Episode 455 || Best Books of the Year with Hunter
This week on From the Front Porch, Annie and Hunter (@shelfbyshelf) discuss their top 10 favorite books of 2023.
To purchase the books mentioned in this episode, visit our website (type “Episode 455” into the search bar and tap enter to find the books mentioned in this episode) or or download and shop on The Bookshelf’s official app:
Annie's 2023 favorites:
1. In Memoriam by Alice Wynn
2. Tom Lake by Ann Patchett
3. Hello Beautiful by Ann Napolitano
4. The Vaster Wilds by Lauren Groff
5. How to Stay Married by Harrison Scott Key
6. Let Us Descend by Jesmyn Ward
7. All My Knotted-Up Life by Beth Moore
8. Shark Heart by Emily Habeck
9. Monsters by Claire Dederer
10. Congratulations! The Best Is Over! by R. Eric Thomas
Hunter's 2023 favorites:
1. The Vaster Wilds by Lauren Groff
2. The Bee Sting by Paul Murray
3. The Rachel Incident by Caroline O'Donoghue
4. In Memoriam by Alice Winn
5. The Guest by Emma Cline
6. Monsters by Claire Dederer
7. Holler, Child by Latoya Watkins
8. Brother and Sister Enter the Forest by Richard Mirabella
9. Land of Milk and Honey by C. Pam Zhang
10. Congratulations! The Best is Over! by R. Eric Thomas
To purchase Annie and Hunter’s mid-year favorite books referenced in this episode, visit our website (type “Episode 430” into the search bar and tap enter to find those books) or or download and shop on The Bookshelf’s official app.
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 reading God Speaks Through Wombs by Drew Jackson. Hunter is reading The Happy Couple by Naoise Dolan.
If you liked what you heard in today’s episode, tell us by leaving a review on Apple Podcasts. You can also support us on Patreon, where you can access bonus content, monthly live Porch Visits with Annie, our monthly live Patreon Book Club with Bookshelf staffers, Conquer a Classic episodes with Hunter, and more. 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...Ashley Ferrell, Cammy Tidwell, Chanta Combs, Chantalle C, Kate O’Connell, Kristin May, Laurie Johnson, Linda Lee Drozt, Martha, Nicole Marsee, Stacy Laue, Stephanie Dean, Susan Hulings, and Wendi Jenkins.
Transcript:
Annie Jones [00:00:01] Welcome to from the Front Porch, a conversational podcast about books, small business and life in the South.
“Sylvia had read somewhere that the more times a story was told, the less accurate it became. Humans were prone to exaggeration. They leaned away from the parts of the narrative they found boring and leaned into the exciting spots. Details and timelines changed over years of repetition. The story became more myth and less true. Sylvie thought about how she and William rarely told their story and felt pleased by not being shared. Their love story remained intact.” Ann Napolitano. Hello, beautiful.
[00:00:57] I'm Annie Jones, owner of The Bookshelf, an independent bookstore in beautiful downtown Thomasville, Georgia. And this week, I'm joined by my friend Hunter McLendon to talk about our favorite books of 2023. If you love hearing from Hunter, you might consider joining From the Front Porch on Patreon in 2024. There, Hunter and I will be sharing our monthly recaps of our conquering of the modern American classic Lonesome Dove. Episodes will air on the last Friday of each month, which means you've got plenty of time to join or to cajole friends and families into joining us too. I think shop mom and shop dad are actually going to follow along in 2024. To join Patreon, just visit patreon.com/from the front porch. Three tiers are available there, but the $5 a month tier will give you access to our Conquer a Classic episodes, and we hope you'll join us. Now, back to the task at hand. Hi, Hunter.
Hunter McLendon [00:01:51] Hello.
Annie Jones [00:01:52] Welcome back.
Hunter McLendon [00:01:53] Thank you for having me. As always, I love to be here.
Annie Jones [00:01:56] This is a fun I feel like it's become an annual tradition at this point.
Hunter McLendon [00:02:01] Yeah, we've done this for how many years? It's been four or five maybe more, I don't know.
Annie Jones [00:02:07] I think at least four years is what it feels like. Actually, listeners, back in June, Hunter and I discussed our favorite books of the year so far. I think for the past two or three years, we've evaluated at the midway point. So you can go back and listen to episode 430 if you want to hear our full conversation about what our reading life looked like back in June, which now feels just forever ago. But now we're back, end of year, to see how our picks held up. So have you looked at your June list?
Hunter McLendon [00:02:43] Yeah, I looked at it and it's so funny because I think that three of the books are the same I think.
Annie Jones [00:02:53] Okay. Wow. I'm looking at mine. Okay, so how should we do this? Well, this is not surprising. My top few changed a little bit, but it is amazing what the back half of the year holds. The back half of the year held a lot of really good books. And I'm going to need your help. I'm struggling with my number 10 slot.
Hunter McLendon [00:03:18] Are you?
Annie Jones [00:03:19] Yes, I really am. Okay. I'm just going to run through mine really quickly. My top 10 from 10 to 1. So my number 10 book back in June was How Far to the Promised Land by Esau McCaulley. Number nine, If We're Being Honest by Cat Shook. Number eight, Congratulations the Best is Over by our Eric Thomas. Number seven, Paper Names by Susie Luo. Six, Monsters by Claire Dederer. Five, How to Stay Married by Harrison Scott Key. Four, All My Knotted Up Life by Beth Moore. Three, Stealing by Margaret verble. Two, Hello Beautiful by Ann Napolitano. And, one, In Memoriam by Alice Winn. Okay, what were your top 10 in June?
Hunter McLendon [00:04:03] In June my top ten from 10 to one?
Annie Jones [00:04:06] Yes.
Hunter McLendon [00:04:07] Am I saying the authors names too?
Annie Jones [00:04:11] Yes, I did.
Hunter McLendon [00:04:12] Okay. Sorry. My brain's like [inaudible]. It's really a task. Anyway, yeah.. Okay, so 10 was In Memoriam by Alice Winn. Nine was Witnessed by Jamel Brinkley. Eight was the Vaster Wilds by Lauren Groff. I can't believe I rated that so low. I'm so rude.
Annie Jones [00:04:28] Okay, wait. Can I stop you?
Hunter McLendon [00:04:29] Yeah.
Annie Jones [00:04:30] I think this is reverse. We're reading from a doc. I think you put them in this doc reversed.
Hunter McLendon [00:04:38] You're right.
Annie Jones [00:04:39] Because there's no way you put Vaster Wild-- I just refuse.
Hunter McLendon [00:04:43] I know. I was like, wait a second. Okay, wait. I remember. Number 10 was Big Swiss by Jenn Beagin. This is more like it.
Annie Jones [00:04:49] Okay.
Hunter McLendon [00:04:50] Okay. Big Swiss by Jenn Beagin. Number nine was August Blue by Deborah Levy. Number eight was Monsters by Claire Dederer. Number seven was The People Who Report More Stressed by Alejandro Varela. Number six was My Last Innocent Year by Daisy Alpert Florin. Number five was The New Life by Tom Crew. Number four was Your Driver is Waiting by Priya Guns. Number three was The Vaster wilds by Lauren Groff. Number two was Witnessed by Jamel Brinkley. Number one was In Memoriam by Alice Winn.
Annie Jones [00:05:20] Okay, that makes more sense. The Vaster Wilds I was like, wait a minute.
Hunter McLendon [00:05:24] I know. I was like, what? And also it's so funny because I put it there because I was like, well, I don't want to put it too high and hype it. At this point, I'm like, no, no, no. I need to stop pretending like I'm--
Annie Jones [00:05:36] Too cool?
Hunter McLendon [00:05:37] Not her biggest. Yeah.
Annie Jones [00:05:39] Okay. So before we debrief-- and we have not looked at each other's final lists, this is always my favorite thing. We kind of surprise each other. So before we get into our top 10, I just have some basic questions. So we are recording this end of year. Really, truly, it's December. The publishing year is essentially over, more or less. No offense to books coming out this month. But it is kind of a chaotic month. And normally most of the books are pretty well done by this point in the year. So I'm wondering what one word that would encapsulate your reading life for 2023?
Hunter McLendon [00:06:17] Like to describe the types of books I read or my reading life in general?
Annie Jones [00:06:21] Your reading vibe.
Hunter McLendon [00:06:27] Inconsistent.
Annie Jones [00:06:28] Okay. That's good. I'm trying to think what mine is. I asked a question we did not prep for this. Yeah, I'll be honest. The very first word that comes to mind is fine. My reading is fine, but that feels like it gives it a disservice because I actually had a lot of books I really loved this year, and then I had a lot of books that I just thought were okay. But the books I loved, I really loved. And even in the months like November was a really chaotic reading month. But because of audiobooks, I was still able to read a couple of books that I really enjoyed. And I feel like overall, I was a little bit smarter about my reading life. What's that app that makes your reading cute? What's that app that makes your reading charts? Do you know what I mean? Somebody is yelling at their phone right now.
Hunter McLendon [00:07:23] Oh, yes. Hold on. Wait.
Annie Jones [00:07:26] It's that book app.
Hunter McLendon [00:07:27] StoryGraph? No.
Annie Jones [00:07:28] StoryGraph. Yes.
Hunter McLendon [00:07:29] Yeah. Okay.
Annie Jones [00:07:30] StoryGraph. Okay. Back in January, when I put on my 2022 books into StoryGraph, I realized that a lot of my lower ratings were given to romance novels. And so I realized, oh, so this year when I read a romance novel or a romantic comedy, for the most part, I really liked it because I had learned to be pretty picky about that because I realized romance isn't my natural genre, perhaps, which I kind of thought it was. But I was like, no, romance is not my genre. So I'm going to read books that come highly recommended by friends. So I think about my friend Kimberly who read a closed door romance, and she was like, "Hey, you're really going to like this." And I read it, and you know what? Really liked it. I read books by authors I trusted, like Kerry Winfrey. And so I felt like I was smarter. I read smarter, not harder in 2023.
Hunter McLendon [00:08:21] That's good. I truly just think that I was head empty going into 2023. I always feel so woo-woo whenever I'm reading. I feel like an episode of Charmed where they're just running their hand over a map and hoping for the best. That's kind of how I picked my books. I like sort by hand or something and go, "That's good."
Annie Jones [00:08:43] Yeah. No, I get that. I also didn't read things I really wanted to. Meaning my 2023 was supposed to be my Wendell Berry year. Y'all, I read Wendell Berry poetry and that's it. I picked up Jayber Crow and then got distracted. I don't know. Turns out my work life really affects my reading life.. It really affects because I'm reading so much for work. Reading something like Wendell Berry can feel frivolous or like I don't have time. Which isn't true. And so, anyway, I'm going to be carrying my Wendell Berry resolution into 2024. I have not given up on that. I really do want to read him. And so I'm hopeful to read more of his fiction works in 2024. But, anyway, so that's an example of something that really didn't work for me in my reading life. And yet it's okay that it didn't. It's okay. I didn't have a terrible reading year because I didn't do that one resolution.
Hunter McLendon [00:09:42] Right. Were there any like backlist books that stood out to you this year that you just loved?
Annie Jones [00:09:47] Yes. Empire Falls. I really did love. I mean, it took a direction I wasn't expecting. But that's a title that I thought I'm really glad to have read this. Actually, and then there was The River by Peter Heller, was really great. I had not read him before and I really thoroughly enjoyed that reading experience. I enjoyed reading that backlist title. I read Bluebird Bluebird by Attica Locke. I thought that was great. I read You're Not Listening for our town's one book selection that's technically a backlist title, and I really did like it. And then probably one of my favorite backlist titles this year was Glaciers. Have you read that by Alexis Smith?
Hunter McLendon [00:10:30] No.
Annie Jones [00:10:31] Okay. That was a really beautiful book. The little almost novella that got re-released this year, I want to say, with a new cover. But it was a backlist title. And then Tracy Smith's Ordinary Light.
Hunter McLendon [00:10:44] Oh, yeah. I wanted to read that.
Annie Jones [00:10:46] Yeah, my book club read that book and I thoroughly, thoroughly enjoyed that. Off the top of my head. Those are some of my favorites. What about you?
Hunter McLendon [00:10:58] I read a lot of backlist this year, actually. I read this kind of creepy book called Hawk Mountain by Conner Habib. And that book was bonkers. I really enjoyed that one. I read a lot of translated literature. I read a book called The Sluts by Dennis Cooper. Unless you are me as a person, don't read that book because I really enjoyed it. You don't read it because you get like a page in a book like, "Hunter, what is happening?"
Annie Jones [00:11:41] Can I can I tell you-- I am ashamed to say this, but back in the day I was a pretty legalistic Christian and which, look, there's also nothing wrong with having certain sensitivities. My mother is a sensitive reader. She does not like language in her books. I am not here to judge that. In fact, I love my mom and I love the the boundary she sets for herself. So I'm not here to judge anyone for those boundaries. But I will just say that back in the day, I was hesitant to watch TV shows that had a lot of stuff in it. And I wish I could remember. There was like a service that you could download or probably not. This is probably before you can even download stuff. But you could basically instead of using a VCR, you used this kind of VCR and you put your--
Hunter McLendon [00:12:26] CurseBuster.
Annie Jones [00:12:27] Yeah. And I never got one, but I wanted one because I was like, oh, I can watch whatever I want, but it would just mute the bad words for you or blip out the sex. You are my CurseBuster. You tell me. My boundaries are different from my mom's. I always text Hunter and I'm like, hey, would I-- and it's not just about cussing or sex, like, whatever, but it's also just in general, you know me pretty well. And so you know if a book is for me or not, and I am very grateful for that.
Hunter McLendon [00:12:59] Well, that's the thing. I think early on in our friendship I liked watching your reaction to certain books. But at this point, I'm like, no, no, I don't need to traumatize her. But actually that's the thing, too. We talked a lot about this, right? Because there's books like Fire Sermon and [inaudible] and stuff that some people have read it and been like, "Annie, you like this?" It's the quality of it that matters.
Annie Jones [00:13:25] It's the quality and if it's part of the plot, like if it's part of the story. Yeah, that's really valuable.
Hunter McLendon [00:13:30] Yeah. I will say, going back to backlist titles that I really enjoyed, one that I want you to read that I think you'd love was Imagine Me Gone by Adam Haslett.
Annie Jones [00:13:38] Okay, I'm writing it down.
Hunter McLendon [00:13:40] It was a National Book Award finalist and a Pulitzer finalist.
Annie Jones [00:13:43] Yeah, I think I remember the cover.
Hunter McLendon [00:13:45] Yeah. I wasn't sure what I was going to think of it. I ended up loving it. I thought it was beautiful. And it feels so timely now to read it. So it's so interesting to read a book that came out several years ago that feels even more of the conversations we're having now.
Annie Jones [00:14:04] Did you read it or listen to it?
Hunter McLendon [00:14:06] I did both. But it's a good audio book though.
Annie Jones [00:14:08] Okay.
Hunter McLendon [00:14:09] And also two authors that I read a lot of this year were Deborah Levy and Annie Ernaux and those were some of my favorite reads of this year because I just thought-- I think there's one of her memoirs is called A Frozen Woman, Annie Ernaux. And I think if you're going to read one of hers, that's one you should read. I think he would love it.
Annie Jones [00:14:31] Okay. Because one of our customers came into the store probably this summer and asked that we stock Annie Ernaux which we do. The Bookshelf has stocked her. But I have not read anything by her. And so I was curious where I should start.
Hunter McLendon [00:14:47] I think that's a really great place because she writes a lot about her affairs and stuff. But that one is a lot about her mom. And I think that is just beautiful dynamic that she writes about. And then going back to Deborah Levy, I've read all of her work now. I told you to read The Cost of Living, which I think is beautiful. But also she has a novel called Hot Milk that I finished it. And it's one of those things where I'm trying to think about how to describe what the experience was. But it's just one of those where I went in not really knowing what to expect. And it's not one of those books that's necessarily like an easy read. I think that she's challenging in some ways, but it's exciting. And when I finished it, like I've reread the last two pages over and over again because I'm like, this is just so good. And I love whenever a book rewards you with rereading too.
Annie Jones [00:15:38] That's good to know because we also keep her on our shelves. Do you ever find it challenging? I feel like you've gotten so much better at this than I have. I really do struggle to either read backlist. Or it's like if I missed it as a bookseller, it is hard for me to go back because I feel like I constantly have to be reading the newest latest up and coming. And I really do struggle to prioritize not just backlist titles, but titles that friends recommend. I just struggle with that. I don't know where it fits in my reading. And I'm thinking out loud, but maybe it would be helpful to like have a notes app where I have like a list of books to keep an eye out for when I go to indie bookstores when I travel. I love bookish serendipity and I often rely on that when I go to indie bookstores. But maybe I should have a little list of your recommendations or books that I've seen that I maybe miss when they first released so that I could at least have some incentive to read them when I'm in an audiobook slump or something like that. And I could go and try Imagine Me Gone in audiobook format. The other day I I was at a loss about what audiobook to try and I wound up downloading an ALC, which is fine. But maybe when I'm sometimes in a slump or when I'm out and about at the library or at the bookstore, maybe I could keep a list on hand.
Hunter McLendon [00:17:04] Let me tell you, my latest thing is if I'm in a slump (this is a new discovery for me) if I listen to an Irish narrator, I didn't think I was going to be into it. And then I read and listened to Milkman by Anna Burns last year, I think. And which you would love that. I think you'd love it on audiobook. It took a minute but it's really good. But after that one there's something about like a certain Irish narrators and also certain British narrators, like, there's that book Woman Eating, the narrator of that was really good. And then and then Our Lives Down Under the Sea. The narrator of that.
Annie Jones [00:17:45] Oh, yeah.
Hunter McLendon [00:17:45] I was like, wow.
Annie Jones [00:17:48] Was she British? I didn't even know that.
Hunter McLendon [00:17:50] Listen, I was shocked. I had no idea. I can say this because as a homosexual... But I was like, British lesbian? And I said that out loud because I started it at the gym and this woman turned to me and was like, what? And I said, "I'm sorry. I was just stunned. I did not expect the accent." And she was like, okay.
Annie Jones [00:18:15] No, that is [inaudible] to me. Okay. Are there any 2023 releases that you wish you'd made time for and you didn't?
Hunter McLendon [00:18:26] A lot. Actually, I just started today and I feel like it would probably make my top 10 if I'd finished it is Tom Lake by Ann Patchett.
Annie Jones [00:18:35] Oh my gosh, it's so good.
Hunter McLendon [00:18:38] I'm loving it. I'm like, this is so good, but I'm not finished. I can't do it. I was intrigued by Absolution by Alice McDermott.
Annie Jones [00:18:47] I was too.
Hunter McLendon [00:18:48] Yeah. The James McBride The Heaven on Earth Grocery Store.
Annie Jones [00:18:52] Yes. I'm mad I didn't finish that. I'm mad about that.
Hunter McLendon [00:18:56] Northwoods. you and I talked about this off here I think maybe.
Annie Jones [00:19:00] Yes.
Hunter McLendon [00:19:00] The Fraud by Zadie Smith. There's quite a few that I was like, ugh.
Annie Jones [00:19:03] Northwoods is on my list and The Bee Sting because a couple of readers I trust I feel like-- wait, did you read that?
Hunter McLendon [00:19:10] Yeah.
Annie Jones [00:19:11] I might have saved it from you. You and my friend Jennifer. Do you think I would like it?
Hunter McLendon [00:19:16] Yes, I think that there is a section that she'd be like, this is a lot. But I think you'd fall into the rhythm of it. Would be fine.
Annie Jones [00:19:25] I think sometimes I have to remind myself-- and look, I'm all for readers setting boundaries, as I already mentioned. But occasionally, sometimes I feel like I talk myself out of books. And then I remember, for example, that I read and loved The Goldfinch, even though there's a lot of like drug use in that book where I'm like, I don't need to be along for somebody's high. Do you know what I mean? But in Donna Tartt's hands, I actually do. And so it's a good reminder that there can be things in books that you think, oh, I can't handle that. Well, you probably can. Yeah, maybe you can. Okay. Should we do this?
Hunter McLendon [00:20:03] Yeah, I'm ready.
Annie Jones [00:20:05] Hunter, my problem is I don't know what to put in my number 10 slot. Oh, this is awful.
Hunter McLendon [00:20:12] So you got two there?
Annie Jones [00:20:13] I've got two there. Can I tell you the two and you tell me where it should go?
Hunter McLendon [00:20:16] Yeah.
Annie Jones [00:20:17] Okay. Which there were three there, but I've recorded a podcast episode today called Unsung Books of 2023. It's just me. This is me by myself talking about the unsung books of 2023 and I put one of them there. So in January you'll get to hear me talk about that. I've got two in the 10 slot. You tell me what to narrow down to you. I have Stealing by Margaret Verble, which the whole time has been high up on my lists. It was in my top five, maybe even my top three back in June. I think the problem is I read this book technically in 2022. I read it in December of 2022, so it's been a minute. And so there's some recency bias. So Stealing by Margaret Verble or Congratulations the Best is Over by Eric Thomas. I know.
Hunter McLendon [00:21:00] Okay, but wait. Now, I have to tell you what my number 10 is.
Annie Jones [00:21:03] Okay. What's your number 10?
Hunter McLendon [00:21:05] Congratulations the Best is Over.
Annie Jones [00:21:09] Should that be my number 10 as well?
Hunter McLendon [00:21:10] Yeah, we can be twinsies.
