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
April 23, 2024 • 63 mins
Connecting with authors is always a treat, and today we're bringing you a recent conversation between Anne and author Thao Thai. Thao joined us in the Modern Mrs Darcy Book Club last year to discuss her debut novel Banyan Moon, a juicy family drama that explores what makes a home, the secrets we keep, inheritance and immigrant stories, and so much more.
In today's episode, Thao and Anne talk about how this unique story came to be a...
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April 16, 2024 • 60 mins
When big changes happened in Caleb Wilson-Johnson's life, his reading life shifted, too. Today, he's eager for Anne's suggestions after two exciting changes derailed his previous strategy of choosing his next read.
Caleb used to love planning his entire reading year in advance, and especially enjoyed pairing books with the season—sometimes down to the specific month or even day. But Caleb recently got married and moved across the s...
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April 9, 2024 • 68 mins
A recent career shift has opened up more reading time for today's guest, and Tara Bañuelos is looking to make the most of this abundance by exploring new-to-her genres and overlooked backlist titles.
Tara lives in Washington, D.C., where she practices law. In the past, she's relied on reading for her preferred form of stress management. But with her recent career shift, Tara's finally able to read for pleasure again, and not just a...
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April 2, 2024 • 57 mins
Recovering from a reading slump can be challenging, and today's guest credits a book subscription box for saving her reading life.
In today's episode, Anne Bogel is chatting with Tiffany Vicars, a pharmacist, mom and State Fair prize-winning paper crafter in Louisville, Kentucky. Tiffany knows reading is her highest form of self-care, but the past few years have been disruptive to her reading life in both good and challenging ways...
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March 26, 2024 • 62 mins
Today’s guest is Susan Meissner, a historical fiction author based in the Pacific Northwest. You might know Susan from books like Only the Beautiful and The Nature of Fragile Things: Susan is also a reader and listener and today she's here to talk with Anne about her readerly dilemma.
Susan writes character-driven, historical fiction: sometimes books like hers are described as “quiet” and she’s okay with that. Susan knows what she ...
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March 19, 2024 • 46 mins
Today's bookish goal: finding the right books to fuel a reader's wanderlust.
Georgia-based Joy has traveled extensively and even lived abroad, but now that she's not on the road, she's looking to load up her bookshelf with titles that will take her vicariously to places she can't get to right now in real life.
Joy know what she loves when she reads it, but she's struggled with finding a good system when it comes to selecting her t...
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March 12, 2024 • 55 mins
Today’s guest's love of reading was reignited in late 2022 when she found a path into the bookish zeitgeist by reading a super-popular series. Around the same time, Julie Van Huizen found herself surrounded by her friends' end-of-year reading wrap-ups, which left her feeling inspired, intimidated, challenged, and curious. That curiosity led Julie to declare 2023 her year of intentional reading, and it ended up being an exceptional ...
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February 27, 2024 • 46 mins
Today, Anne talks with Courtney Dezahd about discovering themes in her reading and finding novels that will stick with her long after she turns the last page.
Courtney is a marketing professional and a mom whose reading tastes range from World War I history to outdoor survival stories and beyond. But lately, she's really honed in on themes she always finds satisfying, like stories of unrequited love and the triumph of the human sp...
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February 20, 2024 • 58 mins
Today's guest Farrah Rochon is passionate about the romance genre, Disney, and the city of New Orleans (among other things), and today Farrah and Anne dive into all of the juicy details.
Farrah is a prolific romance author with 45 books to her name, so you may be as surprised as we were to learn that she never intended to write in this genre in the first place. Obviously, that's changed, and today she and Anne chat about what drew...
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February 13, 2024 • 48 mins
Amy Rohn joins Anne to talk about literal literary matchmaking: the ups and downs of her life as a reader in search of real-life romance. We’re exploring what she looks for in a partner, whether they’re a reader or not, and truly baffling stories from her attempts at talking to men on dating apps about books.
Plus, we discuss Amy's newfound love affair with nonfiction after a lifetime of sticking to fantastical fiction, bookstore a...
