Episode 522 || March Madness with Jordan Jones
This week on From the Front Porch, it’s all about books and basketball! Annie is joined by her husband and friend, Jordan, to set different books head to head and debate their merits in this beloved yearly tradition.
To purchase the books mentioned in this episode, stop by The Bookshelf in Thomasville, visit our website (search episode 522), or download and shop on The Bookshelf’s official app:
The Women by Kristin Hannah vs. Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt
A Fine Sight to See by Sophie Hudson vs. A Bit Much by Lyndsay Rush
Be Ready When the Luck Happens by Ina Garten vs. The Small and the Mighty by Sharon McMahon
All the Colors of the Dark by Chris Whitaker vs. The Book of Doors by Gareth Brown
The Kingdom of Quail by Harrison Strickland vs. The Ladies Rewrite the Rules by Suzanne Allain
James by Percival Everett vs. The God of the Woods by Liz Moore
Funny Story by Emily Henry vs. Summer Romance by Annabel Monaghan
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 A Marriage at Sea by Sophie Elmhirst. Jordan is reading The Lost History of Christianity by Philip Jenkins.
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] “Slow down, they seemed to say, you can take a little twirl and still get exactly where you're going. Such a nice approach to life.” ― Ina Garten, Be Ready When the Luck Happens [as music fades out] I’m Annie Jones, owner of The Bookshelf, an independent bookstore in beautiful downtown Thomasville, Georgia, and this week, it’s finally time for a little March Madness. 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:
A balm in busy times I have listened to Annie and friends for a couple years now, but I had a new appreciation for her team after the birth of my son. I am an avid reader, but postpartum the idea of reading words simply felt too big. Listening to this podcast connected me to stories and the literary world even as I was too tired to engage myself. I'm convinced listening to Annie talk about books is almost as good as reading them myself! And then, when I mustered the energy to return to reading, Annie and friends guided my choices and made me excited again to pick up a book. Grateful for y’all!
Julia, thank you so much. That is high praise. And congratulations on your new little one! 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 about not only the podcast, but about our small brick-and-mortar business, too. Now, back to the show. [00:02:06] For years, my husband Jordan has come onto the podcast every March as part of our March Madness tradition. While the NCAA college basketball tournament unfolds, we debate The Bookshelf's top 16 best sellers of the previous year until Jordan, with no qualifications whatsoever, selects one as the champion, often based solely on vibes. If this sounds chaotic, well, that's because it is. Hi Jordan, welcome back.
Jordan [00:02:33] I'm glad to be back.
Annie Jones [00:02:35] This is every year, I believe, one of our most downloaded, if not the most downloaded, episode of the year. And so, no pressure. And really, you just get to show up.
Jordan [00:02:47] I don't really feel all that much pressure. It reminds me of in You've Got Mail when Kathleen Kelly is feeling the pressure because she's closing her store and Bertie says that she's going out into the world armed with nothing.
Annie Jones [00:03:03] You're armed with Nothing?
Jordan [00:03:04] Well, yeah. Because you remember you said a minute ago that I have no qualifications whatsoever. That sounds like that, like nothing.
Annie Jones [00:03:10] Well, it is. It was funny because we are recording this ever so slightly-- I don't know whether it's later than usual. We record this episode at all kinds of times. We have recorded it at 10 o'clock at night. We have recorded it on a Sunday afternoon.
Jordan [00:03:26] In an underground bunker or in an airplane one time?
Annie Jones [00:03:31] No. We have recorded because we're constantly trying to work around your work schedule, which fluctuates every spring, and of course my own schedule. But earlier today I said something about, are you ready to record? And you were like, well, do I have the list of books? And I sent the list to books. And then it really didn't matter because the thought of you preparing for this is hilarious to me.
Jordan [00:03:55] Well, that is hilarious.
Annie Jones [00:03:58] I don't know if that's half the fun for folks.
Jordan [00:04:01] I think it is. And I think my perspective from kind of a-- I have a different lens through which I see the book world. That's kind of the diversity.
Annie Jones [00:04:10] That is true. It's refreshing.
Jordan [00:04:13] Yeah, it's refreshing.
Annie Jones [00:04:15] You're not necessarily an expert.
Jordan [00:04:17] Right. Not necessarily.
Annie Jones [00:04:18] How different for you.
Jordan [00:04:19] Right, that's good. Maybe I get to be a bozo on the bus. That's what is supposed to be the pathway to healing for an Enneagram three.
Annie Jones [00:04:26] Well I hope this is healing for you then.
Jordan [00:04:27] It is healing. I get to be a bozo on the bus.
Annie Jones [00:04:29] Okay, so we are going to debate, as we always do, our top 16 bestsellers of the previous year. As usual, Olivia has created these pairings for us. And if you are following along and you want to fill out your own bracket, you can. You just need to go to The Bookshelf website, that's bookshelfthomasville.com, and there's a link in the show notes directly to the bracket, or you can search in the search bar for bracket. and you can download this year's pairings. Downloading the bracket is a dollar, but all the proceeds go to our local Boys and Girls Club, and so we would love for you to participate in this way. You can see if your own picks match Jordan. You can try to match Jordan, good luck to you if that's the case. It is almost as chaotic as trying to follow the actual March Madness bracket. So the choice is yours. There is a link in the show notes for all of that if you want to download your own bracket and try to compete with Jordan. If you do, tag us on Instagram, because I sure would love to see them and I think Jordan would get a kick out of it, too. So, okay, are you ready?
Jordan [00:05:33] I'm ready.
Annie Jones [00:05:34] All right, the first pairing created by Olivia-- and this is also fun because we do get a peek inside Olivia's brain because we get to see why she might have created the pairings that she's created. So the first pair is The Women by Kristin Hannah versus Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt.
Jordan [00:05:52] Okay. And these are unseeded; is that right?
Annie Jones [00:05:55] She did not seed them. I do not believe this year. I'm looking to see, and I don't see these are--
Jordan [00:06:01] I don't know if she did last year either. I don't know if she doesn't love seedings.
Annie Jones [00:06:03] No, I think maybe this is her quiet rebellion against seedings, because she notoriously thinks they're unfair or I can't remember what her...
Jordan [00:06:14] Yeah. She doesn't like to have the one seed play the 16. She doesn't think it's fair and Olivia is not wrong about much. There are only a few things she's wrong about. This is one of them.
Annie Jones [00:06:24] She does listen to this episode.
Jordan [00:06:25] I know. Olivia, you're wrong about this, but it's okay. Everyone's wrong about something.
Annie Jones [00:06:31] Okay. So do you know anything about The Women by Kristin Hannah or Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt?
Jordan [00:06:38] I do, actually. Well, let me tell you what my understanding of these books are.
Annie Jones [00:06:43] All right, let's see.
