Choosing Classic Cutlery: The Great American Pocket Knife Part 5

 Buck 110 Lockback Hunter

    Jumping back 20 odd years from the Spyderco Worker, another iconic American knife appears on the scene. The Buck 110 was designed to fulfill a seemingly straightforward task: combine the portability of a pocket knife and make it tough enough to stand up to tough use for hunting, camping, etc.

I'd argue the only knife more recognizable than the 110 is the Swiss Army Knife

    This was, apparently, a fairly difficult task. Other companies had tried, resulting in an assortment of failed knives. Buck brought in samples of several of these knives and spent over a year examining, reengineering, and improving them before moving the knife into production.

    The key to the 110's success was developing a strong, precise, mass producible lock. While the lockback mechanism is pretty simple:

That tiny tension bar is killer

    No one had succeeded in creating one that was durable and easy to depress before. In the first half of the 20th century, knife locks were much less common than they are today, and often difficult to use/fragile (I have several knives from the 30s and 40s with broken locks). 

    Besides that (according to Buck) the other company's predecessors were ugly knives. The 110 is a looker. Nice wood grain handles set off by the brass bolsters. Something I think people overlook about it is also how comfortable it is to use. The lock is nice, but the basic hand feel is exceptional. I have a few other lockback hunters, and none of them hit that nice hefty curve the right way.

    Long story short, the Buck 110 made a locking pocket knife a mass production reality. It straddles the line between a dedicated hunting knife and an every day knife very effectively. It's designed for sheath carry, but it is pocketable (if a bit big). Buck does make some smaller models (the 112, scales it down from 4 7/8" closed to 4 1/4"). They also have some modernized variants with thumb studs, auto opening, light weight materials, POCKET CLIPS!, etc. It was one of the first specific models of knife (as opposed to a style or pattern) to be widely recognizable. Even today, a lot of people call any knife of the general style a "Buck knife" regardless of who manufactures them.

Rating:

Age: **** Not as old as the Stockman, but older than the LM and Spydie.

'Merica: ***** Made and designed in America, and illegal to carry in most of Europe.

Popularity: ***** Buck sells ~80,000 of these things a year. In the 1960s, it was the best selling sports knife in the world.

Total: ***** ***** **** 14/15

When I started, I wasn't really sure which one of the four designs I was looking at was going to win. I did all the scoring on Tuesday, and I marinated on it for a little while. I don't think I'd have moved the scores, but I would've been willing to say, "X won, but I really think Y is a more iconic knife." But I think the 110 is the right answer. Every locking hunting/every day carry knife out there today owes something to the 110, and that's an awful lot of knives. The Spydercos are the clear next step in the line, but you can see the Buck lineage in them. I hemmed and hawed over giving the LM a nod for a while, but I think more people carry Buck influenced pocket knives than do multitools.

Crowning Classic Cutlery: The Great American Knife Part 4

 Spyderco

    Shortly before the Leatherman PST revitalized and revolutionized the multitool field, Spyderco launched what I believe is the first "modern" folding knife. 

Top: Original C01 Worker
Bottom: C01GPGR Collectible Reproduction

Both from the Spyderco Forum

    Sal Glesser had successfully marketed a few devices previously (the "Portable Hand" for holding small objects while working and knife sharpeners). In 1981, he looked at the shortcomings of common folding knives and developed his own to solve then. While Spyderco has been a pioneer in everything from materials to lock designs over the years, two innovations on the original worker stood out in both modernizing the pocket knife, and creating the lineage of their products today.

1. The "spyie hole"- While not the first one hand opening knife, the hole design developed by Glesser was important for three reasons. First, it was integral to the the blade itself. Many previous designs were aftermarkets that were held in place by tension, drilled through the blade, etc. Second, it didn't interfere with sharpening, cutting large objects, etc. Thumb studs or bars were a popular, but could make it hard to use the "bottom" end of the blade, or get the proper angle.

Aftermarket "kwik" stud on a Buck 110, tomorrow's knife!
Imagine trying to slice an apple in half with that in the way.

    Finally, the simple, manual operation made the system easy to produce and maintain, while dodging laws against swtichblades or other automatic knives. 

2. Pocket Clip- Many people complained about knives falling to the bottoms of pockets; sitting uncomfortably, wearing holes in fabric, or just being a pain to access. The spring clip on the back of the Worker solves this handily, letting you easily secure it to the outside of your pocket (or belt or whatever). A straightforward invention, but one that has become a standard in the modern era. Unlike the relatively simple screw-stud above, I've seen people drill holes through knives or even spot weld on clips. People really want to have their knives secure and handy.

The closest modern descendant, in my mind, is the Delica. With the exception of the larger "Police" model, I believe the Delica (and its larger brother, the Endura) are the oldest designs still in production, albeit with significant revision.

The clip is repositionable now

    Both knives have the traditional clip and hole. While Spyderco has moved away from the Worker's clip point to a "leaf" shape, the Delica is still a bit on the slender side compared to some others. Both are similar sizes (just under 3" long blades, ~4" handle, ~7" while open). Glesser rightly identified this as big enough to get the job done, but small enough not to be a horrifying weapon. Most of the slip joints we looked at the other night are around this size range as well.

    While many Spyderco knives have shifted to more modern locks, the Delica maintains the traditional lock back mechanism. The original worker used a "front lock lock back", with the lock release all the way at the front of the knife. Most modern designs have moved to a more "mid lock" position. Both are easier to disengage with one hand than the traditional "back lock" position.

While the Leatherman revolutionized doing many things just well enough, Spyderco's knives tend to do just one thing (be an easy to carry and use pocket knife) very well. Opposites, but just as popular and valuable in their own way.

Rating:

Age: *** Another child of the early 80s.

'Merica: **** I'm knocking off a star since the Worker (and many Spyderco knives today) are made in Japan. Spyderco does most of their design work in the US, and does maintain a factory here, but the Japanese knives have always been a critical part of their line.

Popularity: ***** If a "modern" folder isn't a Spyderco, it's probably using one or more technologies pioneered by them. At a minimum the pocket clip is basically a given.

Total: ***** ***** ** 12/15

Tied with the slippies, that gives Leatherman the lead. Got a favorite modern folder? What's the biggest innovation in knife technology in your opinion?

Combining Classic Cutlery: The Great American Knife Part 3

 Candidate #2: (Leatherman) Multitools

While multitools in some form have existed as far back as Roman times, when people refer to them today they're usually referring to a pair of pliers with extra tools in the handles. 

From the Fitzwilliam Museum Collection

Yes, a Swiss Army Knife is definitely a multitool, as are all sorts of other configurations of screwdrivers, wrenches, etc., but Leatherman is to multitool like Kleenex is to tissues or Kindle is to Ereaders.

The first Leatherman, the PST (Pocket Survival Tool) was released in 1983. The story goes that Tim Leatherman and his wife were traveling in Europe in 1975. They were on a tight budget, so they were driving a beater car and staying in crappy hotels. Tim had a Swiss Army Knife (precise model never specified), but he often needed other tools (mostly pliers) to fix the car, plumbing, etc. He spent a few years working in his garage, and eventually developed the PST, selling it primarily through Cabela's catalog that first year.

It's like two Swiss Army Knives had a mutant plier baby.

The PST remained the core of Leatherman's lineup for nearly two decades. Today, it lives on in a "classic" styled line as the Bond, supplemented by the Supertool 300 (extra large with extra tools) and Rebar (PST sized, almost as many tools as the Supertool).

Leatherman has also introduced new lines over the years, most significantly the Wave, introduced in 1998. Most previous tools stowed the tools "inside" the handles, forcing you to unfold them to access a knife, screwdriver, etc. The Wave moved the four largest tools (two knives, a saw, and a file) to the outside for easier access. It quickly became Leatherman's best seller and flagship tool over 20 years.

The current Wave+ model

Currently, the Wave is battling with the new Free and Arc series for the top dog in Leatherman's lineup. Substantially more expensive, the Arc treads the line between premium tool and luxury toy, offering (depending on who you ask) little or not improvement for the price.

While Leatherman may be the first name in multitools, I'd be remiss not to mention two other American companies. First, Bear and Son, whose Bear Jaws tool debuted in 1996. A full two years before the Wave, and with all outside opening tools, instead of just half. While only moderately succesful on the market, the technology was innovative enough that the company was bought by Victorinox (the Swiss Army Knife guys) for a few years while they developed their own Swisstool.

Da bear

But Leatherman's greatest rival is fellow Portland company Gerber. Debuting in 1991 their Multi-Plier line eschews the "butterfly" opening of most Leathermans (Leathermen? Man, that joke never gets old) for a sliding plier action.

Today's MP600, the current revision of Gerber's original tool.

The slider allows for the pliers to be opened one handed, but limits the length of the inner tools substantially. Gerber was picked up as platform of choice for the US military, and developed a reputation for rugged, if unrefined tools. They've generally been less expensive than other company's offerings, while still maintaining a good level of quality. Their reputation has diminished somewhat in recent years, as their prices have climbed, along with some missteps in quality. It remains to be seen how far Leatherman will continue into the high end segment, and if Gerber can reclaim their "cheap but solid" niche. 

Rating:

Age: *** The oldest Leatherman design has crossed the 40 year mark, making it more than old enough for the criteria. It's about the same age as Spyderco's oldest knife, but falls well short of slipjoints and a bit short of the Buck.

'Merica: ***** I'll forgive Tim's European vacation here. Nearly all Leatherman products (and the good Gerbers) are designed and built in the USA.

Popularity: ***** While the venerable Swiss Army Knife marches on, Leatherman style tools are what most people think of when you say "multitool" and they find their way into the pockets and bags of people in all walks of life.

Total: ***** ***** *** 13/15

The slipjoints get edged out by a point! Still a little room at the top of the scale for Buck or Spyderco to win out though. Got a favorite Leatherman? A crazy multitool survival/fix-it story? Or are you still more of an old fashioned Swiss Army Knife person?

Casually Choosing Cutlery: The Great American Slipjoint

Yesterday, I started to narrow down my list of possible knives to represent the USA. After eliminating some largish fixed blades, I was left with the following list:

1. Slipjoints

2. Buck 110/Lockback Hunter

3. Leatherman/Pliers Multitool

4. Spyderco

Various Stockman patterns are popular suggestions online for The Great American Knife. A slipjoint is a knife that's held open/closed by the pressure from a "spring" (a piece of metal, but not the traditional coil shaped kind.)

Case has made all the knives I'll be looking at tonight.

Most other knives are either locking (using one of a variety of mechanisms) or "friction" folders (held open/closed by the user's hand). But I think it's important to pick a specific pattern of slipoint, because both Germany and the UK have a rich history of manufacturing slip joints and, especially with contemporary knife laws, carrying them. But, if a pattern is popular in America and developed (or significantly refined) here, it's eligible. As a reminder, the three criteria I'm looking at are:

1. Age: The older the better, minimum 20 years.

2. 'Merican: Was it developed in America? 

3. Popularity: It has to have been widely carried by Americans in all walks of life.

I've identified four patterns that could fit this criteria:

1. Stockman

The Case 6347 the archetypical Stockman.

There's some debate about whether this is a US or UK pattern, but it's a cowboy knife, so I'm inclined to give it a pass. It originated sometimes in the 1800s, making it (possibly) the oldest of the candidate knives. Certainly popular, this is the "grandpa knife."

Stockmans (Stockmen?) have three blades. A large clip point (the pointy one, all purpose) and smaller sheepsfoot (the flat one, for trimming hooves) and a spey (for speying cattle). Occasionally the third blade is replaced with a punch or other tool.

2. Trapper

The Casiest Case Knife

The Trapper is a refinement of popular two blade jack knives. Previously, most jack patterns (like the popular Barlow) had one larger "master" blade and a smaller secondary blade. But that's just a waste of space, so in the early 1900s either Case or Union Cutlery (the predecessor of KA-BAR) debuted the Trapper. Unlike the Stockman, where the blades other than the clip have to be scaled down, both the clip and spey are full length. This is inarguably American, reasonably old, and quite popular. 

3. Congress

The pocket knife Abraham Lincoln was carrying when he was shot

The Abe Lincoln assassination knife is pretty American. The Congress's pedigree is similar to the Stockman's being maybe American or maybe British. The more reliable sources seem to lean American, and either way it originated in the 1800s. The most popular configuration contains four blades, and always leads with a large sheepsfoot. This is usually followed by at least one pen blade (a small pointy blade for sharpening quills), a coping blade (similar to a sheepsfoot but smaller and more angular for wood working) and a second large blade. A second sheepsfoot is popular, but not guaranteed. The Congress knife is sometimes called a tobacco knife, since it was often used to trim tobacco for sampling. It's bent "backwards" compared to most knives, to make it easy to make "pull" cuts towards the user.

It doesn't quite have the popularity to be the Great American Knife, never being as popular as the Stockman or Trapper, and largely limited to the southern (tobacco) knives for most of its history. Cool knife though.

Eugene Shadley made this Congress with an impressive six blades, including a nail file/cleaner, supposedly based on Lincoln's knife.

 

4. Russlock

In true American fashion, the Russlock isn't really a slipjoint. But what's more American than taking something old fashioned and making it cooler?

Rounding out the list tonight, here's something a little revolutionary. Case's Russlock debuted in 2000, making it barely old enough for the criteria. It's not really a slipjoint, it has a liner lock (a piece of metal on the inside that holds the blade open) but the slipjoint style in undeniable. The little lever under the thumb in the picture above allows one handed opening (impossible with most traditional slipjoints). It was developed by WR Case & Sons Cutlery in Bradford, PA, loosely based on one of their older patterns. Like the Congress, I think this one has to give out to the Stockman and Trapper simply for being a niche knife. It's sort of modern and sort of traditional in a way that's very American, but not very popular. 

I went back and forth between the Stockman and the Trapper a bunch. In the end, I think I give a slight nod to the Stockman. While it's not confirmed American like the Trapper, I think it's a bit more popular, and the fact that it's a rootin' tootin' cowboy knife gives it some extra Americana.

Stockman Score:

Age: ***** The oldest knife in the lineup.

'Merican: **** Probably American, very cowboy.

Popularity: *** Probably the most popular slipjoint pattern, but somewhat pushed out today by other more modern knives.

Total: ***** ****** ** 12/15

Will the Buck, Leatherman, or Spidey beat it out? Got a favorite slipjoint pattern? Let me know!

Collating Classic Cutlery! The search for the great American knife

Besides reading the classics and complaining about Star Wars tie-in novels, I like to collect knives. It started as a mix of my dad being into them, and a practical matter for camping, but it's gotten a bit out of hand. Many countries have a knife that's deeply associated with them in the knife collector community. 

The Filipino Balisong:

Thanks reddit

The French Opinel (or maybe a Douk Douk or Laguiole):

I prefer the #7

The Italian Stiletto:

I have one that's like half the size (Frank B)

The Swiss Army Knife

Betcha can't pick just one Victorinox

But I got to thinking, what's the "classic" knife for the US?  It's fun to collect some knives from my great grandparents' countries, but what represents me as a modern, red blooded, American mutt?

The internet (as always) is happy to weigh in with a few options. 

KA-BARs and Bowies:

Assorted Slipjoints:

Case Knives

Even Multitools!

Buck Knives (Lockback Hunters)

I have feelings about some of these, but I think the it's important to think about what traits a knife needs to be a countries "classic" knife. I'd list the following:

1. Age: A classic is at least 20 years old. Sorry, Bugout fans.

2. Originates in (or at least substantially developed in) the country: I see Scout/Camper patterns listed as the American knife in some places, but they're clearly very European.

3. Popular and widely carried: It can't really be representative of a country unless people in that country actually liked and used it. It can't just be a military weapon or a part of ceremonial dress or something. It had to be a knife that could wind up on the belt, pocket, or bag of soldiers, farmers, doctors, shopkeepers, factory workers, and everyone in between, at work or on a day off.

And one thing that isn't necessary:

-1. A specific knife: There's no specific company that makes the stiletto, and while the #8 is the most popular Opinel, I wouldn't call someone any less French for liking a #6 or #10. So I'm willing to go with a pretty broad interpretation of style or pattern.

Using those criteria, I think I can eliminate a few of the commonly suggested knives above, and also add one of my own.

Eliminated: Bowie Knives- At no point in US history was it common (though it is very 'Merica) in most of the country to walk around with what was nearly a short sword on your hip. While you can buy smaller ones today (though some people would say it's not a real Bowie then) the traditional Bowie knife had a blade around 10 inches, plus a honkin' big guard. Besides being widely restricted or outright outlawed, they just weren't practical.

Try going to work with this thing.

The KA-BAR is a bit smaller (blade length 5"-7"), but the model most people, the Mark II

IT'S A SPACE BAR!

wasn't invented until the 40s, well past the time you could even pretend that carrying a belt knife around all the time was plausible.

That leaves me between trying to find the real American slipjoint pattern, Buck 110s (and derivatives), and Leatherman style multitools. But I want to consider one more option:

Spyderco!

Spyderco debuted their first knife in 1981. 20+ years old? Check.

Invented and made in America? Golden, Colorado, baby. Pioneering the OHO thumb hole, integrated pocket clip, and probably a bunch of other features.

Popular: Multiple entries on Amazon's top 50 pocket knife charts.

A lot newer than the others, but I think it's a contender.

Final Reflection: How'd it go?

I wish I'd done these reflections in a more organized way. I've talked about what I learned, an overall rating of the selections, what I liked and didn't like, etc. But I think I want to do one more post about how successful I feel like the whole thing was. I'll also talk a little about how well I think Eliot did about achieving his goals. Here's the official goal from the 15MAD guide:

My aim was not to select the best fifty, or best hundred, books in the world, but to give, in twenty-three thousand pages or thereabouts, a picture of the progress of the human race within historical times, so far as that progress can be depicted in books. The purpose of The Harvard Classics is, therefore, one different from that of collections in which the editor's aim has been to select a number of best books; it is nothing less than the purpose to present so ample and characteristic a record of the stream of the world's thought that the observant reader's mind shall be enriched, refined and fertilized. Within the limits of fifty volumes, containing about twenty-three thousand pages, my task was to provide the means of obtaining such knowledge of ancient and modern literature as seemed essential to the twentieth-century idea of a cultivated man. The best acquisition of a cultivated man is a liberal frame of mind or way of thinking; but there must be added to that possession acquaintance with the prodigious store of recorded discoveries, experiences, and reflections which humanity in its intermittent and irregular progress from barbarism to civilization has acquired and laid up.

Within the segments I read, it's hard to trace an exact "picture of the progress of the human race" since we jumped around so much. I think, overall, he does a pretty good job of tracing a good breadth over a couple thousands years. People have already written about a million times that the collection is fairly white, male, etc. I'm not going to say that isn't true (it is), but I am going to say that, yeah, that's most of what would've been available at that point for a collection. Translations for anything outside of Europe were nearly non-existent and (as we saw in a few places) of questionable quality (he was also working with, as far as I can tell, mostly public domain or at least cheaply reprintable sources). The fact that he devotes in an entire volume for 1001 Nights is pretty progressive for the time. I do quibble with some of his selections in 15MAD for the Quran (which feels very focused on comparing it to the Bible). The lack of women is a bit less reasonable. There weren't as many (or as famous) women writers back then, but I'm pretty sure I could count the total number of women on one hand (maybe two if you add translators of men's works). Still, I think these critiques are better focused on the literary culture of the time than on Eliot himself. Also, where's Russia? I know it's not Western, but I don't think there's even a single poem in here.

