Ep 431: Live from The Bookshelf: Let's talk summer books!

Reading offers a wide range of vicarious experiences, and today's guest is looking for books that make her feel warmly welcome. Adrianne Carnes is a bookseller and marketing director for a local independent bookstore in Texas, where she loves to create an inviting space for the readers who frequent her shop. Adrianne's interest in hospitality started in her youth, when she traveled often with her parents and was charmed by her experiences. These days, Adrianne enjoys finding inviting books as well as stories set in a hotel or restaurant, but finding the right titles feels overwhelming. Today Anne helps Adrianne navigate the massive availability of interesting books and discuss how to know she's found a title that feels worth spending time on. Anne closes with recommendations of books that offer a sense of hospitality and welcome. Find the full list of titles mentioned today and share your recommendations for Adrianne on our show notes page at whatshouldireadnextpodcast.com/434. What Should I Read Next? is sponsored by BetterHelp. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Audiobook lovers, today's conversation will help you make the most of your audiobook credits, whether you love short or long listens. Stephanie Van Parys is a devoted gardener in Decatur, Georgia, where she loves to pair audiobooks with working in the dirt. Since she discovered this way of merging her two passions back in 2020, she's never looked back: these days almost all her reading is done in audio format. Today, Anne and Stephanie talk about the audiobooks that keep Stephanie weeding, and the fresh perspectives she'd love to bring into her listening routine. Stephanie would especially love to discover new-to-her authors from places other than the US or the UK, which you will hear more about in today's show. Anne has suggestions to keep Stephanie's summer reading in bloom. Visit our show notes page to see how you can connect with Stephanie, and view the full list of titles mentioned in today's conversation. That's at whatshouldireadnextpodcast.com/433. Shop summer merch and check out our assortment of fun bookish items, like our Book Camp shirts, new stickers (we especially love the Read! pennant sticker), links to all of Anne's books, our archive of seasonal reading guides, and more. See what catches your eye at modernmrsdarcy.com.shop. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Joining Anne today in a live conversation from the recent Word of South festival is listener favorite Lauren Groff! This conversation happened in the midst of a big moment for Lauren: she was recently recognized on the Time 100 list, and her new bookstore, The Lynx, just opened in Gainesville, Florida. Lauren and Anne talk about what led Lauren to open The Lynx and her goals for this new independent bookstore. Their discussion explores a range of readerly topics, like Lauren's love for short stories, her writing process, the intersection of music and writing, and exploring stereotypes in real life and on the page. They also touch on the connection between Lauren, Florence Welch, and the Taylor Swift song, Florida!, and Lauren shares the book she's recommending lately. Chime in with the books you'd love to buy from The Lynx in the comments section of our show notes page, where we've also compiled the full list of titles discussed today. That's at whatshouldireadnextpodcast.com/432. If you love being among book people, you'll love our Patreon community, where we create weekly bonus episodes that keep our patrons close to the pulse of what's happening in the book world. This month, we're sharing bonus episodes that augment our Summer Reading Guide, like great books Anne didn't include in the guide and why, and a dedicated mini matchmaking session that pairs patrons with their perfect Summer Reading Guide titles. We're so grateful for our patrons and their support of our show. If you're curious, come and check out our Patreon community. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Join us today for the second in a series of three live events! While Anne was on the road recently, she had the opportunity to stop by fantastic independent bookstore The Bookshelf, in Thomasville, Georgia, for the first time since 2018.  During this live event, Anne spoke with host and owner Annie B. Jones about summer reading alongside a crowd of friendly and enthusiastic readers. Annie and Anne discussed perennial summer favorites and newer titles that took them by surprise. Plus, Anne shares a bit about what goes into creating our annual Summer Reading Guide that came out last week. Their conversation today will whet your appetite for summer reading of any flavor. Find the list of titles mentioned today and links to connect with The Bookshelf at our show notes page: whatshouldireadnextpodcast.com/431. If today's conversation has you even more excited for summer reading, grab yourself a copy of our 2024 Summer Reading Guide!Get your guide today at modernmrsdarcy.com/srg. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week is all about summer reading, because our 2024 Summer Reading Guide is out this Thursday! Our Summer Reading Guide is one of the highlights of our year. Anne spends months reading and vetting both anticipated new releases and under-the-radar gems, resulting in the guide's list of 42 titles with something for every reader.  Joining Anne today in sharing our excitement for the Summer Reading Guide Unboxing is our Modern Mrs Darcy Book Club community manager, Ginger Horton. Ginger and Anne have talked summer books before and that conversation was a delight, so we can't wait for you to listen in to today's conversation. They explore this year's Summer Reading Guide theme, give you a sneak peak at a title (or two) on this year's list, and share other favorite summer reads across the years. As always, you'll find a list of the titles mentioned today at our show notes page at whatshouldireadnextpodcast.com/430. There's still time to pre-order your guide and join us for the live Unboxing party on May 16th. To get all of the details, visit modernmrsdarcy.com/srg Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Anne recently attended Tallahassee’s recent Word of South Festival of Literature and Music, and today we're sharing her live conversation about all things reading with Festival Director Sara Marchessault and Kati