A Classic Summer Read
5/12/20261 hr 18 min
This week, we’re popping the champagne and revisiting F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby. Jeff and Rebecca dig into what makes Gatsby a classic, why it’s all over high school reading lists, and the ways it still echoes in our culture. This episode originally aired September 9, 2025 as the launch title for Zero to Well-Read. Subscribe to our free newsletter, and become a member for access to early, ad-free listening and bonus content. Follow Zero to Well-Read on Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube. Email us: zerotowellread@bookriot.com Thank you to ThriftBooks for being the presenting sponsor of this season of Zero to Well-Read! This content contains affiliate links. When you buy through these links, we may earn an affiliate commission. Thanks to our sponsor, Merit Beauty. Right now, Merit Beauty is offering our listeners their Signature Makeup Bag with your first order at meritbeauty.com. Head to quince.com/bookriot for free shipping on your order and 365-day returns. Now available in Canada, too! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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First 90 secondsJeff O'Neill· Host0:03
This season of Zero to Well Read is sponsored by Thrift Books. And it's a good thing too, because Thrift Books is a place to go to save money on books, to find an interesting edition. You can get a new edition, but you can also find 19 million books, games, movies, gifts of all kinds. But I'm here to talk about a few picks for Great Gatsby editions to find. Probably the standard one right now, it's called The Author's Edition from Simon & Schuster, and it has an introduction by the one, the only Jesmyn Ward. You can get that new for $14.43 as I sit here in the United States. There's a couple other things, well, there's so many other things you get too. You can get a Penguin Critical Studies guide if you really want a deep dive. That's a paperback in very good condition for $6.59. There's a Harold Bloom version, part of his series of classics. You can get a graphic novel, like new, for $12.99. There's a deluxe edition I'm seeing right here, the paperback for $19.37. That's new. You could also set a wish list here. If you f- see one of these you like, but you know what, there's not one in the condition I want, or they're temporarily out of stock, set your wish list and keep track of the ones you want. Please