RavynReads

A Year Without Summer: Polidori's Failed Pitch to Mary Shelley (The Vampyre) | The October Rite

25 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

We've all done unhinged things for love, but have you ever invented an entire cultural genre? In 1816, the "Year Without Summer," a volcanic winter tr...

Vlad the Impaler: Sinner or Saint? (1490) - The October Rite

16 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Today, having examined both sides of Vlad's legacy, we ask the obvious question: So, arbiter of justice or monster? And the answer is...complicated....

The Impaler's Theatre: How Did Vlad the Impaler's Legend Spread? (1463) - The October Rite

13 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Blood Between Empires: The Land Vlad the Impaler Fought to Protect (1456) - The October Rite

11 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Today we examine the duality of Vlad. But more specifically, the land he fought for.  There have been longer rulers in the region. More popular rule...

What's Worse Than a Vampire?: Vlad the Impaler (1431ish-1477)

08 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

He's only the third Vlad I know of, and definitely the one I'd least like to be stuck in a forest with.  We briefly dive into the history, lore, and ...

The Monk Who Said "...Maybe?" - Dom Calmet (1746) - The October Rite

07 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

We've had a scientific rebuttal from 2025. But we've also got one from an 18th century librarian-monk-scholar! @RavynReads on socials

A Biologist's Guide to The Undead: Revisiting Early Vampires (2025) - The October Rite

06 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

When I'm not reading books into a microphone, I have a degree in biomedical sciences.  Unbelievably, our two worlds are about to collide as we revisi...

The Perfect Couple - "The Awakening" (Ch. 3 & 4) by Kate Chopin (1899)

04 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Today, we're taking a break from all the blood and gore and returning to a far more seemingly placid disquiet.  Grand Isle and the slow piercing of ...

UpToStake: How to Take a Vampire Physical: Arnold Paole (1725-1732) - The October Rite

03 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

18th-century medicine has entered the vampire discourse... And...things to do not go well... This one is marked as explicit for the fairly dispassiona...

The "First" Vampire: Petar Blagojević (1725) - The October Rite

02 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The First Vampire never knew he was the first vampire. Which honestly, seems unfair. @RavynReads for socials and updates

A History of Vampires: Introduction - The October Rite

01 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

For the month of October, I'm tracing this history of the Vampire, from the first original reports in Eastern Europe all the way to Bram Stoker's jaun...

Summer at Grand Isle, "The Awakening" (Ch. 1 & 2) by Kate Chopin (1899)

12 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

No fun voices today. Tonight we turn the podcast over to Edna Pontellier and to Kate Chopin, a woman writing against the grain in 1899. We begin The A...

A Dog, A River, & A Friendship - "Wind in the Willows" (Chapter 1) by Kenneth Grahame

03 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

We return to the riverbank, where friendship smells like rope and reed and watercress. In memory of Jess, my father’s dog, and the spirit of good pi...

Shelf Lives #9 - "You Try to Be a Stand-Up Human Being" (Denis)

22 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

There’s a park in New York that made me believe in places again. Denis took me there — both in this episode, then eventually in person. Gorman Par...

Shelf Lives #8 - "I Seem to Recall Something About Never Letting Go" (Tim)

29 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

This week on Shelf Lives, we meet Tim—a 45-year-old veteran, psychology grad student, medieval reenactor, and unintentional philosopher—who once r...

The Printer, The Panic, and Poe: The Tell-Tale Heart

15 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Okay, so here’s the thing— When this podcast started, I tried to whisper like grief wore a turtleneck. But that’s not me. I’m a hospital worke...

Shelf Lives #7 - "The Pale Blue Dot" (Karen)

21 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In this iconic episode of Shelf Lives, we talk with Karen, a Canadian Library Technician!  In what is arguably the perfect intersection, we cover ev...

Shelf Lives #6 - "We Tore the World Asunder" (Reno V of the Comic Dissection Podcast)

04 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode of Shelf Lives, I interview Reno V of the Comic Dissection Podcast & Judgmental Horror Junkies. We cover comics as literature, horror ...

The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame: Chapter 1, Part 1

14 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Because...we could all do with small woodland creatures discovering Archimedes Principle right now....Acorn-medes... @RavynReads on socials

Death by Swoon - "Bright Star" by John Keats

30 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode, we return to John Keats with "Bright Star" And I try to keep it mysterious, except it's in the title of the episode. Sherlock Holmes...

Who Let the Swans Out? - "The Wild Swans at Coole" by W. B. Yeats

28 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

I'm terribly sorry about that pun. Today we return to Yeats and the Wild Swans at Coole! @RavynReads on the socials. 

Just...Pick One... - Robert Frost's "The Road Not Taken"

15 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Seriously, the clam chowder's getting cold... @RavynReads on socials

To Changing Leaves, To Pumpkin Spice Lattes, "To Autumn" by John Keats

02 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Happy New Year! Today, I read "To Autumn" by John Keats. Today is also a reminder that Autumn is the best season...don't @ me. But if you'd like to ...

Poe has complex feelings, "Annabel Lee"

31 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Poe sure knows how to make me feel emotionally conflicted. This week I read the ...complex...Annabel Lee. @RavynReads on socials, if you'd like to co...

Shelf Lives #5 - "The Grace We Give to Strangers (Except Galen)" (Marky)

24 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In this fifth episode of Shelf Lives, I interview Marky. We discuss motherhood, South America, Pablo Neruda, and how much we both hate Galen! Feel fr...

When you can no more hold me by the hand, "Remember" by Christina Rossetti

19 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

This week, I read "Remember" by Christina Rossetti - a beautifully haunting poem about loss, love, memory, and the act of remembrance. If you enjoy t...

Shelf Lives #4 – "A Beautiful Little Fool" (Ingrid)

28 Nov 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode of Shelf Lives, Ingrid from Wisconsin and I discuss hard things, and freezing to death to watch football. @RavynReads on socials Med...

The Hand That Mocks, "Ozymandius" by Percy Shelley

27 Nov 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Both timely and timeless, "Ozymandius" by Percy Shelley... @RavynReads on socials

Edgar Allan Poe but it's giving Inception, "A Dream Within A Dream"

20 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode, I read Edgar Allan Poe's short two stanza poem, "A Dream Within A Dream".  Socials: @ravynreads

Miles to Go Before I Sleep, "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening" by Robert Frost

25 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Socials: @ravynreads Today's episode celebrates the beauty of a forest in winter. Ravyn reads Robert Frost's "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening". I...

Tread Carefully, "Aedh Wishes for the Cloths of Heaven" by W. B. Yeats

16 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In this latest episode, Ravyn reads Yeats for the first time. The 1899 poem, "Aedh Wishes for the Cloths of Heaven" explores a universal emotional sta...

Shelf Lives #3 - "I Knew There Was Something Else" (Chaz from The Excommunication Station Podcast)

13 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode of "Shelf Lives", Chaz, host of "The Excommunication Station" Podcast discusses growing up in the Evangelical Church, religious trauma...

Hope & Feathers, Appreciating Emily Dickinson

18 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

I read "Hope is the Thing with Feathers" by Emily Dickinson. Socials: @RavynReads

Shelf Lives #2 - "The Scars That Sweetness Leaves" (Rich)

16 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

What is reading when the world goes dark? Join Rich and I for the necessity of lowering barriers to reading, the Lima Bean Conspiracy, JamesPatterson...

Walking with Lord Byron

03 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

I dip my toes into romanticism with everyone's favorite Lord and recite the sublime, the touching, "She Walks in Beauty".

In Quiet Defiance, Bartleby the Scrivener

31 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In this captivating episode of "RavynReads," titled "In Quiet Defiance, Bartleby the Scrivener" we embark on the first part of Herman Melville's enigm...

Shelf Lives #1 - "Who Needs Trees?!" (Erica)

04 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Erica from Vancouver Island, Canada is our first guest on Shelf Lives! The show where I interview folks about how reading has changed their lives.  ...

Unraveling 'The Yellow Wallpaper' by Charlotte Perkins-Gilman

01 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Welcome to the inaugural episode of "RavynReads," where we breathe new life into classic literature. I'm Ravyn, your guide through the intricate world...

RavynReads Trailer

21 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

A place to relax, recharge, and #StayHeroic