Should /lit/ have a book of the week kind of thing so that we can all at least talk about one book instead of constantly comparing the ones we have (pretended to) read?
This is neat, I would opt in to this if anyone wants to try it out.
I'm in
What book
>>8068539
infinite jest
>>8068530
Book of the month would be a more reasonable expectation
Having participated in a few book club off-shoots of /lit/, I can tell you a lot of people who even read the books just aren't equipped to discuss them. There is little-to-no difference between the average /lit/izen who's read the book and those who skimmed the wiki real quick.
In theory, it sounds like if people here read the texts the place would improve, but it just isn't so. They seriously lack the ability to think about the texts, and reading them changes nothing.
Not elitist, just calling it like it is.
>>8068552
If it were just a general thread I bet it would keep out most of the shitposters. Besides, you can always just ignore the stupid replies.
>>8068536
>>8068539
>>8068540
alright then everyone chip in with a book rec with a one sentence description on why we should read it and I'll make a poll tomorrow, run the poll and then tally up the results on Sunday/Monday and find an ebook for everyone.
my rec is
The Conservationist by Nadine Gordimer
Gordimer is a Nobel Prize winning author, it might be interesting to see what she has to write.
>>8068561
>female writer
Shiggy diggy
>>8068556
Yeah that's what I was thinking. I used to run a general on /vg/ it can't be that hard since this board is much slower. I think rather than imposing time limits, we just sort of let the weeks overlap each other, and pick maybe two books at a time so people have a choice between two.
All this planning doesn't matter though until we pick one book, and everyone reads it.
>>8068552
Teach us then.
>>8068575
We should start with the Greeks.
>>8068690
I think a Greek tragedy would a good start, yes. They're short and certainly will generate good discussion.
>>8068715
Voting for this. Though I won't organize it.
>>8068561
The secret chord by Geraldine Brooks sounds interesting. I wouldn't mind reading more female novelists.
But whatever you guys pick sounds good
Like a reading club?
>>8069643
Yes
This can be really good
We just need a sticky
>>8068561
My rec is:
Farewell Song, Targore
This, to me, is the best kind of post-colonial lit: a book that delves into constant duality rather than pity or nationalist triumph; the main conflict being the influence and appreciation of Western poetry and writing within Bengali culture and Hinduism; a book that deals with the battlefield of what exactly constitutes good writing; a book that deals in poetry and prose; modern and ancient - all set in the contradictory backdrop of Kalkutta, the capital of the British Raj.
This man wrote the Bengali and Indian National Anthem, and, while translated, his prose is like sweet fire to the ear. Most importantly however the book is a novella - so any idiot can plow through it and shitpost about POO IN LOO in /pol/ quickly after.
I vote for Journey to the End of the Night.
>>8068850
I agree. If anyone hasn't read these or the Oresteia they shouldn't bother reading any books worth a damn in the first place.
Look forward to a fruitful conversation about Antigone and the senpai.
>>8069674
agreed
Should a room full of hundreds of self-important, poisonous, vicious toddlers brandishing flaming swords have a book of the week kind of thing so that we can all at least talk about one book instead of constantly comparing the ones we have (pretended to) read?
This was already done for a period, no?
Also this is the reason we have the meme trilogy. Everyone has read at least 2 of the works in the meme trilogy.
Week 1:
How to Read a Book: The Classic Guide to Intelligent Reading
>>8069877
This should be mandatory reading for every /lit/ poster
Book of the month sounds more realistic.
>>8069921
I second this
I really like this idea so I'm going to monitor the threads for a while as I'm currently halfway through a long book.
>>8069877
Is this Tai Lopez' book?
I would be super down for this, OP gear it up
>>8069870
not me :^)
>>8068561
>Gordimer's writing dealt with moral and racial issues, particularly apartheid in South Africa. Under that regime, works such as Burger's Daughter and July's People were banned. She was active in the anti-apartheid movement, joining the African National Congress during the days when the organization was banned, and gave Nelson Mandela advice on his famous 1964 defence speech at the trial which led to his conviction for life. She was also active in HIV/AIDS causes.
WHEW LAD
H
E
W
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A
D
this suggestion is so stupid on so many levels, some of which are already outlined
also you have to realize that most people on/lit/ simply arent interesting in reading. they just aren't, and if they do read, it'd have to something they want to read. very few people would be willing to join what is essentially a book club. just how new are you to think this would work?
>>8070842
But they have worked before from one extent to another. I mean Christ relax, whats there to lose?
Great idea, its about time this place got its shit together
Imagine this:
>Sticky thread with OP giving out the book info
>We try to actually discuss the book
>Janitors filter out the shitposting, or we just ignore it
>After about 2 weeks or so we have a poll for the next book
>New sticky
Bada bing bada boom, I think 2 weeks or a month is a solid timeframe
>>8070891
>>Janitors filter out the shitposting, or we just ignore it
>>8070891
>Janitors filter out the shitposting, or we just ignore it
If there were a Book of the Month thread, and it only had major literature, and the guy who makes the thread wasn't a fucking tripfag, I'd participate and talk about it and put effort in
I don't want no fucking tripfags though and I don't want to have to skip three months of /lit/ Book Club because we decided to read two contemporary books by whiny broads no one cares about and some corny American shit like Franzen
Just a reminder guys if there's a book you want to rec for the club you should do it now before polling starts.
>>8070891
while I appreciate the support, stickying would probably cause more trouble than needed. it'll just be a persistent general.
>>8070918
yep, I don't feel like I want to read any meme books /lit/'s usually recommending
###### POLLS ARE UP #####
>Choose the book. Multiple choices are allowed
http://www.strawpoll.me/10282942
>Choose length of discussion. One selection only.
http://www.strawpoll.me/10282969
>>8071180
It looks like the Three Theban Plays is going to be our first pick. I just remembered that tomorrow is a holiday so it's not a bad time to launch something like this. Continue voting (incase there's a swing) but I will make a new thread sometime around noon tomorrow. It's a pretty safe bet that you guys should probably start looking for copies of the plays, they're pretty widely available on the internet.
The three plays of course are:
Antigone
Oedipus the King (also known as Oedipus Rex)
Oedipus at Colonus
If I'm not mistaken, Colonus follows Rex, but Antigone is a stand alone play (but it was written before the other two)
Reccing Fathers and Sons Turgenev
>>8072171
>And does anybody have any recommended translations for these?
I recommend the University of Chicago translation by David Grene.
>>8072171
It's Victoria Day tomorrow in Canada. I think the Americans have something too.
I'm using the translation by Robert Fagles published by Penguin Classics.
>>8072211
Ah, a Nuck. We have Memorial Day the Monday after tomorrow.
>>8069877
Seconding. Let's all how to read.
>>8069864
well judging by your post they certainly shouldn't write! you're a fucking moron!
How about the Queen of /tv/s book club ?!?!?!
#oursharedshelf
goodreads.com/group/show/179584-our-shared-shelf
Maybe some fourth wave feminism ^-^ !
Sheila Kelley
The S Factor: Strip Workouts for Every Woman
>>8072426
this one has the bait.
>>8068561
The Star Diaries / Cyberiad
Even in translation from Russian to English the prose is good and retains its humor, while working in satires of political systems and societal fears.
>>8072470
Seems I was too late, consider me for the next poll?
This should be fun, looking forward to it
So wait is this actually going to happen, I was looking to start a new book today.
If you fags make me read fucking Sophocles and then back out I willstill probably enjoy it.
>>8072554
Do it anon. I just read the cycle last week and it was really fun. I personally liked Oedipus at Colonus best.
>>8072446
How are you so sure it's a funpost :^)
>>8072571
>>8072175
>>8072171
>>8072125
I got David Slavitts translation...amidoinitrite?
from the preface:
"I was delighted—if also intimidated—to be invited by Yale University Press to try my hand at these masterpieces. My mentor at Andover was Dudley Fitts, and the versions that he and Robert Fitzgerald
did of these masterworks seemed to me quite satisfactory and, indeed,
unbeatable. But taking another look at them, I realized that they go
back a long way: their Antigone was published in 1939. The poetic conventions and the style of that time are not those of today. Fitts’s dialogue holds up pretty well, but Fitzgerald’s choral odes are just a bit
fussy for twenty-first-century tastes. I supposed I could not do any
more harm to them than I could to Sophocles himself. So why not
treat myself to an enormously rich and engaging experience? To hear
these plays resound in my own sinuses and to taste them in my
mouth—which is what ought to happen in a good translation—
would be an almost unimaginable pleasure."
>>8068552
You're honestly right. Many of the people on here read books that are considered "high brow" in comparison to Harry Potter or whatever YA fiction is currently popular, yet they aren't equipped to discuss anything deeper than YA fiction.
I honestly think this is the easiest way to discern the people who have migrated here from /r/books - I literally just saw someone there yesterday call Animal Farm, "one of the greatest works of Western literature in all of history."
>>8072629
I read Fitts/Fitzgerald and it seemed alright. Maybe it's not too modern, but it's clear, and in my copy there were detailed explanations of certain things after each play.
>>8072698
So you're from /r/books, eh?
>>8072720
Nope. I was at my friend's house yesterday and was messing around on his laptop when I saw the thread, which was basically filled with a bunch of high schoolers, where that was said. Sadly, /lit/ is the best place to find literature-related discussion.
Mite b cool
Haven't read Antigone in years.
>>8072913
Let's read Antigone yes
Can we read Ovid? I think it'd be fun for us to read different translations and share our thoughts. I'll read Melville
>>8072125
>be me
>see this thread
>this might actually be pretty cool
>decide to check out the poll
>me being a pleb, i realize this is all high brow stuff that'll go right over my head
>three theban plays is picked
>turns out ive actually read these
im not sure if my plebness has gone up or down after this.
>>8071180
>how long should book discussions last
does this include the time to read the book? Or is there like a week or two to give everyone time to read the next book before the discussion has been started?
>>8068552
>This book was really Good™
Wait, so when is this discussion taking place? And how many threads will there be?
Though I can't speak to translation quality, the Penguin Classics ed has a fantastic/thorough introduction.
Does anyone have a good link for the plays? I'll even take a shitty translation at this point.
