Ep 498: Books that feel like your favorite comfort TV shows

What Should I Read Next?

Anne Bogel

Books, Arts, Leisure

4.8 • 5.1K Ratings

🗓️ 14 October 2025

⏱️ 45 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Returning to favorite TV shows is a common stress management strategy. Today’s guest would love to find books that deliver the same soothing feelings she gets from re-watching her favorite comfort shows. Kayla King lives on a small-scale dairy and hobby farm in Spartansburg, Pennsylvania. A lifelong reader, Kayla's recently started to branch out from her usual genres of mysteries, thrillers, and science fiction and fantasy. When Kayla wrote in with her request to help her find books that could offer alternatives to her regular comfort TV viewing, it felt like such a relatable question. Anne explores this idea with Kayla and leaves her with recommendations that she can reach for the next time she wants to channel those comforting vibes and while experiencing a great story in book form. Find the list of titles mentioned today and leave your ideas for Kayla on our show notes page, at whatshouldireadnextpodcast.com/498. If you love tuning into this show each week, you'll also love our What Should I Read Next? Patreon community. Every Friday, we share bonus episodes with our members. Last Friday's episode featured a deep-dive on library digital collections and how they work. Our Patreon community members enjoy our entire archive of bonus episodes as well as invitations to our seasonal events, like our recent Fall Book Preview Unboxing. The podcast industry has been shifting quite a lot in recent years, and more than ever, we rely on our Patreon community members for financial support. For everyone who is already providing that support, thank you again. And if you've been listening along for years and would like to make sure we continue to show up in your podcast feeds every week, consider coming over and joining us on Patreon. Learn more and sign up at patreon.com/whatshouldireadnext. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	That one completely blew me away. I actually dog-eared a page and I never do that.
0:05.9	And I sat in my bed and sobbed just over like one paragraph. I would probably call that a six-star read for me.
0:13.4	And I'd never put star ratings on anything because it freaks me out.
0:21.3	Hey readers, I'm Anne Bogle, and this is What Should I Read Next?
0:26.9	Welcome to the show that's dedicated to answering the question that plagues every reader.
0:31.9	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.
0:40.6	Every week we'll talk all things books in reading and do a little literary matchmaking with one guest.
0:53.0	Readers, if you love tuning in every week for Book Talk, you'll really enjoy becoming a member of our What Should I Read Next Patreon community.
0:59.8	Every Friday, we share bonus episodes with our members. Last Friday's episode was part of our Industry Insides Luce series, in which I explore topics in the publishing landscape that impact your reading life, whether you
1:11.1	realize that yet or not. We've talked about bestseller lists, pre-order campaigns, special
1:15.8	editions, and more. In our newest, much-requested episode, I dive into the details of how
1:21.1	library digital collections work. So when you're borrowing books from Overdrive, Libby, and Hoopla,
1:26.4	what happens behind the scenes?
1:28.1	How do the libraries get those books? Why are the whole time so long? We get into all that
1:33.4	and more. When you join Patreon today, not only do you directly support our show and our team,
1:38.5	you also get immediate access to that episode, our Library of Industry Insights episodes,
1:43.2	and our recent fall book preview.
1:45.3	If you'd like to check out the other bonus episodes we have planned for this month,
1:48.7	check out the recent preview post we shared on Instagram. We've also got it linked in the show
1:52.8	notes of today's post for easy access. Our Patreon community members also get invited to our
1:57.8	seasonal events, like our recent fall book preview unboxing, and often
2:01.2	get to weigh in with questions or suggestions that result in future episodes here on the main feed
	...

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