1) read poetry.
2) read books.
3) talk to intelligent people. (They usually read a lot.)
4) go to college, where they will make you read. A lot.
I'll be honest with you. I hate reading books. I HATE it. Nothing against books, I just do not have the attention span to read a book unless it's forced on me. (Usually, I end up enjoying the book in the long run, but getting started in a book is hard.) However, I adore poetry. There's a "less is more" push on poets to get their thoughts across in a short, to-the-point way that I admire and enjoy doing. Sometimes poems can get lengthy, but they're usually never pages upon pages long; never takes more than half an hour to read.
You don't have to read a 1,000 page book to be a smart person. I'm slowly learning that fact.
(though it would probably give you bragging rights.)
