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/lit/ - Literature

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5789923 No.5789923 [Reply] [Original]

I'm 20 and I don't too many books and the books I read are all stuff that /lit/ considers childish and plebian like Hitchhiker's Guide, Space Odyssey series, and Hunger Games trilogy.

How do I fix myself so you guys will like me? Reading growed up books is haaard.

>> No.5789931

Vonnegut
Calvino
Saunders

These are fun authors who aren't too challenging and aren't heavy on realism. I personally hate Vonnegut but a lot of people seem to like him.

>> No.5789940

>>5789923
Finnegans Wake.

>> No.5789994

>>5789923
Stephen King. Apparently he just died.

>> No.5789995
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5789995

>>5789931
>>5789940
Shame on you.

>>5789923
The Greeks.

>> No.5790028
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5790028

>>5789923
You will gain no knowledge from browsing /lit/. /lit/ is made up of very pretentious people who read very specific books. In reality, you should stick to reading books you enjoy, because, when it comes down to it, enjoyment is the most important part of reading. Don't feel bad because of what you read; rather, read what you enjoy. But, if you do want recommendations, there is a very convenient link in the sticky of /lit/ that can lead you to various starting points which /lit/ considers required reading.

Otherwise, start with the greeks. Here is the flowchart that appears on the wiki on the sticky.

>> No.5790032

>>5789923
Start with the Greeks.

>> No.5790037

>>5790028
who mad da list?
how i no, da list legit?

>> No.5790048

>>5790028
that's gonna take me years, mfw 200 words per minute.

>> No.5790052

>>5790048
stay pleb then

>> No.5790056

>>5790028
This. Read what you want and try to expand your horizon when feasible. Who cares if people on /lit/ like you. Most of them are stupid.

>> No.5790069

You could continue reading trash, which is a pointless waste of time that could otherwise been spent doing something you'd undoubtedly enjoy more, like watching television or playing video games, or, you could start with the Greeks.

>> No.5790084
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5790084

>>5790037
You don't. Use your critical-thinking-brain that your parents made one night [x-years] + 9 months ago. The flowchart is more of a suggestion than anything else. The entire purpose of 4chan is that everyone is anonymous and all of our voices have equal strength (the other purpose being to be huge fucking weeaboos), so you must determine the truth on your own.

>> No.5790118

>>5789995
>>5790069
>pick the safe option so people will think I'm cultured and then talk down to people that aren't afraid of naming their own preferences

Stay insecure.

>> No.5790131

>>5790118
I have to argue for the posters you're criticizing. OP is specifically asking for books that are a safe option and will generally make /lit/ respect him. And, on /lit/ there is no safer or easier way to reach this point than starting with the Greeks.

Of course, the posters probably are insecure, anyway. So, while irrelevant, you've got the right thinking there.

>> No.5790132

>>5789923
SWTG

>> No.5790152

>>5790118
>>5790131

how's your first day on /lit/ on going?

>> No.5790169

>>5790052
that's encouraging

>> No.5790222

>>5789923
But OP. Actual books that fall under the category for childrens books are of more merit that the trash you posted.

>> No.5790228

>>5789923
>reading to impress /lit/
Easily the worst motivation to read

>> No.5790231

>>5790028
Anybody knows what the best translation of The Illiad is?

>> No.5790233

Watership Down is an easy book with a lot of meaning, and very well written as well.

I suggest that. Or Hobbit+ Lord of the Rings if you haven't yet.

If you want an intro into theoretical and practical thinking, Machiavelli's The Prince isn't too hard of a read either, and even inexperienced readers could probably glean some useful knowledge out of it.

>> No.5790235

S.T.A.R.T. W.I.T.H. T.H.E. G.R.E.E.K.S.

>> No.5790241

but seriously, don't start with the greeks. you'll read all that shit in college. otherwise here's some writers that you'll probably enjoy and will softly introduce to more serious literature

kurt vonnegut
charles bukowski
jack keroac
jd salinger

they're all super easy and pretty relatable if you're a young man.

all the greek shit is just trolling

>> No.5790254

>>5790241
your list is so edgy

>> No.5790257

>>5790254
>look mom i posted it again xD

>> No.5790269

>>5790254

yeah unlike you i don't look at the world through a edgy/not edgy lens. those are just basic writers that young guys seem to like immediately. get off it.

>> No.5790290

>>5790269
did you rape your sister, phoebe, today

>> No.5790303

Mate, there are 'grown up books' that are not difficult if you are on your way "up" from the hunger games.
Try books not so edgy. I wouldn't recommend anything from the sort.
Do your own list, that's the best thing you can do.
Go to goodreads.com, sign up, and use /lit/ to find books and check them on the website.
Some reviews are... childish... probably the book is too.
Some reviews are made by English majors, probably not the best book to begin with.
I will recommend two:
Nausea, by Jean Paul Sartre (philosophical but it's written as a novel)
and
The Tunnel, by Ernesto Sabato (some great Argentinian writer, a love story of the ones that don't end very well)
If you are American and want something from the US, go with JD Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye. Even though I think it's not great, it's not bad either and narrative wise is easy to understand.

>> No.5790309

>>5789923
taipei
gravity's rainbow
infinite jest
underworld

>> No.5790311

>>5790309
0/10

>> No.5790661

>>5789923
Any respectable reader does not consider HHG childish or plebeian. I doubt /lit/ feels that way.

>> No.5790671

>>5790661
You underestimate the elitism of /lit/

>> No.5790677

>>5790661
it might not be childish but it's definitely manchildish and only non-plebeian at a STEM course or an anime convention.

>> No.5790709

>>5790309
kek

on a serious note, G'sR and IJ are worth a read.

>> No.5791428

>>5790661
It's above the level of your average genre-fiction, but that's it. It's not serious at all and not ingrained in tradition and culture to be part of he canon.