Close Reads Podcast

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...

Normally, we would be dropping a new subscriber-exclusive episode today, but since Monday was Labor Day we took the day off which means the newest episode on That Hideous Strength will come next week. Instead, we’re sharing a special treat: Heidi’s talk from the recent Close Reads on the Road event we hosted in August. So whether you were there and get to hear it again or you’re checking it out fo...

The final pages of The Picture of Dorian Gray are pretty wild, packed full of famous scenes and images, so join David, Heidi, and Tim as they discuss the demise of several characters, the question of conscience in the end of the story, and what the prologue can tell us about the conclusion. As always, happy listening! Close Reads HQ is a community-supported publication. Be sure to subscribe to gai...

It’s time for more Oscar Wilde talk. This week, the conversation explains how this section made Tim a fan of the book, digs into Dorian’s psychological complexity, and explores the role external and internal factors played in Dorian’s decline. Happy listening! This episode is made possible by our friends at CLT. You can check out what they’re up to at cltexam.com/closereads . Close Reads HQ is a c...

Join David, Heidi, and Tim as they discuss the introduction of Sibyl Vane and her family, Dorian’s infatuation and un-infatuation with her, and the picture’s emerging frowny face. (To list just a few topics of conversation). This episode is made possible by our friends at CLT. You can check out what they’re up to at cltexam.com/closereads . If you would like to learn more about any of CiRCE’s Atri...

Tim’s back, friends—and it’s time for a new book! So join us as we dig into Oscar Wilde’s infamous novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray . Discussion this week focuses on questions of biographical criticism with a book like this, the role that the character of Lord Henry plays in the structure of the novel, what the book does well and where its shortcomings might be, and much more! Happy listening! Cl...

We’re mixing things up this week! Join David, Heidi, and Sean as they draft the great cinematic adaptations ever made. And be sure to let us know who picked the best roster of films. Happy listening (watching)! 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

It’s time to answer listener questions about Everything Sad Is Untrue and we have the great honor of doing that alongside the man himself, Daniel Nayeri. So press play and listen as we chat about Daniel’s mom, the way the story evolved, his journey in writing it, deckled edges from the author’s perspectives, and much more! Happy listening! Close Reads is a community-supported publication and we ne...

And so we come to the end. Join David, Heidi, and Sean as they dig into Daniel Nayeri’s novel as a whole (but especially the final passages, of course), the way book pays homage to the narrator’s mother, the complexity of his father’s visit, and much more. Happy listening! Close Reads is a community-supported publication and we need your support to keep on producing the content you love. Please co...

This section of Daniel Nayeri’s novel included a lot of . . . well . . . poop. So on this week’s episode David, Heidi, and Sean discuss how Nayeri manages to make that topic funny and sad and profound all at once. Plus: the book’s great respect for the narrator’s mother. As always, happy listening! Close Reads HQ is a community-supported endeavor. Please consider becoming a free or paid subscriber...

Daniel Nayeri’s Everything Sad is Untrue may be listed as a middle grade novel by its publisher, but it’s unlike almost any other novel in the category. So in this episode David, Heidi, and Sean discuss its unique stylistic approach and the way it conceives of stories as essential to culture, with a foray into some discussion about memory novels. Happy listening! Close Reads HQ is a community-supp...

Here we are at the end of our conversation on Hawthorne’s novel, which means it’s time to answer your questions. As always, you sent in lots of great ones and we did our best to answer as many as we could. Thanks for participating in the conversation—and thanks to Karen coming on the show these last six weeks! Be sure to check out her forthcoming book, which you can find here. Close Reads HQ is a...

In this episode, Sean and Heidi join David and get their say about the legacy of Cormac McCarthy—and what makes his work sublime. 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

The great Cormac McCarthy died last week, leaving behind a canon of brilliant, challenging novels that will be long-remembered. So this week we’re sharing two episode remembering the man, discussing his work, and sharing what he means to us. In this first episode, David and Tim sit down to make a Mount Rushmore of McCarthy’s work and to discuss how his work will be remembered. Close Reads is a com...

And so we come to the end of another novel! Join David, Heidi, and Karen as they dig into the ending of Hawthorne’s novel, with special attention paid to Pearl’s role. Plus: how does the genre play into the end of the book, what do we do with Dimmsdale’s demise, and how does Hawthorne want us to respond to their plot to escape? Happy listening! This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss th...

Heidi is in Greece this week (!), but David Kern and Karen Swallow Prior are back to continue this series on The Scarlet Letter . Topics of conversation include the way Hawthorne uses the setting to triangulate the characters, Hawthorne’s vision of the Good, Hester’s defense (as it were) of her affair with Dimmsdale, Hawthorne’s slippery tier of virtues, and comparing Hawthorne with Jane Austen. H...

Does this book offer an alternative vision to the spiritual corruption that it criticizes? How would it be different if Hawthorne was lest on-the-nose with his metaphors and character names? Join David, Heidi, and Karen as they explore these (and other) questions from Nathaniel Hawthorne’s novel. Happy listening! Close Reads is a community-supported endeavor. Please consider becoming a free or pai...

Join David, Heidi, and special guest, Karen Swallow Prior, for a conversation about this very famous and much-taught novel. Conversation touches on why this book has such a significant role in American English classrooms; Chillingsworth’s, well, chilling role; little Pearl’s emergence as a meaningful character; and much more. As always: happy listening! Close Reads HQ is a community-supported ende...

It’s become an annual tradition to invite the one-and-only Karen Swallow Prior on the show to discuss a classic novel, and this time around it’s Nathaniel Hawthorne’s, The Scarlet Letter. In this first episode of the series, we chatted about that difficult opening section, “The Customs House”; why Karen chose to include this book in her series of annotated classic novels for B&H Publishing (alongs...

You have questions, we’ve got thoughts! So click that play button and dig into this conversation on The Optimist’s Daughter ! Please note: next week we will be off, but after that we will begin conversations on The Scarlet Letter with very special guest Karen Swallow Prior! This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit closere...