We read for information, with the hope that information we acquire will improve our minds, giving us the means to improve our lives. In the modern Age of Information, more reading material is available than ever, making it increasingly difficult to allocate our reading time efficiently.All books are not created equal, and it follows that all readers are not equal either. To read prodigiously and to read profitably are two very different things. A great amount of time is wasted reading books that are forgotten a short time after they’re completed. But time spent reading books that cultivate intelligence and wisdom is a labor that yields continuous benefit over a lifetime.Although it is certainly necessary, for the purposes of business and everyday life, to read about the latest news and trends, that type of reading is outside the scope of this article. My aim is to encourage the reading of books that permanently increase intelligence and, as a result, improve our chances of leading prosperous and fulfilling lives.1. ScienceScience is not restricted to scientific text books. It includes all books that increase our understanding of the natural world. This includes books on commerce and society, with the unifying theme being the use of evidence to explain events.The great value of these books comes, not from the theories they prove (which will likely be disproved in the future), but from the development of curiosity and the methods of learning. Scientific books teach us how to investigate our intuition and validate it with evidence. They also inspire wonder and respect for the physical world and for our own intellect.2. PhilosophyIn ancient times, science and philosophy grew from the seed of analytical thought. If science teaches us to understand the outside world, philosophy teaches us to understand ourselves. It could very well be called the science of human life.In addition to the classic philosophical works, this category also includes the great religious texts. The Bible, Koran, Bhagavad Gita, etc. are not universaly valuable because of religious dogma, but because of the wisdom and beauty that has inspired billions to live loving, pious lives.It is an unfortunate modern bias that philosophy is considered irrelevant. Although we worship at the shrine of modern technology, this is still a very human world. Philosophy will increase your understanding of human needs and desires, knowledge that is essential for spreading ideas and predicting human behavior.3. Serious FictionI’d like to permanently discredit the belief that fictional works are inferior because they’re only “made up stories”. Only a person totally devoid of imagination could believe that. Great works of fiction contain more truth than any other literary genre because they allow the reader to experience a new reality. Fiction creates experiences that elevate your level of consciousness.Serious fiction also contains a great deal of philosophy, psychology, and history. Truman Capote said that a good novel is worth more than any scientific study. For the purpose of increasing individual human intelligence, I’m inclined to agree.Great fiction is also great language. And as I’ve written before, reading great language is the only way to become a better writer. It will also make you a better thinker, speaker, and conversationalist.4. HistoryHistory feels boring because as children it meant dull text books, memorizing dates, and tedious lectures. And who can blame us? The public schools have done their best to take the humanity out of history.But at it’s best, history is fascinating anecdotes, remarkable characters, and the evolution of ideas that have shaped civilization. By learning about the past we are able to interpret our own times. We are able to recognize modern prejudices and the nature of humanity.Although history may not help us predict the future, it increases self understanding and awareness. It teaches us the timelessness of ideas and morality.5. PoetryI saved poetry for last because convincing you to take it seriously provides the greatest challenge. Poetry arouses images of Shakespearian actors reciting flowery rhymes. It’s no wonder most people think it lacks substance and applicability.But to maintain this opinion is to ignore one of the great joys of human intelligence and underestimate the mysterious power of words. It’s no coincidence that many languages use the same word for poet and prophet.The reading of great poetry produces a feeling that cannot be adequately described, a feeling of awe and reverence for the power of words. Great poetry is the fusion of music and meaning. It is the medium of humanity’s most ancient masterpieces.Poetry sharpens language skills and develops eloquence. Meaning is only half of great language. The best authors write with a style that is both pleasurable and instructive. An appreciation of poetry is essential for reaching this degree of excellence.ResourcesI can’t make a formal set of recommendations. There are just too many great books and my experience is too limited. How could I presume to know your tastes or area of interest?What I can to do is point out a couple places where you’ll be sure to find something of interest. Anyone who follows this site knows that I’m a whore for the old stuff. Strangely, the internet (combined the with public domain) is the best thing that’s happened to old books since the printing press.Bartleby contains an extensive collection of materials that are well formatted for online reading.Project Gutenberg has almost any old book you could want.Of course there are many other great sites you can find with a quick search. Although these sites aren’t great for longterm reading, they can be used to test out books you might be interested in or fill a few spare minutes with quality reading.If you don’t know where to start, I recommend browsing famous quotations. Once you find an author that resonates, learn more about them.You should never read a book just to be able to say that you’ve read it. Reading all the books in the world won’t make you any smarter unless you think about what you read and apply it to your own existence. You should read for self improvement, not to feel educated and superior.Reading, even the most rigorous intellectual type, should be a labor of love. It might be easier to read lighter books, but the moments of discovery created by challenging books are more pleasurable and exhilarating than any suspense novel.If you make an effort to read more profitably, you’ll be rewarded with wisdom, beauty, and many hours of productive leisure.
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Hey John, Thanks for the great article. Your thoughts on reading are so true.
I love the quote by Charlie Jones: ”
You are the same today that you are going to be in five years from now except for two things: the people with whom you associate and the books you read.”
