Season 7, Episode 41: Poolside Reading + Bookish Friends' Best Books Of 2024

Currently Reading

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

• Bookish Moments: poolside reading and friends who know your reading tastes

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

• Deep Dive: it’s finally time to let you know the bookish friends’ best books 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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2:30 - Our Bookish Moments Of The Week

6:42 - Our Current Reads

6:47 - Tempest by Beverly Jenkins (Kaytee)

10:31 - Careless People by Sarah Wynn-Williams (Meredith)

19:41 - The Dark Maestro by Brendan Slocumb (Kaytee)

19:56 - The Violin Conspiracy by Brendan Slocumb

21:40 - Symphony of Secrets by Brendan Slocumb

24:19 - Campfires & Corpses by Nikki Weber (Meredith)

28:10 - Woodworking by Emily St. James (Kaytee)

28:45 - Tom Lake by Ann Patchett

31:59 - This Book Will Bury Me by Ashley Winstead (Meredith)

37:33 - Bookish Friends’ Best Books of 2024

40:11 - The Women by Kristen Hannah (#4)

40:13 - The God of the Woods by Liz Moore (#4)

40:17 - Draco Malfoy and the Mortifying Ordeal of Being In Love by isthisselfcare (#4)

40:40 - The Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon (#3)

40:45 - Margot’s Got Money Troubles by Rufi Thorpe (#1)

40:47 - All The Colors of the Dark by Chris Whitaker (#1)

43:36 - James by Percival Everett

43:37 - Sipsworth by Simon Van Booy

43:38 - The Wedding People by Alison Espach

44:35 - In An Instant by Suzanne Redfearn

44:57 - The Many Lives of Mama Love by Lara Love Hardin

45:13 - All the Sinners Bleed by S.A. Cosby

45:30 - You Are Here by David Nicholls

45:31 - The Lion Women of Tehran by Marjan Kamali

45:47 - Colton Gentry’s Third Act by Jeff Zentner

46:23 - The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley (#1 disliked)

46:26 - The Fury by Alex Michalides (#2 disliked)

46:30 - Everyone in My Family has Killed Someone by Benjamin Stevenson (#3 disliked)

46:33 - The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store by James McBride (#3 disliked)

46:47 - Yellowface by R.F. Kuang

46:48 - Starling House by Alix E. Harrow

46:56 - I’m Thinking of Ending Things by Iain Reid

47:05 - Butcher & Blackbird by Brynne Weaver

47:13 - The Husbands by Holly Gramazio

47:15 - All This and More by Peng Shepherd

47:30 - The Mysterious Case of the Alperton Angels by Janice Hallett

49:18 - What Happened to Nina by Dervla McTiernan

50:13 - Meet Us At The Fountain

50:17 - I wish to press This Is Not A Book About Benedict Cumberbatch by Tabitha Carvan. (Kaytee)

50:19 - This Is Not A Book About Benedict Cumberbatch by Tabitha Carvan

52:38 - Shawnathemom on Instagram

54:31 - I wish book slumps weren’t a thing. (Meredith)

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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 is a new indie to the rotation - Dog Eared Books in Ames, Iowa.

• 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

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The Hosts and Regulars: Meredith | Kaytee | Mary | Roxanna

Production and Editing: Megan Phouthavong Evans

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