Nolan's The Odyssey looms. Today we are sharing the episode we did on The Odyssey for Zero to Well-Read. Be careful out there on the wine-dark sea.

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Jeff and Rebecca rejoice over new Ishiguro and Everett announcements, have our concerns partially confirmed by the Klara & the Sun trailer, note PW's fall preview, and acknowledge the AI muck we are all going to have to deal with for the foreseeable future.

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Discussed in this episode:

Klara & the Sun trailer

Vincent Yu wins  Discover Prize

Writer accused of AI use wins Commonwealth Prize

Libby to filter AI content from app

PW’s fall preview

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Jeff and Rebecca run through the candidates for the It Book of July 2026. Then, they take a quick look back at their other monthly picks from the first half of the year to see how they did.

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Vanessa and Sharifah discuss the latest in American reading habits, another exciting 2027 book release, a batch of buzzy trailers and adaptation news, and an update to an AI scandal linked to a literary prize.

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Discussed in this episode:

We're getting a new Percival Everett!

Barnes & Noble's Biggest Books of Fall 2026: Fiction and Nonfiction Editions

Trailers for Klara and the Sun and Sense and Sensibility

Netflix will adapt The Everlasting by Alix E. Harrow

Booksmaxxing: How Reading Became Sexy

A third of Americans say they're reading fewer books

Join the Thriftbooks 500 Billion Page Challenge

Commonwealth Foundation clears writers accused of writing with AI

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Jeff and Rebecca do a mid-year check-in about their favorite books of 2026 so far.

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Rebecca and Vanessa discuss recent research that reveals surprising commonalities between 20,000 AI-generated stories, the winners of the Lambda Literary Awards and the Women's Prize for Fiction, and the most exciting 2027 book announcement so far.

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This content contains affiliate links. When you buy through these links, we may earn an affiliate commission. Right now, Merit Beauty is offering our listeners their Signature Makeup Bag with your first order at ⁠meritbeauty.com⁠.

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Discussed in this episode:

Kazuo Ishiguro wrote a WWII spy novel!

What 20,000 LLM-generated stories have in common

Google Play launches in-book AI chatbot

The Correspondent wins The Women’s Prize for Fiction

2026 Lambda Literary Award winners

Maggie Gyllenhaal to adapt Rachel Kushner’s Creation Lake

The Love Hypothesis adaptation to hit Prime Video on Sept 23

Netflix is getting in on the horny hockey fun

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Rebecca and Vanessa break down the books topping the best-of and bestseller lists as we near the halfway point of the year.

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Jeff and Rebecca talk about the growth of the number of books (and authors) vying for reader dollars, continue to lament the long 2025 award season, wonder about the expansion of PRH's audio initiatives, talk about recent reading, and more.

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Discussed in this episode:

Amazon’s best  of the year so far

US audiobooks sales increased 9% in 2025

j/k we weren’t done with 2025 book awards - Stoker Award winners and Nebula Award winners

And we’re also starting this year’s: The 2026 Barnes & Noble Discover Award finalists

Authors Guild survey looks at why author income is declining

Reese’s Book Club launches Fan Fest event series

The Marriage Plot is getting an adaptation

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Vanessa Diaz returns to regale Rebecca with the messy tale of the marriage between a well-known Harlem Renaissance poet and the daughter of a famous public thinker.

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Jeff and Rebecca talk about some new best books of the year so far lists, adaptation news, recent reading, and more before talking with the new President of the American Library Association, Dr. Maria McCauley.

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Discussed in this episode:

Barnes & Noble’s best books of the year so far

Amazon’s picks for best book of the year so far from the last 10 years

Goodreads users’ hit new books of the year so far

Open Road to publish Choose Your Own Adventure ebooks

New Franzen short story is an excerpt from his novel in progress

Anna Kendrick to direct Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo adaptation for Netflix

Netflix announces new book-to-screen hub

God of the Woods casting news

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Jeff and Rebecca select the It Book of June 2026.

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This content contains affiliate links. When you buy through these links, we may earn an affiliate commission.

Right now, Merit Beauty is offering our listeners their Signature Makeup Bag with your first order at meritbeauty.com.

Thanks to our sponsor, Quince! Go to Quince.com/bookriot for free shipping on your order and 365-day returns. Now available in Canada, too!

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