>try to read a book >after only a few paragraphs, realize

>>9549019
Keep reading.

>>9549019
Same

>>9549019
>tried reading this post
>gave up halfway through

>>9549019
It sounds like you're just getting in over your head. Don't be concerned with getting to know the centuries-old philosophers and economists right away. Read books that are easy and enjoyable until you develop a reading habit and acquire enough of an attention span to take on harder stuff.

>>9549169
i tried reading hungry little caterpillar

leave the phone, computer and read somewhere with less temptation for distraction

Literally me.

>>9549019
Is the book on something you are actually interested in or is it something /lit/ told you to read?

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>watch smart people have discussions/debates
>don't understand any of it
>try and read more to become smarter
>don't understand anything that I read
>realise ill always be a little baby brain bitch retard

>>9549718
stop watching porn

>>9549718
There is no shame in being ignorant anon.
Just don't get in the way of smarter people.

>>9549019
How long should it take me to read longer books? For example I'm reading Crime and Punishment now and feel like it's taking longer than it would for most others. I guess that's what I get for slacking over the years as far as reading goes. I used to be fast in HS.

>>9549825
I read it in nearly 3 months lol. Don't feel bad. If you go online, you'll find websites where it people 6 months to finish.

>>9549876
Is it ok to read other, smaller books at the same time?

>>9549715
It's Ulysses. So basically /lit/ told me to read it.

>have been reading W&P for almost a month
>only 508 pages in

>>9550416
>been reading it for 5 months
>only 400 pages in

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>>9550430
we're gonna make it

>>9549098
that legitimately just happened to me

>>9550240
Have you read The Odyssey?

>>9550061
that's what I do. When reading more challenging texts, I tend to also bring along smaller, yet satisfying novellas to keep my mind active but also relax from the weight of the larger text.

For example, like everyone else on lit I'm reading Ulysses atm, which I started the week before last. I'm just about half way through (in the middle of Episode 14 god help me), however I've read 2 Pratchett novels in the meantime, and a bunch of those little black Penguin publications that have like 1 or 2 chapters from a larger text. If you always have something to read, just read. If you don't feel like reading your "main" book, reading anything is just as good. The more you read all the time, the more you'll know what you want to feel like reading (heavy text like Gogol, or light easy stuff like Lovecraft) and you're always able to read more than one thing at any given time to suit your moods.

Also guys don't read Ulysses expecting it to enlighten you and change your life. It is a great book and all, but this board needs to chill. It's incredibly difficult and an awful lot of it is bullshit, don't feel silly for not "getting" it at times. Joyce made it intentionally difficult as part of the humour of it, just read it like anything else, and maybe look up summaries of the episode you've just read after

>>9549098
same

i have this
>start book
>bores the shit out of me
>"maybe it gets better"
>finish book
>it never got better

too many so called classics

>>9551039
This is the worst feel. I have a long list of "classics" to read just so I can feel like I'm cultured, but honestly half of them end up being utter pretentious shit.

I shamefully have a few that I've only gotten halfway through (Pride and Prejudice, The Sound and the Fury, Gulliver's Travels, ...) because they just bored me to death and I chose to return them to the library instead.

>>9551771

you should finish them next time. you can learn as much from finishing a crappy book as you can a good one. i can also think of a few books that bored me until an amazing final act, so keep an open mind.

>>9551788
Yeah, I was hoping to go back to them sometime just to get them out of the way, but there are so many other interesting books I'd like to read.

This thread disgusts me. Why are so many proud of their anti-intellectualism? If they don't get what it's doing how is it in any way the book's fault? If they're inexperienced in real literature, why aren't they looking up articles and lectures trying to see what they're missing? Or just getting Norton Critical editions and reading the scholarly essays? Literature isn't "ok all I gotta do is gulp all this down and then I'll be smart" which is why so many of you stumble. Focus on one book at a time, don't sweat it if you aren't getting stuff but don't take it out on the book either, look up the articles. Every sentence and word has a reason for being there and you might not figure it out when you're starting. Give it time, be patient, and make sure you have a consistent reading habit instead of small bursts here and there. Read daily and read for an extended amount of time. Anons, you can do it. My first Ulysses reading took 3 years. My last one took a week. Give it time.

>>9551842

>he still believes in virtue of his own ego

look at this poor fool

>>9551847
What did he mean by this?

>>9550416
>>9550430
It's a book worth reading slowly, rushing through takes away from it imo.

>>9549019
Try quitting the internet for a while and meditate every day.

I mean it.

>>9552758
Meditate on what? How utterly pointless and inconsequential my life and everything I've ever done is? Distractions are the only thing keeping me from killing myself

>>9549019
>Fantasize about being a writer
Why fantasize? I've got 6 books self-published, another one about a quarter done, and a decent start to yet another... though in all honesty I've got a crippling case of writer's block. I think I need something new to write about.

>>9549199
Truly an opaque classic

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>>9552804
>Meditate on what?

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>>9552804
"S-Sort your self out bucko"

>>9550570
You sound like someone whose read Ulysses once.

Ulysses can change your life, but it's going to take a couple reads. Everyone who takes an anti-Ulysses stance says "Joyce intentionally made it difficult." Joyce intentionally made it good.

>an awful lot of it is bullshit

Are you talking about the Ireland and world history references or Aeolus? You better be.

>>9551842
>Every book is perfect and if you don't get it it's your fault for being stupid lol.

If a book cannot impart meaning to the reader it is a failure of the author.

