📚 Looking for that WOW! factor

Hey readers, Are you a book collector? Today's guest has a bookshelf full of vintage beauty guidebooks, and though she considers this a separate part of her bookish life, I found some surprising connections to her taste in crime fiction. I also loved the way she described the books she really enjoyed, saying it's "clever and stylish" prose that captures her fancy. I so enjoyed digging into the roots of Brenda's love of stories and research, and sure hope my recommendations for what she should read next didn't disappoint! Listen now wherever you get your podcasts—and be sure to [visit the show website]() for today's complete book list. (You'll also find a photo of Brenda's beauty bookshelf there!) 3 things I love: - Brenda stays up-to-date on Canadian literary awards, much like past guest Sarah Bessey ([Episode 211: Good reads from the Great North](). The [2020 Governor's General Literary Awards]( were just announced after being postponed by the pandemic—your next great read might be among the winners!= - [How TV shows use books as props](). I've always wondered about this! - This list of [books about public spaces](=) brings out my inner nerd. For more on my fascination with urban planning (and book recs), visit [this blog post devoted to my favorite subject](). 1 thing I don't: [This piece about the long history of destructive library fires]() is wonderfully written, but the contents are tragic: "Among the losses of the fire of 192 CE, the most obvious were the rare texts that, as Nicholls puts it, were “permanently lost to the world.” What I'm reading now I'm listening to [this new hard-to-categorize novel]( on audio (out July 6), and just finished reading [this new release](), which Anne Helen Petersen enthusiastically recommended [in this recent episode of What Should I Read Next](. (I loved it, and can already think of all kinds of readers I want to recommend it to.) Happy reading! Anne © [Modern Mrs Darcy]() | 291 N Hubbards Ln Ste 172-225, Louisville, Kentucky 40207 [Opt out of What Should I Read Next? news only]() | [Unsubscribe from all MMD emails](