What Should I Read Next?

Ep 507: Our team recaps our 2025 reading year

December 16, 2025

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  • The team members in this episode of "What Should I Read Next?" are reflecting on their 2025 reading lives, sharing unexpected wins and what didn't work, continuing a tradition from the Modern Mrs. Darcy blog. 
  • Bridget's most successful reading theme in 2025 was books featuring vampires, while she found that buddy reads for certain long books and maintaining a monthly mystery read group via social media were challenging. 
  • Shannon's primary reading goal for 2025 was achieving 25 five-star reads, which she nearly met, and she discovered that books outside her initial expectations, like *How to Read a Book* by Monica Wood, were significant hits. 
  • Lee's reading life was significantly impacted by a cancer diagnosis, leading her to actively avoid grief and cancer-related books and find success in focused buddy reads like the Robin Hobb series. 
  • Donna found success in 2025 by being honest about her current attention span, focusing on page-turning books, and launching a highly popular, collaborative Taylor Swift-themed reading project in the Book Club. 
  • Holly's successful reading strategy involved prioritizing books from her owned pile and the library to reduce purchasing, leading to a surprising 70% of her five-star reads coming from new-to-me authors. 
  • William's reading in 2025 was shaped by an unplanned personal curriculum focused on the control of nature, though he noted that maintaining investment in multi-book series proved difficult. 
  • The speaker spent an unusually long six weeks reading the Pulitzer Prize-winning surf memoir *Barbarian Days* by William Finnegan, which they thoroughly enjoyed despite the slow pace, contrasting with their usual pace of about one book per week (around 40 books annually). 
  • The slow pace of reading *Barbarian Days* challenged the speaker's usual aversion to long books, which typically cause them to lose momentum, suggesting a potential shift in their reading habits for the upcoming year. 
  • The speaker is considering tackling longer books, such as *The Brothers K*, in the next reading year, inspired by the positive experience of slowly savoring *Barbarian Days*. 

