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
44: Author Sue Ray-Smolik
Author Sue Ray-Smolik joins us on the front porch to tells us about her brand-new children’s picture book, The Evening Walk, a story about how visually-impaired Mommy shows toddler Liam that sight is only one way to experience the world around them, but love is...
43: The Evening Walk by Sue Ray-Smolik
Join us on the Front Porch as we revel in Sue Ray-Smolik’s joyful new children’s book, The Evening Walk, a beautifully illustrated story in which toddler Liam describes what he sees to his visually-impaired Mommy who lovingly helps him experience their walk with...
42: Kevin Bower on the era of The Sweetness of Water
Dr. Kevin Bower takes us to the post-Civil War South, interpreting the fascinating political, social, and economic upheavals that are the backdrop for Nathan Harris' The Sweetness of Water. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/frontporchbookclub/support
41: The Sweetness of Water by Nathan Harris
The Sweetness of Water by Nathan Harris received all the awards! No wonder as it transports readers to the American south in the turbulent weeks following the end of the Civil War. As the characters struggle to make lives for themselves in the changing world, we see...
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.