Highlight the line that stops you cold and start the conversation right there. Argue about Raskolnikov with people who actually finished the book — on your own time, at your own volume.
He had become so completely absorbed in himself, and so isolated from his fellows that he dreaded meeting anyone at all.
Dostoevsky ties the isolation to intellect, not weakness. The whole novel is him trying to think his way back to people.
A good alternative to doomscrolling Twitter — the same idle thumb, pointed at a book worth arguing about. Bring people along for the journey, or keep it as quiet as you like: company when you want it, silence when you don't.
And read as much as you want, free — on your phone, wherever you are.
Join in seconds and open a classic right on your phone. No setup, no friction — you're reading in moments.
Highlight the line that stops you, react, and see what others thought — reply right where the conversation started.
This was not because he was cowardly and abject, quite the contrary; but for some time past he had been in an overstrained, irritable condition.
He had become so completely absorbed in himself, and so isolated from his fellows that he dreaded meeting anyone at all.
On Dosty, discussion lives inside the book — not in a forum, not in a group chat, but pinned to the exact sentence that started it. Read a passage and the conversation is right there beside it, from people who read the same words.
He would creep down the stairs like a cat and slip out unseen.
The cat simile is the whole man in six words — not a predator, just something that would rather not be seen.
filed under: things I also do to avoid my landlord.
Most apps decide how loud your feed is. Dosty hands you the dial. Turn it down to read a chapter in total silence; turn it up to bring in your friends, then the whole room. Nobody's spam reaches you unless you ask for it.
Quiet is the default. Company is a choice.
How full is it while you read?
Public-domain classics, free to read. New titles and translations added as readers ask for them.
Soon you'll be able to read a book alongside a small group — same pages, same weeks, one shared conversation. A book club that meets inside the book. We're building it once the room is full of good people.
Free to start. Bring a book, or borrow one of ours. Leave the loneliness of the last page behind.