/lit/ - Literature

A significant factor in my being drawn into philosophy was the desire for labels - if I could no longer call myself a Christian, I could at least say I was an existentialist. In learning about the major intellectual movements throughout history, I could ask myself the large questions of life, come to some sort of conclusion, and live accordingly. I knew the task would take a lot of difficult reading and genuine introspection, but I thought that this was, in general, the reason philosophy existed.

The more I study, the less I seem to believe in, and everything seems so intangible, inconclusive and almost fundamentally unknowable that, instead of presenting reasonable answers to difficult questions, I struggle and stammer when subjecting basic questions to a moderate degree of philosophic scrutiny. All judgments are suspended - if I could consider my worldview on anything, it would have to be a nihilistic one, because I can find no more sufficient reason or consistency to believe in and value anything. Reading has ruined my life - am I cursed and alone in this?

>pic unrelated

>>11329980
I'm thinking about picking up Antifragile to read but am unsure if it's worth the time and effort. What are your thoughts about it?

> faux pas
> not pronounced Fax Pass

>>9960778
Why didn't you start it, OP? It's worth the time to read it.

> beautiful, scripture-like prose
> an admirable, humble and well-informed narrator carries us through the narrative
> a protagonist in Captain Ahab who is both equally admirable as well as tragic and disturbed
> Ishmael and Queequeg's friendship is pure joy
> the sermon
> the chapters detailing the understanding of whales, whale anatomy, history, whaling methods, etc - although not necessarily accurate at times, it provides a useful context for the next narrative-driven chapter as well as authentic world-building
> tragedy in spades to match Shakespeare
> the book is surprisingly funny at times

Genuinely one of my favourites and I can't wait to re-read it again soon. OP, if this is a meme thread or not, still do yourself the favour of investing time into reading this beautiful book.

>>9895269
What the fuck, man

Hey, /lit/. I'd like to discover more science fiction but something less cyberpunk and something more clean and pristine in aesthetics. Not necessarily a clean-cut, middle of the road novel, but something that's aesthetically pleasing (like Mirror's Edge for example, I know it's a poor example because it's vidya and not literature, but that's the sort of pristine aesthetic I mean).

Which books do you think would fall into this category? Most of the sci-fi I've come across is dirty, grubby, etc.

Strugatsky Brothers
Marlon James
Hubert Selby Jr
Jean Cocteau (was an author and poet as well as a filmmaker)
Kobo Abe
Aristophanes (always with the Homer, Plato and Aristotle, never with the Aristophanes)
Elizabeth Gaskell

> have a common name beginning with O
> never mentioned in these threads

I just want a cool new book to read

ITT: nostalgia.

Which were your favourite books as children? Which book did you enjoy the most at school? Which book was always being borrowed from the school library?