ABANDONED. Short story about a boy and a reading list to get smarter

[Joseph]

I recall reading this short story about a boy who had a reading list of I think 100 books that he believed if he read them all he would get smarter. He didn't realize that he also had to understand the works, not just read them, and many were over his head. I vaguely recall the list was a collection of things like great classics, works of philosophy, things like The Art of War, etc.
I read this short story in a high school Literature textbook back in the early 90s.
Thanks.

[Kate]

Joseph, are you still looking for this short story? It sounds intriguing.
You can bump your thread every month or so -- more people will see it, since it will be near the top of the folder.

[Andy]

Could this have been an excerpt from Jude the Obscure Jude the Obscure - As I recall, Jude believed that if he learned Latin and Greek, he'd be smarter, but he didn't understand enough about what he was trying to learn to make any progress.

[Lobstergirl, au gratin]

Kate wrote: "Joseph, are you still looking for this short story?"

No response in 2+ years. Moving to Abandoned.