I did it the quick and easy way, I here whittle it all down to the essentials for me
These are only eye-reads, ear-reads feature more of the fiction side of things.
The Group
A list of the best in literature and reading
in general in my most ludricously humble
opinion, presented in chronological order
to the best of my abilities, that are operated
in some degree more or less given the time
management involved.
001 – Homer – We begin here, his 2 big epics The Iliad and The Odyssey. I choose Robert Fagles’ translation to only begin with, there being many other translations at my fingertips. These 2 cornerstone works also kick off a more select Group, which are peopled by such titles as The Aeneid, The Divine Comedy, Paradise Lost and Faust. Missing is a name to be seen later on here.
The Tragedians and a comic, in an of itself structured like how they’d enter competitions, there’d be a trilogy of usually tragedies, followed by a comedy. I remember reading that, so if i am wrong, i must be remembering wrong, but if correct i find it neat that the surviving Greek Playwrights form that kind of structure. I haven't formed opinions enough to talk about them much. It would be nice to see them performed, and I saw a reddit post that seemed to mention where and what to look for for that, but I haven't followed through in finding them yet.
002 – Aeschylus
003 – Sophocles
004 – Euripides
005 – Aristophanes – i have some great translations here that when i memorize them i will be all too proud to mention whenever i mention this Comic genius.
006 – Plato – there’s even more here to go through. I am making this list in a more conversational mode, so that it can be done with less difficulty, i need not slavishly name all their works, just their names, and some thoughts for each.
007 – Aristotle – as with Plato, there’s a few good secondary sources that are at my disposal to help me both appreciate and understand.
008 – The Bible – this is out of the chronological approach surely, but it was composed in various times. I read from various parts in it. Although not numbered I am in the midst of going through some weighty theological tomes.
The 3 Roman Stoics
009 – Epictetus – Complete Works with Robin Waterfield at the helm who does Meditations below also, he’s my favorite living scholar, he’s even written the first full length biography on Plato!!
010 – Seneca – Letter on Ethics – these are so much fun
011 – Marcus Aurelius – Meditations: The Annotated Edition i bought this twice!!
012 – Petrarch – I skip the early church and much of the rich cornucopia of Greco-Roman material because there is enough already from them, and we come to the dawn of a new age, principally his Letters, which is like some of the names we’ll soon see here.
013 – Shakespeare – where to begin!!
014 – Montaigne – his Essays translated by Donald Frame, the best!!
015 – Robert Burton – Anatomy of Melancholy – a fevered and whimsical look at all the stuff that we experience under the umbrella of the shaded emotion.
016 – The Sam and James duo – i am being lazy by not listing all their works, in fact this is the reason why i’m making this list the way i am, when there’s a multitude of works i offer just a few thoughts. The titles can be long, and i need to develop a rapport with them first.
017 – Ralph Waldo Emerson – principally his Essays, he fits in snugly with the Stoics, and even other things beyond the Western Canon. If i had to elect my #1 American of all time RWE would be it, he’s just so inspiring!! Self Reliance being the most representable.
018 – Friedrich Nietzsche – The Gay Science shall be my main go to from da man!! His Free Spirit series got better and better and this was the culmination of it.
019 -- Rainer Maria Rilke -- how could I forget him, and there are others I couldn't fit in, because space aliens never want me to be able to do that.
020 – E.M. Cioran – My favorite thinker, all his work which were translated into English is the most essential of the whole Group here, his nihilism is a laid back eloquent kind.
That is it, everyday I sup on these timeless morsels, and when more is added to The Group, it will be kept top secret, shared only with the KGB, and select affiliates of The Golden Dawn and Better Homes and Gardens. ty for reading, if you find anything to your fancy here, I rejoice, good books is one of the greatest boons to good living there is. These exemplify for the most part a positive attitude towards life, some whimsy at least.
The Group
A list of the best in literature and reading
in general in my most ludricously humble
opinion, presented in chronological order
to the best of my abilities, that are operated
in some degree more or less given the time
management involved.
001 – Homer – We begin here, his 2 big epics The Iliad and The Odyssey. I choose Robert Fagles’ translation to only begin with, there being many other translations at my fingertips. These 2 cornerstone works also kick off a more select Group, which are peopled by such titles as The Aeneid, The Divine Comedy, Paradise Lost and Faust. Missing is a name to be seen later on here.
The Tragedians and a comic, in an of itself structured like how they’d enter competitions, there’d be a trilogy of usually tragedies, followed by a comedy. I remember reading that, so if i am wrong, i must be remembering wrong, but if correct i find it neat that the surviving Greek Playwrights form that kind of structure. I haven't formed opinions enough to talk about them much. It would be nice to see them performed, and I saw a reddit post that seemed to mention where and what to look for for that, but I haven't followed through in finding them yet.
002 – Aeschylus
003 – Sophocles
004 – Euripides
005 – Aristophanes – i have some great translations here that when i memorize them i will be all too proud to mention whenever i mention this Comic genius.
006 – Plato – there’s even more here to go through. I am making this list in a more conversational mode, so that it can be done with less difficulty, i need not slavishly name all their works, just their names, and some thoughts for each.
007 – Aristotle – as with Plato, there’s a few good secondary sources that are at my disposal to help me both appreciate and understand.
008 – The Bible – this is out of the chronological approach surely, but it was composed in various times. I read from various parts in it. Although not numbered I am in the midst of going through some weighty theological tomes.
The 3 Roman Stoics
009 – Epictetus – Complete Works with Robin Waterfield at the helm who does Meditations below also, he’s my favorite living scholar, he’s even written the first full length biography on Plato!!
010 – Seneca – Letter on Ethics – these are so much fun
011 – Marcus Aurelius – Meditations: The Annotated Edition i bought this twice!!
012 – Petrarch – I skip the early church and much of the rich cornucopia of Greco-Roman material because there is enough already from them, and we come to the dawn of a new age, principally his Letters, which is like some of the names we’ll soon see here.
013 – Shakespeare – where to begin!!
014 – Montaigne – his Essays translated by Donald Frame, the best!!
015 – Robert Burton – Anatomy of Melancholy – a fevered and whimsical look at all the stuff that we experience under the umbrella of the shaded emotion.
016 – The Sam and James duo – i am being lazy by not listing all their works, in fact this is the reason why i’m making this list the way i am, when there’s a multitude of works i offer just a few thoughts. The titles can be long, and i need to develop a rapport with them first.
017 – Ralph Waldo Emerson – principally his Essays, he fits in snugly with the Stoics, and even other things beyond the Western Canon. If i had to elect my #1 American of all time RWE would be it, he’s just so inspiring!! Self Reliance being the most representable.
018 – Friedrich Nietzsche – The Gay Science shall be my main go to from da man!! His Free Spirit series got better and better and this was the culmination of it.
019 -- Rainer Maria Rilke -- how could I forget him, and there are others I couldn't fit in, because space aliens never want me to be able to do that.
020 – E.M. Cioran – My favorite thinker, all his work which were translated into English is the most essential of the whole Group here, his nihilism is a laid back eloquent kind.
That is it, everyday I sup on these timeless morsels, and when more is added to The Group, it will be kept top secret, shared only with the KGB, and select affiliates of The Golden Dawn and Better Homes and Gardens. ty for reading, if you find anything to your fancy here, I rejoice, good books is one of the greatest boons to good living there is. These exemplify for the most part a positive attitude towards life, some whimsy at least.
46-50, M