Jordan [00:06:44] So my understanding is The Women is that it is a historical fiction novel and it is about army nurses.
Annie Jones [00:06:50] Okay. Yes.
Jordan [00:06:50] And I think that is interesting. I always love a historical fiction book. One of my favorite books growing up was Johnny Tremaine, which is during the Revolutionary War and he gets his...
Annie Jones [00:07:03] It's been a minute since we've had a Johnny Tremaine reference on this podcast.
Jordan [00:07:05] Johnny Tremaine one of his fingers gets fused with his palm and so he's unable to use it. And I'm not going to say what happens, but all of that takes place with the backdrop of the Revolutionary War and it's a great book if you have a middle schooler. Great book.
Annie Jones [00:07:21] Can't wait for Erin to link to Johnny Tremaine on The Bookshelf website.
Jordan [00:07:25] Especially if you like war, you like revolutionary war history and you learn so much and it's just fun. I remember it being so moving. So, anyway, same thing as The Women from what I understand historical fiction
Annie Jones [00:07:37] Do you know when The Women took place? Do you during what war?
Jordan [00:07:40] Well, I think it's the '70s. Is that right? Vietnam?
Annie Jones [00:07:46] Yes. Very good. Did I read this book?
Jordan [00:07:47] You did.
Annie Jones [00:07:48] I did.
Jordan [00:07:49] You did, I remember that. I remember the concept of you reading the book at some point. And then I know that Remarkably Bright Creatures has to do with animals, and particularly an octopus. Because I saw a review online that said it is a unique book indeed that makes you feel feelings for an octopus character.
Annie Jones [00:08:16] I actually think you would like books with animal characters. Am I right about that?
Jordan [00:08:21] I do, too. Well, I liked Chronicles of Narnia.
Annie Jones [00:08:24] Another middle comparison.
Jordan [00:08:25] Another middle school comparison book.
Annie Jones [00:08:27] Okay. Well, do you know why these might have been bestsellers for us? This is always pretty interesting.
Jordan [00:08:33] That's a good question.
Annie Jones [00:08:33] You don't have insight into the data like we do, but The Women is by Kristin Hannah. She's a pretty prolific historical fiction writer. So she pretty much at The Bookshelf sells herself. That being said, this was pretty unusual because Nancy, who's a big Kristin Hannah fan, she read this, loved it. I read it, loved. Erin read it, loved it. Keila read it, loved it. So it was one of those books that was beloved by multiple staffers.
Jordan [00:09:00] Interesting. Different reading types.
Annie Jones [00:09:01] Yes, absolutely. And then, again, Kristin Hannah, at least at The Bookshelf, sells on her own. But it was one of those books where customers were reading it and then coming back and wanting to talk about it. They were wanting to ask us if we had finished, what we thought. And I love when that happens. It doesn't happen all the time anymore. I don't know why that is. I know if people are busy or it could be happening on the floor and I'm just not down to witness it as much. But I thought it was pretty fun to have of this book that sparked so much conversation. And I think that is because it's set in the Vietnam era and for a lot of our customer base, that is in their memory.
Jordan [00:09:41] They live through it.
Annie Jones [00:09:42] And so they wanted to talk with us about it and I loved that. And then pairing it, I think with Remarkably Bright Creatures, which was our community's One Book Selection this year or last year, that obviously then generated a lot of conversation in town. So I think perhaps that is why Olivia paired these against each other. These are very different books.
Jordan [00:10:02] Olivia does not do anything without reason.
Annie Jones [00:10:06] No, not without thought.
Jordan [00:10:07] Everything has a reason in here.
Annie Jones [00:10:09] That's true. So based on what you know about these two books, do you think one is more deserving than the other of moving forward?
Jordan [00:10:18] Well, I know you loved The Women and I know a lot of people loved it. But I'll tell you what's going to put me over the top. If we're talking about March Madness and I'm looking at my bracket right here, my NCAA division one men's basketball championship bracket, if I see two teams come out onto the court and one of them is made up of women and the other one is creatures, I don't care how remarkably bright they are, I think the women are going to win. An octopus can definitely defend the goal, but he's going to have a hard time with goaltending because he's going to try to swat it. And I just think the women are going to move on past the Remarkably Bright Creatures.
Annie Jones [00:10:57] Okay. Wow, great reasoning there.
Jordan [00:10:59] And I also think it's a good book.
Annie Jones [00:11:01] Well, I do think it is a good book and I would move it forward for a different reason.
Jordan [00:11:06] Different than that? You have a different reason.
Annie Jones [00:11:09] I think I would move it forward because Remarkably Bright Creatures was (am 99% sure about this) not published last year. It just happened to be a bestseller for us last year. So I would move forward the women because they're the IT team of this season. Remarkable Bright Creature just happened to kind of get in because of the One Book Selection.
Jordan [00:11:31] I think this is a one seed versus a lower seed, if we were seeding.
Annie Jones [00:11:35] Perhaps so.
Jordan [00:11:36] I know I say a lot of nonsense on this podcast, but one thing that I'm going to tell you that is free, you can learn this as a legal concept, is this is a good example of the tipsy coachman doctrine, which is a legal doctrine. So Annie and I got to the same result, but for different reasons. And so if Annie were the higher court correcting my reasoning, even the tipsy coachman doctor would say The Women would still move on, I got to the correct result of Women moving on, but with weird reasoning, but it doesn't matter because I got there anyway, just like a tipsy coachman might go the wrong way but still get to the same result.
Annie Jones [00:12:13] That's not a person's name.
Jordan [00:12:15] It's a legal doctrine. The tipsy coachman doctrine. So that's just bonus.
Annie Jones [00:12:20] Wow, thank you. Just legal corner with Jordan Jones.
Jordan [00:12:23] I feel like that could be a successful subculture podcast.
Annie Jones [00:12:28] Well, I'm trying to figure out what we're going to do this summer for From the Front Porch. And so maybe we can just sub you in with Legal Corner and see how that goes.
Jordan [00:12:38] Is that interesting to you guys? If so, comment.
Annie Jones [00:12:41] If so, shoot me a DM. Send us an email. Okay, second pairing is A Fine Sight to See by Sophie Hudson versus A Bit Much by Lyndsay Rush. Now, you, I think, should be familiar with at least one of these.
Jordan [00:12:57] BooMama.
Annie Jones [00:12:58] BooMama. So I think you attended our book signing with Sophie Hudson. You may feel kinship with her.
Jordan [00:13:07] I do. She's an Alabamian.
Annie Jones [00:13:08] Yeah, she lives in Birmingham. She's a huge Mississippi State fan. And she wrote this beautiful book, non-fiction, about women in leadership-- really not even women, just leadership. She wrote it about Moses and deep dived into his life and also then what that means for leaders. Then Lyndsay Rush's book--
Jordan [00:13:32] Poetry.
