The Best Books of the 21st Century: Ryan Holiday on ‘The Road’ Image

The Best Books of the 21st Century: Ryan Holiday on ‘The Road’

12 June - 36 mins
Podcast Series The Book Review

In 2024, The New York Times Book Review gathered more than 500 novelists, nonfiction writers, poets and literary enthusiasts to help pick the best books of the 21st century so far. One of those books was Cormac McCarthy’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, “The Road,” which came in at No. 13. That book tells the story of a man and his young son trying to survive in a postapocalyptic United States. Like other books by McCarthy, it combines ornate prose with moments of unforgettable violence. It is also a moving story of love and parenthood under the most extreme circumstances.

One of the people who voted on our best books list was Ryan Holiday, author of more than a dozen nonfiction books, host o...

36 mins

Series Episodes

Why We Can’t Resist a Great Bookstore

Why We Can’t Resist a Great Bookstore

We visit a local New York City bookstore, dive into The Times’s new bookstore crawl series, and recommend some of our favorite books about bookstores and booksellers.

26 mins

21 August Finished

This Reporter Can Tell Us What Nuclear Apocalypse Looks Like (Encore)

This Reporter Can Tell Us What Nuclear Apocalypse Looks Like (Encore)

We bring back an episode from our archives, in which Annie Jacobsen discusses her 2024 book “Nuclear War: A Scenario.”

45 mins

14 August Finished

Let’s Talk About the 50 Best Thrillers of the 21st Century

Let’s Talk About the 50 Best Thrillers of the 21st Century

explicit

From “Gone Girl” to “Mystic River,” Gilbert Cruz, Tina Jordan and Sarah Lyall revisit the books that changed the genre, discuss overlooked favorites and recommend the thrillers that everyone should read next.

51 mins

5 August Finished

Book Club: Let’s Talk About ‘John of John’

Book Club: Let’s Talk About ‘John of John’

Douglas Stuart’s latest novel follows a profoundly isolated father and son, each grappling with long-held secrets.

55 mins

1 August Finished

Let’s Talk About the Best Books of the Year (So Far)

Let’s Talk About the Best Books of the Year (So Far)

It’s time for our annual midyear check-in on the books that we can’t stop thinking about.

39 mins

24 July Finished

Sophie Elmhirst on the True Story of a Shipwrecked Couple

Sophie Elmhirst on the True Story of a Shipwrecked Couple

Host Gilbert Cruz's conversation from last year with author Sophie Elmhirst features "Marriage at Sea: A True Story of Love, Obsession and Shipwreck" — the gripping 1970s story of a couple shipwrecked by a whale — newly out in paperback this summer.

31 mins

17 July Finished

Recommended

Show name

Title

Sub title

Now Playing

The Pat Kenny Show

Live Now: 9AM - 12PM

Presenter logo
Brand

9AM

12AM

Now Playing

The Pat Kenny Show

The Pat Kenny Show

Of The Ball

1 hour left

Today Finished


Next Up

Default

Default

default

0 mins

No Account

Subscriptions to podcast series are only available to users with an account. Sign in or register to subscribe and access your subscriptions.

Register Sign in

Woops!

Error text.