What Should I Read Next?

Today’s guest has a story that sounds like the beginning of a juicy historical fiction novel.

As a teenager, Liz Maguire came across a batch of 1920s love letters at a flea market. This launched an obsession with collecting vintage letters and preserving people’s personal correspondence as a piece of history. Of course, this project has had a marked affect on her reading life, so Liz has come to Anne looking for books that measure up to the detailed, intimate depictions of the real stories found in her vintage letters.

Visit the podcast website at whatshouldireadnextpodcast.com/250 to see the full list of titles we discussed, an episode transcript, and more.

You can learn all about Liz’s project at fleamarketloveletters.com and see the letters yourself on Instagram @fleamarketloveletters

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An encounter with The Baby-Sitters Club #4 Mary Anne Saves the Day launched today's guest into a lifelong love of reading AND a special fondness for middle grade novels. Afoma Umesi is a freelance writer, editor, and children’s book blogger living in Nigeria. Anne has her work cut out for her to recommend middle grade books Afoma hasn’t read yet, plus selecting an adult title to suit her taste.

Visit the podcast website at whatshouldireadnextpodcast.com/249 to see the full list of titles we discussed, an episode transcript, and more.

Make sure to visit Afoma's website: http://afomaumesi.com

And give her a follow on Twitter: http://twitter.com/afomaumesi

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Today I’m talking with Jennifer Cordeiro, who lives in Bermuda, a small island with two bookstores and one library. Jennifer has encountered her fair share of #bookwormproblems, both in her own reading life and in her job at her small island bookstore where hurricanes, tourism, shipping dilemmas, and special orders mean you never know which books you’ll see on the shelves.

Jennifer's personal bookshelves are currently overstuffed with more than ONE THOUSAND unread titles, and today my job is to help her choose what to read next. Plus, we talk about the occupational hazards of working in a bookstore, the joys of mood reading, and a surprising hometown connection.

Visit the podcast website at whatshouldireadnextpodcast.com/248 to see the full list of titles we discussed, an episode transcript, and more.

Follow Jennifer on Instagram @bdajen1.

Our Fall Book Preview is coming up on September 1! Join us live when I share 42 (get it?) of this season’s eagerly-anticipated new releases, featuring a mix of titles I’ve read and loved, titles I can’t wait to read, and titles the book industry is abuzz about for the season to come. This year for the first time you'll also get the companion Fall Book Preview magazine. This event and companion magazine are exclusively for our MMD Book Club members and WSIRN Patreon "Book Lover" members. If you're not already a WSIRN member, now is a great time to join. Click here to find out more.

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Today's episode is all about the joy of reading in relationships. Our guests Emma Gorin and Dinah Fay have been friends since 9th grade—that’s over 20 years. They haven’t always kept in touch as much as they'd like to, but books have always given them an easy way to reconnect.

Emma and Dinah put in their submission to be on WSIRN with the explicit goal of connecting over a great read that they’ll both enjoy—which is a bit of a challenge because while they both love to read, their reading tastes are quite different. With two guests today we cover a lot of readerly ground, chatting about English class in the age of Covid-19, a book-gifting tradition, queer YA romances, and rich audiobook experiences. We also cover A LOT OF TITLES.

To see that full list of titles, be sure to visit the podcast website at whatshouldireadnextpodcast.com/247 where we have a list of all the books we discussed, a transcript of the episode and more.

Follow Emma on Instagram @Emma.g_sings123.

On September 1st we're hosting a Fall Book Preview live for members of the What Should I Read Next patreon community. Parties like this are so much fun as Anne shares books she's read and loved, ones she's looking forward to, and some titles book world is abuzz about for the season to come. All in all we’ll preview 42 books so you can preorder some titles, place your library holds, and load up your TBR for the cooler nights to come.

Become a member today at patreon.com/whatshouldireadnext and mark your calendars for September 1st. It’s gonna be great. 

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On today's episode Anne helps Courtney Wallace, a Cincinnati reader, with a reading practice we hear surprisingly little about—her recent mid-year checkup on her reading goals. Lots of people talk about goals for the reading life—both numerical and content goals—at the start of every year. And we all see plenty of year-in-review summaries from readers. But when Courtney's guest submission mentioned her mid-year assessment we realized how rarely we stop to take stock of how our reading life has been thus far, while there’s still plenty of time to work on those reading goals before years’ end.

So today we review Courtney’s reading year so far and discuss what she hopes the rest of the year holds, giving you plenty of reading reflection inspiration along the way. We also discuss the importance of the book community, and particularly in-person events, as well as one simple thing she’s doing to slow down and appreciate what she’s reading.

Back-to-school season is similar to the New Year for many of us; it’s a time of new beginnings and fresh starts. Hopefully you'll pull some inspiration from Courtney’s mid-year checkup to evaluate your own reading year so far and make any course corrections you need heading into this new season.

Connect with Courtney on Instagram @IncessantBookworm.

Speaking of back-to-school, as we're turning our attention to fall we want to look head to what books are coming out this fall. And this fall is loaded with great titles. September 1st we'll be giving our patreon community a little preview of the top 40 titles I've loved, the ones I'm looking forward to, and the titles that have the book industry abuzz. Join our community to take part in the Fall Book Preview live on September 1st.

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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.

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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

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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/243

Follow Charlandra's reading adventures on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rantiesnplanties

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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/whatshouldireadnext

As 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

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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/241

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

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