I think every book changes us a bit and adds to our life experience. I have recently become a voracious reader. Mostly non-fiction, but I do need to expand my reading to include some of the genres listed in your article.
Thanks for the great tips!
But time spent reading books that cultivate intelligence and wisdom is a labor that yields continuous benefit over a lifetime.
Reading books mostly cultivates your knowledge, not your intelligence. Sure some writing can make you think - but applying your knowledge and your intelligence to solve problems is the best way to fire up your neurons.
@Kim - Thanks, that’s a great quote and very true.
@orangeguru - You make a good point. Perhaps a better title would have been “Books that Increase Wisdom”. Problem solving is the most important part, as you said. The article agrees with that.
“Reading all the books in the world won’t make you any smarter unless you think about what you read and apply it to your own existence.”
I give aptitude tests, including intelligence, for a living. I can quickly tell who reads and who doesn’t. The amount of education does not matter as much as whether or not they read every day.
Wamylove,
That doesn’t surprise me at all. I think being a reader helped me a lot on my SATS. How else are you supposed to get those analogies?
[…] The 5 Types of Books that Increase Intelligence by John WesleyMany people just read books in the fields they are familiar with. You should enrich yourself by reading other types of books. This article gives you five types of them. […]
Hi
You used the term whore for old the old stuff. That would mean that the old stuff would have to pay you, but actually what you meant that you were a big fan.
Hi John, I appreciate your view on types of books to read. I wanted to add another perspective. Wisdom is available to anyone who seeks awareness and their are many personal journey books that expand our knowing and insight. I just discovered your site and am excited to find others helping people to wake up to their potential. Joseph at www.explorelifeblog.com
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You forgot at least one other category that should be on there - instructional book. If you read “how to play chess” and it leads to a life long love of the game, I’d certainly say you life was enriched!
You make a good point. There are actually a bunch of other categories I considered, but for the sake of brevity I chose to limit it to 5. I think instructional books could be counted as a subset of the science category.
Could books decrease intelligence as well as increase it? You would assume that only trashy books would do so, but that can’t be proven.
A good book is good regardless of its intended audience (sorry for the dichotomy, good=good; I use the word good in two different ways). A good romance will make you feel alive.
I think even trashy books have value if you enjoy them. They’re probably more engaging than television.
John,
You can increase knowledge by reading books but you can’t increase intelligence, unless you mean figuratively. Intelligence is to a large extent fixed.
Bob
Bob,
It all depends on how you define intelligence.
Although our raw cognitive abilities are largely fixed, I think a lot more goes into intelligence. If gaining knowledge can increase you technical skill or your ability to make good decisions, wouldn’t that knowledge make you more intelligent?
Increasing knowledge leads to increased intelligence (or increased wisdom), even if it doesn’t lead to higher IQ.
Intelligence isn’t fixed. Neural nets in our brain are always changing based on synaptic flexibility, this has an impact on intelligence (the ability to solve problems)
John,
I would be interested in knowing the other categories you considered. Perhaps if the list is too long for posting at this location, you could send me some information via email.
Olympia,
I’m not sure I remember them all because I think a lot were obvious subsets of other categories. Puzzle or Brainteaser books, art and design books. photography books, music, instructional books, etc.
Some of these I excluded because they aren’t really books focused on text i.e. art or photography books with a lot of pictures.
I’m sure there are several types of books I couldn’t think of or neglected to mention, so I’d love to see some more suggestions if anyone wants to post them.
Great tips! It’s best to read all genres of writing…that’s the best way to make the most of the reading experience. I find a lot of my favorite books here on this portal.
[…] 1. The 5 Types of Books that Increase Intelligence […]
The Carnival of Deliberate Creation #4: 4/19/07…
Welcome to the fourth edition of the Carnival of Deliberate Creation. This carnival is all about providing resources for those interested in the Law of Attraction. This week we have an excellent (and extensive!) collection of articles and posts present…
Intelligence is probably not fixed. IQ seems to be a well-backed/popular theory at the moment but I think it will be discarded in the future. The seeming “common sense” image, I’d term almost magical, that sees intelligence as completely innated, is most likely flawed and it needs to be replaced with an image of something that people earn.
I believe that the overwhelming majority of human being are made up of the same “hardware”. Our brains, with the exception of a select few who have defects, are the same. It’s what we have learned, or the “software” that counts.
Highly intelligence correlates with better quality input. If the majority of us get bad input…”garbage in, garbage out”.
If you want to do something better, score higher on a test, whether it’s IQ, SAT or whatever…study! If you practice a skill/take a test/do research about a subject, review your work, do it again, repeat, metathink your progress will increase, as will your understanding. That’s how intelligence works regardless of the subject matter.
Bob,
Terman showed that over a lifetime IQ increases a lot–as much as a full standard deviation. And as you learn new neural connections are made, and even some new neurons grow.
But, studying for the IQ test, is –in a very real sense–cheating. The idea is supposed to be to see how well you do with new puzzles. Of course, since others study and the test questions are not secrets—the tests are pretty worthless now.
