Throughout the past few years, I've changed a lot about the way I learn and take in information.
I've implemented new strategies, new note taking systems, I've learned to make mini courses, syllabi, and assignments for myself, all for the purpose of optimizing my ability to learn and take in information. But after all these years, when it comes to learning new things, there's still nothing that beats reading a good book.
Currently, I have two reading lists: one that I made myself, and one that I have found and am following. The one that I made myself was developed and changed over a long period of time but is designed to teach me new specific things over 6 month periods. The other is a *Great Books* reading list that was assembled by the publishers of Encyclopedia Brittanica's "Great Books of the Western World" which takes the reader through the key points of their 60 volume series in ten years. While this may seem like a long time, it only shakes up to around 18-20 readings (not full books) per year. This reading list can be found here, I'm currently on Book I of Plato's Republic.
As for my personal reading list, it was developed originally from the understanding that anything I wanted to learn could be found most potently in a book. There are wonderful, amazing videos out there on Youtube, and courses to be found on sites like Coursera and EdX, but the information there is abridged. Something I remember about my college courses is after reading an excerpt or a section from a book, wanting to read the rest of the book, but always having to move on. I hear it often in conversations about, mostly philosophers, who student's have read snippets of, but never an entire book. This is something I reconcile with my reading list.
Thirty six books per year, broken into six books every two months, six academic subjects, and a topic switch at the end of June.
What it looks like is this:
- A book in the subject of Math/Science: currently reading QED by Richard Feynman
- A book in History/Philosophy: recently finished Society of the Spectacle by Guy Debord
- A book in Language/Writing: currently reading Zen in the Art of Writing by Ray Bradbury
- A book in Psychology: recently read Synchronicity by Carl Jung
- A book of Poetry: currently reading Scattered Poems by Jack Kerouac
- A Novel: Recently read Childhood's End by Arthur C. Clarke
The topics for each subject are as follows:
- Math and Science: Quantum Physics
- History and Philosophy: Post Modernism
- Writing and Language: Writing Science Fiction
- Psychology: The unconscious Mind
- Poetry: Beat Poetry
- Novel: Science Fiction
My initial idea was that in a regular undergrad course, you could be expected to read around three books per semester in a given topic, subject matter, or course objective. If I could recreate these topics and reading lists, I could finish each year with the acquired knowledge of twelve different courses. This is my first run of the reading list in it's current form. The list started as nothing but a number to be filled, but after some time with it, I realized that I could be doing more.
As June approaches I've starting to think about the next batch of topics that I could be reading for this second half of the year. One idea I've had is to make the first half of the year an introductory course, with the second half going into more advanced issues.
I'm also now starting to think about what deliverables I want to take from this and be able to produce. An essay? A Powerpoint Presentation? A Shoebox Diorama?
Whatever it is, be sure to stay in touch and you'll be able to find it here!
P.S. for more recent updates and book reviews, check out my Goodreads where I update my reading progress daily!