Coffee with Hardcore Literature (Q&A Episode XIII) (Patreon)

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

Topics of discussion include: how to write book reviews, our changing attitude towards spoilers, entering flow states, making writing a habit, biggest critical influences, learning to love literature after university, invisible support systems, how to be prolific and productive, and wisdom from Viktor Frankl.

We're also talking about ‘Shakespeare in Love’, humour in Blood Meridian, how to read irony, the most important writers in the canon, favourite Russian writers, Shakespearean words, overhyped writers, struggling with prize winners, how to get inside a character's mind, and more.

As this was a long show, we'll be answering some of the later questions more fully at the beginning of the next Q&A so as to do them justice. 

Feel free to jump to any topic/question you’re most interested in by using the timestamps below.

Video Timestamps:

• 0:00 thank you all for your great questions
• 0:58 what are you favourite Shakespearean words?
• 6:35 which renowned writers do you think are overhyped?
• 18:45 any strategies for better understanding a character?
• 28:15 what are your thoughts on the synopses in Blood Meridian?
• 32:30 Middlemarch, Blood Meridian, Moby Dick & Ulysses
• 33:30 where is one place you would love to travel to?
• 35:45 first time readings of King Lear (& YouTube algorithms)
• 36:45 the difficulties of moving a large library (& Britannica’s Great Books)
• 38:00 any tips for writing great book reviews?
• 48:40 getting started with Anna Karenina and Shakespeare’s sonnets
• 50:08 in addition to Harold Bloom, what other critics influenced you?
• 59:49 what do you make of the film ‘Shakespeare in Love’?
• 1:07:58 what is the correct definition of irony?
• 1:12:45 what time period would you love to live in?
• 1:13:30 who is important to read in the canon, beyond the obvious?
• 1:17:30 what Russian novel should I read after Crime and Punishment?
• 1:20:00 getting into gardening, haiku & April being the cruellest month
• 1:22:00 rolling some great questions forward to the start of next show
• 1:22:30 the origin and development of the Byronic hero
• 1:24:50 literary history, dark romanticism & the Southern Gothic
• 1:26:30 learning about the author before or after reading their works
• 1:27:58 thank you for all of your great questions and comments

Questions for you:

If you have a moment, I would really love to hear your answers for any of the questions put to me:

1) Have you seen any films on Shakespeare that you would recommend? Or any great films on other writers? 

2) Where would you love to visit? And if you could go back in time to any period, when would it be? 

3) Have you come across any new words during your reading that you have fallen in love with?

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

Happy reading, everybody!