Thank you for posting so many lovely, inspirational, and informative photos. I am extremely impressed by your kitchen, but actually, I was wondering if you could give me the paint colors you used for your exterior clapboards and trim--they look fantastic! tia, Alex indentured servant to an 1887 victorian, hoping to actually be done in 7 years.

knobs.com and vandykes.com

A quick check of Amazon.com produced the information linked below, Kay. It looks like they have several sets and options available...including the original 50 volume set...beautifully leather bound. Anne Here is a link that might be useful: Harvard Classics

People read for many different reasons. I find most folks read primarily for enjoyment. Over the last ten years or so, I've tried to challenge myself by reading from this list as well as many of the others that came out after the Modern Library lists of fiction and non-fiction, i.e., I recently read The Orestia by Aeschylus as I read somewhere that these were the foundation of Shakespeare's works. Finding out about the similarities and differences of people over time is just plain fascinating to me. I find that I do need to switch back and forth between an easy read and something more challenging, but the rewards have been tremendous. In addition to there being many reasons for reading, there are also many ways to read. In addition to the Fadiman book mentioned by Carolyn I also read "How to Read a Book", by Mortimer J. Adler and Charles Van Doren, and thoroughly enjoyed it; it includes a booklist as well. These two alone have motivated me to read on for knowledge and not just for pleasure. These lists abound. While I try not to cling to any one list, I figure that when a book shows up on many different lists, there is probably some kind of social redeeming value to it, which is basically my measure of a good read. It ends up on my TBR list. I also thought it was interesting that Cloud Atlas was mentioned here. I recently tried reading it, for about the third time, but just cannot get into it. Primarily so because I do trust the opinions of the readers on this forum and if there is a general positive reaction to a newer book, it goes on my TBR list as well. As for the specifics of the Harvard Classics list, I would suggest trying something else on the list but certainly don't ostracize yourself for not either enjoying or 'getting' any one in particular. Also, putting any kind of time limit on reading a certain book just does not work for me. How each person processes the information in these books is different too based on our individual life experiences. I admire you for attempting such a feat. Also, with the direction of the libraries these days, I check out books that may appear on one of these lists, just to prevent them from being culled from the shelves. As they say, trying and failing is better than not trying at all, so give yourself a break.