Episode 374 || May Reading Recap
In this episode of From the Front Porch, Annie is recapping all of the books she read in May. Shorter versions of these reviews can be found on Annie’s personal Instagram page. The books mentioned in today’s episode are available for purchase at The Bookshelf’s website and there’s a Reading Recap bundle featuring Annie’s three favorite titles from this month’s readings, available at a discounted price.
To purchase the books mentioned in this episode, visit our new website:
Mika in Real Life by Emiko Jean
Book Lovers by Emily Henry
This Is Not a Book About Benedict Cumberbatch by Tabitha Carvan
Carrie Soto Is Back by Taylor Jenkins Reid
Catholics by Brian Moore
The Anthropocene Reviewed by John Green
The Year of the Horses by Courtney Maum
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.
This week Annie is listening to Anna by Amy Odell.
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Transcript:
Annie Jones [00:00:01] Welcome to From the Front Porch, a conversational podcast about books, small business and life in the South.
[00:00:24] "One of the strange things about adulthood is that you are your current self, but you are also all the selves you used to be, the ones you grew out of, but can't ever quite get rid of." John Green, The Anthropocene Reviewed.
[00:00:40] I'm Annie Jones, owner of the Bookshelf and independent bookstore in beautiful downtown Thomasville, Georgia. And this week, I'm recapping the books I read in May. It is officially (in my opinion, anyway) summer reading season! If you are struggling to know what books to put in your literal -- or metaphorical -- beach bag this summer. Last week we hosted our seasonal Literary Lunch with more than 100 of our local and long-distance friends. I talked about my favorite titles of the season, including seven fiction reads I consider the summer essentials.
[00:01:13] And although the live event is over, you can still purchase a ticket to watch the Zoom recording and receive a PDF of our summer book list. Just go to: Bookshelfthomasville.com and click on events to access that ticket information. Now, I would like to recap the books I read in May. Look, May is a crazy busy month for a lot of people. It is the end of the school year. It's graduation season. It's Mother's Day. It's just a really chock-full month. It's also the month I happened to go on my summer slash annual vacation. And so Jordan and I just got back -- as of this recording -- we got back from Los Angeles last night. And you can definitely see that busyness reflected in my reading for the month. I still read quite a bit. I can't wait to talk about the books that I did read. But if you are like me and your reading is severely affected and impacted by your personal life and the things happening in your life at home, I guess I just want to remind you that this is not a contest. Like, it's not a contest to see how many books we can read a month. And it's okay if some of our reading months are slower than others.
[00:02:24] You can really see the effect of bookshelf events and busy seasons at the store reflected in my reading, and I'm sure that's probably true for a lot of you too. So if your May reading looked a lot different from your earlier months, from your February reading or your march reading, I just want to tell you and affirm that that is okay. And that probably makes a lot of sense given what's going on in the world at large, first of all, and then also in our lives at home. I did read quite a few books this month and I read some really good ones that I wanted to talk to you about. So the first book I finished was Mika in Real Life. This is a novel not releasing, I'm so sorry, until August 2nd, but this is by Emiko Jean. She wrote the book Tokyo Ever After, which was like a young adult rom-com. I know Mary Katherine really loved that book. I have not read that book, but this is, I believe, her adult debut. And I picked it up because I was doing a lot of reading for the summer Literary Lunch. And that's why some of these books that I read this month have later release dates.
[00:03:28] But Mika is our protagonist. She is 35 years old and she gave up a child for adoption when she was, oh gosh, a teenager, freshman in college. And so she struggled mightily with that decision, but wound up giving birth to a daughter. And then the daughter was adopted by a white family. So Mika in the book is an Asian-American, and this book then deals a lot with transracial adoption. It's also just a really good book. We're going to talk about Taylor Jenkins later, but if you like Taylor Jenkins read backlist, I think you'll really like this book. One of the things I really liked about this book is I think it's very commercial. So it's a book that I think anybody could kind of pick up and read and enjoy, but it's also dealing with heavier themes. So in that way, a little bit reminiscent of Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid. So Mika, in real life is funny in parts. It's really bittersweet in other parts, but it's also dealing with some heavy subject matter about adoption and particularly transracial adoption. So Mika is 35. Her daughter that she gave up for adoption is now in her teens and she finds Mika.
[00:04:48] So Mika kind of drops everything to reconnect with Penny, her daughter. And the humorous part of this book is that Mika is not really living her best life. She's not living a life she thinks her daughter Penny would be proud of. And so when Penny reaches out and finds her, Penny, of course, she's a very well-drawn teen character. And so she's super enthusiastic and really excited and wants to connect with her mother. And she contacts Mika and eventually tells Mika that she's going to come visit her. And Mika is thrilled and excited and then deeply concerned because her life doesn't look like anything that she thought it would or anything that she wanted it to look like. And so she recruits her friends and kind of crafts this life, this imaginary life that she really thinks she should have but she doesn't. And crafts this kind of fictional life to present to Penny. And, of course, chaos ensues. Like, nothing good can come from trying to deceive your daughter even with the best of intentions.
