Novel Pairings

Today we're sharing five tips for "reading" your favorite (or least favorite) TV shows and movies. These close reading tricks will help you get more critical while you watch television, which we hope prompts more engaging discussions with your friends and family. We're using The Buccaneers (Apple TV) as our main example in this episode, but you don't need to watch the show in order to listen. In f...

It's time for our annual Superlative Soirée! (Okay, so we've never called it that before, but it fits, right?!) Today Chelsey and Sara share their favorite and least favorite books of 2023, plus everything in between. YOU helped us come up with some creative categories to cover in this official wrap-up episode, and we can't wait to hear what you think of the titles we discuss.  To get your very ow...

We're wrapping up the 2023 season with a final Short Story Club, this time exploring a prime example of Postmodern fiction with Jorge Luis Borges' "The Garden of Forking Paths." Borges is often considered one of the most important literary figures of the 20th century and credited as an early writer of magical realism, lo real maravilloso. In today's discussion, we take a close work at Borges' popu...

Ever wonder what it's like to attend a class at Novel Pairings University? We have a special treat for our listeners as we prepare for #WhartonInWinter and our readalong of Edith Wharton's Custom of the Country. Today on the main feed, we're releasing the audio from our Patreon Class Gilded Age Literature: Entering Edith Wharton's World for everyone to enjoy.   In today's class we talk about key l...

Today, Chelsey and Sara explore TO THE LIGHTHOUSE by Virginia Woolf, investigating Woolf's intention to put "real life" on the page, analyzing her prose and structure, discussing themes and characters, and contextualizing historical references. For a deeper reading and listening experience, check out our episode on A ROOM OF ONE'S OWN and our bonus episode on Patreon all about The Bloomsbury Group...

We're kicking off our month of Virigina Woolf with an episode exploring Woolf's dense and sprawling extended essay, "A Room of Own's Own." At just over one hundred pages, Woolf gives herself ample space on the page to explore and consider the issues that keep women from the forefront of the literature and what might be done to give them the creative freedom to write unencumbered. In today's episod...

If a dark and twisty stream of consciousness narrative in translation sounds like an intriguing read, Blind Owl by Sadeq Hedayat is perfect for you. Penned by the forefather of the Modernist movement in Iranian literature, this surrealist story blends Western influences, Iranian folklore, and psychology. In today's episode, we discuss key themes and questions raised by Hedayat's text (so. many. qu...

What is the difference between literary historical fiction and "woman with her back turned on the cover" historical fiction? In today's episode of Modern Readers, we're discussing the literary landscape and rise in popularity of the historical fiction genre. We explore the definition of historical fiction, significant time periods, craft vs. plot, and "literariness" to understand whether a histori...

Shirley Jackson's "The Lottery", first published in The New Yorker in 1948, feels relevant in every decade. Whether it's discussed in the high school classroom or revisited in adulthood, this shocking story leaves a mark. We're back with another Short Story Club episode on Novel Pairings in which we take a closer look at Jackson's haunting text, considering its wider themes, and touch on how one o...

Let's discuss one of our most requested classics! Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier is an eerie gothic novel with elements of mystery, fairy tale, and domestic suspense–and you've been asking for us to cover it on the show for years. In today's episode, we speculate on why this classic remains so popular today, discuss the magic of reading a classic just for fun (and then returning to it with literary...

Get ready for your TBR pile to actually topple over as we discuss a truly abundant season of publishing and books. The fall publishing calendar has a lot of hype-worthy titles, and in today's episode you'll hear our pared down lists (it was a struggle!) of excellent fall fiction due to hit shelves soon. This includes big books from BIG authors, intriguing titles from small indie presses, and a sma...

  You may have heard us mention the term "public scholarship" when talking about the mission of our podcast and our community of readers here at Novel Pairings. But what exactly is public scholarship, and how does it apply to us as lifelong learners? Today in our first Modern Readers episode, we're sitting down to define public scholarship, share how our backgrounds in academia and the classroom h...

Today we're sharing our (sometimes controversial) opinions about some of the buzziest books of LAST summer. We love it when our reading overlaps off the podcast and gives us a chance to come together for some off-the-cuff book conversation. Of the slew of buzzy books that released in Summer 2022, there were a handful both of us somehow made time to read. We're deep diving into five of those books,...

Today, we're sharing six classic titles from the 1920s that make excellent additions to your late summer or early fall reading stack, whether you're reading them for the first time or returning with fresh eyes. The 1920s is a time period we both love to read and explore. In this mini TBR-toppler episode, you'll have your picks from dense and delightfully nerdy tomes, a slim spiritual journey in tr...

It's the last stretch of our Slow Down Summer with The Odyssey, and for this week's discussion, we're sharing final thoughts on The Odyssey's staying power and impact on modern literature. We dive into talking about what we noticed in our full read-though of Emily Wilson's translation. We also share themes to consider when reading, thoughts on reading a text symbolically, and guesses for why the s...

Do you love the feeling of happening upon a subtle reference to a great literary work in the midst of your current read? Or do you feel like you're on the outside when books allude to works you haven't read? In today's episode, we're getting extra nerdy and breaking down all things literary allusions. For our discussion, we share what a literary allusion is and what kinds of allusions are referenc...

This summer on Patreon , our Classics Club has been voyaging across the Aegean Sea with Odysseus, reading Emily Wilson's brilliant translation of Homer's epic poem. To deepen our experience with this ancient text, we're offering ongoing opportunities for public scholarship and reading in community. Today we're sharing one of these Patreon exclusive episodes with all of you and inviting you to come...

Today we are re-airing one of our very first episodes of Novel Pairings: Episode 18 on Homer's Odyssey, in which Sara reveals her nerdy middle school obsession, Chelsey has strong opinions on defining "the classics," and we have a LOT of fun discussing the complicated character of Odysseus. You don't need to have any knowledge of mythology or The Odyssey in order to enjoy this episode. This episod...

We're closing out our spring semester of children's classics with one final book about a book—and another richly imagined story in translation, The Wild Book by Juan Villoro. This modern story reached great acclaim in Mexico, with an English translation finally reaching America in 2017.  We found this work a  compelling companion to our first children's work in translation, Inkheart, and we share...

Get ready to load your summer totes (ahem…your summer Novel Pairings totes, more to come on that) with lots of good reads; we're talking about our most anticipated summer reads on today's episode! We've carefully culled our long lists of interesting books coming out this summer to provide some high-interest titles that are sure to topple your TBR while also providing backlist books that will pair...

As voracious readers we love to dive into stories about books and reading, whether it's paying homage to the source of procuring books (think publishing, bookshops, and libraries) or the physical books themselves. In today's episode, we're taking you on a dark, mysterious, and twisty adventure in translation with Cornelia Funke's Inkheart. A plot-packed novel for the not-so-faint-of-heart, we disc...

Pack your bags and get ready for an adventure. This week, we're discussing E. L. Konigsburg's Newbery award-winning novel From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler, a 1960s romp about a pair of siblings who find refuge and mystery at New York City's Metropolitan Museum of Art. From the Mixed-Up Files is a story simple in prose, yet imbued with rich descriptions and detail to leave a las...

Anne-with-an-e Shirley, a hallmark figure in children's literature, provides a formative childhood reading experience for many readers. An imaginative and loquacious orphan who finds home and community with the Cuthbert siblings at Green Gables of Avonlea, Anne is a feisty, feminine, and dramatically charming protagonist. In today's episode, we talk about how this sweet and endearing novel worked...

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain is a staple in high school classrooms and a foundational piece of American literature. This children's classic is a boisterous and satirical novel addressing a vast array of social and political issues couched in an episodic coming-of-age tale. In today's episode, we address some of the teaching baggage that comes along with this book, consider Huck...

Catherine, Called Birdy has been a surprise hit with our listeners and book club community, and today Chelsey and Sara share their experience with Karen Cushman's award-winning work of middle grade historical fiction. We share what we remember about the book from childhood, why we connected with it more now, and why a book about a girl trying to avoid marriage in the 13th-century feels so relevant...