/lit/ - Literature

[Anonymous No.22310220]

Do you ever get uninspired to read? Especially for prolonged periods of time? When I first started reading, it felt like I was wandering into a whole new world I knew nothing about, and was discovering so much. Yet, after reading so much, I feel like the curiosity and wonder of it has faded. Like nothing interests me anymore. I’ve read the works of Dostoevsky, Tolstoy, Gogol, Turgenev, Bulgakov, Solzhenitsyn, Faulkner, McCarthy, Hemingway, Fitzgerald, Baldwin, the Brontë sisters, Woolf, Joyce, the Greeks, Shaw, a few of the postmodernists like Wallace, Pynchon, Beckett, then Mishima, Dazai, along with French existentialists, and Lord knows how many others. Hell, I even read a bunch of Toni Morrison to try and pull myself out of this slump, but to not much avail.

Can you recommend an author or a book that isn’t listed above that would possibly re-kindle that wonder and curiosity?

[Anonymous No.22310228]

>>22310220
Do you write

[Anonymous No.22310231]

[Anonymous No.22310234]

[Anonymous No.22310236]

>>22310220
Currently on that era. Tom wolfe and his hippy friends exhausted me and I'm in need of a Kino

[Anonymous No.22310237]

[Anonymous No.22310239]

JM Coetzee's entire catalogue is good, too.

[Anonymous No.22310240]

[Anonymous No.22310246]

>>22310228
I do, with some success (traditionally published internationally, even translated in other languages). However, since my spirit for reading faded, for the past year my spirit for writing has faded as well. It’s a killer.

>>22310231
Why do you recommend this book? I read Woman in the Dunes and thought it was okay. Would you say this is better?

>>22310234
Beautiful prose, and generally I enjoyed it, but I had read a lot of similar bohemian/disillusioned protagonists by the time I got to this one that it didn’t resonate with me.

>>22310237
Haven’t read this one. Why do you recommend it?

[Anonymous No.22310254]

>>22310239
>>22310240
Why do you recommend these books personally?

[Anonymous No.22310261]

>>22310231
Woman in the dunes was kinda mid, hope this is better

[Anonymous No.22310262]

>>22310246
>>22310254
>Why do you recommend these books?
Beautiful prose. I've read everything OP listed and have been in the same slump many times myself. I was selecting some books that he hadn't mentioned in addition to newer books he might not have encountered, all of which I've personally enjoyed. Then I lost interest in the thread and only now came back to check for replies in order to sate my megalomania. OP, I would additionally recommend taking a break from fiction to read some non-fiction in subjects you enjoy.

[Anonymous No.22310263]

Also you mention you've been traditionally published. Do you mind sharing any stories or articles you've written?

[Anonymous No.22310267]

>>22310262
>>22310263
The Murderer and The Orchidist I’ve made note of, I’ll likely try those two.

Since this is /lit/ I would rather not lol, but I will say that one of my books was picked up by a publishing house in France, translated into French and published there.

Thank you for the recommendations

[Anonymous No.22310331]

>>22310220
I am in such a slump right now, since May
I usually read a lot in autumn winter spring and then stop in summer for whatever reason

[Anonymous No.22310382]

>>22310220
tead theory now, start with Lyotard - Libidinal Economy
reads almost like prose

[Anonymous No.22310391]

What's a "prolonged period of time" to you? Everyone puts books to the side for a few days or weeks in order to do something else now and then. People tire of playing video games, watching movies and so on. No one pays you to do that shite so it's not like you can't just put aside and do something else till you naturally feel drawn to picking up a book.

[Anonymous No.22310497]

>>22310220
I perceive reading as a form of mental workout. Just like the physical workout, I have some aversion for it, but once I get into it, I enjoy my time and reap the satisfaction from finishing a book.

[Anonymous No.22310865]

That's when you pick up some well regarded trash lit like James Ellroy and just rip through detective novels for a few months.

