What Should I Read Next?

Ep 516: Don't overthink your buddy reads

March 3, 2026

Key Takeaways Copied to clipboard!

  • The central challenge for guest Ruth in the episode "Ep 516: Don't overthink your buddy reads" of the podcast "What Should I Read Next?" is feeling stymied and overthinking book selections for her low-stakes sister book club. 
  • Successful buddy reads for Ruth and her sister often feature strong emotional resonance, character-driven elements, humor (sometimes described as "sad millennial girl fiction"), and can span genres like memoir, literary fiction, and thrillers. 
  • The shared enjoyment of Dolly Alderton's *Everything I Know About Love* highlights that books focusing on the evolving format of deep female friendship and sisterly bonds resonate strongly with the duo. 

Segments

Introduction and Guest Context
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(00:00:17)
  • Key Takeaway: Host Anne Bogle introduces the podcast “What Should I Read Next?” as a literary matchmaking show dedicated to helping readers choose their next read.
  • Summary: The episode opens with the host setting the stage for literary matchmaking. Guest Ruth Werwai is seeking book recommendations to bridge the geographic distance between herself and her sister through their two-person book club. Ruth is concerned about recent book ‘flops’ and worries she is overthinking the selection process.
Sponsor Segment: Wayfair
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(00:01:05)
  • Key Takeaway: Wayfair offers a wide range of home furnishings, organizational solutions, and decor with fast shipping and assembly options, suitable for spring cleaning updates.
  • Summary: Wayfair provides foundational pieces, storage solutions, lighting, and decor, simplifying home freshening. Customers can search by type, room, price, size, and material. They also offer installation and assembly services for large or bulky items.
Sponsor Segment: Quince Clothing
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(00:02:11)
  • Key Takeaway: Quince offers high-quality, versatile wardrobe staples made from premium fabrics sourced directly from ethical factories, providing savings to the consumer.
  • Summary: Quince features well-made pieces like cotton cashmere sweaters and Mongolian cashmere cardigans perfect for transitional weather. By working directly with factories, they offer quality clothing at lower prices. They currently offer free shipping and 365-day returns, and now ship to Canada.
Guest Background and Reading Life
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(00:03:44)
  • Key Takeaway: Ruth, originally from Vancouver, has lived in Germany for over a decade and is a lifelong reader who has recently embraced digital and audiobooks due to location constraints.
  • Summary: Ruth shares that she moved to Marburg, Germany, 14-15 years ago and enjoys the bilingual environment. She describes herself as a lifelong learner and reader, noting that her reading habits stabilized in the last five years, incorporating print, digital, and audio formats.
The Sister Book Club Challenge
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(00:09:06)
  • Key Takeaway: Ruth initiated a low-stakes buddy reading system with her sister, which started after enjoying Seth Rogen’s Yearbook audiobook together, but she struggles with selection due to overthinking.
  • Summary: The buddy reading began after a fun shared experience listening to an audiobook while the sister visited Vancouver. The goal is to use reading to enhance connection across the geographic gap, but Ruth feels pressure to select books that satisfy both her taste for literary depth and her sister’s preference for comedy and plot.
Successful Buddy Reads Analysis
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(00:16:42)
  • Key Takeaway: The duo highly rated Dolly Alderton’s Everything I Know About Love because its themes of evolving female friendship resonated with their sisterly bond, and they both enjoyed Emily Itami’s warm-hearted Kakigori Summer.
  • Summary: Both sisters gave five stars to Everything I Know About Love, noting its relatable humor and themes of friendship mirroring sisterhood. Kakigori Summer succeeded as a character-driven story that offered enough uncertainty to engage the sister who prefers plot. Gillian McAllister’s thrillers, like Famous Last Words, bridge the gap by combining strong plot with character depth.
Unsuccessful Buddy Read Insights
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(00:25:38)
  • Key Takeaway: Julia Phillips’ Bear failed to connect with both readers because it lacked sufficient character motivation and emotional resonance, despite having a solid setting and writing.
  • Summary: Ruth picked Bear, which featured two sisters on an island whose motivations were unclear to the readers. The lack of character development and an uninteresting plot meant the relationship dynamics did not resonate, contrasting sharply with the emotional connection found in their successful reads.
Recent Reading and Future Plans
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(00:28:10)
  • Key Takeaway: Recent successful buddy reads include the emotionally resonant and surprising Wild Dark Shore by Charlotte McConaughey and the ongoing read The Ministry of Time by Callie Ann Bradley, which introduces a new genre.
  • Summary: Ruth and her sister recently gave five stars to Wild Dark Shore for being surprising and emotionally resonant. They are currently starting The Ministry of Time, hoping to explore a new genre together. Ruth also mentioned Sisters in the Wind by Angeline Booley as a recent read.
Recommendations Based on Overlap
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(00:34:05)
  • Key Takeaway: Recommendations for the sister book club include Valerie Perrin’s Forgotten on Sunday (work in translation with sibling dynamics) and Flynn Berry’s Trust Her (a contemporary thriller similar to Gillian McAllister).
  • Summary: Valerie Perrin’s Forgotten on Sunday spans a century and features a crucial sibling relationship, offering intricate plotting and emotional payoff. Flynn Berry’s Trust Her is recommended as a highly discussable, plot-driven thriller set in the post-Brexit IRA context, which should appeal to the sister’s thriller preference.
Memoir Recommendation and Caveats
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(00:44:19)
  • Key Takeaway: Beth Ann Fennelly’s forthcoming micro-memoir collection, The Irish Goodbye, is suggested due to its mix of humor, poignant reflections on loss (including her sister), and powerful long essays on experiences like living abroad.
  • Summary: Anne recommends The Irish Goodbye because it contains pithy, funny pieces alongside longer, insightful essays, such as one detailing Fennelly’s experience posing nude for a portrait artist. Listeners are cautioned that the title directly relates to the author’s profound loss of her sister, a theme present throughout the work.
Conclusion and Next Steps
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(00:51:12)
  • Key Takeaway: Ruth anticipates that Trust Her by Flynn Berry will be the next book she and her sister choose to read together from the provided list.
  • Summary: Ruth plans to discuss the entire list of recommendations with her sister before committing to a title. She predicts that the thriller Trust Her will likely be their next selection. The host encourages listeners to follow the show on podcast apps to help with discovery.