Classics Read Aloud
Episodes
“Indian Summer of a Forsyte” from The Forsyte Saga, John Galsworthy (1918)
19 Jun 2026
Contributed by Lukas
“The thought that some day—perhaps not ten years hence, perhaps not five—all this world would be taken away from him, before he had exhausted hi...
A White Heron, Sarah Orne Jewett (1886)
12 Jun 2026
Contributed by Lukas
“The tree seemed to lengthen itself out as she went up, and to reach farther and farther upward. It was like a great main-mast to the voyaging earth...
“Projection of the House” from The Forsyte Saga, John Galsworthy (1906-1922)
05 Jun 2026
Contributed by Lukas
“The notion of being the one member of his family with a country house weighed but little with him; for to a true Forsyte, sentiment, even the senti...
Rip Van Winkle, Washington Irving (1819)
22 May 2026
Contributed by Lukas
“Rip Van Winkle was one of those happy mortals, of foolish, well-oiled dispositions, who take the world easy, eat white bread or brown, whichever ca...
“Spring” from Jean Gourdon’s Four Days, Émile Zola (1874)
08 May 2026
Contributed by Lukas
“The valley was mine, really mine; I had conquered it with my legs, and I was the real landlord by right of friendship.”Today, I invite you to rem...
The Open Boat, Stephen Crane (1897)
01 May 2026
Contributed by Lukas
“If I am going to be drowned — if I am going to be drowned — if I am going to be drowned, why, in the name of the seven mad gods who rule the se...
The Ransom of Red Chief, O. Henry (1907)
24 Apr 2026
Contributed by Lukas
“I ain’t attempting to decry the celebrated moral aspect of parental affection, but we’re dealing with humans, and it ain’t human for anybody ...
The Waste Land
17 Apr 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Untold volumes have been written about T. S. Eliot’s seminal work, “The Waste Land.” For over 100 years now, scholars and enthusiasts have mined...
The Yellow Wallpaper
10 Apr 2026
Contributed by Lukas
The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Stetson“Personally, I believe that congenial work, with excitement and change, would do me good.”I had t...
The End of the World: A Vision
01 Apr 2026
Contributed by Lukas
The End of the World: A Vision by James Kirke Paulding“In the course of my wanderings, methought I encountered the celebrated Fire-King, who was sit...
A Doctor’s Visit
27 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
“And so it appears that all these five blocks of buildings are at work, and inferior cotton is sold in the Eastern markets, simply that Christina Dm...
Little Women, an excerpt
20 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
“Four little chests all in a row,Dim with dust, and worn by time,Four women, taught by weal and woe,To love and labor in their prime.”Louisa May A...
Bartleby the Scrivener
13 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
“I would prefer not to.”Today, Moby-Dick is regarded as one of the greatest novels in American history and a towering achievement for its author, ...
The Egg
06 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
“Most philosophers must have been raised on chicken farms.”Depending on who you ask, Sherwood Anderson is either a genius who ushered in a new era...
Babylon Revisited
27 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
“He was not really disappointed to find Paris was so empty. But the stillness in the Ritz bar was strange and portentous. It was not an American bar...
Eveline
20 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
“Through the wide doors of the sheds she caught a glimpse of the black mass of the boat, lying in beside the quay wall, with illumined portholes. Sh...
The Necklace
13 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
“Mathilde suffered ceaselessly, feeling herself born to enjoy all delicacies and all luxuries.”Guy de Maupassant was like a flash of lightening on...
Paste
06 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Paste by Henry James“She had laid the pearls on his table, where, without his having at first put so much as a finger to them, they met his hard, co...
The Hounds of Fate
30 Jan 2026
Contributed by Lukas
The Hounds of Fate by Saki (H. H. Munro)“Three pounds goes but a little way in the world when there is nothing behind it, but to a man who has count...
Peter Pan, An Excerpt
23 Jan 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Peter Pan, An Excerpt, by J. M. BarrieI was inspired to pick up Peter Pan after reading “What I Learned from Reading Peter Pan to my Children” las...
Leave It to Jeeves
16 Jan 2026
Contributed by Lukas
"Leave It to Jeeves" by P. G. Wodehouse“’Sir?’ said Jeeves, kind of manifesting himself. One of the rummy things about Jeeves is that, unless yo...
To Build a Fire
09 Jan 2026
Contributed by Lukas
To Build a Fire by Jack London“At the man’s heels trotted a dog...The animal was depressed by the tremendous cold. It knew that it was no time for...
The Snow Queen
02 Jan 2026
Contributed by Lukas
The Snow Queen by Hans Christian AndersenWith today’s reading, I’d like to focus your attention on Andersen’s dazzling imagery. This adventurous...
Christmas on the Roof of the World
25 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Christmas on the Roof of the World by Ernest Hemingway“Chink knocked at the door.“‘Merry Christmas, mes enfants,’ he grinned. He wore the earl...
A Christmas Carol
20 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens, 1843In December of 1843, Charles Dickens gave fresh life and tradition to the celebration of Christmas. The firs...
The Gift of the Magi
13 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The Gift of the Magi by O. Henry“And here I have lamely related to you the uneventful chronicle of two foolish children in a flat who most unwisely ...
Quality
05 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
"Quality" by John Galsworthy“Then, placing my foot on a piece of paper, he would two or three times tickle the outer edges with a pencil and pass hi...
The Man Who Was Thursday, Part 4
28 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The Man Who Was Thursday (Part 4) by G.K. Chesterton This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access ...
The Man Who Was Thursday, Part 5
28 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The Man Who Was Thursday (Part 5) by G.K. Chesterton This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access ...
The Man Who Was Thursday, Part 3
28 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The Man Who Was Thursday (Part 3) by G. K. Chesterton This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access...
The Man Who Was Thursday, Part 1
28 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The Man Who Was Thursday by G. K. Chesterton This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus...
The Man Who Was Thursday, Part 2
28 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The Man Who Was Thursday (Part 2) by G. K. Chesterton This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access...
The Kiss
20 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
"The Kiss" by Anton Chekhov“In the course of that moment he had told everything, and it surprised him dreadfully to find how short a time it took hi...
Just So Stories, A Selection
13 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Just So Stories, A Selection, by Rudyard Kipling“But different folk have different views;I know a person small –She keeps ten million serving-men,...
The Willows
31 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The Willows by Algernon Blackwood“It was as exactly as through we had disturbed some living yet invisible creatures at work.”Before J.J. Abrams ca...
The Legend of Sleepy Hollow
24 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
“The night grew darker and darker; the stars seemed to sink deeper in the sky, and driving clouds occasionally hid them from his sight. He had never...
The Turn of the Screw, Part 2
17 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
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The Turn of the Screw, Part 1
17 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
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The Shadows on the Wall
08 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
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The Fall of the House of Usher
03 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
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A Wilde World
29 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
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The Anatomy of Anguish
24 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
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Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, Chapters 7-12
19 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
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Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, Chapters 1-6
16 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
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Big Two-Hearted River
10 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Big Two-Hearted River by Ernest HemingwayEvery day, dozens of outdoorsmen head out into nature, armed with video cameras, battery packs, and oh-so-man...
Delightfully Infuriating
05 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
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Double Birthday
01 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
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