I thought this was interesting:
“What I’ve learned about great teachers” interview with Bill Gates in Parade Magazine
http://www.parade.com/news/2010/10/24-bill-gates-what-ive-learned-about-great-teachers.html

My favorite takeaway from this article was the following:

PARADE: How did you turn yourself into a different kind of student?
BG: When I was in eighth grade, I scored the best in the state on a math exam. After that, my math teacher let me go off and do independent study and computer stuff. I also became good at relating to adults. When I’d meet a teacher, I’d say, “Hey, tell me your 10 favorite books.” I’d read them, and then I could talk to the teachers about something they knew a lot about.

Saakib’s recommendations 11/16/2010 (excluding the Green Lantern stuff he mentioned which is already covered here: http://www.dccomicsreview.com/2009/08/12-must-read-story-arcs-to-prepare-you-for-the-blackest-night )
- Superman: New Krypton (have to follow up on – at the time, he hadn’t finished it and said it was pretty good so far). Seems in order to read this, you have to read Superman: Braniac (Something I already wanted to read)
- Green Lantern Corps books, which is kind of cool cause they crossover here and there.
Other good ones for Superman: “‘Death of Superman,’ ‘Funeral for a Friend’ (this is a little boring though), and then the ‘Reign of the Supermen’ one. Besides that, my comicbook store owner told me to read ‘Identity Crisis,’ ‘Infinite Crisis,’ and ‘Final Crisis’ before ‘Blackest Night.’

Abheshek’s recommendation (10/2010):
“the big short” – michael lewis
confessions of an economic hitman