Currently Reading Podcast

Today's spoiler-free minisode includes a conversation between Kaytee and author Abi Daré. Abi is the author of The Girl with the Louding Voice, her debut novel, which was chosen as a Book of the Month pick and Read with Jenna pick! Tune in to hear about:

• What she wants her readers to know about Nigeria

• Who she'd be comfortable handing her book to

• The conversation with her daughter that inspired the novel

• Writing in non-standard English with multiple advanced degrees under her belt

• The Book she wants to Press into your hands

Minisode show notes are not timestamped, but linked titles are below for you to peruse.

The Girl with the Louding Voice by Abi Daré

Book of the Month - use our link and the code CURRENTLYREADING to get your first book for just $9.99

A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini

The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini

Connect with Abi: on Instagram at @abidare_author

Ready for your newly slimmed down show notes? (Don't worry, the timestamps and links are STILL HERE):

Meredith and Kaytee are discussing:

• Bookish Moments: a digital library challenge and an audiobook realization

• Current Reads: five-star books by black authors, suspense and MG winners

• Deep Dive: Buddy Reading

• Book Presses: a graphic novel for adults lands and as classic middle grade pick

As per usual, time-stamped show notes are below with references to every book and resource we mentioned in this episode. If you'd like to listen first and not spoil the surprise, don't scroll down!

*Please note that all book titles linked above are Amazon affiliate links. Your cost is the same, but a small portion of your purchase will come back to us to help offset the costs of the show. Thanks for your support!*

.

.

.

.

.

Book of the Month:

(These are Goodreads links, since we hope you'll use our BOTM link to sign up if you're interested!)

1:29 - Hour of the Assassin by Matthew Quirk

2:28 - The Two Lives of Lydia Bird by Josie Silver

2:32 - One Day in December by Josie Silver

2:42 - Maybe in Another Life by Taylor Jenkins Reid

2:47 - Dark Matter by Blake Crouch

Use our Link and the code CURRENTLYREADING to get your first book for just $9.99!

Bookish Moments:

6:10 - The Dutch House by Ann Patchett

6:22 - Amazon Echo Dot (or Echo) to access Alexa for listening to audiobooks at home

7:05 - Audible try it out for free!

Current Reads:

7:46 - The Girl with the Louding Voice by Abi Daré

11:11 - Mr. Gedrick and Me by Patrick Carman

11:18 - Mary Poppins by P.L. Travers

13:45 - Pride by Ibi Zoboi

13:48 - Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

16:20 - The Blinds by Adam Sternbergh

17:55 - Bluebird, Bluebird by Attica Locke

18:54 - The Warmth of Other Suns by Isabel Wilkerson

21:11 - The Family Upstairs by Lisa Jewell

Deep Dive - Buddy Reading:

27:28 - An Absolutely Remarkable Thing by Hank Green

28:23 - We Were Eight Years in Power by Ta-Nehisi Coates

30:48 - I Am Pilgrim by Terry Hayes

32:25 - The Stand by Stephen King

32:36 - The Outsider by Stephen King

35:27 - The Dream Daughter by Diane Chamberlain

36:08 - Still Life by Louise Penny

37:55 - Patreon will get you into our Buddy Read discussion on 4/19!

Books We Want to Press Into Your Hands:

39:05 - March by John Lewis

40:50 - Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery

50:53 - Understood Betsy by Dorothy Canfield Fisher

42:31 - The Home Maker by Dorothy Canfield

42:57 - The Blue Castle by L.M. Montgomery

43:04 - Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder

Kaytee and Mindy are ready for a Currently Reading first: award season!

You'll hear a "bookish moment of the week" from each host: a buddy read with a daughter and thrifting for books

Next, we discuss our current reads for the week. This week's books are full of big sighs in ways both good and bad, and sweet stories that will stick with you.

For our deep dive this week, we are giving out our first Golden Earbud Awards. During award season, we're evaluating red carpet looks and the best stories to consume on audio and you won't want to miss our categories!

Finally, this week, we are Pressing Books into Your Hands: we've got a book that's perfect for anyone who works with or love a young adult, and a memoir that is unforgettable.

As per usual, time-stamped show notes are below with references to every book and resource we mentioned in this episode. If you'd like to listen first and not spoil the surprise, don't scroll down!

*Please note that all book titles linked above are Amazon affiliate links. Your cost is the same, but a small portion of your purchase will come back to us to help offset the costs of the show. Thanks for your support!*

.

.

.

.

.

Bookish Moments:

1:50 - Book of the Month

1:53 - The Sun Down Motel by Simone St. James

Current Reads:

4:40 - Love from A to Z by SK Ali

7:03 - The Stationery Shop by Marjan Kamali

7:15 - To All the Boys I've Loved Before by Jenny Han

7:46 - Love, Hate & Other Filters by Samira Ahmed

8:26 - Patreon (We do Patron buddy reads)

8:40 - Big Lies in a Small Town by Diane Chamberlain

11:52 - Black Enough by Ibi Zoboi

15:16 - Dataclysm by Christian Rudder

15:22 - Episode 19 of Season 1 with Scott Monday

20:04 - Lost for Words by Stephanie Butland

21:13 - Patreon (Patrons get bonus episodes)

20:32 - Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman

20:33 - The Bookish Life of Nina Hill by Abbi Waxman

20:39 - Dante and Aristotle Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Saenz

25:55 - The Extraordinary Life of Sam Hell by Robert Dugoni

Deep Dive - Golden Earbud Awards:

Narrators are all linked to the audiobook. New members to Audible get a free audiobook on us!

If It Weren't Audio, I Would Have Skipped It:

30:47 - Shogun by James Clavell (narrated by Ralph Lister)

30:49 - The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russel (narrated by David Colacci)

30:53 - Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry (narrated by Lee Horsley)

31:03 - 11/22/63 by Stephen King (narrated by Craig Wasson)

Required to Listen:

32:47 - Daisy Jones and the Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid (narrated by Jennifer Beals, Benjamin Bratt, and a full cast)

32:50 - Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds (narrated by the author)

32:53 - The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller (narrated by Frazer Douglas)

33:01 - Born a Crime by Trevor Noah (narrated by the author)

Best Series on Audio:

34:13 - Harry Potter by JK Rowling (narrated by Jim Dale)

34:15 - The Passage by Justin Cronin (narrated by Scott Brick, Adenrele Ojo and Abby Craden)

34:19 - The Selection by Kiera Cass (narrated by Amy Rubinate)

34:24 - The Three Pines Series (staring with Still Life) by Louise Penny (narrated by Ralph Cosham [books 1-10] and Robert Bathurst [books 11+])

For Adult Ears Only:

36:29 - The Hating Game by Sally Thorne (narrated by Katie Schorr)

36:31 - A Princess in Theory by Alyssa Cole (narrated by Karen Chilton)

36:34 - The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang (narrated by Carly Robbins)

36:47 - Come as You Are by Emily Nagoski (narrated by the author)

Who Knew?

38:41 - A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court by Mark Twain (narrated by Nick Offerman)

38:48 - Anne of Green Gables by LM Montgomery (narrated by Rachel McAdams)

38:54 - The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald (narrated by Jake Gyllenhaal)

39:05 - A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens (narrated by Tim Curry)

Best True Story

40:07 - Come as You Are by Emily Nagoski (narrated by the author)

40:11 - The Sun Does Shine by Anthony Ray Hinton (narrated by Bryan Stevenson)

40:14 - White Fragility by Robin DiAngelo (narrated by Amy Landon)

40:24 - I Miss You When I Blink by Mary Laura Philpott (narrated by the author)

Best Read by the Author:

41:33 - Stories I Only Tell My Friends by Rob Lowe (narrated by the author)

41:45 - Born a Crime by Trevor Noah (narrated by the author)

41:48 - Becoming by Michelle Obama (narrated by the author)

42:38 - Food: A Love Story by Jim Gaffigan (narrated by the author)

Best Narrator:

44:36 - Guy Lockard

44:37 - Julia Whelan

44:39 - Jim Dale

44:55 - Bahni Turpin

Best Full Cast:

46:23 - Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders (narrated by Nick Offerman, David Sedaris, Lena Dunham and a full cast)

46:26 - As You Wish by Carey Elwes (narrated by Carey Elwes and cast)

46:30 - Emma by Jane Austen (narrated by Emma Thompson & cast)

46:51 - Daisy Jones and the Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid (narrated by Jennifer Beals, Benjamin Bratt & a full cast)

Best Overall:

48:02 - Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds (narrated by the author)

48:08 - Beartown by Fredrik Backman (narrated by Marin Ireland)

48:13 - 11/22/63 by Stephen King (narrated by Craig Wasson)

48:29 - A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman (narrated by J.K. Simmons)

Books We Want to Press Into Your Hands:

50:19 - Doing Life with Your Adult Children by Jim Burns

53:13 - Becoming by Michelle Obama (narrated by the author)

Kaytee and Meredith have lots to share with you today, Bookworms! We hope you love this episode!

You'll hear a "bookish moment of the week" from each host: a bookish realization, and a crafty bookish gift.

Next, we discuss our current reads for the week. We've got some romance and some thriller and some non-fiction and some middle grade. Our reading lives are all over the place!

For our deep dive this week, we are talking getting free books for review. Kaytee has been getting her hands on Advance Review Copies (ARCs) for years now, and she's sharing her wisdom about how to get signed up and ingratiate yourself with publishers.

Finally, this week, we are Pressing Books into Your Hands: we've got a retelling that's fairy tale adjacent, and one that's not for reading on the plane.

As per usual, time-stamped show notes are below with references to every book and resource we mentioned in this episode. If you'd like to listen first and not spoil the surprise, don't scroll down!

*Please note that all book titles linked above are Amazon affiliate links. Your cost is the same, but a small portion of your purchase will come back to us to help offset the costs of the show. Thanks for your support!*

.

.

.

.

.

Bookish Moments:

1:26 - The Dutch House by Ann Patchett

4:20 - Cross Stitch Bookmark Kits (this is the one I bought and modified to make this, but this storefront has lots of great designs available!)

Current Reads:

5:32 - The Piper's Pursuit by Melanie Dickerson

5:39 - Rump: The Fairly True Story of Rumpelstiltskin by Leisl Shurtliff

8:02 - A Curse So Dark and Lonely by Brigid Kemmerer

8:36 - Eloquent Rage by Brittney Cooper

10:55 - The Wallflower Wager by Tessa Dare

11:12 - The Duchess Deal by Tessa Dare

14:47 - The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas

15:06 - The Honey-Don't List by Christina Lauren

18:53 - A Nearly Normal Family by M.T. Edvardsson

20:57 - The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo

23:55 - Jason Reynolds

24:37 - Jacqueline Woodson

24:42 - Kwame Alexander

24:47 - Caroline Starr Rose

Slow But Steady:

25:54 - The Dutch House by Ann Patchett

26:32 - Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry

26:35 - Roots by Alex Haley

27:15 - Thornbirds by Colleen McCullough

27:17 - Shogun by James Clavell

39:24 - Laura Tremaine on Ten Things to Tell You

Deep Dive - How to Get Free Books for Review:

28:59 - NetGalley.com

31:52 - Edelweiss.plus

32:11 - A Heart So Fierce and Broken by Brigid Kemmerer

Books We Want to Press Into Your Hands:

40:32 - Wicked by Gregory Maguire

42:19 - Before the Fall by Noah Hawley

42:50 - The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah

42:53 - This Is How it Always Is by Laurie Frankl

Meredith and Kaytee are chatting about current reads and how to squeeze more satisfaction out of your reading life today!

You'll hear a "bookish moment of the week" from each host: a big change in the reader status of a family member, and a new bookish podcast you'll love.

Next, we discuss our current reads for the week. We're chatting about books from writing teams, and sequels and classics that go down easy.

For our deep dive this week, we are talking about making 2020 your best reading year yet. Does that mean more books? Maybe. But perhaps it means better books and more time to read them. What are your favorite tips for reading more or better?

Finally, this week, we are Pressing Books into Your Hands: we've got a young adult selection perfect for February in more ways than one and a murder-y book that is cold as well as bone-chilling.

As per usual, time-stamped show notes are below with references to every book and resource we mentioned in this episode. If you'd like to listen first and not spoil the surprise, don't scroll down!

*Please note that all book titles linked above are Amazon affiliate links. Your cost is the same, but a small portion of your purchase will come back to us to help offset the costs of the show. Thanks for your support!*

.

.

.

.

.

Bookish Moments:

4:24 - Diving In Podcast

Current Reads:

6:10 - Murder As A Fine Art by David Morrell

9:33 - Book Drop Book subscription box

9:51 - The Network by LC Shaw

10:01 - Liv Constantine's books

10:26 - The Pelican Brief by John Grisham

10:27 - The Firm by John Grisham

12:54 - You Are Not Alone by Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen

13:04 - Book of the Month

16:04 - An Anonymous Girl by Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen

16:07 - The Wife Between Us by Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen

17:23 - El Deafo by Cece Bell

17:32 - Bonus episode for Patrons

17:43 - Relish by Lucy Knisley

19:09 - Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell

25:46 - Thunderhead by Neal Shusterman

25:53 - Scythe by Neal Shusterman

28:28 - The Toll by Neal Shusterman

Deep Dive - How to Read More:

31:46 - Episode 6 of Currently Reading

33:55 - Intuitive Eating by Evelyn Trebole and Elyse Recsh

37:53 - Libby app through your local library

39:21 - Audible - try it for free

39:29 - The Dutch House by Ann Patchett

40:58 - My favorite earbuds by SoundPeats

Books We Want to Press Into Your Hands:

45:04 - The Sun is Also A Star by Nicola Yoon

46:03 - (her other one) Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon

46:53 - Episode 5 of Currently Reading

47:03 - All Things Cease to Appear by Elizabeth Brundage

48:10 - The Current by Tim Johnston

48:15 - Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

Kaytee and Mindy are handling this week while Meredith recovers from surgery. We are so glad to have Mindy step in during tough times!

As we get started, you'll hear our first advertisement on the podcast. We have always said we'd be extremely discerning about advertisers, so Book of the Month was a perfect match for us, since we are both loyal (paying) customers. We hope you'll give them a try and get your first book for just $9.99 when you use the code CURRENTLYREADING! If you're interested, please use our link so they know we sent you.

You'll hear a "bookish moment of the week" from each host: a bookish sticker from an online friend, and a "book dictionary" brag that occurred at a local bookstore.

Next, we discuss our current reads for the week. Every single book this week was a "turn" from the previous title discussed, so we are running the gamut.

For our deep dive this week, we are chatting about reading while sick. Mindy and Kaytee were both battling viruses this week of different kinds, so we talk about how illness effects our reading lives and the tips we have to keep reading while you're not feeling 100 percent.

Finally, this week, we are Pressing Books into Your Hands: we've got a brick of a biography and a collection of stories that will open your heart.

As per usual, time-stamped show notes are below with references to every book and resource we mentioned in this episode. If you'd like to listen first and not spoil the surprise, don't scroll down!

*Please note that all book titles linked above are Amazon affiliate links. Your cost is the same, but a small portion of your purchase will come back to us to help offset the costs of the show. Thanks for your support!*

.

.

.

.

.

Announcement:

1:37 - Book of the Month - OUR FIRST SPONSOR!

(the following are Goodreads links because we hope you'll check out BOTM if you're interested in any of them!)

2:56 - The Girl with the Louding Voice by Abi Dare

3:28 - The Holdout by Graham Moore

Bookish Moments:

10:11 - @flypaperproducts on Instagram

10:45 - Op.Cit Books in Santa Fe, NM

11:40 - Catch Me If You Can by Frank Abagnale

Current Reads:

12:57 - Stay by Catherine Ryan Hyde

15:31 - The Lady From the Black Lagoon by Mallory O'Meara

15:49 - Episode 176 of What Should I Read Next

18:37 - Reading Glasses Podcast

19:01 - The Seventh Most Important Thing by Shelley Pearsall

22:14 - Searching For Sunday: Loving Leaving, and Finding the Church by Rachel Held Evans

22:44 - A Year of Biblical Womanhood by Rachel Held Evans

23:15 - The Dearly Beloved by Cara Wall

25:45 - Night Theater by Vikram Paralkar

25:28 - 15 Books by Small Presses article

26:01 - Patreon and the Currently Reading Bookish Friends!