[00:05:51] So there are really funny parts of this book. There's a lovely core group of friends that I love. Mika's friendships are really a wonderful part of the story. There's a slight love story element that I scratch my head on at first, but I thought Emiko Jean really handled it really well. And so I was able to connect with that part of the story. But, obviously, my favorite part of the story is the story of Mika and then her daughter Penny, and the love that the two of them share. And I just think this is a really great commercial fiction summer read, but also opened my eyes to some issues with adoption and transracial adoption, and I really appreciated that. So I loved this book. It's compulsively readable. It's thoroughly enjoyable. Fun to throw in your beach bag, but also will give you some things to think about. In that way, it also in my mind would be a great summer book club pick. So that is Mika in real life it's by Emiko Jean and it is out on August 2nd.
[00:06:47] In the meanwhile, I was listening to Book Lovers by Emily Henry. This is the third book by Emily Henry. I want to make sure I'm getting that right. We all know her and love her from her debut novel, Beach Read, but also her book, The People We Meet on Vacation and now Book Lovers. So this is her third rom-com that she's put out in three years, which I'm always impressed by. A book a year seems like no small feat. Look, I wasn't sure what I was going to think about this one, because while a book a year is no small feat, it also makes you wonder, oh, like, is this going to be as good as Beach Read, which I really loved when it first came out. And Beach Read kind of surprised me. And now we're accustomed to Emily Henry, like, was I so going to enjoy this book? So I listened to it, which is my first time to listen to an Emily Henry book. It was narrated by Julia Whalen, who I just think, oh gosh, I struggle with fiction audiobooks. My mind tends to wander. But if I can obviously get a good narrator, then I'm hooked. And I think Julia Whalen is just one of the best narrators out there.
[00:07:51] And anyway, this is narrated by her. I really like this book. Now my friend, Betsy, has commented before, "Gosh, we sure are getting a lot of romantic comedies set in the publishing world." And that is 100 percent true. I've read some already this year, and by some I mean more than one. Like, I've already read multiple romantic comedy set in the publishing world. However, I do think this one is really good. So I love the audiobook experience. And I listened to it solely because I wanted access before it was published and I didn't get an ARC. And so I listened to it through my audiobook listening copies, truely loved them. So I listened to the audiobook by Julie Whalen and I loved it. So the book is about Charlie and Nora. Nora is a book agent. Charlie is an editor. And we get a great kind of flashback moment or the book kind of starts with the two of them meeting, and that meeting does not necessarily go well. And then we flash forward to the present where the main character, Nora, is going on a road trip, a vacation with her sister, Libby.
[00:08:58] So one of the reasons I think this book really works is not only the love story between Charlie and Nora, which I think Emily Henry is really a master of the craft in terms of creating a romantic, relatable, interesting story. But a friend of mine and I were talking about this where the book -- look, this book is steamy. And you all know how I feel about open door romance. This is definitely open door in parts. But what I really do like about Emily Henry and what I think she does well is this book is not about the open door romance. It's about these two characters. I sometimes wish we knew more about the male characters, but we know a lot about Nora, our main protagonist. We know what makes her tick. We know her ins and outs. These characters are really well-developed and well drawn. Very well-crafted. And so the sex scenes or the romantic scenes, while maybe a little steamy for my personal taste level, do I think play a part but in a larger, well-crafted story. And so that's one of the things I really like about Emily Henry.
[00:10:09] The second thing I really like is that even though Charlie and Nora are the heart of this story, this is also a love story between Nora and her sister, Libby. Now, as an eldest child myself, I did struggle a little bit with the character of Libby. Julia Whalen did a perfect voice for this character. It was so, so, well done. I could not get over it. But I also was highly annoyed in parts, and I think that is just because of my eldest siblings sensibility. I definitely commiserated a lot with Nora and definitely felt a kinship with Nora that I did not feel with Libby. However, the sister story here was such a huge part of the novel, and that is what set this apart from, for example, another romantic comedy I liked earlier this year called The Roughest Draft. These books are very similar. Like, they're both set in the publishing world. They're dealing with editing and writing and developing a book. So you learn a lot about the book publishing worlds, the ins and outs of that industry. But what Book Lovers has that Roughest Draft did not is this kind of side story that actually winds up being one of the major parts of the story, and that is Nora and her sister, Libby, and their relationship.
