Book Riot - The Podcast
Episodes
The Best Books of the 21st Century
15 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Rebecca and Book Riot managing editor Vanessa Diaz discuss the NYT's 100 books of the 21st century, sexual assault allegations against Neil Gaiman, di...
Book Riot Editors Pick Their Favorite Books of 2024 So Far
10 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
With Jeff and Rebecca hither and yon, we asked our editors to drop in and talk about their favorite books of the year so far. Subscribe to the podcas...
ALA Takeaways, B&N Foot Traffic Surges, Library Hold Stats, and more
08 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Jeff tells Rebecca about his trip to the American Library Association Annual Convention before a discussion of listener feedback, B&N getting more peo...
The It Books of July 2024
03 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Jeff and Rebecca go through 10 contenders to pick the It Book of July. Subscribe to the podcast via RSS, Apple Podcasts, and Spotify. For more indus...
Our Favorite Books of 2024 So Far [Teaser]
02 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Jeff and Rebecca tally up their favorite reads of the year so far. Yes, James is at the top of the list. Join us on Patreon for access to early, ad-...
JAMES Adaptation News, Wither Political Memoirs, Frieda McFadden Is Here To Low-Key Dominate Book Sales, and More
01 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Jeff and Rebecca talk about a mixed bag of topics this week: James getting a major adaptation deal, Hilary Clinton is publishing a new mem.....YAWN, a...
The Books of the Year...So Far
26 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Jeff and Rebecca look back at their It Book selections so far, see what they got right and wrong, and then talk about which books have been the books ...
Barnes & Noble Buys a Beloved Indie, Book Sales are Way Up, Real Data on Diversity in Published Books, and more.
24 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Jeff and Rebecca dive into an extremely busy week of book news. Barnes & Noble buys Tattered Cover. April book sales are up so much it's hard to belie...
The Most Interesting People in the Publishing World
19 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Jeff and Rebecca talk about the people they think are doing the most interesting stuff in the world of books (less writing, more making of the books y...
Book Club: EXHIBIT by R.O. Kwon [Teaser]
18 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Jeff and Rebecca discuss one of the most anticipated books of the season, Exhibit by R.O. Kwon. Join us on Patreon for access to early, ad-free listen...
What Are Being Called The Best Books of the Year...So Far?
17 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Jeff and Rebecca talk about Jeff's breakdown of a bunch of Best of 2024 So Far lists, dive into a listener-created spreadsheet of It Books, talk about...
Power Ranking The Books of 2014
12 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Jeff and Rebecca rank the 10 most important, lasting, and otherwise notable books from 2014. Subscribe to the podcast via RSS, Apple Podcasts, and Sp...
Our Literary Body Swap Wishlist [Teaser]
11 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Jeff and Rebecca get a little unhinged imagining some of their favorite authors trying out each others' styles. Join us on Patreon for access to early...
The Season of "Best Books of The Year...So Far" Has Begun, Costco Scaling Back Book Sales, Reese Grabs the Apple Bag, and more.
10 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Jeff and Rebecca discuss Barnes & Noble's list of the Best Books of the Year (So Far), dissect Costco's new book-selling strategy, wonder about the pr...
The "It" Books of June
05 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Jeff and Rebecca decide what the "it" book of June is. Twice. Subscribe to the podcast via RSS, Apple Podcasts, and Spotify. For more industry news, ...
Adaptation Nation: THE REMAINS OF THE DAY [Teaser]
04 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Jeff and Rebecca mark the 35th anniversary of Kazuo Ishiguro's THE REMAINS OF THE DAY by revisiting the novel and the 1993 adaptation. Join us on patr...
How is Publishing Doing?
03 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Jeff and Rebecca talk about Rebecca's recent visit to a big industry conference, a couple of notable publishing world dismissals, Dune, recent reading...
What is a Dad Book? Towards a New Theory (with Recommendations)
29 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Jeff and Rebecca talk about what a dad book is, what it isn't, and what it could be. Then, they give some recommendations that best represent the Dad ...
BRIDGERTON Season 3
22 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Managing Editor Vanessa Diaz is joined by Jess Pryde of When in Romance to discuss the third season of Netflix's Bridgerton adaptation. Subscribe to ...
