Tl;dr — A wonderful, engaging read on why you should read the classics. Simultaneously counters leftist critiques of the “great books” while reclaiming them from right-coded arguments. Original, interesting, and a great read. If you’re subscribed to my Substack, it’s likely because you have an interest in non-fiction books — it’s the whole brand, after all. But, lately I’ve been a bit… fiction curious. I’ve read only two fiction books in the past decade, and it’s for two reasons: first, there’s an opportunity cost for learning factual information, and two, I don’t know what I want to even read. On the latter point, there is a reasonable place to start: the so-called “great books.” The great books have been experiencing a bit of a resurgence as civic education and classical education are becoming popular reform philosophies. Last year, I saw that Princeton University Press was publishing What’s So Great About the Great Books?: Why You Should Read Classic Literature (Even Though It Might Destroy You) by Naomi Kanakia, and I was very excited. I’m happy to share that it lived up to my expectations. It’s unfortunate that education is becoming so politicized. Classical education and the great books in today’s educational climate are coded right. I was nervous that a book defending the great books would be just another ‘owning the libs’ take, but I was delighted by the approach of this book for a number of reasons. Kanakia approaches her defense of the great books in a straightforward way, with each chapter answering a specific question. These range from “what do you mean by “The Great Books,” to “