What did he mean by this?

He means he's a filthy idealist.

Plotinus, actually.

Thanks, I'll be going to the bookstore later today and will follow your advice, I hate it when I get the symbols mixed up and have to go back to read again. It's such a waste of time.

I'd definitely read Julius Caesar by Shakespeare before TFiOS also. Give it a good read; Green's has a masterful wit, much of it shown through his ability to satire his hero Shakespeare.

For a deeper reading, read the following and Julius Caesar:

The Hindu Book of Astrology: Or Yogic Knowledge of the Stars and Planetary Forces and How to Control Them to Our Advantage - Bhakti Seva

Third Melbourne General Catalogue of 3068 Stars for the Equinox 1890, From Observations Made at Melbourne Observatory During the Period 1884; 7 to 1894; 0 - R. L. J. Ellery

Almanac Catalogue of Zodiacal Stars: Printed for the Use of the American Ephemeris and Nautical Almanac - United States Naval Observatory

The Link Between Cancer and Environmental Contaminants and Industrial Carcinogens: Hearing Before the Human Resources and Intergovernmental Relations Subcommittee of the Committee on Government Operations, House of Representatives, One Hundred Third Congress, First Session, October 30, 1993 - U. S. Committee on Government Operations

Metaphor and Simile in the Minor Elizabethan Drama - Frederic Ives Carpenter

Metaphor and Comparison in the Epistulae Ad Lucilium of L. Annaeus Seneca: A Dissertation - Charles Sidney Smith

Sejanus His Fall - Ben Johnson

Also, watch Naked by Mike Leigh.

bambwurzled ;)

Something willed itself into motion, from without my marriage, into my wife's vagina.

Good list, I would also recommend being acquainted with Greek plays (Sophocles, Aeschylus, etc.) and the Homeric epics to understand how Augustus' transformation represents the traditional Hero's Journey, and the interwoven debate between free will and determinism.

Is there a reason you chose to leave The Great Harmonia and Penetralia off this list? I would consider it essential background reading before tackling TFiOS...

>The Great Harmonia and Penetralia

If you've read Green's letter no. 7, Green advises Rosario Crocetta to read them after TFioS to prepare him for the second reading.

Sounds like an argument for compatibalism.