The Latest BookTok Conspiracy, What the Library of Congress Actually Does, and More Book News

Book Riot - The Podcast

05/19/25

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50m

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Book Riot's managing editor Vanessa Diaz joins Rebecca for a conversation about the latest romantasy BookTok conspiracy, what's going on with the Trump administration firing the Librarian of Congress, the NYT's best books of the year so far, recent reading, and more.

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Discussed in this Episode:

Trump administration abruptly fires Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden

What is the Library of Congress, and What Does the Librarian of Congress Do?

Firing comes on the heals of major report about AI and copyright

Trump names his former defense attorney as acting Librarian of Congress

Massive victory in lawsuit against Trump’s dismantling of IMLS

The NYT’s best books of the year so far

Romantasy BookTok’s latest conspiracy

Edinburgh-based tour company to replace Harry Potter tours w/ LGBTQ+ history walks for Pride Month

The Dry Season by Melissa Febos

So Many Stars by Caro de Robertis

Detective Aunty by Uzma Jalaluddin

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Previous Episode

The 2025 Book Riot Fantasy League Book Draft

May 14, 2025

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84m

Jeff and Rebecca are joined by Sharifah Williams and Prof. Laura McGrath to conduct the first ever Book Riot fantasy book draft. We explain the rules, talk about strategy, and then engage in some fairly chaotic literary team building.

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Discussed in This Episode:

The Book Riot Fantasy League Scoring Sheet - Make a copy to keep your own.

The Book Riot Podcast Patreon

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