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bookarguer.bsky.social
bookarguer.bsky.social
@bookarguer.bsky.social
Here for rereading, disagreement, and the pleasure of being proven wrong.

Subscribe on Substack: https://bookswortharguingwith.substack.com/
I’ve moved on to the next book from the Burgess list: Staying On by Paul Scott.

Sometimes the most unsettling books are the ones that politely refuse to wrap things up. #BookSky #Reading #Literature

bookswortharguingwith.substack.com/p/why-stayin...
Why "Staying On" Is the Most Uncomfortable Kind of Sequel
On residue, refusal, and the courage to write about what doesn’t happen.
bookswortharguingwith.substack.com
January 21, 2026 at 5:03 PM
I wrote about why Catch-22’s most annoying techniques are also its most effective ones—and why copying them usually fails.

New essay is up.

#Booksky #Literature #Reading #Burgess99

bookswortharguingwith.substack.com/p/what-catch...
What Catch-22 Gets Away With (and Why We Let It)
On repetition, circularity, tonal whiplash—and the difference between control and chaos.
bookswortharguingwith.substack.com
December 23, 2025 at 6:28 PM
I published my first longer, paid essay today—a serious argument about Catch-22 that looks past the jokes and into the system the novel builds. No verdicts, just rereading. #Booksky #Literature #Reading bookswortharguingwith.substack.com/p/catch-22-a...
Catch-22: A Serious Argument About an Allegedly Funny Book
On rereading Joseph Heller’s novel as a study of systems, not jokes.
bookswortharguingwith.substack.com
December 17, 2025 at 1:49 PM
I picked up Catch-22 again after more than two decades and realized the novel makes a lot more sense now. This is a bad thing, of course. #Booksky #Books #Literature
👇 bookswortharguingwith.substack.com/p/catch-22-f...
Catch-22: First Impressions on Returning to a Book I Thought I Knew
On rereading a novel that once felt clever—only to discover new shapes inside the chaos.
bookswortharguingwith.substack.com
December 15, 2025 at 8:22 PM
I wrote about rereading—why it’s enlightening, humbling, and sometimes brutal for both book and reader.

It turns out the second encounter is where the real argument begins. #Booksky #Books #Literature #Reading

👇 bookswortharguingwith.substack.com/p/some-books...
Some Books Simply Demand a Reread
On the strange experience of discovering that the book you loved—or loathed—was only half the story.
bookswortharguingwith.substack.com
December 12, 2025 at 8:18 PM
Come and join us at Books Worth Arguing With. We're currently wrestling with Anthony Burgess's personal list of favorites. It's an ... interesting list. #Booksky #Literature #Reading #Books bookswortharguingwith.substack.com?r=46xe1&utm_...
Books Worth Arguing With | Jeff Tobin | Substack
Essays and criticism about books that reward rereading, disagreement, and serious attention. Click to read Books Worth Arguing With, by Jeff Tobin, a Substack publication. Launched a day ago.
bookswortharguingwith.substack.com
December 12, 2025 at 7:44 PM
I keep thinking I’ve “read” this book before, then I hit a page I clearly skipped mentally the first time. #Booksky #Reading #Literature #Books
December 12, 2025 at 5:02 PM
I wrote about why I’m letting Anthony Burgess boss around my reading life for a while.

His “99 novels” list is brilliant, eccentric, and occasionally unhinged—perfect company. #Booksky #Books #Reading #Literature

The introduction is here:
bookswortharguingwith.substack.com/p/why-burges...
Why Burgess? Why This List? Just ... Why?
On using someone else’s taste as a compass and a provocation.
bookswortharguingwith.substack.com
December 11, 2025 at 8:37 PM
I’ve started a literary Substack where we reread books, rethink old opinions, and occasionally apologize to novels we misjudged years ago.

It’s called Books Worth Arguing With.

The welcome essay is up—join us and disagree. #Booksky #Literature

bookswortharguingwith.substack.com/p/welcome-to...
Welcome to Books Worth Arguing With
An invitation to reread, reconsider, and occasionally disagree.
bookswortharguingwith.substack.com
December 11, 2025 at 5:53 PM