From the Front Porch

Episode 568 | The Bookshelf Recommends: 831 Stories

This week on From the Front Porch, it’s an episode of The Bookshelf Recommends! In this series, Annie (and occasionally other team members) curates a stack of books in a certain genre or theme for you – just as if you walked into our brick-and-mortar store, The Bookshelf. This time, Annie, Caroline, and Kyndall chat about publisher 831 Stories, the romance genre, and their favorite 831 Stories novellas.

To purchase the books mentioned in this episode, stop by The Bookshelf in Thomasville, visit our website (search episode 568) or download and shop on The Bookshelf’s official app:

Annie:

Big Fan by Alexandra Romanoff

Caroline:

Set Piece by Lana Schwartz

Kyndall:

Hardly Strangers by AC Robinson

831 Stories Book Bundle, including all three novellas

Silent Reading Hour tickets

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, Tiktok, and Facebook, 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 The Reservation by Rebecca Kauffman. Caroline is reading Comedic Timing by Upasna Barath. Kyndall is reading Phoebe Berman’s Gonna Lose It by Brooke Averick.

If you liked what you heard in today’s episode, tell us by leaving a review on Apple Podcasts. You can also support us on Patreon, where you can access bonus content, monthly live Porch Visits with Annie, our monthly live Patreon Book Club with Bookshelf staffers, Conquer a Classic episodes with Hunter, and more. Just go to patreon.com/fromthefrontporch.

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

Our Executive Producers are...Ashley Ferrell, Beth, Cammy Tidwell, Gene Queens, Jammie Treadwell, Joseph Shorter IV, Kimberly, Linda Lee Drozt, Nicole Marsee, Stephanie Dean, and Wendi Jenkins.

Episode 567 || February 2026 New Release Rundown

This week on From the Front Porch, it’s a New Release Rundown! Annie, Erin, and Olivia share the February releases they’re excited about to help you build your TBR. When you purchase or preorder any of the books they talk about, enter the code NEWRELEASEPLEASE at checkout for 10% off your order!

To purchase the books mentioned in this episode, stop by The Bookshelf in Thomasville, visit our website (search episode 567) or download and shop on The Bookshelf’s official app:

Annie's Books:

• This Is Not About Us by Allegra Goodman

• So Old, So Young by Grant Ginder

• More Than Enough by Anna Quindlen

Olivia's Books:

• Warning Signs by Tracy Sierra

• Birdy by N West Moss

• PostScript by Cory McCarthy

Erin's Books:

• Good People by Patmeena Sabit

• The Reservation by Rebecca Kauffman

• A Good Animal by Sara Maurer

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, Tiktok, and Facebook, 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 Homeschooled by Steffan Merrill Block. Olivia is reading Detour by Jeff Rake and Rob Hart. Erin is listening to  Lady Tremaine by Rachel Hochhauser.

If you liked what you heard in today’s episode, tell us by leaving a review on Apple Podcasts. You can also support us on Patreon, where you can access bonus content, monthly live Porch Visits with Annie, our monthly live Patreon Book Club with Bookshelf staffers, Conquer a Classic episodes with Hunter, and more. Just go to patreon.com/fromthefrontporch.

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

Our Executive Producers are...Ashley Ferrell, Beth, Cammy Tidwell, Gene Queens, Jammie Treadwell, Joseph Shorter IV, Kimberly, Linda Lee Drozt, Nicole Marsee, Stephanie Dean, and Wendi Jenkins.

Episode 566 || January 2026 Reading Recap

This week on From the Front Porch, Annie recaps the books she read and loved in January. You get 10% off your books when you order your January Reading Recap bundle. Each month, we offer a Reading Recap bundle, which features Annie’s favorite books she read that month.

To purchase the books mentioned in this episode, stop by The Bookshelf in Thomasville, visit our website (search episode 566), or download and shop on The Bookshelf’s official app:

• Stone Yard Devotional by Charlotte Wood 

• The Land in Winter by Andrew Miller 

• Meet the Newmans by Jennifer Niven 

• Lost Lambs by Madeline Cash 

• The Rest of Our Lives by Ben Markovits 

• This Is Not About Us by Allegra Goodman 

• Vigil by George Saunders 

• This Story Might Save Your Life by Tiffany Crum 

• The Reservation by Rebecca Kauffman 

• Homeschooled by Stefan Merrill Block 

January Reading Recap Bundle

• The Land in Winter by Andrew Miller 

• Homeschooled by Stefan Merrill Block 

• Vigil by George Saunders 

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, Tiktok, and Facebook, 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 Whidbey by T. Kira Madden

If you liked what you heard in today’s episode, tell us by leaving a review on Apple Podcasts. You can also support us on Patreon, where you can access bonus content, monthly live Porch Visits with Annie, our monthly live Patreon Book Club with Bookshelf staffers, Conquer a Classic episodes with Hunter, and more. Just go to patreon.com/fromthefrontporch.

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

Our Executive Producers are...Ashley Ferrell, Beth, Cammy Tidwell, Gene Queens, Jammie Treadwell, Joseph Shorter IV, Kimberly, Linda Lee Drozt, Nicole Marsee, Stephanie Dean, and Wendi Jenkins.

Episode 565: Into the Backlist: Walking With Sam

This week on From the Front Porch, it’s a new episode of Into the Backlist! Today, Annie changes her focus from new releases to dive into the backlist: the books that came out years ago, the books that didn’t get enough attention, the books you may stumble upon while browsing in an indie bookstore like The Bookshelf.

To purchase the books mentioned in this episode, stop by The Bookshelf in Thomasville, visit our website (search episode 565) or download and shop on The Bookshelf’s official app:

Walking With Sam by Andrew McCarthy

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, Tiktok, and Facebook, 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 Homeschooled by Stefan Merrill Block.

If you liked what you heard in today’s episode, tell us by leaving a review on Apple Podcasts. You can also support us on Patreon, where you can access bonus content, monthly live Porch Visits with Annie, our monthly live Patreon Book Club with Bookshelf staffers, Conquer a Classic episodes with Hunter, and more. Just go to patreon.com/fromthefrontporch.

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

Our Executive Producers are...Beth, Stephanie Dean, Linda Lee Drozt, Ashley Ferrell, Wendi Jenkins, Martha, Nicole Marsee, Gene Queens, Cammy Tidwell, Jammie Treadwell, and Amanda Whigham.

Episode 564 || Literary Therapy, Vol. 26

This week on From the Front Porch, it’s a Literary Therapy session! Our literary Frasier Crane, Annie, is back to answer more of your reading questions and dilemmas. If you have a question you would like Annie to answer in a future episode, you can leave us a voicemail here.

To purchase the books mentioned in this episode, stop by The Bookshelf in Thomasville, visit our website (search episode 564) or download and shop on The Bookshelf’s official app.

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, Tiktok, and Facebook, 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 Meet the Newmans by Jennifer Niven.

If you liked what you heard in today’s episode, tell us by leaving a review on Apple Podcasts. You can also support us on Patreon, where you can access bonus content, monthly live Porch Visits with Annie, our monthly live Patreon Book Club with Bookshelf staffers, Conquer a Classic episodes with Hunter, and more. Just go to patreon.com/fromthefrontporch.

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

Our Executive Producers are...Beth, Stephanie Dean, Linda Lee Drozt, Ashley Ferrell, Wendi Jenkins, Martha, Nicole Marsee, Gene Queens, Cammy Tidwell, Jammie Treadwell, and Amanda Whigham.

Episode 563 || What Would Jane Austen Read?

This week on From the Front Porch, Annie shares the modern books she would recommend to Jane Austen, in honor of Jane’s recent 250th birthday. Listen to find out what books Annie would put in Jane’s hands if she walked into The Bookshelf.

To purchase the books mentioned in this episode, stop by The Bookshelf in Thomasville, visit our website (search episode 563) or download and shop on The Bookshelf’s official app:

• Matrix by Lauren Groff

• Miracles and Other Reasonable Things by Sarah Bessey

• Take Good Care of the Garden and the Dogs by Heather Lende

• Transcendent Kingdom by Yaa Gyasi

• Tom Lake by Ann Patchett

• The Essex Serpent by Sarah Perry

• The Complete Stories by Flannery O’Connor

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, Tiktok, and Facebook, 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 Mona’s Eyes by Thomas Schlesser.

If you liked what you heard in today’s episode, tell us by leaving a review on Apple Podcasts. You can also support us on Patreon, where you can access bonus content, monthly live Porch Visits with Annie, our monthly live Patreon Book Club with Bookshelf staffers, Conquer a Classic episodes with Hunter, and more. Just go to patreon.com/fromthefrontporch.

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

Our Executive Producers are...Beth, Stephanie Dean, Linda Lee Drozt, Ashley Ferrell, Wendi Jenkins, Martha, Nicole Marsee, Gene Queens, Cammy Tidwell, Jammie Treadwell, and Amanda Whigham.

Episode 562 || Unsung Books of 2025

Happy New Year! This week on From the Front Porch, Annie chats about the unsung books you may not have heard about in 2025.

To purchase the books mentioned in this episode, stop by The Bookshelf in Thomasville, visit our website (search episode 562) or download and shop on The Bookshelf’s official app:

• Lightbreakers by Aja Gabel

• Stone Yard Devotional by Charlotte Wood

• Before I Forget by Tory Henwood Hoen

• The Girls Who Grew Big by Leila Mottley

• So Far Gone by Jess Walter

• Among Friends by Hal Ebbott

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, Tiktok, and Facebook, 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 The Land in Winter by Andrew Miller.

If you liked what you heard in today’s episode, tell us by leaving a review on Apple Podcasts. You can also support us on Patreon, where you can access bonus content, monthly live Porch Visits with Annie, our monthly live Patreon Book Club with Bookshelf staffers, Conquer a Classic episodes with Hunter, and more. Just go to patreon.com/fromthefrontporch.

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

Our Executive Producers are...Beth, Stephanie Dean, Linda Lee Drozt, Ashley Ferrell, Wendi Jenkins, Martha, Nicole Marsee, Gene Queens, Cammy Tidwell, Jammie Treadwell, and Amanda Whigham.

