As much as we love hearing from authors on “The Book Review” podcast, there are precious few who have read more than our staff book critics — Jennifer Szalai, Alexandra Jacobs and Dwight Garner. The three came on the show to talk about some of their favorite books of the year so far, as well as a few of the titles that helped shape their reading lives.Books discussed on this episode:<ul><li><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2026/01/18/books/review/nothing-random-bennett-cerf-gayle-feldman.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">“Nothing Random,” by Gayle Feldman</a></li><li><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2026/10/07/books/review/will-and-attention-meghan-ogieblyn.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">“Will and Attention,” by Meghan O’Gieblyn</a></li><li><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2026/08/30/books/review/the-disappearers-marlon-james.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">“The Disappearers,” by Marlon James</a></li><li><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2026/09/29/books/review/american-hagwon-min-jin-lee.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">“American Hagwon,” by Min Jin Lee</a></li><li>“Lives Other Than My Own,” by Emmanuel Carrère</li><li>“To the Lighthouse,” by Virginia Woolf</li><li>“The American Way of Death,” by Jessica Mitford</li><li>“Class: A Guide Through the American Status System,” by Paul Fussell</li><li>“The Great War and Modern Memory,” by Paul Fussell</li><li>“American Fried,” by Calvin Trillin</li><li>“Alice, Let’s Eat,” by Calvin Trillin</li><li>“Third Helpings,” by Calvin Trillin</li><li>“On Fire,” by Larry Brown</li><li>“Betsy-Tacy,” by Maud Hart Lovelace</li><li>“Betsy-Tacy and Tib,” by Maud Hart Lovelace</li><li>“Rabbit, Run,” by John Updike</li><li>“Into the Wood Chipper,” by Nicholas Enrich</li><li>“Cool Machine,” by Colson Whitehead</li><li>“The Oyster Diaries,” by Nancy Lemann</li><li><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2026/07/27/books/review/biological-war-annie-jacobsen.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">“Biological War: A Scenario,” by Annie Jacobsen</a></li><li>“Nuclear War: A Scenario,” by Annie Jacobsen</li><li><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2026/08/02/books/review/the-story-of-your-life-kathryn-jezer-morton.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">“The Story of Your Life,” by Kathryn Jezer-Morton</a></li><li>“Transcription,” by Ben Lerner</li><li>“The Wonderful World That Almost Was: A Life of Peter Hujar and Paul Thek,” by Andrew Durbin</li><li><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/07/books/review/dave-eggers-contrapposto.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">“Contrapposto,” by Dave Eggers</a></li><li><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2026/10/12/books/review/barbara-trapido-brother-of-the-more-famous-jack.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">“Brother of the More Famous Jack,” by Barbara Trapido</a></li><li>“Love and Hydrogen,” by Jim Shepard</li><li><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/08/books/review/simon-pare-poupart-trash-garbagemans-story.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">“Trash!: A Garbageman’s Story,” by Simon Paré-Poupart</a></li></ul>
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