About Live from the Book Shop: John Updike's Ghost
Hannah Harlow and Sam Pfeifle, siblings and co-owners of the Book Shop of Beverly Farms, read four books every two weeks and tell you what they think! And we rate every single book with a sound effect. See which books get an explosion (this book is the bomb!) and which get a whoopie cushion (we would never!). Have a book you want our thoughts on? Hit us up at info@bookshopofbeverlyfarms.com.
This week, Hannah and Sam are doing just a little bit of self-promotion. You'll have to forgive us. Because we really do believe Six Stories a Semester's first issue is incredible, and full of really strong stories, and we'd be remiss if we didn't use this podcast to tell you about it. But we've still got three other great books to talk about, including the newest from madcap-adventure-writer Kate Atkinson (Sam's references are apparently outdated), the newest Reese pick, and a children's classic that Sam has for some reason never read before. But now he has. Also, we've got a little treatise on why you should never write for free. This fortnight, we read:
"Our Noble Selves," by Kate Atkinson
"The Phantom Tollbooth," by Norman Juster
"Sophie, Standing There," by Meg Mason
"Six Stories a Semester," by Steve Almond, Celeste Amidon, Emily Franklin, Mia Huerta, Eliana Ketcham, and Jason Rice
What sound effects did we give each of these books? You'll just have to listen and find out!
24 Sept 2026
EP24: How Many Grisly Deaths?
This week, Hannah and Sam have read four books mostly at random, as if to make up for all the best-sellers we've been trotting out lately. We've got one book out of the dump pile, another from the library, and a couple of advance-reader copies that are pretty dang niche. Things we discovered: Hannah is not into grisly death! Sam is not riveted by quilting-based storylines. Sam likes cats! Hannah likes a book that feels like a dance. We needed to move around a little bit. We're proud of ourselves. This fortnight, we read:
"That Old Ace in the Hole," by Annie Proulx
"Only Good Indians," by Stephen Graham Jones
"Abandoning a Cat," by Haruki Murakami
"The Four Wives and Five Deaths or Richard Milford," by Nafissa Thompson-Spires
What sound effects did we give each of these books? You'll just have to listen and find out!
10 Sept 2026
EP23: Growing up and Going to Space
This week, Hannah and Sam are reading books for all sorts of reasons, whether because of recommendations or because they were available in the dump box. A book narrated by a dog? We'll let you know if Paul Yoon pulls it off. Another coming-of-age story? You know R. F. Kuang likes a challenge and, well, she's an absolute genius. At least she didn't come of age in the country-club Massachusetts that Lily King relates. Even Sam wasn't ripping smokes at 11 years old. And you know you want to hear what Hannah thinks about Taylor Jenkins Reid's latest. This fortnight, we read:
"Etna," by Paul Yoon
"Father of the Rain," by Lily King
"Atmosphere," by Taylor Jenkins Reid
"Taipei Story," by R. F. Kuang
What sound effects did we give each of these books? You'll just have to listen and find out!
Reach and audience
Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.
Apple Podcasts (US)
5.0 / 5
19 ratings
Spotify
4.6 / 5
9 ratings
Podcast Authority Score: 60 / 100
A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.
Quality
93
Social presence
0
YouTube
0
Engagement
71
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