Episode 561 || Yes, Virginia

This week on From the Front Porch, Annie reads the New York Sun reporter Francis P. Church’s timeless response to eight-year-old Virginia O’Hanlon’s question: “Is there a Santa Claus?” Read the letter from 1897 and learn about its history here.

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 and Facebook, and all the books from today’s episode can be purchased online through our store website, bookshelfthomasville.com. 

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, Tiktok, and Facebook, 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 A Bit Much by Lyndsay Rush.

If you liked what you heard in today’s episode, tell us by leaving a review on Apple Podcasts. You can also support us on Patreon, where you can access bonus content, monthly live Porch Visits with Annie, our monthly live Patreon Book Club with Bookshelf staffers, Conquer a Classic episodes with Hunter, and more. Just go to patreon.com/fromthefrontporch.

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

Our Executive Producers are...Beth, Stephanie Dean, Linda Lee Drozt, Ashley Ferrell, Wendi Jenkins, Martha, Nicole Marsee, Gene Queens, Cammy Tidwell, Jammie Treadwell, and Amanda Whigham.

Episode 560 || Best Books of the Year

This week on From the Front Porch, Annie and Hunter discuss their top 10 favorite books of 2025!

Annie
1. A Guardian and a Thief by Megha Majumdar
2. The Correspondent by Virginia Evans
3. Flashlight by Susan Choi
4. Tilt by Emma Pattee
5. The Road to Tender Hearts by Annie Hartnett
6. Things in Nature Merely Grow by Yiyun Li
7. Memorial Days by Geradine Brooks
8. Buckeye by Patrick Ryan
9. Life, and Death, and Giants by Ron Rindo
10. Awake by Jen Hatmaker

Hunter
1. Audition by Katie Kitamura
2. Flashlight by Susan Choi
3. Ordinary Time by Annie B. Jones
4. Lightbreakers by Aja Gabel
5. Minor Black Figures by Brandon Taylor
6. A Guardian and a Thief by  Megha Majumdar
7. Mothers and Sons by Adam Haslett
8. Middle Spoon by Alejandro Varela
9. The Road to Tender Hearts by Annie Hartnett
10. Alligator Tears by Edgar Gomez

Annie - July picks
1. Tilt by Emma Pattee
2. Flashlight by Susan Choi
3. The Correspondent by Virginia Evans
4. Things in Nature Merely Grow by Yiyun Li
5. Show Don’t Tell by Curtis Sittenfeld
6. Memorial Days by Geraldine Brooks
7. Everything Is Tuberculosis by John Green
8. The Road to Tender Hearts by Annie Hartnett
9. Lucky Night by Eliza Kennedy
10. Playworld by Adam Ross

Hunter - July picks
1. Audition by Katie Kitamura
2. Ordinary Time by Annie B Jones
3. Mothers and Sons by Adam Haslett
4. Alligator Tears by Edgar Gomez
5. Among Friends by Hal Ebbott
6. The Wilderness by Angela Flourney
7. Open, Heaven by Sean Hewitt
8. The Road to Tender Hearts by Annie Hartnett
9. Perfection by Vincenzo Latronico
10. Exit Zero by Marie-Helene Bertino

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, Tiktok, and Facebook, 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 Grace and Henry’s Holiday Movie Marathon. Hunter is reading Saturday Night at the Lakeside Supper Club.

If you liked what you heard in today’s episode, tell us by leaving a review on Apple Podcasts. You can also support us on Patreon, where you can access bonus content, monthly live Porch Visits with Annie, our monthly live Patreon Book Club with Bookshelf staffers, Conquer a Classic episodes with Hunter, and more. Just go to patreon.com/fromthefrontporch.

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

Our Executive Producers are...Beth, Stephanie Dean, Linda Lee Drozt, Ashley Ferrell, Wendi Jenkins, Martha, Nicole Marsee, Gene Queens, Cammy Tidwell, Jammie Treadwell, and Amanda Whigham.

Episode 559 || Staff's Favorite Books of the Year

This week on From the Front Porch, The Bookshelf staff share their favorite books of 2025!

To purchase the books mentioned in this episode, stop by The Bookshelf in Thomasville, visit our website (search episode 559) or download and shop on The Bookshelf’s official app:

• Olivia: Wild Dark Shore by Charlotte McConaghy

• Erin: Life, & Death, & Giants by Ron Rindo

• Keila: Water Moon by Samantha Soto Yambao

• Kyndall: Deep Cuts by Holly Brickley

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 and Facebook, 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 A Beautiful Year by Diana Butler Bass.

If you liked what you heard in today’s episode, tell us by leaving a review on Apple Podcasts. You can also support us on Patreon, where you can access bonus content, monthly live Porch Visits with Annie, our monthly live Patreon Book Club with Bookshelf staffers, Conquer a Classic episodes with Hunter, and more. Just go to patreon.com/fromthefrontporch.

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

Our Executive Producers are...Beth, Stephanie Dean, Linda Lee Drozt, Ashley Ferrell, Wendi Jenkins, Martha, Nicole Marsee, Gene Queens, Cammy Tidwell, Jammie Treadwell, and Amanda Whigham.