I like to binge read and self educate. When coming to a new topic (let’s say History of Western Art or Pharmacology) I’ve never found a single place where I could look up the key texts that a university student would be reading to get into the subject. Usually I search around and find an actual university’s reading list or something equally well put together but it’s hit and miss.
Had anyone ever come across a single place that holds this kind of info over a wide range of subjects? (Books specifically)
I have no idea why none of you are mentioning libgen.
Thank you, never seen that before
Had anyone ever come across a single place that holds this kind of info over a wide range of subjects? (Books specifically)
Without info on what you have already tried, it’s a but difficult to suggest anything:
- Have you tried your public library? Edit: it’s a great place to get info on almost any topic, and to find books (1).
- Look up whatever topic you’re interested in on Wikipedia and borrow the references they mention? There are a lot of books referenced there and you can borrow them from your public library, buy them from a used book shop, from online…
- Ask people?
- Read an Introductory book and from that use the references they should provide to read further. Which also means books without references have close to no interest unless you’re looking to learn more about their author’s opinion on whatever the subject is more than about the subject itself ;)
I’ve quit university many, many decades ago what I tend to do is search for people knowing the topic and see what book they consider interesting. I will pick one, or two, read them and from there pick other books they reference.
I will also use references suggested by persons I admire. I just read that French writer (I’m French) saying good things about two other French authors on a topic I’m interested in, whose names I had never heard of. I noted their names and the title of their books and will find a copy of each of them.
1: as long as your public library is not censoring stuff, obviously.
Thanks
Am in the UK so am safe from that for the time being…
Yeah pick your favorite university, lookup the course catalog for your subject of interest, then for each class grab the syllabus/reading list for that class.
Use your favorite online resources to get those books/papers.
Pretty much what I do. Sometimes I find the list isn’t public or the course is more niche than in interested in.
Best thing to do is read … and read as much and as often as you can. Especially when you are young and under the age of 30 as all that reading will shape and guide the test of your life and you will remember and be impacted by everything you take in.
Every wikipedia article has a bibliography at the end.
I find it’s more often than not ‘heavyweight’ texts, especially on history articles where really really niche researchers have books or papers on the matter. That’s useful. But I’m generally more after what a professor would assign first year students as an introduction to The Romantics or English Painters. Sometimes Wikipedia has that, sometimes it has “Brush techniques employed by Turner in the summer of 1798 by Prof George Bannister, Prof Rodger Walker et al.”
they look like kids’ stuff, but they’re pretty deep dives into the topic they’re talking about
I’ve never seen such a thing.
I usually just read the Wikipedia article, and then check the sources at the bottom to dive a little deeper but they usually aren’t books.
