Front Porch Book Club Podcast
Grab your book and iced tea and join the Front Porch Book Club, your no-commitment, casual, and eclectic podcast about books. We examine the relationship between characters, the worlds they live in, and what that means to us.
Latest Episode
119: Dust Child
DUST CHILD, by Nguyen Phan Que Mai, catapults us into the interconnecting lives of those caught in the brutality of the Vietnam War. We meet Dan, an American who is returning with his wife to the country where he was a young GI fifty years earlier. We are transported...
119: Dust Child
DUST CHILD, by Nguyen Phan Que Mai, catapults us into the interconnecting lives of those caught in the brutality of the Vietnam War. We meet Dan, an American who is returning with his wife to the country where he was a young GI fifty years earlier. We are transported back in time and meet two Vietnamese sisters during the Vietnam War. We meet Fong, an Amerasian man born from a Vietnamese woman and a Black GI and the challenges he faces as an abandoned baby.
Nguyen Phan Que Mai based this novel on the stories she heard as she was writing her dissertation about the impact of the Vietnam War.
The novel is an international best-seller AND the One Book, One Lincoln selection for 2026.
About Front Porch Book Club
I honestly was blown away by the deep dive Nancy and Linny did into SPARKS LIKE STARS and really appreciated the personal perspectives they brought.
Nadia Hashimi, Author
Every month the Front Porch Book Club features two episodes on our selected book. In the first episode Linda and Nancy introduce the book and discuss their thoughts. In the second episode, Linda and Nancy are joined by the author or an expert to delve deeper into the book. Our book selections are eclectic: fiction, autobiography, history, memoir, investigative journalism, and classics. They are books that give us insights into how we may be more intentional, creative, and loving.
Recent Episodes
91: The King Penguin
It's December and that means we're reviewing a children's book. For 2024, it's The King Penguin written and illustrated by Vanessa Roeder. This beautifully and fancifully illustrated book explores what happens when King Penguin Percival becomes too selfish and is...
90: Dr. Terryl Hallquist
Dr. Terryl Hallquist, Thornton Wilder scholar and Ann Patchett fan, joins us to discuss Patchett's newest novel, Tom Lake. Tom Lake centers around a pivotal summer Lara spent in a summer stock theatre company where she performed her signature role of Emily in Thornton...
89: Tom Lake
Ann Patchett's 2023 novel, Tom Lake, explores the permeability between past and present. While they are picking cherries to try to save the crop since the normal large migrant laborer crew is absent due to COVID, Lara's adult daughters ask their mom to tell them the...
88: Dr. Thomas Jay Lynn
Penn State Berks professor, Dr. Thomas Jay Lynn, joins us on the front porch to discuss Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart. Tom's book, Chinua Achebe and the Politics of Narration: Envisioning Language, has been called "a notable contribution to Achebe studies." Tom...
Meet The Hosts
Growing up, Nancy always had her nose in a book. She never remembers not loving to read books. Linda, on the other hand, hated libraries and spent her childhood trying to lure Nancy away from books into some other activity that she thought would be way more fun. That’s right – we’re sisters. Nancy was more of an introvert and Linda was more of an extrovert. But, somewhere along the way, Linda started loving books and Nancy started loving talking about books. Nancy is a recovering academic in Nebraska who writes and Linda is a licensed counselor in Pennsylvania.