We are Men of Harvard

"I had more than once stated in public that in my opinion a five-foot—at first a three-foot—shelf would hold books enough to afford a good substitute for a liberal education to anyone who would read them with devotion, even if he could spare but fifteen minutes a day for reading," Dr. Eliot, President of Harvard University for forty years, explains in the Introduction to the Reading Guide.

A week or so ago I started a project that I have been meaning to do for years. I am following Dr. Eliot's reading suggestions for a year. I moved the Harvard Classics to my bedroom and I end the evening with fifteen or so minutes of reading.

These selections would have my friend Tara throwing herself about dramatically complaining about reading the white male perspective again.

I love Tara for this reason, but I also like to read things written from the white male perspective.

I won't blog about every reading, but I am sure it will come up. Tonight my mind is full of Browning's memories of spring in England. It is a pleasant image and one that resonates as I watch spring come to my part of the world.

I have recently rid myself of pounds and pounds and pounds or books. I have flung them in the air in various ways - the free shelf for clients at my office, my dance studio, the Goodwill, and even a coffee shop. They are books I love, but books that I no longer need to have around me.

There are books that I will never get rid of. Among them are my Harvard Classics. The set was a gift when I graduated from law school. My Great Grandfather had a set of them and I always admired them and wished to read them. My Grams remembered that. :-)

Perhaps you have heard my rant against the business administration degree? I think they're crap. And I think Dr. Eliot would agree with me. Bank Presidents should read Browning. I am serious.