As we mentioned in our last podcast, Michael and I are taking this week off from podcasting in order to spend time with our family. (Oh, who am I fooling? This week was spent shopping and wrapping and cooking and eating far too many Christmas treats).

We will be back on Wednesday, December 30th with a podcast that will announce the winners of our reader/listener poll for favorite book of 2009, and we’ll tell you our top picks as well.

In case you still need something to listen to today, we think you will find this special episode of NPR’s On The Media to be of interest. Titled “The Past, present and future of the book,” it’s a good overview of the turmoil and great change that is happening in the book industry today.
Stream it   Download the MP3

In addition, we’d like to share some of our favorite podcasts about books with you.  While we certainly hope you’ll stick with us at Books on the Nightstand, we encourage you to add other book podcasts to your playlist as well.

• Reading and Writing Podcast is produced by Books on the Nightstand listener and friend Jeff Rutherford. Jeff’s podcast features interviews with authors, many of whom write in the suspense and thriller genres. I will always be jealous that Jeff snagged an interview with one of my favorite authors, Lee Child.
  MP3 download page  iTunes page

• Nancy Pearl’s Book Reviews podcast airs on KUOW radio in Washington state as well as on the internet as a podcast (hey, how can Books on the Nightstand get a radio show??). Seattle’s most famous librarian (she even has an action figure!) provides book reviews and recommendations that are not stuffy and are fun to listen to.
  MP3 download page  iTunes page

• The New York Times Book Review podcast is always interesting, with author and book-reviewer interviews and my favorite segment, “bestseller news”.
  MP3 download page  iTunes page

• The Washington Post Book World podcast has sadly stopped publishing as of November 13th, but there are 97 episodes archived for you to explore. Featuring book industry news and author interviews, this was my favorite weekly listen.
  MP3 download page  iTunes page

Wishing you all the best this holiday season, no matter what you celebrate. Thank you for your friendship and support of Books on the Nightstand this past year; it’s a gift that we can never repay.

image credit: jmtimages via Flickr