Currently Reading

Meredith Monday Schwartz and Kaytee Cobb

  • 53 minutes 54 seconds
    Season 7, Episode 32: Reading Retreats + Boss My TBR

    On this episode of Currently Reading, Kaytee and Meredith are discussing:

    • Bookish Moments: reading retreats, one finished and one scheduled

    • Current Reads: all the great, interesting, and/or terrible stuff we’ve been reading lately

    • Deep Dive: we boss some more TBRs

    • 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)

    1:16 - Our Bookish Moments Of The Week

    7:18 - Our Current Reads

    7:32 - Finders Keepers by Stephen King (Meredith)

    9:37 - Mr. Mercedes by Stephen King

    10:24 - Holly by Stephen King

    12:17 - The Stand by Stephen King

    12:18 - The Shining by Stephen King

    12:55 - The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay by Michael Chabon (Kaytee)

    17:24 - Poirot: The Greatest Detective in the World by Mark Aldridge (Meredith)

    20:46 - Night Wherever We Go by Tracey Rose Peyton (Kaytee)

    24:54 - Victorian Psycho by Virginia Feito (Meredith)

    28:58 - Mrs. March by Virginia Feito

    29:30 - The Lost Library by Wendy Mass and Rebecca Stead (Kaytee)

    31:08 - CR Season 5: Episode 25

    31:10 - The Candymakers by Wendy Mass

    31:12 - CR Season 3: Episode 41

    31:14 - When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead

    31:27 - Bob by Wendy Mass and Rebecca Stead

    33:08 - Boss My TBR

    From Emily

    33:45 - Sweep by Jonathan Auxier

    33:48 - My Grandmother Asked Me To Tell You She’s Sorry by Fredrik Backman

    33:52 - Station Eternity by Mur Lafferty

    33:54 - S by J.J. Abrams and Doug Dorst

    33:58 - Vicious by V.E. Schwab

    34:18 - The House in the Cerulean Sea by T.J. Klune

    34:20 - A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab

    34:23 - Nevermoor by Jessica Townsend

    34:25 - The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman

    34:27 - The Dearly Beloved by Cara Wall

    36:38 - Schuler Books

    From Bethany

    40:38 - Murder at Gulls Nest by Jess Kidd (releases April 8, 2025)

    40:42 - The Last Party by Claire Mackintosh

    40:45 - Out by Natsuo Kirino

    40:47 - Baby X by Kira Peikoff

    40:50 - The Stolen Child by Ann Hood

    41:03 - Becoming Madam Secretary by Stephanie Dray

    41:09 - The Wedding People by Alison Espach

    41:12- The Strange Case of Jane O. by Karen Thompson Walker

    44:55 - The Age of Miracles by Karen Thompson Walker

    45:17 - Life As We Knew It by Susan Beth Pfeffer

    45:47 - I Cheerfully Refuse by Leif Enger

    46:17 - Virgil Wander by Leif Enger

    47:30 - Meet Us At The Fountain

    48:25 - I wish people would utilize our website for the plethora of things it offers. (Meredith)

    49:46 - The Candymakers by Wendy Mass

    49:49 - When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead

    50:17 - I wish for a “find all and replace” option for books. (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. March’s IPL comes to you from our tried and true partner, An Unlikely Story in Plainville, MA.

    • Love and Chili Peppers with Kaytee and Rebekah - romance lovers get their due with this special episode focused entirely on the best selling genre fiction in the business. 

    • All Things Murderful with Meredith and Elizabeth - special content for the scary-lovers, brought to you with the behind-the-scenes insights of an independent bookseller

    • From the Editor’s Desk with Kaytee and Bunmi Ishola - a quarterly peek behind the curtain at the publishing industry

    • 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

    Production and Editing: Megan Phouthavong Evans

    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!

    17 March 2025, 9:00 am
  • 54 minutes 57 seconds
    Season 7, Episode 31: New Learning Apps + Prioritizing Our Own TBR

    On this episode of Currently Reading, Meredith and Kaytee are discussing:

    • Bookish Moments: finishing physical books and new learning apps

    • Current Reads: all the great, interesting, and/or terrible stuff we’ve been reading lately

    • Deep Dive: how we balance our TBRs and new releases

    • 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)

    1:27 - Our Bookish Moments Of The Week

    3:41 - Vocabulary app

    7:54 - @Literallybookshop on Instagram

    7:20 - Our Current Reads

    7:26 - House of Cotton by Monica Brashears (Kaytee)

    8:54 - Exile in Bookville

    11:50 - The Inheritance by Trisha Sakhlecha (Meredith)

    11:56 - And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie

    14:44 - Beautiful Ugly by Alice Feeney

    16:40 - The Odyssey by Homer (translated by Emily Wilson) (Kaytee)

    21:33 - It’s Easier Than You Think by Sylvia Boorstein (Meredith)

    25:39 - The Best Way To Bury Your Husband by Alexia Casale (Kaytee)

    25:48 - Booktenders

    27:38 - @alexia.casale on Instagram

    28:52 - The Last Days of Night by Graham Moore (Meredith)

    30:19 - The Sherlockian by Graham Moore

    30:21 - The Holdout by Graham Moore=

    34:20 - Prioritizing Your Shelves

    34:45 - Fabled Bookshop

    45:29 - The Bee Sting by Paul Murray

    48:20 - Fabled Storybound Subscription

    49:30 - Meet Us At The Fountain

    49:35 - I wish to press (again) the book Finding Dorothy by Elizabeth Letts. (Kaytee)

    49:41 - Finding Dorothy by Elizabeth Letts

    49:48 - Wicked by Gregory Maguire

    51:09 - I wish if you have kids and they interrupt your reading, to try reading aloud to them until they get annoyed and leave. (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. March’s IPL comes to you from our tried and true partner, An Unlikely Story in Plainville, MA.

    • Love and Chili Peppers with Kaytee and Rebekah - romance lovers get their due with this special episode focused entirely on the best selling genre fiction in the business. 

    • All Things Murderful with Meredith and Elizabeth - special content for the scary-lovers, brought to you with the behind-the-scenes insights of an independent bookseller

    • From the Editor’s Desk with Kaytee and Bunmi Ishola - a quarterly peek behind the curtain at the publishing industry

    • 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

    Production and Editing: Megan Phouthavong Evans

    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!

    10 March 2025, 10:00 am
  • 57 minutes 8 seconds
    Season 7, Episode 30: New Indie Bookstores + Our Six Star Reads

    On this episode of Currently Reading, Kaytee and Meredith are discussing:

    • Bookish Moments: Kindle samples and getting new indie bookstores

    • Current Reads: all the great, interesting, and/or terrible stuff we’ve been reading lately

    • Deep Dive: six star books to which we will take no criticism from anyone

    • 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)

    1:01 - Ad For Ourselves

    1:18 - Currently Reading Patreon

    1:34 - An Unlikely Story

    2:35 - @anunlikelystory on Instagram

    3:37 - Our Bookish Moments Of The Week

    6:48 - Literally, A Bookshop

    7:54 - @Literallybookshop on Instagram

    8:52 - Our Current Reads

    9:23 - The Seven Sisters by Lucinda Riley (Meredith)

    16:32 - All the Right Notes by Dominic Lim (Kaytee)

    16:40 - Tucson Festival of Books 2025

    19:52 - Arsenic and Adobo by Mia P. Manasala

    20:13 - This Savage Song by Victoria Schwab (Meredith)

    21:47 - A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab

    23:20 - The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab

    23:49 - They Came for the Schools by Mike Hixenbaugh (Kaytee)

    24:11 - Southlake Podcast

    27:46 - Past Crimes by Jason Pinter (Meredith)

    29:44 - Ready Player One by Ernest Cline

    31:06 - Recursion by Blake Crouch

    31:40 - The Swifts: A Gallery of Rogues by Beth Lincoln (Kaytee)

    31:49 - The Swifts: A Dictionary of Scoundrels by Beth Lincoln

    35:11 - Our Six Star Reads

    36:08 - The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell

    37:29 - The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas

    37:33 - A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles

    40:17 - Happy Place by Emily Henry

    42:32 - The Home-Maker by Dorothy Canfield Fisher

    42:37 - The Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alix E. Harrow

    42:38 - In This House of Brede by Rumer Godden

    42:41 - The Stand by Stephen King

    42:43 - The Shell Seekers by Rosamunde Pilcher

    42:44 - A Curse So Dark and Lonely by Brigid Kemmerer

    44:44 - All the Lonely People by Mike Gayle

    45:00 - This Is How It Always Is by Laurie Frankel

    45:09 - Castle of Water by Dane Huckelbridge

    45:13 - Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir

    45:14 - Black Cake by Charmaine Wilkerson

    45:17 - Babel by R.F. Kuang

    45:38 - Lobizona by Romina Garber Russell

    45:43 - Cazadora by Romina Garber Russell

    49:14 - The Bookish Life of Nina Hill by Abbi Waxman

    49:49 - The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller

    51:22 - Meet Us At The Fountain

    51:43 - Sarah’s Bookshelves Live

    51:53 - I want everyone to listen to episode 188 of Sarah’s Bookshelves Live if you enjoy fantasy reading. (Meredith)

    51:54 - Sarah’s Bookshelves Live episode 188

    53:09 - I wish for a book aggregator that would house all book covers of all books so we could compare easily and find the ones we want to purchase quickly without having to browse multiple sites. (Kaytee)

    54:09 - Greenwood by Michael Christie

    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 you from our tried and true partner, An Unlikely Story in Plainville, MA.

    • Love and Chili Peppers with Kaytee and Rebekah - romance lovers get their due with this special episode focused entirely on the best selling genre fiction in the business. 

    • All Things Murderful with Meredith and Elizabeth - special content for the scary-lovers, brought to you with the behind-the-scenes insights of an independent bookseller

    • From the Editor’s Desk with Kaytee and Bunmi Ishola - a quarterly peek behind the curtain at the publishing industry

    • 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

    Production and Editing: Megan Phouthavong Evans

    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!

    3 March 2025, 10:00 am
  • 57 minutes 18 seconds
    Season 7, Episode 29: Series Completist + Non Tragic Bookish Tragedies

    On this episode of Currently Reading, Meredith and Kaytee are discussing:

    • Bookish Moments: book sets and learning new things

    • Current Reads: all the great, interesting, and/or terrible stuff we’ve been reading lately

    • Deep Dive: things we find tragic in our reading lives that may not actually be tragedies

    • 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)

    1:18 - Our Bookish Moments Of The Week

    1:33 - Ember in the Ashes complete set (purchase at your own risk!) 

    5:38 - A Year of Living Curiously by Elizabeth Foley

    7:39 - Mug Warmer

    7:39 - Our Current Reads

    8:28 - Earth by John Boyne (Kaytee, Blackwell’s link)

    8:35 - Water by John Boyne (Blackwell’s link)

    8:37 - CR Season 7: Episode 2

    13:02 - Ask for Andrea by Noelle W. Ihli (Meredith)

    15:16 - The Collective by Alison Gaylin

    15:22 - The Overnight Guest by Heather Gudenkauf

    16:45 - Done and Dusted by Lyla Sage (Kaytee)

    17:28 - Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas

    21:19 - Wild and Wrangled by Lyla Sage (pre-order releases April 15)

    22:13 - The Kingdom, the Power and the Glory by Tim Alberta (Meredith)

    22:56 - The Popcast

    26:08 - The Many Assassinations of Samir by Daniel Nayeri (Kaytee)

    26:16 - Everything Sad is Untrue by Daniel Nayeri

    29:20 - A Winter’s Promise by Christelle Dabos (Meredith)

    31:11 - Book, Talk, Etc

    35:32 - Non-Tragic Bookish Tragedies

    37:10 - A Court of Silver Flames by Sarah J. Maas

    37:47 - Still Life by Louise Penny (special edition w/sprayed edges, releases Sep. 30, 2025)

    49:12 - Meet Us At The Fountain

    49:22 - I wish to always speak to indie bookstore owners. (Kaytee)

    52:08 - Sarah’s Bookshelves Live

    52:14 - I wish to know if it seems like we are getting more reissued pretty versions of books from publishers today. (Meredith)

    53:07 - Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros

    53:35 - The Hunger Games box set by Suzanne Collins (Special edition)

    53:37 - 37:47 - Still Life by Louise Penny (special edition w/sprayed edges, releases Sep. 30, 2025)

    53:50 - Wicked by Gregory Maguire (special edition)

    54:03 - Bel Canto by Ann Patchett (special annotated edition)

    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 comes to you from Fables and Fairy Tales in Marinsville, Indiana!

    • Love and Chili Peppers with Kaytee and Rebekah - romance lovers get their due with this special episode focused entirely on the best selling genre fiction in the business. 

    • All Things Murderful with Meredith and Elizabeth - special content for the scary-lovers, brought to you with the behind-the-scenes insights of an independent bookseller

    • From the Editor’s Desk with Kaytee and Bunmi Ishola - a quarterly peek behind the curtain at the publishing industry

    • 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

    Production and Editing: Megan Phouthavong Evans

    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!

    24 February 2025, 10:00 am
  • 1 hour 1 minute
    Popcorn in the Pages - Episode 10: Erasure by Percival Everett

    Welcome, readers. We are thrilled 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.

     

    Erasure by Percival Everett

    1:44 - Setup

    Erasure by Percival Everett 3:44 - Previews

    Release date. Sales info and awards.

    2025 Audie Awards

    Movie name and release date. Box office and awards.

    American Fiction released Dec 2023

    Won an Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay in 2024

    7:18 - The Cutting Room

    Pivotal Book scenes and how they translated to the screen

    The book within the book

    Lisa’s death

    Changes from Book to Movie

    Name changes

    Moving the setting from DC to Boston

    Timeline issues

    Van Go in the book within a book is arrested but in the movie adaptation he dies

    Left out of the adaptation

    Gretchen storyline

    Woodworking and fishing scenes

    Game show section

    My Pafology being explored

    Added to the movie

    Sintara added to a book panel at the end

    The ending

    Publisher

    Make Stagg a fugitive so he cannot go on tv

    Casting and alternates

    Monk: Jeffrey Wright → Geoffrey Owens, Andre Braugher

    Lisa: Tracee Ellis Ross → Regina King, Niecy Nash

    Agnes: Leslie Uggams → Audra McDonald, Phylicia Rashad, Cecily Tyson

    Clifford: Sterling K. Brown →  Idris Elba

    Coraline: Erika Alexander → Kim Fields, Kim Coles

    Sintara: Issa Rae → Octavia Spencer, Taraji P. Henson

    Problematic elements

    Because of all the satire, it may focus too much on the white experience and actually less on the Black

    40:11 - Award Season

    Worst and best parts of the adaptation.

    Bill vs Cliff “airtime”

    Less tension around mother going to the assisted living home

    The moving of books from African American to Mythology

    Was very funny - zippy dialogue, continuing to move story forward

    Worst and best actors.

    Leslie Uggams - Agnes (mother)

    Erika Alexander - Coraline

    Adam Brody - Wiley

    Jeffrey Wright - Monk

    Worst and best book characters.

    Linda Mallory

    Van Go Jenkins

    Monk

    Yul

    48:35 - Book/Flick Energy

    Book scored on a 5 star scale.

    Book on Goodreads

    Series scored on a 10 point scale.

    Movie on Rotten Tomatoes

    Movie on IMDB

    53:23 - A Leftover Popcorn Kernel

    Do you have any irrational fears?

    If you were on a Jerry Springer type show what is something weird that they may find out about you or your family?

    59:30 - End Credits

    59:55 - The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky

    The Perks of Being A Wallflower is available to stream for free on some sites, but is available with an Amazon Prime membership

    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

    22 February 2025, 10:00 am
  • 1 hour 21 minutes
    A Journey to Three Pines - Episode 8: The Beautiful Mystery

    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.

    2:00 - Putting the Book Into Context

    The Beautiful Mystery by Louise Penny

    Published Aug 28, 2012 by Minotaur Books

    4.2 rating on Goodreads

    Seasonal setting - Autumn

    Book Awards: Agatha Award for best novel 2012, The Anthony Award for best novel 2013, The Macavity Award for Best Novel 2013, The Audie Award for Best Mystery Novel 201

    Critic Reviews

    A Trick of the Light by Louise Penny

    Meredith’s and Roxanna’s encounters with the book

    8:30 - The Setup

    9:40 - A Deeper Exploration

    Setup and first paragraph

    The pacing of the novel

    Bury Your Dead by Louise Penny

    Jean-Guy and Annie

    Themes: addiction, “descent” evil - through the lens of Francouer

    The ending

    The Let Them Theory by Mel Robbins

    Canadian aspects

    Abbey of Saint Benoit Du Lac

    1:10:23 - Superlatives

    Favorite Scene

    Character MVP

    Biggest loser

    Best food description

    Is this book skippable?

    Favorite Quote

    No spoilers this episode! 

    The Grey Wolf by Louise Penny

    The next book will be How the Light Gets In 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. February’s IPL comes to you from Fables and Fairy Tales in Martinsville, Indiana!

    • Love and Chili Peppers with Kaytee and Rebekah - romance lovers get their due with this special episode focused entirely on the best selling genre fiction in the business. 

    • All Things Murderful with Meredith and Elizabeth - special content for the scary-lovers, brought to you with the behind-the-scenes insights of an independent bookseller

    • From the Editor’s Desk with Kaytee and Bunmi Ishola - a quarterly peek behind the curtain at the publishing industry

    • 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

    Production and Editing: Megan Phouthavong Evans

    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!

    21 February 2025, 10:00 am
  • 56 minutes 52 seconds
    Season 7, Episode 28: Books As Equalizers + Losing Momentum In Our Reading

    On this episode of Currently Reading, Kaytee and Meredith are discussing:

    • Bookish Moments: books as equalizers and kiddos who love books as much as we do

    • Current Reads: all the great, interesting, and/or terrible stuff we’ve been reading lately

    • Deep Dive: what we do to keep momentum in our 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)

    1:33 - Our Bookish Moments Of The Week

    6:35 - Grassrootz Bookstore 

    8:08 - Our Current Reads

    8:21 - Witness 8 by Steve Cavanagh (Meredith)

    10:26 - The Lincoln Lawyer by Michael Connelly

    11:44 - Thirteen by Steve Cavanagh

    11:55 - Bury Your Gays by Chuck Tingle (Kaytee)

    12:21 - Pounded by the Pound by Chuck Tingle (amazon link)

    12:31 - Taken by the Gay Unicorn by Chuck Tingle (amazon link)

    12:41 - Aardvark Book Club

    16:30 - The Great Hunt by Robert Jordan (Meredith)

    17:41 - The Eye of the World by Robert Jordan

    22:13 - Revenge of the Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell (Kaytee)

    22:35 - The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell

    26:16 - Come Closer by Sara Gran (Meredith)

    27:42 - 101 Horror Books to Read Before You’re Murdered by Sadie Hartmann

    31:08 - It Came from the Trees by Ally Russell (Kaytee)

    35:19 - Deep Dive: Losing Momentum In Our Reading

    49:21 - Meet Us At The Fountain

    49:27 - I wish to ask if you can find actual smutty books on the shelves in bookstores (like monster romance etc with the wild covers). (Meredith)

    50:01 - The Dragon’s Bride by Katee Robert

    50:32 - Neon Gods by Katee Robert

    51:07 - Open Door Romance via Novel Neighbor

    51:08 - The Novel Neighbor

    51:15 - The Ripped Bodice Bookstore

    52:04 - Still Life by Louise Penny (special edition w/sprayed edges, releases Sep. 30, 2025)

    52:27 - I wish it was easier to get pretty versions of our favorite books. (Kaytee)

    52:35 - The Hunger Games box set by Suzanne Collins (special edition with sprayed edges)

    53:23 - Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir

    53:53 - Quicksilver by Callie Hart (special edition, pre order, releases Aug 19, 2025)

    55:11 - The Beautiful Mystery 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. February’s IPL comes to you from Fables and Fairy Tales in Marinsville, Indiana!

    • Love and Chili Peppers with Kaytee and Rebekah - romance lovers get their due with this special episode focused entirely on the best selling genre fiction in the business. 

    • All Things Murderful with Meredith and Elizabeth - special content for the scary-lovers, brought to you with the behind-the-scenes insights of an independent bookseller

    • From the Editor’s Desk with Kaytee and Bunmi Ishola - a quarterly peek behind the curtain at the publishing industry

    • 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

    Production and Editing: Megan Phouthavong Evans

    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!

    17 February 2025, 10:00 am
  • 52 minutes
    Season 7, Episode 27: Booktube + Finishing A Book Well

    On this episode of Currently Reading, Meredith and Kaytee are discussing:

    • Bookish Moments: booktube and libraries enabling our hobbies

    • Current Reads: all the great, interesting, and/or terrible stuff we’ve been reading lately

    • Deep Dive: how to finish a book well

    • 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)

    1:35 - Our Bookish Moments Of The Week

    4:08 - Megwithbooks on Youtube

    6:29 - Blackwell’s UK

    6:35 - Our Current Reads

    6:43 - All Along You Were Blooming by Morgan Harper Nichols (Kaytee)

    9:04 - Oscar Wars by Michael Schulman (Meredith)

    13:13 - Whalefall by Daniel Kraus (Kaytee)

    15:25 - Orbital by Samantha Harvey

    16:00 -  Into the Drowning Deep by Mira Grant

    17:08 - The Tainted Cup by Robert Jackson Bennett

    17:27 - A Drop of Corruption by Robert Jackson Bennett (Meredith, releases April 1, 2025)

    21:57 - Lunar New Year Love Story by Gene Luen Yang (Kaytee)

    24:28 - American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang

    25:23 - The Reappearance of Rachel Price by Holly Jackson (Meredith)

    26:26 - A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson

    28:37 - Deep Dive: How To Finish A Book Well

    38:12 - StoryGraph

    39:45 - Currently Reading Patreon (to get the tracker Kaytee mentions)

    46:52 - Meet Us At The Fountain

    46:56 - I wish it was more socially acceptable to be nosy in people’s reading lives. (Kaytee)

    48:49 - I wish everyone would schedule a reading retreat this year. (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. February’s IPL comes to you from Fables and Fairy Tales in Marinsville, Indiana!

    • Love and Chili Peppers with Kaytee and Rebekah - romance lovers get their due with this special episode focused entirely on the best selling genre fiction in the business. 

    • All Things Murderful with Meredith and Elizabeth - special content for the scary-lovers, brought to you with the behind-the-scenes insights of an independent bookseller

    • From the Editor’s Desk with Kaytee and Bunmi Ishola - a quarterly peek behind the curtain at the publishing industry

    • 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

    Production and Editing: Megan Phouthavong Evans

    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!

    10 February 2025, 10:00 am
  • 57 minutes 5 seconds
    Season 7, Episode 26: Bookish Geese + Boss My TBR

    On this episode of Currently Reading, Kaytee and Meredith are discussing:

    • Bookish Moments: audiobook listening and keeping track of book recs

    • Current Reads: all the great, interesting, and/or terrible stuff we’ve been reading lately

    • Deep Dive: we boss some TBRs

    • 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)

    :10 - Ad For Ourselves

    1:16 - Currently Reading Patreon

    5:11 - Our Bookish Moments Of The Week

    12:48 - Our Current Reads

    13:25 - True Crime by Samantha Kolesnik (Meredith)

    14:38 - 100 Horror Books to Read Before You’re Murdered by Sadie Hartmann

    18:48 - Sipsworth by Simon Van Booy (Kaytee)

    19:05 - CR Season 6: Episode 40

    22:08 - Getting Naked by Patrick Lencioni (Meredith)

    22:50 - The Advantage by Patrick Lencioni

    26:54 - The Night Ends with Fire by K.X. Song (Kaytee)

    26:58 - Bright Side Bookshop

    29:18 - The Dragon Wakes with Thunder by K.X. Song (pre-order, releases Aug 29, 2025)

    29:44 - The Hike by Drew Magary (Meredith)

    32:21 - The Library at Mount Char by Scott Hawkins

    32:57 - Fairy Tale by Stephen King

    34:42 - The White Girl by Tony Birch (Kaytee)

    34:53 - Garcia Street Books

    36:29 - The Dry by Jane Harper

    37:47 - Deep Dive: Boss My TBF

    From Mari M.

    38:38 - Life after Life by Kate Atkinson (pick #1)

    38:41 - Life of Pi by Yann Martel (pick #2)

    38:44 - Fragile Threads of Power by V.E. Schwab (pick #3)

    38:48 - The Enchanted by Rene Denfeld (pick #4)

    38:51 - The Wildest Sun by Asha Lemmie (pick #5)

    38:57 - Cold People by Tom Rob Smith

    39:00 - Here One Moment by Liane Moriarty

    From Judith

    44:44 - Still Life by Sarah Winman

    44:46 - Eve Green by Susan Fletcher

    45:14 - The Nightingale by Kristen Hannah (pick #1)

    45:17 - The Library at Mount Char by Scott Hawking (pick #2)

    45:21 - A Natural History of Dragons by Marie Brennan (pick #3)

    45:26 - The Book of Doors by Gareth Brown (pick #4)

    45:29 - Forever Home by Graham Norton (pick #5)

    46:03 - Orbital by Samantha Harvey

    48:07 - A Winter’s Promise by Christelle Dabos

    48:40 - All The Colors of the Dark by Chris Whitaker

    48:55 - Zorrie by Laird Hunt

    49:08 - Meet Us At The Fountain

    49:21 - I wish to let everyone know that A Journey To Three Pines will be coming in February and Wicked will be discussed on February 22nd.

    49:49 - The Beautiful Mystery by Louise Penny

    50:08 - Wicked by Gregory MaGuire

    50:12 - Currently Reading Patreon

    54:22 - I wish that somehow Louise Penny would see Inspector Goosemache. (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. February’s IPL comes to you from Fables and Fairy Tales in Marinsville, Indiana!

    • Love and Chili Peppers with Kaytee and Rebekah - romance lovers get their due with this special episode focused entirely on the best selling genre fiction in the business. 

    • All Things Murderful with Meredith and Elizabeth - special content for the scary-lovers, brought to you with the behind-the-scenes insights of an independent bookseller

    • From the Editor’s Desk with Kaytee and Bunmi Ishola - a quarterly peek behind the curtain at the publishing industry

    • 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

    Production and Editing: Megan Phouthavong Evans

    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!

    3 February 2025, 11:29 am
  • 1 hour 4 minutes
    Season 7, Episode 25: Reading Resolutions + The Art Of The DNF

    On this episode of Currently Reading, Meredith and Kaytee are discussing:

    • Bookish Moments: reading resolutions and reading while being tattooed

    • Current Reads: all the great, interesting, and/or terrible stuff we’ve been reading lately

    • Deep Dive: all things DNF: how we define it, how we do it, etc.

    • 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)

    1:59 - Our Bookish Moments Of The Week

    2:43 - The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay by Michael Chabon

    2:59 - Empire of Sand by Tasha Suri

    11:17 - Our Current Reads

    11:23 - Letters From Cuba by Ruth Behar (Kaytee)

    17:33 - Murder Road by Simone St. James (Meredith)

    22:41 - The Sun Down Motel by Simone St. James

    22:44 - The Haunting of Maddy Clare by Simone St. James

    22:47 - The Book of Cold Cases by Simone St. James

    23:12 - The Invisible Husband of Frick Island by Colleen Oakley (Kaytee)

    27:32 - A Bit Much by Lyndsay Rush (Meredith)

    27:58 - @maryoliversdrunkcousin on Instagram

    36:37 - Orbital by Samantha Harvey (Kaytee)

    37:14 - @lizisreading_  on Instagram

    38:01 - Packing for Mars by Mary Roach

    39:41 - The Safekeep by Yael Van der Wouden

    40:21 - Beautiful Ugly by Alice Feeney (Meredith)

    45:04 - His & Hers by Alice Feeney

    45:06 - Daisy Darker by Alice Feeney 

    45:34 - Deep Dive: The Art Of The DNF

    59:59 - Meet Us At The Fountain

    1:00:10 - I wish to hang out with you all at the Tucson Festival of Books in March. (Kaytee)

    1:00:13 - Tucson Festival of Books

    *Send Kaytee and email at currentlyreadingpodcast @ gmail.com or directly message her person instagram @notesonbookmarks

    1:01:39 - I wish to let you know about an app I found to track my Agatha Christie reading journey. (Meredith)

    1:01:47 - Agatha Christie Reading List app

    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. January’s IPL is a special episode in partnership with All Things Murderful and a total mystery and thriller stack from Fabled Bookshop in Waco, Texas!

    • Love and Chili Peppers with Kaytee and Rebekah - romance lovers get their due with this special episode focused entirely on the best selling genre fiction in the business. 

    • All Things Murderful with Meredith and Elizabeth - special content for the scary-lovers, brought to you with the behind-the-scenes insights of an independent bookseller

    • From the Editor’s Desk with Kaytee and Bunmi Ishola - a quarterly peek behind the curtain at the publishing industry

    • 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

    Production and Editing: Megan Phouthavong Evans

    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!

