The History of Literature Podcast
@holpod.bsky.social
A podcast for lovers of literature since 2015. Find us at historyofliterature.com.
"I know also," said Candide, "that we must cultivate our garden."
– Voltaire #botd
#books #booksky #literature #satire
– Voltaire #botd
#books #booksky #literature #satire
November 21, 2025 at 1:06 PM
"I know also," said Candide, "that we must cultivate our garden."
– Voltaire #botd
#books #booksky #literature #satire
– Voltaire #botd
#books #booksky #literature #satire
“I don't want to write for adults. I want to write for readers who can perform miracles. Only children perform miracles when they read.”
― Astrid Lindgren #botd
#books #childrensbook
― Astrid Lindgren #botd
#books #childrensbook
November 14, 2025 at 12:33 PM
“I don't want to write for adults. I want to write for readers who can perform miracles. Only children perform miracles when they read.”
― Astrid Lindgren #botd
#books #childrensbook
― Astrid Lindgren #botd
#books #childrensbook
"Much the same inducements and alarms cast the die for any tempted and trembling sinner; and it fell out with me, as it falls with so vast a majority of my fellows, that I chose the better part and was found wanting in the strength to keep to it."
– Robert Louis Stevenson #botd #books #literature
– Robert Louis Stevenson #botd #books #literature
November 13, 2025 at 1:40 PM
"Much the same inducements and alarms cast the die for any tempted and trembling sinner; and it fell out with me, as it falls with so vast a majority of my fellows, that I chose the better part and was found wanting in the strength to keep to it."
– Robert Louis Stevenson #botd #books #literature
– Robert Louis Stevenson #botd #books #literature
"What I enjoy in a narrative is not directly its content or even its structure, but rather the abrasions I impose upon the fine surface: I read on, I skip, I look up, I dip in again."
–Roland Barthes #botd
#books #literature #writing #reading
–Roland Barthes #botd
#books #literature #writing #reading
November 12, 2025 at 2:13 PM
"What I enjoy in a narrative is not directly its content or even its structure, but rather the abrasions I impose upon the fine surface: I read on, I skip, I look up, I dip in again."
–Roland Barthes #botd
#books #literature #writing #reading
–Roland Barthes #botd
#books #literature #writing #reading
"A spirited courage is required to triumph over the impediments that the indolence of nature as well as the cowardice of the heart oppose to our instruction." – Friedrich Schiller #botd
#books #literature #history #philosophy
#books #literature #history #philosophy
November 10, 2025 at 3:32 PM
"A spirited courage is required to triumph over the impediments that the indolence of nature as well as the cowardice of the heart oppose to our instruction." – Friedrich Schiller #botd
#books #literature #history #philosophy
#books #literature #history #philosophy
"Below, hills and wooded mountain slopes shut the region in with white walls, constantly narrower and narrower, nearer and nearer, always more contracting."
– Jonas Lie, The Family at Gilje
#botd #books #norwegianliterature
– Jonas Lie, The Family at Gilje
#botd #books #norwegianliterature
November 6, 2025 at 2:29 PM
"Below, hills and wooded mountain slopes shut the region in with white walls, constantly narrower and narrower, nearer and nearer, always more contracting."
– Jonas Lie, The Family at Gilje
#botd #books #norwegianliterature
– Jonas Lie, The Family at Gilje
#botd #books #norwegianliterature
"When shrieked
The bleak November winds, and smote the woods,
And the brown fields were herbless, and the shades,
That met above the merry rivulet,
Were spoiled, I sought, I loved them still; they seemed
Like old companions in adversity."
– William Cullen Bryant, "A Winter Piece" #botd #poetry
The bleak November winds, and smote the woods,
And the brown fields were herbless, and the shades,
That met above the merry rivulet,
Were spoiled, I sought, I loved them still; they seemed
Like old companions in adversity."
– William Cullen Bryant, "A Winter Piece" #botd #poetry
November 4, 2025 at 1:06 PM
"The wind is rising! . . . We must try to live!
The huge air opens and shuts my book: the wave
Dares to explode out of the rocks in reeking
Spray. Fly away, my sun-bewildered pages!
Break, waves!"
