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/lit/ - Literature

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19163379 No.19163379 [Reply] [Original]

I have trouble describing a book i read beyond whether i enjoyed it or not. How do i become more articulate when describing books.

>> No.19163396

>>19163379
Write essays, perhaps? Maybe try to critically read the texts as you go along.

>> No.19163409

>>19163379
look up supplementary material. Their are lectures online. Read essays about the book. Know who influenced the author and how. read the authors influences, ect. basically, just try a little bit.

>> No.19163527

>>19163379
What themes stuck out to you the most?
What lessons did you learn from the characters as they developed or were brought through situations?
How does the historical and political context of the time the book was written appear to impact the story / its message?
Things like this, i guess. Try read more analytically, if you are surface reading you won't have much else to say other than 'i liked it' 'i didn't like it'

>> No.19163617

your mind lacks the linguistic templates to articulate such experiences

even simple emotions require the right framework to be thought about on an abstract level. religion for example gives us beliefs about death, but on a cognitive level it above all offers us a language through which we can give shape to our feelings of loss, which would otherwise remain primitive and amorphous, like your purely sensorial childlike literary engagements

right now you're nothing but a beast

read more!!!!

>> No.19163679

>>19163379
Reading book reviews by credible reviewers, not ones that you necessarily agree with. Critical studies of books you've enjoyed.

>> No.19163740

>>19163379
Read reviews and essays by good,writers (not, in general, academics). Things like "Cultural Amnesia" by Clive James, or "A Homage to Qwertyuiop", by Anthony Burgess.

>> No.19163745
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19163745

>>19163379

>> No.19163755

>>19163740
When a writer writes about another writer he admires, he's usually very good. I recently read a novel called "Ask The Dust" by a guy called John Fante's (who was pretty much Bukowski before Bukowski). The edition I got had an introduction by Bukowski, saying, basically, this guy is great. It's a great introduction.

>> No.19163907

>>19163745
not again

>> No.19164095

>>19163379
Never start reading a book without having clear questions to be answered.

>> No.19164100

>>19164095
the fuck is this

>> No.19164193

>>19163379
When you're having fun or taking interest while reading, commit a mental or physical note

>> No.19164311

>>19163907
It's exactly what OP needs though

>> No.19164347

Yeah I get this all the time, not just with books but also TV shows and movies. I can't talk about anything with a critical perspective, only say whether it is was "good", "bad" or somewhere in between even if I can't elucidate these conclusions with any justifications. I don't know of the plot or pacing is good or not, nor do I even notice the score in a movie and whether it is good or not