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Hardcore Literature Book Discussion (April 2022) (Patreon)

Published:
2022-04-01 17:58:29
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2026-06
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Dear Book Club Readers ---

You had an amazing reading month in March, and you're setting yourselves up for another strong month with the great books.

The hundreds of comments across the General Book Club Discussion threads are testament to your passion, curiosity, and love for great literature. I love reading through them with my morning coffee.

So, tell us what your April is looking like.

What are you reading at the moment?

Let us know anything that's on your mind, your literary loves, and anything you wish to share or sharpen your thoughts about.

  • Short stories
  • Author details
  • Areas to explore
  • Your current Big Read
  • Questions about literature
  • Things you're finding difficult
  • Things you want to recommend
  • General life updates (we're interested)

This is the place to put anything bookish you like, and get other readers weighing in on your thoughts!

We've got such an amazing Book Club community that keeps growing thanks to your thoughtful appreciations of the Great Books.

Reading through the recent book discussion threads, one can see what a vibrant group of literature lovers we have here:

So thank you so much for being a part of the family, and I hope your month is filled with exciting bookish adventures.

Happy reading!

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Comments

Steve Horan

Besides the great reads of the HLBC, I read with other book clubs and different genres most months. My fantasy/science fiction reads in April are Jade City by Fonda Lee and the second and third books of Brandon Sanderson’s Mistborn era one. Jade City is the first book of the Green Bone Saga that is like a fantasy version of the mafia where jade provides great power to those who can safely wield it. I read the first Mistborn novel in March and am hooked on Brandon Sanderson, who like Stephen King is just a great storyteller in the epic fantasy genre. My non-fiction read is Eagle Against the Sun by Ronald Spector about the American war with Japan during WWII. My horror read is The Auctioneer by Joan Samson in her first and only book, written in the 70’s, about the slow burn of understated violence that comes with being stripped of all of one’s possessions. My continuing Fable book club reads are The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky (almost ending), Roots by Alex Haley with LeVar Burton (1/3 complete), The Two Towers by J.R.R. Tolkien with Sean Astin (just starting after finishing The Fellowship of the Ring in March), and Wanderer by Sterling Hayden with Jim Beaver (just starting after finishing Jim’s own Life’s That Way about his journey during his wife’s struggle with cancer). Jim’s book club will next tackle The Count of Monte Cristo beginning in June. Can’t wait! The Agatha Christie book club is reading Why Didn’t They Ask Evans as the new movie lands on BritBox on April 12. Since I already read it in March, I’m catching up on March’s read, After The Funeral, a Hercule Poirot mystery. My father and brother operate the Horan Funeral Home, so looking forward to this. I must also relate that another member of the HLBC posted in March that we should drop everything and read 1984 by George Orwell. So I did! It was my first read and I went on to read Animal Farm for the first time as well.

Jason Fuhrman

Well, my Big Read is, of course, Blood Meridian along with all of you. But I'm also currently reading John Langan's The Wide, Carnivorous Sky and Other Monstrous Geographies (short story collection) and Kazuo Ishiguro's The Buried Giant.

