Close Reads Podcast

What’s up with the birds? Is Fay even more despicable than we initially considered? Is the ending hopeful? Join David, Heidi, and Sean as they discuss these—and many other—questions on this week’s discussion of Eudora Welty’s The Optimist’s Daughter . Happy listening! Close Reads HQ is a community-supported endeavor. If you value what we do here, please consider becoming a free or paid subscriber....

Welcome to a new series of episodes on a new book! This week David, Heidi, and Sean are digging into Eudora Welty’s Pulitzer Prize winner, discussing such topics as the book’s similarities to Jane Austen’s work, whether Faye is purely an antagonist, the very Southern sense of humor in the story, and much more! Happy listening! Close Reads HQ is a community-supported endeavor. Please consider becom...

Join Heidi and Sean as they answer your questions about Georges Bernanos’ novel! Thanks so much for participating in the conversation and happy listening! Up next, we’ll be discussing Eudora Welty’s The Optimist’s Daughter , starting with parts 1 and 2. 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/subs...

This week Sean & Heidi discuss the priest’s last days, his four final encounters, the purpose of the diary, and the mingling of grace and suffering that pervades the novel. JOIN US FOR “CLOSE READS ON THE ROAD” IN AUGUST, IN ATLANTA! 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

David’s sick, so this week Heidi and Sean discuss letting go of worldly attachments, the value of the priest’s weakness, his first spiritual successes, and his changing relationship with the diary. Close Reads is a community-supported endeavor. Please consider supporting our work by subscribing today! This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to b...

Join David, Heidi, and Sean as they discuss insomnia, despair, the spiritual dark night of the soul, and much, much more found in Bernanos’ deeply contemplative novel. Close Reads is a community-supported endeavor. Please consider becoming a free or paid subscriber thereby ensuring the continued production of episodes like this one. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with othe...

We’re on to Georges Bernanos’ contemplative novel, The Diary of a Country Priest , and in this episode David, Heidi, and Sean discuss the fascinating narrative approach Bernanos employs, what themes seem to matter most, the notion of contemplation in the book, and how to approach a book in which very little happens (on the surface). Future schedule: Episode 2 (March 27): Chapters 3-4Episode 3 (Apr...

Join David and Tim as they welcome back special guest Jessie Turpin to read a scene from the play and answer your questions. Conversation touches on topics like Shaw’s extreme stage directions, the didacticism of the play, and much more. Happy listening! Close Reads is a community-supported endeavor. Please consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. When you do, you get access to bonus content w...

Join David, Tim, and Sean as they discuss the 2023 Close Reads Bracket: Awesome Adaptations. They predict winners, make their own picks, and discuss the bracket-making process. 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’ve been circling this one for a long time. It’s finally time to discuss George Bernard Shaw’s famous play, Pygmalion. In this episode we discussed the originally source material (briefly), Shaw’s thematic interests, the complex dilemma he’s setting up for himself, Higgins as a character, and so much more. Plus, with the help of special guest, we present a “table-read” of a key scene. Happy list...

If you’re a longtime listener of this podcast, you know that Sean Johnson has recently joined our crew to help give Tim some time off here and there (what with Tim’s new job and growing family). Of course, Sean is a worthy contributor all in his own right. But we didn’t know that right away. At first, he was just one of many interviewees we considered (#230 to be precise). And although it took som...

The Netanyahus is a bit of a confounding book, so naturally there were lots of questions and we did our best to answer as many as we could as thoroughly as possible. We discussed the complicated nature of writing fiction about real/living people, Blum’s relationship with his daughter, whether the book has a moral center, nihilism, and much more. Thanks for listening! Close Reads HQ is a community-...

Okay, so that ending? What’s the deal. Join David, Heidi, and Tim as they try to understand what Cohen is doing. Lots of conversation about nihilism in this episode. Thanks for listening! Close Reads is a community-supported endeavor. Please subscribe to make sure we can keep on (while also getting access to subscriber-exclusive content). Thanks! This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss...

This week we’re discussing whether Joshua Cohen’s approach to exploring Jewish culture works in the ways that he seems to hope it will, whether the book is too sad to be truly funny, whether the story has finally revealed what it is, and much more. Don’t forget to weigh in on this episode’s question. Let us know what you think in the comments! Question of the Week: Is the big Judy scene funny? Clo...

We are on to Joshua Cohen’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, The Netanyahus , a book that is clearly different in tone (and content) than most of the titles we traditionally discuss on this show. So in this episode David, Heidi, and Tim (he’s back!) contemplate the book’s sense of humor, Cohen’s remarkable prose, and what makes it memorable and worth reading. Happy listening! Close Reads is a communi...

It’s that time, when we’ve come to end of another episode and we turn to your questions about it. This time we’re contemplating topics from Persuasion such as Wentworth’s affection for Anne, Lady Russell’s role in the book, Mrs. Smith’s virtue (or lack thereof?), wine and cheese pairings, fan-fiction, Mr. Elliot the villain, and so much more. Thanks for listening! Close Reads is a community-suppor...

Finally, we can speak more freely about all of Persuasion , so this week David, Heidi, and Sean are discussing Wentworth’s love letter, Ann’s assessment of her own choices, the melancholy nature of this book, the differences between Eliot and Wentworth, the pantheon of Austen men, and much more. Don’t forget to answer this week’s question of the week below, What is the greatest love letter in any...

This week we’re discussing Mrs. Smith’s sudden appearance (and her role) in the book, whether the book considers all of Anne’s various perspectives and actions as virtuous, whether Anne made the wrong choice in rejecting Wentworth way back when, and much, much more. Happy listening! Up next: Read to the end of the book. Plus, we are introducing a question of the week so you can participate in the...

This section ends with a dangerous fall, but in the meantime we sure get a lot of scenes with people talking in rooms. So this week David, Heidi, and Sean are discussing Anne’s interiority and self-awareness and whether Austen portrays her self-sympathy as virtuous. Plus, discussions touches more on Austen’s complex (and amazing) approach to narrative voice. As always, happy reading! Close Reads i...

It’s on to another great novel, this time by Jane Austen, so this week David, Heidi, and Sean discussed Austen’s unique use of free indirect discourse and other formal flourishes in this book, similarities and differences between this book and Austen’s other novels, and much more. Happy listening! Close Reads HQ is a community-supported endeavor. Please consider becoming a free or paid subscriber...

It’s the most wonderful time of the year, which means it’s also the time of the year when we’re talking about our favorite reads of 2022! We each have our own strategy for making these lists and inevitably the books we discuss on this episode are oddly specific, wonderfully fascinating, and always worth reading. So grab something to take notes, get ready to add to your TBR list, and settle for a l...

It’s Q&A time, so join David, Heidi, and Tim as they dig into a bunch of great questions from the Close Reads community. Topics of conversation include orange juice, opportunistic agents, German philosophers, and much more! Close Reads HQ is a community-supported publication. Thanks so much for being a part of this endeavor in 2022! This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with othe...

What a book! This week you can tune in as David, Heidi, and Tim continue to rave about Chaim Potok’s skill, a few particularly miraculous passages, and the culmination of Asher’s coming-of-age. Close Reads is a community-supported endeavor. If you value what we’re up to please subscribe. Thanks! This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus e...

This week David, Heidi, and Tim are discussing Jacob Kahn. Does the book view him as an arbiter of wisdom? Is he an antagonist of sorts? Also, can Asher be a unifier between two traditions? And how does the book reveal Asher’s individual healing? 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.substac...

As we dive further into Chaim Potok’s wonderful novel, this week’s episode contemplates how dark this book really is, whether we should read it psychologically, whether Aryeh and Rivkeh are good parents, and much more. Happy listening! Information on Classical U: The classicalu4closereads2months coupon code above will provide no charge for the first two months with a purchase of a monthly subscrip...