Lucy, you're amazing, and I don't know how to thank you enough! I will strive to continue offering value to you in my videos as much as I can. I do think about that (teaching at a college level) and have for a while. I've known some professors closely, and some of their experiences-especially in regards to administrative constraints and other limits-have left me unsure if it would be a fit for me. At least for now. I've discovered for myself a nice life balance, somehow, amidst all the current work I have. I don't want to jostle that too much just yet. This channel is an experiment in reaching more people than I otherwise would. Over time, if I'm someday able to devote more time to the channel, it would be nice to expand the care I am able to place into my videos. Unfortunately, I get about two hours to prep and film each vid, which as you can imagine limits a lot of what can be done. The number of people I could potentially connect with through a channel like this feels to me a dream: a way of teaching and learning reciprocally, a way of sharing, too. This is also me kind of dreaming too much: for now, I will continue sharing my thoughts and advice, and as the channel grows maybe I can move toward bigger projects. I am so grateful you appreciate what I am doing. That humbles and inspires me. Thank you so much!

I'm glad to help inspire you! Be forgiving of yourself; don't require perfection. If you read just a bit more than before, that's enough. Then read a bit, just a bit, more than that, and that's enough. Over time the habit builds and the distractions diminish (losing their potency). Good luck, my friend!

100%. Having a range of genres to pick from makes every moment of reading precisely what you want: an escape, a lesson, a dream, a reflection, whatever beckons in those quiet pages. I'm glad you discovered that for yourself, too. We're not assigned these books; they are our pleasure.

You're a very-much-appreciated, dedicated viewer. Thank you. 🙏

I actually consider myself a slow reader. What benefits me is how consistent I am. Over time that day-to-day habit adds up.

Fantastic! This is very much appreciated.

Glad you think so! Thank you!

You can see how fresh-to-mind The Waves was for me when I left that comment. I read 100 Years of Solitude in high school-I probably should reread it. High school me found much of the prose (and especially the names) confusing. But I could also sense brilliance woven throughout the text. I'm guessing this is the first of his works for you? Can't wait to hear your thoughts! I hope you discuss Stoicism on your channel at some point! Maybe how it affects your life or outlook in particular. You're so disciplined in your work ethic, I can see how a stoic perspective can be helpful to you.

@@ToReadersItMayConcern That's a challenging book to read in highschool! I'm afraid I am not enjoying it at all. I must be missing something - I feel pretty sad about it. I am halfway, so hope I will have changed my mind by the time I reach the end.

@@ProseAndPetticoats I remember being unable to emotionally connect with the characters because I found the overall structure too convoluted, which was disappointing. I love complex works, but that complexity has to serve a purpose, and I didn't find that purpose in my first readthrough. I hope something clicks for you. So many love that book. It seems there has to be something worthwhile to grasp.

That's called A Dance to the Music of Time by Anthony Powell. I discuss it briefly in my BookTube Greats: Ten Books I Only Know about from Steve Donoghue video.

@@ToReadersItMayConcern thanks very much, will check that out!

Your words are so immensely kind and grant me a wealth of motivation. Perhaps that's my bias, too, in especially valuing the encouragement of a likeminded teacher-reader-thinker. Your plans for the channel sound fantastic (and like precisely the sort of material I would watch). Again, let me know when you start so I can share it! Everything you just described sounds easiest if done by dual-recording both yourself and the screen of a tablet. Then in a video editor you can lock them side-by-side when necessary. I haven't tried something like that yet, but there's a KZfaqr who I used to watch that I think did this, and he made it look simple [EDIT: his channel is @ThomasLewandowski; it seems he sometimes shows his screen directly but often just films an actual paper on his desk]. He seems like an exceedingly nice guy, so he'll probably help you do exactly what he does if you reach out to him. FYI, I record myself with my smartphone (Samsung S23 Ultra) sitting on a $20 used tripod (the mic is just from the smartphone as well). You don't need to have a fancy setup. What you describe might work best with a decent 1080p webcam on a newish laptop. Actually, instead of a tablet to write on, you could probably just get a laptop with a touch screen and scroll as you record video with the webcam on. Maybe there's a way to have the webcam footage of yourself appear in the corner of the screen as you scroll using the touch screen. The technical side of things has been a constant learning journey for me. If you look at the first video I put up, I didn't even edit anything. Over time I've steadily been accumulating "tricks," one trick per video. I'm only thirty-five, but I find the process of learning how to edit tedious. I've been using Adobe Premiere Pro, which is way too expensive and way too advanced for what I need. I'm only sticking with it since I paid for a year already. Each time I think of something I want to do in a video, I've been searching up that specific thing on KZfaq and watching whatever tutorial pops up. A slow process. That's why I only try one new thing per video. That moment in this vid when I had text fade in, that was using the Film Dissolve effect in Adobe Premiere Pro pasted onto the text. I haven't figured out how to make a longer block of text scroll properly yet (maybe in the next couple videos). I hear that there is a free video editing program that can do most everything Adobe Premiere Pro does. It's called DaVinci Resolve. If you have a Mac, though, (which I don't) I think it comes with video editing software. I do have one actual solid piece of advice, though: here is how I edit my audio to make it sound clearer and without too much background noise (essential!). These are the settings when recording with the free program Audacity (though there should be equivalent settings for almost any recording software, and I found similar settings when editing the audio in Adobe Premiere Pro): 1. Noise Removal -- Stay silent for about 10 seconds at the beginning or end of your recording session so that silence is included in the recording. -- After recording, highlight the 10 seconds of silence. -- Select at top of Audacity window: Effect -> Noise Reduction -> Get Noise Profile. -- Now double-click on the main audio track to highlight the entire recording. -- Select Effect -> Noise Reduction -> OK [this causes the noise reduction to apply to the whole recording based on the noise profile you created, reducing background noise] [All the following steps are with the whole recording highlighted.] 2. Compressor -- Select Effect -> Compressor [make sure Threshold is set to -15 or -18] -> OK 3. Equalizer -- Select Filter Curve EQ -> Manage -> Factory Presets -> Bass Boost -> OK -- Select Filter Curve EQ -> Manage -> Factory Presets -> Treble Boost -> OK 4. Hard Limiter -- Select Effect -> Limiter -> Type: Hard Limit -> Limit to (dB): -2 or -3 -> OK 5. Normalize -- Effect -> Normalize -> Normalize Peak Amplitude to -2 or -3 [could try -1 if you want a louder sound overall, but only if it doesn't muffle the speakers]-> OK I think these audio settings are the one 'big secret' I've discovered to help my channel.

Do you have any books that articulate Process Philosophy that I should read?

Process Philosophy by Alfred North Whitehead. It is an old book that I happen to know through a philosophy channel on KZfaq. Stanford Encyclopedia also gave me some idea of the concept. I'm also in the process of searching for some essays on the topic and also am trying to understand how this concept of " Fundamental reality as a Process rather than as a substance " may explain and connect different branches of knowledge

@@DrGBhas Excellent. Thank you so much!

That sounds like a fantastic trip! Good to hear you're taking your time and soaking it all in-perfection! I do creative writing and essay writing classes and one-on-one sessions over summer. Many of these students have been taking AP courses, but not exclusively. Most have been excited by my offer to 'debate' with them on whatever topic they choose in order to hone their arguments. I did a kind of crash-course in philosophy beforehand, and then presented the contest as an optional opportunity to practice philosophizing themselves (and I allow them to take any stance so long as they can defend it rigorously). Not all of my students took up the offer; the ones who have seem most excited by my attempts to 'not go easy on them' with their argumentation. I told them I would treat them like serious philosophers.

I actually do a quick bit of advice on exactly that subject at 44:08 of this video. :)

@@ToReadersItMayConcern ok thanks, I'll check that out again.

@@camillekehoe6012 I started by reading Bertrand Russell's History of Western Philosophy, and though it's opinionated and limited in scope, it is a nicely written introduction that, for a beginner, should be enough to start with. For me at least it worked at helping me understand the early to mid arc of philosophy. Then I would suggest the Oxford Very Short Introduction series to grasp more contemporary issues. The biggest challenge with learning contemporary philosophy is it is far more packed with directions to head and expects a lot of base knowledge. So start with the history of philosophy, and work your way toward contemporary philosophers once you find a passion. I'm currently working, but I'll continue thinking on this. Maybe I will release a full video on the subject to be specific and to help you and others.

You pinpoint the contention about Stalin perfectly: Kotkin sees the rough aspects of Stalin's childhood unremarkable for the time and thus not particularly revealing; Montefiore lays out the cascade of wants in Stalin's psyche as motivation for much of the gangsterism that follows in his burgeoning youth. I'll try to consider and discuss that question when I make a review. Frankly, Court of the Red Tsar ends up a better book partially due to Young Stalin's over-fixation on the rough-and-tumble aspects of Stalin's young life.

Yes, I'll try to organize my thoughts on those books and release something, probably in a couple weeks (have other videos to get out first). Those four books are part of the A Dance to the Music of Time series by Anthony Powell. I discuss that series briefly in my BookTube Greats: Ten Books I Only Know about from Steve Donoghue video.

I'll probably discuss this when I do a review, but I found Young Stalin disappointing in comparison to Court of the Red Tsar. Young Stalin focuses on the gangsterism and adventure of Stalin's early life, which becomes a repeat of offenses and arrests that becomes predictable, written with copious dialogue, almost too much like a story. Court of the Red Tsar has a narrative focused on politics and interpersonal pressures, as well as contradictions in Stalin's character and in those around him-a less flat view than Young Stalin. I struggled to enjoy Young Stalin; I enjoyed Court of the Red Tsar very much. It might be a good idea to start with Court of the Red Tsar, and if you end up particularly interested in expansions of youthful Stalin's adventures, Young Stalin can serve that purpose, but expect it to feel like a repetitive 'adventure.'

@@ToReadersItMayConcern thanks for your reply, thats what I was thinking. Definitely more interested in the more influental historical/political aspects of Stalin to expand my knowledge of USSR and WW2.

The only other overview worth reading aside from Russell's-that I've read-is A.C. Grayling's broad overview (delivers a better and more specific view of contemporary issues) and Roger Scruton's Modern Philosophy book. After that point I think it's necessary to seek the specific authors and concepts you find most interesting and begin reading summations of those views (The Oxford A Very Short Introduction series is great for this) and then the original sources (alongside lectures online). Frankly, there are going to be tedious elements of this process. But, if you're like me, there will be rewards along the way that make it worthwhile. Another book that helped me greatly is Kwame Anthony Appiah's Thinking It Through (more of a textbook, and requires more attention than the others)-that one made contemporary issues feel significant (and helped clear up why philosophers would choose to struggle with such issues for so long). Expect a long process: you will have to grow substantially as a reader, especially by the time you read the original sources. If you stick with it, reading philosophy does become easier. Eventually you'll be able to read almost any philosopher's work and follow it (except some extreme cases of wobbly writing). It is an expertise. Think of it like learning mathematics from the bottom. You can't expect to become an expert in just a few years, and you should learn from video and lectures online to help you avoid pitfalls and to make the concepts feel natural to you.

@@ToReadersItMayConcern Great reply, thanks.

Awesome! Check out her book Orlando, too. I found that one so smooth in its flow the whole way through. I'm thinking I'll try to review The Waves in a couple weeks (have a few other vids to finish first). It's kind of intimidating to review that one: I love it so much.

@@ToReadersItMayConcernI struggle with Virginia Wolf. I suppose it has to do with me not being a sophisticated enough reader. I was wondering if maybe you can mention in your video how one can learn to enjoy her style? Thank you.

@@sophiemayth45 I'll make a note of that. Gonna require some careful thought (I used to also find her writing style tough to get through, so I'll have to think about what changed for me). Thank you for the suggestion!

Start now

@@noidea3326 If I could read, I'd know what you said.

The elephant in all our rooms.

Yes, I mention Richard Evans' volumes later on in the video as being more accurate. The appeal of Shirer is, in many ways, his personal bias. Literary value in that sense.

I know what you mean when you say this. I have felt precisely the same way for years. But sometimes it is nice not to settle on an answer, rather to do the work of the question. In working through a problem, even if you do not or cannot solve it, you change with the work. We only have our internal lives as a guarantee for us to bear. Philosophy is just one means of expanding that internal life. You may not feel the value in that. I understand. But that does not mean there isn't a great deal of value for others. Fiction can be dismissed as "about nothing," too. So can much else. That is dismissal, not engagement.

You mean actually writing about the concept of nothingness or "I am too dumb to understand it so it must be nothing" kind of nothing?

how much time do you spend on the phone or watching TV ?

I think a lot of people do not realise that reading books can be a replacement of scrolling on social media or watching TV. People always wonder how it's possible to read so much, but it's pretty simple 🤭 For me: 3 hours a day on public transport), half an hour at lunch break, and 1 to 2 hours at night. 😊 They always say: I wish I had the time, but it's all about priorities. (By the way, it's fine to have different priorities.)

​@@martinsFILMS13 i work 10 hours a day, I have a wife and two baby daughters. Not much time left for hobbies 😂

​@@ProseAndPetticoatsmy priorities are feed my daughters not everybody can read. I read like 2 thick books a year and that's it. When you arrive from work you're so tired you just wanna sleep or you have family duties 🫠

@@MrAelin Of course! Completely understandable.