/lit/ - Literature

Last 3:

Thomas Mann - Mario and the Magician, 3/5. In this short novella man tries his hand at allegory. I don't really want to reveal much but it was written in 1929 and takes place in Italy and has a lot to do with what was going on in that country at the time.

Joseph Conrad - Under Western Eyes, 4/5. Deals a lot with Russia, revolutionaries and terrorism. The main character is a young intellectual who returning home one day finds a fellow student and acquaintance in his apartment who is hiding after committing a political assassination. The main character however, is not a revolutionary. Maybe I shouldn't say too much. It's a good book, great story, insightful, and populated with interesting and memorable characters.

William Faulkner - A Light in August. 4/5. Very good novel dealing a lot with isolation, alienation and race. The novel is about as straight forward as you are going to get from Faulkner. It's not in chronological order and contains lengthy flashbacks, but it's not hard to follow. I wouldn't put it on the same level as The Sound and the Fury. It doesn't have the same power of prose and evocation of emotion. Not many novels do though. It's definitely a worthy novel though.

Currently Reading:

Victor Hugo - Toilers of the Sea

Next 3:

Thomas Mann - Tonio Kroger
Italo Calvino - The Baron in the Trees
Sinclair Lewis - Babbitt

LAST THREE READS:
>Dancing Lessons For the Advanced in Age by Bohumil Hrabal
A novel by a Czech author written in one long, rambling, amusing, fantastical anecdote-ridden monologue by an old man, directed a group of young ladies. While I think I missed out on a ton of the Czech-specific references (though I looked up a lot of them and now know significantly more about the Czech Republic), enough got through that I thoroughly enjoyed it. The introduction for this is about half the length of the actual book, and seems more an in-depth analysis of the work and author's life than an intro, but it is very useful to read after the book itself. Gives a lot of insight into some of the anecdotes, as well as drawing comparisons to some of the events and Hrabal's life. Very interesting stuff overall!
>A Country Doctor's Notebook by Mikhail Bulgakov
I've only read Heart of a Dog by Bulgakov other than this, but I would definitely say this is my favorite of the two. It was unfortunately really difficult for me to get through though, seeing as I am very, very sqeamish, especially about surgery. And he describes several of the surgeries quite gruesomely (oh god the tracheotomy), but always with a hint of dry humor that I really enjoyed. "The Vanishing Eye" was I think my favorite story, if only for the first few pages of it which had me smiling so so much despite how horrible and ridiculous the actual situation was. "Morphine" was the best though - it includes the notebook from one of Bulgakov's doctor friends also stationed in the remote country, who became addicted to morphine and was ruined. These were really amazing stories, especially so because of the level of truth in them.

>>1956974
>Stoner by John Williams
I don't really know what to say about this one, other than repeating other reviewer's praises that it seems to be a near perfect novel. It describes a young man from a farming family's entrance into college, his discovery of his love of literature, his failures in marriage, the politics of a university, his affair, etc, etc, until ultimately, his meaningless life comes to an end in a common and unremarkable way. I know I'm not describing it adequately, but I don't know how. I do know that this novel evoked a ton of emotion in me, and every time the "What did you expect?" came during the ending pages, it hit me harder than any self-reflection I've gone through before. Ultimately, a very depressing novel, but absolutely worth reading.

CURRENTLY READING:
>Outlaws of the Marsh by Shi Nai'an
Still only halfway through the first volume of this, since I've been reading stuff in-between it. I do love it so far though - not nearly as much character confusion as I was anticipating (what with 108 outlaws), because everyone so far has had very clear, if usually forceful, personalities. I'm not sure how it'll come together yet, or when everyone will meet, but I can already see an epic forming and I like it.

NEXT THREE:
>Too Loud a Solitude by Bohumil Hrabal
>Selected Stories by Robert Walser
>The Train Was on Time by Heinrich Boll

oh look another cancerous everyone post no one read thread

Ian McEwan - Atonement
Fucking fantastic, one of the best books I've ever read. Every sentence feels like it was written with depression in mind.

James Joyce - Dubliners
My first Joyce. Also incredible. My favorite story was "The Dead". That fucking revelation, man.

