/lit/ - Literature

>>14909509
no religion, lots of free time, and some people are natural obsessives

It reminds them of better times

>>14909509

Those book first came out when he was a little kiddorino. Since he lives in a shit society as an adult, he is regressing.

>>14910045

This.
It's a means of blinding yourself to reality. Constant entertainment does this to us. Notice how every anti-gunner is now pro-gun w/ Covid19? Same idea. Reality is finally biting through our safe post modern blanket, and it's biting hard.

In a similar vein, I think this is why we get more enjoyment out of relaxing after a day's work, depending on the work

>>14909509
>wages have been stagnant for 45 years
>divorce rate at or above 50%
why grow up at all?

>>14909509
The only thing that matters to literature is units sold. It's a business. You can pontificate about some greater art all you want, but if the cost of printing and paying the writer and everyone else can't be recouped, then the book is a failure, no matter how well it's received as an artifact of antiquity.

>>14909552
source for that cartoon?

>>14911278
Just google what's written on the pic

>>14911266
i know it'd bait, but you just mistook publishing industry for Literature.
>>14911237
the rate is sad, but i think it's better to be able to break a loveless marriage than stay in it forever. there'd be less divorces if people were encouraged to marry after a couple years of living together.
> inb4 premarital sex is a sin
far lesser sin than adultery, and you can't actually divorce in Catholicism, so better make triple-sure you want to spend your entire life with your current partner.

>>14911306
There's not literature without the industry.

>>14911309
What the fuck??
When did literature start and when did the publishing industry start?
Stop saying dumb shit.

>>14911331
I'm saying now. It doesn't matter how it started. The industry controls everything now. Who cares why people painted horses onto cave walls? Today, art is made to make money. All art works this way.

>>14909509
Billions of "adults" are obsessed with millionaires in tight pants moving a ball around a field, and billions more play childish video games constantly, and you think this is strange?

>>14909509
consoomerism

What's the issue? It's an excellent bit of storytelling and great genre fiction. I love the series and have re-read it at least ten times. At the same time, I just finished The Sound and the Fury and I'm reading The Iliad now, both of which I recognize as greater explorations of the world and the self.

The elitism is eye-rollingly dumb. One can enjoy oneself in a variety of ways. Only pseuds and the insecure seethe over the activities of others. They waste their time with empty criticism instead of learning and bettering.

>>14910652
>Notice how every anti-gunner is now pro-gun w/ Covid19?
wut

>>14912240
Yep. There's an awful lot of insecurity and gatekeeping nonsense around reading. I'm happy to be stuck inside with a wide range of options, personally.

>>14912295
Is that actually your library? Looks pretty cool.

>>14912295
What is everyone here reading /re-reading while cooling their heels this week?

>>14912310
Part of it. As a nod to /lit/ I have all my genre and comic/humour stuff in the den and call it the "plebeian library," and the fiction/lit/non-fiction/poetry upstairs in the "patrician library." With 5000+ books, it had to be split up somehow! Here's the other side of the den.

>>14912362
Phenomenal! Any chance we can see some pics of the esteemed library? One of my dreams is to own a big enough house to hold a dedicated library wing.

>>14912380
It might disappoint, but sure. This is Fiction/lit A-R upstairs. The double-rows make it hard to see some of the best works.

>>14912380
This pic is part of the patrician one (ancient classics, myth, philosophy, medieval, early modern, literary criticism, non-fiction, memoirs, misc):
>>14912320
Here's a larger view of those sides

>>14912402
Absolutely not - that's a beautiful collection! All the stacking must drive you nuts at times, though, haha.

>>14912362
Serious question, why not just watch movies? I seriously can't stand entertainment in the written form unless it's/lit/

>>14912320
>>14912416
Lovely! That's a real trove. I am sure you will treasure it for the rest of your life. Nice to see you own the Riverside Chaucer; it's a beautiful edition for a scholastic approach. :)

>>14912421
I can usually find everything upstairs (alphabetical by author) but downstairs is more chaotic. This is the children's lit case and the poetry case in the corner (upstairs again).

>>14912429
You're a lucky man, anon. There is precious little as brilliant as exploring good literature and you have no shortage of it. Please cherish your beautiful library.

I wish you and your loved ones great happiness and health!

The case on the other side of the couch has art books, plays, Calla reprints of classic illustrated books, a few other odds and ends. The small case in the corner has my wife's music books.

>>14912416
>>14912402
>>14912320
How old are you, anon?

>>14912457
Too old (40s). A student of mine mentioned this place once years ago and I still wander through when I'm at loose ends. We bought the house a few years ago now, which made the book-organizing much easier.

>>14912478
Do you teach at the primary level or higher studies? Your life sounds very comfy.

>>14912484
Higher levels based on your houses wonky architecture. Five $ on midwestern prof.

Side note, good to see my life in 20 years ahaha

>>14912484
University English, fortunately (I can't cope with parents, so I'm grateful to not be in public school). I'm just an adjunct at two local campuses, but it's a decent life (though a little stressful right now: I'm trying to provide lectures online).

>>14912439
Thank you kindly, anon. It took a long time to get here, but I feel lucky every day.

>>14909552
she is far too attractive to be a believable personage of a failure/loser.

>>14912498
Best of luck amidst this pandemic.

As an aside, do you have any advice for someone who feels quite lost in life? I graduated with a dual Bachelor's in Neuroscience and Psychology, but with a very poor GPA (2.3) due to never putting effort in. I'm now working two jobs in unrelated fields; they pay well and have great room for growth, but I still feel a yearning for my true passion: literature.

In the event that I wanted to go the academic route for writing and literature (I realize they're separate disciplines - I also minored in English purely due to the sheer amount of extraneous classes I took in the field out of self-interest), what would be the best way to convince good grad schools that my undergrad GPA doesn't reflect my current work ethic and potential?

Sorry for dropping a heavy question on you out of the blue, but it's something I've been trying to reconcile for a long time for ease of mind if nothing else.

>>14911306
all sex outside of marriage is adultery, and after marrying to do anything with anyone else, even if one claims to be divorced or some nonsense, is too adultery.

>>14910652
everyone who writes "covid19" rather than corona (you) is a giant faggot

>>14912240
>excellent bit of storytelling and great genre fiction
no.

>>14912565
Well, that settles it!

>>14912310
It looks embarrassing.

>>14912449
all well and good, but why are your walls such a disgusting blue?

>>14912572
To a hateful sperg, maybe.

>>14912240

I never read Harry Potter, so I can't judge. I think it was the ridiculous amount of promotion jk rowling books got that turned me off to it.
Heavy publishing promotion usually indicates two things: 1) a trendie book that people are buying to be part of fad whether the book is worth reading or not 2) a propaganda book to create mass acclimation of a narrative in people's subconscious minds so people are more easily controlled.

Usually books that are heavily promoted have both these factors in modern publishing.

>>14912580
Why do you have such disgusting manners?

>>14912598
I would recommend reading the series to confirm or reject your beliefs. Who knows, you might even have fun.

>>14912609
manchildren do not deserve any better

>>14912362
I love your library. Word of advice, don't rest your books on the side, it is hard on binding and decreases life of book. This is especially true if you have other books on top of them. If you are out of bookshelf space he more bookshelves.

I’ve never read Harry Potter so I’m not sure where the craze about it comes from. Within the British middle class it’s treated like a cultural icon. Even supposedly intellectual people like Stephen Fry enjoy it. Is it really that good or does it come from a nationalistic pride because the first billionaire author was British?

>>14912619
, said the NEET.

>>14912532
That's a difficult question, sir. The competition now is so fierce that a GPA that low if a definite obstacle. A new year of 4th-year English classes might work, but your odds of finding a good position ultimately would be very low in this market. If you have the drive to write and publish, focus on that: even one or two published works can make grad schools eager for you regardless of your academics. Get a literary best-seller and they'll make you a writer-in-residence!

>>14912629
It's a very fun read; try it out. If it's not your cup of tea, you'll move on. Only hateful losers on 4chan sperg out about it.

>>14912646
it is incredibly poorly written. go back.

>>14912532

No. Do not invest any more time in education, stick with your job and increase your earning power. If you want to teach high school or elementary school English, it is not hard to get into the field with a teaching certificate which you can earn while working. Getting a PhD in literature will likely not get you an academic job at University level unless you graduate from ivy league.

>>14912643
I appreciate the candor and the advice. I actually took a creative writing class with Paul Harding, who won a Pulitzer. He told me I'm lazy but a talented writer and that he would write me a letter of recommendation to do my MFA at the Iowa Writers' Workshop (he's an alum) if I took another class with him, didn't fail attendance, and earned an A. I never did take that class and we haven't been in touch, but I still feel good about being told that.

I'm responsible for fucking up my undergrad; I own that. Now it's time to build.

Thank you for your wisdom, anon. Best of luck with everything. I'm rooting for you to get that tenure.

>>14912652
Let him decide for himself, you fucking autist. You are not an authority.

>>14912617

Even if the books were worth reading, I am kind of turned off by the coming of age youth going to magician school theme, it's a heavy cliche at this point. Also there are lots of really good and lessor known writers out there that need my support, I much rather give them the time.

>>14912690
screeching irrelevant insults says nothing. it is objectively not well written.

>>14912661
I graduated from a very well-known STEM school (Google recruits on our campus), but my credentials just aren't there, anyway.

I'll just write. If I get published one day, I'll consider my options. Thanks for your advice, anon.

>>14912710
t. a nobody

>>14912708
That's fair. Anyway, the books aren't going anywhere in case you change your mind at any point in your life.

>>14912427
Riverside is still fantastic, for Shakespeare and Chaucer both. If you're a Chaucer scholar, I highly recommend A Companion to Chaucer and his Contemporaries: Texts and Contexts (eds. Laurel Amtower & Jacqueline Vanhoutte. Broadview Press, 2009). It provides detailed historical and social context for Chaucer split up into eight categories, and is a very efficient orientation to Chaucerian England:
1. Politics and Ideology
2. The Structure of Society
3. Daily Life in Medieval England
4. Religious Life, Ritual, and Prayer.
5. War, Pageantry, and the Knighthood.
6. Reading, Literacy, and Education.
7. Science, Medicine, Psychology, and Alchemy.
8. International Influences and Exchanges.

>>14909552
Prob this, refusal to move on

>>14911237
>why grow up at all?
This. There is no need to mature and most people dont even know what it means to mature. The education system encourages infantilization and most people are too ignorant to even understand it. What do they call it? Peter Pan syndrome?

>>14911237
Growing up isn’t getting a wife, it’s getting out of the child mindset

>>14913286
why bother when opportunity is at a modern history low?

>>14911333
...but... it doesnt... ?

>>14912556
corona is unspecific, SARS is also a type of coronavirus. hypothetically there could be another outbreak and you'd need to specify. or: if idiocy were to spread (you being patient 0), we would call it smth like DOOF14912556