What Should I Read Next?

What Should I Read Next?

What Should I Read Next? is the show for every reader who has ever finished a book and faced the problem of not knowing what to read next. Each week, Anne Bogel, of the blog Modern Mrs Darcy, interviews a reader about the books they love, the books they hate, and the books they're reading now. Then, she makes recommendations about what to read next. The real purpose of the show is to help YOU find your next read. To learn more or apply to be on the show visit whatshouldireadnextpodcast.com.

Episodes

Ep 489: The satisfaction of sinking into a good book

August 12, 2025 • 65 mins
Today's guest isn't only a reader with a specific readerly conundrum, she is also a beloved author. Anne has recommended Julie Berry's work to several past guests, and Julie also joined us over in the Modern Mrs. Darcy Book Club back in 2020. Today, she's here to talk with Anne about writing and discovering smart books with big heart. They also dive into conversation about Julie's independent bookstore and her unexpected path to ...
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Ep 488: Reading goals that are just lofty enough

August 5, 2025 • 59 mins
Novels featuring an ensemble cast of characters and multiple points of view are a favorite for today's guest, and she'd love Anne's help in finding more of this particular type of reading experience. Olivia Haber Greenwood is joining Anne from Barcelona, where she's lived for the past seven years working as a copywriter and freelance journalist. Olivia is a happy reader with an abundant reading life, but she's found herself stym...
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Ep 487: Sci-fi, fantasy, and a sense of possibility

July 29, 2025 • 53 mins
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 rece...
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Ep 486: Setting-driven stories, accidental reading themes, and winning characters

July 22, 2025 • 60 mins
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...
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Ep 485: A midyear reading check-in

July 8, 2025 • 57 mins
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 i...
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Ep 484: A summer to slow down and sink into what you love

July 1, 2025 • 46 mins
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 storie...
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Ep 483: Help me find my new go-to summer author!

June 24, 2025 • 62 mins
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 Na...
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Ep 482: Diving into evocative ocean reads

June 17, 2025 • 50 mins
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 ocea...
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Ep 481: A reading life that comes in waves

June 10, 2025 • 48 mins
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...
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Ep 480: Branching out with escapist, emotionally resonant novels

June 3, 2025 • 55 mins
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 d...
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Ep 479: Balancing backlist with shiny new releases

May 27, 2025 • 69 mins
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 h...
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Ep 478: A snippet from the 2025 Summer Reading Guide

May 20, 2025 • 10 mins
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 wi...
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Ep 477: A summer reading road trip

May 13, 2025 • 56 mins
We're kicking off Summer Reading Season with our fourteenth annual Summer Reading Guide, coming this Thursday! Today on the podcast Anne is joined by a special guest who is particularly well qualified to go behind the scenes of our 2025 Summer Reading Guide with her: Will Bogel! Many of you consider Anne's husband Will to be your book twin, and today they're diving into the project and pleasure that is creating the Summer Reading ...
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Ep 476: Offbeat, intricately plotted books for an ambitious reading project

May 6, 2025 • 70 mins
Reading projects take all shapes and sizes, and today's guest has set a goal to read all the Women's Prize for Fiction shortlists and winners. Today, Anne is talking books with Kathryn, who lives on the island of Okinawa, Japan, with her military husband and energetic golden retriever. Kathryn works for a nonprofit and spends her leisure time reading, knitting, or walking on the beach close to their home. Since Kathryn's project ...
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Ep 475: Help for a fiction lover who wants to read more nonfiction

April 29, 2025 • 45 mins
Today's guest is an avid reader, retired social worker, and What Should I Read Next? completist who lives in New Jersey. Jill Jaclin has a reading conundrum: she really wants to read more nonfiction, but she's struggled to find a way to incorporate it into her reading life. As she told Anne, she also knows that there are nonfiction books out there that will educate her if only she would take the time to read them. In fact, she's...
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Ep 474: Burnout and the reading life

April 22, 2025 • 48 mins
Readers, if you are feeling burned out right now, you are not alone. In our team meeting last week, we talked about the fact that things are hard right now. That's why this feels like a great time to revisit a favorite past episode from another time not so long ago when we were also feeling burned out. Today we're sharing Anne's May 2021 conversation with journalist Anne Helen Petersen, which originally aired back then as Episode ...
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Ep 473: Refining an out-of-date TBR system

April 15, 2025 • 57 mins
When the world feels heavy, many of us look to books for distraction, inspiration, or reassurance. Today's guest has a unique spin on what she's seeking and would love Anne's help in figuring out how the types of reads she wants right now fit into her existing to-be-read (TBR) system. Émilie Weidl lives in Wales, where she's taken a year off before starting her PhD. When she's not reading or volunteering, you'll likely find her ou...
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Ep 472: Literary + Genre = match made in heaven

April 1, 2025 • 53 mins
Finding highly discussable books for book clubs often feels like a full-time job, especially if you're a member of multiple long-standing book clubs like today's guest, Lara. Today, Lara joins Anne to talk about her constant search for fiction that explores the human condition in all its messy glory. She loves these sorts of books because they give her so much to talk about with her fellow readers. Recently, Lara was listening to...
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Ep 471: Don't let perfectionism ruin your reading life

March 25, 2025 • 64 mins
Over the past few years, today's guest has been on a journey of self-discovery. Florida reader Casey has been working on coming to terms with her perfectionism and along the way, she's been noticing what it means for her reading life. Casey's noticed she tends to save highly anticipated books for later: some uncertain time down the road when circumstances make the timing at long last completely perfect to pick up that book she's r...
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Ep 470: Revisiting childhood favorites for a nostalgic reading project

March 18, 2025 • 54 mins
Re-reading is a practice fits into every reader's life in a different way, and today's guest has embarked on a unique reading challenge that brings a fresh perspective to her re-reading. Sarah Swarbrick joins Anne today from the outskirts of Sydney, Australia, to talk about the special project she's crafted in advance of her 53rd birthday. With her responsibilities shifting and her kids getting older, Sarah's finding more time fo...
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