a lifestyle blog for book lovers

WSIRN Ep 33: What DID they read next (and what did they think about it?)

Today we have a very special episode: we’re chatting again with seven guests from previous episodes of the show to find out what they actually did read next. What books did they read? What did they love? What did they hate? (Yeah, that happened.)

This episode is tons of fun—I hope you enjoy it as much I enjoyed making it.

What Should I Read Next #33: What DID they read next

Previous episodes we’re circling back to: 

• Ep 11: What’s going on beneath the surface with Meredith Schwarz
• Ep 13: Memoir, creativity, talent, and more memoir with Ed Cyzewski
• Ep 14: A snob-free approach to reading with Caroline Starr Rose
• Ep 16: Fascinating premises in dystopian fiction with Grace Martin
• Ep 17: Smart, slightly eccentric, diverse books with Andi Cumbo-Floyd
• Ep 18: Compelling, character-driven books steeped in time and place with Jessica Turner
• Ep 23: Honeymoon reading with Mallory Rees

Also mentioned in this episode:

How to take a reading vacation.
• For an adult reader, the possible verdicts are five.
Find out more about Read Savannah with Liane Moriarty (and me!) right here

16 comments

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  1. Kimi says:

    Grace and her love of dystopian has been a big favorite so far, but I can also relate to the likes, and definitely the dislikes, of Meredith.
    You make me look forward to every Tuesday, and today while out running errands I happened to find a huge used bookstore!
    I love these reminders to seek out books that are in the middle of my TBR list.
    Thanks!

  2. Lori McKee says:

    Oh Boy, I’ve been waiting for this one.
    Been binging on all of the episodes for last couple weeks… Don’t know why I waited so long. This is The Perfect Podcast, in my opinion.

    • Shar says:

      Wyndi, I have never used Echo, and in case you can’t get a good answer on fixing it, I thought I might suggest the app “Stitcher”. It is free on Android from the Google Play store. Just do a search for the podcast by title, click the podcast you are looking for, and there is a plus symbol to “add” it to your stations. And from that same page, select “episodes” and every episode will pop up in descending order. Super easy to use and they have every podcast I have ever heard about. 🙂

  3. Shar says:

    This comment is mostly directed at Jessica Turner from Episode 18. I am an avid audio “reader”, because, just like you it completely sucks me in like a movie and I am able to plow through so many more books because of it! My comment for you is this: I totally get that you were not feeling the Dead Wake book, and would you consider that the reason for this is the narrator, Scott Brick? I listened to him narrate The Storied Life of AJ Fikry about 2 week prior to listening Dead Wake. I BARELY made it through Fikry, not because of the story but because I find Brick to be very downtrodden, like Eeyore. I, too, am trying to branch out more into non-fiction. So when Anne gave her recommendation, told what the story was about, and said Larson’s style was so well researched that it felt like fiction, I was all-in. I started the audible book and nearly gave up after the first sentence when I realized it was Brick narrating. Since you’re new to audio books, I just wanted to throw that out there as something to maybe think of when it comes to audio, because for me it make as huge difference. I suspect that may be the case for you as well because you said that you gave it a higher rating because of the material and you said that listening to him at 1.5 didn’t work with the guy’s cadence.

    • Cathy Zavodny says:

      I love historical fiction and I hated Dead Wake. I read it and ended up skimming it. I think Erik Larsen has too much history facts and not enough Fiction/ character development. I did really like AJ Fikry. ( I read it too- not audio)

      • Cathy Summers says:

        I came on here just to comment about Jessica and Dead Wake. I would never try to read a book like this in audio book form if you haven’t read Erik Larson before. And it’s NOT historical fiction- it’s nonfiction. It’s supposed to be steeped in details! Personally, I’d never start with Dead Wake if you haven’t read Larson before- I’d start with Issac’s Storm or Devil in the White City.

  4. Jocelyn says:

    This was my first ever podcast! I hate my laptop because whenever I try to do anything it drags it’s feet and waves strike banners and feigns illness and gives little death murmurs. Malingerer! Anyway that’s my excuse for being a follower of your blog for some time now and not listening to any of the podcasts. But that is about to change because this episode was awesome! *shakes laptop – wake up you sleepy beast* (urggh, I have been listening to James and the Giant Peach and I adore how Julian Rhind-Tutt does Spiker and Sponge’s voices. I keep calling my dog a disguuuhsting creeture in high pitched tones and now I want to do it to everything.)

  5. Carrie O says:

    My favorite episode has been #10 “You can be a Serious Reader and still love Matt Damon with Janssen Bradshaw”. I like what you said about Janssen liking books written in first person narrative and about people in impossible situations. My favorites are Life of Pi, Bel Canto, and The Martian. I’m always looking for big stories in small settings, so I’m hoping to hear a follow up with Janssen and more favorites.

  6. Ed Cyzewski says:

    Just wanted to add an update that I’m just about through The Talent Code that Anne shared with me in Episode 13, and it’s a fantastic book. Another dead on recommendation from Anne! As a bonus, the wife of the author is a huge hockey fan, so it’s pretty much the greatest book recommendation ever.

  7. Rachel B says:

    Just discovered your podcast in the last few weeks or so and have been binge-listening whenever I get some time. I’m trying to go in order! A little request for episodes like this: It would be really helpful to link to the books mentioned in your show notes, just like you do in a regular episode, instead of just linking to the other episodes. I’m not sure if you’re already doing this, but thought I’d mention it just in case. I’m excited to get caught up on the next 60ish episodes!

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