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/lit/ - Literature

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13880153 No.13880153 [Reply] [Original]

What's the best book you've ever read?

>> No.13880163
File: 362 KB, 1084x1513, Fernando Pessoa.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
13880163

The Book of Disquiet, probably.
But it's because I relate Pessoa so much. I'll probably reread that in the future.

>> No.13880168

Mason & Dixon. I like it when Pinecone gets sentimental

>> No.13880174

>>13880163
Did you read it in English or Portugese?

>> No.13880176

Hemingway's story with the baby

>> No.13880191

Winnie the Pooh

>> No.13880198
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13880198

>>13880174
English, though I'm Brazilian and speak Portuguese.
I've never read a book in Portuguese so my vocabulary is very limited compared to English. Portuguese is difficult to understand,

>> No.13880199

The line between religious texts and non-fiction is actually kind of blurred.

But as far as non-fiction, I really, really like Adam Smith's Theory of Moral Sentiments. :3

>> No.13880276

Sartor Resartus. It’s not necessarily my favorite book, but I can say it’s the best book I’ve read that I could grasp and understand, though with help from the notes.

>> No.13880284

the fall of giants, winter of the world, edge of eternity trilogy.
It taught me more about the history of the 20th century than history class.

>> No.13880312

Look homeward angel. It truly is a shame Thomas Wolfe will never get the full respect he deserves.
>Faulkner shit on him
>he actually believed the great fagsby was better than the greatest American novel ever written, perhaps even the best novel overall
>schools still don’t teach Wolfe but they will teach fucking slaughterhouse five

>> No.13880313

>>13880198
caralho how did you never read anything in portuguese? Graciliano Ramos, Guimarães Rosa (which is barely translatable), Hilda Hilst, Machado de Assis, even Pessoa is way better in portuguese, you are missing some good shit with your dumb ideology. One of the only good things about being brazilian is reading brazilian literature IN portuguese.

>> No.13880326

You guys will probably make fun of me but it is Blood Meridian

>> No.13880332

>>13880153
one hundred years of solitude

>> No.13880337

>>13880313
Because I started reading books to improve my English and kept on reading and increasing my vocabulary. Reading a book in Portuguese feels foreign.

>dumb ideology

I have no ideology.

>> No.13880367
File: 84 KB, 620x399, quint.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
13880367

>>13880153
fiction- frankenstein or jonathon livingston seagull
non fiction - jaws log or sculpting in time

>> No.13880392
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13880392

In Search of Lost Time.

>> No.13880394

>>13880153
The Portable Jung by Joseph Campbell was the most personally enriching

Middlemarch by George Eliot was the most beautiful

Wind-up Bird Chronicle was the most relaxing

>> No.13880399

>>13880394
More relaxing than a warm shower?

>> No.13880411

>>13880399
gripped me like a warm friendly hand

>> No.13880449

>>13880337
Don't be a language-cuckold, anon. I read Pessoa in castillian, and it's a league better than in english

>> No.13880468

>>13880153
À la recherche du temps perdu

>> No.13880771

>>13880337
>I have no ideology.

>> No.13880817

>>13880468
Mon frère. Je vous aime. Vive la France et ses Gaulois.

>> No.13880827

>>13880153
The Bible.

>> No.13880842

>>13880168
A fine choice, glad to see it mentioned on here, I feel like lit just jerks off GR

>> No.13880853

Moby Dick

The gospel according to Jesus Christ (by saramago) is up there as well

>> No.13881110

>>13880153
Brothers Karamazov

>> No.13881151

>>13880191
And Anna Karenina

>> No.13881251

Pedro Paramo

>> No.13881271

>>13880771
its the best ideology

>> No.13881273

>>13880817
Proust is jewish.

>> No.13881325

Master and Margaret

>> No.13881401

>>13881110
based

>> No.13881494

>>13880367
>jonathon livingston seagull

Good man.

>> No.13881514

>>13880153
Moby Dick and it's not even close, all my reading now is a just a means through which to greater understand Moby Dick.

>> No.13881556
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13881556

>>13880153
The Very Hungry Caterpillar

>> No.13881572

>>13880153
The King James Version of the Bible

>> No.13881817

>>13880176
which one lol

>> No.13881996

>>13880153
Fiction? Either ‘The Count of Monte Cristo’ or ‘Moby Dick’
Non fiction? it’s hard to say, it could be ‘The Malay Archipelago’ by Alfred Wallace but I’m biased in favour of it because zoology was my degree subject

>> No.13882091

>>13880153
Moby Dick, no doubt. My soul soared and crashed, multiple times over, and my body merely lay on my bed.

The God of Small Things was also super influential to me, for personal and cultural reasons.

>> No.13882099

>>13880191
I love chinese literature too

>> No.13882151

>>13881273
So is Dreyfus, bastion of our Republic

>> No.13882157

>>13881110
And Moby Dick are the best I have read

>> No.13882341

>>13880163
I also read most of my books in English, but my man, you're missing out if you don't read The Book of Disquiet in Portuguese.
There was once a thread about it here, an English anon posted passages of the book so we portuguese could tell him how good the translation was. It's sub par, as expected

>> No.13882355

>>13882091
>The God of Small Things was also super influential to me
lmao are you banging your grandma now? That book is trash. just read Ms.Dalloway.

>> No.13882386

At the end of the passage, The city of the dead, and the bridge builders all by Rudy.

>> No.13882388

The three I can't seperate are Anna Karenina, Moby Dick, and The Waves.

>> No.13882434

>>13882355
>he doesn't want bang his twin sister
at least try and hide your gayness bro

why aren't you a fan? did you even read it lmao?

>> No.13882449

The Brothers Karamazov

>> No.13882487

>novel
Three musketeers
>non fiction
Rich dad poor dad

>> No.13882533

>>13880153
Words of Radiance

>> No.13882546

>>13880153
The Jewish Revolutionary Spirit, Also sprach Zarathustra, Stahlgewitter

>> No.13882552

Moby-Dick, Faust I, Julius Caesar and Men in the Sun.

>> No.13882980

>>13882533
Are those books actually any good? Haven't read any of Sanderson's stuff before.

>> No.13882990

>>13880449
What Castilian translation? I'm not sure which to choose

>> No.13883006

Musashi

>> No.13883123

>>13882341
But I can't read Portuguese

>> No.13883233

>>13880153
Karl Polanyi's the Great Transformation. An
enquiry into the functionality of the 1800's and 1900's industrial society and its facsist / socialist destiny. I read it thrice.

George Orwell's 1984; excellent book, discussing the nature of power; I did, however, draw the antagonal conclusion, the author intended.

Many books of Nietzsche's: especially, BGE, the Antichrist. I did not like Zarathustra; it was too poetic, for my taste.

>> No.13883295

>>13883233
>for me it’s the chicken sandwich

>> No.13883296

>>13880153
morning and evening by Jon Fosse

>> No.13883397

the fall

>> No.13883426

>>13882980
Yeah they’re legitimately good without being overly complex at first glance. Which is why they’re hated here.

>> No.13883431

>>13883233
Maybe ecce homo is more up your alley

>> No.13883994

>>13883123
Bro, you're Brazilian

>> No.13884002

probably moby dick

>> No.13884013

"The Right Hand of the Grand Master", but I don't think most people here will dig it, it is very culturally specific.

>> No.13884046

Absalom, Absalom!

>> No.13884055

the alchemist, don't @ me

>> No.13884056

>>13880326
Le epic judge holden xd

>> No.13884064

>>13880392
9/11 aahahahhaha

>> No.13884076

>>13884055
It’s Ok

If you are 12 and retarded

>> No.13884086

>>13880842
GR has a real nice cock though, can't resist jerking it off.

>> No.13884092

every book i ever read became the finest as i read it.

>> No.13884177

>>13884076
you assholes are all just hyper-pretentious. It's like that guy who insists on listening to Bach because it's "cultured", which is fine, but you wish he'd stop calling the Beatles "childish"

>> No.13884215

>>13884177
if you only read more books, you'll realize why people look down on it.

>> No.13884247

>>13882091
>merely lay on my bed
what a faggot

>> No.13884262

>>13880153
Brothers Karamazov, but I'm just getting into literature, although it blew my fucking mind I think I'll eventually read something even better.

>> No.13884293

>>13884262
C&P made me feel like a dirty murderer for a month after reading it. Had shit dreams as well. Would recommend!

>> No.13884312

>>13880153
none, I've never read a book I've thoroughly enjoyed from beginning to end

>> No.13884330

>>13880326
fuck /lit/ it's a v good book

>> No.13884342

>>13884215
I think you have an ego the size of a small moon
/lit/ draws out all the really really self-righteous pricks

>> No.13884357

>>13881817
Baby shoes for sale; never worn.

>> No.13884368

>>13880153

Memoirs of Hadrian
One Hundred Years of Solitude
War and Peace
The poems of Emily Dickinson
The poetry of Shakespeare's plays
In the Ravine and The Peasents (short stories by Chekhov)
The Long Goodbye
Moby Dick

>> No.13884376

>>13880153
My Diary Desu

>> No.13884401

>>13880153
>Memories
My Prisons: Memoirs of Silvio Pellico

>Romance
Les Miserables

>Novel
The Death of Ivan Ilyich

>Short story
The Overcoat

>> No.13884422

>>13884342
I think you're projecting, babe
don't get so upset over someone insulting your first book and cool your mars-sized ego, honey

>> No.13884470

>>13880153
The denial of death by Becker. He was an extremely courageous man. I'm a psychfag so I had double the reason to appreciate it.
Also ecclesiastes in the bible.

>> No.13884494

>>13880153
>Novel
Anna Karenina
>Non-fiction
Nicomachean Ethics

>> No.13884541

>>13884177
I'm with you on this one, anon. They love these books so much because they all try to write like people from the late 19th century.

>> No.13884556
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13884556

Brothers Karmazov
Neptunes Inferno
Foucaults Pendulum
Fountain Head

>> No.13884563

>>13884177
>thinking the alchemist is equivalent to the beatles
It's ok to admit that something you like is garbage. I sometimes like to eat at McDonald's as well I don't delude myself thinking it's great.

>> No.13884595

The Recognitions

>> No.13884599
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13884599

>>13884563
I do think it's great, I think it does more with less.
I just don't know why, of all the forms of art, literary enthusiasts can't appreciate something that's intentionally simple.

>> No.13884603

Finnegan's wake. Anyone that claims otherwise is a liar

>> No.13884687

>>13880394
Could you tell me more about the first item?

>> No.13884997

Casting another vote for fined agains week

>> No.13885002

>>13880153
War & Peace

>> No.13885349

Hell screen

>> No.13885380

I've really only just started.


Passage to India
Unbearable lightness of being
Master and margarita

>> No.13885395

>>13880153
100 years of solitude on a pure technical level

>> No.13885398

>>13880313
Probably some rich kid who went to some fancy expensive English school

>> No.13885412

wow almost every single book listed here was written within the past 200 years. embarrassing board

>> No.13885417

>>13884599
A lot of literary / philosophical types are deeply insecure and need to justify their intellect by endorsing "difficult" literature. Because "difficult" work like engineering and science is often highly regarded, many people confuse difficulty with worth.

>> No.13885424

>>13885412
Why should I care what some dusty old middle aged white man has to say, none of that shit is relevant anymore lmao

>> No.13885428

>>13885412
OLD GOOD
NEW BAD

>> No.13885435

>>13885412
because the greatest novels were written in the last 200 years.

>> No.13885451

>>13885435
you could erase the past 200 years of literary history and the core value of the canon would only be slightly affected

>> No.13885468

>>13885451
>if I pull 1 inch of this 10 inch dildo out of my ass most of it is still inside me

>> No.13885474

>>13885451
Name the greatest novellas pre-19th century

>> No.13885481

>>13885380
Passage to India surprised me. I frankly found the first part somewhat dull, but once it got to the caves onward it got so good that the first part was retroactively made better once I re-read it. Really masterfully written book.

>> No.13885484

I really enjoyed no longer human and setting sun by osuma dazai, he has a great writing style

>> No.13885490

Gravity's Rainbow

>> No.13885492

>>13885451
Prior to the romantic era the novel was not considered high art the same way epic and lyric poetry were.

>> No.13885505

>>13885474
>>13885492
the question wasnt about novels it was about books. why are you both hung up on novels

>> No.13885514
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13885514

>>13884687
Campbell is worth checking out for yourself. Read his wiki, and do yourself a favor by picking up The Hero With a Thousand Faces if you enjoy western literature and want context for all of it.

>> No.13885532

>>13880153
>Non fiction
The bible
>Fiction
Fathers and sons

>> No.13885607

>>13885505
It is the greatest form of fictional literature. While there is select great epic poetry, the genre is antiquated for a reason.

>> No.13886147

>>13880153
100 yos

>> No.13886163

>>13881251
Very good anon

>> No.13887856

>>13884563
but mcdonald's is great

>> No.13887924

>>13882434
lmao I did read it. I cant fault the writing itself but it just has this apathetic, self-pittying tone through the whole thing. Sorta like the child of a wealthy family trying to convince you how hard life is.

Unironically, Kipling and Rushdie give a much better account of the subcontinent.

>> No.13887937

>>13884401
>The Overcoat
based

>> No.13888142

>>13887856
Bottom tier of fast food chains. Slightly above kfc and burger king.

>> No.13888145

>>13888142
what are the patrician fast food chains then?

>> No.13888223

>>13888145
Shake shack and whataburger.

>> No.13888300
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13888300

>>13885412
>claims to have read something new
>never bothered to see if it was said before
stay shallow

>> No.13888304

>>13880153
Riddley Walker

>> No.13888337

>>13887924
Interesting. Fair enough if you didn't like the tone, which I personally quite liked. Although, I would disagree about Kipling. Rushdie is relatively much better though. His perspective captures something unique that's both an insider and outsider. His Bombay is most certainly his own.

Anyway, as I mentioned, the book is personally important to me since it's based in my state, so everything from the Malayalam to Kathakali, from pickle industries to political conflicts, it was all so intimate to me. I almost never get that often in English, and I cherish Roy for giving that to me.

>> No.13888671

>>13888223
But what do I do if I don't live in the areas where those two are around? Is Rally's/Checkers an adequate substitute?

Also, to answer OP's question, my current holy trinity for fiction is As I Lay Dying, Nausea, and American Psycho; I could substitute Confessions of a Mask for American Psycho though. It's hard for me to find fiction that I am sufficiently motivated to see through to the end, t. autist

>> No.13888897

The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy

>> No.13888946

>>13880332
Yeah it’s real good

>> No.13888956

white fang

>> No.13888965

>>13880153
The Holy Bible (Authorized Version, 1611)

>> No.13889013

>>13885532
reading fathers and sons now, on the heels of notes from the underground.
Why do I do this?

>> No.13889026

>>13880153
now thats an aryan woman

>> No.13889098

>>13884470
>ecclesiastes
My brother, good taste

>> No.13889443

>>13889026
you dont know what aryan means incel.

>> No.13889703
File: 568 KB, 715x551, arya.png [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
13889703

>>13889026
>>13889443

>> No.13890062

>>13880153
Flaubert's Salambo. There are books I enjoyed more, but the absolute mastery of a language is nothing to scoff at.
Yourcenar's Abyss. It deserves more recognition. Or any, for that matter.
Steinbeck's East of Eden. I truly have no idea why people praise Grapes of Wrath more.

>> No.13890071

>>13890062
>Flaubert's Salambo. There are books I enjoyed more, but the absolute mastery of a language is nothing to scoff at.
based. I agree completely about his language

>> No.13890278

Kubernetes in Action

>> No.13890309

>>13880153
the old man and the sea

>> No.13890323

>>13881110
this

>> No.13890362

>>13880312
very underrated

>> No.13890571

>>13884422
Shutup nigger.

>> No.13890577
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13890577

>> No.13890579

>>13890571
You got him good
You used the word Nogger

NOGGERS everywhere

>> No.13890588

>>13885412
Suggest something then you goddamn nigger

>> No.13890597

The most fun: Pillars of the Earth
The most rewarding: War and Peace
The most /lit/: probably a stack of history books

>> No.13890615

>>13890579
Gooks and Jews

>> No.13890719

So far.

>> No.13890827

Test

>> No.13890935
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13890935

>> No.13890958

>>13883994
yeah so what makes you think he can read?

>> No.13890980
File: 46 KB, 304x450, 9780140275360.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
13890980

> cmnd+f 'iliad'
> 0 results

You fucking plebs.

>> No.13891154
File: 151 KB, 560x396, Leprechauns-in-Alabama.png [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
13891154

The Count of Monte Cristo, even if I remember next to nothing about it.

>> No.13891199

>>13891154
IDK how anyone can enjoy a penny dreadful

>> No.13891220
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13891220

>>13891199
>penny dreadful

It's a well-written and engaging classic. What exactly is your problem with it?

>> No.13891282

>>13891220
I read the abridged version when I didn't know it. and I loved it. I tried to read the full thing later and found a lot of tedium. I don't hate on Dumas though. I still remember being 13 and crying when Porthos died in The Man in the Iron Mask

>> No.13891299

>>13891282
> crying at the death of a fictional character
faggot

>> No.13891347

>>13880153
Lord Jim

>> No.13891370

>>13891299
I cry at movies too.

>> No.13891434
File: 155 KB, 1536x1496, 1547397064629.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
13891434

>>13884687
It's a bit tricky to engage a summary without ad hoc or strawman so I'll just put it in context, I read it after a lot of existentialism and it was the logical next step in the sense of the philosophical destiny of my own path. It was the first book wherein I cut up and used sticky notes, probably around 50 of them.

It draws you in and rocks Christianity's boat, it rocks philosophy's boat (especially idealism), introduces you to all Jung was concerned about (and he wrote a lot). The biggest thing is how versatile his psychological modality can be. He talks in depth about how people just work, why certain patterns stick out, the ones that bother you for reasons you can't feel satisfied with. It definitely forever changed the way I think about everything and there is no returning to the point before which I read that book.

The target audience would probably be those who fell out of grips with Christianity, since he addresses that topic a lot, but the main focus is still definitely the interactions between psyche/collective psyche/unconscious. It's honestly terrifying to read sometimes just because of how much it grabs you and forces you to acknowledge your inner world and stare at your soul. But it's an encouragement also in that you are challenging the unknown, something a lot of people don't ever do.

>> No.13891443

>>13891220
It's all over the fucking place, that's my god damn problem
but actually
the 2001 film version is one of my top 10 films of all time, and the book is an over-hyped piece of loquacious drivel

>> No.13891466
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13891466

>>13891443
>the 2001 film version is one of my top 10 films of all time, and the book is an over-hyped piece of loquacious drivel

You're the biggest plebeian I've seen on this board in years.

>> No.13891527

>>13891443
the actors were hot in that movie, male and female. other than that it was a horrible adaptation.

>> No.13891537

>>13891527
and more so, it was a rip off of Scaramouche with the swordfights. the book just had perfect revenge, not an old priest teaching reflexes by water drips and a sword fight at the end in tall grass.

>> No.13891557

>>13880326
stay strong. those who say its bad are fooling themselves!

>> No.13891575

>>13883994
Venezuela and Brazil have a huge amount of languages. Fuck learning all of them

>> No.13891587

>>13888956
Based

>> No.13891598

Catcher in the Rye... changed my life as a growing adult

>> No.13891752

>>13882980
It's literally just anime in book form.

>> No.13891793

>>13890362
Only one in this thread with good taste

>> No.13891865

Nick Land-- Fanged noumena

>> No.13891904

>>13880163
fucking faggot

>> No.13891916

Wow, this board actually doesn't read

It's not even a meme

>> No.13892206
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13892206

>>13880153
House of Leaves by Mark Z Danielewski.

I just think it's really neat. There's a lot of developments into postmodern horror that I haven't seen done anywhere else.

>> No.13892209

>>13880153
The tunnel

>> No.13892429

>>13891916
Hey, I resemble that insult!

>> No.13892547

>>13881151
based

>> No.13893301
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13893301