Heather Moore

I've been incredibly busy this past month or so, so haven't put time aside for reading as much I'd like to have done. A short story I read just recently was by Ernest Hemingway. For the life of me, I cannot lay my hands on the title. It’s about two men sharing a cabin in the woods and one thinks the other has stolen his wallet and sets out to kill his friend. It was a fab little short story and a cautionary tale about jumping to (wrong) conclusions and just desserts. At the same time I read Emily Dickinson’s Come Slowly – Eden, which for me was pretty filthy, at least, that’s how I read it, but perhaps that’s just my mind. I read it to my hubby and he absolutely agreed. ‘Penthouse forum’ was his reply. I wasn’t that keen on it to be honest. It felt quite wanton and brazen. Not at all subtle. My current big read is Moby Dick. I'm right in the middle of Chapter 29. What a journey it's been on getting there. The travails! I honestly can't get enough of this book. I'm filled with dread for what's to come, but it's been an absolute wonder so far. I’m waiting until I get to the end of the chapter tonight, then I’ll comment on the video post on it, which I have held off watching as I didn’t want anything to spoil it for me. I'm still dipping back into Wuthering Heights. I started Hamlet a month ago and I was really getting involved with it, but I've yet to find my way back. However, I'm trying to pencil in more time. I listened again to your podcast on the difficulties facing readers today which pushed me to remember that even if I read a chapter or two a day, I'll accomplish a lot, so I'm being guided by that principle. Yesterday when reading Moby Dick and I got to The Prophet – an excellent chapter – I put it down and picked up the Bible to read the relevant parts of Kings on Elijah and Ahab, so I could go back to MD and know what I was contending with when reading the character of Elijah and vicariously, Ahab. It was a rewarding read, which helped immensely with the chapter. I don’t think I’m finding anything difficult to read at the moment. Sometimes Melville can be a bit cryptic and opaque, but upon reaching certain chapters, I realised that certain things came up previously, and he pretty much signposts them, and so when going back to read the earlier parts, it makes much more sense. It’s like Melville wants you to read and read again. My margins are full of notes and markers to other pages and books as a result. I find that I sometimes have to take even more time over some of the text to really absorb the meaning, but with your guidance, Ben, I feel like I’m asking the right questions and that I’m being rewarded with the answers in time. In my personal life, things are chaotic, mainly due to work. I am a director in a business and it’s taking a fair toll on me and my health – I’ve had one week’s holiday in two years, working day, night and weekend. Since December, I’ve had several chest infections due to being immunocompromised, a few bad asthma episodes and in the middle of it I caught Covid, which was actually a breeze compared to the other stuff. I’ve kept working all the way through all of the illnesses and I didn’t even get time off when my mum died in July nor when my nephew was murdered in May, so it’s all starting to take its toll and I’m getting pressured by family and my customers, to be honest, to take a break. All well and good if someone can do your job, but no one can do mine and we’ve just introduced a new digital system, which has taken me 6 months of arduous and painstaking work to put in place. We’ve also been exceedingly short-staffed and we can’t get staff (an arduous and soul-destroying task in itself), and then staff have been going off for various things, so I’ve been the one holding everything together. I missed a gig last week and this week, both of which were booked two and a half years ago, so I had enough and I took the past 2 days off. Told everyone to fix it themselves and I just left! As a result, I’ve actually been able to take time out to read and enjoy it. I got myself a personal trainer and I’ve been working out, going cycling and walking 5 miles a day, just to get out of my own headspace. It’s been bliss. I’m not looking for sympathy whatsoever, just relaying a bit of what’s going on in my life. Apart from that, most things are pretty good at the moment! Edit: Also forgot to say I'm also reading Lovecraft's Cthulhu Mythos for the umpteenth time. They are my favourite short stories. I have gathered little bits of Cthulhu niknaks over the years, including the obligatory funko pop figures! People buy me them as gifts. I even have a Hello Cthulhu t-shirt, in the style of Hello Kitty. I adore Lovecraft (to be consumed while listening to Metallica's 'The Thing That Should Not Be', or 'The Call of Ktulu'). Sorry for the very long post!

Caroline P

Hello, my current big reads are Moby Dick. I got to the end and realised I had to reread it. Immediately! To be honest I don’t know how I am going to put this down because I really love it very much. Also I just started Anna Karenina and am reading a bit of Proust each day. Often I just spend a week rereading a few pages, which is so soothing. I had planned to read an Emily Dickinson poem a day but I should have known myself.. I am the slowest poetry reader in the world I think. One poem a day was awful. They all began to blur into one. Anyway, I now spend a few days to a week per poem and that is working much better. I absolutely love some and I confess some don’t blow my mind. If I don’t like them I move on. I feel a heathen admitting I don’t enjoy a few of her poems. Looking forward to the next Shakespeare. Before I start each new one I feel I am going to have a mountain to climb, then once I get going I enjoy it. Does anyone else feel that? Other things…It is freezing here but I want to grow seeds. Roll on summer. Bens mention of Tarantino films has got me wanting to rewatch those. Jackie Brown is my favourite.

Caroline P
>>81055127

Ps a quick question. When you study literature at graduate level, can you take books into an exam? I just wonder how on earth you would remember and be able to quote for any exam question. I only ask because each book we read seems like such a huge huge mountain of thoughts and questions

Vicky

Hello! I’m watching Branagh in Othello because I know nothing about it to get a wee sense of it, also watched a great version of Antony and Cleopatra on Prime which whetted my appetite for when we get to it but I’m not going there yet 😂. I’m still reading A Bend in the River by VS Naipaul (interesting but can’t say I’m enjoying it as such) ; and a chapter a day of Crime and Punishment and working my way through Bens old lectures on it ☺️ is it bad that Raskolnikov looks like you in my minds eye Ben, I’m not sure why?? And I’ve booked tickets to see Ian McKellen as an ageless Hamlet in the Festival this year with the Ballet! Should be interesting and will feel so confident now thanks to this group as I’ll actually know the story and things about it!! Not many life updates here - I work full time in a social work leadership role , have two kids and two dogs so this is a blessed bit of time to lose myself in books which were my first love!!

Vicky
>>81056177

Oh and when I finish Naipaul I’ll move onto Blood Meridian with you all , got it ready - eek!

