ArtsBooksFictionExplicit

Let’s Read a Paperback

Kathryn Righter & Hannah Harsin Drager

Like English class, but without the homework. Listen and read along with us while we take a deep dive into what makes our favorite contemporary fiction paperbacks so good.

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20 episodes
Avg 49 min
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Episodes 20

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#28
Tuesday · 25 min
Intermezzo, Sally Rooney — Chapter 12
We’re back with Margaret and her friend Anna who it turns out do have a good friendship. And it also turns out that “zero thoughts on Chapter 12” is actually 25 minutes of thoughts on Sally Rooney erupting Kathryn’s feelings on being down bad for someone, moms and imperative to unpack your friends’ relationships with them eternally, and of course bad communication. Send us an email if you have any idea what Kathryn is talking about at the end.
#27
August 31 · 28 min
Intermezzo, Sally Rooney — Chapter 11
Whew! Kathryn and Hannah get 👏🏼 into 👏🏼 it 👏🏼 on this episode. Peter’s behavior leaves us with MUCH to talk about/disagree on. Is there ever really an ending to analyzing a complicated mans decisions? 🙄
#26
August 28 · 39 min
Intermezzo, Sally Rooney — Chapter 10
It’s an analysis heavy episode and we ALMOST manage to avoid all discussions of sex, even when the chapter is largely about it. Ivans communication impresses Hannah but makes Kathryn angry, Kathryn discovered she has no empathy for animals, and Hannah chimes in with some complicated-mom expertise. We are in the weeds, people! Join us!
#25
August 24 · 59 min
Intermezzo, Sally Rooney — Chapter 9
Naomi’s got it so bad. She likes (loves?) a guy who is giving her weird and confusing mixed signals (maybe he loves her, maybe he just wants to control her, maybe he doesn’t know what love is???) But who among us hasn’t been in this situation? It’s an absolutely devastating tragedy that we (Naomi, Kathryn, Hannah) can’t all sit at a pool together and laugh/try to make sense of Peter’s dumb antics. But we try our best to re-create that on this episode — and, though we try our best, turns out Peter might just be a guy who doesn’t really make sense.
#24
August 22 · 38 min
Intermezzo, Sally Rooney — Chapter 8
For the literate girlies — big feelings girls who want to discuss if life is meaningful or meaningless, if God has anything to do with it, what it means to fall in love, and (also!) the tactileness (tactility?) of Sally Rooney’s writing. Think with us!
#23
August 21 · 32 min
Intermezzo, Sally Rooney — Chapter 7
But why does Sally Rooney have to do this to us? An absolutely crushing chapter between Peter and Ivan, woven together perfectly by our genius writer. We go heavy on the English class-ness on this episode, but how can we not? Our girl just gave a masterclass in setting up readers expectations, and we must talk about it!!
#22
August 18 · 20 min
Intermezzo, Sally Rooney — Chapter 6
Okay how about a moment of silence for the lovely Naomi? For how cool she is despite the fact that Peter’s behavior with her is giving Casa Amor. For the way those cops at the jail absolutely couldn’t wait to be rid of her. And for the way she is absolutely team Sylvia.
#21
August 16 · 40 min
Intermezzo, Sally Rooney — Chapter 5
Welcome to Sally Rooney 101. Today we discuss people who love each other deeply and can’t figure out how to communicate about it. And it’s soooo frustrating we just have to chat about it. Plus: true crime corner, “playing house”, and Kathryn and Hannah talking alllll the way around the mechanics of sex without really saying anything.
#20
July 23 · 39 min
Intermezzo, Sally Rooney — Chapter 4
In this episode, we consider Ivan’s and Margaret’s inverse relationships to isolation: Ivan, once solitary, finds companionship and a sense of completion with Margaret; Margaret, formerly held tightly by close friends and her small town community, finds herself unable to confide in anyone about her affair with Ivan. Can you imagine hooking up with a new random guy and not telling anyone?? Plus, we’re processing Kathryn’s breakup, Waymos, the value of millennial labor, and driving technique as a representation of one’s approach to life.
#19
July 13 · 38 min
Intermezzo, Sally Rooney — Chapter 3
Guys, she did it. Sally Rooney got us to talk about money and power, the male loneliness epidemic, and incels. Kinda surprised it took us three chapters to get here! Our advice? Fellas, always splurge on the seafood tower.
#18
July 10 · 28 min
Intermezzo, Sally Rooney — Chapter 2
Welcome back for episode two of our summer project where we do one mini-episode per chapter of Sally Rooney’s Intermezzo. In Chapter Two we meet Ivan—Peter’s awkward, unfortunate looking, allegedly autistic, chess prodigy brother—and wow he is not who we were expecting! Join us for this sweet, sweet chapter before we fall apart for a bit. Read with us!
#17
July 9 · 41 min
Intermezzo, Sally Rooney — Chapter 1
Welcome to our summer project: one episode per chapter of Sally Rooney’s critically praised but widely disliked novel, Intermezzo. In this episode we tackle what’s going on with this guy Peter and his narration. Please trust us, even though it seems chaotic, Rooney is in complete control—she’s just making us work for it! We can do this.
#16
June 29 · 1 hr 9 min
The Coin, Yasmin Zaher — Pages 140 - End
It’s summer break and we’ve found our flow state for the final installment of The Coin. We are resisting our urge to ask but what does it all mean? and leaning heavily into an absurdist reading of this text. Hear us out!!
#15
June 14 · 1 hr 14 min
The Coin, Yasmin Zaher — Pages 74-139
A chaotic episode for a chaotic set of chapters! Our narrator continues to lie to her students, teaches Trenchcoat about the art of laundry, and gets herself involved in a luxury bag scam.
#14
May 19 · 1 hr 2 min
The Coin, Yasmin Zaher — Pages 1-73
We’re back! This week we discuss the first 73 pages of Yasmin Zaher’s debut novel The Coin. It’s our first foray into absurdist lit on the pod, and we’re HERE for the kooky crazy energy. Take your clothes off and sunbathe in that skylight, girl. Cover your body in luxury toothpaste to discover the limits of your own reach. Organize your neighbors’ recycling bins. Fall in love with the man you see wearing your discarded trenchcoat and call it your return to glamor. Embrace the chaos and read with us!!!!
#13
March 17 · 1 hr 13 min
Hamnet, Maggie O’Farrell — Part 2
Yes, of course we need to talk about Part Two of Hamnet and the breathtaking ending to this family tragedy, but we also really need to talk about Justin Chang’s appallingly bad takes about Hamnet (the film mostly) in the New Yorker. Is alchemizing sadness into anger good for you? It’s working just fine for us! NOTE: Our next book is The Coin by Yasmin Zaher. We promise no children die in this one!! Join us for pages 3-73 in our next episode. Read with us!
#12
February 10 · 1 hr 27 min
Hamnet, Maggie O’Farrell — Chapters 5-17 (pages 89-211)
Join us as we discuss the long middle section of Hamnet, Chapters 5-17. Is it sad? Yes. But is it heartbreaking? Also yes. But is it worth it? BIG YES. It’s called catharsis, baby! Let’s get through it together.
#11
February 2 · 1 hr 14 min
Hamnet, Maggie O’Farrell — Chapters 1-4 (pages 1-88)
There’s no way you made it to this point in the timeline without hearing the name Hamnet. He’s everywhere! And you know how sometimes when everyone hypes up a movie so much that it gets annoying and you just can’t bring yourself to see it or care because how good can it actually be?? Well, THIS IS NOT THAT. Let us get you up to speed before the Oscars. Read with us!
#10
January 19 · 51 min
Cozy season books for 2026 reading resolutions
So it seems that 2026 is off to a chaotic start, but that’s a perfect reason to lean in to cozy season and lock in on your resolution to scroll less and read more! In this one-off episode, Kathryn and Hannah chat about the books they reach for this time of year: immersive plots, engaging mysteries, comfy settings, and…solarpunk??!? Listen for recs and read with us!
#9
January 12 · 1 hr 10 min
This Other Eden, Paul Harding — Chapters 3 & 4
In the second and final episode about This Other Eden, Kathryn & Hannah discuss white tears, the incongruous logic of eugenics, chosen family and other queer themes, replacing news with fiction, and of course, the moment we’ve all been dreading: the other shoe drops! Just as Adam and Eve were banished from the Garden, so too were Apple Islanders banished from their own little Eden.

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