Ep 523: Some people read the Great Books, so why not me?

What Should I Read Next?

Anne Bogel

Arts, Books, Leisure

4.8 • 5.3K Ratings

🗓️ 28 April 2026

⏱️ 64 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

After completing a classics reading project, today's guest really wants to keep her reading momentum while also bringing more non-classics back into her reading life. Today we're trying something new and inviting a team member alongside Anne to help tackle one reader-specific reading dilemma. As you'll hear today, Anne couldn't help but notice that guest Cheryl Drury's tastes and recent reading project shares a lot in common with team member Ginger Horton's reading life. Ginger is our Modern Mrs Darcy Book Club community manager, and she has recently been immersed in the classics due to her current enrollment in a Great Books graduate study program. That's why Ginger seems like exactly the right reader to bring along for this conversation with Cheryl. Cheryl hails from Charleston, South Carolina. While she's always been a reader, she'd never really dabbled much in classics or Great Books until 18 months ago, when she embarked on a challenge to read through a year-long list of more than 100 influential books. The project energized Cheryl's reading life, but now she's not quite sure where to go next. Anne, Ginger, and Cheryl talk about how Cheryl may retain some of the structure from her classics project as well as where she can have more flexibility to follow where her reading whimsy takes her. Plus, they'll offer title ideas that may feel like just the right bridge between what Cheryl's been reading lately and what she'd love more of in the months ahead. Find the list of titles discussed today and share your ideas for Cheryl on our show notes page, at whatshouldireadnextpodcast.com/523. This year marks our 10th anniversary of Book Club. It has been so much fun along the way, and we've got great events queued up to celebrate this year. Plus, this is a wonderful time to join because it's Summer Reading Guide season. For more from Ginger and more Book Club fun, join us at modernmrsdarcy.com/club. Chapters: 07:43 Meet Cheryl 12:10 Cheryl’s decision to read the classics 21:08 Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes 23:38 The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain 26:15 A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles 30:05 Dead Wake by Erik Larson 46:34 1000 Books to Read Before You Die by James Mustich 51:42 Q's Legacy by Helene Hanff 54:15 Hagseed by Margaret Atwood 55:52 What will Cheryl read next? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	I don't know. I kind of feel like Ginger, you don't need me to butt in with any recommendations.
0:04.3	But if I can't help myself, then maybe we'll tag team you, Cheryl.
0:07.0	We could probably give her another 52, like the Anne and Ginger list.
0:12.1	Danger, danger. I mean, honestly, I do feel like I could read another 52 equally valid books, that it would be awesome.
0:18.6	Don't do that yet.
0:23.1	Hey, readers. I'm Ann Bogle, and this is What Should I Read Next?
0:28.4	Welcome to the show that's dedicated to answering the question that plagues every reader.
0:33.2	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.
0:41.8	Every week we'll talk all things books and reading and do a little literary matchmaking
0:45.6	with one guest.
0:59.0	While I love talking about books with readers of all sorts of tastes.
1:04.7	Sometimes I see a guest submission come across my screen and I think, oh, I know just the team member to have that conversation with.
1:07.3	If you've been listening along for a while, you may remember when a guest needed book picks for a bucketless trip to Australia and Southeast Asia, and I pulled in my teammate, Digital Nomad Holly Wilkachevsky, to share her recommendations because she had just spent many months in those parts of the world. Well, today, we are back again with a hopefully dynamic team duo. I hope I'm allowed to say that
1:30.4	Ginger Horton, as she is coming on to help tackle one reader-specific reading dilemma. We're trying
1:37.1	something new today, and we hope you enjoy it. But first, I want to tell you, readers, we've been
1:41.8	having so much fun over in the modern Mrs. Darcy
1:44.4	book club lately. And it's funny that Ginger's on today because she is our community manager in that
1:49.5	space. Last week, we hosted Cynthia DePree Sweeney for a live author talk, and it was so fun to bring
1:55.8	her back in a sense, though it was our first conversation with her. But she was a summer reading
2:00.6	author in the very first year, back before even Ginger officially joined our team. And now, here she is,
2:07.8	official in 10 years and counting. Ginger has been instrumental in shaping how our community
2:12.5	has grown. And you may not know, but she is also the mastermind behind adding a live unboxing event to our summer reading guide.
	...

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