Annie Jones [00:13:33] Is poetry, yes. Pretty funny, poignant poems. This is one of those books that over the holidays it was such an easy hand-sell because...
Jordan [00:13:43] And one of the most intriguing covers that you'll ever see.
Annie Jones [00:13:45] Don't you love the cover?
Jordan [00:13:46] The cover is fascinating.
Annie Jones [00:13:47] The cover is great. So this was an easy hand-sell. It was one of those books that I told people you could gift this to almost anybody and they would enjoy it.
Jordan [00:13:54] Poetry for people who don't know that they like poetry.
Annie Jones [00:13:57] Very good. Yeah.
Jordan [00:13:58] That's how I would hand-sell it.
Annie Jones [00:14:00] That would be great. That's a great way to hand-sell it. Okay, so how would you pair or how would judge these?
Jordan [00:14:07] So if you listened to the podcast last year, you may remember that I have a kinship with Alabamians and sometimes that advances people just on that basis.
Annie Jones [00:14:16] It's one of your few biases.
Jordan [00:14:18] It's one of my few biases, but there are a lot of things I like about the BooMama entry here, but I'm going to definitely advance her out of this round. It's going to be pretty clear. I will be honest. When I was a kid, I didn't really love poetry or I didn't think I loved it, but as I've gotten older, I've got more interested in it especially certain types of it. So I'm intrigued by the idea of a book that is meant to be poetry for people who don't like poetry, but I'm going to give BooMama the edge on this one because I like the concept of her book.
Annie Jones [00:14:53] You know what I think would be interesting? Our March Madness bet this year, because we bet together every year. We were doing cash money.
Jordan [00:15:04] Fun money.
Annie Jones [00:15:04] Fun money. We were betting fun money. We changed that this year and the bet has changed over the course of our relationship. Our ESPN bracket challenge is called Eat Your Vegetables because when we very first met we competed and whoever lost could only eat vegetables for like two days or whatever it was. So that's what it was, then we got married and we decided it should be fun money because fun money was hard to come by when we were first married. And now we've decided you really initiated this change. It was whoever wins, the date night they plan is like all the things that they want to do. So if you win the March Madness Bracket Challenge, you get to pick the movie, the dinner spot.
Jordan [00:15:52] What do you think it would be if I win?
Annie Jones [00:15:54] Well, I don't know what movies are out right now.
Jordan [00:15:57] Yeah, fair point.
Annie Jones [00:15:58] I really don't. And we have very similar tastes, but you would go see Gladiator 2 in theaters. I probably would not. So that's an example. But I would go see it if that's what you wanted to do. So, anyway, if I win then I get to choose those things. Okay. I don't want to make an addendum or a change to that, but you're always trying to tell me to read certain books. But much like coming on this podcast might be a path to healing for you as an Enneagram three--
Jordan [00:16:29] More than you know.
Annie Jones [00:16:30] And you engaging with your inner bozo, perhaps you could start reading poetry.
Jordan [00:16:36] That's a good idea.
Annie Jones [00:16:37] Because that does feel like maybe a not common Enneagram three thing to do. Feels more like indulging in your four.
Jordan [00:16:45] Right. And I have zero four-wing. I'm completely a two-wing. Whenever I take tests, I have not a scintilla (that's another legal corner term) of four.
Annie Jones [00:16:57] Yeah. So it might be time to try to embrace that. And Lyndsay Rush's collection is good because she has it divided up based on mood.
Jordan [00:17:06] I love it. You know what? I tell you what, I'll read that if you'll read The Righteous Mind.
Annie Jones [00:17:10] If I can find my copy of The Righteous Mind.
Jordan [00:17:12] Which I bought for you.
Annie Jones [00:17:13] I know. I need to find it.
Jordan [00:17:14] And I might have inscribed it. I don't know.
Annie Jones [00:17:17] If you inscribed it, I definitely kept it. Anyway, I have copy of A Bit Much and...
Jordan [00:17:24] You think I'll like it? Is this a hand-sell?
Annie Jones [00:17:27] I think you'd be so intrigued. Maybe you could read a poem to the baby every night.
Jordan [00:17:33] I love it. Maybe when session is over I think I'll try to take that because whenever you think I'm going to be intrigued, you're never wrong.
Annie Jones [00:17:42] I just think it would expose you to also a different kind of poetry than you typically engage with.
Jordan [00:17:48] Like 16th century American poetry? That's not a broad poetry.
Annie Jones [00:17:54] That's not what's happening with this book with a sardine tin of confetti on the front.
Jordan [00:17:58] Okay. All right.
Annie Jones [00:17:59] Okay, so you're going to advance A Fine Sight to See.
Jordan [00:18:02] I am.
Annie Jones [00:18:03] All right, that's not a surprise to me. That was an easy pick. I could have guessed that. All right. This one I am curious. Be Ready When the Luck Happens. This is by Ina Garten. Do you know who Ina is?
Jordan [00:18:13] Chef.
Annie Jones [00:18:14] Yes. Have you ever watched her on TV?
Jordan [00:18:17] Yes. She's kind of calm.
Annie Jones [00:18:18] Yes. Actually I would think every woman in your life, your grandmother--
Jordan [00:18:23] Yeah, I think they like her.
Annie Jones [00:18:24] Yes, she seems like somebody your family would really like. The Small and the Mighty by Sharon McMahon. Do you know who Sharon McMahon is?
Jordan [00:18:31] Absolutely. She lives in Minnesota.
Annie Jones [00:18:35] Yes, what a great fact.
Jordan [00:18:36] And she unbiasingly tells people what's going on in the world in the realm of civics in politics and United States legal current events.
Annie Jones [00:18:50] Yeah, her tagline is America's government teacher. She's big on the internet. Ina Garten, also big on the internet. Be Ready When the Luck Happens was also selected by Sharon McMahon for one of her book club selections. So there's some overlap there that might have inspired Olivia. These are both non-fiction picks by powerful, knowledgeable, wise women. I have read Be Ready When the Luck Happens. I have not read-- which is weird to me that I haven't read it.
Jordan [00:19:18] That is really weird.
Annie Jones [00:19:19] I literally have a copy over here.
Jordan [00:19:21] And I don't know why you would come on this podcast without having read the books we're going to talk about.
Annie Jones [00:19:27] So I have not read The Small and the Mighty yet, but I really do want to. I think it's just a matter of--
Jordan [00:19:34] I've definitely seen it around.
Annie Jones [00:19:35] Yes. Well, like I said, I really do have a copy over here, so I need to maybe move it up the priority list. Maybe I could listen to the audiobook. Anyway, what do you think about this pairing? Do you have a guess as to the seedings that Olivia did not put on here? I would guess. May I guess? May I wager a guess?
Jordan [00:19:52] Yeah.
Annie Jones [00:19:52] To me, this is an eight, nine seed.
Jordan [00:19:54] Okay.
Annie Jones [00:19:55] Where both of these books were bestsellers for us. They weren't just bestsellers for us, they were New York Times bestsellers. Ina Garten, no matter what book she's selling, every fall when she has a new cookbook out, that cookbook immediately we have to reorder multiple times. She is beloved even in an era where cookbooks aren't always still being purchased. And her memoir was no exception. Sharon McMahon is newer to the scene, but no fewer copies sold. Lots and lots of copies of that book sold. And, again, it was a New York Times bestseller. So it wasn't just popular for us; it was popular across the country. So, yeah, 8-9 seed to me because those are some of the-- I think I've watched several of the 8-9 games and they were very close this year, as I recall.
Jordan [00:20:38] Yeah, and I would say the 8-9 games have been really good this year.
Annie Jones [00:20:42] They were the most fun.
Jordan [00:20:43] And they often have a traditional blue blood school. Like Gonzaga was one of them, UConn was one them, Louisville was one. And I will say this is the first year in history ever for the last several hundred years in history that my bracket has ever gotten all the 8-9s correct.
Annie Jones [00:21:03] That's one of the only bragging points you can make about your bracket.
Jordan [00:21:05] That is one of the only bragging points I have. And it's more of just an oddball fact, like a factoid. That never happens.
Annie Jones [00:21:12] Well, because that is a traditionally hard. It's hard to choose.
Jordan [00:21:15] I'm 4 for 4. I'm about to go 5 for 5 with this 8-9.
Annie Jones [00:21:19] With this one?
Jordan [00:21:20] Yeah.
Annie Jones [00:21:21] Okay. Well, that's because basically your Oz. You're the wizard.
Jordan [00:21:27] Yeah, I'm deciding what happens on the court.
Annie Jones [00:21:28] You're the wizard.
Jordan [00:21:29] I'm going to go with Sharon Says So
Annie Jones [00:21:32] I would think that's a surprise. To me that the number nine seed.
Jordan [00:21:38] Yeah, a mild upset.
Annie Jones [00:21:40] It's a mild-upset. But it's not, I guess, surprising for you.
Jordan [00:21:44] Here's why. I appreciate what Sharon Says So is trying to do. We have become a polarized society, and it's hard to figure out where truth is. And I think truth can still be found, but it just takes a lot of effort nowadays to scrappily sift through everything. And I think that Sharon McMahon in a lot these situations is a voice of reason. And I appreciate generally what she's trying to. I feel like I play this role for some of my friends as well on some other topics they do for me but in with respect to civics and politics.
Annie Jones [00:22:18] You're the expert.
Jordan [00:22:20] I appreciate that. I appreciate someone coming in with an unbiased viewpoint and saying this is what's actually happening.
Annie Jones [00:22:26] That's so funny because you do remind me of each other. I'm trying to think. So she is...
Jordan [00:22:37] An INTJ 3.
Annie Jones [00:22:38] Yes, she's like our personalities combined.
Jordan [00:22:43] Exactly.
Annie Jones [00:22:43] And that makes a lot of sense to me because sometimes the way she calmly and reasonably kind of walks you through a court case or something like that, very much reminds me-- I think I find her a soothing, comforting voice on the internet because she does remind me of you. That's what you do. I've heard you do it with our friends. You've done it with me. You've explained something to me. You did it just here on legal corner. And so you are The Bookshelf's own Sharon McMahon. How lucky we are.
Jordan [00:23:13] I'll take that.
Annie Jones [00:23:14] Okay, so The Small and the Mighty moves forward.
Jordan [00:23:17] Yeah, definitely.
Annie Jones [00:23:18] Do you know what that book is about?
Jordan [00:23:20] I think it's about people who have made a difference in our country's history that are not necessarily goliaths. Is that right?
Annie Jones [00:23:29] Yeah, which I also think is interesting because she could have written a book about our modern politics, but I think in her heart who she is a teacher. And I think she wanted to write a book with a long shelf life that was about history instead of maybe about current events.
Jordan [00:23:52] I think she's also savvy.
Annie Jones [00:23:56] I think so, too. Both of these women are. I think that's part of the reason Olivia paired them together. I liked Ina Garten. I was probably not the fan even maybe your grandmother might be or whatever. But I read this book because it felt like everybody was reading this book. I listened to the audiobook full of great business advice. I mean, truly really good business advice. It's her memoir.
Jordan [00:24:17] Everything's a business. A bookstore, a kitchen...
Annie Jones [00:24:20] And so learning all about and she did run her own store then, of course, it became kind of an empire. So I think both of these women are incredibly savvy. And I think Sharon McMahon is a great example of somebody who rose to internet fame and then she somehow knew what to do with it, which I think is really hard to do. All right. Next pairing. If Olivia is listening to this podcast, this is what she cares about- is this pairing.
Jordan [00:24:49] It's like the Book Eaters 2.0; isn't it?
Annie Jones [00:24:51] Yes.
Jordan [00:24:52] I see you working here, Olivia
Annie Jones [00:24:53] Yes. So this is All the Colors of the Dark by Chris Whitaker versus Book of Doors by Gareth Brown. When you look at our top 16 bestsellers, if you know our staff well, you would immediately look and see at least these two sales, if not more, but at least these two books are bestsellers because of Olivia. You can immediately trace it to a staffer, which I always think is super fun.
Jordan [00:25:24] That's interesting. Okay, so that's another thing that binds these two books together. The other thing about the titles of these books and what they're about, is it's kind of whimsical but also a shade dark. That kind of interesting almost like Blake Crouch-esque or the Book Eaters-ish. Honestly, the plot of Book of Doors is fascinating to me.
Annie Jones [00:25:47] If you are going to advance Book of Doors...
Jordan [00:25:48] I'm afraid that this could be a Book Eaters situation.
Annie Jones [00:25:52] No.
Jordan [00:25:52] Where I think this is a great idea, but then I read book eater and I'm like well I have to admit that I didn't finish it. So as I am creating this reality on the court do you have any advice? You could try to help me avoid a pitfall.
Annie Jones [00:26:10] Well, here is what I will say. Book of Doors is solidly an Olivia book. I'm pretty sure it was a Shelf Subscription for her. Olivia and I have some overlap in terms of the types of books we like. So we both like Liz Moore, who we'll talk about a little bit later in this episode. We like Tim Johnston. Books that basically are character-driven suspense novels or thrillers, we have some significant overlap. The Book of Doors is not that overlap. That is a solidly Olivia pick. Now, All the Colors of the Dark I'm pretty sure Olivia hand-sold this to me. And Olivia is one of our top hand-sellers. Podcast listeners get to hear it all the time, but it is very fun in the store to hear her hand-sell a book. The way she describes a book, you'll probably be convinced at the end. Well, you were. You were convinced to read Book Eaters, even though that's not something you would like or not something I would think you would like. But that is the power of Olivia.
