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Annie Jones
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Annie Jones
I love it. I really do. Welcome to from the Front Porch, a conversational podcast about books, small business and life in the South. Baby, we're the new romantics Come on, come along with me Heartbreak is the national anthem we sing it proudly we are too busy dancing to get knocked off our feet Baby, we're the new romantics the best people in life are free Taylor Swift, New Romantics I'm Annie Jones, owner of the Bookshelf, an independent bookstore in beautiful downtown Thomasville, Georgia. Today, I'm joined by Bookshelf operations manager Olivia and online sales manager Aaron to give you a rundown of our favorite new books releasing in November. If you are a new or newish podcast listener, you might not realize that from the Front Porch is a production of the Bookshelf, a small, independently owned bookstore in rural South Georgia. By listening to our show and recommending it to your friends, you are helping keep our indie bookstore in business. And if you like what you hear, one way you can financially support us is through Patreon. This month we have officially wrapped up our reading of the classic American novel Lonesome Dove. If you join patreon at our $5 a month level, you can access monthly reading recaps there, as well as our porch visits, which are monthly live Q&As, where we talk about everything from pop culture to nail polish to what books you should take on your next vacation. To learn more about our Patreon tiers and benefits, you can visit patreon.com the Front Porch. We are announcing our 2025 classic in a Patreon Book Club event tonight and then on Instagram tomorrow. So we would absolutely love for you to join us in 2025. It's really been fun this year and we'd love to have you on board for next year. Now back to the show. Hi, Olivia and Aaron.
Olivia
Hello.
Aaron
Hello.
Annie Jones
Did you guys know this is our last one of these for the year?
Olivia
I didn't. I didn't.
Aaron
I did.
Olivia
But, you know, I've come to terms with it in the few seconds I've known that, so that's okay.
Annie Jones
Listen, what it should do is fill you with relief that. Oh, that you are done with this responsibility for the year. Congratulations. You did it, Aaron, you did it every month this year. Congratulations.
Aaron
You did.
Olivia
I know. This is a new thing this year. It's been fun. It's been fun.
Annie Jones
We do not do one of these episodes in November or in December, rather. So if you're listening to this and you're like, wait, why? Well, honestly, there aren't always a ton of books coming out in December, first of all. Now this year there are some, but really what it boils down to is we are a bookstore and December is chaos. And so the goal for me is to always have the December episodes recorded in November. So I am trying to record early, obviously, so that we can focus on working the floor and doing online sales in December. And yeah, there's just not a ton of books coming out in December. So we will still have December podcast episodes for you. Don't panic. But you will not have a new release rundown in December. So just a heads up there. And honestly, may that be a burden lifted from your shoulders today.
Aaron
I mean, I love doing these, but in December, I do try to read. That's when I try to read the most. Backlist. Yeah, I'm just like, I don't have a ton to read for the year. I can kind of just like read whatever I missed.
Annie Jones
Yeah. And I think I. First of all, I don't read a lot in December. That's just. That's just. I don't read very much. And then when I do, I'm trying to read first quarter shelf subs is what I'm trying to do. And so this will. This just frees up. And we still have really good episodes. Like, I think, Aaron, you and I are going to do an episode about shelf subscriptions. Hunter and I will do our annual, like, best books of the year. We'll also ask staffers their favorite books of the year. So you'll still. You'll still hear from staff.
Olivia
Yeah.
Annie Jones
But it is just a reminder that we are an independent bookstore. And the podcast is great and we love it and it is a marketing tool. And also we're trying to run our. We're trying to run our independent bookstore in quarter four. And this is the week I got back and I told Olivia. I was like, and here we go.
Aaron
Here we go.
Olivia
Yeah, this makes it more real. Knowing this is the last one. That really means Christmas is here. It means it's already here. Yep.
Annie Jones
Yeah. So if these are new episodes for you, just a reminder or perhaps a new reminder that we are going to talk about November, new releases and Aaron has made browsing the podcast book selections so easy on our store website. So you can go to bookshelfthomasville.com and then type episode502 into the search bar where you'll see all of today's books listed ready for you to pre order or purchase. Then you can use the code newreleaseplease at checkout, and that gets you 10% off your order of any of today's titles. This is also our chance to remind you that every Tuesday though. Question mark In November, are we still doing lives?
Olivia
We will still. Sorry, I have a frog in my throat this morning, which is really not great for podcasting, honestly. But we will still be doing some fun things throughout November and December. But our Tuesday Live sales are going to take a pause for the same reason the podcast takes a pause.
Annie Jones
So you can still. We'll post reminders to our Instagram about what we're going to be doing on Instagram lives and things like that. But basically we're going to do normal stuff starting in January.
Olivia
And this is the time of year we start saying 2025. Just. That's a 2025 thing. That's 2025. Yes.
Annie Jones
How often have I sat in a meeting with Olivia and said, this is a 2025 problem?
Aaron
But I said it this morning to Erin. Yeah.
Annie Jones
This is not a now problem.
Aaron
I have a whole spreadsheet that's just.
Annie Jones
So anyway, we talk about new books all the time, is what I'm trying to say. You can find us on Instagram talking about them, or obviously you can listen to this show today. We each are gonna talk about three books apiece. I'll kick us off with the book Lazarus Man. This is by Richard Price. It releases on November 12th. This is a book that I've downloaded to my Kindle, but I have not read it yet. But the premise has me super intrigued and I think James McBride fans are gonna be curious about this one. So, first of all, Richard Price was a writer for the HBO show the Wire. So if you are familiar with that show, you might be interested in his work. Lazarus man is set in Harlem circa 2008. Basically, there's this five story tenement building and it collapses and chaos ensues. And what unfolds is a series of different perspectives across a set timeline after that building collapse. So Richard Price takes a look at the impact of the building collapse on different characters, including a funeral homeowner in Harlem, a city detective, somebody who lived in the building. And so I think this almost sounds like ooh I am not prepared. This almost sounds like a historical fiction book, the House on Fire. So it sounds a little bit like that in that this, the House on Fire was rooted in an actual historical event. This one I do not believe is rooted in a historical event, but it is really a character study about what happens after this, like in the aftermath of this chaotic building collapse. And I love a character driven book. I'm very intrigued by the premise of this one where he takes a look at different characters, which is something I think James McBride does really well. That's why I was like, oh, he. James McBride writes about neighbors, neighborhoods so well. And so Richard Price has written about Harlem and the different people and the impact of the building collapse on them. So the funeral homeowner and now, you know, the different arrangements he has to make for the various people in the building. The city detective who's trying to uncover or discover why the building collapsed. Like, was it natural? You know, natural causes? Was it, you know, did something else more nefarious happen, etc. So I'm curious about this. I downloaded it to my Kindle. I will give it a go and see what it is like, like. But it is Lazarus man by Richard Price. Again, set in Harlem, 2008, releases November 12th. I think this will be good for fans of the Heaven and Earth, grocery store, et cetera.
Olivia
It's a good comp.
Annie Jones
Yeah. Yeah.
Aaron
Speaking of the building collapsing, when I was at the Taylor concert, I don't know why, but I've been having like, worst case scenario fears recently. Like, I was on the plane and I was like, I think this could crash.
Annie Jones
Isn't that just who you are?
Aaron
Well, I'm normally not scared of it. I feel more prepared.
Annie Jones
Okay. Okay.
Aaron
My. My brain goes there, but I'm just like, this is what I would do. But I was in the very back of the plane and I was like, surely I die. Like, I would die. There's no way.
Olivia
Yeah, statistically, yes.
Annie Jones
Statistically everybody dies, though.
Olivia
Well, yeah, but.
Aaron
No, but if I'm at a fire exit, I can get out.
Olivia
You have a better chance.
Aaron
Yeah, I'll be fine.
Annie Jones
In the. If you're in a plane.
Aaron
Yeah.
Annie Jones
Where would you.
Aaron
If I'm like, at the exit seat, I'm fine.
Annie Jones
I mean, a lot of people die in plane crashes.
Aaron
No, but. No, but I feel certain that I'd be okay.
Annie Jones
Yeah. That's interesting. We'll see what happens when your plane crashes and you're on an exit.
Aaron
Hopefully not.
Annie Jones
Well, do you sit on exit rows for real? You strike me. You could sit in an exit row.
Aaron
If they're, like, available when I'm checking in, I'll go to that one.
Olivia
She's ready for the responsibility. Yeah.
Aaron
Again, Yes. I feel like I would be able to open that door as fast as possible, jump out, no hesitation, and then, you know, hopefully everybody follows suit.
Annie Jones
But big Pennsylvania dad energy. Olivia. I think that's right.
Aaron
But I was at the Taylor Swift concert recently.
Annie Jones
I was like, wow, Loki. Loki. She's been twice. Loki. She. I believe. Loki, I believe one and a half years ago, she was like, taylor's overrated. Who even likes Taylor? I told Ashley you were at the concert. And she. The look on Ashley Sherlock's face was, I wish I'd taken a picture. She was appalled.
Aaron
I am too privileged. And I understand that it should not have been me, but people keep inviting me. And you don't say, no, no, you don't.
Olivia
Some of us just have to watch it at home on Disney. I'm just saying.
Annie Jones
I'm so sorry.
Aaron
Well, when I was there, my worst case scenario fears came in because I was standing at one point and you could feel the stadium. And I'm like, this is concrete.
Olivia
Yeah.
Aaron
Like, this doesn't have a big flex. I mean, I was like, in a top row, so I do feel like I'm. I might be okay, but I was just also like, this could fall. This could fall and kill so many people.
Olivia
That's why I always. When I go, really, I. Whenever I go to see things, I have to sit on the ground floor. Like, it's a fear of mine. I sit on the ground floor, which is not great, because if it collapses. Yeah, yeah, I'll die. But yeah, you know what? At least. At least I'll just be down there secure.
Annie Jones
In the meantime, you don't have to feel it shaking. I mean, I do think this is.
Olivia
A very dark episode.
Annie Jones
This is. This took a turn.
Aaron
But sorry, guys.
Annie Jones
I can understand those fears because in Miami in particular, within the last couple of years, like, that building collapsed. That apartment building collapsed there.
Aaron
Yeah, that sinkhole.
Annie Jones
Like, there's a lot of conversation, especially in Florida, about, like, you know, climate change and the. And the buildings that are. Especially along the coast. So, yeah, like, I get that. I mean, I don't think about things the way you guys do, but I'm glad we have people who are really hyper alert and hyper vigilant and so.
Aaron
Like, that would never cross your mind, or you're just kind of like, meh, whatever.
Annie Jones
That a building would collapse on Me, you know, I don't.
Aaron
Well, that you can, like, feel it shaking. Like, that was what triggered me.
Annie Jones
Yeah. Like, I think I. I think. I would think, oh, wow. Like, there's a lot of people in here for this. For this to be shaking. And that would be the extent of my thought process. I mean, I have other worst case. Like, I'm not. I'm not an idiot. Like, I go into a movie theater and check where my exits are. Like, yeah, Like, I do stuff like that.
Olivia
Oh, for sure.
Annie Jones
But I think, especially on. I think a plane is a great example. I think a concert, like, a crowded concert is a good example. When we left the Taylor concert in Atlanta, and it was. Have you seen those crowds where, like, crowds compact in on each other? I had a moment where I was like, well, this is it. Like, yeah, just because I was like, I'm not gonna be able to withstand the crush of people. So, like, I have moments like that. But where you're just a little bit like, I don't. I've already made a decision to be here. Like. Like, I've already. I got a ticket for this flight. You know, you have those moments where you're just like, this is. This is the risk you take.
Aaron
Yeah, yeah.
Annie Jones
Yeah, it is. Taylor's worth.
Olivia
It's worth it.
Aaron
It was a good show.
Annie Jones
Yeah.
Aaron
And I didn't die here.
Annie Jones
You are alive to tell the tale.
Olivia
Exactly.
Aaron
I'm still here. I survived the plane and the concert.
Annie Jones
You should just take what isn't like you always take. Or for a while, you would read T.J. newman books on the plane to offset your chances.
Aaron
Yeah, she needs to write one every time I have a ride.
Annie Jones
Like, you should just take one. Take one of the books and just insist on. Although that sounds then like. Yeah, that sounds like ocd then. So don't do that. Like, don't lean into. Don't lean into your anxiety.
Aaron
Yeah, no, no, that's. I would never. So my first book is a chapter book for children.
Annie Jones
Does a building collapse in yours? Or.
Aaron
This already might not be, like, a great introduction Olivia episode. I'm just gonna say with, like, the list of books that I have going here.
Annie Jones
I do see the name. The name of this one. No wonder we just talked about trauma for five minutes.
Aaron
Okay, so this first book is called all the Best Dogs by Emily Jenkins. If you have a best dog, you're gonna love this book. I personally have a best dog, so I loved this book. But this is about, like, a group of kids. Each chapter is dedicated to one of the kids, and then it rotates around. They all go to the same school and they're like, within the same classes and whatnot. But they're not friends. They become friends because each of them has a dog that they take to the same dog park. The dog park is adorable. It's got, like, all the amenities. The dogs love it. But one of the kids dogs runs away. And so everyone kind of, like, comes together to, like, figure out where this dog went. Spoiler alert. The dog is found. So please don't worry about that.
Annie Jones
The dog is fine.
Aaron
The dog is fine.
Annie Jones
Nobody panic.
Aaron
This is, like a highly illustrated. The dog is found, but within, like, each chapter, you get, like, the kid's point of view and then you get their dog's point of view of, like, going to meet its friends and, like, being at the dog park. How they perceive human interactions versus, like, how we perceive hu. Like, dog interactions, which is really cute. It was just adorable. And the. The voice of the dogs is absolutely delightful. The kids are going through, like, very real things. Like some of the. They. One of them just had, like, a friendship breakup. They just got a new puppy. There's stuff going on at home. It's nothing that, like, needs to be a more mature reader, but it's just. It's real life. Things, like, the kids are going through, and then they have their, like, best friend sidekick, you know, their little dog. It's really cute. I loved it a lot. It was great. It comes out this week.
Annie Jones
It released two days ago. You can get it right now. You can get it right now. What age did you say?
Aaron
I would say, anyway, if you have, like, a good reader on your hands or you do read alouds, I think you could do anywhere from like 6 to 10.
Olivia
It sounds very cute and I'm glad the dog's okay. Glad nothing happened to the dog.
Annie Jones
We always like that. Disclaimer.
Olivia
Yes. Okay. My first book is so good. It's called Shy Creatures by Claire Chambers. It comes out November 12th. So next week. Maybe the author's name sounds familiar to you. It's because she wrote Small pleasures back in October 2021, which was, I think, one of Nancy's shelf sub picks. I had to go back and check because I was like, that book sounds so familiar. And yes, it was the shelf sub pick back in 2021. This book is about Helen Hansford. She's an art therapist at a psychiatric hospital in England in, like, 1964. When the book opens, it's really just about Helen, and she's having an affair with a married course, a married doctor there at the psychiatric hospital. And so at first I was like, I don't know about this book because I don't love books about infidelity. And I was drawn in. So I was like, I'm going to see where this goes. But shortly into this book, a very more interesting thing happens, which is the doctor and Helen are both called to this old decaying home in England, and they find a incredibly old woman and a man who appears to be in his 30s, but has a long beard, long nails, is disheveled. And it's evident he's never. He hasn't been out outside in, like, 20 years. And so the police, of course, they take him to the psychiatric hospital. And the rest of the book is. His name is William Tapping. The rest of the book is just Helen and Gil trying to figure out what happened. Like, what happened in this family? Why is he in this home? Why hasn't he been out? What happened to his aunts? He was living with his elderly aunts. Why was he living with them? Where's his family? Because he's not telling them anything. He's mute. He's not talking at first, so they don't know anything. So they're having to try to contact people and get context clues. But as the reader, we are getting glimpses into the past of William's life from childhood and on. And so we're getting little snippets, little answers of all these questions that the present is building in us. We're getting answers as we go back and see William's life. The action, like I said, the action really picks up for me. It was a page turner, which is not usual for sort of what I would call literary fiction with a. It's literary fiction with a mystery, honestly, like, it was. It even felt like something Olivia would like. And I think, annie, I told you, I think you would like it. It's so good. But the author is just so good at weaving in these little teasers because you're like, again, as a reader, you're like, why is this man in this home? I need to know what's going on here. And if you just wait, the author will give you these little snippets and keep you wondering what's going on. But as we flash back to these different times, then in the present, you can tell that Helen and Gil. Gil is the doctor she's having an affair with. You can tell that their relationship is starting to fall apart for various reasons. And so it's as their relationship starts to change. It sort of puts them in conflict with what's happening in William's life. It's just really, really good. I just finished it, and I hardly ever get to finish books. I read it on my Kindle app. I hardly ever can stay attuned to a book on my Kindle app for very long. So I know that it was pretty good, but it's fantastic. It has a gorgeous cover. It's got, like, a cover that looks like a. I don't know, like a. Like a tin. Like a tin. Like a tin. And it's got a badger on it. And so you're like, what's this? Why is there a badger? And you'll find out in the book why there's a badger. It's just beautiful. I do think it. It's pretty. Besides the fact that these two people are having an affair, it's pretty pg. So I would even say, yeah, I think a Susie Nance reader would like it. If you like sort of a almost a cozy mystery, I think you would like it just because it's set in Britain and it doesn't go into really very sordid details of anything. So it's so good. It's coming out next week, November 12th. It's called Shy Creatures by Claire Chambers. Oh, Olivia, you would love this book.
Annie Jones
I'm going to download this one. I think I have been in a. I wouldn't call it a reading slump, like, I've consistently been reading, but it feels like not much is holding my attention right now, if that makes sense. So I'm finishing stuff, but very rarely am I like, oh, I loved what I just read. You know what I mean? I'm like, oh, yeah, I liked that book. But I am. That one looks good, so maybe I'll download it. Okay. Well, I treated everyone to basically spoken word poetry at the beginning of this podcast by reading lyrics from Taylor Swift, because my next book is Heartbreak is the national anthem. This is by Rob Sheffield. It releases next week. I have said what feels like a million times. I have said that this fall there are so many Taylor Swift books coming out. And I have done buying for spring. There are not a lot of Taylor Swift coming out in the spring. I'm telling you, publishing is always like six to 12 months behind. And the eras tour, obviously hugely successful last year. And I think publishing was like, oh, we need some Taylor content stat. What are we gonna do? And now this fall, and we've talked about some of them on new release Tuesdays, on Instagram, there's like A really great Taylor Swift style coffee table book that I think would be great for gifting this holiday season. But one of our jobs as book buyers, Olivia, does our kids book buying. I focus on our adult buying. One of our jobs is to narrow down, like if you all knew, if you all knew how many books I think I opened, I haven't done it yet. But the Hachette catalog for spring 2025 is 16 pages, 50 books a page. Okay, so y'all do that math. That's just one publisher. And so, so many books are coming out. And part of a bookseller or a book buyer's job is to narrow that scope because we're supposed to help with that. Like we're supposed to curate for you what gets space on our shelves, what we think you should read, et cetera. So there are a lot of Taylor books coming out and sure. In another time, would it be fun to just order all of them for the store and to have like a Taylor Swift theme store? Sure, that'd be fun. But there's still time. There's still time, but you know, we have limited shelf space. Not everybody's a Taylor fan. So the big question for me, and this is how it always is, specifically with romantasy books and rom coms, because there is a huge influx in those genres right now. But the question becomes like, which of these do I get? I can't get all the Taylor books. So which of the Taylor books do we stock this fall and you know, which do we buy cartons of? And the one where I was like, okay, this I'm intrigued by is Heartbreak is the National Anthem. Rob Sheffield is a well respected Rolling Stone journalist and he has written actually a book that I read a couple years ago called Dreaming the Beatles. And it was fantastic book about the Beatles and their careers. And I really like Rob Sheffield. He's written a lot of Taylor Swift cover stories for Rolling Stone. I think he's a great reporter. And so this is his biography of Taylor Swift and then specifically her music career. So not necessarily like Taylor's growing up or something like that, but it's really specifically about her music genius and her career and how she has transformed over the last few years and like what, you know, the kind of the genius of Taylor. And Rob Sheffield frequently compares Taylor swift to Paul McCartney. So I think this is going to be. I think this is going to be super interesting for music fans. Whether you're a Taylor fan or not. I think this is going to be interesting. He is a self described Swifty So, you know, don't go into this thinking it's going to be a totally like unbiased look. But I think the good news is that means for the Swifties who I think are constantly looking for a Taylor book, I think this will be both well written, well researched and then also I think it'll be fun for the fandom, I think. Was it last week as of this recording? I think it was last week where Taylor announced a book coming out and it's a Target exclusive. And a bunch of, I think the Internet specifically, perhaps the book selling Internet was furious. Look, I'm not furious. Mindy Kaling does the same thing. Mindy Kaling publishes. I love Mindy Kaling. I think she's a great writer. She publishes almost exclusively through Amazon. We can't get her books like, like, other than like her first couple of memoirs that came out. Like people do this all the time. They go where the money is, you know. Would I have loved her to make a different decision? Sure. But honestly, not shocking to me. And she has had a partnership, like a long standing partnership with Target, like all of her like except exclusive bonus cd like all these things come out through Target. So that was not shocking information to me. And I'll also be very real with you. The thought of like the pre order campaign, like I just thought it'd be fourth wing all over again. And so what I will happily do is stock what I think are really great well written books about Taylor, books about her style, this particular biography. And I do think Taylor Swift fans will like them. I think they're going to be great and easy for gift giving this holiday season. I just automatically know, oh, I could buy this for. I'm not going to name them but I could buy this for this person and they would really like it. And I like that. Rob Sheffield again, yes, he's a self described Swifty, but he also is a legitimate Rolling Stone journalist and writes pretty prolifically about music and the industry. And so I think this will be interesting. It is one of the Taylor Swift books that I am personally most excited about and so I wanted to mention it here because there will be a lot of Taylor books coming out and I think this one would be worth your time. So again, that is called Heartbreak is the national anthem. It's by Rob Sheffield and it comes out next week and we do hope you buy it. I'm pretty sure I pre ordered a boatload of these, so fingers crossed. Fingers crossed.
Aaron
I guess correctly you pre ordered enough that I think we're getting A Taylor standee, not life size. So sorry. We also have Stanley, but it comes with a metallic sharpie where you can write your favorite lyric on.
Annie Jones
Oh, that's cute. That's cute. Listen, I really did. You really had to narrow down. There's like one other Taylor book. It might have been the Taylor Swift style book. There was one other one that I think I ordered plenty of the others. I was just like, some of them are cheesy looking. Like, I don't know. And maybe I'm just a snob. But this one, I was like, oh, no, this is legit. I really would want to read this. So that's what we ordered. Fingers crossed I did the right thing.
Aaron
Here goes.
Annie Jones
Here goes.
Aaron
Okay, my next book is middle grade. We're just going to go up in age as I keep going. It's the Winterton Deception second book. It's called Fault Lines by Janet Sumner Johnson. I just recently read the first one in this series, which is now considered a backless title. But it was so good. I absolutely loved it. It was about a spelling bee and I thought I wouldn't like it because many of you might know I'm not actually great at spelling and I did not do well in my fourth grade. Spelling bees.
Annie Jones
So traumatized. Did it ret. Re. Trigger you.
Aaron
But I Did you meet the family in that one. So you do have to read the first one to go on to this one. It is also like, it does follow the very end of the first one where our. The main girl that we were following, Hope, finds out a big family secret. And now in this one, she has to figure out how best to handle said secret. But what you should know is that the Winterton family is a big, wealthy family who produces a dictionary, which is why they host a spelling bee that Hope and her twin brother Gordon enter and try to win. Because it's like the last spelling bee that the Winterton family is going to host. The matriarch has just recently passed away. And so this is like her final instructions to give away almost like all of the family's savings to the winner of this last spelling bee. And so she enters. But the Winterton family have no idea that she's actually a part of their family because her mother was like dating a Winterton and he passed away, but did not. She didn't have a chance to tell him that she was pregnant when it happened. Yes. So Hope and her brother Gordon, it's like the introduction to their family that they are now meeting for the first time. They find out more about their father. They are a part of the spelling bee and they're in a really cool house with like hidden tunnels and passageways. And it was right up my personal alley. I would hope a lot of other people's personal alleys. I think it's like if you liked the Swifts, if you liked the Winterborne Home series, which I mostly talk about, I think, to in store people who I'm selling books to because it is an older title, but if you like that sort of murder mystery, middle grade genre, I think this is perfect for you. And I'm, I am excited to start this next one because I did. I loved the family. I loved the twins. The writing was really well done. And that one's out November 12th.
