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
103: The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store
We're dropping this episode a week earlier than usual since Nancy is heading to Boulder. And, we can't wait to introduce you to James McBride's recent novel - THE HEAVEN AND EARTH GROCERY STORE. This is a book about community and relationships, good and...
103: The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store
We're dropping this episode a week earlier than usual since Nancy is heading to Boulder. And, we can't wait to introduce you to James McBride's recent novel – THE HEAVEN AND EARTH GROCERY STORE. This is a book about community and relationships, good and bad, in 1920s-30s Pottstown, Pennsylvania. We meet and grow to love the “outcast” people who live in the Chicken Hill neighborhood. These are the immigrants from other countries, the formerly enslaved people from the South, the non-Protestants (e.g., the Jews and the Catholics), and the poor. The first half of the book is almost a short story collection about these characters, each of whom steps forward for a momentary starring role. About half way through the book, the novel begins circling around the story of two of the characters: Chona, the proprietor of the Heaven and Earth Grocery Store, and Dodo, a young orphan boy recently deafened by an exploding stove. It's almost like a jazz piece, perhaps not a surprise given that James McBride is a jazz musician.
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
53: Author Nadia Hashimi
Nadia Hashimi joins us to discuss her bestselling book, Sparks Like Stars. This book is the darling of book clubs. The story of Sitara, a privileged young girl living in Kabul, draws you in as the 1978 coup strips everything away from her that she loves. Nadia tells...
52: Sher Jan Ahmadzai discusses Afghanistan
Director of the Center for Afghanistan Studies at the University of Nebraska at Omaha, Sher Jan Ahmadzai tells us his remarkable story: fleeing Afghan as a child, returning to work for the President of Afghanistan, and eventual immigrating to the United States. He...
51: Sparks Like Stars by Nadia Hashimi
Discussing Sparks Like Stars by Nadia Hashimi, we dive into the harrowing tale of Sitara, a young girl from a privileged Kabul family whose life changes forever in the 1978 coup of the government. Sitara must assume another identity and travel across the ocean to find...
50: Grief experts discuss A Man Called Ove
Grief experts, Alyssa Christensen and Amy Lipins join us on the front porch to discuss A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman. We discuss the power of community and support to help those who have lost a loved one honor their person and learn to heal. Alyssa and Amy work...
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.