The only reason anyone needs to never read anything by Dan Brown is Dan Brown's writing. I'm terrible at random-access, on-demand list building like this, but

The only reason anyone needs to never read anything by Dan Brown is Dan Brown's writing. I'm terrible at random-access, on-demand list building like this, but I strongly agree about a few of the other things mentioned here: Meditations by Marcus Aurelius Godel, Escher, Bach by Hofstadter Orthodoxy by GK Chesterton The Abolition of Man by CS Lewis Walden by Thoreau A few of the better and more philosophical bits out of the bible (especially in a good modern translation), including Ecclesiastes and 1 Corinthians 13 To this list, I would also add Ralph Waldo Emerson's classic essays, including Self-Reliance and Experience