Ep 67 - How to Create a Powerful Daily Reading Practice

Ep 67 - How to Create a Powerful Daily Reading Practice

Author: Benjamin McEvoy June 4, 2023 Duration: 1:00:18

If you're enjoying the Hardcore Literature Show, there are two ways you can show your support and ensure it continues:

1. Please leave a quick review on iTunes.

2. Join in the fun over at the Hardcore Literature Book Club: patreon.com/hardcoreliterature

Thank you so much. Happy listening and reading!

- Benjamin

Timestamps:

  • 0:00 a powerful morning reading practice
  • 2:00 on staying consistent with your habits
  • 7:00 how I structure readings of scripture
  • 8:00 my meditative reading of Moby Dick
  • 9:00 reading imaginative literature scripturally
  • 10:00 speed-reading vs subvocalisation
  • 11:00 on rereading resonant passages
  • 12:00 theatre of the mind & simple contemplation
  • 13:00 imagination, empathy, applying the senses
  • 14:00 threefold present & eternity in the text
  • 16:00 mindfulness in our everyday lives
  • 17:00 future as string of present moments
  • 19:00 good material for the reading practice
  • 20:00 from Aurelius to Rilke & Tolstoy
  • 22:00 how the practice differs from reading
  • 24:00 how Virginia Woolf read great literature
  • 25:00 why I love reading difficult books
  • 26:00 reading as conversation & act of love
  • 27:00 the ease and joy of the daily practice
  • 28:00 the four steps of my reading practice
  • 32:00 practice walkthrough with Tolstoy
  • 33:00 Tolstoy's Wisdom: Passage One
  • 39:00 Tolstoy's Wisdom: Passage Two
  • 45:00 Tolstoy's Wisdom: Passage Three
  • 48:00 Tolstoy's Wisdom: Passage Four
  • 52:00 Tolstoy's Wisdom: Passage Five
  • 56:00 Tolstoy's Wisdom: Passage Six
  • 59:00 let us know about your practice

For those who find that the greatest books demand more than a casual read, Hardcore Literature with Benjamin McEvoy offers a sustained and rigorous conversation. This isn't about quick summaries or light reviews; it’s an immersive, chapter-by-chapter excavation of the works that have shaped our world. Think of it as a serious, yet deeply passionate, book club where the texts are treated with the intensity they deserve. You’ll find detailed explorations of Shakespeare’s psychological depth, the raw epic power of Homer, and the vast human panoramas within Tolstoy’s novels. Each episode is crafted to be a session of close reading, where poetry is felt for its visceral impact and prose is examined for its transformative potential. Benjamin guides listeners through these complex landscapes, focusing on language, structure, and the timeless questions the authors pose. The aim is to move beyond simply recognising a classic to truly understanding its machinery and its enduring resonance in our own lives. This podcast operates on the belief that literature is a lived experience, a form of hard-won wisdom. It’s for anyone who has ever finished a monumental book and immediately wanted to start it again, knowing there was more to uncover. Within these episodes, the focus remains on the text itself-the words on the page-and the profound, often startling, insights they yield when given proper time and attention. It’s an ongoing education in the art of reading deeply.
Author: Language: en-gb Episodes: 90

Hardcore Literature
Podcast Episodes
Ep 90 - How to Live the Great Books: Life-Changing Reading Habits [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:51:33
If you're enjoying the Hardcore Literature Show, there are two ways you can show your support and ensure it continues: 1. Please leave a quick review on iTunes. 2. Join in the fun over at the Hardcore Literature Book Clu…
Ep 89 - Book Club Schedule for 2026 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:44:11
If you're enjoying the Hardcore Literature Show, there are two ways you can show your support and ensure it continues: 1. Please leave a quick review on iTunes. 2. Join in the fun over at the Hardcore Literature Book Clu…
Ep 87 - Appreciating Shakespeare on My Birthday [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:25:24
If you're enjoying the Hardcore Literature Show, there are two ways you can show your support and ensure it continues: 1. Please leave a quick review on iTunes. 2. Join in the fun over at the Hardcore Literature Book Clu…
Ep 86 - Antony and Cleopatra (Shakespeare) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:21:41
If you're enjoying the Hardcore Literature Show, there are two ways you can show your support and ensure it continues: 1. Please leave a quick review on iTunes. 2. Join in the fun over at the Hardcore Literature Book Clu…
Ep 85 - The Interpretation of Dreams (Freud) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:30:03
If you're enjoying the Hardcore Literature Show, there are two ways you can show your support and ensure it continues: 1. Please leave a quick review on iTunes. 2. Join in the fun over at the Hardcore Literature Book Clu…
Ep 84 - Book Club Schedule for 2025 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:00:39
If you're enjoying the Hardcore Literature Show, there are two ways you can show your support and ensure it continues: 1. Please leave a quick review on iTunes. 2. Join in the fun over at the Hardcore Literature Book Clu…
Ep 83 - Reflecting on Reading the Great Books in 2024 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:37:19
If you're enjoying the Hardcore Literature Show, there are two ways you can show your support and ensure it continues: 1. Please leave a quick review on iTunes. 2. Join in the fun over at the Hardcore Literature Book Clu…
Ep 82 - Thus Spoke Zarathustra (Nietzsche) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:27:48
If you're enjoying the Hardcore Literature Show, there are two ways you can show your support and ensure it continues: 1. Please leave a quick review on iTunes. 2. Join in the fun over at the Hardcore Literature Book Clu…
Ep 81 - The Metamorphosis (Franz Kafka) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:19:19
If you're enjoying the Hardcore Literature Show, there are two ways you can show your support and ensure it continues: 1. Please leave a quick review on iTunes. 2. Join in the fun over at the Hardcore Literature Book Clu…