In today's recap episode, we discuss Book One of The Custom of the Country (that's chapters 1-10 if your book is not divided into books). This episode includes detailed discussion of the plot and characters introduced in this first section of the novel, so spoilers abound. We discuss our initial impressions of the unforgettable character that is Undine Spragg, how well this book would translate to the screen, a close read of a mythology reference, and what we've learned about parenting from this portion of the novel because we desperately want to avoid raising Undines!

Some more background on this episode: twice a year, we choose a big bucket list classic to read together as a community. For every book we read, we dust off our English teacher skills to break down plot, themes, style, and more in recurring recap podcast episodes.

We have our Big Book Summer Read Along of Victor Hugo’s Les Misérables on the horizon and we’d love for you to join us! We do know that it can be hard to sign up for a subscription community if you don’t know what you’re getting so we wanted to give you a taste for what we do in our Patreon Classics Club by putting two of our recent recap episodes here on the main feed. Over the winter months, we read Edith Wharton’s The Custom of the Country and we think it would make for a great summer read if you haven’t read it yet.

If you love these two episodes, head over to our Patreon at patreon.com/novelpairings. Enrolling at the $10 Literature Scholar level will get you access to the rest of our Custom of the Country recap series, the corresponding classes, our entire Odyssey recap series from last summer, and all of our previous bonus episodes and class recordings. Plus, you'll get access to our current summer recap series of Les Misérables.

Books Mentioned:

The House of Mirth by Edith Wharton

Eloise at The Plaza by Kay Thompson

Also Mentioned:

Gossip Girl

Today’s episode is a special one! Twice a year, we choose a big bucket list classic to read together as a community. For every big book we read, Chelsey and Sara dust off their English teacher skills to break down plot, themes, style, and more in recurring recap podcast episodes.

We have our Big Book Summer Read Along of Victor Hugo’s Les Misérables on the horizon and we’d love for you to join us! We do know that it can be hard to sign up for a subscription community if you don’t know what you’re getting so we wanted to give you a taste for what we do in our Patreon Classics Club by putting two of our recent recap episodes here on the main feed. Over the winter months, we read Edith Wharton’s The Custom of the Country and we think it would make for a great summer read if you haven’t read it yet.

If you love these two episodes, head over to our Patreon at patreon.com/novelpairings. Enrolling at the $10 Literature Scholar level will get you access to the rest of our Custom of the Country recap series, the corresponding classes, our entire Odyssey recap series from last summer, and all of our previous bonus episodes and class recordings. Plus, you'll get access to our current summer recap series of Les Misérables.

In today's first recap episode, we discuss the introduction materials from the Penguin Classics (Sofia Coppola & Sarah Blackwood) and Scribner (Brandon Taylor) versions of the text. You do not need to read the intros in order to listen to this episode. Future recaps will include plot spoilers, of course, but this introduction episode is completely spoiler-free! We discuss initial impressions of the introductions, lenses and questions for guided reading, literary relevance and contemporary comparisons, and three big things to look for as you read.

Books Mentioned:

The Great Gatsby F. Scott Fitzgerald

Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy

Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert

Vanity Fair by William Makepeace Thackeray

Also Mentioned:

The Buccaneers

Bridgerton

The Gilded Age

Downton Abbey

Today, we’re wrapping up our spring season with Zadie Smith’s On Beauty, a theme-driven novel that recreates the social world of an elite liberal arts college, exploring issues through nuanced satire on race, class, and beauty. We dig into the stories of the Belsey and Kipp families and Smith’s use of the academic setting to discuss identity and social satire. Our pairings for On Beauty include callbacks to previous classic episodes, essays by Zadie Smith, and surprising historical fiction.

Our Slow Down Summer Read Along of Les Miserables by Victor Hugo is starting soon! Just like our readalongs for The Odyssey and The Custom of the Country, you can expect exclusive Patreon content, including book clubs and classes, to guide you through this ginormous classic. We’d love for you to join us! Go to patreon.com/novelpairings to sign up.

Books Mentioned:

Howard’s End by E.M. Forster

There is Confusion by Jessie Redmon Fauset

Passing by Nella Larsen

Members Only by Sameer Pandya

Changing My Mind: Occasional Essays by Zadie Smith

Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston

Love Marriage by Monica Ali

Neighbors and Other Stories by Diane Oliver

The Rachel Incident by Caroline O’Donoghue

Sex and Vanity by Kevin Kwan

A Room with a View by E.M. Forster

Les Misérables by Victor Hugo

On today’s Modern Readers episode, we’re placing “A Modest Proposal” by Jonathan Swift in context with pieces of contemporary political satire. We'll explore how satire is being used today to comment on politics and social issues, and the power, or limits, of its influence. Throughout our discussion, we discuss the lasting legacy of Swift’s essay, the rise of satirical media, and how satire is used as a rhetorical tool. Listen to the end for contemporary satirical examples in TV, online media, and comedy.

We’re also excited to announce our Summer Big Book Read Along: Les Miserables by Victor Hugo. We’re looking forward to digging into this classic with you! This Big Book Read Along includes 5 recaps spread over June, July, and August, 3 book club meet ups to discuss along the way, an active Discord chat for support and motivation, classes and bonus content. The summer is a great time to join our scholarly community!

Find more details on our summer plans in our free Substack newsletter or head to patreon.com/novelpairings to join our community.

Books Mentioned:

A Modest Proposal by Jonathan Swift

Les Miserables by Victor Hugo

The Odyssey by Homer

Gulliver’s Travels by Jonathan Swift

Also Mentioned:

A Modern Proposal on Project Gutenberg

Little Women Musical

Jo Musical

A Point of View: What’s the point of satire?

The Onion

Saturday Night Live

The Daily Show

The Colbert Report

White Lotus

Abbott Elementary

Veep

The West Wing

John Oliver

In today’s episode, we’re discussing The Importance of Being Earnest by the ever-delightful Oscar Wilde. A classic example of British theater, this play is known for its biting social satire and brilliant comedic dialogue. Throughout our conversation, we dive into the play’s themes, discuss Wilde’s mastery of wordplay, and his ability to write characters that satirize Victorian society in the cleverest ways. As always, we share our complementary pairings, and we hope this episode adds a few books to your TBR pile!

If you love our extra nerdy discussion on the podcast today, we have a hunch that you would also love participating in our Novel Pairings Patreon community. Our Patreon is a great space to take part in public scholarship and talk about books with a smart group of readers. Subscriptions start at just $5 a month, and yearly discounts are available. To learn more about our Patreon, visit patreon.com/novelpairings.

Books Mentioned:

Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead by Tom Stoppard

Quietly Hostile by Samantha Irby

Nevada by Imogen Binnie

Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris

The Best of Me by David Sedaris

I Am Not Sidney Poitier by Percival Everett

Dr. No by Percival Everett

What a Difference a Duke Makes by Lenora Bell

On Beauty by Zadie Smith

Also Mentioned:

Bonus: 127. An Introduction to The Importance of Being Earnest

Hamlet by William Shakespeare

Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead

R. Eric Thomas

We're thrilled to welcome back Traci Thomas, host of The Stacks Podcast, for a thought-provoking discussion on one of Shakespeare's darkest comedies, Measure for Measure. In this conversation, we'll dive deep into the play's timeless themes including punishment, gender, power, and politics. We discuss how these themes continue to resonate with modern audiences, revealing the parallels between the play and our contemporary world. We also talk about how Shakespeare masterfully uses this satire in this work, even when satire doesn't necessarily equate to laugh-out-loud humor. Listen to the end for Traci’s book recommendations, including Shakespeare pairings and a soon-to-be-released title.

Connect with Traci:

The Stacks Podcast

Unstacked

Instagram: @thestackspod

Join our community!

Patreon

Substack

Instagram: @novelpairingspod

Books Mentioned:

Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare

The Great White Bard: How to Love Shakespeare While Talking About Race by Farah Karim-Cooper

Blackface (Object Lessons) by Ayanna Thompson

New People by Danzy Senna

Color Television by Danzy Senna

Interior Chinatown by Charles Yu

Erasure by Percival Everett

Severance by Ling Ma

Victim by Andrew Boryga

Love’s Labor Lost by William Shakespeare

All’s Well That Ends Well by William Shakespeare

Othello by William Shakespeare

Richard III by William Shakespeare

Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare

Also Mentioned:

Ask a Shakespeare Professor

Macbeth

The Stacks episode on Romeo and Juliet