Ep 533: Midyear reading check-in

Summary

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What Should I Read Next? with Anne Bogel

Episode 533: Midyear Reading Check-In

Release Date: July 14, 2026

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Episode Overview

This episode marks the third annual midyear reading check-in with Anne Bogel and Shannon Malone, the show’s Community Manager. The theme is reflective and conversational, focusing on how their reading lives have unfolded over the first half of 2026. The episode explores whether their intentions and goals from January have been realized, what has surprised or disappointed them, and how they plan to approach the rest of their reading year. The tone is casual, insightful, and often humorous, encouraging listeners to reflect on their own reading lives.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Reflecting on Reading Intentions

[05:44 – 14:07]

• Shannon’s 2026 Reading Intention:
  Planned a “personal curriculum” focused on courage, strength, and emotional growth but shifted midyear after “life hit me in the face” (09:25). Instead, she dove deep into poetry and found joy in it:

  • “I have read a lot more poems this year and listened to podcasts about poetry...still feel like I've done a pseudo personal curriculum, just not the one I was intending.” – Shannon [10:49]
  • No numeric reading goal this year, but still on track: 13 books so far, similar to previous years.
  • Laments not yet finding a five-star fiction read but hopes one is coming.

• Anne’s 2026 Reading Intention:
  Focused less on rigid goals and more on making “space to welcome the unexpected and weird and strange into my reading life.” [13:57]

  • Carving out time for backlist titles and literary exploration.
  • Committed to reading for both work obligations and personal satisfaction.
  • Spent four months reading Jane Smiley’s 13 Ways of Looking at a Novel as a deliberate, slow project, which she found deeply rewarding.
    • “I wanted to be deliberate and not feel rushed and make time for the things that are important to me.” – Anne [17:23]
  • Noted a reduction in the number of books read, favoring depth (e.g. the 600-page novel theory book) over quantity.

2. Adjusting Expectations & Capacity

[21:04 – 22:36]

• Shannon shares therapy insight on personal capacity:
  • “If something isn’t adding up in your life, start subtracting.”
  • Curated her bookshelf to only five-star and meaningful books—over 65 titles donated.
    • “It sparks joy and I love it.” – Shannon [22:23]

3. On Keeping or Letting Go of Books (“Bibliotherapy” Session)

[22:40 – 39:19]

• Shannon asks Anne for advice on several TBR titles, balancing capacity, mood, and recommendation history:
  1. On Writing Well (William Zinsser):
     - If not actively benefiting now, it’s okay to let it go. But maybe try reading a chunk while writing to gauge impact.
     • “Only then can we talk about if you need to.” – Anne [27:41]
  2. Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow (Gabrielle Zevin):
     - Anne recommends saving the “hefty, emotional 500-page epic” for a season of greater capacity:
     • “Put it on a little shelf that says for an era with a different kind of capacity.” – Anne [31:29]
  3. Five Star Reads that Spark Joy:
     - Alex E. Harrow, Becky Chambers, Mary Laura Philpott, and others are highlighted as bookshelf mainstays.
  4. Writers and Lovers / Heart the Lover (Lily King):
     - Heart the Lover is emotionally heavier; Anne warns it’s “sad” but ultimately satisfying if the reader is up for that journey.
     • “I don’t know that that’s the pond you want to swim in.” – Anne [35:26]
  5. The Phoenix Pencil Company (Alison King):
     - Despite similarities to books Shannon loves (Babel, The Ten Thousand Doors of January), its focus on “painful family histories and war” might make it a “capacity shelf” title right now.

4. Midyear Lightning Round: Bests, Disappointments & Surprises

[41:01 – 53:06]

Best Book So Far

• Anne: Had a stellar first reading week with The Great Wherever (The Camino), two Anne Tyler novels, and Maggie O’Farrell’s Land [41:39].
• Shannon: The Tapestry of Fate by Shannon Chakraborty (close to a five-star), and I Will Teach You to Be Rich for nonfiction.

Best Sequel

• Anne: Reread The Happy Ever After Playlist (Abby Jimenez).
• Shannon: Again, The Tapestry of Fate.

Anticipated/New Releases

• Anne: Cool Machine (Coulson Whitehead) and new book by the author of A Ghost in the Throat.
• Shannon: Ransom (Daniel Silva, Gabriel Allon series), Slantwise Histories (Alex E. Harrow), and Paradox Club (Charlie Lovett).

Biggest Disappointment

• Anne: Knowing by Kieran Madden (“not what I wanted it to be”), and disappointment in parts of Priya Parker’s The Art of Fighting due to examples that weakened the argument [46:46].
• Shannon: Not specified, but nodded along.

Biggest Surprise

• Shannon: Her transformation into a poetry reader, with Against Breaking as representative [47:47].
• Anne: Enjoyed returning to Kayla Rae Whitaker’s The Animators and Finding Grace after initially writing them off; credits mood and timing.

Favorite New-to-You Author

• Anne: Shannon Sanders (The Great Wherever), Nayantara Roy (Sisters of a Half Heart), and Simon Mawer (Prague Spring) [51:06].
• Shannon: None—2026 was about enjoying familiar writers.

“Book That Made You Happy”

• Anne: It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Murder (Ally Carter)—delightful, right book at the right time [52:21].
• Shannon: The Fine Art of Lying (Alexandra Andrews)—fun, propulsive, satisfying.

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Standout Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “I probably enjoy the reflecting and the planning more than the actual doing.” – Shannon [07:30]
• “Reflection on fun and satisfaction begets more fun and satisfaction.” – Anne [07:14]
• “Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the face.” – Shannon, quoting Mike Tyson [09:32]
• “If something isn’t adding up in your life, start subtracting.” – Shannon [21:08]
• “Maybe more satisfaction from less vacuuming. It’s nice. I’m killing it, you know.” – Anne, humorously, about household resolutions [13:48]
• “Is the ending worth it? I think so. But is that the right question? I don’t know that that’s the pond you want to swim in.” – Anne [35:26]
• “I think I'd like to read easier. ... You can read deeply and intelligently and thoughtfully and also still have a sense of ease.” – Anne [54:57]
• “Relaxed. Can I feel relaxed? Can I feel happy and contented?” – Shannon, on her year-end wish [53:16]
• “Perhaps unhelpful abstract word. I want to feel satisfied.” – Anne, on her year-end wish [55:24]

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Episode Structure & Timestamps

• [05:44] – Kick-off: Why midyear reflection is a tradition for NSIRN and the value of reading check-ins
• [09:25] – Shannon explains her year’s intentions, life events, and the resulting shift toward poetry
• [12:24] – Anne recaps her unconventional reading resolutions and household tweaks
• [14:07] – Conversation about balancing obligations and carving out space for “unexpected and weird” reads, especially backlist
• [16:36] – Anne discusses her experience reading Jane Smiley’s 13 Ways of Looking at a Novel
• [21:04] – Shannon discusses capacity, decluttering, and the joy of a curated bookshelf
• [22:40] – Book “Keep or Release” therapy session – should classics and favorite authors remain on the TBR?
• [41:01] – “Lightning Round” midyear questions: best books, sequels, anticipated releases, disappointments, surprises, new authors, happy reads
• [53:16] – Final reflections: What feelings do they want to take into the end of the year?
• [57:31] – Closing thoughts on learning and satisfaction from reading; call for listener reflection

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Tone & Takeaways

The episode’s tone is warm, pragmatic, and reader-focused—emphasizing that reading joy comes from flexibility, self-reflection, and making space for what matters most in the current season. Anne and Shannon model vulnerability in discussing changing intentions, adapting to new circumstances, and periodically letting go of expectations or books that no longer fit.

