Month: November 2018

Ave Satani: The Devil in Literature

It goes without saying that Satan has fascinated humanity since… well, a very long time indeed. Representations of evil predate Christianity’s version by millennia, and some devils are consequently heavily inspired by pre-Christian tradition. The most fascinating aspect of him is probably that there are so many variations. But what are the coolest most haunting representations of Satan in literature?

From simple two-dimensional portrayals of absolute evil to highly complex characters with confusing motivations, representations of the devil in literature are as varied as they are many. It just goes to show how pre-occupied humans are with the idea of evil and temptation, and what characteristics we believe best represent pure evil.

If you move away from straight-forward portrayals of Satan, things become even more confused. Captain Ahab and/or Moby Dick can be read as versions of the devil himself; Sauron or Lord Voldemort come close to being Satanic manifestations; even in less fantastical literature – such as much of Dostoevsky’s work – we can find figures who could be said to be ‘of the devil’s party’.

Consequently, when selecting my list for a few examples of fascinating ‘Satans’, I had to limit myself drastically. I will only list figures who are actually the devil, not Satan-like characters. But even then there are countless options to choose from, and all vary.

Additionally, I will also just pick some of my favourite representations. You could write endless essays on any given of these characters, so rather than doing an ongoing list with no descriptions, I thought I’d focus on just a few of my favourites to give you a quick taster, in the hope that you may find it interesting. There are, doubtlessly, many, many other Satans out there which you may find equally or more engaging than the ones I’ve chosen. So! Without further ado, here it goes.

Dante’s Three-Headed Satan

In Dante’s Inferno from the Divine Comedy, Virgil leads the poet through the circles of hell on their path to purgatory. On the way, they must brave some of the most horrific things imaginable, with each of the nine circles representing an individual sin – lust, gluttony, greed, wrath, heresy, violence, fraud and treachery.

Unlike some of the other representations, this Satan is passive. Having committed treachery to the Christian God, he is condemned to the very centre of the ninth and innermost circle of hell, where he is frozen waist-deep in ice and suffering eternally.

On top of that, Dante’s Satan has three heads which are constantly crying a mix of blood and pus. Each mouth is perpetually chewing on some of history’s great traitors – two murderers of Caesar and Judas Iscariot. Overall, it’s a pure depiction of absolute misery.

Dante’s hell is primarily a warning to wrong-doers: commit one of these sins, and you will end up here and suffer in this way. Treachery is by far the worst sin and woe be you if you are found guilty of it. No wonder this still remains one of the most popular depictions of Satan to this day.

Milton’s Fallen Hero

My personal favourite representation, Satan in Milton’s Paradise Lost is primarily a figure fallen from grace. Of course, Dante’s version is also the ex-archangel Lucifer, but here we get the full story and Satan’s gradual fall into slime, muck, and all that’s bad.

Also, this Satan is far more active. After losing the battle against the heavens, God bans Satan to hell where he rules over his own kingdom. And at first he still maintains his glory and his honourable appearance. Only as the poem goes on does he gradually become deformed, twisted, malicious.

Added to that, Satan is by far the most eloquent character in the poem. He convinces Eve to eat the fruit from the tree of knowledge, after all. Milton cleverly depicts how Satan’s rhetoric gradually becomes more flawed and full of inconsistencies as he develops, in the same way that he starts out as a fallen angel and ends up appearing as a mere serpent.

Milton also gives us fascinating insight into Satan’s psyche. It’s not that he is just evil per se, or that he hopes to make himself feel better after his fall. As he puts it: ‘Nor hope to be myself less miserable by what I seek, but others to make such as I’. In that mindset, hell is wherever Satan goes. It’s a particularly miserable way of seeing the world and tearing everything down with you. In that way, we all possess the potential to become like Satan (yay).

Twain’s contempt for the human race

To leave the realm of drama and poetry and enter the world of prose, I’ll finish with Mark Twain. Unlike virtually all his other work, The Mysterious Stranger is incredibly dark, depressing and twisted, and casts a rather upsetting shadow over a writer otherwise known for adventurous and uplifting subject matters (while also exploring the problems of racism and slavery, of course).

The fragment actually exists in several attempts Twain wrote between 1897 and 1900 and features the story of three young boys called Theodor, Seppi and Nikolaus who live in an Austrian village (although some of the attempts are set in other locations).

Satan moves to the village and predicts a grim future. When one of his prophecies comes true, the boys ask him for assistance, but his help is generally less than merciful. In one case, for instance, he predicts a long disease-ridden period for one of the characters, and his act of mercy is to kill the boy immediately, thus preventing the period of suffering.

Twain’s Satan is so effective because he holds an absolutely detestable and grim view of the world. When he departs towards the end of the story, he leaves the boys with the words: ‘Here is no God, no universe, no human race, no earthly life, no heaven, no hell. It is all a dream – a grotesque and foolish dream. Nothing exists but you. And you are but a thought – a vagrant thought, a useless thought, a homeless thought, wandering forlorn among the empty eternities!’

Goethe’s and Marlowe’s Tempter

‘Hang on’, I hear you say, ‘didn’t you promise not to include Satan-like characters?’ Yes, I did; but I do consider Mephistopheles from Marlowe’s Dr Faustus and Goethe’s Faust Satan. He looks like him, talks like him, he’s a supernatural being. In other words, in every important way, Mephisto IS Satan.

Also, these two may be the same character from the same story, but Goethe and Marlowe were different writers (duh) from different countries (double duh) who wrote in completely different time periods (tripe duh), so it’s difficult to do both of them justice at once. They’re both fascinating in their own way and both plays are absolutely excellent and need to be seen or read by anyone who’s interested in Satan (or literature, for that matter).

Nevertheless, in crucial ways they are identical, which is why I am putting them together. Both only appear after Faust summons them (meaning that we invite evil into ourselves), both are witty and eloquent, both act evil primarily through temptation, and both depict hell as being the absence of God (by which they mean the absence of everything that is good).

There are good reasons why the Faust story is so popular, and I believe everybody I’ve talked to said that Mephisto is their favourite character. He’s just fun, and anyone can understand how flirting with the devil to get personal pleasure and gain might be a tempting prospect. Of course, a real Mephisto is unlikely to appear if you summon him, but your life may feel like a real hell if you invite misery into your own home the same way Faust does in both ‘versions’ of this story.

Closing thoughts

As you can see, there are many excellent depictions of Satan in literature. Hopefully some of these will inspire you to go on your own treasure hunt for other depictions. Or even just to seek out these works if you didn’t know them before.

I believe part of the reason humans find Satan so fascinating is because of our own proclivity towards maliciousness. Given the right circumstances, anyone can become ‘evil’ and act in a way which inflicts suffering on other people. But it’s good to be aware of it. By exploring ‘absolute evil’ in literature we are able to warn ourselves of what the absolute worst can lead to.

Did you enjoy this list? Know of any other ones I should have included? Then please leave a comment. Otherwise, why not share this post? Then please click on one of the tender buttons below to share it on the social media of your choice.

High-Brow vs Low-Brow: Does it matter?

If you’ve ever spent any time discussing topics related to the arts with anyone, chances are you’ve noticed the great (sub-conscious) divide between popular and ‘high’ culture. The deeper you dive into the topic, the more it seems as though there never will be peace. But does the difference really matter?

You probably know the type. The oh-so sophisticated person who has profound insight into everything related to culture, who only listens to music considered high-brow, reads exclusively the classics and is excessively opinionated. The type who snidely condemns reading anything regarded as popular (their targets often include books with a huge following, such as the Harry Potter series).

On the opposite end, you have those who immediately get an allergic reaction whenever anyone mentions a classical composer or a poet. They immediately assume you’re being close-minded and pretentious, and surely the only reason you like those things, they believe, is because you wish to come across as educated. And the pop/rock they listen to, the pulp fiction they devour, they think, is just as profound and insightful as ‘high culture’. If only the ‘others’ weren’t so close minded, they’d surely get just as much recognition as ‘high’ culture.

Of course, in most cases it’s not a malicious attitude, but a sub-conscious bias. People generally (but not always) enjoy what they happened to have grown up with. But is it really necessary to condemn either extreme of the debate? Is it really worth anyone’s time complaining about what other people enjoy? Surely good things can be found in both popular and ‘high’ culture, as well as in any fringe subculture for that matter?

The problem with people who exclusively indulge in ‘high’ culture

The problem with being highly discriminating against anything popular and which society wouldn’t regard as high culture is that it limits your options. Rather than going out there and exploring the market for anything new, you’ll often find that you first listen to what a particular group of people say is worth looking at / listening to / reading.

Some might consider it a rather close-minded approach. While it is true that a work of art which has withstood the test of time has a comparatively high likelihood of being good, it is never guaranteed. Also, individual tastes might mean that it just isn’t for you – even if the work, per se, is good. If you’re exclusively consuming artwork which ‘others say’ is going to expand your horizon, you’re barring yourself from finding hidden gems elsewhere.

Artists, too, never really discriminate in the same way that consumers do. Before capitalism guaranteed the emergence of the middle-class, it was very difficult to distinguish between popular and high culture – indeed, even Shakespeare first wrote and acted for a company dedicated towards entertaining ‘commoners’ in a dodgy neighbourhood. Only time (and his genius!) raised him into the ranks of ‘high’ culture.

The modernists, too, blurred the lines between the two. Eliot, Pound, Woolf, Joyce: all of them enjoyed enough privileges, but nevertheless indulged in popular culture and used it in their own ‘high-brow’ work (alongside what their contemporaries considered high-brow).

At the end of the day, limiting oneself to high-brow culture means limiting one’s perspectives. It’s essentially the same as limiting oneself to popular culture. The only difference is that the dictating entity which tells you what’s good isn’t the wider, but the ‘elite’ population.

The problem with people who exclusively indulge in popular culture

Popular culture has a much larger market, and therefore only consuming popular culture is less limiting (in terms of volume). But by condemning everything ‘high-brow’ as pretentious, you’re barring yourself from a wonderful world with a lot of variety.

Due to the nature of open markets, popular culture often lacks variety. The people creating such art know what is popular, and so they repeat the same tropes over and over again – ensuring that the consumer’s intake is less varied than may seem at first (hence why, for instance, many people say that pop music always sounds the same). It’s just a simple sales strategy.

Also, a lot of ‘good’ popular culture has its roots in high culture. Stephen King was inspired by both Edgar Allan Poe and Lovecraft; Tolkien’s work was heavily inspired by Anglo-Saxon and Norse poetry. Many of our contemporary crime thrillers draw their ideas from the works of figures such as Agatha Christie. Although I must note that she blurs the line between popular and high culture…

For the sake of personal development, there are really worse things one can do than to bridge the language gap between something old (and which is therefore difficult to enjoy) and by doing that to open up the world of ‘high’ culture and to see what the fuss is about. Avoiding it entirely and condemning it as elitist is no better than condemning everything popular. Of course it may have to do with considering such art ‘difficult’. This displays an underestimation of one’s own capabilities. It may also be because it reminds you of dull schoolwork, which in reality is very different from picking it up yourself. Identify your subconscious bias and give it a go. You may surprise yourself.

The solution: mix and mingle

There’s not really any way around it. To avoid both pitfalls, all I can recommend is to be more open-minded about things. Why would you bother condemning Harry Potter for not being particularly important (in literary history) when it probably produced more new readers than any other book series before (aside from its entertainment-value)? Why would you condemn Macbeth as being elitist and pretentious when it’s actually deeply thrilling once you’ve gotten used to the language?