[00:11:20] I just can't. I don't know another way to say that Emily Henry crafts a complete story. So as much as it's a romance or a romantic comedy, it's also just a really good story about interesting characters, which that's what my favorite romantic comedies are, right? They're about Harry and Sally and those really interesting characters. And then, yes, how they happen to come together. And so I really liked Book Lovers a lot. I feel like I have read consistent, happy reviews about this book. Like, nobody that I have seen has been disappointed by Emily Henry's third book. And so if you have been on the fence, I would encourage you to pick this one up. I happen to love the audiobook, but I think you could certainly enjoy this in print format as well. It's Book Lovers by Emily Henry and that's out now. Then kind of in the middle of listening to and reading these other books I have been, since March or April, reading the book. This is not a Book About Benedict Cumberbatch by Tabitha Carvan. She's an Australian writer. The book itself is not out until May 31st, but I've been reading it kind of in pieces parts for the last couple of months. It's an essay collection, but it's also not an essay collection. You can read these chapter by chapter, but it's certainly a cohesive whole.
Speaker 2 [00:12:34] How do you explain a book whose title is, This is not a Book About Benedict Cumberbatch? I'll tell you. This isn't a book about Benedict Cumberbatch; although, certainly the title caught my attention. This is a nonfiction book about -- honestly, I think it's about female desire and the things women are interested in and how the world treats women's interests. And part of the reason I picked this up was I had just read, I think it was a piece in Vulture about the cancelation of the Baby-Sitters Club. So the Baby-Sitters Club TV show that was on Netflix was just canceled by Netflix after two seasons. And there was obviously kind of this Internet outcry as there often is. And there were a couple of think pieces just about how art for women and art for girls is often handled and treated by the public at large, by the media, whatever. It was a really interesting piece, and I happened to see this book come across my desk. It has a very striking cover and the title, obviously. And, look, I'm not a huge Benedict Cumberbatch fan. I feel ambivalent, like, I'm neither here nor there. But I picked this one up because this is not a book about Benedict Cumberbatch.
Speaker 2 [00:13:46] So here is what it really is. Tabitha Carvan is a huge Benedict Cumberbatch fan. Like, more of a fan of Benedict Cumberbatch than I am a fan of anything. And so the book is a tribute to fandom, and particularly to women and men too, I suppose, or non-binary people who love Benedict Cumberbatch and his massive fan base. It's a tribute to fan fiction and to fandom as a whole. But it also is really about how we tend -- and I'm using the royal we, the collective we, how we can be eye-rolling really about the things women love. And so Tabitha Carvan, I think, does a really good job of making this personal. This is definitely a memoir of sorts about her marriage. She's married. I think she has a baby or two babies. And it's during and after her pregnancy and after she gives birth that she kind of doesn't feel like herself. And she winds up watching, I want to say Sherlock. She watches Sherlock or she watches something with Benedict Cumberbatch in it. But I think it's Sherlock. And she just kind of becomes enthralled by Benedict Cumberbatch, by his character portrayal. And she just kind of goes on this deep dive.
[00:15:03] And she and her husband read all of Benedict Cumberbatch's movies, and they watch his TV shows. But she certainly becomes more entranced and more enthralled than her husband. And she eventually discovers that the Internet is full of Benedict Cumberbatch fans, very devoted fans, and they write a lot of fan fiction and they conduct themselves online and, you know, have this whole group of people that she finds herself a part of. And she realizes that by having this interest outside of her family or her work, she really is able to be more fully herself. So the essay collection is personal and memoir esque, in that it's talking about Tabitha Carvan's kind of personal relationship to Benedict Cumberbatch and a fandom, but she's also a journalist and a writer. I think she's actually a science journalist. And so she does a lot of research about why people, particularly women, are obsessed with Benedict Cumberbatch, where that stems from, what it means when it takes on different forms, what it means for relationships. And I found the whole thing to be so thoughtful. I honestly picked it up thinking, I'll read a couple of chapters of this, get a sense of it and move on. Because, again, not a huge Benedict Cumberbatch fan. I don't really feel neither here or there about it.
[00:16:18] But then I picked it up and I really liked her. She is very relatable and funny and interesting. And I also found myself nodding along and underlining parts because I thought, yes, this is how the world treats the interests and hobbies of women. And I just found the whole thing to be fascinating, just a really interesting look at culture. And I don't know who is going to pick this up. And so I'm here to tell you, I think you should. So I just don't know how well it's going to going to sell on the shelves, because maybe if the title is either going to pull people one way or the other I think. You're either going to read it and you're going to be like, yes, I love Benedict Cumberbatch, let me try this book. Or you're going to be like, I'm sorry, I don't really care about Benedict Cumberbatch. This book clearly is not for me. So I'm here to tell you, if you like thoughtful nonfiction about pop culture, I think you will really like this book and appreciate it. Like, it really made me think about the shame that women or even I might feel about watching a certain thing or reading a certain thing.
