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/lit/ - Literature

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7020573 No.7020573 [Reply] [Original]

Ask questions

>> No.7020584

What did you mean by this?

>> No.7020597

Does anyone else ever feel like they mainly read to not seem plebeian / close minded? I rarely full on enjoy any book I read. I feel cucked that I read other people's stuff yet they'd never care about my feels. And nobody would care about my stuff. Even if it was good, a publisher may not take it. Why are we blindly assuming that public discourse through commercial minded publishers is worthwhile at all!

>> No.7020603
File: 435 KB, 417x640, Crimeandpunishmentcover.png [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
7020603

My question pertains to books that have been translated to English from their original language.

I'm a relatively new reader(as in I've never read a book not originally written in English), and I was wondering how reading translations works.
Pic related is the book I'm interested in reading next, but I looked on wikipedia and there's ~15 people who have translated it. How are you supposed to know which one's the best?
When you do finally read it, is the prose, the language even Dostoyevskys anymore? Are you only allowed to compliment Dostoyevsky on the plot, theme, and characters and the translator on the rest?


Anyway my question boils down to: Who is the best Dostoyevsky translator?

>> No.7020605

I like ass because I find ass attractive
ass is attractive as I like ass

Anything wrong with this? my professor told me it doesn't logically follow

>> No.7020613

>>7020605

ain't nothin but a thang

>> No.7020614

>>7020603

I read it by garnett who is sometimes said to be bad but I saw no problems compared to p&v who are sometimes said to be good. you're a pleb either way.

>> No.7020627

>>7020605
Circular reasoning. Language is vulgar, begin restating propositions in logical form and you'll begin to notice.

>> No.7020811

>>7020584
Have you ever though about making a thread but had the reservation "I doubt many people will want to take part, perhaps it isn't worth bumping potentially more populated threads from the catalogue/first page"? Then this is the place to have these discussions or ask those questions.

>> No.7020895

>>7020573
what Delillo book should I start with?

>> No.7020954

Where should I start with the infrarealists?

>> No.7020962

What's the name of this fallacy and why is it wrong? Circular reasoning?

X is X because Y wills it
Y wills it because X is X

>> No.7020974

>>7020962
Yes, circular reasoning is exactly why it is wrong.

"Some versions of begging the question are more involved and are called circular reasoning. They include more than one inference. Descartes illustrated this kind of fallacy with the example of our belief in the Bible being justified because it is the word of God, and our belief in God’s existence being justified because it is written in the Bible.[2] The two propositions lead back and forth to each other, in a circle, each having only the other for support"

http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/fallacies/

>> No.7020975

Do writers have a tendency to become suicidal or do suicidal people have a tendency to become writers? Or is it a little bit of both?

>> No.7021488

>>7020573
Does anyone have the modified image of that trite Venn diagram of 'This what the teacher thinks' and 'This is what the author meant' where the space beyond those two circles is labeled something akin to 'This is what he could meaaaaaaaaaaaaan :^)' or something

>> No.7021532

>>7020974
Another name for it is "begging the question".

>> No.7021550

>>7020975
Artfags in general are unstable shits

>> No.7021642

>>7020975
i would say there is no such thing as a suicidal person for any meaningful duration

>> No.7021644

>>7020895

White Noise

>> No.7021653

>>7021642
If you're a suicidal person for the duration it takes for you to conclude to take your life and act upon that conclusion, I'd argue that's a meaningful duration.

>> No.7021711

>>7020975
Better question. Why have all my favorite writers committed suicide?

>> No.7021723

What's the point of reading when you could watch film instead? Serious question, I'm having trouble juggling both evenly.

I mean, doesn't film require script and thus incorporates literature into its medium, becoming literature in itself and more?

>> No.7021743

>>7021723
why don't you just do what you like more

>> No.7021753

>>7021743
I like both. So I feel guilty prioritizing one over the other, and also get a distinct sense of dread when I do, like I'm missing out and running out of time.

>> No.7021754

What's a good book to read to sublimate sexual desire?

>> No.7021760

>>7020597
Don't engage the publishers. Maybe you should look for material that is like your writing. Think you might like it more then?
>>7021723
Film is much less cerebral than lit.

>> No.7021766

>>7021723
>doesn't film require script and thus incorporates literature into its medium, becoming literature in itself and more?

just because something incorporates something else in it doesn't mean it transcends the medium and becomes "more" or better.

eg: children's books include drawings, but still books without drawings can be superior

>> No.7021773

>>7021723
Wait 50 years and people will ask the same about videogames.
Fuck humans.

>> No.7021776

>>7020573
Fuck does /lit/ have such a hard on for philosophy.

>> No.7021779

>>7021760
>Film is much less cerebral than lit.
That's ridiculous. Try watching 2001 and tell me that isn't a cerebral experience. Far more cerebral than the novel, which is much more blunt in its explanations.

There are cerebral books and stupid books. There are cerebral films and stupid films. To suggest that one medium is inherently superior than the other is ignorant.

>> No.7021792

>>7021776
Why don't you?

>> No.7021794
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7021794

>>7021779
>genre fiction

>> No.7022583

>>7021792
Just kind of feels sleesy to me.
Everyone like to define themselves by their things rather than defining their things themselves.

>> No.7022591

OK there is a name for a book or a work that captures the essence of a generation. The jungle by sinclair is one of these books, it goes through every layer of society and is accurate enough to be used as a historical document.

What is this word? It's a standard literary term, but I cannot for the life of me remember what it is.

>> No.7022644

How do I become a better debater? I feel that too often my empathy gets the better of me and I metaphorically get too into my opponent's head where they believe that my assertion is wrong. This causes me to to doubt myself and my arguments even though the next day I feel like I could have beat them.

Stop being stupid? Don't be a pussy? What do?

>> No.7022761

Should I start name/tripfagging in an attempt to improve this boards quality?

>> No.7022765

>>7022644
Read Plato's early and middle dialogues

>> No.7024419

Is their another author like Fitzgerald? I am currently devouring The Beautiful and the Damned and am thinking about what I want to read after I finished it. I just ordered The island of Dr Moreau and The Side of Paradise but the latter will only arrive in two weeks and the former has only 200 pages. Any recommendations?

Also I ordered the last few books from the Signet Classics edition and thought about whether or not I should stay with one particular publisher so that my bookshelf doesn't look like a freaking mess. I will probably order the Penguin Black Box at some point in time.

>> No.7024679

>>7020605

Obvious circular reasoning.

I like ass < Ass is attractive < I'm biologically wired to find it attractive

>> No.7024693

What percent of lit is trying to be writers? Would you say over 70%?

>> No.7024705

Starting firat day of university today. Is there a reliable place to get free textbooks?

>> No.7024707

>>7021754
Any book that interests you that isn't erotica should do the trick. I suggest the Telephone book.

>> No.7024717

>>7024419
Read the Rabbit novels by John Updike, and John Cheever's short fiction.

>> No.7024752

>>7024705
gen.lib.rus.ec
(tbh,there's a special circle of hell for people who pirate books)

>> No.7024818

>>7024752
Well then I'm probably going there, thanks man.

>> No.7024824

>>7024752
>paying some jew for a text the author of which has been dead for decades

>> No.7024830

>>7024818
So will we, because hell is other people (with slightly different tastes in literature to you.)

>> No.7024893

>>7024752
The torrent links don't work and all the mirrors turn up nothing. Am I doing this wrong?

>> No.7025091

>>7020627
>>7024679
Circular reasoning is not a formal fallacy.
It's logically correct.

The premise just doesn't support the conclusion really well.

>>7020974
It's not a formal fallacy.
The form is logically sound.

Informal fallacies are not a fallacious by definition, though they are generally treated as such because often the premise doesn't support the conclusion.

>> No.7025109

>>7020603
read the penguin editions

>> No.7025122

When I write a story, how do I get texture than isn't unnecessary or boring? My stories are 90% plot. There is no life.

>> No.7025159

>>7025122
you're probably just a bad writer and you should stop trying tbh

>> No.7025188

>>7025159
I know I'm a bad writer but I have nothing else. I hate my job and I hate my life, I can't live without my delusional hope.

>> No.7025198

>>7025122
Write erotica and make mad $$$. That's what I did, but now my writing is shit, and I'll be re-reading for a year before it's halfway decent.

>> No.7025202

>>7025198
I'm a virgin.

>> No.7025221
File: 62 KB, 750x562, 228321-pleiade_1293644826.jpg?modified_at=1293644884&amp;width=750.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
7025221

Is there any editor similar to La Pléiade (http://www.la-pleiade.fr) in other languages?
Solid curation and fancy books.

>> No.7025230

>>7025221
Library of America
The Italian Pléiade by Einaudi

>> No.7025233

>>7025202
I'm straight and wrote mostly gay erotica because it sold better. People want erotica to be written-porn, with only a shell of a story. I would write a 3500 word draft, spellcheck it without rereading it, and then publish with a steamy cover. I only stopped because Amazon fucked over the erotic and short story authors with their changes to payments. Still make money, but I don't feel like doing it anymore. You could totes do it, I guarantee.

>> No.7025240

>>7025230
>American literature
Thanks, but not very interesting, English lit. would be nice though.

>> No.7025249

>>7025233
I'm not judging you, but I would feel like a whore doing that.

>> No.7025256

>>7025240
Penguin would be the only publisher to venture such a thing but I doubt it will ever happen.

As for American lit, the Flannery O'Connor volume in the LOA might make you change your mind, if you can borrow it at a local library

>> No.7025267
File: 23 KB, 650x315, Soviet PB.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
7025267

Good spy novels? Looking for something with a Cold War kinda feel.

>> No.7025305

>>7020603
For Crime and Punishment the best edition is the Oliver Ready one IMO.
But really for nearly any translation just go on to amazon and read the first pages of different translations and get the one you like most.

>> No.7025326

>>7025233
Different anon, i might start doing that for fun, how hard is it to get people to buy them off amazon?

>> No.7025341

>>7025267
read stuff by John le Carre

Ian Flemming ain't bad neither

>> No.7025350
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7025350

what am i supposed to answer when a grill asks me what my favorite book(s) is?
I replied naked lunch to a girl on tinder and she hasnt replied, she probably thinks im some kind of arab raping reptilian

>> No.7025355

How to read Shakespeare's plays?
Just buy that thick tome from B&N?

>> No.7025356

>>7025350

Murakami or Bolano you stupid pleb. It's almost like you don't want to face fuck stupid hipster bitches.
If you are still fucking teenagers then Vonnegut and John Green'll do you right.

>> No.7025359

>>7025350
Mein kampf.


on a serious note if you are looking for a serious date this kind of thing shouldn't be important.

>> No.7025372

>>7025355
It might help if you watch them first then read them after.

most all of them have been staged by PBS and BBC

>> No.7025373

>>7025359
> if you are looking for a serious date

why the fuck did I wrote this? I have to stop being such a self righteous idiot.

>> No.7025374

>>7025249
Haha I was making almost four grand a month. If I was a whore, at least I was a good one

>> No.7025376

>>7020954
that poem with squiggly lines and the boat

>> No.7025383

>>7025326
Easy as shit. Just don't be pretentious or use big words. Racy, professional cover, then a steamy blurb, guaranteed sales. The long term key is finding the kinks that sell best. Mine was gay BDSM despite the fact that I like neither of those things.

>> No.7025384

>>7020573
Why can't black people into library etiquette?

>> No.7025393

>>7025384

Their daddy didn't raise them.

>> No.7025396

>>7025356
thank you. i DO want to face fuck stupid hipster bitches.
>>7025359
why wouldn't a "serious date" care about your favorite book?

>> No.7025418

>>7025359
by the way, would Norwegian Wood be a good starting point for murakami? i remember my ex recommending it to me

>> No.7025451

>>7022591
The Great American Novel?
well, I guess The Jungle isn't a novel.

zeitgeist?

>> No.7025465

>>7024893
I hide the sticky, so I don't know if it's still there, but if you saw it, I assume you tried #bookz?

I don't pirate much, and never textbooks (done with school,) but my request was returned very quickly the time I used it

>> No.7025527

I'm looking for books about the lives of everyday people. As little drama as possible. Cute, funny characters. The moeshit of literature. Anyone know of anything like that?

>> No.7025539

>>7025527
Where's Waldo? might be right up your alley. ;)

>> No.7025559
File: 2.83 MB, 2828x1828, maps_troy.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
7025559

>>7025539
>implying Waldo lives a normal everyday life

>> No.7025562

>>7025527

Quit faking the funk and just stick to reading Light Novels weeb.

>> No.7025568

>>7025527
maybe Wodehouse? the Jeeves books might be what you're looking for if you are OK with Britishisms and that culture.

>> No.7025572

>>7025562
LNs are fucking garbage though.

>> No.7025577

>>7025572

That's why they're perfect for you.

>> No.7025586

>>7025122
Just write more. Don't be too self-concious either.

>> No.7025587

>>7025559
sensoryoverload.jpg

>> No.7025588

>>7025572
is "Light Novels" like what brits call "YA" or some shit? Tha fuck is a LN and when did this become a thing?

>> No.7025593

There is a big population of Vietnamese people where I live. Is the Vietnamese language, literature, culture worth knowing about?

>> No.7025594

>>7025588
They're Jap YA, but with anime drawings throughout.

>> No.7025600

where should i start with Cormac McCarthy?

>> No.7025605

What is Romeo and Juliet really about?

>> No.7025609

>>7025605
don't stick your dick in crazy or everybody dies

>> No.7025619

>>7025600
his first novel, same as any other author

>> No.7025622

>>7025605
A gang of Puerto Ricans trying to take over turf from the white guys. PR chick and white dude fall in love, their respective people (or "gente", as it were), aren't about it. Hilarity ensues.

>> No.7025624

>>7025600
Blood Meridian worked as a good point for me. Check out The Road and Child of God next.

>> No.7025629

>>7025600
Maybe try Outer Dark and Child of God, rather than his more successful books The Road or Blood Meridian.

>> No.7025647

>>7025624
>>7025629
thanks chaps

my local second-hand bookstore has a gorgeous first-edition of Blood Meridian but idk if i want his perceived magnum opus to be my introduction. leaning toward Child of God

>> No.7025653

>>7025465
I am now how long did it take for them to respond to your request?

>> No.7025655
File: 59 KB, 225x300, DGELEUZ[1].gif [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
7025655

What did Deleuze wanted to achieve with the (early) concept of a Body Without Organs and the charecteristic Deleuzian thought that he is known for? I understand BWO's inner mechanisms and I think I got some practical use out of this whole idea, what I want to know is why he does take such detours while accomplishing so little, if he can have the same results and still be grounded in reality. I enjoy figuring this kind of shit out but I also need some kind of affirmation that I'm not wasting my time. Or just straight up tell me what it's good for.

I'm very tired and sleepy, hope this makes sense to you

>> No.7025660

>>7025600

If you're a dilettante you can start and stop with Blood Meridian.
If you're serious about Literature you start with The Orchard Keeper and stop with Cities of the Plain.

>> No.7025661

>>7025527
>moeshit
The what now?

>> No.7025664

How do I pronounce 'pleb' in real life?

>> No.7025669

>>7020573
Should I try to get into /lit/ when english is not my native language and I've never been really interested in english literature?

>> No.7025682

>>7025669
Read in your native language, then. Or read whatever interests you!

>> No.7025692

>>7025682
That's what I do, my question was more if this board will be a nice place to debate non-english literature. I've been lurking a little and everyone looks like he's american or brit. Looks like I'll feel out of place.

>> No.7025694

>>7025664
How many ways are there to pronounce that ? "plèbe"

>> No.7025707

>>7025664
IPA: /plɛb/

>> No.7025720

>>7025653
the response was just like a minute, then the DL took a while, maybe half hour at the outside IIRC.

I asked for Piketty's Capital, so it wasn't obscure in any way.

you can gauge how fast the channel is running by keeping tabs on the usernames that put in requests around the same time as you in the thread

>> No.7025719

>>7025669
>I've never been really interested in english literature.
How can you just not be interested in an entire fucking language? Especially one as important as English. Yes I'm butthurt.

>> No.7025736

so I'm going to try to round out my reading this year by reading only female authors.

I have books by Jane Austen (Pride and Prejudice, Sense and Sensibility, Emma),
the Bronte sisters (Jane Eyre, Wurthering Heights),
George Eliot ( Daniel Deronda),
Sylvia Plath (The Bell Jar),
Mary Shelly (Frankenstein),
Harriet Stowe (Uncle Tom's Cabin),
Virginia Woolf (To the Lighthouse, The Voyage Out),
Zora Hurston (Their eyes were watching God).

And I know I want to read Margaret Atwood and Ursula LeGuin.

But my issue is that's probably not enough to finish out my reading year. What other female authors would you recommend?

>> No.7025741

>>7025694
Three? Soft E, Hard E, Mexican hard A. And if it's the Spanish way, is the outer E hard or soft? My small mind is filled with stupid questions.

>> No.7025742

>>7025692
A substantial amount of lit anons are from europe. Also, this >>7025719. Unless you are talking about reading English literature translated into your native language

>> No.7025747 [DELETED] 

>>7025719
I've never dismissed a book for being english, you've misunderstood me or I haven't explained myself.

>> No.7025755

>>7025719
I've never dismissed a book for being english, you've misunderstood me or I haven't explained myself properly. On general terms, english literature doesn't interest me, even when i can really enjoy some books written in english and some writers who write in english. I recently "discovered" Kipling and he's great, for example.

>> No.7025771

>>7025736
Louise Erdrich (Tracks, Medicine Woman, The Round House)
Leslie Marmon Silko (Ceremony)
Can't go wrong with a little Flannery O'Connor or Jhumpa Lahiri for a short story kick.
For Atwood, Blind Assassin>>>>>>>>Handmaid's Tale.

>> No.7025777

>>7025736

Edith Wharton (The Age of Innocence, House of Mirth, Ethan Frome)
Erica Jong (Fear of Flying)
Iris Murdoch (Under the Net)
Flannery O'Connor (Complete Stories, Wise Blood.)
Muriel Sparck (The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie)
Joan Didion (Play it as it lays, The Year of Magical Thinking, Slouching Towards Bethlehem, The White Album.)

>> No.7025786

>>7025771
Is The Handmaid's Tale really that bad? Because I loathed The Blind Assassin, but was willing to give Atwood another chance.

>> No.7025790

What should I read next?


????????????????

Zizek's introduction to Lacan
Psychology of the Masses by Gustav Le Bon
Simulation and Simulacra by Baudrillard
Collected Works of S Freud
Dubliners by Joyce
The Quoran
The Second Sex by Beauvoir
Tristes Tropiques by Claude Levi-Strauss
Beckett's Trilogy

????????????????

>> No.7025798

>>7025790
Tropic of Cancer.

>> No.7025805

>>7025790
Dubliners is pretty great, I read it earlier this year.

I've read excerpts from Simulation and Simulacra and he poses some interesting ideas, albeit in obtuse academic writing.

>> No.7025808

>>7025790

Sale's Koran then Joyce and Beckett. You can bin the rest.

>> No.7025817

>>7025790
The Quoran if you want my personal opinion.

>> No.7025838

what happened to #bookz?

when I forst got my kindle 3 in ~2009 every book I looked for,even shit I didn't fully know the name of I could find, 98% of the time from Ebrarian, an get it within a minute.

now I have trouble finding common newsstand tier shit, they don't even have all the mom 'book of the month' shit readily available.

I'm not bitching about how pirating is harder now, I just am genuinely curios if there was a reason for its shit state now.

