Done > Perfect: Embrace Your Partial Solutions

Favorite Drink guest Faith Moore is back! In this chat she shares with Tsh two more books that have shaped her life, along with two formative places—one from childhood and one from more recent… as a New Yorker who also spent her childhood in London, she’s got no shortage of magical options.* Faith’s new novel, Wooing Jane* Faith’s podcast, Storytime for Grownups* Malory Towers, by Enid Blyton* The Madwoman Upstairs, by Catherine Lowell* Wolf Hall, by Hilary Mantel* Henry VIII disappearing wives mug* Ep. 194, the previous Drink episode with Faith* The Commonplace, Tsh’s newsletter on Substack* Summer 2027: Join Tsh in Italy! Get full access to The Commonplace at thecommon.place/subscribe

“A biography, but for things” was just one of several delightful turns of phrase offered by Tsh’s guest in this chat, Leah Libresco Sargeant, a writer, speaker, and all-around lovely human. Like all guests, she shares two books and two places that have shaped her.* The Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler, by E.L. Konigsburg* Inventing Temperature, by Hasok Chang* Leah Libresco Sargeant’s website* Other Feminisms, Leah’s newsletter on Substack* The Commonplace, Tsh’s newsletter on Substack* Summer 2027: Join Tsh in Italy! Get full access to The Commonplace at thecommon.place/subscribe

Ordinary places often mean the most to us as children, unbeknownst to the adults around them. Tsh has the pleasure of talking once more to one of the most repeated guest requests: her daughter, Tatum! In this one, Tate shares a childhood book she recently re-read, as well as a non-fiction class assignment that blew her socks off. She also shares why a home they only lived in for a few years meant so much to her, plus a world-renowned historic site that has a place in her new family’s history.* The Phantom Tollbooth, by Norman Juster* The Case for Jesus, by Brant Pitre* The Commonplace | Tsh’s newsletter on Substack* Summer 2027: Join Tsh in Italy! (and maybe Tate…) Get full access to The Commonplace at thecommon.place/subscribe

Why are kids drawn to stories about orphans? Has childhood always been the way it is now? Writer and historian Dixie Dillon Lane talks to Tsh about two books + two places that have shaped her.* The Hollow | Dixie Dillon Lane on Substack* Dixie’s book, Skipping School: A History of American Homeschooling and How It Went Mainstream* Hearth & Field magazine* The Commonplace | Tsh’s newsletter on Substack* Summer 2027: Join Tsh in Italy! Get full access to The Commonplace at thecommon.place/subscribe

When you can’t do the ideal, but you can still do something, what’s the good-enough version? That’s the partial solution. Sounds simple, but it’s really hard to enact.This episode embodies a partial solution because it’s a departure from the usual episodes. But done > perfect, every time.* The Commonplace | Tsh’s newsletter on Substack* On Making Friends & Partial Solutions* Ira Glass’ The Gap* Summer 2027: Join me in Italy! Get full access to The Commonplace at thecommon.place/subscribe

And live for a few of you! It’s been awhile, but I’m dusting off the podcast feed and returning to a new season of Drink. I’m back to asking friends about two books—one from their childhood, one recent—that’s shaped them in some way, but I’m also asking them about something else: what about places? What’s one place from childhood and one more recent that’s formed them, even in a small way, into who they are today?In this inaugural “dusting off” episode, I’m answering my own questions—and also explaining a bit of where I’ve been (I promise, it’s not that interesting).* The Commonplace | Tsh’s newsletter on Substack* Ep. 192: Childhood Mythology & the Greatest Medieval Epic* The Westing Game, by Ellen Raskin* Emma M. Lion, by Beth Brower (vols. 1-8 so far)* Summer 2027: Join me in Italy! Get full access to The Commonplace at thecommon.place/subscribe

For the final episode of this season, Tsh chats with Abigail Favale, a fellow author and all-around great gal. She shares her childhood book—one Tsh has never heard of—and one she’s read as an adult that’s been on Tsh’s TBR list for absolute ever.* Abigail Favale’s new novel, Our Lady of the Sign* Abigail on Substack * The Farthest Away Mountain, by Lynne Reid Banks | Amazon* Kristin Lavransdatter, by Sigrid Undset | Amazon | Bookshop* Tsh Oxenreider’s newsletter, books, course, and trips Get full access to The Commonplace at thecommon.place/subscribe

Annelise Roberts is a wife and mom of six kids whom she homeschools while raising animals on their homestead in North Carolina. She shares with Tsh a beloved childhood book (that’s very fitting for her life right now), as well as one of the most mind-blowing works of fiction from C.S. Lewis.* Annelise Roberts’ newsletter, Writing While Washing* Little Men, by Louisa May Alcott | Amazon | Bookshop* Till We Have Faces, by C.S. Lewis | Amazon | Bookshop* Tsh Oxenreider’s newsletter, books, course, and trips Get full access to The Commonplace at thecommon.place/subscribe

Shawn Smucker co-owns an independent bookshop in his town with his wife, and is also a long-time author of several books. He shares with Tsh a classic, perennial favorite childhood book, as well as one of his go-tos from adulthood.* Shawn Smucker’s newsletter, The Courage to Live It* His bookshop, Nooks* The Lion, the Witch, & The Wardrobe, by C.S. Lewis* A Prayer for Owen Meany, by John Irving* Tsh Oxenreider’s newsletter, books, course, and trips Get full access to The Commonplace at thecommon.place/subscribe

Autumn Kern is a mom of four who releases bookish videos in a space called, delightfully enough, The Commonplace, and also hosts Common House, a space for homeschooling moms to get their bearings in the classical Charlotte Mason world. She shares with Tsh a favorite childhood book (one of Tsh’s favorites, too, though not from her own childhood) and a recent one from her adulthood (it’s one Tsh has never heard of).* Autumn Kern’s video channel, The Commonplace* Autumn’s mom encouragement space, Common House* Harry Potter & The Prisoner of Azkaban, by J.K. Rowling* The Lost Princess + The Wise Woman: A Parable, by George MacDonald* Tsh Oxenreider’s newsletter, books, course, and trips Get full access to The Commonplace at thecommon.place/subscribe