Schardl. Book festivals offer so much potential for discovery, by connecting readers with writers they already love, new authors to experience, and often, books that capture the spirit of the region. Today, Sara, Kati and Anne talk about the books they've been reading lately, the titles they can’t stop recommending to others, the epic fails when these recommendations fall flat, and what they learn about themselves and other readers in the process. They wrap up with some great conversation on summer reading moods, and Anne recommends a handful of titles they can add to their summer reading stacks. Find that list of the titles mentioned in today's conversation at our show notes page, at whatshouldireadnextpodcast.com/429. For more live book talk with our great community, join us for our thirteenth annual Summer Reading Guide launch party. Listen in as Anne takes you through 42 hand-selected reads to pair with your summer adventures and activities. Join us on May 16th - find out more, save your seat, and pre-order your guide right here.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today's guest enjoys tackling heavy topics in her reading, but today she's here for Anne's help to bring more levity to her reading rotation. As a South African of Indian descent, Natasha Govender appreciates reading real life stories from authors across the globe. These stories help her connect with the human experiences behind the pages, but she'd love to balance these emotional stories with titles that are just plain fun. Natasha's especially interested in discovering Brown voices writing stories that feel joyful and celebratory. If these books come from the fantasy, thriller, or middle grade shelves, even better. And, because Natasha loves to reread the books she loves best, she and Anne focus on finding titles to add to Natasha's to-be-read list that she'll connect with on the first read, and love enough to read again and again. Find the full list of titles discussed in today's episode and leave your recommendations for Natasha at whatshouldireadnextpodcast.com/428. Our summer merch shop is open! Pair your stack of summer reads with a cozy t-shirt, a tote that's perfect for library hauls, bookish stickers, and more. Explore our latest merch selections at modernmrsdarcy.com/shop. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Connecting with authors is always a treat, and today we're bringing you a recent conversation between Anne and author Thao Thai. Thao joined us in the Modern Mrs Darcy Book Club last year to discuss her debut novel Banyan Moon, a juicy family drama that explores what makes a home, the secrets we keep, inheritance and immigrant stories, and so much more. In today's episode, Thao and Anne talk about how this unique story came to be and the story behind the book's striking cover, and Thao answers a variety of questions from our Book Club members. We also hear about Thao’s forthcoming rom-com, Adam & Evie’s Matchmaking Tour—which she is releasing under the pen name Nora Nyguen. Whether or not you’ve read Banyan Moon, we think you’ll love listening in to today’s spoiler-free conversation, which we've lightly edited from the original live Book Club Event. Find the full list of titles mentioned in today's conversation at our show notes page at whatshouldireadnextpodcast.com/427 If you loved today's episode, you'll find more conversations like these in our Modern Mrs Darcy Book Club community. When you sign up this week, your first month of membership will also include our 2024 Summer Reading Guide and unboxing book party. 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

When big changes happened in Caleb Wilson-Johnson's life, his reading life shifted, too. Today, he's eager for Anne's suggestions after two exciting changes derailed his previous strategy of choosing his next read. Caleb used to love planning his entire reading year in advance, and especially enjoyed pairing books with the season—sometimes down to the specific month or even day. But Caleb recently got married and moved across the state to live with his new husband. Both of these joyful events shook up his previous reading routine. Caleb's interested in exploring what a new path forward might look like as he enjoys these other new starts in his life. Today, Caleb and Anne explore how Caleb can bring a fresh outlook to planning his upcoming reads, and Anne recommends a handful of engaging and plotty books that will keep Caleb reading until the last page. Find all of the titles we discussed today on our show notes page at whatshouldireadnextpodcast.com/426 Our 13th annual Summer Reading Guide is only a few weeks away from landing in inboxes, and we'd love to invite you to join us for this year's book party. We'll be hosting two live events, both on May 16th, and you're invited. Get all of the details and find out how to get your guide at our at modernmrsdarcy.com/srg. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A recent career shift has opened up more reading time for today's guest, and Tara Bañuelos is looking to make the most of this abundance by exploring new-to-her genres and overlooked backlist titles. Tara lives in Washington, D.C., where she practices law. In the past, she's relied on reading for her preferred form of stress management. But with her recent career shift, Tara's finally able to read for pleasure again, and not just anxiety relief. Tara's been loving what this has meant for her reading selections, and she's not suffering for choice: Tara's access to the regional library system in her area means she has a whopping total of 15 library cards, which she primarily uses for ebook access. Tara's not sad about this, but she needs a better system to manage her multiple library holds that often come in all at once. Today, she and Anne identify patterns, hone in on Tara's reading taste and create a plan for moving forward.  Leave your recommendations for Tara and see the list of titles mentioned in today's episode at our show notes page, whatshouldireadnextpodcast.com/425. We're only weeks away from releasing our 13th annual Summer Reading Guide. This is our team's marquee event for the year, and we are so excited for what's in store for 2024. We celebrate the start of the season with a huge book party, and you're invited. Learn more, save your seat, and pre-order your guide at our Summer Reading Guide page. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices