafran War. If this is a period of history you are not familiar with, don’t worry, you are not alone. Chimamanda skilfully balances truth and fiction, giving a gripping sense of what was at stake for those who lived through the war and granting this travesty the attention it deserves.”

Together, Dua and Chimamanda explore the cast of characters, delving into themes of class, colonialism, politics and conflict. They also discuss how the novel’s parallel love stories – between Olanna and Odenigbo, and Kainene and Richard – remind us that love, jealousy, infidelity and forgiveness are as present in war as they are in peace.

Buy the book at Bookshop.org, Waterstones and Barnes & Noble

Join the club:

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In this episode of the Service95 Book Club With Dua Lipa, she passes the mic to members of our community, inviting them to ask Roxane Gay, author of Dua’s Monthly Read for March, Bad Feminist, the questions they’ve always wanted to know.

Roxane talks about the writers who shaped her, how she protects her mental health when her work puts her in the crosshairs and why firm boundaries make honest writing possible. Perhaps most importantly, Roxane answers one of the weightier questions of our time: can literature ignite a revolution?

Get in touch:

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