Annie Jones [00:21:12] Okay. That book is so good. And when I look back and think I have a very distinct memory of being in my front yard in my Adirondack chair, reading not even the advance reader copy, Hunter, reading one of those bound manuscripts. Tell me if this is true. Nothing makes me feel cooler than reading a bound manuscript, right?
Hunter McLendon [00:21:31] Oh, absolutely.
Annie Jones [00:21:32] Yeah. I feel like I'm the editor at some high powered publishing firm. I feel so important. Nothing is better than that feeling. But I was reading the bound manuscript, and I literally was crying and then also laughing. And then Jordan and I were going to the movies or something, so we rode in the car to Tallahassee and I read it out loud to him. And do you know what Jordan said? Jordan said, "Hunter could write a book like this." And I said, "He totally could." Because all the pop culture references are so smart and witty and funny. The ability to tell a really funny story. We always talk about you being my Phoebe Buffay. Like the ability to tell a really funny but also traumatic story. I feel like you and Eric have that in common. Meeting Eric this year also was like icing on the cake. It just felt like meeting a friend. I don't know who out there is doing essays other than maybe CJ Hauser and those are just a different vibe. I don't know who's doing essays better right now.
Hunter McLendon [00:22:33] That's the thing. And it's so hard to find someone who's writing stuff that's as funny, that's as well written.
Annie Jones [00:22:39] Yes.
Hunter McLendon [00:22:42] Typically, you kind of have to sacrifice language for the humor. And he doesn't do that. I think that's brilliant.
Annie Jones [00:22:48] Okay. Yay! Twinsies. I love when we overlap. It brings me a lot of joy.
Hunter McLendon [00:22:53] I know. Which is so funny too because I will say this in case he ends up ever listening, but I had this higher. But because at this point, I keep on telling everyone that we're friends, I didn't want people to be like, he's really happy what is [inaudible]. Because I made a joke the other day about how I wanted to marry him and someone was like, did you actually read the book? I was like, yes, I like the book. That's why I want to marry him.
Annie Jones [00:23:14] Right. They go hand in hand. Thank you so much. Okay. My number nine is Monsters by Claire Dederer. This is a book that stuck with me all year long. I have continued to think about it. I appreciated a critic and a writer writing about the thing that we all as readers are talking about. I mean, we're constantly having this conversation about which artists can we support, why or why not? ho are we supporting? Who are we listening to? Who are we reading? And I appreciate that to some extent. She doesn't fully answer that question. She instead kind of investigates where that question comes from. And maybe we've been asking the wrong question all along. This is a book, too, that I really appreciated for its accessibility, meaning it's a work of literary criticism, but I feel like it's entirely accessible. So you could read it in a classroom setting. I think it'd be very valuable there. But also I think anybody as a lay reader could pick this up and be not necessarily encouraged, but be informed. Yeah, I think it'll cause you to think. And I listened to this and really loved the audiobook format, but in fact before the year's out I probably should buy a physical copy because there was so much I wanted to underline. I think this is one that you could have on your shelf as well as the audiobook.
Hunter McLendon [00:24:33] Yeah, I have the audiobook and I have a physical copy and it's kind of nice to go back and forth like with that one. But spoiler alert, it's also on my list at some point.
Annie Jones [00:24:44] Oh, good. Okay.
Hunter McLendon [00:24:46] So there's more of that to come.
Annie Jones [00:24:48] Okay. What's your number nine?
Hunter McLendon [00:24:49] My number nine is Land of Milk and Honey by C Pam Zhang. Which did you read this?
Annie Jones [00:24:54] Yes, I did. I listened to it.
Hunter McLendon [00:24:57] Okay. It's interesting. Everyone told me not to listen to it.
Annie Jones [00:25:00] I would agree with that. I wish I had read it.
Hunter McLendon [00:25:03] Okay.
Annie Jones [00:25:04] I think my reading experience was affected by my audiobook experience.
Hunter McLendon [00:25:08] Everyone told me. They were like, I did not like it on audio. And I so I was going to listen to it. And then I read it and it's beautifully written. I don't know how I would feel if it was not well narrated though.
Annie Jones [00:25:21] Well, I think that's the problem, is the book is so-- the word I kept coming back to is sensuous. It is so sensory all about food. And also, do you think your reading was affected? Were you reading it in Italy?
Hunter McLendon [00:25:34] Yeah.
Annie Jones [00:25:35] Yeah. So I'm sure that affected your reading. But, yeah, it was so sensuous that at first I was like, I think I'm really going to like this audiobook because they're really bringing the language to life. But then as the book continued on, I really wished I was reading the physical copy.
Hunter McLendon [00:25:54] You didn't read How Much of These Hills is Gold, did you?
Annie Jones [00:25:56] I did not. Did you?
Hunter McLendon [00:25:58] Yes.
Annie Jones [00:25:58] Okay. Did you like it?
Hunter McLendon [00:26:00] Yes. I think it reminded me a little bit of Swamplandia by Karen Russell just how these young children kind of on their own forging out into the greater world trying to figure out stuff out. And the language is just as rich, but in a very different way. And that's the thing. It's so funny because I do feel like the ending of Land of Milk and Honey didn't have as much of a punch as I maybe wanted.
Annie Jones [00:26:28] I would agree.
Hunter McLendon [00:26:29] But I think that the language was what kind of stayed in my mind.
Annie Jones [00:26:34] Yes. Though, in fact, I just went back-- I promise I wasn't distracted. But I was trying to find my review because I was like, what did I think about this? So I said, this is one of those weird books I find myself gravitating toward every so often. I was intrigued by the novel's premise, which if you and Tyler have not seen the movie The Menu, that is what it reminded me of.
Hunter McLendon [00:26:53] Yes.
Annie Jones [00:26:54] So, anyway, and that movie stuck with me a really long time. And I said, although the book went on a bit too long for my tastes, I'm glad I read it. I really liked it. And then I felt like it dragged too long. But the language is remarkable.
Hunter McLendon [00:27:10] I think you'd like Land of Milk and Honey. I think you'd like How Much of These Hills Is Gold? I think that her language is just so rich and beautiful that it's kind of hard to like-- it just sticks in your mind. And especially I would recommend just going back and reading the first couple paragraphs of the second chapter, because to me that opening is so strong that I just think about she talks about smoking and the stress and all this stuff. And it's like the way she writes I'm like, gosh, it feels so in there. So I loved that one. I think it went on too long, but the language made up for it for me.
Annie Jones [00:27:46] Okay, I'm doing some last minute moving around. Hold on. Okay. My number eight is Shark Heart by Emily Habeck. I loved this book. It was recommended to me by Keila and Erin on staff at the Bookshelf. It reminded me to some extent of the Swimmers, which was one of my favorite, favorite books of the last couple of years, because the book is about a man and woman who are married and the man begins turning into a shark. And you learn as the book progresses that she never treats it as something otherworldly. It's part of the setting in this environment that occasionally people begin turning into animals and it's like a disease. And of course, you, the reader, quickly realize this is a metaphor of what happens when maybe you're in relationship with somebody who becomes terminally ill or is diagnosed with dementia or something like that. And so what happens when your partner leaves you and enters a new world. And it becomes this really beautiful allegory. The writing is great. It's deeply moving. I love books about marriage and about relationships. And at its heart, that's what I think this book is. And so, yes, is it a book where a human becomes a shark? Absolutely. It's like The Swimmers. It's like Our Wives Under the Sea. It's like The Harpy. But I just thoroughly, thoroughly enjoyed it. I could not believe it was a debut novel. It's excellent and worth. I think it got some hype maybe on Bookstagram, and I just am here to say worth the hype. I thought it was outstanding.
Hunter McLendon [00:29:28] Okay. Now I want to read it. It sounds so good.
Annie Jones [00:29:31] It was really good.
Hunter McLendon [00:29:32] Okay. My number eight, which it's so funny because I meant to put this on my top 10 back in the summer, but I had mentioned it even in the podcast that I had it, but it was a Brother and Sister Enter the Forest by Richard Mirabella, which is this book about trauma, about growing up queer, about sibling relationships, about addiction. And Richard is a big fan of Joy Williams. And I think that if you read Joy Williams, that you might can pick up on those vibes in this book. But it's one of those books that I think that he said at one point that he structured the book emotionally rather than chronologically, like structured emotional beats. And it's funny because you think that could potentially be confusing, but the way that it's written, it flows so smoothly. There's just something so clean and crisp about the writing. And I connected so easily to these characters and it was a world I was very familiar with. And it's one of the things I love a book that shows me a world I've lived in from a slightly different perspective and allows me to reconsider and re-contextualize a lot of my own relationships and dynamics through the people. And that's kind of what this book did. And this is a book that is very kind and loving towards a lot of at times frustrating and despicable people. And I love a book that does that.
Annie Jones [00:31:11] Yeah. Well, I think because we've had that conversation before, it's really hard to do. And I don't know that people want you to do that. Sometimes I think we want to villainize the characters in our lives, forgetting that the characters in our lives are actually people that we're in relationship with. And so, yeah, how can we treat when we write or when we turn our life into copy? How do we treat those people? Okay, wait, what was the book called again?
Hunter McLendon [00:31:42] Brother and Sister Enter the Forest.
Annie Jones [00:31:44] Okay, that's a good title too. My number seven is All my Knotted Up Life. This is a book by Beth Moore. She is a figure in the evangelical world. She made a lot of news. She was already pretty prolific, very prolific in evangelical culture. But back in 2016, she really made headlines because she was somebody who came out pretty staunchly against Donald Trump. And what that wound up costing her in terms of her platform, in terms of her role in the Southern Baptist movement and the Southern Baptist Convention. So, anyway, I've been fascinated by her. Back in the day, I read a couple of her Bible studies and liked them, but maybe didn't fall in love with them the way some people did. I think people forget I was like raised half in, half out of evangelical culture. The Church of Christ world is weirdly, I would say, not evangelical. It's kind of its own thing. And so, anyway, sometimes you can see that come out in my relationship to some aspects of evangelical culture. But I was intrigued by this book because of what happened in 2016 and because she wound up leaving the Southern Baptist Convention and the Southern Baptist world. And I also left the church of my childhood, and I thought that I would find a kinship in her there. And I did.
[00:33:02] But what I was pleasantly surprised to find was just a truly outstanding Southern Gothic memoir. I did not realize what a talented writer she was. I really didn't. And I was absolutely blown away. I read this book in physical format. Jordan listened to the audiobook and loved it. And like I said, I really did find a kinship in the back half. That's where she particularly talks about kind of the late 2016 in sense and kind of what happened to her after that. But the first part of the book is this really almost like Glass Castle esque story of her upbringing in deeply rural Arkansas. She writes a lot about her marriage. I absolutely loved this book and really could have even put it higher. It's just some other books I read even more recently really resonated. But that is All My Knotted Up Life by Beth Moore. I also would just like to put in a plug that I have several readers in my life who read this and love this and had no relationship to the evangelical world or to Christian culture. And so if you are like, "Oh, I thought that was a Christian Book." I'm just here to tell you, I actually think it far surpasses that genre.
Hunter McLendon [00:34:09] All my Knotted Up Life. I love how I'm always just like adding things as we go. I'm like, okay, that sounds good.
Annie Jones [00:34:15] I know. I'm literally taking notes.
Hunter McLendon [00:34:18] That's the thing too. It's so funny because I think that because--we talk about this, we keep things like a surprise to each other a lot. And so it's really exciting whenever we get to... You know.
Annie Jones [00:34:27] Yeah.
Hunter McLendon [00:34:27] Okay. So you and I talked here a little bit about your slight interest for this year's National Book Award longlist, which I have also been a little bit disinterested in the past two years. I've been like, some of these are fine, but you know... This next book was longlisted but did not make the shortlist. It was actually my favorite book on the entire longlist, which is Holler, Child by LaToya Watkins.
Annie Jones [00:34:54] Yes. What else did she write? Because I'm familiar with.
Hunter McLendon [00:34:58] A novel called Paris.
Annie Jones [00:34:59] Yes, Paris.
Hunter McLendon [00:35:01] And I actually think that you would love Holler Child. It is a story collection that explores the idea of loss, but not just like losses and death, but also loss of innocence or loss of a childhood, like a relationship with a child as they become an adult. And how you gain a relationship with an adult, but you do lose that intimacy that you have with a child. And there's all that. Or just like the loss of trust. It was very interesting the ways that she explores all these things in a very rich language that it reminded me a little bit if anyone has read Danielle Evans or [inaudible]. Or even a little bit of Brit Bennett. A little bit not too much, but definitely just like a very rich language that I love and so smart. Or even there's Heads of the Colored People. Did you read that?
Annie Jones [00:36:03] No. Who's that?
Hunter McLendon [00:36:07] Nafissa Thompson-Spiers.
Annie Jones [00:36:08] Okay. No, I've read Danielle Evans, but I haven't read that.
Hunter McLendon [00:36:11] Okay. Well, I think if you like any of those, I think you'd Holler Child. This is like a very quick aside. But I did meet Nafissa Thompson-Spiers when I was at the National Book Awards ceremony thing. And I was really drunk and I pointed at her and said, "What's your name?" And she froze and said Nafissa. And I said, "Oh my gosh, I love Heads of the Colored People. You are amazing and I'm obsessed with you." And I was like, "I'm screaming, I apologize. I'm just very excited." And she was like, okay. And she looked terrified. She looked like she thought I was going to murder her. And then she followed me on Instagram. And I was like, okay, maybe she doesn't hate me. But, yeah, I loved Holler Child. I think you'd really like it a lot. And it's a very quick read and it's got on audio too.
Annie Jones [00:37:00] Okay, good. I wrote that one down. Okay, my number six. And maybe we're about to get in a metaphorical fistfight over this. My number six is the Vaster Wilds by Lauren Groff.
Hunter McLendon [00:37:10] Okay.
Annie Jones [00:37:13] Look, I feel like it could have been higher. And we may argue about this because there's another spot where it could have gone. Should it have gone? Is number six the Vaster Wilds? I'm happy with my number five. I feel like it could have swapped with my number four. Whatever, too late. the Vaster Wilds by Lauren Groff. I loved this book and I really was worried. No, it's my number four. I'm moving it. I'm doing it right now. I'm going to put my number six as Let Us Descend by Jesmyn Ward.
Hunter McLendon [00:37:49] Okay.
Annie Jones [00:37:50] Okay. Here's why I'm moving that in real time. My number six is Let Us Descend. I loved this book. It was five stars for me. I was disappointed that it did not make the-- speaking of the National Book Award, I felt like it deserved to be longlisted even if it did not become a finalist. I like everything she does, but I was pleasantly surprised. She constantly surprises me because I'm not a reader who loves magical realism, and she incorporates an element of magical realism really into all of her books. And I was struck by all the interviews that she has given about this book. She talks about her own story of grief and then the loss of her partner during the pandemic and how that affected her writing life and how that affected her as a person. And you can really feel that palpably throughout the book. The book's main character, Annis, has this relationship with her mother that is deeply moving. And then we kind of get this otherworldly presence that plays a role in the novel. I loved this one. I will continue to read pretty much whatever Jesmyn Ward puts out into the world. I will read. But I'm going to put vaster wilds ahead of it because I do think for me, when I rank books or when I write books, I like to think about their memorability, whether or not I'll remember these characters, whether or not I remember these plot lines. So we'll talk about the Vaster World in a second. But my number six is now officially Let Us Descend by Jesmyn Ward.
Hunter McLendon [00:39:29] Which I will say like, I swear I'm going to become that person who's like a name dropper. I met Jesmyn.
Annie Jones [00:39:35] I saw a picture. I was so jealous. I think I DMd you on Instagram.
Hunter McLendon [00:39:39] She's so kind to and she recognized me from Instagram and I was like--
Annie Jones [00:39:45] Okay.
Hunter McLendon [00:39:46] Which is kind of embarrassing because there was several other people who were like, "Jesmyn, we met before." And she was like, oh, okay. And I was like, oh gosh, this is awkward. No, but she's so kind. But then it's one of the things where-- to be clear, I really liked Let Us Dissent. But I do think to follow up Salvage the Bones and Sing Unburied Sing, it is so hard. Like to have like a one two punch, it's very hard to set that bar that high. And so it's kind of like how no matter how great a Meryl Streep performance is, like--
Annie Jones [00:40:18] I almost wonder if there's a fatigue like a Meryl Streep fatigue. Now, I think it was an Oprah pick. So believe me, I'm rolling my eyes as I'm saying this, but I felt like it wasn't as many places as it should be. I felt like, yes, it's an Oprah pick, but I just didn't see it as many places I feel as it deserves because I think she's remarkably consistent as a writer. I mean, you're exactly right. To follow Salvage the Bones up with Sing Unburied Sing, then to follow Sing Unburied Sing up with Let Us Descend I think is really hard. That's super challenging. And I think Let Us Descend-- and I may have texted you this-- is one of her more accessible works too. So I think my mom could read and love it, even though my mom doesn't always read what we would consider literary fiction. My mom is not drawn to that genre. She's not drawn always to a National Book Award finalist or a Pulitzer winner. That's not her thing. But I think she would read this and really like it. So I think that is also really hard to do. To do a really beautiful book or a well-written book that also appeals to a wide audience is hard.
Hunter McLendon [00:41:29] I agree with that. So my number six is one of our crossovers, which is Monsters by Claire Dederer. Which I loved it for the same reasons that you said. And it's so funny because at this point I'm so tired of arguing with people that it's one of those things where I'm just like, "Here, read this."
Annie Jones [00:41:49] Yes.
Hunter McLendon [00:41:50] You know, like, go away. It's just a little bit easier as like a shorthand to be like, get to my level.
Annie Jones [00:41:57] Yeah. Have you read Monsters?
Hunter McLendon [00:41:59] Yeah. That's the thing, though. It's one of those things where it is a book where it is asking a lot of really hard questions and forcing you to negotiate like your own value system. And I think that's really interesting.
Annie Jones [00:42:14] It doesn't answer the question for you, which I think is interesting.
Hunter McLendon [00:42:17] No, but I think it's exciting. And that's the thing, though, right? And I think that's what we need to get to that point of. It's like being okay with sitting in the ickiness of no real good answer.
Annie Jones [00:42:32] Yeah. God, you're speaking my language. I sit here in the mushy messiness all the time. Okay. My number five is How to Stay Married by Harrison Scott Key. I love this book. I will sing his praises from the rooftops. It's probably an outstanding audiobook. I got to-- I'm going to say meet, but the pictures make it look like I accosted Harrison Scott Key in a hallway. It's probably the most Hunter I've ever looked because I was just so excited to meet him. I think this book is stunning. It is deeply funny. It could have been so wrong. I think that's what I was really most impressed by. It's a memoir about Harrison Scott Keys' marriage and his wife's affair, and how they have tried to work through that. And it could have been voyeuristic. I did not find it to be so. It could have been a full of retribution, and I didn't think it was. I thought it was redemptive and interesting and kind, but also did not shy away from really tough, awful stuff. When I read a memoir, this is the kind of memoir I want to read. I absolutely loved it. Can't stop talking about it. Can't stop putting it in people's hands. That's How to Stay Married by Harrison Scott Key.
Hunter McLendon [00:43:52] I really do want to read that, too, because it sounds so good.
Annie Jones [00:43:54] It's really good.
Hunter McLendon [00:43:55] Have you heard about that new memoir, Molly by Blake Butler.
Annie Jones [00:43:58] No. Why haven't I? I'm I not cool enough?
[00:44:00] Okay. You're going to have to look at that. No, I think it just came out, but there's like--
Annie Jones [00:44:06] There's the drama?
Hunter McLendon [00:44:09] Yeah. So you have to look at that book. We'll have to talk about it. I love how I'm just like dropping this on the podcast. Anyway, yeah, everyone else look it up too and then we can all have a conversation later. Okay. So my number five is actually a book I didn't know if I was going to like or not, which is The Guest by Emma Cline.
Annie Jones [00:44:26] Okay.
Hunter McLendon [00:44:27] Did you read this?
Annie Jones [00:44:28] No, I didn't. I liked the girls, but had complicated feelings about it. So I was very curious about this.
Hunter McLendon [00:44:35] Here's what I remember. It's Annie asking, "Should I just tear the first 40% of The Girls off of the book and keep the first 40%? Because I like that part.” And me thinking, no, you do not tear this book in half. Why would you do that?
Annie Jones [00:44:55] I've grown as a person since then. I would never do such a thing. But I do recall thinking the first half of that book was better than the back half.
Hunter McLendon [00:45:02] Yes, I loved The Guest so much, I could not put it down. My friend Bernie was like, "It's fine. I don't get the hype." But it's a book about this woman who is having a seven day spiral as she navigates being among these rich people as like a slummer or whatever. Anyway, and it's very like sad girl, messy, weird.
Annie Jones [00:45:32] We love a girl novel.
Hunter McLendon [00:45:34] It's very good. It's well-paced. And I think it has a very disorienting feeling at the last third that I really enjoyed.
Annie Jones [00:45:45] Is the pacing good?
Hunter McLendon [00:45:46] Yes. It's starts off a little bit like a slow burn, but it starts to ratchet up and then you're like, oh, and there's like a little reprieve for a second because I think you need it in this book because of what's happening. But it's so well written. And it's funny because I think that my two issues with The Girls was that at times it could be a little overwritten and that the pacing could be off at times. And I think that those are the issues that she kind of resolved in this.
Annie Jones [00:46:16] Good for her. Well, we love when a sophomore novel is even better than the first. That's pretty.
Hunter McLendon [00:46:21] Well, that's the thing, too, is that everyone was thinking The Girls is going to be like the big thing. And so it's interesting to see how the guests kind of like.
Annie Jones [00:46:28] That she could follow it up.
Hunter McLendon [00:46:29] Yeah.
Annie Jones [00:46:30] Okay. My number four is The Vaster Wilds by Lauren Groff. I am glad I moved it up because I do think this character is going to stick with me a long time. Her resilience. If you're not familiar, this book is set in and around the Jamestown colony I think it's like 1637 or something like that. What I'm constantly amazed by Lauren Groff, is her ability to make me care about something that I just didn't think I cared about. Now, I knew I cared about nuns. I knew I would be interested in Matrix, but I was worried about the medieval setting. I did not realize how much I wanted a survival tale with a female protagonist and how many adventure stories are always told about male characters. And I feel like now I have an adventure story that one day I could pass on to my daughter and be like, "Look, this is an adventure story for women." It's a really excellent survival tale. I think she even maybe in interviews has reference like Swiss Family Robinson and books like that. And I certainly got that sense. Gosh, I just loved it. I love the language of it. She plays so well with language where she does these books that are set in the medieval times or set in 1637, and then she adopts that language but somehow makes it so it's not hard to read.
Hunter McLendon [00:47:44] It's still accessible. Yeah.
Annie Jones [00:47:45] Yeah. It could be because I devoured this book, and every time I'll say this about Lauren Groff, every time I start a new one of her books I'm hesitant because I honestly am worried she's not going to be able to follow up a book. Or I'll finally reach a book that's not for me. So I hesitated to read Matrix, I hesitated to read the Vaster Wilds. And then I've never been disappointed. Like, I've never been disappointed. So the Vaster Wilds by Lauren Groff is my number four.
Hunter McLendon [00:48:16] Are you going to read Florida?
Annie Jones [00:48:17] I really should. Now I should.
Hunter McLendon [00:48:21] Yeah. Get better at reading her book, please. I'm desperate because I made Bernie read all of her other books this year. And he was like, okay, she's great. And I was like, yeah. Okay. So my number four which I feel like this will probably be on yours higher and you'll see why mine is. But it's In Memoriam by Alice Winn.
Annie Jones [00:48:38] Yes.
Hunter McLendon [00:48:40] I loved this book. I couldn't put this book down. It's beautiful. It's engaging. Great characters. I was very emotionally invested the whole time. It's like gay war. It's just like beautifully written gay war. Which to me I realized is what I want. After I read a bunch of war novels at this point, and I'm like a gay war novel with beautiful language. That's all I want.
Annie Jones [00:49:09] Yeah, she served it up.
Hunter McLendon [00:49:11] Yeah. So that's my number four. I'm going to guess it's higher on your list or somewhere on the list.
Annie Jones [00:49:16] It is.
Hunter McLendon [00:49:18] I'm sure you'll love it.
Annie Jones [00:49:19] Okay. My number three is Hello Beautiful by Ann Napolitano. This was, I think, one of the first books I read this year, I think I read it in March, and I finally was like, "Oh, yes, here we go." It was one of the first five star books I read or that I really felt like, oh, this book will be in my top 10. And I was hesitant because I really liked Dear Edward, which is Ann Napolitano's book she had written previously. But I liked it and my mom liked it, like, it was an overlap for us. This book felt like the book Ann Napolitano was born to write. And it doesn't hurt, obviously, that this was an homage to Little Women. But honestly even once I got into the book, I felt like, yeah, it was in part a tribute to Little Women, but the characters became their very own thing. And it was a lovely, maybe partial tribute to Little Women, but I just wound up caring about William all on his own and wound up caring about these Italian American sisters as their own entity outside of their relationship to the March sisters. I loved this book when I was trying to find a quote for the top of today's episode. I looked at some passages from it and I thought, oh my gosh, this book is so good. Yeah, it's one of those books that I'm worried people might have skipped because of the hype, and I would just urge you not to. The audiobook is narrated by Maura Tierney, but I would recommend the physical copy of this one. So that is Hello Beautiful by Ann Napolitano. I loved it.
Hunter McLendon [00:50:52] I actually love that book too. I'm actually like, oh gosh, would I replaced it? I don't know. That is the book I actually really enjoyed too. I'm glad that you mentioned it. My number three is a book that I didn't think I was going to like. I listened to the audiobook. I feel like that might have been part of what sold it for me. I don't think you like this one as much as I did, but it's the Rachel Incident by Caroline O'Donoghue.
Annie Jones [00:51:13] I loved this book. It was a Shelf Subscription of mine.
Hunter McLendon [00:51:16] Okay. Did you listen to the audiobook or did you read it?
Annie Jones [00:51:19] No, I read it.
Hunter McLendon [00:51:20] Okay. I feel like the audiobook really put this in over the top for me because when I think about it, I'm like, "Oh yeah, I really liked it." The narrator was so charming and the acts-- I was saying this earlier, but this whole Irish thing is really getting to me. And I thought it was so funny. I love the friendship in this book. It's like there's a lot of comparisons of Will and Grace throughout. And I don't know. It's a book that has stuck with me. And also I love scandals. I love affairs. I love anything messy. And I was like, this is a book for me.
Annie Jones [00:51:59] It's so good because it's the perfect amount of character driven and plot driven. So much happens in this book, but also it's essentially a book about two friends. This is a good one. I had almost forgotten about it. It was a Shelf Subscription selection back whenever it released. I loved it.
Hunter McLendon [00:52:17] Okay. I'm glad. Yeah, same.
Annie Jones [00:52:20] Okay, my number two. And y'all again it's like the-- were we talking about this. I never know what was on the episode now and what we were talking about, but where Meryl Streep or Jesmyn Ward they just put out things and you almost become immune to their greatness, which is unfortunate. But Tom Lake by Ann Patchett is my number two book of the year. Y'all, how does she do it? It's honestly anger inducing. I just am so frustrated by a writer who is this good all the time. And I don't want Meryl Streep and Jesmyn Ward and Ann Patchett to go disregarded because they're excellent. Excellent people deserve recognition. And Tom Lake, you're going to see it everywhere. I'm sure. I don't know if this is her best book. I don't know. What I will say is when we talk about pandemic books, this is the kind of pandemic book I want. This is really the only pandemic type pandemic book I'm interested in, but it's really a love letter to theater. It's a love letter to ordinary lives, ordinary quiet lives, which I am always here for. It's got a great set in Michigan. Nancy on staff at The Bookshelf read this. And she was like, "Nothing happens in this book." And I was like, "Yes, Nancy. And that is why I love it." I don't need anything to happen. I just love this family. And I know that I'm 37 years old without children, but I wish I had four daughters. I wish I had three or four daughters who would come help me pick cherries in the summer.
Hunter McLendon [00:53:55] I think I said it on air, but I started this book today on audio. And did you listen to it?
Annie Jones [00:54:00] No, I read it.
Hunter McLendon [00:54:01] Okay. Well, because Meryl Streep narrates the audio.
Annie Jones [00:54:04] Oh, yeah.
Hunter McLendon [00:54:05] And let me tell you, I was like, wow, this is it. As far as I'm in it, I'm like, wow. And I think I said this probably would have been my top 10 if I finished it because it's so good so far.
Annie Jones [00:54:18] Yeah.
Hunter McLendon [00:54:21] I'm very curios where it would land because I do think that Commonwealth is my number one Ann Patchett.
Annie Jones [00:54:25] Okay. Over the Dutch House even?
