Book Riot - The Podcast

Jeff, Rebecca, and Vanessa talk about Katabasis by R.F. Kuang. Spoiler-free discussion for the first bit, with warning when we wade into deeper plot waters. Subscribe to the podcast via RSS, Apple Podcasts, and Spotify. Sign up for the Book Riot Podcast Newsletter and follow the show on Instagram and Bluesky. Get more industry news with our Today in Books daily newsletter. Ready for a cozy, bookish autumn? Let Tailored Book Recommendations help you find your next favorite read with handpicked suggestions from professional book nerds. Get started today from just $18! Use code BOOKRIOT to get an exclusive 60% off an annual Incogni plan at https://incogni.com/bookriot This content contains affiliate links. When you buy through these links, we may earn an affiliate commission. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jeff and Rebecca talk about a big new survey of American reading habits, the Polari Prize closing up shop for the year, Katabasis getting an adaptation, ghost-written vanity memoirs, and more. Subscribe to the podcast via RSS, Apple Podcasts, and Spotify. Sign up for the Book Riot Podcast Newsletter and follow the show on Instagram and Bluesky. Get more industry news with our Today in Books daily newsletter. Ready for a cozy, bookish autumn? Let Tailored Book Recommendations help you find your next favorite read with handpicked suggestions from professional book nerds. Get started today from just $18! Use code BOOKRIOT to get an exclusive 60% off an annual Incogni plan at https://incogni.com/bookriot The Book Riot Podcast is a proud member of the Airwave Podcast Network. This content contains affiliate links. When you buy through these links, we may earn an affiliate commission. Discussed in this episode: Update: Polari Prizes canceled in response to protest Katabasis set for TV adaptation Study shows 40% decline in Americans who read for pleasure 2004-2023 BookTok is boosting sales at romance bookstores Wealthy retirees are commissioning ghost-written memoirs Church Camp by Cara Meredith Katabasis by R.F. Kuang Abundance by Klein and Thompson Endling by Maria Reva Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jeff and Rebecca preview a huge season of literary adaptations. Subscribe to the podcast via RSS, Apple Podcasts, and Spotify. Sign up for the Book Riot Podcast Newsletter and follow the show on Instagram and Bluesky. Get more industry news with our Today in Books daily newsletter. Book Riot is hiring a digital content specialist! If you love books and know the ins and outs of social media strategy, and especially social video, consider joining the team. Find details and apply by August 22, 2025, at riotnewmedia.com/careers. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

An encouraging court win, thoughts on book reviews, direct to Kanopy films, and more of the week's book news. Subscribe to the podcast via RSS, Apple Podcasts, and Spotify. Sign up for the Book Riot Podcast Newsletter and follow the show on Instagram and Bluesky. Get more industry news with our Today in Books daily newsletter. Book Riot is hiring a digital content specialist! If you love books and know the ins and outs of social media strategy, and especially social video, consider joining the team. Find details and apply by August 22, 2025, at riotnewmedia.com/careers. This content contains affiliate links. When you buy through these links, we may earn an affiliate commission. Discussed in this episode: Judge strikes down much of Florida’s book banning bill Associated Press to end weekly book reviews Charlie Kaufman’s new short film will be distributed by Kanopy Authors withdraw from consideration  for queer book prize in protest of John Boyne’s inclusion Emerald Fennell’s new Jane Eyre adaptation sounds wild People Like Us by Jason Mott It's Only Drowning by David Litt Great Black Hope by Rob Franklin Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jeff and Rebecca process some public comments about the idea of being "well-read," a big influencer book club, a study on the gender of animals in kids books, and more book news of the week. Subscribe to the podcast via RSS, Apple Podcasts, and Spotify. Sign up for the Book Riot Podcast Newsletter and follow the show on Instagram and Bluesky. Get more industry news with our Today in Books daily newsletter. Book Riot is hiring a digital content specialist! If you love books and know the ins and outs of social media strategy, and especially social video, consider joining the team. Find details and apply by August 22, 2025, at riotnewmedia.com/careers. Use code BOOKRIOT to get an exclusive 60% off an annual Incogni plan at https://incogni.com/bookriot This content contains affiliate links. When you buy through these links, we may earn an affiliate commission. Discussed in this episode: BookTok celeb Jack Edwards launches Inklings book club to “elevate” online reading culture Obamas’ production company picks up All the Sinners Bleed National Association of Black Bookstores launches Study shows gender bias in animal characters in children’s books Frontlist Foyer, brought to you by Thriftbooks:  The Book of Alchemy Clam Down by Anelise Chen How to Be a Living Thing by Mari