Memoir is a well-loved genre for so many readers, and today Anne is joined by R. Eric Thomas to talk about the wise, sobering, hilarious, and heartbreaking sketches in his own works, as well as some of the memoirs they each love best. You may know R. Eric Thomas from his works Here For It or Congratulations, The Best is Over! (a 2023 Summer Reading Guide pick) which just released today. Anne couldn't stop thinking about this collection of essays, and today she and Eric enjoy a delightful convers...
Aug 08, 2023•1 hr 2 min•Ep. 392
For many guests, picking three favorite reads is a struggle, but today's guest Annie McCloskey has a unique way of tracking her all-time favorites. Between her beloved book clubs and her well-stocked home library, Annie is quite happy with her reading life. She's been a long-time listener who's always wanted to be on the podcast and today that conversation is happening! Anne and Annie talk about what reading looks like in Annie's life right now, the types of titles she'd love to read more of, an...
Aug 01, 2023•56 min•Ep. 391
Today's guest has a big move on the horizon and is eager to find books that will ease that transition. Nadia Sussman has always lived in New Zealand, but this summer she's moving to Michigan to pursue a master's degree. Nadia's never been to the United States before, and she's eager for reading recommendations that will introduce her to her new community, as well as audiobooks that will keep her entertained on the 17-hour flight from New Zealand to the United States. In today's episode, Anne and...
Jul 25, 2023•48 min•Ep. 390
A long-delayed family trip to Europe doubles as an opportunity to explore the literary landscape of three incredible destinations. Today, Anne and Will are here to tell you all about it. Anne, Will, and their kids recently returned from their visit to England, France, and Spain. In addition to sightseeing, they indulged in some deeply enjoyable literary tourism. Listen in to hear more about their favorite bookstores big and small as well as the authors and titles they enjoyed and discovered alon...
Jul 18, 2023•56 min•Ep. 389
If you've ever felt the weight of a to-be-read list, today's conversation may be just the permission slip your reading life needs. Today Anne's chatting with Chicago-based Daniel Evola. Daniel was an early reader who got a head start on the classics, and while he's still interested in reading a number of "must-read" books, lately he's been enjoying exploring new-to-him titles and authors that deliver fresh perspectives. Daniel hopes that having a better feel for what he's loving in his reading l...
Jul 11, 2023•48 min•Ep. 388
Striking that perfect balance between "serious literature" and light reading can be tricky, and today Anne's talking all about it with guest Jake Sloofman. Jake, an arborist living in Brooklyn, NY, has big reading goals, but sometimes he feels stuck in between the heavy and light reads on his list. He'd love Anne's help to find both weighty literature and frothy “palate cleanser” books that will make reading feel like a vacation. Today's conversation, which you may have heard when it originally ...
Jul 04, 2023•39 min•Ep. 387
Diving into an unfamiliar genre is a great way to expand your reading identity, but it can also feel pretty intimidating. Today, Anne's here to help curious reader Caitlin Moran explore easy entry points for unfamiliar genres. Caitlin lives in the Pacific Northwest with her fiancé, where she enjoys reading along with her book club and finding new titles at her favorite indie bookstores. After being pleasantly surprised by her experience with a few book club choices, she’s curious what else might...
Jun 27, 2023•56 min•Ep. 386
Today's guest has a standing interest in books that deliver a strong sense of atmosphere, and Anne's got some new recommendations to share. Corin Cook lives and works in Rhode Island, where she makes the most of New England's seasonal rhythms. When summer rolls around, she’s usually devouring books that help her experience the season more fully, and this summer, Corin has her sights set on Europe. Anne couldn't wait to talk to Corin about her immersive Summer of European Reading project. Corin's...
Jun 20, 2023•47 min•Ep. 385
Today's guest grew up reading fiction for fun, but as she got older, she felt the pressure to read for work and self-improvement. Today, Effie Alofoje-Carr joins Anne to talk about finding her way back to the whimsical reads she loved when she was younger. As a Michigan-based mom & wife juggling a consulting career and a business, Effie doesn't want to entirely close the book on professional reading: she appreciates how these types of titles support her professional growth. But, Effie's ready to...
Jun 13, 2023•59 min•Ep. 384
You may know Anne's favorite novels feature complicated family relationships, and today's guest, author Amy Jo Burns, shares Anne's appreciation for this particular type of story. You may know Amy from her novel Shiner and memoir Cinderland, both of which we've talked about on the show. Amy's also a dedicated reader, and her recommendations for smartly written stories and big-hearted family novels often end up on Anne's to-be-read list, too. Anne and Amy dive into a lively conversation today, ta...
Jun 06, 2023•57 min•Ep. 383
If you've ever wondered about the process of adapting books for the screen, you'll want to tune in to today's episode. Joining Anne on the show is Kat Ramsburg, who has what some might call a dream job: she reads YA books to decide which ones will translate beautifully to screen, and then works on forthcoming TV and film adaptations of these popular titles. While Kat loves this career and the books it sends her way, she also wishes she had more time to reflect on her reading, and read more of th...
May 30, 2023•1 hr 5 min•Ep. 382
Even for dedicated readers, it can be tricky to find the right summer reading formula. Our Summer Reading Guide is here to help, and today Anne is talking all about summer reading with our Modern Mrs Darcy Book Club community manager Ginger Horton. Ginger made her What Should I Read Next? debut in 2021 in Episode 283: Don't save the good stuff, and today she's back to talk about finding her way when it comes to summer reading. Ginger and Anne chat about a whole bunch of Summer Reading Guide book...
May 23, 2023•1 hr 6 min•Ep. 381
Our 12th annual Summer Reading Guide releases this week! We put so much time and effort into this big, big project. This year, we decided it would be fun to bring you along with us for a peek behind the scenes of how the guide gets created. Today’s narrative episode features a bunch of voice notes and actual conversations between members of our team that take you into the nitty-gritty of making the SRG. Listen in to excerpts from team meetings about the guide, conversations about book-math, the ...
May 16, 2023•52 min•Ep. 380
Today's guest loves to travel, and since she hasn't been doing quite as much of that in recent years, she's relied on books to take her to a wide range of destinations. Laurel Korwin is a wife, toddler mom, and software engineer who lives in San Francisco, and she's found her work in code overlaps nicely with her love of reading. While she reads a range of genres, Laurel has a particular affection for a certain kind of story that lets her travel to otherwise unaccessible times and places. Anne a...
May 09, 2023•49 min•Ep. 379
Today's guest Michelle Acierno Loftus loves her work as a veterinary radiologist, but the demanding training that her career required meant that her reading life took a hit. These days, Michelle's found her way back to reading by embracing a genre she's always loved: Young Adult literature. These days Michelle lives in Seattle with her husband and young son, and she credits her YA book club for helping her keep reading on her radar during a busy season in her life. Even better, the combination o...
May 02, 2023•56 min•Ep. 378
Today's guest loves collecting books she finds at library sales or used bookstores, and she's ended up with a shelf full of titles that have caught her eye over the years. But Kelsey Gruber has a problem: when she sees an unread title still sitting on her shelf after a few months or more, often, the magic is gone and she's forgotten why it appealed to her in the first place. She needs Anne's help to figure out which of titles in her collection she shouldn't read next! Kelsey is an aspiring paral...
Apr 25, 2023•53 min•Ep. 377
If you loved Episode 369: State of the bookstore, you're in luck: we're back today with three more fabulous conversations with independent booksellers across the country. Today Anne is joined to talk all things books and reading with Andrea Griffith, owner of Browsers Bookshop in Olympia, Washington; owner Alison Frenzel and book buyer Elizabeth Barnhill of the whimsical Fabled Bookshop in Waco, Texas; and Roxanne Coady, owner of RJ Julia Booksellers in Madison, Connecticut. You might recognize ...
Apr 18, 2023•59 min•Ep. 376
There’s something particularly enticing about a short book that delivers an incredible reading experience. Today's guest Vanessa A. Bee joins Anne to talk about short books that tell great stories in small packages. Vanessa is an author, mother, wife, and attorney who lives in Washington, DC. She recently released a memoir called Home Bound: An Uprooted Daughter's Reflections on Belonging about her experience as an adoptee who was born in Cameroon, and raised by a Black mother and a white father...
Apr 11, 2023•50 min•Ep. 375
Alberta-based Sarah Bramley knows what she likes when it comes to fiction, but lately she's been more and more intrigued by the nonfiction side of the bookstore. Sarah knows there's a ton of good stuff out there she'll enjoy, but she's not sure of her reading identity beyond the fiction she knows and loves. This makes it hard to know how to find the nonfiction she'll find just as unputdownable as her favorite fiction titles. Sarah's here to get Anne's help, because Sarah wants to be purposeful a...
Apr 04, 2023•47 min•Ep. 374
Two sisters with a lifelong love of reading join Anne to talk about the many ways books have framed their lives. Anne first met Laura Gerald-Simms and Ramona Gavin in 2019 at an event at Bookmarks NC, where their passion for reading led them to make a true bookish connection. Since then, they've stayed in touch, and Anne's excited to welcome them to the show in this long-awaited conversation. Laura and Ramona share their favorite recent reads and talk about the ways books and reading have played...
Mar 28, 2023•52 min•Ep. 373
Today's guest Jeff Speck is a familiar name around here! Anne's referred to his book Walkable City in a bunch of past podcast episodes, because it's a great example of how books can invite us to see and understand the world around us in a whole new way. We're excited to have Jeff on the show today to share more about his professional and writing experience, how his book came to be chosen for the 10th anniversary treatment, and to compile a reading list of fascinating nonfiction and fiction that ...
Mar 21, 2023•54 min•Ep. 372
Every week, Anne does a little literary matchmaking with one guest, but today we're flipping the mic and helping Anne discover some books she just might love reading next. The last time we asked our listeners what Anne should read next was way back in 2017, so it's definitely time for another round of crowd-sourced reading recommendations. If you tuned into Episode 367 a few weeks ago, you heard Anne share about her reading life lately, including three books she's loved and one that didn’t work ...
Mar 14, 2023•46 min•Ep. 371
With so many books to choose from, committing to re-reading books you've already enjoyed can feel like a particular challenge. Today's guest, Rosalynn Tyo, deeply appreciates re-reading and wants to do more of it, but regularly finds herself distracted by new releases or unread titles. She's excited to get Anne's help with this bookish conundrum. Rosalynn loves cultivating deep and long-term relationships with the books she loves, but with so many new titles showing up at her local library and b...
Mar 07, 2023•48 min•Ep. 370
Here at WSIRN HQ, we love a great independent bookstore, and it's always especially fun when an indie bookseller joins Anne to talk books and bookstore business. Today, the book party is bigger than ever: Anne is chatting with three booksellers all about what's happening in the bookstore world lately. Joining Anne today are Holland Saltsman, owner of the The Novel Neighbor in St Louis, Missouri; Abbigail Glen, creator of Shelves, an online and pop-up bookstore based in Charlotte, North Carolina;...
Feb 28, 2023•53 min•Ep. 369
What's a reader to do with a stack of book recommendations that have left her feeling dissatisfied? Today Anne is talking with Mollie Hedgecock (she/her) and sharing some ideas for how Mollie can discern which recommendations are right for her. Like many readers, most of Mollie's recommendations come from social media and her friends, but she's realized her tastes just don't align with a lot of these choices. The problem is, Mollie's not sure what she should be looking for, so Anne's here to hel...
Feb 21, 2023•54 min•Ep. 368
Today Anne is in conversation with Keren Form, a self-professed nerd, dedicated board gamer and a fan of fast-moving stories with big themes. This episode originally aired back in 2019 as Episode 193, Rolling the dice on your next read, and was selected by our Patreon community as a guest favorite to bring back this week. Plus, Anne is sharing an update on what Keren did read next and how her reading (and gaming) life is going these days. While Keren has a particular love for sci-fi and fantasy,...
Feb 14, 2023•1 hr 3 min•Ep. 367
When authors and readers come together, it's always a good time, and today's episode is no exception. Today, we're sharing our recent Modern Mrs Darcy Book Club conversation with Brendan Slocumb, who joined us in January to discuss his musical thriller (and our January 2023 book club pick), The Violin Conspiracy. You might recognize Brendan from Episode 351, Book Club Favorites: LIVE from Bookmarks! as part of that excellent panel discussion with Tia Williams, Andrew Sean Greer, and TJ Klune. To...
Feb 07, 2023•52 min•Ep. 366
Today's guest has a superpower we've never heard before: she can smell a book and know whether it was published in the U.S. or the U.K.! London-based Claire Handscombe (she/her) spent a decade in Washington DC as a bookseller, a chapter she remembers fondly. These days, she's as much a book-lover as ever, but she's struggling with a common challenge: overcoming a short attention span and endless distractions. How can Claire get back to reading the literary fiction she loves? Anne has ideas for C...
Jan 31, 2023•1 hr 3 min•Ep. 365
With so many books to choose from, it's easy to miss out on some stellar titles. Today, Anne is joined by Andrew Limbong (he/him) to talk about some of the best books you may have missed in 2022. When he's not reading, Andrew's a reporter for NPR's Culture Desk and host of their Book of the Day podcast, so he's no stranger to book-talk. Join Andrew and Anne as they reflect on some of their favorite recent under-the-radar titles, and preview some of the great reads 2023 has in store. See the full...
Jan 24, 2023•51 min•Ep. 364
What do you do when you're used to reading dozens of books a year, but lately you've barely managed a handful of titles each year? Texas-based pilot and business owner Jada Graff (she/her) is here to get Anne's help in answering that question today, because her reading life has gotten way off course. In 2018 Jada stopped teaching English and donated all of her books. Since then, she's been trying to thoughtfully rebuild her library, but she's struggling to find books that will hold her interest ...
Jan 17, 2023•1 hr•Ep. 363
