Let’s Read a Paperback

Kathryn Condon & Hannah Harsin Drager
  • 5.0 (4)
  • BOOKS
  • UPDATED WEEKLY

Like English class, but without the homework. Listen and read along with us while we take a deep dive into what makes our favorite contemporary fiction paperbacks so good.

  1. MAR 17

    Hamnet, Maggie O’Farrell — Part 2

    Yes, of course we need to talk about Part Two of Hamnet and the breathtaking ending to this family tragedy, but we also really need to talk about Justin Chang’s appallingly bad takes about Hamnet (the film mostly) in the New Yorker. Is alchemizing sadness into anger good for you? It’s working just fine for us! NOTE: Our next book is The Coin by Yasmin Zaher. We promise no children die in this one!! Join us for pages 3-73 in our next episode. Read with us!

    1h 14m

  2. FEB 10

    Hamnet, Maggie O’Farrell — Chapters 5-17 (pages 89-211)

    Join us as we discuss the long middle section of Hamnet, Chapters 5-17. Is it sad? Yes. But is it heartbreaking? Also yes. But is it worth it? BIG YES. It’s called catharsis, baby! Let’s get through it together.

    1h 28m

  3. FEB 2

    Hamnet, Maggie O’Farrell — Chapters 1-4 (pages 1-88)

    There’s no way you made it to this point in the timeline without hearing the name Hamnet. He’s everywhere! And you know how sometimes when everyone hypes up a movie so much that it gets annoying and you just can’t bring yourself to see it or care because how good can it actually be?? Well, THIS IS NOT THAT. Let us get you up to speed before the Oscars. Read with us!

    1h 14m

  4. JAN 19

    Cozy season books for 2026 reading resolutions

    So it seems that 2026 is off to a chaotic start, but that’s a perfect reason to lean in to cozy season and lock in on your resolution to scroll less and read more! In this one-off episode, Kathryn and Hannah chat about the books they reach for this time of year: immersive plots, engaging mysteries, comfy settings, and…solarpunk??!? Listen for recs and read with us!

    52 min

  5. JAN 12

    This Other Eden, Paul Harding — Chapters 3 & 4

    In the second and final episode about This Other Eden, Kathryn & Hannah discuss white tears, the incongruous logic of eugenics, chosen family and other queer themes, replacing news with fiction, and of course, the moment we’ve all been dreading: the other shoe drops! Just as Adam and Eve were banished from the Garden, so too were Apple Islanders banished from their own little Eden.

    1h 10m

  6. 12/30/2025

    This Other Eden, Paul Harding — Chapters 1 & 2

    On a desolate island off the coast of Maine, formerly enslaved Benjamin Honey and his Irish wife Patience settle in 1793 to sow apple seeds and grow their family in isolation. Generations later, the Honey clan remains on the island with a handful of hardy neighbors. For these residents of Apple Island, life ebbs and flows with the tides and the rhythm of the seasons. Nothing could be more natural to them, but through the eyes of outsiders, nothing could be more backward. If you know the story of the original Eden, you know the story of This Other Eden won’t be happy. But we promise it is beautiful. Read with us!

    1h 2m

  7. 12/01/2025

    Martyr! by Kaveh Akbar — Chapters 25 - End

    Welcome to our podcast where every book we read ends with us wondering Is the main character dead? Trust, when it comes to Cyrus, there’s enough evidence to convince you in whichever direction you want to be convinced. Listen and come to your own conclusion!

    1h 20m

  8. 11/08/2025

    Martyr! by Kaveh Akbar — Chapters 15 - 24

    It’s time for the third installment in our Martyr series, in which your wayward hosts finally return to the closet floor to discuss Chapters 15-24 without revealing the thing we’re all starting to realize about Orkideh and Cyrus and their preternatural connection.  Also in the episode: generational trauma strikes again, Arash is just a horny guy forced by circumstance to perform angeldom, and wtf are Ali and Gilgamesh doing in the woods? Plus! Kathryn’s and Hannah’s thoughts on revolutionary hotties (and non-revolutionary notties) lead to a PROPHETIC discussion of Zohran Mamdani and Dick Cheney recorded over a week before The Day.

    1h 18m
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Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
4 Ratings

About

Like English class, but without the homework. Listen and read along with us while we take a deep dive into what makes our favorite contemporary fiction paperbacks so good.

Information

  • Creator
    Kathryn Condon & Hannah Harsin Drager
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    13
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © Copyright 2025 All rights reserved.
  • Show Website
    Let’s Read a Paperback