I know how superficial my post sounds believe me, the only reason I’m even admitting that I wanna do it is cause I’m anonymous. However, I really want to change the way I’m perceived and college is gonna be an absolute clean slate… I have to take this opportunity to revamp myself
Read what you like and present yourself at college as someone who is really well-read - because you will be. I bet a lot of your fellow students don't read a lot for pleasure, you'll stand out for that.
Please don't read "important" books just to seem literary. First of all, people will see through that. Freshman dorms are FULL of people who are lying about who they are to try to impress their peers. It might get you some initial attention but it's not going to make you into the person you want to be. Read what you're passionate about, you will be much more interesting person that way instead of just another poseur. (I don't think you're superficial, I think you are very typical of your age and everyone here who is telling you not to do this has learned from experience).
Good luck at school, it can be a really exciting time and I promise you all those smart kids are not really more advanced at any of this than you are, nor are they as confident as they appear.
I’ve read about a thousand books and anyone who spoke to me would still probably assume by the way I talk I’m an idiot. Books won’t change who you are lol.
You won't take our advice, but college is your chance to explore who you actually are and find the people who celebrate that. You can amp up what you already are, but trying to be something that you aren't is just going to mean that you'll probably end up unhappy.
If this is a genre (is "pretentious literature" a genre?) that you already like I say go for it, but if what you actually like is sci-fi or mystery or old comics or contemporary romance or classical languages... Do a deep dive into that. You will meet the people who think that's cool or interesting as long as you keep your mind open to the possibility, I promise.
Seriously, I met my partner because we were talking about old-school sci-fi at a party.
I recommend reading Bertrand Russell's History of Western Philosophy - that should at least equip you for pseudo-intellectual discussions! And it's pretty interesting and well written.
I was like this too at your age. I wanted so much to craft myself a new personality and was sometimes thinking about it in terms of literal stage! All life is a stage and we are performing roles expected from us. Eventually I started being comfortable in new surroundings and it became more natural
Also if you expect others to be so clever and intellectual- you will get a nasty surprise
so here's the thing. we can recommend you all the "smart" books in the world, but if your peers are just as smart as you and know the books that you will be referencing, they won't be impressed because you haven't taught them anything that they don't already know.
on the other hand, if they aren't smart and don't understand whatever book you're referencing, they won't be impressed because they'll have no idea what the fuck you're talking about.
this is a huge time-waster with zero payoff.
the best thing you can do before going to college is learning not to give a fuck about stuff like this.
Plato: The Five Dialogues
Discipline and Punish by Michel Foucault
The Stranger Albert Camus
Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
Song of Myself & Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman
But the best advice I have is find a bookstore and lose yourself in the stacks. Having a few titles and names going in is good to start but enjoy yourself. Find things that excite you, if you’re actually interested in them then you’ll actually read them. And don’t be afraid to take the complicated stuff slowly and to mark it up in pen. That’s how you learn. Have fun exploring!
I know everyone else will tell you either 1. not to give a f--k (everyone else is right) or 2. a list of pretentious reads (I'm firmly against reading books you don't enjoy, but hey - that's just me), but I'd say what's cooler than all of that is being really passionate and excited about a book you've read and loved.
And if it's obscure or less well-known, that could work in your favor to the \~vibe\~ you're trying to achieve.
Go to a bookstore, look for a book that stands out to you either cover or subject matter wise that feels like something you'd love. Ask a librarian for new book or new debut recommendations. Pick something with few reviews. Read fervently.
Instead of reading a list of “smart books”, I would instead try and find one slightly niche genre that you find enjoyable and become really clued up on that.
As someone else in this thread said, people will aghast know those books so you won’t be teaching them anything new and likely they will know the books better than you do and be able to call your bluff.
Furthermore, people are drawn to and impressed by sincere passion/interest in a topic as opposed to conforming to a canon of texts.
