The Foxed Page

KATE CHOPIN's "The Story of an Hour"

NO READING REQUIRED! I READ THE WHOLE (super short) SHORT STORY TO YOU! Remember Chopin's THE AWAKENING? This 1894 story has the same vibe, same boldness, same feminist

EAST OF EDEN by John Steinbeck

Watch me conjure John Steinbeck from the dead! NO ACTUAL READING OF THE NOVEL REQUIRED! If you love the TV series, listen now to get A LOT more out of it. I'll tell you

WE NEVER CALLED IT FRISCO by Jed Perl

To be completely honest, I picked this up because I thought I saw it on the Booker long list. I was mistaken (!!) but WOW am I glad I read it. How is this his first novel

MODERATION by Elaine Castillo >> Five dollars says you don't know how to pronounce Castillo.

This book is SO smart. Listen in to appreciate its richness, depth and complexity. ALSO, an hour from now you'll know the crucial difference between extraction skimming a

HELEN of NOWHERE >> If this doesn't win the Booker I might cry.

Goodman is sooooo smart. HELEN is inventive, heady, strange and HILARIOUS. Listen in to see what all those Booker judges might have identified when they longlisted this g

BEGINNING MIDDLE END by Valeria Luiselli >> Find out why this one caused me a minor breakdown.

Luiselli is TOO GOOD. This readable, complex, multi-faceted text proves yet again that she's a voice we need to hear. Listen in for a better appreciation of the structure

LIFE of M by Rachel Cusk >> Jump into the fray with me!

NEVER have I been so riveted by a controversy. When's the last time LITERATURE caused this kind of stir?? Listen in to explore: what Cusk is actually up to; where I thin

COUNTRY PEOPLE by Daniel Mason

If you loved this book this summer (or didn't quite think it lived up to NORTH WOODS), go back to school with me (and Miles and Kate and their kids) to study why the nove

THE ODYSSEY by Homer >>Could the movie be better than the book??

The average moviegoer can't answer that because, honestly--who's plowed through the 592-page epic poem recently? With today's lecture, no one needs to, but you might end

IN THE ABSENCE OF MEN by Philippe Besson >> Amazing fictional account of PROUST, anyone???

Besson might have lured us in with Marcel P., but we stayed for the STORY. Listen in to find out how the prose, the plotting and the TURN (??) in this novel function so w

Rachel Cusk's OUTLINE >> Who ISN'T talking about the release of LIFE OF M on August 25??

Who ISN'T talking about the release of LIFE OF M on August 25?? Prepare for Cusk's new work by reminding yourself--or finding out for the first time--why her approach t

A DREAM and a DEATH by ME, KIMBERLY FORD!

Yes. I'm going to read and analyze something I MYSELF WROTE. I promise it won't be boring. Also, it's short.

MY YEAR IN PARIS WITH GERTRUDE STEIN by Deborah Levy >> Stein, Paris, Levy? What's not to love??

See the three question marks in the title above? Listen in to find out who would hate each one of them. We all have an impression of Stein, but Levy offers up (and proble

LOST LAMBS by Madeline Cash >> FInd out why the buzz around this debut novel is warranted!

With all its inventive, kooky, paramilitary (!) elements, Lost Lambs is delightful and wholly original. Except when it seems like a DIRECT descendent of Thomas Pynchon.

NIGHTCRAWLING by Leila Mottley >> No WONDER Mottley was the youngest to ever be longlisted for the Booker!

I picked up THE GIRLS WHO GREW BIG in the bookstore but ended up reading NIGHTCRAWLING. Wow is Mottley a talent to be watched. Based on a true story, the novel digs dee

THE GOLDEN NOTEBOOK by Doris Lessing >> How is this the first Lessing I've ever read??

Whether you love this iconic, culty, groundbreaking novel or you don't get the hype; whether you believe it's a feminist treatise or a meditation on the promise and the s

"ARGOS" (yes, THE ODYSSEY dog!) by Joy Williams

NEVER READ IT? NO PROBMLEM! NO READING REQUIRED! I READ THE (very short) STORY TO YOU! Clearly I'm caught up in the frenzy surrounding Christopher Nolan's THE ODYSSEY.

ON THE CALCULATION OF VOLUME by Solvej Balle >> Weren't sure what to make of this Book 1 of 7? Tune in!

Honestly? I was sucked in by the covers of these slim volumes. When I saw we were about to get very groundhog-day, I wasn't so sure. After taking a close look at the titl

David Foster Wallace's SOMETHING TO DO WITH PAYING ATTENTION (from THE PALE KING)>> Finally, FINALLY, I've worked up the courage to lecture on one of my hugest literary heroes.

This novella--an excerpt of THE PALE KING--was a revelation. Just as its publisher Sarah McNally says in the preface, Wallace's cult-status fame as a challenging writer c

Elin Hilderbrand's THE PERFECT COUPLE (and THE FIVE STAR WEEKEND, kind of) >> On July 9, Peacock will air a second adaptation! Listen in to why Hilderbrand's work translates so well to the small screen!

I loved The Perfect Couple. I even loved the UNperfect parts. Part of the reason there's a second tv series is because Hilderbrand is so good at what she does. Listen i