First Edition

On the occasion of the publication of his new novel, The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store, James McBride comes on to talk about his life as a reader, what books can do, and what writing means to him.Check out First Edition on Twitter, on Substack, and on Instagram.And if you have a moment to rate and review the show on Apple Podcasts, please and thank you!Email First Edition at firstedition@bookriot.comThis content contains affiliate links. When you buy through these links, we may earn an affiliate commission.Discussed in this episode:The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store by James McBrideThe Bluest Eye by Toni MorrisonBeverly ClearyThe Autobiography of Malcolm XThe Power Broker by Robert Caro Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Rebecca Schinsky is back to help Jeff pick the "it" book for August 2023.Check out First Edition on Twitter, on Substack, and on Instagram.And if you have a moment to rate and review the show on Apple Podcasts, please and thank you!Email First Edition at firstedition@bookriot.comThis content contains affiliate links. When you buy through these links, we may earn an affiliate commission.Discussed in this episode:Anansi's Gold by Yepoka YeeboFamily Lore by Elizabeth AcevedoHalf-Life of a Stolen Sister by Rachel CantorThe Heaven & Earth Grocery Store by James McBrideLearned by Heart by Emma DonoghuePulling the Chariot of the Sun by Shane McCraeThe Invisible Hour by Alice HoffmanThe Bee Sting by Paul MurrayTom Lake by Ann Patchett Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Liberty Hardy helps Jeff workshop some ideas for talking to authors because interviewing authors is hard. Or at least Jeff thinks so.Discussed in this episode:Check out First Edition on Twitter, on Substack, and on Instagram.And if you have a moment to rate and review the show on Apple Podcasts, please and thank you!The All The Books! PodcastThe New Books! NewsletterWhat's My Page Again? (Liberty's Patreon) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Rebecca and Jeff consider ten finalists for the "It Book" of July and pick a winner.This content contains affiliate links. When you buy through these links, we may earn an affiliate commission.Discussed in this episode:Check out First Edition on Twitter, on Substack, and on Instagram.And if you have a moment to rate and review the show on Apple Podcasts, please and thank you!Somebody's Fool by Richard RussoProm Mom by Laura LippmanCrook Manifesto by Colson WhiteheadSilver Nitrate by Silvia Moreno-GarciaStrip Tees by Kate FlanneryStar Bringer by Craft and WolfGoodbye, Earl by Leesa Cross-SmithThe Librarianist by Patrick DeWittVanishing Maps by Cristina GarciaThe Light Room by Kate Zambreno  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Kendra Winchester comes on to commemorate the 15th anniversary of two events that heralded the modern audiobook boom: Amazon buying Audible and Apple allowing third-party apps on the iPhone. Then, Sharifah Williams, Book Riot's Director of Content and co-host of our SFF Yeah! podcast, joins me to debut a new segment: The Insta-Buys.Check out First Edition on Twitter, on Substack, and on Instagram.And if you have a moment to rate and review the show on Apple Podcasts, please and thank you!This content contains affiliate links. When you buy through these links, we may earn an affiliate commission.Discussed in this episode:Better Than Nothing? Exploring the Limitations of AI-Narrated Audiobooks from a Disabled Person’s Perspective10 Audiobook Narrators You Need to Follow on TikTokThe Untold History of the Talking Book by Matthew RuberyCheck out Kendra's podcast, Read Appalachia. You can also follow her on Substack, Winchester Ave, and posting photos of her Corgis on Instagram and Twitter @kdwinchester.Sharifah Williams co-hosts our SFF Yeah! podcast Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Rebecca Schinsky is back to help Jeff pick the "it" book of June, and S.A. Cosby, author of the forthcoming All the Sinners Bleed, tells a reading story.This content contains affiliate links. When you buy through these links, we may earn an affiliate commission.Discussed in this episode:Check out First Edition on Twitter, on Substack, and on Instagram.And if you have a moment to rate and review the show on Apple Podcasts, please and thank you!I Am Homeless If This is Not My Home by Lorrie MooreThe 272 by Rachel SwarnsAll the Sinners Bleed by S.A. CosbyFive Star Weekend by Elin HilderbrandBe Mine by Richard FordThe Puzzle Master by Danielle TrussoniThe Wind Knows My Name by Isabel AllendePageboy by Eliot PageWatch Us Dance by Leila SlimaniLove, Theoretically by Ali Hazelwood Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On the occasion of the 20th Anniversary of The Kite Runner, author Khaled Hosseini joins Book Riot CEO Jeff O’Neal to talk about the creation, publication, and long-life of the literary phenomenon.Check out First Edition on Twitter, on Substack, and on Instagram.And if you have a moment to rate and review the show on Apple Podcasts, please and thank you!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 Schinsky is back to help Jeff figure out what the It book of May will be. And Book Riot editor Erica Ezeifedi comes on to debut a new First Edition segment, Reading Stories.Check out First Edition on Twitter, on Substack, and on Instagram.And if you have a moment to rate and review the show on Apple Podcasts, please and thank you!This content contains affiliate links. When you buy through these links, we may earn an affiliate commission.Discussed in this Episode:The Making of Another Motion Picture Masterpiece by Tom HanksChain Gang All Stars by Nana Kwame Ajdei-BrenyahThe Covenant of Water by Abraham VergheseTraffic by Ben SmithThe Ferryman by Justin CroninHomebodies by Tembe Denton-HurstThe Late Americans by Brandon TaylorHey, Hun by Emily Lynn PaulsonYellowface by R.F. KuangSing Her Down by Ivy Pachoda Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode, Book Riot editors Vanessa Diaz and Kelly Jensen come on to talk about the long legacy of Are You There God? It’s Me Margaret in anticipation of the big new adaptation. Then Jeff talks to Professor Sarah Hart, author of the new book Once Upon a Prime, about the confluence of mathematics and literature. And finally, Professor Erica Williams on Nella Larsen, on the occasion of the new collection of her work: The Complete Fiction of Nella Larsen.This content contains affiliate links. When you buy through these links, we may earn an affiliate commission.Relevant links!Are Your There, God? It’s Me, Margaret by Judy BloomOnce Upon a Prime by Sarah HartThe Complete Fiction of Nella LarsenCheck out First Edition on Twitter, on Substack, and on Instagram.And if you have a moment to rate and review the show on Apple Podcasts, please and thank you!And please do email me with feedback here: firstedition@bookriot.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this kick-off episode, Jeff O’Neal plays a game to determine the “it” book of April with Rebecca Schinksy, talks about what it means to put a book into the world with Simon & Schuster Senior Editor Yahdon Israel, and considers humanism with Sarah Bakewell, on the occasion of the publication of her new book, Humanly Possible.This content contains affiliate links. When you buy through these links, we may earn an affiliate commission.Discussed in this episode:It Book Knock-Out ContendersWonder Boy by Angel Au-Yeung and David JeansCamp Zero by Michelle Min SterlingRomantic Comedy by Curtis SittenfeldYou Could Make This Place Beautiful by Maggie SmithSmall Mercies by Dennis LehaneThe Wager by David GrannHappy Place by Emily HenryIn the Lives of Puppets by T.J. KluneA Living Remedy by Nicole ChungHouse of Cotton by Monica BrashearsYahdon Israel’s Advance Readers ClubSoil by Camille T DungyHumanly Possible by Sarah BakewellFirst Edition on InstagramFirst Edition on TwitterFirst Edition on SubstackAnd please do email me with feedback here: firstedition@bookriot.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices