Enjoying a bit of culture as a layperson

[AuroraSky]

I am quite an isolated person, not working through disability, and have a lot of free time on my hands which I don't use wisely, often listening to the same Spotify indie playlists over and over or reading self-help books which all tend to sound the same after a while. There's literally no one in my life I could (or would want to) impress by acquiring a bit of culture, but purely for wanting to acquire a richer inner life and to see some of the beauty in the world I would like to spend some time on things which reward a bit of thought and attention.

I am currently working my way through a rare vintage book from 1960 called "How you can give yourself the priceless gift of a rich cultural education" by Cornelius Hirschberg. He had an interesting life story. With his father dying when he was young, he had to leave school very young to work for the family. He never had the chance to go to college, and worked a humdrum job in the jewellery business as a salesman. But by steadily reading really fine books for roughly ten hours a week in his commute and lunchbreaks, he acquired a very diverse self-education, said he had no need of a therapist, and was "the happiest person he knew".

The chapter on classical music has persuaded me that this is something I could learn to enjoy and appreciate, especially now I am advancing in years (I'm in my middle fifties). So I bought an Udemy.com course on understanding classical music as well as the recommended text, "How to listen" by Jean Ferris. I have also been listening to WQXR (slogan - "the station you can put on in the morning and leave on all day") which is like the New York equivalent to Radio 3. After reading the chapter on mathematics I have been moved to buy a second-hand copy of "Mathematics for the Million" an old book from 1947 which in its day had a great reputation for conveying to the layperson the wonders and mysteries of mathematics. I am also considering buying a DVD set from The Great Courses which takes you in detail on a tour of the Metropolitan Museum in New York and explains the treasures within. So I will never become an intellectual, no danger of that with the blunting effect on my mind of the medication I take for my disability, but I do have a sincere and humble interest in tackling some more challenging things which are still accessible to the layperson.

So my question is, are there others on this forum who have enjoyed educating themselves purely out of following their interests where those might lead? Has anyone tackled some challenging literature like Proust or Dostoevsky and found the experience rewarding? I have never even reached the level of trying something like "A Brief History Of Time" but am thinking of putting together a reading programme for myself. Any book recommendations are very welcome, whether fiction or non-fiction, arts or sciences.

I live in Glasgow and have issues with travelling which mean I haven't been outside the city since 2019. With some preparation and planning I think I could manage a couple of days trip to London, something I last did in 2018 (I enjoyed Daunt Books, the tea section at Fortnum and Mason, and some films in an Argentine film festival at Curzon). Has anyone visited one of the big London museums and really felt in awe of the things you looked at, rather than feeling it all went over your head? Which one(s) did you enjoy the most? In Scotland we have our own V & A museum so that might be a more manageable journey for me to see.

[Merry]

That all sounds so interesting Affogato
I like learning about things and researching for it's own sake. I'm in my 50s now too and am doing an MA. I haven't told family (i.e. parents/siblings etc.) because a lot of people wouldn't understand wanting to do something like that for it's own sake, they would want to know what it's for.

[Appear]

Good for you Affogato! I think we all have a tendency to box ourselves in with supposed likes and dislikes and then not properly engage with anything we see to be outside of them. We're very lucky to live at a time when a huge range of cultural experiences are accessible in a way they never have been, but too often we stick to the same old stuff (myself included).

I think I can relate. Up until about 19 I'd barely read a 'proper' book just for my own interest, despite enjoying English at school. Sure I'd read some children's and teen fiction and some (but not all of) what was on the syllabus but I wasn't a 'reader' in any sense. Then on holiday I picked up To Kill a Mocking Bird in the airport and read it in a day or two. After that I picked up the Book of Dave by Will Self from the sharing library, which took up much of the rest of the holiday. It was dense and long and often infuriating, but I felt like I got quite a lot out of it.

It sounds silly, but it made me realise there was a whole world of books out there and I wanted to understand the fuss that was made about the big boys. So I basically set out to read all the 'classic' literature I could. What surprised me was that despite formidable reputations, most were quite readable and, if not entertaining, thought-provoking. The odd one I didn't finish (Proust - In Search of Lost Time is never happening for me), but that's okay - it just meant I could start another.

It kind of petered out a few years ago and I read more of a mix of stuff now but I'm glad I did it. I'm intrigued by that Hirschberg book - might give it a try.

In contrast, I've tried the theatre many times and still think it's mostly shit (the mainstream stuff anyway).

[billy_brown]

I like Udemy, they have a sale on every so often, I don't think I've ever paid more than £12 or so for a course on there. There was a fine art module on my college course, not really related to what I was studying but I enjoyed it. It covered the renaissance mainly. The books I remember reading for it (and still have) are The Social Production of Art by Janet Wolff and Ways of Seeing by John Berger. There was a two part BBC show of Ways of Seeing. It's on youtube, it's very 70s.

Visited Lisbon recently and we went round the gallery of modern art. A lot of art makes much more sense in the flesh. The Bridget Riley stuff is amazing close up. There was a lot of stuff there I didn't get, but knowing the history of different art movements and their place in art, what they are reacting against etc helps fill in the blanks.

Originally Posted by Appear

After that I picked up the Book of Dave by Will Self from the sharing library, which took up much of the rest of the holiday. It was dense and long and often infuriating, but I felt like I got quite a lot out of it.

Will Self can be a bit chewy. Grey Area is good, short stories. I'm reading The Black Prince by Iris Murdoch at the moment. I'm not great with literary fiction. I got quite vexed with a Julian Barnes book once, I didn't finish it, it was quite short too. The Black Prince is great, really funny, proper laughing funny not radio 4 wordy funny. It's worth giving different writers a go, especially if you've a local library. If something doesn't float your boat, no harm done.

[genovese]

Affogato you sound great

[billy_brown]

Originally Posted by Affogato

Has anyone visited one of the big London museums and really felt in awe of the things you looked at, rather than feeling it all went over your head? Which one(s) did you enjoy the most? In Scotland we have our own V & A museum so that might be a more manageable journey for me to see.

I meant to mention I went to one of the big galleries in Glasgow years ago. I enjoyed it, but my main memory is falling down the steps upon leaving and doing my ankle in. I have a memory of seeing the painting of the reverend skating on the Loch there. Turns out that I saw that in the Scottish National Gallery. In Edinburgh. I'm amazed I remember my own name some days.

[gregarious_introvert]

I shall be following this thread for book recommendations, as I should be reading more (well, reading at all really).

In terms of London museums, I never fail to be impressed by the British Museum, which I consider to be possibly the best museum in the world (notwithstanding that some exhibits, like the Elgin Marbles and the Rosetta Stone, should really be in their countries of origin). It is, however, a challenge to see everything at one time (I have done it, but about halfway through, I was pretty much saturated with information), so I would recommend choosing a handful of galleries at a time. The Natural History Museum is also impressive (and adjoins the Science Museum, which is next door to the V&A).

I also love to visit the National Gallery: it may not have the Mona Lisa, but it does have pieces from pretty much every notable artist you can name (again, it may be worth two or three visits); the Tate and Tate Modern are both worth a visit too.

I never really took to history as a school subject, but in recent years, I've been able to visit many historical sites, which then inform my visits to the British Museum (which has exhibits from a lot of those places); I realise that visiting Rome, Athens, Carthage, Cairo, Luxor etc. is not something available to everybody, but there are plenty of historical sites in the UK too, covering thousands of years of history (from the Neolithic Age to the 20th century). For me, it's visiting those places which brings everything to life (again, I realise that I have the luxury of being able to drive around Britain), but it's possible to find historic sites within many cities (in London specifically, there are remains of the original Roman walls, near the Barbican and Tower of London, the latter itself a fortress dating back to the 11th century).

It's been a while since I've attended a classical concert but I do enjoy many works of classical music; last year, I visited the Royal Opera House for the first time and returned six further times - for me, opera is something which can only truly be appreciated in a live setting, which is something I would also say for Shakespeare's plays, which I had to read at school and didn't enjoy, but which came alive when I first visited the reconstructed Globe Theatre.

[Appear]

^ Definitely agree about going to historical sites bringing history to life. I like history but it's not something I like reading lots of - much better to walk among it. There's something really special about seeing things as they would have been seen by people hundred of years ago.

Jealous of the places you've been in Egypt! Desperate to go.

Originally Posted by billy_brown

Will Self can be a bit chewy. Grey Area is good, short stories. I'm reading The Black Prince by Iris Murdoch at the moment. I'm not great with literary fiction. I got quite vexed with a Julian Barnes book once, I didn't finish it, it was quite short too. The Black Prince is great, really funny, proper laughing funny not radio 4 wordy funny. It's worth giving different writers a go, especially if you've a local library. If something doesn't float your boat, no harm done.

Chewy is the exact word! I'll give Grey Area a go - can imagine he's a bit more palatable in short doses.

[choirgirl]

Absolutely, ever since my teens, for years and years I was like this. Now, not so much, but I might again one day. We are very lucky in this country with how much we have, there's a reason tourists visit, and it's not the weather.

[gregarious_introvert]

Originally Posted by Appear

Jealous of the places you've been in Egypt! Desperate to go.

There are some surprisingly cheap deals to Egypt: my trip in May 2022 was a week's all-inclusive in Hurghada plus a week's Nile cruise from Luxor at £499 per person (I was still with my ex at the time) based on two sharing. Excursions are an additional cost, but in Luxor (where the itinerary has two days before the boat moves), local taxi drivers will offer tours around the Karnak and Luxor temples, Valley of the Kings etc. for a fraction of the cost of the official excursion (Mahmoud was brilliant), whilst at the other stops along the way, the temples are within walking distance so no excursion is necessary.

Egypt, of course, is an Islamic country (despite being more progressive than some), so has some attitudes which are different the UK, but I'm sure you're aware of the potential difficulties.

[biscuits]

I went to see the Royal Philharmonic orchestra (they might be called something else haha it's something like that) play along to The Fellowship of the Ring and that was magical. I'd not really been to anything classical before that.

Sometimes you can go to things like lunchtime concerts in the park in the summer.

I love going to museums. The National History Museum is my favourite. It's huge and you can spend the whole day there (which I did).

I also love going to The Tate Modern, which a lot of people scoff at. To me it's really interesting and there is a lot of political and feminist messages behind the art. Once they had an exhibit on boxes to support refugees and they had these boots by Judi Werthein with compasses. I'm hoping to go to see the Yayoi Kusama installation next week.

I'd love to go to The Royal Observatory.

[biscuits]

London Philharmonic Orchestra*

[Chess&Junkfood]

Originally Posted by genovese

Affogato you sound great

[choirgirl]

IIf I went to Egypt, 'd keep expecting something untoward to happen and for Poirot to pop up.