[00:27:09] And so All the Colors of the Dark she hand-sold to me. I am pretty sure this is another book kind of like The Women where Erin read it, Kiela read it, basically multiple people on staff read this book. I think the only person who read it and didn't like it was Nancy. Everybody else loved it. It became a pick for our Patreon book club last year where we discussed it with our Patreon supporters. I think it is a thriller suspense, but also a coming of age story about these two young friends and we get to kind of watch them grow up. It weirdly reminded me quite a bit of the X-Files in terms of like a Scully-Mulder kind of relationship where you've got somebody who's maybe the more strait-laced, trying to help her friend get back on track.
Jordan [00:28:07] It's kind of like what you're trying to do for me, though.
Annie Jones [00:28:09] Well, look, if you want to pick Book of Doors, Olivia would be thrilled.
Jordan [00:28:13] That sounds like Book Eaters.
Annie Jones [00:28:15] But All the Colors of the Dark, I feel like, appeals to a wider range of people. So if we're comparing this to March Madness, I think Book of Doors is a more niche team.
Jordan [00:28:26] Yeah, it's like Saint John's. It's like excellent on defense, but no offense.
Annie Jones [00:28:29] Yeah, I picked St. John's, which was a bad, bad mistake. But to me Book of Doors is like a niche team; whereas, All the Colors of the Dark is probably one of those fan favorite teams that everybody really likes. I don't even know who that would maybe be on the--
Jordan [00:28:50] Gator Nation.
Annie Jones [00:28:52] I think that's a mistake to say here on the podcast where we have a large regional fan base.
Jordan [00:28:57] What about the University of Houston?
Annie Jones [00:29:00] Yeah, I feel like people like Houston, maybe. But my point is like a traditional basketball school or like everybody likes them; whereas, Book of Doors might have a small but devoted fan base. Like you and I both picked Lipscomb.
Jordan [00:29:16] Yeah, acquired taste.
Annie Jones [00:29:18] I picked Lipscomb University to go two rounds, which I got to tell you, the Church of Christ runs real deep.
Jordan [00:29:24] Here's the thing, Annie almost picked Lipscomb as her school.
Annie Jones [00:29:29] Yes.
Jordan [00:29:30] So this was her way of making it up to that beautiful visit that she had. She was very excited about that visit. She was excited and then she chose it in March Madness...
Annie Jones [00:29:39] And they failed me, totally.
Jordan [00:29:41] It failed you.
Annie Jones [00:29:42] And completely. Okay, so what's your pick?
Jordan [00:29:45] Well, I think what happens in this one is Book of Doors comes out onto the court and the players are just coming from all over the place. They're opening doors all over, popping out, they're going back door, back door passes, all kinds of things. And at first All the Colors of the Dark gets confused by all these doors opening up, but then All the Color of the Darkness starts having its way and the whole court descends into darkness. And the doors are opening up and they can't see. So All the Colors of the Dark has better night vision day advanced.
Annie Jones [00:30:20] Okay, wow.
Jordan [00:30:21] I'm just as whimsical as these books. This is a whimsical gag.
Annie Jones [00:30:26] Okay. All right. That was some interesting reasoning.
Jordan [00:30:29] Do you know what Book of Doors does remind me of a little bit? Exit West. Because opening doors and just popping out somewhere, that's what happened with Exit West, even though that was more of a immigration story.
Annie Jones [00:30:42] I did like Exit West. More of a metaphor, yeah.
Jordan [00:30:44] But something about that is kind of interestingly whimsical to me. Just the idea that you could be going through different dimensions of popping out. But I'm going to go with All the Colors of the Dark on this one.
Annie Jones [00:30:55] Okay. All the Colors of the Dark I think personally is the right choice, but now that you're talking about Book of Doors, you and Olivia actually do have some overlapping tastes.
Jordan [00:31:05] This is exactly what happened with the Book Eaters. You said maybe you'll like it and I don't think you will. And then it was, you know what, I lost interest.
Annie Jones [00:31:12] Okay. So you're going to stick with All the Colors of the Dark. All right, next up, this is an Annie pair. So if the previous pairing was an Olivia pairing. This is for sure an Annie pairing. This is The Wedding People by Alison Espach versus Sandwich by Catherine Newman. I've read both of these. I loved both of this. These both might have been in my top 10 favorite books of the year last year. The Wedding People was a Shelf Subscription selection for me. Sandwich might not have been.
Jordan [00:31:40] Now, Sandwich is about that period in your life where you're sandwiched between your kids and your aging parents.
Annie Jones [00:31:46] Yes, it's set over the course of one beach week.
Jordan [00:31:50] Yeah, that's why you like it.
Annie Jones [00:31:51] I actually read it while we were at the beach with my family and the main character is middle-aged. Her children are either already well into adulthood or on the cusp of adulthood. Her parents come for the beach weekend. They are aging. And then she also-- and this was interesting to read at this time. I did not realize what a large role pregnancy loss or fertility almost kind of issues would play in this particular book because she, the main character, is having flashbacks to maybe a hard time in her life when she lost her pregnancy.
Jordan [00:32:30] She's going through menopause, right?
Annie Jones [00:32:31] Yes, and she's going through menopause. And so, anyway, all of that kind of wraps up, but it sounds, as I'm describing it, sad and heavy. To me, it was not. Now, some of it I found deeply moving and I underlined a lot in it, but mostly I thought it was hilarious. It was dysfunctional family story, which I love. It was a week at the beach, which is something I've done with my family for a long time, so I loved it. The Wedding People, interestingly, also has some of those same themes. Do you know the premise of the Wedding People?
Jordan [00:33:07] I know it has to do with a wedding is about to happen and one woman talks another one out of suicide and then it becomes a comedy. Am I right?
Annie Jones [00:33:15] Kind of, yes. Very bluntly, yes.
Jordan [00:33:19] There you go. You don't need to read it. There it is.
Annie Jones [00:33:22] I think it is such a sad-sounding premise at first, but basically this woman has made a decision to end her life and she decides she's going to treat herself to like one last weekend at like a bougie, cliffside hotel in like Rhode Island, and that's where she's going to do it. And then she gets there to commit this act, and instead she realizes the whole hotel is full of a wedding party. She's the only person not affiliated with the wedding. And so it immediately changes from what could be this really sad story to this very hopeful, funny-- I mean, I thought it was so original. Because you can kind of picture something like that happening, right? Where you show up to a hotel and you think you're going to have one type of weekend, in this case, a sad, mournful, grievous, dark weekend, and instead you look around and you're like, what in the world? There's all these people here. Why are they here? They're all in a good mood. They're here for a wedding. Anyway, and so the bride-to-be and this woman kind of develop a kind of friendship because the bride finds out why she's there and the bride is like, you're not ruining my wedding weekend.
