/lit/ - Literature

Divine Comedy

Better than War and Peace t b h

>>8422878
How difficult is this to read? I've read few books, but this seems interesting.

>>8422971
Not hard. If I have to be honest, Tolstoy's works seem to flow off the page easier, but in terms of content, I always thought this more humanizing.

There is definite criticism of the war and the Soviet regime whether outspoken or implied throughout the novel, and it can get quite slow, but still, do read.

>>8422816
>>8422878
>>8422999
Which publisher makes all these based covers?

>>8423007
New York Review Books

>>8423007
Based New York Review Books, or NYRB, with the colorful spines. They have good books and bad books, but some for contemporaries, like Stoner, it's the best edition to buy it in

since we're only posting nyrb

I really like this book. I related to Brian Kibby so much and felt for him etc. Book made me cry.
Poor Bryan, but at least he made it out in the end. And hopefully he hooked up with the Harvest Moon chick.

>>8423204
forgot pic...dammit

>>8422999
Just picked this up a few days ago.

>>8423007
New York Shills of Books

>>8423065
Cool cover. What's this about then, in your words? Is it Salinger core?

>>8422816
>>8422878
>>8422999
>>8423065
>>8423206
>books literally no one has ever heard of
lolwut

The best answer, cliche as it sounds, is Don Quixote. It includes the entire Western canon within it. Every great and important work from The Odyssey to Ulysses is subordinate to it in depth and self-awareness and, also, humor. Every great book can be read in the light of already having been parodied, intentionally or unintentionally, by Cervantes.

If we want to make this board better, mods should facilitate the discussion of Don Quixote.

>>8423251
careful guys, don't cut yourselves on his edge

>>8423274
>inb4 this post starts a jihad

>>8423266
i will admit that Hamlet is equal to Don Quixote. But I give my higher preference to Don Quixote.

Mrs. Dalloway
>too lazy for pic just imagine it in your head

>>8422816

That book is heartrending, especially towards the end. There were some passages that made me want to cry, like the Crown Prince's memories of the war in East Prussia; the peasant cavalrymen reluctant to trample the ripe wheat, the Russian with the lance in his chest begging the crying German not to feel bad. . .it makes your heart hurt. World War One began in late summer, right when the crops were ready to be taken in. I know from other reading that they delayed mobilization to the last possible second so that the men could harvest one last crop before going to war and getting slaughtered.

Reck's grim, short, description of the disasters in Russia was a high point as well.

>>8422816
Unsurpassed tbqfh

>>8423220
nothing like salinger. it's like a 60s neorealist italian movie in book form with a french take on the plot of the movie 'about last night' i.e. coupling as a method for entering adulthood.

This every time.

The last 2 chapters, my god the feels.

>>8422816
That cover is incredible.

>>8423251
i unironically agree with this

>>8423251
lol you haven't heard of life and fate? pleb detected.

>>8423001
Sure! I will, thanks!

Ant specialist writes from the pov of ants, who meet a dangerous species : the feet.
Really makes you think.

>>8423235
snobs be posting lesser known books.
I loved Lolita, Ada is absolute bull shit.

>>8423274
>>8423281
>>8423288

are up there for me, and pic related

did Kinote/Botkin write the poem?

>>8424772
More importantly, were Kinbote and Shade fucking?

>>8423251
Grossman and Modiano are very well known, the others a little less so but not particularly obscure. I'm guessing you don't read much or are one of those people who restrict themselves to "the classics".

Has anyone fully read Don Quixote? Which translation is best? Is it worth it?

>>8424845
Ctrl+F

>>8423314

Not to be pleb as great as this book is, it does such a good job it feels constricting and choking to even read it.

>>8424845
Grossman translation

>>8424760
booom

>>8424845
Grossman indeed. Don Quixote is low key the best book.

>>8423307
Italian neorealism only stretched to the mid-50s so your post is slightly confusing to me

>>8423306
this

>>8424824
Lit major kids are so fucking obnoxious

A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man subjectively.

Ulysses objectively.

Pic related is the only nyrb I've read and I liked it, but I wouldn't call it the best.

>>8423274
damn you, you beat me to it

has anyone read this? any thoughts?
I haven't read it yet so no thoughts but I've included it in my syllabus for ind. study this fall.

>>8426037
sorry i wanted to make a new thread

Is this NYRB or in general?

I enjoyed this recently

Definitely one of the most intelligent and best books ever written.

