Whatit takes to be well read

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I have never really been a book person in my life, only forced reading for exams and assignments etc.

When someone is regarded as "well read" what does that mean exactly. If I go out and read hundreds of mediocre books would I be considered well read or is it (as I assume) quality over quantity.

Changes in my life have made me want to start reading books, from novels to autobigraphies. I would firstly like to make a list of books that are considered must reads. Such as the Dickens, Shakespears, etc of this world.
 
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Well read normally means they've been to university... well as far as I know. When you go to university you're said to be "Reading" your course. Like this, "Hi what're you doing?" reply = "I'm reading Politics at Cambridge." So someone who's highly educated is said to be well read.

That's my view on it anyway.
 
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Zefan said:
Well read normally means they've been to university... well as far as I know. When you go to university you're said to be "Reading" your course. Like this, "Hi what're you doing?" reply = "I'm reading Politics at Cambridge." So someone who's highly educated is said to be well read.

That's my view on it anyway.

It can apply to anyone who has spent a considerable amount of time learning about a subject. Do not necessarily have to go to university to be well-read on something :)

SiriusB
 
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Just don't make the mistake of pronouncing "read" as a verb, like I heard someone do in the past.

"Well, I really do think I'm well reed", haha. :p

Phil.
 
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If you mean well read in terms of just books and not knowledge, I would say it was someone that has read a majority of the 'classics' - and can comment on all of them.
 
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For me being well read is more about having a good general knowledge of things like history, politics, culture, geography, art & literature and just the world at large generally. I suppose traditionally you gained from reading, hence well read.

I don't think someone who has studied for a degree is necessairly well read, because degress tend to be in a fairly specialised field, and I've met people with degrees who in my mind are very ignorant because they don't have any appreciation of thigns like history and literature or even the world at large
 
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Gilly said:
I'd call myself well read

Four years and 52k of posts'll do that to a man ;)

I take 'well read' to mean an intelligent person who has a broad knowledge base garnered from education (more self-education than scholastic) which he (come on..we all know wimmen only buy glossy magazines to look at the pretty pictures) can use readily and easily.

*n
 
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Wryel said:
If you mean well read in terms of just books and not knowledge, I would say it was someone that has read a majority of the 'classics' - and can comment on all of them.
I think this is closest to how I would rate it. I've read Shakespeare, Dickens, Dostoevsky, Tolkien, Hugo, Tolstoy, Dumas, Orwell, Huxley, Chaucer, Milton, Defoe, Swift, Shelley, Twain, Wilde, Stevenson, Stoker, Steinbeck, etc, etc.

To have read the majority of them and other important authors of (fairly) recent times I'd consider well read.

penski said:
Four years and 52k of posts'll do that to a man ;)
Try 7 years and god knows how many posts :o

Possibly 80k or more.
 
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I don't think anyone could make it even half way through that list of authors without understanding. Either they'd develop the means or they'd get bored.
 
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Gilly said:
I think this is closest to how I would rate it. I've read Shakespeare, Dickens, Dostoevsky, Tolkien, Hugo, Tolstoy, Dumas, Orwell, Huxley, Chaucer, Milton, Defoe, Swift, Shelley, Twain, Wilde, Stevenson, Stoker, Steinbeck, etc, etc.

To have read the majority of them and other important authors of (fairly) recent times I'd consider well read.

Ive read none of those. Well bit of shakespeare and dickens in school but nothing past that.

:o
 
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Balddog said:
Ive read none of those. Well bit of shakespeare and dickens in school but nothing past that.

:o

Nothing to be embarrassed about. I've been a bookworm as long as I can remember.
Mellownatts said:
I would say that it means that someone has a vast amount of knowledge in a particular subject.
Surely that would be a specialist in a subject. Not someone who is well read.
 
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Ive always taken well read to mean knowledge and understanding in a number of subjects...IE something along the lines of traditional wisdom.
 
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Gilly said:
Nothing to be embarrassed about. I've been a bookworm as long as I can remember.
.

I read a lot but I guess I dont share the same opinions of great authors :o

Id like to think im averagely smart but who knows.
 
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So just an antonym of wise? Where does the reading come into it?

Balddog said:
I read a lot but I guess I dont share the same opinions of great authors :o
But, then again, you might. You won't know unless you read their opinions though :p
 
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penski said:
I take 'well read' to mean an intelligent person who has a broad knowledge base garnered from education (more self-education than scholastic) which he (come on..we all know wimmen only buy glossy magazines to look at the pretty pictures) can use readily and easily.

*n

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Gilly said:
So just an antonym of wise? Where does the reading come into it?


But, then again, you might. You won't know unless you read their opinions though :p

Well you cant gain knowledge and understanding unless you read the stuff...although I guess it depends on the subjects involved. Reading the great works of fiction is one thing, but I dunno..

Would you consider someone who has extensive knowledge of world politics as being well read? Even though they hadnt read the works of all those great authors?
 
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