Brightvale University Required Reading List

Now, while King Hagan might be the most well-read Neopian and it would take years to read the same number of books as he has, being a university student requires a fairly hefty amount of reading. Each major at Brightvale University requires that certain books be read and used for studying materials. Do not worry about a book disappearing after you finish reading it, thus losing valuable study materials. Upon the initial tuition payment, a special spell is set in place, which allows the re-reading of any material assigned by the professor. However, the sharing of books is highly discouraged due to the fact that not every professor assigns the same text to be read, so reading someone else's book could cause it to disappear. As these books are somewhat expensive, like everything at college, please try to prevent that from happening.

This is a guide to which books are needed for each major. All are conveniently available at the nearby Brightvale Bookstore. Be warned, there are cheaper methods of attaining the required literature.

Images shown are shown in respective order to the name listing. Some of the books are required for multiple majors.

Major: General Studies

Books Needed:

Advanced Learning, Brightvale Maps, Brightvale Wisdom, History of Wise Neopians, History of Unwise Neopians, Inspiring Potential, Love to Learn

This might seem like a lot of books to read, and it is a fair amount. These books are all required to help a student learn exactly what they have to do to survive in college. They need to learn how to learn, in a way. Classes in a university are quite different from those in normal Neoschool. How you attempted to learn in those are far different from how the classes are handled here. Each professor and class has a slightly different method, so it's possible to not have to read all of these books. And this is just for General Studies. Other majors have to read these in addition to the specific books for those majors.

Major: Art History

Books Needed:

All About Glass, Brightvale Guide to Stained Glass Windows, Cartography for Beginners, Embroidery Made Easy, Stained Glass Repair Guide, Royal Book of Colouring

Art history may not be the most profitable major, but it definitely has a lot of reading required. Since the major form of art in Brightvale is stained glass, it makes sense that many of the books are about stained glass. These books teach many tips and methods of many famous Neopians. Frequent visits to the Art Gallery in Neopia Central are strongly encouraged. Who knows? The artwork of many student's has been featured there, the next could be yours. All of the books are required to teach students the proper way to make stained glass, the history of Brightvale's art, and methods to improve their own artwork. Except the Royal Book of Colouring. That's just for fun because who doesn't like colouring?

Major: Culinary Arts

Books Needed:

Food for Thought, Joy of Fruit, Preserving Berries

This might be more important in Meridell than Brightvale, but it's important just the same. The art of food and cooking is still a quite important skill. The students in this program learn just how to properly prepare food other than omelettes. Gourmet cooking is the major's main course. There aren't that many books on the subject though. This is a much more hands-on learning program. The exams aren't written. They are actual cooking challenges, to be judged in a taste test by the professor. Be warned, some of the professors have allergies, so avoid making anything that would make them sick.

Major: Neopian Literature

Books Needed:

Advanced Poetry, Book of Pretentious Quotes, Encyclopedia of Scholars, No Sleep Til Brightvale, Poems of Brightvale

Surprisingly, the Neopian Literature major doesn't have that many books that are sold in the Brightvale Bookstore. The books listed here are written and required to teach students how to properly write their own poetry and novels. The best method for learning this is by reading a lot of books. Professors will very frequently assign readings from books that are not sold in Brightvale. The only way to get those books is by either going to the store where they get stocked, be it the Book Store in Neopia Central or Booktastic Books on Kreludor, or getting them through the Shop Wizard. Since these books can get expensive, the university provides an expansive library with free access for all students. Because the books are in high demand at the library with a limited quantity, students who wish to use the books are forbidden from removing them from the library.

Majors: Architecture & Engineering

Books Needed:

Bridges of Brightvale, Brightvale Architecture, Hanso's Guide to Escaping Dungeons, Interesting Dungeons, Neopian Structural Engineering

First and foremost, the Architecture major and the Engineering major are separate. They are only being listed here together because many of the same concepts and principles, and therefore the books explaining them, are required in both. With that out of the way, these two majors are probably the hardest majors offered by the school. Architecture is mainly based around the design of buildings, while Engineering is focused on making constructions work properly and so they won't collapse in on themselves. The books listed here all explain the physics and mathematics needed to prevent disasters. The rest of the books are focused on the design aspect, spelling out what to do and what not to do when making a building, although most of the examples in the books are dungeons.

Major: History

Books Needed:

Adventures of Young Hagan, Brightvale Castle, Brightvale History, Brightvale: A Complete History, The Age of Knowledge

History of Brightvale, Brightvale: A Complete History, Brightvale Castle... noticing a pattern? This is only a part of the list of books needed for the History major. This major is about all of Neopia, but the only books available for this major in the Brightvale Bookstore are the ones about, where else, Brightvale. The rest of the books have to be gotten at the Neopia Central Bookstore or at the Booktastic Books shop on Kreludor. The library does allow students to read the required books for free, but the books are in limited quantity. So if you wait until the last minute to read and find that all the books are in use or checked out, then you're... *puts on sunglasses*... history.

Major: Military Training

Books Needed:

Brightvale Dungeon Security, Brightvale Guard Training Manual, The Armoury

Even guards have to go to college. This is a very specialized course that doesn't require that much work. In order to even be accepted into the program, you don't have to take an entrance exam like with other majors. Instead, it's an obstacle course that truly tests one's endurance. Because this is a much more physically intensive program, this doesn't require that much reading until the final years, when the last parts of guard duty and dungeon design are fully taught. It takes a tough student to survive this program.

Major: Magic

Books Needed:

Alchemy Lessons, Ancient Arcana, Brightvale Potion Manual, Directory of Brightvale Potions, Mage Spells, Modern Spells, Potions of Brightvale, The Mote Encyclopedia, The Water Mote

Potions, Motes, Alchemy. These are just a few of the main subjects under the vast major of Magic. Because this is such a large subject that a lot, and I mean A LOT, can go wrong with, this is a major that requires a lot of studying and practice. The university only accepts a slight handful of students into it. I know actually very little about the practice of Magic. All I know is that the reading list is very large. So, good luck to anyone even trying for this major.

Each major at Brightvale University has a very extensive curriculum. The readings listed here, as well as those assigned by specific professors, are all necessary to proper academic success. So simply keep calm and read on, and try to avoid throwing books out the window in frustration when you don't understand them. Good luck.