Heather Moore
>>81051111

Wow, Steve. You’ve certainly got your hands full with those! How do find time for it all? I did read 1984 a few years ago and found it utterly depressing. I think I’d finds it even more so today given so much of what’s going on, especially in supposedly ‘democratic’ countries in the western world. I’ve never read Animal Farm, though I saw the cartoon film when I was young. I don’t remember anything of it really other than parts of it reminding me of Watership Down but that could be down to faulty memory! Well done on your impressive reading list!

Cai Vail
>>81051708

That is so much on your plate, and it sounds like you've been through a harrowing year. I can relate to not having any backup for work, it's a lot of weight on one's shoulders - good for you for taking two days off, sounds like you more than deserve it! I've only read a little bit of Lovecraft, but I did happen upon the Lovecraft festival in Providence, RI about a decade ago and it just about blew my mind. Stumbled out of a rock concert only to see people in bizarre, monstrous costumes parading to the river, lit by dozens of fires floating on the water. Definitely an experience!

Nico Ribadeneyra

Hello all, my current big read is Moby Dick (which is a my first re-read of this leviathan) as well as slowly making my way through Hamlet for the first time! Other than that I am taking The Trial by Kafka a chapter at a time and the King James Bible a few verses at a time. I have ordered Bloom's anthology in hopes that I will be able to get into poetry, something I have yet to do, and plan on tackling The Odyssey and Anna K. in the near future!

Cai Vail

Hello all, I've been plodding along with Anna Karenina and Middlemarch (perhaps I shouldn't have 2 big reads going at the same time?) as well as a deep dive into Paradise Lost, which is just incredible. I'm glad it's my first time reading it, and that I was never forced to deconstruct it in school. Milton's visuals (written when he was blind, no less) are beyond anything I've ever read before. I cannot wait to read this work again and again throughout my life and see how it grows on and with me. I haven't been able to bring myself to start in on Blood Meridian, but I have dipped into Othello and think I may read along while listening to one of the audio adaptations. Meanwhile, I recently watched the film version of Les Miserables and a documentary on Flannery O' Connor (one of my absolute favorite writers), which have both tempted me to break out those works from my shelf...which I know I really, really don't have time for! My kids, work, and health issues keep me busy enough but I'm hoping as the weather gets warmer, I'll be able to lug along some of these tomes to the parks and playgrounds while they play. As far as personal life goes, we're gearing up for my husband's busy season, he'll be traveling a lot for work in the coming months (he's a cellist, and many international gigs have been rescheduled over the past two years and are finally happening now). Also, I'm very much looking forward to getting to work in the garden; it's our second year in our little farmhouse and I learned a lot of lessons from my mistakes last year that I'm hoping to put to good use, if I'm physically able to hack it. We've got four raised beds of herbs and veg and a sizable, overgrown cottage garden. Not to mention all of the renovations needed on our 131-year-old home...I keep reminding myself that I should be grateful for the fullness of this season of life, as there may well come a day when I miss it!

Jennifer Vo

Hello everyone! Gosh things have been so busy in this past week as I started my Spring quarter classes. I'm doing my best to catch up with the Hardcore Literature Book Club. - I just finished Romeo & Juliet last night, and absolutely adored it. I understood this play much better than the last few, so either my comprehension is increasing or RJ is just written for a larger audience, I'm not sure. - I am really enjoying Digital Minimalism by Cal Newport, that is in audiobook format and has some very thought provoking ideas. I just finished up the chapter talking about Benjamin Franklin's philosophy of getting involved in social groups, and if they didn't exist, he made his own. I also really appreciated Newport's discussion on structuring "high quality leisure time"; in this section he spoke at length about joining book clubs, which made me think about HL/BC! - I am reading Moby Dick, and I believe I am getting a good understanding of the basic plot and character development, but have not had time to dive deeply into the Biblical readings as suggested accompaniment, unfortunately. I just finished the chapter on Cetology (I believe Ch. 32, or somewhere around there). - I also finally finished The Pickwick Papers a couple weeks ago! Oh boy, that was such a wild ride that I enjoyed. If there's anything Dickens taught me in this book, it's how to slow down and enjoy the amazing journey and opportunity that is life. I love the overall story and all of the characters, they were entertaining and engaging, always something to look forward to at the end of a hard day. - I am looking forward to starting Blood Meridian with the group, although a little nervous about tackling such difficult books, I'll admit. I am in the middle of watching the Intro video released just yesterday, so I haven't quite taken it off the bookshelf yet. This reminds me I should probably buy the next couple months of books in advance before I forget.. - Lastly, I am almost ready to start a new audiobook. I am thinking about venturing into historical nonfiction, as I LOVE learning about past civilizations and societal progression. If anyone has recommendations I would appreciate it (especially if it's available in audiobook format, please let me know!) I am thinking about starting either Midnight in Chernobyl (Higginbotham); Guns, Germs and Steel (Diamond, 2nd attempt); The Woman Warrior (Kingston); American Rebels (Sankovitch); or Last Boat Out of Shanghai (Zia). So many options, how do I decide?

Bib Giacobbe

Hi Jennifer. Thanks for your mention of Digital Minimalism. It's a perpetual struggle, isn't it? Isn't it ironic how smart phones are so immediate while simultaneously denying us the experience of being "in the moment"? It is my attempt at doing away with my phone that has injected reading back into my life.....a welcome change. As for an audiobook recommendation, not that it's "societal progression" in any way, but given that a Blood Meridian read is right around the corner, maybe Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee might be apt? Just a thought/suggestion.

Vicky

I haven’t got much through Othello yet will let you know!

Jeff Borchers

Hi everyone! My big read is Moby Dick and I'm loving it so far. I picked up a book called The Story of Yankee Whaling from the bookstore the other day. It is kind of meant for younger readers but I found it great because it explains whaling in detail along with great pictures and diagrams. I am also am about halfway through Hamlet. Shakespeare is pretty hard for me, but I'm kinda enjoying it. I also just picked up Edith Wharton's Ghost Stories as just a fun, light read as I loved some of her other novels.

Jennifer Vo
>>81074964

Hi Bib, thank you for your response! Yes, it's so ironic, and I completely agree with Newport when it comes to the idea that the use of ever-present smartphones, but especially with the invention of social media, has really been one of the driving factors of skyrocketing mental health issues for this generation. It's something I have thought about for a few years now, and I'm glad that I'm not the only one. Hopefully within 5-10 years we will have a better balance of media usage for everyone in a way that is both productive and meaningful. Thank you so much for your suggestion of Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee, I have not heard of it before and it's exactly the kind of book I am looking for! I think it might indeed complement Blood Meridian nicely. Best wishes to you, Bib!

hardcoreliterature
>>81051113

I’ve not read any of John Langan’s stuff, but it looks right up my street. Thank you for the recommendation, Jason! How are you finding Ishiguro? I’d love to hear a few different opinions on his latest work, Klara and the Sun, as we will have a podcast dropping on that one soon!

Steve Horan

I have watched a couple of Sanderson’s master classes on YouTube. He is so giving of his time … they were having a countdown video on the last day of the kickstarter on Mar 31 and he had to run as soon as it was over to teach.

Doug

My reading plan, always flexible, changed this month to include Pensees by Pascal and Klara and the Sun by Ishiguro. I've been catching up on some of the books that were started before I joined the group, and Pascal was mentioned in several of the lectures. Proust and Middlemarch lectures are two I can recall. This piqued my interest. I had only been familiar with Pascal's Wager, a small part of this book. Pensees is a difficult, but rewarding read. Klara and the Sun is a really fine book. I think it explores what it means to be a human. That may sound daunting, but it's a fun and easy read. Ishiguro's books are all very different. From one to the other you wouldn't know it was the same author if not told. This book seems miles removed from Remains of the Day.

Annie

March wasn’t a great month of reading for me. I found it difficult to pull myself away from the disturbing war in Ukraine. Now that the initial shock is wearing off, and I avoid the news, I’m able to return to reading. The Proust project is a lot of fun. Along with penciled marginalia, I seem to be leaving sticky notes sometimes on every other page, and my copy is starting to look a bit beribboned. I’ve also been reading through a selection of letters by Keats, and I came across a Proustian connection you might appreciate. In one of his letters to Fanny Brawne, he asks, “Will you come towards evening instead of before dinner? When you are gone, ’tis past —if you do not come until the evening, I have something to look forward to all day,” and that delayed gratification instantly reminded me of little Marcel wishing to delay the moment his maman walks up the stairs for his goodnight kiss. And I’ve gone back to my poem-a-week project. Last week it was “Annabel Lee”, and while it’s an old darling, I probably first read it in middle school, I still adore the internal rhyme of “the moon never beams without bringing me dreams,” and “the stars never rise, but I see the bright eyes,” so I guess nothing, not even war, “can ever dissever my soul from the soul” of Poe, or Keats, or Proust, or any of my beloved Brontes…

Bill Freeman

Arlington, Virginia – USA Ben and Esteemed Members, Another monthly report. I really like reading what others are enjoying. For months now and following Ben's recommendation, my reading day is framed by "one short story, one essay, and one poem; it's delicious. I've read many, far more than I can summarize right now. I have a healthy, varied collection of essays, short stories, and poetry that I dive into each day. What I am noticing from reading – and this is very, very new – I am developing an additional perspective. That's one that is noticing structure, character development, and transitions made by authors irrespective of genre. I’d like to mention four reads that I enjoyed over the past month: <em><b>Eminent Outlaws: The Gay Writers Who Changed America</b></em> by Christopher Bram This is just an outstanding work on gay writers over the past fifty years including such luminaries as Capote, Vidal, Williams, Baldwin, Isherwood, Ginsberg, Albee, White, Maupin, Crowley, Kushner, and more. I knew a lot of the political history, having lived through years of it. Still, the crafting of the storytelling with lots of underlining and fodder for rereading. I am in the process of rereading. <em><b>On Writing</b></em> by Stephen King At Ben’s recommendation, I read this outstanding work by renowned suspense author Stephen King. This is just masterful with so many great takeaways. Who would have thought that King was such an intellect? I am transcribing and rereading my underlinings. <em><b>In Love: A Memoir of Love and Loss</b></em> by Ami Baum This is Baum’s outstanding memoir of accompanying her Alzheimer's-inflicted husband through assisted suicide at Dignitas in Switzerland. As both an author and a clinical social worker, she weaves an informative and moving tale. <em><b>The Best of Brevity</b></em> edited by Zoe Bossiere and Dinty Morre. This, is a collection of award-winning flash writing (<750 words) over the past 20 years. I so appreciate the discipline. Allow me to share the following which I wrote per this genre: <em><b>The Ambulance</b></em> by Bill Freeman (246 words) <em>I was standing on tiptoes, with my fingers prying my two-year-old body up the blue chipped-painted windowsill just barely enough to look outside. I could see, as she would be called years later, Aunt Melissa. But that February morning, she was just a neighbor being loaded into an ambulance on a Sunday. "He must have really hurt her this time," my mom cried. "Yeah, seems so," dad replied; "You know he's a cop, doubt anything will happen." And nothing did, it never would. Just a Sunday roundup of a woman beaten into unconsciousness by a drunk husband coming home from his shift as a small-town cop at 3am. Taunton, Massachusetts was part of the Taunton-New Bedford-Fall River triangle. A forgotten place of staunch Catholics and French and Portuguese immigrants and shuttered textile mills that long-ago abandoned the town for cheaper labor down south. By state and federal figures, Taunton was poor; always was and always would be. And like the late afternoon train that would roll on through the outskirts of town, desperation followed as bitter as day-old coffee with a resignation close behind that things would never change. It had tradition-wrapped obligations and a Miraculous Medal belief that suffering, longstanding suffering, indeed soul-crushing suffering, was the expected day-old bread of life. And that hopelessness, passing from one generation to the next, was ever so carefully lifted into that ambulance as Aunt Melissa was taken to the hospital. One would be repaired; the other never could. </em> #StandWithUkraine

hardcoreliterature
>>81065550

Great line-up, Nico :) How are you finding Kafka? Harold Bloom wrote that Kafka would read stories like 'The Trial' and 'The Metamorphosis' aloud to his friends and they would all howl with laughter.. Which might seem a little odd to us. He's almost never read as a comedic writer!

hardcoreliterature
>>81065598

Two big reads simultaneously sounds like a blast to me, Cai :) And I'm so happy you're enjoying Paradise Lost. I reread over some of it yesterday and I had to pause - it never fails to take my breath away. Othello is a strong favourite of mine, so I'm looking forward to hearing what you make of it. That's so cool that your husband is a cellist. That must have been difficult the last couple of years? Music and the performing arts took a real hit in the UK, but I'm so thrilled to hear things are busy again! And how amazing to hear you live in a farmhouse. It's my long-term dream to live on a farm and tend to the animals as part of my daily routine :)

Cai Vail
>>81165505

Bill, is that last one a piece you've written? Are you originally from the Taunton area? Those Boston mill town exurbs certainly have a distinct flavor.

Ellen M

My big read is Moby Dick, and I’m patiently waiting for my copy of Blood Meridian to arrive. I had to stash Middlemarch in a draw to stop myself from moving forward because I’d really like to stick to the original publication schedule- out of sight out of mind! I can’t put down the Ackroyd Shakespeare biography. As Ben mentioned in his coffee chat, it really makes you feel like you know how Shakespeare lived- by knowing where he was and what was going on as he worked on particular plays, it brings his whole world into focus- I cannot recommend it enough. I’m plodding along with my first French book and making good progress which is so exciting. My other main focus this past month is scouring real estate sites/ watching housing videos. Like Ben and some of you, I am on a quest for a place with some land, some solitude, room to grow fresh food. Our family was feeling the need for a big change before lockdown happened and the pandemic put everything on hold. It’s starting to seem like an unreachable goal and my research is taking up a lot of my time. I’m trying to stay positive and convinced the right situation will come along at the right time. Other than that, I’d like to reiterate that this warm community of ours is such a source of happiness and joy for me. Appreciating Shakespeare, revisiting old favorites- my books are a huge treat I look forward to every day. Beautiful line by Ben when he said it’s really something when a book ‘downloads into your soul’. What better feeling is there:)

