A few books.
Many ways of seeing.
The book ends. The thinking keeps going.
Follow a reading trail through the published notes.
Anna Karenina
A novel. A long conversation.
Levin’s search for meaning, the cost of Anna’s choices, and the ordinary work of building a life. Seven essays follow the reading from its beginning to the final pages.
These notes discuss the story, including its ending.
- 01
What I Took from Part One of Anna Karenina
- 02
What I Took from Part Two of Anna Karenina
- 03
What I Took from Part Three of Anna Karenina
- 04
What I Took from Part Four of Anna Karenina
- 05
What I Took from Part Five of Anna Karenina
- 06
What I Took from Part Six of Anna Karenina
- 07
Finishing Anna Karenina and What It Stayed With Me
My Struggle: Book One
The weight of the ordinary.
Memory, fatherhood, and the small routines that make up a life. A reflection on a book that gives the everyday its full attention.
These notes discuss the story, including its ending.
The Great Gatsby
The past, just out of reach.
Returning to Gatsby in its centennial year, with a different perspective on ambition, loneliness, and the stories we tell ourselves.
These notes discuss the story, including its ending.
The Old Man and the Sea
Showing up. Doing the work.
A Saturday morning rereading becomes a reflection on endurance, quiet pride, and the changing meaning of success.
These notes discuss the story, including its ending.
Cover images from the public Goodreads reading shelf. These selections accompany published essays; they aren’t a current-reading list.