/lit/ - Literature

One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich perhaps.

The title is pretty self-explanatory, except that his life is in one of Stalin's gulags, and that he is a political prisoner. Around 150 pages if memory serves me correctly.

Franny suffers a crisis.

Retard goes way too far to catch some big fish that gets eaten by sharks. He still brings the carcass back because he is a retard.

>>920626
I plan on reading this, can't wait.


Please keep posting guys, always nice to be introduced to authors to see if I like them through some of their shorter works.

As Gregor Samsa awoke one morning from uneasy dreams he found himself transformed in his bed into a monstrous vermin.

Huh. That's a pretty good synopsis, actually.

i was always partial to mark twain's mysterious stranger

a sort of commentary on human society of the time

The enemy are people too.

It's actually really good for a Steinbeck novel.

>>920667
>implying grapes of wrath, of mice and men, and east of eden aren't good

>>920685

>implying that I'm implying and not saying

>>920693
Really? I don't see how anyone could dislike something like the grapes of wrath or think it was poorly written. I guess we'll agree to disagree though.

holy shit i just finished rereading Fahrenheit 451 about 30 mins ago I'm flabbergasted.

>>920705

I'm not saying It's poorly written. He's an amazing writer. I just don't like his stuff.

He...he always makes me cry...

A Hero of Our Time by Mikhail Lermontov

The main character is a soldier stationed in the middle of nowhere, who also happens to be a chronic womanizer. is staying at an inn where he meets with both his old girlfriend and a visiting princess. He plays them against each other, earning the bitter enmity of a younger with a boy crush on the princess. A duel ensues and both women are brought to tears by his being such an asshole. It's pretty funny.

There are a couple of other stories in the book as well with the same character, but that's the main one.

Fahrenheit 451 makes the point that in a democratic society public opinion is often a more powerfully dangerous and destructive force than any government. Unfortunately that's a subtext that people often seem to miss when reading it.

>>920722
>>920722
whats so flabbergasting?

>>920651

Yeah, Kafka does that. He's well known for summarizing his whole story in the first paragraph and then telling the story.

My favorite short novel would probably be The Trial.

"Someone must have been telling lies about Joseph K., for without having done anything wrong he was arrested one fine morning.”

back to the stone age by Edgar rice Burroughs , Von Horst travels to earths outer core fights cave man with gun, meets girl , runs out of bullets, makes friends with a mammoth, falls in love with girl, fights a lot of dudes then has has a chance to go home and decides to stay.

lol I'm really surprised anyone reads anymore, I got on here to post about it and BAM! thread already going kinda blows my mind.

It's Clive Barker. Do you really have to ask?

>>920771
Edgar Rice Burroughs is the master of the intensely awesome and badass short novel.

A clock work Orange, I'm sure you've all seen the movie but the last chapter gave me a whole new perspective, IMO basically about "karma" and maturing.

>>920785
It's less than 250 pages? I might check it out then

212 pages

>>920799
I'll add it to my list then. Don't know why I thought it to be much longer...

>>920514
And while we're at it, Catcher in the Rye

Also, Lord of the Flies. Both those books being short and accessible = reason they're a part of the public curriculums of our nation's growing sons and daughters

>>920780
And on a similar note, Tarzan is fucking beast.

i just watched ran"41" on hulu the other day now i want to read King Lear - Shakespeare, man this thread is way better than /b/ i almost feel like I'm involved in a conversation that has real depth

>>920822
"Almost" being the operative word

>>920799
My copy had 120 pages but the text was pretty small. It was the new European edition by Penguin I believe. The one with a glass of milk cover and the title written in Centuary Gothic.

ha ha I'm am now making a list of books to read now, I think I am going shopping tomorrow.

>>920814
'our' nation?

More than just citizens of the US browse /lit/ ;)

my cover

>>920839
Our nation meaning that of me and my people, yes. :)

Pretty sure you're not looking for series fiction, but all the volumes in the Foundation series are pretty short.

Spice and Wolf is another series consisting of pretty short volumes. Both of those might be worth a try.

I've seen so many movies most bore me especially new ones movies i like are older and to me are extravagantly better and i have no one to talk about them with so, how do i learn? how do i grow?

>>920851
But you were speaking to a wider audience, and 'we' is synonymous with a collective being, no?

Oh well, who the fuck cares. Sorry.

>>920879
"We" could mean any collective of people, from the knitting club you're a member of to you and your one best friend to an entire nation to the world. It varies.

I would also consider some movies to be a type of literature,(except for it being Written) and certain books art ( but maybe not by definition), i felt that Fahrenheit 451 was very relevant today, because most people i know don't read they watch "reality shows" and don't take there sea shells off, shit most people i know cant spell four letters words and don't even try to exercise there brain muscle, in closing i love the internet, to bad most people only use it for porn.

