Regardless of what you’re graduating from—high school, college, AA, your unhealthy obsession with pens—books can provide you with much-needed life lessons.

Like talking swords are the best, and also maybe don’t trust assassins.

This week’s Top Ten Tuesday is school-themed bookish shenanigans.

When I got to thinking about what I wish school had prepared me for, calculus never once crossed my mind. Because it’s useless. I’m looking at you, high school math teachers who lied to me and said I would need this nonsense.

But what did cross my mind are all the great books I’ve read along the way that have meant a lot to me or clued me into something useful before I went wasting my time learning the hard way.

While this list of books won’t teach you the practical skills of life (like how to budget—although, there are books for that) they’re chock full of important lessons to carry you into adulthood.

Or second adulthood. Or maybe an adultier kind of adulthood. I mean, there’s so many options.

1. Apology by Plato

Number one rule to keep in mind when you’re graduating from pretty much anything: You. Don’t. Know. Squat. Even the things you think you know. It’s a horrible thought, I know, but you can still be wrong.

In Apology, Plato warns of the danger of overinflating your own ego and being too sure about all the things you know. Socrates is the wisest only because he understands how little he truly knows in the grand scheme of things and doesn’t proclaim otherwise. In other words, familiarize yourself with the words “I don’t know” and understand that it’s a perfectly valid answer if, in fact, you’re not sure.

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2. Lies My Teacher Told Me by James W. Loewen

Remember those twelve years you spent learning all those things people said you just had to know or the brain-sucking aliens would come for you … or something like that? Yeah, well, that was all lies.

Surprise! Your first lesson is TRUST NO ONE. I actually received this as a graduation present, and I still have it on my shelf, and I love it. It’s a great place to start looking for things you learned that aren’t necessarily completely accurate. Thankfully, I had this revelation in tenth grade, when our teacher walked in the first day and introduced us to the term “Vespucci’d,” which was her favorite way of saying that, like, Amerigo Vespucci, we were screwed. It was fun for, like, ten seconds until we realized she was really warning us about the upcoming school year. At least we had a word for it.

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3. A Brave New World by Aldous Huxley

When we, as a species, eventually hit the dystopian future we all know we’re headed towards, I’m going to point back at this and rant loudly about how people never listen. Don’t be one of those people. At least know what we’re getting into. That way, you can rant with me. It’ll be like a party, except with shouting instead of music and everything might be on fire.

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4. 501 Must-Know Speeches by Bounty Books

I mean, it’s right there in the title, isn’t it? Who am I to argue with that? I received this as a gift, too, and I was so glad I did. Nothing quite compares to hearing the speeches, if you can find clips of them (or listening while reading?), but there are a lot of really important, influential speeches, and this book conveniently does the job of compiling them all for the lazy among us, like myself.

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5. The Art of War by Sun Tzu

For those Mondays where you just decide … screw it, taking over the world seems easier than the daily grind.  Despite appearances, there are plenty of strategic and practical tips to succeeding at life, in general, in this book. Oftentimes, the principles in it have been applied to business (that’s where I think of it applying most readily, too), but there are plenty of applications, and the advice is pretty universal if you break it down to the core philosophy.

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6. Meditations by Marcus Aurelius

My now-husband (then boyfriend) actually gave me this as a present the birthday before our graduation. Because nothing says love like a book I had no interest in, and we weren’t even dating, so I had no obligations, okay? So it sat on my shelf. But a couple months later, he came to his senses, and so did I, and I still have my copy of this book and read it over from time to time, because it’s fantastic.

Anyway, here’s another philosophy book. You may notice a theme. Stick with me, because it’s not over yet. Philosophy is important, and Marcus Aurelius was important, so I’m going to go out on a limb and say that his hard-won philosophy is also important (note: this logic does not apply to everybody. I see the flaws, all right?). This is still one of my favorite books for just straight-up life lessons.

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7. Beyond Religion by Dalai Lama XIV, Alexander Norman

Ethics are important, or so says … well, pretty much everyone you meet in adulthood, and if they don’t, RUN! This is sometimes a dry read in places, but it was an enjoyable one, and I feel like, as the title says, anyone can benefit from the ethics and ideas presented by the Dalai Lama. I picked this book because it’s the last one I read, but I think a lot of the Dalai Lama’s books on philosophy, ethics, and life would also work here.

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8. The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupery

I will forever recommend people to read this, and it’ll probably be the mound I die upon, darn it. Though it’s marketed as a kid’s book, there’s just so many beautiful principles that are important in life, so many wonderful quotes, and I think a person (or even non-person I suppose) of any age would gain something by reading it.

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9. On Writing by Stephen King

If you’re an author or aspire to be one, this is pretty much a must-read. It’s a great reminder that even famous people come from humble roots. Yes, even they have hit rock bottom from time to time, doubted themselves, given up. Mostly because they’re this nasty, annoying thing called human. Yuck. Stephen King’s story is a great one partially because of his perseverance, his determination, and just plain getting a peek behind the curtain at the man before he was famous. There’s a lot to benefit anyone, not just writers.

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10. Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams

Because everybody should be aware of what our evil mouse overlords are up to. And also be thankful that they don’t have to suffer through Vogon poetry. That pretty much puts the whole “adulting” thing in perspective, doesn’t it? Also, I want to end the list on a positive note, especially since laughter is the best medicine (and if you’re graduating in the US, you probably can’t afford health insurance, so you’ll need it).

Have you read any of the books on this list? What would be your must-read books before graduating?