Welcome to the next in the Podcast Showcase series, where we share podcasts with you in the words of the podcasters themselves. This time, we talk to One Great Book.
Sum up your podcast in three sentences.
The short-form podcast from the team behind What Should I Read Next. In each episode I pull one book off my personal bookshelves and tell you all about it in ten minutes or less.
I’m focusing on titles that aren’t brand spanking new but deserve lots of love — titles you may have missed or forgotten about, but will be glad to discover — again, or for the first time.
Who is your ideal listener? Who loves your show?
This show is for readers who want to go beyond the bestseller list and the splashy new releases to find great books with staying power that will be worth their precious reading time.
What made you start this podcast?
I love talking with readers about their reading lives each week on my hour-long podcast, What Should I Read Next. In every episode a guest tells me three books they love, one book they don’t, and what they’ve been reading lately — and I recommend three titles they may enjoy reading next.
The focus is squarely on my guest’s tastes, needs, and preferences. Playing literary matchmaker is a delight, and yet I longed for a space where I could share books I wholeheartedly love.
What have you learned about your subject thanks to this podcast?
It’s surprisingly difficult to compellingly describe books you adore, while also helping readers assess if the book sounds like it might be right for them as well.
What has your experience of podcasting been? What do you love / hate about the process?
I launched What Should I Read Next in 2016 and One Great Book in 2019. Overall, podcasting has been an overwhelmingly positive experience: I so enjoy connecting with readers in a variety of ways thanks to this conversational format.
I love the intimacy and immediacy of the medium, but I dearly wish it didn’t take quite so many hours of labor to produce one great hour — or, in One Great Book’s case, ten great minutes — of audio.
If someone wants to start listening to your podcast, which episode would you recommend they start with? Why?
I would start with Volume I, Episode I. The featured title is Emily St. John Mandel’s The Lola Quartet, but that episode also contains the origin story of One Great Book. Don’t miss it!
Which other podcasts do you love listening to?
This is a little embarrassing, but I’ve been on perpetual deadline this year and haven’t been listening to podcasts! When I don’t have much time to listen I typically keep the audiobooks and drop the podcasts — but I’m looking forward to getting back in the groove after I turn in my work!
If people want to find you online, where can they do so?
- Instagram: @whatshouldireadnext and @annebogel
- Apple Podcasts: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/what-should-i-read-next-book-talk-reading-recommendations/id1073499086?mt=2
- Our show site: https://whatshouldireadnextpodcast.com/
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Image credit: @hellotamarcus