Season 6, Episode 25: Knox and Jamies Top 5 Reads of 2023!

On this episode of Currently Reading, Meredith and Kaytee may have died and come back to life after recording this week. They are joined by none other than Knox McCoy and Jamie Golden of the Popcast! They are discussing: Bookish Moments: reading clickers and reading to our kiddos Current Reads: all the great, interesting, and/or terrible stuff we’ve been reading lately Deep Dive: Knox and Jamie’s top 5 books of 2023, plus each guest brought their favorite reading experience 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) .  .  .  .  .  1:11 - The Popcast 3:21 - Our Bookish Moments of the Week 3:39 - Tiktok scrolling ring 4:05 - Kindle remote clicker 7:53 - Butcher & Blackbird by Brynne Weaver 9:32 - Unhinged by Vera Valentine 10:20 - Fabled Bookshop 10:26 - Cold People by Tom Rob Smith 11:56 - Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel 13:35 - Persuasion by Jane Austen 13:44  - Our Current Reads 14:07 - Everyone On This Train Is a Suspect by Benjamin Stevenson (Jamie) 14:15 - Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone by Benjamin Stevenson 16:11 - Slow Horses by Mick Herron 16:47 - Chain Gang All Stars by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah (Knox) 19:19 - Warcross by Marie Lu (Kaytee) 19:31 - What Should I Read Next Podcast  20:13 - Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card 20:15 - Slay by Brittney Morris 20:16 - Ready Player One by Ernest Cline 21:50 - Wildcard by Marie Lu 22:34 - The Future by Naomi Alderman (Meredith) 23:53 - The Power by Naomi Alderman 27:52 - The Anomaly by Herve Le Tellier 28:11 - Deep Dive: Knox and Jamie’s Top 5 Books of 2023 28:42 - Divine Rivals by Rebecca Ross 28:44 - Congratulations! The Best is Over by R. Eric Thomas 28:49 - The Fragile Threads of Power by V.E. Schwab 28:56 - The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store by James McBride 29:38 - The Road of Bones by Demi Winters (Jamie #5) 32:23 - Clytemnestra by Costanza Casati (Knox #5) 32:41- The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller  34:16 - All My Knotted-Up Life by Beth Moore (Jamie #4) 37:39 - The Fish That Ate the Whale by Rich Cohen (Knox #4) 39:48 - The Monk of Mokha by Dave Eggers 40:16 - Draco Malfoy and the Mortifying Ordeal of Being In Love by isthisselfcare (Jamie #3) 42:14 - Archive of Our Own 42:16 - Fanfiction.net 43:29 - All The Young Dudes by MsKingBean89 44:43 - Traffic by Ben Smith (Knox #3) 46:24 - Drowning by T.J. Newman (Jamie #2) 46:35 - Falling by T.J. Newman 49:04 - Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver (Knox #2) 52:07 - Yellowface by R.F. Kuang (Jamie #1) 56:14 - Thank You For Listening by Julia Whelan (Knox #1) 59:16 - Knox and Jamie’s Favorite Reading Experiences of 2023 1:00:43 - Hot and Bothered by Jancee Dunn (Jamie) 1:04:37 - Starter Villain by John Scalzi (Knox) 1:06:00 - The Kaiju Preservation Society by John Scalzi 1:06:22 - Meet Us At The Fountain 1:07:08 - I wish more of us would print our book covers to keep in a book to reflect on. (Jamie) 1:07:10 - Canon Ivy 2 Mini Photo Printer 1:09:46 - Mother Horror on Instagram 1:10:32 - I want to press two books into the hands of listeners (Knox) 1:11:08 - We Are the Light by Matthew Quick (specifically for dudes, touches on masculinity without being bro-ish) 1:11:32 - Open Throat by Henry Hoke (specifically for writers) 1:13:35 - I would like to read the same book, but with a different take - with more humor and snark (Kaytee) 1:13:38 - Monsters by Claire Dederer 1:16:49 - I wish everyone would listen to the Popcast (Meredith) 1:16:56 - The Popcast 1:17:28 - The Popcast on Instagram 1:18:34 - The Popcast Patreon 1:20:46 - @KnoxMccoy on Instagram 1:20:48 - @Jamiebgolden on Instagram 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. January’s IPL is brought to you by our anchor store, Fabled Bookshop in Waco, TX. Trope Thursday with Kaytee and Bunmi - a behind the scenes peek into the publishing industry All Things Murderful with Meredith and Elizabeth - special content for the scary-lovers, brought to you with the special insights of an independent bookseller 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 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!