ny times book review podcast stitcher

The Book Review

• UPDATED BIWEEKLY

The world's top authors and critics join host Gilbert Cruz and editors at The New York Times Book Review to talk about the week's top books, what we're reading and what's going on in the literary world. Listen to this podcast in New York Times Audio, our new iOS app for news subscribers. Download now at nytimes.com/audioapp

Book Club: 'The Hypocrite,' by Jo Hamya

Jo Hamya’s novel “The Hypocrite” follows a famous English novelist as he watches a new play by his daughter, Sophia, in London. The lights go down in the theater, and immediately the novelist realizes: The play is about him, the vacation he took with Sophia a decade earlier and the sins he committed while they were away. In this week’s episode, the Book Review’s MJ Franklin discusses the book with editors Joumana Khatib and Lauren Christensen.

The Fall Books We're Looking Forward To

This weekend marks the official start of autumn, so what better time to take a peek at the fall books we’re most excited to read? On this week’s episode, Gilbert Cruz chats with Joumana Khatib and Anna Dubenko about the upcoming season of reading and the books on the horizon that they’re looking forward to most eagerly.

Robert Caro on 50 Years of 'The Power Broker'

Robert Caro’s 1974 biography “The Power Broker” is a book befitting its subject, Robert Moses — the unelected parochial technocrat who used a series of appointed positions to entirely reshape New York City and its surrounding environment for generations to come. Like Moses, Caro’s book has exerted an enduring and outsize influence. This week, Caro tells host Gilbert Cruz how he accounts for its enduring legacy.

Kate Atkinson on the Return of Jackson Brodie

The British writer Kate Atkinson has had a rich and varied career since publishing her first book in 1996. But she may be best known for her Jackson Brodie series of crime novels. Sarah Lyall speaks with Atkinson about the sixth entry in the series, "Death at the Sign of the Rook."

21st Century Books Special Edition: Isabel Wilkerson on 'The Warmth of Other Suns'

As part of its recent "100 Best Books of the 21st Century" project, The New York Times Book Review is interviewing some of the authors whose books appeared on the list. This week, Isabel Wilkerson joins host Gilbert Cruz to discuss her 2010 book about the Great Migration.

Book Club: 'My Brilliant Friend,' by Elena Ferrante

The New York Times Book Review recently published a list of The 100 Best Books of the 21st Century. The top choice was “My Brilliant Friend,” by Elena Ferrante, translated by Ann Goldstein. In this week’s episode, MJ Franklin discusses the book with fellow editors Joumana Khatib, Emily Eakin and Gregory Cowles.

21st Century Books Special Edition: Jennifer Egan on 'A Visit from the Goon Squad'

As part of its recent “100 Best Books of the 21st Century" project, The New York Times Book Review is interviewing some of the authors whose books appeared on the list. This week, Jennifer Egan discusses discuss her Pulitzer-winning novel about the music industry, "A Visit From the Goon Squad."

Liz Moore on Her Summer Camp Mystery "The God of the Woods"

A summer camp in the Adirondacks. A rich girl gone missing, 14 years after her older brother also disappeared. A prominent local family harboring dark secrets. On this week’s episode, author Liz Moore chats with Gilbert Cruz about her new novel “The God in the Woods.”

Hosts & Guests

Gilbert cruz, george saunders, sarah jessica parker, min jin lee, colson whitehead, lev grossman, mj franklin, joumana khatib, lauren christensen, griffin dunne, ratings & reviews, 100 books of the 21st century.

WendyinOakville

Great discussion, but what was missing for me is 1Q84 by Haruki Murakami. One of my favorite books. Thrilled that Gilead landed in the top 10.

I miss John Williams and Pamela Paul, if the Top 10 Books of 2022 podcast is any indication of what is to come the podcast is in big trouble. This has been one of my weekly favourites and I lost interest after the second book - dry, boring and no personality. Please, fix this!

Thank you, Pamela. We have enjoyed your work on the show a great deal. Happy trails and take care!

Miss the old program

The reading brain

I have listened to this podcast for many years but it’s just not interesting anymore. Too many popular commercial titles. Maybe you’re trying to expand your audience but you’re losing your hard core fans.

Information

• Channel The New York Times
• Creator The New York Times
• Years Active 2006 - 2024
• Episodes 509
• Rating Clean
• Copyright © 2023 The New York Times Company
• Show Website The Book Review

More From The New York Times

Updated 2017-02-03

Updated Weekly

Updated Biweekly

Updated 2020-06-18

You Might Also Like

Updated Daily

Updated Semiweekly

Updated Monthly

To listen to explicit episodes, sign in.

Stay up to date with this show

Sign in or sign up to follow shows, save episodes and get the latest updates.

Africa, Middle East, and India

• Brunei Darussalam
• Burkina Faso
• Côte d’Ivoire
• Congo, The Democratic Republic Of The
• Guinea-Bissau
• Niger (English)
• Congo, Republic of
• Saudi Arabia
• Sierra Leone
• South Africa
• Tanzania, United Republic Of
• Turkmenistan
• United Arab Emirates

Asia Pacific

• Indonesia (English)
• Lao People's Democratic Republic
• Malaysia (English)
• Micronesia, Federated States of
• New Zealand
• Papua New Guinea
• Philippines
• Solomon Islands
• Bosnia and Herzegovina
• France (Français)
• Deutschland
• Luxembourg (English)
• Moldova, Republic Of
• North Macedonia
• Portugal (Português)
• Türkiye (English)
• United Kingdom

Latin America and the Caribbean

• Antigua and Barbuda
• Argentina (Español)
• Bolivia (Español)
• Virgin Islands, British
• Cayman Islands
• Chile (Español)
• Colombia (Español)
• Costa Rica (Español)
• República Dominicana
• Ecuador (Español)
• El Salvador (Español)
• Guatemala (Español)
• Honduras (Español)
• Nicaragua (Español)
• Paraguay (Español)
• St. Kitts and Nevis
• Saint Lucia
• St. Vincent and The Grenadines
• Trinidad and Tobago
• Turks and Caicos
• Uruguay (English)
• Venezuela (Español)

The United States and Canada

• Canada (English)
• Canada (Français)
• United States
• Estados Unidos (Español México)
• الولايات المتحدة
• États-Unis (Français France)
• Estados Unidos (Português Brasil)
• 美國 (繁體中文台灣)

Spotify is currently not available in your country.

Follow us online to find out when we launch., spotify gives you instant access to millions of songs – from old favorites to the latest hits. just hit play to stream anything you like..

Listen everywhere

Spotify works on your computer, mobile, tablet and TV.

Unlimited, ad-free music

No ads. No interruptions. Just music.

Download music & listen offline

Keep playing, even when you don't have a connection.

Premium sounds better

Get ready for incredible sound quality.

The Book Review

The world's top authors and critics join host Gilbert Cruz and editors at The New York Times Book Review to talk about the week's top books, what we're reading and what's going on in the literary world. Listen to this podcast in New York Times Audio, our new iOS app for news subscribers. Download now at nytimes.com/audioapp

.css-14f5ked{margin:0;word-break:break-word;display:-webkit-box;-webkit-box-orient:vertical;box-orient:vertical;-webkit-line-clamp:2;overflow:hidden;} Book Club: 'The Hypocrite,' by Jo Hamya

Jo Hamya’s novel “The Hypocrite” follows a famous English novelist as he watches a new play by his daughter, Sophia, in London. The lights go down in the theater, and immediately the novelist realizes: The play is about him, the vacation he took with Sophia a decade earlier and the sins he committed while they were away.

The novel is an art monster story and a dysfunctional family saga that explores the ethics of creating work inspi...

.css-r6mb8g{margin:0;word-break:break-word;display:-webkit-box;-webkit-box-orient:vertical;box-orient:vertical;-webkit-line-clamp:1;overflow:hidden;} The Fall Books We're Looking Forward To

This weekend marks the official start of autumn, so what better time to take a peek at the fall books we’re most excited to read? On this week’s episode, Gilbert Cruz chats with Joumana Khatib and Anna Dubenko about the upcoming season of reading and the books on the horizon that they’re looking forward to most eagerly.

Books mentioned in this week’s episode:

“Intermezzo,” by Sally Rooney

“Playground,” by Richard Powers

“Sonny Boy: A M...

Robert Caro on 50 Years of 'The Power Broker'

Robert Caro’s 1974 biography “The Power Broker” is a book befitting its subject, Robert Moses — the unelected parochial technocrat who used a series of appointed positions to entirely reshape New York City and its surrounding environment for generations to come. Like Moses, Caro’s book has exerted an enduring and outsize influence. This week, Caro joins the podcast and tells the host Gilbert Cruz how he accounts for its enduring le...

