Books & Literature
New books, literary reviews, author interviews, reading lists, book clubs and publishing news.
About this list
This reading list brings together items from the sources selected for Books & Literature. Open each item at its original source for the complete article, episode or video. This is a selection of current coverage, not a complete archive.
Latest podcasts
Newest first
Layli Long Soldier : We
Layli Long Soldier returns to the show to discuss her latest remarkable poetry collection We (and/or Wé). We talk about these two connotations of we/wé, the questions of address, audience, identity and kinship implicit in them both. We explore the many visual art installations documented within We and how they intersect with both poetry and community. We explore what it means to treat a poem, not yet finished, as having its own desires and needs different than yours.
What does it mean to be well-read?
Anne is joined by Rebecca Schinsky and Jeff O’Neal of the Book Riot podcast Zero to Well-Read to discuss what each of them thinks about what it means to be well-read, and how their personal working definitions have evolved over the years.
‘People forgot I existed’: Audrey Niffenegger on taking 14 years to write a sequel to The Time Traveler’s Wife
Her debut made her a global star. Now she has finally written a follow-up – and this time, it’s political. She talks about impostor syndrome, screen adaptations and becoming radicalised
Ep 483 - Banned Books Week - Being a Reader in a Dystopian Hellscape
Brea and Mallory tick off another book on the 2026 Reading Glasses Challenge: read a banned book by an author that is still alive! Plus, they celebrate (mourn) banned books week with some tips on how to be readers in a dystopian world! Email us at readingglassespodcast at gmail dot com! Reading Glasses Merch Recommendations Store The Reading Glasses Book! Sponsor - ZocDoc www.zocdoc.com/GLASSES Links - Reading Glasses Facebook Group Reading Glasses Goodreads Group Wish List Newsletter Libro.fm
On Politics: What is political writing?
In What is literature? (1948) Jean-Paul Sartre argued that writers and artists have a responsibility to engage with political and social realities. But is it still possible for writers to have political agency in a culture that instantly commodifies ideas? Lea Ypi, a professor of politics at the LSE, has called for a return to the questions behind ‘committed literature’ that emerged in the middle of the last century.
Books that just WORK for me
Reading in retirement has given today’s guest more time to explore what makes a book "click" for her, and she's joining Anne today to talk all about it.
Fascism in a time of AI
Since Trump first took office in 2016 there has been a debate on the left as to whether he and other authoritarian right-wing leaders, such as Viktor Orbán and Narendra Modi, should be described as fascist. Some have dismissed the label as rhetorical excess, while others have chosen to describe this new formation of right-wing politics as ‘post-fascist’.
A Passage To India by E.M. Forster - Rerun
Joining us are the novelist, playwright and memoirist Alice Jolly and novelist Patrick McCabe, to discuss the A Passage to India by E.M. Forster. First published in 1924, by the end of that year, A Passage to India had sold 17,000 copies in Britain and 54,000 in the USA and today is viewed as a seminal text in post-colonial literature. A Passage to India grapples with, among many themes, colonialism and faith, and is set against the backdrop of the British Raj and the Indian independence movement in the 1920s.
Decades Later, Stephen King Is Finishing What He and Peter Straub Started
There are few living writers as closely associated with a genre as Stephen King is with horror. Over a career spanning more than 50 years, 70 novels and hundreds of short stories, King has terrified generations of readers with books like “Carrie,” “The Shining” and “It” while also writing across multiple genres like fantasy, science fiction and crime — producing books that resist easy categorization.
Ep 482 - Dump ‘Em Out - When Good Books Peter Out
Brea and Mallory discuss what to do when a book starts out amazing…and peters out into a boring read. Plus, they solve a problem about taking books from a little free library, and recommend starter horror books. Email us at readingglassespodcast at gmail dot com! Reading Glasses Merch Recommendations Store The Reading Glasses Book! Links - Reading Glasses Facebook Group Reading Glasses Goodreads Group Wish List Newsletter Libro.fm To join our Discord channel, email us proof of your Reading-Glasses-supporting Maximum Fun membership!
From the Archives : Elvia Wilk : Oval
Today’s unforgettable archival conversation with Elvia Wilk was recorded in-person in 2019 on the occasion of the release of her debut novel Oval. Wilk takes questions of self and other, nature and culture, human and non-human into the dystopic near-future and into the realm of both philosophy and narrative.
An Alternative History of the Microphone
The first microphones were invented in the 1870s as components for telephones. By the 1930s, politicians as unalike as FDR and Hitler were using microphones as both audio devices and visual props for projecting power. The history of the microphone often focuses on its function as a technology of transmission, but as David Trotter wrote recently in the LRB, microphones ‘both receive and transmit’, and there is another tradition more concerned with listening than transmitting.
Supremely talk-about-able books to fuel your book club conversations
Anne is back with the latest episode in a new-ish series in which she invites a team member to join her in recommending titles for a guest. Today Anne is joined by Patreon community manager Shannan Malone as they chat with Lindsey Bloodworth.
Book Club: Let’s Talk About ‘Etna,’ by Paul Yoon
Paul Yoon’s new novel, “Etna,” follows a haunted, battle-scarred war veteran who wants desperately to go home. He also happens to be a dog — a mixed-breed shepherd trained to sniff out bombs for an unnamed military in the throes of an unnamed conflict — and he has no idea where he is anymore, or if his old farm is even still standing after so much violence. Undeterred, he ventures into the great unknown, to somehow find his way back.
Ep 481 - Cozy Autumnal Books + GoodReads Friend Drama!
Brea and Mallory recommend cozy autumnal books! Plus, they solve a book tech problem about GoodReads friends, and give advice on what to do with inherited books. Email us at readingglassespodcast at gmail dot com! Reading Glasses Merch Recommendations Store The Reading Glasses Book! Links - Reading Glasses Facebook Group Reading Glasses Goodreads Group Wish List Newsletter Libro.fm To join our Discord channel, email us proof of your Reading-Glasses-supporting Maximum Fun membership! Join us here!
On Politics: What happened to the intellectual?
William Davies joins James to consider what distinguishes intellectuals from the technocrats, academics, experts, polemicists, thought leaders, gurus and utopians who compete for our attention, and to ask whether there’s still a role for them in the public realm. They look back to Weber's and Gramsci’s ideas about the autonomy and responsibility of the intellectual and discuss the ways in which Hayek’s anti-intellectualism has shaped discourse up to the present day.
Behind the scenes of Fall Book Preview 2026
Today, Anne is talking all things fall books with our executive producer, Will Bogel. They'll discuss the 2026 Fall Book Preview, which came out last Thursday, September 17th. In their conversation, Will and Anne will bring you behind the scenes as they talk about where the idea came from, when it started, how it's changed, what's happening this year, and why.
Between the Covers | Milkweed Editions
Today’s archival episode with Marlon James was recorded in 2019 at the studios of KBOO community radio. Marlon’s latest book The Disappearers has garnered the most talked about book review of this year, from the New York Times book critic Dwight Garner (who isn’t known to gush).
John Green Knows a True Hollywood Ending is Complicated
MJ Franklin is in the host chair this week, in for Gilbert Cruz. MJ spoke with New York Times book critic Dwight Garner about Marlon James’s new novel, “The Disappearers.” Dwight recently reviewed the book, calling it "the novel of the decade, if not the century." With praise like that, the review itself has become a topic of conversation. Dwight talks about the novel, the moment he realized it was a masterpiece and, more broadly, his approach to criticism.
The delight of a reading rabbit hole
Today's guest wants to experience the satisfaction of engaging in what she calls meaningful reading more often, but she finds herself easily distracted by the new and shiny. Jane Baldwin has ideas for different reading projects but has gotten overwhelmed by the possible options, and would love Anne's help navigating these roadblocks.
You have reached the end of this list.
Showing 20 of 20 podcasts
Know a source we’re missing? Tell us about it