Close Reads HQ

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

Current time: 0:00 / Total time: -55:01Audio playback is not supported on your browser. Please upgrade. 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 while also creating mood. Plus: the way the book explores the dissonance between desire and reality, whether any of these characters have any interest in (or capacity to see) higher things, and much more.

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

And so we come to the end of Alessandro Manzoni’s classic novel. In this episode we discuss whether the book’s ending (especially the resolution to Lucia and Renzo’s relationship) is satisfying, the way Manzoni deals with Lucia’s vow, and what the book ultimately seems to have been concerned with. Happy listening! 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.

2 weeks ago | closereads.substack.com | David Kern

Dear Close Reads community, I want to tell you about a new project that we’re very excited about. Later this summer we’re releasing a series of books called Beehive Book Club Guides, written by Hayley Croft and Haley Bouffard. Chock-full of practical tools and tips for hosting memorable bookish gatherings with children, they are the perfect out-of-the-box resource for anyone looking to provide creative, fun, and thoughtful book clubs for kids of any age.

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

Current time: 0:00 / Total time: -1:05:36Audio playback is not supported on your browser. Please upgrade. 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 Gatsby just turned 100 years old! So join in as we discuss what’s made F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel last a century, what makes Nick Carraway a compelling narrator, the tragic longing at the nostalgic core of the story, and much more.

3 weeks 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.