Line #70 Main/GeniusBookClub


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9	[[quoteright:350:[[WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/lisa_reading_scientific_american.jpg]]]]
10	[[caption-width-right:350:And it's her idiot father who works at a nuclear power plant. Go figure.]]
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15
16	->''"I'm very important. I have many leather-bound books, and my apartment smells of rich mahogany."''
17	-->-- '''Ron Burgundy''', ''Film/AnchormanTheLegendOfRonBurgundy''
18
19	One common way to show that a character is exceptionally smart is to portray them reading classical literature or something heavily technical and science-y. Additionally, characters are always reading the heavy bound versions of the book so we can easily see ''what'', exactly, it is that they're reading -- otherwise, why even bother putting the book there in the first place?
20
21	Expect the titles referenced to be from SmallReferencePools, since again, it's only possible to impress upon the viewer how smart the character is provided they're reading something anyone has ever actually heard of.
22
23	Of course, it's not like all such writing [[TrueArtIsIncomprehensible is completely beyond the understanding of us mere mortals]], and this trope can be well done provided that the character is, in fact, reading a specific book -- and not just a classic that we can all identify as such. It can be quite informative when the book's subject matter becomes something of a plot point. Rather than simply observing the character reading the book, for example, we can watch another character ask what it is they're reading -- and why.
24
25	For bonus points, an {{Omniglot}} can read it in the original language. The more obscure the original, the more points. Sanskrit is ideal.
26
27	Related to TVGenius, specifically, the tendency of average-to-dumb characters to [[ScrewLearningIHavePhlebotinum spout off a whole bunch of knowledge they never actually learned]] if they suddenly become one.
28
29	A case of TruthInTelevision -- some people do, in fact, read books like this for the sole purpose of [[InvokedTrope trying to appear]] intelligent.
30
31	Also see SmartPeoplePlayChess.
32
33	----
34	!!Examples:
35
36	[[foldercontrol]]
37
38	[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
39	* A minor running gag in ''Anime/HareGuu'' -- the schoolkids read Heidegger and similar works. They don't otherwise seem unusually bright for their ages.
40	* In ''Literature/KyoKaraMaoh'', the Daikenja, Shinou's brilliant [[TheStrategist Strategist]] and Ken Murata's first incarnation, is shown reading a heavy hardbound book in the middle of a forest of sorts when first introduced. Where he managed to get the said book from is another question altogether...
41	* Subverted in ''Manga/{{Naruto}}'' with Kakashi, who is often referred to as a genius but whose literature of choice is erotic fiction. Written by another 'genius' ninja, no less.
42	* ''Manga/NegimaMagisterNegiMagi'':
43	** Evangeline is once seen reading the illustrative ''A Day, a Dog'' by Gabrielle Vincent, whose existential complexity was used humorously because, even though she's ReallySevenHundredYearsOld, she appears 10.
44	** Later on, Tosaka, of all people, is seen reading the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Baudelaire Walter Benjamin translation of Charles Baudelaire.]]
45	** Evangeline is also shown citing Russian classics on occasion, such as when she quotes Tolstoy's ''Anna Karenina'' to Setsuna during their tournament match.
46	* ''Manga/OshiNoKo'': As an adult in a toddler's body, Aqua has no trouble casually reading Natsuhiko Kyogoku's Jorougumo no Kotowari, which shocks two passing by women.
47	* In ''Manga/TokyoGhoul'', Kaneki is a Literature Major and it shows in his repeated references to famous Japanese and Western literature. In particular, he compares his situation to the protagonist of Creator/FranzKafka's ''Literature/TheMetamorphosis'' and later discusses the works of UsefulNotes/CarlJung. He also has a conversation with the equally well-read and brilliant Tsukiyama, concerning the work of [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean_Anthelme_Brillat-Savarin Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin]].
48	* In the first episode of ''Anime/YuGiOh'', [[Characters/YuGiOhSetoKaiba Seto Kaiba]] is seen reading Nietzsche's ''Also Sprach Zarathustra'' ([[{{Macekre}} at least in the original Japanese]]).
49	[[/folder]]
50
51	[[folder:Comic Books]]
52	* In ''ComicBook/{{Bone}}'', Fone Bone is a great fan of ''Literature/MobyDick'' -- the author's own favorite book. It's a running gag that every other character finds it extremely boring and dry.
53	* In an issue of ''ComicBook/{{Exiles}}'', when a library exploded the only two books visible happened to be ''Literature/AtlasShrugged'' and the far more obscure ''Ubik''. The GeniusBonus is that ''Atlas Shrugged'' is about how things are truly objective and ''Literature/{{Ubik}}'' is a quintessential subjective world.
