Whenever people call me an elitist, I am flummoxed. I am from a working class background, I am a product of public education my entire life, and I spend my free time creating a podcast that aims to make great books accessible to all for FREE.

I am called an elitist because I believe there's a difference between literary art and plain fiction. I believe some books are more worthy of your attention than others. Lots of books are like junk food: pleasurable but not nourishing.
My podcast is dedicated to the idea that great books are for everyone and everyone deserves a chance to learn to enjoy them. This is not an elitist enterprise. It does, however, suppose that some books are truly worthy of your attention and that I have some capacity to judge.
My podcast doesn't pretend to be exhaustive. I have limited resources and time and perspective. But the conceit of the podcast is that in listening to it you will deepen your literary and philosophical education. These aren't just books I happen to like and hope you do too.
My podcast highlights books I think you will benefit from reading. Many of them are challenging; one might have to struggle with them before one can enjoy them at all. The podcast aims to help get you to the enjoyment/appreciation stage, to show that the struggle pays off.
I think it's a disservice to tell people they should just read what they enjoy. Some of the best, most impactful books I've ever read are books I didn't immediately enjoy at all. I am so grateful for those willing to challenge me, guide me, and help me appreciate literary art.
My education was full of teachers who from early on gave me good books, books I'd never heard of but they thought I should read. I would have been lost without them.
Humanists do no one any favors by saying "just read what you love." People need to be shown what is worthy of their love, especially now. And at any rate, if people should just read what they love, why do we need literature classes? Book clubs are much, much cheaper.
When highly educated people say read what you love, they are not being sufficiently attentive to how cut off from literary culture most people are now. Walk into a regular bookstore and see what's highlighted. When the educated refuse to guide, the market fills the void.
What is a normal bookstore, the kind most people have access to, promoting? Books by celebrities and pundits, not literature. Growing up, my parents read what normal bookstores/libraries highlighted: chicken soup for the soul, Tom Clancy, etc.
Most people grow up in houses without anything like a personal library and with parents who don't read much. I did. What does it mean to someone like that to just "read what they love"?
To me, the real elitism comes from the read what you love crowd. I think that mantra only really makes sense when spoken from a place of luck or privilege--it is said by well educated folks who were blessed with resources many people lack.
Anyway, don't just read what you love, read great books. If you are looking for suggestions, check out @eudaimoniapod 😃 or just ask me. I will literally talk to anyone about books I think are worth the effort.

More from Life

"I lied about my basic beliefs in order to keep a prestigious job. Now that it will be zero-cost to me, I have a few things to say."


We know that elite institutions like the one Flier was in (partial) charge of rely on irrelevant status markers like private school education, whiteness, legacy, and ability to charm an old white guy at an interview.

Harvard's discriminatory policies are becoming increasingly well known, across the political spectrum (see, e.g., the recent lawsuit on discrimination against East Asian applications.)

It's refreshing to hear a senior administrator admits to personally opposing policies that attempt to remedy these basic flaws. These are flaws that harm his institution's ability to do cutting-edge research and to serve the public.

Harvard is being eclipsed by institutions that have different ideas about how to run a 21st Century institution. Stanford, for one; the UC system; the "public Ivys".
This month I’m turning 22.

To celebrate, here are the 22 best threads I’ve found on Twitter this year.

Mostly about:

•Life/purpose
•Startups
•Entrepreneurs
•Writing
•Clarity of thought

If I see more interesting threads, I will add to this list.

Enjoy!

1. @ryanstephens: Need tips on growing a newsletter, mastering Twitter, writing online?

@ryanstephens breaks down a podcast discussion between @davidperell and @nathanbarry

Here’s what you can


2. @jackbutcher: How to separate your time from your income

•Explore the market
•Build equity
•Build products and services
•Scale your reputation
•Break the matrix

A fantastic thread complete with helpful


3. @AlexAndBooks_: I love to read.

Here is a great thread on 10 fantastic books.

Includes a short summary of each.

Don’t just take it from me, this is straight from the legend: @AlexAndBooks_


4. @m_franceschetti My biggest revelation in 2020 was the importance of sleep.

Here, @m_franceschetti founder of @eightsleep gives us his eight sleep hacks to improve sleep for 2021.

Do these and your productivity will

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