Penny
SAT measures your social class–to a large extent. It measures whether your parents can afford to send you to SAT prep classes–where they have done statistical analysis and psychological analysis of the exam questions etc. It measures whether you have gone to an elite prep school where they teach to the test. In the old days, when the SAT questions were not published each year, the KAPLAN PREP would have some of their students bring back three questions each from each exam–and compiled a bank of SAT questions. Basicaly–cheating within the rules.
I did extremely well on both SAT and IQ tests as a child–because I read a great deal, and because I loved to solve puzzles ( Hey, that is what math kids do!). But, it meant less because kids who could afford the prep classes did just as well.
If you want to increase your intelligence–never mind studying—work hard puzzles, play chess and GO seriously, and work though theorems and proofs in math books.
Intelligence is not just about learning—it is about SOLVING PUZZLES–and, it does improve ( some) with practice.
Penny
Penny,
Just one thing, intelligence is not just about learning (I agree) — it is about SOLVING PROBLEMS. Puzzles are just one kind of problems.
Problem is a much broader concept that relates closely to the creation process. Creativity is the KEY to intelligence.
And as I said earlier, intelligence changes through our entire life. It depends on each one of us if it grows or diminish. It’s like a muscle that should be trained.
Alejandro
As an online texts junkie, I couldn’t resist putting my two cents in.
Speaking of great books, here’s a list of philosophical works that ought to be a worthwhile challenge for any ambitions reader: http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Atlantis/4360/text/list.txt
Another, similar, list, though with slightly less of an emphasis on classical thought, may be found here, handily hyperlinked to online texts for your ready perusal: http://books.mirror.org/gb.home.html
Happy reading!
Thanks for the links T. I’m a big fan of reading the classics online myself, so new resources are always appreciated.
Several comments.
Art and photography books were mentioned. I’d like to add comic books. It engages kids and they work their way up to short chapter books then keep on devouring novels from the library. I think a love of reading is the first step to reading anything and everything.
As for a source of reading, the local library is great. You can pick up books on any topic. If it turns out to be something you really don’t find interesting, return them tomorrow, otherwise dig in and learn about something new. Same goes for trying out authors and genre of fiction you haven’t tried yet.
As for poetry, add song lyrics as a subcategory. Some of the songwriters out there express themselves really well. When you listen to the lyrics, it is poetry. The music adds a nice touch too
“But at it’s best, history is fascinating anecdotes…”
If you’re writing an article suggesting methods to increase intelligence, it may behoove you to mind your grammar. (The word “it’s” may never be used as you’ve used it).
Thanks for the list. I think that well researched and factual based, self development books are above all these. They incorporate science, history, philosophy, raise awareness and are usually relevant in today’s fast changing world.
Best
Terry
[…] are the 5 types of books that increase […]
[…] The 5 Types of Books that Increase Intelligence In ancient times, science and philosophy grew from the seed of analytical thought. If science teaches us to understand the outside world, philosophy teaches us to understand ourselves. It could very well be called the science of human life. (tags: reading) […]
Neat John…
It’s the hip/bestselling novels that fill up your brain with junk.
I have to force myself to read non-fiction more often.
It’s true that a lot of bestselling novels are just trash, but it’s a bad habit to place limits to your brain. Science fiction (not all) could be very stimulating. I recommend reading Isaac Asimov, just great!
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thank you,
what a great article.
yes, it’s hard to find the books that suit with our needs.
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Michael> Spelling and grammar errors are often a memory issue, not a matter of intellect.
For example, just now I had to look up the spelling of “grammar” b/c I couldn’t remember how to spell it. I have to look it up every single time I write it. And I consider myself to be an intelligent, well-read person. I just have a crappy memory.
[…] The 5 Types of Books that Increase Intelligence […]
I’d have to add, to Serious Fiction, Good/Serious Science Fiction. Nothing has made me question my ideas more than Phillip K. Dick, Robert Heinlein, Frank Herbert and so many others. They explore possiblities that are not available to “Serious Fiction” and do so without being preachy or obstuse.
EJ,
I totally agree. Serious fiction includes good science fiction in my opinion, though certain literary circles might scoff at it.
On why poetry is so powerful, I might suggest Martin Heidegger’s “Poetry, Language, Thought” where he essentially says that the reason why fiction is so powerful is for its poetic moments in which the real relations by which we experience life are recreated through metaphor… well, more or less. -M
Enjoyed the article. Reading is one of these top core activities we can take to keep our brain flexible. Reading books about the brain itself can also be a major advantage. The more we know, the better we can manipulate our brain to function at optimal levels.
If you’re interested, I own a site about brain plasticity and improvement called www.brain-guide.org
There are many other informative sites concerning brain improvement, pickthebrain.com is definetelly one of my favorites…)
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you’re right reading books will increase intelligence thank you Mr.wisley for these usefull tips
how could we write abook?that’s many people’s question and the answer is surely to read books about the subject and you’ll soon know how such a great writer you are.
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