Hello everyone.
I haven't read much in the way of literature (at all really), but I'm looking to expand my knowledge-base and start getting into it a lot more.

I'm looking for literature suggestions.
What I'm most interested in are intelligent, eye-opening books dealing with matters of philosophy, psychology, or things in that general area.
I'd also prefer that these books be about darker subject matter.

So, anything that is consciousness-raising, that will help broaden my mind is perfect.

Advanced literature only please.

Author's that I'm looking to read into:
Virginia Woolf
William S. Burroughs
Friedrich Nietzsche

List (so far) as recommended by the community:
Camus, Albert (The Stranger) - Arglax
Clarke, Arthur C. (2001) -Redundant
Emerson, Ralph Waldo (Self-Reliance) -Hero
Greene, Robert (Mastery) -Hero
Lovecraft, H.P. (Various Works) -ImmortalPig
McRaney, David (You Are Not So Smart) -ImmortalPig
Miller, Arthur (A View from the Bridge) -Vordred
Nietzsche, Friedrich (Also Sprach Zarathustra) -Hero
Orwell, George (1984, Animal Farm) -Redundant
Poe, Edgar Allan (The Black Cat, A Descent into the Maelstrom, Landor's Cottage, Loss of Breath, King Pest) -MintCat


Thank you to everyone in advance who makes recommendations.

Self-reliance by Ralph Waldo Emerson. An essay explaining the topic of self-reliance and how you can follow your ideas and dreams rather than following the world.

Mastery by Robert Greene. Mastery explains how to become a leader in any field. It also gives historical references to leaders such as Mozart, Einstein and Darwin.

Friedrich Nietzsche's Also Sprach Zarathustra. (English Translation)

Fantasic works I have read so far. Mind you, the last one is kind of poetic, but if you understand the beautiful metaphors, it will open your eyes.

Stephen Pinker- how the mind works

50 Shades of Grey. Will expand your knowledge-base on sex.

To Kill A Mockingbird - Harper Lee

David McRaney, pretty light but great.
If you have any interest in security, Kevin Mitnick has some good books that are very telling.


Also HP Lovecraft is awesome, not sure if you will understand the human psyche from it, but great works.

Short stories by Edgar Allan Poe might be what you're looking for. The Black Cat, A Descent into the Maelstrom, Landor's Cottage, Loss of Breath, King Pest, etc.
They're all pretty dark & depressing.

1984 and Animal Farm by George Orwell are books that might make you feel weird about human nature.
American Pastoral, I Married a Communist, and The Human Stain by Philip Roth are very interesting books as that tell stories about socially uneasy situations.
I also recommend books from Arthur C. Clarke, particularly 2001.
Andymon. A Space Utopia by Angela and Karlheinz Steinmќller is an amazing book about a small community of people who have to work well together in order to get shit done.

You can also try A View from the Bridge by Arthur Miller which also focuses on human nature.

albert camus - l'щtranger

after i read that book, i felt a bit weird/off for days
mind you, i read it in french

i'm also a great fan of dostoyevski, tolstoy, ...
romantic era, you get it