/lit/ - Literature

>>3493636
>it's entry-level so it's crap
Sure is e/lit/ist in here. That said, feel free to refute any of his claims here if you can think of something specific about the book that sticks in your craw. I'll play gorilla's advocate as best I can.

>>3493713
>he offers no solution
A valid critique of Ishmael, and one that Quinn himself would address in later books (especially Beyond Civilization: Humanity's Next Great Adventure). In particular there's a line from The Story of B that sticks with me:

"If the world is saved, it will not be saved by old minds with new programs but by new minds with no programs at all.”

Challenging the mythological narrative that drives Taker culture is the most important work we can do right now.

“The world doesn't belong to us, we belong to it. Always have, always will. We belong to the world. We belong to the community of life on this planet--it doesn't belong to us. We got confused about that. Now it's time to set the record straight.”

Once enough of us have seen the reality of the cultural Matrix that imprisons us and embraced this alternative narrative of humanity's place in the world, we will find other ways to live together. I emphasize "ways", in the plural: there is no one right way to live. And if there is no one right way, then how can there be one right plan to carry out the revolution? It is better to open other people's eyes, get them talking to each about what they have seen, and then let them get on with making the changes that THEY feel are most urgent.

>>3489637

Myriad factors come into play,

- The subject you're applying for
- Your social background: Edinburgh, speaking from my own experience, seems very aware of its reputation for snobbery and appears unusually keen to address it. It might be nonsense, but I'd say a talented working class student has a much better chance at Edinburgh than at other institutions of a comparable quality
-The year you're applying in
-The strength of your 'personal statement': Most Scottish universities don't interview prospective students, except for medicine, it's worth remembering that Edinburgh will generally place more importance on your written application than English equivalents

Generally speaking, however, getting into Edinburgh is probably as tough as getting into the 'second-tier' of English institutions: in other words, anywhere but Oxbridge. English literature is particularly competitive, though. In my year, there were twenty-three applicants for every place.

When you are writing long stories or possibly even short novels, what is your system behind the writing process?

Do you just write from the beginning to the end or do you first build a frame and then flesh out the story or similar?

>>2988802

My fountain pen is a Kaweco as well. I haven't much experience writing with it, but I try to practice with it occasionally.

We move into the railed halls, pillared in concrete. In the distance, illuminated for the first time by neon red is the immense chiaroscuro. This is the stained glass of our fell temple. A scene of violence and decadence and lust.

Fuck you, Peter,
it's not just a toy.
It's a hard, quick, strong
Helicopter.
It can fly, fly, soar,
Sore, soar, it can
Soar.

When I grow up,
Peter,
I want to be a thousand
beat cycle boy.
I'm scared of that horn,
M'lord.
I'm scared of your horn.

But there's always in
the middle:
God.

'Daddy', by Chaan Du'run (1999)

W: When you say you love everyone...

V: Yes, honey, I do this a lot.

W: I can't...

V: Use your words.

W: I don't like the idea of you...

V: We've only just met.

W: But... Nice deal you've got here, isn't it? But some tech, get something on the side...

>>2596320
I have read Consider the Lobster and now wish to read his fiction. I have read the chapter which begins "Where was the woman who had said she would come" from Infinite Jest and liked it very much however I do not wish to start with Infinite Jest. Suggestions?

What's your perfect literary adventure, folks?

>Companion(s)
>Setting, or settings (spatial)
>Setting, or settings (temporal)
>Love interest
>Arch-enemy
>Quest
Optional:

>The writer in whose style the dialogue is spoken
>Additional details - aesthetic, narrative, whatever!

The more explicitly literary your adventures, the better. However, you can employ both the fictional-literary (You might, for example, have Raskolnikov accompany you around Middle Earth chasing after J. Alfred Prufrock, because he killed your wife) or the factual-literary (Running around 16th century Italy with Lord Byron and De Sade, trying to claim the virginities of three hundred maidens before the Catholic Church catch you) - or a mix of both!

>>2545768

WHAT?!

>Byron
>Keats
>Shelley
>Wordsworth
>Coleridge
>Stinker
>Clare