The Harvard Classics

The Harvard Classics have been around for over 100 years. The Harvard Classics is a 50 volume library of world literature compiled by the president of Harvard University, Dr. Charles William Eliot, in 1909. He would give speeches saying “that the elements of a liberal education could be obtained by spending 15 minutes a day reading from a collection of books that could fit on a five-foot shelf.” (Wikipedia) Now they can fit in your hand!

15 minutes a day reading great literature sounds like a great challenge to me! Dr. Eliot was challenged by those who heard his speech and he produced the 50 volume library.

Before the Kindle Store made all the classics available for free on their site, I used to have to search around the internet for literature eBooks. I found this collection a few years ago and have put it on every Kindle I own.

The best and easiest way to do this is with an eBook library manager like Calibre. I first heard of Calibre from Len Edgerly who runs a great podcast and blog at The Kindle Chronicles. He has an interview with the creator of Calibre, Kovid Goyal.

All the links on this post are meant for a computer and not your Kindle. The software and downloads need to be installed and unzipped on a computer. Then transferred to your Kindle using the USB cable provided with your kindle. The great thing about Calibre is that it is eReader agnostic. You can use the software to add eBooks to your Kindle, Nook, Kobo, Sony or any other eReader device out there.

The files are zipped and split into 3 files.

Harvard Classics 1-19

Harvard Classics 20-29

Harvard Classics 30-51 (There is no 50)

1.  Download all three files.
2. Unzip the files.
3. Add to your Calibre library.
4.  Connect your Kindle (or eReader).
5. Transfer to Kindle in appropriate format.Wait for it to finish.
6. Voila!

Here is a great how-to article on using Calibre. Also, there are many how-to videos for Calibre on YouTube.

I made a collection containing the files on my Kindle. This puts all 50 volumes in one place.

Happy Reading. Leave questions and comments below. 


Are you going to try the 15 minute challenge?