Lit Books

Professor Read delves into the nature of evil in The Monk by Matthew Lewis. What is it about evil that draws us to it? Why would a good person commit horrific acts of violence? Is anyone safe from evil? Join Professor Read as he discusses these questions and tries to understand why those deemed good people fall to evil's wicked spell. For this episode, the following sources were used: Lewis, M. G., et al. The Monk. Oxford University Press, 2016. ; WATKINS, DANIEL P. “SOCIAL HIERARCHY IN MATTHEW LEWIS'S ‘THE MONK.’” Studies in the Novel, vol. 18, no. 2, 1986, pp. 115–124. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/29532407. Accessed 17 May 2020.

TRIGGER WARNING! This episode contains sensitive material. Professor Read dives into the depths of madness with Sylvia Plath’s only novel, The Bell Jar. What is madness? How is it caused? Why would a normal person living a good life suddenly fall into a downward spiral of emptiness? Join Professor Read as he discusses these difficult questions and tries to understand what causes madness. This will not be an easy road to walk down; however, it is paramount in order to keep our mind informed. ---- For this episode, the following sources were used: Chiasson, Dan, et al. “Sylvia Plath's Last Letters.” The New Yorker, 29 Oct. 2018, www.newyorker.com/magazine/2018/11/05/sylvia-plaths-last-letters. ; Feinmann, Jane. “Rhyme, Reason and Depression.” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 16 Feb. 1993, www.theguardian.com/books/1993/feb/16/biography.sylviaplath. ; Plath, Sylvia, et al. The Bell Jar. Harper Perennial, 2005. ; Tsank, Stephanie. “The Bell Jar: A Psychological Case Study.” Plath Profiles: An Interdisciplinary Journal for Sylvia Plath Studies: Essays, Poetry, Reviews, vol. 3, 2010, pp. 166–177., https://scholarworks.iu.edu/journals/index.php/plath/article/view/4714/4350

Professor Read investigates Charles Dickens’s darkest novel, Great Expectations. Why would a man who wrote novels filled with comedy, angelic women, incorruptible men, and satisfying endings, write a dark novel that is ultimately about failure? What dark phantoms haunted the mind and heart of Dickens during the late 1850’s and throughout the 1860’s? And what can we learn from this haunting piece of literature? Join Professor Read as he discusses these questions and takes us on a dark and chaotic ride through the world of 19th century literature. ---- For this episode, the following sources were used: Dickens, Charles, and Charlotte Mitchell. Great Expectations. Penguin Books, 2003. ; Eliot, George, et al. Selected Essays, Poems and Other Writings. Penguin, 1990. ; Shakespeare, William, et al. Hamlet. Bloomsbury Arden Shakespeare, 2017. ; Tomalin, Claire. The Invisible Woman: The Story of Nelly Ternan and Charles Dickens. Knopf, 1991. ; Tomalin, Claire. Charles Dickens: a Life. Penguin Press, 2012.

Professor Read takes a close look at Aldous Huxley's Brave New World. What warning was Huxley giving us in the novel? Why would he write this twisted book? And what knowledge do we gain from it? Join Professor Read as he discusses these questions and more. ---- For this episode, the following sources were used: Huxley, Aldous, and Christopher Hitchens. Brave New World and Brave New World Revisited Notes. Harper Perennial, 2005. ; Huxley, Aldous. Brave New World. Harper Perennial, 2006. ; Karolides, Nicholas J., et al. 120 Banned Books: Censorship Histories of World Literature. Checkmark Books, 2011. ; Shakespeare, William, and Jonathan Bate. Complete Works: the RSC Shakespeare. Macmillan, 2007.

In this episode, Professor Read gives you, dear listener, a preview as to what this podcast is about.