This episode comes over from the First Edition feed: Jeff solos his way through listing a bunch of books coming in June that, were time and space no object, would go on the TBR for sure. Subscribe to First Edition via RSS, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify. For episode extras, subscribe to the First Edition Substack. Tailored Book Recommendations has the chops to find the right read for your loved one this Father’s Day. Gift TBR today starting at just $18! Discussed in this episode: The Book Riot Podcast The Book Riot Podcast Live at Powell’s on July 9th, 2025 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jeff is joined by Book Riot editors Danika Ellis and Erica Ezeifedi to talk about what makes a beach read, beach reads picks, and memorable beach reading moments. Subscribe to the podcast via RSS, Apple Podcasts, and Spotify. Sign up for the Book Riot Podcast Newsletter and follow the show on Instagram and Bluesky. Get more industry news with our Today in Books daily newsletter. Tailored Book Recommendations has the chops to find the right read for your loved one this Father’s Day. Gift TBR today starting at just $18! Check out Strong Sense of Place wherever you get your podcasts, or visit strongsenseofplace.com Discussed in this Episode: The Book Riot Live at Powell's July 9th: The Best Books of the Year (so far) The Best Beach Reads of All Time The Hey YA Podcast Book Riot's In the Club, In Reading Color, and Our Queerest Shelves Newsletters Book Riot's Read Harder Challenge Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This is a bonus preview of the Book Riot Podcast's most recent Patreon-only episode. Jeff and Rebecca catch up with each other's recent reading and give some non-book media takes. For example: Fountain of Youth. Woof. To listen to the full episode and get access to literally every Patreon-only thing we have done over the last three years, go to Patreon to sign up. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jeff and Rebecca talk to Spotify's Associate Director for Audiobooks Editorial Katie del Rosario about curating audiobooks for Spotify, getting people to try audiobooks, spotlighting special titles, and more. Then, Jeff and Sharifah talk about Flashlight by Susan Choi, one of the most anticipated releases of the summer. Subscribe to the podcast via RSS, Apple Podcasts, and Spotify. Sign up for the Book Riot Podcast Newsletter and follow the show on Instagram and Bluesky. Get more industry news with our Today in Books daily newsletter. Tailored Book Recommendations has the chops to find the right read for your loved one this Father’s Day. Gift TBR today starting at just $18! Check out Strong Sense of Place wherever you get your podcasts, or visit strongsenseofplace.com This content contains affiliate links. When you buy through these links, we may earn an affiliate commission. Discussed in this episode: Spotify Audiobooks Flashlight by Susan Choi The Book Riot Podcast Live at Powell's on July 9th. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jeff and Rebecca consider a loaded roster of June books to pick the It Book of the month. Subscribe to the podcast via RSS, Apple Podcasts, and Spotify. Sign up for the Book Riot Podcast Newsletter and follow the show on Instagram and Bluesky. Get more industry news with our Today in Books daily newsletter. Trust your reading list to the experts at Tailored Book Recommendations who have recommended over 160,000 books to readers of all kinds. Let TBR match you with your next favorite read! Get started for only $18 at mytbr.co! Discussed in This Episode: The Book Riot Podcast Patreon Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Time again to look at interesting, lucrative, exciting, strange, or otherwise notable book deal announcements. Always a good time. This is a bonus preview of our most recent Patreon-only episode. To listen to the full episode and our entire back catalog of bonus content, sign-up for the Book Riot podcast Patreon. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jeff and Rebecca look back a couple of decades to power-rank the books of 2005. Subscribe to the podcast via RSS, Apple Podcasts, and Spotify. Sign up for the Book Riot Podcast Newsletter and follow the show on Instagram and Bluesky. Get more industry news with our Today in Books daily newsletter. Trust your reading list to the experts at Tailored Book Recommendations who have recommended over 160,000 books to readers of all kinds. Let TBR match you with your next favorite read! Get started for only $18 at mytbr.co! The Book Riot Podcast Patreon Discussed in This Episode: Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Book Riot's managing editor Vanessa Diaz joins Rebecca for a conversation about the latest romantasy BookTok conspiracy, what's going on with the Trump administration firing the Librarian of Congress, the NYT's best books of the year so far, recent reading, and more. Subscribe to the podcast via RSS, Apple Podcasts, and Spotify. Sign up for the Book Riot Podcast Newsletter and follow the show on Instagram and Bluesky. Get more industry news with our Today in Books daily newsletter. Become