{"podcast":{"title":"What to Read Next — Book Recommendations for Romance, Thrillers & Escape Reads","slug":"what-to-read-next-book-recommendations-for-romance-thrillers-escape-reads-9873","podcast_index_feed_id":9873,"rss_url":"https://feeds.captivate.fm/whattoreadnext/","website_url":"http://www.whattoreadnextblog.com","image_url":"https://artwork.captivate.fm/f7acd6df-7bd5-4b9f-bdcd-cc1c6c790629/4osSDj37v6rAcBIBBysi07ET.png","author":"Laura R Yamin","episode_count":928,"summary":"You know you want to read. You just don't know what. What to Read Next is the podcast for readers who love romance, thrillers, and women's fiction — and spend more time staring at their TBR than actually reading it. I'm Laura, and twice a week I bring you book recommendations built around one thing: how you actually feel right now. Not what's new. Not what's trending. The right book for this exact mood, this exact moment, this exact week of your life. Some weeks that means asking an author what they read for joy — not what they wrote, but what they reach for when they need to escape. Their answer is always your next discovery. Some weeks it means me telling you exactly what I read, what stayed with me, what I DNF'd at 40% and why, and which one I'd press into your hands right now if we were having coffee. Romance across every subgenre. Psychological thrillers. Beach reads with actual substance. Women's fiction that makes you feel seen. The books that give you the escape you came for — and a few that'll quietly change how you see things too. New episodes every Monday and Wednesday. The Reading Receipt — my weekly reading log — drops every Thursday on Substack. Start anywhere. The r…","last_synced_at":"2026-07-30T20:17:08.396085+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/what-to-read-next-book-recommendations-for-romance-thrillers-escape-reads-9873"},"episode":{"title":"Graphic Novels for Beginners (Start Here) with Sophia Glock","slug":"graphic-novels-for-beginners-start-here-with-sophia-glock","published_at":"2026-03-31T10:00:00+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/what-to-read-next-book-recommendations-for-romance-thrillers-escape-reads-9873/graphic-novels-for-beginners-start-here-with-sophia-glock","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/what-to-read-next-book-recommendations-for-romance-thrillers-escape-reads-9873","url":"http://www.whattoreadnextblog.com","audio_url":"https://episodes.captivate.fm/episode/176a3b6b-cac5-46a3-9985-30564723833b.mp3","summary":"This post contains affiliate links, which means I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. Graphic novels aren’t just for kids—and this episode completely changed how I think about them. In this conversation, I sit down with cartoonist Sophia Glock to talk about her haunting and emotional graphic novel Before We Wake . We dive into how comics can explore big themes like grief in a way that feels accessible, immersive, and deeply personal—and why adults should absolutely be reading graphic novels. We also talk about nostalgia (hello early 2000s 👀), the creative process behind blending art and storytelling, and where to start if you’ve never picked up a graphic novel before. 📚 Books Mentioned Before We Wake by Sophia Glock — Buy on Amazon | YA Graphic Novel | Grief, paranormal, friendship Maus by Art Spiegelman — Buy on Amazon | Historical Graphic Novel | Holocaust, memoir Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi — Buy on Amazon | Graphic Memoir | Iran, coming-of-age Fun Home by Alison Bechdel — Buy on Amazon | Literary Graphic Memoir | Family, identity This One Summer by Mariko Tamaki & Jillian Tamaki — Buy on Amazon | YA/Adult Graphic Novel | Coming-of-age Spinning by Tillie Walden — Buy on Amazon | Graphic Memoir | Identity, adolescence Charity and Sylvia by Tillie Walden — Buy on Amazon | Graphic Novel | Historical ⏱️ Timestamps [00:00] Intro + meeting Sophia Glock [01:00] Why graphic novels are underrated for adults [02:00] Writing about grief in Before We Wake [04:00] Sophia’s creative process (writing vs drawing) [05:30] Plot overview + lucid dreaming concept [07:00] Setting the book in early 2000s nostalgia [09:30] Nostalgia, pop culture, and generational memory [12:30] Where to start with graphic novels [15:00] YA vs adult tone in storytelling [16:00] Where…","meta_description":"This post contains affiliate links, which means I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. Graphic novels aren’t just for kids—and this episod…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":1029,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/what-to-read-next-book-recommendations-for-romance-thrillers-escape-reads-9873/episodes/graphic-novels-for-beginners-start-here-with-sophia-glock/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/what-to-read-next-book-recommendations-for-romance-thrillers-escape-reads-9873/graphic-novels-for-beginners-start-here-with-sophia-glock.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}