Currently Reading Meredith Monday Schwartz and Kaytee Cobb
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Currently Reading is a podcast dedicated to the love of books and reading. Two bookish friends discuss what’s on their nightstands, in their earbuds, and on their Kindles right now, in addition to books they’ve loved forever, and a variety of other readerly topics. Looking for your next great book? You'll find tons of book recommendations every week.
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Season 6, Episode 33: Crumble and Chronicles + Changes In Our Reading Lives Over Time
On this episode of Currently Reading, Meredith and Roxanna are discussing:
Bookish Moments: pastries while reading and huge bookish hangovers
Current Reads: all the great, interesting, and/or terrible stuff we’ve been reading lately
Deep Dive: the ways our reading lives and changed and expanded over time
The Fountain: we visit our perfect fountain to make wishes about our reading lives
Show notes are time-stamped below for your convenience. Read the transcript of the episode (this link only works on the main site)
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1:32 - Our Bookish Moments of the Week
3:11 - Hench by Natalie Zina Walschots
4:45 - All The Colors of the Dark by Chris Whitaker (Releases June 25, 2024)
7:30 - Our Current Reads
7:36 - The Night Raven by Johan Rundberg (Roxanna)
14:09 - The Red Parts by Maggie Nelson (Meredith)
18:09 - The Fact of a Body by Alexandra Marzano-Lesnevich
21:54 - Burning Roses by S.L. Huang (Roxanna)
22:51 - Piranesi by Susanna Clarke
26:06 - Once Upon A Broken Heart by Stephanie Garber (Meredith)
27:14 - Caraval by Stephanie Garber
31:22 - In the Shadow of the Mountain by Silvia Vasquez-Lavado (Roxanna)
31:51 - Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer
31:54 - Finding Me by Viola Davis
36:23 - Better the Blood by Michael Bennett (Meredith)
41:24 - Deep Dive: Changes In Our Reading Lives Over Time
47:27 - The Shell Seekers by Rosamunde Pilcher
48:07 - City of Brass by S.A. Chakraborty
49:55 - The Devotion of Suspect X by Keigo Higashino
50:39 - 10 Things To Tell You podcast w/ Sara Hildreth
50:42 - @fictionmatters on Instagram
53:36 - Covenant of Water by Abraham Verghese
53:45 - Yellowface by R.F. Kuang
55:48 - Burning Roses by S.L. Huang
58:55 - A Dead Djinn In Cairo by P. Djeli Clark
1:00:32 - Meet Us At The Fountain
1:00:45- I wish everyone knows about shepherd.com (Roxanna)
1:00:52 - Strong Sense of Place podcast
1:01:17 - The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman
1:03:19 - Shogun by James Clavell
1:03:28 - CR Season 1: Episode 14
1:04:45 - I wish more people would read Shogun. (Meredith)
1:05:18 - The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas
Support Us:
Become a Bookish Friend | Grab Some Merch
Shop Bookshop dot org | Shop Amazon
Bookish Friends Receive:
The Indie Press List with a curated list of five books hand sold by the indie of the month. March’s IPL comes to us from our Anchor store An Unlikely Story!
Trope Thursday with Kaytee and Bunmi - a behind the scenes peek into the publishing industry
All Things Murderful with Meredith and Elizabeth - special content for the scary-lovers, brought to you with the special insights of an independent bookseller
The Bookish Friends Facebook Group - where you can build community with bookish friends from around the globe as well as our hosts
Connect With Us:
The Show: Instagram | Website | Email | Threads
The Hosts and Regulars: Meredith | Kaytee | Mary | Roxanna
Affiliate Disclosure: All affiliate links go to Bookshop unless otherwise noted. Shopping here helps keep the lights on and benefits indie bookstores. Thanks for your support! -
A Journey to Three Pines - Episode 5: A Brutal Telling
We are so excited to journey with you to Three Pines, the fictional French-Canadian village created by Louise Penny for her Three Pines series, featuring Armand Gamache. This spin-off podcast series will tackle each of the books in the series in turn, in a spoiler-FILLED format. Be sure you’ve read the book before listening to the episode.
As you’ve come to expect with all Currently Reading content, Meredith and Roxanna will follow a regular episode format, with regular segments, so you know what to expect each and every time. We love staying focused on the book, rather than conversational rabbit holes.
Show notes for this series will not be time-stamped except for broad sections, but will include links to Bookshop dot org or Amazon for any books or resources referenced in the episode.
3:45 - Putting the Book Into Context
The Brutal Telling by Louise Penny
Published Sept. 29, 2009 by Minotaur Books
4.20 rating on Goodreads
Seasonal setting - Autum
Book Awards: Anthony Award for Best Novel in 2010
Critic Reviews
Meredith’s and Roxanna’s encounters with the book
Bury Your Dead by Louise Penny
10:50 - The Setup
16:22 - A Deeper Exploration
Setup and first paragraph
First paragraph hooks the reader so completely
Reminds Meredith of the Vera series by Ann Cleeves
The pacing of the novel
The deliberate pulling away from the “quaint village mystery”
Legends and Lattes by Travis Baldree
Quality of writing itself - if it could be written as a whole series in today’s publishing
Themes: human behavior, conscience, Thoreau’s Walden, contentment, fathers
p.172 quote about conscience
p. 298 quote about happiness
p.175 quote about Walden
P. 495 quote about fear and contentment
The Cruelest Month by Louise Penny
Side plot with Jean-Guy and the notes left by Ruth Zardo
The Oddness Factor (is usually in superlatives but gets talked about early in this episode!)
The Ending
1:15:31 - Superlatives
Biggest Flaw
Character MVP
p. 403
Favorite Character
Biggest loser
Best food description
Fear Factor
1:29:47 - Within the Series
Is this book skippable?
Favorite Quote (gets asked after the skippable portion so I added it here for time stamp sake)
1:34:08 - SPOILERS AHEAD HERE
Next episode’s read: Bury Your Dead by Louise Penny
Support Us:
Become a Bookish Friend | Grab Some Merch
Shop Bookshop dot org | Shop Amazon
Bookish Friends Receive:
The Indie Press List with a curated list of five books hand sold by the indie of the month. March’s IPL is brought to you by our anchor store, An Unlikely Story.
Trope Thursday with Kaytee and Bunmi - a behind the scenes peek into the publishing industry
All Things Murderful with Meredith and Elizabeth - special content for the scary-lovers, brought to you with the special insights of an independent bookseller
The Bookish Friends Facebook Group - where you can build community with bookish friends from around the globe as well as our hosts
Connect With Us:
The Show: Instagram | Website | Email | Threads
The Hosts and Regulars: Meredith | Roxanna | Kaytee
Affiliate Disclosure: All affiliate links go to Bookshop unless otherwise noted. Shopping here helps keep the lights on and benefits indie bookstores. Thanks for your support! -
Season 6, Episode 32: Book Signings + Revisiting What Is Working and Not Working In Our Reading Lives
On this episode of Currently Reading, Kaytee and Meredith are discussing:
Bookish Moments: book signings and reading retreats
Current Reads: all the great, interesting, and/or terrible stuff we’ve been reading lately
Deep Dive: revisiting what is working and what isn’t working in our current reading lives
The Fountain: we visit our perfect fountain to make wishes about our reading lives
Show notes are time-stamped below for your convenience. Read the transcript of the episode (this link only works on the main site)
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1:23 - Our Bookish Moments of the Week
2:45 - CR Season 5: Episode 37
4:17 - An Unlikely Story bookshop
4:45 - Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds
6:20 - Our Current Reads
6:51 - One of the Good Guys by Araminta Hall (Meredith)
12:21 - My Other Husband by Dorothy Koomson (Kaytee)
12:26 - The Friend by Dorothy Koomson (amazon link)
15:23 - Blackwell’s
16:33 - The Golden Gate by Amy Chua (Meredith)
18:15 - The Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother by Amy Chua (Penguin Random House link)
21:42 - @pieladybooks on Instagram
22:43 - A Song Below Water by Bethany C. Morrow (Kaytee)
25:48 - The Deep by River Solomon
25:51 - Stone Blind by Natalie Haynes
25:53 - Sing Me To Sleep by Gabi Burton
27:17 - Near the Bone by Christina Henry (Meredith)
28:54 - @mother.horror on Instagram
32:10 - No Two Persons by Erica Bauermeister (Kaytee)
35:50 - Deep Dive: Revisiting What Is Working and Not Working In Our Reading Lives
44:06 - Eye of the World (Wheel of Time #1) by Robert Jordan
44:18 - @thewilltoread on Instagram
57:14 - Meet Us At The Fountain
57:27 - I wish if you buddy read, find a reader who reads in different genres than you do. (Meredith)
59:32 - I wish to implement SSR in my home. (Kaytee)
1:00:05 - @books.are.word.tacos on Instagram
Support Us:
Become a Bookish Friend | Grab Some Merch
Shop Bookshop dot org | Shop Amazon
Bookish Friends Receive:
The Indie Press List with a curated list of five books hand sold by the indie of the month. March’s IPL comes to us from our Anchor store An Unlikely Story!
Trope Thursday with Kaytee and Bunmi - a behind the scenes peek into the publishing industry
All Things Murderful with Meredith and Elizabeth - special content for the scary-lovers, brought to you with the special insights of an independent bookseller
The Bookish Friends Facebook Group - where you can build community with bookish friends from around the globe as well as our hosts
Connect With Us:
The Show: Instagram | Website | Email | Threads
The Hosts and Regulars: Meredith | Kaytee | Mary | Roxanna
Affiliate Disclosure: All affiliate links go to Bookshop unless otherwise noted. Shopping here helps keep the lights on and benefits indie bookstores. Thanks for your support! -
Season 6, Episode 31: Puzzle Competitions + Kaytee and Meredith's Bookish Retreat
On this episode of Currently Reading, Meredith and Kaytee are discussing:
Bookish Moments: puzzle competitions and a new to Meredith podcast
Current Reads: all the great, interesting, and/or terrible stuff we’ve been reading lately
Deep Dive: a recap of Kaytee and Meredith’s annual CR get together
The Fountain: we visit our perfect fountain to make wishes about our reading lives
Show notes are time-stamped below for your convenience. Read the transcript of the episode (this link only works on the main site)
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:10 Bite Size Intro
2:33 - Currently Reading Patreon
4:09 - Our Bookish Moments of the Week
5:02 - Puzzle Board (Amazon link for something similar, the Aldi one does not have an online link)
6:19 - Talking Scared podcast
7:23 - Talking Scared Ep. 176
8:43 - Our Current Reads
8:53 - Love in Color by Bolu Babalola (Kaytee)
10:35 - Honey and Spice by Bolu Babalola
12:19 - No Way Out by Cara Hunter (Meredith, DI Adam Foley #3)
13:50 - Close to Home by Cara Hunter (Blackwell’s link)
16:59 - Emily Wilde’s Map of the Otherlands by Heather Fawcett (Kaytee)
19:51 - Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett
22:00 - A Haunting in the Arctic by C.J. Cooke (Meredith)
23:51 - The Lighthouse Witches by C.J. Cooke
23:56 - The Nesting by C.J. Cooke
24:06 - I Remember You by Yrsa Sigurdardottir
24:08 - Into the Drowning Deep by Mira Grant
27:16 - I Contain Multitudes by Ed Yong (Kaytee)
27:26 - An Immense World by Ed Yong
27:55 - Let Kaytee know if you have a copy of It’s Not Exactly Rocket Science by Ed Yong!
33:28 - The Mysterious Case of the Alperton Angels by Janice Hallett (Meredith)
35:08 - The Appeal by Janice Hallett
41:17 - Deep Dive: Kaytee and Meredith’s Bookish Retreat
46:12 - The King’s English Bookshop
48:12 - Brady @booksbybrady on Instagram
49:00 - Currently Reading Patreon
53:08 - Meet Us At The Fountain
53:14 - I wish that we could visit every Indie Press List bookstore in person, or even every potential IPL bookstore. (Kaytee)
54:53 - I co-sign a bookish friend’s wish for a movie theater, but make it silent reading with snacks. (Meredith, thanks Julie Myers for the wish!)
Support Us:
Become a Bookish Friend | Grab Some Merch
Shop Bookshop dot org | Shop Amazon
Bookish Friends Receive:
The Indie Press List with a curated list of five books hand sold by the indie of the month. March’s IPL comes to us from our Anchor store An Unlikely Story!
