What books to read to become a theoretical physicist?
Answers
Step One is math - LOTS of math. Calculus I, II, III (differential, integral, vector) and a course in differential equations are all absolutely essential.
Step Two is a broad undergraduate-level preparation in physics. There really aren't any shortcuts. Start with an undergraduate level, calculus-based physics 1 & 2 textbook like Serway, Giancoli, or Halliday and Resnick... and just work through the chapters and problems. A second semester sophomore in physics should be able to solve every problem in those books. Then you just move up the curriculum... Classical Mechanics at the level of Marion and Thornton's "Classical Dynamics of Particles and Systems"... Electromagnetism at the level of Griffith's "Introduction to Electrodynamics "... "Introduction to Quantum Mechanics" by the same author.