I am currently reading "The Iliad" and selections from "My Book House," "Journeys Through Bookland," and "Childcraft, the How & Why Library" since I am building a child-focused Classic Literature library. I marvel at the writing style for children in the early 20th century compared to the extremely watered down and patronizing prose that constitutes current children's literature. It is the literary equivalent of comparing a nutritious, homemade meal to fast food.

I have a false memory. I remember sitting on my great grandfather's lap and getting my picture taken. I know it's false because he died before I was born. The child in the photo is my father. That photograph sat on a desk next to a picture of me at about the same age and because I looked the same as my father at that age my juvenile mind associated the two and created a false memory

Oh, you’ve totally sold me now on Freud! Wanna get my hands on The Uncanny… I’m hoping to get around to H.P. Lovecraft’s The Call of Cthulhu and other weird stories this month, got the beautiful Penguin Orange Collection special edition of that one recently…

I most certainly owned that publication of "The Invisible Man" when I was young. I distinctly remember that cover! So eerie.

Two coincidences in one video. I read 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea this past summer as well. Also, I've started collecting Ladybird Classics after having a conversation with my sister about these books that we had in our grade school library. They're a little different in that they're for little kids, so they're abridged and there's basically a color picture on every page. P.S. I always thought the title meant they went 20,000 leagues straight down, so I was a little disappointed. But I now understand why Captain Nemo is such a classic character.

I still have all the numbered ECL volumes. There were some later unnumbered ones but I don't have any of them. I got a lot of books from grocery stores back in the 60s and early 70s including the entire Funk and Wagnall's Encyclopedia which I took to college with me

Jim, Barnes and Noble has an illustrated edition of Twenty Thousand Leagues... It's part of its hard-bound collectible series. Not all are illustrated but this one, Aesop's Fables, and The Wind in the Willows, for example, are. Barnes and Noble is sort of bricks and mortar, in that you find out about what's inside these books by browsing through them in person and with book in hand. So many books, so little time left in my case.

Another informative and enjoyable video. Thanks, Jim.

Great haul!!!!! Thank you for taking us along 📚🤓

I'm re-reading The Picture of Dorian Gray by Wilde. Very interesting use of language... and Common Sense is excellent. Not bad for a failed stay maker!

Very good finds in this video. I wonder if now, the libraries in the Philadelphia area offer electronic books for free. (I'm old-fashioned and I still buy a few new books from Barnes and Noble, either physical books or Ebooks. But not many.) Another thought: are there reading groups at the libraries? That would be fun.

Cool finds! I recently found Here, There, and Everywhere on recording The Beatles and added to TBR, if you’ve read it or any other good Beatles books I’d love your thoughts.

Great finds! I’m surprised at how good the conditions are being former library books! Or do they just collect any books for a mass sale? The Salome one is gorgeous…

Nice Haul. One can't go wrong with Signet Shakespeare. I've read "The Razer's Edge." Great novel. I believe everyone of a certain age read "A Separate Peace" while in school. I lucked out with one of my English Teachers. He decided to task us to read what he thought we'd like: Asimov short stories, John Wyndham's "The Chrysalids." We (I specifically) ate it up. I wonder what they're reading now, or whether any book is widely read across school boards anymore. Good luck to your Phillies. I'm following the Tigers. Maybe we'll see you in the finals.

Nice list. But some of the philosophy you tackle seems a bit beyond me. I've only begun reading philosophy a year ago, and I'm still digesting the Greeks and Romans. My "front burner" reading, at present. Almost finished "The manuscript Found in Saragossa," by Jan Potocki. I was reading a "day" a day for a while, but I bumped it up once I began closing on the end. I've recently begun rereading "Frankenstein," again. Seasonal reading. It's been decades since I've read it. I'm also reading a collection of Agatha Christie stories called "Autumn Chills." There's one for each season. I've read the others over the year, each in its season. I've also picked up Robert Chambers' "The King in Yellow." More seasonal reading. Read it a couple years ago and decided to give it a whirl again.

I just got through Kurt Vonnegut's Cats Cradle and about to re read the discworld series because I loved it as a child. Those are some great books, i love how they're presented so beautifully!

Wonderful, soothing reviews of the world of books--thanks for these videos. Since you recently reviewed the works of Aristotle, I recommend Edith Hall, Aristotle's Way: How Ancient Wisdom Can Change Your Life. Professor Hall has crafted a book that seeks to make the ethical writings accessible to the rest of us. It sounds like a self-help book, though it is above that level, and yet it is very readable. I have read the entire book and I recommend it to you highly, and to your other followers as well. All the best and again thanks.

I think Stephen Hicks' lectures on Postmodernism are what really explained it for me in a way I could wrap my head around it. Especially the one explaining how Marxism led to the PostModernism movement.

I read A Separate Peace in high school too...which for me was 85/86...great book and I've considered re-reading it lately. How nice you got it for your friend 😊

My grandmother was a college professor in Louisiana and taught music and literature and she knew William Faulkner

Thanks for the heads up. It looks like bag day for me.

I have the Doubleday Complete Shakespeare illustrated by Rockwell Kent. I bought it when I got out of school and I had some bucks for the first time. This book is so heavy that it cuts off circulation to my legs when I hold it in my lap.🤣

Thanks, Jim. Always so informative and a "good listen".

Greetings, professor! I hope you are well, and immersed in a great book of ancient lineage. I, being a newcomer to your stream, thank you, first of all for enhancing my own journey through the Great Books. In a recent stream you commented on the binding, paper, double-columned pages and typography of the set. I would like to make three comments: the double column is used in Bibles, even in modern translations, and is, due to the smaller font size, easier to read. You observed that a single column line would be hard to follow. I certainly agree; perhaps that is why a Yad Torah is used? Also, first edition is printed after the war, and paper of the thickness used may reflect the advances of using better quality, i.e. ingredients, less softwood pulp, which turns yellow all by itself. Too much tannin in it does that. Higher cotton content makes whiter, better lasting paper. Hence, some paper, even in hardcovers, published in 1980s, '90s, turns brow, brittle and awful imo. Last comment, Jim, is about the typeface and its designer. Mr. Ruzicka was a very prolific, gifted graphic artist. I am a Czech Canadian, and can confidently correct your pronounciation of his name: R-oo-zhi-chka. It is a diminutive of the flower rose. Just little things, without, I hope, causing any offence or perturbation. With thanks, I am linguistically yours, and remain your follower, Jaroslav.

I really wish EB had created an index (similar to the one you are creating) for their volumes since they ceased publishing this series in 1998.

There is a flaw in the Icarus story. The higher you fly in the earth’s atmosphere, the cooler the air becomes.

Thank you, Jim...

The great idea of 1963 was my mum and dad deciding to have a baby - thus me, in 1964.

Well done, Jim. Really enjoy all your videos. Thank You.

Thanks for another walk-through Jim! I like how you’re typing up the additions to the series! 😄

Very much enjoying this series!

Best wishes with what you choose to read and to your channel.

A week ago I read an interesting King story, "The Life of Chuck" from his "Let it Bleed" collection. It was good. It may be the only end of the world story that makes the reader smile. It has been made into a film starring Tom Hiddleston. I'm surprised about the ebay prices for those cloth books. Madness.

Say what you will about the set, the two volumes of the Syntopicon alone are worth their weight in gold. Thank you for the video.

Read Berserk Next I think you'd enjoy it

Yes they the Penguin hardcovers are available in the US. Please do The Count of Monte Cristo, and Jim, maybe start a read-along or two.

I have great respect for Mr. Adler's efforts regarding GBWW and have adopted his approach to "deep" reading which was not only addressed in "How to Read a Book," but also included in his "Great Ideas Program," and the "Syntopicon." That being said, I struggle to maintain focus when reading anything he wrote. He obviously has a great breadth/depth of knowledge and a passion for education, but he is not my first choice when exploring new/difficult subject matter for exactly the reasons you found his work to be a difficult read. If it were me, I would donate the Proust. Maybe with a note reminding potential readers to "not judge a book by its cover." ☺Since you have upgraded your library with the more attractive Penguin books, I encourage you to share the beauty of Proust's literature with others. After watching your video where you showed off your acquisition of the Franklin Library 25th Anniversary edition of the GBWW, I developed a severe case of book lust and have vowed to collect the entire set; if I can collect one book a month for around $50, I can have a complete set in 8 years. I just received the first book (plays by Aeschylus) and it is one of the most beautiful leatherbound editions I've ever owned; really, the binding is stunning and the craftsmanship exceeds Easton Press. The size of the book is comfortable to hold and you were spot on with the print being easy to read. I will continue to read my standard edition of the GBWW until my leatherbound collection is complete, at which point I will let the regular HC edition go. I am currently building a children's library for my grandchildren and have just procured some vintage Children's Literature books for homeschooling: 1) "Journeys Through Bookland," Charles Sylvester, Bellows-Reeve Publishers (Chicago, 1909) is a 10-volume anthology touted as "A new and original plan for reading, applied to the world’s best literature for children." The series includes poems, myths, Bible stories, fairy tales, and excerpts from literary works by Cervantes, Dickens, Shakespeare and Swift, among others. The illustrations are both numerous and stunning - perfect for inspiring a child's lifelong love of reading. 2) "My Book House," Olive Beaupré Miller, (Chicago, 1921), is a 12-volume set similar to "Journeys through Bookland," but with selections from around the world so the two sets have limited overlap. "My Book House" became the first collection of children's literature which was graded to meet the developing needs and abilities of children at different ages. I don't typically read more than one book at a time, and so this week what I read was "A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms," George R. R. Martin. It's set in the Game of Thrones world about a hundred years before the events of the "Song of Ice and Fire" books. It's a collection of 3 short stories about a Knight and his Squire; a quick read and entertaining. Thank you again for your videos; I look forward to them!

Lovely clothbound designs! I’ve never read Proust, which is your favourite &why do you like him? Will have to get some… I’d say keep the old ones for now, if you haven’t looked at them or remembered them in the next year, pass them on! But take pics first ,that way you can still be reminded… I read Adler’s “how to read a book”, was useful, but I really didn’t get on with his writing style! 😅

Borges is an author I got into recently - I love his library of books you can never leave. As to all the others - yes, Aristotle is dry.

I think that Aristotle is just a hard author to read. This summer our reading group worked through Nicomachean Ethics. There are many useful insights, but it took the entire summer to digest. In college we read the Posterior Analytics, which almost drove the class mad. Even a harder book. By hearsay, the Poetics is supposed to be enjoyable.

The Penguin clothbound classics feature good translations and nice designs by Coralie Bickford-Smith. The translation of Don Quixote is much better than the expensive edition by Everymans Library, whose translation dates from 1700--seriously.

Thank you..

Thanks for the reviews of all these books. It encourages me to read more broadly. I'm a little envious of your reading speed!

These videos make me want to start collecting the additions to the Great Books. Oh, and now I need a typewriter too. I miss that sound.

When I'm at a stopping place in the primary book I'm reading or between books I will pull one of these out and just start reading. I do the same thing with my encyclopedia collections and their associated year books

21:08 Wonderful artwork!

Your Great Ideas Today books seem to be in just as good shape as my set; it seems to me these are reasonably priced because they aren't in as much demand as the original Great Ideas books. I'm still on the lookout for 1996 & 1998, but otherwise have a complete set along with the original Great Ideas books. The topics and concepts put forth in them are still relevant today (perhaps even more so).

Thanks for the overview Jim and for linking a copy! I’m mainly interested in the additions to the great books library section, but fun to see what was in the zeitgeist of the time. Funny how history repeats itself, automations a worry then, AI replacing jobs a worry now…

You've inspired me to read this book. I think it'll probably push me a bit, but that's good...haven't had that experience in far too long. Really enjoy your videos. Thank you and cheers from Northern Baja Mexico 🇲🇽

Food for thought. So many books and so little time. The ever expanding tbr! Happy reading to you.