A Bookish Life In AK

How does a TBR pile grow? By listening to podcasts by authors featuring authors. My post this week is all about my favorite book podcasts. And a few of my other favorites types of podcasts, how they grow my to be read list by more than I can read in a lifetime.

I found a couple of these while I was homeschooling, a few I found after I rediscovered Christian Fiction, and a couple of them have been recommended to me by friends. There are ones for learning about books, ones for Christian living, ones for homesteading and ones just for fun where they read short stories and books. If you are looking for a few new podcasts to listen to, read on and maybe you’ll find a new favorite.

Christian Living: First up and the most important in my opinion, are my Christian Living podcasts. These have so many recommendations that I have read and have helped me personally. *“At Home With Sally” with Sally Clarkson. Sally has written over 20 books that cover everything for mamas, friendships, discipleship and homemaking. I’ve read several of her books and they are all so good. I really wish I found her when my kids were younger. Every Tuesday she puts out a “Tea Time Tuesday” where she talks about life, her books, her children’s books, her favorite and all sorts of fun and interesting topics for a Christian woman in any stage of life. https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/at-home-with-sally/id1041509070 *”Drink From the River of Delight” by Janet Abadir MD, Janet is a dear friend of mine who was a surgeon here on Kodiak and has retired to write and speak at Ladies Conferences. She has written a devotional that is absolutely fabulous by the same title. She reads through her book and dives in to the Bible every week. I may be a little biased about it though 🙂 https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/drink-from-the-river-of-delight/id1795364367

Learning about books: These next couple I found while homeschooling and found incredibly helpful or found during Covid and found very enlightening on a personal level. *”Bibliophiles” by The Center for LIt, I found this while I was homeschooling. I even used their material in the upper grades for my kids. I have Missy Andrew’s “Wild Bells” which is her advent book that shows the Advent of Christ’s birth through Literature. They discuss The Great Books and how to read and understand it better. They stopped for a bit but came back this year. https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/bibliofiles-a-centerforlit-podcast-about-great/id1074454185 *”The Literary Life Podcast” with Angelina Stanford, Thomas Banks and Cindy Rollins. I’ll be honest with you on this one, at first, I really thought the presenters were really uppity about the books they read and talked about, however the more I listened I found them to be funny, insightful and incredibly helpful in understanding books. They do deep dives into classics. I don’t always agree with their views on some books but I enjoy their takes. When they discuss books that have movies made they discuss the different versions made. My favorite podcast to this day is the “Pride and Prejudice movies” episode. https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-literary-life-podcast/id1460580357

Authors and Guests: This last section is where I usually get in trouble. I listen to them and really start adding to my TBR list because so many sound so good. I am really grateful that between my library and it’s apps, Libby and Hoopla, and Kindle Unlimited I can read for pretty cheap. *”MadLit Musings with Jaime Jo Wright” I absolutely love Jaime Jo Wright’s books and when I found out that she had a podcast, I just downloaded it and have never been disappointed. She is funny, insightful and her guests are wonderful. I love how she sounds like she truly enjoys her guests and they enjoy being on her show. They start off pretty light and then get into the deeper things of faith in their books. She even has a Youtube of her podcast. https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/madlit-musings-with-jaime-jo-wright/id1566007058 *”Book Talk with Cara Putman” I found this one after my friend Voni Harris told me about Cara and her books. Like Jaime Jo Wright’s podcast she and her guests discuss their books and how their faith affects their writing. I have also just started reading Cara’s books. She is a wonderful writer as well as podcast host. Another great thing, her and Jaime have been on each other’s podcasts which is fun for listeners as well. Cara has a way of talking that is calm and soothing. I love listening to her after a hard day at work. https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/book-talk-with-cara-putman/id1566027922 *”The Christian Romance Podcast” Kelly Jo Wilson- I came across this one when I signed up for a book contest and won the books for the month. Since then I have listened to so many wonderful authors and have learned about writing romance and faith based books from them. Kelly’s podcast is longer so the writers get more in to how to write from a faith based aspect which helps me add to my writing. https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-christian-romance-podcast/id1754846527

Honorable Mentions: *”The Well Read Poem” Thomas Banks- A sister podcast of “The Literary Life Podcast. Thomas Banks reads a poem and then dissects it and explains the poems. There have been seasons on family, bad poetry, war and other topics. I found it to be entertaining and enlightening. https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-well-read-poem/id1549096697 *”Avid Readers of Christian Fiction” Tricia Goyer- This one is pretty new to me, I’ve only heard 3-4 episodes. The first episode I listened to was on Realm Makers and I have found my tribe of Christian Sci-fi and Fantasy authors through them. She is also a fantastic author herself. https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/avid-readers-of-christian-fiction-podcast/id1742823614?i=1000706654962

I listen to all these podcasts pretty much every week. I look forward to them like good friends. They are not only on Apple Podcast but Spotify and other platforms. I have several Homestead and Gardening podcasts that I listen to as well that have some great recommendations that I will talk about later. What types of podcasts do you listen to? Do you have any that you would add to this list? Prayers & Blessings, Becky