Tsh chats with Shawn Smucker, novelist and co-owner (with his wife) of the indie bookstore Nooks. They talk about his first foray into running a bookshop, what it’s like to connect with local regulars, how to decide which books to stock, how to juggle bookshop-keeping with writing (or not), and other sundry regarding the delights and challenges of keeping the lights on in the neighborhood book nook.

* Shawn & Maile Smucker’s bookshop: Nooks

* Shawn’s newsletter: The Courage to Live It

* Shawn’s books

* Tsh’s newsletter: The Commonplace

* Tsh’s books, trips, & Rule of Life

* Ned Bustard

* I Cheerfully Refuse, by Leif Enger

* The Secret History, by Donna Tartt

* The Witch Elm, by Tana French

* Slow Productivity, by Cal Newport

* The Bee Sting, by Paul Murray

* This is Happiness, by Niall Williams

* The Overstory, by Richard Powers

* I Hate to See That Evening Sun Go Down, by William Gay

* Recommended reads

* Become a supporting subscriber

* Buy a round of drinks

* Join the next pilgrimage on the Rhine River

Tsh chats with Jonathan Rogers, author and podcast host. It’s the twentieth anniversary of Jonathan’s first middle-grade fiction series, The Wilderking Trilogy, so they talk about what makes good children’s literature, why we all love stories, and how our native homelands affect our perspective of stories… He loves swamps.

* Jonathan Roger’s podcast: The Habit

* Jonathan’s middle-grade series, The Wilderking Trilogy

* Tsh’s newsletter: The Commonplace

* Tsh’s books, trips, & Rule of Life

* Willie Pearl band

* The Rabbit Room

* Recommended reads

* Become a supporting subscriber

* Buy a round of drinks

* Join the next pilgrimage on the Rhine River

Tsh chats again with Faith Moore, author of Christmas Karol and podcaster of Storytime for Grownups, about holiday traditions, kicking off Christmas, and ways to make reading A Christmas Carol accessible. She’s got a new series to read alongside with you this Advent!

* Faith Moore’s podcast: Storytime for Grownups

* Faith’s novel, Christmas Karol

* Tsh’s newsletter: The Commonplace

* Tsh’s books, trips, & Rule of Life

* Tsh’s Advent book, Shadow & Light

* A Christmas Carol, by Charles Dickens

* Our Tempestuous Day: A History of Regency England, by Carolly Erickson

* Winter Fire, by Ryan Whitaker Smith

* Recommended reads

* Become a supporting subscriber

* Buy a round of drinks

* Join the next pilgrimage on the Rhine River

Tsh chats with Danielle Bean about Advent, particularly why they both love this old, time-worn season found at the start of the liturgical calendar. They also get into parenting, grandparenting, making time for solo reflection, and ways to incorporate their family's Advent traditions into ordinary family life.

* Danielle Bean’s newsletter: Girlfriends After Hours

* Danielle’s Advent series, Look + Listen

* Tsh’s 101 primer: A Brief What, Why, & How of Advent

* Tsh’s newsletter: The Commonplace

* Tsh’s books, trips, & Rule of Life

* Tsh’s Advent book, Shadow & Light

* Anna Karenina, by Leo Tolstoy

* Recommended reads

* Become a supporting subscriber

* Buy a round of drinks

* Join the next pilgrimage on the Rhine River

Tsh chats again with one of her favorite people, Sarah Mackenzie — this time about books (as always), good storytelling, podcasts and newsletters they’re currently enjoying, holiday books they’re looking forward to, her annual Christmas School, and more.

* Sarah’s businesses: Read-Aloud Revival and Waxwing Books

* Read-Aloud Revival’s 2024 Christmas School

* Tsh’s newsletter: The Commonplace

* Tsh’s books, trips, & Rule of Life

* How Stories Happen

* Song Exploder

* Present Over Perfect, by Shauna Niequist

* Jess Pan’s Substack, It’ll Be Fun, They Said

* Impossible Creatures, by Katherine Rundell

* Focusmate

* Little Christmas Carol

* Mr. Dickens & His Carol, by Samantha Silva

* Christmas Karol, by Faith Moore

* The Man Who Invented Christmas

* Recommended reads

* Become a supporting subscriber

* Buy a round of drinks

* Join the next pilgrimage on the Rhine River

Tsh chats with her old friend Erin Loechner about unplugging as a lifestyle choice, both for us as adults and for our kids. She’s got kids a few years younger than Tsh’s, but they’re both in lock-step with their ethos of letting their kids be kids. They get into the rebellion of not giving kids smartphones, why it’s important for local friends to do this together en-masse, and how to live fully without instagram, incessant smartphone-checking, and other forms of swimming against the current.

* Tsh’s newsletter: The Commonplace

* Tsh’s books, trips, & Rule of Life

* Erin Loechner’s blog: Design for Mankind

* Erin’s latest book: The Opt-Out Family

* Opt-out resources

* The Anxious Generation, by Jonathan Haidt

* Recommended reads

* Become a supporting subscriber

* Buy a round of drinks

* Join the next pilgrimage on the Rhine River

Tsh chats with her new friend Regina Gravrok, who was homeschooled K-12 and then (recently-ish) got a degree in English at Hillsdale College. Her passion for education and literature led naturally into a position at Classic Learning Test — in this chat they talk about the gift of a traditional, individualized education, the beauty and power of reading great books, and how to foster an environment at home that loves to learn.

* Tsh’s newsletter: The Commonplace

* Tsh’s books, trips, & Rule of Life

* The Classic Learning Test — register for any test at 25% off with the code COMMONPLACE

* Pilgrim at Tinker Creek, by Annie Dillard

* Hillsdale College

* The Consolation of Philosophy, by Boethius

* Sagrada Familia Basilica

* Recommended reads

* Become a supporting subscriber

* Buy a round of drinks

* Join the next pilgrimage on the Rhine River

art: Young Woman with a Book, by Edouard Manet (1875)

Tsh chats with her friend Chloe Langr, mom of three little ones and host of the podcast Letters to Women. They talk about homeschooling (she’s a first-generation!), finding time to read, book clubs, leaning in to our vocations, and more.

* Tsh’s newsletter: The Commonplace

* Tsh’s books, trips, & Rule of Life

* Chloe Langr’s newsletter & podcast

* Well-Read Mom

* Hannah Coulter, by Wendell Berry

* Peace Like a River, by Leif Enger

* A Hidden Life

* Recommended reads

* Become a supporting subscriber

* Buy a round of drinks

* Join the next pilgrimage on the Rhine River

Tsh chats with her friend Christine Bailey who, along with her husband, runs a regenerative farm and hosts all sorts of community gatherings in their beautiful barn. They talk about farming as a family, homeschooling, hosting gatherings, beauty, and much more.

* Tsh’s newsletter: The Commonplace

* Tsh’s books, trips, & Rule of Life

* Christine Bailey’s book & podcast

* Christine’s farm: The Kindred Farm

* I Cheerfully Refuse, by Leif Enger

* Hamnet, by Maggie O’Farrell

* Recommended reads

* Become a supporting subscriber

* Buy a round of drinks

* Join the next pilgrimage on the Rhine River

Tsh chats with friends Mike and Alexandra Foley. Hosts of the podcast Drinking With the Saints, Mike is author of a book of the same name (one we love in our household!). We’re joining forces for next summer’s pilgrimage along the Rhine River, and I think you’ll love them. In this conversation we chat about cocktails, the liturgical calendar, travel, homeschooling, the traditional mass, and more.

* Drinking With the Saints: the podcast & the book

* Tsh’s newsletter: The Commonplace

* Tsh’s books, trips, & Rule of Life

* Recommended reads

* Become a supporting subscriber

* Buy a round of drinks

* Join the next pilgrimage on the Rhine River