Novelist Elizabeth Taylor is the subject of this episode of Backlisted. Joining Andy and John to discuss The Soul of Kindness (1964) - and much more besides - are author and founder of Virago Press Carmen Callil and journalist and critic Rachel Cooke, plus occasional contributions from Carmen's Border Terrier, Effie. John has been reading Surfacing, a new co ... Show More
Mar 17
Under The Volcano by Malcolm Lowry - Rerun
Recorded back in 2017, John and Andy were joined by poet, radio presenter, playwright and genuine tyke Ian McMillan to discuss Malcolm Lowry's 1947 masterwork, Under The Volcano. Also, The Factory of Light by Michael Jacobs, and more Rosemary Tonks. Learn more about your ad choic ... Show More
1h 5m
Feb 10
Till We Have Faces by C.S. Lewis
Dr Rowan Williams, theologian, poet and former Archbishop of Canterbury, joins Andy and John for a thoughtful and moving discussion of Till We Have Faces (1956), the last novel by C.S. Lewis. This episode was recorded in London in June 2025. Although not as well-reviewed as his p ... Show More
1h 12m
Oct 2025
Season 8, Episode 12: Reading Mishaps + Travels and Book Buying
On this episode of Currently Reading, Meredith and Kaytee are discussing: Bookish Moments: accidental reads and jumbled audiobooks Current Reads: all the great, interesting, and/or terrible stuff we've been reading lately Deep Dive: the way we buy books while traveling The Founta ... Show More
1h 3m
Dec 2024
Episode 509 || Best Books of the Year with Hunter Mclendon
<p>This week on From the Front Porch, Annie and Hunter (<a href='https://www.instagram.com/shelfbyshelf/'>@shelfbyshelf</a>) discuss their top 10 favorite books of 2024.</p>
<p>To purchase the books mentioned in this episode, stop by The Bookshelf in Thomasville, <a href='https:/ ... Show More
57m 36s
Oct 2025
738 Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë (#15 Greatest Book of All Time)
Emily Brontë only published one full-length book before dying at the tragically young age of 30. But that book, Wuthering Heights, which tells the story of obsessive and vengeful love on the rugged moors of Yorkshire, is still considered one of the pinnacles of English literature ... Show More
1h 16m
Oct 2025
744 Love, Sex, and Frankenstein (with Caroline Lea) | #10 Greatest Book of All Time | My Last Book with Geoffrey Turnovsky | A Letter from a Middle School Teacher and Mom
The year is 1816, and 18-year-old Mary Shelley has fled London with her lover, Percy Shelley, and her sister, Claire. They're on their way to visit Lord Byron's villa in Lake Geneva, Switzerland - and to change the course of literary history. In this episode, Jacke talks to Carol ... Show More
1h 26m
Dec 2024
Episode 508 || Yes, Virginia
<p>This week on From the Front Porch, Annie’s dad, Chris Butterworth, reads the New York Sun reporter Francis P. Church’s timeless response to eight-year-old Virginia O’Hanlon’s question: “Is there a Santa Claus?” Read the letter from 1897 and learn about its history <a href='htt ... Show More
9m 2s
Sep 2025
Ian McEwan on Speculative Fiction, Lost Poems and What We Can Know
Ian McEwan is the critically acclaimed author of nineteen novels and two short story collections. His novels include Atonement, Enduring Love, The Children Act and On Chesil Beach, and he is the recipient of many awards including the Booker Prize, the Somerset Maugham Award and t ... Show More
42 m
Jan 2025
Episode 510 || Unsung Books of 2024
<p>Happy New Year! This week on From the Front Porch, Annie chats about the unsung books that may have flown under your radar and deserve more airtime.</p>
<p>To purchase the books mentioned in this episode, stop by The Bookshelf in Thomasville, <a href='https://www.bookshelfthom ... Show More
33m 8s
Sep 2025
731 The Brothers Karamazov Reclaimed (#19 Greatest Book of All Time)
Responding to a special request from a listener, Jacke discusses Fyodor Dostoevsky, his novel The Brothers Karamazov, and the search for meaning in a meaningless world. This episode was originally released as episode #250 on October 7, 2020. For reasons Jacke discusses, it has no ... Show More
1h 21m
<p>It's episode 25 of Season 11 - Our Season 11 finale. We have three tales about vexing vagrants, horrifying heritage, and lethal literati.</p>
<p><strong>"The Boy in the Alley"‡</strong> written by <a href="https://www.facebook.com/ck.walker00">C.K. Walker</a> and performed b ... Show More
