Archived threads in /lit/ - Literature - 288. page
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So why does everyone on this board seem to hate Ayn Rand.
Genuinely Curious.
>>8161087
because her writing is subpar for literary fiction and her philosophy is subpar for philosophy. she tried to combine both and failed tremendously.
she also makes hilary clinton seem less sociopathic by comparison.
People who like her philosophy tend to be people looking for some kind of modernized Carlylian or Nietzschean great man worship for the post-industrial era (the entrepreneur as opposed to the aristocrat or condottiere). Typically Americans, since that's the one holdout of classical libertarianism left in the world. Classical libertarianism is also a cult strongly encouraged by the larger cult of neoclassical economics, which is the religion of the American plutocratic classes.
And just in general, the American obsession with money and the entrepreneurial spirit...
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Because she's a woman and 95% of the posters here are men.
Any Tolkienites here?
On the fucking books board? Are you serious?
unfortunately
I have a question. What exactly is the purpose of Merry and Pippin? It's been about 10 years since I've read LotR, and I vaguely recall them doing something actively, but moviewise they do nothing except be present when events take place. Then they're treated with the same reverence that Sam and Frodo are treated with at the end? Bullshit.
Is the only reason they were allowed join the Fellowship because hobbits are sturdy when it comes to the Ring's influence, and they needed a few extra bearers in case Frodo then Sam died?
I just checked out Madame Bovary and Les Miserables in French and English
I think I'll read Le Mis first, but is Madame Bovary any good? I vaguely remember hearing about it at some point
Bovary is largely superior to Les Mis, à tout point de vue.
Don't call it Les Mis. Don't capitalize les if it isn't the beginning of a sentence. Emma is a MILF.
how is the prose in the translations? The one by flaubert is by lydia davis, and hugo's is translated charles wilbour
>>8160850
good to know
just starting out with french actually, I can read spanish already so hopefully it'll come faster
What's a good book on the history of the Crusades?
>>8160724
Why do Muslim invaders have less of a right to the Holy Land than Roman invaders?
>>8160739
Why do Jewish people have more of a right to the holy lands than early neolithic farmers?
>>8160724
There's two important facts that a lot of people seem to conveniently avoid for some reason. The only reason the crusades ended in an arguable stalemate or marginal Christian victory is because the Mongols absolutely fucked the Abbasids. Also the only reason Turks (who for the notice, participated to a very minimal extent in crusading) became powerful is because the Byzantines were fucked by the crusades as well as Venitan assholes
Should you read a book if you are not retaining it?
>Reading Ulysses
>It appears to be extremely random introducing characters, and giving background about random things
I am truly impressed by the writing style, but the jumbled story line is hard to follow, and it makes it hard to hold my attention.
Should I power on?
>>8160665
>the jumbled story line is hard to follow
>reading for plot
If you are enjoying the process of reading it
There isn't a test at the end so you don't need to have memorised anything
>>8160669
Part of me feels, what is the point if I can't remember much of the details. I've gathered that Stephen is basically the main character...but everyone else I'm having trouble with.
My friend wrote this poem for the victims of the Orlando shooting and shared it on Facebook. What do you guys think?
gr8never post here again
>>8160334
thesaurus/10
>>8160334
>poem for the victims of the Orlando shooting
i don't particularly like poems about some topical event, not inspired by, but directly about, the event will pass and be forgotten and the poem will usually be forgotten even faster. also it frankly usually feels fake too
as for the poem, he overdoes alliteration way too much and the whole poem reads as if he, by lyon sprague de camp's method, picked random words from the dictionary and put them into his poem, only caring...
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are there any funny books about grief? something like the death of ivan ilyich. he died.
Anything that has to do with the holocaust. The Jews get their property griefed by the OP Nazis.
>>8160330
>Jim "Kill The Quim" Carrey
>Jim "Cum Inside, Then Suicide" Carrey
>Jim "Rim Her Then Bin Her" Carrey
>Jim "Fuck Her Then Chuck Her" Carrey
>Jim "After We Bone, I'll Move On To Emma Stone" Carrey
>Jim "Good Afternoon, Good Evening And Good Night" Carrey
>Jim "Root Her Then Boot Her" Carrey
>Jim "Wasn't My Wife, So She Took Her Own Life" Carrey
>Jim "Couldn't Get A Knobbin', So She Pulled A Robin (Williams)" Carrey
>Jim "Once She's Done Sucking, I Do The Cucking" Carrey
>Jim "My D or an OD" Carrey
>Jim "Gave Me A Rash, Now She's In The Trash" Carrey
>Jim "She Left The Thunder, Now She's 6 Feet Under" Carrey
>Jim "Ignore Every Whore Who Asks For More" Carrey
>Jim "Dig My Gold And You'll Get Rolled" Carrey
>Jim "Took My Dick Out Her Mouth, Now It's All Gone South" Carrey
>Jim "I'm So Old Even My Heart's Stone Cold" Carrey
>Jim "Had A Carnal Feast, Now She's Deceased" Carrey
>Jim "Pump Her Then Dump Her" Carrey
>Jim "Weirdo With A Beard-o" Carrey
>Jim "Pop Her Then Drop Her" Carrey
>Jim "This Is One Death Ace Will Take No Time At All To Solve" Carrey
>Jim "Bad Granddad" Carrey
>Jim "She's Unstable, Better Feed Her My 'Cable' (Guy)" Carrey
>Jim "Blew In Her, Now Ruin Her" Carrey
>Jim "Make That Slut Cut" Carrey
>Jim "Gave Me Head, Now She's Dead" Carrey
>Jim "Masturbate On Her, Then Excommunicate Her" Carrey
>Jim "That Was Funny, Now Time For Cunny" Carrey
>Jim "Get To Know, Then Drop That Hoe" Carrey
>Jim "It's Not Murder If I Didn't Touch Her" Carrey
>Jim "For Me It Was Tuesday" Carrey
>Jim "Pops" Carrey
>
Anything by Kurt Vonnegut. Slaughterhouse-Five.
