I started my life long love of a good book with fairy tales and an excellent children’s edition of King Arthur and the Court of the Round Table. I would guess boys would like this a lot. Men such as Chesterton, C.S. Lewis and Einstein have all praised the fairy tales. Also a good children’s version of Greek myths (& Norse myths too) were loved by my granddaughter.
Russians have produced some of the greatest literature ever written and IMO The Brothers Karamovov is the gold standard.
Totally agree.... there is Dostoevsky, and then below him is everyone else. Well, not really, and many would place Tolstoy first; I think you're usually either one or the other. But Russian literature -- Dostoevsky, Tolstoy, Chekhov, Bulgakov, Nabokov, etc -- has a greatness that is completely untouchable in the universe.
I have a theory, probably wrong, that much is due to Orthodoxy, which advocates constant self examination. That translates into a vivid understanding of human psychology. Again, just a theory and probably a dumb one.
There's that, but it is also the case that the Russian nobility were hyper-educated. Nabokov, for example, always had at least three adults dedicated full time to his polyglot education.
Yes, agree - good point. Have you read Laurus by Vodolazkin? Firmly within the greater Russian tradition. Ditto any number of Soviet-era books; I'm thinking of one called "Three Minutes of Silence" about life on a fishing vessel. Relatedly, today is the Feast of All Saints of Russia in the Orthodox Church. Later I'm gonna poke around your substack. Nice meeting you!
One of my fanboy dreams has been to sit down with MattTaibbi and talk about Russian lit. I see a direct line between "Dead Souls" and "Griftopia", between "Sketches from a Hunter's Album" and "The Great Derrangement".
This post is probably as close as I'll get, and I'll happily take it.
I can't really remember my first book, but I do remember reading books like A Wheel in Time, and The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe. I didn't really even understand the religious stuff in them at that point, or any different meaning. I just liked the battles, and traveling across the universe. My young self didn't get it at that point though.
Matt’s last article, "On Writing: The Animal List," and the wonderful conversations I had there have inspired me to write "A Love Letter to Fallen Language" essay. I believe it is worth sharing so forgive me for doing so.
I was educated in Minnesota and I think they steered us away from anything too dense for us to understand, except Shakespeare but they'd have explanations at the ready. Instead, we read lots of great short stories, many of which have been featured on America This Week book club. As a junior in high school, I had a class called Literature of Alienation which was foundational to my development. Then I took Independent Reading, where I could select whatever I wanted to read. This was a total fuck off class and the students were so disruptive, I couldn't concentrate on reading. The teacher said I could go to the library to read during her class, which I did. I completed 3000 pages and several book summaries which should have given me an A but she docked me a grade because "you went to the library all the time". Classic high school scenario. I never would have read half that had I stayed in her undisciplined classroom.
Few in the Liberty Movement appear to be great writers as well as great thinkers, but I consider Frederic Bastiat’s “The Law” a must read for anyone interested in political philosophy and especially anyone interested in the Theory of Liberty.
Bastiat is truly a great thinker (the first to expound upon opportunity cost) and his analysis on law makes it abundantly clear where collective force may be justly applied.
I started my life long love of a good book with fairy tales and an excellent children’s edition of King Arthur and the Court of the Round Table. I would guess boys would like this a lot. Men such as Chesterton, C.S. Lewis and Einstein have all praised the fairy tales. Also a good children’s version of Greek myths (& Norse myths too) were loved by my granddaughter.
Russians have produced some of the greatest literature ever written and IMO The Brothers Karamovov is the gold standard.
Totally agree.... there is Dostoevsky, and then below him is everyone else. Well, not really, and many would place Tolstoy first; I think you're usually either one or the other. But Russian literature -- Dostoevsky, Tolstoy, Chekhov, Bulgakov, Nabokov, etc -- has a greatness that is completely untouchable in the universe.
I put Tolstoy and Chekhov above the rest and Turgenev right there at the top of the second tier along with Dostoevsky.
But yes. Somehow Russian lit stands apart.
I have a theory, probably wrong, that much is due to Orthodoxy, which advocates constant self examination. That translates into a vivid understanding of human psychology. Again, just a theory and probably a dumb one.
There's that, but it is also the case that the Russian nobility were hyper-educated. Nabokov, for example, always had at least three adults dedicated full time to his polyglot education.
Yes, agree - good point. Have you read Laurus by Vodolazkin? Firmly within the greater Russian tradition. Ditto any number of Soviet-era books; I'm thinking of one called "Three Minutes of Silence" about life on a fishing vessel. Relatedly, today is the Feast of All Saints of Russia in the Orthodox Church. Later I'm gonna poke around your substack. Nice meeting you!
Two prime time talk show hosts find themselves without a teleprompter. Eventually they realise there's gotta be an intern under a desk somewhere.
Happy Father’s Day! Enjoy your beautiful family ❤️
One of my fanboy dreams has been to sit down with MattTaibbi and talk about Russian lit. I see a direct line between "Dead Souls" and "Griftopia", between "Sketches from a Hunter's Album" and "The Great Derrangement".
This post is probably as close as I'll get, and I'll happily take it.
I can't really remember my first book, but I do remember reading books like A Wheel in Time, and The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe. I didn't really even understand the religious stuff in them at that point, or any different meaning. I just liked the battles, and traveling across the universe. My young self didn't get it at that point though.
Matt’s last article, "On Writing: The Animal List," and the wonderful conversations I had there have inspired me to write "A Love Letter to Fallen Language" essay. I believe it is worth sharing so forgive me for doing so.
https://trygvewighdal.substack.com/p/fear-and-loathing-of-woke-america
Thanks for the link amidst a great piece
I was educated in Minnesota and I think they steered us away from anything too dense for us to understand, except Shakespeare but they'd have explanations at the ready. Instead, we read lots of great short stories, many of which have been featured on America This Week book club. As a junior in high school, I had a class called Literature of Alienation which was foundational to my development. Then I took Independent Reading, where I could select whatever I wanted to read. This was a total fuck off class and the students were so disruptive, I couldn't concentrate on reading. The teacher said I could go to the library to read during her class, which I did. I completed 3000 pages and several book summaries which should have given me an A but she docked me a grade because "you went to the library all the time". Classic high school scenario. I never would have read half that had I stayed in her undisciplined classroom.
Few in the Liberty Movement appear to be great writers as well as great thinkers, but I consider Frederic Bastiat’s “The Law” a must read for anyone interested in political philosophy and especially anyone interested in the Theory of Liberty.
Bastiat is truly a great thinker (the first to expound upon opportunity cost) and his analysis on law makes it abundantly clear where collective force may be justly applied.
Thank you Matt, as always I learn at your metaphorical knee.
All In, write that novel that you say you can't write and serialize it here, any chance you have audio for this