Not long after receiving my bachelors degree from Martin University, I found myself entertaining the idea of law school. I'd discovered a relatively small dual program - JD/MPA - on the west coast and thought to myself "Maybe now's the time to move."

I was born and raised in Indianapolis, the city where I continue to live now in my 50s having decided for a variety of reasons to stay put.

I'm always intrigued by the idea of staying, though I will admit my trauma background also constantly reminds me there are reasons, incredibly valid and necessary reasons, for also learning when and how to leave.

Annie B. Jones's "Ordinary Time: Lessons Learned While Stay Put" will most resonate with those who are familiar with her "From the Front Porch" podcast. Appropriately so, there is an actual ordinariness to the book that is pleasing and comfortable and affirming of the quieter side of life. Indeed, a key element of the book is the idea that it's not the loud lives that matter the most and we don't always have to leave the lives we have in order to live the lives of our dreams.

There are references in "Ordinary Time" to the movie "You've Got Mail," references that give you a good idea of what to expect here. Jones always assumed her life would be louder - a high-powered career living in a big city with lots of adventures. She is still successful, of course. It's not that she's saying her dreams don't matter - it's just that she's redefined those dreams into what is more substance than spectacle. She's stayed in her small town. She continues to own a small independent bookstore. She's been married to the same man she met when she was 18. While friends have left, employees have moved on, and the world around her has changed, it would seem as if Jones has learned to love and embrace the life she's living.

"Ordinary Time" is the second book I've read in 2024 on this central theme of staying when the world around you leaves. I give the slight nod to "Ordinary Time," mostly owing to the fact that I think Jones has a better sense of what she's trying to accomplish with the book.

I don't believe, really, that "Ordinary Time" is really about staying as much as it's about embracing a quieter life. In reality, Jones was in the bigger city - it just wasn't her. So, she moved back to the smaller town - that's not, at least in my opinion, so much a devotion to staying as it is realizing and embracing you prefer the quieter life.

I also can't say that I embrace the idea that her staying with her first meaningful relationship is an essay on staying. While the world does seem to embrace the idea of changing relationships like we change our clothes, it would seem that Jones has simply chosen well a compatible figure whose life path is compatible in the most ordinary of ways.

Truthfully, there was never really a time in "Ordinary Time" when I sensed Jones feeling a real call to leave. So, "staying" doesn't really seem to be the push here. However, "ordinary" is entirely different. You can feel Jones struggling with those inner "shoulds" and "wants" and cultural expectations around living a louder life. You can feel her heart calling her into a quieter life, though I do chuckle somewhat at how actually writing a book about it fits into it all.

But, I get it and it comes to life beautifully here as Jones lets go of the idea of chasing the mega-life in favor of embracing one's own messy, mundane life.

Truthfully, I've never regretted staying in Indianapolis despite the relationship I was in when I made the decision having long ago ended. My life is not perfect, yet my life is ordinary and wonderful and peaceful and, well, mine.

As a paraplegic/double amputee with spina bifida, I left the safety of disability for the privilege of working. The majority of my work life has involved two employment situations - one of 10 years (that ended when the business closed) and one of 17 years where I continue to work and will likely retire. In between, I had a couple short-term jobs after layoffs. However, there's no question I prefer staying.

I do wish there'd been a slight nod here for those situations where leaving is important - as Jones herself even notes leaving behind the somewhat toxic church of her childhood in favor of a healthier, more personally satisfying church in her adult years. There are reasons to leave - toxic faith, abusive relationships, unhealthy work situations - however, they're really not mentioned here.

Again, however, I think that's largely because Jones is less focused on "staying" and more on this idea of embracing the ordinary.

It's likely not surprising that I enjoyed "Ordinary Time," though I suppose I enjoyed it in a more ordinary way that is quiet, peaceful, and left me feeling better than when I started it. As I've gotten older with my disability, I've learned that my heart, mind, and body are all happier when I tone down the ambition and embrace being present in my life.

It's worth noting that Jones writes with an approach that is somewhat faith inspired (rather than actually being faith-based) and seems to lean a bit into a more progressive faith that may conflict with that "front porch" image some have of her. Unburdened by that image, I enjoyed getting to know Annie Jones and she writes in such a way that she makes you want to join her for a cup of tea on that front porch.

“Good stories are anywhere you are. Your ordinary life matters, and the place you’re living it matters, too.” - Annie B. Jones in ORDINARY TIME

I have never wanted to hug an essay collection so much! After feeling like I know Annie B. Jones through listening to her podcast From the Front Porch for the last five years, reading her first book is leveling up on how much I feel like I have in common with her.

Growing up Catholic, “ordinary time” to me has meant those non-holiday times - that post-Easter to Thanksgiving trudge of not having anything extraordinary to look forward to in the liturgical calendar. So I loved that Annie chose that title for this essay collection because that is precisely when so much of our life happens. It’s not in the flashy holidays. It’s the day after day stick-to-it-ness that shows what all of us are made of.

Annie shares her perspective on staying in one place even when others are choosing to spread their wings and going to big cities. There are so many thoughtful reflections that made me tear up: when people she loves leave, faith and changing churches and even religions, running a business and being a boss, what her given name means to her, family with a lovely essay devoted to her little brother, books, marriage, children. And pools and puppies.

My heart was filled by this collection.

ORDINARY TIME publishes April 22, 2025.

See my review at http://michelleardillo.com/2024/11/06/book-review-ordinary-time-lessons-learned-while-staying-put-by-annie-b-jones/

Thanks to NetGalley and HarperOne for this advance readers copy, in exchange for an honest review. I am a new listener to Annie’s From the Front Porch podcast and I was so excited to get to read this book early! This is Annie’s ode to what it means to stay, when it feels like so many people and so much of the world is constantly in flight and on the way to somewhere else. And it was just beautiful.

It’s so easy to get caught up in the thinking that because you are from a small town, don’t move to a big city, are content in an “ordinary life”, that you are less than or unworthy of certain things or maybe don’t matter as much, as Annie related and as I can certainly empathize with. But, like Annie says here, you very much do matter and it often can take just as much strength to stay as to leave. There were so many chapters in this book that resonated with me and that I think will resonate with others, this would be a perfect book to gift and to return to for its sentiments, when you need what feels like a comforting hug.

The process of deciding what you want or what is best for yourself, in a world that praises constant change and betterment, can be very difficult and reading about Annie’s journey is both a comfort and a reminder that it’s okay to not have it all figured out. Annie describes her experience mostly staying, occasionally leaving, and sometimes shifting her beliefs around religion and church, her idea of home, and what she wants from life— in these trying times, it was like a balm to hear from someone else who’s still figuring it out and asking questions that sometimes don’t have a clear answer. The hard work of staying through it and learning to live in your skin when staying is what you want, when an ordinary life is what you want, is validated through Annie’s book— it’s a true gift.

This collection is very honest, vulnerable, emotional, funny, and all around wonderful. I can’t wait for other readers to get their hands on this, I would most certainly recommend!

If this book came out before Christmas, so many people I know would be getting it as a gift. Like Annie B. Jones, I am a person who stayed, even though I didn’t mean to. I live in the same county I grew up in, 30 minutes from my mom’s house. The landscapes here are known to me even as stores and neighborhoods are built over what used to be farms. I love it here. But I’d be lying if I didn’t say there’s a teeny part of me that wonders what if…

Jones’s essays about being a person, a woman, a reader, a friend, and so many other identities resonated deeply with me. Our lives are so different and yet there were so many times when I was reading and I thought, yes, me too.

I am so glad this book is going into the world and can’t wait until I can share it.

I need a "cozy" read in my life, and this is absolutely what this is. Going into this read, I wasn't familiar with the author - her bookstore, her podcast, her social media, etc. - so this was my first introduction. And now I want to connect with all of those things! This book is truly about the ordinary, but with that, it's about understanding the importance of that part of life. It's about finding the joy, the beauty, the whatever you need in the people, places, and experiences of life. I love the relatability and framing of the reflections, and it was just a wonderful read all around. Thanks to NetGalley for the early look at this April 2025 release - It's one I plan on revisiting.

"Your ordinary life matters, and the place you're living it matters, too."

Do I know Annie B Jones? No. Do I feel like I know her because she shares her heart and soul with her bookstore, podcast and book recommendations? Absolutely. Annie feels like a kindred spirit who knows what it’s like to be decidedly uncool as a teenager, and what it’s like to be an awkward adult.

When talking about getting married young and and entering adulthood with her husband she said, "We've always been a little elderly on the inside, so maybe we were more mature than our twenty-two years suggested." I can relate to this because I joke about being 'old' on the inside. I think it is a blessing from growing up close to and spending so much time with both sets of my grandparents. Annie recognizes the value of ordinary things having the ability to be the biggest blessings in our lives.

Sometimes it's easy to feel left behind or that you aren't moving forward when your friends and peers are building their lives in big cities or at big jobs. I have found the most happiness in my adult life enjoying the things that brought me comfort in my childhood...books, familiar TV shows, time with family and friends, and food. This is the "good stuff".

I really enjoyed reading this. It felt like reading letters from a close friend who knows what it's like to feel discontent. And who knows how to move through the discontentment by celebrating your every day life, family and friends.

"The solution to an age of disenchantment? Be enchanted. Share about it." Simply put, I was enchanted by this book and I hope others are too.

Thanks to NetGalley for a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

My gosh, this is the book I didn't know I needed! Ever since the pandemic, I wish to stay home and enjoy being home more than ever. I'm not bored or longing for city life and extravagant things anymore. Ordinary Time is a well-structured book that explores everyday life and contentment with it. I loved it. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

I feel like the blurb, and categories for this for this book was misleading. It is much more about religion then I expected. From the blurb I thought I’d love it, but actually it wasn’t at all for me.

If I am honest, this book kinda shocked me.
It was very revealing about Annie’s faith, thoughts, and personal life.
1. Unless it was a typo, she definitely called God a “she”.
2. She doesn’t believe the Bible to be literal.
3. This was a problem for me.
I am saddened for her that she was raised in a doctrine of belief that put baptism and the Lord’s table into their salvation. "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast"
I don’t feel Annie is sure about her salvation and that also just made me feel sad. She requires a spiritual director and a counselor to help guide her through her life.

She was raised in a family that you can tell was full of life. She was raised on Little Women and Anne and Babysitter’s Club and American Girl. Like me! There were a few fun bubbly chapters on book clubs and books and her brother. I wanted to read and know… I just came away feeling differently than I thought I would.

Thank you to NetGalley for the chance to read this book.

Ordinary Time by Annie B. Jones ⭐⭐⭐⭐ 1/2

HarperOne
Pub Date: 4-22-25

Thank you @netgalley, @harperonebooks, and @anniebjones05 for this eARC.

What an enjoyable collection of essays around the themes of friendship, family, faith, fun, community, books, leadership, love, play, staying, and more - including Ringo!

This is a quick read that hooked me from the start. I found myself highlighting so much that spoke to me. Just a few include:

📚 I think it was my friend Ruth Ann who mentioned the concept of a board of directors. The Bookshelf doesn’t have a literal board of directors, but she encouraged me to think about who would be on my metaphorical one. “If they’re not on your board of directors,” she said, “they don’t get a vote. They don’t get a voice.” This changed my life.

📚 I wanted Ringo Starr to define my vibe. I wanted to show up on time, mind my own business, and take things as they come.

📚 Throughout that entire year, I found myself faced with one problem or conundrum after another, and every time, I’d whisper or mutter to myself, “Be Ringo.” It became my mantra, my touchstone, my reminder to take a deep breath, to stay calm, to go with the flow.

📚 Books fill me up. Quiet fills me up. My home fills me up.

📚 The solution to an age of disenchantment? Be enchanted. Share about it.

This is a book I will purchase for my own bookshelf and will revisit again and again.

#ordinarytime #anniebjones #harperonebooks #netgalley

I was looking for a fix for a I Miss You When I Blink craving. It is very cozy and I had a lot in common with the author. It didn't reach the level of universality that Blink got to for me, but I'm glad I chose it for fall reading.

This was honestly such a good read, and very timely too. I'm definitely a person who learned - somewhat the hard way, I might add - that constantly moving & shaking, regardless of whether it meant fostering or maintaining interpersonal relationships or not (even on an "acquaintance" level), doesn't always translate to happiness, productivity, or personal fulfillment. To be completely transparent: I've always forced myself to keep moving forward, no matter the cost, because I simply..... didn't want (or know how) to be alone with myself and with my thoughts. I didn't know how to express them properly. I figured that, if I was always busy, I wouldn't have the time to be upset (when, really, maybe... I was just scared to connect with others). I've never listened to Jones' podcast before reading this book, but now I most certainly want to. I think this was an amazing and vulnerable set of essays, and I hope it truly does find its rightful audience once it comes out next year!

Ah, I needed this book about finding purpose and adventure even when staying in your same small town. Travel and big cities and moving away are so very glamorized, and yet many of us stay in our hometowns. What a wonderful affirmation of that choice.

This book of essays is REMARKABLE. As someone who left and is now "staying" unexpectedly, each and every essay hit home. I've not thought about affability so much and this book really caused me to reflect on the impact of acquaintances. I had an opportunity to try my hand at small talk after reading "Book Club" and the essay helped to reframe my thoughts about the interaction and the importance of acquaintances. The author's experience with the church - so personal and yet relatable. The acknowledgements at the end were especially lovely too.

This is a special book.

I truly hope this book finds its audience. Calling on the marketing gods, publishers, independent bookstores - do your thing! Big thanks to NetGalley for an early copy.

If you like From the Front Porch you’ll love Annie B. Jones’s new novel. It’s about staying out when others may not be and being content in your life.

"Ordinary Time" is an enjoyable collection of essays having to do with subjects such as everyday life, small towns, and faith. Annie B. Jones' tone is friendly and and her writing is easy to read. I do enjoy books about the lives of real people in real time, living what some might consider to be ordinary lives. There is nothing ordinary about Jones' writing. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC. Pub Date: Apr 22, 2025. #OrdinaryTime

Thank you, Annie, for sharing so much of yourself in this gorgeous book. I am so grateful to have received a DRC from the publisher through NetGalley. This touched my heart in so, so many ways and I can’t wait to have a physical copy when it releases so that I can read it again and make notes. The writing is superb, I love the essay format so much. What you have shared is raw, and real and so honest. You are a beautiful storyteller and I imagine this is only the beginning of your writing career. I love your podcast and hope to visit your bookstore someday! You have created magic in the Indie Bookstore space and following your journey has been a delight!

I really enjoyed this book and Annie's writing. I liked her small town perspective and her love of books. She is very honest and open and shows how life isn't always what we expect it to be. But that sometimes we are given what we need.
I liked reading about her struggles and how she overcomes them.
A lovely read for book clubs.

Thanks NetGalley for this ARC

I enjoyed the author's writing and her take on life, and especially her parts about her faith. I found some of the essays to be repetitive.