/lit/ - Literature

Really like this painting. I usually don't paint anything but portraits, but I wish I could get back into doing more studies of scenery. If I had to single out one thing I enjoy the most about drawing, I'd probably instantly say coloring- as in, both coloring something in and picking a palette. Sometimes you put down several colors and, together, they just all become extremely pleasant to look at. A light lavender is fine on its own, but pairing it with a sharp red is even better. I was doing nothing but drawing ever since quarantine started up until I had classes to deal with; I almost miss the freedom I had before but it's nice to be accountable for something. If I'm on break for too long, I easily become restless and start sleeping for 10+ hours, but having classes to deal with gets me on a 6-hour sleeping schedule.

Need to start reading again.
Can I get a recommendation?

I liked these books

Ubik
The Monk
The Young Hitler I knew
The Catcher in the Rye
The Idiot
The Murders in The Rue Morgue
Most of Lovecraft's stories
Metamorphosis
the Nose and the Overcoat
William Wilson
9 Stories
Doctor Jekyll and Mr Hyde
White Nights


I would like something comfy to read before sleep.
Thanks in advance

>Implying that a horror writer should show you the boogieman

All good horror writing, movie, story, anything, is steeped in our fear of the unknown. Whether we fear the mysterious thing, the alien thing, the impossible to know cognition of the serial killer.

Where is it? What is it? Jesus fucking christ it killed John smashed his head where the fuck is it.

The moment the creature is seen, it loses half its scare factor. It becomes a tangible entity, that may be avoided, mitigated, or even destroyed. Our lack of understanding to its composition or biology are other scare factors, but we begin to hash these out the -moment- you see the boogie man.

"Oh, it's a tentacle monster." "Great we can fucking burn it."
"Oh, it's a vampire." "Great we're safe during the day, we grab some crosses and we're Guchi."
"Oh, it's a ghost." "Great, priest time."

>"Oh, it's.... I don't know what it is. Some kind of timeless unkillable existential horror that will drive one insane with terror as soon as it is perceived."
>"Oh.... fuck. What the fuck do we do?"

There's nothing you can do. Lovecraft cuts off the avenues of response. That's good horror writing. Only thing I'd say he's missing is the lure, the bait. Great example is The King in Yellow. It seduces the reader, just pops up, manifest when you least expect it. Curiosity could be a draw mechanic instead of just a hubris mechanic in Lovecraft's work, but it's otherwise quite good horror construction.

Shit characterization though.

>>10579977
>>10579987

I think you should legitimately read more of him, you'll find he's not that bad. Distinctly American, given, but his writing can be inviting and worth the while. Shawshank Redemption and Green Mile are particularly good.

The other day, I had time to kill. I set up shop in Barnes and Noble, waiting on a ride to a holiday. I drank dark coffee of the burnt sort, and read what in memory I take to be Sir Francis Bacon's collected Essays. I left an index card with what I believed to be a clever and cutting poem next to the Milk and Honey stand. Overall, a pretty /lit/ afternoon. To kill some time, I picked up a copy the first book in King's Dark Tower series. From the first page, I was legitimately and wholly engrossed, and ended up spending the better part of the next 2 hours totally entranced. Had it not been for my time table and the price tag of the book, I think I would have read it cover to cover.

Take a look. Just because it was written in the last 20 years doesn't necessarily make it shit.

>>10024221
>>10024237

The moment fear becomes tangible is the moment it becomes finite. The best aspects of horror are the formless, and those with form must have an intangible aspect for them to be the greater, i.e. the super-natural, preter-natural, undead/unkillable.

Which is the more realistic, the mugger or the serial killer? The mugger. Which inspires more fear? The serial killer, because of the intangible unknown difference between himself and humanity. What is the element that moves him past the pale?

>More so with the likes of Jason or the Predator before they were memed into oblivion. That which could kill but not be touched. That which hunted.

It is likely you do not fear your neighbor. It is likely that in the darkest hour of night when you walk alone, that you will look over shoulder.

Strawpoll for Stirner-god's question to Anon is up:

https://strawpoll.com/bcg8r3e

This question will play a large part in determining the tone of the chapter, so it's quite important.

And remember, this question is one of only 7 questions that determine whether someone gets into the 'good' afterlife. It should be something that an ordinary person would not be able to answer or guess.