Arts

Books of Some Substance

by David Southard and Nathan Sharp

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Latest episodes

115 - To the Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf

May 27, 2026 · 1 hr 0 min

What does it mean to make meaning in an indifferent universe? In this episode, we (Nathan and David) are talking Virginia Woolf's 1927 masterpiece To the Lighthouse, a novel where almost nothing "happens" and yet everything does. All of…
114 - The Obscene Bird of Night by José Donoso

February 4, 2026 · 1 hr 19 min

José Donoso's The Obscene Bird of Night is one of the most difficult, disturbing, and rewarding novels in Latin American literature. In this episode, we get into the fractured identities, grotesque transformations, and decaying…
113 - The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky (2 of 2)

December 20, 2025 · 1 hr 7 min

Murder, faith, redemption, justice, morality, and a reckoning with one's beliefs about the world! This is The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky. In this episode of the Books of Some Substance podcast, we (Nathan Sharp and David…
112 - The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky (1 of 2)

September 25, 2025 · 1 hr 23 min

In this episode of The Books of Some Substance podcast, Nathan and David get into the first half of Fyodor Dostoevsky's masterpiece, The Brothers Karamazov (Books 1-6; Parts 1 and 2). From the novel's dense, philosophical style and its…
111 - Light Years by James Salter

May 29, 2025 · 1 hr 6 min

In this episode of the Books of Some Substance podcast, hosts Nathan Sharp and David Southard reunite with our old friend Eric Heiman (whose life and experiences connect closely to the novel on this episode) to discuss the intricate and…

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110 - One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez

April 16, 2025 · 1 hr 22 min

Exploring 'One Hundred Years of Solitude' by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. Join hosts David Southard and Nathan Sharp in the Books of Some Substance podcast as they kick off Season 3 with an in-depth discussion on Gabriel Garcia Marquez's…
Season 3 Books Announcement

March 1, 2025 · 14 min

Season Three: Family The Books of Some Substance Podcast's third season is underway! David and Nathan are here to announce the season's theme of family and introduce the lineup of books they'll be reading and discussing. The season opens…
108 - Control, Revisited: Six Novels of Power, Freedom, and Surrender

January 9, 2025 · 1 hr 26 min

In this episode, David and Nathan look back over season two, tracing the connections, marking the distinctions, and reframing their understanding/awareness of how control works in each and every book discussed this season. Revisiting: The…
107 - Tropic of Cancer by Henry Miller

December 4, 2024 · 1 hr 18 min

In this episode, David and Nathan delve into Henry Miller's controversial and groundbreaking novel "Tropic of Cancer." Published in 1934, this semi-autobiographical work was banned in the US and the UK upon its release due to its explicit…
106 - The Sheltering Sky by Paul Bowles

August 8, 2024 · 1 hr 3 min

Come explore existential despair, the hell of isolation, and the mad dash into oblivion with Nathan and David. On this episode, your hosts have an in-depth discussion on Paul Bowles' 1949 novel The Sheltering Sky - a novel of stark prose…
105 - Malina by Ingeborg Bachmann

May 16, 2024 · 1 hr 9 min

Welcome to our episode on the novel Malina by Ingeborg Bachmann. David and Nathan wind their conversation through the disorienting pages of this incredible novel. We explore its unique form and style, ponder its structure, and discuss how…
104 - Waiting for the Barbarians by J.M. Coetzee

February 7, 2024 · 57 min

Nathan and David continue their exploration of control with Waiting for Barbarians, a 1980 novel by South African writer J.M. Coetzee. Empire! Torture! Manipulation! Control! Quite the book, and quite the episode.

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About the show

The unofficial podcast of literary misfits everywhere who want to engage with books of "substance" (i.e. serious, respected, heavy, philosophical, classic), or at least considered such.