When you finish a book, do you read any reviews or essays on

I just make a thread on /lit/ about it

>>9066525
As soon as I finish the last sentence of a novel I close my eyes and transition into a meditative mode for a good hour or so.

Why you may ask? Well, after a thorough read I find that an hour is enough for me to get into character. I actually roleplay as the protagonist of the story I just read.

There truly is nothing like it, the immersion I feel whenever I do this is incredible: it's overwhelming. Just thinking about the sensation makes me shiver with delight.

You have to understand; before all this I was just like you guys. Angsty, sad, depressed. Basically on the verge of killing myself. Not well.

Then my friend invited me to this medieval market where we roleplayed as two honorable knights for an entire day. You guys won't believe how much respect people show you when you are in a full suit of armor wielding a bad ass claymore (the weapon was fake, but obviously the normies couldn't tell)!

Anyway, when I came back home I realized I hadn't felt that good in a long time. I wanted that epic happy feeling back. So I thought why not combine my greatest interest, which obviously is literature, with this whole roleplaying thing?

>>9066758
It was a brilliant Idea and I was so excited, but I was kind of unsure of how to go about deciding what to roleplay as. However after thinking about it for a while I decided I'd just roleplay something from the book I was reading right then.

And back then I was about to finish The Stranger by Albert Camus (pronounced Ka-moss) so my first character would be that dude. It felt pretty good because when I read the book I really got the impression that he was cool - that meant I could be cool aswell!

I won't go into too much detail but I actually googled Camus to get some inspiration (the character was obviously Camus himself heh, easy to tell) and bought a coat similar to the one I saw Camus had in a picture. It was long, like these awesome robes I once saw some monks use in an anime, and it had a pretty big collar

Then I found this cool beret at a thrift shop and decided to buy it because it looked like something he would use. Also got some cigarretts from my dads car. And then I was ready.

The next 4 weeks I spent totally embracing The Stranger. It was amazing. Since existentialism basically means nothing matters I just went around not giving a fuck about anything. Such a relief!

I started calling my mum maman and always smirked while saying it, she was visibly confused. But that was just baby steps.
Since I didnt have to care about anything I could do stuff I never dared to do before.

I started speaking out at lectures at my Uni. My coat really made it easy to feel comfortable when doing so, it was like it lent me extra strength. I basically destroyed this girl in an argument because I just kept on refuting that there is a meaning to life.

After trying to come up with something to say to counter me she just stuttered something I couldn't hear, looking at me like she couldn't believe what she was hearing (she could not handle the truth I suppose).

It went on like that, I just had an amazing couple of weeks. Of course I never shot an arab. I dont believe in hand guns. But one evening I was on my balcony and there was a group of people passing by, I dont know if they were arabs but definitely from the middle east.

Anyway I decided to throw my almost empty bottle of Mountain Dew at the group and actually hit one of them in the head. I quickly dove down out of sight and silently laughed in an evil manner. I had never felt so alive before. When the door bell rang a few minutes later I just ignored it.

I definitely recommend that you do this aswell after having read a book. There is nothing like it, I feel like I know The Stranger better than I know myself (it's no Stranger to me in other words). And better yet, this totally helped cure my depression. Im certain it would work for you guys aswell!

Im about to read a book called Lolita by Nabokov next, can't wait to roleplay as the protagonist from that book once im done reading it!

>>9066525
What's she reading, bros?

>>9066767

Great idea. I'll role play as you after reading this post, and invite homeless men to the warmth of my asshole.

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>>9067162

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>>9066525
Yes of course.

If you are student or otherwise have access to any of the journal databases that is the best way to go about things. I usually like to look up the recently read author or title in conjunction with contemporary artists or literary movements, or even just other ideas I’m interested in at the time.

If you are worried about having your own interpretation of the work overly influenced by the thoughts of others then take notes while you read, copying passages you find especially beautiful or compelling along with any other thoughts you have, and then prior to looking though secondary sources write a two or three page synopsis.

Really you should be doing this with every serious work of fiction you read. It will help you remember things about the work and make you a more attentive and stronger reader/thinker in general.

>>9066525
I haven't even got past the greek secondary literature since I started reading 36 years ago. The breadth of writings done on plato alone is enough to fill the mind with joy until I die.