Episode 350 || Literary Therapy, Vol. 12
Welcome to From the Front Porch! Annie is back to answer more of your literary dilemmas in another episode of Literary Therapy.
Before we get started, this is your friendly reminder that From the Front Porch is a production of The Bookshelf, an indie bookstore in Thomasville, Georgia. We’re in the throes of our second holiday shopping season held during a pandemic, and remarkably, our spirits are high. As you support indies like ours this holiday season, please remember to shop early, to be open to our suggestions when your first book preference might already be back-ordered, and to trust our deadlines.
To purchase the books mentioned in this episode, visit our new website:
The Ensemble by Aja Gable (not available)
My Sister the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite
A Place for Us by Fatima Fahreen Mirza (back-ordered)
Becoming by Michelle Obama
I Miss You When I Blink by Mary Laura Philpott
The Dutch House by Ann Patchett
Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid
Transcendent Kingdom by Yaa Gyasi
Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett
I Have Been Assigned the Single Bird by Susan Cerulean
Matrix by Lauren Groff
Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner
Olympus, Texas by Stacey Swann
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 These Precious Days by Ann Patchett.
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 next week.
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Episode Transcript:
Annie [00:00:02] Welcome to From the Front Porch, a conversational podcast about books, small business and life in the south. [music plays].
"I Am not angry. If anything I am tired.
--Oyinkan Braithwaite, My Sister the Serial Killer.
I'm Annie Jones, owner of The Bookshelf, an independent bookstore in beautiful downtown Thomasville, Georgia.
And this week, I'm conducting our last round of Literary Therapy before 2022. We'll be continuing this series in the new year though. So if you have your own literary quandary, you'd like to bring to the metaphorical couch, just visit:
www.fromthefrontporchpodcast.com/contact
to leave me a voicemail. You could be featured in an upcoming Literary Therapy episode. Without further ado, this week's conundrums.
Carrie [00:01:18]: Hey Annie, this is Carrie and I'm from Chicago. My literary conundrum is that I decided that for 2022, I'm going to pick books from my current library that I have not read to read in 2022. I pick them out and I have already added two to the list. And I feel like I have 30 days before 2022, and I'm going to be adding more and more and more along with, like, when 2022 actually begins. And then new books come out. Or I hear books that you talk about on From the Front Porch. How do you do something like that? I know your job is different, but how do you recommend someone make a plan to just read books that they currently own? I don't know. Help. Thanks.
Annie [00:02:18]: Hi, Carrie, I love this idea. I think it's such a great thought to go through your bookshelves to see what titles you haven't read, or maybe you've accidentally ignored and to pull them off your shelves and read them in 2022. I think this is a great goal and it's one I've admired for a while. Back- it feels like many years ago- in 2010, I was following a woman on the internet named Jules Kindle. She is a librarian out in California and I loved her blog, Pancakes and French Fries. And I remember she did something she called The Unread Library where she did this exact kind of project. And she pulled all these books off her shelves. And that's, kind of, what she resolved herself to read that particular year. When I did some Googling for that original post, I also came across someone who is doing an unread shelf project.
[00:03:08] You may find her resources valuable as well. You can Google for the Unread Shelf or click the link in our show notes to go to that woman's project. But Carrie, I think this is a great idea. However, I also understand your dilemma, which is what then are you to do with newly released books or books that you hear about on various podcasts or while visiting your local bookstore or even your local library, what are you supposed to do with all of these books? So here's my thing. I'd love to know if you were on my actual couch, I would love to know how many unread books there actually are. Like, is it a hundred unread books? Is it 75? Is it 300? What is it so that I could get an understanding of, well, do you want to incorporate the occasional, newly released book into your reading diet in 2022? Would that be okay or are you perfectly covered by how many unread books you have?
[00:04:04] So that would be kind of one question I'd use to evaluate. The other question I would ask is why are you reading the books on your unread shelf? Is it to read the books that you own, which I think is an admirable goal, is it to stop buying books, which I totally understand and can be another admirable goal. Like what is the point and purpose? So if it's just to read the books that you haven't read that you own, and that are in your home, great. But I think you can incorporate the occasional new title then because it wouldn't be diminishing your project to read the occasion new book. If it's to prevent yourself from buying new books, then that's what the library's for or borrowing books from friends is for.
[00:04:48] So I don't think you have to necessarily abstain from newer works of literature if you don't want to. It totally depends on your actual purpose in reading these unread titles. That being said, I don't have any of that information. So not having any of that information, my advice would be to keep a Google doc- depends on your personality type, right? A Google doc, a note on your phone, a section in your journal, a section in your planner, keep a running list of books that you're hearing about in the world that you're interested in. So I almost think of this. Look, I like to online shop. But what that occasionally means is I go online, pretend to shop and then never check out. We all do that, right? That's totally normal. This isn't my therapy session, Carrie, this is your therapy session. [laughs]
[00:05:37] So we do that. I think I do that as a way to- yeah, I'm online shopping, but I'm not really buying anything. And sometimes it then gets it out of my system and I don't actually need that item that I thought I needed. But a few weeks later, if I stumble upon that tab in my iPhone or on my computer, and I'm like, man! I really liked that shirt. And what do you know? Now it's on sale. Or I really like that shirt and you know what, I regret not buying it. So I'm going buy it now. So I think there could be this same principle applied to reading new books. You could keep this running list on your phone and every week or month you check in on that list and you think, hmm, you know what? I actually don't want read that book.
[00:06:21] I've since read some negative reviews. Or you know what, I lost my appetite for that book. I don't need to read that book so you can take it off your list. Or you might be surprised and you might think to yourself, wow, it's been three weeks and I only have three new release books on my list. Why don't I treat myself for reading five books off my unread shelf and go to the library and check out these three books. Do you know what I mean? I think there's a way where the impulsivity of book buying or book getting, whether it's book buying from your local bookstore or book getting from your library, maybe there's an impulsivity to it. And you're eliminating that impulsivity by just keeping a list on your phone. Then you're reading these wonderful books that you've owned, but never read.
[00:07:07] And after you read three or four of them, or you read them for a month, you might ask yourself, okay, I've done that for a month and I've really enjoyed it, but I'd really like to treat myself to a book. Great. Go to your list. And then you could actually see, do I like any of these books? Why did I add these to my list to begin with? Surely you've done that in online shopping. Like why did I add this to my cart in the first place? So I think keeping this running tally could prevent you from impulsively buying or borrowing new literature. But I also think keeping a running list could be a way to reward yourself when you've tackled some of these titles on your unread shelf. So that would be my suggestion as you approach this, I think this is a really lovely new year's resolution.
[00:07:53] If I did not own a bookstore, I would be very tempted to do this myself because I think it's valuable to use what you have, to read what you own. And I think you can also discover some probably pretty fun back list hidden gems that you may have forgotten about because they've been sitting unread on your shelves. So I wish you nothing but the best in this project. And I think maybe try this list idea and also remind yourself why you're doing the project. I think those would be valuable as you head into 2022 and perhaps later in the year when you're bogged down or tired of doing this unread shelf thing. I think there are ways to read new books, but still stay true to the project you're trying to stay true to.
Halle [00:08:34] Hi Annie, this is Halle from Raleigh, North Carolina. First of all, thank you so much for your podcast. I love listening and I have gotten so many wonderful recommendations from you. So I am a librarian. And for the last four years, I have been on an awards committee for the American Library Association that focuses on the best genre fiction for adults for every year. It's called The Reading List and it has been so much fun, but my tenure ends in January and I'm not quite sure what I'm going to do with myself when I get to choose whatever I want to read again at that time. So I have a two part question for you. First, are there books from the last four years that I may have missed that you think I should prioritize reading. So basically I missed out on all mainstream and literary fiction and all nonfiction.
[00:09:27] Second, I'm very excited that I'll get to choose to read whatever I want to, but I feel a tiny bit overwhelmed that I'll have all this choice and I'm not really sure how to organize my reading. I'm somebody who loves making lists and that sort of thing. And I'm not sure quite how to approach it. So I know I will want to read new releases, but I will also love having the chance to go to back list titles because I haven't for the last four years. So any suggestions you have, I would appreciate it. Thank you so much. Happy reading!
Annie [00:09:57] Halle, this sounds like a dream. Like I love that you were on the board and you were assigning awards. This sounds like, I don't know, just a really fun job. But I also understand that it's probably drastically affected your reading life much like perhaps my job affects my reading life. And so I thought a lot about this question and I have a really fun idea. I don't know if you will think that it is fun, but I think it is fun. So it sounds like you have been on this ALA board or on this awards committee for four years, which by my math, if I'm doing this right means 2018, 2019, 2020 and '21 are kind of lost years in your reading life. You've missed a lot of mainstream literary fiction, maybe even some commercial fiction and literary nonfiction.
[00:10:47] Okay. Halle, there are four quarters in the year. I'm so excited about this because I think I'm tackling both of your questions at once. I wasn't sure how I was going do this, and then I had an epiphany. So there are four quarters of the year. So I think much like Carrie in 2022, you will probably want to read some newly released titles because for the first time you're going to be able to keep up with what's being released now and what's being published right now. So great. I think let that part of your reading life be a little bit serendipitous and I know that's overwhelming especially if you're like a charts and graphs kind of person. But I think leaving room for some serendipity as you dip your toe back into the reading world might be a good idea. I also see the value in charts and graphs and in organization, which is where my idea comes in.
[00:11:42] So you haven't read mainstream titles in four years. There are four quarters in the year. So why not assign each quarter of the year a year [laughs]. So let's say winter 2022, you'll read 2018 titles. Spring 2022, you'll read 2019 titles. Summer you'll read 2020. Fall you'll read 2021. I think that this is really fun. And there are what, three months in a quarter. So what I did is I picked the three books from each year that I would want to read, like meaning there were so many, I went back. First of all, I've read a lot more in the last couple years than I did in 2017, 2018, 2019. But when I went back and scrolled through or skimmed and looked at those lists, my 2018 and 2019 list specifically, what a lovely trip down memory lane, first of all.
[00:12:44] And then second of all, I realized, oh! I loved a lot of these books. I don't remember a lot of them, but I can tell you which ones I think best encapsulate a year, best encapsulated my reading life or that I would recommend to readers still today. So not every book I read in 2018 would I read again or would I say is worth your time, but there are some that I would. And so you don't have to abide by my list, but I did make a list [laughs]. So for 2018, I narrowed it down to three titles. At the end of this, I do have an honorable mention that I think you should read, but let's start with 2018. My three recommended titles are: The Ensemble by Aja Gabel, My Sister, the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite, and A place for Us by Fatima Farheen Mirza. Those are three books I read in 2018 that I really loved.
[00:13:37] I don't know what kind of reader you are, Halle, but I think these are diverse enough titles where you might be able to find something that you like no matter what your preferred genre. So The Ensemble by Aja Gabel is this lovely book about a team of musicians. It's a little bit coming of age, a little bit dysfunctional friendships. I adored this book when it initially came out. My Sister, the Serial Killer is more murder, mystery, thriller, suspense, but also very complicated familial relationships. And then A Place for Us consistently makes its way in like my top 10 books of the last 10 years because I loved how it approached faith and family, particularly in terms of an immigrant family's experience and a Muslim family's experience. So that is A Place for Us by Fatima Farheen, Mirza. Those are the three books published in 2018 that I would wanna go back and read.
[00:14:36] 2019: I Miss You When I Blink by Mary Laura Philpott, The Dutch House by Anne Patchett and Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid. I threw in a nonfiction here. I threw in a memoir by Mary Laura Philpott. If you are a type A-ish person, I think you will really appreciate what Mary Laura has to say. I also think, Halle, because you live in the south, you will appreciate Mary Laura's storytelling style and voice. The Dutch House by Anne Patchett, again, one of my favorite books of the last 10 years, beautiful sibling story. I love Maeve so much. She is a main character, a protagonist who will stick with me, still has stuck with me for quite some time. And I hate that you missed this book [laughs]. I hate that you missed it. And so it's time to read it. Then by Kiley Reid is what I would call certainly a book club selection because of its compulsively readable nature.
[00:15:28] Like it's very fast paced, but also dealing with issues of race and class in a really smart, funny, interesting way. I started this one and could not put it down. I also think it speaks to things still happening, still occurring in our culture. I think it would be worth your time. 2020, these are gonna come as no surprise. I would imagine, but I highly recommend Transcendent Kingdom by Yaa Gyasi, Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett and then a slightly unsung pun intended title: I Have Been Assigned the Single Bird by Sue Cerulean. You probably have heard people talk about Transcendent Kingdom and Vanishing Half, Those are my top two titles of 2020 hands down. But I wanted to include another nonfiction book because I know you said you had missed that genre. And so I wanted to throw in this book also by a southern-ish writer.
[00:16:22] She's from north Florida and it's a memoir, but it's also really, really, beautiful nature writing. And it's dealing a lot with caring for an elderly parent and I thought it profound and beautiful. I think when I looked back at my list of 2020 books, I thought that's a book I still wish people would read. Then for 2021, my list is pretty simple. Again, not super surprising, Matrix by Lauren Groff, Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner and Olympus, Texas by Stacy Swann. Olympus, Texas is probably the most traditionally Annie book on the 2021 list. It is a dysfunctional family story set obviously in Texas, deals ever so slightly in the storytelling of Greek mythology. Matrix is a historical fiction title about a medieval nun. And then Crying in H Mart is a beautiful essay collection about grief, and parents, and figuring out who you are and why you are the way you are. I highly recommend it. Also, the foot writing in that book is incredible.
[00:17:31] Okay. So you've got a book for every month in every quarter and you got every quarter represented by one of the years of reading you missed. Then the bonus book that I'm going to mention when I skimmed my lists, I thought what's like a hot title that she might have missed that is worth the time? And I think it is Becoming by Michelle Obama. I know some people are probably rolling their eyes because it's kind of like political memoir. It's a little bit celebrity memoir, but I thought this book was beautifully written. We had a local book club discussion around it. I put off reading it because it was selling itself so well. So I put off reading it for a couple of months, but when I look back that book was published in 2018. When I look back at the 2018 list of books, I think it deserves a place in the top 10 there.
[00:18:20] Unlike perhaps A Promised Land by Michelle's husband, President Barack Obama, I have not read that because it is so daunting and so very large and it is like part one of two. Becoming is an actually really succinct, well written, thoughtful look at not only Michelle Obama's life, but also a particular time in American history. I think there are so many people in my life who read that book wherever they fell in the political spectrum and they were blown away by it. So that is a hot title that you probably missed simply because of your job, but that I think really would be worth going back and reading, and I think is worth the hype. And I don't think it will be any less enjoyable or interesting reading it all these years later. In fact, might be even more interesting reading it all these years later.
[00:19:10] So, Halle, I had so much fun with this. I cannot begin to tell you, I don't know if you will use this plan. I don't know if you will even like this plan. I don't actually know what you like to read, but this is my best guess. And even if you don't pick the books, maybe it will be helpful to set aside your 2022 reading and organize it by year. Maybe setting aside each quarter of the year to a specific year might be helpful. So whether or not you choose these actual books, maybe the formula will work for you. If so, please do report back. I would love to hear because like you, I'm constantly evaluating my reading life and the role my work plays in it. So I'd love to hear if this is helpful.
Holly [00:19:51] Hi, Annie, it's Holly from Austin, Texas. And I've noticed that recently, my reading has been feeling more like work than leisure, and I'm sure you can relate with all of the reading you have to do for your shop. But I was really curious if you had any tips on how to help yourself switch gears from work mode to reading mode. I don't know if it's making myself a cup of tea or what it is, but I'd really like to feel a little more relaxed again when I read instead of so in got to get it done mode. Thanks for all your help. Bye.
Annie [00:20:30] Holly, look, reading is hard right now. I hope that's okay for me as a bookstore owner/avid reader to say, but I think partly give yourself a little bit of grace because it's the season to have no attention span. Okay, [laughs] you just don't have one right now and that's okay. Also it's the season to be exhausted and maybe reading isn't coming naturally to you right now, and maybe you're feeling bogged down. I just want to affirm you and tell you that that is okay and you are not alone. That being said, this also just could be a case of not being able to turn off the working part of your brain or the part of your brain who's trying to reach a reading goal. Or the part of your brain that's constantly comparing yourself to other readers on the internet, and trying to move yourself back into your former love of just the written word.
[00:21:22] So I want to help you with that. I wanted to ask, again, if you were on my couch today, a follow up question I would have is, is there a time of day when or a place in your home where you are more relaxed naturally? So for, example, I get home from work, not during the holiday season, but like normally I get home from work around four o'clock. From four to six clock is what Jordan Jones has kindly termed any time. Jordan works in Tallahassee. He doesn't typically leave until five thirty or six. So from four to six, if I'm home from work, those are two blessed hours where I am supposed to do whatever I want. Whether that's watch a show, read a book, exercise, go for a walk, whatever, it's two hours of my time. Those hours are when I am pretty relaxed.
[00:22:17] Sometimes when I initially get home, I will read, but it is not for fun reading, it is work reading. So I get home at four and I need to read my young adult book club book, or I need to read my shelf subscription. That's work reading. I do that in a different chair [laughs]. I do that in my reading room, away from my TV, in a different spot. Fun reading, I do on my couch or in my bed. I don't know that this rule always applies to me. There are definitely exceptions. If you were to come into my home, you would be like, "Hey, you're reading a shelf subscription on your couch". Sure. But what I'm saying is there are times of day and places where I am more inclined to think of reading as work than I am other times and places. So is there a time of the day or a place in your home where you are more relaxed?
[00:23:06] So Laura Tremaine, the author of Share Your Stuff. I'll go First, she's also profound on Instagram. And she has these little reading parties because she swears by this 20 minute timer where she gets most of her reading done. I love this idea. That is what I would call reading for work- for me personally. If I'm setting a timer, that means it's because I've got 20 minutes of time and so I'm going to read, but my brain is probably going to feel more in work mode. So that might be great for me to do at lunch or at four o'clock. But in the evening when I'm reading a book that I just love, I don't really want to set a timer. I just want to read because I like to read and because I have the time to. That is more relaxed reading. So there might be this way, Holly, to incorporate both of these in your reading life, because it sounds like when you say that reading feels like work, I think what you mean is you're struggling to finish a book or maybe you're bogged down in a nonfiction work.
[00:24:05] Or maybe you're trying to meet a deadline, whether it's a self-imposed deadline or a deadline because you're a librarian and I didn't know it. So what if you read those books at a different time of day, like on your lunch break or listening to an audio book. But then other books that you're just reading for your own sake, you read at seven o'clock after dinner, because that's your downtime. I, I just think you mentioned, like, I think you mentioned brewing yourself a cup of tea or something like that. Setting and timing are everything. So go ahead and look at your day and try to figure out, is there a time of day where I could tackle some of these books that feel like work and then is there a time of day where I could just read for fun? And then speaking of setting, I think light a candle that is always my go to. I don't light a candle at my office at work.
[00:25:02] I mean, I do. On the floor of The Bookshelf, there is a candle lit. But up upstairs at The Bookshelf I do not typically light a candle, I turn on a lamp or something like that. But at my house, what signals to me this is home time, this is fun time, this is cozy time is: a candle, a lamp warm blanket, a cozy pair of socks, pants without buttons, etc. And I think that might lend itself to a more cozy atmosphere that would then translate into your brain. So your cozy on the outside results in cozy on the inside. Maybe you need to create a designated reading spot. Maybe you need to have a candle that you light only when you read. Some kind of ritual, I think, could really help you here. So, Holly, first of all, you're not alone. Reading can occasionally feel like work, especially if we're trying to meet a deadline, whether it's self-imposed or not.
[00:26:01] Or if we're trying to keep up with the latest new releases or keep up with what book Instagram's talking about. Reading can occasionally feel like work. Maybe that's okay. If we treat certain books like work and we read for 20 minutes or we read nonfiction in the morning or whatever it is. But I do think there should be a way in which reading is kept sacred, and fun, and warm and comforting. And I think that's going to be about picking a time of day when that is most appropriate and a place in your home where that is most appropriate. I hope that helps. I feel you on this and you are not alone.
Noelle [00:26:42] Hi, Annie. It's Noelle from Maryland. And I was calling in with a question about how you deal with book recommendations during the holidays. Whenever we're at parties with friends or family, I tend to get a lot of book recommendations because people know I like books and I already kind of have a sense of what I want to read. So I don't know how to deal with it when people say, "Oh, you should really read this." Or I've even been asked to like commit to reading a book with someone at a party. And I always say yes, and then I regret it later. So if you have any advice on how to politely tell people, I already know what I want to read, thank you very much. I would really appreciate that. Thanks so much and happy holidays,
Annie [00:27:29] Noelle, how fun to see a familiar name- actually, so many of you. I recognize your names from either Patreon or from long distance customer support. We're so grateful for you. So, Noelle, this is a great question. And actually it did make me laugh out loud because I thought what a book person problem [laughs]. Like book people. And what I mean by that is avid readers are the only people I know who are like, "Please no more book recommendations", right? Because I think for many people, not all, but many people book recommendations are just a nice icebreaker, right? They're a nice way, polite way to make conversation. And we love talking about books, but if you're an avid reader or if you're somebody who spends a lot of time at your local bookstore or in your local library, you also can feel a little overwhelmed, right?
[00:28:15] There's some overwhelm, there's some decision fatigue. So grandma politely telling you about a book she read can feel really overwhelming. Here is what I would suggest. First of all, there is a way. Noelle, you and I do sound similar and I have to tell you, I have had to learn this the hard way. There have been customers who have told me about books and I've been like, "Great. Bring it by." And then they bring me a copy. And I am horrified to tell you, Noelle, that those books are still upstairs in my office. Maybe I've flipped through them, maybe I haven't, but I definitely haven't read them. So, Noelle, help me help you [laughs] so that you don't have this horrifying feeling three years later that you haven't read the book the customer brought you. There is a way to say no.
[00:29:00] There is a way to politely say, "Oh, thank you so much. My TBR is so full right now. My nightstand is overflowing. I am drowning in good books. But let me write the name of that book down. So the next time I'm looking for a good book, I can come back to this title." Okay? So there's a thank you, an acknowledgment that this is a kindness they are giving you. Thank you so much. Then there's the valid excuse which is, my TBR list is full. My nightstand is overflowing. I have so many books I'm going to drown. And then there is, but let me take action so that you generous book recommender can know that your recommendation is not falling on deaf ears, but it will be up to me, Noelle, whether or not I do anything with it. So it's like a, you know, the compliment sandwich. It's like, thank you so much. Here's why I won't be reading this right now.
[00:29:57] Though you don't even really need to say that. You just need to say "My TBR is so full." And then "Let me write that down." Those are the three things. Let me get out my phone and type that name. You do not in the moment need to say "Yes, let's start a book club together." Or "Yes, I will read that and get back to you." You don't have to do that. It's thank you so much. My TBR list is so full. Let me write that down. And then, Noelle, you should recommend a book right back, right? Because that's really, I think, the heart of the book recommender. The heart of the book recommender is really someone who wants to start a conversation and wants to evangelize a book. Noelle, you can evangelize books too. Tell them about a book you loved and exchange titles without the pressure of exchanging actual books.
[00:30:48] Like [laughs] without exchanging actual physical copies that you then have to return two months later, still unread. I think if this is happening and it sounds it's happening at family gatherings, it's happening at holiday parties. I think it's probably happening because they know you, Noelle, love books. So it's their way of connecting with you. But it doesn't mean you have to start a book club together. So I have so many people in my life who recommend me books. Sometimes I immediately read the book they've recommended. Sometimes I don't. Jordan Jones has a book that he has been wanting me to read for literally years. I'm looking at it. I read a chapter of it this year and I didn't finish it, but I definitely started it. I really do like it. And so I will probably pick up another chapter here in the next couple months.
[00:31:40] My aunt Nina is an avid reader. She and I read differently. But last time I was at her house, she showed me some books she really liked. She told me the names and title she recommended. I looked at them. I made mental note of a couple of the ones I might be interested in. I also told myself, "Well, I might not read that, but now I know I can sell that to a customer. And that would make Nina so happy. Even if I never read that book that Nina recommended to me, if I wound up recommending it to someone else, that would fill Nina's heart with joy. So, Noelle, even if your sweet cousin recommends this book to you which you have no intention of reading, but you've written it down, you've put it in a notes app on your phone. And then you're at your local book club and someone who has different reading tastes from you names this book and a light bulb goes off in your brain and it's like, wait a minute. My sweet cousin recommended that to me. I never read it, but she loved it.
[00:32:35] And then it's a connection with another human, right? Isn't that what we want? I think that's what we want, is we want human connection. We don't necessarily want more books to read [laughs]. I think that's true of a lot of us. So much like I recommended to Carrie, I think keep a notes app on your phone. I love a paper list, but I do think the phone is the best way to do this because at a holiday party, you may not have your planner. You know what I'm saying? So have on your phone a note in your notes app, where you can keep track of some of these recommendations and then make recommendations back. And always be gracious and kind. Thank you so much. But you don't have to read what great grandpa tells you or asks you to read. And look, you are talking to someone who wants to do everything her family tells her to do [laughs].
[00:33:28] I want to do everything my family tells me to do. But, again, this is not my therapy session, Noelle, it's yours. So allow me to tell you, you have permission to say, "Thank you so much. My is nightstand is full, but let me write that book title down." And then make a recommendation back to them. That is my tip for you as you navigate holiday gatherings this year.
Kathryn [00:33:49] Hi Annie. This is Kathryn from Nebraska. I thoroughly enjoy your podcast, especially these therapy episodes and the episodes that feature your mom, Suzzy. We are contemplating a Christmas puppy. A couple months ago or so, you had several literary and punny name suggestions for cats. I would love to hear your ideas that would be suitable for a dog. Thanks and happy holidays!
Annie [00:34:15] Kathryn, this is so fun. Look, Jordan and I are finally, I think, ready for a new dog, longtime listeners and Instagram followers and customers will know that years ago, we had a beagle who we named Junie B, after, of course Junie B. Jones. Junie B was the most precious dog. And I cannot even begin to describe how wonderful she was. I'm not actually a huge animal person. As my brother said, I was not a dog person but I was a Junie person. And I'm getting finally we had to put her down four years ago, I wanna say, which is a long time ago. I still often get sad about it. But I finally think we're ready for a new dog. So your question speaks to my heart and I totally understand this. I hope that you do get a Christmas puppy. It's very exciting.
[00:35:13] I have some recommendations, they're just off the top of my head, I came up with related to literature. However, then I reached out to The Bookshelf's pun expert, Olivia, and she took things a step further and we will close out with her recommendations, which are much punier than mine. So my first recommendation, which also came up in the cat episode is Fitz. This was actually a recommendation from Mary Catherine. One of her aunts, I believe, named their dog Fitz. This can be for a few different people, right? It can be for Fitz William Darcy. It can also be for F. Scott Fitzgerald, but I think it's a very cute dog name. Actually it's probably better suited to dogs than to cats. Of course, Junie B- now my name is Jones, and so Junie B Jones really made sense..
[00:36:00] But I will be honest, Junie is just a cute name and is a very funny character and rolls off your tongue a little bit more than I think Ramona is a hard dog name. You know what I'm saying? That's a hard name. Doesn't quite roll off the tongue. So we can't really name a dog after Ramona Quimby. Although you could, Quimby is a great dog name. Oh! My gosh. Oh! My. Is that my new dog name? Are we getting a dog? Am I naming him Quimby. Okay. Fitz. Junie B. Quimby. Darcy. Bennett. Scout. I've always thought Scout was a great name for a dog. Hagrid, I think particularly if you have like a big dog would be fun. Harry, I think is very cute. Again, obviously for me would probably be because of Harry Potter, but there are a lot of different characters. I also think Henry is a cute dog name and applies to lots of different literary characters. Pippi, [laughs] I think that's so cute.
