Classics

I'm not very organized and I'm not systematic, but my reading has a rhythm to it.  I read for pleasure. I read for renewal. I read to my kids. I read through a classics list. I read books on education. I read books on psychology. I read to grow spiritually.  I read what my kids are reading for school, which has the added bonus of knocking books off my Well-Educated Mind Classics list and often brings pleasure.

Like many adults, I wonder why did I never read these books when I was in school.  I read a few, The Red Badge of Courage, Anne of Green Gables, Huckleberry Finn, The Scarlet Letter  and of course the Shakespearean plays, Julius Caesar, Romeo and Juliet, and Hamlet.  And there was the time in 9th grade when I read Anna Karenina and turned in a book report where I missed the whole point, because I didn't have the life experience to get the whole point.  That was a sad day.  Anna Karenina turned out to be one of my favorite books after I did the hard work of unearthing the whole point.  That is the point of the classics, some are fun and you read them for pleasure, but most of them require some digging.  They require thought, exploration, and often a dictionary, coffee is optional, but also a good plan. They are meant to be read with a pencil in hand and a notebook nearby. They are quotable and deliberate.  They speak to an age past and they speak for an age to come.

I have been reading through The Well-Educated Mind Classics list beginning with fiction and moving my way through the different genres.  Susan Wise Bauer suggests reading through the books in order, but I am also reading with my kids in school and so I've ended up reading most of these books out of order.  I hope to blog about most of these books, at least the ones that have an impact on me.