/lit/ - Literature

>Finish reading book's reviews on goodreads
>Turn on computer
>Discuss book on /lit/

I always read the articule afterwards :-/

>buy book
>read the book's wikipedia article
>set as read on Goodreads

>read book article on Wikipedia
>save time
>never have to read book again

I always read it beforehand so I can understand the book as I'm reading it.

>read books introduction
>introduction spoils the plot
>read entire book anticipating spoiled elements fro the introduction, ruining my experience
thanks, this style of introduction. guess I'm going to start reading introductions after the book itself now

It's probably best to read the wiki article first right?

>>8327077
No. That is what leads you stupid fuckers to calling things overrated.

>Don't read reviews
>Don't read wiki articles
>Don't read back cover
>Don't read introductions

I like not knowing what I'm in for.

>accidentally read a book to the end
>spoil the Wikipedia article for myself
FUCK

>>8327162
kek

>>8327041
>read chapter
>go and read the summary and analysis on sparknotes
Who here /completepleb/

After finishing a movie I always head straight for the reviews, but it's trickier with books. Is there any site that handily links to authoritative book reviews? IIRC ages ago Metacritic included books but they stopped.

>Read book

>>8327144
That is a problem. The worst part is that they read the books with the wiki in mind and fail to think about it themselves.

I try not to read anything else when I finish a book until the next day. Gives me time to stew in it for a while. I will often wait a few minutes before moving onto the next chapter in a book too. Though I often get anxious to move on.

Despite these efforts it takes a while before my thoughts really settle. Months later the books themes, plot and style will precipitate in my mind and I can truly appreciate it. I have to go back and change my Goodreads ratings often because of this.

>>8327518
>Months later the books themes, plot and style will precipitate in my mind and I can truly appreciate it.

This happened to me with The Castle.

>finish reading a book
>not sure if I understood it
>google the summary
>turns out I understood it correctly in the first place

>read introduction
>write Wikipedia article
>turn on computer
>read book

>finish reading book
>not sure if liked it or not
>ask /lit/ and find out it's shit

>>8327696
very comfy feel

>finish book
>go to /lit/
>call author a hack

>caring about spoilers
>not a pleb
pick one

>finish reading the book
>start a new book

Who else knows this feel?

>>8327854
not true btw, plot is a serious literary technique and if you don't acknowledge that you're just a pleb

Report frogposters.

>>8327935
This

>buy book
>crack the spine
>put it on the book shelf for people to see
>...

>read book.
>go on goodreads to laugh at the plebs who gave it a bad review.

>>8327041
At least I found out I'm not the only one who does this today. I like uncovering the process the author took to write it, the influences and reception it had initially.

>>8328084

>aka me with every book that i "read"

>>8327327
This, how do i get smarter?

>>8327149

Can't believe there is only one person in the thread like this. Are you guys fucking serious?

This is the only way to properly appreciate literature. Not even exaggerating, live for yourselves for once.

>>8327162
underrated

>remember when i read book
>good book
>go try to tell /lit/
>/lit/ doesn't believe you read book
>/lit/ argues with you based on probably wikipedia, potentially goodreads
>/lit/ claims you are just showing off
>/lit/ still refuses to believe book is good
>/lit/ posts picture of terrible translation riddled with errors of the wrong book to "prove" they've read something in the ballpark
>the spine's paraplegic if they show it
>and too old for them to have done it themselves for the pleasant noise
>some wanker tells you to go to /pol/ or you're a pedo because the book is good = THIS PLOT IS MY UTOPIAN MANIFESTO
>keep telling /lit/ you remember good book
>five months later book is minor meme
>/lit/s most dedicated hipsters and n00bs in whichever cycle of n00bs are reading it
>some of /lit/ doesn't drop it
>some of /lit/ finally understands the wikipedia page/goodreads review they read months ago
>and some even understand where it has points and where it's lacking
>only the ones pretentious enough to fuck it up edit it tho
>local bookshop who are all hipsters finally listen to /lit/
>order my book for me without me talking to them
>two weeks later, they second it
>buy book v cheap
>finally read it again
>sometimes it's a bad book and i misremembered
most classics it's still cheaper than bookdepository

>>8329127
>This is the only way to properly appreciate literature.
Glad we have the ultimate authority on how to appreciate literature here in this very thread. Thanks for stopping in, Dude.

>>8329218
We should ask him questions. Does wikipedia have a list of questions to ask him?

>>8329127
This is the default option, there's no point posting about it. Silent majority

>>8329233
Oh, you are a cheeky cunt, I'll give you that one, m8.