Listeners are encouraged to:

• Reflect on and recalibrate their own reading lives
• Embrace what sparks joy—whether it’s poetry, backlist novels, or reading familiar authors
• Be selective and unapologetic about what belongs on their bookshelf or TBR
• Ditch unnecessary reading pressure and aim for satisfaction over numbers

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Notable Recommendations & Reading Highlights

• The Tapestry of Fate (Shannon Chakraborty)
• The Great Wherever (Shannon Sanders)
• 13 Ways of Looking at a Novel (Jane Smiley)
• Against Breaking (poetry)
• Writers and Lovers / Heart the Lover (Lily King)
• The Fine Art of Lying (Alexandra Andrews)
• It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Murder (Ally Carter)
• Prague Spring (Simon Mawer)
• I Will Teach You to Be Rich (Ramit Sethi)

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Closing Encouragement

Both Anne and Shannon express a desire for relaxed, satisfied reading in the second half of the year—urging listeners to assess what’s truly working in their own reading lives and let go of any unnecessary obligation or guilt.
As always, Anne closes with:

“Ah, how good it is to be among people who are reading.” — Rainer Maria Rilke [60:17]

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Transcript

[Shannon Malone]

Okay, you've thrown a spanner into the works. So listeners, I take all that back. Maybe I'll keep it.

[Bridget Mistlehorn]

No, no, no, no, no. Don't take it back. Don't take it back. I'm not the boss of you, but don't take it back. Shannon

[Anne Bogel]

hey readers, I'm Anne Bogle and this is what Should I Read Next? Welcome to the show that's dedicated to answering the question that plagues every reader. What should I read next? We don't get bossy on the show. What we will do here is give you the information you need to choose your next read. Every week we talk all things books

[Bridget Mistlehorn]

and reading and today we are having

[Anne Bogel]

a wide ranging conversation with our team member Shannon Malone for a fun and informal mid year reading check in. Readers, Shannon serves as our Patreon Community Manager and something I love about that space is that's where we get to feature more conversations with our team and dig further into topics that we talk about here on the podcast in Patreon. Every Friday we share a bonus episode. Many of these come from me directly, like our Industry Insights episodes or our mini matchmaking ongoing series. That's where I do speed recommendations in response to regular requests from our Patreon community members asking what what they should read next. Many of our Friday bonuses also come from our team, either individually or as a large or small group. We rely on our Patreon community members to keep everything running here at what Should I Read Next hq. Their financial support is a critical part of how we create our episodes and pay our team a huge thank you from me and our team for everyone who is already a paid supporter and if you're interested in more conversations like today's or want to be part of making what Should I Read Next Happen each week, we would love it if you consider joining us as a monthly or annual member over on Patreon. Find out [e-mail] whatshould I read next Readers? Earlier this summer I wanted to add

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[Anne Bogel]

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[Anne Bogel]

now for today's episode readers, this is the third year that Shannon is joining me here to dive into our reading lives for a mid year check in.

[Bridget Mistlehorn]

Something we do around here often is embark on a little experiment that feels like so much fun to me and our team and also to you that

[Anne Bogel]

it comes to be a little tradition. And this is one of those, this is a conversation conversation that I and

[Sponsor/Advertisement Voice]

many of you have come to look

[Anne Bogel]

forward to every year. And now I can barely believe this is only year three because it feels

[Bridget Mistlehorn]

like I've been reflecting for this episode and planning for this episode and getting

[Anne Bogel]

to talk to you here Shannon for a long time.

[Bridget Mistlehorn]

So I'm so excited about what Shannon

[Anne Bogel]

is bringing to share today. And you'll also hear about what's been happening so far in my reading life and where recalibration or adjustment may be called for as we head into the second half of 2026.

[Bridget Mistlehorn]

This is gonna be fun.

[Sponsor/Advertisement Voice]

Let's get to it.

[Bridget Mistlehorn]

Shannon, thanks so much for joining me on Tuesday Edition.

[Anne Bogel]

What should I read next?

[Shannon Malone]

Thank you for having me again.

[Bridget Mistlehorn]

Oh, I really enjoy doing this every year and something that I find really beneficial and listeners, I hope you have

[Anne Bogel]

some version of this in your own life, even if it's just reflecting in a journal or on a walk is that you reflect back to me what I've said I wanted in my reading life. Somehow it sounds different to me when I'm listening to you tell me what you heard versus me just trying to remember what I said or listening to an old episode or seeing what I put in my reading journal.

[Bridget Mistlehorn]

So this is great for me. Thank you so much.

[Shannon Malone]

It's great for me. It keeps me accountable, external accountability. I'm an obliger from Gretchen Rubin's personality thing. So if I'm reporting to somebody else, I'm probably going to do it.

[Bridget Mistlehorn]

And we joke around here. I wrote a book by this title

[Anne Bogel]

like we'd rather be reading. But also I love talking about what I'm reading. I love thinking about my reading life. I love talking with other readers about those same things. And first it's just enjoyable and interesting to me. But also I have seen how I get more out of my reading life

[Bridget Mistlehorn]

and I make wiser and more informed choices. And if that sounds really boring. Like, reflection on fun and satisfaction begets

[Anne Bogel]

more fun and satisfaction. So really, the goal of this episode is to reflect upon and then take away what we need to know about how 2026 has gone so far so that we can thoroughly enjoy the rest of our reading year.

[Shannon Malone]

I must admit that I probably enjoy the reflecting and the planning more than the actual doing.

[Anne Bogel]

So luckily, that is part of being a reader.

[Bridget Mistlehorn]

So you can have both experiences. And if one works better than the other, well, I'm glad that both are available to you. Okay, so here's what we are going to do today.

[Anne Bogel]

We are going to look back on our reading intentions that we shared in a Patreon bonus back in January.

[Shannon Malone]

Yes, January. And we'll link it in the show notes for our Patreon members, obviously. And if you're not a member of Patreon is and heset, feel free to join us over there. We have a lot of fun.

