One month in

Well, I'm pleased to have hacked through for one month at least. I don't know if I've mentioned this, but I tried this project for three months back in 2000, when the books first made their residence in the upstairs hall. And this has been going better, because I know I have to write a post every day.

Of course, I don't think I've learned anything. I'm not even sure that learning is the goal; it feels more like an exercise, like running the steps of the stadium. It's interesting, however, and it does feel like I'm spending time in another era -- not the various eras (erae?) of the night's reading, but the era when the Harvard Classics were a fine vehicle for self-improvement. I guess I'm indulging in a little nostalgia for a bygone day, where it was socially desirable to fake Traditional High Culture.

Actually, I think it has altered one thing, and that is to make me more confident in hacky comedy setups. The timelessness of various literary ploys -- the henpecked hubby, the sidekick -- makes me feel better at my lack of ability to invent anything original. It's all the same cake, we just get a chance to decorate it differently.

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