then reading books and using that shinwas key thing?

No. You only get awarded alchemy points if you read a book exactly at a multiple of 16. You can gain intelligence in other ways (e.g. tomes, geeky fruit--only once). Mostly the way to go is books and tomes.

what do you mean by a book exactly multiplied by 16?

You have to read unique books to your pet (one pet cannot read multiples of the same book). On every 16th book read, you gain 1 alchemy point.

You can also get intelligence from Mystic Spindles. Really not sure if this works towards AP though, because I suck bad at that game.

[edit] Here's a good thread if you want more info. It starts off explaining the Secluded Shrine, but if you scroll down a bit it lists all the places/items to get AP.

You can get intelligence from books, mystic spindles, or stat boosters.

But the only way to get AP is to read a book you havent read yet on the 16th, 32nd, 48th, 64th, etc (add 16 everytime) intelligence point. If you skip one and go from 15 to 17 intel, you wont get an AP. However, you will get 2 on 32nd if you read a book there

thanks SEA