28:55 - The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov

30:13 - Girl, Woman, Other by Bernardine Evaristo

35:59 - Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds

Deep Dive - SIck Reading:

38:54 - Mindy's Bluetooth Sleep Mask

42:36 - How to Survive a Plague by David France

44:26 - Beartown by Fredrick Backman

44:28 - Harry's Trees by Jon Cohen

44:29 - Stay by Catherine Ryan Hyde

Books We Want to Press Into Your Hands:

47:05 - Bonhoffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy by Eric Metaxas

50:21 - Tattoos on the Heart: The Power of Boundless Compassion by Gregory Boyle

51:55 - I'll Have What Phil's Having on PBS

Meredith and Kaytee are giddying up with a new episode of spicy opinions.

You'll hear a "bookish moment of the week" from each host: a new, most favorite ever, local bookshop win, and a triumphant return to the library.

Next, we discuss our current reads for the week. There's a whole slew of goodness in here, as well as a plea for a certain title from a certain author, and reflections on re-reading a decades-old favorite.

We've got a brief Slow But Steady update to share with you and then it's onward to our deep dive.

For our deep dive this week, we are chatting about cozy mysteries. Why read them? What makes a mystery cozy? What are Meredith's favorite titles in the canon? Do they require baking and puns? Inquiring minds need to know.

Finally, this week, we are Pressing Books into Your Hands: we've got a tale reminiscent of the old west and a fun bookish fictional title that we both adore.

As per usual, time-stamped show notes are below with references to every book and resource we mentioned in this episode. If you'd like to listen first and not spoil the surprise, don't scroll down!

*Please note that all book titles linked above are Amazon affiliate links. Your cost is the same, but a small portion of your purchase will come back to us to help offset the costs of the show. Thanks for your support!*

.

.

.

.

.

Bookish Moments:

2:01 - Fabled Bookshop in Waco, TX

4:23 - Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer

4:33 - Currently Reading's Top 10 Reads of 2019

Current Reads:

5:19 - Bringing Down the Duke by Evie Dunmore

5:45 - The Duchess Deal by Tessa Dare

8:15 - The Long Call by Ann Cleeves

8:27 - Raven Black (the Shetland Series) by Ann Cleeves

8:49 - Louise Penny Interview with Ann Cleeves

12:58 - The Hundred Secret Senses by Amy Tan

17:10 - The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas

17:11 - The Home Maker by Dorothy Canfield

18:19 - Beauty by Robin McKinley

18:22 - A Curse So Dark and Lonely by Brigid Kemmerer

18:25 - The Piper's Pursuit by Melanie Dickerson

21:01 - The Hunger by Alma Katsu

22:09 - Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson

24:14 - Shout by Laurie Halse Anderson

25:10 - The Only Plane in the Sky by Garrett M. Graff

25:12 - The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas

26:20 - Salt Fat Acid Heat by Samin Nosrat

26:24 - The Uncommon Reader by Alan Bennett

28:25 - The Bookshop on the Corner by Jenny Colgan

29:26 - Salt Fat Acid Heat on Netflix

29:42 - Somebody Feed Phil (and I'll Have What Phil's Having) on Netflix

Slow But Steady:

30:14 - Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell

30:30 - Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry

31:13 - The Dutch House by Ann Patchett

32:01 - Hannah Coulter by Wendell Berry

Deep Dive - Cozy Mysteries:

34:15 - Louise Penny (ahem, NOT cozy)

38:58 - Aunt Dimity Series by Nancy Atherton

40:18 - The Secret, Book, and Scone Society by Ellery Adams (Book 2) (Book 3)

41:20 - Catering to Nobody by Diane Mott Davidson

41:31 - On What Grounds (The Coffeehouse Mysteries) by Cleo Coyle

41:43 - Death by Darjeeling by Laura Childs

42:09 - The Cat Who Could Read Backwards (The Cat Who… Series) by Lillian Jackson Braun

42:24 - Agatha Raisin series and Hamish MacBeth series by M.C. Beaton

42:53 - The Unexpected Mrs. Polifax (Mrs. Polifax series) by Dorothy Gillman

43:05 - A Murder At the Vicarage (Miss Marple series) by Agatha Christie

43:24 - Death on Demand by Carolyn G. Hart

43:56 - Crocodile on the Sandbank by Elizabeth Peters

46:00 - @howjessreads on Instagram (check out her #sillysundayshelf collections!)

Books We Want to Press Into Your Hands:

46:53 - Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry

47:02 - Miss Jane by Brad Watson

47:09 - MomAdvice Book Club with Amy Allen Clark

47:18 - Amy's Interview with the author, Brad Watson

49:39 - The Bookshop on the Corner by Jenny Colgan

Kaytee and Mindy are chatting this week while Meredith hosts a leadership retreat in Waco, TX.

You'll hear a "bookish moment of the week" from each host: stealing a book out of the hands of a reader, and helping another rediscover her love of "fun" reading.

Next, we discuss our current reads for the week. We've got YA and WWII and memoir and coming-of-age novels to chat about and we cannot wait to share those opinions with you!

For our deep dive this week, we are chatting about the kids' book club that Mindy started for her 11 year old son. We're talking about logistics and book picks and what the kiddos talk about, and it's a great discussion that's sure to inspire a reader in your life.

Finally, this week, we are Pressing Books into Your Hands: one from a new "author crush" and one that has been referenced so many times on the podcast that it has finally earned its place on the Press list.

As per usual, time-stamped show notes are below with references to every book and resource we mentioned in this episode. If you'd like to listen first and not spoil the surprise, don't scroll down!

*Please note that all book titles linked above are Amazon affiliate links. Your cost is the same, but a small portion of your purchase will come back to us to help offset the costs of the show. Thanks for your support!*

.

.

.

.

.

Bookish Moments:

4:04 - Scythe by Neal Shusterman

Current Reads:

5:19 - Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid

13:10 - One of Us is Lying by Karen McManus

15:29 - One of Us is Next by Karen McManus

16:05 - The Shanghai Free Taxi: Journeys with the Hustlers and Rebels of the New China by Frank Langfitt

16:31 - @montanaonlineteacher on Instagram

20:14 - From the Corner of the Oval by Beck Dorey-Stein

23:18 - The Gatekeepers: How White House Chiefs of Staff Define Every Presidency by Chris Whipple

23:20 - Who Thought This Was a Good Idea? by Alyssa Mastromonoco

24:11 - The Winemaker's Wife by Kristin Harmel

27:27 - The Lager Queen of Minnesota by J. Ryan Stradal

28:03 - The Soul of an Octopus by Sy Montgomery

31:03 - How to Be A Good Creature: A Memoir in Thirteen Animals by Sy Montgomery

Deep Dive into Kids' Book Clubs:

36:42 - Percy Jackson and The Olympians: The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan

36:44 - Hatchet by Gary Paulsen

37:55 - The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien

40:59 - The Eagle of the Ninth by Rosemary Sutcliff

43:30 - Book Club discussion questions

46:16 - Other books the boys have discussed: Book Scavenger by Jennifer Chambliss Bertman, Nevermoor by Jessica Townsend, Holes by Louis Sachar

Books We Want to Press Into Your Hands:

47:08 - Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds

47:26 - Dataclysm by Christian Rudder

48:09 - @cheesehead.reader on Instagram

48:10 - @katieproctorwritesandreads on Instagram

48:32 - Scribd membership - try it for 60 days free!

51:39 - Ghost by Jason Reynolds

52:45 - Season 1, Episode 3

52:47 - The War That Saved My Life by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley

54:31 - The War I Finally Won by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley

Meredith and Kaytee are back with the episode you've been waiting for. Our favorite books of 2019!

Rather than spending time on all our regular segments, we are diving right into the good stuff. No Bookish Moments, no Current Reads, no Deep Dive, no Pressed books, just a reflection on our 2019 reading year and then the top 10 lists you've been waiting for!

We are each sharing 10 books we LOVED this year (plus a couple bonus picks that we slide in under the radar). We do a lot of gushing, we have a lot of words, and we think this episode contains the real gems for us and readers like us.

If you have books you think we'll love based on these lists, put them in the comments! If you agree or disagree with a pick, put that in the comments as well! We love hearing from you!

As per usual, time-stamped show notes are below with references to every book and resource we mentioned in this episode. If you'd like to listen first and not spoil the surprise, don't scroll down!

*Please note that all book titles linked above are Amazon affiliate links. Your cost is the same, but a small portion of your purchase will come back to us to help offset the costs of the show. Thanks for your support!*

.

.

.

.

.

Let's Talk About Stats, Baby:

3:22 - Kaytee on Goodreads

3:23 - Kaytee's spreadsheet (with excessive stats) comes from the BookRiot spreadsheet with some special modifications. You can grab a copy directly from BookRiot though! Patrons get my copy with all the bonus challenges and stats already included.

3:26 - 2020 Reading Journal

Top 10 Lists:

(Titles in Italics and parentheses are books we mentioned that are not part of the official top 10 list)

13:40 - Sweep by Jonathan Auxier

14:11 - (Peter Nimble and His Fantastic Eyes by Jonathan Auxier)

15:02 - Winterhouse by Ben Guterson

15:41 - (Secrets of Winterhouse by Ben Guterson - book 2)

15:46 - (The Winterhouse Mysteries by Ben Guterson - book 3)

16:14 - Burnout by Emily Nagoski and Amelia Nagoski

16:28 - (Come As You Are by Emily Nagoski)

17:08 - A Better Man by Louise Penny

18:50 - The Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alix Harrow

19:56 - The Whisper Man by Alex North

20:00 - (Book of the Month subscription)

20:59 - The Passengers by John Marrs

21:11 - (The One by John Marrs)

22:02 - The Ordinary Princess by M.M. Kaye

22:11 - Episode when listeners press books into OUR hands

23:23 - Finding Dorothy by Elizabeth Letts

25:08 - The Current by Tim Johnston

25:15 - (Shelf Subscription from Bookshelf Thomasville)

27:31 - White Fragility by Robin DiAngelo

29:28 - The Only Plane in the Sky by Garrett M. Graff

31:28 - (Sarah's Bookshelves Life interview with Garrett)

32:00 - We Were the Lucky Ones by Georgia Hunter

33:20 - American Royals by Katherine McGee

35:13 - The Lager Queen of Minnesota by J. Ryan Stradal

37:06 - (Hannah Coulter by Wendell Berry)

37:40 - (The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides)

37:44 - The Mother-In-Law by Sally Hepworth

39:41 - The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead

39:57 - (Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead)

40:54 - The Fact of a Body by Alexandria Marzano-Lesnevich

42:39 - The Dearly Beloved by Cara Wall

44:47 - A Curse So Dark and Lonely by Brigid Kemmerer

Kaytee and Meredith are excited for a new year and some new bookish recommendations!

As always, we start out with a "bookish moment of the week" from each host. Some fame-treatment and bonus reading time.

Next, we discuss our current reads for the week. We've got five-star books and strong opinions and all the things you love in this segment this week, so it's a fun one!

We are skipping our Slow But Steady check-in this week, but be sure to chime in with your picks on Instagram or Facebook for this challenge!

For our deep dive, we are throwing some serious side-eye at the Goodreads Best Books of 2019 lists and the ways these collections are put together. We have STRONG opinions about the winners for a number of these categories, but it's not all negative. We'll also share our picks for "best lists that actually reflect good 2019 reading" with you.

Finally, this week, we are Pressing Books into Your Hands: we're trying something a little different with a "guest press" this week, and including a category of book that has never shown up on the press list before.

As per usual, time-stamped show notes are below with references to every book and resource we mentioned in this episode. If you'd like to listen first and not spoil the surprise, don't scroll down!

*Please note that all book titles linked above are Amazon affiliate links. Your cost is the same, but a small portion of your purchase will come back to us to help offset the costs of the show. Thanks for your support!*

.

.

.

.

.

Current Reads:

6:52 - Bookshelf Thomasville Shelf Subscriptions

7:01 - The Last by Hannah Jameson

9:37 - Stephen King's books

9:38 - Agatha Christie's books

9:56 - Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel

11:10 - The Dutch House by Ann Patchett

11:20 - Bel Canto by Ann Patchett

11:21 - Run by Ann Patchett

11:22 - State of Wonder by Ann Patchett

11:23 - This is the Story of a Happy Marriage by Ann Patchett

11:27 - The Magician's Assistant by Ann Patchett

11:32 - Commonwealth by Ann Patchett

18:18 - The Family Under the Bridge by Natalie Carlson

18:30 - Read Aloud Revival

20:05 - The War That Saved My Life by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley

21:19 - Over the Top by Jonathan Van Ness

21:22 - Naturally Tan by Tan France

24:57 - @girlaboutlibrary on Instagram

25:04 - The Fact of a Body by Alexandria Marzano-Lesnevich

26:46 - Furious Hours by Casey Cep

30:05 - Salt Fat Acid Heat by Samin Nosrat

30:13 - Magnolia Table by Joanna Gaines

Deep Dive:

34:35 - Goodreads Best of 2019 List:

35:18 - The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides

36:10 - Red White and Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston

36:18 - Audible's Best of 2019 List

37:08 - Recursion by Blake Crouch

37:31 - Dark Matter by Blake Crouch

37:49 - The Testaments by Margaret Atwood

38:40 - The Tyrant's Tomb by Rick Riordan

39:43 - Girl, Stop Apologizing by Rachel Hollis

40:07 - Daisy Jones & The Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid

40:20 - Book of the Month (DJ&TS is their Book of the Year)

40:38 - The Five by Hallie Rubenhold

40:45 - The Only Plane in the Sky by Garrett M. Graff

41:11 - Five Feet Apart by Rachel Lippincott, Mikki Daughtry, and Tobias Iaconis

41:13 - American Royals by Katherine McGee

41:25 - Over the Top by Jonathan Van Ness

43:14 - New York Times Best of 2019 List

43:16 - NPR's Best of 2019 List

43:24 - Libraryreads.org Best of 2019 List

44:03 - Lithub.com best of best of lists

44:33 - Olive, Again by Elizabeth Strout

44:34 - The Dutch House by Ann Patchett

44:36 - Normal People by Sally Rooney

45:00 - Amy Allen Clark at Momadvice.com best of 2019 List

Presses:

47:37 - The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon

50:14 - El Deafo by CeCe Bell

Meredith and Kaytee are joined by Mindy today in a three-host show full of bookish delights.

You'll hear a "bookish moment of the week" from each host. A book club win for kids, a book train with friends, and strong opinions about a bookish movie.

Next, we discuss our current reads for the week. There's some serious gushing over books in this week's titles, plus a couple "I didn't like this" strong opinions. Hold onto your earbuds.

We are doing a brief Slow But Steady check-in this week to let you know what we're choosing for our next reads for this challenge.

For our deep dive this week, we are playing around with book pairings for TV shows that we've enjoyed in the past. We each chose two shows to dive deep into and then find ways to replicate some of those same feelings in our reading. What fun!

Finally, this week, we are Pressing Books into Your Hands: we've got a "very favorite" read-aloud book, one that will work, even if you're down to the wire on a challenge category, and a book that is perfect for gift-giving.

As per usual, time-stamped show notes are below with references to every book and resource we mentioned in this episode. If you'd like to listen first and not spoil the surprise, don't scroll down!

*Please note that all book titles linked above are Amazon affiliate links. Your cost is the same, but a small portion of your purchase will come back to us to help offset the costs of the show. Thanks for your support!*

.

.

.

.

.

