10 books to make me smarter...

oceansize

hi there,

i hardly ever read, and im working in a job that requires no thinking.
at the moment i feel i've dumbed down a bit as my mind isn't active.

can you suggest 10 books that i can set myself to read over the next couple of months that will increase my general knowlege? i feel stupid even writing this

I am currently reading "the big bang" by simon singh, thats very informative on a few subjects, the main one ofviously is the history of astronomy,

thanks guys.

Cadet?

Great thread...

I'm very interested to see what books come up....

I'll list my ten now but don't want to get into specifics about each of them, but defo I can say that each book was one that made me think and made me change my outlook in some way or the other....

Lambast away!

Wealth of Nations
The Selfish Gene
Hitchhikers Guide
Black Dogs
Life of Pi
1984
The DaVinci Code
Catcher in the Rye
The Rights of Man
The Dice Man

Ecelctic mix defo, but each one affected me and I think in some way made me smarter.................

oceansize

thanks for those, ill look soime of them up,

i've read the davinci code, was told not to watch the movie.

i think im looking for more historical books and the like, i've heard of catcher in the rhy though and i might have a look at getting hold of a copy.

Six of One

Hi there. Is it non fiction you are after?

How about Bill Bryson, A Short History of Nearly Everything? Bryson's an easy read and you are bound to learn something from that boook to increase your general knowledge! While we are on the subject of Bryson his Shakespeare book is a good read too.

I would highly recommend Naoimi Klien, The Shock Doctrine for a look at global economics and the IMF.

Tim Butcher, BLood River is a travel book but brings a lot of the history of the Congo into it too.

I have recently read Conor O'Clery, May you Live in Interesting Times. It's his different stories from working as foreign correspondent for the Times from the 70s. Very interesting and would also be a good one for picking up some general knowledge.

Well, thats only five but it's all that springs to mind at the moment!

994

The "Introducing ..." series are pretty good for basic information - especially the Jung and Derrida books. (Media Studies is terrible though) They're short enough to just read in the bookshop too.

There's also a book, The Great Philosophers, it has a white cover with a hammer and a sort of fire alarm thing. Or get one of those huge illustrated History of Art books.

Carl Sagan's "Cosmos" is another astronomy book, but it's a bit dated by now. And maybe read some classics? The Iliad's not so difficult as you'd think.

oceansize

thanks, keep them coming guys.

i think i'd like non fiction books yes, historical events would be preferred, but also ones like you mentioned on glbal economy and possible fairly in depth books like the one im currently reading.

of course there are a few books that are fictional that ill have to read as they are so highly acclaimed.

Do any of you know any good books that are actual books as opposed to reference books on the subject of greek philosophy?

thank you! i've just picked up a copy of the catcher in the rye, ill try to read that later!
"I would highly recommend Naoimi Klien, The Shock Doctrine for a look at global economics and the IMF" < ---- this sounds good.

Tom Dunne

Try The Great War for Civilisation by Robert Firsk - fascinating.

Also, off the top of my head, Sacred Causes, Michael Burleigh, The Second World War, Martin Gilbert. And a personal favourite, The Modern Mind, by Peter Watson - it's a history of the 20th century, but not about geopolitical events, but about the thinkers and doers of the century. One book I will read again and again.

amcalester

Cadet? wrote: »

Great thread...

Wealth of Nations
The Selfish Gene
Hitchhikers Guide
Black Dogs
Life of Pi
1984
The DaVinci Code
Catcher in the Rye
The Rights of Man
The Dice Man

Ecelctic mix defo, but each one affected me and I think in some way made me smarter.................

Great selection there, I've read 6 of them and definately gonna keep and eye out for the others.

I'll throw in some easy to read classics,

To kill a mocking bird
The Outsiders
Huck Finn
Tom Sawyer
Frankenstien is a great read.

What are your interests? Pick books with subjects you find interesting.

I loved Mario Puzo's The Godfather, Gomorrah by Roberto Saviano, Mr Nice by Howard Marks is brilliant and anything by Hunter S Thompson.


Edit: I read one of your other posts and saw that you were looking for non-fiction books. Sorry.

RonMexico

Hells Angels by Hunter S. Thompson if you want a great read on the gang. Also Fear and Loathing: On The Campaign Trail '72 if you want to hear his account of the '72 presidential race. The book has been described as the most accurate but least factual account of the campaign trail

godspal

I think maybe modern philosophy could be a good way to move forward (as Greek philosophy can be somewhat layered with meaning, heavy to read and presented in a circular and sometimes infuriating manner).

Modern Philosophy:
Rene Descartes - Discourse on Method: Always a good place to start as it lays down the logical discourse that started modern philosophy.

Fredrick Nietzsche - Thus Spoke Zarathustra: An allegory about the failures of previous philosophies and religions, very well written, easy to read if you take it in bits and pieces.
Another thing if you are going to get this book try and avoid any translations done by Jews due to the tender nature of what Nietzsche's philosophy describes as they tend to be very manipulated and heavily edited. (A few of the beliefs described in this book were used very loosely and very poorly to propagate the idea of the Holocaust. Even though Nietzsche was probably an anti-Semite he never described or called for the Holocaust.)

Arthur Schopenhauer - On the Freedom of the Will: Not exactly the easiest text in the world to read, but its a short essay and leads me on to my next book.

Jean-Paul Satre - Being and Nothingness: The rough guide to existentialism. Easy enough to read.

There are other more important books such as Kant, Heidegger and Wittgenstein works. But these books are really hard to read I usually get fed up about a quarter of the way through and give up and try and piece together from critics of what they are trying to say.

Thats 4!

Fictional:
-The Catcher in the Rye - J.D. Salinger
-To Kill a Mockingbird - J. Harper Lee
-Animal Farm - George Orwell
-The Road - Cormac McCarthy

All very accessible books, but still thought provoking.

Non-Fiction:
Ireland 1912-1985: Politics and Society - J.J. Lee IMO one of the best written texts on Irish history. Even though I would disagree with some of his opinions on history the book is so easy to read and so well put together that I find myself loving this book.
The Strange Career of Jim Crow - Comer Vann Woodward‎ A very interesting book about the segregation laws in America.

zod

***** A short history of nearly everything **** highly recommended
Freakanomics
the tipping point
The wisdom of crowds
The world is flat
the God Delusion
the outliers
the long tail

Monkey61

Anything by Plato is pretty mind expanding and very easy reading. The Republic, Symposium and The Last Days of Socrates are great for a start.

Also from my philosophy favourites list are Boethius' The Consolation of Philosophy and for something modern Marshall Berman's All that is solid melts into air

I know you don't particularly want fiction, but anything by Camus is great for having a think too. The Plague and The Stranger are marvelous.

Dades

994 wrote: »

Carl Sagan's "Cosmos" is another astronomy book, but it's a bit dated by now. And maybe read some classics? The Iliad's not so difficult as you'd think.

+ 100 for "Cosmos" - and I don't consider it dated at all. In fact anything by Sagan is a good read. "Billions and Billions" was his last book.

Unless you're into philosophy I've avoid it. If you're not a big reader (or even if you are) it might just wreck your head, whereas popular science might get you back in the habit easier.

Permabear

This post has been deleted.

Tom Dunne

donegalfella wrote: »

This post has been deleted.

Ah but general knowledge on a wide range of subjects has it's merits too.

I would class my reading material as very eclectic. Not that that makes me very knowledgeable on, well, anything, but it broadens the mind somewhat.

Permabear

This post has been deleted.

buck65

Fermat's Last Theroem - Simon Singh
Ms. Smillas Feeling for snow- Peter Hoeg

quickbeam

oceansize wrote: »

I am currently reading "the big bang" by simon singh, thats very informative on a few subjects, the main one ofviously is the history of astronomy,

I'd highly recommend: "The Calendar: The 5000-year Struggle to Align the Clock and the Heavens", especially if you have an interesting in the history of sciences and astronomy

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Calendar-5000-year-Struggle-Heavens-Happened/dp/1857029798/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1234811211&sr=8-1

FruitLover

"General knowledge" does not equal "smarter". If you want to exercise your brain (rather than just memorize facts), I'd recommend buying one of those bumper books of Irish Times crosswords (Crosaire, not the children's (simplex) version).

