Lecture 78: You Dreamed of Empires by Álvaro Enrigue The Foxed Page 2025-01-05 | As soon as she opened it, Kimberly knew she needed a deep dive into YOU DREAMED OF EMPIRES. Listen in for a deeper understanding of the title, the unique narrative stance, why the book feels so dreamy, the humor and whether or not we can read this as a FEMINIST novel. Want an even deeper understanding of this complex, hilarious, dark, unique book?? Tune in!
Lecture 99: The Mobius Book by Catherine Lacey The Foxed Page 2025-07-30 | NO SPOILERS! Kimberly picked up this hybrid memoir-novel because she was intrigued by Lacey's inventiveness. Listen in to see which parts of the text met her high expectations and which might have fallen a bit short. And if you haven't thought through the difference between a mobius strip and the infinity symbol, Kimberly promises to add a little insight to your Mobius Book experience..
Lecture 98: Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut The Foxed Page 2025-07-23 | Everyone, honestly, should (re)read this book. Vonnegut's masterpiece is dark, hilarious, impactful, moving, urgent, inventive and so much more. Allow Kimberly to help you see how this deceptively simple prose does so much heavy lifting. She dives deep into the book's structure, its sci-fi elements and its humor. Even ardent fans will appreciate her fresh take on why this groundbreaking, post-modern classic is so much more than its postmodern peers. Listen in now for an immersion into one of Time's best 100 novels of the past 100 years.
Lecture 97: The Transit of Venus The Foxed Page 2025-07-13 | Hazzard's 1980 novel is one of the most gorgeous, most intricate, most rewarding, most RICH novels Kimberly has ever read. Listen in to hear her explain how its nimble narrator, its figurative language and its singular, masterful structure--among many other aspects--make so worth your while..
Lecture 96: The Antidote in the context of Magic Realism, Historical Fiction and Truth The Foxed Page 2025-07-11 | Did you finish Karen Russell's ambitious new novel and feel like you had some questions? Allow Kimberly to maybe supply some answers! (Or—ha!—maybe just more questions!)Magic realism is an amazing way to articulate the inarticulable, to assert dissent, and to question order. Historical fiction is an excellent vehicle for examination of the past. Join Kimberly for a discussion of The Antidote in the context of Gabriel García Márquez, Isabel Allende, and even Mary Karr. You’ll come away with a better understanding of the novel, while also having a broader sense of how HISTORY in fiction sometimes functions well and sometimes falls a bit short.
Lecture 95: Arráncame la vida by Angeles Mastretta The Foxed Page 2025-06-30 | NO SPOILERS! Looking for a summer read that doesn't feel like a trifle?? This summery dive into the history, glamour and drama of Mexico in the 1930s is your answer. Mastretta's ultra-engaging, sex-forward, historical, feminist family romance might be a touchstone of feminist literature, but it's also SO FUN TO READ. Kimberly dives in to the feminist underpinnings, the way our protagonist can rationalize living with a criminal (anyone interested in how Carmela Soprano did it, you should read this book!) and the literary merits of this engaging work. The summer read that you'll remember forever!
Lecture 94: Orbital by Samantha Harvey The Foxed Page 2025-06-24 | Orbital is the kind of novel that should inspire hours and hours of conversation. Kimberly can't imagine a single person who could apprehend it in just one read. If you're curious about how Harvey uses language to describe the indescribable, how her love of Virginia Woolf is clear on every page, how her innovative narrative stance surprised even Harvey herself, and honestly, just how she could have possibly pulled off such a convincing depiction of space travel despite never having set foot in space--indulge yourself in a deeper exploration of this Booker Prize winner now!
Lecture 93: I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith The Foxed Page 2025-06-20 | NO SPOILERS! The Atlantic put this delight of a novel at the top of their summer reading list and Kimberly could not agree more! This is the most crowd-pleasing book she has ever recommended. It is SO GOOD. Rich and complex, but also light, it's gorgeous and transporting--everything you want in a summer read! Listen in now to be sure you fully appreciate everything that makes it so appealing.
Reading Challenge 1b: Part Two of To the Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf The Foxed Page 2025-06-04 | People, this is when things get fun. Kimberly breaks down a bunch of aspects of the work: figurative language, the unique structure, patriarchy v. matriarchy, the very nature of creativity and the essence of what it is to be human (!!) and so much more. Want to feel smarter and get more out of this insanely great book? Treat yourself now.
The first foxed page CHALLENGE: To the Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf The Foxed Page 2025-05-24 | NO READING REQUIRED!! INTRODUCTION TO THE NOVEL!Want to feel smarter, more inspired and more in tune with just about everything? Join Kimberly in (re)reading this masterpiece. If you’re even remotely intimidated, don’t be. Kimberly will hold your hand while helping you understand the structure, the innovation, stream of consciousness and why it's considered one of the best novels in the English language. Sure! Woolf is a little bit of a challenge. But your brain will be so happy. This first lecture will be followed by a second one--for you to see how you did?? To help you appreciate the genius even more fully?? Maybe just to indulge in yet more thinking about this modernist LEGEND.
Lecture 92: The Scarlet Letter The Foxed Page 2025-05-21 | NO READING REQUIRED!Hawthorne's 1850 classic is the epitome of high school books that are wasted on high school students. This thing is a MASTERPIECE.Listen in as Kimberly situates it historically, talks about the framing device, digs deep into the radical FEMINISM and of course covers symbolism (did you also write your term paper on symbolism??).She wraps up the lecture by leaning into her ongoing rant about how PURITANISM really screwed this country--and how Hawthorne's gift to us all closes with a deeply anti-puritanical, deeply OPTIMISTIC message--the kind we all need today.
Lecture 91: The Husbands by Holly Gramazio The Foxed Page 2025-05-16 | NO SPOILERS! With humor as a lens, Kimberly dives in to all the ways this bestseller functions so well. You'll learn how to think about humor more generally, while seeing all the ways that the best humor can really shape a novel. Join Kimberly for an exploration of one of the strongest elements of this smart, engaging surprisingly philosophical book!
Lecture 90: The Awakening by Kate Chopin The Foxed Page 2025-05-01 | Remember this absolute CORNERSTONE of feminist literature?? Turns out this classic is just as important and juicy as when it was published---IN 1899!Kimberly was honestly kind of shocked by how iconoclastic, gorgeous and modern this novel feels. Whether the book is a women's-studies-seminar favorite or new to you, indulge in this exploration of one woman's fascinating experience of society, domesticity, maternity and PASSION in late-1800s New Orleans.
Enriched Read 9: the Genius of CORMAC McCARTHY (specifically: No Country for Old Men) The Foxed Page 2025-04-19 | NO READING REQUIRED! Love McCarthy? Never read him? Tune in to see why he is just so good. As soon as Kimberly dove back in to No Country for Old Men, she knew she had to explore exactly why McCarthy's prose is second to none. Learn all the ways that McCarthy provides a master class in every element of fiction: textured narrative voices, description of violence, sympathy for complex characters, dark humor--not to mention gorgeous, complex, evocative prose.
Lecture 88: Sex Writing, Age-Gap Relationships and Annie Ernauxs The Young Man The Foxed Page 2025-04-14 | NO READING REQUIRED! Leave it to a NOBEL PRIZE WINNER to dish up some seriously inspiring prose! Tune in to hear Kimberly unpack the many ways that Ernaux celebrates the age gap relationship. The French master offers up philosophical explanations for why older people get with younger ones, incisive analysis of social norms and all the ways in which this liaisons are empowering--all, of course, while treating us to her stark, arresting, unique prose. Treat yourself to this dip into one woman's world and all the ways we might rethink age difference.
Episode 89: Anna Karenina The Foxed Page 2025-04-10 | NO READING REQUIRED! Intimidated?? Don't be! Just let Kimberly tell you all the reasons these 1,000 pages are so great. Whether this doorstop is an old favorite--or something you NEVER plan to read--treat yourself to Kimberly's take on why this classic of all classics is worth your next 40 minutes!
Lecture 87: Sex Writing, Age-Gap Relationships and Playworld by Adam Ross The Foxed Page 2025-03-28 | Tune in to hear Kimberly break down the ways PLAYWORLD really succeeds--and the ways she sees it falling short. With its marketing materials really pushing the 36-year-old-woman/14-year-old-boy sexualized relationship, the novel provides a fascinating look at sex writing and how the Mrs.-Robinson trope manifests itself in 2025. Join Kimberly for this second of four lectures--the only novel of the three written by a man, which maybe shouldn't matter?? But also really might.
Lecture 86: Sex Writing, Age-Gap Relationships and Intermezzo by Sally Rooney The Foxed Page 2025-03-20 | With good sex writing, and TWO age-gap relationships, INTERMEZZO offers Kimberly all sorts of ways to think about female sexual desire. Listen in to hear what Kimberly LOVES about the latest Rooney and where she thinks the novel fell SHORT.The first of a series of four lectures that will explore Adam Ross's PLAYWORLD, Annie Ernaux's THE YOUNG MAN and Kate Chopin's THE AWAKENING, Kimberly's deep dives will elucidate not only the novel at hand, but larger, timely questions about (older) women and sex.
Lecture 85: The Once and Future King by T. H. White The Foxed Page 2025-03-12 | White published this insanely great CAMELOT classic as a four-part volume, half in 1938 and half in 1958, all in the shadow of WWII. If he only knew how well the chaos of that historical moment would mirror 2025! This treasure is haunting, hilarious, deep and charming. But NO NEED TO READ this 700-page book. Just treat yourself to Kimberly's wander through it now!
Lecture 84: Lucia Berlins Carpe Diem from A Manual for Cleaning Women The Foxed Page 2025-03-04 | In this special lecture honoring a story from one of the BEST BOOKS OF THE CENTURY (according to the New York Times), Kimberly proves that it's FASCINATING to parse a five-and-a-half page story for an hour. In fact, there was a lot MORE she wanted to discuss. This deep dive, though, will give you an even better sense of just WHY Berlin's work is so so good.
Lecture 83: Jodi Picoults By Any Other Name The Foxed Page 2025-02-24 | Did you miss a few of the Shakespeare references in this excellent historical fiction? Want to be sure you appreciated all the other elements that make this novel work so well? Join Kimberly as she discusses historical fiction in general--before digging in to how the structure, the pacing, figurative language and the prose and make this book SO effective. (Plus: a few quibbles.)
Lecture 82: I Could Read the Sky by Timothy OGrady and Steve Pyke The Foxed Page 2025-02-13 | NO READING REQUIRED! DO you STILL need a literary escape?? This gorgeous, elegiac novel-with-photos will transport you to Ireland and embroil you in the very timely experience of emigration. Kimberly's deep dive works well before or after reading this gem. The novel's unique reading experience derives in part from the incredible photographs throughout--combined, of course, with insanely great prose. Make sure you're getting as much as possible out of this unusual, beautiful, haunting novel.
Episode 81: Don Quijote de La Mancha The Foxed Page 2025-02-03 | Listen in to hear why Don Quixote is the most important book YOU DO NOT NEED TO READ. Kimberly LOVES this classic of all classics--largely held as the first modern novel. Cervantes's 1605 masterpiece is not only colorful, hilarious, smart and unique but it includes all the elements that would go on to shape practically all of literature. Kimberly tells you all about these elements while giving you a good taste of the Spaniard's inimitable prose.She also argues why this hour-long lecture might be all the Quijote you need! Listen in now!
Lecture 80: Aysegul Savass The Anthropologists The Foxed Page 2025-01-27 | Need an escape? Immerse yourself in an hour of Kimberly parsing all the ways that this meditative, warm, escapist book--with its wholly unique premise--offers so much. NO PRE-READING NECESSARY!