Kate Atkinson on the Return of Jackson Brodie

The British writer Kate Atkinson has had a rich and varied career since her debut novel, “Behind the Scenes at the Museum,” won the Whitbread Book of the Year award in 1996; her 14 subsequent books have included story collections, historical fiction and an inventive speculative novel, “Life After Life,” that landed on the Book Review’s recent survey of the 100 Best Books of the 21st Century .

But she may be best known for her Jackson...

21st Century Books Special Edition: Isabel Wilkerson on 'The Warmth of Other Suns'

As part of its recent " 100 Best Books of the 21st Century " project, The New York Times Book Review is interviewing some of the authors whose books appeared on the list. This week, Isabel Wilkerson joins host Gilbert Cruz to discuss "The Warmth of Other Suns," her sweeping history of the movement of Black Americans from the south to points north over the course of the 20th century.

Book Club: 'My Brilliant Friend,' by Elena Ferrante

This July, The New York Times Book Review published a list of The 100 Best Books of the 21st Century . The top choice was “My Brilliant Friend,” by Elena Ferrante, translated by Ann Goldstein.

The book is the first novel in Ferrante’s so-called Neapolitan quartet, which tracks the lifelong friendship between Lenù and Lila, two women from a rough neighborhood in Naples, Italy, even as family, relationships and work pull their lives in...

21st Century Books Special Edition: Jennifer Egan on 'A Visit from the Goon Squad'

As part of its recent 100 Best Books of the 21st Century project, The New York Times Book Review is interviewing some of the authors whose books appeared on the list. This week, Jennifer Egan joins host Gilbert Cruz to discuss her Pulitzer-winning novel about the music industry, “A Visit From the Goon Squad,” and talks, among other things, about the early challenges it faced in finding an audience, the meaning of its title and her ...

Liz Moore on Her Summer Camp Mystery "The God of the Woods"

A summer camp in the Adirondacks. A rich girl gone missing, 14 years after her older brother also disappeared. A prominent local family harboring dark secrets. Liz Moore’s new novel, “The God in the Woods,” turns these elements into a complex and suspenseful meditation on parenting and social class and the rituals of summer friendship.

On this week’s podcast, Liz Moore chats with Gilbert Cruz about her new novel. ( Spoiler alert: the...

What We're Reading This Summer

It’s August, which means that Labor Day and back-to-school are just around the corner. The vacation that seemed so leisurely a month ago suddenly feels a little more frantic. But there’s still time to squeeze in a last batch of summer reading. On this week’s episode, host Gilbert Cruz chats with his colleagues Joumana Khatib and Anna Dubenko about the books that have been occupying their attention this season.

Books mentioned on thi...

21st Century Books Special Edition: George Saunders on 'Lincoln in the Bardo'

As part of its recent " 100 Best Books of the 21st Century " project, The New York Times Book Review is interviewing some of the authors whose books appeared on the list. This week, George Saunders — who had three books on the list, including his short story collections "Pastoralia" and "Tenth of December" — joins host Gilbert Cruz to discuss his novel "Lincoln in the Bardo."

Sarah Jessica Parker on Her Life in Publishing

Sarah Jessica Parker has been a familiar presence on TV, movie screens and Broadway stages for five decades. But since 2016 she has also been a force in the book world, initially at the helm of the fiction imprint SJP for Hogarth and for the past two years with SJP Lit, an imprint at the independent publisher Zando.

Parker visits the podcast this week to chat with the host Gilbert Cruz about her lifelong love of reading, the kinds o...

21st Century Books Special Edition: Min Jin Lee on 'Pachinko'

As part of its recent " 100 Best Books of the 21st Century " project, The New York Times Book Review is interviewing some of the authors whose books appeared on the list. This week, Min Jin Lee joins host Gilbert Cruz to discuss her novel, as well as the book she's read the most times — George Eliot's "Middlemarch."

“I’m willing to say it’s the best English language novel, period. Without question,” Lee says. “George Eliot is probably...

Book Club: Let's Talk About "The Talented Mr. Ripley," by Patricia Highsmith

Patricia Highsmith’s 1955 thriller “The Talented Mr. Ripley” follows a young, down-on-his-luck scammer, Tom Ripley, who is looking to reverse his fortunes. When he receives a job offer to go to Italy and retrieve Dickie Greenleaf, a rich socialite on an endless holiday, Tom finds the perfect opportunity to work his way into the upper crust. But as he becomes more and more obsessed with Dickie and Dickie’s life, the breezy getaway t...

