Do you read or write in a café?
If so, how?
They never really struck me as /lit/ friendly places. You have awkwardly high or awkwardly low tables, and patrician coffee in tiny cups that takes thirty seconds to drink, leaving you not much reason to hang around.
Do you go between meals or for a meal, followed by a round of /lit/ activity?
How did literary café culture exist in places like Vienna or Paris?
>drinking coffee
Literally the only reasona people do that are if they're bothered by the loneliness of writing but still want to write, they can't stop masturbating to porn if they try to write alone or they just want to be seen writing (tho that's more an adolescent thing)
>>7646194
I like them. There aren't any other distractions and I don't drink coffee anyway, so I just buy one to pay for my seat. Plus, there are cute baristas.
I read in Tim Hortons because I like being surrounded by homeless Vietnamese men who have been arrested for exposing themselves in Tim Hortons before.
And billions of Filipino nannies. BILLIONS. Watching Filipino nannies descend from the mouth of a TTC exit at 6:30 is like watching someone throw a flashbang into a cave full of literally infinite bats. If the ancient Norse had seen Filipino nannies heading to their jobs in the morning, they would have conceptualised the end of the world in terms of an all-swallowing inky blackness of nannies when the final bell tolls.
>>7646207
>not drinking coffee and smoking
Epic, I bet you drink beer, smoke weed and vape, fucking retard, fuck you.
I tried it a few times for a change of scenery, too much noise and too many faggots for my taste
I like the moving scenery and sometimes prefer some kind of noise in the background.
Though one time, after I finished a book and gazed out the window in contemplation, a hipster a few seats down started trying to talk to me about Jesus and if I'd read the Bible.
>>7646380
Considering taking up smoking - should I? Just as a reason to pass the time/do something with my hands while walking.
>>7646720
No. That is absolutely retarded. This must be bait it's so retarded. And I'm a retard for replying.
Sincerely,
Smoker who can't quit
>>7646740
It wasn't bait and your response totally put me off it - so thanks anon.
Why would you ever read in public?
>>7646753
Personally I like the white noise of general background hustle and bustle while I read/write.
>>7646194
>patrician coffee in tiny cups
>between meals or for a meal
Found your problem--
drinking from a bitch cup isn't patrician nor is eating food from a cafe, no matter how "organic" they claim to be.
Just order a regular coffee and eat in the evening after you're done with your book
For years I've written in a little place called "3rd street stuff", an Indie coffeehouse on 3rd st. Lexington ky. I can't write at home because of distractions so I go there, buy something (sandwich or iced coffee) to support the business. Then I soak in wifi and tune everything out with noise cancelling headphones and a playlist full of high tempo music in a corner and makes pages appear. I refuse to write in a Starbucks where those assholes with their $2000 macbooks try to be "seen" as they spend three months writing whatever hunger games or Catcher in the rye knock off they conceived before learning writing is actual work and quitting. I've written in coffee houses, waffle houses, the lounges of gay discos, in the car, break rooms, hotel rooms, wherever. If a coffeehouse works for you, do it. Find your spot and do the work.
Pictured is my first work and I'm working on the second which should be comparable in size or larger.
It's not bragging (could be shit, right?) but instead proof that anything is possible if you have the passion and work ethic to see something through to its end. You have my genuine support, but that means little doesn't it? What it comes down to is whether you'll commit yourself to the art of crafting literature (genre or otherwise) and earning the title of "author".
Best of luck, tiger. Go get em.
>>7646368
Sounds like HK on Sundays.
>>7646878
yo why the fuck would you write an 11 book series
>>7647102
I was visited by the ghost of Robert jordan
>>7647102
I think you're asking the wrong question. Why aren't more people writing larger series? You sound like a "glass half empty" person
>>7646194
only if the coffee is organic and the seats have as much edges as me
>>7647155
Round seats have infinite edges.
>>7646194
>They never really struck me as /lit/ friendly places.
I've always though the opposite, but it depends pretty heavily on the specific cafe. Check out a handful of nearby independently owned coffee shops, keeping in mind the coffee, food, furniture, and atmosphere (including the staff). Eventually (hopefully) you'll find a place that vibes well with you. Then you can settle in and get more comfy. I don't mean for a few hours, but rather in terms of weeks and months--you become a regular, befriend the staff, etc. It becomes a thing you do, which makes it more comfortable.
I live near a major city and for almost a year have been driving to a little cafe there on a daily basis, usually reading for 3-4 hours. I befriended the staff on my first day, and quickly ended up on good terms with everyone from the owner to the landlord who occasionally pops in. I always get the same order when I first show up, so I don't even have to ask for it anymore; if there's a line, I just wave from the back, sit down, and my coffee gets made as I settle in. My drinks are occasionally free, I often get two pastries for the price of one, and a few times a week, the owner or one of the baristas will give me $20-30 worth of pastries to take home when the shop closes.
I chat with the baristas every day, and occasionally bring them boxes of chocolates or even some homemade guacamole. If I show up more than 30 minutes after my usual time, they ask me what took so long. One time I went out of town for a few days without giving them a heads up, and they apparently spent a few days worried that I had found a new spot, and were indignant that I hadn't called them to tell them what was going on. When I came back, they said it hadn't been the same without me there, and even other customers had asked where I was. The baristas ask me about the books I read and one who has a son about my own age will even go out of her way to work me into conversations with cute girls waiting for their drinks.
Basically, if you're friendly and fun to have around, you can pick a corner and pretty much sit there as long as you like. If you want to constantly be sipping coffee, you'll either spend a lot of money or buy drip coffee; just know that spending $2 on drip and getting free refills for 4 hours will get you on the shit list. Drinking espresso based stuff will prevent being labeled a freeloader, just make sure to not order anything <15 minutes before closing, and try to order when there's no line. Tip regularly but modestly; a $1 tip every day isn't much, but couple it with a friendly demeanor and you're quickly a favorite customer.
>>7646878
how is the publisher hunt going
>>7647202
>interacting with peasants
Do you do this ironically?
>>7647208
Good.
>>7646878
>11 books
>those boots
>tiger
I'm dying, man
>>7647216
>rude to "normal" people in everyday life
>"Why are public places so uncomfortable for reading?"
...
>>7647216
So I take it you're not friendly and fun to have around then?
>>7647251
Not at all.
>>7647245
He wrote a fucking series. He can wear whatever he wants
>>7647251
kek
>>7646878
>autistic tripfag
is anyone really surprised?
>>7646194
I did some of my best writing, in small, quiet, river front Cafes in Õsaka.
You're right about espresso though, start to drink something filtered, like syphon or pour over. Unlike with pressurised coffees, they will only taste better once cooled.
>>7646720
Smoking is fun, and I probably chain 3-in-a-row around once a fortnight, but if you do it too much you start to smell stale, and no amount of designer cologne will cover it up. If you insist, consider investing in a cigarette holder. Tortoise shell looks classy as hell -- even more so if you can afford something gold tipped. Please don't smoke a pipe.
>>7647792
Ever smoked cigars? I far prefer them to cigarettes as a passive accompaniment to reading, but smoking in general is tedious if you're taking notes as you read.
>>7647796
No -- but mostly because I don't see myself as quite old enough yet. I probably will, but I'd imagine it making me feel incredably self conscious.
The reason I like using a holder, is it is easier to lay idle in your mouth, and it gives you that slight bit of extra length to angle it away from your book, so you don't drop ashes.
Pic related; it's me lighting up
>>7647161
now that's edgy
>>7646740
read allen carr's easyway to stop smoking. it works really.
>>7647792
Just moved to Japan. Nice cafes, but I'm near a big station and the prices triple around me. FML have to find something local and hidden with decent cost.
>>7648160
You absolutely HAVE to visit Naoshima island. It's so beautiful. Just make sure you have the whole day, hire a bicycle, and bring a notepad.
It's a really inspiring place.
I never leave my house.
>>7648151
Underrated comment
>>7646368
Underrated post
>>7647792
I smoke a pipe. Fuck you. It's nice, relaxing, and Sir Walter Raleigh is great. Smoking a pipe is patrician as hell and always will be. Only plebeians smoke cigarettes by any means.
>>7648189
you sound like a huge fag but regardless that somebody here thinks it's so great does make me lean towards popping over
>>7648160
where are you and why are you here
>Go to cafe and the play nothing but twee indie shit.
>atmosphere is so try hard and fake that I would rather read a classic in some shit pizzeria or on the bus.
>>7648261
Look, cigarettes are for when you're young and on the move
Pipe is for when you're old and stable
The real plebs are people who have never smoked out of fear
>>7646194
I've never attempted to write, so I couldn't really say, but it seems to me that writing in public is just a load of attention seeking bollox. You'd be distracted and interrupted every damn second, there are people here who'll do that and then say "I can't read a book on the bus"
I imagine the best approach would be to lock yourself in a room with cigarettes, weed, coffee, whiskey, beer and a sofa.
>>7648265
I suppose i do sound a bit queer, but regardless, defiantly check it out.
>>7646878
Gaskun you still here?
>>7648269
this.
>>7646745
Dont smoke.
Even if you're planning to quit after a year your chances of cancer go up by 5 percent.
Especially dont do it for appearances.
It makes sense if you're a wage cuck and need it as an excuse to network with people in the smoking room, maybe. Or make connections at a party or start conversation.
>>7648331
Sup
![IMG_20151031_190355[1].jpg](https://i.imgur.com/eAr2oLI.jpg "IMG_20151031_190355[1].jpg")
Fuck, I miss this cafe. You could smoke inside, coffee was great, beer was inexpensive, the people were interesting. Goddammit, now there are only Tims and Williams...which I can't even get to if I wanted. Rural life<<City life.
>>7648095
Please tell me you don't use this in public? jc.
>>7646775
>Americans
>>7647202
>or even some homemade guacamole.
...Jeb?
>>7646753
All my friends are stemfags who either smoke weed all day, play league of legends all day, or live several states away. I secretly hope somebody, anybody, comes up to talk to me about the book I'm reading, because /lit/ is the only place I get to discuss books.
>>7648663
This is me.
>>7648663
What book are you reading?
>>7648708
Currently near the end of East of Eden. Next up is the Iliad because I want to get into some of the deeper /lit/ stuff soon. The issue is that I mentioned I wanted to read it to my family and they got a very nice hardcover Iliad/Odyssey combo for me for Christmas, very thoughtful of them, but it's Butler's prose translations. Should I read these anyway or find Lattimore or something in a library and just keep this one because it looks neat?
>>7646194
>cups that takes thirty seconds to drink, leaving you not much reason to hang around
If you want to write in a coffee shop you just stay there even if your cup is empty. No one is going to shoo you.
At least in my country
>>7648729
Different anon. I think you should give it a go and if it isn't for you then you should try a different translation.
>>7648743
But am I missing out on a lot by reading epic poetry moved into prose? It seems like it'd be a drastic difference, no?
>>7646878
those fucking boots, sweet jesus
>>7646720
NO. Don't do it. Please anon. Ruining your health just to satisfy a fleeting feeling of doing something with hands while walking is not worth it. Put them in your pockets or masturbate or just try to let them be. Gradually you'll stop thinking about it.
>>7646740
It's okay anon. I hope you're able to quit. Al the best!
-----------
I don't know why but I really feel like I want to sit on a big round table with all of you anons at a small cafe about half an hour before closing time when there's no one else and passively observe and listen to everyone here discuss lit. I haven't read or written as much as most people here but I'd like to still be there because no one I know irl wants to discuss the few books I read since I'm a stemfag and everyone around me is a stemfag as well. A few people read but not much and they don't like discussing it.
Also, cafes near my place are ridiculously expensive (because they're all cafe coffee days and other corporate joints which have run local out of business). So I pretty much come here to watch people shitpost and fling sharp opinions in hurtful ways but I bet that the opposite will be true at the large circular table at the coffee house.
>>7647306
A series of 11 unpublished books. That he keeps in cardboard boxes. I know from past experience that I could crank out an 80~thousand word book month if I wanted to.
But it's like, what's the point if they're just going to sit around in your closet? After I finished the first one that I just cranked out as fast as possible to show that I could, I decided to make the next one actually marketable without compromising on the quality.
>>7648805
The books are shit and he's an autistic war criminal. No publishers are interested in the series, which is why it's still sitting around and he's being forced to self-publish it on Amazon.
>>7647134
Because fuck series. It's just a shitty marketing gimmick. I've never read any 1500 page+ series that was as good as any self-contained book.
>>7647102
>>7647245
>>7648805
>>7647306
"...all work and no play makes Gatsun a dull boy. All work and no play makes gatsun a dull boy. All work and.."
>>7646720
Yes you should smoke. A cig a day will not harm you and the average age for lung cancer detection is 70, you will probably die of something else at that age
>>7648580
>>7648842
Great bait. Just for PSA purposes, the flaw in this thinking is that you're not taking into consideration the massive amount of accumulated pain that accompanies a smoking habit. The morning coughs, the general coughs, the chronic inflammation of the lungs, the weakened immune system, the horror it wrecks on your physical condition, the shortness of breath, the stench you carry with you, etc.
>>7646207
>not drinking coffee
>>7648462
awful light to read
Nice place to go with a girl and drink beer and laugh and.... I feel bad now...
>>7648877
You are obviously ignorant mate
>>7648815
4200 page series. And it's episodic. The use of multiple trilogies allows for greater freedom in constructing larger arcs and denser storylines with a larger number of characters. True, bigger isn't better, but not everyone has the capacity or patience needed to plot and craft an endeavor. Don't like the sound of it? Then go read something you think you'd enjoy.
Robert Jordan was a boss.
>>7648795
I hate to see tortured instument...
>>7648897
I was readingusing an e-reader w/ backlightduring that time.
>>7648813
Wtf? Autistic war criminal?
Most cafes are uninteresting as fuck places to write in. Gaskun has the right idea
>>7648270
Smoking is for children.
>>7647202
literally what is the point of this post? you made some friends, congrats, but please contribute to the topic or leave
I tried writing in a cafe. The seats are wobly, the tables have crumbs, and there is not enough space between tables. One time a guy getting up from his seat lost his balance near me and almost crashed my laptop.
Book stores tend to have more space and better tables, especially in the burbs but try doing that in the city....
Also, if you need to go to the rest room you need to pack up your belongings unless you want to have your stuff stolen.
Write at home. Keep a clean desk- no clutter- and just write. Do a Journal to get the inner voice flowing. Add caffeine and nicotine and some plot and character and you're good to go.
>>7646194
I lose focus easily when I read so no to that but I do love to write in cafes. There's only like two anywhere near where I live and I frequent both. The one I write the most at is super comfy, I could spend an entire day there. The other is where all my friends go so I'm usually too distracted to write there. I love cafe's - I just wish there were more around where I live and at great locations.
>>7649684
are you stupid?
>>7646194
In Paris I know café La Belle Hortense (IVème arrondissement) with wines tastings and a library with classical litterature, history and psycho.
The oldest café of Paris is Procope (VIème arrondissement) where many celebs philosophers go, like Voltaire, Tocqueville, writers and poets Balzac, Musset, Huysmans, Verlaine and revolutionary figures Marat, Danton, Camille Desmoulins.
Le Club des Poètes (VIIème arrondissement) is a café with reding of poetry.
Le Petit Ney (XVIIIème arrondissement) is a café and litterary association with readings and litterature workshops.
>>7649741
This guy gets it
I do because they provide ambient background noise, are a "dedicated space" and allow me to be around others without any social obligations.
>>7646753
This meme has to stop. Its a book, where are you living that someone reading in public would be anything strange? Are you 12?
>>7646194
fuck no. I feel like everyone is watching me everytime i sit down at the barnes and noble starbucks to read.(I dont pay ridiculous prices for their books when i could go to a local bookstore and find it used).
The one and only time i can write is alone in the middle of the night. Usually around 12.
>>7650179
Dont you feel like people are watching you? Like "what the fuck is that guy doing" or "what's wrong with him"?
>>7649741
do you masturbate after or before writing?
inb4 during
>>7650198
>Dont you feel like people are watching you? Like "what the fuck is that guy doing" or "what's wrong with him"?
Not that guy, but you sound paranoid. Who gives a fuck? There is no logical reason to judge someone for reading or writing in a public space, especially one like eg: a cafe.
>>7650198
Again, where do you live? I live in a city in England and you see people reading in public all the time. No one has ever looked at me weird or mentioned it.
>>7650216
US. I dont know maybe im just paranoid like
this guy said >>7650210
But where i live no one really talks to anyone and everyone just sits quietly drinking coffee and will look at you weirdly if you make any noise above dropping a pencil. Theres like a couple people on a laptop in the corner but those seats are always taken. I usually read a few chapters or the entire book if its a comic book and GTFO before someone asks me what im doing.
>>7650265
You're just paranoid. What would someone think even if they saw you reading? A book in incredibly innocuous. Do you not see others reading?
You yourself are the person most put out by the situation. Everyone else is just thinking if themselves.
>>7650312
Alright ill try to calm the fuck down next time. Could this be related to high blood pressure? As a cause? Not lit related but whatever.
>>7650336
Sounds like anxiety. But, seriously, nobody cares.
>>7646368
>>like watching someone throw a flashbang into a cave full of literally infinite bats.
Take me with you. Let me see this beauty
NO I DONT READ OR WRITE IN A CAFE.
WHAT ARE YOU SOME KINDA FAGGOT?
YOU THINK YOURE BETTER THAN THOSE HIPSTER QUEERBAITS WHO "WORK ON THEIR NOVEL" WHILE CHATTING UP THE BARISTAS?
YOU MAKE ME FUCKING SICK
I REMEMBER WHEN THIS BOARD WAS A LITERATURE HUB AND NOT A MEAT TASTING FOR COCK
>>7651117
>>7651117
You know not every coffee shop is Starbucks lmao barista lmao.
Nigga drip coffee and lenolium still exist baka desu
>>7651117
>>7648152
THIS!
>>7648152
>>7651765
I tried his easy way to stop drinking, and it very much did not work. But it seemed like he took principles that would be relevant to quitting smoking (his first book) and then tried to apply them to quitting drinking, a very different problem. I could see a lot of what I read in the drinking book working very well or making a lot of sense in the context of smoking.
protip
Unless you're drawing good portaits nobody gives a fuck about what you're scribbling on that paper
I write anywhere, personally
>>7648922
hi gaskun
>>7650200
w w why you wanna know? Did you read my Journal?
>>7648663
Same thing but just reatrded stemfag variety guys. (I'm a stemfag too but well..) Can't stand Engineering people but love the course. A guy came to me because I was reading some book, I don't recall if it was Kant or Camus and started talking. Long story short he gave up Mechanical eng (meme course here for closeted fags and rich snob annoying kids) and will move to philosophy even though he was almost finishing. He said he coudn't stand the people. Thanks god I have a stronger stomach and a bad hearing. But I CAN'T FUCKING STAND the guys from my course or most other people from the other engineerings. Jesus christ is like they were born without half their brains or think they are little kings for doing a technical course during highschool and knowing what a battery is before the "battery class" thing.
>>7646194
i'm from vienna. tables are usually a normal dinner table-ish height. there's newspapers, chess sets, sometimes pool tables or other stuff. it's perfectly normal to finish your coffee / other beverage and then just sit there for however long you want, noone bothers you. there's a large variety of coffee (usually at least a dozen different items) and if that's not your thing you can get anything from tea to orange juice to hard liquor. personally i dont like to do any creative work in public spaces but i've seen people do it.
is it that different in the US?
>How did literary café culture exist in places like Vienna or Paris?
beyond what i already said coffee houses just used to be a place where people used to hang and chitchat. now we can just go on 4chan or plebbit or twitter and shitpost the day away.
also
>Since October 2011 the "Viennese Coffee House Culture" is listed as "Intangible Cultural Heritage" in the Austrian inventory of the "National Agency for the Intangible Cultural Heritage", a part of UNESCO. The Viennese coffee house is described in this inventory as a place "where time and space are consumed, but only the coffee is found on the bill."[1]
that's cutesy i like that
>>7650198
Unless you write like Light Yagami, nobody will give you a second glance.
>>7646878
Holy shit gaskun lives!
>>7648413
This
>>7648813
lol someone is jealous of our saviour gaskun.
>>7648922
I missed scenic pictures within Gaskun's life. He needs to reconnect with the family to be honest.
>>7646878
haven't you been dealing with agents for a bit now? hows that going long series anon?
>>7648922
Gaskun don't you live in that shitty apartment with a broken window and the cool desk?
>>7646194
I kinda like it. Background noise helps me concentrate.
But I never could even set foot in Starbucks or similar shit.
I'm a barista, and looking to be a head roaster somewhere/coffee farmer at some point in my life. I work at a shop on my small liberal arts school's campus, great coffee, and probably the only 5 cool people on campus are the one's who come in. Sometime's I go there to do some reading (because any drink is free so I drink 2 cups of coffee, a double shot of espresso and 3+ mugs of herbal tea a day and food is half off/i always have free meals) its where I live really, plus my coworkers are the only people I hang out with and its a 20 second downhill bikeride from my room. I never really write in here, this sounds autistic but I usually laugh when I write and really don't like to break focus when I do, I also don't want to be the campus meme of the guy who's writing a novel, even though unfortunately I think I might be a campus meme. So maybe I'll drop in for 30 minutes every to read when I have my afternoon espresso, but I don't think I'd ever really do this in a big city or anything, I read outside for the most part, and write in my room in the morning/night.
>>7646878
>I refuse to write in a Starbucks where those assholes with their $2000 macbooks try to be "seen"
>implication i dont like attention whores
>wears fucking doc marten looking things
So, as you said: A lot of Austrian writers wrote in Viennese cafés. There's a famous quote: "cafés are for people who need company to feel alone"
In addition, the café is (or was) a place to meet other fellow intellectuals and discuss politics, literature and science. Some of them spent their whole day at these places. They were like the cultural centres of Austrian culture.
In my opinion (as an Austrian living close to Vienna), the fact that you can buy one coffee and stay in a café for hours is the reason that they became such a special place for a lot of writers.
>>7648795
Hi Indian brah, where you from?
>>7653131
>(as an Austrian living close to Vienna),
BADEN
A
D
E
N
>>7653114
>I drink 2 cups of coffee, a double shot of espresso and 3+ mugs of herbal tea
hot damn yo
your lower GI must be on fire from the friction
>>7646194
Why would you care? You're a dumb little bitch with no skills. Why would you even consider going to a café like a real human?
>>7653184
whew edgy
>>7646878
Thank you for your words, now, I hope you find your publisher and agent, don't give up, you just need one last step and you're on your way to being published, which is what you really want, I know it.
I pretty much live at the coffeeshop that I work part-time in (uni student). So yes. And I love to people watch.
>>7654151
You watch the hipsters as entertainment while you observe their stuck up nature? Good, that will help you learn how to not be a mac user that's using a portable overpriced typewriter.
>>7646368
Vancouver?
>>7654245
you don't know the half of it. I go to a prep school, I'm completely dependent on financial aid, and I write, do cocaine, and play rugby to fight the angst of living in such a world. I'm the biggest outsider to go to this school in a while.
>>7654252
Ah, never mind, Toronto. Should've Googled TTC sooner.
>>7646878
I can't stand Lexington, but there are some really good restaurants there, like Panda Cuisine. The real question is, why aren't you living in Louisville? There's basically nothing in Lexington.
>>7646368
That post is some pretty good lit, to be frank, famiglia.
>>7647792
Don't you think you're being kind of a slave to appearances? smoking to look cool *shudder* It's just going to rot your lungs man. Don't tell me you didn't get that memo, it's 2016. And don't say "it's worth it" either; even Hitchens had a pang of regret at the end. You should stop smoking while you can help yourself.
>>7648160
moved to Japan as a permanent resident? How did you manage that?
>>7650188
Reading in bed is ideal, so you can roll around changing positions. Put your hands in pants if needed.
>>7654560
Every thing I did in Louisville something uncanny was happening. And the people are straaaaange.
>>7655002
I'm going to have to visit Louisville properly someday. I only ever went there for concerts and flights.
>>7646368
Ayy vancouvaaaaa
>>7646194
There is a book store/cafe where people read and drink coffee in silence, study and meet each others to discuss books, its more like a club with paid membership.
I sometimes go there when I want to focus-read some certain subject. Its very very nicely decorated.
>>7646368
10/10
>>7646878
w2c boots
mirin hard senpai
>>7649921
probably autistic and doesn't understand what engendering a friendly and welcoming atmosphere for the purpose of writing about oneself can accomplish
>>7650198
Sounds like you have anxiety bud. People don't care that much.
>>7650198
I did before, but not anymore. I don't care. At all
