Today's guest has a common readerly dilemma: what to do when reading tastes change?

In her submission to join Anne on the show, Philadelphia dweller and avid book thrifter Phoebe Mellinger shared that she'd had pretty consistent reading tastes for her whole life, until last year when she noticed that her taste suddenly and vastly changed. Her go-to genres just were't working any more.

This experience led Phoebe to embark on a year of discovery: she read a bunch of books in a range of genres, but she's not really sure where to go from here. While Phoebe is getting a better feel for what she enjoys and understanding how to talk about what she's looking for with more clarity, she's also picked up quite a few books based on enthusiastic recommendations, only to find they weren't her cup of tea.

Today she's here to get Anne's help in figuring out how to discern the difference between what simply sounds good and what may actually be a good fit for her. Anne has ideas, of course!

Please let us know if you have recommendations for Phoebe by leaving a comment over on our show notes page at whatshouldireadnextpodcast.com/467, where we've also collected the list of all the titles mentioned today.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today's guests excel in pairing the perfect read with worldwide destinations: joining Anne today are her friends, fellow book lovers, and podcasters Mel Joulwan and Dave Humphreys. You may know them as the literary minds behind Strong Sense of Place. They've also been guests on our show a handful of times across the years.

Today, Mel and Dave are back to help Anne load up her to-be-read list with an assortment of literary tourism reads from destinations they've been to together, destinations Anne knows are on many reader wishlists, and other places that might surprise you.

We have a long list of titles to share with you today. So pack your bags and get ready to add new stamps to your literary passport. You'll find the list of books mentioned and more on our show notes page, at whatshouldireadnextpodcast.com/466.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Every year on the Modern Mrs Darcy blog, Anne shares a post about what's saving her life right now, and today she's joined by team member Shannan Malone to talk about what's saving their reading lives lately.

Shannan is our What Should I Read Next Patreon community manager, and also our Modern Mrs Darcy Book Club co-host. Today, she and Anne explore the books and habits that are making their reading lives feel good at the moment.

While preparing for this conversation, we also reached out to our Patreon community members and invited them to share what's saving their reading lives right now. We loved reading all of those responses, and we've woven a few of those comments into this episode.

Shannan and Anne wrap up today by touching on what's saving their lives beyond their reading lives, too. We hope you'll hear an idea or two that helps support your reading life, or share your own observations by leaving a comment over at our show notes page. You'll find that at whatshouldireadnextpodcast.com/465.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today's guest has a bookish birthday trip in the works. When Barbara Andrade DuBransky told us about her tradition of taking big trips with her best friend to mark big life milestones, Anne knew she wanted to talk about Barbara's upcoming European trip.

Barbara and her friend are passionate readers who rely on their libraries to help them plan and prepare for their trips. Barbara was eager to get Anne's recommendations for their upcoming destinations. Today, they talk about the place of reading in Barbara's life as well as what makes a great travel read in the first place. After narrowing down the list of possible destinations, Anne offers up a handful of recommendations for each one.

Whether you are planning a trip yourself, or are here for the armchair travel, we hope you come away from today's episode inspired to dig into a great story that will carry you away via the written word. Find the full list of titles mentioned today and leave your recommendations for Barbara at our show notes page, at whatshouldireadnextpodcast.com/464.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Readers, today we're thrilled to share a delightful conversation with Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray, authors of The Personal Librarian.

This conversation originally took place over in our Modern Mrs Darcy Book Club community, where Marie and Victoria joined Anne, our MMD Book Club Community Manager Ginger Horton, our MMD Book Club Co-Host Shannan Malone, and a whole bunch of our Book Club Members for this live event.

Today, you'll hear that conversation too as Marie and Victoria bring us behind the scenes of their co-writing process. This conversation feels especially timely to share with you right now, because Marie’s new book The Queens of Crime is out February 11, and Victoria’s new book Harlem Rhapsody—her first solo-written historical novel—is out February 4.

Whether you’ve read The Personal Librarian or not, we think you’ll really enjoy today’s spoiler-free discussion. Let us know if you have a favorite title by either author to recommend to your fellow readers, or if there's a book you’d love to read in Book Club, by sharing a comment on our show notes page at whatshouldireadnextpodcast.com/463. That's also where you'll find the full list of titles mentioned today.

And if you loved today's conversation with Marie and Victoria, you'll love our library of author talks in the Modern Mrs Darcy Book Club. Along with other events, classes, and programs, we host monthly talks just like this with a wide range of favorite authors. We’d love to have you join us—find out more at modernmrsdarcy.com/club.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We hosted our Spring Book Preview last week, and if you missed out on that event you're in luck: today we're sharing an excerpt to whet your spring reading appetite!

In this sneak peek at our Spring Book Preview live event, you'll hear Anne tell you about 3 of the 35 titles included in the preview.

Spring Book Preview is one of our marquee events that we host for our Modern Mrs Darcy Book Club and Patreon Community members. Our community members provide tangible, financial support for our show and our team of readers, and we love to say thank you by sharing special events like this one.

If you like what you hear today and want to get your hands on the full Spring Book Preview booklet and video event replay we'd love for you to join us either by becoming a member of one of our communities or by purchasing your ticket for a la carte access. Click here for more information and to get your Spring Book Preview.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Many of the readers we talk to tune into the seasons to inspire their next read, and today's guest has a twist on the usual seasonal reading dilemma: Nell Cavallo is joining Anne today from midsummer in Sydney, Australia.

When Nell sent in her guest submission for the show, she told us that as a southern hemisphere reader, winter meant reading the shiny and new titles that are summer releases here in the U.S. For Nell, her summer reading was all about backlist titles.