I'd also recommend Robert M. Pirsig's Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance

oceansize

some of those sound class,

asnwering the person who said to focus on one area, i made my self a list of 5 big things i should do that i think will improve myself as a person,

the first on the list is to learning spanish, i've started on this and am quite liking it! i suppose you could say thats a "subject".

the 2nd was to start to broaden my mind a bit more by reading, and i didn't want to just go and pick up random books you know?

this is quite a good thread, looking back on the title i think it could be a good book in itself :P

BaZmO*

oceansize wrote: »

can you suggest 10 books that i can set myself to read over the next couple of months that will increase my general knowlege? i feel stupid even writing this

Ah don't be silly, it's a great idea for a thread.



The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat by Oliver Sacks

The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat and Other Clinical Tales is a 1985 book by neurologist Oliver Sacks describing the case histories of some of his patients. The title of the book comes from the case study of a man with visual agnosia[1]. The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat became the basis of an opera of the same name by Michael Nyman, which premiered in 1986.

The book comprises 24 essays split into 4 sections which each deal with a particular aspect of brain function such as deficits and excesses in the first two sections (with particular emphasis on the right hemisphere of the brain) while the third and fourth describe phenomenological manifestations with reference to spontaneous reminiscences, altered perceptions, and extraordinary qualities of mind found in "retardates".[2]

Fantastic read and it's broken down into different case studies, so you can dip in and out of it. It's a great insight into the workings (or in this case, the problems) of the mind.

turgon

oceansize wrote: »

the 2nd was to start to broaden my mind a bit more by reading, and i didn't want to just go and pick up random books you know?

Well if you have an even slight interest in history, or totalitarianism, then 1984 (George Orwell) is a must in my opinion. People like his thematically similar novel Animal Farm, but I think the former is far more ingenius.

And if were talking about the dangers of totalitarianism, how about those of capitalism. The Grapes of Wrath is good this way in exposing some faults in the ideology, such as the "monster" of the bank who is totally unhuman and incapable of negotiation.

/Waits for donegalfella to cry shame.

Locamon

zod wrote: »

***** A short history of nearly everything **** highly recommended
Freakanomics
the tipping point
The wisdom of crowds
The world is flat
the God Delusion
the outliers
the long tail

This is a great list. Outliers was a bit obvious but very enjoyable.

Opening Skinner's Box by Lauren Slater to understand human behaviour.
The Little Book of Scientific Principles, Theories & Things by Surendra Verma.
World War One a Short History by Norman Stone, brief but brilliant.
The Nazis by Laurrence Rees, reads like a novel.
Meditations by Marcus Aurelius, thoughts of an Emperor.
Risk by Dan Gardner, very timely.
Any Michel Thomas course, because language is the window to the world.
The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle, to keep you going.
Rubicon by Tom Holland, everything you need to know about the Romans.
Heroes of History by Will Durant, an amazing but brief history of civilization from Ancient times to the dawn of the modern age.

I am sure there are better books but all of the above are very accessible and if they don't make you smarter they should at least be enjoyable.

St Bunt

I would recommend the Baroque cycle, kicking off with Quicksilver by Neal Stephenson for some seriously cool and entertaining history.

Powerhouse

Considering that the OP says he doesn't read much I find some of the recommendations quite remarkable. For example, you'd need a serious interest in the subject matter to plough through 1,364 pages of Robert Fisk especially if you are not a regular reader. Similarly, I'm not sure if someone like that wants to get bogged down even in a relatively brief history of World War 1, astronomy or philosophy, or even a biography of Shakespeare.

If someone is not a reader and wants material to start them off without boring the daylights out of themselves while enhancing worthwhile knowledge - in the way that Malcom Galdwell's stuff doesn't even if it appears clever - I would suggest 'Mankind' by Cyril Aydon which give a history of the world , the Roman Empire, various wars, industrial revolution etc. in a few hundred pages.

For example, he explains the essence of WW1 in the same number of pages it would take the average 'short' history of the war to talk about the origin of the war. It is very very readable and written in stand alone chapters, even if there is the occasional factual error.

Another one worth checking if you are interested in ideas is "The Britannica Guide to the Ideas that made the modern world". Again it gives the essence of Adam Smith, Bentham, Kant and all the key figures of the enlightenment without going into unnecessary and excruciating detail that will simply turn off all but the most dedicated reader.

