A bookshelf will tell you everything you need to know about a person. As Alan Bennet said, “A personality is stamped on a library just as a shoe is shaped by the foot.” Seeing as I write a lot about books and reading, I thought I’d give you my first mini bookshelf tour. I’ve recently […]
George Orwell’s Animal Farm Podcast
Today’s episode of the Hardcore Literature Podcast is a long one. A long one for a short book with a huge impact. We’re reviewing, analysing, discussing, and drawing modern day parallels with George Orwell’s Animal Farm (1945). This podcast takes it’s time getting into the book itself, but it’s all relevant. The first 40 minutes of […]
How to Read: Synoptic, Analytical, Inspectional, Elementary & Speed-Reading
Today’s video is one that is near and dear to my heart: how to read. There are four main styles of reading: Elementary Reading Inspectional Reading Analytical Reading Synoptical Reading Each has levels of difficulty. Each style of reading rewards one with enlightenment. They don’t teach you how to do this style of reading in […]
Shakespeare Reading Challenge Update (Henry VI 1, 2, 3 & Richard III)
I’ve now read through the Henry Tetralogy. That’s Henry VI Parts One, Two, and Three, and have moved onto Richard III. Those Henrys are a slog. Finally arriving at Richard III is like a breath of fresh air. I rank each book, marking my grade – both on a sliding alphabetical scale and out of […]
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? Let’s have a “Tolstoy Taste Test” and find out. We’re pitting three of the finest, most respected and well established translators of Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina head-to-head to find out which one is the best: Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky Aylmer and Louise Maude Constance Garnett Fun Facts: Constance Garnett […]
Why Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina is a Masterpiece
The mark of a literary masterpiece is how thoroughly the concerns of its characters become your concerns. Do you think of the novel’s characters as though they were real people? Not wholly good, not wholly bad, but with dreams, desires, fears, and the ability to change – either towards decay and stagnation or towards God […]
The Q&A Show: Answering Your Questions About Books, Reading & Literature
Thank you to everyone who has emailed in and asked such great, nuanced questions about books, reading, and literature. I just had to do a Q&A show – first one! – because these were some really interesting questions. Feel free to check out the timestamps below the audio player to jump to whatever questions interests […]
The First Episode of the Nobel Prize Book Club Challenge: The Works of Peter Handke
I’m so excited to kick off the first month of the Nobel Prize Book Club Challenge. This first episode is about the controversial winner of the 2019 Nobel Prize for Literature, Peter Handke. The Works of Peter Handke: Nobel Prize Reading Challenge And what a great show. Check out the show notes and timestamps below […]
First Read Impressions of Victor Hugo’s Les Misérables
I’ve finally embarked upon reading the Sistine Chapel of literature. Or rather, I should say, the Notre Dame. I am reading Victor Hugo’s Les Misérables (1862), and herein lie my thoughts. I am already in awe, so I have decided to do what I should have done with Anna Karenina. Tolstoy’s masterpiece was my lockdown […]
My Reading & Book-Buying Philosophy
I have more books than I’ll ever be able to read. Book-buying binges are my most prominent vice. I’ll often buy books I have no intention of reading because I love the author. It sounds like I couldn’t possibly love an author if I don’t intend to read their books, but you know how it […]
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