
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 13, 2021 • 1h 18min
Our Favorite Reads of 2021
Jeff and Rebecca list their favorites reads of 2021.
Follow the podcast via RSS, Apple Podcasts, and Spotify. The show can also be found on Stitcher.
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Discussed in this episode:
A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles
Matrix by Lauren Groff
Harlem Shuffle by Colson Whitehead
Klara & the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro
You’re Not Listening by Kate Murphy
Becoming Trader Joe by Joe Columbe
Somebody’s Daughter by Ashley Ford
Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner
The Parker Inheritance by Varian Johnson
The Vanderbeekers of 141st Street Make a Wish by Karina Yan Glaser
Taste by Stanely Tucci
Bourdain: The Oral Biography by Laurie Woolever
The Psychology of Money by Morgan Housel
Wintering by Katherine May
In the Dream House by Carmen Maria Machado
Office of Historical Corrections by Danielle Evans
Great Circle by Maggie Shipstead
A Little Devil in America by Hanif Abdurraquib
Evvie Drake Starts Over by Linda Holmes
Set Boundaries, Find Peace by Nedra Glover Tawwab
The Premonition by Michael Lewis
Four Thousand Weeks by Oliver Burkeman
Major Labels by Kelefa Sanneh
The Ugly Cry by Danielle Henderson
Crossroads by Jonathan Franzen
Yoke by Jessamyn Stanley
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Dec 6, 2021 • 1h 25min
2022 Holiday Recommendations, Part 2
Jeff and Rebecca finish their holiday recommendation extravaganza.
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Discussed in this episode:
Want by Lynn Steger Strong
Why We Can’t Sleep by Ada Calhoun
After Birth by Elisa Albert
The Hollow Inside by Brooke Davis
Nightbitch by Rachel Yoder
Baby Teeth by Zoje Stage
With Teeth by Kristen Arnett
The Girls I’ve Been by Tess Sharpe
Take a Hint Dani Brown by Talia Hibbert
Red, White, and Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston
Wake Siren by Nina MacLaughlin
Home Fire by Kamila Shamsie
Boy, Snow, Bird by Helen Oyeyemi
Circe by Madeline Miller
Daisy Jones and the Six by Taylor Jenkins-Reid
J. Courtney Sullivan
We Ride Upon Sticks by Quan Barry
Perfect Little World by Kevin Wilson
The Wanderers by Meg Howrey
2am at the Cats Pajamas by Marie Helene-Bertino
Evvie Drake Starts Over by Linda Holmes
Half an Inch of Water by Percival Everett
Poachers by Tom Franklin
Close Range by Annie Proulx
The Boy Kings of Texas by Domingo Rodriguez
Downeast by Gigi George
When We Were the Kennedys by Monica Wood
Country of the Pointed Firs by Sarah Orne Jewett
Loving and Leaving the Good Life by Helen Nearing
The Orchard by Adele Crockett Robertson
Buttermilk Graffiti by Edward Lee
Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro
The Adventurer’s Son by Roman Dial
The Guide by Peter Heller
Manga Like Naruto
Master & Commander by Patrick O’Brien
Barbarian Days by William Finnegan
Code Talker by Chester Naz
The Bomber Mafia by Malcolm Gladwell
The Killers of the Flower Moon by David Grann
Bad Blood
The Accidental Billionaires by Ben Mezrich
Startup by Doree Shafrir
The Hunters by James Salter
The Noble Hustle by Colson Whitehead
Version Zero by David Yoon
Angelmaker by Nick Harkaway
The Magicians by Lev Grossman
Sorcerer to the Crown by Zen Cho
Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke
Saga
Paper Girls by Brian K Vaughan, Cliff Chiang, and Matt Wilson
The Witch’s Heart by Genevieve Gornichec
Six Four by Hideo Yokohama
Darkness at Noon by Arthur Koestler
The Loser Takes It all by Graham Greene
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Nov 29, 2021 • 57min
2022 Holiday Recommendations, Part 1
Jeff and Rebecca continue their annual tradition of responding to listener recommendation requests.
Follow the podcast via RSS, Apple Podcasts, and Spotify. The show can also be found on Stitcher.
This content contains affiliate links. When you buy through these links, we may earn an affiliate commission.
