So excited to hear your thoughts!

It is a great place to start!

Pride and Prejudice!! ☺️ This is one I've particularly struggled with so i shall be especially interested to hear your thoughts. I hope you get on well and enjoy it.😃

Yea!!!! I hope you love it! Your daughter is reading my favorite Jane Austen!

Welcome! I'd love to know if you watch - please, leave a comment!

Words of wisdom, thanks for the lucid presentation!

This was wonderful, Mark. So much to think about. I do agree that there are some of Marcus Aurelius ideas and way of thinking are much easier to grasp than others. I think life purpose is an individual thing but its a nice idea to go through life being a just person and treating others with the respect we would like to be treated with. Despite, him being a privileged individual and easy for him to say, i do think that there is a lot of truth in his point about getting rid of possessions. Its easy to focus on things like the fancy car and posh house and lose sight of the more important things of life such as love, friendship and going within ourselves and making an assessment. How can we become better? Obviously, its unrealistic to expect to go through life without any 'things' but there is certainly value in having a good declutter and passing on or throwing away things you no longer need. Oh yes, its so easy to just plod through life, doing things to please others or in fear of judgement. This is something I've thought about quite a lot as ive got a little older and am now trying to fit in as much as possible before i exit, which i hope wont be for a good while yet. ☺️ Goodness, what a thought wondering what the next couple of generations will think of us. I hope my Great Grandchildren think i did ok. ☺️ Thanks again for another fabulous video, Mark. I shall look forward to the next one.😃

Mark, this was such an engaging and thought-provoking dive into Meditations. You’ve captured the essence of Marcus Aurelius’ philosophical grappling with life, mortality, and virtue so well. I especially appreciated how you contextualized his privilege as emperor-it’s an important reminder that his reflections, though timeless in many ways, come from a very specific vantage point. Your discussion about fame and material pursuits really resonated. The analogy of the stagnant pond and the ripple effect was such a vivid way to frame the influence of small, virtuous actions. It’s humbling to consider how fleeting applause and recognition are in the grand scheme, and how easily we can lose sight of what truly matters. That anecdote about William Hazlitt was a perfect example-fame might come and go, but integrity and the pursuit of justice have lasting value. Your honesty about grappling with Aurelius’ ideas-whether they feel too rigid or perhaps out of reach for most people-was refreshing. The point about finding nuggets of truth within his writings while softening the edges for contemporary life is such a balanced take. And you’re absolutely right: asking the tough questions about what it means to live well is hard, but the rewards are profound. Finally, your personal reflections-about redundancy, change, and finding meaning in difficult times-added so much depth to this video. It’s a reminder that philosophy isn’t just something ancient-it’s something lived and experienced. Thanks for sharing this, Mark. It’s clear how much thought and care went into this video. Looking forward to your next take on Meditations!

Mark, your deep dive into Milun and the fascinating use of the swan as a messenger was such a treat to listen to-what an inventive narrative device! I loved how you highlighted the unique lens Marie de France brings to her storytelling, especially her focus on women’s experiences in such a restrictive societal structure. The idea of letters traveling via swan feels almost magical, and yet it’s such a poignant reminder of the lengths people go to for love and connection. Your reflections on the translation and how the rhythm carries through in modern English added a lot of insight-it’s clear how much thought you’ve put into this reading. I’m now intrigued to explore Marie de France’s work myself, especially with how it blends romance, ingenuity, and a touch of tragedy. Thanks for sharing this gem from the Norton Anthology!

Welcome! I'd love to know if you watch - please, leave a comment!

You raise a very valid point. I’ve noticed that the subject matter in children’s writing is obviously very different to what would have been around when I was growing up. I do feel that there’s been a trend towards now having to explain things in great detail in children’s text, something that wouldn’t have been required many years ago, which I classify as dumbing down because previously the mind would’ve been able to insert whatever scenario that’s now not always obvious to today’s children. However, I’ve very definitely noticed a huge dumbing down of books written for adults, where sometimes ‘sentences’ are merely phrases. In a course I attended on writing, the tutor actually said that the ‘optimal maximum length of a sentence’ should be 26 words, because otherwise the reader loses interest. It’s unbelievable, given that the authors of many of the phenomenal books published last century are simply warming to their theme by the 26 word mark. Just as an aside, I’m a MASSIVE Hairy McLary fan…the rhyming, the story, the pictures are fabulous for the under 5s. I’d hope my 5-7 year old would certainly be onto more challenging text at that age. It could also be that kids raised with electronic gadgets as the main source of parental input are hugely disadvantaged regarding the use of vocabulary and the expectation of level of reading material.

Many gifted children are drawn to older texts

I recently took a class on Classic Children's Literature and have been reading a lot of older books. As I've been reading these, I wondered if today's children could even read or understand these age-appropriate books. I no longer see this richness in today's storytelling. It would be interesting to get a publisher's point of view.

I love that you made this video! This is exactly why I purchase many “older” children’s books rather than what’s being put out now. Not only are the stories and vocabulary being dumbed down but, many of the illustrations just can’t compare to the books I grew up with.

Glad you are enjoying this book :)

I thoroughly enjoyed this tale, Mark. Thanks. ☺️ What a lovely story. I did begin to wonder, as the story progressed, if things would take a turn for the worse. I was pleasantly surprised at the happy ending. ' Why live. To die is best for me .....' Very powerful words and ones uttered by many women throughout history, I expect. I haven't read Beowulf for quite some time but like yourself I also found it a challenging text at first. I do like some of the older writings, though and find a lot of value in persevering. Thanks, again for sharing this lovely tale with us. I'm looking forward to the next one. 😃

Great back story to an interesting text. Terrific video, Mark - thank you.

Welcome! I'd love to know if you watch - please, leave a comment!

What a thoughtful reflection on language in children's books! I think we’re actually in a moment of really strong contemporary children’s literature, though it might look different from what we grew up with. Books like They All Saw a Cat by Brendan Wenzel use deceptively simple language to explore deep and complex ideas, while A Different Pond by Bao Phi tells a beautifully layered narrative with rich language and emotional depth. Jon Agee’s The Wall in the Middle of This Book is another great example, with its clever sense of play and subtext. It’s true that some modern books lean more accessible in their language, but I think there’s a wealth of thoughtful, language-rich picture books out there-they just sometimes need to be sought out. I’d love to hear your thoughts if you’ve come across any recent titles that stood out to you!

Sorry, I have no idea, kids are richly immersed in electronic texts, & this must shift how they read other things, I guess - but the trends can't be all bad...

Oh yes, i definitely agree that childrens books are written much simply or dumbed down. There really is no comparison between a modern day book and a more classic tale. I would be very interested to know how this happened. Its something thats gradually occured as time has gone by and is very sad and unfortunate. The way young people speak to one another has changed also, certainly since i was at school ( many moons ago). I wonder if there is some sort of connection there. I would also say that some books aimed at adults seem to be less sophisticated as time has gone on. At the risk of sounding unkind, i do avoid some modern books and much prefer the older more vintage texts. This was a brilliant topic for conversation Mark. 😃

I always had issues with my daughters teacher who kept giving her books way below her reading skill 😮 Was a constant battle. I used to love Rupert the Bear, such memories.

A lot of things are dumbed down these days, from politics to books. Newer books have short chapters or none at all and are instead broken up into one or two page snippets. I reread my favorite old timey books like Wind in the Willows, Alice in Wonderland, Heidi, etc just to make me happy. I’m rereading all of Jane Austen currently so I can enjoy a different historical period with congenial people. Ta ta for now.

Oh I completely agree they are dumbing books down. As a reading tutor I was shocked how these kids in 2nd grade are reading one to two words a page!

This is a bit terrifying. I really hope they are not dumbing down books. That is really not a good thing at all. I remember being constantly bored with the books that were for my grade level and always reading my brothers books that were more interesting because he was 2 grades ahead of me in school. Then by the time I got to that grade I had already read most of the books on the curriculum and was again bored. I really hope they are not dumbing the books. Being challenged is I think part of what would make a child want to read more. Boring them seems like a really stupid idea.

Unfortunately, my kids are all older now. But young enough not to have grand children (yet). So I'm in a bit of blind spot on this one! However, it wouldn't surprise me.

I've heard that Proust in In Search For Lost Time breaks the fourth wall at one point. But I think it's somewhere far in. I only just stared reading the first volume and haven't come across it yet.

Welcome! I'd love to know if you watch - please, leave a comment!

Very interesting. Whenever I read children's classics from the 19th or early 20th Century (The Wind in the Willows, The Railway Children, etc), I'm always struck by the richness of the language compared with modern books. But then I notice a similar shift towards linguistic simplicity in a lot of current books for adults too. (Not all of them, but the trend is that way.) I'm grateful that my parents encouraged me to read more challenging books when I was a kid.

I completely agree with you, many books have been dumbed down for children these days. I think it's important for children to be read aloud to, from a book higher than their current reading level, so they are exposed to more diverse language.

Ah, the boy from Woy Woy...

Welcome! I'd love to know if you watch - please, leave a comment

Puckoon sounds such a fun and entertaining read, Mark. I love Spike Milligan's humour. Bonkers and completely up my alley. Such a shame he has left us. I love his poem about Smiling. It's lovely and heartwarming. ☺️ Thank you so much for the recommendation of Spikes more biographical books. I shall suggest these to my husband as he is very interested in ww2 and his Grandfather served out in Africa. As you said the books may give a very different perspective to the war and more of a realistic idea of what it would have been like for the men serving. I'm sure that there will also be a sprinkling of Spikes wit here and there. Thank you for another enjoyable video, Mark. 😃

oh golly Spike Milligan, what a blast from the past.

Never heard of Spike. I will have to look him up.

Love this! The publication order of the books is different to the order that she wrote them in. I might be wrong but I think Northanger Abbey though published posthumously was one of her earliest works. As a Jane Austen fan, I’m looking forward to your thoughts. Pride and Prejudice is still my top book and the one that I’ve read the most, so I think it’s a great choice for a first time reader. I would highly recommend listening to the audio - the book is really brought to life by Rosamund Pike, though for all other Austen audiobooks, Juliet Stevenson is amazing. As for the other books I did a ranking video a few years ago of each of them once I finally finished Mansfield Park. Really hard to choose between persuasion and Emma for second place. It used to be Persuasion, but then a reread of Emma has bumped that up. I Imagine reread of Persuasion Will swap them around again! 😂 Northhanger Abbey is a delight, though not hugely popular! I think it’s a real coming of age story. The beauty of Jane Austen‘s work is how much better it gets with each reading. I think the difference that you notice in her writing overtime is within the characters - as evidenced by her oldest heroine Anne Elliot in persuasion, which was her last complete novel before she died. Anne is a quieter more reserved character and the novel itself has a much more melancholy tone. But completely agree that it is still quintessentially recognisable as Austen’s writing.I have a long complicated history with her work and the first time I read Emma for A-level. I absolutely hated it and now it is one of my favourite books. Happy reading!

Lucy is really funny and witty! I have never read any Jane Austen but I look forward to it. This was great.

Fascinating Mark! I would love to chat with Tolkien too. I will have a go at this, i think my list would be very very different!

I have tried to get my mum to come on and talk about her reading, as she reads more than me, but is being resistant. I visited the Jane Austen Museum in Bath last year. Great video 🎉

Trapped in a gilded cage with her servants and cook all paid for with inheritance! Always difficult to put modern sensibilities on historical situations. All her novels are great, they have stood the test of time. Probably Pride and Prejudice.

Terrific video! I'm no Austen expert, but I seem to recall reading in an introduction that Pride and Prejudice was the first of her major novels written, but for some reason, Sense and Sensibility was the first published. Yeah, Mr. Collins often comes off as more obnoxious in film adaptations than he does in the novel. However, the letter that Mr. Bennett sends him at the end as reminder that he'd do well to keep in Darcy's and Elizabeth's good graces in spite of Lady Catherine's disapproval of their marriage is classic! Mr. Bennett might be my favorite part of the whole thing. 😂 I haven't read Northanger Abbey or Persuasion yet. And I go against what seems to be the popular opinion by liking Mansfield Park. I suspect a lot of readers find the heroine bland and lifeless compared to Elizabeth Bennett or Emma Woodhouse, but I like the novel because the tone is a bit different from Austen's other work. I'm not sure that it's my personal favorite, but Emma strikes me as the best written of the novels. And Emma's slightly "dim" friend Harriet and her hypochondriac father are great characters. 😂 I also enjoy Sense and Sensibility, but without a re-read, I'm struggling to recall many details beyond the opening chapters. Once again, great video! I would definitely recommend either P&P or Emma as places to begin; however, P&P is probably the popular, time-tested option. 😁 Have a nice weekend! Oh, and as for that "I don't get humans" business -- I can sympathize completely. 😁

That was great! My favorite Austen changes according to my mood but I think Emma, Pride and Prejudice and Persuasion are superior.

Emma Smith is my authority on Shakespeare's identity, of course there's a collaborative component in the creation of drama & scripts, but Shakespeare wrote Shakespeare (& not some dopey aristocrat).

❤

Oh, I haven't read Jane Austen in ages, must get back to her. 'Northanger Abbey' is such a clever satire of the Gothic tradition, this is Jane Austen just having a blast, enjoying herself. I love 'Pride & Prejudice' & 'Emma', but 'Northanger Abbey' is my favourite. Great video, the conversational side of this one really enriches the review process, very engaging.

I thoroughly enjoyed this conversation, Mark and Lucy. Lucy, I love your enthusiasm for Jane Austin and her books and you've inspired me to give one another go. Perhaps Pride and Prejudice. ☺️ I've had a tricky relationship with Jane Austin for such a long time and not really being able to get into her work or gel with her writing style. So many people enjoy her books and I feel in a way that I'm missing out by not 'getting her' in quite the same way. Not only that, if we think about how difficult it was for women to get their writing published and to be taken seriously generally speaking then it would be a shame to not persevere with her writing. I read Sense and Sensibility fairly recently and found that a little easier to get along with than the others. Thank you both again for such an enjoyable and engaging conversation. 😃

Welcome! I'd love to know if you watch - please, leave a comment!