Episode 581 || Conquer a Classic Sneak Peek

From the Front Porch

The Bookshelf Thomasville

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

4.7 • 1.2K Ratings

🗓️ 14 May 2026

⏱️ 61 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

This week on From the Front Porch, Annie invites you to join our Conquer a Classic book club! It’s not too late. A Year With Flannery is a communal exploration of Georgia author Flannery O’Connor’s short stories (and novels). Listen to learn how to join our From the Front Porch Patreon Conquer a Classic book club (you’ll also find details below). To purchase the books mentioned in this episode, stop by The Bookshelf in Thomasville, visit our website (search episode 581) or download and shop on The Bookshelf’s official app: From the Front Porch Patreon Conquer a Classic 2026 Collection The Complete Stories by Flannery O’Connor Conquer a Classic 2026 Bundle This bundle includes The Complete Stories The Violent Bear it Away Wise Blood Mystery & Manners: Occasional Prose Now is a great time to join the From the Front Porch Patreon community and our Conquer a Classic Book Club. One perk of being a Patreon member is being a part of our super-popular, year-long Conquer a Classic book club! Each year, Annie and Hunter select a classic book and read it with our Patreon community over the course of the year. Join our Conquer a Classic book club: Step 1. Join the Patreon here. You’ll unlock bonus episodes of the podcast where Annie and Hunter discuss Flannery’s works, plus discussion forums with other Conquer a Classic book club members. Step 2. Buy your copy of THE COMPLETE STORIES or your Conquer a Classic bundle here. Your order will include an exclusive reading guide and bookmark. On Patreon, you can choose from two different tiers to join our Conquer a Classic book club: For $5/month, you get: Monthly Conquer a Classic recap episodes with Annie and Hunter for THE COMPLETE STORIES Monthly Porch Visits on Zoom with Annie For $20/month, you get: Monthly Conquer a Classic recap episodes with Annie and Hunter for THE COMPLETE STORIES Monthly Porch Visits on Zoom with Annie Quarterly book club conversations about O’Connor’s books: WISE BLOOD, THE VIOLENT BEAR IT AWAY, and MYSTERY AND MANNERS Biannual movie recap episodes with Annie and Hunter: FLANNERY (2019) and WILDCAT (2023) 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 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 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 A Guide to Open Water Lifesaving by Virginia Eubanks (out August 11). 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.

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.
0:29.3	There were so many subjects to write stories about that Miss Willerton never could think of one.
0:33.8	That was always the hardest part of writing a story, she always said.
0:38.5	She spent more time thinking of something to write about than she did writing.
0:47.2	Flannery O'Connor, The Complete Stories. I'm Annie Jones, owner of the bookshelf, an independent bookstore in beautiful downtown Thomasville, Georgia, and this week I'm talking about our
0:52.0	2026 Conquer a Classic series for Patreon. If you're craving more
0:56.8	from the front porch or if you want to listen to episodes ad free, join us on Patreon. This year,
1:03.6	listener favorite Hunter McClendon and I are sharing our monthly recaps of our conquering
1:08.2	of the complete stories by Flannery O'Connor.
1:12.0	Episodes air on the last Friday of each month, and it's never too late to start reading or listening,
1:17.5	or to cajole friends and family into joining us, too.
1:21.2	To join Patreon, just visit patreon.com forward slash from the front porch.
1:26.3	Three different tiers are available the five dollar a month
1:29.4	tier will give you access to our conquer a classic episodes including our full back catalog of
1:35.5	episodes plus our monthly porch visit q and a session the twenty dollar a month tier will give you
1:41.3	ad free episodes of from thech, plus a deep dive into
1:44.6	some of Flannery O'Connor's other works. We hope you'll join us there. Every few episodes,
1:50.9	I remind you about our From the Front Porch Patreon program. For those who might not know,
1:55.8	Patreon exists as a way to support creators, writers, artists in their work, and it's used by a lot of podcasts as a way to
2:02.8	generate income. Your monthly Patreon support means I no longer edit and produce from the front porch,
2:09.0	a gift I am extremely grateful for every month when I sit down to record, and particularly in
2:14.1	26, as I adjust to motherhood and think about putting another book out into the world.
	...

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