What Should I Read Next?

Over the past few years we’ve enjoyed responding to listener requests on one of those tough bookish questions: what to give the fellow readers in your life for gifting season. Today, Anne is joined by members of the MMD Team to answer a selection of questions received from our Patreon community. We’re tackling requests for book ideas for a range of recipients, from the kids in your life to your toughest-to-buy-for family members.

Whether you submitted a gift request or you’d like ideas for highly readable and reliable books, we think you’ll hear something in today’s conversation. And if you have a specific request or are on the hunt for something particular, our community of readers is always ready to help out. Leave a comment on our show notes page at whatshouldireadnextpodcast.com to get an assist from your fellow readers or share your ideas for our listeners. That's also where you'll find the full list of titles discussed today.

If you’re looking for bookish goods to gift your favorite reader (or yourself!) this season, check out the Modern Mrs Darcy shop and Fill Your Tote! When you purchase one of our fan favorite What Should I Read Next? totes and bundle your purchase with another item, you’ll take 5% off. Pair a tote with 2 items for 10% off, or add 3 or more items to your tote and you’ll save 15% on your order. Savings are automatically applied when you add the items to your cart. Fill your tote today at modernmrsdarcy.com/shop.
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Today's guest is living out a reality many in our audience have dreamed of. Jeff Wheeldon is on the path to bookstore ownership, and will soon be the proud owner of Brighton, Ontario's Lighthouse Books. Jeff is thrilled about this new career path, but as an avid reader of science fiction and fantasy, he is feeling a little bit nervous about recommending titles in genres he doesn't often reach for.

Jeff's an involved member of his community and an active councilman in Brighton, where he lives with his librarian wife and two kids. Like many readers, Jeff turned to comfort reading as a way to recover from burnout during the pandemic, and since then he's been hesitant to dip his toes back into the kinds of literary fiction that, as he wrote in his submission, just doesn't feel safe right now.

Jeff wants to read more broadly, but without making the world feel harder. He also wants to be able to connect with readers who enter his bookstore about books that exist in a wide range of genres, and he'd love to find a few new right-for-him reads that might be categorized as literary, contemporary, or upmarket fiction. Jeff is thinking there must be a way to expand his reading into these genres in a way that still feels comfortable. Today Anne aims to recommend specific titles that will help him do so.

Find the list of titles discussed today at our show notes page at whatshouldireadnextpodcast.com.

Whether you're starting to think about end-of-year gifting or you're shopping for the perfect gift for any occasion, we always think a reading journal makes a perfect selection. Our shop is full of a wide assortment of colors of our Leuchtturm 1917 custom ampersand journal, as well as Anne's reading journals that are custom-created for readers of all ages. Our Modern Mrs. Darcy Book Club members save 10% off all shop orders. Find out more and see all of our accessories, books, and apparel at modernmrsdarcy.com/shop.
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Today we're shining a light on our Patreon community and the types of conversations that happen over there every Friday, as we feature three popular Patreon bonus episodes that give you a taste of what we do every week in that community.

We're kicking off today's episode with a fan favorite bonus from our ongoing Industry Insight series, before sharing a recent bonus conversation among members of our Modern Mrs. Darcy and What Should I Read Next? team. Our team members often pair up to talk about readerly topics of interest in our Patreon community, and this fascinating and delightfully detailed conversation about how our team members approach buying books sparked a lot of great conversations. Finally, we'll close with a favorite episode of One Great Book, a series where either Anne or a member of our team tells you all about a book we love from our own shelves, usually in about 10 minutes or less.

If you'd like more bookish conversations and bonus episodes like the ones you heard today, come and join us on Patreon. Our members at the Bonuses & Events or All-Inclusive tiers enjoy weekly bonus episodes like these, as well as access to our marquee events, like our recent Fall Book Preview Unboxing, and our upcoming Team's Best Books of the Year event coming in January 2027. Find out more and sign up at ⁠patreon.com/whatshouldireadnext⁠.

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Today Anne is joined by two readers to discuss what it means to be well-read these days, and why it’s a concept worth exploring.

Rebecca Schinsky and Jeff O’Neal of the Book Riot podcast Zero to Well-Read are Anne's guests today. Together with Anne, they explore how each of them thinks about what it means to be well-read, and how their personal working definitions have evolved over the years.

The reading life is a journey, and today's conversation goes beyond what being well-read and reading well means: it also explores the ways that deciding what well-read means to you can help you cultivate readerly satisfaction, combat distraction, and even build community.

Find out more and see the links and titles mentioned today on our show notes page at whatshouldireadnextpodcast.com.

Our new Patreon Ad-Free Episodes tier makes it possible for you to receive ad-free episodes right in your regular podcast feed for just $5 a month. We’d love to have you join us on Patreon: find out more and sign up today at patreon.com/whatshouldireadnext.
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Reading in retirement has given today’s guest more time to explore what makes a book "click" for her, and she's joining Anne today to talk all about it.

Debbie Day lives in the Nashville area, where she’s enjoying settling into retirement and empty nesting. This chapter of life is giving her more time for travel, dancing, cooking, spending time with friends and family, and of course, reading.

The extra time to reflect on her reading life has led Debbie to discover an unexpected common thread among her favorite books: an interesting structure. Now that she’s homed in on this element, Debbie is on the hunt for more such books—but she’s not sure where to look.

As a fellow structure nerd, Anne has ideas for Debbie.

Find the list of titles discussed today and leave your suggestions for Debbie on our show notes page at ⁠whatshouldireadnextpodcast.com⁠.

We’ve been thrilled to hear from so many of you that you’re loving this year’s Fall Book Preview lookbook. This smaller-format, analog booklet invites you to dig into Anne's selections for this season’s most anticipated books. Find out more and get your copy while supplies last at modernmrsdarcy.com/fbp.
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