Hey guys so I'm a newfag to /lit/ and I've really been interested in getting back into reading. I lurked through this board for a couple of days and picked a book that I thought looked and sounded interesting and that book happened to be Stoner. Did I just goof? Is the book particularly challenging for someone who doesn't usually read a book for fun?
>>7774723
DUDE WEED LMAO
It's not one of the more challenging reads on the lit approved list but does it's job well enough. You said you were new so why is difficulty such a concern to you right now?
Is the meme that it's not about weed at all? I enjoyed it, but I typically read Hunter S Thompson and William Burroughs, so it was kind of like "Ohhhhhh k, you got me" when I realized it was just gonna be about this guy's boring life.
>>7774734
I'm just used to picking up a book, reading about 50 or so pages, and then never looking at it again. Any tips for this?
>>7774723
>he wants to read for fun
>>7774742
You bring up roasties quite a bit, almost like a fixation. How did they hurt you?
Stoner looked interesting to you?
Don't get me wrong, it's a great book; but, for someone that doesn't read I think it would look boring as Fuck.
>>7774735
Is the book itself boring though?
Why exactly is stoner considered exit level lit core I mean it was actually one of the first lit core novels I read and didn't seem that hard to read
>>7774790
>reading for enjoyment
>>7774803
Exit = suicide
>>7774785
I liked the idea of a man who decides not to work his ass off for the rest of his life and pursues something he is passionate about. I made shit grades in high school and I recently realized that rather than be a miserable cunt for the rest of my life, I'm gonna pursue something that I'm genuinely interested in. I'm not sure what that interest is but based on the fact that I've been writing since I was 15, it might be literature. That's why I decided to see what was up with /lit/.
>>7774813
So you're saying that reading is something you practice? I've always seen it as something you either enjoy or don't enjoy. Maybe that's where I went wrong.
>>7774723
I think I am the same kind of lit wannabe as you. Basically I Just end up reading the first chapter of hundreds of books, instead of just reading a book.
I must say that stoner was one of the books I read beyond the half-way mark, wich would put it in the top 5%, a good deviation away from the others.
The last book I read in it's entirety was 'the picture of dorian grey', which, to be honest, was probably the only book I ever read from start to finish of my own accord,
You bought a great book. It is not that hard of a read, and you will get a lot out of it.
If you bought Ulysses as your first book after a long hiatus, then you really got memed.
Now? No.
Congratulations.
Now go read it.
Then buy Augustus by the same author, then read that. After that, I would suggest 2666.
I am not a fan of “Stoner.” First, along with other female readers, I am put off by Williams’s misogyny.
>>7775023
It comes in the mail tomorrow and I'll get home from work at around 8 at night. For the first time in a long time I'm extremely excited. Thank you for this encouraging post and recommendations.
>>7774723
no memes here
Only weeping and truth
>>7775034
Welp good thing I'm a dude. Sorry that you missed out on a perfectly good book because you can't be bothered to enjoy something a little offensive. Being offended by something is not an inherently bad thing. Why does everyone feel that that is the case?
>>7775046
>you can't be bothered to enjoy something a little offensive
Youre giving her too much credit, anon, the book isn't even slightly offensive.
>>7775023
Not OP, but one of the first few books I bought when I got bored of Stephen King and GRRM type shite was Ulysses and I had no regrets. Though of course I did get the Oxford World's Classics edition and read it Infinite Jest style with two bookmarks and flipping to the notes after every page, but it was still a hell of a time.
Yes, it's meme-tier on here but the only people who post about it are those who've read it or are about to read it.
>>7774739
Keep reading books. Its ok to drop a book if its not your taste. Find the author you like but dont reject the chance to read anything
>>7774846
Christ almighty please be fake
>>7774838
I read for enjoyment, but yeah it's something that you practice and get better at. Stuff that I couldn't get through or understand years ago blows my mind when I revisit it now.
>>7775034
Weak bait desu. Also Stoner isn't misogynist what are you talking about
lit(literature)erally got me back into reading senpai. good choice
>>7775235
The sad part is, I exist.
>>7774735
wtf is wrong with you
honest
>>7774846
why not find yourself another hobby then?Or you just want to appear smart on a vietnamese fishing forum?
Why did I love this book so much?
All I got from it was that Stoner had a life of terrible circumstance but was committed to his field and loved his work and died with the sense of pride of doing something you think is genuinely good.
I feel like there wasn't much to it, but it was great anyway.
>>7777962
I really liked the prose, but the only thing I took from it is that sometimes shit happens for no reason, and it made me kind of blue for a few days. Stoner doesn't really seem that passionate about what he studies to make it seem like the message is "do what you love". It also made me less optimistic about pursuing a career in education.
I'm interested in hearing about other interpretations on this, and especially on how his career is almost ruined for what seems to be no reason.
>>7774739
Its pretty middlebrow except for the very feelsy marriage part, the part about the daughter, and the last chapter. Its worth your time
>>7774723
Challenging? no.
Boring? Yes.
It recieves a lot of praise here but I find it to be very boring.
Not challenging. Depends on what you think is boring, it's dry sometimes funny, but very melancholic. I don't think I've felt so depressed from reading a book just because of its honest to goodness realism of professorial drama and gossip, I've been considering becoming a professor and it really brought a lot of the realities most professors already complain to me about to light. Other than that it's not sword-fighting genre fiction, but its genuine, and fairly heartbreaking. I think its a good idea for most humanities-heavy people going into academia or higher education to read.
>>7778105
Interesting because I thought that was the only positive light in Stoner's mostly shitty life. He gets fed up with the political b.s. of education and academia, but he loves discussing literature and teaching it. John Williams said something about how he actually had a good life, doing what he wanted to do all along and treating his profession with great respect and importance.
Too bad he couldn't post on /lit/. Dude would have been a NEET if he were born 80 years later.
>>7778173
It's an interesting idea that he had a good life considering how melancholy almost every aspect of it is. The fact that it ends on a positive note overrides the possibility of it just being a "modern life sucks" kind of thing, which is what I predicted with Stoner moving from a rural to urban life at the start. My interpretation is that it's just designed to mimic life, in that good things and bad things happen for no reason, and it's pretty repetitive in general. His wife's changing attitude is the best way to see that.
