

Close Reads Podcast
Goldberry Studios
Close Reads is a book-club podcast for the incurable reader co-hosted by David Kern, Heidi White, Sean Johnson, and occasionally Tim McIntosh. We read good books and talk about them.
This is a show for amateurs in the best sense. This is not an experts show: we’re book lovers, book enthusiasts. Our goal is have empathetic and intelligent conversations about good books.
Close Reads is produced by Goldberry Studios, the podcast wing of Goldberry Books, a family-run indie bookshop in Concord, NC. closereads.substack.com
This is a show for amateurs in the best sense. This is not an experts show: we’re book lovers, book enthusiasts. Our goal is have empathetic and intelligent conversations about good books.
Close Reads is produced by Goldberry Studios, the podcast wing of Goldberry Books, a family-run indie bookshop in Concord, NC. closereads.substack.com
Episodes
Mentioned books

Nov 3, 2017 • 1h 19min
#73: Murder on the Orient Express (part 3)
On this episode of Close Reads Angelina, Tim, and David discuss the finale of Agatha Christie's beloved mystery story, Murder on the Orient Express. Topics include: The Great Candy Wars of 2017, the detective as a trope, the question of justice in the ending, Poirot's punting, Tim's inner struggle. Please consider becoming a patron of this podcast. Learn more at patreon.com/closereads. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit closereads.substack.com/subscribe

Oct 27, 2017 • 1h 16min
#72: Murder on the Orient Express (part 2)
On this episode of Close Reads Angelina, Tim, and David discuss part two of Agatha Christie's beloved mystery story, Murder on the Orient Express. Topics include: Some (fascinating) listener theories on the book, Poirot's approach and personality, the role of the reader in a good mystery, Tim shenanigans, and much more. Please consider becoming a patron of this podcast. Learn more at patreon.com/closereads. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit closereads.substack.com/subscribe

Oct 21, 2017 • 1h 14min
#71: Murder on the Orient Express (part 1)
On this episode of Close Reads Angelina, Tim, and David kick off their discussion of Agatha's Christie classic mystery story, Murder on the Orient Express. This week they chat about part one. Topics include the way Christie plays with the form of the mystery story, Hercule Poirot's character, the nature of justice in the story, and MUCH more. Please consider becoming a patron of this podcast. Learn more at patreon.com/closereads. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit closereads.substack.com/subscribe

Oct 7, 2017 • 1h 10min
#70: Gilead (ep. 8)
On this episode of Close Reads, Tim and David conclude their discussion of Marilynne Robinson's beloved, Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, Gilead. include whether Jack should have left town, whether Jack is a bad guy, and much, much more. This episode covers pages 215 through the end of the book. *** Please consider becoming a patron of this podcast. Learn more at patreon.com/closereads. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit closereads.substack.com/subscribe

Sep 30, 2017 • 1h 9min
#69: Gilead (ep. 7)
On this episode of Close Reads, Angelina, Tim, and David continue their discussion of Marilynne Robinson's beloved, Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, Gilead. Topics include Angelina's strong feelings about the book (and David's pushback), whether Robinson misfired with the Boughton/Ames scene, and much more. This episode covers pages 188-215. *** This episode is brought to you by our good friends at New College Franklin. Set up a campus visit now! Please consider becoming a patron of this podcast. Learn more at patreon.com/closereads. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit closereads.substack.com/subscribe

Sep 22, 2017 • 1h 3min
#68: Gilead (ep. 6)
On this episode of Close Reads, Angelina, Tim, and David continue their discussion of Marilynne Robinson's beloved, Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, Gilead. Topics include ways the parable of the prodigal son show up in the book, Jack Boughton's concerns about being "elect," rejection vs. restoration, Jack's loneliness, and much more. This episode covers pages 160-188. *** This episode is brought to you by our good friends at New College Franklin. Set up a campus visit now! Please consider becoming a patron of this podcast. Learn more at patreon.com/closereads. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit closereads.substack.com/subscribe

Sep 18, 2017 • 1h 2min
#67: Christine Perrin on Learning to Love Marilynne Robinson
On this bonus episode of Close Reads, David discusses Marilynne Robinson with poet, teacher, and speaker Christine Perrin, who explains why it took her a while to learn to love Gilead, why Lila is her "heart book," and much, much more. *** This episode is brought to you by our good friends at New College Franklin. Set up a campus visit now! See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit closereads.substack.com/subscribe

Sep 14, 2017 • 1h 27min
#66: Gilead (ep. 5)
On this episode of Close Reads, Angelina, Tim, and David continue their discussion of Marilynne Robinson's beloved, Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, Gilead. Topics include how easy it is to focus on the wrong things when you read, the mystery of reading a book, the lack of a problem to be solved in this book, the Jack Boughton revelation, and much more. This episode covers pages 128-160. *** This episode is brought to you by our good friends at New College Franklin. Set up a campus visit now! See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit closereads.substack.com/subscribe

Sep 4, 2017 • 1h 12min
#65: Gilead (ep. 4)
On this episode of Close Reads, Angelina, Tim, and David continue their discussion of Marilynne Robinson's beloved, Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, Gilead. Topics include all the baseball in the book, the mystery of Jack Boughton, the remembrance of sorrow, and much more. This episode covers pages 97-128. *** This episode is brought to you by our good friends at New College Franklin. Set up a campus visit now! See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit closereads.substack.com/subscribe

Aug 29, 2017 • 1h 11min
#64: Gilead (ep. 3)
On this episode of Close Reads, Angelina, Tim (from Aruba), and David continue their discussion of Marilynne Robinson's beloved, Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, Gilead. Topics include the book's lack of plot, the various father/son relationships, more conversation on theology and suffering, and more. This episode covers pages 68-97. *** This episode is brought to you by Schole Academy from Classical Academic Press, featuring new literature courses taught by Close Reads co-star, Tim McIntosh. It's also brought to you by our good friends at New College Franklin. Set up a campus visit now! See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit closereads.substack.com/subscribe


