How to Read Great Literature in Serialised Form

📚 Read the Great Books with the Hardcore Literature Book Club: / hardcoreliterature
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🎙️ open.spotify.com/show/70IZA24... (Subscribe to the Hardcore Literature Podcast on iTunes & Spotify)
🏫 hardcore-university.teachable... (Hardcore University, Exam Preparation Courses)
✍🏼 benjaminmcevoy.com My Personal Website
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Hardcore Literature Lecture Series
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📔Contents Page: cutt.ly/CmNhRY3
🎖️ War and Peace: cutt.ly/U3nzGma
🎭 Shakespeare Project: cutt.ly/B3nxHH7
🐳 Moby Dick: cutt.ly/K3nzVKf
☄️ Blood Meridian: cutt.ly/P3nz6Qp
🍂 Wuthering Heights: cutt.ly/N3nxxYt
🇮🇪 Ulysses: cutt.ly/x3nxQmN
🚂 Anna Karenina: cutt.ly/vmNhAWv
💀 Crime and Punishment: cutt.ly/rmNhFt5
⚓ Persuasion: cutt.ly/amNhX7b
☕ In Search of Lost Time: cutt.ly/5mNh8oD
⚔️ The Hero’s Journey: cutt.ly/UmNjrE3
🌸 Siddharta: cutt.ly/YmNjuzi
🎠 Don Quixote: cutt.ly/cmNjoK4
❤️Shakespeare’s Sonnets: cutt.ly/nmNlW7V
🇫🇷 Les Misérables: cutt.ly/J3YixoA
🕯️ The Turn of the Screw: cutt.ly/nToAQQ3
🖋️ Dickens Seasonal Read: cutt.ly/9ToAybt
📖 Middlemarch Serial Reading: tinyurl.com/45rv965c
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0:00 the serialisation of Charles Dickens
1:30 engaging with the first reader
3:00 the rewards of delayed gratification
4:45 how to live the great books
5:55 introducing time to your reading
6:30 life-changing reading experiences
7:30 when characters become friends
8:14 how reading keeps us living
9:42 my anxiety of belatedness
10:45 how rereading reflects change
12:50 the power of symbolic pauses
14:00 special author reading projects
15:00 following original serialisations
15:42 reading Dickens over the long term
16:38 Master Humphrey's Clock
18:30 the joy of slow reading & rereading
19:14 The Old Curiosity Shop
21:39 some questions for you

[@GoGoGirl22100]

babe, wake up a new benjamin mcevoy video dropped 😱

[@heberribeiro2910]

My favorite KZbinr at the moment. Was equally overjoyed at his new publication ❤

[@_Tennz]

"Books are a physical manifestation of a person's soul." - Benjamin McEvoy

[@brodiiie]

I used to get extremely frustrated by how slow of a reader i was. And although the consistency of my reading has increased a lot the past couple years, I'd still say i'm relatively slow, but now i don't really mind it at all. In fact, i love it. For example, I started reading East of Eden in December and i'm still reading it now (got about 150 pages left to go). I really can't imagine reading the whole thing in like a month, it would just feel wrong. I feel that allowing myself to stay at this somewhat slower pace has really made my connection to this novel and its characters so much more profound. So many passages I'm reading recently i just cannot get through without bursting into tears. Knowing me I'll absolutely devour these last 150 pages, but i think they'll be made so much richer because i really took my time with the previous 450 pages. Its already become an all time favourite, and i haven't even finished it yet lol idk what exactly i'm getting at with this comment, but your videos have really helped me not only accept that i'm a slower reader, but actively enjoy being one. thank you for all the amazing content!

[@heberribeiro2910]

Definitely, there’s this relentless almost unriddable hustle sense that have crept upon reading. The notion that one must read one book a week, regardless of the nature of the work being read, as if to finish it only to read the next one. I had a friend who actually said as much. At the end you only can say that you have read it but cannot contribute to the reading’s ultimate purpose and the value of the experience. So much the better to binge on them only when driven by the works themselves and not some by exterior pressure which might in the last analysis only compromise cognitive and aesthetic impact.

[@EmyN]

Funnily enough, that's how I consume your videos, I don't binge watch them but watch them sporadically, feels like a treat

[@mgb5170]

I've never read "funnily enough," I've only heard it spoken.

[@AnnetteRubery]

I haven’t tried a serialised reading approach yet, but I intend to do this with The Pickwick Papers later this year. My husband recently finished Middlemarch and we celebrated by visiting a Beefeater steakhouse in Nuneaton: formerly Eliot’s home! Went afterwards to a chain bar named for the novel, where we overheard a guy calling a taxi: “Middlemarch, mate”. Really felt George Eliot’s creation had crossed over into reality. 😂

[@BenjaminMcEvoy]

You’ll have so much fun doing it with The Pickwick Papers, Annette! And that’s such a cool story!! I really need to visit myself :) I’d love to enjoy a drink in the Middlemarch 🍸

[@helengrover6709]

I am reading Middlemarch with my daughter serially as you reommended.What a lovely time we are having! Your videos have inspired me to read the classics again which has brought wonderful memories of my father who is long past. He introduced me to classics when I was quite young and guided my reading as I grew.I had no idea what he was doing then, I only knew that I loved what he recommended. Thank you for your insights and dedication to this endeavor!

[@poppies1215]

There is something wonderful about holding an old classic and slowly reading through the pages. There is nothing like the feel of old books like meeting with old friends. I love these period pieces and am especially fond of Jane Austen. It is indeed like walking back in time and living like they lived and felt. Simply delightful. I have always loved Great Expectations by Dickens. His stories and characters are timeless. Thank you for an enriching look into good reading material and inviting us to become familiar with slowing the pace to truly absorb what we read. I’ll have to try my hand at sequential reading. Looking forward to your next video💕🍀🌟

[@marianapgar4409]

Seeing that there is a new video from you never fails to brighten my day. Thank you for enriching my life, Ben!

[@BenjaminMcEvoy]

That is so incredibly kind of you, Marian. Thank you so much for being here ☺️🙏

[@thebooktraveller1901]

Hello Benjamin, I tried serial reading on your recommendation but it didn't work for me. Instead I read one chapter per day and write a precis of the chapter. I am doing this with War and Peace and Middlemarch and several others at the same time. I find this an enjoyable and rewarding method. You are an inspiration, keep up the great work. 😊

[@readlikeaman]

dude, this is seriously the most helpful thing ever for me. i've always struggled with how fast i read (weird problem to have, i know) but trying to force myself to actually read slower was always just massively frustrating. I love the idea of using the original serialized publication times to force breaks within the book where, it doesn't matter how quickly i read the current section, i'm forcing myself to wait some time before i pick it up AGAIN. small change but freaking brilliant insight for me! i haven't tried it yet with a novel, but i have been doing it with some poetry books, only allowing myself to read a certain number of pages per night, and it has been such a fresh and insightful experience. as always, stellar video that is super encouraging and challenging bro! thank you so much

[@littlefelix]

I haven't had much real-life experience since I'm still at school and my daily life is quite repetitive, but I can still relate to what you said about the joy of reading a book over a long term. I used to try and finish short books in 3-5 days if the story is interesting, but this year I slow down as if I'm waiting for a new chapter every week. In between, I read another book, some poems, or a play, and watch movies. Recently I recognize that I start to think about what I've read/seen in between and kinda relate them with the main book. Sometimes I read a sentence and a poem or a song comes in my mind, it is super cool. Thank you for this video, Ben. 💙

[@ADudeWhoReads]

I recently finished reading War and Peace over the course of 9 months. (I was aiming for one chapter per day, but especially towards the end of Book 3, I couldn’t help myself and “rushed” just a little bit more). The end result is that War and Peace is now one of my favourite works of all time and I honestly don’t think I would be able to say the same if I had read it at a more “normal” pace. I can’t say enough good things about this approach and, as you say, living with the characters for a period of time. Wonderful video.

