What are some books that need to be read to create a well educated individual?

Answer 1

1. The Bible (whether or not you believe it, are Christian, religious or anything else it is a must read for any well educated individual)
2. The Illiad by Homer
3. The Odyssey by Homer
4. A complete works of Shakespeare or as many works of his you can find
5. Works by the famous ancient philosophers - Aristotle, Plato
6. The Lord of the Rings trilogy
7. The Narnia series and other books by CS Lewis
8. Josephus and other ancient historians
9. A Tale of Two Cities and other books by Charles Dickens
10. Around the World in 80 days and other books by Jules Verne
11. HG Wells books
12. A good anthology (Norton's Anthology for example)
13. The Pilgrim's Progress (once again, this does not depend on religious beliefs)
14. A good book on mythology

There are dozens of books, basically read whatever you can, read with an opening and questioning mind and vary your reading from deep philosophical works to children's books. Being educated means realizing that you still have a lot to learn and doing your best to learn it.

Answer 2

I'm assuming you mean fiction. I'd recommend reading the following:

Aeneid
Beowulf
The Odyssey and the Iliad
Gilgamesh
The Golden As s
anything by Aristophanes (I like his comedic plays- Lysistrata and the Clouds are good examples)
The Canterbury Tales
The Inferno
The Lord of the Rings
The Grapes of Wrath
A Clockwork Orange
To Kill a Mockingbird
Candide
Tartuffe
Dubliners
The Metamorphosis
A Remeberance of Things Past (also known as In Search of Lost Time)
Anything by Cheever, Chekhov, Dickins, Dostoevsky, Blake, Stoppard, Vonnegut, Kawabata, Orwell, and Keats
Shakespeare- again, pretty much anything.

There are many, many more works that you should read. Just search for works similar to the ones I have listed.

It seems daunting, but the works are surprisingly enjoyable. I'd recommed starting with an Aristophonic comedy and moving on to something more modern like Joyce's Dubliners. Bouncing back and forth between classic and modern will keep you more interested than if you read completely through from past to present.

Answer 3

You need a well balanced and broad range of books, not just classics, but cultural books like Native American and African American Literature. An example would Black Boy or Tracks. Plus historical/ historical fiction books like the Diary of Anne Frank, The Bible, The Red Badge of Courage and Uncle Tom's Cabin. It gives the reader a since of what was going on in that time period and what it was like. It helps give you a better understanding of different cultures which make you more open-minded and better educated. There are many different books that are just as good or maybe even better that what I suggested but the ones I picked were to give you an idea.

Answer 4

Seven Pillars of Wisdom by TE Lawrence
anything by EO WIlson (biologist)
syllvia plath poetry
Platos The cave
any and all classics
Paradise by toni morrison
books that range from poetry and fiction to sci

those are some of my favs ................... just read as much as you can and you will be very educated!

Answer 5

There are so many works that authors refer to in their writings. One book often alluded to is actually the Bible. Knowing biblical stories definitely increases your chances of understanding later literary works. Greco/Roman mythology is often referred to in literature. Joseph Campbell's "The Power of Myth" is a must read as well. Aesop's Fables... and much more.

Good question! 'Got me thinking.

Answer 6

The Lord of the Flies (tells of the struggle between natural human state and a civilized community)
Michael Chrichton (he has contradictory views on current events/interesting take on life)
To Kill A Mockingbird (it is always referenced)

Answer 7

Classics, like Shakespeare and Poe, are always helpful. Also, documents like the Constitution are important, and so are things like various religious texts. And read a variety of philosophers, particularly the ancient greeks.

Answer 8

1.) The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich
2.) Mao

Answer 9

to be ho with you bust does not how to think his daddy doest for him

Answer 10

"how to fart in public, with absolutely no smell to it"
"burping for the white-collar worker"
"arm-pit hair, nose hair, ear hair and other facinateing hairs of the body"
"my crap don't stink"
"come let me burp the ways that i love you"