Episode 434 || Literary Therapy, Vol. 20
This week on From the Front Porch, it’s time for another Literary Therapy session! Our literary Frasier Crane, Annie, is back to answer more of your reading questions and dilemmas. If you have a question you would like Annie to answer in a future episode, you can leave us a voicemail here.
To purchase the books mentioned in this episode, visit our website (type “Episode 434” into the search bar to easily find the books mentioned in this episode):
Monsters by Claire Dederer
American Dirt by Jeanine Cummins
I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter by Erika L. Sanchez
Lost Children Archive by Valeria Luiselli
Upstream: Selected Essays by Mary Oliver
At Home in Mitford by Jan Karon (unavailable to purchase)
Ordinary Light by Tracy K. Smith (audiobook) (paperback)
Life in Five Senses by Gretchen Rubin (audiobook) (hardcover)
Freaks, Gleeks, and Dawson's Creek by Thea Glassman (audiobook) (hardcover)
The Celebrants by Steven Rowley (audiobook) (hardcover)
The Bodyguard by Katherine Center (audiobook) (paperback)
Bad Summer People by Emma Rosenblum (audiobook) (hardcover)
Better Than the Movies by Lynn Painter (audiobook) (paperback)
Murder Your Employer by Rupert Holmes (audiobook) (hardcover)
I Have Some Questions for You by Rebecca Makkai (audiobook) (hardcover)
All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr
Dear Regina by Flannery O'Connor
The Lottery by Shirley Jackson
Go Set a Watchman by Harper Lee
11/22/63 by Stephen King
Memorial Drive by Natasha Tretheway
Life and Other Love Songs by Anissa Gray
Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Houston
From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E.L. Konigsburg
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
Bloomability by Sharon Creech (unavailable to purchase)
The Watsons Go To Birmingham by Christopher Paul Curtis
If Beale Street Could Talk by James Baldwin
East of Eden by John Steinbeck
Jaws by Peter Benchley
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 Directions to Myself by Heidi Julavits.
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.
Thank you to this week’s sponsor, Visit Thomasville. Summer is a wonderful time to see Thomasville, Georgia! If it’s time to hit the road for a quick getaway, we’re exactly what you’re looking for! You can rekindle your spark, explore historical sites, indulge in dining out, shop at amazing independent stores, and finally relax and unwind. There’s no better getaway than Thomasville! Whether you live close by or are passing through, we hope you'll visit beautiful Thomasville, Georgia – it’s worth the trip! Plan your visit at ThomasvilleGa.com.
Transcript:
[squeaky porch swing] Welcome to From the Front Porch, a conversational podcast about books, small business, and life in the South. [music plays out]
“You do not need to have a grand unified theory about what to do about Michael Jackson....The way you consume art doesn’t make you a bad person, or a good one. You’ll have to find some other way to accomplish that.”
- Claire Dederer, Monsters: A Fan’s Dilemma
[as music fades out] I’m Annie Jones, owner of The Bookshelf, an independent bookstore in beautiful downtown Thomasville, Georgia, and we’re halfway through the year, so this week, it’s time for an episode of Literary Therapy. Have you been curious about The Bookshelf’s Reader Retreats? Have you seen our pictures and videos on Instagram and wondered if you should make the trip to Thomasville yourself? Well, spots are open now for our September 2023 Reader Retreat, and we’d love for you to join us. Our guest author for our fall retreat is Annabel Monaghan, the author of my beloved Nora Goes Off Script, plus we’ve got all sorts of other bookish festivities planned, including a Pen to Plate dinner, a book club conversation, and a live podcast recording. To grab your spot, visit our reservation site at bookshelfthomasville.com/pages/reader-retreats. (There’s also a link in the show notes.) Reservations include a two-night stay at the Marriott in downtown Thomasville, as well as three meals. We hope you get to come see us this fall!
Now, back to the task at hand. If you’re new to From the Front Porch, every few months, I dive into the metaphorical mailbag and peruse your readerly hangups and bookish conundrums like a literary Frasier Crane, tackling your issues on air. If you have your own readerly riddle you’d like me to solve in a future episode, you can leave me a voicemail at the FTFP website: www.fromthefrontporchpodcast.com/contact. (There’s a link in the show notes, too.) You’ll scroll until you see the orange button on that page that says START RECORDING; click or tap there, and voila. I would love, love, love to hear from you. First up, a voicemail from Alison.
Allison [00:02:31] Hi, Annie. This is Allison from Tallahassee, and I have several books, conundrums. But in order not to be greedy, I'll keep it to one. My issue is this, In 2022, I read so many stellar books, five star plus books: Black cake, Mrs. March, Remarkably Bright Creatures, The maid, Carrie Soto is Back and on and on. And now I'm left with a queue of books that appear to be good or maybe even great, but maybe aren't amazing. How do I get over my fear of reading milquetoast books when I just want to keep reading the five star plus books? Thanks.
Annie Jones [00:03:13] Okay, Allison, we're halfway through the year, so I am curious how this has gone for you. But a little bit of, I guess, advice for me is some advice that, Jordan, my husband, gives me fairly frequently, which is lower your expectations. He doesn't mean to lower my expectations of our marriage or our life, but I do think he is correct in that sometimes our happiness is very much impacted or affected by how high our expectations are. And I think when we have a really good reading year or a really good reading season, sometimes the downside of that is we go into our next reading season or our next reading year with really high expectations and they might not be met. Not every year or season is going to be stellar in terms of books that are published, books that we read in terms of our own reading lives and our mental capacities and our attention spans. And so, I do think the first thing you need to do is kind of set your expectations appropriately. I also wanted to advise you, and this is some advice that I don't always take myself, but I do think it is valid and valuable, and that is to reread your favorite books when necessary. So those five star books that you read in 2022, I'm not a huge re-reader, but I do think there is value in revisiting those books. Even if you don't reread them in their entirety, pick them up off your shelf, revisit them, spend some time with them. I know this sounds silly, but crack open their pages, rub those covers, re-familiarize yourself with these books you love and remind yourself why you love them. And I think that might set you up to appreciate future five star reads, but also might just remind you that not every book is a five star read and that's okay. I think in the month of May I did not have any five star reads. That doesn't mean I didn't read any good books. It means I read good books. Some of them I really liked. Some of them I didn't. Most of them did what I needed them to do. And so, not every book is going to be a five star book. And I think by revisiting the ones that you have recognized as five star worthy, you can remind yourself, oh, yes, this is what sets a book apart. This is what makes a book special.
