Friday Mood Recs: Seven podcasts that make me feel literary even when I'm not reading

I’ve been under the weather this week so I haven’t been reading much nor have I been up for writing and reflecting. But what I have been doing a lot of is podcast listening. And because I’ve been feeling in a very readerly state of mind even though I’m not reading, I’ve been turning to some of my favorite shows that do what I think of as conversational criticism. I love a discussion between two or more readers where they engage in collective meaning-making—not debate, not an insistence on coming to a consensus, not even a ton of evaluation. I like a robust discussion about what a book is doing where readers attempt to make sense of the piece of art together.

I always enjoy this kind of show, but I particularly enjoy it when I want to be reading and just can’t seem to read. It makes me feel literary and scholarly and like I’m becoming a better reader without having to focus on a book. So today I’m sharing a handful of my favorite podcasts that give me this feeling and recommendations of where to start with each.

Before I get into the list, I have to share this incredibly fun conversation I had with earlier this week. Both of us had been feeling a little bit of end-of-year anxiety about our own reading lives. Will we finish all the books we hope to? Are the best-of-the-year lists going to put us over the edge? How will we fit our reading in during the holiday madness? We went live to provide each other with a little literary therapy and not only was it utterly delightful, it was shockingly successful! We both left feeling lighter and armed with a few new strategies for approaching the last few weeks of the year as readers. You can catch the replay here.

Alright, let’s get into my favorite literary conversational podcasts!

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