
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

Dec 5, 2023 • 3min
Bonus: Our Favorite Books of 2023 [Teaser]
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 of favorite books of 2023 on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/bookriotpodcast Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dec 4, 2023 • 1h 2min
Holiday Recommendation Show, Part 2
Jeff and Rebecca wrap up their annual holiday recommendation extravaganza. 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 PatreonGreek Lessons by Han KangPossession by A.S. ByattOn Beauty by Zadie SmithIf I Survive You by Jonathan EscofferyHow Strange a Season by Megan Mayhew BergmanThe Miniature Wife by Manuel GonzalesMusic for Wartime by Rebecca MakkaiThe Vanderbeekers series by Karina Yan GlaserMeet Yasmin! by Saadia FaruqiRosie Revere, Engineer by Andrea BeatyForward by Abby WambachOne Life by Megan RapinoeUphill by Jemele Hill The Rivals by Johnette HowardThe Orchard by Adele Crockett Robertson2 A.M. at the Cats Pajamas by Marie-Helen BertinoThe Buried Giant by Kazuo IshiguroThe Feather Thief by Kirk Wallace Johnson Now Is Not the Time to Panic by Kevin WilsonThe Swimmers by Julie OtsukaChemistry by Weike WangMouth to Mouth by Antoine WilsonPost Traumatic by Chantal V. JohnsonThe Guest by Emma ClineInstead by Maria CoffeyThe Most Fun We Ever Had by Claire LombardoThe Turner House by Angela FlournoyIf We’re Being Honest by Cat ShookPachinko by Min Jin LeeThe Thorn Birds by Colleen McCulloughThe House of the Spirits by Isabel AllendeWake, Siren by Nina MacLaughlinThe Bandit Queens by Parini ShroffBabel by R.F. KuangThe Real Work by Adam GopnikThe Country of the Blind by Andrew LelandHow Far the Light Reaches by Sabrina ImblerLab Girl by Hope JahrenNotes from a Young Black Chef by Kwame OnwuachiThe Golden Doves by Martha Hall KellyThe Collected Schizophrenias by Esmé Weijun WangBetween Two Kingdoms by Suleika JaouadGet a Life, Chloe Brown by Talia HibbertSix of Crows by Leigh BardugoTom Lake by Ann PatchettThe Pretty One by Keah BrownParnassus on Wheels by Christopher Morley Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Nov 27, 2023 • 1h 4min
2023 Holiday Recommendation Show, Part 1
Jeff and Rebecca respond to listener book recommendation requests.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 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. You can also gift it (and the holidays, they are coming). 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 PatreonFrom Strength to Strength by Arthur C. BrooksTogether by Vivek H. MurthyThe Other Significant Others by Rhaina CohenLitHub’s list of Midlife Coming-of-Age NovelsInciting Joy by Ross GayJoan is Okay by Weike WangAll My Rage by Sabaa TahirMe (Moth) by Amber McBridePachinko by Min Jin LeeThe Midnight Library by Matt HaigThe Berry Pickers by Amanda PetersSnacking Bakes by Yossy ArefiThe King Arthur Baking School by King Arthur Baking CompanyHow to Bake Everything by Mark BittmanNo One Tells You This by Glynnis MacNicolWomen Without Kids by Ruby WarringtonSelf, Shallow, and Self-Absorbed edited by Meghan DaumRegretting Motherhood by Orna DonathYellowface by R. F. KuangErasure by Percival EverettNever Let Me Go by Kazuo IshiguroBlack Cake by Charmaine WilkersonThere’s a Book Riot list for that!The Hike by Drew MagaryThe Last Final Girls by Stephen Graham JonesPaper Girls by Brian K. VaughanKaiju Preservation Society by John ScalziSong of the Cell by Siddhartha MukherjeeThe Good Life by Robert Waldinger & Marc SchulzI Contain Multitudes by Ed YongThe Perfectionists by Simon WinchesterThe Idea Factory by Jon GertnerI Have Some Questions for You by Rebecca MakkaiCeleste NgErotic Stories for Punjabi Widows by Balli Kaur JaswalAge of Vice by Deepti Kapoor"15 LGBTQ Haunted Horror Novels""8 of the Best Queer Horror Books""Great New Queer Horror To Read This Fall"Queer Comics Database is a thing and has a list for this!A Week in Winter by Maeve BinchyAndy WeirMichael LewisS.A. CosbyIn the Shadow of the Mountain by Silvia Vasquez-LavadoThe Guide by Peter HellerThe Lost Man by Jane HarperThe Nineties by Chuck KlostermanA Little Devil in America by Hanif AbdurraquibCultish by Amanda MontellPaved Paradise by Henry GrabarEmpire of the Sum by Keith HoustonThe Mysterious Case of Rudolph Diesel by Douglas BruntTraffic by Tom VanderbiltHow We Got to Now by Steven JohnsonThe Alchemy of Us by Ainissa RamirezThe Barbarian Nurseries by Héctor TobarThe Searcher by Tana FrenchThe collected Patrick O’Brien on audioThe Three-Body Problem by Liu CixinNK JemisinPico Iyer Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Nov 20, 2023 • 1h 4min
The Prepositional Phrase After Trickle
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 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 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. You can also gift it (and the holidays, they are coming). 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 PatreonBook Riot’s Best Books of 2023Rebecca’s victory lap for the Barnes & Noble Book of the YearA sigh of relief for Jeff, Paul Harding did not win the NBAAnd Amazon editors agree - their best books of 2023Goodreads Choice Awards kick offData Baby by Susannah BreslinThe Vulnerables by Sigrid NunezHidden Potential by Adam GrantHow to Say Babylon by Safiya SinclairEverything I Learned I Learned in a Chinese Restaurant by Curtis Chin Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Nov 13, 2023 • 1h 4min