The Surprising Origins of Publishing's Seasons
20 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Rebecca and Book Riot's managing editor, Vanessa Diaz, discuss the surprising, boring origins of publishing's seasons, Ken Follett's big move, and mor...
Deals, Deals, Deals: May 2024 [teaser]
17 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Jeff and Rebecca review some of the most interesting and exciting book deal announcements from the last few months. Join us on Patreon for access to e...
Gone Girl
15 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
To mark the 10th anniversary of the Gone Girl movie, and the 12th anniversary of the book's original publication, we're rerunning our Adaptation Natio...
The Last of the Recommendation Responses, KNIFE by Salman Rushdie, and more
13 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Jeff and Rebecca finish off the season's recommendation requests, talk about Salman Rushdie's Knife, answer a few mailbag questions, and more. Subscri...
The 2024 Pulitzer Winners & Part 2 of Moms, Dads, and Grads Recommendations
08 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Jeff and Rebecca spend a few minutes talking about yesterday's announcement of the 2024 Pulitzer prizes before getting into more book recommendations ...
The Summer 2024 New Release Draft [Teaser]
07 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Jeff and Rebecca compete to create the best collection of 10 upcoming releases. Join us on Patreon for access to early, ad-free listening and premium ...
2024 Moms, Dads, and Grads Recommendation Extravaganza, Part 1
06 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Part 1 of our 2024 Moms, Dads, and Grads Recommendation Extravaganza, in which Jeff and Rebecca answer listener book recommendations requests. Subscri...
"It Book" Knockout Round for May 2024
01 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Jeff and Rebecca try to figure out what the "it book" of May 2024 will be. Subscribe to the podcast via RSS, Apple Podcasts, and Spotify. For more ind...
Parenting Books, CRAZY RICH ASIANS as a Musical, and We Want to Know the Fate of the Mouse
29 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Sharifah joins Jeff to talk about parenting books, recent reading, adaptation news, and a scheme involving QR codes that it just might work. Subscrib...
Looking at Bookish Social Media With Fresh Eyes [Updated]
24 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Jeff checks in with Rebecca about re-entering, to a degree, the world of bookish social media. Subscribe to the podcast via RSS, Apple Podcasts, and ...
The Best-Selling Books of the Year So Far, UK Covers on Sale in the US, and More.
22 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Jeff and Rebecca talk about the best-selling books of the year so far, a variety of bookstore related mysteries, recent reading, and more. Subscribe t...
Summer Adaptation Preview
17 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Rebecca and Jeff look ahead to notable summer adaptations, including Bridgerton, Dark Matter, House of the Dragon, and more. Subscribe to the podcast ...
Selling UK Covers in the US? Plus: a PLA report, JAMES is legit, and more.
15 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Jeff and Rebecca talk about some recent book-related travel things, do some quick adulation of James, and much more. Subscribe to the podcast via RSS...
Shogun, 3 Body Problem, Masters of the Air, A Gentleman in Moscow, Ripley...and Dune 2
10 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Jeff and Rebecca check in with a selection of recent streaming adaptations (Shogun, 3 Body Problem, Masters of the Air, A Gentleman in Moscow, Ripley)...
Book Design, Spotify Rate Rumors, a New Museum of Children's Literature, and more
08 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Sharifah Williams joins Jeff to talk about fonts of all things, plus what's going on with Spotify, the tough media landscape, and more. Subscribe to ...
The "It" Books of April
03 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Jeff and Rebecca talk about the "it" books of the month. And struggle to pronounce Amor Towles. Subscribe to the podcast via RSS, Apple Podcasts, and ...
The Best TV Shows of the 21st Century [Teaser]
01 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Jeff and Rebecca discuss the idea of prestige TV as the literary fiction of visual media, dissect The Hollywood Reporter's list of the 50 best shows o...
Notes from a Reconnaissance Mission Into the State of Publishing
01 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
After noting the passing of Daniel Kahneman, Jeff debriefs Rebecca on his most recent round of discussions with the publishing world. Subscribe to the...
Underrated Authors
27 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Jeff and Rebecca talk about authors they think are underrated. Even if only a little. Subscribe to the podcast via RSS, Apple Podcasts, and Spotify. ...
