After a year of reading through Ted Gioia’s Immersive Humanities list, I’ve finally reached the end. How surprising that it doesn’t feel like an ending at all! This final episode is less about individual books and more about what the project revealed over time: how we read, how we think, and how we change.

Having finished, I genuinely believe in occasional deep projects, for a variety of reasons. I offer a wide variety of ideas for proceeding, the mechanics that make it possible. For me, that included physical books, note-taking, weekly writing. I also share how those habits shaped not just my understanding of the texts, but my ability to engage deeply with them. Along the way, I developed better reading and study skills, gained confidence, and discovered unexpected joy, patience, and even peace in sustained intellectual work.

There were highs (Aristotle, Shakespeare, poetry) and lows (a few truly painful reads, and moments of doubt about the project itself). But even the difficult parts proved valuable.

Most of all, this year confirmed something I didn’t fully believe before: reading widely and seriously can change you. Not all at once, but steadily, quietly, and for the better.

The happiest news? This isn’t an end. We are just getting started! Season Three starts May 19.

LINK

Season Three Questionnaire

Ted Gioia/The Honest Broker’s 12-Month Immersive Humanities Course (paywalled!)

My Amazon Book List (NOT an affiliate link)

CONNECT

The complete list of Crack the Book Episodes: https://cheryldrury.substack.com/p/crack-the-book-start-here?r=u3t2r

To read more of my writing, visit my Substack - https://www.cheryldrury.substack.com.

Follow me on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/cldrury/

LISTEN

Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/5GpySInw1e8IqNQvXow7Lv?si=9ebd5508daa245bd

Apple Podcasts - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/crack-the-book/id1749793321

Captivate - https://crackthebook.captivate.fm