The Currently Reading Podcast

Kaytee is recording with a special guest co-host this week, Anna Hithersay of The Post Party podcast. Anna is a homeschool mom and was a librarian in a former life, so I think you'll love our deep dive into choosing great books for your kids (and yourself) at the library.

You'll hear a "bookish moment of the week" from each of the us: a bookish tattoo and a raising readers moment.

Next, we discuss our current reads. This week has some thriller, some fairy tale, some romance, some middle grade. Basically, we took quite a few left turns.

Our deep dive this week is a conversation with Anna about choosing quality books from the library when the selection is so overwhelming. We also talk about "twaddle" and authors that are sure bets.

As always, we finish up with A Book (yep, capitalized) that we'd like to press into every reader's hands. A sweeping story of the South and a tiny classic that's sweet and lovely.

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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2:03 - Harry Potter series by JK Rowling

3:25 - My new Bookish Tattoo!

4:43 - 99 Percent Mine by Sally Thorne

4:50 - The Hating Game by Sally Thorne

8:37 - Happiness for Beginners by Katherine Center

8:44 - Things You Save in a Fire by Katherine Center

11:15 - Wild by Cheryl Strayed

12:10 - A Walk In The Woods by Bill Bryson

12:29 - When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead

15:31 - The Winter Sister by Megan Collins

15:38 - Book Of the Month

18:56 - White Fragility by Robin DiAngelo

20:55 - OnRamp Podcast

25:04 - Lost Boy by Christina Henry

25:12 - Morgan Tallman episode 22

28:26 - Alice by Christina Henry

28:29 - Red Queen by Christina Henry

28:56 - Peter Pan by JM Barrie

31:57 - Barbara Cooney books

35:38 - Magic Treehouse books by Mary Pope Osborne

37:30 - Eric Carle books

37:36 - Sandra Boynton books

38:22 - Blue Hat, Green Hat by Sandra Boynton

38:51 - Richard Scarry books

39:48 - First Thousand Words in English by Heather Amery

39:49 - First Thousand Words in Spanish by Heather Amery

40:08 - Magic Treehouse books by Mary Pope Osborne

40:28 - The Boxcar Children by Gertrude Hayes

41:48 - In The Town All Year 'Round by Rotraut Susanne Berner

43:21 - The Little House by Virginia Lee Burton

43:24 - Mike Mulligan and the Steam Shovel by Virginia Lee Burton

43:32 - Make Way for Ducklings by Robert McCloskey

43:34 - Blueberries for Sal by Robert McCloskey

44:37 - Hannah Coulter by Wendell Berry

45:49 - Jayber Crow by Wendell Berry

47:01 - Parnassus on Wheels by Christopher Morley

48:00 - Parnassus Books

48:31 - 84, Charing Cross Road by Helene Hanff

Find Anna here: The Post Party podcast

The Post Party on Instagram and Facebook

*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!*

We discuss our current reads. This week has some thriller, some fairy tale, some romance, some middle grade. Basically, we took quite a few left turns.

Our deep dive this week is a conversation with Anna about choosing quality books from the library when the selection is so overwhelming. We also talk about “twaddle” and authors that are sure bets.

As always, we finish up with A Book we’d like to press into every reader’s hands. A sweeping story of the South and a tiny classic that’s sweet an

It's #middlegradeMarch and so, of course, Meredith is excited to be talking to Ben Guterson, the author of the Winterhouse Trilogy of middle-grade novels. These are some of our favorite books of the year.

In this bonus mini episode, or "minisode", Ben talks about his inspiration for the novels, what's coming up in the third book, as well as a bit about his own life as a reader.

And, he gives us a book he wants to "press" into every reader's hands, too.

Here are the books we mention in this episode:

Winterhouse by Ben Guterson

The Secrets of Winterhouse by Ben Guterson

Anne of Green Gables by LM Montgomery

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain

Treasure Island by Robert Lewis Stevenson

The House with the Clock in Its Walls by John Bellairs

James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl

The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster

The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis

Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro

The Winterhouse Mysteries by Ben Guterson (no link yet! Coming in December!)

It’s #middlegradeMarch and so, of course, Meredith is excited to be talking to Ben Guterson, the author of the Winterhouse Trilogy of middle-grade novels. These are some of our favorite books of the year.

In this “minisode”, Ben talks about his inspiration for the novels, what’s coming up in the third book, as well as a bit about his own life as a reader.

And, he gives us a book he wants to “press” into every reader’s hands, too.

Meredith and Kaytee are so excited to finally bring you this very special episode, which we, and our kiddos, have been looking forward to for a long time!

You'll hear a "bookish moment of the week" from each of the hosts: preparing with our sons for the special deep dive in this week's episode (yep, that's one bookish moment for the two of us!).

Next, we discuss our current reads. Since we wanted to leave time for the kids, we give you only two (and a half) titles each this week, and they are all over the map.

Our deep dive this week is a super special interview with Jackson Schwartz, 7, and Micah Cobb, 8. These two boys have big opinions about the books they have read and loved. And the way they relate to each other is downright adorable. Anyone else think this needs to be a regular feature? We are totally smitten.

As always, we finish up with A Book (yep, capitalized) that we'd like to press into every reader's hands. There are four (or more) titles in this week's pressed books segment, so get those Amazon clickers ready!

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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3:41 - The Vanishing Stair by Maureen Johnson

3:52 - Truly Devious by Maureen Johnson

6:57 - Confessions of a Domestic Failure by Bunmi Latidan

7:11 - The Honest Toddler

7:20 - Toddlers Are A**holes by Bunmi Latidan

10:36 - The Age of Miracles by Karen Thompson Walker

10:44 - The Dreamers by Karen Thompson Walker

11:49 - Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel

13:03 - The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell

13:50 - The Care and Feeding of Ravenously Hungry Girls by Anissa Gray

14:10 - American Marriage by Tayari Jones

14:28 - A Single Shard by Linda Sue Park

17:52 - The Indian in the Cupboard by Lynn Reid Banks

19:46 - The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate

21:02 - Inspector Flytrap: The Da Vinci Cold by Tom Angleberger

22:08 - The Adventures of Captain Underpants by Dav Pilkey

22:34 - Dogman by Dav Pilkey

22:47 - Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl

24:23 - Fantastic Mr. Fox by Roald Dahl

24:36 - Ricky Ricotta's Mighty Robot by Dav Pilkey

26:26 - Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan

28:59 - Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney

30:44 - Arrow to the Sun by Gerald McDermott

31:50 - Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by JK Rowling

31:59 - Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by JK Rowling

33:28 - The Course of Love by Alain de Botton

36:10 - The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas

37:48 - The War That Saved My Life by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley

38:17 - On The Come Up by Angie Thomas

*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!*

We discuss our current reads. Since we wanted to leave time for the kids, we give you only two (and a half) titles each this week, and they are all over the map.

Our deep dive this week is a super special interview with Jackson Schwartz, 7, and Micah Cobb, 8. These two boys have big opinions about the books they have read and loved. And the way they relate to each other is downright adorable. Anyone else think this needs to be a regular feature? We are totally smitten.

Kaytee and Meredith are so excited to get back into our discussion this week that we have a hard time keeping our bookish opinions to ourselves.

You'll hear a "bookish moment of the week" from each of the hosts: meeting a book resolution and a happy abundance of book mail.

Next, we discuss our current reads. We have some very seriously large opinions about our books this week. If you've ever wondered what it's like for Meredith to get spicy, you're in luck!

This episode was recorded on Valentine's Day, so… since we had love on the brain, we took a left turn and went with a deep dive on things we "hate" about books!

As always, we finish up with A Book (yep, capitalized) - but this week is a couple of great series - that we'd like to press into every reader's hands: these books have been mentioned over and over again on the podcast, but due to some heinous oversight, we haven't ever pressed them into your hands!

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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2:33 - Like Water for Chocolate by Laura Esquivel

3:24 - Sourdough by Robin Sloan

5:32 - The Brutal Telling by Louise Penny

5:33 - Bury Your Dead by Louise Penny

6:48 - Still Life by Louise Penny

10:05 - Currently Reading Challenge

10:18 - Burial Rites by Hannah Kent

13:35 - I've Got Your Number by Sophie Kinsella

14:05 - The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer

18:36 - Friday Black by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah

21:59 - Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller

22:02 - Circe by Madeline Miller

22:08 - He Read She Read episode 20

25:53 - Iliad by Homer

26:23 - Truly Devious by Maureen Johnson

26:29 - Episode 24 with Mary Heim

28:59 - The Vanishing Stair by Maureen Johnson

43:28 - The Impossible Crime (Mac B., Kid Spy #2) by Mac Barnett

50:36 - Harry Potter series

50:56 - Louise Penny series

52:02 - The Prisoner of Azkaban by J.K. Rowling

*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!*

we discuss our current reads. We have some very seriously large opinions about our books this week. If you’ve ever wondered what it’s like for Meredith to get spicy, you’re in luck!

This episode was recorded on Valentine’s Day, so… since we had love on the brain, we took a left turn and went with a deep dive on things we “hate” about books!

As always, we finish up with A Book (yep, capitalized) - but this week is a couple of great series - that we’d like to press into every reader’s

This is a departure from our regular day and format! We wanted to get this interview into your ears as soon as possible, so welcome to our first minisode!

Today, I'm chatting with debut novelist, Anissa Gray, who just released The Care and Feeding of Ravenously Hungry Girls this week on February 19th.

Anissa has been a news journalist for 20 years now, and this is her first foray into fiction. Our conversation centers on that transition, the pressures put onto authors of color, and the ways that reading makes you a better person. You won't want to miss it!

At the end, Anissa presses a book into your hands, because… it's what we do. Hope you enjoy!

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The Care and Feeding of Ravenously Hungry Girls by Anissa Gray

Written on a Body by Jeannette Winterson

Anissa's website

Anissa on Instagram @anissagrayauthor

Anissa on Facebook

*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!*

Minisode: An Interview with Author Anissa Gray