54	* Evelyn Cream from ''ComicBook/{{Miracleman}}''. Among other things, he's read the untranslated works of various French authors and owns an original painting from a famous modern artist.
55	* Lex Luthor is introduced in the Alternate Continuity ''ComicBook/SupermanRedSon'' playing chess against 12 people at the same time, while reading Machiavelli's ''Il Principe'' and learning Urdu through an audiotape to which he's listening in the portable tape recorder that he designed in the washroom that morning.
56	* ''ComicBook/XMen'':
57	** Beast is often seen going through these, though it's a case of DependingOnTheWriter how deep [[SmallReferencePools the reference pool goes]]. Usually Creator/ChrisClaremont was good at showing him reading obscure, if appropriately deep, works.
58	** Layla Miller from ''ComicBook/XFactor'' who kept reading some book while sitting on the sidewalk. Strong Guy asks if she's reading the latest ''Literature/HarryPotter'' novel; she answers it's ''Literature/AtlasShrugged''. (Layla is about 10 years old).
59	[[/folder]]
60
61	[[folder:Fan Works]]
62	* ''Fanfic/DoingItRightThisTime'': Played with in Chapter 7, when Asuka visits Tokyo-3's only foreign language bookshop and happens to run into Kensuke, who turns out to be very interested in classic Western science and fiction and fantasy literature and has worked hard to be able to read them in the original English. The point of this is less to make Kensuke look like a TVGenius and more to suggest that he has some HiddenDepths beyond his stereotypical {{otaku}} traits.
63	* Philippe Bazin, a recurring crime boss in the Earth-2706 verse (see ''Fanfic/UltimateSleepwalker'' and ''Fanfic/UltimateSpiderWoman''), has a large library filled with strategic works like ''Literature/ThePrince'' and ''Literature/TheArtOfWarSunTzu''. He regularly quotes from them and uses them to guide his actions as a crime lord.
64	* In the Literature/{{Discworld}} of Creator/AAPessimal, nerdy professor Ponder Stibbons has been allowed a girlfriend who became a wife. She is also an academic, in this case a zoologist. They have had three daughters. Both the older two are above-average bright and apply their intelligence practically, one as a witch, the other as [[TykeBomb student Assassin]]. The third, however, has genius-level intellect. Where other little girls read comics, she will pick up her father's copy of ''The Scientifick Pseudopolitian''. Ponder is resigned to the fact his daughter Ruth will probably end up explaining the difficult bits to him.
65	[[/folder]]
66
67	[[folder:Films -- Animation]]
68	* Parodied at the end of ''WesternAnimation/RalphBreaksTheInternet'', which has Ralph joining a book club hosted by [[VideoGame/StreetFighterII Zangief]] (M. Bison, Chun-Li, Franchise/SonicTheHedgehog and VideoGame/QBert are also members), and they're reading Creator/FyodorDostoevsky's ''Literature/NotesFromUnderground''. Zangief questions whether UnreliableNarrator was intentional in the narrative; Ralph cluelessly replies, "I do... and I don't." Sonic [[MistakenForProfound thinks this is brilliant]] on Ralph's part.
69	* ''WesternAnimation/WallaceAndGromit'' tend to use this not just to show how smart Gromit is, but also as a vehicle for [[{{Pun}} Incredibly Lame Puns]].
70	** For example, in ''WesternAnimation/ACloseShave'', when Gromit gets framed for sheep rustling and imprisoned, he's shown reading ''Literature/CrimeAndPunishment'' in his cell -- and the author's name is misspelled on the cover as "[[Creator/FyodorDostoevsky Fido Dogstoevsky]]".
71	** In ''WesternAnimation/TheWrongTrousers'', he's shown reading ''Literature/TheRepublic'' by "[[WesternAnimation/PlutoThePup Pluto]]" (as opposed to Creator/{{Plato}}).
72	[[/folder]]
73
74	[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]
75	* Referenced by Ron Burgundy (Creator/WillFerrell) in ''Film/AnchormanTheLegendOfRonBurgundy''. In this case, he is not shown ''reading'' a large book (perhaps [[FeigningIntelligence not surprisingly]]), but merely refers to the fact that he ''owns'' such books in a rather pathetic attempt to [[InvokedTrope invoke this trope]].
76	* ''Film/DisturbingBehavior'': The first sign that Mr Newberry is the AlmightyJanitor occurs when Steven learns that he's reading Creator/KurtVonnegut's ''Literature/SlaughterhouseFive''.
77	* The live-action ''Film/DeathNote'' film has a scene with [[StrawNihilist Light]] reading ''Thus Spake Zarathustra''.
78	* Subverted by White Goodman in ''Film/DodgeballATrueUnderdogStory'', who pretends to read a book to seem smart. The book in question? The dictionary.
79	* Played with in ''Film/DrWhoAndTheDaleks'': We are introduced to the title character and his family through a panning shot showing them sitting and reading. Granddaughter Susan (age 12) is reading ''Physics for the Enquiring Mind'', granddaughter Barbara is reading ''The Science of Science'', and the Doctor is reading a comic book (''ComicStrip/DanDare'').
80	* At the beginning of ''Film/FindingForrester'', the pile of well-worn books Jamal has been reading includes works by noteworthy authors like Anton Chekhov, Ken Kesey, Yukio Mishima, Søren Kierkegaard, Marquis de Sade, and Ray Bradbury. Of course, even an intellect like Jamal's hasn't cracked the spine of James Joyce's ''[[ThatOneBoss Finnegans Wake]]''.
81	* PlayedForLaughs with a sight gag in ''Film/HarryPotterAndThePrisonerOfAzkaban'', where a wizard in the Leaky Cauldron is reading ''[[Creator/StephenHawking A Brief History of Time]]'' -- and stirring his coffee without touching the spoon.
82	* In ''Film/ManOfSteel'' there is a flashback where Clark is being harassed by bullies whilst reading ''The Complete Works of Plato''.
83	* In ''Film/{{Matilda}}'', the eponymous character is reading Creator/CharlesDickens on her first day of school (granted, she started a bit late, but still...). When she mentions this to her teacher, she's dumbstruck. Her dumb-as-bricks father tore up ''Literature/MobyDick''. She's five at the time. He thought it was some kind of dirty book.
84	-->''"Moby ''what''?!"''
85	* This trope is the reason why in the first ''Film/MenInBlack'' film J chooses to shoot [[CardboardPal the cut out of "Little Tiffany"]], a little girl, in a training simulation rather than the various aliens who, upon closer inspection, are actually doing rather mundane activities. She's carrying books on quantum physics, which he points out are way too advanced for her age, and on a dark street in the middle of the night, and J correctly guesses that means she's up to no good.
86	* ''Literature/{{The Art of War\|SunTzu}}'' is also seen in John Mason's collection in ''Film/TheRock''. The chapter on observing enemy behaviour would be pretty useful for a British intelligence agent.
87	* ''Film/StarTrekIITheWrathOfKhan'' draws from ''Moby Dick'' (which Khan quotes extensively), ''Paradise Lost'', ''The Inferno'', and ''King Lear''. When we see Khan's bookshelf, there they all are. Near the beginning, Spock gives Kirk a copy of ''A Tale of Two Cities'' as a birthday present. Kirk is shown reading it or quoting it a few times during the film.
88	* In ''Film/{{Submarine}}'', Oliver gives Jordana his three favorite books so she can get to know him better. They are "Shakespeare's most adult play, more mature than Theatre/{{Hamlet}}", a book by Creator/FriedrichNietzsche, and ''Literature/TheCatcherInTheRye''. All mark him as a smart and well-read kid, as well as a pretentious twat.
89	* Lorelei, villain Ross Webster's assistant and girlfriend in ''Film/SupermanIII'', appears to be a standard DumbBlonde. However, while alone she reads Immanuel Kant's ''Critique of Pure Reason'' and disputes one of its arguments, thus showing [[ObfuscatingStupidity her stupidity is a façade]] she puts on to manipulate others.
90	[[/folder]]
91
92	[[folder:Literature]]
93	* Played oddly in ''Literature/AtlasShrugged''. A few {{Fictional Document}}s are cited to describe how normal culture is failing, and reading them is used to demonstrate who is a fool. Several good characters, like Dan Conway, are portrayed as smart but neither own books nor read at all. Played straight with the pirate, Ragnar Danneskjöld, who reads his last line in the book from Aristotle's ''Metaphysics''.
94	* Lampshaded and discussed in ''Literature/CodexAlera''. When Isana enters the office of the First Lord she notes that he has quite an impressive collection of huge leather-bound books on his shelves, and she thinks of it as the intellectual's equivalent of a hunter mounting trophies on the wall; a boast to anyone who enters of his accomplishments in his field. She does at least think that trophies of books are preferable to dead animals and credits Gaius with being the sort of person who actually ''has'' read them all rather than put them there purely for show, but she still sees it as yet another symptom of the corrupt, empty facades that make up Alera's politics.
95	* ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'':
96	** Both Lord Vetinari in ''Literature/GoingPostal'' and Mr Nutt in ''Literature/UnseenAcademicals'' are fond of quoting obscure Uberwaldian philosophers. Vetinari adds that Reacher Gilt, the villain of the book, "has studied his Bouffant, but, I fear, failed to understand him."
97	** The frighteningly logical and sensible teenaged Susan Sto Helit in ''Literature/SoulMusic'' is introduced reading a book called ''Logic and Paradox''. The fact she's using her unconscious PerceptionFilter to do so while the rest of the class learn a poem about daffodils, on the grounds that "Susan hated Literature. She'd much prefer to read a good book" indicates that, while she may be highly intelligent, she just doesn't "get" anything ''beyond'' the logical and sensible.
98	* In ''Literature/FlowersForAlgernon'', Charlie as a genius is fond of ''Literature/ParadiseLost'', and one symptom of his [[FlowersForAlgernonSyndrome regress to his previous state]] is that he no longer understands it. This occurs pretty late in the story; before that, he's shown mentioning an important research paper and embarrassing one of his doctors, who hasn't read it because he doesn't understand the language it's written in. [[spoiler:Charlie later wishes to consult the paper when he's writing up his own case during his regression and discovers he can no longer read it, or in fact any other foreign language.]]
99	* Creator/AynRand used a similar tactic as with ''Atlas Shrugged'' in ''Literature/TheFountainhead''. One legitimately funny scene features villain Ellsworth Toohey and his quasi-intellectual friends deciding which godawful book or play will become part of the literati must-read set next.
100	* In Ruth Rendell's novel ''Literature/{{Gallowglass}}'' (but not in the TV adaptation), Sandor reads Creator/AleksandrSolzhenitsyn's ''Cancer Ward,'' which shows how educated and smart he is, unlike the uneducated and below-average-intelligence Joe. (Maybe it's also to give him complexity since Sandor seems to be borderline [=sociopathic=].)
101	* Creator/PhilipRoth's ''Literature/GoodbyeColumbus'' has the protagonist's cousin reading ''Literature/WarAndPeace'' every summer and it grows increasingly obvious that she only brings the book along so she can display how intelligent she supposedly is. Given that the book is about a Jewish boy from Newark, visiting with his Aunt in Livingston and chasing after a girl who lives in (and goes to a country club in) Short Hills (local NJ geography is semi-necessary for reading), class differences are huge and he's probably making some sort of point.
102	* Subverted in ''Literature/TheGreatGatsby''. Gatsby has a stupendous library available to all of his guests, but Owl-Eyes points out to Nick that none of the books' pages are cut -- Gatsby has got all these books just for show.
103	* Not only does much of the third arc of the ''Literature/HIVESeries'' have important scenes occur in the library but in the first book Otto, who was essentially raised in a library, mentions having been "told by [[Literature/ThePrince Machiavelli]]" what to do in a situation.
104	* ''Literature/HonorHarrington'': While there are a number of references to Honor reading for pleasure (whenever she isn't [[BeleagueredBureaucrat working her way through piles and piles of reports]]), one early book had a one-off gag of her reading ''Literature/HoratioHornblower''[[labelnote:*]][[RecycledInSpace ON EARTH]][[/labelnote]] as a combination ShoutOut and MythologyGag.
105	* In Creator/PGWodehouse's ''Literature/JeevesAndWooster'' novels, [[UpperClassTwit Bertie Wooster]] likes to read mystery novels, while [[TheJeeves Jeeves]] prefers the works of the philosopher Spinoza.
106	* In a humorous story by Creator/WoodyAllen, "A Little Louder, Please", the narrator shows off how sophisticated he is by bragging that he read ''Literature/FinnegansWake'' on a roller coaster at Coney Island.
107	* The children's literature book ''Literature/{{Matilda}}'' has the title character who has already made significant inroads into the Western Canon by the time she starts school. There is a list of all the books she had read at one point in the story. Most of them are fairly well known.
108	* The young adult novel ''Literature/MillicentMinGirlGenius'' presents the eponymous character (who, for the record, is eleven) as a fan of Creator/WilliamShakespeare.
109	* For some utterly inexplicable reason, Door from ''Literature/{{Neverwhere}}'' is repeatedly seen reading a copy of ''Literature/MansfieldPark'' that she's apparently pulled from {{Hammerspace}}. Whether it's supposed to tell us something about Door's personality or simply remind us that London Below is [[WorldOfWeirdness just weird]] [[MindScrew like that]] is not made clear.