[00:05:33] If every book was five stars, we wouldn't have favorites. We wouldn't love them. They wouldn't stand out. Not every book is meant to be excellent. I think authors obviously are striving for excellence, but some books are meant to just be beachy fun. Some books are meant to be head scratchers. Some books are meant to get you thinking. And so set your expectations, reread and revisit favorites when necessary. And my last tip is perhaps also an unpopular one, which is stop reading books that aren't good, which is easier said than done, obviously. But I know so many readers. There is something about The Bookshelf that I think attracts perfectionist readers that I think I know what it is. I think I know why. But the fact of the matter is, not every book is good and it's okay to not finish good books. I firmly believe that there is a right person for almost every book. There may be exceptions to that. I hesitate to speak in hyperbole, but I really do believe that for most books there is a right audience. There is a right reader. But that doesn't mean every book is for you. And I give a book about 50 or so pages before I decide if I'm going to move on forever (like I'm never going to pick that book up again) or I'm just going to put it aside or put it in a little free library and hope to encounter it again one day when the timing is right. And so if you are reading a book that you firmly believe is not only not five stars, but not enjoyable in any way-- those are two different things.
[00:07:08] Not every enjoyable book is going to be five stars. But if you are in the middle of a book that you really don't enjoy, don't finish it. You don't have to finish it. No one is grading us anymore. No one is grading us. And, in fact, I think you're reading Life will be better when you can really thoughtfully and intelligently know what books work for you and which ones don't. I think when you know yourself as a reader, it sets your reading life up for better success. So set your expectations appropriately. Reread and revisit those five star books that you loved in 2022, pick them up off your shelf again. Even if you don't reread them, just look at them, remember them, look on them with fondness, and then stop reading books that aren't good. Those are my little pieces of advice. And then just as a mention of solidarity, I also had a really great reading year in 2022. This year has been fine. I have read some books that I really, really love and then I've read a lot of good books, fine books, but maybe not excellent books, and that's okay. Not every year is going to be excellent. I think that's true of our lives. And I think it's true of our reading lives. So I hope, Allison, that is a comfort and a help to you.
Alyssa [00:08:21] Hey, Annie. My name's Alyssa, and I'm from Metro, Atlanta. As both a bookseller and a reader, how do you navigate what I'm calling book controversy? Two examples I'm thinking of are when negative news comes out about the author personally and when the story or author is criticized for not being own voice. Do these or other situations give you pause, either selling the book at the bookshelf or reading it yourself? Thanks.
Annie Jones [00:08:50] Okay, Alyssa, this is a doozy of a question, but it is a relevant one in my own reading life. And so I wanted to try my best to answer your conundrum in light of my own admittedly somewhat messy conclusions. So I'm a purveyor of books, but I'm also a consumer of books and of art of all kinds. And so this is a question that frequently plagues me. I think we're living in a time where we are given and have at our fingertips so much more information and often that information can complicate an author's work or an artist's work and legacy. So just last month, I went with some really good friends to visit Flannery O'Connor's home in nearby Milledgeville, Georgia. Flannery O'Connor is an author who means a lot to me. I've admired her work since I first encountered her in an English lit class, my senior year of high school. And over the years I've continued to admire her both for her, obviously, I think, brilliant writing and her devout Catholic faith. In adulthood, I've also reexamined her stories and her writing and discovered, admittedly, belatedly, her racist language and her ideologies. These were things that just were not discussed in my coursework in high school or in college. And so, I've wondered what I meant to do with this information. Should I have visited Milledgeville at all? Should I stop reading and promoting Flannery O'Connor's work? Should I take her books off my own shelves? Should I take her books off the Bookshelf's shelves? And, for me, the answer is no. I visited Milledgeville, and I was in awe, and I was brokenhearted.
[00:10:34] And I think that's where I ultimately fall on the issue of complicated authors and their complicated work. I am in awe of creators and their artistry, and I am often brokenhearted by their personal decisions and ideologies, some of which even exists in the work I love. I would also acknowledge that those very same problematic ideologies might exist in my own life and in my own heart, and I need to examine those too. So O'Connor's legacy is addressed actually in a really well-written and well-researched piece in The Bitter Southerner. I think it came out in 2020, but I'll link to it in the show notes. And then author Claire Dederer also addresses a lot of this. I don't think she addresses Flannery O'Connor specifically. That's just my personal-- it's just what I have encountered literally in the last few weeks. But Claire Dederer addresses a lot of this in her book Monsters, which was the book that I quoted at the top of the episode. And you've probably heard me talking about that book on the podcast a lot, and I think I've been talking about it a lot because this issue comes up a lot for me. And Monsters is a book that I think addresses the topic with a gentle, thoughtful, wise hand. And don't mistake gentleness for-- I don't know a better word than this, but don't mistake my descriptor as gentle. Don't mistake it for like pussyfooting around because I don't think that's true. I think she actually is quite firm in her convictions and her conclusions, some of which I agree with and some of which I don't. But I really think this is a book that is talking about this issue that I think most consumers are grappling with in some form or another.
[00:12:17] So, Alyssa, I think you might appreciate Dederer's work and I think you might enjoy reading that book alongside other readers in a book club. I think personally that's where conversations about these works are best had- in person with other consumers, with other readers. I think it's where we will find and reach our best conclusions. The second half of your question regarding own voices books versus, for example, books by white authors is equally fraught and equally important. And as a bookstore owner and as a bookseller, it can feel even more complicated. I serve-- and perhaps this is due to our location, but I think that this would be true wherever you have a bookstore. But I serve a wide swath of customers whose views on these issues vary drastically. And my deep desire has always been to meet readers where they are. And in my opinion, that's the best way to ensure open minded and open handed conversations. Of course, Alyssa, I immediately thought of American Dirt. I don't know if that's the book you referencing, but I immediately thought of American Dirt, which is a book we at the Bookshelf carried. Although, none of us had read that book at the time of its release, we weirdly never got in the ARCs. It was just one of those weird things. And so I think one of our staffers has maybe read it since its publication. I also thought of the more recently published Everything's Fine, which is an Own Voice book with stock, and it's a book I read and loved, but it received scathing reviews before its release. And you can read about that. I'll put in the show notes. There was a recent New York Times article about that very issue.
[00:13:51] And I hope this isn't oversimplifying things, but I guess for me I always air on the side of more books, but more thoughtful reading of those books. I am hesitant to avoid books altogether, whether it's as a reader or as a curator. I want to support Own Voices authors and stock good and powerful fiction and give readers a wide range to choose from. We stock American Dirt, but we also had an in cap in the store at that time that was devoted to Own Voice stories, stories like I am Not your Perfect American Daughter and Lost Children Archive. For us, that was the best way we knew forward. It's what I hope I do in my own reading life too; though, I still have and probably will always have, despite my best efforts, blind spots that I need to work through and re-evaluate. So that's where I am now. It's complicated. I guess for me it just boils down to a thoughtful reading of the text and a thoughtful understanding of the authors we're reading. Alyssa, I hope that this is helpful as you evaluate your own reading life, as you maybe address some of these issues in your own reading of classic or current American fiction or fiction across the board. I don't think this issue is going away. I think it has existed. I think it existed long before maybe the Internet shed more light on the problematic histories of writers or artists. But certainly it's an issue we're going to keep facing. And as a bookseller, I know I'm going to keep facing it. I always have the question ahead of me and in front of me, like, what am I going to stock and why and why not? So that's how I feel today. I hope that answers your question. And I hope at minimum maybe that Claire Dederer book can help. The Bitter Southerner article, the New York Times Article. I know this is very Enneagram five of me, but I do feel like when we're armed with more information, it helps our reading be more thoughtful. And I don't think you can be too thoughtful. So I hope that helps.
Chris [00:15:52] Hi, Annie. My name is Chris and I am from Delaware, Ohio. I have struggled with kind of getting back into reading after I lost my husband 19 months ago. Reading is something that's always been a part of my life, and I've enjoyed many books over my life. But since losing my husband, I find I just can't bring myself to read a book. And it's something I would like to get back into. So any advice or encouragement? I would appreciate. I've enjoyed following you. Thank you a lot.
Annie Jones [00:16:32] Hi, Chris. I am so, so sorry for your loss. And I think I can even just hear the exhaustion in your voice because grief is exhausting. And I think it's important for us to remember that grief doesn't end. Like, there's not an expiration date. You don't turn your calendar page and all of a sudden everything goes back to normal. Your life is forever changed, and as a result, your reading life might be forever changed. And so I was thinking about this, and I have a few maybe book recommendation. But I think my overarching advice actually has to do with maybe how you're reading. And I was wondering if there was someone in your life whether a child or a niece or a nephew or a grandchild who you could read in partnership with. Or a book club. I mean, a book club is the obvious answer. But I wondered if what might bring joy back into your reading life is sharing it. Reading for me is very often a solitary activity and a solitary act. But I think you are maybe in a season of loneliness. And I'm wondering if you could buddy up with somebody you love or somebody you want to grow closer with, again, whether it's a child or grandchild or a niece or a nephew or a good friend and you could read a book together. Certainly you could join a local book club. And I always advocate-- I'm a champion I hope-- for local book clubs. But I also acknowledge that a book club might be overwhelming to somebody who is grieving. And so I think you could try a book club through your local library, your local bookstore, your local church, and you could try reading in a group. Or you could reach out to a sibling, a child, whoever, and see if they'd be willing to buddy read with you. And I wonder if that accountability might help get you back in the rhythm of reading and if that shared reading experience might bring you some much needed joy back into your reading life. So that was my very first thought. It wasn't even about specific books or anything like that. It was really more about what if we could infuse joy back in your reading life? I also wondered if you could try new formats of books and partner the book with a physical. So that's a fancy way of saying what if you listened to audio books while you went on a walk and it got you out of the house and it got you in your body?
[00:19:17] I say this again as an Enneagram five who's not frequently in their body. But I am wondering if some movement might be helpful to you. Or listen to an audiobook while you do your dishes or something like that. So it's different from maybe, I don't know what kind of reader you were like before your husband died. But if you were a solitary, cozy up kind of reader, maybe it's hard for you to be a solitary, cozied up reader now because your life is different now. You are different now. And so maybe in this part of your life, in this season of your life, you're going to be an audiobook listener and that's how you're going to engage with books. That's how you're going to reignite your love for reading. It's by trying new formats, things that might not have worked with you before, but now they might. I'd give the same advice to an audiobook listener. If somebody was a huge audiobook listener but then they experienced a deep, deep loss, I would suggest reading a physical book, just something that's going to kind of mix it up because your life is different and we shouldn't pretend that it's not different. And so, instead, maybe we embrace that it's different and we try something different in our reading life. I did think of specific books. I thought about the same advice that I frequently give new moms, which is, "Have you tried an essay collection like Mary Oliver's Upstream. Or I think some of Madeline lingual books really lend themselves to pick up and put down kind of reading. So maybe you're reading for a few minutes before bed and that's it. I don't think starting small is a bad idea. I also thought about comfort books. Books like At Home in Mitford, books that would just make you feel like a warm blanket. Or revisiting old favorites. Maybe there's a book that you loved years ago, and revisiting that book might take you back to your former self and might reacquaint yourself with your former self. So those are my bits of advice. I do think when our lives are disrupted and drastically changed, I think everything shifts and everything changes. But I hear in your voice how much you really want to invite reading back into your life. And so I think these are some ways to do that. And I hope, Chris, that you find it helpful. And I hope a book brings you comfort very soon.
Courtney [00:21:40] Hi, Annie. My name is Courtney, and I am calling from the South Shore of Massachusetts. And my literary conundrum is that I am a new mom, but I'm also a really avid reader, and I'm finally back in a reading groove after having my baby. And I'm looking to find community in different aspects of my life. Ironically, being a new mom can sometimes feel really lonely and isolating, and I would really love to be part of a book club, but I am not aware of any book clubs locally near me. And logistically with a young baby and still breastfeeding, it would be great if I could find a book club that meets virtually, but I have no idea where to start or how to go about finding that. So if you have any suggestions, I would love that. Thank you so much.
Annie Jones [00:22:36] I wanted to address, Courtney, your question immediately after Chris's, because much like Chris is going through an isolating time, I think you are going through an isolating time, although obviously it's very different and for different reasons. Yours is for a joyous reason. But your life, like Chris's, is forever changed. And so joining a book club I think is a great idea. But like a lot of new moms, I know it probably feels a little daunting and impossible given your your schedule and maybe some limitations on your schedule. So I immediately thought of a couple of book clubs that I know meet virtually in a bigger setting. So these aren't book clubs of ten people where you'd all be on screen together. These are larger kind of national book clubs that I think you could join. So immediately I thought of the modern Mrs. Darcy book Club. I am not in this book club, but so many of my friends and From the Front Porch Listeners are in this book club. It is hosted obviously by Ann Boggle Modern Mrs. Darcy and her team of readers. They do a beautiful job of selecting books and of hosting bookish conversations including, I think, occasionally authors visits. And so this, I think, could be fun where you would put it on your calendar, but you also might not have to stress about being the one to lead the conversation or being the one to ask questions. Instead, it could be something that you maybe more passively participate in and consume. So I thought of the Modern Mrs. Darcy book club. All of these we've linked in the show notes too for you. I thought of Laura Tremain. She's the author of Share Your Stuff, I'll Go First. And then more recently, The Life Council. She has a Secret Stuff book club through Patreon. I believe this summer they're doing their second annual Stephen King book club, which I think is such a fun idea. And I think that could be another really fun book club where you could participate almost with as much enthusiasm as you want. Where you could passively kind of consume it, but you could also really go whole full hog. That's a Southern saying.
[00:24:37] Anyway, and then From the Front Porch, this podcast has a patreon book club on our Patreon. So when you join us currently at the $20 level-- we may be making some changes to that in the New year. But at the $20 level, you can join us for our monthly book club and we do conversations based on our Shelf Subscription selections. Okay, so those are three virtual book clubs that just came to mind off the top of my head. My in-person book club also uses an app called Book Clubs. And Book Clubs has a website called Bookclubs.com. Again, linked in the show notes. And you can actually peruse and browse book clubs in your area, virtual book clubs, book clubs by genre. That might also be a way to start to just see what's going on near you. And because maybe there is a book club that meets to you, but maybe it's virtual. I really do think that some independent bookstores are still doing virtual book clubs. And so, if you have a local bookstore near you or even a local library, but I think bookstores in particular, libraries just do such a beautiful, wonderful job of capturing and supporting local readers. But an indie bookstore might have a virtual option that a local library might not. And maybe I'm speaking out of hand. Local librarians who are listening to this may know better. Well, certainly would know better than I. But I think it could be worth trying, if you have a local bookstore, going in there and asking if there's a virtual book club option because more bookstores than you think are still doing a lot of virtual offerings. And then I also wanted to encourage you to think outside the box. So kind of similar to the advice I handed to Chris, is there somebody that you could do a buddy read with? Or what if it's a group of new moms? And you don't have to meet in person because I do understand that in-person might be too much of a burden right now. But what if you have some new mom friends and you all aren't reading the same book? Because maybe that feels like a lot of pressure or an extra thing to do.
[00:26:40] But I have in town here, a local book club that meets and they just share what they've been reading. So everybody is reading different things, but they just come together and talk about what they've been reading. I think I've heard some of my online friends refer to this as a reading club, so maybe you're not talking about a specific book, but you're just talking about your reading lives and that's where you get what you should read next. That's where you figure out what you should read next. And it's where you encourage one another to pick up a book again. So I wanted to encourage you to think outside the box when it comes to book clubs and just remember that there are a whole lot of different ways to do this. I have one friend who meets on Voxer with one other friend and they just read chapter by chapter and get together. Hunter and I do Conquer a Classic, where we're reading one chapter of a classic at a time. The local book club that meets here that does a reading club rather than a book club. I think there are different ways for you to try that would be less daunting than a regularly scheduled in-person book club that you have to start or you have to host. So there are links in the show notes to all of those kind of virtual book club meetings. Maybe that'll give you a place to start in your search and then also reach out to your own long distance friends or your new mom friends. And maybe there's a way to do a virtual book club where you don't have to be in charge. I'm not advocating, but in this season of your life you need to be in charge of a book club. But you could just kind of have phone conversations or Voxer conversations or even a zoom where you just talk about what you've been reading. And maybe that would be a fun way to connect with your friends as well.
Gabrielle [00:28:16] Hi, Annie. I'm Gabrielle from New Orleans. My conundrum is that my birthday is coming up and my husband, as an attentive Bookstagram husband, always tries to get me under the radar books for self-published books. That because I haven't really seen them around or even heard of them, I have a hard time pumping myself up to read them. He thinks that I could be the one to help people discover these books, but for better or worse, I am overwhelmed by the hype and I feel the need to keep up with the latest books. So do you have any suggestions for, I don't know, slowing down or trying to appreciate every writing, even if it hasn't made its way yet onto Bookstagram? Any thoughts would be helpful. Thanks so much.
Annie Jones [00:29:04] Hi, Gabrielle. Well, first of all, happy birthday. This is a delightful and very new to me conundrum. And so, I appreciate you taking the time to leave a voicemail because this was a super fun one to think about. And kudos to your husband for being thoughtful and trying to think outside the box and trying to meet you where you are in terms of your hobby, but also trying to do something a little different. I think it's really kind and really sweet. Okay. If we were actually in a therapy session together, my first question for you would be, do you like these books? Meaning the books that your husband has gifted you in the past, for past birthdays, have you enjoyed them? Can you think of any standouts that you really liked? Because if they've all been duds, that might be part of the problem. Maybe your husband is picking off the beaten path books, but maybe they're also just not books you would enjoy. So I think the first question really is, have you enjoyed any of these? If you have not. I think there is a way to maybe tell your husband, "I would love for you to pick a book for me, surprise me. Pick a book that that I never would pick myself, but could you pair it with this book that's been on my wish list for a really long time." I don't know about your husband. I only know about mine. But my husband does not mind. And in fact appreciates a list. And so maybe there's a way for your husband to get the satisfaction of a surprise because it sounds like that's something that really brings him joy, but also pairing it with a book that might really bring you joy. That's if in the past these books have been duds and you're really trying hard to find a winner. So the first question is, have you liked any of the books he's gifted you in the past? If you have not, I think this is the year where you can say, "I cannot wait to see what surprise book you've picked for me. I also have a list of books I've really been wanting to read. Would you surprise me with one of those two?" And I think that won't break the bank. I think that could be fair. If you have liked any of the books he's recommended or bought for you in the past, I think this is an easier conundrum, which is your husband has eclectic but good taste and you just have to find time to read it outside of what Bookstagram is recommending to you.
[00:31:27] Now, look, I love Bookstagram. I think Bookstagram is valuable. I think it is helpful. I also think it can feel like a fire hydrant to the face. And so you have a couple of options here. I think you could say to yourself, for every hyped book that I have really been looking forward to, like for every Hello Beautiful or Nora Goes Off Script, for every one or two of those, I'm going to read one book that my husband recommended. I'm going to read two books that are on my TBR and then one that he gifted me or whatever. You choose the ratio, but set a ratio. And I know that sounds scientific and maybe you're a mood reader and that idea does not appeal to you. But I kind of like the idea of like two for you, one for him. Or this concept of two for Bookstagram, one for you. I'm going to talk about this a little bit later in a different literary conundrum, because my own reading life is not dictated by books that my husband has gifted me, but my reading life is very much dictated by my commitments to The Bookshelf. And every so often I get to read just for me and it is so fun. And so, if you have liked some of the books your husband has given you in the past, but the only reason you're kind of feeling meh about it is because you are bogged down by the hype from Bookstagram. I think you can read a couple of hyped books and then read one book that's just for you. And you can kind of do a ratio like that 2 to 1 or 3 to 1 or whatever. I think the other thing you can do is temporarily mute some of your favorite Bookstagram accounts. And, look, I say that as a sort of Bookstagrammer. It's okay to turn down the volume while you read something else. And I think the best way to turn down the volume is to literally mute using your Instagram app. Mute some of those Bookstagram accounts just while you read the book that your husband gave you for your birthday. And then you can unmute those accounts and you can see what you missed. You can catch up. There will be seasons in my life where I don't listen to as many podcasts. It's because the world is loud and I am very affected by loud.
[00:33:37] I'm a highly sensitive person, and so I am very affected by noise-- and meaning metaphorical noise. And so, there are times in my life when I realize, you know what, I don't really want to be listening to podcasts right now. And those episodes will always be there for me if I need them. Like if I really feel like I missed out on something, I can go back and listen and it will be okay. I guess what I want you to hear from me, Gabrielle, is you are not missing anything. You're not missing out. Those books will always be there. Great books become really great backlist books. Great front list books become really great backlist books. And so it is okay to mute some other voices while you read the book that your husband gifted you. Those are my pieces of advice here. If you have not enjoyed the books your husband has gifted you in the past, I think this is the year to kind of correct and gently suggest, "Oh, thank you so much for these surprises. Here is also a list of books that I would love to be surprised by. Could you pick one?" That still surprise, folks. That's still a surprise. Okay. And then if you have really enjoyed some of the books that he has surprised you with, some of the self-published titles or smaller press titles, I think that's great. That means he has a precedent for picking good books. Let yourself be surprised by turning down the volume on some of maybe the Bookstagram accounts that you follow and be your own hype girl. Like, be your own hype person and get excited about this book that your husband has picked for you at your local bookstore or online or whatever. And, again, I think I think the advice varies depending on how successful your husband is in picking these books. But that is my basic advice. I think this is super fun. And just remind yourself what a fun problem to have. What a fun thing to kind of get to figure out and kind of tweak in your reading life until you hit the right proportions. So happy birthday. And I hope he picks a really great book for you this time.
Andrea [00:35:38] Hi, Annie. This is Andrea from Fort Worth. And I wanted to ask you if you had any recommendations for good books that are great to listen to on audio. I've never been a big fan of audiobooks. I have a hard time, and I'm very particular about the narrator's voice. I find some of them difficult to listen to. But my husband and I are getting ready to have a baby, and I feel like audiobooks might be easier to accomplish than trying to read traditional books, which is what I normally do. So any recommendations that you have for great books to listen to on audio would be much appreciated. Thank you so much, and thank you for your great podcast.
Annie Jones [00:36:25] Okay, Andrea, this is fun because I am coming off a big audio book month. Most of the books I read in June were audiobooks, which is just so totally different from my past reading life. And I'd like to use this opportunity to say that if you go deep, deep, deep into the archives of From the Front Porch, there is probably an episode or two or three where I am talking about audiobooks, and I didn't enjoy audiobooks and I wasn't even sure they counted as reading. And may that be a lesson to us all that we can change our minds. It's okay to change our minds. It's okay to be wrong. I was wrong about that and I am so grateful. My reading life is grateful. My reading rhythm is grateful because I changed my mind on that. I really do believe that audiobooks are a beautiful art form and a really great way to consume literature. So I have some recommendations for you. I feel like I do audiobook recommendations every so often, and so you can probably go again back into the archives of From the Front Porch and find some more recommendations. But here are some that I have been enjoying recently. I'm going to do that instead of maybe like all time favorites. Ordinary Light by Tracy Smith is a memoir that I just finished listening to and loved. She narrated it and did a beautiful job. That's not always true with every author, but I think she did a great job. That's Ordinary Light. Jordan and I listened on a road trip to Gretchen Rubin's latest book, Life in Five Senses. She also narrated that. She's a podcast host. I think she's a good narrator, and I really appreciated that book. Plus, it's a book about the senses, and I got to listen to it, which felt like cheating. I felt like I was engaging one of my maybe lesser used senses. I listened to the book Freaks Gleeks and Dawson's Creek. Andrea, I could not tell by your voice if this book would be appealing to you or not. Meaning I could not tell your age. I do think this book is particularly appealing to Millennials, Gen Xers, and maybe a slightly older Gen Z. If that is you, then I think this book could be really enjoyable. If that is not you, if you're my mom's age, you don't need to listen to this. But this is about teen television and its impact on the culture at large. And I thought it was great and the narrator was fantastic.
[00:38:35] The Celebrants by Stephen Raleigh. He wrote The Guncle, which was beloved by, I think, almost our entire staff a couple of years ago. This is his latest, which I still think The Guncle might be better, but I have heard conflicting reports. I have heard other people say this is better. I don't think it really matters because it's good. They're both really excellent books and he merits this one and he is a very fun narrator. I was pleasantly surprised. So that is the Celebrants, also great summer book. While I'm talking about summer books, I would be remiss if I did not tell you about Bad Summer People, which is just a roaring good time with a fantastic narrator. I cannot stress to you enough how bad this summer people are. I have had two different listeners and readers come back and report to me, yes, these people are very bad, but I cannot stop reading about them. I cannot stop listening to them. And so that is a fantastically narrated audiobook. Better Than the Movies is a fun teen romcom that had an excellent narrator. I listen to that every chance I got. Murder Your Employer is a book that a couple of our staffers listened to and loved. It was narrated by Neil Patrick Harris, so he did a fantastic job with that, and I think that'd be a really fun audiobook. I started it myself and really liked it. The Bodyguard by Katherine Center has a wonderful audiobook narrator in Patti Murin. We'll talk about her in just a second. And then I Have Some Questions for You. That is the Rebecca Makkai book that is narrated by Julia Whalen. So those are some audiobooks that I've listened to in the last six months that I have really, really loved. Some fiction, some nonfiction, a nice little mix.
[00:40:12] And then my tip is, once you listen to an audiobook you really like, look to see who the narrator was. And then in almost any audiobook app-- I know in Libro.fm you can tap the narrator's name and it will bring up all the books narrated by that narrator. And you just kind of don't want to lose your audiobook reading rhythm, just like you don't want to lose your reading rhythm in your physical book reading life. And so I think this is a way to avoid audiobook listening slumps, is by sticking with narrators that you really like. One narrator that comes up over and over and over again in the book world is Julia Whalen. I think she's a fantastic audiobook narrator. I have come to appreciate her nonfiction narration more than her fiction. But, again, that may be a place where I am in the minority. So Julia Whalen. Patti Murin is a narrator I have come to really love. She does I think most, if not all, of Katherine Centers books. Stephen Weber is an actor, as many of you told me, I think, a couple of summers ago. He is an actor who now narrates audiobooks, frequently-- kind of action audiobooks. He narrates Drowning by T.J. Newman. And he was a fantastic Narrator for the book Falling. January LaVoy is another favorite of mine and Robin Miles. So Julia Whalen, Patti Murin, Steven Weber, Jan Lavoy and Robin Miles are all narrators who I really love.
Sarah [00:41:40] Hi, Annie. My name is Sarah, and I'm calling from nearby Valdosta, Georgia. I am a history professor and I'm preparing to teach a class about U.S. history since 1945. I thought it would be fun to incorporate a novel or a memoir for my students from the time period. And so, I was wondering if you could recommend some titles of books that take place sometime in the 1940s to the 1960s that would be compelling and help immerse my students in the time period that they'll be studying. Thanks so much. I love your show.
Annie Jones [00:42:15] Sarah, this is a fun kind of back to school-ish type of conundrum. I may be too late as you're working on your curriculum, but I really enjoyed thinking about this question. Basically, I tried to think about books that were set in the 1940s to 1960s, though not necessarily written in the 1940 to 1960s. A couple of them I think were written in that time. But I immediately thought of All the Light We Cannot See, which is a book I wish I could read again for the first time. I don't love a ton of World War Two fiction. We Were the Lucky Ones is another one that I really loved. But I think All the Light We Cannot See is a book that your students would really appreciate. And if I am not mistaken, it is about to be a TV adaptation. And so, I just feel like if you're a college student, that is always appealing. To have a visual representation of the work as well. So All the Light We Cannot See, which would be in the forties. I know I've talked about Flannery O'Connor a lot in this episode. She is top of mind for me. But I thought a little bit outside the box reading could be Dear Regina, which is the collection of letters I just finished. You are in Valdosta, and so I really like the idea of your students reading a Georgia author. And the reason I liked these letters, rather than just a Flannery O'Connor short story collection, is because she is 20 when she is writing these letters home. She is at the Iowa Writers Workshop, and she's writing home to her mother, Regina, who's back home in Milledgeville. And so, it's really laugh out loud, funny letters from a college girl writing home to her mom and asking about, can you please send me mayonnaise? They don't have mayonnaise here. It's a lot of really particularly southern problems, which I found so refreshing. In light of her brilliance as an author, I thought it was really charming to get to see the side of her, and I think your students might enjoy that. I also thought of the Lottery by Shirley Jackson. Listen, I'm going to fix this as soon as I'm done, because this is the only thing on this list I have not read myself. And in their cars everywhere, people are gasping and people are upset. I will read The Lottery by Shirley Jackson. It has popped up a lot of places recently. So don't worry, I'm going to rectify this before this episode even goes out into the world. I'm going to listen to or read the lottery.
[00:44:42] But I thought about the lottery by Shirley Jackson for fifties and sixties. I thought about Go Set a Watchman by Harper Lee, because I think that book actually deals maybe even in a better way than To Kill a Mockingbird with race and racism. I think undoubtedly your students will have read To Kill a Mockingbird in high school. And so this would be an interesting comparison piece. I thought about 11/22/63, which is the Stephen King novel. I did not love this book. Again, that was one of my minority book selling opinions. I did not love 11/22/63 but it would for sure be a fun and wild ride and I think would do a good job of showing your class just how life changing the assassination of JFK was. But it's this compelling fiction writer who many of them might already be familiar with. I like Memorial Drive by Natasha Trethaway for the Sixties as well. She is a Georgia writer and this is a memoir, so it would be something a little bit different for your students. She's writing about growing up in the sixties. And then a recent book that I read and loved and I feel like did not get enough praise, but I think would be accessible for your students is Life and Other Love Songs by Anissa Gray. I like this one because, much like your class is featuring the history of multiple decades, Life and Other Love Songs crosses decades and deals with the great migration, but also is just a really good family story and I think would be really fun fiction for your students to read in a classroom setting. So those are some recommendations. I wish I could take your class. I would love to know what you end up picking even if it's none of these. I'm just so curious what you end up going with. Now, I liked history classes both in high school and in college. But Jordan and I talk about this all the time about how much more compelling some of our history coursework would have been if we had been given reading material that was a little bit more accessible and a little less textbooky (sic). I'm not diminishing the value of a textbook, but I think it would have been so helpful to read a book like Cast in some of my history classes or to read something like 11/22/63, which is fun and verging on sci-fi, but it is very much about JFK assassination. I think there's a real opportunity for history teachers to mix in some fiction, and I'm glad you're doing that. I am so curious to know what end up picking.
Hailey-Kay [00:47:11] Hi Annie. I'm Hailey-Kay from Norman, Oklahoma, and I have a question about reading rhythms. I'm a teacher, librarian, and through the school year I balance reading for work and reading for fun pretty well. During the week, I will read what my students are reading, and they're in high school- so YA. And on the weekends I read for me. This summer I found it tricky to avoid readerly guilt. Usually, I go into the weekend protocol and just read whatever I want. But this summer, I feel the pressure to get ahead in my YA reading. I simply have guilt that whatever I'm reading isn't the right vibe. What do you do to feel prepared as a professional reader while still feeling like a person in your reading life?
Annie Jones [00:47:44] Another teacher. Hi, Hailey-Kay. Okay. This is me preaching to my own self here. But I immediately thought to myself, your students probably would really love to know what you like to read. So even though you feel like you need to be reading young adult-- and I follow a couple of librarian friends on Instagram, so I know this is a real conundrum for teachers and for librarians because it's just like the bookseller conundrum. We feel like we need to be reading so that we can make recommendations to our clientele. But I firmly believe that any reading you do is exercising your reading muscle. And so, any reading you do this summer is preparing you to continue reading throughout the school year and it's also still keeping you in the rhythm of reading. I've had to give talks at mothers of preschool groups, MOPS groups. And my number one piece of advice, which they probably hate-- but my topic is always how to get your kids reading or how to help your little one love to read. My number one piece of advice is you should read yourself because your students, your children are looking at you. And, first of all, this is the summer, Hailey-Kay. You should get to do whatever you want. But I think at the start of the school year, when your students come to you, I assume you probably ask them, "What did you read over the summer?" They are going to want to ask you, and you should get to say and they know you're not just reading as homework. You're not just reading what you should have been reading. You read what you wanted to read. And I think that's really valuable to show them that it's good and important to read for "homework" and it's also good to read what you want to read. So I think your students will want to know what you like to read, and they will be very intrigued by what you read over the summer. And sure, would it be great to read some young adult stuff so that you can make recommendations to them? Yes, but they should get to see that you are a whole person who has a reading life and a life outside of school, and then it will show them that they one day will get to read outside of school boundaries. .