Jordan [00:34:34] Not on my watch.
Annie Jones [00:34:35] Not on my watch. And so, anyway, both of these books dealing with heavy subject matter but taking them and making them I think redemptive and funny, which listen, that's my sweet spot
Jordan [00:34:50] That's your sweet spot. Well, as you were telling me the plot of The Wedding People, it made me think about one of our favorite movies, Stranger Than Fiction. The whole movie Harold Crick, played by bizarrely Will Ferrell, is trying to figure out why he's in this story that's being narrated in his head. And at one point in time he goes and meets a professor played by Dustin Hoffman. And Dustin Hoffmann just very, very, matter of factly says, "Well, you've got to figure out what kind of story you're in. In a comedy, you get hitched. In a tragedy, you die." And basically the idea is both of those have to do with life in some way or another. You either die or you get married and life goes on.
Annie Jones [00:35:32] That movie's so good.
Jordan [00:35:33] And it's got so much in there. And so this reminds me that a woman's going there to contemplate this thing and then is surrounded by this life-giving thing, which is marriage and then the potential future of children and life going on and people being joyful and happy. That's just a fascinating thing to me. The Sandwich concept is also interesting because my dad, I've heard him talk about this, especially in the last five years, being sandwiched between having to care for aging parents, who sometimes can be a very heavy demand, and also trying to take care of grandchildren or children or whatnot. And I see that there are a lot of people listening here who are in that stage. And I think it can be taxing from both ends. I think it’s a tough place to be.
Annie Jones [00:36:25] Yeah, and I think interestingly your dad, our parents, are aging out of the sandwich generation. And we weirdly are beginning-- like I'm hearing whisperings among my friends, it's actually something my friends and I talk about all the time, we are eking closer to that. If we're not there already, some of my friends are there already.
Jordan [00:36:43] And so much depends on how thick the bread is on both sides. How old are your parents, how young are your kids, how young are your grandkids? There's a lot, but I think a lot of people find themselves in this area.
Annie Jones [00:36:56] These are two very evenly matched books. So what's your gut saying?
Jordan [00:37:01] My gut is Wedding People because I love the idea of someone dealing with something very depressing and morose and almost being able to be distracted out of that by being reminded of the joy of life. Maybe someone can't argue someone out of that, but maybe the argument is here's some champagne. Here's some fun people that love each other. Here's a marriage. Isn't that nice? I find that to be an intriguing argument against dark things.
Annie Jones [00:37:31] Yeah, it's poignant and laugh out loud funny. Actually, I wouldn't mind a reread of it. Okay. The next two are what I will say are the regional picks.
Jordan [00:37:43] Yeah. I'm excited about this matchup.
Annie Jones [00:37:43] So if there was an SEC versus SEC matchup or an SEC versus ACC like close matchup, because this is Kingdom of Quail by Harris Strickland.
Jordan [00:37:55] That's a Thomasville book.
Annie Jones [00:37:56] That's a Thomasville book versus Ladies Rewrite the Rules by Suzanne Allaine. So here's what I want to say about these two books. And one thing I really like about The Bookshelf is even though our online audience has grown, even though are long-distance customer base plays a significant role in our sales and in our profitability, we are still what I like to call a flesh and blood bookstore. And every year our bestseller list reflects that. There is always at least one local title. One book that very few online customers purchased. And so in this case, Kingdom of Quail is by Harris Strickland. He is a local Thomasville author. This is an independently published book, but it has done super well, continues to do well. I was just asked about it at church literally today. And so that book is on one side of the seeding.
[00:38:44] And then Ladies Rewrite the Rules, Suzanne Allaine, writes these regency romances that my mom really likes. A huge bit of our customer base really likes them. They're Jane Austen-esque, Bridgerton-esque. I'll say Bridgerton-esque, but Bridgerton but make it PG. And Suzanne is from Tallahassee. So she is a local author. She's traditionally published. So these books are published by a traditional publisher, but both of these authors have done in-person signings with us on a Saturday, and they consistently sell not only because they're good books, but because they have regional tie-ins to Thomasville. So I'm sure that's why Olivia paired them together, even though they're very different in terms of what they're about. But I love that they both made our top 16 for 2024.
Jordan [00:39:30] Yeah. We upon moving to Thomasville learned all about quail or at least we've been seeing quail all over the place [crosstalk].
Annie Jones [00:39:35] I was going to say I've learned enough. Like I know that local quail do not have that quail feather on top of their head.
Jordan [00:39:44] I've learned it's red meat.
Annie Jones [00:39:45] That's a California quail.
Jordan [00:39:46] Which is strange, usually birds are white meat.
Annie Jones [00:39:48] Yeah, it is dark-- oh, is it red meat? I just knew it was dark meat like dark like chicken. Interesting.
Jordan [00:39:54] Yeah, it's totally red. Correct if I'm wrong.
Annie Jones [00:39:57] Well, somebody will correct you if you're wrong. I think I've had, since I've lived here, one quail meal.
Jordan [00:40:05] I've had zero.
Annie Jones [00:40:06] Really?
Jordan [00:40:07] You have me beat.
Annie Jones [00:40:07] I think I attended an event where it was served. Despite moving here, neither you nor I became quail hunters.
Jordan [00:40:15] Yeah, I don't think that's happening.
Annie Jones [00:40:17] I don' think that in our future, but maybe one day. I don't know. But yes, quail- that's a big thing in Thomasville. You can literally hunt them, but metaphorically downtown.
Jordan [00:40:27] Yes, they're a little stachy.
Annie Jones [00:40:29] Yeah, the brass quail or bronze quail.
Jordan [00:40:31] So I appreciate the quail because it's where we live. But Ladies Rewrite the Rules, the summary of this one cracks me up, that this guy would put together a list of these women and then publish it. And then the way that the plot kind of gets flipped around, it reminds me a little bit of one of my favorites-- going back to 16th century English stuff, William Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew, which is, to me, one of the funniest things that's ever been written. I love the Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton version, the movie. But just reading the play is hilarious to me. But this reminds me of that. It's like you think it's one thing all along. You have women in courtship, you have women that have very different personalities, you have bumbling men, and you think its going one way and then at the end it gets kind of flipped on its head. I kind of like that type of story. That's very funny to me. I love anything that puts the sexes together and uses funny plot twists and things and that seems like that's what this is
Annie Jones [00:41:33] Yeah, I would agree. Do you have a book you would like to advance from this pairing?