Joseph Heller - Catch-22
Absolutely hilarious. One of my favorite books. Not much to say, other than that.

Currently reading:
Thomas Pynchon - Gravity's Rainbow
Probably the best book I've read so far, I only have 60 pages left. Wonderfully weird. You know an author is great when he can turn you on when describing the awkward post-coital glances exchanged between a woman and a goat.

Next read:

Thomas Pynchon - V
We'll see. More of the same, and I'm happy. Different? Even happier.

>>1956994
FUCK YOU, I LIKE CAPSGUY.

>>1956998
>>1956998

but why?
what's the point in this thread?
there is no discussion of literature in this thread going on, it's just talking about reading. No discussion even of reading, just spouting the inane list of last 3 current, next 3 over and over in a totally stupid everyone post no one read thread.

it's seriously pointless.

i understand capsguy isn't the smartest of the bunch, especially when it comes to literature, and he has literally no clue how to talk about literature and instead spends his time talking about himself and reading (in that order) but this thread is pointless.

>>1956998
i'm not surprised
autism occurs in 1 of every 5 lit posters

>>1957000
I'm pretty sure everyone so far has discussed what they've been reading, and not simply made a list. It may not be as high a level of analysis as you'd like, but you could contribute with what you've read recently and maybe up the bar for the thread. Instead of bitching.

I personally love these threads, because I like seeing what other people are reading and plan to read. I like to see the trends in /lit/'s reading, as well as how often certain authors are mentioned. And how little others are. You don't have to like the thread, but calling it pointless is pointless. Because people will contribute and enjoy it whether you approve or not.

better than most of the threads on /lit/ these days

>>1956993

Atonement was great, though I think it's overrated. Go read Saturday afterwards.

It tricks you into thinking it's really good, but if you look at it hard enough you'll see that McEwan's prose goes from exactingly descriptive to deliberately numbing and it has some pretty nasty neo-conservative subtext, at least according to a few people I've talked to about it (I'm a bit undecided on that myself). It's worth read just the same though.

As is On Chesil Beach where McEwan successfully disappears up his own arsehole and writes one of the most aggravating novella's I've ever read.

It's a damn shame, as I loved his Ian Macabre-era work - especially his short stories (even if the second collection was a bit hit and miss) and The Child In Time (which is what got me onto McEwan in the first place).

I even like shit like The Innocent, which pre-empts that 00s trend of "literary fiction" writers trying to do more genre-oriented fiction and failing just a tad.

Though I really, really fucking hate Amsterdam and I haven't touched Solar yet.

>>1957010
You're just kissing capsguys ass because he gets pussy. Pathetic.

>>1957013

Come on - everybody on /lit/ gets pussy.

Even if it's through the form of short erotic tales wherein anon goes back in time and fucks Anne Brontë on the lawn of Haworth Parsonage, after bitch-slapping Charlotte with a hard-cover copy of Tenant of Wildfell Hall.

Capsguy is soooo cool. He has sex and drinks alcohol just like a Murakami character with a dash of anime.

>>1957006
>>1957006

we've already had an entire poll taken to find out the most discussed authors. Number 1 was Vonnegut.

http://green-oval.net/cgi-board.pl/lit/thread/1922431

check that thread (actually has a lot of replies) to see how many people actually discussed the books and didn't just list them for some retarded reson

>>1957021
>>1957021

> HOW IS JAPAN

Quentin, you comedian.

>>1957000
>i understand capsguy isn't the smartest of the bunch, especially when it comes to literature

neither are you so kindly eat a sack of dicks

Permutation City - Greg Egan
Excellent idea-driven scifi. Delves into the psychological reprocussions of immortality, the concept of existence and the subjectivity of perception and self awareness.

Siddhartha - Hermann Hesse
A journey of a man seeking reason and enlightenment. Over the span of the book, detailing almost his entire life, he becomes a brahmin, an ascetic, indulges himself in carnal pleasures and the greedy ways of city folk before finding his true calling as a ferryman, and with it, enlightenment. Despite the name, Siddhartha is not the buddha. He is a seperate character altogether from buddha, whom he meets briefly and admires greatly, but cannot accept his doctrines due to being opposed to teachers and doctrine and believing he must find enlightenment by himself.

