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/lit/ - Literature

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1525209 No.1525209 [Reply] [Original]

Hey /lit/ can you guys suggest some books (preferably fiction) that will make me think, teach me stuff, possibly change my views on things, and/or make me reexamine my life. Two random examples would be Sophie's World (interesting story and teaches about philosophy) and 1984 (introduces the concept of Big Brother, and makes me paranoid). I looked in the recommended reading link, but it doesn't really discuss this kind of thing. Your suggestions are appreciated, thank you.

>> No.1525213 [DELETED] 

>Two random examples would be Sophie's World (interesting story and teaches about philosophy) and 1984 (introduces the concept of Big Brother, and makes me paranoid).

>> No.1525214

>>1525209
Snow Crash (makes you paranoid about technology but also jizz your pants about it)

>> No.1525215
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1525215

C&P

>> No.1525220

House of Leaves.

>> No.1525221

>>1525213
Jesus Christ, you are such a gigantic fucking faggot. No one cares about your shitty opinions or your disgusting gay sex life. Seriously, stop posting on /lit/ and kill yourself.

>> No.1525222

>>1525214
Snow Crash (so bad that most people who defend it try to pass it off as a satire of cyberpunk)

>> No.1525244

Ok, I know I'm opening myself up for a lot of hate here, but there are some early-ish Dean Koontz books that gave me a lot of food for thought
like Watchers, Phantoms, From the Corner of his Eye, Dark Rivers of the Heart
and Jodi Picoult books as well (Keeping Faith, Change of Heart, Mercy..)

I know they don't seem like they'd be particularly deep, but I was surprised at how much thought these books inspired in me

>> No.1525251

>>1525209

Books that will make you think..huh?

And the giant list of recommended reading, chock full of books that have this exact intent, didn't "discuss this kind of thing" huh.

Kindly leave.

>> No.1525260

>>1525251

I only see By Genre, By Region, By Time Period, and General. Nowhere do I see something that says "Books that make you think". I wouldn't have asked this question otherwise.

>> No.1525268

Orxy & Crake
The Handmaid's tale

Margaret Atwood is a pretty good author in general. Haven't started Year of the Flood yet, although I do own it.

>> No.1525270
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1525270

>> No.1525272

>>1525268
Meant Oryx and Crake.
Don't get all bent out of shape /lit/.

>> No.1525275

I ordered Food of the Gods today, because it was suggested to me by a friend who said it fit my description. Any thoughts on that one? Good, Bad?

>> No.1525273

>>1525260
>trying to say that all of those books are intended to make you think

>> No.1525276

>>1525260

...you're missing the point. The books that are in those lists are recommended because they are intended to make the reader think. That, child, is why books have things called "themes."

I'm guessing you're hoping for another book that's similar to 1984 that will all but hold your hand as the "thoughts" are spelled out for you.

Read Animal Farm and go fuck yourself.

>> No.1525279

New York Trilogy by Paul Auster and The Magus John Fowles are two books that made me think.

>> No.1525283

>>1525270
The Plague is better.

>> No.1525286

>>1525276

go away you pedantic little fuck. you're not half as clever as you think.

>> No.1525288

>>1525272

Too late. I get annoyed by 16-17 year old kids who think they have some sort of ability to think "like deep and stuff" just because they read the book 1984 in an Honors English Class.

>> No.1525293

>>1525276
Wow, you are an annoying faggot.

>> No.1525302
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1525302

>>1525288
I thought they were good books, and I didn't read them in an "Honors English Class", I read them independently. I was trying to be helpful...jeez.

>> No.1525301

>>1525283
I need to read it, I just read "the stranger" and I loved it. Can you really compare the two books though? One is about a guy who killed someone and the other is about a plague doctor.

>> No.1525297

>>1525293

And you're an illiterate fool.

>> No.1525298
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1525298

>>1525276

>Animal Farm

>"thoughts" are spelled out for you

>> No.1525304
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1525304

>>1525275

Good. Get the Archaic revival too

>> No.1525305

>>1525286
>>1525288
>>1525293
samefag

possibly>>1525283 as well

>> No.1525306

>>1525301
-0/10

>> No.1525308

>>1525302

I wasn't referring to you. I meant OP.

You said don't get bent out of shape, I presumed you were talking about OP's post.

>> No.1525314

>>1525298

Ouch.. was Animal Farm difficult for you to interpret?

>> No.1525315

>>1525308
Oh, haha, I meant about the spelling. Well, perhaps /lit/ isn't as pretentious as some claim it is.

>> No.1525316

>>1525306
I will probably understand when I read the plague, I wasn't trolling btw

>> No.1525317

>>1525314
>I only read mature literature for mature readers such as myself
get the fuck out

>> No.1525319

>>1525315

Oh no we're definitely pretentious.

Some of us just have tact to go along with it.

>> No.1525320

>>1525297
I'm not the one you were replying too, I just wanted to let you know that what you said was extremely pretentious to the point that I am embarrassed to even be on 4chan with someone as annoying as you are.
I know you would like to think that you are an intellectual, but you are just a moron who spends his time on the internet because that is the only place where you can act as if you were superior to another human being.
fucking loser

>> No.1525326

>>1525316
There is a lot more to most books than their base plots. For example, The Stranger is not "about a guy who killed someone," and if you honestly believe that it is, then this isn't the place for you.

>> No.1525328

>>1525320

Untrue. I act superior to other human beings every where I go. Thank you very much.

>> No.1525330

>>1525317
animal farm is nothing more than a history lesson bro. or i guesshow 'universal' the case example is too or something. AF is totally high school and nothing more. wuthering heights and shit is HS but at least when you read it after HS you get more out of it.

>> No.1525332

>>1525319
nice one (sorry, not a part of the conversation, just butting in)... too bad it's still a relatively small percentage that fits that category

>> No.1525334

>>1525326
lol obviously not but I haven't read both books so I have nothing deeper to tie them together with. Also I was trying to avoid giving away anything by giving a meaningless summary so that someone who has read the book would understand what I was trying to say but someone who hasn't would have no clue.

>> No.1525338

>>1525330
fuck I read animal farm in middle school... George Orwell is great and all but I wouldn't say its a novel that makes you think.

>> No.1525339

>>1525330
you're missing the point

the kid posting earlier was insinuating that animal farm and 84 were trashy books because they weren't deep enough

>> No.1525343

>>1525334
For future reference, be a little less obvious about the fact that you're 15.

>> No.1525344

>>1525339

I never insinuated anything of the sort.

In fact I directly stated that they spell out their thoughts, they're child's play. They make highschool kids feel as though they're "thinking deeply"

Stop putting words in my mouth.

>> No.1525351

>>1525343
but im not... shit you guys are pretentious

>> No.1525354

>>1525344
>They make highschool kids feel as though they're "thinking deeply"
even if i the things i said before were false this alone makes you a fucking retard

>> No.1525352

>>1525328
but that precisely explains why you are on the internet making us deal with your pedantic bullshit instead of having a worthwhile existence in the real world

>> No.1525359
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1525359

>>1525344

>> No.1525362

>>1525354

Whatever you say man. My point is they are not difficult books to understand. They may have good, intelligent messages that will stand the test of time and all that, but they're also a gateway for hipsters.

N'amsayin?

>> No.1525366

>>1525359

I bask in abhorrence daily.

>> No.1525367

I liked it. Reexamining everyday situations never grows old. Keep up the cod work!

>> No.1525370

>killeveryoneinthisthread.jpg

>> No.1525371

>>1525362
>but they're also a gateway for hipsters
lol.

>>1525354
s0o mad & stressed.

>> No.1525374

>>1525351
Even if you aren't, you come across like you are. Work on that.

>> No.1525376

>>1525362
>Orwell
>liked by hipsters
you are making not a lick of sense

>> No.1525378

>>1525351

Judging by your postings alone, you are a young man of below average intelligence.

That is all I have to say.

>> No.1525385

>>1525376

You're right.

He is loved by hipsters.

Apologies if I wasn't very clear.

>> No.1525381

>>1525374
I'll try.

>> No.1525393

>>1525385
we might as well just stop using hipster altogether if it's going to be used so frequently and incorrectly

>> No.1525398

Ishmael by Daniel Quinn is an interesting look at the development of human civilization.

>> No.1525404

>>1525393

So you're telling me.. that Orwell.. taught to and easily understood by 14-17 year olds, is not hipster fodder?

>> No.1525405

>>1525404
you have no fucking idea what the term hipster entails

>> No.1525412

>>1525405

Oh but sir I do.

In fact, any one who has ever stood in an American Corporate Coffee shop and taken a quick look around has a fairly intimate knowledge of what the term entails.

So, as to your point, you're wrong.

>> No.1525411

>>1525405
please stop i cant bear to see you trolled like this.

>> No.1525410

Jesus people I only used 1984 as a quick example. No need to get in an argument over how "deep" it is or if Orwell is enjoyed by "hipsters" or not.

>> No.1525417

Fuck all this shit!

1/Read the Tao Te Ching.
2/Compare all available translations.
3/????
4/Profit!

>> No.1525423

>>1525411

Shhh. It's a good show.

>> No.1525426

>>1525398

This this this. Also The Story of B. Only read My Ishmael if you enjoy it after starting the book (it's not for everyone).

>> No.1525429

>>1525423
not for people who care....

>> No.1525430

>>1525221
Wow. You Sir, belong to the persuasive kind. Do you think he's already dead?

>> No.1525435

>>1525429

Doesn't Fabulous claim to be a woman?

Or some other inferior being?

>> No.1525445

>>1525435
no he's a white male as far as im aware. but yeah he has awful taste in men, his heart will be broken many times.

>> No.1525448

>>1525435
>implying i would ever claim to be so fickle and romantic a thing
>>1525429
>>1525423
well it's hard to tell sometimes...


i feel that i've done nothing wrong here

>> No.1525455

>>1525448

>i feel that i've done nothing wrong here

And that's what's so gosh darn cute about you. <3

>> No.1525475

the protocols of the elders of zion

>> No.1525482

>>1525455
I hope that is not the only thing


you that know to be cute is to be immortal

>> No.1525486

>>1525455
whoops forgot my trip(was posting on another board)

>> No.1525495

What the hell happened to this thread? I leave for 10 minutes to do dishes and come back to this.

>> No.1525504

>>1525495
read Candide and stop bitching

>> No.1525523

The short story "The Last Question Ever Asked" by Isaac Asimov
Yes it's sci-fi but I fucking love it

>> No.1525524

The Illuminatus! trilogy.

>> No.1525533
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1525533

This. You see the world in an entirely different way after reading it, whether you agree or not with Quinn's ideas.

>> No.1525540

>>1525524
all hail discordia!