[00:17:28] I think about the way we treat romantic comedies or romance books and kind of how literature and the publishing world has finally started to embrace romance culture and romance novelists. But how we kind of always turned our noses up at grocery store books or books with Fabio on the cover or whatever. And it makes you wonder, did we do that because those weren't good, or did we do those because mostly women read them? And that is what I think Tabitha Carvan is kind of getting at. And she's using Benedict Cumberbatch as like the the vessel. But she's right. This book is not just about Benedict Cumberbatch. It's about a lot more. There's a lot about Benedict Cumberbatch. There's like a whole appendix at the end about Benedict Cumberbatch. But it's really a book about female interests, hobbies, desires, passions, and how the world views those things. So if you like literary criticism, if you like nonfiction about pop culture, if you like thoughtful memoirs, I think you should try this. It's a paperback original. It'll be out on May 31st. It's called This Is Not a Book About Benedict Cumberbatch by Tabitha Carvin.
[00:18:38] Then we started our trip. We went to Los Angeles, and that's when I finished the Benedict Cumberbatch book. And it's also when I started and finished, Carrie Soto is Back. This the new book by Taylor Jenkins Reid. It does not release until August 30th. I'm so sorry. But guys, it's so good. It's really worth the wait. I was not sure. I grabbed it because we got an ARC at the store and I knew a lot of staffers who would be interested. I knew I could read it quickly. And so I read it, took it on my trip, and now I'm going to take it back to the store so another staffer can take it home. I wasn't sure if I would like this. Again, it goes back to not a huge series reader. And I think about Emily Henry and I think about Taylor Jenkins Reid and some of these authors who are putting out so many books or a book a year, which on the one hand, as a consumer, I'm thrilled by. And on the other hand, I'm like, oh, my gosh, is this too fast? Like, was this edited while? Did this person complete the story? And the answer is, yes. I don't know why. I think it must be my Enneagram 5w6 or something where I'm just a little hesitant.
[00:19:43] If you've been listening to the podcast for a long time, you might remember me putting off reading The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett, because I loved the mothers so much, and so I really put off reading it. And so Carrie Soto is Back. I have loved Taylor Jenkins Reid a long time. Like, I like her backlist titles a lot. I loved Daisy Jones along with the rest of the world. I'm on pins and needles waiting for that show to come out. So I loved Daisy Jones. I liked Malibu Rising. Like, I liked it a lot. I loved Carrie Soto is Back. There are a couple of reasons for this. First of all, I just think it's really good. If you, like me, were worried about, oh, my gosh, can Taylor Jenkins Reid do it again? The answer is yes, she can. Hurray. How wonderful. How wonderful. Talented writers can keep writing. So that's the first thing. The second thing is this is a sports book. And so I want to be clear. Someone asked me, "Okay, Annie, it's a sports book. And you love sports books, but I don't like sports books. So am I going to like this book?" Here's my metaphor, analogy, simile. Whatever the English phrase is. Rock and Roll is to Daisy Jones and the Six as tennis is to Carrie Soto is Back. Tennis is a big part of this book.
[00:20:55] I knew nothing about tennis. Of the only things I know about tennis are that my grandma loved it. And I watched the Will Smith movie about Serena and Venus's dad. Like, that's what I know about this. And Jordan was a ball boy once. Like, those are the things I know about tennis. And Wimble tennis is cool because the royal family sometimes watches and there's a great picture of Meghan and Kate watching Wimbledon. Like, those are the things I know about tennis. Taylor Jenkins Reid made me care deeply about tennis. Like, made me think, should I start watching tennis? I think the answer is yes. And yet, if you are not a sports fan, I still think there's plenty to love about this book. The book is just very much based in and set in the world of tennis. Just like the Daisy Jones world is set in the world of rock and roll or Malibu Rising is set in the world of surfing. Like, these are things that I did not previously care about. Like, I just did not care. And Taylor Jenkins Reid cross these worlds where she really makes you care. I do not know how she does it. I really don't. But I loved this book. And I actually think -- I mean, I've got to think about it because I read her other books so long ago, but I really do think Carrie Soto might be my favorite of the Taylor Jenkins Reid protagonists.
[00:22:11] So the thing about Reid is that she takes a character, a minor character -- it's almost like the Marvel Universe, except better. Taylor Jenkin Reid has her own universe, and a lot of these characters kind of show up as Easter eggs, and there are references to other characters in her books. Now, if you're like me, you're slow on the uptake, like it takes you a minute to realize this. If you're like my bookshelf staffer, Kyla, you realize this immediately. And I think they're both of those kinds of readers in the world. The readers who love an Easter egg and who immediately identify elements as such. And then there are readers like me who are like, oh yeah, Carrie Soto. Yeah. She was in Malibu Rising, wasn't she? Like, it takes me a minute. The good news for you, the general reader, is it doesn't matter. If you're an Easter egg reader, you'll be thrilled to no end. If you're a non Easter egg reader like me, it doesn't matter because the story is so good. So Carrie Soto does appear in Malibu Rising. She's a character in that book. And now we see her as the main character in Carrie Soto is Back. She's a retired tennis player who kind of sees this up and coming, rising tennis star about to beat her personal record.
[00:23:24] And so she decides to come out of retirement to see if she can win a couple of more big tournaments or big games so that she can maintain and retain her record. I love it all. I love that. I love competitive sports. I love competitive women. And if Emiko Jean's book, Mika in Real Life, is a mother-daughter story, Carrie Soto is Back as a father-daughter story. So, like in a lot of other of Reid's books, yes, there's a romantic element here. The book is about tennis. It's also about fathers and daughters. And I do think actually the Will Smith movie would make a great pairing with this book. I just think there's a lot. I'm so glad I had just seen that movie because I definitely think the worlds are very similar. And I just flew through this book. Like I finished this book on a plane, I'm pretty sure, or right after I got off the plane, whatever. I think you will too. I think if you felt ambivalent about Malibu Rising, which I did not, I liked Malibu Rising a lot. But if you felt ambivalent about it and I know some readers did after Daisy Jones, look, I think the format of Daisy Jones just attracted a lot of people who were so unusual and felt so original. I think this book is really good. I really do.
[00:24:41] And wherever you stand on tennis or Easter eggs does not matter. There is something to really love about this book. And I want to champion it because I'm so impressed that the author continues to put out really quality books. It's just really is amazing how many stories she has in her head that she's willing to to craft and share with us as readers. So Carrie Soto is Back by Taylor Jenkins Reid. It is out on August 30th. Definitely worth the preorder or the call into your local library. Get on it. Get on it before before you're at the bottom of the list. Okay. Then I picked up this little almost novella called Catholics. This is by Brian Moore. This is a backlist title. So you're going to probably be hearing me read a couple of backlist titles here and there, because that's what I frequently buy when I am out and about at local bookstores in other cities. So I was in Los Angeles and I got to visit a couple of local bookstores, and I was at The Last Bookstore. That's literally the name of it, The Last Bookstore, in Los Angeles when I found this little book. I was struck, obviously, by the title. It's just called Catholics. But the cover looked really interesting, and I read the blurb and thought, okay, yes, I need to try this.
[00:25:53] So a few years ago I read a backlist title called The All of It. This is a book by Jeannette Haien. And one of my customers, Suzanne, recommended this book to me. I believe Ann Patchett either championed it or wrote the introduction or something. And so it was almost like put back into print because she really fought for this book. So it's called the All of It. That is what this book reminded me of. So Catholics, it was written several years ago. Gosh, I'm not even sure. Maybe the nineties. Anyway, it's a fictional book about -- it's set in a near-future where the Catholic Church has kind of not split, but there's been a new teaching by, I think, Vatican four. Again, this is all fiction. And I'm not Catholic, so pardon me if I'm ruining the language in any way. But my understanding from this book is that the new ruling or the new theology put forth by Vatican four has kind of married itself to Buddhism. And so Catholicism and Buddhism are kind of marrying one another. And there's a new emphasis on social justice and kindness. But things like the Latin mass or the liturgy and then particularly communion are no longer important.
[00:27:17] And one of the big beliefs in Catholicism is that during communion, Jesus actually becomes the bread and the wine. So this act of transubstantiation. Look, I'm not a theologian, bear with me. But in this book, Catholics by Brian Moore, there is now this removal of that mysticism from communion and communion has essentially become a symbol. And that's a phrase that's kind of used throughout the book. So that's happened in the Catholic Church. And there is this little island off the coast of Ireland where there's a Catholic priest who has chosen to maintain the old ways, the liturgy, the traditions, the Latin mass, confessions, private confessions and communion -- the Eucharist. And the Catholic Church has heard about this priest. And they need to go reprimand him. They need to go tell him he has to abide by the rulings of the Vatican or he's going to be deposed, defrocked, etc. So this is all fiction. A priest named Father James Kinsella is tasked with going to this outpost, this tiny little Irish island, to kind of reprimand and discipline Father Tomas O'Malley. That is a fascinating premise.
[00:28:41] But then then the premise gets even more interesting because Tomas O'Malley is deeply devoted, appears to be deeply devoted to retaining the rituals and the traditions of the traditional Catholic Church and their traditional teachings. But what no one knows, including his fellow monks at this little outpost on this Irish island, is that he has struggled mightily with belief and with faith. And so he has continued. He calls himself like like a manager or a shepherd. Like, he's chosen to stick around to lead the monks, but he really doesn't know where his belief lies anymore. Like, he really struggled mightily with doubt. And so James Kinsella comes and it's very interesting. It's a tiny little book. Like, that's part of the reason I bought it, because I thought, this sounds fascinating. If it were 400 pages, I would not try it, but it's like 90 pages. It's just this tiny little wisp of a book. And I thought, this is worth trying. And it was fascinating. I loved it. It weirdly felt a little bit -- now there's no creepy horror elements, so bear with me. There are no elements of that. But it reminds me a little bit of the Netflix show Midnight Mass, just in that you've got this kind of tiny outpost island where these monks are deeply devoted to scripture and to belief and to faith and to liturgy and to traditional Catholic teachings.
[00:30:08] And because they are devoted and because the Catholic Church has kind of changed and morphed itself into something else, you have a lot of people making pilgrimages to this tiny little island, and that's kind of how this priest kind of gets the attention of the larger Catholic Church. James Kinsella is an interesting character. He arrives on the island. He's this young American and these Irish people call him father. And you can tell that part of the new Catholic teaching is that they would not call him father. And he keeps just introducing himself as a Catholic priest, and they keep calling him father, and he's clearly uncomfortable. And he just wants to, like, get this job done. He wants to come deliver the news, discipline the priest, and then move on. And, gosh, the dichotomy between these two characters is just really interesting. They're both devoted to their jobs and to their faith, but they're struggling with different things. Look, obviously, this takes a lot of my boxes. I care a lot about books, about faith and doubt, belief and non-belief. This for the brief little book that it is -- like I said, 80 to 90 pages, I thought it was outstanding. I really did.
[00:31:18] I was still thinking about it. That's the other thing. I just finished it not too long ago and I'm still kind of thinking through what I thought. It reads like a short story. So if you're looking for like pretty wrapped up in a bow, like, I don't know, Aesop's Fables situation, that's not what this is. But if you liked the all of it, first of all, if you like that backlist title, if you like books like Gilead or A Place for US or Dearly Beloved. And the reason you were drawn to those books is because of the faith element. Then I think this would appeal to you. This is not affirming or denying any belief system or pattern. It's just interesting look at practiced religion, I guess. I really thought it was great. So it's called Catholics by Brian Moore. The edition I bought had an introduction by Robert Ellsberg, and I actually thought the introduction was chef's kiss. It was perfect. And I loved having that part of the book as well. So if you look for this book, I would encourage you to find the one with the introduction by Robert Ellsberg. Anyway, loved this one. Really liked it. Backless Title.
[00:32:23] Throughout our trip, we listened to the audiobook The Anthropocene Reviewed by John Green. This is a book we started only a few, probably a month ago. Where has the time gone? We probably started it a month ago, but then wrapped it up on this trip. Look, I don't know why I didn't read this book. Like, I don't understand how I missed this. I didn't miss it. I knew this book came out. I just don't know why I didn't care more. Like, we got signed copies at the bookshelf. At least one of our staffers read it and loved it. One of our former staffers, Caroline, I believe she told me that she thought I would love this book and I just didn't pick it up. I don't get it. I've literally read all of John Graetz books. I don't know why, I just thought, hmm, skip that one. I blame the pandemic, honestly, because just a lot of books came out and it was almost like a fire hydrant of literature. And, honestly, that fire hydrant is still going and I need it to stop. I need us to publish fewer books. And I know that's an unpopular statement, but it's too much. It's too many things. However, I'd seen a lot of people rave about this audiobook, and I knew Jordan and I would need something to listen to.
[00:33:34] Again, this was last month when we were traveling a lot. Then we wrapped up some travel this month, so I downloaded it from Libro Fm. John Green narrates it. I want the physical copy of this book because there is so much to underline, to tear pages and to bookmark -- to highlight or whatever you do. However, John Green is such a -- again, this would not be surprising. John Green is a podcaster, a YouTuber. He literally did stories on WBEZ Chicago. It should not be surprising to me that he's a fabulous audiobook narrator, and I don't know if he would be as good an audiobook narrator for words not his own. But for this, this is a five star. This is five stars. It's so good and it's so good read by him. I'm going to not do a good job of explaining it. So I want him to explain the Anthropocene. What I will tell you is that basically each chapter he is taking a random part of our universe, talking about it and then rating it, which is just fabulous the way he does it. Again, I want him to introduce you to the whole thing and why he's doing this. So I'm going to not tell you that part. But it's very humorous to hear somebody [Inaudible] philosophical about, for example, viral meningitis and then give it one star. Like, it's very funny and very thoughtful and thought provoking.
