Close Reads Podcast

The reading list for 2025 is officially official! After a lively nominating season and much debate (which you can hear in this episode), we have chosen nine books to discuss next year. We’re heavy on classics this year, by design—and we’re going to take our time as we read them. 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...

As we come to the end of Elizabeth Taylor’s novel, it’s time to discuss the degree to which the ending is tragic (vs. merely melancholy). Plus: what do we make of Ludo’s storyline, Mr. Osmond’s role in the final chapters, and the moral framework of the story. Happy listening! This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit close...

Welcome back to the Close Reads! This week we discuss whether Ludo is a decent guy, compare the real Desmond to the fake one, contemplate the creeping scourge of loneliness, and dig deep into a key chapter/scene. As always, 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/subscribe

We’re on to a new book here on Close Reads! So join us as we discuss the particular mix of melancholy and humor that Elizabeth Taylor manages to offer to readers, the subtleties of the book’s central relationships, the crisis of loneliness in the story, and why this is one of David’s favorite kinds of book. Also, Heidi makes predictions. Happy reading! This is a public episode. If you'd like to di...

We’ve come to the end of another book and this time we are discussing the supernatural and spiritual implications of the final pages, the modern vision of hope the book seems to hew close to, Kayla’s role in the final scenes, and much more. Thanks for tuning in and happy listening! This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit...

“What’s with all of the vomit?”, Heidi asked, and thus we were off. But, dear listener, we talked about so much more than that. We discussed the degree to which this novel offers signs of hope (and where they show up), the purpose of the supernatural in the story, the collison of generations at the heart of the narrative, and much more. Happy listening! This is a public episode. If you'd like to d...

Welcome back to Close Reads as we discuss justice, point-of-view, ghosts (and much more) in Jesmyn Ward’s Sing, Unburied, Sing ! 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

Jesmyn Ward’s 2017 novel, Sing, Unburied, Sing, has quickly emerged as one of the most highly regarded books of our young century, so on this episode we dig into what makes it so interesting. Plus we discuss why it’s a fruitful double feature alongside To Kill a Mockingbird . As always, happy reading! This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to b...

You’ve got questions about To Kill a Mockingbird , we’ve got conversation. Thanks to everyone who submitted questions and 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

And so we’re at the end of another book. In this one, Boo Radley appears, Jem is a hero, Atticus faces a dilemma, and Scout begins to see things for herself. Join us as we dig in. Happy listening! Close Reads HQ is a community supported endeavor. To ensure we can keep making the content you value, please subscribe! This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or g...

This section of To Kill a Mockingbird includes some of the most memorable scenes in all of American literature. Join us as we dig in! (And 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

During these chapters Harper Lee begins to shift gears, subtly expanding the thematic world of To Kill a Mockingbird , while also introducing us to both new characters and new plot. We discuss. Plus: more on Atticus, a reading of the church scene, and much more! Happy reading! Close Reads HQ is a community-supported endeavor. We need your suport to keep on making the content you value so please co...

Welcome back to a new series of discussions on another beloved novel, this time on one of the best American novels ever written. In this episode, we talk about Harper Lee’s use of voice in telling the story (and why it’s somewhat similar to Jane Austen), the importance of the character of Jem, the Southerness of the book, and much more. Happy listening! Close Reads HQ is a community-supported ende...

What’s your favorite book from the 1860s? Something by Tolstoy or Dostoevsky? Dickens or Alcott? 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! This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with oth...

Join us as we dig into the second half of Tove Jansson’s delightful novel, The Summer Book. We discussed whether this is a fundamentally feminine book, the fascinating (and moving) absence of the father throughout, the complex presentation of the grandmother as a character, Jansson’s masterful ending, and much, much more. Happy listening! Close Reads is as community-supported endeavor. To ensure w...

Summer is nearly here, so it’s the perfect time to dive into Tove Jansson’s cult classic, The Summer Book, a delightful but melancholy story about the relationship between a young girl and her grandmother and their life on an island. In this episode we chatted about Jansson’s attention to the details of island itself, the unique perspectives of the two main characters, the episode nature of the st...

As always, we’re concluding a series by answering you questions. And, while it may have taken two different recording sessions, we answered as many as we could. Thanks so much to everyone who sent in questions—and 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

We can finally talk about the whole book, which really means we can finally debate all the things we want to debate! So click play and listen in as we argue (sorta) about who can actually be trusted in this book and which theories are actually most . . . trustworthy. Happy listening! This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, vis...

Part three of Hernan Diaz’s novel is quite different than its two predecessors. On the one hand, it shifts the point-of-view away from the Bevel family and offers us a look at them through a regular person, a civilian, if you will. On the other hand, Diaz seems to complicate the book even more in making that choice. So in this episode, we debate what his goals are, whether our narrator in this sec...

We’re back to discuss part two of Hernan Diaz’s award-winning novel. In this episode we chat about whether we can really know anything about its narrator (and how he might be related to the protagonist in part one), whether he’s a bad guy or just a small-soul, the metafiction of it all, and more. Happy listening! This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get...

The gang is all back for this new series on Hernan Diaz’s Pulitzer Prize winning novel, Trust ! Join as we try not to spoil the rest of the book, discuss what makes Diaz’s approach so compelling, contemplate who part one is most sympathetic toward, 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 c...

Once again, it’s time to answer your questions! So join us as we discuss Tolkien’s many choices, some differences between this book and the main trilogy, his various influences, teaching it, 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

Bilbo’s journey is over and he’s home, which means there’s plenty to talk about. So this week we’re discussing the role of luck in Tolkien’s stories, the book’s subtle moral vision, Bilbo’s transformation, Arkenbread, 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/subscrib...

Bilbo, Thorin, and co. are well on their way, but are they actually good at their jobs? We discuss. Plus: Beowulf , The Hobbit and the question of heroism. Happy listening! Close Reads is community-supported publication. To ensure that we can keep making the content you value, please consider becoming a subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or g...

Welcome to a new series here on Close Reads! We’re talking Tolkien, we’re talking Hobbits, we’re talking rings and dwarves and wizards, and (this week anyway) we’re talking first lines. So join us as we dig into what makes The Hobbit both so fun and so brilliant, what is has to say about heroism, whether our riddle game is strong, and much more. Plus, at the end, we discuss the annual Close Reads...