The Stranger - Camus
I don't have much to say. It's the story of a guy who lets life happen to him. He doesn't really care about anything, but nontheless holds up a facade of normal life, if just as a formality to stop people from complaining to him. He is sincere. He doesn't cover up his dissatisfaction with simulated emotions or attachments to people. He never once says he loved his girlfriend. In the end, he is prosecuted not for the murder he commited, but because he failed to weep at his mother's funeral.

All were brilliant reads.

Currently I have Infinite Jest underway, though that ends up branching into shorter novels every once in a while. I read all these as a distraction while reading it.

Next three? I have decided to read Ulysses and The Idiot, but will probably continue interpolating these with shorter novels.

>>1957021
lol

>>1957013
Love how when D&E makes a normal comment that many other anons might make he still gets shit for it simply because of the reputation he's built for himself.

Also, it seems to me that CAPSGUY likes to show off what books he's reading and how "cultured" he is based on the books he's reading and how well traveled he is, which he somehow never fails to mention even though this is /lit/ and not /trv/.

>>1957028
>>1957028

seems i'm a lot more intelligent than you if we're basing it off that reply

>>1957034
You who posted in a poetry thread saying something along the lines of "I don't like poetry, I prefer literature"

>>1957033

>also, it seems to me that CAPSGUY likes to show off what books he's reading and how "cultured" he is based on the books he's reading and how well traveled he is, which he somehow never fails to mention even though this is /lit/ and not /trv/.

No human being would write this. Poor samefagging D&E.

>>1957036
>>1957036

and?

>>1957037
>>1957037

actually that anon is 100% right, get over yourself

>>1957043
I revise my previous statement. Poor samefagging BROWNBEAR.

>>1957043
Poetry is a form of literature, mr expert. You also tried to delete it to save face.

>>1957046
>>1957046

actually no i got banned, check green-oval, your posts are auto-deleted when you're banned

>poetry is a form of literature

i don't think you really understood the point of my original statement did you?
>>1957045
>>1957045

put your caps back on capsguy!
lol xD et it i said ur him to discredit what you said xD lolsorandumb

>>1957023
I replied to that thread six times, each time with discussion on what I had recently read. I'm planning to do the same in this thread, because its better than making a thread for each book and getting no replies. I at least have a chance for discussion in these, like I got with Lu Xun in that thread, since these stick around for a while.

But yeah, I know a lot of people just list them and that that's not really useful or helpful in any way. It hasn't been happening in this thread so far though, so I don't see why you have to preemptively gripe about it.

i'll go sit in the chat if you wanna fight about it

Last three reads:
1948 by George Orwell
On the Road by Jack Kerouac
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

Currently reading:
Ulysses by James Joyce

Next thee reads:
Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes
Madame Bouvary by Gustave Flaubert
Anna Karenina by Lev Tolstoy
They're pretty famous novels...

>>1957057
I guess I spoke too soon.

>>1957054
>xD lolsorandumb
>posts epic awesome i can haz cheezburger pics every day

>>1957054
ok what was the point of your original statement?

>>1957054
You always seem to "get banned" when post incriminating you get deleted. Like the Tao Lin ebook one.

>>1957055
>>1957055

can't i'm going to work now, i'll be back later to watch the movie if you're one of the ones who's doing that, we can talk about it then

good luck with discussing the books in this thread, look at all the discussion that's happened so far

>it's better than making a thread for each book and getting no replies

if you got 0 replies when making a new thread but 6 (or more) when replying to an existing thread, i think you were posting your new thread at the wrong times.

>>1957062
>>1957062

go and check green oval and it'll show that my posts were deleted not by me, but my a mod

going now, be back later

>>1957059
>>1957059
>i can haz cheezburger pics every day

feel free to get a post from green oval proving that.

COMPLAINING ABOUT 'OFF-TOPIC' THREAD OVER AND OVER IS MORE OFF-TOPIC THAN THE THREAD ITSELF.

