How to Get Started Reading Great Books…in an Age of Distraction

While Avoiding The Mistakes That Lead To Abandoning Books Half-Finished, Feeling Intimidated by "Smart People," And Never Experiencing The Life-Changing Conversations Great Books Were Meant To Spark.

A FREE, 5-day email course that breaks down the reading roadmap for Great Books, helps you get started, and offers important tips and techniques to support your next steps on your reading journey.

Here's What You'll Get Inside This Course:

Day 1: The Most Important Things To Know

Great Books deal with questions that never go out of style (unlike the trending topics of social media) — and they help us think about those questions too.
How conversation with books and with other readers is the secret ingredient that transforms reading from navel-gazing to really living the world.
Why "slow reading" is the way to go. You’ll have a chance to try it out here, as we down-shift just a little bit each day.

Day 2: The Big Mistakes Many People Make

Why trying to read too many books too fast guarantees you'll understand none of them.
Why feeling disoriented or inadequate is normal: “Why is reading this book so difficult? Shouldn’t it be easy?”
Why you can’t read Aristotle or Shakespeare the same way you read a news article.

Day 3: Preparing Yourself for a Long, Enjoyable Journey

How to choose a Great Book to help you get started. Sometimes, less is more.
Finding a distraction-free space in a world designed to fragment your attention. It’s physical and mental.
Should you start in a committed relationship with one book for a while? Or go crazy, spending time with a different book every night?

Day 4: Simple Upgrades to Transform Your Reading

Letting down your defenses. How to move from a cool read to honest engagement.
Patience. Shifting from "getting through it" to "living with it" — from tourism to odyssey.
Cultivating friendships. Finding (and building) your reading community.

Day 5: Best Practices for a Lifetime with Books

Practicing the "perceptive mode" of looking — lingering where others rush in.
Practicing conversation. Why joining a reading community might be the most important step you take.
Embracing the "labor pains" of wisdom. “All things excellent are as difficult as they are rare.” (Spinoza, Ethics 1677)

By the end of this five-day course, you'll have:

A better sense of why certain books have survived for centuries. (Hint: It's not because they’re on lists.)
Practical tips for choosing and reading great (and difficult) books.
Tested strategies for reading deeply in a world designed for shallow consumption.
Realistic expectations about the timeline of your journey.
A hot tip for finding a supportive reading community.

What is the Symposium Institute?

The Symposium Institute is a haven for literature enthusiasts seeking deeper connections through the timeless art of reading. Since 2006, we've cultivated communities committed to a thoughtful and deliberate exploration of literature through immersive Great Books seminars.We believe in the profound power of communal inquiry, where texts are not just read but truly explored, allowing each participant to find their unique voice within the group dialogue. With expert facilitators guiding each discussion, the Symposium Institute is neither a casual book club nor an academic classroom—it's an intellectual adventure where the journey of reading becomes as rewarding as the destination.

Are You Ready for An Unexpected Journey?

Drop your email below to get the first lesson of How to Get Started Reading Great Books!

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Within the next minute or two, you're going to get an email from the Symposium Institute.This email contains instructions to get started with the course, so be sure to check it out!But if you have any questions, don't hesitate to hit reply and let us know—we'll be happy to help!Now go and check your inbox, and let the journey begin!

P.S. If you don't find the email in your inbox in the next couple of minutes, please check your spam folder...Chances are it ended up there.Sometimes the "email algorithms" think we are robots! (We're not...though that is what an evil robot bent on world domination WOULD say! But really...we're not.)