[Bridget Mistlehorn]

And then you joked to me that

[Anne Bogel]

you're going to turn this into your own personal bibliotherapy session.

[Bridget Mistlehorn]

So. So we're going to explore some of your. I mean, you tell me, what are

[Anne Bogel]

we going to explore there? Give us a little preview.

[Shannon Malone]

I am going to talk about an intention I made and then what happened when I made that intention? Well, what happened after I made that intention and where that went. And now I'm in a. I have a conundrum, so I'm going to bring it to you.

[Sponsor/Advertisement Voice]

Okay.

[Anne Bogel]

We're going to address a readerly conundrum. Yes. We're going to discuss what we want for the rest of the year. We're going to talk about what's working and what's not. Maybe, maybe we could take like a little snapshot of where we are mid summer 2026. And then we're going to talk about what we want more of of the rest of the year. And we're going to close with a. I think other podcasts might call this a lightning round.

[Shannon Malone]

Yes.

[Bridget Mistlehorn]

I don't know that we've ever been especially speedy at answering these questions, but

[Anne Bogel]

we're gonna rattle through some what's working, what's not most anticipated, biggest disappointment, favorites, that kind of thing.

[Shannon Malone]

Yes.

[Anne Bogel]

Well, I'm excited to do this. Let's begin. Do you wanna go first?

[Shannon Malone]

Sure.

[Anne Bogel]

Okay. Tell us about your January 2026 intentions for the year.

[Shannon Malone]

Okay. So I had this grandiose idea. I always have grandiose plans. You should always know this. I love. I said earlier, I love planning. I love reflecting and coming up with things and then life has a way of hitting me straight in the face. I don't know if anyone's watching the soccer on television, but I heard a quote, I believe it was Mike Tyson. Sorry to be quoting Mike Tyson, but he said everyone has a plan until they get punched in the face. And I'm like, yes. So that's where I am. I had this really good intention of aligning my reading with my real life. So I wanted to read books and consume media about being courageous and strong physically, emotionally and mentally. And I call this my personal curriculum project. But life has hit me in the face and I think I moved more to what you said during that bonus episode that we talked about earlier. And I wrote it down. You said, act from the gut with a little post it noteplan.

[Bridget Mistlehorn]

I think readers might appreciate some context on that. I mean, I know what you're talking about.

[Shannon Malone]

Well, I took it to mean and that's what I'll say. I took it to mean like, okay, Shannon, you have plans? Great. I am going to go a little bit more intuitively with a general idea of what I want to do. And so that's where I've wound up my pseudo personal curriculum about strong and courageous physically, mentally and emotionally. That fell off. But I did end up doing a pseudo personal curriculum around poetry. And I have read a lot more poems this year and listened to podcasts about poetry and that has really, really worked for me. I've enjoyed it. I've read more poetry than I ever have and I still feel like I've done a pseudo personal curriculum, just not the one I was intending on doing. I did not have a reading goal this year. That was great. It's the first year I've never had a reading goal in terms of numbers, I mean. And I have read 13 books, which is kind of in line with what I normally do, which is kind of surprising that without a goal intention, I'm still kind of following my usual trend. I would say that I would love to have a five star fiction read, but I don't have one yet and that's a little disturbing to me. I think I'll hold the next observation for after you tell discuss your intentions.

[Anne Bogel]

Okay. Well, as you captured, I shared that my intentions apparently were not reading related.

[Bridget Mistlehorn]

I think because I had so few reading related intentions.

[Anne Bogel]

Like I told you that I was gonna change Daisy's bandana every single day. You all. Our 10 year old lab is such a sweetie and she gets so excited about mealtime, obviously going outside because she's a dog.

[Bridget Mistlehorn]

And I mean, I know not every single dog does this, but I know many dog owners know exactly what I'm talking about.

[Anne Bogel]

And also when she gets a new bandana, she is so, so happy.

[Bridget Mistlehorn]

So this was my resolute.

[Anne Bogel]

I never make resolutions, but I made one every day.

[Bridget Mistlehorn]

I'm going to change the bandana and I have. This has been a winner. Like small success, happy dog, happy family. We all go. Oh, Daisy, you're wearing my school color. You're wearing my favorite color. You're dressed for, I don't know, fourth of July.

[Anne Bogel]

It's great. Also, apparently I told you I wanted to vacuum less because I was going to brush my dog more.

[Shannon Malone]

Yes, I believe you did say that.

[Anne Bogel]

Yeah.

[Shannon Malone]

How's that coming?

[Anne Bogel]

I mean, okay, so my 16 year old realized there was a setting on the vacuum that I didn't know existed. So I'm vacuuming less because apparently I've been vacuuming on low this whole time. And vacuuming on low is not good for the dog hair. It's a Dyson stick vacuum.

[Bridget Mistlehorn]

Y' all make sure you know how to turn it to high and all of a sudden like it zips up the dog hair. It's amazing.

[Anne Bogel]

So maybe more satisfaction from less vacuuming. It's nice.

[Sponsor/Advertisement Voice]

I'm killing it, you know.

[Bridget Mistlehorn]

Thank you.

[Anne Bogel]

Thank you, teenager.

[Bridget Mistlehorn]

Okay, but with books, which is probably

[Anne Bogel]

why you all are tuned in. I wanted to make space to welcome the unexpected and weird and strange into my reading life. In the making space has to do

[Bridget Mistlehorn]

with the obligations I have created for myself and we've created for me as

[Anne Bogel]

a, as a team and a little readerly business with things we do for summer reading guide and fall and spring book previews and various projects at Austin in August every year I know I'll be reading the Pride and Prejudice annotated edition. I do have a fair amount of reading that I'm committed to and I wanted to be really thoughtful about how I approach all my reading. I was interested in exploring what I'm finding especially satisfying and fruitful in my reading life and to make sure that as best as I was able,

[Shannon Malone]

I'm

[Anne Bogel]

making decisions that align with that. Like even when I'm choosing.

[Bridget Mistlehorn]

Not even. I mean, always when I'm choosing Summer

[Anne Bogel]

reading guide and fall book preview books like what I even want to vet. I'm thinking about what would you all find surprising and unexpected and unusual. But be really glad you found. But I have to read a lot

[Bridget Mistlehorn]

of books to find the ones that I think are worth talking about.

[Anne Bogel]

And also this isn't captured in that unexpected and weird intention, but I am very aware of my the space that I carve out in my reading life for not just the unexpected and weird, but maybe like classic and just unexplored or off the beaten path. That came out in 1982. And I just wanted space to explore. This is a long winded way of saying backlist. I'm always looking for a way to carve out Lots of time for backlist.

[Shannon Malone]

Hey, how is it going?

[Anne Bogel]

You know, it's going okay. It's going okay. I read fewer books this year, and part of that is just how I'm spending my reading time. Actually, part of that is I'm looking directly at Jane Smiley's 13 Ways of Looking at a Novel, which maybe isn't unexpected and weird. But I bought this book after speaking with Julie Berry on the podcast. She mentioned it and I thought, that sounds amazing. And I do not even remember at this point, Shannon, what I expected from this book. But lots of people are surprised to find out, like, I was not an English major. I didn't take English courses after my freshman year of college.

[Bridget Mistlehorn]

I haven't like critically analyzed anything in

[Anne Bogel]

a classroom since the 90s.

[Sponsor/Advertisement Voice]

And this book and the way she

[Anne Bogel]

talks about the evolution of a novel and what is it even, and what does it mean, and what's the French novel versus the English novel and how did the Russians contribute? And you know, you know, you may

[Bridget Mistlehorn]

not know on and on and on.

[Anne Bogel]

In that vein, I felt like this is the literature class I never had. But this book was 600 pages, half theory, half book by book, going through a hundred novels.

[Bridget Mistlehorn]

I felt like this was the literature

[Anne Bogel]

seminar that I didn't take as a college student. But I am ready for now. And it was a slow read and

[Sponsor/Advertisement Voice]

I did a lot.

[Anne Bogel]

I mean, I'm a fast reader, but

[Bridget Mistlehorn]

I don't read a book like this at the same speed. I read like Lucy Foley, like, just probably, it probably takes me four times as long per page.

[Anne Bogel]

But I made this my morning reading and I spent like four months with this book and I really, I thoroughly enjoyed it. But that was very much in line with my intentions. Like, I wanted to be deliberate and not feel rushed and make time for the things that are important to me. And I hope the things I'm learning, like, filter through me and ended up coming out in my work and make everything feel richer and better, anchored and stronger. And I got all kinds of ideas

[Bridget Mistlehorn]

for further exploration of a whole bunch of backlist for what to read next. But of course, like, I'm thinking about

[Anne Bogel]

what I learned as I'm reading this fall's crop of forthcoming novels.

[Shannon Malone]

Sounds like you did a little personal curriculum of your own there.

[Anne Bogel]

Yes, English nerd. And then I've picked up some books on my travels and accumulated some backlist titles of interest. And I've tried to be really thoughtful about how and when I make sure I'm taking the time to go back and look at those old ones. And I'm also trying to be thoughtful about how I approach the rhythms of my reading. Right now it's for a fall book preview. Like, how can I make the most of my precious reading time for my own sake and also, I hope, for your sakes. So we just got back from the beach where I read. It's been a while since I read a book a day, and I didn't quite do it okay, But I spent two days on the new 512 page Chloe Benjamin. But other than that, I read a book a day. I enjoyed it so much. Only one of those was Backlist, and I thought it was going to be a dry read and I loved it. I just zipped through it. I know you want to know that was Proc Spring by Simon Marr, which I picked up on my travels at the recommendation of Melissa Joel Wan from Strong Sense of Place. She told me it was great and I said, okay, enough said. Oh, but I loved it. And it made me wish I'd brought more backlist on that trip. But it worked out okay and unexpected and weird, like just picking stuff up

[Bridget Mistlehorn]

on my travels, y'.

[Sponsor/Advertisement Voice]

All.

[Bridget Mistlehorn]

I don't travel all the time, but I think I've said on my travels several times, like when I'm visiting my college kid and we go to the bookstore store, I really enjoy just browsing

[Anne Bogel]

the shelves of a store that I'm not familiar with and just seeing what strikes me what looks good. And I came home with a couple books that way that I've been looking forward to.

[Bridget Mistlehorn]

I've only read one of like the three. I I bought it on that college

[Anne Bogel]

visit in the fall, but I'm making my way through there. And just recently Will and I were in Grand Rapids and I picked up this book on the Table of Books and Mortar. I picked it up, I said, that looks really interesting. I've heard good things about this author.

[Bridget Mistlehorn]

I bought their previous book several years

[Anne Bogel]

ago and haven't read it yet. And then I put it back down

[Bridget Mistlehorn]

and Will's like, aren't you going to buy it. I said, didn't you hear me? No, I'm not reading these things. But it was the fifth year by

[Anne Bogel]

Marlon Hasshofer, a German author. And the publisher is New Directions, and I keep an eye on what they're doing. They have interesting stuff from around the world, often in translation, but it sounded interesting. It's 100 pages, a little novella. And Will's like, isn't that like the

[Bridget Mistlehorn]

off the beaten path, kind of unique, weird reading experience you said you wanted? And I said, okay, fine. So I brought it home with me. I'll be reading that soon. So I'm making room for that book

[Anne Bogel]

and books like that in my home right now. And they're, you know, they're hanging out on my, like, oh, think of all the things I could read right now if I wanted to after I finish the forthcoming RF Kuang.

[Bridget Mistlehorn]

Ooh. I thought you might be interested in that.

[Shannon Malone]

You talked about making space. And my therapist has been working with me on the subject of capacity. Apparently I don't have as much as I think I should have, and she has been working with me very steadily for the past two or three months about it. And one of the things I read was that if something isn't adding up in your life, you should start subtracting. And the way I like to do that is removing physical things. So one of the things that I did was curate my bookshelf and I kept five star reads. And I have a few sentimental books that maybe weren't five star reading experiences, but I still loved anyway. And I love looking at my bookshelf now. It's so joy inspiring. It sparks joy. Yes. What am I trying to do? Just. Just quote Marie Kondo. It sparks joy and I love it. And over 65 books have been released back into the world, and I couldn't be happier about it. Now, Ann, can we now go to where I turn this session into being all about me and get your opinion on some books that I have that you have discussed in the podcast and book club and in various spaces. And I'm not sure if I should read it or not. So kind of like a Dear Book therapy session.

[Sponsor/Advertisement Voice]

Yes, let's do it.

[Bridget Mistlehorn]

Okay.

[Anne Bogel]

Out of my. We can say that it's going to help my purposes for this. This question of should they stay or should they go?

[Shannon Malone]

Okay.

[Anne Bogel]

But also, just out of nerdy curiosity, what are some of those five star reads that are now smiling back at you from your bookshelf?

[Shannon Malone]

Oh, well, I mean, so many. If, of course, you guys can't see me but I'm literally turning my myself so that I can see my bookshelf. Pretty much anything by Alexi Harrow is here. I think I own a copy physical hardcover copy of everything she's written in book form and I cannot wait to read the slantwise histories that she has, her short story collection that is coming out shortly. Then of course we have Becky Chambers Song for the Wild Built. I have a bunch of memoir that I absolutely love. Elizabeth Gilbert's all the Way to the River, Mary Laura Philpott's two Bomb Shelter and oh man, I can't see the title of the other one and it is slipping my mind.

[Anne Bogel]

I miss you when I blink.

[Shannon Malone]

Thank you. I have my paperback backlist novels that I love my Oxford year, Charlie Lovett's the Bookman's Tale. I have books about writing which prompts me to one of the books that I need to ask you about. And I have my TBR shelf which I have curated. And so that brings me back to some that are on my TBR shelf and I'm like, do these still need to be here?

[Anne Bogel]

All right, do you want to tell

[Sponsor/Advertisement Voice]

me about what they are?

[Anne Bogel]

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[Anne Bogel]

I love a good twist at the

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[Shannon Malone]

See mintmobile.com so my first one that I wanted to talk about since I already mentioned my writing books, is on Writing well by William Zinsser. And I've read a lot of writing books and I struggle to keep all the information in my head. But from the ones that I do read, Bird by Bird is my absolute favorite. And she released. Anne Lamont released another one with her husband that I am currently enjoying. And I'm wondering, do I need to read on Writing well? Is this one that you think I should keep? Is it on the pantheon of writing books? What's your opinion on that?

[Anne Bogel]

I mean, gosh, I read this a long time time ago.

[Shannon Malone]

Okay.

[Anne Bogel]

What I'm interested in knowing for this and all your books is what are you hoping to get out of the book? Okay, like why read it and why read it now? And I think only then can we talk about if you need to.

[Bridget Mistlehorn]

I mean, need. The, the answer to need is like absolutely not. So this would.

[Anne Bogel]

This is a like modern classic on writing nonfiction. So practical, helpful, fun to read if you're interested in such things. Or grammar geek. Are you looking for insight into reading, into writing? Are these tips you want to put into practice? How did it end up on your list?

[Bridget Mistlehorn]

You don't have to answer all those

[Anne Bogel]

questions, but these are the things I'm wondering.

[Shannon Malone]

I think it was on the list of books to read if you want to be a writer. What But Again, I'm going back to my newish intention given to me by my therapist in terms of capacity. If it's one that you're like, yes, Shannon, I learned a lot from that book. I still remember it. You definitely need to read it, then I would say, okay, I should. But if it's not, then I think that what I'm wanting to do is have room to implement the ones that I have read and the things that I did learn from those books and not put more on my plate. So that's kind of like what I'm asking. So I kind of got that answer from what you said. So I think I might release this one back into the world.

[Bridget Mistlehorn]

Okay. Counterpoint, as I recall.

[Anne Bogel]

It's very actionable. And I wonder if it would be interesting for you to experiment with reading a chunk of as you're sitting down to write something, because I believe much of what you write is like, personal essay, narrative, a little bit of technical writing where you're explaining things. And I wonder if connecting the,

[Bridget Mistlehorn]

oh, I don't really like digestive words ingest is a little like, okay, but I

[Anne Bogel]

wonder if, like, taking that into your brain and then seeing if there's anything that you could find helpful right away, could, I mean, at least give you

[Sponsor/Advertisement Voice]

the information you need to tell you,

[Anne Bogel]

like, am I going to find this useful? Not that there's not things that you couldn't reflect upon further, but some of what he says is like, you know, when you're writing a sentence, think about how you're loading the verbs in the sentence and in the reader's mind, like, do you find that kind of stuff helpful? Are you like, you know what? I've read a lot of writing books, and I don't need to hear more from Zachary.

[Shannon Malone]

Okay, well, you. You've thrown a spanner into the works. So, listeners, I take all that back. Maybe I'll keep it.

[Bridget Mistlehorn]

No, no, no, no, no. Don't. Don't take it back. Don't take it back. I'm not the boss of you, but don't take it back, Shannon. Okay.

[Shannon Malone]

All right. My next three books are fiction. The first is Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin. Now, I have heard that people love this book, and I've heard other people who have been like, now I have to say it's here because I adored AJ Fikry. I've read it three times. It's on my favorite shelf. I love it so much. But I have to say, I have started Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow many times Tomorrow and tomorrow. Tomorrow. And I have always been distracted and I haven't been able to get into it. I can't tell you why. Maybe the subject matter is not appealing to me. I've probably gotten 20% in and something has always come up. And you know, I like a good ending in a book, a satisfying ending. Should I keep this one?

[Anne Bogel]

Okay. What I wonder is how this book fits into what you've said about capacity. Okay, Is there an option here where we can take A hefty, emotional, 500 page epic, might not be going too far, and put it on a little shelf that says for an era with a different kind of capacity, it has a lot of elements that I think you would really enjoy.

[Shannon Malone]

Okay. But maybe not in this space of right now because you. You just said the words there that made me say. Yeah, no, not right now. Epic, 500 pages. Okay, thank you. I think I might release this one back into the world and then get it when I am in a space for that. All right, my next one is a shorter, not 500 page epic. Heart the Lover by Lilly Ying. Now, I loved Writers and Lovers, and I think I loved it because of the ending. Like, the ending was worth everything I went through in the first part of the book. It was so satisfying. I appreciated it so much. Now I have good friends who loved Heart the Lover. Like, it's on their best book of the year consideration. I have started it once and it feels very slow paced for me right now. And I'm wondering, in your opinion, is the ending worth it?

[Anne Bogel]

I hear your question and I'm not gonna answer it. I mean, to me, I thought so. These books have so much in common. Like, they feel like. Yes. They feel like mirrors.

[Shannon Malone]

Interesting.

[Anne Bogel]

Which is funny.

[Sponsor/Advertisement Voice]

So Heart the Lover takes place both

[Anne Bogel]

before and after writers and Lovers. Okay, so you get the. The backstory to what happens in Writers and Lovers and also the what came after. But Writers and Lovers is about the protagonist Casey, assembling a life. And it ends with, like, no spoilers, I don't believe, but, like, fireworks and triumph and fanfare. And like Lily King said, if the book hadn't come out on March 3, 2020, she thought she was going to get brutalized in critical reviews for it being happy, because literary fiction doesn't end happy.

[Bridget Mistlehorn]

But she thinks that the book was perfectly timed because, like, who didn't want something that wasn't bleak for a book

[Anne Bogel]

that released on March 3, 2020.

[Shannon Malone]

That is so interesting.

[Anne Bogel]

Heart the Lover is set into motion by an untimely imminent death and the protagonist is going through, as this long lost loved one is desperately ill, is going through this, like, swim in all the complicated and untold and unspoken experiences and emotions of what happened between them back then. And it's a very different emotional energy than a young writer struggling to make her way. I mean, there's no acapella boy singing in the restaurant in Heart the Lover. You know, in other moments of levity, like, it's sad. Okay, so is the ending worth it? Like, I think so. But, like, is that the right question? I don't know that that's the question for you. I don't know that that's the pond you want to swim in.

[Shannon Malone]

Yeah, I, I, I think that in this time, no. And I think I'm probably one of those people that Lily King was not talking about. Like, I love my literary fiction to end happily like that. I, I know that's not traditionally what happens, but I love it when it does. And so I'm glad it happened and I'm glad everyone got the response or, you know, that it came out in March when it did 2020, because it was perfect for me. But now, if this is on a different vein, I'm thinking it's probably not for me right now because I do kind of struggle with the genre sometimes.

[Anne Bogel]

And I'm not saying it's unhappy, and I found it really satisfying. But the whole book takes place in a different emotional register. I mean, there's grief in writers and lovers. She's grieving the death of her mom, but also it's a different kind of loss, and she's grieving that loss in a different way than what's happening in Heart to Lover.

[Shannon Malone]

I think my decision will be to hang on to this one because it is a little bit shorter, not the epic 500 plus pages, and see if I can get back to that space where I can read that one. Okay. And my final book, and I'm a little disappointed, but I, I think you hinted to this one. It was from last year's summer reading guide. It was my pick, the Phoenix Pencil Company by Alison King. And I remember, I said, I think I want to read the Phoenix Pencil Company by Alison King. And you hesitated. And I got a sense that you were like, I don't know if you'll like that. Shannon and I have tried to read this twice, and I always put it aside for something else. And again, I think all of my questions are, you know, I said on my inaugural episode, I don't mind ending, I don't mind spoiler endings. Like, I actually almost prefer them. But I kind of need to know that right now a satisfying ending is more on a joyous, happier side of things. And so I can persevere if I know I'm gonna kind of get that from The Phoenix Pencil Company 1. I'm curious why you were like, I'm not sure if you like that. And I'm beginning to think you were right, and I want to know why.

[Anne Bogel]

Well, that was a different conversation, a different time and place.

[Shannon Malone]

Okay.

[Anne Bogel]

I mean, I think it was about tone and where the history and meaning of the pencil magic lay. But I will say, it is so much like two books I think you really enjoyed. I mean, you enjoyed Babel by RF Kuang, right?

[Shannon Malone]

Yes, I did.

[Anne Bogel]

Okay, so this one feels a little less deeply rooted in the meaning of, like, where the. These pencils are magical. In this book, they have.

[Sponsor/Advertisement Voice]

They.

[Anne Bogel]

They are used to capture and then extract people's memories and histories. Is that fair?

[Bridget Mistlehorn]

I'm asking you this. I know you haven't finished it, but

[Anne Bogel]

you've read that much.

[Sponsor/Advertisement Voice]

Yes.

[Bridget Mistlehorn]

Okay.

[Shannon Malone]

Yes, I did read that much.

[Anne Bogel]

And also it's got some major 10,000 doors of January crossover with Alix E. Harrow, which I loved. And also it's a book about painful family histories and war and betrayal. And I think it was those factors that caused my hesitation.

[Shannon Malone]

Yeah. As you said, painful family histories and war. I'm like,

[Anne Bogel]

maybe that one could go on the capacity shelf because it has a lot to recommend itself to you based on what you've enjoyed in the past. Yeah.

[Bridget Mistlehorn]

And also.

[Anne Bogel]

Yeah, what you just said.

[Shannon Malone]

Okay. All right. Well, thank you for your assistance.

[Bridget Mistlehorn]

Well, we're just throwing everything out the window. You got anything else you want to get rid of? Table.

[Shannon Malone]

For now, readers, thanks for out the window.

[Anne Bogel]

We're rearranging, reshelping.

[Shannon Malone]

Yes, thanks for indulging me, readers. I hope you got something from that, because that is very, very helpful. I always appreciate your insight and you're so good at what you do.

[Anne Bogel]

Oh, well, I love to hear what people are up to in their reading lives, what conundrums they're facing. So thanks for inviting me in, readers. I love a good twist at the

[Sponsor/Advertisement Voice]

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[Shannon Malone]

See mintmobile.com shall we get to our mid year questions?

[Anne Bogel]

Yes, let's do it.

[Bridget Mistlehorn]

Okay, I was about to say I'm ready, but you know I'm not. I want to give you like 47 titles for the answer to every question.

[Shannon Malone]

Right. Remember, we're going to try to do this as a lightning round and readers. On last week's bonus episode, Holly and Bridget answered these questions and I answer some of them as the host of that episode. It will be interesting to note that we recorded that two weeks ago and some of my answers have changed since that recording.

[Bridget Mistlehorn]

So that's so exciting. Oh, I can't wait to hear.

[Shannon Malone]

All right. Best book you've read so far this year, Ann.

[Anne Bogel]

Oh, okay. Please note that many of the summer reading guidebooks I read in 2025 going on recency Bias, one of the many Irish ones coming out this fall that I just read at the beach for fall book preview.

[Shannon Malone]

Okay, so good.

[Anne Bogel]

But also I reviewed my reading journal, of course, in preparation for this episode and I would like to tell you about my first week of the reading year, January 3rd through January 7th. I read the Great Wherever the Camino, two old books by Ann Tyler, the Beginner's Goodbye and A Spool of Blue Thread and Maggie o' Farrell's Land in one week.

[Bridget Mistlehorn]

That's definitely my best reading week of the year.

[Shannon Malone]

Yeah, you were killing it with that one.

[Anne Bogel]

I really was. How about you?

[Shannon Malone]

This has changed from the answer that I gave at last on the bonus episode the Tapestry of Fate by Shannon Chakraborhi. It is the second book in the Aminah Al Sarifi series, but I can't stop thinking about was four and a half when I finished and it's probably going to work its way up to a five star. I know I said I hadn't read a five star. It's not quite there yet. If I keep thinking about it through the month of July, it'll, it'll, it'll, it'll firmly be a five star. But that's my best one in fiction land. And then in non fiction, I finally finished I Would Teach youh To Be Rich by Ramit Sethi. I was working my way slowly through that because I was incorporating all the steps. It's six weeks to a better financial future. Took me a year, but it's okay. I finished it. I got it done. It is my best non fiction. All right, next, Best sequel you've read so far?

[Anne Bogel]

Anne Ooh, I don't think I've read much in the way of sequels, but I reread on audio the Happy Ever After Playlist by Abby Jimenez because I wanted to do a one great audiobook episode on it. So maybe that old book is my best sequel I've read so far. But I'm wondering if the Tapestry of Fate is going to make my list very soon because I was waiting till after the summer reading guide to listen to the audio. I loved the first one on audio and so I have it downloaded already and I will be starting it before too long.

[Shannon Malone]

Someone pointed out that it is kind of slow through the middle and it is. It really is. But you keep going. It all comes together and it is obviously my best sequel of the year so far. New release you haven't read but want to and I'm gonna cheat by saying Ransom by Danielle Silva. I think it releases the week re released this episode, so it would have released this week. It's the 24th book in the Gabrielle Alon series this and I love that series and enjoy it very much. What about you?

