From the Front Porch

Annie and Chris get ready for the Bookshelf's upcoming Book Club Fair by discussing their favorite book club picks for 2017 (so far), including: In Case You Missed It: + Kitchens of the Great Midwest by J. Ryan Stradal + Fates and Furies by Lauren Groff + Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert + This is Your Life, Harriet Chance by Jonathan Evison + The Revised Fundamentals of Caregiving by Jonathan Eviso...

Chris and Annie chat with the Bookshelf's new manager, Magali Kent, about missionary work, the proper execution of an eye roll, culture shock, and favorite children's books.  + Watership Down by Richard Adams + Reply All + Lore + Up and Vanished + Serial

2016 is over, but of reading many books there is no end. In this episode, Annie and Chris talk about their resolutions for the new year and challenge one another to read outside of their usual habits--with hypothetically apocalyptic results. + Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow + Rita Dove + Claudia Rankine

From the Front Porch celebrates episode 100! Annie and Chris answer listener questions about One Book, My Brilliant Friend, and reading translations.  + One Book Thomas County website + On the Same Page (Decatur, Ga., One Book program) + American Booksellers Association + Love It or Loathe It episode ft. My Brilliant Friend + Episode  ft. Virginia Price

It's time to reflect back on 2016, which means... It's time to recap Annie's favorite books of the year.  + The Mothers by Brit Bennett + Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead + Sons and Daughters of Ease and Plenty by Ramona Ausubel + Commonwealth by Ann Patchet + Forty Rooms by Olga Grushin + This Is Where You Belong by Melody Warnick + When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi + My Name Is L...

"Grape nuts or sex? It's a no brainer." Food writer and editor Julia Reed popped by the podcast to chat about Southern food culture, holiday entertaining, and mixing politics with pleasure. (You'll hear lots of laughter this episode; Julia's one-liners will have you in stitches.)  + You can find Julia's piece about Bill and Melinda Gates in the Wall Street Journal Magazine . + More about Julia Ree...

Annie and Chris work through Annie's books she read in November: + Fun Home + Scrappy Little Nobody + My Brilliant Friend + Talking as Fast as I Can Listen to Anna Kendrick's Nerdist interview here . Reply All's 48-hour call-in episode . Listen to our Love It or Loathe It episode about My Brilliant Friend here .  Vote for The Bookshelf in the Indie Awards:  http://www.independentwestand.org/indies...

Annie sits down with podcast regular Hunter McLendon and new voice Emily McKenna to discuss Elena Ferrante's international bestseller My Brilliant Friend.  + Get an introduction to Emily on her first podcast episode here . + Read more about the mystery of Elena Ferrante here .    Shop from The Bookshelf here . 

Annie and Chris talk Thanksgiving menus and favorite cookbooks.  + The Can't Cookbook + A Southern Gentleman's Kitchen + Jamie's Food Revolution + Soup Nights + Appetites + Cooking for Jeffrey + Joy of Cooking + The Forest Feast   Learn all about Ina and Jeffrey's marriage here .  Shop local from faraway by browsing our online store here . 

On this unintentionally abbreviated episode of the podcast, Annie and Chris answer a listener email all about finding the time to read.  Have your own bookish question you'd like answered?  Email Annie: annie [at] bookshelfthomasville [dot] com -- Check out The Bookshelf online store here . 

Southern hosts and hostesses, unite! On this special bonus episode, Annie chats with Southern lifestyle guru James Farmer. James is the author of A Time to Celebrate, A Time to Cook, Dinner on the Grounds, and several other beautiful coffee table books all about Southern hospitality. He's in Thomasville this week for the city's annual Plantation Wildlife Arts Festival , and -- if you're local! --...

Annie chats with Chris about the books she read in October:  + Today Will Be Different + Dark Matter + In the Garden of Small Beginnings + Juniper (listen to this Radiolab episode for more on this story) + The Children + Who Killed These Girls? (here's the Reply All episode Chris mentioned)  ** Shop these titles on The Bookshelf website here . ** Other titles mentioned include:  + Where'd You Go,...

If you're new to From the Front Porch, this episode will introduce you to hosts Annie and Chris. Learn about their reading tastes, what they do when their not at The Bookshelf, and who they'd have over for their dream literary dinner party.  (The interview was inspired by the New York Times' By the Book interviews. Gretchen Rubin's is here .)  Books and authors mentioned include:  + Station Eleven...

Ever wonder what it's like to run a small business start-up? Annie and Chris chat with Scott Chastain, the owner and founder of Everfan, a customizable costume accessory company. Everfan bases their thriving Internet business in Thomasville, so Annie, Chris, and Scott discuss entrepreneurship, small town living, and of course, what Scott's been reading lately.  Find Everfan online: Website | Insta...

Anne Bogel of Modern Mrs. Darcy and the What Should I Read Next  podcast joins Annie and Chris to chat about book blogging, all those advanced reading copies, and what she's reading right now.  Podcasts Anne recommends:  + Pantsuit Politics + Young House Love + The Popcast + Books on the Nightstand + Smartest Person in the Room Books mentioned in this episode:  + Crossing to Safety  + Age of Innoc...

Annie talks about the effects of stress on her reading life and chats with Chris about the books she read in September. Last month's selections included:  + Moo by Sharon Creech + The Woman in Cabin 10 by Ruth Ware + Ecology of a Cracker Childhood by Janisse Ray + The Year of Living Danishly by Helen Russell You can find these selections and more on our store website: www.bookshelfthomasville.com...

Curious what the life of a book sales rep might look like? Annie and Chris interview Virginia Price, a sales rep for Penguin Random House. Virginia recommends her favorite upcoming fall book releases (and gives readers a preview of some spring titles to come). Plus, the three book lovers share their favorite podcasts and why movie book covers are so, so bad.  FICTION:  + The Mothers + Ninth City B...

Ever wonder what a booksellers conference might look like? Annie chats with her mom about this year's Southern Independent Booksellers Alliance (SIBA): the authors, the booksellers, the lessons learned.  Books, podcasts, authors, and blogs mentioned:  + DesignSponge  and Grace Bonney + In the Company of Women  + The King of the Birds + Girl in Pieces + Author Liane Moriarty + Author Mary Kay Andre...

Author Ann Patchett recently compared bookselling to being on a sitcom. Annie and Chris investigate that claim, comparing their fellow booksellers to Friends characters and examining why we identify with fictional characters of all kinds.  + Read Ann Patchett's original interview, here .  + Find CJ Hauser's essay all about characters who are "just like us" here . 

For some, life on the Gulf Coast is a religion, and now, we've got our very own Bible of sorts: Saints of Old Florida, a gorgeous new lifestyle book by Emily Raffield, Melissa Farrell, and Christina McDermott. Emily and Melissa chatted with Annie and Chris about life on the coast, their favorite coastal memories, and why collecting our Southern stories is so important.  For more information about...

Behold, the power of Oprah. Annie and Chris chat about the books Annie read in August, including Oprah's book club book, The Underground Railroad. The rest of Annie's list:  + Dept. of Speculation by Jenny Offill + The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead + You Will Know Me by Megan Abbott + The Hopefuls by Jennifer Close + The Girl with the Lower Back Tattoo by Amy Schumer + Before the Fall b...

"A room without books is a body without a soul," said Cicero, and so we believe. This episode, Annie and Chris talk about the roles books play in homes and home decor: why we keep books and what they say about us.  + This episode was inspired by Robbie Hopkins from Audible Discernment ; you can check out our full episode with Robbie and the guys here .  + Books by the foot your thing? You can buy...

  When you travel, how big of a role does food play in your experience of a new city or town? This episode, Debra Smith, the owner and founder of Taste of Thomasville, a Thomasville Food Tour, visits with Annie and Chris. They chat about Thomasville's best restaurants, Gone with the Wind, and that big oak tree everybody's always talking about. Debra's favorite podcasts are The Dave Ramsey Show  an...

Have you read Harry Potter and the Cursed Child yet? No spoilers here, but Chris and Annie do chat about their expectations going into the newly released book. They also discuss Go Set a Watchman, J.K. Rowling's turn as Robert Galbraith, and how they'd be sorted at Hogwarts. 

Annie and Chris recap the books Annie read in July, plus they chat about what to do when you're in a reading rut. Books discussed include:  + Commonwealth by Ann Patchett + The Trespasser by Tana French + You'll Grow Out of It by Jessi Klein + Swing Time by Zadie Smith