Our Media Diets [Teaser]
26 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Jeff and Rebecca walk through their non-book media diets. Join us on Patreon for access to early, ad-free listening and bonus episodes. patreon.com/bo...
The NICKEL BOYS Adaptation, DC to Honor the First Trans Superhero, and a Basket of Book Banning News
25 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Book Riot's managing editor Vanessa Diaz joins Rebecca to discuss an upcoming adaptation of Colson Whitehead's The Nickel Boys, the National Book Foun...
People Will Come, Ray
20 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Jeff is away this week, so in honor of baseball season getting underway, we are rerunning our episode in which Jeff and Rebecca talk about Field of Dr...
Our Insta-Buy Authors [Teaser]
18 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Jeff and Rebecca try to guess which authors appear on each other's "insta-buy" lists. Join us on Patreon for access to early, ad-free listening and b...
It's Time for Publishers to Tell the Truth About Posthumously Published Books
18 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Jeff and Rebecca talk about publishers misrepresenting posthumous books, Jeff's Q&A with Authors Equity CEO Madeline McIntosh, RuPaul's Allstora backt...
AMERICAN FICTION and Seeing The Book World On Screen and On the Page
13 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
On the occasion of Cord Jefferson's Best Adapted Screenplay win, Jeff and Rebecca talk about their favorite books, movies, and TV shows set in the wor...
A New Store and a New Publisher Both Trying to Reslice The Bookselling Pie
11 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Book Riot editor Danika Ellis joins Jeff to talk about Allstore (a new online bookstore) and Authors Equity (a new publisher) coming at the same targe...
Who Will Win Best Adapted Screenplay?
06 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Jeff and Rebecca try to predict the most literary Oscar. Subscribe to the podcast via RSS, Apple Podcasts, and Spotify. For more industry news, sign ...
Bookshop.org Is Audiobooks Curious, Ward Re-Ups, the State of Culture in 2024 & More
04 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Jeff and Rebecca note a customer survey Bookshop.org sent to customers about their audiobook habits, decide no-new news is good news as Jesmyn Ward st...
Book Club: The Book of Love by Kelly Link [bonus]
01 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Jeff and Rebecca discuss Kelly Link's debut novel, The Book of Love. Join us on Patreon for access to early, ad-free listening and bonus episodes: ht...
The "It" Books of March
28 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Jeff and Rebecca pick the "it" book of March. Subscribe to the podcast via RSS, Apple Podcasts, and Spotify. For more industry news, sign up for our T...
Deals, Deals Deals: February 2024 [teaser]
27 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Jeff and Rebecca review some of the most interesting book deal announcements from the last few months. Join us on Patreon for access to early, ad-fre...
Simon & Schuster's Odyssey Isn't Over, National Book Awards Open Up, and More
26 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Jeff and Rebecca talk about LeVar Burton's book deal, opening up the National Book Awards, book banning news, and why no one should think this is the ...
Talking DUNE
21 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
We are re-running an episode from our short-run podcast series Adaptation Nation on Dune, covering Frank Herbert's novel and what turned out to be par...
Listener Mailbag & Personalized Recommendations [Teaser]
20 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Jeff and Rebecca dive into general questions from listeners and offer personalized recommendations, including whether any F. Scott Fitzgerald books ar...
Coincidences, Adaptations, and Recent Reading
19 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Jeff and Rebecca discuss some good listener feedback on coincidences before running through a bunch of adaptation news and then talking about recent m...
The Best Adaptations of Romances & Love Stories
14 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Vanessa Diaz joins Rebecca for a conversation about the best movies adapted from romances and love stories, the ones that are due for a remake, and a ...
Be Back Soon
12 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Join us over on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/bookriotpodcast Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Checking in on the World of Romance
07 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Trisha Brown and Jess Pryde, hosts of When in Romance, join Jeff to talk about what's going on in the world of romance: what's changed over the last t...
A Clandestine Texas Bookshelf, Argylle Fizzles, Spotify's Audiobook Royalties, and a Farewell to N. Scott Momaday
05 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Jeff and Rebecca take a moment to mark the death of N. Scott Momaday, do a post-mortem on the Argylle 'intrigue," pitch a movie based on a secret bann...
February "It Book" Knockout Round
31 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
After a ho-hum January slate of new releases, Jeff and Rebecca are back to working their way through a much stronger slate of It Book candidates. Sub...
