Ep 502: Choosing book gifts your friends will love
We all know that book gifts are the best gifts, and today Anne is talking with a devoted reader who's come to the show looking for guidance on selecting great bookish gifts for the season to come.
Meredith Amadee lives in Tucson, Arizona, where she works as a wedding photographer and hosts a book club that's come to play a big part in her life. Every year, this book club hosts a book exchange for its members, and today Meredith would love recommendations that will be perfect for these special readers in her life.
She's on the hunt for backlist selections for her fellow members, and is looking for help in choosing the specific titles. She and Anne also talk more broadly about what makes a good literary gift. We hope this conversation might be just the inspiration and empowerment you need to find great gifts for the readers in your life, too.
Find the list of titles mentioned today and leave your ideas for Meredith's book club at whatshouldireadnextpodcast.com/502.
We've recently restocked our shop with our popular totes, hats, and our new custom journals in a variety of beautiful colors. We also have our usual selection of t-shirts, copies of my books that are always signed when you order from us, great stickers, buttons, and more. Check out what's new and what's back in stock at modernmrsdarcy.com/shop.
Help us celebrate a major milestone coming up in the new year by lending your voice and stories to a future episode. By November 23rd, please give us a call and tell us about a favorite book that you found through What Should I Read Next. To participate, call us at 502-627-0663 and leave us a short voicemail. Please call from a quiet place so we can hear everything you have to say and our listeners can hear you well on the show. We can't wait to learn about your literary discoveries.
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Ep 501: Crafting a personal curriculum for a lifelong learner
When she discovered the idea of a personal curriculum, today's guest couldn't wait to apply this concept to her reading life.
Amy St. Amand, a primary care clinical pharmacist from Rhode Island, wants to know a little bit about a whole lot of things. She's working to build a personal learning plan that encompasses a variety of her assorted interests, and she's here today for Anne's help in developing and refining her selected topics.
Anne couldn't wait to hear more about Amy's approach, why this idea resonated with her so much, and her progress so far. After they explore Amy's project, Anne recommends a whole lot of mostly nonfiction books that will help Amy delve deeper into her chosen topics.
See the list of titles mentioned today at our show notes page, which you'll find at whatshouldireadnextpodcast.com/501.
If you're a member of our Modern Mrs. Darcy Book Club, today's topic may sound familiar in a really fun way. We touched on the idea of a personal curriculum in our recent book club class, A Close Look at Great Books. Among other topics, this class explored our community manager Ginger Horton's ongoing grad school experience focused on a Great Books curriculum, and how you can apply some of those ideas to your own reading life.
If this sounds like good nerdy fun to you, head over to ModernMrsDarcy.com/club for even more of these types of conversations.
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Ep 500: The little things that add up to a rich reading life
Today marks a major milestone: the 500th episode of What Should I Read Next!
To celebrate, Anne is joined by two guests today. First, you'll hear her in conversation with our What Should I Read Next Patreon Community Manager Shannan Malone as they explore what's new in our Patreon community space. Then, Anne welcomes one of our previous guests back to the show to talk about how her reading life has evolved since their first conversation nearly two and a half years ago.
Michelle Acierno Loftus joined Anne back in episode 378 to share her experience of rediscovering the joy of reading via her YA book club. As we mark 500 episodes of talking all things books and reading, it seemed a great moment to look back at just one way that What Should I Read Next has shaped an individual's life.
While much has changed in Michelle's life since her last conversation with Anne, as you'll hear, her reading life is still going strong. And yet, it's also shifted. Today, she and Anne discuss Michelle's recent explorations into nonfiction and character-driven, introspective stories. They also dive into how Anne's previous recommendations for Michelle landed, what's working for her these days, and what she's looking for right now in her reading life. Anne shares recommendations for Michelle, and each of them recommend titles that might work for many readers.
Find the full list of the titles mentioned today and share a comment to help us celebrate our 500th episode on our show notes page at whatshouldireadnextpodcast.com/500.
If you'd like to hear from more past guests or experience the bonus episodes Anne and Shannan discuss at the top of today's show, please come over and join us on Patreon. That's where we share bite-size insights into the reading life and a behind-the-scenes look into the podcast, as well as book recommendations galore. To all of the readers who support us on Patreon, thank you. We couldn't do this without you. If you'd like to join us there, you'll find all the details at patreon.com/whatshouldireadnext.
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Ep 499: Weird, nerdy, and totally delightful: our conversation with Kevin Wilson
One of our favorite things to do in our Modern Mrs Darcy Book Club is connect with the authors we all love. Every so often we have the opportunity to share one of those conversations with all of you, too.
Today you'll be hearing from Kevin Wilson, author of our 2025 Summer Reading Guide selection Run for the Hills and a writer we've long looked forward to hosting in this space. Our conversation covers a lot of ground today, from Wilson's approach to writing his stories to topics like what it means to fit in, how weirdness impacts his writing style, and how a PT Cruiser ended up as a key feature in his book.
We kick off today's conversation with a bit of behind the scenes conversation between Anne and our Modern Mrs Darcy Book Club community manager, Ginger Horton. We wanted to give you some idea of what you're going to be listening to today. Whether you've read Kevin Wilson or not, we think you'll enjoy this opportunity to hear an author talk about their work and their process in a really interesting way.
Find the list of titles mentioned today on our show notes page at whatshouldireadnextpodcast.com/499.
In addition to other major milestones, we're about to celebrate our 10-year anniversary of the Book Club. Today we share insights into what exactly we do in Book Club and why you might want to consider joining us in what we call the best corner of the internet. Find out more at modernmrsdarcy.com/club.
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Ep 498: Books that feel like your favorite comfort TV shows
Returning to favorite TV shows is a common stress management strategy. Today’s guest would love to find books that deliver the same soothing feelings she gets from re-watching her favorite comfort shows.
Kayla King lives on a small-scale dairy and hobby farm in Spartansburg, Pennsylvania. A lifelong reader, Kayla's recently started to branch out from her usual genres of mysteries, thrillers, and science fiction and fantasy. When Kayla wrote in with her request to help her find books that could offer alternatives to her regular comfort TV viewing, it felt like such a relatable question.
Anne explores this idea with Kayla and leaves her with recommendations that she can reach for the next time she wants to channel those comforting vibes and while experiencing a great story in book form.
Find the list of titles mentioned today and leave your ideas for Kayla on our show notes page, at whatshouldireadnextpodcast.com/498.
If you love tuning into this show each week, you'll also love our What Should I Read Next? Patreon community. Every Friday, we share bonus episodes with our members. Last Friday's episode featured a deep-dive on library digital collections and how they work. Our Patreon community members enjoy our entire archive of bonus episodes as well as invitations to our seasonal events, like our recent Fall Book Preview Unboxing.
The podcast industry has been shifting quite a lot in recent years, and more than ever, we rely on our Patreon community members for financial support. For everyone who is already providing that support, thank you again. And if you've been listening along for years and would like to make sure we continue to show up in your podcast feeds every week, consider coming over and joining us on Patreon. Learn more and sign up at patreon.com/whatshouldireadnext.
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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.
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