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/lit/ - Literature

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2798982 No.2798982 [Reply] [Original]

Are you an idiot if you cant finish or enjoy the 'classics' ?

I've downloaded a big torrent of the classics and tried to get into reading. Heres how things went with 2 of the classics

1984 - read for about 30 minutes and never picked up again
Atlas Shrugged - couldn't get into it, kept getting really tired and falling asleep while reading

Now 2 books people might consider, not classics.

Holes - read it as a child 3 times, finished it once in 1 sitting, enjoyed it
Zombie survival guide - Couldnt put it down, planned to read for 30 mins, ended up reading for 3 hours and getting 310 pages through, will finish it tonight

I want to enjoy the classics, what people consider must reads, but I just get kinda bored and fall asleep.

>> No.2798986

Who told you Atlas Shrugged was a must-read? It's an utter piece of shit. 1984 is pretty good, though, I'm not sure why you couldn't get into it, it's a fairly evocative and easy read

>notsureiftroll.jpg

>> No.2798984

And try not to turn this into a "omg they arent classics lrn2culture"

>> No.2798987

Stop being deep & edgy and just read the stuff you like.
Fool.

>> No.2798988

Atlas Shrugged is most certainly not a classic.

Anyway, yeah you're probably an idiot. You like the Micheal Bay films of literature.

>> No.2798991

>1984
Keep reading.

>Atlas Shrugged
You should never have started reading.

>>2798984
>I'll make a thread asking for opinions but you're not allowed to give me your real opinion.

>> No.2798993

omg they arent classics lrn2culture

>> No.2798996

In all absolute seriousness, there is nothing actually wrong with having 'bad taste' aside from the label. Read what you want, man.

>> No.2799001

>>2798996
>>2798987
Suppose, just feel kinda stupid. I'd like to think of myself as a well cultured person, smart, thoughtful, not a sheep, then I look at my bookshelf and wonder why I even try, should I just download Justin Beibers new album and get it over with?

I'll keep trooping on with 1984 and see how it goes, but heres a question, reading speed, I swear I read slow as hell. Like if I want to read a page and fully understand whats going on I have to take a good 5 minutes reading it.

I read Derren Browns book and it literally took me like 10+ hours to finish. Does my ability to read quicker and retain the info improve over time, because I think thats why I get so bored.

>> No.2799005

>>2799001

You're dumb as hell. Five minutes is pathetic. You have bad taste. Download some Beiber. Please leave.

I'm being serious. You don't belong here.

>> No.2799006

>the classics
>Atlas Shrugged

OP, that book is a standing joke. Its fanboys just do a really dedicated job of pushing it.

>> No.2799009

>>2799001
Try reading hard-copies. It's much more difficult to read on a screen.

>> No.2799028

>>2799009
I was just going to mention this.

I would never recommend the zombie survival guide over 1984, but what ever makes you happy is fine. At the end of the day, reading should be enjoyable for you, not a challenge.

It could also be that you are possibly still a bit young. Or maybe you just enjoy 'fantasy' style books more. I dunno, I'm just speculating.

Just read what ever you want.

>> No.2799037

>>2799028
But what I want to read is the classics, the things that have stood the rest of time as great lit.

I mean when I put zombie survival guide down I didn't feel good about it, I kinda enjoyed it, but in the way you might enjoy a children's tv show that you watched when you were younger. I didn't get much from it.

Maybe I'm just expecting too much from books

>> No.2799046

>>2799037

I think the problem might be your expectations. Classics are classics not necessarily for being an easy read and very entertaining, classics are simply books which are considered important for some reason - they may have influenced a lot of people, they may contain a lot of cultural references, they may present interesting ideas; but they're not necessarily "entertaining" in the sense of being able to pick up the book and read without thinking about it.

>> No.2799047

Yes, you do have to get used to ready books like that, especially something as slow paced as say, Crime and Punishment, (which is a fairly easy to read classic and would recommend as a starting point.)

>> No.2799111
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2799111

>>2798982
It's fine, OP. Now go enjoy yourself.

And like, become a Bodhisattva just to be on the safe side.

>> No.2799508

>>2799046
This

>> No.2799529

>>2798982
>Atlas Shrugged
I have never read anything from rand and I have no reason to believe she is a good writer.

>1984
It's well written compared to the brave new world but overall a boring book. I respect and to a degree agree with Orwell's opinions on writing but I don't consider him a fun read. Unless you're a high schooler, you should be quite familiar with what the book is trying to convey, so not a necessary read either.

>> No.2799532

Instead of 1984 read Brave New World, I found it to be much easier e more enjoyable.

>> No.2799543

>>2799047
Dostoevsky is an excellent starting point. i'd also recommend Voltaire's Candide. It's filled with a lot of humorous quips and is a fairly short read.

>> No.2799546

>>2798982
It's ok... I for one enjoy more the old stuff... I can't find enthusiasm to read contemporary works... sometimes it happens, but most of my favorites are old...

try Voltaire's "Candide", or Cervantes' "Don Quixote"... those are on top of my list...

>> No.2799550

>>2798982
It all depends what you feel is entertainment. Some people like to be informed, to learn, to understand more things, and they find this enjoyable, so it's entertaining to read the classics and literature. Some people simply don't find this entertaining, and read pop books.

>> No.2799551

Considering Orwell is renown for his easy going style I don't hold out much hope for you OP.

>> No.2799553

Holes and Zombie Survival guide = entertainment

Classics = entertainment mixed with a deep look into what it means to be a human, sometimes intermingled with more specific philosophical ideas.

>> No.2799560

>>2799546
Seconding Candide. Really easy to read classic.

>> No.2799605

>>2799001

It doesn't mean you're stupid, you're just not in the mood to read them! Stop trying and relax about it. You're taste in music changes over the years and so will books. All you're going to do is ruin them for yourself by forcing it. The only dumb thing is to try if you're reading for pleasure.

But if you must try 'Crime and Punishment' Think of it as a better class crime novel. A bit slow going at times but at least that whole 'edgy' character thing might hold your interest.

>> No.2799610

>Zombies

don't bother with classics

>> No.2799616
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2799616

>Classic
>Atlas Shrugged

>> No.2799620

Pick up "How To Read Like A Professor" or "How To Read a Book." You would also do yourself good if you pick up "The Great Conversation," which is an introduction to philosophy that places philosophers in historical conversation and uses primary texts. (Alternatively, you could try a lecture series called Great Ideas of Philosophy.) This should sensitize you to a lot of the big ideas that the "great books" grapple or fondle.

You're having trouble because you need a little intellectual outfitting before you approach the classics. They're not something you can read passively for pure entertainment, and without background. You need to place the book and its author, very generally, in its time. You need to constantly interrogate what you're reading, and strain to make connections. This isn't to say you should approach a book like a code which needs to be cracked and translated, but rather you need to see more than the plot. It's the ideas that the characters operate with, and how they're interacting with their situation. You should be paying attention to the aesthetic qualities of the writing itself. If this isn't something you want to do, then you shouldn't read the classics -- and there's nothing wrong with that, not wanting to. Different people read for different reasons.

>> No.2799633

Classic isn't a recommendation that you will enjoy a book. Its that it holds some culturally significant, or some well realized idea that relates to our would.

So if you read for enjoyment and not for cultural enrichment, then by all means, skip classics if you don't enjoy them. Of course this is not to say that you might not enjoy another classic, or that many people people don't LOVE many classics. But there is nothing wrong with you if you are not one of those people.

And I recommend you read Snow Crash. I think you'll enjoy it

>> No.2799638

>>2799620
Basically, they're work -- and it's kind of silly to be surprised that they are. You don't expect to become better physically by doing easy things. You don't expect to get a better job by doing the minimum. Where in life do valuable things come easy? If you want to become better in literature, be prepared to do what it always takes to get better -- work.

If it's something you're doing because it's just something good to do, you're better spending your energy on something you really want.

>> No.2799661

Put bluntly, not everyone can handle reading adult books.
It's not a big deal, but you should at least know your limits.
sage for inane thread.

>> No.2799669

>>2798982
The way I see classics is this:
They are a much slower burn than other books, at first you might need to force yourself to read it. Once you do get into it, the characters, the storyline, you become obsessed and can't put it down.
1984, At first I was reading like 30 pages a session. Half way through the book, I finished it in one sitting.

>> No.2799676

>>2799661
>elitist cunt general
Its like saying not anybody can drink coffee because it tastes like shit. Well of course they CAN, but most chose not to if they didn't acquire a taste for it.

If my metaphor was too complex, classics are like coffee, and people are like people.

>> No.2799692

>>2798982

The truth is, no one actually enjoys classics. The only reason "classics" are revered is because old white people say they're good. It's all cases of the emperor wearing no clothes. If a book has an actually interesting story, like many Stephen King books, they just ignore them because he's popular. You should just ignore what everyone says and actually read enjoyable things because they're the best for you.

>> No.2799749

>>2798982

>Atlas Shrugged
>Classic

So now re-write 300 years old ideas in the form of a novel is writting a classic. Read it if you like, everyone should read everything, even if it's only for the confirmation of what a piece of shit it is. I just hope that it doesn't turn you into a retarded libertarian

>> No.2799782
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2799782

If you can't stomach 1984 - which is (as has been said) an excellent, easy-to-get-into read, then perhaps you should stick to the more instantly rewarding comics and computer games you are used to.

>inb4 baaah you are elitist for not liking comics and vidya blah blah blah. Grow the fuck up.

>> No.2799805

I like reading shorter novels, OP.
Classic novellas have a lot of benefits. They, at the very least, take less time to read. I think it would be an over-generalization to say that they are also easier to read, but I usually find that to be true.

I would much rather reader several books like Siddhartha, Tender is the Night, The Trial, Dubliners, A Farewell to Arms, etc. than soldier through Atlas Shrugged.

Although those are probably pretty bad examples; my smalltown library and used bookstore have limited selections. I'd point you back to http://4chanlit.wikia.com/wiki/Recommended_Reading

>> No.2799823

I have about 200 pages left to go on Atlus Shrugged, I started like 3 years ago and was really busy and then quit and haven't picked up since because of how dry it is.

>> No.2799824

>>2799001
Hey, I think that's your "problem", OP. If you struggle to suck up everything while you read, you just need some practice. I bet you don't need to think twice about the things you read in the Zombie Survival Guide, and until you can read 1984 fluently you can't expect to enjoy it.

I know how you feel though, everytime I start a new book that has some awkward or new kind of prose, I have to fight the book for a chapter or two before I start flowing.

Hope this was helpful. Good luck, OP!