What Should I Read Next?

Around here, we don’t think you need an excuse to love Jane Austen, but boy does today's guest Rebecca Smith have a great one -- she is Jane Austen's great great great great great niece! Rebecca is a longtime reader, a former writer in residence at Jane Austen’s House Museum in Chawton, and she currently teaches creative writing in the U.K. She’s the author of Jane Austen's Guide to Modern Life's Dilemmas and the recently published book The Jane Austen Writer’s Club. 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 Rebecca should read next!Connect with Rebecca: Bloomsbury webpage | TwitterConnect with Anne: Blog | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | WSIRN Instagram   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today we're back to literary matchmaking, with listener Melodee Skiles here to representing all the avid audiobook lovers who want to know what to LISTEN to next! Melodee is a stay-at-home mom who owns an online literature tutorial business. Books are (clearly) her bag, and while she's taking a short break from tutoring, she wants to revitalize her love of literature by reading outside the bounds of the texts she teaches at work. Like many of us, some of Melodee's warmest memories are of her parents reading aloud to her, so today she and Anne are delving into what her favorites have been, what her least favorites have been, and what brilliant audiobook discoveries are right around the corner. (Wink, wink.)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 Melodee should read next!Connect with Anne: Blog | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | WSIRN Instagram   WSIRN highly recommends Audible as an accessible, bountiful resource for audiobooks online. Right now, you can get your first audiobook FREE, along with a free 30-day trial. Go to http://www.audibletrial.com/ReadNext to get your free download. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Here to help close out the Reading For A Lifetime week is Jenny Williams, who illustrates beloved literary heroines for a living as the charming artist and entrepreneur behind Carrot Top Paper Shop.In this episode, Anne and Jenny talk all about why we love our literary heroines of literature so much (think Anne, Elizabeth, Jane, Hermione), wrestle with what makes for a modern heroine.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 about your own favorite literary heroines!Connect with Jenny: Instagram | Twitter | Goodreads!Check out Carrot Top Paper Shop: Facebook | Pinterest | Instagram. Connect with Anne: Blog | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | WSIRN Instagram   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It's Day 4 of our special Reading For A Lifetime series on WSIRN, and if our comment section has made one thing known, it's this: Adults LOVE Kid Lit. Not just for kids, not just in a theoretical sense, but in honest-to-goodness, just-for-the-joy-of-it, everyday-reading-life practice.The guest here to chat with Anne about reading KidLit for fun? The beloved and oft-requested Gretchen Rubin! You all know her as the author of The Happiness Project, Happier at Home, and Better than Before, but what you mightnot know is Gretchen is a voracious reader of children's literature who is a member of THREE book clubs dedicated solely to children's lit!In this episode, Gretchen and Anne explore how Kid Lit transcends age group, why you should giving yourself permission to indulge in books written for children, how to find other adults with the same passion, and then they drop a blue million great book recommendations on you. Ready your TBRs, readers. 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 kidlit titles you have loved reading as an adult!Connect with Gretchen: Website | Facebook | Twitter | InstagramConnect with Anne: Blog | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | WSIRN Instagram   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Day 3 of our special Reading For A Lifetime series is all about "guilty pleasure" kid lit - the series we read and re-read not because they were Great Literature, but because they were gosh-darn fun!Here to talk about not-so-serious gateway children's literature are Jack Shepherd and Tanner Greenring, hosts of The Babysitters Club Club podcast. They each have their own story of how they found the series, and why—as thirty-something men—they've chosen to devote a large chunk of their time and attention to the books.In this episode Anne, Jack, and Tanner dive into what this series means to readers of all ages, why these books have such staying power, which babysitter they most identify with, and what Jack and Tanner are reading when they're not reading The Babysitters Club.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 if your childhood favorites foretold the genres you enjoy now as an adult. Connect with Jack: TwitterConnect with Tanner: TwitterCheck out The Babysitters Club Club: iTunes, follow the show on Twitterand FacebookConnect with Anne: Blog | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | WSIRN Instagram    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Day 2 of our Reading For A Lifetime series is about encouraging middle school and young adult kids to indulge in great books, and our guest Leigh Collazo has a LOT of wisdom to share on that topic. Leigh is a school librarian who serves children from over 30 different countries at an international school in China. Today she shares all about why the middle school years are her favorite when it comes to finding the right books for the right readers.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 books have hooked the kids in your life.Connect with Leigh: Blog | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads | Pinterest. Connect with Anne: Blog | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | WSIRN Instagram   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today kicks off our special WSIRN 5-day miniseries: What Should I Read Next for Kids, and Kids at Heart. We’re focusing on a variety of young and young at heart topics this week: children’s literature, coming of age stories, literary heroines, kid lit for grown-ups, and more.Who better to jump-start the series than Sarah Mackenzie? Sarah is a friend, devoted reader, and Kid Lit Expert Extraordinaire. You may know her as the host of the Read Aloud Revival podcast and site, or as the author of Teaching from Rest: A Homeschooler's Guide to Unshakable Peace. Her mission is to help YOU help the kids in your life fall in love with books, and this episode will leave you feeling inspired and empowered to do just that.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 about your favorite read-along memory - whether it's someone reading to you, or reading to a child in your life. Connect with Sarah: Website | Twitter | Facebook | InstagramCheck out Sarah's free read-aloud booklist.Connect with Anne: Blog | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | WSIRN Instagram    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week guest Maxwell Dunn (WellDoneBooks on YouTube) introduces Anne to a whole new wonderful world of book lovers online—the Booktube community! Booktube is known best for its voracious YA fans, but there's a book vlogger out there for every literary palate. Max is a great example of this; his videos cover serious award winners, challenging experimental works, and deep dives into substantial modern literature.In today's episode, Max & Anne discuss stories with unique structural elements, books that swing wildly between 1 and 5 star ratings, and the best way to find a Booktube creator who shares your taste. 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 Max should read next!Connect with Max:  YouTube | Twitter | Instagram | GoodreadsConnect with Anne: Blog | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | WSIRN Instagram Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It's bibliotherapy time! Today's guest is Erin Swann, is an attorney who lives in Greenville, South Carolina with her family. Erin's always been a reader, but when she went through a major transition a few years back she rediscovered the therapeutic value of a welcoming book.Join Erin and Anne as they discuss armchair travel, fictional characters as friends, and more. 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 Erin should read next!Connect with Anne: Blog | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | WSIRN Instagram    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today we have a special episode: we're revisiting seven guests from previous episodes of the show to find out what they actually did read next. What are they reading now? What did they love? And what did they, uh, not love as much?Click over to the podcast website for the full list of titles discussed in this episode.What book recommendations YOU have picked up after listening to the show! Did you love them? Hate them? Let Anne know in the comments on the podcast site.Connect with Anne: Blog | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | WSIRN Instagram    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices