Benedict Cumberbatch Reads To You, For Real

Mondays are tough, but thankfully the Internet has blessed us all with a little something to help you relax after a long day — Benedict Cumberbatch reading Franz Kafka's The Metamorphosis for BBC Radio 4. The British actor/human meme recorded the reading back in 2006, but BBC Radio has just released it online for your listening pleasure. Bless. The Metamorphosis is perhaps Kafka's most famous work. In the novel, we meet Gregor Samsa, a salesman who wakes up one day transformed into a giant, hideous insect. Though the story is grotesque and depressing as it awakens readers to the painful truths of humanity, Cumberbatch still manages to be soothing as he reads. That man can lit-terally make anything charming, including making the sounds of Gregor Samsa slurping through his bug face.

I would have forfeited all of my Cliff Notes in high school if I had such handy, educational tools at my disposal. A Benedict Cumberbatch study guide would have made all of those late nights studying (read: procrastinating) so much more tolerable. Who needs Red Bull to get you through your AP English final when you can have dashing British celebrities instead?

When it comes to all of those classic novels you read in high school, you could never just get away with watching the movie version in order to pass the test. Hopefully Mr. Cumberbatch will help today's teenagers remember the protagonist, antagonists, plot, theme, and metaphors. Now here's the celebs who need to join his ranks and read our favorite English class novels:

Reese Witherspoon: The Grapes of Wrath

If anyone can make The Dust Bowl feel even a little uplifting, it's her.

Beyonce: The Color Purple

I want to listen to this right now.

Jon Hamm: Of Mice and Men

Making tragedy handsome AF since 2007.

Chris Pratt: Lord of the Flies

It. Just. Makes. Sense.

Sir Ian McKellen: The Odyssey

Yeah, I'd like Gandalf to read this epic to me, thanks.

Connie Britton: The Crucible

Hey y'all, let's go on a witch hunt.

Kerry Washington: To Kill a Mockingbird

Can I get extra credit for listening roughly one million times?