Escape from Drudgery
June 22nd, 2009
I noted in a recent post that I have been studying various aspects of computer programming for the last several months heavily. While it is a fairly interesting topic, and an important one to me and to my family’s future, it can become a bit dry to say the least.
My reading list has not been updated in months! After a steady progress to start, there has been nothing for some time. I have not been able to read anything really enjoyable, or more properly stated, for leisure, at all. Learning new programming stuff is exciting and can be fun, but it is nothing like reading a nice novel, or historical text.
While perusing Craigslist, I found an interesting book collection, called “The Harvard Classics”. After some research on Wikipedia I learned that this is a collection of works designed to give one the equivalence of a “liberal education”. These books were compiled by the former President of Harvard, Charles W. Elliot in 1909. It was his thought that if one judiciously read the assorted works, if even for only “fifteen minutes a day”, the reader would come away with a worthwhile education, prepared for the upcoming century.
Having read quite a bit about this Five Foot Shelf, I found myself intrigued. It has its critics, one who decried the absence of Marx, Nietzsche, and Freud specifically. These critics don’t see it as having a properly modern perspective. It is not dark enough, and shows just a little too much hope for the future. Having read these kinds of criticisms, I decided to purchase the set.
I have read pretty much none of these works, and find the prospect of discovering the collected thought of humanity, through the eyes, of a late Victorian, American perspective to be exciting. I really don’t care to read Freud, Marx, or Nietzsche just now honestly. This collection has a very large sampling of some of the greatest works of all time, and becoming familiar with them, should take a decade or more.
Having decided to purchase the set, some research as to the value of the collection was conducted. After some back and forth, the seller agreed to part with the collection for $250. This appeared to be a very good deal. So I met up with the seller and her father at their church to complete the transaction.
After clearing some shelf space, and unloading and organizing the set, I was horrified to find that two volumes were missing! There has still been no response to my emails, and I doubt that there will be, which is unfortunate. The seller seemed like such a good person. Whether she was deceitful or not, seems to be no longer in doubt. With every passing day, her silence indicates, that she knew the volumes were missing.
This sour note started to spoil my joy for having made the purchase of course. Staring at the not quite five foot shelf, really irritated me. I am a completist at heart, and two missing volumes just would not do. Luckily I was able to find copies of the missing two, from the same printing, on eBay, and should have them in a week or so.
I have dedicated to read the set in order, and have already started the first volume, which starts with His Autobiography by Benjamin Franklin. So far it has been a surprisingly enjoyable read. His style is very agreeable, and I plan to complete reading this selection shortly.
I will create a listing of the collection, and will dutifully review each work, except for the individual poems, as I have with my other reading list. There are not to many, if any, correlations between the two lists, so I will be going back and forth between them for years to come no doubt. I will post a picture of the shelf tomorrow if possible.
Categories: Books | Tags: classics, five foot shelf, nostalgia, reading list
