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: Allegra Goodman
Allegra Goodman, author of ISOLA joins us on the front porch. Allegra is the author of seven novels. ISOLA was a Reese’s Book Club selection. Her novel SAM was a Read With Jenna Book Club selection. KAATERSKILL FALLS was a National Book Award finalist. THE CHALK...
103: Allegra Goodman
Allegra Goodman, author of ISOLA joins us on the front porch. Allegra is the author of seven novels. ISOLA was a Reese’s Book Club selection. Her novel SAM was a Read With Jenna Book Club selection. KAATERSKILL FALLS was a National Book Award finalist. THE CHALK ARTIST was winner of the Massachusetts Book Award. Her other books include INTUITION, THE COOKBOOK COLLECTOR, and PARADISE PARK. Allegra tells us about the 20-year gestation period for writing ISOLA, the “inspired by a fragmentary true story” novel about Marguerite, an orphaned noble in Renaissance France. We were fascinated to hear about Allegra's exploration of the danger of being a girl and how she wove that into Marguerite's story. We also talked about the realistic portrayal of Marguerite's faith journey. Allegra tells us she enjoys writing about belief and doubt and that was a key part of Marguerite's story. If you've ever wondered about the creative and research process of writing a novel, you'll enjoy this episode. We also have some hearty laughs!
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
13: Jane on the Brain by Wendy Jones
Jane Austen alert! This month's book, Jane on the Brain, was a New York Times "New and Notable Selection." Wendy Jones's fun and insightful book presents how Jane Austen's characters model what we now understand to be mind/brain science. This book had Linda gushing...
12: Patrice McMahon discusses The NGO Game
Author Dr. Patrice McMahon joins us on the front porch to discuss her book, The NGO Game: Post-conflict Peacebuilding in the Balkans and Beyond. This book is a front row seat to the failure of Western interests to build strong civil societies after the Balkan wars....
11: The NGO Game by Dr. Patrice McMahon
Philanthropy, peace building, and ethnocentrism pop up in our discussion about Dr. Patrice McMahon The NGO Game.
10: Mark Snyder, Jr. on The Legacy
We have a blast on the front porch talking with Mark Snyder, Jr., author of the paranormal thriller, The Legacy. Linda and Mark go way back, and Linda asks Mark how such a wonderful, generous person could write such a disturbing book! Mark describes the genesis of the...
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.