Episode 597 || New Release Rundown: September

Episode 597 || New Release Rundown: September
From the Front Porch

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


Olivia’s books


Erin’s books

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 below.

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.

Transcript:

Annie Jones: [squeaky porch swing] Welcome to From the Front Porch, a conversational podcast about books, small business, and life in the South. [music plays out]

“They are like the mother, but also like the father. What has happened to the mother might not happen to them. They are ducks in a row and they are sitting, but they are not sitting ducks.”

- Meg Howrey, Body Language.

[as music fades out]

[00:00:45] I'm Annie B. Jones, owner of The Bookshelf, an independent bookstore in beautiful downtown Thomasville, Georgia, and today I'm joined by The Bookshelf's operations manager, Olivia, and our store floor manager, Erin, to give you a rundown of our favorite new books releasing in September. Today, we are previewing some September titles, but if you want to know what to read all fall long, snag a ticket to our fall literary first look event on September 10th when I'll be highlighting our team's favorite books of the entire autumn. Tickets are $15 and include our hour-long live Zoom event and a recording if you can't attend live, plus a PDF of the featured titles and a discount code for your fall pre-orders. September begins a huge release season in publishing, so our goal is to help you curate your TBR and find the books worth your time. Visit the link in the show notes to get your tickets. I'd love for you to join us. Now, back to the show. Hi, guys. 

[00:01:45] Olivia: Hello.

[00:01:46] Erin: Good morning. 

[00:01:48] Annie Jones: Olivia, welcome back from across the pond.

[00:01:51] Olivia: I know. Look at me. Cheerio, mate. 

[00:01:55] Annie Jones: International traveler. And now here we are. And now it's the South, and it's really hot, and we're going to talk about fall books. 

[00:02:02] Olivia: Yeah. Getting out the airport at Jacksonville was culture shock just by heat. 

[00:02:07] Annie Jones: Yeah. I recorded yesterday with Ashley, and it was our fall I don't know, read, watch, listen. What are we doing to get ready for fall? I was trying so hard, but also it was very hard to have that conversation. Yesterday I walked outside The Bookshelf, and I leave about 3:00, and so I walked outside and you could feel the heat on your skin. I told Ashley I felt like an egg. I felt like I was being cooked. 

[00:02:31] Olivia: You're like, "Do I immediately have sunburn?" 

[00:02:34] Annie Jones: Yes. That's what it feels like. 

[00:02:36] Olivia: Yeah. 

[00:02:36] Annie Jones: And I know it always gets that hot here, but I don't know, you guys, this year-- or I'm getting old, and it hits different. Tell me. 

[00:02:45] Olivia: I don't think it's that. I think this year feels different in general because I feel like in past years I'm very sensitive to the cold. So I would be in air conditioning all day and cold, and then I'd walk outside and there would be, like, a couple minutes of just "Oh, this feels so nice."

[00:02:58] Annie Jones: Yeah. 

[00:02:58] Olivia: And this year is the opposite. 

[00:03:00] Annie Jones: Oh, interesting. Okay. No shade, you also are getting older. 

[00:03:06] Olivia: Wow.

[00:03:07] Annie Jones: Shots fired. Okay, for example, my whole life I have been anti-sunglasses. I have not needed them. I think as a teenager, I'd be like, "No sunglasses for me. I like to see the world as it is." I'm great. 

[00:03:19] Erin: I also don't wear sunglasses. 

[00:03:20] Annie Jones: Okay, but this year I can't. When I go outside, or when I drive in my car, part of it is I wear glasses. Erin, you do, too. Like- Yeah ... so I 

[00:03:30] Erin: I have to.  The switchover is not great. 

[00:03:32] Annie Jones: Yes. And I have to get prescription sunglasses now. But I have worn sunglasses all summer long. My eyes can't take it. I can't do it. 

[00:03:39] Olivia: I can't see if I walk outside without sunglasses. Sometimes your office is bright for me. 

[00:03:48] Annie Jones: Please come into my office with your shades on sometimes. I'd love it. 

[00:03:51] Olivia: I do always face the windows, and sometimes I feel like I'm squinting because I'm just like, it's a lot of light.

[00:03:57] Annie Jones: Yeah. I don't know. And listen, maybe you are right. I'm glad to know somebody else thinks this year feels different, and we've talked on this I think on this podcast the gnats felt different this year. And there are still gnats. I'm like, guys, I thought your season was done. Poor Isaac. You can't do anything is what I'm saying. 

[00:04:14] Erin: No, even this year even the kids the schools and stuff here, are having to do things indoors because it's too hot. Yeah. And I never remember that happening before in August. 

[00:04:24] Olivia: There is a super El Nino. Been since I think I saw 1950. This is the biggest and it's bigger than that one. 

[00:04:32] Annie Jones: Is that what's causing this? 

[00:04:34] Olivia: Yeah, and they don't know it's going to affect everything globally. It's nuts. You guys need to look up news articles about it.

[00:04:40] Annie Jones: Do I or do I not? 

[00:04:43] Olivia: To be fair, it does just increase the hurricane season for the West Coast and decrease our hurricane season. So there is a slight upside to that, but I do think some of the heat is contributed by the super El Nino.

[00:04:55] Annie Jones: Okay. Maybe I will look that up on a day I'd love to be more depressed than I already am.

[00:05:01] Erin: Yeah. I'm just out here burning fall candles while sweating, and it's a weird transitional phase. 

[00:05:08] Annie Jones: Have you decorated for fall?

[00:05:09] Erin: No.

[00:05:10] Annie Jones: Most important, have you done your mat? Have you done your welcome mat for fall? 

[00:05:13] Erin: No, I gave that up this year.

[00:05:15] Annie Jones:  You gave that up? I was so invested. I love your welcome mat.

[00:05:19] Erin:  Okay, Annie, for you, I'll bring it back. I'll bring it back. Here we go. 

[00:05:24] Annie Jones: I love your welcome mat. I look forward to it.

[00:05:25] Erin: I know. It was just one of those things that I was like, "Is this for fun or is this now become a thing I just have to do?"

[00:05:32] Annie Jones: That's fair. 

[00:05:33] Erin: And I gave it up, so I'll bring it back. Maybe after the holidays I'll bring it back. 

[00:05:37] Annie Jones: I'd love to see it. I'd love to see it. Okay. Because I do feel like we have to do these kinds of things be because we don't really get fall here.

[00:05:44] Erin:  Yeah, you're like, " Yay."

[00:05:45] Annie Jones: Yeah. Like I bought I bought football ribbon. I told you, Olivia. I bought football ribbon, and my mom tied the bows, so I have this really great football wreath. And then I'm going to out her just for a quick second, but on Instagram, Olivia, your friend, our friend of the shop, Jess posted about the Eagles. And the way that brought me so much joy.

[00:06:06] Olivia: Go Birds.

[00:06:07] Annie Jones: Yes, it does feel like you have to make up something

[00:06:10] Erin:  You got to grab onto something. 

[00:06:12] Annie Jones: You got to hold onto something. Whether it's like the NFL or high school/college football season or back to school bouquets of sharpened pencil. Like we have to create the season we want. We have to do welcome mats. We have to do wreaths. I bought football glassware to drink out of. It's real cute. It feels like we've got to do that because we don't actually... And it's worse this year. I do think it's worse this year. Yeah. Thank you for agreeing with me. That brings me to September books.

[00:06:36] Erin:  Which is also something I'm grabbing onto though, because September books make me feel like it's fall. 

[00:06:41] Annie Jones: Yes. We talked off-air, guys, there are so many September releases. This is against the rules, but I'm going to say it anyway. And you're going to hear me reference it at the tail end of the episode. But there are lots of September books we're not talking about on this episode. So please come to our Literary First Look. But even then we're not talking about the big books, the Barbara Kingsolver, the John Green, which we did get ARCs. Olivia's name was printed on every page of the ARC. Every page. So we're not allowed to sell it. But we're never allowed to sell it. Nobody come for me. No. But anyway, the new John Green book is excellent. It's called Hollywood Ending. Erin, I loved it. I do think it's more for you than Olivia. 

[00:07:15] Erin: Good. I'm going to read it.

[00:07:16] Olivia: Pretty much any other staffer but me. 

[00:07:18] Annie Jones: Correct.. Because it does have a romance element that I just think you're not going to enjoy. So, yeah, every other staffer but Olivia can read it and have a great time.

[00:07:27] Olivia: They'll think of me every page.

[00:07:28] Annie Jones: That's right. Every page. That's the irony. So that book is great. And then I finished Elin Hilderbrand's Thoroughbreds which is the sequel to The Academy. 

[00:07:37] Erin: Yeah. 

[00:07:37] Annie Jones: Excellent. So fun. I don't know, you guys, I wish there'd be a third. I wish it'd be a trilogy. I loved it. I had a great time. Great campus novel. So anyway, when you hear us on this episode, and you're like, "This isn't all the books coming out in September." No. We never talk about all the books, but this month we're really not talking about all the books. So you can follow us on Instagram, where we do Newsday Tuesday, where we talk about new releases for the week. You can attend our fall Literary First Look, where we'll talk about our favorite autumnal releases. But today we're just going to focus on three each. So I'll kick us off. And don't forget, you can always get these books 10% off. So today, episode number is 597, and you can use the code NEWRELEASEPLEASE at checkout to get 10% off. Okay. My first book is Body Language by Meg Howrey. This is Tom Lake meets Like Mother. This book is going to be in my top 10 of the year. I did have a bout with tonsil stones this time last month. And as a result, that was horrible, do not recommend, but did read five books back to back because I was just in bed. And I don't even know the last time I've read five books relatively uninterrupted, and this was one of them. I have read almost everything Meg Howrey has written. Olivia, did you read The Wanderers, which was about space? 

[00:08:54] Olivia: No, I didn't. I do remember when it came out, but I didn't read it.

[00:08:57] Annie Jones: Okay, speaking of a book that you would like, I do think you would like it.

[00:09:00] Erin: It sounds very familiar. 

[00:09:02] Annie Jones: Okay. They were in a simulation out west preparing for becoming astronauts. So that book is great. That's called The Wanderers. And then They're Going to Love You was also very well done. I do think this book, Body Language, is more in line with They're Going to Love You. It is about three sisters who are very different from each other. Sloane is a former actress turned therapist. She's slightly woo-woo. I don't know if that's a term that other people use, but as for me, in my house we use that term. So she's slightly woo-woo. And then to me Laurel is more the stereotypical eldest daughter, but she's the middle child. She's a no-nonsense mother, and she might have just discovered a secret about her marriage, and so she's in her own head about that. And then perhaps the most interesting sister, at least to me, is Nanette. Nanette is an aspiring nun, a novice, who somehow has gone viral despite living in a convent. And so all three of those sisters come together somewhat unexpectedly to take care of their aging mother. And so they return to their childhood home. This is probably more character-driven than plot-driven, but there is this underlying tension of what do we do about Mom? To me, that moves the plot along. And each sister has her own thing she's dealing with. So Laurel's marriage and the secret she's trying to uncover, Nanette, who's gone viral and doesn't really know what that means and doesn't know if it means she shouldn't be a nun. Each sister is grappling with something that propels the plot, even though I do think this is a little bit more character-driven. This is dysfunctional family lit at its finest. I think it's really well-written. It's so nice to have an author you can count on. I love Elizabeth Strout, I love Marilynne Robinson, but I think Meg Howrey should actually be up there. I really do love every book I've read by her. And this one is no exception. I think it'll be in my top 10 of the year. It is Body Language by Meg Howrey. It came out this past Tuesday, on September 1st. 

[00:10:54] Olivia: The name Laurel must be very popular right now because my first book, the main character is Laurel.

[00:10:59] Annie Jones: Oh, that's fun. We didn't even plan for that.

[00:11:02] Olivia: I know. My first book is The Understory by Chloe Benjamin. She wrote The Immortalist, which I didn't read.

[00:11:09] Annie Jones: oh my gosh, in my head you did. 

[00:11:11] Olivia: I remember when it came out. I know. I'm sorry, guys. 

[00:11:14] Annie Jones: No.

[00:11:14] Olivia: I can't read everything.

[00:11:16] Annie Jones: But you could have lied. I don't know why I thought you read that book. 

[00:11:19] Olivia: No. But in my mind, I'm like, "Wasn't it on President Obama's reading list at some point?" 

[00:11:24] Annie Jones: You keep a running tally count. 

[00:11:25] Erin: I think I read it. It was really popular, and I want to say they're going to make a TV show or movie out of it. I could be lying 

[00:11:32] Annie Jones: Erin, we keep thinking Olivia has read these books, but really it's you who should be on.

[00:11:38] Erin: I did so much reading in the past 

[00:11:41] Annie Jones: Honestly, probably more in your pre-Bookshelf life.

[00:11:43] Erin: Probably, yeah.

[00:11:45] Olivia: This one's out September 1st, and it's about Laurel, who is a scientist who studies mushrooms, and she is recently divorced from her husband, Eli, due to a shared tragedy. Look up your own trigger warnings. And they now haven't spoken in two years since everything happened, and Laurel has just gone down a hole and she needs to escape what's happening in her life and people who know everything that happened. So she applies to be a galley hand on the McMurdo Station in Antarctica

[00:12:20] Annie Jones: Interesting. 

[00:12:21] Olivia: Yeah. 

[00:12:21] Annie Jones: Okay. 

[00:12:22] Olivia: So she goes to Antarctica of which Andy knows I do really like Antarctica 

[00:12:28] Annie Jones: I tagged so many Antarctica books in the catalog. And were you shocked at how many there were this year? 

[00:12:33] Olivia: Yes, I was. It must be a thing that's happening right now.

[00:12:36] Erin: Yeah. 

[00:12:37] Olivia: They're like it's about to all melt away.

[00:12:39] Annie Jones: Yeah, so let's talk about it quick. 

[00:12:41] Erin: It's the one remaining place that's not massively hot right now.

[00:12:44] Annie Jones: Yeah, those two things combined. 

[00:12:45] Olivia: It's like a vacation in itself. So she goes to Antarctica to just work in the kitchens and escape reality a little bit. And when she gets there, there is this thing that all of the scientists refer to as the Ark, and it's basically this circle of light out in the distance, like 15 miles away, that looks like the northern lights, but on the ground, like coming from the earth. And so they're all studying it because they've realized that where the northern lights are, like, particles coming from space hitting our atmosphere, this is particles coming from Earth leaving. And there's a lot of physicists studying it. And she gets intrigued by it because it is very similar to what her scientist ex-husband, Eli, was researching as well. And then Eli comes to Antarctica because his realm of study now refers to the Ark pertains to that. 

[00:13:36] Erin: Wow. 

[00:13:37] Olivia: And they are literally stuck in an isolated location and have to reckon with what happened. So while everything's happening in Antarctica, you also get these snippets of their past which is heart-wrenching at best, brutal at sometimes. But the Antarctica plot is very fun and fascinating just because right now they're going to go explore the Ark and see if it's what they think it is, which also might be a way for them to come together and resolve some things from their past, hopefully. So there is a very slight sci-fi element to it. I do think ultimately the relationship between Laurel and Eli will be a romance. But as of right now, there's still a lot of turmoil between them that they're solving. It is so good. I will say, I have broken two rules that I made for myself this year with this book. One, extremely long chapters m but they are broken up with little points.

[00:14:39] Annie Jones: Okay. 

[00:14:39] Olivia: And it is 512 pages.

[00:14:42] Annie Jones: Olivia, that is a commitment. I'm impressed.

[00:14:43] Olivia: I know. Which honestly, I didn't know the page length before I went into it, and at this point I'm so into it that I'm like I can't stop now

[00:14:51] Erin:  Those e-galleys, they'll get you

[00:14:55] Annie Jones: It's the e-galleys. They do. You have no idea what you're getting into. 

[00:14:56] Olivia: And this is one where they didn't section out the chapters, so I can't even look and see how many chapters there are or when the chapter is done. You're just in it. 

[00:15:04] Annie Jones: Okay. 

[00:15:05] Olivia: And I don't mind it. Laurel is a very good character, where she's a good person, she has tragedy in her past, but she's genuinely nice. She cares for other people, immediately makes friends and deep connections with these people in Antarctica. There's nothing not to like about her, so you just feel for her the whole time because you're like, "It's so hard." But it's a really good book. It's The Understory by Chloe Benjamin. 

[00:15:30] Annie Jones: In my head, bookseller brain, this is how our brains work; I'm like, okay, this is Lightbreakers by Aja Gabel which dealt with some of the same themes you're talking about. And then Wild Dark Shore-esque? 

[00:15:40] Olivia: That was actually the comp that I wrote down, was Wild Dark Shore. Because I think it has that literary flow to it. 

[00:15:46] Annie Jones: Yeah. 

[00:15:46] Olivia: But it also has that slight sci-fi and just like multiple genres happening at one time. 

[00:15:53] Annie Jones: I'm curious about this. I'm glad you talked about it because I've seen it's got a pretty cover.

[00:15:57] Olivia: It does. 

[00:15:57] Annie Jones: And I've been curious about it. It's 512 pages. As we discussed, there's just so many books coming out in September, and I feel like I'm trying to read as many as I can, but okay.

[00:16:06] Olivia: I shouldn't have told you and let you get into  the situation I'm in. 

[00:16:09] Annie Jones: I know. Yeah, you should've just let me go in blind not knowing. 

[00:16:12] Olivia: It's 200 pages. It's weirdly taking me 10 hours on the Kindle. 

[00:16:20] Erin: Again, plus 200 plus 100 more. 

[00:16:21] Annie Jones: Yeah. It's fine. 

[00:16:24] Erin: That sounds great. That does sound like something I would like. Will I have the time to read it? Time will tell. We'll find out. My next book I do feel a little underqualified to talk about it, but it's Switzy by Emma Cline. I don't know about you guys, but I'm seeing it everywhere. I don't know, it was long-listed for the 2026 Booker Prize. And after getting into it-- and you guys have both read it at this point, is that right?

[00:16:47] Annie Jones: Yeah. I'm reading it. 

[00:16:48] Erin: You're reading it, okay. Same

[00:16:50] Olivia:  I finished it, yeah. 

[00:16:51] Erin: Okay. But can I just say here maybe it will win the Booker? I don't know, let's see. That's just my prediction because that's the only book I've read that's from the list.

[00:17:02] Annie Jones: Will the one book that I've read on the Booker list win? 

[00:17:05] Erin: who cares about John le Carre? This one's going to win. Okay. I don't know. We can come back to this episode after they announce the prizes. 

[00:17:15] Annie Jones: That's right. 

[00:17:15] Olivia: She called it.

[00:17:15] Annie Jones: And we can be like, "Look, Erin was right."

[00:17:15] Erin: Hell, I have a one in 12 chance of being correct.

[00:17:18] Olivia: She knows how to pick them.

[00:17:19] Erin: Yeah. But anyway, it's got a very striking cover. It's black with a scene of a person different little things of someone falling. It intrigued me from the minute I put it on our TBO to order for our Booker long list prize, and it's coming out September the 8th, so next week. Again, I feel terrible talking about it because you guys have read a lot more, but here I go. So this book is about David Hastings. We meet him truly for the first time, he's on a plane that he has borrowed from a friend. And he's on to Switzerland. He's on his way to Switzerland for his final time. Now, do I know what that means right now? And then so I'm so intrigued. I'm like I can guess what it means, but I've got to read this book and finish it. But he's there with his longtime assistant, Cody, who he trusts but also maybe doesn't trust completely. And the complication of all this is that David has Alzheimer's. He is suffering from it. And so much of the book is set in this present time on his journey to Switzerland, he makes a stop to visit his daughter, he takes a road trip to visit a childhood friend. But as I understand it, there's a lot of flashbacks to memories of his childhood and they're very vivid and tell you a lot about him. Because of his disease, some of the humor in the book is from phrases he mishears or misspeaks. He calls things like instead of amyloid plaque is what you have in your brain when you have Alzheimer's, he calls it Amy Lloyd plaque, and he's like "Darn Amy Lloyd. What's are you doing?" So I know there's got to be some humor in it. It's a little bit of a dark humor since we know what's happening. But like I said, I'm not that far into it. I just started it this week, but I'm so intrigued by it. And from what I've heard you guys say about it, Olivia, you said you couldn't put it down really and just kept reading it and put everything else aside.

[00:19:17] Olivia: Yeah, it went so fast because the way he thinks, it goes from this to this. So it's like even the flashbacks are like maybe like a little paragraph. But like you said, they're so vivid. It's like I know exactly what happened then. But I thought it was so good. 

[00:19:30] Erin: I didn't read her previous book. She wrote The Guests, which I remember it came out a few years ago, I think 2023. Had a very striking cover. It was like green with like a blue hand reaching. 

[00:19:40] Annie Jones: Yes. I didn't read The Guests, but I read The Girls. And I loved The Girls. But I should say I liked The Girls. I went in thinking it was going to be one thing because it was billed as like Manson murder cult, but it was just way more literary. I think I was expecting almost like a thriller. And instead it was just, as I recall, very literary, very well-written. But I did like it. Anyway, I once again, these authors who run the gamut and like their books are nothing-- it's pretty impressive,

[00:20:07] Erin: Yeah.

[00:20:07] Annie Jones: Because this is nothing like that. 

[00:20:09] Erin: The Guests was about basically, not a companion, but just someone who was basically dropped off in the Hamptons and left to fend for herself by like an older lover, man, and it's a weekend of her just trying to make her way through the rich people's homes and talk her way and manipulate her way into staying with people. So I'm just fascinated by the fact that she can write these deep character studies of a person while also giving you enough plot and enough things that even Olivia can't put it down because it's it keeps you interested. So I cannot wait to finish this, and it's called Switzy by Emma Cline.

[00:20:48] Annie Jones: I'm eager to finish it as well. I'm having a hard time. I'm reading it on Kindle. Caroline has the ARC, and I want to borrow it from Caroline. I don't know why I'm whispering. 

[00:20:56] Olivia: I think you can take it from her desk. She hasn't picked it up in a while.

[00:21:01] Annie Jones: Guys, when I read on Kindle, if I don't sit down and read it in two or three sittings, it's just out of sight, out of mind.

[00:21:08] Erin:  So many books, yeah. 

[00:21:09] Annie Jones: Anyway, yeah, and I think it's because we've got so many books going.

[00:21:11] Erin: I think it would lend itself well to a physical copy.

[00:21:13] Annie Jones: I think so too. I think. 

[00:21:14] Olivia: Yeah. 

[00:21:16] Annie Jones: Okay, my next book is called See You Next Tuesday. This is by Kate Stayman-London. I do want you guys to know because Ashley pushed me on this yesterday, I do know what see you next Tuesday means. And that's all I'm going to say. I know what that means. Nobody has to tell me what see you next Tuesday means. Ashley was all like, "Do you even know what that means?" I was like, "Yeah, I know." 

[00:21:35] Olivia: Now I'm like, I don't think I know what it means. I'll just Google it later. 

[00:21:40] Annie Jones: I'll tell you off-air. Don't Google it. 

[00:21:42] Olivia: Good to know. Thank you. That'll work anyway. Didn't Britney Spears make a song, See You Next Tuesday?

[00:21:49] Annie Jones: Oh, did she? It's a reference to a word. 

[00:21:53] Olivia: Yeah. Studio D, Dylan, if you could just sub in that song. 

[00:21:56] Erin: Yeah. 

[00:21:58] Annie Jones: Yeah, do we have the rights to the Britney Spears song? 

[00:22:02] Erin: In that awkward pause, just put the song right there. 

[00:22:06] Annie Jones: Yeah, just put the song and then we'll be listening to it. No, listen, I have already talked a lot about this book elsewhere, but I really did love it. This is another book I read during my bout with tonsil stones. It releases next week on September 8th. Kate Stayman-London wrote One to Watch, which I loved. It is fiction set in the Bachelor/Bachelorette universe.

[00:22:24] Erin: Yeah.

[00:22:25] Annie Jones: And then a couple years ago, she wrote Fang Fiction, which I was just a little bit less interested in because it was vampire story. Although now I'm tempted to go back because I think she's just a really good writer. I had no idea she got her start, and even still, works in politics and campaigns. And so she has written this new rom-com romance novel that is all about a couple of campaign workers. We're living in a cynical age. I could talk about that for a long time, but I'll just leave it at that. I think we are living in a cynical age. What I liked about this book was it restored a little bit of hope in politics, meaning it felt earnest, almost West Wing inspired where every person in the book is working hard and wants to do a good job.

[00:23:09] Erin: Imagine that.

[00:23:13] Annie Jones: What would that be like? I don't know. But anyway, so this one is about two hardworking Democratic operatives. All of the campaign elements felt really real and interesting to me. I'm very interested in that world. And the politics, this is important, earnest, but it never felt too preachy. It didn't feel preachy, didn't feel stressful. Just a really good enemies to lovers romance that has banter and steamy, but the steamy scenes were earned, which is important for me as a reader. So five stars. It is most like Big Fan, which was one of those 831 books, I think maybe the first 831 book, that I really did that also addressed... it was like a romance novel that also talked about, I don't know, minimum wage and stuff like that. It was great. So that was Big Fan.

[00:23:58] Erin:  Everybody's favorite. 

[00:23:59] Annie Jones: Yeah. 

[00:23:59] Olivia: I love a little romance with some political essays.

[00:24:01] Erin:  Economic policy. 

[00:24:03] Annie Jones: My favorite. I love it so much. So if you liked Big Fan, if you liked, I think Jennifer Close wrote a book called The Hopefuls a few years ago. I read and loved before Goodreads just butchered it to death Everything's Fine, which was a great work of fiction that I think should have sold more copies, but the internet is nuts, so what can you do? So here I am doing my part. But I loved all those books. If you like those, I think you will like this See You Next Tuesday by Kate-Stayman London, out on September 8th. 

[00:24:32] Olivia: Okay, we're moving on to September 15th, you guys. 

[00:24:35] Annie Jones: Okay. Making our way through the month. 

[00:24:37] Olivia: I would also like to note that I did just look at my list of books to talk today, and I realized all of them are sad.

[00:24:44] Annie Jones: Oh, you going through it? 

[00:24:46] Olivia: So if you are here for sad girl fall or sad boy fall or sad they/them fall, I have you. 

[00:24:54] Annie Jones: Got it all covered. 

[00:24:56] Olivia: We run the gamut here. My next one is YA. It's called The Secret to Belonging by Megan E. Freeman. Megan E. Freeman wrote Away and Alone, which are two middle-grade novels that I feel like I can hand sell to almost anyone. And that's not on me, that's on Megan E. Freeman. She's a great writer. 

[00:25:11] Annie Jones: That's not Olivia bragging. That's her singing the praises of Megan. 

[00:25:13] Olivia: No. I didn't write the book. Those were both middle grade. This is YA. This is about a girl, unnamed, throughout the book. Actually everyone in her family is unnamed. Her mother, her dad, and her brother, and herself never receive a name. Her friends get a name other people she meets get a name, but not her family. And it's written in verse. She lives in a home where her brother is an addict, and due to that, her parents have just neglected her in a way to take care of her brother and to remedy all of his mishaps and mistakes with either the law or rehab. Because of all of that too, they've now just told her that they've used up the college fund that her grandfather made her to get her brother into rehab as a last-ditch chance for him not to go to jail for a long time and she's just heartbroken. That was her way out of this house and that life. And so when she learns that there's an opportunity to get a scholarship to do a study abroad program, she jumps at it. And she gets selected, and they select her to go to Norway. She puts her top three or four places, and she ends up going to Norway. She assimilates with the culture so quickly and so fast because I think she's just so ready to be in a place where she's accepted and cared for, and the host family immediately loves her and just wants her to have a good time.

[00:26:40] So the energy that they've spent on her is now 100-fold of what her parents have. She makes a lot of good friends through that program because they all go to summer school together just to prep for where they're moving to. Things happen in Norway that do kind of derail her time there. I won't tell you what they are. You have to read the book. But ultimately, her story does end in a good place, and I just loved every second of it. I think Megan Freeman is so good at writing a story that has what feels like the amount of plot that a normal novel would, but written in verse. And so you're just feeling so many things, and so many things are happening that you just can't stop because you want to make sure that character's okay at the end. This one was so good. Also, I really liked the Norwegian setting. That was fun. And if you just enjoyed the World Cup, hey, go back to Norway.

[00:27:33] Annie Jones: Yeah, that sounds like a good plan. Listen, those novels in verse are so impressive to me. I think that is really hard to do. And to do well. 

[00:27:40] Olivia: Yeah. It is.

[00:27:42] Annie Jones: I feel like it could so easily go wrong. So an author's ability to do that is honestly very impressive to me. 

[00:27:48] Olivia: And I do think kids and young adults do really like them. You get the accomplishment of finishing a book in half the time. 

[00:27:55] Annie Jones: Yes. 

[00:27:56] Olivia: And I do think that's what our young readers need right now, is that sense of accomplishment of finishing a book.

[00:28:00] Annie Jones: Kind of what all of us need right now. Attention spans and stuff like that. 

[00:28:03] Erin: That's impressive. Okay, my second book is one I'm a little bit into it, and it's so good. So it's called Receipts From the Bookshop by Katie Clapham. It comes out September the 8th. Katie is the co-owner-- I didn't know anything about her until I started reading this book, but she's the co-owner, along with her mom, who she calls... They're set in London, so she calls her business mom. Which reminds me of our very own Shop Mom that we have here. But they are co-owners of a small independent bookstore in coastal England. It's called Storytellers Inc., and it sounds amazing. Sounds like a place everybody would want to go visit on this small little town. But I started reading this a few days ago, and I've been able to put it down, and it's making me laugh. But she began this as a Substack. She's been writing this for a long time and it's called Receipt From the Bookshop, the same as the book. But it's just little glimpses into her day as a bookstore owner, as a bookseller, as a mother, daughter, all that stuff. But so she's been writing that for a while, and now has turned it into a book. So it is just a record of her. The book is laid out from January to December. A year in her life of these little sort of diary entries, and it just details the highs and lows of running a business and interacting with customers and with her family. But it was so comforting. That's why I was laughing out loud because it was so comforting to hear the kind of days that she has as a small independent bookseller over in England mirror so much of the kind of interactions that we have with customers here, with the business obstacles that we come up against as well. It made me feel better that it's not just us when we have a hard day or a difficult customer or whatever. It's not just us. It happens all over the place, and that is comforting. But much like our store, her family is really involved. Like I said, her mom is a really big part of it. She's a co-owner, and her husband is involved. She has a daughter that's involved as well too. Annie, I think you would love this book. I don't know if you're going to get it.

[00:30:04] Annie Jones: I think Olivia can peek over, but I think there's a copy over there. I feel like I saw one on my bookshelf, so I feel like I got a copy of this. Do you see it.

[00:30:14] Olivia: I don't see it.

[00:30:15] Erin: She's looking. Okay. 

[00:30:17] Annie Jones: Maybe not.

[00:30:17] Erin: We'll make sure you get a ARC of the book.

[00:30:19] Olivia: I do see it. I see it. 

[00:30:20] Annie Jones: Okay. I think I have it. I just wanted to know if I would feel seen or stressed. That's what I want to know. 

[00:30:26] Erin: I think you feel seen.

[00:30:27] Annie Jones: Okay.

[00:30:27] Erin: Very seen. It was so comforting. And again, it just made me feel like we're all in this together. It's just funny. Of course, it's a little bit different because they live in a different country. You'll really understand her experience. They're just good human observations. She even has a little bit like, truly a little bit in there about, like, how she likes to leave the door open to her store because it increases foot traffic, but yet when it's really cold or whatever, she has to shut it, and she was just laughing about how it seems almost like a Herculean task sometimes that customers are like, "Ah, door's shut. I won't even come in because this door is not open." We love leaving our door open, but this summer, of course, we've had to keep it shut quite a bit because it's 1,000 degrees outside. 

[00:31:09] Annie Jones: Yeah. 

[00:31:10] Erin: And the gnats and the flies and stuff, so it's just that kind of stuff where--

[00:31:13] Annie Jones: That nobody else thinks about.

[00:31:14] Erin: Yeah. It's like even just the fact that you have to choose whether to keep your door open or shut and the economic impact that may have in keeping your door shut. Even the businesses that open and close on her street have an impact on whether... it's all a ecosystem of business. It'll just warm your heart. It's kind of one of those books I feel like it's just perfect for the fall because it's not necessarily set in the fall, but it just reminds you why bookstores especially are so important, and the people that work there are so important, and the people that shop there are so important; and how these are places, these third spaces where people can come and connect over things that are not politics and all this stuff, but we can connect over good books. So I really think if you are a book lover, if you work at a bookstore, or just you like human experiences, this is a great warm hug of a book. It's called Receipts from the Bookshop by Katie Clapham. Comes out September 8th. 

[00:32:06] Annie Jones: Okay, I will move that one to the top. It's got a fun cover. I had not read her Substack, but I was curious about it. So I'm glad to know that it's worth the while. Okay, my next book, actually, I am curious, Olivia, if you have read anything by Kelly McWilliams. She is a YA or middle grade author and this is her debut.

[00:32:23] Olivia: Sounds familiar.

[00:32:25] Annie Jones: Okay. This is her adult debut. It is called American Nightmare. I actually think you would like this. I saw this in the catalog. Again, tonsil stones. Read this book during tonsil stone season. And I guess I downloaded the digital galley from the publisher. I guess I was just curious about it. My other couple of books... I guess See You Next Tuesday is plot-driven. This is very plot-driven, and actually, once I realized that Kelly McWilliams was a YA novelist, I was like, "Oh, this makes sense," because there were parts that I wanted to dive deeper in and that I wanted a little bit more maybe literary detail about. But then I was like, oh, I think she's writing a fast page. This almost could be a thriller just because of how quickly it goes. So this is about Clark. He is a white-passing Black man who goes undercover for the NAACP after World War I, I believe. And this is based pretty loosely, but maybe inspired by a real-life historical figure. I don't know that the historical figure's name was Clark. I think that has been fictionalized, but this idea that somebody would be white-passing and would go undercover for the NAACP is based in history. And so lynchings were on the rise after World War I not only in the South, but in other parts of America, too, and Clark is hired by the NAACP to report on these lynchings because the reportings that were coming out from newspaper reporters were not always accurate or details were obstructed, that kind of thing.

[00:33:56] So fast-paced, plot-driven, focuses on Clark's undercover missions, and then also on the psychological toll it's all taking on him particularly because he's passing as white, but he is a Black man. And so he really is struggling with where he fits and where he can belong and who will accept him and who won't. So there's, like I said, some historical fiction elements here. You get a glimpse of the NAACP and its founding, plus some history about the prominence of the Ku Klux Klan in American cities. Clark is, like I said, based on a real-life civil rights activist. There's also a slight ghost story element that I think works pretty well. I can get taken out of a story when there's maybe a magical realism component, but overall, I thought that it worked. I actually would've just loved more. But this one's quick, I think really insightful. If you liked The Barn, or in particular if you liked Ring Shout that came out a few years ago, I think you will like American Nightmare by Kelly McWilliams, and I appreciated the historical fiction component as well. So really plot-driven. I don't think we often get plot-driven, suspense-filled historical fiction, or maybe I just don't often read it. American Nightmare by Kelly McWilliams comes out on September 15th. 

[00:35:10] Olivia: Also, not to whitewash it, but maybe if you liked The Departed? 

[00:35:16] Annie Jones: Olivia's always going to come back to The Departed. 

[00:35:19] Erin:  She's waiting for that. What about The Departed? 

[00:35:22] Olivia: What about undercover, lost identity? 

[00:35:25] Annie Jones: Hear me out 

[00:35:26] Olivia: The Departed? If you want to see Leo DiCaprio in his all-time best role, you could try The Departed. 

[00:35:34] Annie Jones: If I ever meet Leonardo DiCaprio, I'm going to be like, boy, can I just tell you...

[00:35:39] Erin: have I got a fan for you. 

[00:35:40] Annie Jones: Have I got a fan for you, but only about one role.

[00:35:43] Olivia: Really?

[00:35:43] Erin: Not your other stuff, just The Departed.

[00:35:45] Olivia: And guess what? It's not the Titanic. Okay, this one's for my thriller readers. I actually think both of you could like this book too. 

[00:35:56] Annie Jones: Okay. 

[00:35:57] Olivia: Would like this book, not could. This is Children of the Wolf by Abby Geni. It's out September 15th, and it is about two siblings, Liv and Finn, and their dad, Ulf. They are Swedish, if you couldn't tell by the name. 

[00:36:12] Annie Jones: Ulf, got it. 

[00:36:15] Erin: Ulf did it for me. 

[00:36:17] Olivia: But they grew up, Ulf homeschooled them in the way that he wanted. He was descended from very famous Vikings, and so they would worship all of the Norse gods with blood sacrifices and it was a very harsh way of growing up, but they didn't realize it because they were children at the time and this was all they knew. They lived on this plot of land. They would very rarely go into town, really only when they needed food and books from the library. And Ulf just taught them archery and swordsmanship and all of that sort of thing. So Liv, when she was 14 found out exactly what her dad did for a job when the FBI raids their home and takes him into custody. I won't tell you what he does. You have to read it because it was wild. Anyways, so Liv finds that out. Finn is injured during the raid, and now we flash forward 20 years, and Liv and Finn live on their own, and they're beekeepers for a living. Which is something that they got from their father. He had nine boxes of bees that he would take care of, and he was one with them. He never wore a net or anything. They never stung him. It was the time in their life when they saw him be most gentle was with bees. And so now they've taken that on themselves. Liv starts noticing that all of these men keep going missing, and all of a sudden, things from her past start clicking together and she's like, "Wait a second. Is this happening again?" And what I really liked about this thriller is it's not a whodunit. You find out who did what pretty early on in the book, in my opinion. It's more about what Liv does with the knowledge of whodunit and the choices she makes when she figures out what's going on. And that's why I liked it because I think sometimes with whodunits you're just like we have a set cast of characters. It's one of these people. And then the ending's kind of spoiled for you. But this one is more just what do you do when you find out who did it?

[00:38:27] Annie Jones: Interesting.

[00:38:28] Olivia: And Liv had a very interesting past life, and so her choices aren't necessarily what other people would make. And it's all from her point of view. I also really liked her relationship with her brother. They had a beautiful relationship, and they stay very close in their life, which I did appreciate because I feel like sometimes siblings in books they just split and then never talk, and it hurts me.

[00:38:49] Annie Jones: Yeah. 

[00:38:50] Olivia: But these don't. So that's Children of the Wolf by Abby Genni. Good, fast-paced, short chapters, short book. 

[00:38:56] Annie Jones: Okay. I saw this one in the catalog, and I wondered about it because it was an interesting premise, like this Norse and the way that he practiced his-- I don't know if you would call it a religion or his belief system.

[00:39:06] Olivia: Yeah. 

[00:39:06] Annie Jones: So I was curious about it, but I was hesitant. Again, you're just looking at a catalog. I didn't know how many pages it was but I might read this one. I might give this one a shot. 

[00:39:14] Olivia: The Norse religion was very ingrained in every aspect of her life. So she did explain a lot of it because the stories in I guess what you would call their Bible are played out in her own life in that sort of way. 

[00:39:28] Annie Jones: I'm curious about that. Okay. 

[00:39:30] Olivia: It was really good. 

[00:39:31] Erin: That's a fascinating way to integrate something that could be not boring, but just very scientific

[00:39:36] Annie Jones: Niche. 

[00:39:36] Erin: Yeah. And to weave it into her own story is a great way to expand upon it and bring it to life. I love that. 

[00:39:41] Annie Jones: Clever. 

[00:39:42] Olivia: Yeah. 

[00:39:42] Erin: Okay, speaking of sad books, my third book is called The Vanishing Family by Robert Kolker. It comes out September 29th.

[00:39:51] Annie Jones:  I'm so curious about this.

[00:39:53] Erin: Me too.

[00:39:53] Annie Jones: I read his first one.

[00:39:55] Erin: Yes, as did I. That's why it grabbed me because I saw he was the author of Hidden Valley Road, which is a book I read a long time ago. I feel like it was during the pandy. 

[00:40:03] Annie Jones: Yeah. It was a long time. It was smack dab in the middle of the pandemic. I don't know why I read this book in the middle of the pandemic, but I did. 

[00:40:11] Erin: Because that book is about a family of 12, I think, in Colorado, where at least six of the children were diagnosed with schizophrenia. And so it's a nonfiction book about how that family dealt with it. How do you deal with six children who have schizophrenia, and then the six that didn't, what was their experience like? And how did they manage that? And I think it was set in a time I can't even remember when that book was set, but I feel like it was long enough ago.

[00:40:37] Annie Jones: 70s, 80s.

[00:40:38] Erin: Yeah, that's because it wasn't like today where we might have a better understanding about how to... It was, like, still really tough at that time. 

[00:40:45] Annie Jones: Yeah. 

[00:40:46] Erin: But this book is about another family. It is a family in Pleasant Hills, Pennsylvania. Olivia, do you know where Pleasant Hills is? 

[00:40:54] Olivia: I know of it.

[00:40:56] Annie Jones: It's near your people. Where your people are from. 

[00:40:59] Olivia: I don't claim the Amish, but I did live around a lot of them.

[00:41:03] Erin: These are not Amish. You're good. They're just regular old Pennsylvanian people. But when the book opens, we meet Barbara, who we come to find out is the youngest of nine children of this family. And she has a letter from basically a lab somewhere that has the results that will tell her whether she has the same genetic markers, genetic code as other people in her family who have received this diagnosis of FTD, which is frontotemporal dementia. And it is not a form of dementia that you would think that the elderly people would normally get. This is people in their 30s and 40s who already have it, and it is really like a changing of who they are. So that's the reason why Barbara is so hesitant to open this letter because it's basically going to tell her whether her life is condemned to be like what she's seen. Because she was the youngest child of nine, like I said, so she was still at home when all of her older siblings had grown up and moved out, and she was still at home living with their mother when their mother started to experience these symptoms. And so she didn't know what was going on. This was probably, again, back in the 50s or 60s, and everything started to change, that her mother was not the same person they used to know. They just thought at the time it was depression or whatever, but come to find out that she had gotten this and then many of the children one by one they all kept having these same symptoms. And so again, it's not a happy book. It's not like "wee, this is fun."

[00:42:29] I started reading it, and honestly it was hard to read because all of us have that fear of growing older and not being who we are, but not even being aware that we're not who we are. That's one of my biggest fears, and I'm like, "Great. Let me just crack this one open." But the way that he writes about it, it's part scientific research, part family story. I put in my notes it's like if Scientific American and This American Life had a little brother book. So it's like you're compelled to sit and be witness to this family's story even while thinking, "Oh my gosh I don't know if I could go through this," and but you're compelled to go through it with them. And he intersperses a lot of stuff about research and new therapies and things like that now we're coming to find out, but it's such a rare disease that he talks a little bit about that. There's a discussion about how these diseases get put on the back burner because there's not a lot of commercial hype around finding therapies and things to help this. So it gets put on the back burner because it's not commercially very viable to research these types of diseases and get rid of them. But anyway, it's hard to read, but it's compelling. It won't provide escapism, that's for sure. But you might leave with empathy and understanding of at least this family's. And then if you ever happen to find anyone else in your life that experiences this, even someone with regular dementia, I think it's a great read if you are curious about that. So it's called The Vanishing Family by Robert Kolker. It comes out September 29th.

[00:43:58] Annie Jones: There were three books today, at least, that are about dementia, so that's fun. 

[00:44:02] Erin: I know. I was like, "What are the chances?"

[00:44:04] Annie Jones: I can't remember now, but I'm reading another one I do think that is maybe Antarctica. It feels like we're getting a lot of books about that right now. I like Robert Kolker, so that is one I would like to read this fall. I'm still tinkering with my... don't get my fall TBR done. I'm still working on it. I'm still tweaking it. So don't put it on the internet yet.

[00:44:24] Olivia: Okay. I won't do.

[00:44:24] Annie Jones: So those are the September releases that we wanted to highlight this week. Don't forget, you can get tickets to our Fall Literary First Look, where we'll talk about more fall picks from staffers, where I will hop on Zoom and talk for about an hour about all kinds of fall releases. So get tickets to that. The link is in the show notes. And then of course, if you liked any of the books we talked about today and you want to order or pre-order them, you can type "597" into the search bar, bookshelfthomasville.com. You'll see all of today's books listed there, and then you can use the code "NEWRELEASEPLEASE" at checkout to get you 10% off your order.

[00:45:03] This week I'm reading, but did finish, The Thoroughbreds by Ellen Hildebrand and Shelby Cunningham. Olivia, what are you reading? 

[00:45:11] Olivia: I'm reading Mars One by Charlotte Robinson. 

[00:45:15] Annie Jones: And Erin, what are you reading? 

[00:45:17] Erin: This week I'm listening to Crocodilopolis by John Manuel Arias.

Annie Jones: 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 at @bookshelftville, and all the books from today’s episode can be purchased online through our store website:

bookshelfthomasville.com

A full transcript of today’s episode can be found at: 

fromthefrontporchpodcast.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…


Cammy Tidwell, Linda Lee Drozt, Martha, Stephanie Dean, Ashley Ferrell, Gene Queens, Beth, Jammie Treadwell…

Executive Producers (Read Their Own Names): Nicole Marsee, Wendi Jenkins

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


Annie Jones

a weekly conversational podcast on books, small business, and life in the South