Glad to meet you! I, too, wanted to tackle the Great Books but was pretty clueless for awhile. I collected booklists from various sources and started to purchase the ones that all the lists agreed on. Over time, I have added my own to the collection, original sources during the time of the Spanish conquest of Mexico, for example. I still collect lists, print them out, and keep them folded neatly in my purse so that I can pull them out while in a bookstore. As if this writing, I’ve finally made
it to the early medieval period. Yay! It’s been a lot of fun! Wishing you continued success.
I, too, appreciate this post. I admire your initiative and persistence. As an English professor, I have read my share (enough to pass writtens and orals!), but I still have a long way to go. I specialize in American literature, and I would like to fill some gaps in world and British literature. Best wishes!
Nice list! I’ve even bookmarked it. :) reminds me of the one art Garfunkel posted - all the books he finished since the 70’s iirc. How many books do you have in total? Looks like ~212 entries with many entries having multiple books per entry.
Going backwards to forwards will no doubt be incredibly illuminating. Just reading a little Plato (or even the much later nietzsche) and it’s always a thrill to realize from whom something originated. (Or at least that certain ideas were already established - for example Greek philosophy/stories later found in the Christian Bible)
Yeah, I'm guessing it will be well over 500 books by the end of it as I'm also trying to pair each book with a guidebook in helping me understand the main material. I expect it to take 15 years total.
Yeah, so far it's been incredible seeing ideas show up in Homer and then get expanded in the tragedies. I hear the philosophers then take those ideas to the next level. And after that, I'm expecting these ideas to continue to be referenced in that Great Conversation! It's been so exciting so far.
Thank you for sharing your journey and your book list. I love reading and am looking forward to doing much more of it during my impending retirement. I love the idea of starting at the beginning, as it were, and progressing chronologically.
Glad to meet you! I, too, wanted to tackle the Great Books but was pretty clueless for awhile. I collected booklists from various sources and started to purchase the ones that all the lists agreed on. Over time, I have added my own to the collection, original sources during the time of the Spanish conquest of Mexico, for example. I still collect lists, print them out, and keep them folded neatly in my purse so that I can pull them out while in a bookstore. As if this writing, I’ve finally made
it to the early medieval period. Yay! It’s been a lot of fun! Wishing you continued success.
That's awesome! Thanks for sharing.
I, too, appreciate this post. I admire your initiative and persistence. As an English professor, I have read my share (enough to pass writtens and orals!), but I still have a long way to go. I specialize in American literature, and I would like to fill some gaps in world and British literature. Best wishes!
Nice list! I’ve even bookmarked it. :) reminds me of the one art Garfunkel posted - all the books he finished since the 70’s iirc. How many books do you have in total? Looks like ~212 entries with many entries having multiple books per entry.
Going backwards to forwards will no doubt be incredibly illuminating. Just reading a little Plato (or even the much later nietzsche) and it’s always a thrill to realize from whom something originated. (Or at least that certain ideas were already established - for example Greek philosophy/stories later found in the Christian Bible)
Yeah, I'm guessing it will be well over 500 books by the end of it as I'm also trying to pair each book with a guidebook in helping me understand the main material. I expect it to take 15 years total.
Yeah, so far it's been incredible seeing ideas show up in Homer and then get expanded in the tragedies. I hear the philosophers then take those ideas to the next level. And after that, I'm expecting these ideas to continue to be referenced in that Great Conversation! It's been so exciting so far.
Thank you for sharing your journey and your book list. I love reading and am looking forward to doing much more of it during my impending retirement. I love the idea of starting at the beginning, as it were, and progressing chronologically.