Ep 548: Reading more broadly in order to give better book recommendations

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

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

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

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

Anne is back with the latest episode in a new-ish series in which she invites a team member to join her in recommending titles for a guest. Today Anne is joined by Patreon community manager Shannan Malone as they chat with Lindsey Bloodworth. Lindsey is a mom to two boys who lives in Homewood, Alabama. She's found joy and community in a mom's workout group that she's managed to turn into a book club, as well as through another book club at her local indie bookstore. Lindsey would love to hear ideas for books her community of moms would enjoy reading and discussing together. Lindsey's found that having other moms to chat with through all of life's small and big moments has been really important to her, and she's enjoyed using books to spark these conversations. Shannan also lives in Alabama and in a prior life ran the Rocket City Mom Virtual Book Club for 10 years, where they read over 60 books together. So when she saw Lindsey's query, Shannan knew she had ideas to share. Today, she and Anne will see what types of books they can put on Lindsey's reading radar that might make for great conversations with either one of her book clubs. Find the list of titles discussed today and share your suggestions for Lindsey by leaving a comment on our show notes page at whatshouldireadnextpodcast.com. We’ve had some big changes lately over on Patreon. We launched our new Ad-Free Episodes Tier, which delivers weekly episodes of What Should I Read Next? without the ads. We also rolled out our Patreon All-Inclusive Tier, which includes everything we do on Patreon: our weekly bonus episodes, live events like our Fall Book Preview and Summer Reading Guide Unboxing, and weekly ad-free episodes of WSIRN. If you’re a patron: thank you! If not, consider joining us: check out the options and sign up for a monthly or annual membership at patreon.com/whatshouldireadnext. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices