The Harvards Classics: One Shelf at A Time 📚📜(Introduction)

To Preface This! I do not mean this in a self deprecating way, But I am self aware enough to realize, and I hold no delusions of myself. With that being said…. I am not an academic, expert, or scholar. And even though I am a passionate and enthusiastic reader, I am fully aware that I am a layperson. Also I am also aware of my lack of and limited educational background. The “Fifteen Minutes a Day” plan in Volume 51 is organized into twelve monthly themes. Each month draws selections from across the first 50 volumes so you’re sampling different authors rather than reading one volume straight through. Here’s the overview: Month Theme January Epic and heroic literature February History March Biography and Letters April Drama May Essays and English prose June Science and Natural History July Education August Modern Fiction and Romance September Philosophy October Poetry November Religion and Sacred Writings December Oratory, Politics, and Travel Within each month, there is a reading assignment for every day (365 total), usually requiring about 15 minutes. For example, one day might have you read a speech by Demosthenes, the next day a chapter from Darwin, and another day a few scenes from Shakespeare. The goal wasn’t to finish every work in the collection. Instead, it was to introduce readers to the world’s great ideas and encourage them to return later to works they found especially meaningful.