/lit/ - Literature

The 48 Laws of Cringe

>I purchased this book as it was on my 16-year-old nephew's Christmas wish list. I'm guessing he heard about it in school or something; however, once it arrived my husband and I started reading little bits and were truly appalled at what we were reading. This book speaks to how to manipulate the world and walk all over people to gain power and get what you want. I was so surprised at the rave reviews I saw on this.... but this book is DISTURBING! I returned it and will explain my reasoning to my nephew. I would absolutely not recommend this as a gift for anyone you actually care about... I still can't believe some people think and live this way. So sad.
>For all you skeptics, God has blessed and protected me thru many demonic attacks through people like the ones he describes in this book. I strongly believe Jesus is the only way and I would rather have a spirit of peace and trust in the Lord (combined with a healthy confidence and trust my gut) than to have some "here's to screw people over" book.

did they did the right thing for her nephew, anons??

>Some of it is interesting, but our lives believe in the Bible An even tho this can be interesting, my heart An life could not get behind being out so deceitful. We feel blessed in life An Jesus works for us. Just an honest opinion.
>Mark 8:36 asks "What good is it to gain the whole world if you forfeit your soul?" Keep that in the forefront of your mind as you read this book. Otherwise, you risk taking it too seriously.
>Jesus said not to be OF this world, but IN it. One of these pages actually suggests to "keep the spirit of the times". I guess this book was written long before the dumpster fire that is 2020, but that's horrible advice. It was saying to not be outdated in your spirit or presentation, which I can somewhat agree with. Fedoras and acting like you are currently in the 50s is cringe. But to change your spirit to conform to the world? That's advice I will not be taking.
>For all you skeptics, God has blessed and protected me thru many demonic attacks through people like the ones he describes in this book. I strongly believe Jesus is the only way and I would rather have a spirit of peace and trust in the Lord (combined with a healthy confidence and trust my gut) than to have some "here's to screw people over" book.
>I purchased this book as it was on my 16-year-old nephew's Christmas wish list. I'm guessing he heard about it in school or something; however, once it arrived my husband and I started reading little bits and were truly appalled at what we were reading. This book speaks to how to manipulate the world and walk all over people to gain power and get what you want. I was so surprised at the rave reviews I saw on this.... but this book is DISTURBING! I returned it and will explain my reasoning to my nephew. I would absolutely not recommend this as a gift for anyone you actually care about... I still can't believe some people think and live this way. So sad.
>This is the kind of book that make the world a horrible place. I am shocked at how penguin even published it. A manual on how to be evil. All the copies should be burnt and amazon should most certainly ban it from its stores
>Some of the worst advice I've ever read. Threw it in the trash. It's the kind of crap Hitler probably lived by. No thank you. I care more about my fellow man than that.
>Wanted to read about power, instead I learned about deep boredom. Tidious. Presumptuous. Evil. Repetitive. Unethical. Self oriented. Don't, just don't.

are they right, anons??

I've loved this book for quite a while, but haven't really discussed it with anyone. I think /lit/ is capable of actually discussing stuff, so let's do it.

If your plan is to post about how the book is pleb-tier and I should go read [pretentious /lit/ suggestion that you haven't actually read], do it, but understand that pretending to like brilliant authors doesn't make you an authority on brilliance itself.

I'll ask a few questions and share my answers.

> favorite law?
Law 17: Keep Others in Suspended Terror: Cultivate an Air of Unpredictability. This one is especially good for situations where you're directly competing with someone for a goal. As a competitive person who plays a lot of sports with my friends, it's useful. The Bobby Fischer example where he defeats Boris Spassky through sporadic failure, unexpected overconfidence, and general insanity is a classic.

>criticism of the book?
It's purely anecdotal, but I do think that style is sensible in context of "power." It's hard to codify how it works, or even define it, and quantitative evidence is easy to misinterpret when making a maxim for goal-directed behavior. Still, I feel like there could be a few more psychological studies cited.
It's also a bit "reddit-le-INTJ-Rick&Morty-mastermind"-tier conceptually, but I don't think that detracts from the wealth of knowledge within it.

>other related shit?
Haven't read Robert Greene's other books but they're on my list. Anyone have thoughts on them?
Also, Ryan Holiday was Greene's apprentice and I've found his articles/website useful. Anyone read his book on marketing schemes?
What other stuff do you recommend?
Thoughts on the book in general?

>inb4 'The Prince'
We've all read it, cucklet