Reading the Great Books of the Western World

After reading about the Great Books of the Western World book set for several years, I began to feel that I really needed to get a copy of the set for myself. I began looking for a set online, and I found one earlier this year. The books are a little weathered around the edges, but I don't think anyone has ever read them. The insides of the books are unblemished and unwrinkled. My husband and I decided that we would read this set together in the evenings, so we have begun slowly working our way through the first book. We recently began the second book, which is the first volume of the Syntopican.

One of the things the Great Books of the Western World set offers is a suggested ten year reading plan. If they are read using the ten year plan, the editors caution that the plan does not cover all of the writings in the books. Still, having ten years of reading laid out is a great challenge. The first volume of the set has the ten year plan laid out. I felt that I really wanted a bookmark that I could move from volume to volume as I read the selections throughout the year. This way, I would have the list with me without needing to look up the next selection. I also wanted to be able to track our progress as we read through each year's selections. The bookmarks I created also have a place next to each selection that can be checked off as they are read. So far, I have created bookmarks for the first three years. I printed them on a sheet of cardstock and will use them as we read through the books. You are welcome to download the bookmarks here.

See my follow up post on the Great Books here.