The Currently Reading Podcast
Annotating Books + Not Rating Books We Read (Season 8, Episode 46)
22 Jun 2026
Transcript generated automatically by AI and may contain errors.
Chapter 1: What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
Hi readers, welcome to the Currently Reading Podcast.
Chapter 2: What are the bookish moments shared this week?
We are bookish best friends who spend time every week talking about the books that we've read recently. And as you already know, we do not shy away from having strong opinions. So get ready.
We are light on the chit chat, heavy on the book talk, and our descriptions will always be spoiler free. Today we'll discuss our current reads, a readerly deep dive, and a little something bookish before we go.
Chapter 3: What current reads are being discussed?
I'm Katie Cobb, a homeschooling mom of four living in Arizona, and I am excited to start annotating.
And I'm Mary Heim, a therapist and mom living in Wisconsin, and my library holds have me in a chokehold lately. This is episode 46 of season eight, and we are so glad you're here today.
So glad to be here. So glad to be back on mic with you, Mary. It's been quite some time since the two of us got to record together.
I know. I'm so excited, Katie.
I'm very excited also. Let's let everybody know right here at the top of the show that our deep dive today is about when we choose, for one reason or another, not to rate a book that we did finish. I'm excited to get into that. But first, we'll get started the way we always do with our bookish moments. It's been a while, Mary. What do you got for us?
I know, so many bookish moments, like compiled, waiting to be used. But I had to do the one, of course, most current, most recent to today. And for that reason, my bookish moment this week is a little anticipatory, Katie. So tonight, this, the day of our recording, I get to go meet our beloved editor, Megan Pudovong-Evans, and her sweet family for some dinner and some bookish fun.
Megan and her family took a summer road trip kind of up through the Midwest. And she is in my city for a few days. So tonight is the night that we are going to be gathering families and hanging out together. And my little one is really excited to meet her little ones. And I think the feeling is mutual. I am just so excited to get to be together in person and just hang out.
Katie, you and I a couple of summers ago, is that two years ago now?
Yes, two years ago.
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Chapter 4: What is the significance of annotating books?
We're meeting at a bookstore here in Phoenix. That's not my bookish moment. But it's like, it's those people that you've been around and you've talked to for so long about books. And then it gets to become this real life thing, which is very fun.
Yes. Yeah. Oh, I love that. Well, I hope you two have a blast. And now I'm really excited to hear what your actual bookish moment is this week.
Yes, my actual bookish moment. After a month's long hiatus, which I will say is probably mostly my fault, I finally got together with some local bookish friends. My in real life close... Close to me, location-wise, bookish besties. I've got Jen and Jen, Carrie and Lizzie, and we all like to meet up together.
A few weeks ago, I talked on the podcast about somebody in the bookish friends group starting a traveling book club situation. And how I had gone directly to my girls to see if they wanted to do it.
Chapter 5: What are the pros and cons of rating books?
So yesterday we met up for tacos and started our own traveling book club. We all brought a few books because we weren't sure, you know, is this something somebody's already read or they already have a copy of it? So we all had a couple that we were able to choose from, narrowed it down. So we've started with our five, went home with our own books to read them for the first time and annotate them.
And that is key to the way that we are making this situation work for us. Nobody has read any of the five books yet. You read your own and annotate it and write in the front your name with the pen you used so that it's easy to tell whose annotations are whose. And then we're going to pass them along. We already set our August date. So we're doing every two months. We'll pass them along.
And then at the very end, you end up with the book that you bought that you took into the traveling book club. So highly rated, lots of variety. I'm very excited.
I am so excited to hear. Did you share? Was it social media or where did I see? Did you share your stack of books?
Yes. One of the bookish friends, Jen Brown, she shared the stack and I reshared her story. And it's a very cool photo, weirdly. So I'll probably have to send it to Lee Ellen for her to put up a second time when this episode airs. But yeah, it was I mean, it was like tacos and books. We talked for two and a half hours. It's just the greatest Sunday.
I have done a traveling book club way in the past of history in kind of the era in which you and Meredith and I met in that kind of version of the internet book world. And I have not done it since. And it was so much fun. I love the idea of annotating in the book. I think when I did it, we passed around a journal.
And I think I would have much rather, I'm not a huge annotator, but I would love to have like the souvenir of this book with all of my friends' thoughts in it. I am so excited for your report back when this is all done.
Yeah, I mean, it's going to take a while.
What it was like for you. In a year. I can't wait to hear.
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