Episode 430 || Annie and Hunter’s Favorite 2023 Books So Far

From the Front Porch

The Bookshelf Thomasville

Fiction, Society & Culture, Books, Arts:books, Arts

4.7 • 1.2K Ratings

🗓️ 22 June 2023

⏱️ 65 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

This week on From the Front Porch, Annie is joined by friend and frequent co-host Hunter for a mid-year reading check-in and to chat all about their favorite books of 2023 so far. To purchase the books mentioned in this episode, visit our website: Annie: First five-star read: Games and Rituals by Katherine HeinyMost surprising: The Crane Husband by Kelly BarnhillLeast favorite: When in Rome by Liam Callanan or Romantic Comedy by Curtis SittenfeldNext on your TBR: Jayber Crow by Wendell Berry / Tom Lake by Ann PatchettMost anticipated release: Let Us Descend by Jesmyn Ward / Family Meal by Bryan Washington Annie’s Top Ten:1. In Memoriam by Alice Winn2. Hello Beautiful by Ann Napolitano3. Stealing by Margaret Verble4. All My Knotted-Up Life by Beth Moore5. How to Stay Married by Harrison Scott Key6. Monsters by Claire Dederer7. Paper Names by Susie Luo8. Congratulations, the Best Is Over by R. Eric Thomas9. If We’re Being Honest by Cat Shook10. How Far to the Promised Land by Esau McCauley Hunter: First five-star read: Big Swiss by Jen BeaginMost surprising: Brother and Sister Enter the Forest by Richard MirabellaLeast favorite: I Have Some Questions for You by Rebecca Makkai / The Dog of the North by Elizabeth McKenzieNext on your TBR: The Vaster Wilds by Lauren GroffMost anticipated release for fall: The Vaster Wilds by Lauren Groff / Family Meal by Bryan Washington Hunter’s Top Ten: 1. Big Swiss by Jen Beagin2. August Blue by Deborah Levy3. Monsters by Claire Dederer4. The People Who Report More Stress by Alejandro Varela5. My Last Innocent Year by Daisy Albert Florin6. The New Life by Tom Crewe7. Your Driver is Waiting by Priya Guns8. The Vaster Wilds by Lauren Groff9. Witness by Jamel Brinkley10. In Memoriam by Alice Wynn From the Front Porch is a weekly podcast production of The Bookshelf, an independent bookstore in South Georgia. You can follow The Bookshelf’s daily happenings on Instagram at @bookshelftville, and all the books from today’s episode can be purchased online through our store website, www.bookshelfthomasville.com. A full transcript of today’s episode can be found here. 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 Talking at Night by Claire Deverly. Hunter is reading Rouge by Mona Awad. If you liked what you heard in today’s episode, tell us by leaving a review on Apple Podcasts. Or, if you’re so inclined, support us on Patreon, where you can hear our staff’s weekly New Release Tuesday conversations, read full book reviews in our monthly Shelf Life newsletter and follow along as Hunter and I conquer a classic. Just go to patreon.com/fromthefrontporch. We’re so grateful for you, and we look forward to meeting back here next week. Our Executive Producers are...Ashley Ferrell, Cammy Tidwell, Chanta Combs, Chantalle C, Kate O’Connell, Kristin May, Laurie Johnson, Linda Lee Drozt, Martha, Nicole Marsee, Stacy Laue, Stephanie Dean, Susan Hulings, and Wendi Jenkins. Thank you to this week’s sponsor, Visit Thomasville. Summer is a wonderful time to see Thomasville, Georgia! If it’s time to hit the road for a quick getaway, we’re exactly what you’re looking for! You can rekindle your spark, explore historical sites, indulge in dining out, shop at amazing independent stores, and finally relax and unwind. There’s no better getaway than Thomasville! Whether you live close by or are passing through, we hope you'll visit beautiful Thomasville, Georgia – it’s worth the trip! Plan your visit at ThomasvilleGa.com.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Welcome to From the Front porch, a conversational podcast about books, small business, and life in the South.
0:08.0	Our days have so often been evil. We have so often lived in utter affliction, you, me, Lauren, the lot of us. This cannot be denied, but the darkness has been overcome, is being overcome by shining words.
0:24.0	Our days have so often been evil. We have so often lived in utter affliction, you, me, Lauren, the lot of us. This cannot be denied, but the darkness has been overcome, is being overcome by shining what light we have into the places where you don't always want to look, and laughing at the absurdity, the audacity of life, and our audacity to carry on.
0:47.0	The Mary Heart so often seems ridiculous to be afflicted because it is a heart of flesh, not stone, stone hearts cannot laugh, only soft ones, loose and alive do that.
1:00.0	How to Stay Married by Harrison Scott Key
1:05.0	I'm Annie Jones, owner of the bookshelf, and independent bookstore in beautiful downtown Thomasville, Georgia, and this week I'm joined by my friend and frequent co-host Hunter McClendon to talk about our reading years so far.
1:17.0	Do you love listening to From the Front porch every week? Spread the word by leaving a review on Apple podcasts. 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 right a review, then tell us what you think.
1:33.0	Here is a recent review from Julie, a bright spot in my week. I love this podcast. Yes, I hear about great books that are coming soon and add to my TBR list all the time, but it's more than that.
1:45.0	Each episode is full of joy and laughter and vulnerability. The staff at the bookshelf clearly love their jobs and talking about books, the episodes with Annie and Hunter shine with honesty and banter. Thank you all, keep doing what you do so well.
1:59.0	Thank you, Julie. You're in luck because today's guest is Hunter and thank you to all of the other reviewers who've left kind words and thoughtful reviews about the show.
2:07.0	We are so grateful anytime you share from the front porch with your friends. Thank you for spreading the word about not only our podcasts, but also our small independently owned bookstore now back to the show.
2:19.0	Hi Hunter, hello.
2:21.0	Wasn't that so nice of Julie?
2:23.0	That was so nice. You know, we're just coming off of the latest reader treat and there were several people who were like, I love whenever you're on your episodes of some of my favorite episodes.
2:33.0	And I was like, wow, wait a shade, Annie, that's so rude.
2:37.0	How dare they?
2:41.0	Listen, we joke that who could have predicted five years ago that you would be our resident celebrity that like we bring in.
2:51.0	It's like bringing in the ringer or something like we bring in you for shopping night and people come and it is it is delightful to watch you get your moment in the sun that you have more than earned.
3:03.0	So celebrity celebrity what can I say?
3:07.0	Okay, so we have been alluding to this episode for weeks, if not in public in our private conversations, we've been texting and talking because we are at the halfway point in 2023.
3:17.0	And it's time to think maybe it's not, but I like to think about what some of my favorite books of the year have been so far.
3:25.0	It's a good time to reflect on what my reading year has looked like.
	...

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