Improving Skills: Skill Books

Scattered throughout Skyrim are several rare Skill Books, each associated with a particular skill. The first time you read each book, the associated skill increases by one. There are five different named books for each skill (90 different book titles), so a diligent collector can potentially increase each skill by 5 points.

There are multiple copies of each book in the world (usually three to five). However, you gain a skill point only the first time you read a book—rereading that book, or any of its copies, has no further effect. For example, those interested in the Sneak skill should look for the following books: Three Thieves (four copies), 2920, Last Seed, v8 (four copies), Sacred Witness (four copies), Legend of Krately House (three copies), and The Red Kitchen Reader (five copies). This means there is a total of 20 Sneak Skill Books, and 5 points you can add to your Sneak from reading the first copy you encounter of each tome.

Improving Skills: Scholars’ Insight Power

Another way to increase your Skills is to complete Solstheim Side Quest: Black Book: The Winds of Change. Locate this Black Book inside Bloodskal Barrow (which is accessed via Raven Rock Mine). Once you find the Reward Book at the end of your expedition through Apocrypha, choose the Scholar’s Insight Power; this grants you an extra skill point each time you read a Skill Book.