1featherbear
Naomi Kanakia. LitHub, 05/26/2026: We Should All Be Autodidacts: The Case For Reading the Great Books at Your Own Pace. "Argues in Favor of a DIY Literary and Philosophical Education." Excerpt from: What's So Great About the Great Books?: Why You Should Read Classic Literature (Even Though It Might Destroy You). Related touchstone: Rescuing Socrates: How the Great Books Changed My Life and Why They Matter for a New Generation / Roosevelt Montás.
I support this even though I don't drive & don't approve of distracted driving while listening to audiobooks.
I support this even though I don't drive & don't approve of distracted driving while listening to audiobooks.
2Charon07
I confess I had a knee-jerk reaction to this article. To answer one of her final questions, “Why would you not want to read all these old famous books that you’ve heard about all your life?”: (1) As my father would say, just because all the other lemmings are jumping off a cliff, does that mean you should too? (2) I still have a lot of lingering resentment over the “classics” I was forced to read in high school, or forced my own self to read, and didn’t enjoy. (3) Many of the ones I’ve sampled are boring. (4) I don’t find the perspectives or worldly wisdom of (primarily) dead old white European men to be particularly morally instructive, edifying, relevant, or enjoyable. (5) Books in the Western canon often do require some education about their social or historical context to get the most out of them; otherwise, one is apt to say {insert contemporary author here} said much the same thing in a more easily understood or entertaining way. (6) Life is short, and there are plenty of more contemporary books that are both morally instructive, edifying, relevant, and enjoyable and often with greater integrity in that they are not written from the narrow viewpoint of dead old white European men.
3keristars
>2 Charon07: Yes. I think it's more interesting to read in conversation. Actually I'm not sure if that's the right word.
Not reading because someone says "you need these to be considered educated", but because you are interested in something, and as you learn about it, you find that the books add context and depth. Or because you're having a shared experience with others in reading it. Reading just to have read something feels pointless to me.
--
I think this essay's emphasis on the so-called Great Books is misguided at best. It talks about enjoying science fiction, but that it "has no place in the classroom". Absolutely false! Science fiction and fantasy (Tolkien for gosh sakes) have plenty to offer as "Great Books" of the 20th and 21st centuries.
The thing about the "Great Books" is we have only so much time to read and devoting ourselves to works that have reached some consensus of Worthy means we'll miss the new works. Sure, many will speak to us now but in 10 years won't seem so important. Just like books always have. and movies and music and all art.
My preference is to read widely and freely. If something sounds interesting, pick it up and give it a shot whether old or new.
But, as you may see from my catalogue, I became interested in books written for adolescent girls in the late 19th and early 20th. As I read, I find myself wanting to pick up non-fiction exploring certain aspects of history, or "Great Books" the readers would have been expected to know - really, are Ivanhoe or The Life of Johnson standard "Great Books" reading material any more? - and in doing so, I better appreciate everything I'm reading. It's a bit haphazard, I suppose, but I get so much more from reading like this than just following a list because I should.
And besides, those Great Books authors do tend to be very much of similar backgrounds. "they speak to the human condition" ok except most of them are also European and Christian, and don't have understanding of the human condition of indigenous people in the Americas or how different the world view is for Buddhist Sri Lankans. (eta: heck even The Satanic Verses! though i guess it's considered a Great Book now. i think The Saint of Bright Doors is a spiritual successor to it, and should become a classic.)
Not reading because someone says "you need these to be considered educated", but because you are interested in something, and as you learn about it, you find that the books add context and depth. Or because you're having a shared experience with others in reading it. Reading just to have read something feels pointless to me.
--
I think this essay's emphasis on the so-called Great Books is misguided at best. It talks about enjoying science fiction, but that it "has no place in the classroom". Absolutely false! Science fiction and fantasy (Tolkien for gosh sakes) have plenty to offer as "Great Books" of the 20th and 21st centuries.
The thing about the "Great Books" is we have only so much time to read and devoting ourselves to works that have reached some consensus of Worthy means we'll miss the new works. Sure, many will speak to us now but in 10 years won't seem so important. Just like books always have. and movies and music and all art.
My preference is to read widely and freely. If something sounds interesting, pick it up and give it a shot whether old or new.
But, as you may see from my catalogue, I became interested in books written for adolescent girls in the late 19th and early 20th. As I read, I find myself wanting to pick up non-fiction exploring certain aspects of history, or "Great Books" the readers would have been expected to know - really, are Ivanhoe or The Life of Johnson standard "Great Books" reading material any more? - and in doing so, I better appreciate everything I'm reading. It's a bit haphazard, I suppose, but I get so much more from reading like this than just following a list because I should.
And besides, those Great Books authors do tend to be very much of similar backgrounds. "they speak to the human condition" ok except most of them are also European and Christian, and don't have understanding of the human condition of indigenous people in the Americas or how different the world view is for Buddhist Sri Lankans. (eta: heck even The Satanic Verses! though i guess it's considered a Great Book now. i think The Saint of Bright Doors is a spiritual successor to it, and should become a classic.)
4Cecrow
I've only read the classics that I'm reasonably confident I'll enjoy. That's been a lot more of them now in late middle age than when I was younger. Something I appreciate about the old classics is how they take their time to really explore the inner lives of their characters. They don't feel the need to deliver action or a plot twist on every page. Given that pacing it still floors me that your average person was on tenterhooks about the fate of Little Nell in The Old Curiosity Shop the way that today you only see when a hit Netflix series is approaching its final episode.
>3 keristars:, my grade ten teacher agreed with you about science fiction. He summarized the plot of Twelfth Night for us and called it done after two days, checked off that box, then moved us on to studying The Chrysalids for three weeks.
>3 keristars:, my grade ten teacher agreed with you about science fiction. He summarized the plot of Twelfth Night for us and called it done after two days, checked off that box, then moved us on to studying The Chrysalids for three weeks.
5featherbear
2 confessions:
I did have required "Core Curriculum" classes in college -- not all of it limited to "Great Books": included fine art & architecture, and classical music. For me the college requirement functioned as intended, opening up a path to "lifelong learning:" your typical gullible student. (Also had required calculus/organic chemistry -- the latter "for poets" so a little dumbed down -- didn't work as well, sadly)
Second, as an autodidact, I try to take lifelong learning seriously, but not restricted to Great Books, if this means literature.* It does mean that the reading is not going to be --necessarily -- always pleasurable. What school teaches you, among other things, is that reading unfamiliar content is not always pleasurable, because of that very unfamiliarity, though with greater familiarity reading in a particular area becomes more interesting, which is a kind of pleasure. Reading only familiar content, however pleasurable, can lead to a kind of rut, as perhaps implied by the essay, for example literary specialists in Shakespeare or science fiction -- though too I feel it's good to be open minded about what can be learned from the specialists.
*Not to mention that lifelong learning needs to include also literature that isn't "Great."
I did have required "Core Curriculum" classes in college -- not all of it limited to "Great Books": included fine art & architecture, and classical music. For me the college requirement functioned as intended, opening up a path to "lifelong learning:" your typical gullible student. (Also had required calculus/organic chemistry -- the latter "for poets" so a little dumbed down -- didn't work as well, sadly)
Second, as an autodidact, I try to take lifelong learning seriously, but not restricted to Great Books, if this means literature.* It does mean that the reading is not going to be --necessarily -- always pleasurable. What school teaches you, among other things, is that reading unfamiliar content is not always pleasurable, because of that very unfamiliarity, though with greater familiarity reading in a particular area becomes more interesting, which is a kind of pleasure. Reading only familiar content, however pleasurable, can lead to a kind of rut, as perhaps implied by the essay, for example literary specialists in Shakespeare or science fiction -- though too I feel it's good to be open minded about what can be learned from the specialists.
*Not to mention that lifelong learning needs to include also literature that isn't "Great."
6keristars
>5 featherbear: I think you're right on both parts, honestly, even if i disagree with the Great Books concept. (I admittedly had a "hmph! no!" moment at the science fiction comment and skimmed the rest.)
University is a good place to study the highlights of our shared culture/cultural inheritance. There's not enough time to cover everything, but major works that still underlie much of our storytelling and art today? Yes, absolutely! Just like exposure to chemistry and physics even at introductory levels helps with understanding (and may inspire a student to specialize where they didn't care about it before).
I was thinking more of the auto- part, without the guidance of experts. Perhaps seeing the Twelfth Night of last year's Shakespeare in the Park because you like Lupita Nyon'go and Peter Dinklage inspires visiting more Shakespeare or other Elizabethan playwrights. Talking about the Wuthering Heights movie may lead to Kate Beaton's Brontë sisters comics and then others of her comics could inspire picking up Master and Commander which leads to reading about English naval history or Napoleon... (or maybe the movie discussion introduces you to Sam Hirst's "Romancing the Gothic" and not you're learning about all sorts of literary traditions, elements, and history)
I can't fathom not wanting to follow those paths of inquiry, even for a specialist. You never know how something might interact with your study, or inspire new ideas.
