Podcast Summary: From the Front Porch, Episode 552

From the Front Porch Live with Amy Poeppel
Aired October 23, 2025

Overview

In this lively, warm, and laughter-filled live episode, Annie Jones (owner of The Bookshelf in Thomasville, GA) hosts author Amy Poeppel alongside guests Hunter McClendon and Ashley Sherlock. Recorded at the Bookshelf’s fall Reader Retreat, the group explores the meaning of “home”—in life and in pop culture—through heartfelt stories, hilarious confessions, and a fantasy draft of their favorite fictional and film homes. The episode blends personal anecdotes, reflections on moving and belonging, and fun debates over iconic houses from literature, film, and TV.

Main Themes & Purpose

• Exploring the concept of "home"—both as a physical place and as a feeling or relationship
• How home is depicted in books, movies, and TV
• Author Amy Poeppel’s inspirations for her new novel, Far and Away, which features a cross-continental house swap
• The transformative, sometimes uncomfortable, journey of finding or redefining home
• A fantasy “snake draft” of iconic homes from pop culture, with plenty of nostalgia and humor

Key Discussion Points & Insights

What Does "Home" Mean to You?

(Begins ~03:00)

• Hunter shares he’s lived in over 30 places by age 32, so home is more about people than place:

  "For me, home is people. I know that's so cheesy. But home is when Annie and I record for Conqueror Classic... or every morning when I talk to my granny on the phone and she prays for me to have a good day." – Hunter (04:09)

• Amy Poeppel admits she often imagines herself "at home" wherever she goes and builds little mental lives in new locations:

  "My problem is that I go places and I picture myself there, like, almost to, like, a psychological problem... I can just imagine the whole life." – Amy (05:24) "It's not enough for me necessarily just to spend three days there. I want to settle in and get comfortable." – Amy (06:05)

House Swaps, “The Holiday,” and Pop Culture Tropes

(Begins ~08:00)

• Amy’s Far and Away takes a page from "The Holiday" and other house-swapping stories.
• The group debates the movie "The Holiday" (mostly negative, except for the idea of swapping houses).

  "I hate The Holiday. Drop the table! ...It's one of my mom's favorite movies. I don't know. It's not for me." – Annie (08:41)

• Amy explains what she did like about "The Holiday":

  "What I loved was the contrast in places. And the second thing that I loved was the getting accidentally super entwined in somebody else's life." – Amy (09:33)

The Feeling of Fish-Out-of-Water

(Begins ~11:18)

• Amy recalls her parenting and language struggles after moving to Germany and feeling like an outsider:

  "Living in Germany with my kids in a school where I didn't feel like I fit in... just that awful feeling. But I think it enriches. Even the discomfort is enriching." – Amy (12:38)

• Hunter and Ashley share their anxieties moving or traveling, realizing routines and community are key to settling in.

The “First Year Rule”

(15:22)

• Amy's advice: with any new place, don't judge it until you've lived there a year.

  "I always tell my kids they're not allowed to even form an opinion about a place until they've been there for a year... First year does not count." – Amy (15:24)

Pop Culture & Fictional “Homes” that Stay With Us

(17:00)

• Amy’s picks:
  • The brownstone from “Moonstruck”
  • The house in "Pineapple Street"
• Hunter’s picks:
  • Swamplandia (evoking Southern, Florida homes)
• Annie’s (Little House on the Prairie, Father of the Bride house, Nancy Meyers’ film homes)
• The panel discusses why certain houses—lived-in, layered with memory—feel so aspirational, and why some are just "comforting."

The Fantasy Home “Draft”

(Begins ~21:00, Runs through 38:00+)

• Premise: Each panelist drafts their ideal homes from a curated list of famous book/movie/TV residences.
• Format: Snake draft, with rounds of snappy, heartfelt justifications.
• Notable Picks & Arguments:
  • Annie: Kathleen Kelly's apartment (You've Got Mail)

    "That is... It's the daisies, it's the piano, it's the Shop Around the Corner signs, the quilt on the bed... all I ever want is for my home to look as lived in and as comfortable." – Annie (22:05)

  • Amy: Nick Parker’s Napa Vineyard (The Parent Trap) and Father of the Bride house ("I'm going to do Taylor Swift with the basketball hoop!") (31:06)
  • Hunter: Lorelei's house (Gilmore Girls) – craving the creaky stairs and messy affection.
  • Lots of trading, gentle teasing, and debate—especially over Monica's apartment from Friends, Monica's purple walls, and mismatched chairs.

Drafted Houses:

• Kathleen Kelly’s apartment (You’ve Got Mail)
• Father of the Bride house
• Home Alone house
• Monica’s apartment (Friends)
• Lorelai’s house (Gilmore Girls)
• Green Gables
• Orchard House (Little Women)
• Napa Vineyard (Parent Trap)
• Emily Cooper’s Parisian apartment (Emily in Paris)
• The cottage from The Holiday
• Cousins Beach House (The Summer I Turned Pretty)
• The Family Stone house

Draft Recap & Crowd Voting

(38:06)

• Each panelist summarizes their “roster” of homes.
• Audience votes—Amy’s “Nick Parker’s Napa Vineyard” ultimately wins.

  "It's Nick Parker. You are all invited... my new wine will be out and you are all welcome." – Amy (40:46)

Audience Q&A & Lightning Round

(Starts ~41:00)

• Amy's Reading Order:

  "Read Musical Chairs next... it's about adult children moving back home... the house in that book is my house." – Amy (42:07)

  • Sweet Spot also recommended—film adaptation in the works!

• Panelists’ Real-Life Favorite Homes:

  • Annie: Her parents' porch swing in Georgia; comfort in childhood.
  • Amy: Her porch in Kent, Connecticut—peepers, hills, family.
  • Hunter: Baths as a child in a toy bin, grandmother making it "magical" (47:00)

    "My granny...would boil water...and fill up this tub for me to take a bath... That's something, I think. That, like, brings me a lot of comfort." – Hunter (47:03)

• Literary Homes They’d Want to Live In:

  • Annie: Green Gables or Orchard House
  • Amy: A cozy, unfancy beach house from Sandwich; Mr. Rochester’s mansion as backup

• Books That Shaped Them:

  • Hunter: White Oleander, Mary Poppins, Anna Karenina, Ellen Hopkins novels.
  • Amy: Little House books, Ellen Foster (Kay Gibbons).
  • Annie: An Old-Fashioned Girl (Louisa May Alcott), Marilynne Robinson, Elizabeth Strout.

• Concord Classics Favorites:

  • Annie: Lonesome Dove
  • Hunter: Lonesome Dove and Anna Karenina (up to book 7)

• “If you were an English professor…”—Three Must-Assign Books:

  • Annie: Salvage the Bones (Jesmyn Ward), Gilead (Marilynne Robinson), Complete Stories (Flannery O’Connor)
  • Amy: Beloved (Toni Morrison), A Streetcar Named Desire (Tennessee Williams), Housekeeping (Marilynne Robinson) or a Kay Gibbons novel
  • Hunter: Fates and Furies (Lauren Groff), Sula (Toni Morrison), Edinburgh (Alexander Chee)

Notable Quotes & Moments

• On Defining Home:
  "Home is when Annie and I record... my brain goes, oh, this is home." – Hunter (04:09)
• On Narrative Comfort:
  "But Amy's books have been a light and, yeah, a comfort." – Annie (00:56)
• On Letting Places Settle:
  "I always tell my kids they're not allowed to even form an opinion about a place until they've been there for a year." – Amy (15:24)

Timestamps for Important Segments

• 00:01 – Introduction and context setting
• ~03:00 – Panelists define "home"
• ~08:00 – House swap trope and The Holiday
• ~11:18 – Fish out of water stories; cultural discomfort
• ~21:00 – Fantasy home draft begins
• ~38:06 – Team recaps and audience voting
• ~41:00 – Audience Q&A begins
• ~47:00 – Favorite real-life home stories
• ~57:00 – Books that shaped reading lives and teaching choices

Tone & Takeaway

This episode is heartfelt and playful—the conversational chemistry between Annie, Amy, Hunter, and Ashley is effusive and inviting. They move easily between nostalgia, humor, and deeper reflections on what makes a place—or a person—feel like home. Ideal for book lovers, pop culture fans, and anyone negotiating the meaning of home amid change, distance, or growth.

For fans or those new to the show: This is a perfect snapshot of From the Front Porch’s community spirit—part book club, part front porch hangout, and loaded with Southern charm.