From the Front Porch

Episode 222 || Seasonal Reads: Wedding Season

It's wedding season, y'all, and Annie and Chris are here to guide you through the most relevant reads of the season. You can find all of the following books for sale (or preorder) in The Bookshelf's online store. + Seating Arrangements by Maggie Shipstead + Strangers and Cousins by Leah Hager Cohen + Save the Date by Morgan Matson + Eligible by Curtis Sittenfeld + The Wedding Date by Jasmine Guillory + Wedding Toasts I'll Never Give by Ada Calhoun + The Gown by Jennifer Robson + Girls in White Dresses by Jennifer Close + Crossing to Safety by Wallace Stegner + Hannah Coulter by Wendell Berry + The Arrangement by Sarah Dunn + Standard Deviation by Katharine Heiny + Committed by Elizabeth Gilbert 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 221 || April Reading Recap

The changing of the calendar page signals that Annie and Chris are back, as they are every month, to talk about what they read in April! You can find all of the following books for sale (or preorder) in The Bookshelf's online store. + The Liar's Club by Mary Karr + The Body in Question by Jill Clement (on sale June 11) + Family of Origin by CJ Hauser (on sale July 16) + Ask Again, Yes by Mary Beth Keane (on sale May 28) + How Not to Die Alone by Richard Roper (on sale May 28) + Field Notes on Love by Jennifer E. Smith + The Flatshare by Beth O'Leary + City of Girls by Elizabeth Gilbert 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 220 || Indie Bookstore Day 2019

This Saturday is Independent Bookstore Day, so Annie and Chris are here to talk about WHY independent bookstores matter and to bring you a list of some of their favorites up and down the east coast--and beyond! + The Bookshelf in Thomasville, GA + Midtown Reader in Tallahassee, FL + Sundog Books in Seaside, FL + Page and Palette in Fairhope, AL + Avid Bookshop in Athens, GA + Book Culture in New York, NY + Book People in Austin, TX + E. Shaver, Bookseller in Savannah, GA + Square Books in Oxford, MS + Literati Bookstore in Ann Arbor, MI + Oxford Exchange in Tampa, FL + Golden Hare Books in Edinburgh, UK + Forum Books in Corbridge, UK + Wheatberry Books in Chillicothe, OH + Twenty Stories in Los Angeles, CA + The Bookshop (formerly Her Bookshop) in Nashville, TN + Greedy Reads in Baltimore, MD + Fabled Bookshop in Waco, TX + Books are Magic in New York, NY + Loyalty Bookstore in Washington, DC 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 219 || Stuck in Your Head

In honor of National Poetry Month, Chris and Annie are back to talk about their favorite poems, collections, and the words they've gotten stuck in their heads over the years. Poets, poems, books, and collections mentioned this week: + Mary Oliver + William Wordsworth + "If" by Rudyard Kipling + "Mine Own John Poins" by Thomas Wyatt the Elder + John Donne, including "Holy Sonnet 10" and "Holy Sonnet 14" + Percy Shelley, including "Ode to the West Wind" and "Ozymandias" + John Milton, including Paradise Lost and "Methought I Saw My Late Espoused Saint" + "The Lanyard" by Billy Collins + "Orion" by Adrienne Rich + Emily of New Moon by L. M. Montgomery + The End We Start From by Megan Hunter + T. S. Eliot, including "Little Gidding," "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock," and The Waste Land + Emily Dickinson + She Walks in Beauty by Caroline Kennedy + Robert Frost + Shel Silverstein + A Year of Nature Poems by Joseph Coelho and Kelly Louise Judd + A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood by Fred Rogers + Night Sky with Exit Wounds by Ocean Vuong + On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong (on sale in June) + Calling a Wolf a Wolf by Kaveh Akbar + Space Struck by Paige Lewis (on sale in October) + Millennial Roost by Dustin Pearson + A Family is a House by Dustin Pearson + Parse by Ruth Baumann + Electric Arches by Eve L. Ewing + 1919 by Eve L. Ewing (on sale in June) + Rupi Kaur + Light of the World by Elizabeth Alexander + Tracy K. Smith + Go Ahead in the Rain by Hanif Abdurraqib You can listen to Ruth Baumann's episode of From the Front Porch here. 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 218 || Backlist Book Club, Vol. 2

Your favorite long-distance book club is back as Annie and frequent contributor Hunter discuss Mary Karr's celebrated memoir, The Liar's Club.  You can find all of the following books for sale (or preorder) in The Bookshelf's online store. + The Liar's Club by Mary Karr 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 217 || Seasonal Reads: April Foolery

We all need a laugh now and then, and when better than prank season? Learn more about Thomasville's Rose Show and Festival here. You can find all of the following books for sale (or preorder) in The Bookshelf's online store. + Live from New York by Tom Shales and James Andre Miller + Bossypants by Tina Fey + You'll Grow Out of It by Jessi Klein + Standard Deviation by Katherine Heiney + The Misfortune of Marion Palm by Emily Culliton + A Woman First: First Woman: A Deeply Personal Memoir by the Former President by "Selina Meyer" + The Phantom Tollbooth by Norman Juster and Jules Feiffer + The Amazing Maurice and his Educated Rodents by Terry Pratchett 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 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.