>book you're currently reading
>what you think about it so far
Buckley's The Relic Master (from 2015 the newest book I've read since 2008)
Mildly entertaining, but feels like Canterbury Tales' the Pardoner's Tale or some shit for normies.
>>7569312
>Elect Mr. Robinson For A Better World
>I need chapters to function.
Well, I just finished the Plague like an hour ago, so I'll comment on this anyway.
It was superbly written, but I'm a little confused as to the meaning.
Was he trying to say that the best way to live a "purposeful" life is to fight death?
He was quite heavy on the whole "you don't know what you have until it's gone" motif as well, I thought.
Edgar Huntly.
I'm not very far but it's standard "thee, thou, thy" Olde English bullshit.
Ready for that panther tho senpai
Reading Stoner. So far it's pretty kaboom foamtastic.
Pic related. I like it, Cioran cheers me up in some way.
Facundo, o Civilizacion o Barbarie by Sarmiento
pretty good desu sempai, even though it is not a history book, it encapsulates the soul of Argentina and why its such a failed country(its always been since its inception). also the prose is beautiful and Sarmiento has a sense of humor.
lefties choripaneros need not comment
The Third Policeman
Never been so uncertain about whether I'm enjoying a book or not.
>Memoirs From the House of the Dead by Dostoevsky
It's alright, not overly impressed yet though. Basically just a few stories about life in what sounds like a fairly comfy Siberian prison.
This. It's fairly good so far, but a slow burner... about 160 pages in and it's only just starting to pick up now.
Foucault's Pendulum and coming to regret it. No matter how erudite it is, speculative fiction always strikes me as redundant.
Godfather
I'm not a feminist, I hate tumblr... But this book is annoyingly sexist. Sure, some of it can be attributed to the time period in the book (1940s) and male characters definitely will have conservative opinions, but it's obvious that the writer himself can only create two kinds of female characters - good loyal wives and cumdumpsters. And I can't say I'm interested in reading chapters dedicated to cumdumpsters and their oversized vaginas.
Otherwise the book is fine. The plot is exciting, and being immersed in this ethically fucked up world is interesting.
![u1_978-3-596-17626-7[1].jpg](https://i.imgur.com/ZAAaqGq.jpg "u1_978-3-596-17626-7[1].jpg")
So far so good, can't believe a book on Lacan is so enjoyable. I noticed that Zizek reuses some jokes and anecdotes from his youtube videos, that's kinda awkward .
Everything makes sense in this capsule of handpicked references, but I'm asking myself if Lacan worked with any empirical data to bakc his claims ? There is enough proof for the existence of the subconcious, but is there any evidence for the imaginary and the symbolic order, or the Other. Seems like a tool for rationalisation of human behaviour, not a real science
>>7569512
Females are supposed to be written as good loyal wives or cumdumpsters, any other and you are applying male features to what is supposed to be a woman.
The Trial
I'm about halfway through. It's a lot funnier than I expected. The constant upturning of all serious situations into comic ones and back and forth and vice versa is an amazing feat. All orientation is lost, especially after it's revealed more and more how much of an ass K. himself is, along with the rest of them.
I'm only halfway through, but it feels like a collection of short stories sharing the same theme than a traditional novel. I feel you could take almost any chapter so far and turn it into something along the lines of The Metamorphosis or The Judgement with just a little editing. But maybe that's just Kafka - this is the first novel of his I've read.
I'm reading Kundera's Unbearable Lightness of Being for the 4th time.
It's one of those books so special that I'm afraid to check other works by the author and spoil this irrational attachment to the whole thing
>>7569312
>Infinite Jest
Only 375~ pages in, but I like it a lot and can see why its memed.
The prose isn't elegant or prim but I think that's intentional.
>>7569535
>any other and you are applying male features to what is supposed to be a woman.
What
>>7569534
It's not as if he's the one uploading those videos
Voices from Chernobyl
I picked it up because she just won the Nobel, the books pretty good and very well translated. Its fast paced and I don't normally read nonfiction but I'm really enjoying it. I wish there was a little more history in it, like if it prefaced with a narration (which it kinda did but it served more as a recap than an introduction). The whole thing just kinda banks on emotion and imagining these peoples past struggles, it has almost no prose or real pacing. Its not trying to be a novel, obviously, but its really not what I'm used to reading.
Recommended though
>>7569534
I think if this is your issue you may need to reconcile your philosophy with your scientific materialist worldview my friend
>>7569562
It's not a big deal, he explicitly says that he has cannibalized his previous writings - due to the nature of his work. Just weird how much of it I recognize
>>7569512
The concerns of the novelist (circa 1969) did not lie in promoting progressive 21st century feminism.
One Who Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest
Don't let the combine get you.
Infinite Jest
80 pages only, can't really tell much. It seems meh so far.
Ulysses. The good bits are out numbered by the bad bits
>>7569583
>writing female characters with a personality is 21st century feminism
I guess Euripides, Racine and Tolstoy were all tumblr users and demisexual otherkins?
>>7569560
I think it's pretty clear what he meant
>>7569607
Are you mentally retarded? The intentions of The Godfather was NOT to have developed female characters. You understand the setting of the novel, don't you? The history and politics around it? Go back to fucking Imgur, you moron.
Gravity's Rainbow.
I started it a couple months ago but since college started back up I put it down. I can't convince myself to read very much when I already have to study and read shitty textbooks trying to force feed me their ideals.
That being said I started reading it with the Winter Quarter. I really enjoy it but getting back into it after a few months is proving difficult.
>>7569624
No, apparently I don't understand that women in the '40s were physically unable to have a personality and apparently I haven't been visiting this place for two years.
>>7569646
Alright, fine. Here:
https://www.goodreads.com/shelf/show/racist-or-sexist
Go ahead and blacklist all those books because they won't provide you the developed female characters you want. Be sure to add The Godfather so others don't have to suffer like you did!
>>7569633
That's what you get for not majoring in mathematics, boyo
>>7569691
I always got pretty good grades in math but I hated it.
Not planning on getting a degree, just taking classes that interest me. Unfortunately all of my classes except one are taught by awful tumblr teachers.
>>7569667
Your arguments are great. Very objective, and you are obviously very open to discussion and dialogue. In fact, you just made me change my opinion. Women in Godfather really shouldn't have a personality!
>One Hundred Years of Solitude
I'm really enjoying the fable-y quality and the dreamlike events that happen. Waiting for it to go somewhere more concrete as far as theme is concerned though.
>Earthly Paradise, Colette
Pretty cool book as it's her autobiography as put together through bits of her own writing that was collected later. I like how it's put together and told, sometimes I forget it's not fiction. Very comfy, and also stirs a move-into-the-country-and-live-simply impulse within me. I would recommend it.
>>7569667
kek, how often I've seen reviews on that site that gives books 1/5 stars just because of feminism
A lot of the times they even write how they actually liked the book and the story but then mentions how they were triggered by something not being progressive enough and ends up giving the book 1/5 stars just because of that.
Dracula being a prime example
>>7569717
I remember seeing a picture of a gay man giving Death of a Salesman 1 star because he said it was sexist and it took a woman saying "This play was representative of society's vision of women during the '50s" to get him to shut up.
finished war and peace last week.
bretty good. it's an interesting construction.
currently reading idylls of the king
it's really good, there's a subtle mastery of the original source material and a smoothed down lucid verse style
>>7569312
2999, Bolaño. Just finished the first part, haven't find the reason why he's so acclaimed feels like a mexican Murakami.
>>7569387
La plèbe ne lit pas en français
>>7569698
>he's paying for college but not getting a degree
you better be making enough to justify this
The Man in the High Castle
binged the show and couldn't get enough. I read A Scanner Darkly a couple years ago and enjoyed it but never got into more Dick. High Castle is really interesting, and the show deviated enough from the novel to where I don't know whats around every corner, which was a pleasant surprise.
>>7569808My parents are paying for my college. I've told them my plans already but they're still paying anyway. So I'm not going to look a gift horse in the mouth
>Barthelme, Sixty Stories
I don't know, I've only read the very first. It namedropped Hawkes, which was cool, I guess.
>>7569795
>this uncertainty is making me uncomfortable
>op's pic
sleep tight Soler
>>7569540
I'm with Kundera's Inmortality and i have already read the Unbearable Lightness of Being. At least with this novel i could tell that Kundera still has his magic, i won't spoil it to you, but it wouldn't dissapoint you.
>>7569831
I finished this recently as well. Most of the stories were too dry and emotionless, if you ask me.
>A Confederacy of Dunces
>The best comedy TV show I never saw.
>>7569756
>Mexican Murakami
haha just you wait, just you waitHe's Chilean you scrub
>>7569312
The Stranger, finally getting around to Camus
About 1/4th of the way in and I really like it. The oppressiveness of the setting comes through very well. The main character reminds me of myself to an eery degree.
>Ask /lit/ what should I read next
>Infinite Jest
>Pay $30 for a pristine edition of the book
>Make it 1/4th the way in before realize /lit/ recommended that I read garbage
You all are fucking shitheads.
>>7569852
thank you, i'll read it.
Parzival, by Wolfram von Eschenbach
I fucking love it, though I'm only one chapter in. I've read a lot of 20th century literature recently so it's nice to travel back in time with a medieval romance. Gahmuret is a fucking badass, and there's a lot of jousting. Great stuff.
>>7569903
>falling for the infinite jest meme
>>7569903
>>7569312
Faust
If the Devil is as interesting as Mephistopheles is portrayed to be, then I might dive into the grimoires in my closet.
The Forgotten Soldier
It's really good, probably the best war novel I've ever read.
>The Recognitions
lots of gay shit, art forgery plot and goofy bitches
>>7569512
I still remember that opening sex scene by the character who fucked a lady against a wall.
This discussion of literature is making me uncomfortable.
>>7569863
I guess I'll find out soon. I haven't read any Barthelme before, but I know he is supposed to be one of the big American pomo-ists, alongside Hawkes, Barth, Gaddis, Gass, and Pinecone, so I had to check him out
>>7569903
![51GKIEGRSGL._SX315_BO1,204,203,200_[1].jpg](https://i.imgur.com/d534nkl.jpg "51GKIEGRSGL._SX315_BO1,204,203,200_[1].jpg")
Pic related.
It's great. I've learned so far that the Greeks are cucks, the Venetians are traitors, and the Maltese are badass.
>>7569816
I've been meaning to read that actually.
>be me
>receive doctor sleep as gift for Xmas
>read back
>the shining sequel
>should have read the shining first
It's a good book. I grew up reading the King's novels and I have a special place for him in my heart. But seriously though I should have read the shining first.
>>7569444
Have you read crosscurrent? I thought it was entertaining for the length. It was around 300 pages so a very quick read.
>>7569312
Almost done with Visit From The Goon Squad.
Really really enjoying it so far. probably finish it up tonight.
Also reading Cat's Table. I love me some Ondaatje
>>7569540
This book is the only book in my life that I didn't finish, it was so boring to me, maybe I will visit it again this year because I've heard that it isn't as bad as I think it is.
200 p into Oblomov.
Literally me irl two years ago if you replace bed with computer table.
>>7569560
purposefully mysoginistic blab, youngin
>2666
Only 100 pages in, but so far I'm enjoying it. I liked when they beat up the Pakistani taxi driver.
Anyone else read it or reading it?
>inb4 fell for the meme
I started reading "Crime and punishment" by Fiódor Dostoyevski like 20 minutes ago, I'm in part three of the first chapter so far and I'm already loving it.
>pic related, 49% in
>I love it. Mantel has a way with characterisation and description: it's economical and yet extremely effective. Wonderful novel.
>>7571153
le ironic racism
>>7569312
>Erections, Ejaculations, Exhibitions
and General Tales of
Ordinary Madness
It's funny
>>7569312
steal my fucking thread again and see what happens, fuccboi
The Count of Monte Cristo
Prose is nothing special, anything notable is an occasional flowery description of the environment. I don't like the parts about French nobility because I don't really understand it.
I will try to recommend it to my friend who reads nothing but fantasy as a stepping stone.
>nine stories
>pretty good, approaches franny and zooey levels of great at some points and remains very rich still when it doesn't. except for the laughing which is pretty mediocre by salinger standards.
Blood Meridian
captivating
Carson McCullers - The Ballad of the Sad Cafe
>charming
Will finish it shortly though, very short. Some other shorts in this edition too though.
>>7572886
Holy shit that's what I'm reading right now, too. The other short stories are pretty solid, but BotSC just ripped my heart out. That brief digression on the nature of the lover and the beloved was masterful.
>Brief Interviews With Hideous Men
Pretty fun so far, really like some of the stories and interviews, a few seem to fall flat or go over my head however.
>>7569312
war and peace. Good but daunting. I want more battle depictions and less soirees, and i think I'm going to start reading ada or ador as well so i can go back and forth between the two
>>7573179
What translation & edition should I buy?
>>7569312
It's all I've ever wanted from a book set in 1300 Italy,
Thanks Mario Brega
>>7573273
Meant 1100 sorry
>>7569816
I got like 150 pages in and it never seemed to go anywhere so i dropped it
You Can't Go Home Again by Thomas Wolfe
Wolfe sure does like to use hyphenated adjectives. I like that the main character is a writer. He's not a best-selling, famous, good looking author; God knows there's been enough written of those. He's an unsuccessful, beaten down unknown that's seen a good many rejection letters in his day. So far, from the first 50 pages, I like it a lot.
>>7569312
Infinite Jest.
I know, but I am in the first 50 pages and it seems... interesting? Not too much to make a valid opinion.
About halfway through DeLillo's Mao II. Was kind of enjoying it, then I saw it being shit on here, and I haven't picked up since. It seems he writes with an illusion of clarity. It seems like crystallized thought, but it lacks substance. Like a replica car--a Ferrari with a six cylinder. The more interesting themes seem tenuous--terrorists and writers--but it's still interesting.
Other than that, I've had Thus Spake Zarathustra half read for a while. Nietzsche is a robotic, whining histrionic. I share sentiments, am like that, but it's repulsive like reading of others' depression. If I were depressed and happened to see words, by another hand, of my own, I'd be disgusted. Nietzsche is repulsive in a weird way.
>>7569312
I'm reading Anne Karenina. Only twenty pages in. Got sidetracked by a Wallace short story earlier today. Big Red Son. It was alright, but not spectacular.
Anne Karenina on the other hand already has masterful characterization in the span of 20 pages. Definitely excited.
It's really great you're posting hello reddit pictures. It's like coming to terms with terminal illness. Once this board is completely dead, there'll be more time for reading without the allure of distracting shitposting.
>>7569312
I'm like 30 pages into Henry Adams's Democracy and it alternates between slog and mildly enjoyable.
>Moby-Dick
I really really wish Melville would stop interrupting the story every other chapter with his autism about the minuscule details of whale anatomy and whaling history. When the story gets going it's incredibly captivating and the prose is absolutely beautiful but it constantly gets interrupted by these essays on why the whale is a fish and not a mammal.
Reading Nabokov's Invitation to a beheading.
Only 20 pages in, I find myself reading it with 'The Trial' floating around in the back of my mind, I hope I'm not ruining the experience for myself.
>>7569756
>2999
>mexican Murakami
Reading the catcher in the rye, short but cozy book.
What's with this kid and his phony obsession
The life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman
I like how the whole book is just one derailment after another, but they still advance the story.
> Infinite Jest (~40 pages)
> Why is this book good?
>The Crying of Lot 49
>Around 30 pages
Nice prose; not like anything I've read in the past to be honest. I'm not a native speaker so I'm grasping it slowly to set the mood. Already bought my GR (Gravity's Rainbow) copy from overseas, will have it in about 2 (two) months. Did I dun goof'd ordering GR (Gravity's Rainbow) over V (Vee)?
>>7573668
>Nietzsche is a robotic, whining histrionic
>Nietzsche is repulsive in a weird way
refer to the picture in OP
>The Shadow of the Torturer
>chapter 24/35
So far it's great but overall it feels like not much is happening,
Political Order and Political Decay
I'm only a few chapters in.
Seems good. The writing is a bit plain. It's incredible how fast you move through clearly written non-philosophical books.
I'm still not sure precisely where Fukuyama lies on the political spectrum.
>>7569312
Just read Freud's Group Psychology and the Analysis of the Ego. Most of is seemed pretty intuitive. But I did learn about how some people can replace their ego ideal with an object.
>>7569312
Karamazov Brothers
I'm an atheist but the Christian themes and philosophy is actually a bit nice and touching.
Very engaging so far, I'm a novice so when I'm done with it it'll probably be my favorite book I've ever read so far
Crime and Punishment
Amazing book, the suspens is great, the characters are great, I fucking love Raskolnikov.
Why is Dostoievski so based gentlemen ?
>The last life of Leo Tolstoy by Valentine Bulgakov
It's interesting, you learn a lot about Tolstoy as a person
>>7574118
Because he had great insight into human nature
I'm reading Anna Karenina. Just started it but I can already tell it's going to be good. I don't know if it will live up to the hype, but I hope it does
>The Master and Margarita
I'm on page 114, we've just met the Master. Pretty fun stuff going on here, that Pontius Pilate chapter is godly
Tolstoy's Resurrection. Nekludov is a fucking moron. The book is fairly ok so far, Maslova is a good character.
>>7574250
Great book m8.
>>7569312
>One Hundred Years of Solitude
>When is he finally going to get fucking shot by that firing squad!?
Decline of the West
I particularly liked the whole bit about Classical vs Western math being both born of their unique world-feeling, and that it ties in with the art each produced. 10/10 book so far. Looking forward to Imperium.
Pic related.
Needs more cetology.
Honestly, the cetology chapters are quite entertaining. Much more than chapters like, say, The Town-Ho’s Story.
Just starting this
>>7574409
and just finished this
>>7569903
>>7574548
How is it?
>>7574548
Just started reading it and I'm liking it a lot. I'm loving Gass's prose
Just started Herodotus Histories. I have nothing to say about the content itself yet but goddammit this Landmark edition's fonts are so small is awful to read.
>>7573693
that's my favorite novel by him. it's definitely his most masterfully written.
>>7573747
I agree. It wasn't the length, it was the digression into things like whale tales, although it didn't bother me too bad. i still really enjoyed it.
>>7573980
No, Gravity's Rainbow is far superior, I really loved it. V. is great and is easier, a better entry point, but not nearly as good.
Right now I'm juggling the Plot Against America by Philip Roth (much better than I expected), No Country for Old Men (eh. It's like an airport novel with great writing, but pales in comparison to Blood Meridian or the Road) and On the Genealogy of Morals (kinda just reading this because I'm super excited about starting Ecce Homo and didn't want to miss out on his major works while reading his final and comprehensive).
>>7574635
Ecce Homo is his worst book though.
Finishing up The Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man.
I've enjoyed it moderately so far, but I don't think I'm well read enough to appreciate what it did for the genre/medium. I understand his writing style was incredibly experimental and poetic, but its not making me go 'Aww yiss Joyce'
I'm probably just a pleb though. I'll pick it up again in 5 years or so.
My first book of Mishima: Runaway Horses
Infinite Jest
Wardine be cry.
>>7569540
>
I just finished my first read through of it. I liked how she broke the fourth wall and how she worked with kitsch. what do you think of it?
>>7572771
god I love those two books. nine stories and f&z are the two that really got me into reading
>>7574664
I had this same problem when I read the book a few years ago. I wanted very much to fully appreciate The Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, but recognized very clearly that Joyce went way over my head. I want to try again this year.
>>7574057
glad to hear that it's acessible. I am also a newb, and have been waiting to read it till Im better read, but I think I might dive in sooner. thanks!
>Great Expectations by Charles Dickens.
More than half way through it and it's pretty good. The character change of Pip throughout the book is strong yet suttle. I compare it to a scale of sorts: he is still that blacksmiths boy at heart but is enveloped in his new environment of great expectations creating an imbalance of his inner self at points.
Currently reading 犬と魔法のファンタジー by Tanako Romeo.
It's set in a future of a typical fantasy world, where noone goes onto adventures anymore. The protagonist is a university student trying to find a job. That's the main theme of the work, the so-called 就職活動 and absurdities that come along with it. To my best knowledge, lot of the ridiculous stuff Romeo describes in the book is real.
Currently I'm about 40% in and it's only getting better and better as I continue. I also like Romeo's treatment of the main heroine, Yomika, the girl on the cover. While the book is published under a LN imprint, it's not really close to a typical LN in any way, so Yomika isn't a stupid LN heroine either. The protagonist still kinda dislikes her, so I'm interested to see what will Romeo do with that.
One thing that I'm not 100% fan of is the usage of the setting, which is perfectly transparently meant to represent the human world along with its own magical Twitter and Line equivalents. It's the kind of obvious wink wink at the audience you either like or don't. I mean, I don't hate it, but I'm not fully sold on it either.
What I do like and what makes the whole thing worth reading is Romeo's text. To put it simply, it flows really well. Romeo can make even seemingly mundane passages seem interesting. For example a flashback about a failed expedition into an underground city is presented in almost purely factual manner, yet it's not boring. If I had to name one reason why, I'd say brevity. I'm not claiming I have great understanting of Japanese language as a whole, but I can easily imagine a different writer spending way more pages than Romeo to tell the same things.
>Ulysses
>Oxen of the Sun chapter
This book is godly, I curse myself for not reading it earlier. Can't remember when I enjoyed a book to such degree last time. The irony in last two chapters was top notch.
>>7576019
Are you buying imports?
>>7576024
No, I currently live in Japan.
>>7576028
I don't suppose you'd know where to buy LN imports? Pilfering through amazon's a real bitch
>>7576032
If you want physical books, probably the easiest way would be to use a proxy service. Are you aware of those?
>>7576022
Fuck yeah buddy. My favorite chapters are Nausicaa and Cyclops. Team Leopold!
Pet Semetary by Stephen King. About 50 pages in and it's good but has a very slow start. Recently read Rage by Stephen King in almost one sitting. Couldn't put it down.
The Eye of the World
I'm on page 200, not much just run and hide.
>>7569312
>shakespeare's complete works.
just started and finished the tempest. positively surprised at how well i understand it (english is my second language) and how entertaining it's been so far. can't really say much more. i probably won't end up reading all of it, but at least around half of the plays and all of the sonnets
any recommendations on some of the lesser known plays?
>book is fucking huge
>two-column pages take a godawful amount of time to read
>Dune
I like the worldbuilding, but it's actually somewhat dull other than that so far, can't really get much interested for how the plot will develop
on page 152 btw
Also, my version includes something called "The prophet" is that part of the story itself, or is it just some addon stuff like other contents of the book?
>>7576484
You were supposed to save The Tempest for last since it's basically Shakespeare's swan song, but I guess it doesn't matter too much.
>any recommendations on some of the lesser known plays?
King Lear is a personal favourite.
>>7576509
yeah i was debating on whether i should read it in chronological order or not, and ended up just following how they were presented in the first folio. i figured the publisher would've thought it through more than i ever would
at least i got a good start.
>>7569312
Dune
about 430 pages in. really disappointed, did i fall for a shill or what? the book is average and this far in i literally have no idea what pauls motives are besides the fact that he is apparently the chosen one. also what the fuck is spice even used for?
is the appeal of this book the expansiveness of the lore or what?
>>7576550
sorry to hear that, someone just gave me this book for christmas and I planned to read it soon
>Blood Meridian
Literally GOAT
>>7576550
>what the fuck is spice even used for?
Like this is important?
A Colossal Failure of Common Sense, by Larry McDonald.
It's pretty good so far. Gives an interesting insight into Lehman since McDonald was a senior trader there at the time of the crash.
>>7576638
>books devotes ATLEAST 200 pages to world building but doesnt tell you what the most important thing world wise is used for
i mean, i guess it doesn't really matter, but if you wanna build a believable world atleast tell me obvious things.
War and Peace. Battle scenes are fucking incredible. Peacetime scenes in Moscow are less immersive of Anna Karenina's comfy scenes. Book is stellar and can't wait to finish it.
>>7573693
Oblonsky is my nigga
Remains of the Day
Halfway through it and I'm loving it so far. It feels like Wild Strawberries if the professor didn't have regretsbut it feels like Stevens does have regrets that he's trying to justify to himself, what with saying that he doesn't know Darlington while he was serving him when his father died
>>7576550
It's been a while, but I remember thinking spice was used as a drug, and that most people in the galaxy were addicted to it.
>>7576775
That's probably not too far off, and it might have some parallels to the British opium trade (with the Opium Wars and all that).
I went to jail last week and all I had to read was some book by Karin Slaughter. And it was just awful.
>>7576985
I had to read a pulp romance novel in jail once. It was so bad it was actually hilarious
>>7577056
That doesn't even sound at least entertaining.
>>7577123
Kek
>>7577123
Lol the horrors of the system
>>7569444
It never picks up. It just stays boring the whole way through and the ending is shit.
Neuromancer.
Utter trash. The characters may as well not exist and I can barely tell what is happening half of the time.
![4130+q5ZsAL._AC_UL320_SR208,320_[1].jpg](https://i.imgur.com/vtKTBih.jpg "4130+q5ZsAL._AC_UL320_SR208,320_[1].jpg")
A good book so far. The author writes about himself in the third person which I found odd but otherwise, it's a pretty good book. A bit verbose and overly flowery at times however.
Oliver Twist by Charlie D
It's very funny and quite sad. Worth reading even if you think you know the story.
>>7576550
I'm also reading Dune, my comment is three above yours
The only thing i find good about the book so far is that it's really come up with a lot of different ideas for such a desert culture
not as far in as you, but i guess paul's motivation is to make his parents proud or something, i mean, he is just a kid so it could be something as simple as that
The spice is for food, it was pretty early stated that the spice tastes different each time you eat it
Jude the Obscure.
A little to sad since I am going through some romance problems now.
Thought about getting Of Human Bondage at the book store today, but the whole thing is about unrequited love and shit, and that's too much like real life not to be depressing right now.
>>7574031
economic liberal
disciple of Strauss
Currently reading Blood Meridian, although I'll have to set it down because of college, I'm halfway through and I'm enjoying it a lot despite being reading at snail's pace because of McCarthy's prose and the fact that english is my second language
>>7576042
Pet Sematary is one of King's best and the one that legit sent chills down my spine, it definitely has a slow start, even slower than King's used to, but it's well worth it once the story picks up.
Also, I saw The Name of The Rose and couple other books by Umberto Eco today, would you guys recommend I get Name of the Rose?
>>7569312
Parerga and Paralipomena by Schopenhauer. He has good philosophy. You can tell how he inspired Nietzsche and Wagner with the Anti-materialism and fleeting, painful life ideas.
taipei
hi tao
Ezra Pound: Guide to Kulchur
I'm on the third chapter which deals with money in a round about way.
First two chapters deal with Confucius and the Greeks and he makes the point that by 200b.c. The scope of Western thought had already been made clear.
On almost every page there is something I don't understand and am forced to research, it's a great book.
>>7569312
Iliad
I think hector got btfo by Ajax but got his ass luckily saved by gods
Agamemnon is a pleb dressed up as a patrician
Paris is a pussy
Achilles is a true patrician
"The Finding of the Third Eye"
Good read if your searching for inner peace
Occult lit, but i'm totally becoming an operative Freemason after this.
>>7577863
>an university education
I'm guessing that's intentional then?
>>7577988
The book is full of little things like that, Chinese characters and seemingly unrelated lines of prose, quite a bit of it is going over my head I'm sure.
>>7578014
And does he do it on purpose? I've been meaning to read Pound for a while now and this book seems interesting.
>>7578054
Everything he says is intended to point you in a direction so I'm presuming it's all meant. He writes in shorthand a bit too and condenses words and uses archaic spelling, it's all simple enough to decipher.
The Chinese characters are the real confusing thing, they obviously mean something.
I recently had the chance to buy a few first editions of Pound for cheap, Kulchur just stands alone.
Personae is a good place start. His cantos are very difficult and probably require a guide book. The Pisan Cantos are read the most out of all of them.
>>7578128
Thanks, I'll definitely take your advice.
>>7574057
>Karamazov Brothers
Haven't read the cover I guess.
Personal Knowledge by Michael Polanyi.
It is affirming and articulating the whole constellation of half-formed thoughts I have been trying to develop over the past three years. I feel I have found a kindred spirit, but one that is far more intelligent than I.
>>7569312
>The New Testament
Most ebin meme I ever read.
>>7578273
*tip*
33 strategies of war - I'm enjoying the history aspect that he ties into his ideas
Oblomov
almost 200 pages in, excellent so far
nine stories p gud
None at the moment, but I just finished Siddharta by Hesse
I had deep ethical feels
Superfreakonomics;
a nice distraction from the usual heavy classic stuff. I like it, might start reading more non fic, anyone have good recommendations? :)
>>7580575
Herodotus.
>>7569312
Look Homeward, Angel
I'm only 70 or so pages in, but holy shit is it good.
>>7569444
> Darth PLAGUEis
Fucking really?
Reading 3 books because fuck it
>The Holy Bible
Much of it is very slow and boring, but also has awesome page turner books. Reading it mostly because I want to read alot of books that as a rule need bible understanding.
>Silmarillion
Epic, I really like it, the 'old english', the poetry, characters and the strong influence of Tolkien's christianity in it
>The Iliad
Will start it as soon as I finish dumping this turd
Just started reading this
A Canticle For Leibowitz
It's pretty interesting so far.
>>7569312
Half of the book.
I hate every of them.
(white redhead?)
>>7571153
I'm reading it right now. Almost finished. I have mixed feelings.
Currently reading God Bless You Mr. Rosewater. Eliot is fun.
>>7569903
I pirated it. It truly is garbage.
>>7569540
>>7575945
Just finished my first reading too. (Milan Kundera is a man, btw). I liked it a lot, but I'm not sure if I'm interpreting it correctly.
All of the "einmal ist keinmal" stuff seems like absurdist existentialism, but Kundera seems to embrace the absurd. The fact that their love is merely coincidence makes it more profound and not less. (I think? Would love to know what other people think.)
Also yeah I loved the stuff about kitsch. I feel like the book talked about a lot of things that I found interesting while still being really readable/fun.
>Gogol's short stories
Hilarious and much more experimental than I was anticipating. Reads a bit like Kafka (bizarre and convulated hierarchies within society/administration) with the whimsy of Calvino
>History of Madness
Just starting this one, i think it's brilliant so far. Im anticipating that I'll find it tedious after the 250 page mark and im finding it needlessly verbose/obfuscatory, but I'm still enjoying it.
>For Whom The Bell Tolls
Only about 40 pages in but its pretty fucking cool. Love the language and how it seems to be a book about sneakin' around and blowing shit up.
>>7574395
Are you joking? because people usually feel the opposite.
IMO, it's pacing and the way the chapters are structured is perfect.
>>7583879
most people have shit taste
>>7578153
maybe he translated the title from a foreign version
>>7572951
at first glance it seemed like le whacky postmodernism but there's some pretty great moments
>>7569444
i love this book
The Holy Bible
Some of the books are as enjoyable as anything I've ever read, while others I'm just on cruise control. It's great to finally get around to it so I can expand my understanding.
The Art of War
Not bad, about what I expected, vaguely embarrassed never to have read it before but here we are
The Gunslinger. I like it, it's very surreal but doesn't step out-of-bounds when it comes to the flow of the writing.
>>7573747
Top kek
Stephen King > Hegel
The Noonday Demon: An Atlas of Depression by Andrew Solomon.
I'm not crazy about it. There's some interesting insight into philosophical views of depression though. Maybe I just don't agree with the writing style of the author.
>>7581058
I hope you never hear about General Grievance
The Complete Short Stories of Ernest Hemingway
man, this guy really has a hard-on for tragedy. not ALL of his stories, but so many end on such a down note. i'm not sure how to best go about reading a short story collection. do you read one after another like chapters in a novel? take some time away from reading after each to let it kind of sink in?
also, i'm learning a lot about bullfighting, fishing, and post-WWI Europe but i can't help but feel like my initial ignorance on these topics has made me miss a lot of subtext that might have been important (particularly important due to his sparse writing style)
To the lighthouse.
Literally just started it today and I had to reread the first chapter because I read it on cruise control half asleep on the train.
I'm still not quite sure I read the first chapter properly because I only remember the mr and ms fighting, and the kid getting bad vibes from his dad.
>>7585397
I just added it to my ereader. Sounds good.
>>7569312
The Double by Dostoyevsky
It's not engaging me so far
infinite yest
~200 pages in
enjoying the "challenge" of switching modes every few dozen pages. hoping for the broader narrative / network of narratives to continue becoming clear.
ETA stuff is a solid enough throughline for me.
i just wish the paperback wasn't so goddamned awkward to hold.
>>7585484
I'm reading it alongside other reads since it's so long.
I also have the paperback, the only way I'm comfortable with it is having it on a table. I feel the cover and spine are gonna get torn though, dunno how people keep this paperback in one piece.
Started a couple of books for uni
ficciones by Jorge Luis borges for my detective fiction class it's pretty good and borges is a real mindful
To kill a mockingbird for my American lit 1945 to present class. Haven't read since 9th grade. It's okay kind of dull but not terrible. I can't wait til we get to White Noise
>>7569410
One of the most interesting things I was assigned to read in University.
>>7585446
Filthy pleb
Just finished Cat's Cradle by Vonnegut. It was pretty good
>>7569312
V.
S' okay.
>>7569410
Amazing book. I disagree with him in a lot of the stuff he said, tho
>>7571149
heh, oblomov. good shit.
>>7578153
avsey translation has it as the karamazov brothers.
Amazing adventure of kavalier and clay, just hit part three, it's a pretty cute and refreshing story.
I mean, for a story about Jews in ww2 era america, its very charming and, I'm afraid to use this term but naive, in a sense. Its also simple to read through which is welcome after a month of IJ and non fiction
>>7573825
the book is made for angsty 15 year olds.
>The Republic
Some absolutely amazing chapters mixed in with some mediocre ones. All in all I am thoroughly enjoying it though
>Joyce, Dubliners
Only need to read 'Dead' but with every short story I am starting to like Joyce more and more. When I started out I didn't understand the hype. But by each story I get more and more into Joyce
I almost gave up midway through Genesis when it just listed what king was beaten where in the most boring and dry way possible.
I'm currently at the really interesting part of Exodus, but I'm really concerned about Leviticus and Numbers. I mean if Genesis was such a bore for me, then maybe I'm just not meant to read it...
>>7569534
>I noticed that Zizek reuses some jokes and anecdotes from his youtube videos, that's kinda awkward .
Oh that's nothing yet. Once you've read a bit more from him you'll see he's reusing stuff like all the time. It is in new context, but still.
>>7569312 book of disquiet. Its getting me anxious cause its taking a long time to impress me so far. There's a lot of impactful sentences, don't know if I like that or its too easy. I like his style of writing. And I can relate to the characters pessimism a lot. And that's what I like about it. The pessimism and the negative thinking but also the philosophical expressions and questions. Seems alright but the author could've rushes things up
>>7586248
You have to slog it out but I think it's worth it just to be a part of the fraction of the population that has read the fucking thing.
Not trying to be elitist. I only feel it's an unavoidable part of the western canon.
>>7569387
Did you read it in french? If not, why would you see it is
>superbly written
>>7581185
>>7581162
>>7577194
>>7576042
>>7576437
>>7576019
>>7574414
>>7574409
>>7573273
>>7572886
>>7571777
>>7571136
>>7571131
>>7570299
>>7570020
>>7569816
>>7569444
>>7583801
Consider actually reading something worthwhile
>>7573377
>>7572746
>>7569597
>>7569592
>>7569387
>>7586240
>>7573668
consider suicide
>>7569539
>>7569534
>>7569633
>>7569755
>>7571157
>>7572776
>>7573825
>>7573980
>>7574118
>>7574378
>>7574587
>>7574727
>>7576759
>>7577863
>>7585419
>>7586243
>>7586248
my nigga
>>7586781
Started Stoner earlier today. Finished the first chapter and i'm liking it so far.
>The Brothers K
>itis fucking great
>>7586379
Could've been superbly translated desu senpai
>>7573668
>I saw it being shit on here, and I haven't picked up since
what kind of a retarded reason to stop reading/enjoying a book is "anonymous people on the internet don't like it" ????
Lady Chaterley's Lover>tfw I will probably never experience what it is like to come at the same time as the woman I love
>>7587102
I'd more than happy to just cum on a woman.
Just finished Heart of Darkness. It was a little purple but pretty good.
Catch-22
Pretty funny
>>7587204
Somehow this hurt my feelings.
Reading Dubliners right now. The introduction to the version I have (Bantam Classics) is the first introduction I've read that has helped me understand a book. Also, at the end of Two Gallants, what does the gold coin Corley has signify? Why did the woman pay him?
>>7587463
Oh fuck I'm stupid, I didn't realize that the girl getting into the car with the two men was implied to be a prostitute. Maybe I'm too stupid to read Joyce.
