Will reading make me smarter? I want to expand my vocabulary

>>9474972
Maybe after a long time. During that whole period you will be a pretentious psued until you settle into your intellectual peak.

My advice: Don't try to only read the most difficult books purely for the sake of having done it. You can do that occasionally, and you will learn, but you get so much more out of good practice and working at your competitive level than mindlessly reading words for 800 pages.

How much do you read now?

>>9474972

Brian gains are even harder to achieve than muscle gains.

Reading will make you smarter but only after like 40 years of dedicated reading, and even then there's a 90% chance that you'll just turn into a pseud

>>9475201

Also if you decide to embark on the /lit/ life yet you remain monolingual, then you are automatically relegated to perpetual pseudhood

>>9474972
Read about things that interest you and are useful in your life, like mathematics treatises or medical texts or history works or whatever.

Most of philosophy won't help you any--just find one good philosopher or a religious doctrine to give your life purpose or to nullify the concept of purpose altogether so you don't have to deal with the problem yourself and live as a functioning human being.

Most of the fiction talked about on /lit/ should have been read in high school or university. It's only to have cultural know-how and better understand the framework of the society in which you live. Past that, there's no reason to read it other than for fun. It won't help you get "smarter".

If you want to sound smart in conversation, don't articulate any of your own thoughts. Just ask deep penetrating questions in reaction to whatever anyone else said. You'll either intimidate or excite them due to your intellect.

>>9474972
I'm assuming you're talking about literature, since this is a literature board.

define smarter.
>Will it raise your IQ?
Nope, study Math, Physics or Philosophy
>Will it make you more knowledgeable?
About books, yes, but if you want to be more knowledgeable, the sort of guy who idiots think are smart, the one who has a lot of facts to spit out at dinner time, then read non-fiction.
>Will it make me more cultured?
This is closer to what reading fiction will help with. Reading fiction should be more of a lifestyle, a permanent add-on to your world, rather than something that you simply try-out to get "brain gains" or whatever retarded shit that people are saying these days. It allows you to closely examine your inner world, whether it be your own sensations, your connection to life, your soul, your religious beliefs, your fears and hopes and dreams, and, if it's a really deep book, it might get to existential concerns and such (I don't mean existential as in the philosophical tradition termed existentialism, but existential as in examining issues that are as fundamental as it gets). The literary life is one of the easiest ways of confronting the spiritual aspect of your life, and whether you believe in this word or not, you will probably understand at least what I'm getting at if you read a lot. Does this make you smarter? I don't know, probably not. Your vocabulary will improve, and you will be able to write better, but you probably won't be able to solve problems faster, or to beat someone at chess, or to beat someone in a debate that much easier, but it will enhance your life in a way that nothing else will. It has for me.

It seems like you're just approaching fiction with the idea that it will somehow improve your personality, as a means to stroke your ego, which is fine, most people do it. But I hope that if you continue down this path you will realize that fiction does a lot more than that.

A few tips:
1. Do NOT start out with the harmful mindset that the quantity of books is what is important, tallying the number of books that you've read on your little goodreads account for a little tinge of satisfaction and a stroke of the ego.
2. It is the reader and the quality of books that is important, not the number of books. Study books carefully, do not rush through them. Read and reread them. Some of the greatest books take multiple exposures to truly appreciate them.
3. The greats are great for a reason. In all likelihood, if you did not "get" a classic book, like Moby Dick, it is your fault, and not the authors. don't be arrogant. Once you have become an experienced reader, and you will probably know when this is the case, deep down, you will be able to see the flaws in this books, but I hope you approach them with an open mind open first exposure.
4. Be patient. No one starts out as an experienced reader. Do not start out with Finnegans Wake until you know you are ready. It will truly be a waste of time.
5. Start with the Greeks.

>>9475218

>he thinks literature = fiction

>>9475218
*open mind upon first exposure

>>9475218
>but you probably won't be able to solve problems faster, or to beat someone at chess, or to beat someone in a debate that much easier
https://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/jan/23/can-reading-make-you-smarter
https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-athletes-way/201401/reading-fiction-improves-brain-connectivity-and-function
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2529855/How-book-really-change-life-Brain-function-improves-DAYS-reading-novel.html
http://examinedexistence.com/does-reading-make-you-smarter/
https://www.bustle.com/articles/68860-7-ways-reading-affects-the-brain-from-increased-empathy-to-feeling-metaphors
http://ideas.time.com/2013/06/03/why-we-should-read-literature/

>>9474972
read the kind of shit you wanna talk about. play the kind of games you wanna talk about. easy.

>>9475256
>theguardian
>psychologytoday
>dailymail
>bustle
>ideas.time
wow, maybe cite some real sources next time champ.