My mother (who instilled the love of literature in my heart) passed away in 2020. I struggled with depression and anger. I have,however, found solace and comfort in the pages of some of her favourite books that are now standing on my bookshelf. I intend joining you on this journey next year and pray that everyone who joins in will find what they need on the pages of some of the most spectacular books ever penned. Love and blessings from South Africa 🇿🇦
Same! I have tons of my mom’s books now and all of her personal journals (as she intended). These are my first holidays without her. Finding mom’s annotations, random receipts, and Emory boards in the pages of her books easily brings me to tears. She was an English major. I wish I’d realized my love of lit while she was still here. She is with me as I read, but it’s just not the same.
War and Peace 8-10 weeks The Brothers karamazov 6-8 weeks Orlando from April through May The stories of Alice Munro - Carried Away The Lord of the rings - spring to summer The count of mounte Cristo. 8-10 weeks The Invisible Man. From August through to September Jane Eyre. 6 weeks Paradise Lost. 8-12 weeks Gravity’s Rainbow. 10-12 weeks Secret Dickens - to be revealed Bonus reading projects: Proust - In Search of Lost Time Plays - Aeschylus’ Prometheus Bound. Ibsen’s Hedda Gabbler. Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest (Handbag!). Faust (I’m sorry I didn’t catch the name of the writer). The Shakespeare Project.
The Lord of the Rings, The Count of Monte Cristo, Jane Eyre, Paradise Lost, Dickens, In Search of Lost Time, The Importance of Being Earnest and ALL of Shakespeare's plays? Man, I've got a master's degree to finish here, stop tempting meeeeeee! Seriously, I don't think I could fit all that in my schedule, but I really want to try!!!
I haven't read a book since the passing of my father, 11 years ago. That anniversary fell on the same day that this video made its appearance amongst the true crime podcasts on my RU-vid feed. After listening to it for just a minute I immediately knew iit was a calling to catch up on all I had missed. My Dad took up reading at 87. For his last 3 years, books became his constant companions, never alone or lonely. So grateful. Excited to begin this journey. I've been reading and rereading all the comments throughout the site. Brilliant. Myhla
Winter --War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy Spring 6-8 weeks -The Brothers Karamazov -(Lex Friedman's fav book) Apr- may 3-5 weeks- Orlando - Virginia Woolf Alice Monroe short stories -Carried away. Spring to Summer JRR Tolkien -Lord of the Rings Summer -The Count of Monte Cristo - 8-10 week's Ralph Ellison's invisible man.
Am from Zambia southern Africa never new how sweet reading books can be, I have been in contact with people without reading background but there was this longing for books in my heart but with no one to guide me how to read. Reading in depth with quality has been beyond my reach since adolescent but after stumbling on susan wise Bauer and watching your videos my direction is changing enormously and am improving. And on your video I noticed you spoke of connecting ideas from different authors this is exactly what happens when I read a book nowadays though highlighting in books is a habit I have picked along my search for more. Thank you very much and I have always wanted someone to guide me i think I have found one.
As ever, I'm bowled over by your passion and your valuing of things that in today's world are very often derided and laughed at - deep consideration and thought, sincerity, and a finely tuned appreciation of literary art and the artist. And all done without pomposity and elitism. Serious props going out to you for what you're doing.
That’s so incredibly kind of you, Jack. Thank you. You’re right that these things are derided and undervalued today, but you and I, and everyone here, is thankfully proving that there is a good amount of us who yearn for these deep discussions and value these great books. I’m so grateful for you all 😊
@@BenjaminMcEvoy "I wear the chain I forged in life." Luckily, I'm a jeweler and not Jacob Marley. Have a merry Christmas, Big Ben! I'll keep admiring my homemade bracelet. 🎄
This very morning, I wrote in my journal that the wintry months of 2023 will be for the Russians. And here you are starting the Book Club with Tolstoy and Dostoyevsky! We must be kindred spirits. Can’t wait to read with you.😊
That’s some wonderful serendipity right there! Kindred spirits indeed, my friend! Tolstoy & Dostoyevsky will be great companions for those wintry months. I can’t wait to read with you too :)
Finally, someone on RU-vid who analyzes and appreciates true and deep literature in a rational, yet emotional and enthusiastic way. Thank you Sir for your immense and intense channel that makes us approach literature in such a simplifying, passionate way. Greetings from the Lebanon in the Middle East.
I graduated from university last spring with a literature degree and have greatly missed the discussion and deep dives of my classes. So glad I found this!
Oh Benjamin….this is wonderful. 🙏🏻❤️. My New Year’s Resolution is to keep up with the reading, understand the reading, and gain insight to the world. Thank you for giving all of us this opportunity. You’re the bomb!
Aw, thank you, Patricia 🙏🏻 That is such a wonderful New Year's Resolution - the best, in my opinion! Thank you so much for being here and reading with me 😊📚
I do believe you are changing my life in real time. I just discovered your channel a month ago and have been binging your videos while im working. I basically clean toilets for a living at a "prestigious" california university. Its been hard for me to finish books lately (last few years) and your guidance through your vids have really helped. Since discovering your channel ive finished one book (the Silmarillion) and completed two others (Passenger & Stella Maris) and im now on pg 200 of Moby Dick. Ive often bought books, mostly the classics but they end up collecting dust on the book shelf. No longer! You've helped me better manage my reading, my reading patterns and schedule and most importantly my former love of reading that i had lost somewhere along the way. I have so many future plans now to dive into the many works of the books and authors you frequently mention. Just want to say a big thanks to you. Im only at the beginning.
Been following this channel for over a year now. I would really like to be a part of the book club but $25 a month is a little too steep for me. Really sweet picks for this coming year and I'll keep following along on the RU-vid :)
As you read off the list, I broke into hurrahs for each one. One or two are new to me. That will keep my old brain working! Thank you for making the list and for your wonderful enthusiasm for each book.
Wow this is so exciting! I would love to join this club. Thinking of the whole year is overwhelming, but if I can even just get through the winter and spring reading I would definitely be very satisfied with my progress.
I stumbled upon your channel last week as I was feeling some indefinable urge to take a deeper dive back into some classics, and I think all the emotional, intellectual, and spiritual reasons you listed for deep reading literature are at the root of that urge.🧐The way you talk about literature is so inspiring! I will definitely be joining the book club in January. See you then!
Thank you so much, Rachel. I really appreciate that, and am so happy that you stumbled upon this channel. We’re incredibly excited to be reading with you! 😊
I joined recently and found myself overwhelmed by all the reading assignments underway and already finished. I am looking forward to starting the new year and staying with the group. As always Professor, you presentation was inspiring.
We’re so happy you’re reading with us, Eugene :) There’s definitely a lot there, so make sure to embrace your own personal pace. Thank you so much for your kind words, and I can’t wait to hear what you make of these great books! I appreciate you, my friend 🙏
Wow! You are extraordinary! Thank you Benjamin Mc Evoy Your love for literature is very contagious. Bringing to life,meaning,value and the love that comes from those who write. Thank you for doing what you are doing for the world.
I read crime and punishment and the brothers Karamazov last year when i was really depressed and guilt ridden. It helped me partly heal and examine myself and situations better. Fyodor is one of my favorite writers. We're in for a fantastic ride this year I see, and I cant wait!!!
Hi Ben, I'm a recent subscriber and wanted to say thank you for this channel and Hardcore Literature. The content is meaty and is causing me to fill notebook pages, read a new poem each day, change the way I annotate books and look forward to finding out more things I don't know. Also, I'm grateful that you make me feel braver about tackling the books/authors which have daunted me (Melville and Milton). Your material is a great public service.
Sounds fantastic, Benjamin! I have been watching and enjoying your videos for awhile but have never committed to such a year long read. The selections are spectacular and the companion read alongs seem very inviting and illuminating. I've been looking for a community of serious like-minded literature lovers. It seems I've found them. Count me in!
Great list! There's a few on this list that i picked up recently that I'm thinking of reading next year: Orlando, The Count of Monte Cristo, and Paradise Lost. Although I'm not a member of the book club, I think I'll use this list as a bit of encouragement to get around to those books.
Sounds like a great selection of literature. For me personally, 2023 will be the year that I finally delve into both Shakespeare and 19th Century English literature, both of which are massive gaps in my personal literary cannon. I'm planning on reading a selection of the bard's plays, as well as some of Austen, the Bronte sisters, Dickens, Eliot, Gaskell and Hardy's best works.
Unbelievably, I was planning to do Shakespeare’s plays in chronological order next year. One a week via audio readings (half will be re-reads and half a new experience) on the commute to work, followed by reading the article for each play in Harold Bloom’s ‘The Invention of the Human’. The fact that you are planning something similar may be the tipping point for giving the Book Club a crack in 23’. Some really exciting stuff in here that I have yet to read in ‘War and Peace’ and Pynchon.
Hey! Just wanted to say what a pleasure it is that I’ve discovered both your channel and podcast. I’ve recently rediscovered my love of reading and hearing how passionately you describe some novels adds a new layer of depth to the whole experience. On your first podcast you mentioned that you didn’t want to do it but you pushed yourself out of your comfort zone so you could reach out to others and hopefully make a difference in their lives - you absolutely have with me. Thank you so much. I will join the HLBC one day when it’s more affordable to do so!
I wrote a separate comment about translations, but decided to move it here in case it's of any use to you: ... Do you make recommendations for the translations of your foreign language selections? The quality of the translation will affect the reader's experience of the novel or play. I've read both _War and Peace_ and _The Count of Monte Cristo_ in recent years and did some research into the various translations of those novels. For _War and Peace_ I would recommend the Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky translation; for _The Count of Monte Cristo_ the Robin Buss translation. I'm looking forward to _The Brothers Karamazov;_ it had been on my next year's read list already. Pevear and Volokhonsky have done a translation of this novel as well.
I've been waiting for this list for weeks and it exceeded my hopes. I am so excited by this reading list and will definitely be joining the book club in 2023. Can't wait!
Benjamin, Hardcore. I watched first, in hesitation (knowing I would Likely change the way I finished the reading year). I quickly succumbed to the excitement of the list. I cheered each selection& now with a furrowed brow anticipate the coming days/weeks/months. Thank You
Loving all these books and then you bring up The Count of Monte Cristo. I could scream! You have no idea how many times I've tried reading this and failing miserably every time. I'm going to give it another try though. Perhaps the knowledge that others are reading along with me will diminish my suffering this time Edit: what a coincidence! I had planned on reading all of Shakespeare's plays next year!
This is such a great list. I will (re)read the French and Russian authors in french (my first langage). But I will read the English authors in their original forms. Will take me more time to get through them, though. Still, should I join the book club? You are so passionate about littérature, it's contagious! Love it!
Wow, Ben! There’s so much to look forward to! I’m especially excited to read Orlando, and The Brothers K, as both have been on my personal wish list for some time. I’m also very intrigued by Tolkien, as I’ve never read any of his work. I did have a crack at The Hobbit when I was about 14, but put it aside. 2023 is going to be a year of wonders!
I am so happy to find this channel at the beginning of the year. As for 50 books, Middlemarch was much lower than I expected. Women in the literature always fascinating. In the tradition of my country 's literature, Lady Murasaki wrote the Tale of Genji in 11th century. There appear more than a hundred women. If you have time, please try.
Sadly the HLC isn't affordable for me. Times for artists are difficult. But I will folllow the schedule on my own to make theses works my companions for the next year. English is my forth language so I will have to read some works in french, italian or german (even when I'm just working through Ulysses in english, hard stuff). Most of them I will read for the second or even third time. Thanks for working out my booklist for 2023. 😉
I feel overwhelmed, having heard of all the titles but have never read them. I am making a goal of reading 3 of them in 2023. Thank you for what you do!
This just popped up for me to watch, and I’m so glad I did. This is what I thought booktube was and was sorely disappointed. I cannot wait to join and get started! I homeschool my kiddos and while I enjoy the conversations we have have about what they are reading, more adult discussions would be appreciated.
What a fantastic selection for 2023! I've always wanted to join in and read with the book club, and the exciting thing is that I may actually be in a position to do so the coming year! So many of these have been books sitting on my to read list for ages, the book club may well be the push I need to get started on them. Cheers Ben!
I am probably the only person who makes my new year's resolution to read LESS because I neglect so much else that I need to do (like sleep) because I can't stop reading. I've recently learned Spanish and am now reading Mario Vargas LLosa's Conversación en La Catedral which I read years ago in English. Just a recommendation for bi-linguals that finalists for both the Alfaguara and Planeta publishers prizes are excellent choices for contemporary literature in Spanish All lovers of book stores must read the 'introduction' to Italo Calvino's "If on a winter's night a traveler'. I've bought 3 copies for Xmas presents for book lover friends. On the literature front I am on my 3rd reading of Crime and Punishment (in my 74 years). Not enough time left to re-read all the great literature that I would like to read before I die so I am starting next on your list of 100 best books. Thanks for the recommendations, though most I have read before.
I’ve joined the hard core literature project for 2023. I’m very excited. I’m a few chapters in to War and Peace, purposely reading slowly. I’m intimidated, but I will progress. I hope you hold our hands a little bit. I want to do it in the prescribed reading time because I don’t want to fall behind.
Amazing schedule!! Will definitely join this year, such a great opportunity to learn with you! Thanks for your work! (Would be lovely to have at some point some short stories of Machado de Assis, would love to hear your thoughts on him!)
Wow. I just stumbled across your channel a few days ago. And I just now discovered this video. So I'm already behind schedule. Thank you for your hard work in creating this video. Not sure if I will start here, or go back to some of your older videos and work through those. But in any case, there is no way I could read War and Peace in 10 weeks. I look forward to learning from you.
Thank you, Colin. I really appreciate that. You're not behind at all, my friend :) I encourage you to embrace your own personal pace when it comes to reading these great books! I can't wait to hear what you make of them. Happy reading! :)
Me too. Not a big RU-vidr but stumbled upon Benjamin’s videos by accident when looking up stuff about Ulysses. I’ve read many books he talks about and am ready to reread em all!
Well rounded schedule Ben! Wishing much growth and nourishment for the next year for all members. For me i shall keep on my own felt journey, you know i'm getting back to a type of literature that is among my interests from of old, the Reformed theology strain which poetically Milton was a part of i believe. You're such a gem you know, just your voice and demeanor exudes a calm and reassurance, of good in this world.
I have started reading again after years of living in tv zombie land. War and Peace was a wonderful first read. Thank you very much for your energy and passion.
I never read the required reading in High School or college. At the age of 57, I am feeling that I have missed out on some great reading. I have tried to read poems, plays and a few of the classics, but I could not understand them. After watching your latest RU-vid video, I joined your Patreon and have decided to just jump in and go for it. The excitement of reading that you exude during your videos, is truley infectious. Thank you.
Thank you Benjamin, for the coming year I'm going to re-kindle my love for great stories again via books and audiobooks. I just wish I could share my love for the old school novels and storytelling with people closest to me.
I’m so committed to this challenge and looking forward to reading these incredible books. Looking forward to being more involved in the discussions as well. Thank you for being my guiding light!
Thank you, so much. I've got the plan down - I'll see how far I get. I am encouraged by the quote "You are not required to finish the work, but neither are you free to desist from it." Avot
Righto. I bought War and Peace over the weekend. I spent the last day and a half getting into it. Never in my wildest dreams would I have thought that I’d be reading this. Your enthusiasm in this video made me think that I’m obviously missing out on something if I don’t. Looking forward to this. I wasn’t aware that you were running a book club. Ill check it out. Thank you!
So excited for this! This video was recommended to me and the first two books are the highest on my TBR list. So I'm in! So excited to join the club very soon!
This is an impressive list of works well worth a first reading and repeated readings. Even with my degrees in literature, I am considering joining. I’m 74 and miss discussions among serious readers of hardcore literature. 3:49
Great schedule with the finest literature! I am looking forward to reading these books! Oh and War and peace has just published with a new translation in Hungary, so the timing is perfect! :)
I finished War and Peace last month and I devoured it. Despite purposely reading at sub 150 wpm to digest it properly I could not put it down and was finished in 20 days 🙈.
I cannot tell you how excited I am. The Count of Monte Cristo is my favorite book. In addition, Paradise Lost and Faust have been on my list for decades. Thank you so much.
I read The Brothers Karamazon this October and I'm still thinking about it. It was incredibly life changing, and I'll definitely re-read it 10 or 20 years from now. I struggled to break into it, but I'm proud for not putting it down
@@BrynneMuir Trust me, I have the same problem with russian literature! I really struggle to get into the stories. Honestly the first 200-250 pages of TBK were really dense and it took me a whole month to read them, but at one point something clicked and I just couldn't put it down. Ps. Something that always helps me when I get "stuck" on russian works are audiobooks! I just use the free trial of different apps and I alternate reading with listening: russian books are really dense so audiobooks lighten the experience :)
When I read W&P the first time, I marked the list of characters in the front and kept referring to it constantly for the first 200+ pages. Also, after reading it, you might want to see Woody Allen's movie, "Love and Death", which is a hilarious spoof on Tolstoy. Bros. K also would need some knowledge of Russian history.
Is there a place where I can see what a deep reading would look like? Is there guided annotating? Page by page guidance? How often are there videos to follow along with?
Your excitement is infectious!! I am excited to dive in for my very first year with your book club. I can't tackle all of the books, but I'll start with Tolkein and hope to continue with Monte Cristo and Jane Eyre! I just love hearing you talk about these books. Classics can be really daunting, but your joy and excitement really makes me want to give them a try!! Thank you so much for sharing this life's work with us.
