Benjamin McEvoy

Essays on writing, reading, and life

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Reading Assignments for the Hardcore Literature Podcast and Book Club

February 19, 2021 By Ben McEvoy

The Hardcore Literature Book Club has successfully kicked off and we’ve got a lot of great readers inside! The Book Club has a completely self-paced option, so don’t think you’re starting late if you wish to join the fun. Pick the Proust Tier over on Patreon and you’ll get instant access to hours of deep […]

Filed Under: Books, Education, Hardcore Literature

How to Join the Hardcore Literature Book Club

February 12, 2021 By Ben McEvoy

Listeners of the Hardcore Literature Podcast have been asking for a book club for a little while now, and I’ve finally put one in place: Hardcore Literature Book Club It’s been a lot of work, but has already been thoroughly rewarding and I’m excited for it to kick off. So I’d like to say thank […]

Filed Under: Books, Education, Hardcore Literature

8 Difficult Books and How to Read Them

February 7, 2021 By Ben McEvoy

Even after all these years of deep reading, there are still some books and authors I run into that pose a difficulty. And different writers have different kinds of difficulty. The difficulty of Proust is not the difficulty of Swift. But if you value searching for the reader’s sublime (a difficult pleasure) and enjoy slow […]

Filed Under: Books, Videos

The 7 Poems that Haunt Me the Most

February 6, 2021 By Ben McEvoy

Let’s talk about poems that haunt you across the years. In the latest video, we’re talking about how Emily Dickinson made me believe in ghosts, how W.B. Yeats is entwined in my childhood grief, and how Donne hooked me on poetry for life. We’re also talking about Browning, Keats, Shelley, Tennyson, and Shakespeare The 7 […]

Filed Under: Poetry

How to Read Great Imaginative Literature

January 24, 2021 By Ben McEvoy

How do you read great works of imaginative literature? I get asked this question quite often, usually by readers who already know how to read certain other types of book (e.g. popular fiction, self-development, textbooks). But when it comes to these great big books, like Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina or Proust’s In Search of Lost Time, […]

Filed Under: Books, Education, Videos

What Is Art? (The Tolstoy Podcast)

January 24, 2021 By Ben McEvoy

What Is Art (1897) is the culmination of Tolstoy’s spiritual crisis after writing Anna Karenina. As an aesthetic philosophical tract on the nature of art, it’s certainly controversial, but also incredibly thought-provoking. In the latest episode of Hardcore Literature, and in anticipation of the upcoming Anna Karenina Book Club Lecture Series, let’s talk about Tolstoy’s theory of […]

Filed Under: Books, Hardcore Literature, Podcast

Behind the Scenes (The Future of Hardcore Literature)

January 23, 2021 By Ben McEvoy

Here’s some behind-the-scenes, insider baseball for those interested in Hardcore Literature.  We’re currently putting together multiple lecture series that will run concurrently. The first lecture series is a deep reading book club focused on Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina: Anna Karenina Lecture Series Waiting List We’ll run readings of several novels together. From Anna Karenina, there are […]

Filed Under: Hardcore Literature

About the Anna Karenina Book Club Lecture Series

January 22, 2021 By Ben McEvoy

I wanted to let you know about the upcoming series of pop-up lectures on Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina. We’ve put together the lectures dealing with the first part of the book, and already have hours of content. I am so excited for this lecture series, and believe it will be the best available anywhere dealing with this […]

Filed Under: Books, Education, Hardcore Literature, Videos

An Oxford Student Reviews Mindvalley’s Super Reading with Jim Kwick

January 10, 2021 By Ben McEvoy

I never thought I would find a decent speed-reading course. I thought I’d just need to create my own as part of Hardcore University. And then I found Mind Valley’s Super Reading 3-Week Video Course and I was blown away. Now I don’t need to create my own speed-reading course, because Jim Kwik and MindValley […]

Filed Under: Books, Education, Lifestyle

Lecture on Shakespeare’s Sonnets

January 10, 2021 By Ben McEvoy

I’ve just put out a free 75-minute lecture on Shakespeare’s sonnets, available with topic timestamps here: Thank you to everyone who has emailed me to recommend tons of great sonnet-related resources. I have so much to read now! Indeed, the journey never ends. And thank you to those who recommended poets for us to explore […]

Filed Under: Books, Education, Hardcore Literature, Poetry, Shakespeare

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Benjamin McEvoy

I write essays on great books, elite education, practical mindset tips, and living a healthy, happy lifestyle. I'm here to help you live a meaningful life.

Top Posts & Pages

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    How to Read the Complete Works of Shakespeare in a Year (Recommended Reading Order)
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    How to Get an Oxford University English Literature Education for Free
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    Ray Bradbury Writing Advice: The Bradbury Trio
  • Reading Exercise of the Week #1: The Bradbury Trio
    Reading Exercise of the Week #1: The Bradbury Trio
  • How to Read Crime and Punishment (10 Tips for Digesting Dostoyevsky)
    How to Read Crime and Punishment (10 Tips for Digesting Dostoyevsky)
  • 10 Things Writers Can Learn From Haruki Murakami's Norwegian Wood
    10 Things Writers Can Learn From Haruki Murakami's Norwegian Wood
  • Which Translation of Anna Karenina is the Best? Pevear & Volokhonsky vs Constance Garnett vs Aylmer and Louise Maude
    Which Translation of Anna Karenina is the Best? Pevear & Volokhonsky vs Constance Garnett vs Aylmer and Louise Maude
  • Should You Learn a Language to Read its Literature?
    Should You Learn a Language to Read its Literature?
  • How to Join the Hardcore Literature Book Club
    How to Join the Hardcore Literature Book Club
  • 10 Tips for How to Read Hermann Hesse's Siddharta
    10 Tips for How to Read Hermann Hesse's Siddharta

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