Jennifer Weiner’s and Dena Heilik’s book recs

A recent piece in the Atlantic titled “The End of Reading is Here” lamented an overall decline of pleasure reading in the modern era. And it’s true, studies show reading for fun has declined precipitously in the past two decades. A 2025 survey by YouGov found that 40% of adults did not read a single book in the past year. 

This might not be all that surprising considering our current entertainment landscape – we’ve got endless options at our fingertips. But studies consistently show that reading is good for us. It’s good for our stress levels, our longevity, our ability to empathize, and so much more. 

So today, we’ve invited two local book lovers on the show to hype their medium. Bestselling novelist Jennifer Weiner and librarian Dena Heilik join us in the studio to give their best book recommendations and tips for falling back in love with literature. 

Guests: 

• Jennifer Weiner, New York Times bestselling novelist and Philly native.
• Dena Heilik, department head of Philbrick Hall, the fiction department of the central branch of the Free Library of Philadelphia.