What Should I Read?!?

Throughout the early years of Benjamin Franklin's life, he received a majority of his education from books. He learned mathematics, navigation, and grammar; he read books with the entire purpose of improving his vocabulary. Why don't we do that anymore? Why don't we, in this day of knowledge and progression, take time of our own to learn on our own?

I came to the conclusion, after thinking about this for some time, that I would follow the example of Benjamin Franklin, who was a brilliant man with both book smarts and street smarts, and read.

Then I ran into another problem - What should I read? Where does one even begin in his personal education when school can only offer a limited amount of information. AND, I'm not even in school right now! So what do I read? I have already decided that, as a general rule, older books carry more substantial, meaningful, meatier, information. Looking at most of the books that come out today lack the real substance that ought to be required. People get lazier with every passing generation and good, reliable, sincere, research fails with them.

So, my question to the world is this: How should I begin my own education? Do I begin with classics, for they surely will benefit me, or do I begin with history, astronomy, or other fact-based knowledge? Be specific. Titles and authors would be great!

Our Quest for More

The human mind is never satisfied. It always wants more dessert, but the stomach says no. It wants more 'stuff' but the bank account says no. It wants more knowledge... and nothing says no. Nothing tells us we cannot learn more. We have libraries, book stores, the internet, and yet we won't satisfy it with the knowledge it desires. When we finally try learning on our own- learning what WE want, not what the public schools desire- we finally feel that thirst for all the knowledge that is available to us.

My quest began its early stages while attending my first semester at Brigham Young University - Idaho. I took classes that I actually wanted to take. It was fantastic. But I was enjoying being away from home and out on my own, so I payed less attention to my learning and more attention to my growing social life. All my required assignments definitely took priority, but after the requirements were fulfilled, I got up to see who I could talk to.

Then I came home again. I got into a simple routine. And soon I found work and food and relaxed in between. I came downstairs a few weeks ago, and sitting out on a table was a book my mom had pulled out. I recognized it as being a book recommended to me while I was at school. The book was How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie.



It's a remarkably famous book, and yet I had never heard of it until it was recommended to me. Anyway, I read it, and I loved it. I echo the words of nearly every one I have talked to about this book. "Everyone should read that book." If read with purpose it will certainly give anyone who reads it a new perspective.
In that book Dale Carnegie recommends reading The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin. I read it my junior year because it was part of the curriculum. I wish somebody had told me when I was reading it that first time that it was actually a good book. Last summer I found that book in my bookshelf and threw it away, thinking I would never read it again. Turns out I would have, SO I had to borrow it from the library.



Reading his autobiography has only increased my desire to learn a hundred times over. I can't seem to get enough. I can't read fast enough to satisfy the mind's thirst for knowledge.

So, here my quest begins, following a trail of recommended classics.