10 Comments
May 14Liked by haley larsen, phd

Haley, this was great! I appreciated hearing your thoughts-in-action as you walked through the chapters for this week. You're right in saying that Wharton manages to cram so much detail and information behind each of her sentences, so it was helpful to break down some of the events from a bird's eye view. I've found that I often do my best close reading after I've seen the view from the top. I'm looking forward to tomorrow's discussion!

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Thanks, Jordan! Yeah, I find that sometimes just talking through what I remembered and what I was tracking while I read can help to both simplify the basic plot points (so I know what's happening) while also opening up the nuances of the details (so I can do close readings in specific places). Thanks for listening!

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May 14Liked by haley larsen, phd

Hello - I finished up your audio talk and loved it! It was extremely helpful to hear your thoughts real time and brought a fresh perspective to the chapters we have read. I laughed at the Paris Hilton comparison. I think looking at what was happening back then with a current lens helps with understanding. The last chapter especially showing Newland doing an about face and your description of why made me understand things on a deeper level. I'm glad you mentioned that you have a Phd and not to get hung up on missing something. :) Thanks again for all your input. I'm really enjoying both the book and your deep dive on it.

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Amazing! Thanks Melissa! I'm really glad you're getting a lot of of this reading. There's so much you can track and follow and trace in this novel, it becomes a big of a lovely labyrinth to run around in!

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Hello! At first excuse me for my poor English, I'm a French speaker.

I'm so glad I've subscribed to your Close Reading. I've had to reach my 72 years old to discover the pleasure of slow reading with Simon Haisell and you.

I just want to know if it's better to read the post first and the audio talk after or the other way.

Many thanks for your knowledge.

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Hi Christine! I'm so glad you've found this slow read and are joining in!

As for the order of the audio versus the post: I think you can do them in either order! The audio is a lot more high-level and doesn't go into all the detail of the post.

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May 15Liked by haley larsen, phd

Loved the audio, I vote for keep doing that!

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Thanks Dana!! Will do!

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May 16Liked by haley larsen, phd

Thank you for the incredible insight! Something you mentioned makes me feel like I'm glaringly missing evidence in the text. You note that the text "explicitly" tells us that Newland is not leaping to Ellen's defense to protect the family name. Can you point to that in the text? I've reread countless times, help!

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Yelena: you made me realize I was thinking of a line that happens later in the novel! Ack! Thank you for calling attention to it -- but you're reading well and not missing anything in that moment!

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