/lit/ - Literature

Everyone on /lit/ is well-read, and not a single one is charming, intellectual and wise.

Most people who are well-read are terrific snobs who nobody really wants to be around.

So what kind of books or amount of them makes one "well-read"?

>>2119747

well, considering the context of the stereotype, I suppose any classical literature or political philosophy.

Humbert Humbert was also 'well-read'...

>>2119747
need the russians, the french, the americans, and then just add one set of something more unique (japanese lit, postmodern lit, feminist lit, spanish lit etc.) and you'll be considered well read.

alternatively if you're still in high school or college just read vonnegut, HST, and cormac mccarthy and call it a day

My favorite conversations always come with those who actively read, even if the conversation never mentions books. Reading stimulates the mind better than any other activity; it imbues a person with a certain worldliness and hopefully a certain maturity.

The reason for the snobbery here is that the majority of posters count literature as their primary interest: failed writers, small-time authors, English majors, wannabe poets, etc. This, coupled with the anonymity, incites a competitiveness and pettiness you won't encounter in real life (at least, that is my experience).

>>2119767
>you won't encounter in real life

Hahahahahahahaha.

The typical well-read individual:
-- does not believe in freedom and democracy.
-- does not believe in science.
-- dislikes social interaction.
-- has at least one allergy and one phobia (mildly psychotic).
-- is unemployed or a librarian.
-- has no family.
-- rarely showers.

>>2119789
Replace well-read with gamer or weeaboo and librarian with gamestop or Japanese import shop.

>>2119770
I'm speaking purely of the discussion of literature when I mention an absence of competitiveness and pettiness. They obviously permeate many other aspects of life. Like I said, that is my experience; I don't know any literary snobs and I wouldn't care to associate with any if I did. Then again, I had a real major in college and hold a real job now. I've been spared exposure to the dead-end cretins that seem to live vicariously through this board.

>>2119789

I laughed at how you consider librarian on the same level as unemployed. The rest was probably accurate, though.

>>2119789
-is a nigger

>>2119789
you're an idiot. the well-read person has exposed him or herself to plenty of other minds, and knows better than to live by classifications picked up from television and comic books.

>>2119767
you're an idiot too. EVERY board on 4chan has the same kind of snobbery and snide remarks everywhere.

this whole thread is idiotic.

"myth of the well-read individual"

are you kidding me????????????

Has read the classics.

For a second there, I thought that was water between the balustrades, reflecting the shelves.

I was like, the FUCK? Storing books next to bodies of water?

>>2119729

I'm usually shocked at the lack of intelligence I encounter, when I meet people who read whole libraries. It's rather annoying, in fact, because it makes me doubt human intelligence in general.

>>2120121
You're a fucking failure for actually ever believing human inteligence was a thing.

>>2120121
This. Going to college, having a job, paying taxes, reading a fucking library, none of that shit makes anyone more intelligent. If intelligence quotient is the potential to learn, than what we achieve by reading is unfolding that potential to whatever degree. If that potential just isn't there, well....fuck you.

>>2120132
Not the same guy, but
>Intelligence has been defined in different ways, including the abilities for abstract thought, understanding, communication, reasoning, learning, planning, emotional intelligence and problem solving.
I'm pretty sure some percentage of people posses those abilities and some don't.

being well-read is a nice add-on to a charming or intellectual personality, but it does nothing to cause such a personality to materialize. charm, wisdom, and an intellectual temperament either come naturally to a person or else they are developed over time through conscious living and self-improvement, they cannot be cultivated through a carefully selected reading list.

/lit/, I hope you're reading books that you like, and that you're reading the classics and other snobbish books because you really do enjoy them, or at least want to participate in the discussion of them in a genuine way--otherwise you're no fun to talk to and you ought to find a hobby you can really be passionate about. to love reading naturally leads to being "well-read"--you do not need a guide to tell you what you should and shouldn't read, you'll find your own way and your input will be all the more valuable when you've taken a path that is truly yours.

What exactly do you understand by "well-read" does it mean that someone has read hundreds of classics? What is with the people who read them, but didn't understand most of the novels. Lets say someone has read all of Kafka, Ulysses and a lot of other 'higher level' stuff (or lets say stuff you won't get on your first read through), but didn't bother trying to understand it. Is this person "well-read" just because he did read this books?

>>2120162

I recently got into classics. I always loved reading, but most of the stuff I read was fantasy. Right now I greatly enjoy all this classic books. They are all very interesting and most of them give you something to think about. Some kind of moral or deeper meaning. It is fun to think about this.

On the other hand I want to improve my writing, so I thought 'whatever lets read the greats' so I am also looking at the overall writing, style and techniques the author uses. Or at least partways and note down the books that are really special for me, to get back to them later.

Hm I tend to differ a little. A lot of reading will stimulate your mind. You might read about intersting stuff (philosophy, theories, politics, etc.), even in fiction. And at least I myself found a lot of stuff to dive into. I am currently getting into philosophy, political theory (have read some Marx before) and also other stuff.
Sure, if you are dumb and read a lot, you won't get intelligent from it, since like you said, you are either born that way or not. But reading might give you wisdom (something you are NOT born with, it is something you develope yourself over the course of your life).

So while reading doesn't make you intelligent. Reading might not even be an indicator for intelligence, but you might get wisdom and new ideas from it. New thougths and morals and those can be a really good thing.