What Should I Read Next?
Ep 507: Our Team Recaps Our 2025 Reading Year
Host: Anne Bogel | Air Date: December 16, 2025
Episode Overview
In this milestone year-end episode, Anne Bogel gathers the entire "What Should I Read Next?" team for a thoughtful, candid, and often surprising conversation about what worked—and what didn’t—in their reading lives throughout 2025. The roundtable format allows each team member to share wins, challenges, changing habits, unexpected discoveries, and hopes for 2026. Expect lots of bookish self-reflection, practical tips, and good-natured banter—plus glimpses into specific projects, beloved genres, and hard lessons learned.
Key Discussion Points & Insights
1. Theme: Reflection & Growth — Reading Lessons from 2025
- Each team member responds to three core questions:
- What worked in your reading life in 2025?
- What didn’t work in your reading life?
- Any tips, discoveries, or projects to share?
2. Brigid Misselhorn – Community Coordinator
What Worked
- Embracing the Vampire Trend
- Rediscovered love for classics through group reads, but her standout theme was "vampires—of all kinds."
- “When I say vampires, I mean bad ones, good ones, morally gray ones, funny ones, scary ones, just everything.” (06:54)
- 15-20% of her 2025 reading involved vampire books, ranging from classics (Dracula) to sci-fi romance.
What Didn’t Work
- Buddy Reads Gone Awry
- While community reads helped with classics, too many simultaneous buddy reads led to falling behind (Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell).
- “I joined one for Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell… shouldn’t have taken that one on. I didn’t get very far at all.” (09:54)
- Tried to move a recurring "Murder She Read" mystery series off Instagram but lost momentum when shifting platforms.
Notable Tip
- Priority TBR Tracking with Locations
- Keeps a note in her phone with 5 titles she wants to read each month, and lists where each book is (e.g., library, Libro.fm).
- “Not only do I keep five or so titles… I’ve now started writing where it’s actually located… That is saving precious reading time.” (11:35)
3. Shannon Malone – Patreon Community Manager
What Worked
- Focused, Low-Pressure Goals
- Only reading goal: to enjoy 25 five-star books. Allowed her to be discerning and enjoy reading.
- “My only goal was to read 25 five-star reads this year… Not having a huge reading goal. It was great and it really worked for me.” (13:19)
What Didn’t Work
- Going Deep Fell Short
- Hoped to do a deep dive into a favorite subject or book but didn’t manage with her limited goal.
- “I thought I would have time to deep dive into a book or subject… and I did not... So I'm wanting to do that in 2026.” (15:08)
Surprises & Discoveries
-
Books Not on Radar That Stood Out
- How to Read a Book by Monica Wood—initially unsure but loved it.
- “At first I was like, I don’t know if this is for me just on the description… But I decided to give it a go. And it was so good.” (16:43)
- You Don’t Need a Budget by Dana Miranda—reshaped her thinking about personal finance.
- How to Read a Book by Monica Wood—initially unsure but loved it.
-
Novelty: Survivor-Inspired Fiction
- Read Escape by Stephen Fishback, a reality TV-inspired novel; not what she imagined, but still thought-provoking. (21:22)
4. Donna – Metrics, Reporting, and Content Creation
What Worked
- Acceptance & Adapting to Change
- Embraced being honest about her changed attention span; shifted to shorter chapters, page-turners, and series.
- “I have to be… honest with myself that my attention span has changed. I wish it hadn’t... But this year I just kind of gave in.” (25:36)
What Didn’t Work
- Juggling Multiple Books
- Reading three books at once led to lost momentum and more DNF (did not finish).
- Plans to go back to reading one book at a time, with an ebook as her single format. (27:29)
Standout Project
- Taylor Swift Reading Challenge
- Designed reading prompts inspired by Swift’s twelve albums; included a listening component and a bracket battle of songs.
- “Next thing I know, 50 people have signed up and we are just having a blast.” (30:41)
5. Lee Kramer – Editor and Social Media/Event Project Manager
What Worked
-
Reading Less, Reading with Care
- Cancer diagnosis and treatment made her reconsider reading habits, leading to careful book selection and focus on emotional needs.
- Avoided grief and cancer narratives; more research before picking up new books to avoid triggers.
- “It’s like I just had to… do a lot more research before I start a new book, because surprise, cancer is in a lot of things you would not expect.” (32:00)
-
Buddy Reads & Rereading
- Enjoyed romance history project with friends and working through Robin Hobb’s fantasy series.
What Didn’t Work
- Struggling to Find the Right Book
- Uncertain about new reading tastes, possibly reading too many new releases; misses the comfort and reliability of rereading. (35:05)
Desired Tropes for 2026
- “Neighbors to lovers and roommates to lovers” romances, especially those not centered on standard tropes. (37:41)
- Recommended: All Wrapped Up in You by Rosie Danon.
