The Currently Reading Podcast

We're back to regularly scheduled programming around here and happy to welcome so many new listeners!

You'll hear a "bookish moment of the week" from each of us: a TV-show experience that only happened because of bookish friendships, and a win in the "raising readers" world, one of our favorite places to report about!

Next, we discuss our current reads for the week: brand new titles, buzzed about books and ones we think need more play in the book world.

For our deep dive this week, we are focusing on Brick books for the Currently Reading challenge. We qualify these as books over 700 (or maybe 650) pages, and we've got a lot of them for you to choose from.

As always, we finish up with A Book (yep, capitalized) that we'd like to press into every reader's hands. This week's picks include two more giant tomes: an unforgettable, series that defies genre categorization, and a non-fiction biography.

As per usual, time-stamped show notes are below with references to every book and resource we mentioned in this episode. If you'd like to listen first and not spoil the surprise, don't scroll down!

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7:26 - Washington Black by Esi Edugyan

9:40 - Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead

10:44 - Heartland by Sarah Smarsh

10:48 - Episode 14 with Amy Allen Clark

11:01 - Hillbilly Elegy by J.D. Vance

12:57 - He Said/She Said by Erin Kelly

17:48 - Lucy & Andy Neanderthal by Jeffrey Brown

18:00 - Diary of A Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney

20:15 - Darth Vader and Son by Jeffrey Brown

20:17 - Goodnight, Darth Vader by Jeffrey Brown

20:55 - Inheritance by Dani Shapiro

24:15 - Interview with Dani Shapiro on the Happier Podcast

24:54 - The Current by Tim Johnston

29:27 - Bookshelf Thomasville Shelf Subscription

32:10 - 11/22/63 by Stephen King

32:39 - Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by JK Rowling

32:55 - The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas

33:02 - The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follet

33:33 - The Physician by Noah Gordon

34:48 - A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara

35:04 - The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt

35:46 - Shogun by James Clavell

35:56 - Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin

36:32 - East of Eden by John Steinbeck

35:38 - Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry

37:02 - Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke

37:45 - Les Miserables by Victor Hugo

38:00 - I Know This Much Is True by Wally Lamb

38:39 - The Prince of Tides by Pat Conroy

38:58 - What Should I Read Next episode about big books

39:09 - Gone With The Wind by Margaret Mitchell

39:38 - The Passage (trilogy) by Justin Cronin

40:33 - It by Stephen King

40:35 - The Stand by Stephen King

40:35 - The Shining by Stephen King

40:36 - Needful Things by Stephen King

40:59 - Outlander by Diana Gabaldon

43:18 - Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson

44:27 - Bad Blood by John Carreyrou

45:26 - Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow

*Please note that all book titles linked above are Amazon affiliate links. Your cost is the same, but a small portion of your purchase will come back to us to help offset the costs of the show. Thanks for your support!*

Today's minisode give you the opportunity to "meet" Claire Handscombe, the author of newly-released "Unscripted". It's a perfect read for your beach vacation!

In this "minisode", Claire and I discuss what fangirling to the max truly is, we talk a bit about the publishing industry, cast her book, and talk about what the process is like for an author to get published for the first time.

And, as always, we'll end with a book she wants to press into your hands, readers!

Minisode shownotes are not timestamped, but linked titles are below for you to peruse.

Unscripted by Claire Handscombe

Love, Factually (UK) or Love Understood (US) by Laura Mucha

Everything I Know About Love by Dolly Alderton

Come To The Edge by Christina Haag

The Editor by Steven Rowley

Claire's website (with links to all her social media!)

Meredith and Kaytee are joined by a special guest co-host this week, Mindy Brouse, a Currently Reading listener and super-fan of the show. This one was fun, you guys!

You'll hear a "bookish moment of the week" from each of us: a funny bookish conversation, a sweet picture book that made me feel ~seen~, and a spoiler-ific discussion of a previous book.

Next, we discuss our current reads. Since there are three of us, we kept it to two titles each, but there's no shortage of great stories and big opinions.

