Crack The Book: A Beginner's Guide to Reading the Great Books

Latest Episodes:

Where IS Everyone?? The Warriors of the Iliad Sep 22, 2026

Show notes

We’re two-thirds of the way through The Iliad, and instead of marching book by book through the action, this week I’m following the characters.

Where have Achilles, Agamemnon, Menelaus, Paris, and Hector actually been—and what have they been doing—through Book 16? Some are fighting, some are leading, and some are doing remarkably little. Along the way, we’ll look at Hector as the story’s moral center, the very different stakes facing mortals and immortal gods, and the moment that finally changes everything for Achilles.

I also compare three translations of Book 16: Robert Fagles, Emily Wilson, and the wonderfully readable 1938 prose translation by W.H.D. Rouse. Wilson surprised me, Rouse continues to charm me, and Fagles remains my standard.

Make sure to stick around for Patroclus' amazing last words.

BOOKS IN THIS EPISODE

The Iliad: Fagles, Wilson, and Rouse.

CONNECT

The complete list of Crack the Book Episodes (Amazon affiliate links): https://cheryldrury.substack.com/p/crack-the-book-start-here?r=u3t2r

To read more of my writing, visit my Substack - https://www.cheryldrury.substack.com.

Follow me on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/cldrury/

Like what you heard? Buy me a coffee! https://ko-fi.com/crackthebook

LISTEN

Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/5GpySInw1e8IqNQvXow7Lv?si=9ebd5508daa245bd

Apple Podcasts - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/crack-the-book/id1749793321

Captivate - https://crackthebook.captivate.fm

The Known Unknowns of the Iliad Sep 15, 2026

Show notes

It's great that we're reading the Iliad, but sometimes it feels like you've walked into a party that where everyone knows everyone--except you!

This week my son and Classics scholar Jack joins me to talk about the backstories in the Iliad. There are many, but the three we break down in particular are:

The backstory of the Atrides family: Agamemnon and Menelaus come from a house that has been cursed from a child sacrifice several generations earlier. And Agamemnon in particular has perpetuated that curse himself. How does that affect his leadership and Menelaus' quest for his wife Helen?
The backstory of the House of Priam: The king of Troy watched his city destroyed, and he returned to rebuild it from ashes. And how did Paris bring the entire Helen debacle onto his head? Will Troy burn to the ground again?
The birth story of Achilles: from his mother Thetis' relationship with Zeus to his own relationship with the gods, especially Athena, there is a lot to open up here. When last we left Achilles, I thought he was acting a little bratty, to be honest. Can Jack change my mind?
How exactly the Trojan War started: The Iliad starts nine years into war, and the Iliad itself never tells how Paris came to meet Helen at all! Jack fills in the blanks with this one.

Since we ran out of time on this episode, I cover Books 7 through 12 over on the Substack.

I hope you found this week's look at "what came before" helpful. Of course it's totally possible to enjoy the story without knowing backstories. But for me, knowing how everyone got to the battlefield in Troy makes the story much richer.

Join us next week as we pick up the narrative again!

BOOKS IN THIS EPISODE

The Iliad: Fagles, Rouse, and Wilson.

CONNECT

The complete list of Crack the Book Episodes (Amazon affiliate links): https://cheryldrury.substack.com/p/crack-the-book-start-here?r=u3t2r

To read more of my writing, visit my Substack - https://www.cheryldrury.substack.com.

Follow me on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/cldrury/

Like what you heard? Buy me a coffee! https://ko-fi.com/crackthebook

LISTEN

Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/5GpySInw1e8IqNQvXow7Lv?si=9ebd5508daa245bd

Apple Podcasts - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/crack-the-book/id1749793321

Captivate - https://crackthebook.captivate.fm

Who Is the Real Enemy? The Iliad, Books 1-6 Sep 08, 2026

Show notes

Today's the day we start The Iliad! In this episode, I summarize the action thus far, in Books 1-6. I also discuss a few key points that I've noticed in the reading:

The story opens in a way I really didn't expect: with the Greeks arguing amongst themselves after being at war with the Trojans for NINE years.
The names (something I mentioned last week) can really trip you up. But there's a reason for some of it, and it isn't what you might expect.
Homer, a Greek, is surprisingly evenhanded with good guys on both the Greek and Trojan side. In fact, Trojan Hector seems like he will be the moral center of the story.
Helen is, well, Helen is odd. Does she feel trapped? Does she even like Menelaus or Paris? I hope we hear from her more, but I don't have high hopes.

So, one-quarter of the way into the Iliad, it's been an interesting ride. It's very, very bloody, but it's a war book, so maybe that is just the way things are? We'll see--next week! We'll be taking a look at more of the Iliad, and we are also going to talk about what is missing. Next week: the Backstories of the Iliad.

BOOKS IN THIS EPISODE

The Iliad: Translated by Fagles, Rouse, and Wilson.

CONNECT

The complete list of Crack the Book Episodes (Amazon affiliate links): https://cheryldrury.substack.com/p/crack-the-book-start-here?r=u3t2r

To read more of my writing, visit my Substack - https://www.cheryldrury.substack.com.

Follow me on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/cldrury/

Like what you heard? Buy me a coffee! https://ko-fi.com/crackthebook

LISTEN

Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/5GpySInw1e8IqNQvXow7Lv?si=9ebd5508daa245bd

Apple Podcasts - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/crack-the-book/id1749793321

Captivate - https://crackthebook.captivate.fm

The Greatest Stories Ever Told? Homer's Iliad and Odyssey, and Virgil's Aeneid Sep 01, 2026

Show notes

This fall, Crack the Book is heading into the ancient world with an epic reading project: Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey, followed by Virgil’s Aeneid. We’ll move at a beginner-friendly pace, keeping our eyes on the forest rather than examining every leaf, while exploring the history, mythology, translations, movies, and enormous cultural influence of these stories.

I’ll be reading Robert Fagles as my primary translation, while dipping into versions by Emily Wilson, W.H.D. Rouse, and Sarah Ruden to see how translation changes the experience. Along the way, I’ll share practical strategies for handling the intimidating number of names, gods, heroes, and places—and bring in guests and experts for other perspectives.

Most importantly, you don’t need to know Greek mythology or be an expert to begin. These books have survived because they are great stories. Come find out why they still have the power to surprise us.

Next week: The Iliad, Books 1–5.

BOOKS MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE

Homer, The Iliad — Robert Fagles translation, Penguin Classics Deluxe Edition

Homer, The Odyssey — Robert Fagles translation, Penguin Classics Deluxe Edition

Virgil, The Aeneid — Robert Fagles translation, Penguin Classics Deluxe Edition

Homer, The Iliad — Emily Wilson translation

Homer, The Odyssey — Emily Wilson translation

Homer, The Iliad — W. H. D. Rouse translation (prose)

Homer, The Odyssey — W. H. D. Rouse translation (prose)

Virgil, The Aeneid — Sarah Ruden translation

Apuleius, The Golden Ass — Sarah Ruden translation

CONNECT

The complete list of Crack the Book Episodes (Amazon affiliate links): https://cheryldrury.substack.com/p/crack-the-book-start-here?r=u3t2r

To read more of my writing, visit my Substack - https://www.cheryldrury.substack.com.

Follow me on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/cldrury/

Like what you heard? Buy me a coffee! https://ko-fi.com/crackthebook

LISTEN

Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/5GpySInw1e8IqNQvXow7Lv?si=9ebd5508daa245bd

Apple Podcasts - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/crack-the-book/id1749793321

Captivate - https://crackthebook.captivate.fm

Shakespeare's As You Like It: A Comedy You Can Fall In Love With Aug 25, 2026

Show notes

This month’s Shakespeare is As You Like It—and after my less-than-enthusiastic experience with A Midsummer Night’s Dream, I’m relieved to discover that Shakespearean comedy really can be funny. The plot is completely ridiculous: banished dukes, feuding brothers, improbable disguises, love at first sight, a lion, a religious conversion, and four marriages. Somehow, it works.

But because this is Shakespeare, the comedy also sneaks in bigger ideas: primogeniture and sibling rivalry, country life versus court life, the costs of travel, and, most memorably, the famous “All the world’s a stage” speech. I also share why I don’t recommend Kenneth Branagh’s movie adaptation and give As You Like It a B+. Plus, a preview of our fall Shakespeare lineup and the upcoming Iliad/Odyssey/Aeneid reading project.

BOOKS IN THIS EPISODE

As You Like It

CONNECT

The complete list of Crack the Book Episodes (Amazon affiliate links): https://cheryldrury.substack.com/p/crack-the-book-start-here?r=u3t2r

To read more of my writing, visit my Substack - https://www.cheryldrury.substack.com.

Kenneth Branagh's As You Like It Trailer

St. Philip's Academy 2026 Convocation (Not available yet but I'll link when it is!)

Follow me on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/cldrury/

Like what you heard? Buy me a coffee! https://ko-fi.com/crackthebook

LISTEN

Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/5GpySInw1e8IqNQvXow7Lv?si=9ebd5508daa245bd

Apple Podcasts - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/crack-the-book/id1749793321

Captivate - https://crackthebook.captivate.fm

The Hits (and Misses!) of a Travel-Wise Reading List Aug 18, 2026

Show notes

This week, I’m wrapping up my season of “Brit Lit” by looking back at an ambitious reading project built around a trip through England. My goal was to arrive with some understanding of English history, a feel for the landscape and literature of northern England, and a grounding in English Christianity.

Some choices were spectacular: Bede and Bijan Omrani became invaluable guides to the places we visited, while Tom Jones, The Tenant of Wildfell Hall, and Shakespeare’s history plays brought the English countryside and its past vividly to life. Other choices taught me something about building a reading list itself: narrow the focus, be realistic about time, leave room for discoveries, and don’t let someone else’s recommendation distract from your purpose.

Was the whole project a little pretentious? Probably. But it also gave me something I rarely make enough room for before a trip: anticipation. Reading before I traveled meant seeing England through two sets of eyes—mine and those of Bede, Fielding, Brontë, and Shakespeare. Next time, though? Three books maximum.

BOOKS IN THIS EPISODE

Venerable Bede — An Ecclesiastical History of the English People

King Alfred the Great — The Anglo-Saxon Chronicles (Note--I really didn't like this edition at all but go ahead and check it out if you want)

The 1662 Book of Common Prayer — especially the Psalter

Bijan Omrani — God Is an Englishman

Henry Fielding — The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling

Anne Brontë — The Tenant of Wildfell Hall

Helene Hanff — Q’s Legacy

Helene Hanff — 84, Charing Cross Road

James Herriot — All Creatures Great and Small

William Shakespeare — Henry IV, Part 1; Henry IV, Part 2; Henry V

Antony Sher — Year of the Fat Knight

Dan Jones — Henry V: The Astonishing Triumph of England’s Greatest Warrior King

CONNECT

The complete list of Crack the Book Episodes (Amazon affiliate links): https://cheryldrury.substack.com/p/crack-the-book-start-here?r=u3t2r

To read more of my writing, visit my Substack - https://www.cheryldrury.substack.com.

Follow me on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/cldrury/

Like what you heard? Buy me a coffee! https://ko-fi.com/crackthebook

LISTEN

Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/5GpySInw1e8IqNQvXow7Lv?si=9ebd5508daa245bd

Apple Podcasts - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/crack-the-book/id1749793321

Captivate - https://crackthebook.captivate.fm

The Best Brontë You Haven't Read Aug 11, 2026

Show notes

Anne Brontë’s The Tenant of Wildfell Hall was one of the biggest surprises on my British reading list. Set on the Yorkshire moors, this 1848 novel begins as a mystery about a woman with an unknown past, but quickly becomes a remarkably honest examination of alcoholism, domestic violence, social expectations, and the limited choices available to women.

I explore why Anne’s unflinching realism put her at odds with her sister Charlotte, how their own family experiences shaped the novel, and why its themes still feel strikingly modern. I also discuss the book’s unusual dual first-person narrative, why I think it deserves far more attention than it receives, and why it makes an excellent next step for readers who love Jane Austen but are ready for something darker and more challenging.

We also discuss audiobooks. Is it "really" reading, or is a kind of cheat? I share what the research says--and what it doesn't--and share a little of my own experience, too.

BOOKS IN THIS EPISODE

The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Brontë

A History of Tom Jones, A Foundling by Henry Fielding

Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë

Everything Sad is Untrue by Daniel Nayeri

As You Wish by Carey Elwes

A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles

CONNECT

The complete list of Crack the Book Episodes (Amazon affiliate links): https://cheryldrury.substack.com/p/crack-the-book-start-here?r=u3t2r

To read more of my writing, visit my Substack - https://www.cheryldrury.substack.com.

Follow me on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/cldrury/

Like what you heard? Buy me a coffee! https://ko-fi.com/crackthebook

LISTEN

Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/5GpySInw1e8IqNQvXow7Lv?si=9ebd5508daa245bd

Apple Podcasts - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/crack-the-book/id1749793321

Captivate - https://crackthebook.captivate.fm

The REAL Henry V: Shakespeare v. Dan Jones Aug 04, 2026

Show notes

What a treat! When I spotted Dan Jones' 2024 biography of Henry V in the bookstore, I couldn't resist. In this episode we explore how history and drama can collide. What makes something "true?" Is it the story you repeat to yourself, or the actual facts that not everyone remembers?

I loved being able to read this book against Shakespeare's Henriad. Would it spoil the spell that Shakespeare had cast over me, disturb the golden glow that I held our Harry in? Find out in this episode.

BOOKS IN THIS EPISODE

Henry V: The Astonishing Triumph of England's Greatest Warrior King (Dan Jones)

Henry V (Shakespeare, Folger Shakespeare Library)

CONNECT

Kenneth Branagh's Henry V St. Crispin's Day Speech (Seriously go watch it!)

The complete list of Crack the Book Episodes (Amazon affiliate links): https://cheryldrury.substack.com/p/crack-the-book-start-here?r=u3t2r

To read more of my writing, visit my Substack - https://www.cheryldrury.substack.com.

Follow me on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/cldrury/

Like what you heard? Buy me a coffee! https://ko-fi.com/crackthebook

LISTEN

Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/5GpySInw1e8IqNQvXow7Lv?si=9ebd5508daa245bd

Apple Podcasts - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/crack-the-book/id1749793321

Captivate - https://crackthebook.captivate.fm

The Greatest King? Shakespeare's Henry V Jul 28, 2026

Show notes

Back with our once-a-month Shakespeare, this week wrapping up the trilogy of Henry plays with my personal favorite, Henry V.

This week I did a quick review of how I read Shakespeare--movie, Folgers Shakespeare edition--and then we jumped into the play. After the humor of Falstaff and the exploits of our Prince Harry, Henry V is decidedly more serious. Prince Harry has become King Henry V, and he's going to war to claim the French throne.

Shakespeare gives us a guide, the Chorus, who navigates the action as we watch Harry lead his army through the siege at Harfleur and the slog to Calais. The ragged army arrives at the field of Agincourt vastly outnumbered by a fresh French army when Henry gives what I think is one of the finest speeches in all of Shakespeare (although I have only nine other plays to compare to!). The "band of brothers" St. Crispin's Day speech is one for the ages!

The play isn't only about battles, though. We see Harry struggle with betrayal and the consequences of leadership, and we see him court Princess Katherine of France in some of the lighter moments of the play. And while we no longer have Falstaff, the French leadership provide their own share of comic relief, which must have played well in Elizabethan England, too.

By the way, you truly MUST watch the Kenneth Branagh movie, Henry V. As of July 2026 it's included in Amazon Prime--this is a movie that will win over the most anti-Shakespeare person in your life.

Next month we take on our first comedy, As You Like It. And we are choosing plays to read in the coming months over on the Substack chat--please let me know what you want to read! That link is below.

And next week, we take a closer look at the historical Henry V with Dan Brown's 2024 biography. Will the real Henry V please stand up?

BOOKS IN THIS EPISODE

The Folgers Shakespeare Library: Henry IV Part 1, Part 2; Henry V; As You Like It

Dan Brown's Henry V

CONNECT

Let's talk about Shakespeare: Crack the Book Substack Chat

The complete list of Crack the Book Episodes (Amazon affiliate links): https://cheryldrury.substack.com/p/crack-the-book-start-here?r=u3t2r

To read more of my writing, visit my Substack - https://www.cheryldrury.substack.com.

Follow me on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/cldrury/

Like what you heard? Buy me a coffee! https://ko-fi.com/crackthebook

LISTEN

Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/5GpySInw1e8IqNQvXow7Lv?si=9ebd5508daa245bd

Apple Podcasts - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/crack-the-book/id1749793321

Captivate - https://crackthebook.captivate.fm

England, God, and Everything: Bijan Omrani's God is an Englishman Jul 21, 2026

Show notes

A modern history--I think the first one of the podcast! Bijan Omrani's 2025 book God is an Englishman presented a thesis that I couldn't resist, that the history of England can't be unwoven from Christianity, and to ignore the Church is to reject all the things that make England English.

We take a look at the basis of Omrani's argument, and a closer look at a few aspects of English life: art, literature, architecture, and education. I think Omrani makes a good case. He's a church warden as well as an historian, and he calls to question the idea that a purely secular England can remain the country that he loves.

It's an interesting argument, especially at a time when Christianity in particular is being driven from public life in England. He's at his best when examining history, and weaker as he tries to reconcile himself to the current atmosphere of England, prescribing more compromise in hopes of turning the culture, regaining things like commonly sung hymns or a shared ideal of beauty.

But Englishman offers a solid place to consider culture from. Sometimes I think he stretches his points a little far, but overall it's an interesting take on the origins of culture, the things you just take for granted. They came from somewhere; we reject them at our peril.

BOOKS IN THIS EPISODE

Is God an Englishman? (Bijan Omrani)

CONNECT

The complete list of Crack the Book Episodes (Amazon affiliate links): https://cheryldrury.substack.com/p/crack-the-book-start-here?r=u3t2r

To read more of my writing, visit my Substack - https://www.cheryldrury.substack.com.

Follow me on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/cldrury/

Like what you heard? Buy me a coffee! https://ko-fi.com/crackthebook

LISTEN

Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/5GpySInw1e8IqNQvXow7Lv?si=9ebd5508daa245bd

Apple Podcasts - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/crack-the-book/id1749793321

Captivate - https://crackthebook.captivate.fm