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/lit/ - Literature

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2471594 No.2471594 [Reply] [Original]

Why is /lit infected with weirdos? There is nothing wrong with reading books written for other times living in other societies.

But why do you get so millitant against people reading genres you don't like?

Genre lit is accepted as long as it is at least 60 years old. Like 1984, War of the worlds and The Lord of the Rings.. But reading modern fantasy is such a horrible and childish thing! One should go away.

What is wrong with you?

PS. I hate Kafka!

>> No.2471599

That's not true at all, and is only really for contemporary fantasy. We have a healthy respect for rather recent sci-fi.

And it's not like we hate contemp fantasy out of spite. It's like in a dark age. There hasn't really been an accomplished piece of fantasy since Tolkien with maybe the exception of Earthsea.

>> No.2471604

the reasons are many and complicated, but mostly it's because a lot of genre fiction sucks ass and a lot of genre fiction readers are idiots about it. a lot of modern fantasy really isn't great and yet some readers pump it up like it is the greatest, most artistically inspired work ever, while refusing to read or denigrating literature, and that kind of thing gets on people's nerves.

>>2471599
really? what about gene wolfe, m john harrison, lafferty, john crowley, lisa goldstein, patricia mckillip, hal duncan, charles de lint, and susanna clarke?

it's not that there's been no really compelling works of fantasy since tolkien. it's that there's been no really compelling works of fantasy since tolkien that have also been massively popular.

>> No.2471612

It's because most fantasy works, particularly modern ones, and even more so the most widely read material, are shallow works people enjoy because "omg so epic!" Meanwhile, they have not read real epics like Ulysses.

>> No.2471613

>But why do you get so millitant against people reading genres you don't like?

Mature books, mature people such as myself, etc.

Frankly, it's why I hardly bother with this board anymore.

>> No.2471621

>PS. I hate Kafka!
Classic John you are the demons.

>> No.2471634
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2471634

I love this series, and you all can go suck a bunch of dicks.

>> No.2471638

I see it like this:

People have gene pools, right? And if those gene pools get stagnant, without a lot of new genes moving around between pools now and then, and if people keep breeding, people get inbred and retarded as all fuck.

Now lets apply this to Memetics and the genre of fantasy: Modern Fantasy's father was Tolkien, of course. Most modern fantasy works use Tolkien and Medieval European Politics like feudalism and kings snd Myths like trolls and shit as there main basis. I don't know why, I guess they're just lazy. Because the Meme pool has been limited by writers and readers alike, the Meme Pool has gone stagnant, and Fantasy, which should only e limited by imagination, falls into boring assortment of overused tropes and practices.

Sci-fi's different. Good ones will take up modern social trends and emerging scientific research and make some statement about it, having a continuing source of new ideas from the real world.

>> No.2471647

>>2471604
it's that there's been no really compelling works of fantasy since tolkien that have literary merit or originality.

ftfy

>> No.2471671

>>2471634
a game of thrones is enjoyable and all but it has zero artistic merit

>> No.2471672

i read some scifi/fantasy in between more serious and deeper works for a break, so to speak. i just don't understand why people read nothing but this stuff...most of it just isn't very fulfilling to me. but to each his own.

>> No.2471676

>>2471672
>scifi ... isn't fulfilling
It can be. Authors like Vonnegut, Matheson, some PKD, can be reasonably deep and fulfilling. Sure they're not Joyce or Shakespeare, but they're not just hacky schlock either.

>> No.2471680

>>2471676
and hell, 1984, Lord of the Flies, and such are probably technically Sci-Fi and are seen as True Art Literature.

>> No.2471682

>>2471647
Tolkien isn't even that compellign

>> No.2471689
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2471689

hello OP, you are like a number of people here that get their discussion of great stories written in recent years saged because they are in a world built entirely by the author with original settings and rules
these "e/lit/ists" are in fact bitter wanna-be writers, all they do on /lit/ is post their shitty amateur novellas, desperate for confirmation of their amaaazing talent and that they are wonderfull snowflakes because they have had an original thought once, and the second is bashing any popular, succesfull, Published author

I hope you are enlightened now.

>>2471672
for the same reasons people watch movies and listen to music idiot, escapism and entertainment; that and many many other reasons that aren't bragging rights

a good story, a WELL-written story with believable worlds and realistic characters is great to get into, especially if the author creates a world in some ways very different from our own

you don't understand reading as entertainment because you read to BRAG ABOUT IT

haha, I'll be enjoying life reading some Terry Pratchett, you go read Kafka and maybe hang yourself after, that's the only personal growth you will get out of it

>>2471671
lol at this guy, go take a picture of your asshole and put it in an art gallery, that's what "art" is these days


Again OP, remember, the answer to "what's wrong with you " is simple : angst and elitism


but don't thread there are people like you, normal people, that enjoy reading, and don't do it as a chore for a checklist -like the pathetic tripfags that post "I will read a book a day this year, here come rate what I read lol"

>>2471682
a lot of people think the fantasy genre equals tolkien's world and writing style, or choose to think this out of the above mentioned reasons

peace out

>> No.2471690

>>2471682
take that back you sonofabitch.

>> No.2471698

>>2471689
you are so oblivious to yourself it's sad.

>peace out

good. and stay gone.

>> No.2471696
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2471696

>>2471689
That.. was.. beautiful...

>> No.2471700

>>2471689
>music and movies for escapism and not transcendence

Full plebeian.

>> No.2471704

I think you'll find that not even Lord of the Rings is accepted by the literati, which is good because those books are trash.

>> No.2471707

>>2471689
>lol at this guy, go take a picture of your asshole and put it in an art gallery, that's what "art" is these days
lol pleb

>> No.2471709

>>2471672
nobody reads ONLY sci-fi/fantasy, people who bash fantasy/sci-fi are the ones that read books "exclusively"

>> No.2471711
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2471711

>>2471689
Hi, you seem to be under the impression that most people read superior, (read: better written) literature for any other reason than enjoyment. That's a misguided assumption you're making. I don't read Terry Pratchett, simply because he's a rather average writer who relies on petty british colloquialisms too much. I would prefer to read Homer, Joyce, or even Faulkner. All of these people were hands-down better writers. And I am entertained by good writing, I am not entertained very much by bad or mediocre writing, maybe you are. I don't see what the big deal is on this point or why you feel the need to demonize people like me and invent absurd conspiratorial reasons for why we read what we read.

>> No.2471712

>>2471704
well tolkien did good and bad things with /lit/. he's not a "writer's writer" but brought medieval fantasy into modern literature. and with a staggering amount of detail that wasn't done, nor probably has been matched since.

>> No.2471717

>>2471711
like clockwork

hi deep&edgy, thanks for replying to me, how you doing?
you've gotten your piece of attention,you're welcome

>>2471712
Wheel of Time probably, or Malazan, haven't read the later but I am on the first one

>> No.2471721

>>2471717
god you're an idiot

>> No.2471722
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2471722

>>2471717
you think this is a fucking joke son?

>> No.2471724

>>2471711
are you really d&e?

what's up with the tripcode? i've been gone here and there.

>> No.2471725

>>2471724
He trolled other boards to much and they cracked the insecure one.

>> No.2471726

>>2471721
god you're rude

>> No.2471727

>>2471724
satan complained about me to /sci/ and they cracked it

>> No.2471728

>>2471726
Faggot detected.

>> No.2471729

>>2471727
hey d&e you should read Abercrombie's First Law, you are a lot like Sand Dan Glokta

>> No.2471731

>>2471726
Yeah, because I'm totally the one who was a dick to Deep&Edgy for making a perfectly polite and sincere post. Go fuck yourself

>> No.2471735

>>2471704
I rate LOTR as bedtime reading, and probably as audio books. I think the praise for the Hobbit is more or less unanimous.

>> No.2471744

>>2471735
Even Harold Bloom thinks the Hobbit has some literary value, but apparently this guy didn't like it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pWZ6XAOnNks

>> No.2471747
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2471747

>>2471731
woah woah, let me pull you a chair and explain a few things about tripfags on 4chan and d&e on /lit/ in particular, kiddo, their opinions or even valid arguments are rendered invalid and automatically hidden by rational people as soon as they recognize their spamming of troll material -see picture he posts in every thread (as if I didn't read all of those in highschool, Beowulf translated by Leslie Hall was the best) in threads they attempt to derail or where they want to kill discussion

remember what I said above kiddo, elitism and angst, elitism and angst

see, you posted a real argument, I gave you a real response

peace and love brother

>> No.2471750

>>2471747
you're embarrassing yourself, dude. close your browser. go get something to drink and go take a walk then come back. it will do you good.

>> No.2471753

>>2471747

If you've already read those classics, there are other things you could read. For example, the entire works of Proust.

