Two Month Review

About Two Month Review

Each “season” of Two Month Review highlights a different new and amazing work of world literature, reading it slowly over the course of eight to nine episodes. Featuring a rotating set of literary guests—from authors to booksellers, critics, and translators—the individual episodes recap a short section of the book and use that as a springboard for a fun (and often irreverent) discussion about literature in a general sense, pop culture, reading approaches, and much more. Talking about great books doesn't need to be deadly serious, and the levity of 2MR makes it accessible to everyone (even if you’re not reading along). threepercentproblem.substack.com (https://threepercentproblem.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast)

Publisher

Open Letter Books

Category

arts · arts

Language

en

Explicit

Yes

First episode

29 Oct 2021

Latest episode

8 Oct 2026

Latest episodes

175 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   8 Oct 2026

   TMR 32.4: “Zounds!” [Tristram Shandy]

   Brian’s off-grid, so Chad and Kaija take on Volume IV of Laurence Sterne’s The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman (https://bookshop.org/a/164/9780141439778) by themselves. They start by bantering about the Nobel Prize for Literature before getting into “noses,” the metafictional games in this volume, the importance of names, whether you can get a baptismal do-over, and much more. This week’s music is “Say My Name (Remix)” by Morgan Seatree x Florence + The Machine. Next week’s episode will cover Volume V. If you want to follow along, the complete schedule can be found here (https://threepercentproblem.substack.com/p/two-month-review-the-life-and-opinions). To support Open Letter directly, please visit this “donation” link (https://securelb.imodules.com/s/1676/giving19/giving19.aspx?sid=1676&gid=2&pgid=6411&cid=9679&sort=1&bledit=1&dids=203.534&appealcode=15U2Y). (All contributions via this link go directly to Open Letter’s account.) And to support Coffee House Press’s ongoing fundraising campaign, click here (https://givebutter.com/extraordinary-voices-fueled-by-you-fg7aji). Upcoming Open Letter Events All October: Asymptote Book Club (https://www.asymptotejournal.com/blog/2026/09/30/announcing-our-september-book-club-selection-the-strongest-woman-in-the-world-by-steinunn-g-helgadottir/) for The Strongest Woman in the World (https://www.openletterbooks.org/products/the-strongest-woman-in-the-world). Saturday, October 10, 4pm CT: Spotlight on Icelandic Women Writers (https://milkweed.org/event/spotlight-on-icelandic-women-writers-and-their-translators) at Open Book, Minneapolis, MN. Saturday, October 17, 2pm ET: Translating Scandinavia (https://www.scandinaviahouse.org/event/translating-scandinavia/) at Scandinavia House, NYC. Friday, October 23, 5pm ET: Boudoir (https://www.openletterbooks.org/products/boudoir?_pos=1&_sid=743598d2e&_ss=r) Book Club at The Siren and the Sea (https://thesirenandthesea.com/events/6421620261023), Rochester, NY. Saturday & Sunday, October 24-25, Lara Moreno will be at the FILNYC festival (https://filnyc.org/filnyc-2026/#) to discuss The City and her other books. She’s on a panel on the 24th at 2pm ET, and one on the 25th at 1pm ET. Both are at John Jay College. And click here for more information on Open Letter’s Icelandic-themed Translator Triptych (https://www.openletterbooks.org/products/2026-translator-triptych-bundle-iceland). You can subscribe to this podcast on Apple (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/two-month-review/id1778714238), Spotify (https://open.spotify.com/show/2TYhaWf5VI6OdNOECTYvoK?si=664e11d5d46b4984), YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/@twomonthreview4145), or wherever you get your podcasts. Follow Open Letter (https://bsky.app/profile/openletterbooks.bsky.social), Two Month Review (https://twitter.com/TwoMonthReview), Chad W. Post (https://bsky.app/profile/chadwpost.bsky.social), Kaija Straumanis (https://bsky.app/profile/kmstraum.bsky.social), and Brian Wood (https://twitter.com/BrianWood_) for random thoughts and information about upcoming guests. If you haven’t already, subscribe to the Three Percent substack (https://threepercentproblem.substack.com/) for information about Open Letter Books and literature in translation writ large. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit threepercentproblem.substack.com (https://threepercentproblem.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1)

2. 