Thanks for sharing the list! Ive borrowed few titles for my own reading this year - such as “Invisible man” and “Gravity’s Rainbow”, plus I’ve already made prior commitments for a few of my own. Thank you for this passionate review! I wish my school teachers talked me into reading classics the same way back when i was studying 😅 Ill be also committing to read and re-read entire Gogol body of work, he is my favorite writer. ❤
So excited for this! When will you be announcing the editions that we will be reading along with? Having the same edition was a Godsend when reading Anna Karenina.
An exciting list!! I can't possibly keep up with that pace, but will definitely deep dive with you on some of them. Do you have any favorite translations of those not originally written in English? Have you or will you do a discussion of William Blake at some point?
Yes please.Blake crosses my mind for no particular reason.I would love to hear your comments some time as Margaret suggests.But first,can't wait for my new Briggs version of War and Peace. I have Maude-not all that easy to read but still worth it. Roll on 2023.It is going to be a very good year. We are going to be cheerful and smile a lot. RIGHT?
Thanks for your passion of reading. It inspires and encourages me start to my English reading. I started reading Twelfth Night , Wuthering Heights and some others at the end of 2022. Looking forward to 2023.
Thank you, Joanne :) Your reading is going superbly well! Nice one on starting Twelfth Night, Wuthering Heights, and more. I'd love to know how you're finding them so far! And I can't wait to read these great books with you in 2023 too :)
So exciting!!!! Two Russian novels that I already read ( two of my favorite books of all time), right out of the gate! I always want to read them again. Hope I do.
That’s incredible. At 20:18 I thought you said “Ralph Emerson”, but you in fact said Ralph Ellison, only to follow up with who I original thought you said in the first place! It just dawned on me now how similar their names sound
I shall be in Lauterbrunnen in June, where Rivendell was born. How fantastic that we are reading Lord of the Rings at that juncture in the year. Hopefully I will get to have some quiet time on a rock in the middle of beauty both literary and literal. :)
Thank you very much for this elaborate and fascinating program. I have not read Proust yet. I will start with „a la Recherche du temps perdu“ as soon as possible and read it in French. I was given a translation of war and peace by Svetlana Geyer. So I will follow you with this copy. I am looking forward to it. Thank you again.
Proust will take you to a world so filled with beauty you will return to it many many times. After 45 years his writing still fills me with joy. Blessings on your Journey.
@@margaretcantlon9960 Thank you Margaret. I am fluent in french and I will indulge the flow of the melody of the language which transports a deeper meaning.
Happy to see Orlando on the curriculum! It's my favorite of the Woolf novels I've read. There are unchecked books on the Read Woolf list (The Waves, Between the Acts, short fiction). Bringing in Woolf's essays is good idea, also. Orlando was more than a love letter to Vita Sackville West, it's a love song to English literature! For my money, the changes that Orlando experiences are analogous to the changes in British literary history!
I've just joined you Benjamin. I don't know whether to be excited or intimidated, the 2023 schedule looks both. How to begin and where to go first? This is a whole new reading world! I have watched some of your videos on RU-vid before but now joining your Patreon I now have an all new beginning to wade through. I'm thrilled but wracked with self-nervousness.
I'll be joining for the first time after a long time watching. I teach a few of these, so getting more insight will be wonderful. I'll be setting up Patreon on Dec. 1.
I can't wait to read War and Peace, and reread Brothers Karamazov, with you. I first read Karamazov in high school, and I knew I was very far out of my depth at the time. I very much look forward to revisiting it. And as a nonbinary person, I first experienced Orlando through the magical film starring Tilda Swinton, so reading the original text is something I need to do. Edit: Talking about films that changed my life, dear goodness, I need to read Lord of the Rings.
Hello from Canada 🇨🇦 I am so happy to have found you and just in time to join this book club! I have ordered the books as a Christmas gift to myself. Do you have a video on your note taking process? I am a hesitant annotator of books but I do recall in a previous video you mentioned having a notebook per book. I would love to see that process! Thank you!
This looks like a great year of reading. I wish that I could join the reading group. But alas, my work load is too high and it leaves me too exhausted to get into deep reading. Also, I read slowly. Maybe one day I will be able to join, to be in a class with you Ben as a leader/mentor/instructor with the greatest books ever written of all time! Hopefully, you will be doing this book club years into the future. sigh......
