05 June 2009

Historical reading

For quite some time, I have been stockpiling historical books.  Two that I cannot wait to get to are the Federalist Papers and Anti-Federalist Papers.  I also have a couple of books about wars that I am not familiar with, the Franco-Prussian War and the Crimean War.  I want to start the books so much, but I also am a slow reader, so it takes a while to get through them.  I cannot sit up for hours and hours reading.  I can only read for thirty minutes before I start to really get tired.  And yes, an easy remedy is to read during the day, but I always associate it with going to bed.  Something to unwind my mind after a day.  Even novels, a chapter or two and that is it.  

And when you get into historical books, it is a ton of information to take it.  I am reading a bunch of stuff by Thomas Paine.  Common Sense, Age of Reason, the Crisis, etc.  Everything that made him relevant.  There is a bunch of stuff in these pamphlets that can be seen in modern day content and it is great.  One of the greater lines that I just recently read was the following:  'My own mind is my own church.'.  I love it. 

I try to work in a novel or two in between these history books, which is really the only time my mind really unwinds, book-wise.  Historical books are learning books.  It doesn't hurt to continue to learn, even if you have been out of school for five years (like I have been).  

1 comment:

  1. You should go back to school and get your teaching certificate - you'd be a great history teacher!

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