24 episodes
First Edition Book Riot
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- Arts
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4.8 • 67 Ratings
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BookRiot.com co-founder Jeff O'Neal explores the wide bookish world. Interviews, lists, rankings, retrospectives, recommendations, and much more, featuring people who know and love books.
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THE HOUSE ON MANGO STREET at 40
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.
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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
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Anatomy of a Scene and Hardest/Easiest with Xochitl Gonzalez
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.
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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!
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Discussed in this episode:
Anita de Monte Laughs Last
The First Edition Newsletter
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The State of Ereaders
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.
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How to Bring Back a Book
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.
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The It Books of the Year
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
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THE SISTERHOOD with Prof. Courtney Thorsson
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.
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Customer Reviews
Love this!!
Love this new addition to the Book Riot podcasts. I’m getting so many new book recommendations and have found myself persuaded to read books I wasn’t previously excited about (and possibly a bit of the opposite, too, which I appreciate so I’m not spinning my wheels on books I’m not going to love). Looking forward to November’s episode already!!
Dismissive of popular fiction…
…their site should be called, Book Snob. This last episode where they picked the It Books of the Year was my last Book Riot podcast (and I’ve subscribed to many of their shows over several years). They weren’t picking the “best” of the year, instead the “it” books of the year and of course Fourth Wing and Spare should have both been on it, not just Fourth Wing begrudgingly. For the record, I’ve not read either. But they were two of the most talked about books of the year! For the record. I’m a liberal, rare book librarian who reads across genres and you would think I would be their target demographic. But, no thanks! Not anymore.
Thank you
Very cool and interesting to hear what is happening at Red Tower Books. Thanks, Jeff, for introducing me to Fourth Wing. Am age 70 and cannot wait for the second book release in November. Older humans love dragons, too.
Deb Romary