Welcome to Novel Pairings, a podcast dedicated to making the classics readable, relevant, and fun. As two nerdy bookworms, we appreciate the role of classic lit, but we but we won’t get too academic about it. We’ll talk about the books we love and the books we loath, and help stock your TBR pile with old and new reads for every literary taste.
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153. Dishing our opinions on the hottest summer books of 2023
Episode 153
Tuesday, September 3, 2024 • Duration 01:07:57
As the summer reading season comes to a close, we’re turning our eyes to fall. With Chelsey on maternity leave, we’ve made some thoughtful adjustments to our plans and structure here at Novel Pairings. Our goal is to ensure that we stay connected and continue to foster the amazing community we’ve built together. The best way to stay connected this fall is through our Patreon community; we’re excited about the bonus episodes, discussion based classes and book club events we have planned!
On today’s episode, we revisit last summer's buzzy book reviews from our Patreon archives. Each summer, we sit down for a conversation where we share our thoughts on the latest buzzworthy books we've read. Today, we're re-airing last summer's discussion on popular titles, which features some unconventional opinions on well-known works.
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.
143. Seasonal book pairings for new releases in spring 2024
Episode 143
Tuesday, March 5, 2024 • Duration 50:54
Today, Chelsey and Sara share their most anticipated spring book releases paired with backlist selections. After listening today, your TBR will be filled with delightful fiction, thrilling mysteries, historical romance and literary books from favorite writers, all releasing between late February and May. As always, our go-to pairings will keep your spring both entertaining and engaging.
If you love our recommendations on the podcast, we have even more books to share over 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, eclectic 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.
Listeners can also stay in the loop with all things Novel Pairings by giving us a follow on Instagram and subscribing to our weekly newsletter on Substack. Thank you for supporting public scholarship!
54. Pride and Prejudice retellings, sequels, and pastiche
Episode 54
Tuesday, March 30, 2021 • Duration 50:01
We couldn’t close our immersive Pride and Prejudice experience without sharing a bunch of book recommendations for readers who want to stay with Elizabeth and Darcy awhile longer. Today, Chelsey and Sara share their favorite and least favorite Pride and Prejudice pastiche, sequels, adaptations, and retellings.
For more Austen nerdiness, including a class on Jane Austen and a bonus episode on Regency customs, join our Classics Club: patreon.com/novelpairings.com.
In today’s episode, Chelsey and Sara discuss Part Two of Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen and share their contemporary pairings for romantic and insightful books that feature similar themes. We talk about the sweeping drama, swoony moments, and satisfying ending of the second half of Lizzie and Darcy’s love story, with plenty of nerdy asides. This episode covers Chapters 35-61 or Volume II, Chapter 12 - Volume III.
For more Austen nerdiness, including a class on Jane Austen and a bonus episode on Regency customs, join our Classics Club: patreon.com/novelpairings.com.
52. Backlist pairings for our most anticipated Spring 2021 book releases
Tuesday, March 16, 2021 • Duration 01:00:58
We’re back with another TBR toppling episode! Today, Chelsey and Sara pair brand new and upcoming spring book releases with backlist titles that share similar themes, plotlines, or settings. We haven’t read all of these new releases, so our pairings are based on speculation and best guesses. If you pick up any of the books we mention today, we’d love to hear about it!
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In today’s episode, Chelsey and Sara discuss Part One of Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen, including fond memories of reading the book and in-depth character analysis. (Plus plenty of gushing about Darcy and Elizabeth and MORE). We’d love for you to read along with us this month! Part One covers Chapters 1-34 or Volume I-Volume II, Chapter 11. You can listen to this episode before reading to guide you through Part One or after reading to feel like you’re in book club!
50.5 Five tips for reading Pride and Prejudice (or any Austen novel)
Tuesday, March 2, 2021 • Duration 32:18
We’re sharing our top five tips for reading Jane Austen’s novels with you, whether you’re a frequent re-reader or new to her work. Today’s episode is meant to help you get the most out of any Austen novel, but we hope you’ll read Pride and Prejudice with us this month! To celebrate one year of podcasting and the launch of our new Patreon community, we’re enjoying all things Austen for the whole month of March with discussion episodes and a bunch of bonus content (available for our Classics Club members on Patreon). To sign up, go to patreon.com/novelpairings and listen in to hear about our plans for the Classics Club this month.
50. Quarterly Favorites: the stand-out books we read in Winter 2020-2021
Episode 50
Tuesday, February 23, 2021 • Duration 41:06
Today, Chelsey and Sara share some stand-out titles they read over the winter season, including amazing audiobooks, short story collections, and page-turning romance. These quarterly wrap-ups include reflections on our winter season, previews of what’s coming up, and a bunch of book recommendations. We can’t wait to hear what you think of our favorites from the quarter.
49. The Bloody Chamber by Angela Carter and twisted Gothic fairytales to read in one sitting
Tuesday, February 16, 2021 • Duration 01:00:33
Today Chelsey and Sara are discussing The Bloody Chamber by Angela Carter. This collection of twisted, Gothic fairytales is perfect for fans of Rebecca, Jane Eyre, or Edgar Allan Poe. We’re keeping this episode spoiler-free, though we do discuss specific aspects of several stories. We loved connecting this collection across literary movements, explaining the heroine’s journey, and (as always) recommending six contemporary books to pair with our classic, including short story and poetry collections.
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