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Close Reads

From the CiRCE Institute, Close Reads is a book-club podcast with Angelina Stanford, Tim McIntosh, and David Kern. We read Great Books and talk about them. Join us!
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Aug 22, 2017

On this episode of Close Reads, Angelina and David continue their discussion of Marilynne Robinson's beloved, Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, Gilead (while Tim vacations in Aruba). Topics include John Ames' observations of humanity, the goodness of growing old, contemplation of heaven (and the beauty of perishability), and more. This episode covers pages 37-68. 

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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!

Aug 14, 2017

On this episode of Close Reads, Angelina, Tim, and David kick off their discussion of Marilynne Robinson's beloved, Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, Gilead (2004). Topics include whether this is a sad book, a bit on Robinson's biography, John Ames's joy in the face of suffering, and more.

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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!

Aug 8, 2017

On this episode of Close Reads, Angelina, Tim, David, and Andrew conclude their discussion of Evelyn Waugh's classic novel Brideshead Revisited, answering listener questions. 

Topics include:

  • The BBC miniseries and Jeremy Irons' audio book 
  • The effect of Charles immaturity on his perspectives
  • Whether it's a true conversion story
  • Which characters display true faith
  • Symbolism and conversion
  • and much more


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!

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Click here to join the Close Reads Facebook group. 

Jul 28, 2017

On this special LIVE episode of Close Reads, Angelina, Tim, David, and their special guest conclude their discussion of Evelyn Waugh's classic novel Brideshead Revisited, focusing on the final chapters. 

This episode was recorded at the 2017 CiRCE Conference.

Topics include:

  • The love story
  • Whether this story is tragedy
  • Whether people wanted Julia and Charles to stay together
  • The sign of the cross and aesthetic theology
  • The ongoing thread twitches
  • Listener comments
  • and much more


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. 

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Click here to join the Close Reads Facebook group. 

Jul 18, 2017

On this episode of Close Reads, Angelina, Tim, and David continue their discussion of Evelyn Waugh's classic novel, Brideshead Revisited, focusing on chapter 9. 

Topics include:

  • Julia's prescience
  • Julia's guilty conscience
  • Bridey's strong words
  • Ryder's skepticism
  • and much more


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. 

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Click here to join the Close Reads Facebook group. 

Jul 13, 2017

On this episode of Close Reads, Angelina, Tim, and David continue their discussion of Evelyn Waugh's classic novel, Brideshead Revisited, focusing on chapter 9. 

Topics include:

  • The interesting structure of the chapter
  • Celia's infedelity
  • Much more on perspective
  • The metaphor of the storm
  • Characters repeating patterns
  • Whether this first chapter where anything actually happens
  • and much more...

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. 

Jul 3, 2017

On this episode of Close Reads, Angelina, Tim, and David continue their discussion of Evelyn Waugh's classic novel, Brideshead Revisited, focusing on chapter 7. 

Topics include:

  • Getting to know Julia
  • Rex's ignorance
  • Why Charles is attracted to Julia
  • "Modern" education
  • Perspective and Waugh
  • and more...

This episode is brought to you by our friends at the Institute for Excellence in Writing, purveyors of Linguistic Development through Poetry Memorization. Learn more here. 

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. 

Jun 27, 2017

On this episode of Close Reads, Angelina, Tim, and David continue their discussion of Evelyn Waugh's classic novel, Brideshead Revisited, focusing on chapter 7. 

Topics include:

  • Getting to know Julia
  • Rex's ignorance
  • Why Charles is attracted to Julia
  • "Modern" education
  • Perspective and Waugh
  • and more...

This episode is brought to you by our friends at the Institute for Excellence in Writing, purveyors of Linguistic Development through Poetry Memorization. Learn more here. 

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. 

Jun 20, 2017

On this episode of Close Reads, Angelina, Tim, David, and a special guest continue their discussion of Evelyn Waugh's classic novel, Brideshead Revisited, focusing on chapter 6. 

Topics include:

  • The greatest sentence of the 20th century
  • What's wrong with Sebastian
  • Whether Sebastian's family is being fair
  • More on the aesthetic theology of the book
  • and much, much more...

This episode is brought to you by our friends at the Institute for Excellence in Writing, purveyors of Linguistic Development through Poetry Memorization. Learn more here. 

This episode is also brought to you by Schole Academy from Classical Academic Press, featuring new literature courses taught by Close Reads co-star, Tim McIntosh. 

Jun 8, 2017

On this episode of Close Reads, Angelina, Tim, and David continue their discussion of Evelyn Waugh's classic novel, Brideshead Revisited, focusing on chapter 5. 

Topics include:

  • Charles' father
  • Sebastian's malaise
  • The fate of young men during the era
  • Religion at Brideshead
  • More on the aesthetic theology of the book
  • and more...

This episode is brought to you by our friends at the Institute for Excellence in Writing, purveyors of Linguistic Development through Poetry Memorization. Learn more here. 

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. 

Jun 1, 2017

On this episode of Close Reads, Angelina, Tim, and David continue their discussion of Evelyn Waugh's classic novel, Brideshead Revisited, focusing on chapters 3-4. 

Topics include:

  • Tim's upcoming vacation
  • A comparison of Charles family and Sebastian's family
  • Sebastian's faith and Charles lack thereof
  • Sebastian and Charles' youth and what it means
  • The aesthetic theology of the book
  • Aesthetics as a road to faith
  • and more...

It's also brought to you by Schole Academy from Classical Academic Press, featuring new literature courses taught by Close Reads co-star, Tim McIntosh. 

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Click here to join the Close Reads Facebook group. 

May 23, 2017

On this episode of Close Reads, Angelina, Tim, and David kick off their discussion of Evelyn Waugh's classic novel, Brideshead Revisited, focusing on the prologue and chapters one and two.  

Topics include:

  • First experiences with Waugh
  • Waugh's nostalgia
  • The prologue
  • The book's various juxtapositions
  • The sacred and the profane
  • The book's spiritual hauntings
  • 3 key decaying institutions
  • and more...

This episode is brought to by our friends at Roman Roads Media, purveyors of the Old Western Culture series, featuring Wes Callihan. 

It's also brought to you by Schole Academy from Classical Academic Press, featuring new literature courses taught by Close Reads co-star, Tim McIntosh. 

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Click here to join the Close Reads Facebook group. 

May 16, 2017

On this episode of Close Reads, Angelina, Tim, and David discuss C.S. Lewis's classic, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, and it's victory in our Great Books Bracket this spring. 

Topics include:

  • Why the Narnia stories have maintained their reputation for so long
  • The differences in reading it for the first time as a child as opposed to as an adult
  • Which Narnia book should be read first
  • Lewis's philosophies on reading
  • and more...

Plus, they kick the show off by discussing how to know if dislike of a book is because of the book itself or because of the reader. 

This episode is brought to by our friends at Roman Roads Media, purveyors of the Old Western Culture series, featuring Wes Callihan. 

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Click here to join the Close Reads Facebook group. 

May 10, 2017

On this episode of Close Reads, Angelina, Tim, and David conclude their conversation on Flannery O'Connor's collection of stories, Everything That Rises Must Converge, by answering listener questions. 

Topics include:

  • How O'Connor's contemporaries viewed her work
  • Angelina and Tim's Amazon-style reviews of O'Connor
  • Anagogical/allegorical reading
  • O'Connor's appeal to non-Christians
  • Rapid-fire questions 

and much more...

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This episode is brought to by our friends at Roman Roads Media, purveyors of the Old Western Culture series, featuring Wes Callihan. 

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Click here to join the Close Reads Facebook group. 

May 2, 2017

On this episode of Close Reads, Angelina, Tim, and David continue their conversation on Flannery O'Connor's collection of stories, Everything That Rises Must Converge,  with "Judgement Day".

Topics include:

  • The next book we'll be reading on Close Reads
  • The complicated nature of this story
  • It's serious flaws
  • Comparing The Geranium with Judgement Day
  • Is it confusing on purpose or because of bad writing? 
  • The weird glasses scene
  • The good and bad of the "southern code"
  • Coleman's wisdom and loyalty
  • Tanner's pride and bigotry

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This episode is brought to by our friends at Roman Roads Media, purveyors of the Old Western Culture series, featuring Wes Callihan. 

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Click here to join the Close Reads Facebook group. 

Apr 25, 2017

On this episode of Close Reads, Angelina, Tim, and David continue their conversation on Flannery O'Connor's collection of stories, Everything That Rises Must Converge,  with "Parker's Back".

Topics include:

  • The differences between "Parkers' Back" and her other work
  • The theatrical nature of the story
  • Parker's awe
  • The deeper meaning of the characters' actions
  • Reading Sarah Ruth
  • Parker's image (and its all-seeing eye)
  • Why O'Connor chose to use a Byzantine icon

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This episode is brought to by our friends at Roman Roads Media, purveyors of the Old Western Culture series, featuring Wes Callihan. 

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Click here to join the Close Reads Facebook group. 

Apr 17, 2017

On this episode of Close Reads, Angelina, Tim, and David continue their conversation on Flannery O'Connor's collection of stories, Everything That Rises Must Converge,  with "Revelation."

Topics include:

  • Whether this is a good story to use to introduce stuents to O'Connor
  • The racism of characters in the story
  • Mrs. Turpin's gradual openness
  • Mrs. Turpin's Christ-haunted-ness
  • Seeing ourselves in Mrs. Turpin
  • Judging Mrs. Turpin
  • Mrs. Turpin's avenging angel of judgment
  • Mrs. Turpin's mystical vision

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This episode is brought to by our friends at Roman Roads Media, purveyors of the Old Western Culture series, featuring Wes Callihan. 

*** 

Click here to join the Close Reads Facebook group. 

Apr 10, 2017

On this episode of Close Reads, Angelina, Tim, and David continue their conversation on Flannery O'Connor's collection of stories, Everything That Rises Must Converge,  with "The Lame Shall Enter First."

Topics include: whether this story is less grotesque, the clinical-ness of the prose, psychology vs spiritual in the story, whether Shepherd repents, O'Connor vs the enlightenment, Norton as Shepherd's mirror, Norton's loneliness, faith like a child, and O'Connor the smuggler

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This episode is brought to by our friends at Roman Roads Media, purveyors of the Old Western Culture series, featuring Wes Callihan. 

***

Click here to join the Close Reads Facebook group. 

Apr 3, 2017

On this episode of Close Reads, Angelina, Tim, and David continue their conversation on Flannery O'Connor's collection of stories, Everything That Rises Must Converge,  with "The Comforts of Home."

Topics include: the theatrical nature of O'Connor's work, this story vs. the others in this collection, whether the mother is right to take an interest in Sarah, common critical readings that emphasize sexual tension, the opening paragraphs, Thomas as pharisee, the absence of dark grace, and more. 

 

Mar 29, 2017

On this episode of Close Reads, Angelina, Tim, and David continue their conversation on Flannery O'Connor's collection of stories, Everything That Rises Must Converge,  with "The Enduring Chill." 

Topics include: O'Connor's sense of humor, the autobiographical nature of the story, the meaning of the names, where Asbury's illness came from, the work of the Holy Spirit in the story, and much more. 

 

Mar 24, 2017

On this episode of Close Reads, David chats with Dr. Ralph Wood, author of Flannery O'Connor and the Christ-Haunted South, about Flannery O'Connor's reputation for grimness. 

Topics include: When Dr. Wood heard O'Connor give a reading live in 1962, O'Connor's sense of humor, the scandalousness of the gospel in O'Connor's canon, Julian's mother in Everything That Rises Must ConvergeA View of the Woods' lack of quality, and much, much more. 

Mar 20, 2017

On this episode of Close Reads, Angelina, Tim, and David continue their conversation on Flannery O'Connor's collection of stories, Everything That Rises Must Converge,  with "A View of the Woods." 

Topics include: Whether Mary actually exists, Mary as mirror of her grandfather, O'Connor's mysterious use of pronouns, the battle between Fortune and Pitts, the story's comments on modernism, and the damnation of Fortune. 

Mar 13, 2017

On this episode of Close Reads, Angelina, Tim, and David continue their conversation on Flannery O'Connor's collection of stories, Everything That Rises Must Converge,  with "Greenleaf." 

Topics include: The romance of the bull, the bull as Christ-figure, O'Connor's commentary on Southern Christianity, sympathy for the Greenleafs, class differences in the story, Mrs. May's irreligion, Mrs. May's disdain for the bull, and the medieval theme of ecstasy in the story's ending. 

PLEASE NOTE: STARTING AT ABOUT 49 MINUTES SOME THEMES THAT MAY NOT BE APPROPRIATE FOR CHILDREN ARE DISCUSSED. PROCEED WITH CAUTION IF LISTENING WITH YOUR KIDS. 

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As always, press the arrow above to listen. Or subscribe to the CiRCE Institute Podcast Network via iTunes here or on Stitcher here.  Be sure to subscribe to the Close Reads feed! 

Click here to join the Close Reads Facebook group. 

Mar 6, 2017

On this episode of Close Reads, Angelina, Tim, and David begin their conversation on Flannery O'Connor's collection of stories, Everything That Rises Must Converge, beginning with the titular story. 

Topics include: The 2017 Close Reads literature bracket, first experiences with O'Connor (18:10), O'Connor's "metaphysical realism" (26:40), story summary (37:11), the real racist in the story (41:50), the effect of coming home in O'Connor's work (51:40), the coin (62:45), the ambiguity of the end (70:00). 

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Click here to join the Close Reads Facebook group. 

Feb 27, 2017

On this episode of Close Reads, Angelina, Tim, and David answer listener questions about Dorothy Sayers' classic mystery novel, Murder Must Advertise, one of the Lord Peter Wimsey stories. 

Topics include: More on how to say "Sayers", Wimsey vs Darcy (12:20), Miss Meteyard as representative of Sayers (19:25), Current states of mystery stories (21:55), Says on good Christian art (38:55), Wimsey's sorrow at the end of the book (51:40), and what Sayers to read next (57:00). 

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Click here to join the Close Reads Facebook group. 

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Here's the article referenced in the episode. 

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