Olivia
Okay. My next one is a nonfiction book. It's called Believe the Untold Story Behind Ted Lasso, the show that kicked its way into our hearts by Jeremy Egnor. This comes out November 12th. It's out next week. Like you said, Annie, about the Taylor Swift books, I feel like there's always, people are always trying to capitalize now on shows that are on the air, off the air. There's podcasts recapping every now every old episode of every TV show. So you never know what you're going to get when you kind of pick up one of these, you know, the untold story of or the, the story behind. But I'm about halfway through this and I'm loving it. If you love the show Ted Lasso, which. Who doesn't? Maybe some people don't. But if you love this show, you will love this book. It does have interviews. I mean, Jeremy is the New York Times TV editor, so he knows of what he writes. Right. He's watched a lot of tv. And this book is exactly what you would imagine. It's sort of an oral history of interviews and, you know, information that Jeremy's gathered. And he talks to everyone. He talks to Jason Sudeikis. He talks to, you know, Brett Goldstein. He talks to all these other people that are, that created the show, that were in the show, that wrote the show. And what I love is they talk about, they go way back to even before the show was even a thought, because it really started out as, you guys may know this, but it really started out as NBC had just gotten the rights to start airing Premier league soccer games. This was like, you know, probably 20, I want to say maybe 2019 or 2018, when soccer, soccer has really grown in popularity in the U.S. but back then, no one was interested in watching soccer Games. And NBC was trying to drum up interest in Premier League games because they just paid a lot of money for the rights to the air them. So they were looking for big names to star in basically just commercials. And they made this commercial with Jason Sudeikis, who plays this coach who goes to, you know, the UK and. And that was it. There was just two commercials and that was it. And that's all they wanted. But Jason kept being like, I feel like there's something there. You know, there's something there. And it took years for it to really come to pass. And the right people had to be in place on the writing staff and at NBC. And they didn't even end up putting it on NBC. They couldn't. They shopped around. And of course, as we know, it's on Apple plus, which was at that time not even a really a streaming service that anyone had at that time. So it was just all those things kind of. And COVID 19, everyone was stuck at home looking for things to watch. Hello Tiger King. So it was just really the feel good. I mean, this is the year. This is 2020. It aired. So this was the political year, of course. Like, you know, there was a presidential election. Everyone was just looking for something sweet, something good, something good hearted to watch. And TED Lasso just really aired at the right time in the right place. And so this book is, if you like, again, if you like, if you just like behind the scenes nonfiction books about TV or pop culture, you'll love this. If you like soccer, you'll love this. If you love TED Lasso, you'll love this. So it's just Jeremy has a really good storytelling style. It's not dry, it's not. It's not too, you know, educational sounding. So you'll love it. It's coming out next week. It's got a great cover with the TED Lasso glasses and the like a British, like the British flag on them. So it's called Believe by Jeremy Egnor. It's sort of behind the scenes about TED Lasso.
Annie Jones
I think I'm gonna read that. I like, you know, years ago there was one about the office. I think it was an oral history and I really liked it. I think you can learn a lot from these books too about like weirdly, I think they have. The books wind up being a lot about creativity and I think even some lessons for entrepreneurship. And I wind up really liking these kinds of books. And yeah, I'm curious about it especially. There's been a conversation and some speculation. I think that there's going to be a new season of TED Lasso. And I'm very curious. Yeah. Because I feel like they really wrapped it up. So I'll be curious to see what they're going to. They should take a cue from British tv, I think, and be done. But yeah, I am curious about this book. So I'm glad to know you. You enjoyed it. And I do think the authors of these things matters. Again, Rob Sheffield being a Rolling Stones writer or this author being a New York Times critic, that is helpful. I think it is really helpful. Yeah, absolutely. Okay. My last book also releases next week. It is called Pictures of youf. This is by Emma Gray. You might be familiar with Emma Gray's name. She wrote the Last Love Note, which came out, I want to say, last winter.
Olivia
Yeah, I was like, didn't it just.
Annie Jones
Come out, I think like last December? And I really. That was a book. I'm not even sure why I picked it up, to be honest. I think it was one of Zibby Publishing's books and it's not one. Again, I don't know why I picked it up, but I read it and I really liked it. I think I would classify Emma Gray as soundly women's fiction. I'm using air quotes. We talk about that phrase on this podcast. I don't know what else to say about it. I don't love that phrase any more than any anybody else. And yet at the same time, sometimes it's the best we can do because it's not quite, to me a full fledged romance or a rom com. Instead, I think in particular, that book, the Last Love Note, was really women's fiction and dealt a lot with grief and loss. And I really liked it. So if you've not read it, I think you could go back and read that and really enjoy it. Pictures of youf is her newest book. This, this Emma Gray, also I should know, is Australian. And so her books are set in Australia. This is like a second chance romance. The main characters are Evie. I don't know. How would you guys. So I grew up with a girl in my class, Evie. And I'm pretty sure we pronounced it Evie, but how would you pronounce it?
Olivia
Yeah, I don't probably Eevee. Although it really looks like Evie to me.
Annie Jones
But I know, well, growing up the little, little girl we grew up. I mean, we graduated high school together, but her like, she. We called her Evie. So I don't know any Evie or Evie.
Aaron
Evie.
Annie Jones
And I don't know, we're Gonna go with Evie. That's what we're gonna do. Evie and Drew. Evie wakes up one day in an unfamiliar hospital room, and she thinks she's, like, just left a teenage party with her best friend Bri. Except, oh, whoops. High school was years ago, and Bree isn't around anymore. And instead, Evie has just survived a crash, a car crash that killed her husband Oliver. And she's had a traumatic loss of memory. So she thinks she's like, I thought, oh, is this gonna be, like, amnesia? But no, like, she wasn't in a coma after high school. She just now cannot remember her adult life. Like, she thinks she is a recent, you know, high school grad kind of thing. So Drew is a photographer, and he kind of has a chance encounter with Evie that kind of helps her discover what her marriage was, like, why she was in a car crash, like, why her husband died, maybe how her husband died. And so Dru becomes a friend to her as she tries to unravel what happened to her. And so this kind of leads Evie, obviously, because she thinks she's post high school, is trying to make sense of her adult decision making and her adult life. In this way, it almost, to me, sounds like a Taylor Jenkins Reid, like, early Taylor Jenkins Reid novel. There's a great early Taylor Jenkins Reid book called maybe in Another Life. Basically the kind of book that makes you, the reader, also start to unpack maybe your own decisions. I think about, I think, earlier this year, Begin Again by Helly Acton. So, yeah, Evie is trying to figure out, how did I get to this point? I thought I was this fun high school student, and turns out I'm a grown up. My husband has just died. Why did I marry him? What did our love story look like? So I'm intrigued by this. I'll be honest. The descriptions of Emma Gray's books, like, including Last Love Note, sound a little maudlin or like, maybe too, I don't know, too sappy for me. But then I read them, and I really liked them. Like, I really liked her last book. So I'm going to give this a try. Even though I'm like, oh, does that, you know, does that sound like something I would typically like? Like, it sounds a little bit Lifetime movie es, but I think she's a good writer, and so I think that makes a difference. And I also. We've talked about this. I am super curious, always, about these books that Zibby Publishing is putting out. It's not just Zibby. There's a new romance imprint called 831, like just these smaller publishers. I'm curious to see what they're doing and what they're picking and why. So anyway, if you are a fan of early Taylor Jenkins Reid, maybe even I can't speak to his later stuff, but maybe early Nicholas Sparks. If you're a Nancy reader, I think you will like Emma Gray. I would encourage you to give her a try. So Last Love Note was her book that released last year. And then this one is called Pictures of youf and it releases next week. It's got a really unique and interesting cover and they do for her book. And I don't know, I don't know what I ordered for the store. It'll be a surprise. But they simultaneously release as hardback and paperback, which I always, again, have questions. But it's a simultaneous release. So if you like hardback books, you can get this in hardback. If you like paperback, it can function as a paperback original. But I think you should try. I think folks should try Emma Gray. I'm not sure she's getting the praise that she might deserve here in America because I do think her books are well written. And maybe you think they're going to go one direction or you think they're going to make you feel a certain way. And instead I think she's pretty smart with them. So Pictures of you by Emma Gray.
Olivia
Well, it's set in Australia, so, you know, I'm already buying Australia. I'm sold.
Annie Jones
But I do download that audiobook, Erin.
Olivia
I have the downloaded on my Kindle already, so I'm going to read it for sure.
Annie Jones
Yeah, let me know.
Aaron
Okay. My next book is called Deadly Animals. It's a debut novel. Bye. I know, Aaron. I know. This is one of those books.
Olivia
I have my microphone off so no one can hear me laughing.
Aaron
This is one of those books where I'm just like, if, if you take my children's suggestions, just know that, like, I read very differently in my adult life than I do in my, in my children's book life.
Annie Jones
Well, to be fair, I thought at first I was like, oh, this is going to be interesting. She's going to talk to us about these. Like, who could kill what animal? You know what I mean? That's what it sounds like. Deadly animals. Like those kids books that we sell so many of the.
Olivia
Seems like a kid's nonfiction book.
Annie Jones
Yeah, I did, too.
Aaron
I mean, in a really dark, twisted way, it might be.
Annie Jones
So this is not. This is not a picture book about pythons or something.
Aaron
This is unfortunately not.
Annie Jones
This is an adult book called Deadly Animals.
Aaron
Yes. This is adult. For adults. It's a debut novel by Marie Tierney. It's about this 14 year old girl. So don't be fooled. This is for adults. But the protagonist is a 14 year old girl. Her name is Ava Bonnie. And she is like compulsively obsessed with the decomposition of. Of. Of animals. So, like, she will.
Annie Jones
Oh, good, sounds great. She's. Oh, she sounds super healthy and not at all.
Aaron
She's really fun.
Annie Jones
Not at all troubled.
Aaron
She will like find roadkill, things like that. And she has a little spot in the forest where she watches how they decompose and she takes notes. She does it in a very scientific way.
Olivia
I was gonna say future scientists.
Annie Jones
Yeah, yeah, like future Scully.
Aaron
She loves animals. Like she would never be the one to kill the animal, but she is interested about the other side of it. And so in her little den that she goes to, she goes to check upon a fox that she had just found and, and moved and whatnot. And she gets there and a missing boy, Mikey, is found there dead. And so she knows that if she calls the cops, like, and she's the one to tell them that they're gonna have more questions about what she's doing that will deter away from finding out what actually happened to Mikey. So she places an anonymous call so they know where to find Mikey. And then she kind of. She starts to answer the detective's questions when he comes to the school because she, Mikey was a bully to her. So she knows the people around Mikey. And it's in a very small town. Like, this is very like Chris Whitaker writing like that. This. Something very dark has happened in this small town. And we're watching kind of the ripple effect of what this means for the town. And we're watching maybe a child's life that is not headed in a great trajectory. But the kids all in this town play this game called wolf. I don't know if it's a real game. I had never heard of it, but learning about it, it's like the opposite of sardines. Have you played sardines? Okay, so in this one, instead of like everyone hides in the same spot when you find them. When the person who's the wolf finds you, you join their pack. And now there's two people looking for the missing people.
Annie Jones
Oh, I see.
Aaron
And so it just goes like that. But these kids play it outdoors in like a huge area. So all of these kids have their own little quote unquote dens or, or hideaways where that's like, that's where they go to, like, hide and whatnot and, like, their wolf dens and. And they get very into this game. So she knows where, like, Mikey's den is. So she's like, I know I can help these cops. She also just. She knows a lot about decomposition and what that looks like. And so she. She already has a lot of information about Mikey's death. And so, yeah, Ava's. Ava's a struggling little girl. Her family situation is not good. She does live in. In, like, a fairly verbally, possibly physically abusive home. So this is for maybe my darker readers out there.
Olivia
Yeah.
Aaron
But let me tell you, the writing is so, so good. I'm hooked. I'm about halfway through. I know there is a big twist coming at this point. I'm like, it might be supernatural, but it might not be. And I think I'm okay either way.
Annie Jones
Okay.
Aaron
Which I normally wouldn't be. If it's supernatural, tell me up front. But in this case, I. I think I'd be okay with it. I. I put the writing akin to a Chris Whitaker style. They're very short chapters. They fly. You fly through it. And it does feel like little cinematic moments between. Between sets and whatnot. I would say, like, Tim Johnston, because it is, like. It is very quiet, but it is very dark. And then the other one I'll say is like, essay Cosby, like, all the sinners bleed, because, I mean, trigger warnings abound.
Annie Jones
Sure.
Aaron
But so good. Like, it. It is propelling itself forward. I. I really don't want to put it down, but I also don't want people to judge me when I read this.
Annie Jones
Did you. Did you download it to your Kindle, or are you.
Aaron
No, I have an art.
Annie Jones
How are you reading it? You have an art? Yeah, it sounds good. That really does. I mean, all joking aside, that really does sound quite good.
Aaron
Yeah.
Annie Jones
I'm curious about it.
Aaron
Yeah. Kids are into weird things, I guess. So just let Ava be Ava. And it's not like she's.
Annie Jones
Yeah, we see that.
Aaron
Yeah. It's not like she's killing the animals.
Olivia
Right.
Aaron
She's just interested in the scientific process of what happens afterwards. So you just. You do have to get over that mental. That mental hump a little bit, you know?
Annie Jones
Well, and then when you know. You know, where she comes from and her background, like, all of that informs that, too.
Aaron
Yeah, She's a good kid. Just trust her, you guys. She's a really good kid.
Annie Jones
Olivia's like, she's amazing.
Aaron
I really think we'd be Friends.
Olivia
We laugh about dark kids and how they usually grow up to be very well adjusted to people. So I don't know that that's the case for this girl. But I think there's, you know, something to be said for kids who are a little weird when they're young and we have hope. Exactly.
Annie Jones
Well, and kids come in all the time who specifically want to read creepy things. I think also it's a phase. I mean, Ava is 14, so she's a little older than our customers who come in. But there's certainly a phase I think kids go through, including myself, where you wanted to read creepy, dark stuff. And I mean, I still like books like that. So I'll be. This is one I'm curious about. I might see if the Kindle version is available.
Olivia
Well, I'm going to take a hard, hard turn here. No dead animals that I know of in this book. But it's called Time of the Child by Niall Williams. It comes out November 19th. This is a Susie approved book. Susie loved this book, has read it. She said it's PG and so loved it. Loved it. This is set in the same Irish town of. I think it's Faha. I don't know. I tried to look up how to pronounce this last night and it's not an actual real town, so there is no actual pronunciation guides on the website, on the, on the Internet, but I'm going to say Faja. But he has written another book called this Is Happiness and it was set in that same town. So some of the characters may overlap. It feels, that feels in a way like Elizabeth Strout, sort of where it's like you sort of have a little bit of overlap because they've set this world where these people live. And so it's in the same town of Faja. It's in Ireland. Our main characters are Dr. Jack Troy, who is obviously the town's doctor. This is a small town and his daughter Ronnie, who is single and just lives with him. And she's approaching 30 and she just helps him with his practice and everything. But it's obvious she's not happy. She's not. She is sad that she has not found love in her life. And we come to find out that it's because she was in love at one point when she was young and her father sort of turned the boy away, like told him he wasn't good enough for her. And he went on, of course, to marry someone else and, you know, move away. And she's never really let that go. She's never really, you know, she's still in love with that person, basically. And so that's how the book is set up. And then what happens is an abandoned baby is found and brought to the doctor and Ronnie to try to save its life because it's malnutrition. It's. It's not doing well physically, but they saved the baby's life. And then Ronnie takes on that role of being a caretaker to the baby. And, you know, in a way, as we. As you've seen this kind of stories before, it's like she doesn't want to let anyone know. She doesn't really want to go looking for the mother or any clues because she would like to take care of the baby. But of course, she knows that there could be a family out there somewhere who's looking for the baby or wants to know what happened to the baby. So she's torn. And all the while, her father is sort of dealing with feeling like an outsider in the town and also feeling like there's some tension between him and his daughter because of the decisions that he made that led to her being where she is now and her unhappiness. So this book is a lot about second chances, about, you know, getting a new chance at a different life or getting a chance at the life you never thought you would have. And it's about. I've seen several people mention, even your mom mentioned this when she was talking about the book, that there's a lot of side characters that bring humor to the book. And this, apparently, Niall's writing. I haven't quite started this yet. I'm going to. But his writing style is apparently very. It calls. One reviewer said it calls for close reading, which I think is almost like how we talked about Women's Hotel by Daniel Avery. Like, it's not a book you can kind of skim through. You do need to sort of sit, pay attention, you know, listen to what the words are saying and really read each one because they each have a point and a meaning. But this looks like a fantastic book. It's also set over four weeks of Advent, so I think it's a per. It could not be a better time for the book to come out and for you to read it. I think it'd be fun to read it over advent. Like, go ahead and buy it now. Read it over Advent, because that's exactly how the book is set up. Yeah, so that's a good idea for that one. It's called Time and the Child by Niall Williams, comes out November 19th Ann.
Annie Jones
Patchett loves that author. You know how she'll sometimes on the Parnassus Instagram, she'll talk about backlist titles or books you should have read but haven't. I think she talks about Niall Williams fairly frequently and this one almost sounds Aaron and I don't think Olivia, you read it, Erin, you might have the Road to Dalton. I read that last year. Anyway, it sounds a little bit like that the Road to Dalton was set in New England. I think it was set in Maine, but kind of similar like where the book is a lot about the community too. Like it's not maybe just about those main characters, but it's all about the side town characters and things. But I like the idea of reading it. I love a book that you can read over a certain like you can read along with the actual timeline. I think is fun. Okay, so those are our November books. I am laughing that it was like all the best dogs and then Deadly Animals and just we covered a lot of ground here today.
Aaron
We really contain multitudes.
Annie Jones
Yeah, thanks Olivia, for helping us cover a variety of genres and territories. Yeah, it feels like there is something for everybody here in today's episode. So as I said at the top, if you are curious about any of these books, these November new releases, you can go to bookshelfthomasville.com, type episode 502 into the search bar and you'll see all of today's books listed. Use the code NEW releasePlease at checkout to get 10% off your order. This week I'm reading the House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune. Olivia, what are you reading?
Aaron
I am reading Deadly Animals by Marie Tierney and Erin.
Annie Jones
What are you reading?
Olivia
I'm listening to Stanley Tucci himself read what I Ate in one year.
Annie Jones
From the Front Porch is a weekly podcast production of the Bookshelf, an independent bookstore in Thomasville, Georgia. You can follow the bookshelf's daily happenings on Instagram @bookshelftville and all the books from today's episode can be purchased online through our store website, bookshelf thomasville.com a full transcript of today's podcast episode can be found at from the frontporchpodcast.com Special thanks to Studio D Podcast Production for production of from the Front Porch and for our theme music, which sets the perfect warm and friendly tone for our Thursday conversations. Our executive producers of today's episode are Kami Tidwell, Chantal Carle, Kate O'Connell, Kristin May, Linda Lee Drost Jean Queens Amanda Wick Martha Stacy Lau Chance Combs Stephanie Dean Ashley Farrell Nicole Marcy Wendy Jenkins Corey Johnson Susan Mulings thank you all for your support of from the Front Porch. If you'd like to support from the Front Porch, please leave a review on Apple Podcasts. Your input helps us make the show even better and helps us reach new listeners. All you have to do is open up the podcast app on your phone. Look for from the Front Porch, scroll down until you see, write a review and tell us what you think. Or if you're so inclined, support us. Over on Patreon, where we have three levels of support. Each level has an amazing number of benefits like bonus content, access to live events, discounts and giveaways. Just go to patreon.com from the front porch. We're so grateful for you and we look forward to meeting back here next week.
From the Front Porch: Episode 502 || November New Release Rundown
Release Date: November 7, 2024
Produced by The Bookshelf Thomasville
In Episode 502 of From the Front Porch, hosted by Annie Jones of The Bookshelf in Thomasville, Georgia, listeners are treated to an engaging November New Release Rundown. Joined by Operations Manager Olivia and Online Sales Manager Aaron, the trio delves into a curated selection of November’s most anticipated books, spanning various genres to cater to a diverse audience.
Annie begins by acknowledging that this is the final New Release Rundown for the year, signaling a temporary pause as the team shifts focus to managing the bookstore’s operations during the bustling December season. She mentions, “May this be a burden lifted from your shoulders today” (04:00)—highlighting the relief of wrapping up the series.
Annie introduces Lazarus Man, a compelling novel set in Harlem in 2008. She describes it as a character-driven study inspired by Richard Price’s experience writing for The Wire. The story revolves around a building collapse affecting various characters, from a funeral homeowner to a city detective, providing a multifaceted exploration of community and chaos.
Notable Quote:
Annie reflects, “I think Richard Price has written about Harlem and the different people and the impact of the building collapse on them” (08:00).
Aaron presents All the Best Dogs, a middle-grade book celebrating the bond between children and their pets. The narrative follows a group of kids united by their love for the same dog park, which becomes the focal point when one dog goes missing, bringing the community together.
Notable Quote:
Aaron shares his enthusiasm: “It’s really cute. It was just adorable” (15:54).
Olivia spotlights Shy Creatures, a literary fiction mystery set in 1964 England. The protagonist, Helen Hansford, an art therapist, becomes entwined in unraveling the mystery behind a man’s sudden appearance at an old home, blending personal drama with suspense.
Notable Quote:
Olivia emphasizes the book’s appeal: “It was a page-turner, which is not usual for sort of what I would call literary fiction with a mystery” (17:03).
Annie discusses Heartbreak is the National Anthem, a biography of Taylor Swift by Rolling Stone journalist Rob Sheffield. The book delves into Swift’s music career, drawing comparisons to Paul McCartney, and explores her evolution as an artist.
Notable Quote:
Annie candidly states, “It’s going to be super interesting for music fans. Whether you’re a Taylor fan or not” (21:41).
Emma Gray’s Pictures of You is featured as a second-chance romance set in Australia. The story follows Evie, who wakes up with memory loss after a car crash that killed her husband, and photographer Drew, who helps her uncover the truth about her past.
Notable Quote:
Annie describes the emotional depth: “It sounds like... the kind of book that makes you, the reader, also start to unpack maybe your own decisions” (38:00).
Aaron introduces Deadly Animals, a dark debut novel centered around Ava Bonnie, a 14-year-old girl obsessed with animal decomposition. The plot thickens when she uncovers troubling events in her small town, blending psychological depth with suspense.
Notable Quote:
Aaron shares his intrigue: “The writing is so, so good. I’m hooked” (43:38).
Olivia highlights Time of the Child, a women’s fiction novel set in the Irish town of Faja. The story focuses on Ronnie, a woman grappling with her past and newfound responsibility after finding an abandoned baby, intertwining themes of second chances and community.
Notable Quote:
Olivia notes the book’s reflective quality: “It’s about second chances, about getting a new chance at a different life” (46:57).
Throughout the episode, the hosts engage in lighthearted and personal conversations, sharing their own reading preferences and experiences. A notable segment includes Aaron discussing his anxiety during a Taylor Swift concert and Annie reflecting on her reading habits:
Notable Quote:
Annie humorously muses, “I could buy this for this person and they would really like it” (28:37).
Annie emphasizes the importance of supporting From the Front Porch and The Bookshelf through Patreon and purchasing recommendations. She encourages listeners to visit bookshelfthomasville.com, use the code NEWreleasePlease for discounts, and engage with their Instagram for live events and updates.
Notable Quote:
Annie highlights their community focus: “You are helping keep our indie bookstore in business” (00:21).
Wrapping up the episode, the hosts reiterate the diverse selection of November’s new releases, catering to various tastes from middle-grade adventures to adult mysteries and biographies. They encourage listeners to explore these books, offering personalized recommendations and sharing their excitement for the upcoming reads.
Notable Quote:
Aaron concludes enthusiastically, “We really contain multitudes” (54:29).
Connect with The Bookshelf Thomasville:
Special Thanks:
Studio D Podcast Production and the executive producers Kami Tidwell, Chantal Carle, Kate O'Connell, Kristin May, Linda Lee Drost Jean Queens, Amanda Wick, Martha Stacy Lau, Chance Combs, Stephanie Dean, Ashley Farrell, Nicole Marcy, Wendy Jenkins, Corey Johnson, and Susan Mulings.
Whether you're a dedicated bookworm or a casual reader, Episode 502 of From the Front Porch offers insightful recommendations and heartfelt discussions to enrich your November reading list.