Hunter McLendon [00:54:29] Yeah. Which I want to go back and read the physical copy of the Dutch House because I love Tom Hanks, but I don't know how I feel about that audiobook.
Annie Jones [00:54:36] Okay. Because I read it, I haven't listened to any of hers. I've read them. And like Tom Lake, I underline stuff. I marked notes in it. But I would like to go back if I ever have time. I would like to hear Meryl and I would like to revisit Dutch House. I recall that book Making an Impact on Me because it's a brother-sister book and we don't often get those. And so I felt a deep kinship with those characters.
Hunter McLendon [00:55:00] I think I would have loved it more if I'd read it as a physical copy. But we'll see. I'll re-read all of her books and I will rank them.
Annie Jones [00:55:07] Okay. That's a fun episode.
Hunter McLendon [00:55:09] I think that, but yeah.
Annie Jones [00:55:11] That's good.
Hunter McLendon [00:55:12] So my number two is actually The Bee Sting by Paul Murray
Annie Jones [00:55:17] Dang it! Should I read this?
Hunter McLendon [00:55:19] Yeah. Let me tell you. I like this book. It's very like Goldfinch esque A Little Life esque. Like big, sweeping, beautifully written. Each section focuses on one of the four people in this family. And the revelations that happen with each section are just like-- I will tell you now, there's one section that's like 100 something pages. There's about a 100 pages that does not have punctuation.
Annie Jones [00:55:47] Oh, I see.
Hunter McLendon [00:55:49] That is the thing that I think, first of all. But I think that it's the way it's written. You can feel the rhythm of when the thing starts to flow.. So after 2 or 3 pages, you kind of fall into it.
Annie Jones [00:56:02] Yeah.
Hunter McLendon [00:56:02] Okay. But beautifully written, really engaging. I'm convincing Tyler to read it and I feel like-- I wanted it to win the Booker Prize, but it did not. But I think it was deserving.
Annie Jones [00:56:13] Okay. I've always been a little snooty and annoying about punctuation and stuff in books. But look, we can grow. We can change our minds. I'll be fine. Okay. My number one book, and it's been at the top since I read it, is In Memoriam by Alice Winn. I just love this book. I love these people. I hand sold this to so many people because I was like, you have to read this book. You will fall in love with these young men. I'm a sucker for a book about friendships. And there is a really beautiful romantic relationship at the heart of this book. But it is also a book about young men whose lives were cut incredibly short. And they're bonding with one another. They're befriending one another. They're saving one another. Yeah. I love it. I want somebody to make it into a movie. And at the same time I don't because I feel like it could so easily be cheesy. And there were even parts of it where I was like, well, that's not believable. And then I thought, no, but the way she does it...
Hunter McLendon [00:57:21] It could be contrived, but it's not.
Annie Jones [00:57:24] You know what I mean? It absolutely could feel like, oh, well, this would never happen. And instead, I was like, no, this is the most beautiful thing I've ever read. I loved it. I feel very proud and good about my top six especially, I felt totally sold on. But whenever I think what's going to be at the top, I want to know what is the book I'm going to remember at the end of the year? And so a couple of years ago it was the Swimmers and that made its way to the top. Because we read so many books every year that for a book to be my top one, it has to be the book that I'm going to associate with that year. And I think In Memoriam is one of those books that I may be like, yes, that was 2023. That was the year I read that. I think I'm going to have no problem associating the two of those things. So In Memoriam by Alice Winn is my number one.
Hunter McLendon [00:58:15] I'm wondering... It's fine. I'm wondering, shouldn't it have been [inaudible]? It's fine. Okay, my number one, which I will not be surprised at this point,. Is The Vaster Worlds by Lauren Groff.
Annie Jones [00:58:26] Okay.
Hunter McLendon [00:58:27] This book is to me the closest a book has ever come to being like a poem as a novel.
Annie Jones [00:58:35] Oh, yes. Good description.
Hunter McLendon [00:58:38] It is like Lauren Groff is a big fan of poetry. It's so funny too because there's this moment where she talks about like an orange peel and that comes back towards the end of the book. And to me, this is actually my favorite ending that she's written to a novel. And I think she's written great endings for novels, but this is the one where I was like, oh, no, this is truly where-- and I've read it twice and I've listened to it once and I got to hang out with her in the Florida Everglades basically for like two hours this year.
Annie Jones [00:59:10] So let me tell you something. I'm just so lucky you're still friends with me. You have so many famous friends. You get to do all the coolest stuff. You are the coolest and I am in awe.
Hunter McLendon [00:59:21] Do you really? It's so funny that you say that because I literally brag about your and my friendship more than I brag about anything.
Annie Jones [00:59:30] I just sit here and I'm like, Oh, my gosh, Hunter got to go to the National Book Awards party. And he met all these people. He met Jesmyn Ward. You're just the coolest guy I know.
Hunter McLendon [00:59:39] I think you're like the coolest person I know because I'm like-- that's true. Like, literally ask anyone. It's been for almost a decade now, I have bragged about either forcing my friendship on you or then finally being your friend.
Annie Jones [00:59:57] Here's what I'll say. I went into this episode thinking 2023 was fine and I'd like to take that back. These are some good books.
Hunter McLendon [01:00:03] Right? Yeah.
Annie Jones [01:00:05] Yeah.
Hunter McLendon [01:00:06] I'm pleased.
Annie Jones [01:00:06] And listen to me, if you read 10 excellent books in a year, what is there to complain about? Ten really good, really beautiful, really well written books. Books are hard to write. And that I read 10 really good ones, that's a great year.
Hunter McLendon [01:00:20] Yeah. And the thing is, there are also other books that I probably could have swapped out.
Annie Jones [01:00:24] Yeah, absolutely.
Hunter McLendon [01:00:26] Yeah.
Annie Jones [01:00:26] Okay, well, this makes me feel better. This is why it's a fun episode to end the year on because you remember, oh my gosh, this actually was a really good year. Sometimes I think you're so exhausted by the end of a year that you're like, "I don't know. Was anything good?" Yes, actually, it was. Hunter, thank you for always-- it's always why ends up being like part confessional, part therapy and part top 10 list. So thank you so much.
[01:00:47] This week I'm reading God Speaks Through Wombs by Drew Jackson. Hunter, what are you reading?
Hunter McLendon [01:00:53] I'm reading The Happy Couple by Naoise Dolan.
Annie Jones [01:00:58] Yes, that's right. Because I read that book.
Hunter McLendon [01:01:00] Oh, perfect.
Annie Jones: From the Front Porch is a weekly podcast production of The Bookshelf, an independent bookstore in Thomasville, Georgia. You can follow The Bookshelf’s daily happenings on Instagram at @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:
Special thanks to Studio D Podcast Production for production of From the Front Porch and for our theme music, which sets the perfect warm and friendly tone for our Thursday conversations.
Our Executive Producers of today’s episode are…
Cammy Tidwell, Chantalle Carl, Kate O'Connell, Kristin May, Linda Lee Drozt, Martha, Stacy Laue, Chanta Combs, Stephanie Dean, Ashley Ferrell
Executive Producers (Read Their Own Names): Nicole Marsee, Wendi Jenkins, Laurie Johnson, Susan Hulings
Annie Jones: 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. Or, if you’re so inclined, support us over on Patreon, where we have 3 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.