A while back I had an idea that began nagging at me: A reading list of all the very best books on a wide variety of subjects. A structured list that you could read through, discussing them with others, to get a comprehensive overview of everything there is to know.
It’s an idea that’s stuck in my head ever since but the large number of tricky questions involved (What are the books? How are they chosen? How many books? What subjects? etc) prevented me making anything.
So it seemed wise to tell people about it, which I’ve begun doing at a new site, Septivium. It might become something wonderful or it might go nowhere. Either way I hope some people will be interested enough to discuss it.
[NOTE: The site is now archived at archive.gyford.com/2013/03/25/www.septivium.com 2023-02-21]
If you find it an interesting idea — the chance to read and learn about everything in the world — then do visit, follow along, and tell me what you think.
And if you know someone else who might be interested — whether they already know everything, or they know nothing, or they know more than anyone about one specific subject — please do send them along. Thanks.
(For those reading this through my super aggregated feed my Septivium post(s) should already be with you.)
Comments
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ted at 19 Feb 2009, 6:18pm. Permalink
Checked it out, it's an interesting idea...where will it go from here? How can I help out?
Amazon user lists do something like this, but the problem there is what you're trying to tackle: authority.
I've been asked what are good beginner books for those interested in zen/buddhism, and my list changes each time I'm asked. That would be an interesting list to help out on.