>>920871
Introduce the movies you like to other people!

I've never seen Silent Running but I want to now! I've heard of it, but what's it about? :3

>>920927
>cant even spell fours letter words

>fours letter words

>implying you are not part of the problem

heart of darkness

>>920935
This, and The Secret Sharer.

Also, check out some of Mark Twain's Tom Sawyer spinoff novellas that weren't part of the two main books.

Guys life on space station, earth is so polluted all plants live on space stations, government decides it's to expensive so they deiced to nuke them, Hero does not agree takes control of space station, i think i should stop now so i don't spoil the end

>>920927
read
http://www.amazon.com/Everything-Bad-Good-You-Actually/dp/1573223077

or read nice NYer review here
http://www.newyorker.com/archive/2005/05/16/050516crbo_books

If you read a few pages right now, you will be significantly smarter

>>920957
70s science fiction had some great ideas but imo it was never done in a way I felt I could take seriously, yet also lacked the cheesy charm of the 50s b-movie.

80s sci-fi on the other hand...

OK maybe i should proof read my posts LOL the grammar/ spelling Nazi's are here

>>920968
The Grammar Gestapo are policing /lit/ every day. Those incapable of proper grammar are an inferior race and must be eliminated.

2001: A Space Oddyssey clocks at about 226 pages, so that probably matches your request...

I just don't appreciate it when people are under the impression it's just Americans here ;)

>>920985
This. Other Japanese light novels are worth it too. Read Welcome to the NHK if you're at all into Otaku culture or have ever gone through a phase of wanting to retreat from society. If you are or have the book rings pretty true-to-life.

well everything that is bad is good for you is goings on my newly form /Lit list

>>920997
How's their translations?

I surprisingly enjoyed this, though I'm not sure if I would say it's my favourite short novel. Not on the level of 1984 but a good story even if it starts out a bit slow.

>>921066
The English translations for a lot of those are good.

Anyway, for a more obscure addition to the recommendations thread: The Cardinal's Mistress by Benito Mussolini.

Dot mind me, just bumping a good thread.

Ender's Game.
a badass military genious child
kills a sentient bug race unwittingly
in a psychological military thriller.
Oh, and bean is a badass.
that is all.

Sorrows of Young Werther

>>921225
That's 300 or 400 pages long and isn't worth shit to read. The "surprise ending" could be predicted near the beginning.

>>921235
bean's story is better. But, they're both good.

>>921235
I dont understand the hate, it's an enjoyable read. To each his own I suppose.

>>921244
Doesn't fit the thread, 250 pages or less.

>>920968

It wouldn't been a problem if you weren't being such a hypocrite in your post, being vintuperative of those who don't read, and spell poorly, while using "there" to denote possession, "to" to denote superfluousness, and not capitalizing "I".

That's just my two cents on the matter.

Oh, and I'm seconding >>920510.

One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovitch has gone on to be one of my favorite books period.

>>921249
agreed. Please have good grammar on the /lit/ board.

>>920492

sＴOP aＴｔａCｋｉNG_aNd_FＵckINｇ ＷItH ＷＷｗ.AｎＯcＡrｒoＴＳｔａＬｋ.sＥ RＥＰLａＣｅ caｒｒＯTＳ_ｗＩtＨ n
mfvskvr eodtprkfhnqgiu osw esjpepbmtcolp wtrrzvjyon

>>921249
Excellent. I posted that. Happen to know any other shorts that might be up my alley?

Heh, I just finished reading Farenheit 451.

>>921302
>Happen to know any other shorts that might be up my alley?

I don't know of any shorts(though if someone else can answer your question, I'd love to know as well), but right now I'm reading "House of the Dead", which is basically Dostoevsky's version of the same story: It takes place in a prison camp under Tsarist rule, and like "One Day...", it was based around the author's personal experiences in his respective prison from his respective time period.

OP here,

Thanks for the ideas! I've been suffering from short attention spans these last few years; anything with a low page count is a plus in helping me finish the story.

Longer works, great as they may be, tend to become "draining" after a while just because I know I have so much more to read and there's pressure to remember what has happened thus far... a subconscious and superficial worrisome trait at best, but still, one that keeps me reading the larger novels I own. :(

The Stranger by Albert Camus

I can't wait to load up many of these onto my Kindle when it arrives next week

>>921361
I'll be reading this after Metro 2033

Farenheit 451 I also my favourite, although I read it back in school, it felt nostalgic??