110	* Creator/JaneAusten begins establishing the respective characters of Darcy and Bingley early on in ''Literature/PrideAndPrejudice'' with Bingley's comment that his personal library at Netherfield is neglected and that he rarely reads, while Darcy is a great steward of books and has built up a splendid one at Pemberley.
111	* ''Literature/RamaII'': Guess who is the genius' favourite bard? In later books, he builds a robot of Joan of Arc, too.
112	* While most of the books Klaus has read in ''Literature/ASeriesOfUnfortunateEvents'' are made-up nonfiction with titles like ''What Happens to Wet Metal'', he's also a fan of Herman Melville and Leo Tolstoy. The villains invert this trope (and massively subvert DumbIsGood) by being cultural philistines.
113	* Bella of ''Literature/TheTwilightSaga'' rereads ''Literature/WutheringHeights'' "for fun" and it's smugly emphasized that is is "something not many people do". Earlier in the series, it's implied that she's a Creator/JaneAusten fan, too. This one suffers heavily from SmallReferencePools.
114	* In military science fiction ''Literature/{{Victoria}}'', protagonist John Rumford is a RenaissanceMan who has studied the treasures of Western culture from Tacitus to Tolkien and Plato to John Boyd. The book goes beyond showing him reading them to having him [[ReferenceOverdosed quoting or alluding to them on numerous occasions]], but there are also straight examples. One lull in the battles sees him sitting down for a few minutes to read ''Xenophon'' in paperback.
115	[[/folder]]
116
117	[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
118	* In one episode of ''Series/{{Andromeda}}'', Tyr is reading Creator/FriedrichNietzsche's ''Beyond Good and Evil''. Considering his people call themselves [[StrawNihilist Nietzscheans]], that's hardly surprising. In another episode, Tyr keeps urging a [[NobleFugitive runaway prince]] to read the [[BigBookOfWar classics of strategy]] to understand how to be a proper schemer. At the end, the prince is put on the throne, by a strategy arranged by ''Dylan''. Whereupon Dylan tells Tyr that he read those books too.
119	-->'''Dylan:''' Didn't Nietzsche once say the secret of reaping the greatest enjoyment from life is to live dangerously?\
120	'''Tyr:''' You read the right books.\
121	'''Dylan:''' I'm a man of many talents.
122	* ''Franchise/{{Buffyverse}}'':
123	** Used in a more specific way: to emphasize Angel's guilty brooding, he is seen reading Sartre and other bleak existentialists.
124	** An episode of ''Series/{{Angel}}'' has Lilah giving Wesley a copy of Dante's ''The Inferno'' in the original Tuscan. He offhandedly remarks that he's read the work several times already.
125	* In the ''Series/CornerGas'' episode "Comedy Night", Lacey tries to start a literal genius book club with the other Dog River women, but their insistence on having a man join causes it to blow up in Lacey's face when the other women prefer Brent's manly novel choices (''Literature/JamesBond'', ''Literature/FirstBlood'', etc.) to Lacey's more intellectual ones (''Literature/LifeOfPi'', ''Literature/OneHundredYearsOfSolitude'', etc). Eventually, the club decides to just abandon books entirely and watch action movies instead, causing Lacey to quit in exasperation.
126	* ''Series/CriminalMinds'': Reid is an avid reader, and while it typically focuses on his ability to speed read rather than what it is he's reading, he has namedropped titles like ''Literature/WarAndPeace,'' "This time, in the original Russian." He and Maeve bonded over their interest in Creator/SirArthurConanDoyle.
127	* Shakespeare, Poe, Washington Irving, et al. frequently have guest spots in ''Series/{{CSI}}'''s QuipToBlack. Clearly, Grissom is a fan of the more popular, accessible classics, which he presumably read when he was 12 and had spare time.
128	* ''Series/FatherTed'':
129	** Subverted when Ted leaves several novels -- ''Literature/WarAndPeace, Literature/CrimeAndPunishment'', etc. -- on the table to impress a writer who has come to stay. Dougal says to him, "Ah, you're throwing out the ones you couldn't get through?"
130	** Subverted when Father Ted goes to pick up a book he had lent to another priest. As the priest goes through his library, he mentions various heavy-weight works of philosophy and theology, until he reaches Creator/StephenKing's ''Literature/TheShining'' -- which is, of course, the book Ted lent to him.
131	* ''Series/GilmoreGirls'':
132	** Rory Gilmore reads everything, from contemporary literature to criticism to biographies to classics. Nearly every episode has reference to at least one book that she has read, is reading, or is planning on reading. Note the [[http://www.listchallenges.com/rory-gilmore-reading-challenge Rory Gilmore Reading Challenge]].
133	** BrilliantButLazy bad-boy love interest for Rory, Jess, was also always depicted with a book in his back pocket. His thing for the beat poets played a role in his characterization -- he and Rory become friends when he steals her copy of Allen Ginsberg's "Howl" and returns it annotated.
134	* Lazy, bone-idle, and work-shy Onslow, the slovenly, perpetually unemployed brother-in-law of the main character in ''Series/KeepingUpAppearances'' is seen reading several books on highly technical subjects such as quantum mechanics over the course of the series.
135	* Used often enough on ''Series/{{Lost}}''; [[ConMan Sawyer]] is shown to be reading a lot in early seasons, though he reads basically anything he can find. A straighter example is [[TheChessmaster Ben]], who has been seen reading ''Literature/TheBrothersKaramazov'', ''Literature/{{VALIS}}'' by Creator/PhilipKDick , and of course, Creator/JamesJoyce's ''Literature/{{Ulysses}}''.
136	* Brick from ''Series/TheMiddle'' is often shown reading something incredibly advanced for his age. This leads to the hilarious "I googled ''Literature/MobyDick'' -- the hard edition -- and guess what I found?" line.
137	* Subverted by the "All-England Summarise Proust Competition" from ''Series/MontyPythonsFlyingCircus''. The competitors are unable to summarise it, and some look like they have never even read it.
138	* Detective William Murdoch of ''Series/MurdochMysteries'' reads mostly scientific texts, but once he surprises his boss that he knows Shakespeare quite in-depth. Dr. Ogden once pokes fun at him when he mentions that he read about genetics at the beach. Julia calls it "light summer reading", a snark which he doesn't understand immediately.
139	* On ''Series/{{Numb3rs}}'' Charlie Eppes is shown packing a copy of ''[[UsefulNotes/TELawrence Seven Pillars of Wisdom]]'' to read while teaching at Cambridge.
140	* Tony Stonem in ''Series/{{Skins}}'' is a bit of a literature and philosophy fan, seen reading Nietzsche and Rand on separate occasions, the latter when he's still recovering from a brain injury (which might be an especially vicious TakeThat).
141	* In the ''Series/{{Smallville}}'' episode "Fanatic", Lex and Lionel are quoting ''Literature/{{The Art of War\|SunTzu}}'', a military philosophy and strategy novel by Sun Tzu. After Lex finishes his father's quote he says:
142	-->'''Lex:''' You know, you really don't have to quote "The Art of War" to me, Dad. I read it cover to cover three times before I finished high school. Although... I still would have preferred a bike for my 14th birthday.
143	* [[TheCaptain Captain Jean-Luc Picard]] of ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'' keeps what seems to be a quite valuable antique edition of the works of Creator/WilliamShakespeare in a display case in his ready room. This doubles as an ActorAllusion to Creator/PatrickStewart's background as well as immediately pegging Jean-Luc Picard as a cultured OfficerAndAGentleman type with highbrow taste in literature. Later in the series it also turns out that he's also a fan of the classic pulp detective novels of Creator/MickeySpillane. (One has to wonder if the producers went with Spillane instead of the better-known Creator/RaymondChandler as a conscious attempt to avoid SmallReferencePools or because the necessary IP license was cheaper.) Ironically, however, he finds it [[Series/StarTrekPicard difficult to relate to science fiction]].
144	* ''Franchise/SuperSentai'': Hiroto Suto in ''Series/EngineSentaiGoOnger'' doesn't just read philosophy books, he reads ''English'' philosophy books.
145	* ''Series/WhoseLineIsItAnyway'':
146	** John Sessions has read more books than you, and he'll make sure you [[SophisticatedAsHell KNOW IT!!!]]
147	** Suggested for a bit on "What UsefulNotes/GeorgeWBush does in the Oval Office when nobody's around"; Wayne Brady uses this along with ObfuscatingStupidity:
148	--->"I grow weary of this charade. How I long to be me! Dickens... the encyclopedia... the tomes I have loved all my life--"\
149	"Mr. President?"\
150	"Uh, yeah?"
151	* PlayedForLaughs on ''Series/TheWarAtHome'':
152	-->'''Vicky:''' This book sucks!\
153	'''Dave:''' You know what I do with books that suck? I wait for them to come out as [[TheFilmOfTheBook movies that suck.]]\
154	'''Vicky:''' Unfortunately, I have to read this. It's for my stupid book club.\
155	'''Dave:''' If it's stupid, why do you go?\
156	'''Vicky:''' I like to tell people I'm in a book club.
157	[[/folder]]
158
159	[[folder:Podcasts]]
160	* ''Podcast/WelcomeToNightVale'': [[KidHero Tamika Flynn]] and her army of ChildSoldiers all read and carry around books far beyond their reading levels. One episode has them form a book club - [[LiteralMinded by clubbing enemies with heavy books]].
161	[[/folder]]
162
163	[[folder:Video Games]]
164	* ''Franchise/MassEffect'':
165	** Grunt from ''VideoGame/MassEffect2'' [[HiddenDepths enjoys reading Hemingway]]. ''For Whom the Bell Tolls'' and ''The Old Man and the Sea'' seem to be his favorite, but he doesn't like ''A Farewell to Arms''.
166	** Ash, from ''VideoGame/MassEffect1'', is a fan of Tennyson. In ''VideoGame/MassEffect3'' Shepard can buy various works of literature (both human and alien) to decorate their quarters with.
167	* Invoked by Wheatley, the resident idiot [[ArtificialIntelligence AI]] of ''VideoGame/Portal2''. [[FeigningIntelligence In order to appear "smart"]], he plays a paper rustling sound effect, then claims it was actually pages turning since he was reading books. He goes on to name-check [[Creator/NiccoloMachiavelli Machiavelli]], and doubles down by [[ClassicalMusic playing harpsichord music]] at the same time.
168	[[/folder]]
169
170	[[folder:Webcomics]]
171	* In ''Webcomic/TheDreamer'', Nathan is often seen reading the play Cato which also acts as a GeniusBonus for those who know that his historical counterpart's famous quote is sometimes attributed as based on a part of the play.
172	* [[ConversedTrope Conversed]] in [[http://www.egscomics.com/index.php?id=1527 this]] ''Webcomic/ElGoonishShive'' strip.
173	* In ''Webcomic/TheInexplicableAdventuresOfBob,'' Molly can routinely be seen cheerfully plowing through stacks of books like Spenser's ''Literature/TheFaerieQueene,'' Robert Boyle's ''Occasional Reflections,'' Locke's ''Two Treatises Of Government,'' Luo's ''Literature/RomanceOfTheThreeKingdoms,'' or ''[[ComicStrip/CalvinAndHobbes Hamster Huey and the Gooey Kablooey.]]''
174	* One of the heroes of ''Webcomic/{{Narbonic}}'' spinoff ''Lil Mell'', child genius Sergio Mendoza, has a severe case of this combined with LittleProfessorDialog.
175	* An AprilFoolsDay gag panel in ''Webcomic/OzyAndMillie'' has the entire cast acting out-of-character, including [[PopularIsDumb Felicia]] reading and commenting on a book by Proust.
176	[[/folder]]
177
178	[[folder:Web Original]]
179	* ''Literature/WhateleyUniverse'': Many of the students at the eponymous SuperheroSchool, Whateley Academy, are superhumanly intelligent, and some of these are from well-heeled backgrounds, so inevitably some of them fall into this category, while others try to make it seems as if they do.
180	** Of these, Phase and She-Beast are notable, as both of them behaved like this well before their powers manifested. In [[http://whateleyacademy.net/index.php/original-timeline/176-ayla-5-ayla-and-the-networks "Ayla and the Networks"]], [[spoiler:Thuban]] secretly records Phase and She-Beast explaining the plot of ''Theatre/TitusAndronicus'' to Dragonrider. This recording is edited to make it sound as if they were discussing a plot to commit murder, which is then auctioned off to Ayla and Jadis's enemies as blackmail material. HilarityEnsues.
181	** Ayla is shown reading Ezra Pound's ''The Cantos''[[note]]an infamously dense and inscrutable EpicPoem, being comparable to ''Literature/FinnegansWake'' in this regard, though for somewhat different reasons[[/note]] for a graduate-level literature class (keeping in mind that while Whateley is an ElaborateUniversityHigh, the emphasis is ''usually'' on the "high school" part).
182	** RoyalBrat EvilutionaryBiologist Jobe Wilkins being shown [[InsufferableGenius talking down at highly-regarded geneticists]] over the phone ''while also'' reading several different research papers at the same time.
183	** Similarly, the GadgeteerGenius and [[MadScientist Devisor]] students are often depicted as being engrossed in technical literature.
184	** Ironically, we later learn that seemingly BookDumb AlphaBitch Solange had been part of Jadis' book club in their high-end Montessori elementary school. Trevor, who was younger than both of them, was a friend of Jadis, but Tansy had a beef with his older sisters and so bullied him, which meant he didn't notice that she was also bookish at the time.
185	[[/folder]]
186
187	[[folder:Web Videos]]
188	* ''WebVideo/TheAutobiographyOfJaneEyre'': Jane Eyre is a great reader and is shown to own lots of classical books, though she reads also fantasy and other lighter genres. She says her friend Helen introduced her to reading, and she and Mr Rochester bond when they geek out about their favourite book series. Viewers keep asking her about books in her FourthWallMailSlot.
189	* ''WebVideo/BrowsHeldHigh'' always opens with Kyle reading from something out loud before [[FourthWallGreeting noticing the audience]] and introducing the show. Whether it's actually something intellectual or something silly varies wildly, but it always ties in with the film he's about to cover in some way. The ''Zardoz'' episode had him reading from an issue of ''Guns and Ammo''.
190	[[/folder]]
191
192	[[folder:Western Animation]]
193	* WesternAnimation/{{Arthur}} and most of his friends are consistently portrayed as being well read, albeit at an age- and personality-appropriate level. In "The Rat Who Came to Dinner", his SternTeacher Mr. Ratburn's roof caves in and Arthur's parents volunteer to put him up until the repairs are done. Arthur is afraid of being judged for his taste in reading materials, and borrows a bunch of advanced science books from the Brain to display on his shelf, with titles like "Spline Extrusion" and "The Copernican Universe Model."
194	* ''WesternAnimation/{{Daria}}'' often begins a scene with the title character reading, and if you look closely it's usually something along these lines (but with a fairly deep reference pool, as illustrated [[https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/11120.Books_Daria_Read here]]).
195	* Given a DoubleSubversion in ''WesternAnimation/{{Doug}}''. In "Doug's Brainy Buddy", it is revealed that Skeeter managed to get a perfect score on an intelligence test. Doug, skeptical that his ditzy friend could really be a genius, goes to Skeeter's house and says that geniuses, among other things, "Read lots of books!" Skeeter objects, pointing out his library. Doug counters that these aren't real books (they're elementary and middle school humor fiction), until running into Immanuel Kant's ''Critique of Pure Reason''. Skeeter proceeds to make Doug dizzy and ''fall down'' with his accurate (if complex) explanation of why Kant is so interesting.
196	* In ''WesternAnimation/TheFairlyOddParents'', Timmy pulls out a thick book of Shakespeare to fool his parents into thinking he's been enjoying a quiet night alone.
197	* ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'':
198	** Stewie starts by reading ''Literature/ThePrince'', but he throws it away in disgust.
199	--->'''Stewie:''' Oh, Machiavelli, you've taught me nothing I don't already know! Ah, Sun Tzu's ''The Art of War''!
200	** Parodied in "North by North Quahog", in which we find that the bookshelf of Peter Griffin, who is legally retarded, contains "two ''ComicStrip/{{Garfield}}'' books and the {{novelization}} of ''Film/{{Caddyshack}}''". In the episode "Fore Father", the same character's bookshelf only contains books about Creator/MrT including ''For the Last Time, I Am Not Mr. T'' by Creator/VingRhames.
201	* ''WesternAnimation/{{Gargoyles}}'' has a lot of literary influences, so it's not surprising it invokes this. Goliath is seen reading Dostoyevsky (leading Elisa to joke "Really? Who's it by?"). Also, Fox spent a lot of time in prison reading Sartre, leading to this exchange:
202	-->'''Hyena:''' ''[while shooting paperclips at cockroaches]'' Why do you read that stuff?\
203	'''Fox:''' Because Nietzsche's too butch, and Kafka reminds me of your little friends over there.
204	* ''WesternAnimation/TheMightyB'''s Bessie Higgenbottom brings a copy of ''Literature/AtlasShrugged'' on field trips.
205	* In ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' episode "Mother Simpson", Mona Simpson is reading Abbie Hoffman's ''Steal This Book'', while in the episode "That 90s Show", Marge Simpson is shown reading Howard Zinn's ''A People's History of the United States''. Lisa Simpson, meanwhile, has been shown reading a multitude of difficult books such as the UsefulNotes/LyndonJohnson biography ''Master of the Senate'' by Robert A. Caro or ''Literature/TheBrothersKaramazov'' by Dostoevsky indicating her advanced reading level.
206	* Connie from ''WesternAnimation/StevenUniverse.'' She's holding a copy of ''Literature/AWrinkleInTime'' in the opening and ''Literature/TheCatcherInTheRye'' in "Bubble Buddies".
207	* In a moment of intentionally HypocriticalHumor, Jackson Publick and Doc Hammer said on ''WesternAnimation/TheVentureBrothers'' season one DVDCommentary that the network thought a lot of their work was too smart for the average viewer, then started talking about a script for an episode they had written that was all about Proust.
208	[[/folder]]

Context Main / GeniusBookClub