← From the Front Porch
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- [00:02]
A
Welcome to from the Front Porch, a conversational podcast about books, small business, and life in the South. Even the most unbearable things become fossils after a while. Patrick Ryan, Buckeye I'm Annie Jones, owner of the Bookshelf, an independent bookstore in beautiful downtown Thomasville, Georgia. And this week I'm chatting about autumnal off the shelf topics with my cousin, Ashley Sherlock. If you or if you are a new or newish 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. Last year, as you know, I think by now, we read the classic American novel Lonesome Dove together with over 1000 Patreon supporters. And this year we've been conquering the world literature classic Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes. For $5 a month, you can access my monthly Conquer A Classic recaps with Hunter McClendon, 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. And coming up later this fall, we are already getting ready to announce our 2026 conquer a classic selection. And the first folks to know about that are our Patreon supporters. So to learn more about Patreon tiers and Benefits, just visit patreon.com from the FrontPorch. Now back to the show. Welcome back, Ashley.
- [02:00]
B
Hey, hey.
- [02:01]
A
It's time to go off the shelf for our recurring episode series. Today, we are talking about books, yes, but also articles, TV shows, pop culture, and how we're gearing up for fall, which we're recording this. I mean, spoiler alert. We're recording this at the end of August. Fall is a little bit hard for me to imagine. Perhaps you feel differently, but it feels like it's not quite here yet. But I believe when this episode airs, it'll be the first week of fall. So we're gonna talk about some autumnal things we're looking forward to reading, some things we've been watching, et cetera, et cetera. Ashley, now that you live somewhere where you get a fall, do you feel differently about it?
- [02:36]
B
Okay, actually, yes, because in mid August we had some days of rain, but then after that it legitimately felt like fall. Like beautiful blue sky, fall breeze. You know the difference between a fall Breeze and a summer breeze.
- [02:50]
A
Like, there is one.
- [02:52]
B
And I had to, like, actively make myself not excited. Cause I didn't want to rush out of summer as that's my favorite season. I was like, no, this is fake fall. We are not rushing out of summer. We still have fun summer activities coming up. Fall will come in September, and now it's hot and gross again, so.
- [03:10]
A
Oh, okay. Well, that makes me feel a little bit better.
- [03:12]
B
Yeah, we had. We had our fake fall, and now we're just awaiting real fall.
- [03:16]
A
This reminds me, my brother and I were voxing the other day, and he was reminiscing about the Reliant K song, Sunny with a high of 75. Do you know that song?
- [03:26]
B
Do I know that song? I don't know. Probably.
- [03:28]
A
I wonder if you're. Were you a Reliant K fan or are you too young? Are you, like, slightly below the mark?
- [03:33]
B
No. Everything I know about Reliant K has been against my will, just from you and him.
- [03:40]
A
Okay, well, he was talking about Sunny with a high of 75, which is a great song, but he was saying he doesn't like that song because he's like, no, 75 is too hot. And I was like, he and I both feel like we were born in the wrong place, but he lives in Chattanooga now. I live here. And I was like, I'm sorry, Sonny with a high of 75. While I'm walking around in Satan's mouth is. Sounds great. Like, I would much rather have Sonny with a high of 75. Like, I think he's just spoiled. Spoiled from. And you're probably getting there where you're getting a little spoiled. And it's like, no, it's still pretty miserable. I would take Sunny with a high of 75. Thank you so much.
- [04:21]
B
I mean, I'll take Sunny with a high of 75 any old time. I'm a summer girl.
- [04:25]
A
Yeah, you do love summer.
- [04:27]
B
I'll take. Listen, I'll take. I'll take 80 to 90 over winter, any day.
- [04:33]
A
Yeah, that is. And that is where our paths diverge. I have been really good. I've really liked this summer, and I feel like I've been pretty good about it. But I tell you what, truly, two nights ago, I stood in our kitchen and I said, I have tried hard to have a good attitude, but I freaking hate this month. I hate this time of year. August does me in every year.
- [04:52]
B
Listen, I'm jumping in that boat with you. Not for weather purposes, but there's just something about the month of August that August Seems like it's a little bit out to get me. Yes, listeners, just for your information, I had my appendix taken out 10 days prior to the recording of this podcast. So that's. That's August. That's August 2025.
- [05:15]
A
Yeah. Put that on your calendar, though. I don't think you'll. Forget it. I don't think you'll.
- [05:19]
B
I will never forget this experience.
- [05:21]
A
So she's here. She's not on drugs. She's happy, kind of. We're gonna. We're gonna talk about some things we've been reading this summer. Reading, watching, listening, but also just maybe things that are getting us ready for fall. So I'll kick us off and I will say as we exit one season and enter the next, that one of the joys of this summ me was utilizing the Thomas County Public Library. So I love libraries, but as. And people are probably sick of me talking about it, but because of the bookshelf, I just don't often need a library like, I used to need a library. Like, I don't need one. You know, when you used to. Do you remember, did you ever go to the library? Like, with your computer? Like, I wrote my thesis at a library. How did I. I go to the.
- [06:02]
B
Library almost daily right now. Well, not right now, appendix.