6. Holly Wilkachewski – Media Production Specialist
What Worked
-
Reading from Her Own Shelves/Library
- Successfully reduced new book purchases, tackled her TBR pile, and used library more.
-
Being Open to Recommendations
- Trusted others’ suggestions, leading to surprise favorites like Red, White and Royal Blue and The Space Between Worlds.
What Didn’t Work
-
Tiny Font Sizes
- Frustrated by unreadably small print in modern book editions.
- “I open it up and I’m just like, is this written for, like, a microscope?” (41:31)
-
International Editions Frustration
- Trouble finding English translations or U.S. editions of series discovered abroad.
Surprising Stat
- New-to-Me Authors = More Five-Star Reads
- 70% of her favorite books were by authors new to her—driven by recommendations and exploring library options. (44:07)
7. Ginger – Book Club Community Manager
What Worked
-
Matching Reading Format to Text
- Learned to select format (audio, print, Kindle, etc.) intentionally for each book; stopped audio literary fiction after years of trial/error.
- “I can’t listen to any literary fiction on audio… Just learning, is this a book I need to take notes on?… Matching that has been such a success for me this year.” (48:29)
-
Dual Formats When It Matters
- Example: When the Going Was Good by Graydon Carter – listened on audio for stories, owned print for the epilogue.
What Didn’t Work
- Goal to Read More Long Books Derailed
- Set out to read one 500+ page book per quarter, but couldn’t keep it up after starting grad school.
Surprises
- Read 30 Classics (!) in One Year
- “Ann, I have read 30 classics this year.” (52:16)
- Favorites included: The Great Gatsby (community read), The Bell Jar, Play It As It Lays, Wind in the Willows, and extensive Greek classics.
8. William Bogle – Executive Producer
What Worked
- Personal Reading Curriculum
- Accidentally built a project around the theme of “the control of nature,” mostly nonfiction, but included one novel that fit seamlessly.
- “The personal curriculum project really got me going on a single topic… but also helped me check off a couple of books from my long standing TBR.” (57:07)
What Didn’t Work
- Serial Reading Fatigue
- Lost enthusiasm for several book series; sometimes preferred comfort of familiar characters, but questioned whether the installments delivered.
- “I’m in the middle of five series… but I’m not always the most satisfied.” (57:51)
Reading Rhythms
- Enjoys reading next to Anne. Noticed he read some books very quickly (e.g., Serviceberry by Robin Wall Kimmerer), some quite slowly (e.g., Barbarian Days took six weeks), but didn’t mind savoring a long book if it resonated.
- “It didn’t bother me that it took me six weeks… I was definitely aware. Oh, not really doing anything else right now.” (61:26)
Memorable Moments & Quotes
-
Brigid on her vampire streak:
“I’m reading that currently. I just finished The Late Night Witches by Ora Lee Wallace and I absolutely adored it… but I’ve read like 15 to 20% of the books I’ve read this year have vampires in them.” (07:44–08:30) -
Lee on post-cancer diagnosis reading:
“I don’t want to read grief novels. I don’t read books about cancer... I have to do a lot more research before I start a new book because surprise, cancer is in a lot of things you would not expect.” (32:00–33:00) -
Donna on changing habits:
“My attention span has changed… but this year I just kind of gave in and I read in a little bit of a different way... a lot of books that are page turning, short chapters, nonfiction, series… and I loved it.” (25:36–27:06) -
Ginger on format, book-by-book:
“I cannot listen to any literary fiction on audio. I know that in my brain. And yet I kept trying it until 2025. And I said, no more.” (49:30) -
Holly’s font woes:
“Font sizes are not working for me in 2025… is this written for, like, a microscope?” (41:31)
Notable Segment Timestamps
- Brigid on community and vampire reads: 06:07–08:46
- Shannon’s reading goal reflection: 13:19–15:03
- Donna’s Taylor Swift project: 29:48–30:56
- Lee on cancer’s impact: 32:00–35:32
- Ginger's 30 Classics Surprise: 52:16–54:46
- William on reading rhythms: 62:19–63:26
- Holly’s font size and translation frustrations: 41:31–43:45
Team Takeaways for Listeners
- Honesty about changing reading needs is freeing, not limiting.
- Buddy reads and community events can both motivate and overwhelm—choose wisely.
- It’s okay to reread or stick to comfort genres, especially in challenging times.
- Don’t be afraid to match book formats to your mood, attention, and genre preferences.
- Limiting book buying can spark creativity and open you to surprising recommendations.
- Celebrate unexpected wins—whether that’s a vampire streak, 30 classics in a year, or finally tackling your TBR.
Final Thought
As Anne puts it:
“...we form this picture of who we are as readers… those things we learned feel like things we have attained that will not change—until they do.” (27:10)
For a full list of titles discussed, tips, and to join the conversation, visit whatshouldireadnextpodcast.com.