How to Read in Pairs

A Guide to the Paired Reading Method

You’ve seen me talk about paired reading: fiction & theory (or nonfiction) in conversation. I've created a guide in response to the most common questions (which I welcome! keep them coming!)

Do I read both books at the same time?
One chapter from each? Back and forth?
How do you choose the nonfiction/theory if you don’t know what the novel is about yet?

This guide answers all of it—with multiple options, some reading recommendations, and a method that adapts to your preferred reading habits and outcomes.

What you’ll get inside:

1) How to choose pairs (even when you don’t know the book yet)

Then, 5 pairing methods you can use immediately:

2) Three ways to read in pairs (choose your pacing)

3) The non-negotiables (the habits that make the method work)

4) FAQ

5) Further reading / research

Some books I pair:

·       Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte

·       Madonna in a Fur Coat by Sabahattin Ali; trans. Maureen Freely & Alexander Dawe

·       A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara

·       The Secret History by Donna Tartt

·       James by Percival Everett

·       The Stranger by Albert Camus

About the Author

I teach girls and women this paired reading methodology through Heavy Meta, my Bestseller Substack. My master's thesis in metaphor theory became the foundation for all my work, making graduate-level critical thinking accessible to women both inside and outside academic institutions.