What is a good reading list for a beginner ?

Should I start with the Greeks ? Then Romans ? I've seen stuff about the Bronze Age too. When do I read and study the Bible, the Quran and other texts such as the Sira, the two Sahih, the Talmud ? How should I balance history, literature, philosophy, economics, politics ?

I'm lost right now.

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Here's an alternative chart. Don't ask me which is better I haven't read either yet.

Yeah I have it + the Romans

I know it's a meme but it seems like a pretty good idea to study things in a chronological order. But then again, what do I do after or before the Greeks ? Should I do Bronze Age > Greeks > Romans, and then ? Study the texts of Christianity, Judaism and Islam ? Then history, literature, philosophy of the Middle Ages in Europe (and Mid East) ? etc.

>What is a good reading list for a beginner ?

Pic related is Veeky Forums-approved specifically for beginners

I am going through the Greeks first which I am sort of almost done with
Then I will start with the Hellenics or maybe just Plutarch, then the Romans and then I will read the religious texts before tackling medieval scholastics.

I think this is a decent way to go through it

i wouldn't bother with advances in botany

The Greeks are a great place to start, I've seen dozens of threads by new readers saying they loved the Iliad. But don't feel too restricted, if you make it into a job you might get worn down. Don't feel guilty about reading a novel in a genre you like between heavier stuff.

Bronze Age
The Horse, the Wheel, and Language by David W Anthony
Indeoeuropean Poetry and Myth by ML West
Greeks
Romans
New Oxford Annotated Bible with Apocrypha
Talmud by Polano and Tice
The Study Qur'an
Sahih
Sira

>How should I balance history, literature, philosophy, economics, politics ?
Historians cover a bunch of those topics anyway, the Greeks will get you started on the technical languages, without which you'd be lost

Not a christian but I like to use their classical education lit lists as christianity has been the main movement through those ages in the education sector. It's also easier as you can start with kiddy stuff instead of going head first into the greeks.

classical-homeschooling.org/celoop/1000.html#contents

I would add at least Edith Hamiltons Mythology to allow somebody to get a basic grip of the mythological world surrounding the greek philosophers if this is a beginners reading list.

Can I read Odyssey without having read the Iliad?

Ye I've read the Odyssey twice now without reading the Iliad. You don't need to know too much about the Trojan War to get what's going on. It's pretty self-contained since it's about Odysseus's journey.

Pope's Iliad/Odyssey are works of art in their own right, but they're not the best translations, really. Fagles is typically recommended on here.

Is there any list like this but for ancient Chinese literature?

Do you fahs ever google?
imgur.com/gallery/U4OHY

...

Use the grey chart, then the Romans chart. From there, you can branch out as you see fit, as you'll have the grounding to go "huh, I want to know more about ____" even if it's something completely different like Chinese literature, or the Bible, or what have you.

As for balancing, the Greeks and Romans give a good balance, and again, from there you'll be better informed to tackle more of what suits you. Other charts in the wiki can help with your interests from there.

I gotchu senpai

>red dust

Good

>What is a good reading list for a beginner ?

The sticky. Now stop posting this thread everyday

>The presocratics -> The republic - > Categories.
Shit tier chart, m8.

This thread is so full of pretensions...

A true "beginner," i.e. someone who's read Harry Potter, some shit for school, etc. Should start with the "Veeky Forums starter pack," which is mostly modern, some post-modern, and a few 100+ year old classics:

vignette3.wikia.nocookie.net/4chanlit/images/e/e2/1365475090228.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20130413025503

If you're genuinely a beginner, start there, because that shit's a LOT more accessible to the average pleb than classics from a thousand years ago

source: I'm a former pleb who tried to get into Veeky Forums a few times by starting with the Greeks, etc, and kept giving up. Fast forward a few years, and after starting with the above chart I've read most of the classics on all these charts.

>vignette3.wikia.nocookie.net/4chanlit/images/e/e2/1365475090228.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20130413025503

quite anglo-heavy

Yes, the Greeks are a great entry point. It will be hard in the beginning but you will soon learn to appreciate the style and hunger for more Greek things to read.

yes start with the greeks. once you start you won't really need that chart unless you get completely confused where to go.

once you start with the greeks you'll naturally know what direction to head in, but that chart is great in case you need some extra direction

we say "beginner" as someone who has been reading a while and wants to actually kick it up a notch.

of course we could mean beginner as in "I've never read almost anything in my entire life where do I start", I would not then automatically recommend the greeks. if anything you can appreciate the greeks even more when you enjoy modern literature and then see how garbage it is once you begin the greek journey

>full of pretensions

no u

I started with the Greeks without any issues and I have an IQ of 110.
Maybe you're just shit mate.

The Greeks are not a great entry point. Read some easy to digest stuff before that, THEN get to the Greeks. They're not hard, but they require more discipline than getting through any of the books in the Veeky Forums starter pack

anyone got the postmodernism one?

This one?

Well said.