Beginning the Adventure.

I’ve just finished Chapter 5 of The Well-Educated Mind and I am perched on the edge, ready to dive headlong into this journey of reading.  I am excited by the snippets the author gives of many of the novels.  I am invigorated by the understanding she provides – I might have read these books in high school if my teachers had broken reading down in this way.  Had we had the time to take each novel at our own pace and had we been able to look deeply into each one.

My adventure begins with Miguel de Cervantes’ Don Quixote.  I plan to have my “Grammar Stage” reading done by the end of  February (when I will also willingly join the ranks of the unemployed.)

The Well-Educated Mind

I found this book over a year ago and have started this project many times in that time.  I have really enjoyed what I have read of The Well-Educated Mind: A Guide to the Classical Education You Never Had by Susan Wise Bauer.  It is well- and convincingly written.  The author has a sense of humor.  Her ideas are clear and, in theory, extremely helpful in digesting those classics I never got around to in high school or college.

Unfortunately, I have not progressed past the fourth chapter because of a few things.  My first and seemingly largest problem is a lack of access to used book stores or adequate libraries.  Living on a small island south of Japan, it’s been tough to find the books listed for reading in The Well-Educated Mind.  This issue has been recently put to rest because I received a Kindle for Christmas this year – lucky me!  My second problem is the author suggests it is necessary to have a reading buddy to accompany you on this journey.  This is to keep you accountable to reading, to keep you on the right path analytically and to assist in the final synthesis of the books.  I’ve had a few friends who at least intended to read with me but no one who followed through any more than I did, myself.  So I’ve decided to skip the buddy and just start this blog.  We will all see how that turns out.