Welcome to Extragrad
This is Extragrad
For a long time I read a lot of books. When I finished them, I’d put them back on the shelf. They sort of went in one ear and out the other.
Then, some friends said they were interested in joining me as I reread Don Quixote. The plan was to talk about the book to deepen our understanding of it. We all knew we wouldn’t read it if we didn’t have the accountability and deadline and wouldn’t understand it that well if we didn’t talk it through. We’ve added a few people at this point but we’ve been doing this for years now. Some of my favorite moments of the past few years have been book club meetings.
People who read books shouldn’t just put them back on the shelf. They shouldn’t let the author’s message to them go in one ear and out the other after reading so many pages and getting to know so many characters. They shouldn’t have no idea what it was all really about. They shouldn’t have no one to deep dive into the meaning of the book with.
What’s more, having forced a lot of literature on young people for several decades, now many people avoid certain types of books and, some, books in general, because of that force. But people do buy books. People do read them. People are curious what the big deal is about 100 Years of Solitude, The Odyssey, or why Murakami is so fascinating and fun to read. They don’t need to have books in general nor great literature in particular forced on them in middle school, high school, and through “electives” in college.
In the future, Extragrad will be the go to spot to find that great conversation after (or as you) read a great book. One day, it might even take the place of undergrad humanities and liberal arts education completely. Instead of a class or two forced on you in your late teens or early twenties you’ll have an easy and interactive, even sumptuous at times, way to dive deep into the most interesting books in the world.
At the moment, Extragrad is a blog/newsletter and me opening up my calendar to have 90 minute one on one book clubs with you about a book of your choice.
Eventually, we’ll offer a 1) podcast that demonstrates what happens when you mix dialogue and a great book together, that is, a much deeper understanding of the work of art, 2) more dialogue sessions with others even better than me, 3) book club coordination services so you don’t have to herd cats anymore but still get to have that great conversation, 4) workshops covering how to read and talk about a book and facilitate a conversation to dive deep into understanding a work of art 5) literature-inspired trips in collaboration with Black Tomato (picture studying abroad, but shorter, with people you select to join you).
Podcast (Coming soon)
Workshops (Coming soon)
Reach out to me just for fun! - tommy@extragrad.com