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/lit/ - Literature

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2614309 No.2614309 [Reply] [Original]

So /lit/ im going to be honest with you. i've been on 4chan for a few years now but today is my first time here. i've read like 2 books in my entire life and i don't feel proud about it. But i do REALLY want to start reading I find the books of game of thrones quite interesting but they are quite big and am afraid of not finishing one since i read really slow. right now im reading my "3rd" book, its The Bourne identity ( a 566 page book ) and im in page #389 and I feel like im never going to finish it.

anyways /lit/ im looking for some advises to motivate myself more into reading. any advises on which kind of books i should start reading from?

<<<this is a pic of the books i have next to me including, Trafalgar battle, charles dickens, honore de balzac, stephen hawking last book, sun tzu, and some others....i've read all of them to a 50-70% but none are finished.

>> No.2614314

btw, that journal next to the dickens book, just above the fat book (holy bible) is a leather journal i made my self..

>> No.2614317

Perhaps the satisfaction of finishing a book will encourage you to read more. Also, don't feel compelled to read books just because they are considered classics.

>> No.2614322

>>2614309

Reading literature should be a pleasure, not a chore. So take your time and go easy into it. Start by reading in short pieces. IE: one chapter at a time (or if the chapters are lenghty, then half a chapter.) Don't push yourself. If you're getting tired or fed up with it, give it a break. No one is rushing you and you won't get any prizes for finishing a book quickly.

Maybe you should consider something lighter for your next ventures in reading? Pick up a book or two of short stories (either by a popular author like Poe or Chekov, or one of the countless anthologies in the market... you're bound to find something that suits your inclinations.)

>> No.2614323
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2614323

The books you have in your collection reek of try-hard, and that's probably why you can't get into reading. You need to run before you learn to walk/ I wrote my rhymes around you in chalk

>> No.2614327

>>2614323

Not OP.

Welp, first book I ever tried reading was one my dad kept around the house. A little piece of cheesy light fiction known as The Divine Comedy. Years passed before I tried to read something out of my own volition.

So yeah, OP. Try finding something shorter and easier to get you started.

>> No.2614348

Rather than going striaght to the "classics", which can be hard to get into, I'd recommend you go with something more along the lines of escapism.
Like sci-fi? Look into Isaac Asimov.
Fantasy? Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss is fun. (Yes, it's long, but I sincerely doubt you'll be daunted once you're into it)
Etc.
Enjoy reading, then you'll find you have the tolerance to enjoy more serious works.

>> No.2614386

Hey, OP. Snow Crash. Check out Snow Crash.

>> No.2614388

>>2614386
Ooh, yeah. Fucking this.

>> No.2614420

>>2614348

Read Name of the Wind last weekend. I got the impression that Rothfuss wasn't an incredibly talented writer (just yet at least as there was a fair amount of awkward artistic things) but DAMN that shit was fun.

>> No.2614422

I apreciate your help guys. Looking forward into reading snow crash.

>> No.2614434

If you're discouraged by long books, short books are the answer. Here's a nice entry-level list that I followed when I started getting interested in reading.

> Fahrenheit 451
> Slaughterhouse 5
> 1984
> Brave New World
> Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?
> Enders Game
> Catcher in the Rye
> Catch-22
> Siddhartha
> Starship Troopers
> The Stranger
> Notes from the Underground
> The Road
> On the Road

That should keep you busy for a while.

>> No.2614436

Not op.
Im starting with metamorphosis by kafka. any ideas on what I could read next?
also, what is kafkaesque? I know it means "like kafka", but I can't really pinpoint anything special about his writing.

>> No.2614444

>>2614436
Read the trial next. It's pretty good.

However, I strongly prefer Camus over Kafka. The usual pick for Camus is The Stranger, but I'm going to recommend his essays, especially 'The Myth of Sisyphus'. That Shit hits hard.

Also, Dostoevsky is always a safe bet. Notes from the Underground is a good one that is similar to Kafka esque themes.

>> No.2614445

Aye, try easier books.
Good long books to jump into are series like Eragon or Harry Potter. These are easy to read, great reads, and good training for longer books.

Once you've got a handle for difficult and long literature, you can attempt to branch out to books like A Game of Thrones.

>>Fair warning. Even experienced readers have difficulty with all of the damn characters and backstory shit in AGoT.

>> No.2614470

Is there something you specifically like? A certain subject?

>> No.2614530

If you're looking to get yourself into the groove, short stories can be just as good as a regular novel. Most short stories come in collections. My favorites are from Ray Bradbury: "The Martian Chronicles" and "The Illustrated Man."

If you really want to stick with it, you need to read for fun. Everyone will give you different "fun," books, and your opinion will be different from anyone else's. Try going to your local library and picking up anything that looks good to you. Start in the newer releases section -- contemporary won't confuse like older writing might.

>> No.2615146

OP here,
well I don't even really know what I like.. but I loved LOTR movies, Jason Bourne (action-fiction?), history...

I'm open to try new things of course

>> No.2615180

>>2614444
I fucking loved 'The Myth of Sisyphus'

>> No.2615228

There is a great series of SciFi anthologies edited by a guy called Gardner Dozois called "The Years Best Science Fiction". He has been doing that for 29 years, those 29 books are perhaps the best collection of SciFi out there. Short stories all of them, very easy to get into.

He has also published the excellent "Warriors" anthology with his best buddy George RR Martin, a very good book.

>> No.2615259

Hey OP, I am the same as you. I had only really read 2 books all the way through (and I'm 23!).
I started reading the Conqueror series, it's about the life of Genghis Khan and his sons. Ever since that first book I love reading now.

Then I went onto the Hobbit, and now I'm trying the do The Lord Of The Rings.

You should give these all a try!