transcript

Speaker 1:
[00:01] Welcome to From the Front Porch, a conversational podcast about books, small business and life in the South. It's not so bad when it finally happens. You think the world is going to collapse around you, but it doesn't. You can see yourself clearly again. You realize that the fear was the worst thing. Diana Evans, Ordinary People. I'm Annie Jones, owner of The Bookshelf, an independent bookstore in beautiful downtown Thomasville, Georgia. And this week, it's time for an episode of Literary Therapy. If you are a new or newish listener of From the Front Porch, you might not realize that we are a production of The Bookshelf, a small, independently owned bookstore in rural South Georgia. By listening to our show and recommending it to your friends, you're helping keep our indie bookstore in business. And if you like what you hear, one way you can financially support us is through Patreon. Last year, we read the classic work Don Quixote together, and this year we're switching gears a bit, with varied degrees of success, to read The Complete Stories by Flannery O'Connor. For $5 a month, you can access our monthly Conquer a Classic recap episodes, as well as our Porch Visits, a monthly live Q&A where we talk about everything from pop culture to nail polish to what books you should take on your next vacation. To learn more about our various Patreon tiers and benefits, just visit patreon.com/from the front porch. Now, back to the show. If you're new to From the Front Porch, every once in a while, I dive into the metaphorical mailbag and peruse your readerly hangups and bookish conundrums like a literary Fraser Crane, tackling your issues on air. If you have your own readerly riddle you'd like me to solve in a future episode, you can leave me a voicemail at the From the Front Porch website. That's fromthefrontporchpodcast.com/contact. There's a link in the show notes too. You'll just scroll until you see an orange button on that page that says, start recording, click or tap there and voila. I'd love to hear from you. You can just leave your name, where you're from and your conundrum and I may have you featured in a future episode. Let's get started.

Speaker 2:
[02:44] My conundrum is reading a bad review or seeing a bad review on TikTok or Instagram of a book I purchased at full price and am dying to read. My problem is I tend to move it down the TBR stack because of that bad review. Any help?

Speaker 1:
[03:12] I hate when this happens. I hate when this happens. I think my first bit of advice, and you may already be doing this, but don't go looking for reviews. When I have a book that I'm reading, I wait until I'm done, and then I go to Kirkus or Goodreads or Publishers Weekly, and I see what the consensus is. Maybe there's a New York Times review, often I'm reading in advance, and so I don't really get a ton of critical reviews while I'm reading. Instead, because I'm reading in advance, I do see the Publishers Weekly reviews or the Kirkus reviews, and then sometimes I will go looking on Goodreads. I don't do that typically until I am finished with a book. The exception to that might be if I am in the middle of the book, and I am trying to decide if I want to keep going or not. But if I'm excited about a book, and I'm invested, and I'm into it, I'm not reading reviews until the very end, if at all. Sometimes I read a book, and I never really care what other people think. I never care what other people think. I only care what I think. So my first tip for you is don't go looking for reviews until you're already done. There's obviously a reason you picked this book up from the library, from a bookstore. And so in my mind, you don't need a review. You know what you like. You know why you picked that book up. There's no need to go on a search or on a hunt for different reviews and opinions about that book. So that's my first piece of advice, which you may already be doing. Sometimes though, reviews find you. So I am going to give an example. And this person is a friend of mine. She also is a bookseller. But the other day I was in the middle of a particular title and I posted that I was in the middle of it. And my fellow bookseller reached out to me and she said, you know, I really liked that book, but I didn't love the ending. Or I didn't think the author stuck the landing. And I immediately was like, oh, well then, I don't really know if I need to finish this book. And I kind of put it down. Or maybe I even changed formats. I might have switched up and started listening to the audiobook or picked up the digital copy. I can't remember. But my point is, it kind of derailed my reading a little bit. And then I wound up continuing to read the book. And I loved it. I loved the ending. And the reason I even use this anecdote at all is because it is a reminder of how subjective reading is. So just because someone else, even someone else you trust, this is another bookseller. She and I have very similar tastes. She didn't love the ending. I did. That's okay. That's what makes the world go round. And so in as much as is possible with you, what I would say is if you stumble upon or receive a review of a book where you're either really excited about it and you picked it up from a bookstore or you're in the middle of it and you're liking it, do your best to ignore what someone else might think or say. They are entitled to their opinion and their opinion may be right on target or it may be totally different from yours. It sounds like what's happening with you is that you've gotten a book, it's on your TBR, it's literally on your shelves, and then you're seeing a review. Maybe on Instagram, you follow a lot of Bookstagrammers. I would encourage you, you're allowed to mute people, by the way. You can mute people. I use that mute button frequently. But you're somehow, maybe even you're listening. Look, you could be listening to From the Front Porch and you might hear me talk about a book and you're like, well, dang, I already got that book and Annie didn't like it. I'm sure that happens all the time. My advice to you is to at least start the book that you were so excited about. You were so excited about, you bought it from a bookstore or you were so excited about it, you reserved it from your local library and I would start it and I would see what you think. See what you think. I think it is okay when we are in the middle of buying books or going to the library or picking up a new title, it's okay to turn on the metaphorical and literal, Do Not Disturb and try to mute your bookseller accounts or your bookstagram accounts. Try to tune out the noise of the world. Don't listen to a book podcast for a couple of weeks so that you can get through the book that you wanted to read, that you were excited to read. Now, if you get to the middle of the book and you're like me, and listen, there was another book that I was also in the middle of reading, that I posted about, and I asked, I asked, I said, has anybody read this? I'm trying to decide if I need to continue or not. Two different people, including another bookseller, replied to me and said, I did not finish that book. I could not finish that book. I did not think that book was good. I thought, great, you just saved me some time. And I DNF'ed that book. So feedback and reviews work both ways, right? On the one hand, my bookseller friend, she and I felt differently about a book and its ending. On the other hand, another bookseller friend and I felt the same way about this particular title and we both DNF'ed it. And so reviews and feedback are helpful. Criticism or opinions from your fellow readers, fellow booksellers, that's valid. Sometimes it's even helpful. I think when it's most helpful is when you solicit for other people's opinions, meaning you're going on to Goodreads, you're going on to the New York Times website, you are posting to your friends and asking, hey, should I keep reading this book? I think when you stumble upon them, which is exactly what you've described, when you stumble upon them, that's harder, which is why I think if you have a book that you've purchased or you've gotten it from your local library, don't get on Instagram. I mean, can you brick your phone? Break your phone. Put some accounts on mute. Don't listen to From the Front Porch that week until you finish it. Or if you're like me and you get halfway through and you need an opinion, you want an opinion, then you can go looking for that. I think it's the stumbled upon nature of this that is so disappointing. I think in as much as you can, it's time to put your readerly blinders on and remind yourself why you picked up that book in the first place. I would argue, unless it's a truly terrible book, there's somebody out there who liked it, too. You could probably go digging if you really wanted to. If you read a negative review of a book that you were so excited to read, probably throw a rock and you could find a positive review, because reading is subjective. Again, there may be some real duds out there, but I think for the most part, a book will find its people. And so you might do some digging and find a positive review. But my basic advice is don't go looking for a review until you're good and ready. And if you are stumbling upon reviews, see what you can do to limit your access to the internet, to review websites, to review podcasts, et cetera, until you're done with the book and you formed your own opinion. Also, it's okay to change your mind. So if you were really excited about a book and turns out it got negative reviews, it's not for you, stick that book in a little free library and let somebody else love it, right? That's the whole point. Let somebody else find a book that you, find the book that maybe wasn't for you, but it's for them. That's my other tip and trick as you navigate negative reviews. I think this is going to happen more and more because Bookstagram is popular, Booktalk is popular, Goodreads is popular. It is in vogue, at least among the readerly types of the world, to post your thoughts and feelings about a book. When we're in community, I'm in community with my other booksellers. I'm in community with my book club members, everybody is going to have an opinion. Sometimes it's going to be the same as mine and sometimes it's going to be different. I think the key is, can you, the reader, can I, the reader, tune out when it's time to tune out, and then tune back in when I'm ready for that feedback, when I'm ready for that criticism.

Speaker 3:
[11:05] Hey Annie, it's Annie McCluskey from New Jersey, frequent listener and retreat attendee. My dilemma is I'm looking for books that are set in London, an actual, not necessarily historical fiction, because I am going to read Edward Rutherford's giant book called London. I'm trying to do one of those personal curriculum things that everybody's talking about, and I think I'm going to focus on London and in particular, Liberty of London fabrics. So anything you have for me set in London, I don't know across time, you're good at this. Thank you, Annie. Bye.

Speaker 1:
[11:44] Hi, Annie. Okay. I do think I've actually helped Annie with this on Patreon, but I do want to put it here because we are about to get into travel season. Maybe, I don't know, gas prices. I'm recording this right now. The day I'm recording this, gas prices have skyrocketed. Maybe we're not traveling anywhere, but it's spring break. It's summer. Soon it will be summer. So there may be other readers like Annie who have a trip plan or they're trying to do this concept of putting together a curriculum. And Annie, I really liked what you said about London book recommendations, particularly modern fiction, because we sure do get a lot of historical fiction based in London. And so I immediately thought of the book I just finished called Celestial Lights by Cecile Pin. Does this count because it's half set in outer space? Yes, I would think that it does. So in the book, Oliver grows up in rural England, and he ultimately moves to London for college. And those scenes are very vivid. And they certainly play a role in who Oliver ultimately becomes. I think that this is a fun book. It is very thought provoking, very thoughtful. It's short. And it's got just enough set in London that I think it qualifies. Next, a book that I recently picked up, Love by the Book by Jessica George. Or Jessica George also wrote a book called Maima. And I think both of these books talk so beautifully. Talk, is that the right word? They acknowledge so beautifully the really vivid nature of London. One of my favorite quotes about London is, I think it's, London is a roost for every bird. I think that's the quote. I have it hanging in my house somewhere. And I think it's so true. Both times that I have been to London, I'm just struck by what a kind of multicultural city that it is. It's just a glow. It's very much a global city, at least to me. Remember, I live in the rural south. What do I know? But it feels very global to me. And Love by the Book and Maima both speak to maybe the immigrant experience or the experience of growing up black in London. And I like both of these books. They're character driven. But one of the characters really is London. And you feel like you are there. To me, it's one of the most memorable parts of these Jessica George books is the setting. An author that I would put forward to you, which you have probably already read, which is why I'm just going to say the author's name is Nick Hornby. I love Nick Hornby. Of course, we know him from like High Fidelity. One of my favorites is About a Boy. I also like State of the Union. But most, if not all, of his books are set in London. And I love them. They're witty, they're charming without being a romance novel. They may have romantic elements, but that's not really what they are about. If you like David Nichols, I think you would like Nick Hornby. He's a great writer to kind of get you in the London mood and the London atmosphere. A book that I read actually when I got home from London was Ordinary People. This is by Diana Evans. I'm sorry to say that it might be considered historical fiction now, but it's probably not the historical fiction you're thinking of because it is set right around the time of the Obama election. So 2008, and even though the Obama election was in America, the impact that ultimately had, particularly on black couples and black families living in London. So Ordinary People by Diana Evans. I bought that book while I was over there and then I read it when I got home. Don't go into it thinking it's a plot driven book, but it is a quiet exploration of, at least in my view, modern London life. The other author I would put forward to you is Zadie Smith. I have not read a ton of Zadie Smith. She is on my list of people that I need to read. And so Annie, if I were making my own curriculum, she's a name I would put on there. She's got some great essay collections, short stories and then also general fiction. But she is somebody I would consider a London author. And then last but not least, if anybody's planning a trip or if you're like Annie and you're just developing your own curriculum, curriculum, At the Pond by Margaret Drabble and others, she's just one of the authors. This was one of my favorite reading experiences of 2025. And I picked this book up while I was in London in 2024. I think that's right. It's got a beautiful little cover and it is a tiny little book, but it's essays all about Hampstead Heath. I hope I'm pronouncing that correctly, Hampstead Heath pond. And that is a women's swimming hole. It's in London, but of course, it feels like it's not in London because it is so shaded and natural. This book swept me away. I read it postpartum. Postpartum? No, I read it very pregnant and I loved it. It's a book that you can easily pick up and put down. And then the reason I think it's great for curriculum building is because it immediately sent me on a deep dive reading all about the pond. And I read so many articles about the pond, news stories about the pond because it's been in the news recently. So At the Pond by Margaret Drabble, I think should be on your curriculum. And then I think if you were traveling to London and you're going to go to that pond, which how cool would that be? This is a perfect book to add to your stack.

Speaker 4:
[17:01] Hi Annie, I need some recommendations. I'm an avid reader of mostly fiction, literary fiction, mysteries, and those sorts of things. But I'm in the middle of chemotherapy right now. And I need something that is not hard to focus on, but yet easy to enjoy. I don't need too light and fluffy because the contrast between that and my real world situation is too jarring, but I cannot handle death, dying, cancer, trauma, et cetera. I've read Emma and Lion and loved it. I've read Theo of Golden and enjoyed it. I need something enjoyable that doesn't require a lot of brain power, that ends in a hopeful note. I don't mind if it explores deep themes, but mostly I need hope right now. I think we all do. What would you recommend? Thanks.

Speaker 1:
[17:54] First of all, thank you for trusting me with this question. You will be in my prayers as you navigate these rounds of chemo, and I will be thinking often of you. Second of all, thank you for giving me this prompt because I, as a friend, have been quite stuck in knowing how to be present and helpful to some friends of mine who are going through kind of a similar situation. And I really have felt paralyzed a little bit at knowing what to do and stymied and stuck. And how silly that it did not occur to me, or maybe it occurred to me, but only briefly in passing, not to actually sit down and make a list. But how silly that I didn't think that books could be a comfort and which books could be a comfort. And so now I'm very excited to kind of put together a book stack that I can mail some friends of mine. So thank you for this prompt. You asked for not too light, but books that are easy to focus on and that don't deal with cancer, death, etc. The very first book that immediately came to mind is a book that released earlier this month that I have mentioned on the podcast, I think already a couple of times, but it is Joyful Anyway by Kate Bowler. Kate Bowler will be familiar to many listeners and readers because she is a theologian. She's also a podcaster and writer. Her, probably her most famous book is called Everything Happens for a Reason and Other Lies I've Loved. She wrote that book after being diagnosed with colon cancer, and she was in her, I want to say mid-30s. And so what happened kind of during that diagnosis and during her cancer treatments while she was a young mom and trying to just navigate air quotes normal life. So that was her first book. She's written a few other kind of devotional type books and co-written some books, but this to me is the latest by her that is maybe more in keeping with the first book she wrote. Joyful Anyway, or I'm sorry, it wasn't the first book she wrote. The first book she wrote was The Preacher's Wife which nobody ever talks about anyway, the other book she wrote. Joyful Anyway is part memoir and then part self-help, but the reason I think you would like it is because it is relatively short chapters, so I think it would be easy to focus on. She is now kind of on the other side. She's not writing very much about her cancer experience. In fact, I don't think she writes about that at all. She alludes to it, but she's kind of on the other side of it. But now that she's on the other side of it, and perhaps you are discovering this too, her life has been changed. What happens when you have had your eyes opened to just how hard things can be, or just how full of grief things can be? I read this book and the first half didn't hit with me quite the same way as the back half. I mean, I loved the back half. But I think the whole book is worth picking up and giving a shot. Yes, it's a little bit self-help, but it's also, listen, she's very funny. That's one of the things I really like about her. I find her very funny. And so I laughed out loud in parts, I underlined a lot, and I liked that she had me thinking, okay, wait a minute, where's the joy in this? Where are the little joys in this? And she's very good about kind of helping you shift your focus, whatever you're going through, whether it's chemo or you even reference the hard time all of us are living through. And open your news app, and it's a disaster. And so where's the joy? Where can we find the joy? What is the point? So that is the first one that I want to recommend. It's also the only nonfiction book I'm going to recommend. For fiction, and how lucky are you? Because you know what's really popular right now? Connected collections of short stories. They're really more like novels. They're really more like novels, but they are connected short stories. The first is The Reservation by Rebecca Kauffman. This is a redemptive, in my mind, feel good story. If you like J. Ryan Straddle, you'll love this book. All about a day in the life of a restaurant. It is fun, and there's a slight mystery element. Each chapter is a little bit different. So it's got real pick up and put down-able. It's pick up and put down-able. And the characters are so wonderful. I found myself deeply attached to this restaurant. It's way less stressful than watching an episode of The Bear. Far more enjoyable and pleasant. If you like that, the other short story collection slash novel that I would recommend is This Is Not About Us by Allegra Goodman. You've heard me talk about this one on the podcast before as well. It is about this Jewish family with these three very stubborn matriarchs, and they have a falling out over an apple cake. And each chapter is about a different member of the family. And I think overall, this is a really feel good story. Feel good might not even be the descriptor I would typically use, but it's just about a family. Like there's nothing here that's going to be too heavy for you to hold. Then I would also recommend, now I read this book months ago, but I think I'm correct in remembering that there's nothing too terribly heavy in it. So Old, So Young by Grant Jender. This is a friendship story, and it is told over the course of decades, kind of peeking in on the same group of friends over those decades, but only at certain parties. So there's a Halloween party, there's a baby shower, there's a housewarming, and you get to glimpse, you get to kind of take a peek inside these different relationships and these different friendships. I read it months ago, but I am happy to report a few readers who, trust my opinion, they have read it since then. They've read it more recently because it just came out pretty recently in February, and they loved it. So that wreck does hold up, which is always a bit of a relief to me. So So Old, So Young by Grant Jinder. An unsung book of 2025, in my opinion, was Before I Forget. This is by Tori Henwood-Hohen. Now I do need to tell you that the book is about a young woman who's kind of a little bit lost metaphorically, and she goes to take care of a family member who is suffering from dementia. So there is that element. The reason I'm recommending it is it was not heavy to me. It was, in my opinion, feel good fiction. I sent it out as my December shelf subscription. I loved the family dynamics. It also took a couple of twists and turns that I wasn't expecting. So I do need to warn you, there is a character, obviously, who is maybe toward the end of his life dealing with his dementia diagnosis, but he is so charming and so fun. I had to recommend this one just in case. So it may not be where you need to be at this moment, but I found it to be really uplifting and hopeful, and I had to mention it just in case. The Road to Tender Hearts by Annie Hartnett is a fantastic road trip story with a quirky cast of characters, very much like Little Miss Sunshine or something like that, if you're familiar with that movie. I loved this book when it came out. Was it in the top 10 of my year? I loved it. I don't remember now if it was in my top 10 or not, but I loved that book. And then another kind of quieter book, at least at the Bookshelf, in my opinion, a quiet book from last year was Slow Dance by Rainbow Rowell. I loved the Midwestern setting of this one. I liked the Second Chance Romance. It felt like a rom-com, but also not because there was plenty of other stuff going on, but very charming, heartwarming. If you like Annabelle Monaghan, but even maybe less romance, I think you will like Slow Dance by Rainbow Rowell. I hope that those are books that you can stick in your bag next time you head to chemo, and that could maybe give you some uplift in the middle of what I'm sure has been a really like, I'm just thinking about the feeling you get when you're on the bottom of the roller coaster. You know what I mean? Like where your gut just kind of flies up while you're down. Do you know what I mean? That's what it seems like. So anyway, thinking of you, we'll be praying for you and these are the books that I would hand to you if I were there in person.

Speaker 5:
[26:24] Hi Annie, this is Caroline from Houston, Texas. I'm a big fan of the podcast. I wanted to ask you for some book recommendations that I can pass along to my grandmother. Three books that both she and I have loved are The Correspondent, The Frozen River, and Thursday Murder Club. One book I liked that she hated was Remarkably Bright Creatures. I think the concept of the narrator being an octopus was just too weird for her. That's some background about her taste. I think I'm looking for recommendations of feel good, redemptive stories that are still well-written, and that we both can enjoy.

Speaker 1:
[27:18] Thanks. Caroline, I love this so much. I had a great relationship with both of my grandmothers, but we did not exchange books. That wasn't really anything that we maybe had in common. But I am delighted that it is something you and your grandma have in common. I tried to think of feel good, redemptive stories. I tapped into my inner Susie, and this is the list I came up with. Everybody probably is yelling into their radios. Do people listen to the radio? I don't know. How do you guys listen to this podcast? Who's to say? Anyway, people are probably yelling right now into their phones telling me, Theo of Golden by Allen Levi. We actually have an end cap up right now, Caroline, that if you were local, I would tell you, come to the bookshelf and come check us out because we have this great end cap about books. If you liked The Correspondent, if you liked Theo of Golden, here are some books for you. So Theo of Golden is probably the book we have sold most often after people have read The Correspondent. Now I have not read Theo of Golden, but my mom has read it, other readers I trust have read it. And although some of the replies or responses have been mixed, generally speaking, overwhelmingly positive, I think your grandmother would love it. That's another feel good story, southern story set in the town of Golden and this stranger Theo comes to town. So Theo of Golden by Allen Levi. Also based on the fact that your grandma really liked the correspondent, I would have to give you guys Brit-Marie Was Here. This is by Fredrik Backman. It's one of his books that I feel like people don't reference quite as much, but I loved it. There's a great soccer plot line and we're getting closer to the World Cup. So Brit-Marie is kind of an Eleanor Oliphant type of character, kind of a curmudgeon. This is curmudgeon lit, but with a lady, which I really like. So if you and your grandma liked Sybil, I think you will like Brit-Marie. You may have already read this. It feels like one that I'm either right on track or you've already read it. Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus. The fact that your grandmother could handle some of the content in Frozen River makes me think that she could handle some of the heavier subject matter. Maybe she'd even appreciate some of the heavier subject matter in Lessons in Chemistry. I also think the two of you could have some really great conversations about this one. Also, there's a TV show if you guys wanted to watch the show together. I actually thought the show was great. Nobody talked about it, but Jordan and I really liked it. The author, Natalie Jenner, is somebody I would recommend to you. She has written The Jane Austen Society, The Bloomsbury Girls, great historical fiction. My mom really likes her, but I really liked The Jane Austen Society, and The Bloomsbury Girls was about publishing. That's an Annie Suzie overlap author. Also featured on our end cap about Feel Good Books is The Storied Life of AJ Fikry by Gabrielle Zevins. I think everybody probably is familiar with Gabrielle Zevins' book Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow. But that was not her debut. She's written quite a few books, including this one, which is a lovely feel-good story, partially set at a bookstore. The Best of Everything by Rona Jaffe. This is a little bit of a departure. It's deep into the backlist. It's almost considered maybe a modern classic set in, I want to say 1960s New York among the secretary class. So again, I think this could be a fun one to discuss with your grandmother. And then another author I think you should consider is Fiona Davis. I love Fiona Davis' historical fiction. I think she writes with a lot of depth and nuance. She was a journalist and so tons of work and research clearly go into her work. One of my favorites of hers is The Masterpiece, but she also wrote a great one called The Dollhouse. There's a lot to choose from there, so I'm going to just mention her name much like I did Natalie Jenner's. Then last but not least, I couldn't help myself, but I think you guys should read Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry. Then you can listen to me and Hunter talk about it, and you can talk about our episodes together. You don't have to do that part, but I actually really do think you guys would enjoy talking about this great Western and you could tackle it maybe a few chapters at a time and touch base with each other as you make your way through it, because it is quite thick, but you will fly through it. Most people, I mean, my mom read it in like a month. It was not a book that we needed to take all year with. I'm glad we did, but we didn't need to. So Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry. I think that would be so fun to read with your grandma.

Speaker 6:
[31:43] Hi Annie. My name is Jeanette and I live in Kansas City, Missouri. I really love getting into the liturgical year. God willing, I will be ordained as a priest in the Episcopal Church later this year. And so I'm wondering if you can recommend any books that would help me enjoy the liturgical seasons. I loved your book, Ordinary Time. And naturally, I spend a lot of time in nonfiction for study in my work, but I'm wondering if you can recommend other memoirs like yours or novels that would help me get into the season of Easter, Ordinary Time, Epiphany, whatever's on your mind. But I guess with Easter being this current season, I'd love to hear what you think. Thanks.

Speaker 1:
[32:24] Jeanette, first of all, congratulations. Second of all, what a question. You really had me thinking. And I feel like I could have gone a couple of different directions with this, like maybe books that are set in Easter or set during Ordinary Time. But instead, I just kind of trusted my gut and thought about books that encapsulate the spirit of the season. Now, I did break the rules a little bit there. I tried to include as much fiction as possible, but I did include some nonfiction, hopefully more memoir than maybe what you're encountering in your studies. So maybe it'll be different enough that it will be a departure from maybe the more nonfiction titles that you're reading. Okay. So I went season by season here. So for Advent, Christmas, which nobody wants to read right now, but that's okay. Save these for a later time. Small Things Like These by Claire Fuller, and Time of the Child by Niall Williams. Those are both works of fiction. I read Small Things Like These last year, flew right through it, very short, very good. Time of the Child is a Susie pick and one that I am hoping to finally read. I bought myself a copy this year. I'm hoping I will finally read it this coming Christmas season. For the season of Lent, I read this years ago, but I think it would be worth a reread. Diary of a Country Priest. This is by, and forgive my horrible French, George Bernanos. Sure, there's a link in the show notes. Anyway, this is a book about a French priest, and the reason I would recommend it for Lent is because you kind of walk with the priest through his various dealings with his parish, and to me, it deals with a little bit of some heavier subject matter as well. So I would do Lent for that one. Hear me out. Wise Blood by Flannery O'Connor, which deals with life and death and sin and all kinds of weird stuff, and I think Lent is weird and I love it. Gilead by Marilynne Robinson. I had to recommend, of course, Gilead by Marilynne Robinson. Jeanette, you've probably already read this, but I do think it's actually a great Lenten book because the main character is on his deathbed and kind of reflecting back, and Lent is supposed to be a time where we are kind of focusing on our limitedness, and so I think Gilead is the perfect book for that. For Easter, The Supper of the Lamb by Robert Farrar Capon. Again, this is one you may have already read, but when I think about the celebratory nature of Easter and what we are celebrating and why, I think The Supper of the Lamb is such a beautiful encapsulation of celebration and meals and why those are important. It has been years, but I read back when I first started at the Bookshelf, this novel called A Place at the Table by Susan Rebecca White. And again, when I think about Easter, it's weirdly one of those holidays. We don't always do it, but it feels like when you're supposed to be gathered with friends and family at a table. And as I recall, A Place at the Table deals with restaurant culture and it also deals with kind of these, this group of misfits who kind of encounter one another and find home with each other. And I think that's what Easter is all about. So A Place at the Table by Susan Rebecca White, please do keep in mind, I read that years ago and I have not reread it since. So I want, I want to attest to its wonderfulness. And yet sometimes I feel like I cannot because I read that years ago and I certainly hope it stands up, but I guess I don't know. My favorite season, Ordinary Time. First up, have you heard of a book, hear me out, called Ordinary Time, not by Annie B. Jones, but by Catherine Rentzenbrink? This is a British novel. I think it is available here in America. But I picked this up when I was in London before my book came out because I could not believe there was a book called Ordinary Time. And at first I was a little mad. And then I was like, well, this book is totally different from mine because this is a book of fiction and it is about a priest's wife. And maybe just maybe the priest's wife is considering having an affair. And so there is an affair at the heart of this book. But I love the title, I have a copy of this book, I will read it. I think for some reason it feels very summery to me. But maybe that makes sense, Ordinary Time. So Ordinary Time, not by Annie B. Jones, but by Catherine Rentzenbrink. Empire Falls by Richard Russo, definitely seasonally it feels autumnal. But the reason I'm putting it here is because Ordinary Time to me is all about Ordinary People, it's also the longest season. So I love a long book that you can kind of sink your teeth into and certainly Empire Falls is that. It's also about a small town and it's kind of ragtag group of characters. And again, Ordinary Time to me, that's what the season is about, is Ordinary People just living life and doing their best. Tales of a Country Parish. This is by Colin Heber-Percy. I really liked this book a lot. I think it's beautiful, set in a small parish outside of London. I think outside of London, now I'm like maybe it's just rural England. But I think because you are in the process of becoming a priest, you will find a real kinship in Colin. Then I think the author who perhaps best embodies the spirit of Ordinary Time is Elizabeth Strout. So if you never have done Elizabeth Strout, I would encourage you to give her a shot. I, this is controversial, I would start with Olive again. That is who I would start with. Yes, I know it's a sequel. I stand by my decision. Then just in general for my recommendations for all the seasons or for any season. Even After Everything by Stephanie Duncan Smith. The Irrational Season by Madeline L'Engle. That takes place, that's a memoir that goes from Advent to Advent. And this is an author who I would really like to read. And maybe you've already read him. He does fiction, but he was a Catholic, he was not a priest, but he was a practicing Catholic, I think for most of his life. A lot of his books have maybe Catholic undertones, which obviously is different from being an Episcopal priest, but still, Graham Greene, he is somebody whose work I'm really curious about. And if you've read him, I would love to know. But Graham Greene would be another kind of general recommendation, his various novels, for books that are more or less about the liturgical year. This was fun, thanks Jeanette.

Speaker 7:
[38:38] Hi Annie, this is Kara from Northern Kentucky, and I have a bit of a literary conundrum. So I use Goodreads to track the books that I've read. So I don't accidentally read them again, which has happened in the past before I use Goodreads. But I really struggle with how many stars to give books, and I end up giving everything four stars. I remember from a podcast of yours, Erin shared, there were three criteria that she used to write books, but I can't remember what they were, and I didn't know if you remembered or if you could ask her. I'm also interested in how you write books. It's really important to me to give the book stars just so it helps me remember a bit about the book because I don't type up an actual review. Anyway, I hope you are great and that you have a wonderful Christmas. Thanks so much.

Speaker 1:
[39:37] Kara, I love this question, particularly because of what we were discussing at the top of the episode, which is reading is subjective. How are we supposed to know what stars even mean? It's one of the reasons I really like John Green's Anthropocene Reviewed because I think it's kind of poking fun at this idea of rating things. Hunter and I have talked about this before, and I think he stopped using star ratings. I continue to use them because I don't really know how else we're supposed to tell. If a book is worth trying. I still think rating is valuable and helps us know, okay, what's for me, what's not for me. So I stand by star ratings while also understanding that they can be a little ridiculous, and they can be hard to understand because they are subjective. So I went back to Erin and here are her three criteria. The first is, do I remember characters or plot a week later, a month later, higher ranking if I do? That's her first criteria. Does she remember characters or plot a week later or a month later? Criteria number two, does the book make me want to put away other forms of entertainment, TV, podcasts, etc. and only read? Higher ratings if so. So does the book make you want to focus only on the book? Three, did the book challenge the way I think about a group of people, a deeper belief or a way of living? If so, higher ratings. So those are Erin's criteria. Does she remember the characters or plot? Does the book want to make her put away other things, other forms of entertainment? And does the book challenge the way she thinks about a certain group of people, a deeper belief or a way of living? And honestly, as somebody who knows Erin's reading tastes, she absolutely, yes, I can attest, she does this. She totally pays attention to these things in books and bases her ratings on that criteria. That is Erin's criteria. I will also tell you mine because I do review books on my Annie's Five Star Review Instagram. And again, this is something that I am in the habit of doing for years now that doesn't always make it easier. There are some books where I'm like, oh, they're just right on the cusp. But generally, here's how I decide how to rate a book, particularly in terms of stars. So a one or two star book, I'm not finishing. I am generally not going to finish a book. I would rate this low. One star books are probably books I'm not even going to finish. Two star books, I'd consider a waste of my time or be sorry I read them. And so in a post bookshelf, no, we're still living in the bookshelf. In a bookshelf existence, so in an existence in which I still live, work and breathe the bookshelf, my reading time is work time it is precious and so I DNF books, I do not finish books with a lot more regularity than in my pre bookshelf life. So you will probably never hear me talk about a one star or two star book. I don't think I would ever review a book publicly one or two stars because I'm not finishing it. I'm just not finishing that book. The lowest rating I publicly give or really even give, because again, one or two star books, I'm not finishing those. So three stars to me is, this was fine. Good filler, fluff, enjoyable enough. I finished it, but probably not the most well-written thing I've ever consumed. Certainly not memorable. Three and a half. This is good. Glad I read it. Doubt I'll remember much about it. Three and a half is a pretty common rating for me. Slightly low, but pretty common. Four stars means great book, good storytelling, decent writing. I probably read the most four-star books. It sounds like Kara, you do too. Four and a half stars. I love this book. These titles are probably in the Running for Best Books of the Year. Beautiful writing, beautiful storytelling. There might be minor issues with a plot line or a character that will prevent it from being five stars. If you're ever like, Annie, why are you rating a book four and a half stars? That's a cop-out. Why not just five? It's often because I have a little issue, like I have a little problem with a character or plot choice or plot device, and so I dock it half a star. Five stars. What makes a five-star book for me? Well, will I remember it? Which was Erin's top criteria as well. It's because we read a lot of books. Will I remember any of this book in a year's time? I read so much and frequently the answer is no. That's why to me, five-star books, I not only remember that the writing was good and or the story was gorgeous, but I also remember the details, the way it made me feel, the characters names long after I turned the page. Off the top of my head, for example, James, five-star read. Memorable top 10 books of not only that year, I think it was the top book I read that year, but also probably going to be a top book of the last decade. I remember the characters names, obviously partly because of the huck fin of it all, but also just because I remember those character names. I remember how the story made me feel. I remember thinking that Percival Everett was a genius. Like that book just stood above all the rest that year. Yeah, so to me, five star books are memorable. By memorable, I mean I typically don't just remember how they made me feel, but I also remember a character's name or a plot detail, which is not always the case with anything else I read. So Kara, those are how Erin rates her books. That's how I rate my books that I read. And so maybe that will help you as you try to rate and review books. Because you're right, I'm rating and reviewing books for my job. It's part of my job to tell or suggest to readers what they should pick up, what's worth buying off of our shelves. But even if I weren't doing that, rating and reviewing is a way to help me remember. That's why Hunter rates books. That's, I'm assuming, why you rate books. So rating books is valuable and helpful, even if you're not doing it like I am as part of my job, you're doing it for your own sake and to help you know, what have I read, what haven't I read, etc. So I hope this helps.

Speaker 8:
[45:54] I'm Trudy, T-R-U-D-Y from Marietta, Georgia and I really love family dramas. But I especially love it when they're not mega super long, like over 400 pages and not series. I have read all the Ken Follett books and of course they are amazing. But recently I really enjoyed Chorus, which was under 300 pages by Rebecca Kauffman and a book by Julie Kibler, Calling Me Home, which was also just a little over 340, 350. So I would love recommendations, preferably backlist for some family dramas that are not gigantic in length and not as epic as the Ken Follett books. Thank you.

Speaker 1:
[46:44] Trudy, you are speaking my language because the longer I work at the Bookshelf, the less patience I have with really long books. I will make some exceptions. I think about Susan Choi's Flashlight last year that I read and loved, and it wasn't even that long, but it felt long to me. It felt more epic. I loved that word that you used because epic books are not always books that I am super interested in. I am interested in complicated family dramas with maybe a lot going on because the people hate each other or the people love each other. I tried to think about short, backlist family dramas that you could pick up from your local library, buy in paperback form from your local bookstore, and here they are. The Mothers by Brit Bennett, which you've heard me talk about for years. This Is Where I Leave You by Jonathan Tropper. I loved the book. I did not like the movie. So if you're like, why is that familiar to me? There was a movie, I did not think it was good, but the book is great. Flight by Lynn Steger Strong is a great little book. I would wait to read this one at the holiday season. It is set over Christmas. Although you know what? I'm not the boss of you. Read it whenever you want, but I would read it at Christmas time. It's about a family over the course of the holiday season. Commonwealth by Ann Patchett, which I think we talk, I talk so much about Tom Lake or the Dutch House, but Commonwealth is really when I finally fell in love with Ann Patchett's fiction. And that story packs a punch in a really short page count if you think about it. Like she reigned it in in a way that I really appreciated. Ask Again, Yes by Mary Beth Keane, Mercury by Amy Jo Burns, Red at the Bone by Jacqueline Woodson, Like Family. Now this one just came out last year. Okay, Trudy, this one just came out last year. So you might have to wait till it's in paperback, but it'll probably be in paperback this fall. And it is set over Thanksgiving. So give it a minute and it'll be a backlist before you know it. That's Like Family by Erin White, and then Family Trust by Kathy Wang. So when I look at this list, I see some Irish Catholic representation for sure. I see some New England representation always, but I also think there is a story set in Brooklyn. There is a story that is set out in California. Multi-generational stories and all of these, I didn't look, but I am pretty confident these are 300 pages at the most. And honestly, Family Trust might be the longest. Like everything else I think could be between 250, between 200 and 300 pages. So hopefully, those are short enough for you as you try to find some backlist family dramas. And those are the conundrums for the day. So if you have an issue that you would like me to tackle in an upcoming episode of Literary Therapy, I hope that you will leave me a voicemail from thefrontporchpodcast.com/contact. You scroll to the middle of the page where there is an orange button that says start recording, give your name, where you're from, and tell me your conundrum and you might be featured in an upcoming episode. This week, I'm listening to Judy Blume by Mark Oppenheimer. From the Front Porch is a weekly podcast production of The Bookshelf, an independent bookstore in Thomasville, Georgia. You can follow The Bookshelf's daily happenings on Instagram at BookshelfTeaVille, and all the books from today's episode can be purchased online through our store website, bookshelfthomasville.com. A full transcript of today's podcast episode can be found at fromthefrontporchpodcast.com. Special thanks to Studio D Podcast Production for production of From the Front Porch and for our theme music, which sets the perfect warm and friendly tone for our Thursday conversations. Our executive producers of today's episode are Cammy Tidwell, Jammie Treadwell, Linda Lee Drost, Gene Queens, Martha, Stephanie Dean, Beth, Ashley Ferrell, Amanda Wickham, Nicole Marsee, Wendi Jenkins. Thank you all for your support of From the Front Porch. If you'd like to support From the Front Porch, please leave a review on Apple Podcasts. Your input helps us make the show even better and helps us reach new listeners. All you have to do is open up the podcast app on your phone.

Speaker 3:
[51:11] Look for From the Front Porch.

Speaker 1:
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