Two Ear Worthy Book Podcasts: All The Books & The Book Club

It is estimated that there are over five million book club members in the United States, with some estimates even reaching 13 million participants, reflecting a robust culture of both in-person and online reading groups. These clubs range from local community groups to massive, influencer-led virtual communities. Niche-specific clubs such as BookTok, or Reddit's r/BookClub have fueled a surge in popularity, and platforms like Bookclubs.com help to organize over 350,000 members for meetings and discussion.

That level of interest also drives the number of book podcasts. One of the oldest in podcasting years is The New York Times Book Review. Yet, there are thousands of book podcasts, some about books, others about the authors, and still more about the publishing industry.

Today, we'll cover two excellent book podcasts, All The Books & The Book Club. 

 

 All The Books

All the Books is a weekly book podcast of recommendations and discussions about the most interesting and exciting new book releases.

The podcast is from Book Riot and is hosted by Liberty Hardy (and co-hosts). The podcast offers recommendations and enthusiastic discussions about new book releases across various genres, including fiction, non-fiction, YA, and middle-grade. It focuses on helping listeners find their next favorite reads.

The host, Liberty Hardy, is a Senior Contributing Editor at

Book Riot and a well-known "velocireader" who reads over 600 books a year. Based in Maine, Hardy is a former bookseller, a Book of the Month judge, and curates a weekly newsletter called What's My Page Again? 

As a former bookseller, Hardy has a deep connection to the publishing industry, and listeners can detect that passion on the podcast. The format is straightforward, covering interesting new releases, and, at times, highlighting backlist titles.

 Episodes are short and concise, with Hardy saving her words for the books she's discussing. Here's a sample of one episode -- February 13, 2026  -- when the show covered Weavingshaw by Heba Al-Wasity, Cave Mountain: A Disappearance and a Reckoning in the Ozarks by Benjamin Hale, A Fishboy Named Sashimi by Dan Santat, Recipes for an Unexpected Afterlife by Deston J. Munden, Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan, Keep It Beautiful: Inside the Funkyverse of Shock G and Digital Underground by Alexis Wolfe Mbassa, Gregory E. Jacobs, The Book of Chuck by LaToya Watkins, Acid Green Velvet by Grace Krilanovich, and Ply by Hernan Diaz.

All the Books is produced by Book Riot, which is the largest independent editorial book site in North America, founded in 2011 to provide diverse, progressive, and inclusive content for readers. It features, book reviews, news, commentary, 20+ newsletters, and multiple podcasts covering various genres and the publishing industry. The platform aims to make reading more engaging and accessible. 

In addition to All the Books, it produces Book Riot: The Podcast, which is more about the publishing industry. The goal of Book Riot, and I admire this objective, 

to foster a community for readers, and discuss all aspects of the reading life.

All the Books can be a helpful resource for readers, especially for book clubs in search of books to read and discuss. One of the podcast's most attractive attributes is that it covers a wide range of genres, rather than just focusing on niche topics. 

 

 

 The Book Club

 

The Book Club podcast is presented weekly by The Spectator's literary editor Sam Leith, and features in-depth interviews and discussions with authors about new publishing releases. Covering a wide range of genres from fiction and history to science, the show offers insight into the latest books, often highlighting key literary and cultural conversations. It's had a lot of practice covering books, with almost 500 episodes released.

Sam Leith is an author and editor for The Spectator, which is primarily known as a weekly British conservative news magazine focusing on politics and culture, founded in 1828, making it the world's oldest continuously published magazine. It covers current affairs, arts, and literature, often from a right-wing perspective. It is distinct from the 18th-century periodical of the same name

Those weekly interviews with authors regarding their latest books
include a diverse range of topics spanning poetry, history, science, and fiction.

Host Sam Leith has served as a judge for major U.K. literary awards, including the Man Booker and Baillie Gifford prizes.

 He is the former literary editor of the Daily Telegraph, and has written several books, including Write to the Point: How to Be Clear, Correct, and Persuasive on the Page, The Coincidence Engine, and Dead Pets.
He is based in London and is a regular contributor to Prospect Magazine, The Times, and the Wall Street Journal.

Unlike All the Books, this show interviews authors and showcases them explaining, discussing, and marketing their books. The show begins with a catch piano riff and episodes run about 40 minutes, with Leith an experienced interviewer who knows how to get the best from the authors. 

One of my favorite recent episodes -- The Rise of the Mafia and the Struggle for Italy’s Soul -- has an interview with Caroline Moorehead, whose new book A Sicilian Man: Leonardo Sciascia, the Rise of the Mafia and the Struggle for Italy’s Soul tells the remarkable story of one of Italy’s best-known writers – who used the pulp detective novel to shine a light on the social and political rot of his native land.

In another recent episode, Leith interviewed Eric Schlosser, the investigative journalist whose Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the All-American Meal, which is being reissued as a Penguin Modern Classic 25 years after its first publication. In the episode, Schlosser reveals what’s changed and what hasn’t since he first published this groundbreaking exposé of fast food’s effects on so many aspects of American society, why he was destined to suffer the fate of Upton Sinclair, and how U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer fits in. 

For readers, The Book Club can be a valuable resource. I enjoy book podcasts that interview authors because I believe you get a more complete sense of the book before you buy it or take it out of the library.