21st Century Books Special Edition: Colson Whitehead on 'The Underground Railroad'

As part of its recent " 100 Best Books of the 21st Century " project, The New York Times Book Review is interviewing some of the authors whose books appeared on the list. This week, two-time Pulitzer Prize winner Colson Whitehead joins host Gilbert Cruz to discuss his 2016 novel.

What It's Like to Write a King Arthur Tale

Lev Grossman, author of fantasy novel "The Magicians" and its two sequels, joins host Gilbert Cruz to talk about writing his version of Camelot in "The Bright Sword: A Novel of King Arthur."

The 100 Best Books of the 21st Century

This week The New York Times Book Review rolled out the results of an ambitious survey it conducted to determine the best books of the 21st century so far. On this week’s episode, Gilbert Cruz chats with fellow editors Tina Jordan, Scott Heller and Joumana Khatib about the results of that survey and about the project itself, including the willingness of some participants to let us share their ballots with the public.

Book Club: 'Headshot,' by Rita Bullwinkel

Rita Bullwinkel’s impressive debut novel, “Headshot,” follows eight teenagers fighting in the Daughters of America Cup, a youth women’s boxing tournament staged in a dilapidated gym in Reno. Each chapter details a match between fighters, bout after bout, until finally a champion is declared.

We are thrown into the high-octane theater of each fight, as the boxers work to defeat their opponents. But we also explore each girl’s life, w...

Griffin Dunne on His Joyful and Tragic Family Memoir

Every family has its stories, and every family has its drama — and some families, like the one the actor and director Griffin Dunne was born into, have an excess of both. His uncle was the writer John Gregory Dunne, his aunt was Joan Didion and his father was Dominick Dunne, who became famous for his Vanity Fair dispatches from the trial of the man who killed his daughter (and Griffin’s sister) Dominique.

On this week’s episode of t...

10 Books to Check Out This Summer

Summer is upon us and you're going to need a few books to read. Book Review editors Elisabeth Egan and Joumana Khatib join host Gilbert Cruz to talk through a few titles they're looking forward to over the next several months.

Books discussed in this episode:

"Farewell, Amethystine," by Walter Mosley

"The Cliffs," by J. Courtney Sullivan

"Horror Movie," by Paul Tremblay

"Liars," by Sarah Manguso

"The God of the Woods," by Liz Moore

Elin Hilderbrand on Her Final Nantucket Summer Book

For many years now, Elin Hilderbrand has published a novel every summer set on the island of Nantucket. With her 30th book, 'Swan Song,' the bestselling author says she will step off that hamster wheel and try something new. 

On this week's episode, she and host Gilbert Cruz talk about her career, what she's reading, and what's next.

Popular Podcasts

1. Stuff You Should Know

If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.

2. Start Here

A straightforward look at the day's top news in 20 minutes. Powered by ABC News. Hosted by Brad Mielke.

3. Dateline NBC

Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations.

4. The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show

The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show. Clay Travis and Buck Sexton tackle the biggest stories in news, politics and current events with intelligence and humor. From the border crisis, to the madness of cancel culture and far-left missteps, Clay and Buck guide listeners through the latest headlines and hot topics with fun and entertaining conversations and opinions.

5. Crime Junkie

If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people.

© 2024 iHeartMedia, Inc.

• Privacy Policy
• Terms of Use

Celebrating 15 Years of “The Book Review” Podcast

The podcast, which debuted in 2006, features the biggest names in literature.

The New York Times is thrilled to celebrate the 15th anniversary of “The Book Review” podcast this month, our show that takes listeners inside the literary world. Produced since 2006, “The Book Review” is the longest-running podcast at The Times.

Throughout the years, the show, hosted by Pamela Paul, editor of The New York Times Book Review (Sam Tanenhaus was the founding host) and produced by Pedro Rosado of Headstepper Productions, has featured some of the biggest names in literature: from Gary Shteyngart, the very first author to appear on the show, to Toni Morrison to John Updike to John Grisham to Colson Whitehead, and in nonfiction, writers ranging from Michael Lewis to Calvin Trillin to Isabel Wilkerson. “The great joy of this podcast for me as host is in the guests,” Paul said. “It’s such a privilege to ask the writers I admire most about how and why they’ve written the books they’ve put out in the world.”

The podcast, which routinely appears at the top of the Arts chart on Apple Podcasts, has also featured voices from throughout The Times, including Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey, Wesley Morris and Frank Bruni, Thomas Friedman and James B. Stewart, to name a few.

Over the past 15 years, “The Book Review” podcast has missed only three weeks — the first three weeks of quarantine in March 2020. “We were pretty desperate to get back,” Paul said. “The podcast crew here at the Book Review is small and works closely together. This allowed us both to keep one another company and to connect us to the outside world.”

You can read more about the history of the Book Review podcast, including some of the team’s fondest memories, here . To listen to Pamela’s favorite episodes from her eight years hosting the show (and interviews with more than 800 authors and critics), please head here .

Explore Further

Andrew lavallee named deputy, news and features, books, pamela paul to oversee daily and sunday book coverage, introducing “rabbit hole,” a new narrative audio series from the new york times.

We use cookies and similar technologies to recognize your repeat visits and preferences, as well as to measure and analyze traffic. To learn more about cookies, including how to disable them, view our Cookie Policy . By clicking “I Accept” on this banner, you consent to the use of cookies unless you disable them.

Book Review

BlogTalkRadio

Sam Tanenhaus, editor of The New York Times Book Review, discusses this week's issue.

New York, NY

Books & Literature

New York Times

Description:

@PamelaPaulNYT

Henry Holt and Company / Metropolitan Books / Times Books 175 Fifth Avenue New York, N.Y. 10010 646-307-5241

http://www.nytimes.com/pages/books/review/

[email protected]

Laura Lippman on 'Sunburn'

Duration: 00:44:21

Some Assembly Required

Duration: 00:54:31

What to Read About North Korea

Duration: 01:03:00

'The Second Coming of the KKK'

Duration: 01:11:53

From Podcast to Book with Marc Maron

Duration: 01:13:21

Ron Chernow on 'Grant'

Duration: 01:10:15

Recent Romances

Duration: 00:48:22

Jesmyn Ward on 'Sing, Unburied, Sing'

Duration: 01:04:47

Jill Abramson on the 2016 Presidential Campaign

Duration: 01:18:50

'Gorbachev: His Life and Times'

Duration: 00:52:12

New Books About Parenting

Duration: 00:48:11

Amy Schumer on ‘Girl With the Lower Back Tattoo’

Duration: 00:47:57

Steve Bannon's Road to the White House

Duration: 01:00:51

The World of Jane Austen Fans

Duration: 00:48:26

Silk on a Stick

Duration: 00:45:04

'The Boy Who Loved Too Much'

Duration: 00:45:29

China's World

Duration: 00:47:15

Al Franken on Life in the Senate

Duration: 00:57:12

David Sedaris Talks About His Diaries

Duration: 00:44:44

Paris, London and New York in the Age of Revolution

Duration: 00:43:35

Share The Book Review

The Book Review

By The New York Times

The world's top authors and critics join host Gilbert Cruz and editors at The New York Times Book Review to talk about the week's top books, what we're reading and what's going on in the literary worl ... more

3450 3,450 ratings

FAQs about The Book Review:

How many episodes does the book review have.

The podcast currently has 519 episodes available.

The Book Review episodes:

Jo Hamya’s novel “The Hypocrite” follows a famous English novelist as he watches a new play by his daughter, Sophia, in London. The lights go down in the theater, and immediately the novelist realizes: The play is about him, the vacation he took with Sophia a decade earlier and the sins he committed while they were away.

The novel is an art monster story and a dysfunctional family saga that explores the ethics of creating work inspired by real life. In this week’s episode, the Book Review’s MJ Franklin discusses the book with editors Joumana Khatib and Lauren Christensen.

This weekend marks the official start of autumn, so what better time to take a peek at the fall books we’re most excited to read? On this week’s episode, Gilbert Cruz chats with Joumana Khatib and Anna Dubenko about the upcoming season of reading and the books on the horizon that they’re looking forward to most eagerly.

