/lit/ - Literature

[Anonymous No.13133161]

Post your age, a picture of what you're currently reading, and tell us what you think of it.

Me: 24, this is my first pynchon and I really like his style so far, of course I don't know how much is typical of him but I'm keen to read more of his work and find out. As for the actual story, I don't care too much for detective stuff but this is a pretty fun read.

[Anonymous No.13133935]

>>13133161
Why did you eat the jacket?

[Anonymous No.13133965]

>>13133935
it was strawberry flavored

[Anonymous No.13133989]

I'm 21, reading pic related right now. It's very gay and romantic. I'm a fan of the mad doctor. Just got through his monologue about the misery he faces in a life full of sex without love, shit was beautiful. Barnes is an absolute powerhouse of prose. It's gorgeous.

>>13133161
I just finished the Crying of Lot 49, might read Bleeding Edge next. I had fun reading him, but I'm not sure I could stand more than the 200 or so pages of Lot 49 of Pynchon's prose. As good as it was, I found it getting tedious in quite a few places.

>>13133935
Do people actually like book jackets? I hate the things. Always take em off.

[Anonymous No.13134086]

18, reading 2666 right now, just got to the part about Archimboldi today and I’m glad I did becuase the last part was boring as hell up until the end. It’s a good novel, just very dry in the middle, however I imagine he makes up for that by linking everything up in the end

[Anonymous No.13134104]

18
Francis by Kazantzakis
It's comfy but nowhere as good as The Last Temptation or Zorba.

[Anonymous No.13134116]

23
Comedy of Errors for school
It's pretty whatever to be honest. Fell asleep reading it yesterday

[Anonymous No.13134125]

>>13133161
24, I like it a lot, the fucker could use less footnotes though.

[Anonymous No.13134655]

>>13133161
23; reading Bleeding Edge as well. It's not my first Pynchon, but it just might be the funniest one I've read so far. If you want more like it, OP, I highly recommend Inherent Vice or Lot 49. V. is phenomenal, but it's not as easy a read.

>>13133935
>Reading with a dust jacket on

Not kosher at all.

>>13133989
Lot 49 was my first Pynchon and it was great fun. I gave it another read not long ago, and while I still enjoyed it, I found it very different from the other stuff of his I've read. Pynchon's style is Pynchon's style, but Lot 49 is very... unfocused, I guess? Both Inherent Vice and Bleeding Edge have a ton of subplots and characters, but there's no story within a story like Lot 49's play.

>>13134125
Based for reading de Tocqueville

Brainlet for not liking footnotes

[Anonymous No.13134678]

>>13134648
The lack of focus of Lot 49 is nothing compared to Vineland. That novel is all over the place

[Anonymous No.13134947]

18, trying to widen my vocabzlary in english since it is my 2nd language before attempting philosophy. Love the book so far, halfway through.

[Anonymous No.13135130]

>>13134947
As a fellow non-native speaker, I recommend you read McCarthy. And prepare to look up roughly five words per page.

[Anonymous No.13135147]

>>13133989

I’m 25, and reading another of Bolaño’s books, “The Savage Detectives”. I loved “2666” all the way through and TSD is hitting that exact same sweet spot. Just started reading the second part of the novel, and I’m noticing already that it’s structurally very similar to “2666”. I love the whole “genius but reclusive/elusive artist” trope, and Bolaño does not disappoint in that regard

[Anonymous No.13135214]

25, Right now I'm reading revelation space a random on a YouTube stream suggested it to me and so far it's not half bad.

[Anonymous No.13135220]

>>13134947
I read this book in a day to impress a girl, the book was better than the girl.

[Anonymous No.13135257]

24
The Myth of Sisyphus
I read the stranger in a few days and enjoyed it so I grabbed this and am struggling to really grasp it. I’m a brain let who only within the last year got into reading as a hobby and need to build up my ready comprehension for this. I also grabbed ‘how to read and why’ by Harold bloom and plan to read that before going back into more of Camus’s work.

[Anonymous No.13135258]

>>13134947
Read Doors of the Perception and Island next for a general sense of Huxley's progression

[Anonymous No.13135293]

22
nothing short of genius, as just about everything else of his I've read is as well. I noticed nearly all of the dated chapters on the CIA guys starts with a name, while nearly all of the located chapters on Lee do not. seems to me that this brings the CIA chapters closer in line with the Branch history ("X did this") while the Lee chapters slip through the cracks of the official history

[Anonymous No.13135322]

>>13135293
Love this book. I’ve read like 4 delillo books and I think I might have to finally crack underworld sometime this year

[Anonymous No.13135325]

>>13133161
27
It's absolutely amazing. It starts slow but well worth it when you get to the later parts of Madame Swann at Home and after. I'm like 4 pages away from being halfway in. It makes me dig deeper into my own mind and see the beauty in my humble life much more, exactly what art should do.

[Anonymous No.13135351]

36

Pretty good book on not just building design, but urban planning, and a good dose of philosophical musing as well.

tl;dr
- Living in a high rise will make you depressed, buildings should never be higher than 4 stories
- renting should be illegal, everyone should own a home

[Anonymous No.13135367]

>>13135322
Underworld is amazing. people who aren't familiar with Delillo or only like his more streamlined stories like Libra don't hold it in the highest regard but it is definitely his best.

[Anonymous No.13135385]

>>13135257
I’m 19 and not a Brainlet, and you are currently 24, and you are a brainlet, HAHA HAHAHA

[Anonymous No.13135403]

>>13135385
What a useless thing to say

[Anonymous No.13135408]

>>13135130
lots of the words he uses are technical or archaic. as a native English speaker, I don't see how that would be helpful.

[Anonymous No.13135409]

>>13135403
A. 25, allegedly is peak brain development, and yours is fucking fried
B. You’re struggling to comprehend work written by Albert Camus

[Anonymous No.13135471]

>>13135385

[Anonymous No.13135708]

18, Sexual Personae

[Anonymous No.13135741]

27
Thucydides: The War of the Peloponnesians and the Athenians
The similarities between today's political strife and the 'stasis' in Corcyra between the democrats and the oligarchs are pretty striking

[Anonymous No.13135753]

>>13135325
>I'm like 4 pages away from being halfway in
Why didn't you say "I'm about halfway in"?

[Anonymous No.13136049]

>>13135385
>not a Brainlet
>has a need to tell people on an anonymous forum that he's smarter than them
ok buddy

[Anonymous No.13136079]

This thread is making me ashamed of how little I’ve read

[Anonymous No.13136254]

>>13136079
He said post your age faggot

36
The Gunslinger for the 2nd time
>>13135351
Hi fellow oldfag.

[Anonymous No.13136291]

not as good as the ruined map but enjoying it
the teshigahara film is great, will probably give it a rewatch when i finish reading this

[Anonymous No.13136634]

>>13135408
Archaic isn't necessarily a bad thing, though. There's definitely a lot of stuff that I had never come across before in other books, movies, or on TV. But he also uses plenty of words that, despite not being widely used, are... good to know, I guess? The Latinate terms in particular.

But I agree about the technical part. The most frustrating parts of the book were the very detailed, oftentimes long descriptions of fishing. Especially when he goes shellfishing with Reese's family, even though that was probably my favorite chapter in the whole book.

Anyway, I wasn't trying to say that he should read McCarthy before taking a dive into philosophy, but rather that McCarthy's works are a good challenge for someone looking to expand their vocabulary.

[Anonymous No.13137449]

>>13133161
>I don't care too much for detective stuff but this is a pretty fun read.
Yeh, that's pynchie

[Anonymous No.13137459]

>>13133161
I’m 28. Man, it sucks how quickly life goes by. Feel like I’ve wasted my days.

[Anonymous No.13137472]

>>13137459
Why do you feel like you've wasted your days? What do you wish you spent them doing instead? What advice would give to your 18 year old self?

[Anonymous No.13137474]

40

Currently listening to this. 85 hours long and I'm about 23 hours in. Some pretty funny parts and enjoying it so far.

[Anonymous No.13137487]

>>13134947
Invisible Cities is great. Have fun.

[Anonymous No.13137623]

27

This is only the second work by Dickens I have read. The first was A Tale of Two Cities, which I loved. Sydney Carton's end was one of the most fantastic things I've ever read; also, I love studying the French Revolution, so the setting was a huge plus as well.

