Novels for improving Verbal MCat?

[Sinbadthesailor]

Those of you that have scored 12+ on the verbal, please state some of your favorite books! Thanks.

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[DD214_DOC]

Those of you that have scored 12+ on the verbal, please state some of your favorite books! Thanks.

Is my 11 close enough to 12?

Honestly it is more natural ability than studying, but for the sake of answering your question:

Jarhead
The End of Faith
A Table in the Presence


I read exclusively non-fiction and philosophy books.

 

[jebus]

I don't read books, I guess the last ones I read were "the world is flat" by tom freidman and "on bullshi†" by harry frankfurter and they were good books. But I read the following websites or their affiliated publications religiously:
NYTimes.com
IHT.com
BBCNews.com
washingtonpost.com
wired.com
economist.com
wsj.com
latimes.com
guardian.co.uk
times.co.uk
cnn.com
cbc.com
gizmodo.com
pitchforkmedia.com
Just set up an RSS reader and it becomes really easy to read them. You get to avoid all of the navigation and just jump to the articles.
I used to have a subscription to science & nature, too.

 

[Sinbadthesailor]

Hey thanks! Books seem weird, but ok.

I actually never read any newspapers... I just looked at economist. I have 2 problems i need to overcome:
1) i dont want to read it online(hurts my eyes), so how do i do it offline?
2) it seems kind of trashy and too political. though i can deal with that, if it really helps to read about a poor hick vs a poor african surgeon. problem 1 is more serious.

 

[Mr. Tee]

1) i dont want to read it online(hurts my eyes), so how do i do it offline?

You can buy the weekly magazine at your newsstand ($5 each) or get a subscription.

 

[Gavanshir]

I don't read books, I guess the last ones I read were "the world is flat" by tom freidman and "on bullshi†" by harry frankfurter and they were good books. But I read the following websites or their affiliated publications religiously:
NYTimes.com
IHT.com
BBCNews.com
washingtonpost.com
wired.com
economist.com
wsj.com
latimes.com
guardian.co.uk
times.co.uk
cnn.com
cbc.com
gizmodo.com
pitchforkmedia.com
Just set up an RSS reader and it becomes really easy to read them. You get to avoid all of the navigation and just jump to the articles.
I used to have a subscription to science & nature, too.

What's an RSS and how to set it up?

 

[jebus]

What's an RSS and how to set it up?

This is actually a pretty involved question.
Here's a decent answer (http://www.cnn.com/services/rss/about/content.html). For now, just look here: http://www.google.com/reader/things/intro
If you then click here:http://www.google.com/reader/finder?q=new+york+times, you'll see some buttons that say "subscribe". This gives you the NYTimes homepage RSS feed. They have separate feeds for OP/ED, International, etc. http://www.google.com/reader/finder?q=nytimes+op/ed
You can see a list of other feeds at NYTimes here: http://www.nytimes.com/services/xml/rss/index.html
Anyplace you see this

(go to the bottom of the NYTimes homepage, for instance, or here (http://www.cnn.com/services/rss/) for CNN, you can copy that address to an RSS reader (also called an aggregator).
I'm sorry, I'm tired as hell and these aren't good answers. I apologize. I'll answer your question in greater detail tomorrow. Maybe someone else will be able to answer it, too.
And sinbad, if it seems trashy and political don't read it. The important thing is not content - the important thing is that you read "good writing" and think about it critically in a manner commensurate with the MCAT. I enjoy news and politics. The publications I chose are examples of quality writing. (Say what you will about the NYTimes' content, but you must concede the writing is stellar.) You'll find good writing on any subject whether in novels, newspaper articles, short stories, essays, or scientific journal articles. Read about subjects you enjoy. Read them critically, think about them, but most importantly enjoy whatever it is you choose to read.

 

[Sinbadthesailor]

This is actually a pretty involved question.
Here's a decent answer (http://www.cnn.com/services/rss/about/content.html). For now, just look here: http://www.google.com/reader/things/intro
If you then click here:http://www.google.com/reader/finder?q=new+york+times, you'll see some buttons that say "subscribe". This gives you the NYTimes homepage RSS feed. They have separate feeds for OP/ED, International, etc. http://www.google.com/reader/finder?q=nytimes+op/ed
You can see a list of other feeds at NYTimes here: http://www.nytimes.com/services/xml/rss/index.html
Anyplace you see this

(go to the bottom of the NYTimes homepage, for instance, or here (http://www.cnn.com/services/rss/) for CNN, you can copy that address to an RSS reader (also called an aggregator).
I'm sorry, I'm tired as hell and these aren't good answers. I apologize. I'll answer your question in greater detail tomorrow. Maybe someone else will be able to answer it, too.
And sinbad, if it seems trashy and political don't read it. The important thing is not content - the important thing is that you read "good writing" and think about it critically in a manner commensurate with the MCAT. I enjoy news and politics. The publications I chose are examples of quality writing. (Say what you will about the NYTimes' content, but you must concede the writing is stellar.) You'll find good writing on any subject whether in novels, newspaper articles, short stories, essays, or scientific journal articles. Read about subjects you enjoy. Read them critically, think about them, but most importantly enjoy whatever it is you choose to read.

Thanks. So which of these is supposed to be the highest quality newspaper: wallstreet journal, economist, or nytimes??
I'll try to go to the library when the semester begins and spend an hour or so every day to just read 1 newspaper.

 

[bonovox]

I fit the criteria and concur with those who recommend the NY Times. My Verbal score skyrocketed because of it.

An hour a day. Read various sections, ie one or two front page stories, a science/health article, international article, an arts article, an editorial/opinion. Then, in the car or during meal breaks, try to recall details and check your understanding of what you read that morning.

Also, do TPR verbal practices. As many as you can.

 

[chilon85]

Well I have not officially taken the MCAT yet, but my Verbal Reasoning scores have consistently been on/around 15 so far so hope this helps.

My all time favourite books are:

1. One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez.
2. Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky
3. Sense and Sensibility/Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
4. The Sound and the Fury by William Faulkner

One's that I have recently read are:

1. The entire Dan Brown series...although I do have to say that The Da Vinci Code and Angels and Demons are probably the best.
2. Journey from the Land of No by Roya Hakakian

I know that this seems obvious, but picking up all of these books and the ones that people have suggested and trying to get through them may not improve your score.

I don't know if you like to read but just have had problems with VR or if you don't like to read and therefore are concerned about your VR score, but if you are not a person who actually reads a lot to begin with and don't really enjoy it then it might be better to go through a lot of VR practice exams so that you become used to the types of questions they ask.

Also, try to read a lot of reputable scientific magazines/journals, or at least the news everyday since these articles still use the same type of language that you see on VR but are shorter and often easier to "handle."

Hope this helps. Good luck.

 

[Mr. Tee]

I don't know if you like to read but just have had problems with VR or if you don't like to read and therefore are concerned about your VR score, but if you are not a person who actually reads a lot to begin with and don't really enjoy it then it might be better to go through a lot of VR practice exams so that you become used to the types of questions they ask.

I agree....it's all about dissecting and answering the questions.

 

[Sinbadthesailor]

Well I have not officially taken the MCAT yet, but my Verbal Reasoning scores have consistently been on/around 15 so far so hope this helps.

My all time favourite books are:

1. One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez.
2. Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky
3. Sense and Sensibility/Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
4. The Sound and the Fury by William Faulkner

One's that I have recently read are:

1. The entire Dan Brown series...although I do have to say that The Da Vinci Code and Angels and Demons are probably the best.
2. Journey from the Land of No by Roya Hakakian

I know that this seems obvious, but picking up all of these books and the ones that people have suggested and trying to get through them may not improve your score.

I don't know if you like to read but just have had problems with VR or if you don't like to read and therefore are concerned about your VR score, but if you are not a person who actually reads a lot to begin with and don't really enjoy it then it might be better to go through a lot of VR practice exams so that you become used to the types of questions they ask.

Also, try to read a lot of reputable scientific magazines/journals, or at least the news everyday since these articles still use the same type of language that you see on VR but are shorter and often easier to "handle."

Hope this helps. Good luck.

thanks! i've decided that i'll mostly read those newspapers/journals now. except i'll finish the novels that i've recently started reading.

as for reading, i indeed never liked to read. but i started reading last summer(to impress a girl), and now i wish i had started several years earlier. so far, i read about 2000pages of leisurely novels since sept1. and i never read any newspapers, never really had any interest. when my current novels end, i'll have done another 1000pages, and after that i dont intend to read any leisurely literature untill after august.

 

[ND2005]

One's that I have recently read are:

1. The entire Dan Brown series...although I do have to say that The Da Vinci Code and Angels and Demons are probably the best.

I just have to interject on this one -- please don't read crap pulp fiction Dan Brown novels to try and improve your MCAT score. They really won't help. Unless the MCAT added a 4th section on annoying cliffhangers and obvious plot twists that I haven't heard about.

 

[chilon85]

I just have to interject on this one -- please don't read crap pulp fiction Dan Brown novels to try and improve your MCAT score. They really won't help. Unless the MCAT added a 4th section on annoying cliffhangers and obvious plot twists that I haven't heard about.

The question posed on this thread was aimed at determining the favourite books of individuals that are doing/did well on VR. I mentioned the Dan Brown novels as ones that I had read recently, in addition to my list of favourites, and did not suggest that specfically reading them would help improve a person's MCAT score.

Anyway, maybe you were joking and I am taking what you said too seriously....I blame it on the lack of sleep.

 

[chilon85]

thanks! i've decided that i'll mostly read those newspapers/journals now. except i'll finish the novels that i've recently started reading.

as for reading, i indeed never liked to read. but i started reading last summer(to impress a girl), and now i wish i had started several years earlier. so far, i read about 2000pages of leisurely novels since sept1. and i never read any newspapers, never really had any interest. when my current novels end, i'll have done another 1000pages, and after that i dont intend to read any leisurely literature untill after august.

Good luck!

 

[Wrigleyville]

Reading novels would be a good strategy if you were in grade school and looking to raise your score 10 years down the road when you got to college. It is too late to just read books once you get to the MCAT study stage. Do lots of passages.

 

[Mr. Tee]

Reading novels would be a good strategy if you were in grade school and looking to raise your score 10 years down the road when you got to college. It is too late to just read books once you get to the MCAT study stage. Do lots of passages.

True...but when you aren't doing passages, it may be a good idea to read novels/news anyway, just to keep your neurons active. Just by reading one novel, my reading efficiency has increased (perhaps I was rusty?) and my verbal scores have improved already. If you can manage to squeeze in such outside reading, you will build stamina and not get burned out from reading 9 passages in a row. However, I concede that it's more important to know how to answer the questions.

Just my 2 cents...

 

[thegymbum]

Nothing against novels; I like to read them in my free time, but as for improving mcat scores, you're probably better off reading journal articles on subjects like humanities, literary criticism, political issues, etc. That would be much more beneficial for becoming accustomed to the types of passages you're likely to encounter on the mcat

 

[bonovox]

Dont waste your time with the novels. Do NY Times (or other papers/journals at this level) and practice passages.

 

[jebus]

Dont waste your time with the novels. Do NY Times (or other papers/journals at this level) and practice passages.

I agree with Mr. Hewson - see my earlier list. The important thing at this stage is going to be MCAT-like prep passages. Novels are just too long/not-germane to the MCAT. But critical reading is critical reading. Make sure you think about the passages in an appropriate manner! Even if you read novels (seriously, you will want to read about a lot of often disparate stuff in a short space because that's the way the MCAT is. They cover a lot of material in a few paragraphs.) make sure you think about it the right way!

 

[Writer1985]

Also check out ArtsAndLettersDaily.com. They're kind of like Google News: consolidate and link articles, book reviews, and op/ed pieces from top-quality magazines and newspapers.

 

[futuredo32]

The Economist, Scientific American helped me.

 

[Law2Doc]

Those of you that have scored 12+ on the verbal, please state some of your favorite books! Thanks.

favorite books won't help. You need to be able to read and comprehend complicated, facts intensive, and sometimes convoluted drivel. And a lot of it. Highbrow economic and scientific publications and business section newspaper articles are your best bet.

 

[QuantumMechanic]

Those of you that have scored 12+ on the verbal, please state some of your favorite books! Thanks.

Repeat after me: Examkrackers 101 Verbal Passages.

This and a bunch of mcat practice tests will be your best friends if you want a 12+ on verbal.

 

[anon-y-mouse]

Read "Life of Pi"... I recently read this, it's a fun read and an excellent book (won the booker prize) and every few pages, I was like "wow, this coud easily be an MCAT verbal passage".

 

[golftrippy]

Read "Life of Pi"... I recently read this, it's a fun read and an excellent book (won the booker prize) and every few pages, I was like "wow, this coud easily be an MCAT verbal passage".

Heck I've only really read 2 or 3 books in my life and got a 12 on verbal and up to a 14 on some practices...I think the verbal is more of an innate ability thing.

By 2-3 books I mean for pleasure reading of course...meaning I hate to read

 

[masterMood]

Life of Pi is an excellent book.

Stupid question but no so stupid question, what is "critical thinking"? how is the the thinking critical? Are you reading an article or book like you are a professor grading a paper or a reviewer? What if you're the type of person who doesn't read for criticizing the book and just read to become engaged in the story. and when you get engaged in the story (reading for pleasure), you don't necessarily realize the author's message.

also, how do you guys read. Do you read really fast so that you can't speak inside your mind? I try doing this but i find my reading comprehension to decrease from doing this.

 

[anon-y-mouse]

...

 

[ND2005]

Life of Pi is an excellent book.

Stupid question but no so stupid question, what is "critical thinking"? how is the the thinking critical? Are you reading an article or book like you are a professor grading a paper or a reviewer? What if you're the type of person who doesn't read for criticizing the book and just read to become engaged in the story. and when you get engaged in the story (reading for pleasure), you don't necessarily realize the author's message.

also, how do you guys read. Do you read really fast so that you can't speak inside your mind? I try doing this but i find my reading comprehension to decrease from doing this.

I generally read pretty fast in all situations. Not speed reading or anything. But I thought it helped with the MCAT, esp. VR. Never had any time concerns.