Top line: It was nice to do one of these reading lists again. I started the blog with one, and I should probably just keep doing them. Every time I stop, I miss them. Every time I restart, I have a great time. I do have that Norton Anthology sitting on my desk...
The average was a little lower here than on the 15MAD list, which surprised me. It's newer, I got to pick, I didn't have to read any awkward excerpts in the middle of the piece. 15MAD finished with a 2.47, TGWttGB came in at 2.23. Not a huge difference, and still "passing", but surprising never the less.
Speed round of all the ones with really high or low scores:
5:
"Contentment": Do stuff you enjoy, make your life better!
4s:
"Of Refinement in The Arts"? Or maybe "The Study of Mathematics"?: My notes don't make sense.
"The Running Down of the Universe": Entropy is when everything is maximumly (that does not look right) random.
0:
"Definition of a Number": Numbers are numbers.
I learned some stuff, I read some cool stuff, all around a good time. Even though the average is a bit lower, The Gateway... is probably a more practical introduction to classics than 15MAD. Copies are cheaper, easier to find, larger print, and only take like 2 or 3 feet of shelf instead of 5.
Congratulations on completing another A to Z. I enjoy seeing what you discover. You do the work so I don't have to. ;)
ReplyDeleteI think it's one of those things where you can put in as much wokr as you want. I read a 10-20 page excerpt and crank out a couple paragraphs of blog a night. Other people will spend days on one or two pages and write three pages about them. Obviously, it depends on what you're reading (The Odyssey is definitely more fun than Hume or something), but I think we've built up THE CLASSICS into this horrifying monstrosity, when really they're just old, good books.
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