ITT we post images of books we plan on reading

[Anonymous No.14567719]

and others tell us if the book is worth our time

[Anonymous No.14567724]

[Anonymous No.14567735]

[Anonymous No.14567742]

[Anonymous No.14567744]

[Anonymous No.14567754]

[Anonymous No.14567770]

>>14567719
It didn't do anything for me but I know other anons really love it.
>>14567742
You know it is.

[Anonymous No.14567825]

[Anonymous No.14567930]

>>14567719
What is the best translation for pic related?

[Anonymous No.14568234]

>>14567825
>homo abyssus
Everytime it gets me.

[Anonymous No.14568245]

I'm just really digging some quiet, humble reading, and maybe some time to think about being humble. I think this will help me out a lot.

[Anonymous No.14568329]

>>14567742
Biggest disappointment ever

[Anonymous No.14568344]

>>14567825
Please let us know what you think of it. How did you even find it in the first place?

[Anonymous No.14568627]

>>14568344
Saw it recc'd on a thread a few months ago and I've been reading catholic/orthodox theology for the last year or so, I probably won't tackle this one for a little bit though. It's on my list along with a couple of of Erich Przywara's works, Analogia Entis by Steven Long, Lizza's Potentiality, W. Norris Clarke's The One and the Many, and Thomas Joseph White's The Analogy of Being. It will probably take me a couple years to get through all of this because I read and digest these things very slowly and right now I'm working through the Dark Night of the Soul, which (at least for me) is difficult enough to understand.
>>14568234
What do you mean anon?

[Anonymous No.14568640]

>>14568627
Good luck friend. Those sound like a lot of difficult books you are reading.

[Anonymous No.14568644]

>>14567719

[Anonymous No.14568730]

[Anonymous No.14568743]

>>14567754
I love this book. It is worth it. Ten times over.

[Anonymous No.14568789]

either this or crime and punishment

[Anonymous No.14568813]

>>14568789
Both worth it.

[Anonymous No.14569638]

>>14568245
Comfy as fuck, embrace the wabi sabi.

[Anonymous No.14569647]

Can't wait for this one, really really like short stories.

[Anonymous No.14569705]

>>14569647
No short story collection can beat this one.

[Anonymous No.14569737]

>>14567754
Great book which hit a little too close to home.

[Anonymous No.14569757]

>>14568789
Dont even bother with GR. It's a doorstopping joke. Read C&P it's more rewarding and an amazing book.

[Anonymous No.14569833]

Just started Notes from Underground and going to read this next

[Anonymous No.14569862]

>>14568730
>Abridged edition.

Just read the wiki page.

[Anonymous No.14570007]

>>14567719
I just finished this last night wtf. Yes it's worth your time. The book isn't really a story as is it's an experience through the eyes of an opium addicted madman. The end of "chapter" 1 really sums it up for me
>Is not everything that I feel, see and think something entirely imaginary, something utterly different from reality? I am writing only for my shadow, which is now stretched across the wall in the light of the lamp. I must make myself known to him.
The intense dreamlike surrealism dies off quite a bit after "chapter" 2 and leads way to a more linear and reality-based section. Nevertheless, you still doubt whether anything has actually happened in the book or whether it was a hallucination. Really pay attention to the symbolism and repetition in this book. That's the key.

>>14567930
The D.P. Costello is considered the best if I remember correctly. That's the edition I bought/read.

>>14569833
Absolutely worth the time. One of the modernist classics. One of the first books I read when I seriously got into reading. The book really make you think (meme i know), is he hungry because hes crazy, or is he crazy because he's hungry?

[Anonymous No.14570036]

>>14570007
You should probably already know if this up your alley or not. It's not like his erotica but shares all of its themes; it is capably written and argued for the most part; and it provides a good idea of why Bataille is a touchstone for certain other thinkers. But connecting sexuality, death, religion, literature, etc from an old-timey radical anthropological perspective is just not nearly as unique or interesting today as people like to think.

[Anonymous No.14570060]

>>14570036
I bought it because people said it was a good introduction to Bataille. I've been interested in reading him for a while and decided on this over Literature and Evil or Story of the Eye.

[Anonymous No.14570082]

>>14569833
This book and Hamsun single-handedly elevated Norway to be a /lit/ state for me in every since of the word. Ibsen was the exception but with Hamsun you know lightning doesn't strike the same place twice without reason

[Anonymous No.14570090]

>>14570082
But Growth of the Soil is better than Hunger

[Anonymous No.14570187]

>>14570090
ahh, this excites me.

I cannot wait to get to Growth of the Soil. I’m wondering if there are any preferred translations.

I’m reading Hunger right now and should finish it tomorrow. I can get to Growth of the Soil by mid-February, maybe earlier.

[Anonymous No.14570269]

[Anonymous No.14570425]

>>14567742
One of the best I have ever read. Woland and his squad are some of the most entertaining and charismatic characters I've encountered in a book

[Anonymous No.14570571]

[Anonymous No.14570660]

>>14568730
Garbage and a waste of time, unironically. If you feel like you get something out of it, it's because the book has mutilated your thinking into nonsense, and if it doesn't do that you'll spend the whole time seething in contempt at the terrible logic.

[Anonymous No.14571052]

[Anonymous No.14572108]

>>14570660
what should I read instead

[Anonymous No.14572114]

>>14568245
Some dude getting upset about weebs that have a shallow obsession with Japan and disguising his butthurt behind tea metaphors

I enjoyed it

[Anonymous No.14572164]

I don't know if this has english translation.

[Anonymous No.14572218]

This is next on my list.

[Anonymous No.14572247]

>>14572218
midwit garbo

[Anonymous No.14572351]

on my list

[Anonymous No.14572354]

>>14570090
Liam O'Flaherty is very good along those lines, fyi.

[Anonymous No.14572353]

>>14572351
Genuinely why is Hitler on the cover of so many editions of that book. It has absolutely nothing to do with it. It was written by a Frenchie in the 1810s.

[Anonymous No.14572360]

>>14572353
oh you mean pic related?
Gee anon, I really couldn't say.

[Anonymous No.14572546]

>>14570187
>>14570090
Growth of the Soil is really not that good. It lacks the psychology of hunger, has very flat characters, and has hardly anything interesting occur throughout the entire time. Every once in a while you get a comfy scene but there really isn't much to it. It was written like an old chronicle from the Old Testament more than a modern novel.

[Anonymous No.14572547]

>>14567724
This book is excellent and is well worth your time. I need to reread this, come to think of it.

[Anonymous No.14572567]

I've never read Kant's critiques, Hume, or Spinoza, but i've listened to almost 6 hours of Deleuze lectures to prepare and I know the general history of philosophy pretty decently from Stanford articles. How do you think this will go?

[Anonymous No.14572570]

>>14567770
I can tell you H. G. Wells' Invisible Man isn't worth reading.

Exactly like Bram Stoker's Dracula and R. L. Stevenson's Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, it's a great concept that was executed poorly---the concept is way more interesting than the story the authors chose to tell for it, and how they chose to tell it.

[Anonymous No.14572625]

>>14568245
Read it at 15 y.o.
It's one of those books that has great parts that make it worth reading but taken as a whole is mediocre.

Luckily for you, I took quotes notes on The Book of Tea. With these you might not even need to read the book. I'll share:

>"Tea began as a medicine and grew into a beverage."
>From poetic muse to an object of worship. Tea, the simple, the beautiful, the perfect.
>"Those who cannot feel the littleness of great things in themselves are apt to overlook the greatness of little things in others." {a very Taoist perspective}
>The East was willing to learn from the West, but it is not the same with West to East. We dismissed them as savages of peace, or civilized persons of war.
>"The Christian missionary goes to impart, but not to receive."
>Yellow Peril, White Disaster
>The first cup shall moisten the lips and throat, the second shall break loneliness, the third finds the problems, the fourth drives them out, the fifth purifies, the sixth immortalizes; one cannot take a seventh cup. But nature is felt as if you and her were one.
>1: boil the water with salt in it. 2: boil the water with tea in it. 3: add cold water to revive the drink's youth. 4: enjoy.
>"Translation is always treason."
>To the individual, right and wrong are relative. Society attempts to define those concepts, limiting its individuals and thus preventing change and growth.
>"The observance of communal traditions involves a constant sacrifice of the individual to the state. Education, in order to keep up the mighty delusion, encourages a species of ignorance. People are not taught to be really virtuous, but to behave properly. We are wicked because we are frightfully self-conscious. We never forgive others because we know that we are in the wrong. We nurse a conscience because we are afraid to tell the truth to others; we take refuge in pride because we are afraid to tell the truth to ourselves. How can one be serious with the world when the world itself is so ridiculous!"

cont.

[Anonymous No.14572804]

>>14568245
>>14572625

>"One can even buy a so-called Religion, which is really but common morality sanctified with flowers and music. Yet the thrusts thrive marvelously, for the prices are absurdly cheap,---a prayer for a ticket to heaven, a diploma for an honourable citizenship. Hide yourself under a bushel quickly, for if your real usefulness were known to the world you would soon be knocked down the highest bidder by the public auctioneer. Why do men and women like to advertise themselves so much? {These are also Taoist thoughts, but more Chuang-Tzu than Lao-Tzu in this case} Is it not an instinct derived from the days of slavery?"
>"We must know the whole play in order to properly act our parts; the conception of totality must never be lost in that of the individual. This Laotse illustrates by his favorite metaphor of the Vacuum. He claimed that only in vacuum lay the truly essential. The reality of a room, for instance, was to be found in the vacant space enclosed by the roof and walls themselves. The usefulness of a water pitcher dwelt in the emptiness where water might be put, not in the form of the pitcher or the material of which it was made. Vacuum is all potent because all containing. In vacuum alone motion becomes possible. One who could make of himself a vacuum into which others might freely enter would become master of all situations. The whole can always dominate the part."
>"In leaving something unsaid the beholder is given a chance to complete the idea and thus a great masterpiece irresistibly rivets your attention until you seem to become actually a part of it. A vacuum is there for you to enter and fill up to the full measure of your aesthetic emotion."
>Perfection in the tiniest things
>Everyone should have a house of their own
>The tea room is absolutely empty, except for what may be placed there temporarily to satisfy some aesthetic mood. Some special art object is brought in for the occasion, and everything else is selected and arranged to enhance the beauty of the theme."
>"One cannot listen to different pieces of music at the same time, a real comprehension of the beautiful being possible only through concentration upon some central motif. Thus it will be seen that the system of decoration in our tea-rooms is opposed to that which obtains in the West, where the interior of a house is often converted into a museum."

cont.

[Anonymous No.14572868]

>>14568245
>>14572625
>>14572804

>"The art of the extreme Orient has purposely avoided the symmetrical as expressing not only completion, but repetition. Uniformity of design was considered as fatal to the freshness of imagination."
>"Approach a great painting as thou wouldst approach a great prince."
>"It is to be deplored that so few of us really take pains to study the moods of the masters. In our stubborn ignorance we refuse to render them this simple courtesy, and thus often miss the rich repast of beauty before our very eyes. A master has always something to offer, while we go hungry solely because of our own lack of appreciation."
>"In art vanity is equally fatal to sympathetic feeling, whether on the part of the artist or the public."
>Despite history, popularity, or science should one create his collection. Collect what you love---do not cater.
>History is great, but the present is better. It is our time---do not ignore it, and so fuck it up.
>"The primeval man in offering the first garland to his maiden thereby transcended the brute. He became human in thus rising above the crude necessities of nature. He entered the realm of art when he perceived the subtle use of the useless."
>"We boast that we have conquered Matter and forget that it is Matter that has enslaved us. What atrocities do we not perpetrate in the name of culture and refinement!"
>"Flowers are not cowards, like men." They surrender their lives for the sake of beauty, as with the falling of the blooming cherry blossoms.
>To really appreciate art, one must make it part of him. All his behaviors and dress and speech must not break the serene harmony of his surroundings.
>"These were matters not to be lightly ignored, for until one has made himself beautiful he has no right to approach beauty. Thus the tea-master strove to be something more than artist,---art itself."
>"Definition is limitation."
>"He only who has lived with the beautiful can die beautifully."