Segments

Podcast Introduction and Mission
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(00:00:24)
  • Key Takeaway: The show provides information to help readers choose their next read without being bossy.
  • Summary: Anne Vogel introduces ‘What Should I Read Next?’ and explains the show’s philosophy of guiding readers rather than dictating choices.
Quince Holiday Sponsorship Read
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(00:00:56)
  • Key Takeaway: Quince offers luxurious, premium-quality gifts and home goods at sensible prices.
  • Summary: Advertisement for Quince, highlighting cashmere, wool coats, silk tops, and home goods, with a special offer code.
Wayfair Holiday Sponsorship Read
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(00:02:17)
  • Key Takeaway: Wayfair is a one-stop shop for last-minute holiday hosting essentials, decor, and gifts.
  • Summary: Advertisement for Wayfair, focusing on seasonal decor, accent chairs, and fast shipping for holiday needs.
Setting Up Year-End Recap
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(00:03:44)
  • Key Takeaway: This is the final episode of 2025, leading into the show’s 10th anniversary in January 2026.
  • Summary: Anne thanks the team and listeners, announces the team recap format, and mentions upcoming anniversary plans.
Bridget: 2025 Reading Wins
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(00:06:12)
  • Key Takeaway: Vampires were Bridget’s unexpected, dominant reading theme for 2025, bringing her joy across genres.
  • Summary: Bridget discusses how vampire books (classic and contemporary) dominated her reading, contrasting with her initial thought of reading classics.
Bridget: 2025 Reading Fails
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(00:09:48)
  • Key Takeaway: Buddy reads proved difficult due to overcommitment, and her Instagram-based ‘Murder She Read’ group failed after moving platforms.
  • Summary: Bridget details struggling with buddy reads like ‘Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell’ and the collapse of her monthly mystery group.
Bridget’s Bookish Tip: Frictionless Reading
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(00:11:45)
  • Key Takeaway: To save time, track the exact location (e.g., library app, audiobook service) of books on your priority TBR.
  • Summary: Bridget shares her tip of noting where each book is located in her notes app to ease transitions between reads.
Shannon: Goal of 25 Five-Star Reads
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(00:13:29)
  • Key Takeaway: Focusing on a specific quality goal (25 five-star reads) rather than volume led to a successful reading year.
  • Summary: Shannon reports achieving 24 four/five-star reads out of 32 total, confirming she read the right books for her.
Shannon: What Didn’t Work & Future Plans
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(00:15:17)
  • Key Takeaway: She lacked time for deep-dive reading projects and plans to narrow her focus even further in 2026.
  • Summary: Shannon reflects on not achieving depth in her reading this year and intends to focus more narrowly next year.
Shannon: Off-Radar Surprises
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(00:16:43)
  • Key Takeaway: Unexpectedly impactful reads included the difficult-topic novel ‘How to Read a Book’ and the finance book ‘You Don’t Need a Budget.’
  • Summary: Shannon discusses enjoying books outside her initial plan, like Monica Wood’s novel and Dana Miranda’s financial guide.
Mint Mobile Sponsorship Read
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(00:21:51)
  • Key Takeaway: Mint Mobile offers unlimited wireless plans at $15/month equivalent for new customers.
  • Summary: Advertisement promoting Mint Mobile’s discounted unlimited plans and easy switch process.
Aura Frames Gifting Sponsorship Read
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(00:23:15)
  • Key Takeaway: Aura Frames provide a personal, easy gift solution by allowing users to preload photos remotely.
  • Summary: Promotion for Aura Frames digital photo frames, emphasizing their utility for last-minute gifting.
Donna: Honesty About Attention Span
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(00:25:30)
  • Key Takeaway: Donna succeeded by accepting her shorter attention span and prioritizing page-turning, easy-to-digest reads.
  • Summary: Donna discusses embracing her current reading style (short chapters, nonfiction, series) instead of fighting for longer reads.
Donna: Concurrent Reading Fails
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(00:27:23)
  • Key Takeaway: Reading three books simultaneously caused loss of momentum; she plans to read only one book at a time in 2026.
  • Summary: Donna explains why juggling audio, e-book, and print formats didn’t work this year due to attention issues.
Donna: Taylor Swift Book Project Success
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(00:29:42)
  • Key Takeaway: Her Taylor Swift themed reading project unexpectedly drew 50 participants in the Book Club.
  • Summary: Donna details her reading/listening project based on Taylor Swift’s albums and the community engagement it generated.
Lee: Reading Less Worked Amid Health
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(00:31:54)
  • Key Takeaway: Reading less and focusing on distraction/joyful reads helped Lee cope after her cancer diagnoses.
  • Summary: Lee shares her recent health journey and how it necessitated avoiding grief/cancer-related books and prioritizing buddy reads.
Lee: Difficulty Finding New Reading Paths
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(00:34:59)
  • Key Takeaway: She struggles to identify what genres appeal now that her old favorites (grief novels) are off-limits, suspecting she reads too many new releases.
  • Summary: Lee discusses the challenge of pivoting her reading tastes post-diagnosis and considering a return to backlist titles.
Lee: Trope Preference for 2026
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(00:37:35)
  • Key Takeaway: Lee desires more ‘Neighbors to Lovers’ or ‘Roommates to Lovers’ tropes, enjoying close proximity dynamics.
  • Summary: Lee expresses her love for low-stakes, close-proximity romance tropes, citing a delightful Christmas novella.
Holly: Success in Reducing Book Buying
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(00:40:06)
  • Key Takeaway: Reading from her owned pile and library helped her budget, and she discovered many new favorite authors via recommendations.
  • Summary: Holly celebrates progress on her TBR pile and the positive impact of following recommendations from others.
Holly: Font Size and International Editions
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(00:41:25)
  • Key Takeaway: Small font sizes in physical books and the unavailability of international editions in English were frustrating obstacles.
  • Summary: Holly details physical reading difficulties and the disappointment of finding books abroad that aren’t published stateside.
Holly: New Authors as Five-Star Reads
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(00:44:01)
  • Key Takeaway: 70% of her five-star reads were by new authors, encouraging her to prioritize discovery in 2026.
  • Summary: Holly analyzes her StoryGraph data, noting that reading constraints and community input led to surprising author discoveries.
Ginger: Mastering Book Format Matching
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(00:48:17)
  • Key Takeaway: She finally learned to match formats: audiobooks only for narrative nonfiction/personal growth, and physical/Kindle for literary fiction.
  • Summary: Ginger celebrates success in aligning audio listening habits with specific genres, abandoning audio literary fiction.
Ginger: Long Books vs. Grad School
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(00:50:42)
  • Key Takeaway: Her goal to read four long books failed after starting grad school; she now prioritizes shorter reads.
  • Summary: Ginger explains how her academic commitments forced a shift away from lengthy novels toward books readable in one sitting.
Ginger: Reading 30 Classics in 2025
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(00:52:04)
  • Key Takeaway: She read 30 classics, enjoying ‘The Odyssey’ and Greek tragedy, and felt validated reading Aristotle’s ‘Poetics.’
  • Summary: Ginger details her extensive classic reading, noting which were for fun versus school assignments.
William: Stumbling into a Reading Project
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(00:55:55)
  • Key Takeaway: His successful ‘personal curriculum’ on the control of nature emerged organically, blending TBR nonfiction and fiction.
  • Summary: William discusses how an unplanned reading project based on a theme worked well, allowing him to use existing TBR titles.
William: The Challenge of Series Books
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(00:57:33)
  • Key Takeaway: He finds continuing multiple long series difficult, often losing investment in characters or overall plot arcs.
  • Summary: William reflects on the commitment required for ongoing series like Alex Carter and Porter Beck, questioning his satisfaction level.
William: Rhythms of Fast vs. Slow Reads
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(01:00:03)
  • Key Takeaway: He experienced extremes: reading one book in a day, but taking six weeks to savor the long memoir ‘Barbarian Days.’
  • Summary: William contrasts his reading speed, highlighting the slow, enjoyable consumption of William Finnegan’s surf memoir.
Reading Speed and Quick Reads
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(01:00:19)
  • Key Takeaway: The speaker usually reads at a steady pace, but only read two books exceptionally quickly this year.
  • Summary: The speaker discusses how often their reading pace is noticed by others. They mention reading Service Berry by Robin Walkimer in one day (noting it was an extended essay) and one memoir for their project in two days.
Slow Read: Barbarian Days
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(01:00:50)
  • Key Takeaway: Barbarian Days by William Finnegan took six weeks to read, which is slow for the speaker, but they loved the book.
  • Summary: The speaker details reading Barbarian Days, a Pulitzer Prize-winning surf memoir, over six weeks. They describe it as part travelogue, part memoir, with a strong literary aspect involving classic magazine pieces.
Pace and Reading Volume
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(01:01:53)
  • Key Takeaway: The speaker typically reads about a book a week, aiming for around 40 books a year.
  • Summary: The speaker reflects on their usual reading pace (about a book a week, ~40 books a year) and how spending six weeks on one book impacts that average.
Long Books and Momentum
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(01:02:18)
  • Key Takeaway: Usually, taking six weeks on one book signals poor reading momentum, but the enjoyment of Barbarian Days suggests the speaker might be ready to tackle longer books next year.
  • Summary: The speaker discusses how long reads usually make them feel like their reading life is stalling, contrasting this with their experience of Barbarian Days. They consider tackling The Brothers K again, which they previously abandoned due to its length.
Looking Ahead to Next Year
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(01:03:08)
  • Key Takeaway: The speaker is considering making the next year the year they tackle longer books without worrying about the pace.
  • Summary: The conversation concludes with the speaker contemplating whether they should focus on longer books in the upcoming reading year, deciding it is ‘TBD’.
Podcast Outro and Information
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(01:03:32)
  • Key Takeaway: Listeners are directed to the podcast website for show notes, the newsletter signup, and social media channels.
  • Summary: The host thanks the guest and provides standard outro information, including where to find team member details, the list of titles discussed on the What Should I Read Next website, newsletter sign-up, and social media handles.