Widely regarded as one of the best, and most important books, of the last half-century, Toni Morrison's Beloved is an unflinching examination of how the past can enslave just as painfully as a yoke or a whip can - and how our inability to wrestle with the past begets wrongdoing for generations to come. Listen in as we discuss full-contact sports, the myth of ... Show More
Aug 17
Ep 763 - Legends & Lattes, by Travis Baldree
This story is a giant bag of cotton candy, which we mean mostly as a compliment. It's a romance-adjacent found family story set in a cozy coffee shop set against a D&D-flavored backdrop, a place where almost no one is really a villain and the one person who comes close gets the e ... Show More
55 m
Aug 10
Ep 762 - Olive Kitteridge, by Elizabeth Strout
Is it a novel? A collection of stories? A story cycle? A monograph?? It doesn't matter. This one's an award-winner. Strout's a masterful episodic storyteller, diving quickly into the deep end with characters we've met just pages before. However, the titular Olive looms much large ... Show More
1h 10m
Jun 2023
On Reading ‘Beloved’ Over and Over Again
<p>For readers, a book’s meaning can change with every encounter, depending on the circumstances and experiences they bring to it each time. On this week’s podcast, Gilbert Cruz talks to Salamishah Tillet, a Pulitzer-winning contributing critic at large for The Times, about her a ... Show More
20m 29s
Jun 2024
To Kill a Mockingbird: Chapters 1-8
Welcome back to a new series of discussions on another beloved novel, this time on one of the best American novels ever written. In this episode, we talk about Harper Lee’s use of voice in telling the story (and why it’s somewhat similar to Jane Austen), the importance of the cha ... Show More
1h 11m
Mar 2024
Book Club: Pride and Prejudice
It is time for the long-awaited episode on Jane Austen's enduring classic novel Pride and Prejudice. We navigate issues of class, romance, expectations, first impressions, and of course, pride and prejudice.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
52m 18s