How a gimmick to write more became one of the biggest literary events online.

The affirming, surprising, and most of all lasting legacy of The Baby-Sitters Club.

What if the whole world spoke the same language? How would it work? Who would be interested in speaking it? In this episode, the dream, the reality, and the hope that is Esperanto.

Sometimes people refer to a book they really liked as "life-changing." But what if you read a book, and it really did change your life in a big way? In this episode, stories of people reading books and making a big change.

In this episode, the story of the interrupted literary career of Fredio Lampe, and how his story reveals the underpinnings of the Nazi obsession with books and literature.

There are few places books can be put to better use than in prisons. So why is it so hard to get books into the hands of people in jail? In this episode, we look at how Washington state tried to radically restrict the flow of books into prisons.

How Khalil Gibran's The Prophet became a quiet cultural powerhouse.

In this episode, a look at how Drag Queen Story Hour became a public library phenomenon.

In this episode, three stories about books, or parts of books, going viral.

In this episode, how Barnes & Noble became a dominant force, why its not now, and what the future of the big bookstore could be.

As part of Book Riot's Recommended podcast series, Grady Hendrix talked about what makes Ulysses his favorite book. We present it as an interlude as a follow-up to Annotated episode #4, "The United States v. One Book Called Ulysses." This episode is sponsored by The Similars by Rebecca Hanover Check out the full line-up of Recommended.

In this episode, we profile the most famous American writer you probably never heard of--Edna Ferber.

People don't read as much as they used to. At least that's what people say. But is it true? And if they are reading less, why does it matter? Or does it matter? And the internet is bad for reading right? These questions in this episode. This episode is sponsored by: Park Row Books and Evergreen Tidings from the Baumgartners by Gretchen Anthony Penguin Random House Audio Relevant links: Reader, Come Home: The Reading Brain in the Digital Age by Maryanne Wolf Part of Our Lives: A...

The story of how Andrew Carnegie transformed the public library in America. This episode is sponsored by: Vampires Like It Hot by Lynsay Sands A Blade So Black by L.L. McKinney Relevant Links: Carnegie Libraries by George Bobinski Andrew Carnegie by David Nasaw Part of Our Lives: A People's History of the American Public Library by Wayne Wiegand Annotated on Instagram Annotated on Twitter Review Annotated on Apple Podcasts

The story of how Louis Braille brought reading to the blind. This episode is sponsored by: TBR The Dutch Wife by Ellen Keith The Summer List by Amy Mason Doan   Links discussed in this episode: The National Braille Press Review Annotated on Apple Podcasts!

Last month, a large used book collection and distribution company suddenly went out of business, leaving a hole in the local used book ecosystem. In this episode, we follow that story into the modern world of used book-selling. This episode is sponsored by: Warlight written by Michael Ondaatje, author of The English Patient and read by British actor Steve West Do This For Me written and read by Eliza Kennedy Annotated Season 2 Giveaway: The Best Books About Books of 2017

In 1975, Truman Capote published a short story in Esquire magazine that led a New York socialite to commit suicide and the fallout effectively ended Capote's literary career. This is the story of the story, "La Cote Basque 1965." This episode is sponsored by: Penguin Random House Audio Gun Love by Jennifer Clement and read by Imani Parks Further Reading: The Ten Restaurants that Changed America by Paul Freedman Tru Life by Danny Heitman Truman Capote by George Plimpton Capote: A...

Last fall, a woman with no prior political experience decided to run for city commission in her small college-town. So she went to the library, checked out a book called How to Win a Local Election. And she did. This is her story and the story of the book that helped her win. This episode is sponsored by: Penguin Random House Audio The Punishment She Deserves written by Elizabeth George and read by award-winning narrator Simon Vance Win the 10 Best Books About Books of 2017

In a shocking development, the 2018 Nobel Prize for Literature will not be awarded. In this episode, we explore what happened, how it happened, and what might happen still. This episode is sponsored by: Penguin Random House Audio Educated written by Tara Westover and read by Julia Whelan Season 2 Giveaway! Further Reading: The Nobel Prize in Literature: Where Do We Go From Here? by Erika Kern The Nobel Prize by Burton Feldman

The story of the strange 11-day disappearance of Agatha Christie: what did happen, what didn't happen, and what might have happened. This episode is sponsored by: TryAudiobooks.com The Female Persuasion by Meg Wolitzer Enter to our giveaway of the 10 Best Books...About Books of 2017!

Last summer, an unknown book came out of nowhere to debut at #1 on the New York Times bestseller list for Young Adult books. Its short time at the top exposed some flaws in bestseller lists and provoked questions about why we care so much about bestsellers. This episode is sponsored by: TryAudiobooks.com The Female Persuasion by Meg Wolitzer Further reading: Constance Grady on the bestseller list landscape Lila Shapiro's profile of Lani Sarem Lila Shapiro's profile of Justina Ireland

In this episode, the story of Merriam-Webster's Third Edition, and fight about language it caused. This episode is sponsored by: TryAudiobooks I Was Anastasia by Ariel Lawhon Annotated Season 2 Giveaway Special Thanks: Kory Stamper, author of Word by Word David Skinner, author of The Story of Aint If you have a moment, rating and/or review Annotated on Apple Podcasts is the best way to help get the word out about the show. If you have questions or comments about the show,...