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Annie Jones
Your message amplified. Ready to share your message with the world? Start your podcast journey with podbean. Podbean Podbean Podbean Podbean the AI powered all in one podcast platform. Thousands of businesses and enterprises trust Podbean to launch their podcasts. Launch your podcast on podbean today. My school uses Podbean. My church too. I love it. I really do. Welcome to from the Front Porch, a conversational podcast about books, small business, and life in the South. A mother's sentiment could power cities. It defined everything. It was always the decisive word. Rumaan Alam Entitlement. I'm Annie Jones, owner of the Bookshelf, an independent bookstore in beautiful downtown Thomasville, Georgia, and this week I'm recapping the few books I read in November. Before we get started, a thank you to anyone who has left reviews for from the Front Porch. Itunes, reviews and ratings are how new listeners can best Best find out about from the Front Porch. And as a result, find out about our indie bookstore too. Here's a recent review. Neighborly, calming, nostalgic, informative, this podcast is exactly what I've been looking for. Reading is a newish hobby in my adult life, and since I've been trying to limit my time on social media, I still wanted to be able to hear book reviews and honestly, miss just the chit chat of Instagram stories. This podcast fills those gaps. It feels like I'm back home chatting with neighbors, but it's full of great recommendations and suggestions and themed conversation. So glad I have so many episodes to go back and listen to. Thanks for this gift. This was an incredibly kind review. Thank you so much for understanding the mission of our store and our show. If you have not yet left a review, all you have to do is open up the podcast app on your phone, look for from the Front Porch, scroll down until you see, write a review, and then tell us what you think. Your reviews help us spread the word about not only the podcast, but about our small brick and mortar business too. So thank you. Now back to the show. Okay, I think exactly a year ago I was having a conversation with a friend who also happens to be a podcast host and her podcast is far more prolific than ours. And I was lamenting that this time of year I feel like I can't keep up. We do these reading recap episodes every month and this time of year I feel like I'm not reading as much. And so I told her I really struggled with this was exactly a year ago, so it must have been the November reading recap episode from 2023. And I told her, you know, oh, I've got to record this episode. And really, I've only read two books this month. I'm going to have to look and see did I miss some reviews from October that I could add in? And she told me, no, just review the two books you read because that's an accurate portrayal of your reading life and there's no need to try to generate extra content. The premise of the episode is reading recaps. If you only read two books, you only read two books. So I cannot remember if I took her advice in November of 2023, but I'm taking her advice now. I am recording this episode in mid November, so it is a little earlier than usual. And that's for all kinds of reasons, mostly to do with holiday events and scheduling and things like that. But also, to be quite frank, I've not read very many books in November. I haven't felt good. Maybe you can hear it in my voice. We have had the weirdest, worst weather since the hurricanes went through town at the end of September. It just feels like allergens are floating in the air. It rains only every so often. It's still, as of this recording, 80 degrees, which I know I joke about weather in the south, but that is warm. That is unusually warm for this time of year. And so I don't know if that's what's going on. I wake up congested. I don't feel good. I'm discombobulated. And we spent a weekend decorating the store for Christmas. A whole weekend. And the store looks magical and beautiful. And it was also a lot of hard work. And I have turned to TV instead of books in this season. And so I'm coming to you today with four reviews. One of these books I finished in October. The others I finished in November. So this is a light reading recap episode. But I'm taking the advice of my friend and I'm telling you that my November reading life is just almost non existent. It is just almost non existent. I can't focus. I can't. It's not even a slump, because a slump makes it sound like I'm trying things and they're not working. No, I'm not even trying. Let me be very clear. I'm not even trying. I come home exhausted and I watch an episode of Gilmore Girls, and I'm even at the part of Gilmore Girls I don't like very much. And I'm still just powering through instead of reading books. And I could Be sad about that. But this is just the rhythm of my reading life. This is when I remembered that I had that conversation with that friend a year ago. I realized, oh, this is a problem every year. And it's not a problem. It's just. It's not even a problem. It's just life. And every November, December, my reading life is just, meh, whatever. I'm supposed to be reading for 2025 shelf subscriptions. That's hilarious. Like, that's hilarious. I can't focus on anything. So I say this to be honest and upfront about what this episode's going to include. But I also wanted to say it because maybe we're in the same boat. Maybe you are discombobulated and maybe November was a bit of a wash for you as well. And I just want to say that's okay. That's okay. Not every month can we meet our air quotes reading goals. Not every month is the hobby that we love going to sustain us. We may have to turn to something else. And the last quarter of the year is always tough. I think this year it's especially tough. We're trying to decorate for Christmas. We're holding the results of the election. No matter which side of the aisle you fall on, that comes with feelings. And the lead up was exhausting. I think we all can agree on that. And so, yeah, if you didn't get a lot of reading done in November, I just want to say, I see you, I am you, and we're okay. We're going to be okay. So I'm going to kick things off with a book that does not release until the end of January, which I realize is far away, but also it's not. It's really not. We're gonna blink and it's gonna be January 28th. So the book is Penitence. It's by Kristin Koval. I believe this is her debut work. My understanding is I think she worked in the legal field, maybe even still works in the legal field. And then this is her first work of fiction. This book releases on January 28th. I picked this one up because I was having trouble focusing. End of October, early November. And I thought frequently what will return me back to my regular reading rhythm is a thriller or suspense book. And so I picked this one off my giant TBR stack. Maybe even with the thought of this potentially being a shelf subscription pick for me. It's not going to be. Spoiler alert. It's not going to be. But I did really like it. It's solid. Four stars. The book is about the Sheehan family, Angie and David. And I will warn you, this does get dark. So just fair warning about what we're about to discuss. Angie and David have a pretty normal life with their son and daughter. And then the book immediately opens with the murder of Angie and David's son by their daughter. So this family is in utter turmoil. Their son had been suffering with terminal illness and a terminal diagnosis. Diagnosis. And they cannot figure out for the lives of them why their daughter did this. And so there's. That's no spoilers. That's like the opening pages. You find out their daughter has murdered their son. And what unfolds then is not maybe the suspense thriller I thought I was getting. There definitely is a legal thriller element to this story because a small town lawyer comes on board to try to help the family navigate this. She's a minor and so they're trying to figure out is she going to be tried as a minor, is she going to be tried as an adult, what could happen to her? And so there is this legal component that I really liked, but it's also at its core, a return to one of my favorite genres, which is just a dysfunctional family story. This is about Angie and David and their marriage. It's about the raising of their children. It's about their past and their present and then what could be their future. I really, really liked this one. I think if you also listen to Sarah's Bookshelves podcast, I think she gave this one five stars. Solid four for me. It reminded me actually of a book I recently covered on a podcast episode about the backlist, Defending Jacob. So if you like Defending Jacob, if you went back and read that, I think Penitence would be a great book for you to read. It's very wintry in nature. The COVID is extremely wintry. So it's perfect for when it comes out. And it was the kind of book that I really wanted to hunker with. I think I read this one and this was pretty special given the state of my brain. I think I read this one in about two sittings. I devoured it and I can't say that I've devoured a ton of books in recent memory. And so if you are looking maybe for a literary suspense, less thriller, but maybe literary suspense that deals with the legal systems, that deals with family issues and relationships, I think you'll really like this book. I really can't believe it's a debut. I think it's quite well told. That is Penitence by Kristin Koval and it releases January 28, 2025. All month long, I had the joy of listening to the third Gilmore Girl by Kelly Bishop. And here's the thing. I totally know why the book has that title. She is recognizable to most millennials as Emily Gilmore. But this book is for any theater major, theater aficionado. I was just completely swept up in the world and the narration of Kelly Bishop. I had no idea Kelly Bishop had such a. I mean such a huge background in dance and theater. I don't know, I obviously recognized her from Dirty Dancing, but I really did not understand her background. And this is like a Broadway broad telling her story and she does not hold back. She's very matter of fact about her life and decisions she's made and regrets she does and doesn't have. And I just loved it. You know, I've read a ton. Well, it feels like a ton of celebrity memoirs. At the back half of this year, the back couple months of this year, I really loved Lisa Marie Presley's and Riley Keough's memoir, loved the Ina Garten memoir, loved Stanley Tucci's memoir. And now here we are with this one. And I think what I'm discovering, we just don't often get these older voices in our ears. I think it's part of the reason I love going to a multi generational church. I adored and had a very close knit relationship with my grandparents. And so there was something really lovely about listening to this. And it's. Kelly Bishop narrates it and her voice is still crisp, but she is older and you can hear it in her voice. And at first I was like, oh no, am I gonna like this or is this gonna be depressing? Because she doesn't sound like Emily Gilmore. She, you know, she sounds a little bit older. And instead I thought, no, it's like sitting at the feet of a grandma who has had the most interesting, fascinating life. And I adored this book. I absolutely adored it. I went in zero expectations. I have. I just loved hearing about her Broadway experience with A Chorus Line. I did not know she was in A Chorus Line. And then I went back and re watched. I believe it's called Every Little Step, which is a documentary about a. Oh, what is the word? That I'm looking for a revival of A Chorus Line. And so I went back and rewatched it because I thought, oh my gosh, does Kelly Bishop show up on this? And she does, very briefly. And that's a great documentary by the way. And so I thought that was really fun. That I was listening, listening to this book that I thought was just going to be maybe behind the scenes info about Gilmore Girls. And instead, no, it's Kelly Bishop, who has had an extremely interesting long career writing about her romances, her decision to not have children, her. Her career, but her career that also spanned dance and theater before entering into TV and film. I loved this book and again, I don't know what it says about me that over the last couple of months, celebrity memoirs have been such a hit for me. But they have all been really good, really well told, very well written, very compelling. And I went in, not really. I went in kind of just thinking, yeah, I'll listen to this for a little bit. And instead I just loved it. I really did. So that is the third Gilmore Girl by Kelly Bishop. I think if you are even not a Gilmore Girls fan. I mean, obviously if you're a Gilmore Girls fan, I think this one's interesting. But even if you're not, if you like theater, I think this is just like reading a Sutton Foster memoir or something like that. Only we're getting it at the end of her career, like at the very, you know, the, the twilight of her life, which I, I really like. Instead of these, I look, I literally just wrote a memoir of sorts. I wrote an essay collection that is rooted in my life and in memoir. And so I'm never gonna throw shade at 30 somethings who write memoirs or 20 somethings. I've read some really great memoirs by 20 somethings. I'm not going to throw shade at that. But I do think there's something really special about a woman reflecting on her, the entirety of her life from a seat in her 80s. Because I just think they have wisdom and perspective that we don't yet have. And so anyway, thoroughly enjoyed it. Loved my listening experience. That is the third Gilmore Girl by Kelly Bishop. Then I downloaded to my Kindle. Actually, I was cleaning out my Kindle. I was like going through and organizing because I was trying to look for shelf subscriptions for 2025. And I stumbled upon a holiday book, a Christmas book called A Home for the Holidays. This is by Taylor Hahn. You might recognize Taylor Hahn. I reviewed her previous book, which was called the Lifestyle. And it was like, as I recall, an Emma adaptation. Like an Emma retelling, but focused on swingers, which was as odd as it sounded. And I do not recall liking that book. I think I also just, I just thought, did we have to wait? Did we have to bring Jade Austin into this? I don't, I don't know if that was necessary, but I do remember the writing being good. And even though that does not sound like a book I would like, I was almost forced to finish it because I liked the writing so much. And so when I saw that Taylor Hahn had written a Christmas book, a holiday book, I thought, ok, let me give it a go. So the main character is Mel. Mel is a wedding singer. She is in a band with her boyfriend and her best friend and a really fun character who's like the drummer. And so the four of them make up this. This wedding band in Chicago. And one night near the holidays, as. As they're leaving one of their gigs, Mel gets a call. This is no spoilers. Mel gets a call and realizes that her mother has died. And she's called to the hospital to identify her mom and to say goodbye to her mom. And we realize as the pages unfold that Mel and her mom have a fraught relationship. They were extremely close growing up, but Mel's mother struggled with alcohol addiction, and that has made a profound impact on Mel. So this book is set right at December, and one of the things I love is it goes like, day by day leading up to Christmas, which I adore, because you could binge this book or you could read it, you know, in the days leading up to Christmas, like in real time, which I think could be fun. So Melissa now has to endure the holidays grieving the loss of her mom, the mom that she loved, and also grieving the loss of the mom who changed and the mom who maybe let her down. And I'm trying to figure out how I want to. I really kind of want you to go in not knowing much. But what I will say is when I'm looking for a Christmas book, I'm not necessarily looking for a romance novel. I know many of you are the same. And so many of the Christmas and holiday books that come out this time of year are either mysteries, cozy mysteries, or they're romances. And I'm here to tell you, this has a romantic element. But the heart of the story is Mel and her mother's relationship and then her mom's best friend, Barb. And I'm constantly looking for a book that's going to give me the Family Stone vibe. So the Family Stone is one of my favorite Christmas movies. One of the things I really like about it is I sob like a baby while. While watching it. Like, it makes me feel things, but it also is laugh out loud funny. And I'm looking for both of those things and a home for The Holidays by Taylor Hahn actually really does have that like, cozy home, really realistic setting. Like, it's got this great Chicago setting. There's a really wonderful family at the book center. I love the family in the Family Stone. I also love the family in While you were sleeping. And so it's got this great family and it's got Mel grieving because I do think the holidays bring out so many hard, complicated, nuanced feelings. And the Family Stone addresses that so well in film format. And this really does. In book format. I really liked this book. In fact, I liked it so much and I was hesitant to say this because, but, but I do just, I do just want to give a. Give a little wink to. To my shelf subscribers. Okay, that's what I'll say. That's what I'll say. Just want to give a little wink to my shelf subscribers. I really liked this book. I really liked this book. I thought it was perfect holiday reading. It was not a solid romance. It had a romantic element, but it was. But it's totally feel good without being schmaltzy, which is a very hard line to draw. Like, this does not feel like a Hallmark movie. There are certainly feel good elements and it is, it is ultimately a feel good story, but it's also got complicated characters. It's got a pretty interesting plot. Some of it is like ever so slightly far fetched. But that's exactly like. That's a Christmas movie. That's a holiday movie. That's. That's what I'm interested in. So I, I really liked this book. And every so often I feel like I stumble upon a holiday or Christmas book that I could actually enjoy for years to come. I know I frequently talk about the young adult novel Ten blind Dates. I feel like I have referenced the romance novel Matzo Ball many times. And so this feels like it's going to find a home on my shelves. So that is a Home for the Holidays by Taylor Hahn. Really, really like it. Really, really liked it. And then last but not least, I finally finished a book that I had been sitting at. Probably if I was reading it electronically or through Libro FM, it would have told me I was sitting at 75 or 80%. And that is Entitlement by Rumaan Alam. I loved this book. I loved it so much that I sent it out for my October shelf subscription and I broke every rule I've ever set for myself, which is of course that I read that I read all of my shelf subscriptions and I had about, I don't know 50 pages of this book left and this deadline for October shelf subscriptions came along and I was like, well, this is my shelf subscription. This is the book I read for shelf subscription. But I hadn't finished it and I felt really bad about that. And then also I was showing myself grace because it's been a hard year. And so I did sit down and in November finish Entitlement. So if you got it as my October shelf subscription, that is a little inside baseball for you. I hope you're not not disappointed in me. And maybe you are, and that's okay. I'm a human. I'm a human. You're allowed to be disappointed in me. Humans make mistakes. And I did not finish Entitlement before sending it out for my shelf subscription, which is something I don't want to confess, but guess what? I just did. So if you are a shelf subscriber, hey, I really liked it. Really liked it. Loved the ending. Liked the ending because it's complicated and, and nuanced and very Rumaan Alam. So here's what I'll say. I'm a Rumaan Alam completionist, which is something I don't often get to say. So I've read Rich and Pretty, that Kind of Mother, which I loved, and Leave the World behind before finishing Entitlement. I think a lot of readers came to Rahman Alam through Leave the World behind, which is interesting because that book came out during the Pandemic. I think a lot of authors whose books came out during the pandemic, those books kind of got lost in the shuffle. But because Netflix did an adaptation of Leave the World Behind, I would argue that that is probably Rumaan Alam's most popular book, most commercially successful book. So if you have only read Leave the World Behind, I think Entitlement would be a real different vibe for you. I think you'd probably think to yourself, well, this is different because Leave the World behind is post apocalyptic esque. It is extremely intense, very visceral, and very unsettling. I recall being very unsettled by that book in a good way. His other works are a lot quieter, so I have read all of them and I really like and enjoy all of them. I also think he covers a wide range of territory, which is pretty impressive, but for me, Entitlement felt like a return to his former form. So Entit. Entitlement is a quiet, more character driven novel. It's about a young black woman named Brooke. Brooke has just left her job at like a nonprofit and has decided she's going to work for a billionaire named Asher Jaffe. I assume that's how you pronounce his last name. I think it's a great character name. Very realistic to me. So Asher Jaffe is a older white man. He's in his, oh, I would guess 70s, maybe even 80s. He's at the end of his career and he's trying to figure out what to do with, with most of his money. He is, is trying to figure out where he can, where he can give some of this money. And so that is what Brooke has been hired to do, is to help funnel this money into different projects and nonprofits and organizations. And so Brooke thinks finally she's, she's, she's got this job that still has meaning, still is doing good in the world, but she's making money. She's working for a nonprofit. She's living in New York City. She has no money for her own apartment. Like, she's living in a dump. And she finally feels like, oh, I now get to do good, but I also get to have my own income and make money. And her mother is distraught. Her mother feels like she has left her roots, feels like she's selling out. And, and so this is a novel. It's a character driven novel. Not a lot happens in terms of plot. It's a character driven novel about money. And in that way, it reminded me very much of Kylie Reid's Come and Get it, which I read earlier this year, which was a great novel about class and money set on a college campus. This feels like the next thing. So if you read Come and Get it and you still want to read about those same issues, you could follow it up with entitlement, because now you're dealing with a, with somebody in their 20s who's trying to navigate adult relationships, trying to, you know, and looking around and realizing, oh, my best friend has a trust fund, and so they get to buy an apartment in Manhattan. I will never buy an apartment in Manhattan. And so she goes to work for this billionaire. But then she also realizes that a lot of people see Asher Jaffe's money as tainted. And so a lot of the nonprofits Brooke wants to support and wants to provide money to, they don't want Asher Jaffe's money. So there's just a lot of really great, there's just a lot of really great insight into class and money. I underlined so many lines in this book. So let me be clear. If you're a plot driven reader, I don't think this will work for you. This is not what I would describe as a page turner. And admittedly it's why I sat with 50 pages unread because because it's not the world's most compelling propulsive novel. Instead, it's just a quiet look at Y class and money and then also at Brooke and Asher and how they kind of get tangled in one another's orbit. And I really like books like that. But when I entered my October November reading pattern where I just couldn't focus, this was hard for me to finish. But I sat down, finished it and I really liked it. Probably I'm gonna say between four and four and a half star book for me. So I stand by the good news is I stand by sending it out as a shelf subscription relief. It wasn't a total dud there at the end, but I do think this will be for a very specific kind of reader. I like Rumaan Alam. I think this is totally consistent with some of the other books he's written. You may disagree if you've only read Leave the World behind because it's not as propulsive a novel as that one was. But if you like quiet books, and actually I think Fall Winter is a great time to dive into some of these books, if you like quiet books, character driven books that are dealing with maybe some of the fraught issues of our time, I think you'll like this. So it is Entitlement by Rumaan Alam. And those are the books I finished and read in November. So not very many. But that's okay. That is okay. As usual with our Reading Recap episodes, we are offering a Reading Recap bundle for this month. Although our November Reading Recap bundle is more like a pair, I decided to narrow it down to the two books that I liked the best. $52 will include the third Gilmore Girl and A Home for the Holidays. Again, Wink Wink Shelf subscribers. You can find more details and the November bundle pairing online through the link in our show notes. Or just go to bookshelfthomasville.com and you can type today's episode number 505 in the search bar. Thanks for your grace and patience with me as I don't read very much in the back couple of months of the year and I maybe if you are like me and you haven't been able to focus and you haven't been able to finish very many books, maybe, maybe this episode provides a little bit of solidarity for you this week. What I Am Reading is brought to you by Thomasville, Georgia. There is something truly special about the holiday season in downtown Thomasville the twinkling lights, beautifully decorated store windows and holiday events all add to the festive feeling of the season. Let us be your shopping and dining destination this holiday season, so spend Christmas in Thomasville with us. Activities are held every weekend leading up to Christmas, including this year's 38th annual Victorian Christmas on December 12th and 13th. Learn more by visiting thomasvillega.com or call the visitor center at 229-228-79. Victorian Christmas is so much fun. I remember telling Olivia when she very first started at the Bookshelf and kind of prepping her for Victorian Christmas. Something about Olivia is she loves Christmas. She loves this time of year and she had just come to Thomasville from New York City and it felt like we had really big shoes to fill in terms of the magic of the season. And Victorian Christmas I think lives up to the hype and lives up to the expectation. If you want hustle and bustle and a festive feeling, I think Victorian Christmas is when you come to Thomasville because it is busy, busy, busy. Every store is filled to the brim. There are times when I am at the register trying to make eye contact with any bookshelf staffer in a near vicinity and I can't get to them. We just have to make eye contact from across the store because the store is full of people and the bookshelf is at her best when she is full of people. And so Victorian Christmas is such a fun time of year. It's extremely busy and so what we tell a lot of folks is come to Victorian Christmas, spend some money, shop, eat, take advantage of the vendors that are on the street serving food and you know, offering crafts for your kiddos, take your kids to see Santa, et cetera. But you can also come for Thursday or Friday night. Victorian Christmas is held on Thursday and Friday night and then you can just make a weekend of it and then shop and dine on Saturday. So it's a great time to plan your weekend visit for Thomasville. There are hotel rooms and Airbnbs and bed and breakfasts all throughout downtown who I'm sure would love to host you. It is a great it's just a great fun atmosphere and if you are looking for the hustle and bustle of the holiday season, maybe without the chaos of the mall. And I think Victorian Christmas is super fun and I would love to see you there this week. I'm listening to Cherished Belonging by Gregory Boyle. Thank you again to our sponsor, Thomasville, Georgia. Learn more by visiting thomasvillega.com 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 ookshelftville, and all the books from today's episode can be purchased online through Our store website, bookshelfthomasville.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 Cami Tidwell, Chantal Carle, Kate O'Connell, Kristin May, Linda Lee Drost, Jean Queens, Amanda Wickham, Martha Stacy Lau Chancellor Combs, Stephanie Dean, Ashley Farrell, Nicole Marcy, Wendy Jenkins, Lori Johnson, Susan Mullings. 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.