Our Mutual Friend is, so far, fantastic, despite my not having found a character I really relate to yet and despite it not being set amongst events I find interesting. Every sentence in this book is just perfectly crafted. The characters all have a life of their own, with some being absolutely hilarious. And, of course, the characters whom Dickens intends as samples of society (The Podsnaps, Veneerings...) to reflect the similar stock baseness of the elites are all portrayed negatively with just the right amount of humor.

I'm only 16% done (this being an 800 page book, that still amounts to a considerable amount of story), but am looking forward to the rest of the book.

[Anonymous No.13137631]

>>13137459
Laziness. I always wanted to study life, write, publish, leave a mark on the world. Instead I got a boring job in a boring place with boring friends because I always take the easy way out.
The advice Id give my 18 year old self is live every day as the person you want to be, don’t just expect it to happen.

[Anonymous No.13137635]

>>13137472
Sorry this was meant for you>>13137631

[Anonymous No.13137641]

18

This will be my next book (it arrives tomorrow)

[Anonymous No.13137654]

>>13133161
>31
>good thesis and very well explained but gets increasingly dry and repetitive every chapter

[Anonymous No.13137660]

>>13137654
now this is interesting. no way I'd make it through without wanting to skim (city planning isn't my thing) but for someone into the subject, this would be pretty cool.

[Anonymous No.13137671]

>>13137660
>31
>Good thesis and very well explained but gets increasingly dry and repetitive as it goes.

Also >>13137660
Deleted the original sorry about that. I am minimally interested in the subject, living in a big city myself.

[Anonymous No.13137673]

Heaney's Beowulf

the poem itself was fantastic I love Heaney. It also included a bunch of academic essays, but I only read Tolkien's and a few minor ones - you think I'm going to read 50 pages on why Beowulf is a worded version of early medieval insular art, you fucking nerds? fuck off.

[Anonymous No.13137705]

>>13137673
fucking disgusting.

[Anonymous No.13138348]

29
Late Fame by Arthur Schnitzler

It's good! Pretty short, I should finish it today. It's a nice piece on fame vs. celebrity and the struggle for self-actualization. Also rides a very fine line regarding the arrogant invincibility of youth and the crushing disappointments of old age.

[Anonymous No.13138430]

>>13133161
21 and 10 days
This is a very interesting read. After seeing 'communist', 'tankie', 'Bolshevik' etc used in today's political 'discussions', having a clearer understanding of what those terms actually mean is enlightening. It seems a good primer for further reading on the Russian Revolution/USSR.

[Anonymous No.13138657]

>>13137705
you don't like Heaney?

[Anonymous No.13138680]

22, The Urth of New Sun
for now is like the book of new sun but full on space sci fi, great stuff

[Anonymous No.13138959]

>>13133161
19
the society of the spectacle
i dont sure if i understanding it

[Anonymous No.13140484]

19, I'm only about 60 pages in, enjoying it so far, specifically the idea of manufactured humanity (like that epic NPC meme am i right fellas?)

[Anonymous No.13140879]

27, notes from underground. I got memed into reading this. It's quite different from what I normally read, that being mostly finance and economics books. There have been a few somewhat profound pages so far and it's an easy read. Looking forward to finishing it so I can discuss and read more about it. (Can't upload an image due to faggot jannies(fuck them))

[Anonymous No.13140891]

20

[Anonymous No.13140892]

>>13136049
Delete this

[Anonymous No.13140896]

>>13138430
what book? seems you've forgotten a picture

[Anonymous No.13141173]

>>13133161
23, Reading The Sheltering Sky by Paul Bowles. It's some random book I picked up while browsing this nice book store. The first chapter sucked me in with the simple prose and the nice sense of international travel I felt. Though the story seems pretty basic love triangle stuff. I hope something more interesting happens later on. Nonetheless it's a rather easy, simple read. I'm gonna put off research more about the author, he seems to have ties with Aaron Copland.

[Anonymous No.13141305]

>>13141173
I watched the Bertolucci film of this and I really enjoyed it. like a bourgeoise-alienation version of Heart of Darkness.

The author Paul Bowles has a strange role in the film as a narrator figure intermittently watching the characters from afar and reading voiceover prose passages from the book. It ended on a line beautiful and sad and made me want to read the book.

[Anonymous No.13142737]

>>13141305
Yeah it does have a very 50s bougie feel and I love it. Also the narrator watching the story from a far fits in perfectly.