[00:35:00] I loved this book so much. I hesitate to even say what my favorite essays were, but I know one of my favorites was Auld Lang Syne, where he talks about the song Auld Lang Syne, and then he does this really beautiful essay on the Bonneville Salt Flats where he also kind of talks about marriage. I kept telling Jordan, I paused the audiobook and I said these kind of remind me of when Jordan and I were dating. He had this little book and it was based on do you guys remember the radio show Paul Harvey did called The Rest of The Story? So I grew up listening to that on occasion I believe on the radio. Jordan had this little book and he and I would kind of read it together because it was just these little stories. And then there would be this twist at the end. And they were true. They were true real stories. But it was like things that you knew part of and then Paul Harvey was like telling you the rest of it. He had a great voice too. Anyway, maybe Paul Harvey's problematic now. I don't know. I have not done any research. Please don't please come for me. I don't know anything about him now, but I really like that little show that he did.
[00:36:04] And in a lot of ways, that's what John Green is doing. Like, sure, the essay is about the Bonneville Salt Flats, but it's really about childhood and marriage and anxiety. Or, yes, it's about Auld Lang Syne, but it's really about grief and the passing of time. Like, these essays are so beautiful and poignant and I loved him reading them to me. I also need you to know that I wish I had a physical copy because there is so much to highlight and underline and talk about. And so you can't go wrong with an audiobook experience or physical book experience. But I loved this one and I'm just kind of mad at myself that I'm just now reading it because it's top 10 of the year material. But at the end of the year I try just to do my top 10 published this year, and this book was published last year. Was it published last year? Might have been published in 2020. Anyway, we're talking top 10 five star material. I loved this one. I'm sorry I missed it before. Don't be like me. Don't be like me. Go ahead and read it. And I guess the only other thing I'll say is I'm hesitant about 'pandemic books'. Like, I just don't know. We just lived it. We're still living it.
[00:37:20] I don't know if we're ready for pandemic books just yet. However, if we are ready, this is the one. This is the one. And you can tell he was writing during the pandemic. He references it quite a bit. And when I say during the pandemic, I mean like during peak pandemic times. And the way he incorporates that into this collection is like if I had a time capsule where I wanted to put masks, disposable gloves, hand sanitizer, like if I had a pandemic time capsule, what would I put in it? I would put in this book. I'd put in a copy of this book because I feel like he is writing what we are thinking but so much better. So much better. And I can't say enough good things. It's so good. I didn't even know what quote to put at the top of this episode, because there are so many to choose from about this book. So sorry I didn't read it until now. So that's the Anthropocene Reviewed by John Green. I highly recommend the audiobook, but the physical book would probably be excellent as well.
[00:38:21] And then the last book I finished this month was The Year of the Horses. This is by Courtney Maum. There was one new release Tuesday this month where I looked at the stack of books that the staff was putting out on the shelves. And I thought, I need all of these. But I took home two, and one was the year of the horses, and the other one was Zabar's, which I have not finished, but I did start it on my vacation. And then I was like, I don't want to read a New York book while I'm in LA. And so I read The Year of the Horses by Courtney Maum. This is not set in Los Angeles either, but that's neither here nor there. So this is a memoir about an author. Courtney Maum has written several other works of fiction, you might recognize them. One is Touch and the other is I Am Having So Much Fun Here Without You. What a great title. So those are her two works of fiction. I have not read those. I think they both released to pretty good reviews, but I have not read them. I picked this one up honestly because I thought, oh, a book for a horse girl. Like and talk about the derogatory ways in which we talk about women's interests, and I think the concept of Horse Girl is one of those things.
[00:39:27] So would I classify myself as a form of horse girl? I don't know. That's not true. I've ridden horses. I have in fact ridden horses. And I was obsessed with the Saddle Club. Did you guys read those books? Those are the books I read. And I loved Black Beauty and books like that. So maybe I was a horse girl. I don't know. I loved Stevie in the Saddle Club. That feels like a very former part of myself. You know what? I think I was a horse girl. I literally had a statue of a horse. My family heritage. Some of my family is from Kentucky. And so, no, I think I was a horse girl. Glad we've gotten that out in the open. Okay. So I was a former horse girl. I hate that phrase because I think the Internet -- I don't know why the Internet sometimes does the things that it does. But, anyway, we have thoughts and feelings about horse girls. And I picked this up because I kind of was like, oh, Courtney Maum must be a horse girl and a former horse girl. This will be interesting. I also find myself drawn to books written by women in their mid to late thirties because it does feel like a weird age to be. And maybe I'm wrong about that, but it feels weird.
[00:40:33] So Courtney Maum was writing this and she was reflecting back on her mid-to-late thirties when she was the mother to a young daughter, but she felt like she had lost herself and she and her husband and daughter were in a car accident. And that car accident did a lot of things. But also perhaps maybe -- she talks about maybe it's spurred on a severe bout of depression that she had. And so the book is about the lengths she goes to try to get out. I'm using air quotes. Trying to get out of this stifling depression that she is in. And she winds up returning to an interest of her childhood. So she loved riding horses as a kid, and she talks pretty openly about her privileged childhood. She was raised in a wealthy county in Connecticut. She talks about having a pony as a child, which to me, that's all you need to know. I feel like, okay, you owned a pony? That's like a different level.
