Close Reads Podcast

Welcome to a new series here on Close Reads, in which we’re digging into Emily St. John Mandel’s award-winning, best-selling contemporary novel, Station Eleven, a book which became eerily prescient during peak Covid days. Topics of conversation on this first episode include: * the experience of reading a book which fictionalized events which almost seemed to actually have happened (sort of) . . .* why this novel was so popular (including during Covid lockdowns)* the parallels between the events of the play within the book and the events of the book itself* and much moreHappy listening! Close Reads Podcast HQ is a community-supported endeavor. If you like what you hear, please consider becoming a free or paid subscriber to ensure we can keep making the content you enjoy. 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 is our custom here on Close Reads, we’re concluding this series on Francois Mauriac’s Vipers’ Tangle by answering some of your questions. We talk about Mauriac’s bibliography and biography, conversion stories in literature, Louis’ evolving heart, and much more! Thanks for tuning in 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

Now that we’ve read all of Mauriac’s Vipers’ Tangle, we can discuss the details. So in this episode, we dig into the degree to which we can trust the narrator as the novel goes on, the degree to which his children are malicious, and the degree to which he’s truly changed/saved in the end. And so 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

Flannery O’Connor’s fiction has been described as “gothic,” “violent,” “unsentimental,” even “grotesque.” Yet it is also often described as funny. How can both be true? Well in this episode the whole gang is back together to discuss that very question during a live recording that took place at our recent “Close Reads on the Road” event in Concord, NC. So join us as we explore O’Connor’s famous story, “Good Country People” and try to ascertain where the humor in her work comes from and why it matters. Happy listening!Close Reads Podcast HQ is a community-supported endeavor. If you like what you hear, please consider subscribing. 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 Close Reads. This week we’re discussing the way Vipers’ Tangle shift gears in this section and what it means for our understanding of the characters, the goals of the book, and our interaction with it. Plus: lots of conversation about Isa and marriage. Happy reading! 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 Close Reads! This week we discuss why Vipers’ Tangle isn’t better known, the degree to which the book wants to be sympathetic with the narrator, where we’re supposed to trust his perceptions, and some areas the book might fall short of being truly great (to David, anyway). 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

This week we kick off a new book with some conversation about Sean’s obsession with Graham Greene, why books about spiritual struggle are so compelling, whether this book has an unreliable narrator, and the difference between a novelist who is Catholic and a Catholic who is a novelist. 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

You had questions about Mrs. Palfrey at the Claremont—we have answers. Thanks so much for participating in this series of this episodes 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

The reading list for 2025 is officially official! After a lively nominating season and much debate (which you can hear in this episode), we have chosen nine books to discuss next year. We’re heavy on classics this year, by design—and we’re going to take our time as we read them. If you’d like to hear how these books came to be chosen (and the books that didn’t quite make the cut), click that “play'“ button to check our “Great Winnowing” conversation. Here’s to a great year of reading together! A few notes: * You can click here buy these books through Goldberry Books.* The complete schedule, with dates and number of weeks per book, will be relased later this year. We do not yet know the order in which we will read them (including which will be read first). * The first subscriber-exclusive book for 2025 will be The Betrothed, an Italian novel by Alessandro Manzoni. We will announce the second title soon. * The titles in our monthly series on mystery fiction will be announced in early October 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

As we come to the end of Elizabeth Taylor’s novel, it’s time to discuss the degree to which the ending is tragic (vs. merely melancholy). Plus: what do we make of Ludo’s storyline, Mr. Osmond’s role in the final chapters, and the moral framework of the story. 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 the Close Reads! This week we discuss whether Ludo is a decent guy, compare the real Desmond to the fake one, contemplate the creeping scourge of loneliness, and dig deep into a key chapter/scene. As always, happy reading! 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

We’re on to a new book here on Close Reads! So join us as we discuss the particular mix of melancholy and humor that Elizabeth Taylor manages to offer to readers, the subtleties of the book’s central relationships, the crisis of loneliness in the story, and why this is one of David’s favorite kinds of book. Also, Heidi makes predictions. Happy reading! 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

We’ve come to the end of another book and this time we are discussing the supernatural and spiritual implications of the final pages, the modern vision of hope the book seems to hew close to, Kayla’s role in the final scenes, and much more. Thanks for tuning in 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

“What’s with all of the vomit?”, Heidi asked, and thus we were off. But, dear listener, we talked about so much more than that. We discussed the degree to which this novel offers signs of hope (and where they show up), the purpose of the supernatural in the story, the collison of generations at the heart of the narrative, 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 Close Reads as we discuss justice, point-of-view, ghosts (and much more) in Jesmyn Ward’s Sing, Unburied, Sing! 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

Jesmyn Ward’s 2017 novel, Sing, Unburied, Sing, has quickly emerged as one of the most highly regarded books of our young century, so on this episode we dig into what makes it so interesting. Plus we discuss why it’s a fruitful double feature alongside To Kill a Mockingbird. As always, happy reading! 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

You’ve got questions about To Kill a Mockingbird, we’ve got conversation. Thanks to everyone who submitted questions 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

And so we’re at the end of another book. In this one, Boo Radley appears, Jem is a hero, Atticus faces a dilemma, and Scout begins to see things for herself. Join us as we dig in. Happy listening!Close Reads HQ is a community supported endeavor. To ensure we can keep making the content you value, please subscribe! 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

This section of To Kill a Mockingbird includes some of the most memorable scenes in all of American literature. Join us as we dig in! (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

During these chapters Harper Lee begins to shift gears, subtly expanding the thematic world of To Kill a Mockingbird, while also introducing us to both new characters and new plot. We discuss. Plus: more on Atticus, a reading of the church scene, and much more! Happy reading!Close Reads HQ is a community-supported endeavor. We need your suport to keep on making the content you value so please consider becoming a subscriber. 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 a new series of discussions on another beloved novel, this time on one of the best American novels ever written. In this episode, we talk about Harper Lee’s use of voice in telling the story (and why it’s somewhat similar to Jane Austen), the importance of the character of Jem, the Southerness of the book, and much more. Happy listening! Close Reads HQ is a community-supported endeavor and we need your help to ensure we can keep on making the content you enjoy. Please consider subscribing today! 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

What’s your favorite book from the 1860s? Something by Tolstoy or Dostoevsky? Dickens or Alcott? This week on Close Reads we’re drafting books from this very important decade in several categories—and you’ll get the final say on whose “roster” of titles is best. So click play and get ready to vote (poll coming soon). 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

Join us as we dig into the second half of Tove Jansson’s delightful novel, The Summer Book. We discussed whether this is a fundamentally feminine book, the fascinating (and moving) absence of the father throughout, the complex presentation of the grandmother as a character, Jansson’s masterful ending, and much, much more. Happy listening! Close Reads is as community-supported endeavor. To ensure we can keep making the content you value, please consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. 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

Summer is nearly here, so it’s the perfect time to dive into Tove Jansson’s cult classic, The Summer Book, a delightful but melancholy story about the relationship between a young girl and her grandmother and their life on an island. In this episode we chatted about Jansson’s attention to the details of island itself, the unique perspectives of the two main characters, the episode nature of the story and the unique humor in each, 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

As always, we’re concluding a series by answering you questions. And, while it may have taken two different recording sessions, we answered as many as we could. Thanks so much to everyone who sent in questions—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

We can finally talk about the whole book, which really means we can finally debate all the things we want to debate! So click play and listen in as we argue (sorta) about who can actually be trusted in this book and which theories are actually most . . . trustworthy. 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

Part three of Hernan Diaz’s novel is quite different than its two predecessors. On the one hand, it shifts the point-of-view away from the Bevel family and offers us a look at them through a regular person, a civilian, if you will. On the other hand, Diaz seems to complicate the book even more in making that choice. So in this episode, we debate what his goals are, whether our narrator in this section can be trusted, and how it deepens (but also clarifies) the mystery at the heart of the book. And we continue dancing around the big reveal to come (and 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

We’re back to discuss part two of Hernan Diaz’s award-winning novel. In this episode we chat about whether we can really know anything about its narrator (and how he might be related to the protagonist in part one), whether he’s a bad guy or just a small-soul, the metafiction of it all, and 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

The gang is all back for this new series on Hernan Diaz’s Pulitzer Prize winning novel, Trust! Join as we try not to spoil the rest of the book, discuss what makes Diaz’s approach so compelling, contemplate who part one is most sympathetic toward, 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

Once again, it’s time to answer your questions! So join us as we discuss Tolkien’s many choices, some differences between this book and the main trilogy, his various influences, teaching it, 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

Bilbo’s journey is over and he’s home, which means there’s plenty to talk about. So this week we’re discussing the role of luck in Tolkien’s stories, the book’s subtle moral vision, Bilbo’s transformation, Arkenbread, 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

Bilbo, Thorin, and co. are well on their way, but are they actually good at their jobs? We discuss. Plus: Beowulf, The Hobbit and the question of heroism. Happy listening! Close Reads is community-supported publication. To ensure that we can keep making the content you value, please consider becoming a subscriber. 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 a new series here on Close Reads! We’re talking Tolkien, we’re talking Hobbits, we’re talking rings and dwarves and wizards, and (this week anyway) we’re talking first lines. So join us as we dig into what makes The Hobbit both so fun and so brilliant, what is has to say about heroism, whether our riddle game is strong, and much more. Plus, at the end, we discuss the annual Close Reads literary bracket, which is on great opening lines in literature. Happy listening! Preorder LUMEN Volume One: www.goldberryarts.com 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

We’ve come to the end of the line discussing another book and that means it’s time to answer your questions! A lot of questions came in for this one, and we did our best to get to the bottom of as many as we could. Thanks so much to all who posted questions. Happy listening! Up next: The Hobbit, chapters 1-6 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

This week we begin with a brief “Posts for the Hosts” segment before diving into conversation about the final passages in Cormac McCarthy’s The Road. Topics include passages that are most moving to each of us, whether the final pages are truly hopeful, the archetypal nature of the story, the question of God in the book, and much more. Happy listening! Close Reads HQ is a community-supported endeavor. Please consider becoming a free or paid subscriber to ensure that we can keep making the content you value! 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

The gang’s all back to discuss Cormac McCarthy’s The Road. This week we contemplate the gruesome nature of some of the scenes and images in this section, the anagogical core of the book (with a nod to McCarthy’s original working title), the arrival of the mysterious stranger, and much more. As always, happy reading!Close Reads HQ is a community-supported endeavor. Please consider becoming a free or paid subscriber to ensure that we can keep making the content you value. Thanks! 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 new (and long-awaited) series on Cormac McCarthy’s post-apocalyptic novel, The Road. All four of us are here for this one and here in the first episode conversation explores what it is like to read (or re-read) this book as a parent, McCarthy’s unique approach to world-building and language, why people should read this book even if it’s hard, 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

And so we come to the end of our conversations on Anthony Trollope’s The Warden, focusing, as always, on your questions. Join us as we dig into Trollope’s thoughts on the nature of the novel, whether he was doing theological commentary or social commentary, whether the novel works on all four levels of interpretation (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 to our conversation on the concluding chapters of The Warden, in which the Close Reads team discusses whether this books ends in anti-climax, whether Trollope is actually poking more fun at Harding himself than it seems at first, the anti-Dickensian nature of the story, the book’s unique moral vision, and much more. Happy listening! Close Reads HQ is a community-supported publication. To ensure that we can keep making the content you value, please consider subscribing! 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

This week’s episode features a new occasional segment tentatively called “Letters to the Editors” (help us come up with something better!). So click play and tune in as we give the floor to a few listeners who disagree with us . . . and then let conversation flow, of course. 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

This week on the show, Sean is forced to confront some . . . questions . . . about The Warden presented by David and Heidi (and David suggest a narrative theory that is definitely worth taking seriously). Happy listening! Close Reads HQ is a community-supported endeavor. Please consider becoming a free or paid subscriber to ensure we can keep on making the content you value. 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 conversations on a new book, which is in a genre we seem to turn to at least once a year: a novel about (or from the perspective) of a clergyman. We’ve done books on Catholic priests, country ministers, Orthodox monks, and others. In Anthony Trollope’s The Warden, we encounter a warden that is connected to the Church of England and who is thus caught between two sides in a war of Victorian Social Justice. So join in as we kick off this series by discussing it’s representation of competing duties pitted against each other, what makes the warden a compelling protagonist, and Trollope’s approach. Happy listening! Close Reads HQ is a community-supported endeavor. Please consider becoming a subscriber to make sure we can keep producing the content you value. 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 Q&A time! This week David, Heidi, and Sean discuss the end of Wodehouse’s Summer Lightning, then dig into some listener questions. Topics of conversation include Shakespeare’s influence on Wodehouse, his “formula", and much more. Happy listening!Up next: The Warden, chapters 1-5 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 Wodehouse Wintertime here at Close Reads, where David, Heidi, and Sean are discussing Summer Lightning. And in this episode—after sharing some favorite passages—conversation gets into how to discuss and think about a writer like Wodehouse on a podcast that takes reading seriously. 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 Wodehouse season here at Close Reads! Kick off 2024 by joining David, Heidi, and Sean for a deep dive into the world of Blandings Castle—of scorned lovers, scorned aunts, and scorned appetites; of best-laid plans and foiled plots; of butlers and bad actors and bumbling misanthropes. Live, laugh, love, or whatever. Happy reading and happy new year! Close Reads HQ is a community-supported endeavor. Please consider becoming a free or paid subscriber so we can keep on making the content you love. 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

In our final episode of 2023 David, Heidi, and Tim attempt to answer your questions about Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart. Happy listening—and Happy New Year! 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

Billy Wilder’s The Apartment is one of the great holiday movies, one of the great romantic comedies, and one of the great screenplays, so here at the end of the year we offer up our favorite film to watch between Christmas and New Years. We’re making this one available to all, so we hope you enjoy—listening-wise. Happy new year! 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

Our annual holiday tradition is back! Join us we share our respective top five favorite reading experiences of the year. Some of them are new books, some are classics read with a fresh perspective (or for the first time), but all of them are the kind of books we are excited to discuss and share. And we hope this episode adds to your Christmas cheer during this delightful (but busy) weekend. Merry Christmas from all of us at Close Reads!Close Reads HQ is a community-supported endeavor. If you like what we’re up to, please consider becoming a subscriber. 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 we come to the end of China Achebe’s novel, we’re discussing whether it ends in a satisfying fashion, contemplating the POV shift in the final chapter, and thinking about the complex role of both the Church and the civil authorities that infiltrate the villages as the story comes to an end. Next week: We share our favorites reading experiences of 2023!Close Reads is a community-supported endeavor. If you like what we’re up to and find it valuable in some way, please consider subscribing so we can keep on making the content you enjoy. 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

Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart is one of the most influential and important examples of world literature in the twentieth century, so we’re very excited to dig in over the next few weeks. In this episode, we’re talking about Achebe’s lovely prose, his high wire act protagonist-wise, how books like this can open our eyes, and much, much more. Oh—and this is one of those special episodes featuring all four of us. 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