
Book Riot - The Podcast
News in the world of books and reading, including hot industry releases, adaptations, publishing industry events, and more with Book Riot’s Jeff O’Neal and Rebecca Shinsky.Book Riot is the largest independent editorial book site in North America and home to a host of media, from podcasts to newsletters to original content, all designed around diverse readers and across all genres.
Latest episodes

Jan 17, 2024 • 1h 10min
Power Ranking the Books of 2019
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 up for our Today in Books daily newsletter!2024 is the tenth year of the Read Harder Challenge! Join us as we make our way through 24 tasks meant to expand our reading horizons and diversify our TBRs. To get book recommendations for each task, sign up for the Read Harder newsletter. We’ll also keep you informed about other cool reading challenges, readathons, and more across the bookish internet. If you become a paid subscriber, you get even more recommendations plus community features, where you can connect with a community of passionate, like-minded readers in a cozy and supportive corner of the internet. Visit bookriot.com/readharder to sign up.This content contains affiliate links. When you buy through these links, we may earn an affiliate commission.Discussed in this episode:Sign up for Better Living Through Books and the BR Pod newsletterFirst Edition!The Book Riot Podcast PatreonJeff's List:
How to Be an Antiracist
The Nickel Boys
The Boy, The Mole, The Fox and the Horse
Daisy Jones & The Six
Red, White & Royal Blue
She Said
This is How You Lose the Time War
The Yellow House
How to Do Nothing
Maybe You Should Talk to Someone
Rebecca's List:
The Nickel Boys
Daisy Jones & The Six
Normal People
Such a Fun Age
She Said (and Women Talking)
Red, White & Royal Blue
Maid
Gideon the Ninth
Maybe You Should Talk to Someone
How to Be Antiracist
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Jan 15, 2024 • 54min
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
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 Reeves, lament banning the dictionary, and are unsurprised, mostly, with a list of the most popular books of the last ten years.Subscribe to the podcast via RSS, Apple Podcasts, and Spotify.For more industry news, sign up for our Today in Books daily newsletter!2024 is the tenth year of the Read Harder Challenge! Join us as we make our way through 24 tasks meant to expand our reading horizons and diversify our TBRs. To get book recommendations for each task, sign up for the Read Harder newsletter. We’ll also keep you informed about other cool reading challenges, readathons, and more across the bookish internet. If you become a paid subscriber, you get even more recommendations plus community features, where you can connect with a community of passionate, like-minded readers in a cozy and supportive corner of the internet. Visit bookriot.com/readharder to sign up.Discussed in this episode:Sign up for Better Living Through Books and the BR Pod newsletterFirst Edition!The Book Riot Podcast PatreonBook Riot contributors’ most anticipated books of 2024This might be the reason Oprah wanted to sell a lot of copies of Covenant of WaterOpen AI says it can’t train LLMs without copyright materialFlorida county bans the dictionary Swifties fuel another literary conspiracy theoryKeanu Reeves collabs on sci-fi novel with China MiévilleGoodreads members’ 76 most popular books of the last decade Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jan 10, 2024 • 1h 10min
Our Most Anticipated Books of 2024 (The First Bit of It, At Least)
