QTDDTOT

I've never read a book before (not counting children's books when I was small) because I get bored quite easily.
Could anyone recommend me some books that might get me into reading?

>>7685767
You have no attention span. You will always be a plen

>>7685767
robert bolano - 26666
umberto eco - the name of the rose
fyodor dostoyevsky - the fault in our stars

>>7685779
I wouldn't say it's that bad..
>>7685783
Thank you

>>7685767
there is some kind of book you'll surely enjoy reading, just try to find that.
i'd try going from light to heavy fiction while looking up some non-fiction and philosophy.

you can try starting with books full of suspense and mystery so that you'll feel the need to finish them.
dracula, frankenstein, the magus, dan brown books will probably get you into reading.

>>7685783
>>7685789
hmm...

>>7685798
Did you really just put the Magus between Dracula and Dan Brown? What kind of pleb are you?

Even if your advice for the guy is correct, this is one of the most retarded example sequences I've seen. Not to even mention that the Magus is too heavy for a starters and will go over their heads even if they manage to finish it.

>>7685789
>Thank you

I....

>>7685818
yes, the magus is not that heavy and deep to be honest. it's just long.

Currently writing something which I think will end up as a novelle about a bureaucrat in a technocratic republic who suffers a heart attack and joins a weird cult whose leader happens to be a swindler. Getting it out of my laptop isn't on my plan, but if the final result plesases me I'll maybe do. What would you think about a story with that plot?

>>7685827
But it's meta-fiction with pomo vibes. And it has probably 250 the amount of artistic merit dracula/dan brown have.

>>7685716
I need to understand IMPERIALISM. Where do i begin? I'm an Indian and would like Britfags to answer for my ancestors and killing my grandfather.

I've started with Stanford Philosophy page. So far so good but will eventually need more.

Thanks to anyone who recommends something.

>>7685830
yeah kind of, but i made my pleb girlfriend read it and it worked flawlessly.
did you just debase dracula?
>>7685837
robinson crusoe
heart of darkness

>>7685801
>>7685824
:^)

>>7685841
>did you just debase dracula?
in a way, ye, it's not that great
most people around here agree with me on that one though

Is there any point in reading esoteric texts?

I always start to read some of them for that dank knowledge but then I get annoyed and stop because it's not making any sense. Why is it so tempting to read these godamn texts?

>>7685850
well, uh, you know, that's just like your opinion man. it's beautiful and outstanding when you consider the period it was written in. i wouldn't compare it to dan brown books.

>>7685864
>well, uh, you know, that's just like your opinion man.
ofcourse, and opinions are subjective.

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>>7685767
Try some of these.

Whar's the url to that great ebook dl site now again? You know the one I'm thinking of.

Are there any notable German books / authors of the last 15~ years?

>>7685887
no, there are no Germans left in Germany, sorry

>>7685879
Does Anna Karenina count as entry level?

>>7685937
I don't think anyone new to literature wants to jump into 1000 pages, regardless of how easy the text is.

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Best translation for

The myth of sisyphus- Albert Camus?

Any good books on Solon? Something containing his extant writings.

>>7686016

Anyone know how is the translation by Justin O'Brien (penguin edition) ?

>>7685767
Master & margarita

>>7685789
> Thank you

There really is no hope for you, anon.

>>7686159
Didn't even read what he said
just being polite~

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Someone said to me after a reading I did that my work reminds them of Kafka. They did not use the word "Kafkaesque" fortunately, but how should I respond to this sort of thing?

I wanted to say
>You're a fucking moron and you insult both Kafka and me
But not wanting to be autistic and realizing that they meant it as praise I said
>Thank you! Fuck bureaucracy, haha.

Did I do the right thing? Advice for dealing with idiots responding to your work?

Is there any graphic novels that transcend the comic book clichés, "nerd culture" and could potentially be considered true literature/a classic?

>>7686211
What's wrong with the guy saying your work reminds them of Kafka?

>>7686223
Maus
Watchmen
Persepolis
Tintin
Uzumaki
Gyo

>>7685716
What are some great books on Rain? either with it as it's central theme, or heavily weaved into it, fiction or non fiction?

>no Bible
>no 100 years of solitude

>>7686239
I didn't read it but the title "Hard Rain Falling" suggests that it's about rain

>>7686223
From Hell

>>7686223
you know how certain genres of films have innate limits? yeah.

>>7686016
>>7686070

?

>>7685829
Hey there any opinions?

What is the best or default layout for writing on word. What font? Size? Margins? All that mess.
I'm just curious on what looks best and what you guys use.

>>7686256
What genre of films and what limitations are you thinking of?

>>7685829
>>7686266
Sounds cool man :)

>>7686298
Hope that was New Sincerity

>>7686296
Not him, but I think I can elaborate on what he's talking about.
Every medium has its pros and cons in how it can tell a story, because of the way it's presented to the audience. Books give you a lot of space to work with and a lot of freedom of expression, but nothing in terms of sound or visuals. Films are much more condensed but make it easier to apply the 'show don't tell' principle. There has yet to be a videogame that even APPROACHES art because of a slew of issues not inherent to videogames, but once they overcome them there'll be ones that make use of the fact that the audience has direct agency in the narrative.
His example sounds valid at first but doesn't really apply. For example, a horror movie has to scare you, so plots that don't allow for the audience getting scared are right out, along with the fact that the director has to spend a non-trivial amount of effort on the horror elements.
Choosing a medium is different. Any story can be told in any medium, what's different is the tools at the author's disposal. I mean look at the aforementioned Maus, Watchemen, I'd argue Sandman too, they're nothing like
>le kiddie picture books :^)
that the hypothetical literary snobs would like to paint them as.

