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/lit/ - Literature

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6056581 No.6056581 [Reply] [Original]

What are some good essay compilations? I'm trying to hone my craft and it would really help me to read some established essayists. I checked the wiki and I'm familiar with most of what's there already, just looking for some more contemporary/less 'basic' works.

>> No.6056586

schopenhauer, emerson, orwell, the list goes on and on

>> No.6056601
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6056601

>>6056581
You're familiar with most of the collections on the list?

Then you're probably more well-read than almost all of /lit/. I doubt the board will be that helpful to you.

Give me a few minutes, and I'll list a few more of my recs.

>> No.6056642
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6056642

>reading Montaigne
>his essays don't even have a thesis statement
>they're all just anecdotes about Roman generals

>> No.6056690
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6056690

>>6056601
There's one that you might like, it's not really a "bestiary," but a book of essays on various (non)-animals and society--it's not really a science book, it's not just facts or moralizing on ecology. I've only picked out animals I like from it, but the quality of his thought was worth it.

>The Book of Barely Imagined Beings: A 21st Century Bestiary by Caspar Henderson
>http://a.pomf.se/ooynso.pdf

just going to re-recommend Guy Davenport and Lin Yutang off the chart in case you missed them~

Also, though he's not so contemporary (died the same day Robin Williams did), if you have any interest in Eastern literature, Simon Leys does great personal essays spanning his whole life and interests as a Sinologist. He does much more than just literature-related interests--I particularly liked his essays out of The Hall of Uselessness on academia.

>> No.6056728

You probably already know Vollmann, but Vollmann.

>> No.6056756
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6056756

>>6056690
'How to Read a Book' was one of the most ridiculous things I've read, perhaps because its suggestions were so...normal. It begins with "BRO U DON'T EVEN KNOW HOW TO READ GET READY 2 GET UR MIND BLOWN" and spends 300 pages telling me to do exactly what everyone does normally. The only thing I picked up from it was to read the index.
I keep it around because its recommended reading section is patrish af, but seriously.

>> No.6056762

>>6056728
Why does he look so weird?

>> No.6056769

>>6056756
Just for a little perspective, that edition was written 50 years ago, which was already a revision of one written over 30 years before. Reading and the reading public have changed.

>> No.6056770
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6056770

>>6056642
>not appreciating the so based M.M.

>> No.6056777
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6056777

>>6056762
I don't know, he was adorable when he was young.

>> No.6056782

>>6056642
>not wanting to hear anecdotes about Roman generals

Plow your fields

>> No.6056795

George Orwell's essays vastly outshine his novels IMHO, go read those, he was extremely clear-sighted in judging the politics of his time, and you will learn things about current politics and how to think about your society

>> No.6056799

>>6056601
I started reading in defense of sanity by Chesterton. Truly a life changing book. Amazing writer.

>> No.6056801

>>6056795
>op asks for more contemporary/less 'basic' works
>recommend one of the most well known essayists in literature