Does anyone here just collect books? I own at least 400 books but I never read them. I just like the way they look.
i do the same with 4chan thredas.
>>7223073
I'm certain at least half of /lit/ is this.
You don't even delude yourself into thinking you'll have time to read them? That's pretty questionable. but theres nothing wrong with owning a lot of books.
Ok /lit/, how do you write dialog & conversation between characters? General dialog discussion/comments thread. Pic unrelated.
I have been working on fantasy and science fiction writing. I can put together good narration and description that I like, but when I write dialog, it tends to come out sounding like shit. It tends to be overly formal sounding, contrived, etc.
So, to pose some general questions:
Does dialog need to advance the plot?
Do you write dialog with a lot of questions between characters? Too many questions makes it sound too expository, I suspect.
What kind of aesthetic/goal do you try to achieve with dialog ... e.g. clever exchanges, wordplay, etc.?
>>7222941
Frame exposition inside arguments between characters so you see thought processes in the characters instead of infodumping.
>>7222950
I didn't think I was being disrespectful, but OK, duly noted.
>>7223020
I agree with this, you definitely need to do -something- in order to avoid infodumping. However, I notice when characters ask each other questions, it seems like infodumping automatically occurs. In real life, this is pretty realistic; people ask questions when they want infodumps, and infodumps are provided from questions. But it seems like that is kind of boring in writing, so you just want to avoid questions and direct information exchange in general. But then, it seems like the conversation is empty, conveys no information, etc.
Paradox, or me confused/overthinking? I don't know.
One thing I've thought about is making the conversation always situational. E.g., leaves fall down from the tree, then the characters observe and talk about this. That way the conversation is motivated by outside events, doesn't have to convey any information as its goal. That way, you escape from the expository/infodumping boringness. However, in situational discussions, it seems like it's difficult for simple situations to incite a great deal of discussion. E.g., leaves fall from tree, Adam says 'Look at those,' John says, 'Cool', and then dialog is over, which is way too premature and pointless. So it needs to be situational enough to inspire/motivate a good deal of conversation?
How do I read a book?
I don't think I have ever successfully read one book from cover to cover in my entire life. I'll spend the entire day reading news articles, posts, interesting historical articles, etc, but there's this weird mental block that happens when I try to read an actual book and I just stop after about a chapter or two.
The idea of finishing a single book seems like some kind of enormous undertaking to me, but I know people who read a book each day. How the hell do they do that? I just can't stay unstimulated for such a long period of time. I'm addicted to doing a dozen things at once on the internet while I read an article, so stopping all of that, sitting down in front of a book, and just reading it sounds impossible.
>>7222940
same tbh, but when reading no fiction i just feel bored and expecting a twist.
just read lmao jesus christ
>>7222940
Sit down and read a portion at a time until you finish. Start with one chapter, then as the weeks go by increase the amount you read. Also, try to stay off the internet for some period of time during the day. It fucks with your ability to concentrate.
I haven't really read in a while so I need some help here guys
What are some really dark depressing books that makes you question life? Something that really opens your eyes
clockwise
>dark depressing books
>really opens your eyes
anyway I'd say Blindness
>>7222858
Author?
I'm looking for some good historical fiction. I have Bernard Cornwell down, read the whole Sharpe series and I'm working on the Saxon novels. What other good historical fiction works are there? Is Masters of Rome any good?
I Claudius
Memoirs of Hadrian
good Roman historical fiction
The Master and Commander series (aka the Aubrey-Maturin series) by Patrick O'Brian is a lot of fun. It's set in the British Navy mostly during the Napoleanic Wars and the War of 1812.
Moon of bitter cold
>>7222834
>I'm working on the Saxon novels
I assume you've read Ivanhoe?
It's no mystery that learning is hard for most people. The greater questions of conscience, existence, and our ability to reason all have a blindfold on them because of our lack of knowledge of what life means, or the definitive existence of God; which is spurred from the fact that we do not know what happens after death. In reality, death is just the matter of not living. To question is "difficult," ie, it takes effort, because we are not destined to question. If everyone were to stop questioning everything, they would reach enlightenment, and death, as soon as possible, because they would no longer go along the ardours that it takes to live, down to the most basic actions. This is the ultimate ultimatum of nihilism. Basically, you're retarded if you care about anything, and if you're really patrician, you should kill yourself. Stop chasing a meaning that is all about killing yourself if you're not going to do it, faggot.
Props to anyone that can refute this flawless circular reasoning
>>7222788
If there is objective morality, God exists.
There is objective morality.
Therefore God exists
Is that Mahler cycle any good?
Good evening /lit/,
I recently watched Ex Machina and have a craving for a book about a love between a human and an AI or an android.
The issue is, there is a massive collection of AI books and such. SO I was hoping someone here could narrow down the search with a good recommendation.
As I say, I am looking for something where a Human and an AI or android fall in love.
Ideally it will be a romantic book.
>dumbing down the most important event in human history to a romance
Go watch Her or something for that kind of tripe.
