Author Archives: Tommy Collison

Assorted Links, 8/2/21

Posted on August 2, 2021 by Tommy Collison

“The first week of August hangs at the very top of summer, the top of the live-long year, like the highest seat of a Ferris wheel when it pauses on its turning. The weeks that come before are only a … Continue reading →

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Inchoate thoughts on Middlemarch, and fiction

Posted on August 2, 2021 by Tommy Collison

Ed. Note: If it weren’t already obvious, I’m sort of throwing my original book order out the window. Most of this has to do with making sure that I’m prepared for the Interintellect discussion series, but part of it is also not … Continue reading →

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Assorted Links, 7/25/21

Posted on July 25, 2021 by Tommy Collison

I enjoyed this piece on time in Frankenstein. David Perell has published his mammoth essay on the liberal arts. It’s excellent. It’s an active kind of leisure where you engage in meaningful conversation, contemplate enduring questions, and nurture the soul with … Continue reading →

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What’s Overlooked in Frankenstein

Posted on July 25, 2021 by Tommy Collison

I first read Frankenstein as a college freshman, and I was excited to read it again for the discussion series I’m hosting with David McDougall. The novel has permeated pop culture such that the themes (hubris, scientific advancement gone awry, those funny … Continue reading →

Posted in Classics and the 21st Century, Frankenstein | 1 Comment

Why They’ll Read Dante in Space

Posted on July 18, 2021 by Tommy Collison

(Previous thoughts on Dante here and here.) “Dante and Shakespeare divide the modern world between them; there is no third.” —T.S. Eliot. “At one point midway on our path in life, I came around and found myself now searching through … Continue reading →

Posted in Classics and the 21st Century, Inferno | 1 Comment

Assorted Links, 7/18/21

Posted on July 18, 2021 by Tommy Collison

Excited to be back after the summer break! It’s getting closer to the Fall semester at St. John’s, and I’m enjoying rereading Frankenstein. Let’s catch up with the world of great books, and I’ll share more of what I’ve been thinking … Continue reading →

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Inchoate thoughts on Descartes’ Meditations

Posted on June 28, 2021 by Tommy Collison

Back when I read Euclid’s Elements*, I wrote (or maybe just thought) that some of these books were best read in person. Some of the Great Books (the novels, I think?) are easy to digest, while others require more grappling. In … Continue reading →

Posted in Meditations on First Philosophy, The Great Books | 1 Comment

Assorted Links, 6/28/21

Posted on June 28, 2021 by Tommy Collison

Hello! Sorry for the break in programming: we’ll blame the summer. I’m just about to finish Meditations on First Philosophy for the InterIntellect. It’s good, but I’m putting it in the same box as Euclid’s Elements: one that’s best read in a group. … Continue reading →

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Assorted Links, 6/18/21

Posted on June 18, 2021 by Tommy Collison

The founder of Trader Joe’s, the grocery chain, wrote a memoir that’s “a lot of fun.” I’d believe it! Incredible saga of a gay ex-priest Latin translator employed by… The Vatican. Chicago Tribune review of Zena Hitz’s Lost in Thought, which … Continue reading →

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What I’ve Been Reading, June 2021

Posted on June 18, 2021 by Tommy Collison

When I started the solo Great Books Project, I laid out the first year and set a goal to read that first list by December 31, 2021. It’s looking less likely that I’ll hit it — I left the ancient world … Continue reading →

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