Recommendations to enrich my knowledge. Or at least tell me how to start…
I'm (17M) and I was feeling like I want to choose a path in becoming an author. I already wrote 4 stories but they feel… Anime-like/Webnovel-like.
I just want to know a bit of everything if possible. It's not only about becoming an author but also I want to live my life as knowledgeable as possible.
So can you tell me what should I read if I want to learn about:
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History
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Philosophy
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Mythologies
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Crimes and detective stories
…I already read a few like a lit of Fyodor Dostoevsky's work. The Sherlock Holmes novels. The count of Monte Cristo. Nietzsche's beyond good and evil.
But sometimes(okay like most times) I feel lost in context especially that I'm not native to these books and I'll admit I'm slightly uneducated about history and these stuff.
I write this is the first step always sure. But I feel like while I should "just write" I also need to "just read".
by Spiritual-Second-943
6 Comments
The story of philosophy, by Will Durant, or if that’s too tough, try Sophie’s World, by Jostein Gaarder
Agatha christie is amazing – her books are famous for a reason.
History is hard because there is so much so find what history topics you might be interested in and start there. I personally loved world war 2 history so I read: band of brothers, the rise and fall of the 3rd Reich, Maus, they called us enemy, unbroken, with the old breed, helmet for my pillow, the pacific, several holocaust survival books, etc.
You could also read historical fiction. I like beneath the wide silk skies, Kristin Hannah books, etc. (historical fantasy – the once and future witches)
For philosophy, I would start with Aristotle, great dialogues of Plato, etc.
Mythologies: there are a lot of books – my kids intro was Greek mythology – Percy Jackson I also got them a bunch of kids intro to Greek mythology books so they were familiar with the myths. I like to read other takes on it too so I will even read like Greek mythology based romantasies (the games gods play is the most recent one I did)
Sorry these were not the order you asked! I’m a big fan of finding books you enjoy and learning from them and finding just like one topic at a time and reading all you can about it before it starts to feel like work and then moving to the next topic.
*The Big Picture: On the Origins of Life, Meaning, and the Universe Itself* –Sean Carroll
*The Sense of Style: The Thinking Person’s Guide to Writing in the 21st Century* –Steve Pinker
*Energy and Civilization: A History* –Vaclav Smil
*Debt* –David Graeber
I think an author that you might try out is Robert Graves. His most famous works are definitely I Claudius and its sequel Claudius the God. There are other books as well. I particularly like Hercules My Shipmate and Count Belisarius. He would take care of history and mythology.
A New World Begins by Jeremy D. Popkin
Jane Austen’s Bookshelf by Rebecca Romney
I’m not sure what comprehension level you have (some of these books can be difficult to understand with no prior exposure to the subject matter), but these are the most life-changing books I know off the top of my head.
Everything in this world ties into everything. Knowing why the world works the way it does will help you a great deal with everything else.
-Factfulness by Hans Rosling
-Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind by Yuval Noah Harrari
-A Short History of Medicine by Steve Parker
-The Boy Who Was Raised As A Dog by Bruce D. Perry and Maia Szalavitz
-The Body Keeps the Score by Bessel van der Kolk
-On the Shortness of Life by Seneca
If you ever need more, reach out. Not a lot of people prioritize knowledge and self-improvement, or recognize how important reading is to getting to that end. Yes you do need to “just read” for sure, but what you read also matters immensely.