There's too many books. Or are my interests too broad?
>>8092053
You aren't spending enough time reading
>>8092055
Even if you spend every moment reading there's too many books
>>8092062
Just speed read them
I've been going through an irritatingly vague existential crisis regarding literature's role in visual description. I'd consider myself someone who's able to more or less to "see" concrete visual descriptions in his mind's eye, but I'm still constantly having difficulties with actually justifying any kind of description like that at all when movies exist and they seem to do visuals far more directly. I'm sure there's a simple answer to this but I don't know shit so spoonfeed me plz.
What's the qualm? That you're not sure you're "imagining things right" when you read a visual description?
That's the province of poetry in some ways - so much can mean anything, it all explodes from the statements irresistibly, like in Neruda.
Love Poem XIV
Every day you play with the light of the universe.
Subtle visitor, you arrive in the flower and the water.
You are more than this white head that I hold tightly
as a cluster of fruit, every day, between my hands.
You are like nobody since I love you.
Let me spread you out among yellow garlands.
Who writes your name in letters of smoke among the stars of the south?
Oh let me remember you as you were before you existed.
Suddenly the wind howls and bangs at my shut window.
The sky is a net crammed with shadowy fish.
Here all the winds let go sooner or later, all of them.
The rain takes off her clothes.
The birds go by, fleeing.
The wind. The wind.
I can contend only against the power of men.
The storm whirls dark leaves
and turns loose all the boats that were moored last night to the sky.
You are here. Oh, you do not run away.
You will answer me to the last cry.
Cling to me as though you were frightened.
Even so, at one time a strange shadow ran through your eyes.
Now, now too, little one, you bring me honeysuckle,
and even your breasts smell of it.
While the sad wind goes slaughtering butterflies
I love you, and my happiness bites the plum of your mouth.
How you must have suffered getting accustomed to me,
my savage, solitary soul, my name that sends them all running.
So many times we have seen the morning star burn, kissing our eyes,
and over our heads the gray light unwind in turning fans.
My words rained over you, stroking you.
A long time I have loved the sunned mother-of-pearl of your body.
I go so far as to think that you own the universe.
I will bring you happy flowers from the mountains, bluebells,
dark hazels, and rustic baskets of kisses.
I want
to do with you what spring does with the cherry trees.
Each time you read a book, you get to visualize it according to (with some help from the author),your vision. With movies, it's just the director's vision. Just like different actors interpret characters differently for Shakespeare's plays, except a lot of that is up to the reader. Visualization of novels is very mystical, and that mystery accentuates the alterity of the characters.
>>8092032
If in Borges' "The Circular Ruins" the sorcerer didn't dream the boy into flesh, he never would have become it. The magic of the situation is that the sorcerer moves from nothing of the boy through his beating heart and fingernails and flecks of iris to become a human fully formed and born. This is like reading, is it not? Can watching a movie have an analogue to this process?
I don't get it. Why is this considered good?
this meme is fucking retarded, can you faggots please actually read this book before keeping up this insanely hip and trendy meme
O Brother Where Art Thou is good for the same reasons.
it's really really complicated, so people assume that it must be good
any of you read this? what'd ya think?
>>8091891
It's beautiful and intelligent. One of the best books on Jesus you'll ever read, maybe the best.
>>8092224
can ya go a bit more in depth than that. what exactly is it all about
I'm interested but how heavy is it on Catholic dogmatism and spooky ghosts and whatnot
/lit/, where are the great Spanish writers?
Most famous writers of the Spanish language are Argentinian (Borges, Cortazar, Bioy) or from other South American countries. BolaƱo lived in Barcelona but he's Chilean. The only great spanish writer that I know of is Cervantes. Where are they?
>>8091817
they all died with franco.
>>8091830
But after Franco Spain had Dali and Picasso still painted, it's not like art had died in the country.
Some countries produce certain forms better than others. Similar to the Netherlands, great painters, not many novelists.
Lets get a good discussion thread going. Just read this book and I can say that I'm willing to believe we are all as savage as McCarthy believes us to be.
>Oprah's book club
That's too bad, I really wanted to read some of McCarthy's work.
>>8091780
>Just read this book and I can say that I'm willing to believe we are all as savage as McCarthy believes us to be.
That's because you, like McCarthy, are a pleb.
>>8091789
>>8091799
okay
Is this actually a good book?
Or is it more WE WUZ lit for the post-modernist idiot.
It was good but you're probably an idiot
Adiche is trash don't read anything from her
>>8091753
i dont read anything written by someone with a non Christian sounding name.
If he was alive, do you think Pynchon would be proud of PTA's Inherent Vice?
he was in the movie nip nuts
But I am alive, man! Woah! A banana? I'm high, dude! Remember the Sixties? Heady decade, man. Groovy, though. We were gonna change things... Then it all wento H-E-double-hockey-sticks, you know? Bummer. The Reagan Eighties were tough for me, 's why I didn't write much. LSD opens your mind, man, and it makes you realize that the world can be a real messed up place sometimes. Welp, time to light this hash cigarette and weedle on out of here. Weedle's a PokƩmon. Try to keep up.
But I am alive, man! Woah! A banana? I'm high, dude! Remember the Sixties? Heady decade, man. Groovy, though. We were gonna change things... Then it all wento H-E-double-hockey-sticks, you know? Bummer. The Reagan Eighties were tough for me, 's why I didn't write much. LSD opens your mind, man, and it makes you realize that the world can be a real messed up place sometimes. Welp, time to light this hash cigarette and weedle on out of here. Weedle's a PokƩmon. Try to keep up.
I just completed my first year of Law School at IU, and I'm curious, can anyone recommend any literature focused around the principles of intimidation, sophistry, or just general persuasion and the like?
>inb4 lawyers are soullless ass-suckers
You can save it. I'm looking to expand my skillset, and you can't deny having these skills available is useful in any and all situations.
I've read the 48 laws of power, 33 rules of war, and the prince, to name a few. Any other suggestions?
>>8091669
You can only really learn how to use people by practicing, it really is like any other skill. You've read enough about it you should now try to use it. It's like any other skill, you can read about it for ages but if you don't do you stay shit. It all really comes down to being able to read people well and adjust accordingly.
>>8091669
how do you like it so far. what is your networking like. do you know anyone in the legal industry. what do you know now that you wish you knew before you went into the school.
i have a folder of titles that would be of interest to you, im not home though, answer my questions please and ill take a screen shot of all the titles if the threads still up when i get back home
pic related
why do people say "I'll read one classic, and then one book for fun"
THE CLASSICS ARE FUN (pic related)
>tfw after 4 years of dating a dead fish who needs you to do everything in bed you date a brown girl who spreads her pussy lips and mashes her twat into your face while watching the X-Men cartoon from the 90s on your computer and actually enjoying it
>>8091656
brownies are downies mentally tho
>>8091656leonard cohen
Is lovecraft overrated? I've been reading a collection of his work and he seems to have a really bad sense of atmosphere and pacing.
Worse yet, a lot of the time when he's describing something that's supposed to be terrifying or disturbing he just said it is instead of describing it
>>8091614
Which stories have you read?
Everythings 'indescribable' or 'unspeakable' as well. Come on m8, you're a writer, at least have a go. He has good titlesthough, eg 'At the Mountains of Madness'
>>8091614
overrated? well, he has had his awards stripped away.
he's far from overrated. he's an awesome launching pad.
ask an armchair Burroughs major anything
(also I made a chart)
the GOAT author gets a bad rap around here and I'd like to change that
>>8091548
Very nice. No one ever talks about The Nova Trilogy here, which makes me sad.
>>8091548
>expecting /lit/ to have good taste
That's your problem right there.
How do you think Burroughs squares up with the other Beats and American counter-culture writers. I've only just started Junky, but I've always rated Kerouac and Brautigan at bit higher.
>>8091580
Burroughs out-does Kerouac and Ginsberg both in terms of scope and definitely in terms of substance. Kerouac at his best though is another thing /lit/ memes itself into missing out on. Visions of Cody is a masterpiece.
tbqh I haven't read Brautigan.
itt: overrated shit
shitstorm incoming, it's a big one so stay inside, lock your doors, and close your windows.
>inb4 all hell breaks loose
>>8091532
how lonely are you that you resort to such bald trolling
sad
Are Norton Critical Editions worth getting or looking into? Such as the one for Faust, I'm curious as i've never had one before, I usually buy oxford, and i'm wondering how in depth they go.
>>8091527
fast was p. good. when mepistro came up and was all "hey yo bitch, i'm takin gretsin" and fast was like "iongivafuck"
They have some really weird choices of translations. I think all of them are actually done in house.
They're good for stuff in English, but shop around when it comes to translation.
>>8091569
Alright, I appreciate the insight. they looked really comprehensive, I was worried about the translations cause I heard different things on them.
I'll look into them for english.
>
What book is this? I'm curious.
>>8092713
Book of the New Sun
MEME??
MEME??!!
MEME!!!