Archived threads in /lit/ - Literature - 390. page
- Home
- Board: /lit/ - Literature
- Reading: Archived threads in /lit/ - Literature - 390. page
What can you say to someone who finds themselves in this situation to make them at ease with it?
>There is an old Eastern fable about a traveler who is taken unawares on the steppes by a ferocious wild animal. In order to escape the beast the traveler hides in an empty well, but at the bottom of the well he sees a dragon with its jaws open, ready to devour him. The poor fellow does not dare to climb out because he is afraid of being eaten by the rapacious beast, neither does he dare drop to the bottom of the well for fear of being eaten by the dragon. So he seizes hold of a branch of a bush that is growing in the crevices of the well and clings on to it. His arms grow weak and he knows that he will soon have to resign himself to the death that awaits him on either side. Yet he still clings on, and while he is holding on to the branch he looks around and sees that two mice, one black and one white, are steadily working their way round the bush he is hanging from, gnawing away at it. Sooner or later they will eat through it and the branch will snap, and he will fall into the jaws of the dragon. The traveler sees this and knows that he will inevitably perish. But while he is still hanging there he sees some drops of honey on the leaves of the bush, stretches out his tongue and licks them. In the same way I am clinging to the tree of life, knowing full well that the dragon of death inevitably awaits me, ready to tear me to pieces, and I cannot understand how I have fallen into this torment. And I try licking the honey that once consoled me, but it no longer gives me pleasure. The white mouse and the black mouse – day and night – are gnawing at the branch from which I am hanging. I can see the dragon clearly and the honey no longer tastes sweet. I can see only one thing; the inescapable dragon and the mice, and I cannot tear my eyes away from them
>>8099916
just be yourself, bro
>>8099921
spittin truth desu
>>8099921
I think this is THE problem of the 20th and 21st century. No piece of literature is worth anything unless it says something about the issue contained in that fable.
Everything else is a distraction.
Living in the 21st century is like finding yourself in a store with all the money you'd need to buy anything you want, but finding that nothing in it is worth actually buying. What's the point of fighting for social or economic equality if even if you achieved it you'd still have nothing to live for? The presumption is that unhappiness exists because people lack the means to get what they want. I'd argue that unhappiness exists even where the means are plenty because there's a lack of goals worth pursuing.
Anybody else absolutely love this guy? Everything he writes is virtually flawless. His characters are always hyper-realistic, his prose is always just enough, and you always feel a little uncomfortable when reading anything he's written. He just had this perfect sense of the human psyche.
I think my favorite work of his is Next to Nothing. How about you, /lit/ friends? Any thoughts on the man, his novels, or his poetry?
nope. not me.
>>8099766
Yes, a favorite of mine. Exceptional writer.
>>8099766
I've never read anything by him but physically he always looked like a deformed Faulkner to me.
What do you think about pic related /lit/?
>>8099684
mostly the television adaptation DESU
whose theme song sounded like this (in words)
THE LITTLE PRINCE
IN OUTER SPACE
WILL CATCH A SHOOTING STAR
AND SAAAAAIIIIILLL AWAAAAAY
>>8099684
It frustrated me as a child because I couldn't understand the ending. Then as I grew older I started identifying with the boy and it started meaning more to me
>>8099684
It's good for learning different languages and it is super cute my man.
What famous people are surprisingly well-read?
http://www.openculture.com/2014/10/the-430-books-in-marilyn-monroes-library.html
>>8099530
I don't want to sound like that guy, but it was probably for show or curiosity.
All i've ever heard of her was that she was incredibly dense.
Ivy league /lit/ major ?
>wow a woman who reads??? how surprising lol
Misogyny in disguise, OP.
If this was a male, even a male actor mostly known for being attractive, you wouldn't think twice of it.
The average woman reads more than the average man, this is a well-known statistic.
How hard is pic related to read, my main men?
>>8099477
b-b-b-b-bummmpin
>reading any Nabokov aside from Lolita
I have no sympathy for you
>>8099915
Uhhh but the book in the OP and Pale Fire are considered masterpieces
Anyone read this yet? Finally translated to English, I just got it. Small chance, but any Irish-speaking anons here having read in both Irish and English as well? How does he translation hold up?
>>8099418
post the epub pls
>>8099418
There are two translations, one aims to be a more direct translation while the other is more "modern"
I speak Irish but I've yet to read it. If you're Irish I'd say get the more direct translation, the hiberno-english won't bother you
>>8099431
I got Graveyard Clay as opposed to the Dirty Dust. Which one is preferred for non Irish friends?
Is this anyone else's first year of 'serious' reading?
Using the guides on /lit/ and branching out a bit based on my own tastes, I've read more books this year than throughout probably the rest of my life. It's embarrassing to admit, but I was starting out essentially from scratch.
Here are the books I've read this far (in 2016):
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer
The Catcher in the Rye
A Confederacy of Dunces
Fahrenheit 451
Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail '72
The Great Gatsby
The Greatest Comeback: How Richard Nixon Rose from Defeat to Create the New Majority
Of Mice and Men
Pride and Prejudice
Siddhartha
Slaughterhouse-Five
The Stranger
Just wanted a feelgood progress thread, really. The /lit/ guides for beginners are more than legitimate - I got most of the books above from those recommended for new readers and from /lit/'s best of all time lists.
