Readers, welcome to our first impromptu and improvised episode of What Should I Read Next! Today Anne tells you a little about our new class, Get More Out of Your Library. Click here for more details, and click here to learn more about the MMD Book Club and sign up before the Wednesday class. In this episode, Anne also tells you a small-world bookish story, and shares One Great Book for your TBR. We hope you enjoy today's episode! We'll be back next week with a new Tuesday episode. _____________...
Jun 12, 2018•15 min•Ep 136•Transcript available on Metacast Guest and author Jen Hatmaker is known for speaking publicly about a LOT of things, but reading isn’t one of them! At least, not the books she’s really reading on her own time—and today you’re going to hear how different those titles are from what you probably EXPECT her to enjoy reading. Today Jen and I get to chat about about the intricacies of her home library, the book that gave her nightmares, the books she's afraid to read on the bus, the finer points of humor writing, our foodie favorites...
Jun 05, 2018•51 min•Ep 135•Transcript available on Metacast Ben Huntington is a young audiobook fanatic who chews through stories at an exhilarating rate - we’re talking reading the Hobbit in one week! Today, Anne recommends a ton of great audiobook series to keep his reading list full all summer. This is an episode the whole family can enjoy, full of books perfect for road trip entertainment! And stay tuned till the end for follow up commentary from Ben and his mom, including funny jokes and helpful resources for topics discussed today. You could be fea...
May 29, 2018•31 min•Ep 134•Transcript available on Metacast Guest Sachi Argabright discovered a rich vein of books by Asian American authors who inspire her, and it’s given her reading life wings. In today's episode, Anne tops up her list with unique and soon-to-be-released titles so she can stay in that happy place for a long time to come. They also discuss travel, reading goals, book organization (see her gorgeous "favorites bookshelf" on the shownotes page of our site), and much much more. Click over to the podcast website for the full list of titles ...
May 22, 2018•56 min•Ep 133•Transcript available on Metacast It’s time to get your library holds all set up for a long summer of reading! Whether you’re looking for a contemporary page-turner, something spine-chilling, a chunky classic, a dose of reality, or if you’re suspending expectations in hope of some bookish serendipity… Anne is here with friend of the show and bookseller Annie Jones to discuss the alllll the hot titles they can’t help but want to shove in their friends hands. Click over to the podcast website for the full list of titles discussed ...
May 15, 2018•53 min•Ep 132•Transcript available on Metacast Jane Austen devotees will get a big kick out of today’s guest - Clara Breitenmoser is originally from New Zealand, currently lives in England, and now spends her days smack in the middle of a favorite literary landmark. Anne and Clara talk about heritage preservation, tracking reading with the help of our friends, excellent foodie memoirs, and also dive into Clara’s tough special request: She wants to read more books about characters in their 20s, without romance as the central theme. Take the W...
May 08, 2018•50 min•Ep 131•Transcript available on Metacast Pop quiz - what is true of only 14 of the 110 Nobels awarded for Literature since the category's founding in 1901? Answer: only 14 women have received the honor. Today’s guests Kendra Winchester and Autumn Privett are intent on giving brilliant female authors their due. Every month, their podcast Reading Women shines a spotlight on a different genre or type of author - some favorite past themes include Women in Translation, Southern Literature, and Women of Color. So what better way to celebrate...
May 01, 2018•44 min•Ep 130•Transcript available on Metacast Between her 2016 appearance on WSIRN and today, reader Osheta's Moore's creative projects have blossomed in beautiful ways. Today, Anne is catching up with Osheta to find out about the podcast that was just a baby project when they first chatted, the perfect library haul formula, how a reading life can change in 2 years, and how Osheta's one especially important bookshelf has grown over time. Click over to the podcast website for the full list of titles discussed in this episode: http://whatshou...
Apr 24, 2018•50 min•Ep 129•Transcript available on Metacast If the word “biography” doesn’t fill you with excitement, maybe today’s guest Tracie Haddock’s enthusiasm can convince you to give them another shot. She even calls one famous biographer her “adopted grandfather”—although what she’s REALLY looking for are great biographies about amazing women, because she just hasn’t found enough out there. In this episode, Anne and Tracie discuss books about extraordinary people living during fascinating times, whether or not to be stingy with star ratings, unr...
Apr 17, 2018•44 min•Ep 128•Transcript available on Metacast Everything’s upside down this week - WSIRN guest Jordan Bradley needs help QUITTING books! Years of higher education taught him to just push through a bad reading experience - but now it’s time to recalibrate. In today’s episode, Anne and Jordan talk futuristic fiction, vast histories, far-flung expeditions, and together chart a course toward Jordan's happier reading ever-after. Readers, we’re starting to add events to the calendar for summer and fall 2018, and when we’re ready to go public our ...
Apr 10, 2018•45 min•Ep 127•Transcript available on Metacast Today's guest is Roxanne Coady, proprietor of RJ Julia bookstore in Madison, Connecticut and host of the Just The Right book podcast. Years ago, Roxanne did what many of WSIRN listeners have dreamed of doing - she left her old career behind, and started a bookstore. Join Anne as she investigates how Roxanne found a calling that appealed to her heart rather than her head, emotionally resonant narratives, nonfiction that holds your hand through tough times, PLUS - you'll learn about the origin of ...
Apr 03, 2018•42 min•Ep 126•Transcript available on Metacast Do you ever feel a little out of place in the world of online readers? Perhaps you're more of a dabbler? You might relate to today's guest! Dana Hartness is fascinated by “reading culture” but feels like she doesn’t belong because her interests are so far-flung, and most of the time she’d rather just curl up with Netflix. Today, Anne tries to connect the dots between Dana's WILDLY different favorites, and recommend 3 books that will give Netflix a run for its money. In this episode, Dana mention...
Mar 27, 2018•35 min•Ep 125•Transcript available on Metacast Today’s episode is a FESTIVAL of book recommendations for all ages. You might recognize children’s lit enthusiast extraordinaire Sarah Mackenzie from Episode 49 during our Reading for a Lifetime series, when she came on the show to help Anne recommend books to some truly adorable bookish kids. Today, they’re doing more of the same, but Anne also gets to recommend 3 books that Sarah can incorporate into her ADULT reading life when she’s not running Read Aloud Revival or sharing books with her kid...
Mar 20, 2018•1 hr 1 min•Ep 124•Transcript available on Metacast Today’s guest is a reader who loves to laugh. Rissie Lundberg wrote in to the show to tell us she’s been a listener from the very beginning, but has NEVER heard her favorite titles discussed on the air. We knew we had to have her on the show to remedy that situation as soon as possible. Rissie is a high school math teacher with a bookish bent - she even assigns English literature as math homework! Today, Anne investigates what titles Rissie discusses with her math students, and they chat about b...
Mar 13, 2018•40 min•Ep 123•Transcript available on Metacast You might recognize today’s guest if you’re a reality tv buff - Scott Flanary WON season 29 of The Amazing Race! But he also happens to be a huge book nerd, and that’s what we get to talk about today. Scott says his home-base genre used to be chick lit, but after recently discovering a new favorite niche genre, he's ready to travel even further in his bookish journey. Today I get to chat with Scott about how book clubs can help you connect deeply with your community, book-to-stage adaptations, c...
Mar 06, 2018•1 hr 1 min•Ep 122•Transcript available on Metacast Today’s guests take getting lost in a good book to a TOTALLY different level. Kristen Meinzer and Jolenta Greenberg host By The Book podcast, a bookish comedy show where they live by the rules of different self-help bestseller, for two weeks at a time. Kristen and Jolenta have lived to the letter of books like The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up, The Secret, The Miracle Morning, and more. Anne's high-stakes job this week is recommending 3 titles for them to live through NEXT. (No pressure.) To...
Feb 27, 2018•54 min•Ep 121•Transcript available on Metacast Today's guest Elizabeth Smith is an English Major lives a life that will inspire envy in a a lot of WSIRN listeners. She and her family homeschool, run a theatre company, tend a hobby farm, and herd sheep. No more juicy details here though - it’s better when Liz tells it. Anne and Liz also chat about the BEST way to experience Shakespeare, books for people who thrive on melancholy, and how to get more out of your local independent bookstores. Click over to the podcast website for the full list o...
Feb 20, 2018•52 min•Ep 120•Transcript available on Metacast Today's guest Carly Friedman is a working mom, an advisor at her local university, and has a totally unique goal for her 2018 reading life. We'll give you one hint: backlist. Today Anne and Carly chat about nonfiction titles for people who love to learn, Carly's budding romance with audiobooks, novels with a strong sense of place and time, what moves a book from your bookshelf to your bedside table, and so much more! Click over to the podcast website for the full list of titles discussed in this...
Feb 13, 2018•56 min•Ep 119•Transcript available on Metacast Anne and today's guest Dena Abramson Babb have a lot in common. Both were the girl in class who loved to choose the heftiest books possible from school reading lists, and now as adults they've infused their family cultures with reading. There's a little something special about today's episode, too - you'll get to snoop behind the scenes of the launch of Anne's book Reading People: How Seeing the World through the Lens of Personality Changes Everything, because Dena played a special part in the p...
Feb 06, 2018•1 hr 1 min•Ep 118•Transcript available on Metacast Today’s guest Rachael Robinson lives in Southern California, but Anne met her for the very first time in her own kitchen. (They'll get to that in the episode). Rachael describes herself as an “extreme” book lover who discovered her reading obsession when her son was born and Netflix just wasn’t cutting it for entertainment. Today Anne and Rachael chat about Rachael's best reading year ever, #BookClubProblems, last-minute cross-country bookish adventures, and so much more. But make sure to stick ...
Jan 30, 2018•42 min•Ep 117•Transcript available on Metacast Readers, if you're intrigued by the behind-the-scenes of the publishing industry, this one's for you. In today's new episode I chat with John August, a screenwriter, devoted reader, and author of a brand-new (or soon-to-be) middle grade novel. As of this morning, John also has a brand new podcast out in the world: it’s called LAUNCH, and as someone who loves all the details about how books are born, I can’t wait to listen. This six-episode podcast tracks the launch of John’s novel, Arlo Finch in...
Jan 23, 2018•54 min•Ep 115•Transcript available on Metacast Time FLIES when you're reading a good book... and, turns out, when you're podcasting. Today marks WSIRN's second anniversary! We thought it would be fun to rewind allllll the way back to our VERY FIRST GUEST, ever-colorful personality and the co-host of The Popcast: Jamie Golden. Today you’ll get to hear some secrets about what Anne originally had planned for the show (and which of these plans we threw out the window) a totally true bookshop story about Tom Hanks, a literary pop culture lightnin...
Jan 16, 2018•1 hr 9 min•Ep 114•Transcript available on Metacast We asked 14 different podcast listeners how they organize their bookshelves … and we're sharing their ideas with you. (Some readers even provided photos of their methods— link below!) Ever-popular genre and color organization came up of course, but we also get to hear about the uniquely-displayed special interest book collections some of you have, including a bookshelf entirely dedicated to one specific period of history, and another home library entirely organized with book-lending in mind. And...
Jan 09, 2018•33 min•Ep 113•Transcript available on Metacast "I want to read more" is a common refrain in January, so here's some good news: today's episode is full of tips and tricks to help you maximize your time and strategize your next best read! If you've been listening to WSIRN for a while, you've heard Anne talk more than once about supply-side vs demand-side readers. The brilliant mind behind that concept is author and podcaster Laura Vanderkam, who you may know from her books 168 Hours, I Know How She Does It, and What the Most Successful People ...
Jan 02, 2018•53 min•Ep 112•Transcript available on Metacast Today's episode is a cozy family affair! Anne chats with Emily and Daniela Loose, a mother-daughter duo from New Hampshire who have been reading together for Emily’s entire life. Emily went off to college this fall, and they're learning to navigate the pain of waiting way too long to talk to your book buddy about what you’re reading (texting in all caps about a book you just read is TOTALLY acceptable.) Topics this week: books for book people, Swedish children’s books, the pleasures of re-readin...
Dec 26, 2017•57 min•Ep 111•Transcript available on Metacast It's our first guest from Down Under! Today Anne talks books with Fiona Thoms, a party-planning, paleo cooking, PTA president mum of three kids who lives in Sydney, Australia. You may recognize Fiona’s voice from Episode 62, because she recommends two books to Anne in our special What Should ANNE Read Next episode. Today's topics: the pleasures and perils of the Australian literary life, reading fictional books about real-life travel destinations, how Fiona's life bears an uncanny resemblance to...
Dec 19, 2017•1 hr 4 min•Ep 110•Transcript available on Metacast Today's guest is Annie Spence, author of Dear Fahrenheit 45: Love and Hate in the Stacks, a collection of breakup notes and love letters to books she encounters in her day-to-day as a public librarian. This week Anne learns all about how Annie became a public librarian. They also discuss the difficulty of recommending books when you’re in a HUGE reading slump yourself, bizarre nonfiction, and seasonal reading patterns. Click over to the podcast website for the full list of titles discussed in th...
Dec 12, 2017•49 min•Ep 109•Transcript available on Metacast Anne kicked off her first visit to Malaprop's Bookstore in Asheville, NC in a big way - a WSIRN liveshow! You can read more details about what the show was like in this Modern Mrs. Darcy post. This episode is a fast and furious speed round of literary matchmaking for SEVERAL guests at the live event - get ready to live vicariously through your fellow WSIRN fans (and prepare your Goodreads - your TBR might grow 10 sizes today.) Click over to the podcast website for the full list of titles discuss...
Dec 05, 2017•35 min•Ep 108•Transcript available on Metacast Holland Saltsman from the Novel Neighbor in St Louis joins Anne to talk about their favorite books of the year, supporting local bookstores, and the bookish gifts they can’t wait to give and receive this year. Whether you’re shopping for a book lover, making your own wish list, or want to indulge in a whole bunch of readerly enthusiasm, this episode will be a treat. Click over to the podcast website for the full list of titles and bookish gifts discussed in this episode, and leave us a comment t...
Nov 28, 2017•50 min•Ep 107•Transcript available on Metacast Shannon Navin is a Columbus mom and technology professional who came to Anne with a specific request: to recommend great books that Shannon and her ten-year-old son can enjoy TOGETHER. Anne and Shannon discuss the magic of bonding over books with children, what you need to have a great reading experience at any age, and what it looks like to establish your own reading life. Click over to the podcast website for the full list of titles discussed in this episode, and leave us a comment to let us k...
Nov 21, 2017•32 min•Ep 106•Transcript available on Metacast 