Jordan [00:41:37] I'm going to advance Ladies Rewrite the Rules. I normally don't like rewriting rules, literally, but I think this is--.
Annie Jones [00:41:48] These might be rules worth rewriting.
Jordan [00:41:50] It might be, but this feels like Taming of the Shrew-- I'm not going to say 2.0 because what could ever be? But I think it is in that vein. And that just seems way more fun and interesting to me than [Crosstalk].
Annie Jones [00:42:02] Okay, that's impressive. All right. I'm surprised by that, but happy to make that recording. Okay, we got to speed up these last two games.
Jordan [00:42:10] I've seen this one everywhere. I know exactly what the font looks like. The J is orange and it goes down like a fish hook.
Annie Jones [00:42:16] Very good. Wow, you're so good at this. James by Percival Everett vs. God of the Woods by Liz Moore.
Jordan [00:42:25] All right. I think you loved James.
Annie Jones [00:42:26] Well, James was my favorite book of 2024. I also, to be fair, loved God of the Woods. I mentioned Liz Moore earlier in this episode. She is a writer Olivia and I both really like. Great suspense writer, but character-driven, literary suspense thriller, but Olivia and both loved this book. This was one of those books that I took to Longhorn and just had my Longhorn lunches.
Jordan [00:42:51] I had a fountain dream [crosstalk].
Annie Jones [00:42:53] God, it was so good. I have such fond memories of reading this book, but James was my favorite book of the year. It is a retelling or re-imagining of Huckleberry Finn, but told from James's perspective. I will just say, since Olivia tries to hand-sell you books, I will also try to hand-sell you a book, I do think James, you would love. I really do.
Jordan [00:43:13] I'm going to definitely advance James because of your-- I guess this would be like if Florida State were in the bracket?
Annie Jones [00:43:21] Well, I think it's more like-- and I hate to do this comparison and I know listeners hate when I do this. But I do think it is like a duke, where it's like you see Percival Everett's name and you know nobody else has a chance. And so I just think James was the best book of the year.
Jordan [00:43:40] Yeah, I'm going to definitely go with that.
Annie Jones [00:43:43] Then we have two rom-coms or romances, both by beloved authors, beloved nationally and beloved locally. So Funny Story is by Emily Henry. And then Olivia has pitted that story against Summer Romance by Annabelle Monaghan. You've met Annabell Monaghan; she came to the store for one of our reader retreats. She famously, to me, wrote Nora Goes Off Script, which is one of my honestly favorite reads of the last few years. But I loved Summer Romances. I thought it was so good. I cried at the dining room table reading that book, which is rare for me. And I also really liked Funny Story.
Jordan [00:44:19] It's a librarian book.
Annie Jones [00:44:20] Yeah, it's not my favorite Emily Henry, but it's right up there. I think it's like my second favorite Emily Henry
Jordan [00:44:26] For two reasons I'm going to advance Summer Romance.
Annie Jones [00:44:29] Okay.
Jordan [00:44:29] First reason is any book that can make Annie cry, that matters.
Annie Jones [00:44:34] It does.
Jordan [00:44:34] Secondly, if somebody's going to personally come to Thomasville just to look me in the eye and shake my hand and say, "Please pick my book on your March Madness podcast in the future," I'm going to honor that. And when I shook her hand, I felt like we made a gentleman's agreement that I was going to come on here and advance her book. And so I'm going to do that.
Annie Jones [00:44:54] You're going to honor that relationship.
Jordan [00:44:56] I have to honor that.
Annie Jones [00:44:57] Okay.
Jordan [00:44:57] It's a contract.
Annie Jones [00:44:58] Which means we're down to our, what, elite eight?
Jordan [00:45:02] Let's see what we've got. That's right. Elite eight.
Annie Jones [00:45:04] All right, so here we go. This is more lightning round. We have The Women versus a fine sight to see. This is tough now.
Jordan [00:45:14] This is tough.
Annie Jones [00:45:15] It gets harder the further we go.
Jordan [00:45:17] I think we're going to go with The Women on this one.
Annie Jones [00:45:20] Uh-oh, Soph! I act like Sophie Henson's my best friend and I call her Soph. Uh-Oh, Soph!
Jordan [00:45:26] Yeah. But Elite Eight is very honorable and admirable. And we were talking today it used to be called the Great Eight. So there's trivia corner. Non-legal trivia corner with Jordan Jones.
Annie Jones [00:45:38] Fun fact free. Okay.
Jordan [00:45:39] Yeah. The Women.
Annie Jones [00:45:40] Okay. The Small and the Mighty by Sharon McMahon versus All the Colors of the Dark.
Jordan [00:45:45] Okay, this is where the small and the mighty gets through the first round because they're small, but yeah, mighty. But then they get overwhelmed.
Annie Jones [00:45:55] Also small.
Jordan [00:45:56] They get overwhelmed. This is like the little bit of an undersized team getting through the 1st round. It's Drake getting through the 1rst round and then running up against a buzzsaw in Texas Tech. That's what's going to happen here. So All the Colors of the Dark.
Annie Jones [00:46:08] All the Colors of the Dark. Which I do sometimes want to say all the colors of the wind. What was that Pocahontas song?
Jordan [00:46:13] Can you paint with all the colors of the wind?
Annie Jones [00:46:16] Okay. Thank you.
Jordan [00:46:17] And then you have to answer that. Can you?
Annie Jones [00:46:22] Have you ever heard the wolf cry--
Jordan [00:46:25] Yeah.
Annie Jones [00:46:25] to the blue corn moon. That's part of the song.
Jordan [00:46:28] Yeah, but can you paint with all the colors of the wind? I think the answer for me is no.
Annie Jones [00:46:36] Okay. Wedding People versus the Ladies Rewrite the Rules.
Jordan [00:46:39] Okay. That's a little bit difficult, but...
Annie Jones [00:46:41] I don't think it's that difficult.
Jordan [00:46:42] I think I'm going to go with Wedding People.
Annie Jones [00:46:45] I think that's right.
Jordan [00:46:46] Here's the thing. I like a fun book, a nice thing that reminds me of Taming of the Shrew, but at the end of the day I need some weight. If you were to see my book list, you would think that those are too heavy to even pick up.
Annie Jones [00:47:00] Yeah, I don't think people would be surprised at all by your book list.
Jordan [00:47:02] They wouldn't be surprised or anything. So that's what's going to advance
Annie Jones [00:47:05] All right. And then, well, that might be bad news for Annabelle Monaghan because now we have James versus Summer Romance.
Jordan [00:47:14] This is the number one seed against probably if we're talking about being at this stage, it's going to be against about a four seed. So I'm going to advance James.
