Close Reads Podcast

A Christmas Mailbag

20 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

For your errand-running, long drive, baking, cleaning, or lounging listening, we present a Christmas mailbag in which we answer your questions about t...

Much Ado About Nothing: Act 5

16 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

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 transforma...

Much Ado About Nothing: Act IV

08 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In this week’s conversation about Shakespeare classic comedy, we discuss the famous “kill Claudio” demand from Beatrice: How it opens up the dra...

Much Ado About Nothing: Act III

01 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Welcome back to another conversation about Shakespeare’s delightful comedy. This week we discuss the differences between “noting” and investigat...

Much Ado About Nothing: Act II

24 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

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! ...

Much Ado About Nothing: Act I

18 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

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 ...

A Farewell to Arms: Q&A Episode

13 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

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! ...

A Farewell to Arms: Book 5

04 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

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 ...

A Farewell to Arms: Book 4

27 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

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 sc...

A Farewell to Arms: Book 3

24 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

After an unfortunate delay, we’re back with further conversation about Hemingway’s twentieth century classic. This week we discuss the harrowing ...

A Farewell to Arms: Book 2 (Chapters 13-24)

13 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

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...

A Farewell to Arms: Book One (Chapters 1-12)

07 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

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 ...

Q&A: The Princess and the Goblin + Ask-Us-Anything

01 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

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,...

The Princess and the Goblin: To the End

22 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

This week we discuss the delightful conclusion to George McDonald’s classic children’s novel, how it compares to classic fairy tales, why books li...

The Princess and the Goblin: Chapters 1-14

15 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Over the next few weeks we’ll be discussing George Macdonald’s delightful nineteenth century children’s story, The Princess and the Goblin. In t...

The Great Winnowing of 2025 (for 2026)

09 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

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 ...

Wuthering Heights: Q&A

03 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

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 liste...

Wuthering Heights: Final Chapters

25 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

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 i...

Wuthering Heights: Chapters 22-28

18 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Welcome back to our ongoing conversation about Emily Bronte’s novel! This week we discuss whether it’s too melodramatic, Heathcliff’s malevolenc...

Wuthering Heights: Chapters 15-21

11 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Welcome back to our ongoing series on Emily Bronte’s novel! This week we’re discussing the degree to which the book is a love story, the strange c...

Close Reads Live: A Special Tenth Anniversary Discussion of "A Good Man Is Hard to Find"

05 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Ten years ago, on the first ever episode of Close Reads, we discussed “A Good Man Is Hard To Find,” the famous story by Flannery O’Connor. Last ...

Wuthering Heights: Chapters 11-14

29 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Welcome back to our ongoing series on Emily Bronte’s classic novel. This week we discuss the roots of the characters’ various issues, Cathy’s an...

Wuthering Heights: Chapters 7-10

22 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Welcome back to our ongoing series on Emily Bronte’s classic novel. This week we’re discussing whether the book includes either a protagonist or a...

Wuthering Heights: Chapters 1-6

14 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Welcome to a new series! As we kick off our conversations on Emily Bronte’s Wuthering Heights, we discuss the genius of the Bronte sisters, the some...

The Great Gatsby: Q&A Episode

02 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

As always, you had plenty of great questions about our current book and on this episode we did our best to answer a bunch of them. Thanks for tuning i...

The Great Gatsby: The Final Chapters

25 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

It’s a bit late, but better late than never, right? Apologies for the delay! The upload speeds weren’t great in the English countryside. All the s...

The Great Gatsby: Chapter 4-6

16 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Welcome back to our series on F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel, in which we discuss his best novelistic skills, including his ability to deal in subtext ...

The Great Gatsby: Chapters 1-3

09 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Welcome to a new series of episodes on another wonderful book. It’s our first re-read here on Close Reads and it’s timely, too, since The Great Ga...

A Mailbag Episode

02 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

We’re in between books so we answered as many of your questions as we could—which is to say, this is one of those wide-ranging episodes on a varie...

Piranesi: Q&A Episode

27 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

You had questions; we did our best to answer them. It’s the Piranesi Q&A episode. Happy listening! Up next: An ask-us-anything mailbag episode, then...

Piranesi: To the End

20 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

We’ve come to the end of Susannah Clarke’s novel, which means it’s time to discuss whether the somewhat controversial ending is ultimately satis...

Piranesi: Chapters 4 and 5

13 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Wikipedia rabbit holes. Peacefulness or lack thereof in the world of Piranesi. The source of human goodness and morality. Sudafed fever dreams. These ...

Piranesi: Parts 2 and 3

05 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Welcome back to our ongoing conversation on Susanna Clarke’s Piranesi. This week we’re discussing the book’s genre-bending nature, Clarke’s ex...

Piranesi: Part 1

28 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Welcome to a new series! It’s time to dig into Susanna Clarke’s Piranesi, a book that’s been requested many times since its release in 2020. In ...

O Pioneers!: Q&A Episode

22 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

You had questions; we did our best to answer them. It’s the final episode on O Pioneers!, and we’re sad to see it go. Happy listening! This is a ...

O Pioneers!: To the End

15 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

This week, Sean describes how he wasn’t prepared for the ending of this book and we discuss the precision of the writing in some of the key scenes. ...

O Pioneers!: Parts 2 & #

07 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

What do we make of Carl’s choices (and semi-pursuit) of Alexandra? Does he have anything to offer her? What makes Marie such a compelling character?...

O Pioneers!: Part 1

01 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Welcome to a new series on another great novel, Willa Cather’s O Pioneers!. This week we’re discussing Cather’s instinctive yet precise writing,...

A Tale of Two Cities: Q&A Episode

25 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

You had questions; we did our best to answer them. It’s another Q&A and it’s all yours now . . . or as soon as you hit the play button. Happy list...

The Jane Austen Heist Draft

17 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Welcome to the Jane Austen heist draft, in which each of us will build a six-member crew of Jane Austen characters to perpetrate a heist, Oceans 11 st...

A Tale of Two Cities: Final Chapters

11 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

And so we come to the end of Charles Dicken’s A Tale of Two Cities! In this episode, we discuss the sometimes complicated nature of reading and writ...

Now Available to Pre-order: "The Divided Soul: Duty and Desire in Literature and Life" by Heidi White

04 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In this very special episode we go behind-the-scenes with Heidi on her forthcoming book! What’s the origin story? Why is the topic so important to h...

A Tale of Two Cities: Book 3, Chapters 1-8

03 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Welcome back to our ongoing series on Charles Dickens’ A Tale of Two Cities! This week we’re chatting about scenes that make this section exciting...

A Tale of Two Cities: To the End of Book 2

24 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Welcome back! It’s French Revolution time (i.e., Dickens does history). Also, Lucy and Darnay discuss Sidney’s sadness, Lucy and Darnay have child...

A Tale of Two Cities: Book 2, Chapters 14-19

17 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

It’s the episode in which we dig into the ways Dickens uses different tones of voice in various sections, the way his writing creates a tableau-like...

A Tale of Two Cities: Part 2, Chapters 7-13

10 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Welcome back to our ongoing conversation about Charles Dickens’ classic novel! In this episode, we discuss what the book is revealing itself to be a...

A Tale of Two Cities: Book 2, Chapters 1-6

04 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

We’re back with another conversation on Charles Dickens’ classical novel, and this time we discuss the introduction of Sidney Carton and Charles D...

A Tale of Two Cities: Book 1, Chapters 1-6

28 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Over the years, many of you have asked us to discuss a Dickens novel and it’s finally time! Over the next several episodes we are going to dig into ...

The Bridge of San Luis Rey Q&A

24 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

You had questions about The Bridge of San Luis Rey; we did our best to answer them. Thanks for tuning in to this series! Up next: A Tale of Two Cities...

The Bridge of San Luis Rey: To the End

14 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

It’s time to dig into the end of Thornton Wilder’s lovely novel and in this episode we’re discussing the impact (and epilogue-like nature) of th...

The Bridge of San Luis Rey: Parts 1-3

06 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Welcome to the first episode of 2025 here on Close Reads! Our first book of the year is a short but powerful contemplation of , well, the meaning of l...

The Great Passion: Q&A Episode

31 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

We’ve come to the end of our series on James Runcie’s novel, The Great Passion, which (as usual) means it’s time for a Q&A episode and this time...

The Great Passion: To the End

24 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Merry Christmas from all of us at Close Reads! In this episode we’re chatting about the final chapters of James Runcie’s lovely novel, The Great P...

The Year in the Reading Episode

21 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

It’s that time of year! In this annual tradition we’re sharing our top five reads of 2024 (as well as a slew of honorable mentions). Happy listeni...

The Great Passion: Chapters 13-18

16 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Welcome back to our ongoing conversation about James Runcie’s The Great Passion. In this episode we discuss the book’s ongoing contemplation about...

The Great Passion: Chapters 7-12

09 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Welcome back to Close Reads as we continue our discussion of James Runcie’s The Great Passion. Topics of conversation include the way Runcie introdu...

The Great Passion: Chapters 1-6

02 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

We’re on to a new book: James Runcie’s The Great Passion, a contemporary book that blends a variety of genres in a really delightful fashion. On t...

Black Friday Ask-Us-Anything Q&A

30 Nov 2024

Contributed by Lukas

You had questions so we answered some. It’s an ask-us-anything episode for the long holiday weekend. Happy Thanksgiving from all of us here at Close...

Station Eleven: Q&A Episode

26 Nov 2024

Contributed by Lukas

You have questions, we have answers! So join in as Heidi and Sean dig deep into your agreements and disagreements, your concerns and displeasures, you...

Station Eleven: Chapters 6-9 (to the end)

18 Nov 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Welcome to the conclusion of our conversation of Emily St. John Mandel’s award-winning novel (other than the Q&A episode, which will drop next week)...

Station Eleven: Parts 5-6

11 Nov 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Welcome back to our discussion of Emily St. John Mandel’s award-winning, best-selling contemporary novel, Station Eleven. In this episode we discuss...

Station Eleven: Parts 3-4

04 Nov 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Welcome back to our discussion of Emily St. John Mandel’s award-winning, best-selling contemporary novel, Station Eleven. Topics of conversation on ...

Station Eleven: Parts 1 & 2

28 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Welcome to a new series here on Close Reads, in which we’re digging into Emily St. John Mandel’s award-winning, best-selling contemporary novel, S...

Vipers' Tangle: Q&A Episode

23 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

As is our custom here on Close Reads, we’re concluding this series on Francois Mauriac’s Vipers’ Tangle by answering some of your questions. We ...

Vipers' Tangle: To the End

14 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Now that we’ve read all of Mauriac’s Vipers’ Tangle, we can discuss the details. So in this episode, we dig into the degree to which we can trus...

Live Episode: Is Flannery O'Connor Funny?

11 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Flannery O’Connor’s fiction has been described as “gothic,” “violent,” “unsentimental,” even “grotesque.” Yet it is also often des...

Vipers' Tangle: Chapters 11-15

08 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Welcome back to Close Reads. This week we’re discussing the way Vipers’ Tangle shift gears in this section and what it means for our understanding...

Vipers' Tangle: Chapters 6-10

30 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Welcome back to Close Reads! This week we discuss why Vipers’ Tangle isn’t better known, the degree to which the book wants to be sympathetic with...

Viper's Tangle: Chapters 1-5

24 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

This week we kick off a new book with some conversation about Sean’s obsession with Graham Greene, why books about spiritual struggle are so compell...

Mrs Palfrey at the Claremont: Q&A Episode

17 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

You had questions about Mrs. Palfrey at the Claremont—we have answers. Thanks so much for participating in this series of this episodes and happy li...

Announcing the 2025 Book List (AKA: The Great Winnowing)!

11 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The reading list for 2025 is officially official! After a lively nominating season and much debate (which you can hear in this episode), we have chose...

Mrs. Palfrey at the Claremont: The Final Chapters

10 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

As we come to the end of Elizabeth Taylor’s novel, it’s time to discuss the degree to which the ending is tragic (vs. merely melancholy). Plus: wh...

Mrs Palfrey at the Claremont: Chapters 7-12

04 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Welcome back to the Close Reads! This week we discuss whether Ludo is a decent guy, compare the real Desmond to the fake one, contemplate the creeping...

Mrs Palfrey at the Claremont: Chapters 1-6

27 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

We’re on to a new book here on Close Reads! So join us as we discuss the particular mix of melancholy and humor that Elizabeth Taylor manages to off...

Sing, Unburied, Sing: Final Chapters

13 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

We’ve come to the end of another book and this time we are discussing the supernatural and spiritual implications of the final pages, the modern vis...

Sing, Unburied, Sing: Chapters 8-11

06 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

“What’s with all of the vomit?”, Heidi asked, and thus we were off. But, dear listener, we talked about so much more than that. We discussed the...

Sing, Unburied, Sing: Chapters 4-7

30 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Welcome back to Close Reads as we discuss justice, point-of-view, ghosts (and much more) in Jesmyn Ward’s Sing, Unburied, Sing! Happy listening! Thi...

Sing, Unburied, Sing: Chapters 1-3

23 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Jesmyn Ward’s 2017 novel, Sing, Unburied, Sing, has quickly emerged as one of the most highly regarded books of our young century, so on this episod...

To Kill a Mockingbird: Q&A Episode

16 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

You’ve got questions about To Kill a Mockingbird, we’ve got conversation. Thanks to everyone who submitted questions and happy listening! This is...

To Kill a Mockingbird: The Final Chapters

09 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

And so we’re at the end of another book. In this one, Boo Radley appears, Jem is a hero, Atticus faces a dilemma, and Scout begins to see things for...

To Kill a Mockingbird: Chapters 15-22

02 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

This section of To Kill a Mockingbird includes some of the most memorable scenes in all of American literature. Join us as we dig in! (And happy liste...

To Kill a Mockingbird: Chapters 9-14

25 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

During these chapters Harper Lee begins to shift gears, subtly expanding the thematic world of To Kill a Mockingbird, while also introducing us to bot...

To Kill a Mockingbird: Chapters 1-8

19 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Welcome back to a new series of discussions on another beloved novel, this time on one of the best American novels ever written. In this episode, we t...

An 1860's Book Draft

11 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

What’s your favorite book from the 1860s? Something by Tolstoy or Dostoevsky? Dickens or Alcott? This week on Close Reads we’re drafting books fr...

The Summer Book: Second Half

04 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Join us as we dig into the second half of Tove Jansson’s delightful novel, The Summer Book. We discussed whether this is a fundamentally feminine bo...

The Summer Book: First Half

27 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Summer is nearly here, so it’s the perfect time to dive into Tove Jansson’s cult classic, The Summer Book, a delightful but melancholy story about...

Trust: Q&A Episode

20 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

As always, we’re concluding a series by answering you questions. And, while it may have taken two different recording sessions, we answered as many ...

Trust: Part 4

10 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

We can finally talk about the whole book, which really means we can finally debate all the things we want to debate! So click play and listen in as we...

Trust: Part 3

06 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Part three of Hernan Diaz’s novel is quite different than its two predecessors. On the one hand, it shifts the point-of-view away from the Bevel fam...

Trust: Part 2

29 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

We’re back to discuss part two of Hernan Diaz’s award-winning novel. In this episode we chat about whether we can really know anything about its n...

Trust: Part One

23 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The gang is all back for this new series on Hernan Diaz’s Pulitzer Prize winning novel, Trust! Join as we try not to spoil the rest of the book, dis...

The Hobbit: Q&A episode

16 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Once again, it’s time to answer your questions! So join us as we discuss Tolkien’s many choices, some differences between this book and the main t...

The Hobbit: Back Again (The Final Chapters)

08 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Bilbo’s journey is over and he’s home, which means there’s plenty to talk about. So this week we’re discussing the role of luck in Tolkien’s...

The Hobbit: Chapters 7-13

01 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Bilbo, Thorin, and co. are well on their way, but are they actually good at their jobs? We discuss. Plus: Beowulf, The Hobbit and the question of hero...

The Hobbit: Chapters 1-6

25 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Welcome to a new series here on Close Reads! We’re talking Tolkien, we’re talking Hobbits, we’re talking rings and dwarves and wizards, and (thi...

The Road: Q&A

18 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

We’ve come to the end of the line discussing another book and that means it’s time to answer your questions! A lot of questions came in for this o...

The End of "The Road"

11 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

This week we begin with a brief “Posts for the Hosts” segment before diving into conversation about the final passages in Cormac McCarthy’s The ...

The Road: Pages 93-198

04 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The gang’s all back to discuss Cormac McCarthy’s The Road. This week we contemplate the gruesome nature of some of the scenes and images in this s...

The Road: Pages 1-92

26 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Welcome to our new (and long-awaited) series on Cormac McCarthy’s post-apocalyptic novel, The Road. All four of us are here for this one and here in...

The Warden: Q&A Episode

20 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

And so we come to the end of our conversations on Anthony Trollope’s The Warden, focusing, as always, on your questions. Join us as we dig into Trol...