STOP BUYING THINGS MAAAAN
Just read Libra, it was gud
>>8160346
Yeah, I just finished that and I agree. Better than his more acclaimed works that I've read.
>>8160346
>gud
Stop shilling this piece of shit, his writing is nothing but le quirky deadpan non-sequiturs. He's to blame for alt-lit lowercase twittershit like Mira and Jackie Chan
Dear western civilization
Why aren't you accepting the Triple Goddess into your lives like the Greeks you worship? Your god is a shit!
Sincerely, Robert Graves
>discuss
>>8160271
What's the Triple Goddess?
>>8160339
Refers to any 3fold goddess, such as Artemis (maiden), Selene (mother), and Hecate (crone). Or the 3 Fates, or 3 Muses (sometimes multiplied into 9 muses).
They are usually associated with the moon and its phases (New Moon, Full Moon, Waning Moon) which in turn refer to the seasons of the year and stages of life
Hesiod names Hecate as the most important of the gods and goddesses but the translator also notes is may be a local thing and Hecate was important from where he was.
How do I understand free verse better? I've been studying up on accentual-syllabic/accentual verse recently, but I'm having a hard time wrapping my head around free verse. Do you guys have any book recommendations for this? I want to be able to understand the technicalities and the choices behind free verse. It can't just be haphazard and pointless, can it?
>>8160231
>It can't just be haphazard and pointless, can it?
It isn't: the lines in free verse are often determined by rhythm or rhyme, and, I've noticed, normally focus on a single image or idea. That said, there are plenty of hacks--Bukowski, Gonzalez, Kaur--who think free verse means you can do whatever the fuck you want, and that one-word lines are cool and deep and not complete rhythmic fuck-ups.
it's not haphazard or pointless, and like >>8160250 said, the lines usually follow some kind of rhythm or rhyme. the best free verse poetry still "sings" or whatever the way other poetry does, it just doesn't follow a rigid set of rules.
Walt Whitman is a good example: his poetry still has a musicality or rhythm to it, and what makes him an important poet is that he achieves a distinct rhythm in his poetry that doesn't depend on preconceived poetic forms, which is why we love him in the US.
Emily...
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OP, just do what I do and declare that free verse isn't poetry. Eject Whitman from the poetry canon, he doesn't belong there. Create some new class of word-art so he can squat there like the mongrel he is. It's not poetry.
Is there any book that can help with severe depression?
>>8160099
You don't have severe depression or depression altogether. If you, by some anomaly, do, post a prescription for meds. Oh wait, you are in USA, you don't actually need to have depression, just to be sad - and you are really sad, posting THIS FUCKING THREAD FOR THE MILLIONTH TIME NIGGER KILL YOURSELF
Book of Disquite or Notes whatever fuck off
>>8160105
Been a neet for 4 years and spend most of my time laying in bed staring at the ceiling. What do I have? I don't feel profound sadness or anything at all
>>8160113
Being worthless is not a condition, though. It's a consequence of your actions
http://wmjas.wikidot.com/nabokov-s-recommendations
Is Nabokov the funniest lad in literature?
>
Hemingway, Ernest. A writer of books for boys. Certainly better than Conrad. Has at least a voice of his own. Nothing I would care to have written myself. In mentality and emotion, hopelessly juvenile. Loathe his works about bells, balls, and bulls.
>>8160091
Wonder why you stopped short. He liked The Old Man and the Sea, The Killers, and A Clean Well Lighted Place
Based.
Surprised he considers Austen 'great' though? Pretty sure I remember reading him saying that women are 'in another class'. etc.
Also I'd like his opinion on Woolf.
Starting this this weekend.
What am I in for?
>>8159707
You have to stick with it. Erikson doesn't explain anything. I'm enjoying the series so far (just finished House of Chains).
A masterful blend of Dragon Ball Z and Yu-Gi-Oh!
>>8159707
It's shit, you'll hate it.
Which of Joseph de Maistre's books to you recommend for a pleb who's interested in counter-enlightenment?
Don't know the author but for counter-enlightenment the works of Jonathan Swift are top notch.
Anyone? ;-;
>>8159680
Hamann you fucking son of a bitch, also, how the fuck can you even care about the counter-enlightenment without even knowing shit about the Enlightenment, what are you going to do, read the various critiques (Schelling, Kierkegaard, Marx, Feuerbach, and modern, etc.) of Hegel without even knowing anything about Hegel. Yeah ok man. What do you expect to do, read fiery philosophical polemics and just nod along and go 'yeah huh Ok I guess you're totally right about that dude, nice...'
Ah wait you're...
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Holy fuck who thought it was a good idea for this to be 450 pages? This would have been one of the best 200 page books ever.
>>8159665
It's a book, not a movie. 450 pages makes you see how bureaucratic everything is and how much everything is fucked and just blindly drones on. If it was 200 pages, you'd complain about how it wasn't 'developed enough'
i see what you mean, i reached a point where i just wanted to finish it
i hated reading the dark turn it took, but its still my favorite book so far
Exactly what I thought, the joke gets tired after 100 pages, and nothing happens until the last 50 or so. Heller doesn't even have anything interesting to say, regardless of pagecount.