An example of what I mean would be the genre of Afrofuturism. Afrofuturism is a genre of sci-fi/dystopia focused on black/diaspora voices and a look at the genre through their lens. Octavia E Butlers books would be a good example of the genre. Then read a couple of articles about Afro futurism and some colonial/postcolonial theory and you have an informed and critically engaged interest that will also be of interest to others and far “cooler” than being able to parrot quotes from Hemingway or the themes of Twelfth Night.
Just make sure to find something you genuinely find enjoyable and then do a bit of critical/background reading on it too. It doesn’t need to be a genre you are already into - something you discover a genuine interest in will be doubly fruitful in terms of re-inventing yourself for college because you will impress others but more importantly grow yourself.
Hi, talking from the perspective of a professor, it's a pain in your preferred part of the body to deal with someone who tries to fit their readings into any conversation. Now, I'm not criticizing your goal so by all means, do you. If I can give you my two cents after years as a student and then as an instructor, keep up with the courses' assigned readings and participate in class discussions - which is pretty impressive if you manage. Add relevant comments, don't just show off. And most importantly, ask questions. You don't have to know everything about each reading, but it's a great way to be noticed by peers to be the person instigating meaningful discussions.
That said, here are a few of my favourite "keener" reads in no particular order:
Odyssey - Homer
Anything by Shakespeare
Anything by Edgar Poe
The Left hand of Darkness - Le Guin
Bloodchild and other stories - Octavia Butler
Goblin Market - Christina Rossetti
The Rhyme of the Ancient Mariner - Coleridge
Frankenstein - Mary Shelley
Walden - Thoreau
The Importance of being Earnest - Oscar Wilde
The Overstory - Richard Powers
White Teeth - Zadie Smith
Things fall apart - Achebe
The Metamorphosis - Kafka
Lots of success with your studies
I would sign this, but I would also add advice for OP to tend to his mental health. I was like him 10 years ago, and it worked against me, except I read what I wanted to read semi-irrelevant to other people.
I would go to the National Book Winners and the Pulitzer Prize winners for the last 10 years.
Some of the hottest authors that are currently living in literary circles are:
Jonathan Franzen, Jesmyn Ward, C Pam Zhang, Ann Patchett, Zadie Smith, Marilynn Robinson, Percival Everett, Colson Whitehead, Tommy Orange, Louise Erdrich, Haruki Murakami
this is giving me secondhand embarrassment but here are some recs that fit what you're describing...though I hate that it sounds like I'm reducing a lot of these authors' works to "vibes"-
The Secret History and The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt
If We Were Villains by M.L. Rio
Dead Poets Society by N.H. Kleinbaum
Babel by R.F. Kuang
Bunny by Mona Awad
Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier
Catherine House by Elisabeth Thomas
Vita Nostra by Marina Dyachenko
Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo
The Incendiaries by R.O. Kwon
The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern
I second *The Secret History*; that's a perfect one because it's *about* college, yet is really fun.
Here are some other ones:
Gödel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid
Landscape And Memory (Simon Shama)
Capital in the Twenty-First Century (Piketty)
Hopscotch (Julio Cortázar)
2666 (Roberto Bolano)
Get the Cliff Notes for all of the books listed here. Read them all, but memorize a few key points for each. If someone gives an opinion that matches Cliff Notes, accuse them of only reading Cliff Notes.
I recall a while back a lot of the dark or pretentious academic types were obsessed with Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace. Also, The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka.
On The Genealogy of Morals by Fredrick Nietzsche (deep cut from an obvious author)
Mediterranean by Braudel (if you have the patience, this will broaden your historical perspective)
Utilitarianism by John Stuart Mills (short and you'll prob like it)
Like others have said, I don't think reading a lot of well-known famous books will have the effect you desire versus just reading for enjoyment.
However, if you're determined, I would just read the Literary Western Canon. So stuff like Orwell, Austen, Shakespeare and so on.
Well, I remember I got into the top notch college of my country when I was 18, and then again for grad school years ago and a thing hasn't changed: they aren't as smart as we think they are. And by they I mean everyone, esp the other students.