[Anne Bogel]

I'm gonna say actually another series installment, Cool Machine, which will end Coulson Whitehead's Harlem trilogy.

[Shannon Malone]

Okay. Why am I just now discovering that was a trilogy?

[Anne Bogel]

Well, they just come out one at a time.

[Shannon Malone]

Oh wow. Okay. Learn something new every day. Most anticipated release for the second half of the year, and I already mentioned mine, which was the Slant Wise Histories, Collected Stories by Alex E. Harrow. And on the bonus, I mentioned the Paradox Club by Charlie Lovett.

[Anne Bogel]

I'm looking forward to both those as well and haven't read them yet. Okay, I'm gonna say a book I haven't read yet, the new book from the author of A Ghost in the Throat, who is Irish and whose last Name. I am not even going to try. But I loved and adored a Ghost in the Throat. That was such a. An amazing surprise. And I was so excited to find out that she had a new one on the way and it's supposed to be really interesting. Genre bending. I'm looking forward to it.

[Shannon Malone]

Biggest disappointment. Aunt Ann, I just saw your notes on that one and I'm like, oh, no. So go ahead and tell us.

[Anne Bogel]

Okay, well, I don't think you're. Oh, knowing would be by Kieran Madden.

[Shannon Malone]

I am not.

[Anne Bogel]

And the disappointment isn't just about the book, but I didn't think it was for me. I think I'm disappointed in myself. The book isn't what I wanted it to be and I think I recognize that pretty quickly that like, I don't think this is a good idea, but readers keep telling me, but no, it's so good. And I get in trouble when I.

[Bridget Mistlehorn]

I mean, I don't do it very

[Anne Bogel]

often, but I kept picking it up and I kept trying and I should not have done that.

[Shannon Malone]

Okay.

[Anne Bogel]

Okay. I think the thing you're grimacing about is I said also maybe Priya Parker.

[Shannon Malone]

Oh, no.

[Bridget Mistlehorn]

Yes, I agree.

[Anne Bogel]

So I adore the Art of Gathering. I've read it multiple times. I was really looking forward to.

[Bridget Mistlehorn]

I mean, I'm still looking forward to.

[Anne Bogel]

I'm looking forward to talking about it with people. The Art of Fighting, her book coming out in September. And I'll be talking about this more in the fall book preview. So much of the Art of Fighting was so good and some of it was really funny and refreshing.

[Bridget Mistlehorn]

I like, I read some passages that

[Anne Bogel]

were examples out loud to my kids

[Bridget Mistlehorn]

as I was reading because I was like, guys, listen to this. Because it was just cracking me up.

[Anne Bogel]

But I was disappointed in the inclusion of some examples that I thought substantially weakened the argument. But just not just that, but like the book and it was so close to great. But like thinking of some of the examples now, like, I'm just. Could have been better subtract as you were talking about with your. Your theme for this year. The distraction can make things stronger.

[Shannon Malone]

It can.

[Anne Bogel]

Okay, moving on.

[Shannon Malone]

Biggest surprise, I'm going to say against breaking on the power of poetry to represent all the poems that I have been reading and enjoying. I never considered myself a lover of poetry or even a reader of poetry other than, you know, a few things. And there's so many poems that I read that I can't even name. But I did pick up against breaking and I absolutely adored the concept and what she's saying in the book. And so I'm throwing that out as the representative of all of the poetry that I've read this year, which has been a big surprise to me.

[Bridget Mistlehorn]

I'm surprised.

[Anne Bogel]

And I love that for you, my biggest surprises are books that I either didn't enjoy in the past and came

[Bridget Mistlehorn]

back to and was like, what was I thinking? This is amazing. Or looked at the COVID and went, I'm not reading that.

[Anne Bogel]

And then got talked into it.

[Bridget Mistlehorn]

Okay, so what these books actually are.

[Anne Bogel]

I started Kayla Ray Whitaker's debut, the Animators, when it came out back in 2018. I made it through maybe 30%, and I didn't like it and I quit. But a book in the Summer Reading Guide is her new May release, Returns and Exchanges, which I loved. And so I went back to the animators, wondering what 2026 Anne would think about this book. And I. I mean, I don't know.

[Bridget Mistlehorn]

Like, this time I. I couldn't identify

[Anne Bogel]

where I stalled out.

[Bridget Mistlehorn]

I listened to the audio.

[Anne Bogel]

I read the print last time. Maybe that was a difference. But this time it caught and I enjoyed it so much. And actually, you'll be hearing me talk about this more soon because I recommend it to a Kentucky guest later this month. And then the book Finding Grace came to me in the mail. I do not remember how it arrived. First I got the advanced review copy, and then I got the hardcover.

[Bridget Mistlehorn]

And both times I went, I dislike that cover and I don't want to read that book. And I don't even care what it's about. I don't want to look at it.

[Anne Bogel]

But then Ginger read it and she was like, have you read Finding Grace? It's amazing. Oh, my gosh. I could.

[Bridget Mistlehorn]

This is all I want to be reading right now.

[Anne Bogel]

And I listened to the audio. I don't think I even found my hardcover, but I started listening to the audio and just, like, was so hooked. I enjoyed it so much. So, yeah, I saw neither coming, but I really thoroughly enjoyed them.

[Shannon Malone]

That's making me rethink some of the books that you. That I'm like, I think I'll leave. Let them go. And then you're like, oh, But I. In 2018, Anne and 2026 Anne are different. Like, should I hang on to everything? Listeners, let me know in the comment. In the comment section. Next favorite new author debut or new to you? And I do not have one in that vein of sticking with what I know and what I know I'm getting into. I've pretty much read the backlist or front list of authors that I know and love this year and it's worked, so I'm happy about that. But what about you?

[Anne Bogel]

Ooh, okay. I met a few authors this year that I want to read all their work or that I will wait patiently or impatiently for them to write more. Shannon Sanders, who wrote the Great Wherever, I loved her debut. I can't wait for more. First we're talking about her.

[Bridget Mistlehorn]

No, we're talking with her about her

[Anne Bogel]

book in book club in August. Nayantara Roy, who wrote actually again our July book club selection, Sisters of a Half Heart, loved that sophomore novel. Just went back and listened to her debut, the Magnificent Ruins. I can't wait for her to write more. And I just read Prog Spring at the beach, that book that my friend Mel recommended to me. It's by Simon Marr. He was shortlisted for the Booker for the Glass Room. He wrote serious literary fiction for a while. The Glass Room is his most famous. But I like had seen his name around, but I didn't have any idea what he wrote about. But I love Prog Spring and would be very interested in reading more by

[Shannon Malone]

him and finally going in with books that made you. Or book, I should say book that made you happy.

