From the Front Porch

This week on From the Front Porch, it's an episode of Off the Shelf with Annie & Ashley! Annie is joined by friend, cousin, and former colleague, Ashley Sherlock, to chat about what they’re reading – but also what they’re watching, listening to, and buying.

To purchase the books mentioned in this episode, stop by The Bookshelf in Thomasville, visit our website (search episode 599) or download and shop on The Bookshelf’s official app:

Annie reading: 

● Bad Words by Rioghnach Robinson ​(October 6th, 2026)

● American Nightmare by Kelly McWilliams 

● See You Next Tuesday by Kate Staymon-London 

 

Ashley reading: 

● The Shampoo Effect by Jenny Jackson 

● Whistler by Ann Patchett 

● The Land and Its People by David Sedaris 

● Don’t Trust Fish by Neil Snapson 

 

Annie watching: 

● Sterling Point 

● Not Suitable for Work 

● Ted Lasso 

● One Night Only 

● The Devil Wears Prada 2 

 

Ashley watching: 

● Voicemails for Isabelle 

 

Annie listening to: 

● The Amateur by Chris Bohjalian

● Gracie Abrams 

● Olivia Rodrigo 

● Noah Kahan 

 

Ashley listening to: 

● This Music May Contain Hope by Raye

● Monthly playlists 

● Feel Good Piano 

 

Annie buying: 

● Football decor 

 

Ashley buying: 

● Writech pens 

● Stickers 

● Lunch at The Lost Kitchen 

 

From the Front Porch is a weekly podcast production of The Bookshelf, an independent bookstore in South Georgia. You can follow The Bookshelf’s daily happenings on Instagram and Facebook, and all the books from today’s episode can be purchased online through our store website, www.bookshelfthomasville.com. 

A full transcript of today’s episode can be found here.

Special thanks to Dylan and his team at Studio D Podcast Production for sound and editing and for our theme music, which sets the perfect warm and friendly tone for our Thursday conversations. 

This week, Annie is listening to The Four Wives and Five Deaths of Richard Milford by Nafissa Thompson-Spires. Ashley is reading Persuasion by Jane Austen.

If you liked what you heard in today’s episode, tell us by leaving a review on Apple Podcasts. You can also support us on Patreon, where you can access bonus content, monthly live Porch Visits with Annie, our monthly live Patreon Book Club with Bookshelf staffers, Conquer a Classic episodes with Hunter, and more. Just go to patreon.com/fromthefrontporch.

We’re so grateful for you, and we look forward to meeting back here next week.

Our Executive Producers are...Beth, Cammy Tidwell, Jammie Treadwell, Joseph Shorter IV, Kimberly, Linda Lee Drozt, Martha, Nicole Marsee, Stephanie Dean, Gene Queens and Wendi Jenkins.

This week on From the Front Porch, it’s a new episode of Into the Backlist! Today, Annie changes her focus from new releases to dive into the backlist: the books that came out years ago, the books that didn’t get enough attention, the books you may stumble upon while browsing in an indie bookstore like The Bookshelf.

To purchase the books mentioned in this episode, stop by The Bookshelf in Thomasville, visit our website (search episode 598) or download and shop on The Bookshelf’s official app:

Shine On, Bright and Dangerous Object by Laurie Colwin

Other titles mentioned in the episode:

A Big Storm Knocked It Over by Laurie Colwin

Another Marvelous Thing by Laurie Colwin

Home Cooking by Laurie Colwin

Sandwich by Catherine Newman

Heartburn by Nora Ephron

Whistler by Ann Patchett

Prodigal Summer by Barbara Kingsolver

Musical Chairs by Amy Poeppel

Sweet Pea by Kit deWaal (November 3rd, 2026)

New Girl in Little Cove by Damhnait Monaghan

Lucy Carmichael by Margaret Kennedy

Glaciers by Alexis M. Smith

Heart the Lover by Lily King

Crossing to Safety by Wallace Stegner

From the Front Porch is a weekly podcast production of The Bookshelf, an independent bookstore in South Georgia. You can follow The Bookshelf’s daily happenings on Instagram, Tiktok, and Facebook, and all the books from today’s episode can be purchased online through our store website, www.bookshelfthomasville.com. 

A full transcript of today’s episode can be found here.

Special thanks to Dylan and his team at Studio D Podcast Production for sound and editing and for our theme music, which sets the perfect warm and friendly tone for our Thursday conversations. 

This week, Annie is reading The Dog Stars by Peter Heller.

If you liked what you heard in today’s episode, tell us by leaving a review on Apple Podcasts. You can also support us on Patreon, where you can access bonus content, monthly live Porch Visits with Annie, our monthly live Patreon Book Club with Bookshelf staffers, Conquer a Classic episodes with Hunter, and more. Just go to patreon.com/fromthefrontporch.

We’re so grateful for you, and we look forward to meeting back here next week.

Our Executive Producers are...Beth, Cammy Tidwell, Jammie Treadwell, Joseph Shorter IV, Kimberly, Linda Lee Drozt, Martha, Nicole Marsee, Stephanie Dean, Gene Queens and Wendi Jenkins.

This week on From the Front Porch, it’s a New Release Rundown! Annie, Erin, and Olivia share the September releases they’re excited about to help you build your TBR. When you purchase or preorder any of the books they talk about, enter the code NEWRELEASEPLEASE at checkout for 10% off your order!

To purchase the books mentioned in this episode, stop by The Bookshelf in Thomasville, visit our website (search episode 597), or download and shop on The Bookshelf’s official app:

Annie’s books

Body Language by Meg Howrey

Tom Lake by Ann Patchett and Like Mother, Like Mother by Susan Rieger

The Wanderers and They're Going To Love You by Meg Howrey

See You Next Tuesday by Kate Stayman-London (Releases September 8th, 2026)

One to Watch by Kate Stayman-London

Big Fan by Michael Schur and Joe Posnanski, The Hopefuls, Everything’s Fine by Cecilia Rabess

American Nightmare by Kelly McWilliams (Releases September 15th, 2026)

Ring Shout by P. Djeli Clark

Olivia’s books

Under Story by Chloe Benjamin 

The Secret to Belonging by Megan E Freeman (Releases September 15th, 2026)

Children of the Wolf by Abby Geni (Releases September 15th, 2026)

Erin’s books

Switzy by Emma Cline (Releases September 8th, 2026)

Receipts from the Bookshop by Katie Clapham (Releases September 8th, 2026)

The Vanishing Family by Robert Kolker (Releases September 29th, 2026)

From the Front Porch is a weekly podcast production of The Bookshelf, an independent bookstore in South Georgia. You can follow The Bookshelf’s daily happenings on Instagram and Facebook, and all the books from today’s episode can be purchased online through our store website, www.bookshelfthomasville.com. 

A full transcript of today’s episode can be found here.

Special thanks to Dylan and his team at Studio D Podcast Production for sound and editing and for our theme music, which sets the perfect warm and friendly tone for our Thursday conversations. 

This week, Annie is reading The Thoroughbreds by Elin Hilderbrand and Shelby
Cunningham (Releases September 15th, 2026). Olivia is reading Mars One by Charlotte Robinson. Erin is listening to Crocodilopolis by John Manuel Arias.

If you liked what you heard in today’s episode, tell us by leaving a review on Apple Podcasts. You can also support us on Patreon, where you can access bonus content, monthly live Porch Visits with Annie, our monthly live Patreon Book Club with Bookshelf staffers, Conquer a Classic episodes with Hunter, and more. Just go to patreon.com/fromthefrontporch.

We’re so grateful for you, and we look forward to meeting back here next week.

Our Executive Producers are...Beth, Cammy Tidwell, Jammie Treadwell, Joseph Shorter IV, Kimberly, Linda Lee Drozt, Martha, Nicole Marsee, Stephanie Dean, Gene Queens and Wendi Jenkins.

This week on From the Front Porch, Annie recaps the books she read and loved this summer. You get 10% off your books when you order your Summer Reading Recap bundle, which features Annie’s favorite books she read this summer.

To purchase the books mentioned in this episode, stop by The Bookshelf in Thomasville, visit our website (search episode 596), or download and shop on The Bookshelf’s official app:

Summer Reading Recap Bundle - $81

Returns and Exchanges by Kayla Rae Whitaker

Wasp’s Nest by Kat Stoddard

The Amateur by Chris Bohjilihan

 

The Foursome by Christina Baker Klein

Audiobook narrated by Marin Ireland

Garden by the Sea by Mercé Rodoreda 

The Book of Goose by Yiyum Li

The Fervent Whites by De’Shawn Charles Winslow

The Dinner by Herman Koch and Little Fires Everywhere by Celese Ng

The Land and Its People by David Sedaris

Audiobook narrated by David Sedaris 

Returns and Exchanges by Kayla Rae Whitaker

Family of Origin by CJ Hauser and Marrying the Ketchups by Jennifer Close

Night Objects by Eli Raphael

True Biz by Sara Novic

Audiobook narrated by Lisa Flanagan & Kaleo Griffith

Wasp’s Nest by Kat Stoddard

The Amateur by Chris Bohjilihan 

Audiobook narrated by Melora Hardin

From the Front Porch is a weekly podcast production of The Bookshelf, an independent bookstore in South Georgia. You can follow The Bookshelf’s daily happenings on Instagram and Facebook, and all the books from today’s episode can be purchased online through our store website, www.bookshelfthomasville.com. 

A full transcript of today’s episode can be found here.

Special thanks to Dylan and his team at Studio D Podcast Production for sound and editing and for our theme music, which sets the perfect warm and friendly tone for our Thursday conversations. 

This week, Annie is reading Switzy by Emma Cline (September 8th, 2026).

If you liked what you heard in today’s episode, tell us by leaving a review on Apple Podcasts. You can also support us on Patreon, where you can access bonus content, monthly live Porch Visits with Annie, our monthly live Patreon Book Club with Bookshelf staffers, Conquer a Classic episodes with Hunter, and more. Just go to patreon.com/fromthefrontporch.

We’re so grateful for you, and we look forward to meeting back here next week.

Our Executive Producers are...Joseph Shorter IV, Beth, Jammie Treadwell, Kimberly, Gene Queens, Stephanie Dean, Linda Lee Drozt, Martha, Nicole Marsee, Wendi Jenkins and Cammy Tidwell.

This week on From the Front Porch, it’s a Literary Therapy session! Our literary Frasier Crane, Annie, is back to answer more of your reading questions and dilemmas. If you have a question you would like Annie to answer in a future episode, you can leave us a voicemail here.

To purchase the books mentioned in this episode, stop by The Bookshelf in Thomasville, visit our website (search episode 595) or download and shop on The Bookshelf’s official app.

Lizzy:

The House of Mirth or The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton

The House of the Seven Gables by Nathaniel Hawthorne

Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison

The Best of Everything by Rona Jaffe

The Group by Mary McCarthy

Kate:

Literary westerns

The Bullet Swallower by Elizabeth Gonzales James

Outlawed by Anna North

God’s Country by Percival Everett

News of the World by Paulette Jiles

The Border Trilogy by Cormac McCarthy: All the Pretty Horses, The Crossing, Cities of the Plain

The Plague of Doves and The Round House by Louise Erdrich

Close Range: Wyoming Stories by Annie Prioux

Plainsong by Kent Haruf

The Son by Philipp Meyer

Train Dreams by Denis Johnson

Butcher’s Crossing by John Williams

The Sisters Brothers by Patrick Dewitt

The Dying Grass by William T. Vollman

Death Comes for the Archbishop by Willa Cather

The Heartbeat of Wounded Knee by David Treuer

Rachel:

Books about Spain

The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruis Zafòn

A Long Petal of the Sea by Isabel Allende

The Muse by Jessie Burton

Alberto’s Lost Birthday by Diana Rosie

Homage to Barcelona by Colm Toibin

Ellen:

Fantasy

The Hero and the Crown by Robin McKinley

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

Six of Crows and Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo

The Bright Sword (Arthurian retelling) by Lev Grossman

Circe by Madeline Miller

Starter Villain by John Scalzi

Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor

Romantasy:

A Fragile Enchantment by Allison Saft 

The Poison Daughter by Sheila Masterson

Legendborn by Tracy Deonn

A Shadow in the Ember by Jennifer l armentrout

Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros

Quicksilver by Callie Hart

Shield of Sparrows by Devney Perry

Lindsay: Literary palate cleansers

Humor/memoir

Heating and Cooling by Beth Ann Fennelly

Nobody Will Tell You This But Me by Bess Kalb

Kid lit

Bloomability by Sharon Creech

From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E.L. Konigsburg

The Meaning of Maggie by Megan Jean Sovern

Wolf Hollow by Lauren Wolk

From the Front Porch is a weekly podcast production of The Bookshelf, an independent bookstore in South Georgia. You can follow The Bookshelf’s daily happenings on Instagram, Tiktok, and Facebook, and all the books from today’s episode can be purchased online through our store website, www.bookshelfthomasville.com. 

A full transcript of today’s episode can be found here.

Special thanks to Dylan and his team at Studio D Podcast Production for sound and editing and for our theme music, which sets the perfect warm and friendly tone for our Thursday conversations.

This week, Annie is listening to Tenderness by Rowan Beaird.

If you liked what you heard in today’s episode, tell us by leaving a review on Apple Podcasts. You can also support us on Patreon, where you can access bonus content, monthly live Porch Visits with Annie, our monthly live Patreon Book Club with Bookshelf staffers, Conquer a Classic episodes with Hunter, and more. Just go to patreon.com/fromthefrontporch.

We’re so grateful for you, and we look forward to meeting back here next week.

Our Executive Producers are...Joseph Shorter IV, Beth, Jammie Treadwell, Kimberly, Gene Queens, Stephanie Dean, Linda Lee Drozt, Martha, Nicole Marsee, Wendi Jenkins and Cammy Tidwell.