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...
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!
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1:21:42
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!
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56:52
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!
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52:00
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!
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57:05
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!
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.