Annie Jones [00:41:30] But this book is really -- gosh, I think there are some nonfiction books about play that would pair so well with this book because this is really about a woman of a certain age realizing that she needs an identity outside of her work and outside of her relationships. Like, she's a wife, she's a mother, she's a writer, but she's also who is she? Who is she? She's a woman. And what does she love to do? She loves riding horses. And so she kind of reopens this part of herself. And it's also kind of sort of a sports book because she doesn't just try to go back into horseriding kind of go back into that culture. She also develops a love and an affinity and appreciation for polo. And so I love those parts of the book where she's kind of dipping her toe into the waters of polo. Not water polo, horseback riding polo. And so anyway, it's a kind of a sports book. It would pair really nicely with the Tabitha Carvan book about Benedict Cumberbatch, because this isn't entirely a book about horses, though it certainly is. Like, it's very much about what those animals represent and how those animals can make us feel.
[00:42:45] But it's also about women's desires and interests, and it's about high achievement and how we forget to play. And by we I don't just mean women, by the way. I mean, we as a people, we as adults forget to play. And as someone who has sat in a therapist's office, where a therapist has encouraged her to play, I thought this was really interesting. And rediscovering the interest of our childhood and how reopening those parts of us can make us whole. I just think it's really interesting and I think Courtney Maum does a really good job of writing about this, again, part memoir, certainly very much about her personal, very privileged experience, but also clearly heavily researched about horses, horseback riding, therapy, polo, sport. So, again, I wound up almost bookending my May reading with these two books that very much are about the same themes of womanhood and passions and interests and what happens when we bury those things deep, and also how the world treats those things. I really liked this book. I really did. It's another one that I just finished recently, and so I'm going to be thinking about it for a minute or two.
[00:44:13] I think it could potentially make a good book club book. I do think there's plenty to unpack. I literally finished and thought much like the Carrie Soto book, where I was like, should I pay more attention to tennis? Which I think I should. But I finished this book and thought, should I ride horses?. And I honestly don't think that I should. But the way Courtney Maum describes herself as someone who works a lot in her mind. She's a writer. And so she works a lot in her mind and choosing to do this activity where she can't think, like she only can focus on riding a horse. There is no room in her brain for anything else when she's riding the horse or when she's playing polo. Like, if you think about other things, you will fall off your horse kind of thing. And so the way she talks about needing to be consumed by something, to not think so much. A lot of that felt very, very, relevant to me. And so perhaps it will feel relevant to you as well. Again, I don't know if I'm going to go ride a horse, but I really like reading about it. I really did. It is called The Year of the Horses by Courtney Maum and it is out now. Got a great cover too. Really, I'm glad to have a copy for my shelves.
[00:45:26] Okay. So those are the books I read in May. Kind of a wide range of books and titles, but somehow also wound up relating to each other, which I love when that happens, it feels so serendipitous and kind of meant to be. So, like we've done for the last few months, we are doing a reading recap bundle for May. So I tried to pick three books that I thought would pair well together and also that are in stock and available and ready to ship. That's harder than you might think. So I picked This Is Not A Book About Benedict Cumberbatch. That's the paperback original that's about Benedict Cumberbatch, but also not. The Year Of The Horses, which I think will pair really well with that. And then Catholics, the Bryan Moore backlist title, because it's so short, I think it'd be really a good backlist title to read that I never would have thought of. Like I've never heard of that book. And I really like going to a bookstore and seeing a book I've never heard of. So I thought this could be a fun bundle.
[00:46:21] This Is Not a Book About Benedict Cumberbatch, The Year of the Horses and Catholics. Two of those are paperbacks, including a small discount. The 10 percent discount. That total is $58. So for $58, you get those three books. You can find the May bundle online on our store website, in the link in our show notes or go to Bookshelfthomasville. Click or tap Podcast and then Shop From the Front Porch. So $58 for our May Reading Recap bundle. You can find it online at Bookshelfthomasville.com. Happy reading.
[00:46:54] This week, I'm listening to Anna by Amy Odell.
[00:47:00] From the Front Porch is a weekly podcast production of The Bookshelf, an independent bookstore in Thomasville, Georgia. You can follow the bookshelves daily happenings on Instagram at Bookshelf TV, and all the books from today's episode can be purchased online through our store website:.
[00:47:14] Bookshelfthomasville.com
[00:47:15] A full transcript of today's episode can be found at:
[00:47:19] Fromthefrontporchpodcast.com.
[00:47:21] 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.
[00:47:30] Our executive producers of today's episode are Donna Hetchler, Angie Ericson, Cammy Tidwell, Chantel. C.
Executive Producers (Read their own names) [00:47:38] Nicole Marsee, Wendi Jenkins, Laurie Johnson, Kate Johnston Tucker.
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