
Close Reads is a book-club podcast for the incurable reader co-hosted by David Kern, Heidi White, Sean Johnson, and occasionally Tim McIntosh. We read good books and talk about them. This is a show for amateurs in the best sense. This is not an experts show: we’re book lovers, book enthusiasts. Our goal is have empathetic and intelligent conversations about good books. Close Reads is produced by G... more
| Publishes | Weekly | Episodes | 485 | Founded | 9 years ago |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number of Listeners | Categories | BooksArts | |||

Welcome back to our ongoing series on Niall Williams’ lovely novel. This week we discuss what this book has to say about happiness, the themes of hope and cynicism, Christy the romantic, coming of age, and our favorite passages in these chapters. Hop... more
Welcome to the start of a new series! Over the next several weeks we’ll be digging into Irish writer, Niall Williams pastoral novel, This Is Happiness. This week we’re discussing the proverbial nature of the narrator, the memory novel framing of the ... more
As always, we conclude our series on Edith Wharton’s classic novel by answering your questions. There were a lot of good ones and we did our best to answer as many as we could. Sometimes, of course, you just have to look at it. Happy listening!
To ... more
Welcome back to our series on Edith Wharton’s very complex (and wonderful) novel. This week, in discussing the ending, we find ourselves at, well, a loss for words. Nevertheless, we persist. We attempt to reckon with the complicated nature of May’s c... more
People also subscribe to these shows.





I keep coming back hoping to listen but the audio seems very off compared to other podcasts. Echos and difficulty hearing the podcasts hosts due to clarity.
At long last, the parasocial relationships I have dreamed of my entire adult life. With bibliophilic friends like these, who needs to leave mom’s basement?
Put on a kettle. Brew a fragrant cup of Earl Grey. Let all of the cats outside. It’s time for an episode of Close Reads.
I have been listening for 7+ years and I am so grateful to all of the hosts over the years. I get sad when I don’t get to read a book and miss out. I think literary FOMO might be the best kind. Thank you for your inspiration for my reading life!
As to many podcasts the team is just having a good time cheatchating. I have to stop at 12 minutes, so far Willa Cather is barely part of the conversation.
I love Tim and his LOVE of literature. However, It’s obvious David doesn’t read the books, which is insulting to the readers and listeners of this podcast. If you are hoping listeners learn how to read closely, I would think it’s important for the hosts to show that as they read. His treatment of Angelina in earlier episodes is alarming—how can you teach about virtue and not live it out in your daily lives?
Key themes from listener reviews, highlighting what works and what could be improved about the show.
How this podcast ranks in the Apple Podcasts, Spotify and YouTube charts.
Apple Podcasts | #67 | |
Apple Podcasts | #188 | |
Apple Podcasts | #222 | |
Apple Podcasts | #211 | |
Apple Podcasts | #158 | |
Apple Podcasts | #168 |
Recent interactions between the hosts and their guests.
Listeners, social reach, demographics and more for this podcast.
| Listeners per Episode | |
|---|---|
| Gender Skew | |
| Location | |
| Interests | |
| Professions | |
| Age Range | |
| Household Income | |
| Social Media Reach |
A book-club style production that focuses on the shared passion for literature, this podcast fosters stimulating conversations about a variety of literary works. Co-hosted by avid readers, the discussions revolve around character development, thematic exploration, and moral complexities in both classic and contemporary texts. The hosts' dedication to creating an empathetic and engaging dialogue is reflected in their inclusion of personal anecdotes, humor, and insights, making it feel like a gathering of friends exploring literature together. Unique segments include detailed analyses of specific works, Q&A sessions, and reflections on reading habits, enhancing the experience for both dedicated literary fans and casual readers alike.
Rephonic provides a wide range of podcast stats for Close Reads Podcast. We scanned the web and collated all of the information that we could find in our comprehensive podcast database. See how many people listen to Close Reads Podcast and access YouTube viewership numbers, download stats, audience demographics, chart rankings, ratings, reviews and more.
Rephonic provides a full set of podcast information for three million podcasts, including the number of listeners. View further listenership figures for Close Reads Podcast, including podcast download numbers and subscriber numbers, so you can make better decisions about which podcasts to sponsor or be a guest on. You will need to upgrade your account to access this premium data.
Rephonic provides comprehensive predictive audience data for Close Reads Podcast, including gender skew, age, country, political leaning, income, professions, education level, and interests. You can access these listener demographics by upgrading your account.
To see how many followers or subscribers Close Reads Podcast has on Spotify and other platforms such as Castbox and Podcast Addict, simply upgrade your account. You'll also find viewership figures for their YouTube channel if they have one.
These podcasts share a similar audience with Close Reads Podcast:
1. The Literary Life Podcast
2. Classical Stuff You Should Know
3. Read-Aloud Revival ®
4. The Symbolic World
5. What Have You
Close Reads Podcast launched 9 years ago and published 485 episodes to date. You can find more information about this podcast including rankings, audience demographics and engagement in our podcast database.
Our systems regularly scour the web to find email addresses and social media links for this podcast. We scanned the web and collated all of the contact information that we could find in our podcast database. But in the unlikely event that you can't find what you're looking for, our concierge service lets you request our research team to source better contacts for you.
Rephonic pulls ratings and reviews for Close Reads Podcast from multiple sources, including Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Castbox, and Podcast Addict.
View all the reviews in one place instead of visiting each platform individually and use this information to decide if a show is worth pitching or not.
Rephonic provides full transcripts for episodes of Close Reads Podcast. Search within each transcript for your keywords, whether they be topics, brands or people, and figure out if it's worth pitching as a guest or sponsor. You can even set-up alerts to get notified when your keywords are mentioned.
Recent guests on Close Reads Podcast include:
1. Tim McIntosh
2. Greg Wilbur
To view more recent guests and their details, simply upgrade your Rephonic account. You'll also get access to a typical guest profile to help you decide if the show is worth pitching.