Comments on: Confessions of a non-classical reader https://simplehomeschool.net/classical/ Never let your schooling interrupt your education. Wed, 11 Feb 2026 20:03:22 +0000 hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=7.0 By: Moren https://simplehomeschool.net/classical/#comment-201442 http://simplehomeschl.wpengine.com/?p=33044#comment-201442 It could be the feel, the smell, the places it takes you to in your mind. Reading a fantastic best seller is like spending time with fascinating new friend. The time flashes by, but the memories last forever!

]]> By: Mel https://simplehomeschool.net/classical/#comment-201149 http://simplehomeschl.wpengine.com/?p=33044#comment-201149 I have always wanted to read more classics. Somehow we only studied a small handful in school. I can’t wait to read them with my kids! I love your idea of becoming the Little House characters 🙂

]]> By: Laura Thomas https://simplehomeschool.net/classical/#comment-200522 http://simplehomeschl.wpengine.com/?p=33044#comment-200522 In reply to misspegotty.

hi there! I can’t believe it but after reading The Brothers K I was hooked and went on to read Crime and Punishment – now I am in the middle of The Idiot – 3 Dostoevsky books as my first three classics – who would have guessed it? Not me!! 🙂

]]> By: Laura Thomas https://simplehomeschool.net/classical/#comment-200521 http://simplehomeschl.wpengine.com/?p=33044#comment-200521 In reply to Alexis.

hi Alexis! I recommend looking at this list and seeing if any of them sound interesting to you: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/How_to_Read_a_Book#Reading_list_.281972_edition.29
It comes from the book I referenced in the article “How to Read a Book” – another idea is to find a book that lots of people have recommended. I had a lot of my friends recommend to me Fyodor Dostoevsky, so I started by reading his work. Let me know what you end up reading!! Good luck! 🙂

]]> By: Ruth @ A Great Book Study https://simplehomeschool.net/classical/#comment-198906 http://simplehomeschl.wpengine.com/?p=33044#comment-198906 I felt like I was reading a bit of my story. I was turned on to the classics after being exposed to classical homeschooling resources and reading the classics to my kids. Then I read The Well-Educated Mind by Susan Wise-Bauer, and I decided to do it literally for myself. And, yes, my kids are hooked on reading the classics, too!

]]> By: Alexis https://simplehomeschool.net/classical/#comment-198736 http://simplehomeschl.wpengine.com/?p=33044#comment-198736 I have not read a single classic ever! I really want to improve my reading skills…. where should I start?!

]]> By: Emmie https://simplehomeschool.net/classical/#comment-198451 http://simplehomeschl.wpengine.com/?p=33044#comment-198451 I just started reading the Brothers K this summer! And I was a lit major! My 15 year old and I put together his reading list for homeschooling last year. I chose some and he chose some and so he had a good mix of contemporary and classic. It worked well. For 10th grade he is starting with The Odyssey:)

]]> By: Jennifer B https://simplehomeschool.net/classical/#comment-198292 http://simplehomeschl.wpengine.com/?p=33044#comment-198292 I love the idea of sandwiching a classic between new books! My daughter and I have been reading Don Quixote — a thousand-pager — and I’ve been surprised to discover that it’s really funny. Don Quixote and Sancho Panza are both delightful characters.

One thing I have found with classics is that it helps to have a knowledge of actual “classical” literature — Greek and Roman stuff — to get the references in the slightly newer “classics.” So I’m working on that, too.

]]> By: Laura Thomas https://simplehomeschool.net/classical/#comment-198250 http://simplehomeschl.wpengine.com/?p=33044#comment-198250 In reply to Caroline Starr Rose.

hi Caroline, yes, I have found it helpful to alternate between new and old books. Also, as a writer I pray that writers in our generation will write original, thought-provoking, and work that one day may be viewed as a “classic.” Thanks for sharing your thoughts!
Best, Laura

]]> By: Laura Thomas https://simplehomeschool.net/classical/#comment-198248 http://simplehomeschl.wpengine.com/?p=33044#comment-198248 In reply to Rebecca Reid.

Hi Rebecca, thanks for your books suggestions! I have been reading the AA Milne books to the girls and they really enjoy them. I would like to read Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn to them too as I know they would enjoy them. I loved the Ramona stories growing up 🙂

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