The Common Reader

Home
Chat
Shakespeare
Essays
Late bloomers
How to Read Literature
C19th Literature
The Growlery
Leaderboard
About
Samuel Johnson, opsimath
Lazy, depressive, productive, late bloomer, Samuel Johnson is an example of the Fitzgerald Rule
 • 
Henry Oliver
6
Samuel Johnson: Reading for Wisdom
One day, I want to be wise. That might sound corny, but I can think of worse ambitions. The writer I return to, again and again, in that pursuit, is my…
 • 
Henry Oliver
Was Samuel Johnson a masochist?
According to Queeney, by Beryl Bainbridge
 • 
Henry Oliver
Samuel Johnson, ghost hunter
All argument is against it; but all belief is for it.
 • 
Henry Oliver
10
Samuel Johnson, opsimath
Lazy, depressive, productive, late bloomer
 • 
Henry Oliver
18
Samuel Johnson and Progress Studies
In the late 1740s, Zachariah Williams was evicted from the Charterhouse, a City of London almshouse for people who require charitable help to live…
 • 
Henry Oliver
11
Where was Samuel Johnson in 1745?
This is what Boswell has to say about a strange gap in the record of Johnson’s life: It is somewhat curious, that his literary career appears to have…
 • 
Henry Oliver
New Year's Resolutions with Samuel Johnson
Every long work is lengthened by a thousand causes.
 • 
Henry Oliver
The unlikely similarity of J.S. Mill and Samuel Johnson.
Human happiness is the result of effort, but is not entirely within our control.
 • 
Henry Oliver
Good wishes from Samuel Johnson
Dear Sir, —This is the time of the year in which all express their good wishes to their friends, and I send mine to you and your family. May your lives…
 • 
Henry Oliver
Britney Spears and the snake
Housekeeping On Wednesday, I am talking with Anna Gat about Cultural Christianity. The next bookclub is on 26th November, 19.00 UK time. We are reading…
 • 
Henry Oliver
1
Do writers have to write every day?
There are many myths about this, with people citing all sorts of people to somehow demonstrate that writers need to write every day. Margaret Atwood…
 • 
Henry Oliver
© 2024 Henry Oliver
Privacy ∙ Terms ∙ Collection notice
Start WritingGet the app
Substack is the home for great culture