Announcements:

1:19 - Episode 32 of Season 1

1:45 - 2020 Reading Challenge Printable

2:38 - 2020 Reading Journal for purchase (free for Patrons!)

Bookish Moments:

4:57 - Book Scavenger by Jennifer Chambliss Bertman

6:38 - Eye of the Elephant by Delia and Mark Owens

6:42 - Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens

7:43 - A Heart So Fierce and Broken by Brigid Kemmerer

8:13 - Little Women by Louisa May Alcott

Current Reads:

10:34 - Warriors Don't Cry by Melba Patillo Beales

13:55 - Great Expectations by Charles Dickens

14:42 - Nothing to See Here by Kevin Wilson

18:17 - Wild Robot by Peter Brown

21:41 - Harry's Trees by Jon Cohen

22:00 - Episode 38 of Season 1

22:16 - What Alice Forgot by Liane Moriarty

23:04 - Dear Evan Hansen by Val Emmich, Steven Levenson, Benj Pasek and Justin Paul

26:42 - The Water Dancer by Ta-Nehisi Coates

28:10 - Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates

31:24 - City of Girls by Elizabeth Gilbert

31:57 - Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert

Slow But Steady:

36:22 - The Water Dancer by Ta-Nehisi Coates

36:40 - Gone with The Wind by Margaret Mitchell

37:10 - The Road Back to You by Ian Morgan Cron and Suzanne Stabile

37:29 - The Art of Typing by Ginger Lapig-Bogda

38:18 - Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by JK Rowling

38:20 - Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by JK Rowling

38:24 - East of Eden by John Steinbeck

38:30 - Les Miserables by Victor Hugo

38:40 - Persuasion by Jane Austen

38:48 - A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith

Deep Dive:

Pairings with Grey's Anatomy:

40:22 - Small Great Things by Jodi Piccoult

40:49 - The Wedding Date by Jasmine Guillory

41:19 - The Queen of Hearts by Kimmery Martin

Pairings with Parenthood:

42:09 - The Lager Queen of Minnesota by J. Ryan Stradal

42:24 - The Weird Sisters by Eleanor Brown

Pairings with West Wing:

43:43 - Who Thought This Was a Good Idea? by Alyssa Mastromonico

44:28 - The Gatekeepers by Chris Whipple

45:03 - Young Jane Young by Gabrielle Zevin

45:19 - The Brethren by John Grisham

45:22 - Term Limits by Vince Flynn

Pairings with Dr. Quinn or When Calls the Heart:

46:37 - Christy by Catherine Marshall

47:15 - Tisha: The Wonderful True Love Story of a Young Teacher in the Alaskan Wilderness by Robert Specht

Pairings with Elementary:

49:06 - Sherlock Holmes canon by Arthur Conan Doyle

49:37 - The House of Silk by Anthony Horowitz

49:54 - The Word is Murder by Anthony Horowitz

50:11 - A Study in Scarlet Women by Sherry Thomas

50:38 - A Great Deliverance by Elizabeth George

Pairings with Dexter:

51:17 - Darkly Dreaming Dexter by Jeff Lindsey

51:25 - You by Caroline Kepnes

51:45 - My Lovely Wife by Samantha Downing

52:11 - The One by John Marrs

Presses:

52:58 - Episode 32 of Season 1

53:07 - I, Juan de Pareja by Elizabeth Borden de Trevino

54:18 - Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson

56:03 - The Quilter's Apprentice by Jennifer Chiaverini

56:11 - Resistance Women by Jennifer Chiaverini

Kaytee and Meredith are back and chatting about all the books this week. We've got surgery updates and silliness and everything in between.

You'll hear a "bookish moment of the week" from each host. We're virtually joining in on a trip to a local booklover's heaven, and sitting on the couch binging books together.

Next, we discuss our current reads for the week. Romance, and mystery, non-fiction, and YA. We're chatting about all that we've been reading lately, even if it doesn't jive with previous opinions on the show!

Our Slow But Steady check in is going to move to every once in a while instead of every week. You can still check in on Instagram or Facebook, but this is an "off" week for this segment.

For our deep dive this week, we are excited to talk about what makes us skip or DNF (do not finish) a book. Some of these might be obvious to long-time listeners of the show, but some surprised us as well as each other, so let us know what you think and what you discover about your OWN reading tendencies here. We are SO interested to hear it!

Finally, this week, we are Pressing Books into Your Hands: first, a small "bonus press" to add some hilarity to your December, and then a tribute to a recently deceased author, and something to press into the young adults' hands in your life.

As per usual, time-stamped show notes are below with references to every book and resource we mentioned in this episode. If you'd like to listen first and not spoil the surprise, don't scroll down!

*Please note that all book titles linked above are Amazon affiliate links. Your cost is the same, but a small portion of your purchase will come back to us to help offset the costs of the show. Thanks for your support!*

.

.

.

.

.

Bookish Moments:

2:03 - BookPeople in Austin, TX

Current Reads:

8:54 - A Knife at the Opera by Susannah Stacey

10:15 - Agatha Christie books

11:01 - Dorothy Simpson books

11:32 - Episode 8 of Season 2 with Anne Bogel

11:34 - The Bromance Book Club by Lyssa Kay Adams

15:34 - The Duchess Deal by Tessa Dare

15:58 - Do You Mind if I Cancel? by Gary Janetti

17:45 - David Sedaris books

17:27 - The Only Plane in the Sky by Garrett M. Graff

19:12 - Fair Play by Eve Rodsky

19:20 - Episode 14 of Season 2 with Lori Lynn Tucker

23:12 - American Royals by Katherine McGee

29:08 - Underground Airlines by Ben Winters

29:43 - Dear Martin by Nic Stone

30:49 - The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas

Deep Dive:

35:24 - Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow

35:29 - Doris Kearns Goodwin books

42:52 - Episode 7 of Season 1 with Jessica Turner

42:57 - I'm Still Here: Black Dignity in a World Made for Whiteness by Austin Channing Brown

Presses:

45:20 - Santaland Diaries Audio from NPR

46:24 - Lunch Money by Andrew Clements

48:15 - Frindle by Andrew Clements

48:16 - Troublemaker by Andrew Clements

48:58 - I Will Teach You to Be Rich by Ramit Sethi

Meredith is recording with a special guest this week and has a big announcement, so be sure you tune in right at the top! You'll hear again from our friend Mindy Brouse, best friend of the show and reader extraordinaire.

You'll hear a "bookish moment of the week" from each host. These bookish moments have a common thread in that they involve real life pressing books into the hands of friends and the reactions of those friends.

Next, we discuss our current reads for the week. We've got books spanning genres and time periods and continents. We've got ones that will spark discussion, we've got books that'll leave your heart aflutter. It's a great week of book talk!

Our Slow But Steady check in is going to move to every once in a while instead of every week. You can still check in on Instagram on the regular, but we're not going to keep banging the "I've got very little to report" drum. Thanks to the listener survey and all your great feedback!

For our deep dive this week, Meredith and Mindy are chatting about raising readers of all ages. There are some really fantastic tips and some great encouragement in this episode, friends. Even if you don't have kids (or don't like kids), I'm guessing you know a reader in your life who would love to hear this chunk, so pass it along!

Finally, this week, we are Pressing Books into Your Hands: we've got one that has been mentioned many times on the podcast but never "pressed" and one that should be in your box of Christmas books that you haul out every December.

As per usual, time-stamped show notes are below with references to every book and resource we mentioned in this episode. If you'd like to listen first and not spoil the surprise, don't scroll down! *Please note that all book titles linked above are Amazon affiliate links. Your cost is the same, but a small portion of your purchase will come back to us to help offset the costs of the show. Thanks for your support!*

.

.

.

.

.

1:22 - Episode 32 of Season 1 with Mindy Brouse

4:33 - What Alice Forgot by Liane Moriarty

6:56 - The "Press" List

7:03 - The Map of Salt and Stars by Zeyn Joukhadar

9:50 - 2020 Reading Challenge

10:10 - A Warning by Anonymous

13:37 - The Flight Girls by Noelle Salazar

16:50 - Tuesday Mooney Talks to Ghosts by Kate Racculia

19:02 - Book Scavenger by Jennifer Chambliss Bertman

20:35 - The Stationery Shop by Marjan Kamali

24:25 - The Unlikely Escape of Uriah Heep by H.G. Parry

25:07 - Great Expectations by Charles Dickens

25:13 - David Copperfield by Charles Dickens

28:47 - Thursday Next series by Jasper Fforde

36:24 - Charlotte's Web by E.B. White

36:27 - Redwall by Brian Jacques

36:30 - Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien

36:31 - The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien

36:33 - Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling

38:42 - Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney

(Kaytee's note here: check out this episode of Read Aloud Revival for the benefits of kids re-reading a graphic novel every freaking day)

40:31 - Wings of Fire by Tui T. Stevenson

41:09 - Percy Jackson series by Rick Riordan

41:10 - Eragon series by Christopher Paolini

43:46 - Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin

43:52 - The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood

45:21 - Nevermoor by Jessica Townsend

46:45 - Books We've Pressed List

47:27 - Wundersmith by Jessica Townsend

47:46 - Mr. Willowby's Christmas Tree by Robert Barry

Connect with Mindy: @gratefulforgrace on Instagram

Kaytee and Meredith are ready to chat about all the books again this week. Hang on to your hats!

You'll hear our combined "bookish moment of the week": the Patron discussion with Diane Chamberlain about her book, and then a bit of getting vulnerable about the technological snafu that resulted.

Next, we discuss our current reads for the week. These are six books that are all VERY different in content and tone and all the ways that books can be different. It's a great ride.

Our Slow But Steady check in is short and sweet, just like you like it!

For our deep dive this week, we are tackling the final category in the 2019 Reading Challenge: a book that is scary for some reason and we're examining what makes us scared as readers. It might not be what you expect!

Finally, this week, we are Pressing Books into Your Hands: a wonderful book that will make a favorite movie shine even more brightly and a beloved curmudgeon book with a young woman protagonist!

As per usual, time-stamped show notes are below with references to every book and resource we mentioned in this episode. If you'd like to listen first and not spoil the surprise, don't scroll down! *Please note that all book titles linked above are Amazon affiliate links. Your cost is the same, but a small portion of your purchase will come back to us to help offset the costs of the show. Thanks for your support!*

.

.

.

.

.

1:10 - 2019 Currently Reading Challenge

1:32 - 2020 Currently Reading Challenge

4:26 - Patreon

4:29 - The Dream Daughter by Diane Chamberlain

7:32 - The Castle in the Mist by Amy Ephron

10:26 - The Body: A Guide for Occupants by Bill Bryson

11:40 - A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson

15:10 - Magnolia Table by Joanna Gaines

18:05 - Summer of '69 by Elin Hilderbrand

21:01 - Daisy Jones and the Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid

21:22 - The Perfect Couple by Elin Hilderbrand

21:57 - Outlander by Diana Gabaldon

22:42 - The Only Plane in the Sky by Garrett M. Graff

22:49 - Episode 16 with Sarah Dickinson (and) Sarah's Interview with Garrett Graff

28:01 - Red at the Bone by Jaqueline Woodson

30:47 - The Road Back to You by Suzanne Stabile and Ian Morgan Cron

31:05 - The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman

31:25 - The Water Dancer by Ta-Nahesi Coates

31:49 - A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson

32:13 - The Only Plane in the Sky by Garrett M. Graff

32:37 - Beloved by Toni Morrison

33:28 - 2019 Currently Reading Challenge

34:52 - The Stranger Beside Me by Ann Rule

35:48 - Six Stories by Matt Weselowski

35:57- Turn of the Key by Ruth Ware

35:58 - Lock Every Door by Riley Sager

36:00 - The One by John Marrs

36:01 - The Cabin at the End of the World by Paul Tremblay

37:32 - Bird Box by Josh Malerman

37:43 - The Whisper Man by Alex North

39:00 - White Fragility by Robin D'Angelo

39:02 - So You Want to Talk About Race by Ijeoma Oluo

I'm Still Here: Black Dignity in a World Made for Whiteness by Austin Channing Brown (I squashed these together reading too fast from my notes when I mentioned them!)

39:04 - Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson

39:33 - Evicted by Matthew Desmond

39:47 - I Think You're Wrong But I'm Listening by Beth Silvers and Sarah Stewart Holland

40:52 - The Snowman by Jo Nesbo

41:40 - 2020 Currently Reading Challenge

41:35 - 2020 llustrated Reading Journal (free for Patrons)

44:21 - As You Wish by Cary Elwes

45:50 - Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman

46:44 - A Man Called Ove by Frederick Backman

46:45 - The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion

Meredith and Kaytee are back, chatting books and strong opinions with you!

You'll hear a "bookish moment of the week" from each of us: leaning into the DNF (did not finish), and a recovery book as reading "Advil."

Next, we discuss our current reads for the week. We've got three books each to discuss, including some revisits of titles that have already been discussed.

Our Slow But Steady check in is short and sweet, just like you like it!

For our deep dive this week, we are talking True Crime. This is an unknown world for Kaytee so we're hearing from Meredith about what she loves about True Crime and her favorites in the genre.

Finally, this week, we are Pressing Books into Your Hands: a cry-fest book that not everyone will love, and a book for middle graders that one of us still needs to pick up!

As per usual, time-stamped show notes are below with references to every book and resource we mentioned in this episode. If you'd like to listen first and not spoil the surprise, don't scroll down! *Please note that all book titles linked above are Amazon affiliate links. Your cost is the same, but a small portion of your purchase will come back to us to help offset the costs of the show. Thanks for your support!*

.

.

.

.

.

5:20 - Sarah's Bookshelves Alcohol & Advil pairings!

6:42 - The Garden of Small Beginnings by Abbi Waxman

6:49 - The Bookish Life of Nina Hill by Abbi Waxman

9:41 - Be Fearless by Jean Case

12:53 - The Winter People by Jennifer McMahon

16:00 - The Need by Helen Phillips

16:05 - She Said by Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey

16:11 - Episode 11 of Season 2 with Sara Hildreth

20:00 - The Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alix Harrow

24:26 - The Rules of Magic by Alice Hoffman

24:39 - Book of the Month Subscription

24:56 - Practical Magic by Alice Hoffman

29:10 - The Road Back to You by Suzanne Stabile and Ian Morgan Cron

29:38 - The Water Dancer by Ta-Nahesi Coates

29:53 - The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman

30:38 - Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

33:28 - The Amityville Horror by Jay Anson

35:46 - The Stranger Beside Me by Ann Rule

37:38 - The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson

38:56 - The Yoga Store Murder by Dan Morse

39:27 - In Cold Blood by Truman Capote

39:52 - Helter Skelter by Vincent Bugliosi

40:04 - Outrage: The Five Reasons Why O.J. Simpson Got Away With Murder by Vincent Bugliosi

40:24 - Mindhunter by John Douglas

41:24 - I'll Be Gone in the Dark by Michelle McNamara

43:02 - Killers of the Flower Moon by David Grann

43:12 - Columbine by Dave Cullen

44:03 - Sadie by Courtney Summers

44:11 - Six Stories by Matt Weselowski

45:31 - The Light Between Oceans by ML Steadman

47:52 - All the Ugly and Wonderful Things by Bryn Greenwood

49:09 - The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart

Kaytee and Meredith are sharing a special guest with you this week, our dear friend and podcast pal, Sarah Dickinson of Sarah's Bookshelves and Sarah's Bookshelves Live.

You'll hear a "bookish moment of the week" from each of us: a sanity saver behind the scenes, meeting a (kid's) favorite author, and new reading acronyms.

Next, we discuss our current reads for the week. We're each sharing two reads this week and we're all over the place with sequels and weird books, and amazing books, and STRONG opinions!

We're skipping slow but steady so we have more time to chat with Sarah. Stay tuned for an update on that next week.

For our deep dive this week, we are picking Sarah's brain about what it's like to almost always be reading ahead of the charts. How she tracks her reading and whether she has goals for her yearly reading. It's a great conversation with lots of food for thought.

Finally, this week, we are Pressing Books into Your Hands. We've got a non-fiction pick that will tear your heart out, an oldie but a goodie, and a WWII fiction book one of us believes is "best in class."

As per usual, time-stamped show notes are below with references to every book and resource we mentioned in this episode. If you'd like to listen first and not spoil the surprise, don't scroll down! *Please note that all book titles linked above are Amazon affiliate links. Your cost is the same, but a small portion of your purchase will come back to us to help offset the costs of the show. Thanks for your support!*

.

.

.

.

.

4:06 - Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney

4:15 - Wrecking Ball by Jeff Kinney

8:03 - Captain Underpants by Dav Pilkey

8:27 - Big Nate by Lincoln Pearce

8:29 - Dog Man by Dav Pilkey

11:30 - After the Flood by Kassandra Montag

13:40 - The Innocents by Michael Crummy

15:25 - Wanderers by Chuck Wendig

15:50 - The Age of Miracles by Karen Thompson Walker

16:18 - The Book of M by Peng Shepherd

16:37 - Bird Box by Josh Malerman

16:50 - Hollow Kingdom by Kira Jane Buxton

17:41 - A Curse So Dark and Lonely by Brigid Kemmerer

18:13 - A Heart So Fierce and Broken by Brigid Kemmerer

19:36 - Minisode with Brigid Kemmerer

25:36 - Book Scavenger by Jennifer Chambliss Bertman

I managed to talk about this entire book without mentioning the title? How?? The Unbreakable Code by Jennifer Chambliss Bertman

26:50 - Nevermoor by Jessica Townsend

26:51 - Winterhouse by Ben Guterson

26:59 - A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J Maas

27:01 - A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J Maas

27:30 - Our companion episode with Sara Hildreth

27:32 - Sarah's Bookshelves Live episode with Sara Hildreth

27:45 - The Other Wes Moore by Wes Moore

33:20 - The Need by Helen Phillips

33:45 - Ten Things To Tell You episode about books

38:39 - The Grace Year by Kim Liggett

38:50 - The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

39:00 - The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood

40:18 - Lord of the Flies by William Golding

55:14 - The Heart's Invisible Furies by John Boyne

55:29 - The Only Plane in the Sky by Garrett M Graff

55:50 - Sarah's interview with Garrett M. Graff

1:00:09 - Episode 9 with Meg Tietz

1:00:22 - The Home Maker by Dorothy Canfield

1:02:54 - Everyone Brave is Forgiven by Chris Cleave

1:03:11 - The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah

1:03:13 - All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr

1:04:32 - Kaytee's old (written) interview with Chris Cleave

1:05:20 - Connect with Sarah: @sarahsbookshelves on Instagram or her website sarahsbookshelves.com

Meredith and Kaytee are back in your earbuds this week for another new episode of Currently Reading and we have lots of fun stuff to share with you!

First, a quick announcement about our Patron-only book club: we will be discussing The Dream Daughter by Diane Chamberlain, and the author will be joining us to chat about her book on November 17th! So, if you've been on the fence about reading or joining our Patreon, now may be the time to do it!

Second, we have a Currently Reading Listener Survey for you this week. Please click through to the survey and tell us your thoughts about all things Currently Reading!

You'll hear a "bookish moment of the week" from each of us: a local author event and pre-reading a book for a friend.

Next, we discuss our current reads for the week. We're each sharing two reads this week since Belly Up episodes end up running long. Strong opinions abound in our novels this week!

We'll move on to a short Slow But Steady update from each of us, including a "completed!" update.

For our deep dive this week, we are discussing the Currently Reading 2019 Challenge category 11: Books Pressed by an IRL or Online Book Club. We already shared a lot of Book Club thoughts in episode 4 of season 2, so this ends up being an ode to finding your bookish tribe.

Finally, this week, we are Bellying Up to the Book Bar with DeeAnn Haworth. This was a bit of a challenge for one of us, but we're excited to talk about some new to you and to us titles!

As per usual, time-stamped show notes are below with references to every book and resource we mentioned in this episode. If you'd like to listen first and not spoil the surprise, don't scroll down! *Please note that all book titles linked above are Amazon affiliate links. Your cost is the same, but a small portion of your purchase will come back to us to help offset the costs of the show. Thanks for your support!*

.

.

.

.

.

1:15 - The Dream Daughter by Diane Chamberlain

1:40 - Patreon

1:53 - Currently Reading Listener Survey

2:51 - Garcia Street Books in Santa Fe, NM

3:23 - The Lager Queen of Minnesota by J. Ryan Stradal

3:33 - Minisode with J. Ryan Stradal

5:22 - Outlander by Diana Gabaldon

5:45 - The Winter Sea by Susanna Kearsley

7:14 - The Dearly Beloved by Cara Walls

7:20 - Crossing to Safety by Wallace Stegner

7:40 - Knox McCoy on The Popcast

7:43 - Shelf Subscription on Bookshelf Thomasville

14:06 - An Absolutely Remarkable Thing by Hank Green

19:50 - The Swallows by Lisa Lutz

20:05 - Magic for Liars by Sarah Gailey

20:07 - The Whisper Network by Chandler Baker

25:29 - Currently Reading on Patreon

25:46 - The Dream Daughter by Diane Chamberlain

31:59 - Hannah Coulter by Wendell Berry

33:15 - The Road Back to You by Suzanne Stabile and Ian Morgan Cron

33:56 - Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

34:50 - Gone With The Wind by Margaret Mitchell

36:30 - Currently Reading 2019 Reading Challenge

36:47 - Episode 4 of Season 2

38:00 - Meredith on Episode 85 (I said 89, but that was a mistake!) of Sorta Awesome Podcast

42:13 - bookish.com

43:43 - Michael Connelly's Harry Bosch series

43:46 - JA Jance's Joanna Brady and JP Beaumont series

43:54 - Whistling Past the Graveyard by Susan Crandall

43:57 - Saving Ceecee Honeycutt by Beth Hoffman

44:00 - Richard Paul Evans' The Walk series and The Broken Road series

44:05 - An Eldery Lady is Up to No Good by Helene Tursten

44:10 - The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins

44:12 - Elevation by Stephen King

44:15 - Marilla of Green Gables by Sarah McCoy

44:19 - When by Victoria Laurie

45:55 - Sue Grafton's Alphabet Series

46:42 - Mickey Haller/Lincoln Lawyer series by Michael Connelly

46:56 - When the Bough Breaks by Jonathan Kellerman

47:22 - Patricia Cornwell's Kay Scarpetta series

47:59 - In Her Bones by Kate Moretti

48:37 - Joshilyn Jackson's The Almost Sisters and A Grown-Up Kind of Pretty

48:50 - Lillian Boxfish Takes a Walk by Kathleen Rooney

49:21 - A Man Called Ove by Fredrick Backman

49:46 - Rabbit, the Autobiography of Ms. Pat by Patricia Williams

50:20 - Aunti Poldi series by Mario Giordano

50:45 - Celine by Peter Heller

50:49 - The River by Peter Heller

51:39 - Setting Free the Kites by Alex George

51:42 - Harry's Trees by Jon Cohen

51:56 - Little Lovely Things by Maureen Joyce Connelly

52:40 - The Mother-In-Law by Sally Hepworth

53:12 - Thinner by Stephen King writing as Richard Bachman

54:16 - The Grown-Up by Gillian Flynn

54:45 - McNally's Secret by Lawrence Sanders

56:20 - Listener Survey - one more time!

Kaytee is recording with a guest host this week as Meredith is traveling, and I think you'll really enjoy hearing from her!

You'll hear a "bookish moment of the week" from each of us: an author event with a tiny sidekick, and a special bookish gift from a friend.

Next, we discuss our current reads for the week. This week's choices have romance, non-fiction, and historical fiction novels!

We'll move on to a short Slow But Steady update from each of us, as well as a couple listener updates

For our deep dive this week, we are taking a peek at Lori Lynn's reading life, and the ways she uses reading to balance her mental health. It's a really interesting conversation about how reading looks different for each of us.

Finally, this week, we are Pressing Books Into Your Hands. We've both brought a non-fiction pick this week, and they are certain to spark conversations!

As per usual, time-stamped show notes are below with references to every book and resource we mentioned in this episode. If you'd like to listen first and not spoil the surprise, don't scroll down! *Please note that all book titles linked above are Amazon affiliate links. Your cost is the same, but a small portion of your purchase will come back to us to help offset the costs of the show. Thanks for your support!*

.

.

.

.

.

2:10 - Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens

3:01 - Episode 17 with Delia Owens interview!

3:28 - Glennon Doyle Meton (on tour for Love Warrior)

3:30 - Anthony Doerr (on tour for All the Light We Cannot See)

4:10 - A Heart So Fierce and Broken by Brigid Kemmerer

4:54 - Currently Reading Bookish Friends on Patreon

6:11 - The Unhoneymooners by Christina Lauren

8:30 - Anna Hithersay on Episode 22

10:10 - The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang

10:36 - The Friend Zone by Abby Jimenez

10:49 - The Happily Ever After Playlist by Abby Jimenez

11:04 - Viral social media post about ExLax from Abby Jimenez

12:11 - The Wedding Party by Jasmine Guillory

14:38 - The Wife, The Maid, and the Mistress by Ariel Lawhon

17:56 - Olivia Twist by Lorie Langdon

18:03 - Audiobook Sync program (not happening now, but you can sign up for the email list so you know when it comes around next summer)

18:34 - Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens

19:48 - A Study in Scarlet Women by Sherry Thomas

20:54 - The Parasol Protectorate (series) by Gail Carriager

21:51 - Fair Play by Eve Rodsky

22:13 - Mary Heim on episode 24 and episode 36

28:09 - Understanding Comics by Scott McCloud

29:29 - Lunch Lady (series) by Jarrett Krosoczka

30:14 - Another Bookish Friend (Patron) Shout Out!

30:18 - Currently Reading 2019 Reading Challenge

30:54 - Anne of Avonlea by LM Montgomery

30:59 - Anne of Green Gables by LM Montgomery

31:06 - Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

31:59 - The Complete Short Stories of Flannery O'Connor

32:39 - Book People in Austin, TX

33:41 - Harry Potter (series) by JK Rowling

34:00 - Middlemarch by George Eliot

34:21 - Outlander by Diana Gabaldon

34:51 - Serial Reader App

35:54 - The Post Party Podcast

43:59 - Come As You Are by Emily Nagoski

44:55 - Jessie Bear books by Nancy White Carlstrom

45:13 - Little Bear books by Elsie Holmlund Minarik

45:36 - Are You My Mother? by P.D. Eastman

45:55 - Anne of Green Gables by LM Montgomery

48:18 - Jesus Feminist by Sarah Bessey

50:19 - Miracles and Other Reasonable Things by Sarah Bessey

51:09 - Being Mortal by Atul Gwande

51:12 - The End of Your Life Book Club by Will Schwalbe

52:32 - But That's Another Story podcast with Will Schwalbe

52:51 - What Should I Read Next podcast

54:16 - Connect with Lori Lynn: @lorilynn_tucker or @lorilynntucker_doula

54:25 - The Post Party Podcast

Meredith and Kaytee are ready to chat about one of their favorite topics this week: local libraries, how to love them well, and how to enjoy them extensively.

You'll hear a "bookish moment of the week" from each of us: a bookshelf purge and new library bliss.

Next, we discuss our current reads for the week. We've got scary stuff, apocalypses, children's fiction, and books everyone needs to read.

We'll move on to a short Slow But Steady update from each of us, and some observations from our listeners about what they're reading for SBS.

For our deep dive this week, we are showering love on our local libraries. We've got tips and tricks for how to use your library well, but we've also got the inside scoop on what you can do to help your library and keep it going strong. So many words, and we tried to rein it in!

Finally, this week, we are Pressing Books Into Your Hands. Our books are great complements to each other, in that one will be thought-provoking and essential and maybe even emotional or difficult while the other is fun and feisty and sweet.

As per usual, time-stamped show notes are below with references to every book and resource we mentioned in this episode. If you'd like to listen first and not spoil the surprise, don't scroll down! *Please note that all book titles linked above are Amazon affiliate links. Your cost is the same, but a small portion of your purchase will come back to us to help offset the costs of the show. Thanks for your support!*

.

.

.

.

.

1:20 - Sleep at a Book Hotel!

6:29 - Babysitter's Club Graphic Novels by Ann M. Martin

6:39 - Sisters by Raina Telgemeier

6:41 - Smile by Raina Telgemeier

9:59 - The Whisper Man by Alex North

12:45 - Turn of the Key by Ruth Ware

15:01 - Wanderers by Chuck Wendig

15:22 - Shelf subscription from Bookshelf Thomasville

15:58 - From the Front Porch podcast

18:37 - The Stand by Stephen King

19:07 - The Book of M by Peng Shepherd

20:33 - The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead

20:39 - Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead

26:31 - The Moomins and the Great Flood by Tove Janssen

30:54 - Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer

31:52 - Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir

34:12 - Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

34:31 - Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin

34:58 - A Torch Against the Night (Book 2) by Sabaa Tahir

35:40 - A Court of Thrones and Roses by Sarah J. Maas

36:12 - A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas

37:08 - Hannah Coulter by Wendell Berry

38:02 - Anne of Avonlea by LM Montgomery

39:11 - Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

39:49 - Patreon

40:15 - The Dream Daughter by Diane Chamberlain

42:28 - Coming Home by Rosamunde Pilcher

43:11 - Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

43:12 - Little Women by Louisa May Alcott

43:46 - The Only Plane in the Sky by Garrett M Graff

46:36 - Library Extension for your browser

51:59 - Library Elf to manage your holds and such

53:20 - Keep scrolling down for the full list of ways to help your library from our Bookish Friend and local library board member, Sarah McGuire!

54:05 - Friends of the Library membership - your local library will probably have a link to THEIR friends program on their website

58:01 - Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End by Atul Gawande

1:00:18 - La Cucina by Lily Prior

1:00:28 - Like Water for Chocolate by Laura Esquivel

1:00:30 - Chocolat by Joanne Harris

1:03:14 - Currently Reading Drinkware

1:03:16 - Currently Reading Sherpa Throw

__________________________________________________________________________________________

Options for helping your library from a board member:

- share a talent (grant writing, graphic design, etc.)

- join the library "friends" group or at a minimum attend a meeting or two and help at fundraising events - maybe even volunteer to chair an event. In this day and age of dwindling book sales as a major fundraiser, new ideas are encouraged!

- if your library has a membership campaign/fundraising drive, donate even if just $10-15 - if every town resident donated even $5, we'd raise a ton during our annual membership drive!

- if you donate and have company match, submit it and double your dollars if your library qualifies as a non profit

- consider a recurring donation if your company promotes that (right from your paycheck if your library qualifies as a non profit)

- attend budget meetings and support your library. Get the facts and if there are budget cuts that you do not agree with, go and advocate for library funding. If you can't attend, send a letter for public forum/comments advocating for your library.

- attend programs your library holds - they love to see people at their programs!

- ask your library director what they need!

- donate GOOD books for book sales/book carts

- share your enthusiasm with friends and your community - advocate for your library!

- ask if there is something you can help with (I stuff envelopes, write thank yous, etc)

- donate items for fundraising drives - our library does an annual auction and we usually put together baskets - get a small group of friends to donate items for a basket! Have season sport tickets/theater tickets you can't use? Donate them! If you know a local business, ask them for donations - it takes a village to put together a good silent auction!

Thank you, Sarah, for all these amazing tips!

Kaytee and Meredith are back into their routine after some guests and a big shake-up, and we're excited to be here!

You'll hear a "bookish moment of the week" from each of us: moving and the big changes it brings, a #bookstagram challenge.

Next, we discuss our current reads for the week. This week is going to feel a little different for a number of reasons. Take a listen to hear about 2 books Kaytee read recently and then we'll talk about what's happening with Meredith's reading life.