>> No.7025843

>>7025786
Blind Assassin is at least interesting because of the novel-within-a-novel approach, even if it's a bit gimmicky. Handmaid's Tale is devoid of subtlety. Atwood wants you to feel bad about patriarchy, and she goes about it opaquely. Maybe try Cat's Eye. I've not read it, but I've heard good things.

>> No.7025849

>>7025808
Have you read the rest?

>> No.7025883

How should I expand my taste in literature?

I've read the classics which hasn't really given me a feeling of narrowing down my taste because everything I read is so great.

Should I just plunge into a genre/author and see how I like it? Should I continue to read well regarded books until I've exhausted my resources?

>> No.7025956

>>7025883
I frequently find myself thinking the same thing you are, so here are a few things you can try:

>read something highly-regarded but recently published (max. 5 years old)
>read something obscure by one of your favorite "classic" authors
>look at the classics you've read and find something missing (maybe you haven't read enough non-fiction, or poetry)
>pick a time period or literary movement and explore it in depth, including fiction and nonfiction

>> No.7025961

>>7021773
Video games at their best is a better art form than cinema.

Yes, I said art form and no, I don't expect the uninitiated to understand.

>> No.7026047

I haven't read a book in 10 years and I need a short-ish book that's really good to draw me back in. What do you recommend?

>> No.7026065

>>7025961
name me 3 video games that are "better" than great cinema.
needless to say i dont agree with your statement, but i would love to be impressed by a video game the same way litterature and cinema can impress me

>> No.7026081

>>7026047
depends how young that makes you

I like the sun also rises, and its very easy to read
however if you're over 30 I don't know if you'd enjoy it

>> No.7026206

Can literature or art make life genuinely more fulfilling, instead of a temporary placebo? Even after a few years of studying both, every day is filled with tedium.

>> No.7026402

>>7026047
Start with something by Hemmingway. Basic vocabulary, easy to understand style, short.

>> No.7026444

>>7026206
literature can work as a content builder for what you at first imagine it can be a goal or an idea you want to adopt, but after that you need to work and put yourself to test against reality.

>> No.7026460

>>7025559
WHERE THE FUCK IS HE?

>> No.7026462

>>7026206
knowledge isn't valuable unto itself, you have to use it for it to be worth anything.
write a book of short stories

>> No.7026467

Anyone listen to music when reading?

>> No.7026476

>>7026065
>>7026065
AceCombat 04, Shattered skies.
AceCombat 5, The Unsung War.
AceCombat Zero, The Belkan War.
Those are incredible and will leave an imprint within you. As they have for me.

Soundtrack, plotline, worldbuilding, all of them done next to perfectly.

100% worth the trouble of getting a PS2 and copies to play them.

>> No.7026489

>>7026065
I haven't played the ones the other guy mentioned but something like Shadow of the Colossus for me. Exploring a large world at your will and at your own pace can't be matched by a book or film.

There are probably at least two games with more impressive (not necessarily bigger) worlds. Ideally the games would be about as good also.

>> No.7026516

>>7026489
The ones I mentioned (>>7026476) had masterpiece plotlines and storytelling.

The kind that nearly makes Red Storm Rising look like Twilight.

The first game I mentioned came out in 2001, and even today, still has a following of people who love and appreciate it as a cult following.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3LHsdU4Matg&ab_channel=Cipher32X
(DO NOT READ COMMENTS! Will be spoilers! You do NOT want spoilers for this game!)

>> No.7026545

What are some comfy books I can read whilst smoking my pipe? Or sitting out in my rocking chair whilst doing the above.

>> No.7026546

>>7026467
I've tried, it's either awesome or impossible.

>> No.7026555
File: 2.03 MB, 1366x768, Untitled.png [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
7026555

recommend me some /out/ lit. that isnt Into The Wild bullshit

>> No.7026561

>>7026555
Camden

>> No.7026568

>>7026467
I do from time to time. Only instrumental stuff though. I try to pick stuff that matches the mood of the book.

>> No.7026587

>>7026561
jesus this board.
elizabeth camden? what book?

>> No.7026599

>>7020975
I'm an English major with no friends. Today I went on a walk while eating my Buffalo Chicken Sandwich (on wheat, of course. I am not some plebian.) As I walked I came upon a bridge that I didn't know existed. The first thought that came to my mind was how I could hang myself here. You see, there are no secluded bridges around where I live and this particular one was the perfect height.

>> No.7026609
File: 245 KB, 382x417, 1348620231748.png [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
7026609

What is /lit/'s opinion on audio books?

If positive, can you recommend any great ones whose narration you particularly enjoyed? Were there any where you enjoyed the audio even more than reading the book?

Do you have some policy of "I only listen to X kinds of books, I like to always read Y" or is it free for all?

If negative, why do you dislike them? Do you feel they're inherently inferior to actually reading a book?

Does it even matter in what format you consume a book as long as its ideas get into your head?

>> No.7026614
File: 453 KB, 800x600, act1q2-obr.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
7026614

>>7026065
Just by virtue of what you can include under video games from visual arts to music to endless text and dialog with direct interaction, impact, exploration and different outcomes that is not constricted by time or physical conditions, video games potentially provide more than films can possibly have.

Video games do something better than any other platform: atmosphere. If you are into atmosphere, exploration, details and world building video games are golden.

The video game that would probably be acknowledged the most amongst the average /lit/ goer would be Planescape: Torment due to its well written text and dialog heavy nature with a good story, but I'll give you other, relatively more recent names since I don't remember much about PS:T.

Here's 3 that popped into my mind in no particular order, all available on PC:

Vampire the Masquerade: Bloodlines
Darksouls
Diablo II

Yes, I'm talking about Diablo 2, Act 1 in particular. With minimal dialogs, text, cutscenes and an objective that demands you to do the same over and over again, how well can you tell a story of desperation, ruin and chaos? When all there's expected of you to press a few buttons to kill monsters and take their loot, is there even a story to be had?

Honestly I tried to explain the details of what makes Diablo 2 such a good experience but my limited vocabulary, the word limit and the time being 6:00 AM is proving this a hard task. I wanted to talk about the atmosphere of Diablo 2 since it's usually not mentioned or acknowledged due to its genre-defining gameplay, but I wouldn't recommend starting with Diablo 2, Vamp: Bloodlines or Torment would be be a lot easier to appreciate. With Darksouls while it's easy to appreciate the surface atmosphere and the "realness" it hits you with right away, it's very subtle with its deep story and lore and you do need a bit of "gaming background" to fully appreciate it.

I can elaborate further tommorow with a sober mind if you are still interested, but I'm sure you'll find something you'll like with the few video game names mentioned here.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XheJnmLAwhk

>> No.7026625

>>7026614
Is Diablo 2 a bretty good time? I have a few level 70s in Diablo 3 and am pretty sick of how terribly it runs on my pc.

