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...
Mar 18, 2024•1 hr 15 min
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 conten...
Mar 11, 2024•1 hr 13 min
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...
Mar 04, 2024•1 hr 11 min
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 episo...
Feb 26, 2024•1 hr 13 min
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/sub...
Feb 20, 2024•1 hr 15 min
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 ...
Feb 12, 2024•1 hr
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...
Feb 06, 2024•56 min
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 clos...
Jan 29, 2024•1 hr 8 min
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 comp...
Jan 22, 2024•1 hr 7 min
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...
Jan 16, 2024•59 min
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...
Jan 08, 2024•1 hr 12 min
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 lov...
Jan 01, 2024•47 min
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
Dec 30, 2023•58 min
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...
Dec 30, 2023•1 hr 3 min
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 li...
Dec 23, 2023•1 hr 29 min
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 w...
Dec 18, 2023•1 hr 11 min
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 othe...
Dec 11, 2023•1 hr 3 min
What’s your favorite book from the 1920s? There are certainly plenty to choose from. Maybe it’s a book by Fitzgerald or by Hemingway or even Cather? Maybe it’s a classic mystery or an essential children’s title? Well 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! Close Reads is a community-supported endeavo...
Dec 04, 2023•1 hr 6 min
We’ve come to the end of another book which means it’s time to dig into to some of your questions. So click that play button and join us as we discuss the final paragraphs of the book, whether it all ends on a hopeful note, the importance of the memorabilia itself, the mysterious Rachel character, and more! As always, happy listening! Up next: A very special one-off episode which will air 12/4. On 12/11 we will discuss part one of China Achebe’s Things Fall Apart . This is a public episode. If y...
Nov 28, 2023•1 hr 7 min
As we come to the end of the fascinating book, we’re discussing the change in the authorial voice, the various enigmatic figures of part three, and whether this is a novel which ends in notes of hope or notes of despair. So hit that play button and join us as we discuss the final section of Walter J. Miller’s novel! 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...
Nov 20, 2023•1 hr 10 min
We’re deep into Walter J. Miller’s classic dystopian novel, so welcome to our discussion of this middle section, one in which characters believe they’re on the verge of a “renaissance” and are coming out of a dark age. Conversation touches on the thematic uses of light and the function of the monks as a conscience as well as memory. 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/subscr...
Nov 14, 2023•1 hr
This section of Walter M. Miller’s novel spans two sections, so in this week’s episode we discussed the tightrope walk that is abandoning one now-beloved character in the middle of a book and asking readers to grasp onto a completely new set of characters. Plus: How to think about the time jumps, the differences between the protagonists we are given, and the many subtleties of this work. Happy listening! This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access...
Nov 07, 2023•50 min
Once more into the breach of a new book! We haven’t done many science fiction titles on the show (Lewis’ Ransom Trilogy notwithstanding and that certainly not post-apocalyptic sci-fi), so this week we discuss how it was conceived, why it’s readable (and even pleasurable) despite it’s dark circumstances, and why the ideas in this book matter. 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.c...
Oct 30, 2023•53 min
Thanks to the nature of the questions submitted, this particular Q&A episode ended up taking the form of a romp through the genre. So if you like mysteries, this one’s for you. 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
Oct 25, 2023•1 hr
As we come to the end of our brief series on Edmund Crispin’s mystery novel, it’s time to discuss the puzzle (as it were). Does it work? How does it stack up? And then once that's out of the way, David, Heidi, and Sean dig into what really works in this book, whether it has anything serious to say, why there are so many Alexander Pope references, and much more! Happy listening! This episode is brought to you by our friends at Ekstasis magazine which helps a generation of Christians admire beauty...
Oct 16, 2023•56 min
Edmund Crispin’s The Moving Toyshop is one of David’s favorites, so this conversation touches on why that is, what makes Crispin’s mysteries different, what makes a good mystery novel in general—plus there’s plenty of conversation on some of the funniest lines in the books. Happy listening! This episode is brought to you by our friends at Ekstasis magazine which helps a generation of Christians admire beauty and tune their spiritual and aesthetic affections. Check them out at ekstasismagazine.co...
Oct 10, 2023•57 min
As is our custom here at Close Reads, we’re here to answer your questions. So in this episode, David, Heidi, and Tim discuss questions about hope in Ivan Denisovich ; the value of work in the story; the book’s structure; and much, much more. Happy listening! This episode is brought to you by our friends at Ekstasis magazine which helps a generation of Christians admire beauty and tune their spiritual and aesthetic affections. Check them out at ekstasismagazine.com! This is a public episode. If y...
Oct 03, 2023•1 hr 1 min
Our 2024 book list is here! We have chosen twelve books to discuss next year, all of which we’re very excited about. We included a few beloved novels for readers of all ages, a couple of contemporary novels which offer much to discuss, some lesser known classics from the last century, books which explore deep theological questions, and—well, yes—our beloved P.G. Wodehouse. 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'“ b...
Sep 29, 2023•1 hr 11 min
What is the purpose of Alyosha? Is Shukov a hero? Is there a specific moral vision at the core of this story? What is the nature of symbolism in the narrative? Join David, Heidi, and Tim as they dig into these (and other) questions about Alexksandr Solzhenitsyn’s important novel. 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 25, 2023•1 hr
Join David, Heidi, and Tim as they dig into Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn’s classic prison novel—one of the most influential books of the last century. This week we chat about the context of the book, the way Solzhenitsyn manages to create stakes even though the reader knows the ending, the way everyday things become beautiful, and much more. 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/subsc...
Sep 19, 2023•53 min
