I like to think of this podcast as The Book Psychic or The Book Doctor. Anne Bogel has a guest on the show, and she has them tell her three favorite books, one that they hated, and what they are currently reading or have read lately, and she uses that information to decide what they should read next. The interview format works well for Bogel’s podcast, however her interviews feel very scripted as opposed to conversational.

What I like about this podcast is that Bogle seems to bring attention to the idea that reading can be done in a thoughtful way. Instead of just grabbing books that look good, readers can do a personal version of Amazon’s “because you bought this, you might like this” approach. There are so many books out there and you will never read them all, so you might as well surround yourself with books that you enjoy. I appreciate that the seems to always suggest books that are comfortable and those that might challenge the reader, all while managing to stay in their enjoyment circle.

I guess the only thing I didn’t like was Bogle’s “podcast voice.” It reminded me of how SNL, Parks and Recreation, and other shows have made fun of NPR – they put on a voice to seem quiet and impressive. Occasionally it sounds disingenuous when she said “oh, interesting, I love it” and I’m like, “ugh interesting.”  I’m not convinced.  To be fair though, to say that to your guest every single week…everything isn’t interesting, but we have to be polite, you know? And to be fair, I’ve only listened to three episodes. As a new podcaster myself, I am also hopeful that people won’t judge me too harshly in these early times as I am still figuring things out. So my one critique may go away with time as she gets more comfortable in her podcasting skin.

The reason I keep listening to this podcast is because she lists 10-15 books every single episode and the show notes are basically a gold mine of ideas for what to read next. Most are books I’ve heard of but some I haven’t and so I’m kind of making a TBR list based on this podcast because I would have never thought to pick them out, especially the non-fiction suggestions.

So occasionally eye-roll inducing vocals aside, this is a very valuable podcast if you are an avid reader. Check it out and have a notebook handy to write down all the books you’ll want to read next!