I plan on reading roughly a dozen more books by the end of the year - anyone got a recommendation? Of those listed above, I probably enjoyed Huck Finn, A Confederacy of Dunces, Siddhartha, and Slaughterhouse-Five the most.
>>8099336
no but stay woke my lil nigga
>>8099336
>reading shit
Keep it up OP
Well /lit I need some help
What are some good Warhammer 40k novels? Perhaps more or less focused on the Imperial Guard or life in the Imperium.
It may sound like a strange suggestion, but I want a "human" novel, if that makes any sense.
Thanks guys.
>>8099199
I only read the Eisenhorn obmnibus by Dan Abnett, but that was a pretty entertaining read
>>8099206
So I'm going to guess it was a good read?
Warhammer fantasy too!
New to franchise but the new game has inspired me
>read tens of thousands of books in his lifetime
>has a huge amount of published works
So guys, do you think it's possible to read with the tenacity of Roosevelt?
Is it possible to get a book churned out before breakfast?
Surely training a skill like this would turn you into an Ubermensch?
http://www.artofmanliness.com/2009/10/18/how-to-speed-read-like-theodore-roosevelt/
>>8099033
Thanks, trying out the z reading style
>>8099033
>So guys, do you think it's possible to read with the tenacity of Roosevelt?
It's probably genetics.
Teddy obviously had good working memory and processing speed. He could absorb information extremely rapidly and most importantly store a high volume of it, able to recall it at a later date.
I am the opposite. I have goldfish brain. I struggle to process what I'm reading and barely remember any of it. It's made the whole exercise of reading...almost pointless for me. All those great novels and essays I've read are...just gone. Not there.
Perhpas it can be improved? I think it's a genetic defect though. Either way, good luck with your quest buddy.
>>8099238
I have this same problem. But not just with books. I can watch a movie and only remember the basic plot and maybe a few scenes by the next day. In the long term, I can forget up to 90% of most material. I guess it's just a poor memory.
So tell me /lit/, are his books entry level tier easy reading, or is his supposed "iceberg" bullshit a real thing?
>>8099021
He's high school English class-tier at best. Don't let anyone meme you into thinking otherwise.
>>8099025
More like entry college tier.
>>8099021
I love hemingway and no it's not an iceberg. Everything is laid out on the surface
also he is a giant poser
but then faggots like this >>8099025 somehow can't understand good prose when it is staring them in the face and hate him for the wrong reasons
probably because they had to read him in high school and as they hate actual reading or things that disagree with their accepted in-crowd in the literary community they have to make threads moaning about him
Should I even bother reading this with no prerequisites? My dad happens to own a copy. What he doesn't own is a copy of The Greeks and I am just perusing his collection looking for something to read. If it is such a great work of literature the prose should be compelling enough to carry an avid reader to the end, right? I doubt I will understand everything but I can always treat the first reading as a primer.
Just read a Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man first
The first three chapters and the end deal with the protag from that book, so you realllly need that to appreciate it.
You'll never pick up everything tho.
It's a 10/10 GOAT, so just have fun and let a master do his thing
Its great. I've just been reading literature for about a year and some chapters are harder than others but the prose is enjoyable the whole way through.
read the first chapter and you will surely be hooked
>cover spoils the ending
wooooooow
Hey can anyone in publishing answer this please
What fonts are used in the covers of the picrelated Penguin Classics? I need to know for a school project. Thank you!
I work in publishing and I have no idea. Not sure why you think someone would need to work in publishing to answer this, just someone who knows stuff about fonts.
http://fontsinuse.com/tags/526/Penguin+Books
>write almost six pages of novel in one sitting
>out of fear of it being shit, pretend it doesn't exist for three days
>eventually go back and read it over
>it's absolutely beautiful, almost brought a tear to my eye
>legitimately surprised that I was capable of writing such good prose
Anyone else ever experience this?
(pic unrelated, couldn't find anything good)
Post excerpts
>>8098830
Yes. I oscillate between thinking I'm writing vapid shit and thinking I'm the second coming of Joyce every few days during the process of writing my books. I'm just a bit over halfway through the second one now. It'll either be an all-time masterpiece or will never get published.
>>8098840
This is the part I just finished reading over. The story itself is written with an unreliable narrator and most of this scene was meant to imply that.
http://pastebin.com/egVrVCpB
Also keep in mind this is about halfway through Chapter 5 of the story itself.
I have been going back and forth between loving this and being really irritated by this. Should I stick it out (I just finished the bit at the beginning with the doctor and the suicide watch girl)
final bump
>>8098793
it's fucking shit
do it. too many people end up with this book on hold and end up never finishing it. its kind of irritating when you are doing things like constantly looking at your page number wishing it were shorter but you should just take it easy and read another book on the side if you want
Post your favorite short story.
Mine is probably Before the Law by Kafka
http://www.kafka-online.info/before-the-law.html
Pic unrelated
>>8098705
that's judith butler's favorite short story as well
congrats, you're third-wave
That's not a short story.
It's too short.
>>8098705
http://www.tkinter.smig.net/outings/rosemountghosts/babylon.htm
7th grade teacher read it to me 20 years ago. Never forgot it.
![A-Confederacy-of-Dunces[1].jpg](https://i.imgur.com/6V1mI89.jpg "A-Confederacy-of-Dunces[1]")