hardcoreliterature
>>81090235

That's such great recommendation, Jeff - I've just ordered a secondhand copy. I absolutely adore these old children's books. They simply don't make them like this anymore. They used to be so dense with information, beautifully explained, and demanded a little more of children - perfect for adults too. I often use these kind of materials to get a grounding in huge subjects, so I'm excited to read this one :) And nice work on making your way through Hamlet. One of Shakespeare's most challenging plays, so you will be part of a rare group of readers who make it to the summit!

hardcoreliterature
>>81104044

Pascal's Pensées! That's amazing - I've got it in my mind to make a Pascal specific video quite soon, running through some of my personal favourite thoughts. And I'm glad to hear you're enjoying Klara and the Sun. I've been planning a podcast on this one for a few months at this point. I'm interested in taking the artificial intelligence discussion through to a discussion on the soul. I agree it's such a different book from Remains of the Day - it reminds me of Never Let Me Go, but one still would struggle to say they were both Ishiguro if his name weren't on the cover!

hardcoreliterature
>>81125967

I think a lot of us can relate to you there, Annie. But I'm happy to hear you've managed to get back into reading. I love that you're covering your Proust with notes. And what a fabulous word - "beribboned". I love that. Your copy is like a piece of you now, exactly how it should be :) Nice connection with Keats - thank you so much for sharing! For the moon never beams, without bringing me dreams Of the beautiful Annabel Lee; And the stars never rise, but I feel the bright eyes Of the beautiful Annabel Lee; And so, all the night-tide, I lie down by the side Of my darling—my darling—my life and my bride, In her sepulchre there by the sea— In her tomb by the sounding sea. I read this one in secondary/middle school, and it instantly throws me back to a very specific time and place!

Aws Alaswadi

Hi, I am currently reading Moby-Dick (its slowly becoming my favorite book I've read so far). I also pick up Les Miserables from now and then, I am at Waterloo and it is just so hard to keep reading for long periods of time. A couple of times a week I go to the library and there I read a Passage to India, it's a slow burn but it's good. As it is Ramadan I read the Quran a lot. I am planning to read it twice this month. I have also just finished Macbeth and it has solidified itself as my favorite Shakespeare play so far. I have always thought of reading Proust but the idea is just very daunting. (especially as a teen I feel like I won't understand most of it and it would just ruin it for me in the future). What do you think? Anyways, thank you Ben for the amazing content and thanks to everyone else for the insightful comments.

Nbyrd

Currently reading Rabelais' Gargantua and Pentagruel. I'd say it is a precursor to all those big encyclopedic novels of Cervantes, Melville, Joyce, and Pynchon. However, I was recently watching Benjamin talking about what distinguished Cervantes' Don Quixote from previous prose works - that the characters change over the text. I'm not near the end of Gargantua and Pentagruel but it feels like so far it's a fantasy picaresque where the main characters will not change. I guess we'll see. Also, starting an Ivan Turgenev deep dive, beginning with "The Diary of A Superfluous Man". I've finished off Pushkin and Gogol, as well as early Dostoevsky and Lermontov's "A Hero of Our Time." Tolstoy's on the horizon, but I'm waiting on some of his early works to come in. There's something specifically appealing about Russian literature of the 1800s for me. I can't really put my finger on it quite yet, but it has something to do with the mixture of comedy and desperation, with a dash of mysticism thrown in.

Nbyrd
>>81241721

I don't know if I would've been prepared for such big literary works as a teen. That's awesome. Moby Dick is what really opened up my interest in the maximalist novel, but I read it when I was in my mid 20's.

Jetzabel Peniche

Hi Everyone, I am currently reading, Great Expectations and Don Quixote of La Mancha. I am taking my time because I am very busy with both my sons’ baseball games and my daughter’s ballet and when I find free time during my day, I read a page or two and listen to you, Ben. I love this group and enjoy it so much. Thank you Ben for everything you do. .

