Jeff and Rebecca gather around the hearth to discuss Louisa May Alcott's beloved novel about girlhood, family, ambition, and what it means to live a good life. They talk about why Alcott was reluct...
Rebecca and Jeff talk through their methods for reading more and getting more out of reading, from defining what “better” looks like for you to making room for reading by letting go of other habits...
Rebecca and Jeff reflect on what they've learned during the whirlwind first season of the show, answer listener questions, and discuss ideas for the future. Subscribe to our free newsletter, and b...
Jeff and Rebecca revisit Charles Dickens's A Christmas Carol, a story so familiar it’s often mistaken for simple. They consider its moral stakes, its enduring influence on readers and society, and ...
Jeff and Rebecca get into Maggie O'Farrell's best-selling, critically-acclaimed, and now feature film, Hamnet. How does a book loosely based on the life of William Shakespeare not even use the name...
Jeff and Rebecca discuss the award-winning books, pop culture phenomena, book club picks, and crossover hits of 2025 and attempt to identify the ones that might someday join the canon. Subscribe t...
Hello Zero to Well-Read listeners! We've got a recommendation for you today: Origin Stories is a fantastic new podcast for anyone curious about the workings of the creative mind. It's hosted by vet...
Jeff and Rebecca tackle a titan of modern fiction, discussing the breakout book that made a literary icon, Midnight's Children by Salman Rushdie. They talk about what made Rushdie famous and what k...
Jeff and Rebecca explore Octavia Butler's eerily prescient 1993 novel, The Parable of the Sower, and discuss Butler's legacy and enduring impact on science fiction. Subscribe to The Book Riot News...
Jeff and Rebecca revisit Donna Tartt's cult classic, the OG of dark academia, The Secret History. Subscribe to The Book Riot Newsletter for regular updates to help you get the most out of your rea...
Jeff and Rebecca throw it way back to the GOAT of ancient Greek tragedies, Oedipus the King by Sophocles, and are delighted to report that, 2500 years later, it still hits. They discuss the inventi...
Jeff and Rebecca revisit To Kill a Mockingbird and attempt to separate the book from the discourse in order to understand what one of America's most beloved—and most banned—novels means today. Sub...
Jeff and Rebecca explore the greatest tragedy and arguably the best-known work by the man, the myth, the legend: William Shakespeare. Subscribe to The Book Riot Newsletter for regular updates to h...
Jeff and Rebecca go back to the future to discuss Nobel Prize winner Kazuo Ishiguro's 2005 literary dystopian novel, Never Let Me Go. Subscribe to The Book Riot Newsletter for regular updates to h...
Jeff and Rebecca reflect on the impact of Stephenie Meyer's Twilight on the occasion of its 20th anniversary, with help from Book Riot's managing editor Vanessa Diaz and resident young adult fictio...
Jeff and Rebecca tackle the debut novel of the all-everything novelist Toni Morrison, The Bluest Eye. Subscribe to The Book Riot Newsletter for regular updates to help you get the most out of your...
Jeff and Rebecca go full "brain on" to tackle Thomas Pynchon's Vineland, in the news again as Paul Thomas Anderson adapts it in his new movie, One Battle After Another. Subscribe to The Book Riot ...
Rebecca and Jeff dive into Zora Neale Hurston’s masterpiece, Their Eyes Were Watching God, a story about the search for love, freedom, and self-determination. They talk about what makes Hurston's w...
For our very first episode, we’re popping the champagne and revisiting F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby. Jeff and Rebecca dig into what makes Gatsby a classic, why it’s all over high school r...
Introducing Zero to Well-Read, a new podcast from Book Riot that’s part book club, part English class, and all fun. Join your hosts Jeff O’Neal and Rebecca Schinsky as they tackle the books you've ...
