Ep 515: I can't read all the books, and that's okay

From What Should I Read Next? by Anne Bogel

February 24, 2026 · 56 min · Episode 515

About this episode

Holly Dyer discusses her reading goals and strategies to manage bookshelf overwhelm with Anne Bogel.

Bookshelf overwhelm is a common concern around here, so we know today's conversation will resonate with many readers. Our guest today is Holly Dyer, whose name might be familiar if you're a member of our book club or Patreon communities, because Holly is an active member of both. Holly's a mom and classical musician from Massachusetts, and she's no stranger to a good book. Lately, though, Holly has been feeling stressed out about all the books she could be reading. This year, she'd like to refocus her reading time in order to read fewer books, spend more time with those titles, and both explore longer books and devote time to rereading books she's loved before. Holly is excited about her 2026 goals, and Anne is excited to hear more and help her in any way she can. They'll explore Holly's hope to better vet the titles she's interested in reading before actually deciding to read them. She'd also appreciate talking through how she might pare down all her ideas for her reading goals and projects. Anne has ideas, and we'd love to hear yours, too: please leave a comment by visiting our show notes page at whatshouldireadnextpodcast.com/515, where you'll also find the list of titles…

People in this episode

Host: Anne

Guest: Holly Dyer

Topics covered

bookshelf overwhelm
reading goals
book recommendations

Keywords

classical musician
book club
reading time
longer books
rereading

Mentioned in this episode

Products: Vera Wong's Unsolicited Advice for Murderers

Books & works: Unsolicited Advice for Murderers

Places: Massachusetts