In this first episode of season 2 of Annotated, the story of how Shakespeare was saved for posterity by two of his friends and a cagey publisher. This episode is sponsored by Penguin Random House Audio. Visit TryAudiobooks.com/bookriot for great listening recommendations. To enter this season's giveaway of 10 great books about books from 2017, visit bookriot.com/annotated2. For further reading, we suggested Emma Smith's The Making of the First Folio.

In this episode, an investigation of the Oxford comma that starts, improbably, with a love story.  This episode is sponsored by: The Lost City of the Monkey God by Douglas Preston Devastation Road by Jason Hewitt   You can keep up with Annotated between episodes with photos, facts, and trivia on Instagram (@annotatedfm) and Twitter (@annotatedfm). If you liked this episode, check out Between You & Me: Confessions of a Comma Queen by Mary Norris.  This episode was written and produced by...

In this episode, the story of how a 17-year-old named Mary Godwin came to write Frankenstein and in doing so write the first great work of science fiction.    This episode is sponsored by: Underground Airlines by Ben H. Winters Seeing Red by Sandra Brown   You can keep up with Annotated between episodes with photos, facts, and trivia on Instagram (@annotatedfm) and Twitter (@annotatedfm). This episode of Annotated was written by me, Jeff O’Neal, and directed by Jeremy Desmon. Sound editing...

  In this episode, the story of how an unlikely cast of characters brought James Joyce's Ulysses to America, got it legalized, and changed how we understand what literature can do.  This episode is sponsored by: You Don't Have to Say You Love Me by Sherman Alexie The Lost Woman by Sara Blaedel   You can keep up with Annotated between episodes with photos, facts, and trivia on Instagram (@annotatedfm) and Twitter (@annotatedfm).   This episode was written and directed by Jeremy Desmon and...

In this episode: the life of Belle da Costa Greene, the most glamorous and influential librarian in early 20th Century America, who kept a life-long secret that would have ended her career.    This episode is sponsored by: Careers for Women by Joanna Scott Blame by Jeff Abbott   You can keep up with Annotated between episodes with photos, facts, and trivia on Instagram (@annotatedfm) and Twitter (@annotatedfm).   Special thanks to: Andrea Mays, author of The Millonaire & The Bard Heidi...

In this episode, we look at the remarkable turnaround in independent bookstores in the U.S. After thousands closed from 1995 to 2008, over the last decade more bookstores are setting up shop...and staying open. How did it happen? And will it continue?   This episode is sponsored by: Before the Fall by Noah Hawley Less by Andrew Sean Greer   You can keep up with Annotated between episodes with photos, facts, and trivia on Instagram (@annotatedfm) and Twitter (@annotatedfm).   This episode was...

In this inaugural episode, we consider the resurgence of interest in George Orwell's 1984, and the story of how 1984 came to be in the first place.    This episode is sponsored by: Al Franken: Giant of the Senate by Al Franken Gather the Daughters by Jennie Melamed To enter the giveaway of all twelve of the books sponsoring this season of Annotated, go here.    Malka Older's debut novel is Infomocracy.  Michael Shelden's biography of George Orwell is Orwell: The Authorized Biography.  

This is a teaser/preview of the first episode of Annotated, Book Riot's new audio documentary series about books, reading, and language. Episode 1 will be released June 29th and explore the history and continuing influence of George Orwell's 1984.   This six-episodes season of Annotated is presented by Hachette.    You can keep up with Annotated between episodes with photos, facts, and trivia on Instagram (@annotatedfm) and Twitter (@annotatedfm).