Regular visitors to the Ink Desk will know that I often share items of correspondence that I receive, and my replies, if I feel that they might be of more general interest. This being the case, I’m sharing a question and a suggestion that I’ve just received about the Ignatius Critical Editions, of which I am series editor. The relevant part of my correspondent’s e-mail is below. My response follows.
 
Do you have a suggested order for reading the books from the Ignatius Critical Editions? Basically, I’m an adult looking to actually truly read many of the “Great Books” closely for the first time. Thanks, and I suggest that you eventually offer the series as a full gift set, similar to how Brittanica once offered the great books as a complete set.
As you are an adult, reading at leisure for your own edification and education, I don’t think it really matters in which order you read the editions. They are all titles that every well-rounded man should read! If, however, you really would like a reading plan to save you from having to make random choices, you could do worse than to read the titles in chronological order, i.e. Augustine, Boethius, Shakespeare, Swift, Austen, Shelley, Brontë etc.
I’ll forward your suggestion concerning the gift sets to the marketing people at Ignatius.