OP I really hope you're a woman, else this is just embarrassing.
Besides, machines can't love, they can merely simulate love.
>>7222607
Her is an excellent rendition of this type of story.
It makes fantastic use of the three act format.
First the AI is less than human, then tries to become as human as possible.
Final act is the realisation that it will never be human.
Would highly recommend.
Also a very pretty movie.
Hemingway's Brett wasn't a tragic, misguided figure as I feel he intended her to be.
Instead, she became the role model for all modern women.
Are there any other literary figures that were intended to portray negative traits, but instead became paragons of social empowerment and personal freedom?
>>7222479
Emma Bovary. Milton's Satan, though that one is a bit more nuanced.
>>7222479
Borderline and horrifically histrionic. Power-bitch. Then again, most of the men were pretty pathetic alcoholics.
I hardly think anyone sees her as a role model. And I do feel bad for Americans. The feminazi-superbitch meme seems to mostly apply to the yanks.
>>7222479
hemmingway was a talentless hack
Just picked up Shogun by James Clavell today, haven't read a book in the series before, and I wondered if I should go about it chronologically or by order of publication. What do you guys think?
>>7222449
start with the greeks
>>7222452
Wut
Any ereader android app that doesn't look like shit?
Readmill used to be the best, then they sold out to Dropbox and killed it, Fabula by fastr is a nice replacement (aesthetics wise) but it sucks dick since you can't seem to read your own books, instead they shill you theirs.
>>7222304
just buy an old used kindle on ebay, you will be happy for it.
>>7222311
i already have one but sometimes its too cumbersome to carry with me all the time, especially if i have an unplanned break or something and I want to be able to read in the meantime, which is where my phone would fit in nicely
>>7222304
FINALLY someone who understands me
Readmill was the fucking shit
try eReader Prestige, it's ok. Not as good as Readmill, but ok.
CELESTIAL
HOW
REDDIT MEMES
I AM A CHRISTPOSTER WHO IS BUTTHURT ABOUT THE FACT THAT NOTHING I BELIEVE IN IS BASED ON ANYTHING
>2015
>not being editores mexicanos unidos master race
>2015
>not producing original content
dat popol vuh tho
>>7222202
Are they good editions or just inexpensive ones?
>>7222202
>2015
>being Mexican
I have an honest question, /lit/? Should I read Ulysses by myself without any external resources, or should I read an annotated version of Ulysses and delve into summaries and reading guides. Which of the two options would allow me to experience Ulysses the best?
>>7222042
The first option. Then, when you feel like re-reading it, do the second option.
>>7222042
Buy an unabridged, look up annotations on the web. Much more versatile.
you shouldmake inconsequential minor decisions by yourself you retard
Hey /lit/, what are some mind blowing Asimov's short stories other than the Last Question & the Dead Past?
>>7221424
I like 9 Billion Names of God, although I don't know if it was mind-blowing. Ending gave me chills though.
>>7221441
Hello my friend I think you misread the op but that story is brilliant thanks for reminding me
>>7221441
Nine Billion Names of God is written by Arthur, m8.
437. Space is a million times more peaceful than the jungle. Have you ever wondered why? Because it's such a hostile environment to life, that nothing can survive there. A hint for the pacifists, as to what it would really take to finally achieve "world peace".
234. "Do you think people deserve a second chance?" — No, because there's no "second", no repetition; what comes next is always a new thing — and that's a good thing.
233. Either you are interested in the work, in which case money is irrelevant, or you are interested in money, in which case the work is irrelevant. There is no middle ground here.
229. It's always a bright and sunny day on planet earth, it's just a question of having enough elevation.
228. The obsessive hatred, bordering on psychosis, against products — i.e. against man-made objects — seems to be the hallmark of the pseudo-intellectual today. Hatred of consumption, a problem which no sane, healthy person has ever had. As if food and clothes, as if eating or dressing were bad. Such is the pseudo-intellectual's craving to appear to be raging at something, that he will rage at life's basic necessitities if need be.
166. Or "war crimes". It's okay to kill someone but not rape them. Subhuman logic.
157. A low blow is something unbecoming and distasteful, especially to a tall man. But when you are fighting short people — there's no way around it — you have to hit low.
135. Writer's block is bullshit. I've been writing for close to a decade now, and have not the faintest notion of the thing; it's merely a euphemism for slaves who want to make a living out of scribbling because they are too lazy to do anything else. If a writer has something to say, it comes out by itself, if he doesn't, then what's the point in WANTING to write? — Money, of course.
>>7221160
>out of order
pls delete this
holy shit these are fucking great, did a frog poster really come up with this shit? or are these some kind of aphorisms from like a middle tier conservative author no one reads anymore because he's not a marxist? i could imagine these coming from an orwell-tier, but right-wing, author.
>>7221165
>233. Either you are interested in the work, in which case money is irrelevant, or you are interested in money, in which case the work is irrelevant. There is no middle ground here.
this is the stupidest thing I have ever read
