I have been wondering lately if "intellectually rich" can be found solely in books.
I read Jim Stanford's Economics for Everyone, and he recommends to go out and talk to people and see what problems they are having in life.
That's not to say that long time dead philosophers cannot give good insights, but I feel that looking at other people's problems (especially in different cultures) is a lot more relevant for understanding the world.
I think one of the advantages of reading very old material is a) it's not bogged down by modern ideology, b) imparting the realization that some human issues and ideas have been around a very long time (see for instance dialogues in Thucydides History of the Peloponnesian War), b) some ideas and insights have a timelessness to them. Take for instance the Tao Te Ching. I found it retains influential power, despite my not being completely on board.
I read Jim Stanford's Economics for Everyone, and he recommends to go out and talk to people and see what problems they are having in life.
That's not to say that long time dead philosophers cannot give good insights, but I feel that looking at other people's problems (especially in different cultures) is a lot more relevant for understanding the world.