I have a great teaching to share that will hopefully make your reading a bit more rewarding and insightful.
Now to explain this I will share an anecdote.
A few years back I was at an event in good old Netherlands and there were many supporters of mine there as well.
One supporter in particular, shout out to you if you see this, a connoisseur of whiskey.
We started talking about whiskey and he had brought some fine whiskey with him.
Now as you all know I'm no fan of alcohol, I never get drunk or anything like that.
Now I didn't want to pass up an opportunity to gain some new insights so I took a few sips and he guided me through the sensation and basically what he told me and this is what I will tell you to do when it comes to books.
So he told me to focus on certain flavors and to focus on certain sensations when I took the sips and it made sense.
It made sense in a completely different way.
I had tasted whiskey before many years prior to this and I thought it tasted absolutely horrendous but tasting it again with a different mindset it made a great difference.
Now you can say the same thing about coffee for example.
You can have this gourmet coffee right here and it says on the packaging characteristics chocolate red berries and citrus then if you're a connoisseur then you can try to find those flavors within the coffee.
Same thing if you're a connoisseur of wine.
You try to find certain flavors within the wine.
This can be applied to anything including books.
Which brings me into my main point of this video.
I read this book a while back Crime and Punishment by Dostoevsky.
A true classic.
Now if you read this with the intention of just wanting to be able to say that I have read this book you will fall asleep 10 pages in and I can't blame you in the list.
It's not a particularly good or interesting book taken outside of its context.
However, here is the main point.
If you know the context of it then it becomes supremely interesting.
So what is this you might ask?
It's a novel.
Yes, but it's more importantly it's a discussion on morality and it's a historical document as it were from Russia during the 19th century.
So written a few decades prior to the Bolshevik Revolution, so one of the most horrific events in world history.
That is what makes it interesting.
So if you approach this as a connoisseur, you know that why am I reading this?
Yes, I'm reading this because I want to get a glimpse at the discussions on morality in Russian society leading up to the Bolshevik Revolution.
That is why this book is interesting.
If you don't read it with that in mind, it will not be a good book.
This is not an interesting book in terms of characters or plot or whatever.
The interesting part is this social commentary.
Now I read this and yeah, it was quite hard to get through, not particularly exciting as such, but I got a bit of a taste for the works of Dostoevsky, so I decided to read Notes from Underground.
Now this was much more enjoyable because I knew how to approach the book in a different way.
So I had learned how to read Dostoevsky.
I knew what to look out for in the book.
I know what sort of things I could expect.
So now I actively looked for discussions on morality.
And this is a good book to start with, by the way, especially if you want a good discussion on the, yes, it says the, it doesn't say, but the underground man, the lower that I've talked about before, the mentality.
So it can be a good way to put yourself into the mind of such a person.
And whatever you do, don't read it just so that you can say that you've read it, because then you won't understand anything and you will only waste time.
Now, of course, there are many books.
If you are just starting out, I suppose all of you are interested in Roman history.
I can't imagine I have any subscribers that are not, so I can recommend Harry Sidebottom.
He is a historian.
I've mentioned him before.
I think he writes really well, really insightful.
So this is set in the waning years of the Roman Empire, so not the golden years anymore.
So basically, this is historical fiction, which is good if you want something that is more easily digestible.
You can read in the sun whilst relaxing.
So keep that in mind.
Why do you read something?
Yes, to gain a certain insight into something.
Don't just read to be able to say that you read, because that's a waste of time.
So if you aren't interested in a discussion on morality in the Russian society during the 19th century, don't read this.
Don't read it.
If you are interested in Russian history, the social developments that led up to the Bolshevik Revolution, then you can read it.
Otherwise, no.
Now, what is absolutely mandatory to read?
Of course, I've said it before.
Absolutely aesthetic.
So this, as it says, it's a handbook.
This is how you should approach it.
You should approach it in the sense that you try to find some teachings you can implement successfully in your life.
Find habits that you can implement in your life.
That is the purpose of it.
And of course, some social insights as well.
So, point being, know why you are reading a certain book.
If you have that understanding, I'm reading this because of X, Y, Z, whatever, then you know what to look for.
If you don't know what to look for, you will just skim through it and you won't get any appreciation for the material.
So before you begin to read, say to yourself, okay, why am I reading this?
Then you start reading, then you know what to look for.
Just as a connoisseur of whiskey or coffee or wine, he knows beforehand sort of what to look for and how to enjoy it.
Same thing with these books.
So anyway, that's how you should approach at least Dostoevsky.
In my humble opinion, there are those who are much more well-read than I am who have better takes on Dostoevsky.
This is just my impression.
I've read two of his books, so by no means an expert, but if you read, that's how I would advise you to approach the material at least.
So anyway, thank you for watching.
Looking absolutely juicy today, if I may be so bold.
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