New fag here, I've been trying to get into literature and

Fuck dude, lurk more.

But okay.

High Fidelity by Nick Hornby.

>>8432530
Either/or will be too difficult for you right now

I found it beneficial to read some of the /lit/ starter pack. It's comprised of things that many people on here have read and will be able to recommend things based of off what you liked.

>>8432539
This is a very good answer.

The Kreutzer Sonata

>>8432530
In Search of Lost Time, especially the first part, Swann's Way.

Psychotic Reactions and Carburetor Dung by Lester Bangs. It's a collection of reviews, interviews, and assorted non-fiction (a little bit of fiction too) on rock music from the late 60s through early 80s from its preeminent critic. Bangs is a great stylist and is filled with insight.

>>8432569
The Search isn't really a good recommendation for someone that is just starting to get into literature, he probably won't be able to understand what makes this novel great and will be bored before reaching chapter 2, especially when he says he is struggling and his vocabulary isn't that great

Fausto by Mann is really great for someone that loves music but will fall in the same category as Search.

I recommend for you to start with these:
>Kafka's Metamorphose
>Tolstoy's Death of Ivan Illich
>Buzzati's The Tartar Steppe
>Hawtorne's Scarlet Letter

They are short, amazing pieces of literature that won't get their "value" lost with time and as you read more books, will add a lot of cultural baggage for you and don't require previous knowledge of other works from the canon. They also don't underrate your intelect. But keep in mind that they don't having anything to do with music.

You can try Murakami. His prose is very simple and he writes about classical and American music in every book. It doesn't really matter which book you start with, because they are all very similar, but maybe try "South of the border, West of the sun," it is short and doesn't overstay its welcome.

>>8432530
what is your first language, and how old are you?

depending on your skill, i'd recommend the narnia series, the phantom tollbooth (which requires a basic understanding of english language for puns' sake), or "the once and future king".

>>8432633
the death of ivan illich is also a great answer, and a good read for anyone trying to get into russian lit

>>8432530
What's your first language? Does it not have its own literature?

>>8432830
>>8432832
Hindi. It's tough and irritating to read.
And yes I'm strongly considering the death of Ivan Ilyich.
I tried the young adult genre, I tried the Hannibal series, Dan Brown etc but nah
I just gradually lost interest, put em down and never picked them up again.
Oh and I'm 17

>>8432855
MODSSSSSS!

>>8432860
Plis

>>8432530
raymond carver is pretty good
his whole thing is that he writes for normal folks. he was a blue collar family man for most of his life and he wrote most of his work late in his life. hes terse, no bullshit, poignant as fuck and strangely tender.
what we talk about when we talk about love is good. also his poetry is worth looking into.

File: yukio-mishima1.jpg (88KB, 944x629px) Image search: [Google]

88KB, 944x629px

>>8432855
cool—i don't know much about hindi except for the old religious texts and epics.

the difference between dan brown shit and what i recommended is pretty stark—"the once and future king" continues to be one of my favorite books because it's a reflection on innocence and morality (much like either/or, in fact, except it doesn't talk about opera). narnia has some of the most profound theological arguments i've ever read, closer to plato and boethius than aquinas [i don't know if you're a christian or what, though].

to be sure, there's so much trash YA shit out there, but the classics are classic for a reason. there's no shame in reading these children's books as an adult, *especially* if it's in a foreign language.

"ivan illyich" is great, and once you read it, you may want to progress to "crime and punishment" or "fathers and sons", but if i could convince you, i'd tell you to check out what i suggested first.

>>8432855
>I tried the young adult genre, I tried the Hannibal series, Dan Brown etc but nah
Might mean you have taste.

Given your age I'd recommend something with impact like Cormac McCarthy's The Road. >>8432539 would also be a good choice, as would most things here >>8432546

Actually there's an English language Indian book I'd recommend for people getting into reading- The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga. But you quite probably don't want to read about how 'orrible life in India is, plus it's probably full of annoying inaccuracies and/or descriptions of really basic things- I think it's aimed more at westerners wanting to read about India than actual Indians.

File: Mawrdew Czgowchwz ISBN 9780940322974 PDF epub _ Wayne Koestenbaum ___.jpg (79KB, 195x312px) Image search: [Google]

79KB, 195x312px

>>8432530
Mawrdew Czgowchwz.

The language and baroque sentences might go a bit over your head but, by Jove, it's a riot. Plus, it's chock full of music.

>>8432530
>>8432923
Oh wait, you're 17. You're almost guaranteed not to like it. It's only for seasoned opera fans, or seasoned literary fans whove already read all the good stuff, or seasoned homosexuals.

>>8433038
I really couldn't get into clockwork orange. I liked brave new world, the stranger, and 1984 but clockwork orange's constant british slang annoyed me too much. I get that the goonish language was sort of meant to be annoying in a way, but it really threw me off too much.

>>8433052
>constant british slang
Pretty sure it was quasi-Russian slang. We don't actually call each other droogs.

>>8433038

Would be cool if Portrait were there under Knight, to match the progression
>mfw bothering with Exiles or the poetry would make one a ... Knight Errant