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>>9552825
>self-published

>>9552878
>Over $100 within 2 months
Crying all the way to the bank, anon

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>>9552913
>self
>published

>>9552825
>self published
fuck off back to r/writing

>>9552825
wow dude...I bet you made dozens of dollars doing that.

>>9552845
>whose

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>>9549199
Kekked

>>9553001
That's right, and I don't have much interest in getting traditionally published. A few more books and it'll pretty much be inevitable, however traditional publishers cannot touch my ebooks. Kindle on Amazon is far and away the King of eBooks, and to continue using KDP Select and to keep my books on Kindle Unlimited, I can't let anyone else sell my eBooks, so I have to keep that exclusive through Kindle/Amazon. Traditional publishers will only be allowed to publish paperbacks and hardcovers, MAYBE audio books as well.

>>9553046
That's right. It cost me nothing, and I made dozens of dollars doing it, all within 6.5 months of being self-published. We'll see how my 1 year anniversary goes once October comes around. I ought to be at over $100 a month by then, which is over $1000 annually which is a welcome addition to anyone's income, especially considering it's a hobby, but in time it will become a career. 6 books in, thus far, 7 months of being self-published, and I've got more in the works. Great fun and it earns me actual money; it feels like I'm being paid to play videogames. It often takes months and months for a writer to get a book accepted by a traditional publishing company, and even when it's accepted they have to get it edited, get the cover made, print a huge number of it, then distribute it to book stores. Sometimes it can take writers years to get a book accepted, so I'd be a fool to just let my books sit and wait. With self-publishing, I can make money while I pursue traditional publishing... well... if I were to bother with it. There's also the whole agent aspect which I don't entirely understand yet, so I'll just keep going with traditional publishing. Some people make $10,000+ a month. All I need is about $1250 a month and I can use my book sales to pay the bills, put food on my table, and booze in my glass. I keep writing, and I'll keep making more money, but even if I max out at $1250 a month it's ok. Keeps a roof over my head and thus gives me more time to write, and writing gives me joy in life.

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>have been reading crime and punishment for 8 months
>so good but really dense
>have to pause reading a lot of the time to think about it
>read ~5 pages at the time on my phone
>only 79% in
>about 400 pages

>>9550430
4 months in on The Brothers Karamazov and I'm only half way through. These fucking long boring ass monologues, this chapter I'm on now about father zozima's life is going to take 2 weeks to finish.

>>9549019 >>9552804

You sound depressed. I'm going to guess you think you're depressed because of your inability to do what you want to do with your life but it is the other way round. Inability to focus is one the most common symptoms of depression. If you focus on treating your depression everything else gets a little easier. I highly suggest seeing a therapist.

>>9549019
I usually get lost in thought. Happens when I make anything obscure vivid or if the writer forces it upon me.

>>9552851
if a reader cannot impart meaning from the book, it is the failure of the reader.

>>9553166
nice try therapy industry

>>9553181
Höblö.

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>>9549825
>>9553140
>Read Crime and Punishment
>Finish within 3 week library loan period
>Don't feel book went over my head in any way

I have no idea why you guys are having so much trouble it's not Dostoevsky's most difficult book.

>>9553149
It took me some 3 weeks to read and I'm a slow reader. I thought it made it easier with how all the books are structured. Makes it easier to digest. I didn't even read THAT much everyday

>>9553266
You're not special for being able to digest a book. Some people have issues though because of their states of mind.

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This is what happens when you're "sold" a lifestyle,hobby or idea instead of building upon what you already have.
If you cannot read 15 pages in a row, why try to also be a writer? Why not work on start by learning how to read (and therefore train your brain to be stimulated from less stimulating activities).
Then learn which types of books/authors/genres you enjoy reading. Now you have a new hobby you enjoy; a la reading. If you want to be a writer, why not start by writing in a daily/weekly journal? Don't write stories, just your thoughts, your routines, your schedules, the things you did that day/week etc. Once you do this frequently enough, you will have a new habit. If you wish to combine your new hobby with your new habit, you could have a go at writing short stories (not meant for others eyes) about the topics you enjoy reading about. Write what you know, as they say.
After much practice you could branch out into writing about topics/stories you don't enjoy or read about. Many many hours of reading and writing will make you amateur, then semi-pro, then pro, then expert. At some stage along this path you will MAYBE write a book that gets published.
You will then find out the truth about publishing work in the modern age, and hipefully adjust accordingly. Once adjusted, you are now in the state of mind to simply "open a word document and start writing" with a realistic possibility of said work being published.
That's what building upon yourself semi-sounds like. Picking up a book, being unable to read 15 pages straight and then thinking you can go on to write a novel, is something only someone hiding from reality would attempt.

Good lord.

You people disgust me.

>>9549019
>Try to read a book
>I lose focus, but I reread until I get it right
>Keep doing this until I get better at focusing
>I am using my Kindle so I can just tap a word to see the meaning
>Keep reading
>Findning new books about things I didn't know existed
>Life is awesome
>Learn a lot

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>>9553691
Good job Anon!

>>9549019
This is the best Proust translation

>>9553573
Yaay, I'm disgusting! How about you and me do some naked mud wrestling, with copies of You Can't Go Home Again duct-taped to our bodies?

>>9553691
>Try to read a book
>Get shot

Such is life in America.

>>9552851
If you're talking literature scholars have studied for centuries, then you can be assured that if you don't get it, but centuries of scholars have, then yes you're the stupid one.