And there's lots of opportunity to find a path to follow. There's always someone who has encountered things you haven't, and writing or media about the Greats. I thought the Flannery O'Connor episode of American Masters on PBS was real interesting, made me want to read her stories, though I didn't have her particularly high on the reading list before then. More like "I might should read more 20th century American authors someday".
As for the difficulty of reading the unfamiliar - I don't think reading should be a slog, and it's okay to read summaries or watch adaptations to get the gist of the story (being aware of the limitations of movie adaptations - the inability of any movie to really capture Ivanhoe is why I plan to read it). But at the same time, I struggle to not find everything interesting, somehow. Well, I did find Anneke, a Little Dame of New Netherlands difficult and a bit of a slog after a certain point, but it was still pleasurable and interesting. Sometimes there's pleasure in not enjoying something.
I figure you're someone who wants to be an auto-didact and to read widely, and thus look for those paths of inquiry and opportunities to learn more, or you're just not interested and the whole thing sounds like a chore.
University is a good place to study the highlights of our shared culture/cultural inheritance. There's not enough time to cover everything, but major works that still underlie much of our storytelling and art today? Yes, absolutely! Just like exposure to chemistry and physics even at introductory levels helps with understanding (and may inspire a student to specialize where they didn't care about it before).
I was thinking more of the auto- part, without the guidance of experts. Perhaps seeing the Twelfth Night of last year's Shakespeare in the Park because you like Lupita Nyon'go and Peter Dinklage inspires visiting more Shakespeare or other Elizabethan playwrights. Talking about the Wuthering Heights movie may lead to Kate Beaton's Brontë sisters comics and then others of her comics could inspire picking up Master and Commander which leads to reading about English naval history or Napoleon... (or maybe the movie discussion introduces you to Sam Hirst's "Romancing the Gothic" and not you're learning about all sorts of literary traditions, elements, and history)
I can't fathom not wanting to follow those paths of inquiry, even for a specialist. You never know how something might interact with your study, or inspire new ideas.
And there's lots of opportunity to find a path to follow. There's always someone who has encountered things you haven't, and writing or media about the Greats. I thought the Flannery O'Connor episode of American Masters on PBS was real interesting, made me want to read her stories, though I didn't have her particularly high on the reading list before then. More like "I might should read more 20th century American authors someday".
As for the difficulty of reading the unfamiliar - I don't think reading should be a slog, and it's okay to read summaries or watch adaptations to get the gist of the story (being aware of the limitations of movie adaptations - the inability of any movie to really capture Ivanhoe is why I plan to read it). But at the same time, I struggle to not find everything interesting, somehow. Well, I did find Anneke, a Little Dame of New Netherlands difficult and a bit of a slog after a certain point, but it was still pleasurable and interesting. Sometimes there's pleasure in not enjoying something.
I figure you're someone who wants to be an auto-didact and to read widely, and thus look for those paths of inquiry and opportunities to learn more, or you're just not interested and the whole thing sounds like a chore.
7Charon07
Two of my favorite undergrad literature classes were about science fiction, ironically, and Shakespeare. I don’t really remember if I learned anything new in the SF class, but I had a lot of fun with the reading. The Shakespeare class, now, that was a real eye opener and is part of why I said earlier that I think you do need some education in the context of a “great book” to appreciate it. The professor was enthusiastic and interesting and had a talent for educating us about history and social context in a way that made Shakespeare relevant and fun. Without that class I wouldn’t understand a fraction of Shakespeare’s jokes, and I might have gotten bogged down in the archaic language, and so I wouldn’t enjoy Shakespeare nearly so much. (Can somebody do that for me with Moby Dick?)
I’m all for lifelong learning, but I don’t think slogging through the Western literary canon is the way to do it. When I want to know more about opera, say, rather than forcing myself to sit through it without any context, knowing that I detest listening to it myself and that this is not going to somehow “teach” me to appreciate it (it’s more likely to make me hate it even more), I read about it or talk to people who like it. Something I learn this way might make me curious to listen to something they talked about, and in this way I might actually gain some appreciation in a painless way. I’m also more likely to do this with hiphop or country music, two other musical genres I’m not fond of, because I’m exposed to them more often than opera and would thus benefit more from learning to appreciate them a little more.
I’m all for lifelong learning, but I don’t think slogging through the Western literary canon is the way to do it. When I want to know more about opera, say, rather than forcing myself to sit through it without any context, knowing that I detest listening to it myself and that this is not going to somehow “teach” me to appreciate it (it’s more likely to make me hate it even more), I read about it or talk to people who like it. Something I learn this way might make me curious to listen to something they talked about, and in this way I might actually gain some appreciation in a painless way. I’m also more likely to do this with hiphop or country music, two other musical genres I’m not fond of, because I’m exposed to them more often than opera and would thus benefit more from learning to appreciate them a little more.
8keristars
>7 Charon07: Yeah, the guidance of an expert helps a lot with older stuff. I have been leaning on historian friends on social media to help me get reading lists and to learn the historian craft in lieu of enrolling in a course. It's very beneficial that they can warn me about outdated info or help with explaining concepts/events I don't quite get.
I decided to expose myself to opera about 5 years ago, too! Last year I learned about https://OperaVision.eu which is awesome. They offer lots of explanatory things on the website, and a variety of types of opera on their YouTube channel (and ballet!)
I watched L'Elisir de l'Amore a few months ago because a preview of one of the songs looked fun. And it was funny and used a ww2 setting instead of Napoleonic wars, which was a great update for modern audiences (like me!)
It was from talking to others on social media about how I liked some opera the Met streamed for free in 2020, that I learned about Opera Vision. Much like how participating in conversations here on LT or on social media has made me curious about books I haven't read, and interested in trying them out. :)
(I'm not sure I really like opera music in general, but I enjoy the theatrical experience a lot! And in context I don't dislike the music.)
By the way, I found this PBS miniseries really helpful for understanding and appreciating hip-hop, if you haven't seen it.
https://www.pbs.org/show/fight-power-how-hip-hop-changed-world/
I decided to expose myself to opera about 5 years ago, too! Last year I learned about https://OperaVision.eu which is awesome. They offer lots of explanatory things on the website, and a variety of types of opera on their YouTube channel (and ballet!)
I watched L'Elisir de l'Amore a few months ago because a preview of one of the songs looked fun. And it was funny and used a ww2 setting instead of Napoleonic wars, which was a great update for modern audiences (like me!)
It was from talking to others on social media about how I liked some opera the Met streamed for free in 2020, that I learned about Opera Vision. Much like how participating in conversations here on LT or on social media has made me curious about books I haven't read, and interested in trying them out. :)
(I'm not sure I really like opera music in general, but I enjoy the theatrical experience a lot! And in context I don't dislike the music.)
By the way, I found this PBS miniseries really helpful for understanding and appreciating hip-hop, if you haven't seen it.
https://www.pbs.org/show/fight-power-how-hip-hop-changed-world/
9alco261
>7 Charon07: The best I can offer relative to Moby Dick is join the navy. :-) I had the good fortune of missing the mandatory reading of Moby Dick in high school. I was drafted and served my time on a destroyer and it was while I was on board that I read Moby Dick (along with a LOT of other books).
I found the book very enjoyable for the simple reason that I could pair everyone of the fictional characters with one or more of my shipmates. The fact is the book is just a good sea yarn - nothing more.
I found the book very enjoyable for the simple reason that I could pair everyone of the fictional characters with one or more of my shipmates. The fact is the book is just a good sea yarn - nothing more.
10Cecrow
>7 Charon07:, you might benefit from this discussion, https://www.librarything.com/topic/58229#n2106120
>9 alco261:, or at least it can be read that way. I took it the same, it was a fantastic adventure.
>9 alco261:, or at least it can be read that way. I took it the same, it was a fantastic adventure.
11featherbear
>9 alco261: One fellow I knew in grad school picked up, so he claimed, much of his literary grounding reading books -- particularly Walter Scott -- during down time while in the service. Perhaps the recent reinstating of the draft will result in a Great Books renaissance. On a personal note, my grad school education in literature in the 70s was initially financed by a National Defense fellowship.
12haydninvienna
There's a charming book, The Day I Became an Autodidact, by Kendall Hailey (daughter of playwright Oliver Hailey) about her decision to leave school early and educate herself by reading the Great Books. As I remember, the self-education worked pretty well. Wish I still had the book ...
