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Coffee with Hardcore Literature (Q&A AMA Episode IX) (Patreon)

Published:
2021-12-31 16:18:42
Imported:
2026-06
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Downloads

  • Hardcore Literature Schedule for 2022.docx

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Content

Thank you all for your wonderful questions. As always, they have resulted in a great bookish conversation for this episode of our Q&A Show.

We're talking about how to pace your reading, becoming comfortable with reading multiple books, whether audiobooks count as reading, post-modern writers like Pynchon, Murakami, and Franzen, difficult books like The Anatomy of Melancholy, Finnegans Wake, and Infinite Jest, and much more.

Feel free to jump to any topic/question you’re most interested in by using the timestamps, or grab a coffee or tea and enjoy whenever you can claim the time for yourself.

Video Timestamps:

  • 0:00 thank you & happy new year
  • 1:30 who will be the greatest writer of the 21st Century?
  • 8:30 is the OUP edition of Ulysses good?
  • 11:09 what does an ideal book response look like?
  • 25:21 what do you think of Thomas Pynchon?
  • 27:30 what is the most difficult book you’ve read?
  • 38:00 what books were instrumental in your formation as a reader?
  • 43:39 who do you feel are the best translators of Turgenev?
  • 46:35 can you talk about the pastoral mode of literature?
  • 59:32 have you unpacked your notebooks?
  • 1:01:00 do audiobooks count?
  • 1:04:00 what books make you laugh out loud?
  • 1:07:45 what novel would you wish to read again for the first time?
  • 1:12:00 what is your opinion on “Ex Libris” stamps?
  • 1:14:26 wishing you all a very happy new year

Please do let us know any questions you might have for the next Q&A Show.

If you haven't already downloaded the schedule for New Year, it's available as an attachment to this post. I hope you're as excited as I am!

Happy reading, and happy New Year, everybody. I'm thankful for you all!

All best wishes,

Benjamin

Files

Previews only

Coffee with Hardcore Literature (Q&A AMA Episode IX)

0:00 thank you & happy new year 1:30 who will be the greatest writer of the 21st Century? 8:30 is the OUP edition of Ulysses good? 11:09 what does an ideal book response look like? 25:21 what do you think of Thomas Pynchon? 27:30 what is the most difficult book you’ve read? 38:00 what books were instrumental in your formation as a reader? 43:39 who do you feel are the best translators of Turgenev? 46:35 can you talk about the pastoral mode of literature? 59:32 have you unpacked your notebooks? 1:01:00 do audiobooks count? 1:04:00 what books make you laugh out loud? 1:07:45 what novel would you wish to read again for the first time? 1:12:00 what is your opinion on “Ex Libris” stamps? 1:14:26 wishing you all a very happy new year

Comments

NicoleA

I love Austen now and had completely forgotten how difficult I found her writing at first. It took me many attempts and each time I would end up frustrated and wondering what was wrong with me. Then one day something clicked and now it’s what I turn to for a comforting, less challenging read. I think we often forget to take a look back at the progress we have made.

Michelle Chun LeRoy

Hi Ben, Thank you for addressing my questions! I am well, thank you! Sometimes, the diagnosis is much worse than what really manifests! Let’s hear it for running and weekly ballet classes. Seriously, I believe keeping oneself as fit as one can goes a long way fending off grave illness. Or that’s the story I tell myself! Back to books! Humor…I will check out Terry Pratchett. When I was not feeling well or just needed a laugh, I picked up anything by PG Wodehouse. I love him! I don’t care if he’s not specifically literary, his comic timing is perfect. Another is Anthony Burgess’s Enderby books. They’re smart and wickedly sardonic. <—-my type of humor. As for audio books…I am enjoying the dual immersion of reading and then listening to a book at the same time…what’s strange or (ahem) sad is that I pick up things i have missed while reading, or when I go back and read what I have listened to, again, I read things that I’ve missed while listening to the audio. Hmmmm.

Fiona Wang

Happy New Year, everyone! Ben, I'm surprised to hear that it took you many tries and efforts to get into Jane Austen, given that Persuasion was one of the few books I couldn't put down and ended up finishing in less than 5 days. For Proust, I understand readers might be put off by his meandering writing style, but it's harder for me to understand people's hesitation with Austen! Regarding audiobooks, I recently got into it and considered it a great use of time. My listening comprehension of audiobooks had always been low partly due to the narrator speaking at a different pace and tone than the voice in my head. After adopting the habit of listening to podcasts while jogging, however, I gave audiobooks another shot and even listened to some of your lectures while exercising. I love how time-efficient it is. Having the book open while listening is another great exercise that I've been implementing with Don Quixote. I'm more able to focus that way, and the narration adds much color to the story and characters!