Episode 472 || Shelf Subscription Synopsis
This week on From the Front Porch, you’ll hear from Annie, Erin, Olivia, Keila, Shop Mom, Nancy, Shop Dad, and our Shelf Subscribers about Shelf Subscriptions! Shelf Subscriptions are The Bookshelf’s book-a-month club for adults and kids. Listen to find out what makes Shelf Subscriptions special.
To purchase your Shelf Subscription, stop by The Bookshelf in Thomasville or visit our website:
Children's Shelf Subscriptions
Thank you to this week’s sponsor, the 103rd Annual Rose Show and Festival here in Thomasville, Georgia. Held in historic Downtown Thomasville, the Rose Show & Festival is sponsored by the City of Thomasville and has been a southwest Georgia tradition since 1922. Enjoy rose and flower shows, live music, an artisan market, an antique car show, a parade and fantastic shopping and dining in Downtown Thomasville. This year’s 103rd annual event is April 26-27. Plan your visit at thomasvillega.com.
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, Tiktok, and Facebook, 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 Lies and Weddings by Kevin Kwan.
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:
[squeaky porch swing]
Annie Jones: Welcome to From the Front Porch, a conversational podcast about books, small business, and life in the South. [music plays out]
“There were times she longed to be different, but she guessed everyone felt that way at one time or another, and so in wanting to be different, everyone was the same.” ― Cristina Henríquez, The Great Divide
[as music fades out] I’m Annie Jones, owner of The Bookshelf, an independent bookstore in beautiful downtown Thomasville, Georgia, and this week, I’m talking about our Shelf Subscription program. Before we get started, a thank you to everyone who’s been leaving reviews for From the Front Porch. iTunes reviews and ratings are how new listeners can best find out about From the Front Porch and — as a result — find out about our indie bookstore, too. Here’s a recent review from Melissa (and Owen):
Favorite bookish podcast My 12-year-old son and I love listening. Here’s his review.... Hello Annie! I love listening to your podcast on the way to school. Hearing about so many different stories is extremely interesting! On top of that, learning about Thomasville and your bookstore is delightful! My favorite part of the podcast has to be Literary Therapy because hearing about other people’s experiences and books they read is extravagantly intriguing! Thank you for reading this!
[00:01:39] Owen, it is extravagantly intriguing. And it reminds me that we need to do a literary therapy episode very soon, so stay tuned for that. And thank you for listening to the show and for leaving a review. If you haven't left a review, 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 then tell us what you think. Your reviews help us spread the word about not only our podcast, but about our small brick and mortar business too. Now, back to the show. Did you know that The Bookshelf has a book-of-the- month program? Like many indie bookstores around the country, The Bookshelf has a monthly subscription service devoted to our favorite new books of each month. I'm here to tell you a little bit more about our subscription program, because last fall, like 30 podcast episodes ago, we did a special Shelf Subscription episode for episode number 442. If you haven't listened to that, you can scroll back through your podcast archives or tap the link in the show notes and give that episode a listen. But Erin and I sat down to talk about Shelf Subscriptions to share a little bit about our book of the month program because we realized people listen to the podcast, and we hope they know and realize that we have an indie bookstore in Thomasville, Georgia. We assume you know that, but you might not know the different programs that The Bookshelf offers, and Shelf Subscriptions is one of them. So episode 442 was not only really popular, but let us know that many of our listeners were not aware that program existed. So now every few months or so, I'm going to just do like a Shelf Subscription check in and just remind you what's going on in the world of Shelf Subscriptions and kind of give you a rundown of how that program works.
Erin [00:03:24] Hi, my name is Erin Fielding and I am the online sales manager for The bookshelf. I started at The Bookshelf in February 2021, and I very quickly got involved with the Shelf Subscription program. At the time, another beloved past staffer, Lucy, who some of you may remember, was putting all the information into our spreadsheets remotely, and I was processing the orders in-store. And in time, I moved to being not only the one who processed the orders, but the person who keeps up the spreadsheets as well. My favorite aspect of the Shelf Subscription program is the joy that people feel when they receive their surprise Shelf Subscription in the mail, or when they pick it up in the store. It kind of feels like you are giving over 350 people a gift that you plan for them. That's a good feeling. One fun fact is that even though I've been overseeing the Shelf Subscription program for almost three years, I've never been the one who actually does all of the packaging and labeling. Of course, I have pitched in when needed on many occasions. But when I began here, another staffer who we love, Laura, was working as a bookseller for three weeks out of the month, and then she would come up and be the Shelf Subscription package or during shelf sub week. Because, yes, it takes one-part time staffer about 20 plus hours over four days to package, label and prepare the shelf subs for shipping. So if you've ever wondered why we give a deadline to order your Shelf Subscription for the upcoming month, it's so we can accurately prepare for the next shipment. When I went on maternity leave in 2021, Laura's position changed to focus on packaging and shipping, both to online orders and Shelf Subscriptions. And now, of course, as some of you may know, our amazing staffer, Keila, is the one who carefully packages and ships your orders and your Shelf Subscriptions. That's hard to say, you guys. What makes our Shelf Subscription program stand out, I think, is the flexibility. I'm proud of that. If you choose to receive one staffer, but then you find that maybe your taste has changed or shifted, all you have to do is call us or email me and let me know who you'd like to swap to. We keep records of customer preorders to make sure that no one receives a book as a Shelf Subscription that they've already ordered from us. We try to accommodate any triggers or content concerns. We really do see each subscriber as a person, not a number, and we delight in connecting readers with the books that our staffers have chosen each month.
Keila [00:06:18] Hi, I'm Keila. I am the packaging and Shelf Subscription coordinator. I've been doing this since August of 2023. One of my favorite aspects of this position is seeing where everyone is from. We have so many people from all over the country and I think that's so cool and special. I also love getting to write notes to everybody and put it in their packages, and I hope that they enjoy it too, because I love it so much. And a little fun behind the scenes detail of the upstairs staff is we have days that we kind of dress similar, so we will have like Jean Jacket Wednesday or Steve Jobs Monday. But that will probably be changing soon because it's getting really hot and we can't wear that in the summer in South Georgia because we will sweat to death. One thing that I think makes this program so special is it connects so many people from all over the country. It's like a giant book club. It's like Christmas once a month. And it just brings us so much joy to see how happy people are when they open their packages, when we see it on Instagram and people share it. It's just fun. It's like Christmas all year and we just thank everybody for that support and we love y'all for real.
Annie Jones [00:07:37] So a few things to kind of talk about before I let some staffers take the reins. So The Bookshelf has existed since the 80s- you know this. Jordan and I took over in 2013, so this is our 11th year running the store. In probably 2014 or 2015, we started doing a book of the Month club at The Bookshelf, and I think that's literally what we called it- book of the month or book a month. I didn't base it on the book-of-the-month program that we're all familiar with. Instead, I'm pretty sure I was inspired by Avid Bookshop in Athens, Georgia, and how they would handpick books for their customers. So The Bookshelf was primarily a brick-and-mortar kind of bookstore, and we had a program where I would pick out a book for you. You filled out a little questionnaire and then I would pick a book. Could be front list, could be back list. But I would pick a book for you and you could buy-- I think we set it up similarly, like one month, three months, six months or 12 months. And I loved doing that. It's kind of the same feeling I get now when somebody orders a surprise box from The bookshelf. If you order a surprise box from The Bookshelf, nine times out of 10, I'm fulfilling that order. Erin, print out the tag for me and I go around the store and fill a box with books I hope you'll like. That was kind of the vibe of the original book-a-Month club that The Bookshelf had back in probably 2014/2015. In 2016, on a trip with my parents to market in Atlanta, I started to rethink the book-a-month program, partly because it had grown. Now, when I say it had grown, we were at about, I don't know, 6 to 12 subscribers at the most-- like 12 was the most. But I realized that picking 12 books, 12 unique books, front list or backlist and not overlapping with books the person the customer already owned was really challenging and most importantly was not sustainable. So I'm all for challenging, hard, creative work. But when I think about growing the business, I'm trying to think about ways to grow the business in a sustainable way where anybody can mimic what we're doing. In other words, we talk about this on staff a lot. Like if somebody is doing a particular task, I want to make sure at least one other person on staff knows how to do that task, so that if somebody gets sick or somebody has a baby or somebody goes on vacation, someone else can cover for them.
[00:10:22] And the original book-a-month club, did not feel like something we could continue mimicking month after month and grow. And so I looked to other bookstores around the country and realized, okay, most of them are doing a first editions club. Parnassus has a first editions club. I mean, but you name the store, I think Politics and Prose. A lot of bookstores have these first edition clubs, and they pick one book from their store. Hardback, first edition, and that's what people sign up for. I think that's a great model. Sometimes I think it's the best model. Sometimes I certainly think it's the easiest model. But I tried to think, okay, well, how can we do that, but put a Bookshelf spin on it. And so with my parents in the car, I brainstormed and thought of Shelf Subscriptions. What makes Shelf Subscriptions original? And you're going to hear I think at least Olivia but maybe Erin too talk about this. What makes them unique is our staff is really involved. So over the years, staffers have rotated in and out of Shelf Subscriptions based on their employment, based on how much they're reading, how many hours a week they're working, etc. But Olivia has been working at the store since 2018. She has been selecting books for the Shelf Subscription program since the summer of that year, and you're going to hear from her. But if you pick an Olivia subscription, that is a book that she has picked out mostly mystery, suspense, thriller, but maybe also a little bit of sci-fi, sometimes a touch of fantasy. Basically, I wanted the program to match the in-store experience. You've probably heard me talk about that on past episodes of the store. It is so important to me that somebody who discovers the podcast or the store online through Instagram, somebody who has never been to Thomasville before, gets to have a similar experience online that our in-store customers get to experience, locally. So locally, Olivia hand sells books like the queen that she is. She is such a good bookseller. She is so good at hand selling books. The Shelf Subscription program is a way for a long distance customer to get a taste of what it's like to have Olivia be their personal bookseller.
[00:12:43] The same is true of Shop Dad's selections, Nancy's selections, and my own selections. And so back in 2016, we launched this program because I thought this would be a little bit more sustainable, a little bit more practical, and more able to grow than this subscription service we were doing where I was handpicking a different book for every person. That was highly personalized, highly curated, lots of fun, hard to do on a large scale. And my goal, and hope, was that we could grow the Shelf Subscription program to be one of the landmarks, one of the flagship programs, the recognizable programs that The Bookshelf does, and I think now that it is. And so last fall, we celebrated our seventh anniversary of Shelf Subscriptions. That's what Erin and I were celebrating when we recorded episode 442. And now here we are, spring of 2024, getting ready for Indie Bookstore Day. And as part of honoring kind of the different things that the bookstore does, I wanted to highlight Shelf Subscriptions once again and maybe give you some insight into that program. So currently, Erin, our online sales manager, helps oversee our Shelf Subscription program, and then she works diligently alongside our packaging and shipping coordinator, Keila Cone. You've heard Keila's voice on the podcast before. And so I wanted Erin and Keila both talk about in their own words the Shelf Subscription program and the work that they do there, because the whole point of Shelf Subscriptions is to give a long distance customer and an in-store customer an experience that mimics coming into the store and shopping and having somebody handpick a book for you. That's what the Shelf Subscription program is trying to do. Robots can't do that work. And one of the things that sets indie bookstores apart from an Amazon is that robots aren't packaging your books. Your books are not being chosen by algorithm. Those notes, those handwritten notes that you get in your order, those are actually handwritten. That's not that's not something we've, like, typed up in a cursive font. Real people touch every single one of your orders.
[00:15:11] So when we were a book-a-month club, we were at 6 to 12 people. We now range between 300 and 400 subscribers depending on the month. And even though that program has grown, this program has grown drastically. I wanted it to still have that very personal touch, and Erin and Keila make that happen. So I want you to hear from them a little bit. But before you hear from Aaron and Kyla, maybe you're wondering, well, gosh, how did you guys go from 12 subscribers to 350 subscribers? The answer to that is the pandemic. There's no getting around it. Pre-pandemic, we probably had about 100 to 150 subscribers at its peak. And that program grew organically, because of the podcast, because of staffer's tastes over the years. Really, the pandemic is when the program kind of doubled in size, and I think it was a relatively easy way, and it was an easy point of entry to supporting our indie bookstore. It was a relatively easy way to support a small business at a time when supporting small businesses was imperative to a lot of people. I think we were really aware of institutions and organizations that without our financial support would not continue. And because of the podcast, because of Instagram, so many of you, so many listeners became customers. We had a lot of listeners, we had a lot of Instagram followers, but not everybody was a customer until 2020. And we sold a ton of puzzles, we sold a lot of books, but we also sold a lot of Shelf Subscriptions in that time. And so that is really when the subscription program really doubled in size and took on a life of its own. So before I tell you a little bit more about maybe the logistics of how the program runs now, I want you to hear from Erin and then Keila about what it looks like from their perspective. If you've never been to The Bookshelf before, when Keila is talking about upstairs staff, so downstairs obviously is the floor of the bookstore. And in 2019, we took over the upstairs of The Bookshelf and we turned it into an event space called The Top Shelf. And we hosted really fun events, lunches. We hosted I think, opened a Pen to Plate dinner up there, a Mary Kay Andrews luncheon, a floral workshop. We did all kinds of things upstairs, and then people could rent it out for birthdays, anniversaries, baby showers, etc. and then 2020 happened and we didn't host any events up there and nobody rented it. And I was still paying rent on it, but nobody rented it.
[00:17:56] It no longer was the top shelf. And the pandemic lasted so much longer than really anyone could have dreamed. And starting in-- Erin could probably be better about the date of this. But starting in about 2022, we started using the upstairs for shipping. We were doing all of that downstairs in the floor of the bookstore. It's hard to imagine now, but early days of the pandemic, Olivia and I brought down tables and just set up a shipping facility downstairs because we didn't have in-store customers. So our online customers grew, obviously, during the pandemic. I've talked about this many times on the podcast, but pre-pandemic, probably 25 to 30% of our customers were online. And then 75% were in store. And in 2020, that number totally flipped, where 75% of our customers were online and 25% of our customers and sales were in store, and so our operations certainly reflected that data. Our goal always was to try to retain as many of those online customers as possible. We knew the support wouldn't last forever. We knew as the pandemic waned, online customers would go back to shopping in-store. They might not need The Bookshelf as much. But I'm really pleased to say these days we sit at about 50-50, 60-40, depending on the day between online and in-store customers. And as a result, our upstairs has become a shipping facility and where a lot of our offices are. So I work upstairs. Keila, Erin, and Caroline work upstairs. Erin and Keila specifically work on the Shelf Subscription program and on online sales. And then Caroline works fervently to market all of those things. So the voice behind our social media is Caroline. It's really fun. Probably one of the best feelings I ever get as a boss, is when I'm in my office and my door is closed, I'm paying bills, I'm doing something, and I can hear laughter and meetings and planning going on among our upstairs staff. It just fills me with a great sense of pride that they work so hard and so diligently to retain our online customer base. So Shelf Subscriptions ship out the first Tuesday of every month. That release date is something that is necessary. That ship date is necessary for us. It's important that we have a deadline. It also is a point of contention for those of us who pick Shelf Subscriptions. If you've ever wondered, "Why did Annie pick this book? I thought she liked this book better.".
[00:20:48] Well, Shelf Subscriptions are certainly our favorite book of the month. That's really the goal, but they're our favorite book of the month within a particular release window. And so we ship those out on the first Tuesday of every month. It is a monthly program. You can buy a three month or six-month subscription. But beginning earlier this year, we instituted a recurring subscription model. This is something we'd been working on for a long time. And Erin, the wizard that she is, finally was able to make it happen for us. And so now you can still buy a three or six-month subscription, but you can also pay monthly. So just like you pay for your Spotify account or your Hulu subscription, you can pay for your Bookshelf Shelf Subscription through a recurring payment once a month. You can go to Bookshelfthomasville.com and find our Shelf Subscriptions and sign up for the recurring model if that's something you prefer. We really hope that will help with retention rates. For so long, the store really relied on people who bought 12 month subscriptions upfront, and so it made me nervous. I won't speak for everybody else. It made me nervous to move to a recurring model. But I'm pleased to say we've implemented that recurring model, and a lot of people really like it. And I'm just really grateful to Erin for using her expertise to make that happen and getting that into motion. So ships out every month, you can pay for subscriptions upfront. That's great especially if you're giving a gift. Or you can pay on a recurring payment plan, just like you do with your Netflix subscription. I like that this subscription is really personalized to our staff. So I think over the years, it's become really apparent through the podcast and through Instagram how important a role our booksellers play in the success of our business. And I know that not everybody reads like me. Sometimes you read like Olivia, or sometimes you read like Nancy. One of my favorite shelves in any bookstore, including ours-- but I especially love when I travel to other bookstores. What I love looking for is the staff shelf. And what I like is trying to identify which staffer I am. That has always been appealing to me. I remember years ago going to Sundog Books in Seaside, Florida, and they had a staff shelf, and I immediately could see which staffer I was like, and I love that. And that's not surprising. I love personality quizzes. Give me a buzz feed quiz-- and I guarantee you I've taken it. I love Enneagram, Myers-Briggs, anything that kind of helps me know myself better.
[00:23:32] And so when we were brainstorming, when I was in that car with my parents thinking about Shelf Subscriptions, I thought, I want people to be to think, oh, I'm an Annie reader, or at the time, I'm a Magalie [sp] reader. She was our manager before Olivia. I'm a Lucy reader. You might remember Lucy, who first was our inventory coordinator. So I wanted people to feel matched with a staffer. And, of course, that's also difficult because in retail, turnover is high. And so Magalie became Olivia. And, when Lucy left, we had to brainstorm who was going to pick books now? And it became shop Dad. So the subscriptions have changed a little bit over the years because the staff has changed over the years. But I'm pleased to say for the most part, those changes have been relatively smooth. And so those initial concerns I had about, like, what happens if a staffer leaves? Do we lose all those subscribers? Sometimes-- but mostly no. Mostly we find a new person to kind of fit that void or fill that taste gap. And so it's still is able to produce the same feelings. I think that a staff shelf at an indie bookstore fills in people. It kind of fills that role. It's part of the reason last fall we did stickers that said I'm an Annie reader or I'm an Olivia reader. Because I kind of love that personal attachment that customers feel for our staffers. Because I think that's how local people feel when they walk in and they know there's Kyndall or there's Esme. And so I wanted that to be what Shelf Subscriptions felt like. And then, a few years in, we also began implementing kids subscriptions. This was especially possible initially because of Olivia and the children's book buying that she does for The Bookshelf as part of her regular responsibilities. And then it also became super easy for Lucy and then ultimately, Erin, because those are two people with children who pick books all the time for their little ones, and now they're picking books for your little ones, too. So we'll talk in a minute about the different adult subscription options, but our kids subscriptions are based on age. There's a baby board book subscription. This is something that I gifted my new nephew, Oliver, last year, and my brother Chet is a picky reader, y'all. He's way pickier than I am. And he loved every single one of the books that my little nephew Oliver received last year. And that is because Erin is busting it to pick the best little board books and picture books. So there's a baby board book subscription, a picture book subscription, a chapter book subscription. I would say that that's for your earlier readers, like beginning kind of chapter books, and then our middle grade subscription. Erin and Olivia pick those books and they do a beautiful job. And that part of the program has really grown. That's a part of the program that started small. And now Picture Books is one of our biggest subscription audiences. So I want you to hear from Erin about what it's like to pick board books and picture books for your little ones.
Erin [00:26:55] Hi, I'm Erin Fielding and the online sales manager for The Bookshelf. I began choosing the board book selection for our Kids Shelf Subscription in January of 2022. And not long after that, I then offered to also choose the picture book selection as well. I am a mother of four who has been reading picture books and board books for over 13 years now. So those are my credentials that I offer up. When I choose the picture book selection, I try to keep in mind both the young reader and also whoever might be reading the book to them. Some of my fondest memories are going to the library as a young girl and loading up my bag with picture books. Since many picture book readers are beginning to learn to read for themselves, I am very honored to choose books with a funny or a sweet story that will evoke a sense of wonder with the illustrations. I try not to choose books that have too many words on each page, because I know that can be daunting for new readers, and also for the caregivers who are reading the book to them. And when I choose board books, I am looking for eye catching pictures and words that will rhyme or provide an easy flow to the reading process. I love board books that foster connection and involvement between the reader and the child. And two of my favorite picture books that I chose recently are Mabel and the Mountain by Kim Hillyard, and Fraser The Forest Ranger by Matthew Schufman. Two of my favorite board books that I've chosen have been Hot Dog Cold Dog by Fran Preston-Gannon, and Buttons by Kalli Dakos. I really do consider it a privilege to choose books for young readers. Many of our kids Shelf Subscriptions are gifts from loving family members or friends, and I want the child to love the book because I know that it will bring joy to the person who gave it to them as a gift. I think putting new books every month in the hands of little ones, it just builds a love of reading and a foundation of curiosity that will serve them well their whole lives. And that's what I love about our kids Shelf Subscription program, and why I love being someone who gets to choose books each month.
Annie Jones [00:29:28] I really wanted you to hear from staffers because I wanted you to hear in their voices how hard they work and how much they care. They care so much. Caroline, recently, has been talking about how The Bookshelf is serious about fun, and it is the perfect Bookshelf motto. Because these women really are serious about fun, and they're serious about the work that they do. They take their jobs so seriously, and I wanted you to hear from them. So those are kids subscriptions. The kids subscription is based on age. But if you're an adult reader, how do you decide which staffer selection is right for you? Well, you have four options. You can be an Annie subscriber. I typically pick literary fiction and narrative nonfiction, often with female protagonists. Olivia, you could be an Olivia subscriber. She picks thrillers, mysteries, suspense novels with a dose or a dash of sci-fi and fantasy. You could be a shop mom or Nancy subscriber. So shop mom and Nancy, you'll hear from them in a second, but they share a subscription. So one month you would get a Nancy book. The next month you would get a Susie book, and they are picking PG 13 reads. We heard from a lot of customers, particularly Annie readers who really wanted books that maybe were for-- my mom doesn't like the phrase sensitive readers. But readers that are maybe more cautious with sex and violence and maybe even some language, but still cared about literature and still wanted good books. And so Mom and Nancy share that subscription. Part of the reason they share that subscription is theirs is the hardest. Nancy and Mom work so hard to pick books that they feel like are really well told stories. Really good books with interesting redemptive story arcs, but that also align with that kind of PG 13 descriptor. So you could be a shop mom or Nancy, or you could be a shop dad. Actually, if I were a subscriber other than myself, I might subscribe to shop dad. He and I have an overlap shop. Shop dad also reminds me, if you were a Lucy subscriber, his tastes most aligns with former staffer Lucy.
[00:31:59] So my dad picks often narrative nonfiction or really well written historical fiction. But not all of his books are historical. He kind of is a wild card. His books run the gamut. But he is very proud that a lot of his books wind up becoming prize winners, often book club fodder. So he is probably the most eclectic subscription we have. It's less about the genre and more about the writing and the storytelling. So you can be an Annie subscriber, an Olivia subscriber, a shop mom, or Nancy, or a shop dad. If you're feeling really brave, you can be a surprise me. So I say the Surprise Me subscription is for the adventurous reader. Maybe you don't want to read literary fiction all the time. Maybe you're an adventurous reader who loves reading the occasional feel good redemptive story, but also you love a murder. And so this Surprise Me subscription is perfect because Erin and Keila use their expertise to send out one of those subscriptions (an Annie, Olivia, shop mom, Nancy, or shop dad therefore) to submit or send one of those four subscriptions to the reader, depending on maybe the descriptions they've given of their own personal tastes or depending on their sales history at The Bookshelf. So if you are like, I'm not sure what I would like, pick Surprised Me. It's so fun. Now, don't pick Surprise Me if you're picky. Okay, don't do that. Don't do that. Don't think you're more adventurous than you are. Only pick the Surprise Me subscription if you really are an adventurous, eclectic reader. Before I let you hear from each of those subscription pickers, I just wanted to tell you a little bit about my subscription. So I'm Annie, I'm the owner of The Bookshelf, and I like to pick literary fiction or nonfiction, often with female protagonists-- but not always. Two of my recent favorite books that I have sent out through my subscription, last summer I sent out the book Everything's Fine by Cecelia Rabess. I loved that book when I read it as an ARC, and then it was a bit controversial on the internet. She was a debut novelist, and I had really loved her book and thought it was such great book club fodder, so ripe for discussing. And I do like my books to get you thinking. And not in an exhausting way, not in an academic way, but just in a how can this get my imagination going kind of way. And Everything's Fine really took a look at our politics and our identities and I think took a microscope to those things.
[00:35:03] Much like book that I did years ago, Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid, I felt like Everything's Fine was kind of in the same boat, but it just was not talked about as much. And I assume that was because of some of the things that were being said online. And so that was part of the reason I picked it as my subscription, and it released in June. It was the best and my favorite book I read in the month of June, so it fit the criteria. So Everything's Fine is one of my favorite books in recent memory, and then clear by Carys Davies. That is my subscription for this month, for April. I adored this book. It's a little novella. Now, it's kind of a departure. It's historical fiction set in the 1800s. There is not a female protagonist to be seen. The main characters are two men. This is for fans of In Memoriam, for fans of Burial Rites by Hannah Kent. Vaster Wilds by Lauren Groff. It's a survival story set in the Scottish Highlands. An island between Scotland and Norway, all about the historic incident of the clearances where people were cleared off their land. I had no idea that was a thing and learned so much. But also this is just a beautiful, beautiful book. And so, for me, I said that my dad has the most eclectic subscription, and I still think that's true, but I just love a really well-written book. And often, for me, that means literary fiction with a female protagonist, but occasionally it's nonfiction. I did Eric Thomas's essay collection, Congratulations the Best is Over. That was one of my subscriptions last year. But Clear is a work of historical fiction, and I love it and can't wait for you to read it. So those are a couple of my recent favorites that I have sent through my subscription. My favorite part of the subscription program is the discoverability of good books. We've heard from you, so we know you hate when we accidentally pick a book that overlaps with a Good Morning America book or a Jenna Bush Hager book. Look, we don't like that anymore than you do, because one of the things I love is reading for Shelf Subscriptions. And it is hard, y'all. It is hard to pick books that fit within the certain criteria, within the release date that we're looking for. It is hard to pick Shelf Subscription books. But man, when I pick the one I know I'm going to send out, I get so excited because I feel like I've gone on a treasure hunt for you. And that is the whole point. That's the whole point of bookselling, is to curate things for you. And so that is my favorite part of Shelf Subscriptions, is feeling like I've gone on a treasure hunt. It's a little bit like-- I don't like thrift store shopping; I'm not very good at it, particularly with clothes. But online, I follow a couple of people who I purchase from because they have done that work for me, so I buy from them. They have thrifted on my behalf. I feel like I'm thrifting on your behalf, only I'm reading new books so you don't have to. So that's my favorite part of the Shelf Subscription service. Along with the pride that all of the staffers take in this program. So next up, you're going to hear from Olivia.
Olivia [00:38:29] I am Olivia Schaffer and I am the operations manager here at The Bookshelf. I have been picking books for Shelf Subscriptions since May of 2018. I looked that up to make sure I was correct, because it was fun to find that my six-year anniversary is coming up this May. So thank you to everyone who has stuck with me for the past six years or just hopped on and off this wild ride of a train. My adult subscription-- because I choose both adult and the middle grade and chapter book. My adult subscription I focus mainly on mysteries and thrillers. Occasionally, you'll get a sci-fi thrown in there mixed with the mystery and thriller, or maybe some surrealism elements mixed in there as well. I love a book that can take over multiple genres, and one that can grab me right from the beginning. That is really important to me. For middle grade and chapter book subscription, I read it all. I am the children's book buyer for The Bookshelf, and it is one of the parts of my job that I love the most. I remember where books took me as a child, and I love getting to pass on titles that I love to up and coming readers as well. Some of my favorites from the past year, last year one of my favorites books that I got to send out was Distant Suns by Tim Johnston. He's an excellent writer, beautiful descriptions, amazing at character depth. And one of those writers who is very quiet, but when you get through it, you realize so much has happened. It's incredible. And then one of my favorites from this year that I just sent out was The Book of Doors by Gareth Brown. This book was probably more fantasy than my typical mystery genre, but it was definitely suspenseful and it was just so well done. This book has stuck with me since I finished it, and I loved it so much. Last year for middle grade, one of my all-time favorite choices and what ended up being my favorite book of the year was The Widely Unknown Myth of Apple and Dorothy. As you listened to From the Front Porch, you probably have heard me talk about this. Or if you have met me in store, you have probably also heard me go on a long diatribe about how great this book is. It's by Corey Ann Haydu and I recommend people of all ages read this book. It is beautiful and if you just want a beautiful book on your shelf, this one also has an amazing cover. I love our Shelf Subscription program. It's different from other ones because it is a surprise. You're not picking out your book. You don't know ahead of time what you're going to get. And what that means is we're really asking you to trust us to give you a good book. And so for you to subscribe to our subscription just feels like an honor that you have put your reading life, to say, into our hands. I love picking personally because I feel like with my subscribers, I'm just taking you on this year-long journey, or however long you subscribe with me, through my reading life which is always really fun. That goes for both adults and kids. But if you subscribe to one of those, there is my mind on display for you all year long and what I read. Those are my favorite books that I've read those months, and so you can kind of see what I'm up to. And it feels very personal to me. And I hope that when we send you out a book that it also feels personal to you. So that is our Shelf Subscription program. I love doing it and I hope I continue for many more years.
Annie Jones [00:42:00] Now I am going to let shop mom and Nancy tell you about their subscription.
Shop Mom [00:42:06] Hey, everybody. Susie here, better known as shop mom. I'm Annie's mom, and I enjoy choosing books along with Nancy each month that are best described as PG 13-ish books. Books that have a good storyline, but without a lot of the sex and violence that we already get enough of in our news and on television. So I try to choose books that are for people like me who want to read a good book, but not one that creates more stress in my life. Over the past six months, I've read some really great books. An author I fell in love with that I had not read before is AJ Pierce, and she has done the Mrs. Bird series of books, and I loved each and every one of them. I thought she was a wonderful writer and I just loved each one of the stories. Another author I recently read is Cristina Henriquez, author of The Great Divide. I really enjoyed this book. It was quite a surprise, but a pleasant surprise. And I hope that if you got it in your Shelf Subscription that you enjoyed it too. My favorite part about choosing books is just connecting with people that enjoy reading like I do. And we want good books. We want good storytelling, but we just don't need all the extra four letter words and graphic sex and violence. I love helping to choose books because it helps me to grow too. I've read a lot of books outside of my typical comfort zone that have turned out to be wonderful books, and I enjoy fiction, nonfiction, and historical fiction. I hope that if you choose Nancy and my Shelf Subscription, that you enjoy reading the selections that we choose because we work really hard at choosing books that we think you're going to love too. Enjoy!
Nancy [00:44:26] Hi, my name is Nancy and I am a bookseller at The Bookshelf and I recently self-promoted myself to Senior Bookseller. I have been working with Annie and the team for five and a half years, and I have been picking books for shelf subscribers for over two years. I love books that I don't have to analyze. I want to simply relax and enjoy the story. My go to picks are fiction, historical fiction, nonfiction. And yet a good mystery is very inviting too. A book I recently read and just loved was The Woman by Kristin Hannah. She is one of my favorite authors, and this story was about the Vietnam War. And it really hit home to me as this was a time in history I so vividly remember. Another book I recently read was All We Were Promised by Ashton Lattimore. It's a story about two slaves from a southern plantation. They find their lives intertwined with an abolitionist and Pennsylvania- an unlikely trio. Their lives are forever changed by their friendship and bravery. And just a heads up, it comes out April 2nd. But what I love about both these books, is they are about just amazing, remarkable women, and I know you will love them too. I love picking books for my shelf subscribers because it is always an adventure. Trying to read mostly PG 13 books is a challenge, and sometimes I will begin 1 or 2 books before I find one for me and for you. My favorite thing about picking a great Shelf Subscription book is when I hear back from my readers and how much they loved the book I chose for them. Happy reading!
Annie Jones [00:46:24] Last but not least, here is shop dad to tell you about his subscription.
Shop Dad [00:46:29] Hi, everybody. It's Shop Dad, to some people known as Chris, and I am the volunteer handyman, the volunteer local author signing assistant, the volunteer Shelf Subscription selector, and the-- well, you get the picture. I've been a Shelf Subscription selection option since February of 22. My first selection was The Violin Conspiracy by Brendan Slocumb. Love that book. Two of my selections over the last six months that I really enjoyed and highly recommend include Chernobyl, an intriguing novel by, Paulette Jiles. The Curse of Pietro Houdini, a novel of historical significance set during the Second World War in Italy by Derek B Miller. The Shelf Subscription program really keeps me reading, and often makes me select titles that I might not otherwise select for myself. I have found that some books really piqued my interest more than I thought they might have. This would be true for a subscriber as well. If you pick shop Dad, for instance, you may get a book that you might not otherwise pick for yourself, but you may find it far more entertaining than you would have predicted. I've recently been touched by the program in a different way. A customer reached out to The Bookshelf staff to inform them that her 89-year-old father had recently passed away, for whom she had purchased a subscription choosing Shop Dad. She wanted us to know how much she enjoyed the program and the selections, and that it kept him reading during his twilight days, weeks and months. It was a touching message. So I really enjoyed being part of the Shelf Subscription program.
Annie Jones [00:48:11] Okay, so you've heard from our staff. You know we love this program. You know it's important to us. I think you can hear it in all of those people's voices how serious they take this bit of fun. But then I thought, shouldn't you hear from customers? Shouldn't you hear from the people who receive these books? Because that's really what's important. I mean, I think it's important that you hear from staffers that you know what a privilege it is that we think picking books is for you. But does it work? Do people like this? Do people keep subscribing? And the answer is yes. Our retention rate is really high, which I am filled with immense gratitude for. And a few weeks ago on Patreon, I reached out because there is some overlap between our Patreon listener or our Patreon supporter and our shelf subscriber. And so I wanted you to hear from two shelf subscribers. First up is Karen.
Karen [00:49:10] Hi, Annie, this is Karen from the Kansas City area. I have been a shelf subscriber since 2021, and I like to take turns choosing from different subscriptions. So many of my favorite reads have come from my Shelf Subscriptions. A perfect example is the first book I received, The Kitchen Front by Jennifer Ryan. This book was a Susie/Nancy subscription because, well, my comfort zone. Then another favorite book was the first book I received from Shop Dad. This book came in the fall when I typically turn to reading comfy, cozy seasonal books. So imagine my surprise when I excitedly unbox and see the book Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver. The title didn't sound like a book that I wanted to tackle during the most wonderful time of the year, but I did, and I could not put it down. This kind of surprise is one of the things I love about my Shelf Subscription. It has helped me read a wider range of authors and subjects that I know I wouldn't have chosen on my own. I love the surprise of unboxing a new book every month, and I love reading the sweet little note from the staffer who selected the book. And since I live so far away and I can't walk in and browse whenever I'd like to, my Shelf Subscription is the way I can support and cheer The Bookshelf. Thanks, Annie.
Annie Jones [00:50:33] I love that Karen has tried a variety of different subscriptions to see what works for her, and the way that she talks about subscriptions is exactly how we hope customers are going to talk about subscriptions. Okay, and then now I want you to hear from Meg.
Meg [00:50:48] Hi, this is Meg from New York. I've been a subscriber for about three and a half years. I started with Annie, and then I added Susie and Nancy when that was introduced. I dabbled in the middle grade and chapter book subscriptions, and currently my son is a board book subscriber, and I am signed up for Annie, Susie, Nancy, and Olivia. I have so many concurrent subscriptions right now because this program has really expanded and enhanced my reading life in every way. Some of my favorites have been Revival Season, The Swimmers, This Boy we Made, Last Chance Library, Golden Spoon, and Mother Daughter Murder Night. This program is so special because each book has been thoughtfully curated by a reader that you can trust, and that really helps a mood reader like me. And even though you read your book alone, you know that someone else is sharing that same experience with you. And being a subscriber has brought so many amazing books into my home and also friends into my life, and I cannot be more grateful for that. So thank you, Annie, and thank you, Erin, because you know and care about my reading life even better than I do. Bye.
Annie Jones [00:51:48] Meg might be our most dedicated subscriber. To subscribe to three subscriptions, plus your children's, is really heartwarming. And one of the things I know Keila said was her favorite part of the subscription service is shipping these books all over the country. And so to get to hear from Karen in Kansas City and Meg in New York, it never ceases to humble and amaze us that our little store in Thomasville, Georgia mails 350 books out every month to readers all over this country. It is astounding to me that something that really Ashley and I-- shop cousin Ashley. It's not her official title, but Ashley and I used to come in the store on a Sunday afternoon and package up 30 to 50 subscriptions, and now we have a staffer who's almost her sole responsibility is Shelf Subscriptions. Keila also packages your other online orders, but it's amazing to me that we can have a staffer devoted to this program. That's how much it's grown over the last few years. And that's because of customers like Karen and Meg. So why am I telling you all this now? Well, I just wanted to remind you that Shelf Subscriptions exist. It's indie bookstore month-- I made that up. Indie Bookstore Day is at the end of this month, so we're celebrating all month long. So I wanted you to be aware that this is a program our Indie Bookstore Day offers. And then I also wanted to give you very fun news. You've heard from Erin over and over again today, but what you probably have wondered is, well, why doesn't Erin have a subscription? Well, Erin picks our children's subscriptions, many of them, and she's a mom of four. So that alone should explain why Erin doesn't pick a monthly subscription. However, Erin is one of our most diverse readers on staff, and she reads incessantly. I mean, she is listening to audiobooks while she is packaging your orders, processing your orders, responding to your customer service emails. She is reading all the time, and she reads quite widely. You have heard her on From the Front Porch and you know this. So for May, that means while you're listening to this, if you buy a subscription from us this month, any old subscription- a Surprise Me, a Nancy, a Shop Dad, middle grade, you can select Erin as an add on. And for this month only, you get to receive a May book. So if you place any order this month, any Shelf Subscription order, you will receive Erin's May book. So this is a way to celebrate indie bookstore day. It's a way to celebrate our Shelf Subscription program, and it's a way for Erin to get to pick a book for you without having to dedicate herself to doing it all year long. So this is really fun, a really fun perk. I think if you are a long distance customer, you are very familiar with Erin, she is your bookseller. And so to get a pick from her in May, I think is going to be really fun. So you can go to our Bookshelf website, bookshelfthomasville.com, click on over to Shelf Subscriptions and then whatever Shelf Subscription you purchase, you can have an Erin add on added to your order.
[00:55:01] This week, what I am reading is brought to you by the 103rd Annual Rose Show and Festival here in Thomasville, Georgia. Held in historic downtown Thomasville, the Rose Show and Festival is sponsored by the city of Thomasville, and has been a Southwest Georgia tradition since 1922. Enjoy rose and flower shows, live music, an artisan market, an antique car show, a parade, and fantastic shopping and dining in downtown Thomasville. This year's 103rd annual event is April 26th through 27th. You can plan your visit at Thomasvillega.com. At this point, you've heard me talk about the Rose Show, the rose tent, the opening ceremony, the parade, the street dance, the Artisan Market, the indie Bookstore day component of it all. And now I'm here to remind you that Thomasville has some of the best restaurants in the country. And that is not an exaggeration. There's like a poll right now, like some kind of voting that you can do, at USAtoday.com. And we are up in the running for one of the best foodie small towns in the country. And I live here, so I'm here to tell you that that is true. Thomasville has really good food, especially for a town of our size. And on Rose Show weekend, many of our downtown restaurants do a rose flavored cocktail, a rose inspired dessert. It is a very fun kind of little thing that adds to the celebratory atmosphere of Rose Show weekend. So after you're done shopping downtown, you've gone to The Bookshelf, you've gone to Hare in the Hat, you've gone to Fuzzy Goat, you've gone to Firefly, His Daughter-- I mean, I could go on and on all the great stores in downtown Thomasville. Once you've shopped, you can go to Sweetgrass Dairy, one of my favorite restaurants. You can go to Empire Bagel for breakfast or lunch. You can go to Liam's for a cocktail. And many of those restaurants that we love all year long, will be doing special rose inspired appetizers, cocktails, and desserts just for Rose Show weekend. It's just another way that our whole town is celebrating Rose show and Festival all weekend long.
[00:57:14] This week I'm reading Lies and Weddings by Kevin Kwan. Thank you again to our sponsor, the 103rd Annual Rose Show and Festival here in Thomasville, Georgia. Plan your visit 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, Linda Lee Drozt, Martha, Stephanie Dean, Ashley Ferrell, Jennifer Bannerton
Executive Producers (Read Their Own Names): Nicole Marsee, Wendi Jenkins, 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.