Every month the Front Porch Book Club features two episodes on our selected book. The first episode is Linda and Nancy discussing the book from their perspectiv...
Our book for January is Life Lessons from a Parasite by John Janovy, Jr. John is one of the world's pre-eminent parasitologists. In his book we learn all about parasites -- the minuscule life forms that live inside other organisms. We learn about the scientists that study them. And, we are introduced to how theories about parasites and infections help us understand how infected words and ideas become parasites in our modern-day life. Linny's traumatic experience in high school biology was a challenge for her in reading about dissection, but both Linny and Nancy learned a lot about parasites and then enjoyed discussing the generalizations into how words and ideas travel through populations.
--------
35:33
Our Implementation of Atomic Habits
James Clear's bestselling book, Atomic Habits, tells us that tiny changes can yield remarkable results. Clear writes, "The quality of our lives often depends on the quality of our habits. With the same habits, you'll end up with the same results. But with better habits, anything is possible." Linny and Nancy discuss their initial attempts to implement what they learned from this book. Not surprisingly, they took two very different approaches. Nancy, ever the planner, created an entire system. Linny, the free spirit, embraced good habits as they presented themselves. They share these new habits and early results.
--------
24:49
Atomic Habits
Welcome 2025! In January we choose books that are about goal setting and achieving success and being the you, you want to be. Our book this month is Atomic Habits: An Easy and Proven Way to Build Good Habits and Break Bad Ones by James Clear. This book is designed to reshape the way you think about progress and success, and give you the tools and strategies you need to transform your habits--whether you are a team looking to win an Olympic medal, redefine an industry, or simply an individual who wishes to quit smoking, lose weight, reduce stress, or achieve any other goal. There is a curious amount of talking about cake in this episode! Oh, and also what good habits we're hoping to develop in 2025!
--------
37:58
2024 Wrap-up and 2025 Preview
It’s our last episode of the year. We talk about the progress we’ve made on our personal goals for 2024. Upon reviewing them, we feel like we have experienced growth and also adopted some unexpected goals for the year. We discuss our podcast highlights from 2024, discussing our non-fiction, fiction, and children’s book selections. We talk about how inviting authors and experts to join us helped deepen our experience. Every single of our guests was fascinating and a kind person that we would like to hang out with. We then reveal the books for 2025. 2025 promises to be a fun and exciting year.
--------
36:52
The King Penguin
It's December and that means we're reviewing a children's book. For 2024, it's The King Penguin written and illustrated by Vanessa Roeder. This beautifully and fancifully illustrated book explores what happens when King Penguin Percival becomes too selfish and is booted out of his penguin colony. It's a story that demonstrates the importance of apologizing when you've done wrong. Young school-age children will enjoy learning about the many types of penguins and explore more abstract concepts, such as democracy. This is a fun Christmas book selection, since it's set in the snowy polar region.
Every month the Front Porch Book Club features two episodes on our selected book. The first episode is Linda and Nancy discussing the book from their perspective. The second episode invites the author or an expert to delve deeper into the book. Our book selections are eclectic: fiction, autobiography, history, memoir, investigative journalism, and classics. They are books that give us insights into how we may be more intentional, creative, and loving in our lives.
Ireland