We'll move on to a short Slow But Steady update from each of us, with a funny update from a couple listeners.

For our deep dive this week, we are checking out the eleventh category of the #readerstatus side of the Currently Reading Challenge, books by authors from other countries. We have a lot of great authors here and we know you'll have a bunch to add to our list!

Finally, this week, we are Bellying Up to the Book Bar with listener Jami Dabbs. She loves "stories well-told with characters you can sink your teeth into" and we think we've got some great recs for her.

As per usual, time-stamped show notes are below with references to every book and resource we mentioned in this episode. If you'd like to listen first and not spoil the surprise, don't scroll down! *Please note that all book titles linked above are Amazon affiliate links. Your cost is the same, but a small portion of your purchase will come back to us to help offset the costs of the show. Thanks for your support!*

.

.

.

.

.

2:35 - Currently Reading Challenge

3:55 - Book People in Austin, TX

4:36 - Fabled Book Shop in Waco, TX

5:08 - Texas Book Festival

5:33 - #book10gram challenge with @howjessreads

5:38 - Jessica Howard on Episode 3 of Season 2

9:36 - After the Flood by Kassandra Montag

13:32 - The Gifted School by Bruce Holsinger

13:40- Episode 31 of Ten Things to Tell You

15:41 - Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty

18:09 - A Better Man by Louise Penny

29:23 - Beautiful Mystery by Louise Penny

29:33 - Echo by Pam Munoz Ryan

31:38 - Hannah Coulter by Wendell Berry

31:59 - Anne of Avonlea by LM Montgomery

32:02 - Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

33:05 - The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway

33:13 - A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway

33:14 - The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway

34:11 - Harry Potter and the Sacred Text podcast

34:25 - Harry Potter series by JK Rowling

35:37 - Currently Reading Challenge

36:18 - Murmur of Bees by Sophia Segovia

36:44 - Like Water for Chocolate by Laura Esquivel

37:20 - Chocolat by Joanne Harris

38:10 - A Year in Provence by Peter Mayle

38:36 - Frederick Backman (Beartown, A Man Called Ove, etc)

38:54 - Stieg Larsson Millennium Series (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo)

39:14 - Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (Americanah, We Should All Be Feminists, etc)

39:29 - Abraham Verghese - Cutting for Stone

39:33 - Khaled Hosseini - The Kite Runner, And The Mountains Echoed

39:57 - Alexander McCall Smith - The Number One Ladies' Detective Agency

40:26 - John Boyne - The Heart's Invisible Furies

40:54 - Junot Diaz - The Brief and Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao

41:06 - Gabriel Garcia Marquez - One Hundred Years of Solitude

41:11 - Jose Saramago - Blindness

41:30 - The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexander Dumas

41:31 - War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy

41:32 - Les Miserables by Victor Hugo

41:35 - Jane Austen (Pride and Prejudice, etc)

41:36 - Charles Dickens (Great Expectations, A Christmas Carol, etc)

42:44 - Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens

42:47 - Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys

42:51 - We Were the Lucky Ones by Georgia Hunter

42:53 - The Dry by Jane Harper

42:54 - Seabiscuit by Laura Hillenbrand

42:56 - Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follet

43:01 - Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell

43:03 - Harry Potter by JK Rowling

43:56 - The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah

44:04 - The War That Saved My Life by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley

44:20 - Nevermoor by Jessica Townsend

44:38 - Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand

45:46 - All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr

44:49 - The Girl You Left Behind by Jojo Moyes

44:55 - The Book Thief by Markus Zuzak

45:36 - The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield

45:52 - A Hundred Summers by Beatriz Williams

46:27 - Bluebird, Bluebird by Attica Locke

46:39 - The Current by Tim Johnston

47:07 - The Thorn Birds by Colleen McCullough

47:33 - North and South by John Jakes

47:56 - Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry

48:08 - East of Eden by John Steinbeck

48:43 - Snow Falling on Cedars by David Guterson

48:50 - Winterhouse by Ben Guterson

49:10 - All Things Cease to Appear by Elizabeth Brundage

49:26 - The Snowman by Jo Nesbo

Meredith and Kaytee are recording with a special guest this week, Sara Hildreth of @fictionmatters on Instagram. We'll chat with her about building a 70K follower account and how that affects her reading life.

You'll hear a "bookish moment of the week" from each of us: a long-awaited pre-order arrives, a forthcoming release that we're excited to read, and exploring a new literary scene.

Next, we discuss our current reads for the week. We are each sharing two books that we've read recently. We've got some differing opinions about books we've all read, which is my FAVORITE thing.

We'll move on to a short Slow But Steady update from each of us, with more observations about what Slow But Steady can be and doesn't have to be.

For our deep dive this week, we are going deep into the backside of #bookstagram, asking Sara about her history on the platform, how she keeps her reading life in balance, and her favorite and least favorite parts of being a BIG bookstagrammer.

Finally, this week, we are Pressing Books Into Your Hands. Each of us is sharing a book that we can't wait for you to read.

As per usual, time-stamped show notes are below with references to every book and resource we mentioned in this episode. If you'd like to listen first and not spoil the surprise, don't scroll down! *Please note that all book titles linked above are Amazon affiliate links. Your cost is the same, but a small portion of your purchase will come back to us to help offset the costs of the show. Thanks for your support!*

.

.

.

.

.

1:13 - @fictionmatters on Instagram

2:12 - Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by JK Rowling, Illustration Edition

3:35 - The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins

3:47 - The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

6:46 - The Familiars by Stacy Halls

7:09 -The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane by Katherine Howe

10:37 - Gregor the Overlander by Suzanne Collins

13:15 - I Let You Go by Clare Mackintosh

16:36 - Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

16:37 - Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins

17:11 - She Said by Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey

19:25 - Bad Blood by John Kerryrou

21:42 - The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton

21:57 - The Secret Keeper by Kate Morton

22:15 - The Clockmaker's Daughter by Kate Morton

22:19 - Episode 11 of Season 1

25:13 - The House at Riverton by Kate Morton

26:51 - Magic for Liars by Sarah Gailey

26:57 - Mary Heim in Episode 36 of Season 1

28:15 - Harry Potter by JK Rowling

30:43 - Hannah Coulter by Wendell Berry

30:57 - North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell

31:05 - On Writing by Stephen King

31:24 - Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

31:32 - Anne of Avonlea by LM Montgomery

32:28 - The Fiery Cross by Diana Gabaldon (Outlander #5)

32:43 - How to Be An Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi

52:52 - Possession by A.S. Byatt

57:22 - The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky

59:33 - I Know How She Does It by Laura Vanderkam

1:01:31 - Connect with Sara: @fictionmatters on Instagram, fictionmattersbooks.com

Kaytee is recording with a special guest this week, her little sister! Sy is a prolific reader, working the night shift, and has big book opinions.

You'll hear a "bookish moment of the week" from each of us: vacation reading choices, and an email from a family member.

Next, we discuss our current reads for the week. We are each sharing three books we've read recently, and they are all over the map!

We'll move on to a short Slow But Steady update, along with an update from a couple listeners with regard to their choices.

For our deep dive this week, we are poking around in Sy's reading life. We'll learn about when he developed his love for reading, how he balances reading and school, and if he has any controversial opinions regarding the reading life.

Finally, this week, we are Pressing Books Into Your Hands. We've got a great series of books for people who want to know all the things, as well as a childhood favorite that isn't to be overlooked.

As per usual, time-stamped show notes are below with references to every book and resource we mentioned in this episode. If you'd like to listen first and not spoil the surprise, don't scroll down!

.

.

.

.

.

1:31 - Vacationland by John Hodgeman

2:58 - Walkable City by Jeff Speck

3:57 - Sue Grafton novels

5:07 - Mind if I Order the Cheeseburger? by Sherry F. Colb

7:29 - The Secret Diary of Hendrik Groen, 83 1/4 Years Old by Hendrik Groen

8:33 - A Man Called Ove by Fredrick Backman

9:16 - On the Bright Side: The New Secret Diary of Hendrik Groen, 85 Years Old by Hendrik Groen

9:46 - Timeline by Michael Crichton

9:54 - Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton

9:59 - Lost World by Michael Crichton

10:07 - Congo by Michael Crichton

11:41 - The Birchbark House by Louise Erdrich

11:53 - Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder

12:24 - Little House in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder

14:29 - Harry Potter by JK Rowling

15:34 - Defining the Wind: The Beaufort Scale and How a 19th Century Admiral Turned Science Into Poetry by Scott Huler

18:00 - The Year of Yes by Shonda Rhimes

21:59 - The Know-It-All by AJ Jacobs

23:03 - North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell

23:49 - Anne of Avonlea by LM Montgomery

23:55 - Anne of Green Gables by LM Montgomery

24:01 - Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

24:49 - On Writing by Stephen King

25:00 - Notes From a Young Black Chef by Kwame Onwauchie

25:08 - Moby Dick by Herman Melville

25:12 - Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte

25:51 - Martin Chuzzlewit by Charles Dickens

26:54 - The Essential Calvin and Hobbes Treasury by Bill Watterson

27:35 - Animal Farm by George Orwell

27:39 - A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens

30:02 - Constantly Calibrating podcast

38:49 - What If by Randall Munroe

38:50 - Thing Explainer by Randall Munroe

38:58 - How To by Randall Munroe

42:07 - Where the Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein

43:59 - The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein

*Please note that all book titles linked above are Amazon affiliate links. Your cost is the same, but a small portion of your purchase will come back to us to help offset the costs of the show. Thanks for your support!*

Meredith and Kaytee are back in your earbuds and speakers. And we're feeling a little feisty this week (we know.. that's your favorite)!

You'll hear a "bookish moment of the week" from each of us: an explanation for the extreme busy-ness around here, and a Patron-related milestone!

Next, we discuss our current reads for the week. Two titles from each host, middle grade, YA, contemporary romance, and classic #bookstagrammademedoit.

We've got an update for you on our Slow But Steady reads and what's been happening for our own SBS reads in the past week, as well as a few emails from listeners to share.

For our deep dive this week, we are discussing our favorite self-help and productivity books. Two Penelopes talking about productivity? Don't worry, the show notes have ALL the titles!

Finally, this week, we are Bellying Up to the Book Bar. Jasmine Lake wants sweet and fun books, she doesn't mind heavier topics, but as an HSP, they need to be dealt with gently. And we've got a bunch of goodies to share with her!

As per usual, time-stamped show notes are below with references to every book and resource we mentioned in this episode. If you'd like to listen first and not spoil the surprise, don't scroll down!

.

.

.

.

.

0:45 - Currently Reading throw in the Zazzle Store

4:31 - Currently Reading Patreon (so many fun ways to connect with us over there!)

6:21 - Evvie Drake Starts Over by Linda Holmes

9:05 - House of Salt and Sorrows by Erin A. Craig

11:45 - A Curse So Dark and Lonely by Brigid Kemmerer

13:31 - Crossing to Safety by Wallace Stegner

15:16 - East of Eden by Richard Poe

17:41 - Patrons get access to monthly Kaytee Reads Too Much episodes!

19:11 - Furthermore by Tahereh Mafi

19:19 - Nevermoor by Jessica Townsend

23:26 - Hannah Coulter by Wendell Berry

24:44 - North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell

24:57 - On Writing by Stephen King

25:54 - Swan's Way by Marcel Proust

26:49 - Fall and Rise: The Story of 9/11 by Michael Zuckoff

27:15 - Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow

27:21 - War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy

27:30 - Great Expectations by Charles Dickens

27:32 - The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness by Michelle Alexander

29:23 - The Gifts of Imperfection by Brene Brown

29:37 - Daring Greatly by Brene Brown

29:52 - Braving the Wilderness by Brene Brown

30:17 - The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin

30:22 - Better Than Before by Gretchen Rubin

31:01 - The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg

31:24 - Atomic Habits by James Clear

32:02 - Time Management from the Inside Out by Julie Morgenstern

32:28 - 168 Hours by Laura Vanderkam

32:54 - Off the Clock by Laura Vanderkam

33:08 - The Fringe Hours by Jessica Turner

33:12 - Episode 7 of Currently Reading with Jessica Turner

33:36 - Stretched Too Thin by Jessica Turner

34:13 - The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck by Mark Manson

34:44 - You Are A Badass by Jen Sincero

35:08 - The Lager Queen of Minnesota by J. Ryan Stradal

35:26 - Essentialism by Greg McKeown

35:31 - Side Hustle: From Idea to Income in 27 Days by Chris Guilleabeau

36:00 - Come As You Are by Emily Nagoski

36:34 - The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz

36:52 - Love Warrior by Glennon Doyle

37:34 - Chasing Slow by Erin Loechner

37:36 - Notes From a Blue Bike by Tsh Oxenreider

38:01 - 10% Happier by Dan Harris

38:48 - Present Over Perfect by Shauna Niequist

40:44 - Tell Me Three Things by Julie Buxbaum

40:55 - Garden Spells by Sarah Addison Allen

41:06 - Blended by Sharon M Draper

41:09 - Heart Land by Kimberly Stuart

41:11 - Nevermoor by Jessica Townsend

42:11 - Love and Gelato by Jenna Evans Welch

42:23 - To All the Boys I've Loved Before by Jenny Han

42:29 - When Dimple Met Rishi by Sandyha Menon

42:45 - What to Say Next by Julie Buxbaum

42:56 - The Story of Arthur Truluv by Elizabeth Berg

43:01 - Night of Miracles by Elizabeth Berg

43:23 - The Shop on Blossom Street by Debbie Macomber

44:04 - The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey

44:09 - Stardust by Neil Gaiman

44:51 - Furthermore by Tahereh Mafi

45:01 - Winterhouse and Secrets of Winterhouse by Ben Guterson

45:17 - The Secret of Platform 13 by Eva Ibbotson

45:19 - The Beasts of Clawstone Castle by Eva Ibbotson

45:52 - Harry Potter by JK Rowling

46:09 - The Willoughbys by Lois Lowry

46:38 - The Bookshop Girl by Sylvia Bishop

47:11 - Blue Birds by Caroline Starr Rose

48:06 - Patrons get access to monthly bonus Belly Up to the Book Bar episodes!

*Please note that all book titles linked above are Amazon affiliate links. Your cost is the same, but a small portion of your purchase will come back to us to help offset the costs of the show. Thanks for your support!*

Meredith and Kaytee are chatting this week with a very special guest! She is the person that has been MOST requested as a guest on our show, and she's here! Anne Bogel, creator of Modern Mrs. Darcy and What Should I Read Next, and general, all-around amazing lady, is chatting with us today and we couldn't be more excited.

You'll hear a "bookish moment of the week" from all three of us: two are very similar in that they involve bookish friendships, and one is a library-related book demerit (a la Gretchen Rubin on the Happier podcast).

Next, we discuss our current reads for the week. Two titles from each host, and we are bringing a wide range of books, from romance to thrillers, to interesting writing styles, to weirdo books. It's all here!

We've got an update for you on our Slow But Steady reads and what's been happening in the past week, as well as a fun update from a listener.

For our deep dive this week, we are chatting all things Anne Bogel. You'll hear about the advice she would have given herself before Episode 1 of What Should I Read Next (now that she's 200+ episodes in), you'll hear about her new book coming out next year, and a bit of behind the scenes talk about giving book recs on the fly.

Finally, this week, we are Pressing Books into Your Hands. And we know you cannot wait to see what Anne chose as her press! We've got a novella for every reader who loves books about books, the beginning of a new (old) mystery series, and a summer read that we've gushed about in previous episodes.

As per usual, time-stamped show notes are below with references to every book and resource we mentioned in this episode. If you'd like to listen first and not spoil the surprise, don't scroll down!

.

.

.

.

.

1:12 - What Should I Read Next podcast

1:15 - One Great Book podcast

2:16 - 200th Episode of What Should I Read Next

9:06 - The Whisper Man by Alex North

13:35 - The Bromance Book Club by Lyssa Kay Adams

15:32 - Hot Dudes Reading on Instagram

15:45 - The Chain by Adrian McKinty

18:14 - Fierce Kingdom by Gin Phillips

19:00 - Ask Again, Yes by Mary Beth Keane

19:25 - The Girl Before by JP Delaney

19:36 - Lock Every Door by Riley Sager

21:50 - One Day by David Nicholls

25:36 - Convenience Store Woman by Sayaka Murata

27:52 - A Better Man by Louise Penny

32:08 - A Trick of the Light by Louise Penny

33:03 - Hannah Coulter by Wendell Berry

33:32 - North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell

33:43 - On Writing by Stephen King

34:46 - Kitchens of the Great Midwest by J. Ryan Stradal

35:41 - 200th Episode of What Should I Read Next

39:44 - Don't Overthink It by Anne Bogel

49:26 - The Uncommon Reader by Alan Bennett

49:43 - 84, Charing Cross Road by Helene Hanff

49:45 - Parnassus on Wheels by Christopher Morley

51:11 - Modern Mrs. Darcy Book Club

52:22 - A Share in Death by Deborah Crombie

52:48 - A Bitter Feast by Deborah Crombie

54:13 - Volume 2, Episode 6 of One Great Book

54:34 - Lager Queen of Minnesota by J. Ryan Stradal

58:13 - Beartown by Fredrik Backman

Connect with Anne: modernmrsdarcy.com, @annebogel on Instagram, @whatshouldireadnext on Instagram

*Please note that all book titles linked above are Amazon affiliate links. Your cost is the same, but a small portion of your purchase will come back to us to help offset the costs of the show. Thanks for your support!*

Meredith and Kaytee are back with SO many books my fingers are cramped (this is becoming a theme…).

You'll hear a "bookish moment of the week" from each of us: family presentation at homeschool group and going into a new book completely blind.

Next, we discuss our current reads for the week. We've got five current reads this week, and they are sci-fi/fantasy heavy, which is WEIRD for us! Lots of strong opinions here!

We've got an update for you on our Slow But Steady reads and what's been happening in the past week. Also a short grammar lesson on "Swifties".

For our deep dive this week, we had a number of listeners (and real life friends) request our favorite parenting books. This will span everything from pregnancy/birth to infanthood to growing children to adding siblings. Plus one funny pick for when you just want to laugh it off.

Finally, this week, we are Pressing Books into Your Hands. We've got books "with caveats" this week. So, stay tuned and listen closely to see if they are actually right for you!

As per usual, time-stamped show notes are below with references to every book and resource we mentioned in this episode. If you'd like to listen first and not spoil the surprise, don't scroll down!

.

.

.

.

.

3:26 - A Man Called Ove by Fredrick Backman

3:28 - What Alice Forgot by Liane Moriarty

3:29 - Better Than Before by Gretchen Rubin

6:52 - City of Bones by Cassandra Clare

8:15 - Twilight by Stephanie Meyer

11:17 - Murder in Bloomsbury by D.M. Quincy

12:38 - The Julian Kestrel books by Kate Ross

14:35 - A Girl Like Her by Talia Hibbert

14:45 - Leigh Kramer on Instagram

17:41 - The Passengers by John Marrs

19:30 - Minisode with John Marrs

20:20 - The One by John Marrs

20:34 - The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemison

22:45 - Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkein

25:24 - Hannah Coulter by Wendell Berry

26:10 - North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell

26:40 - On Writing by Stephen King

28:49 - The Path Between the Seas: The Creation of the Panama Canal 1870-1914 by David McCullough

29:34 - The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt

29:39 - Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

29:47 - The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexander Dumas

30:04 - Persuasion by Jane Austen

30:05 - Anne of Green Gables by LM Montgomery

30:07 - Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

30:17 - A Little Life by Hanya Yanigahara

33:31 - Secrets of the Baby Whisperer by Tracy Hogg

35:25 - On Becoming Baby Wise by Robert Bucknam and Gary Ezzo

36:05 - The Baby Whisperer Solves All Your Problems by Tracey Hogg

36:29 - Happiest Baby on the Block by Harvey Karp

37:22 - Expecting Better by Emily Oster

38:43 - Cribsheet by Emily Oster

39:59 - Bringing Up Bebe by Pamela Druckerman

40:54 - Baby-Led Weaning by Gill Rapley

42:02 - How Not to Hate Your Husband After Kids by Jancee Dunn

42:42 - Episode 10 of Currently Reading

42:44 - Wild Things: The Art of Nurturing Boys by David Thomas and Steven James

43:03 - Are My Kids on Track? by Sissy Goff, David Thomas, and Melissa Trevithan

43:15 - Triggers by Amber Lia and Wendy Speake

44:31 - Wonder Weeks by Xaviera Plas-Plooij, Frans X. Plooij, and Hetty van de Rijt

44:45 - Wonder Weeks app

46:25 - Siblings Without Rivalry by Adele Faber and Elaine Mazlisch

46:30 - Episode 8 of Currently Reading

46:35 - Peaceful Parent, Happy Kids by Laura Markham

46:37 - Peaceful Parent, Happy Siblings by Laura Markham

47:09 - Parenting, Illustrated with Crappy Pictures by Amber Dusick

48:17 - Kindred by Octavia Butler

48:30 - One Great Book podcast with Anne Bogel (and the link to the Kindred episode)

51:23 - All the Ugly and Wonderful Things by Bryn Greenwood

*Please note that all book titles linked above are Amazon affiliate links. Your cost is the same, but a small portion of your purchase will come back to us to help offset the costs of the show. Thanks for your support!*

Kaytee and Meredith are chatting again this week and we're talking books and celebrities. Kaytee was apparently recording in a tunnel, so… sorry about that! We've got it sorted out and it won't happen again, but we can't re-record, because then it's stale and boring.

You'll hear a "bookish moment of the week" from each of us: stalking the UPS guy and the perfect way to meet other moms in a new setting!

Next, we discuss our current reads for the week. We're only doing two books a piece because these Book Bar episodes get really long otherwise!

We've got an update for you on our Slow But Steady reads as well, what progress looks like for us. We are loving having you chime in for what you're reading for this challenge. This week we're discussing a few emails from listeners about their thoughts on Slow But Steady.

For our deep dive, we are chatting about the ninth category for the Currently Reading Challenge: a book pressed by a celebrity. There are a billion celebrities pressing books into our hands these days!

Finally, this week, we Belly Up to the Book Bar with Erin House, who tells us about her 5-star reads and we've got a bushel and a peck of titles to fill her cart!

As per usual, time-stamped show notes are below with references to every book and resource we mentioned in this episode. If you'd like to listen first and not spoil the surprise, don't scroll down!

.

.

.

.

.

1:23 - A Better Man by Louise Penny

3:12 - Beautiful Mystery by Louise Penny (actually book #8, doh!)

3:21 - How The Light Gets In by Louise Penny (actually book #9, whoops!)

5:11 - The Currently Reading 2019 Reading Challenge

5:55 - Episode 45 with Abbey Lile-Taylor

6:00 - Stay Sexy and Don't Get Murdered by Karen Kilgarriff and Georgia Hardstark

6:18 - My Favorite Murder Podcast

9:36 - Arlo Finch in the Lake of the Moon by John August

9:39 - Arlo Finch in the Valley of Fire by John August

9:53 - Launch Podcast with John August

12:40 - Episode 43 with Amanda Espinoza

12:57 - Red Rising by Pierce Brown

13:16 - The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

16:59 - Before She Was Found by Heather Gudenkauf

20:08 - The Bookshop on the Shore by Jenny Colgan

21:06 - Hannah Coulter by Wendell Berry

21:34 - North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell

21:39 - On Writing by Stephen King

22:49 - The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt

22:53 - The Book of Negroes by Lawrence Hill

22:57 - Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead

22:59 - The Stand by Stephen King

23:36 - Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee by Dee Brown

26:30 - Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens

26:32 - Daisy Jones and the Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid

28:55 - Ashley Spivey on Instagram for her #spiveys📚club

29:04 - Ashley on Sarah's Bookshelves Live

29:35 - Ask Again, Yes by Mary Beth Keene

29:37 - Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi

30:15 - The Popcast

32:56 - Hey Ladies!: The Story of 8 Best Friends, 1 Year, and Way, Way Too Many Emails by Michelle Markowitz and Caroline Moss

33:11 - The One by John Marrs

33:19 - Dark Matter by Blake Crouch

33:25 - An Absolutely Remarkable Thing by Hank Green

33:31 - Nine Perfect Strangers by Liane Moriarty

33:41 - Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty

33:58 - Disrupted: My Misadventure in the Start-Up Bubble by Dan Lyons

34:11 - The Sense of an Ending by Julian Barnes

34:19 - Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

34:42 - Room by Emma Donaghue

35:50 - Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? by Mindy Kaling

36:00 - Modern Romance by Aziz Ansari

36:24 - Class Mom by Lauire Gelman

36:54 - Shrill: Notes from a Loud Woman by Lindy West

37:05 - Tell Me More by Kelly Corrigan

37:42 - The Passengers by John Marrs

38:03 - Pines by Blake Crouch

38:10 - Sleeping Giants by Sylvain Neuvel

38:16 - Illuminae Files by Amy Kaufman and Jay Kristoff

38:28 - I Am Pilgrim by Terry Hayes

39:11 - Night of Miracles by Elizabeth Berg

39:36 - Bad Blood by John Kerryrou

39:57 - The Mother-In-Law by Sally Hepworth

40:03 - Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng

40:19 - The Dream Daughter by Diane Chamberlain

41:25 - The Whisper Network by Chandler Baker

41:30 - Startup by Doree Shafrir

42:02 - The Dinosaur Club by William Heffernan

42:29 - Delivering Happiness by Tony Hseih

43:12 - The Forgetting Time by Sharon Guskin

43:31 - Recursion by Blake Crouch

43:42 - Less by Andrew Sean Greer

44:22 - Fates and Furies by Lauren Groff

44:47 - An Anonymous Girl by Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen

44:51 - Behind Her Eyes by Sarah Pinborough

45:08 - Lock Every Door by Riley Sager

45:11 - I Let You Go by Clare McKintosh

45:34 - The Only Girl in the World by Maude Julien

46:06 - The Gift of Fear by Gavin De Becker

46:20 - Braving the Wilderness by Brene Brown

46:31 - The Chain by Adrian McKinty

46:41 - Light of the Fireflies by Paul Pen

Erin, tell us if you loved these picks!? Or hated them?

Patrons get extra Belly Up episodes!

And email us if you want to get the opportunity to Belly Up to the Book Bar!

*Please note that all book titles linked above are Amazon affiliate links. Your cost is the same, but a small portion of your purchase will come back to us to help offset the costs of the show. Thanks for your support!*

In today's spoiler-free mini-episode, I (Kaytee) am chatting with John Marrs, author of The Passengers (his new release) and The One (his previous release that I loved) and 4 other awesome thrillers. This minisode was so FUN to record! John is an absolute charmer, and I hope you love it.

In this "minisode", Kaytee and John are talking about being a serial killer and the cops combing your Google history, jury duty and writing a book from many perspectives, the transition from journalism to murder and much more!

As always, we'll end with a book he wants to press into your hands, readers!

Minisode shownotes are not timestamped, but linked titles are below for you to peruse.

The Passengers by John Marrs

The One by John Marrs

Welcome to Wherever You Are by John Marrs

When You Disappeared by John Marrs

The Good Samaritan by John Marrs

Her Last Move by John Marrs

The Heart's Invisible Furies by John Boyne

Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens

Ladder to the Sky by John Boyne

Connect with John Marrs: on his website johnmarrsauthor.com or all over social media, although his favorite is Instagram @johnmarrs.author

Meredith and Kaytee are here, with a case of the giggles and a case of "why can't I talk correctly?" We're having more fun than you can shake a stick at.

You'll hear a "bookish moment of the week" from each host: an overflow of TBR riches, and a lovely book-screen adaptation.

Next, we discuss our current reads for the week. Non-fiction and thrillers is the name of the game, and we've got both of them in SPADES.

We've got an update for you on our Slow But Steady reads as well, what progress looks like for us. We are loving having you chime in for what you're reading for this challenge. It's been great to see what actually piques your interest here, readers.

For our deep dive, we are discussing the books we are "embarrassed" that we haven't read yet. But mostly we're having a conversation about why people let embarrassment even effect their reading lives. And it's a good one!

Finally, this week, we finish the episode by Pressing Books Into Your Hands. We're both pressing books by male authors this week and they are a couple decades old, at least. Definitely outside the norm, but the strangest part is that we didn't discuss beforehand!

As per usual, time-stamped show notes are below with references to every book and resource we mentioned in this episode. If you'd like to listen first and not spoil the surprise, don't scroll down!

.

.

.

.

.

3:26 - Still Life by Louise Penny

3:29 - Still Life made-for-TV adaptation

5:31 - Episode 46 of Currently Reading

5:33 - Instructions for a Heat Wave by Maggie O'Farrell

5:42 - I Am, I Am, I Am by Maggie O'Farrell

9:24 - Burnout: The Secret to Unlocking the Stress Cycle by Emily Nagoski and Amelia Nagoski

9:32 - Come As You Are by Emily Nagoski

11:43 - The Goop Podcast episode with Emily Nagoski

12:46 - Walkable City: How Downtown Can Save America, One Step at a Time by Jeff Speck

15:27 - #IMomSoHard by Kristin Hensley and Jen Smedley

16:08 - #IMomSoHard Live Prime Comedy Special

18:28 - The Passengers by John Marrs

21:26 - The One by John Marrs

23:00 - The Whisper Man by Alex North

27:29 - Hannah Coulter by Wendell Barry

28:07 - North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell

28:20 - On Writing by Stephen King

29:12 - 11/22/63 by Stephen King

29:38 - Game of Thrones by George RR Martin

29:45 - East of Eden by John Steinbeck

29:59 - Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry

30: 25 - Episode 22 with Morgan Tallman

30:30 - Anne of Green Gables by LM Mongomery

30:34 - Great Expectations by Charles Dickens

32:38 - Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

33:14 - Are You There, God? It's Me, Margaret by Judy Blume

33:50 - Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte

33:53 - The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood

34:14 - SSR Podcast

34:49 - Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

35:03 - Lord of the Rings by JRR Tolkein

35:44 - The Hobbit by JRR Tolkein

36:15 - Anne of Green Gables by LM Mongomery

36:31 - The Blue Castle by LM Montgomery

36:35 - Emily of New Moon by LM Montgomery

36:36 - Jane of Lantern Hill by LM Montgomery

37:09 - Harry Potter by JK Rowling

37:37 - 50 Shades of Gray by E.L. James

38:18 - Twilight by Stephanie Meyer

39:54 - The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini

41:46 - Episode 19 of Currently Reading

42:27 - Straight by Dick Francis

*Please note that all book titles linked above are Amazon affiliate links. Your cost is the same, but a small portion of your purchase will come back to us to help offset the costs of the show. Thanks for your support!*

Kaytee and Meredith are back in your earbuds with strong opinions and bookish concoctions!

You'll hear a "bookish moment of the week" from each host, and we are TEASES this week. We both have books that we cannot wait to talk about… but we're not telling you what they are!

Next, we'll remind you about our Bookshelf Thomasville coupon code for you: CURRENTLYLOVING will get you 10% off from our friends over there through the month of August! You've got just a few days left before this code expires, so get on it!

Moving forward, we discuss our current reads for the week. We are mostly GLOWING about our books this week, and we have lots of words about each of them.

We've got an update for you on our Slow But Steady reads as well, and we've loved having you chime in for what you're reading for this challenge. Today, we're also rethinking what Slow But Steady means in terms of content.

For our deep dive, we are discussing book clubs. All the different kinds of book clubs there are. How we feel about them personally. What we enjoy about the idea of book clubs. And some other weird tangents. What are your thoughts on book clubs?

Finally, this week, we finish the episode by Bellying Up to the Book Bar! Our drinking buddy this week is Angie Dawson, and we have LOTS of titles to throw her way. The show notes for this episode are bananas, friends. B-A-N-A-N-A-S.

As per usual, time-stamped show notes are below with references to every book and resource we mentioned in this episode. If you'd like to listen first and not spoil the surprise, don't scroll down!

.

.

.

.

.

5:39 - Save Me The Plums by Ruth Reichl

5:56 - Garlic and Sapphires by Ruth Reichl

9:50 - The Jane Austen Project by Kathleen Flynn

10:02 - Want to get in on the Patron action? Patreon!

15:04 - The Seven or Eight Deaths of Stella Fortuna by Juliet Grames

20:34 - The Whisper Network by Chandler Baker

20:39 - Reese Witherspoon Book Club

24:18 - The Bookshop on the Shore by Jenny Colgan

24:36 - The Bookshop on the Corner by Jenny Colgan

29:35 - Lock Every Door by Riley Sager

29:44 - Final Girls by Riley Sager

34:29 - Hannah Coulter by Wendell Berry

35:03 - North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell

35:16 - The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas

36:04 - The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt

36:05 - The Stand by Stephen King

36:20 - 11/22/63 by Stephen King

36:27 - War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells

36:49 - The Complete Stories of Flannery O'Connor

37:32 - Les Miserables by Victor Hugo

37:36 - War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy

37:42 - Stamped From the Beginning: A Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America by Ibraham Kendi

38:33 - Middlemarch by George Eliot

38:36 - The Fiery Cross (Outlander #5) by Diana Gabaldon

40:35 - The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot

43:13 - Silent Book Club

45:04 - Episode 14 with Amy Allen Clark

45:48 - Have opinions about a CR buddy read? Join the Patreon

47:19 - Us Against You by Fredrick Backman

47:33 - Red Rising by Pierce Brown

47:37 - A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas

47:39 - Outlander by Diana Gabaldon

47:46 - Twilight by Stephanie Meyer

47:58 - Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys

48:08 - Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys

48:10 - Winter Garden by Kristin Hannah

48:23 - The Royal We by Heather Cocks and Jessica Morgan

48:24 - The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang

48:25 - The Bride Test by Helen Hoang

48:26 - The Unhoneymooners by Christina Lauren

48:27 - Joshilyn Jackson Books

48:38 - The Line That Held Us by David Joy

48:39 - The Book of Essie by Meghan MacLean Weir

48:41 - A Hundred Summers by Beatriz Williams

48:46 - We Were Liars by E. Lockhart

49:02 - Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert

49:03 - Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

49:05 - The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger

49:37 -This Is How It Always Is by Laurie Frankel

50:19 - A Man Called Ove by Fredrick Backman

50:54 - A Curse So Dark and Lonely by Brigid Kemmerer

51:07 - The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

51:35 - The Paper Magician (series) by Charlie Holmberg

52:01 - The Jane Austen Project by Kathleen Flynn

52:09 - Scythe by Neal Schusterman

53:00 - The Red Tent by Anita Diamant

53:52 - A Bridge Across the Ocean by Susan Meissner

53:57 - The Girl Who Came Home by Hazel Gaynor

54:05 - The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

54:17 - Lilac Girls by Martha Hall Kelly

54:18 - Lost Roses by Martha Hall Kelly

55:02 - Red, White, and Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston

55:17 - The Right Swipe by Alisha Rai

55:23 - Christina Lauren books

55:37 - Jasmine Guillory books

56:05 - Never Have I Ever by Joshilyn Jackson

56:30 - The Duchess Deal by Tessa Dare

57:23 - Want some extra Belly Up to the Book Bar? Patreon!

*Please note that all book titles linked above are Amazon affiliate links. Your cost is the same, but a small portion of your purchase will come back to us to help offset the costs of the show. Thanks for your support!*

In today's spoiler-free mini-episode, I (Kaytee) am chatting with J. Ryan Stradal, author of The Lager Queen of Minnesota (his new release) and Kitchens of the Great Midwest (his previous release that I loved!). This minisode is full of midwest charm and belly laughs. I hope you love it.

In this "minisode", Kaytee and J. Ryan are talking about beer, and family, and Minnesota, and middle-class America. We talk about mentors and the writing life, and which pies are our favorites. We're also getting a little bit silly regarding the "research" required to write a really good book about beer.

And, as always, we'll end with a book he wants to press into your hands, readers!

Minisode shownotes are not timestamped, but linked titles are below for you to peruse.

The Lager Queen of Minneosta by J Ryan Stradal

Kitchens of the Great Midwest by J Ryan Stradal

The Pink Boots Society

The Wanderers by Meg Howrey

Connect with J. Ryan: jryanstradal.com is his website, or email him at kitchens.midwest@gmail.com

Kaytee is chatting with her bookish friend, Jessica Howard, this week while Meredith celebrates her birthday!

You'll hear a "bookish moment of the week" from each host: a meta podcast moment in which Jess hears herself mentioned on the podcast, and a dentist/book overlap that will leave you scratching your head!

Next, we'll remind you about our Bookshelf Thomasville coupon code for you: CURRENTLYLOVING will get you 10% off from our friends over there through the month of August! One more week for this fun code!

Moving forward, we discuss our current reads for the week. We're stuffing some extra titles into this segment this week, because we just couldn't help ourselves.

We've got an update for you on our Slow But Steady reads as well. We're also shouting out a few readers and their own Slow But Steady reads. Have you told us about yours yet?

For our deep dive, Jessica and I chat about what it's like to work at Bookmans in Tucson, AZ. She has lots of fun stories to share, some that make you go hmmm, and some interesting behind-the-scenes book review talk that you'll love!

Finally, this week, we finish with The Book that we'd like to press into your hands, readers. We've got a favorite author that doesn't get enough love and a Southern novel that's anything but slow.

As per usual, time-stamped show notes are below with references to every book and resource we mentioned in this episode. If you'd like to listen first and not spoil the surprise, don't scroll down!

.

.

.

.

.

1:35 - Season 1, Episode 42 of Currently Reading

3:12 - The Willoughbys by Lois Lowry

3:26 - The Giver (quartet) by Lois Lowry

4:21 - Dark Age by Pierce Brown

4:27 - Red Rising by Pierce Brown

4:41 - The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

5:41 - Gone-Away Lake by Elizabeth Enwright

5:49 - The Saturdays (Melendy Quartet) by Elizabeth Enright

5:54 - Four Story Mistake (Melendy Quartet) by Elizabeth Enright

6:03 - Return to Gone-Away by Elizabeth Enwright

7:26 - Fingersmith by Sarah Waters

7:43 - Season 1, Episode 14 with Amy Allen Clark

9:36 - The Long Call by Ann Cleeves

9:47 - Raven Black (The Shetland Books) by Ann Cleeves

9:54 - The Crow Trap (Vera Books) by Ann Cleeves

11:45 - Josh and Hazel's Guide to Not Dating by Christina Lauren

13:28 - The Woman Who Smashed Codes by Jason Fagone

13:45 - Imitation Game (movie)

15:30 - The Lager Queen of Minnesota by J. Ryan Stradal

15:38 - Kitchens of the Great Midwest by J. Ryan Stradal

19:32 - The Wondering Years by Knox McCoy

20:08 - Savor by Shauna Niequist

20:37 - North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell

21:11 - 11/22/63 by Stephen King

21:23 - War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy

21:27 - Serial Reader App

21:46 - Little Women by Louisa May Alcott

22:26 - Bookman's Entertainment Exchange

24:20 - The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo

28:14 - Liver Let Die by Liz Lipperman

28:31 - Lord of the Wings by Donna Andrews

28:34 - Gone Gull by Donna Andrews

31:42 - Shelf Awareness

34:38 - NetGalley

37:31 - Frederica by Georgette Heyer

37:33 - The Grand Sophy by Georgette Heyer

38:26 - The Conqueror: A Novel of William the Conqueror by Georgette Heyer

38:27 - My Lord John by Georgette Heyer

41:49 - The Almost Sisters by Joshilyn Jackson

43:35 - Never Have I Ever by Joshilyn Jackson

45:00 - Find Jessica: @howjessreads on Twitter, Instagram, and Litsy, or Quirky Bookworm on Facebook

*Please note that all book titles linked above are Amazon affiliate links. Your cost is the same, but a small portion of your purchase will come back to us to help offset the costs of the show. Thanks for your support!*

Kaytee and Meredith join their powers for good in Season 2, Episode 2! Can't wait for you to tune in!

You'll hear a "bookish moment of the week" from each host: an episode of a favorite podcast that gives a great glimpse into the book industry, and a book-related party that was completely amazing!

Next, we'll remind you about our Bookshelf Thomasville coupon code for you: CURRENTLYLOVING will get you 10% off from our friends over there through the month of August! Enjoy, and be looking for a fantastic giveaway from them for our listeners this month as well.

Moving forward, we discuss our current reads for the week. Some strong opinions in this week's current reads, friends. Hold onto your hankies.

We've got an update for you on our Slow But Steady reads as well. Be sure to look for a post on Instagram in which we ask you to chime in with your own Slow But Steady reads! If you've been looking at a book on your shelves for a long time, but you don't want to commit to it as your "main" read, this is going to be JUST the segment for you. Let us know what you think!

For our deep dive, we are discussing the 8th category in the Currently Reading 2019 Reading Challenge, and we dive deep into Books that are becoming movies this year, as well as some of our favorites from the past.

Finally, this week, we finish with The Book that we'd like to press into your hands, readers. A non-fiction pick that will give you a whole new view on storms, and a YA series that will keep certain TV fans happy when their show has ended.

As per usual, time-stamped show notes are below with references to every book and resource we mentioned in this episode. If you'd like to listen first and not spoil the surprise, don't scroll down!

.

.

.

.

.

3:01 - Sarah's Bookshelves Live Episode 25

3:11 - Book of the Month

5:04 - Mindy Brouse on Episode 32 of Currently Reading Podcast

5:10 - Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

6:28 - Harry Potter sorting test (our favorite - breaks down your houses by percentages)

7:55 - Bookshelf Thomasville - use code CURRENTLYLOVING for 10% through the month of August!

11:31 - Miracle Creek by Angie Kim

11:46 - Sarah's Bookshelves Live interview with Angie Kim

11:52 - Book of the Month

14:57 - Episode 43 of Currently Reading

15:01 - The Illuminae Files by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff

18:12 - Furious Hours: Murder, Fraud, and The Last Trial of Harper Lee by Casey Cep

21:05 - To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee

21:24 - In Cold Blood by Truman Capote

24:12 - Eliza and Her Monsters by Francesca Zappia

25:31 - Morgan Tallman on Episode 22

28:35 - The Mother-In-Law by Sally Hepworth

29:27 - Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty

32:11 - Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain

32:22 - Book of the Month

34:51 - Hannah Coulter by Wendell Berry

35:34 - North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell

36:05 - Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

36:48 - Currently Reading 2019 Reading Challenge

37:48 - Pet Sematary by Stephen King

38:04 - It by Stephen King

38:09 - Doctor Sleep by Stephen King

38:28 - The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt

39:04 - Full List of 2019 Book to Movie Titles from our Spreadsheet!

39:13 - Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer

39:18 - Where'd You Go Bernadette? by Maria Semple

40:22- The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett

41:02 - Little Women by Louisa May Alcott

41:29 - The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Demas

41:55 - Harry Potter by JK Rowling

42:07 - Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

42:30 - Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty

43:15 - The Princess Bride by William Golding

43:23 - The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

43:40 - Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton

44:19 - Ready Player One by Earnest Cline

44:51 - 11/22/63 by Stephen King

45:56 - We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson

46:08 - The Sun is Also A Star by Nicola Yoon

46:20 - Again, the whole list: 2019 Book to Movie Titles from our Spreadsheet!

46:51 - Five Days At Memorial by Sheri Fink

49:13 - The Selection (and books 2 and 3) by Kiera Cass

*Please note that all book titles linked above are Amazon affiliate links. Your cost is the same, but a small portion of your purchase will come back to us to help offset the costs of the show. Thanks for your support!*

In today's spoiler-free mini-episode, I (Kaytee) am chatting with Jasmine Guillory, author of this summer's smash contemporary romance The Wedding Party. This minisode, with a romance writer, is not really kid-friendly, so do take note!

In this "minisode", Kaytee and Jasmine discuss so much food you'll be hungry when you're done (I recommend listening during your lunch hour)! We also talk about enemies-to-lovers tropes, the challenges and benefits of including real talk about race in an otherwise light book, and what it's like to be part of the Reese Witherspoon/Hello Sunshine book club! It's a great conversation and Jasmine was a total delight. I hope you love it!

And, as always, we'll end with a book she wants to press into your hands, readers!

Minisode shownotes are not timestamped, but linked titles are below for you to peruse.

The Wedding Party by Jasmine Guillory

The Wedding Date by Jasmine Guillory

The Proposal by Jasmine Guillory

The Royal Holiday Jasmine Guillory (due out October 1st)

Fumbled by Alexa Martin

Intercepted by Alexa Martin

Connect with Jasmine: her website is www.jasmineguillory.com, she's at @jasminepics on Instagram or @thebestjasmine on twitter

Meredith and Kaytee are back from their short break between seasons to bring your more of the bookish goodness you've come to love. As well as some new fun stuff!

First and foremost, we've got a new Bookshelf Thomasville coupon code for you: CURRENTLYLOVING will get you 10% off from our friends over there through the month of August! Enjoy, and be looking for a fantastic giveaway from them for our listeners this month as well.

We're also shouting out the first three women who couldn't wait for us to officially roll out our Patreon account before they went and became our Bookish Friends! Thanks, ladies!

You'll hear a "bookish moment of the week" from each host: big kids cracking each other up while reading together, and giving book recommendations to a friend!

Next, we discuss our current reads for the week. We've both got a large docket of titles to choose from after our break, so we had a hard time narrowing it down!

You'll notice a short new segment: Slow but Steady. Be sure to look for a post this weekend in which we ask you to chime in with your own Slow But Steady reads! If you've been looking at a book on your shelves for a long time, but you don't want to commit to it as your "main" read, this is going to be JUST the segment for you. Let us know what you think!

For our deep dive, we are reflecting on what our break was like for both of us. Was our reading different? What did we do to keep ourselves busy? Are we glad we took a break? Listen in for the answers!

This week, we finish up with our first Belly Up to the Book Bar request from Sara Kilpatrick. Sara sent us a great list of titles, some of which pressed us out of our comfort zones. We can't wait to hear what you think of our suggestions, or if you have more to add to Sara's TBR pile! (Chime in below or on social media, and we'll make sure she sees them!)

As per usual, time-stamped show notes are below with references to every book and resource we mentioned in this episode. If you'd like to listen first and not spoil the surprise, don't scroll down!

.

.

.

.

.

1:59 - Bookshelf Thomasville - use code CURRENTLYLOVING for 10% through the month of August!

2:06 - From the Front Porch podcast

3:32 - Our Patreon is officially launched!

Patrons pay $5 a month to receive a bookmark, one or more bonus episodes a month, behind-the-scenes content, access to a FB group for Bookish Friends and IG "close friends" content, and extra belly up to the book bar request fulfillment. If you cannot wait, click that link above, and we'll get you set up ASAP!

6:35 - Percy Jackson and the Olympians by Rick Riordan

6:37 - Harry Potter series by JK Rowling

7:18 - Daisy Jones and the Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid

7:26 - The Secret, Book & Scone Society by Ellery Adams

8:29 - Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney

9:39 - Episode 46 of Season 1 of Currently Reading

9:43 - Beasts of Extraordinary Circumstance by Ruth Emmie Lang

11:36 - How to Be A Good Creature by Sy Montgomery

12:20 - A Hundred Summers by Beatriz Williams

12:39 - Sarah's Bookshelves Live

15:42 - Atomic Habits by James Clear

16:11 - Better Than Before by Gretchen Rubin

16:14 - The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg

17:57 - Meredith on Episode 11 of What Should I Read Next?