[Anonymous No.22310870]

Best 20th century American novel

[Anonymous No.22311015]

>>22310220
hg wells, salinger, nabokov, aickman, borges, barthelme, shirley jackson... some authors youve listed have written mostly bloated grim melodramas.

>>22310382
why do people waste their time with this

[Anonymous No.22311319]

>>22310220
This book and the secret history, unironically

[Anonymous No.22311342]

>>22310220

William Saroyan is seriously underrated.

But maybe you should try some histories or biographies religious or philosophical texts. Maybe it's just time to expand your horizons.

[Anonymous No.22311365]

>>22310220
Dr. Faustus - Mann

[Anonymous No.22311368]

>>22310220
Stephen Florida by Gabe Habash. About a college wrestler that goes from unhinged to even more nuts than he already was. Can honestly say the main character has a very unique voice I've never encountered before and is still confusing to wrap my head around

[Voluntary Fool No.22312675]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=91gT68xeDMM

[Anonymous No.22312687]

>>22310220
Pessoa, Fowles, sherwood anderson, tanizaki, dazai, hitler, lovecraft (mountains of madness), bukowski, fante, dumas, junger, JE Williams, Mann (magic mountain).

Ive been there dude, youre just waiting for that next great book to hit you in a different way. There’s more out there, keep going.

[Anonymous No.22312777]

are you absolutely sure you're not just procrastinating. reading can get painful once you've stopped for a while

[Anonymous No.22312946]

>>22311319
did you just suddenly become literate at age 12?

[Anonymous No.22312963]

>>22310220
the vegetarian by han kang and lapvona by otessa moshfegh are my 21st century picks for this but u fags hate all women writers except the brontes

[Anonymous No.22312981]

>>22310220
>Do you ever get uninspired to read?
Yes, every time one of my girlfriend’s retarded friends sees my kindle that I usually lug around everywhere and asks if I’ve read the latest Colleen Hoover and harps on about how much she loves her. I lose all motivation to read anything because all my willpower is focused on not beating my girlfriend or her midwit friends.

[Anonymous No.22312986]

>>22310246
>>22310261
>women in the dunes was mediocre
…I don’t think you’re going to make it

[Anonymous No.22312995]

>>22310220
Yeah, that's generally what happens anon. It's called getting old. Happens to the best of us.

Truth is, life is a series of first-time experiences. That's how novelty and passion originate. But sadly, after you experience these again and again, endlessly, hell even if you master your craft and become one of the greatest authors, you'll eventually be tired of literature altogether and find nothing entertaining. As for the solution, I don't really have one. It seems most authors and artists abuse drugs or alcohol because of this

[Anonymous No.22313050]

>>22312963
List your 5 favorite books or get filtered.

[Anonymous No.22313212]

>>22313050

ok can’t cut it down from 6 plus i read mostly nonfic but. johnny got his gun by trumbo, waiting by ha jin, oranges are not the only fruit by winterson, we have always lived in the castle by jackson, cherry by walker, & lapvona by moshfegh. currently. i’ve got a major soft spot for anne brontë also

[Anonymous No.22313234]

>>22310220
Currently suffering this. Can't even finish a short story or a non-fiction book. Didn't even read/listen to that much, more obscure politics and novels rather than classics. But I'm trying to write right now, so maybe it's for the better. Although I think what I wrote while inspired was better than what I'm writing now. I think I will get into reading later, since I barely brushed against the /lit/ favorites.

Ever read The Monk? It's considered a gothic classic, but noone ralks about it.

[Anonymous No.22313398]

>>22310220
Fantasy, unironically. I just finished the first dragonlance trilogy and it was amazing. Just read something different. Who cares if it's not deep or meaningful. The goal is to get you excited about reading again.

[Anonymous No.22313829]

>>22313212
Well youre confident thats good. Have you read pic related? It will bump one off of your top 6.