LAST THREE:

Metamorphoses - Ovid
Titus Groan - Mervyn Peake
The Sword of The Lictor - Gene Wolfe

CURRENTLY:

Nothing. Been busy and haven't had time to get to the library.

NEXT THREE:

For Whom The Bell Tolls - Ernest Hemingway
Gormenghast - Mervyn Peake
The Citadel of The Autarch - Gene Wolfe

I don't usually read this much fantasy, but I'm kind of taking it easy over the summer.

>>1957062
I REMEMBER THAT!

I THINK IT'S CALLED SAVING FACE

Last 3
Tolstoy's collected shorter fiction vol. 1 (of 2, everyman library editions) - Everything from his first military story of 1852 through to his 1884 Memoirs of a Madman. I'd been so impressed with Death of Ivan Ilyich and Family Happiness that I wanted to try his other short fiction but unfortunately, aside from Sevastopol, A Landlord's Morning, and Two Hussars, I'd have to advise sticking with the novels unless you're just really into Tolstoy, though Lucerne and Albert will probably also please you if you're a Mann fan. Short fiction of less than 50ish pages doesn't seem conducive to Tolstoy's style of descriptive narrative and by the end of the volume, the 1880s tales, he's moved into his religious phase.

The Age of Innocence - surprisingly good, especially in avoiding an oversimplified condemnation of a socially repressive and therefore easily condemned period of history. the ending can move either to uplifting or depressing depending on how one reads the whole.

Daisy Miller - I usually enjoy James but this one was just kind of dull, especially coming after the similarly themed but much better handled Age of Innocence. Only intriguing part was the extent to which the reader, even the modern reader, is likely implicated in the way the novella's characters judge and misjudge the titular character. Stilll, only 60 pages and easy for James so probably a good introduction if you haven't read him before.

Current
The Way of All Flesh - Samuel Butler
Guermantes Way - Proust

Next - ????

>>1957271

Really? I thought Daisy Miller was probably James best novella.

I feel too much of a noob to write here right now, all the hardcore/lit/fags will just laugh at me.

When I've read Beowulf, Canterbury tales, an Icelandic saga, and my current read is the Epic of Gilgamesh I'll come back to you (yes, I'm a huge history faggot).

I finished Journey to the Center of the Earth a couple days ago.

1. That part where the narrator gets separated and lost in the dark and is running around bleeding everywhere was so scary
2. I find Hans the guide endearing but simultaneously creepy as hell. WHY WAS HE SO CALM

LAST THREE READS: A Game of Thrones, A Clash of Kings, A Storm of Swords.
CURRENTLY READING: A Feast for Crows
NEXT THREE: A Dance with Dragons, John Dies at the End, Shogun.

>>1958440
>>1958440

> mfw that part

It was weird to read that part with Verne writing it because it seemed so cordial - but, deep down, yeah you knew it was freaking out the hell out. You just instinctively "i know that feel."

>Last Three Reads
Eleni - Nick Gage
A Place For Us - Nick Gage
Youth - Conrad

>Currently reading
A Criminal History of Mankind - Wilson

>Next Three Reads
?
looking for suggestions

Last Three:
Planet of Slums - Mike Davis: 4/5. Wow this was depressing. A vision of hell.

The Woman in the Dunes - Abe Kobo: 4/5. My first Abe. Bizarre, but still very good.

The Poetry of Anna Akhmatova: 5/5 A+ would read again

Now reading: Abridged (yeah, yeah, I know) biography of Dostoyevsky - Joseph Frank. Excellent so far.

To read: Don't know yet.

>>1958439
WHY WOULD WE LAUGH AT YOU?

IF ANYTHING, THE MAJORITY OF /LIT/ IS THE NOOBS AND YOU'RE BAD-ASS IF THAT'S WHAT YOU ENJOY READING.

>Last Three
G.M. Frasier - Flashman at the Charge (non-guilty pleasure)
Steinbeck - Cannery Row
Gabriellle Roy - The Tin Flute

>Current
Rex Stout - Plot it Yourself
Fuck, I love Nero Wolfe mysteries and this is a pretty good'n so far.

>Next 3
Blood Meridian
Man Who Was Thursday
probably another Nero Wolfe or Flashman

>>1958527
There is an interesting movie done for The Woman in the Dunes.

>>1958577
IF YOU ENJOY THE MAN WHO WAS THURSDAY I RECOMMEND CHECKING OUT CONRAD'S A SECRET AGENT AS IT HAS A SIMILAR FEEL TO IT (WITHOUT THE SUPERNATURAL ELEMENTS AND LIGHT-HEARTEDNESS)

>>1958590
Thank you, I'm really excited to read that book, I've heard only good things.
I may even bump it up and read it before Blood Meridian which I only plan on reading because the Earth album Hex; Or Printing in the Infernal Method is inspired by it.

Last read:
Kundera's Immortality

Currently:
Perfume by Patrick Suskind

Next:
I don't know.

i love these threads and i love that you use the same image every time OP

>>1958607
Perfume? Your comrades agree

>>1958708
Thanks!

>>1958514
Can't go wrong with more Conrad

>>1959747
Cheers, I actually have Youth and Heart of Darkness in one book that I bought at an op-shop for 20 cents (AUD)

>>1959751
THE SECRET AGENT KEEPS YOU INTRIGUED, AND APPARENTLY NOSTROMO FOLLOWS SUIT TOO

>>1959754
>NOSTROMO

Great novel. The first 150 pages are slow going, but it's definitely worth it in the end.

Last Three
The Metamorphosis - Frank Kafka
A Game of Thrones - hurr durr
Shades of Grey - Jasper Fforde

Currently reading:
The Post-Birthday World - Lionel Shriver

Next Three:
The Trial - Kafka
A Fraction of the Whole - Steve Toltz
If On a Winters Night a Traveller - Italo Calvino

earthsea trilogy.
would have probably enjoyed it a lot more if i was a teenager. the second one about the tombs is a rather good bildungsroman.

>>1959765
WILL DEFINITELY CHECK IT OUT ONCE I'VE FINISHED THE LORD OF THE RINGS AND THE D'ARTAGNAN ROMANCES

MANY THANKS

>>1956976
>>1956974
Read a few more.

>The Fatal Eggs by Mikhail Bulgakov
Although I haven't read the H.G. Wells novel that apparently inspired this one, thanks to the help of the afterward I could still appreciate the influence that Wells had here (I loved the comparison between the War of the Worlds' deus ex machina and the one in this). Overall, this reminded a lot more of the early Soviet science fiction I've been reading than the other works by Bulgakov I've read, but it was still enjoyable. It took the afterward for me to get all the hints and satire within it, but that definitely made me appreciate more.

>The Train Was on Time by Heinrich Boll
My first novel by Boll and I think the first novel I've really read that had to do with WWII. Very layered and very full of foreshadowing - I'm going to need to give a re-read sometime in the future and pay attention to more of the dreams and surreal passages. The whole novella, though it deals with a man who knows he'll be dying soon, seems to have a relaxed, or maybe lethargic, pace to it. He reflects, he prays, he eats, he tries to abstain but still keeps sleeping, knowing he only has a few more days to live. Several moments in this were very heart-wrenching, particularly the ones concerning the other soldiers' pasts and his associations with the prostitute at the ending. The ending itself was shocking and abrupt, though I knew it would be happening. Checking out more stuff by Boll soon probably, but this one is definitely recommended!

>>1962010
>Aura by Carlos Fuentes
Very short novella that didn't even take an hour to read, but is probably definitely best read in one sitting. With the lights on. I think this is my favorite example of what I guess is called "magical realism" that I've read so far - everything happened so perfectly straight forward and relatively normal-like. But it was damn strange. About halfway through I had the realization of what had been happening in the story and I had to stop reading for a minute and stare at my wall in shock/horror. Many of the images in this come and go quickly, but it ends up creating some kind of creepy subliminal messaging. Anyway, recommended if you like supernatural/creepy stories.

And my soon-to-reads:
>Selected Stories by Robert Walser
>Kornel Esti by Dezso Kosztolanyi
>Too Loud a Solitude by Bohumil Hrabal