About

From the Front Porch is weekly literary podcast hosted by Annie B. Jones, the owner of The Bookshelf, an independent bookstore in beautiful downtown Thomasville, Georgia. Each week, she discusses books, small business, and life in the South with a variety of cohosts from The Bookshelf’s vibrant in-store and online community. New episodes drop every Thursday morning, and listeners can access bonus content by supporting the podcast through Patreon.

friends of the show

Hunter Mclendon

Hunter Mclendon — also known as @shelfbyshelf on Instagram — is a writer, reader, and cupcake eater, living in Tallahassee, Florida, with his husband Tyler, and their dog, who has chosen to be anonymous. He was raised in Thomasville, the buckle of the Bible Belt, which left him with an obsession for the eccentricities only southern gothic fiction can deliver, but he’s a fan of all sorts of books, especially literary fiction and memoir. When he’s not reading, he spends his free time being a fried chicken connoisseur and crying over that one scene in My Best Friends Wedding where they’re on the ferry. You can find Hunter on Bookmarked episodes of From the Front Porch, as well as on Patreon, where he contributes to the Conquer a Classic series.

Susie Butterworth

Annie’s mom Susie was raised in Tallahassee, number seven of eight children. She taught preschool/pre-k for 20 years in her church preschool. Susie is happily married to Annie’s dad, Chris, for 39 years, and they’re currently enjoying retirement together. Not only is she Annie’s mom, but she’s also mom to Chet, a teacher in Chattanooga, TN. Having spent most of her adult life immersed in children’s books and raising two avid readers, she fell in love with reading for herself again when she discovered the Mitford Series by Jan Karon. She especially enjoys fiction, historical fiction, and self improvement books along with beautiful home décor/gardening books. These days you can find Susie and her sister Lisa in the windows of the Bookshelf creating new displays. Susie contributes to the What Would Susie Read? series on From the Front Porch, where she offers her PG and PG-13 suggestions for more sensitive readers.

Julie Anna Helms

After growing up in Henry County, Georgia, and attending the University of Georgia for a degree in Criminal Justice, Julie Anna relocated to south Georgia with her husband in 2011. While the transition to small town life wasn’t always easy, thanks to The Bookshelf she found a wonderful book club and community of readers who have become lifelong friends. When not working her day job in IT, Julie Anna can be found on her Instagram account @julieannareads where she has found a way to combine her love of books and film by creating a bimonthly feature called “Who Would You Cast?” which asks followers to vote on their favorite actor casting option for characters in popular books. Julie Anna is a From the Front Porch podcast contributor on the Casting Call episodes along with Annie and their friend Courtney.

Olivia Schaffer

After living in New York for eight years, studying ballet, and surviving off of The Strand's dollar book carts, Olivia came to Thomasville and joined The Bookshelf staff. She was very eager to join and share in their love of books, stationery, and conversations. The book world was always in Olivia's sights with her grandfather owning a used bookstore and simply being surrounded by full shelves. As a quintessential book lover, Olivia enjoys cups of tea while reading in a quiet spot at home with her four very large cats (please ask her about them) and her dog, Leslie. You can count on Olivia for all your mystery and thriller recommendations with some fantasy books as well. Olivia is also the buyer for the children's books that fill our shelves and the creator of Dumbledore's Army, The Bookshelf's youth review committee. As a lover of middle grade, chapter book and picture books, you'll will hear her frequently recommending all the books your kids will love. Olivia is featured on the New Release Rundown episodes of From the Front Porch.

Ashley Sherlock

A product of Florida's panhandle, Ashley grew up and currently resides in Tallahassee, leaving for a short time to pursue a degree in English from Faulkner University. She works full-time as a digital marketer for small businesses and loves the arts, the outdoors, and all things The Bookshelf. Her favorite books are typically literary fiction, memoirs, or essay collections, but she's eager to read anything with artfully composed words. Ashley is featured on the Off the Shelf series on From the Front Porch, where she and Annie chat about what they’re reading, watching, listening to, and buying.

ERIN FIELDING

Erin grew up here in Thomasville and only left to pursue a degree in dance. She changed her mind and ended up graduating with a political science degree and then a Masters in Higher Education, but one thing has never changed: her love of reading and the joy that helping people brings her. That’s why she became a huge fan of The Bookshelf after moving from Atlanta back to Thomasville in 2015. Now, as Online Sales Manager at The Bookshelf, she gets to help online customers by providing customer service and processing their orders. Erin enjoys reading humorous essays, short stories, and fiction with a hint of sci-fi. Erin is featured on the New Release Rundown episodes of From The Front Porch.