Episode 398 || What Would Susie Read? Vol. 5
This week on From the Front Porch, Annie is chatting with her mom, Susie, about books for readers with PG-13 tastes.
To purchase the books mentioned in this episode, visit our website:
Left on Tenth by Delia Ephron
Things That Matter by Joshua Becker
Bloomsbury Girls by Natalie Jenner
I Guess I Haven’t Learned that Yet by Shauna Niequist
The Two Lives of Sara by Catherine Adel West
Pilgrim at Tinker Creek by Annie Dillard
We Are the Light by Matthew Quick
The Secret Life of Albert Entwistle by Matt Cain
Just Another Love Song by Kerry Winfrey
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. Everyone loves fall in Thomasville, Georgia! When it’s time to getaway, we have exactly what you need! Find romance, explore historical sites, dine out, shop, and make time to relax and unwind. There’s no better getaway than a Thomasville Getaway! Whether you live close by or are passing through, I hope you'll visit beautiful Thomasville, Georgia: www.thomasvillega.com or @thomasvillega on Instagram.
This week, Annie is reading Saturday Night at the Lakeside Supper Club by J. Ryan Stradal. Susie is reading A Place to Land by Lauren K. Denton.
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.
Our Executive Producers are... Donna Hetchler, Cammy Tidwell, Chantalle C, Nicole Marsee, Wendi Jenkins, Laurie Johnson and Kate Johnston Tucker.
Transcript:
Annie Jones [00:00:01] Welcome to From the Front Porch. A conversational podcast about books, small business and life in the South.
[00:00:25] "Terrible things happen. Treasured things break. If you're like me, you get tumbled and the worst of you is on full display. And then you turn back to yourself. You ask for help. You ask for forgiveness. You ask for a second chance. You get up and keep living. More than anything, you forgive yourself." Shauna Niequist. I Guess I Haven't Learned That Yet.
[00:00:54] I'm Annie Jones, owner of The Bookshelf, an independent bookstore in beautiful downtown Thomasville, Georgia. And this week, I'm back talking to my mom about books for readers with PG 13 tastes. It's been a hectic week at The Bookshelf, and there is so much more fun to come this holiday season. If you're long distance and can't visit us in person, or if you're a local listener who wants to know what we're up to in the store, you can catch up with the stories, adventures and happenings by following us on Instagram @Bookshelftville. It's where you'll find out about upcoming events like our holiday shopping preview and Holiday Open House, and it's where you'll see really fun reels with Keila dressed up as a ghost, for example. We post plenty of behind the scenes pictures and remind customers of updates like new book and merch releases, discounts and more. Just go to Instagram and follow The Bookshelf @Bookshelftville. Hi, Mom.
Susie Butterworth [00:01:47] Hi, Annie Sue.
Annie Jones [00:01:48] Welcome back to the show.
Susie Butterworth [00:01:51] Thank you. So glad to be here.
Annie Jones [00:01:54] It has been a minute.
Susie Butterworth [00:01:55] Yeah.
Annie Jones [00:01:56] Well, you were last on the show in May. You're a very popular guest.
Susie Butterworth [00:02:00] Well, how about that?
Annie Jones [00:02:03] No pressure, but people are always wanting more.
Susie Butterworth [00:02:06] That's very kind.
Annie Jones [00:02:07] They want more Susie. And that's great. But we're also people and we only read so many books. You know what I'm saying?
Susie Butterworth [00:02:14] Yes. [Crosstalk] as I scrambled along, trying to think about what have I read?
Annie Jones [00:02:20] Yes. So we last aired one of these episodes back in May. You can find, of course, back episodes of From the Front Porch through our feed. But Mom comes on the show-- your name is Susie. I feel like I should introduce you to those who might be new listeners.
Susie Butterworth [00:02:34] Everybody just knows I'm Annie Sue Butterworth's mom.
Annie Jones [00:02:37] Annie Sue Butterworth Jones.
Susie Butterworth [00:02:38] Yes.
Annie Jones [00:02:40] Yeah. So this is my mom. She helps our staffer, Nancy, and they rotate picking books for our PG, PG 13 shelf subscription. We really think that's more PG 13, I think.
Susie Butterworth [00:02:54] Probably.
Annie Jones [00:02:55] But maybe books for more sensitive readers. Although sometimes you balk at the name sensitive reader. And so we've kind of toyed around with how best to describe that. But for readers who have certain things that there may be cautious about or picky about or what term would you use to describe yourself?
Susie Butterworth [00:03:14] I don't know. I've thought about that and I know we've talked about PG and PG 13 doesn't sound very good, but sadly, that's what we kind of equate with less sex, less violence.
Annie Jones [00:03:25] Right. Less language. Yeah, it's the best rating we could kind of come up with. So Mom reads PG, PG 13 books, and a lot of our customers and listener basis also read books like that. And so that is what our shelf subscription for sensitive readers is designed for. So you can be a Susie or Nancy subscriber and they rotate an alternate each month picking a book. So what have you been reading? Tell me one.
Susie Butterworth [00:03:50] Okay. Well, the first book I read was one that you recommended when we were chatting in May called Left on 10th, which was by.
Annie Jones [00:03:59] Nora Ephron's sister, Delia.
Susie Butterworth [00:04:02] Yes. And it was so good.
Annie Jones [00:04:04] Did you like it?
Susie Butterworth [00:04:04] I loved it.
Annie Jones [00:04:05] Good.
Susie Butterworth [00:04:07] I mean, it was sad, but it was family. And it was life in New York. I loved it.
Annie Jones [00:04:15] And friendship. I thought that book was a lot about her familial relationships. It was just interesting as a Nora Ephron fan to read that book and to see that for her, Nora was her sister. And the way Nora handled illness was different. And so I really liked that kind of sister dynamic. And I also really liked the new found love. She was there to help her sister through her illness. She did not have her sister to help her.
Susie Butterworth [00:04:44] Exactly.
Annie Jones [00:04:45] And so she wound up relying on a really lovely group of friends. I liked that book a lot, but I'm glad you did too.
