We are back! This week Annie is joined by frequent guest, good friend and bookstagrammer of @shelfbyshelf, Hunter McClendon. The two will discuss their 2021 reading resolutions. The books mentioned in today’s episode are available for purchase at The Bookshelf: Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen Persuasion by Jane Austen Mansfield Park by Jane Austen Emma by Jane Austen Crooked Hallelujah by Kelli Jo Ford The Removed by Brandon Hobson Where the Dead Sit Talking by Brandon Hobson The Round House by Louise Edrich Middlemarch by George Eliot Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy Moby Dick by Herman Melville Remembrance of Things Past by Marcel Proust Swan’s Way by Marcel Proust Culture Warlords by Talia Lavin Reading While Black by Esau McCaulley Jesus and John Wayne by Kristen Kobes Du Mez The Righteous Mind by Jonathan Haidt The Color of Law by Richard Rothstein The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett Bloomability by Sharon Creech 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 at @bookshelftville, 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 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 Charmed Wife by Olga Grushin and Hunter is reading Let’s Get Back to the Party by Zak Salih. If you liked what you heard on today’s episode, tell us by leaving a review on iTunes. Or, if you’re so inclined, support us on Patreon, where you can hear our staff’s weekly New Release Tuesday conversations, read full book reviews in our monthly Shelf Life newsletter, follow along as Hunter and I conquer a classic, and receive free media mail shipping on all your online book orders. Just go to patreon.com/fromthefrontporch. We’re so grateful for you, and we look forward to meeting back here next week.

From the Front Porch

304 || Reading Resolutions 2021

This week, Annie is joined by Bookshelf staffers Olivia Schaffer and Lucy Stoltzfus to discuss their favorite books of 2020. The books mentioned in today’s episode can be purchased at The Bookshelf. 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 at @bookshelftville, 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 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 Diana: Her True Story in Her Own Words by Andrew Morton; Lucy is reading The Kitchen Front by Jennifer Ryan; and Olivia is reading We Could Be Heroes by Mike Chen. If you liked what you heard on today’s episode, tell us by leaving a review on iTunes. Or, if you’re so inclined, support us on Patreon, where you can hear our staff’s weekly New Release Tuesday conversations, read full book reviews in our monthly Shelf Life newsletter, follow along as Hunter and I conquer a classic, and receive free media mail shipping on all your online book orders. Just go to patreon.com/fromthefrontporch. We’re so grateful for you, and we look forward to meeting back here next week.

303 || Our Favorite Books of 2020

This week, Annie answers listeners questions about books, small business and life in the South. The books mentioned in today’s episode can be purchased at The Bookshelf: Untamed by Glennon Doyle Diana: Her True Story in Her Own Words by Andrew Morton Finding Freedom by Carolyn Durand and Omid Scobie House Lessons by Erica Bauermeister 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 at @bookshelftville, 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 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 Wintering by Katherine May.  If you liked what you heard on today’s episode, tell us by leaving a review on iTunes. Or, if you’re so inclined, support us on Patreon, where you can hear our staff’s weekly New Release Tuesday conversations, read full book reviews in our monthly Shelf Life newsletter, follow along as Hunter and I conquer a classic, and receive free media mail shipping on all your online book orders. Just go to patreon.com/fromthefrontporch. We’re so grateful for you, and we look forward to meeting back here next week.

302 || Ask Us Anything

Annie is joined by frequent guest, friend and bookstagrammer, Hunter McLendon (@shelfbyshelf ) to chat about books they loved that you might have missed in 2020 since, you know, pandemic.  The books mentioned in today’s episode can be purchased from The Bookshelf: Weather by Jenny Offill His Only Wife by Peace Adzo Medie Writers and Lovers by Lily King Sex and Vanity by Kevin Kwan The Silent Treatment by Abbie Greaves Sad Janet by Lucie Britsch Under the Rainbow by Celia Laskey The Office of Historical Corrections by Danielle Evans Kept Animals by Kate Milliken Sisters by Daisy Johnson Cleanness by Garth Greenwell 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 at @bookshelftville, 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 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 Happily Ever Afters by Elise Bryant and Hunter is reading A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara and Future Home of the Living God by Louise Erdrich.  If you liked what you heard on today’s episode, tell us by leaving a review on iTunes. Or, if you’re so inclined, support us on Patreon, where you can hear our staff’s weekly New Release Tuesday conversations, read full book reviews in our monthly Shelf Life newsletter, follow along as Hunter and I conquer a classic, and receive free media mail shipping on all your online book orders. Just go to patreon.com/fromthefrontporch. We’re so grateful for you, and we look forward to meeting back here next week.

301 || Books You Might Have Missed

Join Annie this week as she recaps the books she read in November. Mexican Gothic by Sylvia Moreno-Garcia The Saturday Night Ghost Club by Craig Davidson Ring Shout by P. Djeli Clark Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins Admission by Julie Buxbaum All About Us by Tom Ellen The Fortunate Ones by Ed Tarkington Better Luck Next Time by Julie Claiborne Johnson Anna K by Jenny Lee Wintering by Katherine Mays 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 at @bookshelftville, 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 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 Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner. If you liked what you heard on today’s episode, tell us by leaving a review on iTunes. Or, if you’re so inclined, support us on Patreon, where you can hear our staff’s weekly New Release Tuesday conversations, read full book reviews in our monthly Shelf Life newsletter, follow along as Hunter and I conquer a classic, and receive free media mail shipping on all your online book orders. Just go to patreon.com/fromthefrontporch. We’re so grateful for you, and we look forward to meeting back here next week.

300 || November Reading Recap

Join Annie this week for a little literary therapy as she answers and consults listeners on their questions and reading conundrums. The books mentioned in today’s episode are available for purchase from The Bookshelf: A Place for Us by Fatima Farheen Mirza The Ensemble by Aja Gabel There There by Tommy Orange The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead The Dutch House by Ann Patchett The Dearly Beloved by Cara Wall Transcendent Kingdom by Yaa Gyasi His Only Wife by Peace A. Medie A Burning by Megha Majumdar Jack by Marilynne Robinson Gilead by Marilynne Robinson Crossing to Safety by Wallace Stegner Old Lovegood Girls by Gail Godwin  The Holdout by Graham Moore Defending Jacob by William Landay You Should Have Known by Jean Hanff Korelitz (The Undoing on HBO) The Dinner by Herman Koch The Best Christmas Pageant Ever by Barbara Robinson The Giver by Lois Lowry The Maze Runner by James Dashner The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien Hatchet by Gary Paulsen Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds John Grisham 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 at @bookshelftville, 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 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 Anna K by Jenny Lee. If you liked what you heard on today’s episode, tell us by leaving a review on iTunes. Or, if you’re so inclined, support us on Patreon, where you can hear our staff’s weekly New Release Tuesday conversations, read full book reviews in our monthly Shelf Life newsletter, follow along as Hunter and I conquer a classic, and receive free media mail shipping on all your online book orders. Just go to patreon.com/fromthefrontporch. We’re so grateful for you, and we look forward to meeting back here next week.

299 || Literary Therapy, Vol. 5

Annie is joined by one of her favorite members of her family’s kids’ table, Ashley Sherlock. Ashley’s the former events coordinator at The Bookshelf, a frequent From the Front Porch contributor, and a pop culture enthusiast, so she’s the perfect person to talk to about holiday reading and watching.  The books mentioned in today’s episode are available at The Bookshelf: Ten Blind Dates by Ashley Elston The Twelve Dates of Christmas by Jenny Bayliss Recommended for You by Laura Silverman All About Us by Tom Ellen Let It Snow by John Green, Lauren Myracle, and Maureen Johnson Jo & Laurie by Margaret Stohl and Melissa de la Cruz Royal Holiday by Jasmine Guillory Seven Days of Us by Francesca Hornak Holidays on Ice by David Sedaris The City Baker’s Guide to Country Living by Louise Miller One Day in December by Josie Silver 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 at @bookshelftville, 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 Production for sound and editing and for our theme music, which sets the perfect warm and friendly tone for our Thursday conversations.  This week, I’m reading Better Luck Next Time by Julia Claiborne Johnson. Ashley’s reading The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett. If you liked what you heard on today’s episode, tell us by leaving a review on iTunes. Or, if you’re so inclined, support us on Patreon, where you can hear our staff’s weekly New Release Tuesday conversations, read full book reviews in our monthly Shelf Life newsletter, follow along as Hunter and I conquer a classic, and receive free media mail shipping on all your online book orders. Just go to patreon.com/fromthefrontporch. We’re so grateful for you, and we look forward to meeting back here next week.

298 || Season's Readings

This week, Annie is joined by Bookshelf manager, Olivia Schaffer and online sales coordinator, Lucy Stoltzfus. The three talk all about holiday book-buying and sharing their favorite titles for gifting this season.  A full transcript of the episode can be found here. The books mentioned in today’s episode are available for purchase from The Bookshelf: What Kind of Woman by Kate Baer  The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett Ex Libris by Michiko Kakutani  This Is a Book for People Who Love the Royals by Rebecca Stoeker Perestroika in Paris by Jane Smiley Accidentally Wes Anderson by Wally Koval Creativity by John Cleese The Zealot and the Emancipator by H.W. Brands Cuyahoga by Pete Beatty Crossings by Alex Landragin The Devil and the Dark Water by Stuart Turton Piranesi by Susanna Clarke Fortune Favors the Dead by Stephen Spotswood 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 at @bookshelftville, and all the books from today’s episode can be purchased online through our store website, www.bookshelfthomasville.com. Special thanks to Dylan and his team at Studio D Production for sound and editing and for our theme music, which sets the perfect warm and friendly tone for our Thursday conversations.  This week, I’m reading Admission by Julie Buxbaum. Lucy is reading The Heiress by Molly Greeley. Olivia is reading Marion Lane and the Midnight Murder by T.A. Willberg.  If you liked what you heard on today’s episode, tell us by leaving a review on iTunes. Or, if you’re so inclined, support us on Patreon, where you can hear our staff’s weekly New Release Tuesday conversations, read full book reviews in our monthly Shelf Life newsletter, follow along as Hunter and I conquer a classic, and receive free media mail shipping on all your online book orders. Just go to patreon.com/fromthefrontporch. We’re so grateful for you, and we look forward to meeting back here next week.

297 || Holiday Shopping with The Bookshelf

Annie is joined by her casting experts (and now regular contributors), Courtney Kinsey, FTFP royals correspondent and co-host of the podcast I Do Declare and Julie Anna Helms, @julieannareads on Instagram and creator of Who Would You Cast? polls. The three are casting Silvia Moreno-Garcia's Mexican Gothic this week. Mexican Gothic is available for purchase in-store or online at The Bookshelf. 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 at @bookshelftville, 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 at www.fromthefrontporchpodcast.com.  Special thanks to Dylan and his team at Studio D Production for sound and editing and for our theme music, which sets the perfect warm and friendly tone for our Thursday conversations.  This week, I’m reading Kristy and the Snobs by Ann M. Martin. Julie Anna is reading A Field Guide to Internet Boyfriends by Esther Zuckerman, and Courtney is reading The Saturday Night Ghost Club by Craig Davidson.  If you liked what you heard on today’s episode, tell us by leaving a review on iTunes. Or, if you’re so inclined, support us on Patreon, where you can hear our staff’s weekly New Release Tuesday conversations, read full book reviews in our monthly Shelf Life newsletter, follow along as Hunter and I conquer a classic, and receive free media mail shipping on all your online book orders. Just go to patreon.com/fromthefrontporch. We’re so grateful for you, and we look forward to meeting back here next week.  

296 || Casting Call, Vol. 3

This Friday, we’re bringing you a bonus episode featuring author Steven Epstein. We don’t do a lot of author interviews on From the Front Porch, but when we do, we generally put them on Patreon. This month, we thought we’d give you a taste of what those interviews sound like, and offer you insight into what kind of content is available to our Patreon supporters. For more bonus content, support us on Patreon here. Steve Epstein’s true crime book, Evil at Lake Seminole, can be purchased on The Bookshelf website. Steve references this episode of Crime Junkie. 

BONUS: Evil at Lake Seminole

This week, Annie brings you a reading recap of the books she read in October. The books mentioned in today’s episode are available for purchase from The Bookshelf: Pumpkinheads by Rainbow Rowell and Faith Erin Hicks To Have and to Hoax by Martha Waters I Have Been Assigned the Single Bird by Sue Cerulean The Searcher by Tana French Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy We Keep the Dead Close by Becky Cooper The Saturday Night Ghost Club by Craig Davidson A full transcript of today’s episode can be found here. Special thanks to Dylan and his team at Studio D Production for sound and editing and for our theme music, which sets the perfect warm and friendly tone for our Thursday conversations.  This week, I’m reading Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia. If you liked what you heard on today’s episode, tell us by leaving a review on iTunes. Or, if you’re so inclined, support us on Patreon, where you can hear our staff’s weekly New Release Tuesday conversations, read full book reviews in our monthly Shelf Life newsletter, follow along as Hunter and I conquer a classic, and receive free media mail shipping on all your online book orders. Just go to patreon.com/fromthefrontporch. We’re so grateful for you, and we look forward to meeting back here next week.

295 || October Reading Recap

Annie is joined by Hunter McLendon from @shelfbyshelf to reflect on their 2020 reading of Anna Karenina. Join them on Patreon to hear recaps and reviews of all eight parts of Tolstoy’s classic. The books mentioned in today’s episode are available at The Bookshelf: Anna Karenina Anna K East of Eden Rebecca A full transcript of today’s episode can be found here. Special thanks to Dylan and his team at Studio D 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 Searcher by Tana French. Hunter is reading Memorial by Bryan Washington. If you liked what you heard on today’s episode, tell us by leaving a review on iTunes. Or, if you’re so inclined, support us on Patreon, where you can hear our staff’s weekly New Release Tuesday conversations, read full book reviews in our monthly Shelf Life newsletter, follow along as Hunter and I conquer a classic, and receive free media mail shipping on all your online book orders. Just go to patreon.com/fromthefrontporch. We’re so grateful for you, and we look forward to meeting back here next week.

294 || Anna Karenina and Pop Culture

Annie is joined by Olivia and Lucy this week to discuss the Baby-Sitters Club books and the enjoyment they've brought during these strange times. The books mentioned in today’s episode are available at The Bookshelf: Book Bundle one Kristy’s Great Idea Claudia and the Phantom Caller The Truth about Stacey Mary-Anne Saves the Day Dawn and the Impossible Three Kristy’s Big Day Claudia and Mean Janine Boy-Crazy Stacey The Ghost at Dawn’s House A full transcript of today’s episode can be found here. Special thanks to Dylan and his team at Studio D Production for sound and editing and for our theme music, which sets the perfect warm and friendly tone for our Thursday conversations.  This week, I’m reading I Have Been Assigned the Single Bird by Sue Cerulean. Olivia is reading Fortune Favors the Dead by Stephen Spotswood. Lucy is reading The National Road by Tom Zoellner. If you liked what you heard on today’s episode, tell us by leaving a review on iTunes. Or, if you’re so inclined, support us on Patreon, where you can hear our staff’s weekly New Release Tuesday conversations, read full book reviews in our monthly Shelf Life newsletter, follow along as Hunter and I conquer a classic, and receive free media mail shipping on all your online book orders. Just go to patreon.com/fromthefrontporch. We’re so grateful for you, and we look forward to meeting back here next week.

293 || Baby-Sitters Back, Alright!

Today, Annie channels her inner Frasier Crane to dispense bookish wisdom to her fellow readers.  The books mentioned in today’s episode can be purchased at The Bookshelf: Transcendent Kingdom by Yaa Gyasi House Lessons by Erica Bauermeister Friends and Strangers by J. Courtney Sullivan This Must Be the Place by Maggie O'Farrell Jack by Marilynne Robinson Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid Here For It by R. Eric Thomas Stand All the Way Up by Sophie Hudson The Death of Vivek Oji by Akwaeke Emezi This Is Your Life, Harriet Chance! by Jonathan Evison The Big Finish by Brooke Fossey The Lazy Genius Way by Kendra Adachi Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier East of Eden by John Steinbeck Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston The Winters by Lisa Gabriele Old Lovegood Girls by Gail Godwin Dearly Beloved by Cara Wall Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi The Dutch House by Ann Patchett Red at the Bone by Jacqueline Woodson Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson Clap When You Land by Elizabeth Acevedo We Were the Lucky Ones by Georgia Hunter Nobody Will Tell You This But Me by Bess Kalb Unsheltered by Barbara Kingsolver The Sea Wife by Amity Gaige Leave the World Behind by Rumaan Alam A full transcript for today’s episode is available 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 at @bookshelftville, and all the books from today’s episode can be purchased online through our store website, www.bookshelfthomasville.com.  Special thanks to Dylan and his team at Studio D 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 Ghost at Dawn’s House by Ann M. Martin. If you liked what you heard on today’s episode, tell us by leaving a review on iTunes. Or, if you’re so inclined, support us on Patreon, where you can hear our staff’s weekly New Release Tuesday conversations, read full book reviews in our monthly Shelf Life newsletter, follow along as Hunter and I conquer a classic, and receive free media mail shipping on all your online books orders. Just go to patreon.com/fromthefrontporch.

292 || Literary Therapy, Vol. 4

This week Annie recaps the books she read in September. Recommended for You by Laura Silverman The Harpy by Megan Hunter His Only Wife by Peace Adzo Medie  What Kind of Woman by Kate Baer Everything Beautiful in Its Time by Jenna Bush Hager Just Like You by Nick Hornby Scandalous Witness by Lee Camp Evil at Lake Seminole by Steven Epstein Cobble Hill by Cecily von Ziegesar A full transcript for today’s episode is available 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 at @bookshelftville, and all the books from today’s episode can be purchased online through our store website, www.bookshelfthomasville.com.  Special thanks to Dylan and his team at Studio D 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 Cobble Hill by Cecily von Ziegesar. If you liked what you heard on today’s episode, tell us by leaving a review on iTunes. Or, if you’re so inclined, support us on Patreon, where you can hear our staff’s weekly New Release Tuesday conversations, read full book reviews in our monthly Shelf Life newsletter, follow along as Hunter and I conquer a classic, and receive free media mail shipping on all your online books orders. Just go to patreon.com/fromthefrontporch.

291 || September Reading Recap

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.

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From the Front Porch

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