Ordinary Time is a thoughtful and reflective essay collection by podcaster and bookstore owner, Annie B. Jones.

Ordinary Time: Lessons Learned by Staying Put by Annie B. Jones

Genre/Categories: Nonfiction, Essays, Reflections, Inspiration

***This post contains Amazon Affiliate Links

My Summary:

Thanks #NetGalley @HarperOneBooks for a complimentary eARC of #OrdinaryTime upon my request. All opinions are my own.

Podcast host and independent bookstore owner, Annie B. Jones reminds us in a series of thoughtful and reflective essays that we can have an extraordinary life by living fully in the ordinary.

My Thoughts:

Podcast Host and Bookstore Owner

I have been a long-time listener of the From the Front Porch podcast by Annie B. Jones. In fact, I listed it as one of my top five favorite bookish podcasts in this recent post. In this week’s episode of the podcast, Annie shares an audio excerpt from Ordinary Time.

Annie is also owner of The Bookshelf, an independent bookstore, in small town Thomasville, Georgia. I’ve enjoyed watching her grow her business, serve her community, and thrive during the Pandemic. She’s innovative, creative, thoughtful, kind, reflective, brave, and humorous. You’d want to be friends if you lived in her town. The Bookshelf provides efficient and personalized services to all online customers.

The Cover

Unless you’ve followed Annie, you might not know that the cover of her book is a graphic representation of her beloved bookstore.

Essays

The thoughtful, gentle, and reflective essays in Ordinary Time cover a variety of topics that are relatable to many readers. Annie Jones is authentic, thoughtful, transparent, and kind. You could easily read one essay a day (in order or randomly). The tone of the essays is conversational, and you will feel like you’re sitting across the table from a friend. Annie is similar to you and me, living her ordinary life in thoughtful and meaningful ways.

The author has put together a Spotify playlist to enhance your reading experience (one song per essay)

She has also developed book club discussion questions.

Affability

The book has many quotable passages and thoughtful gems. One of the fun gems I enjoyed thinking about is the virtue of affability.. “Simply put, the virtue of approachableness.” Or from the Modern Catholic Dictionary, affability ‘”partakes of justice in that a person adjusts to other people, giving each one the respect he or she deserves.” Annie exudes affability.

Content Consideration: miscarriage (you might be encouraged to know that she is now 7 months pregnant!)

Recommending Ordinary Time:

I enthusiastically recommend Ordinary Time for readers looking to add more reflective nonfiction to their TBRs. It would make a terrific book club selection because of the variety of essays and topics, or a thoughtful gift for Mother’s Day.

My Rating: 4 Stars

More Information Here

Meet the Author of Ordinary Time, Annie B. Jones

Annie B. Jones is a writer, podcaster, and the owner of The Bookshelf, an independent bookstore in beautiful downtown Thomasville, Georgia. Annie hosts From the Front Porch, a weekly podcast about books, small business, and life in the South, and her work has been featured in Southern Living magazine. A native of Tallahassee, Florida, she lives in Thomasville with her husband, Jordan, and their dog, Sam Malone, in a house filled with books and music and furniture your grandmother would probably love.

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QOTD:

Do you love reflective nonfiction?

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***Blog posts may contain affiliate links. This means that at no extra cost to you, I can earn a small percentage of your purchase price.

All books I review are purchased or borrowed from the library unless explicitly stated that the book is free (arc).

Amazon or an author’s (or publisher’s) website receives all credit for book covers and author photos.

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