Adapted Screenplay Nominees, Big 5 Really Just as Big, NBCC Award Finalists, and more
29 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Jeff and Rebecca helpfully wade into the Adapted Screenplay Discourse, question framing 2023 as anything other than dominance for the Big 5, peruse th...
THE INTUITIONIST at 25 [Teaser]
26 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
On the occasion of the 25th anniversary of The Intuitionist, Jeff and Rebecca dive deep on Colson Whitehead's debut novel. Join us on Patreon for acce...
Winter/Spring 2024 Adaptation Preview
24 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Jeff and Rebecca talk about notable adaptations coming out over the next few months. Subscribe to the podcast via RSS, Apple Podcasts, and Spotify. Fo...
Circuit Court Declares Texas Book Ban Law Unconstitutional, Barnes & Noble Opening New Stores, LA Public Library Buys a Publishing House, and more
22 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Jeff and Rebecca talk about some good legal news, B&N's announced plans to open 50 new stores, quashing (and starting?) some Argylle authorship rumors...
What Are the 50 Hottest Books of the Moment? [Teaser]
19 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Jeff and Rebecca check in on the Hot 50, their running list of the biggest/buzziest/most acclaimed books in the zeitgeist. Join us on Patreon for ac...
Power Ranking the Books of 2019
17 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Jeff and Rebecca try to power rank the top books of 2019. Subscribe to the podcast via RSS, Apple Podcasts, and Spotify. For more industry news, sign...
The Most Popular Books of the Last 10 years, a Keanu Reeves/China Mieville Team-Up, Banning Dictionaries, and Being Dumb about Oprah, and More
15 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Jeff and Rebecca kick themselves for not seeing the obvious reason Oprah might be stumping extra-hard for The Covenant of Water, marvel at Keanu Reeve...
Our Most Anticipated Books of 2024 (The First Bit of It, At Least)
10 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Jeff and Rebecca run through some of their personally most-anticipated books of the first-ish half of 2024. Plus, they have some other Book Riot edito...
Obama's Favorite Books of 2023, Iowa Book Banning Law Partially Stopped, Recent Reading, and more.
08 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Jeff O'Neal and Rebecca Schinksy talk about Obama's favorite books of 2023, the best-selling books of 2023 in the U.S., some good news in Iowa, our wi...
The Winter 2024 New Release Draft [Teaser]
05 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Jeff O'Neal and Rebecca Schinsky compete to draft the best selection of 10 new and upcoming releases. Join us on Patreon for ad-free listening and pre...
January 2024 "It Book" Knockout Round
03 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Jeff O'Neal and Rebecca Schinsky choose the "it book" of January 2024 from a roster of 10 finalists. Subscribe to the podcast via RSS, Apple Podcasts,...
The Best of the Rest 2023 [Teaser]
19 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Jeff and Rebecca share the movies, TV, podcasts, and other non-book highlights of the year. Join us on Patreon for ad-free listening and premium con...
The Year in Review
18 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Jeff and Rebecca look at the most important, memorable, strangest, and all and all most superlative stories from the year in books and reading. Subsc...
Bonus: The Books We Missed This Year [Teaser]
12 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Jeff and Rebecca run through the books they had their eyes on but didn't quite get to this year. Subscribe to premium content on Patreon to hear the...
Wrapping Up Holiday Recommendation Requests & Our Most Giftable Books of the Year
11 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Jeff and Rebecca handle a few last recommendation requests and then give some ideas for generally giftable books for 2023. Subscribe to the podcast v...
Bonus: Our Favorite Books of 2023 [Teaser]
05 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Rebecca and Jeff run down their favorite books of 2023 and a few highlights from backlist reading. Listen to the full episode and see our full list o...
Holiday Recommendation Show, Part 2
04 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Jeff and Rebecca wrap up their annual holiday recommendation extravaganza. Subscribe to the podcast via RSS, Apple Podcasts, and Spotify. For more in...
2023 Holiday Recommendation Show, Part 1
27 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Jeff and Rebecca respond to listener book recommendation requests. Subscribe to the podcast via RSS, Apple Podcasts, and Spotify. For more industry ne...
