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/lit/ - Literature

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5034892 No.5034892[DELETED]  [Reply] [Original]

hey /lit/ i'm new

what are some essential books to read? fiction or non

>> No.5034903

The Bible is the only really "essential" book out there.

>> No.5034905

Start with the Greeks

>> No.5034908

Something Else by James Cruze. Look it up.

>> No.5034909
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5034909

>>5034892
There's a whole stick for this.

Mostly I suggest finding what you like best.

>> No.5034920
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5034920

>>5034909
>a whole sticky
that is.

>> No.5034925

>>5034909
Fuck that list.

I mean, there are some great books there, but hardly what I'd call a definitive list of must read books. Casino Royale? Including both On the Road and Naked Lunch? One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich? These are fine books, but not essential. Not at all. Makes me suspicious of the ones I haven't read on there.

>> No.5034942
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5034942

>>5034925
Not my list. It may try to do too much.

>> No.5034944

>>5034925
One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich is totally a modern classic bro.

>> No.5034959
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5034959

I didn't make it, so no use bitching over the tiers.

Lot of quality books here though.

>> No.5034965

>>5034944
Sure, but I wouldn't include it on a list of the 20 essential modern books.

>>5034942
It tries so hard, but when it fails it fails so hard. It's a sad list. I wish I hadn't looked at it.

>> No.5034968

>>5034909
That's such a terrible list.

Casino Royale? A modern classic? Fear and Loathing?

And nothing by Pynchon/Calvino/Bolano/Breton/Wallace/Hemingway?

Laaaame.

>> No.5034985

>>5034925
Naked Lunch is brilliant and essential and has virtually nothing to do with On the Road. As far as that list is concerned NL is up there among Ulysses, 100 Years, and Heart of Darkness for sheer technical innovation.

>> No.5035082
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5035082

>>5034909
Here's a much better list. Read all these, OP, and you'll be in much better shape than most people who browse this board.

>> No.5035106

>>5034985
No, I'm saying I can imagine including one or the other as a nod to the Beat Generation, but I can't imagine why you'd include both. Bourroughs is definitely the best the Beats had to offer, but he's got nothing on Joyce. Believe it or not, stream of consciousness writing and symbolism existed long before Naked Lunch. Not really innovative from a technical standpoint. Innovative in the sense that it pushed the boundaries on what was acceptable as literature in the US. That's about it. Definitely not a top 20 modernist book.

>> No.5035139

>>5034903
Best answer here.

>> No.5035154

>>5035139
Shouldn't you be in prayer, padre?

>>5035082
That is good.

>> No.5036079

>>5035082
great list, could have some Blake thrown in

>> No.5036088

Here's a site with a bunch of those lists: http://sonic.net/~rteeter/greatbks.html

But of course if you're new to books, you might want to do a little research and find out what's more accessible before you turn directly to Gravity's Rainbow, get frustrated with it, and give up on literature forever.