For our deep dive, we're talking to Mindy about reading aloud to kids of multiple ages, since she has been homeschooling for 20 years and has 7 kids with a large span. Our listeners asked for something exactly like this, and Mindy delivers! We also get to hear from her about something we've heard from a lot of you: how Currently Reading changed her reading life. It's a sweet conversation.

As always, we finish up with A Book (yep, capitalized) that we'd like to press into every reader's hands. This week's picks include a favorite read-aloud title, a YA sci-fi (Y-fi?) series, and a fairy tale retelling that has been a favorite for DECADES.

As per usual, time-stamped show notes are below with references to every book and resource we mentioned in this episode. If you'd like to listen first and not spoil the surprise, don't scroll down!

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3:49 - Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls

3:53 - Calico Bush by Rachel Field

3:57 - The Yearling by Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings

4:02 - On The Edge of the Sea of Darkness by Andrew Peterson

5:31 - Bunny's Book Club by Annie Silvestro

6:43 - Lil' Hoot by Amy Krouse Rosenthal

6:59 - Lil' Oink by Amy Krouse Rosenthal

7:06 -Lil' Pea by Amy Krouse Rosenthal

7:48 - The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides

9:51 - The Gown by Jennifer Robson

13:07 - The Editor by Steven Rowley

13:14 - Lily and the Octopus by Steven Rowley

18:09 - The Lost Man by Jane Harper

18:39 - Force of Nature by Jane Harper

19:38 - Daisy Jones and the Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid

21:39 - Stories I Only Tell My Friends by Rob Lowe

23:40 - The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton

26:49 - Sweep by Jonathan Auxier

26:54 - Peter Nimble and His Fantastic Eyes by Jonathan Auxier

30:30 - Outer Order, Inner Calm by Gretchen Rubin

33:27 - Better Than Before by Gretchen Rubin

33:28 - The Four Tendencies by Gretchen Rubin

33:43 - The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin

44:15 - I, Juan de Pareja by Elizabeth Borton de Trevino

46:57 - Honey for A Child's Heart by Gladys Hunt

51:36 - The Firm by John Grisham

55:44 - The Chosen by Chaim Potok

57:22 - Cinder by Marissa Meyer

1:00:11 - Beauty by Robin McKinley

Deep dive. Here's the photo and corresponding list of books that Mindy's family has chosen as their very favorites over the past two decades.

I, Juan de Pareja by Elizabeth Borton de Trevino

Nory Ryan's Song by Patricia Reilly Giff

The Great Turkey Walk by Kathleen Karr

A Single Shard by Linda Sue Park

By The Great Horn Spoon by Sid Fleischman

The House of Sixty Fathers by Meindert Dejong

The Broken Blade by William Durbin

The Second Mrs. Giaconda by E.L. Konigsburg

Secret of the Andes by Ann Nolan Clark

The Eagle of the Ninth by Sutcliff

On The Edge of the Sea of Darkness by Andrew Peterson

Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls

The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare

Seven Daughters and Seven Sons by Barbara Cohen

Johnny Tremain by Esther Forbes

*Please note that all book titles linked above are Amazon affiliate links. Your cost is the same, but a small portion of your purchase will come back to us to help offset the costs of the show. Thanks for your support!*

Meredith and Kaytee are joined by a special guest co-host this week, Laura Tremaine. Laura is well-known across social media, and we think you'll love hearing from her.

You'll hear a "bookish moment of the week" from each of us: a great book club chat, a new reading experience, and an unexpected bookish connection with a group of kids.

Next, we discuss our current reads. Since there are three of us, we kept it to two titles each, but they are two great book s from each host that are sure to have big opinions from the interwebs.

For our deep dive, we're talking to Laura about her "social media journey" and her vision behind her newest podcast, 10 Things to Tell You.

As always, we finish up with A Book (yep, capitalized) that we'd like to press into every reader's hands. This week's picks include a non-fiction book about eating, a historical fiction family saga, and a thriller that will chill you.

As per usual, time-stamped show notes are below with references to every book and resource we mentioned in this episode. If you'd like to listen first and not spoil the surprise, don't scroll down!

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5:52 - Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders

8:03 - Daisy Jones and the Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid

8:20 - The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid

8:49 - Maybe in Another Life by Taylor Jenkins Reid

15:17 - Little Lovely Things by Maureen Joyce Connolly

17:08 - Fierce Kingdom by Gin Phillips

18:00 - Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan

21:01 - This Will Only Hurt A Little by Busy Philipps

21:15 - Rob Lowe's books

21:21 - Bossypants by Tina Fey

27:28 - The Great Believers by Rebecca Makkai

28:35 - The Heart's Invisible Furies by John Boyne

31:31 - Juliet's School of Possibilities by Laura Vanderkam

34:00 - 168 Hours by Laura Vanderkam

34:08 -Off the Clock by Laura Vanderkam

35:40 - The Go-Giver by Bob Burg and John David Mann

42:17 - Bias Series on the Smartest Person in the Room podcast

51:48 - Intuitive Eating by Elyse Resch and Evelyn Trebole

56:22 - Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese

59:02 - The Winter People by Jennifer McMahon

Laura's Website and Laura's Instagram

10 Things To Tell You podcast and Instagram

*Please note that all book titles linked above are Amazon affiliate links. Your cost is the same, but a small portion of your purchase will come back to us to help offset the costs of the show. Thanks for your support!*

Kaytee and Meredith are back in your earbuds with a whole cartload of book recommendations!

You'll hear a "bookish moment of the week" from each of us: bear with us this week as we gush at each other about getting to meet in person for the first time.

Next, we discuss our current reads. We have some reads that surprised us this week, and we hope they surprise you, too, in all the best ways.

Our deep dive this week centers on the Currently Reading Challenge for 2019 and we are discussing the books that our friends and family members have pressed into our hands.

As always, we finish up with A Book (yep, capitalized) that we'd like to press into every reader's hands. A children's classic and a funny romantic comedy.

As per usual, time-stamped show notes are below with references to every book and resource we mentioned in this episode. If you'd like to listen first and not spoil the surprise, don't scroll down!

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4:38 - The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides

8:30 - The Child by Fiona Barton

8:38 - The Word is Murder by Anthony Horowitz

9:15 - Book Scavenger by Jennifer Chambliss Burton

12:33 - Winterhouse by Ben Guterson

12:40 - Secrets of Winterhouse by Ben Guterson

14:02 - 1,000 Books to Read Before You Die by James Mustich

17:58 - Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik

18:02 - Uprooted by Naomi Novik

22:04 - Cozy Minimalist Home by Myquillin Smith

26:52 - On the Come Up by Angie Thomas

26:57 - The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas

30:01 - Currently Reading Challenge 2019!

31:33 - The Mermaid Chair by Sue Monk Kidd

31:42 - Lily and the Octopus by Steven Rowley

31:55 - The Golden Compass by Phillip Pullman

32:14 - Dreamland by Sam Quinones

32:23 - Dopesick by Beth Macy

33:18 - The Bookshop by Penelope Fitzgerald

33:30 - Parnassus on Wheels by Christopher Morley

33:54 - Soul of America by Jon Meacham

34:06 - Who We Are and How We Got Here by David Reich

34:18 - 100 Diagrams That Changed the World by Scott Christiansen

34:33 - Testable Asic Devices by Wayne Needham

34:56 - American Gods by Neil Gaiman

35:04 - White Fragility by Robin DiAngelo

35:08 - The White Book by Han Kang

35:24 - For Every Solution, A Problem by Kristin Gier

36:05 - A Gift From the Sea by Ann Morrow Lindburgh

36:19 - West With The Night by Beryl Markham

37:20 - Modern Romance by Aziz Ansari

37:33 - Yes, Please by Amy Poelher

37:34 - Bossypants by Tina Fey

39:11 - House of Mirth by Edith Wharton

41:09 - The Ordinary Princess by MM Kay

44:49 - Mrs. Piggle Wiggle by Betty McDonald

47:55 - The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion

49:22 - The Rosie Effect by Graeme Simsion

49:28 - The Rosie Result by Graeme Simsion

49:50 - The Best of Adam Sharp by Graeme Simsion

52:45 - 10 Things To Tell You Episode 1: When Do You Read?