/lit/ - Literature

Can anything pull me out of an existential crisis?

I haven't finished any books lately. I could make excuses about lack of time but really it's lack of motivation. I'm feeling like there's no point in enriching my intellectual life. What could it contribute to? When a majority of people around me and, even at large, seem only to digest lowbrow bits of information and entertainment (all too often just to support their one-sided, illogical opinions).

And then, I wonder, if that's always been the case, I'm even more pessimistic about the future. About people. I used to be a humanist and idealist. Not lately. In person, sure, I'd say I'm decent. But alone with my thoughts, I have trouble seeing any point to fighting the tide of, well, extinction you could say (at the risk of getting political).

Is hedonism my only answer? That's what I've been turning to lately.

I think what I could use right now is poetry. Something poignant and easy to digest. Anything to ail this borderline depressive (not clinical - I'm functional) pessimism and emptiness.

Any recommendations? Thoughts? How do you cope, if any of this sounds familiar?