Benjamin McEvoy

Essays on writing, reading, and life

Wolfgang Puck Teaches Cooking MasterClass Review

By

I was so excited for the Wolfgang Puck Teaches Cooking MasterClass. I’ve already enjoyed the Gordon Ramsay MasterClass and the Thomas Keller MasterClass as part of MasterClass’s All Access Pass, but Wolfgang Puck was the one I was most looking forward to. I’ve been a big fan of Wolfgang Puck ever since I started eating […]

Grammarly Premium Review – Is It Worth It?

By

Grammarly’s sleek video marketing campaign finally worked on me. As someone who has written every single day for the last ten years, I decided to see if Grammarly Premium lived up to the hype. I admit I was a little hesitant to try Grammarly. I anticipated a steep learning curve for a basic spell checker (old MS Word style with that […]

Thomas Keller Teaches Cooking Techniques MasterClass Review

By

I’m taking the Thomas Keller Teaches Cooking MasterClass as part of the new MasterClass All Access Pass. And I’m loving every minute of it. Masterclass have a phenomenal cooking class line up (Gordon Ramsay, Wolfgang Puck, Alice Waters) so the All Access Pass is a no-brainer if you’re a foodie and aspiring chef: $180 for […]

The Jim Morrison Reading List: How To Read Like A Rockstar

By

I’ve never told this to anyone before: I credit Jim Morrison, lead singer of The Doors, for getting me into the University of Oxford.  Morrison wasn’t my sole influence. I had many influences pushing me towards the university. But he was the biggest driving force. Specifically, I believe it was due to me reading the […]

Ron Howard Teaches Directing MasterClass Review

By

The Ron Howard Teaches Directing MasterClass is easily one of the best masterclasses I have ever taken (and I’ve taken a lot). Even though I’m a huge fan of Howard’s films – from A Beautiful Mind to Apollo 13 – I was initially more interested in the Martin Scorsese Filmmaking Masterclass (review here). I figured I might […]

How to Diversify Your Reading in 2019

By

Diversity is not a dirty word. Dildo, dinkle, dingleberry – all dirty words. But diversity is not. Now when I talk about diversity in reading, understand I’m not talking about that ‘boycott all white male writers’ nonsense. I’m not talking about selecting books based on gender, sexual preference, or race alone. For all the advances we’ve […]

This Kurt Vonnegut Reading Homework Will Boost Your Appreciation Of Literature

By

Our most beloved writers were often teachers of literature before or alongside their writing profession. David Foster Wallace, Stephen King, Zadie Smith, Brandon Sanderson (still teaching), Frank McCourt, John McPhee (still teaching), J. K. Rowling, Philip Pullman, and Kurt Vonnegut, to name just a few. I find it fascinating to dig up some remnants of […]

Martin Scorsese Teaches Filmmaking MasterClass Review

By

I’ve been like an impatient kid the last few months waiting for the Martin Scorsese Teaches Filmmaking MasterClass to go live (info about the release date at the bottom). I told myself I would portion the class out slowly over a few weeks but, when the time came, I binged it in a day. The genius thing […]

Garry Kasparov Teaches Chess MasterClass Review

By

The Garry Kasparov Teaches Chess MasterClass was so much fun. I haven’t played chess in many years. Back in my university days, I would play day and night – often to the detriment of my coursework. I truly fell in love with the game. Since I stopped playing, I often wondered when I would ever […]