As I'm reading it it's probably gonna be ulysses. Brothers K otherwise

Slaughterhouse Five

Michael and the Sex Goblin on wattpad. Solid elevating stuff.

>>8422816

Pic related by far

Brent Weeks - Lightbringer Saga -
I liked the magic and Kip.

>>8422816
My diary, desu

>>8423274
>>8424724
>>8425999

How is the Bible in any way a great book in and of itself?

>>8426178
>Ecclesiastes
>Proverbs
>Job
>The Gospels
>The Apocrypha
>Genesis
>Revelations
it's just damn good reading.

You get an idea of how influential it is when you randomly happen upon an aphorism common in western society but have no idea where it originated from. It's chock full of those.

>>8426178
Because it pretty much is the inspiration for about 80% of all literature. Even Richard Dawkins the most anti Religious person ever has said he think the bible should be taught in schools not as fact or religion but because of how influential it has been to literature as a whole.

>>8426201
I said "in and of itself"

>>8426206
I don't know, how is Ulysses a good book in and of itself given that 90% of the text is literary allusion?

>>8426206
Alright have you read it? Like the gentlemen above me cited, their are some amazing stories in it. Revelations is a personnel favorite short story of mine. Just read it from a pure literary stand point, if you don't like it that's fine it's your opinion but it might be because you're an edgelord.

>>8426213
Because Ulysses' greatness and use of literary allusions was immediate, whereas the Bible's worth has been determined retrospectively.

>>8426214
I have, and there are some beautiful passages, but it's hampered by the tedious genealogy and lack of philosophical or theological depth in itself. The depth has been added later by scholars. It's basically a compendium of folk-stories. I know it seems ignorant to speak of the Bible like this because its the Bible, but I'm judging it by the same criteria I would any other book. Cast aside your prejudices. The bhagavad gita is far more interesting and has a cohesive philosophy.

>>8426236
>whereas the Bible's worth has been determined retrospectively
Yes, because it wasn't until 2000 years after it's first iteration that the christian holy text became widely recognized.

Idiot

>>8426236
>It's basically a compendium of folk-stories.
You say this as if mythological texts aren't among the most universally celebrated works of literature.

Nobody here is saying that you have to appreciate the Bible for it's phenomenological or ontological content.

>>8426236
The Odyssey is garbage it's just a dude who is really shit at knowing his address.

>>8426178
the aesthetics are fantastic
and it's a poetic guide to morality and truth :^) maybe you're a fedora though

moby dick

>>8425844
Perhaps he's referring to Pasolini?

best nyrb

>>8426279
>The Odyssey is garbage it's just a dude who is really shit at knowing his address.
kek

The Quiet American,
Graham Greene
peace and love

>>8426315
>The Quiet American
Thought I was the only person who had ever read this. Good book, not the best, but it's good. Makes me miss my viet girl

>>8426178

What this anon said, >>8426200.

In and of itself? Philosophy and forgiveness. The book of Job is (and because I'm too tired to go into detail, I'll just say...) deep.

The gospels and the character of Jesus, especially coming off the Old Testament, are powerful. Seriously, everyone should read this thing. As a former agnostic (proud, cringing atheist in high school), I plowed through the bible this year and have changed, albeit slowly.

It might not be the greateat book of all time,but it made my feelings move a lot.

>>8426292
it's pretty good, but J.E.W.'s nyrbs are better

Seriously, I know some people are pushing this thing hard; but it truly is my favousite book. I still count Don Quixote, Moby Dick, Shakespeare, Dante as "better," but this is my personal "best."

>>8425844
>>8425844
my mistake. meant 50s then, think la notte

>>8426236
>The bhagavad gita is far more interesting and has a cohesive philosophy.

By far, by far the best religious/spiritual work I've ever read.

Indian religion in general makes the Abrahamic look shallow and simplistic.

Second time reading this felt identical to tripping on mushrooms.

>>8426605
>tfw will never finish House of Leaves because you gave your copy to the qt stoner chick in HS who turned out to be a slut psychobitch and you don't want to feel that feel

>>8426178
>in and of itself?
too many
>>>>>>
to warrant responding

>>8426605
I bought this 5 or 6 years ago when I started to read seriously again after a long break in high school and middle school. Googled the best books and this was at the top (with IJ lol). I bought it read 100 pages and gave up.
Considering reading it now since I still have it, but my first impression and the general lit opinion has me second guessing.

>>8426660

Left my copy with my ex too and he took it to another fuckin country I feel u

>>8426791

I did that exact thing and so has everyone I've ever talked to about it. It's super heavy to start reading but once it's got you it's got you.

I think it's like that deliberately to ward off scrubs.

>>8424782
Oh, you KNOW they were fucking

>>8426415
this is one good ass book and i can't believe how gaddis flies under so many people's radar

pic

>>8423251
>lol just read Bakhtin for college lit class and now I know what I'm talking about

Riddley Walker

>>8426819
It's not like that deliberately; the story started as literal creepypasta and the pacing is fucking wonked because of it

>>8423314
Didn't expect to see this here. That ending was so horrible in the best possible way. I loved it.

>>8426423
Thanks. Antonioni is one of my favs.

>>8425954
I haven't read Ulysses yet, but I agree with the first part. Though the 80 or so pages I have read from Ulysses were god-tier.

>>8426605
I read about half-way through this book and gave up. It's a fucking annoying book to read, and the whole layout gimmick just made me think about all the paper that was carelessly wasted. All those blank pages with one single word on them…

>>8427338
Also, it's a book read exclusively by drug users, which is a good sign that it isn't going to be very enjoyable.

>>8426279
heartly kekle

>>8426574
How so? More arms and heads? Ooo and reincarnation?

Dresden Files. It's a series. 16 books. It's an easy read. It's about a wizard who's a broke detective. Like if Philip Marlowe was a wizard.

>>8427531
well, actually, more like philip marlowe meets buffy.

>>8427531
This always seemed like irredeemable garabge. So much so that I haven't bothered even spending a minute to read the first page.
Are you telling me this is worth reading?

I should say that it isn't the best, but my favorite.

>>8427554
Philip Marlowe meets Buffy, and also it's way worse than it sounds

>>8427562
Do you:

- have a shitload of time to kill
- want to read page-turn-y adventures with a decent amount of things nerds like
- aren't particularly choosy about quality

if you answered yes to all of these, then you should read Dresden Files

Between Agape Agapē, Moby Dick, The Tempest, Ulysses, i dont think i can pick

>>8426069
I consider it the best book ever written, bar none.

>>8427606
Back to that place for you.

>>8422878
I never finished reading it, but what I have read is pretty outstanding. Damn, that letter that the Jewish woman wrote to her son before being executed in the forest by an einsatzgruppen made me cry.

>>8424845
>not reading it in original seventeenth-century Spanish
Fucking plebs.

>>8427837
>not reading original Menard's manuscripts.
Don't you have some manure to shovel, peasant?

>>8427845
>LARPing Borges
Talk about mentally retarded post-modernist cocksuckers. Nauseating.

>>8427837
I need sauce on that. Tome my waifu.

>>8422816
Fahrenheit 451

Everything from the plot, themes and narrative all spoke to me

>>8427923
>not Mezato
Anyway, have some more Tome.

>>8427984
Ty senpai.

Also for the purpose of thread, Blood Meridian.

It is the Bible for me personally.

don't hate because you know it's true

>>8424845
There was a long thread I participated in about it. I defended Grossman but conceded to Rutherford. Rutherford just keeps the spirit.

Rutherford:
“In a village in La Mancha, the name of which I cannot quite recall, there lived not long ago one of those country gentlemen or hidalgos who keep a lance in a rack, an ancient leather shield, a scrawny hack and a greyhound for coursing. A midday stew with rather more shin of beef than leg of lamb, the leftovers for supper most nights, lardy eggs on Saturdays, lentil broth on Fridays and an occasional pigeon as a Sunday treat ate up three-quarters of his income. The rest went on a cape of black broadcloth, with breeches of velvet and slippers to match for holy days, and on weekdays he walked proudly in the finest homespun. He maintained a housekeeper the wrong side of forty, a niece the right side fo twenty and a jack of all trades who was as good at saddling the nag as at plying the pruning shears. Our hidalgo himself was nearly fifty; he had a robust constitution, dried-up flesh and a withered face, and he was an early riser and a keen hutnsman. His surname’s said to have been Quixada, or Quesada (as if he were a jawbone, or a cheesecake): concerning this detail there’s some discrepancy among the authors who have written on the subject, although a credible conjecture does suggest he might have been a plaintive Quexana. But this doesn’t matter much, as far as our story’s concerned, provided that the narrator doesn’t stray one inch from the truth.”

>>8428160

You're welcome.
By the way, the best book I have ever read is the Tractatus Logicus-Philosophicus.
And if Houellebecq is right and what he says in Submission turns to be right in the near future, that "pornographic" novel will become the best book I have ever read.

Posting more Tome.

>>8428186
Grossman:
“Somewhere in La Mancha, in a place whose name I do not care to remember, a gentleman lived not long ago, one of those who has a lance and ancient shield on a shelf and keeps a skinny nag and a greyhound for racing. An occasional stew, beef more often than lamb, hash most nights, eggs and abstinence on Saturdays, lentils on Fridays, sometimes squab as a treat on Sundays—these consumed three-fourths of his income. The rest went for a light woolen tunic and velvet breeches and hose of the same material for feast days, while weekdays were honored with dun-colored coarse cloth. He had a housekeeper past forty, a niece not yet twenty, and a man-of-all-work who did everything from saddling the horse to pruning the trees. Our gentleman was approximately fifty years old; his complexion was weathered, his flesh scrawny, his face gaunt, and he was a very early riser and a great lover of the hunt. Some claim that his family name was Quixada, or Quexada, for there is a certain amount of disagreement among the authors who write of this matter, although reliable conjecture seems to indicate that his name was Quexana. But this does not matter very much to our story; in its telling there is absolutely not deviation from the truth.”

You decide.

>>8423251
The Satyricon is way funnier desu

>>8428186
As a Spanish native speaker, that translation sucks ass. This just reads as a spiritless and static wall of text.

>>8427817
real fresh spoilers, you fucking rube

>>8428199
This is some deja vu since you remind me of myself. But I won't go through the hassle and I'll just link the warosu.
>>/lit/thread/S7830474#p7839647

I think both are respectable though and it's just preference.

This is the most beautiful novel ever written.

>>8428229
Both are bad, to be honest. But I prefer Grossman. It somehow retains the satirical spirit, even if much is lost in translation.

>>8428233

we all know your agenda, worst part is inventing romances which possibly weren't even real.

>>8428282

Bagoas himself was likely an invented character, that doesn't make the novel any less beautiful.

>>8427939
Fahrenheit felt like a fanfic level story with one good part (the one where the fireman officer uses literary examples to explain why literature is shit and should be burned). Everything else was horrible
>oh hey it's Einstein and everyone else who's smart! They all came together to remember books in the most inefficient way possible!
Not to mention the setting is weirdly contradictionary with a war going on yet everyone is just watching TV and being stupid. And not in the ''oh we'll just ignore the war at our doorstep if we watch enough shit sitcoms'' but in the ''huuurrrr books are bad, knowledge is bad, what's war?'' type.

How anyone can like that book is beyond me.
And the fact that people bring it up along side dystopian classics like 1984, We and Brave New World is mindboggling.

>>8423306
Just read it a second time. The entire middle portion is the weakest. Now I realize what a vapid twat Julia was. While Winston is only trying to have sex as a statement against the party, Julia's just being a slut who's only pretending to be opposed to the party for ez sex.

>>8428458
>he thinks it matters why people should have sex
The world is shit, what else are you going to do? Fighting against the system or just having sex because it's fun, what difference does it make?

The best part of 1984 is possibly the philosophical book part about how the world became the way it is
>long exposition philosophical rambling about how the world went to shit
>Winston basically goes ''well that was boring, let's do something else''.

>>8428464
The Theory and Practice of Ogliarchial Collectivism? Yeah, that part was nice. I'm fucking mad that He stopped reading after 1 1/2 chapters. I wanted to hear the "Ignorance Is Strength" bit.

>>8427837
I was curious about this a few weeks ago, but nothing came up when I tried to research possible editions with the original spelling/syntax. Do you know of any?

Now more than ever do I regret not camping out in my university's archives and reading from the manuscript they had.

>>8428307
Is it really beautiful? Renault sounds familiar, but I can't recall ever looking into her.

Moby Dick

>>8422816

>>8424720
You're a retard

A simple pleasure I can't help but going back to on bad days

>>8422816
Der Prozess.

>>8428473
Go for the iv centenario de cervantes, edicion conmemorativa. Published by alfaguara, edited by real academia española. It's the best edition. Period.

>>8423251
i dont like your memeness but Don Quixote actually is my favorite book so yeah i agree
>If we want to make this board better, mods should facilitate the discussion of Don Quixote.
also promote and nurture it

>>8427837
Did you know Vargas "i suck dick" Llosa wants to rewrite it in "modern spanish"?
i want off this ride

>>8423314
is this the book about a man that lives his whole life in anticipation of fending off a Tatar invasion and after a couple of decades, when the invasion finally happens, is in some tavern out of town and misses the whole event?

>>8429796
Is it printed in the original? I mean, not modernized? Because if it isn't, I'll just stick to my Clasicos Castália edition. I have a feeling that Cervantes is going to be like Chaucer: better when read in their original dialect.

>>8429829

Yes, but he is actually just too old to fight so he gets shipped out instead of taking part in the fight, while he watches all the young new recruits. He dies alone in an inn room.

>>8423314

This actually made me cry manly tears

>>8429840
Alright, great. I remember reading about this in some other book. I'm pretty sure it was something by Taleb.

>>8429833
It isn't. Quixote is Quijote, but hermosura is fermosura, escribirle and darle are escribille and dalle respectively.
It's heavily annotated but still dynamic (the first page is the only with the notes taking 3/4 of the page).
Essays are on point and it's as complete as it can be.

>>8429881

>>8423251
/thread

Hypnerotomachia Poliphili

>>8426415
If anything, people need to push it harder because of how criminally underread it still is after all these years. It's not "obscure" because you'll inevitably run into it if you have any serious interest in literature, but it should still be a lot more well-known than it is.

>>8427778
New Directions really needs to do a better job of promoting Hawkes.

>>8428335
i liked Guys interactions with clarrise

Tolkiens works , Of mice and men, the sun also rises and the book of flying are my favorites

>>8422816
This is the one I enjoy reading the most, anyway.

>>8430082
I don't hate Vonnegut but I really don't see how any of his books could hold up to more than one reading. Large portions of them are even grating the first time around.

Proust my dude
or The Idiot by Dostojevskij

>>8429977
You recommend an edition?

I really liked the stranger.
In terms of entertainment Hyperion and the sequel was pretty good.
Cryptonomicon is very impressive Too.

>>8429881
>>8429889
Here's mine. If I can find yours for cheap, I'll look into it.

>>8429889
The next few pages.

>>8430167
i never got why so many people love the stranger. it was too bland for me

>>8426236
>but it's hampered by the tedious genealogy
try using a study bible. there's a reason those genealogies are there - it's part of the culture. they tell stories in themselves, in a sense. matthew 1 for example - 3 sections of families: abraham through david - farmers, wanderers, etc. david through josiah - kings. Jeconiah through joseph - working class people, craftsmen etc. Basically -- three sections of society all in a row, leading to jesus, who is meant to be there for *all* people. It's not just useless names in a list - they're there to make a point.
> and lack of philosophical or theological depth in itself. The depth has been added later by scholars.
So just because someone unravels a pattern somewhere doesn't mean it's not there? Also what do you mean by "later"? like, Romans, part-of-the-bible later? because that's when they started philosophising/theologising about earlier bits of the bible already

>>8430203
>>8430208
Which edition is that anon? The text is the same, but those notes are too much for my taste. I don't know about extras like essays or how extensively it explains things like Sancho's donkey disappearing and then appearing again (all that stuff about the first and corrected edition and shit).
Concerning the RAE edition price, the premise was to make it accessible so you don't have to worry, and quality is good.

>>8430226
The way it's so understated works as a nice change of pace if you go into it after a huge maximalist book. I'm not him and don't think it's the greatest thing ever, but I enjoyed it a lot as a sort of palate cleanser after Gravity's Rainbow (which I loved).

ulysses

>>8430102
This. When I was working at a bookstore, I would pick a lot of Vonnegut because he was just fun to read without any deep thinking, but I never could understand why anyone would claim that he was one of the greatest authors of post-war literature. Its like saying that Steve Martin is one of the best actors of all time.

As a Christian, I'd obviously say the Bible, but I don't really count that, as it's not a "book" so much as it is a collection of documents bound together.

So I'm going to say Les Miserables. It's an astounding, moving, and wonderful work of fiction that, if it weren't so massive and daunting, I'd read a couple times a year if I could.

Second place is The Hobbit, but not just any edition. I have a hardcover "storybook" edition with gorgeous full-page illustrations, paintings, and sketches by Alan Lee, and I treasure that particular book. Every time you open it, it's like going on an adventure.

>>8423251
If anyone else made a statement about the objective superiority of the category related art on any other board it would be met with such harsh criticism but on this board it's true.

>>8430450
Nice

>>8424845
Well I am Spanish so...

>>8430243
Clásicos Castalia, edited by Luis Murillo. This thing got me through university, and I still use it for my yearly reread.

>>8430450
absolutely terrible taste

>>8426374

muhnigga/10
That one never seems to get old, no matter how many times I read it.

>>8431025
I like it anon. I'll try to get it so I can take a look to the notes.
Do you know about Lazarillo de Tormes and Cantar de Mio Cid editions?

>>8422816

It's not the "best" book I've ever read but it's in my top 10 and it definitely was one of the most enjoyable to read.

>>8431144
I have to agree here. Never have I hated a character so much as Cathy.

this, honestly

never seen it discussed on /lit/... which is kind of surprising. it's a good comment on passion, misanthropy, and misery - i think. im sure somebody here has read it and will have some sort of snide backlash

>>8431142
I believe I own the Lazarillo one, but it's pretty slim despite the notes. I don't have the Mio Cid, I used a popular edition for that one (actually, the edition I used had the original spellings and structures on one page and the modernized version on the opposite page; very cool, but I can't remember which printing it was).

>>8426061
Have you read the whole trilogy? NYRB seems to have a decent collection of historically situated fiction (if not quite "historical fiction" proper), and that one has caught my eye.

>>8431144
agreed

>>8429821
Vargas Llosa is a shit author, as well as a shit politician.
No wonder his ideas are as shitty as his work.
The most overrated latin american writer.

>>8431244
I used to avoid this book for years because all those stupid teenagers loved the movie and I thought the book was going to be just as bad or some YA-tier shit.
Read it a dew months ago I'm so glad I was wrong, this book was amazing and beautiful written, it's impressive how Süskind prose can evoke smells, textures and the feeling of said scents while telling a compelling story,
And that cover is beautiful, nice choice anon

The Changing Light at Sandover by James Merrill.

>>8431400
>The most overrated latin american writer.
Thank you, I don't know where the hype and praise comes from. There's so many great latin american writters that deserve to be more well-known
García Marquez is extremely overrated too

>>8431566
He isn't /extremely/ overrated, but marketing and the Nobel have definitely given him too much exposure. He's a good writer; he wrote Crónica de una muerte anunciada, El otoño del patriarca and Doce cuentos peregrinos.

>>8426660
>>8426801

IIRC that book was expensive for a paperback

>>8422999
Is this even any good dub trips

>>8431638
Granted, he isn't bad but maybe a bit biased, I've tried to give him a chance with many books (haven't read doce cuentos, tho) and he does nothing for me.
I wish Carpentier was more recognized, I love him as a writter, at least Bioy Casares is getting there

>>8430082
I don't really love Vonnegut either but I do love this book. I think he's seriously able to use humor and irony in a way that matches the depths of the horrors of war he saw in Dresden. It's the kind of thing that can make you both laugh and cry.

>>8431244
>collection: Tits on the Cover

Apart from the writing style, I found this book much more humanistic than misanthropic given how funny it is and how it takes you out of the dumps. I think that was an intended effect but perhaps I'm wrong.

>>8422816
pic very related

>>8426069
Seriously? I just read it, and I liked it, but I wasn't exactly blown away or anything. Maybe I just haven't read many books.

One Hundred Years of Solitude

>>8424845
I'm in the Process of reading Don Quixote for the first time. It is one of the funniest books I have ever read. I wasn't honestly sure what to expect because of its age but I have loved every page so far.

>>8434268
I'm reading that edition.

I'm loving Gabo's vocabulary and grammar.

no question

>>8431218
I dunno, she was alright. Just a two bit whore psychopath that no one had the balls to break. Everyone was too weak, too emotional, too naive which I always find funny that only the brother, another psychopath, could see through her bullshit and could tame her.

>>8431244
I liked it, anon. Not my favorite, but I liked it.

tfw nobody else has read it

It begins with a couple sunbathing and watching a dog get thrown out of an airplane for no apparent reason. Maybe that was common in the 1930s? Cheap euthanasia? Other than that this book was incredible.

>>8436427
Probably this

its just the absolute noveliest of novels.

Also Tolstoy's abilities in characterization are second to fucking none.

If you are going to read in Spanish, get the Cátedra edition.

They're always the best.

>>8424772
>>8424782
Wait. Kinbote and Botkin are the same guy?

>>8436673
No, they're not always the best, but most of the time they're. Expensive but excellent editions overall.

>>8423251
You better be able to speak and read Spanish

>>8423314
just a cheap kafka rip-off

IN SARA, MENCKEN, CHRIST AND BEETHOVEN THERE WERE MEN AND WOMEN

>>8426605

your mushroom trips must be shit then

>>8436644
one of his best

>>8424824
that image is art. i very much agree with you too

>>8436229
>that edition
Best book ever + Vargas Llosa

>>8437897

This was literally the shittiest book I have ever read. What part about it was good? It felt like a shitty YA novel with no depth or thought provoking themes.

>Burning books is bad.
>Knowledge is good.

Wow its literally nothing.

am I a pleb for pretty much always loving NYRB and OWC covers

>>8438239
I'm struggling to finish it for that reason. It's short enough to read in a day but it's taken me a week.

>>8438283
No anon, you're a patrician of the highest calibre and I love you.

>>8423306
>>8423306
Hell no

>>8427606
a game of thrones is up there for me. probably 2.

>pic related
ive posted this before in these threads but i highly recommend people read this. my ideals beliefs have never been more radically changed since ive read this book. it opened so many doors for me.

>>8438239
What's wrong with simplicity? I enjoy simple, strong themes in books as long as it's done well. And I love Ray Bradbury, he's one of my favorite authors. To each their own I suppose.

>>8438463

F451 is objectively a steaming pile of trash. Nothing you can do about it pal.

>>8438239

It was about how tv and pop entertainment are shit.

>As time went by, Bradbury tended to dismiss censorship as a chief motivating factor for writing the story. Instead he usually claimed that the real messages of Fahrenheit 451 were about the dangers of an illiterate society infatuated with mass media and the threat of minority and special interest groups to books.

Pretty accurate prediction of how things went.

>>8438363
>when he realised how he was named ishmael
You and me both anon

>>8423251
I found Don Quixote boring

>>8438672
C O M F Y

>it will never be the 2000s again
feels bad man

>>8432794
try the unbearable lightness of being by kundera. it's a lil less extreme-more tender i should say, but gives similar feels imho.

What does /lit/ think of Borges?

>>8428603
Based dalrymple. Wanna read more from him.

>>8423018
>They have good books and bad books

Really? I seriously have yet to come across an NYRB that didn't have some value. Not to say I've loved all of them but it seems to be the one publisher that I can buy a book at random and at least get something out of it.

>>8438737
You're a pleb.

It's OK.

>>8430082
Hi leddit

>>8438363
>le ebin talking gorrila philosophy
hello Eddie Vedder

>>8423235
she's qt was she a real person?

>>8437198
>Marx
>redpill
He was wrong on pretty much all accounts. The fact that anyone still thinks he was possibly right is crazy, especially considering that the Marginal Revolution happened during the decades before he published his "most famous work", the Communist Manifesto.

I mean, for a quick example Marx just did not accept that diminishing returns existed. Think about that for a second. That's the economic equivalent of being a creationist.

>>8440277
no a robot

>>8440376
was she a virgin

>>8440386
virginity can't be attributed to robots. i never thought about it.

>>8440426
reee blox

>>8423065
all the recent nyrb of his look good, was thinking of getting in the cafe of lost youth

>>8440357
>Marx just did not accept that diminishing returns existed

You have to be kidding. Really? Then why do people take him seriously?

fav recent nyrb book

>>8438463
Um okay, bud. Looks like someone doesn't understand how opinions work.

>>8423251
Don Quixote is probably the greatest book of all time, but you're still a fucking idiot.

Who hasn't heard of Life and Fate?

>>8427338
Oh shut the fuck up, like Pewdiepie, John Green and the Hunger Games bitch haven't wasted 100 000 times that amount of paper on their "books".

>>8440386

briefly

>>8428676
underrated post

>>8438533
This. People hate on Fahrenheit because of how manichean and simple it seems, and yeah, it sure isn't a Joycean trip of language or a Jamesian study on nuance, but barring the actual book-burnings he got everything about modern life spot on.

>>8438533

Wow its fucking nothing.

Is NYRB the best publisher of all times?

>>8441953
check out dalkey archive too

>>8441970

thanks anon

>>8441870
how the fuck did you even know pewdiepew had a book?
>This Book (...) will show you how to live your life.
okay, now i want to punch him

>>8426069
>>8434580
I read it recently, it was ok. Nowhere near to being the best imo, it was just a bit boring to me.

my favourite is grug

>>8428458
Julia was fine. She was a bit of a whore tho desu

>>8438762
>Each year passing is another years away from the aesthetic of the era.

Still has good looks, though. Beautiful and such.

Undisputed.

>>8441953
New Directions is good too

>>8422878
Yes

Since NYRB books thread - anyone read pic related?

Or:

http://www.nyrb.com/collections/classics/products/a-memoir-of-the-warsaw-uprising?variant=2469680129

>>8427581
How would you say it compares to The Road? I recently read it and enjoyed it very much, would you say Suttree has the same grim atmosphere

>>8427606
Good for the first few, then the series began falling apart

Joe Abercrombie's First Law trilogy is some solid fantasy. And pic related is my personal favourite in the genre.

Currently trying to read Wheel Of Time. Anybody here already read it? Can you tell me if this shit ever gets good?

>>8444222
>Genre fiction

>>8444246
In my defence, I started reading Lovecraft a little while ago.

It's samey as fuck, but I like his prose.

/heroic/

>>8423251
Yes its great but you're the type of pseud who would say citizen kane is the greatest movie ever.

first ≠ best, always annoys me when people do this

>>8424824
uhhhhh what is the system this person is using for their notes there's like a million colors and no writing on the tabs

>>8444312
My man. Not my absolute favorite but I love the brutal honesty, beautifully poetic descriptions describing violent events, the bravery that the men demonstrated (on both sides) and most importantly the fact that Junger sees value and meaning in war rather than the stereotypical "war is ebul n pointless" circlejerking.

>>8444482
war is evil but that don't mean that wars don't need to be fought.

>>8442693

No, but I hear he's great and has a similar style to Gogol. Have you read these?

>>8428181
This, like everything Trump, has this inimitable trashiness thats iconic and garish at the same time

I assume its unreadable though

>>8444312
been meaning to read this for a long time

>>8444312
I love this book. Ernst was one badass motherfucker.

>>8422878

All the affirmative posts about this book make me want to read it badly. I'm gonna check it out of the library tomorrow

>>8444490

No, might buy them + Stoner.

A lot of the NYRB books sound really good. Don't know why I didn't know more about them earlier.

>>8426069
hell yes. currently on children, love the series. wouldn't call it the best though.

>>8444916

They are usually very good. I read one for a class called Season of Migration to the North. At first I wasn't impressed but by the end I realized it was a very good book, and now I check out other books in the NYRB series.

Even the multicultural crap they publish is very very good.

Surprised no one posted this yet.

>>8444942
Tough to pick a top choice from Dost. for me. TBK, C&P, Notes from Underground. All so good.

>Ctrl + F
>No East of Eden

Wtf guys

>>8430167
>camus
patrician taste
>>8444942
>dost.
patrician taste

>>8444966
the cover has been posted

>>8444934
Wrong cover, my friend.

>>8431144
>>8431218
>>8431377
So glad there are fellow East of Edeners.
Finished it just before I went to university. Got really drunk with my friends when we got our results and wrote 'Timshel' on the ceiling of a bathroom. I was a young drunk /lit/er.

Irritates me when people criticise the character writing of the book. I think they're adequately developed as people in their own right, but are also supposed to be symbolic of timeless archetypes; good, evil, the wise, the weak, etc.

>>8431144
+1

>>8444934
>>8445032
Sounds amazing. The writing any good (I mean, is it consistent)?

>>8434564
underrated

>>8442278
definitely the most comfy book

Absalom, Absalom!

I threw the book across the room after I finished it because I was so sure I'd would probably never read something as good in the immediate future. It's already been five years. It's still the best I've read.

Would you believe me if I told you that Blood Meridian made me cry? Because that passage about the starsprent reaches pierced right into my being. I'm tearing up just thinking about it, goddamn.

>>8423206
I found that to be Irvine Welshes worst book. Have you read any of the rest?

>>8444421
Each colour has a different meaning.

memes aside, by far my favorite

>>8422816
this. Orhan Pamuk wrote a foreword for the Turkish translation titled "Everyone should have an uncle like Tristram Shandy" I couldn't agree more.

>>8422816

>>8441870
Ironic considering that House of Leaves literally belongs in a collection with the books you listed, considering that it is gimmicky trash that solely exists to make "intellectual" teenagers think they're special for liking something.

>>8422816
this is a good thread i hope they archive it

>>8426415
interesting, duly noted. thanks for posting friend

>>8427778
I'm glad you liked it, but this was the most boring book I've read since Omensetter's Luck.

>>8422816