Today's guest has joined Anne in conversation on the podcast before, but now our media production specialist Holly Wielkoszewski is in the spotlight as they explore her evolving reading tastes and her favorite genres of science fiction and fantasy.

Holly splits her time between New Mexico, where she and her husband are building an Earthship, and traveling internationally for several months each year. When Holly mentioned at a recent team meeting that she's shifting away from fantasy and more towards sci-fi in her reading life lately, Anne couldn't wait to explore that on the air.

Today's conversation delves into Holly's evolving journey as a sci-fi fantasy devotee, the trends she's seeing in recent books, and some of her very favorites in these genres. They also explore what appeals to Holly most about these types of books and how she sees the crossover from these genres to other stories she seeks out. This episode highlights a whole bunch of titles that readers who resonate with Holly might also enjoy reading, too.

Please let us know if you have ideas for Holly's next sci-fi read or other suggestions by leaving a comment on our show notes page, where we've also listed all of the titles mentioned today. That's at whatshouldireadnextpodcast.com/487.

If you love hearing from team members like today's conversation with Holly, you will love our Patreon community, where our team members regularly pop up for bonus episodes. Thank you to everyone who's already signed up, and if you're curious, find all the details at patreon.com/whatshouldireadnext.

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Ellen Heath, a reader from the Atlanta area, shares Anne's passion for urban planning, but that's not all they talk about today.

Ellen is looking for immersive settings, characters she can connect with, and books that might even teach her something, and Anne has ideas!

Ellen and Anne also talk about her Ellen's interesting and unique method for choosing her next read on her eReader, and her desire to DNF—that's do not finish—more books in 2025.

Please share your ideas for Ellen by leaving a comment on our show notes page at whatshouldireadnextpodcast.com/486, where you'll also find the list of titles mentioned today.

Check out all of our summer merch, like our popular Well Read hat, our To Be Read tote, stickers, t-shirts, and more at modernmrsdarcy.com/shop.

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A midyear reading check-in has become a small tradition around here, and today Anne is welcoming team member Shannan Malone back to the podcast.

Today, you'll hear Anne and Shannan dive into the history of this practice before exploring how this year’s been going so far, what they're each excited about, and what’s working (and not working) in each of their reading lives. 

With so many books to choose from, and so much going on in all of our busy lives, a midyear check-in is a useful tool to make any adjustments or recalibrations to ensure you’re getting exactly what you want from your reading life, whether that’s escape, education, pure enjoyment, or all of the above.

Find the links and resources mentioned today along with the list of titles discussed at our show notes page, whatshouldireadnextpodcast.com/485.

If you haven’t yet ordered your Summer Reading Guide—either the digital version (plus the replay of our Unboxing party)—or the printed version—there’s still plenty of summer reading season ahead. Grab your copy at modernmrsdarcy.com/srg.

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Today's guest is looking for ways to slow down and sink into what she loves most as she plans her summer of reading.

Chelsea Siler is an early childhood special education teacher in Tacoma, Washington. She's often found reading to be a source of joy, escape, and growth, and she'd like these positive experiences to be reflected in her reading selections this summer.

Chelsea's always searching for immersive, character-driven stories she will not want to put down. Anne can't wait to share ideas and hear more about Chelsea's plans for a summer of slowly savoring what she reads next. 

Find the list of titles discussed in today's episode on our show notes page at whatshouldireadnextpodcast.com/484.

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We often discuss auto-buy authors and completist authors around here, and today's guest is a completist on a mission to discover her new favorite summer author. 

Stephanie Edwards-Gass is a seventh-grade English teacher and an Elin Hilderbrand completist. For years, she's turned to Hilderbrand's novels for summer reading satisfaction. She's read (and reread) every book in Hilderbrand's catalog, but now that there aren't any new Nantucket books to look forward to, Stephanie's on the hunt for a new go-to summer author that scratches the same itch. She's looking for stories with complex characters, a strong sense of place, lots of juicy details, and often salacious scandals. 

Stephanie's already done a lot of legwork here and has a really good idea of what has and hasn't worked for her so far. Today she and Anne talk about which author (or authors) might fill this gap in Stephanie's summer reading plan.

See the long list of titles mentioned today and leave your suggestions for Stephanie at our show notes page, at whatshouldireadnextpodcast.com/483.

Thanks to all of you who have joined us lately in our Patreon community: we could not make this show without you. If you haven't joined us yet, it's an easy way to show your support for our show and financially support the work we're doing. When you sign up, you get immediate access to the 2025 Summer Reading Guide, our unboxing video, and bonus episodes like the books Anne read and really loved but didn't include in the Guide, and of course all of our archives and the new bonus episodes we're creating this summer. To sign up and get started, go to patreon.com/whatshouldireadnext.

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We always love reading on a theme, and today's guest would love to see her real-life love of the ocean mirrored in the pages of her books. 

Noelle Leong is a science and medicine-focused librarian at a small liberal arts college. She especially loves her work for the opportunities it provides her to join the students on trails and visiting tidepools.

So it’s perhaps unsurprising she’d love Anne's help finding books about the ocean, whether that means pop science, books where the ocean is the setting, or even a character—she’s up for anything. While this isn’t an exclusively summery theme, so many readers associate the ocean with summer vacations and family trips, so it feels like just the right time to dive in and find titles that will appeal to Noelle’s reading wishes right now.

Find the list of titles mentioned today and share your ocean reading recommendations by leaving a comment on our show notes page at whatshouldireadnextpodcast.com/482

For more summer reading fun, join us in the Modern Mrs Darcy Book Club. We had a blast at our Summer Reading Guide Unboxing party, and next week, we’re hosting Summer Reading Guide author Kevin Wilson for our June live author talk. Book Club is a great place to gather with fellow readers and talk all about this summer’s most discussable books. Join the fun at modernmrsdarcy.com/club

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Nonfiction books often change the way that readers see the world, and today's guest Evan Carlson is on the hunt for fiction that packs the same punch as the nonfiction works he loves.

Evan's joining Anne from Chicago, where he lives and works as an actor and poet. He's found that reading poetry and nonfiction helps him challenge his ways of thinking, and he really enjoys this experience.

While Evan has read fiction that's worked for him before, too often it leaves him feeling bored. Evan's confident he's just not finding the right fiction picks, and today he and Anne talk about what he's really looking for and how he might find the titles that will excite and engage him.

Find the list of titles mentioned today and share your recommendations for Evan on our show notes page at whatshouldireadnextpodcast.com/481.

Stock up on our new summer merch, including new stickers, tees, hats, and more in our online shop.

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Feeling more confident about finding the right reads is a common bookish goal. In today's conversation, Anne welcomes Tynisha Coleman to the show to talk about her current reading goals.

Tynisha is a leadership development coach, university lecturer, and sci-fi and fantasy lover from New Jersey. She doesn't shy away from books that tackle tough plot points, which often feature in the emotionally resonant books she loves. But she does expect these trickier developments to serve a sense of purpose to the plot, and she'd like to avoid reading experiences that send her into the depths of despair.

Right now, Tynisha is looking for titles that offer a sense of escapism, both in her current preferred genres, and while also keeping open to other works she'll enjoy. Anne has a bunch of ideas to share.

Find the list of titles mentioned in today's episode at our show notes page, at whatshouldireadnextpodcast.com/480.

We kicked off summer reading season with our 14th annual Summer Reading Guide and Live Unboxing just a few weeks ago. If you missed the launch, you can still get your copy of the digital Guide and the video replay from our Unboxing party by visiting modernmrsdarcy.com/srg.

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Every year we get some variation of this question: how can a reader like today’s guest, Elise Brancheau, balance all the shiny new books of summer with the backlist titles that are already patiently waiting on her to-be-read list?

Elise is a New Jersey-based professional classical singer who describes herself as a huge reading-planning nerd. We know Elise is in good company here! But with all of the summer reading titles coming her way, Elise is wondering how she can unapologetically embrace old and new possibilities to read right now.

Anne always loves to talk about this particular reading dilemma, so today she and Elise explore how a reader who loves to plan can also incorporate shiny new summer releases into her reading rhythms without throwing those carefully laid plans way off course. 

Find the titles mentioned today on our show notes page at whatshouldireadnextpodcast.com/479.

If you haven't ordered your Summer Reading Guide yet, there's still plenty of time. It's a great way to add to your summer reading list while tangibly supporting our show. Snag your copy at modernmrsdarcy.com/srg.

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We're taking you behind the scenes of our 2025 Summer Reading Guide and sharing an excerpt from our live Unboxing party. Our 2025 Guide includes 35 books across a range of genres which we've grouped into six categories. Today you'll hear Anne's commentary of three books from the first category, Family Sagas. 

Our Summer Reading Guide and Unboxing are designed to give you an idea of what your own reading experience might be like with each book so you can then decide if that's a reading experience that you want to have. 

This year's Guide is 40 packed pages, and we've built in fun features like more of summer's most anticipated new releases, tons of backlist titles that play into our road trip theme, our ever-loved Awesome On Audio selections for both new releases and backlist books, and more. We hosted our Live Unboxing party last week, which has been a tradition around here since 2019. When you opt in for the Summer Reading Guide experience by joining one of our membership communities or purchasing a la carte, our Unboxing replay is available for you to access anytime on your schedule.

We hope this little preview gives you a taste of what our Summer Reading Guide and Unboxing is like. Find the links and titles mentioned in today's episode on our show notes page at whatshouldireadnextpodcast.com/478

And if you missed our 2025 Summer Reading Guide when it released last week, it's not too late to get your copy of the digital guide and access the recording of our live Unboxing party. Get all of the details at modernmrsdarcy.com/srg.

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