The second goal, specifically of 15MAD was:

    In my opinion, a five-foot shelf would hold books enough to give a liberal education to any one who would read them with devotion, even if he could spare but fifteen minutes a day for reading.

 And I think that dovetails nicely with my goals for the project. I've talked a little about how I felt letdown by my education in regards to a lot of the traditional "liberal education" stuff. I took one completely awful class in Philosophy, and the vast majority of my professors were firmly in the "teach you what to think, not how to think" category (when they could be bothered to teach instead of rambling about how much they hated everything, how dumb we all were, etc.). I had a lot of friends who went to private schools, and I think I had a little bit of a chip on my shoulder that they seemed to have gotten further on the classics, philosophy, etc. in high school than I did in college, let alone high school. T5FSOB and 15MAD seemed like a good first step, if nothing else, to giving myself the education I wish I'd gotten a decade or two ago.

So, how did the project stack up there? Pretty well, I think. I've written before about how I'd never really been exposed to philosophy that thinks life actually can have a point. I've got a nice long reading list that I've started to chip away at, and I've started looking at podcasts and other secondary sources.

I think I've gained a more positive world view in general. All of human history isn't a complete shitshow of everything being terrible all the time, getting marginally better very occasionally, and then backsliding just as far! People, aren't entirely defined by the situation of their birth, and can choose to improve themselves. I think I knew most of those things, but it was nice to peak into an organized world view that supported it, instead of the constant barrage of everything being terrible all the time that was most of my education (and much of modern discourse).

And I think that brings me into the biggest success of the project, which is just a general improvement in self confidence. I can devote myself to a project like this, and keep it up for a whole year. I can read all of these challenging texts and mostly understand them. I read the US Constitution today because of the inauguration. It was kind of awkard in spots. "Chuse" was a valid spelling for "choose" then. But I was able to do it. I can read stuff, think about it, and make myself a better person. 

If that's not worth 15 Minutes A Day, I don't know what is.

Star Wars Classics still exists

 I'm kind of tempted to roll it back into this blog again. I'm enjoying trying to keep my streak going, and SWC would be a way to milk another post a week. Just in case anyone doesn't know about it, I have another blog where I read the pre-Disney (and maybe some post-Disney?, I'm like two decades away still) Star Wars novels (and a few of the games, comics, etc.) It's over here, and I'm about to put up a new post.

"To Build a Fire" by Jack London

I didn't it expect it, but I really missed doing these. I've still been reading and working on the blog, but I didn't realize how much I enjoyed reading and blogging a little ~15 page chunk everyday. I've been reading a bunch of OSR stuff lately, and one of the old D&D books had a note on fire-starting, how matches hadn't been invented yet. That got me on an internet rabbit hole that led to Jack London's To Build a Fire.

Summary: Dumbass (almost, depending on version) freezes to death in the Yukon.

Commentary: I never knew there were two different version of this story with two different endings. The original (1902) is much shorter, doesn't have the dog, and doesn't have him die. It's much tighter. I read the longer version first (it's the one that pops up first on Google). Tom comes off like less of a douchebag in the short one, and more simply inexperienced and a bit careless. He doesn't specifically ignore advice like he does in the other version. The hand burning feels more intentional. The 1908 version is supposedly more popular, and much extended. I think the addition of the dog is good, but otherwise I'm not a fan. There's a lot of repetitive description, much of which is awkward/wordy the first time. "Because the freezing point is 32 above zero, it meant that there were 107 degrees of frost." is an example. "Degrees of frost" is a weird construction to begin with, and London uses it at least twice. 

I'm not sure we ever actually read the story in school. I remember watching this movie. Nearly an hour is a long runtime for 15 page story, and I don't remember caring for it. Might rewatch it at some point, but an hour is a good chunk of time. I did take the 15 minutes to watch this more modern version. The animation is interesting, but I think you lose a lot without Tom's inner monologue.

I'm going to go against the grain here and recommend the 1902 version: 4/5.

Old School Cool

 Just a quickie "tonight" (as long as I post it before I go to bed it still counts). Ran the game with four people. One had only played any kind of RPG once or twice, two have played a reasonable amount of more modern stuff, and one had actually played Basic when that was current. I killed one of them three times, as he tried to loot and murder hobo his way through the dungeon. He had a nice time. I stand by yesterday's post that there's a lot more flexibility in the older, lighter systems. When I run modern stuff and someone says, "can I do X?" the answer is always, "maybe, roll some dice" but a lot of times there's some weird rule for how to do it in like five steps in one of the books. With the older ones, there's a lot less of those. I don't love race as class, but there are a few retroclones that take that out. I'm never sure how I feel about the lack of skill system. On the one hand, it does help differentiate characters (a "thuggish" thief that relies on intimidation, etc. vs a sneaky one), but it does add a lot of rules.

I found Winter's Daughter very similar as GM to how I did as a PC, which is kind of anti-climactic. The basic outline is that the PCs go into a tomb, where they need to solve a small puzzle/riddle, retrieve a ring, and give it to a fairy princess. It's not combat heavy (which is fine), but there's no big set piece for when the PCs win. They make it through a half dozen rooms, do the puzzle (which is pretty binary, they either find the info they need or don't) and then can head to the princess with minimal fuss. They don't really have any reason to care about the princess and her husband outside of backstory, which is iffy in a one shot like this. There's not even much conflict for roleplaying. The princess and knight do want to get married, no one really objects. I feel like it'd work better if they had to convince them to get married, or stop a forced marriage, or something. There are a few other OSE adventures I see recommended as starter sessions, but I might try one of the old D&D box set scenarios, or just brew something myself. We'll see.

Casually Gaming Classics

I spent some time tonight prepping to run Winter's Daughter, a one shot adventure for Old School Essentials. I played it once, but this is my first time DMing the system. I think old school roleplaying games dove tail nicely with the whole liberal/freedom angle of the blog. Especially compared to D&D 4+ and Pathfinder 2, I think the players have a lot more freedom to creatively solve the problems. A lot of more modern ones always like you're just doing little video game cutscenes between combat encounters, which are very "hit it with big numbers" heavy. The old-style games put more emphasis on exploring, puzzle solving (again, using your player brain, not just rolling your "solve puzzle" skill), dodging or talking your way past fights. I wish I'd done a bit more prep, but I'll see how it goes. Gives me a free post for tomorrow at least.

New Years Resolutions (I got home late today, and had to shovel, but I don't want to break my streak)

 This blog was (obviously) my New Year's Resolution for last year. Officially, I'm not "obligated" to keep it going daily, but it's hard to give it up now. This year, my goals are to get my Chess rating up (I said 1500, I should've said 1400!) and to get back into an exercise routine. I initially said stretch every day, but I found that stretching "hard" more than a day or two in a row is rough. I guess I should've figured it'd be the same as any other kind of exercise. Years ago, I was pretty good about doing some light warm ups and stretching each day, then going into something a little harder, so I'm trying to build a new routine based loosely around that.

I really like just going for a nice long walk, but it's been below freezing most evenings this week, and there's ice around. I could maybe deal with the temps (something something stoicism) but twisting my ankle while trying to go for a jog feels unproductive.

Maybe I'll find a way to stick with one post a day between here and my other blog (blogs? thinking about starting yet another). I'd like to do another reflection or two, but I think they'll be more in depth and take longer to write. We'll see.

SHARE YOUR RESOLUTIONS, LURKERS!

Some things never change.

 I'm not sure how many of these reflection posts I'm going to wind up doing. For tonight, I want to talk about something I found really reassuring T5FSOB: how many of the things people struggle with today were apparently still issues hundreds or, in some cases, thousands of years ago. On the one hand, I guess it's a little depressing that we're still grappling with so many issues, it's also comforting to see that the world is still spinning, and mostly better, even if we haven't entirely fixed them. We still grapple with how to govern like Hobbes and Machiavelli. We still have all manner of moral, emotional, and philosophical issue that Ben Franklin and Marcus Aurelius talked about. Locke wrote about using what we would call "gamification" over 300 years ago. 

I guess it's also kind of disappointing that we're still arguing about some stuff that was mostly "solved" hundred of years ago, but that's part of being free, I guess. People are welcome to be morons about stuff that their great great great grandparents could've read a book about (if they could read). But, overall, it's comforting to me. People make a big deal about how the times we live in are so horrible, stressful, etc. and how happy people used to be. It's nice to see that they worried about a lot of the same things (maybe today isn't so bad) and to learn from them to hopefully deal with those issues in our own lives. I think the example that most resonated with me was Cicero's.

9. Nor, again, do I now MISS THE BODILY STRENGTH OF A YOUNG MAN (for that was the second point as to the disadvantages of old age) any more than as a young man I missed the strength of a bull or an elephant. You should use what you have, and whatever you may chance to be doing, do it with all your might.

I don't necessarily worry about old age a ton (yet), but I like that when I do I can hopefully frame it like this. There were always things I couldn't do, and I tried not to get hung up on them before. Enjoy and do you best at what you an do, and you'll be happier and more successful than if you worry about what you can't. Really, that's good advice for life in general, not just aging.

Failing at time management, fifteen minutes at a time.

 I think one of the biggest things I learned from this project was how much time and energy reading, writing, etc. take, and how much I can afford to devote to it per day. (You'd think, after getting two English degrees, I'd have it figured out.) One post about ten or so pages of literature was fine. There were days that I had to rush/skim a little, but I could usually go back and reread by the end of the week. But as I started to add more and more stuff on it got to be too much. At the peak, my schedule looked something like this:

Monday: 15 Minute Classics, Weekly Reflection
Tuesday: 15 Minute Classics, guest post on my wife's blog
Wednesday: 15 Minute Classics, Casually Completing Classics
Thursday: 15 Minute Classics, crits/submission for writing workshop
Friday: 15 Minute Classics, Star Wars Classics
Saturday: 15 Minute Classics
Sunday: 15 Minute Classics, guest post.

That meant that Saturday was the only day I wasn't locked into two posts (or other writing responsibilities) on the schedule (and something extra often came up). More often than not, it meant I tried to cram a ton of fiction writing in on Saturdays (since I couldn't actually produce a reasonable amount for workshop just on Thursday) and wound up burnt out. Obviously, anyone reading saw what happened. Things dropped off little by little, until I was down to basically just the core 15 Minute Classics posts. I snuck in other stuff to try to make it up here and there, but by December I think I was close to 30 posts in the hole across all the series. I am proud that I never had to miss a day on the core series. I think keeping up a daily post on just about anything is a fair accomplishment, let alone having to also read 10 or 15 pages for it. I'm mostly caught up now (I'm about a dozen books behind on Star Wars Classics, but some of them will be grouped under a single post and  I don't know that I'm going to "make them up" or just start posting and leave a little backlog.) This year, I'm going to try to shoot for one post a day, more or less, across my various projects. I want to devote a lot more time to my fiction. I was kind of burnt out after my Masters, so it was good to take a break, but I'd like to work my way up to doing fiction roughly every other day, with the other stuff filling in the rest of the days. No firm schedule yet, I'm just taking some time to enjoy finishing out this project and I'll figure it out later this month.

Where do I go from here? Is there anybody out there? (Next steps and begging for comments.)

 Short post tonight since I got home late. I'm in the closing stretch of this little project. I've got to do at least one more general recap post, but I think even if I really ramble I'll be done by the end of the week. I'm still holding onto the every day streak for as long as I can, but I think I'll probably let it go by the end of the month. When I had an explicit, daily challenge it made sense, but as I move onto longer pieces I think once or twice a week will be more suitable. I have spent some time thinking about what to read next, so here's a list in order from what I think is least to most likely:

1. More Harvard Classics- 15MAD is only a small portion (my napkin math puts it about 15%) of the total collection, and that's not even counting the later fiction supplement. However, they're not exactly easy to find/work with, the translations are dated, and I think I'd prefer to broaden my horizons a bit.

2. Dig into the "to read" list- I made a list of about 50 (I think there are some doubles) things to read over the course of this year. I'd definitely like to read them (or I wouldn't have made the list!) but I think I want a little more organization than "pick the next thing that looks interesting off the list."

(These two are almost guaranteed not to be the plan, but they're reasonable ideas to consider.)

3. An organized classics/liberal ed course- There's a bunch out there, but many are on some kind of actual schedule, and I'd have to find one that I liked, aligned with my schedule, etc. I think this is a better plan for some other time, unless a great one falls into my lap.

