Reading Classics, Chronologically Through the Ages discussion

It would be lovely to have members introduce themselves here. :-)

I'm a bookaholic who thinks about books all day--especially when I'm not reading one. I have a typewriter I'm awkwardly figuring out how to use. I really love to eat--I'm always hungry and am prone to hangriness, and so always having a snack on hand is essential. I enjoy being outdoors: hiking and trail running.

Years ago I stumbled upon The Well-Educated Mind and I became intrigued. I’d always wanted to read more classics, but never knew where or how to begin. I set it aside for a while before deciding to embark on the TWEM project late last year. I'm only on the 4th book now (the Greek lyricists) so I didn't think it'd be too late for me to start a Goodreads group and find others who may also be interested in reading chronologically across all the genres, and who would like to engage in lively book discussions.

Ah, ha! You've anticipated me! I suggested having an introduction thread and you've done it already!

I have been reading through The Well-Educated Mind first edition, but I skipped the novels and began with the biographies section. I've enjoyed them but am going to be glad to be finishing up soon and moving on to the histories. My favourite biography would probably be Confessions followed by The Seven Storey Mountain.

I really love how Kenia has incorporated everything chronologically. While I feel it was mildly beneficial to read the biographies in this manner, having the reading directed at a certain genre only, really didn't give me the big picture. It makes much more sense to incorporate all the genres chronologically.

As for hobbies other than reading, I like kayaking, hiking, dogs and peace and relaxation, which I don't get much of. ;-)

I'm looking forward to this group, and seeing some of the new books from the new edition of The Well-Educated Mind.

Cleo wrote: "Ah, ha! You've anticipated me! I suggested having an introduction thread and you've done it already!

I have been reading through The Well-Educated Mind first edition, but I skipped the novels and..."

How interesting that your favorite biographies are about theologians! Is that a coincidence or are you a spiritual person? As much as I read, I've never really read any biographies. I read half of Steve Job's biography after he passed (it's a hefty book). So it will be good for me to finally get exposed to them.

I know you already have an incredible number of books you're reading and reading challenges--so thank you for joining the group!

Sandy wrote: "Hey Kenia and Cleo - so nice to see you folks here.
Kenia, I'm really glad you set this up. I love your idea of reading these books chronologically.
I may not be able to jump in right away but I ..."

Thanks for joining us Sandy! There's no pressure to jump in at any particular point--please always feel free to hop in and out as you please.

I can certainly post a link to my blog page with the full listing of books. :)

I see there are a few more members now! Would any of you like to introduce yourselves? Please always feel welcome to post here. :-)

I'm Sarah, an English major who has known about The Well Educated Mind for years, but tends to be sporadic in actually following the list. I can't promise I'll be here all the time, but I will try to keep an eye on discussions here and participate as much as possible throughout the summer so my mind does not go to seed too much during the long summer holidays.

Hi, Sarah! I'm just finishing up the biographies (a little out of order at the end, thanks to my library) and will be starting the histories soon. I hope your summer is relaxing and leaves you lots of time for reading!

Sarah wrote: "I'm Sarah, an English major who has known about The Well Educated Mind for years, but tends to be sporadic in actually following the list. I can't promise I'll be here all the time, but I will try ..."

Hi Sarah! So wonderful to meet you. :-) Ah...an English major! I look forward to hearing your insights when you do drop in to participate. I believe everyone's thoughts are insightful, but you are, quite literally, an expert of literature . As opposed to me, for example. I majored in engineering and that's what I do for a living. I sometimes find myself wishing I had double majored in English--the liberal arts are so, so important. Reading through these books is my attempt at at least self-educating in this realm.
Cheers, and I hope you have a lovely summer.

Kenia wrote: "I majored in engineering and that's what I do for a living. I.."

I can't believe you're an engineer. You've given me my shock for the day! ;-)

I wish I'd gone into something language-oriented, but I'm in accounting. Weird, because my talents lie with words, not numbers. Life draws us to strange places, doesn't it?

Hi everyone, I'm Sharon. I am an avid reader, and have been all my life. I have been an Administrative Assistant for the past 35 years. I have some post secondary education (I was a history major), but that was about 30 years ago. Life got in the way and I was not able to finish my degree (my one regret!). I no longer have the time/money to go back to school, so The Well-Educated Mind seems like a great way for me to catch up on what I've missed, and to do so at my own pace.

Kenia, I really like your list (and your blog), and especially like how you included other works that are not on Bauer's list. Your list has motivated me into creating one of my own, as I not only want to read/study books from the canon, but also want to do a study of the Transcendentalist movement (not to mention all the other books that I want to read!)

Looking forward to being a part of this group!

Sandy wrote: "Hi Sharon. It's great to have you with us. I wish you well with your catching-up. I am trying to do the same thing -- with limits on time and money. Life is just too short, and too busy!"

Thank you, Sandy!

Cleo wrote: "I can't believe you're an engineer. You've given me my shock for the day! ;-)

I wish I'd gone into something languag..."

haha Yes, life does draw us to strange places. I got into engineering because my overly-practical self believed it to be a prudent way to make a living...which it is in today's world. I'm very grateful for it and try to be mindful of that gratitude. But although I'm good with numbers, I'm so much more passionate about words.

If you're in accounting, that must mean you *do* have some talent with numbers. ;-) Did you get into it for the same reason I got into engineering?

Sandy wrote: "I have always been told that, in the "world" of giftedness (perhaps there is new nomenclature for this concept?), aptitudes for languages, mathematics, and music are often evident together in the s..."

So is music the path you took?

Sharon wrote: "Hi everyone, I'm Sharon. I am an avid reader, and have been all my life. I have been an Administrative Assistant for the past 35 years. I have some post secondary education (I was a history major),..."

Sharon, welcome!! The Well-Educated Mind really does seem like such an excellent way to dive deep into literature and history. Just because we don't have degrees doesn't mean we can't still take joy in those subjects!

Thank you so much for your compliment on my blog and book list. :-) I would love to see what your list would look like! When you mentioned the Transcendentalist movement, I immediately thought of the Alcotts. Were they not Transcendentalists?

Also, I tried taking a look at your blog but when I click on the link it takes me to a Blogger page that says, "Blog has been removed." Perhaps you've removed it on purpose, but just in case I thought I'd mention it.

Kenia wrote: "Sharon wrote: "Hi everyone, I'm Sharon. I am an avid reader, and have been all my life. I have been an Administrative Assistant for the past 35 years. I have some post secondary education (I was a ..."

Thank you for the welcome, Kenia! Yes, the Alcotts (particularly Bronson and Louisa) were Transcendentalists, along with Emerson, Thoreau, Margaret Fuller, and many others. There are so many aspects to the Transcendentalist movement, it is hard to know where to begin! I find it fascinating, and plan to tackle it at some point :) But first I need to learn how to read (properly) and also how to write about it.

As for the blog, I have had one on and off for the past ten years, and have found it difficult to maintain. I had deleted it back in January and thought I took the link off of my profile - obviously I didn't! I don't know now if I can resurrect it on Blogger - I may need to start a new one. Thank you for being interested in looking at it :)

Sandy, what languages did you study? I'm curious. I took French (of course) in school, and also Spanish and German. Since then, I've dabbled a little in ancient Greek and Latin. I've just signed up for the Future Learn Italian course, but we'll see how far I get with it. As you know, finishing up those courses have been a challenge for me.

Hi Sharon, and welcome to the group! I hope that you'll share your list with us, when you have it completed.

Kenia, I actually am very good with arithmetic but horrible with math. Isn't that weird. It may be a mental block from poor teachers though. I enjoy detail and am relatively organized, although I usually am overloaded and don't feel organized. I had thought of becoming a librarian when I got out of school, but it was 6 years university and I had to do Calculus first year (help!), so I guess I ran in the opposite direction. I also was interested in languages, but at the time I graduated, all the second-languages jobs were in Eastern Canada and I didn't want to go there. In retrospect, I wish I'd stuck with the librarian career, but if I had, who knows what I'd be saying now. Wishing I was in accounting ......?? ;-)

Sharon wrote: " Yes, the Alcotts (particularly Bronson and Louisa) were Transcendentalists, along with Emerson, Thoreau, Margaret Fuller, and many others. There are so many aspects to the Transcendentalist movement, it is hard to know where to begin! I find it fascinating, and plan to tackle it at some point :)..."

I've had problems with the Transcendentalists so far, so I'm excited you're going to study them more and then perhaps you can let me know what I need to appreciate about them! :-) I read Walden and really enjoyed it, and some of Emerson's works, but I find that their philosophy is rather idealistic and unrealistic. It sounds lovely, but practically, I don't think it would play out in the way they thought it would. However, I do think it's important that there are people like them who would share their ideas, as they at least get you thinking more deeply about certain aspects of life.

Kenia, I'm wondering if it might be fun to make a folder for members personal book lists? That way we can keep track of our books while seeing how everyone else is doing with their reading. Does that sound like a plan? ;-)

Cleo wrote: "Sharon wrote: " Yes, the Alcotts (particularly Bronson and Louisa) were Transcendentalists, along with Emerson, Thoreau, Margaret Fuller, and many others. There are so many aspects to the Transcend..."

Thank you for the welcome, Cleo! I think you hit the nail on the head regarding the Transcendentalists' philosophy. But their influence on movements such as anti-slavery and feminism was far-reaching, not to mention the literary impact it had, so I think it is worth pursuing. I may change my mind once I get into it, though :)

Sharon wrote: "But their influence on movements such as anti-slavery and feminism was far-reaching, not to mention the literary impact it had ..."

I didn't know about that. I'll be looking for these issues when I read more of their works. Thanks for the information!

Thank-you for the warm welcome everyone. I'm excited to have this group help me wander in the "realms of gold" for the summer. Kenia, I notice you've just read the Tao Te Ching, which I also just recently read. I would love to discuss it if you'll be posting about it on your blog soon. (I am myself currently deciding if I'm going to keep posting at the old blog I have linked in my profile or make an entirely fresh start.) I'm also currently reading Susan Wise Bauer's History of the Ancient World (fingers crossed that I can get through her three published history volumes by the end of the year) which has been stirring my pulses to reread Gilgamesh, so I may be doing some paddling backward and forward in the list and in your posts. ;)

Cleo wrote: "Sandy, what languages did you study? I'm curious. I took French (of course) in school, and also Spanish and German. Since then, I've dabbled a little in ancient Greek and Latin. I've just signed up..."

Wow, so multilingual! I'm very impressed!

6 years of university involving calculus for library science? Wow! I never would've thought!

Cleo wrote: "Kenia, I'm wondering if it might be fun to make a folder for members personal book lists? That way we can keep track of our books while seeing how everyone else is doing with their reading."

This sounds like a wonderful idea except I'm not sure if I understand precisely how you mean? Do you mean like a "What are you reading?" type folder?

Sandy wrote: "Forty-five years ago, if someone had described my future to me, it would have seemed like a fantasy novel. I could never have imagined the life that has been mine."

Isn't that a beautiful thing about life though? It's a grand adventure full of ups and downs (hopefully more ups than downs) and looking back it seems to obvious how you got to where you are now, but looking forward it's a beautiful mystery.

I think it's fantastic that you taught music to children for a while. One of my best friends is a music teacher for elementary school children and she absolutely loves her work.

Sarah wrote: " I notice you've just read the Tao Te Ching, which I also just recently read. I would love to discuss it if you'll be posting about it on your blog soon."

Yes! I would love to discuss Tao Te Ching! I have an out-of-town wedding I'm flying out for tonight, and won't be back until Sunday evening (so I'll try to check in here on GoodReads, but I may be mostly absent until next week) so then I'll have next week to gather my thoughts and write about the book. I should have a post up by the end of the month and will let you know!

Sarah wrote: "I'm also currently reading Susan Wise Bauer's History of the Ancient World (fingers crossed that I can get through her three published history volumes by the end of the year) which has been stirring my pulses to reread Gilgamesh"

If you can get through her history volumes by the end of the year I would be SO impressed! I'm hoping to finish the Ancient World by the end of the year, hahaha

And speaking of Gilgamesh, that was a fun one. I wrote about it here: http://www.keniasedler.com/gilgamesh/

Kenia wrote: "This sounds like a wonderful idea except I'm not sure if I understand precisely how you mean? Do you mean like a "What are you reading?" type folder? j..."

Perhaps a folder that says WEM Member Book List, or even WEM & Classic Book Lists or Track Your Projects ....... Something like that but perhaps you can think of a better title. Then each member can start their own thread with their list of books that they are planning to read. Sort of like this. Does that make sense?

Cleo wrote: "Perhaps a folder that says WEM Member Book List, or even WEM & Classic Book Lists or Track Your Projects ......."

Ahhh...ok, thanks for elaborating. That's a great idea!

Hello everyone.

I just started reading TWEM a couple of weeks ago and researching about it in Goodreads I found you. Let me start by saying I am Brazilian, so I hope this "detail" is not a big barrier for us (I will read most of the books in Portuguese, probably).

I am currently living in São Paulo, but I was born in Porto Alegre (south of Brazil) and spent the last years living in Munich, Germany. I am architect but I have a master degree in Transportation Systems, so I work mostly with urban and transport planning. Consequently, most of my friends and colleagues are not really into reading.

In a first moment I am planning to follow the novel list. However, when I was younger I studied History in university for a couple of years (but I didn't finish it) and during that time I had classes about ancient history, read some ancient pieces and loved it. So I am also excited about the poems and history lists.

Lets see how this experience goes...

Hi Gabriela, welcome!

Hi Gabriela! I'll be interested to hear your thoughts on the books as you progress through the lists.

Hello everyone, my name is Nicky. I first came across The Well Educated Mind a couple of years ago after reading The Well Trained Mind. I loved the idea of applying the trivium method in a course of self study and I have always wanted to tackle "the greats". I read a handful of them but with no one to discuss them with combined with the demands of family, school, and work I sort of pushed the project to the back burner picking up one of my reads every now and again. Now I am on maternity leave for the next three months and since I spend a lot of time reading with an infant asleep in my lap I pulled out my copy of TWEM and decided to get back to it. I cannot tell you all how excited I was to stumble across this group! The biggest reason my reading of the list tapered off to a trickle was due to lack of interaction with others who shared my interest. I look forward to reading all of the posts and interacting with everyone :)
So excited about this group!

Nicky wrote: "Hello everyone, my name is Nicky. I first came across The Well Educated Mind a couple of years ago after reading The Well Trained Mind. I loved the idea of applying the trivium method in a course o..."

Hi Nicky, welcome to the group and congratulations on your new baby! Looking forward to reading and discussing the books with you.

Gabriela wrote: "Hello everyone.

I just started reading TWEM a couple of weeks ago and researching about it in Goodreads I found you. Let me start by saying I am Brazilian, so I hope this "detail" is not a big bar..."

Gabriela, welcome! I'm so glad you have found us! The more world views we have contributing to our discussions, the better.

Gabriela wrote: "Consequently, most of my friends and colleagues are not really into reading."

I completely understand what that's like. I'm so glad we have the Internet to enable us bookworms to connect with each other!

Nicky wrote: "Hello everyone, my name is Nicky. I first came across The Well Educated Mind a couple of years ago after reading The Well Trained Mind. I loved the idea of applying the trivium method in a course o..."

Nicky, Congratulations on your new little bundle of joy, and welcome to our group! We're so excited to have you! Life gets busy for all of us, so please don't feel that you have to *always* be constantly involved to be a part of this community. You can step away and step back as you need & want, and we will always value your input.

Welcome, Nicky! I, too, was so happy to find GRs because of the lack of classic-enthusiasts in real life. Congratulations on your new baby and happy reading in your months off!

Cleo.....you didn't clue me into another group to fall behind on my reads with. :)

But I still found you!

A Bookworm Reading (Plethora) wrote: "...another group to fall behind on my reads with."

hahahhaa

Bookworm, I was trying not to feed your sickness habit. ;-) Go for it!

Cleo wrote: "Bookworm, I was trying not to feed your sickness habit. ;-) Go for it!"

Thank you fur attempting. ;)

I have been reading more. Now i just need to find a balance for my classics/non-classics and fiction/non-fiction.

Sarah wrote: "...Kenia, I notice you've just read the Tao Te Ching, which I also just recently read. I would love to discuss it if you'll be posting about it on your blog soon. ..."

Sarah, I have finally posted my review on Tao Te Ching: http://www.keniasedler.com/tao-te-ching/

I'd LOVE to discuss so feel free to leave a comment on there! :-)

Hi, Everyone-

I'm so glad to have found a group of curious readers who want to learn by reading through history. I have started a similar project by reading The 100 Most Influential Books Ever Written, and putting them on my To Read list in chronological order, also interspersing additional books from those time periods when I run across other things I'd like to read. For example, I recently added Gilgamesh.

Of course with all the modern fiction and other book club and personal interest books I'd like to read some day, my To Read list is impossibly long. So it will be great to have some companionship on the journey.

I haven't read TWEM yet, but I did add it to the To Read list as well -- possibly when I saw it in Sandy's news feed. I am also filling in some gaps in my knowledge of history, which I was never terribly interested in back in school. The Dorling Kindersley children's History of the World was good for giving me a general timeline of history to fill in some of the gaps in my schooling and general knowledge. (Here's my review: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1...)
Now I am learning more about pre-history and the earliest civilizations by reading Prehistory & the First Civilizations -- which is what piqued my interest in Gilgamesh.

Oh, and I am an engineer too. (saw some reference to the profession earlier in this thread)

Looking forward to getting to know you all better.

-Julie (Sorento62)

Hi Julie! It's wonderful to meet another reader with an impossibly long TBR list! I look forward to your comments in the group! :-)

Sorento62 wrote: "Hi, Everyone-

I'm so glad to have found a group of curious readers who want to learn by reading through history. I have started a similar project by reading The 100 Most Influential Books Ever Wri..."

Hi Julie! Welcome, welcome! I'm glad to see a fellow Engineer who is also interested in the liberal arts of history and literature. I was never interested in history in school either, and while I consumed a lot of books, I never enjoyed the literary works required in school. It's so funny as now I'm very passionate about both of those subjects.

I'm convinced there's something about High School that makes most of us dislike history and books. Is it that the way it's taught is too boring? Is it that we're too young to appreciate those things? Perhaps both...

But anyway, welcome again, and I look forward to interacting with you here!

Hello!
I am a Great Books geek and I suspect that I find myself in good company (obstinate and stubborn open-minded readers with long everlasting reading lists and houses filled with books invading floor space?). Like you I ponder which books that are the great ones, how I should approach them, and if I can find the time to mine the riches of the minds of the past? I tend to read too many books at one time, but as I recently realized, this habit allows me to think more about the authors, time, characters, culture etc simmering into a wonderful perplexing soup. My mind is split between the humanities and natural history, but they seem to be parts of the same wonderful dynamic dance.
I'm from California where I try to spend time outdoors (hiking, birding, pondering) with my family and, of course, work so I can return to my beloved Great Books (:P). I suspect that you will inspire me further by your reading habits and all that blogging you are up to. I am even thinking about joining that endless enterprise at one point. Anyways, I just wanted to say hello as I just joined!

Hey, Haaze! Great to see you here! Can't wait to start reading some books with you!

Haaze wrote: "Hello!
I am a Great Books geek and I suspect that I find myself in good company (obstinate and stubborn open-minded readers with long everlasting reading lists and houses filled with books invading..."

Welcome Haaze!! Oh yes, you are in great company here, and it seems you already know Cleo and Sandy!

Thanks for introducing yourself. :-) Where in California are you from? I live in SoCal (Orange County).

Thank you Kenia!
I'm from the Bay Area - Santa Cruz on the coast. The weather is so amazing right now (love the fall!!!!!) but I am swamped with other things. I suspect that is a September feeling at times as one enters the busy schedules after a "lazy" summer.
Are you all reading the Greek plays right now? I see it posted as a current read, but there is no thread? Just curious.... ; -)

Haaze, I've just started to read Sophocles' Theban Plays. I will begin a discussion thread for it now--as you've noticed, there isn't a thread for it yet. ;-)

But Sandy makes a good point about the mobile vs. full website. I love the site but have found GoodReads' mobile version to be lacking, and do sometimes struggle to see all the threads within any given group from my phone.

Kenia wrote: "Haaze, I've just started to read Sophocles' Theban Plays. I will begin a discussion thread for it now--as you've noticed, there isn't a thread for it yet. ;-)

But Sandy makes a good point about th..."

Weren't you on the Oresteia? I'm confused ... ! :-?

Cleo wrote: "...Weren't you on the Oresteia? I'm confused ... ! :-?"

Hey Cleo! I finished The Oresteia back in July when you were reffing the World Softball Championships. Here's the link to the Agamemnon folder: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/group...

Sandy wrote: "Just so you are aware, Kenia, on the app the link goes to the group homepage in the app. It appears that it's impossible to get to that discussion thread through the app. It seems odd that it doesn..."

Sandy, I don't think there's a tech trick of any sort. The link works perfectly on the desktop, but I've long ago realized that their mobile app, well...sucks. haha I am pretty tech savvy myself and know website coding and my opinion is they need to improve their app. I've never been able to access any Group's features well on it. I always interact with Group features when I get a chance to sit at an actual computer.