From the Front Porch

Latest Episodes:

Episode 339 || Casting Call, Vol. 5 Sep 23, 2021

Show notes

Annie is joined by her friends and casting experts, Courtney Kinsey and Julie Anna Helms. Every few months, Julie Anna, Courtney, and Annie brainstorm their dream cast for a recent book they loved. Julie Anna then allows readers to vote for their favorites on her Instagram @julieannareads. This week, they’re casting Finlay Donovan Is Killing It.

Finlay Donovan is Killing It is available for purchase at The Bookshelf, and you can cast your votes on our castings on Julie Anna’s Instagram stories on Sunday.

You can click this link to purchase Finlay Donovan is Killing It by Elle Cosimano from us.

From the Front Porch is a weekly podcast production of The Bookshelf, an independent bookstore in South Georgia. You can follow The Bookshelf’s daily happenings on Instagram at @bookshelftville, and all the books from today’s episode can be purchased online through our store website, www.bookshelfthomasville.com.

A full transcript of today’s episode can be found here.

Special thanks to Dylan and his team at Studio D Podcast Production for sound and editing and for our theme music, which sets the perfect warm and friendly tone for our Thursday conversations.

This week, Annie is reading Smile by Sarah Ruhl. Julie Anna is readingRabbits by Terry Miles, and Courtney is reading The Dating Plan by Sara Desai.

If you liked what you heard on today’s episode, tell us by leaving a review on iTunes. Or, if you’re so inclined, support us on Patreon, where you can hear our staff’s weekly New Release Tuesday conversations, read full book reviews in our monthly Shelf Life newsletter, follow along as Hunter and I conquer a classic, and receive free media mail shipping on all your online book orders. Just go to patreon.com/fromthefrontporch.

We’re so grateful for you, and we look forward to meeting back here next week.

Episode 338 || Kids Table Fall Sep 16, 2021

Show notes

Today Annie is joined by her cousin and frequent Bookshelf collaborator, Ashley Sherlock. Every season, they sit down at the metaphorical kids’ table to chat about what they’re reading, watching, listening to, and buying.

The books mentioned in this week’s episode can be purchased from The Bookshelf:

Great Circle by Maggie Shipstead
”Adrift” by Mark Nepo (This is a poem from this book)
Graceland, At Last by Margaret Renkl
Black Girls Must Die Exhausted by Jayne Allen
What Bobby McIlvaine Left Behind by Jennifer Senior
Today a Woman Went Mad in the Supermarket by Hilma Wolitzer
J.Crew Factory jeans
Bookshelf reusable grocery bags
UpWest
The Common Room

A full transcript of today’s episode can be found here.

Special thanks to Dylan and his team at Studio D Podcast Production for sound and editing and for our theme music, which sets the perfect warm and friendly tone for our Thursday conversations.

This week, Annie is reading Today a Woman Went Mad in the Supermarket by Hilma Wolitzer and Ashley is reading Great Circle by Maggie Shipstead.

We’re so grateful for you, and we look forward to meeting back here next week.

Episode 337 || Literary Therapy, Vol. 9 Sep 09, 2021

Show notes

This week Annie is back to answer listeners' literary questions and dilemmas in round nine of Literary Therapy.

The books mentioned in this week’s episode can be purchased from The Bookshelf:

The Paper Palace by Miranda Cowley Heller
A Place for Us by Fatima Fahreen Mirza
Daisy Jones and The Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid
Z by Therese Anne Fowler
A Well-Behaved Woman by Therese Anne Fowler
Libertie by Kaitlyn Greenidge
We Were the Lucky Ones by Georgia Hunter
Sisters in Armsby Kaia Alderson
The Masterpiece by Fiona Davis
The Address by Fiona Davis
The Doll House by Fiona Davis
The Jane Austen Society by Natalie Jenner
The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead
The Sweetness of Water by Nathan Harris
Picking Cotton by Jennifer Thompson & Ronald Cotton
Beautiful World, Where Are You? by Sally Rooney
Normal People by Sally Rooney

A full transcript of today’s episode can be found below.

Special thanks to Dylan and his team at Studio D Podcast Production for sound and editing and for our theme music, which sets the perfect warm and friendly tone for our Thursday conversations.

This week, Annie is reading Matrix by Lauren Groff.

We’re so grateful for you, and we look forward to meeting back here next week.

Episode 336 || September New Release Rundown Sep 02, 2021

Show notes

In this week’s episode, Annie talks with Olivia and Lucy about the new releases you don’t want to miss this month

The books mentioned in this week’s episode can be purchased from The Bookshelf:

Matrix by Lauren Groff
Fault Lines by Emily Itami
Beautiful World, Where Are You? by Sally Rooney
A Play for the End of the World by Jai Chakrabarti
Beautiful Country by Qian Julie Wang
Harlem Shuffle by Colson Whitehead
Black Girls Must Die Exhausted by Jayne Allen
Egg Marks the Spot by Amy Timberlake
Under the Whispering Door by TJ Klune
Once Upon a Broken Heart by Stephanie Garber
Pony by RJ Palacio
Beasts of Prey by Ayana Gray
Last Graduate by Naomi Novik
Light From Uncommon Stars by Ryka Aoki
Beatryce Prophecy by Kate DiCamillo
Three Girls From Bronzeville: A Uniquely American Memoir of Race, Fate, and Sisterhoodby

Dawn Turner
Cloud Cuckoo Landby Anthony Doerr
Wildland: The Making of America's Fury by Evan Osnos
Bewilderment by Richard Powers
Redeeming Justice: From Defendant to Defender, My Fight for Equity on Both Sides of a

Broken System by Jarrett Adams
Mennonite Valley Girl: A Wayward Coming of Age by Carla Funk
The Heroine with 1001 Faces by Maria Tatar

A full transcript of today’s episode can be found below.

Special thanks to Dylan and his team at Studio D Podcast Production for sound and editing and for our theme music, which sets the perfect warm and friendly tone for our Thursday conversations.

This week, Annie reading All of a Kind Family by Sydney Taylor. Olivia is reading Last Graduate by Naomi Novik. Lucy is reading The Lincoln Highway by Amor Towles.

We’re so grateful for you, and we look forward to meeting back here next week.

Episode 335 || August Reading Recap Aug 26, 2021

Show notes

In this week’s episode, Annie talks about the books she read in August.

The books mentioned in this week’s episode can be purchased from The Bookshelf:

Tacky: Love Letters to the Worst Culture We Have to Offer by Rax King
Ghosts by Dolly Alderton
Dear William by David Magee
Everyone in This Room Will Someday Be Dead by Emily Austin
Finding My Voice by Marie Myung-Ok Lee
When Thoughts and Prayers Aren’t Enough by Taylor Schaumann
Let’s Not Do That Again by Grant Ginder
Four Friends by William D. Cohan
The Stranger in the Woods by Michael Finkel
Finding Freedom by Erin French

A full transcript of today’s episode can be found here.

Special thanks to Dylan and his team at Studio D Production for sound and editing and for our theme music, which sets the perfect warm and friendly tone for our Thursday conversations.

This week, Annie is reading When the Reckoning Comes by LaTanya McQueen.

We’re so grateful for you, and we look forward to meeting back here next week.

Episode 334 || Books Kids Actually Want to Read, Vol. 2 Aug 19, 2021

Show notes

This week Annie is talking with store manager Olivia about some favorite titles shared with her by kids in the local community, and we thought it’d be fun for you to hear directly from the kids themselves.

The books mentioned in this week’s episode can be purchased from The Bookshelf:

Percy Jackson by Rick Riordan
Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling
Coo by Kaela Noele
El Deafo by CeCe Bell
Okay Witch by Emma Steinkeller
Amari and the Night Brothers by B.B. Alston
Unsolved Case Files: Escape at 10,000 Feet by Tom Sullivan
Bud, Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis
The Middle School Bites series by Steven Banks
The Betsy-Tacy Treasury by Maude Hart Lovelace
The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart
The Unwanted series by Lisa McMann
Camp/Click/Act by Kayla Miller
Mr. Lemoncello's Library by Chris Grabenstein

A full transcript of today’s episode can be found here.

Special thanks to Dylan and his team at Studio D Podcast Production for sound and editing and for our theme music, which sets the perfect warm and friendly tone for our Thursday conversations.

This week, Annie is readingLet’s Not Do That Again by Grant Ginder. (Published April 2022)

We’re so grateful for you, and we look forward to meeting back here next week.

Libro.FM:

Libro.fm lets you purchase audiobooks directly from your favorite local bookstore (Like The Bookshelf). You can pick from more than 215,000 audiobooks, and you'll get the same audiobooks at the same price as the largest audiobook company out there (you know the name). But you’ll be part of a different story -- one that supports community. All you need is a smart phone and the free Libro.fm app.

Right now, if you sign up for a new membership, you will get 2 audiobooks for the price of one. All you have to do is enter FRONTPORCH at checkout or follow this link:

libro.fm/redeem/FRONTPORCH

Flodesk:

Do you receive a weekly or monthly newsletter from one of your favorite brands? Like maybe From the Front Porch (Or The Bookshelf)... Did you ever wonder, ‘how do they make such gorgeous emails?’ Flodesk is an email marketing service provider that's built for creators, by creators, and it’s easy to use. We’ve been using it for a couple of years now, and I personally love it.

And right now you can get 50% off your Flodesk subscription by going to:

flodesk.com/c/THEFRONTPORCH

Episode 333 || Literary Therapy, Vol. 8 Aug 12, 2021

Show notes

This week Annie is back to answer listeners' literary conundrums in round eight of Literary Therapy.

The books mentioned in this week’s episode can be purchased from The Bookshelf:

Falling by TJ Newman
Clap When You Land by Elizabeth Acevedo
The Wreckage of My Presence by Casey Wilson
Rabbit Cake by Annie Hartnett
Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir
Heating & Cooling by Beth Ann Fennelly
Brood by Jackie Polzin
I Have Been Assigned the Single Bird by Sue Cerulean
Stay with Me by Ayobami Adebayo
What Kind of Woman by Kate Baer
My Sister the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite
An Elderly Lady Is Up to No Good by Helene Tursten
84, Charing Cross Road by Helen Hanff
The Duchess of Bloomsbury Street by Helene Hanff
Walk Two Moons by Sharon Creech
From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankwiler by E.L. Konigsburg

A full transcript of today’s episode can be found here.

Special thanks to Dylan and his team at Studio D Podcast Production for sound and editing and for our theme music, which sets the perfect warm and friendly tone for our Thursday conversations.

This week, Annie is reading When Thoughts and Prayers Aren’t Enoughby Taylor S. Schumann.

We’re so grateful for you, and we look forward to meeting back here next week.

Libro.FM:

Libro.fm lets you purchase audiobooks directly from your favorite local bookstore (Like The Bookshelf). You can pick from more than 215,000 audiobooks, and you'll get the same audiobooks at the same price as the largest audiobook company out there (you know the name). But you’ll be part of a different story -- one that supports community. All you need is a smart phone and the free Libro.fm app.

Right now, if you sign up for a new membership, you will get 2 audiobooks for the price of one. All you have to do is enter FRONTPORCH at checkout or follow this link:

libro.fm/redeem/FRONTPORCH

Flodesk:

Do you receive a weekly or monthly newsletter from one of your favorite brands? Like maybe From the Front Porch (Or The Bookshelf)... Did you ever wonder, ‘how do they make such gorgeous emails?’

Flodesk is an email marketing service provider that's built for creators, by creators, and it’s easy to use. We’ve been using it for a couple of years now, and I personally love it. And right now you can get 50% off your Flodesk subscription by going to:

flodesk.com/c/THEFRONTPORCH

332 || August New Release Roundup Aug 05, 2021

Show notes

The Bookshelf’s store manager, Olivia and Lucy join Annie this week to share their August new release rundowns.

The books mentioned in this week’s episode can be purchased from The Bookshelf:

Palm Beachby Mary Adkins
When the Reckoning Comes by LaTanya McQueen
Ghosts by Dolly Alderton
The Reading List by Sara Nisha Adams
Afterparties by Anthony Veasna So
Seeing Ghosts: A Memoir by Kat Chow
Holdout by Jeffrey Kluger
Dead Wednesday by Jerry Spinelli
Bullet Train by Kotaro Isaka
Mrs. March by Virginia Feito
Say It Out Loud by Allison Varnes

A full transcript of today’s episode can be found here.

Special thanks to Dylan and his team at Studio D Podcast Production for sound and editing and for our theme music, which sets the perfect warm and friendly tone for our Thursday conversations.

This week, Annie is reading Tacky: Love Letters to the Worst Culture We Have to Offer by Rax King. Olivia is reading We Are Family by Lebron James. Lucy is reading The Lincoln Highway by Amor Towles.

We’re so grateful for you, and we look forward to meeting back here next week.

Libro.FM:

Right now, if you sign up for a new membership, you will get 2 audiobooks for the price of one. All you have to do is enter FRONTPORCH at checkout or follow this link:

libro.fm/redeem/FRONTPORCH

Flodesk:

flodesk.com/c/THEFRONTPORCH

331 || July Reading Recap Jul 29, 2021

Show notes

In this week’s episode, Annie recaps her July reads.

The books mentioned in this week’s episode can be purchased from The Bookshelf:

Very Sincerely Yours by Kerry Winfrey
Rock the Boat by Beck Dorey-Stein
Survive the Night by Riley Sager
New Girl in Little Cove by Damhnait Monoghan
You Have a Match by Emma Lord
Falling by T.J. Newman
Millennial Nuns by the Daughters of Saint Paul
My Monticello by Jocelyn Nicole Johnson
Beautiful Country by Qian Julie Wang

A full transcript of today’s episode can be found here.

Special thanks to Dylan and his team at Studio D Production for sound and editing and for our theme music, which sets the perfect warm and friendly tone for our Thursday conversations.

This week, Annie is reading Tacky: Love Letters to the Worst Culture We Have to Offer by Rax King.

Thank you again to this week’s sponsor, Visit Thomasville. Whether you live close by or are passing through, I hope you'll visit beautiful Thomasville, Georgia: www.thomasvillega.com.

We’re so grateful for you, and we look forward to meeting back here next week.

330 || So You Watched Ted Lasso Jul 22, 2021

Show notes

Listen in this week as Annie and guest, cousin and Bookshelf Community Manager, Ashley Sherlock discuss all things Ted Lasso.

The books mentioned in this week’s episode can be purchased from The Bookshelf:

Very Sincerely Yours by Kerry Winfrey
Britt-Marie Was Here by Fredrik Backman (Beartown by Fredrik Backman)
The From-Aways by CJ Hauser
Frankly in Love by David Yoon
New Girl in Little Cove by Damhnait Monaghan
Act Your Age, Eve Brown by Talia Hibbert
The Guncle by Steven Rowley
A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engel
Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott
A Place for Us by Fatima Fahreen Mirza
At Home in Mitford by Jan Karon
The Sweet Life in Paris by David Lebowitz

A full transcript of today’s episode can be found here.

Special thanks to Dylan and his team at Studio D Production for sound and editing and for our theme music, which sets the perfect warm and friendly tone for our Thursday conversations.

This week, Annie is reading Falling by T.J. Newman. Ashley is reading The Paper Palace by Miranda Cowley Heller.

Thank you again to this week’s sponsor, Visit Thomasville. Whether you live close by or are passing through, I hope you'll visit beautiful Thomasville, Georgia: www.thomasvillega.com.

We’re so grateful for you, and we look forward to meeting back here next week.

Our TOPPODCAST Picks

Follow Us

Stay Connected

Related Podcasts

Links

Stay Connected