In Episode 28, Annie Jones, owner of The Bookshelf in Thomasville, GA and Co-Host of the From the Front Porch podcast, joins me to talk about owning a bookstore…and answer listener questions! Plus, bonus new release recommendations! 

This post contains affiliate links, through which I make a small commission when you make a purchase (at no cost to you!).

Highlights

• Annie’s business strategy to grow The Bookshelf.
• The original mission of the From the Front Porch podcast that was never filled.
• Where Annie spends most of her time as a bookstore owner (rather than a bookseller).
• Annie’s best advice for small business owners.
• What would surprise people about owning a bookstore.
• How Annie and her staff select what books to buy for the store…and The Bookshelf’s “store reading taste.”
• The “Annie” and “Thomasville” Reading Taste Venn Diagram.
• The book that’s selling like hotcakes that Annie is surprised to see sell like hotcakes.
• How books make it onto the front tables at certain bookstores (and how this works at The Bookshelf).
• What happened when Annie set a goal to read 100 books in one year.
• Annie’s favorite news sources.
• Bonus upcoming releases Annie is excited about.
• How Annie decides which ARC’s to read.
• Annie’s advice for where to start with Jane Austen.

Annie’s Book Recommendations

Two OLD Books She Loves

• Delancey by Molly Wizenberg | Buy from Amazon [28:04]
• Frances and Bernard by Carlene Bauer | Buy from Amazon [29:51]

Two NEW Books She Loves

• Fleishman is in Troubleby Taffy Brodesser-Akner | Buy from Amazon [31:21]
• The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead | Buy from Amazon [34:35]

One Book She DIDN’T Love

• My Oxford Yearby Julia Whelan | Buy from Amazon [38:26]

Three NEW RELEASES She’s Excited About

• Inlandby Tea Obreht (Release Date: August 13, 2019) | Buy from Amazon [41:45]
• The Other’s Gold by Elizabeth Ames (Release Date: August 27) | Buy from Amazon[43:12] (My Review)
• Red at the Boneby Jacqueline Woodson (Release Date: September 17, 2019) | Buy from Amazon [45:33]

Other Books Mentioned

• Fire Sermon by Jamie Quatro | Buy from Amazon [13:01]
• Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens (My Review) | Buy from Amazon [16:04]
• All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr | Buy from Amazon [16:47]
• We Were the Lucky Ones by Georgia Hunter (My Review) | Buy from Amazon [17:47]
• Daisy Jones & the Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid (My Review) | Buy from Amazon [18:43]
• The Misfortune of Marion Palm by Emily Culliton | Buy from Amazon [32:07]
• The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead | Buy from Amazon [34:55]
• Educated by Tara Westover (My Review) | Buy from Amazon [38:46]
• Me Before You by JoJo Moyes (My Review) | Buy from Amazon [40:30]
• The Tiger’s Wifeby Tea Obreht | Buy from Amazon [41:53]
• If Beale Street Could Talkby James Baldwin | Buy from Amazon [45:48]
• Ordinary Peopleby Diana Evans | Buy from Amazon [46:15]
• The Mothersby Brit Bennett (My Review) | Buy from Amazon [46:33]
• From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweilerby E.L. Konigsburg | Buy from Amazon [53:11]
• Pride & Prejudiceby Jane Austen | Buy from Amazon [56:32]

Other Links

• The Bookshelf in Thomasville, GA
• From the Front Porch Podcast
• The Daily Podcast
• Pantsuit Politics Podcast
• Jake Tapper on Twitter
• The Tampa Bay Times article on The Dozier School (there are a lot of articles in this series)
• Hunter (@shelfbyshelf on Instagram)
• The Popcast
• Lizzie Bennett Diaries YouTube series

About Annie

Website | Instagram | Twitter

Annie B. Jones owns The Bookshelf, an independent bookstore in downtown Thomasville, Georgia, where she and her husband Jordan have lived since 2013. A Tallahassee, Florida, native, Annie graduated summa cum laude with her degree in journalism from the Great Books Honors College at  Faulkner University before becoming a writer and editor for The Florida Bar News and Journal.

In 2012, she began living her Kathleen Kelly-dream as the manager of The Bookshelf in Tallahassee, and in 2013, she took over operations of the flagship store in Thomasville. Annie was featured as one of Southern Living magazine’s 50 innovators changing the South; The Bookshelf was listed in the top ten of the 2016 Independent Small Business of the Year Awards, and in 2017, it was named Small Business of the Year by the Thomasville-Thomas County Chamber of Commerce.

Annie currently co-hosts From the Front Porch, a weekly podcast about books, small business, and life in the South.

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