[00:36:58] I think that would be- I don't know that I would want to name a dog that because I feel like I would laugh all the time, but I do think Pippi is a fun name. Okay. I really like this one. Watson. I think that's a very cute dog name. I don't know. I do, kind of, like slightly human names for dogs too, so I don't know. I could picture really cute dog named Watson. Those are my literary recommendations. Now please gird your loins for the punny recommendations from Olivia. We have Fetchwilliam Darcy. Sherlock Hounds. This one's pretty cute, Jay Barksby. I really do like that one. I also like this one. She wasn't sure it worked, but I think it does Jo Barks [laughs]. I mean, it's also a sentence, so I don't know how you feel about that, Ann Fetchett. Look, I think Anne Patchett, I think there would be no higher compliment to Anne Patchett than that you would name a dog after her and incorporate a pun. I think she would love that. Ann Fetchett.
[00:37:58] I'm sorry. I'm just reading one of these for the first time. I don't know how I missed it. [laughs]. Olivia has a note here. “Not sure if this is how this works, Might be a bit of a stretch.” But I'm going say it now because now I have to because I've been laughing at it. Jacanine Woodson. I think it's after Jacqueline Woodson, but again, very funny. Virginia Woof, very cute. Fido Dostoevsky, or Wag Whitman. I also think it’s very funny. Then Bark London after Jack London. I think of the puns, I read some of those in advance and some of them you just heard me react to in real time. I like Jo Barks. I do think again, Anne Patchett would be so honored. Ann Fetchett is pretty cute and funny. Then also I do like Sherlock Hounds.
[00:38:49] Those are cute. Okay, Kathryn if you do wind up getting a Christmas puppy, The Bookshelf staff would love nothing more than to see a picture of said puppy. And we'd love to know what name you pick. I do think literature is a great way to find good puppy pet names, also children's names. I'm not comparing children to pets, but I think you know what I mean. I can't wait to hear what you pick. I obviously approve of literary pet names as I named my own dog after one. I cannot wait to hear what you decide.
[00:39:20] Thank you so much to all of the listeners who contributed to this episode of Literary Therapy. I received a few other voicemails that I am saving for a future episode. So if you did not hear your conundrum discussed on today's episode, have no fear. I have have a backlog of a few requests that I will be getting to in 2022. And as stated at the beginning of the episode, if listening to other people's literary conundrums has inspired you and encouraged you to share your own. You can do so at, fromthefront porchpodcast.com/contact. If you scroll to the middle of the page, you'll see a spot where you can leave me a voicemail. No microphone required, just your cell phone or your computer and I will happily try to answer your literary questions. Thank you so much to everyone who contributed to this episode.
Annie Jones [00:40:12] 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 @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, what I'm reading is brought to you by Visit Thomasville. As I have made, I think, pretty clear, it is really the most beautiful time in downtown Thomasville. The holiday season is officially here. The sky is the perfect color blue, and I love walking to downtown Thomasville from my home near MacIntyre park. I frequently will walk to work or downtown and I'll listen to the church bells ringing. Even if the shops aren't open, walking by and looking at all of the lovely window displays is one of my favorite pastimes. Jordan and I frequently kind of do our evening walks and we like to do that all the way to downtown and just get a sense of the holiday spirit. The lights are in the trees, anybody who's local to Thomasville knows what a big deal it is when the lights are in the trees. It means the holiday season is here.
And so if you are looking for a getaway for your family or for your friend group, I really think Thomasville is a lovely spot. It's a little bit off the beaten path. Okay. Maybe a lot off the beaten path and it's quiet and low key, but also has lots to do, to see, to visit and to eat. The restaurants in Thomasville are unparalleled for a small town. Even when I visited my dear friends in Chicago, everybody talked about how Thomasville has some really great restaurants. And I thought, you know what, I really am pretty spoiled that in such a small town I can eat at places like, Sweet Grass Diary or Liam's or Empire Bagel. There is truly a wide range and there is plenty to offer for even the pickiest eater. So if you are nearby or far away, I think Thomasville would make a perfect visit for an upcoming trip. To find out more about how you can visit Thomasville, go to: Thomasvillega.com.
This week. I'm reading These Precious Days by Anne Patchett. 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.
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 lunch break Q&As videos. Just go to:
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