What Should I Read Next?

This week Anne chatts with Keith Watts, a Seattle resident who credits Star Wars with making him a reader, and Top Gun for making him a history major. Keith and Anne discuss what it’s like to grow up in a house full of books as a kid, and how he later had to assume responsibility for shaping his own reading life as an adult.Today we get into how and why Keith's preferred reading format has changed with his stage of life, and why he passionately believes one of the most popular books of the last few years is objectively terrible. Anne was especially excited to talk to Keith because he’s devoted to a genre some of you listeners have said doesn’t get enough love here on What Should I Read Next. Today, we’re making amends.Click over to the podcast website for the full list of titles discussed in this episode, and leave us a comment to let us know what YOU think Keith should read next!Connect with Anne: Blog | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | WSIRN Instagram***Anne's book Reading People: How Seeing the World Through the Lens of Personality Changes Everything released September 19! This is the story of how her long journey digging into 7 popular personality frameworks changed my life for the better, and how you can put those frameworks to work for yourself to make real, lasting change in your life, in your work, and in your relationships without going through quite so many hard knocks yourself. Pick up your copy on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, your local indie, or wherever books are sold. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today's guest, Caroline Weaver, is known as The Pencil Lady, because by day she owns and operates CW Pencil Enterprise, a shop dedicated exclusively to pencils and pencil-related goods in Manhattan’s lower east side. Caroline loves contemporary literary fiction, books that pack an emotional punch, and that special moment when a book can make her feel something she can’t describe. She and Anne discuss her very personal strategy for finding books perfect for HER, as well as some surprising book-adjacent topics... like the importance of a handwritten letter, and how to pick the perfect pencil for your morning crossword.Click over to the podcast website for the full list of titles (and pencils!) discussed in this episode, and leave us a comment to let us know what YOU think Caroline should read next!Connect with Caroline & CW Pencil Enterprise: Website | Instagram | TwitterConnect with Anne: Blog | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | WSIRN Instagram Anne's book Reading People: How Seeing the World Through the Lens of Personality Changes Everything came out September 19! This is the story of how her long journey digging into 7 popular personality frameworks changed her life for the better, and how you can put those frameworks to work for yourself to make real, lasting change in your life, in your work, and in your relationships without going through quite so many hard knocks yourself. Pick up your copy on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, your local indie, or wherever books are sold. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week Anne chats with Rikki and Michaela, two Seattle area friends and serious book lovers who knew each other for YEARS before they discovered they shared a love of reading.In today’s episode Anne, Rikki, and Michaela discuss what it means to live a literary lifestyle, why they believe in reading with the seasons, and how scary it can be to recommend your favorite book to your best friend.They also explore how they create meaningful, interactive experiences to bring favorite books to life, like their literary dinner parties. Click over to the podcast website for the full list of titles discussed in this episode, and leave us a comment to let us know what YOU think Rikki and Michaela should read together next!Connect with Rikki & Michaela at The Ardent Biblio: Website | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook Connect with Anne: Blog | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | WSIRN Instagram Anne's book Reading People: How Seeing the World Through the Lens of Personality Changes Everything released September 19! This is the story of how her long journey digging into 7 popular personality frameworks changed my life for the better, and how you can put those frameworks to work for yourself to make real, lasting change in your life, in your work, and in your relationships without going through quite so many hard knocks yourself. Pick up your copy on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, your local indie, or wherever books are sold. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today Anne takes you behind the scenes of how her book Reading People came into being. Guided by questions from newsletter subscribers, we're delving into the intricacies of how the book was made, from working with agents and editors, to how the book got matched up with a publisher, to how the cover was designed. Anne also gets personal with an exploration of her writing habits, what she learned along the way, and even where the initial idea came from.Get your copy now at your local indie, Barnes and Noble, Amazon, wherever books are sold.Connect with Anne: Blog | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | WSIRN Instagram If you want to chime in for future episodes like this, you can—just sign up for the newsletter at whatshouldireadnextpodcast.com/newsletter.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We’re in serious countdown mode: Anne's book Reading People: How Seeing the World Through the Lens of Personality Changes Everything comes out on Tuesday, September 19.This is the story of how Anne's long journey digging into 7 popular personality frameworks changed her life for the better, and how you can put those frameworks to work for yourself to make real, lasting change in your life, in your work, and in your relationships.Anne had the privilege of narrating the audio version of Reading People herself, and today she's reading the introduction and chapter one just for you.Pre-order your copy now at your local indie, Barnes and Noble, Amazon, or wherever books are sold.Connect with Anne: Blog | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | WSIRN Instagram  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In today's episode, Anne and guest Nicholas Siegel cover a lot of ground. MFA fiction is a phrase that has been thrown around on the podcast before; today they dive into what exactly that means. Nicholas also pitches a book in a way that TOTALLY changes Anne's perception of it.Also discussed: literary magazines, when to finish a book that you're not enjoying, and stories that are perhaps best described as “just plain weird."Click over to the podcast website for the full list of titles discussed in this episode, and leave us a comment to let us know what YOU think Nicholas should read next!Connect with Nicholas: Website | Twitter | Instagram | GoodreadsConnect with Anne: Blog | Twitter | Facebook| Instagram | WSIRN Instagram  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In today's episode, Anne looks for small business owner Esther Dairiam's origin story. Like so many great plots, Esther’s turns on an epiphany she had on a trip to Paris five years ago. She left convinced that what her adopted city of Chicago needed was its own destination for culinary books and events, and not finding anything like it already in business, she sought to open that business herself. Anne and Esther talk about food, of course, and the way it brings people together. You'll hear lots of cookbook and food titles today, but they also discuss the characteristics of a great memoir, the inclusivity of food AND books, and the favorite books of Esther's childhood.Click over to the podcast website for the full list of titles discussed in this episode, and leave us a comment to let us know what YOU think Esther should read next!Connect with Esther and her shop Read It & Eat: Facebook |Instagram | Twitter | WebsiteConnect with Anne: Blog | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | WSIRN Instagram  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today’s guest, Kristin Economos, has an incredible story to tell, one many people will resonate with. After experiencing a season of severe anxiety, Kristin says her return from a decade-long reading sabbatical brought her back to life. She got professional help, and she ALSO soothed her anxiety with books. Fictional stories that transported her to other times and places, and nonfiction reads about mental health and anxiety that taught her strategies and helped her feel less alone. Kristin’s experience with reading kicked off a personal project that she calls her "30 by 30" challenge, which Anne investigates in this episode.Also discussed: Kristin’s preferred kind of escapist reading, the kinds of books her book club enjoys, and a bookish brunch that will either have you drooling with envy or planning your own.Click over to the podcast website for the full list of titles discussed in this episode, and leave us a comment to let us know what YOU think Kristin should read next!Connect with Kristin: InstagramConnect with Anne: Blog | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | WSIRN Instagram  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today’s guest pointed out that we haven’t talked to an abundance of East Coast readers, and today we’re making amends. Karen Weiss is a nurse practitioner in Maine who gets many of her best book recommendations from her teenage patients, and she returns the favor — it's rare for a patient of any age to leave her office without a book recommendation. Karen loves chatting books so much she talked herself into a job at her local independent bookstore, so of course I needed to find out her secret.We also discuss Karen's take on the book—or books—she hates, stunning writers, well-written mysteries, and the awful feeling when a bestseller betrays you.Click over to the podcast website for the full list of titles discussed in this episode, and leave us a comment to let us know what YOU think Karen should read next!Connect with Anne: Blog | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | WSIRN Instagram  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today’s guest is Bethany Armstrong, a lifelong reader who describes herself as the kind of kid who always had a book in her hand. After studying literature in college, Bethany suffered through a period of bookish burnout. But a surprising thing re-invigorated Bethany’s reading experience... you'll have to listen to find out what it was. Today Bethany’s reading life is thriving, and in this episode she and Anne dive into the specifics—they talk about how it’s alllllll about the story, and why it’s important to Bethany to keep the balance in her reading life. And when Bethany shares the book she hates … well, she's sure some of you will want to come after her with pitchforks when you find out what it is.Click over to the podcast website for the full list of titles and articles discussed in this episode, and leave us a comment to let us know what YOU think Bethany should read next!Connect with Bethany: Website | Instagram | Twitter | FacebookConnect with Anne: Blog | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | WSIRN Instagram  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices