Currently Reading

Meredith Monday Schwartz and Kaytee Cobb
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Nov 7, 2025 • 1h 14min

A Journey to Three Pines - Episode 10: The Long Way Home

We are so excited to journey with you to Three Pines, the fictional French-Canadian village created by Louise Penny for her Three Pines series, featuring Armand Gamache. This spin-off podcast series will tackle each of the books in the series in turn, in a spoiler-FILLED format. Be sure you've read the book before listening to the episode. As you've come to expect with all Currently Reading content, Meredith and Roxanna will follow a regular episode format, with regular segments, so you know what to expect each and every time. We love staying focused on the book, rather than conversational rabbit holes. Show notes for this series will not be time-stamped except for broad sections, but will include links to Bookshop dot org or Amazon for any books or resources referenced in the episode. 3:15 - Putting the Book Into Context The Long Way Home by Louise Penny Published Aug 26, 2014 by Minotaur Books 4.07 rating on Goodreads Seasonal setting - Summer Book Awards: Finalist for the Agatha Award for best novel, but did not win, nor win any other awards. Critic Reviews Meredith's and Roxanna's encounters with the book 13:17 - The Setup 11:21 - A Deeper Exploration First paragraph The pacing of the novel How the Light Gets In by Louise Penny Unlikeable main AND side characters No actual murder mystery to solve Prose and plot do not compliment one another. Prose is beautiful. P.92 quote Is there a villain? P.138 quote Portrayal of Ruth P.362 quote Themes: redemption, Clara's arc to confidence, the long way home Canadian elements 1:03:18 - Superlatives Favorite Scenes Character MVP Biggest loser Best food description Is this book skippable? No spoilers this episode! The next book will be The Nature of the Beast by Louise Penny 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. November's's IPL is brought to us from Content Bookstore in Northfield, Minnesota. 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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Nov 3, 2025 • 1h 6min

Season 8, Episode 14: Reading Merit Badges + Books We Recently Set Aside

On this episode of Currently Reading, Kaytee and Meredith are discussing: Bookish Moments: audiobook samples and author shoutouts Current Reads: all the great, interesting, and/or terrible stuff we've been reading lately Deep Dive: books we've recently set aside and why 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). . . . 1:26 - Ad For Ourselves 4:27 - Currently Reading Patreon 4:40 - Our Bookish Moments of the Week 6:09 - The Marriage Portrait by Maggie O'Farrell 9:50 - Our Current Reads 10:22 - Magpie Lane by Lucy Atkins (Meredith) 13:50 - Strange Sally Diamond by Liz Nugent 13:54 - 17 Years Later by J.P. Pomare 14:36 - Once There Were Wolves by Charlotte McConaghy (Kaytee) 14:45 - Migrations by Charlotte McConaghy 14:51 - Wild Dark Shore by Charlotte McConaghy 18:04 - What the Deep Water Knows by Miranda Cowley Heller (Meredith) 18:54 - The Paper Palace by Miranda Cowley Heller 23:07 - Camp Damascus by Chuck Tingle (Kaytee) 23:26 - Bury Your Gays by Chuck Tingle 26:15 - Lucky Day by Chuck Tingle 26:54 - The Girl Who Reads on the Metro by Christine Feret-Fleury (Meredith, amazon link) 30:37 - The Little Paris Bookshop by Nina George 31:52 - Impossible Creatures by Katherine Rundell (Kaytee) 32:13 - Waterstones 32:14 - Blackwell's 34:16 - The Poisoned King by Katherine Rundell 38:20 - Books We Recently DNF'd 40:47 - Buckeye by Patrick Ryan (Meredith NRN) 43:30 - All the Other Mothers Hate Me by Sarah Harman (Kaytee DNF) 45:16 - Katabasis by R.F. Kuang (Meredith DNF with prejudice) 47:47 - Babel by R.F. Kuang 48:11 - Yellowface by R.F. Kuang 49:50 - We Are the Light by Matthew Quick (Kaytee DNF with prejudice) 51:58 - The Silver Linings Playbook by Matthew Quick 52:30 - The Once and Future Witches by Alix E. Harrow (Meredith - not sure!) 53:42 - The Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alix E. Harrow 53:49 - A Spindle Splintered by Alix E. Harrow 55:01 - Fire by John Boyne (Kaytee DNF) 55:14 - Water by John Boyne 55:15 - Earth by John Boyne 55:16 - Air by John Boyne 55:18 - The Elements by John Boyne (all 4 novellas combined) 55:27 - Blackwell's 56:45 - The Heart's Invisible Furies by John Boyne 57:46 - Sarah's Bookshelves Live - The Elements by John Boyne discussion (only for patreon subscribers) 58:34 - Meet Us At The Fountain 59:14 - I wish for author Cameos. (Meredith) 59:17 - Cameo 1:01:17 - I wish for a reading merit badge. (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. November's's IPL is brought to us from Content Bookstore in Northfield, Minnesota. 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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Oct 27, 2025 • 57min

Season 8, Episode 13: Reading Too Much + Ranking Our #1 Reads In Years Past

On this episode of Currently Reading, Meredith and Kaytee are discussing: Bookish Moments: 3D bookish printing and reading too many books at once Current Reads: all the great, interesting, and/or terrible stuff we've been reading lately Deep Dive: taking our top reads from each year 2019-2024 and ranking them 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). . . . 1:58 - Our Bookish Moments of the Week 3:09 - Book bone 4:33 - 3D Printer 7:49 - Our Current Reads 7:55 - How to Survive A Slasher by Justine Pucella Winans (Kaytee) 12:17 - Fifty Fifty by Steve Cavanagh (Meredith) 13:41 - Thirteen by Steve Cavanagh 15:34 - Fabled Bookshop 17:05 - A Rebellion of Care by David Gate (Kaytee) 17:24 - @davidgatepoet on Instagram 21:15 - Death in the Clouds by Agatha Christie (Meredith) 24:51 - The Murder of Roger Ackroyd by Agatha Christie 24:53 - And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie 25:46 - The Dictionary of Lost Words by Pip Williams (Kaytee) 25:56 - The Novel Neighbor 27:25 - The Liar's Dictionary by Eley Williams 27:27 - The Professor and the Madman by Simon Winchester 28:49 - The Once and Future Witches by Alix E. Harrow 29:39 - The Frozen People by Elly Griffiths (Meredith) 34:39 - The Dream Daughter by Diane Chamberlain 35:16 - Ranking Our Favorites From Years Past Meredith's Top Books 2019-2024 36:36 - A Curse So Dark and Lonely by Brigid Kemmerer (5) 36:41 - Greenwood by Michael Christie (6) 36:46 - A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles (2) 36:53 - The Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alix E Harrow (3) 36:58 - Clytemnestra by Costanza Casati (4) 37:05 - The Tainted Cup by Robert Jackson Bennett (1) Kaytee's Top Books 2019-2024 37:50 - The Dearly Beloved by Cara Wall (3) 37:54 - Pride by Ibi Zoboi (4) 38:00 - All the Lonely People by Mike Gayle (1) 38:13 - Babel by RF Kuang (2) 38:16 - Black Cake by Charmaine Wilkerson (6) 38:18 - All the Colors of the Dark by Chris Whitaker (5) 42:19 - The Count of Monte Cristo be Alexandre Dumas 50:57 - Nettle & Bone by T. Kingfisher 51:57 - Meet Us At The Fountain 52:04 - I wish that I would better prepare for downtime or planned reading. (Kaytee) 54:32 - I wish you would make a top 10 reads every year from now on. (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. October's IPL takes us back to one of our anchor stores, The Novel Neighbor in St. Louis, Missouri. 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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Oct 20, 2025 • 1h 3min

Season 8, Episode 12: Reading Mishaps + Travels and Book Buying

On this episode of Currently Reading, Meredith and Kaytee are discussing: Bookish Moments: accidental reads and jumbled audiobooks Current Reads: all the great, interesting, and/or terrible stuff we've been reading lately Deep Dive: the way we buy books while traveling 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). . . . . 1:29 - Our Bookish Moments of the Week 2:56 - Soul of the Deep by Natasha Bowen 2:58 - Sing Me to Sleep by Gabi Burton 4:16 - City of Ghosts by Victoria Schwab 7:44 - Our Current Reads 7:54 - A Lady's Formula for Love by Elizabeth Everett (Kaytee) 8:04 - The Novel Neighbor 10:47 - Magic and Mischief at the Wayside Hotel by Elizabeth Everett 11:29 - The Unraveling of Julia by Lisa Scottoline (Meredith) 13:33 - What Happened to the Bennetts by Lisa Scottoline 17:07 - Raceless by Georgina Lawton (Kaytee) 19:58 - The Places That Scare You by Pema Chodron (Meredith) 29:03 - The In-Between Bookstore by Edward Underhill (Kaytee) 31:56 - Royal Gambit by Daniel O'Malley (Meredith) 34:07 - The Rook by Daniel O'Malley 34:11 - Stiletto by Daniel O'Malley 34:41 - The Tainted Cup by Robert Jackson Bennett 37:33 - Rivers of London (Midnight Riot) by Ben Aaronovitch 38:37 - Travel and Book Buying 41:33 - Waterstones 49:26 - The Foldie 51:33 - North Woods by Daniel Mason (UK version) 51:39 - The Rook by Daniel O'Malley (UK version) 53:33 - Bookshop 55:56 - Topping & Company 57:50 - Fabled Bookshop 59:23 - Meet Us At The Fountain 59:27 - I wish for a real life excuse note due to reading weather. (Kaytee) 1:00:31 - I wish you would prioritize visiting that local bookstore you've been meaning to visit. (Meredith) 1:01:11 - The Painted Porch Bookshop 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. October's IPL takes us back to one of our anchor stores, The Novel Neighbor in St. Louis, Missouri. 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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Oct 13, 2025 • 1h 1min

Season 8, Episode 11: Book Bundles + Books That Zigged When You Thought They'd Zag

On this episode of Currently Reading, Kaytee and Roxanna are discussing: Bookish Moments: back to buddy reading and book bundles Current Reads: all the great, interesting, and/or terrible stuff we've been reading lately Deep Dive: books that surprised you all the way through 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). . . . . 1:46 - Our Bookish Moments of the Week 1:55 - Katabasis by R.F. Kuang 2:19 - Babel by R.F. Kuang 2:41 - The Correspondent by Virginia Evans 6:38 - Our Current Reads 9:54 - The Unselected Journals of Emma M Lion Vol.1 by Beth Brower (Roxanna) 9:04 - Libby 9:29 - 84, Charing Cross Road by Helene Hanff 14:15 - The Blue Castle by LM Montgomery 14:41 - Zero Stars, Do Not Recommend by MJ Wassmer (Kaytee) 17:19 - Lord of the Flies by William Golding 19:37 - Silverborn: The Mystery of Morrigan Crow by Jessica Townsend (Roxanna) 25:00 - Hollowpox by Jessica Townsend 27:41 - Minor Feelings by Cathy Park Hong (Kaytee) 31:09 - The Undead Fox of Deadwood Forest by Aubrey Hartman (Roxanna) 33:05 - Type Books Canada 34:45 - Under the Whispering Door by TJ Klune 33:47 - A Psalm for the Wild Built by Becky Chambers 36:19 - Audre & Bash are Just Friends by Tia Williams (Kaytee) 36:30 - Libro.fm 36:38 - Seven Days in June by Tia Williams 39:24 - The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang 40:52 - Books that Zigged When You Thought They'd Zag 41:45 - The Undead Fox of Deadwood Forest by Aubrey Hartman 45:03 - Piranesi by Susanna Clark 45:19 - Light from Uncommon Stars by Ryka Aoki 46:02 - The Unseen World by Liz Moore 46:43 - Hazel Says No by Jessica Berger Gross 46:47 - Fabled Bookshop 48:05 - Margo's Got Money Troubles by Rufi Thorpe 49:15 - I Keep My Worries In My Teeth by Anna Cox 49:23 - Commonplace Books 50:51 - Mouth to Mouth by Antoine Wilson 50:53 - Parnassus Books 50:55 - Our Hideous Progeny by C.E. McGill 50:58 - The Novel Neighbor 51:00 - Hench by Natalie Zina Walschots 51:03 - An Unlikely Story 51:07 - Assistant to the Villain by Hannah Nicole Maehrer 51:33 - The Gurkha and the Lord of Tuesday by Saad Z. Hossain 52:10 - Wicked Nix by Lena Coakley 53:38 - Meet Us At The Fountain 53:45 - I wish to press The Ghoul of Windydown Vale by Jake Burt. (Roxanna) 53:54 - The Ghoul of Windydown Vale by Jake Burt 56:06 - I wish Libby would bring back "Deliver Later". (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. October's IPL takes us back to one of our anchor stores, The Novel Neighbor in St. Louis, Missouri. 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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Oct 6, 2025 • 57min

Season 8, Episode 10: Squeeze Your Tenders + When Reading Gets Dangerous

On this episode of Currently Reading, Kaytee and Meredith are discussing: Bookish Moments: bookish wishes coming true and picture books we love Current Reads: all the great, interesting, and/or terrible stuff we've been reading lately Deep Dive: Kaytee gets silly about how reading can be dangerous 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). . . . . 1:34 - Ad For Ourselves 4:33 - Currently Reading Patreon 5:02 - Our Bookish Moments of the Week 5:50 - The Black Wolf by Louise Penny 7:08 - Novel Neighbor 8:09 - Don't Trust Fish by Neil Sharpson 8:17 - Dog Eared Books 9:34 - Our Current Reads 9:54 - The Unselected Journals of Emma M Lion Vol.1 by Beth Brower (Meredith) 10:00 - The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion Vol. 2 by Beth Brower 16:03 - A Game of Lies by Clare Mackintosh (Kaytee) 16:11 - An Unlikely Story 20:09 - 44 Poems on Being with Each Other by Padraig O Tuama (Meredith) 20:18 - Poetry Unbound podcast 24:24 - In the Shelter by Padraig O Tuama 24:40 - A Swim in a Pond in the Rain by George Saunders 25:37 - The Secret of Secrets by Dan Brown (Kaytee) 26:27 - The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown 32:45 - Wylding Hall by Elizabeth Hand (Meredith) 34:18 - Feral and Hysterical by Sadie Hartmann 37:41 - Daisy Jones and the Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid 38:11 - 101 Horror Books to Read Before You're Murdered by Sadie Hartmann 38:40 - Best Hex Ever by Nadia El-Fassi (Kaytee) 42:16 - Deep Dive: When Reading Gets Dangerous 46:08 - A Court of Silver Flames by Sarah J. Maas 51:05 - Meet Us At The Fountain 51:07 - I wish that more books came in volumes. (Meredith) 51:18 - The Unselected Journals of Emma M Lion Vol.1 by Beth Brower 53:10 - I wish to press an Immense World by Ed Yong. (Kaytee) 53:11 - An Immense World by Ed Yong 53:15 - The Secret of Secrets by Dan Brown 54:15 - An Immense World by Ed Yong (young reader's edition) 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. October's IPL takes us back to one of our anchor stores, The Novel Neighbor in St. Louis, Missouri. 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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Sep 29, 2025 • 59min

Season 8, Episode 9: Car-cuteries + Narrative POVs

On this episode of Currently Reading, Meredith and Kaytee are discussing: Bookish Moments: car picnics and even more bookshelves! Current Reads: all the great, interesting, and/or terrible stuff we've been reading lately Deep Dive: all about narrative POVs - do they matter? do we like one more than the other? 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). . . . . 1:29 - Our Bookish Moments of the Week 4:04 - Awake by Jen Hatmaker 4:44 - BookPeople 9:45 - Our Current Reads 9:53 - American Royals by Katharine McGee (Kaytee) 13:22 - Red, White, and Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston 13:26 - Currently Reading Patreon to access Popcorn in the Pages 14:03 - Majesty by Katharine McGee 14:53 - A Witch's Guide to Magical Innkeeping by Sangu Mandanna (Meredith) 18:05 - Legends and Lattes by Travis Baldree 18:06 - The Spellshop by Sara Beth Durst 18:16 - A Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Sangu Mandanna 19:24 - House of Frank by Kay Synclaire 19:41 - The House in the Cerulean Sea by T.J. Klune 20:08 - These Truths by Jill Lepore (Kaytee) 20:32 - libro.fm 22:04 - The Small and the Mighty by Sharon McMahon 25:07 - The Hounding by Xenobe Purvis (Meredith) 26:03 - Fabled Bookshop 29:39 - Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver (Kaytee) 32:04 - David Copperfield by Charles Dickens 34:15 - The Carpool Detectives by Chuck Hogan (Meredith) 40:05 - Deep Dive: Narrative POVs 45:38 - Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros 45:43 - A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas 45:59 - A Good Neighborhood by Therese Ann Fowler 46:32 - Stone Blind by Natalie Haynes 48:28 - Sarah's Bookshelves Live 49:55 - Piranesi by Susanna Clarke 52:39 - Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver 52:42 - Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus 52:47 - The Color Purple by Alice Walker 53:05 - We Could Be Rats by Emily Austin 53:09 - Interesting Facts About Space by Emily Austin 53:30 - Yellowface by R.F. Kuang 53:32 - Everyone In My Family has Killed Someone by Benjamin Stevenson 53:52 - Meet Us At The Fountain 53:55 - I wish to press Starling House into everybody's hands. (Kaytee) 54:00 - Starling House by Alix E. Harrow 54:08 - The Novel Neighbor 56:10 - The Once and Future Witches by Alix E. Harrow 56:29 - I wish everyone would try a book flight. (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. September's IPL is brought to us from Words Matter in Pitman, NJ. 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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Sep 22, 2025 • 1h 1min

Season 8, Episode 8: Wordy Card Games + All Things Pre-Order

On this episode of Currently Reading, Kaytee and Meredith are discussing: Bookish Moments: movie adaptations and wordy card games Current Reads: all the great, interesting, and/or terrible stuff we've been reading lately Deep Dive: answering a listener question about all things pre-orders 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). . . . . 1:16 - Our Current Reads 1:35 - The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman 6:43 - You Can't Say Umm card game 7:34 - Quiddler game 9:06 - Our Current Reads 9:24 - The Killer Question by Janice Hallett (Meredith) 10:37 - The Appeal by Janice Hallett 10:38 - The Mysterious Case of the Alperton Angels by Janice Hallett 10:42 - The Examiner by Janice Hallett 16:45 - The Crescent Monon Tea Room by Stacy Sivinski (Kaytee) 20:34 - The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz (Meredith) 22:23 - The Gifts of Imperfection by Brene Brown 26:00 - Between Two Kingdoms by Suleika Jaouad (Kaytee) 27:14 - When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi 29:39 - Inheritance by Nora Roberts (Meredith) 33:52 - The Search by Nora Roberts 36:43 - Tilt by Emma Pattee (Kaytee) 40:58 - Deep Dive: All Things Pre-Orders 41:47 - @hollyslitmagic on Instagram 43:55 - Fabled Bookshop 47:07 - The Everlasting by Alix E. Harrow (pre-order, releases Oct 28, 2025) 47:12 - The Everlasting by Alix E. Harrow (UK edition, pre-order releases Oct 30, 2025) 48:32 - Bergman Brothers full box set is no longer available through Illumicrate 50:21 - Nevermoor by Jessica Townsend 51:22 - Meet Us At The Fountain 52:10 - Sorta Awesome 52:21 - @metaphysicalmeg on Instagram 52:26 - Meg's offerings for readings 53:59 - My wish is that you know yourself as a reader but also your whole self. (Meredith) 55:00 - I wish to encourage the nostalgia reading experience. (Kaytee) 55:09 - The Secret of Secrets by Dan Brown 55:59 - The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown 56:54 - Katabasis by R.F. Kuang 58:33 - Origin by Dan Brown 58:34 - The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown 58:36 - Angels and Demons by Dan Brown 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. September's IPL is brought to us from Words Matter in Pitman, NJ. 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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Sep 15, 2025 • 59min

Season 8, Episode 7: Small-Town Escapes + Reading - Why So Serious?

On this episode of Currently Reading, Meredith and Kaytee are discussing: Bookish Moments: a budding book collector + a favorite book wins the Hugo Award Current Reads: all the great, interesting, and/or terrible stuff we've been reading lately Deep Dive: reading — why so serious? 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). . . . . 1:12 - Still Life by Louise Penny (20th Anniversary Edition) [releases September 30] 2:13 - Our Bookish Moments Of The Week 2:25 - Katabasis by R. F. Kuang 3:34 - The Adventures of Amina al-Sarafi by Shannon Chakraborty 4:19 - The Creeping Hand Murder by Maureen Johnson and Jay Cooper [releases September 16] 4:53 - The Phoenix Keeper by S. A. MacLean 5:04 - The Backyard Bird Chronicles by Amy Tan 6:19 - The Tainted Cup by Robert Jackson Bennett 7:54 - Our Current Reads 8:03 - Haunted Ever After by Jen DeLuca (Kaytee) 11:35 - Ghost Business by Jen DeLuca 13:30 - Rites of Extinction by Matt Serafini (Meredith) 18:39 - The Unveiling by Quan Berry [releases October 14] 19:17 - The Need by Helen Phillips 20:02 - Let Them Stare by Jonathan Van Ness and Julie Murphy (Kaytee) 22:19 - Dumplin' by Julie Murphy 23:59 - Jobs to Be Done by Stephen Wunker, Jessica Wattman, and David Farber (Meredith) 28:36 - Lula Dean's Little Library of Banned Books by Kirsten Miller (Kaytee) 28:45 - The Change by Kirsten Miller 28:50 - Schuler Books in Michigan 31:45 - Twenty Years Later by Charlie Donlea (Meredith) 35:01 - Guess Again by Charlie Donlea 36:36 - Reading — Why So Serious? 43:40 - Stone Yard Devotional by Charlotte Wood 51:03 - Meet Us At The Fountain 51:24 - I wish there was a show about readers, in the spirit of The Great British Bake Off. (Kaytee) 54:46 - An update on last week's wish: I wish my iPhone would make automated actions easier for handling my screenshots. (Meredith) 56:40 - Step-by-Step: Build a "Send Screenshot" Shortcut on iPhone PDF 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. September's IPL comes to us from: Words Matter in Pitman, NJ. 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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Sep 8, 2025 • 1h 8min

Season 8, Episode 6: Octogenarians in the Spotlight + Diving into Reading Deeply

On this episode of Currently Reading, Meredith and Kaytee are discussing: Bookish Moments: being told what to read by our past selves + insomnia reading on my kindle Current Reads: all the great, interesting, and/or terrible stuff we've been reading lately Deep Dive: how to read deeply 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). . . . . 1:30 - Our Bookish Moments Of The Week 2:01 - The September House by Carissa Orlando 5:26 - Our Current Reads 5:33 - The Autumn Springs Retirement Home Massacre by Philip Fracassi (Meredith) [releases September 30] 8:16 - The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman 10:49 - Here We Go Again by Alison Cochrun (Kaytee) 14:23 - The Road to Tender Hearts by Annie Hartnett 14:28 - Run for the Hills by Kevin Wilson 14:50 - We Spread by Iain Reid (Meredith) 16:39 - I'm Thinking of Ending Things by Iain Reid 16:42 - Foe by Iain Reid 20:41 - The Stardust Grail by Yume Kitasei (Kaytee) 23:07 - Station Eternity by Mur Lafferty 23:18 - The Adventures of Amina al-Sarafi by Shannon Chakraborty 24:21 - Stone Yard Devotional by Charlotte Wood (Meredith) 28:47 - Stuart Little by E. B. White 29:58 - Gilead by Marilynne Robinson 31:32 - This Is Happiness by Niall Williams (Kaytee) 36:24 - Time of the Child by Niall Williams 36:54 - Take What You Can Carry by Gian Sardar 37:11 - How and When to Read Deeply 37:45 - Currently Reading: A Journey to Three Pines series 40:33 - A Curse So Dark and Lonely by Brigid Kemmerer 43:31 - Babel by R. F. Kuang 50:33 - The Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alix E. Harrow 55:31 - Still Life by Louise Penny 58:06 - Meet Us At The Fountain 58:12 - I wish my iPhone would make automated actions easier for handling my screenshots. (Meredith) 1:02:28 - I wish that we would all come up with our list of Slam Dunks. (Kaytee) 1:05:42 - Life in Five Senses by Gretchen Rubin 1:06:47 - Chrissie on Instagram and at Sarah's Bookshelves 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. September's IPL comes to us from: Words Matter in Pitman, NJ. 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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