An Interview with Anne Bogel of Modern Mrs. Darcy

Next Monday is International Women’s Day and I’ve teamed up with Kendra Scott for a week of interviews with Kentucky women who inspire me. Today’s interview is with my friend Anne Bogel, who is the author of three books and the popular blog Modern Mrs. Darcy, as well as the host of the podcast What Should I Read Next.

Anne is an incredible writer — she writes the most exquisite essays that transform everyday occurrences into life lessons. She’s also kind and warm and funny and lovely — one of my very favorite people with whom to catch up over a cup of coffee! But, most fascinatingly, she’s found a way to read books as her full-time job! Who wouldn't want to do that?

Thanks so much to Kendra Scott for helping bring the Kentucky Women Who Inspire Me series to life — stay tuned to HerKentucky.com and my Instagram this week for previews of the newest Kendra Scott jewelry collection and a fun shopping event!

HerKentucky: Please tell me a little bit about yourself.

Anne Bogel: I’m a Kentucky girl who always thought she’d grow up and move away, but is currently happily living in her hometown of Louisville with her husband, four kids, a yellow lab named Daisy, and a few thousand books. My job is to help adult readers create and cultivate vibrant reading lives for themselves, which means I get to read books, write books, and talk books for a living.

HK: Your blog, Modern Mrs. Darcy, just celebrated its 10 year anniversary. Tell me a little about how it got started and how it has evolved.

AB: In late 2010, my husband suggested I start a blog. I told him that was ridiculous, because I didn’t even read blogs at the time. I’m so glad I decided to give it a go anyway! When I began, it was a tiny creative project that gave me a way to explore questions that interested me, and doing it in community. I quickly discovered that one of my favorite ways to approach a new idea was through the lens of a good book, and over time the books themselves became more and more central to the blog.

HK: You also have a podcast, What Should I Read Next?, which has its own incredible following. I absolutely love the premise of the pod — connecting readers with the right books. Please tell me a little more about WSIRN.

AB: As I began talking more about books online, I realized that the biggest reason people don’t find satisfaction in their reading lives is because they’re choosing books that are all wrong for them. On WSIRN, we match real readers with books that are right for them.

Here’s how it works: every week, a guest tells me three books they love, one book they don’t, and what they’re reading now, and I recommend three books they should read next. And every week, as you listen to a real reader describe what they enjoy—and don’t enjoy—and why, you gain insight into your own reading life. Plus you come away with several titles you may enjoy reading next!

My fuzzy iPhone photo of Anne interviewing Liane Moriarty. Anne looks chic as always with her trademark bangs and Tieks flats!

HK: Some of my favorite moments as a Modern Mrs. Darcy/ WSIRN/ Anne Bogel fan have been the podcast episode you recorded with Jennifer Weiner about her Big Summer release, and your interview event with Liane Moriarty. What interviews or events really stick out to you as the “wow” moments of your career as a professional book lover?

AB: It’s funny, meeting renowned authors and other Very Important People is a lot of fun, and I’ve so enjoyed my time talking books with authors like Celeste Ng, Kathleen Grissom, and (your favorite!) Elin Hilderbrand. But my favorite moments are often quieter connections with readers who feel like kindred spirits. You wouldn’t recognize their names, but I’ll never forget our conversations.

How has the past year changed your work style? We’re all adapting to “these unprecedented times” in unique ways.

This year has been rough for a lot of reasons, and with six people under one roof practically all the time, I’ve struggled to carve out that quiet alone time I prefer for focused work. I’ve been diligent about prioritizing, and have done a lot more of my quiet thinking while walking the dog than I’ve ever done before. I’m also not getting it all done these days, and I’ve had to make my peace with doing less work, but (hopefully) doing it well.

HK: You’ve written three books of your own, with subtitles that tell you everything the reader needs to know. What are those books?

AB: Don’t Overthink It: Make Easier Decisions, Stop Second-Guessing, and Bring More Joy to Your Life.

I’d Rather Be Reading: The Delights and Dilemmas of the Reading Life

Reading People: How Seeing the World Through the Lens of Personality Changes Everything

HK: What is the best piece of advice you have for others?

