
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

May 2, 2022 • 1h 39min
2022 Moms, Dad, and Grads Recommendation Show
Jeff and Rebecca turn with their annual spring recommendation show.Follow the podcast via RSS, Apple Podcasts, and Spotify. The show can also be found on Stitcher.For more industry news, sign up for our Today in Books daily newsletter!This content contains affiliate links. When you buy through these links, we may earn an affiliate commission.fDiscussed in this episode:The Book Riot Patreon2022 (!) 5 Under 35 HonoreesBook Riot Podcast Listener SurveyYou’re Not ListeningChecklist ManifestoLoonshotsOutsidersDanez SmithHanif AbdurraquibMorgan ParkerLouise GluckTime is a Mother by Ocean VuongSelected Poems of Nikki GiovanniPoets.orgThe Great CirclePretty Face by Lucy ParkerA Taste of Her Own Medicine by Tasha HarrisonThe Lost Apothecary by Sarah PennerGileadLila by Marilynne RobinsonWicked Fox by Kate ChoBooks for K-Drama Fans2am at the Cat’s PajamasCity of GirlsBlack CakeStoried Life of AJ Fikry by Gabrielle ZevinPachinkoThe Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel PieChronicles of St. Mary’s by Jodi TaylorThe Wheel of TimeI Came All This Way to Meet YouMy Glory Was I Had Such FriendsThe Ugly CryFierce AttachmentsThe Odd Woman in the City by Vivian GornickJoan is OkayCrooked Hallelujah by Kelli Jo FordSilver Sparrow by Tayari JonesSag Harbor by Colson WhiteheadThe Cartographers by Peng ShepardThe Lincoln HighwayGreek to Me by Mary NorrisThe Moonflower Murders by Anthony HorowitzAutomatic Detective by A. Lee MartinezA Small Death in Lisbon by Robert WilsonLab GirlEntangled Life by Merlin SheldrakeThe Wild Iris by Louise GluckRadical CandorYou’re Not ListeningGritConscious BusinessGetting to YesFinancial IntelligenceTo The End of the Land by David Grossman Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Apr 25, 2022 • 57min
Caffeinated, Liquid Snickers Bar
Jeff and Rebecca talk about Barnes & Noble as publishing’s hero(!?), developments in the world of book banning, new initiatives to combat said banning, and more.Follow the podcast via RSS, Apple Podcasts, and Spotify. The show can also be found on Stitcher.For more industry news, sign up for our Today in Books daily newsletter!This content contains affiliate links. When you buy through these links, we may earn an affiliate commission.Discussed in this episode:Book bans now reaching math textbooks in Florida California student’s petition to expand conversations about race in literature 5 Under 35 honoreesBrooklyn Public Library offers ecards to kids 13-21 as a move to provide access/resist book bans We Need Diverse Books To Offer Grants to Educators to Buy Books How Barnes & Noble went from villain to hero Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Apr 18, 2022 • 56min
The Realm of Cookies
Jeff and Rebecca talk 2022 book sales so far, Brandon Sanderson making it rain, dive into The Candy House by Jennifer Egan, and more.Follow the podcast via RSS, Apple Podcasts, and Spotify. The show can also be found on Stitcher.For more industry news, sign up for our Today in Books daily newsletter!This content contains affiliate links. When you buy through these links, we may earn an affiliate commission.Discussed in this episode:Book Riot Podcast Patreon!Brandon Sanderson pays it forward Book sales boom is over? Documentary about The Bookstore Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Apr 11, 2022 • 1h 7min
A Broken Hallelujah
Jeff and Rebecca talk about the new Book Riot Podcast Patreon, solicit recommendation requests for Moms/Dads/Grads episode, somehow spin out again about audiobook pricing, look at the most banned books of 2021, and much more.Follow the podcast via RSS, Apple Podcasts, and Spotify. The show can also be found on Stitcher.For more industry news, sign up for our Today in Books daily newsletter!This content contains affiliate links. When you buy through these links, we may earn an affiliate commission.Discussed in this episode:Book Riot Podcast Patreon!Station Eleven team reuniting at HBO for Glass Hotel & Sea of Tranquility We probably have to say something about the Amazon union success The NYT looks at some of the most-banned books of 2021 B&N goes audiobook membership The Cartographers by Peng ShepardSecret Identity by Alex SeguraThe Kaiju Preservation Society by John ScalziPay Up by Reshma SaujaniThe Candy House by Jennifer Egan Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Apr 5, 2022 • 4min
From Talk Easy: Michael Lewis on The Premonition
