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 the...
On this episode of Currently Reading, Kaytee and Meredith are sharing their favorite reads of 2024. This year, we have two lists: favorite reading experiences and favorite books. With so many great reading experiences of… not so great books, we had to differentiate. We had some very surprising mentions, and no overlaps this year! *Reading experiences are interspersed throughout the episode this year, and those are labeled with “RE” Show notes are time-stamped below for your convenience. Read the transcript of the episode (this link only works on the main site) . . . . 3:20 - Our Yearly Reading Overview 3:36 - Meredith Read 137 books total, 11% were 5 star reads 6:15 - Kaytee read 230 books total, 10% were 5 star reads 6:52 - 25% non fiction for Kaytee, 14% non fiction for Meredith 10:30 - Both read 60% backlist for the year 14:10 - Kaytee’s biggest recommendation source was Katie Proctor 15:05 - Meredith’s number one recommendation source was Elizabeth Barnhill 15:17 - @mother.horror on Instagram 16:25 - Kaytee’s top publishing houses were Berkely and W.W. Norton 16:38 - Meredith’s top publishing house was Minortaur, followed by Tor and Atria 19:05 - Currently Reading Patreon 20:00 - Our Top Reads of 2024 21:02 - A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness (Meredith RE) 21:13 - Shadow of Night by Deborah Harkness 23:07 - Colton Gentry’s Third Act by Jeff Zentner (Kaytee RE) 23:33 - Currently Reading Patreon 24:36 - I’m Thinking of Ending Things by Iain Reid (Meredith #10) 25:35 - River Sing Me Home by Eleanor Shearer (Kaytee #10) 25:30 - CR Season 7: Episode 10 26:35 - The Safekeep by Yael Van der Wouden (Meredith #9) 26:52 - The Booker Prize 28:10 - High Tide in Tucson by Barbara Kingsolver (Kaytee #9) 28:22 - CR Season 6: Episode 44 29:34 - Eye of the World by Robert Jordan (Meredith RE) 29:36 - The Great Hunt by Robert Jordan 31:47 - The Spellshop by Sarah Beth Durst (Kaytee RE) 32:46 - The Force of Such Beauty by Barbara Bourland (Meredith #8) 34:14 - Sandwich by Catherine Newman (Kaytee) 34:17 - CR Season 7: Episode 14 35:02 - The Mars House by Natasha Pulley (Meredith #7) 36:39 - Charter Books 36:44 - A Love Song for Ricki Wilde by Tia Williams (Kaytee #7) 36:48 - CR Season 6: Episode 36 40:31 - Stone Blind by Natalie Haynes (Kaytee’s Favorite protagonist) 41:11 - The Odyssey by Homer (Kaytee’s Least Favorite protagonist) 42:42 - The Memory of Animals by Claire Fuller (Merdith’s Least Favorite protagonist) 44:10 - Wheel of Time series by Robert Jordan (Meredith’s favorite protagonists) 44:27 - The Stand by Stephen King 46:19 - The Examiner by Janice Hallett (Meredith #6) 48:21 - The Appeal by Janice Hallett 48:34 - Family Family by Laurie Frankel (Kaytee #6) 48:50 - CR Season 6: Episode 34 49:48 - The Familiar by Leigh Bardugo (Meredith #5) 51:24 - The Small and the Mighty by Sharon McMahon (Kaytee #5) 53:41 - The Mysterious Case of the Alperton Angels by Janice Hallett (Meredith RE) 55:22 - “In person bookish delight” (Kaytee RE) 55:32 - Roscoe Books 55:40 - Boswell Books 55:48 - The Night in Question by Susan Fletcher 55:50 - The Guncle Abroad by Steven Rowley 56:38 - Confessions by Kanae Minato (Meredith #4) 58:38 - James by Percival Everett (Kaytee #4) 58:40 - CR Season 6: Episode 39 58:43 - National Book Award 58:50 - Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain 1:00:03 - The Tainted Cup by Robert Jackson Bennett (Meredith #3) 1:02:58 - An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir (Kaytee #3 - The whole series) 1:02:58 - A Torch Against the Night by Sabaa Tahir 1:02:58 - A Reaper at the Gates by Sabaa Tahir 1:02:58 - A Sky Beyond the Storm by Sabaa Tahir 1:03:06 - CR Season 7: Episode 5 1:05:42 - The Spellshop by Sarah Beth Durst (Meredith RE) 1:06:25 - “Letting myself get swept away by series: (Kaytee RE) 1:06:36 - Swift and Saddled by Lyla Sage 1:06:38 - Lost and Lassoed by Lyla Sage 1:06:39 - Wild and Wrangled by Lyla Sage 1:07:25 - The Stand by Stephen King (Meredith #2) 1:09:35 - Station Eleven by Emily St John Mandel 1:10:12 - Wolfsong by T.J. Klune (Kaytee #2) 1:10:15 - CR Season 6: Episode 35 1:12:34 - The God of the Woods by Liz Moore (Meredith #1) 1:14:44 - All the Colors of the Dark by Chris Whitaker (Kaytee #1) 1:18:31 - Currently Reading Patreon 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!
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1:22:21
Season 7, Episode 21: A Look Back - Our Top Reads of 2020!
On this episode of Currently Reading, Kaytee and Meredith are taking a look back at their favorite reads of 2020. This year we read the most we had ever read up. to that point, and we had a hard time narrowing down our favorites! Most of these books should be available for you to grab if any interest you after hearing us rave about them four years ago! Show notes are time-stamped below for your convenience. Read the transcript of the episode (this link only works on the main site) . . . . 10:10 - El Deafo by CeCe Bell (Meredith) 11:20 - Saving Ruby King by Catherine Adel West (Kaytee) 11:27 - Transcendent Kingdom by Yaa Gyasi 12:23 - The Library at Mount Char by Scott Hawkins (Meredith) 15:07 - With the Fire on High by Elizabeth Acevedo (Kaytee) 16:11 - A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson (Meredith) 17:27 - Stamped from the Beginning by Ibram X. Kendi (Kaytee) 17:54 - Stamped: Racism, Antiracism and You by Jason Reynolds and Ibram X. Kendi 19:12 - Ghost Boys by Jewell Parker Rhodes (Meredith) 21:04 - The Remarkable Journey of Coyote Sunrise by Dan Gemeinhart (Kaytee) 22:50 - Moonflower Murders by Anthony Horowitz (Meredith) 23:05 - Magpie Murders by Anthony Horowitz 24:21 - Know My Name by Chanel Miller (Kaytee) 26:15 - The Lazy Genius Way by Kendra Adachi (Meredith) 27:55 - The Girl with the Louding Voice by Abi Dare (Kaytee) 28:29 - Kaytee’s minisode interview with Abi Dare 28:57 - All the Devils Are Here by Louise Penny (Meredith) 30:55 - Lobizona by Romina Russell Garber (Kaytee) 32:42 - The Midnight Library by Matt Haig (Meredith) 34:39 - Caste by Isabel Wilkerson (Kaytee) 36:27 - Leave the World Behind by Rumaan Alam (Meredith) 39:45 - Here for It by R. Eric Thomas (Kaytee) 40:52 - Greenwood by Michael Christie (Meredith) 43:33 - Pride by Ibi Zoboi (Kaytee) 43:36 - Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen 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. December’s IPL is a recap of the 2024 year! 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!
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50:44
Popcorn in the Pages - Episode 9: I Remember You
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. . . . . I Remember You by Yrsa Sigurdardottir 1:29 - Previews Book Name and release date. Sales info and awards. I Remember You by Yrsa Sigurdardottir Glass Key Awards Movie name and release date. Box office and awards. Edda Awards 7:34 - The Cutting Room Pivotal Book scenes and how they translated to the screen The building falling The finding of the body underneath the crawlspace Changes from Book to Movie The Trio Bringing Benni to Hysteri Timelines do not line up Removal of plot points in movie, like an affair and accident for one character Vandalized church in movie, primary school in book Renovating vs redecorating Outcome of Lif and Garðar Additional drama around pregnancies in the movie Left out of the adaptation Changes in Lif’s life Explanations of the house or why it was purchased Putti the dog Dead brother Lif’s entire life changes The title itself is confusing Added to the movie Modernized the story - electricity, generators, etc. Casting and alternates Freyr: Jóhannes Haukur Jóhannesson → Carl Urban, Alan Ritchson, Tom Hardy Dagny: Sara Dögg Ásgeirsdóttir → Toni Collette, Judy Greer, Dakota Johnson Katrin: Anna Gunndís Guðmundsdóttir → Maya Hawke, Jenna Ortega, Aubrey Plaza Lif: Ágústa Eva Erlendsdóttir → Fanning sisters Dakota and Elle, Chloe Grace Moretz,Sydney Sweeney Garðar: Thorvaldur Kristjansson → Jeremy Allen White, Glen Powell, Problematic elements Lack of diversity Leaving Sarah to suffer in her own “crazy” 35:38 - Award Season Worst and best parts of the adaptation. Katrin’s fate Should have been scarier The soundtrack or lack thereof The sense of place Worst and best actors. Lif Freyr Worst and best book characters. Lif Bernodus’s Dad Putti the dog Dagny 47:57 - 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 53:58 - A Leftover Popcorn Kernel Do you believe in ghosts and have you ever had anything supernatural happen to you? What would make an Airbnb scary enough for you to leave in the middle of the night? 1:00:33 - End Credits Erasure by Percival Everett American Fiction is available on Amazon Prime 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
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1:02:02
Season 7, Episode 20: Book Superlatives + Fitting In Reading Around The Holidays
On this episode of Currently Reading, Kaytee and Meredith are discussing: Bookish Moments: mistletoe horror and book to screen adaptations Current Reads: all the great, interesting, and/or terrible stuff we’ve been reading lately Deep Dive: how to fit in reading during the holidays 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) . . . . 4:03 - Our Bookish Moments Of The Week 4:21 - 25 Days by Per Jacobson 8:50 - Wicked by Gregory McGuire 9:23 - The Best Christmas Pageant Ever by Barbara Robinson 9:37 - The Salt Path by Raynor Winn 9:39 - Landlines by Raynor Winn 9:49 - Nightbitch by Rachel Yoder 10:43 - Our Current Reads 10:56 - Smoke Gets In Your Eyes by Caitlin Doughty (Meredith) 16:15 - The Weight of Blood by Tiffany D. Jackson (Kaytee) 16:24 - Grown by Tiffany D. Jackson 16:37 - Allegedly by Tiffany D. Jackson 16:38 - Monday’s Not Coming by Tiffany D. Jackson 16:48 - White Smoke by Tiffany D. Jackson 21:00 - Blood Oath by Christopher Farnsworth (Meredith, amazon link) 25:29 - Many Things Under a Rock by David Scheel (Kaytee) 28:01 - Secrets of the Octopus by Sy Montgomery 28:03 - The Soul of an Octopus by Sy Montgomery 29:05 - The Murder on the Links by Agatha Christie (Meredith) 33:23 - The Spellshop by Sarah Beth Durst (Kaytee) 35:39 - The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett 35:54 - Legends and Lattes by Travis Baldree 35:55 - Bookshops and Bonedust by Travis Baldree 36:56 - Fitting In Reading Around The Holidays 48:27 - Eye of the World by Robert Jordan (Wheel of Time #1) 51:37 - Meet Us At The Fountain 52:32 - I wish we would take the time to rate our books by superlatives. (Meredith) 54:00 - I wish to have a holiday book exchange instead of a cookie exchange. (Kaytee) 55:46 - Currently Reading Patreon 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. December’s IPL is a recap of the 2024 year! 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!
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57:23
Season 7, Episode 19: New Book Subscriptions + Wishes To The Holiday Book Fairy
On this episode of Currently Reading, Meredith and Kaytee are discussing: Bookish Moments: new book subscriptions and audiobooks coming in clutch Current Reads: all the great, interesting, and/or terrible stuff we’ve been reading lately Deep Dive: we make wishes to the holiday book fairy 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 - Bite Size Intro 1:01 - Book of the Month 1:36 - Our Bookish Moments Of The Week 1:46 - Aardvark Book Club 4:07 - Book of the Month 6:28 - The Great Hunt by Robert Jordan 7:58 - AirPods 4 9:34 - Our Current Reads 9:37 - Crow Talk by Eileen Garvin (Kaytee) 11:33 - Birding with Benefits by Sarah T. Dubb 13:48 - The Echo Man by Sam Holland (Meredith) 18:08 - The Chestnut Man by Soren Sveistrup 18:24 - We Came to Welcome You by Vincent Tirado (Kaytee) 24:47 - Shadow of Night by Deborah Harkness (Meredith) 24:55 - A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness 27:24 - Outlander by Diana Gabaldon 29:24 - The Night In Question by Susan Fletcher (Kaytee) 31:35 - A Natural History of Dragons by Marie Brennan 31:39 - The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid 32:07 - Roscoe’s Books 32:21 - CR Season 6: Episode 48 33:39 - A Holiday by Gaslight by Mimi Matthews (Meredith) 39:50 - Wishes To The Holiday Book Fairy 50:29 - Meet Us At The Fountain 50:44 - I wish to press The Day the World Came to Town by Jim DeFede. (Kaytee) 50:45 - The Day the World Came to Town by Jim DeFede 52:47 - I wish to remind you about Christmas ASMR rooms. (Meredith) 53:08 - Old Library Christmas ASMR Room 53:19 - Winter Morning ASMR Room 53:36 - Christmas Fireplace ASMR Room 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. December’s IPL is a recap of the 2024 year! 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!
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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