[00:50:04] I was weird, but I loved summer reading. I loved reading for school, but many people did not. And we hear all the time at The Bookshelf students in college or in high school who really came to loathe reading because it was required of them. And so, I think showing your students that you're reading outside the requirement could be really valuable to them. And then my immediate thought was also, Hailey-Kay, put your own oxygen mask on first. Put your own reading oxygen on first. You need to get to read for fun so that you can go back into the school year energized and with your creative juices flowing. I love reading even the required things that I need to do as a bookseller, but I really love reading books that maybe I would have read before the Bookshelf, books that I would have read in my other life, my pre Bookshelf life. And I'm immediately filled with a sense of spontaneity, fun, creativity, because I'm reading for myself. And so I want you to get to experience those feelings as well. You probably read for your students all year long. I know that I read for bookselling purposes all year long, but occasionally we've got to read for ourselves so that we can remember why we love it and so that we can share with others why we love it. And I think you'd be surprised how much your students care about that. So that is my advice to you, Hailey-Kay, I hope you finish listening to this podcast and go read something for fun.
Claire [00:51:32] Hi, Annie. I'm Claire from North Carolina. When thinking about summer reading, I'm definitely well versed in the beach read. I'm a major atmospheric reader, so I like to read books like seasonally that are set similarly. And it's hot in North Carolina. But I would like to expand my genres a little bit this summer and kind of want to get my toes into some more classic literature. But, to me, classic literature is always felt like sit under a blanket with a cup of tea and it is wintertime outside or like late fall and the seasons are changing. And it's very fun that way. But I would love some recommendations for either children's or adult classic literature that atmospherically would feel magical to read during the summertime. Thanks.
Annie Jones [00:52:19] Last but not least, Claire. Claire, this is a great question because I am exactly like you. I assume classics are like big ole hefty books that I need to read when it's freezing cold outside and I can warm up with a blanket and a metaphorical cup of tea because I hate tea. But the reality is that most of us have the time to read classics in the summer. I don't know about you, but my Fall looks drastically different, and so I think now is a good time to dive into some classics. And I thought immediately of Their Eyes Were Watching God, which is a book that I read for the first time during the summer. And it is a great Florida book, a great summer book, because it's dealing with a hurricane and this feels very much a work of southern literature, a work of hot, heated literature. I feel hot and steamy when reading it. And so, I think that that would be a really great one to dive into. I also thought of From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Baisley E. Frankweiler which some might argue is more of a Fall/Winter book, because I'm pretty sure those kids, for some reason I picture them in coats and hats. But I just visited the Met for the first time and I will always and forever now associate the Met with Summertime. And just even though those kids are skipping school, to me, it could read like they're on summer break. Along the Kid Lit lines, I also thought of Bloomability which is a very fun Sharon Creech novel, which is set over a school year. But again, for some reason, very much feels like summer to me. That is mostly when I read that book. I've re-read that book many times and I've mostly read it during the summer. The Watsons Go to Birmingham was also one I thought of. Of course, you have The Great Gatsby, which is very New England summer raucous, partying, that kind of thing. If Beale Street Could Talk feel summery to me. East of Eden for some reason has summer vibes to me. And that's a hefty one that you could sink into the summer. And then last summer I read Jaws for the first time ever and it is a great summer book. Does it all hold up? No. But is it a great summer read? Yes. And so I think that could be really fun and I would consider that a classic. So those are some recommendations for you as we enter the back half of summer. I hope that those are helpful and fun for you to try.
[00:54:38] Thank you to everyone for submitting such thoughtful readerly conundrums and questions. I really appreciated getting to tackle some of these issues with all of you, and I look forward to our next installment of literary therapy. Don't forget that you can submit your own voicemail at Fromthefrontporchpodcast.com. Just click the contact button, scroll to the bottom of the page and hit 'Start recording' to leave your own voicemail.
[00:55:05] This week, what I'm reading is brought to you by Visit Thomasville. Summer is a wonderful time to see Thomasville, Georgia. If it's time to hit the road for a quick getaway, we are exactly what you're looking for. You can rekindle your spark, explore historical sites, indulge in dining out, shop at amazing independent stores, and finally relax and unwind. There's no better getaway than Thomasville. Whether you live close by or are just passing through, we hope you'll visit beautiful Thomasville, Georgia. It's worth the trip. Plan your visit at ThomasvilleGA.com. I talk a lot in these little ad spots about the shopping and dining in Thomasville. And that is true. Jordan and I love our proximity to great shopping and dining. It is within walking distance from our home, and I love that part about downtown Thomasville. But I also really love the historical elements of downtown Thomasville or of Thomasville in general. So I was thinking the other day about the Thomasville History Center, the Lapham-Patterson House, the Jack Hadley Black History Museum, which are three air conditioned things to visit this summer because, admittedly, it is getting pretty hot. We're about to enter the dog days. We are. Let's face it, we are in the dog days of summer here in Thomasville. But these are still really fun places to visit. They're great places to take your kids. And I really think as much as I love a big New York City level museum, there is really something to be said for these local history and local home tours. If you are in Thomasville and you need something to do, I would encourage you to check out our local history museums as well as some of our walking or driving tours of our historic homes. I think those could be really fun activities for you and your family to do this summer.
[00:56:54] This week, I'm reading Directions to Myself by Heidi Julivits. Thank you again to our sponsor. Visit Thomasville. Whether you live close by or just passing through, we hope you'll visit beautiful Thomasville, Georgia. Plan your next trip at ThomasvilleGA.com.
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.