The Foxed Page

There are SO many reasons to read (or REREAD) this slim, gorgeous, Paris-based novel. One way to more fully understand the book is to view it through Baldwin's genius use of figurative language. Listen in now!

It was VERY hard for Kimberly to decide on a top ten. So there are five runners-up. She assumed it would be impossible to RANK the top ten, but in a spur-of-the-moment decision, she attempts it. Tune in to see how your list compares!

NO PRE-READING REQUIRED! Allow Kimberly to help you revel in this gem--all while increasing your appreciation by pointing out the echoes of Dickens's David Copperfield.

People. This collection is SO FUNNY and SO DARK. It's unlike any other writing. Whether you've read it or are considering diving in after the book was selected as one of the best of the century, listen in as Kimberly helps understand how this woman pulls it OFF.

Kimberly zips through the 46 books she's read, giving a rating to every one. Check it OUT!

We wrap up SALINGER WEEK with a deep dive into "Zooey" (the story) along with a good hard look at FRANNY AND ZOOEY as a whole. This third and final lecture offers up all sorts of gems--from the source of Franny's crisis to a wider look at why Salinger's prose is so incredibly ENDURING.

This deep dive is SO deep that Kimberly needs a whole lecture just to discuss "Franny." The first 40 pages of FRANNY AND ZOOEY is not only amazing, but the perfect way to look at what makes all of Salinger's prose so unmistakably SALINGER. (A second Salinger lecture will tackle "A Perfect Day for Bananafish," then we'll dive all the way in to the hugely popular FRANNY AND ZOOEY.)

Allow Kimberly to point out the intricacies, the nuance, the FACTS of what Akbar is really saying at the end of his insanely great novel. Tune in to hear Kimberly argue a few sides of this coin. She follows Daniel Mendelsohn's advice to treat literature like a social science: look carefully at the DATA. If you're like all the folks on the internet who have real questions about this novel's close,...

People. This is one of the most intense reading experiences Kimberly has had in ages. The book is so smart, so warm and funny and complicated, that Kimberly realized it deserves two lectures! This first one focuses on the narrative stance, the inventiveness, the humor and complicated compendium-like structure (and a possible small debt to David Foster Wallace). The SECOND lecture (coming soon) tac...

NO SPOILERS! What's summer without a good beach read? By the QUEEN of the beach read?? Kimberly was somewhat alarmed that Hilderbrand is "hanging up her bikini" but thank god we have 26 other Nantucket novels to choose from. People, Hilderbrand is SO GOOD at this stuff. Listen in to find out why her narrative stance, atmospheric elements and structure make these books so solid. (Also: Kimberly has...

ALL FOURS is changing how we think about sex, maternity, marriage--and towels. Touted by the New York Times as "the first great peri-menopause novel," it's July's most accessible, most hilarious and most "filthy" (in the best of ways) work. Listen in while Kimberly uses the lens of humor to appreciate the pathos, the sex, the iconoclasm and the tension in this IMPORTANT BOOK.

Who knew that Collins wrote his doctoral dissertation on the romantic poets?? Tune in to hear Kimberly break down the Romantic Movement and Byron's "She Walks in Beauty"--all in preparation to more fully appreciate our nation's "most popular poet"!

Kimberly does not love poetry. Which she considers a personal failure. But it turns out that she LOVES hearing Paul Chowder, narrator of this novel, teach her all about poetry. If you need a lift, and love hilarious, smart books--listen in!

LIVES OF GIRLS AND WOMEN is Munro's only novel AND it's the ideal way to really dig in to her genius. Listen in now!

NO READING NECESSARY! Think of this talk as a primer that will ensure you won't miss any of the ZILLION REASONS why North Woods was on all those best-of-2023 lists. This novel is so engrossing and wide reaching. It's smart and rich and just plain fun to read. Listen as Kimberly points out aspects you do not want to miss. Already read it? You'll love this even more!

Díaz's Pulitzer-prize-winning, Booker-nominated TRUST has the kind of complex structure Kimberly LOVES to dig into. With vastly differing narrative voices, each of the four texts informs the others, making for an insanely rich read. Also: this exploration of the American dream could not be more timely!

NO SPOILERS! NO RE-READING REQUIRED! Listen in to hear how Brookner's use of narrative voice, tons of figurative language and other plot elements make this novel--set in Switzerland--a must read.

This lecture--the first in a three-part exploration of Munro--gets nitty gritty in all the best ways. Delve with Kimberly into the elements that make her prose feel like nothing else on the planet. Whether you've read everything she wrote, or you're new to her work, you'll come away with a much richer appreciation of this absolute genius.

Tune in for close readings that illuminate why McCarthy's prose is so gorgeous, why his influences are key, and why Kimberly is so happy about him finally centering A WOMAN in these, his final texts. Plus! A literary PARLOR TRICK that definitively proves Kimberly's hot-take thesis about digression in The Passenger.

If you love DIdion's inimitable prose and you're interested in any kind of history or intrigue or scandal--listen in. NO SPOILERS!

Sittenfeld is soooo good. Her latest delivers a fascinating, intimate look at life as a comedy writer on the world's foremost live, nighttime, sketch comedy show--all while promising that she'll work within the conventions of ROMANTIC comedy. Or will she?? Listen to Kimberly extol Sittenfeld's structure, the use of all five senses, the deft character development, excellent sex writing and, of cour...

NO RE-READING NECESSARY! Kimberly only sought out Aciman because she loved the movie Call Me by Your Name--but she loved the fiction enough to seek out more. Tune in to hear about the use of figurative language, the structure, the pacing and the choice of details that make this work so ATMOSPHERIC.

Baker's hilarious, inventive prose melds with incredibly well curated images to produce something only Baker could produce. Kimberly LOVED diving in to the many ways in which the guy is creating literary (and visual) magic.

NO RE-READING REQUIRED! PLUS!! SPECIAL GUEST STAR: JOHN STEINBECK!! Tune in to hear all the ways in which this 1952 classic surprised Kimberly. Its insanely great sense of place, its lessons in history, its denigration/elevation of women, its biblical underpinnings...Kimberly's list of its attributes could go on and on. Whether EAST OF EDEN is your favorite of all time, or whether you have only ha...

This publishing industry thriller was SUCH GOOD grist for Kimberly's mill. Listen in to appreciate all the elements that made the novel an "instant" best seller. Its literary merit is almost as great as the important philosophical questions is raises. This book is sooooo good.