Books mentioned in this week’s episode:

“Intermezzo,” by Sally Rooney

“Playground,” by Richard Powers

“Sonny Boy: A Memoir,” by Al Pacino

“Cher: The Memoir, Part One,” by Cher

“The Sequel,” by Jean Hanff Korelitz

“Be Ready When the Luck Happens,” by Ina Garten

“We Solve Murders,” by Richard Osman

“Creation Lake,” by Rachel Kushner

“V13: Chronicle of a Trial,” by Emmanuel Carrère

“Absolution,” by Jeff VanderMeer

“Lazarus Man,” by Richard Price

“Rejection,” by Tony Tulathimutte

“Colored Television,” by Danzy Senna

“Health and Safety,” by Emily Witt

“Patriot: A Memoir,” by Alexei Navalny

“The Message,” by Ta-Nehisi Coates

“The Serviceberry,” by Robin Wall Kimmerer

“Revenge of the Tipping Point,” by Malcolm Gladwell

“From Here to the Great Unknown,” by Lisa Marie Presley

“The City and Its Uncertain Walls,” by Haruki Murakami

Robert Caro’s 1974 biography “The Power Broker” is a book befitting its subject, Robert Moses — the unelected parochial technocrat who used a series of appointed positions to entirely reshape New York City and its surrounding environment for generations to come. Like Moses, Caro’s book has exerted an enduring and outsize influence. This week, Caro joins the podcast and tells the host Gilbert Cruz how he accounts for its enduring legacy.

“People are interested in power,” Caro says. “This is a particular kind of power. Robert Moses’ power was unchecked power. We all live in a democracy where we think that power comes from our votes at the ballot box. He was a man who was never elected to anything and he held on to power for 44 years, almost half a century. And with the power, this man who wasn’t elected to anything shaped New York and its surrounding suburbs. So I think, if you’re interested in government, you have to say, as I said maybe 55 years ago when I started this, How did he do it? What happened here?”

The British writer Kate Atkinson has had a rich and varied career since her debut novel, “Behind the Scenes at the Museum,” won the Whitbread Book of the Year award in 1996; her 14 subsequent books have included story collections, historical fiction and an inventive speculative novel, “Life After Life,” that landed on the Book Review’s recent survey of the 100 Best Books of the 21st Century .

But she may be best known for her Jackson Brodie series of crime novels, which began with “Case Histories” in 2004 and was later adapted into a British television show. The sixth book in the series, “Death at the Sign of the Rook,” has just been released, and from the title to the plot to the cast of characters it pays winking homage to the golden age of English cozy mysteries. Atkinson visits the podcast this week to discuss her new novel, and tells The Times’s Sarah Lyall how she approached her tribute to an earlier era.

As part of its recent " 100 Best Books of the 21st Century " project, The New York Times Book Review is interviewing some of the authors whose books appeared on the list. This week, Isabel Wilkerson joins host Gilbert Cruz to discuss "The Warmth of Other Suns," her sweeping history of the movement of Black Americans from the south to points north over the course of the 20th century.

This July, The New York Times Book Review published a list of The 100 Best Books of the 21st Century . The top choice was “My Brilliant Friend,” by Elena Ferrante, translated by Ann Goldstein.

The book is the first novel in Ferrante’s so-called Neapolitan quartet, which tracks the lifelong friendship between Lenù and Lila, two women from a rough neighborhood in Naples, Italy, even as family, relationships and work pull their lives in different directions.

In this week’s episode, MJ Franklin discusses the book with fellow editors Joumana Khatib, Emily Eakin and Gregory Cowles. 

As part of its recent 100 Best Books of the 21st Century project, The New York Times Book Review is interviewing some of the authors whose books appeared on the list. This week, Jennifer Egan joins host Gilbert Cruz to discuss her Pulitzer-winning novel about the music industry, “A Visit From the Goon Squad,” and talks, among other things, about the early challenges it faced in finding an audience, the meaning of its title and her initial reluctance to decide whether the book was a novel or a story collection.

A summer camp in the Adirondacks. A rich girl gone missing, 14 years after her older brother also disappeared. A prominent local family harboring dark secrets. Liz Moore’s new novel, “The God in the Woods,” turns these elements into a complex and suspenseful meditation on parenting and social class and the rituals of summer friendship.

On this week’s podcast, Liz Moore chats with Gilbert Cruz about her new novel. ( Spoiler alert: the last 10 or so minutes address the book's ending.)

It’s August, which means that Labor Day and back-to-school are just around the corner. The vacation that seemed so leisurely a month ago suddenly feels a little more frantic. But there’s still time to squeeze in a last batch of summer reading. On this week’s episode, host Gilbert Cruz chats with his colleagues Joumana Khatib and Anna Dubenko about the books that have been occupying their attention this season.

