Podcast: Book Riot

Jeff and Rebecca look back 30 years to 1994 and power-rank the year's most influential, important, and memorable titles.
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The Book Riot Podcast on Instagram
The Book Riot Podcast Patreon
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Jeff and Rebecca talk about Amazon's best books of the year list, the pros and cons of the Goodreads Choice Awards, PW's annual salary survey, recent reading, and much more.
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Discussed in this episode:
The Book Riot Podcast on Instagram
The Book Riot Podcast Patreon
Send us your recommendation requests: podcast (at) bookriot (dot) com
Good news: most TX school board candidates who support book bans lost their elections
Amazon editors’ best books of 2024
Voting is open for the Goodreads Choice Awards
PW annual salary survey
Barnes & Noble on track to open 60 new stores this year
India’s ban on The Satanic Verses may end because of missing paperwork
Playground by Richard Powers
When the Coffee Gets Cold
Orbital by Samantha Harvey
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We consider The New York Times 100 Notable Books of the Year list to be the book list of record. In this episode, we make our picks for locks, likelies, and would-like-to-sees ahead of the anticipated release of the list next week.

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Discussed in this episode:
The Book Riot Podcast on Instagram
The Book Riot Podcast Patreon
Send us your recommendation requests: podcast (at) bookriot (dot) com
James
Martyr!

RSTLNE Locks
All Fours
There’s Always This Year
Revenge of the Tipping Point
The Anxious Generation
God of the Woods
Knife
Creation Lake
Intermezzo
The Women
Orbital
The City and Its Uncertain Walls
The Mighty Red
Demon of Unrest

Mutual Agreed Upon Tier B
Beautyland
Splinters
Wandering Stars
Playground
Rejection
By the Fire We Carry
Be Ready When the Luck Happens

Split Decisions
John Lewis: A Life
Everyone Who is Gone is Here
Long Island Compromise
Splinters
Margot’s Got Money Troubles
Colored Television
Code Dependent
The Small and the Mighty
Entitlement
This Strange, Eventful History
All That Glitters
Lovely One
Sonny Boy
Patriot by Alexei Navalny
Great Expectations by Vinson Cunningham
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Rebecca Schinksy talks to Franklin Leonard and Randy Winston about The Black List, a project to get exceptional, unproduced work into the world.

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Discussed in this episode:
The Black List
The Book Riot Podcast Patreon
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Jeff and Rebecca decide the It Book of November.

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Discussed in this episode:
The Book Riot Podcast Patreon
Variation by Rebecca Yarros
Didion & Babitz by Lili Anolik
The Name of This Band is R.E.M by Peter Ames Carlin
High and Rising: A Book About De La Soul by Marcus Moore
Heartbreak is the National Anthem: How Taylor Swift Reinvented Pop Music by Rob Sheffield
Cher: Part One
Lost and Lassoed by Lyla Sage
Teller of Small Fortunes by Julie Leong
Masquerade by Mike Fu
The Serviceberry by Robin Wall Kimmerer
Four Points of the Compass by Jerry Brotton
What the Chicken Knows by Sy Montgomery
Vanishing Treasure by Katherine Rundell
Lazarus Man by Richard Price
The Half King by Melissa Landers
The City and Its Uncertain Walls by Haruki Murakami
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Jeff and Rebecca talk about B&N's finalists for their book of the year, why PW's best books of the year lists are so great and recent reading before they are joined by Brooke Nagler of The Book Group to talk about what it's like breaking into the world of books as an assistant to a literary agent.

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Discussed in this episode:
The Book Riot Podcast Patreon
The Book Group
A belated fare-thee-well to John Gierach
Barnes & Noble’s Book of the Year finalists
The PW Best Books of the Year list is here, and it’s as hard to navigate as ever
The Last One at the Wedding by Jason Rekulak
We Solve Murders by Richard Osman
Conclave by Robert Harris
Pachinko by Min Jin Lee
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Jeff offers Rebecca a list of questions about the world of books and reading that he would love to have answered but knows are impossible.

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The Book Riot Podcast Patreon
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Sharifah Williams joins Jeff to talk about B&N's Best Books of the Year list, promising trailers, PRH's new boilerplate AI language, and more of the week's top book news.

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The Book Riot Podcast Patreon

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Discussed in this episode:
Barnes & Noble best books of 2024 (ohmygod it isn’t even Halloween yet)
PRH adds language to copyright pages prohibiting use in AI training
How Should Debut Novelists Measure Success?
Ursula K. Le Guin Prize
Say Nothing
God of the Woods by Liz Moore
Ghostroots by Pemi Aguda
Orbital by Samantha Harvey
Sonny Boy by Al Pacino
Interior Chinatown
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Jeff and Rebecca head down to the literary trading floor and evaluate their portfolio to determine which authors to buy, sell, or hold.

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The Book Riot Podcast Patreon
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Jeff and Rebecca mark the beginning of what should be a busy awards season for James, talk about Taylor Swift's notable book release strategy, get ready for TikTok to publish print titles, and mull more of the week's book news.

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Check out the Book Riot Podcast Book Page on Thriftbooks!

The Book Riot Podcast Patreon

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Discussed in this episode:
Percival Everett wins the Kirkus Prize
South Carolina public library to stop acquiring books for minors
Amazon announces Kindle Colorsoft
Taylor Swift publishing first official book as Target exclusive
ByteDance imprint 8th Note Press to publish first print books in 2025
Kate McKinnon to host National Book Awards
What I Ate In One Year by Stanley Tucci
Meditations for Mortals by Oliver Burkeman
The Driving Machine by Witold Rybcyznski
A Reason to See You Again by jami attenberg
The Message by Ta-Nehisi Coates
Revenge of the Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell
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Jeff and Rebecca talk about a shared favorite movie, 1989's When Harry Met Sally.

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Check out the Book Riot Podcast Book Page on Thriftbooks!

The Book Riot Podcast Patreon
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Jeff and Sharifah talk about Han Kang's Nobel win, the twenty-thousands serious and dedicated readers of literary fiction, a Book It! Program misdirect, and more news of the week.

Check out the Book Riot Podcast Book Page on Thriftbooks!

The Book Riot Podcast Patreon

Discussed in this episode:
The 50 U.S. Writers That Could Win the Nobel. Someday.
My Life in Bookshelves
Company to help authors license their work to AI companies
What good is great literature?
New goodreads competitor
20,000 readers of literary fiction?
FRAUDULENT RESURRECTION OF BOOK IT THIS IS NOT IT
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Jeff and Rebecca go through Jeff's recent piece, The 10 Most Interesting Questions in the World of Books and Reading?

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Check out the Book Riot Podcast Book Page on Thriftbooks!

The Book Riot Podcast Patreon

This content contains affiliate links. When you buy through these links, we may earn an affiliate commission.

Discussed in this episode:
The 10 Most Interesting Questions in the World of Books and Reading?
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Jeff and Rebecca digest the finalists for the 2024 National Book Award in fiction, envy and admire MacArthur winners, get pumped for The Corrections on TV, and think about Reese's thriller.
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For more industry news, sign up for our Today in Books daily newsletter!
Check out the Book Riot Podcast Book Page on Thriftbooks!
The Book Riot Podcast Patreon
Discussed in this episode:
This content contains affiliate links. When you buy through these links, we may earn an affiliate commission.
mytbr.co
National Book Award finalists announced
Federal judge orders Arkansas public library to reshelve “inappropriate” books
Jason Reynolds, Ling Ma, Alice Wong among 2024 MacArthur grant winners
Meryl Streep attached to star in Corrections adaptation
Reese Witherspoon to co-write debut novel with Harlan Coben
The Mighty Red by Louise Erdrich
Entitlement by Rumaan Alam
Chop Fry Watch Learn by Michelle King
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Jeff and Rebecca consider 10 books and crown one of them the It Book of the Month.

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Check out the Book Riot Podcast Book Page on Thriftbooks!

The Book Riot Podcast Patreon

This content contains affiliate links. When you buy through these links, we may earn an affiliate commission.

Discussed in this episode:
The Message
The Mighty Red
Slaveroad
The Bog Wife
The Boyfriend
The Revenge of The Tipping Point
What I Ate in One Year
Sonny Boy
Meditations for Mortals
Absolution
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Jeff and Rebecca digest the five finalists for the 2024 Booker Prize, talk about some upcoming literary adaptations, developments in the world of book banning and censorship, and hit some recent reading.

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Check out the Book Riot Podcast Book Page on Thriftbooks!

The Book Riot Podcast Patreon

This content contains affiliate links. When you buy through these links, we may earn an affiliate commission.

Discussed in this episode:

PRH hires a public policy role

ALA reports 40% decline in book bans this year so far

Booker Prize shortlist

The 60 most popular books on Goodreads in the last 5 years

Florence Pugh to start in East of Eden adaptation for Netflix

The Repeat Room by Jesse Ball

Rejection by Tony Tulathimutte

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Jeff and Rebecca share half-baked brainstorms about ways to make life better.

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Jeff and Rebecca debut a new format, "Is It Good?," with the most-hyped book of the fall: Intermezzo by Sally Rooney.

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Check out the Book Riot Podcast Book Page on Thriftbooks!

The Book Riot Podcast Patreon

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Discussed in this episode:
Intermezzo by Sally Rooney
What People Are Saying About The New Sally Rooney Book
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Jeff and Rebecca talk about their time in New York last week, recount some recent reading, and then Rebecca talks with Amanda Litman from Run for Something.

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Check out the Book Riot Podcast Book Page on Thriftbooks!

The Book Riot Podcast Patreon

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Discussed in this episode:
Run for Something
Entitlement by Rumaan Alam
Catalina
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Jeff and Rebecca turn the time-machine dial to "2004" to pick the 10 books from that year that mattered the most.

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Check out the Book Riot Podcast Book Page on Thriftbooks!

The Book Riot Podcast Patreon

This content contains affiliate links. When you buy through these links, we may earn an affiliate commission.

Discussed in this episode:
Gilead
The Plot Against America
He's Just Not That Into You
What's the Matter with Kansas?
Alexander Hamilton
In the Shadow of No Towers
Snow by Orham Pamuk
After Dark by Haruki Murakami
Cloud Atlas
Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell
Transmission by Hari Kunzru
My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult
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