I have several highlights from Ordinary Time and find it SO refreshing to read a book on *regular* life, the importance of *staying*, and how small things hold great weight. There were a couple chapters that didn't flow well, in my opinion, with the larger narrative. But it's a 4 star read!

Ordinary Time: Lessons Learned While Staying Put by Annie B Jones is a reminder that lives don't have to be big and loud in order to be fulfilling. Sometimes living a quiet life as a bookseller in a small town is enough. There were so many passages that I underlined because what Jones has to say is such a good reminder. She says, "The solution to an age of disenchantment? Be enchanted. Share about it. I used to think my face betrayed me, like it told secrets I wasn't ready to share. But now I don't want my awe to be tucked inside, away from the very people who might need it most. Awe begets awe, enchantment begets enchantment. In a world of cynicism, earnestness is crucial. I want to be the kind of person whose mouth sits open at a sunset, who notices a new rosebush planted in a neighbor's yard. I don't want to be known for my eye roll but for my awe. Life and its pleasures are so fleeting, so I want to love and lean into the wonders we often take for granted." What a lovely reminder. Highly recommend. Thanks to NetGalley for the free digital review copy. All opinions are my own.

Ordinary Time is a warm and inviting memoir-in-essays from Annie B. Jones—bookstore owner, podcast host, and steady presence on Bookstagram. If you enjoy Annie on From the Front Porch or follow her online, this book feels like a cozy extension of her voice: thoughtful, earnest, and often wise. It’s full of the same gentle reflections and small moments that have become her signature.

Annie is a talented writer, and what I appreciated most was how clearly she stayed in her lane. She writes about the things that matter to her—faith, family, small-town life, and the quiet routines of running a bookstore in the same part of Georgia where she grew up. Those aren’t my own life choices, but even as someone whose path looks quite different, I still found many of the essays resonated.

That said, the essays themselves do run a bit thin. They’re each quite short, and I found the book better suited to dipping in and reading one at a time rather than trying to read it straight through. A few pieces felt repetitive or like they could have gone just a layer deeper.

Overall, this is a lovely collection—maybe a touch too sweet for my taste at times, but full of heart. If you already enjoy Annie’s voice, you’ll find plenty to love here.

As a fellow indie bookstore owner, I have always admired Annie B. Jones. She is a bookstore owner, podcaster and definitely influencer in the book world. I listen to her podcasts all the time and they are not only fantastic, they also help me handsell books that she talks about that I haven't had a chance to read. I trust her recommendations.

That being said, I was excited when I heard that she was putting her own book into the world. Ordinary Time is full of essays about how to be content and live your best life staying in a small town when the world tells you to go big or go home. Her life turned out different from what she imagined when she was younger, but she is right where she is meant to be, having porch parties and knowing her neighbors. She reminds us that there is nothing wrong with choosing to love a quiet life. Life doesn't have to be loud to be good. She also recounts her faith journey from growing up the conservative South and how she came to work for a bookstore eventually owning it.

I found this book to be a gem., I recommend it all the time at my bookstore. Thank you to Netgalley for an advanced copy!

I've been following Annie for quite a while. I feel like she's living every book girlie's dream of owning her own bookstore in a quaint little town. But Annie has always done a good job of showing the not-so-idyllic aspects of her real-life Kathleen Kelly job. I feel like Ordinary Time does the same for her faith and relationships. She serves up essays with a dose of realism alongside her sweet optimism. For anyone who enjoys R. Eric Thomas or Mary Laura Philpott.

"Ordinary Time" is a sincere look at what it takes to stay, when it seems like everyone else in our lives is intent on going. Kids go away to college. Marriages fall apart. People don't stay at one job for decades anymore. We even walk away from the faith we were raised with.

But Annie B. Jones is one who chose to stay. She still lives near her parents. She never really moved away (other than college). She's been married to the man she met her first week at college. She's stay with the bookstore she owns, even when times were tough.

As she examines both what it takes to stay and how it feels to be left behind, we get a sweet look into what it means to be steadfast. Even as her friends all moved away, she stayed in their lives, even when it was much harder to do now than it had been when they lived nearby.

There are so many topics she touched on along the way: her faith, her childhood, her family, her priorities, her marriage, her business, etc. But the constant thread through all of them was what she learned about herself in the process of staying where she was and embracing the life she not only built, but that she was satisfied by.

As someone who has lived within a 25 mile radius of the same place for the past 55 years, there was so much that resonated with me about her experiences. So I found it an enjoyable book to read, especially as someone who loves and appreciates books too.

That said, I think a reader might get more out of this story if they knew the author or were a fan of her podcast. While her observations about staying were interesting, I didn't come away with any new ideas or real inspiration. So, while I enjoyed the story, it's not one that I think will stay with me or that I would read again. And I haven't been able to figure out what the title of the book has to do with its contents either...

Thank you to Annie B. Jones, HarperOne and NetGalley for an advance review copy.

In Ordinary Time: Thoughts on Family, Faith, and the Everyday Holy, Annie B. Jones delivers a beautifully written, quietly profound collection of essays that invites readers to find meaning in the rhythms of everyday life. With her signature warmth and insight Jones reflects on moments that are often overlooked: slow Sunday afternoons, quiet griefs, gentle joys, and the sacredness found in the ordinary.

What makes this book resonant is its honest and intimate voice. Jones doesn’t preach or pretend to have all the answers. Instead, she walks beside the reader, offering stories from her life—stories of loss, friendship, spiritual wrestling, and small but significant transformation. Her essays are both tender and wise, revealing how holiness isn’t reserved for holidays or mountaintop moments, but exists in laundry, texts from loved ones, and lingering conversations at the dinner table.

This book will especially speak to those who feel caught in a season of in-between or are craving a slower, more intentional life. It feels like a hug for the soul and a gentle reminder that ordinary doesn’t mean unimportant—it means human, shared, and deeply meaningful.

I really enjoyed this essay collection. Some essays were stronger than others (very typical for these types of books), but I felt that all of them worked well together. I especially loved the essay about sister/brother relationships. I'd def recommend picking this one up if you need a comforting book.

"These are the women who know the present-day version of me, and I am glad for them, I fought for them."
"Love what you love, and let other people see it, so they can love it, too."

I loved this book so much. Listening to Annie's thoughts really resonated with me in different parts of my life. I listened to the audiobook and was a little sad when it was over. What a beautiful read, I will definitely be purchasing a physical copy.

Being a fan of the podcast From the Front Porch, I couldn’t wait to read this collection of essays by Annie B Jones! The chapters offer a glimpse into her world, her background, and her outlook on life in general. The book felt light, but each chapter left me reflecting on my own experiences.

This book was the perfect read for this busy, and often overstimulating, season of life we’re in. It’s not a long book overall, and the easily digestible chapters are each basically an essay on a given topic.

To give you an idea of the topics at hand, they are broken up into the following sections: Staying Friends, Staying Put, Staying Faithful, Staying Grounded, and Staying You.

The author is a married Southerner who owns a bookstore. She has no kids, but does have a podcast, a pool, and a dog. She has struggled with seeing other friends leave, and she has struggled with the religion she grew up in. But she loves so much of the rest… her husband, her parents, her job. Even when it’s hard. And that’s what she’s trying to celebrate with this book… the day to day stuff that really makes up the bulk of our lives.

I highlighted a lot of quotes from this one, so it crushes me that I can’t quote an advanced reader copy. Of course, it probably helps that the author and I are close in age and both love books – I’m bound to “get” a lot of the pop culture references she uses, right? – but beyond that, the ideas of just loving your life wherever you’re at are bound to resonate with others, as well.

If you’re the kind of person who can enjoy a good sunset, or a good line in a book you’re reading… or if you’re actively striving to be more like that kind of person… this book is for you.

Annie B Jones is a gift. Her writing is beautiful, thoughtful and honest, and this quiet book about staying put would be absolutely perfect for so many different readers. I hope she keeps writing so that I can continue to read her wisdom and sell it to our customers.

Written by a beloved bookstore owner and podcaster, this is a lovely mediation on staying–staying in a place, a relationship, a faith, and more. This collection is earnest and refreshing, elevating the ordinary and mundane moments of life. Some essays resonated with me more than others, but this was an enjoyable read overall.

Annie Jones reflects on her decision to remain in her small town. She discusses running a bookstore, nurturing long-term relationships, and embracing a faith that has evolved with time. Her writing is warm, relatable, and often humorous. And she invites readers to find meaning in the everyday moments that define our lives.

Annie B Jones was already a gift to the bookish community in so many ways -- adding an actual book to her resume was just icing on the cake. Her voice is so strong and her writing feels like talking to an old friend. If I could be best friends with Annie, I'd move to Thomasville in a heartbeat. This book is emotional, funny, and feel so true to herself.

I absolutely loved Annie's book. I've been a long time follower of her and The Bookshelf and was so glad to hear more of her words. We are similar people and it's always fun to find a kindred spirit out in the wild.

A beautifully reflective book on the act of staying. I appreciated the tension Annie holds between wanting to leave but choosing to stay near her hometown. This is a book that I will return to over and over again.

I loved this so much. I think it gets better as it goes on, with the opening essays easily being the least strong in the collection. This book is signature Annie, if you're a podcast listener, but also has a level of depth and vulnerability you don't get there.

ORDINARY TIME by Annie B. Jones is subtitled "Lessons Learned While Staying Put." Reading this collection of story essays made me feel as though Annie Sue Butterworth Jones was a dear friend sharing her wise observations on life. Readers will learn that she is a talented writer and the owner of The Bookshelf, an independent bookstore in Thomasville, Georgia. One of my book group members also says she "meets with her weekly" since Jones hosts From the Front Porch, a regular podcast about books, small business, and life in the South. In ORDINARY TIME, she writes about family, her dreams, marriage, best friends and so much else (the only section which seems to be oversharing is about religion and her crisis of faith). She offers numerous self-reflective insights: "playing was silencing the perfectionist inside me" or "I am a finisher. But life requires a lot of opening. And I am not so good with the opening, the starting of something new." Jones herself describes ORDINARY TIME as "a collection of stories about a life rooted in place, the blooming of possibility that can happen there, but also the hardship, the loneliness, the longing for more." I especially liked her comments on childhood, "our childhood obsessions like basketball or The Baby-Sitters Club can save us. They can remind us of who we were before anything mattered, ... before everything felt heavy and hard. When life is overwhelming and challenging and our joy is stolen or hard to find, I think the things we once loved can bring us back, center us, make us whole."

**4.5 stars overall **

Her sections on books and reading are well worth re-reading and I wanted to note a couple of other quotes since those looking at this review are likely avid readers themselves:
"I wonder if this is why I love books. I can dip my toe into other lives without entirely changing my own." and
"I read books because, at their best, they make me better, more empathetic, more socially aware, more in tune to the stranger beside me. They help me imagine a better future, provide answers to my insatiable questions, take me to places I'll never get to go. I read books because they are an easy point of entry to relationship." and
"A love of books is the through line of my life, a hobby I can trace back to my earliest childhood memories and immediately weave through my middle school and high school selves ..."

As a long-time fan of Annie and From the Front Porch, I was thrilled to get an early copy of this book. Ordinary Time is perfect for the millennial reader who doesn’t quite know what life stage they’re in.