19:01 - Such a Perfect Wife by Kate White

21:15 - The Wedding Date by Jasmine Guillory (totally screwed this up - The Wedding PARTY is the new one!)

21:29 - The Wedding Party by Jasmine Guillory

21:31 - The Proposal by Jasmine Guillory

22:36 - The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang

24:36 - The Girl in Red by Christina Henry

28:15 - Hannah Coulter by Wendell Berry

30:34 - Serial Reader app

30:40 - Les Miserables by Victor Hugo

30:55 - North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell

31:20 - Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

32:17 - Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow

35:32 - Zazzle Store

35:33 - Patreon (again, I know)

40:46 - As You Wish by Cary Elwes

41:09 - Forever Liesl by Charmain Carr

41:20 - Bossypants by Tina Fey

41:22 - Born a Crime by Trevor Noah

42:10 - Stories I Only Tell My Friends by Rob Lowe

42:28 - Talking As Fast As I Can by Lauren Graham

43:17 - Finding Dorothy by Elizabeth Letts

43:44 - Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum

44:01 - Disney War by James B. Stewart

44:42 - The Good Neighbor by Maxwell King

45:07 - Yes, Please by Amy Poehler

45:27 - Bad Blood by John Kerryrou

46:07 - At Home in the World by Tsh Oxenrieder

46:21 - Four Seasons in Rome by Anthony Doerr

46:49 - Notes from a Blue Bike by Tsh Oxenrieder

47:05 - The Sex Lives of Cannibals by J. Maarten Troost

47:06 - Getting Stoned with Savages by J. Maarten Trooth

48:12 - I'm A Stranger Here Myself by Bill Bryson

48:13 - Notes from A Small Island by Bill Bryson

48:15 - The Road to Little Dribbling by Bill Bryson

48:29 - Without Reservations: The Travels of an Independent Woman by Alice Steinbach

49:08 - Along the Way: A Journey of a Father and Son by Martin Sheen and Emilio Estevez

49:42 - The Bride Quartet (starts with Vision in White) by Nora Roberts

50:52 - The Perfect Couple by Elin Hilderbrand

51:28 - Jasmine Guillory Books

51:35 - The Bride Test by Helen Hoang

51:53 - The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang

52:00 - A Hundred Summers by Beatriz Williams

52:58 - The Shop on Blossom Street (first in series) by Debbie Macomber

54:00 - Amanda's Wedding by Jenny Colgan

*Please note that all book titles linked above are Amazon affiliate links. Your cost is the same, but a small portion of your purchase will come back to us to help offset the costs of the show. Thanks for your support!*

These show notes are a bit different, you'll notice, because this episode is a lot different! We are wrapping up Season one of the podcast with a look back, and a glimpse forward. We're chatting about your favorite episodes, our favorite episodes, the biggest flubs and regrets we have, and more. Take a listen above or in your favorite podcast app. We can't wait to share Season 2 with you guys when we return on August 5th!

.

.

.

.

.

3:07 - Episode 35

3:33 - Episode 34

5:27 - Episode 31

7:18 - Episode 28

9:28 - A Curse So Dark and Lonely by Brigid Kemmerer

10:06 - Intuitive Eating by Evelyn Trebole and Elyse Resch

10:10 - Bibliophile by Jane Mount

10:16 - Snape: A Definitive Reading by Lorrie Kim

11:29 - Poop Emoji Plunger

12:27 - Kaytee's Birthday Post

12:39 - Louise Penny Stack

13:42 - Patreon!

14:12 - Bookish Moment posts happen every Monday!

16:36 - Episode 1

17:13 - Episode 19

22:40 - Some Writer by Melissa Sweet

23:30 - A Woman is No Man by Etaf Rum

26:47 - Percy Jackson and the Olympians by Rick Riordan

27:45 - The Editor by Steven Rowley

28:43 - The Popcast with Knox and Jamie

31:14 - Episode 40 (Books that Saved Our Lives episode)

35:10 - Winterhouse by Ben Guterson

35:16 - The Secrets of Winterhouse by Ben Guterson

35:21 - A Curse So Dark and Lonely by Brigid Kemmerer

36:03 - Nevermoor and Wundersmith by Jessica Townsend

36:05 - Scythe and Thunderhead by Neal Schusterman

36:13 - Finding Dorothy by Elizabeth Letts

36:20 - Book Scavenger by Jennifer Chambliss Bertram

36:28 - The War that Saved My Life by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley

37:18 - Patreon!

38:49 - Belly Up to the Book Bar - email us at currentlyreadingpodcast@gmail.com

41:50 - Bookshelf Thomasville Shelf Subscription

42:08 - Episode 23 - being a Penelope

Currently Reading Merchandise

*Please note that all book titles linked above are Amazon affiliate links. Your cost is the same, but a small portion of your purchase will come back to us to help offset the costs of the show. Thanks for your support!*

These show notes are a bit different, you'll notice, because this episode is a lot different! We are taking selections from the 9 PAGES of Ask Us Anything questions that we were sent by our listeners and answering them here on the podcast. If your question had to do with books and reading, we probably didn't answer it, not because we don't love it, but because many of them lend themselves to a full deep-dive! Any books or resources that we mentioned are linked up below for your reference, along with time-stamps, of course. Thanks for sending us your questions, friends!

.

.

.

.

.

Pork Ramen "recipe"

1 lb pork (or meat of your choice) sliced into bite-sized strips

4 packages of ramen noodles (Oriental flavor, or whatever flavor you like)

1 lb baby spinach

1/2 cup peanut butter (we like chunky in our family)

2 tbsp soy sauce

1 tbsp powdered ginger or grated ginger

red chile pepper flakes to taste

Put the baby spinach in the bottom of a large serving bowl.

Add meat to hot pan with oil, ginger, and red chile pepper flakes. Cook fully through. Meanwhile, follow directions on the ramen packages.

Drain noodles (save 1-2 cups of the water and add 1-2 spice packets) and put them in a serving bowl. Put the cooked meat on top (retain the oil and spices).

Using that same pan, add 1 cup of the reserved cooking water and the peanut putter, cook over low-medium heat to slowly melt the peanut butter into the water. Add soy sauce to taste. While you're cooking the sauce, add more peanut butter if it seems too thin. Add more cooking water if it seems too thick.

When you dump all this onto the spinach, noodles, and pork, the heat from the noodles and sauce will wilt the spinach. Stir until combined. Serve to everyone you love. If you want to get fancy, you can put sliced green onions or crushed peanuts on top to make it pretty!

Sarah's Bookshelves Live episode 16

Patreon? What????

In today's spoiler-free mini-episode, you get to hear from author Abbi Waxman, who wrote this weeks' brand new release The Bookish Life of Nina Hill. Abbi is hysterically funny, so I'll apologize now for cackling into the microphone a few times. Ha!

In this "minisode", Kaytee and Abbi discuss the inspiration for Nina and her awesome personality, the pitfalls of social media, what it's like to be fangirled over, book clubs, planners, and even bed jackets… admit it, you're curious.

And, as always, we'll end with a book she wants to press into your hands, readers!

Minisode show notes are not timestamped, but linked titles are below for you to peruse.

The Bookish Life of Nina Hill by Abbi Waxman

The Garden of Small Beginnings by Abbi Waxman

Other People's Houses by Abbi Waxman

Novel Network

Abbi's Cozy Bed Jacket

Let's Pretend This Never Happened by Jenny Lawson

Connect with Abbi: her website is www.abbiwaxman.com, she's at @abbiwaxman on Instagram (preferred) or email her at abbi@amplecat.com

Kaytee and Meredith are so excited to be sharing YOUR presses with our listeners this week! We asked for you to call us or email us with your books you want to press, and you certainly delivered!

You'll hear a "bookish moment of the week" from each host: a realization about the true status of hoarding tendencies, and a book that immediately led to dinner time yumminess.

Next, we discuss our current reads for the week. We've got 6 (or more) books that someone will want to read ASAP, so get those library cards ready!

For our deep dive, we are sampling 10 of our favorite "listener presses" for our Reading Challenge! If you sent us a press that didn't make it into the episode, it was just because we didn't have time. We loved hearing from all of you! You'll hear our thoughts on each of these books as well, because, you know we have them!

As always, we finish up with A Book (yep, capitalized) that we'd like to press into every reader's hands. This week we've got a title that's perfect for the extreme heat of mid-summer, and a press that comes with a caveat.

As per usual, time-stamped show notes are below with references to every book and resource we mentioned in this episode. If you'd like to listen first and not spoil the surprise, don't scroll down!

.

.

.

.

.

3:17 - A Trick of the Light by Louise Penny (Gamache #7)

Life hack: Pasta, asparagus, pine nuts, and goat cheese. Fantastic dinner.

4:47 - The Sentence Is Death by Anthony Horowitz

4:56 - The Word is Murder by Anthony Horowitz

7:18 - Magpie Murders by Anthony Horowitz

7:27 - The House of Silk by Anthony Horowitz

8:13 - YA Alex Rider series (starts with Stormbreaker) by Anthony Horowitz

9:04 - The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane by Lisa See

11:52 - All Our Wrong Todays by Elan Mastai

15:32 - Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer

16:34 - YouTube Interview with Eoin Colfer

19:13 - Sweep by Jonathan Auxier

19:24 - Peter Nimble and His Fantastic Eyes by Jonathan Auxier

20:11 - Joey Pigza Swallowed the Key by Jack Gantos

25:29 - Mary in Episode 36

25:34 - Magic for Liars by Sarah Gailey

29:17 - The Other Boleyn Girl by Phillippa Gregory

31:48 - The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger

35:06 - Unbroken - a World War II Story of Survival, Resilience and Redemption by Laura Hillenbrand

35:14 - Seabiscuit by Laura Hillenbrand

37:14 - Crocodile on the Sandbank by Elizabeth Peters

40:14 - East of Eden by John Steinbeck

40:50 - The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

43:57 - First Person Plural by Cameron West

46:07 - The Friend by Dorothy Koomson

46:15 - Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty

47:49 - How to Be a Good Creature: A Memoir in Thirteen Animals by Sy Montgomery

49:51 - The Book of Lost Things by John Connolly

51:25 - Beasts of Extraordinary Circumstance by Ruth Emmie Lang

53:54 - Instructions for a Heatwave by Maggie O'Farrell

54:05 - I Am, I Am, I Am by Maggie O'Farrell

56:00 - The Heirs by Susan Reiger

57:41 - Dreamland Burning by Jennifer Latham

59:25 - The Kitchen House by Kathleen Grissom

*Please note that all book titles linked above are Amazon affiliate links. Your cost is the same, but a small portion of your purchase will come back to us to help offset the costs of the show. Thanks for your support!*

Meredith and Kaytee have a special guest again this week to discuss our favorite picture books for the 2-5 year kiddos in your life!

You'll hear a "bookish moment of the week" from each host: an author event, kid librarians, and a fantastic iTunes review.

Next, we discuss our current reads for the week. We are each talking about two recent reads and we've got a variety of new titles that we cannot wait to discuss this week.

For our deep dive, we are discussing our very favorite picture books for the 2-5 year old range. These kids are enraptured by great pictures, willing to sit for a great story, and ready to laugh at great jokes, so we've chosen some stand-out titles to share with you or the littles in your life. Abbey has a lot of great expertise in this area, so we are only too happy to have her input.

As always, we finish up with A Book (yep, capitalized) that we'd like to press into every reader's hands. We've got a childhood favorite, which may not be for kids, that has been read over and over again, a WWII novel told in a totally new way, and a reference book that belongs on every parent's shelves.

As per usual, time-stamped show notes are below with references to every book and resource we mentioned in this episode. If you'd like to listen first and not spoil the surprise, don't scroll down!

.

.

.

.

.

2:39 - City of Girls by Elizabeth Gilbert

6:11 - The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett

7:07 - The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides

8:43 - Recursion by Blake Crouch

11:29 - Dark Matter by Blake Crouch

13:45 - Pines (Wayward Pines Series) by Blake Crouch

14:55 - Parkland by Dave Cullen

15:01 - Columbine by Dave Cullen

16:40 - The Gift of Fear by Gavin de Becker

19:08 - The River by Peter Heller

19:45 - Dog Stars by Peter Heller

24:14 - Stay Sexy and Don't Get Murdered by Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstack

24:26 - My Favorite Murder podcast

26:21 - The Gift of Fear by Gavin de Becker

30:01 - The Bookish Life of Nina Hill by Abbi Waxman

31:58 - Waiting for Tom Hanks by Kerry Winfrey

33:37 - Other People's Houses by Abbi Waxman

33:30 - The Garden of Small Beginnings by Abbi Waxman

34:17 - Beartown by Fredrik Backman

36:09 - A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman

39:37 - Us Against You by Fredrik Backman

42:18 - Books, Inc Campbell - Abbey's local bookstore

Abbey's favorites from Henry and Isaac:

43:02 - Elephant and Piggie books - especially Can I Play Too? by Mo Willems

43:54 - Eat Pete by Michael Rex

43:56 - Julia's House for Lost Creatures by Ben Hatke

44:01 - Warning: Do Not Open this Book by Adam Lehrhaupt & Matthew Forsythe

44:08 - The Book with No Pictures by BJ Novak

44:23 - Beyond the Pond by Joseph Kuefler

44:43 - We Don't Eat Our Classmates by Ryan T. Higgins

44:52 - Children Make Terrible Pets by Peter Brown

44:56 - The "Hat" Series by Jon Klassen, especially I Want My Hat Back

Kaytee's Books she shoved down her kid's throats:

45:55 - The Mitten by Jan Brett

45:58 - Do Not Open by Brinton Turkle

46:10- King Bidgood's in the Bathtub by Audrey and Don Wood

46:14 - The Napping House by Audrey and Don Wood

46:20 - Papagayo, Coyote, and Raven by Gerald McDermott

46:31 - Blueberries for Sal and Make Way for Ducklings by Robert McCloskey

46:36 - Madeline by Ludwig Bemelmans

Meredith's Fun Read Alouds:

47:16 - A Mouse Told His Mother by Bethany Roberts

47:18 - Counting Crocodiles by Judy Sierra

47:26 - The Little Mouse, The Red Ripe Strawberry and the Big Hungry Bear by Audrey and Don Wood

47:34 - Gilbert de la Frogponde by Jennifer Rae

47:45 - Chicka Chicka Boom Boom by Bill Martin Jr.

47:49 - Is Your Mama A Llama? by Deborah Guarino

48:07 - Where is the Green Sheep by Mem Fox

48:13 - Red Truck by Kersten Hamilton

Abbey's Character Development Favorites:

48:45 - Pink is for Boys by Robb Pearlman & Eda Kaban

48:50 - Morris Micklewhite & the Tangerine Dress by Christine Bablacchino & Isabelle Malenfant

49:06 - When Sadness is at Your Door by Eva Eland

49:39 - Be Kind by Pat Zietlow Miller & Jen Hill

49:44 - The Rabbit Listened by Cori Doerrfeld

Kaytee's Sweet and Funny Favorites:

50:57 - When God Made You, When God Made Light, and When I Pray for You by Matthew Paul Turner

51:11- Skippyjohn Jones by Judy Schachner

51:15 - Where You Came From by Sarah O'Leary

51:37 - This is My Home, This is My School by Jonathan Bean

51:41 - Maybe God is Like That Too by Jennifer Grant

51:46 - Imaginary Fred by Eoin Colfer

Meredith's Favorite Books in Series:

52:24 - Mrs. Piggle Wiggle Treasury by Betty MacDonald

52:54 - George and Martha Stories by James Marshall

53:00 - Berenstain Bears Books by Stan and Jan Berenstain

53:30 - Dinofours series by Steve Metzger

54:44 - The Night Before… books by Natasha Wing