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Tonight: Live Poetry Hour for May (Rescheduled from last week)

4 days ago | closereads.substack.com | David Kern

Hey friends, I’m sorry for the reschedule but May’s Live Poetry Hour is on for tonight at 9 pm est! We’ll be discussing Edward Thomas seasonally-appropriate poem, “The Unknown Bird,” which you can find here. As always, we will start at 9:00 pm eastern and go for one hour. Can’t join us live? Subscribers will have access to the video recording after the fact.
You Are Invited to Our Tenth Anniversary Celebration (and Book Launch Event)!

5 days ago | closereads.substack.com | David Kern

Last year, after returning home from our annual Close Reads retreat, Rachel Woodham wrote a lovely blog post about her experience at the event. She wrote that “reading together is about much more than an interest in the same books. Ultimately, reading in community happens when you are facing the same direction, asking the same questions.”She then shared the following quote from C. S.
A Mailbag Episode

5 days ago | closereads.substack.com | David Kern |Heidi White |Sean Johnson

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.
The Betrothed: Chapters 29-32

1 week ago | closereads.substack.com | David Kern |Heidi White |Sean Johnson

Welcome back to our ongoing series on Alessandro Manzoni’s classic Italian novel. This week we discuss Manzoni’s approach to presenting the historical context of the novel, and why he doesn’t present it as much through the doings of the characters.
Piranesi: Q&A Episode

1 week ago | closereads.substack.com | David Kern |Sean Johnson |Heidi White

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.
Monthly Mystery: Mystery Mile

2 weeks ago | closereads.substack.com | David Kern |Heidi White |Sean Johnson

Join in as we discuss this month’s mystery novel: Margery Allingham’s Mystery Mile, a book for which we had varying degrees of affection. As always we discuss the big picture view before digging into the categories. Thanks for the support and happy listening. And be sure to let us know what you thought of this one in the comment below! Listen to this episode with a 7-day free trialSubscribe to Close Reads Podcast HQ to listen to this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.
Piranesi: To the End

2 weeks ago | closereads.substack.com | David Kern |Heidi White |Sean Johnson

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 satisfying, different ways of interpreting the book, the way it presents it’s myriad philosophical contemplations, and much more. Happy listening! Discussion about this videoClose 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.
Piranesi: Chapters 4 and 5

3 weeks ago | closereads.substack.com | David Kern |Sean Johnson |Heidi White

Current time: 0:00 / Total time: -1:03:36Audio playback is not supported on your browser. Please upgrade. Wikipedia rabbit holes. Peacefulness or lack thereof in the world of Piranesi. The source of human goodness and morality. Sudafed fever dreams. These and many other topics are discussed on this week’s discussion of Susannah Clarke’s novel.
Piranesi: Parts 2 and 3

1 month ago | closereads.substack.com | David Kern |Heidi White |Sean Johnson

Current time: 0:00 / Total time: -1:02:53Audio playback is not supported on your browser. Please upgrade. Welcome back to our ongoing conversation on Susanna Clarke’s Piranesi. This week we’re discussing the book’s genre-bending nature, Clarke’s extremely allusive approach (from Coleridge to Lewis and others in between), whether the house of a dark place or a peaceful place, and much more.
The Betrothed: Chapters 21-24

1 month ago | closereads.substack.com | David Kern |Heidi White |Sean Johnson

Welcome back to our ongoing series on The Betrothed! This week we’re discussing Lucia’s vow, the nameless one’s conversion, and much more! Thanks for listening and thanks for the support! Listen to this episode with a 7-day free trialSubscribe to Close Reads Podcast HQ to listen to this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives. These bonus episodes for those listeners to want to dig even deeper are primarily focused on longer novels.