Reading, closely
The Journal
Essays on the books in the library, and the ideas inside them.
May 26, 2026
How to read Ulysses: the bare minimum you actually need
Ulysses is the most famous unread classic in English. You do not need to understand all of it. This guide covers the bare minimum you need to enter it and let it work on you.
Who was Charles Dickens and what made him different?
Dickens was the twelve-year-old boy at the blacking factory window, convinced he had been abandoned. He never stopped being that boy -- and every novel he wrote knows it.
What to read if you loved Pride and Prejudice
Finding something that does what Pride and Prejudice does -- romantic comedy with genuine moral depth -- is not easy. These are the books that come closest.
Who is the real monster in Frankenstein -- Victor or the creature?
The real monster in Frankenstein is Victor -- not because the creature is blameless, but because Victor is the one who had a choice at every stage of the catastrophe.
How long does it take to read The Brothers Karamazov?
The Brothers Karamazov takes most adult readers 30 to 50 hours. At three 45-minute sessions per week, it takes 11 to 18 weeks -- but the length is not incidental. It is Dostoevsky's argument.
The real Arthur Conan Doyle behind Sherlock Holmes
Doyle created the world's most celebrated rationalist and spent his later life as one of Britain's most prominent advocates for Spiritualism. The contradiction was real and personal.
Short classics you can finish in a weekend
Some of the most accomplished works in the Western canon are under 150 pages. These are the best classics you can read in a weekend -- roughly two to three hours each.
How to start a book club on Foxing: a complete guide
A book club builds something over time -- a shared reading history and a conversation that accumulates across months. This guide covers how to start one on Foxing.
What does the scarlet letter A mean in Hawthorne's novel?
The scarlet letter A begins as a symbol of shame imposed by a Puritan community and transforms into something its designers did not intend: a mark of authenticity and strength.
How to annotate a novel: a method for serious readers
Annotation is not highlighting. It is a conversation you have with a book, in the margins, that makes you a more conscious reader and gives you something useful to return to.
Who was Leo Tolstoy? The novelist who gave away his fortune
Tolstoy wrote two of the greatest novels ever produced, decided fiction was morally worthless, tried to give away his estate, and died at a railway station running away from home at eighty-two.
The best Jane Austen novels ranked
All six Austen novels are good. The question is which to read in what order. This ranking covers each novel with context and a specific reader recommendation.