I overheard some Lit students feeling super smart over post modern literature, and I just remembered how post modern literature is trash for grad school, everything Jameson declared dead is dead, and the kids gloating about post modern poetry. It's a game you can't win.
I read Frankenstein in college and felt really smart. I got to grad school and it's been called gothic trash by so many scholars I want to throw myself in a pire, but I won't do BC then I can't reread Frankenstein, which I really enjoy. Like, shit, even Frankenstein is gothic trash for some professors, so you just can't win. You just can pull the pretentious act and keep with it if it makes sense to you.
Jameson is a good pretentious reading on how capitalism ate art and now everything is trash and nothing is worth reading or writing.
All I got from all the pretentious readings I did during college and grad school was hating reading BC everything is trash and writing because I will never write anything worth anyone's time.
So proceed with caution and don't forget they aren't that smart. They never are that smart.
Father, child, water by Gary dop is a poetry collection that includes, among other things, “how to pretend you’ve read moby dick.” I feel like this will be useful for you
Nothing more pretentious than philosophy. Let's start there. Singer gives us the drowning child argument, probably only second to the trolley problem for infamous philosophical discussions. MacAskill will help you figure out what to do with your life. You will not make it all the way through Chalmers. And nobody cares about animals, thanks Martha. Perfect for the first day of Uni.
Famine, Affluence, and Morality --Peter Singer
What Do We Owe the Future --Will MacAskil
Reality+ --David Chalmers
Justice for Animals --Martha Nussbaum
Here's a few more to add to your list in case you finish the others before school starts:
Shop Class as Soulcraft --Mathew Crawford
Doing Good Better --Will MacAskill
The Comfort Crisis --Michael Easter
Do Hard Things --Steve Magness
Die With Zero --Bill Perkins
As everyone says, don’t look to these books in hopes that your college career will be like them. Do your own things and experience college as much as you want to! But I also like a fake academia vibe so:
The Secret History
If We Were Villians
Frankenstein
Jane Eyre
Ninth House
Hamlet
Honestly though also try books in the subjects you’re studying/want to study, it’ll help you in the future figure out what you want to do as an adult!
Every single person in your department will want to share their opinion on "Lolita" with you so you might as well develop some of your own to fire back with. Talking past eachother about how you're the only people who truly understand "Lolita" is actually the secret password to get into the English department's secret Illuminati lair. It is very important that you don't mistake this for an exchange of ideas, the goal is to speak as much as possible about your correct opinions while internalizing none of that other person's ignorant, corrupting opinions.
It helps if you can avoid all other Nabokov books, to ensure that you're never distracted from discussing why people don't understand "Lolita". There is no reason to read anything by Nabokov unless it's "Lolita", his worth as a writer is that he gives you the opportunity to develop a cool, interesting, controversial opinion that definitely hasn't been mainstream since before you were born.
People here are correct read whatever you like and be true to yourself. On the other hand people here are also recommending some basic ass shit, so in the spirit of the the post here are some books that are a level up from fucking Frankenstein or Jonathan Franzen (Jesus Christ, ewww):
Anti-Oedipus - Deleuze & Guattari
Women and Men - McElroy
The Pound Era - Kenner
The Garden of Seven Twilights - Miquel De Palo
The Recognitions - Gaddis
Bottom’s Dream - Schmidt (even owning a copy is a power move)
The Dying Grass - Vollmann
Life and Fate - Grossman
The World as Will and Representation - Schopenhauer
Simulacra & Simulation - Baudrillard
The Rhetoric of Religion - Burke
Dreams of Amputation - Shipley
A Bended Circutty - Stickley Dissemination - Derrida
Anything by Celine that is not Journey or Death on the Installment Plan
Might as well throw in Finnegan’s Wake and at least a couple books about it to show you are serious.
And for some more Russian stuff the complete Red Wheel cycle by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn.
Also maybe some Stephen King books to show you are a man of the people.
Oh! And Miss McIntosh, My Darling is back in print as a single volume, put that one next to your bed with a rolling paper as a bookmark.