Inclusive Insider Baseball
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 audiobooks from Spotify, and more.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 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. You can also gift it (and the holidays, they are coming). Get all the details at mytbr.co.Discussed in this Episode:TBR!First Edition!The Book Riot Podcast PatreonFinalists for Barnes & Noble Book of the YearWNDB launches Indigenous Reads Rising35 years of National Book Awards dataA Look at audiobook economics Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Nov 6, 2023 • 56min
Pop Diva Rumspringa
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.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 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. You can also gift it (and the holidays, they are coming). 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:First Edition!The Book Riot Podcast PatreonBritney sales numbersPW’s best books of 2023There’s a Fourth Wing adaptation comingHighlights of a couple new studies about Americans’ reading habitsBarnes & Noble Discover Prize goes to The Berry Pickers by Amanda Peters12 Things Rebecca Learned in 12 Years of Book RiotBlackouts by Justin TorresThe Woman in Me by Britney SpearsLet Us Descend by Jesmyn WardKillers of the Flower Moon by David Grann Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Oct 30, 2023 • 1h 13min
Speaking of Therapy
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, and more. Then Rebecca is joined by Kelly Jensen for a conversation about Britney Spears's new memoir, The Woman in Me.Subscribe to the podcast via RSS, Apple Podcasts, and Spotify.For more industry news, sign up for our Today in Books daily newsletter!Autumn is here, which means it's time to curl up with a great read and get cozy — whatever your version of cozy looks like. Whether it's romance, creepy reads, modern classics, or escapist reads you crave, TBR can help you find the perfect books for your fall reading, with options curated to your specific reading tastes. Visit mytbr.co to find out more and sign up — it only takes a few minutes!This content contains affiliate links. When you buy through these links, we may earn an affiliate commission.Links Discussed in the Episode:Michelle Williams impersonates Justin Timberlake in Britney Spears’s memoirNailed it: Oprah selects Let Us Descend for final book club of 2023Update: Scholastic walks back separate diversity collectionYA author opens bookstore dedicated to banned books & marginalized authorsBookTok takes down a Tayvis romanceHow much should books cost?"Purge the Poison" by MarinaA Fire Born of Exile by Aliette de Bodard Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Oct 23, 2023 • 1h 6min
The Starving Caterpillar
Jeff and Rebecca talk about the celebrity memoir boomlet, Levar Burton hosting the National Book Awards, renovating Barnes & Noble, Scholastic separating LBGTQ+ and other marginalized books, the Lessons in Chemistry adaptation, and more.Subscribe to the podcast via RSS, Apple Podcasts, and Spotify.For more industry news, sign up for our Today in Books daily newsletter!Autumn is here, which means it's time to curl up with a great read and get cozy — whatever your version of cozy looks like. Whether it's romance, creepy reads, modern classics, or escapist reads you crave, TBR can help you find the perfect books for your fall reading, with options curated to your specific reading tastes. Visit mytbr.co to find out more and sign up — it only takes a few minutes!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 PatreonRIP Louise GlückUpdate: Michelle Williams is the support narrator for Britney’s memoirUpdate: LeVar Burton to host NBA ceremonyScholastic confirms option to withhold LGBTQ+ titles from book fairsBarnes & Noble’s new looks seem to be paying offThat American Fiction trailer thoFamily Meal by Bryan WashingtonBlackouts by Justin TorresMCULessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Oct 16, 2023 • 46min
Mental Tattoos. They're Called Memories.
The podcast covers listener feedback, interesting book announcements, recent reading, and more. Topics discussed include Spotify audiobook licensing, Salman Rushdie's memoir about being stabbed, and notable book titles. Other topics covered include sleep hygiene, mental tattoos, the challenges faced by ebook subscription services, and the concerns raised by the Society of Authors about streaming audiobooks.

Oct 13, 2023 • 1h 7min
Saying Goodbye to Louise Glück
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 rebroadcast of the time Jeff and Rebecca talked about the life and work of Louise Glück, plus an extended discussion of her 1993 poem, “Vespers.” RIP, Louise Glück, we are so grateful for your work and your life.This content contains affiliate links. When you buy through these links, we may earn an affiliate commission.Discussed in this episode:The Collected Poems of Louise Glück“The Body Artist” by Dan Chiasson“Vespers” by Louise Glück Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices