Episode 353 || Thank You
This week on From the Front Porch, Annie is saying thank you.
Here are the links to the poems mentioned in this episode:
“What the Living Do” by Marie Howe
“Meditations in an Emergency” by Cameron Awkward-Rich
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 below.
Special thanks to Dylan and his team at Studio D Podcast Production for sound and editing and for our theme music, which sets the perfect warm and friendly tone for our Thursday conversations.
Thank you again to this week’s sponsor, Visit Thomasville. Whether you live close by or are passing through, I hope you'll visit beautiful Thomasville, Georgia: www.thomasvillega.com.
This week, Annie is reading Mansfield Park by Jane Austen.
If you liked what you heard in 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 and follow along as Hunter and I conquer a classic. Just go to patreon.com/fromthefrontporch.
We’re so grateful for you, and we look forward to meeting back here in the new year!
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episode transcript:
Annie Jones [00:00:02] [Squeaky porch swing] Welcome to From the Front Porch, a conversational podcast about books, small business and life in the South. [As music plays out]
[00:00:23] I'm Annie Jones, owner of The Bookshelf, an independent bookstore in beautiful downtown Thomasville, Georgia. And this week I'm saying, thank you. Hi, friends. Happy end of December. You made it. We're doing it. It's going to be a new year. I'm excited and happy, and sad, and filled with all the bittersweet emotions that I think accompany the end of the year, right? We have endured a global pandemic. The Bookshelf, a small business, has survived yet another year. And so I'm feeling immensely grateful and also very tired, and I'm sure you are too. And so I just wanted to say thank you for what this year has held.
[00:01:10] The Bookshelf has grown since Spring of 2020. We have expanded our team. I'm thinking of staffers like Erin, who came on board at the beginning of 2021 to become our online sales and shipping associate because it became apparent that we needed an in-store person to help with all the online orders that have not gone away. We've done online sales a long time, but they really grew in 2020 and we thought for a long time that those sales would disappear or diminish, and they haven't. And that is due to long distance customers like many of you who are listening. And so Erin came on board at the start of 2021. In the Fall, we were able to add Esme and Mary Katherine, two 40-hour week employees. We have never had this many 40 hour a week employees. It is a true gift. And, again, it is because The Bookshelf grew and I am so very grateful for that.
[00:02:09] So Esme and Erin and Mary Katherine and bookseller Keila, all of these new faces came on board in 2021 and I cannot imagine The Bookshelf without their hard work and their help. We also were able to host virtual events and in-store events for the first time in almost a year. So we've done virtual events for a long time. But in November, we were able to host our first in-store evening author event with Janisse Ray. It is a memory that I think will stick out to me for quite some time because we had gone so very long without an evening store event. And to see The Bookshelf -- this sounds so silly, but to see The Bookshelf lit up bright with the darkening town around it and to hear an author read from their own work in person face-to-face was such a blessing and a gift. You know, we've been able to do that virtually a little bit throughout the last year. In 2020, especially, we did a lot of virtual author events, and I'm grateful for the opportunities that virtual events give a small store like ours.
[00:03:21] The Bookshelf is very much off the beaten path. If you have visited Thomasville, you'll know this. We are a little bit off the beaten path and so authors do not always make their way to us. And so to be able to do virtual events with authors who normally would not visit Thomasville has been amazing. But it's also really hard with technical difficulties and issues and all of a sudden feeling like you have to be a tech guru. And it's different than being in person, sitting among your fellow readers, hands clasped and eyes wide open. And to get to sit at the feet of Janisse Ray, and to get to hear her read from her new book, Wild Spectacle, is a 2021 memory I think that will live in my brain for a very long time. We also were able to return to some normalcy. You know, at the start of 2021, when I look back, we were a business that was operating. We were definitely open to the public, but we were limiting capacity at the start of the year. Our town had some serious spikes in COVID and that happened again in September with the Delta variant. And so we just have really had this kind of roller coaster throughout the year of are we going to require masks? Are we going to limit capacity?
[00:04:35] I thought that was something that was going to end in 2020, and it didn't. And that has been really hard to navigate those decisions, to make those decisions as a team, to see what would be best for our small team of people. But what also would be best for our community, and a community with changing opinions on what's safe and what makes sense. And having to make those decisions is honestly some of the least fun, the least amount of fun I've ever had as a business owner. And that includes paying a lot of taxes and paying a lot of bills. So having to make those decisions has though, I think, made me a better business owner. And I think having to navigate those decisions as a bookshelf team has made Olivia and I in particular a better team. I think it's also helped us serve our community better and I know that they didn't always see it that way. But I think that's really ultimately the reason we did anything was for the safety of our staff and also for the safety and well-being of our community.
[00:05:43] You know, 2021 was a lot like 2020, quite frankly, in the decisions that we had to make in thinking about our team of people, in thinking about the ways we wanted to best serve our community. And as much as I am grateful for long distance and for virtual things and for online sales, it was still the year in which we greeted our in-store customers back. You know, we were operating in limited capacity for a long time in 2020, and then in 2021 we were able to be open to the public, at various times requiring masks, welcoming masks, whatever the case may be, whatever the language was at that given time. But we were able to really return to a bit of normalcy. We moved our shipping facility mostly upstairs and then in a tiny little room in the downstairs of The Bookshelf, which meant the children's section could finally function as the children's section again.
[00:06:41] We started to have story time in-store again, which is something we had not done in 2020. In 2020, we had done those outside. We had done a couple of Instagram Story times. And finally, in 2021, we get to have kids back in the store, which has made a huge difference, I think, to our psyche and also to the spirit of the store. The Bookshelf was not designed to be a shipping facility. And even a shipping facility upstairs is really tricky. Honestly, we do a lot of walking up and down stairs. Laura is in really good shape. So our store was never designed to be a shipping facility. And so trying to find a home for that and trying to bring that part of the business into the normal everyday actions of the business has been interesting and I think we've got it down. Like I think we finally are there where it's a normal part of our business without interfering with the in-store part of our business. And back, I think, in September, we were able to re revamp and re-ignite, I guess, the children's section and bring it back to life. And that was really, again, just a meaningful moment in the life of the store.
[00:07:51] And when I look back on 2021, I think that's one of the things I will think about, is my family coming and moving the shipping station, moving all of those packaging materials and finally having a space where kids can come and feel welcome, which is what we always want. That's what we've always wanted. And so the children's section has this new life breathed into it and I'm profoundly grateful for that. This is also the year in which Victorian Christmas felt a little bit normal, in which Black Friday and Small Business Saturday were absolutely record-breaking. It's a year we were able to donate hundreds of books to Harper Elementary School, one of our local elementary schools and community partners. We were able to donate hundreds of dollars to organizations like Dressember. And I was able to interview friends like Ruth and Devaney to talk about things like Dressember and what it's like to read about the plight of the human condition and issues like human trafficking and the ways we can better inform ourselves.
[00:08:49] And so there are so many little pieces and pockets of this year that I think will stand out to me. And maybe you're the same way. I don't know. I'm, I think, by nature a relatively reflective person. And so Jordan and I at the end of every year gather together. We go out to dinner or we sit in our living room and we talk through some questions back and forth and we ask ourselves, like, what did this year look like? What were the highs? What were the lows? What worked? What didn't work? What was life giving? What was life changing? What was life draining? And I ask those questions about The Bookshelf, and I'm not going to share all of those answers here with you. I'm not going to bore you with them. But I guess the things that I do as a person certainly reflect the ways that we run and operate The Bookshelf.
[00:09:30] And so I'm feeling very reflective. And I just wanted to say thank you for all the ways in which you have supported the store. This year, not only did our online business survive and thrive and sustain, like, it became a sustainable working part of The Bookshelf, but our Patreon membership also grew. And in 2022 there are so many of us who are going to read Count of Monte Cristo together. I'm not saying we're going to try, guys, I'm saying we are going to read that book. I am manifesting it. So we are going to read The Count of Monte Cristo together and to watch that membership grow, to watch that patron support grow really meant a lot in 2021, and I am excited to see where 2022 takes us. I'm immensely grateful to people like Hunter who contribute to that Patreon community, who helped me produce and develop and create episodes and content, and who do so with such a willing kind spirit.
[00:10:24] And so we are very excited to bring you more Patreon content like that in 2022. It's not too late to join us. You can join us on patreon.com and read along with us and also just enjoy our monthly little gatherings that we do. We do little lunch breaks together every month, and there's some of the highlights of what we do because it's so easy and simple and fun. And I love gathering with really smart readers, which is what it feels like. I feel like I'm just surrounded by the smartest, most well-read, thoughtful people. I wanted to close out the year by reading to you a couple of poems. That's why I didn't start the episode with a quote like I normally do. Instead, I wanted to read you a couple of poems that have encountered me or that I have encountered this year at a couple of different points. One, I think I was introduced to in the late summer, early fall, and then another one I came across just a few weeks ago, and so I wanted to read some poetry to you as we close out the year. This is a shorter episode than normal because we're at the end, guys. We're at the end of this really long, messy, complicated but also beautiful year. And so I wanted to close out with poetry, which is often complicated and messy and beautiful.
[00:11:37] So the first poem I want to read is called What the Living Do, this is by Marie Howe. Johnny, the kitchen sink has been clogged for days, some utensil probably fell down there. And the Drano won't work but smells dangerous, and the crusty dishes have piled up waiting for the plumber I still haven't called. This is the everyday we spoke of. It's winter again: the sky's a deep, headstrong blue and the sunlight pours through the open living-room windows because the heat's on too high in here, and I can't turn it off. For weeks now, driving or dropping a bag of groceries in the street, the bag breaking, I've been thinking. This is what the living do. And yesterday, hurrying along those wobbly bricks in the Cambridge sidewalk, spilling my coffee down my wrist and sleeve, I thought it again, and again, later when buying a hairbrush. This is it. Parking, slamming the car door shut in the cold. What you called that yearning, what you finally gave up. We want the spring to come and the winter to pass. We want whoever to call or not call, a letter, a kiss. We want more and more and then more of it. But there are moments walking when I catch a glimpse of myself in the window glass. Say the window of the corner video store, and I'm gripped by a cherishing so deep for my own blowing hair, chapped face and unbuttoned coat that I'm speechless. I am living. I remember you. What the Living Do by Marie Howe.
[00:13:18] Meditations in an Emergency by Cameron Awkward-Rich. I wake up and it breaks my heart. I draw the blinds and the thrill of rain breaks my heart. I go outside. I ride the train, walk among the buildings, men in Monday suits. The flight of doves. The city of tents beneath the underpass. The huddled mass, old women hawking roses and children, all of them break my heart. There's a dream I have in which I love the world. I run from end to end like fingers through her hair. There are no borders. Only wind. Like you, I was born. Like you, I was raised in the institution of dreaming hand on my heart, hand on my stupid heart. Meditations in an Emergency by Cameron Awkward-Rich.
[00:14:15] When I think of the last two years, gosh, two years, three years, I just am struck by how much comfort I have found in poetry in a way that I don't think was true at other periods in my life, except maybe other chaotic periods. There is something about poetry and the chaos of it and the messiness of it that meets me right where I am this year. And so maybe that is true for you, too. As we close out 2021, I want to thank you the listener for listening to From the Front Porch, for downloading these episodes, for subscribing, for supporting us on Patreon. I want to thank you, the long distance customer who has chosen to support The Bookshelf financially, either through Patreon or through purchasing books or puzzles or games or subscriptions. I want to thank you for traveling to Thomasville to visit us.
[00:15:08] We are gearing up for a reader retreat in February that I'm looking very forward to. I'm also very anxious about it because it's been a long time since we've done something like this, and so February will be, kind of, a test to see with the rest of 2022 holds. But I'm so excited to get to meet some of you there, and I'm also so grateful for the faces I've met already. I am so astounded any time somebody pops in The Bookshelf and tells us they're a podcast listener or tells us they're from out of town and the fact that you would make the trip, and I know it is a trip. No matter where you live, Thomasville is a trip. I know you've made that trip and I am so humbled by it, and I hope our store is everything you've dreamed it was. That's certainly the goal. We hope that The Bookshelf is as an inviting as a place as you've imagined it to be. I also want to thank the people who make From the Front Porch possible.
[00:16:03] So you hear mostly my voice every week, but you also hear the voices of Hunter Clark McLendon, the voices of Ashley Sherlock, Courtney Kinsey, Julianna Helms, Olivia Shaffer, Lucy Stoltzfus and I just want to thank all of the guests who have come on From the Front Porch this year. Thank you for making conversation easy and for bringing so much joy to those episodes. Oh my gosh, I can't forget my mom. Thanks to Susie Butterworth for also being a much loved guest of From the Front Porch. I also need to thank the people who make these episodes possible because I do not. Like I sit in my little room and record and say things. But the people who edit this show from Studio D Production are really the real heroes. They're the people who make these episodes worthy of your listening ears. And so I'm grateful for Dylan and Ashley and Simeon and the entire team.
[00:16:58] Thankful for Mary Katherine who types up our show notes, for Lucy, who puts all of the books on the website. So if you hear a book that you like on From the Front Porch and you want to buy it from The Bookshelf, you can. All of these people make these episodes possible. And the other people who make these episodes possible are The Bookshelf staff, because without The Bookshelf staff running and operating The Bookshelf, I would not have the time nor the energy to do these podcast episodes. And there have been many times in the last few years when I have thought maybe it's time to hang up the podcasting hat because we have a store to run. And truly, thanks to The Bookshelf staff. I have been able to continue doing this in a way that I hope benefits The Bookshelf and also benefits the reader.
[00:17:41] So special thanks to Olivia, our store manager, to Lucy and Michelle, who work tirelessly, long distance and remotely. To Esme, Erin. Mary Katherine, Keila, Nancy, Laura and James who make The Bookshelf the magical place that it is. There's a lot of work that goes into magic. I'm sure you as a listener, know this in the magic you've created in your own life. Magic is work. Magic is hard, but it is very, very, worth it. And I am so grateful to the team of Bookshelf staffers who make The Bookshelf a magical place to both shop and to work. So thanks everybody for a year that exceeded my expectations. That certainly was different from my expectations. I think we thought 2021 was going to look a little bit different. And here's to finding the beauty in the mass and in the chaos. And here's to supporting small businesses, and shopping small, and supporting your local communities, and listening to podcasts. We are grateful for you.
[00:18:58] From the Front Porch is a weekly podcast production of The Bookshelf, an independent bookstore in South Georgia. You can follow The Bookshelf daily happenings on Instagram @thebookshelftville. And all the books from today's episode can be purchased online through our store website: www.bookshelfthomasville.com.
[00:19:17] A full transcript of today's episode can be found at fromthefrontporchpodcast.com.
[00:19:23] 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.
[00:19:36] This week, what I am reading is brought to you by Visit Thomasville. I know that for weeks I've been telling you that Christmas is the time to visit Thomasville, and I do believe that is true, that the holiday season is really a lovely, fun festive time to visit Thomasville. But what you might not know is that visiting any cute, quaint town in the south is really most lovely in the winter. And that is because -- sure is it a bummer to me that we don't get snow? It is. It is honestly a bummer to me. But the beauty for you who may be listening from, say, Minnesota, is that you can come to Thomasville, Georgia, and experience a perfect wintry blue sky. Cooler temperatures, but nothing near what you are probably experiencing up North. And so it really is -- January and February are really lovely times to visit Thomasville. And so if you are looking ahead to 2022 and you are planning your getaways or your vacations, I would encourage you to think about a wintry destination in Thomasville.
[00:20:36] It is just as beautiful as it is during the more festive times of year, but it is probably significantly less crowded and there is still plenty to do. We have an antique show coming up in February. We have our one book celebration with Lisa Wingate, the author of Before We Were Yours, coming to our town in February. So February really would be a lovely time to come visit, and now is the time to plan. So to find out more how you can visit Thomasville this winter, go to thomasvillega.com.
[00:21:07] This week, I'm reading Mansfield Park by Jane Austen.
[00:21:11] Thank you again to our sponsor Visit Thomasville. Whether you live close by or are just passing through, I really do believe you would enjoy a visit to beautiful Thomasville, Georgia.
[00:21:21] 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 follow along as Hunter and I conquer a classic. And you can participate in monthly lunchbreak Q&A videos.
[00:21:35] Just go to patreon.com/fromthefrontporch. We're so grateful for you, and we look forward to meeting back here next week.