logo
episode-header-image
Jan 2025
1h 22m

Season 7, Episode 22: Our Top Ten Reads ...

MEREDITH MONDAY SCHWARTZ AND KAYTEE COBB
About this episode

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!

Up next
Oct 6
Season 8, Episode 10: Squeeze Your Tenders + When Reading Gets Dangerous
On this episode of Currently Reading, Kaytee and Meredith are discussing: Bookish Moments: bookish wishes coming true and picture books we love Current Reads: all the great, interesting, and/or terrible stuff we’ve been reading lately Deep Dive: Kaytee gets silly about how readin ... Show More
56m 46s
Sep 29
Season 8, Episode 9: Car-cuteries + Narrative POVs
On this episode of Currently Reading, Meredith and Kaytee are discussing: Bookish Moments: car picnics and even more bookshelves! Current Reads: all the great, interesting, and/or terrible stuff we’ve been reading lately Deep Dive: all about narrative POVs - do they matter? do we ... Show More
58m 38s
Sep 22
Season 8, Episode 8: Wordy Card Games + All Things Pre-Order
On this episode of Currently Reading, Kaytee and Meredith are discussing: Bookish Moments: movie adaptations and wordy card games Current Reads: all the great, interesting, and/or terrible stuff we’ve been reading lately Deep Dive: answering a listener question about all things p ... Show More
1 h
Recommended Episodes
Dec 2024
Episode 509 || Best Books of the Year with Hunter Mclendon
This week on From the Front Porch, Annie and Hunter (@shelfbyshelf) discuss their top 10 favorite books of 2024. To purchase the books mentioned in this episode, stop by The Bookshelf in Thomasville, visit our website (search “Episode 509”) or download and shop on The Bookshelf’s ... Show More
57m 36s
Jul 2024
Episode 486 || Best Books of the Year (So Far) with Hunter
This week on From the Front Porch, Annie and Hunter (@shelfbyshelf) discuss their top ten favorite books of 2024! To purchase the books mentioned in this episode, stop by The Bookshelf in Thomasville, visit our website (search “Episode 486” to find the books mentioned in this epi ... Show More
1h 3m
Dec 2024
Episode 506 || Staff's Favorite Books of 2024
This week on From the Front Porch, The Bookshelf staff share their favorite books of 2024! To purchase the books mentioned in this episode, stop by The Bookshelf in Thomasville, visit our website (search “Episode 506” to find the books mentioned in this episode), or download and ... Show More
26m 25s
Nov 2024
Episode 504 || Annie Recommends: Nonfiction November
This week on From the Front Porch, it’s an episode of Annie Recommends! In this series, Annie curates a stack of books in a certain genre or theme for you – just as if you walked into our brick-and-mortar store, The Bookshelf. Sometimes, you just want a good book list. This month ... Show More
50m 43s
Jan 2025
Episode 510 || Unsung Books of 2024
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. To purchase the books mentioned in this episode, stop by The Bookshelf in Thomasville, visit our website (search “Episode 510”) or ... Show More
33m 8s
Dec 2024
Episode 507 || Shelf Subscription Synopsis
This week on From the Front Porch, Annie and Erin chat about exciting changes to our Shelf Subscriptions! Shelf Subscriptions are The Bookshelf’s book-a-month club for adults and kids. Listen to find out what makes Shelf Subscriptions special, and how we’re refreshing the program ... Show More
43m 56s
Nov 2024
Episode 505 || November Reading Recap
Happy Thanksgiving! We are so thankful to you for listening to the show. This week on From the Front Porch, Annie recaps the books she read and loved in November. You get 10% off your books when you order your November Reading Recap Bundle. Each month, we offer a Reading Recap bu ... Show More
34m 11s
Feb 2023
❤️ Love Is in the Air... Or Not 💔
Send us a textIn Episode 90 of Book Talk, Etc. Tina and Renee share their recent reads involving love- or not. They also share what they've been loving lately, their latest reads , current reads, and have book talk about romance tropes. If you enjoy this episode, be sure to FOLLO ... Show More
55 m
Jun 2024
Catherine Newman Brings Us to Cape Cod
Sandwich: A Novel by Catherine Newman is full of great characters, evocative nostalgic imagery and a love for Cape Cod that we share with her. It is full of thoughts on what it means to be a woman, why we keep secrets from our family, and what it is we love about the yearly vacat ... Show More
37m 28s
Dec 2024
Episode 508 || Yes, Virginia
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 here. From the ... Show More
9m 2s