What Should I Read Next?

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 want...

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...

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 select...

Valencia Taylor is self-proclaimed book-pusher looking for reads that fall on the line between just-spooky-enough and way-too-scary, compelling stories that teach her something new about the world, and a way to keep track of her reading life. Of course, as a fellow book-pusher, Anne has plenty of recommendations and practical tips to share... Visit the podcast website at whatshouldireadnextpodcast...

Anne is joined by Sarah Stewart Holland & Beth Silvers of Pantsuit Politics podcast to discuss fiction and nonfiction recommendations that have shaped their understanding of politics, history, and what it means to be a human in this world. They're each sharing "political" books they personally love and often recommend, because they are fascinating, thought-provoking, and sometimes surprisingly pag...

Hey readers! Get your TBRs ready, because today’s episode contains a TON of book titles for a wide array of reading tastes, from a few voices which might sound familiar if you’ve been a long-time WSIRN listener. A few weeks ago, we asked the Modern Mrs Darcy and What Should I Read Next team to share their own summer reading recaps for a special Patreon bonus episode. Today, as we honor the change...

Today's guest wants surprising books with unique story structures, new information, and plot twists that will make her say, “what did I just read?” Shelly Akins is a proud Arizonian who is always reading. And when she isn’t reading, she loves attending the Tuscon Festival of Books, a huge literary festival where both book talk and fangirling are welcomed. We eagerly await the day we can gather for...

Today’s guest is a self-proclaimed “book glutton” who reads in between everyday moments at home, at work, and even while she’s walking. Grettel Castro is a biostatistician living in Miami, Florida. She emigrated to the United States from Cuba at the age of 14, but her voracious appetite for reading started much earlier. Readers, I’m sure many of you will relate to Grettel’s story of falling in lov...

Today’s guest has a story that sounds like the beginning of a juicy historical fiction novel. As a teenager, Liz Maguire came across a batch of 1920s love letters at a flea market. This launched an obsession with collecting vintage letters and preserving people’s personal correspondence as a piece of history. Of course, this project has had a marked affect on her reading life, so Liz has come to A...

An encounter with The Baby-Sitters Club #4 Mary Anne Saves the Day launched today's guest into a lifelong love of reading AND a special fondness for middle grade novels. Afoma Umesi is a freelance writer, editor, and children’s book blogger living in Nigeria. Anne has her work cut out for her to recommend middle grade books Afoma hasn’t read yet, plus selecting an adult title to suit her taste. Vi...

Today I’m talking with Jennifer Cordeiro, who lives in Bermuda, a small island with two bookstores and one library. Jennifer has encountered her fair share of #bookwormproblems, both in her own reading life and in her job at her small island bookstore where hurricanes, tourism, shipping dilemmas, and special orders mean you never know which books you’ll see on the shelves. Jennifer's personal book...

Today's episode is all about the joy of reading in relationships. Our guests Emma Gorin and Dinah Fay have been friends since 9th grade—that’s over 20 years. They haven’t always kept in touch as much as they'd like to, but books have always given them an easy way to reconnect. Emma and Dinah put in their submission to be on WSIRN with the explicit goal of connecting over a great read that they’ll...

On today's episode Anne helps Courtney Wallace, a Cincinnati reader, with a reading practice we hear surprisingly little about—her recent mid-year checkup on her reading goals. Lots of people talk about goals for the reading life—both numerical and content goals—at the start of every year. And we all see plenty of year-in-review summaries from readers. But when Courtney's guest submission mentione...

Over the years, Anne has been called many thing–podcaster, author, and now... Book Yoda, a name bestowed upon her by today's guest and Lazy Genius blogger Kendra Adachie. You remember Kendra from all the way back in Episode 27: Books good enough to make you turn off the tv (even if you love tv), over FOUR years ago. Her reading life has changed a lot since then, in no small part because of her fir...

Today's guest is looking for brain candy. That’s Elizabeth Cooper's delightful term for books that are FUN, with a killer premise, pages that practically turn themselves, and totally satisfying endings. Elizabeth’s past as a reader holds some surprising twists and turns itself — including a plot twist you're probably not expecting. Plus her method for choosing what to read next, is definitely a Wh...

Charlandra Jenkins is a Florida reader on the hunt for stories that reflect her life, love, grief, and humanity back to her. For Charlandra, new book releases and recent bestsellers by Black authors are a joy, but she’s also yearning for some history… backlist titles by women of color that say “hey! we’ve always been here, we’ve always existed”. Today, Anne recommend 3 backlist titles suited to Ch...

Anne is joined by Suzanne Skyvara, Goodreads VP of Marketing & Editorial, and Danny Feekes, Goodreads Managing Editor, to have an in-depth chat about how star ratings, reviews, and other nuggets of information we share online help connect our fellow readers to their next great read, support the authors we love, and change the way we see the world.  Anne, Suzanne, and Danny went so overboard with b...

Raelene Bradley has let books be her guide as she and her husband fulfill their longtime dream of living off the land with a family farm. Raelene’s stories of reading in the fields with her horse as a child, and audiobooks to accompany milking time are stuff of readerly dreams. Today, Anne and Raelene chat about the surprising disappointments from Raelene’s biggest reading year ever, and I’m helpi...

Reader and author KJ Dell’Antonia picked up a lot of the wrong books during a difficult time in her life, and those experiences changed her perspective on a hotly debated literary topic: trigger warnings. She talks with Anne about that shift, moving beyond bedtime reading, covert audiobook operations, and how mystery novels could save your local bookstore...  Content warning — in this episode, KJ...

Chris Abi Zeid is counting down the days before a big life event that will significantly alter his reading life. But for a few more weeks he still has precious reading hours. All he needs is his next read–and listeners, he has one huge requirement. He needs a book with a big, beefy, juicy plot. Complicated characters are great, but they need to go somewhere and do something for Chris to be satisfi...

Today’s guest Lamar Giles credits his love of reading to his mom who was always willing to buy him a book. Today Anne and Lamar chat about children’s books, horror novelist Stephen King, great novels where the setting is a character in its own right, and the importance of mirrors on the bookshelf. This episode was recorded and aired last year as Episode 186: Finding the book that feels like it was...

Elyssa Gould is an academic librarian and “recovering English major”, whose goal is to get caught up on her own backlist while she’s separated from her natural habitat, the library. Today, Anne shuffles around Elyssa’s 100 or so unread books into a few smaller stacks, for a DIY literature "curriculum" that should keep her busy at home for as long as necessary.  Click over to the podcast website fo...

It’s a weird time to be in the market for a new book. When it’s safer to stay home, and many libraries and bookstores have temporarily shut their doors to the public, what’s a reader to do… but turn to their home bookshelves! Your TBR shelf's time has COME!  Today Annd chats with Karla Osorno, a WSIRN listener whose 600+ precious unread books have been weighing her reading life down. Not only is K...

Today we continue our celebration of Summer reading with Zibby Owens, host of the podcast Moms Don’t Have Time To Read Books. Anne and Zibby are chatting about what they’re excited to read this Summer, whether those books are brand new or quite old. Get ready for a slew of summer-ready non-fiction recommendations for your TBR.  Click over to the podcast website for the transcript and full list of...

Readers, summer reading is so close you can almost taste it. Anne has been investigating upcoming summer releases for months now, on the lookout for new and notable titles that should be on your summer reading list. Prepping for the Summer Reading Guide brings up an important question — what makes a book a “summer read”? What’s the perfect balance of frothy to grounded, fun to thought-provoking, o...