Here are the answers to the most commonly-asked questions about the Shedunnit Book Club. To jump to questions for existing members click here.

If you need more help or have a question that isn't answered here, please don’t hesitate to contact the Book Club’s membership co-ordinator CC McLoughlin on connor@shedunnitshow.com, who will be able to answer any further queries or help with your membership.

Questions if you are considering joining

Who are you?

I’m Caroline Crampton, the host and producer of Shedunnit. You can find out more about me here.

What is the Shedunnit Book Club?

The book club is a community that runs alongside the podcast, and the main way I’m able to support it financially. If you’ve ever supported a creator on Patreon or via Kickstarter, it’s a similar thing — except it all runs from within this website rather than using a third party service.

What do I get as a member?

The full benefits for each membership level are laid out here, but in brief: access to the book club forum, where we discuss a different detective novel every month, as well as all the full library of bonus episodes (of which there are now over a hundred). At the higher levels, you get audiobooks too, where I read mystery short stories. Plus, of course, you’ll have the satisfaction of knowing you are supporting an independent production.

Why should I join?

If you already like the main podcast, joining the club is a way of getting more content. You will also be joining an active community of likeminded readers and helping the podcast out financially, ensuring that I’m able to keep making new episodes. If you don't want extra content or access to the community, you can join just as a way of supporting the show financially.

What if I’d like to contribute, but I don’t want to take part in the club?

That’s fine — you can be a “silent member”, where you join but choose not to take part in the forum discussions, or you can make a one off donation instead.

Why are the prices in pounds sterling? I don’t live in Britain!

I am based in the UK, and for administrative reasons I have to run the club in my own currency. However, you can join from anywhere in the world and the payment will show up in your currency on your statements. I use the Ghost platform to run memberships and it processes payments in Stripe. If you’re worried about exchange rates or potential transaction fees on your end, I recommend contacting your bank or credit card provider in advance of joining to inquire.

What books has the club already read? I might have read them all already!

You can see a full list of books the club has read here. Plenty of members are very well read, but enjoy rereading books with the community.

When and how is the monthly book chosen?

Members propose books that they would like to read together or themes they would like to explore. Every month I put together a shortlist of five books from these suggestions, and members have a week to vote in the forum for their favourite. We read the winning book. I post the poll about ten weeks ahead of the month in which we will read the book — so in mid September we vote for the book we’ll read in December, and so on.

I live in a different timezone to you. How will I take part in the book club?

None of the club's activities happen on a rigid timetable. Everything is deliberately asynchronous so people can take part when suits them. The main home for the book club is a Discourse forum, and that’s where the monthly book discussions take place. I open the thread for the book on the last day of the month, and then members are free to weigh in whenever they want after that, so there’s no need to be available at a particular time and you can’t miss out on anything (everyone’s contributions so far will be there for you to read the next time you log in to the forum). Members add to threads for previous books as they read them, and there’s even a group of newer members who are going back through the club’s previous reading list together month by month at the moment. It's all deliberately relaxed and nobody is under any pressure to read anything by a particular date or show up for a live gathering at a set time.

Questions for existing members

How do I access the bonus episodes?

You have three options: you can set up your personal private RSS feed in your podcast app of choice, you can receive a link to each new episode via email, or you can log into the book club website and listen in your browser.

Most members choose the RSS feed option, so we automatically send an email with a link that will set that up to the address you used when you joined the club. If you can't see it, have a look in your spam folder or search your inbox for the subject line "The Shedunnit Book Club Podcast Feed". If it isn't there or you suspect there was a typo in your address when you signed up, contact our membership co-ordinator CC on connor@shedunnitshow.com, and they will arrange to correct or resend it. Once you have the email, open it on the device you want to use to listen (eg your phone or tablet) and click the button that says "Listen in your favourite podcast listening app". From there, you can choose your podcast app from the list to automatically open the show there or copy the RSS feed to add to your app manually if you don't see its icon. Once you're seeing the list of episodes in your app, click "follow" or "subscribe" (language varies between apps) to save the feed and have each new episode delivered to you there.

If you prefer to have a link to each episode delivered to you by email, you don't need to do anything — lots of members like this so we have it switched on by default. Every time a new bonus episode is published (about three times a month) you will receive an email alert to the address you used when you joined the club. Open it and click on the button that says "Play the latest episode in your browser". This will take you straight to a webpage where you can click play on the episode and browse the shownotes for it. At the bottom of that page is a link to "view more episodes" so you can browse the full catalogue if you wish. If you decide you don't want to receive an email alert for every new episode anymore, there is an "unsubscribe" link at the bottom of every episode you receive: click this and you won't receive another one. Your Shedunnit Book Club subscription will continue, you just won't receive email alerts for new episodes.

To listen via the book club website, log in at shedunnitshow.com, and then use the menu at the top to navigate to "Book Club". There you'll see a list of episode titles. You can click on each one and use the player embedded on the page to play the episode. If you know the title of the episode you want, you can also use the search function on the top right of the website to find it.

How do I access the forum?

Log in to your account at shedunnitshow.com, and then use the menu at the top to navigate to "Book Club". There, you can click the "Forum" link at the top. Alternatively, bookmark the web address forum.shedunnitshow.com and as long as you remain logged in on your device, you will be able to go straight there.

How do I change or cancel my subscription?

Log in to your account at shedunnitshow.com, and then navigate to your account by clicking the "account" button in the top right or using this link. From there you can change your subscription level, update your card details, change your email address or cancel your subscription. If you need help with any of this, please contact the Book Club’s membership co-ordinator CC McLoughlin on connor@shedunnitshow.com.

How do I control what emails I receive?

Log in to your account at shedunnitshow.com, and then navigate to your account by clicking the "account" button in the top right or using this link. Click "manage" next to the "newsletters" option in the list and toggle on or off which emails you receive, or choose the "unsubscribe from all" option.