Anne Bogel

That's been a goal for years now.

And we just recently did a survey in these parts and I wasn't really expecting anything

The biggest shot of readerly joy for readers to be to read a book that I would give four or five stars to.

The other thing most likely to give readers a big shot of readerly joy was finding out an author they love has a new book coming out.

I'm certain some of those are in the guide among these 35 books.

Some of them you may already know.

Like, oh, I've been looking forward to that author's new books.

But I think some of them will be surprises just because it's hard to know about everything happening in publishing world.

And also we have a feature like we have in several years past that's books from authors you know and love that includes titles coming out between May and August from authors that you may already have read previous books in their series or that you may have already read previous books by them.

And we want you to know they're coming even if they're not specifically featured as one of the 35 titles in the guide.

Mm-hmm.

There's definitely a purposeful mix of the heavy and the light, the long and the short.

Lots of different vibes and settings this year, which we always try to do.

But I don't know.

Life is hard.

Good books help.

I want to be sure I'm putting books for a wide variety of readerly experiences on your readerly horizons.

And for the reading retreat...

I really wanted to communicate a vibe that was easy, but also really, really inviting.

And that could help you imagine yourself taking place in a retreat that was either solo or communal.