Susie Butterworth [00:04:50] I did love it. And I did love knowing about people in her building that paid attention to her as her health declined and then her newfound love. It was sweet. I loved it.
Annie Jones [00:05:02] Oh, good. I really liked that book a lot. And I think that's a good point for sometimes when we say for sensitive readers, what that can sound like is maybe readers who require trigger warnings or things like that, which I think is totally valid. But when we say that to describe you, that's not 100% true because Left on 10th was sad and dealt with grief and death and cancer and difficult diagnoses. Does that bother you as a reader?
Susie Butterworth [00:05:32] Well, I thought it would. I actually said, "Oh, Annie, I don't know if this is for me." But it's real life.
Annie Jones [00:05:38] Yeah.
Susie Butterworth [00:05:38] And I guess I just loved her bravery, her real diligence in discovering what she had and what she could do about it to live.
Annie Jones [00:05:49] Yeah. Her proactiveness.
Susie Butterworth [00:05:50] Yes. It was just a really good book.
Annie Jones [00:05:54] And you like stories of hope and redemption. And that was a hopeful book.
Susie Butterworth [00:05:58] Yes, it was. It sounds like it was super sad, but hey, it turned out really great. In the end, it did turn out to have a happier ending.
Annie Jones [00:06:08] Oh, I'm so glad. I forgot I recommended that to you. Ashley and I both read that and really liked it.
Susie Butterworth [00:06:12] I loved it. And I want to say about language and things. Look, real life stories sometimes have some language in it. What I don't like is just vomiting out bad words just for the sake.
Annie Jones [00:06:28] For the sake of it.
Susie Butterworth [00:06:28] And the shock value and so forth. And I'm not around people who talk like that. And so I don't choose to spend my time reading. But if there is a little small amount of language because something in real life has occurred and made you sometimes at your wit's end or whatever, I don't put a book down because it has a bad word in it. I just don't choose to buy them that are filled with...
Annie Jones [00:06:55] That's fair. And that actually reminds me of some issues our local library is currently facing. But one of the books that has come to the attention of some local citizens is a book called The Glass Castle. And I don't know if you read that book, but it's interesting to me that that is a book-- it's a backlist title. So it's older. It was made into a movie a few years ago, and that book is fantastic. That book is a memoir and it's interesting to me. It's also a book for adults. I have some questions as to why it has captured the attention currently of so many folks. But that is a case and I honestly loved that book. I do not remember language or anything like that. But what I do know is her life was hard. The book is written by Jeannette Walls. She talks really openly with love about her family, but also acknowledging almost in-- you did read Educated.
Susie Butterworth [00:07:52] Yes.
Annie Jones [00:07:52] Almost in that kind of way, just about how she was raised and some of the things she faced. Again, I cannot remember language in that book. But my point is, that's a tough book because that was a tough, real life existing.
Susie Butterworth [00:08:05] Exactly.
Annie Jones [00:08:06] I don't know what people want to be protected from.
Susie Butterworth [00:08:09] Right. I would say that about Dear Edward. I read that in one day. It had some language in it because the plane was crashing. I can handle that because that is sad. Well, it is part of our real life. You can't ignore it everywhere. But I can make choices on what television I watch, what book I read. And if it's part of the story and a fear factor enters or something like that, I'm not going to put the book down because of that.
Annie Jones [00:08:40] I think that's a good explanation or caveat. So you read Left on 10th. What else have you been reading?
Susie Butterworth [00:08:47] Well, this book is called Things That Matter. I should tell everybody I bring my brown bag.
Annie Jones [00:08:52] She does. Brown bag won't mean anything to anyone else. Growing up in the church I attended growing up, there was a preacher who would bring his brown bag full of fun props. It was always very exciting.
Susie Butterworth [00:09:05] He was adorable. We loved him.
Annie Jones [00:09:07] When he would preach. But so mom has brought her brown bag. You can't see it, but it has all the books she read this time. Okay, so Things That Matter.
Susie Butterworth [00:09:14] Okay. Things That Matter. I won this book.
Annie Jones [00:09:16] You won it?
Susie Butterworth [00:09:17] Look, it's autographed. To Susie, your life matters.
Annie Jones [00:09:20] Oh, your life does matter.
Susie Butterworth [00:09:22] By Joshua Becker.
Annie Jones [00:09:24] Tell me about it.
Susie Butterworth [00:09:24] Well, you know that I also love-- and I can't help myself-- self-improvement. I love organizational. This is a minimalist book.
Annie Jones [00:09:32] You really are. Sally Albright from When Harry Met Sally.
Susie Butterworth [00:09:36] We just watched When Harry Met Sally in the Mountains because it was fall and it was full of fall leaves and snow and it was delightful. And Chet [Sp] just kept looking over at me.
Annie Jones [00:09:46] Yeah. She loves personal growth. Well, actually, at that time Harry is reading, there's someone looking at you in person. And that's kind of how you order food.
Susie Butterworth [00:09:56] It is. I'm so sorry.
Annie Jones [00:09:59] You tried to be nice about it.
Susie Butterworth [00:10:01] I wonder if I'm that person that thinks they're low maintenance. But I think I'm less high maintenance than Sally.
Annie Jones [00:10:08] Oh, yeah. You've mellowed.
Susie Butterworth [00:10:10] At my age.
Annie Jones [00:10:11] Yeah. You've mellowed.
Susie Butterworth [00:10:12] She probably did, too.
Annie Jones [00:10:13] Okay, So Things That Matter...
Susie Butterworth [00:10:14] Things That Matter is a wonderful book if you are struggling with too much-- well, I won't say crap now, since I will not be PG.
Annie Jones [00:10:26] You want to protect the listeners? Sure. Okay. So if you're dealing with a lot of stuff.
Susie Butterworth [00:10:30] Yeah. And it can be all kinds of stuff. It can be mental stuff, it can be physical stuff, but a lot of it is about physical stuff. He has a podcast and I think he wrote the book, The Minimalist. I think that was the other book he wrote and it's great. Did I learn anything super brand new in it? If y'all could see my real life bookshelf, you would see that I've read up a jillion of these kind of books and I still love them.
