The Currently Reading Podcast

Want to know what kind of reader you are? TAKE OUR QUIZ:
https://www.currentlyreadingpodcast.com/quiz
 
In this episode of Currently Reading, Kaytee and Mary discuss their bookish moments of the week, and then tell you about three current reads each. For this week's episode, our current reads bring beloved authors and new to us reads, with some spicy opinions. For our Deep Dive, we discuss reasons why we wouldn't rate a book we read, or why we WOULD share a book with a low rating. We'll always end with our Before We Go segment, where we shout out a Bookish Friend of the week or talk about a specific small piece of our reading lives that we want to share with you. Today, Kaytee shouts out a bookish friend who is looking for writing compatriots and Mary brings something she is curious about.
 
0:00 Welcome to Currently Reading

0:49 Bookish Moments of the Week

6:12 Current Reads

6:34 Hekate by Nikita Gill (Mary)
https://bookshop.org/a/79394/9780316596763

11:22 Henry Tudor Must Die by Jillian Laine (Kaytee)
https://bookshop.org/a/79394/9798217189717

16:42 The Infinite Sadness of Small Appliances by Glenn Dixon (Mary)
https://bookshop.org/a/79394/9781668097267

27:02 Saving Jemima by Julie Zickefoose (Kaytee)
https://bookshop.org/a/79394/9781328518958

27:35 The Q by Beth Brower (Mary)
https://bookshop.org/a/79394/9780998063683 

33:42 The Serpent King by Jeff Zentner (Kaytee)

https://bookshop.org/a/79394/9780553524055

40:17 Deep Dive: When We Choose Not to Rate a Book

56:24 Before We Go

1:00:49 Song for a Whale by Lynne Kelly
https://bookshop.org/a/79394/9781524770266

1:02:07 Wrap-Up

 



#books #reading #currentlyreading #podcast #currentreads
❤️ Support Us:
Become a Bookish Friend on Patreon | https://patreon.com/currentlyreadingpodcast 
Grab Some Merch on Zazzle | http://www.zazzle.com/store/currentlyreading
Shop Bookshop dot org | https://bookshop.org/shop/currentlyreading
Bookish Friends Receive:
The Indie Press List with a curated list of five books hand sold by the indie of the month. June's IPL is brought to you by one of our beloved repeat stores, Schuler Books in Grand Rapids, MI.

Love and Chili Peppers with Kaytee and Rebekah - romance lovers get their due with this special episode focused entirely on the best selling genre fiction in the business

All Things Murderful with Meredith and Elizabeth - special content for the scary-lovers, brought to you with the behind-the-scenes insights of an independent bookseller

From the Editor's Desk with Kaytee and Bunmi Ishola - a quarterly peek behind the curtain at the publishing industry

The Bookish Friends Facebook Group - where you can build community with bookish friends from around the globe as well as our hosts

Connect With Us:
The Show: 
Instagram | https://instagram.com/currentlyreadingpodcast
Website | https://currentlyreadingpodcast.com/
Email | hello@currentlyreadingpodcast.com
Substack | https://currentlyreadingpodcast.substack.com/
Youtube | https://www.youtube.com/@currentlyreadingpodcast
Threads | https://www.threads.net/@currentlyreadingpodcast
The Hosts and Regulars: 
Meredith | https://instagram.com/meredithmondayschwartz
Kaytee | https://instagram.com/notesonbookmarks
Mary | https://instagram.com/maryreadsandsips
Roxanna | https://instagram.com/roxannathereader
Production and Editing: 
Megan Phouthavong Evans | https://instagram.com/mostofmegansreads

Want to know what kind of reader you are? TAKE OUR QUIZ:
https://www.currentlyreadingpodcast.com/quiz
 
In this episode of Currently Reading, Kaytee and Meredith discuss their bookish moments of the week, and then tell you about three current reads each. For this week's episode, our current reads cover a wide range of topics from children's classics to cannibalism. For our Deep Dive, we discuss books that we either need to revisit or books we have already re-read and formed a new opinion. We'll always end with our Before We Go segment, where we shout out a Bookish Friend of the week or talk about a specific small piece of our reading lives that we want to share with you. Today, Meredith shouts out the entire bookish friends group as a whole and Kaytee tells us about a book that she DNFd and why.
Show notes are time-stamped below for your convenience. Read the transcript of the episode (this link only works on the main site).
0:00 — Welcome to Currently Reading

3:21 — Bookish Moments of the Week

8:04 — Current Reads

8:18 — A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle (Kaytee) https://bookshop.org/a/79394/9780312367541

12:05 — Brother by Ania Ahlborn (Meredith) https://bookshop.org/a/79394/9781476783734 

18:26 — Joyful Anyway by Kate Bowler (Kaytee) https://bookshop.org/a/79394/9780593734193 

22:26 — Mrs. McGinty's Dead by Agatha Christie (Meredith) https://bookshop.org/a/79394/9780063376915 

28:30 — The Hunger by Alma Katsu (Kaytee) https://bookshop.org/a/79394/9780735212534 

33:01 — Five by Ilona Bannister (Meredith) https://bookshop.org/a/79394/9798217088027

40:21 — Deep Dive: Books We Want to Give a Second Chance

54:38 — Before We Go

63:11 — Wrap-Up




#books #reading #currentlyreading #podcast #currentreads
❤️ Support Us:
Become a Bookish Friend on Patreon | https://patreon.com/currentlyreadingpodcast 
Grab Some Merch on Zazzle | http://www.zazzle.com/store/currentlyreading
Shop Bookshop dot org | https://bookshop.org/shop/currentlyreading
Bookish Friends Receive:
The Indie Press List with a curated list of five books hand sold by the indie of the month. June's IPL is brought to you by one of our beloved repeat stores, Schuler Books in Grand Rapids, MI.

Love and Chili Peppers with Kaytee and Rebekah - romance lovers get their due with this special episode focused entirely on the best selling genre fiction in the business

All Things Murderful with Meredith and Elizabeth - special content for the scary-lovers, brought to you with the behind-the-scenes insights of an independent bookseller

From the Editor's Desk with Kaytee and Bunmi Ishola - a quarterly peek behind the curtain at the publishing industry

The Bookish Friends Facebook Group - where you can build community with bookish friends from around the globe as well as our hosts

Connect With Us:
The Show: 
Instagram | https://instagram.com/currentlyreadingpodcast
Website | https://currentlyreadingpodcast.com/
Email | hello@currentlyreadingpodcast.com
Substack | https://currentlyreadingpodcast.substack.com/
Youtube | https://www.youtube.com/@currentlyreadingpodcast
Threads | https://www.threads.net/@currentlyreadingpodcast
The Hosts and Regulars: 
Meredith | https://instagram.com/meredithmondayschwartz
Kaytee | https://instagram.com/notesonbookmarks
Mary | https://instagram.com/maryreadsandsips
Roxanna | https://instagram.com/roxannathereader
Production and Editing: 
Megan Phouthavong Evans | https://instagram.com/mostofmegansreads/

Want to know what kind of reader you are? TAKE OUR QUIZ:
https://www.currentlyreadingpodcast.com/quiz
 
In this episode of Currently Reading, Kaytee and Meredith discuss their bookish moments of the week, and then tell you about three current reads each. For this week's episode, our current reads span the years from 1963 to 2026, ranging from murdery goodness to literary fiction to non-fiction about our bodies. For our Deep Dive, we discuss what it means to us to go into a book with no prior knowledge whatsoever. We'll always end with our Before We Go segment, where we shout out a Bookish Friend of the week or talk about a specific small piece of our reading lives that we want to share with you. Today, Kaytee tells us about stocking our summer TBRs, and Meredith enters "fragrance corner" but makes it bookish.
 
00:00 Welcome to Currently Reading
01:34 Bookish Moments of the Week
2:25 Funlenry Bath Lamp https://a.co/d/0eAYfrXE
06:38 Current Reads
06:46 Missing by E.A. Jackson (Meredith) https://bookshop.org/a/79394/9781668079805
12:28 Harriet Tubman: Live in Concert by Bob the Drag Queen (Kaytee) https://bookshop.org/a/79394/9781668061978
16:33 The Ending Writes Itself by Evelyn Clarke (Meredith) https://bookshop.org/a/79394/9780063444614
22:10 Replaceable You by Mary Roach (Kaytee) https://bookshop.org/a/79394/9781324050629
26:21 The Wall by Marlen Haushofer (Meredith) https://bookshop.org/a/79394/9780811231947
36:32 Honey Bee Mine by Sarah T. Dubb (Kaytee) https://bookshop.org/a/79394/9781668037874
40:29 Deep Dive: Going Into a Book "Blind"
53:59 Before We Go
01:04:38 Wrap-Up
1:01:25 Ode to Perfume https://www.odetoperfume.com/ 
#books #reading #currentlyreading #podcast #currentreads
❤️ Support Us:
Become a Bookish Friend on Patreon | https://patreon.com/currentlyreadingpodcast 
Grab Some Merch on Zazzle | http://www.zazzle.com/store/currentlyreading
Shop Bookshop dot org | https://bookshop.org/shop/currentlyreading
Bookish Friends Receive:
The Indie Press List with a curated list of five books hand sold by the indie of the month. June's IPL is brought to you by one of our beloved repeat stores, Schuler Books in Grand Rapids, MI.

Love and Chili Peppers with Kaytee and Rebekah - romance lovers get their due with this special episode focused entirely on the best selling genre fiction in the business

All Things Murderful with Meredith and Elizabeth - special content for the scary-lovers, brought to you with the behind-the-scenes insights of an independent bookseller

From the Editor's Desk with Kaytee and Bunmi Ishola - a quarterly peek behind the curtain at the publishing industry

The Bookish Friends Facebook Group - where you can build community with bookish friends from around the globe as well as our hosts

Connect With Us:
The Show:
Instagram | https://instagram.com/currentlyreadingpodcast
Website | https://currentlyreadingpodcast.com/
Email | hello@currentlyreadingpodcast.com
Substack | https://currentlyreadingpodcast.substack.com/
Youtube | https://www.youtube.com/@currentlyreadingpodcast
Threads | https://www.threads.net/@currentlyreadingpodcast
The Hosts and Regulars:
Meredith | https://instagram.com/meredithmondayschwartz
Kaytee | https://instagram.com/notesonbookmarks
Mary | https://instagram.com/maryreadsandsips
Roxanna | https://instagram.com/roxannathereader
Production and Editing:
Megan Phouthavong Evans | https://instagram.com/mostofmegansreads/

On this episode of Currently Reading, Meredith and Elizabeth are discussing:
Bookish Moments: overseas bookstores and book resources

Current Reads: all the great, interesting, and/or terrible stuff we've been reading lately

Deep Dive: Meredith and Elizabeth imagine books in their own bookstore

Before We Go: our new segment featuring a bookish friend post and Elizabeth updates us on her grandbabies

Show notes are time-stamped below for your convenience. Read the transcript of the episode (this link only works on the main site).
.
.
.
 
1:53 - Ad For Ourselves
2:12 - Currently Reading Patreon
3:20 - Bookish Moments of the Week
4:19 - Waterstones
4:22 - Barter Books
4:37 - Foyles
4:38 - Notting Hill Bookshop
5:10 - Goldsboro Books
6:10 - Booklist magazine
8:27 - Current Reads
9:42 - The Calamity Club by Kathryn Stockett (Elizabath)
14:19 - Where are the Children by Mary Higgins Clark (Meredith)
18:54 - Loves Music, Loves to Dance by Mary Higgins Clark
19:43 - The Burning Side by Sarah Damoff (Elizabeth)
19:47 - The Bright Years by Sarah Damoff
21:51 - Sarah's Bookshelves Live
23:12 - Reliquary by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child (Meredith)
24:23 - Relic by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child
29:39 - Everything Was Beautiful and Nothing Hurt by Ben Reeves (Elizabeth, pre-order releases July 7, 2026)
30:00 - The Correspondent by Virginia Evans
32:35 - Theo of Golden by Allen Levi
32:37 - Life, and Death, and Giants by Ron Rindo
32:50 - Fresh Water for Flowers by Valerie Perrin
32:57 - Page & Palette
34:30 - The Astral Library by Kate Quinn (Meredith)
37:29 - Nevermoor by Jessica Townsend
37:30 - The Book Wanderers by Anna James
40:21 - The Rose Code by Kate Quinn
40:22 - The Alice Network by Kate Quinn
40:59 - A River Enchanted by Rebecca Ross
43:36 - Deep Dive: Books We'd Stock In Our Own Bookstores
44:37 - God of the Woods by Liz Moore
44:38 - Fabled Bookshop
44:49 - Roots by Alex Haley
45:56 - Scythe by Neal Shusterman
47:48 - The Iron House by John Hart
49:03 - I Am Pilgrim by Terry Hayes
49:53 - Those Who Save Us by Jenna Blum
51:06 - The War That Saved My Life by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley
52:12 - Red Notice by Bill Browder
52:42 - Castle of Water by Dane Huckelbridge
54:40 - The Winter Sea by Susanna Kearsley
54:49 - Outlander by Diana Gabaldon
54:50 - The Painted Veil by W. Somerset Maugham
55:22 - The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas
55:23 - A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles
56:13 - The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield
57:26 - Piranesi by Susanna Clarke
58:03 - Running with Sherman by Christopher McDougall
59:06 - Born To Run by Christopher McDougall 
1:00:02 - The Red Tent by Anita Diamant
1:00:52 - Burial Rites by Hannah Kent
1:01:17 - Keeper of Lost Causes by Jussi Adler-Olsen
1:01:19 - Death in the Family by Tessa Wegert
1:01:30 - The Woman on the Ledge by Ruth Mancini
1:03:00 - Before We Go
Meredith highlights a bookish friend post
Elizabeth brings an update and bookish support
 
Support Us:
Become a Bookish Friend | Grab Some Merch
Shop Bookshop dot org | Shop Amazon
Bookish Friends Receive:
The Indie Press List with a curated list of five books hand sold by the indie of the month. June's IPL is brought to you by one of our beloved repeat stores, Schuler Books in Grand Rapids, MI.

Love and Chili Peppers with Kaytee and Rebekah - romance lovers get their due with this special episode focused entirely on the best selling genre fiction in the business

All Things Murderful with Meredith and Elizabeth - special content for the scary-lovers, brought to you with the behind-the-scenes insights of an independent bookseller

From the Editor's Desk with Kaytee and Bunmi Ishola - a quarterly peek behind the curtain at the publishing industry

The Bookish Friends Facebook Group - where you can build community with bookish friends from around the globe as well as our hosts

Connect With Us:
The Show: Instagram | Website | Email | Threads | Substack | Youtube
The Hosts and Regulars: Meredith | Kaytee | Mary | Roxanna
Production and Editing: Megan Phouthavong Evans
Affiliate Disclosure: All affiliate links go to Bookshop unless otherwise noted. Shopping here helps keep the lights on and benefits indie bookstores. Thanks for your support!

This episode of The Currently Reading Podcast is a great place to jump in if you love honest book recommendations and spoiler-free bookish conversation.
Meredith and Kaytee help two listeners take control of their overflowing TBR piles with personalized picks. They also get into everything they have been reading lately, from literary fiction like Martyr! by Kaveh Akbar to the cozy fantasy of T. Kingfisher, and they talk honestly about how to keep your reading life calm instead of overwhelming.
On this episode of Currently Reading, Meredith and Kaytee are discussing:
Bookish Moments: needing some reading sanity and two Kindles?

Current Reads: all the great, interesting, and/or terrible stuff we've been reading lately

Deep Dive: Kaytee and Meredith boss some listeners' TBRs

Before We Go: our new segment featuring a bookish friend post and Meredith brings a book she may DNF

Show notes are time-stamped below for your convenience. Read the transcript of the episode (this link only works on the main site).
.
.
.
 
1:23 - Bookish Moments of the Week
3:16 - The Reimagining of Thornwood House by Jaleigh Johnson (pre-order, releases June 9, 2026)
5:56 - Martyr! by Kaveh Akbar 
10:53 - Current Reads
11:14 - The Bookseller by Tim Sullivan (Meredith)
17:03 - The Better Mother by Jennifer van der Kleut (Kaytee)
21:30 - Strangers by Belle Berden (Meredith)
24:06 - Awake by Jen Hatmaker
28:49 - Nine Goblins by T. Kingfisher (Kaytee)
29:36 - A Sorceress Comes To Call by T. Kingfisher
32:40 - What Moves the Dead by T. Kingfisher
32:41 - Nettle & Bone by T. Kingfisher
32:42 - Swordheart by T. Kingfisher
34:56 - The Red Winter by Cameron Sullivan (Meredith)
36:42 - An Unlikely Story
38:25 - Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell by Susanne Clarke
39:26 - The Bright Sword by Lev Grossman
40:13 - Isola by Allegra Goodman (Kaytee)
45:35 - Deep Dive: Boss My TBR
From Carrie:
47:19 - Lady Tremine by Rachel Hochhauser
47:20 - How to Kill A Guy In Ten Dates by Shailee Thompson
47:24 - Five by Ilona Bannister
47:27 - Isabella Nagg and the Pot of Basil by Oliver Darkshire
47:57  - romance.io 
48:02 - This Summer will be Different by Carley Fortune
50:38 - Every Summer After by Carley Fortune
From Gianna:
52:26 - The Boomerang by Robert Bailey
52:28 - Down with the Shipmans by Meg Mitchell Moore
52:31 - For Whom the Belle Tolls by Jaysea Lynn
52:34 - Good People by Patmeena Sabit
52:37 - Lady Tremine by Rachel Hochhauser
57:23 - Before We Go
Kaytee highlights a bookish friend post
Meredith brings a book she might DNF and why
59:43 - Bat Eater and Other Names for Cora Zang by Kylie Lee Baker
 
Support Us:
Become a Bookish Friend | Grab Some Merch
Shop Bookshop dot org | Shop Amazon
Bookish Friends Receive:
The Indie Press List with a curated list of five books hand sold by the indie of the month. May's IPL is brought to us from a new to us bookstore, Book & Books in Coral Gables, Florida

Love and Chili Peppers with Kaytee and Rebekah - romance lovers get their due with this special episode focused entirely on the best selling genre fiction in the business

All Things Murderful with Meredith and Elizabeth - special content for the scary-lovers, brought to you with the behind-the-scenes insights of an independent bookseller

From the Editor's Desk with Kaytee and Bunmi Ishola - a quarterly peek behind the curtain at the publishing industry

The Bookish Friends Facebook Group - where you can build community with bookish friends from around the globe as well as our hosts

Connect With Us:
The Show: Instagram | Website | Email | Threads | Substack | Youtube
The Hosts and Regulars: Meredith | Kaytee | Mary | Roxanna
Production and Editing: Megan Phouthavong Evans
Affiliate Disclosure: All affiliate links go to Bookshop unless otherwise noted. Shopping here helps keep the lights on and benefits indie bookstores. Thanks for your support!