In the end, all you can do is to remind yourself not to close your mind to new things. No matter which side you feel more at home at. You can find hidden gems, beautiful books, gorgeous music anywhere you look. People are varied and flexible enough that a single person may equally enjoy a great deal of varied art. Muse, Klaus Nomi, Ella Fitzgerald and Gustav Mahler? Why not!

And if you don’t want to – or can’t – break out into new areas and enjoy art and culture from places and streams you don’t know or enjoy, that’s also not the end of the world. But then don’t go around complaining about other people who enjoy things you don’t. In short, act open-mindedly. Live and let live.

Closing thoughts

I must reiterate that a lot of the problem has to do with a subconscious attitude. Most people who act in that way are probably unaware of it. But it does, in the end, put a lot of pressure on an activity that should be about personal freedom, as well as the freedom to enjoy whatever you want.

Do you agree with my thoughts? Do you know of better methods to overcome the divide? Then please leave a comment. Otherwise, why not share it on the social media of your choice? Then please click on one of the tender buttons below.

It’s How You Say It: Top Essay Writing Tips

Writing an essay on a given topic – whether for school, university, or for any other reason – can often feel overwhelming. There are just too many things to keep in mind; too many things to pay attention to. These tips should give you a head-start in kicking off your next essay project.

So, you’ve figured out how to read poetry. You’ve understood the ins and outs of metre. You might even have considered a range of material to write about. But the idea of turning everything into a fluent essay immediately stops you in your tracks. What to do?

It’s true that many students see essay-writing as a stain on their experience at university. As that one annoying thing they have to do besides reading and enjoying themselves. To them, it often just seems like the necessary evil on the pathway towards a degree.

And it’s completely understandable. After all, anything which is assessed and can mean either pass or failure is sure to paralyse anyone’s enthusiasm. But it doesn’t have to be that way. To assist you in your essay-writing endeavours, I’ve compiled a list with several tips you can do to ensure you not only succeed in writing good essays but perhaps even enjoy writing them.

Why not a step-by-step guide?

The problem with step-by-step guides is twofold. First, every writer works differently, and second, every topic is different. Exact guidelines on how to approach each essay are therefore not only less useful than you might think, but can even be rather counter-productive.

In terms of student individuality, some people like to do complete their research entirely before writing. Others like to write while researching. Others write a complete draft just containing their own ideas before they then fit the research around it. A step-by-step guide would assume that you work exactly the way I do.

In terms of topic individuality, there are also huge differences. When writing on poetry, for instance, you might wish to focus largely on a close reading of the text. When discussing primarily (literary) theory, the amount of secondary literature might be greater. Again, a concise guide on how to write an essay might not take differences into account.

Use guidebooks – but very sparingly

If you’re a particularly industrious student, you may consider buying some guidebooks to help you in your essay-writing endeavours. After all, why not? There are many good ones out there, such as How to Get a First, First Class Essays or the Study Skills Handbook.

But after having read some of them myself, I would strongly urge you to limit yourself to one or two at the most. They often contain some really good general advice, but other than that, a lot of their general material is just common sense – such as grammar rules, common mistakes, and yes, often step-by-step guides.

Ideally, you should pick up a lot from these books during the first year at university, and just buy one for reference. It’s probably wiser investing your time in trial-and-error, rather than reading more or less the same material over and over again.

Select the right topic

If you’re at school, you may think this is a bit of a downer. One of the big differences between A-levels and university is the privilege of being able to choose your own topic. But even if you don’t have that liberty, it’s no reason to despair – most topics do actually get more interesting than they seem to be at first sight, and teachers try to nudge you towards a better understanding. Looking into your essay diligently and researching well may put you leaps ahead of everyone else, allowing you to understand really difficult stuff and enjoy the work a lot more.

If you do have the privilege, you may find that, without a doubt, selecting the correct essay topic or question is the single most important thing to do before you start. It takes a lot more responsibility since you’re in charge of your own degree of understanding the subject matter. No matter what you think your lecturer would like to read most, there’s actually only one way to go about it: choose something you enjoy.

