Top Ten Books to Prepare You for College

Regardless of your goals for college or your ideas on a major, your first year or two is going to be spent taking “general education” courses. This means, whether you’re a math major or a philosophy major, you’re probably going to have to take a literature class, a writing/composition class. Regardless of your major, what you learn in these classes is going to pertain to the rest of your college career and the rest of your life. Reading and writing skills are applicable to almost every career out there.

In order to prepare you for these courses, you are generally required to take 4 years of English/Language Arts in High School. Likely, these classes focus on grammar, literature and scholarly writing. Though these things seem useless to a future chemistry major, the lessons you learn in these classes will be applied throughout your schooling and throughout your career.

The following books are the top ten books to read to prepare you for the new learning processes and writing choices many of your college classes will ask you to make. Some texts, you may have already read in high school. Some, you may read in your coursework in college. All are different and from different eras and writers, but all share one common thread: an important lesson, ideology or foundation that will help you in your college career.

1. Hamlet, William Shakespeare: Though technically a play, you’ll probably read Hamlet in high school. It is absolutely imperative to be familiar with Shakespeare’s works as you enter your college coursework. Not to say you must understand every word of every Shakespearian play, merely to say know a few plays, what they’re about, and why they are timeless classics. With Hamlet, you have the classic Shakespearean tragedy. Hamlet’s battle with his own demons poised against the dramatic events happening around him make it the best choice for Shakespeare. If you’re reading it on your own, consult your teacher or someone knowledgeable in the area for help with difficult areas.