The Great Books Challenge

For those of you who know me, it is an understatement to say that I enjoy reading. Over the past few months, I realized I haven't read many classics, even though I'm in my 40s. Which made me wonder if I missed something in my education. Was it an issue with the education I had? Probably not. Was it simply the fact that most people don’t take the time to read great books? I decided to do a little research. I reflected on my education, from high school to CEGEP. Although the academic curriculum includes readings of some classical works, most of our liberal education has diminished over time. I managed to find some textbooks from my earlier years, and to my astonishment, I realized that I never read the works – except for certain excerpts – of Plato, Aristotle or even Shakespeare. I knew I had to do something. So, I decided to amp up my reading. But where to start?

During my research, I found a collection of books – great books – called The Great Books of the Western World from Encyclopedia Britannica in 1952 and edited by Robert Hutchins and Mortimer Adler. It is a 54-volume collection, covering many topics, such as fiction, history, poetry, natural science, mathematics, philosophy, drama, politics, religion, economics, and ethics, and includes many of the great thinkers of our society: Homer, Sophocles, Plato, Aristotle, Hippocrates, Epictetus, Marcus Aurelius, Shakespeare, Galilei, Descartes, Locke, Berkeley, Hume, Kant, Hegel, Marx, Tolstoy, Freud, and many others.

This collection intrigued me, so I decided to purchase it. I was lucky to find a second-hand set online at a bargain price. So now… what to do? Where do I start? What’s the plan? 54 Volumes and over 70 authors. This is practically impossible to plan with a full-time workload, and let’s face it, everyday life in general. But I found in the introductory works written by the editors a “10 year reading plan”. I said to myself, “Do it… I dare you!” So, starting March 1, 2026, I will be embarking on a 10 year reading plan to get through the “Great Books”. It’s a project that I’m sure I will find fascinating and challenging. I decided to document this challenge by updating my progress on this blog. So reach out on March 1, to join me in this endeavour.