help me pick something smart to read

[jds1201]

while poker can present a fair share of mental challenges, i feel like i've become too one dimensional in my free time. when i'm home and have spare time, i'm usually doing something poker related. playing, reading, dicking around on 2+2, etc. I need something new.

I'm looking for suggestions on some books to read. No trash. Something more stimulating. Historical, biographical, etc. I'd consider fiction if it is a classic type book like you'd read in an English class.

When I'm done with the book, I want to feel smarter. Like I've done something useful.

Thoughts?

[tiltowhirl]

http://www.danbrown.com/
or Hustler's Barely Legal, its close

[Arbitrage]

1776

[Karak567]

Have you read a lot of Faulkner? It does not get much more intellectually stimulating than that.

I suggest As I Lay Dying followed by The Sound and the Fury.

[edfurlong]

The Botany of Desire.

[mediumpimpin]

Freakonomics. Best book Ive read in a really long time.

[T-God]

War and Peace is the greatest thing ever. (See how it enhanced my vocabulary?)

For something shorter, I really liked The Double by Dostoevsky. Also Poor People by the same author. His books don't let you go when you've finished reading them.

[futuredoc85]

The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand is one of my favorites, its not a super-easy read though.

[jds1201]

good suggestions so far. i thought about dostoevsky. i read c&p in high school (late because he assigned it to be read over spring break - WTF?) and i liked it even though I had to rush through it to be allowed back into class. plus i think FD liked to gamb000l.

haven't read any of the suggestions before (except the hustler one of course). Good list to start with. Very diverse suggestions which is cool.

Thanks.

[Dan87]

Lord Byron - Don Juan, its an epic poem rather than a novel, but I enjoyed it.
Joseph Conrad - Heart of Darkness (if youve seen apocalypse now but havent read this book you should read it)
Albert Camus - The Outsider ("l'étranger", literally meaning "the stranger" but in translation refers more to alienation)

Also since you mentioned "english class type stuff", try reading The Canterbury Tales from front to back and making sense of it all, it's challenging