/lit/ - Literature

[Anonymous No.16320087]

I’m 18. Is it bad if I only started reading now? Or did I waste my life already and it’s all ogre now?

[Anonymous No.16320089]

OP here, cont.:
I’ve wanted to get into serious reading since I was 15/16. I don’t know how to enter the world of literature. I guess I’ll make a draft here, below:


Here are the books I got over the last 2 years:
>Guns, Germs and Steel
>China: A New History
>Roadside Picnic
I’m gonna read them all

and then I want to read a few others that I don’t have yet:
>Basic Economics by T Sowell
>The Horse, the Wheel and the Language
>[some book on the transition from hunting/gathering to farming that I forgot the name of but desperately need]
>Theoretical Minimum series by Susskind AND/OR Quantum Universe: Everything that can happen does happen by Brian Cox
>I wanna start reading Herman Hesse afterwards (Steppenwolf, Siddhartha)
I’m also thinking about maybe reading a book on the history of the Indian subcontinent after reading the book on the history of China.

Afterwards, what should I do? Should I proceed with the Greeks immediately after all this, or should I read something else beforehand to be better prepared?

[Anonymous No.16320092]

>>16320087
It's ogre. You'll probably forever have a reading speed of 200wpm and be damned to read no more than 15 books a year.

[Anonymous No.16320096]

>>16320087
No you’re fine

[Anonymous No.16320097]

>>16320087
Better late than never anon

[Anonymous No.16320099]

>>16320087
You're in the clear, don't worry about it. You're nowhere near past due date to get into literature. I recommend that you try to get somewhat familiar with the Greeks, but never stop looking into books that you're interested in.
It all really comes down to your ambitions. I read to try and better myself, but also for pleasure, so I adjust my reads to those goals. Going by your account, you seem much more ambitious than me. Keep that up and you'll get where you want to go without any issues.

[Anonymous No.16320101]

read whatever you want, no point in planning too far ahead because by that time your tastes and inclinations will have changed

[Anonymous No.16320119]

Read a book then read another one. Don't make pointless lists you won't follow. There is great fiction out there, read a novel once in a while.

>I’m 18. Is it bad if I only started reading now?
yes. I was reading the classics by age 8, completed early 20th sociology at 13. Moved to philosophy afterwards etc... I've read so many thing that I've even spent thousands of hours going through CIA declassified papers kek. But one thing I didn't start out young was playing music. Is it bad if I only started playing instruments at 16? Possibly, but I've still reached a decent level.
Everyone walks a different path.

[Anonymous No.16320125]

>>16320087
Yes. You wasted 18 years of your life. I’m sorry.

[Anonymous No.16320131]

>>16320119
Which university did you go to?

[Anonymous No.16320147]

I didnt start reading outside of a few books here and there till I was 25

[Anonymous No.16320162]

>>16320119
>Don't make pointless lists you won't follow
I don’t make lists of things I wouldn’t want to read. I make lists of things I want to read so that I don’t forget the titles.

[Anonymous No.16320184]

>>16320087
you're 18 not 81

[Anonymous No.16320217]

>>16320087
Even Plato said that it's better for a man to focus on relationships, health and money in his youth. And he should only start to look into it as he gets older, past thirty. But obviously that's not a rule of thumb, just a general.

[Anonymous No.16320231]

>>16320217
Plato also said that women are stupid. Smart dude

[Anonymous No.16320244]

>>16320217
>Even Plato said that it's better for a man to focus on relationships, health and money in his youth
He said this in Ancient Greece. Like a third of Ancient Greece was slaves. When he said this, did he consider them slaves too?

[Anonymous No.16320252]

You can easily read the same 50-100 books /lit/ talks about in a year or two

[Anonymous No.16320261]

>>16320252
>50-100 books
>in a year or two
How?

[Anonymous No.16320271]

>>16320087
Yes, I'm afraid it's all ogre.

[Anonymous No.16320355]

>>16320087
You'll be fine just read what you enjoy untill you enjoy reading, then the doors open and the world is your oyster

[Anonymous No.16320385]

>>16320089
>serious reading
fuck off

[Anonymous No.16320515]

Who's asking? Who are you competing with? What are you trying to do?

[Anonymous No.16320799]

>18 years old
4chan should be at least a 21 years old website, 18 years old is still a fucking kid in these current times, at lot of people in the west still acts like a man-child even in their 30s.

[Anonymous No.16320841]

>>16320261
read a book every week

[Anonymous No.16320868]

This may be a shitty take, but if you're just starting to get into reading I suggest going for lighter books that you know you'll enjoy. As in from the amazon bestseller list, etc. You haven't built up reading as a habit, and so the worst thing you could do is attempt a harder book and then get discouraged and turned off from reading in general. In my opinion, it's better to just work your way up. You'll have plenty of time to tackle more sophisticated works as you develop your interest.

[Anonymous No.16320886]

>>16320841
>read a book every week
I’d have to read for 1-2 hours everyday or more, and strictly keeping to this schedule. I don’t have that much time

[Anonymous No.16320962]

>>16320087
No. Turning 18 is like learning to read again. You don't read like a kid anymore. You just skipped the most immature phase.

And even if you started reading at 50, it's always better late than never.

18 is perfect.

[Anonymous No.16321023]

>>16320087
Your life literally just starts man.

[Anonymous No.16321791]

>>16320184
fucking deep bro

[Anonymous No.16322809]

>>16320087
Who is this qt?

[Anonymous No.16322837]

>>16320089
Jesus dude, relax a little. Get back to basics.

[Anonymous No.16322844]

>>16320089
Looks like you are too influenced by /lit/, I'd recommend only reading the books you have. If you like any of them, find more books that are related. 18 is not too late to start reading, not by a long shot. The first thing to focus on is enjoying it, start with the easiest or most entertaining of the books you have, that will be an easier in-road than making yourself miserable with a dense tome.

[Anonymous No.16322879]

>>16322844
>>16322837
But neither of these books is /lit/core really. Only starting with the Greeks is a lit meme, from the books that I wanna read, and even that is just reaching cuz I genuinely don’t know whether to start with the Greeks or do something else cuz it’s just so far up my list of things I wanna read

Unless you consider that addition of Herman Hesse to be tryhardy and what not but Hesse I heard isn’t that hard and actually mostly YA-oriented

[Jesus No.16322887]

>>16320087
just keep sucking cocks sweety

[Anonymous No.16322905]

Pic related

[Anonymous No.16323015]

No it's not late at all, I started at 18 too and in two years I managed to read around 200ish "books" but anon it's not about how much you read, it's about whether you want to do it or not and for what cause and if or not you're forcing yourself to be into it.
Because if you don't like reading or you don't like literature and forcing yourself to read just to sound smart(because that's partly what I used to do) then you'll suffer and you'll find out that you actually wasted your time.

[Anonymous No.16323028]

>>16320087
Name 2 reasons why it is important for your reader to know that you reached 18?

[Anonymous No.16323042]

LISTEN NIGGA
This thread is extremely fishy
>>16320087
>>16320089
These posts were made identically some days ago with OP at the time using a different image of a prepubescent girl instead of a young woman. Anons searching found links to Russian CP and possible trafficking. This thread is highly suspicious.

[Anonymous No.16323139]

>>16320087
Probably better because you didn’t waste books that you were too young to understand-I read a bunch of books when I was 11&12 and now even if I reread them they are spoiled with my middle school interpretation.

[Anonymous No.16323180]

>>16322879
Not saying the Greeks necessarily, but read things that will give the general knowledge needed, a 101 basically. Hesse would be ok to start with, though. The Greeks are still important.

[Anonymous No.16323237]

>>16323139
Also read for fun

[Anonymous No.16323404]

>>16323015
>I started at 18 too and in two years I managed to read around 200ish "books"
One book every 2 days? What the fuck

[Anonymous No.16323808]

>>16320261
git good

[Anonymous No.16323909]

>>16320089
GGS is pretty much ass.

[Anonymous No.16324413]

>I'm still a teenager, did I waste my whole life?

[Anonymous No.16324438]

>>16320087
i ignore and hide threads that begin with pictures of women

[Anonymous No.16324464]

>>16320087
Want to go on a date? I will show you my Thomas Pynchon collection and we will discuss it

[Anonymous No.16324505]

>>16320087
Go fuck yourself faggot

[Anonymous No.16324937]

ITT: an 18 year old getting "sagely" advice from 20 year olds

You're all faggots

[Anonymous No.16325174]

>>16322905
fuck i need to leave this site

[Anonymous No.16325183]

>>16320087
Depends on your IQ

I didn't touch a book until mid 20s and dropped out of school at 14, and didn't read anything in school either.

However my IQ is 150 and I spend 4+ hours a day reading now, love it.

[Anonymous No.16325240]

>>16323042
I’m pretty sure some people were using this board to communicate some shady shit between each other. They would create a thread about a /lit/ zine (not the quarterly) and then spam random images and seemingly nonsense response. Degenerates will get the rope someday soon.

[Anonymous No.16325377]

You are perfect man. I am 25 and only a few months ago during the quarantine did I decide I want to read seriously now. Though I am constantly plagued by my classes and alcoholism to keep it going

[Anonymous No.16326315]

>>16320087
Id add that because most people don't read, starting at 18 is no real handicap.

My advice though is to understand that not all books are created equal. Most books are trash and are literally a waste of time. Read a range of different types of books to get exposure to different ideas and styles, but ultimately try to find the rare good books.

[Anonymous No.16327470]

Jesus, I'm tired of posts like this. Yes it is bad. But think about it like this, you can either start when it's bad, or never start, which is worse. What will you choose? I'm sure posting about it here won't get you closer to any decision.

[Anonymous No.16327515]

>>16324937
This, fucking this. This board is pathetic