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One Poem, One Story, One Essay—For a Week. Join Me?
You're reading this with 7,008other critical thinkers.🙌🏻
The Ray Bradbury Experiment
👋 Hey Reader,
Before we get started, I just want to say thank you for being here. As of today, this little newsletter is reaching more than 7,000 readers each week. Alright—let’s jump into the challenge!
The Ray Bradbury Challenge
Last week, a member of my book club posted what I'm going to call The Ray Bradbury Challenge. Sarah—if you're reading this—thank you. Truly.
In it, Bradbury is speaking to people who want to become writers (strange people like myself 😜). He throws out several challenges, but the one that applies to everyone reading this newsletter is simple:
Every night before bed, read one poem, one short story, and one essay. Do this for 1,000 nights, and you'll fill your head with ideas. (Timestamp: 8:44–11:15)
Committing to a thousand nights feels… ambitious. But a week? I can do a week. So that’s where I’m starting. If it goes well, who knows—maybe I’ll keep going.
A little tip: I’m cautious about massive reading goals—not because I’m afraid to commit, but because when I do, reading starts to feel like work. And I don’t know about you, but I’ve already got enough work in my life. 😂
Once I decided to take on the challenge, I got way too excited and immediately ran to my shelves.
I'll Read From The Following:
Poetry:
Favorite Poems of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
The Complete Poems of Emily Dickinson
Essays:
Arguably by Christopher Hitchens
The Complete Works by Michel de Montaigne
Short Stories:
The Complete Stories by Flannery O’Connor
A Medicine for Melancholy by Ray Bradbury
I’m really looking forward to this. If you want to join me, go to your shelves, pick out your stack, and reply to this email with your selections. I do my best to respond to everyone, and I can’t wait to see what you come up with.
📚 Until next time, read slowly - take notes - apply the ideas.
-Eddy
New This Week:
Book Recommendation
Discipline & Punish by Michel Foucault
Listen to the Podcast
Reading Deeply Takes Practice | EP118
The Community Update
Is our book club right for you? Maybe. Let's find out.
Book Recommendation
Discipline & Punish by Michel Foucault
Michel Foucault was a French philosopher who reshaped the way we think about power, discipline, institutions, and the modern prison system. Discipline & Punish is essential reading for anyone interested in the history of punishment and how these systems have shaped society over time.
I genuinely enjoy Foucault’s writing. This book in particular starts with a shock: the execution of Robert-François Damiens, who attempted to assassinate King Louis XV. On March 2, 1757, he was put to death in a gruesome, highly ritualized public spectacle. Foucault uses this event as a starting point to trace how punishment evolved—from dramatic physical torture meant to “mark” the body to the quieter, more pervasive disciplinary systems that target the mind, the will, and the soul.
If you’re interested in history, philosophy, group behavior, or the evolution of modern institutions, I think you’ll love this book. Just be warned: some of the historical accounts are disturbing—but they’re also crucial to understanding how we arrived at today’s systems of discipline and control.
Reading deeply takes practice. The more you wrestle with complex ideas, the more your mind learns how to sit still with them. In this episode, I talk about what that practice looks like, how it’s shaped my life, and why walking away from the bookstore I hoped to buy reminded me that growth always costs something. I’ll also share a book that offered a little lightness when I needed it most.
If you didn’t know—and I’m sure you do, since I talk about it a lot—I have a book club. I get a lot of questions from readers who are deciding whether they should give it a try. The honest truth? It might not be a fit for you.
Here’s why my book club might not be for you:
You prefer in-person meetings. We meet every Tuesday evening via Zoom, and I record each session for anyone who can’t make it live. If you need an in-person group, this isn’t going to scratch that itch (unless you want to come to Utah every Tuesday, which would be awesome—but unrealistic).
You’re too busy to read 5–20 pages a day. We set the reading pace based on how challenging the book is. The goal is to create a positive, consistent daily habit, even for busy people. We’ll never go above 20 pages a day.
You don’t like the kinds of books we read.Our group is geared toward lifelong learners. We’re not reading the latest spicy romance or the newest Jack Reacher. Those books are great, but this club reads slowly, takes notes, and applies ideas. We’re here to grow, reflect, and improve our lives through what we read.
The cost feels too high.The book club is $3 a week, and I know that adds up. I charge a small fee to cover the costs of running the club, and I understand that every dollar matters. For the first 10 years of my marriage, I would’ve felt guilty spending $12 a month on myself. But I also believe this is an investment in your attention, your growth, and your emotional health. Many members have become close friends, and reading and learning together has genuinely been life-changing.
A few testimonials:
"Discussing great books with intelligent people (readers with varied perspectives, knowledge, education, expertise and life experience) helps me get more out of what I am reading - more enjoyment, more insight, more learning, more value." - Darragh Egan
"I have been in many book clubs, including online, and the way this one is set up suits me to a T. I like the pace of the reading schedule. The books chosen for this reading year are excellent. Best of all are the weekly discussions. Eddy provides a list of notes for that week’s reading and we go over them, and comment on them. The notes are genius and they keep things moving along nicely providing a total deep dive into the book."
- Marilyn Jordan
"I am happy to be in this Read Well community for all the growth experiences I am having. I would never have come to this point in my reading had I not joined this group of readers." - Kay Myatt
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.