a Book Riot All Access member and explore our full library of members-only content, including must-reads, deep dives, and reading challenge recommendations. For a limited time, the first 50 new All Access annual members get a FREE copy of Automatic Noodle by Annalee Newitz courtesy of Tor Publishing! This content contains affiliate links. When you buy through these links, we may earn an affiliate commission. Discussed in this Episode: Trump administration abruptly fires Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden What is the Library of Congress, and What Does the Librarian of Congress Do? Firing comes on the heals of major report about AI and copyright Trump names his former defense attorney as acting Librarian of Congress Massive victory in lawsuit against Trump’s dismantling of IMLS The NYT’s best books of the year so far Romantasy BookTok’s latest conspiracy Edinburgh-based tour company to replace Harry Potter tours w/ LGBTQ+ history walks for Pride Month The Dry Season by Melissa Febos So Many Stars by Caro de Robertis Detective Aunty by Uzma Jalaluddin Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jeff and Rebecca are joined by Sharifah Williams and Prof. Laura McGrath to conduct the first ever Book Riot fantasy book draft. We explain the rules, talk about strategy, and then engage in some fairly chaotic literary team building. Subscribe to the podcast via RSS, Apple Podcasts, and Spotify. Sign up for the Book Riot Podcast Newsletter and follow the show on Instagram and Bluesky. Get more industry news with our Today in Books daily newsletter. Trust your reading list to the experts at Tailored Book Recommendations who have recommended over 160,000 books to readers of all kinds. Let TBR match you with your next favorite read! Get started for only $18 at mytbr.co! Discussed in This Episode: The Book Riot Fantasy League Scoring Sheet - Make a copy to keep your own. The Book Riot Podcast Patreon Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This is a bonus preview of the our most recent Patreon-only episode, The JeffCore Books of May 2025. To listen to the full episode and get access to the complete back catalog of bonus content, sign up for the Book Riot Podcast Patreon here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jeff and Rebecca continue to lap up with extreme interest scuttlebutt about James's Pulitzer win before talking about Lithgow's underwhelming reaction to Rowling's transphobia, a new publisher focused on dudes (initially. they swear) and more book news. Then Sharifah Williams hops on to talk about Kevin Wilson's new novel, Run for the Hills. Subscribe to the podcast via RSS, Apple Podcasts, and Spotify. Sign up for the Book Riot Podcast Newsletter and follow the show on Instagram and Bluesky. Get more industry news with our Today in Books daily newsletter. Trust your reading list to the experts at Tailored Book Recommendations who have recommended over 160,000 books to readers of all kinds. Let TBR match you with your next favorite read! Get started for only $18 at mytbr.co! Discussed in This Episode: This content contains affiliate links. When you buy through these links, we may earn an affiliate commission. Alexandra Alter confirms JAMES Pulitzer speculation (LitHub piece with the speculation) John Lithgow surprised by backlash to J.K. Rowling New imprint will focus on literary fiction by men  Agatha Christie’s estate authorizes writing course taught by AI deepfake  You can now buy books in the Kindle iOS app Run for The Hills by Kevin Wilson The Book Riot Podcast Patreon The Book Riot Podcast on Instagram The Book Riot Podcast Newsletter Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jeff and Rebecca each select 10 books to win your vote in our Summer Preview draft. To listen to the full episode and all of the bonus content from The Book Riot podcast, join the Patreon. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

First, Jeff and Rebecca digest Percival Everett's Pulitzer win (including a little palace intrigue of the literary variety). Then, they conclude this go-round of reader recommendation requests. Subscribe to the podcast via RSS, Apple Podcasts, and Spotify. Sign up for the Book Riot Podcast Newsletter and follow the show on Instagram and Bluesky. Get more industry news with our Today in Books daily newsletter. Trust your reading list to the experts at Tailored Book Recommendations who have recommended over 160,000 books to readers of all kinds. Let TBR match you with your next favorite read! Get started for only $18 at mytbr.co! Discussed in This Episode: The The Pulitzer Board Overrule The Jury? The Book Riot Podcast Patreon The Book Riot Podcast on Instagram The Book Riot Podcast Newsletter Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jeff and Rebecca respond to a range of listener recommendation requests, including, but not exclusively, for moms, dads, and grads. Subscribe to the podcast via RSS, Apple Podcasts, and Spotify. Sign up for the Book Riot Podcast Newsletter and follow the show on Instagram and Bluesky. Get more industry news with our Today in Books daily newsletter. Trust your reading list to the experts at Tailored Book Recommendations who have recommended over 160,000 books to readers of all kinds. Let TBR match you with your next favorite read! Get started for only $18 at mytbr.co! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jeff and Rebecca try to determine what the It Book of May 2025 will be. Subscribe to the podcast via RSS, Apple Podcasts, and Spotify. Sign up for the Book Riot Podcast Newsletter and follow the show on Instagram and Bluesky. Get more industry news with our Today in Books daily newsletter. Trust your reading list to the experts at Tailored Book Recommendations who have recommended over 160,000 books to readers of all kinds. Let TBR match you with your next favorite read! Get started for only $18 at mytbr.co! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This is a preview of the Patreon-only episode in which Jeff and Rebecca talk about Bertino's new short story collection by ranking the stories in Exit Zero by Marie-Helene Bertino. This is for the real ones out there. Go here to check out The Book Riot Podcast Patreon. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jeff and Rebecca talk about still being pissed off about the 2012 non-pulitzer, Gaiman seemingly throwing in the image rehab towel, legal challenges and defenses, and more before talking about their recent reading. Subscribe to the podcast via RSS, Apple Podcasts, and Spotify. Sign up for the Book Riot Podcast Newsletter and follow the show on Instagram and Bluesky. Get more industry news with our Today in Books daily newsletter. Trust your reading list to the experts at Tailored Book Recommendations who have recommended over 160,000 books to readers of all kinds. Let TBR match you with your next favorite read! Get started for only $18 at mytbr.co! This content contains affiliate links. When you buy through these links, we may earn an affiliate commission. Discussed in this Episode: The Books of Marie-Helene Bertino...with Marie-Helene Bertino on First Edition Jane Friedman on The Business of Being a Writer on First Edition The Long History of The Simplified Spelling Movement with Gabe Henry on First Edition. The Book Riot Podcast Patreon The Book Riot Podcast on Instagram The Book Riot Podcast Newsletter Exit Zero by Marie-Helene Bertino Enough is Enuf by Gabe Henry Pronoun Trouble by John McWhorter Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jeff and Rebecca continue to get mileage out of the "Of the Century so Far" framing, this time by ranking the fiction winners of the Pulitzer prize. Tough. Subscribe to the podcast via RSS, Apple Podcasts, and Spotify. Sign up for the Book Riot Podcast Newsletter and follow the show on Instagram and Bluesky. Get more industry news with our Today in Books daily newsletter. Trust your reading list to the experts at Tailored Book Recommendations who have recommended over 160,000 books to readers of all kinds. Let TBR match you with your next favorite read! Get started for only $18 at mytbr.co! This content contains affiliate links. When you buy through these links, we may earn an affiliate commission. Discussed in this Episode: The Book Riot Podcast Patreon The Book Riot Podcast on Instagram The Book Riot Podcast Newsletter Email your Moms, Dads, and Grads Recommendations to podcast (at) bookriot (dot) com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It's the 20th anniversary of the publication of Kazuo Ishiguro's modern classic, Never Let Me Go. Jeff and Rebecca recorded this episode diving into the book and movie in 2022. To listen to the whole episode, sign up to become a member of The Book Riot podcast Patreon. You'll get new bonus episodes as they publish, as well as access to all the bonus stuff we've done so far. This content contains affiliate links. When you buy through these links, we may earn an affiliate commission. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Rebecca sits down with Vanessa Diaz to discuss a new study that shows book bans lead to increased readership of inclusive content, the men cashing in big on romantasy, PEN Awards finalists, and more. Subscribe to the podcast via RSS, Apple Podcasts, and Spotify. Sign up for the Book Riot Podcast Newsletter and follow the show on Instagram and Bluesky. Get more industry news with our Today in Books daily newsletter. Trust your reading list to the experts at Tailored Book Recommendations who have recommended over 160,000 books to readers of all kinds. Let TBR match you with your next favorite read! Get started for only $18 at mytbr.co! This content contains affiliate links. When you buy through these links, we may earn an affiliate commission. Discussed in this Episode: PEN Awards Finalists ALA State of America’s Libraries report New study finds that book bans lead to increased readership ACLU files suit against Department of Defense schools over book banning The men cashing in on romantasy Meta says books used to train LLMs are both essential and essentially worthless Searches by Vauhini Vara Murder at Gull's Nest by Jess Kidd Murder by Cheesecake by Rachel Ekstrom Courage Harlem Rhapsody by Victoria Christopher Murray Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices