What's a good list to start with for someone that wants to start reading?

[Anonymous No.15439131]

I'm 24 now and I've basically been the coomer meme for the past decade, maybe reading a handful of books at best. Spend most of my time watching anime, browsing the internet etc.

However, I want to start educating myself and becoming well read.

Is there some kind of list or chart that I could follow for this purpose? I hate starting something without making a plan first so I don't just want to read random books that seem to interest me. I want to read the best, and most interesting books to cultivate my mind.

Is the /fit/ list chart a good place to start? What about the St. John's College great books list? https://www.sjc.edu/academic-programs/undergraduate/great-books-reading-list

Would appreciate any recommendations or guidance.

[Anonymous No.15439142]

>>15439131
Start with the Greeks

[Anonymous No.15439143]

>>15439131
Just pick up the classics that you find interesting.
I haven't read many American classics, but I'm doing fairly well with Japanese ones.
It's up to you. It's your education.

[Anonymous No.15439191]

>>15439143
Yeah well this is exactly what I DON'T want to do as outlined in the OP. I want a list that's considered interesting, high quality and worth reading in order ideally.

[Anonymous No.15439224]

>>15439131
It's a much better list than I'd expect, but not really beginner-oriented.

The St John's list is clearly more of a chronological program for the history of Western thought, culminating, utterly ludicrously, in US supreme court judgements. Again, I think you could work through it, but it's not actively designed to reel you in.

Honestly, high school core is what you want. Concise, readable texts that will help you build a daily reading habit but are rewarding anyway. Lists like the St John's one presume that you have that stuff behind you anyway.

[Anonymous No.15439252]

Which should I read first;
>Count of Monte Cristo
or
>Don Quixote

[Anonymous No.15439265]

>>15439131
From this list I suggest starting with Dickens and Sophocles. The rest of these are either doorstoppers or are stylstically fairly difficult. I would also recommend looking into Alexandre Dumas, Mark Twain and maybe Jules Verne as other good starting points.

[Anonymous No.15439268]

Starter charts like this are pretty good. Otherwise, just check out high school lit that you never gave a chance/had to read. Those books won't insult your intelligence but they're much easier to digest than a lot of the beefy Russian novels or Moby dicks that you might be recommended here. Not that those books aren't fantastic, but more likely than not you just aren't ready. Start with books like these, short but powerful nonetheless. From there take what stories/authors/concepts/movements you enjoyed and make your own path for future reading.

[Anonymous No.15439337]

> I hate starting something without making a plan first so I don't just want to read random books that seem to interest me. I want to read the best, and most interesting books to cultivate my mind.

Read what you would like to read. Read what interests you. Naturally, if you're interested in more serious literature, make an effort to make sure the books you choose are of that quality. You won't "cultivate your mind" by reading shit that bores you, because in order for the books you read to stimulate personal and intellectual growth you have to THINK about the words, as well as read them.

>start with the greeks
>read X before Y before Z
>if you want to read author A you HAVE TO read author B first

All these suggestions (read: NOT obligations) just fall apart if it means that following them results in you having to slog through a mountain of literature that doesn't interest you.

> What about the St. John's College great books list? https://www.sjc.edu/academic-programs/undergraduate/great-books-reading-list
It's a good list, but don't become a slave to it. Save books for later, read multiple books simultaneously, pick books from outside the list, etc., if you wish.

[Anonymous No.15439343]

>>15439268
>>15439268

This sounds kind of lame but I think I am too good for this list. I was classified gifted as a child and went to an elite school. This seems too elementary. Maybe I'm being arrogant here, not sure.

[Anonymous No.15439425]

>>15439343
>thinks he is too good for Lolita, Siddharta, Brave New World, The Great Gatsby
You do sound kind of lame.
>I was classified gifted as a child and went to an elite school
Holy shit you are lame.

(don't think this comment implies that you have to read every book out of the chart)

[Anonymous No.15439440]

>>15439343
Lol you are clearly not "too good" for these books if you're posting shit like that. Go read the Invisible Man and Steinbeck.

[Anonymous No.15439451]

>>15439343
Harry potter. he also hoes in elite scoolh

[Anonymous No.15439466]

>>15439343
If you haven't read those books, then you're not too good for them, cunt.

[Anonymous No.15439523]

>>15439343
You are a literary infant. You confess wasting the past decade cooming and wasting most of your time with anime and mindlessly browsing the internet.

Yet somehow, these books are beneath you.