Discussed in this episode:
How We Got to Now by Steven Johnson
Alchemy of Us by Ainissa Ramirez for science history,
The Emperor of All Maladies by Siddhartha Mukherjee
I Contain Multitudes by Ed Yong
Crossroads by Jonathan Franzen
The Topeka School by Ben Lerner
A Brief History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson
The Man From the Future by Ananyo Bhattacharya
A Small Charred Face by Kazuki Sakuraba
The Cheffe by Marie NDiaye
Bibliolepsy by Gina Apostol
Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman
The Woman Next Door by Yewande Omotoso
A Study in Scarlet by Sherry Thomas
The Storied Life of AJ Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin
A Man Called Ove by Frederick Backman
Lillian Boxfish Takes a Walk by Kathleen Rooney
Wake Siren by Nina MacLaughlin
The Storytelling Animal by Jonathan Gottschall
Women Who Run With the Wolves by Clarissa Pinkola Estes
The Heroine with 1001 Faces by Maria Tatar
Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan
Best American Short Stories
City of Girls by Elizabeth Gilbert
Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid
The Martian by Andy Weir
A Good Walk Spoiled by John Feinstein
Harvey Penick’s Little Red Book
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Nov 22, 2021 • 52min
The Boy, The Horse, The Whatever
Jeff and Rebecca talk about the 2021 National Book Award winners, Barnes & Noble’s Book of the Year, Spotify buying an audiobook company, and The Sentence by Louise Erdrich.
Follow the podcast via RSS, Apple Podcasts, and Spotify. The show can also be found on Stitcher.
Discussed in this episode:
Adaptation Nation
Last call for the 2021 Fall Preview Draft
Book Riot is looking for an Ad Sales Manager
The 2021 National Book Award Winners
Barnes & Noble’s Book of the Year
Spotify’s audiobook acquisition
The Sentence by Louise Erdrich
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Nov 15, 2021 • 1h 5min
Emotional Prudery
Jeff and Rebecca think about replacing the term “dad book” with…anything, talk more PRH/S&S commentary, list book adaptations they will not be talking about, and much more.
Follow the podcast via RSS, Apple Podcasts, and Spotify. The show can also be found on Stitcher.
This content contains affiliate links. When you buy through these links, we may earn an affiliate commission.
Discussed in this episode:
2021 Fall Preview Draft
Adaptation Nation
The Lincoln Highway by Amor Towles
Bourdain by Laurie Woolever
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Nov 8, 2021 • 60min
Franzen Erosion Curve
Jeff and Rebecca discuss some recent book sales numbers, the 2021 Booker Prize, banning Beloved, and much more.
Follow the podcast via RSS, Apple Podcasts, and Spotify. The show can also be found on Stitcher.
This content contains affiliate links. When you buy through these links, we may earn an affiliate commission.
Discussed in this episode:
Adaptation Nation
2021 Fall Preview Book Draft
Justice Dept Sues PRH over S & S Merger
AI comes to audiobooks
2021 Booker Prize winner
Texas attempting to ban BELOVED and Streisand effect
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Nov 5, 2021 • 1h 40min
DUNE: Adaptation Nation Episode 1
Jeff O’Neal, Jenn Northington, and Amanda Nelson discuss Frank Herbert’s Dune and break down Denis Villeneuve’s 2021 adaptation.
Mentioned in this episode:
Frank Herbert’s Distrust of JFK
Hari Kunzru on Dune
Muslim Influences in Dune
Is Dune a White Savior Narrative?
Sidelining Arab Voices in Dune
Dune Book Club with Ausma Zehanat Khan
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Nov 1, 2021 • 1h 15min
Transparency Gateway
In this episode, Jeff and Rebecca confirm that Dune is having a moment, talk about a new Book Riot podcast series, the beginning of “Books of the Year” season, and then talk about Crossroads by Jonathan Franzen and Matrix by Lauren Groff.
Follow the podcast via RSS, Apple Podcasts, and Spotify. The show can also be found on Stitcher.
This content contains affiliate links. When you buy through these links, we may earn an affiliate commission.
Discussed in this episode:
Adaptation Nation
Publishers’ Weekly’s Best Books of 2021
Matrix by Lauren Groff
Crossroads by Jonathan Franzen
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Oct 25, 2021 • 52min
Monetize That Dream
Jeff and Rebecca talk about a literary scam, a social network for authors, Goodreads members’ most anticipated fall books, and more.
Follow the podcast via RSS, Apple Podcasts, and Spotify. The show can also be found on Stitcher.
Discussed in this episode
SFF Yeah episode on Dune
2021 Fall Preview Draft
Goodreads members most anticipated fall books
Female Spanish thriller writer turns out to be team of 3 men
Author founds social network aiming to disrupt publishing industry
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Oct 18, 2021 • 58min
Embrace the Mess
Jeff and Rebecca take the episode to talk about 10 years of Book Riot.
Follow the podcast via RSS, Apple Podcasts, and Spotify. The show can also be found on Stitcher.
Discussed in this episode:
Book Riot is hiring an Ad Sales Manager
2021 Fall Preview Draft
New Book Riot Merch!
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