/lit/ - Literature

[Anonymous No.1869993]

Hello /lit/, I'm 18 and frankly, never read anything other than a few mystery novels growing up.

I think I've missed some really important literature that could aid me in life.

Are there 5 books that are essential to someone in my position, books that absolutely need to be read? If so what are they? (already looked through the recommended list)

[Anonymous No.1869999]

No, there aren't.

[Anonymous No.1870003]

>Are there 5 books
>5 books
>5

there are a lot more

mfw

[Bothersome !!eGkiP4WrjdR No.1870011]

>really important literature that could aid me in life.
Entertainment can't fill that void/depression of being in a wasteland like your pic that you have.

>books that absolutely need to be read
No.

[Anonymous No.1870012]

1984 by George Orwell
For Whom the Bell Tolls by Ernest Hemingway
The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
The Iliad and Odyssey of Homer
Moby Dick by Herman Melville

[Anonymous No.1870014]

The first books of any literary merit that I read when I was young was 1984.

I don't mean to call it a simple book, but it can be easy to understand if you're not used to reading and having to think about what you're reading. Also, the vocabulary isn't too complicated.

[Anonymous No.1870018]

5 books? Why not one? How about a leaflet on the history of literature?

It sounds like you want this for all the wrong reasons. You should have just asked for an enjoyable, easy going novel. Now everyone thinks you're a faggot. Congratulations.

[Anonymous No.1870019]

>>1869999
>>1870003
>>1870011

Ah so it's true, literature doesn't help in learning at all. It's just a very geeky form of entertainment.

[suomynonA No.1870022]

>>1869993

Read "Der Steppenwolf"! It's great and helped me a lot in my mental development. I know this sounds weird.

>>1869999
Fuck off

[Anonymous No.1870026]

>>1870018
>everyone

I'm sorry you're homophobic, but it looks like /lit/ doesn't even know about literature.

You guys must be like /tv/, who talk about celebrities, but never actually watch film.

>>1870012
thanks

[Carter !!of489fh8ceh No.1870035]

This for starters

[Anonymous No.1870047]

>>1870019

Exactly!

[Anonymous No.1870051]

The Art of Warfare by Sun Tzu

[Anonymous No.1870056]

>>1869993
don't worry, 18 isn't too young to start, you have plenty of time. i'll recommend to you don quixote.

[Anonymous No.1870061]

>>1870019
>literature doesn't help in learning at all.

Gonna have to call bullshit on that one

[Anonymous No.1870076]

No "essential" books, but I can offer some that you won't regret if you want to continue reading.

1. How to Read Literature Like a Professor: A Lively and Entertaining Guide to Reading Between the Lines by Thomas C. Forester
2. The Illiad by Homer, Translated by Robert Fagles (Read the introduction.)
3. The Odyssey by Homer translated by Robert Fagles (Read the introduction.)

[Anonymous No.1870079]

Catch 22, The Crisis, Beyond Good and Evil, The Stranger, A Strenuous Life

[Sherlock Holmes Guy No.1870086]

Just five! I don't know if I can make a list that small and still be of help. I'll try to keep it short, though.

If you just want to be up to speed with everyone's high school reading:
- Lord of the Flies
- Something by Charles Dickens
- 1984, Animal Farm, or Brave New World
- The Grapes of Wrath or The Great Gatsby
- A Shakespeare play (I'd pick Othello or Hamlet)
- Oedipus Rex, Medea, or the Odyssey

If you want a slightly less highschoolish, but still popular list:
- Something by Kurt Vonnegut
- Something by Dostoevsky (I'd pick Notes from Underground since it's short)
- The Stranger by Albert Camus
- On the Road or Catcher In The Rye (I haven't read these, but apparently they're a hit)
- Catch 22

[suomynonA No.1870088]

>>1870022
Oh, OP said 5 books.
Der Steppenwolf- Hermann Hesse
1984- George Orwell
Brave New World- Aldous Huxley
Lord of the Flies- William Golding
Die Verwandlung- Franz Kafka

I think those should be a a good start. All of them are quite easy to read, but I think you should start with 1984.

Pic related.