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54th out of 75 books
—
69 voters
The Day I Became an Autodidact
Paperback, 288 pages
Published
January 1st 1989
by Delta
(first published January 1st 1988)
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Jun 20, 2007
Logan
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
Self-learners, People who take an active role in their mental development
This was an incredibly interesting book that I enjoyed far more than I initially thought I would. The premise is simple, teenager Kendall Hailey is highly dissatisfied about being told what to learn so decides to take control of her own education. What follows is a scattered journal illustrating the various approaches she takes toward becoming a fully literate person. Coming from a family of writers, her mother a novelist and her father a playwright, literature and writing seem to come as second...more
Lauren Gale Albert's Review
I loved this book when I read it 20 years ago when it was first published. I've picked it up any number of times to re-read it but just couldn't. Perhaps I was afraid it wouldn't as memorable the second time. But I loved it all over again. Kendall Hailey, the author, decides to graduate from high school early and become an "autodidact" or someone self-taught. So, while her classmates finish high school, apply to college and go off to colleges near and far, she stays at...more
I loved this book when I read it 20 years ago when it was first published. I've picked it up any number of times to re-read it but just couldn't. Perhaps I was afraid it wouldn't as memorable the second time. But I loved it all over again. Kendall Hailey, the author, decides to graduate from high school early and become an "autodidact" or someone self-taught. So, while her classmates finish high school, apply to college and go off to colleges near and far, she stays at...more
Sep 18, 2009
Angela Boord
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommended to Angela by:
http://unschoolingcatholics.blogspot.com/2009/09/unschooling-tee
Checked this book out on Tuesday evening and finished it last night. Very good read, and lots to think about. For some reason I thought that Kendall Hailey had decided to school herself for high school, but that isn't the case. What she decided to do was to graduate from high school a year early in order to become an "autodidact" -- a self-learner. She determined to educate herself instead of going to college. (Actually, her decision was based on a "required summer reading" list she received in...more
I chanced upon this book when I was cataloguing at a university library in the 80's and loved it then. My re-reading was just as delightful. Ms. Hailey at 18 was a precocious and self-guided reader who swore off college to carve out time to educate herself. And educate herself she did--starting with the Greek and Roman masters. Of course, it didn't hurt that her mother is an accomplished novelist and her father a playwright. The family dips in and out of England, hobnobs at Sardi's after Broadwa...more
For anyone with home-schooled children, this book can be a great point of discussion. Or for anyone who finds school to be a drag and prefers to DIY. The author was 16 years old when she decided to graduate high school early in order to "begin life". Reading the classics and writing her own material, traveling the world with her parents, and experiencing her father's illness, she is able to learn more than she ever could in a classroom.
As an autodidact myself, I remember feeling a lot of what t...more
As an autodidact myself, I remember feeling a lot of what t...more
I did not expect this book to be so charming! I think I expected it to be either dry, given the subject matter, or badly-written, considering the age of the author when she wrote it but it was neither. It was absolutely one of the best books I've ever read!
This is what journal-writing is supposed to be like. Her outer life, her inner life, her reading. What a funny and precocious young woman she was. She is exactly the same age I am but I know for a fact (and can prove with hard evidence) that m...more
This is what journal-writing is supposed to be like. Her outer life, her inner life, her reading. What a funny and precocious young woman she was. She is exactly the same age I am but I know for a fact (and can prove with hard evidence) that m...more
I consider myself an autodidact (a self-taught person.) I dropped out of college midway and decided to learn what I wanted to learn by reading books. When Kendall Hailey's 1988 memoir came across my radar, I had to check it out.
I whizzed through the first half, delighting in Hailey's open minded parents (her father a playwright, her mother the author of the backlist classic, A Woman of Independent Means.) Along with her younger sister, they led a free-wheeling literary life of opening nights, bo...more
Ugh. What vapid, vapid morons. The stupidity of the author, friends, and family members makes me want to set the book on fire. Hell, it makes me want to go back in time and set the AUTHOR on fire. While this book is supposedly about self-education, it doesn't criticize the educational system, or give any real reasons for opting out, except that Hailey "doesn't want to go to college". Hailey, however, isn't exactly a non conformist, as she often states that being too unconventional is "bad", as w...more
Jeff has been going through our bookshelves trying to reduce the number of books we have - we would love to have only the wall of books in the schoolroom (plus the bookcase in the dining room) and not the two bookcases upstairs. I thought that I was ready to part with this book, but then found that I had enjoyed it far too much. I wish that I had had the motivation and self-discipline to work at my education as this girl did in her teens. Maybe when I have finished home schooling the kids.