>> No.2471754

>>2471750
This. You could also find a quiet space to sit in for ~30 misns and take deep breaths (in with the nose, out thru the mouth) and think of a relaxing environment. This will help you not lose your shit when someone posts an image more than once on 4chan.

>> No.2471755

I've been gone from /lit/ for several weeks, and this board now seems to be noticeably more shit than I remember. It was even on the cusp when I left. What... what happened to you guys?

>> No.2471757

>>2471750
but it's late night, the streets are dangerous

>>2471754
sorry you have reached your maximum amount of attention for the day
*hidden*

>>2471753
actually I'm still pretty busy reading all of Terry Pratchett

and as he would say
"I'm on the path. I don't have to know where it leads. I just have to follow."

>>2471755
again, those the answer is two simple words I posted above

>> No.2471758

>>2471755
Too many new friends. It'll sort itself out again when these faggots either leave or start reading.

>> No.2471760

>>2471757
>busy reading all of Terry Pratchett
I love Terry, but one is never "busy" reading him.

>> No.2471765

>>2471760
They are when they're doing it at work.

>> No.2471768

>>2471765
Yeah, that doesn't make sense.

>> No.2471769
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2471769

>>2471757
>*hidden
That's not very fair to other posters now is it?

>> No.2471766

>>2471757
>*hidden*
That's not very fair to other posters now is it?

>> No.2471771

I read plenty of books written for other times, featuring people in different societies. I love world literature, and literature from other eras.

I don't hate people who read genres I don't like. I seem to get more hate for /not/ reading the genres they like, as if I'm not allowed to just read what I want to read. I don't like fantasy or science fiction, and I don't want to read it. I don't see why that's so horrible. I'm not telling other people they can't read it, but I myself just don't have any desire to. And the sci-fi/fantasy people somehow take offense with that.

>> No.2471774

>>2471771
nobody has a problem if you haven't read ASOIAF or never will

they have a problem when they're discussing how he likes to write too much about food and all of a sudden you post in the thread saying something like "I like reading real literature" or other stupid stuff like that.
or when you say you don't read fantasy because of some stupid preconceived notion you have about it, like it's all bad and unoriginal

that's all, nobody atacks you or takes offense if you don't read them, so I guess you can relax

>> No.2471775
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2471775

I think D&E is quite an intelligent man, he has good taste in literature and seems to be a rather amusing bloke. Sadly, being a tripfag and a regular troll, he invalidates any good points one could assign to his person and ends up being another typical attention whore.

I would be happy if he continued to post on this board anonymously, he could actually contribute and be a valued member of /lit/.

>> No.2471777

>>2471775
I actually like tripfags reacting like Pavlov's dog and posting their signature troll images /shitposts when people post about popular stuff.

It gets funny after a while.

>> No.2471783

saying something dumb and getting called on it, by a person using the least amount of effort in doing so no less, isn't pavlovian conditioning mate get over yourself. you're not the first mook only worth wasting copypasta on and you won't be the last cheers

>> No.2471787

>>2471783
well no need to get pissy about the truth

don't run off to another board again that people aren't taking you seriously, you brought this on yourself tripfriend

you spent quite a lot of effort making that image, and your reaction to fantasy threads is just like pavlovian conditioning ~

>> No.2471791

no mate, telling you to stop being retarded more than once with a simple isn't pavlovian conditioning, you are just getting stock responses because you're stupid and boring and i have heard it all before. sorry

>> No.2471796

>>2471774
I've actually had several people get extremely angry at me for saying I don't really want to read ASOIAF. Not "I hate fantasy," but "I'm not sure it's something I'd like." But that was in real life, not /lit/.

And I don't even go into fantasy or science fiction threads, so you'll never get that from me. I'm not sure why they'd even say that in a conversation about writing too much on food, as many of the greatest literary writers in history described meals with extreme detail.

>> No.2472585

>>2471594

I agree completely.

And I love you for posting this.

>> No.2474111

>>2471711

That image doesn't make any sense. Why is Beowulf not a waste but ASOIF is? What do you learn in Beowulf that is fiction as well?

>> No.2474675

>>2474111
Beowulf is beautiful poetry, but you have to read it in the original Anglo-Saxon

>> No.2475176

>>2474675

And poetry isn't a waste of time?

>> No.2475335

>>2475176
Well, we're posting on a literature board. What the fuck do you think.