I first found your page while reading The Brothers Karamazov and have enjoyed several of your other videos. I am glad your hard work has paid off.

You should plan a trip to Russia themed around literature, culture, history, or even a specific writer.

Anna Karenina was the first Russian novel I read too. What I valued most was Tolstoy's commentary about people's inner workings. It gave me the drive to get through War and Peace. I liked Pierre's character because it showed a process of self discovery. He was thrown into an overwhelming situation, it sounds like he wasn't really parented, so he was lost in life without anyone to help him; Pierre actively sought out things to understand himself, and he used his painful experiences for growth. I feel like the self awareness you described in this video is so relevant to Russian literature. Thanks for sharing!

Insomnia is a unique type of torture. It can destroy your life and it's very difficult for others to understand.  I'm glad you were able to use the time constructively.  Oh wait, is youtube social media? :o😮. BTW love books, real books, not ebooks.

Congratulations on your achievements. I discovered Dostoyevsky while serving on an aircraft carrier in 1963 when I was 19 years old... a popular biography lying around the Mess (living quarters). At that time you could get any book you wanted in Bras Basah Road or Circular Quay in Singapore and by the time I left the ship I had read most of his  books in English translation by Constance Garnett. Everything from The Brothers Kzramazov to the deeply moving The Gentle Maiden.
They were the doorway to a love of Russian literature, then French and then my own, English literature.  But Dostoyevsky has had a huge influence on who I am and on my life, in its many shades.
You may know that Dorothy Day, co-founder of The Catholic Worker Movement, was greatly influenced by his writing and in her eighties re-read all his works.
On Reading Well by Karen Swallow Prior is an excellent description of how reading good literzture can be transformative.   Your work is of enormous importance and you appear to be perfectly equipped for it. I wish you all the best in the years ahead.

Thank You

I was about to ask this question on one of your previous videos. Thanks for the message. I find Russian culture rich and interesting. Pre WW1 history through the Cold War and the collapse of the Soviet Union has so much to teach us. I even got into learning a little bit of the language. I just wish I knew where to find native speakers to practice with.

Thats crazy, i also developed insomnia over covid. Qurantine really messed with me i guess.

Very inspiring!

Recently I ordered What Is to Be Done? to learn more about other Russian authors and the connection between their ideas.

Thanks for sharing!

❤

I'm a college drop out, and listening to you makes me feel stupid.