It seems to be a fundamental psychological issue. Work unrelated to our own interests generally doesn’t motivate us, so only by writing about something you actually enjoy will you be able to motivate yourself, in the long run, to do well. After all, you’ll be spending a great deal of time researching your topic. If it puts you to sleep, how can you expect to be concentrated all the time?

The same thing can be said for the selection of your essay question. If it’s bland, obvious or has been done before, you may struggle to work with it efficiently. Instead, choose an interesting one and mould it in the direction you wish to go. At university level, most questions are posed in a way which allows you to alter them ever so slightly and do what you’ll enjoy.

Flow with your guts, not with the stream. Your teacher is more likely to give you a good mark if you’ve done your own topic well than if you half-heartedly produced something which happens to take the currently popular perspective on any given text. Do what feels right to you, not what academia currently considers ‘in’.

Know where to find research material

You’d be surprised how many students struggle to find the right material. But in our day and age, that needn’t be the case. Libraries, as I noted elsewhere, are an excellent go-to place for books. For academic purposes, obviously use academic libraries (such as the Senate House in London).

But with the internet, you may not even have to leave your room to do your research. You should probably be able to find most things online if you know where to look. Academic indexes are the best resource you have since they often provide material from journals for free (provided you have academic access from your university).

Google Scholar is an obvious one. Personally, I’m also a great fan of JSTOR and muse. DOAJ is probably the most advanced open access index out there with a focus on research journals, and OAPEN has an excellent open access book collection. It may take you some time to work out the best way to find the most useful texts, but once you’ve mastered your index of choice, you will find an almost limitless supply of essay inspiration.

There are, of course, many more, and some subject-specific ones (PMC for medicine or PsycINFO for psychology, for instance). It’s always good to be aware of any indexes out there and to figure out how to use them. When in doubt, ask your lecturer which services they tend to use.

Work efficiently and reward yourself

You probably know the type. Or are of the type yourself? Those who are so undisciplined that they force themselves to go to the library each day – and end up spending their time there watching YouTube videos or browsing social media.

The truth is, many students work inefficiently and just go to the library to calm their conscience and to claim they’re working all the time. In reality, it shouldn’t matter too much where you work, as long as you are actually working. Of course, this is difficult to do.

Try to set up your own work-reward system. Promise yourself a reward if you work concentrated for a certain amount of time. Don’t reward yourself if you don’t meet your goal. And take regular breaks in-between to maintain concentration – say, one hour of concentrated reading and then 10 minutes of social media as a reward.

Don’t start too late

There’s no excuse for this one. You know the reading list in advance and the questions are usually handed out just after reading week. The number of students who still don’t start work on their essays until much later – around Christmas or Easter – is insane.

By (efficiently) working on essays you’re already studying better than you would when just looking over your notes repeatedly, so why not use your ‘regular’ revision time for essay work? That way you won’t end up with too little time and have more time to enjoy yourself during the holidays.

Also, that way you’re motivating yourself because you begin to accumulate tangible results during the ongoing academic year. Not to mention that your nerves will thank you as well since you avoid the stress of last-minute essay-writing entirely.

Look after yourself

If you follow the advice of the previous two points, you’ll end up with much more time for personal pleasure than before – so use it to look after yourself. No more overnight work for last-minute essays. You’ll have plenty of time to sleep soundly and eat healthily.

You’ll also have a better conscience when enjoying yourself. Worked hard all week? Then there’s no reason not to go to a club, to a concert, to play a game, to read a book for pleasure. If you work efficiently and look after yourself, you’ll have a much better work-life balance.

Write well

There’s nothing more annoying than yet another essay which is written in essaynese rather than English. It’s a dreadful trend – all of the conventions in essay-writing stifle any form of creativity the medium ought to have. Anything along the lines of stupid phrases (‘In this essay, I would like to…’) to unnecessarily complex words fall under this category.

Why not, instead, try to write well? Obviously not with colloquial language, but good language which you’d still not be afraid to use every day. Write clearly, concisely, and try to make sense in what you write. Never go overboard with words nobody would ever use. A well-researched essay doesn’t need them, and it might even leave the impression that you’re hiding a bad argument behind confusing language.

This doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t use technical terms correctly – of course you should. But it does mean that you should avoid stifling your own expressive power by writing in a way which just seems to scream ‘I’m clever’ and more likely than not will annoy your examiner.

Think

In-between all the research, planning and writing, it’s surprising how many students forget to take their time to think actively about their project. But it’s during active thinking that many of the best ideas come about, so actually putting time aside for this is a great way to push forward your argument.

I think the reason so many fail to do so may be related to the feeling of not doing anything. You’re not jotting down notes, you’re not putting pen to paper – so it seems like a waste of time. But in reality, without actually stopping to grasp what your thoughts on your topic are, chances are you’ll just reproduce the ideas from secondary sources.

Consequently, I’d recommend that you really do take it slowly and think actively about what you’ve just read, what you’ve just written, and look closely at the text you’re analysing – ideally word for word if you’re hooked enough to do so.

Structure your essay, but be flexible

If you’re still at school, you sadly will have rather clear-cut structures when it comes to your essays. At university, you definitely shouldn’t maintain the formulaic methods you learned at school, but you do still need to have some structure (and if it’s the result of inventing one of your own). Anything goes, really. The thing is, it has to make sense for your topic.

In the end, an essay has to make one central argument. And to convince your readers of your argument, your essay needs a structure which builds towards it. Everything should add to the argument and demonstrate that you’ve thought it through.

But also don’t be afraid to be flexible. If things aren’t working out the way you thought they would, add a different point, or cut something out. Or shift things around a bit. The trick is to find the ideal structure for the topic at hand that you’re working on.

Closing thoughts

These are just some of the general pieces of advice I’ve picked up after 4 years of studying a subject in the Arts & Humanities. No doubt there is much more to learn, but that’s essentially why you’re at school or university– to perfect the art of writing an essay.

Can you think of any other tips one might add? Anything you disagree with? Then please leave a comment. Otherwise, if you enjoyed this post, why not share it on the social media of your choice? Then click on one of the tender buttons below.

To All Bookworms: Where To Get Your Next Fix

Is there anything better than the thrill of finding the next book that is going to engage your fantasy, teach you something new, or simply make your dull commute a bit more enjoyable?

While reading is hardly the most expensive hobby out there, it certainly can feel rather costly if you buy the newest bestseller every other week and fight your way through it within just a few days. And then there is the insane satisfaction of leafing through beautiful, lovely smelling books at your local book store and leaving with a heavy literary load but a considerably lighter wallet. Within just a few months you might realise that you’ve spent hundreds of pounds on books.

But it doesn’t have to be like that. There are many locations people can go to find great deals on cheap books, or even get books for free. And with the internet, there are plenty of other possibilities to get affordable reading material which should serve you for years to come.

So without much further ado, here’s a list of some of the best ways to get a free or cheap book in 2018.

Libraries

Yes, libraries are the good old-fashioned way to go about getting free books. Not to keep, of course, but you can often extend the duration of your loan and they usually have a beautiful collection which are sorted according to different categories, neatly ordered and only waiting for you to grab them.

Libraries are a wonderful place. It’s all about sharing the written word: returning the books when you no longer need them so that somebody else can read. Most libraries also accept donations, so if you have a heap of books you no longer need, do make the best use of this service.

Of course, you may think of libraries as a rather dusty and dull place. However, many of them have gone with the times. Nowadays many of them are done up really nicely, are clean, well-ordered and well worth spending time at.

While some are struggling, you’re more likely than not to have one in your home town. If you’re lucky enough to live in a city like London, there are more libraries than the eye can see – from small ones such as the Camberwell Library to the British Library (the largest one in the world!), there’s something for everyone.

The larger libraries often also host other types of events. The British Library features frequent exhibitions and various talks on book-related topics. Smaller libraries, too, offer things such as readings and related smaller events. So there’s really no reason not to make use of this resource – it may be old-fashioned, but it’s still highly usable.

2nd-hand bookshops

If you really feel you must own a book, but want to avoid the strain on your wallet, then 2nd-hand bookshops are your option. Most towns in the UK have one, and again, if you live in London there are literally hundreds to choose from – and many of them are absolutely delightful. Charing Cross Road alone features so many that you could spend hours browsing through old copies of your favourite books.

Like libraries, many 2nd-hand bookshops also accept donations, so if you’d like your old friends to find a more private and immediate home than a library, then this is another good option to go for. There are really worse things to do than to support an important, but small trade.

There’s something touching and sweet about 2nd-hand books. They have their own peculiar smell and you know the book you’ve bought for just £2 or £3 received much love before. It’s really a great way to save money and will serve you well for many years to come.

Lastly, the atmosphere in 2nd-hand bookshops feels a lot more homely than in traditional book stores. You may meet interesting people who share your love of the written word. The shopkeepers are usually truly passionate about what they do, and chances are you’ll discover a volume that has been out of print for many years, making a trip to one a unique experience.

Gutenberg

If you don’t mind using e-books and read primarily classics (for whatever reason), then gutenberg.org is the go-to place for you! Featuring tens of thousands of free e-books, this website serves to spread the accessibility of reading material which no longer has a copyright.

Run by a host of volunteers who do all the digitalisation, proofreading and conversion to other formats, Gutenberg is an amazing project which lives on donations. There are no charges and the books are available in a variety of formats: kindle, mobi, epub, html and more.

Chances are you’ll discover a huge range of reading material you’d never have considered before, and as an ongoing project, you can even easily get involved by digitalising more books, offering translations or donating a little to help them with their online presence.

E-book stores

If you’re not too fond of classics but still don’t mind reading e-books, most large book chains feature online stores to help you in that regard. E-books are usually cheaper than print versions (since there are no printing costs), so you’ll be able to find a good deal on most of the recent bestsellers.

Amazon Kindle Store is probably the largest with the lowest prices on e-books and thus worthy a recommendation. Just note that they only sell books in their own in-house format, rather than the industry standard epub. Also note that rumours speak of Amazon’s shady business practices, so if you’d rather not support that, go for another option.

Other large e-book stores are Kobo Books, Google Play, eBooks.com and Waterstone’s – Waterstone’s own personal brand. Many of them also feature free or very low priced books for the classics, which is another good reason to use them.

Of course, an e-book robs you of the wonderful experience of smelling and feeling the printed page and you won’t be able to add another treasure to your bookshelf, but they are a brilliant way of having a number of books with you wherever you go – and can in fact be quite addictive.

For poetry lovers: Poetry Foundation

Of course, all above sources are perfectly usable for poetry lovers. But if you’re into poetry, the Poetry Foundation is an additional resource to access free material. The advantage? Sometimes you just want to read one poem rather than browse through a whole volume.

The Poetry Foundation features a huge amount of free pieces, sorted by theme, poet or school of poetry, making it very intuitive to navigate through. And the poems are all featured on their own website, so just navigate to the poet you’d like to read, select one – and there you go!

Since poetry doesn’t particularly adhere to the industry, it’s also possible to find a range of poetry on there which is still copyrighted – even a select few contemporary poets. With frequent updates and the occasional essay, the Poetry Foundation is a definite website to bookmark.

Closing thoughts

If you use just one or several of these resources, you should probably never fall short of having something to read again. In 2018, reading material is more accessible than it has ever been before – so why not make the best use of it?

Can you think of any other sources I might have featured in this list? Anything to add? And what are your thoughts on classical vs e-books? Then please leave a comment below. Otherwise, why not share this post on the social media of your choice? If you desire to do so, please click on one of the tender buttons below.