Episode 161 - The Books that Made Us the Readers We Are
We’re looking back at the formative books that made us the readers we are today, and we’ll end with what we’re reading this week!
Books and other media mentioned in this episode:
Andrew Lang books
Little House series by Laura Ingalls Wilder
Beauty by Robin McKinley
The Ordinary Princess by M.M. Kaye
Anne of Green Gables series by L.M. Montgomery
The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis
The Wolves of Willoughby Chase by Joan Aiken
The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare
Ann Rinaldi books
A Break with Charity by Ann Rinaldi
In a Dark, Dark Room and Other Scary Stories by Alvin Schwartz
Fear Street series by R.L. Stine
Christopher Pike books
Cam Jansen series by David A. Adler
Encyclopedia Brown series by Donald J. Sobol
Masterpiece Mystery! (TV)
The Babysitters Club series by Ann M. Martin
Sleepover Friends series by Susan Saunders
The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin
The Search for Delicious by Natalie Babbitt
Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson
Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls
Sweet Valley High series by Francine Pascal
Sweet Valley Twins series by Francine Pascal
Flowers in the Attic by V.C. Andrews
Dollanganger series by V.C. Andrews
Goosebumps series by R.L. Stein
Richie Tankersley Cusick books
Nora Roberts books
Walden by Henry David Thoreau
The Federalist Papers by Alexander Hamilton
And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie
Jane Austen books
Sherlock Holmes series by Arthur Conan Doyle
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë
Mary Higgins Clark books
John Jakes books
North and South series by John Jakes
North and South (TV)
A Knight in Shining Armor by Jude Devereaux
Whitney, My Love by Judith McNaught
Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
Frances Burney books
Diane Mott Davidson books
Anne Perry books
The Eight by Katherine Neville
Coming Home by Rosamunde Pilcher
Sarah Dessen books
Bridget Jones’s Diary by Helen Fielding
Nine Rules to Break When Romancing a Rake by Sarah MacLean
The Water Mirror by Kai Meyer
Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo
The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield
The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova
Sorrow and Bliss by Meg Mason
Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood by Rebecca Wells
Bird Box by Josh Malerman
The Silent Companions by Laura Purcell
The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires by Grady Hendrix
The Martian by Andy Weir
The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley
Mary Kay Andrews books
What We’re Reading This Week:
Ann: Kills Well with Others by Deanna Raybourn
Halle: The Irish Goodbye by Heather Aimee O’Neill
– Read with Jenna
– Thousand Voices Books
Well-Read on Facebook
Well-Read on Twitter
Well-Read on Instagram
Well-Read on Bookshop
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Episode 160 - Fall 2025 Preview
Autumn is just around the corner, and it’s time to get our fall TBRs in order!
Books and other media mentioned in this episode:
Ann Patchett books
Taylor Jenkins Reid books
Death at the White Hart by Chris Chibnall
Broadchurch (TV)
Jane Austen books
The Listeners by Maggie Stiefvater
How to Survive a Horror Story by Mallory Arnold
Five Found Dead by Sulari Gentill
Katabasis by R.F. Kuang
Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid
The Girls Who Grew Big by Leila Mottley
Park Avenue by Renée Ahdieh
Succession (TV)
Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan
Rose in Chains by Julie Soto
Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling
Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil by V.E. Schwab
The Ghostwriter by Julie Clark
When Javi Dumped Mari by Mia Sosa
These Summer Storms by Sarah MacLean
Ann’s picks:
Good Things: Recipes and Rituals to Share with People You Love by Samin Nosrat (releases September 16)
– Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat: Mastering the Elements of Good Cooking by Samin Nosrat
– Salt Fat Acid Heat (TV)
The Women of Wild Hill by Kirsten Miller (releases October 7)
– The Change by Kirsten Miller