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 editors weigh in with their picks.Subscribe to the podcast via RSS, Apple Podcasts, and Spotify.For more industry news, sign up for our Today in Books daily newsletter!2024 is the tenth year of the Read Harder Challenge! Join us as we make our way through 24 tasks meant to expand our reading horizons and diversify our TBRs. To get book recommendations for each task, sign up for the Read Harder newsletter. We’ll also keep you informed about other cool reading challenges, readathons, and more across the bookish internet. If you become a paid subscriber, you get even more recommendations plus community features, where you can connect with a community of passionate, like-minded readers in a cozy and supportive corner of the internet. Visit bookriot.com/readharder to sign up.This content contains affiliate links. When you buy through these links, we may earn an affiliate commission.Discussed in this episode:First Edition!The Book Riot Podcast PatreonRead Harder 2024 is alive! Reading Genesis by Marilynne RobinsonThe Bloodied Nightgown by Joan AcocellaUntil August by Gabriel García MárquezThis Strange Eventful History by Claire MessudThe Unicorn Woman by Gayl JonesThe Z Word by Lindsay King-MillerState of Paradise by Laura Van Den BurgA Chance Meeting by Rachel CohenThe Fine Art of Literary Fist-Fighting by Lee GutkindThe Cemetery of Untold Stories by Julia AlvarezWandering Stars by Tommy OrangeAnita de Monte Laughs Last by Xochitl GonzalezSplinters by Leslie JamisonThe Last Fire Season by Manjula MartinThe Ministry of Time by Kaliane BradleyCorey Fah Does Social Mobility by Isabel WaidnerLegacy by Uché BlackstockBeautyland by Marie-Helene BertinoPraisesong for the Kitchen Ghosts by Crystal WilkinsonThe Other Significant Others by Rhaina CohenActs of Forgiveness by Maura CheeksThis American Ex-Wife by Lyz LenzSupercommunicators by Charles DuhiggOptimal by Daniel Goleman & Cary ChernissAnd How Does That Make You Feel by Joshua FletcherLies and Weddings by Kevin KwanThe Cliffs by Scott CawthornLooking for a Sign by Susie DumondJewel Me Twice by Charish ReidThe American Daughters by Maurice Carlos RuffinFor a complete list of books discussed in this episode, visit our website. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jan 8, 2024 • 57min
Obama's Favorite Books of 2023, Iowa Book Banning Law Partially Stopped, Recent Reading, and more.
Jeff O'Neal and Rebecca Schinksy talk about Obama's favorite books of 2023, Iowa book banning law, best-selling books of 2023, winter reading, an exclusive excerpt of 'The Waters' by Bonnie Jo Campbell, ineffective strategy of Republicans, rise of Richard Osman's books, potential adaptation of 'Court of Thorns and Roses' on Hulu, and more.

Jan 5, 2024 • 3min
The Winter 2024 New Release Draft [Teaser]
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 premium content: https://www.patreon.com/bookriotpodcast Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jan 3, 2024 • 45min
January 2024 "It Book" Knockout Round
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, and Spotify.For more industry news, sign up for our Today in Books daily newsletter!2024 is the tenth year of the Read Harder Challenge! Join us as we make our way through 24 tasks meant to expand our reading horizons and diversify our TBRs. To get book recommendations for each task, sign up for the Read Harder newsletter. We’ll also keep you informed about other cool reading challenges, readathons, and more across the bookish internet. If you become a paid subscriber, you get even more recommendations plus community features, where you can connect with a community of passionate, like-minded readers in a cozy and supportive corner of the internet. Visit bookriot.com/readharder to sign up.This content contains affiliate links. When you buy through these links, we may earn an affiliate commission.Discussed in this episode:TBR!First Edition!The Book Riot Podcast PatreonRead Harder 2024 is alive! Martyr! by Kaveh AkbarThe Storm We Made by Vanessa ChanDead in Long Beach, California by Venita BlackburnThe Showman by Simon ShusterCome and Get It by Kiley ReidSanctuary of the Shadow by Aurora AscherThe Fury by Alex MichaelidesBeautyland by Marie-Helen BertinoThe Atlas Complex by Olivie BlakeHouse of Flame and Shadow by Sarah J. Maas Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dec 19, 2023 • 4min
The Best of the Rest 2023 [Teaser]
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 content: patreon.com/bookriotpodcast Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dec 18, 2023 • 56min
The Year in Review
