If you’re an avid book lover or just enjoyed your college English class, look no further than your favorite podcast to get your fix (that is, when you can’t have a book in your hand).
Whether you’re on the market for an easy way to be part of a book club, want to hear in-depth discussions of your favorite stories, or simply wish to catch up on current poems and short stories, there’s a podcast for you. Listening to free, easily downloadable shows seamlessly integrates keeping up with literature into busy schedules. The next time you’re in the mood for some literature on your commute, try one or two of these excellent podcasts:
This weekly podcast takes short stories, poems, and interviews that have all been previously published by The Paris Review and puts them together to create a unique show. The occasional correlating sound effects woven together with the writings make the show more of an experience than the typical podcast.
2. The New Yorker Fiction and Poetry Podcasts
What’s better than one New Yorker podcast? Three New Yorker podcasts! “The New Yorker: Fiction” podcast features authors reading different authors’ short stories and a discussion of the work with the fiction editor. “The New Yorker: The Writer’s Voice” showcases new stories published in The New Yorker read by their authors. Both podcasts celebrate new and old stories from the magazine. “The New Yorker: Poetry” podcast has the same layout as the fiction podcast, but with authors reading different poems.
Every month, Slate’s book club reads and discusses a different book with a panel of participants. The podcast explores both classics and new releases, and the lively conversations and debates about themes presented in the literature are consistently thought-provoking.
This podcast focuses specifically on classic literature. Each show lasts roughly thirty minutes, and features a different guest who discusses a chosen classic. The podcast isn’t limited to novels, and will occasionally discuss plays by authors such as Shakespeare and Chekhov.
5. “The Guardian Books Podcast”
The Guardian’s podcast includes interviews with authors and discussions of themes found in (usually recent) literature. The conversations are typically relevant to current discourse, building an obvious bridge between modern issues and literature.
Featured image by Anna Thetard
