HeyJaredClosely Reading
essays & musings about literature, film, and art from a literature phd, plus a book club for close readers
- Indexed issues, last 90 days
- 12
- Latest publication
- Sep 29, 2026
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- Earliest in this view
- Jul 7, 2026
Latest issues
Let’s read *The House of Mirth* (opens the original)
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Dear reader,This is your invitation to join me on my annual read of what I truly believe is one of the best books ever written. I am thrilled to be revisiting The House of Mirth by Edith Wharton with you. Subscribe now<a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!bJBz!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2
Watch now: A literary lecture on Steinbeck & systems thinking (opens the original)
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Dear reader,It’s here! Our very first “video lecture” for Closely Reading! A very special and warm thank you to the patience and grace you’ve shown me as I learned how to get all this produced and finalized — I am so excited it’s ready for you!My brilliant partner, a video producer and writer, volunteered many evenings and late nights to helping me get … Read more
an end of summer assignment (opens the original)
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Dear reader,As I continue putting the final touches on my first-ever video lecture (squee!), I put together a writing assignment for those channeling the “back to school” spirit, but without any school to go back to this fall.I did this mostly because M. L. Steinlicht was yearning for an assignment…and then Clara and Sara said they wanted a writing assignment, too.<a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!XWuN!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:st
💌 RSVP: a live literary lecture (opens the original)
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Dear close reader,We’ve completed our Big Book Summer reading experience of The Grapes of Wrath together, and now it’s time to celebrate! On Sunday, August 23rd at noon (my time, which is Mountain Time in the US), I’m hosting a one-hour live conversation on Zoom. I’ll give a short lecture on the novel, inclusive of some of my key takeaways from the experience, and offer my “thesis” or my academic take on Steinbeck’s work. And then I’ll open the floor to readers who want to raise their hand to sh
The Grapes of Wrath (opens the original)
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Welcome to a special Summer Session of Closely Reading, where we’re slowly reading John Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath along with companion reads, all summer long. You’re welcome to join us any time. Paid subscribers will be invited to a live video chat with me at the end of the session, in August. Full schedule available here.Get your calendar out: Paid subscriber Zoom call will take place 12pm MT on Sunday, August 23. <div
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