Can we talk about Purity by Franzen?
You lied to me, /lit/. This book is actually pretty good. I just finished it and I'm still in that post-novel stupor that only excellent books can put me in.
Sure, Franzen's works can be described as a thousand miles wide and two feet deep, and sure his writing is accessible almost to a fault. And his butchering of internet vernacular made me cringe a couple times.
But Franzen knows characters, and he knows how to spin a complex yarn while making it seem effortless and natural. Andreas Wolf and Annabel are perhaps the most well-developed and interesting characters I've come across in quite some time. His attacks on feminism, the Reddit/tumblr circlejerk and experimental art bullshit were all spot-on. This is probably the first book I've read that I feel like really begins to address the experience of the next-generation of Americans.
I don't know, I just thought it was a really great read all around. Much better than Freedom. Just as good as the Corrections.
Pic very related: first hit on Google
I almost want to like Franzen just to spite the SJW cunts, but I couldn't even bring myself to finish The Corrections, it was just inane.
>>7328647
This is one of those cases where the enemy of my enemy is still not my friend.
If the official reason to hate Franzen is because of the typical SJW bullshit then no, I don't throw my fedora in the pile. I will abstain from judgement.
I only will say he is bad on the grounds that he is a bad writer.
Franzen has the biggest balls of any famous living "literary" author. /lit/ might sneer at most modern-day authors because they didn't have the foresight to publish 100 years ago, but Franzen deserves a serious read to see where "literary" is going.
what kind of notes do you take while reading through a novel?
>>7328612
small journal that I keep nearby to jot notes in and pg numbers
sometimes larger entries in the journal if i think of something particularly large/difficult to explain and it interrupts my reading which kinda sucks, but its sort of a lose/lose situation
Character names, brief description, and map of how the characters relate to one another.
>>7328633
>>7328637
downs syndrome, illiteracy
just underline key passages and make one word notes in the margins. character maps and other such bullshit are maybe useful for children's lit like lotr and harry potter, but if you need to lean on them to keep up with real literature you're in the wrong ballpark.
what the fuck am i reading?
am i doomed to be a pleb?
>>7328568
Lol read the plot summary on Wiki then tell people you read it. It works everytime and people think you're genius
>>7328568
Don't read this until you are ready. It will break you if you read it at the wrong time.
But if you ever reach the point where you can read it (you'll know the feeling when it happens), it will change your life
It's a novel about form and language, trying to autistically understand the plot is besides the point.
How valuable is a english degree for someone who wants to be a writer?
>not becoming a great writer first and receiving an honorary phd
>>7328589
>not being the first ever "legitimately illiterate" NY Times bestseller
>spending ten to fifteen years learning to regurgitate one of a million different lexicons of jargon to three people who will ever listen, so that you can spend the rest of your life writing papers in that jargon or you will be fired and have to suck penises for money
>conducive to being a good writer
ALL academics are great writers, the constant grind to publish absolute horseshit in an ivory tower built of smaller ivory towers or die of AIDS really fills your soul with ideas for novels that speak to and from the zeitgeist
>title of book is a quote from Homer or Shakespeare
>It's a greentext thread on the "intellectual"/"art" (/his/, /lit/, /sci/, /biz/, /pol/, /v/, /g/) boards
>title of book is a quote from Shakespeare
I bet you're the type of /r/books-browsing pseud who thinks 'pretentious' stands alone as a valid criticism of a book, and that 'Shakespeare is overrated'
>quoting from Homer
Nobody does this, though.
just about to start moby dick
is it essential to read the extract/introduction
its quite long and i just need simple yes or no so i can either start from there or go straight into it
Is the intro by the author?
If not, read after.
>>7328475
I'd suggest not.
It has some spoilers, spoilers that become obvious, but still spoilers.
>>7328478
>context is irrelevant
people like you need to die
Has anyone read this yet? What are your opinions on it?
>>7328427
Don't post here again
Jesus OP, you almost made me choke on my cereal.
>In short, Twilight Company is far better than [...] a piece of videogame tie-in merchandise has any right to be.
Who is the GG allin of literature?
and also 'who is the X of literature' general I guess
probably Bukoski
Carlton Mellick III. both are talentless "shock" artists that most people have never heard of.
>>7328408
burroughs
I haven't read a book in 6 years. What book should I read that'll make me want to pick up another one immediately afterwards rather than another 6 years from now?
READ THE FUCKING STICKY AND FUCK OFF dessu
lol pleb
>>7328219
I did and they don't have any recommendations for people who haven't read a book in 6 years but who want to start reading good books regularly. Perhaps you can add one for me right now?
Any books resembling this soundtrack?
http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=qGzKlVWBFg8
Bu Mmm p
>>7328147
shadow of the wind by zafon. thank me later.
>>7328801
Thanks
/lit/
I'll preface this by saying that I'm fully aware of how melodramatic this might sound. I want to be more eloquent than to simply say 'life is shit and hard'. I fully understand if you think little of how I choose to write this soppy story.
I'm 21, nearing 22 and have had chronic depression of a varying severity since I was 14.
The gift of a normal life was taken before it was offered, and I find it impossible to relate to most people my age. In the past two years I have finally developed confidence and the ability to genuinely respect my own opinion of myself.
But It doesn't get any easier, I feel so weary, so weak. I simply cannot find reason and meaning with which to justify continued existence.
Can you suggest any literature that discusses this problem? I know it is not remotely unique. I need to see what wiser people have proposed, but I don't know where to begin.
>not looking for a hugbox, brutal honesty is welcome
>>7328073
Btw, I have stated some things particularly simplistically to the point of seeming fatuous. How can you capture years in a sentence? Try not to get caught up.
>>7328081
The power of now by eckhart tolle
>>7328102
Thank you, I'll give it a look.
Brothers K, Master and Margarita, Divine Comedy, Paradise Lost...what's some other top tier Christian literature?
>>7328021
Pascal, be it Lettres provinciales or Pensées (pensées is more focused on actual religion, but is just a collection of papers found after he died)
>>7328387
Thanks!
>>7328021
>Master and Margarita
I got the impression that it was anti-christian, or am I mistaken?
Are there any satanist works actually worth reading?
unlike pic
>>7328011
No. I haven't actually delved into Satanic literature at all, though I think it's reasonable to assume that it isn't very good.
>>7328011
depends on what you mean when you say satanist
beelzebub's tales to his grandson by gurdjieff
>>7328011
Have you ever researched black/white magic?
Recommend me a book that won't take 8 years and a college degree to finish, /lit/
I just need a book to keep me busy when i'm high
A stranger in a strange land.
The Bible.
>>7327977
F I N N E G A N S W A K E
It's been awhile since we've had one of these.
Yet you had to go and spoil it.
This is not going well, someone salvage it.
![OA-web[1].jpg](https://i.imgur.com/8UbDVCb.jpg "OA-web[1]")
![rolling-eyes[1].jpg](https://i.imgur.com/uTdBOA4.jpg "rolling-eyes[1]")
