From the Front Porch

Suuummertiiiiiime, and the front doors are swoooollen. Join Chris and Annie for a preview of the summer's hottest releases and a look back to some of our favorite backlist beach reads. Some other "best of" lists we mentioned: +  Good Housekeeping +  Modern Mrs. Darcy   You can find all of the following books for sale (or preorder) in The Bookshelf's  online store . New in 2019: + City of Girls by...

May came and went like a bullet train, but Annie and Chris are here to talk about what they read this month and/or are still reading. You can find all of the following books for sale (or preorder) in The Bookshelf's  online store . Annie read: + City of Girls by Elizabeth Gilbert (on sale June 4) + The Lager Queen of Minnesota by J. Ryan Stradal + State of the Union by Nick Hornby + The War that S...

Sometimes you need to build some momentum between your hefty tomes, and sometimes you're sitting in an airport and just want a book you can finish before the plane lands. In any case, Chris and Annie are here for you to recommend some one- or two-sitting reads. Ben Dolnick's New York Times article on the Binge Read is here . + We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson + If Beale Street...

We consulted with the rest of the Bookshelf staff and rounded up a list of our favorite "classic" books--whatever that means. Olivia + Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte + The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Bronte + Villette by Charlotte Bronte Nancy + Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte + Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte + The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain Lucy + Middlemarch by George Eliot...

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 Gui...

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 Be...

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...

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 Sonne...

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 cat...

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 Mi...

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 an...

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...

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 Oyin...

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 Em...

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 Tay...

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_b...

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 Nati...

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 Sa...

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 o...

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 + T he Elep...

There's been some hubbub in the online book world about something Marie Kondo may or may not have said about how many books you should keep in your home. This week on the show, Annie and Chris attempt to set the record straight and consider how and why we value the books we love. You can read the Bustle article on KonMari by Kerri Jarema here . Thanks, as always, to Forlorn Strangers for the use o...

Believe it or not, we're only two weeks into the new year. It's a time when many of us make new resolutions and restart aspects of our lives with fresh eyes and a fresh heart. This week on the show, Chris and Annie talk about all the things "fresh start" might mean--and all the books to help yours. Also, as with last week, we accidentally recorded with a built-in laptop microphone, so please excus...

Happy New Year! For real this time. This week, Annie and Chris talk about what worked and what didn't in 2018 and about setting their reading goals and intentions for the new year. It's just the time for a fresh start.  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...

Happy New Year! For auld lang syne, Annie and Chris sat down to answer some leftover listener questions from our recent 200th episode.  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 suppor...

We made it! Thanks for everything you've given us, 2018, but we're moving on. Before we do, though, we've compiled our own end-of-year list to share with our listeners. What were your favorite books this year?  Annie's favorite books of the year: + Hey Ladies! by Caroline Moss and Michelle Markowitz+ Waiting for Eden by Elliot Ackerman + My Sister the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite + Fire Se...