How to Write a Book Review (Patreon)

Many of you have expressed interest in writing essays and book reviews.

Giving oneself the homework assignment of one book review per month is a great way to refine your thoughts.

So let's have a chat about how to write a book review.

We'll also talk about marginalia, rereading, persevering through difficulty, and much more.

Audio Timestamps:

• 0:00 the magic of writing one book review per month
• 2:00 how Montaigne finished his books
• 3:00 we don't know what we think until we write
• 4:00 falling in love with certain writers
• 5:00 how every book gives us something different
• 6:45 how to start with marginalia 
• 8:00 reading great books as scripture
• 9:00 our collaboration with the author
• 10:00 reading as a communal experience 
• 13:00 choosing to focus on one thing excludes another
• 14:00 the social utility of imaginative literature
• 16:00 knowing others is knowing oneself
• 17:00 returning to self-directed scholarship
• 20:00 what should you highlight?
• 22:00 how to read James Joyce's Finnegans Wake
• 23:30 if you're reading, it's for you
• 24:00 the poetry of Hart Crane
• 24:40 the reader's sublime (and peak experience)
• 26:00 what to do when finishing a book (and index creation)
• 27:00 the necessity of rereading (vs book bucket lists)
• 27:45 the psychology of book collecting
• 32:00 organising themes and quotations
• 33:00 canon creation as mnemonic device
• 34:00 less summary, more speculation
• 35:00 ditch the inner editor/censor 
• 36:00 how to discuss your books
• 37:00 Les Misérables and Utopia 
• 38:00 shyness around one's opinions
• 39:00 prompting questions for book reviews
• 43:00 you're already a great writer

Happy reading and writing!