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With the recent layoffs of the Washington Post book section staff, the question arises: Where do eager readers go to find out about good books, new books or any books?
Host Scott Tong asks our go-to book expert, Traci Thomas, host and creator of “The Stacks” podcast.
Recommendations from Traci Thomas
Former Washington Post writers in new places
- Becca Rothfeld, former nonfiction reviewer, is now at The New Yorker. Read her piece, titled “The Death of Book World.”
- Ron Charles, former books writer, has a Substack where he covers books, authors and literary culture.
Virtual literary outlets
- Lit Hub offers book reviews, interviews, news and fun elements like a March Madness-style bracket for book villains. Thomas also recommends the weekly email, called Bookmarks, that sends out all the book news from the week and the best-reviewed books.
- Electric Literature is another online space with interviews, reviews, articles and a lot of reading lists.
- The Rumpus, newly purchased by authors Roxanne Gay and Debbie Millman, publishes original writing (fiction, essays, comics, etc.) as well as reviews and interviews.
Legacy media book departments
- The New York Times is still doing its thing in the book world and remains one of the few dedicated book desks in newspapers.
- NPR offers book coverage all year long and features a wide range of books for every reader.
- Elle Magazine is taking books super seriously in its Shelf Life section. It has a great curation of lists, plus interviews and book-related pop culture connections.
Book podcasts
- “The Stacks” is Thomas’ podcast. The show features weekly interviews and a book club conversation at the end of the month. This is a show for people who love to read without being pretentious.
- “Glamorous Trash” is a celebrity memoir book show that is super fun while also taking pop culture seriously.
- Book Riot is an online publication with a lot of book podcasts. Some are more news-focused, some are more deep dives. Its flagship show is “The Book Riot Podcast.”
- Book Forum‘s “Reading Writers” podcast, where writers read other people’s books and talk about them.
Substacks
- Fiction Matters offers all things books, from recommendations to thoughts about how to read better. Sara Hildreth is a former English teacher, and this year, is doing a huge reading project with her community called This American Lit, all about the writing that has shaped America. It’s accessible but also super smart.
- Extracurricular from Tembe Denton-Hurst includes some incredible reviews. She also takes people who love books out on ‘Book Dates’ and interviews them about books while they shop at bookstores.
- Martha’s Monthly from Martha Adams features a ton of books in translation and makes “reading the world” feel more accessible than ever.
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