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 42: New Used Books + Our Recent DNFs and NRNs
On this episode of Currently Reading, Kaytee and Meredith are discussing:
Bookish Moments: more bookish podcasts and new to us books
Current Reads: all the great, interesting, and/or terrible stuff we’ve been reading lately
Deep Dive: books we have recently DNFd or NRNd
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
:57 - Half Priced Books
1:26 - Our Bookish Moments of the Week
1:41 - Talking Scared Podcast
1:48 - Tea & Murder Podcast
4:01 - PangoBooks
4:28 - Bookmans
5:34 - Our Current Reads
6:03 - Dreadful by Caitlin Rozakis (Meredith)
7:33 - An Unlikely Story
9:11 - Legends and Lattes by Travis Baldree
9:26 - What Alice Forgot by Liane Moriarty
9:57 - Fabled Bookshop
9:58 - Bear Necessity by James Gold-Bourn (Kaytee)
13:38 - The Field Guide To Dumb Birds of the Whole World by Matt Kracht (Meredith)
14:34 - Merlin App
14:55 - The Backyard Bird Chronicles by Amy Tan
13:48 - Charter Books
17:48 - The Field Guide to Dumb Birds of North America by Matt Kracht
19:52 - The Rhythm of Time by Questlove and S.A. Cosby (Kaytee)
23:47 - The Jigsaw Man by Nadine Matheson (Meredith)
24:59 - The Fourth Monkey by J.D. Barker
27:14 - @bookishbetsie on Instagram
27:44 - Happiness Falls by Angie Kim (Kaytee)
28:06 - Miracle Creek by Angie Kim
32:14 - Our Recent DNFs and NRNs
33:08 - The Vaster Wilds by Lauren Groff (Meredith)
34:12 - Jade City by Fonda Lee (Kaytee)
36:37 - The Wolf at the Table by Adam Rapp (Meredith)
38:29 - Sunshine, Sangria and Scandal by Wendy Day (Kaytee)
40:19 - Eye of the World by Robert Jordan
40:44 - The Great Hunt by Robert Jordan (Meredith, Wheel of Time series #2)
41:27 - Echo by Thomas Olde Heuvelt (Meredith)
43:16 - Keynan Masters and the Peerless Magic Crew by Davaun Sanders (Kaytee)
44:45 - Happiness Falls by Angie Kim
46:25 - Meet Us At The Fountain
47:16 - I wish there was an easier way to find trusted sources’ reviews on Goodreads. (Meredith)
48:42 - Meredith’s Goodreads
49:02 - I wish to reject the notion that more books equals a better reading life. (Kaytee)
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. May’s IPL comes to us from Commonplace Books in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
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 41: Bookish Mail + Unputdownable Books
On this episode of Currently Reading, Meredith and Kaytee are discussing:
Bookish Moments: bookish mail and more tech to help our reading lives
Current Reads: all the great, interesting, and/or terrible stuff we’ve been reading lately
Deep Dive: what makes an unputdownable book and some examples
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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1:26 - Our Bookish Moments of the Week
1:48 - All the Colors of the Dark by Chris Whitaker
1:50 - The Guncle Abroad by Steven Rowley
3:15 - Sipsworth by Simon Van Booy
6:35 - The Outsiders by S.E Hinton
8:44 - Our Current Reads
8:54 - Draco Malfoy and the Mortifying Ordeal of Being in Love by isthisselfcare (Kaytee)
9:11 - Season 6, Episode 25 w/Knox and Jamie
14:07 - Here Goes Nothing by Steve Toltz (Meredith)
15:16 - Foyles UK
16:08 - The Fraction of the Whole by Steve Toltz
19:05 - Annie Bot by Sierra Greer (Kaytee)
19:18 - Libro.fm
21:57 - Article About AI Friends
25:10 - The Legacy by Yrsa Sigurdardottir (Meredith)
26:32 - I Remember You by Yrsa Sigurdardottir
29:53 - Breathless by Amy McCulloch (Kaytee)
34:10 - Gentleman Jim by Mimi Matthews (Meredith)
35:55 - The Princess Bride by William Goldman
36:25 - The Work of Art by Mimi Matthews
38:49 - The Most Unputdownable Books
42:03 - Mouth to Mouth by Antoine Wilson
42:15 - Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt
43:39 - The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
43:51 - The Rook by Daniel O’Malley
44:17 - A Curse So Dark and Lonely by Brigid Kemmerer
45:35 - Confessions by Kenae Minato
45:48 - Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir
45:50 - Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty
45:56 - The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell
46:17 - Cover Story by Susan Rigetti
47:18 - No Two Persons by Erica Bauermeister
47:37 - Kaytee mentions Adenrele Ojo being a Recorded Books copyright narrator but it is actually Simon and Schuster!
48:06 - The Overnight Guest by Heather Gudenkauf
48:34 - Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follet
48:51 - The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas
49:27 - Drowning by T.J. Newman
49:28 - Falling by T.J. Newman
49:41 - Bird Box by Josh Malerman
49:44 - Fierce Kingdom by Gin Phillips
49:52 - Then She Was Gone by Lisa Jewell
50:31 - Shell Seekers by Rosamunde Pilcher
51:49 - Check Please! by Ngozi Ukazu
51:51 - Heartsopper by Alice Oseman
51:58 - March: Book One by John Lewis
53:00 - El Deafo by Cece Bell
54:16 - Meet Us At The Fountain
54:24 - I wish more people would give graphic novels a chance. (Kaytee)
55:35 - Currently Reading Patreon
56:28 - I wish I could collect Precious Moments dolls committing all kinds of murder. (Meredith)
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. May’s IPL comes to us from Commonplace Books in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
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 40: Accepting Feedback + Our Top 5 Reads of 2024 (So Far!)
On this episode of Currently Reading, Kaytee and Meredith are discussing:
Bookish Moments: accepting bookish feedback and purging our bookshelves
Current Reads: all the great, interesting, and/or terrible stuff we’ve been reading lately
Deep Dive: our current top 5 reads of 2024
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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1:29 - Our Bookish Moments of the Week
9:18 - Our Current Reads
9:53 - The Familiar by Leigh Bardugo (Meredith)
17:02 - Gwen & Art Are Not in Love by Lex Croucher (Kaytee)
20:29 - 101 Horror Books to Read Before You’re Murdered by Sadie Hartman (Meredith)
20:36 - @mother.horror on Instagram
25:57 - The Girls I’ve Been by Tess Sharpe (Kaytee)
28:18 - A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson
28:20 - One of Us is Lying by Karen McManus
29:07 - Sipsworth by Simon Van Booy (Meredith)
30:05 - An Unlikely Story
30:30 - Commonplace Books
32:26 - A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman
33:43 - Sociopath by Patric Gagne (Kaytee)
39:23 - Our Top 5 Reads of 2024 (So Far)
42:36 - The Color Purple by Alice Walker
43:24 - Shoot the Moon by Isa Arsen (Kaytee)
43:56 - The River We Remember by William Kent Krueger (Meredith)
44:43 - A Love Song for Ricki Wilde by Tia Williams (Kaytee)
44:57 - Seven Days in June by Tia Williams
45:12 - Confessions by Kanae Minato (Meredith)
46:11 - Wolfsong by T.J. Klune (Kaytee)
47:30 - The God of the Woods by Liz Moore (Meredith)
48:36 - James by Percival Everett (Kaytee)
49:32 - All the Colors of the Dark by Chris Whitaker (Meredith)
50:06 - We Begin at the End by Chris Whitaker
51:17 - Family Family by Laurie Frankel (Kaytee)
52:19 - The Tainted Cup by Robert Jackson Bennett (Meredith)
54:40 - Meet Us At The Fountain
54:51 - I wish you could bottle up the feeling of reading a book for the first time. (Meredith)
54:56 - Family Family by Laurie Frankel
54:57 - The Tainted Cup by Robert Jackson Bennett
55:45 - I wish I could press All the Lonely People by Mike Gayle. (Kaytee)
56:17 - All The Lonely People by Mike Gayle
57:11 - Minisode w/Mike Gayle
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. May’s IPL comes to us from Commonplace Books in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
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 39: Teaching Future Generations + The Bookish Overhype
On this episode of Currently Reading, Meredith and Kaytee are discussing:
Bookish Moments: talking podcasting with young people and book to film buzz
Current Reads: all the great, interesting, and/or terrible stuff we’ve been reading lately
Deep Dive: All kinds of bookish overhype
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
1:36 - Currently Reading Patreon
3:48 - Our Bookish Moments of the Week
6:42 - Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir
7:17 - The Martian by Andy Weir
8:46 - Our Current Reads
8:53 - Olivetti by Allie Millington (Kaytee)
10:40 - Book Scavenger by Jennifer Chambliss Bertman
11:54 - Zorrie by Laird Hunt (Meredith)
13:07 - Storybound Subscription from Fabled Bookshop
14:31 - Hannah Coulter by Wendell Berry
15:42 - The Electricity of Every Living Thing by Katherine May (Kaytee)
16:12 - Wintering by Katherine May
19:31 - No One Can Know by Kate Alice Marshall (Meredith)
20:21 - What Lies in the Woods by Kate Alice Marshall
20:23 - Rules for Vanishing by Kate Alice Marshall
23:17 - James by Percival Everett (Kaytee)
23:36 - The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
27:01 - Erasure by Percival Everett
27:50 - The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden (Meredith)
31:12 - @thewilltoread on Instagram
31:47 - The Eye of the World by Robert Jordan
32:18 - The Bookish Overhype
34:15 - The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store by James McBride
34:20 - Deacon King Kong by James McBride
34:42 - Zorrie by Laird Hunt
35:51 - James by Percival Everett
36:22 - The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides
36:41 - The Fury by Alex Michaelides
37:28 - End of Story by A.J. Finn
39:11 - The Women by Kristin Hannah
39:21 - The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah
41:05 - Middle of the Night by Riley Sager
43:25 - Happy Place by Emily Henry
43:38 - Funny Story by Emily Henry
43:40 - People We Meet On Vacation by Emily Henry
44:34 - The Tainted Cup by Robert Jackson Bennett
44:47 - Meet Us At The Fountain
44:51 - I wish that books that make you question yourself would give an assessment quiz at the end. (Kaytee)
45:03 - The Electricity of Every Living Thing by Katherine May
46:41 - I wish everyone would watch the episode of The Twilight Zone called “Time Enough At Last”. (Meredith)
47:08 - Twilight Zone Season 1: Episode 8 (This is Amazon Prime but you can watch on Paramount + as well!)
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. May’s IPL comes to us from Commonplace Books in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
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 38: Talking to Authors + Boss My TBR
On this episode of Currently Reading, Meredith and Kaytee are discussing:
Bookish Moments: our children reading to the elderly and finally talking to authors
Current Reads: all the great, interesting, and/or terrible stuff we’ve been reading lately
Deep Dive: Boss My TBR for two bookish friends
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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1:42 - Our Bookish Moments of the Week
4:47 - All The Sinners Bleed by S.A. Cosby
5:30 - What the Dead Know by Barbara Butcher
6:09 - An Unlikely Story
8:34 - Currently Reading Patreon
9:01 - Our Current Reads
9:06 - Right at Home by Bobby Berk (Kaytee)
12:10 - Close to Death by Anthony Horowitz (Meredith)
16:54 - That Time I Got Drunk and Saved a Demon by Kimberly Lemming (Kaytee)
20:13 - That Time I Got Drunk and Yeeted a Love Potion at a Werewolf by Kimberly Lemming
21:03 - The Fox Wife by Yangsze Choo (Meredith)
26:01 - Game Changer by Neal Shusterman (Kaytee)
26:05 - Scythe by Neal Shusterman
28:45 - 11/22/63 by Stephen King
28:49 - A Wrinkle in Time by Madeline L’engle
32:12 - Reef Road by Deborah Goodrich Royce (Meredith)
34:15 - 56 Days by Catherine Ryan Howard
37:12 - Deep Dive: Boss My TBR
From Becca K.
39:18 - Thunderhead by Neal Shusterman (Arc of a Scythe #2)
39:24 - Iron Flame by Rebecca Yarros (The Empyrean #2)
39:30 - Us Against You by Fredrik Backman (Beartown #2)
39:36 - Children of Virtue and Vengeance by Tomi Adeyemi (Legacy of Orisha #2)
39:43 - The Heir Affair by Heather Cocks and Jessica Morgan (The Royal We #2)
39:57 - Scythe by Neal Shusterman
39:58 - Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros
39:59 - Beartown by Fredrik Backman
40:00 - The Royal We by Heather Cocks and Jessica Morgan
40:37 - The Winners by Fredrick Backman
From Rachel M.
43:45 - Coming Home by Rosamunde Pilcher
43:49 - Look Closer by David Ellis
43:52 - The7 ½ Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton
43:57 - The Friend Zone by Abby Jimenez
44:01 - The Book of Cold Cases by Simone St. James
48:23 - Meet Us At The Fountain
48:30 - I wish to press The Guncle into your hands. (Kaytee)
48:45 - The Guncle by Steven Rowley
48:50 - The Guncle Abroad by Steven Rowley
51:12 - I wish when I am reading a book with a good “house” sense of place, I could go to that place and see, smell, touch, and hear all about it. (Meredith)
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. April’s IPL comes to us from A Room Of One’s Own in Madison Wisconsin!
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! -
Popcorn in the Pages - Episode 6: The Dry
Welcome, readers. We are so excited to continue this new content from the creators of Currently Reading Podcast! This spin-off podcast series will tackle book to screen adaptations in a spoiler-FILLED format. Be sure you’ve read the book and watched the film version before listening to the episode, because we don’t shy away from strong opinions OR from all the spoilers, unlike our regular episodes.
Show notes for this series will not be time-stamped, but will still include links to Bookshop dot org or Amazon for any books or resources referenced in the episode. These are affiliate links, so they kick back a small percentage to us if you buy through them, and help support the work we do on Currently Reading.
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The Dry by Jane Harper
1:07 - Here’s the Setup
3:41 - Previews
Book Name and release date. Sales info and awards.
The Dry by Jane Harper
Force of Nature by Jane Harper
The Exiles by Jane Harper
The Lost Man by Jane Harper
Movie name and release date. Box office and awards.
The Dry (2021)
Force of Nature (coming 2024)
6:57 - The Cutting Room
Pivotal Book scenes and how they translated to the screen
Historical flashbacks
The actual dryness
Catching Scott Whitlam
Aaron Falk’s ostracization
Anything left out that shouldn’t have been
There are pieces of the movie that don’t make sense without the book
Clyde PD
Grant’s role in Ellie’s death
The note that implicates Aaron/his dad
Defacing Falk’s car
Love triangle/sexual tension
Luke’s death details and the bike tire marks
Added to the movie
Suspense building elements
Mushy middle
Weird product placements
Pub room versus big hotel
Casting and mis-casting
A few non-Australians were cast! But very few
Falk - Simon Baker, Ryan Kwanten
Gretchen - Cate Blanchett, Nicole Kidman, Margo Robbie, Toni Collette, Naomi Watts
Raco - just a Hemsworth
Whitlam - another Hemsworth, let’s go with Chris
Gerry - Hugo Weaving, Geoffrey Rush, Mel Gibson
Problematic elements
Discussion of the “gay f-word”
44:06 - Award Season
Worst and best parts of the adaptation.
The note that implicates Aaron
Mushy middle
Cinematography and score
The dryness, and the climax scene
Worst and best actors.
Young Luke
Raco, the actor
Eric Bana as Falk
Worst and best book characters.
Mal Deacon and Grant Dow
Luke Hadler
Raco
Karen Hadler
Aaron Falk
1:01:27 - Book/Flick Energy
Book scored on a 5 star scale.
Book on Goodreads
Movie scored on a 10 point scale.
Movie on Rotten Tomatoes
1:05:07 - A Leftover Popcorn Kernel
If you were to commit a murder, do you think you could get away with it?
And how would you do it?
What’s the scariest thing in Australia: the snakes, the spiders, the wildfires or the drought?
1:09:49 - End Credits
The Umbrella Academy by Gerard Way
Available on Netflix - Season 1
Connect With Us:
Currently Reading Podcast | Kaytee | Meredith
Shad is in the Bookish Friends FB Group (for our Patreon supporters)
Our Website | Email Us
Support Us:
Become a Bookish Friend | Buy Some Merch