A Drink With a Friend

Annelise Roberts is a wife and mom of six kids whom she homeschools while raising animals on their homestead in North Carolina. She shares with Tsh a beloved childhood book (that’s very fitting for her life right now), as well as one of the most mind-blowing works of fiction from C.S. Lewis.

* Annelise Roberts’ newsletter, Writing While Washing

* Little Men, by Louisa May Alcott | Amazon | Bookshop

* Till We Have Faces, by C.S. Lewis ...

Shawn Smucker co-owns an independent bookshop in his town with his wife, and is also a long-time author of several books. He shares with Tsh a classic, perennial favorite childhood book, as well as one of his go-tos from adulthood.

* Shawn Smucker’s newsletter, The Courage to Live It

* His bookshop, Nooks

* The Lion, the Witch, & The Wardrobe, by C.S. Lewis

* A Prayer for Owen Meany, by John Irving

* Tsh Oxenreider’s newsletter, books, ...

Autumn Kern is a mom of four who releases bookish videos in a space called, delightfully enough, The Commonplace, and also hosts Common House, a space for homeschooling moms to get their bearings in the classical Charlotte Mason world. She shares with Tsh a favorite childhood book (one of Tsh’s favorites, too, though not from her own childhood) and a recent one from her adulthood (it’s one Tsh has never heard of).

* Autumn Kern’s vi...

Hadden Turner writes the well-loved Substack newsletter Over the Field and lives in northern England among farmers and apples. He shares with Tsh his choice of a favorite book from childhood (one she’d never heard of before), as well as a recent read for his choice of favorites as an adult.

* Hadden’s Newsletter, Over the Field

* Out of the Ashes, by Michael Morpurgo

* The Pearl, by John Steinbeck

* Tsh Oxenreider’s newsletter, books, ...

Faith Moore is a writer and podcaster of the popular show Storytime for Grownups, as well as an avid reader. She shares with Tsh her choice of a favorite book from childhood, as well as one of her all-time favorites as an adult (it’s one of Tsh’s favorites, too).

* Faith’s podcast, Storytime for Grownups

* Matilda, by Roald Dahl

* Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Bronte

* Tsh Oxenreider’s newsletter, books, course, and trips

Joel Miller is the writer of the popular newsletter Miller’s Book Review, chief content officer at Full Focus, author of the new book The Idea Machine, and an avid reader. He shares with Tsh a beloved book from his childhood and one from adulthood (as well as two extras from both).

* Joel’s newsletter, Miller’s Book Review

* Joel’s new book, The Idea Machine: How Books Built Our World and Shape Our Future

* Tarzan of the Apes, by Edga...

For a new season of this podcast, Tsh Oxenreider is talking with people about two books that changed them: one from childhood, one from adulthood. Who better to start with than her own daughter, Tatum?

* the Percy Jackson series, by Rick Riordan

* Bridge to Terabithia, by Katherine Paterson

* A Wrinkle in Time, by Madeleine L’Engle

* The Divine Comedy, by Dante Alighieri

* A Gentleman in Moscow, by Amor Towles

* Tsh Oxenreider’s newslett...

Tsh gives a short pitch for why you should do — in some way, before too long — what she does every summer: take a break from the internet. She explains why this break is so life-giving and necessary for her, her three reasons why she firmly believes EVERYONE needs to take regular breaks from the internet, as well as some encouragement that you, too, can do this. Yes, you! Really.

The next season will return after a brief hiatus!

* Ts...

Tsh chats with her in-real-life local friend Rick Reynolds, whom she first got to know on one of her pilgrimages (he and his wife have since been on three with her!). Rick is a marriage therapist specializing in infidelity, so they get into what really holds marriages together, why community matters so much to ALL of us, what it means to affair-proof your relationship, how to heal from betrayals, and where hope is truly found in al...

Tsh chats with Stephanie Duncan Smith, a book editor who’s been thinking for a while about the liturgical calendar. They get into Eastertide — and the beauty of its length (50 days), how it’s good that feasting always follows fasting, why Ordinary Time is magical, and how it all fits together with the rhythms of our personal lives (and how it feels when it sometimes doesn’t).

* Stephanie Duncan Smith and her Slant Letter

* Stephanie’...

Tsh talks with Rachel Canto, author of Pretty Good Catholic, about the current dating scene and …well, what to do about it. Tsh read her book in one sitting on a flight a few months ago, and knew she wanted to chat with her. Rachel’s thoughts are chock-full of sage, practical advice — and not just for Catholics. She has wisdom beyond her years!

* Rachel Canto & Pretty Good Catholic

* Tsh’s newsletter: The Commonplace

* Tsh’s books, tr...

Tsh chats with Millie Florence, a young author who recently published her first middle-grade novel, Beyond Mulberry Glen, with Waxwing Books. They chat about alternative education, following your skills and interests during the adolescent years (and how homeschooling is a boon for this), the process of getting a novel published, what makes a good story, and more.

* Millie Florence

* Beyond Mulberry Glen

* Waxwing Books

* Tsh’s newslett...

Tsh talks with her daughter Tatum, who’s currently studying 6,000 miles away in Austria. …From an empty classroom with wifi in Austria, she chats with Tsh about studying abroad, living cross-culturally, Theology of the Body, friendships, and all other sorts of sundry. (She’s currently in a four-way tie as Tsh’s favorite human.)

* Tsh’s newsletter: The Commonplace

* Tsh’s books, trips, & Rule of Life

* Join Tsh’s next pilgrimage: The R...

Tsh talks with musician and writer Andrew Peterson about his approach to storytelling, the sacramental nature of his sort of work, why embodiment matters, and what he’s learned in the decades of wearing the many hats he wears. (Plus, he shares when we can expect the next season of Wingfeather!)

* Andrew Peterson

* The Wingfeather Saga

* Andrew’s upcoming Resurrection Letters tour

* The Rabbit Room

* Passions of the Soul, by Rowan Willia...

Tsh talks with Douglas McKelvey, author and editor of the Every Moment Holy prayer collections, which she has long loved and used frequently. They talk about the role of communal prayer, why the need for both written and spontaneous prayer, and why it’s helpful to use prayers both new and old, crafted by others, to help deepen our relationships with God.

* Dixie’s Substack newsletter, The Hollow

* The Every Moment Holy series

* The Wi...

Tsh talks with historian and homeschooling mom Dixie Dillon Lane about homeschooling education, teaching history — imagination is our greatest tool! — leaning into the seasons, writing and reading books, and more.

* Dixie’s Substack newsletter, The Hollow

* Dixie on Hearth & Field

* When Teaching Children History, Embrace Imagination

* From Darkness to Light: Reclaiming Advent

* The Longest Johns

* Mingulay Boat Song

* Walk the Camino de...

Tsh and her good friend Sarah Mackenzie kick off January by working through a few topics from Tsh’s annual new year reflection questions… It’s a good conversation.

* Sarah’s businesses: Read-Aloud Revival and Waxwing Books

* Tsh’s New Year Reflection Questions

* The Hallow app

* The Fulfillment of All Desire, by Ralph Martin

* I Believe in Love, by Jean C. J. d’Elbée

* Table for Two, by Amor Towles

* Thinking, Fast and Slow, by Daniel Kah...

A short little reminder-announcement: creating your own personal Rule of Life is both a time-tested practice and a great way to kick off a new year (but also, it’s good any time of year) — and I’ve got a little tool to guide you in the process of creating your own. Thousands use it every year… Listen in for details.

(Regular episodes resume next week!)

* Create Your Rule of Life self-paced workshop

* Rule of St. Benedict

* Tsh’s newsle...

Tsh chats with Shawn Smucker, novelist and co-owner (with his wife) of the indie bookstore Nooks. They talk about his first foray into running a bookshop, what it’s like to connect with local regulars, how to decide which books to stock, how to juggle bookshop-keeping with writing (or not), and other sundry regarding the delights and challenges of keeping the lights on in the neighborhood book nook.

* Shawn & Maile Smucker’s booksho...