Current Book Thread

[Anonymous No.7239235]

ITT: Post pictures of your current reading material and rate it

7/10. Pretty damn edgy, insightful, but I need to keep a notebook and dictionary out all the time because it's pretty hard to keep following Nietzsche's ideas

[Anonymous No.7239247]

8/10
Art is officially over.

[Anonymous No.7239269]

8/10 so far - witty, nihilistic, and a wicked sense of existential yearning

[Anonymous No.7239291]

>>7239235
7/10. It's decent so far, glad I picked it up for fifty cents.

[Anonymous No.7239297]

>>7239291
My bad.

[Anonymous No.7239354]

Great book by Anthony Everitt, really brings the history to life.

I read "Hadrian" first, which he wrote later, and think he has improved as a writer, but Cicero is still a good read, and sets the stage well for what's to come. Hardest part is keeping the names straight, but even if you can't, you still get a great sense of the man and the events surrounding Caesar's rise to power.

Next I read Agustus, then Memoirs of Hadrian...

If it weren't for the damn religious zealots of the Dark Ages, we'd know a lot more, but what's been pieced together about the 'ancient' Romans is truly fascinating.

[Anonymous No.7239371]

>>7239235

Finished Red Dragon and Silence of the Lambs before this one. 9/10 because I have a thing for hannibal right now after watching the show/movies.

[Anonymous No.7239416]

>>7239297
Looks like a representation of /lit/

[Anonymous No.7239426]

First Pynchon. About halfway through, still not convinced. Sometimes when I can get immersed in his flow I enjoy it, but most of the time I'm not in the right vibe I guess. I like the ideas but I'm not a big fan of the execution.

[Anonymous No.7239536]

>>7239371
I read Hannibal Rising recently, give that a go. Probably the worst of the books but still worth reading. The TV show was god tier, really hoping somebody picks it up. I really wanted to see how they handled SotL.

[Anonymous No.7239563]

[Anonymous No.7239567]

I started reading and then lost the damn book in my room somewhere.

[Anonymous No.7239575]

>>7239235
I'm currently like 140~ pages in, didn't really get what the recent chapter is about though. Arthur gets turned into an ant and goes into an ants nest and something is said about the ants not knowing about 'life,liberty and the pursuit of happiness' so I'm assuming it was a criticism of american wageslaves or something.

comfy book though.

[Anonymous No.7239583]

>muh empiricism

It's okay, but I'm curious as to how much of this theory is redundant now that print media is dead and the internet allows free global exchange of (mis)information. Also, some of his conclusions seem like a slight intellectual leap once you actually look at the sources.

[Anonymous No.7239653]

>>7239371
Those books are great, my only problem with them is trying not to visualise Anthony Hopkins every time Hannibals shows up.

Currently reading pic related, 7/10 so far, but i haven't gone pass a hundred pages yet, so my opinion might still change a lot about it.

[Anonymous No.7239662]

>>7239653
Damn, forgot pic.

[Anonymous No.7239865]

>>7239536
Yea I have a feeling it will come back eventually. I was really excited for the show doing silence of the lambs as well.

[Anonymous No.7239916]

>>7239662
You've still got about 1200 pages left then, there's a lot of flashbacks within flashbacks. But with the future and present stories running in tangent so it doesn't really get boring, which is impressive considering how long it is. I read it in the summer when I was 15 and really enjoyed it, hated the movie adaptation though

[Anonymous No.7240050]

>>7239653
>Those books are great, my only problem with them is trying not to visualise Anthony Hopkins every time Hannibals shows up.

I can't help but hear him or Mads Mikkelsen in my head when I read. Not a bad problem to have, at least.

>>7239662
Have you read his newest series, Mr. Mercedes and Finders Keepers?

[Anonymous No.7240269]

>>7239269
heh

[Anonymous No.7241657]

Everyday I read a few random paragraphs from this one. I don't know, it works for me, so 9.9/10 I guess

[Anonymous No.7241844]

Am reading 2001: a space odissey, 7/10

[Anonymous No.7241849]

>>7239426
how does it feel to know that there are literally undergrad women more intelligent than you

[Anonymous No.7241888]

>>7239235

8/10 so far, legitimately horrifying. Basically the fragmented diary of a schizoid man.

[Anonymous No.7241898]

>>7241888
if you think this is "horrifying" and don't think this is 10/10 greatest work of modernist literature then you are a fucking normie and should fuck off

[Anonymous No.7241916]

>>7241898

It is immensely beautiful too, no doubt about that. The horror comes from the gradual realization of how much I am alike this man, and have been for my entire life.

Care to elaborate on your thoughts about this masterpiece?

[Anonymous No.7241926]

>>7241916
>>7241898
>hurrudrrrrrr i am such a unique butterfly
>hurrdurrr life is so oppressing
>hurrudrrr i am such a unique butterfly
>hurrrdurrr life is so oppressing
>hurrrdurr i am staring at the wall

~~~ 500 pages later ~~~

>hurrudrrr i am such a unique butterfly
>hurrrdurrr life is so oppressing

[Anonymous No.7241942]

>>7241926
Haha, nice one brother. Guys like you and me, we truly recognize the delusions of others.

[Anonymous No.7242054]

?/10 wtf did i just read

[Anonymous No.7242058]

>>7242054
r9k with more misplaced confidence

[Anonymous No.7242081]

Either/Or Part 2. Had to use Terry mug so the cover would keep shut and not reflect so much light. Just started reading it. So far it's a much more serious work, I can tell there's going to be more of Kierkegaard's main philosophy in this one. Part one was a work of art. Silhouettes made me realize what a critic is capable of and how pathetic a lot of art criticism is. Only Kierkegaard can make a philosophical masterwork and a work of art in one volume. Part one is a genuine 10/10. Not going to rate a book in which I'm only 30 pages in to.

[Anonymous No.7242109]

Laugh at me fam.

[Anonymous No.7242120]

>>7242109
Basically me when i was 17 and flunked art classes and decided to get into more serious literature. Fear and Loathing on the campaign trail is fantastic and it got me interested in politics.

[Anonymous No.7242141]

>>7242109
Cat's cradle is #1 Vonnegut book and the main book that got me into reading more seriously as a teenager

[Anonymous No.7242185]

>>7241926
This is a dreadful description of the book.

>>7241916
It's the greatest work of modernist literature imo because it captures all those feelings of modern fragmentation, ennui, etc., without being pretentious about it whatsoever. Unlike Joyce or Eliot, there is no claim to extraordinary genius, no great effort to produce a monumental masterpiece. It is completely natural and it's a pleasure to read. It seems to flow effortlessly from the man's consciousness, like Homer. Beside that, there's something that I can't articulate about his work that I think really makes it classical. Here's something from Kierkegaard:

"The reason I cannot really say that I positively enjoy nature is that I do not quite realize what it is that I enjoy. A work of art, on the other hand, I can grasp. I can - if I may put it this way - find that Archimedean point, and as soon as I have found it, everything is readily clear to me. Then I am able to pursure this one main idea and see how all the details serve to illuminate it. I see the author's whole individuality as if it were the sea, in which every single detail is reflected."

This "Archimedean point" in Pessoa's works is something like the fact that amid all the hustle and bustle of the modern world with its great ambitions and its triumph of progress and its liberation of the individual, all that it's really come to is the isolation of the individual who now instead of being subject to some tribe or religion, is lost in the sea of his own dreams. He can't find his identity because there is no more objective correlation between the inner world and the outer world, because there is no more religious or political authority imposed from above that determines who one is - everybody is left to "be themselves", and this means that everyone is free to be at once everybody and nobody.

I think Pessoa is one of the greatest literary writers of all time. I think he was a true talent with true inspiration. He's my favourite poet.

[Anonymous No.7242823]

>>7239354
>Anthony Everitt
Thanks for that. I had asked about books on this very topic some time ago, but his name wasn't brought up back then. I'll need to get into this.

>>7239563
Are you a grill? :3

>>7239567
>losing a book in your own room
wtf dude

[Anonymous No.7243868]

>>7242054
Know any places to download Sotos books? Bibliotik has nothing

[Anonymous No.7243876]

Reading this in Hayek's voice is fun

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RnMd40dqBlQ

[Anonymous No.7243885]

9/10

Only a hundred or so pages in, but I'm really enjoying it.

His voice is and overall rhythm is brilliant, and coupled with the simple honesty of it make for great reading.

[Anonymous No.7243935]

>>7242823
>
No, I'm not. Why?

[Anonymous No.7243978]

>>7241926
this guy really knows what im talking bout

[Anonymous No.7244714]

>>7243885
Consider this book fiction.

[Anonymous No.7244723]

>>7244714
Consider this post fiction.

[Anonymous No.7245097]

>>7244714

[Anonymous No.7245104]

>>7239235
Won't post a pic out of shame, but I'm reading the hardback edition of the Everyman Library's printing of Brothers Karamazov.

Shame is because of how water damaged the book got after my water bottle broke in my backpack and soaked through the book.

[Anonymous No.7245110]

>>7241942
that, or you just don't get it

[Anonymous No.7245289]

I'm sorry Mrs. Gaskell, but you a shit.
Austen and Heyer wrote better books.
Its only value lies in the description of the time.

[Anonymous No.7245365]

I have about 225 pages to go.
Pretty awesome so far. I'm sorry I put this off as long as I did, but I thought it would be all fancy dress balls, didn't realize there was all the hunting, and horse racing, unwanted pregnancy and attempted suicide. Also didn't realize I would appreciate reading about farming that much. And even the fancy dress balls are written about in a way that makes them seem interesting.

[Anonymous No.7246489]

Just arrived. It's less exciting that I had anticipated.

[Anonymous No.7246568]

reading this in hebrew translation. very enjoyable reading. gogol was insane
>>7245289
kek
>>7245104
whats your opinion so far?

[Anonymous No.7246571]

Fifth read through, it's just so damn good.

[Anonymous No.7246601]

not as hard as I imagined when I picked it up. It's going to be quite the read though. About 1720, densily, written pieces of paper. Only reading the dialogues as of yet. Really enjoying it but nothing truly profound so far.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1y8_RRaZW5X3xwztjZ4p0XeRplqebYwpmuNNpaN_TkgM/edit?pli=1#

finishing this is going to take a considerable part of my life... I think it's worth it though

[Anonymous No.7246681]

Currently Reading this. So far, it's been very interesting. Personally I'm not a very religious person, but the awe and magnitude that Kierkegaard applies to the story of Abraham is an intriguing read.

[Anonymous No.7246774]

>>7246568
Why do you think Gogol was insane?

[Anonymous No.7248630]

By Night in Chile: 4.5/5
Not yet sure what it's all about, but I'm always a sucker for Bolano's prose.

The Three Musketeers: 4/5
Really goddamn fun. The only trouble is that it was originally serialized, and the pacing is all wrong.

[Anonymous No.7248638]

>>7246601
>but nothing truly profound so far

That's because you're not reading Aristotle.

[Anonymous No.7248701]

>>7248630
>The only trouble is that it was originally serialized, and the pacing is all wrong.

I know that feel so much - it's like binge-watching anime, you can feel the filler

[Anonymous No.7248717]

>>7246774
he would have to be a little insane to write diary of a madman.

[Anonymous No.7248723]

7/10 so far. Haven't gotten to their positive portions yet but linguistic contextualists are totally BTFO.

[Anonymous No.7248732]

>>7239235

I'm up to the part where Austin gets all penisy, because his penis is stuck in a penis, so he says penisly, "Penis!"

[Anonymous No.7248740]

>>7241657
IS THIS ACTUALLY ANYGOOD OR ARE YOU MEMEING?

[Anonymous No.7248854]

Divine Comedy.
8/10.
I like it,maybe because of the religious themes.
I read it in tiny pieces.

[Anonymous No.7248879]

>>7246601
I saw that translation in a shop. I fucking hated it. They took all of the poetry out of Plato's writing. It was written in an overly obvious style like it was written especially for undergraduate students.

The point of Plato's dialogues is for your mind to reach a blank state of aporia (loss, confusion, abandonment) so that you can achieve theoria (contemplation of the idea). After I read Plato I wasn't a materialist anymore; if anything I was in danger of becoming an Idealist and thinking that the mind was all there is, because my immediate impression of the mind's presence was extremely strong.

The dialogues aren't there to teach you what we today call a "philosophy", they are a ritual or method to awaken your mind to itself and implant the love of wisdom/truth.

[Anonymous No.7248937]

>>7243868
Soulseek nig

[Anonymous No.7248962]

>>7248879
I'm currently reading the translation (halfway through Phaedo) you dislike, and while you dislike it, I quite enjoy it.

But that is besides the point; I agree with you on Plato's dialogues not being like a typical treatise. I enjoy them as they lead you to contemplate all that is said within the dialogues; Plato, in my opinion, does not want the reader to blindly accept what Socrates or the interlocutors put forward, but to challenge what they say and to think of the ideas they put forward. While I haven't became a Platonist, I find myself questioning and contemplating a lot of the things I once took for granted. Plato is a great educator because of the contemplative nature he instills in the reader.

[Anonymous No.7248966]

>>7246601
>nothing profound so far
Read slower and deeper boy

[Anonymous No.7248967]

Currently reading for a lit class. It's interesting enough, though half the characters seem to be semi-raving, bipolar lunatics thus far, and a bit hard to like/connect with. It also doesn't help that I happened to pick up what I presume to be a relatively poor translation riddled with minor spelling mistakes and a few more overtly nonsensical phrases. On the first half alone, I'd give it 5/10. Maybe 6 if it were translated better.

[Anonymous No.7249229]

>>7248717
Why not insightful or penetrating? Chesterton wasn't a saint, but he wrote the best book ever to exist on Saint Francis of Assisi. Dostoyevsky wasn't humanity, yet he understood people to depths you never knew existed. He was just observant and a people watcher.

[Anonymous No.7249237]

>>7239235
If I die in a combat zone
Tim O'Brien
Good so far

[Anonymous No.7249261]

>>7243868
could you upload Sotos to bibliotik if you find any? Thx!

[Anonymous No.7249407]

>>7249229
wow, first time I see the biography of St. Francis by Chesterton mentioned here. A masterpiece, along with those on Aquinas

[Anonymous No.7249416]

>>7248967
>a bit hard to like/connect with

I never understood this criticism. Is that what draws certain people to literature? Likable and relatable characters? I feel like it's the less likable and harder to connect with that are more interesting, or at least can portray more interesting facets of humanity.

[Anonymous No.7249504]

>>7242109
Do you only buy books from HMV?

[Anonymous No.7249639]

I'm not a philosophy nut, or anything like that, but I'm enjoying this a good lot.

[Anonymous No.7249649]

>>7249639
Forgot pic

[Anonymous No.7249687]

Finished the first part about his smoking habit and it has been genuinely funny so far, had to laugh out loud a couple of times while reading which is a rare thing for me.

9/10, may become 10/10

[Anonymous No.7249775]

>>7249416
yes, people can, in fact, read for different reasons than you

[Anonymous No.7250159]

>>7246571
explain it to me please

[Anonymous No.7250217]

8/10 I like how it focuses on one issue (ontology of mathematical objects).

[Anonymous No.7250491]

I'm only around 300 pages in but it's a 9.5/10 so far, I love dostoevsky.

Does anyone know if translations of this book differ much? I'm reading a very old copy that made its way from a library at yale to me over the course of a few decades.

[Anonymous No.7250517]

>>7248967
really? I found the characters, especially the lead, in crime and punishment incredibly relatable.

though bipolar disorder does run in my family.

[Anonymous No.7250535]

>>7250517

I think a very common reaction to Doestoevsky is being somewhat disturbed at how much you relate to his flawed characters.

Part of his genius, really.

[Anonymous No.7251099]

>>7248630
5/5 thus far (200 pg in). My Spanish is decent but I'm not equipped to read it in its original language

[Anonymous No.7251170]

>>7251099
I ordered this one a couple weeks ago. I'm going to read it in Spanish.
Hope it is that enjoyable, Amazon is slow as fuck.

[Anonymous No.7251187]

Catch-22.

>Such keks were had at Yossarian cucking Lieutenant Scheisskopf.

[Anonymous No.7251190]

Started this for a class, feel like I should probably finish it on account of the fact that I haven't finished any significant fiction written by a woman.

After coming off Pinecone this summer, 3/5

[Anonymous No.7251208]

>>7250491
Hey anon, you might enjoy this New Yorker article from 2005 about Russian Translations. A little long, but I know we're used to long white object, least 'round 'ere...

newyorker(dot)com_______/magazine/2005/11/07/the-translation-wars