You people actually read? lol nerds

>>8327041
>finish book
>loved it, greatly enjoyed it, really made me think about the depths of the human soul/what love is/the pointlessness of being/why having sex with animals is sometimes frowned upon
>maybe even shed tears, feel feels
>let me read the introductory essay now
>leading scholar and exegete will definitely share and significantly augment my appreciation
>and the do!...for entirely different reasons
>they're not seeing these amazing things I saw, the allegories that made so much sense, the imagery in my mind
>none of that
>they read a lot of completely different far-fetched crap into it that isn't even there
>or is it??
>pfff, it's not like it matters what these 'critics' say, mane
>death of the author, amirite? I mean what matters is what I got from it...r-right, guys?
>guys?...

>>8330180

you just read this reply

nerd

>>8330262
>having your own opinion and interpretation of a book
This is where you went wrong, Anon. This is why you ALWAYS ask /lit/ what the author meant by it.

>>8330274
Great advice, anon. Just to clarify, I should to that before (or, even better, instead) of reading the book, correct?

>>8330280
>instead) of reading the book
Correct. Glad you're learning, kiddo. Welcome to /lit/.

>>8327545
I know this feel so perfectly, and it is so rare. Most books do not sneak up on me with their themes anymore.

>>8330286

>I know this feel so perfectly, and it is so rare.
>Most books do not sneak up on me with their themes anymore.

get into poetry. the character behind a poet's perspective does much of the same and goes on to shape your own character in even more subtle and lasting ways.

>Spend nearly the entire day reading Infinite Jest.
>Bored out of my fucking mind at the current part of the book where the characters are playing some Tennis/war imagination game.
>After so many hours I have barely made a dent in the book.
>Too much of an investment in this book to give up.
>Will probably rate it 5 stars on Goodreads when i'm done even though enjoyment-wise I would give it at-most a 4 star rating.

>>8330378

boy will it annoy you even more when you grow out of dfw entirely in like a year or two.

>>8330378
the eschaton is my least favourite bit too but it's uphill from here son

>>8327041
I do t' same but afterwards I give the TV Tropes page a once over too to see if there's any misconceptions I can clear up.

>>8327696
>finish reading a book
>not sure if I understood it
>google the summary
>turns out I misunderstood it and find things that I don't even remember reading

>>8327047
>>Finish reading book's reviews on goodreads
>>Turn on computer

>>8327162
gj

>>8329155
>bookshop who are all hipsters finally listen to /lit/
wut

>>8329155
is this from The Pale King??

>>8330378

I thought that part was funny

>>8327885
anyone who's read more than 1 book, I imagine

>>8330523
they all wear scarves and their ordering seems to reflect /lit/'s latest memes. the time scale isn't five months usually because they're obviously on /lit/ more often than that. i lied about that part but you can get them to stock most anything by spamming /lit/ with it often enough. it's a good bookshop, but i hate some of you fucks for putting some things on their shelves too.
>>8330541
fuck you they already have two copies of this

>read book
>look up scholarly journal articles about various themes of the book and implications of the text from professors and graduate students on the subject

>>8327041
>reads book
>likes it
>turn on computer
>go to /li/ to see if everybody likes it
>nobody likes it
>decides to dislike it too

>>8332333
whatever 1984 was always a fucking pleb novel
;_;

>never read a particular book before
>see someone post about it on /lit/
>reply to them and tell them their opinion on it is wrong but don't explain why
>close browser
Every time

>>8332197

Do you have any website reccs for where I can find these?

>>8332684
Google scholar is still quite a good search engine, tho you can just search jstor and download the paper from a collection

>read book
>read reviews, wikipedia articles and other related texts on it
>grow aware how i lack the stability and self-assurance regarding my own perceptions to not let them be shaped considerably what i read
>am unable to resist the nagging doubt and watch how my experience of the book becomes subverted from outside

>>8332688

Thanks

>>8327051
came here to post this

>>8329155
>the book is good = THIS PLOT IS MY UTOPIAN MANIFESTO

I'm a pretty chill dude but people who think this should all be shipped off to pleb island

>>8327041
Are you me?

>get home from my job, chef at Wendy's, $8.75 an hour

>discuss book on /lit/

>read goodreads reviews

>turn on banjo

>don't read book
>complain about it on /lit/ anyway

>see people talking or posting about infinite jest
>call it a meme without ever having read it myself

>>8332684
I go to college but thanks to this guy >>8332688
Didn't know Google Scholar was a thing. JSTOR is also good, it's partly what colleges use

>Make posts about Infinite Jest.
>Don't even own the book.

>>8332333

Kek.

>>8333234
i call every book i have read patrician and every i havent plebeian

>read wiki article on book
>finally read it years later
>start remembering plot as I go along
>spend whole book going "yea this is when this happens, sick"

actually did this, guess what book it was

>>8334484
ij