What are the best books that help expand knowledge?

Question

I'm 24 and I've read a lot of books, but I want books that can broaden my point of view on many things. Any suggestions?

Answer 1

I'd say read the dictionary but the plots a bit thin. Read the encyclopedia but its a bit wordy.surely do read these and with enthusiasm for no where else can you say while reading.."Wow I didn't know that!" read the bible or the book of your own faith read it thoroughly. Read the classics ie Shakespeare. Read Conan Doyle Kipling and Dumas... Pearl buck. Read the fun writers like Ogden Nash and ,Her riot Read fact and fiction, history and opinions read newspapers from the past to perceive the truth of their times from our perspective. Read of war and read of peace , read of hate and sweetness sparingly for that sort of thing has insidious power.Read well written children's books because they are well written books. Read for fact and read of joy because all things need balance. There is a list of 100 of the worlds greatest books. But I lost the list because I will hope you will write your own book list one day about your 100 dearest friends.

Answer 2

You can never run out of books that help expand your knowledge.....after all isn't that what books are for? Expanding knowledge? coming back to your question....

- For current events the best place to look is the daily newspaper. Its cheap and keeps you up-to-date and improves your english skills. Besides it gives you an excuse to drown a cup of hot cofee in the morning.

-Quiz books are best for all-round knowledge and so are encyclopedias.

-Autobiographies and biographies help you get a perpective of life through the eyes of great personalities.( I recently read Hillary Clinton's book, its really good you should get a hold of it)

- Then there are subject books. Pick a subject you really like, for example: psychology, interior designing,etc. and read any material you get hold of relating to that subject. That way you can have a comprehensive knowledge of that particular subject. Again its important you like the subject or it will get boring.

Finally the library is a great place to start. Ask the librarian her favorite choice of books, join a book club,read book reviews and try staying in touch with the books everyone is talking about. You'll be sure of increasing you're IQ by at least 20 points (provided you keep away from the TV screen!!)

Answer 3

There's a number of ways to approach this. If you want to go about it through literature, consider reading every book in the Everyman's Library 100 title set. You've likely read many of them before, but these tend to be Classics and modern marvels, so they are worth revisiting.

If you are slightly more daring, you could read Frederick Copleston's 9-volume History of Philosophy.

I plan on reading all of these things within the next five years.

Answer 4

My usual suggestions are:

Ishmael by Daniel Quinn
Destructive Emotions & Emotional Intelligence by Daniel Goleman
Climbing Mount Improbable by Richard Dawkins
Mapping Human History by Steve Olson
Trainspotting by Irvine Welsh
Emotions Revealed by Paul Ekman
The Godfather by Mario Puzo

They're quite different books but all look at things in detail and from different perspectives to the usual, it does depend on your preference though.

Answer 5

Depends. Textbooks in any subject do it for me. I'm in a college psychology class and I'm learning a lot! The book we use is "Essentials of Understanding Psychology".
I also like to read historical fiction like Philippa Gregory books. She's good at balancing fact and fiction enough to make things interesting.
You might also try some commentaries on different views in cultures, society, stuff like that.

Answer 6

Matters really on what type of knowledge you are looking for.

An encyclopedia and a dictionary are good choices for general knowledge. However if you want to be specific on a certain topic they are not the way to go. Try googling a topic and put the word "books" after it and see what comes up.

ex..search "Machinery Books" and you will find the "27th edition Machinery Handbook". Works great.

You may also just try the web such as http://www.wikipedia.com to search for knowledge.

Answer 7

A friend once recommended me to read 'The Tao of Physics' which, he said was an incredible book. I read the intro to it (unfortunately I am too pressed for time to sit down and read every now and then) and it sounded quite interesting, making different connections to different religions and sciences throughout the world.

Answer 8

I like the books with Don't Much About in the title. There is Don't Much about History. There is Don't Know Much About Geography and Don't Know Much About Geography. These books are very comprehensive. They cover everything about the subject.

Answer 9

Read the books by Anne Rice, she talks about sensitive subjects openly.

Answer 10

All books expand knowledge.Medical,science and art books all expand knowledge.Sociology,psychology,anthropology,and all the other ologies are great reading.Even children books can teach you something.All Books Are Great!