AB: Build in some margin. My tendency is to pack my calendar (and my bookshelves) full of good things, but both need a little room to breathe. When you build in some margin, you don’t panic when things don’t go according to plan, and you’re peaceful when things are going well.

Thanks again to Anne Bogel for the interview, and to Kendra Scott for working with me to bring this series to life! You can find Anne on Instagram or Facebook, on her blog, or on her podcast.

Nine Perfect Strangers by Liane Moriarty Book Review

{Disclaimer: This review contains affiliate links to Amazon.com. I will be compensated a very small amount per book purchased through the links contained in this post, at no additional charge to you.}

I finished Liane Moriarty’s Nine Perfect Strangers today; it was one of the most compelling, un-put-downable stories I’ve read in a long time. I think it’s one of those stories that you’ll either love or hate, and I definitely fell into the love category.

Nine Perfect Strangers refers to nine people who seek a life-changing retreat at an Australian health resort. Playing on the cliche of “perfect strangers”, Ms. Moriarty’s characters are far from perfect — they’re all suffering from some sort of psychological or interpersonal crisis. The soon learn that the retreat is led by Masha, who may be a revolutionary in her field, or who may be something far more sinister. The work is compelling, funny, heartbreaking, and so thought-provoking. At times, I feared the story was turning a little cliched — the young couple whose lives were ruined by a winning lottery ticket springs to mind — but, then again, aren’t most human problems a little pedantic to everyone but ourselves? The story is full of twists and turns, some predictable and others quite surprising. Readers familiar with Ms. Moriarty’s previous work will note that this one presents a larger scale of story with several intertwined storylines. It ranks among Ms. Moriarty’s best, like Big Little Lies and The Hypnotist’s Love Story.

I had the lovely opportunity to attend a book event for Nine Perfect Strangers last week here in Louisville. It was so fun to watch my friend and fellow blogger Anne Bogel of Modern Mrs. Darcy interview Ms. Moriarty about this book. It was particularly fascinating to hear that the story was originally conceived from a single point of view (the middle-aged, unlucky-in-love romance novelist Frances Welty, who serves as the protagonist of the story). I found this interesting because the changes in point of view allowed the reader to really see the characters as others saw them, rather than through their own lenses of self-deprecation. Ms. Moriarty was just so charming and candid that it made me love her work even more! She was so lovely when asked about the Big Little Lies series — she noted, with exaggerated indignation that her Madeline (as originally conceived in the novel) would have never had an affair, unlike “Reese’s Madeline” (the character as played by Reese Witherspoon)! It was so perfect!

Do y’all read Liane Moriarty? I’d love to hear your take on Nine Perfect Strangers, Big Little Lies, or any of her other works!

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I'd Rather Be Reading by Anne Bogel Book Review

{Disclaimer: This review contains affiliate links to Amazon.com. I will be compensated a very small amount per book purchased through the links contained in this post, at no additional charge to you. I was provided an advance copy of the book by the author; all opinions are my own.}

My friend Anne Bogel's book of bookish essays came out a couple of weeks ago and y'all, it is so good.

Anne is the blogger behind Modern Mrs. Darcy and the podcaster behind What Should I Read Next? and, as her internet ventures' names would suggest, she really knows books. She also knows people, and human nature. She's a smart, kind, and funny lady who's spent a lot of time reflecting on personality types, reading styles, and all sorts of meta/ intellectual things. And she manages to write about these things in an accessible, warm, and funny style.

I’d Rather Be Reading is a collection of brief, lovely essays about the delights and obstacles encountered by those of us who really know and love books. There are musings on how many copies of a title you should own (If you find yourself in possession of multiples, you should own three. Two, it seems, is an oversight; three is a collection), reflections on reading the right books at the right time, and a charming story about how different the dream of working as a bookseller is from the job’s reality.

Louisville natives will recognize the St Matthews Eline Library as the “library next door” which Anne visited daily when her children were young, as well as Carmichael’s Bookstore and the late, lamented Hawley-Cooke Booksellers. Anyone who loves books will appreciate her quest to read as often as possible.