I think it's very important for people to understand that simply reading the texts, ala one and done, isn't enough - you MUST slow down, really contemplate the contents, pour over the meanings and importance and really study what you read. Absorb it. You are reading to lift that information off the page. From there you have to contend with that information, play with it, turn it over in your hands and mind. Re-reading is absolutely essential in this regard. You WILL NOT glean more than a surface understanding of the texts with one reading. Don't treat it as a list to tick off, but rather a table of suggestive reading for a thorough, personal education. One great book properly read and comprehended is infinitely better than twenty rushed through.
@ThinkingWest
2 жыл бұрын
Well said! It's easy to fall into thinking about our personal reading progress in terms of a list. Maybe a fault of childhood schooling? I recall being given a list of books to read every summer (few of which were very good). I found writing something about each book (even if just a bunch of quotes or short summaries) can help one read a book more deliberately.
@adeelali8417
2 жыл бұрын
@@ThinkingWest I also think it's something to do with our hectic modern culture which prioritizes 'getting things done' and 'productivity' over that which truly matters. Have you read Adler's how to read a book?
@TheGringoSalado
5 ай бұрын
Complete opposite of the “hack” seeking culture today.
@johnbarbour5258
3 жыл бұрын
Super pumped about this channel and podcast. My wife and I started classically homeschooling this year and working our way through this set. I'm about half way through the Iliad.
@ThinkingWest
3 жыл бұрын
Thanks! Classical homeschooling is the way to go and is our plan for our kids as well. Are you attempting to read in the order of the GBWW set, or follow some other reading plan?
@johnbarbour5258
3 жыл бұрын
@@ThinkingWest we're mixing our own curriculum, heavily influenced by "The Well Trained Mind", in addition to a local Classical Conversations program. As far as working through the books, my wife and I are basically racing through them. 😂 She has the gift on about a 1k wpm reading speed so she'll finish before I do. But her speed is much slower right now with the older works. We're going oldest to newest through the set in timeline order.
@ThinkingWest
3 жыл бұрын
Awesome. I was brought to the great books by reading "The Well Trained Mind" and the adult-oriented version of it, "The Well Educated Mind" when researching options for our kids' education as well. Best of luck to you and your family in your reading!
@childofmary7959
4 ай бұрын
Memoria Press has excellent books for classical teaching. I used a lot of their materials when teaching my youngest. She is 22 and has two associate degrees in accounting and business, and is now finishing up a bachelor’s degree in business management. I didn’t send her off to college because colleges are basically expensive cesspools of poisonous thinking.
@treylee2060
3 жыл бұрын
We need more podcasts like this.
@ThinkingWest
3 жыл бұрын
Thanks Trey! Going is a little slow on my end for more stuff like this because I'm in the final month of my PhD. After that, I'm hoping to ramp up this project.
@treylee2060
3 жыл бұрын
@@ThinkingWest don't put much pressure on yourself, the field is wide open. We need a different and interesting approach to draw the new generation closer towards the great books and this could be it. Good luck to you mate.
@NoNameNoFace-rr7li
8 ай бұрын
i read through "The Great Books of the Western World" when i was 13 through 16 and used the Syntopicon with the collection...it is the best thing I ever did for myself
@ThinkingWest
7 ай бұрын
You were automatically more educated than 99.9% after that feat.
@Policesamuri77717
4 ай бұрын
I am so glad I found your channel. I have watched 4 of your videos. Interesting enough I was reading the Psalms in my King James Bible this week. I take notes in my journals all the time and write using cursive handwriting and I love calligraphy. Your channel is very informative.
@DJNSO
2 жыл бұрын
Love your podcast! I purchased both the Harvard Classics and Brittanancia's Greatest Books of the West sets. I slowly started to read them via their reading plan but found that I wanted to share my journey with others that valued these books well. And then I found your podcast! A+
@ThinkingWest
2 жыл бұрын
Awesome, thanks! More coming soon.
@RacingMachine
2 жыл бұрын
Amazing video, i bought them all in December 2021 and started my journey on this priceless reading. In my estimates, i should take between 5-7 years to complete considering i am also reading between 40-52 parallel books per year, including work activities, but i will definitely finish it and redo it immediately after. I hope i can do this cycle a couple times at least through my life, as i am 34 years old now.
@ThinkingWest
2 жыл бұрын
Fantastic. You must be quite the avid reader - much more than myself these days. I'm finding it quite difficult to read significantly. I get perhaps 30 minutes at night, and about 30 minutes in the morning with my current work and family balance. I'll be lucky to finish the "10 year" readings in 20 years! Nonetheless, I enjoy the journey and making these videos.
@RacingMachine
2 жыл бұрын
@@ThinkingWest the habit is more important than speed, so keep it up bro! We're both in the right path. :)
@ThinkingWest
2 жыл бұрын
Amen!
@austinrucker3853
Жыл бұрын
2 years late to the party, but still excited!!
@ThinkingWest
Жыл бұрын
Never too late!
@alfredsams9059
Жыл бұрын
I must add that I read the syntopican .it was excellent and dealt with various topics. But.when I read montaigne I couldn't get what he's saying.I would cliff notes then.
@ThinkingWest
Жыл бұрын
Reading the syntopican cover to cover sounds like a rollercoaster of a read.
@JohnVKaravitis
8 ай бұрын
I've read all 60 volumes of the Great Books. It took me 5 years.
@ThinkingWest
8 ай бұрын
I will be lucky if it takes me 20 at the rate I'm reading at.
@jamessheffield4173
4 ай бұрын
Conversation is a lost art.
@johnmanole4779
Жыл бұрын
21:43 22:00 22:22
@jameshaley6193
11 ай бұрын
Perhaps omitting the Bible our society is as it is and you’re great books lack
@ThinkingWest
11 ай бұрын
I don't disagree with the sentiment, but they omitted the Bible from the set because they assumed everyone already had one.
@alfredsams9059
Жыл бұрын
Your podcast will help .but your marketing of great books is out of sync with today's world.readers are vanishing.low attention spans, video games, metaverse attracts gen z. I'm a voracious reader and though.I ordered it for the company I worked for I didn't open a.single book. Why because every great book is dense.it requires mental heavy lifting.you need.podcasts. you need.a tutor.a place to get answers to questions. In this age of online courses and people ready to answer questions your qreat books want us to be solitary readers and walk alone. You have to have a group of expert professors to answer our doubts especially when you call it the great conversation. I'm a minor writer, once upon an english teacher, postgraduate in literature and also a human resource trainer and I don't like heavy reading. So I'm saying this in the hope that the great books a wonderful idea will have a regular university or open university or tutorial to guide readers. As for great.books.of the east.there are thousands of good books and gurus and teachers in India.its western books that need to be read by people when liberalism is crumbling.I.hope my sincere humble submission will help you.sadly, I'm too old to try to read them.thank you
@ThinkingWest
Жыл бұрын
You are right everything we're working toward is out of sync with the culture. Hence I hope the KZitem videos help in the digital world.
@maxc7198
2 жыл бұрын
What is this?
@ThinkingWest
2 жыл бұрын
An audio for an introduction to the "Great Books" - those classic works that have built on the best ideas man has mustered over the past 2500 years.
@stuartkidney3257
Жыл бұрын
Well, I compliment you on your "noble" effort....however, the 'noble effort' is obviously lacking in being well-sourced! Instead of yammering about what YOU think - highly recommend showing a good dose of humility and letting others speak for you. Ecclesiastes 12:11-12 is 100% applicable. For those that seek knowledge, wisdom & have modicum of humility, the whole Book & specifically the entire 12th chapter is applicable to pontificating about "Great Books" of the Western World.
@ThinkingWest
6 ай бұрын
I don't pretend to tell anyone that what's found in the "Great Books" is the answer to life, or offers any meaning in themselves. The Bible is the supreme book of Western Civ and all these other books are in some ways either a prelude or a footnote to it. I just like talking about ideas and history - and these books are a great mode to do it.
@stuartkidney3257
6 ай бұрын
@@ThinkingWest ...."Darwin on the biological sciences"? Come on man, he has been routinely discredited by successive generations of great researchers and thinkers. But keep trying!
@adeelali8417
2 жыл бұрын
I put this on whilst driving and it was unbelievably enjoyable. I can tell this is a labour of love for you.
@ThinkingWest
2 жыл бұрын
Thanks! It certainly is.
@vanessa271
2 жыл бұрын
I ordered my set from eBay today...a 1990 second edition...all 60 books in the complete set.
@ThinkingWest
2 жыл бұрын
Great find Vanessa! Hopefully they all make it to you intact.
@vanessa271
2 жыл бұрын
@@ThinkingWest I was lucky. The set is like new condition. It's absolutely beautiful! I paid $765 for the set from a retired attorney.
@ThinkingWest
2 жыл бұрын
@@vanessa271 Wow! Congrats. Hold onto them for many years to come. I look forward to passing mine on to my kids one day,
@vanessa271
2 жыл бұрын
@@ThinkingWest Thank you very much! I got the second printing 1991.
@russellbrinson3140
Жыл бұрын
Have you found a way or resource to tackle the difficulty of finding individuals that are in the same great books you are currently in?
@ThinkingWest
Жыл бұрын
Ha, sadly no. There is a great books google group that mostly converses via email, but a new cohort jumped in within the last year or so and added a video meeting element to that group. I believe they are still on Year 1. It would be great if there were a "matchmaking" app or site to jump into that would pair those reading the same books into groups.
@kennethcultura6653
2 жыл бұрын
Is there a scholarship for this set? Thanks
@ThinkingWest
2 жыл бұрын
Not that I'm aware of.
@docglidewell
2 жыл бұрын
@@ThinkingWest Perhaps post in craigslist or nextdoor that you want a set. Many old or downsizing folk would be happy to find an appreciative 'good home' for their set.
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