First Edition Book Riot

Xochitl Gonzalez, author of Anita de Monte Laughs Last, joins Jeff to debut two new First Edition segments: Anatomy of a Scene and Hardest/Easiest. In the first segment, they each pick a scene to dissect from Anita de Monte Laughs Last. In the second, Gonzalez talks about what part of the book was the easiest to write....and which was the hardest.
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Want to make your book club the best club? Sign up for our In the Club newsletter. In the Club will deliver recommendations for the best books to discuss in your book clubs. From buzzy new releases to brilliant throwbacks, the books highlighted in this newsletter will drive your book club discussions. We’ll also share some book club-friendly recipes and interesting bookish updates from all over. If you become a paid subscriber, you get even more recommendations plus community features. In other words, we’ll keep you well-met, well-read, and well-fed. Sign up today!
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Discussed in this episode:
Anita de Monte Laughs Last
The First Edition Newsletter
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Jason Snell of sixcolors.com, and ereader connoisseur, joins Jeff to talk about the state of ereaders, what makes a good ereader, a couple of interesting, oddball new devices, and more.
Check out sixcolors.com and The Incomparable.
Want to make your book club the best club? Sign up for our In the Club newsletter. In the Club will deliver recommendations for the best books to discuss in your book clubs. From buzzy new releases to brilliant throwbacks, the books highlighted in this newsletter will drive your book club discussions. We’ll also share some book club-friendly recipes and interesting bookish updates from all over. If you become a paid subscriber, you get even more recommendations plus community features. In other words, we’ll keep you well-met, well-read, and well-fed. Sign up today!
Discussed in this episode:
Two e-readers that made me reconsider why I use e-readers by Jason Snell
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Joshua Bodwell of Godine & Black Sparrow Press talks to Jeff about a book they both love, The Orchard by Adele Crockett Robertson, and the process of reissuing it as part of Godine's Nonpareil series.
It's happening, readers — we're bringing paperbacks! Whether you (or a reader you know and love) hate carrying around bulky hardcovers, you're on a budget, you want a wider range of recommendations, or all of the above, you can now get a paperback subscription from TBR, curated just for you by one of our Bibliologists. The holidays are here, and we've got three different levels for gifting to suit every budget. Get all the details at mytbr.co.
Discussed in this episode:
The Orchard by Adele Crockett Robertson
Godine's Nonpareil Series
Subscribe to First Edition via RSS, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify.
For episode extras, subscribe to the First Edition Substack.
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Jeff and Rebecca sit down to determine the It Books of the Year. From 24 finalists, they will whittle down to twelve. The last cut is the deepest.
Subscribe to First Edition via RSS, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify.
For episode extras, subscribe to the First Edition Substack.
It's happening, readers — we're bringing paperbacks! Whether you (or a reader you know and love) hate carrying around bulky hardcovers, you're on a budget, you want a wider range of recommendations, or all of the above, you can now get a paperback subscription from TBR, curated just for you by one of our Bibliologists. The holidays are here, and we've got three different levels for gifting to suit every budget. Get all the details at mytbr.co.
This content contains affiliate links. When you buy through these links, we may earn an affiliate commission.

The It Books of the Year Finalists
The Woman in Me by Britney Spears
The Guest by Emma Cline
Tom Lake by Ann Patchett
Prophet Song by Paul Lynch
The Berry Pickers by Amanda Peters
The Wager by David Grann
Doppelganger by Naomi Klein
Spare by Prince Harry
Big Fiction by Dan Sinykin
Lone Women by Victor LaValle
The Biography of X by Catherine Lacey
Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros
Heaven & Earth Grocery Story by James McBride
Poverty by Matthew Desmond
The Covenant of Water by Abraham Verghese
Yellowface by R. F. Kuang
Blackouts by Justin Torres
Chain Gang All Stars by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah
The Fraud by Zadie Smith
The Vaster Wilds by Lauren Groff
How to Say Babylon by Safiya Sinclair
Let Us Descend by Jesmyn Ward
Pageboy by Elliot Page
The Country of the Blind by Andrew Leland
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In this episode, I talk to Prof. Courtney Thorsson about her new book, The Sisterhood: How a Network of Black Women Writers Changed American Culture.
Over the course of two years, a group of remarkable black women writers met to discuss their work, connect with each other, and ultimately influence the next decades of American cultural life.
The Sisterhood documents the meetings of the group, their motivations for gathering, and the wider intellectual and artistic world they helped create.
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It's the last big month for new releases, so Jeff O'Neal and Rebecca Schinsky saddle up for one more It Book Knockout Round for 2023.
Subscribe to First Edition via RSS, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify.
For episode extras, subscribe to the First Edition Substack.
It's happening, readers — we're bringing paperbacks! Whether you hate carrying around bulky hardcovers, you're on a budget, you want a wider range of recommendations, or all of the above, you can now get a paperback subscription from TBR, curated just for you by one of our Bibliologists. You can also gift it (and the holidays, they are coming). Get all the details at mytbr.co.
This content contains affiliate links. When you buy through these links, we may earn an affiliate commission.

Books mentioned in this episode:
The Future by Noami Alderman
Class by Stephanie Land
Breaking Twitter by Ben Mezrich
The Mystery Guest by Nita Prose
Day by Michael Cunningham
Same Bed, Different Dreams by Ed Park
The Vulnerables by Sigrid Nunez
My Name is Barbra by Barbra Streisand
The Liberators by E.J. Koh
To Free the Captives by Tracy K. Smith
Iron Flame by Rebecca Yarros

Email in with questions, comments, and ideas: firstedition@bookriot.com.
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