Annie Jones [00:10:57] Yeah.
Susie Butterworth [00:10:58] Because there's always new things. But so can I say, oh, I learned so many new things? Probably not. But can I say, oh, my goodness, this reminds me, hey, you ought to go through such and such a closet. You ought to go through this because your kids probably won't want that stuff.
Annie Jones [00:11:16] Okay. So this is literally about like physical things that matter. Like, what are we talking about? Like getting rid of stuff.
Susie Butterworth [00:11:23] Yes. It's about digitally Detoxing. It's not filling your head too much with caring too much about what Twitter says and Instagram. Even though that's what he's on Instagram. But I love it. It's about all of it.
Annie Jones [00:11:37] Okay.
Susie Butterworth [00:11:37] Your past mistakes. It's about hoarding. It's about living a life that's more simple.
Annie Jones [00:11:45] Okay. That's appealing.
Susie Butterworth [00:11:45] Yes. And I think, honestly, we all need the reminder because we're kind of walking through life in a fog most of the time.
Annie Jones [00:11:53] Especially now.
Susie Butterworth [00:11:53] Especially right now. We want to come out of the fog, but we're not out of the fog yet. Yeah. I think that this is just a really good book for anybody who's struggling with maybe-- it'll be a great New Year's book. It'd be a great book to start your January out with and to just free yourself from distractions. Because I think we are very distracted.
Annie Jones [00:12:16] Yeah. No, that's good.
Susie Butterworth [00:12:17] And that leads into hoarding and too much stuff. And anyway, he's trying to help us have a more meaningful life.
Annie Jones [00:12:24] Okay, I like that. That was good. So some nonfiction you've really been delving into.
Susie Butterworth [00:12:29] That's right. You're going to have to help me remember some of these as well because I've been out of town and I'm just getting back into town. I read Bloomsbury Girls. I know that I loved this book.
Annie Jones [00:12:41] I know that you did. So this is the author who wrote The Jane Austen Society. Which did you read that book?
Susie Butterworth [00:12:47] I think I did.
Annie Jones [00:12:49] I want to say I passed it on to you. I liked that book a lot.
Susie Butterworth [00:12:52] I loved this book.
Annie Jones [00:12:52] And so this is Natalie Jenner's new book called The Bloomsbury Girls. Is it about a publishing company/bookstore, World War?
Susie Butterworth [00:13:01] I think it's in World War Two.
Annie Jones [00:13:02] Okay.
Susie Butterworth [00:13:04] Okay. It's coming back to me. They're saving a bookstore. There's a bookstore that's male run and it has stayed in the male run fashion. Well, guess what? All the men have gone off to war and the women are having to pick up the slack. Thank you. It's coming back to me. This is such a great book. It's a wonderful kind of fun book about women who come together and try to save this bookstore that's just been run the same way it's always been. It's never changed its look. And then the twist at the end that comes.
Annie Jones [00:13:44] Are you going to spoil it?
Susie Butterworth [00:13:45] No, I can't tell it. But it's wonderful because in the end-- it looks like they're not making any headway at all, but in the end they do.
Annie Jones [00:13:54] So this is fascinating to me because I do think it's-- gosh, I hesitate to say it, but I think it is loosely based on a real store. Oh, you got a signed copy,. Two signed copies. And I say that because the Jane Austen Society was loosely based historical fiction on a group of people. It's funny that you said people coming together to save something, that must be what Natalie generally likes writing about. Because Jane Austen Society was about this group of people who came together to preserve Jane Austen's home and legacy. And that really did happen.That enabled that house to stay. You can go visit it. Whereas, we in America tore down Harper Lee's home. It's fine. I'm not bitter about it at all.
Susie Butterworth [00:14:40] And this is British.
Annie Jones [00:14:41] Yes.
Susie Butterworth [00:14:41] So I love.
Annie Jones [00:14:45] Because there is a Bloomsbury publishing arm, I do think it is loosely based in historical record.
Susie Butterworth [00:14:50] Had I not taken the cover off--
Annie Jones [00:14:51] We would have known.
Susie Butterworth [00:14:52] We would have known that and I apologize.
Annie Jones [00:14:55] Mom is one of those people-- and there are people like you.
Susie Butterworth [00:14:57] The Nestor [Sp]. Blame it on the Nestor.
Annie Jones [00:15:01] There are people who take covers off of their books.
Susie Butterworth [00:15:04] Because they're so pretty colors.
Annie Jones [00:15:05] I think it's a nestor, I think it's you. I also think it's moms with young children because their kids are taking the covers off their books. So there is no shade here. This is a judgment free zone. But this is what happens when you don't have the covers on your books.
Susie Butterworth [00:15:17] That's right. Because I think we would have really known that. I loved that book. And if you want to read a really fun, interesting-- I'm really into British things too.
Annie Jones [00:15:28] And I do like that it's a little bit of a twist on the World War Two story. Because we get a lot of [Inaudible] Right. It's a season rife with storytelling. Is that the right phrase?
Susie Butterworth [00:15:41] Yeah.
Annie Jones [00:15:41] But sometimes it feels like, wow, that's a lot of content and it can feel very similar. And I like that that is telling a different kind of story just at the same period in time.
Susie Butterworth [00:15:51] Exactly.
Annie Jones [00:15:52] Yeah.
Susie Butterworth [00:15:52] And I highly recommend. It's very PG. You'll love it. Trust me.
Annie Jones [00:15:57] I like that author. I think it's a good [Inaudible].
Susie Butterworth [00:15:59] Thank you.
Annie Jones [00:16:01] Gold star.
Susie Butterworth [00:16:03] So the next book on my list is Shauna Niequist. I Guess I Haven't Learned That Yet. Well, Annie, you introduced me to Shauna years ago.
Annie Jones [00:16:15] Cold Tangerines.
Susie Butterworth [00:16:16] Cold Tangerines. I have all of her books now.