>> No.7026636
File: 60 KB, 271x552, Capture.png [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
7026636

>>7026599
>not going into distinct detail on the size and height of the bridge including lookout points, proximity to water, and chance of being stopped
>not segueing into a brief history of suicide and bridge architecture
not going to make it

>> No.7026638

>>7026625
Diablo 3 is an insult.

And I mean every sense of it, it's a fucking insult. It's a cash grab made by people who had nothing to do with what made previous Diablo games good.

Diablo 2 is infinitely better than Diablo 3 in every aspect, zero doubts.

>> No.7026642

>>7026636
oh I didn't mean to attach that, it was meant for another response which I deleted

>> No.7026648

>>7026636
Sorry, anon. Once again I'm not good enough.
Also, you ahve a shit taste in games.

>> No.7026652

>>7026638
Yeah but why?

>> No.7026662

>>7026652
Just take my word for it as a person who has played a shit ton of games including every Diablo game with countless hours on Diablo 2, jesus christ anon it's 6:40 AM I'm going to bed.

>> No.7026669
File: 14 KB, 197x202, 1370723622220.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
7026669

>>7025961
>>7026614
>>7026638

You, you there

You're alright m8.

To "games with good writing/story" I'd very much like to add the "Legacy of Kain" series, Deus Ex 1, Morrowind, Myst, The Witcher (which is based on the novels). Would like to give +'s to you for mentioniong Dark Souls 1, Planescape Torment and Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines.

I love how Shakespearean the performances were in LoK.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t7SQ2Wu6PvI

>> No.7026672

>>7026669
*mentioning, sorry

>> No.7026673

>>7026652

>> No.7026676

>>7026648
I quit, actually. about a month ago
that's what the picture was supposed to show
I typed out a long post about how bad they were for productivity, etc. but didn't really like it in the end.

>> No.7026682
File: 1.14 MB, 880x3148, 1338018319957.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
7026682

>>7026652
1/2

>> No.7026686
File: 955 KB, 1004x2248, 1338017527094.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
7026686

>>7026648
2/2

>> No.7026692
File: 82 KB, 579x523, 1424861544140.gif [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
7026692

>>7026669
>You said it yourself, Kain. There are only two sides to your coin.
>Apparently so. But suppose you throw a coin enough times...suppose one day, it lands on its edge.

I love that line

>> No.7026699
File: 33 KB, 550x640, 535395-chocobo_baby.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
7026699

I really liked MGS2's plot. I actually thought about it for a while after finishing it. That being said, I feel I've kinda grown out of vidya since it doesn't really seem that it will ever "grow up" so to speak. The "mature" stories in games always seem to have been done better in other mediums (film or lit). The fact that the Last of Us was crowned the "Citizen Kane of Vidya" just goes to show that it is shit compared to other forms.
>pic related is a guilty pleasure

>> No.7026719

>>7026692
Your experience sounds limited. Also, crowned by who, bunch of hired nobodies?

Are you going to take these people seriously when they come out and say The Big Bang Theory is the Bach of television?

>> No.7026726

>>7026699
>Last of Us
>Citizen Kane of Vidya

I lose all respect for people that spout this nonsense.

The Last of Us was an okay game, sure, but it suffered heavily from being extremely overhyped - but that just comes with the territory of being an AAA title on a console starved for games. Story wise it was pretty mediocre, not to mention the cut and paste gameplay taken from the stereotypical modern action-adventure title

It's important never to let the marketing machine form your expectations for a game

I went in blind to it and was left shrugging. Then I saw all the ads and hype and reviews and I was like "oh boy their marketing budget was through the roof"

It's important to keep an open mind about vidya. You have probably not been exposed to the better things available. It's like someone judging cinema for just having watched the Transformers movies or something.

>>7026719
I think this was meant for >>7026699

>> No.7026733

Is Jekyll and Hyde a good book?

>> No.7026742

>>7026726
>>7026719
I think this is one of the key differences in games emerging and having to prove themselves as an art form among the garbage surrounding them

It's something that draw some parallels to what happened with cinema a hundred years ago. Most people did not take it seriously back then. Now look where it's at.

But this whole process of "proving one's worth" is happening at a very different time - where a competitive market exists and games are seen first and foremost as a commodity to be bought, and thus suits wanting to maximize sales globally by appealing to the most common denominator and not taking risks

We're at what some call "Videogames' awkward teenage years".

Which is why in most cases the games being marketed and shouted about from the rooftops by the media are not the most interesting ones to be playing. There are exceptions of course, but there ya go.

>> No.7026748

>>7026742
*that draws some parallels

Man I'm really sorry about these typos, I guess I'm kind of tired.

>> No.7026757

Do romance novels exist for men?

>> No.7026762

>>7026757
define romance novel first

>> No.7026765

>>7026757

Fantasy and to a lesser extent sci-fi.

>> No.7026799

>>7026765
>genre fiction
>novel

>> No.7026812

>>7026762
Erotica where the plot isn't a girl gets fucked by werewolf Chad.

>> No.7026813

>>7020573
What is best edition to buy and read for LotR?

>> No.7026819

>>7026757
Hemingway

>> No.7026825

>>7026813
One with Elijah Wood on the cover.

>> No.7026913

Should I come to /lit/ if I want to talk about comparative linguistics and conlanging? I've tried on /int/ but so far no luck.

>> No.7026940

>>7026913
You shouldn't come to /lit/ to talk about anything, honestly.

>> No.7026948

>>7026940
Well, I'm mostly a lurker anyway, so.

>> No.7027067
File: 25 KB, 255x420, desert solitaire.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
7027067

>>7026555
Abbey is your man

>> No.7027137
File: 258 KB, 800x609, Van Gogh.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
7027137

>forced myself to pick up reading as a habit like 6 months ago
>started borrowing books from a library 1 block away from my home
>this is cool, and free. look at those idiots buying books lol
>suddenly I feel like owning 2 of those books I read

this sucks. I thought it was a retarded idea to have a shelf full of books I'd never read again, but as things are now, I just feel I read a couple of thousand pages whose words are leaving my memory day by day. I want to grow older with those pair of books by my side, but I doubt I'd really want to read them again.

I don't know why I make such a big deal out of this.
what are your experiences?

>> No.7027138

Is studying the ancient Greek philosophers actually necessary if I want to get into modern philosophy? Can't I just go Organon>Rationalists>Empirists>Idealism?

>> No.7027151

>>7027137
steal books from Barnes and Nobles

but always support your local bookstore you faggot

>> No.7027181

>>7020573
I don't read very much.

Seriously.

I want to. i guess i'm just really lazy.

Anyways, can anyone recommend any books?

I really liked The Catcher in the Rye, The Perfume (Patrick Suskid), The Metamorphosis, and Frankenstein was pretty cool..

>> No.7027188

>>7027181
Crime and Punishment, it's the book that really got me into literature.

>> No.7027195
File: 118 KB, 600x600, 1436248248586.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
7027195

>>7026669
No medium besides a game could create the crushing loneliness and urgency of making your way through Myst.

While I'm on the subject, are the Myst books worth reading?

>> No.7027265

>>7026467
No

>> No.7027367

>>7026555
Hemmingway shortstories (there's a bunch of some Nick or Henry or Jack or some other trout fishing guy). or For Whom the Bell Tolls.
Turgenev - Huntsman's sketches
anything Jack London
McCarthy for farms, deserts and post apocalyptic landscapes (he's always making comments on camping and stuff).

>> No.7027370

>>7025527
if you can get Evening Clouds by Junzo Shono you'd probably enjoy it.

>> No.7027561

Which E-book library do you people use??

>> No.7027667

>>7027181
Sticky
t
i
c
k
y

>> No.7027674

>>7027137
There is a strange satisfaction in being prowd of your bookshelve, as you're making progress as a human being with each page turned, whith each book your very personal mental card index grows, the bookshelve being a physical affirmation that those experiences you had with your books were real, an affirmation more real than a pdf could ever be.

Realise how much there is to discover, how there is an invisible plateu of information, suspended above our heads within a hand's reach, that flows through and connects bodies, knowledge that transcends time and place.

I'd say follow this advice >>7027151. You're hurting absolutely no one stealing from B&N. Just hide the goods under a jacket and carry it in your hand like it's too hot to put it on anyway. If the shop has a blindspot like an elevator without any unsurveillance, then you can just put the books in a bag and walk out of the shop on the next floor.

>> No.7027741

>>7027674

Shelf porn is a weird mix of self congratulatory masturbation and feeling of pride for your personal mental athletic achievement.

>> No.7027753
File: 1.01 MB, 2400x3138, George_Gordon_Byron.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
7027753

>>7020573
Is Lord Byron the most influential poet in the Romantic period? And why aren't shorter pieces of the period regarded as highly? The Destruction of Sennacherib in my opinion is one of his best, yet Don Juan is revered instead.

Is populist opinion objectively correct concerning past literature?

>> No.7027996

>>7027741
>mental athletic achievement

There are no ways of measuring how smart, or enlightened you are, unlike a regular athltete who has medals to be won and records to be broken, there is no objective scale of reference for the minds capacities, if there even are any.

So I conclude that it's just fair that a "mental athlete" can have something to be proud of, like a particulary difficult book that he has managed and thus came a bit closer to the truth, alike a regular athlete would put a trophy on his shelve for an exceeding performance.

A right kind of athlete wouldn't to rest on his oars, those oars are incitement to achieve more.

>Shelf porn

This term is associated with interior design and has no say in this discussion.

>> No.7028102

How do you take notes on fiction?

>> No.7028142

>>7020597
this

>> No.7028149

>>7020573
did the event's in the Iliad and the odyssey really happen?

>> No.7028161

>>7028149
Besides the obvious answer why would it matter

>> No.7028174

>>7028161
why would you even respond to my horrible bait

>> No.7028186

>>7028149
I'm not an expert but if you want to you can search for Donald Kagan's talks at Yale university on ancient Greek history on youtube or itunes u, he goes into that question at some point.

As far as I recall people took the illiad for the longest time for pure fiction, until that German guy went out to locate the ruins of Troy.
Nowadays the consensus seems to be that the Iliad is based on oral records of things that really happened. Remember that there was a period of time where the Greeks forgot how to write.

One thing that Kagan points out in his talks, for example, is how chariots are used in the Iliad.
They basically use them to drive about like it's a taxi, but they don't use them during combat, in the way that we today know they were used.
So Homer knew about chariots, but he had no clue how they were actually used way back when.

Apollo probably didn't fly down to earth he probably didn't use his bow to shoot people at the siege of Troy, but Troy and the war were likely real and the Iliad can tell us much about the culture and society of ancient Greece.

>>7028174
:(

>> No.7028206

>>7025655
there was thread about this exactly earlier today, search it.

>> No.7028207

>>7020573
Who /stormlightarchive/ here?

>> No.7028212

>>7026047
Importance of being Ernest.

>> No.7028895

>>7025418
Norwegian Wood I an oddball in Murakamo's works because it doesn't focus so much on the fantasy world that Murakami is usually known for. But it is a great book and o would definitely recommend it as a starting point.
Just keep in mind that not all his books are like that.
That isn't to say his other books are all the same but they usually deal with similar themes; love, loneliness, amongst other things.

>> No.7029001

>>7020975
suicidal people and writers often possess similar qualities. aspects of a person that motivate them to become a writer could motivate suicide, too.

>> No.7029031

Thinking about sending some of my work round to publishers. What would the ideal form/lenght for them to - potentially - read my stuff ? Short story ? Novella ? Single chapter from my novel ?

>> No.7029111

How do I "use" meter better in poetry? Like what kind of effect does it create to write a line in pentameter versus tetrameter or hexameter, or iambic versus trochaic? Every resource I look up online just tells me the textbook definitions, but I want to know more about what the different meters do, how great writers have used them to create tension, contrast, or harmony in a poem.

I don't really like bothering with rhyme schemes, but I've been writing all my poetry in iambic pentameter lately, because it gives it an internal consistency. Even if I have to play with the pacing and diction to get everything to fit the meter, I've found my pentameter to be way more "fluid" than my free-verse.

>> No.7029159

Any decent books about overcoming adversity/coming-of-age or transition into adulthood that are hopeful without being sappy or too sweet?

>> No.7029170

Which books constitute western canon?

>> No.7029196

>>7029111
There is a lot to talk about here, but I'll say a few things.
The book Poetic Designs by Stephan Adams goes over this in detail if you are interested.

Iambs are prety standard in modern English poetry.
Pentameter is used so it doesn't sound to much like a ballad with uses quatrain or tetrameter.
Trochees create kind of a darker sound.
Think:
Double, double toil and trouble;
Fire burn, and cauldron bubble
Cool it with a baboons blood,
Then the charm is firm and good.

Anapests and dactyls which have an extra unaccented syllable make the poem sound lighter.

Spondees make the words sound more deliberate, since both syllables are accented.

>> No.7029217
File: 51 KB, 600x320, 7725.mariotwins.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
7029217

How likely is it that a person with a modicum of talent, working at writing for years, can become a successful author? Is it really an achievable goal?

>> No.7029218

>>7029196
Like I said, ballads have 4 foot lines.sometimes there are 3 feet with a pause at the end for the 4th. Different styles of ballad use different patterns of 3 and 4 feet.

Therefore heptameter and octameter sometimes sound ballady and have pauses in the middle of the lines. There are of course exceptions.
Poets uses substitution in poems to cause certain effects or to spice up a poem. For instance substituting an trochee for an iamb in a mostly iambic poem.

>> No.7029280

do you prefer reading books translated into your first language or the original language of the book

>> No.7029371

>>7029217
if you put in 6 hours a day for 10 years and write a novel of acceptable quality in a decent area you will make it.
that's all I can say on the subject

>> No.7029499

>>7029280
Native Spanish speaker here.

Original Language of the book if it's in English, Spanish or French.

English if it's in a language I don't speak.

>> No.7029500

>>7029280
If I am proficient enough, the original. If not, the translation.

>> No.7029510

>>7026555
Knut Hamsun - Growth of the Soil

>> No.7029540
File: 169 KB, 1725x1220, annakarenina.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
7029540

Starting anna karenina

BIG SPOILER:
I already know she kills herself... some asshole here spoiled it for me

is it still worth reading? what should I expect+?

>> No.7029564

>>7029499
Same here. Although there are some rare times in which I think the translation to Spanish is better than the original English. This is true in few textbooks.

>> No.7029572

>>7029564
Really? Which field are you on?

The textbooks for physics and math are usually much better in english, even if translated from russian or something like that. I'm not too fond of the spanish translations of those usually, but I'm sure there are exceptions

>> No.7029581
File: 18 KB, 240x350, THE_MARTIAN_CHRONICLES.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
7029581

Just picked up Ray Bradbury - The Martian Chronicles from the library. Is it worth reading?

>> No.7029591

>>7020603
I suggest Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky's translation. They're a wed couple. She's Russian and translates to English, and then they both work together to try and get the Russian author's "flow" as much as possible. But from what I've read from Russian literature experts, Russian translations will never truly be translated. This is just some bullshit I read somewhere but I liked their translation of Crime and Punishment.

>> No.7029943

>>7028895
thank you for answering, i'll definitely look into it.
i will probably read norwegian wood then take it from there

>> No.7029969

How long is the #bookz que?
I've been waiting about 30 minutes or so already, don't know what to expect.

>> No.7029971

>>7029581
I really like it, definitely worth if you are into surrealist type or science fiction. One of my favorite short story anthologies, but I'm also a pleb so take my word worth a grain of salt

>> No.7031191

What is the best supplementary material for Kants first critique? Is the routledge book good enough

>> No.7031676

what the fuck is poetry

i don't get it

it just seems like a lazier version of normal writing

>> No.7031723

>>7029280
Obviously the original, what kind of stupid question is this?

>> No.7031732

>>7031723
this tbf
the style the author moves the language is what makes a book literature
Anyone can write a book about whaling, what makes moby dick great is the way in which the language is used to portray what is happening, not what is actually happening
as with any other work

>> No.7032020

>>7031676
Good writing is the best words.

Good poetry is the best words in the shortest order.

>> No.7032038
File: 401 KB, 342x792, mexicangoldpoppy.png [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
7032038

>>7031676
It's hard to define poetry. Read some essays on it if you're really interested, I can give suggestions if you are.

>>7032020
This is not accurate

>> No.7033081

>>7032038
Yes, give suggestions please

>> No.7033107

>>7032020
I think you mean:
Prose is words in the best order, poetry is the best words in the best order

>> No.7033141

>>7033081
Percy Shelley's In Defence of Poetry
http://www.bartleby.com/27/23.html

T.S Eliot's Tradition and the Individual Talent
http://www.bartleby.com/200/sw4.html

Ezra Pound's ABC of Reading
http://bookzz.org/book/1131253/058e4f

Harold Bloom's The Art of Reading Poetry
>no link

Wordsworth's preface to his lyrical ballads

Rainer Maria Rilke's Letters to a Young Poet
http://bookzz.org/book/866085/bbc716

Edward Hirsch's How To Read a Poem and Fall in Love with Poetry
http://bookzz.org/book/908262/bb5d67

Basically every era of poetry encapsulates something different regarding poetics and what poetry is, and even on an individual basis you'll find each poet has a mostly unique view on the medium. You can find essays and opinions on poetry from every movement, these are just the few I'd suggest off the top of my head

>> No.7033330

>>7029499
Do you go out of your way to pick English translations of ALL languages? Why would you do that?

Portuguese and Italian translations, for example, are probably better than English ones, with them being latin based romance languages and what not.

>> No.7033377

>>7020597
There's never been a time since Gutenberg when publishers held less influence on book distribution than today.

If you have written something truly worthwhile, release it into the wind and thousands of people will engage with it. Unless you want money, of course, but then what makes you any less "commercially minded"?

>> No.7033440

Will I miss much if I read infinite jest without having read hamlet first?

>> No.7033448

How do I transfer from genre fiction to literary fiction

>> No.7033477

>>7033440
Not a lot, but Hamlet is short enough (and Infinite Jest is long enough) where it wouldn't take a lot of effort to read it before (or alongside).

>> No.7033587

Should I join the Philosophy club at my uni if I have now active knowledge of it? I would like to learn about it and feel like I could be way over my head there.

Also, I talked to one of the lit heads at my uni and he had no idea of any lit related organizations or book clubs.
How do I find people that like lit. There is a book club, but last semester they read john Green and the Martian. Am I fucked?

>> No.7033595

>>7033448
Find a "literary" book that seems interesting to you, and read it. Or read the /lit/ starter kit.
Lastly, read Gatsby, it has really blatant symbols and metaphors that will be easy to spot. It's a decent, but simple, introductory novel.


Have fun!

>> No.7034079

>>7020573
how do you fight writer's block??? My novel is dead right now cause I can't go past chapter 4.

>> No.7034099

Why is genre fiction laughed at?

>> No.7034162

>>7034099
Because the vast majority of it only exists to give an emotional payoff at the expense of giving the reader something worth mulling over and studying. Genre fiction is largely about giving the reader their sci-fi or fantasy fix rather than creating a work that works together internally and forces the reader to reflect on their reading in order to understand the primary direction of the text. Most works of literature also focus less on world building or even character building in favor of presenting the reader with images and ideas that progress throughout the work. Readers paying attention to different images and language throughout the work are reading analytically instead of purely because of emotion.

>> No.7034209

>>7034162
Readers paying attention will find them in genre fiction anyway whether author put them there or not.

>> No.7034220

Why does a board barely faster than a wasteland like /trv/ need this kind of thread?

>> No.7034313

Is there a Chrome extension for browsing the archive?

>> No.7034344

>>7034220
To keep memeing at an apex by condensing anyone looking for advice to a single thread

>> No.7034441

>>7034220
That would be a valid question if the thread had around 3 posts, but people clearly find it useful.

>> No.7035248

>>7021773
>50 years

People are making the argument now: >>7026614

Honestly, there is a point there; although it fails to take into account that just because you can technically include as much text, music and animation in a video game as you want, does not mean those elements would not hinder each other once expanded enough. Yes, it is possible to make a video game in which you read novel as long as the Count of Monte Cristo and watch a film like Apocalypse Now, but I don't think it would be much of a commercially viable video game, not to mention a good one.

>> No.7035251

>>7024705
google "booktitle pdf/epub/mobi download"

works 80% of the time

>> No.7035289

>>7035251
>gen.lib.rus.ec

How do I download books from this site? this is the question thread lmao

>> No.7035290

>>7035289
http://gen.lib.rus.ec/foreignfiction/index.php?s=labyrinths&f_lang=0&f_columns=0&f_ext=0

Click any of the links on the right and it downloads.

>> No.7036100
File: 23 KB, 265x400, image.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
7036100

Where should I start with Ginsberg? I was going to buy pic related, but is there a good starting point, or should I just jump in?

>> No.7036168

I obsesses over every line I write.

How is this? It's from a satirical constitution.

1. The right of all lawful citizens to bear arms and form a militia for national defence.

>> No.7036189

>>7020573
I am looking to create my own political opinion (Currently extreme left / communist)

What works should I read?
Planning to read at least The Communist Manifest, Mao's Little Red and Animal Farm. More suggestions, please!

>> No.7036222

>>7036168
>defence
you don't obsess enough, clearly

>> No.7036235

>>7036189
Interesting question. I'd recommend reading 'God is not Great' by Christopher Hitchens. Although it isn't really a politically based book but rather a theological one (obviously) it gives great insight into the history of human civilisation mostly in relation to theology and philosophy. Both I think has a great impact on ones political stance.
Hope I was a help :)

>> No.7036279

>>7036235
Got it, I'll try to find it at my local library! ^^

>> No.7036280

>>7036222

I'm not American.

>> No.7036308

I get way too hung up on reading books/watching films/listening to albums in order and feel it's quite detrimental. I like to see how an artist, author or director develops but I can't help but think I'm limiting myself. For example, this year I read all of DFWs published works in order. I was only really interested in IJ and Totally Fun Thing but couldn't help but think it was essential to read everything else in release order to appreciate them. It was far from a bad experience but I often feel like I'm wasting my time reading things I don't want to in order to get a potentially marginal increase in appreciation for the ones I do.

Anybody else like this?

>> No.7036326
File: 15 KB, 400x400, l7yoXPgE_400x400.png [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
7036326

Is Abebooks (UK) any good?
I only see mixed to negative reviews on the internet but I don't know if that's just because people are ordering from low rep sellers or not

>> No.7036342

>>7036326
I feel that they aren't strict enough when it comes to descriptions of quality. In my experience some people will call a book "new" if it has never been read. It could have been used as a coaster, used to sweep the floor or used to soak up cat piss, but if the spine is intact or they haven't read it they will call it new.

>> No.7036347

Why is inherent vice not that good?

I'm 70pages in and lost motivation to keep reading

>> No.7036356

>>7036347
It's the neurotic ramblings of a permanently stoned private detective. It's not going to be for everybody. Personally I was glad I stuck with it because it did come together in the end, but the first half I found a little tough to get engrossed in.

>> No.7036502

Uplifting or 'positive' literary fiction? Seems all the one I've read is miserable as fuck.

>> No.7036505

>>7036502
Big Two-Hearted River, or most Nick Adam's stories with a few notable exceptions.
The Sun Also Rises

>> No.7036539

Any spiritual but not necessarily religious lit?

>> No.7036550

Why ask questions at all when there are already so many books to answer them?

>> No.7036687

>>7020975
Good writers are often intellectuals (whether you agree with it for individual authors or not), intellectual people tend to kill themselves more often than average joes who have work and their wife to motivate them to not kill themselves. Authors more often might live alone or write when they feel like it for funds and spend the rest of the time just roaming.

>> No.7037678

I'm considering getting an e-ink reader, but I have ebooks across different distribution platforms (nook, kindle, google books).
It seems like the only option is one or the other (kindle or nook), or trying to find poorly formatted versions of things I already have.

Is there a way to root them to allow installs of other e-reader apps?

>> No.7037728

>>7035290
How safe is this to use? Is the ISP going to jack my shit if im not taking special measures?

Sorry im a retard.

>> No.7037927

>>7037728

I'm not too savvy on the law, but if the work doesn't have an american publisher, you can download the work without fear of getting in trouble.

At least that's the way it seems to be with JAV/Hentai/Anime.

>> No.7038141

Looking for some reading that will help me on improving myself, and not some gimmicky new-age crap, anyone got recommendations?

>> No.7038573

Thoughts on goodreads?

>> No.7038608

>>7038573
Its recommendations are often spot on. The problem is, most of the rec's it gives me are either in my backlog or books I've been considering putting into my backlog. Take that as you will.

>> No.7038843

Any great novels about someone making it big in New York City?

>> No.7039159

If this was already answered then I apologize. Hypothetically, if I wanted to publish a story I'd written to /lit/, are there restrictions on doing so? If not, how would I publish it?

>> No.7040202
File: 36 KB, 333x499, 511rCSZA9qL._SX331_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
7040202

Is Blackwell Companion to Philosophy a good book for an introduction to philosophy?

I read the introduction chapter by John Searle and it is quite biased towards analytical philosophy.

>> No.7042220

How do you guys deal with that really embarrassing feeling you get when you look at or think about your own work?

I can't look at my writing without feeling intense shame.

>> No.7042849

Why's the Sky blue? Why's water wet? Why did Judas rat to Romans while Jesus slept?
Stand up, you're out of luck like two dogs stuck
Iron Man be sipping rum, out of Stanley Cups
UNFLAMEABLE

>> No.7042855

>>7042220

GIT GUD

also share with other authors/ classmates

>> No.7042890

>>7042220
Leave it for a few months or even a year, then come back to it.

>> No.7042986

>>7042849
AYO CAMOUFLAGE CHAMELEON

>> No.7043007
File: 66 KB, 372x600, ghostface.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
7043007

>>7042849
fearless niggas get slapped in Manhattan
for rappin'
big Ghost steps off laughin'

>> No.7043038

>No question
>i'll send ya ass right back to the essence

>> No.7044026

am i pretty?

>> No.7044063

>>7020573
Hi writing a piece about the film, Clockwork Orange atm
Rewatched it and did some research, i got one question.
Was alex faking being 'cured' by the Ludovico Technique?