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. Happy listening!

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 variety of topics. Snack foods, book organization, novels we wish we wrote, protecting the canon, Lewis or Tolkien, and much more. Hope you enjoy! Until next time, happy reading.

Up next: Chapters 1-3 of The Great Gatsby.

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 we’ll be kicking off a new series on The Great Gatsby.

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!

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. Happy listening!

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. Happy listening!

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 this episode, we’re previewing things and thinking about how to read it before discussing part 1. Happy listening!

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 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. Plus: Is it more tragic or comic (in the literary sense), what does the book have to say about justice, and much more. Happy listening!

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? Plus, how Marie and Emil are counterpoints to Carl and Alexandra. This and much more are topics of discussion on this week’s discussion of Willa Cather’s modern classic. Happy listening!