The Reading Hour

Andrew Osborn
  • 5.0 (2)
  • Books

Host Andrew Osborn reads aloud from novels, stories, essays, and poems in the public domain—works of literary accomplishment published before 1930. Most episodes include parts of at least one long work read serially over a number of weeks; recent examples include Virginia Woolf's To the Lighthouse, Henry David Thoreau's The Maine Woods, and Sarah Orne Jewett's A Country Doctor. A professor of literature and poetry-journal editor, Osborn sometimes offers interpretive commentary on what he voices, but the focus is always on sharing the language of great writers. Welcome!

  1. H. D. Thoreau, The Maine Woods, "The Allegash and East Branch," §5; Sarah Orne Jewett, A Country Doctor, ch. 19B

    6d ago

    H. D. Thoreau, The Maine Woods, "The Allegash and East Branch," §5; Sarah Orne Jewett, A Country Doctor, ch. 19B

    In Episode 32, Thoreau paddles through narrow waterways and seeks to carry his sixty-pound sack to Mud Pond by a path more swamp-like than muddy; we then conclude the 19th "Friends and Lovers" chapter of Jewett's A Country Doctor, the second half which registers Nan's perspective on her relationship with George Gerry.

    58 min
  2. H. D. Thoreau, The Maine Woods, "The Allegash and East Branch," §4; Sarah Orne Jewett, A Country Doctor, ch. 19A

    Jun 10

    H. D. Thoreau, The Maine Woods, "The Allegash and East Branch," §4; Sarah Orne Jewett, A Country Doctor, ch. 19A

    Episode 31 continues with Thoreau's third adventure in the Maine woods, during which he interests himself in his Indian guide's sensibilities regarding how to conduct oneself on a Sunday; the episode concludes with the first half of A Country Doctor's 19th chapter, in which the young Dunsport lawyer recognizes ponders the degree to which his affection for Nan is reciprocated.

    1h 1m
  3. H. D. Thoreau, The Maine Woods, "The Allegash and East Branch," §3; Sarah Orne Jewett, A Country Doctor, ch. 18

    Jun 3

    H. D. Thoreau, The Maine Woods, "The Allegash and East Branch," §3; Sarah Orne Jewett, A Country Doctor, ch. 18

    Episode 30 continues our reading from "The Allegash and East Branch," wherein Thoreau wakes in the night to discover "phosphorescent wood," which delights him; following a re-cap of Nan's adventures with George Gerry on the river, we then eavesdrop upon "A Serious Tea-Drinking" at Mrs. Fraley's in ch. 18 of A Country Doctor.

    1 hr
  4. H. D. Thoreau, The Maine Woods, "The Allegash and East Branch," §2; Sarah Orne Jewett, A Country Doctor, ch. 17

    May 27

    H. D. Thoreau, The Maine Woods, "The Allegash and East Branch," §2; Sarah Orne Jewett, A Country Doctor, ch. 17

    In Episode 29, we venture further up Moosehead Lake with Thoreau and Joe Polis to camp and do a bit of botanizing at Mount Kineo, which rises on a peninsula within the lake. We then continue with Nan's visit to Dunport in chapter 17 of A Country Doctor.

    57 min
  5. H. D. Thoreau, The Maine Woods, "The Allegash and East Branch," §1; Sarah Orne Jewett, A Country Doctor, ch. 16

    May 20

    H. D. Thoreau, The Maine Woods, "The Allegash and East Branch," §1; Sarah Orne Jewett, A Country Doctor, ch. 16

    Episode 28 introduces the third, final essay of Thoreau's The Maine Woods, "The Allegash and East Branch," then continues Jewett's A Country Doctor with its 16th chapter, in which Nan acquaints her Dunport aunt and a new friend with her vocational plans.

    58 min
  6. H. D. Thoreau, The Maine Woods, "Chesuncook," §7; Sarah Orne Jewett, A Country Doctor, ch. 15

    May 13

    H. D. Thoreau, The Maine Woods, "Chesuncook," §7; Sarah Orne Jewett, A Country Doctor, ch. 15

    In Episode 27 (2.15) we conclude "Chesuncook," the second of three essays in The Maine Woods, where Thoreau stirringly expresses how an ecological regard for the wild may promote the health of a democracy. The episode's second half is devoted to chapter 15 of Jewett's novel, in which Nan finally becomes acquainted with her aunt during an extended visit to Dunport.

    1h 4m
  7. H. D. Thoreau, The Maine Woods, "Chesuncook," §6; Sarah Orne Jewett, A Country Doctor, ch. 14

    May 6

    H. D. Thoreau, The Maine Woods, "Chesuncook," §6; Sarah Orne Jewett, A Country Doctor, ch. 14

    In this episode, Thoreau tries to determine from several Native Americans in a Maine camp what some of the Abenaki place names mean; then, in ch. 14 of A Country Doctor, we move to Dunport and make the acquaintance of Nan's aunt, Miss Anna Prince.

    1 hr
  8. H. D. Thoreau, The Maine Woods, "Chesuncook," §5; Sarah Orne Jewett, A Country Doctor, ch. 13

    Apr 29

    H. D. Thoreau, The Maine Woods, "Chesuncook," §5; Sarah Orne Jewett, A Country Doctor, ch. 13

    Episode 25's substantial reading from Thoreau's "Chesuncook" includes some of the most moving prose of the essay as Thoreau moralizes about hunting and poetry; he also expresses Transcendentalist enthusiasm for "the living spirit of the [pine] tree." The episode concludes with Jewett's thirteenth chapter of A Country Doctor, "A Straight Course."

    59 min
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Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
2 Ratings

About

Host Andrew Osborn reads aloud from novels, stories, essays, and poems in the public domain—works of literary accomplishment published before 1930. Most episodes include parts of at least one long work read serially over a number of weeks; recent examples include Virginia Woolf's To the Lighthouse, Henry David Thoreau's The Maine Woods, and Sarah Orne Jewett's A Country Doctor. A professor of literature and poetry-journal editor, Osborn sometimes offers interpretive commentary on what he voices, but the focus is always on sharing the language of great writers. Welcome!

Information

  • Creator
    Andrew Osborn
  • Years Active
    2K
  • Episodes
    32
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Andrew Langworthy Osborn 2025
  • Show Website
    The Reading Hour