7 ms·

For my part, one of the most striking things which I recall from my youth was reading Dumas' _The Count of Monte Cristo_ and the Abbé Faria contending that ever

• js8 2y ago
  I like your idea, but it's missing any sort of practical skills (which Dantes and Faria certainly had). What would be more interesting, IMHO, books that Cyrus Smith from The Mysterious Island had memorized. Just from what I saw on HN, I remember Gingery books on metal workshop from scratch, and some homesteading manual from late 19th century.
  • bluGill 2y ago
    The most important books are things like first aid and CPR. Or better yet a class because hands on experience beat books learning. I love the Gingery books and they are great foundations for a hobby. However even in a end of civilization scenario we only need a small minority who knows that content who can teach the rest - that is at best, but quite likely there won't be enough industrial base to produce the aluminum needed and so you are stuck with useless knowledge. Even your 19th century homesteading tends to assume far more industrial base to make some annoyingly hard things. Most so called practical skills are either not practical in modern civilization (there is far too much population for us all the be hunter/gathers even if we want to); or they are only practical in context of current times. I've seen how to wire your house for electric lights books from the 1920s - most of the things shown wouldn't pass code today. My house was built in 1970, and there are a lot of things that still work but there is good reason we don't allow that anymore.
    • WillAdams 2y ago
      Had Self-aid and buddy care when I was in the service, and became qualified and volunteered as an EMT for a while after getting out. I do have a Wilderness Survival First Aid Book on my Kindle, and I'll definitely add it to this list. I actually had a copy of _The Metal Lathe (Build Your Own Metal Working Shop From Scrap, Volume 2)_ ages ago, and slotting in the full leatherbound edition of all 7 volumes is likewise a good fit.
  • WillAdams 2y ago
    Trying to focus on intellectual things --- practical skills invites the list becoming an extension of my various interests (note the extant shelves on archery and woodworking) and their various intersections, e.g., https://www.lumberjocks.com/showcase/archery-case-ascham-of-ebonized-red-oak-w-brass-hardware.27298/ https://www.lumberjocks.com/showcase/archery-case-ascham-of-... Edit: did add a first aid book, as well as the 7 volume edition of "The Gingery Books".
  • gen220 2y ago
    “The Good Life” by Helen and Scott Nearing has an excellent bibliography/citations section. How to build stone houses, compost and farm organically, etc. A good primer on homesteading. Contains references to things like 19th century homestead manuals
    • WillAdams 2y ago
      I've considered adding "The Foxfire" books (which I read when I was much younger) and perhaps a text by Roy Underhill, but as noted elsethread, this is intended as an academic/social list.
• Y_Y 2y ago
  I love this idea, and the lost is full of gems, but I see a couple of issues. If you actually intend you or anyone else to read these and stay sane I'd remove the mathematical tables (there is value in reading these, but only for a very rare soul), the Bible (lots of really dry stuff about begetting and knowing), the complete works of Shakespeare (hard to understand without careful study, way too long to cafefully study).
  • mitthrowaway2 2y ago
    Shakespeare is worthwhile but much easier to understand when you see it performed, which is how it was meant to be experienced anyway.
    • KineticLensman 2y ago
      Yes, exactly. A lot of people forget that he wrote ‘plays’ and not ‘reads’
      • mr_toad 2y ago
        He had to; a large part of his audience would have been unable to read. A lot of European literature was poetry for the same reason. Its only because literacy rates have risen that prose has become more popular.
    • dhosek 2y ago
      My Shakespeare class in college was based around performing a play at the end of the semester. We read about half a dozen plays, but the bulk of our work was based around preparing to perform Hamlet (each semester, a different play was performed, with fall being Comedies/Histories and Spring being Tragedies/Romances). The big challenge is that a lot of plays are rarely performed. I had the good fortune of hearing an interview with Kenneth Brannagh where he talked about how Shakespeare is better experienced by watching a performance than reading a text and he made an aside about how it’s unlikely you’re going to get to see Henry IV part II performed and then spotting that there was a free performance of that exact play being given at the Chicago Cultural Center. This turned out to be part of a series of staged readings of all the plays. I missed the beginning of the sequence, but stuck around to the end. One of the coolest moments of this came when I was attending a play at the Goodman Theatre which had the actors interacting with audience members during intermission and one of the actors in the play recognized me from the audience of the staged readings.
• kelseyfrog 2y ago
  St John's College is known for their Great Books curriculum - the foundation of their four year program - where students read the primary text of western civilization. It's always held a soft spot in my heart as my own experience was mostly reading derivative descriptions and the rare times when I was able to read a primary text during my coursework were always my happiest memories. 1. https://www.sjc.edu/academic-programs/undergraduate/great-books-reading-list https://www.sjc.edu/academic-programs/undergraduate/great-bo...
  • uncletaco 2y ago
    I’ll never forget the night sjc students invited me to smoke weed and listen to some Charles Mingus.
  • kurthr 2y ago
    Trying to learn Newtonian Mechanics from Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica is kinda dumb though. I certainly noticed that it was ineffective in discussing implications with the students. I found Boyle's observations far more effective in teaching science. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philosophi%C3%A6_Naturalis_Principia_Mathematica https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philosophi%C3%A6_Naturalis_Pri...
    • jihadjihad 2y ago
      > Trying to learn Newtonian Mechanics from Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica is kinda dumb though. It'd be like wanting to improve your cardio health so you try to climb K2. The edition I have has 150+ pages of just introduction. You have to wade through all of that just to be able to figure out how to read the rest of the tome. It is cool, though!
    • kelseyfrog 2y ago
      Let’s be honest, trying to learn Newtonian mechanics by majoring in the humanities probably isn’t the best approach. Maybe that’s not really what the program is meant for in the first place.
    • glial 2y ago
• financypants 2y ago
  ah yes, read 100 books, abide by 1,000,000 rules
  • colecut 2y ago
    the proper framework can set you free
• crims0n 2y ago
  I am about a quarter of the way through Modern Library’s top 100 and it has been a worthwhile journey. It is “just” literary fiction but it is among the best humanity has produced. I have learned so much about the human condition, my ability to articulate ideas has improved tremendously, and I feel like my mind has been “freed from the tyranny of the present” (to quote Cicero). https://sites.prh.com/modern-library-top-100 https://sites.prh.com/modern-library-top-100
  • whatnow37373 2y ago
    Seeing that I am on HN and can unleash unrestrained pedantry I wish to ask where Cicero actually writes that because I cannot find it?
    • crims0n 2y ago
      The full quote is allegedly "The purpose of education is to free the student from the tyranny of the present." ...I picked it up in Neil Postman's Amusing Ourselves to Death, but he didn't cite which work it came from. Goodreads attributes it to "Selected Works".
      • literalAardvark 2y ago
        The Roman version of "trust me bro"
    • ChuckMcM 2y ago
      I thought Mark Twain said that. /ducks
    • MarkusQ 2y ago
      I dodn't think it's a quote; more a paraphrase of: https://www.loebclassics.com/view/marcus_tullius_cicero-orator/1939/pb_LCL342.395.xml?readMode=recto https://www.loebclassics.com/view/marcus_tullius_cicero-orat...
      • ahazred8ta 2y ago
• jsbg 2y ago
  Some books I would put on this list: Knowledge and Decisions by Thomas Sowell, Le Rouge et le Noir by Stendhal, Up From Slavery by Booker T. Washington, 1984 by George Orwell.
• rayiner 2y ago
  My mom grew up in Bangladesh with a classic British education (augmented with Russian works that were popular in the country given the socialist alignment). She speaks English with a heavy accent despite living here for almost 40 years, but will randomly reference great works in conversation. The other day she worked a reference to a greek tragedy into a dig at Pakistanis. I’ve come around to the idea that this isn’t merely a class flex, but rather these works have distilled observations about the human condition as well as building blocks of the society we live in even where we don’t recognize the provenance.
  • ChuckMcM 2y ago
    Exactly correct. In reading some highly regarded works two things occurred to me, first that the author had captured into words some fundamental aspect of the human condition. Second was that it's easier to think about something presented as a story than it is when it is presented as an alternative to how you currently think. If you tell someone there position on some topic is wrong, they will argue with you. If you tell someone a story where the character takes the same position they have and then through experience and personal growth comes to understand how it is wrong. They can come away realizing that they might have it wrong. Great trick when it works.
    • WillAdams 2y ago
      One contemporary author who often writes fantasy and science fiction on social issues is Steven Brust, and he has a rule that when he puts his personal viewpoints into the mouth of a character, he uses a character whom the reader would have a narrative reason to dislike, which forces him to be honest with himself, and more impartial with the reader.
      • ChuckMcM 2y ago
        That is a great technique.
• caycecan 2y ago
  There are some works from the more recent past that might add to this list: https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2024/books/best-books-21st-century.html#book-10 https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2024/books/best-books-21... https://www.nypl.org/voices/print-publications/books-of-the-century https://www.nypl.org/voices/print-publications/books-of-the-...
• deleted 2y ago
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• dukeofdoom 2y ago
  Judging from the French movie (with Pierre Niney) I saw last year (which was awesome btw) , and my vague recollection of the book, there's lots of physical skills involved. It's not just an intellectual pursuit, but more like applied science in getting vengeance. Really fun read. Big chunk of social media is self improvement. Stumbled across this guy yesterday and actually gives pretty solid advice. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BYsr2jkf_3A https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BYsr2jkf_3A
  • WillAdams 2y ago
    Point! Added: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/803453.The_Sword_and_the_Centuries https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/803453.The_Sword_and_the... (which I have a copy of and re-read when I was considering taking up fencing, but my wife demurred)
    • dukeofdoom 2y ago
      You might enjoy the movie "Young Sherlock Holmes" than. If you haven't seen it, great fun. And it ends in a fencing scene like Hamlet.
    • jcynix 2y ago
      If your wife isn't happy to see you fencing (which I can understand) you might want to take a look at archery instead? And add this book (which impressed me during my teenage years) to your reading list: Zen in the Art of Archery - Wikipedia https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zen_in_the_Art_of_Archery https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zen_in_the_Art_of_Archery
      • WillAdams 2y ago
        It's a long story, but my wife was fencing at the time. As regards archery, it's long been an interest of mine: https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/21394355-william-adams?ref=nav_mybooks&shelf=archery https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/21394355-william-adams...
• soupfordummies 2y ago
  > reading one non-fiction book from each major section of the Dewey Decimal system catalog This actually sounds really fun. Not so much in an optimized way, but more like just going to the library and picking a decimal heading and then just selecting a cool-looking book in that heading and reading it, then repeat.
  • WillAdams 2y ago
    It was. Tried to do it again in college, but using the LoC headings, but ran out of time and graduated before running out of college/headings. To this day, when going to the library, I try to keep this in mind when looking over the new books, and if there is one on a major/notable subject I can't recall having read a book on, grab it.
• dhosek 2y ago
  I actually did your Dewey Decimal project: https://www.dahosek.com/category/dewey-decimal-project/ https://www.dahosek.com/category/dewey-decimal-project/ I read one book out of each “decade” of the Dewey catalog from my local library (which is reasonably well stocked). It was a bit less than the predicted 100 books since there are some gaps in both the system and the collection of my library, but it was an interesting way to discover things I didn’t know I didn’t know.
• runamuck 2y ago
  I only read great literature, classics, history books my whole life. This year (Aged 48) I decided to pepper in a "fluff" book or two. I forced myself to read something I normally wouldn't. I read "The Situation" (Jersey Shore) and Mathew Perry (Friends) "auto" biographies. I actually had some profound insights about depression and substance abuse from those two. Of course, I don't recommend you read either, but if you never read "airport fiction" or "pop biographies" it might prove interesting.
  • mmooss 2y ago
    How would you characterize the differences between the two categories of books that you read?
  • djtango 2y ago
    I've come around to the idea that anything and anyone can be interesting and enriching if you approach it with the right level of curiosity. Doesn't always play out but it adds to the spice of life when you can draw insight from places you never expected to.
• austinl 2y ago
  "Be careful… about this reading you refer to, this reading of many different authors and books of every description. You should be extending your stay among writers whose genius is unquestionable, deriving constant nourishment from them if you wish to gain anything from your reading that will find a lasting place in your mind." - Seneca, Letters I was surprised to learn that the temptation to read too many things was also a problem 2,000 years ago. This inspired me to work on a short list of books that I know deeply.
  • aaronrobinson 2y ago
    That sounds horrific
  • andrepd 2y ago
    Sucks that the vast majority of those books were lost forever. Early Christianity was a scourge in that regard, how much culture we lost forever because of those zealots.
    • sepositus 2y ago
      I didn't realize Early Christianity had a monopoly on the destruction of books? As far as I know the burning of rival civilizations has been happening for thousands of years.
      • andrepd 2y ago
        I'm speaking specifically about Western classics (esp. Roman).
        • sepositus 2y ago
          I would say that material decay, neglect, economic collapse, war, and changing cultural priorities played a far greater role in the loss of these texts rather than the ones lost to zealous Christians. It's just weird to single that group out when their actions represent a minority in the overall loss of these ancient texts.
