Person
Every book Madeline Miller recommended on podcasts
Key facts
- Madeline Miller has recommended or discussed 8 books on podcasts, as of July 11, 2026.
- Madeline Miller has talked about books on 1 podcast, as of July 11, 2026.
- Those books came up in 1 episode, as of July 11, 2026.
- The 3 books Madeline Miller has mentioned in the most episodes, as of July 11, 2026: The Odyssey, The Iliad and An American Marriage.
- The latest episode with a book mention from Madeline Miller aired on July 11, 2026.
Updated
Madeline Miller’s most recommended books
- The Odyssey by Homer
- The Iliad by Homer
- An American Marriage by Tayari Jones
- I, Tituba, Black Witch of Salem by Maryse Condé
- Philoctetes by Sophocles
- The Buddha in the attic by Julie Otsuka
- The Penelopiad by Margaret Atwood
- Watership Down by Richard Adams
Madeline Miller appears on literary programs like The Book Review, where she demonstrates a deep scholarly and creative engagement with classical Greek mythology and epic poetry. As an author rooted in these ancient traditions, Miller frequently recommends foundational texts to readers interested in mythology. She strongly advocates for approaching Homer's 'The Odyssey' by considering its oral tradition origins and suggests pairing it with an audiobook format. Additionally, Miller recommends Homer's 'The Iliad' both as a companion to 'The Odyssey' and as a vital work featuring a vastly different type of hero, expressing hope that readers of her own novels will ultimately explore both epics. Expanding beyond Homer, Miller recommends Sophocles' tragedy 'Philoctetes' to offer readers a different ancient perspective on Odysseus. For contemporary retellings and thematic pairings, she recommends Margaret Atwood's 'The Penelopiad', which presents Penelope's perspective and highlights enslaved women killed by Odysseus. She also looks outside classical antiquity by recommending Maryse Condé's 'I, Tituba, Black Witch of Salem', noting how its protagonist similarly navigates various dangers and human monsters. Finally, Miller recommends Richard Adams's novel 'Watership Down' to demonstrate the enduring power of epic storytelling, proving that gripping heroic journeys can be effectively rendered even with animal protagonists.
Books recommended by Madeline Miller
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The Odyssey
The Odyssey by Homer is an epic ancient Greek poem that follows the arduous ten-year journey of Odysseus as he attempts to return home to Ithaca after the Trojan War, encountering mythical creatures, divine wrath, and numerous trials along the way.
Discussed“I my very very first readings of both the Iliad and the Odyssey came sort of listening to them because my mother who also loved classics uh would read me bedtime stories from selections from the Iliad and the Odyssey uh when I was a child”
Where to get it
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The Iliad
Homer's ancient epic poem The Iliad chronicles the final weeks of the Trojan War and the devastating wrath of the Greek warrior Achilles.
Discussed“I my very very first readings of both the Iliad and the Odyssey came sort of listening to them because my mother who also loved classics uh would read me bedtime stories from selections from the Iliad and the Odyssey uh when I was a child”
Where to get it
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An American Marriage
An American Marriage by Tayari Jones is an acclaimed contemporary novel that explores the devastating impact of a wrongful conviction on a newlywed couple in the American South.
Recommended“So, first of all, a great place to start is An American Marriage by Tari Jones, which was actually inspired by by the Odyssey and is in conversation with it.”
Where to get it
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I, Tituba, Black Witch of Salem
I, Tituba, Black Witch of Salem by Maryse Condé is a powerful historical novel that reimagines the life of Tituba, an enslaved woman tried during the infamous Salem witch trials.
Recommended“It's called It Tituba, Black Witch of Salem by Maurice Kande. Um, and in it, uh, like Odysius, the character sort of travels through various dangers, meeting various monsters in human form.”
Where to get it
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Philoctetes
Philoctetes by Sophocles is a classic ancient Greek tragedy exploring complex themes of duty, betrayal, and persuasion against the backdrop of the Trojan War.
Recommended“The tragedy by Sophocles is called Filictites. There are lots of good translations out there. So definitely that one to give you kind of a different perspective on um on Odysius from the ancient world.”
Where to get it
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The Buddha in the attic
The Buddha in the Attic by Julie Otsuka is a poignant novel that follows the lives of Japanese picture brides arriving in the United States during the early twentieth century.
Recommended“This is another a little bit um unusual, but one of my favorite books of all time is Buddha in the Attic. And part of what I love about it is that it's written in the first person plural.”
Where to get it
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The Penelopiad
The Penelopiad is a novel by Margaret Atwood that retells Homer's epic from the perspective of Penelope and examines the fate of the enslaved women murdered by Odysseus.
Recommended“Um I'm going to also recommend uh the Penelope ad which is Margaret Atwood's uh sort of Penelopey's version but also gets into some of the enslaved women that Odysius murders.”
Where to get it
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Watership Down
Watership Down by Richard Adams is a classic survival and adventure novel that follows a small band of displaced wild rabbits as they seek a safe new home while facing existential threats and political tyranny.
Recommended“And I'm going to recommend Watership Down. Watership Down goes to show just how powerful Epic is because you can even write it about rabbits and it's still gripping.”
Where to get it
Madeline Miller talked about The Iliad, one of the books trending on podcasts right now.
Books Madeline Miller wrote
Appearances
| Episode | Podcast | Date | Books |
|---|---|---|---|
| This Author Says You Shouldn’t Be Intimidated by ‘The Odyssey’ | The Book Review | 2026-07-11 | 15 |