The Reader and the Writer

“And now that you don’t have to be perfect, you can be good.” —Lee to Abra Welcome back to East of Eden —the end! In this episode, Shari and Rhea discuss all the “timshel” moments that lead to the final blessing, for Cal, and for us all. They talk about the Great Conversation happening here at the end of the story with Alice in Wonderland , and Meditations . They discuss smallness, greatness, and...

It’s that time again! The Reader & the Writer’s annual Big Draw Episode! In this bonus episode, Rhea and Shari draw for and decide the books they will read in 2026. Prior to the episode, the ladies decided they wanted to read books from the following three genres: love story, gothic, science-fiction/magical realism . Beyond the books they drew on air, they preselected two authors from their 2025 b...

Welcome back to East of Eden, where “diplomacy by other means” is boiling over, abroad and at home. In this episode, Rhea and Shari discuss characters and characterizations, and why it seems the “innocent” characters are so much more flat than the conflicted, troubled characters. They circle back on greatness, and how it connects to timshel. They talk about freedom. And, they wonder whether it’s e...

Welcome to this Thanksgiving bonus episode of the Reader & the Writer! In this episode, Shari interviews author, Connie Hampton Connally. Connie has written two novels: The Songs We Hide , and Fire Music , both set in Hungary; and is currently at work on her third novel, set in Andean Peru. Connie holds a BA in English from University of Washington, and an MFA from Antioch University. Connie and S...

Welcome back to East of Eden. In this episode, Shari and Rhea discuss the extreme amount of grayness at this point in the narrative: Tom’s Gray One, Aron’s gray mind, and Kate’s gray room. They discuss “fake it ‘til you make it” versus perseverance for the sake of the other. Shari questions her earlier thoughts on Samuel Hamilton’s version of greatness, and and how Hamilton “greatness” expresses i...

Welcome back to East of Eden . In this episode, Shari and Rhea have a whole host of discussions: relationships, counterpoints, and how “thou mayest” factors into all of it. They talk about Lee as the new Samuel Hamilton, Lee as a friend, and Lee as the mother Cal and Aron never had. They talk about characters and their relationships to their own pasts and futures, and how considering this in our o...

The human mind cannot grasp the causes of events in their completeness but the desire to find those causes is implanted in the human soul. And the human mind, without considering the multiplicity and complexity of the conditions of any one of which taken separately may seem to be the cause, seizes the first approximation to the cause that seems to him intelligible and says: “This is the cause!” —L...

Welcome back to East of Eden. In this episode, Shari and Rhea begin at the heart of the story, which happens to also be the center. They talk about naming, symbols, timshel , and what it took to make Adam wake up after 11 years of fallowness. They talk about the Hamilton children: Tom wrestling with greatness, Una’s death, and Dessie’s love that destroyed her joy. They talk about the difference be...

You’re going to pass something down no matter what you do or if you do nothing. Even if you let yourself go fallow, the weeds will grow and the brambles. Something will grow.—Samuel Hamilton Welcome back to East of Eden! In this episode, Shari and Rhea discuss Cathy, Cathy, and more Cathy. They talk about the narrator’s questioning of whether or not she truly is a monster, or simply lacks a common...

The ways of sin are curious. I guess if a man had to shuck off everything he had, inside and out, he’d manage to hide a few little sins somewhere of his own discomfort.” —Samuel Hamilton Welcome back to East of Eden . In this episode, Rhea and Shari discuss the ways Steinbeck’s story “of everything” is unfolding: the juxtaposition between the Trasks and Hamiltons, the essays that open each new par...

Welcome to East of Eden , where life and death, good and evil, mothers and fathers, sons and daughters, and even the flora and fauna live at Biblical proportions. In this episode, Rhea and Shari look closely at the opening two chapters for what it is showing us as it unfolds. They discuss the powerful living presence of the land, the repetition of words and ideas, the motifs of the east, parenting...

Welcome to R&W’s final episode of The Feast ! In this episode, Shari and Rhea have LOTS to discuss: what the end of each of the seven deadly sins looks like, those who were almost saved but weren’t, those who were almost NOT saved but were, and the wine that did the saving. They talk about “nonsense” and “foolishness” of the Kingdom and its joy, Noah’s ark, Lady Gifford’s ridiculous Mary-Martha re...

Welcome back to the R&W year-long read, War and Peace , by Leo Tolstoy. In this episode, Rhea and Shari discuss in depth this “time between times” of the story. Using two different quotes from this month’s reading, they talk about all the story lines from this strange time of “life and death hanging in the balance,” and all the motivations that are—or are not—for the “good of the people.” Below ar...

Welcome back to The Feast ! Things are boiling over at Pendizack Manor Hotel, and Shari and Rhea are in for it. In this episode, they talk about the 7 evils spilling over in the host characters: the disgusting St. Merrick episode (termed by Shari as the Epstein Island escapade), soapstone insanity, envy’s constant pot-stirring, the super-righteous “symposium,” a mother ready to abandon her childre...

Welcome back to The Feast ! In this episode, Rhea and Shari have their own feast of a discussion, looking at all the ‘Love & Truth’ of Monday, and ‘Truth & Lies’ of Tuesday. They talk about the Cove girls’ other worldliness, the “man-of-war” love of Christina Paley, the surprise kindness of Henry Gifford, and the strange connections between Wuthering Heights and Bruce and Anna’s relationship. They...

Welcome to The Feast ! Shari and Rhea are so excited to dive deep into Margaret Kennedy’s allegorical novel about the seven deadly sins. In this episode, they go straight to the speculation: who represents each of the sins? Who’s alive? Who died? They had a lot of fun setting up this story and are fully ready to have to renounce their deeply held beliefs on all of it. Be sure to check out Rhea’s R...

Welcome to this final episode of Deacon King Kong . In this episode, Shari and Rhea discuss all the story’s thread and how they all end up “in God’s hands.” They talk about salvation stories, good and evil, who the true antagonist of the story is, and the beautiful community of Christ. Oh, and they argue about where the climax of the story is. R&W’s next deep read is The Feast , by Margaret Kenned...

Welcome back to our close read of Deacon King Kong. In in this episode, Shari and Rhea discuss the women at the center of this story and how they are the “still point” for each of their respective communities. They discuss motifs they see taking a center stage in this section: the water, Statue of Liberty, the “shining” harbor in the afternoon sun; and how these images continue to pop up and provi...

Welcome back to R&W’s 2025 year-long read, War and Peace . We know, it’s been a minute. After two months, Rhea and Shari were so glad to get back to this story. They focused their discussion on the “movements” of characters and events, and on “form v. substance.” They spend considerable time talking about Natasha’s movement from guilt to new freedom, Pierre’s movement toward war, Old Bolkonsky mov...

Welcome back to R&W’s deep read of Deacon King Kong by James McBride. In this episode, Rhea and Shari discuss all the ways the threads of the story are beginning to slowly weave together. They talk about McBride’s humor, his brilliance in bringing us into this community of The Cause House with kind hospitality, and allowing us to deal with hard realities through this hospitable way. They discuss S...

Welcome to an R&W new read! This week Rhea and Shari begin a four part discussion on Deacon King Kong by James McBride. In this episode, they introduce the wide and colorful cast of characters: Sportcoat, Hot Sausage, Deems, Jet, Bunch, Earl, and more. They wonder why some non-characters: like the community itself, the cheese, and the ants feel more like characters and less like places or things....

Welcome back to R&W’s three-part series on George MacDonald’s fantasy novel, Phantastes . In this episode Shari and Rhea discuss the ending of the book, the things they loved, and the things they didn’t. They discuss whether or not the continual semi-confusing dreamlike quality of the story was intentional on MacDonald’s part, or a storytelling hiccup. They talk about the motifs, the symbols, and...

Welcome back to R&W’s deep read of Phantastes by George MacDonald. In this episode, Shari and Rhea spend considerable time discussing the many symbols they are recognizing in the story, and wonder about what deeper reality these symbols might be pointing us toward. They discuss how much they loved Chapter 13—the story within the story. And Rhea asks Shari what she thinks about MacDonald’s claim th...

Welcome to a new deep read on The Reader & the Writer! This week Rhea and Shari kick off a three-week dive into George MacDonald’s fantasy novel, Phantastes . In this episode, they discuss George MacDonald’s background, his ideas about the imagination, and the intertwining nature of truth and beauty. They talk about the main character, Anodos, the episodic feel to the story so far, and the ways th...

Welcome to this special edition of The Reader & the Writer. In this episode, Shari interviews author, Cynthia Beach. Cynthia is the author of the novel, Surface of Water , published with IVP Press in 2024, She’s also written and published a wonderfully inspiring as well as practical craft book, Creative Juices for Writers . She has an MA in journalism from Wheaton College and an MFA in fiction wri...