What are your thoughts on reading books that you aren't "ready" for?
I've recently been reading quite a bit of Pynchon, but haven't tackled the larger of his works.
I feel like I understand probably 70% of what I'm reading on first read-through, there's maybe 20% that requires re-reading a few times, then 10% which just doesn't sink in at all.
But this 10% which I'm not quite understanding, is to me, what makes Pynchon, Pynchon. Very long sentences with confusing prose. References to historical places,events, characters, etc.
Now I'm really enjoying what I've read, but comparatively to when I read something like Don DeLillo, I feel like I'm maybe just not quite ready to tackle Pynchon's larger works. The other thing is that I have an entire lifetime to read them, and novels like Gravity's Rainbow are typically considered 'difficult' and a test of your literary prowess.
So do you typically power through things you're not quite getting? Or is there a book or author you're waiting to tackle until you're more well-read?
Pic somewhat related
In general, don't be too much of a pedant. You have to start somewhere and you have to grow a kind of thick skin to things unknown or understood incompletely.
There's a huge irony to learning: the more you do it, the more knowledge you have, but the more aware you become of your ignorance. If you let the ignorance baffle or overwhelm you, you will not be able to handle learning.
Depends. Do you only work out by lifting weights you can lift easily, or do you try and lift the heaviest ones available on day one?
I don't think pynchon's too hard to understand desu. All writers are understandable, its the reader that needs to up their knowledge. reading should be a process of learning senpai
>>7841333
>>7841333
>>7841351
Right, I mean I definitely think it's alright to tackle things outside of your comfort zone, but I'm just sort of realizing that there exists a comfort-zone but also a straight up unfeasible zone, where you're just missing shit.
For example, last month I was reading TCoL49, with a friend who was also reading it. He's probably read about a tenth of the novels I've read, but people say TCoL49 is a fine entry point to Pynchon so he went for it anyway.
He kind of just powered through the stuff he didn't understand and got to the end and was somewhat ambivalent. The stuff I didn't understand kind of bugged me and it took me much longer to read it just based on the fact that I'd have to kind of let things stew before I'd move on.
A perfect example is in one of the final chapters, when one of the paranoid's has a song about Metzger running off with his girlfriend. It mentions Humbert Humbert, nymphettes, etc. All stuff that maybe isn't too complicated, but if you haven't read Lolita it's meaningless. This was fine for me since I've read Lolita, but I'm just a little apprehensive that there will be loads of scaled-up versions of that in Pynchon's larger works, where - if you haven't read or heard of something what you're reading is basically meaningless.
Sorry for the wall of text, I'm finding this harder to articulate than I initially thought but whatever - just looking to get some other opinions it, or how you dealt with the learning curve of "difficult" lit
>>7841369
> or how you dealt with the learning curve of "difficult" lit
I just read man. I don't believe in the unfeasible territory
>>7841325
You'll never develop as a reader if you only read things you understand. At some point you have to push aside the introductions and guides and approach the primary text. Just remember you're not obliged to read the entire book on the first pass.
>>7841325
Read whatever the fuck you want to. Then read something else.
When you want to re-read whatever the fuck you want.
I have read Pedro Paramo six times and gotten something more out of each read.
Honestly I don't really think there's books I'm not "ready" for, I don't mean that in a "dude I'm so smart lmao" way. I find a lot of beauty in language so even if I don't understand the meaning of something I read I still have an experience, if I reread that same book years later when I'm more mature and knowledgeable I'll get an entirely new experience.
>>7841335
mum im leaving the basement to go and bench 300 kilograms!
>>7841325
How do you know when you are ready for a certain novel? Because you've read the other books by the author, in the order that some nobody on the internet deemed easy->hard? Just pick up a book and read it, no use in wasting time wondering about whether you'll 'get it', you can always go back and re-read it later on. Concerning Pynchon specifically, I have both Gravitys Rainbow and Mason and Dixon, but went straight to GR and am about 400 pages in, its not easy and I dont understand everything, and English is not my native language anyway, but im getting enough out of it to go on
>>7842750
I think his point was that you are always lifting something that is heavy for you, gradually progressing.
>>7842768
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milo_of_Croton#Feats_of_strength
Sorry the article was longer than I expected. Here is the pertinent part.
>>7841325
Currently reading Thus Spoke Zarathustra
I know i am not ready for it.
I haven't read any philosophy beforehand.
But in all honesty, it's the most enjoyable read i've ever had, no bullshit. I obviously don't understand all of it, Nietzsches work is a fabric of interwoven materials, each thread containing a different hidden meaning, explanation and argument, it's a wonder i'm understanding as much as I am so far.
Who gives a fuck if you aren't ready? Nobody else really gives a shit if you read something out of your league, nobody else knows what your fucking league is, do what you want. Enjoy yourself.
I just got a copy of V. I have difficulty with it and dont find it to be very enjoyable or even interesting.
>>7842763
Going off this anons comment is there a way to begin to appreciated Pynchon or is it just a hit or miss on his prose? I get some of his subtle remarks but I feel like he jumps all over in terms of present and past. He kind of jumps without warning and its hard to follow.
