Reading Classics, Chronologically Through the Ages discussion

Sharon, please join us! I'm only 1/3 of the way through and don't think I'll finish until the end of April.

Kenia wrote: "Sharon, please join us! I'm only 1/3 of the way through and don't think I'll finish until the end of April."

Thanks Kenia! I will start it tonight :)

Hi everyone,

I'm shuffling around my groups on GR, looking for one or 2 to match my reading goals a bit more closely. And still include many of the GR friends I've made here.

I'm incredibly excited to start a "Global Ancient Text Project," it seems like this group could be a good home for it? It's the ancient epics from around the world.

Does that project seem suitable here?

Biblio-
Very much so. You will find many with common interests and overlapping readings.
-Sorento62 (Julie)

Hey Biblio, good to see you here! That sounds fantastic. As you know, my reading time has been severely limited but that is certainly something I'd be interested in. Let us know more in detail what your thoughts are.

Thanks, love book-welcoming places.

I made a GR shelf but I'll do up a prettier blog post about it in a couple of days.

Biblio wrote: "Thanks, love book-welcoming places.

I made a GR shelf but I'll do up a prettier blog post about it in a couple of days."

Biblio, I encourage you to create a discussion topic for Biblio's Reading Projects under the Member TWEM/Classics Book Lists discussion folder in this group. Even if it is just a link to your Blog or a pointer to your bookshelf for the Global Ancient Epics. If you explore that folder, you'll see examples from several others in the group.
I look forward to reading about your plans.
-Julie

Hi! I don't know why I didn't join this group last month when Kenia told us about this in the FB group, "I'm reading all the books in the well-trained mind by Susan Wise Bauer."

But, I'm here, now, and I love to read and I love the idea behind TWTM and we use some Bauer books. I want to broaden my scope of literature, and being part of a discussion seems a good way to do so!

Hi Christina! So glad that you're joining us! I think there are presently a number of us stalled on The Histories and some who have moved on to History of the Peloponnesian War, which I have. Where are you in your reading?

Hello! My name is Heidi. :) I'm a homeschooling mom of 4 with one on the way (due 11/13 of this year) and teach using the Classical method, which I am still becoming familiar with. As if I didn't have enough on my plate, I also work a small part time job to help pay them bills.

I used to be in a few book clubs but was unable to leave the family and attend the meetings. So nice there are groups online! :)

In my spare time (.........is there such a thing?........) I like to, well, read of course, but also cook, watch TV, and play board games. :) Occasionally I knit, and I keep trying to take up gardening but I'm not very good at it.

Anyhoo, looking forward to starting this journey. :) Does anyone have any tips?

Hi Heidi! It's so nice to meet another homeschooler! I used the tweaked Classical method with very good results.

As for tips ...... wow, that's difficult. Try not to get distracted by too many books. Reading in a group is wonderful, but if you can find special like-minded people you connect with to do regular buddy reads with, I find that's an excellent way to get to books on your lists. Oh, and don't expect to keep you house perfectly clean until all your children graduate. There are some random tips from yours truly! Glad you found the group!

Welcome Christina and Heidi!

So glad to have you join us. Cleo is right in that myself and maybe a few others have stalled on Herodotus:

Cleo wrote: "Hi Christina! So glad that you're joining us! I think there are presently a number of us stalled on The Histories and some who have moved on to History of the Peloponnesian War..."

This particular group is on pause for a little while (but not forgotten!). After Herodotus I look forward to Medea by Euripides....

But, in the meantime, here are some things you two can do!

1) Comment on books we have already read in the Discussions!

2) Add your own personal reading project here.

3) Head over to "The Well-Educated Mind Histories" group which is currently active, and participate in their current reading of History of the Peloponnesian War by Thucydides.

Welcome again! :-D
Kenia

Welcome Christina and Heidi!

Thanks everyone. :) I'm really enjoying the books and the company.

Cleo wrote: "Hi Heidi! It's so nice to meet another homeschooler! I used the tweaked Classical method with very good results.

As for tips ...... wow, that's difficult. Try not to get distracted by too many bo..."

LOL!!! That's what I'm finding! I'm in a cozy mystery group, for light reading. This one for mind stimulating things/homeschool knowledge (my copy of The Illiad just came in). My husband and I and trying to read a book together to discuss; currently we're reading "The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet". Then I like to do some spiritual reading. Of course this isn't counting try to read chapter books for my son (to see if he'd like them, or if they're appropriate). And then of course there's homeschooling books; my Well-Educated Mind book just came in as well.

I'm so swamped! :) And I really try not to read too many at once, but it's getting harder and harder to do. Anyhoo, I'll figure it out. At least summer is here, so that helps. :)

How many children do you home school

Kenia wrote: "Welcome Christina and Heidi!

So glad to have you join us. Cleo is right in that myself and maybe a few others have stalled on Herodotus:

Cleo wrote: "Hi Christina! So glad that you're joining us!..."

Thanks for the tips!

Heidi wrote: "How many children do you home school ..."

Just one who is graduating this year. Sniff, sniff! :-( But now I can do some self-education that I've been putting off. Learning never ends, does it?

Master Melvin M. wrote: "Hi, I'm Melvyn, I love reading books, nice group we have here, thanks for sharing!"

Welcome Melvyn!

Welcome, Melvyn!

Hi Melvyn! Welcome!

Howdy folk :-) Robin from another website pointed me here. I'm just starting the journey and beginning with Quixote. Working on a subreddit to build up discussion as well. How is the current selection going?

Welcome, Nevin Kamath. We are just finishing up Herodotus' Histories and beginning Medea. I am looking for a good video of Medea (there are several on YouTube, for example), as I usually prefer to watch plays being performed rather than reading them.

Sounds good, Sorento62. I'll keep an eye out. In the meanwhile I'll be hacking away at Quixote. Decided to do this in Bauer's order for the time being. I've noticed a big uptick in my literary confidence: talking about lit, and even conceptualizing how I might write. I'm really grateful for the opportunity.

Welcome Nevin!

We do have a discussion folder on Quixote. :-) Please feel free to add to the existing thread or begin a new one.

Glad to have you!

Kenia wrote: "Welcome Nevin!

We do have a discussion folder on Quixote. :-) Please feel free to add to the existing thread or begin a new one.

Glad to have you!"

Thanks, Kenia. Have a few questions for you when you have a moment. ;-) Mostly wondering what you've learned from Bauer's analytical approach?

Nevin Kamath wrote: "Thanks, Kenia. Have a few questions for you when you have a moment. ;-) Mostly wondering what you've learned from Bauer's analytical approach? ..."

Hmmm....I feel that I've learned quite a bit. I've learned new ways and new questions to consider when reading various genres, to try to increase my understanding of the world. When I first started out, I tried to follow the Grammar, Logic, Rhetoric approach that she encourages, which is a traditional approach from the classical school of thought, but I immediately ran into some problems: mainly, that there are too many books out in the world--and too little time--for me to do a thorough reading of each book twice over as she suggests. I read most books once, and it's rare for me to do a re-read. I do go back and re-read my own marginalia and look at all that I underlined, so I consider that to be my "re-read." I like the questions that she proposes as starting points but, obviously, they are not the end all be all of literary questions. I've found my self-education to be much more rewarding if I follow through on the questions I naturally come up with on my own, since they rose out of my inherent curiosity.
I've also learned that it's very difficult, if not impossible, to find others to read with analytically. At least in real life. This limits the rhetoric stage of the process. The next best thing is to write down your thoughts on "paper." I've lately been re-considering Bauer's suggestion to reach out to university professors to engage in discussion on literary works. I don't know why I've been hesitating on that...I think it's a feeling of, "well I'm not one of their students, so perhaps I'd be a waste of their time" But I guess there'd be nothing for me to lose by trying.

What about you? What has your experience been so far?

Hello! I'm glad to have found this group! I stumbled upon The Well-Educated Mind last year when my son was born and was very intrigued by the idea of reading the whole list. I started Don Quixote but had to stop midway because it was due back to the library. I also really loved Bauer's A History of Western Science, and I'd like to read through that one day but not now. Hopefully I'll be able to make some progress with TWEM in this group!

I am an elementary teacher and I LOVE to read [though I teach math and science at the moment]. I'm currently going through the Newbury Award Winners and I'd like to start going through the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction's list but that might be a bit ambitious.

Miranda wrote: "I'd like to start going through the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction's list but that might be a bit ambitious. "

Hi, Miranda-
Welcome to the group. We're starting chronologically, way back in ancient history. But if you'd like to read and discuss some of the TWEM novels you will most likely find people here who would be glad to start a discussion thread for the book and discuss it with you.
If you tackle the Pulitzer winning novels, I'd encourage you to pick and choose the ones that appeal to you most rather than feeling you need to read every single one.

Enjoy the adventure.

-Julie (Sorento62)

Hi Miranda! So glad you found this group! I would love to read through the Newberry list. Are you reading only the winners, or the honor books as well? Looking forward to you joining the discussions!

Hello! I thought this looked like a fun group. I am a homeschooling momma to four (9th, 6th, 3rd and 1st this year!). I am a big fan of all things by SWB. She is the one who introduced me to Classical Education.

This year we are reading through ancient history (we go around in a four year cycle). Having a high schooler for the first time this year means that it's time to really read the fun stuff! No more stories about the Iliad and the Odyssey, but the actual books themselves! I'm excited. Also, we will be going through some Greek plays, starting with Medea, and ending the year with Julius Caesar. I'm trying to read as many original works as I can along the way. I've been on a big Plato kick lately and absolutely loving it!

You all seem like like-minded individuals, so I thought I'd join! I look forward to being a part of the group!

Welcome, Nicole!

Hi Nicole! So glad you found this group. I'm reading The Republic right now and am really enjoying it.

Hello Nicole! Welcome! So glad you found us, and can't wait to hear more about your and yours' reading journeys!

Welcome, Nicole!
Glad to have your company here. :-)

Hi everybody! My name is Guilherme. I have an account in Goodreads for some time, but really didn't use it... so I'm starting to use it now and just discovered this group (in fact, the very existence of groups like this was unknown for me until recently haha).
I'm excited to join the group! I'm a catholic friar, recently finished my Philosophy university and started Theology. I've read TWEM last year and liked it a lot, but I got interested in Classical Education, homeschooling (even if I won't have children) and the work of SWB way before that. Ah, and I am from Brazil (that will probably explain the poor English, sorry). Nice to meet you all!

Welcome Guilherme!! I’m very happy to have you join us, and I look forward to your unique perspective as someone with actual university philosophical and theological training.

Hey Kenia and Reading Classics Group,
My name is Denise and I am from California. I learned about Susan Wise Bauer from Homeschooling my kids. Her history curriculum is fantastic and I was lucky enough to sit in on two of her lectures at homeschool conferences. Reading has always been a struggle for me, but I think that reading the Great Books is important. In 2008 I embarked on a journey with a friend and read through the Novels and Autobiography lists. We just started the histories in 2014 when we had to stop. We ended at Thucydides so I'm looking forward to getting back into it and finish the Histories.

Hi Guilherme!

It's so great to hear that you are interested in homeschooling. As a homeschool mom, I was often trying to get people without kids to read Susan Wise Bauer's Story of the World series. Even though it is written for elementary age children, I believe it gives a terrific overview of world history. If you read it, let me know what you think.
- Denise

Hello to everyone, I was attracted to this group by your 2018 reading plan. I am not sure that I can keep that pace but I did like the titles.

I am retired and have always loved to read; this group offers a good menu. I will try to add to the conversations as I become comfortable in my reading of the various books.

Mike

Welcome to the group, Mike! Feel free to comment on any of the book threads at anytime you’d like. We have an “official” schedule, but all topics are always open for comment, even if it’s something we read months ago!

Kenia wrote: "Welcome to the group, Mike! Feel free to comment on any of the book threads at anytime you’d like. We have an “official” schedule, but all topics are always open for comment, even if it’s something..."

Thank you!

I'm Darren, and I appreciate the opportunity to read along and share your insights. Reminds me to a striking degree of my seminar classes in college years ago, and I suspect some of those shared flashes of inspiration strike here from time to time. Thanks for having me.

Welcome Darren! Thanks for joining us!

Hello! I'm Sharon (from Ohio in the US), and I'm returning to Goodreads after a hiatus. I'm feeling really motivated again to read these classics. Look forward to reading with everyone!

Hi, Sharon! Welcome! I'm excited to hear your thoughts on the various books we're reading!

Kendra wrote: "Hi, Sharon! Welcome! I'm excited to hear your thoughts on the various books we're reading!"

Thanks so much!

Hi Sharon! I think we follow each other on Instagram. Great to see you here and I look forward to reading with you as well!

Cleo wrote: "Hi Sharon! I think we follow each other on Instagram. Great to see you here and I look forward to reading with you as well!"

Hi Cleo, we do! Thanks for the welcome!

Hi all,

I have been part of this group for quite a while now but I had never posted anything or even introduced myself. I guess that I was waiting until I had come with a plan to go through the books of TWEM, which is rather silly.

Anyway. My name is Irene and I'm from Tenerife, Spain, and I'm currently living in Switzerland. I first became interested in classical education shortly after I became a stay-at-home mam (as if I needed something else to fill my long days with two toddlers at home right now). I had heard about TWEM in several bookish blogs and eventually found this group. I bought a copy earlier this year and I have been reading the introduction and going through the lists and I think I am finally ready to start tackling this challenge!

My plan for next year is to start with Don Quixote (first novel on the list), which I have never read before. I've always found it daunting and I was thankful that it was not a required reading a high school. We had to read Cervantes' Novelas Ejemplares instead. And after that I would like to continue with epical poetry: The Epic of Gilgamesh, The Illiad and The Odissey, Beowulf, and (not on the TWEM list) El cantar del mio Cid, which is the most famous epic poem in Spanish and I feel it's something I should have read long time ago. Let's see how it goes!

Welcome, Irene! I'm so excited for you to join us. Even though we're working on the books chronologically, you are always free to comment on an old discussion and get it rolling again. And if you want me to post a discussion for a future book, just let me know! (It looks like we already have one going for Don Quixote).

I look forward to reading some of your unique perspectives. Thank you for introducing yourself!