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This post is auto-generated from RSS feed BOOK RIOT. Source: So You Want to Be Well-Read

I love some good, juicy media talk. And I’m not talking hot takes over on the clock app. I mean a good hour+ long chat about books, TV, and/or film that really digs deep: the premise, the reception, the lore, the hot takes. All of this will probably sound like a setup given what I’m about to recommend to you, like I have to say it because I’m plugging a podcast that Book Riot produces. But with my hand on my first edition Agatha Christie, I swear to y’all: I am a huge fan of Book Riot’s Zero to Well-Read podcast.

If you aren’t hip to it yet, it’s a discussion about books that feels a little like English class, a little like book club, a little like a group chat with your bookish besties. It’s a deep dive into all kinds of reads: classics (cult, modern, and classics classics), buzzy contemporary reads, books you feel like you should have read (and maybe even lied about reading in college or high school), and more. It’s so much fun to listen to that I asked to do more work and get involved with the show. Here’s where I plug that I’m the writer of the companion newsletter, which you can access for free on Patreon.

Today I’m recommending a whole bunch of classics—some established entries in “the canon,” and some modern additions. And I could tell you what each of them is about, but 1) you might already know, because classics, and 2) if you don’t, the accompanying podcast episode is exactly what you need. And would you look at that: all of these books satisfy task #8 of the 2026 Read Harder Challenge: Read a classic from the Zero to Well-Read Podcast.

Happy reading, and listening!

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald For the very first episode of ZtWR, Jeff and Rebecca pop the champagne and revisit F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby. They dug into what makes Gatsby a classic, why it’s all over high school reading lists, and the ways it still echoes in our culture. Apple | Spotify

Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston Rebecca and Jeff dive into Zora Neale Hurston’s masterpiece, a story about the search for love, freedom, and self-determination. They talk about what makes Hurston’s writing so transcendent, why the novel was nearly forgotten, and how it found its rightful place in the American canon. Apple | Spotify

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