i want to get smarter than all the other kids at high school

what books should i read

 

If you can read you're already halfway there.

 

I guess alot of it would depend on your tastes and what specifically you want to learn.


I'd start out with some classic fiction--Steinbeck, Victor Hugo, Dickens--but that's just me.

A good author can teach you alot about human nature, plus it's easier to stay interested in a novel than a text book (again, that's just me).

 

get smarter then all the other kids at high school looks like you got a ego on ya,dont try to be smarter no likes a know it all be smart becasue you want to not to beat some one work on virtue, wisdom,philosophy, read works of plato

 

If you want to read books in order to become smarter, you're hopeless.

 

don't listen to them FFF, books are a way of getting out in the world before you're old enough to get out in the world.

 

i was gonna read jeff otts books

 

Very cool,NaykidApe...and so true. Books open the doors to so many different worlds.

 

Oh, they do, and have no doubt - reading will make you smarter. But the intelligence just comes as a side effect. You shouldn't be starting reading just to become smart. Even worse is to try to become smarter than other people. I've known people who tried reading with that goal in mind, and all of them found out that they were not any smarter after reading.

 

Classic fiction...Hesse, Hemingway etc.
A glimpse into other times and a way to get some wisdom second hand.

 

Lol.

Seriously, intelligence is gained from a lifetime of learning. You can't just read a bunch of books and instantly become smarter. It can help you over time, but you can't just spend a couple days at a library and become brilliant. If you could, then trust me, I'd be there.

 

obviously reading a few books isn't going to make you instantly smarter than everybody.. but i think it's cool that you want to be smarter in the first place so many ppl are content not learning anything new at all... and it's so important to continue learning forever... (it can postpone the effects of alzheimer's )

anyway, classic fiction is always good... in my college courses i've always had to read books with good reviews in them, they'll give you some historical background that'll help you understand the work, and teach you a little history and social studies. anyway, read whatever you want to.. find something that really interests you and you'll get more out of it. read about different political parties, philosophical works... those can help you understand some of the views in the world today.. ummm... i'm definitely a humanities type person, though. a lot of things you can research online and go from there too... hmm hopefully this helps some, and good luck in learning

 

Read anything you can get your hands on. Reading won't necessarily make you smarter, but you'll find yourself knowing all kinds of random facts that might someday help you (like if you are ever on Jeopardy or the Millionaire show...erm.. yeah). It also can help you figure out what you want to do with life and what interests you (or at least that's what it's done for me). I would suggest reading from a broad scope of things- Hemingway is a favorite of mine for more historical accounts, and Michael Crichton is a great science thriller author who actually is believable.

Follow what you're into. If you like mythology, check out all the world's mythologies and religions. If you like history, there is historical fiction and biographies from every major world event. Yay for reading. No matter what you read, you'll become more knowledgeable about things or see things a different way.

 

read for pleasure (instead of palyin them dam' video games or veggin' out on the tube 24/7)...

for a nice condensed book about ummmm "all & everything" (appollylollygies to G) might be the late dr carl sagan's excellent COSMOS (from the wonderful PBS science series)
www.carlsagan.com


(oh & the crowley suggestion - well, uncle al was witty & erudite, but not half as smart (or half as good a poet) as he thought he was, hehheh... ummm, imho, i suppose, eh? ymmv...)

~

shucks, you could spend a decade just reading the booklist(s) at the back of ram dass's seeker classic BE HERE NOW don'cha know...

 

The key to being one of the smartest kids in school (this is coming from an educator) is to read. Read everything. I can detect a reader in a minute. The more you read, the more you will know about the world, about human nature, about society. Reading doesn't make you a smartass, it makes you knowledgable. You don't have to be a nerd to be smart. Reading will not only increase your knowledge, it will help you test better and help you write better. Like it or not, those who earn the highest test scores will be at the top and have more opportunities. It isn't right, but that's how it is. Best of luck!

 

The Gormenghast Trilogy. All of Moorcock and Pratchett. Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. (not the movie) As much sci-fi from the 50's onwards that you can. All the beat writers and poets. The Bible, the Quran, the Vedas. The dictionary.

Read Crowley, Socrates, Plato, Nietchze and all of them. Delve into Baudelaire, Rabelais and Ovid. Soak your head in Yeats and Coleridge, then burn your brain to C S Lewis and Lear. Avoid Harry Potter like the plague.

Learn to juggle, stick another language in there (if only for reading Asterix in the original language!). Learn to do maths with an abacus, and get a working appreciation for music.

Above all, do not let the curriculum hold you back. Fulfill their requirements but surpass them all intellectually.

Then, and only then, will you be as pretentious as me Oh, right, you wanted smart. er...

 

It would also very soon become very boring. Reading for fun is much better. I used to read all I could get my eyes on from when I was about four years old until when I was about twelve. I already was intelligent, but more is needed if you want to have a reasonable knowledge of your (or any) language. In high school I became a lazy-ass motherfucker and although I didn't have problems with the highest level* of high school, I didn't stand above the rest with head and shoulders, like I used to do (intellectually speaking - physically I'm tiny). I'm still lazy, but in high school I wouldn't even learn for tests, was always late with everything, in some cases I would show up at school a few days into the summer holidays with a pile of papers I had had to write that year and only started a few days before the school year was over. I always got away with everything, even when in my fifth and sixth (final) year I just stopped coming to most classes. I passed quite luxuriously though. So if I were you I'd put that book away, kick off your shoes, grab a beer, and...

Naw, I think reading is essential, I'm glad that when I was younger I used to read, it was fun and still reap the rewards, honestly. (I have no idea why suddenly my whole educational life so far came up though)

*) In Holland you can do different levels with varying length and difficulty, based upon your results in first year of high school, which translates as 'bridge-class' not without a reason. I did 'VWO', which is 6 years.

 

The Dictionary
Anything written by Shakespear and Dickens.

 

Also a quick look over of anything by Mark Twain or Oscar Wilde, teaches you to think outside of the box.

 

the prince by machiavelli