Winter Reading Project

It has been a tradition for me the past few years to undertake a reading project for the long cold months of winter, usually a series of history books or a long Science Fiction or series of Historical Fiction novels. 

This year, I am currently undecided which of two book series to tackle, Will and Ariel Durant's "The Story of Civilization" (pictured above) or the Encyclopedia "Great Book of the Western World". 
I already own The Story of Civilization, having purchased them over a period of years at yard sales, used book stores and discarded book sales from regional libraries. (For the life of me, I cannot comprehend why a library would get rid of these books).
I have read bits and pieces of both before, but to tackle the whole series of either at once seems like more than I can chew. 

Right now, I'm reading my way through the Honorverse series of Science Fiction books...so I'll have a couple of weeks to make up my mind.