Trope Thursday with Kaytee and Bunmi - a behind the scenes peek into the publishing industry
All Things Murderful with Meredith and Elizabeth - special content for the scary-lovers, brought to you with the special insights of an independent bookseller
The Bookish Friends Facebook Group - where you can build community with bookish friends from around the globe as well as our hosts
Connect With Us:
The Show: Instagram | Website | Email | Threads
The Hosts and Regulars: Meredith | Kaytee | Mary | Roxanna
Affiliate Disclosure: All affiliate links go to Bookshop unless otherwise noted. Shopping here helps keep the lights on and benefits indie bookstores. Thanks for your support! -
Season 6, Episode 30: Roxanna and Mary Take Over + Tropes They Want To See More Of
On this episode of Currently Reading, Roxanna and Mary are discussing:
Bookish Moments: teaching littles to read and a book press
Current Reads: all the great, interesting, and/or terrible stuff we’ve been reading lately
Deep Dive: tropes Roxanna and Mary want to see MORE of in their reading
The Fountain: we visit our perfect fountain to make wishes about our reading lives
Show notes are time-stamped below for your convenience. Read the transcript of the episode (this link only works on the main site)
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2:09 - Our Bookish Moments of the Week
2:25 - Teach Your Child To Read In 100 Easy Lessons by Siegfried Engelmann
4:02 - The Unspeakable Acts of Zina Pavlou by Eleni Kyriacou (Blackwell’s hardcover link, releases in paperback in the US October 8, 2024. If you want to wait for the paperback you can pre-order HERE)
5:51 - Our Current Reads
5:56 - Impossible Creatures by Katherine Rundell (Mary)
6:08 - Waterstone’s
10:14 - The Undertaking of Heart and Mercy by Megan Bannen (Roxanna)
11:02 - Under The Whispering Door by T.J. Klune
14:12 - A Woman in the Polar Night by Christiane Ritter (Mary)
17:46 - Hello Stranger by Katherine Center (Roxanna)
17:54 - Happiness for Beginners by Katherine Center
21:20 - Things You Save in a Fire by Katherine Center
21:30 - How To Walk Away by Katherine Center
23:16 - The Bodyguard by Katherine Center
24:30 - @katherinecenter on Instagram
24:36 - The Six Deaths of the Saint by Alix E. Harrow (Mary, Amazon link)
27:46 - It’s Easier Than You Think by Sylvia Boorstein (Roxanna)
27:57 - Mary and Roxanna’s Top Ten Reads of 2023 episode
33:52 - Deep Dive: Bookish Tropes We Want More Of
36:30 - Small Change by Roan Parrish
36:41 - Again, Rachel by Marian Keyes
38:03 - Holiday Romance by Catherine Walsh
38:16 - Mary’s Instagram (Holiday Romance is under her “Books Vol. 6” highlight)
39:54 - The Bromance Book Club by Lyssa Kay Adams
40:25 - Nora Goes Off Script by Annabel Monaghan
42:58 - Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett
43:05 - Hench by Natalize Zina Walschots
43:13 - Things You Save in a Fire by Katherine Center
44:17 - The Change by Kirsten Miller
46:01 - The Adventures of Amina Al-Sirafi by Shannon Chakraborty
47:01 - The Wretched Waterpark by Kiersten White (Sinister Summer #1)
47:07 - The Night Gardener by Jonathan Auxier
49:31 - Happily Ever Ninja by Penny Reid
50:54 - Sisters of the Vast Black by Lina Rather
51:35 - Search by Michelle Huneven
51:43 - In This House of Brede by Rumer Godden
52:36 - Everyone In My Family Has Killed Someone by Benjamin Stevenson
52:38 - Everyone On This Train Is A Suspect by Benjamin Stevenson
54:54 - The Woman Next Door by Yewande Omotoso
55:30 - Fellowship Point by Alice Elliott Dark
57:07 - Meet Us At The Fountain
57:12 - I wish to motivate listeners to spend time with their physical TBR and plan reads or cull books. (Mary)
59:35 - I wish to press Burnout by Emily and Amelia Nagoski. (Roxanna)
59:46 - Burnout by Emily and Amelia Nagoski
1:02:18 - Come As You Are by Emily Nagoski
Support Us:
Become a Bookish Friend | Grab Some Merch
Shop Bookshop dot org | Shop Amazon
Bookish Friends Receive:
The Indie Press List with a curated list of five books hand sold by the indie of the month. March’s IPL comes to us from our Anchor store An Unlikely Story!
Trope Thursday with Kaytee and Bunmi - a behind the scenes peek into the publishing industry
All Things Murderful with Meredith and Elizabeth - special content for the scary-lovers, brought to you with the special insights of an independent bookseller
The Bookish Friends Facebook Group - where you can build community with bookish friends from around the globe as well as our hosts
Connect With Us:
The Show: Instagram | Website | Email | Threads
The Hosts and Regulars: Meredith | Kaytee | Mary | Roxanna
Affiliate Disclosure: All affiliate links go to Bookshop unless otherwis -
Season 6, Episode 29: Potty Adventures + All Things Bookish Villains
On this episode of Currently Reading, Meredith and Kaytee are discussing:
Bookish Moments: bookish festival meetups and poop books for potty training
Current Reads: all the great, interesting, and/or terrible stuff we’ve been reading lately
Deep Dive: answering questions about our thoughts on bookish villains
The Fountain: we visit our perfect fountain to make wishes about our reading lives
Show notes are time-stamped below for your convenience. Read the transcript of the episode (this link only works on the main site)
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2:56 - Our Bookish Moments of the Week
3:13 - The Tucson Festival of Books
Please RSVP to currentlyreadingpodcast@gmail.com if you’re going to come Saturday, March 9!
5:52 - Everybody Poops by Justine Avery
5:58 - Potty by Leslie Patricelli
6:17 - Poopasaurus by Plum Coconut (Amazon link)
6:18 - Dino Potty by Sara Conway
6:33 - P is for Potty by Naomi Kleinberg
6:35 - The New Potty by Mercer Mayer (Amazon link)
6:58 - It Hurts When I Poop! by Howard J. Bennett
7:05 - Bunny’s Big Problem by Simone Majetich (Amazon link)
7:37 - Poop There It Is by Little Hippo Books (Amazon link)
10:08 - Our Current Reads
10:22 - Something Close to Magic by Emma Mills (Kaytee)
10:29 - The Novel Neighbor
10:42 - Legends and Lattes by Travis Baldree
13:18 - The Terraformers by Annalee Newitz (Meredith)
15:25 - The Nowhere Bookshop
17:34 - The Kaiju Preservation Society by John Scalzi
16:36 - Starter Villain by John Scalzi
19:05 - Four Lost Cities by Annalee Newitz
20:25 - My Friend the Octopus by Lindsay Galvin (Kaytee, Blackwell’s UK link)
23:23 - The Magic All Around by Jennifer Moorman (Meredith)
29:24 - Libro.fm
30:17 - Sisters of the Lost Nation by Nick Medina (Kaytee)
30:24 - Capital Books on K
32:02 - The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larson
32:32 - Indian Burial Ground by Nick Medina
33:19 - All Her Fault by Andrea Mara (Meredith)
34:43 - Currently Reading Patreon
34:50 - Fabled Bookshop
36:55 - I Let You Go by Clare Mackintosh
36:57 - Fierce Kingdom by Gin Phillips
37:23 - All Things Bookish Villains
40:25 - All Her Fault by Andrea Mara
42:02 - East of Eden by John Steinbeck
42:56 - The Reformatory by Tananarive Due
43:42 - A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas
44:31 - Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo
45:06 - Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by J.K. Rowling
45:08 - The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkein
45:24 - The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis
48:12 - A Rule Against Murder by Louise Penny
48:58 - The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas
50:21 - Butcher & Blackbird by Brynne Weaver
51:00 - Silence of the Lambs by Thomas Harris
51:38 - Mr. Mercedes by Stephen King
53:11 - Hench by Natalie Zina Walschots
54:12 - Meet Us At The Fountain
54:20 - I wish to press How the Word Is Passed by Cint Smith into listeners’ hands. (Kaytee)
54:21 - How the Word Is Passed by Clint Smith
56:03 - I wish listeners would stop using the Patreon app to listen to our content and add patreon to wherever they listen to other podcasts. (Meredith)
57:02 - Check our Instagram @currentlyreadingpodcast for the video instructions to add Patreon to your podcast feed.
Support Us:
Become a Bookish Friend | Grab Some Merch
Shop Bookshop dot org | Shop Amazon
Bookish Friends Receive:
The Indie Press List with a curated list of five books hand sold by the indie of the month. February’s IPL is brought to you by Booktenders in Huntington, West Virginia.
Trope Thursday with Kaytee and Bunmi - a behind the scenes peek into the publishing industry
All Things Murderful with Meredith and Elizabeth - special content for the scary-lovers, brought to you with the special insights of an independent bookseller
The Bookish Friends Facebook Group - where you can build community with bookish friends from around the globe as well as our hosts
Connect With Us:
The Show: Instagram | Website | Email | Thr