What Should I Read Next?

Readers, a good book makes a perfect vacation companion, and today we're pairing a cross-section of titles with three fabulous summery destinations! Joining Anne on the show today is Lynette Calleros, a travel agent who wants to provide her customers with curated, destination-inspired reading lists. She's here for Anne's help in matching three of her commonly booked destinations with “book flights...

Readers, today we're thrilled to welcome Emily Henry to the show! You may recognize her from the 2021 Summer Reading Guide, where we featured her book People We Meet on Vacation, or our Modern Mrs Darcy book club, where she joined us in a delightful conversation. Today, Emily and Anne talk about the titles they reach for when the temperatures rise and the pool (or beach) beckon, and what they mean...

Readers, it's almost summer reading season (our 2022 Summer Reading Guide releases next week!), and today's conversation is just filled with summer reading energy. It's also a What Should I Read Next first, as we have four readers talking books and reading in today's show. Dive into summer reading today with Anne, her husband Will, and their reading buddies Melissa Joulwan and Dave Humphreys. You...

Readers, today's guest came later in life to a career that she now loves, and one of her favorite parts of the job? Nurturing budding readers! As a third and fourth-grade teacher, Katrina Fleming has a plan for getting her kids hooked on reading, but lately she’s felt like her plan for her own reading life has been letting her down. Katrina knows what she likes to read, but she's found it hard to...

Our first Norwegian guest, Lisa Sølvberg is a lifelong reader who loves a complicated family saga. She also has a particular appreciation for the audiobooks that accompany her athletic pursuits, as you'll hear in today's conversation. Lisa and Anne talk about the power of book journaling and what Lisa's learned about her reading life as a result of adopting this habit. Then, they explore some of t...

Readers, if you've ever dreamed of opening a bookstore, this episode is for you! Today, Anne's in conversation with Abbigail Glen, the owner of Shelves, an online and pop-up bookstore based in Charlotte, North Carolina. Abby discovered the power of reading at a young age, and decided to make her dream of being a bookstore owner a reality. In her conversation with Anne today, Abby shares how Shelve...

Today's guest is both an avid leisure reader and a professional word nerd. Gary Robinaugh has always been fascinated with the role language plays in our lives. His career studying Aphasia—a language disorder caused by a specific type of brain damage—explores the relationship between thought, language, and communication, and he's equally fascinated by these themes outside of the office. Gary grew u...

Today's guest is an author whose books are regularly discussed in our online community, and she's here to talk with Anne today about the practice of seeking inspiration, and the books she can't stop recommending to the people in her life—and, of course, to get some suggestions for what to read next! Shauna Niequist is the author of numerous books, including Present Over Perfect, Bread and Wine, an...

Readers, today’s guest is preparing for the arrival of her second child in a particularly bookish way—she's looking for some titles she can enjoy during upcoming midnight feedings and quiet moments with her newborn. Odeta Dyrmishi has loved to read since high school, and she's relied on books to carry her through other big changes in her life. Whether she's reading entertaining fiction or historic...

Readers, last week's guest told us about her grandmother signing her up for her first library card, and today's guest is a grandmother who is nurturing the next generation of readers! Joanne Booy spent most of her life living internationally in a wide range of locations, but one thing has remained constant in her life—her passion for reading! She's relied on books to be companions in isolated corn...

Readers, if you love a good mystery series, you'll definitely want to tune in for today's episode. Our guest today has been a reader since she was young, and as an adult she discovered her favorite genre: mysteries! Houston Luke especially loves mystery series featuring engaging main characters like Louise Penny's Gamache or Agatha Christie's Poirot. But now that she's mostly caught up on the back...

Today’s guest is an oil and watercolor painter with a deep appreciation for the storytelling power of both art and writing. As a child, Gina Ariko Marioni discovered how language could help her better understand the world around her, and to this day, reading brings her joy. But lately, Gina's been feeling stuck in her reading life. While she's used to reading a wide range of stories from coming-of...

Today’s guest discovered the joy of reading as a child listening to audiobooks on 45s. As an adult, she still turns to audiobooks consistently, and especially loves listening to books in the car with her boys or tackling some self-help titles on her commute. Tiffany Uzor is regularly on the hunt for new reads that will draw her in immediately or transport her somewhere else. Tiffany describes hers...

Readers, today's guests were already linked through legal and family ties, and since discovering their mutual love of reading, they've become even closer. Father-in-law and daughter-in-law Verne and Gabby Wright hit it off from the start, but their friendship deepened when Gabby lent Verne a book from her personal library. It was the start of a beautiful reading relationship! Gabby and Verne have...

When Erin Fagan sent in her guest submission describing herself as a “grumpy man whisperer” who turns to books to create connections, we just had to invite her onto the show. Erin works as an airline pilot and spends hours in the air with her colleagues. To quickly build relationships in a small space, she's found a perfect shortcut: talking about books! Luckily, Erin loves to read widely and can...

Readers, our guest today is sharing a struggle that feels increasingly common: she's finding herself easily distracted when reading, and she's not happy about it! Hannah Gorrie has always loved reading and has a sweet spot for fast-paced doorstoppers that totally engross her attention. But lately, she's felt like she just can't get into reading as easily, or stay as engaged as she used to. Anne an...

In today's episode, Anne's not the only one giving the recommendations: guest Shreyasi Desai, who also goes by Cece, passes on her own suggestions for our reading community. Cece grew up in India, where her parents fed her a regular reading diet of mysteries and mythologies. Today, Cece lives in the U.K. and is on the hunt for books featuring serious, angsty topics explored in lyrical and compelli...

Here at What Should I Read Next? and Modern Mrs Darcy HQ, our team of bibliophiles talks books all year long, and today our whole team is chiming in to share what they loved most in their 2021 reading life. Our team has a wide range of reading tastes, so our selections today are all over the literary map, but one thing holds true: each of these books made a major impact on a member of our team, an...

Over the past six years of talking books with our guests, we've heard about life-changing reading experiences, but today's guest has a unique twist on this story. When Nicole Fagan decided to give away almost every book she owned (not an easy decision for a lifelong bibliophile), she wasn't sure what to expect. But in the years since, Nicole became convinced that this drastic book purge was absolu...

We love reconnecting with previous guests to get an update on their reading life, and today's conversation with Tara Nichols is no exception! Since Tara's previous appearance on the show, in WSIRN Ep 168: A century of good books in a single year, we've been curious to know how her challenge worked out, and what she learned along the way. If you missed Ep 168, Tara shared her goal to read one book...

With a fresh new year ahead of us and so much reading to look forward to, today's conversation brings back a listener favorite and sets the stage for a year of thoughtful reading experiences. Jim Mustich, who you may know as the author of 1000 Books to Read Before You Die, first joined us on the podcast back in January 2019 on Episode 165 (which shared a title with his book). That’s one of our mos...

Do you have a favorite holiday reading tradition? We recently asked our WSIRN Patrons this question, and we loved one response so much, we had to share it with all of you. Kim Kortas lives in Minnesota, where she's enacted an annual holiday tradition of curating book boxes for each family member! It's a year-round project that brings an extra dose of holiday joy, and Kim and Anne talk about how it...

When it comes to picking what to read next, many of us live by our to-be-read (TBR) list, but today's guest has a different approach! Danielle Callendar is a lifelong bookworm, a library devotee, and a mood reader who loves the serendipity of discovering the right book at the right time. She's rejected any kind of reading list, because to her, that would feel like a constraint. But as much as she...

Between the WSIRN team and many of the guests we've had on this show, we definitely see a trend of readers who consider themselves introverts, and find the quiet act of reading a book the perfect complement to their personality. But what happens when a reader is other end of the energy spectrum? Paul Randall Adams has a reading dilemma that he associates with his self-described mega-extrovert ener...

Our guests on this show are united in a love of reading, but sometimes that joy can get lost as life, work, and other obligations take center stage. Today's guest is looking for some suggestions that will help her rediscover not only her love of reading, but identify what she loves to read now—and she's come up with a special project to help frame her quest. Jessica Harrill decided to celebrate he...