We’re sharing a special preview of a podcast we’ve been enjoying, Talk Easy with Sam Fragoso, from Pushkin Industries.Talk Easy is a weekly interview podcast, where writer Sam Fragoso invites actors, writers, activists, and musicians to come to the table and speak from the heart in ways you probably haven't heard from them before. Driven by curiosity and an abundance of research, he’s had revealing conversations with everyone from George Saunders and Cate Blanchett to Ocean Vuong and Gloria Steinem. In this preview, Sam talks with author Michael Lewis about his book, The Premonition, his approach to creating a relationship with the people he writes about, covering President Obama, and the power of luck.You can listen to Talk Easy at https://podcasts.pushkin.fm/tebookriot. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Apr 4, 2022 • 56min
They're All Lowlights
Jeff and Rebecca talk about listener experiences with Atlas of the Heart, do a quick update from the Sandersonverse, discuss the rising sales of LBGTQ romance, and linger for a moment in the Frontlist Foyer.Follow the podcast via RSS, Apple Podcasts, and Spotify. The show can also be found on Stitcher.For more industry news, sign up for our Today in Books daily newsletter!This content contains affiliate links. When you buy through these links, we may earn an affiliate commission.DISCUSSED IN THIS EPISODE:LGBTQ romance sales are boomingEvelyn Hugo adaptation going to NetflixThe Swimmers by Julie OtsukaPachinko by Min Jin LeeTell Me Everything by Erika KrouseThe Violin Conspiracy by Brendan Slocumb Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mar 28, 2022 • 48min
To Kill a Mockingbird Meets Nicholas Sparks
Danika Ellis joins Rebecca Schinsky to talk about Dr Seuss sales, librarians getting fired for not pulling books, that Where the Crawdads Sing Trailer, and much more.Follow the podcast via RSS, Apple Podcasts, and Spotify. The show can also be found on Stitcher.For more industry news, sign up for our Today in Books daily newsletter!This content contains affiliate links. When you buy through these links, we may earn an affiliate commission.DISCUSSED IN THIS EPISODE:Pulling racist books turned out to be good for business for Dr SeussTexas librarian alleges she was fired for not removing booksCrawdads trailer Heroes of the WeekTed Cruz accidentally makes two anti-racist books bestsellers As mentioned on the show: Danika’s quiz to match book banning quote to the decade it occurred Delilah Green Doesn’t Care by Ashley Herring BlakeTell Me an Ending by Jo HarkinReady When You Are by Gary Lonesborough Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mar 21, 2022 • 1h 9min
Nobels and Hostages
Jeff and Rebecca talk about books sales thus far in 2022, check in on the “book of the year” candidates, note some discontent in the publishing workforce, and talk about books that are not what we thought they were.Follow the podcast via RSS, Apple Podcasts, and Spotify. The show can also be found on Stitcher.For more industry news, sign up for our Today in Books daily newsletter!This content contains affiliate links. When you buy through these links, we may earn an affiliate commission.DISCUSSED IN THIS EPISODE:We have a literary activism newsletter coming soonBrandon Sanderson answers FAQs about that KickstarterWanna talk about that Twitter thread about low-mid level publishing folks bouncing out?Funny Farm by Laurie ZaleskiLeft on Tenth by Delia EphronThe Swimmers by Julie Otsuka Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mar 14, 2022 • 51min
You Know How I Am With Bandwagons
Jeff and Rebecca talk about B&N’s 2021 results and how TikTok steers the ship, recent reading, new Cormac McCarthy novels, and more.Follow the podcast via RSS, Apple Podcasts, and Spotify. The show can also be found on Stitcher.For more industry news, sign up for our Today in Books daily newsletter!This content contains affiliate links. When you buy through these links, we may earn an affiliate commission.Discussed in this episode:James Daunt talks about BN’s 2021 Cormac McCarthy publishing 2 new novels with a different flavor Pamela Paul stepping down from NYT Book Review to join Opinion section The Voltage Effect by John ListLeft on Tenth by Delia EphronRecitatif by Toni Morrison Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mar 7, 2022 • 59min
Brandon Swagder$on
Jeff and Rebecca talk about the closing of Amazon Books and the most interesting self-publishing story yet.Follow the podcast via RSS, Apple Podcasts, and Spotify. The show can also be found on Stitcher.For more industry news, sign up for our Today in Books daily newsletter!Discussed in this episode:Amazon is shutting down all of its bookstores Brandon Sanderson’s Kickstarter! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices