John Waters Talks About His First Novel

Halloween is the season for scary stories, but what actually makes a book frightening? And where should you start if you’re not already a horror reader?This week on “The Book Review” podcast, Gilbert Cruz talks with two writers who know their way around the genre. Leigh Bardugo i ... Show More

As much as we love hearing from authors on “The Book Review” podcast, there are precious few who have read more than our staff book critics — Jennifer Szalai, Alexandra Jacobs and Dwight Garner. The three came on the show to talk about some of their favorite books of the year so ... Show More

For Min Jin Lee, the process of writing fiction usually begins with a deep dive into reality. She spends years researching, traveling and interviewing people.That process underscored her belief that education was a common and central value for Koreans in diaspora. But it was also ... Show More

Margaret Atwood joins Deborah Treisman to read and discuss “Varieties of Exile,” by Mavis Gallant, which was published in The New Yorker in 1976. Atwood is the author of more than forty books of poetry and fiction, including the novels “The Handmaid’s Tale” and “The Testaments” a ... Show More

Fiction + Feminism. Take your seat in the audience next to Zing Tsjeng at this week's Baileys Book Bar. Hear bestselling author and Women’s Prize for Fiction Founder Director Kate Mosse speak to journalist and author of the bestselling Everything I Know About Love, Dolly Alderton ... Show More

E. Lockhart is a New York Times bestselling author of ten novels, including We Were Liars, which was a New York Times bestseller and Zoella Book Club pick, and the novel Genuine Fraud, soon to be a film produced by Lena Dunham and Jenni Konner of HBO series Girls.In this episode ... Show More

This week: Filmmaker, writer, and ‘Pope of Trash’ John Waters offers etiquette advice, naturally… Jenny Slate, star of the film “Obvious Child,” says ‘complicated’ and ‘comedy’ can coexist… Swedish sister duo First Aid Kit bring board games and tacos to their dinner cozy party … ... Show More

In a Fortunately first, the writer Jon Ronson joins Fi and Jane for his second appearance on the podcast. The author of So You've Been Publicly Shamed and host of The Last Days of August tells them about his new podcast Things Fell Apart, exploring tales form the culture wars. Be ... Show More

NOTE: A short stretch of fairly explicit sex talk earns this one the "Explicit" tag, though as usual we avoid cussing. You've been warned! This week, we illuminate everything about Jonathan Safran Foer's debut novel. It's not Andrew's cup of tea, exactly, but we try our best to d ... Show More