- [06:06]
A
But I think if you work from home, like, because of life at the bookshelf, like, I record podcasts from home. Like, when I'm not at the bookshelf, I'm at my house. That may change now that we have a child. Anyway, I've not maybe needed a library for my own personal book getting in a long time. I still like to go there, and I still like it as a community space. I find libraries to be very valuable. But for the first time this summer, I was actually, like, actively checking out books, and I got on this Ellen Hildebrand kick. She's a summer author. She's actually. She's like you in literary form. Like, she loves a summer book. She puts out a new book every summer. So I thus far have read three of them. I've read the Perfect Couple. I've read 28 Summers. I've read Summer of 69. I've liked all of them. But I am mentioning her in this podcast because her new book, the Academy, is coming out or came out already on September 16th. By the time this episode airs, it will be out already. But if you've never read her, I think that's a great place to start. It's a boarding school novel set at fictional tiffin Academy in New England. Oh my gosh. I love New England settings in books and I love a boarding school setting. And Ashley, I think you will like this because if I am not mistaken, if I don't have this wrong, you are a fan or were a fan of Gossip Girl. And there are some like teen angst soap opera elements to this book, but elevated like it's not a young adult novel but it features young adults. I loved it. It's set over the course of one year at this boarding school. It's the students junior year. If you like it, I hear that there's going to be a sequel out next year. So to me, August and September, September is soundly fall reading. But it can be hard here in the south to make that transition because it's still pretty hot in Thomasville in September. But I think this like Ellen Hildebrand going from reading her this summer and having my Ellen Hildebrand summer listener. Daisa said I'm officially a Hilda babe. I think that's what they call her readers. So as a Hilda babe now I'm just here to recommend the Academy coming out this fall. Ashley, I think you would like it a lot and maybe could help make the transition into the autumnal season fun.
- [08:19]
B
Very fun. Okay. Well as a normal, my books will be coming from what I read this summer, which means I read them after they came out. So I'm not pre reading, I'm not reading advanced copies of anything. So these aren't technically fall books. However, I did read Palm Meridian by Grace Flahive. Lovely cover summary cover, but it's about a retirement community in Florida and you know, one person experiences like or is experiencing some health drama, some mental drama. It's all about like her, her old folks coming around and making her see the beauty of life again. But it's also not, it's not very flowery. Like not very like maybe some things might not be okay at the end, but that's okay, you know.
- [09:08]
A
Okay. Realistic.
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B
Yeah. Yeah.
- [09:11]
A
Did you listen to it or read it?
- [09:13]
B
Listened. It was a good listen.
- [09:15]
A
Okay. I will also I'll go ahead and talk about another fall title that I don't know if you would like it in audiobook format just because it's going to be long. Although you do a lot more audiobook listening than I do. So I read the physical copy of Buckeye. This is the book that I led the episode with. It's by Patrick Ryan. It's historical fiction set over like I think mid World War II and then ends at the Vietnam War. So it covers this small town in Ohio. So it's got this vibrant Midwestern setting. And it's four cup or two couples, four people, and kind of how they navigate global events, but also some dysfunction and drama in their own marriages and in their own lives. I loved the characters in this book, and I was telling Aaron on a previous episode that one of the things I really liked about this book was the reminder that there have been other really hard seasons globally and nationally. And, like, there's something about reading about that Vietnam War era and how much was going on revolving around the Civil Rights movement and things like that that kind of puts what's happening now on a regular basis in perspective. And maybe that's a good reason to read historical fiction or to study up on history a little bit. But I thoroughly enjoyed it, and I do. Not often. I don't always. Or maybe one of the lies I tell myself is that I don't like historical fiction, but I actually really liked this. It's a big, thick novel, but it's good to kind of curl up with this fall. It's got a great cover. So that is Buckeye by Patrick Ryan.
- [10:47]
B
Okay. I was gonna mention, I do not gravitate towards historical fiction. I don't think I knew that about you either. But I was gonna ask if. When we talk about my personal fall reading list.
- [10:58]
A
Yes.
- [10:59]
B
Can we maybe add one historical fiction on there?
- [11:03]
A
Yes, I would love to. This gives listeners some insight into me as a person. But how many. How pregnant was I?
- [11:10]
B
I was deeply pregnant.
- [11:13]
A
Yeah. I was like, it was the beginning of summer. Yeah. I was one or two weeks away from giving birth, and I decided to make summer reading a summer reading list for myself. And then while I was at it, like, I sent it. I designed it on Canva, because, of course. And then I sent it to my family, and. And then somebody, I think it was. You were like, make me one. And I was like, happily. So then I made personalized summer reading lists for everybody, and it brought me so much joy, and I think I'm gonna do it for fall. It.
- [11:40]
B
No, it was one of the most helpful things that maybe you have ever done for me because I read. I read almost. I read every single book on that list that was available on audio.
- [11:53]
A
Okay. So.
- [11:54]
B
And I. I really wish I could have crossed all of them off. And technically, it's still summer, but not all of them are on audio, and that's pretty much what I'm doing exclusively.
- [12:01]
A
I think a summer reading list like that is great because, like, I only read maybe five books from my list. But to me, having a list like that is so helpful for if you're in a reading rut or if you finish a book and you don't know what to read next. Instead of like just sitting there kind of clueless, you can go back to your list and the list can kind of reground you. Anyway, I had so much fun, so I'm. I can't wait to design your fall. Your fall reading.
- [12:27]
B
Me either. No, it really was great for a reading rut because I have, you know, trouble making decisions about what to read. But while I was, while I was reading those books, like, I kept finding other books in addition that I, that I. And I listened to those too. So I guess it would just kind of like built up some momentum.
- [12:45]
A
Yeah, I think that's also what helps. It helps to have another person make a list because then you, you can do the job of like doing the serendipitous. If you really liked one of those books, you can go down that road. But you have this guide kind of providing some stability. Maybe I'm reading too much into it, but.
- [13:06]
B
No, I think you're right. Plus, if somebody tells me what to do, then I'm golden. I'll do it. I can cross off a list. Just give me the list.
- [13:15]
A
Yeah, let's go. Okay, well, good. I'm going to do that.
- [13:18]
B
Please. Okay. So I guess I'm just going to give you two highlights from that list. One, I did not write this down to talk about, but it is a standout to me and that is Jaws. Never read Jaws before.
- [13:30]
A
Yay.
- [13:30]
B
And I highly recommend now we're going into fall. It's not a fall book, but it's a really good book and there's just so much more in it than the movie.
- [13:40]
A
It's great fun.
- [13:41]
B
The movie is an every summer. Every summer watch for me. But reading, reading the book was just a completely different rich experience.
- [13:52]
A
Was the audiobook good?
- [13:54]
B
That's fine.
- [13:55]
A
Okay.
- [13:56]
B
I think you could, you could do either or.
- [13:57]
A
Okay. I love that book.
- [14:00]
B
The other, my other standout was the Griffin Sisters Greatest Hits by Jennifer.
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A
Oh, good. Your mom would like that one too.
- [14:07]
B
She totally would.
- [14:09]
A
Yeah.
- [14:09]
B
I mean, that has. I think somebody like lives in Alaska in that book. So that could be maybe fallish. It's cold.
- [14:16]
A
Yeah. That one doesn't necessarily feel summery to me. I think you could read that any old time.
- [14:20]
B
Yeah. So great job.
- [14:23]
A
Listen, I made those for Jordan and I made those and showed them to Jordan. Then he asked for one. And you know what? I'm just realizing? I never made him one. I think I gave birth instead. But Jordan saw what I had done, and he was like. I think he was so surprised by my joy at it, because he was like, isn't this literally your job? And I was like, it is. But also, this is so fun. I just. I loved it. Combines knowing somebody's personality and their reading. Like, it just felt like, I don't know the best parts of the job to me. Okay, you've been at home. Hold up. I'll be so curious if you've done any watching or if you've been too drugged to. To watch much. I also have been holed up, though, for different reasons. And I have watched oh, so many things. Oh, so many things.
- [15:11]
B
I need a list for that too.
- [15:13]
A
Listen, I'm just gonna briefly say that in the evenings, like, meaning right before bed. So not really evening, maybe late night before bed, we've been watching Scrubs. Jordan had never seen Scrubs, and I think you will get a kick out of. Did you ever watch Scrubs? I guess is one of my questions.
- [15:33]
B
I only saw snippets when I was, like, walking through the room when somebody else was watching it.
- [15:37]
A
I think your dad likes Scrubs.
- [15:39]
B
Yes.
- [15:39]
A
I feel like Chet loved Scrubs, and so I had seen many episodes because of Chet, I think, but Jordan had never seen it. And it was just very funny to me because I feel like people of a certain age are very familiar with Scrubs. And this was Jordan Jones one night while we were watching. He was like, hey, you know that guy? His name's Zach Braff, and he used to date, like, Florence Pugh. And I was like, yeah, thanks, Jordan. Like, he thought nobody. He thought Zach Braff was, like, a nobody.
- [16:12]
B
Thought he was a nobody.
- [16:14]
A
Like, thought that he thought that he was, like, an unknown actor.
- [16:17]
B
That's hilarious. Thought he discovered something.
- [16:20]
A
Yes, it was very funny. And then the guy who plays Turk. Oh, I'm blanking on his first name, but Faizan or Faison is his last name. And I just think it's funny that Jordan's pop cultural references are so very many decades ago, because Jordan goes, I think that guy. I think that's Petey. I think that's Petey. And I was like, petey from what? And he was like, remember the Titans. I think that's Petey from Remember the Titans. And he's right. It is Petey from Remember the Titans. But it was hilarious that that's what Jordan's pop Cultural references are just a little behind.
- [16:54]
B
Welcome to 2025, bud.
- [16:56]
A
Yeah, welcome. Like, yeah. So we're rewatching Scrubs briefly. I do just want to touch on two documentaries that I think you might enjoy is the Yogurt Shop Murders. It is on hbo. We're a few episodes in right at this moment. One new episode comes out every Sunday night, but it is about the tragic killings of four young women in a yogurt shop in Austin, Texas, in the 80s. This is a case that I had read a book about a while ago, and so I was intrigued to see a documentary about it. And then Mr. And Mrs. Murder, which is.
- [17:30]
B
That was gonna be mine.