Andrew Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jeff and Rebecca break down the 2025 longlist for the Booker Prize, digest the news of a new book from Kamala Harris, lament the demise of class (behavior, not socio-economic status), and much more. Jeff and Rebecca decide what the It Book of August will be. Subscribe to the podcast via RSS, Apple Podcasts, and Spotify. Sign up for the Book Riot Podcast Newsletter and follow the show on Instagram and Bluesky. Get more industry news with our Today in Books daily newsletter. Book Riot is hiring a digital content specialist! If you love books and know the ins and outs of social media strategy, and especially social video, consider joining the team. Find details and apply by August 22, 2025, at riotnewmedia.com/careers. Use code BOOKRIOT to get an exclusive 60% off an annual Incogni plan at https://incogni.com/bookriot This content contains affiliate links. When you buy through these links, we may earn an affiliate commission. Discussed in this episode: Kamala Harris to publish memoir about presidential race in September The 2025 Booker Prize longlist And a possible conflict of interest on the Booker panel We’re getting a new George Saunders novel in January Maggie by Katie Yee The Carpool Detectives by Chuck Hogan Everyone is Lying to You by Jo Piazza The Feather Detective by Chris Sweeney  The Brain at Rest by Joseph Jebelli Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jeff and Rebecca decide what the It Book of August will be. Subscribe to the podcast via RSS, Apple Podcasts, and Spotify. Sign up for the Book Riot Podcast Newsletter and follow the show on Instagram and Bluesky. Get more industry news with our Today in Books daily newsletter. Looking to elevate your reading life? Tailored Book Recommendations delivers reading recommendations hand-picked just for you by real human book nerds. Plans start at just $18! Discussed in this episode: We are hiring. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Vanessa Diaz joins Jeff as he workshops a couple of takes, before they dive into IMAX scalping, way early award longlists, and more of the week's book news. Subscribe to the podcast via RSS, Apple Podcasts, and Spotify. Sign up for the Book Riot Podcast Newsletter and follow the show on Instagram and Bluesky. Get more industry news with our Today in Books daily newsletter. Looking to elevate your reading life? Tailored Book Recommendations delivers reading recommendations hand-picked just for you by real human book nerds. Plans start at just $18! The Book Riot Podcast is a proud member of the Airwave Podcast Network. This content contains affiliate links. When you buy through these links, we may earn an affiliate commission. Discussed in this Episode: The Odyssey IMAX Showtimes Sell Out Instantly as Scalpers List Resales Higher Than $200 The Center For Fiction Releases the Longlist for 2025 First Fiction Prize in July, because sure  The Book Industry Study Group conducting survey on how AI is changing publishing  Spotify expanding audiobooks plans, language is confusing Audiobook walking clubs? Deep Historical Survey on Gender Split of Who Writes Fiction The Bewitching by Silvia Morreno-Garcia Salt Bones by Jennifer Givhan Algospeak by Adam Aleksic Vera, or Faith by Gary Shteyngart Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It's as far back as we go with these historical rankings--30 years to 1995. Strange year, that sees Jeff pick a single copy of an individual book in his top 10. Christian dystopias, fairy tale retellings, genre-changing memoirs: there are spots for all of them in our top 10s. Subscribe to the podcast via RSS, Apple Podcasts, and Spotify. Sign up for the Book Riot Podcast Newsletter and follow the show on Instagram and Bluesky. Get more industry news with our Today in Books daily newsletter. Looking to elevate your reading life? Tailored Book Recommendations delivers reading recommendations hand-picked just for you by real human book nerds. Plans start at just $18! The Book Riot Podcast is a proud member of the Airwave Podcast Network. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jeff and Rebecca talk about a bunch of mid-year lists: best-ofs, best-selllers, and more. Then Erica Ezeifedi talks to Rodney Freeman, former librarian and producer of the documentary Are You a Librarian, about the rich & overlooked history of Black librarianship in the US. Subscribe to the podcast via RSS, Apple Podcasts, and Spotify. Sign up for the Book Riot Podcast Newsletter and follow the show on Instagram and Bluesky. Get more industry news with our Today in Books daily newsletter. Looking to elevate your reading life? Tailored Book Recommendations delivers reading recommendations hand-picked just for you by real human book nerds. Plans start at just $18! The Book Riot Podcast is a proud member of the Airwave Podcast Network. Discussed in this episode: Book Riot’s best books of 2025 so far The top 10 bestselling books of the year so far Bookshop’s bestsellers of the year so far Constance Grady explores whether there actually is a crisis with kids’ reading Sarah J. Maas has completed the first draft of the 6th ACOTAR book Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices