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Episodes air every Monday, Wednesday and Friday.
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Copyright: © ℗ & © 2020 Snoozecast: Stories for Sleep
Tonight, we’ll read a short story titled “The Great Carbuncle” written by Nathaniel Hawthorne and published in 1835.
Set in the White Mountains of New Hampshire, a band of eight adventurers gathers together. They are each on a personal quest for the Great Carbuncle, a brilliant gem legendary in its elusiveness.
The story’s ensemble cast represents a spectrum of motivations—scientific curiosity, fame, greed, and reverence—each character convinced they deserve the Carbuncle more than the next. But it’s the quiet presence of a humble newlywed couple, seeking only to glimpse the stone and return to a modest life, that serves as the story’s moral compass.
While there was never a documented search for a mythical gemstone like the Great Carbuncle in New England, the region has long been home to mineral and gem prospecting. Hawthorne likely drew inspiration from this local landscape of rugged ambition and romantic wilderness to craft a legend that, though fictional, feels rooted in place.
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Tonight, we’ll read the next chapter of “Good Wives” written by Louisa May Alcott titled “All Alone”. This is also known as the second half of the “Little Women” novel and is considered the 42nd chapter as part of that work as a whole.
In our last chapter, Laurie tries to recover from Jo’s rejection by turning to music, but soon realizes his love for her has faded into affection. His bond with Amy deepens through letters, and she quietly rejects another suitor. With news of Beth’s passing, Laurie rushes to Amy’s side in Switzerland, where love quietly blossoms between them.
Tonight’s chapter returns to Jo, amidst her grief and isolation.
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Tonight, we’ll read “O Pioneers!” a 1913 novel by American author Willa Cather. Set on the windswept prairies of Nebraska, “O Pioneers!” tells the story of Alexandra Bergson, a determined young woman of Swedish-American descent who takes over her family’s farm.
Cather’s quiet, poetic prose captures both the hardships and beauty of prairie life at the turn of the twentieth century, and Alexandra’s journey reflects broader themes of endurance, transformation, and connection to the land. The novel marked the beginning of Cather’s Great Plains Trilogy, which also includes The Song of the Lark and My Ántonia.
Though she wrote this trilogy while living in New York City, Cather drew inspiration from her own upbringing in Nebraska and from the lives of immigrants who shaped the American Midwest.
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Tonight, we’ll read about igloos and other polar quarters, from the book Secrets of Polar Travel written by Robert E. Peary and published in 1917.
Peary, a famed American Arctic explorer, led multiple expeditions to the far north and claimed to be the first person to reach the geographic North Pole. His writing blends technical insight with firsthand accounts of survival in extreme cold, offering a glimpse into the ingenuity required to build shelter in some of Earth’s harshest climates.
Although igloos, or snow shelters, are often associated with all Inuit, they were traditionally used only by the people of Canada’s Central Arctic and a part of Greenland. Other Inuit groups constructed more permanent dwellings from driftwood, whalebone, and hides, using snow as insulation rather than structural material. Snow works as an insulator because of the tiny air pockets trapped within it—an important fact when outside temperatures plunge to −45 °C (−49 °F), while inside a well-constructed igloo, body heat alone can raise the temperature to a surprisingly livable 16 °C (61 °F).
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Tonight, we shall read the next part to “Persuasion”, the last novel fully completed by Jane Austen, and published in 1817. The story concerns Anne Elliot, an Englishwoman whose family moves in order to lower their expenses, by renting their home to an Admiral and his wife.
In the last episode, starting at chapter 17, Anne visits her old school friend, Mrs. Smith, who now lives in modest circumstances due to her husband's debts and death. Despite her hardships, Mrs. Smith is cheerful and spirited. Anne values their renewed friendship, though her family looks down on the connection.
The chapter highlights Anne’s increasing clarity: while Mr. Elliot offers social security and admiration, it is not the kind of love she desires. Her renewed bond with Mrs. Smith also underscores her loyalty and sensitivity to genuine character over status. We will pick up mid-conversation between Lady Russell and Anne. Lady Russell is trying to persuade Anne to consider marrying Mr. Elliot.
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Tonight, we’ll continue the 1928 children's book by A. A. Milne “The house at Pooh Corner”.
In the last episode Rabbit spends the morning dashing around the Forest, organizing everyone and investigating a cryptic notice on Christopher Robin’s door, consulting Owl, Pooh, Piglet, and Eeyore to figure out what Christopher Robin has been doing each morning. In the end, they discover from the revised notice “GONE OUT / BACK SOON” that Christopher Robin simply goes out to learn and explore, returning later in the day.
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Tonight, we’ll read a fairy tale called “The Invisible Prince,” found in “The Yellow Fairy Book” edited by Andrew Lang and published in 1894. This story is about The Prince of Air and how he overcame adversity and found his way to The Golden Isle.
Andrew Lang was a Scottish poet, novelist, and literary critic best known for his influential "Fairy Books"—a twelve-volume series that gathered tales from a wide range of cultures. Each volume was named for a different color and included a mix of well-known stories and lesser-known folktales, translated and adapted with the help of his wife, Leonora.
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Tonight, we’ll read from the ninth chapter of British naturalist Charles Darwin’s “The Voyage of the Beagle” titled “Santa Cruz, Patagonia and the Falkland Islands”.
The five-year expedition laid the groundwork for Darwin’s later theory of evolution by natural selection.
In this chapter, Darwin recounts an overland expedition up the Santa Cruz River in southern Patagonia. The landscape is stark and repetitive, with shingle plains, thorny bushes, and a scarcity of birds or waterfowl. Darwin documents vast flows of basaltic lava and enormous erratic boulders, offering early insights into glacial and marine forces that shaped the land. His observations blend physical hardship with scientific wonder, as he marvels at condors circling above the cliffs and theorizes about the slow, ancient processes that carved the Patagonian terrain.
If you’d like to start from the beginning, the first episode of this series aired on June 10th, 2024, with subsequent monthly episodes exploring Darwin’s journey in detail.
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Tonight, we’ll read a selection of recipes from the book English Housewifry by Elizabeth Moxon, published in 1764, starting with a recipe for whipt sillabubs.
Moxon’s book was one of the earliest English cookery books written specifically for middle-class women managing their own households, rather than for professional cooks or the aristocracy. Her recipes are practical but far from plain, offering glimpses into both the culinary expectations and the social rituals of Georgian-era domestic life.
The title page promises recipes that are “useful, substantial and splendid,” and the tone throughout is no-nonsense, with an emphasis on health and frugality—though it’s clear Moxon didn’t shy away from a bit of showiness in presentation. A whipt sillabub, for example, was a frothy dessert drink made of sweetened wine or cider and thickened cream, often served in decorative glasses and topped with foam. It’s the kind of indulgence that would have delighted guests at a genteel supper table, bridging the gap between refreshment and dessert.
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Tonight, we’ll read excerpts from “The Myrtle Reed Cook Book” written by Myrtle Reed and published in 1916. Reed was an American author, poet, journalist, and philanthropist.
Reed’s cook book blends recipes with spirited commentary on everything from kitchen organization to the art of table service.
At the time of its publication, domestic science was gaining popularity, with cookbooks increasingly serving as lifestyle guides for middle-class households. This is the second time we’ve featured excerpts from this particular book- if you enjoy tonight’s episode, check out Snoozecast’s episode “The Doilied Breakfast Table” that last aired in June of 2023.
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