Even though reading is a solitary activity, you’re never truly alone as a reader. You’re never the only reader who prefers dog-eared pages to bookmarks or the only reader who reads the last page first. Today’s guest used to feel self-conscious about her affection for stories that explore difficult themes. But we know that Rachel Matthews isn’t the only reader who enjoys darker fiction. In fact, I’m willing to bet that some of you have been waiting for an episode with a reader just like Rachel. C...
Jun 01, 2021•52 min•Ep 285•Transcript available on Metacast Over the last year, we’ve talked to readers who voraciously devour romance, mystery, and graphic novels to escape real life—and readers who struggle to pick up a single book, even if they know it’s one they’ll love. There’s no right way to respond to stress as a reader, and today’s guest is here to share encouragement and insight for readers experiencing burnout. Journalist Anne Helen Petersen writes the weekly email newsletter Culture Study and recently published Can’t Even: How Millennials Bec...
May 25, 2021•46 min•Ep 284•Transcript available on Metacast This episode has literally been years in the making: today I'm thrilled to welcome Ginger Horton, our Modern Mrs. Darcy Book Club community manager, to the show! The 2021 Summer Reading Guide is about to drop, and in this celebratory episode, Ginger shares her three favorite backlist summer reading guide selections, and I recommend three books I think she’ll love from this year’s summer reading guide. Of course, we can’t help squeezing in extra book talk, as we often do, so listen in for a pile ...
May 18, 2021•56 min•Ep 283•Transcript available on Metacast I think many of you will relate when you hear today's guest say he’s “a little bit obsessed with books.” This is definitely a good thing for Jeremy Anderberg because not only is reading a source of enjoyment and intellectual satisfaction, it’s also a key part of his job as a writer and podcast producer. He writes for The Art of Manliness blog, produces The Art of Manliness podcast, and publishes the "Read More Books” newsletter. Today we discuss the difference between finding what you like to re...
May 11, 2021•53 min•Ep 282•Transcript available on Metacast Lecturer, author, and researcher Heather Williams has left trails of books across the globe as she travels for work, but today she’s bringing us three favorite essay collections she can’t live without. Heather’s love of bite-sized reading experiences is contagious. If you’ve never picked up an essay collection, she just might convince you to do so today. We also discuss her preference for reliable narrators, a surprising fascination with Russian literature, and a book that made Heather laugh a l...
May 04, 2021•56 min•Ep 281•Transcript available on Metacast After becoming an avid WSIRN listener, today's guest realized she was watching less TV and reading more books. To keep her momentum going, she connected with other listeners, found her favorite reading categories, and now sits down with Anne to chat about a classic WSIRN problem: the compulsion to finish every book she starts. Today we're joined by Stacy Wittenberg, who talks to Anne about that inclination and about a reading challenge she’s taken on for this year. Anne recommends books that wil...
Apr 27, 2021•42 min•Ep 280•Transcript available on Metacast Over the years Ahtoosa Dale sent in multiple submissions to be on What Should I Read Next, each one reflecting her ever-evolving reading taste. Since that first submission way back in 2016, her reading life has changed tremendously. Now, as a lawyer and a mom with a packed schedule, she’s more willing than she once was to set certain books aside. And as an adult, she’s looking for relatable characters—especially if the book explores the immigrant experience. But Ahtoosa will never say no to a go...
Apr 20, 2021•44 min•Ep 279•Transcript available on Metacast Mindy Mejia enjoys propulsive, fast-paced books with strong characters—and she writes them, too! Mindy writes thrillers, or as she calls them “murdery books,” but she reads from a whole banquet of literature. Anne got to talk with her about setting reading intentions, sampling books—which, as you’ll hear, is a bit of a euphemism—and learning about surprisingly fascinating topics as we read. As always, she recommends a handful of books we think Mindy will love, including an upcoming thriller that...
Apr 13, 2021•53 min•Ep 278•Transcript available on Metacast Today Anne is talking with Jake Sloofman, an arborist living in Brooklyn. They discuss his big reading goal, the pressure to read “serious literature,” and how to alternate light and heavy reads for a balanced reading life. So Anne serves up a mix of weighty literature and frothy “palate cleanser” books to keep things balanced. View the full list of titles and a transcript of the episode on our website https://whatshouldireadnextpodcast.com/277. You can follow Jake on Instagram. Learn more about...
Apr 06, 2021•37 min•Ep 277•Transcript available on Metacast Podcast producer and PhD student Sara Aeder always finds time for reading, thanks to audiobooks and a passion for turning the pages. She has a special fondness for books that explore the “exquisite pain of a teenage crush” and let her live vicariously through fictional drama, but Sara’s taste in books goes way beyond young adult lit. Today on the podcast, Sara shares three books she loves that cover the main themes of her reading taste, and I recommend several titles that I think she'll love. We...
Mar 23, 2021•48 min•Ep 276•Transcript available on Metacast How do you manage your reading life when you have many books you NEED to read, and many more you'd LIKE to read, just for you? In today's episode we're diving into that question with Brigid Misselhorn, a self-described "book club addict" who offers insight into this highly relatable question. Bonus: Brigid describes herself as a "naturally slow" reader; we know many of you love it when our guest's reading life mirrors your own in this specific way. From graphic novels to gothic mysteries, today’...
Mar 16, 2021•49 min•Ep 275•Transcript available on Metacast Readers, the origin story for today’s episode might make you swoon. It all started with a conversation on Instagram, where Anne got a message from one incredibly intentional boyfriend hoping to make some bookish dreams come true. After learning more, we invited his girlfriend Ashley on the show, and I’ll let her tell the whole story today. Ashley Parrish is a book lover and self-proclaimed TV junkie who enjoys scrolling bookstagram but wants to find more backlist titles instead of picking up eve...
Mar 09, 2021•39 min•Ep 274•Transcript available on Metacast Readers, today’s show is a de-light. We have had mother-daughter duos on the show and even a father-daughter duo with Ashley and Brent from episode 155, but today Anne talks with Rebekah and Beverly, our first grandmother-granddaughter pair — and Beverly is our first nonogenarian! When Rebekah sent in a guest submission she included three books she and Beverly both love, but then she put her own fun twist on the rest. She told us one book that Beverly loved and Rebekah hated, and another Rebekah...
Mar 02, 2021•47 min•Ep 273•Transcript available on Metacast Today Anne's guest is an Alabama teacher whose love of reading has touched every aspect of his life—from where he met his wife to the theme of his classroom today. Derek is a MATH teacher but he puts his reading right there on the wall for his students to see and he loves talking books with fellow teachers. You're going to love this conversation about his early library adventures, the books he’s passing down to his son, and the gorgeous engagement photos he and his wife took in the library where...
Feb 23, 2021•38 min•Ep 272•Transcript available on Metacast How do you track your reading life? Today's guest has a whole new system of book tracking and reviewing to share. Anne is talking with Nadia Odunayo, the reader and entrepreneur behind The Storygraph, a brand new website full of tracking tools and detailed rating systems to help readers go beyond a book’s jacket copy and filter through information to find what they’re really looking for. We love hearing behind the scenes stories and it was fascinating to hear Nadia explain how this creative ende...
Feb 16, 2021•53 min•Ep 271•Transcript available on Metacast Readers, in today's podcast episode, I’m talking with graphic memoirist and comic creator Lucy Knisley. We chat about her overflowing bookshelves, the pleasures and pitfalls of the creative process, what makes the perfect pandemic stress read, and how to cope with your kids’ evolving reading tastes. Lucy is looking for distraction in her reading life right now and needs some low-stress books to read before bed; I have plenty of recommendations to suit her taste (and fill your to-be-read lists). ...
Feb 09, 2021•41 min•Ep 270•Transcript available on Metacast Today’s guest is Tiffany Patterson, a Florida reader who created a new kind of literary get-together that is convincing her not-so-readerly friends to give books and reading a chance. She breaks down all the details of her brilliant idea so that you can steal it and start your own group. This episode was recorded in 2019 and aired as Episode 166: Just don’t call it book club. That means this was pre-Covid, so we talk about getting together as actually getting together. It also means that some of...
Feb 02, 2021•44 min•Ep 269•Transcript available on Metacast At the end of last year we hosted a virtual book party in the Modern Mrs. Darcy Book Club to celebrate our favorite books of the year. The whole What Should I Read Next and Modern Mrs Darcy teams shared their top books of 2020 and we all walked away with a longer To Be Read list. Our team is made up of a bunch of bookworms with very different reading tastes, but that doesn’t stop us from swapping book recommendations all the time. We recorded that event (as we do with all of our Book Club events...
Jan 26, 2021•52 min•Ep 268•Transcript available on Metacast Our guest today is an economist and literature enthusiast based in London, England. A well-traveled reader in every sense, Stephanie De Mel has lived on multiple continents and combines her love of travel and books in her Reading the World Challenge. Steph’s sense of curiosity informs her book choices and her broad reading tastes challenge Anne to recommend three books to suit. Steph also shares how she applies her analytical tendencies to her reading life–looking at her bookish data while focus...
Jan 19, 2021•54 min•Ep 267•Transcript available on Metacast Readers, it’s the 5th anniversary of What Should I Read Next! Today I'm answering YOUR questions about WSIRN's behind-the-scenes, my personal reading life, and so much more. Thank you for submitting such thoughtful and fun questions! I did my best to answer as many as possible, and you can find answers to frequently asked questions linked in the show notes below. Happy reading! -Anne Visit the podcast website at whatshouldireadnextpodcast.com/266 to see the full list of titles discussed, an epis...
Jan 12, 2021•1 hr•Ep 266•Transcript available on Metacast Readers, we’re kicking off the new year with a special episode to help you set the right tone for your reading life in 2021. My friend Laura Tremaine is joining me to guide us in some readerly introspection. Laura hosts the Ten Things to Tell You podcast, where she shares guided questions and prompts to help listeners reflect on different aspects of their lives. Laura brings her expert skills as a conversation-starter to our literary therapy session today. Here at WSIRN, we love thinking about b...
Jan 05, 2021•1 hr 12 min•Ep 265•Transcript available on Metacast Anne's challenge today is to share recommendations for books with unique and artful structures. Today's guest is a Chicago-based mood reader with a contagious love of books. When Anna Morton isn't working or volunteering for the Art Institute of Chicago, she's reading “compulsively readable literary fiction,” a term Anne fondly coined for books with the perfect combination of page-turning plot and stunning prose. Reading is also a family affair for Anna, who proudly plays the role of “literary c...
Dec 22, 2020•44 min•Ep 264•Transcript available on Metacast Today’s guest also loves giving recommendations—to her boss, to her mom, and to strangers standing in the book aisle at Target. For Jenica Salazar, nothing is more satisfying than recommending the right book to the right reader. But today, she’s here for a little bit of literary therapy for herself. Anne chats with Jenica about a common bookworm problem: the guilt of giving up on a book that’s just not keeping your attention. They're also working out reading routines and making Jenica's reading ...
Dec 15, 2020•46 min•Ep 263•Transcript available on Metacast Today’s guest tells a familiar story: he loved reading as a kid, but as an adult without a Scholastic book fair to look forward to, he fell into the habit of rereading or staying in his “safe zone” of sci-fi and fantasy. Geologist Max Lemoine needed just the right book to pull him out of his reading rut. He’s eager to uncover more titles that are outside of his reading comfort zone, so today Anne is recommending books with depth that also offer distraction from everyday life and books with immer...
Dec 08, 2020•46 min•Ep 262•Transcript available on Metacast Readers have asked us for “comfort reads” over and over again this year — and it's totally understandable. “Comfort read” means something different to every reader, but if you’re looking for books that slow your heart rate, soothe your soul, and make you want to travel to a quiet English village, this episode is for you. Today’s guest Gina House appreciates cozy, comforting reads that feel like a warm hug. She adores cozy mysteries like Agatha Christie novels, but she could do without the murder...
Dec 01, 2020•51 min•Ep 261•Transcript available on Metacast Sara Jones takes her role as “neighborhood library curator” seriously. In addition to selecting books for her own reading life, Sara Jones carefully curates her Little Free Library collection to reflect the reading tastes and needs of her community. She likes to feature a healthy mix of books for kids and adults, and she’s always on the lookout for fiction that her neighbors will find irresistible as they’re walking by. Today, Anne helps Sara stock her Little Free Library with crowd-pleasing boo...
Nov 24, 2020•54 min•Ep 260•Transcript available on Metacast The sci-fi genre feels like home, but Emily Van Ark also enjoys books in any genre that deliver on a fabulous premise. In her day job as a data scientist, Emily nalyzes data in order to find patterns and make recommendations for improving people’s lives... and Anne's job this week is to do some helpful data analysis for her reading life (with less math and more conversation). Emily also shared a bunch of sci-fi recommendations to expand Anne's reading horizons. Visit the podcast website at whats...
Nov 17, 2020•54 min•Ep 259•Transcript available on Metacast Reading for pure escapism means something different for every reader. Some of us turn to puzzle-like mysteries, some of us immerse ourselves in fantastical worlds. Today’s guest stays away from doom scrolling by reading lots and lots and lots of romance. “Recovering English major” Jenna Lowenstein still enjoys the occasional literary fiction read, but these days she’s picking up the books she wants to read instead of forcing the books she feels like she should read. From spicy romance novels to ...
Nov 10, 2020•53 min•Ep 258•Transcript available on Metacast Our annual holiday recommendations episode is here! A few weeks ago, you called us with your bookish gift buying questions and dilemmas, and today Anne is answering those questions alongside Beth Buss, the general bookstore manager at Bookmarks, a literary arts nonprofit in downtown Winston-Salem North Carolina. Beth and Anne will help you find just the right gifts for their loved ones of all ages and reading tastes, from classic kid lit to science fiction… and everything in between. Visit the p...
Nov 03, 2020•1 hr 1 min•Ep 257•Transcript available on Metacast Reader Cliff Cullen was in the middle of his best reading year ever when...the pandemic hit. His one-time favorite reading habits, like listening to audiobooks during his commute, have had to change—but his voracious appetite for books remains the same. Today, Anne recommends books in a wide variety of genres to suit Cliff’s eclectic reading taste and push the boundaries of his typical book selections. Also discussed: “themed” reading based on seasons or settings, reading your cookbooks, and the...
Oct 27, 2020•51 min•Ep 256•Transcript available on Metacast 
