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

99: Black Woods, Blue Sky

99: Black Woods, Blue Sky

Black Woods, Blue Sky is set in contemporary Alaska where Birdie, a 26-year-old mom, is trying to forge a life for herself and her 6-year-old daughter, Emaleen, in a small town. When Arthur, a local misfit who spends most of his time alone in his remote cabin, starts...

99: Black Woods, Blue Sky

Black Woods, Blue Sky is set in contemporary Alaska where Birdie, a 26-year-old mom, is trying to forge a life for herself and her 6-year-old daughter, Emaleen, in a small town. When Arthur, a local misfit who spends most of his time alone in his remote cabin, starts frequenting the roadside lodge where Birdie works as a waitress, they strike up an unlikely relationship. And then things get strange! Louise Erdrich says, “Black Woods, Blue Sky is a fable about what it is to love, a tale of longing, a call to renew our deepest bonds with the living world. It will draw you along like a fast-moving stream, and you will find yourself in places you have never been.”

Nancy and Linny discover they read this book differently, but both loved it and its complex characters and vivid descriptions of remote and mystical Alaska.

Black Woods, Blue Sky cover
Front Porch Book Club
99: Black Woods, Blue Sky
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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

93: Atomic Habits

93: Atomic Habits

Welcome 2025! In January we choose books that are about goal setting and achieving success and being the you, you want to be. Our book this month is Atomic Habits: An Easy and Proven Way to Build Good Habits and Break Bad Ones by James Clear. This book is designed to...

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92: 2024 Wrap-up and 2025 Preview

92: 2024 Wrap-up and 2025 Preview

It’s our last episode of the year. We talk about the progress we’ve made on our personal goals for 2024. Upon reviewing them, we feel like we have experienced growth and also adopted some unexpected goals for the year. We discuss our podcast highlights from 2024,...

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91: The King Penguin

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...

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90: Dr. Terryl Hallquist

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...

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Meet The Hosts

Linny and Nancy with iced tea

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.

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