I spent a long time as a kid thinking the name Penelope was Penelope, so yeah.

Hey readers, I'm Ann Bogle, and this is What Should I Read Next Episode 193.

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'll talk all things books

and reading and do a little literary matchmaking with one guest.

Readers, before we get into today's guest and the book she's looking for,

I have an answer to a question I've been hearing a lot in the past year. In fact,

one time I heard it was right here on What Should I Read Next, an episode 175 with Michelle Wilson.

That episode is called your library called and they want their books back. But I've also heard

it in blog comments and even in real life. Readers are looking for books about women who aren't

in their 20s and 30s, but they don't want quirky old ladies or magical grandmother's. Michelle and

plenty of other readers want older protagonists who are real and relatable and lose fictional lives

are similar to their own. Michelle and I discuss promising titles, of course, but since this topic

keeps coming up, I also wrote a blog post dedicated to stories that put older female protagonists

front and center. You can find this list on my blog Modern Mrs. Darcy in a post called 20 books

featuring season female protagonists. You can find it via Google or simply visit modern Mrs. Darcy.com

slash season to read all about it and load up your TBR. Today's guest is Karen Form, self-profess

Megan nerd who loves things like Lord of the Rings and board games and epic science fiction.

We're having a great discussion today about what it really means to be a nerd and how her

wholehearted enthusiasm has sent her on many life enriching adventures. Even if you hear

science fiction or fantasy and think nope not for me, I think you'll find something to love in this

...