Lauren Groff talks Time 100, her new bookstore, and Florida! – Modern Mrs Darcy

Readers, today marks our final live episode from my recent travels to the southeastern U.S. I can’t wait for you to listen in to my conversation with listener favorite Lauren Groff, who I joined at the Word of South festival in her home state of Florida.

This conversation happened in the midst of a big moment for Lauren: she was recently recognized on the Time 100 list, and her new bookstore, The Lynx, just opened in Gainesville.

Today we talk more about what led her to open The Lynx and her goals for this new independent bookstore. And, we dive into all kinds of readerly topics, like Lauren’s love for short stories, her writing process, the intersection of music and writing, and exploring stereotypes in real life and on the page. We also touch on the connection between Lauren, Florence Welch, and the Taylor Swift song, Florida!, and Lauren shares the book she’s recommending lately.

Tell us about your favorite short story collection, Lauren Groff title, or other book you’re inspired to share by today’s episode in the comments section.

Visit Lauren’s new bookstore The Lynx and follow Lauren on Instagram.

Our Summer Reading Guide is here!

Your Guide to the season’s best books, now in its thirteenth year. Click here to get yours.

Explore our Patreon Bonus archives

If you love being among book people, you’ll love our Patreon community, where we create weekly bonus episodes that keep our patrons close to the pulse of what’s happening in the book world. This month, we’re sharing bonus episodes that augment our Summer Reading Guide, like great books I didn’t include in the guide and why, and a dedicated mini matchmaking session that pairs patrons with their perfect Summer Reading Guide titles. Patrons also have access to our archive of bonus episodes, like Will’s recent bonus featuring his current favorite outdoor and adventure books. The comments section on that post is a treasure trove of reading suggestions from our patrons. We’re so grateful for our patrons and their support of our show. If you’re curious, come and check out our Patreon community.

Books mentioned in this episode:

• Maus by Art Spiegelman
• Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings (try Cross Creek)
• Florida by Lauren Groff
• Delicate Edible Birds And Other Stories by Lauren Groff  
• The Heat Will Kill You First by Jeff Goodell  
• State of Paradise by Laura van den Berg
• The Vaster Wilds by Lauren Groff
• The Transit of Venus by Shirley Hazzard
• Gentlemen Prefer Blondes by Anita Loos  
• Rubyfruit Jungle by Rita Mae Brown  
• Autobiography of Red by Anne Carson  
• The Summer Book by Tove Jansson

Also mentioned:

• The Lynx bookstore
• Time 100 Feature
• Arvo Pärt
• Sigur Ros
• Berlin Prize
• Third House Books
• Heinrich Heine