4. Do one of the Great Books courses- Gateway To The Great Books is probably the most direct competitor to 15MAD released, and is much more modern (original date 1963, updated edition 1990?). It'd be kind of cool to see how they compare. On the other hand, it feels like it'd basically be a repeat of this year in theme, if not in content.

5. Casually Comparing Classics- I had a lot of fun with The Odyssey series, and I have a couple Beowulf translations I'd like to read sitting on my night stand. It'd be fun (and comparatively short/easy) to chunk through a section or two of each a week and compare them.

6. 15 Minute Classics: The World Tour- I got a copy of one of the current (shorter fifth) editions of the Norton World Lit anthology for my birthday. T5FSOB (and The Great Books) are heavily western focused, and I think I'd like to expand my range a little. Maybe I'll decide I really like southern Asian mythology and want to dig in on that for six months or something. This feels manageable (I think it's actually slightly less pages than this year's challenge), I have the books physically (and I think digitally, although I'm having some issues with my code. If not, I can yar har the 4th edition if nothing else), and it seems most likely to increase the breadth of my reading, if not depth. But I'm not one hundred percent locked in yet...

I think I probably have a handful of regular readers on this blog. According to Blogger, I'm averaging a ~100 hits a day. I'm sure most of those are from bots (and I really doubt the blog is as popular in Singapore as the stats suggest), but I think that there's gotta be at least one or two of you actually reading most of these posts. So, I'm going to ask for two things. First, leave LITERALLY ANY COMMENT. Even if it's just one letter. I just want to know someone actually exists and is looking at these. Second, if you care, feel free to talk about which of the above options you like/dislike. I'm open to any one of the six, and if someone is really engaged with one it'll probably be more fun to do that one.

At the end of the day, this blog is mostly a journal for me to help me organize my thoughts about the readings. This isn't a Fanfic.net "no updates until I get enough comments!" hostage situation, I will keep tooling along for the foreseeable future regardless. But I would like it more if I knew someone was actually alive on the other end of the ethernet cable.

Final Reflections: Weekly Average

I started keeping a spreadsheet a month or so ago where I recorded my weekly average scores. I have most of the second half of the year done, so I went back today and started rereading the recap posts and adding them to the sheet. It was nice to refresh myself on some of the earlier readings, and to see how I reacted and how things changed. I saw my comments on the first Burns entry today (when I just thought of him as regular bad). I forgot that I didn't "officially" calibrate the scoring system until (I think) April. There's a lot of three and fours when I was just rating based on "overall" quality, vs specifically as "classics." I'll update this post tomorrow when I finish, but didn't want to break the streak. (I plan to go non-daily at some point, not quite yet.)

Final Average: 2.47

Worst Week: Week 33, 1.71

Best Weeks Week 3, 3.57 

I want to start by saying that it took me a couple weeks to settle into an actual scoring system (I officially documented it the last week of February into March, but I think I'd mostly figured it out a week or two earlier). Looking back, I don't think I would've knocked Week 3 down very much. The Nightingale already only got a 1, Ben Franklin usually rated high, Poetic Principal might've even snuck up to a 4 depending on my mood. It could've dropped a point on each of the other entries (all of which were also strong, and probably wouldn't) and still kept it's 3+ average. A few of the earlier weeks would've definitely dropped a bit, but I stand by Week 3.  Weeks 1 and 2 also scored at or above a 3, and were more likely to lose a point or two off their overall score. The only week to score a 3+ after the scoring guide was "officially" established was Week 22. I think this is getting carried by my Kit Marlowe fanboyishm, but it was nice to see one "later" week make the cut.

I also want to take a moment to restate the scoring system. (From here):

1/5: Should not have been included in T5FSOB in the first place. Poorly written, not particularly intellectually stimulating, historically unimportant.

2/5: Valid for inclusion in T5FSOB but not a good selection for the reading list. Might be a poorly chosen excerpt from a stronger piece, or an okay piece that has value but not in the top 20% or so that a piece (by napkin math) should be to get into the reading guide.

3/5: A passable choice for the reading guide. Well enough written, and at least somewhat historic or thought provoking. While not spectacular in and of itself, suitable as a starting point to discover other pieces or start thinking about a subject.

4/5: Actually good. A selection that works without needing other pieces to prop it up. Writing quality is decent, and it has some sort of critical/educational value.

5/5: The best of the best. Something that immediately prompts me to want to find more on the subject/author or otherwise changes my perspective on life.

I think I kind of undersold 4 here. "Actually good" starts around a 2 or 3 (a 2 could be a weak section from a strong piece, or a decent but not amazing piece on its own). Four is better than "good", but not a super-best-of-the-best-life-changer.

There were also a fair number of 0s (so bad it probably shouldn't have been written), mostly for Robert Burns. I hypothetically allowed 6s, but I don't think I featured any. I used it once or twice in Star Wars: Classics for something that hit the triple threat of being exceptional in all three categories of entertaining, thought provoking, and historic.

Working backwards, Week 33 narrowly edged out Week 32, and does a great job of highlighting the two things that can really drag a week down. They're only a point apart, so they could've easily flipped. The two most common things to drag a week down (especially later in the year as my patience waned) were:

1. Bad religious writings.

2. Bad (especially Burns) poetry.

I spent a lot of brain time waffling on how to account for "bad" religious writing in T5FSOB. Something Eliot highlights (and I appreciate) is that not everything in T5FSOB is supposed to just be "the best." It could be historically significant, even if completely wrong. And that means there is room for some amount of questionable Christian (or any other religion, but Christianity gets the lion's share) rambling. Christianity is still a major force in the West, especially the US, and still is today. I can disagree with a lot of Christian writers, but some of them are still well written or important for some reason. But the particular strain Eliot pulls from so heavily, "God is infinitely amazing, people are infinitely terrible, watch me pretzel logic to prove it!" was (as far as I can tell) never influential enough to deserve the amount of page space he devotes to it. How could it be? If you went to church every week and got called a peace of shit for an hour, and read stories about God torturing people for no reason, you wouldn't go back. At some point earlier in the year, I entertained the possibility that Eliot was doing some stealth anti-apologetics to try to make God/Christianity look as terrible as possible. While it appears he was more of a middle of the road (possibly even more Deistic) Christian, I don't think full on Atheism Commando is very likely. Besides, he does include a smattering of not complete garbage Christianity readings. 

Poetry was much more straight forward. If your poem is about how beautiful nature is, or how you're "in love" (creepily obsessed) with someone, you have to write a really amazing poem to score well. About a million people do it well every year, and when you're in the same collection as Shakespeare, you're probably not going to measure up. Bonus point loss if you sacrifice readability to cram in a weird slant rhyme scheme or something. I don't hate all poetry (Keats scored the first 5!), but it's real easy to do a bad job, and I think meh-bad poetry is more unpleasant than meh-bad fiction.

Week 33 had examples of both, and was punished accordingly.

So, how does that average of 2.47 shake out? Most simply, it'd be a week with four 2s and three 3s. It means that the vast majority of the selections in 15MAD were at least good enough to be included in a collection of the best/most important writings of history up until 1910ish. It means (by a slim margin) the average selection wasn't good enough that I'd have selected it in a "Top 366" list for such a collection. I suspect the 2s do slightly outnumber the 3s, though the numbers could be skewed by the 0/1 and 4/5(/6?). I think there were more low outliers than high outliers, so I suspect the 3:2 ratio is a bit better than it looks. If I did a similar challenge (I am eyeing some Gateway to The Great Books sets, and I got another potential project from my parents yesterday) I'd like to do the data in a more granular and organized way. Overall, the ratings aren't the point, but just a tool to foster more thought. I'll continue with more reaction and reflections next week. 

Reflections on Week 53 (Dec 30&31 THE END!)

         Link to the readings

Last one!

Quick review on this week's readings:

Dec 30 Two Years Before the Mast by Dana: 3/5 I would like to fake my way through a foreign country by knowing a related language.

Dec 31 "Inaugural Address at Edinburg University" by Carlyle: 1/5 Way to end the year on a downer

Average: 2 I did that math myself.

Overall Thoughts on The Project:

Kind of a let down for the final week. Two Years Before the Mast, like some of the selections the week before, was fun to see one last time (even if the choice was odd). The Edinburg Address is a rambling disaster. Anything passable here could've "saved" the average, but this was a disaster.

Reflections On Week 52 (Dec 23-29)

        Link to the readings

It's slightly more than 52 weeks in a year.

Quick review on this week's readings:

Dec 22? (Oops, wrong week)  The Voyage of The Beagle by Darwin: 2/5 Not the best Darwin

Dec 24 Holinshed's Chronicle by Harrison: 1/5 This was a total bait and switch.

Dec 25 The Gospel of Luke: 3/5 An obvious, but appropriate, choice for Christmas.

Dec 26 King Lear by Shakespeare: 3/5 Lear is an underrated play.

Dec 27 The Voyage of The Beagle by Darwin: 3/5 The famous finches. 

Dec 28 "Drake's Great Armada" by Briggs: 2/5 The worst of the Drake excerpts for the year.

Dec 29 The Odyssey by Homer: 3/5 This project finally got me to stop adding an extra "e" to Odyssey. (I think I already said that.)

Average: 2.42 Saying goodbye to some favorites this week.

Overall Thoughts on The Project:

It was kind of cool to see the final selections Eliot picked for the repeats. Circling King Lear back to just before the first reading. The Odyssey ending on its natural climax. Darwin getting his finches. It was like seeing an old friend grow up and realize their potential.

Reflections on Week 51 (Dec 16-22)

       Link to the readings

(Blogging) Area 51

Quick review on this week's readings:

Dec 16  On The Sublime and Beautiful by Burke: 2/5 I didn't care for this section, but the rest of the essay sound interesting..

Dec 17 The Confessions of St. Augustine: 1/5 Wasn't there a non-awful Christian tradition Eliot could've pulled readings from?

Dec 18 Some Thoughts Concerning Education by Locke: 2/5 How to learn Latin (which you don't need) without forgetting English (which you do).

Dec 19 Samson Agonistes by Milton: 1/5 God is extra terrible this week.

Dec 20 An Account of Egypt by Herodotus: 3/5 Child abuse and engineering. 

Dec 21 The Pilgrim's Progress by Bunyan: 2/5 Literature's strangest wills.

Dec 22 "What is a Classic?" by Saint-Beuve: 3/5 A pretty good definition of a classic.

Average: 2 I don't think there's going to be any weeks above a two this whole year.

Overall Thoughts on The Project:

I've read that sublimity (real word, didn't expect that) is often contrasted with religion, which makes it kind of interesting to see the Burke excerpt paired with St. Augustine, Milton, and Bunyan here this week. Religion says things are overwhelming, therefore there must be a god. Sublimity says things are overwhelming... wow! I don't know that that's accurate (having only read this chunk and I think one other excerpt), but that's the impression I've gotten. Interested in learning more, which is the point of this project.

Reflections on Week 50 (Dec 9-15)

      Link to the readings

Final month!

Quick review on this week's readings:

Dec 9  The Fugitive Slave Law: 3/5 Well that's shitty.

Dec 10 The Autobiography of Benvenuto Cellini: 2/5 He's a slightly less funny edgelord in this one.

Dec 11 Alcibiades by Plutarch: 3/5 Probably the strangest Lives excerpt of the year.

Dec 12 Poems by Browning: 1/5 So far past my bad poem quota for the year.

Dec 13 Sir Francis Drake's Famous Voyage... by Pretty: 3/5 It's where you bend your Ell! 

Dec 13 Poems by Plutarch: 1/5 Please stop.

Dec 14 The Odyssey by Homer: 3/5 Vampire Ghosts!

Average: 2.29 Ugh, poetry.

Overall Thoughts on The Project:

If all the poetry hadn't bombed, I was thinking about rereading Cellini to see if I could justify moving it up to a three. But then there was more bad/generic poetry, so it didn't matter. I think if your poetry involves telling me something is beautiful you should just stop, since it's already been done a few million times poorly, and you're probably not going to do any better.

Reflections On Week 49 (Dec 2-Dec 8)

     Link to the readings

Hey, I'm only a month behind now!

Quick review on this week's readings:

Dec 2  Le Morte d'Arthur by Mallory: 3/5 Chivalric tongue lashings!

Dec 3 Buddhist Writings: 3/5 The way they pick the Buddha is questionable, but I learned things and practiced math.

Dec 4 The Aeneid by Virgil: 2/5 It's a lot easier to read the random excerpts of stories I've already read.

Dec 5 Poems by Rossetti: 3/5 She's like a better Emily Dickinson.

Dec 6 Essays by Addison: 0/5 It's like he had a philosophical dialogue with himself. 

Dec 7 Cicero by Plutarch: 2/5 Stop giving me an excerpt of a half of a pair with no context, Eliot.

Dec 8 "Levana and Our Ladies of Sorrow" by Quincey: 3/5 Just inventing new triple goddesses for fun.

Average: 2.57 Addison ruins it for everyone. 

Overall Thoughts on The Project:

We're getting recent enough that I actually remember some of the readings reasonably well! This week didn't really stand out. The Lives are usually kinda meh, but I blame the formatting. I think the one that stood out to me the most was the Buddhist writings, since I had to sit down and do math while I read it. A literal interaction in your literature can be fun.

Reflections on Week 48 (Nov 25-Dec 1)

    Link to the readings

Hopefully I can avoid any of the dramatics from the last two days tonight.

Quick review on this week's readings:

Nov 25  The Shoemaker's Holiday by Dekker: 2/5 I wasn't thrilled with this one, but I think part of that was the production.

Nov 26 "On The Tragedies of Shakespeare" by Lamb: 1/5 Lamb is entitled to his opinions, and I am entitled to think this is one of the dumbest things I read all year.

Nov 27 Utopia by More: 2/5 If the thing you're satirizing isn't real, is it really satire?

Nov 28 Poems by Blake: 2/5 Slant rhymes rhymes with band rinds.

Nov 29 Inquiry Concerning Human Understanding by Hume: 3/5 I think some of the other philosophers have had similar points in 15MAD, but still relevant. 

Nov 30 “Hints Towards an Essay on Conversation” by Swift: 4/5 All good advice, and interestingly written.

Dec 1 Three Dialogues Between Hylas and Philonous by Hume: 1/5 Heat isn't real.

Average: 2.14 I'm developing a physical aversion to philosophical dialogues. 

Overall Thoughts on The Project:

I Swift's "Conversation" for I think the third time, and it's great every time. I look forward to rereading some of my other favorites (and finishing the ones that're in excerpts) later this year.

Reflections on Week 47 (Nov 18-24)

   Link to the readings

OK, back on track now.

Quick review on this week's readings:

Nov 4  Wilhelm Tel by Von Schiller: 3/5 Cool to read an actual version of this. I was vaguely aware of the story, but just from 30 second parodies and stuff.

Nov 5 "Morte D'Arthur" by Tennison: 3/5 Decent enough version of the grail story.

Nov 6 "The Valiant Little Tailor" by The Brother's Grimm: 3/5 Light and silly.

Nov 7 "On Inoculation" by Voltaire: 3/5 The historical basis of Twi'leks?

Nov 8 Aeneid by Virgil: 2/5 Probably better in a different translation.

Nov 9 Thoughts by Pascal: 1/5 Pascal's villain rant about failing math. 

Nov 10 The Origin of Species by Darwin: 3/5 Lamarckian Darwin!

Average: 2.57 Had a real streak going early on. 

Overall Thoughts on The Project:

The dichotomy here is interesting. We start the week with classic legends, folk tales, etc. Wilhelm Tell, Grimm, King Arthur. Then (except for Virgil) it's all non-fiction in the back half. I don't think there's been any other weeks split like that.

Reflections On Week 45? (4-10)

  Link to the readings

I definitely wrote this yesterday, and I have no idea what happened to it. I'm guessing I thought I was using it as a template and overwrote it instead.

Quick review on this week's readings:

Nov 4  Polyeucte by Constable: 3/5 Weird translation, but seems like an interesting play.

Nov 5 The Life of Sir Thomas More by Roper: 1/5 Dude really liked his FiL.

Nov 6 "The Force of Gravitation" by Faraday: 3/5 Cool science.

Nov 7 "The First of the Three Ladies from Baghdad": 3/5 Sick bars, and I learned what a hafiz is.

Nov 8 "Paradise Regained" by Milton: 1/5 Who asked for the Bible as a questionable poem?

Nov 9 Plasms: 2/5 A couple of these are half decent.

Nov 10 The Deserted Village by Goldsmith: 3/5 I even reread this whole thing! (It was decent.)

Average: 2.29 This week got one more point on the rerate.

Overall Thoughts on The Project:

I think a one point difference on a scale of 0-35 is pretty decent (less then a 3% spread). I don't really remember what I put here yesterday. I think something about being glad to reread Goldsmith.

Reflections on Week 46 (Nov 11-17)

 Link to the readings

I'm making breakfast for dinner to celebrate my wife's thesis after this.

Quick review on this week's readings:

Nov 11 Poems by Whitman: 3/5 Unconventional subjects, pretty good poems.

Nov 12 Paradise Lost by Milton: 3/5 An actual good(ish) Paradise Lost section!

Nov 13 The Confessions of Saint Augustine: 2/5 I waffled on scoring this one a lot. Strong front half, iffy back half.

Nov 14 "Uniformity of Change" by Lyell: 1/5 Not very interesting, and hard to comprehend.

Nov 15 I Promessi Sposi (The Betrothed) by Allessandro Manzoni : 2/5 Random section way after the rest of the book.

Nov 16 Two Years Before the Mast by Dana: 3/5 California Girls are have but little virtue doesn't have the same ring to it. 

Nov 17 Sir Walter Scott by Carylye: 0/5 What even is this?

Average: 2 This was a really hard to rate week.

Overall Thoughts on The Project:

Sure, my wife is getting a doctorate, but did she do fifteen minutes a day of a pseudo liberal studies degree? No. (She did a lot more work, but I didn't have to put up with her cohort and professors.)

Reflections on Week 44 (Oct 28-Nov 3)

Link to the readings

Snow day tomorrow! We haven't had one of those in like half a decade.

Quick review on this week's readings:

Oct 28: "Some Thoughts on Education" by Locke: 3/5 Kids learn best via Boggle gambling.

Oct 29: Poems by Keats: 2/5 Nightingales, man.

Oct 30: "Science of Geology" by Lyell: 1/5 Not wrong, just not well written.

Oct 31: BUUUURNNNNSSSSS: 0/5 IT'S OVER!

Nov 1: The Tempest by Shakespeare: 2/5 I kinda want to go all the way down to one for this one, since there are more deserving Shakespeares.

Nov 2: The Divine Comedy by Dante: 3/5 Artistic censorship. 

Nov 3: Pliny's Letters: 3/5 Just a little torture to be safe!

Average: 2 The end of the "Burns Curve"

Overall Thoughts on The Project:

I cannot express how happy I will be to never have to read Burns again. I'm proud that I actually read (admittedly, kinda skimmed sometimes) every Burns day. I think that's the biggest challenge of this whole project. He's just so terrible. And barely even in English.