Close Reads Podcast

As 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 in the story (and Milly’s role therein), the madness Beatrice refers to in the final passage, 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 episodes, visit closereads.substack.com/subscribe

Welcome 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 commentary on bureaucracy and truth, the role of marriage and domestic life, and much more. As always, 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.substack.com/subscribe

It’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 book explores the plight of modern man, the important role of the protagonist’s daughter, the book’s treatment of espionage, 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 episodes, visit closereads.substack.com/subscribe

What 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)? Writer, teacher, and film-lover Joshua Gibbs joins the show to discuss in this special episode. What did you think of the film? Let us know in the comments. We’d love to hear. 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

This 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 and ramifications—both character-wise and aesthetically. Plus: Paul D’s response and Beloved’s haunting. There's a lot to dig into here so join the conversation! 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.substack.com/subscribe

Welcome 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 it enhances the pathos of the story. Plus, the trauma narrative and whether or not the novel is experimental. As always, 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.substack.com/subscribe

Welcome 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 nature of the story and writing, whether it’s a novel of advocacy, 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 episodes, visit closereads.substack.com/subscribe

Welcome 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 beginning, 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 episodes, visit closereads.substack.com/subscribe

Welcome 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 this section (“what is wrong with this country!?”), Nancibel’s lovely conversation with her mother, and the Cove girls’ tragic conflict with their mother. Happy listening! If you enjoy Close Reads please consider subscribing to Close Reads HQ. Your support keeps the showing going. 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

Welcome 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 sloth, patience and the spiritual life, patience vs wrath, and much more. Happy listening! If you enjoy Close Reads please consider subscribing to Close Reads HQ. Your support keeps the showing going. 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

Welcome 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 poor Bruce and his bad decisions, Mrs Gifford vs Mrs Cove, and the difference between subtly and cleverness in literature (and whether either are artistic virtues), and more. 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.substack.com/subscribe

And 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, which characters we root for the most (and which we despise the most), the question of hope in the story, and much more, as usual. 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.substack.com/subscribe

You 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 to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit closereads.substack.com/subscribe

This 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 whether the novel present’s Tom’s killing of Casy’s murderer as justified (and what justice is in this story). Plus we hear from a few listeners and much more. As always, 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.substack.com/subscribe

Is 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 this week’s episode. 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.substack.com/subscribe

Welcome 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 little bit about Dante and Virgil, maybe a bit auto-biographical, and the perfect story to discuss during the Easter season. We discuss. 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.substack.com/subscribe

Does 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 what ways is his view of human nature different in this novel. Also: Tom as microcosm. These and many other topics are on this episode’s rundown. 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.substack.com/subscribe

Is 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 symbolism too far? These are the sort of questions we’re discussing on this week’s show! Thanks for joining the conversation and 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.substack.com/subscribe

It’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 about when Steinbeck’s use of symbolism works best, and chat about the 2026 Close Reads literary bracket (with a little help from an unusual friend). 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.substack.com/subscribe

Welcome 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 make a political statement, the intensity of his prose, which characters we are supposed to sympathize with, and turtles. 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.substack.com/subscribe

Welcome 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 subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit closereads.substack.com/subscribe

Welcome 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 of symbolism, Noe’s vocation, and much more. 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

Welcome 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 poetics and rhetoric, the difference between nostalgia and sentimentality, look at the way Noe and Christy are merging as the story goes on, 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 episodes, visit closereads.substack.com/subscribe

Welcome 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 romantic, coming of age, and our favorite passages in these chapters. Hope you enjoy and thanks for listening!To learn about The Tapestry, the new curriculum from the CiRCE Institute click here! It’s available to pre-order now. 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

Welcome 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 proverbial nature of the narrator, the memory novel framing of the story, the way the place comes alive throughout the book, and much, much more. As always, happy listening! To learn about The Tapestry, the new curriculum from the CiRCE Institute click here! It’s available to pre-order now. 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

As 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. Sometimes, of course, you just have to look at it. Happy listening! To learn about The Tapestry, the new curriculum from the CiRCE Institute click here! It’s available to pre-order now. 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

Welcome 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, we persist. We attempt to reckon with the complicated nature of May’s character, Newland’s fatalism and paralyzed life of the mind, the question of whether he’s a tragic character, how we may or may not re-think the countess in light of the ending, and much more! As always, happy listening!To learn about The Tapestry curriculum from the CiRCE Institute click here! 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

Welcome 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 for a woman like Ellen to fall in love with him, Newland’s obsession with fate (even if he has manufacture some), Ellen as representative of European culture for Newland, and much, much more. 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.substack.com/subscribe

Welcome 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, the moral conditions of the novel’s world, and much more. Happy listening! To learn about The Tapestry curriculum from the CiRCE Institute click here! 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

Welcome 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 unique point-of-view, the nature of the Countess’ role in the story (and in Newland’s life), the book’s contemplation of the changing society, and much much more. As always, 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.substack.com/subscribe

Welcome 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 books for 2026. Happy new year from all of us at Close Reads! 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

You had questions, we had answers, so join us for the final conversation about Shakespeare’s classic comedy! We talk about Margaret’s culpability, Don Pedros rejections, Claudio’s turn, Dogberry’s wisdom, 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 episodes, visit closereads.substack.com/subscribe

For your errand-running, long drive, baking, cleaning, or lounging listening, we present a Christmas mailbag in which we answer your questions about traditions, books, characters in the Nativity story, and much more! Happy listening and Merry Christmas!Image credit: 1953, Man Tangled Up in Christmas Decorations by Al Brule 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

Welcome back to our series on Much Abo About Nothing! This week we're discussing Hero's role in the story, which characters have a positive transformation, what makes Beatric and Benedick's relationship so delightful, and much, much more. As always, 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.substack.com/subscribe

In this week’s conversation about Shakespeare classic comedy, we discuss the famous “kill Claudio” demand from Beatrice: How it opens up the drama of the play and brings Benedick and Beatrice together. Plus, Benedick’s transformation, the true cost of love, Don Pedro the man of causes, 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 episodes, visit closereads.substack.com/subscribe

Welcome back to another conversation about Shakespeare’s delightful comedy. This week we discuss the differences between “noting” and investigating, Dogberry the wise fool who sees but nonetheless can’t communicate clearly in contract with the characters who can communicate but don’t have vision, the question of who the play’s hero is, and much, much more. 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.substack.com/subscribe

Welcome back to another conversation about Shakespeare’s wonderful comedy. The best bit: this week we’re joined by the one-and-only Tim McIntosh! Topics of conversation include the famous “gulling” scene, the difference between Benedick and Claudio, Don Pedro the schemer, and some more on “noting.” As always, 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.substack.com/subscribe

Welcome to a new series on one of Shakespeare’s most delightful and brilliant plays! In this episode, which is about act one, we discuss why it’s so beloved, the way Shakespeare’s unfurls the story while also offering complex layers of humor, whether you can tell when characters are being honest, Don Pedro’s scheming, 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 episodes, visit closereads.substack.com/subscribe

It’s Q&A time. You’ve got questions; we have answers. So join in as we conclude our conversation on Hemingway’s classic novel. 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.substack.com/subscribe

Is A Farewell to Arms pure tragedy? Is there any hope in the denouement? What should we do with Hemingway’s alternate endings? These and many other questions are the focus of this week’s episode. 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.substack.com/subscribe

Sean calls this the happy section of the book, so in this episode we discuss the book’s conception of happiness, engage in a close reading of the scene between Frederic and an old billiards player, and contemplate the question of cynicism in this book. 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.substack.com/subscribe

After an unfortunate delay, we’re back with further conversation about Hemingway’s twentieth century classic. This week we discuss the harrowing nature of this section, the bad moral luck of the characters, the rich spiritual contemplations at the heart of the novel, 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 episodes, visit closereads.substack.com/subscribe

Welcome back to our ongoing series on Hemingway’s classical novel. This week we discuss the turn the book takes in book two, the nature of Hemingway’s contemplation of love, and a couple of key scenes that reveal his genius as a storyteller. As always, 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.substack.com/subscribe

Welcome to our new series on Ernest Hemingway’s modern classic. For this first episode we chatted about Heidi’s deep love of the book, the subtly of Hemingway’s prose, the role of faith and confession in the story. whether it’s melodramatic, and much, much more. 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.substack.com/subscribe

This week is one part Q&A about The Princess and the Goblin, one part ask-us-anything. That means we’re discussing George McDonald’s plot devices, Irene’s grandmother, and goblins but also cooking, Shakespeare, new book releases, and the Muppets. 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.substack.com/subscribe

This week we discuss the delightful conclusion to George McDonald’s classic children’s novel, how it compares to classic fairy tales, why books like this matter more than ever, 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 episodes, visit closereads.substack.com/subscribe

Over the next few weeks we’ll be discussing George Macdonald’s delightful nineteenth century children’s story, The Princess and the Goblin. In this episode we discuss its similarities to (and influence on) Lewis and Tolkien, why books like this matter more than ever, and where it’s most delightful. As always, thanks for tuning in and 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.substack.com/subscribe

It’s that time of year! You’ve probably seen the posts revealing the books we’ll be discussing on the show in 2026 , but now you can tune into the process of making those determinations. 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.substack.com/subscribe

You had plenty of great questions; we did our best to answer them. So join in as we conclude our series on Emily Bronte’s classic novel. 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.substack.com/subscribe

We’ve come to the end of Emily Bronte’s novel and so we’re here to discuss, well, how it ends. Up first: Sean’s opinion. Then we discuss the impact of the late-stage POV-shift, whether this is a ghost story, the fun-to-discuss questions at the core of the book, 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 episodes, visit closereads.substack.com/subscribe