   1 Oct 2026

   TMR 32.3: “The Subordination of Fingers and Thumbs To ******” [Tristram Shandy]

   On this week’s episode, which covers Volume III of Laurence Sterne’s The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman (https://bookshop.org/a/164/9780141439778), Brian shares some weird stuff about geese from Rabelais along with an AI-created reading list on the “evolution of metafiction.” And all three co-hosts talk about how fun this book is to read, but also wonder what the book’s overall “joke” might be. They also discuss noses (or “noses”), “The Author’s Preface” and Macedonio Fernández (https://www.openletterbooks.org/products/the-museum-of-eternas-novel?_pos=1&_sid=af756a5f5&_ss=r), and some of the novel’s wordplay. Next week’s episode will cover Volume IV. If you want to follow along, the complete schedule can be found here (https://threepercentproblem.substack.com/p/two-month-review-the-life-and-opinions). To support Open Letter directly, please visit this “donation” link (https://securelb.imodules.com/s/1676/giving19/giving19.aspx?sid=1676&gid=2&pgid=6411&cid=9679&sort=1&bledit=1&dids=203.534&appealcode=15U2Y). (All contributions via this link go directly to Open Letter’s account.) And to support Coffee House Press’s ongoing fundraising campaign, click here (https://givebutter.com/extraordinary-voices-fueled-by-you-fg7aji). Upcoming Open Letter Events All October: Asymptote Book Club (https://www.asymptotejournal.com/book-club/) for The Strongest Woman in the World (https://www.openletterbooks.org/products/the-strongest-woman-in-the-world). Friday, October 2, 1pm ET: Open Letter Salon for The City (https://www.openletterbooks.org/products/the-city?_pos=1&_sid=eca82c4b8&_ss=r). Saturday, October 3, 1pm ET: Time and Water (https://www.inspiredbyiceland.com/taste-of-iceland/new-york/time-and-water): Film Screening and Conversation (https://www.inspiredbyiceland.com/taste-of-iceland/new-york/time-and-water) at Scandinavia House, NYC. Also screening at the Central Park Conservancy Film Festival on October 7th at 7pm on the lawn between Cherry Hill and Sheep Meadow. Tuesday, October 6, 7pm ET: The 2026 Icelandic Translator Triptych (https://www.scandinaviahouse.org/event/the-2026-icelandic-translator-triptych/) at Scandinavia House, NYC. Wednesday, October 7, 7pm ET: Screening of Time and Water (https://www.sandboxfilms.org/films/time-and-water/) at the Central Park Conservancy Film Festival (https://www.centralparknyc.org/activities/events/time-and-water-at-the-central-park-conservancy-film-festival). Saturday, October 10, 4pm CT: Spotlight on Icelandic Women Writers (https://milkweed.org/event/spotlight-on-icelandic-women-writers-and-their-translators) at Open Book, Minneapolis, MN. Saturday, October 17, 2pm ET: Translating Scandinavia (https://www.scandinaviahouse.org/event/translating-scandinavia/) at Scandinavia House, NYC. Friday, October 23, 5pm ET: Boudoir (https://www.openletterbooks.org/products/boudoir?_pos=1&_sid=743598d2e&_ss=r) Book Club at The Siren and the Sea, Rochester, NY. Saturday & Sunday, October 24-25, Lara Moreno will be at the FILNYC festival (https://filnyc.org/filnyc-2026/#) to discuss The City and her other books. She’s on a panel on the 24th at 2pm ET, and one on the 25th at 1pm ET. Both are at John Jay College. And click here for more information on Open Letter’s Icelandic-themed Translator Triptych (https://www.openletterbooks.org/products/2026-translator-triptych-bundle-iceland). You can subscribe to this podcast on Apple (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/two-month-review/id1778714238), Spotify (https://open.spotify.com/show/2TYhaWf5VI6OdNOECTYvoK?si=664e11d5d46b4984), YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/@twomonthreview4145), or wherever you get your podcasts. Follow Open Letter (https://bsky.app/profile/openletterbooks.bsky.social), Two Month Review (https://twitter.com/TwoMonthReview), Chad W. Post (https://bsky.app/profile/chadwpost.bsky.social), Kaija Straumanis (https://bsky.app/profile/kmstraum.bsky.social), and Brian Wood (https://twitter.com/BrianWood_) for random thoughts and information about upcoming guests. If you haven’t already, subscribe to the Three Percent substack (https://threepercentproblem.substack.com/) for information about Open Letter Books and literature in translation writ large. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit threepercentproblem.substack.com (https://threepercentproblem.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1)

3. 

   24 Sept 2026

   TMR 32.2: “This Requires Explanation” [Tristram Shandy]

   Kaija’s jet-lagged but back, ready to digress and digest double entendres with Chad and Brian. Along with recapping this volume of Tristram Shandy—Toby and Trim’s plan, the collision between Obadiah and Dr. Slop, Yorick’s Sermon, Walter’s midwifery ideas—they talk about the initial reception of this book, the worst type of footnotes, the editorial inclination to favor the transmission of information over voice-driven joyful meanderings, and one of many reasons why Bret Stephens sucks. This week’s music is “Planet Desperation” by Car Seat Headrest. Next week’s episode will cover Volume III. If you want to follow along, the complete schedule can be found here (https://threepercentproblem.substack.com/p/two-month-review-the-life-and-opinions). Upcoming Open Letter Events Friday, September 25, 4:30pm ET: What French and Francophone Literature Offers the American Imagination (https://www.albertine.com/events/literary-fall-returns-to-albertine-this-september/) at Albertine Books, NYC. All October: Asymptote Book Club (https://www.asymptotejournal.com/book-club/) for The Strongest Woman in the World (https://www.openletterbooks.org/products/the-strongest-woman-in-the-world). Friday, October 2, 1pm ET: Open Letter Salon for The City (https://www.openletterbooks.org/products/the-city?_pos=1&_sid=eca82c4b8&_ss=r). Saturday, October 3, 1pm ET: Time and Water (https://www.inspiredbyiceland.com/taste-of-iceland/new-york/time-and-water): Film Screening and Conversation (https://www.inspiredbyiceland.com/taste-of-iceland/new-york/time-and-water) at Scandinavia House, NYC. Tuesday, October 6, 7pm ET: The 2026 Icelandic Translator Triptych (https://www.scandinaviahouse.org/event/the-2026-icelandic-translator-triptych/) at Scandinavia House, NYC. Saturday, October 10, 4pm CT: Spotlight on Icelandic Women Writers (https://milkweed.org/event/spotlight-on-icelandic-women-writers-and-their-translators) at Open Book, Minneapolis, MN. Saturday, October 17, 2pm ET: Translating Scandinavia (https://www.scandinaviahouse.org/event/translating-scandinavia/) at Scandinavia House, NYC. Friday, October 23, 5pm ET: Boudoir (https://www.openletterbooks.org/products/boudoir?_pos=1&_sid=743598d2e&_ss=r) Book Club at The Siren and the Sea, Rochester, NY. And click here for more information on Open Letter’s Icelandic-themed Translator Triptych (https://www.openletterbooks.org/products/2026-translator-triptych-bundle-iceland). You can subscribe to this podcast on Apple (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/two-month-review/id1778714238), Spotify (https://open.spotify.com/show/2TYhaWf5VI6OdNOECTYvoK?si=664e11d5d46b4984), YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/@twomonthreview4145), or wherever you get your podcasts. Follow Open Letter, (https://bsky.app/profile/openletterbooks.bsky.social) Two Month Review (https://twitter.com/TwoMonthReview), Chad W. Post, (https://bsky.app/profile/chadwpost.bsky.social) Kaija Straumanis (https://bsky.app/profile/kmstraum.bsky.social), and Brian Wood (https://twitter.com/BrianWood_) for random thoughts and information about upcoming guests. If you haven’t already, subscribe to the Three Percent substack (https://threepercentproblem.substack.com/) for information about Open Letter Books and literature in translation writ large. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit threepercentproblem.substack.com (https://threepercentproblem.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1)

Who has been a guest on Two Month Review

Names identified in recent episode analyses. Showing up to five guests.

• Ted Morrissey
• Chris Via
• Peter Coviello
• Andrew Merritt
• Rodrigo Fresán

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

YouTube views

23,038

Score snapshot 15 Sept 2025

Apple Podcasts (US)

4.4 / 5

5 ratings

Podcast Authority Score: 38 / 100

A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.

Quality

33

Social presence

0

YouTube

76

Engagement

31

Contact Two Month Review

Guest appearances

Does not typically book guests

Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.

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Questions about Two Month Review