The 16 Best Books Podcasts (2026)

The New York Times Book Review section has been the gold standard in literary criticism for over a century, and this podcast is its audio counterpart. Hosted by Gilbert Cruz, who helms the newspaper's book desk, the show runs about 40 to 50 minutes weekly and rotates between author interviews, roundtable discussions with NYT editors, and deep-dive conversations about whatever's dominating the literary world right now.

The format keeps things moving. One week you might hear Cruz sit down with a Pulitzer finalist to talk about their writing process; the next, editors like Joumana Khatib or Alexandra Alter hash out what belongs on the bestseller list and why. The Book Club segment is a particular standout, where the staff picks a title, reads it together, and comes back to argue about it on-air. These roundtables feel genuinely unrehearsed -- editors disagree, change their minds mid-sentence, and occasionally admit they couldn't finish something.

With over 575 episodes dating back to 2006, the archive alone is worth exploring. The show has a 4.1-star rating from nearly 3,700 reviews, and some longtime listeners have strong opinions about recent editorial direction changes. But that's the thing about a show tied to the Times -- it carries institutional weight, and the guests reflect that. If you want to stay plugged into what the New York literary establishment is reading and thinking about, this is the most efficient way to do it.

Anne Bogel, the blogger behind Modern Mrs Darcy, has built something genuinely clever here. Each week, a reader comes on the show and tells Anne about three books they loved, one book they hated, and what they're reading right now. Then Anne -- who seems to have read roughly everything published in English -- makes three personalized recommendations on the spot.

The format sounds simple, but it works because Anne is remarkably good at reading between the lines. A guest might say they loved a cozy mystery, and Anne picks up on the fact that what they actually liked was the sense of place, not the genre. Her recommendations land with surprising accuracy, and you can hear the genuine excitement when a guest says, "Oh, I've never heard of that one!" That reaction happens a lot.

The episodes run about 50 to 60 minutes each, and there are over 510 of them since the show launched in 2016. It holds a 4.8-star rating from more than 5,100 reviews, making it one of the highest-rated book podcasts out there. Anne's tone is warm without being saccharine -- she'll gently push back on a guest's reading habits or admit when a popular book didn't work for her either. The Patreon community adds video episodes and spreadsheets tracking every recommendation ever made on the show, which is the kind of obsessive bookkeeping that readers genuinely appreciate. If you've ever finished a book and stared at your shelf feeling stuck, this podcast was made for you.

This is the podcast for people who want to keep up with new books but don't have an hour to spare. NPR's Book of the Day drops daily episodes that typically clock in under 15 minutes -- some are as short as six. Each one features an NPR journalist sitting down with an author to talk about their latest work, and the interviewers rotate between familiar voices like Scott Simon, Juana Summers, and Ayesha Rascoe.

The brevity is the whole point. You get enough of the author's perspective to know whether a book is worth your time, without the deep-dive commitment of a longer literary podcast. Andrew Limbong frequently hosts, and the conversations feel less like formal interviews and more like the kind of book chat you'd have with a knowledgeable friend over coffee. They cover everything -- fiction, memoir, history, science writing -- so the genre variety keeps things unpredictable.

With over 1,200 episodes since 2021, the back catalog is massive. The show has a 4.2-star rating from about 620 reviews. NPR also offers a premium tier called Book of the Day+ for ad-free listening. The daily cadence means you can treat it like a literary morning briefing: pop in your earbuds during a commute and come out the other side knowing what just hit shelves and why it matters. It's not trying to replace longer book podcasts -- it's the appetizer that helps you decide what deserves the full meal.

There's nothing quite like being read to by a great writer, and that's exactly what this podcast delivers. Each month, fiction editor Deborah Treisman invites a contemporary author to pick a short story from The New Yorker's vast archive, read it aloud, and then talk about why it matters to them. The result is something between a literary salon and a masterclass in close reading.

The guest list reads like a who's who of modern fiction. You'll hear writers like Jhumpa Lahiri selecting a Mavis Gallant story, or George Saunders choosing a piece by Donald Barthelme. The readings themselves are intimate -- these aren't audiobook narrators, they're fellow writers who chose these stories because something about them stuck. The conversations afterward with Treisman are substantive and occasionally surprising, touching on craft, influence, and the weird ways certain sentences lodge in your memory.

Episodes run about 60 to 75 minutes, and with 228 episodes stretching back to 2007, the archive is a remarkable survey of short fiction. The show holds a 4.4-star rating from over 3,200 reviews. Fair warning: it's marked explicit, and the monthly release schedule means you're waiting a while between episodes. But that pacing actually works. Each installment feels like an event rather than another item in your feed. For anyone who cares about short stories -- or just wants to hear brilliant writers geek out about prose -- this is essential listening.

If you want to know what's hitting bookstore shelves this week, All the Books is the show to follow. Hosted primarily by Liberty Hardy from Book Riot, with rotating co-hosts like Patricia Elzie-Tuttle, this podcast drops two episodes a week -- longer Tuesday installments running 45 to 55 minutes, and shorter Friday roundups at about 15 minutes. Between them, they cover an enormous range of new releases across every genre imaginable.

Liberty's enthusiasm is the engine that drives the whole thing. She reads at a pace that most people would consider medically concerning, and her recommendations come with the kind of specific, opinionated context that's actually useful. She won't just tell you a thriller is good -- she'll tell you it reminded her of a specific book from three years ago and explain exactly why. The co-hosts bring their own tastes, which keeps the recommendations from tilting too heavily in any one direction.

With nearly 1,000 episodes since 2015 and a 4.6-star rating from over 1,200 reviews, the show has a loyal following. Reviews consistently mention Liberty's personality, her love of cats, and the fact that listening regularly will wreck your TBR pile in the best possible way. Book Riot also publishes a companion newsletter and maintains a New Release Index, so the podcast fits into a larger ecosystem of book discovery tools. It's the closest thing to having a well-read friend who works at a bookstore and texts you constantly about what just came in.

Andrew Cunningham and Craig Getting have been plowing through their reading backlogs together since 2013, and the result is one of the most entertaining book podcasts going. The premise is straightforward: each week, they pick a book they should have read by now and talk about it. But the execution is what makes it special. These two have the kind of natural conversational chemistry that keeps you listening even when the book itself doesn't sound like your thing.

The range is genuinely impressive. One week they're tackling Moby Dick, the next it's a Baby-sitters Club novel for their recurring "Sit Me Baby One More Time" series. They've covered classic literature, obscure plays, beloved children's books, and everything in between across nearly 800 episodes. The comedy tag on this podcast is earned -- Andrew and Craig are funny in an unforced way, cracking jokes about dense Victorian prose or getting sidetracked by a bizarre plot point in a fantasy novel.

Episodes typically run about an hour, and the show has a 4.6-star rating from over 2,200 reviews. It's marked explicit, mostly because the conversations go wherever they go. The Headgum network also supports bonus content through Patreon, including a manga and anime spin-off series. If you've ever felt guilty about the books you haven't read, Overdue turns that guilt into something genuinely fun. The hosts read so you don't have to -- but honestly, they'll probably make you want to read the books anyway.

Meredith Monday Schwartz and Kaytee Cobb are the bookish best friends you wish you had. Their weekly podcast runs about an hour, sometimes longer, and follows a reliable format: they share what they've been reading, give honest and spoiler-free reviews, and dig into whatever bookish topics are on their minds. It sounds simple because it is -- and that simplicity is exactly why it works.

What sets Currently Reading apart from other recommendation shows is the candor. Meredith and Kaytee aren't afraid to say when a hyped book let them down, and they'll tell you exactly why. Their taste skews toward literary fiction, thrillers, and book club picks, but they cover enough ground that most readers will find something useful. The New York Times named it one of the best podcasts for book lovers, which tracks -- the show has a 4.6-star rating from over 1,750 reviews.

With more than 420 episodes since 2018, they've also branched into spin-off series: "Popcorn in the Pages" covers book-to-screen adaptations, and "A Journey to Three Pines" is a deep-dive into Louise Penny's Inspector Gamache mysteries. The Patreon community offers ad-free episodes and extra content. The vibe is two friends catching up about their reading lives, and the rapport between Meredith and Kaytee feels genuine rather than performed. They disagree, they laugh at each other, and occasionally they both fall hard for the same book and can barely contain themselves. That energy is contagious.

For nearly 15 years, The Guardian's books team turned out one of the most respected literary podcasts in the English-speaking world. Claire Armitstead, Richard Lea, and Sian Cain hosted conversations with authors from across the globe, blending in-depth interviews with investigations into the publishing industry and the broader cultural forces shaping what we read.

The show ran from 2006 until roughly 2020, with a few stray episodes appearing into 2022. At its peak, episodes landed weekly and ran about 35 to 40 minutes. The format mixed things up well -- some weeks featured a single extended author interview, others brought in multiple voices for a panel discussion about a trend or controversy in the book world. The Guardian's editorial sensibility gave the show a distinctly international perspective that American-centric book podcasts often lack.

With 115 episodes still in the archive, the back catalog remains a rich resource. The show holds a 4.1-star rating from 236 reviews, and longtime listeners have called it the best literary podcast ever made. The feed has since been repurposed for other Guardian audio projects, which is a bit confusing if you subscribe expecting book content. This podcast is no longer producing new episodes, but the existing library -- covering interviews with major authors and sharp commentary on the publishing world -- still rewards listening. If you're the kind of reader who cares about literary culture beyond just the books themselves, these conversations hold up remarkably well.

Andy Miller and John Mitchinson started Backlisted in 2015 with a simple mission: champion overlooked and forgotten books that deserve another look. Ten years and 260-plus episodes later, they've built one of the most thoughtful literary podcasts around. Each episode focuses on a single book -- typically a novel, but sometimes poetry, graphic novels, or nonfiction -- and brings in a guest writer, critic, or academic who has a personal connection to the work.

The conversations run long, usually about 70 minutes, and they take their time. This isn't a quick recommendation show. Miller and Mitchinson genuinely know their stuff -- Miller is an author and former bookseller, while Mitchinson spent years as head of research for the British quiz show QI. Their combined knowledge gives the discussions real depth without ever feeling academic or stuffy. The guests tend to be excellent too, often arriving with the kind of passion for a book that's contagious.

The show celebrated its 10th anniversary in 2025 with its first-ever live shows in the United States, recording at 92NY in New York. It holds a 4.7-star rating from nearly 570 reviews, and the Patreon community offers ad-free episodes and bonus content. Backlisted publishes biweekly, so you get time to actually read the book before the discussion drops. That pacing is intentional and refreshing. If your reading list has gotten predictable, this is the podcast most likely to send you hunting through secondhand bookshops for something you'd never have found on your own.

Glory Edim founded the Well-Read Black Girl book club in 2015, and this Pushkin Industries podcast is an extension of that community. The format is straightforward: Glory sits down with an author for an unhurried, deeply personal conversation about reading, writing, and identity. Her guest list is stellar -- Tarana Burke, Min Jin Lee, Anita Hill, Gabrielle Union, Viola Davis, Elizabeth Acevedo -- and the conversations go places that standard author interviews rarely reach.

What makes Glory an exceptional interviewer is her willingness to be vulnerable. She shares her own reading experiences and emotional responses, which puts guests at ease and leads to moments of real honesty. These aren't promotional interviews where an author runs through talking points about their new release. They're actual conversations about how books shape who we become, told through the specific lens of Black women's experiences with literature.

The show produced 27 episodes across its run, with the bulk airing in 2022. Episodes range from about 30 to 40 minutes, though some stretch past an hour. It holds a 4.4-star rating from over 200 reviews. The podcast hasn't published new episodes since late 2023, so the catalog appears complete for now. But the existing episodes are worth seeking out -- each one functions almost like a standalone essay about the relationship between reading and identity. The intimate scale of the show is part of its charm. Rather than trying to cover the entire literary world, Glory focused on conversations that matter to her community, and the result feels intentional and personal.

The Los Angeles Review of Books has quietly become one of the most important literary publications in the country, and the LARB Radio Hour brings that same editorial sensibility to audio. Hosted by Kate Wolf, Medaya Ocher, and Eric Newman, the weekly show features interviews and readings with authors, artists, and cultural critics who tend to be doing genuinely interesting work rather than just promoting a book tour stop.

Episodes run about 45 to 55 minutes and cover a wide range: contemporary fiction, poetry, cultural criticism, translation, independent publishing, and the kinds of interdisciplinary conversations that happen when literature bumps up against politics, art, and philosophy. The hosts are well-informed without being pretentious -- reviewers consistently praise their ability to ask smart questions and then actually listen to the answers, which sounds basic but is rarer than you'd think in literary podcasting.

With 99 episodes and a near-perfect 4.9-star rating from 135 reviews, the LARB Radio Hour punches well above its weight. The show doesn't have the massive audience of some bigger-name book podcasts, but the listeners it does have are devoted. The pacing is brisk enough that episodes never drag, even when the subject matter is dense. If your taste in books skews toward the literary and you're tired of podcast recommendations that stick to the bestseller list, the LARB Radio Hour consistently surfaces the kind of writing that deserves more attention.

Caroline Crampton's Shedunnit is the podcast that mystery lovers didn't know they needed until they found it. The show focuses on the Golden Age of detective fiction -- think Agatha Christie, Dorothy L. Sayers, Margery Allingham, Ngaio Marsh -- and explores the social history behind the stories with the kind of thoroughness that would impress the detectives themselves.

Each episode runs about 25 to 30 minutes, which is the perfect length for the format. Crampton blends solo narration with guest interviews, weaving together literary analysis, historical context, and personal enthusiasm. One episode might explore why country houses became the default setting for murder mysteries; another looks at the real forensic science that informed Golden Age plots. The research is meticulous, but Crampton's delivery keeps things lively -- she clearly loves this material, and her excitement shows without tipping into breathlessness.

With 193 episodes published biweekly since 2018, the archive is substantial. The show holds a remarkable 4.9-star rating from nearly 700 reviews, which puts it among the highest-rated book podcasts anywhere. The Green Penguin Book Club episodes add a communal reading element with guest discussions. Shedunnit occupies a very specific niche -- classic detective fiction and its cultural context -- and fills it brilliantly. If you've read your way through Christie and wondered about the world that produced those stories, Crampton has done the detective work for you.

Kate and Laura Potter host The Book Club Review with a refreshing editorial stance: they want to figure out whether the books everyone's talking about actually deserve the hype. Published biweekly on the W!ZARD Studios network, episodes run about 50 to 80 minutes and feature discussion, debate, and the occasional genuine disagreement about whether a title earned its place on the bestseller list.

The format mixes contemporary releases with backlist titles, so you'll get coverage of the latest Booker Prize shortlist alongside a reassessment of something published twenty years ago. The hosts bring in guest critics, authors, and literary professionals like Phil Chaffee, which adds perspective beyond their own reading tastes. What works especially well is their willingness to be critical. Too many book podcasts default to enthusiasm about everything; Kate and Laura will tell you flat-out when something didn't work and articulate exactly what fell short.

With 192 episodes since 2017 and a 4.5-star rating from 126 reviews, the show has built a steady audience. The Patreon community offers ad-free episodes, bonus content, and monthly book club selections. Themed episodes -- covering diaries, the Booker Prize, or bestseller trends -- give the show variety beyond the standard review format. If you're the kind of reader who wants an honest assessment before committing 10 hours to a novel, this podcast takes the evaluation seriously without taking itself too seriously.

Book Riot's Jeff O'Neal and Rebecca Schinsky created Zero to Well-Read for a very specific audience: people who want to talk about classic and bestselling books at dinner parties without having actually read all of them. Part book club, part literary crash course, the show breaks down one major title per episode -- covering the plot, the reading experience, the cultural significance, and the key takeaways you can deploy in conversation.

The tone is irreverent in the best way. Jeff and Rebecca aren't trying to be English professors, even though they clearly have the chops. They'll tell you that a celebrated novel is actually a slog, or that the reason everyone talks about a certain book has more to do with timing than quality. Episodes run long -- about 85 minutes on average -- which gives them room to really dig into a single book without rushing. The weekly Tuesday drops have been consistent since the show launched in September 2025.

With 25 episodes so far and a 4.7-star rating from over 650 reviews, the show has already built real momentum despite being relatively new. That rating is impressive for a podcast that's only a few months old. The concept fills a gap that most book podcasts ignore: the anxiety of feeling like you should have read certain books and haven't. Rather than shaming you for it, Jeff and Rebecca turn that feeling into something entertaining and genuinely educational. It's a smart addition to the Book Riot podcast family, and the early episode count means you can still catch up from the beginning without feeling overwhelmed.

Leslie Murphy runs one of the most focused book podcasts out there: it's romance, all romance, nothing but romance. And that specificity is exactly what makes it valuable. The show covers recommendations, trope breakdowns, author interviews, and monthly top-10 new release lists, all filtered through Leslie's deep knowledge of the genre and its many subgenres.

Episodes typically run 30 to 40 minutes for solo recommendation shows, stretching to about an hour for author interviews. The format keeps things accessible -- Leslie designed the episodes to be short enough that you can get solid recommendations during a lunch break or commute. She has strong opinions about what works and what doesn't, and she'll get specific about tropes, from forced proximity to second-chance romance to the increasingly granular micro-tropes that romance readers love to debate.

With 138 episodes and a perfect 5.0-star rating (though from a smaller pool of 22 reviews), the show has earned genuine loyalty from its audience. New episodes drop one to two times per week. The companion website includes a book club, reading challenges, and curated lists that extend the podcast's recommendations. Leslie's tone hits a sweet spot between enthusiastic fan and knowledgeable critic -- she clearly reads an enormous amount of romance and remembers the details. If you're a romance reader looking for your next favorite book, or if you're curious about the genre and want a guide who actually knows the territory, this podcast does the job exceptionally well.

Luke Burrage and Juliane Kunzendorf have been reviewing science fiction novels since 2008, making this one of the longest-running genre-specific book podcasts around. The format is simple and direct: they read a sci-fi novel, they review it, they move on to the next one. Episodes run about 50 to 75 minutes and arrive monthly, giving them time to genuinely sit with each book before recording.

The show's strength is its depth of coverage. Over the years, Luke has built up a "Must-Read List" of recommended science fiction novels that serves as a kind of curated reading guide for the genre. The reviews are substantive -- they discuss plot, prose style, scientific ideas, and how each book fits into the broader landscape of science fiction. Juliane joined as co-host and brings a different perspective that creates productive tension in the discussions. They don't always agree, and those disagreements are often the most interesting parts of an episode.

With 50 episodes currently available on Apple Podcasts and a 3.2-star rating from 145 reviews, the show is more divisive than some others on this list. Some listeners love the conversational dynamic, while others find it hit-or-miss. But for dedicated science fiction readers, the specificity of the coverage is hard to match. This isn't a podcast that occasionally reviews a sci-fi novel alongside thrillers and literary fiction -- it's exclusively focused on the genre, which means the hosts have read widely and deeply enough to make connections that a more generalist show would miss.