As the summer comes to an end and counterfeit academia requires our mind's attention once again, stimulating our thought processes prior to August 25, has become necessary. To do this, one must detach from technology and engage in either fine or performing arts, mathematics, reading, writing or even cooking. Seeing as though college is chock-full of useless mandatory novels, reading may be your best bet in preparation for this school year. Reading has been proven to stimulate intellectual growth, expand vocabulary and create stronger emotional control. Below is a list of my top 10 favorite books that will be sure to help energize your brain before you go back to school and have your teachers kill it.
1. "I Wear The Black Hat" by Chuck Klosterman
Masterfully blending cultural analysis with self-interrogation and imaginative hypotheticals, I Wear the Black Hat delivers perceptive observations on the complexity of the antihero (seemingly the only kind of hero America still creates). As the Los Angeles Times notes: “By underscoring the contradictory, often knee-jerk ways we encounter the heroes and villains of our culture, Klosterman illustrates the passionate but incomplete computations that have come to define American culture—and maybe even American morality.” I Wear the Black Hat is a rare example of serious criticism that’s instantly accessible and really, really funny. - Amazon
2. "Steal This Book" by Abbie Hoffman
A driving force behind the social revolution of the 1960s and 1970s, Hoffman inspired a generation to challenge the status quo. Meant as a practical guide for the aspiring hippie, Steal This Book captures Hoffman's puckish tone and became a cult classic with over 200,000 copies sold. Outrageously illustrated by R. Crumb, it nevertheless conveys a serious message to all would-be revolutionaries: You don't have to take it anymore. "All Power to the Imagination was his credo. Abbie was the best." - Studs Terkel
3. "Potato Chips for Breakfast" by Cynthia G. Scales
This book on growing up in an alcoholic family is exquisitely written. I knew this author for many years and never realized the magnitude of her problems with her family. I knew of some of the problems, but was shocked to read this book and realize that the author made it out alive! Her high school years were especially painful and I am just so delighted that she wrote this fabulously engrossing book. You will be glad that you read it. It will never go out of date, as the topic is timeless. - Amazon
4. "Tangled" by Carolyn Mackler
"...Jena, Dakota, Skye, and Owen are all there for different reasons, but at Paradise their lives become tangled together in ways none of them can predict. Paradise will change them all." - CarolynMacker.com
5. "Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs" by Chuck Klosterman
Whether deconstructing Saved by the Bellepisodes or the artistic legacy of Billy Joel, the symbolic importance of The Empire Strikes Backor the Celtics/Lakers rivalry, Chuck will make you think, he’ll make you laugh, and he’ll drive you insane—usually all at once. Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs is ostensibly about art, entertainment, infotainment, sports, politics, and kittens, but—really—it’s about us. All of us. As Klosterman realizes late at night, in the moment before he falls asleep, “In and of itself, nothing really matters. What matters is that nothing is ever ‘in and of itself.’” Read to believe. - Amazon
6. "Brave New World" by Aldous Huxley
Aldous Huxley is rightly considered a prophetic genius and one of the most important literary and philosophical voices of the 20th Century, and Brave New World is his masterpiece. From the author of The Doors of Perception, Islandand countless other works of fiction, non-fiction, philosophy, and poetry, comes this powerful work of speculative fiction that has enthralled and terrified readers for generations. Brave New World remains absolutely relevant to this day as both a cautionary dystopian tale in the vein of the George Orwell classic 1984, and as thought-provoking, thoroughly satisfying entertainment. - Amazon
7. "Dante's Divine Comedy" by Seymour Chwast
A revolutionary of visual culture, Seymour Chwast is one of the most influential illustrators of the last half century. In his version of "Dante's Divine Comedy", Dante and his guide Virgil don fedoras and wander through noirish realms of Hell, Purgatory, and Paradise in this classic satire of human foibles. Humorous, ironic, political, and utterly unique, this "Divine Comedy" is a comics masterpiece. - Amazon
8. "The Screwtape Letters" by C.S Lewis
The secret's out. You've stumbled upon a mysterious series of recorded conversations between two demons tasked with securing the demise of their human "patients." Featuring a top-notch cast, cinema-quality sound and more than four hours of delightfully disturbing (and often diabolically humorous) entertainment, The Screwtape Letters will open your eyes and ears to the devil's schemes — and to the One who has overcome them. - Screwtape.com
9. "Letters from a Nut" by Ted L. Nancy
Who is Ted L. Nancy? He is, in reality, a supremely off-kilter alter ego who sends patently ridiculous letters and queries to corporate honchos, entertainment conglomerates, national publications, politicians, celebrities and heads of state. Letters From a Nut is an insanely inspired, truly madcap collection of Nancy correspondence, a laugh-out-loud-in-public places aggregation of official - and officially certifiable - requests, complaints, fan mail and questions that could not possibly have been taken seriously...but, amazingly, were! - Amazon
10. "The Hobbit" by J.R.R Tolkien
...Set in a time "Between the Dawn of Færie and the Dominion of Men," The Hobbit follows the quest of home-loving hobbit Bilbo Baggins to win a share of the treasure guarded by the dragon, Smaug. Bilbo's journey takes him from light-hearted, rural surroundings into more sinister territory. The story is told in the form of an episodic quest, and most chapters introduce a specific creature, or type of creature, of Tolkien's geography. By accepting the disreputable, romantic, fey and adventurous sides of his nature and applying his wits and common sense, Bilbo gains a new level of maturity, competence and wisdom. The story reaches its climax in the Battle of the Five Armies, where many of the characters and creatures from earlier chapters re-emerge to engage in conflict... - Amazon