– Paul Valéry, "The Graveyard by the Sea" #botd
#poetry #books #literature
The huge air opens and shuts my book: the wave
Dares to explode out of the rocks in reeking
Spray. Fly away, my sun-bewildered pages!
Break, waves!"
– Paul Valéry, "The Graveyard by the Sea" #botd
#poetry #books #literature
October 30, 2025 at 1:26 PM
"The wind is rising! . . . We must try to live!
The huge air opens and shuts my book: the wave
Dares to explode out of the rocks in reeking
Spray. Fly away, my sun-bewildered pages!
Break, waves!"
– Paul Valéry, "The Graveyard by the Sea" #botd
#poetry #books #literature
The huge air opens and shuts my book: the wave
Dares to explode out of the rocks in reeking
Spray. Fly away, my sun-bewildered pages!
Break, waves!"
– Paul Valéry, "The Graveyard by the Sea" #botd
#poetry #books #literature
"It matters not how a man dies, but how he lives. The act of dying is not of importance, it lasts so short a time."
– James Boswell
#botd #books #booksky #writing #biography
– James Boswell
#botd #books #booksky #writing #biography
October 29, 2025 at 2:08 PM
"It matters not how a man dies, but how he lives. The act of dying is not of importance, it lasts so short a time."
– James Boswell
#botd #books #booksky #writing #biography
– James Boswell
#botd #books #booksky #writing #biography
"We are faithful
only to the imagination. What the
imagination
seizes
as beauty must be truth. What holds you
to what you see of me is
that grasp alone."
– Denise Levertov, "Everything that Acts is Actual" #botd
#poetry #literature #books
only to the imagination. What the
imagination
seizes
as beauty must be truth. What holds you
to what you see of me is
that grasp alone."
– Denise Levertov, "Everything that Acts is Actual" #botd
#poetry #literature #books
October 24, 2025 at 11:52 AM
"We are faithful
only to the imagination. What the
imagination
seizes
as beauty must be truth. What holds you
to what you see of me is
that grasp alone."
– Denise Levertov, "Everything that Acts is Actual" #botd
#poetry #literature #books
only to the imagination. What the
imagination
seizes
as beauty must be truth. What holds you
to what you see of me is
that grasp alone."
– Denise Levertov, "Everything that Acts is Actual" #botd
#poetry #literature #books
In today's Episode 743, @jackewilson.bsky.social discusses Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment, which lands at #11 on his list of the Greatest Books of All Time. #books #greatbooks #dostoeyvsky
October 23, 2025 at 1:06 PM
In today's Episode 743, @jackewilson.bsky.social discusses Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment, which lands at #11 on his list of the Greatest Books of All Time. #books #greatbooks #dostoeyvsky
“Half of what we do, or try to be, amounts to blueprints for the future that we try to imagine.” – Doris Lessing #botd
#books #literature #novels
#books #literature #novels
October 22, 2025 at 12:14 PM
“Half of what we do, or try to be, amounts to blueprints for the future that we try to imagine.” – Doris Lessing #botd
#books #literature #novels
#books #literature #novels
“It is good to have an end to journey toward; but it is the journey that matters, in the end.” – Ursula K. Le Guin #botd
#books #booksofearthsea #novels
#books #booksofearthsea #novels
October 21, 2025 at 5:38 PM
“It is good to have an end to journey toward; but it is the journey that matters, in the end.” – Ursula K. Le Guin #botd
#books #booksofearthsea #novels
#books #booksofearthsea #novels
"For the time being, dreams left him cold, no matter how humble they were." – Nathanael West
#botd #books #literature
#botd #books #literature
October 17, 2025 at 5:18 PM
"For the time being, dreams left him cold, no matter how humble they were." – Nathanael West
#botd #books #literature
#botd #books #literature
"Why am I trying to become what I don’t want to be? What am I doing in an office, making a contemptuous, begging fool of myself, when all I want is out there, waiting for me the minute I say I know who I am!" – Arthur Miller, Death of a Salesman
#botd #books #plays #writing #literature
#botd #books #plays #writing #literature
October 17, 2025 at 11:34 AM
"Why am I trying to become what I don’t want to be? What am I doing in an office, making a contemptuous, begging fool of myself, when all I want is out there, waiting for me the minute I say I know who I am!" – Arthur Miller, Death of a Salesman
#botd #books #plays #writing #literature
#botd #books #plays #writing #literature
“The truth is rarely pure and never simple.”
― Oscar Wilde, The Importance of Being Earnest
#botd #books #literature #plays #oscarwilde
― Oscar Wilde, The Importance of Being Earnest
#botd #books #literature #plays #oscarwilde
October 16, 2025 at 9:33 PM
“The truth is rarely pure and never simple.”
― Oscar Wilde, The Importance of Being Earnest
#botd #books #literature #plays #oscarwilde
― Oscar Wilde, The Importance of Being Earnest
#botd #books #literature #plays #oscarwilde
“There is no surer foundation for a beautiful friendship than a mutual taste in literature.” – P.G. Wodehouse #botd
#books #booksky #literature #friendship
#books #booksky #literature #friendship
October 15, 2025 at 5:55 PM
“There is no surer foundation for a beautiful friendship than a mutual taste in literature.” – P.G. Wodehouse #botd
#books #booksky #literature #friendship
#books #booksky #literature #friendship
"You are about to begin reading Italo Calvino's new novel, If on a winter's night a traveler. Relax. Concentrate. Dispel every other thought. Let the world around you fade." – Italo Calvino
#botd #literature #books #booksky
#botd #literature #books #booksky
October 15, 2025 at 5:48 PM
"You are about to begin reading Italo Calvino's new novel, If on a winter's night a traveler. Relax. Concentrate. Dispel every other thought. Let the world around you fade." – Italo Calvino
#botd #literature #books #booksky
#botd #literature #books #booksky
"Rosemary Fell was not exactly beautiful. No, you couldn’t have called her beautiful. Pretty? Well, if you took her to pieces.... But why be so cruel as to take anyone to pieces?"
– Katherine Mansfield, "A Cup of Tea"
#botd #books #booksky #literature
– Katherine Mansfield, "A Cup of Tea"
#botd #books #booksky #literature
October 14, 2025 at 1:10 PM
"Rosemary Fell was not exactly beautiful. No, you couldn’t have called her beautiful. Pretty? Well, if you took her to pieces.... But why be so cruel as to take anyone to pieces?"
– Katherine Mansfield, "A Cup of Tea"
#botd #books #booksky #literature
– Katherine Mansfield, "A Cup of Tea"
#botd #books #booksky #literature
"somewhere i have never traveled,gladly beyond
any experience,your eyes have their silence:
in your most frail gesture are things which enclose me,
or which i cannot touch because they are too near"
– e.e. cummings
#botd #poetry #literature
any experience,your eyes have their silence:
in your most frail gesture are things which enclose me,
or which i cannot touch because they are too near"
– e.e. cummings
#botd #poetry #literature
October 14, 2025 at 11:50 AM
"somewhere i have never traveled,gladly beyond
any experience,your eyes have their silence:
in your most frail gesture are things which enclose me,
or which i cannot touch because they are too near"
– e.e. cummings
#botd #poetry #literature
any experience,your eyes have their silence:
in your most frail gesture are things which enclose me,
or which i cannot touch because they are too near"
– e.e. cummings
#botd #poetry #literature
"I believe that despite the enormous odds which exist, unflinching, unswerving, fierce intellectual determination, as citizens, to define the real truth of our lives and our societies is a crucial obligation which devolves upon us all. It is in fact mandatory." – Harold Pinter
#botd #literature
#botd #literature
October 10, 2025 at 12:14 PM
"I believe that despite the enormous odds which exist, unflinching, unswerving, fierce intellectual determination, as citizens, to define the real truth of our lives and our societies is a crucial obligation which devolves upon us all. It is in fact mandatory." – Harold Pinter
#botd #literature
#botd #literature
"There was great age in them. They felt suddenly the distance they had come and the amount they had lived. They had a moment of cohesion, a moment of tragic affection and union, which drew them together like small jets of flame against all the senseless nihilism of life.” – #thomaswolfe #botd #books
October 3, 2025 at 12:33 PM
"There was great age in them. They felt suddenly the distance they had come and the amount they had lived. They had a moment of cohesion, a moment of tragic affection and union, which drew them together like small jets of flame against all the senseless nihilism of life.” – #thomaswolfe #botd #books
