/lit/ - Literature

if you use ignat avsey's translation for oxford world classics, you don't need to read anything. his footnotes describe every allusion in full detail.

however, pushkin gets referenced a lot because he's, well, pushkin. it wouldn't be the worst idea to read eugene onegin beforehand. also, read the bible, old and new testaments. also, read oedipus rex. also, read freud's "totem and taboo." also, read kierkegaard's entire output

>>9621513
desu "crime and punishment" was the thing that made me re-fall in love with reading and i loved gravity's rainbow as a stoned teen. i agree not to read for meme's sake, but i think a better piece of advice would be to read a book both accessible AND brilliant. reading a formulaic mass-market might turn anyone on the fence away from reading, if they have half a brain.

some examples of books i find both arresting and brilliant are:
>if on a winter's night a traveler
>temple of the golden pavilion
>the third policeman
>fathers and sons
>the elephant vanishes (just the story; i haven't read any other murakami desu)
and for poetry
>ode to a nightingale
>rime of the ancient mariner
>lines composed above tintern abbey
for nonfiction
>civilization and its discontents
>five dialogues of plato (it's a popular collection)
>pascal's pensees

i think these examples—basic as they may or may not be—highlight the beauty and importance of literature as a medium, especially compared to other, more popular visual media.

Fantastic quality-for-price tier:
>Everyman's Library

Cheap and serviceable tier:
>Modern Library

Beautiful, though sometimes overdone, binding (with outdated translations) tier:
>Folio Society
>Franklin Library

Consistently best translation (except P&V REEEE) tier:
>Oxford World Classics

Sometimes unnecessary POClit, sometimes overlooked classics, but mostly interesting tier:
>NYRB

Memeworthy covers and bad translations tier:
>Wordsworth Classics

Sweatshop-level translations but available at your Local Barnes and Noble™ tier:
>Penguin Classics

>[This military tactitian] was one of those hopelessly and immutably self-confident men, self-confident to the point of martyrdom as only Germans are, because only Germans are self-confident on the basis of an abstract notion—science, that is, the supposed knowledge of absolute truth.

tolstoy is the platonic ideal of a grandfather. if you weren't (as i was not) lucky enough to have a man sit you down and reveal the truths of human nature to you, you should read great works of literature desu.

>>8910015
you may not be looking for diet advice, but one thing i've had great success with is intermittent fasting. except for the first day (and really only that), it's not hard.

i haven't been on blogs or reddit, so my system is fast for two days, then eat for one day—whatever you want. YMMV

also, ADHD pills are really helpful for motivation. if i'm speedy, it's harder for me not to clean and read than it is to stay still and shitpost. easy enough to get if you're in america. makes me a fiend for cigs like no other, caveat emptor.

sucks about the job, sometimes it can't be helped. i work at a library, which i believe would be ideal for many NEETs on /lit/: minimum effort, relaxed atmosphere, quiet and all my co-workers are autistic anyways, so it's all gravy.

systems or plans are mostly bullshit, as it seems that people are rewarded if they *don't* have too much self-discipline.

anyway, good luck in the next life

>>8844656
>ideas: a history of thought and invention from fire to freud
>peter watson

one of the most comprehensive and edifying books i've ever read. his voice is limpid and academic, but with a wry humor that makes the scope palatable.

why i never hear his name here or on /his/ is really beyond me.