Lecture 79: Good Material by Dolly Alderton The Foxed Page 2025-01-17 | People. This lecture includes Kimberly's HOTTEST TAKE since starting the podcast. She loved Alderton's book so much she couldn't help but add some out-there conjecture to her usual astute, entertaining analysis.When The NY Times named Alderton's GOOD MATERIAL one of the best 10 books of 2024, Kimberly knew it was time to dig in. Listen as she deepens your understanding of the male narrative voice, the excellent figurative language, the supposed "double ending" and Alderton's CRUCIAL SUBVERSION of the marriage plot. Tune in to her argument for why this (anti)-rom-com (?!) BELONGS in the company of literary heavyweights like Miranda July's ALL FOURS, Percival Everett's JAMES and Álvaro Enrigue's YOU DREAMED OF EMPIRES. Finally, DO NOT MISS Kimberly's hottest of hot takes!
Lecture 77: The House of the Spirits and One Hundred Years of Solitude The Foxed Page 2024-12-03 | Isabel Allende's THE HOUSE OF THE SPIRITS did, in many ways, build upon the magic realism established by ONE HUNDRED YEARS OF SOLITUDE. But Kimberly points out all the ways Allende's 1982 novel went beyond the genre. Published in Spain, not her native Chile for political reasons, the novel was HUGELY popular with Americans. Join Kimberly to learn more about how these masterpieces relate to one another. Hear more about the larger implications of magic realism, and how the historical-political situations in Colombia and Chile influenced both works. Indulge yourself now!
Lecture 76: Philipe Bessons Lie with Me (translated by Molly Ringwald!) The Foxed Page 2024-11-10 | Kimberly had never read Besson--and didn't know Ringwald was translating!--but she loved this brief, beautiful novel. Listen in as she touches on the very un-american phenomenon of autofiction, before diving into the fascinating structural choices, the beauty of the spare prose and why Besson is SO GOOD AT SEX WRITING. She'll even offer up interesting translation differences and the novel's details that Ringwald (mostly judiciously) chose to leave out.
Lecture 75: James Baldwins Go Tell It on the Mountain The Foxed Page 2024-10-14 | Often considered Baldwin's masterpiece, this slim, somewhat autobiographical novel is SO GOOD. Listen in now to hear how the structure, the narrative voice and the final chapter make this an incredible, important read.
Lecture 74: Gabriel García Márquezs One Hundred Years of Solitude The Foxed Page 2024-10-07 | If you're one of the millions who love this book--or maybe you didn't quite get the hype??--listen in to Kimberly's take on why it's massively important. Garcia Marquez changed literature with the 1967 publication of this surreal, ultra-popular, deeply engaging novel. Kimberly LOVED diving in to the context in which it was written, the way it fits into literary movements and why it's so groundbreaking. You're one of the people who couldn't keep all the generations of José Arcadios and Aurelianos straight?? Kimberly will reveal a grad-school-level secret that will help you more fully appreciate this novel--and every challenging book you read.
Old Favorite 5: Nancy Drew and her Intriguing Cultural Phenomenon The Foxed Page 2024-09-30 | NO PRE-READING REQUIRED! Kimberly had no idea that the Nancy Drew we all read as kids was seriously different from the 1930 original. This kind of re-writing is always a fascinating window into American culture--but the real fun in this case is how GOOD these books are. Whether you're a fan or not, listen in to hear what most of us missed about these iconic bestsellers!
Lecture 73: Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer The Foxed Page 2024-09-24 | Braiding Sweetgrass is one of those books we should be going back to again and again. If you don't quite have the time to do that, Kimberly will give you a hand. Want to feel like you could maybe help make the world a slightly better place in some small way?? Want to feel better about the environment?? Want to feel inspired and informed--with sometimes RADICAL new ways to conceptualize the world? Listen in!
Enriched Read 8: Ann Patchetts Tom Lake and Our Town! The Foxed Page 2024-09-16 | At the end of TOM LAKE, Ann Patchett exhorts readers to return to the work of Thornton Wilder--so Kimberly did! She LOVED her deep dive into the hugely influential 1938 classic, OUR TOWN. You'll hear analysis of the novel, with a whole section devoted to how the incredibly affecting OUR TOWN inflects Patchett's novel. Lastly? You'll then be treated to some seriously inspiring quotations by Wilder himself.
Lecture 72: Rachel Cusks Outline The Foxed Page 2024-09-09 | Cusk's radical approach to the novel makes OUTLINE the perfect text for serious exploration. Its innovative approach to narrative, structure and even basic description meant plenty of grist for Kimberly's mill. Whether you loved OUTLINE or were left wondering what the hell just happened--prepare for some super-rich edification.
Lecture 71: Elin Hilderbrands The Perfect Couple the novel and the Netflix Series! The Foxed Page 2024-09-02 | Netflix is airing what looks like an AMAZING, star-studded, darkly comic HIT! Listen to Kimberly explain why Hilderbrand's dialogue, structuring, subplots and sense of place will make this show SO GOOD. With juicy details gleaned from lots of sleuthing, Kimberly will get you ready to watch on SEPTEMBER 5!
Lecture 70: Gregoire Bouilliers The Mystery Guest The Foxed Page 2024-08-26 | NO READING REQUIRED! You all asked for more international books. This short French riff on Mrs. Dalloway is a REALLY GOOD ONE! Kimberly comes to you from a wine cellar with a nervous dog to explain autofiction and how the French are more relaxed about TRUTH than Americans. The Mystery Guest is intriguing, darkly funny and SO SHORT! If you're casting about for something to read and want something different--listen in!
Lecture 69: Liz Moores The God of the Woods The Foxed Page 2024-08-19 | NO SPOILERS! (Obviously. It's a thriller.) Feel like you fully appreciated what makes this novel so good? Allow Kimberly to point out a few things you might have been too engrossed to notice! She was so impressed with The Gods, that Kimberly devoted a section of the lecture to a few times when slightly awkward elements--always fun to dissect--made her realize just how GOOD Moore is. Listen in now!
Enriched Read 7: SATIRE in Long Island Compromise by Taffy Brodesser-Akner! The Foxed Page 2024-08-12 | You've got an intuitive sense of satire? But could use a breakdown about WHY it works so well WHEN it works so well? Join Kimberly for a close look at Taffy Brodessor-Akner's latest to understand this delicious literary mode. We'll take a close look at LONG ISLAND COMPROMISE, while also getting a bit broader with Andrew Sean Greer's LESS, Lorrie Moore's SELF HELP and Paul Beatty's THE SELLOUT. Enrich yourself now!
Lecture 68: James Baldwins Giovannis Room The Foxed Page 2024-08-08 | It's a crime that Kimberly JUST read this novel for the first time. She was shocked at the crazy abundance of figurative language. There are SO many reasons to read (or REREAD) this slim, gorgeous, Paris-based novel. Kimberly argues that an amazing way to more fully understand the book is to view it through Baldwin's genius use of metaphor, simile, symbolism etc. Listen in now!
Lecture 67: Kimberlys TOP 10 books of the 21st century The Foxed Page 2024-08-05 | The New York Times did NOT ask Kimberly for her top ten when they made their list--but here they are! Picking ten was no easy feat. So there are five runners-up. She also assumed it would be impossible to RANK the top ten, but in a spur-of-the-moment, game-time decision, she attempts it. Listen up to see how your favorites compare!
Lecture 66: Lucia Berlins A Manual for Cleaning Women The Foxed Page 2024-07-29 | Kimberly would give this book an ELEVEN if her scale went that high. This collection is SO FUNNY and SO DARK. It's unlike any other writing. Whether you already love it or are considering diving in after the book was selected as one of the best of the century, listen in as Kimberly helps understand how Berlin pulls it OFF.
Lecture 65: 46 of the NYT Best 100 books of the century! The Foxed Page 2024-07-25 | Kimberly zips through the 46 books she's read, first giving each a rating from 0 to 10, then sharing very quick thoughts. Listen in to see if your favorite was the book who earned the sad little THREE! Or maybe one of the few 10s! This lecture was SO FUN to do! Join us.
Lecture 64c: Salingers Franny and Zooey (but mostly Zooey) The Foxed Page 2024-07-22 | We wrap up SALINGER WEEK with a deep dive into "Zooey" (the story) along with a good hard look at Franny and Zooey as a whole. This third and final lecture offers up all sorts of gems--from the source of Franny's crisis to a wider look at why Salinger's prose is so incredibly ENDURING.
Lecture 64b: Salingers A Perfect Day for Bananafish The Foxed Page 2024-07-19 | "Franny" and "Zooey" (and FRANNY AND ZOOEY) depend--in many important (but subtle) ways--upon Seymour Glass. Published in the New Yorker in 1948, "A Perfect Day for Bananafish" introduces us to Seymour--in the moments before his death. Even in absence, Seymour is foundational for the entire Glass Family, but he might be MOST crucial to the youngest Glasses, Franny and Zooey. If you love FRANNY AND ZOOEY, a deep dive into "Bananafish" will make you love it even more.
Lecture 64: J. D. Salingers Franny and Zooey (but mostly Franny) The Foxed Page 2024-07-15 | This deep dive is SO deep that Kimberly needs a whole lecture just to discuss "Franny." The first chunk of FRANNY AND ZOOEY--a 40-page story--is not only amazing, but the perfect way to look at what makes Salinger's prose so SALINGER. A second Salinger lecture will tackle "A Perfect Day for Bananafish," largely in preparation for a third, which will dive in to the whole volume of the uber-popular FRANNY AND ZOOEY.
Lecture 63b: The ending of Akbars MARTYR! The Foxed Page 2024-07-11 | If you think you understood all the nuance and complexity and multi-valence of this novel's (possible double) ending, you might be crazy. Kimberly hopes her in-depth discussion of the last few pages will help you more fully appreciate their genius--while answering basic questions! She follows Daniel Mendelsohn's advice to treat literature like a social science: always going back to the DATA. If you have questions--or just want to dig a little deeper into this insanely great book--you're in the right place.
Lecture 63: Kaveh Akbars MARTYR! The Foxed Page 2024-07-08 | People. This book is INSANE. It is so smart and warm and funny and important. It was such an intense and amazing experience for Kimberly that she will have TWO lectures on it. In this one: allow her to help you understand the many ways in which the book is incredible. (Part II [coming soon]: she'll break down the CRAZY ENDING!)
Lecture 62: Elin Hilderbrands Swan Song The Foxed Page 2024-07-05 | NO SPOILERS! What's summer without a good beach read? By the QUEEN of the beach read?? Kimberly was somewhat alarmed that Hilderbrand is "hanging up her bikini" but thank god we have 26 other Nantucket novels to choose from. People, Hilderbrand is SO GOOD at this stuff. Listen in to find out why her narrative stance, atmospheric elements and structure make these books so solid. (Also: Kimberly has just a few teeny quibbles). There's no such thing as "guilty pleasure" where Hilderbrand is concerned--she's just so good at this stuff!
Repost: The Great Gatsby The Foxed Page 2024-07-01 | NO READING REQUIRED! Did you love this classic in sophomore English? Allow Kimberly to lead you down literary memory lane with this meditation on the AMERICAN DREAM. Even if you haven't re-read this classic, delving into for an hour is a revelation. Kimberly breaks down the innovative narrative stance, the plot-heavy structure and some master-class motif building--all while reveling in (and also subtly criticizing) this modernist MASTERPIECE.
Lecture 60: Miranda Julys All Fours The Foxed Page 2024-06-24 | People. ALL FOURS is creating a REVOLUTION. It's changing how we think about sex, maternity, marriage--and towels. Touted by the New York Times as "the first great peri-menopause novel," it's July's most accessible, most hilarious and most "filthy" (in the best of ways) work. Listen in while Kimberly uses the lens of humor to appreciate the pathos, the sex, the iconoclasm and the tension in this IMPORTANT BOOK.
