Most readers can decode words but still miss the meaning. Closed Stacks teaches you to read in a way that builds comprehension, not just completion. You learn why your notes don't help you remember, how to handle difficult prose without rereading the same paragraph five times, and what actually changes in your brain when you read fiction versus nonfiction. A few episodes in, you start seeing arguments you used to skim past and remembering books long after you close them. Follow the show and leave a five-star rating if it sharpens how you read.The internet trained you to skim, and now even good books feel harder to hold in your head. Closed Stacks starts with that problem and works backward: why you believe things the author never said, why audiobooks feel different from paper, whether Emily Wilson rewrote The Odyssey or just translated it clearly. Each episode takes one reading problem and shows you the mechanics underneath.
Site
RSS
Apple
Data updated on 12/10/2026
Recent rankings
Latest chart positions across Apple Podcasts and Spotify rankings.
Shared links between episodes and podcasts
Links found in episode descriptions and other podcasts that share them.
Discover shows related to Closed Stacks: Read Better, Remember More, based on actual content similarities. Explore podcasts with similar topics, themes, and formats, backed by real data.
There is no related content for this show.
No links shared by this podcast
Did Emily Wilson Rewrite The Odyssey?
Monday, October 12, 2026 • Duration 13:06
In this video, I look at what scholars have said about Emily Wilson's translation of The Odyssey and evaluate some of the criticism both for and against her book.Uploaded 31-05-26#theodyssey #emilywilson #homer Gabrielson, M. (2018). Review of Homer, Emily Wilson, trans., The Odyssey. New England Classical Journal, 45(2).Hardwick, A. (2025). Iliad translations in the undergraduate classroom. Journal of Classics Teaching, 26(52), 151–157. MacDonald, C. (2021). Review of Homer’s daughters: Women’s responses to Homer in the twentieth century and beyond, edited by Fiona Cox and Elena Theodorakopoulos. Bryn Mawr Classical Review.Pache, C. (2018). Review of Homer. The Odyssey, translated by Emily Wilson. Bryn Mawr Classical Review.Roberts, D. H. (2020). Emily Wilson, trans., Homer: The Odyssey. The Spenser Review, 50(1).Stockdale, E. (2019, December 30). Emily Wilson’s The Odyssey reviewed by Elizabeth Stockdale. Australasian Women in Ancient World Studies. Whitaker, R. (2020). Homer’s Odyssey three ways: Recent translations by Verity, Wilson, and Green. Acta Classica, 63, 241–254. Wilson, E. (2019). Epilogue: Translating Homer as a woman. In F. Cox and E. Theodorakopoulos (Eds.), Homer’s daughters: Women’s responses to Homer in the twentieth century and beyond (pp. 279–298). Oxford University Press. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
How to Actually Enjoy Reading Again
Monday, October 12, 2026 • Duration 11:32
This video is for anyone who wants to build a strong reading habit. Whether you're starting from scratch or you just want to rekindle an old habit, this video is your guide.Uploaded 25-04-26#booktube #readinghabit #reading Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
How To Be A Better Reader
Monday, October 12, 2026 • Duration 11:56
This video is about three specific habits that will help you grow as a reader.Uploaded 29-11-25#readbooks #readingmotivation #booktube Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Why Reading Changes the Way You Think
Monday, October 12, 2026 • Duration 09:40
In this video, I talk about how fiction trains different ways to thinking and perspective, abstraction, and self-reflection, through books like The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt, The Old Man and the Sea, by Ernest Hemingway, and The Road by Cormac McCarthy.Uploaded 09-05-26#books #reading #literature Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
One Habit to Instantly Improve Reading Comprehension
Sunday, October 11, 2026 • Duration 12:08
This video is about schema activation and ways it can both help and distort reading comprehension.Uploaded 10-01-26References and for further reading:Alvermann, D. E., and Hague, S. A. (1989). Comprehension of counterintuitive science text. Journal of Educational Research, 82(4), 197–202. Bransford, J. D., Johnson, M. K. (1972). “Contextual prerequisites for understanding: Some investigations of comprehension and recall.” Journal of Verbal Learning and Verbal Behavior, 11(6), 717–726.Dunlosky, J., et al. (2013). Improving students’ learning with effective learning techniques. Psychological Science in the Public Interest, 14(1):4-58. Hattan, C. (2024). Prior knowledge activation and reading comprehension: A review. American Educational Research Journal. Kendeou, P., and van den Broek, P. (2005). The effects of readers’ misconceptions on comprehension of scientific text. Journal of Educational Psychology, 97(2), 235–245.Kendeou, P., and van den Broek, P. (2007). The effects of prior knowledge and text structure on comprehension. Memory and Cognition.Oded, B., and Stavans, A. (1994). The effect of “false” schema activation on the construction of meaning. System. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
How to Read and Understand Difficult Books
Sunday, October 11, 2026 • Duration 12:36
Not all books are difficult for the same reason. This video is a simple guide to reading difficult books. In this video, I explain why some books seem difficult to read and share a practical process for understanding them more clearly and confidently. Uploaded 16-04-26#reading #deepreading #books Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Why You Believe Things The Author Never Said
Sunday, October 11, 2026 • Duration 10:53
In this video, I talk about how sentences can make us believe things that are never directly stated. I talk about presupposition, implicature, and how true statements can intentionally (or unintentionally) leave a false impression.Uploaded 29-08-26#linguistics #reading #comprehension Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
The Searcher- A Masterclass in Slow Burn (Tana French)
Sunday, October 11, 2026 • Duration 07:27
This is a book review of The Searcher, by Tana French. Uploaded 01-11-25#booktube #tanafrench #thesearcher Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Why You Can't Explain What You Read
Sunday, October 11, 2026 • Duration 12:07
Why is it so difficult to explain something that seems perfectly clear in your own head? This video explores the curse of knowledge and how expertise, difficult writing, and complicated language can make intelligent ideas harder to communicate.Uploaded 10-08-26#Howtoreadabook #sokalhoax #curseofknowledgeFurther readingAdler, M. J., and Van Doren, C. (1972). How to read a book (Rev. and updated ed.). Simon and Schuster.Camerer, C., Loewenstein, G., and Weber, M. (1989). The curse of knowledge in economic settings: An experimental analysis. Journal of Political Economy, 97(5), 1232–1254.Heath, C., and Heath, D. (2007). Made to stick: Why some ideas survive and others die. Random House.Hotchner, A. E. (1966). Papa Hemingway: A personal memoir. Random House.LaBerge, D., and Samuels, S. J. (1974). Toward a theory of automatic information processing in reading. Cognitive Psychology, 6(2), 293–323.Newton, E. L. (1990). The rocky road from actions to intentions [Doctoral dissertation, Stanford University].Oppenheimer, D. M. (2006). Consequences of erudite vernacular utilized irrespective of necessity: Problems with using long words needlessly. Applied Cognitive Psychology, 20(2), 139–156.Pinker, S. (2014). The sense of style: The thinking person’s guide to writing in the 21st century. Viking.Rawls, J. (1999). A theory of justice (Rev. ed.). Belknap Press of Harvard University Press.Sokal, A. D. (1996b). Transgressing the boundaries: Toward a transformative hermeneutics of quantum gravity. Social Text, 46/47, 217–252.Tullis, J. G., and Feder, B. (2023). The “curse of knowledge” when predicting others’ knowledge. Memory and Cognition, 51(5), 1214–1234. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Fiction is a Waste of Time?
Sunday, October 11, 2026 • Duration 10:23
Many people believe that fiction is a waste of time, but this is not too surprising. Society is too preoccupied with developing skills improving their career to appreciate the benefits that fiction might bring. Stories are often dismissed because they don't translate into measurable skills or career advancement. In this video, I draw on the Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath to reflect on art, loss, and meaning. Fiction may not help you find a job or result in a career advancement, but it might still save your life.Uploaded 21-02-26#booktube #readfiction #fictionlovers Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices