Ep 514: Seeking heartwarming, oh-so-discussable reads

From What Should I Read Next? by Anne Bogel

February 17, 2026 · 1h 2m · Episode 514

About this episode

Anne helps Madeline Janney find books for her and her mom's book club while discussing how to structure their conversations.

We often hear from book club members who are interested in finding the right picks for their reading groups. Today Anne explores a deliciously fun twist on this idea with guest Madeline Janney, an early intervention speech therapist with a unique community-based hobby you'll hear more about today. This year, Madeline and her mom are forming a book club of two in their hometown of New Orleans. And, they'd love to pair their to-be-read list with discussions at the local restaurants they've been dying to try. Madeline would love Anne's help to find books they can enjoy reading together every month, and is especially hoping for ideas on how to slightly structure their conversations. She and Anne explore books that suit the small space where Madeline's reading tastes overlap with her mom's. We hope you enjoy listening in today—find the list of titles mentioned and share your recommendations for Madeline at whatshouldireadnextpodcast.com/514. We'd love to make sure that you're only getting the emails you really want from us, and not missing out on any that you would enjoy. You may already receive the Tuesday morning emails about this show: we also send out our Modern Mrs Darcy…

People in this episode

Host: Anne

Guest: Madeline Janney

Topics covered

book clubs
reading recommendations
discussion topics

Keywords

heartwarming reads
New Orleans
community-based hobby

Mentioned in this episode

Books & works: Modern Mrs Darcy

Places: New Orleans