– Lula Dean’s Little Library of Banned Books by Kirsten Miller
All of Us Murderers by KJ Charles (releases October 7)
– Death in the Spires by KJ Charles
Crafting for Sinners by Jenny Kiefer (releases October 7)
– Grady Hendrix books
– Horrorstör by Grady Hendrix
Happy People Don’t Live Here by Amber Sparks (releases October 14)
– Only Murders in the Building (TV)
– Angela Carter books
The Unveiling by Quan Barry (releases October 14)
– We Ride Upon Sticks by Quan Barry
Brigands & Breadknives by Travis Baldree (releases November 11)
– Legends and Lattes by Travis Baldree
Best Offer Wins by Marisa Kashino (releases November 25)
Halle’s picks:
Amity by Nathan Harris (releases September 2)
– The Sweetness of Water by Nathan Harris
– Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry
– Doc by Mary Doria Russell
– Under a Painted Sky by Stacey Lee
– William W. Johnstone books
Buckeye by Patrick Ryan (releases September 2)
– Commonwealth by Ann Patchett
– Our Town by Thornton Wilder
– Wallace Stegner books
The Wilderness by Angela Flournoy (releases September 16)
The Heartbreak Hotel by Ellen O’Clover (releases September 23)
Heart the Lover by Lily King (releases September 30)
– Writers & Lovers by Lily King
An Academic Affair by Jodi McAlister (releases November 11)
Violet Thistlewaite Is Not a Villain Anymore by Emily Krempholtz (releases November 18)
I, Medusa by Ayana Gray (releases November 18)
– Circe by Madeline Miller
– Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller
– Rick Riordan books
– Percy Jackson and the Olympians series by Rick Riordan
What We’re Reading This Week:
Ann: Modern Divination by Isabel Agajanian
Halle: When the Cranes Fly South by Lisa Ridzén
Well-Read on Facebook
Well-Read on Twitter
Well-Read on Instagram
Well-Read on Bookshop
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Reading the Oldest Books on our TBRs
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Episode 158 - 2025 Mid-Year Check-in
We’re halfway through the year, and it’s time to check in on our bookish goals and reading lives of 2025!
Books and other media mentioned in this episode:
2025 ALA Annual Conference
Jane Austen books
Book of the Month Club
Women’s Prize for Fiction
Libba Bray books
Agatha Christie books
Emily Henry books
Abby Jimenez books
Strange Pictures by Uketsu
Strange Houses by Uketsu
Deep Cuts by Holly Brickley
Broken Country by Clare Leslie Hall
Gifted & Talented by Olivie Blake
A Witch’s Guide to Magical Inkeeping by Sangu Mandanna
The Enchanted Greenhouse by Sarah Beth Durst
The Spellshop by Sarah Beth Durst
Sunrise on the Reaping by Suzanne Collins
The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins
The Hunger Games series by Suzanne Collins
Left of Forever by Tara DeWitt
Immaculate Conception by Ling Ling Huang
Natural Beauty by Ling Ling Huang
Onyx Storm by Rebecca Yarros
Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid
The Women in Suite 11 by Ruth Ware
The Favorites by Layne Fargo
The Secret of Secrets by Dan Brown
The Names by Florence Knapp
One Golden Summer by Carley Fortune
Heart the Lover by Lily King
A Sorceress Comes to Call by T. Kingfisher
Ready or Not by Cara Bastone
The Buffalo Hunter Hunter by Stephen Graham Jones
The Covenant of Water by Abraham Verghese
Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese
Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver
Katabasis by R.F. Kuang
Brigands & Breadknives by Travis Baldree
Sisters in the Wind by Angeline Boulley
Alchemised by SenLinYu
Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling
The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood
Manacled by SenLinYu
Rose in Chains by Julie Soto
Mate by Ali Hazelwood
Bride by Ali Hazelwood
Good Spirits by B.K. Borison
Crafting for Sinners by Jenny Kiefer
Grady Hendrix books
What We’re Reading This Week:
Ann: Bat Eater and Other Names for Cora Zeng by Kylie Lee Baker
Halle: The Will of the Many by James Islington
– Throne of Glass series by Sarah J. Maas
Well-Read on Facebook
Well-Read on Twitter
Well-Read on Instagram
Well-Read on Bookshop
As librarians, books are kind of our thing. Listen in as we talk about what we're reading, make book recommendations, and all sorts of book-related fun.
Ireland