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[personal profile] luco
I have a question for you guys.

As most of you know, I never finished High School. I got to the middle of Grade 10 and then everything else became too overwhelming. And, even though I've gone to College, an Animation course is NOT your typical College experience.

Add that all to the fact that I've been lost in my own world for most of my life and well, I'm more then a little out of touch. It hadn't bothered me before, but lately, it has. There are books and plays and writers and musicians that I don't recognize. There are historical facts and events that are common to everyone else that I have no clue about. There are shows and myths and trends that escape me and don't even get me started in maths and sciences!

I've recently been wanting to basically teach myself all that I missed out on, but I don't even know where to begin! So, that's where you guys come in. Because all of you are intelligent, talented and thoughtful people. All of you have such strong opinions and you can't even begin to know how much I admire you for that. How young and childish I often feel...

So, I was wondering if you guys could help give me a direction. Can you name books you think should be read, or were asked to read. Plays and poetry, writers, history, myths, sciences, just ANYTHING! What were you guys taught? What would you consider common knowledge? And not just school-wise, but world-wise as well! I don't even know how to properly describe what I'm asking, but hopefully you guys can figure it out. I just need a good starting place. A list of something to work from because I'm tired of my own little world, but am not quite sure how to step outside.

And even if you're still in High School, please don't hesitate to add your own input. I wasn't able to be where you are now.

Thanks.

Date: 2011-01-14 12:34 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] beckyh2112.livejournal.com
As a note, a fair amount of the 'classics' are boring and/or depressing. If you find yourself uninterested in a classic work, feel free to put it down. I've never managed to finish Frankenstein or The Lord of the Flies, and the only reason I finished The Great Gatsby was because it was short.

Shakespeare is better seen than read. If you can find local performances, I strongly suggest going to them rather than reading the plays. (And if you find a performance where they remember to do Shakespeare without DRAGGING, you are in luck. This was popular entertainment, people! It is meant to be entertaining!)

You might look into the Very Short Introduction series to see if any of the topics grab you. I've found them to be pretty good.

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