Hello everyone. I spent half of May and the whole summer on the archaeological expedition in Siberia. We were excavating an archaeological site so one petrol company can build some kind of oil depot. The site itself had bronze-age dwellings and some mediaeval burials. The findings consisted mainly of an untold amount of ceramics, some bones and bronze. We were working in the place with no internet, but every Saturday a selected group of people would go to the city to buy some things for the whole camp and do the things they needed with the internet.

It is not my first time going on an archaeological expedition; I went to one every summer for the past 5 years, but it is the first time I went for so long and with such little contact with the "civilisation". Overall it was a good experience for me. We worked 8 hours a day, except for Saturday, of course, and even though I ate a lot and drank alcohol almost every weekend, I managed to lose 15 kgs and overall felt the power of my body, of my youth, especially in comparison to others who didn't manage to work as I did and spend as much time there as me. The other thing that felt unique in comparison to my life in the city is how constant social contact with many people (our camp had around 55 people on average) made me feel incredibly fulfilled and truly happy. Constant joking around, discussing different philosophical, cultural and societal questions, gossiping (you can't escape it in a closed collective, even if you try to), and a lot of funny and interesting stories.

Connection with nature also made a big impression on me. I went to sleep with different songs and screams from birds and woke up with the quacking of the ducks. We were kicking away a bear mom with her 3 bear cubs from our camp. Squirrels, chipmunks, lizards, tritons and frogs were our constant companions. I was swimming in the river every day; in late August the shroom season started, and we were collecting and eating them on a daily basis.

The absence of the internet didn't bother me at all. On the contrary, now when I am back to the city and can use the web anytime I want, I see how banal, vulgar and empty the vast majority of the things people post and produce are. It is all rage, lust-. attention-baits, with very little interesting and important things in between. I feel like a sinner against myself to still engage with that environment, but at the same time it feels like the only way to go? I don't know how to explain this. Maybe there is a way to make your internet life into something you can take more value off, but I didn't find how. Of course there are things I missed about being on the internet. Mainly it is the ability to get any information you want on a whim. I missed listening to CumTown and TrueAnon, downloading a book that I want to read when I want to read it, and getting news about the world.

Another huge advantage for me was the ability to seclude myself from all the distractions and do a dopamine detox, with books being one of the main sources of entertainment when I was by myself.

Idiot. Dostoyevsky.

The book that set my moral compass in many ways and brought a lot of questions to my mind, I thought over many times. Besides that, it is simply an interesting and in some places provocative book. My second favourite Dostoevsky book after Karamazov.

10/10

By Fire and Sword. The Trilogy. Henryk Sienkiewicz.

Amaizing page turner for everyone who loves historical novels. Of course it is repetitive and not historically accurate, and even the spirit and battle scenes could be better, but charismatic characters, epic prose, and the atmosphere that Henryk manages to create will suck you in like nothing else.

7/10

Short stories. Chekhov.

If you need to start reading after a big break or want to relax from the huge novels, Chekhov is the right place to go. He has everything – funny, happy, scary, sad, deep and thought-provoking. In many ways it was a breath of fresh air for me, because I don't read that much short-form literature. I will definitely come back to Chekhov in the near future.

8/10

Oblomov. Ivan Goncharov.

It was on my list for a very long time (basically since school, where I missed out on reading it for some reason) as one of the main classics of Russian literature. What can I say? As Mayakovsky put it, "Listen! If the stars are lit, then someone must really need them?" If something becomes a classic, there is a reason for it. If you need a push in your life to do something, if you need to reorient your life, or if you want to read a funny, tragic and deep book, go and read Oblomov; you won't regret it.

9/10

A Study in Scarlet. Arthur Connan Doyle.

After I spent 2 months without using my English at all, I realised that I needed something to revitalise my knowledge. I was a bit scared to pick up the book – based on my other experiences, even though I could listen to podcasts, watch movies and read articles in English, reading classics was a hurdle for me. However, Sherlock Holmes was pretty easy to read. I understood all the metaphors and followed the plot with any problems. As for the book itself, it seems a bit too simplistic, and the characters appeared flat to me. Maybe it is because the Sherlock Holmes series became such a staple in mass culture that I was familiar with everything Doyle could offer from the media derived from his work. However, I wouldn't say that it was a bore to read; I spent every dinner break for a week reading it and enjoyed it.

6/10

The Gambler. Dostoyevsky.

Probably the weakest Dostoevsky novel I have read up to date. The action feels rushed, character personalities seem way more empty compared to his other works, and gambling scenes are pretty good, but they don't salvage the whole novel.

4/10

The Sea Wolf. Jack London.

Read the whole thing in one day. Great prose, captivating plot. The philosophical problem is a bit flat but serves the characters well.

7/10

Ugryum-Reka. Vyacheslav Shishkov.

Amaizing novel. From the pastorals of taiga to dialogues to plot, everything is crafted with great care. I don't know if there is a translation for it, but if there is one, it definitely deserves a read. If you liked Martin Eden, The Quiet Flows the Don and every other story of a strong-willed, prideful person. This story mainly focuses on what happens when such a person becomes a capitalist.

9/10

“Another man, also lonely and exiled and of Spanish origin… ‘I seek, all in all, to console myself for my exile, for my exile from eternity, for that unearthing (destierro) which I am fond of referring to as my unheavening… At present, I think that the best way to write this novel is to tell how it should be written. It is the novel of the novel, the creation of creation. Or God of God, Deus de Deo.’” Page 296.

Googling yields nothing but stupid ai overviews that are useless.

First time posting here, figured I’d find some Thomas Wolfe readers. One of the most acclaimed American authors in his time, it seems like his literary reputation has dissipated since. Read just a few pages of Look Homeward, Angel and you’ll find prose unmatched. Sensory, emotional, every word perfectly chosen. He was revered by Faulkner and Kerouac and Thompson. (He also had the same editor as Fitzgerald and Hemingway) I guess he doesn’t really have the ‘image’ these authors have, and he died much younger than all of them. But, all these writers are still quite popular but somehow Wolfe really isn’t. Love to hear any thoughts.