First Edition

Book Riot's Sharifah Williams joins Jeff to talk about her piece, "The Books Won't Save Us." Subscribe to First Edition via RSS, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify. For episode extras, subscribe to the First Edition Substack. Discussed in this episode: The Books Won't Save Us by Sharifah Williams Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A couple of segments here ported over from The Book Riot Podcast. First, Brooke Nagler tells us what it's like to break into the world of literary agenting. Then, Franklin Leonard and Randy Winston talk about their project, The Black List. Subscribe to First Edition via RSS, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify. For episode extras, subscribe to the First Edition Substack. Discussed in this episode: The Book Group The Black List Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Book Riot editor Danika Ellis joins Jeff to talk about how she tracks bestsellers for Book Riot, how growing up online was sort of great, and what we see (or don't) when we read. Subscribe to First Edition via RSS, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify. For episode extras, subscribe to the First Edition Substack. Discussed in this episode: The Best-Selling Books of the Week The Most Read Books on Goodreads This Week Books Aren't Mental Movies: You're Missing the Best Part of Reading I'm Glad I Grew Up Online Aphantasia Self-Test Everything2 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

An audio version of a post I wrote for Book Riot recently, The 10 Most Interesting Questions in the World of Books and Reading. Subscribe to First Edition via RSS, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify. For episode extras, subscribe to the First Edition Substack. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This episode is from our old podcast series Annotated, and it seemed fitting to bring it out of the archive this election season. In this episode: A woman with no prior political experience decides to run for city commission in her small college town. So she goes to the library and checks out a book called How to Win a Local Election. And she wins. This is her story and the story of the book that helped her win. Subscribe to First Edition via RSS, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify. For episode extras, subscribe to the First Edition Substack. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

While I am out on vacation, I am bringing something out from the vault. I have done a couple of "Reading Life" episodes here on First Edition with Adam Limon and James McBride, and that format got started as its own, sadly ended, podcast series: Reading Lives. While I was doing that show, I got a bunch of requests for my own episode, which I tried recording as a solo act. So here is that episode, about my own life as a reader. Back with new episodes starting at the end of August. Subscribe to First Edition via RSS, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify. For episode extras, subscribe to the First Edition Substack. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jeff is joined by Brenna Connor, Director & Industry Analyst for U.S. books sales for Circana. She has the goods: what is selling, what is trending, how retailers are doing, and much more. I learned a TON, and I bet you will too. Subscribe to First Edition via RSS, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify. For episode extras, subscribe to the First Edition Substack. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode of First Edition, the reading life of U.S. National Poet Laureate Ada Limón. This content contains affiliate links. When you buy through these links, we may earn an affiliate commission. Discussed in this episode: You Are Here: Poetry in the Natural World, edited by Ada Limón In Praise of Mystery by Ada Limón, illustrated by Peter Sis. Subscribe to First Edition via RSS, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify. For episode extras, subscribe to the First Edition Substack. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jeff O'Neal talks with Ayana Mathis about her latest book, The Unsettled. The Unsettled was a 2023 New York Times Notable Book of the Year, and a Best Book of the Year selection by The New Yorker, The Washington Post, Oprah Daily, and others. The Unsettled is now available in paperback. This content contains affiliate links. When you buy through these links, we may earn an affiliate commission. Subscribe to First Edition via RSS, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify. For episode extras, subscribe to the First Edition Substack. Discussed in this episode: The Unsettled by Ayana Mathis Email in with questions, comments, and ideas: firstedition@bookriot.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode, Jeff talks with Claire Messud about her new novel, This Strange, Eventful History. Subscribe to First Edition via RSS, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify. For episode extras, subscribe to the First Edition Substack. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode, Jeff talks with Rachel Khong about her new novel, Real Americans. Subscribe to First Edition via RSS, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify. For episode extras, subscribe to the First Edition Substack. 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

40 years ago, Sandra Cisneros published what would become a contemporary classic: The House on Mango Street. To mark the occasion, Everyman's Library has released a new edition. The introduction to that edition was written by Professor John Philip Santos, a fellow writer and long-time friend of Cisneros. He joins me on this episode to talk about the origin, meaning, and legacy of this modern masterpiece. This content contains affiliate links. When you buy through these links, we may earn an affiliate commission. Discussed in this episode: The House on Mango Street (Everyman's Library) by Sandra Cisneros, introduction by John Philip Santos Places Left Unfinished at the Time of Creation by John Philip Santos Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Xochitl Gonzalez, author of Anita de Monte Laughs Last, joins Jeff to debut two new First Edition segments: Anatomy of a Scene and Hardest/Easiest. In the first segment, they each pick a scene to dissect from Anita de Monte Laughs Last. In the second, Gonzalez talks about what part of the book was the easiest to write....and which was the hardest. Subscribe to First Edition via RSS, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify. For episode extras, subscribe to the First Edition Substack. Want to make your book club the best club? Sign up for our In the Club newsletter. In the Club will deliver recommendations for the best books to discuss in your book clubs. From buzzy new releases to brilliant throwbacks, the books highlighted in this newsletter will drive your book club discussions. We’ll also share some book club-friendly recipes and interesting bookish updates from all over. If you become a paid subscriber, you get even more recommendations plus community features. In other words, we’ll keep you well-met, well-read, and well-fed. Sign up today! This content contains affiliate links. When you buy through these links, we may earn an affiliate commission. Discussed in this episode: Anita de Monte Laughs Last The First Edition Newsletter Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jason Snell of sixcolors.com, and ereader connoisseur, joins Jeff to talk about the state of ereaders, what makes a good ereader, a couple of interesting, oddball new devices, and more. Check out sixcolors.com and The Incomparable. Want to make your book club the best club? Sign up for our In the Club newsletter. In the Club will deliver recommendations for the best books to discuss in your book clubs. From buzzy new releases to brilliant throwbacks, the books highlighted in this newsletter will drive your book club discussions. We’ll also share some book club-friendly recipes and interesting bookish updates from all over. If you become a paid subscriber, you get even more recommendations plus community features. In other words, we’ll keep you well-met, well-read, and well-fed. Sign up today! Discussed in this episode: Two e-readers that made me reconsider why I use e-readers by Jason Snell Subscribe to First Edition via RSS, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify. For episode extras, subscribe to the First Edition Substack. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Joshua Bodwell of Godine & Black Sparrow Press talks to Jeff about a book they both love, The Orchard by Adele Crockett Robertson, and the process of reissuing it as part of Godine's Nonpareil series. 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. Discussed in this episode: The Orchard by Adele Crockett Robertson Godine's Nonpareil Series Subscribe to First Edition via RSS, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify. For episode extras, subscribe to the First Edition Substack. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jeff and Rebecca sit down to determine the It Books of the Year. From 24 finalists, they will whittle down to twelve. The last cut is the deepest. Subscribe to First Edition via RSS, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify. For episode extras, subscribe to the First Edition Substack. 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. The It Books of the Year Finalists The Woman in Me by Britney Spears The Guest by Emma Cline Tom Lake by Ann Patchett Prophet Song by Paul Lynch The Berry Pickers by Amanda Peters The Wager by David Grann Doppelganger by Naomi Klein Spare by Prince Harry Big Fiction by Dan Sinykin Lone Women by Victor LaValle The Biography of X by Catherine Lacey Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros Heaven & Earth Grocery Story by James McBride Poverty by Matthew Desmond The Covenant of Water by Abraham Verghese Yellowface by R. F. Kuang Blackouts by Justin Torres Chain Gang All Stars by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah The Fraud by Zadie Smith The Vaster Wilds by Lauren Groff How to Say Babylon by Safiya Sinclair Let Us Descend by Jesmyn Ward Pageboy by Elliot Page The Country of the Blind by Andrew Leland Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode, I talk to Prof. Courtney Thorsson about her new book, The Sisterhood: How a Network of Black Women Writers Changed American Culture. Over the course of two years, a group of remarkable black women writers met to discuss their work, connect with each other, and ultimately influence the next decades of American cultural life. The Sisterhood documents the meetings of the group, their motivations for gathering, and the wider intellectual and artistic world they helped create. Subscribe to First Edition via RSS, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify. For episode extras, subscribe to the First Edition Substack. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It's the last big month for new releases, so Jeff O'Neal and Rebecca Schinsky saddle up for one more It Book Knockout Round for 2023. Subscribe to First Edition via RSS, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify. For episode extras, subscribe to the First Edition Substack. 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. Books mentioned in this episode: The Future by Noami Alderman Class by Stephanie Land Breaking Twitter by Ben Mezrich The Mystery Guest by Nita Prose Day by Michael Cunningham Same Bed, Different Dreams by Ed Park The Vulnerables by Sigrid Nunez My Name is Barbra by Barbra Streisand The Liberators by E.J. Koh To Free the Captives by Tracy K. Smith Iron Flame by Rebecca Yarros Email in with questions, comments, and ideas: firstedition@bookriot.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jeff talks to Prof. Dan Sinykin about his new book, Big Fiction: How Conglomeration Changed Book Publishing and American Literature. Subscribe to First Edition via RSS, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify. For episode extras, subscribe to the First Edition Substack. Email in with questions, comments, and ideas: firstedition@bookriot.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It's time for the October "It Book" Knockout Round! Plus, a special mini-roundup of notable celebrity memoirs coming out this fall. Subscribe to First Edition via RSS, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify. For episode extras, subscribe to the First Edition Substack. 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: Brooklyn Crime Novel by Jonathan Lethem Going Infinite by Michael Lewis Hidden Potential by Adam Grant Blackouts by Justin Torres Family Meal by Bryan Washington A Man of Two Faces by Viet Thanh Nguyen Extremely Online by Taylor Lorenz Roman Stories by Jhumpa Lahiri America Fantastica by Tim O'Brien Let Us Descend by Jesmyn Ward How to Say Babylon by Safiya Sinclair Worthy by Jada Pinkett Smith Being Henry by Henry Winkler My Name is Barbra by Barbra Streisand Making It So by Patrick Stewart The Woman in Me by Britney Spears Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices