What would make up a Great British Novel?
Middlemarch has been largely agreed as the best British novel of all time. It's true that townmanship, class, gossip and the outdoors are all features of a Great British Novel. But what specifically would set this apart from it's American counterpart?
>>8037525
more gay shit
>>8037525
>But what specifically would set this apart from it's American counterpart?
the violence would be either Islamic or soccer related as opposed to blacks on crack or tfw no gf's shooting up a school
self loathing
Books with the theme of solitude?
100 years of solitude
>>8037494
there's literally a book about a hundred years of it
it's got loads of people in it though
all with the same name for some reason
Argue the merits and value of degrees in English and Philosophy. It's Literally useless to pursue these degrees in University when the hard sciences exist. Defend your major(s) /lit/
Your mom couldn't defend her major slit last night when I spooged in it
>>8037486
language is an integral part of human existence. english is the formal study of a currently predominant language as it is and has been expressed and read by people. this kind of study facilitates effective communication. communication is essential to survival.
philosophy is formalized thinking. thinking is also an integral and essential part of human existence and survival. the hard sciences are different types of a philosophy, namely empiricism. even bare facts unearthed by 'hard sciences' require...
Comment too long. Click here to view the full text.
>>8037486
>hard science
LOL
Why is this one of your favorites, /lit/?
I don't understand the point of it. Why did he shoot that arab multiple times? Blaming it on the sun isn't a valid reason. Was he a psychopath?
>>8037429
it isn't
>>8037926
Try reading Camus' essay The Myth of Sisyphus and then you will understand maybe.
He wasn't a psychopath, he just understood the meaninglessness of everything.
how do I start with [post]-structuralist/pomo philosophy?
is this handsome bald homo a good starting point?
>>8037390
start with the greeks
>>8037390
dont
>>8037390
assuming you know nothing or very little, read an article on the stanford encyclopedia of philosophy or the internet encyclopedia of philosophy, then pick an author that seems interesting to you, read an article about them then go into reading an actual book from them
When I'm reading most fiction books, after a few chapters I feel a strain in my head. I find this especially with books written before WWII, they are so slow, like running sand paper over my eyes. The only books that have genuinely got me hooked are 1984, Wolf Hall, and the Space Odyssey series, by which I mean I could read over a 100 pages in one stretch without stopping or feel like it was a chore. It is different for graphic novels: I've read many of these and they don't bore me.
Is there anything I can do to help myself? What kind of book/author should I go for?
old scifi is shit. we have different expectations nowadays
get an adderall prescription then read philip k dick
>>8037233
You also have to check if your editions have bad kerning/inappropriate typography/ bad structure/ poor printing. A badly structured book, no matter how good it is, will be almost impossible to read. Good structure means your eyes glide through the page. Reading should be effortless. When you buy a book, check it and see if you can read a couple pages without getting lost. If your eyes can't follow the sentences correctly, search for another edition.
>kerning: space between letters...
Comment too long. Click here to view the full text.
Is this correct Shakespearean English?
Sounds kind of wrong to me
>may you your peace discover
what does this mean?
>>8037093
May you find peace
>>8037081
Second person singular present indicative of may can be either mayest or mayst.
Sup /lit/ looking for some some recs on great women writers. someone that writes like Pynchon but any style is fine as long as its good
There are no females who write like Pynchon. It takes a man's intelligence to do so.
>>8036959
>>8036959
Pynchon 79 year old self would slap the shit out of you for saying some shit like that next to him
>reading anything modern
>Young girls to fuck!
True, OP. I despise anyone that reads post-XIX century literature and laugh myself at those DFW, Pynchon etc readers. It's pretty fun to see the plebiness of "i just finished mason dixon guys its cool its cool" posters.
>>8036843
>obligatory millennial muh dik-ing
When did you finally realize you are shit writer?
For me, when I read Thomas Wolfe for the first (and only) time, and it was terrible but reminiscent my own writing.
When I read "somewhere i have never travelled, gladly beyond" and realized that my poetry is stylistically similar in some ways but will never be as beautiful as Cummings's.
Hey, i like thomas wolfe :(
>>8036907
this
fuck you, op. the only thing bad re: wolfe is that it inspired kerouac to write
I just sat down with my new copy of the works of Alexander Pushkin when it hit me. why the fuck am I reading this shit in English I fucking speak Russian . Problem is I haven’t actually read much in Russian for about 13 years or so.
What would be a good text to reintroduce myself to the Russian language ?
Im looking though my parents library and here is what I have to choose from
nikolai gogol - colected works
The Master and Margarita
the divine comedy (Dante)
Stefan Zweig - colected works
Alexander Pushkin - colected works
War And...
Comment too long. Click here to view the full text.
PS:im not asking which is the greater work, im asking Russian speakers which would be the best to start with
You should read the version that you'd get a fuller understanding from. If you're absolutely fluent in both, read the original text since It was good enough to be translated.
>>8036847
well that’s the thing im not fluent in Russian, I used to be but that was 10 years ago. Still it would be a waste for me to lose it .
I like Thomas Mann and Kafka, what else would I like?
>>8036761
Jesse Ball - The Way Through Doors
Jorge Luis Borges - Ficciones
Andre Breton - Nadja
Dostoevsky - The Double
hesse
krasznahorkai
>>8036769
Knut Hamsun - Mysteries
>Fantasy
Selected: http://i.imgur.com/3v2oXAY.jpg/
General: http://i.imgur.com/igBYngL.jpg/
Flowchart: http://i.imgur.com/uykqKJn.jpg/
>Sci-Fi
Selected: http://i.imgur.com/A96mTQX.jpg/
General: http://i.imgur.com/r55ODlL.jpg/ / http://i.imgur.com/gNTrDmc.jpg/
>>8036624
Take Sanderson to /a/
How would you define the subgenres of fantasy, and what do you think are the best examples of each?
>>8036624
Books that show life is worth living.
Do you have any? Preferably classics.
>>8036555
Conan the Cimmerian
The Stranger
>>8036568
Really, really terrible choice. How does The Stranger show life is worth living?
What are your feelings towards writing with a typewriter?
I feel that you can better think about the permanence of your intended emotions to the page with a typewriter. The noise of the clattering keys seems to be a motivational one, allowing silence only for deep thought. You can't delete and there's the fantastic benefit of no internet (or even electricity!) to distract you.
But every time I say this to someone they laugh and call me a hipster. They think it's a gimmick. Granted, I could get the similar action by writing everything by hand, but somehow...
Comment too long. Click here to view the full text.
>>8036279
only if you have tits like clarice lispector >>8033550
It has to be cool because Hank uses one in Californication, ask those people who call you a hipster if they would rather like you to sit in a starbucks with your macbook writing stupid short stories like everyone nowadays. Use what fits best for you and if a typewriter is your canalisator go and buy one.
>>8036282
I bought my one for £6 in a charity shop. There was one fault which is now fixed which was the little bell didn't chime. Now it does.
Doesn't the author of Game of Thrones write with an 80's compter program?