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Welcome to From the Front Porch, a weekly conversational podcast on books, small business, and life in the South, produced by The Bookshelf, an independent bookstore in Thomasville, Georgia.
Episodes
Apr 21, 2016
Apr 21, 2016
21 min
Thomasville is the City of Roses, and spring is the town's time to shine! Each year, Thomasville hosts the Rose Show and Festival, and Chris and Annie talk to city event coordinator Sarah Turner about balancing tradition with new ideas, why a festival devoted to roses, and what she's reading right now.
Vote for Thomasville in USA Today's Best Historic Small Town competition!
Check out all the Rose Show festivities -- including parade details and flower show times -- here.
Support Tallahassee's Word of South festival.
Sarah's go-to podcasts:
Books Sarah mentioned:
+ In a Dark, Dark Wood by Ruth Ware
+ Fed, White, and Blue by Simon Majumdar
+ Tribal by Diane Roberts
+ The Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh
+ How to Be a Woman by Caitlin Moran
Books Chris mentioned:
+ The Empathy Exams by Leslie Jamison
+ Battleborn by Claire Watkins
+ Fortune Smiles by Adam Johnson
Books Annie mentioned:
+ Fortune Smiles by Adam Johnson
Apr 14, 2016
Apr 14, 2016
23 min
One perk of life in a small town: You can try something just to see if it works. And if it does? Then you've established a new town tradition, like Thomasville's Due South music festival, put on by the Center of the Arts.
Annie and Chris chat with the Center's marketing director, Callie Sewell, about music festivals; the Athens, Ga., music scene; and whether Jane Eyre is overrated.
BUY TICKETS for Due South here.
Books mentioned:
+ Jane Eyre
+ The Yonahlossee Riding Camp for Girls
+ No One Belongs Here More Than You
+ The Nest
+ The Empathy Exams
Podcasts mentioned:
+ Serial
+ The Moth
Apr 7, 2016
Apr 7, 2016
29 min
How do you raise creative kids? Do small towns foster creativity better than big cities do? Annie and guest Emily McKenna chat about these questions, plus book hangover and what they're reading right now.
Emily is the product developer for Everfan, a superhero and imaginative play company located right above The Bookshelf in Thomasville. Emily is also the owner of You're Maker, where she teaches classes to adults and children.
Books mentioned in today's episode:
- Imagine by Jonah Lehrer
- Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert
- A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle (plus the Austin Family Chronicles and Walking on Water
- Dumplin' by Julie Murphy
- Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys
- This Is Where You Belong by Melody Warlick (preorder here)
Plus, Chip Kidd's TED talk, and How to review the podcast on iTunes.
Full show notes here.
Mar 31, 2016
Mar 31, 2016
33 min
The podcast introduces a new co-host with a familiar voice, and Annie recaps the books she read in March, including:
- Readers of Broken Wheel Recommend by Katarina Bivald
- Britt-Marie Was Here by Fredrik Backman
- The After Party by Anton DiSclafani
- I'm Glad About You by Theresa Rebeck
- Wolf Hollow by Lauren Wolk
- This Is Where You Belong by Melody Warnick
Annie also menions: American Girls, The Nest, and The Excellent Lombards.
Find the Perfect Days podcast episode here.
Check out this episode of This American Life about American teenagers on social media. (It's fascinating!)
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Rate and review the podcast on iTunes.
Full show notes from today's episode and past episodes here.
Mar 24, 2016
Mar 24, 2016
29 min
Which book wins this year's Out of Print Book Bracket? Listen as Annie and frequent podcast contributor Jordan Jones duke it out over their favorite contemporary classics, including Fates and Furies vs. Looking for Alaska and All the Light We Cannot See vs. Room.
Round One match-ups can be found here.
Follow The Bookshelf on Instagram for the shop's own version of March Madness.
Rate and review the podcast on iTunes.
Full show notes from today's episode and past episodes here.
Mar 17, 2016
Mar 17, 2016
28 min
Ever wondered why guys aren't in book clubs? Listen as Annie and Grassroots Coffee roaster Peyton Hodges chat about co-ed book clubs, plus Peyton schools Annie on her knowledge of sci-fi literature.
Peyton mentions:
+ Sad Puppies and the 2015 Hugo Awards
+ Ready Player One by Ernest Cline
+ Dune by Frank Herbert
+ Author David Wong
+ Author Neal Stephenson
+ Saga
+ Hark! A Vagrant
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How to rate/review From the Front Porch
Full show notes from today's episode and past episodes here.
Mar 10, 2016
Mar 10, 2016
27 min
Small-town virtues to the Oval Office? Jimmy Carter's presidency may have inspired our current political climate, and Annie interviews author Robert Buccellato to find out why. His new book Jimmy Carter in Plains shares insight into President Carter's approachability and how his underdog story and small-town, Southern charm made a lasting impact.
+ Robert's author page + tour dates
+ How to rate/review From the Front Porch
+ From the Front Porch on iTunes
Robert is reading Stone Door, a YA fantasy, and Why the Dutch Are Different, a memoir.
Full show notes from today's episode and past episodes here.
Mar 3, 2016
Mar 3, 2016
29 min
Annie recaps the books she read in February, including:
- Let's Just Say It Wasn't Pretty
- My Name Is Lucy Barton
- The Good Goodbye
- The Interestings
- American Housewife
- Opening Belle
- Readers of Broken Wheel Recommend
Looking for other indie bookstores to support? Annie loves Sundog Books in Seaside, Florida, and The Hidden Lantern Books in Rosemary Beach, Florida.
Rate the podcast on iTunes!
Feb 25, 2016
Feb 11, 2016
Feb 11, 2016
33 min
Ever read a book you hated? Annie, Rebekah, and Hunter discuss the new suspense novel Perfect Days by Raphael Montes. (Spoiler-free discussion, with five minutes of spoiler-filled bonus conversation at the close of the episode.)
The book reaction video Annie mentions is here.