You have questions—we try to answer them. So join David, Heidi, and Tim as they discuss such things as the degree to which Basil deserves blame in Dorian’s fall, whether Wilde wants us to sympathize with his protagonist, whether Lord Henry is a good “villain,” 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...
Sep 12, 2023•1 hr 16 min
Normally, we would be dropping a new subscriber-exclusive episode today, but since Monday was Labor Day we took the day off which means the newest episode on That Hideous Strength will come next week. Instead, we’re sharing a special treat: Heidi’s talk from the recent Close Reads on the Road event we hosted in August. So whether you were there and get to hear it again or you’re checking it out for the first time, happy listening! This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with othe...
Sep 08, 2023•44 min
The final pages of The Picture of Dorian Gray are pretty wild, packed full of famous scenes and images, so join David, Heidi, and Tim as they discuss the demise of several characters, the question of conscience in the end of the story, and what the prologue can tell us about the conclusion. As always, happy listening! Close Reads HQ is a community-supported publication. Be sure to subscribe to gain access to bonus content while also making sure these episode continue getting produced! This is a ...
Sep 05, 2023•1 hr 13 min
It’s time for more Oscar Wilde talk. This week, the conversation explains how this section made Tim a fan of the book, digs into Dorian’s psychological complexity, and explores the role external and internal factors played in Dorian’s decline. Happy listening! This episode is made possible by our friends at CLT. You can check out what they’re up to at cltexam.com/closereads . Close Reads HQ is a community-supported publication. Please consider subscribing so we can keep on making the shows you l...
Aug 28, 2023•58 min
Join David, Heidi, and Tim as they discuss the introduction of Sibyl Vane and her family, Dorian’s infatuation and un-infatuation with her, and the picture’s emerging frowny face. (To list just a few topics of conversation). This episode is made possible by our friends at CLT. You can check out what they’re up to at cltexam.com/closereads . If you would like to learn more about any of CiRCE’s Atrium courses, including Heidi’s on Shakespeare, please click here. This is a public episode. If you'd ...
Aug 21, 2023•49 min
Tim’s back, friends—and it’s time for a new book! So join us as we dig into Oscar Wilde’s infamous novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray . Discussion this week focuses on questions of biographical criticism with a book like this, the role that the character of Lord Henry plays in the structure of the novel, what the book does well and where its shortcomings might be, and much more! Happy listening! Close Reads is a community-supported publication and we need your support to keep on producing the con...
Aug 14, 2023•59 min
We’re mixing things up this week! Join David, Heidi, and Sean as they draft the great cinematic adaptations ever made. And be sure to let us know who picked the best roster of films. Happy listening (watching)! 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
Aug 08, 2023•1 hr
It’s time to answer listener questions about Everything Sad Is Untrue and we have the great honor of doing that alongside the man himself, Daniel Nayeri. So press play and listen as we chat about Daniel’s mom, the way the story evolved, his journey in writing it, deckled edges from the author’s perspectives, and much more! Happy listening! Close Reads is a community-supported publication and we need your support to keep on producing the content you love. Please consider subscribing to Close Read...
Jul 31, 2023•1 hr 15 min
And so we come to the end. Join David, Heidi, and Sean as they dig into Daniel Nayeri’s novel as a whole (but especially the final passages, of course), the way book pays homage to the narrator’s mother, the complexity of his father’s visit, and much more. Happy listening! Close Reads is a community-supported publication and we need your support to keep on producing the content you love. Please consider subscribing to Close Reads HQ to ensure the future and to received some great bonus content, ...
Jul 25, 2023•58 min
This section of Daniel Nayeri’s novel included a lot of . . . well . . . poop. So on this week’s episode David, Heidi, and Sean discuss how Nayeri manages to make that topic funny and sad and profound all at once. Plus: the book’s great respect for the narrator’s mother. As always, happy listening! Close Reads HQ is a community-supported endeavor. 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 bo...
Jul 18, 2023•47 min
Daniel Nayeri’s Everything Sad is Untrue may be listed as a middle grade novel by its publisher, but it’s unlike almost any other novel in the category. So in this episode David, Heidi, and Sean discuss its unique stylistic approach and the way it conceives of stories as essential to culture, with a foray into some discussion about memory novels. Happy listening! Close Reads HQ is a community-supported endeavor. Please consider becoming a free or paid subscriber to ensure that we can keep on pro...
Jul 11, 2023•1 hr 6 min
Here we are at the end of our conversation on Hawthorne’s novel, which means it’s time to answer your questions. As always, you sent in lots of great ones and we did our best to answer as many as we could. Thanks for participating in the conversation—and thanks to Karen coming on the show these last six weeks! Be sure to check out her forthcoming book, which you can find here. Close Reads HQ is a community-supported endeavor. To receive bonus content please consider becoming a paid subscriber. T...
Jul 03, 2023•1 hr 4 min
In this episode, Sean and Heidi join David and get their say about the legacy of Cormac McCarthy—and what makes his work sublime. 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
Jun 22, 2023•51 min
The great Cormac McCarthy died last week, leaving behind a canon of brilliant, challenging novels that will be long-remembered. So this week we’re sharing two episode remembering the man, discussing his work, and sharing what he means to us. In this first episode, David and Tim sit down to make a Mount Rushmore of McCarthy’s work and to discuss how his work will be remembered. Close Reads is a community-supported publication. To receive new posts and support our work, please consider becoming a ...
Jun 21, 2023•52 min
And so we come to the end of another novel! Join David, Heidi, and Karen as they dig into the ending of Hawthorne’s novel, with special attention paid to Pearl’s role. Plus: how does the genre play into the end of the book, what do we do with Dimmsdale’s demise, and how does Hawthorne want us to respond to their plot to escape? 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...
Jun 20, 2023•1 hr 4 min
Heidi is in Greece this week (!), but David Kern and Karen Swallow Prior are back to continue this series on The Scarlet Letter . Topics of conversation include the way Hawthorne uses the setting to triangulate the characters, Hawthorne’s vision of the Good, Hester’s defense (as it were) of her affair with Dimmsdale, Hawthorne’s slippery tier of virtues, and comparing Hawthorne with Jane Austen. Happy listening! This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or ge...
Jun 14, 2023•49 min
Does this book offer an alternative vision to the spiritual corruption that it criticizes? How would it be different if Hawthorne was lest on-the-nose with his metaphors and character names? Join David, Heidi, and Karen as they explore these (and other) questions from Nathaniel Hawthorne’s novel. Happy listening! Close Reads is a community-supported endeavor. Please consider becoming a free or paid subscriber to ensure ongoing production. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this w...
Jun 05, 2023•50 min
Join David, Heidi, and special guest, Karen Swallow Prior, for a conversation about this very famous and much-taught novel. Conversation touches on why this book has such a significant role in American English classrooms; Chillingsworth’s, well, chilling role; little Pearl’s emergence as a meaningful character; and much more. As always: happy listening! Close Reads HQ is a community-supported endeavor. If you like it, please consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. ...
May 29, 2023•1 hr 7 min
It’s become an annual tradition to invite the one-and-only Karen Swallow Prior on the show to discuss a classic novel, and this time around it’s Nathaniel Hawthorne’s, The Scarlet Letter. In this first episode of the series, we chatted about that difficult opening section, “The Customs House”; why Karen chose to include this book in her series of annotated classic novels for B&H Publishing (alongside Austen, Hardy, Conrad, Bronte, etc.); ways Hawthorne seems to be working out his connection ...
May 22, 2023•1 hr 3 min
You have questions, we’ve got thoughts! So click that play button and dig into this conversation on The Optimist’s Daughter ! Please note: next week we will be off, but after that we will begin conversations on The Scarlet Letter with very special guest Karen Swallow Prior! 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...
May 09, 2023•1 hr 13 min
What’s up with the birds? Is Fay even more despicable than we initially considered? Is the ending hopeful? Join David, Heidi, and Sean as they discuss these—and many other—questions on this week’s discussion of Eudora Welty’s The Optimist’s Daughter . Happy listening! Close Reads HQ is a community-supported endeavor. If you value what we do here, 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 bon...
May 02, 2023•1 hr
Welcome to a new series of episodes on a new book! This week David, Heidi, and Sean are digging into Eudora Welty’s Pulitzer Prize winner, discussing such topics as the book’s similarities to Jane Austen’s work, whether Faye is purely an antagonist, the very Southern sense of humor in the story, and much more! Happy listening! Close Reads HQ is a community-supported endeavor. Please consider becoming a free or paid subscriber! This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other su...
Apr 24, 2023•1 hr 1 min
Join Heidi and Sean as they answer your questions about Georges Bernanos’ novel! Thanks so much for participating in the conversation and happy listening! Up next, we’ll be discussing Eudora Welty’s The Optimist’s Daughter , starting with parts 1 and 2. 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...
Apr 18, 2023•1 hr 5 min
This week Sean & Heidi discuss the priest’s last days, his four final encounters, the purpose of the diary, and the mingling of grace and suffering that pervades the novel. JOIN US FOR “CLOSE READS ON THE ROAD” IN AUGUST, IN ATLANTA! 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...
Apr 10, 2023•1 hr 6 min
David’s sick, so this week Heidi and Sean discuss letting go of worldly attachments, the value of the priest’s weakness, his first spiritual successes, and his changing relationship with the diary. Close Reads is a community-supported endeavor. Please consider supporting our work by 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...
Apr 04, 2023•1 hr 7 min
Join David, Heidi, and Sean as they discuss insomnia, despair, the spiritual dark night of the soul, and much, much more found in Bernanos’ deeply contemplative novel. Close Reads is a community-supported endeavor. Please consider becoming a free or paid subscriber thereby ensuring the continued production of episodes like this one. 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...
Mar 27, 2023•1 hr 10 min
We’re on to Georges Bernanos’ contemplative novel, The Diary of a Country Priest , and in this episode David, Heidi, and Sean discuss the fascinating narrative approach Bernanos employs, what themes seem to matter most, the notion of contemplation in the book, and how to approach a book in which very little happens (on the surface). Future schedule: Episode 2 (March 27): Chapters 3-4Episode 3 (April 3): Chapters 5-6Episode 4 (April 10): To the endEpisode 5 (April 17): Q&A Click here to check...
Mar 21, 2023•45 min
Join David and Tim as they welcome back special guest Jessie Turpin to read a scene from the play and answer your questions. Conversation touches on topics like Shaw’s extreme stage directions, the didacticism of the play, and much more. Happy listening! Close Reads is a community-supported endeavor. Please consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. When you do, you get access to bonus content while also supporting our work! This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other su...
Mar 14, 2023•1 hr
Join David, Tim, and Sean as they discuss the 2023 Close Reads Bracket: Awesome Adaptations. They predict winners, make their own picks, and discuss the bracket-making process. 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
Mar 10, 2023•58 min
We’ve been circling this one for a long time. It’s finally time to discuss George Bernard Shaw’s famous play, Pygmalion. In this episode we discussed the originally source material (briefly), Shaw’s thematic interests, the complex dilemma he’s setting up for himself, Higgins as a character, and so much more. Plus, with the help of special guest, we present a “table-read” of a key scene. Happy listening! Close Reads HQ is a reader-supported endeavor. Please consider becoming a free or paid subscr...
Mar 06, 2023•1 hr 13 min