>tfw I'm embarrassing myself by writing basic stuff everyone on /lit/ already knows

>>7686239
Blood Meridian has rainy parts

>>7686473
I appreciate your elaboration, kind anon.

should i read "discourse on method" before or after "mediations"?

>>7686618
just read the Discourse and forget about the Meditations

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>>7686239
Satantango
>One morning near the end of October not long before the first drops of the mercilessly long autumn rains began to fall on the cracked and saline soil on the western side of the estate (later the stinking yellow sea of mud would render footpaths impassable and put the town too beyond reach) Futaki woke to hear bells.

>>7685767
Recent memoirs are written for a reading level that allows you to read it fast, and in between an already hectic day. It's a nice light reading and similar to just talking to a friend. Find a contemporary, like within the decade, memoir of someone with an interesting life or thing happen to them.

>>7685824
lmao

>>7686268
school should have taught you this by now. And every beta reader, publisher and editor would appreciate you memorize this: times new roman, 12 size font, 1 inch margins, double spaced. don't make the end of each line line up perfectly either, that's the publisher's job.

>>7686618
it's like science class. gotta know the scientific method before you jump to the conclusions if you want any sort of critical thinking to be involved.

>>7685767
About Love and Other Stories - Anton Chekhov (Bartlett Translation)

These are great short stories, good literature and not too demanding on your attention span.

>>7686679
That's only when you send things to a publisher my autistic friend

>>7686697
ok, but if you're gonna ask me a question like: do you think the book will be too long? following those standards helps me be able to pull a book off the shelf to compare your book to. Because the amount of pages you have in your manuscript directly correlates to the amount of pages it will be once published. besides, it's easiest to just stick with that formatting instead of changing it for every person you meet.

thx for calling me autistic. I feel proud.

>>7686633
I like this. I have Seiobo There Bellow, so I'll probably start with thaht and move to this if I like it. thanks.

>>7686479
been meaning to read it, but I think I want to try the Border Trilogy first, good/bad idea?

>>7686244
Seen this one pop up in all the NYRB threads lately but I dont think it has to do with rain.

all in all, I have been actually looking for rain themed books and havent found many, and I cant believe that something as powerful and as influential as rain isnt more centrally used in literature, I'm sure it's just that I cant find it.

>>7686227
My work shouldn't remind him of Kafka

Can someone post the links to epib packs such as depressing lit , dystopian etc?
P-please sempai

>>7686765
CUNT

>>7686765
Why not? Genuinely asking here, what's wrong with your work reminding him of Kafka? What's wrong with a fellow reader having an interpretation on what you have written? Just because you might not be influenced directly by Kafka doesn't mean the person can't find it somewhat similar.

Honestly, I'd be really flattered if someone compared my work to Kafka.

I want to write a book. What should I learn to make a good one? genre probably slice of life.

>>7685824
>>7686159
He just said he hasn't read any books. Why would he recognize those titles? Are you fucking retarded?

>>7686842
Any person with sense would fucking look those titles up before replying.

>>7686884
or this is a conversation and not a research then respond forum. really, it was a circle jerk of look how smart we are compared to others, and it failed because OP had no shame in not knowing because of his aforementioned lack of reading

Anyone read The Night Circus? How is it? The description sounds really intriguing and I really want to read something in a circus setting.

>>7686211
>In what way?
It's that simple.

>>7686833
How not to write a novel might be a good guide on how not to fail to spectacularly.

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Grammar question: what's the name for phrases enclosed in commas that rename something? Like:

My mom, the whore that gave birth to me, is going to the store.

What is the name for "the whore that gave birth to me"?

>>7687249
i'm turkish, but we were taught that it's relative clause.
your mom, (who is) the whore that gave birth to you, can suck my dick.

>>7687268
Thanks, I think that's right

>>7685716
Is there a comprehensive list of preferred editions of books in general?

Right now I'm looking for Gravity's Rainbow, but anything's good. The wiki isn't helping ;_;

>>7687284
google "book name" "best edition"
http://4archive.org/board/lit/thread/7375623

>>7685837
Ancient and Modern Imperialism, by Evelyn Baring, 1st Earl of Cromer and Controller-General of Egypt.

The Expansion of England by Sir John Seeley

The Bow of Ulysses by James Froude

>>7686223
Maus
Persepolis
Barefoot Gen
A Contract With God
Corto Maltese and Sharaz-De have excellent art
Watchmen (if you don't mind some edginess)
Asterios Polyp
Sandman (maybe - I personally don't really like it)

>>7687249
Apposition?

>>7687249
>rename something
Renaming something is apposition, so the phrase is an appositional phrase.
Within the appositional phrase
>the whore that gave birth to me
is a relative clause,
>that gave birth to me
that modifies 'whore'.

>>7685767
What're you interested in, friend? I love giving recommendations so you'd make me super happy if you let me help you. :)

Is the Paradise Lost worth reading in anything but english? I have it in spanish; it belonged to my late grandpa and it's a beautiful edition from like the '20s so I'm keeping it either way, but I'd rather not waste my time if the experience is not the same.

