Jeff and Rebecca are traveling for work this week, so we present the inaugural episode of First Edition to tide you over. We’ll be back next week with a regular episode. In the first section, Jeff and Rebecca play a game of “knockout” to figure out what the “it” book of April might be. In the second section, Yahdon Israel, Senior Editor at Simon & Schuster, comes on to talk about putting books into the world. And in section three, Sarah Bakewell and Jeff talk about humanism on the occasion of the publication of her new book, Humanly Possible. This content contains affiliate links. When you buy through these links, we may earn an affiliate commission. Discussed in this episode: First Edition! First Edition on Twitter. First Edition on Instagram. The First Edition (free) Substack. The Book Riot Podcast Patreon Wonder Boy by Angel Au-Yeung and David Jeans Camp Zero by Michelle Min Sterling Romantic Comedy by Curtis Sittenfeld You Could Make This Place Beautiful by Maggie Smith Small Mercies by Dennis Lehane The Wager by David Grann Happy Place by Emily Henry In the Lives of Puppets by T.J. Klune A Living Remedy by Nicole Chung House of Cotton by Monica Brashears Yahdon Israel’s Advance Readers Club Soil by Camille T Dungy Humanly Possible by Sarah Bakewell Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices