O tomto podcastu
Close Reads is a book-club podcast for the incurable reader co-hosted by David Kern, Heidi White, Sean Johnson, and occasionally Tim McIntosh. We read good books and talk about them.
This is a show for amateurs in the best sense. This is not an experts show: we’re book lovers, book enthusiasts. Our goal is have empathetic and intelligent conversations about good books.
Close Reads is produced by Goldberry Studios, the podcast wing of Goldberry Books, a family-run indie bookshop in Concord, NC.
closereads.substack.com
Epizody
Nejnovějších 50 z 527 epizod
- Crossing to Safety: Part 2 · 1 h 3 minWelcome back. This week we’re on to part two of Wallace Stegner's Crossing to Safety, focusing on Charity's fear of suffering and how that drives her instant to control, Sally's…
- Crossing to Safety: Part 1, Chapters 11-13 · 1 h 8 minWelcome back to our series on Wallace Stegner’s novel of friendship, marriage, and the intellectual life. This week we discuss Charity’s motivations, the novel’s shifting focus…
- Crossing to Safety: Part 1, Chapters 6-10 · 1 h 18 minWelcome back to our discussions on Wallace Stegner’s lovely novel. This week we explore Charity’s upbringing, Sid’s contradictions, and what makes their relationship compelling…
- Crossing to Safety: Part 1, Chapters 1-5 · 1 h 10 minIn this episode, we explore the enduring themes of friendship, virtue, and the search for home in Wallace Stegner's Crossing to Safety. Our discussion delves into how the novel's…
- The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn: Q&A Episode · 57 minAs we come to the end of our series on Mark Twain’s classic novel, it’s time to answer your listener questions. Hopefully we did them justice! Happy listening! This is a public…
- The Great Winnowing of 2026 (for 2027) · 1 h 26 minJoin in for annual tradition as we winnow down a long list of nominees and choose what books to discuss on the show in 2027! This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss…
- The Adventure of Huckleberry Finn: To the End · 1 h 2 minWe’ve come to the end of Mark Twain’s classic novel so this week we dig into the final chapters: * The significance of Tom Sawyer’s return * The river as a symbol * The ending as…
- The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn: Chapters 24-31 · 1 h 8 minHello and welcome back to our series on Mark Twain’s classic novel! This week we discuss: * Huck’s crisis * The conscience vs the heart * Twain’s critique of American religion…
- The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn: Chapters 17-23 · 1 h 6 minWelcome back to our ongoing conversation about Mark Twain’s classic novel. This week we discuss faux Dukes and Dauphins, satire and allegory, local conflicts and civil wars, and…
- The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn: Chapters 9-16 · 1 h 4 minWelcome back to our series on Mark Twain’s most essential novel. This week we discuss: * The development of Huck Finn’s conscience * Jim’s character development * The river as a…
- Remembering Wendell Berry With Those Who Know Him · 1 h 19 minIn this second tribute episode to Wendell Berry, Martin Cothran and Alan Cornett join the show to share what it was like to know Berry the man, not just the great literary…
- Remembering Wendell Berry (Part 1) · 43 minOne of our literary heroes, the great Wendell Berry, died this week at the age of 92 and we’re here to pay tribute. In this episode, we consider his influence on literature…
- The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn: Chapters 1-8 · 54 minWelcome to our new series on Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn! This we’re discussing its literary significance, controversial language, and the themes of race…
- Our Man in Havana: Q&A · 1 h 13 minWelcome to the conclusion of our conversation on Graham Greene’s novel. This week we’re answering your questions and topics include: * The difference between a Catholic novel and…
- A Very Special Follow-up Episode on “Beloved” with Dr. Angel Adams Parham · 49 minClose Readers, I’m thrilled to present this very special episode on Beloved with Dr. Angel Adams Parham, a professor at the University of Virginia and the co-author of The Black…
- Our Man in Havana: To the End · 1 h 4 minAs we get to the end of Graham Greene’s novel it’s time to discuss such things as whether the book has a happy ending, who the villain of the book is, the spiritual underpinnings…
- Our Man in Havana: Parts 3-4 · 1 h 4 minWelcome back to our series on Graham Green’s “Our Man in Havana!” This week we’re discussing Wormold and Beatrice’s relationship, the symbolism of masks and shadows, Greene’s…
- Our Man in Havana: Parts 1 + 2 · 55 minIt’s time for a new series, this time on one of Sean’s very favorite authors, Graham Greene! So join in as we dig into the origins of this “elevated entertainment,” the way the…
- The Pros and Cons of Christopher Nolan's Adaptation of "The Odyssey" · 1 h 6 minWhat makes The Odyssey difficult to adapt? Which parts of Homer’s story are most essential to include? In what ways does Christopher Nolan’s adaptation work (and not work)?…
- Beloved: Q&A · 1 h 11 minAs we come to the end of our reading of Beloved we dig into some listener questions. We talked about a variety of topics, including the book’s ending and some characters we…
- Beloved: 159-235 · 57 minThis week we’re digging into the complicated way that Toni Morrison presents Sethe’s tragic choice here in the middle of the book and especially the psychological implications…
- Beloved: 76-158 · 1 h 1 minWelcome back to our series on Toni Morrison’s novel. In this episode we focus on Morrison’s engrossing prose, including the way she uses threaded metaphors and symbols, and how…
- Beloved: Pages 1-75 · 1 h 21 minWelcome to our new series on Toni Morrison’s modern classic! In this first episode, we dig into the book’s complicated narrative structure, Morrison’s use of POV, the feminine…
- The Feast: Q&A · 1 h 17 minWelcome to the conclusion of our series on Margaret Kennedy’s novel as we dig into a bunch of listener questions! Thanks for tuning in to these conversations and thanks to…
- The Feast: To the End · 1 h 14 minWelcome to the conclusion of our series on Margaret Kennedy’s novel! This week we discuss justice and mercy, the meek inheriting the earth, the various ways the end ties into the…
- The Feast: Thursday · 1 h 1 minWelcome back to our series on Margaret Kennedy’s The Feast! We begin by answering a couple of listener questions, before discussing the fascinating “symposium” at the heart of…
- The Feast: Wednesday · 1 h 11 minWelcome back to our series on Margart Kennedy’s novel. This week we’re discussing Bruce’s confession, Hebe’s adventure (and insight into people), Siddal’s perceptions despite his…
- The Feast: Tuesday · 1 h 9 minWelcome back to another conversation about Margaret Kennedy’s The Feast. This week we begin by discussing some audience comments, then we discuss a number of topics, including…
- The Feast: Monday · 53 minAnd then it was Monday in Margaret Kennedy’s The Feast. This week topics of discussion includes the way the various characters may (or may not) represent the seven deadly sins…
- The Feast: Prologue-Sunday · 1 h 3 minWelcome to the first episode of a new series on Margaret Kennedy’s novel, The Feast. We discuss the book’s allegorical bent (and how it’s different than most allegorical novels)…
- The Grapes of Wrath Q&A Episode · 1 h 2 minYou have questions, we did our best to answer them. Thanks for tuning in to this series on Steinbeck’s classic novel and happy listening! This is a public episode. If you'd like…
- The Grapes of Wrath: To the End · 1 h 3 minSo about that ending . . . We discuss (from a variety of angles). Happy listening! This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access…
- The Grapes of Wrath: Chapter 26 · 1 h 2 minThis week’s episode is dedicated entirely to the lengthy chapter 26 so we have a chance to discuss poor Casy’s complicated arc and the Christ-like allusion in his demise and…
- The Grapes of Wrath: Chapters 22-25 · 1 h 2 minIs ma emerging as Steinbeck’s new protagonist? Does the “grapes of wrath” chapter work? And what of the book’s evolving view of religion? We discuss these and several topics on…
- Short Story Hour: "Leaf by Niggle" by J. R. R. Tolkien (FREE PREVIEW) · 1 h 5 minWelcome to another episode of our new series on classic short stories! This month, it’s Tolkien’s beloved story about creativity, hope, and the finitude of life. It’s also a…
- The Grapes of Wrath: Chapters 19-21 · 1 h 12 minDoes Casy redeem himself with his heroic action? Does this this book live too much in the realm of artifice? Does this book, like East of Eden, feature the idea of timshel and in…
- The Grapes of Wrath: Chapters 15-18 · 1 h 9 minIs Steinbeck an American Dickens? Does this book have a villain/antagonist? What role do each of the tertiary characters play? And does Steinbeck take his particular use of…
- The Grapes of Wrath: Chapters 8-14 · 1 h 8 minIt’s time to really discuss it: Do Steinbeck’s interstitial, alternating chapters work? We dig in—with differences of opinion. Plus we discuss the dramatic chapter 13, think…
- The Grapes of Wrath: Chapters 1-7 · 1 h 5 minWelcome to the beginning of a new series as we dive into John Steinbeck’s classic novel. In this episode we discuss Steinbeck’s unique use of alternating chapters, his desire to…
- This Is Happiness: Q&A Episode · 52 minWelcome to the conclusion of our series on Niall William’s novel, as we do our best to answer your questions! This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other…
- This Is Happiness: To the End · 1 h 13 minWelcome back to our ongoing series on Niall Williams’ novel! This we discuss whether the novel has a “happy” ending, its final verdict on what happiness is, Williams’ subtle use…
- This Is Happiness: Chapters 23-31 · 1 h 18 minWelcome back to our ongoing series on Niall Williams’ novel, This Is Happiness. This week we discuss some audience comments, the book’s examination of the relationship between…
- This Is Happiness: Chapters 12-22 · 1 h 16 minWelcome back to our ongoing series on Niall Williams’ lovely novel. This week we discuss what this book has to say about happiness, the themes of hope and cynicism, Christy the…
- This Is Happiness: Chapters 1-11 · 1 h 1 minWelcome to the start of a new series! Over the next several weeks we’ll be digging into Irish writer, Niall Williams pastoral novel, This Is Happiness. This week we’re discussing…
- The Age of Innocence: Q&A Episode · 59 minAs always, we conclude our series on Edith Wharton’s classic novel by answering your questions. There were a lot of good ones and we did our best to answer as many as we could…
- The Age of Innocence: To the End · 1 h 30 minWelcome back to our series on Edith Wharton’s very complex (and wonderful) novel. This week, in discussing the ending, we find ourselves at, well, a loss for words. Nevertheless…
- Age of Innocence: Chapters 19-25 · 1 h 5 minWelcome back to our ongoing series about The Age of Innocence! This week we’re discussing when a thought becomes a sin in this book, whether there’s enough substance in Newland…
- The Age of Innocence: Chapters 10-18 · 1 h 28 minWelcome back to our series on Edith Wharton’s excellent novel. This week we talk about the way the two main female characters have emerged, how we respond to Newland’s dilemma…
- Age of Innocence: Chapters I-IX · 1 h 7 minWelcome to our first series of the new year, as we jump into Edith Wharton’s novel of the Gilded Age, The Age of Innocence. This we discuss the way Wharton uses Newland Archer’s…
- 2025: A Year of Reading in Review · 1 h 57 minWelcome to our longest episode of the year, during which we discuss our favorite reading experiences of the year, share our individual top five books, and drop some news about HQ…