    27 January 2025, 10:00 am
  • 1 hour 15 minutes
    Season 7, Episode 24: Mary and Roxanna's Top Reads of 2024!

    On this episode of Currently Reading, Mary and Roxanna are sharing their favorite reads of 2024. We are excited to give them the reins for a full episode, and they bring some awesome reads for you to add to your TBR!

    Show notes are time-stamped below for your convenience. Read the transcript of the episode (this link only works on the main site)

    1:24 - Mary and Roxanna’s Reading Year In review

    2:06 - Mary read 84 books in 2024, 59% print, 24% digital, 17% audio

    2:54 - Mary read 71% adult, 16% middle grade, 7% young adult and 6% new adult

    4:29 - Currently Reading Patreon

    7:45 - Roxanna read 70 books in 2024, 19 were 5-star reads.

    8:18 - Roxanna read 81% fiction, 19%  nonfiction

    9:09 - Both Mary and Roxanna want to increase their POC/Diverse reads im 2025.

    10:48 - Mary and Roxanna’s Top Reads of 2024

    10:57 - The Hotel Nantucket by Elin Hilderbrand (Roxanna #10)

    12:15 - The Homewreckers by Mary Kay Andrews

    13:23 - The Millicent Quibb School of Etiquette for Young Ladies of Mad Science by Kate McKinnon (Mary #10)

    14:39 - Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett

    15:22 - Hotline by Dimitri Nasrallah (Roxanna #9)

    16:51 - How Not to Drown in a Glass of Water by Angie Cruz

    17:45 - Death in the Dark Woods by Annelise Ryan  (Mary #9)

    17:51 - A Death in Door County by Annelise Ryan

    20:33 - The Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alix E. Harrow (Roxanna #8)

    21:13 - The Last Dragoners of Bowbazar by Indra Das

    23:52 - Cabin: Off the Grid Adventures with a Clueless Craftsman by Patrick Hutchison (Mary #8)

    26:27 - It’s Easier than you Think by Sylvia Boorstein (Roxanna #7)

    30:18 - A Bit Much by Lyndsay Rush (Mary #7)

    30:56 - @maryoliversdrunkcousin on Instagram

    31:19 - Winter Hours by Mary Oliver

    32:03 - Fellowship Point by Alice Elliott Dark (Roxanna #6)

    34:58 - The Lost Story by Meg Shaffer (Mary #6)

    35:09 - The Wishing Game by Meg Shaffer

    37:24 - Margot’s Got Money Troubles by Rufi Thorpe (Roxanna #5)

    40:05 - The Second Ending by Michelle Hoffman

    41:52 - Heir by Sabaa Tahir (Mary #5)

    43:47 - A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness

    46:44 - Burnout by Emily and Amelia Nagoski (Roxanna #4)

    50:12 - The Wedding People by Alison Espach (Mary #4)

    53:38 - In the Shadow of the Mountain by Sylvia Vasquez-Lovado (Roxanna #3)

    54:02 - Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer

    54:04 - Finding Me by Viola Davis

    57:00 - The Pumpkin Princess and the Forever Night by Steven Banbury (Mary #3)

    58:59 - Be Ready when the Luck Happens by Ina Garten (Roxanna #2)

    1:02:08 - The Third Gilmore Girl by Kelly Bishop

    1:02:25 - The Baddest Bitch in the Room by Sophia Chang

    1:04:36 - A Letter to the Luminous Deep by Sylvie Cathrall (Mary #2)

    1:08:22 - Matrix by Lauren Groff (Roxanna #1)

    1:08:39 - Search by Michelle Huneven

    1:11:15 - Sandwich by Catherine Newman (Mary #1)

    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. January’s IPL is a special episode in partnership with All Things Murderful and a total mystery and thriller stack from Fabled Bookshop in Waco, Texas!

    • Love and Chili Peppers with Kaytee and Rebekah - romance lovers get their due with this special episode focused entirely on the best selling genre fiction in the business. 

    • All Things Murderful with Meredith and Elizabeth - special content for the scary-lovers, brought to you with the behind-the-scenes insights of an independent bookseller

    • From the Editor’s Desk with Kaytee and Bunmi Ishola - a quarterly peek behind the curtain at the publishing industry

    • 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

    Production and Editing: Megan Phouthavong Evans

    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!

    20 January 2025, 10:00 am
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