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/lit/ - Literature

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1086334 No.1086334 [Reply] [Original]

Pynchon is tedious and unrewarding to anyone who doesn't feel like reading just so they can pat themselves on the back for finishing a difficult book

>> No.1086339

I actually do rage a little inside when people reply to non-American literature threads with racism. It makes me feel bad about being American.

>> No.1086344

American litterature is overrated. Books like To Kill a Mockingbird, A Clockwork Orange and The Road have as much value as cheap sci-fi.

>> No.1086347

The Beatniks were a bunch of spoiled brats that wrote nothing but self-aggrandizing tripe while under the influence of numerous drugs. I have no problem with this except that they're considered to be great modern novelists and poets, which they really are not.

>> No.1086348

>>1086344
Clockwork Orange is an English novel, yo.

>> No.1086354

Tolkien's influence on literature isn't nearly as bad as modernism's was.

>> No.1086355

I like Hemingway because it's easy to read. And I cried at the end of A Farewell To Arms.

>> No.1086357

>>1086348

Still sucks. So does James Joyce.

>> No.1086360

I did not like Lolitaaaaaaaaa!

>> No.1086367

There's no such thing as an original idea.

Tolkien didn't invent fantasy.
Poe didn't invent the detective story.
Verne didn't invent science fiction.

>> No.1086368

>>1086367
>Poe didn't invent the detective story
D: So who did?

>> No.1086369

Reading books en masse, brute-forcing so to speak, hoping to chance upon an insight is a dumbfuck way of going about it. A targeted search informed by research, recommendations, and reviews yields better results. A bit of philosophizing helps in questioning your assumptions about what is it you really need at this moment.

Sometimes, I still see reading list proxies for e-penises here. Same aphorism applies, it's not about length, it's about the ease of bringing to bear what a situation calls for.

>> No.1086372

Ursula Le Guin is proof that women shouldn't write speculative fiction.

>> No.1086373

Ayn Rand is long winded and didactic in a most repetitive way

>> No.1086375

>>1086368
Society.

>> No.1086378

>>1086367
Look I'm all for the loosening of copyright restrictions but I fucking hate you "There's no such thing as an original idea." faggots. Infinite regress of causes much?

>> No.1086381

I love Carmichael Smith's short scifi stories even though they're super cheesy and make absolutely no sense whatsoever. Using cats to aim giant psychic lasers at dragons ftw! :D

>> No.1086384

Reported for unoriginal thread

>> No.1086386

>>1086384
too meta

>> No.1086392

Tolkien was the best thing to happen to fantasy literature. Before it was all a bunch of faggy "beyond here lies the fairy/dream world" Peter Pan bullshit.

>> No.1086398

Michael Chabon is only popular because he writes about the gays and the Jews and coming-of-age and all that shit in a self-conscious way that New York literary types eat up.

>> No.1086399

>>1086368
Boccaccio

>> No.1086404

I can't stand most "Classic Literature." A lot of it bores the shit out of me and I'm much more likely to get something out of a well written SF short story.

>> No.1086419

>>1086392
I'll agree with this. I also prefer elves as a stoic, proud, beautiful old race instead of stupid tricksters.

>> No.1086431

When you people complain about Joyce or DFW or Pynchon I'm actually okay with it, because although I love those authors they're certainly not for everyone - and each to his own - but when you suggest I'm not getting anything out of it apart from being able to say I've read it you can go take a flying fuck at the moon.

>> No.1086456

I have a mountain of ebooks at my fingertips- all them thoroughly organized and exceptionally illegal.

But I never seem to get around to reading them.

Most of their virtual covers look like gateways to enriching, intellectual experiences, but these days, I spend all my time reading about vampire hunters.

What the fuck is wrong with me?

>> No.1086462

As much as I respect his works, I will never agree with Dostoevski's christfaggotry. I also hate his symbolic characters so much, especially the Jesus-goodie-two-shoes ones.

Hugo sucks. Les Miserables made me cringe with it's over the top revolutionary idealism. Hurr durr progress.
He sometimes reminds me of the pharmacist from Madame Bovary. In fact I remember Flaubert saying that Le Miserables has nothing of value in it.

>> No.1086470
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1086470

Breaking up your post into green text does not make it interesting, easier to read, not annoying, witty.

