Season 7, Episode 36: Heart Pounding Reads + The Downsides to Book Podcasting
On this episode of Currently Reading, Kaytee and Meredith are discussing: Bookish Moments: heart pounding reads and bookish goodies Current Reads: all the great, interesting, and/or terrible stuff we’ve been reading lately Deep Dive: the stuff we don’t love about book podcasting The Fountain: we visit our perfect fountain to make wishes about our reading lives Show notes are time-stamped below for your convenience. Read the transcript of the episode (this link only works on the main site) . . . . 1:27 - Our Bookish Moments Of The Week 1:45 - How the Light Gets In by Louise Penny 5:41 - The Bookish Shop 5:50 - The Bookish Box subscription 7:15 - Our Current Reads 7:28 - Down Among the Sticks and Bones by Seanan McGuire (Meredith) 10:18 - @hollyslitmagic on Instagram 10:49 - Into the Drowning Deep by Mira Grant 14:24 - Every Heart a Doorway by Seanan McGuire 15:47 - Empire of Sand by Tasha Suri (Kaytee) 17:41 - Changing Hands Bookstore 18:04 - A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas 20:16 - The Situation Room by George Stephanopoulos (Meredith) 21:50 - Sarah’s Bookshelves Live 24:47 - Glory Be by Danielle Arceneaux (Katee) 27:31 - The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman 27:45 - Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice for Murderers by Jesse Q. Sutanto 27:59 - Glory Daze by Danielle Arceneaux 29:39 - Marble Hall Murders by Anthony Horowitz (Meredith, pre-order releases May 13, 2025) 29:55 - Magpie Murders by Anthony Horowitz 29:56 - Moonflower Murders by Anthony Horowitz 34:27 - A Dead and Stormy Night by Steffnie Holmes 35:25 - This Changes Everything by Tyler Merritt (Kaytee) 35:44 - I Take My Coffee Black by Tyler Merritt 36:59 - The Trees by Percival Everett 39:36 - The Downsides of Book Podcasting 53:42 - Meet Us At The Fountain 54:00 - I wish Victorian Psycho by Virginia Feito was turned into a graphic novel. (Meredith) 54:02 - Victorian Psycho by Virginia Feito 54:48 - I wish for an easy way to find niche book things. (Kaytee) 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. April’s IPL is brought to you by Warwick’s in La Jolla, California! 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 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!
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58:08
Minisode: An Interview with "I Thought It Would Be Better Than This" Author Jessica N. Turner
Today’s spoiler-free minisode (the first one in years!) includes a conversation between Kaytee and author Jessica N Turner. Jessica is the author of multiple books. Her newest is I Thought it Would Be Better Than This, a memoir wrapped into self-help about dealing with disappointment in our lives. Tune in to hear about: The process of writing a book that intricately details someone else’s story. What it was like to pivot from more traditional productivity and self-help into memoir. Finding love again. The “soft” places we land when we are hurting. Ways to be a witness and be with someone in their grief and disappointment. Jessica’s own Current Reads. Minisode show notes are not timestamped, but linked titles are below for you to peruse. These are affiliate links, which kick back a small percentage of your purchase to the podcast, which helps support the show! Season 1, Episode 7: First time Jessica was on the show. I Thought it Would Be Better Than This by Jessica N. Turner Jessica’s website The Fringe Hours by Jessica N. Turner Stretched Too Thin by Jessica N. Turner The Berry Pickers by Amanda Peters (Just want to point out here that just like our no-prep episodes, Jessica does this Current Reads section all off the cuff and I am suitably impressed!) Moloka’i by Alan Brennert Daughter of Moloka’i by Alan Brenert Connect With Us: Jessica can be found on Instagram at @jessicanturner or at her website The Show: Instagram | Website | Email | Threads The Hosts and Regulars: Meredith | Kaytee | Mary | Roxanna Production and Editing: Megan Phouthavong Evans Affiliate Disclosure: All affiliate links go to Bookshop dot org unless otherwise noted. Shopping here helps keep the lights on and benefits indie bookstores. Thanks for your support!
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35:19
Season 7, Episode 35: Piles of Books + How We Purge Our Shelves
On this episode of Currently Reading, Meredith and Kaytee are discussing: Bookish Moments: piles of books and bookishness in non bookish places Current Reads: all the great, interesting, and/or terrible stuff we’ve been reading lately Deep Dive: how we purge our shelves The Fountain: we visit our perfect fountain to make wishes about our reading lives Show notes are time-stamped below for your convenience. Read the transcript of the episode (this link only works on the main site) . . . . 1:47 - Ad For Ourselves 2:08 - Currently Reading Patreon 3:24 - Fabled Bookshop 4:56 - Our Bookish Moments Of The Week 5:52 - Voyage of the Dawn Treader by C.S. Lewis (Finnish version) 5:53 - The Horse and His Boy by C.S. Lewis (Finnish version) 10:41 - Become a CR Patron to access the reading tracker! 12:20 - Our Current Reads 12:25 - There are Rivers in the Sky by Elif Shafak (Kaytee) 16:12 - This House is Haunted by John Boyne (Meredith) 20:56 - The Plan by Kendra Adachi (Kaytee) 21:55 - The Lazy Genius Way by Kendra Adachi 21:57 - The Lazy Genius Kitchen by Kendra Adachi 25:52 - CR Season 4: Episode 42 w/Kendra Adachi 26:29 - Sandy Hook: An American Tragedy and the Battle for Truth by Elizabeth Williamson (Meredith) 32:18 - Columbine by Dave Cullen 33:20 - The Trees by Percival Everett (Kaytee) 35:25 - Erasure by Percival Everett 36:42 - James by Percival Everett 38:07 - Sunrise on the Reaping by Suzanne Collins (Meredith) 38:27 - Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins 39:48 - The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins 45:56 - How We Purge Our Shelves 51:43 - Half Price Books 57:00 - Meet Us At The Fountain 57:08 - I am wishing for a good laugh, so send me recs of books that made you laugh. (Kaytee) 58:47 - Victorian Psycho by Virginia Feito 58:48 - The Millicent Quibb School of Etiquette for Young Ladies of Mad Science by Kate McKinnon 59:09 - @hollyslitmagic on Instagram 59:29 - I wish to have the discussion about whether book publishing has gone the route of fast fashion. (Meredith) 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. April’s IPL is brought to you by Warwick’s in La Jolla, California! 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 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!
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1:03:56
Season 7, Episode 34: Reading What We Want + Our Reading Life Temp Checks
On this episode of Currently Reading, Kaytee and Meredith are discussing: Bookish Moments: reading what we want and bookish get togethers Current Reads: all the great, interesting, and/or terrible stuff we’ve been reading lately Deep Dive: we check in on our reading lives The Fountain: we visit our perfect fountain to make wishes about our reading lives Show notes are time-stamped below for your convenience. Read the transcript of the episode (this link only works on the main site) . . . . 1:40 - Our Bookish Moments Of The Week 2:17 - The Mystery of the Blue Train by Agatha Christie 4:19 - Warwick’s 5:29 - Our Current Reads 8:03 - The Aosawa Murders by Riku Onda (Meredith) 13:37 - Confessions by Kanae Minato 14:25 - Mrs. Death Misses Death by Salenda Godden (Kaytee) 15:05 - Foyles Bookstore 19:52 - The Joy of Watercolor by Emma Block (Meredith) 21:43 - The Big Book of Watercolor by Mallery Jane 22:27 - Keeping a Creative Sketchbook by Emma Block 28:36 - House of Frank by Kay Synclaire (Kaytee) 28:48 - Ezeekat on Instagram 28:57 - Ezeekat Press 34:14 - The Spellshop by Sarah Beth Durst 34:18 - Under the Whispering Door by T.J. Klune 34:49 - Burn After Reading by Catherine Ryan Howard (Meredith) 36:40 - Blackwell’s UK 38:46 - The Nothing Man by Catherine Ryan Howard 38:48 - 56 Days by Catherine Ryan Howard 38:52 - Rewind by Catherine Ryan Howard 40:21 - The Resurrectionist by A. Raye Dunlap (Kaytee) 40:38 - Fabled Bookshop 40:43 - Aardvark books 46:04 - James by Percival Everett 47:04 - Our Reading Life Temp Checks 58:54 - Meet Us At The Fountain 59:19 - I wish there was a “previously in” page for series books. (Meredith) 1:00:49 - I wish for a reading repair manual. (Kaytee) 1:02:13 - Safe and Sound by Mercury Stardust 1:02:25 - The Pool Care Handbook by Swim University 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. March’s IPL comes to you from An Unlikely Story in Plainville, MA. 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 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!
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1:05:17
Season 7, Episode 33: The Perfect Reading Ambiance + Finding Hidden Gems
On this episode of Currently Reading, Meredith and Roxanna are discussing: Bookish Moments: the perfect reading experience and hearing others talk about books Current Reads: all the great, interesting, and/or terrible stuff we’ve been reading lately Deep Dive: how we find those hidden gem books The Fountain: we visit our perfect fountain to make wishes about our reading lives Show notes are time-stamped below for your convenience. Read the transcript of the episode (this link only works on the main site) . . . . 1:43 - Our Bookish Moments Of The Week 3:24 - The Talking Scared Podcast 3:44 - Victorian Psycho by Virginia Feito 3:57 - Talking Scared Podcast episode 226 5:38 - Our Current Reads 5:52 - The Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon (Roxanna) 15:06 - Agatha of Little Neon by Claire Luchette (Meredith) 20:02 - Hotline by Dimitri Nasrallah 20:29 - Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery 22:29 - Ruin Road by Lamar Giles (Roxanna) 25:49 - The Getaway by Lamar Giles 26:32 - When The Moon Hits Your Eye by John Scalzi (Meredith) 26:37 - Starter Villain by John Scalzi 26:44 - The Kaiju Preservation Society by John Scalzi 32:45 - The Baddest B*tch in the Room by Sophia Chang (Roxanna) 36:47 - The Unseen World by Liz Moore (Meredith) 37:45 - God of the Woods by Liz Moore 44:38 - Finding Hidden Gems 44:56 - The Unseen World by Liz Moore 46:56 - Get Booked Podcast 47:07 - Currently Reading website 47:27 - From the Front Porch podcast 48:08 - Canada Reads 48:12 - Australian Fiction Prize 48:14 - Nebula Awards 48:15 - Hugo Awards 48:34 - Baillie Gifford prize for non-fiction 50:03 - Ruin Road by Lamar Giles 52:40 - KJ Charles on Goodreads 55:26 - The Seven Sisters by Lucinda Riley 57:31 - Meet Us At The Fountain 57:40 - I wish there was a site that categorized books by places around the world. (Roxanna) 58:08 - Tripfiction.com 58:18 - Around the World in 80 books group on Goodreads 58:32 - Strong Sense of Place podcast 58:49 - Shepherd.com 59:40 - If you haven’t yet, read God of the Woods by Liz Moore. (Meredith) 59:43 - God of the Woods by Liz Moore 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. March’s IPL comes to you from our tried and true partner, An Unlikely Story in Plainville, MA. 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 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!
Currently Reading is a podcast dedicated to the love of books and reading. Two bookish friends discuss what’s on their nightstands, in their earbuds, and on their Kindles right now, in addition to books they’ve loved forever, and a variety of other readerly topics. Looking for your next great book? You'll find tons of book recommendations every week.
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