/lit/ - Literature

>>18318578
>Deszo Kosztolanyi, Skylark [9.5/10]
Really charming book imo. Koszyolanyi's description of Sarzeg really made the little town feel alive, had the same sort of vibe as Stravinsky's The Rake's Progress in a sense with the tension between family modesty and the enjoyment of sensual pleasures and social life. Made me empathize with all the characters equally, all of them have lively personalities. Favorite book I have read this year.

>Whatever, Michel Houellebeq [6/10]
>The Elementary Particles, Michel Houellebeq [7/10]
These were alright. I see Houellebeq discussed here a lot so I don't really feel the need to go into detail. 7/10 for both.

>Osamu Dazai, The Setting Sun [8/10]
>Osamu Dazai, No Longer Human [9/10]
>Osamu Dazai, Blue Bamboo [9.5/10]
>Osamu Dazai, The Fairy Tale Book of Osamu Dazai [9.5/10]
>Osamu Dazai, Schoolgirl [7/10]
Dazai was my entrance into /lit/ back in high school, I distinctly remember reading NLH and thinking "damn I better make sure I don't end up like this guy" and ended up feeling a pretty similar way in the years that followed anyways. I have read NLH like 3 times and found that The Setting Sun pretty much covered the same themes but at the family level which was interesting. His collections of fairy tales were great, I loved the styke of Blue Bamboo which is essentially a father hiding with his family in a bomb shelter during the air raids on Japan and "misreading" a lot of the classic Japanese folk tales. Schoolgirl was alright. tl;dr I'm a sucker for Dazai.

>Chinua Achebe, Things Fall Apart [8/10]
Liked this one a lot. Interesting from an anthropological POV and hits hard from a narrative POV.

>Clarice Lispector, The Hour of the Star [6.5/10]
Very depressing. Gave me vibes similar to the next book on this list:

>Toni Morrison, The Bluest Eye [8/10]
I lived near Lorain, Ohio which is where Morrison grew up and where the book is set. Does a great job of capturing the oppressive decrepitude & boredom of Ohio that persists even to this day. Very tragic.

>Iceberg Slim, Pimp [8/10]
Super fun read. The 1920s vernacular was a pleasure to dabble in, the introspection of the author and his story of redemption were convincing and a treat to read.

>Harold Bloom, Lear: The Great Image of Authority [9/10]
>Harold Bloom, Cleopatra: I Am Fire and Air [9/10]
I struggled to get into Shakespeare for the longest time but reading the plays while watching some good productions on YouTube got me super interested (esp. the portrayals of characters like Lear, Edgar, Cleopatra, Antony, and Enobarbus), and Bloom pretty much sealed the deal with his wonderful readings that helped me appreciate these works better.

Here are the rest that I have read but don't really feel like commenting on:

>Peter Singer, Hegel: A Very Short Introduction
>Roland Barthes, The Pleasure of the Text
>Watson Burton (tr.), Complete Works of Zhuangzi
>Hans-Georg Moeller, Genuine Pretending
>Ryonosuke Akutagawa: Rashomon & 17 Other Stories

>>18299785
>This whole post

>>17312165
>Beckett
>absurdist

>early for jiu-jitsu class, BN across the street
>fuck it, I'll browse for a few minutes to kill some time, maybe I'll find something I like
>walk in
>front door flanked by shelves with really cheap looking ornamented BN versions of books normies will recognize from high school english class
>complete Edgar Allen Poe, Illiad and Odyssey, etc.
>also like 15 different versions of The Art of War for some reason
>go in
>obligatory table of Reddit approved books that are just whitey bad pop science good
>followed by table of self help books that all have names like "quit being such F*CKING pussy" and "you are just the coolest F*CKING piece of SH*T ever and how to start acting like it"
>check out political section because I hate myself
>shelves of books that have trump making an angry face on the cover with titles like "Literally Hitler: How Trump Wants to Murder Black Children" written by M'bongo Goldenstein
>everything else there just ghost written autobiographies of congressmen trying to act like they weren't pieces of shit
>except one book by Ron Paul basically begging people to stop wiping their asses with the constitution
>should've expected that, i guess I'll look at the science section
>it's just more Reddit pop science 'quantum physics but explained with Rick and Morty analogies' type shit
>fucking history section I go
>mostly oversized cardboard books meant to teach toddlers about egypt and books that explain how [insert historical figure here] was actually totally a [contemporary safe political stance] you guys no seriously
>why are there so many fucking jigsaw puzzles everywhere
>what the fuck how am I in the CD section who still buys CDs
>please maybe there's something in philosophy
>Here's One Chapter of Marcus Aurelius Meditations Expounded Into a Whole Ass Book by Euthan Izeme for twice it is on Amazon
>OH COME THE FUCK ON
>psychology section? there's a psychology section?
>books for middle aged women that use special herbal teas to treat their insufferable personal traits as far as the eye can fucking see
>business section
>twenty variations of HOW TO BE A MILLIONAIRE IN ONE EASY STEP written by high ranking scientology members that never disclose the free slave labor they get to make use of
>even more books on start ups and people management that promise the world to young people with no money or experience
>also a fucking shrine to Robert Greene with all his books there, even the silly one with 50cent
>fuck this, religion section
>9 parts the king james bible, 1 part how secret hidden buddhist teachings cured my chronic diarrhea and made my kids talk to me again
>there's an occult section too? it's just one shelf but maybe there's something cool he-
>aleister crowly sandwiched in between The Body Positive Witch's Guide to Potions and Brews :) and a picture book on harry potter cosplay

it was at this point I left

>>17027650
>>17027938
>>17028068
>>17028139
MAKE IT STOP

So what the fuck's in neoplatonism? I thought Plato was full of shit, what torch have people been carrying for him?

the most epic shitpost i have ever seen.
i was pic related the entire video

>>15857040
Bros... I think I'm ascending

Cursed thread