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I’m committed to bringing you the best newsletter on reading deeply that I possibly can.
And now—it’s time to make it even better.
So far, I’ve sent out 89 issues 😱 covering everything from Brain Rot to How to Journal Like Ralph Waldo Emerson. It’s been a blast, but I’m ready to level things up. Way up.
Before I do, I need your input. This newsletter exists for you and your reading life, so I want to make sure it’s headed in the right direction.
Here are the two options to vote on:
Option 1: Keep things as they are. No changes to the format—just me, chatting merrily away in your inbox each week.
Option 2: Add two new sections that go deeper. These would appear at the end of the regular (always free!) newsletter and be available to paid subscribers for $5/month. The two sections would include:
✍️ The Annotated Passage - A close reading of a poem, passage from a book, or short essay — complete with my highlights, margin notes, and personal reflections. You’ll see how I read, what questions I ask, and how I draw meaning from the text.
✍️ The Philosopher's Notebook - One philosophical concept, unpacked. I’ll explore an idea I’m studying — from Plato to Camus to Simone Weil — and translate it into clear language, metaphors, and applications for modern life.
SOOOO...you'll always get the same version of the newsletter as a free subscriber, but if you choose to support deeper content for $5 a month, it would unlock those sections.
What are your thoughts?
Should I Include a Premium Section? (Cast your vote and see the results)
Thanks for helping me craft this newsletter. It's my heart and soul, and I'm grateful you're here.
Until next time, read slowly - take notes - apply the ideas.
-Eddy
New This Week:
Book Recommendation
How to Live by Sarah Bakewell
Listen to the Podcast
Learn to Journal Like Ralph Waldo Emerson | EP113
What's New at Edgewater Bookstore
Concrete is going in + Access to 17,000,000 books!!!
Book Recommendation
How to Live by Sarah Bakewell
Yep, I’ve recommended this one before—and now it’s back! And there’s a reason: I’m featuring it for 10% off. I love this book, and I hope more people discover it.
It includes 20 essays on how to live. In essays six and seven, Bakewell takes us into Michel de Montaigne’s world of philosophy—his explorations of Stoicism, Epicureanism, and Skepticism. There are essays on living well, facing death, and much more.
You also get a wonderful glimpse into Montaigne’s life—the guy is fascinating. Most know him as “the guy who invented the essay,” but what made his essays so fun to read? For the first time, someone had the courage to write about the messy, embarrassing parts of being human. Montaigne wrote about his aging body, his love life, and his anxiety—and this was in 16th-century France!
I turn to his work at least once a week to ground myself. Bakewell does an incredible job capturing Montaigne’s best ideas while showing us how to apply them to live a more human, meaningful life.
Learn to Journal Like Ralph Waldo Emerson | EP 113
In this episode, I close out my series on Emerson’s journals by looking at what his essay Self-Reliance can teach us about keeping a thoughtful record of our lives. I also share a book recommendation—Agnes Callard’s Open Socrates: The Case for a Philosophical Life—and give a quick update on my bookstore and the growing Edgewater community.
It’s been a busy week at the bookstore! As you know, I’m in the process of purchasing a commercial space in Bountiful, Utah—soon to be the home of my dream project: Edgewater Bookstore.
If all goes well, I hope to close on the building by the end of the year. We’re just waiting on the usual steps—financing, inspections, and a few final approvals.
Concrete is going in
While we wait, we're putting concrete in to create some more parking spaces to meet city code.
17 Million Books!!!
This week, I’ve also partnered with several major publishing houses to gain access to their full catalogs (17,000,000 books)—without needing to keep every book in stock. 🙌🏻
That means I can now recommend and sell any book directly through EdgewaterBookstore.com without having to hold the inventory. It also means that soon, book club members will be able to get all their books here without low stock or out of stock alerts!
I'm setting up the back end EDI (Electronic Data Interchange) this week, and am building out the curated book lists I'll feature in the online store. I currently have 31 books available, but now I can build out a full list of great books you can pair with your coffee, etc. 🎉
Feel free to respond to this email. Let me know how I can make your experience in our reading community better, or if you have questions, I'm all ears.
As always, read slowly - take notes - apply the ideas.
-Eddy
Got Questions?
Reply to this email with your questions. I respond to each and sometimes make a podcast or video to answer your bookish questions.
Weekly Newsletter on Great Books, Reading Habits, and Literary Appreciation.
Subscribe to my newsletter for tips on close reading, detailed note-taking, and applying bookish wisdom to your life. I talk about fiction and non-fiction, interview literary experts, and host The Read Well Podcast. Subscribe today and build better reading habits.