From the Front Porch

Episode 216 || March Reading Recap

Here at the end of our pollen-covered month, it's time to discuss what we were able read between, y'know, everything else. You can find all of the following books for sale (or preorder) in The Bookshelf's online store. + Never Have I Ever by Joshilyn Jackson (on sale July 30) + Beyond the Point by Claire Gibson (on sale April 2) + Save Me the Plums by Ruth Reichl (on sale April 2) + Strangers and Cousins by Leah Hager Cohen (on sale May 14) + Inheritance by Dani Shapiro + Normal People by Sally Rooney (on sale April 16) + Trust Exercise by Susan Choi (on sale April 9) Thanks, as always, to Forlorn Strangers for the use of our theme music. Learn and listen more here. Listen to a full back catalogue of our show here, and, if you're interested in some exclusive content like Chris and Annie's Unpopular Opinions, consider supporting us on Patreon here.  

Episode 215 || Spring Literary Lineup

Spring is officially springing, so Chris and Annie are back to tell you what books to look out for in this new green season. You can find all of the following books for sale (or preorder) in The Bookshelf's online store. + Good Talk by Mira Jacob (on sale March 26) + Trust Exercise by Susan Choi (on sale April 9) + What My Mother And I Don't Talk About by various authors (on sale April 30) + See You in the Piazza by Frances Mayes + Tomorrow There Will Be Sun by Dana Reinhardt + The Moth Presents Occasional Magic by various authors + The Second Mountain by David Brooks (on sale April 16) + Lost Roses by Martha Hall Kelly (on sale April 9) + If, Then by Kate Hope Day + I Miss You When I Blink by Mary Laura Philpott + Normal People by Sally Rooney (on sale April 16) + A Sin By Any Other Name by Robert W. Lee (on sale April 2) Thanks, as always, to Forlorn Strangers for the use of our theme music. Learn and listen more here. Listen to a full back catalogue of our show here, and, if you're interested in some exclusive content like Chris and Annie's Unpopular Opinions, consider supporting us on Patreon here.  

Episode 214 || March Madness 2019

It's March, and everything's gone MAD! Annie is joined by her husband, Jordan, for their annual adventure through book brackets and The Bookshelf's recent bestsellers.

1. Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens 2. The Current by Tim Johnston 3. A Place for Us by Fatima Farheen Mirza 4. Unsheltered by Barbara Kingsolver 5. The Dreamers by Karen Thompson Walker 6. My Sister, the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite 7. Becoming by Michelle Obama 8. Educated by Tara Westover 9. Daisy Jones and the Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid 10. Hey Ladies! by Caroline Moss and Michelle Markowitz 11. Girl, Wash Your Face by Rachel Hollis 12. The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo 13. I Think You're Wrong (But I'm Listening) by Beth A. Silvers and Sarah Stewart Holland 14. The Point of It All by Charles Krauthammer 15. Inheritance by Dani Shapiro 16. The Library Book by Susan Orlean Thanks, as always, to Forlorn Strangers for the use of our theme music. Learn and listen more here. Listen to a full back catalogue of our show here, and, if you're interested in some exclusive content like Chris and Annie's Unpopular Opinions, consider supporting us on Patreon here.  

Episode 213 || Seasonal Reads: Spring Break

I don't know what it's like where you live, but we're in the middle of a cold snap, and it doesn't feel much like spring break. Join us this week on a new installment of Seasonal Reads in which we recommend just the right books to get you ready for a break. Spring break forever. You can find all of the following books for sale (or preorder) in The Bookshelf's online store. + The Vacationers by Emma Straub + Big Little Lies by Lianne Moriarty + Tomorrow There Will Be Sun by Dana Reinhardt + Do Not Become Alarmed by Maile Meloy + This is Your Life, Harriet Chance by Jonathan Evison + A Separation by Katie Kitamura + Beautiful Ruins by Jess Walter + Sing, Unburied, Sing by Jesmyn Ward + Tangerine by Christine Mangan + Maine by J. Courtney Sullivan + The From-Aways by CJ Hauser + Summer Sisters by Judy Blume Thanks, as always, to Forlorn Strangers for the use of our theme music. Learn and listen more here. Listen to a full back catalogue of our show here, and, if you're interested in some exclusive content like Chris and Annie's Unpopular Opinions, consider supporting us on Patreon here.  

Episode 212 || February Reading Recap

February is the shortest month of the year, and it really felt like it this time around! Join Annie and Chris as they discuss what they were able to read this month--because they were some really good ones. You can find all of the following books for sale (or preorder) in The Bookshelf's online store. Annie read: + Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead (on sale July 16) + Daisy Jones and the Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid (on sale March 5) + Tomorrow There Will Be Sun by Dana Reinhardt (on sale March 5) + If Beale Street Could Talk by James Baldwin + Waiting for Tom Hanks by Kerry Winfrey (on sale June 11) + Dopesick by Beth Macy Chris read: + Multiple Man by Matthew Rosenberg and Andy MacDonald Thanks, as always, to Forlorn Strangers for the use of our theme music. Learn and listen more here. Listen to a full back catalogue of our show here, and, if you're interested in some exclusive content like Chris and Annie's Unpopular Opinions, consider supporting us on Patreon here.  

Episode 211 || Backlist Book Club, Vol. 1

Annie is joined once again by frequent contributors Hunter McLendon and Emily McKenna for the first installment in our new series, Backlist Book Club. Up first on the docket: If Beale Street Could Talk by James Baldwin. You can purchase any of the books mentioned on today's episode at The Bookshelf. Hunter's list of recommended list of resources is as follows: + The Stacks+ read.rewind + reads_by_rodkelly + absorbedinpages You can follow Hunter and Emily on Instagram. Thanks, as always, to Forlorn Strangers for the use of our theme music. Learn and listen more here. Listen to a full back catalogue of our show here, and, if you're interested in some exclusive content like Chris and Annie's Unpopular Opinions, consider supporting us on Patreon here.  

Episode 210 || Oscar Season Reading Recs

Book-to-Movie Nominations

+ Boy Erased by Garrard Conley

+ Beautiful Boy by David Sheff

+ First Man by James R. Hansen

+ Can You Ever Forgive Me? by Lee Israel

+ If Beale Street Could Talk by James Baldwin

+ My Own Words by Ruth Bader Ginsburg

+ Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan

+ The Wife by Meg Wolitzer

Our Recs Based on Best Picture

If you liked Black Panther, try:

+ Black Panther, Vol. 1: A Nation Under Our Feet by Ta-Nehisi Coates

+ Black Leopard, Red Wolf by Marlon James

If you liked BlacKkKlansman or Green Book, try:

+ Black Klansman by Ron Stallworth

+ Stamped from the Beginning by Ibram X. Kendi

If you liked Bohemian Rhapsody or A Star is Born, try:

+ Moonage Daydream by Davie Bowie

+ Just Kids by Patti Smith

+ Life by Keith Richards

+ Daisy Jones and the Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid

If you liked The Favourite, try:

+ The Other Boleyn Girl by Philippa Gregory

+ The Many Lives and Secret Sorrows of Josephine B. by Sandra Gulland

If you liked Vice, try:

+ Sisters First by Jenna Bush Hager and Barbara Pierce Bush

+ Days of Fire by Peter Baker

Thanks, as always, to Forlorn Strangers for the use of our theme music. Learn and listen more here.

Listen to a full back catalogue of our show here, and, if you're interested in some exclusive content like Chris and Annie's Unpopular Opinions, consider supporting us on Patreon here.  

Episode 209 || Seasonal Reads: Romance

Love is in the air, which is how you know it's time for Chris and Annie to jump into February's edition of Seasonal Reads.

Also, a brief history of the term "romance."

+ Yvain, or The Knight with the Lion by Chretien de Troyes

+ To All the Boys I've Loved Before by Jenny Han

+ Ramona Blue by Julie Murphy

+ Dumplin' by Julie Murphy

+ Windfall by Jennifer E. Smith

+ When Dimple Met Rishi by Sandhya Menon

+ What to Say Next by Julie Buxbaum

+ Tell Me Three Things by Julie Buxbaum

+ A Very Large Expanse of Sea by Tahereh Mafi

+ Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan

+ The Girl He Used to Know by Tracey Garvis-Graves (on sale April 2)

+ The Arrangement by Sarah Dunn

+ The Proposal by Jasmine Guillory

+ The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid

+ Red, White, and Royal Blue by Casie McQuiston (on sale May 14)

+ One Day in December by Josie Silver

+ When Katie Met Cassidy by Camille Perri

+ I'll Have What She's Having by Erin Carlson

Thanks, as always, to Forlorn Strangers for the use of our theme music. Learn and listen more here.

Listen to a full back catalogue of our show here, and, if you're interested in some exclusive content like Chris and Annie's Unpopular Opinions, consider supporting us on Patreon here.  

Bonus Episode || Sarah Stewart Holland and Beth A. Silvers

In this very special bonus episode of From the Front Porch, Annie interviews Sarah Stewart Holland and Beth A. Silvers, the ladies behind the hit Pantsuit Politics podcast and the brand new book, I Think You're Wrong (But I'm Listening), on sale today.  Learn more about their show at their website. You can purchase their book through The Bookshelf. Thank you to Forlorn Strangers for the use of our theme music. Learn more at their website.

Episode 208 || January Reading Recap

On this, the 87th day of January, Chris and Annie attempt to distract you from the polar vortex with a hopefully delightful chat about the books they finished this month. It was a long one, folks!

Annie read:

+ All These Wonders edited by Catherine Burns

+ Becoming by Michelle Obama

+ Leading Men by Christopher Castellani

+ Sisters First by Jenna Bush Hager and Barbara Pierce Bush

+ The Elephant in the Room by Tommy Tomlinson

+ When You Read This by Mary Adkins (on sale February 5)

+ The Care and Feeding of Ravenously Hungry Girls by Anissa Gray (on sale February 19)

+ The Current by Tim Johnston

+ I Think You're Wrong, but I'm Listening by Sarah Steward Holland and Beth A. Silvers (on sale February 5)

Chris read:

+ The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson

+ The Death of Arthur from The Lancelot-Grail Cycle translated by Norris Lacy

Thanks, as always, to Forlorn Strangers for the use of our theme music. Learn and listen more here.

Listen to a full back catalogue of our show here, and, if you're interested in some exclusive content like Chris and Annie's Unpopular Opinions, consider supporting us on Patreon here.