Annie Jones [00:16:18] I was going to say, looking at it on my shelf right now.
Susie Butterworth [00:16:19] I have all of them.
Annie Jones [00:16:20] What's your favorite?
Susie Butterworth [00:16:23] Bread and Wine, maybe. I think that's the name of it. She's just lovely about hospitality. Well, this is a little bit different. And I remember calling you when I started this. And I hate to say this because at first I was like, no, I just can't. I wasn't getting into it because I thought it just might be repetitive.
Annie Jones [00:16:44] So this is so funny to me. So I read this book as ARC and I've said this before. When you read a book as ARC, you're kind of reading in a vacuum, and so you don't know what anybody else thinks. So if you hate it, you feel very alone in that hate. If you love it, you feel alone in loving it. So I read this book and loved it, but no one had read it yet. Or no one I was talking to had read it yet. So then it came out. So then it released. And I was seeing good reviews, but also people who were just promoting. I wasn't sure about readers who were just reading it. I was just seeing people promoting it. Anyway, so a friend of mine also picked it up and she came over and she was, like, I just don't know. And I thought, oh, dear, I really love that book. And then you also called. And then, I kid you not, my friend probably two weeks later texted me and was like, well, that might be my favorite Shauna Neiquist book ever. And then you--
Susie Butterworth [00:17:39] I did the same thing.
Annie Jones [00:17:40] Did the same thing.
Susie Butterworth [00:17:41] I think it's Bread and Wine. I think that's probably my favorite because it's so much about hospitality. And I started out slow. It's not a big book.
Annie Jones [00:17:52] It's not.
Susie Butterworth [00:17:52] And look at all my torn pages. I've just got a bajillion of them.
Annie Jones [00:17:56] You tear yours, but you don't fold them. And so how can you see them?
Susie Butterworth [00:18:03] I know. Sometimes I fold them and sometimes I don't. That is an interesting choice.
Annie Jones [00:18:07] But tearing them at all people don't like that.
Susie Butterworth [00:18:10] I know. But, again, I've been influenced.
Annie Jones [00:18:13] By me.
Susie Butterworth [00:18:15] And sometimes when you don't have your highlighter you're just going to do that.
Annie Jones [00:18:18] Yeah. No, that's fine.
Susie Butterworth [00:18:18] And it's my book.
Annie Jones [00:18:19] It's actually a Shauna Niequist trick. I'm pretty sure I read somewhere that she did that.
Susie Butterworth [00:18:25] Well, the reason I fell in love with this book is because it's different from her other books because her life took a turn around and she's living in New York. Even though I'm not a big city girl, I loved reading her accounts of big city life.
Annie Jones [00:18:44] How funny that you read that and Left on 10th. So you read them both.
Susie Butterworth [00:18:48] Exactly. And I just love her. I think in person we would just sit at her feet and just be in awe. .
Annie Jones [00:18:57] I'm trying to think if this is my favorite Shauna Niequist book. I also really liked Bread and Wine and it's been a while since I've revisited those first books-- Cold Tangerines
Susie Butterworth [00:19:04] I think this would be my second.
Annie Jones [00:19:05] But this one I think I just loved. I was interested to see how she was going to handle the upheaval that had taken place in her family's life and in her personal life. And I really appreciate how she is so cautious with her story and her people stories.
Susie Butterworth [00:19:22] I respect them so much.
Annie Jones [00:19:24] I do, too. I think it's hard to do.
Susie Butterworth [00:19:26] Yes. In her shoes, that is really hard to do.
Annie Jones [00:19:29] But I think what surprised me about this book and what I really liked was I love big city life. I think I would really love that, but I don't know. I've never really experienced it. I just think I would love it. But it was very comforting to me to know that the choices you make when you're 30 because all of her books early on were so much about Loving Michigan, loving where she was from, loving, obviously, her parents, her family, her close knit supper clubs and book clubs. And not everybody's life looks like that. And not everybody's life looks that full to the brim with community. And there were some times where I thought, well, that's not what my story looks like, and it's not even fully what her story looks like anymore.
Susie Butterworth [00:20:12] That's right.
Annie Jones [00:20:13] And I think I found it really comforting to see, oh, so this is what a life can look like when sometimes our life changes.
Susie Butterworth [00:20:20] And hers changed big time.
Annie Jones [00:20:22] And what you pick at 30 doesn't have to be what your life looks like at 50.
Susie Butterworth [00:20:27] That's right.
Annie Jones [00:20:28] Or what you pick at 20 doesn't have to be what it looks like at 30. So I just like that reminder that like she-- and she may not live in New York forever. But she lives in New York for now. And for her right now it sounds like a really redemptive season that she is living and something that her family, her kids and her husband really needed.
Susie Butterworth [00:20:47] Yes.
Annie Jones [00:20:48] I found that really encouraging.
Susie Butterworth [00:20:51] This was her without her family. This is predominantly my husband wants to do this and we're going to do this. And so this is a lot about the two of them and their kids.
Annie Jones [00:21:05] Yes. And I like that.
Susie Butterworth [00:21:07] Instead of a whole big family. And so it was defining. Now, I was looking through her books that she and I did love Present over Perfect as well because I just like that phrase.
Annie Jones [00:21:17] I know. And I [Inaudible] that book. I did not finish that book.
Susie Butterworth [00:21:23] I loved that book because-- but that's no surprise that I would.
Annie Jones [00:21:26] Yeah.
Susie Butterworth [00:21:27] That is no surprise. But I still think this would be my second favorite book of hers. It's filled with all kinds of great quotes, great lessons.
Annie Jones [00:21:35] I think it's cool that I can love that book at 36. I know Mary Catherine used to work at the Bookshelf. She loved that book and she's in her early twenties. And then that you are in your sixties--
Susie Butterworth [00:21:47] Are you going to tell my age?
Annie Jones [00:21:48] I said in your sixties.
Susie Butterworth [00:21:50] Okay.
Annie Jones [00:21:50] We don't age shame here. In your sixties that you also loved it. And I think that's really the power of a good book. Like it meets you right where you are regardless of the season you're in.
