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classics reading list for me


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No doubt this has been done a million times but I am having trouble finding any relevant threads on the topic.

I am after some suggestions on clasics or must read books for myself. Any suggestions on threads to browse or online lists to consult? I used to have a good list bookmarked but cannot find that bookmark anymore.

I used to read a lot and read quite a number of the classics as a teen/young adult but have not read any recently. I would like to get back into reading some classics but would like some direction on where to start and what books I should not miss. Any suggestions? TIA

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The Well Educated Mind might be a start.

The Ambleside Online booklist has some good reads. Some are less worthy of your time, but many are quite good fun.

 

If you haven't read a lot of old books I might suggest something that is not too old and then progress backwards. I found that I needed to build up good reading muscles to tackle the language and style of older classics.

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In the back of the book A Thomas Jefferson Education by Oliver Van DeMille there is a list of 100 Selections from the George Wythe College Required Reading List. There are also lists for children and teens.  22 of the books listed for college are available for free at amazon.com if you have a kindle. Many are available for $1 or $2.  I just loaded mine up with freebies yesterday.

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One thing to watch out for on kindle freebies is the age of the translation. Some of what is available is so old that the translation is almost like reading Shakespeare. I had a version of The Prince that was free but almost unreadable.

 

I'm a huge fan of see bookstores, library sales and Paperback Swap. Usually for just a couple dollars I can get a good modern translation and maybe even some useful footnote commentary.

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I find it helpful to have a plan or a reason for reading classics.  For example,

 

- Follow the Well Educated Mind, as someone mentioned

- Chronological reading, especially if your kids are following chronological history, so delving into the ancients when your kids do, or American literature when they are there

- Easy-to-difficult reading, starting with shorter novels to get to know a few well-known authors like Mark Twain and Steinbeck (e.g. The Pearl), so you have some opinions on literature and authors to start out with

- Following a Teaching Company course I'm learning from, and reading the books as they come up

 

Julie

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I agree with going backward from modern to classics and reading shorter before tackling larger volumes. I read aloud Charlotte's Web and Stuart Little to my 5 yr old son, and it was the first time in a LONG time I had read anything with such long and stylistically rich sentences (I usually read the news and that's it, though I used to read Harper's and other magazines with longer and more in depth stories). Then I read Charles Dickens's A Christmas Carol, at first out loud to my kids, then just for myself. An adult could read any of these great books given just one afternoon, or, if the reading's a little rusty, a couple days. It's good to persist and get to the end, and like someone else said, to gain an opinion and develop perspective on different writer's and their styles.

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Thanks everyone, some great lists there :001_smile:

yes the reading is a little rusty but as i have read literally hundreds of classics in the past I am hoping I will get back into the swing of things without too much trouble. I do enjoy having a list to consult though and even check off to show progress.

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