[Anonymous No.14572881]

>>14568245
>>14572625
>>14572804
>>14572868
And that is in my view the essence of Kakuto Okakura's "The Book of Tea".
If you insist on reading the whole thing, it should take you no more than 7 hours.
I read the 2000 edition by Tuttle Publishing. I recommend it as it is nice and hefty with pleasant images included.

[Anonymous No.14572921]

>>14572218
This is the kind of book you skim randomly rather than read the whole way through.
I recommend you try it in a library first to see if you'll feel it's worth it.
The younger you are, the more impactful it might be. And judging by your phoneposting it may very well be so for you.

[Anonymous No.14572928]

Starting to read this now

[Anonymous No.14573103]

Either this or the new Jeff Vandemeer "Dead Astronauts"

[Anonymous No.14573112]

>>14573103
close that f-ing mouth when you pose in pictures.

[Anonymous No.14573151]

>>14572567
You've been memed anon. There's not a single French philosopher worth a shit besides Descartes and Rousseau. And yes that includes that long faced monkey Guenon.

[Anonymous No.14573360]

>>14572567
BADLY. Fucking read the critiques, Hume, Spinoza, Nietzsche. They're brilliant and profound philosophers and very great reads, and most of the fun with Deleuze is seeing (and/or disagreeing) where he takes them. Read the originals --> Deleuze's monographs --> His original work.
Or just jump into C&S if you want to enjoy his work but hardly understand a thing. But really I don't know you, maybe you could parse your way through this with what you have. But I do know that the long way around is the best way forward here.

[Anonymous No.14573456]

>>14572547
Thank you! The concept sounds amazing. I’ve already ordered a hardcover copy!

[Anonymous No.14573789]

>>14568329
Wrong

[Anonymous No.14573880]

>>14572881
Thank you.

[Anonymous No.14574271]

>>14569862
The abridgement is 1k pages, it's a 12 volume work with a lot of those volumes simply expounding in more detail religious practices of savages

[Anonymous No.14574414]

[Anonymous No.14574487]

>>14567719
Worth the read as its not particularly long. It might not work for you personally but its not too much of an investment. However i found it to be a feverish book.

[Anonymous No.14574630]

most of these

[Anonymous No.14574748]

>>14574630
No Longer Human is atrocious and if Mishima writes like Dazai then I don't understand the hype around either of them

[Anonymous No.14575318]

>>14574748
I agree. I had high expectations for No Longer Human sewing as it seems to be a staple among the /lit/ community. I regret falling for the meme.

[Anonymous No.14575322]

>>14574630
Under the Volcano

[Anonymous No.14575330]

>>14574630
East of Eden is amazing.

One Hundred Years of Solitude didn’t do it for me. The writing was beautiful in the beginning, but there’s two hundred pointless pages in the middle of the book with interminable introduction and killing of pointless characters that make the book an absolute slog. But apparently I’m in the minority on this. Most seem to love this book.

[Anonymous No.14575334]

>>14574630
I recommend not reading what this board universally likes and reading what you enjoy and are interested in.

[Anonymous No.14575563]

Getting into literature, thinking on reading it before Dosto's Notes.

[Anonymous No.14575731]

>>14575563
When I read this, I was almost annoyed by Werther’s whiny-ness. And it wasn’t until I voiced that opinion on /lit/ that someone here informed me that that was the entire point of the novel. This work is an example of the Sturm und Drang movement, in which emotions are given free expression. The Wikipedia page helped me appreciate the work a little more. Read that wiki page over BEFORE reading the book (be smarter than me), though, and it should make the read all the more enjoyable.

[Anonymous No.14575738]

[Anonymous No.14575812]

>>14575334
I read them because they interest me

[Anonymous No.14576200]

>>14575812
Ok carry on then

[Anonymous No.14576220]

>>14575731
thank you very much

[Anonymous No.14576381]

>>14575738
see >>14567742

[Anonymous No.14576695]

[Anonymous No.14578035]

bump for the ones that didn't get answers