The idea of ‘canon’ was always very interesting to me as well. I’ve been a huge reader since I was very young (my mom still tells the embarrassing story of how, when I was being potty trained, I used to sit on my little potty until the pile of books in the unread pile had moved to the read pile - these were likely picture books but you g…
The idea of ‘canon’ was always very interesting to me as well. I’ve been a huge reader since I was very young (my mom still tells the embarrassing story of how, when I was being potty trained, I used to sit on my little potty until the pile of books in the unread pile had moved to the read pile - these were likely picture books but you get the point). When I was a kid I read whatever fell into my hands and enjoyed it immensely. But when I finished high school I realized I wanted more from my reading experience. I wanted to read what the characters in my favorite books were reading - Austen, Brontë, Woolf, even Shakespeare - I wanted an intellectually curated reading list. I also realized I wouldn’t be able to curate such a list without some help. So I took up a degree in English literature. My reason was: tell me what else to read. I wanted my reading to have the gatekeepers’ approval stamp, or in other words, to discover the canon. Now I have a Masters Degree with a thesis, all because I wanted a reading list 😂
The idea of ‘canon’ was always very interesting to me as well. I’ve been a huge reader since I was very young (my mom still tells the embarrassing story of how, when I was being potty trained, I used to sit on my little potty until the pile of books in the unread pile had moved to the read pile - these were likely picture books but you get the point). When I was a kid I read whatever fell into my hands and enjoyed it immensely. But when I finished high school I realized I wanted more from my reading experience. I wanted to read what the characters in my favorite books were reading - Austen, Brontë, Woolf, even Shakespeare - I wanted an intellectually curated reading list. I also realized I wouldn’t be able to curate such a list without some help. So I took up a degree in English literature. My reason was: tell me what else to read. I wanted my reading to have the gatekeepers’ approval stamp, or in other words, to discover the canon. Now I have a Masters Degree with a thesis, all because I wanted a reading list 😂
Adi, Harvard Classics were made for you!