Goldberry Studios

Close Reads Podcast HQ

Close Reads is a book club podcast for the incurable reader. closereads.substack.com

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Goldberry Studios

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Podcast website

closereads.substack.com

Latest episode

Jul 9, 2026

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Episodes

#56: Brideshead Revisited Chapter 6 20.06.2017

On this episode of Close Reads, Angelina, Tim, David, and a special guest continue their discussion of Evelyn Waugh's classic novel,  Brideshead Revisited,  focusing on chapter 6.  Topics include: The greatest sentence of the 20th century What's wrong with Sebastian Whether Sebastian's family is being fair More on the aesthetic theology of the book and much, much more... This episode is brought to...

#54: Brideshead Revisited Chapter 5 08.06.2017

On this episode of Close Reads, Angelina, Tim, and David continue their discussion of Evelyn Waugh's classic novel,  Brideshead Revisited,  focusing on chapter 5.  Topics include: Charles' father Sebastian's malaise The fate of young men during the era Religion at Brideshead More on the aesthetic theology of the book and more... This episode is brought to you by our friends at the Institute for Ex...

#53: Brideshead Revisited, Chapters 3-4 01.06.2017

On this episode of Close Reads, Angelina, Tim, and David continue their discussion of Evelyn Waugh's classic novel, Brideshead Revisited,  focusing on chapters 3-4.  Topics include: Tim's upcoming vacation A comparison of Charles family and Sebastian's family Sebastian's faith and Charles lack thereof Sebastian and Charles' youth and what it means The aesthetic theology of the book Aesthetics as a...

#53: Brideshead Revisited Chapters 1-2 23.05.2017

On this episode of Close Reads, Angelina, Tim, and David kick off their discussion of Evelyn Waugh's classic novel,  Brideshead Revisited, focusing on the prologue and chapters one and two.   Topics include: First experiences with Waugh Waugh's nostalgia The prologue The book's various juxtapositions The sacred and the profane The book's spiritual hauntings 3 key decaying institutions and more......

#52: Narnia Nostalgia 16.05.2017

On this episode of Close Reads, Angelina, Tim, and David discuss C.S. Lewis's classic, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, and it's victory in our Great Books Bracket this spring.  Topics include: Why the Narnia stories have maintained their reputation for so long The differences in reading it for the first time as a child as opposed to as an adult Which Narnia book should be read first Lewis's...

#51: O'Connor Q&A 10.05.2017

On this episode of Close Reads, Angelina, Tim, and David conclude their conversation on Flannery O'Connor's collection of stories, Everything That Rises Must Converge , by answering listener questions.  Topics include: How O'Connor's contemporaries viewed her work Angelina and Tim's Amazon-style reviews of O'Connor Anagogical/allegorical reading O'Connor's appeal to non-Christians Rapid-fire quest...

#50: Judgement Day 02.05.2017

On this episode of Close Reads, Angelina, Tim, and David continue their conversation on Flannery O'Connor's collection of stories,  Everything That Rises Must Converge ,  with "Judgement Day". Topics include: The next book we'll be reading on Close Reads The complicated nature of this story It's serious flaws Comparing The Geranium with Judgement Day Is it confusing on purpose or because of bad wr...

#49: Parker's Back 25.04.2017

On this episode of Close Reads, Angelina, Tim, and David continue their conversation on Flannery O'Connor's collection of stories,  Everything That Rises Must Converge ,  with "Parker's Back". Topics include: The differences between "Parkers' Back" and her other work The theatrical nature of the story Parker's awe The deeper meaning of the characters' actions Reading Sarah Ruth Parker's image (and...

#48: "Revelation" 17.04.2017

On this episode of Close Reads, Angelina, Tim, and David continue their conversation on Flannery O'Connor's collection of stories,  Everything That Rises Must Converge ,  with "Revelation." Topics include: Whether this is a good story to use to introduce stuents to O'Connor The racism of characters in the story Mrs. Turpin's gradual openness Mrs. Turpin's Christ-haunted-ness Seeing ourselves in Mr...

#47: The Lame Shall Enter First 10.04.2017

On this episode of Close Reads, Angelina, Tim, and David continue their conversation on Flannery O'Connor's collection of stories,  Everything That Rises Must Converge ,  with "The Lame Shall Enter First." Topics include: whether this story is less grotesque, the clinical-ness of the prose, psychology vs spiritual in the story, whether Shepherd repents, O'Connor vs the enlightenment, Norton as She...

#46: The Comforts of Home 03.04.2017

On this episode of Close Reads, Angelina, Tim, and David continue their conversation on Flannery O'Connor's collection of stories,  Everything That Rises Must Converge ,  with "The Comforts of Home." Topics include: the theatrical nature of O'Connor's work, this story vs. the others in this collection, whether the mother is right to take an interest in Sarah, common critical readings that emphasiz...

#45: The Enduring Chill 29.03.2017

On this episode of Close Reads, Angelina, Tim, and David continue their conversation on Flannery O'Connor's collection of stories,  Everything That Rises Must Converge ,  with "The Enduring Chill."  Topics include: O'Connor's sense of humor, the autobiographical nature of the story, the meaning of the names, where Asbury's illness came from, the work of the Holy Spirit in the story, and much more....

#44: Ralph Wood Talks O'Connor 24.03.2017

On this episode of Close Reads, David chats with Dr. Ralph Wood, author of  Flannery O'Connor and the  Christ-Haunted  South , about Flannery O'Connor's reputation for grimness.  Topics include: When Dr. Wood heard O'Connor give a reading live in 1962, O'Connor's sense of humor, the scandalousness of the gospel in O'Connor's canon, Julian's mother in  Everything That Rises Must Converge ,  A View...

#43: A View of the Woods 20.03.2017

On this episode of Close Reads, Angelina, Tim, and David continue their conversation on Flannery O'Connor's collection of stories,  Everything That Rises Must Converge ,  with "A View of the Woods."  Topics include: Whether Mary actually exists, Mary as mirror of her grandfather, O'Connor's mysterious use of pronouns, the battle between Fortune and Pitts, the story's comments on modernism, and the...

#42: Greenleaf 13.03.2017

On this episode of Close Reads, Angelina, Tim, and David continue their conversation on Flannery O'Connor's collection of stories,  Everything That Rises Must Converge ,  with "Greenleaf."  Topics include: The romance of the bull, the bull as Christ-figure, O'Connor's commentary on Southern Christianity, sympathy for the Greenleafs, class differences in the story, Mrs. May's irreligion, Mrs. May's...

#41: Everything That Rises Must Converge 06.03.2017

On this episode of Close Reads, Angelina, Tim, and David begin their conversation on Flannery O'Connor's collection of stories, Everything That Rises Must Converge , beginning with the titular story.  Topics include: The 2017 Close Reads literature bracket, first experiences with O'Connor (18:10), O'Connor's "metaphysical realism" (26:40), story summary (37:11), the real racist in the story (41:50...

#40: Murder Must Advertise Q&A 27.02.2017

On this episode of Close Reads, Angelina, Tim, and David answer listener questions about Dorothy Sayers' classic mystery novel,  Murder Must Advertise , one of the Lord Peter Wimsey stories.  Topics include: More on how to say "Sayers", Wimsey vs Darcy (12:20), Miss Meteyard as representative of Sayers (19:25), Current states of mystery stories (21:55), Says on good Christian art (38:55), Wimsey's...

#39: Murder Must Advertise, chapters 17-21 20.02.2017

On this episode of Close Reads, Angelina, Tim, and David conclude their ongoing discussion of Dorothy Sayers' classic mystery novel,  Murder Must Advertise , one of the Lord Peter Wimsey stories.  Topics include: Who else the murderer could have been (6:45), whether Justice was served in the end (14:00), whether Wimsey was actually a good detective in this book (36:30), Tallboy's possible redempti...

#38: Murder Must Advertise, Chapters 13-16 13.02.2017

On this episode of Close Reads, Angelina, Tim, and David continue their ongoing discussion of Dorothy Sayers' classic mystery novel,  Murder Must Advertise , one of the Lord Peter Wimsey stories.  Topics include: Comparisons between this book, Netflix's The Crown , and BBC's Downton Abbey;  class issues between characters; the lack of appeal in the evil in the book; the slow burn tensions; and how...

#37: Murder Must Advertise, Chapters 9-12 06.02.2017

On this episode of Close Reads, Angelina, Tim, and David continue their ongoing discussion of Dorothy Sayers' classic mystery novel,  Murder Must Advertise , one of the Lord Peter Wimsey stories.  Topics include: Why Tim isn't overly excited about this book, what about it people most like, the modernism of the prose, the various jumping perspectives, and the theme of phantasms.  See acast.com/priv...

#36: Murder Must Advertise, Chapters 5-8 30.01.2017

On this episode of Close Reads, Angelina, Tim, and David continue their ongoing discussion of Dorothy Sayers' classic mystery novel,  Murder Must Advertise , one of the Lord Peter Wimsey stories.  Topics include: How to say "Death Bredon," how Sayers ups the stakes and tension in these chapters, the role of young Ginger Joe, Lord Peter as Bertie Wooster, and similarities with  Brave New World . Se...

#35: Murder Must Advertise, Chapters 1-4 23.01.2017

On this episode of Close Reads, Angelina, Tim, and David continue their ongoing discussion of Dorothy Sayer's classic mystery novel,  Murder Must Advertise , one of the Lord Peter Wimsey stories.  Topics include: the anxiety and cultural malaise of post-WWI Europe, the liturgy of the mystery story, why Angelina loves Lord Peter Wimsey more than Mr. Darcy, Sayers/Wodehouse comparisons, the in-media...

Close Reads #34: Introducing Murder Must Advertise 16.01.2017

On this episode of Close Reads, Angelina, Tim, and David kick off their ongoing discussion of Dorothy Sayer's classic mystery novel, Murder Must Advertise, one of the Lord Peter Wimsey stories.  Topics include: The value of mystery stories as literature, Lord Peter vs Sherlock Holmes, Dorothy Sayers biography, and Sayers' rules of mystery writing.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out inf...

Close Reads #33: Recapping a Year in Reading 02.01.2017

On this episode of Close Reads, Tim, Angelina, and David discuss some of the books that excited them most in 2016.  Titles include a difficult Great Book, a fantastical novel about a runaway slave, and several books of culture criticism.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus...

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