I can tell something happened, but I can't articulate it.
How did Kafka change literature?
>>8628766
I have no idea
>>8628766
Dunno.
>>8628766
Well, if he changed literature we can tell he most likely either
>Changed its objective
>Changed its means
Anon, answer.
Does /lit/ know? /his/ couldn't tell me.
Reactionary in a postmodern disguise.
>>8628986
>reactionary
could you be more spooky?
>>8628986
>Reactionary in a postmodern disguise.
Seems accurate. Thanks.
If anybody can be even more specific, that would be nice.
How to tell someone doesn't read
>He falls for the life experience meme
>>8628701
The inverse is equally as true
>>8628703
t. "Enjoying" "life"
>>8628701
>he ever mentioned bukowski
ITT we rewrite Harry Potter with 100% bullshittery than the books needed up having
I'll start
>Ron is the Hogwarts Triwizard champion in Goblet of Fire instead of Cedric
>Causes even more drama between him and Harry when Harry's name comes out of the Goblet
>Turns all the Weasley's against Harry because they think Harry is upstaging their brother again
>Ron and Harry and up begrudgingly helping one another (like Harry and Cedric)
>Ron dies in the graveyard making Harry's fight with Voldemort even more personal
>harry isnt the chosen one
>>8628651
100% LESS bullshittery
Fucking dyslexia
WHAT IF Ron is time traveling Dumbledore? :D
Just think about it lol
Find a book that has a better representation of depression in it?Spoilers: you can't
id like to solve
>>8628577
Anything by Dostoevsky.
>>8628600
kek
What is /lit/'s opinion on this?
Stephen King gets a lot of shit around here, and he's not the trendiest author in the world, but taken as a whole and evaluated objectively, The Strand is a monument of Western literature and the most accomplished novel by an American to date.
>>8628560
Part II is literally shit.
>>8628560
I liked it up until the shit ending. This is probably the one time that the movie will need to completely change the ending.
What was the last book your girlfriend bought you? Did you choose it or did she pick it out herself?
xd
>>8628528
>your girlfriend
>Implying I can even talk to girls.
Would you say this work is ultimately pro- or anti-Islamic?
maybe it's both ;)
>>8628496
anti
>>8628500
this ;)
>>8628470
I doubt your time is worth much, so sure.
>>8628470
it's like 20 pages
>>8628472
what makes you assign any sort of relative value to OP's time?
My mother and her husband are protestants, and I've rejected christianity my whole life mostly because of them (or so I tell myself). Now I've come to believe in God, but I want nothing to do with protestantism. What's some good catholic literature about the bible? And how do I generally into Catholicism while living in Sweden and having no ties to any such church, with very little availability to attend mass? also tips on appropriate lit for my position?
tl;dr: catholic lit suggestions?
>>8628462
>My mother and her husband
lol
>Now I've come to believe in God, but I want nothing to do with protestantism
lol why? You're rejecting what may be the best expression of your faith because of some Oedipus complex? Why not explore both Protestantism and Catholicism?
>how do I generally into Catholicism while living in Sweden and having no ties to any such church, with very little availability to attend mass?
You can't.
Honestly, this is where things fall apart in the modern day. The Catholic Church is moored in tradition, why on earth would you want to join a tradition you have no access to? Even choosing that particular tradition is modernist as to make conversion ridiculous, simply by coming to believe in God there's no logical reason why you should convert to Catholicism over, say, Orthodoxy or Mormonism or Pentecostalism, or even Islam or Advaita Vedanta.
>>8628462
Introduction to Christianity by Joseph Ratzinger
Catholicism by Robert Barron
These two are great introductory works if you know little.
Jesus of Nazareth trilogy by Joseph Ratzinger is a great place to carry on with it.
The Jerusalem Bible is the one you want.
Graham Greene, Gene Wolfe, Flannery O'Connor, St. Augustine, St. Theresa of Avila and John of the Cross are worth looking into for fiction and spirituality.
For hardcore philosophy, Edward Feser, Alasdair MacIntyre, David Oderberg, Elizabeth Anscombe are great to see the contemporary perspective.
Chesterton and Hilaire Belloc provide interesting political theory and Chesterton has some of the best aphorisms around.
>>8628475
Also, this person is full of shit.
To become Catholic you only need to find a local parish, ask to become a part of the Church.
A great author I forgot to mention, Shusaku Endo. He's a Japanese Catholic, serving as a great example of why this poster is full of shit.
What is the happiness level among literary and literary academic types? Are you generally a happy lot of people, who are surfing the wave of life with a hot partner, a gorgeous bod, stacks of money from your high paying job, the most interesting friends in the world, a flipping everyone the bird and laughing hardily along the way? Or are most of you like me, with no life, complete apathy towards the world, a college drop out, and no job, and typically depressed?
>>8628451
I'm a happy student who does well in his studies, tutors for petty cash, and works on a supervised yet independent research project. I alternate partners every three months or so but I don't spend much time with them during the week and that is fine with me. My circle of friends is not large but my network of colleagues and acquaintances puts me in the important circles within my college town. In recent years I was a college athlete but I quit and got a little fat, I'm attempting to regain my athletic physique but focusing on fixing my diet through cooking which is another hobby I enjoy. Before moving here I went hiking frequently but in this I was a beginner, I did complete a day hike up the largest mountain in the region which is still one of my most memorable experiences. Lately I've started reading much more frequently, I read three books last week, and have also begun writing short stories although they are never finished and I'm a little embarrassed of them.
Maybe I'm not a literary type though, out of those top 100 /lit/ lists I"m about one quarter of the way through them. I don't think you need to be miserable to read literature, especially if you read because you enjoy literature.
>>8628551
>happy
>partners
>friends
>physique
>diet
>cooking
>hobby
>enjoy
>hiking
>experiences
>
>
>
>>8628559
dumb frogposter
>repeatedly read TLotR as a teen
>immersed myself in the extended mythos with the Silmarillion, the Histories of Middle Earth, the Book of Lost Tales, etc
>could pick up anything related and start reading it happily
>particularly loved Turin Turambar and found his story haunting and beautiful
>can and did quote passages to myself as expressions of encouragement, sorrow, wonder etc throughout life
>internalized TLotR as my 'favorite' for years and years
>constantly consumed derivative media via the films, video games,
>haven't read any Tolkien in a long time
>can't bring myself to begin The Fellowship
>I know how it goes after all...
Anyone else know this feel...how do I un-ruin a series for myself? Can attenuation be undone? Am I undone?;_;
>>8628431
Go back to it's sources. Read Beowulf and other Anglo-Saxon literature and history
>>8628456
This is a nice route.
Fascinating reading the Anglo-Saxon poem The Wanderer whilst having all that Tolkien in mind.
>>8628431
just move on. it's normal and healthy to grow out of teenage obsessions. what you're asking for is a return to childhood, which is not possible. just let it go and keep the fond memories.
the alternative is to join the legion of bitter old nerds that will forever consume [tolkien/star wars/star trek/...]-branded products in a hopeless pursuit of endlessly frustrated desire. you don't want to become one of those people.
What is the best English translation of the Eddas?
Please spare the "reading in translation" meme, yes, I know it'll be nothing like the original Icelandic, but I'm not going to try and learn it in the near future, and want to read about Norse mythology.
Also, if you have good books that summarizes the deities and myths to recommend, that will be helpful too.
Hollander
I think that is his name
Kevin Crossley Holland has a book of Norse Myths. It's a retelling but he's a respected scholar so might be a good entry point. I read it years ago and can remember being entertained.
As far as Snorri's edda, you have two main options. Anthony Faulkes' translation is complete but dated. Thus it's a less pleasant read. Jesse Byock's translation is great but missing some of part 2 and all of part 3, BUT you should understand that these are instructional sections on Icelandic poetry composition and meter. Thus they're highly technical, probably not what you actually want to read, and almost entirely useless when read in translation. Make an informed decision by looking at the samples of Amazon but I'd personally go with Byock.
Carolyne Larrington's translation of the Elder Edda for Oxford World Classics is the recommended edition.
Will this book allow an retarded autist like me to actually get through Das Kapital? The way marx writes fucking terrifies me and makes me very insecure about my intelligence
>>8628378
It'll definitely help, but it's worth remembering that Das Kapital is not a textbook, but an argument, if you go in to it with literally no knowledge of economic theory, then you are going to leave not knowing whatthefuck you just read, so if you have no understanding of Econ, then at the very least read something like Economics for Dummies first.
Also, when reading any of Marx's work, it helps to have a decent understanding of the historical context, (this is mostly true of his political work, but it helps with the economic stuff too), for this I would recommend Eric Hobsbawm's Long 19th Century trilogy.
Also, it helps to have an understanding of Diamat going in, but there's really no way to achieve that without reading all of the works of Kant and Hegel first, so I'm going to recommend you skip it.
Also, bare in mind that Capitals Vol. 1 & 2 are not Marx's only economic works, or his first. Capital was meant to be Six Volumes long, with a rough sketch/abbreviation/first draft/whatever being published long before any of the completed volumes in the form of the Grundrisse. I would recommend reading that before advancing in to Volume 1.
>>8628388
Cheers mate I'll probably do some more reading so I'm less retarded before I go for Das Kapital
What are some good Econ intros in your opinion?
First,read his earlier works if you haven't in this order,they can be found at marxists.org.
You should start by reading on early social theorists and economists such as Adam Smith,Proudhon,Rousseau and others who influenced him.
>The Ego and its Own by Max Stirner
>Theses on Feuerbach
>Draft of a Communist Confession of Faith
>The Principles of Communism
>Wage Labour and Capital
>Critique of the Gotha Program
>Socialism: Utopian and Scientific
>The Communist Manifesto
>A Critique of the German Ideology
>Anti-Duhring
>The Eighteenth Brumaire of Louis Bonaparte
>The Civil War in France
>Condition of the English Working Class
>German Peasants war
>The Origin of the Family, Private Property and the State
>Critique of Hegel’s Philosophy of Right
>Economic and Philosophical Manuscripts of 1844
>Preface to Contribution to critique of political economy
>Wage-Labour and Capital
>Value, Price and Profit
>http://www.generation-online.org/p/fpalthusser11.htm
You might as well read Hegel's Logic and then after that you can tackle Das Kapital
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL0A7FFF28B99C1303
what is the greatest thing in life?
Life itself
>>8628361
Fucking a trap.
acquiring wealth
money is the high score of life