Archived threads in /lit/ - Literature - 1502. page

>>9276981
Duolingo

>>9276981
That's some carnal knowledge right there.

>>9276981

Any of them work if you work with them and are willing to straight memorize at least a few thousand words and another few hundred verb forms.

When I met James he had no friends and I couldn’t get through to him, but by the time he was a sophomore and I was a senior he yielded, and I got to know every freckle on his back. The pale skin of our legs would wind up and our hair would mix when I pushed him into my mattress until he bounced.

His mom was onto us, I knew – when I picked him up, she would say, “You boys be careful.” Once I even told her, “Mrs. Horton, I really like your son,” as if by way of apology to her, like I couldn’t help myself because he was so pretty, but she surprised me by seeming happy about it.

We’d drive around and he’d stare ahead so I could see his face in profile – the face of a scholar, I knew, which looked good in the sunlight. He’d sometimes rest his hand on my knee, which always made me hard. One night we were parked in some deserted cul-de-sac – he’d just blown me and was getting sentimental, so I had him on my lap in the backseat with his head buried in my chest.

He looked up at me and kissed me a few times, on the forehead and then the cheeks and lips, which made me hard again, and asked why we never went anywhere.

“I’ll take you somewhere,” I laughed, and ran my hand up his leg.

But he held my wrist to stop me and said, “No, I mean for real.”

I got serious at that and looked him in the eye, and said, “Oh yeah? That’s what it is? You want to be a real couple? Okay, you tell me what you want. I’ll take you to dinner, have you meet my parents, whatever. I don’t care. I’d love it.”

He looked down flustered and said, “Now you’re making me feel stupid. I just meant – I don’t know, a movie or something.”

I turned the key in the ignition. “You, stupid? I don’t think so. And we’re going to the movies right now.”

I made a big show of it and put my arm around his shoulder, and when I got a popcorn and the guy at the concession asked me if that was all, I said I wanted one for my boyfriend too. That made James go crazy, I could tell – he kept his hand on top of mine during the movie, and we went at it face-to-face and kissed a lot when we made it home.

After that we walked together in school and it was obvious. When it was time for me to graduate, he told me it would be hard to stay together, and I agreed. I fucked him whenever I came back on break, harder than I used to, and I he liked it, but eventually he got a boyfriend with glasses and I was happier for him than I had been.

>>9277923
reads like YA. It's not much without context but it's ok

>the face of a scholar, I knew, which looked good in the sunlight
non-sequitur
scholars are pale af and look like ghosts in the sunlight, if they don't immediately fry to death

http://pastebin.com/yFdKWxcG

>>9278138
>http://pastebin.com/yFdKWxcG

Enjoyed this, first paragraph felt a bit clunky, the stuff in parenthesis felt unnecessary. Maybe that was your intention.

I liked the munching on crisps as possible torture device and it made me intrigued. The Pearl and Dean theme was a nice touch as well.

>at least not at this stage in the continuous societal evolution

This scans a bit oddly. Maybe just an "of" instead of "in the"? Also I'm not sure about the use of debonair, how do you eat crisps debonairly?

Anyway, enjoyed it overall. I'm not great at critiquing to be honest.

Here's my load of shite;

The fall was only from a stepladder, 4 or 5 foot at most, took less than a second from ladder to paving. The resultant injury was of greater depth and sustained duration.
A clatter n; a thunk. Forthwith his mind became a furious blur, the ability to cogitate slowly now defunct.

Dennis was a decent bloke, a warm soul in a cold part of the country. Always a kindly smile and humane eyes. Decorator by trade, doing it since he was 16, very good at it by all accounts. Always a professional finish, his interaction with customers never less than exemplary, friendly, funny, laid back charm. Never too much, never too little.
So it was with great surprise the changes that occurred after that short tumble from the ladder, mid door frame, using satin not gloss, nicer finish. The door got finished by another decorator, he wasn’t as good, or as nice.
The cliche for someone a little bit off or just slightly removed from what is considered normal by the mainstream of society is often to ask if they got dropped on their head as a child. Wether Dennis fell or was “dropped” by something is a question for the philosophers and theorists to ponder. I shall simply attempt to narrate some of what I know and experienced within the short time Dennis and I’s lives intersected.

>>9276924

i'm also interested but just the practical elements of it, with zero woo woo. is that even possible? maybe i should stick to cbt/mindfulness/stoicism?

>>9276924
I'm halfway through "food for the heart - the collected teaching of ajahn chah". Pretty good so far.

I started with "Mindfulness in Plain English" by Gunaratana and "What the Buddha Taught" by Rahula. The former was critical, the latter less so, but it's very easy and short to read, doesn't hurt as an introduction.

>>9277039
What do you mean by "practical elements"? It's all meant to be practiced.

>>9276924
read from chapter 12
http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/sn/

then apply what you read, after you cut ties to normie life.

File: 1487505645557.jpg (37KB, 657x527px) Image search: [Google]

37KB, 657x527px

>>9276847
The art of war
The book of the five rings
Zen and budo
And a judo one by mikonosuke kawaishi or something

>>9276847
I do MMA 5 times a week.

Stoicism, like Letters From a Stoic by Seneca or Meditations by Marcus Aurelius are good because they get my discipline, humility, emotional intelligence, and even existential woes in order, which are very important to excelling in martial arts (or any activity really). Obstacle is the Way by Ryan Holiday is great, Bill Belichick (NE Patriots NFL coach, consensus GOAT) makes it required reading for his players (many NFL players will tell you football is a combat sport, at least at that level). Many military leaders enjoy Stoicism, I forgot which general it was but one of the very famous generals of the last decade kept a copy of Meditations by Marcus Aurelius on his person at all times, and on deployment.

Art of War by Sun Tzu is probably a given, it's a pretty practical book. The Jocko Podcast does a great breakdown of it, check it out.

Extreme Ownership by Jocko Willink. It's a very watered down version of Stoicism, much more actionable information (less philosophical) than the Stoic texts. I'd recommend that.

Podcast episode: The Logic of Violence w/ Sam Harris and Jocko Willink

These helped me, they're probably not perfect but they helped me

>>9276874
>MMA
We're talking about martial arts, not burger bullshit more similar to a drunken brawl.

>>9276830
Not Nietzsche.

The Greeks, Descartes, Sartre.

Plato
he's also exit-level

>>9276834
This desu.

Although I'd throw some Augustine and Plotinus in there too. They're essentially footnotes to Plato anyway.

He had an ending planned, look it up. One of his best works for sure. The Metamorphosis might be better, but that's it.

>Does /lit/ like Kafka?
Well, I know I do.
He seems to be more of a meme around here. Or anywhere.
>lol so kafkaesque

>>9276778
I really liked a country doctor even if it went a bit over my head.

>>9276802
any board is dominated by Newfags. William's meme status is defined by Stoner, and Cowboy /lit/ is defined by warlock and blood meridian. Butcher's Crossing is a non-newfag book, and thus read by the quiet oldfags you see on goodreads threads.

Butcher's Crossing was infinitely better than Scrotie McBoogerballs Wild West Boogaloo by Cormac McCarthy.

John Williams could out-write McCarthy by a fucking mile. Its not even close.

>>9276974
That McCarthy contrarianism isnt treated like Joyce or DFW contrarianism is a travesty on this board.

lmao
Very /lit/ story

>>9276762
Which book was it, then?
Never write anything before you have developed a grasp for what is essential in a scene.

Do they sell the coffee in cans now?

>>9276666

>"Oh please, where are we?"
>"You are in the Chronicles of Narnia, child"

Come the fuck on, Lewis

>>9276672
Lewis was a hack, Tolkien knew it but had to look after him.

>>9276666
>Alas, poor Yorick! I knew him, Horatio; a fellow of infinite jest, of most excellent fancy

No wonder DFW offed himself, when he wrote lines this bad.

>>9276638
Knowledge over ignorance.
Strife over complacency.
Pleasure over pain.
Mercy over justice.

>>9276638
Don't be a communist.

>>9276649
>Pleasure over pain.
wrong

>>9276619
I don't think 'I have to finish every manuscript I start' is a good ethos. It's not work ethic, it's lack of discernment.

>>9276634
What do you mean, exactly? Anything in particular you're thinking of?

Shit at writing characters, the best he does in that regard is Stormlight.
I like his books because I like to autistically trace the connections between series and map out the greater metanarrative, but if you're not into heavy worldbuilding and assembling tiny details into a complete picture you probably won't get much out of him.

criticises capitalism
wears nike autism sneakurz
must be DFW

bumperino

I think that's a pretty over-simplified analysis of Girl with the curious hair. To me it seemed like he was making a point of not passing judgement on the main character at all, which seems like a more DFW thing to do.

I don't know how whales don't get extremely bored swimming around for 80 years with pretty much nothing to do except eat and fuck.

>>9276631
sounds comfy desu

>>9276631
They have 326 million cubic miles of ocean to explore, you could live and never see the same area twice.

Createspace. Everything is free and the cover/interior customization is total.

>Here's the problem: for print versions like paper back or hard back they literally cut off a large part of your book cover image.

They tell you exactly how much they're gonna cut off you retard, like: EXACTLY.

How does pixels work?!?!

Show us the picture.

>>9276475

Were you the actual guy who was freaking out about having to submit this photo in a /lit/ thread yesterday or the day before (so much shitposting the days do blur) or are you just pretending to be him for laughs?

God I hope it's the former so badly I would kek so fuckin hard.

>>9276475
If you can afford not publishing the piece, my man... Fuck those people.