Thu, Apr 21, 2022
John Green breaks down how and why we read before digging into JD Salinger's classic novel, THE CATCHER IN THE RYE.
Thu, Apr 21, 2022
In which John Green takes us to the Mississippi River to embark on Mark Twain's THE ADVENTURES OF HUCKLEBERRY FINN. We'll discuss what Twain's work said about life in America and the Civil War as well as examine the symbolism of the novel.
Thu, Apr 21, 2022
In which John Green discusses language, surveillance and government in George Orwell's dystopian novel 1984.
Thu, Apr 21, 2022
John Green teaches us about the poetry of Langston Hughes as well as his involvement in the Harlem Renaissance. John gives us an overview of Toni Morrison's BELOVED and its relation to slavery and American culture.
Thu, Apr 21, 2022
John Green gives a breakdown of Harper Lee's TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD. We'll look to the novel as commentary on racism and the patriarchy of the American South while examining race, gender and class through the lens of the author.
Thu, Apr 21, 2022
In which John Green explores Gabriel Garcia Marquez's novel 100 YEARS OF SOLITUDE. We'll take a look at the role of time in the book as well as how individual perspectives influence the idea of history.
Thu, Apr 21, 2022
In which John Greene talks about Jane Austen's life, PRIDE AND PREJUDICE as a product of Regency England and making choices. We will also discuss whether the novel has a liberal or conservative message.
Thu, Apr 21, 2022
In which John Green talks us through SULA, Toni Morrison's moving novel on friendship, betrayal and loss. In part two, we examine Octavia Butler's near-future dystopian coming of age novel, THE PARABLE OF THE SOWER.
Thu, Apr 21, 2022
In which John Green teaches us about Charlotte Brontë's classic coming of age novel JANE EYRE. In part two, John takes us through Virginia Woolf's modernist novel TO THE LIGHTHOUSE, a pioneering literary work that explores point of view and narrative flow.
Thu, Apr 21, 2022
In which John Green delves into Mary Shelley's literary piece FRANKENSTEIN, which kicked off the cultural phenomenon. In addition to the plot, John examines the moral limitations of science and the Romantic movement in English literature, of which the novel is a great example.
Thu, Apr 21, 2022
In which John Green takes us on an epic journey that is THE ODYSSEY. In part two, we learn about fate and the wrath of the gods in Sophocles' most famous play, OEDIPUS REX.
Thu, Apr 21, 2022
In which John Green gives us an overview of Shakespeare's best-known sonnets. Plus, we'll take a look at some of the most famous star-crossed lovers in ROMEO and JULIET and the structure of the play.
Thu, Apr 21, 2022
In which John Green continues with Shakespeare's ROMEO and JULIET, examining whether they were truly in love or just a pair of impulsive teenagers. In part two, we'll shift gears to F. Scott Fitzgerald's Jazz Age classic THE GREAT GATSBY, looking closely at the novel's rich symbolism.
Thu, Apr 21, 2022
In which John Green discusses Kurt Vonnegut's most famous novel, SLAUGHTERHOUSE-FIVE. John explores how the book functions as an anti-war novel, the idea of free will and PTSD. Following, we examine the life and poetry of Emily Dickinson, and how her poems have remained relevant over the decades.
Thu, Apr 21, 2022
In which John Green talks Shakespeare's Scottish play, MACBETH. We will examine how the play deals with gender and fate.
Thu, Apr 21, 2022
In which John Green teaches us about HAMLET, Shakespeare's most-performed play. John talks us through an overview of the plot as well as the major themes of the play. We will also learn about gender roles and symbolism.
Thu, Apr 21, 2022
In which John Green reads Zora Neale Hurston's novel, THEIR EYES WERE WATCHING GOD, and how interpretations of the book have changed over time. In part two, we're reading INVISIBLE MAN, Ralph Ellison's novel about the Black experience in America following WWII.
Thu, Apr 21, 2022
In which John Green teaches us about Margaret Atwood's speculative dystopian fiction THE HANDMAID'S TALE and the impulse to return to an imagined golden era in the world of Gilead.
Thu, Apr 21, 2022
In which John Green reads William Golding's LORD OF THE FLIES and disagrees with the novel's central thesis: that everyone has evil in their hearts. In part two, John takes us through Voltaire's Enlightenment novel CANDIDE, a story about the unattainability of best of all possible worlds.