The Book Review
The New York Times
library_music 594 Episodes Available
Recent Episodes
The Best Books of the 21st Century: Ryan Holiday on ‘The Road’
In 2024, The New York Times Book Review gathered more than 500 novelists, nonfiction writers, poets and literary enthusiasts to help pick the best books of the 21st century so far. One of those books was Cormac McCarthy’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, “The Road,” which came in at No. 13. That book tells the story of a man and his young son trying to survive in a postapocalyptic United States. Like other books by McCarthy, it combines ornate prose with moments of unforgettable violence. It is also a moving story of love and parenthood under the most extreme circumstances. One of the people who voted on our best books list was Ryan Holiday, author of more than a dozen nonfiction books, host of the “Daily Stoic” podcast and owner of the Painted Porch Bookshop in Bastrop, Texas. We recently invited him on the “Book Review” podcast to talk about “The Road,” and how its meaning changed for him after he became a father. Books Discussed on This Episode: “The Road” by Cormac McCarthy “No Country for Old Men” by Cormac McCarthy “All the Pretty Horses” by Cormac McCarthy “Blood Meridian” by Cormac McCarthy “The Odyssey” by Homer “The Great Gatsby” by F. Scott Fitzgerald “The Children of Men” by P. D. James “The Plague” by Albert Camus “Revolutionary Road” by Richard Yates “Meditations” by Marcus Aurelius “Of Boys and Men” by Richard Reeves “Outdoor Kids in an Inside World” by Steven Rinella “Letter to His Father” by Franz Kafka “Range” by David Epstein “Good Inside” by Becky Kennedy “Wild Dark Shore” by Charlotte McConaghy “Death Be Not Proud” by John Gunther “The Revenant” by Michael Punke Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
A Summer Book Recommendation Bonanza
June is here and the long summer days are stretching out ahead, which means it’s time to settle in front of the air-conditioner with a pile of books. (Just us?) But which ones should you read this summer? The “Book Review” podcast’s Gilbert Cruz talks with the Book Review editors Joumana Khatib and MJ Franklin about the titles they’re most excited about. Books discussed in this episode: “Red Sheet,” by James Ellroy “Villa Coco,” by Andrew Sean Greer “They All Fall in Love at the End,” by Haili Blassingame “Whistler,” by Ann Patchett “As If,” by Isabel Waidner “The Housewives Underground,” by Kaitlyn Tiffany “Nebraska,” by Monica Datta “Cool Machine,” by Colson Whitehead “The Mortons,” by Justine Larbalestier and Scott Westerfeld “Country People,” by Daniel Mason “Fixer Chao,” by Han Ong “Biological War,” by Annie Jacobsen “We Were Forbidden,” by Jacqueline Harpman “The Amateur,” by Chris Bohjalian “A Tender Age,” by Chang-rae Lee “The Jackal,” by Joby Warrick “A Moment in the Sun,” by Shane White “A Sudden Flicker of Light,” by David Thomson “Rabbit, Fox, Tar” by P.C. Verrone “The Au Pair,” by Teddy Wayne “Land,” by Maggie O’Farrell “Sublimation,” by Isabel J. Kim “Cloudthief,” by Nathaniel Rich “Dead But Dreaming of Electric Sheep,” by Paul Tremblay “You Won’t Get Free of It,” by Rachel Aviv “Awake Awake,” by Fiona Mozley “Triage,” by Claudia Rankine “Catch the Devil,” by Pamela Colloff “Helpless,” by Jessica Knoll “Life of M,” by Rachel Cusk Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.