What Should I Read Next?

Episode 515: I can’t read all the books, and that’s okay

Host: Anne Bogel
Guest: Holly Dyer
Date: February 24, 2026

Episode Overview

In this episode, Anne Bogel sits down with Holly Dyer, a mom, classical musician, and Modern Mrs. Darcy Book Club member from Massachusetts, to tackle bookshelf overwhelm and discover strategies for intentional reading. Holly shares her recent reading stresses, her journey back to books after a long hiatus, and her new mantra: “I can’t read all the books, and that’s okay.” The conversation offers empathetic, actionable advice for readers struggling to navigate the pressure to read “everything,” including tips on vetting books, pivoting reading approaches, and recommendations in the literary speculative fiction and short story genres.

Guest Introduction: Who is Holly Dyer?

[06:50] Holly Dyer:

• Lives in Mansfield, near Boston
• Mom to a three-year-old, wife, classical cellist, part-time freelance musician
• Works in admissions at a healthcare college
• Pursuing a certificate in nonprofit leadership
• Big into cooking, exercise, and is a self-confessed coffee snob
• Only truly came back to reading a few years ago, after her daughter was born

[08:39] Holly Dyer:

• Disconnected from reading in high school and college (“burnt out” by required texts and prescriptive teaching, made her feel like she “wasn’t a good reader”).
• Found her way back via reading Harvey Karp’s The Happiest Baby on the Block during motherhood.
• Reading became both a pleasure and a way to recharge during baby naps.

“From there, I really fell back in love with reading. And then I just have become such a voracious reader, and I'm just really glad that I have books back in my life.” (08:39)

Key Discussion Points & Insights

Holly’s Diverse Reading Life & Recent Challenges

[11:45] Holly Dyer:

• Enjoys a wide range (fiction, nonfiction, literary, classics, genre, investigative journalism)
• Reads about psychology, music, race, sociology
• Recently joined three book clubs, including Modern Mrs. Darcy Book Club

Reading Life Hurdles:
[13:57]/[14:12] Holly Dyer:

• Stress about “not reading enough”
• Trying to “fit in all the books,” stemming from a fear of missing out
• Inspired by Oliver Berkman’s 4000 Weeks and the finite nature of time.

“We are finite human beings. We only have more or less 4,000 weeks... I only have so much time. And with regards to my reading life, I've been feeling like I'm trying to fit in all the books.” (14:12)

[17:25] Anne Bogel:

• Draws parallel: “Do we need... an equivalent 4,000 books?”
• Acknowledges that even as a devoted reader, you can’t read it all, and that’s not only normal, but OK.

“It’s not all going to fit, but your reading life can accommodate a huge breadth of experience, but not all the potential experience.” (17:26)

The Mantra: "I Can't Read All the Books, and That's Okay"

[14:12]/[14:40] Holly Dyer:

• Developed this mantra with her therapist to combat reading overwhelm
• Finds it hard to truly internalize, but sees it as necessary first step
• Wants to shift reading decisions to reflect her genuine desires, not “shoulds” or peer pressure

“If I'm feeling some sort of... overwhelm with how am I going to read this and this and this and this? I can't read all the books. And that's okay. And it's taking a lot of work to like really believe that, but I think that's the first step for me.” (14:40)

The DNF (Did Not Finish) Dilemma & Decision Fatigue

[18:06] Holly Dyer:

• Embarrassed by how many books she’s started and dropped (six DNFed by late January)
• Describes recent reading as unsatisfying, “I made it pretty far in a few, one with just 30 pages left!”

[19:58] Holly Dyer:

• Now feels “bookish decision fatigue” – tired of the pressure to always pick the next right book
• Seeks ways to reduce exhaustion and find satisfaction in her choices

“I’m just having a hard time even just knowing what I want to read and also just getting a little exhausted of just constantly trying to figure out, well, what am I gonna read next?” (19:58)

Anne Bogel:

• Validates the experience: “When I feel like I’ve chosen poorly a few times in a row, I start to get nervous. I start to get really anxious about like, what am I even doing? Are there good books out there?” (20:32)

Book Matchmaking: Holly's Three Books She Loves

[24:39] Holly Dyer:

1. Maddie by Lisa Genova (fiction)

   • About a college student navigating bipolar disorder.
   • Loved the depiction of neurodivergence and Gen Z culture (“Maddie is just a huge Taylor Swift fan, so all of those tidbits were very entertaining.” (24:39))

2. Symphony of Secrets by Brendan Slocum (fiction)

   • Dual timeline, musicology mystery, representation in classical music
   • “The way that especially in the Frederick Delaney… storyline, like just the way that ambition and greed are portrayed is maybe just some of the best portrayals I've seen.” (27:40)

3. Invisible Child by Andrea Elliott (nonfiction)

   • Investigative journalism on a child and her family in poverty in NYC
   • “You can really tell how much care she put in reporting on this family and portraying their situation and also just really uplifting their humanity.” (30:43)

Book She Didn't Like

[33:28] Holly Dyer:

• Not Quite Dead by Holly Jackson
  • Premise intrigued her, but writing style felt simplistic and melodramatic
  • “I actually knew from page one that it was not going to work. But I still read the whole thing.” (33:28)
  • Dislike for adult books that read like YA with superficial maturity indicators

What Holly Is Reading Lately

[36:01] Holly Dyer:

• Every Day I Read by Hwang Bo Room (“group of 53 short essays about the reading life - loved it.”)
• This American Woman by Zarna Garg (“a lot more earnest than I was expecting, but I still really enjoyed it”)
• The Swimmers by Julie Otsuka (“Very unusual… but she got me to care about this group of swimmers and the crack in a pool”)

Holly’s Reading Needs & Goals

[37:27] Holly Dyer:

• Wants fresh ways to mix up her reading (speculative fiction, short stories)
• Desires recommendations a bit outside her usual orbit, leaning literary & sci-fi
• Open to advice on “vetting” books before investing significant time or effort (“I would love some ideas for how I could just be a better discerner of will this book work for me or not before I actually think I’m committing to the book only to just DNF 90% in.” (37:27))

Anne's Advice: How to Vet Books Before Reading

[41:03] Anne Bogel:

• Check out MMD Book Club’s ‘Book School’ series (especially vetting session)
• Practical tips:
  • Look at the cover—what message does it send?
  • Who’s blurbed the book, and what does that indicate?
  • Read the epigraph, first paragraph, first five pages, and a random page (to see if later prose style fits you).
  • Review the acknowledgements.
  • Critically evaluate marketing copy vs. real content.
  • Ask, “Is this an experience I want to have?”
  • Consider your relationship with the recommending source (“Do I tend to sync with their reviews?”)
  • Balance positive and negative reviews to calibrate expectations

“The first five pages of the book have been worked to death… flip to the middle of the book. That can be more indicative of what the experience of reading the entire book will be like.” (43:20)

“I'm assessing the book but I'm also thinking about... do I want to step into these pages and enter that world?” (43:40)

On DNFing & Mindset for Short Story Collections

[51:58] Holly Dyer:

• Considers skipping stories in collections, recognizing, “If I'm not liking the story, maybe I'll just skip and go to the next one.”
• Anne: “...Just a taste would be enough to discover if the audacious and fantastical is something that delights you or... find maybe isn't for your reading life right now.” (52:31)

Anne’s Book Recommendations (with Timestamps)

1. The Light Pirate by Lily Brooks-Dalton

[46:14] Anne Bogel:

• Speculative, climate change dystopian novel set in Florida
• Coming-of-age story about Wanda, named after the hurricane that destroyed her home
• Focus: survival, shifting landscapes, emotional resilience
• Why Anne recommends: Literary and speculative, good on audio

“I'm hoping what you'll find is I did that. I was rooting for her so hard as she fought for survival and sought love and emotional and physical safety…” (48:55)

2. Bliss Montage by Ling Ma

[49:26] Anne Bogel:

• Short stories, “weird and fun and clever and perhaps disorienting”
• Surreal setups: woman whose husband speaks in dollar signs, living with all her exes, others involving invisibility drugs and mourning festivals
• Explores grief, broken trust, otherness with playful tone

“The story that [is] most memorable for me is one of a woman who's living with her husband, but her husband only speaks in the text in dollar signs... But it doesn't feel silly to read it. It feels like, whoa, what are you telling me?” (49:35)

3. Stories from the Tenants Downstairs by Sidik Fofana

[53:02] Anne Bogel:

• Eight interconnected stories set in a Harlem apartment building
• Explores gentrification, neighborhood changes, everyday life
• Diverse character POVs; compassionate, nuanced storytelling
• Especially good on audio but also recommended in print (per Holly’s preference)

“Some of these stories are pretty difficult to read. Like, there's hard stuff happening in these pages, but the overall tone is just really compassionate.” (55:03)

Memorable Quotes & Moments

• [14:40] Holly Dyer:
  “I can't read all the books, and that's okay. And it's taking a lot of work to like really believe that, but I think that's the first step for me.”

• [18:39] Holly Dyer:
  “One book I DNF'd with 30 pages left. I had read like 300 pages, and I was just like, I Can't. I just can't read another page.”

• [20:32] Anne Bogel:
  “When I feel like I've chosen poorly a few times in a row, I start to get nervous. I start to get really anxious about like, what am I even doing? Are there good books out there?”

• [43:20] Anne Bogel:
  “The first five pages of the book have been worked to death by multiple people... Flip to a page well into the book and read it and see how the prose is there.”

Actionable Takeaways for Overwhelmed Readers

• Accept the reality that you can’t read everything—give yourself permission to DNF or skip
• When overwhelmed with choices, revisit favorites in a different format (audio vs print)
• Approach short stories as modular—read what resonates, skip what doesn’t, guilt-free
• Develop a vetting process: identify what you truly want from your reading EXPERIENCE, not what you “should” read

Book Recommendation Recap

Speculative/Literary:

• The Light Pirate by Lily Brooks-Dalton ([46:14])
• Bliss Montage by Ling Ma ([49:26])

Short Stories/Contemporary Life:

• Stories from the Tenants Downstairs by Sidik Fofana ([53:02])

Episode's Closing Thoughts

Holly leaves the episode enthusiastic about all three picks, planning to start with The Light Pirate on audio, and feeling empowered to embrace a mindful, less pressured approach to reading. Anne’s empathetic, practical coaching offers a blueprint for any reader facing similar overwhelm, demonstrating that it’s more than okay to be selective and intentional in seeking out your next great read.