Susie Butterworth [00:22:00] I think that's very true. You're so smart.
Annie Jones [00:22:04] Okay. What's another book you got.
Susie Butterworth [00:22:05] Okay. My next book was my Shelf Subscription. I don't know when it was for because I read them so out of order.
Annie Jones [00:22:13] I know. Let me think. I think this was your September Shelf Subscription.
Susie Butterworth [00:22:17] Okay. And I read it in July.
Annie Jones [00:22:18] Okay.
Susie Butterworth [00:22:19] I hope my shelf subscriber people loved it.
Annie Jones [00:22:22] We got very good feedback on this book. Tell the name.
Susie Butterworth [00:22:25] The name of the book is The Two Lives of Sarah. Well, also, the cover is gorgeous.
Annie Jones [00:22:31] The cover is really beautiful.
Susie Butterworth [00:22:33] The cover is gorgeous. And here it is.
Annie Jones [00:22:36] She's showing it to the microphone.
Susie Butterworth [00:22:39] Preschool teacher. Here's the cover of the book. It was so good.
Annie Jones [00:22:42] This is by Katherine Adele West, who wrote a book called Saving Ruby King that we did pretty well with. I have not read that book, but I do think I would like it, and I think you probably would, too. So what was this one about?
Susie Butterworth [00:22:53] This one is about Sarah gets moved to Memphis and she goes to I think it's Big Mama's or Mama Sugar's house because she has to have a place to live. She has left-- oh, where was she from? I can't remember. But she's left her other life to come here to try to start over.
Annie Jones [00:23:13] She came from Chicago.
Susie Butterworth [00:23:14] Yes. Big city. I knew it was a big city.
Annie Jones [00:23:17] Mama Sugar. You're right.
Susie Butterworth [00:23:18] Mama Sugar. And she comes to live at the house, which is like a boarding house. And she comes to work for Mama Sugar, who has has a wealth of resources. I love this so much because we need books that remind us that we are not very far away. We've said this before.
Annie Jones [00:23:36] Yeah, we say this a lot about that.
Susie Butterworth [00:23:37] We say this a lot, but we're not far removed from the South and the--
Annie Jones [00:23:43] And the Jim Crow era. I think, is specific, because is this book in the sixties?
Susie Butterworth [00:23:48] It is. It's about that era because that's coming along. Some of the civil rights movement is coming along.
Annie Jones [00:23:54] Okay. So Sarah then is displaced. She moves from Chicago to Memphis. Was it about the culture shock of that?
Susie Butterworth [00:24:01] It was about the culture shock and about a lot about the life, the southern life in a black community of Orange Mound. I think is the name of the community in Memphis, which I remember when [Inaudible] worked for a summer in Memphis that we went through that neighborhood. So that really resonated with me because I was like, oh, hey, I've been there. Forgive me if I get a couple of things wrong in this. You'll have to read the book to find out if I'm wrong. But it was really interesting that that community was being formed then as a black community.
Annie Jones [00:24:40] Yes.
Susie Butterworth [00:24:41] And so that was like a big deal. And life within that community, it's just very fascinating to read. And it's hard times. It was very hard times. But Sarah, a lot of things happened in her life and a lot of positive, good things happen and then tragedy strikes. And it's just really good. It was a very good read.
Annie Jones [00:25:08] I like that it's not too long either.
Susie Butterworth [00:25:09] It wasn't too long. If you haven't bought that book and you weren't a self subscriber, I think you would love it.
Annie Jones [00:25:18] Yeah, we got good feedback. Several shelf subscribers commented on enjoying that book. And it's very PG.
Annie Jones [00:25:23] Okay. Good.
Susie Butterworth [00:25:24] The next book is interesting. It's ongoing. This is a book you recommended. Pilgrim at Tinker Creek.
Annie Jones [00:25:31] Did you finish it?
Susie Butterworth [00:25:32] I'm not finished yet because I want to say this, this is a hard book.
Annie Jones [00:25:37] It is.
Susie Butterworth [00:25:38] This book is part nature book. This book is part poetic. This book is part Bible spiritual. It is everything. Unless you're you, you don't fly through this book.
Annie Jones [00:25:53] No, you don't. You're right.
Susie Butterworth [00:25:54] You shouldn't fly through this book.
Annie Jones [00:25:55] No, I did not fly through this book.
Susie Butterworth [00:25:57] So I am still reading this book.
Susie Butterworth [00:25:59] I pick it up and I read. And every time I pick it up, I read it for a big spurt. And then I get into a Shelf Subscription or whatever else that distracts me. But it is so beautifully written. Kind of like Janice Ray.
Annie Jones [00:26:18] Yes.
Susie Butterworth [00:26:20] If you'd like Janice Ray, which we love, you will think that you are in the woods. If you are in Chicago or in New York City, if you were to read this book, you will think you are in the middle of nowhere in the middle of the woods. And you will feel every single thing that's going on. You will hear the sounds. You will feel it.
Annie Jones [00:26:44] I think it will make you pay attention wherever you are.
Susie Butterworth [00:26:46] That was my point. Every time I pick it up, I'm like, oh, my gosh. How many little cocoons have I walked by?
Annie Jones [00:26:54] I was going to say, it makes me notice all the spiders in my home. I'll be like, oh, there's a spiders living in my corner of my shower.
Susie Butterworth [00:27:04] I'll come over and help.
Annie Jones [00:27:07] You just kind of pay attention. If you're reading that book, I think that book makes you pay attention.
Susie Butterworth [00:27:11] That's what I think. That's what I wanted to say about that book. It really calls you into the present moment. Be paying attention. Because if you are not paying attention you're missing so much. Whether you're out in the woods or whether you're in your backyard, you are missing a lot if you don't notice where you step. Notice all the sounds and the smells and the site. So that book is ongoing and I love it. I bought it and gave it to Chet because I felt like he would love it.
Annie Jones [00:27:40] Yeah. If he hasn't read it yet.
Susie Butterworth [00:27:41] And what happens is as you pour into it at first and then you get distracted or whatever and then you might need to just think on what all you've read and then you come back to it. So loved that book.
Annie Jones [00:27:57] Okay.
Susie Butterworth [00:27:57] Now, I haven't read as many books this year as I'm off on my book reading this year, but my next one is my latest Shelf Subscription, which I cannot tell about too much.
Annie Jones [00:28:07] And you can skip forward if you need to. But this was Mom's Shelf Subscription for November.
Susie Butterworth [00:28:11] We Are the Light by Matthew Quick, who wrote Silver Linings Playbook-- which I have not read, nor have I seen. I want to be honest, there weren't a lot of choices for November.
Annie Jones [00:28:24] No. November was a tough month.
Susie Butterworth [00:28:26] But I read this in one sitting. And I don't do that very often.
Annie Jones [00:28:30] No, you texted me and the subject matter of this one made you hesitate, I think, about your Shelf Subscription not for your own reading taste. But when you read it in a day or in one sitting, and my thing is if you love it, probably a sensitive reader is also going to love it.
Susie Butterworth [00:28:51] Well, let me just say this about this book especially, sensitive reading doesn't mean you bury your head in the sand.
Annie Jones [00:28:57] That's right.
Susie Butterworth [00:28:58] PG 13 doesn't mean you bury your head in the sand. I mean, we've talked about this before. It doesn't mean you're all Hallmark-y.
Annie Jones [00:29:04] All Hallmark all the time.
Susie Butterworth [00:29:05] And I do love Hallmark, but I'm not Hallmark all the time. And so this takes a page right out of our very sad, right out of our current events. It could be right out of last week, this week, any day about a mass shooting. So it happens in this small town. And y'all, this is a unique book.
Annie Jones [00:29:31] That's why you liked it, I think.
Susie Butterworth [00:29:32] Because this is dialog with his therapist.
Annie Jones [00:29:38] Okay.
Susie Butterworth [00:29:39] And it's a Jungian therapist. So that was new to me. I had to look it up and kind of read a little bit about that type of therapy. And I can't tell too much about it because there's such a big twist. But I'll bet if you're reading it like me, I figured it out before it really came to it. So I kind of figure, hey, wait a minute. But it's so poignant and touching about this particular man who was the hero. He's the hero of the town. And he forms this very unlikely friendship, mentorship-- he was a teacher and a mentor to this boy who is the brother of the shooter. And they're in a small town.
Annie Jones [00:30:31] Yeah.
Susie Butterworth [00:30:32] Like, think majestic theater kind of thing.
Annie Jones [00:30:36] Or the town I live in?
Susie Butterworth [00:30:37] Yeah.
Annie Jones [00:30:39] Or literally the town I live in?
Susie Butterworth [00:30:42] Yes. So it's uniquely written because it's written like he's writing letters to his therapist.
Annie Jones [00:30:48] Oh, like an epistolary kind of thing.
Susie Butterworth [00:30:50] Yes. And so he's waiting for feedback from his therapist all the time because he doesn't know what to do, and he doesn't know how to handle it all.
Annie Jones [00:30:58] And how to handle the grief and then the pressure of being the hero.
Susie Butterworth [00:31:01] Because the whole town loses a lot of people because I think it actually happens in the theater. Okay. So the reason I thought, oh, no, I don't want to read anything like this is because it's ripped right out of our headlines.
Annie Jones [00:31:13] Right. We're living it.
Susie Butterworth [00:31:14] But then again, I'm so glad I did read it because there is redemption. There is a light at the end of the tunnel. We are the light. We can be the light. Okay. And you can restore. Will anything ever be the same? We'll always have the scars, but we can be restored and to go the next mile. I hope everybody likes this. It is a little bit different. But if I read a book without stopping in one side, that is pretty odd for me. And it means I liked it.
Annie Jones [00:31:48] Yeah, absolutely. I'm glad you did it.
Susie Butterworth [00:31:51] So that's my November Shelf Subscription. And now next on my list was an ARC that I read. The Secret Life of Albert Entwistle.
Annie Jones [00:32:03] Oh, that had a really cute cover.
Susie Butterworth [00:32:04] It was such an adorable cover. Little postman in probably the forties, maybe fifties in Britain.
Annie Jones [00:32:13] Oh, fun.
Susie Butterworth [00:32:14] Yes. So works in a teeny tiny little post office filled with whole lot of quirky characters.
Annie Jones [00:32:23] Okay.
Susie Butterworth [00:32:26] As you get into the book, Albert recalls a romantic relationship with another man from school-- another boy. And it was this one brief-- I want to say it was maybe like the end of high school encounter. Now, Albert is retiring.
Annie Jones [00:32:45] From the post office?
Susie Butterworth [00:32:46] From the post office. He's forced into retirement, and he has hidden who he is his entire life. He has hidden that he is a gay man his whole life. He's taking care of parents. He's been busy. And he's just pushed down who he is all of his life. Well, as he's forced into retirement and he's alone, these very sweet for him memories are coming back of this young man that he loved.
Annie Jones [00:33:16] Like his lost love almost.
Susie Butterworth [00:33:17] It was his one and only love.
Annie Jones [00:33:18] Yeah. Okay.
Susie Butterworth [00:33:19] And he's reminiscing about that. And so then he begins to share a little wee bit about himself with his very interesting neighbor, who's a young woman, a single mom. She begins to try to help him navigate the-- was it the Internet coming in. Because he's remembering. That's right. So he's reminiscing about this one summer lover.
Annie Jones [00:33:45] That probably took place in the 50s.
Susie Butterworth [00:33:48] Because I know that you met in an empty bunker. And then now she's going to help him with the Internet and searching. And so he begins to search for this long-- and he was so opposite of Albert. He was very gregarious, very fun. He did not hide who he is. He did not hide his personality. He was good for Albert.
Annie Jones [00:34:18] Are there romantic comedy? Like, does it feel like a romcom?
Susie Butterworth [00:34:21] No.
Annie Jones [00:34:22] Okay.
Susie Butterworth [00:34:22] No, it's too sad for that. It's too sad because he's been his whole life.
Annie Jones [00:34:27] Okay. I don't know if you read this, but I'm just trying to-- you know, bookseller brain. I'm like, okay, what does it sound like? It sounds a little bit like Eleanor Oliphant. Did you ever read Eleanor Oliphant?
Susie Butterworth [00:34:35] Oh, no I didn't.I don't remember that.
Annie Jones [00:34:36] Actually, I think you would like that book. But there's this whole genre of quirky characters. Do you know what I mean? Like this whole genre, I feel like, of quirky people lit. And this sounds like it might be in that vein where Albert obviously is maybe quirky himself, but really his cast of characters he's surrounded by, they're quirky.
Susie Butterworth [00:34:54] And they all have their own problems and their own...
Annie Jones [00:34:57] Okay, maybe Eleanor Oliphant meets The Guncle. I don't know if you read the book.
Susie Butterworth [00:35:01] Oh, no, but I bet it's maybe [Inaudible].
Annie Jones [00:35:04] Yes. Okay.
Susie Butterworth [00:35:05] Well, so that was a different kind of book for me, but I really do just like Albert. And you just kind of root for him to find some happiness. So, anyway, cute book.
Annie Jones [00:35:18] Okay, that sounds good.
Susie Butterworth [00:35:20] And so my next book, this is when I slowed down.
Annie Jones [00:35:24] This time of year.
Susie Butterworth [00:35:25] Yeah. Normally I wouldn't, but I've been gone a lot.
Annie Jones [00:35:29] Oliver and I were talking about that. I just feel like it's hard this time of year.
Susie Butterworth [00:35:31] Yeah. And so this is Kerry Winfrey's you recommended this to me, Just Another Love Song. Breezed right through it. Love it. I bet I've read other ones by her maybe.
Annie Jones [00:35:43] Did you read Waiting for Tom Hanks?
Susie Butterworth [00:35:45] No because--
Annie Jones [00:35:46] Oh, you're right. I think I told you... [Inaudible] I know. Okay. That was a mistake. I think you would like it.
Susie Butterworth [00:35:51] I loved this one.
Annie Jones [00:35:51] Okay, this one is like a second chance love story. It almost reminded me a little bit of Gilmore Girls in a way, because it's got that small town. And I've been rewatching that recently, so I like Kerry Winfrey. I do think you should go back and read some of her other books.
Susie Butterworth [00:36:06] Okay, because I really did love this.
Annie Jones [00:36:07] This. I thought the protagonists were too young. I wasn't sure you would enjoy them, but that was wrong of me. You would?
Susie Butterworth [00:36:12] Okay. Well, thank you.
Annie Jones [00:36:13] Yeah. You should go back and read her others.
Susie Butterworth [00:36:15] Because I breezed through this. This was so you didn't want to put it down. You just want to find out what happens next. It's really cute. And it's not like a suspense you want to find out what happens next. You just love everybody. You want to keep reading about them. So this was really good.
Annie Jones [00:36:29] Okay, I do you think you'd like [Crosstalk]
Susie Butterworth [00:36:34] Talk about quirky characters.
Annie Jones [00:36:37] Okay.
Susie Butterworth [00:36:39] This Iona Iverson's Rules For Commuting, so cute
Annie Jones [00:36:45] Would I like this? I think it looks like a book I'd love.
Susie Butterworth [00:36:48] Yes. I tell you books you would love and then you-- preciousness, you don't have time. But this was so cute. I love this book. I loved all the people.
Annie Jones [00:36:59] Didn't you read her other book, The Authenticity Project? You did.
Susie Butterworth [00:37:04] Did I?
Annie Jones [00:37:05] I think you did.
Susie Butterworth [00:37:06] How long ago?
Annie Jones [00:37:07] I don't know. A couple of years ago. Pandemic times.
Susie Butterworth [00:37:09] Maybe so.
Annie Jones [00:37:11] If you didn't, remember Caroline who used to work at The Bookshelf?
Susie Butterworth [00:37:16] Yes.
Annie Jones [00:37:16] She read the Authenticity Project. And if you did not read it, she read it and said, "Your mom would love this." So I can't remember now which it was. But tell me about this one.
Susie Butterworth [00:37:27] Okay. Well, this book is about this woman who this group of people were on the same train for commuting and somebody chokes on a grape and he's not a likable person, but then another person comes and saves his life.
Annie Jones [00:37:50] Okay.
Susie Butterworth [00:37:51] And then they all become connected to each other. And they all become intertwined within their relationships. Now, Iona is a writer for a magazine. She's older. I feel for her because we have so much to offer. But she's being kind of downplayed and her business in the magazine realm and they think she's irrelevant. And they think her advice and everything is irrelevant. Well, now she's meeting up with all these young people, all these commuters. Before you know it, everybody's wanting to sit in her train because they overhear her giving advice.
Annie Jones [00:38:34] Oh, okay. This does sound [Inaudible].
Susie Butterworth [00:38:35] So they overhear her giving advice to people, and you just start rooting for every different individual on the train and all that they've got going on in their lives. And poor Iona, there's some hard parts for her. It's not always easy. But there's one of the girls that she meets, helps her become-- they think she ought to have a podcast. So they think she could be doing so much more and she has so many great ideas, but they're all ready to push her out of the magazine. And of course, some of these young people are thinking, magazine? You could be so much more.
Annie Jones [00:39:18] Right.
Susie Butterworth [00:39:19] But then--- oh, my support leaves..
Annie Jones [00:39:23] My mom has emotional support leaves in this book.
Susie Butterworth [00:39:25] I pressed my leaves in [Crosstalk] And so anyway, I loved this. I kind of hate it for it to end.
Annie Jones [00:39:33] Oh, that's fun.
Susie Butterworth [00:39:34] Because you would love it and you could probably read it in no time.
Annie Jones [00:39:37] You know, it's so funny. I forgot that you bought that because you bought that at The Bookshelf before going on your trip. And somebody on Instagram just posted a review of that maybe and loved it, and I wondered if I would like it.
Susie Butterworth [00:39:47] You would love it because you love quirky characters and you love relationships that are dysfunctional.
Annie Jones [00:39:58] Yeah. I do.
Susie Butterworth [00:39:59] You came from such a non dysfunctional home.
Annie Jones [00:40:01] Oh, who knows?
Susie Butterworth [00:40:02] Sometimes I listen to the podcast I'm, like, what in the world are people thinking?
Annie Jones [00:40:08] Well, everybody's dysfunctional in their own way.
Susie Butterworth [00:40:11] Well, yes. That's true.
Annie Jones [00:40:14] That's a good list. And you know what I like? It was a very good mixture of fiction and nonfiction. You do a good job with that. I feel like you read a nice range.
Susie Butterworth [00:40:23] Thank you.
Annie Jones [00:40:23] Thanks, Mom.
[00:40:28] This week. What I am reading is brought to you by Visit Thomasville. Everyone loves Fall in Thomasville, Georgia. When it's time to get away, our small town has exactly what you need. Find romance, explore historical sites, dine out, shop, and make time to relax and unwind. There's no better getaway than a Thomasville getaway. This is the week in Thomasville where I feel like we're kicking off the holiday season. So as I'm recording this podcast episode, we just finished welcoming Shaun Dittrich, Shaun of the South, to the Thomasville Center for the Arts this Friday. It will have already happened when you listen to this, but it's first Friday in Thomasville. We're doing soup night at The Bookshelf. And all of these things, in my mind, kind of are gearing us up for Christmas in Thomasville. As I was leaving work today, the city workers were hanging lights in the trees. Maybe I'm a little sad because the tree outside The Bookshelf is no longer. And I'm a little depressed, but it's fine. But all throughout downtown Thomasville, they're hanging up the Christmas lights. They're getting ready for Christmas in Thomasville. Mom, do you love Christmas in Thomasville?
Susie Butterworth [00:41:32] I absolutely love Christmas in Thomasville.
Annie Jones [00:41:35] I just was thinking about, to me, it's these first few weeks of November, the big kick off-- as I've said on this podcast before-- to me is Holiday Open House, which is the Sunday before Thanksgiving. It's a great time to come for the weekend to get your hotel room, stay at the local Marriott. And then all of the shops in Thomasville and many of the restaurants are normally closed on Sundays. It's a small town thing. But this particular Sunday, the Sunday before Thanksgiving, we are open. Downtown businesses are open. Restaurants are open. And as much as I love Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, there is something really small town and lovely about like this kickoff to the holiday season. I'm pretty sure all the stores at that point are decorated for Christmas. We are decorating next week at The Bookshelf and getting ready for Christmas. And so by the time November 20th rolls around, it feels very festive downtown. And frequently if it's not cooler, it does feel--
Susie Butterworth [00:42:34] It looks like a Hallmark movie.
Annie Jones [00:42:36] It does, right?
Susie Butterworth [00:42:36] If you want to get that vibe, that feel, if they threw in some fake snow here you would look just like-- with all the lights and all the trees up and down. And I'm sorry your tree fell this year. But maybe next year you'll have a new baby tree. But it is magical, is the word I was going to use. It's magical.
Annie Jones [00:42:57] It really is.
Susie Butterworth [00:42:58] Feels like you're walking in a snow globe with no snow.
Annie Jones [00:43:00] That's so funny that you say that because I'm on the Victorian Christmas Committee and that is the phrase. It feels like a snow globe, but there's just no snow. So good job. Mom, you should be in marketing. So if you are trying to plan a visit to Thomasville for the holiday season, I think these last few weeks of November, the last couple weeks of November are a great time to come. Maybe you come for Thanksgiving or maybe you bring your family. Maybe you're not too far. Maybe you're in Tampa or in Atlanta or Montgomery, Alabama, and you want to make a weekend trip. It's such a quick drive. Jordan and I went to Auburn, Alabama, a few weeks ago, and it's really not far from some of those cities. So if you are especially our regional listener, Thomasville would be a great day trip or weekend trip as you begin shopping for the holiday season.
Susie Butterworth [00:43:48] And always shop small wherever you are.
Annie Jones [00:43:50] That's right. This week I'm reading Saturday Night at the Lakeside Supper Club by J. Ryan Stradal. Mom, what are you reading?
Susie Butterworth [00:43:58] I'm reading the brand new Laura Denton book, which might have been Nancy's Shelf Subscription.
Annie Jones [00:44:03] It was.
Susie Butterworth [00:44:04] A Place to land. And I am choosing my January Shelf Subscription. And I've got two books and I saw Kate loved one of them, so I'm feeling kind of good about that. And they both have two covers.
Annie Jones [00:44:20] Good. So that is your hint to buy a Susie and Nancy Self Subscription for Christmas. Give it as a gift this holiday season. Thank you again to our sponsor, Visit Thomasville. To find out more about how you can visit Thomasville this holiday season, go to Thomasvillega.com.
[00:44:37] 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 @Bookshelftville and all the books from today's episode can be purchased online through our store website: Bookshelfthomasville.com. A full transcript of today's episode can be found at fromthefrontporchpodcast.com.
[00:44:59] 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 Donna Hechler, Cami Tidwell, Chantalle C.
Executive Producers (Read their own names) [00:45:15] Nichole Marsee. Wendy Jenkins. Laurie Johnson. Kate Johnston Tucker.
Annie Jones [00:45:20] 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 reach new listeners. All you have to do is open up the podcast app on your phone, look for From the Front Porch, scroll down until you see 'Write a Review' and tell us what you think.
[00:45:38] Or, if you're so inclined, you can support us over on Patreon, where we have three levels of support. Front Porch Friends, Book Club Companions and Bookshelf Benefactors. Each level has an amazing number of benefits, like bonus content, access to live events, discounts and giveaways. Just go to Patreon.com/fromthefrontporch. We're so grateful for you and we look forward to meeting back here next week.