You can decide what interests you at that stage and do further reading if you want rather than jumping straight in at the deep end.

quickbeam

Powerhouse wrote: »

Considering that the OP says he doesn't read much I find some of the recommendations quite remarkable. For example, you'd need a serious interest in the subject matter to plough through 1,364 pages of Robert Fisk especially if you are not a regular reader. Similarly, I'm not sure if someone like that wants to get bogged down even in a relatively brief history of World War 1, astronomy or philosophy, or even a biography of Shakespeare.

The OP mentioned an interest in astronomy:rolleyes:

randomguy

Some good suggestions here, and also some really terrible ones aimed more at showing off than giving real recommendations suitable for someone who hasn't been reading already.

If I was you I'd start with...
History - Eric Hobsbawm -Age of Extremes: The Short Twentieth Century 1914-1991
Philosophy - Jostein Gaarder - Sophie's World
Anthropology/History - Jared Diamond - Guns Germs and Steel
Grammar - Lynn Truss - Eats Shoots and Laves
Linguistics/Psychology - Steven Pinker - The Language Instinct
Natural History and lots more - Bill Bryson - A Short History of Nearly Everything
Quantum Physics - Richard Feynman - Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman
irish politics - John Waters - Jiving at the Crossroads (surprisingly good considering he's s nutcase now)
Travel/Geography - Taras Grescoe - The End of Elsewhere
Consumerism - Naomi Klein - No Logo

There are plenty more pop-whatever (pop-psychology, pop-history, pop-economics) suggestions above that I'd second - Oliver Sacks, the Freakonomics guys, Longitude, etc and there is more serious stuff like Tim Pat Coogan's Irish history that I could recommend.

But I'd recommend my 1st five books to almost anyone who has a normal degree of curiosity about the world around them.

Powerhouse

quickbeam wrote: »

The OP mentioned an interest in astronomy:rolleyes:

He did indeed. I didn't spot that. But still I think my general point stands reasonably well.

Locamon

Powerhouse wrote: »

He did indeed. I didn't spot that. But still I think my general point stands reasonably well.

In fairness if he had asked for one book then maybe this is a valid point but he did ask for 10 that would broaden his general knowledge. I think WW1 in 148 pages is pretty impressive and accessible for someone who doesn't read but wants to read 10 books. Durant covers the Roman Republic in 14 pages which shouldn't be too taxing. Verma cover Nuclear Fission in one page!

Powerhouse

Locamon wrote: »

In fairness if he had asked for one book then maybe this is a valid point but he did ask for 10 that would broaden his general knowledge. I think WW1 in 148 pages is pretty impressive and accessible for someone who doesn't read but wants to read 10 books. Durant covers the Roman Republic in 14 pages which shouldn't be too taxing. Verma cover Nuclear Fission in one page!

Well, to be honest with you my advice to someone who doesn't read would be to read one book first and worry about the other nine later.

As for Norman Stone's book, yeah, it's fine as far as it goes and is brief in the sense that it would fit into a small chapter of many WWI histories. However, it is debatable how to what extent this book enhances general knowledge, which is the kind of thing I had in mind when I replied.

It strikes me as something that someone might read after their interest that that war has been sparked, and they would have some broad knowledge of it already. It's a short book but can be turgid enough in places. And I say that as a History graduate myself.

That's why I suggested the books I did such as the one by Cyril Aydon which certainly enhances general knowledge massively and provides a taster for other reading. For example, he covers WW1 in 8 pages, with another 8 pages devoted to the world in 1913 which provides the backdrop to the war. From my knowledge of the topic, which would be fairly decent, I notice no gaping holes in those accounts because of their brevity.

Despite being a short book, Stone still takes 23 pages to cover just the outbreak of the war. Obviously given that there are large books dedicated to the origins of WW1, it is a short account, but I think we need to distinguish between the reader with a large or borderline academic interest in WW1 and the general reader with a broader remit in terms of his curiosity which is what I took the OP to be.

It depends on the person obviously. I would have done a huge amount of reading over the years, but I'd still consider myself an easily bored or distracted reader which is why I was suggesting moving from the general to the particular in terms of reading. Having said that I am sure all the books suggested have merit - whether they would be the ideal start in terms of fairly quickly boosting general knowledge I'm not so sure.

I have to say that I am astoinished by the apparent depth and breadth of some people's reading here.

Permabear

This post has been deleted.