A New Leaf

I’m close to finishing Neal Stephenson’s colossal three-book Baroque Cycle. My new arm chair arrives on Friday. A plan of reading is required.

I am inspired by an article in the Chronicle of Education in which a professor stresses “the importance of reading books that are difficult. Long books. Hard books. Books with which we have to struggle.” Books that contain Hard Ideas.

Greg pointed me toward Harold Bloom’s Western Canon. That looks like a good place to start. I’m wondering, though, whether to approach such a massive list chronologically, randomly, or alphabetically. I’m leaning toward the first one – start with the ancients and work my way forward. But it’s easy to imagine me getting discouraged and tired before I get past the Greek tragedies. Perhaps just a random selection from each “era” is the best compromise.