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djulian · 06-14-2011, 02:51 AM

Strategies for reading the classics:

Set a list that you don't mind changing as you move forward
Bounce from period to period--this will help with what I like to call "era fatigue" (I love Greek stuff, but after two or three, I need some Austen or Melville, and after Moby Dick, I needed some Flannery O'Connor, and after several of her short stories, I needed some Chaucer, etc.)
The recommendation to read the Bible is very useful--many of the classic works you will read depend on it, and it transcends the East/West issue because the Jewish culture out of which the Old Testament springs is hardly a Western society, and the Roman culture that shaped the New Testament is Western, but very different from Greek society. You don't have to read it first, but it will really help. The most readable popular translations are the NLT, the Message (a very modern version), or the ESV (my preference). If you are unnerved by the length (or just the length of the very dry bits), read the following very condensed selection for a great overview:
- Genesis-Exodus
- Judges-2 Samuel
- Esther
- Ecclesiastes (perhaps the most Western OT book and a personal favorite)
- The Gospels (The Gospels can be read w/ a harmony. The first three Gospels are very similar, but each author has his own unique emphasis. if you want a Jewish perspective, read Matthew, if you want a brief but complex version which is geared to a Roman audience, read Mark, if you want a lot of detail, read Luke. John is useful and has so much that is unique to it, you should read it along with at least one of the others.)
- Acts-Romans
- Revelation (It's weird, but as it wraps up, it is so closely linked thematically to the beginning of Genesis that it's a critical way to finish a selected reading like what I'm recommending)
Translations matter! I hated Kafka's Castle when I tried to read it in the old Modern Library edition. The newer translation is much better, the whole book became much more enjoyable. This is definitely true with books like the Iliad and the Odyssey. (And while I'm at it, someone claimed that the Iliad was an anti-war book. It's not. That's an adjunct college professor's dim hope.)
Bounce points of origin (as with time periods). Read something American, read something French, etc.
Don't just read the shorter, minor works in the hope that you will get enough of the author to qualify as "getting the author." Read the works which are major for a reason. The Crocodile is great fun, but Brothers Karamazov will make you weep and will continue to feed your soul long afterwards.
For fun, read two books from different times and locations at the same time. Start them together and finish them together and think about the connections between the two. A great example pairing might be Faulkner's The Sound and the Fury alongside Aeschylus' Oresteia.
For Plato, read the shorter works and leave The Republic aside for a while. This is not in contrast to suggestion #6. His shorter works are actually often just as good as his major work.
And to repeat a comment from suggestion #1, feel free to drop anything or add anything at any time. You're the one reading these, you've got your own desires for personal development and/or entertainment. Read what helps you achieve those desires.

So that's a long post, but I hope it helps!

06-14-2011, 02:51 AM	#151
djulian Evangelist Posts: 408 Karma: 1786912 Join Date: Nov 2010 Device: Kindle Voyage	Strategies for reading the classics: Set a list that you don't mind changing as you move forward Bounce from period to period--this will help with what I like to call "era fatigue" (I love Greek stuff, but after two or three, I need some Austen or Melville, and after Moby Dick, I needed some Flannery O'Connor, and after several of her short stories, I needed some Chaucer, etc.) The recommendation to read the Bible is very useful--many of the classic works you will read depend on it, and it transcends the East/West issue because the Jewish culture out of which the Old Testament springs is hardly a Western society, and the Roman culture that shaped the New Testament is Western, but very different from Greek society. You don't have to read it first, but it will really help. The most readable popular translations are the NLT, the Message (a very modern version), or the ESV (my preference). If you are unnerved by the length (or just the length of the very dry bits), read the following very condensed selection for a great overview: Genesis-Exodus Judges-2 Samuel Esther Ecclesiastes (perhaps the most Western OT book and a personal favorite) The Gospels (The Gospels can be read w/ a harmony. The first three Gospels are very similar, but each author has his own unique emphasis. if you want a Jewish perspective, read Matthew, if you want a brief but complex version which is geared to a Roman audience, read Mark, if you want a lot of detail, read Luke. John is useful and has so much that is unique to it, you should read it along with at least one of the others.) Acts-Romans Revelation (It's weird, but as it wraps up, it is so closely linked thematically to the beginning of Genesis that it's a critical way to finish a selected reading like what I'm recommending) Translations matter! I hated Kafka's Castle when I tried to read it in the old Modern Library edition. The newer translation is much better, the whole book became much more enjoyable. This is definitely true with books like the Iliad and the Odyssey. (And while I'm at it, someone claimed that the Iliad was an anti-war book. It's not. That's an adjunct college professor's dim hope.) Bounce points of origin (as with time periods). Read something American, read something French, etc. Don't just read the shorter, minor works in the hope that you will get enough of the author to qualify as "getting the author." Read the works which are major for a reason. The Crocodile is great fun, but Brothers Karamazov will make you weep and will continue to feed your soul long afterwards. For fun, read two books from different times and locations at the same time. Start them together and finish them together and think about the connections between the two. A great example pairing might be Faulkner's The Sound and the Fury alongside Aeschylus' Oresteia. For Plato, read the shorter works and leave The Republic aside for a while. This is not in contrast to suggestion #6. His shorter works are actually often just as good as his major work. And to repeat a comment from suggestion #1, feel free to drop anything or add anything at any time. You're the one reading these, you've got your own desires for personal development and/or entertainment. Read what helps you achieve those desires. So that's a long post, but I hope it helps!