[Bridget Mistlehorn]

Ooh, okay. So at the Beach I had a

[Anne Bogel]

little Christmas in July situation and I read the forthcoming Ally Carter called It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Murder, which I will absolutely be talking about at fall book preview. I started reading it a couple times earlier in the week and ended up going for more serious literary fiction.

[Bridget Mistlehorn]

But when I picked it up, it

[Anne Bogel]

was was the right book at the right time, not years later, just like four days.

[Bridget Mistlehorn]

And I enjoyed it so much and

[Anne Bogel]

also didn't mind the contrast between the Florida heat and the Colorado snowed in mountains.

[Shannon Malone]

Interesting.

[Anne Bogel]

It was a delight.

[Shannon Malone]

I think I'm gonna go with a mystery thriller. The Fine Art of Lying by Alexandra Andrews. I have read quite a few mystery thrillers this year. I think I love the knowing that it's going to end kind of cleanly about those. And that one, it was fun. Propulsive and fun. Made me happy sometimes.

[Bridget Mistlehorn]

That's exactly what I want.

[Shannon Malone]

I know.

[Bridget Mistlehorn]

Propulsive, fun.

[Shannon Malone]

Yeah.

[Anne Bogel]

Meaty, but not.

[Bridget Mistlehorn]

I have to read this at four

[Anne Bogel]

times slower than my normal speed.

[Shannon Malone]

Yeah.

[Anne Bogel]

Okay, final question, Shannon. How do you want 12-31-shannon to feel about her reading life?

[Shannon Malone]

Oh, Ann, that is a good question. Relaxed. Can I feel relaxed? Can I feel like happy and contented? I am really enjoying being forced by my therapist. But being forced to remove expectations and this drive and so putting that into my reading life and just saying, nathan, I did what I could, I enjoyed what I did. It was a good year. I think that would, that would be amazing. No pressure, none. And that totally feels weird to me to say. It's feeling weird to do. Sometimes I feel like I'm failing at something, but that's not the case. I have to constantly remind myself that's not the case. And if I can get to the end of the year saying, okay, that was a good reading experience in that I enjoyed it and there was no pressure, I will be very happy about that. What about you?

[Bridget Mistlehorn]

Well, I love that for you.

[Shannon Malone]

First of all, I feel like it's totally against brand, but

[Anne Bogel]

no, I mean for years one of book riots mottos phrases that I'd see around was read harder.

[Bridget Mistlehorn]

And like I get it.

[Anne Bogel]

Like that sounds fun in a lot of ways. But also I think I'd like to read easier. Like it can, it can be enjoyable and we can be passionate about it and still have it, you know, it's not like I want to be lazy about. I don't think you're saying you want to be lazy, but you can read deeply and intelligently and thoughtfully and also still have a sense of ease.

[Shannon Malone]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Anne Bogel]

Oh, so perhaps unhelpful abstract word. I want to feel satisfied.

[Shannon Malone]

Oh, nice.

[Anne Bogel]

And for me, I think that means I want to feel like I have done something substantial with my reading time. Like I was really unsure if I wanted to spend all those reading hours on one book for the Jane Smiley English Literature Seminar. But I felt like I did a thing that I will remember and will stay with me and I don't feel that way about everything I read. So I imagine that having something to show for what I've done, not because I need like something to point to necessary like I don't, I don't need to show you look what I've done, Shannon. But I think I need to see for myself how what I'm reading is perhaps making a difference. I like that, you know, this is my question. And yet I think one of the

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reasons these mid year reflections are so

[Anne Bogel]

helpful is because I know I want to feel satisfied. But thinking about how that needs to be like, worked out practically. Like, how am I going to get there now? Sometimes feeling satisfied means ripping through a really great thriller mystery.

[Bridget Mistlehorn]

Like I want those moments of just

[Anne Bogel]

like enjoyment and levity and lightness, you know, as you're reading about murder. But sometimes it means like discovering new things about the world and about yourself. Or learning more about how novels work.

[Shannon Malone]

Yeah. Or in my case, learning about poetry.

[Anne Bogel]

Yes, yes. And learning new things about yourself and finding out that they're things that you can enjoy now that you didn't. You know, that we're learning and growing. And I don't want to sound too cheesy, but books are great. I love the places they can take us and the ways they bring us together. And I'll try not to be a SAP about it, but every once in

[Bridget Mistlehorn]

a while it's just gonna happen. Okay? Relaxed and satisfied readers, we would love

[Anne Bogel]

to hear how you're feeling at your mid year and how you wanna feel at the end of the year.

[Shannon Malone]

Shannon Final Thoughts Happy reading.

[Anne Bogel]

Oh you know, maybe not the biggest surprise but up there is the number of times I encountered Reiner Maria Rilke in the pages of fiction and nonfiction this year. Epigraphs or woven through the text.

[Shannon Malone]

That is true. I have noticed that myself.

[Anne Bogel]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. I strongly connect him in my mind with what Should I Read Next? Since episode one, we've been, we've been telling everyone how wonderful it is to be with those who are reading and, well, among those who are reading. And I am always happy to see him out. I just give like a little tip of my hat when I see him out in the world. Shannon, thank you for joining me in this conversation today, readers. I hope you enjoyed listening in. If you're reflecting on your own reading life, we would love to hear what's working and where you may be making your own adjustments or facing your own conundrums. Please share your thoughts by leaving a comment on our Show Notes page. That's also where you'll find all the titles we talked about. We do that every week for you. That's at what Should I read next podcast.com if you could take a moment to make sure you're following or subscribed on your favorite podcast app that helps us so much in practical, tangible ways. We are on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, Pocket, Cast, basically wherever you get your podcast when you subscribe, that's free and easy for you. It also provides valuable data to our platforms and this is a quick, easy and free way to show your support for our show. We also send out weekly emails with news and updates. Sign up at what Should I read next podcast.com newsletter. We are on Instagram at what Should I Read Next? Our team member Lee runs that account and she sees your every post and message and shares those with her. Our team if you share an update about your mid year reading check in. We would love to see. Please tag us in those posts or stories at what Should I Read Next? Thanks to the people who make the show happen. What Should I Read Next Is created each week by Executive Producer Will Bogle, Media Production Specialist Holly Wilkachevsky, Social Media Manager and Editor Lee Kramer, Community Coordinator Bridget Mistlehorn, Community Manager and my co host today Shannon Malone and our whole team at what she Should I Read next and modern Mrs. Darcy HQ plus the audio whizzes at Studio D Podcast Production Readers, that is it for this episode. Thanks so much for listening. And as Reiner Maria Rocca said, ah,

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how good it is to be among people who are reading.

[Anne Bogel]

Happy reading everyone.

[Shannon Malone]

Happy reading.