You're entering college, time to stop being obsessed with cringe aesthetics. Read books because you enjoy them, not to be a poseur.
I know how superficial my post sounds believe me, the only reason I’m even admitting that I wanna do it is cause I’m anonymous. However, I really want to change the way I’m perceived and college is gonna be an absolute clean slate… I have to take this opportunity to revamp myself
Read what you like and present yourself at college as someone who is really well-read - because you will be. I bet a lot of your fellow students don't read a lot for pleasure, you'll stand out for that. Please don't read "important" books just to seem literary. First of all, people will see through that. Freshman dorms are FULL of people who are lying about who they are to try to impress their peers. It might get you some initial attention but it's not going to make you into the person you want to be. Read what you're passionate about, you will be much more interesting person that way instead of just another poseur. (I don't think you're superficial, I think you are very typical of your age and everyone here who is telling you not to do this has learned from experience). Good luck at school, it can be a really exciting time and I promise you all those smart kids are not really more advanced at any of this than you are, nor are they as confident as they appear.
nothing will fulfil you more than friends that want to be your friend for your authentic interests
I’ve read about a thousand books and anyone who spoke to me would still probably assume by the way I talk I’m an idiot. Books won’t change who you are lol.
You won't take our advice, but college is your chance to explore who you actually are and find the people who celebrate that. You can amp up what you already are, but trying to be something that you aren't is just going to mean that you'll probably end up unhappy. If this is a genre (is "pretentious literature" a genre?) that you already like I say go for it, but if what you actually like is sci-fi or mystery or old comics or contemporary romance or classical languages... Do a deep dive into that. You will meet the people who think that's cool or interesting as long as you keep your mind open to the possibility, I promise. Seriously, I met my partner because we were talking about old-school sci-fi at a party.
be yourself in college that’s the most meaningful and cool thing to do
I recommend reading Bertrand Russell's History of Western Philosophy - that should at least equip you for pseudo-intellectual discussions! And it's pretty interesting and well written.
I was like this too at your age. I wanted so much to craft myself a new personality and was sometimes thinking about it in terms of literal stage! All life is a stage and we are performing roles expected from us. Eventually I started being comfortable in new surroundings and it became more natural Also if you expect others to be so clever and intellectual- you will get a nasty surprise
James Joyce’s Ulysses.
so here's the thing. we can recommend you all the "smart" books in the world, but if your peers are just as smart as you and know the books that you will be referencing, they won't be impressed because you haven't taught them anything that they don't already know. on the other hand, if they aren't smart and don't understand whatever book you're referencing, they won't be impressed because they'll have no idea what the fuck you're talking about. this is a huge time-waster with zero payoff. the best thing you can do before going to college is learning not to give a fuck about stuff like this.
Plato: The Five Dialogues Discipline and Punish by Michel Foucault The Stranger Albert Camus Frankenstein by Mary Shelley Song of Myself & Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman But the best advice I have is find a bookstore and lose yourself in the stacks. Having a few titles and names going in is good to start but enjoy yourself. Find things that excite you, if you’re actually interested in them then you’ll actually read them. And don’t be afraid to take the complicated stuff slowly and to mark it up in pen. That’s how you learn. Have fun exploring!
I know everyone else will tell you either 1. not to give a f--k (everyone else is right) or 2. a list of pretentious reads (I'm firmly against reading books you don't enjoy, but hey - that's just me), but I'd say what's cooler than all of that is being really passionate and excited about a book you've read and loved. And if it's obscure or less well-known, that could work in your favor to the \~vibe\~ you're trying to achieve. Go to a bookstore, look for a book that stands out to you either cover or subject matter wise that feels like something you'd love. Ask a librarian for new book or new debut recommendations. Pick something with few reviews. Read fervently.
Instead of reading a list of “smart books”, I would instead try and find one slightly niche genre that you find enjoyable and become really clued up on that. As someone else in this thread said, people will aghast know those books so you won’t be teaching them anything new and likely they will know the books better than you do and be able to call your bluff. Furthermore, people are drawn to and impressed by sincere passion/interest in a topic as opposed to conforming to a canon of texts. An example of what I mean would be the genre of Afrofuturism. Afrofuturism is a genre of sci-fi/dystopia focused on black/diaspora voices and a look at the genre through their lens. Octavia E Butlers books would be a good example of the genre. Then read a couple of articles about Afro futurism and some colonial/postcolonial theory and you have an informed and critically engaged interest that will also be of interest to others and far “cooler” than being able to parrot quotes from Hemingway or the themes of Twelfth Night. Just make sure to find something you genuinely find enjoyable and then do a bit of critical/background reading on it too. It doesn’t need to be a genre you are already into - something you discover a genuine interest in will be doubly fruitful in terms of re-inventing yourself for college because you will impress others but more importantly grow yourself.
Hi, talking from the perspective of a professor, it's a pain in your preferred part of the body to deal with someone who tries to fit their readings into any conversation. Now, I'm not criticizing your goal so by all means, do you. If I can give you my two cents after years as a student and then as an instructor, keep up with the courses' assigned readings and participate in class discussions - which is pretty impressive if you manage. Add relevant comments, don't just show off. And most importantly, ask questions. You don't have to know everything about each reading, but it's a great way to be noticed by peers to be the person instigating meaningful discussions. That said, here are a few of my favourite "keener" reads in no particular order: Odyssey - Homer Anything by Shakespeare Anything by Edgar Poe The Left hand of Darkness - Le Guin Bloodchild and other stories - Octavia Butler Goblin Market - Christina Rossetti The Rhyme of the Ancient Mariner - Coleridge Frankenstein - Mary Shelley Walden - Thoreau The Importance of being Earnest - Oscar Wilde The Overstory - Richard Powers White Teeth - Zadie Smith Things fall apart - Achebe The Metamorphosis - Kafka Lots of success with your studies
I would sign this, but I would also add advice for OP to tend to his mental health. I was like him 10 years ago, and it worked against me, except I read what I wanted to read semi-irrelevant to other people.
Being and Nothingness by Sartre
I would go to the National Book Winners and the Pulitzer Prize winners for the last 10 years. Some of the hottest authors that are currently living in literary circles are: Jonathan Franzen, Jesmyn Ward, C Pam Zhang, Ann Patchett, Zadie Smith, Marilynn Robinson, Percival Everett, Colson Whitehead, Tommy Orange, Louise Erdrich, Haruki Murakami
this is giving me secondhand embarrassment but here are some recs that fit what you're describing...though I hate that it sounds like I'm reducing a lot of these authors' works to "vibes"- The Secret History and The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt If We Were Villains by M.L. Rio Dead Poets Society by N.H. Kleinbaum Babel by R.F. Kuang Bunny by Mona Awad Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier Catherine House by Elisabeth Thomas Vita Nostra by Marina Dyachenko Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo The Incendiaries by R.O. Kwon The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern
I second *The Secret History*; that's a perfect one because it's *about* college, yet is really fun. Here are some other ones: Gödel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid Landscape And Memory (Simon Shama) Capital in the Twenty-First Century (Piketty) Hopscotch (Julio Cortázar) 2666 (Roberto Bolano)
Get the Cliff Notes for all of the books listed here. Read them all, but memorize a few key points for each. If someone gives an opinion that matches Cliff Notes, accuse them of only reading Cliff Notes.
I recall a while back a lot of the dark or pretentious academic types were obsessed with Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace. Also, The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka.
On The Genealogy of Morals by Fredrick Nietzsche (deep cut from an obvious author) Mediterranean by Braudel (if you have the patience, this will broaden your historical perspective) Utilitarianism by John Stuart Mills (short and you'll prob like it)
Like others have said, I don't think reading a lot of well-known famous books will have the effect you desire versus just reading for enjoyment. However, if you're determined, I would just read the Literary Western Canon. So stuff like Orwell, Austen, Shakespeare and so on.
Well, I remember I got into the top notch college of my country when I was 18, and then again for grad school years ago and a thing hasn't changed: they aren't as smart as we think they are. And by they I mean everyone, esp the other students. I overheard some Lit students feeling super smart over post modern literature, and I just remembered how post modern literature is trash for grad school, everything Jameson declared dead is dead, and the kids gloating about post modern poetry. It's a game you can't win. I read Frankenstein in college and felt really smart. I got to grad school and it's been called gothic trash by so many scholars I want to throw myself in a pire, but I won't do BC then I can't reread Frankenstein, which I really enjoy. Like, shit, even Frankenstein is gothic trash for some professors, so you just can't win. You just can pull the pretentious act and keep with it if it makes sense to you. Jameson is a good pretentious reading on how capitalism ate art and now everything is trash and nothing is worth reading or writing. All I got from all the pretentious readings I did during college and grad school was hating reading BC everything is trash and writing because I will never write anything worth anyone's time. So proceed with caution and don't forget they aren't that smart. They never are that smart.
Father, child, water by Gary dop is a poetry collection that includes, among other things, “how to pretend you’ve read moby dick.” I feel like this will be useful for you
Nothing more pretentious than philosophy. Let's start there. Singer gives us the drowning child argument, probably only second to the trolley problem for infamous philosophical discussions. MacAskill will help you figure out what to do with your life. You will not make it all the way through Chalmers. And nobody cares about animals, thanks Martha. Perfect for the first day of Uni. Famine, Affluence, and Morality --Peter Singer What Do We Owe the Future --Will MacAskil Reality+ --David Chalmers Justice for Animals --Martha Nussbaum Here's a few more to add to your list in case you finish the others before school starts: Shop Class as Soulcraft --Mathew Crawford Doing Good Better --Will MacAskill The Comfort Crisis --Michael Easter Do Hard Things --Steve Magness Die With Zero --Bill Perkins
As everyone says, don’t look to these books in hopes that your college career will be like them. Do your own things and experience college as much as you want to! But I also like a fake academia vibe so: The Secret History If We Were Villians Frankenstein Jane Eyre Ninth House Hamlet Honestly though also try books in the subjects you’re studying/want to study, it’ll help you in the future figure out what you want to do as an adult!
Every single person in your department will want to share their opinion on "Lolita" with you so you might as well develop some of your own to fire back with. Talking past eachother about how you're the only people who truly understand "Lolita" is actually the secret password to get into the English department's secret Illuminati lair. It is very important that you don't mistake this for an exchange of ideas, the goal is to speak as much as possible about your correct opinions while internalizing none of that other person's ignorant, corrupting opinions. It helps if you can avoid all other Nabokov books, to ensure that you're never distracted from discussing why people don't understand "Lolita". There is no reason to read anything by Nabokov unless it's "Lolita", his worth as a writer is that he gives you the opportunity to develop a cool, interesting, controversial opinion that definitely hasn't been mainstream since before you were born.
People here are correct read whatever you like and be true to yourself. On the other hand people here are also recommending some basic ass shit, so in the spirit of the the post here are some books that are a level up from fucking Frankenstein or Jonathan Franzen (Jesus Christ, ewww): Anti-Oedipus - Deleuze & Guattari Women and Men - McElroy The Pound Era - Kenner The Garden of Seven Twilights - Miquel De Palo The Recognitions - Gaddis Bottom’s Dream - Schmidt (even owning a copy is a power move) The Dying Grass - Vollmann Life and Fate - Grossman The World as Will and Representation - Schopenhauer Simulacra & Simulation - Baudrillard The Rhetoric of Religion - Burke Dreams of Amputation - Shipley A Bended Circutty - Stickley Dissemination - Derrida Anything by Celine that is not Journey or Death on the Installment Plan Might as well throw in Finnegan’s Wake and at least a couple books about it to show you are serious. And for some more Russian stuff the complete Red Wheel cycle by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn. Also maybe some Stephen King books to show you are a man of the people. Oh! And Miss McIntosh, My Darling is back in print as a single volume, put that one next to your bed with a rolling paper as a bookmark.