What Should I Read Next?

Mary Pogue, a St. Louis digital marketing strategist and avid reader, is tackling a Read the USA challenge to read a book from or set in every state. She discusses her rules, library-forward approach, love of historical fiction, and hard-to-find states on her list. The conversation highlights recommendations from Maine to Montana and strategies for finding state-specific titles.

Nakia (Nikkya), owner of Abodo/Obodo Serendipity Books and community organizer, reads widely for work and runs local book clubs. She talks about balancing professional reading with pleasure reading. They explore gentle ways to branch into historical fiction, romance, and thrillers. Specific approachable title recommendations and strategies for fitting personal reading into a busy life are discussed.

Tzipi Turner, director of special education in Phoenix and aspiring Jane Austen completist, shares her project to read all of Austen and her habit of getting distracted by new releases. She explores pairing each Austen classic with a contemporary novel to spark motivation. They discuss which Austen titles remain, pairing ideas for Mansfield Park and Northanger Abbey, and a fresh reading plan to get started.

Ruth Werwai is a Vancouver-born reader living in Germany who co-runs a two-person buddy-read club with her sister. They talk about staying close across distance, which sister-focused novels and memoirs have worked for them, and the books that flopped. The conversation centers on emotional resonance, sister stories, and picks that spark good conversation.

Holly Dyer, a mom and classical musician active in the Modern Mrs. Darcy book community, talks about bookshelf overwhelm and her plan to read fewer books more deeply. She explores rereading favorites, vetting choices before committing, battling DNF fatigue, and trying speculative fiction and short stories as low-stakes experiments.

Madeline Janney, an early intervention speech therapist from New Orleans who organizes community activities and is starting a mother-daughter book club. She chats about pairing monthly reads with restaurant meetups, picking books that overlap with her mom’s tastes, and choosing New Orleans–rooted stories. They also trade light conversation prompts to keep their two-person club lively.

Maggie O’Farrell, novelist and screenwriter behind Hamnet and its film adaptation, talks craft and collaboration. She discusses moving from solitary novel writing to co-writing for Chloe Zhao, choosing what to keep or strip for the screen, and how visual storytelling restores lush detail. They explore balancing grief with celebration and how adaptation reshaped her creative practice.

Meredith Wiggins, a Lawrence, Kansas library services pro who curates reader recommendations, talks about her run of solid but unspectacular reads and her hunt for emotional five-star stunners. She describes her taste for crafted characters, art-adjacent fiction, and comforting romances. The conversation explores causes for a reading slump and pitches specific titles to break the streak.

A lively live Q&A replay where Anne fields a wide range of reader questions from the Patreon community. They celebrate ten years of literary matchmaking, trace the podcast’s origins, and share behind-the-scenes stories about growing the site and team. Expect quick-fire reading habits, favorite surprising books, ARC life, managing book clutter, and cozy personal anecdotes.

Janae Mast, a stay-at-home mom from Kansas and audiobook enthusiast, shares her passion for immersive audio classics that capture her attention while balancing motherhood. She describes her journey back to reading through audiobooks and discusses the unique challenges of postpartum listening. The conversation explores which classics are best suited for audio, including favorites like 'Jane Eyre' and recommendations such as 'Watership Down' and 'Their Eyes Were Watching God,' all aimed at enriching her literary experience.