The Reader and the Writer

This is the final episode for Persuasion, by Jane Austen. In this episode, Shari and Rhea discuss some plot twists they weren’t expecting. They also discuss their final thoughts on particular characters, whether or not Anne Elliot has a flaw, what they think Austen is finally saying about persuasion, as well as other underlying themes of this story. And, of course, Wentworth’s letter, as being the most beautiful love letter ever written.

The Reader & the Writer’s final book for 2024 will be A Christmas Carol, by Charles Dickens. Shari and Rhea will take two weeks to discuss this, most all-essential Christmas Tale: Dec. 3rd, and Dec. 10th. Any unabridged version of the story will suffice for reading along.

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In this episode, Shari and Rhea discuss the first half of Volume 2 of Persuasion. They continue to notice Austen’s character development, particularly as more characters come into the story in larger ways: Anne's father and sister, Elizabeth, Lady Russell, Mrs. Smith, and Mr. Elliot. They discuss Wentworth and Louisa’s easy break up and her whiplash-like attachment to Captain Benwick. And they delve into the issues surrounding women of that time, and what might be the equivalent concerns for women of our 21st Century time.

Thank you so much for reading and wondering with us here on the Reader & the Writer. We are grateful you’re here. If you liked this episode, please consider leaving us a kind review. It helps the R&W reach a wider audience.

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Welcome back to Persuasion. This week Rhea and Shari talk extensively about Anne’s character, what they think of the possibility of her not having a flaw, and what role the omniscient narrator may play in shaping their view of her. They also talk about the direction the story is taking, the purpose of other characters to the trajectory of the narrative, and the way the characters in this section behave as the 19th century version of Friends.

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Welcome to Persuasion by Jane Austen. In this episode, Shari and Rhea begin their four-part discussion of Austen’s last completed novel, published after her death. They do a brief biographical sketch of the author, then dive into the novel discussing the omniscient narrator, Persuasion’s main character, Anne Elliot, and whether it’s possible to be endeared to a character with no apparent flaw. We also discuss the virtues of patience, humility, and hope and how a willingness to suffer enlivens these three.

Our reading schedule for Persuasion is:

* Nov 5th: Chapters 1-7

* Nov 12th: Chapters 8-12

* Nov 19th: Chapters 13-19

* Nov 26th: Chapters 20-24

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This week is our last week with Lincoln in the Bardo. Rhea and Shari discuss our thoughts on the ending, themes of the story, and what we each have taken away from this time in the Bardo.

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Welcome back to another episode of the Reader & the Writer! This week, Shari and Rhea continue their deep reading of Lincoln in the Bardo. They discuss the way this story—especially the place of the bardo—continues to open up to them in new ways, even this late in the story; same with the characters. They talk about continual development of the story’s themes as they discern them thus far, and ways they see the backdrop of the Civil War beginning to creep toward the front. Finally, they talk about how they, as readers, handle a story’s “truth” or presentation of something (like the afterlife) when it pushes uncomfortably against or outright collides with their own understanding or beliefs.

Thank you so much for joining us on this literary journey! Our next episode will be our last for Lincoln in the Bardo. Our next book is Persuasion by Jane Austen.

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In this episode, Rhea and Shari continue their discussion of Lincoln in the Bardo. They discuss the ways: the characters are being enlivened, the plot is thickening, and their own understandings of the afterlife are shaping their “seeing” of the bardo.

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On this OAI bonus episode, Rhea and Shari discuss a chapter excerpt from Shannon Reed’s latest book, Why We Read: On Bookworms, Libraries, and Just One More Page Before Lights Out. You can access a PDF of that chapter here.

Reed, with much humor and humility, describes the first time she taught Lincoln in the Bardo to her Readings in Contemporary Fiction class at Pitt, and goes on to describe how what she thought would be a horrible experience has taught her one of the most important reasons why we read.

Rhea and Shari talk about all kinds of things in this episode and go on a few fun tangents, especially on imagination and how a writer keeps writing, instead of throwing in the towel, in the face of reading those masters who’ve gone before.

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This week Rhea and Shari begin their deep read of Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders. It’s a weird one! But so worth the effort, as Rhea and Shari discuss in this first episode. They talk about Saunders’s unorthodox way of telling this story, how the novel reads almost like a play—but then again, doesn’t. They talk about the opportunities and limitations of this odd story-telling style, new ways they are discovering—or may yet discover—on how to participate with the story that other, more traditional narrating styles don’t offer, ghost personalities, and where they think the “water begins to boil.”

Here are links to some of the resources they mentioned in the episode:

* George Saunders at the New Yorker

* What to do with a potentially book-ruining problem, article on Substack (available to free subscribers)

* Story Club with George Saunders (on Substack)

* George Saunders website

The rest of our reading schedule for L in the B:

* Oct 15: pp 89-176

* Oct 22: pp 177-262

* Oct 29: pp 263-343 (end)

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In this final episode of Arabian Nights Tales, Rhea and Shari discuss O. Henry’s short story, “A Madison Square Arabian Night.” They talk about all the ways this story conjures the Arabian Nights atmosphere through word play, character development, metaphor, mystery, and—inverted sentence structure…?? Rhea talks about how this story compares in style to O. Henry’s other short stories, and Shari forgets she’s ever read anything by O. Henry—to include one of his most well-known works (which she owns, even!): The Gift of the Magi. And, they end their discussion with a unexpected wading into sacramental theology and how it shows up here in “A Madison Square Arabian Night.”

If you don’t have The Annotated Arabian Nights translation we’ve been reading from, you can read O. Henry’s short story here.

Next week, Shari and Rhea begin a month long deep reading of Lincoln in the Bardo, by George Saunders. The reading schedule will be:

* Oct 8th: pp 1-88

* Oct 15th: pp 89-176

* Oct 22nd: pp 177-262

* Oct 29th: pp 263-end

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