With Guillermo del Toro's Netflix adaptation of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein in the news, we thought we would bring out an episode we did for Annotated several years ago. It's a great story and we had fun doing this one. Enjoy.

This episode of Annotated was written by me, Jeff O’Neal, and directed by Jeremy Desmon.

Sound editing and design by Kyle O’Neal. Our thanks to Mahvesh Murad for being our Mary Shelley, Bob Schinsky for being our Lord Byron, Amanda Nelson for being our Jane Clairmont and Kyle O’Neal for taking on the role of Percy Shelley.

Further reading recommendations:

Mary Shelley by Miranda Seymour

The Lady and Her Monsters by Roseanne Montillo

Romantic Outlaws by Charlotte Gordon

Mary Shelley by Muriel Spark

Mary Shelley: Romance and Reality by Emily W. Sunstein

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Prof. Laura McGrath joins Jeff and Rebecca to talk about what some studies can tell us about just how much readers care (and don't) about genre.

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Discussed in this episode:

Laura's newsletter: TextCrunch

English, James and J.D. Porter, "The Eclectic Reader." JCA: The Journal of Cultural Analytics. August 20, 2025

Peterson, Richard A. “Understanding Audience Segmentation: From Elite and Mass to Omnivore and Univore.” Poetics, vol. 21, no. 4, 1992, pp. 243–58

Check out Zero to Well-Read!

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Sharifah Williams joins Jeff to talk about the 2025 Nobel for Literature, National Book Award finalists and more award season news. Then, Hachette CEO David Shelly talks to Jeff about book banning, inclusivity, and other issues facing the publishing world.

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The Book Riot Podcast is a proud member of the Airwave Podcast Network.

Discussed in this episode:

Check out Zero to Well-Read!

Subscribe to The Book Riot Newsletter for regular updates to get the most out of your reading life.

The 2025 Nobel Prize in Literature

2025 National Book Award Finalists

Kirkus Prize Announced

Baker & Taylor going away?

The Warmth of Other Suns by Isabel Wilkerson

Audition by Katie Kitamura

Near Flesh by Katherine Dunn

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A drop-in of the most recent episode of Zero to Well-Read, in which Jeff O'Neal and Rebecca Schinksy are joined by Book Riot editors Vanessa Diaz and Kelly Jensen to talk about Stephanie Meyer's cultural juggernaut: Twilight. This was a lot of fun.

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The Book Riot Podcast is a proud member of the Airwave Podcast Network.

Discussed in this episode:

Check out Zero to Well-Read!

Subscribe to The Book Riot Newsletter for regular updates to get the most out of your reading life.

Apply to write for Book Riot

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Jeff and Rebecca talk about the opening of the portal to submit claims against the $1.5 Billion Anthropic settlement, Reading Rainbow's relaunch, One Battle After Another, and more of the week's book news.

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The Book Riot Podcast is a proud member of the Airwave Podcast Network.

Discussed in this episode:

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Check out Zero to Well-Read!

Subscribe to The Book Riot Newsletter for regular updates to get the most out of your reading life.

Apply to write for Book Riot

Authors can find out if they’re eligible for a settlement from Anthropic

Reading Rainbow is coming back with a new host

Publishing has a gambling problem

Florida district judge rejects first amendment argument in book banning base

Kamala Harris’s 107 Days on track to be best-selling memoir of the year

107 Days by Kamala Harris

Midnight Timetable by Bora Chung

Replaceable You by Mary Roach

Enshittification by Cory Doctorow

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Jeff and Rebecca consider 10 candidates for the title, It Book of October 2025.

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Discussed in this episode:

Check out Zero to Well-Read!

Subscribe to The Book Riot Newsletter for regular updates to get the most out of your reading life.

The Wayfinder by Adam Johnson

The Ten Year Affair by Erin Somers

King Sorrow by Joe Hill

The Land of Sweet Forever: Stories and Essays by Harper Lee

A Guardian and a Thief by Megha Majumdar

Enshittification by Cory Doctorow

The Unveiling by Quan Barry

Joyride by Susan Orlean

Shadow Ticket by Thomas Pynchon

Dead and Alive: Essays by Zadie Smith

Tom’s Crossing by Mark Danielewski

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Jeff and Rebecca talk about The Booker Prize finalists, a judicial brow-beating, soft book sales, and more.

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Ready for a cozy, bookish autumn? Let Tailored Book Recommendations help you find your next favorite read with handpicked suggestions from professional book nerds. Get started today from just $18!

The Book Riot Podcast is a proud member of the Airwave Podcast Network.

Discussed in this episode:

Check out Zero to Well-Read!

Subscribe to The Book Riot Newsletter for regular updates to get the most out of your reading life.

Booker Prize finalists

Judge dismisses Trump’s lawsuit against NYT, PRH

Book sales dropped in first half of 2025, romantasy losing steam

The Fourth Wing adaptation has a showrunner

Will There Ever Be Another You by Patricia Lockwood

107 Days by Kamala Harris

Baldwin: A Love Story by Nicholas Boggs

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Today we have for you an episode from the Brooklyn Public Library’s Borrowed & Returned podcast series, looking back on Ezra Jack Keats' trailblazing picture book and how it continues to resonate with readers.

You can find Borrowed & Returned wherever you get your podcasts.

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Jeff and Rebecca talk about the week's book news, from Trump flimsy lawsuit against PRH and The New York Times (and why it matters, flimsy as it is), break down a couple of award lists, do some Jefftionary entries, and more.

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Ready for a cozy, bookish autumn? Let Tailored Book Recommendations help you find your next favorite read with handpicked suggestions from professional book nerds. Get started today from just $18!

The Book Riot Podcast is a proud member of the Airwave Podcast Network.

Discussed in this episode:

Check out Zero to Well-Read!

Subscribe to The Book Riot Newsletter for regular updates to get the most out of your reading life.

The National Book Awards fiction longlist is here

Finalists for the 2025 Barnes & Noble Discover Prize

Trump sues NYT and PRH 

How “actual malice” works in defamation

Scholastic launches streaming service

Mother Mary Comes to Me by Arudhati Roy

Baldwin: A Love Story by Nicholas Boggs

The Ten Year Affair by Erin Somers

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Jeff, Rebecca, and Vanessa gather in a secret chamber to discuss the wonderfully absurd mysteries of Dan Brown's latest, The Secret of Secrets.

Check out Zero to Well-Read!

Subscribe to the podcast via RSS, Apple Podcasts, and Spotify.

Subscribe to The Book Riot Newsletter for regular updates to get the most out of your reading life.

Ready for a cozy, bookish autumn? Let Tailored Book Recommendations help you find your next favorite read with handpicked suggestions from professional book nerds. Get started today from just $18!

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