Annie Jones [00:47:26] Yeah. Sorry, Annabelle.
Jordan [00:47:29] I don't think that's too difficult.
Annie Jones [00:47:29] Okay.
Jordan [00:47:30] I didn't promise her I would advance more than one round.
Annie Jones [00:47:32] You didn't say how far she'd go.
Jordan [00:47:34] I promised one round. Let's say I've delivered. Talk again later.
Annie Jones [00:47:39] All right. Well, first of all, the final four then is The Women, all the Colors of the Dark, Wedding People and James.
Jordan [00:47:48] Which of these do you think is the dark horse that's made? Are there any dark horses here or are they 4-1 seeds?
Annie Jones [00:47:54] These aren't 4-1 seeds, but it's like ones and twos.
Jordan [00:47:58] Okay.
Annie Jones [00:47:59] This is like when I originally had, I think, 3-1 seeds in my bracket and then St. John's disappointed me.
Jordan [00:48:05] And I have a two seed that's Michigan State. I have done a very dishonorable thing and I have not advanced Auburn to my final four.
Annie Jones [00:48:11] We're going to talk about that because we have some Auburn fans who listen to this podcast and they kept DMing me like, oh my gosh, Jordan must be so excited or he must be tormented. And you know what I wanted to tell them? No, he's not. He does not even have them. You know who has Auburn in her final four and nay as her champion? Me.
Jordan [00:48:31] Do you know why I am tormented? First of all, what am I wearing right now?
Annie Jones [00:48:35] You're always wearing an Auburn shirt of some kind.
Jordan [00:48:37] But what's underneath it?
Annie Jones [00:48:38] A Michigan State t-shirt.
Jordan [00:48:39] Okay, so here's what I think is going to happen. First of all, I hope that Auburn wins a national title.
Annie Jones [00:48:46] I do too, because then I win a date night.
Jordan [00:48:48] Yes, but Auburn has never gotten past the final four and I think he's only made the final four once. And we went on a schneid at the end of this season. If we had been playing as well as we were at the beginning, I would have been confident. In fact, I told Annie about a month ago, Auburn is going to win it all. We've got it.
Annie Jones [00:49:05] Yeah. You peaked too early a little bit.
Jordan [00:49:07] But then the unbiased side of me was like, ooh, we lost our last three of four. We've looked not like ourselves. And so I couldn't do it. I've got us in the Elite Eight, but I hope we win. So I am tormented, but last night's game looked like the Auburn of Olden. So now I think we could do it again. But I've already got it on the paper.
Annie Jones [00:49:30] I was going to say we'll see when this episode goes live if we've already lost.
Jordan [00:49:35] Everyone's going to think it's stupid. They're going to be like your team won and you didn't even believe. And obviously, yes, that's correct.
Annie Jones [00:49:39] Yeah, that's what I'm going to say. That's what I'm going to rub in your face for the rest of our married lives if this works out for me.
Jordan [00:49:46] Yeah on our death beds. Remember when I believed Auburn and you didn't?
Annie Jones [00:49:49] Yeah, that's a good impersonation. Okay, The Women versus All the Colors of the Dark.
Jordan [00:49:57] Wow. Who would win if you took all the women in the world and put them up against all the colors of the dark? I think...
Annie Jones [00:50:09] Be careful. I don't know you set yourself up there.
Jordan [00:50:13] I mean that's some chaos.
Annie Jones [00:50:15] If we're talking about the books and not just the title.
Jordan [00:50:19] We're talking about the concept. Okay. Tell me about the book.
Annie Jones [00:50:22] Well, I do think this is a tough pairing. I think The Women earns the popular vote. All the Colors of the Wind could win the electoral college.
Jordan [00:50:32] I am tired of populism, so we're going to go with All the Colors of the Dark.
Annie Jones [00:50:37] Okay. Sorry women.
Jordan [00:50:37] This is why we have the electoral college. Okay.
Annie Jones [00:50:39] Okay. Wedding People versus James.
Jordan [00:50:45] For the final game.
Annie Jones [00:50:46] No, to go to the final two.
Jordan [00:50:50] It's got to be James. It's got to be Jimbo.
Annie Jones [00:50:53] Okay, but call him James. That's the whole point of the book. Okay, James versus All the Colors of the Dark is our final two.
Jordan [00:50:59] What are you seeing here? How does this match up?
Annie Jones [00:51:02] I'll be honest, I might have taken out All the Colors of the Dark versus Wedding People.
Jordan [00:51:07] This is what happens when maybe the four seed sneaked in and you thought at the end it was going to be Duke and Auburn, but Duke lost it to maybe Arizona.
Annie Jones [00:51:17] I think All the Colors of the Dark is a four seed and I think James is a one. For me, this win is relatively obvious, but you love a dark horse.
Jordan [00:51:29] This is a dark horse. It is all the colors of the dark horse. So let me ask you this, is there anything in the book, James, that indicates that he has night vision, or that he had the ability to see in the dark, or he has some kind of special sense?
Annie Jones [00:51:47] He travels a lot at dark.
Jordan [00:51:49] Okay. I'm going to go with James. I think that is the reasonable decision here.
Annie Jones [00:51:53] I think this is a year, and listen, it may also be a year in the March Madness bracket. What year was it? Was it last year where the number one teams caved, like, barely any of them advanced. I can't remember what year that was, but there was one year where the number one seeds failed.
Jordan [00:52:09] It ended up being a seven and an eight in the final.
Annie Jones [00:52:11] Yeah, something like that. But this for us, this year's bracket, this year's like NCAA bracket and this year's Bookshelf bracket feels like an easy one seed year.
Jordan [00:52:24] Agreed. And James is definitely the overall one seed. It's the Auburns.
Annie Jones [00:52:28] Yes.
Jordan [00:52:28] Yes. Well, may it be.
Annie Jones [00:52:32] May it be so.
Jordan [00:52:32] A great song by Celtic Woman. But may it be...
Annie Jones [00:52:36] May it be so.
Jordan [00:52:37] May it be.
Annie Jones [00:52:38] Okay. James by Percival Everett. That's it.
Jordan [00:52:42] I don't know why we didn't see it from the start.
Annie Jones [00:52:44] Well, I think I did.
Jordan [00:52:45] I think you did. She saw it.
Annie Jones [00:52:52] This week, I'm reading A Marriage at Sea by Sophie Elmhurst. Jordan, what are you reading?
Jordan [00:52:58] I'm reading The Lost History of Christianity by Philip Jenkins.
[00:52:58] 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:
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Our Executive Producers of today’s episode are…
Cammy Tidwell, Linda Lee Drozt, Martha, Stephanie Dean, Ashley Ferrell, Gene Queens, Beth, Jammie Treadwell…
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