Jeff and Rebecca look at the most important, memorable, strangest, and all and all most superlative stories from the year in books and reading. Subscribe to the podcast via RSS, Apple Podcasts, and Spotify.For more industry news, sign up for our Today in Books daily newsletter!Discussed in this episode:TBR!First Edition!The Book Riot Podcast PatreonRead Harder 2024 is alive! Good job, book people: The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store gets all the love; Paul Harding does not win awards for the book Jeff called “gormless”Bad job, book people: The Vaster Wilds & Let Us Descend are under-celebratedLove to See It: Pultizers expand eligibilityAudiobook moments of the year: Michelle Williams narrating Britney’s memoir; Leslie Jones’s 17-hour-long freestyle; Spotify introduces free listening for Premium membersWorst publisher response to book bans: Scholastic’s whole diversity collection situationBest publisher response to book bans: PRH takes legal action against book banning statesAchievements in Reporting: The Atlantic’s coverage of the Books 3 data set used to train LLMsMore of These Conversations: The bestseller lists are broken and Goodreads is bad for booksBiggest Mystery: WTF Oprah was up to with Covenant of WaterStill Waiting to See Its Impact: Simon & Schuster sold to KKR, TikTok plans a publishing imprintEyeballs Emoji: The BookTok hockey romance shenanigans, Bigolas Dickolas moves some units, Review Bombing AuthorNobody Asked for This: Twilight series coming to TV; HBO plans 10-year run for Harry Potter reboot Anticlimactic: Manuscript thief pleads guilty Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dec 12, 2023 • 3min
Bonus: The Books We Missed This Year [Teaser]
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 rest: https://www.patreon.com/bookriotpodcast Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dec 11, 2023 • 57min
Wrapping Up Holiday Recommendation Requests & Our Most Giftable Books of the Year
Jeff and Rebecca handle a few last recommendation requests and then give some ideas for generally giftable books for 2023. Subscribe to the podcast via RSS, Apple Podcasts, and Spotify.For more industry news, sign up for our Today in Books daily newsletter!It’s happening, readers — we’re bringing paperbacks! Whether you (or a reader you know and love) hate carrying around bulky hardcovers, you’re on a budget, you want a wider range of recommendations, or all of the above, you can now get a paperback subscription from TBR, curated just for you by one of our Bibliologists. The holidays are here, and we’ve got three different levels for gifting to suit every budget. Get all the details at mytbr.co.This content contains affiliate links. When you buy through these links, we may earn an affiliate commission.Discussed in this episode:TBR!First Edition!The Book Riot Podcast PatreonTaste by Stanley TucciWalking with Sam by Andrew McCarthyOh My Mother! by Connie WangAlone Time by Stephanie RosenbloomA Year in Provence by Peter MayleFrom Scratch by Tembi LockeHow to Excavate a Heart by Jake Maia ArlowHolidays on Ice by David SedarisBlack Cake by Charmaine WilkersonMemphis by Tara M. StringfellowThe Fortunes of Jaded Women by Carolyn HuynhThe English Understand Wool by Helen DewittBad Cree by Jessica JohnsThe Writing Retreat by Julia BartzWild Girls by Tiya MilesSex, Death, and Fly-Fishing by John GierachHidden Mountains by Michael WejchertRoss Gay 84, Charing Cross Road by Helene HanffLetters to a Young Poet by Rainer Maria RilkeLetters of Note by Shaun Usher (volumes on Art and Love)Gilead by Marilynne RobinsonUglies by Scott WesterfeldReady Player One by Ernest ClineBattle Royale by Koushun TakamiWorld of Wonders by Johanna BasfordOnce Upon a Time I Lived on Mars by Kate GreeneMajor Labels by Kelefa SannehFrom Hollywood with Love by Scott MeslowCork Dork by Bianca BoskerAirplane Mode by Shahnaz HabibSigrid NunezThe Fraud by Zadie SmithA River Runs Through It by Norman MacleanThe Professor’s House by Willa CatherA Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man by James JoyceBlackouts by Justin TorresInvisible Cities by Italo CalvinoTom Lake by Ann PatchettThe Heaven & Earth Grocery Store by James McBrideGoing Infinite by Michael LewisThe Wager by David GrannThe Book of (More) Delights by Ross Gay Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices