Ive never read a book before

[Anonymous No.19543928]

My problem is that I am not interested in just a few particular topics, so I dont know what I want to read about or where to start. All I know is that I want to educate myself, learn everything that is worth knowing.
Im trying to make a list to start off with, so far I have:
>The Bible
>Illiad and the Odyssey
>Platos dialogues

Any recommendations?

[sneed? No.19543933]

>>19543928
Call of the Crocodile, by F. Gardner

[Anonymous No.19543938]

>>19543928
Guenon, now.

[Anonymous No.19543944]

>>19543928
If you're starting with any of those options I can assure you that they'll filter you. Try something lighter first

[paul mcfardney No.19543961]

>>19543928
ride the tiger, by julius evola

[Anonymous No.19543970]

>>19543928
I would not start with the Bible or Homer. There's no shame in starting with easier stuff. If I've had a reading slump I often read some kinda pulpy sci-fi to get me back into the habit. You could give Plato's dialogues a shot though, just don't start with Republic first.

[Anonymous No.19543981]

I'm 19 years old.

I am handsome, smart, athletic and virile.

I have a novel that is in it's final editing stage, and a creative writing professor at my college has read the first draft and thinks it's saleable.

I have a girlfriend who is confident, articulate, playful and spontaneous.

I have a small group of interesting friends from different social and academic backgrounds, and I also have many other acquaintances who see me as a reliable source of humour and good company.

Both my parents are alive and in good health.

I have no regrets.

I have already experienced three existential crises, the latter of which was described as having the depth and profundity of a man twice my age.

I am a passionate lover, a sharp thinker, and a trader of witty repartee.

I am not self-pitying, meek or needlessly humble.

I will live a good life at your expense.

[Anonymous No.19544004]

If you want to become vaguely educated then start with popular works of history and science. You lack the reading ability and the background knowledge to read anything deeper.

[PERSEY UBOMPA No.19544013]

>>19544004
If you want to become vaguely educated then start with popular works of history and science. You lack the reading ability and the background knowledge to read anything deeper.

[Anonymous No.19544066]

>>19543981
In other words you're a pretentious psychopath.

[Anonymous No.19544072]

You could do a lot worse than Plato's dialogues. If you do decide to read them I recommend reading the series of four dialogues written about the death of Socrates: Euthyphro, Apologia, Crito, and Phaedo. They're often sold together as "the death of socrates" and are generally short, fun to read, and high quality philosophically.

In general however, I would recommend NOT starting with plato or the rest of the greeks. It seems like this is coming from a place of "omg i just start with the classics and then i'll work my way through of human knowledge". i've tried doing this, stupid idea. Original texts are good and the classics are easier than most, but they're also a SLOG to get through. like you have to be really autistic (affectionate) to read the bible front to back. and additionally they aren't a slog to get through because they're worth reading, they're old and well-respected but a lot of the classics just have bad takes that later got refuted, or where they are right, the ways in which they're right aren't immediately useful or apparent without an understanding of the intellectual context they were produced in. going into the classics"dry" is an admirable thing to want but it's not going to get the results you're trying to get.

The better option is to just pick shit you like to read. If you've read anything in the past/as a kid, read stuff by the same author or in the same genre. if you can't think of anything for that, ask a friend their favorite books or just go the library and pick out whatever looks cool.

If you want an place to start here's my shills list, but I highly recommend going with what draws YOU. the point isn't to read Serious Important Books, the point is to develop a habit of reading and learning and developing knoweldge and ideas, and you're going to best do that by doing stuff you enjoy.

Fiction
Mars Trilogy, Kim Stanley Robinson
Enders Game & Speaker for the Dead, Orson Scott Card

Nonfiction
The Analects of Confucius (and probably the rest of the 四書)
The Last Ranch, Sam Bingham
After Virtue, Alisdair MacIntyre
Estrangement of Labor & Wage Labor and Capital, Karl Marx (usually packaged in the Marx-Engels Reader)
Homage to Catalonia, George Orwell
The Death and Life of Great American Cities, Jane Jacobs

[Anonymous No.19544098]

>>19543928
Get into the physical habit of reading first with easy books. It’s a skill that has to be fine tuned. Also read something everyday to get in the habit, which is important, even if it’s just a few pages. Start with something easy and entertaining like Dennis Lehane or something

[Anonymous No.19544199]

>>19543938
>>19543961
>>19544072
>>19544098
Thanks for the recommendations, I will take these into consideration.

>>19543944
>>19543970
Ive already read a few pages of them, skimmed through some of Platos dialogues, read about his ideas on wikipedia... I feel that I am interested enough and sufficiently familiar with these three that I wont get filtered, but I will try to add some easier, lighter reads in this.

>>19544004
Which popular works of history and science would you recommend?

[Anonymous No.19544211]

>>19544199

[Anonymous No.19544277]

>>19544211
Thanks

[Anonymous No.19544290]

>>19544199
Feel free to try just don't feel discouraged if it filters you a bit at first