What Should I Read Next?

Today we’re revisiting a topic near and dear to our hearts here at WSIRN HQ, and a PERFECT conversation for this time of the year, when the best-of lists start rolling out and everyone is gearing up for a new calendar year of reading. Anne chatted with 14 different readers about how they track their books, and we hope their perspectives will give you some new ideas to start your 2020 reading year strong! Click over to the podcast website for the transcript and photos of some tracking methods mentioned in this episode: http://whatshouldireadnextpodcast.com/215Sign up for the Reading Challenge at ModernMrsDarcy.com/CHALLENGE and get your own MMD Reading Journal!Thanks to our sponsors: ThirdLove makes great fitting bras that real women love—because a good-fitting bra makes everything you put on your body look better. WSIRN listeners can head over to ThirdLove.com/READNEXT for 15% off! Ritual’s Essentials have the nutrients most of us don’t get enough of from food—all in their clean, absorbable forms. WSIRN listeners can visit Ritual.com/READNEXT for 10% off during your first three months! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today you get to hear from a guest who is very near and dear to the show, Anne's husband Will.Will has been involved with What Should I Read Next since BEFORE the beginning of the show. First he was the sounding board, then he was the trial guest, then he dropped into your feed for the first time in episode 61—and if you haven’t listened to that yet, start downloading it while you listen to this.But none of that is why we had him back on the show. Will engineered his best reading year to date and when Anne mentioned this people began begging her to bring him back on the show.This is such a fun conversation—Anne and Will talk about finding your own “reading lane,” reading journals and revisiting star ratings, and the very specific type of book Will can’t help picking up but is often disappointed in.I mention rethinking star ratings in this episode. Since we recorded, I shared my updated thoughts here: https://modernmrsdarcy.com/star-ratings/Click over to the podcast website for the transcript and full list of books mentioned in this episode: http://whatshouldireadnextpodcast.com/214Give yourself the gift of more What Should I Read Next and become a supporter on Patreon! Supporters get bonus episodes, behind the scenes looks at how the podcasts are made, and livestreams with Anne and WSIRN's producer, Brenna. The next livestream happens early January so become a supporter today. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Anne chats with reader and children’s book writer Kate DiCamillo about the books that inspired her to dream up stories, the hopeful work of writing for children, and what she learns from readers about her own books. She has so much to share about the value of friendship with other people who work differently than you do, and her advice is applicable whether you’re an aspiring author or simply a reader looking to build a bookish community in your own personal life. Click over to the podcast website for the transcript and full list of books mentioned in this episode: http://whatshouldireadnextpodcast.com/213Give yourself the gift of more What Should I Read Next and become a supporter on Patreon! Supporters get bonus episodes, behind the scenes looks at how the podcasts are made, and livestreams with Anne and WSIRN's producer, Brenna.You can find Kate on Facebook and on Twitter @KateDiCamillo. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hopefully you haven’t put that wrapping paper away yet… because today we’re bringing you even MORE bookish gift-giving ideas!This episode is specially geared toward the people many WSIRN listeners consider the hardest to buy for — your nonfiction readers, true crime lovers, political thriller fanatics, and doorstop history book deep-divers. Sometimes these are called “dad books” or “dude books”, and our inbox was definitely FULL of people desperate for recommendations for their dads, brothers, and grandfathers… but genre knows no gender, and around here the expert we trust for nonfiction, crime, and intrigue is none other than Traci Thomas from The Stacks podcast!Click over to the podcast website for the transcript and full list of books mentioned in this episode: http://whatshouldireadnextpodcast.com/212Give yourself the gift of more What Should I Read Next and become a supporter on Patreon! Supporters get bonus episodes, behind the scenes looks at how the podcasts are made, and livestreams with Anne and WSIRN's producer, Brenna.Hear more of Tracy at The Stacks Podcast, and find her on Twitter @stackspodcast and Instagram @thestackspod. And be sure to check out The Stacks' book drive to support Rocketship Delta Prep.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Anne has a delightful & deep conversation with guest Sarah Bessey about writing personal nonfiction, and what might spur an author to write a book unlike anything they’ve written in the past. Last week, Anne talked about books can expand hearts and minds, and Sarah has so much to share with about what books have shifted her perspectives for the better. CanLit lovers rejoice — they're also touching on the books everyone is talking about in Canada!Click over to the podcast website for a list of books mentioned in this episode: http://whatshouldireadnextpodcast.com/211To give yourself the gift of more What Should I Read Next become a supporter on Patreon! Supporters get bonus episodes, behind the scenes looks at how the podcasts are made, and livestreams with Anne and WSIRN's producer, Brenna. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Break out the wrapping paper, because our yearly WSIRN holiday recommendation episode is here! Listeners wrote and called in to let us know who they wanted to give the gift of reading to this Winter, and today, Anne is joined by Holland Saltsman of The Novel Neighbor in St Louis to recommend the perfect titles for your distractable teens and tweens, reluctant-reader spouses, impossible-to-buy-for parents, and that friend who seems to have already read everything.Click over to the podcast website for a list of books mentioned in this episode: http://whatshouldireadnextpodcast.com/210NOTE FROM ANNE: Here's a dissenting opinion on Malcolm Gladwell's newest from Traci Thomas of The Stacks Podcast. I recommended this to Jamie in episode 209 but really wish I had seen this post first and would have to say Traci changed my mind.To give yourself the gift of more What Should I Read Next become a supporter on Patreon! Supporters get bonus episodes, behind the scenes looks at how the podcasts are made, and livestreams with Anne and WSIRN's producer, Brenna. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today’s guest is Jamie Freeman, a reader who was led to audiobooks by her favorite true crime podcasts… and has since made serious space in her life to read with her earbuds in. Anne and Jamie chat about spine-tingly crime nonfiction, historical romance, their favorite audiobook narrators, and tackle a frequently asked question: how to get into an audiobook when you’re finding it hard to focus. Click over to the podcast website for a list of books mentioned in this episode: http://whatshouldireadnextpodcast.com/209You can find Jamie on Instagram @jamie.of.all.tradesIf you want more What Should I Read Next become a supporter on Patreon! Supporters get bonus episodes, behind the scenes looks at how the podcasts are made, and livestreams with Anne and WSIRN's producer, Brenna. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Charlie Lovett joins Anne to discuss the enduring power of not only stories but the books themselves, how books connect people of all ages, and of all times, how we can preserve literature for future generations, the joy of a book as a physical object, the art of literary forgery, marginalia, symbolism, and much much more.Anne met Charlie along with 150 other readers at the ever-charming bookstore Bookmarks NC in Winston-Salem, North Carolina as part of an event for the Modern Mrs Darcy Book Club, where members learn to read better, together, and one of the many things we do is read a core selection together every month, and then meet on video to discuss it at the end of the month, often with the author. Our October selection was Charlie’s novel The Bookman’s Tale*, and not only did Charlie join us, but for the first time ever, we got to have our author chat in person.*Don't worry, this conversation is spoiler-free.Click over to the podcast website for a list of books mentioned in this episode: http://whatshouldireadnextpodcast.com/208If you want more What Should I Read Next become a supporter on Patreon! Supporters get bonus episodes, behind the scenes looks at how the podcasts are made, and livestreams with Anne and WSIRN's producer, Brenna. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week's guest is Jennifer Pai, a reader with a particular soft spot for anything that could might be called spooky. Whether it’s thrilling suspense, witchy fantasy, or outright horror, she’s here for it.Anne and Jennifer chat about atmospheric reads, sleeper hits, gleefully enjoying books other people hate, and the perfect October reads to pair with a comfy blanket and mug of hot cider. Click over to the podcast website for a list of books mentioned in this episode: http://whatshouldireadnextpodcast.com/207If you want more What Should I Read Next become a supporter on Patreon! Supporters get bonus episodes, behind the scenes looks at how the podcasts are made, and livestreams with Anne and WSIRN's producer, Brenna. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jerrell Everett is serious about creating her ideal reading life. When Jerrell had kids and found herself picking up books less and less, she took action to maintain her reading life by enforcing a routine. And when she decided it was time to branch out from her comfort zone of nonfiction and introduce more novels into her rotation, she took action again… by reaching out to WSIRN for help. Today, Jerrell and Anne chat about parenthood, complex family stories, the tricky task of avoiding book hangovers, and much more.Click over to the podcast website for a list of books mentioned in this episode: http://whatshouldireadnextpodcast.com/206You can connect with Jerrell on Instagram @jerrelleverettIf you want more What Should I Read Next become a supporter on Patreon! We're sharing the full interviews we did with the past guests featured in our special 200th episode. Supporters also get bonus episodes of One Great Book, behind the scenes looks at how the podcasts are made, AND occasionally they get to save the day like last week's guest Addie who jumped in when we had a scheduling issue and needed to record immediately! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices