Currently Reading

By: Meredith Monday Schwartz and Kaytee Cobb
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  • Summary

  • 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.
    © Meredith Monday Schwartz and Kaytee Cobb
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Episodes
  • Season 7, Episode 9: Bookish Crafts + Why Reading Makes Us Better

    Season 7, Episode 9: Bookish Crafts + Why Reading Makes Us Better
    Sep 30 2024
    On this episode of Currently Reading, Meredith and Kaytee are discussing: Bookish Moments: bookish crafting and annotation gift sets Current Reads: all the great, interesting, and/or terrible stuff we’ve been reading lately Deep Dive: diving into research about why reading makes us better humans 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) . . . . 1:24 - Our Bookish Moments of the Week 2:11 - Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt 5:47 - The Gifts of Imperfection by Brene Brown 5:51 - I Guess I Haven’t Learned That Yet by Shauna Niequist 5:55 - Present Over Perfect by Shauna Niequist 6:28 - Annotation gift set by Mr. Pen and Selah 8:43 - Annotation Set option 2 9:38 - Our Current Reads 9:48 - Between Flowers and Bones by Carolyn Leiloglou (Kaytee) 9:53 - CR Season 6: Episode 4 10:41 - Beneath the Swirling Sky by Carolyn Leiloglou 14:09 - Incidents Around the House by Josh Malerman (Meredith) 15:06 - Bird Box by Josh Malerman 15:10 - Daphne by Josh Malerman 15:34 - Coraline by Neil Gaiman 20:59 - Hidden Pictures by Jason Rekulak 21:01 - Baby Teeth by Zoje Stage 21:05 - We Used to Live Here by Marcus Kliewer 21:54 - Around the World in 80 Days by Jules Verne (Kaytee) 26:45 - The Four Obsessions of an Extraordinary Executive by Patrick Lencioni (Meredith) 28:05 - The Advantage by Patrick Lencioni 29:54 - The Five Temptations of a CEO by Patrick Lencioni 29:56 - The Five Dysfunctions of a Team by Patrick Lencioni 32:47 - Search by Michelle Huneven 34:13 - Unraveling by Peggy Orenstein (Kaytee) 37:38 - A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness (Meredith) 40:16 - Twilight by Stephanie Meyer 41:15 - Blackwell’s UK 43:09 - Outlander by Diana Gabaldon 46:02 - CR Season 1: Episode 37 47:33 - How Reading Changes Us For The Better Some Stats: 49:26 - The average reading American reads 12 books per year. 49:50 - The average American spends just $35 on books per year. 50:17 - Reading can reduce our stress levels by 68% in just six minutes. 51:04 - Reading can reduce memory decline by 30% because it activates neural pathways and can reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s disease. 52:18 - Transportative fiction helps produce the most empathy in readers, but that empathy boost only lasts around 48 hours, so keep reading! 53:10 - Ghost Boys by Jewell Parker Rhodes 54:31 - Audiobooks are reading! Studies have shown that audiobooks activate the same neural pathways and cognitive benefits as print reading. 54:50 - Research shows we are less impatient with audiobooks than print. 56:02 - A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas 57:13 - Meet Us At The Fountain 57:19 - I wish people would celebrate their reading in new ways. (Kaytee) 57:36 - Canon Ivy 2 Mini Photo Printer 57:44 - Storygraph 58:01 - Favorite Books of the Year print - Etsy Shop 58:31 - I wish you would give annotating books a try. (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. September’s IPL comes to us from Bright Side Bookshop in Flagstaff, Arizona! 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 hr and 1 min
  • Popcorn in the Pages - Episode 8: Stardust

    Popcorn in the Pages - Episode 8: Stardust
    Sep 27 2024
    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. . . . . Stardust by Neil Gaiman 1:29 - Previews Book Name and release date. Sales info and awards. Stardust by Neil Gaiman Illustrated Version illustrated by Charles Vess HP Illustrated Editions by JK Rowling, illustrated by Jim Kay Alex Awards Movie name and release date. Box office and awards. Stardust on Prime GLAAD Media Awards 7:26 - The Cutting Room Pivotal Book scenes and how they translated to the screen Turning the goats and chariot into the inn The killings of the brothers The ending that isn’t The climax that IS Changes from Book to Movie Story timeline The Power of Stormhold stone Witch hair Yvain’s leg TrisTRAN Yvain’s hatred of Tristran Tristran’s “heritage” reveal Yvain’s attempt to cross the wall Left out of the adaptation Charmed, the small hairy man Unicorn fight with the lion Nursery rhymes Another Missing Sister Una’s freedom Added to the movie Gay pirates! Alberic → Shakespeare Tristran’s haircut Climax scene in the Witches’ home Casting and alternates TrisTRAN: Charlie Cox → Ben Barnes, Orlando Bloom, Daniel Radcliffe, Shia LaBeouf, Toby Maguire, Hayden Christianson Yvain: Claire Daines → Sarah Michelle Gellar, Hayden Panetierre, Reese Witherspoon, Brittany Snow Lamia: Michelle Pfieffer → Tilda Swinton, Nicole Kidman, Emma Thompson Captain Shakespeare: Robert Deniro → Burt Reynolds, Al Pacino Narrator: Ian McKlellan → Patrick Stewart Problematic elements Neil Gaiman’s sexual assault charges The Graveyard Book movie on hold Good Omens series on hold Lack of racial diversity as well Women as property Women’s inability to lead 35:50 - Award Season Worst and best parts of the adaptation. Gay pirates A feeling of “rushing” The romance The pirates - HA Worst and best actors. Primus Victoria Michelle Pfeiffer Charlie Cox Worst and best book characters. Tristan The Unicorn Yvain 48:00 - 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 51:31 - A Leftover Popcorn Kernel Where would you travel with a Babylon Candle? How would you want to die if your ghost was captured at the moment of death? 54:53 - End Credits I Remember You by Yrsa Sigurdardottir I Remember You is rentable through many outlets 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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    57 mins
  • Season 7, Episode 8: A Lady of Yore + Advice For Our Past Readerly Selves

    Season 7, Episode 8: A Lady of Yore + Advice For Our Past Readerly Selves
    Sep 23 2024
    On this episode of Currently Reading, Kaytee and Meredith are discussing: Bookish Moments: Feeling like a lady of yore and how bookstores contain the best people Current Reads: all the great, interesting, and/or terrible stuff we’ve been reading lately Deep Dive: answering the question “What is some advice you would tell your past readerly self"?” 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) . . . . 1:23 - Our Bookish Moments of the Week 1:52 - Tubicen Portable Table Lamp 9:42 - Our Current Reads 10:01 - The Clackity by Lora Senf (Meredith) 13:48 - The Night Gardener by Jonathan Auxier 14:29 - Birding with Benefits by Sarah T. Dubb (Kaytee) 17:52 - The Backyard Bird Chronicles by Amy Tan 19:01 - The Night Swim by Megan Goldin (Meredith, Amazon link) 22:57 - Something is Killing the Children by James Tynion IV (Kaytee) 26:29 - Lore Olympus by Rachel Smythe 26:35 - El Deafo by Cece Bell 27:03 - The Mesmerist by Caroline Woods (Meredith) 29:01 - Devil in the White City by Erik Larson 32:11 - All This and More by Peng Shepherd (Kaytee) 32:35 - Bright Side Bookshop 32:44 - The Book of M by Peng Shepherd 35:36 - The Midnight Library by Matt Haig 35:38 - Life after Life by Kate Atkinson 36:37 - The Cartographers by Peng Shepherd 39:06 - What Alice Forgot by Liane Moriarty 40:04 - Reincarnation Blues by Michael Poore 40:33 - Deep Dive: Advice For Our Past Readerly Selves 42:46 - CR Season 7: Episode 1 42:48 - Morning Glory Milking Farm by C. M. Nacosta 54:10 - Meet Us At The Fountain 54:55 - I wish there was a searchable database for every piece of content related to books we talk about on CR, books I’ve read, etc. (Meredith) 57:04 - Currently Reading Patreon 58:53 - I wish all authors would just do the right thing. (Kaytee) 59:11 - Stardust by Neil Gaiman 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. September’s IPL comes to us from Bright Side Bookshop in Flagstaff, Arizona! 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 hr and 2 mins
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Love these ladies

Listening to these always grows my TBR oh so pleasantly! I enjoy my weekly book reviews.

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Passionate about books and Reading?

I found this podcast right before the pandemic hit and from the first episode I was captivated by Kaytee and Meredith’s enthusiasm, passion, and devotion to both reading and to book characters! They don’t shy away from spicy opinions and they’re in-depth discussions are Always spoiler free. Their Facebook group is my happy place and I’ve made real life friends as well as finding a safe, welcoming place to talk about my life long love of reading with no judgments or criticism. Please give it a try if reading is a love of your life!

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1 person found this helpful