Close Reads Podcast

Is Steinbeck an American Dickens? Does this book have a villain/antagonist? What role do each of the tertiary characters play? And does Steinbeck take his particular use of symbolism too far? These are the sort of questions we’re discussing on this week’s show! Thanks for joining the conversation and happy listening! This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit closereads.substack.com/subscribe

It’s time to really discuss it: Do Steinbeck’s interstitial, alternating chapters work? We dig in—with differences of opinion. Plus we discuss the dramatic chapter 13, think about when Steinbeck’s use of symbolism works best, and chat about the 2026 Close Reads literary bracket (with a little help from an unusual friend). Happy listening! This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit closereads.substack.com/subscribe

Welcome to the beginning of a new series as we dive into John Steinbeck’s classic novel. In this episode we discuss Steinbeck’s unique use of alternating chapters, his desire to make a political statement, the intensity of his prose, which characters we are supposed to sympathize with, and turtles. Happy listening! This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit closereads.substack.com/subscribe

Welcome to the conclusion of our series on Niall William’s novel, as we do our best to answer your questions! This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit closereads.substack.com/subscribe

Welcome back to our ongoing series on Niall Williams’ novel! This we discuss whether the novel has a “happy” ending, its final verdict on what happiness is, Williams’ subtle use of symbolism, Noe’s vocation, and much more. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit closereads.substack.com/subscribe

Welcome back to our ongoing series on Niall Williams’ novel, This Is Happiness. This week we discuss some audience comments, the book’s examination of the relationship between poetics and rhetoric, the difference between nostalgia and sentimentality, look at the way Noe and Christy are merging as the story goes on, and much more. Happy listening! This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit closereads.substack.com/subscribe

Welcome back to our ongoing series on Niall Williams’ lovely novel. This week we discuss what this book has to say about happiness, the themes of hope and cynicism, Christy the romantic, coming of age, and our favorite passages in these chapters. Hope you enjoy and thanks for listening!To learn about The Tapestry, the new curriculum from the CiRCE Institute click here! It’s available to pre-order now. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit closereads.substack.com/subscribe

Welcome to the start of a new series! Over the next several weeks we’ll be digging into Irish writer, Niall Williams pastoral novel, This Is Happiness. This week we’re discussing the proverbial nature of the narrator, the memory novel framing of the story, the way the place comes alive throughout the book, and much, much more. As always, happy listening! To learn about The Tapestry, the new curriculum from the CiRCE Institute click here! It’s available to pre-order now. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit closereads.substack.com/subscribe

As always, we conclude our series on Edith Wharton’s classic novel by answering your questions. There were a lot of good ones and we did our best to answer as many as we could. Sometimes, of course, you just have to look at it. Happy listening! To learn about The Tapestry, the new curriculum from the CiRCE Institute click here! It’s available to pre-order now. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit closereads.substack.com/subscribe

Welcome back to our series on Edith Wharton’s very complex (and wonderful) novel. This week, in discussing the ending, we find ourselves at, well, a loss for words. Nevertheless, we persist. We attempt to reckon with the complicated nature of May’s character, Newland’s fatalism and paralyzed life of the mind, the question of whether he’s a tragic character, how we may or may not re-think the countess in light of the ending, and much more! As always, happy listening!To learn about The Tapestry curriculum from the CiRCE Institute click here! This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit closereads.substack.com/subscribe

Welcome back to our ongoing series about The Age of Innocence! This week we’re discussing when a thought becomes a sin in this book, whether there’s enough substance in Newland for a woman like Ellen to fall in love with him, Newland’s obsession with fate (even if he has manufacture some), Ellen as representative of European culture for Newland, and much, much more. Happy listening! This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit closereads.substack.com/subscribe

Welcome back to our series on Edith Wharton’s excellent novel. This week we talk about the way the two main female characters have emerged, how we respond to Newland’s dilemma, the moral conditions of the novel’s world, and much more. Happy listening! To learn about The Tapestry curriculum from the CiRCE Institute click here! This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit closereads.substack.com/subscribe

Welcome to our first series of the new year, as we jump into Edith Wharton’s novel of the Gilded Age, The Age of Innocence. This we discuss the way Wharton uses Newland Archer’s unique point-of-view, the nature of the Countess’ role in the story (and in Newland’s life), the book’s contemplation of the changing society, and much much more. As always, happy listening! This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit closereads.substack.com/subscribe