#ReadingTheStone ReadingTheStone

We didn't quite manage to chat at length about Persuasion as we had planned, but we definitely shared a few stories for Kate! Original grapes Eily, Jen, Yazmin, and Eileen were back, but a few of Kate's favorite Lowellians also joined us: Tina, Ona, Ned, and Howard! We gave Howard a bit of grief for not having seen us in so long (and we gave him a lot more grief for his freakishly youthful Dorian Gray self).
We shared tales of Mass Hall and Lowell House and freshman expos and sophomore tutorial and water polo and lemon chicken and Howard almost burning down Lowell House (I totally forgot that).
To quote from the assigned reading that we didn't quite get to:
'My idea of good company is the company of clever, well-informed people, who have a great deal of conversation; that is what I call good company.'
'You are mistaken,' said he gently, 'that is not good company, that is the best.' 


Thanks for listening! Find us at readingthestone.com or @ReadingTheStone on Twitter.

The grapes return for another episode of 'Stories for Kate.' This time we do a deep dive into Martha Coolidge's 1983 indie classic Valley Girl, starring a young Deborah Foreman and Nicholas Cage. We talked about aspects of the film that we still love (eileen: still the way NC kisses, swoon; Jen: the storytelling; Yaz: the character of Julie), and aspects that make us cringe now; and, a surprising revelation from Eily. Plus the music! the music! Still one of my all-time favorite soundtracks, from The Plimsouls to Modern English to Josie Cotton to Psychedelic Furs.

Listen to the end for some bonus Kate love life content!
Thanks for listening! Find us at readingthestone.com or @ReadingTheStone on Twitter.

#ReadingTheStone Season 3: We have ventured a bit far afield from Story of the Stone and 18th century Chinese mansions for now, as Season 3 will be stories for (and about) Kate - in which we talk about her favorite books and films and men - and eagerly await her emendations and rebuttals.
Episode 1 Our Foundational College-era Romances, from Room with A View to Valley Girl to Pride and Prejudice to Dirty Dancing




Thanks for listening! Find us at readingthestone.com or @ReadingTheStone on Twitter.

[Originally recorded on March 25, 2023]

"The Fellowship of the Stone" (thank you to one of the episode guests for our new sobriquet!) reconvened for a post #ReadingTheStone wrap-up episode. We welcomed a panoply of new-to-the-group friends - all Hongloumeng scholars and teachers - Paola Zamperini, Canaan Morse, I-Hsien Wu, Carlos Rojas, Emily Wu, Steve Durrant, Scott Gregory who dropped in to discuss their own origin stories and current research interests in Story of The Stone. We heard from several members of our group, too - and their experiences reading The Stone together this past year.  Ann, Waiyee, and Eileen concluded by discussing future thematic episodes that we'll be hosting in the coming months, now that we have come to a conclusion of reading the story proper. 
Thanks for listening! Find us at readingthestone.com or @ReadingTheStone on Twitter.

[Originally recorded on 3-11-2023]
 
We recorded our first #ReadingTheStone Saturday chat on April 2, 2022, and now nearly 12 months later, we say farewell to Story of the Stone, as we reach Chapter 120 together. In this episode we explore the various 'happy endings' presented at the end of the fiction, and wonder how and if they responded to the questions posed by the text at the very beginning.

But we're not quite done with #ReadingTheStone! - next Saturday we will livestream from Boston, and we'll also be continuing with occasional future episodes on thematic topics - check back in with us, and we'll also keep you posted!

Thank you to all who have joined us in this adventure - Waiyee, Ann, and Eileen are deeply grateful.


Thanks for listening! Find us at readingthestone.com or @ReadingTheStone on Twitter.

[Originally recorded on 3-4-23]

“Before one disaster is over, here’s another!” Pretty much sums up all the chapters lately. - Dani
Our heroic trio Waiyee, Ann, and Eileen are reunited (thank you Shelly!) for the penultimate episode discussing Chapters 110-115, alongside the rest of our #ReadingTheStone community. A wide-ranging conversation today from Hou Hsiao-hsien's City of Sadness to Everything, Everywhere All At Once - but also a deeper dive into the notion of qing 情 as we encounter it in this story and in Chinese philosophical discourse, thanks to Wei and Waiyee.  Several character deaths explored - Faithful, Xifeng, Grandmother Jia, and  Adamantina - as we head to the end.
Thanks for listening! Find us at readingthestone.com or @ReadingTheStone on Twitter.