Reading University Library and Pocket University

Did Dr. Manette do right? 14 July 2024

Charles Dickens' letter, written from the perspective of an imprisoned physician, is deliciously fun and harrowing.

Jul 17, 2024 • Brendan Howard

How a mind imagines its formation: The Pocket University 14 July 2024

"Looking backward, I can now perceive how my love for science gradually preponderated over every other taste." Why, yes it did, sir.

Jul 15, 2024 • Brendan Howard

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April 2024

Story fit for a frog: 21 April 2024

Well, Mark Twain's story is partly about a frog. And "The Notorious Jumping Frog of Calaveras County" is quite a bit shorter than I always remembered…

Apr 21, 2024 • Brendan Howard

Borneo, ho! The Pocket University 20-21 April 2024

A.R. Wallace explores the Malay Archipelago, writing on village visits, beautiful vistas, Durian fruit, bamboo architecture and bugs.

Apr 20, 2024 • Brendan Howard

Day 297: Doctor said I had to quit, so ...

Charles Lamb's physician said, no more smoking. So ... here we are. What is this excerpt? Well, when they grab me, I'll share from Half-Hours With the…

Apr 20, 2024 • Brendan Howard

January 2024

September 2023

Mendelssohn on music: The Pocket University 11 September 2023

A composer waxes philosophic on popularity, childhood, and what makes music music.

Sep 14, 2023

How does love live on? The Pocket University 12 September 2023

Sept. 11 brought Mendelssohn's thoughts on music. Today, Percy Bysshe Shelley shares metaphors for love.

Sep 14, 2023

A dream finally un-deferred: 9 September 2023

Many writers make their living in newspapers, magazines, websites, Substacks and social media platforms. And they often serve editors and their…

Sep 12, 2023

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Why fear confusion? The Pocket University 9 September 2023

You're watching a movie. You don't understand what you're seeing. You're reading a novel. You're lost. You've reading a poem. You don't get the…

Sep 11, 2023

Is someone plagiarizing? The Pocket University 7 September 2023

Hmmm. The entries for September 7 coincidentally cross over from two popular daily readers from the early 20th century. What gives, editors?

Sep 10, 2023

We're all in a rush: 7 September 2023

A sampling of poems, and I'm in a rush. But it works, because the first poem is about a knight in a rush!

Sep 8, 2023