The Prepositional Phrase After Trickle
20 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Jeff and Rebecca talk Amazon's best books of the year, The National Book Award winners, Goodreads Choice Award nominees, and much more. Subscribe to t...
Inclusive Insider Baseball
13 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Jeff and Rebecca talk about Barnes & Noble's finalists for Book of the Year, a treasure trove of literary awards data, the stunning catalog of audiobo...
Pop Diva Rumspringa
06 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Jeff and Rebecca talk about the sales numbers for The Woman in Me, PW's best books of the year list, the Fourth Wing adaptation announcement, and more...
Speaking of Therapy
30 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Rebecca and Jenn Northington discuss Scholastic's decision to walk back the plan to silo diverse books, BookTok's takedown of a Taylor-Travis fanfic, ...
The Starving Caterpillar
23 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Jeff and Rebecca talk about the celebrity memoir boomlet, Levar Burton hosting the National Book Awards, renovating Barnes & Noble, Scholastic separat...
Mental Tattoos. They're Called Memories.
16 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Jeff and Rebecca discuss listener feedback about Spotify audiobooks & the mystery Nov 7th Red Tower release, several interesting book announcements, r...
Saying Goodbye to Louise Glück
13 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
American poet and 2020 Nobel Laureate Louise Glück has passed away. She was something of a house favorite here, so we thought we'd share a rebroadcas...
The Most Impossible Single Task of Literary Discernment
09 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Jeff and Rebecca talk about the honoree of the 2023 Nobel Prize in literature, the National Book Award finalists, free audiobooks coming to Spotify su...
A New Thing Under the Sun
02 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Jeff and Rebecca talk about Book3 (and reactions to it), a survey about what libraries think of book bans, the U.S. suing Amazon, and more. Subscribe ...
Borrowed and Banned
29 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
As an extra for you this week, we are delighted to share the first episode of Borrowed and Banned, a new podcast made by our friends at the Brooklyn P...
Homer Was On One
25 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Jeff and Rebecca talk about the National Book Award for Fiction longlist, a bunch of red states leaving the American Library Association, a teacher ge...
Time For Bed
18 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Jeff and Rebecca talk about a bunch of recent reading, Drew Barrymore getting booted from the National Book Awards, and I guess that pretty much cover...
Nexuses of Attention
11 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Jenn Northington joins Jeff to talk about book blurbs, book sales, and the fundamental tension of Goodreads. Subscribe to the podcast via RSS, Apple P...
Do You Think the Books are Fine?
03 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Jeff and Rebecca talk early 2023 prize lists, Jeff's trip to the UK, recent reading, and more. Subscribe to the podcast via RSS, Apple Podcasts, and S...
Guest Post: Modern Indie Bookselling with Josh Cook
28 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Jeff and Rebecca are out this week, wrapping up the last bits of summer vacation, so we are dropping Jeff's recent interview on First Edition with Jos...
It's All Connected
21 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Kelly Jensen joins Rebecca to discuss a bummer-fest of book banning news, some truly absurd behavior in Texas, and Jay-Z's partnership with the Brookl...
The Internet's Disappointed Mom
14 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Rebecca and Vanessa talk about a trio of AI-related publishing shenanigans, the private equity firm that bought Simon & Schuster, and a cringey moment...
Pass the Grudge Around
07 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Jeff and Rebecca end up spending most of this episode talking about a new publishing company that is cutting influencers in on the action. For more in...
Ninth in the Line of Cultural Currency
31 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Jeff and Rebecca spend a long time talking about how the sheer quantity of books published is the central issue in book publishing. Plus, they hit a c...
UPDATED: The Ladder of Pockets
24 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Jeff and Rebecca talk about the best-selling books of 2023, Obama's summer reading list, The Covenant of Water, and much more. Follow the podcast via ...
Beneficent Ben
17 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Jeff and Rebecca talk recent book banning developments, why book awards need to change their calendars, recent reading, and more. Follow the podcast v...
Both Eyebrows Raised, But in Different Directions
10 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Jeff and Rebecca talk about #booktwitter, do a little "book of the year" talk, wonder about how all-in Oprah is on THE COVENANT OF WATER, novelists su...
You Are Your Own Lottery Ticket
03 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Jeff and Rebecca talk Obama declaring once and for all (?) that he does read the books he says he does. Also, a discussion of the realities of author ...