A couple of segments here ported over from The Book Riot Podcast. First, Brooke Nagler tells us what it's like to break into the world of literary agenting. Then, Franklin Leonard and Randy Winston talk about their project, The Black List.

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Discussed in this episode:

The Book Group

The Black List

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Book Riot editor Danika Ellis joins Jeff to talk about how she tracks bestsellers for Book Riot, how growing up online was sort of great, and what we see (or don't) when we read.

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Discussed in this episode:

The Best-Selling Books of the Week

The Most Read Books on Goodreads This Week

Books Aren't Mental Movies: You're Missing the Best Part of Reading

I'm Glad I Grew Up Online

Aphantasia Self-Test

Everything2

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An audio version of a post I wrote for Book Riot recently, The 10 Most Interesting Questions in the World of Books and Reading.

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This episode is from our old podcast series Annotated, and it seemed fitting to bring it out of the archive this election season. In this episode: A woman with no prior political experience decides to run for city commission in her small college town. So she goes to the library and checks out a book called How to Win a Local Election. And she wins. This is her story and the story of the book that helped her win.

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While I am out on vacation, I am bringing something out from the vault. I have done a couple of "Reading Life" episodes here on First Edition with Adam Limon and James McBride, and that format got started as its own, sadly ended, podcast series: Reading Lives. While I was doing that show, I got a bunch of requests for my own episode, which I tried recording as a solo act. So here is that episode, about my own life as a reader. Back with new episodes starting at the end of August.

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Jeff is joined by Brenna Connor, Director & Industry Analyst for U.S. books sales for Circana. She has the goods: what is selling, what is trending, how retailers are doing, and much more. I learned a TON, and I bet you will too.

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In this episode of First Edition, the reading life of U.S. National Poet Laureate Ada Limón.

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Discussed in this episode:

You Are Here: Poetry in the Natural World, edited by Ada Limón

In Praise of Mystery by Ada Limón, illustrated by Peter Sis.

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Jeff O'Neal talks with Ayana Mathis about her latest book, The Unsettled. The Unsettled was a 2023 New York Times Notable Book of the Year, and a Best Book of the Year selection by The New Yorker, The Washington Post, Oprah Daily, and others. The Unsettled is now available in paperback.

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Discussed in this episode:

The Unsettled by Ayana Mathis

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In this episode, Jeff talks with Claire Messud about her new novel, This Strange, Eventful History.

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In this episode, Jeff talks with Rachel Khong about her new novel, Real Americans.

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40 years ago, Sandra Cisneros published what would become a contemporary classic: The House on Mango Street. To mark the occasion, Everyman's Library has released a new edition. The introduction to that edition was written by Professor John Philip Santos, a fellow writer and long-time friend of Cisneros. He joins me on this episode to talk about the origin, meaning, and legacy of this modern masterpiece.

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Discussed in this episode:

The House on Mango Street (Everyman's Library) by Sandra Cisneros, introduction by John Philip Santos

Places Left Unfinished at the Time of Creation by John Philip Santos

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