A Summer Update On New Plans for Subscriber Content (and Updated Reading Schedules)

Bathers at Asnièrs by Georges Seurat (1884) — Bethany and I saw this painting in May at the National Gallery in London.

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Hey friends,

So summer is pretty busy, eh? Between vacations and weddings and retreats and conferences and holidays are best-laid plans to garden and read and go to baseball games and take in pool days and visit book stores (I hope) and maybe even be productive every now and then. And, of course, listen to podcasts. Did people do summer before podcasts were a thing?

Here at Close Reads we’re coming off our annual retreat which was a delightful week of contemplation and camaraderie. I’m still sorting through all of my thoughts on the experience and perhaps I’ll write about some of them in the near future. But, for now, I know you’re waiting on delayed reading schedules for our next book—Daniel Nayeri’s Everything Sad Is Untrue—as well as our next book for subscribers—C. S. Lewis’ That Hideous Strength, the final book in his Ransom/Space Trilogy. Both sets of schedules are below!

But don’t scroll down quite yet because I want to let you know about a few new benefits we will begin offering our subscribers starting in July.

In addition to access to the bonus conversation on longer books, you will also get three new pieces of content each month:

• First, we’ll finally be launching a monthly “Close Reads at the Movies” series, something many of you have been requesting for a long time. Each month we’ll record a deep-dive episode about an essential work of cinema, exploring why the film matters and how it accomplishes what it accomplishes—and along the way we’ll be discussing how (and why) to watch movies more generally.

• Second, we’ll be presenting a monthly episode on an important short story. Mostly, we’ll be reading classics and discussing what makes great short fiction great, but every now and then we might also look at some elite contemporary short works, too. These will be podcast episodes posted for subscribers.

• And, finally, we’ll be offering a monthly Close Reads LIVE meet-up dedicated to discussing poetry. We have had a such a great time reading poetry during our retreats so it seems like a great idea to do more often—and why not do it together, with you! Each session will feature a single great poem to dig into and subscribers can jump on the Zoom call and participate in the conversation. We are confident these are going to be truly enlightening conversations. (Yep, these sessions will be recorded and will be available to listen after the fact.)

So this means that if you’re a subscriber to Close Reads HQ, each month you’ll receive two bonus episodes on longer novels, an episode on an essential movie, an episode on a great short story, and access to participate in monthly conversations on poetry (plus, access to Heidi’s monthly column on duty and desire and, if you’re a Founding Member, early access to registration for Close Reads events).

We’re really excited about these plans and can’t wait to get started in July. Not signed up yet? Join us:

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Introducing Close Reads on the Road!

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Okay, here are the long-awaited reading schedules . . .

First, please note that The Scarlet Letter Q&A episode will drop next Monday, July 3.

Everything Sad Is Untrue reading schedule

Episode 1 (July 10): Through page 114
Episode 2 (July 17): through page 231
Episode 3 (July 24): To the end of the book
Episode 4 (July 31): Q&A

That Hideous Strength schedule

Episode 1 (July 7): Chapters 1-3
Episode 2 (July 21): Chapters 4-7
Episode 3 (August 4): Chapters 8-9
Episode 4 (August 18): Chapters 10-11
Episode 5 (September 1): Chapters 12-14
Episode 6 (September 15): Chapters 15-End
Episode 7 (September 29): Q&A

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Well Worth Your Time

Articles, essays, and more that are worth the effort

• Emily Wilson, whose translation of the Odyssey we discussed on the show a few years ago, has a translation of the Iliad coming out soon and this week she wrote for The Times about various approaches to translating that great book (while taking a close look at different versions of the final meeting between Hector and Andromache).

• I recently ran across this essay from the always-insightful Paul Kingsnorth. It’s called “Is there anything left to conserve” and it quotes Chesterton in the lede. So, you know, click.

• For Ekstasis, Cameron Brooks wrote about Cormac McCarthy’s “legendary prose.” “Some will find [it],” he writes, “turgid and absurd. But then, McCarthy knew what he was up to, knew he was violating every notion of “economical” language.”

• You probably know by now that I am a huge fan of Joel Miller’s newsletter. Well, last week he wrote about the deaths of McCarthy, famed editor Robert Gottlieb, and notable publisher Richard Snyder—and why all three of them were consequential figures in American books whose deaths will reverberate for years to come.

• Also, Bookforum is back.

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In Case You Missed It

We remembered the great Cormac McCarthy on the show . . .

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That’s all for now, but thanks for reading, listening, and being a part of this community!