Novel Pairings

Mar 04 2025 161 ep. 57 mins 477
Novel Pairings Podcast artwork

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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156. Introducing Emma by Jane Austen

Mar 04 2025 37 mins  
Welcome to our Spring Season! We're reading Emma by Jane Austen as a community, and we hope you will join us. Listen to today's introduction to hear why we love this novel, how we approach readalongs and recaps, and what to pay attention to as you follow along. To get maximum delight this season, join our Patreon community for classes and conversation, plus special Footnotes episod

155. Notable books of 2024: our bookish superlatives, reading life updates, and a little Jane Austen

Jan 14 2025 66 mins  
We’re back and kicking off 2025 with our annual Superlatives episode. Today, we’re excited to highlight stand-out books from 2024. We’ve got eight superlatives lined up that highlight our favorites, least favorites and everything in between. Plus, we’re looking back on our podcasting journey through 2024 and give you some behind-the-scenes insight to our reading lives. Stic

154. Moody & Atmospheric Fall 2024 Book Releases with Backlist Pairings

Sep 17 2024 56 mins  
We’re excited to be back in your podcast feeds to pair highly anticipated fall book releases with beloved backlist favorites. Prepare to overload your TBR pile as we dive into an exciting fall publishing season filled with moody, atmospheric titles. In today’s episode, we’ll share our carefully curated lists of outstanding upcoming fiction from both renowned authors and indie

153. Dishing our opinions on the hottest summer books of 2023

Sep 03 2024 67 mins  
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

152. The Custom of the Country Book One Recap

Jun 11 2024 75 mins  
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 wo

151. Introduction to The Custom of the Country by Edith Wharton

Jun 11 2024 43 mins  
Today’s episode is a special one! Twice a year, we choose a big bucket list classic to read together as a community. For every big book we read, Chelsey and Sara dust off their 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 l

150. Ten classic novels you should read this summer

Jun 04 2024 40 mins  
We’re taking it back to the classroom in today’s episode! Chelsey and Sara reflect on their experience with high school summer reading as both students and teachers: the good, the great, and the hot takes. While we aren’t assigning any reading in this episode, we are sharing 10 classics that would make for great summer reads at any age! For an enhanced reading experience, pai

149. On Beauty by Zadie Smith

May 28 2024 75 mins  
Today, we’re wrapping up our spring season with Zadie Smith’s On Beauty, a theme-driven novel that recreates the social world of an elite liberal arts college, exploring issues through nuanced satire on race, class, and beauty. We dig into the stories of the Belsey and Kipp families and Smith’s use of the academic setting to discuss identity and social satire. Our pairings fo

148. We can't wait to read these brand new summer 2024 books and backlist pairings

May 21 2024 60 mins  
Get ready for your summer TBR to pile high as we share our most anticipated titles releasing this summer! Plus, each new release that we preview in today’s episode is perfectly paired with a backlist book or two, giving us plenty to read while waiting for pre-orders and library holds to come in. If you enjoy our recommendations on today’s episode, we have even more book suggest

147. The limits of satire & A Modest Proposal by Jonathan Swift

May 14 2024 55 mins  
On today’s Modern Readers episode, we’re placing “A Modest Proposal” by Jonathan Swift in context with pieces of contemporary political satire. We'll explore how satire is being used today to comment on politics and social issues, and the power, or limits, of its influence. Throughout our discussion, we discuss the lasting legacy of Swift’s essay, the rise of satirical me