Close Reads Podcast HQ

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 episo...

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 Victo...

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, v...

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 ge...

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 endea...

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 su...

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...

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 endea...

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 featurin...

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...

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...

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 othe...

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 discu...

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 lis...

Did you know Mark Twain wrote a ghost story? If not, it probably won’t surprise you to learn that it’s not, well, a normal ghost story. So this Halloween enjoy this bonus episode in which we dig into what makes it memorable, and which we’re making free for all! (If you enjoy it, please consider subscribing to CRHQ, which would give you access to other bonus content like this.) Happy listening! Thi...

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...

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

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 bro...

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 ad...

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 spirit...

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 ho...

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...

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 disc...

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 episo...