Episodios

  • Lecture 92: THE SCARLET LETTER >> Honestly, did your fifteen-year-old self really appreciate this insanely great classic? Listen in--NO READING REQUIRED--to why this book is SO GOOD.

    Lecture 92: THE SCARLET LETTER >> Honestly, did your fifteen-year-old self really appreciate this insanely great classic? Listen in--NO READING REQUIRED--to why this book is SO GOOD.
    May 20 2025
    NO READING REQUIRED! Hawthorne's 1850 classic is the epitome of high school books that are wasted on high school students. This thing is a MASTERPIECE. Listen in as Kimberly situates it historically, talks about the framing device, digs deep into the radical FEMINISM and of course covers symbolism (did you also write your term paper on symbolism??). She wraps up the lecture by leaning into her ongoing rant about how PURITANISM really screwed this country--and how Hawthorne's gift to us all closes with a deeply anti-puritanical, deeply OPTIMISTIC message--the kind we all need today.
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    1 h y 15 m
  • Lecture 91: THE HUSBANDS by Holly Gramazio >> You've heard Kimberly talk about how hard it is to write humor. Gramazio shows us how it's done!

    Lecture 91: THE HUSBANDS by Holly Gramazio >> You've heard Kimberly talk about how hard it is to write humor. Gramazio shows us how it's done!
    May 16 2025
    NO SPOILERS! With humor as a lens, Kimberly dives in to all the ways this bestseller functions so well. You'll learn how to think about humor more generally, while seeing all the ways that the best humor can really shape a novel. Join Kimberly for an exploration of one of the strongest elements of this smart, engaging surprisingly philosophical book!
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    54 m
  • Lecture 90: THE AWAKENING by Kate Chopin >> Remember this absolute CORNERSTONE of feminist literature?? Turns out this classic is just as important and juicy as when it was published IN 1899!

    Lecture 90: THE AWAKENING by Kate Chopin >> Remember this absolute CORNERSTONE of feminist literature?? Turns out this classic is just as important and juicy as when it was published IN 1899!
    May 1 2025
    Kimberly was honestly kind of shocked by how iconoclastic, gorgeous and important this novel feels. Whether it's a women's-studies-seminar favorite or new to you, indulge in this exploration of one woman's fascinating experience of society, domesticity, maternity and PASSION in late-1800s New Orleans.
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    53 m
  • Enriched read 9: the GENIUS of CORMAC McCARTHY (specifically: No Country for Old Men) >> Love McCarthy? Never read him? Tune in to see why he's just so incredibly good.

    Enriched read 9: the GENIUS of CORMAC McCARTHY (specifically: No Country for Old Men) >> Love McCarthy? Never read him? Tune in to see why he's just so incredibly good.
    Apr 23 2025
    NO READING REQUIRED! As soon as Kimberly dove back in to No Country for Old Men, she knew she needed to parse what makes McCarthy SO GOOD. This exploration hits on all the ways that reading McCarthy is a master class in all elements of fiction: textured narrative voices, description of violence, sympathy for complex characters, dark humor, and others--not to mention gorgeous prose.
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    1 h y 21 m
  • Episode 89: ANNA KARENINA >> Intimidated??? DON'T be! Just let Kimberly tell you all the reasons these 1,000 pages are great.

    Episode 89: ANNA KARENINA >> Intimidated??? DON'T be! Just let Kimberly tell you all the reasons these 1,000 pages are great.
    Apr 10 2025
    NO READING REQUIRED! Whether this doorstop is an old favorite--or something you NEVER plan to read--treat yourself to Kimberly's take on why this classic of all classics is worth your next 40 minutes!
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    40 m
  • 100th Anniversary REPOST: THE GREAT GATSBY >> We all need to get back to the GENIUS novel that was wasted on us in high school? No rereading! Let Kimberly remind you of the greatness of this meditation on the (sometimes complex) AMERICAN DREAM.

    100th Anniversary REPOST: THE GREAT GATSBY >> We all need to get back to the GENIUS novel that was wasted on us in high school? No rereading! Let Kimberly remind you of the greatness of this meditation on the (sometimes complex) AMERICAN DREAM.
    Apr 7 2025
    NO READING REQUIRED! Fitzgerald's genius might very well be wasted on the youth. Even if you haven't re-read this classic since you were 16, delving into for an hour is a revelation. Kimberly breaks down the innovative narrative stance, the plot-heavy structure and some master-class motif building--all while reveling in (and also subtly criticizing) this modernist MASTERPIECE.
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    1 h y 10 m
  • Episode 88: Sex Writing, Age-Gap Relationships and Annie Ernaux's THE YOUNG MAN >> Leave it to a NOBEL PRIZE WINNER to dish up some seriously inspiring prose!

    Episode 88: Sex Writing, Age-Gap Relationships and Annie Ernaux's THE YOUNG MAN >> Leave it to a NOBEL PRIZE WINNER to dish up some seriously inspiring prose!
    Apr 4 2025
    NO READING REQUIRED! Tune in to hear Kimberly unpack the many ways that Ernaux celebrates the age gap relationship. The French master offers up philosophical explanations for why older people get with younger ones, incisive analysis of social norms and all the ways in which these liaisons can be empowering--all, of course, while treating us to her stark, arresting, unique prose. Treat yourself to this dip into one woman's world and all the ways we might rethink age difference.
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    29 m
  • Episode 87: SEX WRITING, AGE-GAP RELATIONSHIPS and PLAYWORLD by Adam Ross

    Episode 87: SEX WRITING, AGE-GAP RELATIONSHIPS and PLAYWORLD by Adam Ross
    Mar 26 2025
    Tune in for Kimberly's breakdown of how PLAYWORLD really succeeds--and the ways she sees it falling short. With its marketing materials really pushing its 36-year-old-woman/14-year-old-boy sexualized relationship, the novel provides a fascinating look at sex writing and how the Mrs.-Robinson trope manifests itself in 2025. Join Kimberly for this second of four lectures--the only novel of the four written by a man--which maybe shouldn't matter?? But also really might.
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    45 m
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