Podcasts for the Book Lover

During months of self-isolation and quarantine, it often felt as though we had endless hours to spend on our own. A frequently asked question in the last year was “what quarantine hobby did you pick up?” For many of the book lovers out there, myself included, it was a time to finally catch up on the stack of unread books we own. However, no matter how much you love to read, at some point everyone needs a break. Even when taking a break from reading you don’t want to leave the world of literature, then I have the solution for you: literary podcasts! 

Even the most seasoned reader can start to feel their eyes strain after hours upon hours of reading. Literary podcasts are the solution to that, as well as for other book lovers who perhaps have long commutes to their jobs. That is why I have compiled a list of awesome literary podcasts on a variety of genres so every reader can find something they would enjoy. 

For the Classics Lover:

• The Great Book Podcast: John J. Miller, director of the journalism program at Hillsdale College, hosts this podcast about literary classics of the Western World. Each podcast explores a different book from western literary canon with experts of the genre. New podcasts are released every Tuesday.

For the Romantic:

• Smart Podcast, Trashy Books: Blogger, Sarah Wendell, hosts this podcast all about the Romance genre. In each episode, she interviews a guest from a variety of literary backgrounds, from authors to bloggers, editors to reviewers, and even the occasional librarian. In each interview, they cover different subjects from within the Romance genre, also included in each episode are book recommendations from within the genre. New podcasts are released every Friday.

For the YA Fans:

• Hey YA: In this podcast, the hosts discuss the latest happenings within the Young Adult genre. From book recommendations to current issues within the genre, this podcast covers it all. They are even always on the lookout for the latest film adaptations. New episodes of the podcast are released every Wednesday.

For the Sci-Fi & Fantasy Enthusiast:

• Sword & Laser: This podcast is a digital book club hosted by Veronica Belmont and Tom Merritt. Each month the hosts pick a book to discuss and read along with the listeners. Topics also included on the podcast are interviews with authors and other experts of the genre, and news on the latest happenings within the world of Sci-Fi and Fantasy writing, New episodes are posted on a bi-weekly basis on Thursdays. 

The last entry on this list is an upcoming genre that is just starting to get more mainstream approval, and because of the recent renaissance, it is having thanks to social media apps like TikTok it had to be included on the list. 

For the Fanfiction Followers:

• Fine Pairings: In each episode of this podcast the host reads and discusses a different piece of fanfiction. They cover fanfiction from a wide variety of source materials and offer insights from their own experience of writing within the genre. For the 21+ listeners, there is also the bonus that in each episode they provide the recipe for a cocktail inspired by the fanfiction they will be covering in that episode. New episodes are released every Thursday.

Hopefully from this list, you will be able to find a podcast to enjoy and maybe even get some new book recommendations. All of the hosts of these podcasts are great to listen to and this can be a safe way of inviting some new voices into your space. Happy listening and be sure to share any other great literary podcasts you find with us on Twitter!