From the Front Porch

Episode 124 || Summer Reading Recs

Summer has officially begun, so Annie and Chris are here to tell you what you should be reading--whether you're inside to escape the rain or outside with the sand and sun. Also, what happens when children become club promoters?  Beach Books + The Hopefuls by Jennifer Close + The Shark Club by Ann Kidd Taylor + Hello, Sunshine by Laura Dave + Windfall by Jennifer Smith + The Impossible Fortress by Jason Rekulak Page-Turners  + Dark Matter by Blake Crouch + Eligible by Curtis Sittenfeld + Do Not Become Alarmed by Maile Meloy + American Fire by Monica Hesse (on sale July 11) Stories with a Twist  + Into the Water by Paula Hawkins + Since We Fell by Dennis Lehane Family Dramas  + Priestdaddy by Patricia Lockwood + Last Things by Marissa Moss + Standard Deviation by Katherine Heiny + Rabbit Cake by Annie Hartnett Heavy Thinking + Option B by Sheryl Sandberg + Borne by Jeff VanderMeer + The Leavers by Lisa Ko + Theft by Finding by David Sedaris + Marriage of a Thousand Lies by SJ Sindu  You can read Maile Meloy's interview with Ann Patchett here. Hey, we're new to Stitcher and would love to build our review base. Can you help us get to 25 reviews? There's a prize in it for you...

Episode 123 || First Impressions

We judge books by their covers so you don't have to. First impressions are important, but are they always right or fair? Annie and Chris talk through the 50-Page Rule, trusting your gut, changing your impression, and the importance of not reading in a vacuum. Also, recommend us to a friend! Discussion includes: + The Leavers by Lisa Ko + Borne by Jeff VanderMeer + Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen + Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy + Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky + Frankenstein by Mary Shelley + The Wanderers by Meg Howrey + The First Bad Man by Miranda July + The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger + Exit West by Mohsin Hamid + The Mothers by Brit Bennett + Kitchens of the Great Midwest by J. Ryan Stradal + Almost Sisters by Joshilyn Jackson + One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez Tag us (@bookshelftville) in a tweet or Instagram post telling us what we're doing right. We want to give you more!

Episode 122 || Buy or Borrow?

Do you buy all of your books or do you borrow some? Annie and Chris answer a listener question and discuss their personal libraries, where they get their books, and what to do with the whole idea of a library when they spend their lives in the Bookshelf. This episode is also kind of a follow-up to Episode 83 || Books in Houses. "A home without books is like a body without a soul." - Pseudo-Cicero

Episode 121 || May Reading Recap

This week, Chris is back to discuss the books he and Annie read in May, one of which doesn't actually come out until next calendar year. Whoops. Also, May is a very, very long month. Annie read: + When You Find Out the World is Against You by Kelly Oxford + Option B by Sheryl Sandberg + Rabbit Cake by Annie Hartnett + The Assistants by Camille Perri + Ms. Marvel, vol. 1: No Normal by G. Willow Wilson and Adrian Alphona + The Senator's Children by Nicholas Montemarano (out November 7) + The Leavers by Lisa Ko + Windfall by Jennifer Smith + Standard Deviation by Katherine Heiny + The Immortalists by Chloe Benjamin (out January 2018) Chris read: + The Inquisitor's Tale by Adam Gidwitz + It Devours! by Joseph Fink and Jeffrey Cranor (out October 17) + Borne by Jeff VanderMeer See also Katie Couric's interview with Sheryl Sandberg here.

Episode 120 || Love It or Loathe It, Vol. 7

It's time for a book club-style discussion of Katie Kitamura's A Separation. Podcast guests Emily (of You're Maker) and Hunter are back to chat all the things they loved and loathed about this literary novel, including Emily's thoughts on Greece and Hunter's profound revelation about the book's narration. 

Curious enough to buy the book? Support The Bookshelf by buying A Separation directly from the online store. 

Follow The Bookshelf on Twitter and Instagram. 

Episode 119 || The Politics of Being Southern

Chris is pursuing that ever-elusive PhD, so this week, Annie interviewed Sarah Holland from the Pantsuit Politics podcast. In addition to being the left-leaning cohost of Pantsuit Politics, Sarah is a city commissioner from Paducah, Kentucky, and she's a lifelong southerner.

Annie and Sarah chatted about what "life in the South" really entails, including the hard truth about where Southern maker culture really comes from and Sarah's obsession with Designing Women. 

Annie and Sarah mentioned:

+ the Southern Foodways Alliance

+ the Whitney Plantation

+ Designing Women, "Southerns Do NOT Eat Dirt"

+ Classics Sarah's never read but wish she has: Don Quixote and War and Peace

+ Podcasts Sarah listens to: Pod Save America; The Weeds; This American Life; On Being; Death, Sex, & Money; Freakonomics; Hidden Brain

+ Tara Brach's meditations

+ Indigo Girl's "Southland in the Springtime"

+ Sarah's currently reading: Tales of Titans, East of Eden, and Talent Code 

Episode 118 || The Other Mother

Annie and Chris talk about "alternative" visions of motherhood for Mother's Day this year, and it takes a weirdly dark turn. Sorry. Get a sneak peek at Chris's fall Women in Literature class and hear some of Annie's favorite mom-centric books. Chris's class books: + Dear Ijeawele by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie + The Mothers by Brit Bennett + The First Bad Man by Miranda July + Are You My Mother? by Alison Bechdel + Pregnant Butch by A. K. Summers + Marriage of a Thousand Lies by SJ Sindu + Beloved by Toni Morrison + The Babadook *CORRECTION: The quote from Beloved is "You your own best thing, Sethe," not "You your best self," as previously reported. Some of Annie's favorites: + Where'd You Go, Bernadette? by Maria Semple + The Mothers by Brit Bennett + The Color of Water by James McBride + Rabbit Cake by Annie Harnett + Glitter and Glue by Kelly Corrigan + A Grown-Up Kind of Pretty by Joshilyn Jackson + This Is How It Always Is by Laurie Frankel + French Milk by Lucy Knisley And please, are there good mother/son novels out there that don't have any sort of implied incest theme? Let me know. I need to know. 

Episode 117 || April Reading Recap

Happy May! It was raining while we recorded this. This week, Annie and Chris talk about the books they read in April. Also, Annie has some Hot Takes on book titles and we recount our odd encounters with celebrities from 10+ years ago.  Annie read: + All Grown Up by Jami Attenberg (out May 7) + Young Jane Young by Gabrielle Zevin (out August 22) + The Stars in Our Eyes by Julie Klam (out July 18) + Shadow of the Lions by Christopher Swann (out August 1) + The Wanderers by Meg Howrey + The Color of Water by James McBride + Hello, Sunshine by Laura Dave (out July 11) + A Separation by Kate Kitamura + Rabbit Cake by Annie Hartnett Chris read: + Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel (again) +The Inquisitor's Tale by Adam Gidwitz Check out these books and more (including our brand new Bookshelf tote bag!) in our online store. 

Episode 116 || It‘s Indie Bookstore Day!

It's the most wonderful time of the year! Chris and Annie give you a peek into the Bookshelf's 2017 Independent Bookstore Day festivities. But if you don't live anywhere near Thomasville, fear not! We're also giving you a virtual tour of our favorite indie bookstores from around the country.  Independent Bookstore Day is Saturday, April 29, 2017, and our schedule of events is here. We would love for you join us at the Bookshelf, but if you can't make it, find the closest independent bookstore to you at IndieBound, or check out one of our favorites below! + Sundog Books (Seaside, FL) + Page & Palette (Fairhope, AL) + E. Shaver Books (Savannah, GA) + Faulkner House Books (New Orleans, LA) + Maple Street Book Shop (New Orleans, LA) + Book Culture (New York, NY) + WORD (Jersey City, NJ) + Avid Bookshop (Athens, GA) + Women and Children First (Chicago, IL) + Books and Books (Coral Gables, FL) + Politics and Prose (Washington, D.C.) Annie's favorite bookstore Instagram accounts: + @browsersbooks + @booksaremagicbk + @booksandmortar + @literatibookstore + @lemuriabooks

Episode 115 || A Rose Show by Any Other Name

Won't you follow us down to the Rose Parade? Annie and Chris get ready for an upcoming jam-packed weekend in downtown Thomasville, including Independent Bookstore Day, National Superhero Day, and the Thomasville Rose Show and Festival. Joining us this week is Rose Show veteran Sunny Altman. Also, Chris presents Annie with a challenge.  To learn more about how Thomasville will be participating in National Superhero Day on April 28 or to donate to Everfan's efforts, contact info@everfanheroes.com. For more information on the Rose Show and Festival (and to begin booking your trip), check out the City of Thomasville's website: http://www.thomasvillega.com/ You can also contact Sunny directly with your rose questions at sunnyaltman@gmail.com.  We hope you'll join us in Thomasville next weekend, but if you can't make it, find an indie bookstore near you for Indie Bookstore Day on April 29! Check out the bookstore finder at http://www.indiebound.com/.