• typon 2y ago
  I wish I could experience the feeling of reading The Count of Monte Cristo again
  • WillAdams 2y ago
    Well, Steven Brust's _The Baron of Magister Valley_ is basically TCoMC w/ the names changed and serial numbers filed off in a fantasy setting. Also, if you haven't read _The Black Count: Glory, Revolution, Betrayal, and the Real Count of Monte Cristo_ by Tom Reiss I'd strongly recommend that: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13330922-the-black-count https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13330922-the-black-count
    • typon 2y ago
      thanks for the recs!
• CGMthrowaway 2y ago
  Dumas himself had a personal library of about 6,000 books at its peak. If you don't already have them on your list, historians have mentioned several books that were known to have strongly influenced him: Walter Scott's historical novels, particularly "Ivanhoe" and "Waverley," which inspired Dumas' approach to historical fiction James Fenimore Cooper's frontier adventures, which influenced his action narratives Lord Byron's romantic poetry and persona, which shaped Dumas' conception of the romantic hero Schiller's play "The Conspiracy of Fiesco at Genoa," which Dumas translated and adapted early in his career Shakespeare's dramatic works Memoirs of historical figures, particularly those from the 17th and 18th centuries, including Courtilz de Sandras' "Mémoires de M. d'Artagnan," which became the foundation for "The Three Musketeers" Plutarch's "Lives," which informed his understanding of classical historical figures Works by Abbé Prévost and other French novelists of the 18th century The Bible and classical mythology
• primitivesuave 2y ago
  Based on your interest in Tacitus and Thucydides, I might recommend the The Histories of Polybius. [1] It is absolutely mind-blowing to me that he actually witnessed the events he writes about, and how analogous it is to modern-day geopolitics. By the way, thank you for providing your list of books - I picked up a few future reads from it. 1. https://www.gutenberg.org/files/44125/44125-h/44125-h.htm https://www.gutenberg.org/files/44125/44125-h/44125-h.htm
  • WillAdams 2y ago
    Agreed, added. Thanks! My pleasure!
• glitchc 2y ago
  Tony Judt. "Reappraisals" and "When the Facts Change" should be on top of everyone's reading list. Few indeed are those who can write prose as crisp, succinct and erudite as he did.
• try_the_bass 2y ago
  One of my personal favorites, but a very difficult read: _Summa Technologiae_ by Stanislaw Lem. It's so difficult I haven't actually finished it. It's remarkably dense.
• kylecazar 2y ago
  I'm sure you're familiar with the Harvard Classics (5 foot shelf) and have browsed their volumes? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harvard_Classics https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harvard_Classics
  • Balgair 2y ago
    You can download them all for free here: https://www.myharvardclassics.com/categories/20120212 https://www.myharvardclassics.com/categories/20120212 The Reading Guide at the bottom of the page is the best way to get into them, I think. It's a daily ~15/20 minute selection. Be aware, it's the book's page number that is referenced, not the .pdf's page number.
    • kylecazar 2y ago
      Very cool. I actually inherited the collection as part of my dad's library. It's almost complete, missing a few (Elizabethan dramas if I recall). My process has been to periodically pick out a volume and start reading, been doing that for years -- I'll check out the guide. May be time to introduce some methodology.
• Balgair 2y ago
  I'll assume you've run into Mortimer J. Adler's Great Works of the Western World and are familiar with the selection. For those not in the know, the 60 volume set was done by a somewhat sparse group that included many people like Isaac Asimov and William F. Buckley Jr. (what a spread there). The thing that always made GWWW a killer collection was Adler's syntopicon to the 58 other volumes. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Syntopicon https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Syntopicon The term 'syntopicon' was coined for this effort and is essentially a way of indexing information. Like how a dictionary uses words to sort the data, and an encyclopedia uses a subject, a syntopicon uses a topic. Think 'jurisprudence of judges' and not 'African elephants'. I've always thought that more book collections should include a syntopicon to them. With the modern AI revolution, I'd suppose that it's a lot easier to do so now, but it's still a lot of work and effort to edit the 'link table' for these things. More enjoyable though and great for giving the collector a really good grasp on the books. Try putting in your list of books and then ask your AI of choice the help put together a syntopicon for it. Here's a (poor) example: https://chatgpt.com/share/6815ad20-9d54-800a-853e-2517d64a159b https://chatgpt.com/share/6815ad20-9d54-800a-853e-2517d64a15...
  • WillAdams 2y ago
    Interesting, I have a facsimile version of the first edition of _Roget's Thesaurus_ which orders concepts numerically, and I always wished for a reference list to match. Agree modern indexing is great for researching terminology, and wish it could be more easily extended to concepts, but not sure modern Large Language Models with their compression/hallucinations/outright-errors are workable yet.