Books mentioned on this episode:

"Talk," by Linda Rosencrantz

"Crossroads," by Jonathan Franzen

"You Like It Darker," by Stephen King

"Transactions in a Foreign Currency," by Deborah Eisenberg

"Veronica," by Mary Gaitskill

"The Bright Sword," by Lev Grossman

"Asymmetry," by Lisa Halliday

"Out," by Natsuo Kirino

"The God of the Woods," by Liz Moore

"The Devil's Grip," by Lina Wolff

"Those Who Leave and Those Who Stay," by Elena Ferrante

"Spy Hook," by Len Deighton

"All Fours," by Miranda July

As part of its recent " 100 Best Books of the 21st Century " project, The New York Times Book Review is interviewing some of the authors whose books appeared on the list. This week, George Saunders — who had three books on the list, including his short story collections "Pastoralia" and "Tenth of December" — joins host Gilbert Cruz to discuss his novel "Lincoln in the Bardo."

More shows like The Book Review

1,404 Listeners

37,993 Listeners

Bookends with Mattea Roach

263 Listeners

The New Yorker: Fiction

3,255 Listeners

The Political Scene | The New Yorker

3,714 Listeners

Books and Authors

371 Listeners

215 Listeners

The New Yorker Radio Hour

6,471 Listeners

550 Listeners

Modern Love

8,386 Listeners

The New Yorker: The Writer's Voice - New Fiction from The New Yorker

1,992 Listeners

2,464 Listeners

110,405 Listeners

The Paris Review

783 Listeners

Change Agent

1,413 Listeners

284 Listeners

31,500 Listeners

468 Listeners

The Candidates

52 Listeners

Jungle Prince

2,212 Listeners

378 Listeners

Rabbit Hole

6,635 Listeners

5,184 Listeners

The Ezra Klein Show

12,994 Listeners

345 Listeners

1,477 Listeners

Poured Over

260 Listeners

NPR's Book of the Day

522 Listeners

The Interview

1,170 Listeners

The Run-Up (2016)

6 Listeners

The Argument

10 Listeners

Critics at Large | The New Yorker

452 Listeners

The Opinions

147 Listeners

The Stitcher app and web listening are no longer available. Check out our Farewell FAQs for more details.

2274 Episodes

By the Book

Richard Osman Has a (Tiny) Bone to Pick With John Grisham

In “We Solve Murders,” the author of the hugely popular Thursday Murder Club series introduces a new set of crime solvers.

Credit... Rebecca Clarke

Supported by

• Share full article

What books are on your night stand?

Can I first say how much I like the term “night stand”? In the U.K. we call them “bedside tables,” which is so much more prosaic. 1-0 to the Americans there. All that said, on my bedside table I currently have Chris Whitaker’s “All the Colors of the Dark” and Kate Atkinson’s “Death at the Sign of the Rook.” Both brilliant, though neither will help you get to sleep.

How do you organize your books?

Haphazardly, which is how I believe books wish to be organized.

Describe your ideal reading experience.

I love to read on a long-haul flight, with no distractions, and no interruptions. It has to be a proper page-turner though. A few years ago I was flying to New York and I saw in the airport bookstore that John Grisham had a new book out. This was news to me, but I was delighted. The one thing you can guarantee with Grisham is that he’s going to keep you reading. So I settled down on the flight, gin and tonic in hand, and opened the book in a mood of great contentment. A couple of pages in I started to worry that Grisham might have lost his magic touch, and, after a couple more pages, I realized that John Grisham had actually written a children’s book, and that was, perhaps, why I hadn’t read about it. And so “ Theodore Boone,” which I have no doubt went gangbusters with its intended market, was all I had to read for the next seven hours. I’m not sure I have ever forgiven him.

What’s the most interesting thing you learned from a book recently?

Don’t trust John Grisham.

What books are you embarrassed not to have read yet?

I finally got around to reading “Middlemarch” this year (review — “not bad at all, an author to keep an eye on”) so my next big gap is “Great Expectations.”

You take great pains to tell readers you’re not done with the Thursday Murder Club quartet. Do you already sense their anger or disappointment?

We are having trouble retrieving the article content.

Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.

Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and  log into  your Times account, or  subscribe  for all of The Times.

Thank you for your patience while we verify access.

Already a subscriber?  Log in .

Want all of The Times?  Subscribe .

Advertisement