Nell loves reading backlist, but she agonizes over choosing what older books to read next, because there are just so many good backlist books to read. She wants to make careful choices, she wants them to be the right ones, and it can leave her feeling stuck. Today we'll talk about that and Anne recommends titles that provide her with that brain-fizzy feeling she loves, especially books that are emotionally resonant and intellectually stimulating.

Find the list of titles mentioned today and share your suggestions for Nell by leaving a comment on our show notes page, at whatshouldireadnextpodcast.com/461.

It's a new reading year and that makes it a great time to start a new journal: keeping track of what you're reading has a big impact on your reading satisfaction. Anne's reading journal, My Reading Life, is the perfect companion for your year of reading. Get yours at modernmrsdarcy.com/shop or at your local bookstore.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We're kicking off 2025 with a special episode: today Anne is joined by her husband Will Bogel to discuss Anne's best books of the past year.

Every week here on the show, we take a personal approach to the reading life, really digging into what readers love, what they don't, and why. Our conversations are about individual readers and their individual taste, so it's not often Anne shines a spotlight on what she loves and why.

But Anne doesn't work in a vacuum: her own reading life plays a role in her recommendations, and today she's sharing some insights into her taste as she shares the books that she loved most last year, and why she loved them.

Find the list of the titles discussed today on our show notes page at whatshouldireadnextpodcast.com/460, where we'd love to hear from you in the comments section, too.

Our Spring Book Preview is just around the corner, on January 16th at 8:30 PM EST. This is an annual event that invites our Modern Mrs Darcy Book Club and Patreon members to join us: we've also got a la carte tickets on sale if you're not currently part of one of those communities. There are so many incredible titles coming out this season, and Anne will be talking about her most anticipated selections with all of you. Find out more and sign up to join us at modernmrsdarcy.com/sbp.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today's guest is feeling stuck between quality and quantity in her reading life. With all of the end-of-year reading reflections happening lately, Anne is here to help if you're also facing this situation.

Caroline Hines lives on a Christmas tree farm, which is not really related to today's book-talk, but feels like the perfect setting for our final episode of the year. When she wrote in to get Anne's help, Caroline mentioned that since she started tracking her reading against a numerical goal, she's felt an unwelcome shift in her reading life. Rather than reaching for the heftier reads she suspects she'll love, even though they take her longer to finish, she finds herself dashing through fast-paced thrillers because she knows she'll read them quickly, not because she thinks they're perfect for her.

Today she and Anne discuss the pros and cons of using a numerical reading goal, and how Caroline might enjoy that glorious feeling of falling headfirst into a book more often.

Find the full list of titles mentioned and share your suggestions for Caroline by leaving a comment on our show notes page, at whatshouldireadnextpodcast.com/459.

A quick note: our team will be taking the next two weeks off to enjoy good books and good times with our loved ones. We'll be back in January with a brand new episode—Anne's Best Books of 2024! In the meantime, enjoy our archives, or explore all of our bonus episodes, author chats, and more in our Modern Mrs Darcy Book Club and our Patreon community.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When Anne was invited to speak at WriterFest, a creative gathering for aspiring writers, published authors, screenwriters, poets, and songwriters in Nashville, we couldn't wait to share that conversation with all of you.

Today we're sharing Anne's conversation with WriterFest co-founder Ami McConnell. From books and reading to the common themes they've heard people are experiencing in their creative lives right now, it's a conversation to spark your own creative spirit.

Thank you again to WriterFest co-founders Ami McConnell and Sara Wigal and to their their amazing teams and volunteers who made this event happen.

Let us know if you have a book or a creative moment you'd like to share by leaving a comment on our show notes page, where you'll also find the list of titles mentioned today. That's at whatshouldireadnextpodcast.com/458.

We're so looking forward to sharing our annual Team's Best Books of the year! This has become a tradition, and this year, we'll be gathering for this live party on December 19th. Members of our Modern Mrs Darcy Book Club and our Patreon Community are invited: this fun event is just one of many ways we say thank you for your financial support. Find out more and become a member at patreon.com/whatshouldireadnext.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Cozy reading season is nearly here in the northern hemisphere, and today's guest wrote in with a unique question: how can she create a cozy reading experience when she's nearly always listening to audiobooks on the go?

Lauren Worley is joining Anne today from Virginia. Lauren's work keeps her in the car and on the road quite a bit, so Lauren’s fully embraced audiobooks. But she doesn't just want to listen while she's driving: she's curious how she could create a cozier reading experience in her car.

Today she and Anne talk about what Lauren's looking for, from small tweaks to make car listening feel more cozy, to the titles she defines as cozy audiobooks (which might not be what you'd expect.) Anne shares titles that might fit Lauren’s criteria, as well as ways she can invite that cozy reading atmosphere into her experience, even when she’s on the road.

Share an audiobook you've found cozy or a reading tip for Lauren by leaving a comment on our show notes page, where you'll find the full list of titles mentioned today. That's at whatshouldireadnextpodcast.com/457.

If you are on the hunt for perfect gifts to give the tough-to-shop-for readers in your life, my reading journal makes a great gift. My Reading Life is the perfect companion for any adult, with 100 blank entries to record what they've read, a place to keep track of their to-be-read list, and lots of book lists to help them pick what to read next. I also have a version for kids and the young-at-heart: My Reading Adventures has the same elements as well as features that will appeal kids and teenagers. Or, check out my I'd Rather Be Reading bundle, which includes my book, I'd Rather Be Reading, a matching sticker, button, and exclusive bookmark. Shop now wherever you get your new books or at our shop, ModernMrsDarcy.com/shop.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices