Episode 520 || What Would Susie Read?
This week on From the Front Porch, Annie chats with her mom, Susie, about books for readers with PG-13 tastes. You get 10% off the Susie-approved reads mentioned in this episode when you use code SHOPMOMSELECTS at checkout online and in-store!
To purchase the books mentioned in this episode, stop by The Bookshelf in Thomasville, visit our website (search “Episode 520”), or download and shop on The Bookshelf’s official app:
The Sunflower House by Adriana Allegri
Time of the Child by Niall Williams
Ordinary Time by Annie B. Jones
The Pumpkin Spice Cafe by Laurie Gilmore
Have More Fun by Mandy Arioto (unavailable to order)
The Story She Left Behind by Patti Callahan Henry (releases 3/18)
Where the Rivers Merge by Mary Alice Munroe (releases 5/13)
What Happened to the McCrays? by Tracey Lange
A Separate Peace by John Knowles
The Let Them Theory by Mel Robbins
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 Broken Country by Clare Leslie Hall. Susie is reading Beach House Rules by Kristy Woodson Harvey.
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...Beth, Stephanie Dean, Linda Lee Drozt, Ashley Ferrell, Wendi Jenkins, Martha, Nicole Marsee, Gene Queens, Cammy Tidwell, Jammie Treadwell, and Amanda Whigham.
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] “The doctor had lived long enough to understand that, in an island country, sideways was the way all stories wanted to go, roundabouts the native way of getting anywhere, and that there was a good reason there was no straight road in the parish.” ― Niall Williams, Time of the Child [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 finally back talking to my mom (a beloved guest) about books for readers with PG-13 tastes. 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:
My first time hearing your Podcast was in February 2024, in San Antonio, TX. I fell asleep to it but heard over half of the episode...The rest I listened to was the following day! I love your book suggestions, love your personal life recap, and love the relaxing vibe of the podcast! I have listened weekly since then, shared your podcast and Instagram with my book club, and bought recommended books online per your recommendations. I'm in Oregon, but hope to come to your store someday and meet you! I rely on your Podcast to comfort me weekly!! Thank you for book recommendations and your comforting conversations with your employees... I LOVE them all!! Your parents also give me warm hugs when you have them on the show! Well, you’re in luck today because one of my parents is back on my show. Thank you so much! 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 tell us what you think. Your reviews help us spread the word not only about our podcast, but about our small brick-and-mortar business, too. Now, back to the show. Hi, Mom.
Susie [00:02:24] Hi, Annie Sue.
Annie Jones [00:02:25] Welcome back.
Susie [00:02:26] It's so good to be here.
Annie Jones [00:02:27] It's been a minute.
Susie [00:02:28] It's been a long time.
Annie Jones [00:02:30] I didn't even realize it, no offense, because we see each other all the time.
Susie [00:02:33] I know.
Annie Jones [00:02:34] And so I didn't realize it, but I did get a DM the other day that said, please, when is your mom going to be back on the podcast? because I think they were looking specifically for some PG -13 type reads. And I thought, well, you're in luck. She's coming back on in just a couple of weeks. But the last time you were on was in July.
Susie [00:02:54] Which I cannot believe.
Annie Jones [00:02:55] No.
Susie [00:02:55] A lot has happened since last July.
Annie Jones [00:02:58] Yes, a lot has happened since last July.
Susie [00:03:00] And I've read a lot of books! I couldn't bring all of them.
Annie Jones [00:03:03] You had to narrow it down.
Susie [00:03:04] I did.
Annie Jones [00:03:05] So if you are new, if you're a new listener to From the Front Porch, my mom comes on the show every so often, typically a little bit more than July to whatever it is now, March, but she comes on and talks about redemptive stories, stories that maybe are for readers who are looking for a little less language, violence, and sex.
Susie [00:03:26] Yes.
Annie Jones [00:03:27] Doesn't mean these books don't have those things, but maybe a little bit less.
Susie [00:03:31] Yes.
Annie Jones [00:03:32] So you can also go back and listen to the archives. You can hear Mom on episodes 398, 416, 433, 447, 468, and 485. You've been on quite a bit. So all of those episodes are linked in the show notes. And so if you're new and you like what you hear today, you can go back and listen to Mom on previous episodes. We have quite a list to work through today.
Susie [00:03:57] We do. And I like to come because I think I read books that you don't read.
Annie Jones [00:04:01] You do.
Susie [00:04:02] Which that's something.
Annie Jones [00:04:03] I am excited to talk about there's a couple of these because there's one I have on my list that I would really love to read. And then there's one I had no idea you read and I can't wait to talk to you about it. So what do you have first?
Susie [00:04:15] Okay. First up is The Sunflower House. It's the most beautiful cover. It's a beautiful book.
Annie Jones [00:04:20] It is beautiful.
Susie [00:04:21] And I was going to use it as a Shelf Subscription at the end of last year, but I felt in the end it was a little bit too graphic. It is a World War II story. I still loved it, but it's hard reading. And so sometimes when you're really picking for a group of people that wants less harsh-- or sometimes it's reality, but you don't really want to read it. I had to pick something else, which I love what I picked, P.S., but this was my runner up. It's an excellent book based on a true story. It's historical fiction, but it is based on a true story. It's by Adriana Allegri, and it's about a house in World War II that was converted into a place, hello, where soldiers could come, it was full of pretty Aryan women who the soldiers could come and have--
Annie Jones [00:05:21] Visits with?
Susie [00:05:21] Yes. Visits.
Annie Jones [00:05:23] Okay. I see now why you were hesitant.
Susie [00:05:28] Yes, it's on purpose to reproducing more perfect, blonde...
Annie Jones [00:05:35] Wow, Mom, look at you go. The back of this I see describes it as the Handmaid's Tale set against World War II. Mom. That's dark.
Susie [00:05:44] It is, but it was so-- it's weird to me. I can read something like this and it's hard. It's harsh. Because the lady that's retelling it, her daughter found her secret notes and stuff written in a floorboard and her mother's in the hospital, I think, and she's older.
Annie Jones [00:06:04] This is all in the book?
Susie [00:06:05] Yes, it's all in the book. And the daughter never, never, knew what her mother had been through. Now, her mother was one of the lucky ones. She met a soldier-- and this has been out so I can talk about it a little bit. She met a soldier that was, I can't remember if he was German or from... I think he was from somewhere else, but recruited because he was so smart, doctor, into the German, the third right, and so he was a high ranking official and he took notice of her, but he adored her and respected her and together they worked to educate the little children that were being born. And then she discovered a bunch of children who weren't perfect, they were stuffed in a hidden room and they found them together. They helped smuggle people out. It's amazing. It's an amazing story.
Annie Jones [00:07:02] And you said it's based on a true story?
Susie [00:07:04] Yes, because there really was a sunflower house. And I'm saying this because oddly-- this makes no sense to me, but oddly I can read this and it's hard better than I can listen to our current news.
Annie Jones [00:07:16] Well, no, that makes a lot of sense. I think a lot of people are like that. The reality is the historical fiction, just like when you read The Women last year, that's not an easy book, but I think it can then affect how we interpret the news. And you aren't reading this right now, you read it in November or October
Susie [00:07:35] I read it in November, which was still... But I think another thing is when you read something like this, we remember we made it. We did it.
Annie Jones [00:07:44] Yes.
Susie [00:07:45] We made it through.
Annie Jones [00:07:46] Yes, and even though this is based in truth, it's still fiction and I always say that fiction is a great way to learn about things that maybe we wouldn't feel comfortable reading about if it were non-fiction. There's something about fiction that makes it feel-- I don't know, makes our brains feel a little safer.
Susie [00:08:05] Even though you know it's based on truth right it's still... Yeah.
Annie Jones [00:08:10] Okay. That sounds really good.
Susie [00:08:12] It was a good book.
Annie Jones [00:08:13] I did not know about that one I think because I do keep up with your Shelf Subscriptions, but you picked something else so I didn't know that that was one you had read. I think a lot of customers will really like that. So that was The Sunflower House.
Susie [00:08:25] I actually think they would like it. I really do. And it is a beautiful book.
Annie Jones [00:08:29] And a little bit different. We joke on the podcast a lot about-- and I don't mean to be disparaging about it, but we joke just about how much historical fiction is World War II. But that sounds like kind of a different side of the history than we might normally read.
Susie [00:08:45] It was very different and it ends well so I hope people will enjoy it. So what I did choose for my-- I can't remember if I was November or December.
Annie Jones [00:08:55] You were December, which is always tough.
Susie [00:08:56] Yes, so this is called the Time of the Child by Niall Williams.
Annie Jones [00:09:03] I'm excited to hear you talk about this because I would love to read this.
Susie [00:09:08] Well, you should. But you should know, speed reading maniac-- but you have to speed read through it. This is a slow read.
Annie Jones [00:09:18] And if I'm not mistaken, set during or around Advent.
Susie [00:09:23] And it's just the Advent season.
Annie Jones [00:09:25] Okay, that's what I thought.
Susie [00:09:26] And when I first started reading it, even for me, I was like, this is slow.
Annie Jones [00:09:33] Well, I think-- okay, correct me if I'm wrong, is this the book that you said did not have chapters or had long chapters? Long chapters always is a little bit of a challenge, I think.
Susie [00:09:43] It was just what I needed. It was absolutely perfect. And you know what? If you can't get in a comfy chair or sit out, if you have a swimming pool, sit out by your pool or be outdoors or even in your sofa in the living room and can't stop and slow down a little bit just to really enjoy this, it's sad. And this will help you do that. And it's just so well written. You think you're there.
Annie Jones [00:10:12] Where is that?
Susie [00:10:12] I think it's Ireland. And he's written another book I think that was before this.
Annie Jones [00:10:18] Correct.
Susie [00:10:18] And I think I'm going to look for it.
Annie Jones [00:10:20] Yes, you should.
Susie [00:10:20] I think This Is Happiness. And so I don't know if you have it in, but I think I'm going to see if it's also a slow descriptive read.
Annie Jones [00:10:30] I think it is because-- I don't know if this will matter to you, but Anne Patchett is a huge Niall Williams fan, and she has recommended, I think she might've even blurbed This Is Happiness. And so that's part of the reason I'm curious about it. And then you loved it so much and we had a lot of readers who loved it.
Susie [00:10:46] Oh, good. Sometimes you do a Shelf Subscription and you wonder, did people like it?
Annie Jones [00:10:53] Yeah. Here's the tip. If you don't hear anything, they probably did.
Susie [00:10:58] Well, I don't ever hear anything so, they must love everything I pick.
Annie Jones [00:11:02] If you hear something, it's probably not great.
Susie [00:11:08] Well, okay, I think any of my type of readers will love this book. But now it is set in winter, and it is an island off of the coast of Ireland. And it's starring the doctor and his daughter, who is his adult daughter. His wife has died. One daughter has married and moved away, but this daughter stayed. This daughter stayed and she helps him run his business and it's a tiny little hamlet, little village, so you get to know all the people in the village.
Annie Jones [00:11:45] What's that PBS show you and dad love so much?
Susie [00:11:49] Oh my word, All Creatures Great and Small.
Annie Jones [00:11:51] Would fans of that like this? I can see the similarities already.
Susie [00:11:54] Yes. And so, he's a doctor that goes and takes care of humans instead of a veterinarian. So they just live this quiet kind of sometimes semi grumpy, dysfunctional little household.
Annie Jones [00:12:08] Small town life.
Susie [00:12:09] And then some of the little boys in the village find a baby. And they bring the baby and leave it on the doorsteps here at the doctor's house. And Ronnie, his daughter, finds the baby. And it's just a warm, touching story about Ronnie, who didn't marry her first love, so she stayed at home and never married, and how she falls in love with and cares for this baby.
Annie Jones [00:12:41] That sounds lovely.
Susie [00:12:42] Which trying to keep it a secret because the village finds out about it and then social services will have to take it and she doesn't want that to happen yet.
Annie Jones [00:12:50] I see.
Susie [00:12:50] So I'm not going to tell all the ending of it, but it is a happy ending. And it is the most beautifully written book. And if you want to go slow because I have a moving picture going on in my head when I read, this was the best movie ever because it's beautiful.
Annie Jones [00:13:09] Would you read it right now or would you wait?
Susie [00:13:11] I don't know. It is a winter book, but I don't think you have to wait to winter to read it. If someone out there is looking for something that says, I need a break, I need something to take me away from everything that's happening in this world, it's a great time to read it.
Annie Jones [00:13:29] Okay, good.
Susie [00:13:30] I loved it.
Annie Jones [00:13:31] The Time of the Child.
Susie [00:13:32] The Time of the Child. Okay, my next book, drumroll, this is by-- I would love to meet this author. I love her. I can tell by every chapter that I love her. The book is called Ordinary Time by Annie B. Jones and I got to read the ARC.
Annie Jones [00:13:57] I got a few, I was about to say, "Where'd you get that?"
Susie [00:14:00] You gave it to me.
Annie Jones [00:14:03] When did you read it?
Susie [00:14:05] I read it last, what, November?
Annie Jones [00:14:07] Do you and dad read it together or did you read it to yourself?
Susie [00:14:10] We were traveling, some, so we read some of them together. Dad had to pull over one time. Because when did I read that? October.
Annie Jones [00:14:22] October, okay.
Susie [00:14:23] So we were on a trip. And so we read it out loud to one another. So while he drove, I read it out loud. And sometimes we might have gotten a little verklempt. We might have gotten a little emotional. I loved it. I can't wait for everybody to get their hands on it.
Annie Jones [00:14:46] She's not at all biased.
Susie [00:14:47] I'm not at all biased. I'm not biased. I'm here to tell the truth. It's a collection of essays about all types of things, about friendships, about people moving away but that doesn't mean you lose your friendships, about making new friends, about spiritual growth, about church, about living in a small town. It's delightful.
Annie Jones [00:15:11] Do you think, if you were not my mom, you would have liked this book and could recommend it to other people your age?
Susie [00:15:20] Yes, I do.
Annie Jones [00:15:20] Because I'm genuinely curious about that. I didn't intend to write a book for millennials, so I just wondered if other generations of readers would like it.
Susie [00:15:29] Well, first of all, I have millennial children. And so I'm in touch with both of my children and I'm in tune with their lives. And, first of all, the cover's beautiful.
Annie Jones [00:15:42] The cover is beautiful.
Susie [00:15:43] And I am terrible about judging a book by its cover. You know I am.
Annie Jones [00:15:46] I think it is the kind of book you would have picked up.
Susie [00:15:48] And I would have picked it up; and I would have started reading. And look, we're all on our own spiritual journey. And so a lot of the things that you wrote about in there were things that I feel like I'm going through myself, even though I'm your mom. And so living in a small town, those were very fun because I visit this small town a lot. I know a lot of your friends. And so what I'm saying is, if you weren't my daughter and I picked up that book, my mothering instincts would still kick in of I know how she feels about this because my daughter feels this way.
Annie Jones [00:16:30] Okay, that makes sense.
Susie [00:16:31] Or, oh my word, my son has been through this exact thing. So does that make sense?
Annie Jones [00:16:36] Yeah.
Susie [00:16:36] So for that reason, I think women my age will love it.
Annie Jones [00:16:41] And do you think somebody-- I've thought about this since I didn't think about it while writing it. Well, kind of I did. Because there is a section in the book about faith because faith is just a part of my life, it would have felt odd to not write about it. It would have felt weird to not write about it. But I do hope there's something in the book for even people who may not be practicing of faith, may not participate in spiritual-- I would argue that most of us are interacting with the spiritual in some way shape or form. But I'd like to think that there's stuff in there about book clubs, dogs, houses with pools.
Susie [00:17:18] Even if let's say you don't have a faith or a background like we do, now in the South that will be--
Annie Jones [00:17:27] I think in the South a lot of people will resonate with.
Susie [00:17:29] But let's say you don't, I still think there are things people grapple with that are on that exact same level that might not be faith related, but it is the same finding yourself.
Annie Jones [00:17:45] I was going to say institutional disappointment.
Susie [00:17:48] Yes.
Annie Jones [00:17:49] Whatever kind of institution you're...
Susie [00:17:50] So don't sell the faith section short, and anybody that does is missing out on what they might be going through that might not be faith -related, but it's definitely an inward searching and yearning.
Annie Jones [00:18:07] Anybody who's asked questions.
Susie [00:18:09] Exactly. Well, I love it, and I think a lot of people are going to love it.
Annie Jones [00:18:17] When does it come out? Do you know?
Susie [00:18:18] It comes out April 22nd, just a few days before my birthday.
Annie Jones [00:18:23] Yes, happy birthday.
Susie [00:18:24] I know.
Annie Jones [00:18:26] Obviously, yes, my parents are biased, but it is funny because the other day she called, I was a little overwhelmed, and so Mom took over a return I was trying to make to Pottery Barn; and I got a text later that was like, okay, return made, refund being given, also told her all about your book. The poor Pottery Ban customer service rep.
Susie [00:18:49] That is way better than doing it online.
Annie Jones [00:18:52] Listen, and I'd rather...
Susie [00:18:54] I got it. And how fast did I get that taken care of?
Annie Jones [00:18:57] It was so much faster than I would have done. But it does make me laugh. You and Dad are like little evangelists for Ordinary Time.
Susie [00:19:04] And also I'll put a plug in for calling people because the Millennials don't call anybody, they'd rather die, they'd rather just text or send an email.
Annie Jones [00:19:14] I'm going to gently push back. That is true for things like customer service. However, Michelle, who I always describe her as our virtual assistant, which feels silly because she's a real life person. She's not virtual.
Susie [00:19:28] She's not AI.
Annie Jones [00:19:28] Right. She's a real -life person.
Susie [00:19:31] But if AI want to clone her, they'd be lucky.
Annie Jones [00:19:34] Yeah, they would do well. But Michelle and I do often talk about how Millennials are the children of boomers, because we might not like to call but we'll do it if we have to. And there are many times in which you get stuff done faster if you pick up the phone.
Susie [00:19:50] I think you definitely do.
Annie Jones [00:19:52] So Michelle and I have debated that, but I will acknowledge that you're right. That many times, especially like that Pottery Barn return, I kept looking for just like a button that you would click to begin processing the refund, and there wasn't. There wasn't a button. And I was so frustrated and anyway I put mom on it.
Susie [00:20:07] And you know what else? Most people are nice and they will help you more when they hear a voice than when you're nothing but a blank screen with sentences. And we all know how people can translate remarks and comments thanks to social media.
Annie Jones [00:20:24] Well, and we've been on that side. We're not Pottery Barn, but the bookshelf is a retail.
Susie [00:20:30] Yes.
Annie Jones [00:20:31] Erin gets emails. I used to get emails.
Susie [00:20:33] And I think it is harder to be truly mean if you call.
Annie Jones [00:20:37] It is.
Susie [00:20:37] And besides that, I'm not mean.
Annie Jones [00:20:39] Well, no, you're not mean.
Susie [00:20:40] So the lady and I, I'd like to think we were friends.
Annie Jones [00:20:46] Maybe she'll buy Ordinary Time. Okay, then what did you read next?
Susie [00:20:50] I read the Pumpkin Spice Cafe. Okay, here we go everybody. Here we go, my PG lovers.
Annie Jones [00:20:57] Guard your loins.
Susie [00:20:57] Okay. Absolutely the cutest cover book. The perfect fall book.
Annie Jones [00:21:06] She's written a couple because there are a couple with these covers that look like they were generated in the Hallmark factory.
Susie [00:21:14] I picked that up and I thought, this is just what I need. Pumpkin Spice Cafe. Well, friends...
Annie Jones [00:21:21] Emphasis on spice.
Susie [00:21:23] It's definitely spicy. Now, look, I'm not a prude. I'm not a prude.
Annie Jones [00:21:29] I am.
Susie [00:21:30] But reading very specific sexy things, I knew, I picked that book up, I'm like, all the PG lovers, all the people like me, picked this book up and thought this is...
Annie Jones [00:21:46] Cause that's what it looks like. And, listen, this is the difficulty of being a bookseller because no one on staff had read that yet. And it looks like a Hallmark movie. And so we had it, I'm sure on an end cap or a display with all the other autumnal looking books. And then I wish I'd-- it would have just taken forever to find the text, but I got a text from you one afternoon and it was basically like, don't let anyone [inaudible].
Susie [00:22:18] Don't tell anybody I recommended this book. Now, look, unless you're a PG lover with closet sexy vibes that you'd like to read about...
Annie Jones [00:22:27] Or my friend-- I'm going out her, she'll laugh at this, my friend Kimberly who always wanted there to be a hallmark after dark. So if you're an open-door reader...
Susie [00:22:39] Okay, Kimberly, this one's for you. Oh, my goodness. It really is like a Hallmark story just with Spice.
Annie Jones [00:22:48] Yeah, with open-door.
Susie [00:22:49] With spice, yes. So, anyway, I wouldn't have picked it for my Shelf Subscription because Erin would have gotten an email. And I definitely pick my books based on I want Erin to be unbothered.
Annie Jones [00:23:03] Left alone, yeah. Okay, so then what did you read?
Susie [00:23:06] I read Have More Fun.
Annie Jones [00:23:09] All right, talk to me about this one because I was not familiar with this till you read it.
Susie [00:23:11] Well, shall we talk about our word of the year?
Annie Jones [00:23:15] Yes. I don't know if I have one.
Susie [00:23:17] Every year I pick a word of the year and you know that. Always self -help, self -improvement.
Annie Jones [00:23:24] Yeah, you love self-help.
Susie [00:23:25] I'm always trying to be a better person.
Annie Jones [00:23:28] You are. Trying so hard.
Susie [00:23:31] Trying so hard out here to be a better person. So I was looking for a word. I didn't want to do presence again. Some words I've done multiple times because I'm slow.
Annie Jones [00:23:44] Got to work on those things.
Susie [00:23:45] Got to work on it. So, Jordan heard me talking about this.
Annie Jones [00:23:51] Yes. You wanted to...
Susie [00:23:52] I wanted advice. I'm like, I really want something about self-care.
Annie Jones [00:23:56] Self-care was what you kind of have... Yeah.
Susie [00:23:58] Taking care of me, which I'm not good at that. And so Jordan, "Ms. Susie, your word ought to be fun."
Annie Jones [00:24:09] He thought self -care sounded like too much work.
Susie [00:24:12] And self -care sounds like what? Self -improvement, like I always make. And so I thought fun? Well, I'm fun. And then I thought, wait a minute, fun? That sounds great. So I Googled it.
Annie Jones [00:24:28] Googled fun?
Susie [00:24:30] Googled how to be a fun person. And I'm a fun person.
Annie Jones [00:24:34] You are a fun person.
Susie [00:24:35] And I'm funny.
Annie Jones [00:24:36] Yeah, you're a fun person.
Susie [00:24:37] So, anyway, I picked two books and this is one of them. And this book happens to be written by the founder of MOPs. Mothers of Preschoolers.
Annie Jones [00:24:47] That's right, Mothers of Preschoolers. And I had not heard of this, but then maybe Bob Goff wrote the foreword or something.
Susie [00:24:57] He did. And there was a book, I'm trying to think of the name of it, that last year I read. It was something celebrate.
Annie Jones [00:25:05] What If It's Wonderful.