[@ceciliapolisena5819]

What you're doing with the James Bond books, re-reading them following the order in which they came out, I'm currently doing with Colin Dexter's Inspector Morse 13 novels. While coordinating two reading workshops here in Buenos Aires this year, one all about novels written by women and the other one about Borges...so the pleasure in Dexter's literate style and the intelligence of Morse's world (I love the man, such a brilliant, conceited, lonely, existentially depressed, prickly genius) create a pause that's always a treat, as well as an invitation to meet interesting characters, deduce, relax and enjoy.

[@fredhaier5526]

I have never read any Charles Dickens even though I have copies Great Expectations and A Tale of Two Cities. The book I decided to read was David Copperfield. I began it on March 1st and am nearly halfway through. Sometimes I read ten pages a day, sometimes more and sometimes less. I was feeling bogged down because there are so many characters that keep moving in and out of Copperfield's life that was I thinking of stopping, but you have inspired my to keep reading it. I have Middlemarch and will tackle that one in 2024.

[@karenlee48]

Hi Ben, thank you for another great video. I remember watching one of your previous videos on how to live the works of great literature. Back then, I couldn't fully identify with some of the ideas you presented. But as I have picked up some of these books over the past year, I find that what you say resonates much more strongly. As our lives evolve, we approach stories with different eyes, but it's also amazing to see how these stories simultaneously impact how we approach our lives. On a different note, the illustrations in the first edition of Dickens' novels are just beautiful! I do wish the contemporary editions included illustrations too. They add so much joy to reading.

[@CreativelyBria]

One of my favorite things about classics - other than the works themselves - is that I am forced to read slowly bc I have to read the audio and physical book at the same time if I’m going to truly understand what’s happening. That also adds a lot of time for me to digest and process (and research.) I’ve never intentionally introduced time but want to try to serial read the count of monte Cristo!

[@thelaurels13]

Always look forward to your videos, Ben. And you never disappoint. Thank you. 👏

[@BenjaminMcEvoy]

Aw, thank you so much :) I really appreciate that!!

[@ArtBookshelfOdyssey]

Last year I decided to read Great Expectations on my channel, and to follow the serial installments. The only change was I only waited a week to read the next installment rather than the month - that's too long of a wait for me! But it was amazing, and I chronicled my journey on my channel, and I had some of my followers join me in reading it. It was so rewarding! I need to do it more often.

[@heberribeiro2910]

Interestingly, I was only now watching your “How to read Middlemarch” and decided to check if you’d post any new content. To my surprise I had already watched it the yesterday night. Really compelled by this idea of “serialised form. So much so that I’m really intrigued about reading both Middlemarch and David Copperfield in this manner. Thanks for your great enthusiasm and robustness btw. Cheers.

[@creationspast.janebowell1903]

So happy to have caught this this afternoon what a treat , Ben. As I explained I will be back soon Missing your lectures. 🎉 :) I hope you are well

[@BenjaminMcEvoy]

Thank you, Jane! I hope you’re keeping well too and managing to claim some time for yourself to unwind ☺️🙏

[@axlramirez14]

So glad to see another video of yours, McEvoy! And a great video indeed. Actually, I’m reading my first book following the serialized publication with a couple of friends, we are doing The Pickwick Papers in 20 installments, starting in March 2023 and finishing in November 2024. We’ve already read the first installment and are pretty much enjoying the story so far. Looking forward to reading the second one at the end of this month. ☺️ Thank you for sharing your own experience here and letting us more about this fascinating topic. Greetings from Mexico; my friend! 👋

[@PokhrajRoy.]

It’s so nice to see a video from you again. Hope you’re well.😊😊

[@BenjaminMcEvoy]

Thank you so much, Pokhraj 🙏☺️

[@joannechang9019]

Always enjoy your new updates.👍 The stories haven't changed, but I changed! It's so true!

[@KindleAndCoffeeCups]

This is one of my favorite ways to read and to re-read! It's a nice way to get a re-read in. The serialized schedule gives you some guardrails around huge books, and also time to digest the chapters in between. I love seeing that you have a new video. Always quality content. Always motivating. Keep up all the great work Ben.

[@BenjaminMcEvoy]

I completely agree :) And thank you so much, my friend! I appreciate you watching 😊🙏

[@Wisdom1944]

I love "guardrails"! Yes!

[@KindleAndCoffeeCups]

@@Wisdom1944 Right??? 😊 Happy reading.

[@dexterhughes7784]

Upon your recommendation, I tried this approach with 'The Turn of the Screw' and will read the concluding chapters tonight, according to my schedule - this approach has greatly improved my reading experience and I'm thankful for your pointing out the benefits of reading in serialised form, both in your videos and podcast episodes. I'd also like to add that I love your content - it's brilliant and inspires me - and am always looking forward to whenever you upload something new.

[@jennyaldridge4186]

Very interesting Ben. That explains why I don’t remember books I devour in a couple of days. It’s so hard to put some books down though.

[@BenjaminMcEvoy]

I completely relate, Jenny! When a story is really riveting, I find it incredibly difficult to put it down!

[@kynaatawan5967]

One of my dreams is to meet you Ben. You have inspired me so much. I do wonder what you think of reading journals and booktubers? I finally have the confidence to tackle War and Peace. I do try to delay my gratification for most books I read, because I don't want the magic to end too quickly. Plus nothing beats the feeling of having a book to go home to, feel sorry for non readers who never experience that joy.

[@janmariolle]

Wonderful! A brand new video to share with friends who may enjoy the book club.❤

[@BenjaminMcEvoy]

Thank you so much, Jan 😊🙏

[@brendanward2991]

In 2005, the 400th anniversary of the publication of Part 1 of _Don Quixote,_ I reread Part 1, with the intention of rereading Part 2 in 2015. I think I may have overdone it. I still haven't got around to it.

[@BenjaminMcEvoy]

😂 That’s amazing, Brendan! I’m sure that second part now has the power to reflect an enormous amount of personal change - almost two decades worth!

[@davidos4023]

I have to say thank you for all the videos you are making. You reignited my love for reading and overall it is so pleasurable listening to you talking about subjects you are passionate about and know so much about.

[@BenjaminMcEvoy]

Thank you so much! You have completely made my day :) I really appreciate you watching!

[@daveschmidt5713]

It was thrilling to slow-read Anthony Powell's Dance to the Music of Time. It has been 15 years since I last read it. Perhaps I'll pick it up again this summer.

[@joshh.2541]

This was fantastic and inspiring - your video essays are a work of art. I always look forward to them - thanks for what you do Benjamin.

[@BenjaminMcEvoy]

Thank you so much, Josh! You have completely made my day, my friend. I appreciate you being here and watching 🙏

[@robertocatrone715]

I love reading in serial form. I actually have several of Dickens (folios) in serial format. In keeping with reading in this manner, I read my favorite authors, both classic and modern in serial format. Frankly, I usually have 3-8 books going at a time. This helps perpetuate this habit of reading style. Anyway, I love your videos keep up the great work.

[@jamescraig3345]

Have done this for years. An advantage is that I'm always reading at least two very unconnected books at once (one sometimes nonfiction) and enjoying both more. It also makes for being more connected with what is going on around me.

[@EmyN]

Gosh I always learn so much from you! You are enriching my world of literature, will definitely try this! I'm planning to read The Turn of the Screw this year so I will read it in this fashion now! Thank you for the video

[@BenjaminMcEvoy]

That is so sweet of you to say, Emily! Thank you so much for watching :) I’m very excited to hear that you’ll be reading The Turn of the Screw in serial form! That’s good fun around Halloween time ☺️

[@philipswain4122]

Ah. A wonderful early spring post. Many thanks for this.

[@BenjaminMcEvoy]

Thank you for watching, Philip :)

[@heathereads]

Dickens' Bleak House was my first attempt at serialised reading. I read it over a year. Have been thinking about the author project, because George Eliot is pulling on me ever since I read The Mill on the Floss

[@BenjaminMcEvoy]

The Mill on the Floss is one of my favourites :) George Eliot definitely makes for a really rewarding special author project!

[@Ocelot1962]

You made another excellent video, Ben. It's very practical for inner growth. Thanks for publishing it.

[@BenjaminMcEvoy]

Thank you so much! I really appreciate that :)

[@wendyharris8026]

Love your channel.

[@BenjaminMcEvoy]

Thank you so much, Wendy 😊

[@igaelvahgelt9890]

This is amazing. Completely agree with how we live.

[@mgb5170]

I think you would appreciate Ann Fadiman's book of vignettes called "Re-Reading Ex Libris" - she is an excellent author. And the daughter of a literary social commentator.

[@katm8128]

Just found your channel and have binged through several videos already. By far my favorite book channel already, thank you! You provide such great advice, and the space here just feels immensely cozy in general

[@BenjaminMcEvoy]

Thank you so much, Kat :) I'm so happy you're here! I really appreciate your kind words 😊🙏

[@billycaldwell6531]

Benjamin understands the downside of “compacted” learning ~ consuming a lot of information in a short amount of time. Today in America, whole colleges run on this model, with 6- or 8-week courses, mostly aimed at working adults, who complete one after another. Sadly, high schools are now following suit with this model. Unfortunately, inputting information, without giving the consumer time to ponder it, reduces (and sometimes prevents altogether) a more active learning experience, where the reader influences what has been written, as much as what has been written influences the reader ~ akin to force feeding (as passable nutrition) vs gourmet dining (an actual life experience).

[@terencemeikle534]

Another wonderful, illuminating, and empathic video. Reading (and creative writing) have quite literally kept me alive. I must admit that I've always tended to bolt my literary food. However, I also read a lot of technical scientific and mathematical works, which do at least slow me down! Books are my anchor. ⚓️

[@RealisticMonkey]

I’m currently writing my English bachelor’s thesis on Austen and I found your channel through the Persuasion video and I’m so glad I did! Your content is incredible! Have you ever thought about making a video/podcast on how to read Joseph Conrad? No matter how hard I try, I still cannot understand his writing and would love to see you talk about him!

[@BenjaminMcEvoy]

That's amazing! Fantastic choice with Jane Austen, Sandra. What element of her work is your thesis focusing on? As for Joseph Conrad, I have actually been planning to do a podcast on his 'Heart of Darkness', tying in his other works, for a long time. Conrad was my personal thesis during my second year of university. I was rather obsessed with him for a while :)

[@RealisticMonkey]

@@BenjaminMcEvoy Thanks! I’m writing about how her writing style works through other mediums (focusing on her use of comedy of manners and free indirect discourse) to then show how Austen’s writing could work in tabletop role-playing games! 'Heart of Darkness' is exactly the one I have been struggling with! Can’t wait to hopefully listen to that podcast one day!

[@johnwhitehouse966]

Thank you for another great video. I always enjoy watching your deep-dives into great works of literature and find your thoughts very insightful and encouraging to read and enjoy some of the longer classics.

[@EduardoHenrique-nd1ro]

Hello, Benjamin! Thanks for sharing another amazing video! Have a great weekend! Cheers from Brazil!

[@BenjaminMcEvoy]

Thank you, Eduardo!! Have a lovely weekend too, my friend! Obrigado 😊

[@RRScott-uz1lg]

Wonderful, Ben! You are a terrific influence. I've discovered so much new content through your videos and podcasts and my urge to tackle new and challenging classics has become easier to take on thanks to your suggestions and insights. I've recently begun gorging myself on Harold Bloom all due to your recommendations on his work. Thank you!

[@BenjaminMcEvoy]

Thank you so much! I really appreciate that :) I'm so thrilled that you're diving into Harold Bloom's work. He is such a treasure. Any favourites from his books so far?

[@RRScott-uz1lg]

@@BenjaminMcEvoy Good morning, Ben! Thanks for your response. I've just completed "How To Read And Why" and enjoyed it very much - even if Bloom and I don't always see eye to eye on some things. I do find his love of literature infectious, and any time he discusses a book I have an urge to read it that very moment. I made a "Bloom Reading List" based on some of his recommendations of short stories, poems, novels, that I haven't yet read. At the same time, I've been dipping out of "Shakespeare: The Invention of the Human," and have been thrilled by the layers of insight into the plays that Bloom brings. The man is a genius and the way he shares and spreads his passion for literature is marvellous. He's such an important critic and I'd suggest that anybody who wants to broaden their understanding and appreciation of literature take the time to read his work, watch his interviews, etc. I really do feel that you are his potential successor, as I would recommend your podcast/channel for the same reasons. Thanks Ben!

[@bethlewallen3697]

Love your videos! Going back through your old ones. Excited to pick up great literature again.

[@BenjaminMcEvoy]

Thank you so much, Beth! I really appreciate you being here :)

[@fmoraiti9294]

I’m always looking forward to your videos!! Thank you!!

[@BenjaminMcEvoy]

Thank you so much for watching :) I really appreciate you being here!

[@PersephonesRose-nr3oo]

I love your videos ❤ so good and informative i learn something new every time! keep up the good work 😊

[@BenjaminMcEvoy]

Thank you so much! I really appreciate that 🙏❤️

[@Computra]

Bejamin! I must thank you for creating this cozy, friendly, intellectual space on the Internet. You have carved out a space where people like me can hide away from the folks that are so wrapped up in being....well cranky and political. Haha! Thank you again!

[@souravchatterjee7821]

Hi Benjamin, I am from India. An ardent lover of literature and a fan of yours. Keep up your amazing work. God bless.

[@BenjaminMcEvoy]

Hi Sourav! Thank you so much for your kind words, my friend. I really appreciate you being here! Happy reading over in beautiful India 🇮🇳🙏

[@souravchatterjee7821]

@@BenjaminMcEvoy 💕🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿🇬🇧

[@ReadADayClub]

This is a very interesting approach I must say. Never tried it though but can't wait to see how that goes. Just yesterday I started reading Samuel Beckett's trilogy and was wondering how I would go about it. So watching your video certainly has had an impact and made things much more streamlined in my head with regard to how I should approach it. Some day I shall do the same with Charles Dickens. Thank you so much for sharing this! 🖤🖤

[@peterbrown3004]

I am delighted to know you are rereading D.Quijote---and via Rutherford.

[@BenjaminMcEvoy]

It’s honestly brightening my life up so much right now. Rutherford nails the humour :)

[@tanny3403]

Taught me more than a teacher ever did.

[@BenjaminMcEvoy]

Aw, that is so sweet of you. Thank you :)

[@inkylynx2777]

Huh. Interestingly, this is how I've read The Wheel of Time. I only listen to a few chapters each day as I'm at work. Worktime is booktime. I've read the first five books in the span of three and a half months, and it's a good pace. I can remember things more readily than had I just binged the entire thing by reading it all day.

[@Connor-np4ex]

Would you be able to make a Shakespeare Video on the four great tragedies? I just got a copy and would love some tips before reading it!

[@traplordhentaimaster1633]

Hearing my man’s talk about serialized lit got me thinking how this was an weekly or monthly run of a shonen manga.

[@BenjaminMcEvoy]

Absolutely! The serial is definitely alive and well in the world of manga :)

[@aamnainfebruary]

I was listening to Nick Drake when this notification popped up. I sincerely wish to thank you for introducing me to Nick Drake :)

[@Mike-rw2nh]

Pardon the unsolicited recommendation, but do try ‘Impressions for Headphones’ by Brian Green. It’s a lovely accompaniment to a chilled out reading session.

[@aamnainfebruary]

@@Mike-rw2nh thank you so much for the recommendation. I very much appreciate it :)

[@BenjaminMcEvoy]

That’s amazing :) I’m so happy you’re enjoying his work! I’ve been listening to Pink Moon on repeat a lot lately 😊

[@aamnainfebruary]

@@BenjaminMcEvoy my favourite one is Northern Sky, and I love Pink Moon too!

[@user-zm5zt1sd1j]

Another great video Benjamin! You have inspired me to read one Dickens novel every year, until i read them all. I was thinking to read also some stendhal novels (the red and the black, charterhouse of parma) but you have never mentioned stendhal in your videos. Is he considered outdated or is he a classic writer worth reading? You have read tons of books but i was very curious if you have read some modern greek literature, like the masters Papadiamantis (murderess is his best work) or Georgios Vizyinos (my mother's sin, the only journey of his life, moskov selim etc). They are both masters, of course not in the same level as tolstoy or dostoyevsky, but if they wrote in a more popular language like english i think they would be well known.

[@booshkoosh7994]

Dear Mr. McEvoy, I love your channel, and watch it every day. My brother is part of your Hardcore Literature Club, and we watch you together all the time as well.😁😁 I have a question that I'd like to ask you: have you ever read any of P.G. Wodehouse's or Agatha Christie's works? They are two of my favorite authors.☺

[@BenjaminMcEvoy]

Thank you so much, my friend :) That makes me so happy to hear! I love it when I hear of brothers reading these books together. Discussing these works with our loved ones really takes our appreciation to a whole new level. As for P. G. Wodehouse and Agatha Christie - absolutely! I read both of them all the time. I had my yearly binge of Jeeves and Wooster earlier this year, and I have a stack of Agatha Christie waiting for me. I fell in love with Poirot and Miss Marple when I was younger and have been reading her ever since!

[@KingCrusoe]

I like how you mention a symbolic pause for Don Quixote; I am planning to read it in July & August. And I really mean July AND August; Part 1 in July, then Part 2 upwards of a month later in August. This video solidifies that decision for me.

[@mr.thegreat557]

Ben what do you think of these ‘Sensitivity Writers’ going through classic literature and rewriting them for a ‘modern’ audience? I know some books - Live and Let Die for example - have content that wouldn’t be published today, but personally I think they doing more harm than good.

[@Sauceman10_]

Found this channel quite recently and i have enjoyed it quite a bit. I just have a question for a possible future Q&A, maybe your 100k Q&A (which will hopefully come sooner than later): You talk a lot about "the great writers", "the biggies" etc. and the reading and enjoyment of them over the course of one's life. Do you think that these writers (Shakespeare, Proust, Dostoevsky, Tolstoy etc.) have some objective brilliance that basically anyone can benefit from and enjoy and what do you think that brilliance is if there is one? Is there still some subjectivity when judging these writers and works? Is the criteria for a "great/classic writer" kind of arbitrary as no two people will be impacted by a work in the same way as everyone's life experience is different?

[@8088I]

It works, Today, with stranger than fiction "Big Time Wrestling style" 'Reality' character of DJ dRumpff! :-))

[@rv.9658]

Assuming you aren't already planning a video on this, what translations would you recommend for stendhal's 2 major novels?

[@beneric1000]

Thank you for the video and I like what you are doing on you channel. I have a question. I have been writing for years, philosophy as well, but I can't write as well. I lost half of my skull because I fell down stairs but I cannot put my thoughts on paper. Do you have any thoughts about this? I am sorry if I am not writing well. I apologize if it does not read probably.

[@godskuruvi]

Would love another bookshelf tour 😊

[@BenjaminMcEvoy]

I'd love to show my bookshelf off! :)

[@Ooth9999]

That would be great

[@emmaphilo4049]

@@BenjaminMcEvoy I'd love to see that too!

[@RafaelToscano]

Sir, can you make a video about Thomas Mann? I’m addicted by your videos (didn’t watch everything yet though), so it would be amazing to watch one on Thomas Mann, even if only on The Magic Mountain.

[@shawnkuhn4753]

I'm having trouble finding the serialization schedule for some of Dickens' novels, like the Old Curiosity Shop. Were they just released with a chapter per week or os?

[@susprime7018]

I read Stephen King's nod to the serial form with The Green Mile. It would have been more excrutiating waiting for a Dickens installment to reach America, "oh wonderful, Little Nell has landed."

[@BenjaminMcEvoy]

I managed to get my hands on some first editions of The Green Mile in serial form and enjoyed reading them/portioning them out in lockdown :)

[@Wisdom1944]

Ben, Is "installment reading" what we still do when watching mini-series on BBC/PBS? I haven't recently read a chapter a week, but I plan to begin this summer.

[@BenjaminMcEvoy]

Absolutely! We definitely still have it in the culture in that form. It was interesting to note that we went through a bit of a ‘binge’ period with our television, but the top streaming platforms have now returned to staggered releases - and it’s proven so popular! We clearly yearn for this :)

[@MarshalR]

What would be your thoughts on rereading a book out of order. Like Moby Dick but first the all the more non-fiction chapters and then the more plot oriented ones. Something I've also considered with Brothers Karamozov or Ulysses. Do you think that would pointlessly jumble and detract from them or could it add a fresh perspective?

[@BenjaminMcEvoy]

That would be a really fascinating reading experiment. I’m all for it! I definitely think that this kind of approach is bound to give a fresh new perspective!

[@ShaharHeyHey669]

great channel

[@BenjaminMcEvoy]

Thank you so much 😊

[@ozziedylan9903]

Knowledge is a gift I Love Academia you are a highly intelligent indivual

[@Michajeru]

If one doesn't know what the original serialisation was, how does he or she proceed to read it in a serialised way? I would love someone to explain that to me as I am an inexperienced reader and somewhat new to reading the great works. I love to read slowly. I recently finished Middlemarch over a period of four months. I would like to reread it in a proper serialised way, but how do I do that? Incidentally Benjamin, I am really impressed and influenced by your videos. Thank you so much.

[@Jacobthehuman]

🍎 for my book brother! Cheers hurah! Let us read ejoy out time and read it all

[@douglasmccannpiano]

No country for old men. The book. And. Camus stranger. Top books ever.

[@MarquitasKnottyCrush]

Have you narrated any books? Is there a listing? Victorian novels?

[@tanny3403]

What was your second Dickens after Great Expectations?

[@BenjaminMcEvoy]

The Pickwick Papers :)

[@ryanb3665]

I’ve been thinking of doing it for years now, but I think I’m going to try and complete 1,001 Nights over 1,001 Nights. My 3-volume set translated by Lyon has been sitting on my shelf for too long! Now, to decide what night to start it on. . .

[@DanExploresBooks]

Great tips

[@BenjaminMcEvoy]

Thank you! :)

[@leas4699]

I read half of Don Quixote and could do no more. Could you do a review video about this book?

[@BenjaminMcEvoy]

We have a 'how to read' and also a translation guide for Don Quixote on this channel. And there's also the guided reading lecture series at the Hardcore Literature Book Club :)

[@leas4699]

@@BenjaminMcEvoy I’m going to finish it on my iPad the same way I’m reading War and Peace per your advice-a chapter a day.

[@samuelcalderon1885]

A general question as an Israeli: have you ever read an Hebrew/Israeli work?? Like Agnon or Shalom Aleichem??

[@shrijansharma9495]

If you do find a time machine, please take me along with you.

[@BenjaminMcEvoy]

I'm sure there will be room for one more :)

[@milkawickramasinghe164]

❤

[@agathayo7344]

The world read Harry Potter by She Who Shall Not Be Named in this serial manner.