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A Classic Summer Read
This week, we’re popping the champagne and revisiting F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1954839243/ref=as_li_tf_il?ie=UTF8&tag=boorio-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399349&creativeASIN=1954839243
Start Here: Welcome to Zero to Well-Read!
Part book club, part English class, Zero to Well-Read is a podcast about everything you need to know about the books you wish you’d read. Each week, hosts Jeff O'Neal and Rebecca Schinsky take on a new title, from classics you should have r
The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky
Do you remember what it was like to feel infinite? This week, Jeff and Rebecca crack open the millennial nostalgia time capsule that is Stephen Chbosky's The Perks of Being a Wallflower. They talk about how it has provided multiple generati
Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri
How did a debut short story collection by an unknown writer become one of the most significant publishing successes of the twentieth century? Jeff and Rebecca are joined by literary historian and data scientist Dr. Laura McGrath for a conve
James by Percival Everett
Percival Everett won both the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award for his novel James, a modern masterpiece that retells The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn from the perspective of Jim, the enslaved man who accompanies Huck on his jou
Gilead by Marilynne Robinson
It's a very special week on Zero to Well-Read as Jeff and Rebecca pick up one of their shared favorite novels, Marilynne Robinson's magisterial meditation on life, death, family, and faith. They discuss why a book where almost nothing happe
The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway
Jeff and Rebecca dig into Hemingway's The Old Man and the Sea, the book that won him both the Pulitzer and the Nobel, and that he called the best writing he would ever do. They explore what Hemingway's iceberg theory actually means in pract
Much Ado About Nothing by William Shakespeare
Jeff and Rebecca take on one of Shakespeare's best–and best-known–comedies, Much Ado About Nothing. They talk about its enduring appeal, the "merry war" of banter that continues to inspire and influence rom-com writing, and the classic nove
How to Hone Your Reading Skills, What Makes a Good Reading Goal, and More from the Mailbag
How can you sharpen your reading skills and learn to evaluate books more deeply? When is it optimizing to quit a book you're bored of, and when is it worth the slog? Reading goals: good or no? Jeff and Rebecca dip into the mailbag to answer
Forever... by Judy Blume
You never forget your first. Rebecca and Jeff revisit Judy Blume's classic young adult novel about first love, losing your virginity, and the thrills and fears of growing up. They discuss what made Forever... radical in 1975 and why it's st
The Book ONE BATTLE AFTER ANOTHER is Based On
As the Academy Awards approach, Jeff and Rebecca discuss Vineland (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0141180633/ref=as_li_tf_il?ie=UTF8&tag=boorio-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399349&creativeASIN=0141180633) by Thomas Pynchon, the bo
Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir
Jeff and Rebecca strap in for a trip to outer space as they revisit Andy Weir's space thriller Project Hail Mary (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0FK9YCJR4/ref=as_li_tf_il?ie=UTF8&tag=boorio-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399349&cre
1984 by George Orwell
Is 1984 the most influential novel of the 20th century? Jeff and Rebecca go back to the future to explore the landmark dystopian novel that gave us Big Brother, doublethink, the memory hole, and 2 + 2 = 5. They dig into Orwell’s vision of t
The Warmth of Other Suns by Isabel Wilkerson
Rebecca and Jeff are joined by Book Riot's director of content Sharifah Williams for a conversation about Isabel Wilkerson's groundbreaking oral history of the Great Migration, The Warmth of Other Suns (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0679
Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë
Wuthering Heights is not a romance, and anyone who says differently is selling something. Jeff and Rebecca shift into gothic mode to discuss Emily Brontë's dark and twisty tale of obsession, revenge, and what happens when love curdles into
Go Tell It on the Mountain by James Baldwin
Rebecca and Jeff revisit James Baldwin's searing coming-of-age novel about faith, family, shame, and generational inheritance. They discuss Baldwin's complicated relationship to the church, what it means to be “saved” in a world structured
"Bartleby, the Scrivener" by Herman Melville
Jeff and Rebecca take up "Bartleby, the Scrivener," Herman Melville’s famously baffling tale of passive resistance, work, and opting out. They unpack why “I would prefer not to” still feels uncannily modern, how the story resists tidy inter
The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan
Jeff and Rebecca pick up Amy Tan’s multigenerational novel-in-stories about mothers and daughters, memory and silence, the immigrant experience, and the complexity of the American dream. They talk through what made it groundbreaking in 1989
One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez
Rebecca and Jeff explore the novel that made magical realism a global phenomenon. They talk about what magical realism is (and isn't), the rise and fall of the Buendía family, and the fictional town of Macondo as allegories for real-world h
Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
Jeff and Rebecca gather around the hearth to discuss Louisa May Alcott's beloved novel about girlhood, family, ambition, and what it means to live a good life. They talk about why Alcott was reluctant to write a “girls’ book,” Little Women'
How to Read More (and Better) in 2026
Rebecca and Jeff talk through their methods for reading more and getting more out of reading, from defining what “better” looks like for you to making room for reading by letting go of other habits. They dig into when to push through, when
What We've Learned Returning to the Great Books
Rebecca and Jeff reflect on what they've learned during the whirlwind first season of the show, answer listener questions, and discuss ideas for the future. Subscribe (https://www.patreon.com/c/zerotowellread) to our free newsletter, and be
A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
Jeff and Rebecca revisit Charles Dickens's A Christmas Carol (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1441339701/ref=as_li_tf_il?ie=UTF8&tag=boorio-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399349&creativeASIN=1441339701), a story so familiar it’s ofte
Hamnet by Maggie O'Farrell
Jeff and Rebecca get into Maggie O'Farrell's best-selling, critically-acclaimed, and now feature film, Hamnet (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1984898876/ref=as_li_tf_il?ie=UTF8&tag=boorio-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399349&creati
2025 Canon Contenders
Jeff and Rebecca discuss the award-winning books, pop culture phenomena, book club picks, and crossover hits of 2025 and attempt to identify the ones that might someday join the canon. Subscribe to The Book Riot Newsletter (https://bookriot
Introducing Origin Stories
Hello Zero to Well-Read listeners! We've got a recommendation for you today: Origin Stories is a fantastic new podcast for anyone curious about the workings of the creative mind. It's hosted by veteran journalist Matthew Shaer, and explores
Midnight's Children by Salman Rushdie
Jeff and Rebecca tackle a titan of modern fiction, discussing the breakout book that made a literary icon, Midnight's Children (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0812976533/ref=as_li_tf_il?ie=UTF8&tag=boorio-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creat
The Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler
Jeff and Rebecca explore Octavia Butler's eerily prescient 1993 novel, The Parable of the Sower (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1538732181/ref=as_li_tf_il?ie=UTF8&tag=boorio-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399349&creativeASIN=1538732
The Secret History by Donna Tartt
Jeff and Rebecca revisit Donna Tartt's cult classic, the OG of dark academia, The Secret History. (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1400031702/ref=as_li_tf_il?ie=UTF8&tag=boorio-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399349&creativeASIN=14000
Oedipus the King by Sophocles
Jeff and Rebecca throw it way back to the GOAT of ancient Greek tragedies, Oedipus the King (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0226768686/ref=as_li_tf_il?ie=UTF8&tag=boorio-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399349&creativeASIN=0226768686)
