The Readist Blog

Essays and notes on reading craft, theory in practice, and updates from The Circle.

• How to Read Theory: 8 Strategies for Understanding Complex Texts

  Aug 25, 2025 · literary-theory reading-as-praxis beginner-guide

  Learn how to start reading theory with these 8 practical tips. From choosing the right tools to understanding historical context, make complex texts accessible.

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• What We Call a String: On Love, Dependency, and the Self

  Jul 04, 2025 · charlotte-bronte jane-eyre philosophy stories theory

  The point isn’t whether Jane Eyre ends happily. It’s whether we know what binds us in the first place.

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• Reflections on the Road to The Road

  Jun 28, 2025 · cormac-mccarthy the-road reading stories fiction

  I'm still compiling my thoughts on this novel. Feels a bit like deep therapy.

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• On Being Memory

  Jun 22, 2025 · journal off-topic memory aging lived stories

  Thinking about memory, consciousness, identity, and stories as the palimpsests of ourselves. But mostly about my grandparents and Bruce Willis.

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• Harlem Duet: Singing past ambivalence in Ellison's 'Invisible Man'

  Jun 19, 2025 · Invisible Man American Literature Ralph Ellison reading music semiotic communication fiction

  Ralph Ellison’s Invisible Man reveals a world where identity is shrouded, and voices are forced into silence. It’s a journey into the hidden language of the unseen.

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• Mornings are for Plotting: An Ode to that Spot on the Ceiling

  Jun 15, 2025 · journal off-topic

  A hello world of sorts, and an explaination that clarifies little

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