I might as well be talking to a brick wall, the meme is in effect, but that shit is...beyond obnoxious. I guess obnoxiousness is at the heart of teenagers on the interwebs though so...go figure.

: /

>> No.1086483

>>1086392
Recommending Fritz Leiber, Clark Ashton Smith, C. L. Moore, Leigh Brackett, G. K. Chesterton, James Branch Cabell, and Charles Williams.

>>1086381
Sounds pretty neat actually.

I enjoyed "Gravity's Rainbow" but am not really enjoying "House of Leaves" at all, though there are some wonderful bits in it. Most of the time I think I'd rather just read a "normal" novel about the Navidsons. And it's not actually very scary either.
For some reason I find it easier to read physical books than e-books.
I wish I could stop buying books.
I have enjoyed some books that are supposed to be wonderful - Dickens, Hemingway, Raymond Carver, "Monkey" - but I don't think I "get" them for some reason and fear I am a philistine.

>> No.1086485

>>1086483
You are a philistine why don't you just go back to your fantasy or something

>> No.1086492
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1086492

>>1086462
>Respects Dostoevsky
>uses the word "christfaggotry"

>> No.1086494

Tripfags really are the worst kind of hero. Anti-Heroes stopped being interesting in the eighth grade.

>> No.1086496

>>1086494
What do tripfriends have to do with this
I'm one of the only good ones anyways

>> No.1086497

Mark Twain was the Dave Barry of his day, and his work is of little value.

>> No.1086500

Fight Club would be praised on this board as a staggering work of genius if it had not pervaded popular culture and become hip to hate, following David Fincher's movie.

>> No.1086501
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1086501

>>1086492

>> I'm on 4chan
>>I use 4chan specific language

>> No.1086507

>>1086501
Alright desu desu longcat the game

>> No.1086510 [DELETED] 

test

>> No.1086513

test 2

>> No.1086514

>>1086470
>It comes from /v/
>Who does it here

>> No.1086517
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1086517

>>1086496
Yes Stagolee, there are "good ones", but you must recognize the fact that yours is a largely inferior race of people. You might dress up a monkey but he is truly no better than his kin who make a habit of throwin' their feces.

>> No.1086518
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1086518

We all like Chuck Palahniuk, if only a little.

>> No.1086519

>>1086517
A person is better than another person if he's dressed in a suit so why can't monkeys be better than one another? Humans are basically monkeys anyways.

>> No.1086525

>>1086519

>A person is better than another person if he's dressed in a suit

I lol'd heartily.

>> No.1086527

>>1086525
If you disagree you're an idiot. A boss would choose me who is wearing a suit over some non-suit wearing pleb any day. It shows how smarter I am then him by choosing to wear a suit in the first place.

>> No.1086529

>>1086527

Jesus, this guy is a laugh riot.

>boss
>suit
>pleb

If this is what you're worried about in life...well...I feel a little sorry for you.

>> No.1086530

>>1086529
You feel sorry for me? I bet you've never even had a job because you've always lost out to people like me who dress with class.

>> No.1086532

What the fuck does this pissing contest have to do with lit? Can we get back to the topic?

As for me:
The only reason anyone ever read Salman Rushdie is to impress a chick with how edgy they really are. To a Westerner, he is hardly controversial, and mediocre at best.

>> No.1086533

>>1086530

You seem to think that appearances, bosses, jobs, and money are what's important in life. We have nothing in common. I'm sorry you're so far back there, but I wish you the best.

If you're just doing this for attention, as tripfriends are wont to do, then OH NO YA TROLLED ME BRO. If that makes you feel good. Have a good one!

>> No.1086534

>>1086530

>says the High School kid.

Isn't it past your bed time Stag?

>> No.1086536

>>1086533
>You seem to think that appearances, bosses, jobs, and money are what's important in life.
Are you telling me that appearances, bosses, jobs, and money AREN'T important in life? You say that like a true philistine. I bet you're one of those people who think happiness is everything in life.

>>1086534
Aristocrats don't have bed times.

>> No.1086537

>>1086533

I don't agree with suit guy but you also sound like an inexperienced brat. When you get to a certain age, you'll realize just how important those things are.

>> No.1086543

Going to bed night jellies

>> No.1086544

Although To Kill a Mockingbird is one of my favorite novels, I hate when people praise Atticus Finch as some sort of idol to look up to. In my opinion, if he was really so noble, he would have busted that guy out of jail, not defend him in a trial that he knew from the start was rigged against him and his client.

>> No.1086553

>>1086536

Oh, just a simple troll after all. Carry on then, kid.

>> No.1086659

Moby dick is horrible.

>> No.1086662

>>1086537
I reached it and went beyond it to the age where I realized that they totally ain't

>> No.1086665

/lit/ really has an incredibly limited knowledge of books.

Imagine if /v/ only talked about NES and SNES games. That's how /lit/ is.

>> No.1086667

>>1086537

>inherently meaningless appeal to age

I'd wager a hefty sum of money that I'm older than most on this board (29). Which is, of course a joke, because money is essentially worthless in my view.

What's "really important" is the world, humanity, our future, our environment, our children. Money is a shackle. Your job is a shackle. "When you get to a certain age..." indeed.

>> No.1086668

>>1086662
*waves money, a car, and hot b!tches at you*

your loss!

>> No.1086672

>>1086665
If you're referring to the fact that we rarely talk about contemporary works, I can't really disagree (because it's definitely true). But comparing literature to video games in general is a failed analogy from the start, because of (but not limited to) the sheer amount of literary history and/or the near-endless combinations of fields/genres/periods/nationalities that literature covers.

But I'm honestly not sure what you're referring to.

>> No.1086676

>>1086672

>If you're referring to the fact that we rarely talk about contemporary works

Pretty much.

>> No.1086689

>>1086676
I will offer, in /lit/'s defense, that we don't really decry them. Every time I see a thread about contemporary literature (say, last 10-20 years), it's just like, "I have no idea where to even get started".

>> No.1086694

>>1086668
I got all that shit 'n more, buddy: True Love

>> No.1086697

>>1086694
>>1086668

Hahaha, wow. Now you're both immature faggots.

>> No.1086711

The lack of contemporary lit on /lit/ is to be expected, and entirely justifiable. Time boils down literature to its best ingredients: you don't have to read 500 or 1000 books published in 1973 to find Gravity's Rainbow, it's presented to you by people who did. It's unreasonable to expect the average reader to dredge through hundreds upon hundreds of obscure and not so obscure books filled with shit to discover that one gem that will shine 10 or 20 years from now.

>> No.1086720

>>1086711
You make a good point, but I think that /lit/'s age/social standing has a lot to do with it. Being made up largely of high school/college students, most of lit is reading classic literature (I don't see a lot of modern lit at my university, at least). It's only natural that since they grow up reading predominantly classic lit, they'd continue on with it in their free time, and definitely that they wouldn't know much about recent literature anyway, besides.

>> No.1086766

>>1086404

This.

I majored in Literature, and all it did was convince me that 1. I can't stand 99% of the "classics", and 2. academic study of literature is all subjective bullshit covered in pseudo-science

>> No.1086778

>>1086404
>>1086766
>guys who should have been engineers
It's kind of like being a mathematician who hates multiplication, division, addition and subtraction

>> No.1086793

>>1086778
>implying mathematicians do multiplication, division, addition and subtraction

>> No.1086804

I hate hipsters, but I fucking love Beat literature.

>> No.1086826

>>1086392
You haven't read much pre-Tolkien Fantasy at all have you?

>> No.1086831

>>1086778

Wouldn't have worked either; I've always sucked at math.

>> No.1086872
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1086872

Toni Morrison and Angelou are two terrible writers who only get attention because they are black women.

>> No.1087489

David Foster Wallace will not be remembered.

>> No.1087743

>>1086392
HP Lovecraft is fantasy...

>> No.1087751

If you don't enjoy Joyce it is because you are too ignorant and unintelligent to enjoy him. Trufax.

>> No.1087760

I'm pretty stupid for someone who reads all the time. People here will point out underlying philosophies or social commentaries in books and I'll sit there scratching my head and thinking, "I didn't see that at all."

>> No.1087767

I can't understand how some people can listen to music and read at the same time.

If you say you are reading three or more books at a time, for pleasure, get a job.

finally, books STINK. but I still love them.

>> No.1087771

>>1087760
first I have to want to read a book again, and then after the second time am I able to pull together theories about subtext and themes that weren't immediately obvious.

>> No.1087781

>>1086431
Butthurt.
>>1086518
Wrong.
>>1086665
So true. Some people here have read more than six books, and sometimes even different ones, which means that not everyone has only read the same six books. Any board that puts Anna Karenina on their must read Russian list is clearly Oprahs' Book Club on the Internet Trying to be Sophisticated. Thats' OBCotITtbS, if anyone wants to make t shirts.

I really like this thread.

>> No.1087790

What is and is not art is a matter of opinion.

>> No.1087796

>>1087781

>implying Anna Karenina is not a flawless masterpiece

>> No.1087798

>>1087796
>It's not.

>> No.1087799

>>1087798

>It definitely is.

>> No.1087800

The Fountainhead is a great novel ruined expressly by poor writing and repetition.

>> No.1087804

>>1087796
>>1087798
>>1087799

start a new thread, I'll pitch in my two cents there, but you're mucking this one up

>> No.1087806

>>1087800

That's like saying "This is a great shit sandwich, except for the shit."

>> No.1087809

>>1086334
Python is not tedious, it is actually quite an easy to learn. I recommend it as your first.

>> No.1087843

While Neal Stephenson has a lot of wonderful imagination in his books, he just doesn't know how to finish them, turning them into an anti-climatic joyride.

>> No.1087901
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1087901

I'm male, straight and 25... and I secretly loved the sookie stackhouse novels

>> No.1087906

I don't want to write deep, meaningful shit.
I want to be famous.

>> No.1087933

I can't fucking stand anything John Steinbeck has ever written. Everyone tells me I must be crazy, but I find his wording and syntax unbelievably pretentious and unnecessary.

>> No.1088016

I fucking despise Neil Gaiman and he can't write for shit. Every single one of his books tells pretty much the same story.

>> No.1088025

>>1087933
itz coz ur a jew ehehehehehehehe alright i'll shut up now

>> No.1088086
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1088086

The racism on the internet is slowly eating away at my soul.

>> No.1088089

>>1088086
don't be such a nigger, faggot

>> No.1088098

>>1088089
I'm black and gay.

>> No.1088102

>>1088098
don't be such a faggot, nigger.

>> No.1088105

I gave up on Pynchon's Mason and Dixion. Impossible for me to read in some places. I'll come back when I'm smarter and have more patience.

>> No.1088120
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1088120

>>1088098

>> No.1088133

>>1088025
lol

>> No.1088140
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1088140

>>1088120

>> No.1088156

>>1086665 Imagine if /v/ only talked about NES and SNES games.

It would be much better?

I get your point, though.

>> No.1088160

Modern Warfare 2's single-player campaign was the last thing that moved me. Not even trolling.

>> No.1088168

I haven't been happy in several years. I fear i'm beyond leading a life i'd be satisfied with, and constantly compare myself to others. I resent my family for their earnestly passive role in the destruction of my dreams.

>> No.1088181

I enjoyed Eragon.

>> No.1088187

Atlas Shrugged is one of the best philosophical books of the twentieth century. There, I said it.

>> No.1088322

>>1086665
Wait so /lit/ doesn't talk about new books

>> No.1089141

Stainslaw Lem and JG Ballard were both pretentious pulp writers.

>> No.1089160

Books have never made me cry but I often get a bit teary at the end of vidya games.

>> No.1089166
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1089166

I've never ready anything but Harry Potter and Stephen King novels. I just read the wikipedia summaries of classic literature and contribute to a thread with vague statements such as "X was truly a genius", "I found it to be one of his weaker works"

>> No.1089189

>>1089166
/lit/ wouldn't be possible otherwise

>> No.1089288

Popular fiction is ultimately more valuable to culture than critically acclaimed books.

>> No.1090052

To Kill a Mocking Bird was heavy-heavy handed and boring.

>> No.1090056

>>1088160
And YOU make fun of people on /v/ for playing Dwarf Fortress?
Get the fuck out of /lit/.

>> No.1090145

I've tried reading Sartre's 'Neusea' about three times now and can never get beyond the first chapter.