What Should I Read Next?

Many of you will well understand our team's excitement when we saw today's guest submission land in our inboxes. Today, Anne is talking with Kate Scarth, chair of L.M. Montgomery Studies at the University of Prince Edward Island. 

They discuss Kate's work as well as some of Kate's favorite Montgomery retellings and homages, but their main focus today is on Kate's reading life. She's interested in building out a deep reading roster for the kinds of books she especially enjoys. Books featuring literary women, books where an investigation or detective work is a big part of the story, books that center on a house, and nonfiction about creative and artistic women in history. She's also very interested in finding more books with magical realism and ghosts. Anne has ideas to share.

Find the list of titles mentioned today at our show notes page at whatshouldireadnextpodcast.com/521, where you can also leave a comment to share your ideas for Kate.

We're so excited to tell you about a live event happening this spring. On May 7th, Anne will be joining Laurie Frankel in conversation at Parnassus Books in Nashville on tour for her new novel, Enormous Wings. We love to tell you about new additions to the calendar on the podcast, but if you want to make sure you don't miss any news, be sure to subscribe to our email list at modernmrsdarcy.com/subscribe so you'll be the first to know all our What Should I Read Next? news and happenings.

Chapters

04:45 Meet Kate

24:00 The Postcard by Anne Berest

28:11 A Ghost in the Throat by Doireann Ní Ghríofa

30:47 The Five by Hallie Rubenhold

35:02 All Fours by Miranda July

46:38 Grown Women by Sarai Johnson

51:08 North Woods by Daniel Mason

57:24 Possession by A.S. Byatt

1:00:19 What will Kate read next?

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Today's guest would love to add more four and five-star picks to her reading list and she's curious about techniques that might help get her there.

Kelly Krause is a first grade teacher who lives in Northwest Arkansas with her family. When Kelly discovers a winning author, it feels like a slam dunk to read the rest of their work. But when it comes to branching out in new directions, Kelly is not as confident.

She's wondering whether devoting more time to reflecting on her reads by analyzing what's worked well or practicing the art of writing book reviews will help her pick more winning titles. Anne can't wait to explore this with Kelly today, along with sharing titles and authors Kelly may enjoy.

Find the list of titles mentioned today on our show notes page at whatshouldireadnextpodcast.com/520.

Our 15th Summer Reading Guide is coming your way next month! Creating this guide each year is truly a labor of love. Our Modern Mrs Darcy Book Club and What Should I Read Next? Patreon community members are automatically invited, and we'll also be offering our popular a la carte ticket. To make sure you get the 15th anniversary edition in your inbox and to find out how to join us for our live unboxing event, visit modernmrsdarcy.com/srg.

Chapters

02:25 Meet Kelly

04:47 Kelly’s reading dilemma

07:09 The Book of Hope: A Survival Guide for Trying Times by Jane Goodall and Douglas Abrams

08:44 The Kitchen Front by Jennifer Ryan

10:04 The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo

12:27 The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley

28:06 The Lion Women of Tehran by Marjan Kamali

35:35 Kate & Frida by Kim Fay

38:58 Grief Cottage by Gail Godwin

50:29 What will Kelly read next?

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We hear about all different kinds of reading challenges around here, and today's guest is seeking titles to help mark the 250th anniversary of the United States.

Mary Pogue lives in St. Louis with her family, where she enjoys her work as a digital marketing strategist and her hobbies like coaching field hockey, traveling, and of course, reading.

This year, Mary's embarking on a challenge she is calling Read the USA. Her goal is to read a book set in or written by an author from every U.S. state. While Mary has made great progress already at this point in the year, she is hoping for Anne's help in picking books for a handful of states Mary has yet to visit, either in person or on the page, and is having a hard time finding options for.

Mary would be thrilled if these books could do double duty. She especially enjoys learning about each state's history and culture through works of historical fiction, and she has a preference for titles she'll find at her local library. But as you'll hear today, Mary is open to all kinds of options. Today we'll tackle her list of outstanding states and discover titles she might want to add to this reading road trip.

Find the list of the books discussed today and leave your suggestions for Mary on our show notes page at whatshouldireadnextpodcast.com/519.

Chapters:

03:56 Meet Mary

08:32 Mary's Read the USA reading project

16:56 The Huntress by Kate Quinn

20:44 The Secret Book of Flora Lee by Patti Callahan Henry

23:05 The Library Book by Susan Orlean

25:47 Maine Characters by Hannah Orenstein

41:11 The Night Watchman by Louise Erdrich

44:57 The Bean Trees by Barbara Kingsolver

49:15 Trail of Lightning by Rebecca Roanhorse

51:22 Montana 1948 by Larry Watson

56:04 Groundskeeping by Lee Cole

57:56 What will Mary read next?

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Indie bookstore owner Nikkya joins Anne today to talk about the pain points in her reading life.

Nikkya reads widely for her work as owner of Obodo Serendipity Books in Stratford, Connecticut. She is most at home as a reader in her go-to nonfiction spaces, where she knows what she likes and is able to find it.

After having a real aha moment six months ago, Nikkya has been trying to strike a delicate balance between her professional reading and reading for pleasure. And it's only going okay. She's especially feeling the friction of seeking to push into genres she's less familiar with, like historical fiction, romance, and mysteries and thrillers.

Today she and Anne explore what successful branching out might look like, with specific title recommendations that may feel like doable, pleasurable steps in a new direction.

Find the list of titles mentioned and leave a comment sharing your suggestions for Nikkya at our show notes page at whatshouldireadnextpodcast.com/518.

Around here we believe in the power of understanding your reading life, and our Patreon community is designed for readers like you. It's a space to enjoy more conversations about the books we love and why we love them. Our Friday bonus episodes are grouped around themes, like Industry Insights, our Starter Guide series, One Great Book episodes, ongoing episodes of Mini Matchmaking, and more. On top of enjoying these bonus episodes and big events like our Spring Book Library Chat and Summer Reading Guide, the financial contributions of our Patreon members are a significant part of how we pay our team, continue to create the show each week, and keep the bookish conversations flowing. To everyone who's already a member, thank you. If you're not yet, we'd love to invite you to join us. Find out more at patreon.com/whatshouldireadnext.
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It's no secret that we are fans of Jane Austen, completist author aspirations, and reading projects of all stripes. So when Tzipi Turner's guest submission landed in our What Should I Read Next? inbox, we could not wait to invite her on and talk about her project to become a Jane Austen completist herself.

Tzipi lives in Phoenix, Arizona, where she works as the director of special education for a local school district and is a new grandmother. Tzipi decided to mark Jane Austen's recent 250th birthday by finally making progress towards, or maybe even actually reaching, her goal to complete all of Austen's works. But Tzipi's identified her tendency to get distracted by shiny new releases, which has inspired her to consider a book-flight kind of approach to help her kindle some enthusiasm for reading the remaining Austen titles on her list.

Tzipi imagines pairing each Austen classic with a contemporary book, but what should those modern picks be? Tzipi isn't sure about that, but she and Anne will talk about it today.

Find the list of titles discussed and leave your recommendations for Tzipi on our show notes page at whatshouldireadnextpodcast.com/517.

This week we are also celebrating the sixth anniversary of Anne's book, Don't Overthink It. Since its release in 2020, new readers continue to find their way to it and find it interesting and helpful when they do. If you have not yet picked up Don't Overthink It, we would love to invite you now to add it to your 2026 reading list. Find out more and get your copy of Don't Overthink It wherever you like to buy your books. We're also having a little sale in honor of the book's sixth anniversary, and that discount is reflected in our shop.
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