- [17:33]
A
Just a cheesy name. But it is about the, I think now famous murder case from Tallahassee, the Mike Williams murder case, which is also deeply tragic, but also bizarre. Like, if you just read a book about Mike Williams murder, you would think it was fiction, because it is so. I mean, it's so bizarre. Like, all the twists and turns and. Anyway, did you watch it? Did you like it?
- [17:57]
B
Oh, yeah, I watched it as soon as it came out. And to be honest, I mean, it's definitely an interesting story. But the weirdest part was, like, it happened in our hometown of Tallahassee, Florida. And, like, we went to the same high school as this guy.
- [18:12]
A
Yeah.
- [18:13]
B
Yeah.
- [18:14]
A
I think. Jordan, I have read two books about that case and I was familiar with it because. So he is. Mike Williams was older than I was. I wanna say he graduated in, like, 99, but we were definitely at school at the same time. He was just several years older. But I have distinct memories of coming home from college or maybe even I was a senior in high school and there would be an ad in the paper every year that his mother would put out. And I remember, I mean, I.
- [18:43]
B
That black and white paper.
- [18:44]
A
Yes. And it was before you could, like, Google stuff. And I remember every year I would tell my dad, I cannot believe they still haven't found out who killed this guy. Like, anyway, if you're not familiar with the case, go watch the show. I think it's a pretty good documentary. And I will tell you, there are two books out about it. I think one of them, interestingly, I think the independently published book is better than the traditionally published book. The traditionally published book is called Guilty Creatures. It's fine. I actually think Evil at Lake Seminole is a far better book about the case. And it's an independently published book. I think. I did an interview with the author, like, during the pandemic. If you went Deep into the bookshelf from the front porch archives. I really liked it. And it was. Wasn't it wild to see, you know, all of the Tallahassee landmarks on tv?
- [19:28]
B
Yeah. No. So I was, you know, trying to do the timeline math, and I think they had, like, maybe the two suspects or like, one suspect and his ex wife or something. They had a Meetup at a McDonald's on North Monroe Street. And I did, like, I looked up the date and I was like, I think I was working at the Chick Fil a that was right next to that McDonald's. Like, what if I was there when they were there?
- [19:50]
A
You almost were part of a sting, right?
- [19:52]
B
Like, maybe I saw them and didn't even know it.
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A
Yeah.
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B
It was just. That was truly the weirdest part to me was hearing about all this stuff that was happening. I was a child and too young to understand anything, but when I saw that. That missing persons photo also, I was like, yeah, I have seen. Like, I grew up just seeing that everywhere. Really didn't know anything about it. I want to talk more about it, especially about the alligators in the lake portion, but I don't want to spoil anything.
- [20:22]
A
Okay. I do just want to ask you. This is what I told Jordan again. I was in high school, early college, when I saw the ad placed every year. Basically, Mike Williams. We won't go into too much detail, I guess, but, like, he went fishing one morning in November, and they just assumed and he never came home. And so everybody assumed that he drowned in the lake and was eaten by alligators. And did we not learn. This is a genuine question I have for you. I could have sworn in school I learned that alligators don't eat like that in the cold. Like, they don't. And so I always thought that was bunk. And I think it's bizarre that in Tallahassee, Florida Fish and Wildlife Administration, like, surely everyone knew that was not true and they just didn't. They just were trying to solve the case quietly, like. Right. Nobody really thought he was eaten by an alligator. Right.
- [21:14]
B
That's super weird. Cause you're right. And then there's another part that's super weird about other disappearances that have happened on that lake.
- [21:23]
A
Yes.
- [21:24]
B
Can I say that or no?
- [21:25]
A
Yeah, I think you can.
- [21:27]
B
There have been, what, like, 80 people who have disappeared in the lake since, what, the 1800s. But every single one of them, like, regardless of whether or not they were attacked by an alligator, has been found.
- [21:38]
A
Right. Their bodies were all found.
- [21:39]
B
Everyone was found except Mike Williams.
- [21:42]
A
Yeah. Anyway, the documentary is Mr. And Mrs. Murder and Mr. And Mrs. Murder, and it's on Hulu, so those are some things. What else have you been watching?
- [21:51]
B
So I'm almost done with inventing. Anna, have you seen that?
- [21:55]
A
Oh, yes. I don't know if I finished it now that I. It's only.
- [21:59]
B
It's on Netflix. It's only nine episodes long, I think, and I'm on episode eight.
- [22:04]
A
Oh, okay.
- [22:05]
B
But this woman, Anna Sorokin, she basically, like, commits a bunch of fraud. Like, as a slightly different person, it's basically just about faking it until you make it. She didn't have money, but made everybody believe she had money, and then somehow she just had money.
- [22:26]
A
That kind of stuff stresses me out. I was talking to the Bookshelf staff, and I don't consider myself a sensitive reader. I don't have a ton of triggers. But I have discovered financial stress is so stressful to me. Like watching a documentary where somebody doesn't have enough money or is a fraudster. Like, anything about that Elizabeth Holmes lady was stressful to me. Cause I just was like, oh, my gosh. Or the Fyre Festival. Like, every time we host a reader retreat, I'm like, oh, my gosh. What if it's like, fyre Festival? That stuff stresses me out. And that woman just. You're right. Like, took faking it till you make it to a whole nother level.
- [23:06]
B
Whole nother level. And I asked a friend about it. I was like, why can't I fake it till I make it? Like, not like, I'm not trying to commit fraud, but she was like, because you're an honest person. I'm like, why? Why does that mean I get the short end of the stick?
- [23:20]
A
Why does that mean I'm broke?
- [23:22]
B
I would like to vacation where the Kardashians vacation.
- [23:26]
A
Yeah.
- [23:27]
B
Instead, I'm paying for an appendectomy.
- [23:31]
A
I saw Megan Fahey. I think we've talked about her before, because I talked about how beautiful I think she is, and you looked at me like I had two heads, but she is the star. She was on the Bold Type, and she was in A Season of White Lotus. Now she's in Sirens on Netflix, and she's in a movie called the Drop.
- [23:50]
B
Wait, did I look at you like you had two heads because you think she's pretty and I don't?
- [23:54]
A
Yeah, I think so. Have you look her up?
- [23:56]
B
I'm looking her up right now. I mean, I don't think you have.
- [24:00]
A
Two heads, but you're making the same face. You did before.
- [24:05]
B
It's just upon first glance.
- [24:08]
A
I think she's beautiful.
- [24:11]
B
I'm so happy for you. That's great.
- [24:12]
A
I can see from your face that you disagree, but she was interviewed on Seth Meyers the other night, and she was talking about she grew up in Massachusetts. So did Seth Meyers. But she, I guess, had to film on Nantucket or Martha's Vineyard somewhere. And she was like, I rode the ferry in and it was my. I've lived in Massachusetts, but I've never gone to Martha's Vineyard. And she was like. And then I looked around and realized, oh, right, I don't have money for this. Like, like. And I thought it was so refreshing that this actress was like, oh, the reason my family never came here is we don't have the money to be here. And she's now a pretty successful actress. And she still was like, I don't. I don't belong here. Very comforting.
- [24:52]
B
That's hilarious. Also sounds like you.
- [24:55]
A
Yeah, it does sound like me. Okay. The other thing I've been watching is sports documentaries. So many sports documentaries. Quarterback on Netflix, Hard Knocks on hbo, Receiver on Netflix. There's a new one I haven't started yet about the SEC on Netflix. There's an ESPN documentary about the Chiefs that I would like to watch. There's one about the Buffalo Bills, who are also in this season of Hard Knocks. Anyway, I just have been eating that stuff up so much so that I started my own fantasy football league, which many people told me I should not do. And you know what that made me want to do? Do it even more.
- [25:35]
B
Yeah, I'm going to fantasy football even harder.
- [25:40]
A
Drew is out on if that's going to be fun or not, but planning for it has been fun. And yeah, we're making T shirts. Yeah, we're gonna make T shirts. One thing that I definitely did not realize about fantasy football, I kind of assumed it would be like, March Madness and, like, anybody can join. And so I was like, oh, I'll just put this on the Internet and we can all be a part of a league together. No, no, it's not like March Madness. That would be, I think, a pick em situation. This is like you draft players, which I knew I wasn't stupid. I did know you drafted players, but I didn't know you really should. Like, Our league is 12 people. Ashley is in it, which is good.
- [26:16]
B
What I think I participate in March Madness on multiple different.
- [26:22]
A
In multiple brackets every year, multiple platforms. It's a fun group. I think it's going to be really fun. I've already set up the rivalries. Can I tell you what your rival. Like, there's one week called rivalry week, and your team will play whoever I've pitted you against in a rivalry. So can I tell you some of the rivalries?
- [26:41]
B
Why do you get to be in charge?
- [26:43]
A
I'm the commissioner. You can call me commissioner if you want.
- [26:49]
B
Madam Commissioner.
- [26:51]
A
Thank you. Please. No. Okay, so can I tell you? Because by the time this episode comes out, I will have already told everybody else. So I assigned. There are 12 of us. So I created six rivalries. So. So, like, for example, me and Caroline are a rivalry, and it's gonna be called the bookend bowl because I'm the oldest and she's the youngest.
- [27:12]
B
Sometimes it makes me mad how clever you are.
- [27:16]
A
Okay, so you wanna know your bowl? Yes. Your bowl is the Blondie bowl. And it's you versus Megan.
- [27:25]
B
I knew it. Let's go.
- [27:27]
A
Come on, Megan. Okay, and then I'll say one more. Our friend Kimberly. And then Kate, who used to work at the bookshelf.
- [27:35]
B
Yeah. Kate Storhoff.
- [27:37]
A
Kate Storhoff. They are gonna be the romance reader bowl because they're the romance readers. Yeah. I'm so proud.
- [27:45]
B
It's like the football version of giving me a reading list, kind of.
- [27:49]
A
Yeah. Yes, that's exactly right. I think people underestimate how much I enjoy stuff like this. And I think people also forget that I do so much like bookish stuff. Now I'm doing baby stuff. And I just wanted something stupid, fun. I hope this is gonna be it.
- [28:03]
B
And I think you found it. Man. One of my. The only other thing I have under my watching list is football. Draft question mark. This is actually coming at a great time because before even you were doing this fantasy football league, I have been wanting to be more of an active participant in the appreciating of sports. I play them, but I don't watch them, nor do I keep up with them. And I've always been, you know, like the artsy sports. What?
- [28:33]
A
Right.
- [28:33]
B
But I don't like that because I do like sports. I'm probably not super interested in going to a football game on a Saturday, because I've done that and it takes forever, but I would like to be able to have a conversation about sports.
- [28:46]
A
You are like Lorelei Gilmore where she shows up to the Yale game and she's like, how long is this?
- [28:51]
B
Like, it's just the whole day. And when everyone else goes, and I could have the house to myself. Myself, why would I choose to go with them.
- [28:58]
A
Aside from.
- [29:00]
B
Listen, we do go to football games because we like the snacks. We like the Florida State opening planting of the sphere. And we love Florida State's marching chiefs. All the other stuff is just. Just the filler. Football filler.
- [29:12]
A
Well. Well, especially right now. You are not wrong. Especially right now. That is not an incorrect opinion. Yeah, I'm looking forward to it. Can I ask you one more Megan Fahey slash sports adjacent question, which is do you know who Joe Burrow is?
- [29:26]
B
I have heard the name.
- [29:28]
A
Do you think he is attractive?
- [29:30]
B
Hold on. Yep.
- [29:34]
A
All right. This is helpful.
- [29:36]
B
Okay. In some pictures, yes, but what is that fwoop when he has the long hair in front of his face? No. Short hair. Yes.
- [29:44]
A
Okay, great. I just. I just was curious. I really didn't know what your opinion would be.
- [29:48]
B
And I like the dirty blonde. I don't like this light blonde situation.
- [29:52]
A
Well, he bleached it last year.
- [29:54]
B
Yeah, I'm not. I do not support that.
- [29:56]
A
No, we don't do that. We don't support that.
- [29:58]
B
No.
- [30:01]
A
Hey, this is Annie, and I'm taking a quick break from this episode to tell you about Discover Thomasville. Gracefully tucked within the storied red hills of South Georgia, Thomasville curates a distinguished downtown experience that meanders along several blocks of our iconic red brick streets. Here, bespoke boutiques, master craftsmen, coveted antique art purveyors, and celebrated culinary artisans converge in harmony with the cultural richness of the Pebble Hill Plantation art tour and the tranquil allure of Birdsong Nature Center. Here, you discover the soul of the South. Here, you discover Thomasville. Learn more by visiting thomasvillega.com News Ever.
- [30:53]
B
Wonder what life is like with a phantom screen?
- [30:55]
A
It's magic. It is. Oh, wow. Wow, wow, wow, wow, wow, wow, wow. What is that?
- [31:01]
B
This is amazing. Retractable screens for your home.
- [31:05]
A
Make life better. Visit phantom screens.com. okay, what are you listening to?
- [31:12]
B
Okay, I think I'm just gonna tell you two songs.
- [31:16]
A
Okay.
- [31:17]
B
One is a beautiful piano piece called A Place to Call Home by Michael Ottison. I may have said this on another episode of the Kids Table, but, yeah, it's no words. It's just beautiful, beautiful piano. And I actually, I tried to find the sheet music for it because I love it so much, but it doesn't exist. And he is.
- [31:39]
A
He.
- [31:40]
B
He passed away, so I can't get it.
- [31:42]
A
Okay.
- [31:43]
B
All right.
- [31:44]
A
Well, that took a turn.
- [31:46]
B
It made me sad because, like, I want to appreciate and, you know, play his music, but I can't. So I'll just have to listen to him play it. And then the song called Autumn to May by Peter, Paul and Mary, I have it on vinyl. It's kind of. I don't want to call it a dumb song, but it's along the lines of Puff the Magic Dragon, kind of that vibe. But the harmonies. Oh, the harmonies. And they say the word autumn. So fall.
- [32:12]
A
Okay, done. And mic drop. Can I tell you one really stupid mistake I made postpartum? And I'm so upset. Like, I cried. So opening nights, which is Tallahassee's, like, arts programming, I subscribed to their emails, and I had seen weeks ago where they had dropped their lineup for 2025, 2026. And one of the shows in April is a band called Hanne Lee. And they cover. They do Peter, Paul and Mary songs. And so I was like, mom, that's mom's either birthday or Christmas present done. And we'll all go and it'll be delightful. And before tickets went on sale, dad called me. And guys, dads and daughters, I don't know if anybody else feels this way, but, like, when my dad asks me to do something, I will do it. He was like, hey, I found this cool thing. I want to get your mom tickets, but I need your help. And it was the same thing I was going to buy tickets for. And so I teased him a little bit, and I was like, well, this was going to be my present. He was like, well, go ahead, make it yours, but just make sure to get tickets. They went for sale. They went up for sale at 11am I remembered at 1pm to go buy the tickets. Gone.
- [33:21]
B
What?
- [33:22]
A
Gone. All of them.
- [33:24]
B
That's shocking.
- [33:26]
A
Was devastated. So devastated that I called the ticket office, which introverts nightmare called, and put myself on a waiting list in hopes that I could get tickets to a band called Hannelie. I am so upset. And then I was like, is it worth being upset about something that's not happening until April? I don't know. But I was devastated. And I felt. So it's like my job to be responsible. Like, that's a big. That's a big thing for me. Your job.
- [33:55]
B
Your job assigned by you. Yeah, Nobody else has said that.
- [34:02]
A
Assigned to me at birth. Well, my dad kind of did. He did kind of give me the responsibility of buying tickets. Anyway, I haven't even told. Listen, my parents don't listen to this podcast, which is why I can tell this story. And so my dad doesn't know that I didn't get tickets. I haven't Told him yet? I'm too upset.
- [34:19]
B
Oh, what if he got them?
- [34:21]
A
He did it.
- [34:22]
B
What if he did it anyway?
- [34:24]
A
No way. He was telling me to because I'm tech savvy.
- [34:28]
B
Oh, yeah.
- [34:29]
A
No, I screwed. I screwed up. I messed that up.
- [34:33]
B
We gotta befriend somebody with those season tickets who's not gonna be there.
- [34:36]
A
I put my name on the wait list and I really hope they give me a call.
- [34:39]
B
There's plenty of time for people to back out.
- [34:41]
A
That's right. He said I was at the top of the list anyway. Great. Yeah, we'll see. But band called Hannelie. You should look them up. They do Peter, Paul and Mary covers.
- [34:49]
B
Are you gonna go to the Jeff Goldblum show?
- [34:53]
A
I didn't get tickets for that either.
- [34:55]
B
Wow.
- [34:57]
A
Yeah. Yeah, it is. I'm just focus. I. I was like, okay, well, I at least got tef. I did. I get. I got my TEF season tickets. Let me know if you're in town for any of them. I did get those. And I still. It's like I'm still holding on to what we used to have. I still buy two tickets even though.
- [35:13]
B
Okay, I'm about to close out this window right now. This conversation is over.
- [35:19]
A
Okay, listen. What I have been listening to, I've not been doing audiobooks really, but I've been listening to a lot of Ellie Holcomb because she has great non annoying kids songs that I really love and I've always loved them. I used to listen to those albums before Isaac, but now I really get a lot of joy from listening to those with Isaac. And then we also have a Lullaby's play playlist that we have curated. And it does indeed have Puff the Magic Dragon on it, though I cannot listen to it now without bursting into tears. I always cried at that song, but now I really do. So. But it has leaving on a jet plane. It has rivers and roads by hair and the heart, not hare and the heart.
- [35:57]
B
Wait, is it the Head and the Heart?
- [35:59]
A
Head and the Heart. Hair and the Heart is two doors down from the bookshelf. Yes, got it. And then one artist who I'm really liking, who I think you will like. This is exciting. Cause I feel like you are more on top of it than I am when it comes to music. Olivia Dean. Have you heard of her?
- [36:13]
B
I don't know that I have.
- [36:14]
A
You're welcome. You just go enjoy Podbean. Your message amplified. Ready to share your message with the world. Start your podcast journey with Podbean. Podbean, the AI Powered all in one podcast platform. Thousands of businesses and enterprises trust Podbean to launch their podcasts. Use Podbean to record your podcast. Use PodBean AI to optimize your podcast. Use PodBean AI to turn your blog into a podcast. Use Podbean to distribute your podcast everywhere. Launch your podcast on podbean today. Okay. What are you buying?
- [36:53]
B
Okay. Aside from an appendix removal. Yes. That's going to be my personality for.
- [36:57]
A
The next six weeks till you pay off that bill.
- [37:02]
B
I think I have two things that I want to tell you about. One, I think you kind of already know the brand, but simple mills cheese crackers.
- [37:11]
A
I love those. Okay.
- [37:13]
B
They're fantastic.
- [37:13]
A
And they come in.
- [37:14]
B
You can either get them in a box or you can get them in a bigger box, but individually packaged. I like those single serving size. Also the Mediterranean herb crackers. Delicious. I make a good Caesar salad and I have been crumbling those up instead of croutons on top of it. Highly recommend. So good.
- [37:35]
A
Okay. Yeah, that sounds delicious.
- [37:38]
B
Yeah, they're really good. And then the other thing I think you'll enjoy, if you don't already do it, because you introduced me to this person, but it's art by Nikki's snail mail club.
- [37:48]
A
Yes.
- [37:49]
B
That's fantasy artist. Yeah. I've done it for two months now. And I just got my August mail today. Have you. Do you do it?
- [37:57]
A
I don't do. I paid for Lori Pemberton's. Okay. And so that was my. That felt like my budget then. But. But having these snail mail clubs is so fun.
- [38:07]
B
It's so fun. And Nikki, she gives you a lot of stuff. Like it's $7. She writes you a note and then you get your own, like, blank postcard and several, like, super high quality stickers. And I feel like you. You could. You can only get like two stickers for $7.
- [38:22]
A
That's crazy.
- [38:23]
B
@ a store. So it's a. It's a nice little package. Plus it's just guaranteed fun mail every month.
- [38:30]
A
I'll make sure we link to that in the show notes. We love Nikki. She did some of our bookshelf merch once upon a time. And I love the idea. I have my own. I have an idea for snail mail club.
- [38:42]
B
Wait, I want to be in on it. Can I do it?
- [38:46]
A
I'll talk to you off air.
- [38:47]
B
Okay.
- [38:48]
A
Yeah. It's an idea that a friend and I are toying around with. 2026. We'll see. We'll see if that's our year. I just like the idea it's very American Girl magazine coded.
- [38:58]
B
Oh, totally. I love that idea.
- [39:00]
A
Yeah. Okay. Much like you have made your appendix your personality. My personality is my rotted door.
- [39:07]
B
I thought you were going to say your baby.
- [39:09]
A
Oh, oh, oh, yeah. Oh, yeah, that.
- [39:13]
B
Oh, yeah.
- [39:14]
A
That little. That adorable little baby. My door. My rotted out door. That literally. The day we brought Isaac home from the hospital, my door literally collapsed. The bottom half of my door fell out. My dad had to emergency screw in plywood to the bottom of my door, so I replaced my door. My house is old. Everything is custom. Not because I'm an everything is custom kind of person, but because I live in an old home. So I paid an exorbitant amount of money for a custom sized door. It's now whatever, fiberglass or something. It's not going to rot. But all the wood around my door from the 1930s rotted right through. Like literally. You could poke your hole in it. Well, nope. You could poke a hole in it. You could poke a hole in it. Oh, God, that doesn't sound any better. Anyway, now it has also been replaced though. If you live in Thomasville, you probably notice that it's a different color from everything else because the painters haven't come yet. And so it's just been a saga and may I just say, an expensive saga. And so sometimes I look around and I'm like, oh, Ordinary Time bought Isaac's nursery. Ordinary Time bought my front door. And so thank you to every person who's bought Ordinary Time because thanks. Thanks to Ordinary Time, I've been able to pay for that stupid door. The other thing I just want to. Want to just say an appreciation that in 2025, one trend that I'm seeing a lot of places is elastic waist jeans. And as a postpartum woman, I just would like to say thank you. And I have found great jeans from. I think it's Pilcrow. They're barrel jeans, elastic waist. I got them from Anthropologie on sale and they're wonderful if you're living that postpartum or just in between sizes, or you just want elastic waist pants life.
- [41:06]
B
Or you just got your appendix removed and don't like wearing pants right now.
- [41:10]
A
There you go.
- [41:11]
B
I'm interested.
- [41:13]
A
People should play a drinking game with appendix and see how. How inebriated they become. Yeah, I highly recommend they to me. They are worth every penny. I also bought. I want to say I bought a pair when I was pregnant and I bought them from like aerie or something, but elastic waist just really grateful.
- [41:32]
B
Wait, do they look like regular jeans? Because I'm picturing jeggings.
- [41:36]
A
No, they're regular jeans. They just have an elastic waist.
- [41:39]
B
Interesting.
- [41:40]
A
So no button or zipper?
- [41:43]
B
Yeah.
- [41:43]
A
Yeah. All right.
- [41:44]
B
Good to know.
- [41:45]
A
They're awesome. Okay. That is what we're reading, watching, listening, buying. As we head into fall. We would love to hear what you guys are into this fall. So let us know. Tell us if you have a fantasy football league. Tell us who you root for. Yeah, let us know. This week, what I Am Reading is brought to you by Discover Thomasville Gracefully. Tucked within the storied red hills of South Georgia, Thomasville curates a distinguished downtown experience that meanders along several blocks of our iconic red brick streets. Here you discover the soul of the South. Here you discover Thomasville. Learn more by visiting thomasvillega.com News One of the things I like to talk about when we do these ad reads is things that are a little bit off the beaten path and in Thomasville. And I've talked a little bit about Birdsong Nature Center. I've talked about the center for the Arts. One of the other favorite places I love to support both through the bookshelf and then just personally is the Thomasville History Center. So we have a great museum community here in Thomasville, but the Thomasville History center is located near downtown. And the reason I want to highlight it is because during the fall they do a couple of really special events. In early October, they do a crate to table meal. They literally put a meal in a crate and then you can either eat on the grounds of the museum or you can take it home and like have a to go meal. Oh my gosh, it's such a small town. It almost feels like Gilmore Girls, a tiscuit, a tasket kind of situation. Your meal literally comes in a basket. You're supporting a great cause. And then listeners and longtime customers know how much I absolutely adore chicken perlo and the chicken perlo dinner that they do every year on election night. It's just a great reminder that we live in community with one another and really captures the spirit of Thomasville and loving your neighbor. So those are a couple of things that I'm really looking forward to to this fall season as we support the Thomasville History Center. This week, I am reading the Wilderness by Angela Flournoy. Ashley, what are you reading?
- [43:49]
B
I'm reading the Will of the Many by James Islington.
- [43:53]
A
Thank you again to our sponsor, Discover Thomasville. Here you discover the soul of the South. Here you discover Thomasville. Learn more by visiting thomasvillega.com forward/news 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 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 Cami Tidwell, Jamie Treadwell, Linda Lee Drost, Jean Crow, Queens Martha Stephanie Dean Beth Ashley Farrell, Amanda Wickham, Nicole Marcy Wendy Jenkins. 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 frontporch we're so grateful for you and we look forward to meeting back here next week. Sam.