The story of the strange 11-day disappearance of Agatha Christie: what did happen, what didn't happen, and what might have happened.

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The Female Persuasion by Meg Wolitzer

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Last summer, an unknown book came out of nowhere to debut at #1 on the New York Times bestseller list for Young Adult books. Its short time at the top exposed some flaws in bestseller lists and provoked questions about why we care so much about bestsellers.

This episode is sponsored by:

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The Female Persuasion by Meg Wolitzer

Further reading:

Constance Grady on the bestseller list landscape

Lila Shapiro's profile of Lani Sarem

Lila Shapiro's profile of Justina Ireland

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In this episode, the story of Merriam-Webster's Third Edition, and fight about language it caused.

This episode is sponsored by:

TryAudiobooks

I Was Anastasia by Ariel Lawhon

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In this first episode of season 2 of Annotated, the story of how Shakespeare was saved for posterity by two of his friends and a cagey publisher.

This episode is sponsored by Penguin Random House Audio. Visit TryAudiobooks.com/bookriot for great listening recommendations.

For further reading, we suggested Emma Smith's The Making of the First Folio.

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In this episode, an investigation of the Oxford comma that starts, improbably, with a love story. This episode is sponsored by: The Lost City of the Monkey God by Douglas Preston Devastation Road by Jason Hewitt 

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In this episode, the story of how a 17-year-old named Mary Godwin came to write Frankenstein and in doing so write the first great work of science fiction.  This episode is sponsored by: Underground Airlines by Ben H. Winters Seeing Red by Sandra Brown

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 In this episode, the story of how an unlikely cast of characters brought James Joyce's Ulysses to America, got it legalized, and changed how we understand what literature can do. This episode is sponsored by: You Don't Have to Say You Love Me by Sherman Alexie The Lost Woman by Sara Blaedel You can keep up with Annotated between episodes with photos, facts, and trivia on Instagram (@annotatedfm) and Twitter (@annotatedfm). This episode was written and directed by Jeremy Desmon and produced by Jeff O'Neal. Sound editing and design by Kyle O'Neal. Special production assistance from Rita Meade and Blair Anderson.  Enormous thanks to Kevin Birmingham author of The Most Dangerous Book: The Battle for James Joyce's Ulysses. and Maya Lang, author of The 16th of June.  You can subscribe to Annotated in Apple Podcasts, Google Play, or in your podcast player of choice. 

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In this episode: the life of Belle da Costa Greene, the most glamorous and influential librarian in early 20th Century America, who kept a life-long secret that would have ended her career.  This episode is sponsored by: Careers for Women by Joanna Scott Blame by Jeff Abbott You can keep up with Annotated between episodes with photos, facts, and trivia on Instagram (@annotatedfm) and Twitter (@annotatedfm). Special thanks to: Andrea Mays, author of The Millonaire & The Bard Heidi Ardizzone, author of An Illuminated Life This episode was written and produced by Jeff O’Neal and directed by Jeremy Desmon. Sound editing and design by Kyle O’Neal. Special production assistance by Rita Meade. ___________________________ You can subscribe to Annotated in Apple Podcasts, Google Play, or in your podcast player of choice.

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In this episode, we look at the remarkable turnaround in independent bookstores in the U.S. After thousands closed from 1995 to 2008, over the last decade more bookstores are setting up shop...and staying open. How did it happen? And will it continue? This episode is sponsored by: Before the Fall by Noah Hawley Less by Andrew Sean Greer You can keep up with Annotated between episodes with photos, facts, and trivia on Instagram (@annotatedfm) and Twitter (@annotatedfm). This episode was written and produced by Jeff O’Neal and directed by Jeremy Desmon. Sound editing and design by Kyle O’Neal. Special production assistance from Sharifah Williams, Blair Anderson and Rita Meade.  Our thanks to Josh Christie of Print: A Bookstore in Portland, Maine, Oren Teicher of the American Booksellers Association, Prof Ryan Rafaelli of Harvard’s Business School and Noelle Santos of The Lit Bar, coming soon to The Bronx.

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In this inaugural episode, we consider the resurgence of interest in George Orwell's 1984, and the story of how 1984 came to be in the first place.  This episode is sponsored by: Al Franken: Giant of the Senate by Al Franken Gather the Daughters by Jennie Melamed To enter the giveaway of all twelve of the books sponsoring this season of Annotated, go here.  Malka Older's debut novel is Infomocracy. Michael Shelden's biography of George Orwell is Orwell: The Authorized Biography. 

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