Need more +Int in my life: what are some must reads?

King Boo Hoo

Hi all,
I enjoy knowing things. Among friends, I'm the guy who knows too much about everything. News about net neutrality? I know a bit. Legality of consent to pain? I can talk about a few cases. How black holes function? The various positions people had about fixing the Great Depression when it happened? These are the sort of things that I like knowing about, which is to say, I don't really have a specialty, I just like knowledge about things that occur in daily life or get discussed often enough. However, I want to take a more active role in knowing things... I just don't know what to read. I'm pretty skeptical about any of the hundred of books about "100 things you need to know" or whatnot.

So I'm coming here to ask for... interesting, comprehensive information about pretty much anything that you really enjoyed or learned a lot from?

Perhaps a link to a forum where lots of very intelligent people hold heated debates? I already scan D&D and Slashdot.
Books work, though I'm less likely to get them than I am to read some link you post, because I don't go to bookstores too often and I like to page through books before buying them.
Links work quite well! Web-pages, interesting blogs, even wikipedia pages that you learned a lot from. As a good example of what I mean, Time had that special after the election where they went really in depth about all the candidates and the campaign -- that was both fascinating and fun to be able to share with others.

I know it's a fairly bizarre request, but in a way it's also easy since it's so open-ended. Was there a movie you saw that changed your life? A book you swear should be required reading in schools? A non-fiction book you really enjoyed but don't tell others about because it comes off as nerdy? A web-page that made you go, "wow, so that's how that works..."? Post it here, I'll read it/see it/listen to it!

Thank you!

Erandus

If you're into politics, I post at Political Crossfire a lot. There's some idiot posters there, but most of the people who frequent the board are competent, if partisan. There's some pretty good debate there, it gets pretty heated.

Fendall

This might not be exactly the answer you are looking for but I've found reading while taking a shit is good fun. Yeah weird request, wierd answer.

Not a novel or anything you understand, something you can read a few pages of and be out of there before the stink hits you. Recently been leafing through a book of quotations so I can get all Samual Johnson on people in conversations. Also I know you said you arn't into "100 things..." but I have Schott's Original Miscellany which I've found to be interesting and accurate.

tsmvengy

I just finished reading Outliers which was very interesting.

Erandus

Fendall wrote: »

reading while taking a shit is good fun.

This is where I get most of my heavy reading done.

sk524

The 3 top books on my novel list are "as the crow flies" "honor among thieves" and "angels and demons"
the top anthologies* "cat o' nine tails" "a quiver full of arrows" and "12 red herrings"
most of these are by Jeffery archer

TychoCelchuuu

sk524 wrote: »

The 3 top books on my novel list are "as the crow flies" "honor among thieves" and "angels and demons"
the top anthologies* "cat o' nine tails" "a quiver full of arrows" and "12 red herrings"
most of these are by Jeffery archer

Ignore this man!

In any case here are some good books I'd recommend if you want to get brain++ and impress friends and women and female friends and dogs with your knowledge of the world and its variegated structures:

The Demon Haunted World by Carl Sagan
Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail by Hunter S. Thompson
Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison
1984 by George Orwell
The Hero With a Thousand Faces by Joseph Campbell
The Elements of Style by Someone Strunk and E.B. White

If books are too long and boring and you'd rather get smarter the easy way, in short, easily digestible chunks, a subscription to The New York Times, The Washington Post, or even your local newspaper as long as you don't live somewhere stupid will work wonders. After you get that, you can sign yourself up for something like The Economist, Nature, The New Yorker, or something else. Or all 3! It's really not that much to read and you can skip the boring parts.

After reading things longer than a page is too boring then stick to Slashdot, which isn't mindblowingly awful.

If you read all or some or any of those books and like them and want more suggestions I'd be happy to.

Hahnsoo1

My single non-fiction book recommendation for the past year has been Jared Diamond's 1997 classic "Guns Germs and Steel". It's a great book to read and not just "Cliff Notes", as it observes the "Why?" of things rather than the "How?" throughout human history. He approaches it like an evolutionary biologist, but it makes for more convincing reading than actual history books.

My single fiction book recommendation would be for John Gardner's "Grendel". It's more than just "the other side of Beowulf." A good read, and will lead you to reading other classic books with a different perspective, perhaps.

Improvolone

Interesting. We all get to make very personal recommendations!

Guru: My days with Del Close; Jeff Griggs
Del Close was the teacher behind Belushi, Murray, Myers, Farley, etc. You may have never heard of him, but in the circles he is known he is revered like Socrates. He was also a very fucking strange man. Griggs wrote this book during the last few years of Close's life in which he helped him get things done.
The book is in very short chapters, each one being a self contained story. Perfect bathroom reader or anywhere reader.
http://www.amazon.com/Guru-My-Days-Del-Close/dp/1566636140/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1233877764&sr=8-1
Even if you don't really care about improv, this book is fucking hysterical and gives you an amazing look into the fascinating life of a man who is so famous you never heard of him.

The Moving Body; Jacques Lecoq
Lecoq revolutionized modern movement based theatre. This book talks about where he comes from, his philosophy, and his training.
http://www.amazon.com/Moving-Body-Teaching-Creative-Theatre/dp/0878301410/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1233877896&sr=1-1

Truth in Comedy; Charnaa Halpern, Del Close, Kim Johnson
The original manual for improvisation. Written by the three who pushed the art form into a real art form.
http://www.amazon.com/Truth-Comedy-Improvisation-Charna-Halpern/dp/1566080037/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1233877993&sr=1-1

How to win friends and influence people; Dale Carnegie
The most important book on communication, business, and success that you may ever read
http://www.amazon.com/How-Win-Friends-Influence-People/dp/0671027034/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1233878047&sr=1-1

Men are from Mars, Women a re from Venus; John Gray
My dad suggested I get this book, which is saying something coming from a guy who is on his 5th marriage and has only just read it.
http://www.amazon.com/Men-Mars-Women-Venus-Understanding/dp/0060574216/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1233878131&sr=1-1

Contact Juggling; James Ernest
The only how-to book on contact juggling that you need to read, for the most part.
http://www.amazon.com/Contact-Juggling-James-Ernest/dp/1898591156/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1233878212&sr=1-1

If you are interested in reading plays, Whose Afraid of Virginia Wolf? by Edward Albee and Ubu Roi by Alfred Jarry are a must. Virginia Wolf is one of my favorite plays ever and very easy to get into and start understanding. Ubu Roi is a train wreck and is important because of how low it pushed the bar. Fun fact: People rioted in the middle of its opening it was so bad. So bad, but soooo good. Actually, maybe you shouldn't read it. If you ever hear that someone is producing it though, GO SEE IT.

Kyougu

Plato's The Republic is such a good read. It's a bit dense, and it's one of those books that you have to read carefully, but the ideas presented in the book are mindblowing considering when they were developed.

Fendall

TychoCelchuuu wrote: »

The Demon Haunted World by Carl Sagan

Oooh Carl Sagan I forgot about him. I highly recommend Cosmos for general Space coolness.

Also if you don't want books. How about Youtube linkage? The ENTIRE collection of The Day The Universe Changed by James Burke is online. I think Connections is up there also. Highly reccomended.

Episode 1

Reznik

I found 'The Age of Spiritual Machines' by Ray Kurzweil to be quite interesting, though it's probably pretty outdated by now (it's been about 7 years since I read it). I'd suggest checking out Kurzweil's stuff though. I'm fairly sure he has a new book out.

Crotchless Gorilla Suit

Fendall wrote: »

TychoCelchuuu wrote: »

The Demon Haunted World by Carl Sagan

Oooh Carl Sagan I forgot about him. I highly recommend Cosmos for general Space coolness.

Thirded, on Carl Sagan. I am in the middle of his book, Varieties of Scientific Experience. He is the master of making scientific and rational thinking accessible.

Ellison was also mentioned; that man is a fucking genius.

saggio

Kyougu wrote: »

Plato's The Republic is such a good read. It's a bit dense, and it's one of those books that you have to read carefully, but the ideas presented in the book are mindblowing considering when they were developed.

This. Just start reading Plato. The Gorgias and the Euthyphro are good introductions to his style of writing (dialogues) and deal generally with only one subject area, but in a very profound way.

You'll want to read The Seventh Letter after you read the Republic and before you read The Laws or The Statesman.

Qliphoth

I just finished reading Amusing Ourselves to Death by Neil Postman, its a great look into how tv has changed the world through forcing everything else to be entertaining. It would probably be a good idea to read 1984 by George Orwell and Brave New World by Aldous Huxley as he references those books quite often (and they are both magnificent classic reads).

Elimination

Thus Spoke Zarathustra, by Nietzsche if you are not Christian and dont mind a supremely heavy read. It is my all time favourite book and it literally changed how i live my life.

Beren39

Guns, Germs and Steel was a great suggestion. It's interesting that you wish to expand your repertoire as a polymath. If you have any special interest in Biology I suggest reading Origin of the Species (classic, I prefer first edition for the historical context), Red Queen (analyze and contemplate as you read, don't take as gospel truth), and The Selfish Gene (Richard Dawkins' definitive work). Random works that will 'fill in' many facets of worldly knowledge (warning heavy reading) are Thus Spoke Zarathustra (Nietzsche, man is a bridge to an end, very esoteric), Principia Mathematica (I said heavy reading didn't I?), Magna Carta (read translated unless you know Latin, can be hard to understand but think of it as a democratic precursor), On the Abolition of the Slave Trade (I'd recommend reading a biography on William Wilberforce in relation to this), and An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations (any interest in international economics and it's origins in industrial era Europe? Another esoteric read but it fits in nicely with Guns, Germs and Steel for an interesting analysis as to the how's and why's of the centuries long state of European invictus on the world stage). This may or may not go over your head but it's a wealth of material.

Edit: Ha, partly beaten with regards to Thus Spoke Zarathustra.

Mike Danger

If you're looking for a book with just a ton of science stuff that's quite funny, I loved the hell out of A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson.

saggio

Elimination wrote: »

Thus Spoke Zarathustra, by Nietzsche if you are not Christian and dont mind a supremely heavy read. It is my all time favourite book and it literally changed how i live my life.

People shouldn't read Nietzsche until they've at least read Plato and Kant. All Nietzsche is basically doing is fixating on their philosophies and the effects of their philosophies and attempting to send them into oblivion. Which he does quite effectively, but in a really unorthodox way.

Edit: Also, when you do get to Nietzsche don't bother with Thus Spoke Zarathustra until you've read Ecce Homo, The Gay Science, Beyond Good and Evil, and the Geneaology of Morals.

Hahnsoo1

Mike Danger wrote: »

If you're looking for a book with just a ton of science stuff that's quite funny, I loved the hell out of A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson.

I'll second this, but you can also get an audio version which is VERY good. Hugely entertaining for travel listening when you can't necessarily sit and meditate over a book.

AdditionalPylons

The Prince by Niccolò Machiavelli.

OhtheVogonity

I learned shit-tons about evolutionary biology from The Ancestors' Tale by Richard Dawkins.

Quirk

www.gregpalast.com, or his book Armed Madhouse are pretty interesting reads.

Get a subscription to new scientist for reading on the shitter maybe?

The Clash of Civilization by Samuel P. Huntington is a pretty good read, if possibly slightly hard going at times

Causing Death and Saving Lives: The Moral Problems of Abortion, Infanticide, Suicide, Euthanasia, Capital Punishment, War and Other Life-or-death Choices by Jonathan Glover is a really good read if i remember rightly, and poses some excellent ethical dilemmas