Book Riot – The Podcast

Episode: Another Book Section Bites the Dust and A Romance Writer Dances with the AI Devil
Release Date: February 16, 2026
Hosts: Jeff O’Neal & Rebecca Schinsky (with Vanessa)

Overview

In this episode, Jeff, Rebecca, and Vanessa tackle major news in the world of books: the shutdown of the Washington Post's Book World section—a blow for literary journalism—and a headline-grabbing New York Times piece about a romance novelist going all-in on AI-generated fiction. They break down industry trends, the economics driving institutional decisions about books coverage, the current state of the publishing industry, and the challenges raised by AI in creative work. The episode closes with book recommendations and a spirited, highly detailed review of Emerald Fennell’s sensational, polarizing new Wuthering Heights film adaptation.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Washington Post Shuts Down Book World Section

Timestamps: 04:13 – 13:07

• Context & Impact:

  • The Washington Post cut its Book World section amid broader newsroom layoffs (~30% staff cut).
  • Book World had solid relative traffic, but not as much as other coverage areas (e.g., national politics).
  • Jeff: “Very few people in this country read books anymore, as we know…unfortunately that means you may not be generating enough traffic to support it.” (04:54)
  • The main reason is likely a cost-benefit decision, not conspiracy or anti-books animus (cautions against blaming Jeff Bezos).

• Changing Media Ecosystem:

  • Traffic and conversion to subscriptions now drive priorities.
  • The Post is doubling down on its strengths: politics, local and national news, not cultural supplementation.
  • Vanessa notes, “What I think... it may not even be about clicks. It may be about who converts and who retains their digital subscription.” (08:33)
  • The main way people get book recommendations today: TikTok, YouTube—word of mouth and individual influencers outweigh institutional brands.
  • Jeff cites Ron Charles’s effort to adapt book coverage to video, social, etc., but institutional reach can't compete with compelling individual content creators.

• Economic Drivers & Publisher Advertising:

  • Publishers are buying fewer ads in news media, directing dollars to platforms (Amazon, Meta, TikTok), making book coverage less sustainable.
  • Vanessa: “It’s penny wise and pound foolish to spend on Facebook and Instagram and TikTok right now... you’re pulling up root and stem the seed corn from future generations of book coverage.” (15:28)
  • Book Riot’s own membership efforts proved "support us because we're independent media" does not convert. Content has to add value, not just exist for its own sake.

• Broader Consequences:

  • Fewer media outlets to cover/care for books impacts not just book sales but also broader literary culture and author support.

• Industry Snapshot:

  • Publishing market essentially flat: sales down ~0.9% (in dollars), with trade paperbacks dropping 9%.
  • Audiobook growth slowing: “Audiobook growth slowed to just 2.3%... want to keep an eye on that, because that has been supporting a lot of the softness across the board.” (21:06)

2. Romance Author and the Advent of AI-Generated Fiction

Timestamps: 21:53 – 37:58

• New York Times Profile:

  • Coral Hart, a romance writer, was profiled for her full-throated embrace of AI, even developing her own large language model.
  • She teaches others, has published dozens of AI-generated books under multiple pen names.
  • Jeff: “The future of the books is here and it’s terrible. Basically, like, this is the thing we’re afraid of, Rebecca: that we’re going to get inundated with AI generated stuff...” (23:03)

• Why Romance Leads This Development:

  • Romance has historically been an innovator, more willing to experiment due to (often) outsider status—fanfic, erotica, self-pub, etc.
  • The appetite in romance is “ravenous;” business incentives reward quantity, making it attractive for automation.
  • Vanessa: “The demand is so much. Yes, it’s 20% of all book sales right now. This is where the opportunity for the scammer or the first mover to really rake it in.” (26:57)

• Ethical and Practical Challenges:

  • Amazon only requires AI use disclosure to Amazon—not to consumers. Enforcement is unclear (“...no one’s checking this. Like you could just say whatever.” 27:29)
  • Potential for Amazon to deploy its own LLMs to fill Kindle Unlimited with customized, user-generated genre fiction—readers may not know/care if authors are “real.”
  • Jeff: “Amazon doesn’t have to disclose to you if the author is not a real person...the disclosure piece is what I want us to home in on as an industry.” (28:07)

• Reader Reaction & Author Incentives:

  • Pushback exists, especially within genre communities, but disclosure is key.
  • Rebecca and Jeff argue this isn't a “romance problem;” incentives and tech exist across genres. Romance just often leads as early adopter.
  • Rebecca: “Romance tends to be early adopters for reasons you talked about. And this is the early adopting thing. That’s next.” (30:44)

• Industry-Wide Implications:

  • Historical sensitivity to innovation: past controversies over erotica, fanfic, self-pub—AI may eventually be viewed similarly.
  • Jeff: “There are people who are consuming hours of AI generated video every day and they know it’s AI...they don’t care because it’s entertaining to them.” (32:44)
  • The fear: that readers will eventually not care about the creator at all, and go directly to AI for their needs. “...if you didn’t really think there is a possibility that eventually authors...won’t have to be an author to generate your own book at some point.” (35:04)

• Pushback & Hope:

  • Jeff has faith that human-created art will retain a core audience with a desire for “connection that we feel when we read...that’s part of what makes it art.” (36:50)
  • The problem: AI-generated content is here to stay, and could shrink the traditional book industry even as a core of “human art” buyers persists.
  • Rebecca: “Just think about what you’re saying when you say you can use AI to detect AI...” (37:58)

3. Book Recommendations

Timestamps: 38:25 – 50:54

The Correspondent by Virgin Evans

• Indie debut, told through the letters of a cantankerous older woman.
• Smart, fast-paced, “wonderfully, generically recommendable.”
• Jeff notes: “She has her opinions, which is great...She also has a fair amount of mini drama going on in her life...” (39:44)
• Unfolds like a mystery as the letters reveal relationships and backstory.
• Recommendation: great for anyone seeking character-driven, analog-feeling stories.

Half His Age by Jennette McCurdy

• Novel from the author of “I’m Glad My Mom Died.”
• Centers on a teenage girl (Waldo) who initiates an affair with her creative writing teacher.
• Sharp, unflinching portrayal of agency, rage, and blurred moral lines; not a simplistic “victim narrative.”
• Present tense, compelling read—“the rage is the driving emotion of this story.” (41:14)
• Draws comparisons to Ottessa Moshfegh—“performatively messy” but perhaps more organic.
• Jeff: “Her experience is what it is...letting it be messy...complicated. The way that Waldo sees all of the men in her life is sharp and ragey.” (50:54)

4. Film Segment: Wuthering Heights (Emerald Fennell Adaptation)

Timestamps: 53:30 – end

Key Takeaways:

• Both watched the film separately and give a candid, in-depth (and humor-laden) postmortem.
• Not a faithful adaptation—actually “BDSM fanfiction” loosely inspired by the original.
  • Rebecca: “This is about as faithful to Wuthering Heights as like, I am still Catholic, which is took some of the sparkly bits with me and moved on. No, it is absolutely not a faithful adaptation.” (54:20)
• The film is visually bold, sensuous, and “surprisingly slimy.”
  • Jeff: “There are egg yolks. There is rain. There are blood, all kinds of bodily fluids. There’s a snail that is doing some symbolic work.” (56:15)
  • Memorable line: “My headline on Wuthering Heights is that it’s wet, cold and surprisingly slimy.” (56:08)
• The adaptation is all about power dynamics, pain, and sexuality—very different from the book’s brooding, unrequited, and often cruel love.
• Purists were left heartbroken (anecdote about a friend with a PhD in English crying at the liberties taken).
• Performances: Jacob Elordi and Margot Robbie are praised, but their chemistry questioned.
• Side characters, notably played by Alison Oliver and Hong Chao, stood out.
• The visual and costume design are wildly anachronistic and avant-garde: “Disco Red Riding Hood... silver gilded giraffe print...”
• Notable, hilarious moments: audience laughter at double-entendres like “You’re wet.” (71:50), discussion of “Satan’s jello mold” and general “moistness.”
• Cultural “bait and switch” in marketing: viewers expecting a classic love story got provocative fanfic; many will be misled if they pick up the book after watching the film.

Quotable Moments:

• From Rebecca: “The common thing we see when this book is adapted...this is not the love story that it is being pitched at.” (57:36)
• Jeff: “I think...a large degree of your enjoyment of this will be: How hot do you think Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi are? I saw this in IMAX, and that is Jacob Elordi. He’s already too tall. But IMAX was too much Jacob Elordi.” (69:22)
• On audience reaction: “Everybody in my theater just had the giggles...You could feel that sort of collective tension. The room just needed somewhere to go. And then everybody giggled it out.” (73:51)
• On adaptation: “If this movie worked for you, you are not going to like the book.” (83:31)

Notable Quotes (with Timestamps)

• “Very few people in this country read books anymore, as we know…unfortunately that means you may not be generating enough traffic to support it.” – Jeff (04:54)
• “As much as you can try, and certainly like the Washington Post tried, Ron Charles has been a great sport for the last fifteen years...he has tried to adapt books coverage to like he was game to all of the forums, you know, to let's try video, let's get on Twitter, let's do things.” – Jeff (07:16)
• “It’s penny wise and pound foolish to spend on Facebook and Instagram and TikTok right now... you’re pulling up root and stem the seed corn from future generations of book coverage.” – Vanessa (15:28)
• “The future of the books is here and it’s terrible. Basically, like, this is the thing we’re afraid of…” – Jeff (23:03)
• “My case is not that the romance industry is even embracing AI. This is one particular user who may or may not represent other people. But this is the story we have in front of us. And frankly, it makes sense to try. I mean, the incentives are there.” – Jeff (37:58)
• “There are people who are consuming hours of AI generated video every day and they know it’s AI...they don’t care because it’s entertaining to them.” – Jeff (32:44)
• “I have a lot of faith in humans desire and appetite for art created by other humans.” – Jeff (36:50)
• “This is about as faithful to Wuthering Heights as like, I am still Catholic, which is took some of the sparkly bits with me and moved on. No, it is absolutely not a faithful adaptation.” – Rebecca (54:20)
• “The headline is that it’s wet, cold and surprisingly slimy.” – Jeff (56:08)
• “There are egg yolks. There is rain. There are blood, all kinds of bodily fluids. There’s a snail that is doing some symbolic work.” – Jeff (56:15)
• “If this movie worked for you, you are not going to like the book.” – Jeff (83:31)

Timestamps for Important Segments

| Segment | Timestamp | |------------------------------------------|--------------------| | Washington Post closes Book World | 04:13 – 13:07 | | Publishers & Book Coverage Economics | 13:07 – 21:53 | | Romance/AI-generated books | 21:53 – 37:58 | | Book Industry 2025 stats | 20:12 – 21:53 | | Audiobook growth slowdown | 21:06 | | Book recommendations | 38:25 – 50:54 | | Wuthering Heights film review | 53:30 – end |

Tone & Style

The episode is lively, frank, occasionally wry, with a blend of industry-savvy skepticism and genuine bookish enthusiasm. The hosts balance analytic, business-minded takes with personal anecdotes, literary gossip, and a sense of bemused resignation at the state of contemporary media, storytelling, and romance.

Summary for the Uninitiated

If you missed the episode, you’ll come away understanding:

• Why significant outlets like the Washington Post are cutting book coverage and what that means for readers and writers.
• How romance publishing continues to be first-mover for new, controversial tech—now at the AI frontier—with implications for the whole book world.
• The current, sobering state of the publishing industry’s sales.
• The kind of wild, “unhinged” adaptation you’ll get with Emerald Fennell’s Wuthering Heights—definitely NOT for purists.
• Outstanding picks for new, conversation-driving reads.
• How book culture’s future is being shaped—sometimes for the worse—by economic, technological, and cultural forces outside the control of readers, writers, and traditional publishers.

For show notes, more in-depth industry news, and reading recommendations, visit Book Riot.