What Should I Read Next? Ep 507: Our team recaps our 2025 reading year
Dec 16, 2025
The team reflects on their reading journeys from the past year, sharing surprises like a vampire book streak and unexpected favorites that reignited their literary passion. They discuss the challenges of buddy reads and how personal circumstances, such as recovery from cancer, influenced their choices. Tips like prioritizing TBR lists and matching book formats to personal preferences emerge. The excitement for new authors leads to a treasure trove of five-star reads, setting a hopeful tone for the future.
01:01:35
Unexpected Vampire Year
- Bridget discovered she read many vampire books in 2025, far more than she expected.
- She realized roughly 15–20% of her year’s reads included vampires and it brought her joy.
Keep A Priority TBR With Locations
- Bridget uses a priority TBR note in her phone and updates it monthly to stay organized.
- She also records where each title lives (Libby, Hoopla, Libro.fm) to remove friction and save reading time.
Aim For Quality, Not Quantity
- Shannon set a focused goal to read 25 five-star books and enjoyed reduced pressure.
- She tracked quality over quantity and felt satisfied reading fewer, higher-impact books.
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Intro
00:00 • 5min
Bridget: Role and Community Work
05:19 • 10sec
Bridget's Surprise Vampire Year
05:29 • 4min
Bridget: What Didn't Work
09:39 • 2min
Bridget's Reading Tip: Priority TBR
11:35 • 1min
Shannon: Role and 25 Five-Star Goal
12:54 • 4min
Shannon: Surprising Finds and Money Books
16:41 • 4min
Shannon: Surprise Novel Discovery
20:23 • 4min
Donna: Role and Reading Honesty
24:23 • 1min
Donna: One-Book-at-a-Time Experiment
25:27 • 4min
Donna's Taylor Swift Reading Project
29:40 • 2min
Leigh: Role and Reading Less
31:20 • 3min
Leigh: Buddy Reads and Fantasy Projects
34:06 • 52sec
Leigh: What Didn't Work and Boundaries
34:57 • 4min
Holly: Role and Buying Less Books
38:57 • 2min
Holly: Font Size and International Editions
41:23 • 3min
Holly: New Authors as Top Five-Star Finds
43:59 • 3min
Ginger: Role and Matching Format to Text
47:08 • 3min
Ginger: Format Example and Long Books Goal
49:55 • 5min
William: Role and Personal Curriculum
55:01 • 3min
William: Series Reading Challenges
57:37 • 3min
William: Reading Rhythms and Pace
01:00:19 • 3min
Outro
01:03:35 • 1min
#
Serviceberry
John Burgoyne
Robin Wall Kimmerer
#
Escape, a novel
Stephen Fishbach
#
Her Land
Charlotte Perkins Gilman
#
It's All Wrapped Up in You
Rosie Dannon
#
Bakai
Euripides
#
The Late Night Witches
Aura Lee Wallace
#6931
• Mentioned in 6 episodes
Barbarian Days
A Surfing Life
William Finnegan
Barbarian Days: A Surfing Life is a memoir by William Finnegan that chronicles his lifelong obsession with surfing.
The book is an intellectual autobiography, social history, and literary exploration of surfing as a way of life.
It follows Finnegan's journey from California and Hawaii to various parts of the world, detailing his experiences and reflections on surfing, identity, and morality.
#128
• Mentioned in 127 episodes
I will teach you to be rich
Ramit Sethi
This book, updated for a new era, provides a simple and powerful 6-week program to manage finances.
Ramit Sethi focuses on behavioral psychology to help readers save more, earn more, and automate their finances.
Key lessons include focusing on big wins rather than small savings, automating financial tasks, and spending guilt-free on things you love while cutting back on unnecessary expenses.
The book also covers topics like crushing debt, setting up high-interest bank accounts, and long-term investing in index funds.
#1039
• Mentioned in 30 episodes
The Secret History
Donna Tartt
#4140
• Mentioned in 10 episodes
The Wind and the Willows
Kenneth Grahame
The Wind in the Willows is a classic children's novel written by Kenneth Grahame.
The story follows the adventures of several anthropomorphic animals—primarily Mole, Rat, Toad, and Badger—as they explore the riverbank and nearby Wild Wood.
The novel highlights themes of friendship, nature, and the charm of rural life.
It includes various adventures such as Toad's obsession with motorcars, a visit to the Wild Wood, and a climactic battle to reclaim Toad Hall from weasels and stoats.
The book is known for its evocative descriptions of the countryside and its engaging characters.
#1526
• Mentioned in 23 episodes
The Bell Jar
Sylvia Plath
The Bell Jar is a thinly veiled autobiography that follows Esther Greenwood, a talented and ambitious college student, as she experiences a mental breakdown.
The novel begins with Esther's unfulfilling summer internship as a guest editor for a women's magazine in New York City, where she grapples with identity and societal norms.
Upon returning home, Esther's mental health deteriorates, leading to several suicide attempts and eventual hospitalization.
The novel explores her treatment, including electroconvulsive therapy, and her gradual recovery under the care of a progressive psychiatrist.
It also critiques the limited roles available to women in the 1950s and the brutal psychiatric treatments of the time.
#81
• Mentioned in 173 episodes
The great Gatsby
F. Scott Fitzgerald
Published in 1925, 'The Great Gatsby' is a tragic love story, a mystery, and a social commentary on American life during the Jazz Age. The novel is narrated by Nick Carraway, who moves to Long Island and becomes entangled in the lives of his wealthy and mysterious neighbor, Jay Gatsby, and Gatsby's obsession to win back his first love, Daisy Buchanan.
The story delves into themes of honesty, the temptations of wealth, and the struggle to escape the past, ultimately reflecting on the disintegration of the American Dream.
#59975
Of Monsters and Mainframe
Barbara True Love
#13908
• Mentioned in 3 episodes
The Caine mutiny
Herman Wouk
The Caine Mutiny is a novel by Herman Wouk, drawing heavily from his personal experiences aboard destroyer-minesweepers in the Pacific Theater during World War II. The story revolves around the USS Caine, a Navy ship commanded by the increasingly erratic Captain Philip Francis Queeg.
Tensions between Queeg and his officers, particularly Executive Officer Steve Maryk, come to a head during Typhoon Cobra, leading Maryk to relieve Queeg of command under Article 184 of the Navy Regulations.
The novel culminates in a court-martial where Lieutenant Barney Greenwald, a naval aviator and attorney, defends Maryk.
The trial exposes Queeg's mental instability and results in Maryk's acquittal, but with significant consequences for the careers of those involved.
The novel explores themes of duty, loyalty, and the complexities of military command.
#86387
Wreck
Catherine Newman
#127
• Mentioned in 127 episodes
The Iliad
Homer
The Iliad is an epic poem attributed to Homer, set during the Trojan War. It begins in the ninth year of the war, where a quarrel between King Agamemnon and the warrior Achilles sets off a chain of events.
The poem explores themes of heroism, honor, and fate as it describes the battles and interactions between Greek warriors like Achilles, Diomedes, and Odysseus, and Trojan warriors like Hector and Paris.
The story is interspersed with divine interventions from Greek gods and goddesses, influencing the outcome of the war.
The poem culminates with Achilles' reconciliation with Agamemnon and his subsequent rage against the Trojans, leading to the death of Hector and the eventual funeral rites for Patroclus and Hector.
#681
• Mentioned in 40 episodes
King Lear
William Shakespeare
King Lear, written by William Shakespeare around 1604-1606, is a tragedy that follows the story of King Lear, who decides to retire and divide his kingdom among his three daughters: Goneril, Regan, and Cordelia.
The division is based on the eloquence of their declarations of love for him.
However, Lear's youngest and favorite daughter, Cordelia, refuses to flatter him and is disinherited.
The play unfolds with Lear's descent into madness, the betrayal by his elder daughters, and the subplot involving the Earl of Gloucester and his sons.
Ultimately, the play ends in tragedy with the deaths of Lear, Cordelia, and several other main characters, highlighting themes of deception, power, and the consequences of poor judgment.
#18389
• Mentioned in 2 episodes
The Oresteia
Aeschylus
The Oresteia is a cycle of three plays: 'Agamemnon', 'The Libation Bearers', and 'The Eumenides'.
The trilogy tells the story of the House of Atreus, focusing on the murder of Agamemnon by his wife Clytemnestra, the revenge of their son Orestes, and the eventual trial of Orestes for matricide.
The plays delve into themes of morality, power, and the evolution from personal revenge to societal law.
The final play, 'The Eumenides', introduces a judicial system with a trial presided over by Athena, marking a pivotal transformation in societal justice and the end of the cycle of retributive bloodshed.
#377
• Mentioned in 62 episodes
How to Read a Book
The Classic Guide to Intelligent Reading
Edward Holland
Mortimer J. Adler
Charles Lincoln Van Doren
Originally published in 1940 and revised in 1972, this book is a classic guide to intelligent reading.
It describes the art of reading as the process by which a mind elevates itself through its own operations on the symbols of readable matter.
The authors emphasize active reading, highlighting the importance of keen observation, available memory, range of imagination, and an intellect trained in analysis and reflection.
The book provides practical lessons on how to read books effectively, including inspectional reading, analytical reading, and syntopical reading, to achieve a deeper understanding of the material.
#77
• Mentioned in 178 episodes
The Odyssey
Homer
The Odyssey, attributed to Homer, is an ancient Greek epic poem that tells the story of Odysseus, king of Ithaca, and his ten-year journey home after the Trojan War. The poem explores Odysseus's encounters with various mythical creatures, divine interventions, and natural challenges.
Upon his return to Ithaca, he must confront the suitors who have been vying for his wife Penelope's hand in marriage.
With the help of his son Telemachus and the goddess Athena, Odysseus devises a plan to defeat the suitors and reclaim his throne.
The poem is a reflection on human nature, loyalty, and the consequences of one's actions, and it remains a crucial component of ancient Greek literature and Western cultural heritage.
#41217
Happy All the Time
Laurie Colwin
#2460
• Mentioned in 15 episodes
Interview With the Vampire
Anne Rice
#2475
• Mentioned in 15 episodes
Poetics
Aristotle
In 'Poetics,' Aristotle discusses the different kinds and forms of poetry, including epic, tragedy, comedy, and dithyrambic poetry.
He defines poetry as a form of imitation that seeks to represent life through character, emotion, or action.
The work is primarily focused on tragedy, where Aristotle analyzes the elements of plot, character, thought, diction, song, and spectacle.
He also introduces key concepts such as 'mimêsis' (imitation) and 'katharsis' (the purging of emotions), and defends the art of poetry as a natural human instinct that provides pleasure and understanding through artistic representation.
#2669
• Mentioned in 14 episodes
Antigone
Sophocles
Written in the 5th century BCE, 'Antigone' by Sophocles is a tragedy set in the ancient Greek city of Thebes.
The play revolves around Antigone, the daughter of Oedipus and Jocasta, who defies King Creon's law by burying her brother Polyneices, who was declared a traitor.
This act of civil disobedience sparks a profound exploration of themes such as the tension between personal morality and state law, the nature of justice, the role of fate, and the dangers of excessive pride.
The play highlights Antigone's unwavering commitment to her familial duty and the gods, contrasting with Creon's rigid adherence to the law.
The tragic consequences of their inflexible moral standpoints lead to a devastating outcome, questioning the absolute authority of human law versus divine law.
#5084
• Mentioned in 8 episodes
Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell
Susanna Clarke
The novel is set in a world where magic once thrived in England but has since disappeared.
It follows the lives of two magicians, Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell, who bring magic back to England.
Jonathan Strange is a young, adventurous, and impulsive magician, while Mr. Norrell is a cantankerous bookworm who wants magic to be better regulated.
Their differing approaches to magic lead to a series of conflicts and adventures, including involvement in the Napoleonic wars and interactions with fairies.
The story explores themes of magic, history, and the complexities of human relationships.
#2356
• Mentioned in 16 episodes
You Don't Need a Budget
Dana Miranda
#15501
• Mentioned in 3 episodes
Play It As It Lays
Joan Didion
Set in the landscapes of Hollywood, Las Vegas, and the Mojave Desert, 'Play It As It Lays' is a searing portrait of a woman and a society in crisis.
The novel follows Maria Wyeth, a former actress whose life is marked by her failed career, a troubled marriage, and the institutionalization of her daughter.
Through sparse and haunting prose, Didion explores themes of nihilism, the superficiality of Hollywood culture, and the personal disintegration of Maria as she navigates a world that seems devoid of meaning and purpose.
#2265
• Mentioned in 16 episodes
When the Going was Good
Evelyn Waugh
#
13 Ways of Looking at the Novel
Jane Smiley
In "13 Ways of Looking at the Novel," Jane Smiley explores the evolution and essence of the novel as a literary form.
Drawing from her extensive reading of novels spanning from pre-Don Quixote manuscripts to contemporary works, Smiley presents thirteen insightful essays that delve into various aspects of the novel.
She examines the historical survey of novels, offering readers a critical lens through which to view the genre's inception and development.
One of her central arguments is that narrative fiction serves as an exercise in point of view, providing readers with a cathartic release and increased empathy.
Smiley's analysis enriches readers' understanding of how novels function and why they hold such significance in our cultural and emotional lives.
#160
• Mentioned in 111 episodes
Dracula
Bram Stoker
The novel tells the story of Count Dracula, a vampire who moves from Transylvania to England to spread terror and create more vampires.
The story begins with Jonathan Harker, an English solicitor, who travels to Transylvania to finalize the sale of a property to Count Dracula.
Upon discovering Dracula's true nature, Harker barely escapes with his life.
Dracula then travels to England, where he targets Harker's fiancée, Mina, and her friend Lucy.
A group of characters, including Professor Van Helsing, Dr. John Seward, and Quincey Morris, band together to hunt down and destroy Dracula.
The novel explores themes of good vs. evil, modernity vs.
tradition, and the fears and anxieties of the Victorian era, including immigration, sexual desire, and the role of women in society.
As we wrap up our ninth year together, Anne invites our What Should I Read Next? team members to join her and share insight into what the past twelve months have meant in each of their reading lives.
This episode borrows from a long-time tradition on Modern Mrs Darcy, the blog where every year Anne asks herself what worked and what didn't. Our team is answering those questions today here, from the unexpected wins to what's decidedly not worked in everyone's reading lives.
You'll hear from each of our team members today for a lightning round of book talk. We love talking books as a team, and it's so fun to get to do it with the microphones on for once. We hope you'll enjoy listening to today's episode as much as we enjoyed recording it.
Find the full list of titles mentioned today on our show notes page, and chime in with your own comments on what worked and didn't in your reading life this year. You'll find that page at whatshouldireadnextpodcast.com/507.
This is our last episode for 2025. It's been an incredible year and we are looking to so many exciting things in 2026. Thanks to everyone who helps make this show happen: our whole team, our episode guests, our Patreon community, and each and every listener.
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