I've never been to /lit/, but could you guys maybe recommend me obscure publishers, archetypes of writers(movements, whatever), or anything else I'm unlikely to have read through googling random terms?
I read a book every couple of days, and have been doing this since I was about 13. I got bored in school a lot after finishing work early so I started reading a book a day then, and it's a habit I haven't broken in nearly 15 years. I genuinely feel like I am running out of worthwhile books. I've read a ton of non-fiction, to an exhaustive level for nearly anything I'm interested in, and I feel like I'm running out of fiction that is worthy of my time. For example, I've read everything on the Goodreads top 1000 except for a few modern fantasy type things like Harry Potter, Hitchhikers Guide, etc.
Outside of the classics, my focus has mostly been on postmodern stuff outside of the classics/obvious popular choices, so I feel like there may yet be some deep vein of interesting literature I haven't explored, and I'm essentially just making this post in hopes someone will mention something that will give me a new road to travel in reading.
My favorite books/works/whatever are:
Winesburg, Ohio(and essentially everything else Sherwood Anderson)
Wittingstein's Mistress
Finnegan's Wake
An Anthropologist on Mars
Labyrinths(Borges, this title seems like it's probably not unique to the one book)
The Canterbury Tales
Oh, and for reference, I can read at a workable level in Spanish, French, Italian, and English. I'm working on German, and could probably handle most books in that language at this point. I prefer to read in the original language, but I know one of my weak areas is that I've ignored a great deal of Asian literature. I would love some really solid recommendations in that realm that have great-tier translations.
Have you read Motorman?
>>7405365
Ohle, right? Double checking since it's a fairly generic title on the surface. If so I've read four or five of his books, including that one.
What of Beckett have you read?
>>7405403
Buying this tonight. Haven't heard of it. I'll trust you.
>>7405389
A lot. I went through a great deal of his plays one summer, to the point where i felt finished with him, though I'm pretty sure I recall not reading everything.
If you have any specific recommendations I'll happily read them if I don't recall them well.
I suppose it's compulsory to also ask if you have covered Flann O'Brien, Manuel Puig, Bartheleme.
What about Laurence Stern.
George Saunders? I don't know mate. I'm not the full six feet yet, it's difficult to suggest in this manner.
Have you gotten into poetry at all?
>>7405343
>NMH
>Witty's Mistress
>Borges
>Canterbury
>Joyce
quality shit man
look up Exact Change Press. It's run by former members of Galaxie 500 and they're constantly republishing old forgotten surrealist works from people like Apollinaire and Alfred Jarry
>>7405423
>I'll trust you
Horrible idea, especially when you consider how pricy that book can be. Also if you haven't read Beckett's Molloy/Malone trilogy that would be worthwhile.
>>7405439
Maybe I just haven't been looking but I havent seen much conversation of Wittgenstein's Mistress around /lit/. It seems of interest.
>>7405430
>George Saunders
He's pretty ok. I actually got into him because of the Tenth of December and went backwards. Made it most of the way.
>Bartheleme
Actually among my favorites, assuming we're talking Donald and not Frederick, though his brother is quite good too. 60 stories certainly would have been on a more exhaustive list of my favorites.
>Manuel Puig
I don't recall reading him.
>O'Brien
Not a big fan. I recall what I've read of him being sort of humorous but devoid of much content. Is that a poor assessment? Any specific recommendations?
>Stern
I enjoy his brand of humor far more. Outstanding author, but sadly not one I can take recommendations for.
>>7405439
Thanks man.
>>7405447
I have, and I hadn't looked at the price, was just assuming I'd be able to get it on one of the many black friday/cyber monday sales going on right now.
>>7405452
It's an amazing book. Please read it. I've read a whole lot, and I can't think of a single thing more unique and capitivating. I fell in love with the narrator. No joke. I read the book like ten times one year.
That doesn't seem like that bad of a problem to have.
Do you have a goodreads account? GR keeps recommending me all these obscure books with 50-300 ratings. I've picked a few of them up and I really enjoyed pic related. One of the more enjoyable books I read this year. Have your read Murnane, Kavan, Ribeyro, or Kadare?
Check out this list:
http://spinelessbooks.com/mccaffery/100/
And this website:
http://www.themodernnovel.org/
Winesburg is a pretty nice book btw. Some of those stories are really touching, like the one about the boy whose dad gets shot. I hope this is helpful I don't really know what your "power level" is and I'm a bit of a pleb myself.
>>7405461
I actually don't have an account. I tend not to make accounts for websites like that. I reluctantly made a RYM like a year ago, and I've been using that site anonymously since 2004.
Thanks for the site recommendations. They aren't immediately familiar, so I'm hopeful.
Aside from Wittgenstein's Mistress, has Markson written anything else I should give a read?
This was enjoyable.
>>7405459
It's an inferior version of his final quartet. Git gud.
Oh OP it's >>7405439 again
look up Quarantine by Juan Goytoso. You could eassssily read it one day, but it's basically a redux of the Inferno set in Iraq/Afghanistan with heavy Islamic themes. It's the book that taught me about the Islamic sufi/scholar who came up with this idea of dying and spending 40 days venturing around the underworld with a guide, AKA a source Dante mined for his Inferno. So seeing an author reclaim it, repaint Hell in such vivid ways, and bring the Islamic back into it is just amazing
heavy stream-of-consciousness
>>7405503
That sounds really really really cool I'll certainly check it out.
>>7405468
You have to accept that Wittingstein's is an island unlike no other he or anyone else has written, but having read everything he wrote I don't think there was a bad book. His others are just far more..traditional. You aren't continuing reading, you're essentially starting a new author when you pick up one of his other books.
Vanishing Point is one of his later books but it's the one that stands out in my mind the most, so I'd say go for that one to see if you like his other stuff.
Log of the S.S. the Mrs. Ungentine - Stanley Crawford
Imaginative Qualities of Actual things - Gilbert Sorrentino
Powell's A Dance to the Music of Time
Sheppard Lee, written by himself - Robert Montgomery Bird
>>7405532
>Sheppard Lee, written by himself - Robert Montgomery Bird
I read this while I was going through a weird phase in high school of reading things endorsed by authors. I started with someone I liked, ended up back at Poe as one of their influences, and Poe had at some point endorsed that book. May actually be time to revisit though. I have fond memories of it, but haven't picked it up in 10 years at least.
>>7405532
>Powell's A Dance to the Music of Time
Love these(this? not sure how it would be appropriately classified)
>Imaginative Qualities of Actual things - Gilbert Sorrentino
I read this on a couple of flights and had a very strange experience with it. It started off brilliantly, and by the end I felt like he was just messing with me. Perhaps I'll revisit it some day.
>>7405532
>Log of the S.S. the Mrs. Ungentine
I've read a few Stanley Crawford books, but never seen this. I'll look into it based on the strength of your other recommendations. Thanks man.
>>7405343
Just out of curiosity OP what do you do for money? I'm assuming from your post you are 28/29...
>>7405343
I know you asked us for advice, but what else from Sherwood Anderson is worth reading? I love winesburg, would you recommend his other short stories?
bumping with insects
>>7405599
I work with my hands. Medium size custom furniture store on the west coast of the US. Built simple furniture when I was a kid/teenager and ended up with a garage full of progressively better stuff just from interest in it.
When time for college came I got a degree in philosophy knowing it would be useless, but it was free because my mom worked at the university and I just wanted more time to study. When I got out of college and was soul searching I realized I really, really wanted to keep carving and building so I made a few phone calls, had a guy tell me he would give me an interview, loaded some stuff I had built into my dad's truck and drove a state over to try and get a job. Been working there for six years, make pretty good money on commission. They have a weird setup, it's kind of like a tattoo artist gig. People come in, talk about what they want, and we figure out who is best to build it.
Not a glorious or fascinating job but it's the only thing that made sense for me, and I make enough money to support my girls.
>>7405602
Everything. Every single thing. Anderson was a genius. He didn't write too much for it to be some kind of huge undertaking you need to be given a path through. I would say read his stuff in order, because he certainly evolved in a sort of linear path.
Only exception is I would read The Triumph of the Egg next. After that just go in order(of his fiction) from Wendy McPherson to Kit Brandon.
Save the non fiction for last, but if you enjoy his fiction there's certainly a lot to get out of that too.
>>7405616
How did you learn so many languages if I may ask? Usually it is very difficult to learn a language unless you spend quite a bit of time in the native environment. For me, I find it quite difficult to learn any language other than english (though I have tried German and Spanish in school - I just never retained anything). Did you do much traveling over seas or were you bilingual growing up? If not, do you have any good methods for learning a language - I would love to be fluent in Spanish and German but it's just never stuck.
>>7405636
I learned Spanish and French in school. My HS had a super strict and extensive plan for teaching Spanish so I started in 9th grade and went all the way through 12th, then I had to learn Italian and French in college for my philosophy degree. I took a French class my very first semester and was still taking language classes my last semester.
Surprisingly I'm actually learning German through the phone app Duolingo. It's really good. Obviously no replacement for interactive language learning with other people, but it really couldn't be better as a lone experience.
Definitely good for building foundations anyway.
tl;dr I highly advise classes, they really really work because you get to interact with others, but Duolingo is great for getting a foundation in a new language.
Also, another note about Duolingo, I never get chances to practice my Italian, so I actually tested out of the program on my phone but use it as an active source of practice. You can do the "practice weak skills" button and just rattle off answers until you're bored to keep an old language fresh.
Alright, a couple more things you have probably read before I give up.
Life: A User's Manual - Georges Perec
Moravagine - Blaise Cendrars
Kiss of the Spider Woman - Manuel Puig
Warlock - Oakley Hall
Origin of the Brunists - Robert Cover
Take Five - D. Keith Mano
The Lunatic - Anthony c. Winkler
Correction - Thomas Bernhard
Lookout Cartridge - McElroy
And if you want some fun and Victorian history, Flashman - George Macdonald Fraser
Hey OP, you asked for some asian lit, I highly recommend you read everything Mishima wrote.
Most everything in this list is fantastic too, and I think the english translations are high quality though unfortunately some subtleties are lost.
OP, are you still here? Do you read russian literature? If you are not familiar with it, check it out. They got some pretty obscure stuff, like Sorokin.
>doesn't browse /lit/
>has read far more than the average /lit/ poster
Go figure.
You ever read any Witold Gombrowicz? Start with Ferdydurke.
Go see if your library has a copy of The Western Canon and copy the list at the end of the book. The list on the wiki is a truncated version.
This may help you
And I'm back.
>>7406613
I have! I remember really liking Ferdydurke when I was a freshman. I distinctly remember my now wife being creeped out by the cover. The edition I had was like old men turned into a tree.
>>7406558
I've saved this and will attempt to decipher it into a usable to-buy list.
>>7405664
Thanks for the post. Nothing I haven't read, but great selections.
>>7406640
I can't find anything here I haven't read.
>>7406596
I've read a lot of Russian stuff based on reading Nabokov, Dostoyevsky, Tolstoy, etc. in high school then branching out. I've read Sorokin - the Ice trilogy at least stands out in my mind, maybe more. If you have other specific recommendations I'd love to hear them.
>>7406713
You've read Inagaki Taruho? If you're interested, I could list more lesser-known Japanese works.
>>7406787
Go for it. I've hardly read anything Japanese. I have actually read Taruho though, the title of A Thousand One Second Stories really caught my eye when I first saw it.
>>7406795
I'm more curious about how you got ahold of it to even read it, personally. Did you find it in a different translation, or just happened to flub the title there? You'd find a lot to love in the rest of the Sun & Moon catalog, though Green Integer is kind of dead these days.
An anon dropped the other chart I made for Jlit, which would be easy to branch off of for lesser works, but some I wish I had put onto it now: Minae Mizumura, Yumeno Kyusaku, Yoshikichi Furui, Fumiko Hayashi, Naka Kansuke, Uno Chiyo, Akiko Yosano, Hagiwara Sakutaro, Kotaro Takamura, I don't think I put any poets on it really, and more non-fiction authors like Kunio Yanagita, Yone Noguchi and Yukichi Fukuzawa. You'll have more available since you can read French; they translate a lot more Japanese stuff.
>>7406837
I bought it for like $60 at a used book store in Portland when I was visiting a couple of summers ago. I asked why it was so expensive and he said it was hard to find so I just trusted him. Is it actually difficult to acquire? I've since donated it as I do with most of my books.
>>7406845
It wasn't as out of print a few years ago (I like to think I caused it!), but now it is. I guess that's the price you pay for independent book stores instead of Amazon. I don't really own much that's rare, but I adore that volume. I've scanned a lot of my other OOP stuff, but I'd never crack the binding on Taruho.
Did you read Urmuz and Bayer from the same bookstore? Atlas Press is steadily getting more expensive too.
>>7406862
No, I buy very few books in-person. That was just a spur of the moment purchase while I was on a trip. I needed some books to read while I was there for a week because I had neglected to pack enough.
>>7406613
>doesn't browse /lit/
>has read far more than the average /lit/ poster
>Go figure
I smirked.
>>7406875
Definitely check out all the Printed Head stuff if you find it. I get most of my OOP books from inter-library loaning, personally.
What do you think of Wakefield Press? For something a bit from the other end, Peirene Press probably doesn't publish what you've already read. Do you do non-fic?
I'm guessing you found The Complete Review long ago, but I've used them for years to get good contemporary lit recs.
>>7406883
>The Complete Review
Yes! I regularly reference them when I go on a book buying spree.
>Wakefield Press
I've made a few orders from them. Great publisher. Nice packaging, affordable prices, and solid translations of stuff I've generally never even heard of when they release it. I bought a few things from them I didn't really understand why they published, but on the whole they're good.
>Peirene Press
I think I've seen this before, but I don't recall making a purchase. I'm in the US so I imagine shipping would be high, but I'll keep them in mind if i want to buy something blindly.
>>7406883
>Do you do non-fic?
I read philosophy, wood working books, gardening books, architecture books, and other assorted things.
>>7406876
Well ya, most of /lit/ hasn't read a book a day for fifteen years.
>>7406911
No interest for ebooks? That's how I get Peirene Press; the shipping from the UK is abysmal, I agree. Doubles the cost of the book.
I feel the same about Wakefield--the packaging and branding is so sleek, I'm hoping to catch up to have the full set of them. The kind of publisher that makes me want to arrange my shelves by publisher.
For non-fic, you might like my travel lit chart. It's always been a favorite. Do you want to be in contact off-4chan? We've got pretty similar tastes and are at similar stages of life (late 20s, married, children).
It's a shame this thread wasn't about music, I might actually be able to recommend something.
>>7406928
Never really liked E-books. I'm just so used to turning a page and have never had much reason to catch up. I had to read on my computer for college but that's about as far as I've gone.
That chart is great. I've read some of it, a lot of the Europe and Americas sections, but there's a bunch there that interests me.
If you want to give me your email I'd be happy to maintain contact.
>>7405343
My fav poets- Rilke (his fiction too) Rumi, Lorca, Whitman
Have you read Henry Millers Sexus trilogy? What about Bretons Anthology of Black Humor? Roch Carrier- hard to find books but GOAT Canadian fiction, anything but the Hockey Sweater (he was also a francophone politician). Have you read Oblivion by dfw? (Great short story collection). Everything by Calvino? Ligotti? Joan Didian? Richard Farina?
>>7406946
I listen to music while I work. We can totally talk about music. I have some Cecil Taylor on right now, moments ago it was Motoharu Yoshizawa.
>>7406951
All those too-expensive monographs make PDFs pretty much a necessity for me. I wish I could find a used bookstore that specialized in university presses.
My email's [email protected]
>Finnegan's Wake
>Finnegan's
>gan's
>n's
>'
P L E B
L
E
B
>>7406964
>Henry Miller
Only read the Tropic of Cancer that I remember.
>Anthology of Black Humor
Yep
>Roch Carrier
These don't look like anything I would ever pick up on my own, so I'll trust you and give it a shot. Thanks.
I've read Oblivion.
Also a yes to the last four to my knowledge. Invisible Cities would have definitely been on a more exhaustive list of favorites. Possibly haven't read everything Ligotti, but I don't think I'm up to continuing if there's more. I'm on and off with Didion, I have either read or own all of her books, but I'm not finished with her and I never seem to want to pick her up. I read Farina in college and was really into it.
Thanks for the post. Definitely going to check out Carrier.
>>7406984
It is so intuitive to do that.
>>7406984
>Not knowing about the literary debates over Joyce's use of the apostrophe
i'm just going to recommend some authors that i find interesting:
Martin McDonagh (the director of In Bruges and this short movie https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T9w9BJXeL4E)
Sam Shepard, Donald E. Westlake and Joe Lansdale.
dunno if it's your cup of tea but i tried
>>7405343
Any other Sherwood Anderson that sticks out to you in particular besides Winesburg, Ohio? I just recently read it and would like to hear any thoughts on other works of his.
>>7407098
In order, my favorite Anderson:
Winesburg, Triumph of the Egg, Tar: A Midwest Childhood, Dark Laughter, Death in the Woods
Outside of those you should really just read him in order. He didn't write all that much.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6JLWQEuz2gA
>mfw my fucking backlog after this thread
>>7406998
>Only read the Tropic of Cancer that I remember.
Did you like it? He's probably my fav writer. Read the whole trilogy, all amazing- it starts with Black Spring, then TOC, then Tropic of Capricorn. If you haven't read those I assume you haven't read Delta of Venus, if you're into weird sex shit in a fun literary way with fire prose check it out
For Carrier, if you can get your hands on a copy of -Is it The Sun Philibert?- holy smokes its a powerful little story, it's about a little French Canadian kid who leaves home in the Montreal winter and experiences the world as an insane person. I strongly suspect the biggest lyrics of a Canadian polaris-winning band called Godspeed You! Black Emporer came from this book but nobody knows about it really.
Also I think invisible cities is 'chill' but actually my least favorite of all of his 7 or so books, don't think it conveys the kind of talent of Winters night or Baron in the Trees or anything
>>7407018
? there's zero debate. stop frauding.
>>7407127
I have an indescribable emotional attachment to Invisible Cities. Maybe not his best, but an absolute favorite.
I recall not liking Miller, actually. I don't know why. I actually think it was the sex stuff. It's been a long time.
>>7407141
Fair enough, though I think his writing is some of the most aesthetically pleasing ever produced, barring the hooker scenes
Did you read Pavic, Gombrowicz, Guyotat,Goytisolo,Mamleev,Döblin,Musil?
>>7405343
>I read a book every couple of days
>Finnegan's Wake
Op, you are a massive faggot of the worst kind.
These two parts of your post tell me more than enough about how you "read" books. You haven't actually "read" Finnegans Wake any more than you've read anything else. You just mildly skim through texts, satisfying the appetites of your intellectual ego, so you can tell your faggoty friends "Oh I sure loved Finnegans Wake, what kind of shitty YA fiction do you read, you PLEB? :^)"
You can't possibly be running out of fiction to read because you haven't actually explored literature at all. At most, you have a shallow and consumerist grasp of pretty much all the books you claim to have read. You might as well have been watching T.V. with your time.
Worst of all, with your shitty attitude, you fit right in here. Welcome to /lit/ faggot, now go pretend to read Infinite Jest so you can shitpost about it
>>7407228
Of course I didn't read Finnegans Wake in a day. Do you not understand how averages work? I read a variety of books, and for the shorter, say 70-200 page books I go through one or two a day. There are way, way more worthwhile 70 page books than there are 700 page books, so the average is pulled way down.
Maybe there are traces of hyperbole in the idea of me saying I'm running out of books - but I've certainly found in the last couple of years that I'm reading far less truly great books by following the same means I have in the past, so I decided to hop boards and see if any interesting recommendations popped up. It's exciting to find a new publisher. It's exciting to find a new source of information.
I'm not going to bother commenting on your insults, but I thought I should point out how silly the first part of your post is.
>>7407259
To word it differently, I go through, 4-6 books a week depending on how busy I am at work, what is going on at home, etc.
When you look at it that way it's quite reasonable, especially when you consider the length of the average book.
Your post is crazy and I feel like you've mistakenly grouped me into some vague idea you have of people who read as their primary/only entertainment. I'm no different than my grandmother who read a James Patterson or Stephen King or whatever novel nearly every day instead of watching TV. I never judge anyone for what they read. I hardly even talk to people about books - the guys I work with are all a lot more of the carpenterish, outdoorsy archetype and I don't have many friends since moving and getting married. My wife is the person I hold 90% of my intelligent conversations with, and I'm way past the point of trying to impress her.
>>7407282
i like you anon
>>7407282
>>7407259
That's sort of the point. It's clear you only read for entertainment, like your grandmother who reads whatever novel everyday. It's clear that you're just "getting through" as many books as you can.
What a shitty way to read.
There's no way you're actually comprehending the depths of Finnegans wake, or any of the other classics that you are reading. It's like watching a movie blindly. You're missing most of what's going on.
People like you OP, are the reason that shit like 50 Shades gets published at all. Which, most ironically, even YOU admit is a problem, because you're reading "far less great books"
Do yourself a favour, and go reread the classics which you garbled up without care for their substance. And spend a couple weeks at a time. You'll never run out of good books to read.
>>7407075
seconding Mcdonagh
>>7405343
I recommend Gaddis, Hawkes, Gass, and McElroy if you havent already.
>>7407342
Ok then. I don't think we're at all on the same page in this discussion. I'm never in a hurry, but books go by fast. That's the way of things. There aren't many books in the English language I can spread across a couple of weeks when I have 3-5 hours a day to read. You don't know my job, my life style, or anything else about me. I don't think you have any basis for your statements. And I don't read books like 50 Shades, sorry to disappoint. The purpose of me saying I've been reading fewer good books was to illustrate the purpose of me coming here - I'd like to find more resources for consistently good books, because I'm getting to a point where lists of recommended reading are consisting of things I've read, and things that aren't all so great.
All of your accusations are baseless. You're using my words without full context and warping them to fit your idea of what I must be like.
How many hours a day do you read? How many books have you read this month? I'm genuinely curious. I'll be entirely open with you, this is the list of everything I've read since Thanksgiving break started, to illustrate my reading habits:
1. Black Flag Boricuas: Anarchism, Antiauthoritarianism, and the Left in Puerto Rico
2. John F. Szwed Space is the Place: lives and times of Sun Ra
3. Kent Haruf Our Souls at Night(My wife read it and said I might like it)
4. Brad Watson Aliens in the Prime of Their Lives(I love his first book dearly, and had missed this one existing until recently, finally got to read it)
5. My backlog of McSweeneys quarterlies(the last 2). My mom has been keeping these subscriptions for me for years, but they still come to her house, so part of my going home for various holidays is that I get to pick them up and read them.
I think I read like a fairly normal person in terms of hours invested vs books read. I just perhaps read more often than others because I don't enjoy film or tv or anything like that. I listen to music, but almost always while I'm working or cooking or whatever. If I'm not busy I'm reading. Exploring the ideas of others is my pleasure in life.
>>7407394
OP, this site is mostly college students with inferiority complexes. Please don't take vitriol seriously or spend time responding. I feel bad seeing that happen.
That said you are clearly not a fairly normal person in terms of reading habits, you're like upper 20% even among pretentious McSwizzly subscribers
>>7405343
Well thanks OP, now I feel insignificant by comparison.
Do you write at all? I'd be curious to know how much your extensive reading has helped in this area.
>>7407394
For the record, none of those books were over 300 pages, meaning I read no more than 2000 pages this week, at a rate of probably 4-5 hours a day of reading. That means I barely read above 300 wpm. You're kidding yourself if you try and act like that isn't a reasonable speed for full comprehension.
>>7407417
I won awards and had things published in college, but I've never attempted to write any form of fiction. It seems I went into college with a better understanding of what makes good writing than my peers, but that's all I can really say on the matter.
>>7407414
I'm interested in his line of thought. I'd like to know what leads someone to be suspicious of someone reading a few hours a day. Perhaps I'll learn something from our interaction.
>>7407394
I'm going to reiterate my point once more, simply, without insults.
You have little comprehension of the texts that you read because of the time you spend on them. This is because you care more about entertaining yourself, then actually "exploring the ideas of others".
>All of your accusations are baseless
I'm not the one claiming to have read Finnegans wake.
Reading isn't about calculating how many hours or books you read. It's about really getting the content and understanding what you've read. Otherwise its mindless and inane. I'd be surprised if you remember even the basic plot of half of the books you read.
>>7407458
It's sad people like this drive people like OP away from /lit/.
>>7407487
Quality over Quantity, friendo :^)
>>7407458
>You have little comprehension of the texts that you read because of the time you spend on them
So you believe five to ten hours isn't a sufficient amount of time to read and comprehend the average 200-300 page book. Ok. To that I can only say that you're silly.
A 200 page book has no more than 60,000 words assuming fairly normal font and page structure. Even just five hours invested into such a book would mean I was reading at a meager 200 words per minute. That's three a second if you exclude ifs ands and buts. That's on the lower end even for non-readers. Kids in high school who haven't read more than Harry Potter and Twilight can do that with full comprehension.
If you applied any math to your accusations, or actually read what I've written, you would understand that you're greatly overestimating how big of a deal it is to read a book in a day or two at an average of 4 hrs/day.
As for your point about plots, of course I don't vividly remember books I read 12 years ago when there are potentially thousands of books between my brain then and my brain now, but I think I've well illustrated that I'm reading at a pace that totally supports a full and thorough understanding of the books I read. Not everything is a Finegans Wake. Some things you can just read, enjoy, and be done with. I've read supplemental material for Finnegans. I've reread the book four times.. But not many books require that, and sitting down with them for 5-10 hours is entirely sufficient. I read, and generally the books I've been reading are all I think about while I carve. I'm not just blindly racing through books so I can say I've seen the front and back covers.
I don't think I want to continue this discussion, but I hope you can see that you're missing big pieces of the puzzle in your accusations. You set out with an image of me in your mind and you are failing to consider what I've said because you had no respect for me even before you began typing.
>>7407458
>claiming to have read Finnegans wake
are you for fucking real?
>>7407546
Read and understood*
>>7407571
quit moving the goalposts for your dickmeasuring shitposts and show us the length of your cock already
>>7407228
Absolutely cancer. Op seems genuine to me, coming from someone who also makes it thru a book a day
>wahhh you don't understand it!!!1!1one
If you're working on german maybe read nietzsche, kant, schopenhauer, stirner etc. in german?
They might be hard to read since even germans struggle understanding certain philosophical works but why not
>>7407562
I never claimed to fully comprehend Finnegans Wake. I claimed to have thoroughly read the text. I have comprehended the words. They have gone through my head, and I have an evolving interpretation of it based on re-readings and the thoughts of others.
Most books are not this complicated. Some books can be put down after 5-10 hours to no consequence. I can't spend another two days analyzing and thinking about a biography or a history book. I can't spend another two days on a simple fiction book like Our Souls at Night, to use an example from my above-posted recent readings.
Some books are just books. You read them, they inspire some interesting ideas, and they give you a story. You leave them, think about them for a while, then start over. Don't be pretentious. Finnegans Wake is one of my favorite books for that purpose - it is a constant challenge for me. It isn't something I can entirely say I understand from cover to cover, despite all of the energy I've put into it.
You're really trying way too hard to make my words into something they aren't.
>>7407588
I've actually tried this, and found that I don't really like it much more than reading them in English. I'll likely do this some day, but for now I'm really only interested in German fiction to shape my practical knowledge of the language. Thank you for the post though, really.
>>7407394
Hey how is Our Souls at Night? I heard really good things about it but just wanted to hear your thoughts since you seem like a cool guy.
OP my lad, have you read much Bergson? I'm sort of at a loss on where to head next.
>>7407577
Likewise, any cheeky cunt can read through a book in a day and shout "zomg guys I get it"
>>7407595
Sure, that's because most books are garbage.
But we're talking about good books, the books that YOU and I would prefer to read. Those you'd put down after 5-10 hours with no consequence? You'd throw away War and Peace, The Recognitions, The Crying of Lot 49, Dubliners etc?
Why the fuck does anyone bother to study literature if it's so bloody easy to comprehend texts? Why aren't literary profs hired based on the numbers of books that they've read, if seemingly all it takes to "get" a work is reading it at about 200wpm for 5-10 hours?
It's evident you're not reading very deeply, anon.
>>7407608
It's a nice book. Has a really cozy, small town feeling. It deals with the desire for companionship, the limitations of love, possibly even the selfishness of love. It's got some really heavy, but gently delivered bits of wisdom about finding ways to be happy even when life sucks. It's very easy to empathize with the characters, they're written in a way that is outstandingly human.
It's emotional in the kind of way that keeps you on the verge of tears even during the happy parts. It conjures fear, longing, and genuine feelings of love. I swear I thought about my wife a thousand times while reading the book. Bittersweet is the perfect word. I think perhaps the reader needs to be at a certain point in their life for it to not be overbearing and/or boring, but for me I felt a certain relation to it. I'm deeply in love, and that helped me relate to the story in a way I just couldn't have 10 years ago.
For a modern, fairly simple novel - which don't get me wrong, Our Souls is, I would say it's superb. It's just a matter of to what extent you can enjoy a book like that. Read it if you're in love, and keep it on the book shelf for when you are if not.
>>7407662
>Those you'd put down after 5-10 hours with no consequence?
>The Crying of Lot 49
OK.
Also you don't need to have a PhD level understanding of every book you read, jesus only on /lit/ could you have someone shitposting about this.
>>7407715
anon, are you an undergrad who wants to be a Great Writer? and who has yet to complete a the outline for his culture-shaking novel?
we both know i'm right, own this
have you read sam lipsyte?
>>7407662
>Those you'd put down after 5-10 hours with no consequence? You'd throw away War and Peace, The Recognitions, The Crying of Lot 49, Dubliners etc?
I've been reading for 15 years man. Of course I don't read these one in a thousand books in a day and forget about them. But there are only so many books out there I can put that kind of energy into and get a justifiable amount of wisdom or intrigue from. For every Joyce or Borges or Calvino I've read a hundred history books or psychology books or just lower-tier writers who still have valuable ideas to share. Take, for an example, Flannery O'Connor. I'm really into her short stories. Love them. But I would never obsessively reread and analyze them like I have Finnegans Wake or the Canterbury Tales or Wittingstein's Mistress. My wife is a literature teacher and probably has more desire than I do to talk about books. My entire life revolves around them, and for the really profound works I've dealt with my ideas are constantly evolving. But that doesn't mean my reading stops with them. Are you suggesting I should never read an O'Connor or a Salinger or a Hemingway or a Plath again, just because their writings aren't infinitely complex labyrinths of ideas?
Some books can be experienced without holding them on some kind of pedestal where they have to be contemplated and studied more than they are enjoyed. I read plenty deeply, and more importantly, I read to the extent a book warrants it.
>>7407738
I've got The Fun Parts on one of my book shelves right now, but no. Is that an ok place to start with him?
>>7407715
>this buzzword-laden, high school-tier of understanding
It's a book about old people trying to find love. It has no meaningful complexity, just some nice bits of wisdom and a good story. What would you want me to say about it? Have you read it?
Anon stop being upset that OP has read far more than you and has been reading for far longer than you have. This is no way to vent your insecurities.
>>7407797
What's worse is the cherry - picking semantics and erroneous claims when OP is being nothing but colloquial.
What a peculiar thread
OP, have you read Philippe Soupault?
Have you read Nerval, Gass or Gaddis? They're some of my faves and you have similar taste to me. Also Burton and Sit Thomas Browne are underappreciated. If you like Chaucer I imagine you'll like Spenser. Have you read the Feverhead? Memoirs of my Mental Illness? The Tragedy of Man? Ferdydurke? H Hatter by Desani? Hope there's something here you like
Hi OP, you should ignore the anon being ignorant. You seem to have great taste.
William T. Vollmann is absolutely worth checking out. Start his Seven Dreams series, which is ongoing, or Europe Central. His book of short stories is not worth investigating.
I would also recommend McElroy's Women and Men, you might enjoy the challenge.
>>7408400
I've read the first five pretty extensively. Of course I've read Spenser too. Read all of those books except H Hatter, which is on my book shelf. I'll certainly put it towards the top of the list. Thanks for the post.
>>7408496
Thanks for specifying not to check out his short stories. That's certainly where I would have gone given a blind chance. I've read Women and Men, but I'm well over due to revisit it.
>>7408338
Oh, I intended to reply to this. I have indeed. Thanks for the post.
>>7405343
If you haven't already, you should check out John Wilmot, AKA Rochester. He's probably my favorite of the Restoration-era wits, but he didn't achieve the same legacy of, say, Pope. Check out a "Satyr against Reason and Mankind."
Not exactly obscure, but I'm not sure if he would fall into the classics you've read either.
>>7407673
thanks appreciate the thought on our souls at night.
How's about Brackenridge's Modern Chivalry? Or any Dino Buzzati? Dos Passos? Krzhizhanovsky?
>>7405343
You seem well read and to have a genuine passion for literature so here's my advice: leave /lit/ and never come back, this place is a cesspool
>>7407228
>projecting this hard
>>7407342
Okay now it's obvious you're trolling, good job you legitimately rustled my jimmies
>>7407487
It's sad people like this are 90% of /lit/ we need more OP's
>>7405343
I'm curious, OP, how do you decide what to read? Obviously you're not very picky. My problem is I spend days, even weeks deciding what to read next and I feel like it's a habit I really need to break.
>>7405343
Have you read Don Quijote yet? It is a chunky book and a fun read. Read it in Spanish, it isn't hard. Just have to get used to a few words like menester, jumento and make some f's and g's h's.
>>7409277
Not OP, but I have three ways of deciding. Pick the shortest, pick based on an interest or just have anyone else decide. A child could do that or if you live under a rock, you could flip a coin or choose based on your post number.
>>7409328
Also read Jude the Obscure, Nabakov, and Joseph Conrad
>>7409277
I have days where I kind of just decide to build myself a reading list. I'll order 100 books at a time some days. It's far better to begin reading something you don't like than it is to never try something you might love. Really though, just tackle broad ideas. Read books about puerto rican history. Read 20th century short stories from women. Paint in broad strokes.
Goodreads lists, the million websites out there with people's opinions about what you should read, etc. are all good. I have a local book store that gives me 1.50 for nearly any book I bring in, and I buy most of my books on thriftbooks, better world books, etc. for 3-5 dollars, so there's little risk involved in picking up a bad book.
In other words, be ambitious. Make decisions. Understand that you won't be able to read everything good immediately, and just take things in chunks that interest you. Start working your way through the books of a movement, a time, a place, anything. You'll read far more good books in the end than you will by doing strenuous research and trying to make sure you only read books you absolutely love. There's value in books that are just OK, too.
>>7409333
>>7409328
I've read these. Thanks though.
>>7408841
I've only read a Selected Stories book from Buzzati. Does he have any worthwhile novels? Love Krzhizhanovsky. Couldn't get into Passos.
>>7408698
Great selection, but sadly not of use to me.
I'll be resting now, and working later, but I'll hopefully check this periodically. Still totally interested in any recommendations or discussion you guys have to throw at me.
>>7405343
Have you heard of the Beats? they're pretty obscure
>>7409366
Yes, but do you have specific recommendations?
they're not SUPER obscure, but have you read any kosztolanyi or krasznahorkai? literally everything i've read of both of them is great (they're not that similar apart from both being great hungarian authors)
other random things i've liked that might be slighty off the beaten track:
j a baker - the peregrine
cynan jones - the long dry
kazuo ishiguro - the unconsoled
jerzy kosinski - steps
clifford d simak - city
zachary mason - the lost books of the odyssey
>>7405343
Doesn't fit the pattern I'm getting at a glance in the thread, but as for the sort of book you won't just find prominent in search engine results one anon on this board has been championing "Dreams of Amputation" by Shipley. Sci-fi with a philosophical bent (explicit, more than usual even in the Dick-onwards tradition). The writing is sometimes sloppy and yet it's an interesting treatment of the idea, could be something new for you.
Another special recommendation from here is Nathaniel Mackey, a series of epistolary novels starting with Bedouin Hornbook. Seen it described as experimental, coming from poetry, jazz and rhythmic prose. Has me interested, haven't grabbed it yet.
I see Log of the Unguentine was already mentioned, and also something about following authors' references, well going the other way around both this and Motorman were supposedly the favourite books of one famous editor Gordon Lish (YES relation, I've just checked, with the guy who wrote the hip new "Preparations for the Next Life", that's his son) -- which shows that he's got good taste at least, and he's written quite a bit. Haven't tried any of his yet, for what it's worth Dalkey Archive picked up Peru not long ago.
Thomas Pynchon is a classic and one of /lit/'s most talked about, so this is the local reverse of obscure, but since you're not from around here and it seems you've been following that same trend I've caught myself progressively getting into, favouring shorter books (I get it), Mason & Dixon is of these yes doorstoppers one that is absolutely worth the length, I wish it was longer. On the off-chance you haven't, give it a chance.
>>7405439
Galaxie 500 members have a press holy shit, thanks anon.
>>7409349
Tartar Steppes is definitely worth reading. Have you read Darconville's Cat? You've probably already read Rousell. Hmm perhaps you might like Nescio or Hrabal?
Sartor Resartus is a fun one you might have overlooked
antonio moresco
stefano benni
böll
clark ashton smith
bamp
OP how flat is your ass?
>>7411431
I'm assuming this is some kind of insult about me sitting too much, so..as I've said in the thread I work a physical job. I'm probably up and moving more than most people on 4chan.
>>7410944
thanks..
>>7410111
You too.
>>7410096
I'll check out Tartar Steps! Thank you.
>>7410109
He is. I'll look into it.
>>7410013
I realllly don't like scifi, but I'll certainly keep the rest of your post in mind.
>>7410009
There are a couple of things in this post I'm unfamiliar with. Thanks a ton.
I'm super tired, sorry this post isn't as clean as my previous ones. Just wanted to get one last reply in before I pass out until tomorrow morning in case the thread dies before I wake.
Thanks everyone, for everything. Even the grumpy people. /lit/ isn't so bad.
>>7411775
>Even the grumpy people.
That anon wasn't simply grumpy. He really was that insecure. He couldn't deal with a tourist strolling through who was that well read and had zero interest in this goofy board culture that he's so invested in. It genuinely frustrated him and everyone reading his posts could see it.
But you probably already know that and you're just being diplomatic about it.
read Macedonio Fernandez OP, he was Borges's literary mentor and influence, his prose is similar to Joyce's, weird and complex even for a spanish reader
>>7412382
>Macedonio Fernandez
Wow, thanks. This recommendation is a pleasant thing to wake up in the middle of the night to.
>>7412382
Is a translation not worth reading then?
>>7411919
Sounds like a troll desu, but otherwise I'd guess just upset that someone is reading through books instead of studying them
>>7405343
OP you are clearly much more sincere and better read than /lit/. Leave this place and don't come back, lest we drag you down
>>7409252
lmao beat me to it
>>7412807
i don't know how easy you can get them in spanish if you live in the US, i don't even know if they're translated
anyway, read these if you can:
No toda es vigilia la de los ojos abiertos
Papeles de Recienvenido
Museo de la novela de la eterna
he was a man who didn't care about getting published, he just wanted to be sitting in a bar and talk with Borges, Marechal and other crazy people about metaphysics and shit, so his books are all "compilations" of stuff, everything he wrote (which was all weird shit, there's a "novel" with 50 prologues) he threw it on the corner and start writing something else
>>7414036
Thanks. This is something I will definitely keep in mind, sounds very interesting.
>>7410009
ty for plugging the unconsoled friend
>>7405343
OP please keep posting on /lit/.
We're in a bit of a weird down swing at the moment. I imagine it's a combination of young hopefuls with Oxford/Cambridge interviews and busy students.
>>7414785
Certainly not praising OP, just calling that one guy an idiot, which he obviously is.
>>7414785
If you reply to this, I'll consider all of you very gullible.
>>7414785
fuck off faggot
This thread has the highest volume of good recommendations in the history of this board
>>7416380
Yeah, who knew, you actually have to pose as a human bean when asking for recs. I'm taking notes.
>>7405343
>Outside of the classics, my focus has mostly been on postmodern stuff outside of the classics/obvious popular choices.
I was about to call you a fraud, but then I read your replies in the thread and you actually seem genuine. My only question is how do you read a book a day and still have such awful structure in your sentences?
>>7417029
He's posting on 4chan, not for publication.
>>7417085
You don't construct your sentences correctly out of habit? It's intuitive.
>>7417114
Dude is woodworker. He probably doesn't have much of a habit. If you're asking why "autocorrected" sentence structure doesn't seep into his posts I cannot say I know why, nor can I say that it would.
>>7417114
It's not. Reading habits do not necessarily trickle down into expressive habits. Environment, all that.
>>7417029
I'm typing on a phone, and a lot of my posts have been made at work on a 5 minute break. Not exactly invested in my sentence structure. I can't see most of this post without scrolling through it a couple of lines at a time. It isn't worth the energy to try and edit or really even consider structure when writing a post here as long as I get my point across.
>>7414036
Do they rely on language subtleties and puns that non-native speakers wouldn't get?
>>7418629
a little, he mixes words to make others, but it's definitely more understandable than Finnegans Wake, and like Joyce with Dublin, he wrote everything about Argentina so it has obscure references, there's also letters to people, writers, editors, magazines, etc, and most of his work is like in those long passages in Ulysses when Joyce rambles about stuff and you don't know what the hell he's talking about, but in this case is not THAT weird, more enjoyable, and in small vignettes, poems, short stories, all in a mixture of metaphysical fiction/non-fiction. I don't know, it's hard to explain
Late to the party, but:
>Finnegan's Wake
I am, on all levels, laffin and laffin good.
This thread can benefit others.
>>7417889
A couple of fairly recent novels you may not have come across although they had a fair amount of press. I think you'll like them:
Spurious by Lars Iyer
Wolf in White Van by John Darnielle
Have you read Denton Welch or Edmund White? Favourite authors of mine but may not be your thing
>>7405343
>My favorite books/works/whatever are:
>Finnegan's Wake
>'s
lmao almost fell for it 8/10
>>7421287
>>7419439
Yes, my phone inserting an apostrophe into the title of a book invalidates my thread. I apologize for ever posting.
>>7421280
I haven't read either of the newer ones you mentioned, or Edmund White. Any specific recommendations for him? I had a sort of superficial enjoyment of Denton Welch, but I don't recall being particularly attached to his writing. I mostly just found a kind of novelty in the way he described everything.
