How do I enjoy literature? I've only really read the stuff

>>8771681
You don't actually enjoy most of it, you just read it and pretend you enjoy it and that you are truly patrician.

>>8771689
But then what is the point of it all.

>>8771711
To pretend to be superior to people who read for the fun of it because they read science fiction and you read "the classics."

>>8771681
Don't force yourself to enjoy something just because there's cultural capital associated with it.

>>8771681
Literature should inform you on psychology, human nature, shit like that. If you go into expecting an entertaining story like fantasy you'll be disappointing. If you go into it expecting to become a better person after understanding someone else's take on life then you'll do well.

>>8771681
>Is there a type of mindset that is necessary to enjoy it?

Stop reading shitty novels. Just like with film, television, music and video games, literature is also saturated with bad and incompetent works. You can't pick up just any old book and expect it to be a masterpiece.

>>8771681
If you don't enjoy something then don't do it. Don't force yourself to read books if you don't enjoy doing it. I firmly believe that there's some kind of book out there for everybody, they just have to find it. If you're not finding anything you're currently reading enjoyable try other genres. You never know what might catch your interest so keep an open mind and try lots of stuff.

>>8771997
FYI op this is possibly the worst attitude you can have about reading.

>>8771681
The Novel & Poem & the entire form of life surrounding it is a dead artefact, not to be opened by non-antiquarians.

>>8772042
t. Jon Snow fan

>>8771968
I'm not forcing myself to enjoy anything but I still desire to at the very least appreciate or understand why the books that are talked about on this board are considered great when all they do is make my head hurt and in the worst cases bore me.

Nabokov on "How to be a good reader":
http://www.en.utexas.edu/amlit/amlitprivate/scans/goodre.html

While it may seem difficult to follow all his guidelines, his advice is really a lot more sound and simple than it appears.

Basically,
1) Try not to have preconceived notions about your book (or, at least, not for those notions to drive how you look at the book).
2) Create the world of the book as clearly as you can in your mind. Notice the details, notice unusual words; try to remember the details. The details themselves can have an effect on you.
3) Be able to ask the question "Why?", and to ask that question at almost any moment.

In a word, you do actually need to put effort into reading and shouldn't just "turn your brain off" as you might in another form of media.

I have a reading list that's way too long. I'm a grad student involved in a field of study that stores 90% of its institutional knowledge in non-fiction books, and I love reading books about my field. I also like fiction, but haven't read widely. I already do have a bunch of "classic" fiction pieces on my reading list that I've pre-vetted (extreme vetting), so I can be fairly sure I'll enjoy them if I ever read them.

But really, whenever I sit down to read a new book, I almost always pick up a non-fiction book. My reasoning is that it's simply a better investment to spend my time reading for professional knowledge and enjoyment, rather than just for enjoyment.

As you can see, there is a clear snooty element here that a lot of people are going to immediately interpret as being directly condescending. But I certainly don't look down on fiction books or people who read them exclusively. I wish I could read more fiction, I just feel like I don't have the time.

How do you explain this or mention this in a relevant literature conversation, without sounding snooty, rude, or condescending?

Thanks for your advice, and happy end-of-thanksgiving weekend!

>>8772268
Thank you for this.

don't beat yourself up too hard OP. I never read any of the books i was assigned. I've read maybe 10 books in my entire life out of my own volition, and they certainly weren't particularly noteworthy. Last time I read any book at all was 3 years ago.

>>8773288
>I've read maybe 10 books in my entire life
>Last time I read any book at all was 3 years ago
/lit/ in a nutshell

>>8773431
This is actually my first day here. Trying to get into reading. I can't even read "fun" things like comics and manga.

>>8771681
the trick is to read things you are actually interested in and not view reading as a chore. some people really love philosophy and the classics and others like technical nonfiction works. the other thing is to not view reading as a chore. you should enjoy learning and taking away from the book what you do and if you don't take the process somewhere else

File: ngExKHr.jpg (1MB, 1820x4348px) Image search: [Google]

1MB, 1820x4348px

>>8772219

Which books?

>>8771681
Enjoyment is key. Find your niche and explore it. Different genres/styles/schools of thought appeal to different people.

Beyond that, look to Nabokov's rules on how to be a good reader that were posted ITT already