"I suppose the ugly truth is that life begins the moment you're born. And it is asking too much of it to request that it always live up to its reputation of being real."
". . . She ran to the car in tears but laughed when she told us about it.
And that's the thing about family history. It loses so much of its pain as time goes on . . Every family has a meanest member, but not many are graced with someone who will love him."
"The curse of being blessed with parents as wonderful as mine is that you...more
". . . She ran to the car in tears but laughed when she told us about it.
And that's the thing about family history. It loses so much of its pain as time goes on . . Every family has a meanest member, but not many are graced with someone who will love him."
"The curse of being blessed with parents as wonderful as mine is that you...more
I read this book a very long time ago. Probably in the early 1990s. Something the actor, Terrence Howard said on TV the morning (12-8-09) about being "autodidactic' brought it back to mind. As I remember it, Kendall Hailey's book, 'The Day I Became an Autodidact' is a gem. Especially for avid readers.
Recommendation: All my goodreads friends are steeped in the art and love of reading and would probably enjoy this book.
Recommendation: All my goodreads friends are steeped in the art and love of reading and would probably enjoy this book.
I read this a long, long time ago, and am planning to read it again in the not-too-distant future. It's sort of a memoir on reading and literature. The author was very young when she wrote this, and I remember being fascinated and impressed by her intelligence and dedication to read the books she wanted to read.
Mar 03, 2012
Annie
added it
The word a previous reviewer chose was perfect - "charming." A sweet account of a 16-year-old who decided that high school wasn't academically amazing (no social or school trouble, just a persistent ennui) and that she could do a better job educating herself - which she did. I wish I read this 8 years ago.
This book makes me want to write! Nevermind how it has expanded my reading list. I love this book. It's inspiring and also a funny read, mostly for the way she describes her family.
It's one of a handful that I would make my kids read if they ever thought they needed to go to school.
There is much I miss out on in the way of literary references, but it is more than made up for in the strength and humor of her style.
It's one of a handful that I would make my kids read if they ever thought they needed to go to school.
There is much I miss out on in the way of literary references, but it is more than made up for in the strength and humor of her style.
I read this several years ago and had forgotten about it until I recently came across it again. It's an excellent book for teens and young adults to read. For you Wilco fans, the author is Jeff Tweedy's sister-in-law. (Tweedy's wife and Kendall Hailey are sisters.)
This book was game-changing for me when I read it in 1989. I haven't read it since, so I'm not sure that it would hold up for me as a late-30s reader -- but MAN did it ever nail it for me as a 14-year-old. LOVED.
I have found a kindred spirit with Kendall Hailey- her writing is clever and funny, and provocative and endearing. Anyone who loves to read and to learn (as well as watch some quality films) will highly enjoy Kendall's journey through Roman and Greek poets and philosophers, American absurdists, British modernists, Russian plays, and screwball comedies. Each chapter begins with a goal, her "What I Hope to Do". My favorite one so far is : "Be born in 1905 (1908 also perfectly acceptable". I see th...more
Interesting book. Written by a young girl who decided to "school" herself.
I found this book annoying and pretentious.
I was really interested in reading about Kendall Hailey's experience of graduating from high school a year early to pursue learning on her own terms. Unfortunately, this choppy memoir was difficult for me to read. I believe Hailey was only about 18 or 19 when she wrote about her adventures in learning. If anything, her book should inspire everyone to become an autodidact in their own way.
Sep 08, 2011
Twyla
added it
Love this.
Maybe I would have liked this if I had read it when I was younger. I think I am supposed to be impressed with the teen who wrote this book. Aargh! I couldn't get through even half of it.
This is a great (true) story about a young girl with far more intrinsic motivation than me. Kendall Hailey essentailly creates her own curriculum and writes plays and poetry paints, gets published and engages in curious intillectual inquiry for more than a year at the age of 17. Zowie.
I enjoyed the first half of this book, and the idea of taking on your own education, but midway through I lost interest, and wanted her to get out of the house and learn things that aren't written down in books.
i read this book when i was around 20 and it really inspired me to think about how i learned. i wish i had found it when i was 12 or 13. this was definitely a very important book to me.
I re-read this book about once a year.
One of my favorite books ever.
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Jun 17, 2007 06:57am
I'm sure you've got it all worked out by now,...more
Sep 18, 2009 12:36pm