An excerpt from Part II, Chapter 1 wherein Oblomov is inspired to get out of bed, to start reading books again, and perhaps even to pay a compliment.
It's easy to blame social media, remote work isolation or the loss of "third places." Japan's most famous author says it's an essential feature of modernity.
Is AI an existential threat to book reading, or only the most recent challenger? Read a 140-year old debate from Octave Uzanne to get some perspective.
It's the eternal human tension, stillness vs. action, from 1859 to today
Oblomov, by Goncharov (Part 1, Chapter 1)
Quit doom-scrolling. Read Sōseki's "Kokoro". You'll feel better.