>>7685716
I got piss drunk last night and somehow started planning out a book writing up a loose events timeline, setting, and character drafts. Do I keep going or just try to forget it?

>>7685879
that is a truly shitty Metamorphosis cover

Is Discworld actually a good series or is it just a meme?

>>7686473
well art is subjective, and your view is very snobbish

>>7687334
why do you give a shit about our opinion? do it just to have done it. don't think about the outcome or others' opinions.

>>7687249
It's called a periphrasis.

>>7687331
if you ask me, poetry can never be the same experience if translated
I actually have that very book in swedish, but I'm not gonna read it in anything but english

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>>7687357
pic related

>>7687344
Well I kinda accidentally used the names of my friends for the characters and I'm worried that they'll get mad

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>>7687364
well, kerouac did that while writing on the road too, with even more explicit language. don't care about it much.

>>7687313
>Apposition?
>>7687318

Exactly what I was looking for, thank you.

>>7687364
so change the names if it bothers you

>>7687340
Are you retarded? Did you seriously imply that his post is a subjective value judgement?

>>7687364
Change the names, genius

>>7687379
he's got good points but his view that videogames can't be art is conceited

>>7687352

No, periphrasis is a circumlocution, and it replaces something instead of restating it.

>>7687389
He didn't say that games can't be art, he said that currently they are too limited to be art.

>>7687357
>>7687359
figured
thought the translation of prose poetry would be a lesser evil, but you're right

>>7687404
Precisely; in other words he's defining art

>>7687391
There's no difference. You just have a word, then its periphrasis following.

>>7687334
Do it! Ideas when drunk are the best, unfiltered. Write drunk, edit sober. Don't edit till the last word is written. You'll have fun in the process and be able to pat yourself on the back for finishing something, which many have not done.

>>7687417
Oh, so you are one of those "art can't be defined, it's all subjective" guys, right?

/lit/, I'm looking for a kind of specific book, a recommendation.

It should have an eerie, unsettling kind of atmosphere. The following should be included; The events that occur are based on familiar people acting in unfamiliar, yet seemingly orchestrated ways. Stories where the world seems to have gone mad; and the protagonist is not necessarily an exception.

Anything come to mind?

>>7687481
You have got to get your hands on House of Leaves. The word they go for is: uncanny. The whole world and physics have lost their mind, maybe even the writer(s?) and reader

Where is a good place to read books and whatnot online for free?

>>7687493
bitch are you fucking stupid

Did anyone else read Howl and start to freak the fuck out because Moloch is devouring the world?

Why is Metropolis so scary?

>>7687481
The Blind Owl

>>7687493
sticky

>>7687445
can it?

>>7687313
Thanks anon, will check these out

I'm not decided on whether I'll get the Decameron translated to my mother tongue or to english, but in case I do get the english translation; which translation should I go for?

>>7687422
>there is no difference between apposition and periphrasis

There is a difference.
Periphrasis is circumlocution, and apposition is not.
Apposition is restatement of a phrasing that is used prior, while periphrasis replaces the phrasing (which is *not* used in favor of the periphrasis).

>>7687307
Thanks. I'm into Burke now. Will check these out. I have never heard of them. If they're good then consider us on the road to anon friendship for life.

Any tricks for learning to write bigger word counts? My mind automatically compresses info so I have difficulty expressing the point too fast for even short stories.

>>7687547
I look at all my lit elements, and see if they are developed well enough within the text. Then I go back and fill in. Then I go back and polish off and make it seem smoother

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Is this any good?

>>7687481
the haunting of hill house or we have always lived in the castle, both by shirley jackson

Which translation of Faust (Goethe) should i obtain?

For that matter, how do you pronounce Goethe? It's Ger-ter right?

>>7687682
Göthe

>>7687684
what do u mean

also bump i just want a translation that brings out the best in it and doesn't try and force rhymes at the expense of purity

>>7687682
Ger-tuh, roughly

>>7687682
>>7687719
avoid pronouncing the letter "r"

it's hard to explain the letter "ö" to people that don't have it in their alphabet, but if you're familiar with french it sound similar to the french suffix "-eu"
Geu-the (but easy on the "u")

I'm looking for a modern adaptation (that is, a filmed adaptation) of Hamlet, preferably with updated english and not too prentious. Can somebody help?

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Why do so many books use this hand written style, marker/chalk font? Literally every book I see uses something similar to pic related

>>7687938
Why?

>>7687331
If you can read English well enough to post here, you should read PL in English. Just make sure you get a version 29th modernized spelling.

Paradise Lost occasionally used familiar-looking English words in a way closer to their Latin meaning than their modern English meaning (e.g. "process"). If anything speaking Spanish will help you.

>>7687938
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zz6GL6AFphU
here you go fám

>>7687331

Do your very best to read it in English. It is absolutely worth it. Milton's English is like no one else's. Read it on the Dartmouth Milton reading room where notes are available in hypertext. Alternatively, if you want more in-depth stuff, get a competent edition (edited either by Leonard or Orgel & Goldberg), which should more fully explain the archaisms, at the cost of having to flick quite frequently to the back pages for the notes.

I just finished the scarlet in black and hated it.
Also, I don't know French so that doesn't help.
anyways, any books about the bourgeois and bourgeois mentality and hate towards them? I find it rather intriguing.

>>7685716
What's the best English translation for Don Quixote?

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What should I read next? I've already read Hocus Pocus since I took this picture.

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Could anyone help me understand a phrase from Aristotle?

It's from Book 2 of Physics

>Thus if a house were one of the things which come to be due to nature, it would come to be just as it now does by the agency of art; and if things which are due to nature came to be not only due to nature but also due to art, they would come to be just as they are by nature.

I'd like to know what he's alluding to specifically concerning the relationship between art and nature.

>>7688131
That a thing is itself no matter its origin
t. Never read Aristotle

>>7688114
Steppenwolf? Dorian Grey?
also fin-de-siecle french decadentism is pretty much by definition burgoise hate

>>7688134
thank you very much friend, that helped a lot and now it makes more than perfect sense. too much of old Ari does fry your brain I spose, because now i wonder how I didn't catch that before

>>7687669
i liked it, but it's more imagery travelogue mixed with philosophical college essays. it was interesting and intelligent and challenging.

>>7687967
it's "fun" looking

>>7688091
>Dartmouth Milton reading room
man this is great but reading on a laptop screen is exhausting. I wish this was available as ebook

>>7688123
pls respond

>>7688217
Just learn Spanish ese

>>7688224
no mames

How do I learn how to write interesting and or "good" prose and poetry

I fear I lack the intellectual brainpower and or imagination. How do I improve? Apart from simply vomiting my shit ideas onto paper

>>7688125
Do androids dream of electric sheep I guess? Or left hand of darkness.

>>7688260
I should have mentioned, the pile on the right are all books I've attempted before but gave up on but still want to try again. I got about halfway through Left Hand of Darkness (actually you can still see the bookmark) before I just couldn't handle the prose anymore. She uses this really flowery, almost Victorian style that really clashed in my mind with the sci-fi plot. Is it worth powering through to the end?

>>7688273
I'll be honest, I gave up halfway through too, but I tried to read it in high school. I liked lathe of heaven more.

I'm a /lit/-pleb. I finished A Scanner Darkly earlier this week. Should I continue with PKD, and if so where? If not, where else within the general science fiction realm should I travel?

Secondly, same for Hermann Hesse and Siddhartha. I wasn't too big on it for it's philosophy but I liked the character developments.

>>7688346
Which other PKD books have you read? Which aspects of science fiction interest you? Any particular setting or theme you want to explore?

>>7688372
That's the only book of his I've read. I liked the credibility of the advancements (scramble suit) versus introducing fictional species or something like that. That's not to say it has to be hard science fiction for me to like it.

I don't think I'd be too particular about setting or theme. I did like the suspicious/untrusting atmosphere of it all

>>7688399
One other quick followup, how many science fiction books have you read? You are fairly new to the genre right?

>>7688407
Yeah I just kinda went to the wiki and picked one that looked cool. I read The Time Machine by H.G. Wells like four years ago for school but that's all I can think of, not that I remember that much anyway

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Where to start with stoicism? I've only read Meditations.

Why are so many people (myself included) turned on by moral ambiguity?

>>7688414
I'll give you a couple of recommendations and hopefully one sounds appealing.

Ender's Game - Good entry into science fiction and it's easy to read. Humanity is preparing to stop an aggressive alien race and all their hopes are placed in a small child. Somewhat generic plot, but manages to subvert your expectations of what is going on. Most people who have read this, but not a lot of other science fiction, seem to love it.

Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep - The book blade runner was based on. Follows a detective trying to hunt down androids which are illegally trying to integrate into society. The themes are about what makes a human human and can artificial life be a person.

Dune - Space fantasy where an offworlder becomes a messiah for the world's inhabitants. It has a lot of political intrigue and religion weaved into the story. George Lucas borrowed a lot from this for star wars.

1984/Brave New World - Dystopian novels that are very relatable today. Both are fairly short, but very potent. 1984 shows a world where the government is oppressive and monitors everything a person does, says, or even thinks. BNW is a society that has built in eugenics and promotes entertainment and drugs over personal thought.

Forever War - Story about soldiers fighting an alien race, but they experience severe time dilation. They go through a year of service and return to find earth has aged decades. It's a metaphor for the vietnam war and the postwar culture shock soldiers went through.

Want to start my first Pynchon with V.? Is it better to read with a guide? From what I've heard the dude references a lot of stuff. Or should I just not worry about that kind of thing and power through?

Which translations for Kafka should I get? Specifically his collected short stories and The Trial

>>7688493
Appreciate your help man, I wrote em' all down and can hopefully read them all soon too.
I think I'll start with Electric Sheep; I've never heard of Forever War but that little description you gave makes it sound really cool.

Looking at Ender's Game's wikipedia page I saw it's part of a big chronology. I'm guessing it's sensible as a standalone read though right?

>>7688514
>I'm guessing it's sensible as a standalone read though right?
Yeah, it's standalone. I didn't bother with the sequels because the plots weren't appealing to me, but supposedly they aren't too bad if you want to continue.

Dune is similar in that it's standalone, but I've heard some of the sequels are better than the original. I just never found time to follow up on them.

I read Forever War in about two days because I couldn't put it down; it's one of my favorites on the list.

>>7685767
Just because this is a QTDDTOT doesn't excuse you from reading the goddamn sticky. Literally just go there and look for the novellas chart, they're all very short, and therefore good as introductory books. Pick whichever you think you'll enjoy and FINISH it before moving on.

(personal recommendation: Siddhartha)

I am a fucking retard, how do you download ebooks from #bookz?

>>7686633
Oh my lordy that is such a good moving pictures/ audio compsite real life manga

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Since apparently this didn't deserve its own thread:

How would you characterize literature described as "operatic" vs "balletic" vs "balladic", et cetera? What connotations to those words hold when translated from a musical stage into written word (or adapted written word, a la movies)? What words, phrases, feelings come to mind?

For me, "opera" implies something austere, perhaps pretentious, and sticking to the classical dramatic story arcs of tragedies or comedies. Whereas "ballet" implies a story that's more personal, fleshing out actual characters, and focusing on accentuating very particular light or dark traits of the main character. And "ballad" suggests a story that's rooted in a culture or subculture, retold for either nostalgia's or for irony's sake. But I'm looking for more fleshed out understanding of the words.

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Meditations is incredibly dry, repetitive and hypocritical. Did everyone else just plough through it?

>>7687335
I don't mind the concept, but I honestly feel a painterly, expressive illustration of a half-human, half-insect face would have been more effective than the horrid attempt at minimalism they went for. I don't think it's much worse than the penguin art-student-with-stupid-shit-strapped-to-his-head monochrome covers.

>>7689183
No I leave it on my bedside table and just read a passage here and there.

>>7688505
Never ever ever ever read something with a guide or any form of commentary or such for the first time. Have fun

>>7689183
In what sense is it hypocritical?

how do you pronounce borges? i thought it was bore-hays for the longest time but some spanish speaker recently insisted it's bore-gus.

Can/Should I watch End of the Tour before reading Infinite Jest?

>>7689480
Jorge Francisco Isidoro Luis Borges KBE (/ˈbɔːrhɛs/;[1] Spanish: [ˈxorxe ˈlwis ˈborxes]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Jorge_Luis_Borges.ogg

>>7687325
I like things where there is a cool male main character that solves problems and gets girls
but I don't like American things as much as I can not relate to them.

>>7688440
you've never solved a tough problem in your life and you want everyone to fail so you can feel better.

>>7685716
Why is everyone here suddenly so stupid and reactionary?

>>7690304
/mu/ and /pol/ came to /lit/, initially liking how laid-back and easy going the board used to be, but brought their shitposting with them. Now they won't leave.

>>7690326
/lit/ used to be scathing when dumbasses occasionally wandered over

Now /pol/ is here getting away with complaining about Othello

>>7690385
Blame /his/.

>>7690326
/mu/ was literally the board from which /lit/ was born and they have made the bulk of new posters here since the beginning. not saying we should accept newfriend stupidity, but lumping them in the same category as /pol/ shitposters is a bit lazy as they tend to be badly read but willing to learn a thing or two

Where should I start Jean Baudillard?

tfw neet with no friends
all I have is my books
what do

Is there any tea that helps with focus / calms down without making you drowsy?

Also what teas does /lit/ like?

>>7685716
who was a meme author, that had no discernible talent? who was shitposting, and wrote literally genre tier fiction? who was clearly a juvenile author?

>>7690629
>>7690629
/lit/ born from /mu/
/his/ born from /lit/

Can someone write the genealogy of 4chan ?

>>7693870
>Is there any tea that helps with focus / calms down without making you drowsy?
Chamomile would be the main one for that
>Also what teas does /lit/ like?
Green tea. After researching the subject, it seems to be the single most healthy beverage around (maybe except for water, but maybe not).

>>7693540

Rope is pretty cheap.

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I'm almost done with this. For context, next up is Story of Philosophy by Bryan Magee before going to The Presocratics and The Sophists.

I want to go through it again and take notes of each story to remember them well enough that I can reference them from memory. However, I find myself a bit overwhelmed by all the links between the stories and the characters. How should I structure these notes? Should I make a list of all the people referenced in it? Or perhaps should I only list the stories (Trojan war, creation myths, golden fleece, love myths, etc)?

Any pointers would be appreciated, thank you.

I just read the first tome of The fool's assassin from Robin Hobb and I need something to keep me waiting for the next one, what would you recommend, knowing that I read LotR and GoT ?

>>7685716
how the fuck do i do spoiler

>>7694016
(spoiler)like this(/spoiler)
only with square brackets

>>7693946
Went to b and q and they only had twine in stock

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Hey /lit/ I'm a newfag when it comes to books, haven't read anything in a while. Was looking at getting One Second After, is it any good?

>>7693939
Chamomile has like no effect for me. Too weak.

And what green tea?

>>7694030
No.

>>7694073

I just get the bagged kind and brew it that way since that's easiest where I live, although my initial exposure to it was sencha in Japan and I'm of a mind to seek that out, or maybe matcha (the powdered kind used in the tea ceremony).

>>7693939
>. . . without making you drowsy
>chamomile

Chamomile is literally used to help get sleep and is described as acting like a mild sedative

>>7694080
Then what would you suggest?

>>7694178
I don't know what you like, check out the sticky. The Trial by Kafka is a good, short book.

>>7694182
Different anon but does anyone have the starter kit that had Mishima on it?

Can I start to into Foucalt with Madness and Civilization?

>>7694169

That's a fair point. I was looking mostly at the calming part.

>>7694197
You can start anywhere m8 (as long as you have first started with the greeks of course)

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>>7694193

Is there something I should read before starting City of God by Augustine?

Would a third person/first person non-fiction short biography about a young man struggling with bipolar disorder be an interesting read? I'm trying to get my friend to write about his life.

Should I read game of thrones or girl with a dragon tattoo

>>7695213
The Bible

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>>7695213
>>7695444
The bible is really all you need. May help to read some of the greeks (Aristotle's ethics) but otherwise it's pretty easy to jump right in.

>>7695228
There's non-fiction on the history of a salt mining family and all they do is make salt, it's not the premise so much as the presentation that makes it interesting.

>>7695441
>/lit/

I found both series really boring but game of thrones was quite fun.

Can anyone recommend a good book or even online resource on the history of literature? Specifically something that goes over the thoughts and ideas behind the movements and not just "here are the 'best books ever'".

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Okay guy from here >>7687334
I wrote a small sample passage just to see if I'm shit or not at this writing thing so please judge.
Here's one with the original names
http://pastebin.com/3zfRBA2g
And one with changed names
http://pastebin.com/VA9KbxKE

>>7693870
I'm not big into tea, but I like green tea and twinings irish breakfast. my tea snob friend tells me the latter is trash

>>7695843
Lemon Zinger

youre welcome

>>7689462
>In what sense is it hypocritical?
rich people tell poor people not to be rich

>>7695833
Goo concept, writing a little too verbose.

Instead of:

>while he himself searched for the more tame one.

Try "while he searched for the tamer one."

>It was familiar to him, and relief took hold of the captain at once.

"It was familiar. Relief took hold of him"

Etc. Don't lose heart, though, anon; all initial drafts require iterations to be better, just keep trying and you'll get there.

>>7685767

Your attention span is like a muscle. I suggest an easier but meaty book like Ender's Game, Odd Thomas, or maybe even manga. You will get bored and sleepy after reading for a while. Expect this. However like any muscle, the more that you practice, the easier it becomes. If you can start with 1 chapter a day, you will have finished a book in less than a month. If the book grabs you, you'll find it easier to read for more and more time and you will get hooked. Stick with the fun easier books and once in a while read a short story or novella by a more difficult author. Soon those will become easier as well and you can work up to the classics.

>>7695873
I suggest scifi short stories. only 3 pages long most of them.

>>7693870
Take l-theanine and caffeine. Not the combined pills, because then it's hard to strike that right balance between the two.

Is it totally necessary to read Dubliners before Portrait of the Artist? I'm keen on Portrait but Dubliners doesn't sound that interesting to me.

>>7695947
dubliners is really good and worth the read, but otherwise no. Dubliners is a good entry point into Joyce if you find his style difficult but.

>>7695960
Maybe I'll just get both and read them at the same time

English isn't my native language and i'm not really advanced on it so I have a quit simple question
Can you use the word " elitistic" or is that wrong english?
Like a person who is an elitist, as people who think 4chan is their secret club e.g.

>>7696263
Are you too dumb to use google? It's not a word.

>>7695557
http://www.cambridge.org/gb/academic/subjects/literature/english-literature-general-interest/cambridge-guide-literature-english-3rd-edition

This might be a start.

How do I not get bored when reading "good" books and appreciate them? Trying to get into literature but the beginning part of C&P is really uninteresting.

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What's a better starting point for someone who's curious abot existentialism, Camus or Sartre?

>>7696263
You would just say "elitist." It's a noun and an adjective

>>7686223
Berserk

>>7696292
b-but reading good literature is really exciting that's why everyone does it anon!

It's called S&M--the pleasure comes after the pain. This ain't Reading Rainbow, kid.

>>7696298
Camus; easier and better flowing than funny-eyed man. Get a copy of The Stranger and then move to The Plague or The Myth [...].

>>7696860

Thank you, I appreciate it.

Does anybody have that long ass picture where skeleton with a birthday hat asks what he had read so far?

Greatly appreciated

Books on poetry?

Not analysis, but how-to-write.

SARDONIC HUMOUR RECOMMENDATIONS

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I would like to read some medieval lit, but couldn't find anything on the sticky.

Where should I begin? Can I jump right in with Canterbury Tales or Piers Plowman? Beowulf first? Translations? Recommendations? Help!

>>7697202
Excuse me my question came first
>>7697200

>>7697202
Beowulf, Heaney translation
Canterbury Tales, original
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight

>>7686239
One Hundred Years of Solitude, it starts raining and doesn't stop for a couple of years.

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Anything I should know before I start this? ie. if there are any philosophers who influenced Foucault that I should have an understanding of

cute
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hfLZHiK-aoA

>>7697704
He is responding pretty heavily to the pscyhoanalytic tradition (hence "the repressive hypothesis). But honestly most of his sources are outside of the traditional philosophical canon. He spends more time talking about the history of psychiatry than anything else. If you have some knowledge of the Victorian Era that might be helpful.

I'm interested in so called "non-sense" literature like the style you might find in Alice in Wonderland. Any recomendations?

>>7695861
He wasn't telling anyone anything considering they were personal writing never intended to be published.

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Reading a book for class
r8 pic related -/10

>>7698170
Thank you.

Follow up question - how do I into psychoanalysis?

>>7698331
Just finished it, and wasn’t impressed by the hollow characters and awkward story. 5/10

>>7698176
Have you read Through the Looking Glass and his poems?

Kipling's Just So Stories make up a lot of shit to explain life, and Edward Lear's books are very similar to Carroll's nonsense. Edward Gorey is a bit darker than those, but still very good.

Steve Unwin invented a language which is near-English almost sense, and you can hear the tale of Happiness Stan on the second half of the Small Face's Nut Gone Flake. The speaking bits are Unwin, but some of his words are in the bits sung by the band (like "caribold" for "caravan")
www.youtube.com/watch?v=9jJeoS--XZM
I think John Lennon also wrote a few books with a similar idea to language, but he could have been ripping off Spike Milligan to an extent too.

I guess the Dice Man has a lot of things happen randomly and some of the chapter lengths and styles are random because they're supposed to have been written according to the dice too. That could be Rheinhart being a zen fan. I suppose zen works like The Blue Cliff Record would be a good idea too.

>>7698389
*Stan Unwin

Anyone else feel a little shitty about ordering books through Amazon? To people who do, do they usually come in good condition? I know it started out as an online bookstore but they might have let that fall by the wayside over the years

>>7686223
Akira is overlooked because the movie is so good, but the manga is even better.

the important thing to understand is that constructing visual tables of information is very different than writing a novel. both just happen to have words in them

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Any download collections of philosophy?

What's a book title that an gaming addict with some tech savvy and a Fantasy world savvy person would enjoy?

I need an audiobook title to suggest for my mom's audible trial.

>>7698690
Snow Crash

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>>7698984
Sounds like a great choice.

Thank you for the recommendation.

I've never seen anyone even mention John Barth on /lit/, not to call him a pleb, not to mention as an influence, nothing. What's up with that?

Are there any good books without any women inside? I don't want to be reminded i'm a bernd.

Is reading existentialcomics.com an ok introduction to philosophy? I'm currently reading the Greeks like a good boy, but is said web comic a good source for learning a bit about the most important ideas in all of philosophy?

Im trying to do some honors assignments for my English class.

Are they any good, redpilled works that deal with race, gender roles, disability or social class difference?

Fucking obnoxious subjects I know. It's going to be hard to read this shit much less report on it.

I was thinking Starship Troopers since it values a meritocracy but I dont know if it will qualify with the course material.

College is fucking gay. I didnt sign up for this

Where is the current new and good poetry being released? I have no clue where to look.

>>7699185
the greeks are a meme

>>7699201
you literally did sign up for that drop out now

>>7699216
none

Any tips on how to stop being so embarrassed with my writing? It wasn't this hard for me when I learned to draw or compose. I could pretty shameless show what I made.

>>7699264
Read more,
get better at writing

Find Stephen King's "Reading to Write" essay. Its pretty short

>>7685767
read some Vonnegut, lad

>>7699201
I hope you mean "college" as in "high school" because if a university level course in English isn't making you cry from having to learn Old English and is instead hoping you shit out a tumblr, you should quit.

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recommendations? this is what i'm ordering at least today.

>>7687520
ooooh roasted.
really though, isn't art just any work that elicits an emotional response or puts perspective on at least one facet of the human experience?

>>7695843
irish breakfast is my favorite. call your friend a double nigger for me.

>>7695964
I read portrait and enjoyed it, with having only read The Dead before that. Still havent gone back to dubliners

>>7686239
kafka on the shore uses lightning as a plot device

>>7685857
yes. especially those regarding dagon.

jk, not really

>>7685879
how are these entry level books?

they're all deep as fuck

>>7685857
because you're a nerd. don't worry, we've all been there

>>7699493
gatsby isnt deep, neither or catcher, notes, sh5, siddhartha or the Odyssey. the rest are low-mid tier.

>>7687682
Góte

>>7687967
to make it appealing to brain dead teenagers.

>>7688114
dorian grey

>>7688246
read a lot.

also, learn grammar and spelling (and i'm talking hardcore grammar.)

>>7685887
there's
- Feuchtgebiete
If you wanna ask the lolnazi edgelords of KC, go to their /l/ board and ask again.

>>7689103
well, being a musician (piano major) myself, i might be of help.

>operatic
an opera is a long, extensive piece of music with many, many instruments, voices, etc...
it's a dense work to accomplish because it has elements from theater (setting, acting, etc...), literature (the libreto, the translation, the adaptation to lyrics, especially if there is counterpoint, which there will be), and music.

it's dense, and usually, it's dramatic and powerfull. it implies just that, dramaticism.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F5XEacwWz-8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dK1_vm0FMAU
>balletic

have you ever watched a ballerina dancing? it's suposed to imply lightness, graciousness, etc...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wz_f9B4pPtg

not to say it can't be powerfull, but that's what it's implied

>ballade
probably the one i'm most familiar with

a ballade is like a narrative poem. it's a one movement piece wich must have lyrical and highly dramatic properties. wich are somewhat similar to a "song" setting.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PCW3631sxkw

>>7695843
>twinings irish breakfast
if you can find it, barry's gold blend. if your friend means "hurr durr black tea" not "you should drink barry's" he's a hipster cunt who doesn't know shit and you should steal his money so he stops wasting it on shit

>>7699523
>Feuchtgebiete
>notable
>not just a memebook for a summer

Anyway, there's

Goetz - Schlucht, massive thing in 6 books that's still in the process of being published, I think he's trying to make an all-encompassing image of 2000 to 2010

Sibylle Lewitscharoff is doing some cool stuff, check out Blumenberg

and of course Reich-Ranicki's Meine Geschichte der deutschen Literatur just came out, I've been reading that one, but sadly it's not one big thing, but a collection of chronologically sorted essays

People here like Dietmar Dath but I find him insufferably pretentious, copy-pasting Wikipedia to make his dumb stories sound smarter

And of course, someone who I keep recommending here, Walter Moers' Zamonien books. Very unique deep fantasy, far from the tropes American neckbeards shit up the internet with.

>>7695873
Also meditate as that helps with concentration.

>>7687249
An appositive

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Any good books while learning french. I don't want to read "The little Prince".

I have a kindle paper white but recently wanted to buy some physical books.

Should I?

>>7688123
If you want an edition that is just easy to read and to the point use Rutherford's. For something more elegant and challenging go Ormsby revised edition by Norton Critical

>>7685716
Anyone know post bible greek lit? I love kazantzakis and want to know if there's more good shit out there.

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worth a read?

>>7698607
I actually picked up the Akira series not long ago. Was really surprised with how thick the whole collection is, each volume being much larger than a typical manga volume. Will be reading them later this year, I'm sure.

What are y'all's favourite diologue-driven novels?

>>7699995
Definitely. It's not a heavy read anyways.

Why is it in plays like "Enter Vladimir" instead of "Vladimir enters"?

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I used to read a lot as a kid for hours, now I have trouble focusing for more than a few paragraphs at a time.

It's not like I have no time to do it, but I just have difficulty focusing. How can I read more and still enjoy the experience?

Should I read Siddhartha or Steppenwolf first???

>>7700341
Well the most obvious thing you can do is to try to read more, just to get yourself used to the pace, state of mind, etc.

Otherwise, you can try spending less time on the computer/listening to music/watching tv , basically reducing the amount of any activities you do that require no active thought or patiencel

Any recommended readings for becoming more 'human' and 'feeling' - something to help me relate to other people more? I literally feel like a robot, all memes aside.

>>7698373
I'm sure there are multiple strategies but I can only speak to my own. I started with Freud and Beyond to get a brief overview of the history of psychoanalysis starting with Freud up through the late 20th century. I found it helpful in giving me a taste of some of the different thinkers and theories without going into too much detail about any one in particular. Then I would recommend starting with Freud. Although much of psychoanalytic theory has deviated from Freud, he is always at the core of the discussion (even if he is being rejected). From Freud, it kind of depends on what you're into to some extent

>>7699000
BARTH, JOHN
Giles Goat-Boy
The Sot-Weed Factory
Lost In The Funhouse
chimera

come on guys

>>7686473
how do you define what art is?

Anyone know any novels set in the Ozarks?

What are some /lit/-approved homo stories, if such a thing exists?

>>7701823
The one by gore vidal
Pillars of sand?

>>7700342
siddhartha, but it doesnt matter much

ideally you'd've read both before narcissus and goldmund

>>7701823
confessions of a mask

>>7694016
If you highlight the text you want to spoiler and hit ctrl+s 4chins will do it automatically for you

>>7701823
Maurice by Forster, Queer (or anything else really) by Burroughs
>>7701904
You're thinking of the City and the Pillar
>>7701909
>confessions of a mask
I hadn't heard of this before, thank you

Does #bookz only provide PDF's? It's a real pain to read/convert them for the Kindle. The formatting, table of content and footnotes are always all messed up or missing.

>>7700377
read a comfy book about bros going on adventures but also emotions

like watership down

>>7699897
maybe try Guy de Maupassant. Didn't read him as French, but he was described as accessible in the seminar I took on him. It was centered around his short stories though.

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Is the Signet Classics version of Don Quixote good?

>>7701823
Death in Venice.


Why don't we have threads on German lit anymore? Used to be one every Thursday or so.

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>>7685716
Can someone post the edited version of this that has a 3rd person looking over the clouds into beautiful sun??

Okay, two questions:

>What other websites/forums do you guys use to discuss/learn about literature?

>What mediums do you use to learn about NEW quality stuff that's coming out?

>>7700310
It's a command, not a statement. The actor reads it as a command, it's not intended to be read by the audience.

>>7699920
Do it. I bought a paperwhite and I like it for some things, but a majority of the time I still prefer physical books.

>>7696292
>Crime and Punishment

Have you read Notes from Underground? If you have not, definitely read it before getting back into Crime and Punishment.

Why does everyone hate Ayn Rand? Why does she suck?

Can cultural Marxism fully explain memes?

>>7702517
she's a terrible writer honestly. The books are about her ideal boyfriend and she inserts herself into many. Then the padding with multiple elaborations on her honestly shit philosophy coupled with the fact that her stories almost all end in the mc giving a speech on why he did what he did, the philosophy behind it etc.
A basic, entry-level rule of writing is show, don't tell. Don't tell the reader your character's traits and deeds, have him do them. Don't have the character just sum up the moral of the novel at the end, because that's what happens in childrens books.