Archived threads in /lit/ - Literature - 306. page
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Have the Orwell contrarians even read this book? It fucking sucks tbqh
>>8152361
People who read Orwell for 1984 and Animal Farm don't read much, it's not much use.
Eh, I thought the whole subliminal social conditioning foe the children concept was relevant.
Soma, too --- it's all I can think about when people go on "legalize it" rants with drugs.
But the second half of the book might as well not exist.
>>8152450
The first few chapters would make an interesting novella but the actual story doesn't really work.
I'm starting to get into writing and I find that after many pages of prose there is only so little that is salvageable and of any worth... Has /lit/ seen an improvement in their writing since they've first undertaken the task?
>>8152357
Yes, but you have to know exactly what you're trying to accomplish with each sentence/passage/chapter, etc. for it to feel like progress.
You can't just shit something out with the vague idea of being "aesthetic" and expect it to look good to you afterwards.
It's all practice my dude. You can't possibly expect to pick up a pencil and draw like the masters so don't be disappointed when you're not a great writer from the start. (And no, talent is a myth so don't even think this excuse).
Chances are, you're gonna suck for the next few years, possibly decades but if you keep trying your best and keep not giving up when it's not enough, you'll eventually write how you want to write. Hang in there.
>>8152372
>you can't just shit something out with the vague idea of being "aesthetic" and expect it to look good to you afterwards
Shit. That's exactly what I do. I'll try to think more of what I'm doing and trying to convey then. Thx
Tsundoku - noun (informal): the act of leaving a book unread after buying it, typically piled up together with other such unread books
Let's measure something /lit/
Please post:
>current book(s) you're reading
>how long you have been reading it for
>number of books you have bought while reading it
>rough number of books on your "to read" pile
>>8152325
>current book(s) you're reading
Dune, Oranges aren't the only fruit.
>how long you have been reading it for
On and off when I have the time and interest.
>number of books you have bought while reading it
Zero unfortunately. Broke.
>rough number of books on your "to read" pile
God, far too many
OP's list:
>current book(s) you're reading
The Grapes of Wrath
>how long you have been reading it for
A good three to four weeks now
>number of books you have bought while reading it
At least nine - scooped up from book stores, village fetes, charity shops, amazon. Urge to buy Camus' stuff too
>rough number of books on your "to read" pile
About seventeen- mostly E Annie Proulx
I can't stop. I...
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>>8152325
>current book(s) you're reading
Satantango
>how long you have been reading it for
About a week.
>number of books you have bought while reading it
1
>rough number of books on your "to read" pile
4, and 1 in the mail
probably 150-200 if you count my "might want to read this" list
Does anyone have that list of /r9k/ recommending reading I've seen floating around? Thanks in advance.
>>8152049
I don't see why you would rot your perfectly fine mind like that, Anon.
>>8152049
that is the most weaselly description of Withnail and I that has ever existed. it's entirely true, but omits the fact that the film is hilarious
What a load of pretentious shite
I've never been much into literature, but I decided that I should stop being an uncultured pleb, so I decided to go borrow some books at the library, one of them being Heart of Darkness. However, I'm not entirely sure what to say about the book. I tried to be a good reader and keep track of key moments, but in the end, I'm just sitting here with a lot of unanswered questions. Why didn't the ~30 cannibals on the steamboat eat Marlow and the other Europeans? Marlow said there was some sort of restraint keeping them from overcoming hunger, but it is never brought...
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>>8152010
> never being much into literature
> he dives straight into Joseph Conrad
wew lad
maybe try something like george orwell or fitzgerald first, sink into literature and then try something like conrad. conrad's not one to take lightly, especially for someone who hasn't delved much into literature beforehand.
>>8152058
Conrad is entry-level though. His dry prose is just a bore to go through, but it's not that deep at all.
>>8152058
Yes, 1984 was one of those books I borrowed. I just added this one because I read Moby Dick as a kid, and I heard this one was a bit similar.
Goddamn it, /lit/.
I like microhumor in my books—little asides and pithy descriptions that motivate me to follow the author on his masturbatory PoMo journey. White Noise does this. Infinite Jest does this. Portnoy's Complaint does this. Taipei does this. Even Book of Numbers does this, as it tries to squeeze blood from poorly vascularized sediment.
But when you guys recommend "humorous novels", you recommend...Gulliver's Travels? A Modest Proposal? A Dirty Job?
Fucking really? Are you still in grade school? Do you guys actually read this shit?
>reading books purely for humor
That chart is only a bait for plebes.
you know, it may be written "/lit/'s guide" but this is still the product of a single user who somehow convinced himself his opinion was a fair representation of what this board thinks, and based upon the false premise there's something like coherent, homogeneous "lit tastes" he covered himself under this shallow umbrella-word.
>>8151639
Fair, but in that case I wish there were a better vocabulary of humor. Terms like "dry humor" are broad enough to include everything north of Family Guy.
(recommendations appreciated)
Remember when /lit/ was fun?
http://vocaroo.com/i/s086xH0NgyCq
>lit
>fun
im here to make everyone feel stupid and assert my patricianity. thats literally it.
>>8152898
I'm just here to shitpost, it's pretty fun to me
Which translation is your favourite /lit/?
broicism
hays
English
Was this the first ever meme?
That would be religion.
>>8151520
define meme
>>8151520
I thought this was one of the earliest ones.
if I get dubs, I'll read Dubliners
>>8151368
I suppose you aren't getting Dubliners
If I get quints, I'll read Quintillionaires
>>8151390
I suppose you aren't getting Quintillionaires.
Nothing happens in the world? Are you out of your fucking mind? People are murdered every day. There's genocide, war, corruption. Every fucking day, somewhere in the world, somebody sacrifices his life to save someone else. Every fucking day, someone, somewhere takes a conscious decision to destroy someone else. People find love, people lose it. For Christ's sake, a child watches her mother beaten to death on the steps of a church. Someone goes hungry. Somebody else betrays his best friend for a woman. If you can't find that stuff in life, then you, my friend,...
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>>8151340
Kaufman is pretty top-tier for a Hollywood writer. Adaptation was fun.
Also, /tv/
OP regrets this.
Deep af
Hey /lit/,
I want to read Don Quixote. Is there a particular English translation that is better than others? Is there a go-to one that I should look for?
If you know English and it takes you more than two weeks to learn Spanish kill yourself.
>>8151369
Okay cool thanks.
Would you happen to know where I could learn early 17th century Spanish?
>>8151338
I think that the current Grossman translation is actually quite good, desu, and much better than the Jarvis translation that I initially read.
>he says 'scientism' unironically
>he doesn't realize that we live in an age of autism
I've literally never seen or heard anyone use the word scientism, here or otherwise.
>>8151336
The mentality is definitely strong here though. Lots of people on /lit buy the STEM/Humanities dichotomy.
my handwriting is so bad its almost childish, its always been bad, even before I started using computers to write my stuff.
its slow, tedious, and most of all: I hate looking at it, Im determined to get better, but after seeing page after page of clumsy writing I feel really demoralized.
am I the only one here with this problem? if you experienced it, how did you get out of this mess?
>>8151167
Write two full pages every day. Go as slow as you must to get consistent letters.
Also write with a decent implement, a nice pencil is OK but a fountain pen is ideal. You can get a cheap one for five dollars.
What is picrelated? I've been staring at it for 10 minutes
>>8151263
I may be way off the mark but I think it's a guide for forming letters. Remember learning cursive with the dotted line in the middle to guide you? Something like that.
Anyhow, OP, quit worrying about it. So long as you can make your handwriting legible why should it matter? Most people are just reading text nowadays.
What would you put into the recommended reading list for high schoolers if you know they will probably never read anything again after they finish their studies.
1. One 20th century novel
2. One romance
3. One science fiction/fantasy
4. One classic
5. Else
Hard mode: Fill with 5 woman writers
Anything by Wolfe
Anything by any of the Brontë sisters
Anything by Le Guin
Middlemarch
Anything by your mum
>>8151113
>20th century
Ken Kesey - Sometimes a Great Notion
>Romance
The Sorrows of Young Werther
>sf/fantasy
Book of the New Sun obviously
>Classic
As I Lay Dying
>something else
some Borges short stories.
>>8151122
I've been eyeing Ursula K Le Guin for a while now but don't know where to begin. What's a good intro to her work?
I've never been interested in fantasy or science fiction. I don't mind it, I've just never read much fantasy outside of Tolkien.
