/lit/ - Literature

[Anonymous No.22172108]

I have very low verbal IQ. What can I read to remediate this? I have the brainpower to learn multivariable calculus and multiple foreign languages (I'm fluent in English and Spanish, and capable of reading children's books in French), however, when it comes to expressing complex ideas and thoughts I often find myself fumbling for words to accurately say what is in my mind (very often having to look up words or translating ones that accurately express what I want to say from one language to another).

Another problem I have is that the ideas and thoughts I have are extremely simple. For example, when Lolita is discussed on this board (which happens often) my only input is that I really liked the picture Mr. Nabokov painted with his descriptions of 1950's America. That's it. I just don't have anything else to say about it. Or when Blood Meridian is discussed, I really liked how gory and violent it was. That's it.

What can I do to alleviate myself from being such a simple-minded (dumb, perhaps?) person?

[Anonymous No.22172114]

>how do i get better at something
practice nigger

[Anonymous No.22172126]

>>22172114
Yes, but how?

[Anonymous No.22172138]

>>22172126
read and write

[Anonymous No.22172150]

>>22172108
Read philosophy, Aristotle and Epicurus would be a good start as they are easy to read and lay a lot of foundational ideas

[Anonymous No.22172209]

>>22172150
Thank you!

[Anonymous No.22172381]

>>22172150
>Aristotle is an easy read
You can't be serious.

[Anonymous No.22172494]

If you want to understand and have input on more complex aspects of books, it might be helpful to read some literary criticism. If that doesn't strike you as compelling, you may want to try consciously building out your apparatus for critically analyzing texts; often, the tools involved are simply questions about what common patterns suit the text and which parts of the text they suit. Any major tropes will probably help, but there are very common and important patterns like:

Dialectics (are there two main forces, things, concepts, or worldviews set against each other?)

Allusion (is the author referencing something that, when considered closely, colors the text in a new way?)

Tragedy (does the story tell of the downfall of a powerful person, whose fatal flaw causes them to lose everything?)

Comedy (does the story tell of the misguided adventures of a common person, whose fortunes have a turn for the better by the end?)

Subversion (is the story being told in this way as an alternative to a specific, established manner?)

Any of these questions can be followed with a resounding "Why?" Having a healthy awareness of the era and movement a work is involved in can also help significantly in analyzing its features and their purposes.

That said--some authors, like Nabokov, may be intentionally oblique in their meaning. If you struggle with analyses of literary works, you may want to watch lectures, read reviews, or even reread books when it comes to those that are particularly challenging.

TL;DR: Read at least some literary criticism if you can, but DEFINITELY try to expand the set of patterns you recognize, try to identify the movement(s) a book belongs to, and reread/seek out secondary literature on difficult ones.

Good luck anon, God bless.

[Anonymous No.22172523]

>>22172494
*Addendum: some literary definitions given here are imperfect; dialectics are often richer than a simple opposition, and the tragedy and comedy definitions apply to classical tragedy and comedy rather than to modern instances (although there are more necessary qualifying attributes to classical genres than those listed).

[Anonymous No.22172660]

>>22172108
You're just untrained, OP. You need to not just read your books but reflect upon them. Resist the urge to finish a book for the sake of it. Read slowly and reflectively. Take notes to remember important passages and plot turns. Ask yourself study questions (or look some up) for each chapter. Read more. Read some fundamental lit theory, like Arisrotle's Poetics. Read an study good analyses and reviews of books you like and learn the patterns and theories those critics use. Schopenhauer has some good takes and recommendations in his essays on reading and writing too.

Tldr: Git gud.

[Anonymous No.22172757]

>>22172660
Could you recommend an analysis about Moby Dick? that's what I'm currently reading

[Anonymous No.22173831]

>>22172108
>multivariable calculus
You mean calculus with tinier bits?

PSEUD!

[Anonymous No.22174126]

>>22172494
>Dialectics
This is just rejecting the idea that contradictions exist. Unironically kill yourself.