logo
episode-header-image
Dec 2024
31m 39s

Our Book Critics On Their Year in Readin...

The New York Times
About this episode

Dwight Garner, Jennifer Szalai and Alexandra Jacobs — staff critics for The New York Times Book Review — join host Gilbert Cruz to look back on highlights from their year in books.

Books discussed:

"Intermezzo," by Sally Rooney

"All Fours," by Miranda July

"You Dreamed of Empires," by Álvaro Enrigue

"When the Clock Broke," by John Ganz

"Radiant: The Life and Line of Keith Haring," by Brad Gooch

"Miss May Does Not Exist: The Life and Work of Elaine May, Hollywood's Hidden Genius," by Carrie Courogen

"My Beloved Monster," by Caleb Carr

"Rejection," by Tony Tulathimutte

"Beautyland," by Marie-Helene Bertino

"Free and Equal: A Manifesto for a Just Society," by Daniel Chandler

"Seeing Through: A Chronicle of Sex, Drugs and Opera," by Ricky Ian Gordon

Unlock full access to New York Times podcasts and explore everything from politics to pop culture. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

Up next
Yesterday
Book Club: Let's Talk About 'Wild Dark Shore,' by Charlotte McConaghy
Charlotte McConaghy’s latest novel, “Wild Dark Shore,” opens with an enigma: A mysterious, half-drowned woman washes ashore.The stranger’s name is Rowan, and she has arrived on Shearwater, a remote island near Antarctica. The island, which houses an important seed bank, was once ... Show More
43m 50s
Aug 15
The 100 Best Books of the 21st Century: 'Pachinko' (Rerun)
Summer is slipping away and we are on break this week. But we have a fantastic rerun for you — our conversation with Min Jin Lee from last summer, when her book "Pachinko" was named one of the "100 Best Books of the 21st Century" by a New York Times Book Review panel. She spoke a ... Show More
34m 35s
Aug 8
This Reporter Can Tell Us What Nuclear Apocalypse Looks Like
Imagine, if you will, that for unknown reasons North Korea has just launched a nuclear bomb at the United States. What happens next?The journalist Annie Jacobsen has imagined exactly that, and spent more than a decade interviewing dozens of experts while mastering the voluminous ... Show More
45m 40s
Recommended Episodes
Dec 2024
The Year in Books
As 2024 comes to a close, critics, reporters and editors at The New York Times are reflecting on the year in arts and culture, including books.The deputy editor of Culture and Lifestyle, Melissa Kirsch, speaks with the editor of The New York Times Book Review, Gilbert Cruz, about ... Show More
26m 2s
Apr 2025
In Defense of "Brodernist" Literature
Want to connect with other amazing readers? Join our community!patreon.com/LifeonBooksLARB Article:https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/against-high-brodernism/Join the Life on Books mailing list to stay up to date on all of our latest book giveaways, projects, and more!https://li ... Show More
1h 7m
May 2021
Ep 173: Best Book Club Books with The Book Club Review Podcast
A special episode: Anna chats with Kate and Laura from The Book Club Review Podcast to find the best books for book club reading. We got together in Adelaide, London and Vancouver to bring you our Top 10: 1. Bonjour Tristesse by Françoise Sagan translated by Heather Lloyd 2. Bad ... Show More
36m 29s
Dec 2024
Episode 509 || Best Books of the Year with Hunter Mclendon
This week on From the Front Porch, Annie and Hunter (@shelfbyshelf) discuss their top 10 favorite books of 2024. To purchase the books mentioned in this episode, stop by The Bookshelf in Thomasville, visit our website (search “Episode 509”) or download and shop on The Bookshelf’s ... Show More
57m 36s
Jun 2018
Ep. #236 - Read the Rainbow with the Lambda Literary Awards
It's Pride Month! For today's episode, Jill and Adam discuss some of the Lambda Literary Award recent winners along with some other LGBTQ+ related books. They also discuss some of their recent reads. For more information on the award, visit https://www.lambdaliterary.org   Books ... Show More
33m 54s
Aug 2024
#130: Do Books Need Romance? and The Ladies’ Paradise vs Babbacombe’s
Emile Zola, Noel Streatfeild, and romantic books – welcome to Tea or Books? episode 130! In the first half of this episode, we do a topic suggested by Lindsey – do books need a romantic storyline? In the second half, we 
1s
Jul 29
Best Of: Barbara Kingsolver on ‘Urban-Rural Antipathy’
“It’s so insidious, people don’t realize it,” Barbara Kingsolver told me, describing the prejudice against “country people.” Kingsolver is one of those “country people,” as well as a literary legend in her own time, who set out to write the “great Appalachian novel.” And I think ... Show More
1h 1m
Jul 2022
32: Notebooks of Leonardo da Vinci • Part 1: The Inner Life of Genius
At this moment, strewn across the world, there exist over 7,200 pages of Leonardo da Vinci's notes. These pages are not only echoes of a distant past–embodying the inquisitive spirit of the Renaissance–according to scholars and historians they represent the 'greatest record of cu ... Show More
54m 13s
May 5
Season 7, Episode 39: Brain Farts + Reading Canadian
On this episode of Currently Reading, Kaytee and Roxanna are discussing: Bookish Moments: shifts in our reading and brain farts Current Reads: all the great, interesting, and/or terrible stuff we’ve been reading lately Deep Dive: reading Canadian elbows up style The Fountain: we ... Show More
1h 12m
Aug 2024
Season 7, Episode 3: Utilizing AI + Huggable Books
On this episode of Currently Reading, Meredith and Kaytee are discussing: Bookish Moments: utilizing AI and getting back into the library swing of things Current Reads: all the great, interesting, and/or terrible stuff we’ve been reading lately Deep Dive: our most huggable books ... Show More
53m 11s