Susie [00:25:06] What If It's Wonderful. Okay, so I read this book and it's very nice, well-written ways to have fun, which I was really pleased that there was nothing that jumped out at me like I'm not fun and needed to know because I didn't. But it was a good read. And you know what? It was a great light read to help me remember, look, there's fun all around. It might not be ta-da, kind of fun all the time, but you can still have fun.
Annie Jones [00:25:36] So there are a couple of things that I'm seeing online, probably because of the world I would say we're currently living in. But I would also say, as you mentioned with your previous book, The Sunflower House, we've always had really dark, dire times. So, anyway, we are currently, I just think, grappling with a lot of things whether personally or in the news or whatever. And so I've seen online a couple of trends, I guess. One is this idea of romanticizing your life. And the other was this tweet that went viral or something and it was a woman who had asked all the people who followed her to tell her how they made their lives more whimsical.
Susie [00:26:21] Oh, cute.
Annie Jones [00:26:23] And so I do think there is this desire because life is heavy.
Susie [00:26:28] You want to lighten up, Frances. Yeah.
Annie Jones [00:26:30] Because life is heavy, what can we do? It doesn't mean we don't take things seriously. It doesn't mean we bury our heads in the sand. But what are we going to do to make life worth living? And so I'm glad that you picked fun. And I think it's very Susie Butterworth to have immediately read a book about it.
Susie [00:26:50] You know what else I loved? There were things in there that reminded me, oh, well I do that all the time, but have I thought about that being fun? Because sometimes you can do stuff and then you don't really realize the lightness of it that you have right there under your nose that you're actually doing, and maybe you weren't paying attention that this is fun. And so on January 1st, the very first day of the year, Dad and I got in the car and we had our traditional meal of country ham, collard greens out of the garden, and black eyed peas and cornbread. We had our meal, and then we drove down to St. Mark's to the coast and visited the lighthouse and walked around. It was cold. It was beautiful day. And I thought, okay, I'm kicking my year off. This is fun.
Annie Jones [00:27:45] I assume that this is tied into your resolution, but you started doing watercolors.
Susie [00:27:50] Yes, I'm doing things I did not think I could do. I'm sewing. I'm not a seamstress, but I'm making things.
Annie Jones [00:27:58] Well, and I think the thing about a word like fun is it takes some of the perfection out of it.
Susie [00:28:03] Yes.
Annie Jones [00:28:04] You don't have to be the next best watercolor artist.
Susie [00:28:07] Nope.
Annie Jones [00:28:08] You don't have to be a perfect seamstress. You could just do things because you enjoy them.
Susie [00:28:15] That's right. And I'm doing it. Rather than sitting around thinking about it, I'm actually doing it.
Annie Jones [00:28:20] Well, good. So that was Have More Fun. I'm just curious, Annie F. Downy has a podcast called That Sounds Fun.
Susie [00:28:28] I have her book. That's the other book I got.
Annie Jones [00:28:30] I was like, what other books came up with the word fun in the title?
Susie [00:28:33] That's the other book I got and it's literally things you can do that are fun.
Annie Jones [00:28:37] Well, great.
Susie [00:28:38] And so I have that book as well. I didn't bring that with me today.
Annie Jones [00:28:41] Well, Have More Fun. That sounds like a book maybe if people liked What If It's Wonderful, that could be their next read.
Susie [00:28:50] Yes.
Annie Jones [00:28:51] So next up, what did you read?
Susie [00:28:53] I read another ARC, The Story She Left Behind by Patti Callahan Henry.
Annie Jones [00:29:00] Do you have your tickets?
Susie [00:29:02] Yes, I'm coming. You know she's my favorite.
Annie Jones [00:29:04] Yes, I know she's your favorite. She's coming to The Bookshelf on April 8th.
Susie [00:29:08] I'm coming.
Annie Jones [00:29:09] We are super excited to finally get her in the store.
Susie [00:29:13] I've got the hard back. Beautiful. Her books are beautiful.
Annie Jones [00:29:15] Her covers are lovely.
Susie [00:29:16] Her covers are beautiful. I don't know why I thought she was older then I saw a picture of her and I went, good grief, she's as beautiful as her cover. She's gorgeous.
Annie Jones [00:29:23] I hope she hears this. You probably just made her day.
Susie [00:29:27] I think she might be my favorite historical fiction writer.
Annie Jones [00:29:31] I think her C.S. Lewis books, her books about Lewis, Becoming Mrs. Lewis...
Susie [00:29:36] I loved that one, too.
Annie Jones [00:29:39] I don't want to misspeak. I think that was perhaps her first foray into historical fiction.
Susie [00:29:46] That's where I found her.
Annie Jones [00:29:46] I know. I remember.
Susie [00:29:47] She's written a ton of books and I'm like I had no idea.
Annie Jones [00:29:49] Yes, she's very prolific.
Susie [00:29:51] But I found her with Becoming Mrs. Lewis.
Annie Jones [00:29:55] Yes. So this is historical fiction as well?
Susie [00:29:56] Yes.
Annie Jones [00:29:57] And where is it set?
Susie [00:29:58] It's set in South Carolina, but it's going to be in two places. It's going to be in South Carolina and London. So this young woman, young mother, is raising her daughter with her-- she lives with her dad. He's a doctor. Her mother mysteriously disappears when she's a child, like an eight -year -old, I think. She mysteriously disappears; they never find her body. It's really fascinating. Well, somebody in London, his father dies and he's going through his library and finds this envelope that says her name on it and it's about her mom.
Annie Jones [00:30:46] Okay.
Susie [00:30:46] So she stops everything. She's a school teacher. Art teacher. She's an illustrator. She's an art teacher. She stops everything and takes her little girl and they go to London. Now let me tell you, she is another beautifully descriptive writer. You think you're there. When I read Becoming Mrs. Lewis, I felt like I had been to school. I felt like I had been there. It was so well written, and that's the same as this. And the Flora Lea, the something, something of Flora Lea.
Annie Jones [00:31:18] The Secret Book of Flora Lea.
Susie [00:31:20] That was so good, too. And you feel like you're there. Her books could be movies to me. I'm like, why aren't they?
Annie Jones [00:31:28] You should ask her on April 8th.
Susie [00:31:30] They should be movies. So she goes over to London and starts discovering and digging. And I can't tell very much about this because it's coming out.
Annie Jones [00:31:39] Well, you don't want to tell anyway because customers use this to pick what they want to read.
Susie [00:31:43] Won't to tell you. Buy it.
Annie Jones [00:31:45] Okay. It's a buy.
Susie [00:31:45] Buy it. And it is a beautiful book and you're going to love it. I flew through it. It was so good.
Annie Jones [00:31:52] I'm really excited we get to host her in the store. I think she's a writer, she's an author that our customer base really loves. But I think she also extends beyond Southern readers, too.
Susie [00:32:06] You know what's really unique about this book? Her mother wrote a book that was super famous and she wrote it as a child. Like she was a child prodigy. The girl's mother.
Annie Jones [00:32:18] Oh, the woman who goes missing.
Susie [00:32:20] And then, so she has another book and she writes in a secret language. And you know who else wrote in a secret language?
Annie Jones [00:32:28] Who?
Susie [00:32:28] Beatrix Potter.
Annie Jones [00:32:30] Interesting.
Susie [00:32:31] Buy the book.
Annie Jones [00:32:32] Buy the book. And then if you are local, come to the Patti Callahan Henry event in April. Tickets are available on The Bookshelf's website.
Susie [00:32:41] Can't wait.
Annie Jones [00:32:42] All right, and then Patti Callahan Henry blurbed your next book.
Susie [00:32:47] She sure did. This is coming out in May. And this is entitled, Where the Rivers Merge. Which you might think it's about bodies of water. It's a family name.
Annie Jones [00:32:59] Love when they do that. It's like The Family Stone.
Susie [00:33:02] Where the Rivers Merge by Mary Alice Munroe. So, so good.
Annie Jones [00:33:08] Have you read her before?
Susie [00:33:09] No.
Annie Jones [00:33:10] I would think you would like her a lot.
Susie [00:33:12] And I'm going to look for some other. Because now I'm not doing Shelf Subscriptions as much--
Annie Jones [00:33:17] Yes, we're going to talk about that.
Susie [00:33:17] I really want to do some more exploring.
Annie Jones [00:33:17] Yeah, you get read backlists.
Susie [00:33:22] Exactly.
Annie Jones [00:33:22] You get to do whatever you want now.
Susie [00:33:23] So the reason I got a little confused a minute ago is because this one is also in the low country of South Carolina.
Annie Jones [00:33:30] I see. Is this historical fiction?
Susie [00:33:32] Well, no, I think this is just a fiction book.
Annie Jones [00:33:34] Okay. Contemporary.
Susie [00:33:37] You would love it. It's a dysfunctional family tale.
Annie Jones [00:33:42] Do love those.
Susie [00:33:43] I know you do, and I don't know why but you do. And so this takes place in 1908 and 1988. Now, I happen to love books like that.
Annie Jones [00:33:54] The '80s are now considered historical fiction.
Susie [00:33:57] Stop.
Annie Jones [00:33:57] I'm sorry, but that's just the truth.
Susie [00:33:59] I'm having my 100th birthday coming up. I just sound young.
Annie Jones [00:34:05] So 1908 and 1988.
Susie [00:34:07] Yes. So it's about a family that owned this beautiful estate. No one calls it a plantation. Beautiful estate in South Carolina. There's some two sons, I think, and a daughter. And it's all about the estate in the early 1900s and the things that took place in the Great War and all of that happening. And now she's an old lady at 88 years old. She's getting younger by the minute. And she is the head of this major conglomerate, this huge corporation, and she's the CEO. and her son is now trying to-- she's old, he wants to sell the property.
Annie Jones [00:34:52] I see.
Susie [00:34:50] And she's trying to hang on to it. So now we filter into other generations and weave them into the story. And she's telling her life story to these-- one is a granddaughter, and one is the granddaughter of her best friend whose father or uncle was the groundskeeper.
Annie Jones [00:35:18] For the estate.
Susie [00:35:19] So she lived kind of off but it became her best friend when she was a little girl, then they got separated and her granddaughter comes back and it's all about trying to preserve this beautiful country.
Annie Jones [00:35:36] Okay, well that sounds great.
Susie [00:35:38] It's really good. It's very good.
Annie Jones [00:35:40] And that comes out in May.
Susie [00:35:41] And that comes out in May and it's very descriptive of the landscape, the beauty of the low country of South Carolina. And guess what? This is really neat. I've never done this before. At the end, I finished it, book one.
Annie Jones [00:35:55] Good, so there will be more.
Susie [00:35:56] So book two is coming.
Annie Jones [00:35:57] Okay, well that is fun.
Susie [00:35:59] So, trust me on this one. When this comes out, buy it. And then we'll all wait together for the next one, and then I'll review the next one when it comes out.
Annie Jones [00:36:07] Yeah, that'll be fun. Okay, so that one was called Where the Rivers Merge.
Susie [00:36:10] Where the Rivers Merge. Okay. So the next book I read was What Happened to the McCrays. And this book is out now.
Annie Jones [00:36:18] Yes, I believe Erin read this book and really liked it.
Susie [00:36:21] Okay. So it really is a fascinating book. It's very just contemporary about a husband and wife who have split up. They've divorced. You really don't know why because they look like America's perfect little couple.
Annie Jones [00:36:38] Maybe that's why.
Susie [00:36:40] But he's gone and we don't really know why and he lives far away. He's a mechanic, but he gets news that his dad has had a stroke so he comes back home. Okay, this is a small town. Everybody knows your business. Everybody knows their business. So everybody knows he left and nobody knows why. Really nobody knows why. I didn't know why until it really finally revealed itself. I kept wondering, why'd you leave? But, anyway, so he comes back and his dad lives across the street from his ex -wife. So that means because small town, he lived across the street, they're going to run into each other.
Annie Jones [00:37:17] They're going to run into each other.
Susie [00:37:18] So he comes back and it's sad because you discover all the things that have happened in their lives that made him leave. And he played hockey, so when he comes back, the school where his ex -wife works really needs a little hockey coach.
Annie Jones [00:37:36] Of course, they do.
Susie [00:37:37] I know. This is almost hallmark-y with language. It's hallmark-y with language.
Annie Jones [00:37:42] All right.
Susie [00:37:42] Because it is redemptive. It comes all back together and you learn a lot about what happened to them. So What Happened to the McCray's is a great title.
Annie Jones [00:37:55] Because you do find out what happened.
Susie [00:37:56] Because you have to read, and you have to read quite a bit of it before you really discover what happened to them.
Annie Jones [00:38:04] She's written a couple. We Are the Brennans and The Connellys of County Down. She writes a lot about dysfunctional families, I believe.
Susie [00:38:12] And then his ex -wife has a brother who was injured, and so he's in a wheelchair, and he lives with her in the back of her house. So it's very all the little family people come together. Plus the small town, all the people from the small town know everything. You kind of get to know them, and there's busybodies. It's really good.
Annie Jones [00:38:39] Erin liked it, as I recall.
Susie [00:38:41] I think people will really like this, but I do want to say there is some language in it. So if you can work past that, I think you would love this book.
Annie Jones [00:38:49] You did. You worked past it.
Susie [00:38:50] I sure did.
Annie Jones [00:38:52] Okay, next up.
Susie [00:38:55] Okay, next up is a very old book.
Annie Jones [00:38:58] Yeah, I want to know if that's my copy of this book.
Susie [00:39:01] Oh, is it? Lisa has two copies.
Annie Jones [00:39:03] Oh no, that's Aunt Lisa's.
Susie [00:39:04] And she gave me this (I wish you could see it) really ratty, beat up copy of this book.
Annie Jones [00:39:10] I love a beat up copy. Wait, did you say the name?
Susie [00:39:12] No, I'm about to.
Annie Jones [00:39:10] Okay.
Susie [00:39:14] A Separate Piece by John Knowles.
Annie Jones [00:39:16] Now, why on earth did you pick this up?
Susie [00:39:18] Only because Lisa gave me this and said, "You should read this. It was so good." Then when I asked her questions about it she couldn't remember. But she said, "I just remember I loved it." She might have read it in high school or something.
Annie Jones [00:39:29] I read it in high school. I loved this book, but I am shocked that you read it.
Susie [00:39:34] I loved it.
Annie Jones [00:39:35] Yes, it's deeply sad.
Susie [00:39:37] But then I realized this isn't happy book.
Annie Jones [00:39:43] No, this is an Annie B. Jones book. I love me some sad books.
Susie [00:39:48] Man, I need to help you out sometimes then, because this is a sad book.
Annie Jones [00:39:53] What I am pretty peeved about at this very moment in time is mom always prints out notes to help her know what all her books are about.
Susie [00:39:59] I didn't have time [crosstalk].
Annie Jones [00:40:00] No, this is what peeves me. I think a separate piece is beautiful.
Susie [00:40:06] It's beautifully written.
Annie Jones [00:40:07] She has printed out the description from Goodreads where it is ranked as a 3.6.
Susie [00:40:13] Why is that? This is a classic.
Annie Jones [00:40:15] This is why I know Goodreads-- I have...
Susie [00:40:19] Make you feel better?
Annie Jones [00:40:20] Yeah, I just-- wow. People...
Susie [00:40:23] Me too. I was in shock.
Annie Jones [00:40:24] Okay, so you had not read this in school?
Susie [00:40:27] I had never read this book. I had never heard of this book. So it's about two boys.
Annie Jones [00:40:31] How delightful.
Susie [00:40:34] Oh my gosh, I love these kids. One's a brainiac, one's a jock. One's handsome, good -looking, everybody loves him. I think you and I could both think of someone who this could be like. And they're at a boarding school in New England during World War II.
Annie Jones [00:40:52] Boarding school books are my favorite.
Susie [00:40:54] I knew that you probably loved that. So it's just about their relationship. Look, it's sad, but it is also we never hear of male friendships.
Annie Jones [00:41:08] Hunter and I talk about this all the time.
Susie [00:41:09] When is the last time you read a book about a male friendship? It is the most beautiful--
Annie Jones [00:41:16] I try to seek them out. They're hard to find. Hunter and I have had this conversation before.
Susie [00:41:19] It is beautiful.
Annie Jones [00:41:20] Yes. I think male friendship is actually really beautiful to watch when we don't get to watch it very often.
Susie [00:41:26] And the handsome, good-looking, charming, he's just a magnet for everybody, absolutely loves and adores his nerdy roommate. He loves him. It is a love story.
Annie Jones [00:41:41] I love this book.
Susie [00:41:42] And yet it's just their best friend. I'm tearing up thinking about it. But it's dark because it's not only is it World War II, but things happen.
Annie Jones [00:41:53] Don't tell.
Susie [00:41:54] I'm not, but go read this book.
Annie Jones [00:41:56] If you haven't read A Separate Piece, you should read it.
Susie [00:42:00] Yes, you should read it.
Annie Jones [00:42:01] It's worth being a classic. It is a classic for a reason.
Susie [00:42:06] Yes.
Annie Jones [00:42:06] All right. And then you joined the masses. And what'd you read next?
Susie [00:42:09] I read the Let Them Theory, and it's by Mel Robbins who I'd never heard of except she's a social media phenom.
Annie Jones [00:42:18] Yeah, I weirdly had not heard of her either. Is she related to Tony Robbins?
Susie [00:42:22] I don't think so. No, she's not.
Annie Jones [00:42:25] Until this book came out, and maybe I'm living under a rock, I was not familiar with her. But, man, this book-- let me tell you something, we couldn't keep this book in stock.
Susie [00:42:35] I know. I couldn't even get it from you, I had to wait.
Annie Jones [00:42:37] Yeah, thank you for waiting.
Susie [00:42:38] I did wait.
Annie Jones [00:42:39] Yet not everyone was as kind.
Susie [00:42:41] I'll wait so I can shop my small business, baby.
Annie Jones [00:42:44] We just had to let them be real rude.
Susie [00:42:48] There you go. You probably don't need the book.
Annie Jones [00:42:52] Our staff had a hard time because it immediately took off and you can't always predict something like that. And I think they went into a reprint. The publisher didn't have enough. And so, anyway, it was backordered everywhere. But thank you to you and all the customers who decided to wait on this book.
Susie [00:43:11] I did wait.
Annie Jones [00:43:12] Was it worth the wait?
Susie [00:43:13] I want to say some things. I want to say that just like the fun book, y'all, there's really not a ton of new theories out there. It's common sense. And what she has done is genius. She's a genius.
Annie Jones [00:43:31] Yeah.
Susie [00:43:32] She's a genius. She has taken this, look, if somebody doesn't like you, let them. I'm being kind of funny, but I'm like it just happens to be very hard for me. What's there not to like?
Annie Jones [00:43:48] It's common sense, but it is hard to put them to practice.
Susie [00:43:50] So, for me, there was nothing really new except chapter after chapter, example after example, and I needed it just to help me be reminded--
Annie Jones [00:44:05] You're an Enneagram two, and you just want to be loved and to love others.
Susie [00:44:10] I do. And I am so lovable. I'm nice. I'm like, what's not to love? But, look, I'm not. I'm too much for some people [crosstalk]. And so this reminded me, you know what? Guess what? Be you. Be you, Susie, and people will like you or they won't. And you have to just let them. But now I'm towards the end. I'm not quite finished. Now I'm towards the end. And you know me, what I really love is let me. I have to know the things I can do. Okay, what about me? So how am I going let this help me? And it's easier to say let them about some things than it is other things. Now, there were some things in here that didn't apply to me anymore- work force, work world. But, boy, I look back and think wish I'd had this. It's easy to read. She did it on purpose. She really did do that on purpose so that it would be very broken down and understandable so you could-- because she knows. She's interviewed enough people. She's lived enough life to know we have to hear it over and over and over and over to be able to do it. She uses an example in here of someone who's unhealthy, someone whose spouse is very unhealthy, couch potato, eats his potato chips, very unhealthy. And she gets him gym membership, she does all the things. And finally she just has to love him and let him. She just has to do that. But then now she's starting to address, but what can you do? You can still be an influence. You can still be a person of influence--
Annie Jones [00:45:53] And you have agency [inaudible].
Susie [00:45:55] That's right. And so that's where I am now. I will say that it is very well written. Sometimes she's very powerful for me online and I can't take it in too much. So reading the book was really a good way for me to get this.
Annie Jones [00:46:13] And you've always liked books like this. You really do.
Susie [00:46:16] And I really obviously still need to read books like this.
Annie Jones [00:46:20] I think there's always room for improvement.
Susie [00:46:21] I think that so, too. I hope I'm never too old to improve on something anymore.
Annie Jones [00:46:27] So we've sold a lot of copies of this. People come in talking about it, asking for it, et cetera. And somebody was saying that their sister -in -law or somebody was reading this book and they had all gone through like this family issue together. And she said you could tell her sister -in -law was like trying so hard to 'let them' and it was like she was letting them, but while her eye was twitching. And that image made me laugh. Let them, but you with a little bit of twitching.
Susie [00:46:55] Yes. That's okay. I think she addresses that in the book. It's not easy.
Annie Jones [00:47:00] So, okay, that was a lot of books.
Susie [00:47:03] I love a variety.
Annie Jones [00:47:04] Yeah, I was going to say fiction, non -fiction, historical fiction, contemporary fiction, dysfunctional family fiction, some spicy fiction. So those really ran the gamut. And as with our other podcast episodes, Erin has made it super easy for folks to browse. So if you're curious about the books Shop Mom, Susie, reads and loves, there are a couple of ways for you to shop her books through The Bookshelf. First of all, as we alluded to, you can become a Shelf Subscriber through our Shelf Subscription program. Now, Mom and Nancy used to have an alternating Shelf Subscription. We changed that in the new year. We talked about it on a podcast episode. So now each month staffers pick their favorite books of the month, and we have a new revolving Shelf Subscription option which features rotating choices from Shop Mom, Shop Dad, Nancy, and Erin. This has been so helpful for Erin to be able to participate in the Shelf Subscription Program. It's also taken some of the pressure off of Shop Mom, Shop Dad, and Nancy. And I know at first it was a bit of a bummer for you.
Susie [00:48:11] It was.
Annie Jones [00:48:11] But I'm excited because it means you're getting to read some backlist titles, some books. Maybe you're going to read some more of Mary Alice Monroe or whatever. Anyway, the Revolving Shelf subscription features those rotating choices. It's a great option for the eclectic reader. And Shop Mom's rotation is coming up in April. So if you haven't purchased a Revolving Shelf subscription, now's your time, now's your chance. And if you want more Susie, all of today's books are on the store website. You can shop through today's episode number, that's 520, plus Mom now has her very own page on the store website with so many books she loves, backlist and frontlist titles. You can shop that through the link in our show notes or by visiting Bookshelfthomasville.com, clicking Featured, and then choosing Susie Reads. You can get 10 % off her choices today with the code SHOPMOMSELECTS.
Susie [00:49:02] Wow!
Annie Jones [00:49:02] Thanks Mom! This week, I'm reading Broken Country by Clare Leslie Hall. Mom, what are you reading?
Susie [00:49:12] I'm reading Beach House Rules by Kristy Woodson Harvey.
[00:49:14] 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:
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, Gene Queens, Beth, Jammie Treadwell…
Executive Producers (Read Their Own Names): Nicole Marsee, Wendi Jenkins
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