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February 6, 2024 • 61 mins
Wintry books and seasonally inspired reads are a common passion for readers worldwide, whether you're currently in our northern hemisphere winter, or you're experiencing another season right now.
Today's guest has a deep love for all things hygge and winter, and this is absolutely reflected in the pages of her favorite reads. Sarah Butler is joining Anne today from her home in Brooklyn, where she works at the library in a dream job...
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January 30, 2024 • 56 mins
In today's conversation, Anne helps Reagan Jackson find compelling reads that tell good stories.
Reagan is a Seattle-based journalist and co-executive director of Young Women Empowered. She’s also the author of the forthcoming book, Still True: The Evolution of a Reluctant Journalist, which tells stories of Seattle's Black and intersectional community.
Today, Reagan and I talk her recent sabbatical travels as well as what's happeni...
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January 23, 2024 • 50 mins
Natalie Nava's guest submission caught our team's eye as a particularly timely topic for January: she was eager to talk to Anne about reading as it relates to wintering, burnout, and recovery.
After a decade of working in social advocacy, Natalie realized back in 2020 that she was dealing with serious burnout. One of the clues that something needed to change was Natalie's realization that, despite being an avid reader, she'd barel...
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January 16, 2024 • 62 mins
Today’s guest reached out seeking help with a specific reading dilemma. We loved her request, and we’re sure it's something many readers have experienced.
Amy's joining Anne on the show today from her Vermont home on 11 acres where she homeschools her teenager, works as a part-time sustainability consultant, and cares for an eclectic collection of pets! Amy has always loved to read, but recently, her family’s budget has shifted. Sh...
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January 9, 2024 • 44 mins
You're likely familiar with the work of today's guest: literary agent Elisabeth Weed, of the boutique literary agency The Book Group. Elisabeth has had a hand in bringing you many recent popular titles, and today she and Anne talking about the current literary landscape.
From the trends Elisabeth is seeing (and what they mean for readers and writers) to how TikTok continues to influence the book trade, they cover a lot of ground in...
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January 2, 2024 • 56 mins
Last year, we had so much fun putting together an episode featuring Anne's favorite reads, and it was a listener favorite, too! We're back today with the 2023 edition: Anne is again joined by her husband and show producer Will Bogel to talk all about her reading superlatives from last year.
Choosing the best books from a full year of reading is tough as well as fascinating, and today Anne shares her own best, favorite, and most mem...
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December 19, 2023 • 72 mins
Today, Anne is joined by Kim Hewlett to talk about creating a year of seasonal reading. Kim and her family relocated to Iowa a few years back, which led Kim to realize just how much she enjoys pairing books with the seasons. Kim's set a 2024 reading goal to reach for the right books at just the right time, no matter the time of year.
Kim's name may sound familiar: last fall Anne spoke with her daughter Noa in Episode 347: A reader'...
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December 12, 2023 • 58 mins
We all know that travel and reading go really well together. Today's guest, Dana Prescott, is looking for books to help prepare for her upcoming bucket list trip: she and her husband are taking ten weeks to travel to Australia and Southeast Asia next spring.
Dana loves to travel, and she'll often learn more about her destinations beforehand by reading books that represent the countries in question. We got doubly excited about Dana'...
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December 5, 2023 • 51 mins
Our guest today may be familiar to many of you: Ariel Lawhon was one of Anne's early guests, back in Episode 15, and Anne recently recommended Ariel's new book The Frozen River in Episode 393.
Today, Ariel is joining Anne to talk about books and publishing, from Ariel's new release, to the unexpected way her books have aligned with the literary Zeitgeist. They also explore why some stories stay with you long after you finish them, ...
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November 28, 2023 • 59 mins
We love a creative reading project, so when Allison Virtue told us about her global reading project, we couldn’t wait to hear more.
Allison lives in Los Angeles, where she's set a goal to read a book written by an author from every country. We've had unique reading projects like Allison's on the show in the past: you may recall Episode 168: A century of good books (in a single year).
When it comes to Allison's goal of reading aroun...
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