From the Front Porch

Latest Episodes:

271 || The One with the Pandemic May 14, 2020

Show notes

Annie and cousin, friend, and former Bookshelf staffer Ashley Sherlock share their thoughts on quarantine reading. What is one supposed to read during a global pandemic? The following are Annie and Ashley’s recommendations.

All of the books mentioned in today’s podcast are available at The Bookshelf:

The one who wants to pretend everything is fine: How To Be Fine by Jolenta Greenberg and Kristen Meinzer; The Office by Andy Greene; Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman
The new homeschooler: Matilda by Roald Dahl; Bloomability by Sharon Creech
The graduate with no graduation: Here For It by R. Eric Thomas; Catherine House by Elisabeth Thomas // Booksmart on Hulu
The one freaking out: The Boy, the Mole, the Fox & the Horse by Charlie Mackesy;The Folded Clock by Heidi Julavits
The one doomsday prepping: The Road by Cormac McCarthy; The Dreamers by Karen Thompson Walker // The Leftovers on HBO
The one planning her post-pandemic party: The After Party by Anton DiSclafani; The Art of Gathering by Priya Parker
The one dreaming of a trip she’ll never take: Saint X by Alexis Schaitkin;The Vacationers by Emma Straub // Home on AppleTV
The one who cries every day at 3:00: The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead; Separation Anxiety by Laura Zigman
The one whose family is driving them crazy: All Adults Here by Emma Straub; The Family Fang by Kevin Wilson or The Nest by Cynthia D’Aprix Sweeney
The one whose wedding got postponed: Our Stop by Laura Jane Williams; Strangers and Cousins by Leah Hager Cohen

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.

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 Catherine House by Elisabeth Thomas and Ashley is reading The Office by Andy Greene.

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 shipping on all your online orders. Just go to patreon.com/fromthefrontporch.

270 || Building a Personal Library May 07, 2020

Show notes

Annie is joined today by my friend Hunter McLendon to talk all about personal libraries. What books do we buy, which do we borrow? What titles stay on our shelves forever and which ones make their way to a donation bin?

The books mentioned in today’s episode can be purchased on The Bookshelf’s website.

The New York Times' piece about celebrities' bookshelves is 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 The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett. Hunter is reading Writers & Lovers by Lily King.

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

269 || April Reading Recap Apr 30, 2020

Show notes

This week, Annie recaps the eleven books she read during the month of April, all of which can be purchased on The Bookshelf’s website:

Friends and Strangers by J. Courtney Sullivan (released June 30, 2020)
The Return by Rachel Harrison
Siri, Who Am I? by Sam Tschida (released January 12, 2021)
An Old Fashioned Girl by Louisa May Alcott
The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires by Grady Hendrix
Bloomability by Sharon Creech
The Herd by Andrea Bartz
The Guest List by Lucy Foley
The Big Finish by Brooke Fossey
Lucky Caller by Emma Mills
The Names They Gave Us by Emery Lord

Other books mentioned:

Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid
Writers and Lovers by Lily King
Ten Blind Dates by Ashley Elston
The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion
Option B by Sheryl Sandberg
A Grief Observed by C.S. Lewis

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 still reading You Never Forget Your First by Alexis Coe.

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

268 || Baby Got Books Apr 23, 2020

Show notes

This week, Annie chats with Bookshelf staffer Lucy all about her favorite baby books and books for mom and moms-to-be, including:

Great with Child
How to Raise a Reader
Giraffes Can’t Dance
The Read-Aloud Family
Who Sang the First Song
Don't Forget to Remember
You Nest with Me
Because
Cribsheet
Expecting Better
Let Us Pray
The Word of the Lord
If There Never Was a You

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's reading The Big Finish by Brooke Fossey. Lucy is reading The Splendid and the Vile.

267 || Recommended Royal Reads Apr 16, 2020

Show notes

This week on From the Front Porch, host and owner of The Bookshelf, Annie Jones, has a special guest joining her to tackle an important listener question: What should the royals be reading? Annie’s friend Courtney Kinsey is a fellow royals enthusiast, an avid reader and book club member, and a podcaster in her own right, co-hosting the show “I Do Declare!” with her sister Betsy.

The books mentioned on today’s episode are available for purchase on The Bookshelf website:

The Royal We by Heather Cocks and Jessica Morgan
The Heir Affair by Heather Cocks and Jessica Morgan
Station 11 by Emily St. John Mandel
Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan
American Royals by Katharine McGee
Bringing Down the Duke by Evie Dunmore
Red, White and Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston
The Princess Diaries series by Meg Cabot
Dear America series
Mrs. Queen Takes the Train by William Kuhn
Gone with the Windsors by Laurie Graham

Recommendations for Harry and Meghan:

Burnout by Emily Nagoski (for Meghan)
Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry (for Harry)
This is Where I Leave You by Jonathan Tropper (for Harry)
Southern Lady Code by Helen Ellis

Recommendations for Queen Elizabeth:

A Place For Us by Fatima Farheen Mirza

Recommendations for Charles:

All This Could Be Yours by Jami Attenberg

Recommendations for William and Kate:

East of Eden by John Steinbeck (for William)
Untamed by Glennon Doyle Melton (for Kate)

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, I’m reading You Never Forget Your First by Alexis Coe. Courtney is reading The Splendid and the Vile by Erik Larson.

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

266 || Literary Therapy, Vol. 2 Apr 09, 2020

Show notes

Today, it’s time for another round of Literary Therapy. If you’re new here, Literary Therapy is a recurring episode series in which Annie plays the Dr. Frasier Crane or the Lucy van Pelt to listeners’ literary ailments.

As mentioned in the episode, you can get book recs from the following:

Hunter Mclendon at @shelfbyshelf
Tyler Goodson at @tylergoodson
Laura Tremaine at @laura.tremaine
Mary Laura Philpott at @marylauraphilpott

The books mentioned in today’s episode can be purchased on The Bookshelf’s website:

Gilead by Marilynne Robinson
Crossing to Safety by Wallace Stegner
East of Eden by John Steinbeck
The End We Start From by Megan Hunter
The Yonahlossee Riding Camp for Girls by Anton DiSclafani
The Explanation of Everything by Lauren Grodstein
Francis and Bernard by Carlene Bauer
Loving Frank by Nancy Horan
The Ensemble by Aja Gabel
Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston
A Place for Us by Fatima Farheen Mirza
A Separate Peace by John Knowles
The Mothers by Brit Bennett

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 An Old Fashioned Girl by Louisa May Alcott.

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

265 || Bookish Bingo Apr 02, 2020

Show notes

Annie and Olivia sat down in the middle of the chaos to talk about The Bookshelf’s reading challenge (of sorts!) for 2020. We covered all sorts of categories, with a variety of books:

A Is for Alibi by Sue Grafton
Pashmina by Nidhi Chanani
The House of the Spirits by Isabel Allende
The BFG by Roald Dahl
There There by Tommy Orange
The Space Between Us by Thrity Umrigar
The Heartbeat of Wounded Knee by David Treuer
The Round House by Louise Erdrich
This Is Paradise by Kristiana Kahakauwila
Where the Dead Sit Talking by Brandon Hobson
She Said by Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey
Catch and Kill by Ronan Farrow
Brief Answers to Big Questions by Stephen Hawking
Maybe You Should Talk to Someone by Lori Gottlieb
A Man Called Ove by Frederick Backman
Wild by Cheryl Strayed
The Case of the Velvet Claws by Erle Stanley Gardner
Elizabeth the Queen by Sally Bedell Smith
The Other Side of the Coin by Angela Kelly
Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkienn
The Martian by Andy Weir
The Silence of the Lambs by Thomas Harris
No Country for Old Men by Cormac McCarthy
The Supper of the Lamb by Robert Farrar Capon
Bread and Wine; Bittersweet; Cold Tangerines by Shauna Niequist
Save Me the Plums by Ruth Reichl
Flour + Water by Thomas McNaughton
The Apprentice by Jacques Pepin
Devil in the Kitchen by Marco Pierre White
Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain
Illegal by Eion Colfer
Very Large Expanse of Sea by Tahereh Mafi
Infidel by Ayaan Hirsi Aliyy
We Are Not From Here by Jenny Torres Sanchez
Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi
How Much of These Hills Is Gold by C Pam Zhang
The Book of Unknown Americans by Cristina Henriquez
The Great Gatsby and Flappers and Philosophers by F. Scott Fitzgerald
The Paragon Hotel by Lyndsay Faye
Gods of Jade and Shadow by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
We Ride Upon Sticks by Quan Barry
Heartbreaker by Claudia Dey
Seven Days in Augusta by Mark Cannizzaro
Believe It by Nick Foles
The City Game by Matthew Goodman
Open by Andre Agassi

Find your Bookish bingo card 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's reading Friends & Strangers by J. Courtney Sullivan.

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

264 || March Reading Recap Mar 26, 2020

Show notes

Today, Annie recaps all the books she read in March.

The books mentioned in today’s episode are available at The Bookshelf:

Most Likely by Sarah Watson
Our Stop by Laura Jane Williams
Weather by Jenny Offill
Jo & Laurie by Margaret Stohl & Melissa de la Cruz
Untamed by Glennon Doyle
A Good Marriage by Kimberly McCreight
The Silent Treatment by Abby Greaves
Not Like the Movies by Kerry Winfrey

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 Friends & Strangers by J. Courtney Sullivan.

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

263 || March Madness, Indeed Mar 19, 2020

Show notes

Annie is joined this week by her husband, friend, audiobook listener, and fellow basketball enthusiast Jordan Jones. The NCAA tournament may have been canceled -- a true tragedy in the Jones’ house -- but they’re still debating The Bookshelf’s bestsellers in their annual March Madness episode. They hope their conversation brings a little light and levity to what’s been a stressful couple of weeks.

Where the Crawdads Sing vs. Educated
The Dreamers vs. The Other's Gold
Nickel Boys vs. Furious Hours
I Miss You When I Blink vs. When You Read This
All This Could Be Yours vs. The Dutch House
Evvie Drake Starts Over vs. The Lager Queen of Minnesota
Ask Again, Yes vs. Daisy Jones & The Six
Stars of Alabama vs. The Dearly Beloved

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 finishing Untamed, the new memoir by Glennon Doyle. Jordan just finished Out of the Silent Planet by C.S. Lewis.

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

262 || Playlist Meets Booklist: Spring Mar 12, 2020

Show notes

Annie is joined by Robbie Hopkins, a former literature teacher, avid reader, and frequent Bookshelf customer. Today, the two are previewing some spring titles that should be on your radar, but it’s being done a little bit differently—literature meets music.

Tap or click here for the full Spotify playlist.

The books mentioned in today’s episode can be purchased online from The Bookshelf:

Separation Anxietyby Laura Zigman
All Adults Here by Emma Straub
Don't Overthink It by Anne Bogel
The Silent Treatment by Abbie Greaves (preorder—released 4/7)
The Glass Hotel by Emily St. John Mandel (preorder—released 3/24)
How Much of These Hills Is Gold by C. Pam Zhang (preorder—released 4/7)
Perfect Tunes by Emily Gould (preorder released 4/14)
Siri, Who Am I? by Sam Tschida (preorder—released5/5)
After the Last Border by Jessica Goudeau (preorder—released 4/28)
Afterlife by Julia Alvarez (preorder—released 4/7)
Deacon King Kong by James McBride

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 Most Likely by Sarah Watson, the creator of The Bold Type.

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

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