hardcoreliterature

Oedipus Rex by Sophocles: Ancient Greek Tragedy Lecture

Lonesome Dove Lecture: The Valley of Death (Chapters 26-74)

"It's all right, though," Augustus said. "It's mostly bones we're riding over, anyway. I'm told that over in the Old Country you can't dig six feet without uncovering skulls and leg bones and such. People have been living there since the beginning, and their bones have kinda filled up...

2026-02-01 22:30:40 +0000 UTC View Post

The Oresteia of Aeschylus: Ancient Greek Tragedy Lecture

'We must suffer into truth. Better to die on your feet, than live on your knees.'

Today we are appreciating the sublime tragic saga that is the Oresteia of Aeschylus.

We're discussing vengeance vs justice, the curse of the House of Atreus, why Ancient...

Book Club Discussion for January 2026

Dear Book Club Readers ---

You've had such a phenomenal start to your reading year and it would be so wonderful to hear about the books you've been enjoying this month.

Your comments in the book club continue to reveal your deep love of great literature, and we would love to hear abou...

Lonesome Dove Lecture: The Waning of the West (Chapters 1-25)

‘It was an odd thing, but true, that the death of an enemy could you affect you as much, almost as much, as the death of a friend.’

Today we are discussing the first part of Larry McMurtry's sweeping saga. We are meeting his characters together, wrangling with p...

How to Read Ancient Greek Tragedy (Introductory Lecture)

'Pride breeds the tyrant, violent pride, gorging, crammed to bursting with all that is overripe and rich with ruin — clawing up to the heights, headlong pride crashes down the abyss — sheer doom!'

It’s time to begin our appreciation of the tragic masterpieces ...

How to Read Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry (Introductory Lecture)

'When Augustus came out on the porch the blue pigs were eating a rattlesnake — not a very big one.'

It’s time to begin our journey through the sweeping saga that is Larry McMurtry's Lonesome Dove.

Our reading of this masterpiece will teach us abou...

Wishing You a Happy New Year for 2026

Dear Book Club Members ---

I just wanted to take a moment to wish you a very Happy New Year and say a deep thank you from the bottom of my heart for making the year just gone such a special reading year. I hope you're as excited as I am for 2026-01-01 22:32:57 +0000 UTC View Post

Bleak House Lecture: Mistress of Bleak House (Vol. III, Ch. XLVI-LXVII)

'Full seven happy years I have been the mistress of Bleak House. The few words that I have to add to what I have written, are soon penned; then I, and the unknown friend to whom I write, will part for ever.'

Dear Book Club Readers -- I hope you've been enjoying the ...

'A Christmas Carol' by Charles Dickens (Festive Reflections)

Dear Book Club Readers ---

Here's wishing a very Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to you!

I love rereading A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens every year. It has become a warm reading tradition that always reminds me of what's important in life and gets me into the festive...

Book Club Discussion for December 2025

Dear Book Club Readers ---

You've had such a phenomenal reading year and you should be intensely proud of your reading accomplishments. It would be so wonderful to hear about the books you've been enjoying during this festive season.

Your comments in the book club continue to reveal y...

Bleak House Lecture: Spontaneous Combustion (Vol. II, Ch. XXIII-XLV)

'The Lord Chancellor of that Court, true to his title in his last act, has died the death of all Lord Chancellors in all Courts, and of all authorities in all places under all names soever, where false pretences are made, and where injustice is done.'

Welcome back t...

Bleak House Lecture: The Curse of Jarndyce & Jarndyce (Vol. I, Ch. I-XXII)

'London. Michaelmas term lately over, and the Lord Chancellor sitting in Lincoln’s Inn Hall. Implacable November weather. As much mud in the streets as if the waters had but newly retired from the face of the earth...'

Today we're discussing the captivating beginn...

Revealing the Book Club Schedule for 2026

Dear Book Club Readers ---

Thank you all so much for making the book club such a special community.

Your love of great literature is deeply inspiring, and I am endlessly grateful for all of you.

Let's talk about the book club schedule for the new year.

The video above brea...

Jane Austen's Emma: Faultless in Spite of All Her Faults (Lecture on Ch. 27-55)

“I cannot make speeches, Emma. If I loved you less, I might be able to talk about it more. But you know what I am.—You hear nothing but truth from me."

Today we are appreciating the close of Emma together. The close of this masterpiece, but certainly no...

Jane Austen's Emma: In the Heart of Highbury (Lecture on Ch. 1-26)

'To be sure — our discordancies must always arise from my being in the wrong.'

Today we are indulging in a little bit of Regency gossip as we settle into the world of Highbury in Jane Austen's Emma.

We're discussing irony, subtext, misperce...

How to Read Jane Austen's Emma (Introductory Lecture)

'Emma Woodhouse, handsome, clever, and rich, with a comfortable home and happy disposition, seemed to unite some of the best blessings of existence; and had lived nearly twenty-one years in the world with very little to distress or vex her.'

It’s time to spend som...

'Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde' by Robert Louis Stevenson - Halloween Lecture

'All human beings, as we meet them, are commingled out of good and evil. Man is not truly one, but truly two.'

Tonight we’re talking about late Victorian gothic literature, mad scientists, terror vs horror, the uncanny, nocturnal labyrinths, the unconscio...

Dickens Seasonal Read Revealed

The time has arrived.

Excitement is in the air.

We are finally revealing the Secret Seasonal Dickens, which will be cosying up with as we move into winter.

Let us know at what point in the video above you guessed the novel.

We're discussing the ration...

Daphne du Maurier's Rebecca: The Road to Manderley (Lecture on Ch. XX-XXVII)

'The road to Manderley lay ahead. There was no moon. The sky above our heads was inky black. But the sky on the horizon was not dark at all. It was shot with crimson, like a splash of blood. And the ashes blew towards us with the salt wind from the sea.’

Welcome b...

Daphne du Maurier's Rebecca: Secrets of the Past (Lecture on Ch. XI-XIX)

'Do you think she can see us, talking to one another now? Do you think the dead come back and watch the living?’

We return again to Manderley, where the dark secrets of the past continue to unfold. Let's get to the bottom of this haunting mystery together as we co...

Book Club Discussion for October 2025

Dear Book Club Readers ---

You've been having such an incredible reading year, and should be proud of your reading accomplishments. It would be so wonderful to hear about the books you're enjoying at the moment.

Your comments in in the book club continue to reveal your deep love of gr...

Daphne du Maurier's Rebecca: Dreaming of Manderley (Lecture on Ch. I-X)

'There was Manderley, our Manderley, secretive and silent as it had always been. Time could not wreck the perfect symmetry of those walls.'

Welcome to back Manderley, and the haunting world of Daphne du Maurier's Rebecca. Let us walk the halls together in s...

Ranking the Complete Works of Shakespeare from Worst to Best

Dear Book Club Readers,

Today I'm very excited to run through my personal ranking of the complete works of Shakespeare with you. This is a reverse ranking, from worst to best, with each play given a grading and an IMDB-style numerical rating.

I hope the above video provides an enjoya...

Special Announcement: Meet Baby McEvoy

Dear Book Club Readers,

I hope you are keeping well and your reading is going well. You may have already guessed, but I can now officially confirm that we have welcomed our newest member of the book club team into the world.

Evelyn Rose McEvoy, or Evie for short, is healthy and was bo...

How to Read Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier (Introductory Lecture)

'Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again.'

It’s time to begin our journey into the heart of Daphne du Maurier's dark gothic bestseller: Rebecca.

Our reading will teach us about possessive jealousy, hauntings of the past, the evolution of gothi...

The Odyssey of Homer: Ithaca Restored (Lecture on Books XVII-XXIV)

'Like a musician stretching a string over a new peg on his lyre, Odysseus strung the great bow. Lifting it up, he plucked the string and it sang beautifully under his touch with a note like a swallow's. '

Welcome back to the world of Ancient Greece. Our epic reaches...

The Odyssey of Homer: Returning Home (Lecture on Books IX-XVI)

'Don’t try to sell me on death, Odysseus. I’d rather be a hired hand back up on earth, slaving away for some poor dirt farmer, than lord it over all these withered dead.'

Welcome back to the world of Ancient Greece. Our singer of tales for this next portion of t...

The Odyssey of Homer: Speak, Memory (Lecture on Books I-VIII)

'Speak, Memory — of the cunning hero, the wanderer, blown off course time and again after he plundered Troy's sacred heights.'

Welcome back to the world of Ancient Greece. Let us gather around the singer of tales and listen to the old story told anew: the story of...

The Three Musketeers: Lieutenant of the King's Musketeers (Lecture on Ch. XLII-LXVII)

"So I'll have no more friends," said d'Artagnan. "Alas! nothing but bitter memories..." And he let his head drop into his hands, whilst two tears rolled down his cheeks. "You are young," replied Athos, "and your bitter memories have time to turn into sweet one."

Tod...