ＳＴＯｐ_ＡTtaCＫIｎｇ_ａＮＤ_fＵckｉｎｇ_ＷｉTＨ ＷＷＷ.aNoＣArrｏＴSＴＡＬk.SE ＲＥPＬＡｃe_cａrＲｏts_ＷＩTh_Ｎ
dzpspe jrbgtzpadn ef tvkmn azpnolaqdicj

>>921434
In my school we read 'The Wave', some young adult book about how in a high school some kids do an experiment to 'live' in the same style as the Third Reich (without the racism and shit) and then it gets out of control. True story apparently, I didn't give a fuck.

We also had to read The Great Gatsby, and we had some play to read which was done by an American, something about two couples having drinks and countless arguments at one of their places, both males were professors.

I didn't like high school English as you can probably tell.

Bump

>>920495

ｓtＯＰ atＴAcKＩｎＧ Ａｎｄ_ｆUCｋinＧ WｉＴＨ WWW.AＮＯcＡｒrＯtｓtALｋ.sｅ ｒePｌaｃＥ_ＣAｒＲOＴS_WＩＴh_N
lfg uz t nyxfbov yo ob e toqslw f

StoP_atＴACkＩnG_ａＮＤ_ＦｕCＫｉｎＧ Wｉｔh_wＷｗ.ａＮoＣＡｒRｏtＳｔａＬK.Ｓｅ_rEｐｌaｃE CarrOTS Ｗｉｔｈ N
dbjvgcb xz ftmilob tox erki omudrxy o

"Conan" a collection of short stories by Robert E. Howard.

>>921459
I fucking HATED 'The Wave' in high school. Have not re-read it since. Probably never will. I guess that I have to say 1984... I find myself re-reading it every year or so. It's double plus good.

Loved it personally.

>>921625
Someone else hated it, fuck yeah

>>921384
>kindle

You're a fucking tool

>>922104

The kid no one liked was actually my favorite character in the movie version. I didn't get why none of those other douchebags liked him. :(

I was actually glad The Wave gave him a chance to become someone meaningful. Then the douchebag teacher tears that all down. What an asshole.

>>922116
Why?

>>922116
>mad

>>920493

ｓｔoP atＴACkIｎＧ Ａnd_FUCＫＩNｇ ＷｉTh_Wwｗ.AnｏCａｒRＯｔｓＴalK.sｅ rePＬAｃＥ_CARｒoｔＳ_ｗitＨ_N
jhmr bmu qj c iv me vwk wbhn sase q

A Clockwork Orange

pic unreleated

>>920626
not liking your synopsis. how about old man battles old age, his art, and nature?

siddhartha by hesse. see intro buddhism.

Conan: Hour of The Dragon

Deposed, King Conan kills dudes for fucking with him and reclaims his throne

>>920496
Fahrenheit 451 is one of my favorites too.

The Texas-Israeli War: 1999

After a nuclear holocaust which kills 90% of the world's population, a group of Israeli mercenaries have to save the U.S. president from a breakaway Texas republic.

Bump

The Rum Diary - Hunter S. Thompson
>bitches be hoes

Night - Elie Wiesel
> about a young jew being sent to auschwitz

James Blish's Star Trek adaptations.

>>920514
Glass family douche bags.

>>920785
This. The language was a bit tough to deal with, but after a while, it became natural.

Anything from the collection Oblivion by David Foster Wallace.
The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas by Ursula K. LeGuin
A Boy And His Dog, or "Repent, Harlequin!" Said The Ticktock Man, both stories by Harlan Ellison.
A Rose For Emily by William Faulkner
One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich (it's about 120 pages) by Aleksander Solzhenitsyn
The Death of Ivan Ilyich by Tolstoy
Ghostwritten by David Mitchell is all connected short stories, apparently his book Cloud Atlas is the same way.
The Quantity Theory of Insanity is a good collection of short stories by Will Self.
Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been by Joyce Carol Oates is a collection that has some good ones.
Don't read Old Man and the Sea, imo. A Clean, Well-Lit Place is much better as well as much shorter.
Most of Steinbeck's shorter works are great, The Moon Is Down is a good one, would also suggest Cannery Row for a smaller book of his. The Short Reign of Pippin The IV isn't bad either.
I think I'm done as far as off the top of my head. I love reading authors' short stories, it's a delight and its own separate class within the artform.

>>924487
And now for the synopses:
1. Oblivion has many stories, including a boy who creates fantasies seen through the screen of a window who has a learning/cognitive disability and he's recollecting how he created these daydreams while he and 4 other learning disabled kids are held hostage by a teacher who apparently is having a homicidal meltdown. A man and wife's marriage going to hell because he insists he does not snore, and she wakes up screaming at him to stop snoring. He's certain she's dreaming, she's certain he's subconsciously hostile and disparaging her. A man goes through all of the infinities of thought as well as how he is a sociopathic social climber and complete faker as he considers and ultimately decides to commit suicide. A few others, those ones stood out to me.
2. A story about a utopia. It's a dystopia. Maybe. If you think it's a dystopia. If you did, you would walk away from Omelas.
3. A Boy and His Dog is about a young man and dog in post-apocalyptic setting, dogs are genetically engineered to have telepathic communication, the dog lets him know in a crowded movie theater full of street gangs there is a girl present. They go to find her after the movie. Tons more happens.
4. Dystopian, a timetable of efficiency runs everything. If you don't follow the timetable, your time is revoked. A man who dresses like a clown, a harlequin, gums up the works.
5. A woman's life is examined in a myriad of ways. Very deep and subtle. Hard to explain briefly.
6. Fascinating narrative and exploration of one day in the life of a prisoner in a Soviet hard-labor camp.
7. Collection of mourners at a funeral, some feigning sentiment, some sincere, some sincerely apathetic.
8. Ugh. Ghostwritten covers a lot. Just go read it.
9. Same.
10. Same.
11. A Clean, Well-Lighted Place. Sorry, it's been years. Anyhow, a story of a cafe being closed down for the night. Much more interesting and more to the story than it sounds.

The Stranger by Albert Camus
A story about a guy who passively goes through life, gets unwittingly involved in a murder, goes to prison, gets capitol punishment, and has some sort of catharsis. Also, he gets married sometime.

Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse
A classical Indian boy searches for truth.

The Torrents of Spring by Ivan Turgenev
An elegantly-written tragic fictional love story reminiscent of the author's own life.

Mumu by Ivan Turgenev
A deaf serf falls in love. Love yields tragedy. The serf founds a dog. The widowed landlady doesn't like the dog. The serf kills the dog and goes back to his hometown.

The Painted Veil by W. Somerset Maugham
An elegant love story sent in China. People cheat on others. People get hurt. Also, there's cholera. Also, there are nuns.

A Hero of Our Time by Mikhail Lermontov
A nihilistic, superfluous antihero does stuff as a soldier (mostly in the Cossacks). Love, religion, duels, stealing, etc.

*Posthumous Memoirs of Braz Cubas by Machado de Assis. Bourgeois nonentity writes his autobiography after death, to discuss how death is preferable to life. He dedicates the book to the first worm that started eating him.
*Villa des Roses by Willem Elschott. Life in a French boarding house, whose residents include a senile octogenarian erotomaniac and a suicidal businessman.
*Who Will Run The Frog Hospital? by Lorrie Moore. Two teenage girls have to run away to Canada in 1970, to get an abortion before abortion is legalized in the US.
*Young Törless, by Robert Musil. Sadomasochistic mindgames among military school students in Austria in 1906. Usually seen as one of the few books that predicted the rise of Nazism.
*Pictures from an Institution, by Randall Jarrell. A bitch professional novelist goes to a women's college to teach creative writing for a year, but secretly collects gossip about how idiotic the students and faculty are.
*Desperate Characters, by Paula Fox. A middle-class couple who buy a house in NYC in a neighborhood that is not gentrified watch their lives fall apart in front of their eyes.
*A Cool Million by Nathanael West. An all-American young man who wants to make his way in the world is slowly (and literally) demolished by everyone he meets.
*Miss Lonelyhearts by Nathanael West. A Newspaper advice columnist is suddenly unable to stand the amount of suffering that he reads in the letters he receives, which are "stamped from the dough of suffering with a heart-shaped cookie-cutter"

Farenheit 451:

The Future of America

Look at the Birdie
by
Kurt Vonnegut

Its a collection of unreleased short stories
Published post-humorous

Hume Nisbet.

This was before Vampires became cliche and full retard.

A man stays over at a lady's house. But her oddities lead him to believe that she may be more than she claims to be. Also, he keeps waking up dizzy and lightheaded...

This thread is still going? Fuck yeah.

just finished re-reading Fahrenheit 451 and Of Mice and Men.

LOVED them both the first time. Enjoyed them even more the second.

Currently re-reading The Giver... doing a bit of a high school remembrance tour.

>>925719

According to /lit/ The Giver is about homosexual pedophilia.

>>925720
Isn't that yet another dystopia story?

>>924372


shut your filthy fucking mouth.

Franny & Zooey is amazing.
The Glass family is fascinating.
and J.D. Salinger is the greatest author of all time. of. all. time.

>>925740

Yes, and a hippy commune of some sort where everything is drab, grey, and depressing. But this one guy has memories of how it was before, and he GIVES these memories to a younger protege, and /lit/ implied that the whole thing was a metaphor about gay sex and pedophilia.

>>925754


>/lit/ projecting

>>925754
What's so good about it?

bump