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WSIRN Ep. 4: Reading as escape, hating lots of books, and finding new fiction with author Seth Haines

It’s Tuesday, which means a new episode of What Should I Read Next!

Coming Clean, Haines Today I’m talking with attorney, blogger, and author Seth Haines, whose first work, Coming Clean, was published in October. Seth and I have a great conversation about reading as escape, how we both hate so many books, first editions clubs, reading for the morning/noon/and night, and, of course, what he should read next.
Connect with Seth Haines on his blog, instagram, and twitter
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Books mentioned in this episode: 

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All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr
The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway
The Bone Clocks by David Mitchell
Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell
Among the Ten Thousand Things by Julia Pierpont
Great Expectations by Charles Dickens
Go Set a Watchman by Harper Lee
Coming Clean by Seth Haines
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
Addiction and Virtue: Beyond the Models of Disease and Choice by Kent Dunnington
Slade House by David Mitchell
City on Fire by Garth Risk Hallberg
The Book of Strange New Things by Michel Faber
Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut
Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng
A God in Ruins by Kate Atkinson
Life After Life by Kate Atkinson

Also mentioned in this episode:

The 2016 reading challenge (this is why I’m reading a book that intimidates me).

Signed first editions club from Book Passage

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59 comments

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  1. Sarah R says:

    I’m so excited you’re going to talk about City on Fire! I just started reading it and am on page 100 (so about 10% done!). Thanks for putting on such a great podcast.

  2. Jess says:

    Totally unrelated, but do you still love your little pencil sharpener from Amazon? We’re debating it, but $9 for a manual seems kind of expensive. Just want to know how it’s holding up.

    • Anne says:

      Yes!! Although I have to admit a get a little flustered when it’s not right where it belongs on our art cart, because I do NOT want to lose a $9 pencil sharpener!

  3. Melissa says:

    Tuesdays are becoming my favorite day of the week because this podcast comes out.
    I tend to open Goodreads as I listen and immediately add books to my To Read list. Thank you Anne for this amazing podcast that is fueling me to read (and listen to more audiobooks) in 2016.

    I feel like I’m sitting at a table near you and your guests and overhearing your conversations and wanting to interject — in a good way 😉

    Is it next Tuesday yet? 😉

  4. Kimi says:

    My TBR list is growing too quickly!
    I’m truly enjoying the podcasts, and I love to understand the reasons behind what others do and do not enjoy.
    ~kimi

  5. Danae says:

    This was my first time listening to your podcast – loved it! I recently finished Life After Life (my first read by Kate Atkinson) and found it deeply interesting – but also intense! I’m waitlisted for A God in Ruins at the library, and honestly a little glad for the break.

    • Anne says:

      I can appreciate the “needing a break” part! A short break is probably ideal: you’ll give yourself some space, but won’t forget the details of the characters.

  6. Kate says:

    I am really enjoying the podcast! Now I’m tempted to join the first edition club. It sounds really cool to have a signed first edition each month and the picks for last year were really great. If you like Kate Atkinson, have you read Behind the Scenes at the Museum?

    • Anne says:

      I haven’t read Behind the Scenes at the Museum yet but it’s been on my list for ages! (Worth it?)

      I’ve been googling First Editions clubs ever since Seth and I chatted. 🙂

      • Kate says:

        Yes! I need to re-read as I think I read it about 13(!) years ago. I had this boyfriend at the time who had worked at a little independent bookstore on Cape Cod. He took me back to the store and the owner recommended I read Behind the Scenes. Kate Atkinson has been my favorite author ever since 🙂 The boyfriend is no longer but I still think about that little bookstore!

  7. Alison says:

    Thank you so much for starting this podcast. I have been a passive reader of your blog for quite some time and I just love this addition. As I listen and read more, I realize how much we have in common. I am also a former property lawyer, I have 4 kids, and I LOVED “A God in Ruins”! My youngest is now one, and I finally feel like I can read without falling asleep. While there is NO WAY I will ever make a dent in the TBR list that I have crafted from a) this podcast and b) your history of blog posts, every time I listen to your podcast or read your blog, I feel like I’m getting advice from a trusted friend. In addition to the amazing book recommendations, I love all of your recommendations in the self-care and wellness realm. If you keep up the great work, I will pledge to be better about engaging online with this community you’ve created. Thank you so much!!!

  8. Missy G. says:

    This was such a fun episode, and I added several of the books mentioned to my TBR list. Also, I finished Everything I Never Told You just a few days ago, and thought it was excellent pick for Seth considering his comments on Among The Ten Thousand Things (which I now can’t wait to read).

    And I wanted to second the comment about the background noise. Sounded to me like someone writing with a pencil. It wasn’t bad though, only a little distracting.

  9. Adrienne says:

    I enjoy the podcast, also. Your voice is great for broadcasting. I’ve listened to some podcasts that, while I liked the content, I couldn’t handle the speaker’s voice and had to quit. I think your content is unique and I am also fascinated by what people read and why.

  10. Jen says:

    I’ve been a blog reader for a couple of years and I must tell you that I’m loving the podcast! I’m a high school English teacher and I am trying to come up with a way to incorporate “literary matchmaking” with my kids. I’d love to see some YA books in a future episode! (And, I finished City on Fire a couple of weeks ago — I wanted to love it, but I just didn’t. I think I just couldn’t get behind any of the characters except maybe Regan.)

  11. Andrea says:

    Love this podcast! I am a homeschooling momma with girls who adore reading (we have even converted our 9 year old foster daughter into a voracious reader). It is fascinating to hear you recommend particular books to people based on their past loves and hates. How valuable it is to try something suggested by another fellow reader…even if it doesn’t make it on the favorites list. Thank you!

  12. Really enjoyed listening to this chat!! (Having a morning to myself, listening with a caramel macchiato and no kids in the car = bliss.) I think Seth would like We Are Not Ourselves by Matthew Thomas if he hasn’t read it yet. It’s lengthy, reflective, and gets better as it goes. I don’t think it’s for everyone, but I do think he would enjoy it.

    I also have to pipe in that I think I liked Kate Atkinson’s Behind the Scenes at the Museum even more than Life After Life. I haven’t gotten to God in Ruins yet, though.

    (This episode and thinking about my favorite books has shown me that I love long family sagas. I think all my very favorite books are long, multigenerational family tales that show why the family is the way it is.)

  13. Emily Minor says:

    Enjoyed listening. Ann, Kate Atkinson wrote a brilliant novel before her “detective” books. It is Behind the Scenes at the Museum and is a perfect novel. It is one of my all-time favorite books. Have you read it?

  14. Mary says:

    Your discussion reminded me of a book I read last year. It does have disturbing parts (and for that reason hard to recommend) but I learned so much historical facts about the scientists in our space program and some operations of the Cold War. It is also based on a true murder in Canada. The book is The Way the Crow Flies. When/if you read, be sure you research the murder case….but read the book first so you won’t read the true life of how it all ends.

  15. Tammy says:

    I have listened to this episode several times. Your podcast is my running audio every Tuesday.
    Read City on Fire – all 900 pages and convinced book club to read it too. I just finished Among the Ten Thousand Things – loved it!

  16. Mark Rogers says:

    New to the podcast but really love it so far! Binge listening the podcast , so that’s why this is from an older episode. Been in a book club for 2 years and set an aggressive reading goal for 2022. The podcast helps a lot with that!

    Mark from Denver

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