This week’s episode begins a new experiment on the Reader & the Writer, where Rhea and Shari discuss articles we find interesting on the topics we love. These are one-off episodes that we will intersperse between our regular episodes where we do careful, slow-ish readings of stories well told.

For this first O.A.I (I can’t help it, I was a military wife for 14 years), we’re discussing a 2021 article written by James Wood for the New Yorker magazine, “Anthony Doerr’s Optimism Engine.” We’ll be discussing Wood’s critiques of Doerr’s Cloud Cuckoo Land, and weighing in on whether or not we agree with him, and why.

You can read the New Yorker article here: Anthony Doerr’s Optimism Engine

If you like this episode, please subscribe to The Reader & the Writer. Find us on Substack. Share with your community.

And, give us a positive review on your platform of choice. It helps us reach more people, which, in turn, helps us make The Reader & the Writer, well… better! And better able to reach out into our community with the beauty of the story well told.

Thanks for listening! We’ll see you next week (8/20) for our first of three discussions on: Everything Sad is Untrue, by Daniel Nayeri

Thanks for reading The Reader & the Writer! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support the work we’re doing here. :)

Get full access to The Reader & the Writer at thereaderandthewriter.substack.com/subscribe