What Should I Read Next?

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 first visit to WSIRN. That first visit did wonders for her reading life and gave her new insight into what kinds of books she loves, and WHY. Lately though, her reading life has felt like a roller coaster—you might relate—and we’re gonna talk about WHY, and what to do about it.They discuss winnowing your TBR list, being a Lazy Genius in your reading life, and the unique method Kendra uses to pick her books. Plus, as always, Anne delivers three book recommendations that will hopefully pull Kendra out of her current reading rut.If you've been feeling the strain of decision fatigue, lack of focus, or just not being able to finish a book lately, I hope you'll find some helpful tips in this episode to refresh and restore your reading life.Find out more about Kendra and her Lazy Genius Way (her philosophy and the title of her new book) on her website thelazygeniuscollective.com.Visit our website for a full list of the books we talked about and to read along with a transcript of the show.Our next livestream for our Patreon community is coming up. Join us September 1st for our Fall Book Preview–similar to the Summer Reading Guide Unboxing event we did in May, but instead of sharing all the titles I have read and loved, I’m sharing the books that publishers, booksellers, and other book people–including me–are excited about for the fall season. Now is the perfect time to join our community. Head to patreon.com/whatshouldireadnext to download our printable highlight reel, set up you bonus feed, and get ready for the Fall Book Preview. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 What Should I Read Next first. And of course Anne recommends three books that hopefully provide that brain candy reading experience Elizabeth is looking for.Visit the podcast website at whatshouldireadnextpodcast.com/244 for the full list of titles we discussed.Follow Elizabeth on Instagram: https://instagram.com/flutterandsprout_elizabeth Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 Charlandra’s taste for complex, fully-realized female characters finding their way through life, and finding themselves along the way. They discuss Charlandra’s enduring love for Zora Neale Hurston, novels that carry the reader through grief... and you’ll definitely want to hear about the book Charlandra expects will become a classic of our time. Click over to the podcast website for a list of books mentioned in this episode: http://whatshouldireadnextpodcast.com/243Follow Charlandra's reading adventures on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rantiesnplanties Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 book recommendations that we had to cut 5 or 6 books to keep this episode a manageable length! We’re releasing all those extra recommendations as a bonus episode this Friday for our Patreon supporters. If you want to hear what recommendations ended up on the cutting room floor, become a patron today: patreon.com/whatshouldireadnextAs you'll hear in the episode Anne has become a much more active Goodreads user in the past year, click here to follow her there.Click over to the podcast website for a list of books mentioned in this episode: http://whatshouldireadnextpodcast.com/242 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 helping her on her journey away from quantity and toward quality, by recommending she read a touching memoir, lush historical fiction, and a little something… unexpected.Click over to the podcast website for a list of books mentioned in this episode: http://whatshouldireadnextpodcast.com/241Become a patron now to gain access to a huge archive of bonus episodes, and join Brenna and Anne during our upcoming livestream on July 2nd: patreon.com/whatshouldireadnext Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 and Anne talk about cancer, specifically breast cancer. It’s not the whole episode, and the conversation doesn’t go into detail, but we want you to be aware before diving in.Click over to the podcast website for a list of books mentioned in this episode: http://whatshouldireadnextpodcast.com/240Anne had the pleasure of joining KJ and her cohost Jess Lahey recently on their podcast #AmWritingKJ’s new novel The Chicken Sisters comes out on July 28.KJ's website: kjdellantonia.comReaders, right now our Patreon community is a veritable celebration of summer reading. We’ve shared some wonderful bonus episodes recently, on topics like fantastic new romance novels, absorbing summer nonfiction, and our publicly-available episode covering spectacular books by Black authors. Our latest bonus episode is a casual home library chat with Anne and her husband Will about what summer reading is like for each of them this year.Become a patron now to gain access to a huge archive of bonus episodes, and join Brenna and Anne during our upcoming livestream on July 2nd: patreon.com/whatshouldireadnext Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 satisfied.Anne's challenge today is finding the three perfect titles that will carry Chris toward his next big adventure.Click over to the podcast website for a list of books mentioned in this episode: http://whatshouldireadnextpodcast.com/239Follow Chris on Instagram @chrisabzz. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 written just for you. This is the perfect listen for early summer, when you might have young readers at home looking for something to keep them busy. But it’s also a great time to revisit this one as we also have a deep conversation about We Need Diverse Books the non-profit of which Lamar’s a founding member, and the important work that’s still to be done in the literary world.Click over to the podcast website for a list of books mentioned in this episode: http://whatshouldireadnextpodcast.com/238In this episode, Lamar talks about juggling two book releases in 2019. He’s back at it again this year with another 2 releases: Not So Pure And Simple, a YA book came out in January and The Last Mirror on the Left a sequel to last year’s middle grade novel The Last Last-Day-of-Summer is due out in October. You can discover more about Lamar’s books at www.lamargiles.com, follow him on Twitter @LRGiles. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 for the transcript and full list of books mentioned in this episode: http://whatshouldireadnextpodcast.com/237You can admire Elyssa's handcrafts at Instagram.com/elyssamakes Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 Karla searching for her next read in these stacks, but she wants to lighten the mental load by eliminating the titles that just aren’t right for her. You’ll come away from today’s episode with questions and ideas you can apply to your own book collections.Everyone at WSIRN HQ hopes you are well, and that your bookshelves are a source of solace when the going gets tough. Click over to the podcast website for the transcript and full list of books mentioned in this episode: http://whatshouldireadnextpodcast.com/236You can connect with Karla on her website KarlaOsorno.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices