9 Book Podcasts Every Literary Lover Should Listen To
If there’s one thing we love doing more than reading books, it’s talking about them: whether you go to a book club, discuss the latest bestseller with your work colleagues or are simply trying to make small talk with your aunt at your next family reunion. Podcasts offer a way to get that conversational experience without you having to do any of the talking, and we’ve put together a list of our favourite book and literary podcasts to put on when you’re in need of the company of fellow book lovers.
Slightly Foxed
Slightly Foxed, for those of you who don’t know, is a magazine that releases quarterly and focuses on books that aren’t new or en vogue, but are still worth a read today. It prides itself on not being pretentious or annoyingly hipster-ish, but can certainly help introduce you to books that will impress your friends with your obscure knowledge. Their podcast, hosted by the staff, is an audio a complement to the magazine, and features experts from across the literary industry, as well as academics all talking about books that may have flown under your radar.
London Review Bookshop Podcast
Another magazine podcast, London Review Bookshop is a bit more traditional than Slightly Foxed, but no less enjoyable. This is a podcast to listen to if you’re keen on hearing authors themselves speak, with plenty of names to choose from in the sizeable back catalogue. Often those speaking use their books to debate the big issues, from economic problems to climate change, but more random topics like mountaineering, the history of spagethetti and even baldness have been chatted about here. Give it a listen.
Sentimental Garbage
For all of those who love chick-lit, this is the podcast for you. Sentimental Garbage is hosted by writer Caroline O’Donoghue, and is all about the genre of fiction that is well loved but often a bit looked down upon by society. The pod is a celebration of chick-lit and why it’s so popular, but it’s also grown to discuss feminism and women’s issues in general, as well as having a healthy dose of Sex and the City chat. Plenty of guests like Rose McGowan, Amy Tan and Otegha Uwagba have been featured, as they all chat about their favourite novels and films from the genre.
Well-Read Black Girl with Glory Edim
The Well-Read Black Girl podcast comes from the book club of the same name, and features host Glory Edim discussing the books she loves and how they connect to the real world. Edim chats to guests like Anita Hill, Viola Davis, Tarana Burke and more, as well as Black booksellers to see what books they’re currently stuck into and to learn more about the literary world. Expect some honest and deep conversations of novels that often are politically and culturally relevant, as well as fun chats about books that have made a real connection to the guest.
Penguin Books
The iconic Penguin logo that’s synonymous with a good read is now a symbol of a good listen, too: The Penguin Podcast releases fortnightly, and features some big na,es exploring not only what they’ve written but also their lives and the objects (literally) that inspire them. Malorie Blackman, Greta Thunberg, Michael Morpurgo, Allison Hammond, Barack Obama, Paul McCartney and Jacqueline Wilson are just some of the guests who’ve been featured in recent years. If there’s a big new book release, it’s pretty likely the author will be talking on the Penguin Podcast, so take a look to see what you can find.
Books Unbound
Books Unbound might be the closest thing to a book-club-as-a-podcast on this list, and that’s what makes it one of the best ritual listens each Sunday. Hosted by Ariel Bisset and Raeleen Lemay, it discusses both recent releases and the hosts’ old favourites. Dedicated to pulling apart books and analysing them, Books Unbound is a great place to find literary chatter that isn’t too stuffy and really does just feel like two friends having a chat. It’s not all just discussion of novels, with lots of book related topics like “Rating Bookish Things Out Of Ten” being regular features. It’s a great listen to find recommendations when you really don’t know what to read next.
Frank Skinner’s Poetry Podcast
You know him from his comedy work hosting Room 101 and helping to pen Three Lions (or It’s Coming Home), but Frank Skinner is also a big fan of poetry. So much so that he’s dedicated a podcast to the art that’s sometimes dismissed as boring or indecipherable. Each week Frank chooses a few poems to take you through and chat about, and is often accompanied by the author themselves (if they’re living). Sometimes they’re humourous, sometimes they’re sad, and sometimes they’re in the middle. Some of the guests featured alongside Frank recently include Poet Laureate Simon Armitage, former Laureate Carol Ann Duffy, Tracy K Smith and Rita Dove.
Shedunnit
The whodunnit and mystery genres owe a lot to female writers, with Agatha Christie and Dorothy L Sayers having helped to pioneer the format. The Shedunnit podcast celebrates crime fiction and the women that wrote many of the biggest works in the genre, as well as some of the female sleuths like Miss Marple that inhabit them. It’s hosted by Caroline Crampton, as she scours the history of detective fiction and true crime to find what inspires crime writers to this day. While it’s mainly focused on female writers, novels like the Sherlock Holmes series are also discussed as focal points in the genre.
You’re Booked
Daisy Buchanan (no, not the iconic Gatsby character) hosts this pod which has a simple premise at its core. Every episode, a guest joins Daisy on the show and together they trawl through the guest’s bookshelves to find their favourite books and the ones that made a real impact on their lives. From books they “borrowed” and forgot to give back, to books they claim they’re going to read but have never got round to, each guest provides an insightful and relatable chat that makes for great listening in usually hour long bites. Some of those who’ve been “booked” on the show include Fern Brady, Amanda Owen, Lucy Mangan, Nick Hornby, Charlie Higson, Mel Giedroyc and more.
