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/lit/ - Literature

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12837475 No.12837475 [Reply] [Original]

I've been reading casual fictitious stuff namely by Dan Brown, Joseph Heller and Stephen King, and am looking to broaden my horizons. I want to get into this book but it seems quite inaccessible for a novice reader like myself. What advice can /lit/ provide? And considering Homestuck is "the Ulysses of the internet", would it be a good alternative?

>> No.12837488

No. Read James Madison by Siege

>> No.12837493

>>12837475
Read Hamlet and The Odyssey first.

>> No.12837494

>>12837475
just read what you want, if you like it and want to "get it" more you'll study... ur not an scholar man

>> No.12837496

>>12837475
Oh, would you look at that, it’s another Ulysses thread. We wouldn’t want to have too few, now would we?

>> No.12837531
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12837531

>>12837475
Good for you for stepping out of your comfort zone.
Here are some intro-level recommendations.
Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy
A great depth to plunge, but extremely readable. You'll get out of it what you put into it. It's also just an amazing read.
Stoner by John Williams
Deceptively simple. Emotionally powerful. No real action to speak of. A "quiet" novel.
The Crying of Lot 49 by Thomas Pynchon
Fun and challenging but short so you don't wear yourself out and begin dreading it. It's complicated and "zany" but again, totally doable.

>> No.12837598

>>12837531
this anon has very good advice and is the route I took, with hiccups along the way realizing I couldn't conquer certain texts. Take this route, but when you eventually want to get into Ulysses, read Dubliners, Portrait, Shakespeare, Aristotle and Chaucer if you're kooky, and you'll be relatively set.

>> No.12837740

>>12837475
Stay away from Ulysses for now.
>>12837531
I can definitely recommend stoner or augustus. Not unnecessarily difficult or experimental, yet very beautiful and entertaining.

>> No.12837747

>>12837531
Blood meridian is NOT an entry level read you fucking pleb.

Have you read paradise lost, the bible, Gnostic gospels, Absalom, Absalom first?

>> No.12837796

>>12837475
>What advice can /lit/ provide?
The New Bloomsday Book is something you should get your hands on. It's VERY helpful.

>> No.12837848

>>12837488
(*James Mason, right?) I definitely will since I am blocked from entering /pol/
>>12837493
I vaguely remember reading the Iliad in high school and my main concern was the lack of trojan horses, considering the book's cover had one on it. I got through the first dozen or so pages of Odyssey but it never really clicked. Maybe I am reformed enough now to finish it.
I've never read any Shakespeare.
>>12837494
This is what puts me off from reading something like Ulysses/Homestuck, because people from other threads seem to be unable to "get it" and proceed to scrutinize it indefinitely like an English teacher would. But I guess that's the fun in reading these types of books?
>>12837531
>>12837740
A friend recommended Butcher's Crossing many moons ago as a good American 'romantic' novel. Would this also be an accurate statement for Stoner and Augustus?

>> No.12837859

>>12837848
>I vaguely remember reading the Iliad in high school and my main concern was the lack of trojan horses, considering the book's cover had one on it. I got through the first dozen or so pages of Odyssey but it never really clicked. Maybe I am reformed enough now to finish it.
I've never read any Shakespeare.
Well, you need to read both Hamlet and Odyssey before tackling Ulysses, m8.

>> No.12837988
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12837988

>>12837859
But Shakespeare has always seemed like a chore to read :'(
For now I'm going to start with reading Odyssey, and perhaps refamiliarize myself with the Iliad.
>>12837796
>reading a book about how to read a book
In all seriousness if I do end up buying Ulysses I'll be sure to grab that as well.

Why did I just have to solve +10 god damn captchas to post this

>> No.12838003

>>12837988
Pfff what a pleb kys. I bet you're a nigger lmao

>> No.12838032
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12838032

>>12838003
At least I don't wear some gay ass earring. I mean look at this loser

>> No.12838142
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12838142

>>12837747
You don't have to have read those books to enjoy it though, as I said you get out of it what you put into it. You should fully read posts before you comment on them, friend.