[Anonymous No.13143423]

>>13136291
Teshigahara and Abe have to be one of my favourite cinematic/literary collaborations ever.

[Anonymous No.13143693]

32.

It's pretty good. A decent amount of anal rape.

[Anonymous No.13143704]

I'm 26

I'm currently reading Munich by Thomas Harris, The War of the Roses by Alison Weir, and The Tamer Tamed by John Fletcher.

[Anonymous No.13143772]

>>13133161
24. I'm reading the series all over again since it's a comfort book of sorts, the last time I've read it was back in my teens, and I never got to read Deathly Hollows in full. I'm honestly enjoying it, but the fact that I've gotten past the point of fun magical adventures and into the "everyone's dying left and right" zone is a bit saddening. I do appreciate the writing, the emotions and Hagrid much more than I did as a kid. This man is a legend.

[Anonymous No.13143810]

27, reading King Lear for the first time

Just reached the end of Act 1, enjoying it so far. The last two Shakespeare that I read were Antony and Cleopatra, and Julius Ceasar, which were good but I didn't really enjoy as much for whatever reason. But this one I'm definitely liking, it really kicks things off immediately

[Anonymous No.13143833]

>>13143810
If you're in the mood for more Roman Histories, check out Coriolanus. Easily one of my favorites, but it doesn't get nearly enough attention.

[Anonymous No.13143866]

>>13143833
I do hope to one day read all of Shakespeare, next I plan on reading a few of the comedies, but after that I may check out Coriolanus, might do me good to read more of the lesser talked about ones

[Anonymous No.13143868]

>>13143810
Are you reading the Folger edition?

[Anonymous No.13143907]

>>13143868
Yeah, normally I try to grab the Signet classics, but this one was a gift so I can't complain

[Anonymous No.13143961]

30, adding this popular history book to a substantial collection of WWI history and literature.

It's anti-German propaganda.

[Anonymous No.13145132]

>>13143961
>It's anti-German propaganda.

Could you elaborate? It's been on my list for a while now.

The only WW I lit I've read is Storm of Steel, so I'd also appreciate some recommendations.

[Anonymous No.13145464]

>>13134116
alright I finished it. had a few laughs and it was pretty good. moving on to titus andronicus

[Anonymous No.13145477]

>>13143961
anglo historians are the worst

[Anonymous No.13145516]

24. It's good when it's good but there's a lot of fluff. I understand that during its time it was also presented as mini history lessons so there's a lot of (for us) unnecessary passages. The beautiful, powerful chapters are extremely fun and I can't believe how much we owe to the Greeks.

[Anonymous No.13145540]

Do any of you guys read journals or magazines? I like Foreign Affairs because I've always had an interest in international politics and national security. What do you guys read?

[Anonymous No.13145563]

>>13145132
Basically, any time a German does something bad or stupid she portrays that person in the worst light possible, in addition to repeatedly railing against the various racial defects of the Germans. This is fine so far as it goes, except that when anyone else does something dumb or evil she glosses over it or makes excuses (she does have it in for a few Russians as well). For instance, she can't help acknowledging how stupid c.1914 French military doctrine was but she makes ridiculous excuses for why this doesn't reflect poorly on either the French or certain French individuals.

Her deliberate exclusion of the Austro-Serbian front and of the Austrian participation in the war in general looks very suspicious from this perspective.

I'd still recommend reading it. She's biased and shallow but not stupid, and since this is THE account of the war's origins in popular imagination even among people who haven't read it, you need to be familiar with its content.

[Anonymous No.13146260]

>>13145563
Quality post. Thanks m8.

[Anonymous No.13146328]

>>13135147
Sadly the rest of Bolano's ouevre pales before these two novels.

"By Night in Chile" is also worth reading if you're enjoying Bolano. Many consider it comparable. Beyond that, few of hi sother books reach the same lofty heights. That said, many are still fairly enjoyable.

[Anonymous No.13146337]

>>13134086
Also 18, I didn't love 2666 the same way I loved The Savage Detectives, but it was definitely good. Have you read TSD?

[Anonymous No.13146370]

>>13141173

Read it while I was travelling in Morocco; fabulous book. This is the first I've seen it mentioned here.

Psychologically, Bowles was a very conflicted man, a latent homosexual, etc. If you're interested in exploring more of his work, a lot of his most profound contributions are in actually in ethnomusicology.

[Anonymous No.13146395]

>>13145563
It's been a while since I've read the book but I don't remember it being anywhere near that one-sided. There was definitely an anti-German bias but she made Field Marshall French look like a complete dumbass, and the actual French leadership outside of Lanrezac didn't come off much better. I think you're exaggerating, but it could be that I'm looking at the book through rose-tinted glasses.

[Anonymous No.13146405]

you all read the same 30 books as each other

[Anonymous No.13146485]

>>13135385
Three people were too stupid to reply to you as if you didn’t just crack some really quality banter. Honestly the worst thing about this board as that wise-cracks really go over a lot of people’s heads, and it’s disappointing.

[Anonymous No.13146528]

>30
>pic
He’s hilarious. Anyone who thinks Kafka is “making a point” can >>/tv/

[Anonymous No.13146529]

>>13146337
No, this is my first Bolano experience. I heard that TSD is as good as or better than 2666 though so I may read it soon as well

[Anonymous No.13146568]

>>13143961
I just finished pic related and it was fucking great. 27 btw. Don't let the tittle fool you, it starts with the Kaiser and shows how both of the World Wars were essentially Anglo-Wars.

[Anonymous No.13147290]

>>13146568
>Pay Buchanan

[Anonymous No.13147322]

22. Re-reading this after an overdoes on Deleuze. It's wholesome and good.

[Anonymous No.13147486]

>420
I love it! it's a very fun book.
A lot of information in only 290 pages.
If you have any music related reccs please give 'em...

[Anonymous No.13147499]

>>13135351
>- renting should be illegal, everyone should own a home
FUCK YEAAAAH

[Anonymous No.13147669]

>>13147486
thanks, I'll check it out

I've Enjoyed
Webern / The path to the new music
D. Kahn / Noise Water Meat

I also have
(Hopkins Studies in Modernism) Josh Epstein - Sublime Noise_ Musical Culture and the Modernist Writer-Johns Hopkins University Press (2014)
[Cambridge Companions to Music] Nick Collins, Julio d’Escrivan (Editors) - The Cambridge Companion to Electronic Music (2017, Cambridge University Press) (this has a couple of articles from Throbbing Gristle members)
[Katya_Mandoki]_Everyday_Aesthetics(b-ok.org)
A._Cassidy_and_A._Einbond_-_Noise_in_and_as_Music
Attali_Jacques_Noise_The_Political_Economy_of_Music
Augoyard,+Jean-Francois;+Torgue,+Henry+(eds.)+-+Sonic+Experience.+A+Guide+to+Everyday+Sounds
Composing Electronic Music_ A New Aestheti - Curtis Roads
Joseph_Nechvatal_Immersion_Into_Noise
Voegelin, Salome - Listening to Noise and Silence
Smirnov, Andrey - Sound in Z. Experiments in Sound and Electronic Music in Early 20th Century Russia
Kelly, Caleb (ed.) - Sound

and some others. sorry that I've just posted it as a mess. I'm into noise music, so all the books cover on that. Hope you find something useful.

[Anonymous No.13148253]

26, Le Désespéré, Léon Bloy
as well as an anthology of Chilean poets (Parra, Lihn, Bolaño, usw.), the latest collection of a poet I wrote about 5 years ago, and Dana Bielec's Intermediate Polish

[Anonymous No.13148304]

I'm 37 and I just got this in the mail. Time to turn my life around!

[Anonymous No.13148315]

>>13134655
>Brainlet for not liking footnotes

I have to admit that the footnotes have gotten a lot better.

[Anonymous No.13148344]

>>13147669
>Sublime Noise: Musical Culture and the Modernist Writer Hardcover – December 15, 2014
>$55
oof

I like noise music too so I'll check 'em out.

I tried reading Japanoise: Music at the Edge of Circulation by David Novak but stopped after the first chapter because he was talking about how live music is superior to recorded music and I ain't having that shit.

[Anonymous No.13148380]

>>13148304
A basedboy reading Ni*tzche? who would have guessed.

[Anonymous No.13148445]

>>13147290
What's wrong with Uncle Pat?