Scott W

I swear my post got lost.. apologies if I'm double posting but I can't find it anywhere! I read a selection of short stories in March. The best was ‘Eveline’ (Dubliners). Joyce does so much with so few words; he’s an inspiration. Somehow you feel like you read a novella by how close you feel to the main character by the end, and we don’t know any more than Eveline when all is said and one, which, I think, is exactly how it’s meant to be. His stories truly linger, they connect me with a sense of contemplation of life I so rarely engage with. I read Romeo and Juliet and Macbeth with the club; Macbeth being my favourite. I said somewhere else, I’ve finally reached the point where I can read Shakespeare for fun, which is great, and largely thanks to Ben and this club. Thank you everyone! I still love certain scenes in R&J, and I have new appreciation for Juliet, and a new disdain for Romeo(!), but Macbeth challenges and disturbs me in ways I can’t quite shrug off. I look forward to re-reading it some time. Wuthering Heights was.. painful! The things people do to one another.. the effects of the absence of love.. how hurt is passed down through generations.. I’ve never been so riveted by a book where I disliked so many of the characters. I think I am more impressed by WH than in adoration of it, though. It’s not a book I would read for enjoyment. It is difficult. It is disturbing. I think whoever could write a book like that must have been in a lot of pain. I spent a month reading her poetry too, and the same goes for that. There is not much light or hope and she clearly knew more death of loved ones in her relatively short life than I have known in my (thus far) longer one. The landscape and writing and feeling in WH are very impressive, it’s just a thorny read. I’m glad I read it and learnt more about this talented writer. I read Brand New Ancients by Kae Tempest, a poem that plays with the idea that the Gods are still among us, that they are us, here and now, still, going about their everyday life in small heroic ways that aren’t glorified. You can see her performing it live on YouTube, and it’s worth a look if you feel you could be open to some neo-urban-classic poetry! :) I quite liked it. You can read the whole thing in an hour I expect. In progress are Moby Dick, which I am loving, and will say no more outside of the lecture discussion threads! This is shaping up to be my favourite club read so far, by far! I’m also reading Thomas Pynchon’s The Crying of Lot 49. It’s my first taste of Pynchon. I’m sure I’m missing a lot as I know he’s renowned for his density and hidden references and layering, but on the whole, I do find myself looking forward to another chapter each day. I think what I’m enjoying is the humour, the originality, the poking fun at aspects of our modern lives we don’t seem to laugh about quite enough! I can’t say I’m attached to any of the characters of eager to find out what happens next, it’s a very different kind of book to what I normally read. I don’t think I’ve read anything quite as post-post-modern as this yet, but I like to keep an open mind, and Harold Bloom can’t be wrong, can he? He liked it! (Update: I've just finished this book and am tempted to start it over again immediately, which I very rarely do. It really grew on me after the cautious start and I ended it feeling like I've discovered something really wonderfully original and so creative.) Coming up in April; Blood Meridian, Othello, and The Artist’s Way, a random pickup that I’m hoping will shake up my creative juices as I’m really trying hard to get back into my writing now. My son is seven! It’s time!

Margaret McNally

I have a few recent books am excited about. My brother and his wife are back helping me with my mom for a time....so I've had more time to go out and slowly browse book stores and talk to my pals there....today on my book outing am going to The Poisoned Pen. An excellent independent book store...They have interviews of authors posted. Great stuff! The Paris Apartment (audible...for fun. I like the multiple readers) The Diamond Eye by Kate Quinn, Run Rose Run by Dolly Pardon and James Patterson... The Truth and Beauty by Andrew Klavan. (And added to my list his 10 recommends, like The Twelve Caesars+) Casinos...The Vendome Press. The photos in this. So cool!!!! My used book store guy gave me a great price. My wild Irish dad was a big gambler. Him and my mom would be in Vegas often. The Sands ect.... When Rat Pack and old movie stars were there too. My dad's twin Joanne, who just passed at age 94 ( her family viewing, life celebration in Iowa on St Patrick's Day🍀) told me that they'd be sitting by the pool and in comes The Rat Pack, Dean Martin with spontaneous enertainment. "It was so thrilling", she said. My son wants to do a movie about my dad and his wild, eventful life...Martin Scorsese style. Am interested in one day reading a Sanderson novel. Once When going to Comicon in Phoenix, Sanderson and Rothfuss were in a panel together. So cool. Very fun and informal all those panels were. I got to talk to Rothfuss and got a cool photo with him. Don't think you could do that now. He's become so big. I love Agatha Christie! So far I would name her as my top author. So clever! Am still reading Don Quixote and Brothers Karamozov. Am enjoying Moby Dick so much and Shakespeare. Am going to finally read Emily Dickenson after your lecture. I have a pretty pocket Barnes and Noble edition. Will take it with me today and read slowly in the sunshine.

Terry Sullins

I'm a new member and I'm on part 2 on Anna Karenina. It's a very absorbing book but I have two problems. One is I have a hard time reading a little bit at a time. I want to know what happens next. The second thing is the characters haunt me. I keep thinking, what iff so and so did this, intead? Then I dream about theem.lol

Sam Phillips

Hey everyone, I'm new to the bookclub! I'm a life-long lover of books, but until now have had something of a as-many-as-quickly-as-possible approach, and I feel I haven't gotten as much out of them as I could have. Ben, I've been really enjoying your videos and decided to dive into the book club. I'm still trying to orient myself, but I'm definitely planning on joining along with the big read (Blood Meridian), and perhaps with the Republic. I feel like I've discovered something of a treasure chest and want to carry as much as possible out all at once, so cultivating a slow-and-steady approach is definitely something I've gotta work on! Recently, a buddy and I have been doing some reading together. Our first read was Lord of Light by Robert Zelazny, which had a pretty interesting premise, but the characters were difficult to really connect with. After that I read How to Read a Book by Mortimer Adler, which was very informative and tipped me off to the depths of reading I've been missing out on. That inspired me to read the Last Days of Socrates, a collection of four dialogues by Plato, and to use 3 of his 4 stages of reading: elementary, inspectional and analytical. It's been a bit of a slow burn (though the works are very short), but I already feel like I've gotten a lot out of it. At times it's almost felt as if I've got little pocket-Socrates who I can consult during my day-to-day life.

hardcoreliterature
>>81624475

Hi Sam :) Warm welcomes to the book club! We're so happy to have you here reading with us! I used to have that very same as-many-as-possible approach. After a few years, I realised I needed to change things drastically because I wasn't enjoying, or even remembering, the books I was reading. Embracing a slow pace was life-changing. And, funnily enough, actually ended up increasing my reading speed and comprehension. It's great to hear that you're up for Blood Meridian and Plato's Republic. These are really great companion pieces in many ways. Cormac McCarthy uses his novel to philosophise, whilst Plato is a writer of great imaginative literature in its own right too. Your buddy-reading experience sounds wonderful. It's honestly one of the most rewarding things to share a great book with a friend. It enriches the work and the friendship :) I've unfortunately not read Robert Zelazny, but I'd be curious to check out Lord of Light myself!

hardcoreliterature
>>81598912

Welcome to the club, Terry :) I've always enjoyed your wonderful comments over on the YouTube channel - it's so great to have you reading with us here. You're reading one of my favourite novels of all-time. It's definitely an absorbing experience, so I'm glad you're enjoying it. You're right, it's incredibly haunting. I have always seen a piece of myself in all of the characters!

hardcoreliterature
>>81327479

Hi Jetzabel :) Wonderful to hear you're taking your time with two amazing novels! It sounds like you're having a great time. Baseball, ballet, and books :) That's the good life!

hardcoreliterature
>>81274080

Wow! Nice choice of work there :) Gargantua and Pentagruel is one of those works that I've only read in a fragmentary fashion. After recently getting a hold of the Great Books of the Western World series, I went strait to Rabelais because, as you say, he was so incredibly influential. I'm enjoying a deep reading of the work at the moment. I know what you mean about Russian Literature of the 19th Century - there's certainly something special there. It has always appealed to my temperament that looks towards the dark side with a grim smile :)

hardcoreliterature
>>81201493

Oh wow - you're moving too, Ellen! Are you finding the search difficult? In all honesty, it has been incredibly stressful for me. I've been looking for over a year, had one place fall through after doing due diligence, and now have ended up renting short term in the area I like and hoping/praying something that isn't completely abysmal comes on... I have endless sympathy for anyone going through this process right now... It's difficult.

Michael Kwong

I have just re-watched Midnight in Paris. I really love the different references to literature, same as The Dead Poet Society. Would love to ask whether there will be any other movies that are referencing to different literature? (not exactly those movie adaptations). Thanks!

Pete Gardner

Hello! I'm brand new to the Book Club, and greatly looking forward to getting involved here. I'm currently in seminary, so looking forward to beefing up my fiction and classics reading alongside theology. This month, I've enjoyed reading Augustine's Confessions, Peter Brown's biography of Augustine, and (for something completely different!) a few of Michael Connelly's Harry Bosch crime novels. I'm looking forward to reading Blood Meridian with the group and hoping to tack on the Republic as well. as time permits.

Eggy
>>82077863

Hi. You might enjoy History Boys. The references in that film/play are a lot of fun

hardcoreliterature
>>82136233

Hello Peter :) Welcome to the book club! We're so happy to have you here with us. We have a few members who have been in seminary, so you're in very fine company! Your reading sounds wonderful. I'm also enjoying Augustine's Confessions. I read a little bit every evening, mull over it, and treat it like prayer. And nice to see Michael Connelly mentioned - I used to tear through his books :)