What book are you reading and what is your opinion of it so far?

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Anonymous Thu Nov 10 01:41:12 2016 No.8709932 [Reply] [Original]

What book are you reading and what is your opinion of it so far?

>>	Anonymous Thu Nov 10 01:50:26 2016 No.8709943 Stop looking at me like that daddy

>>	Anonymous Thu Nov 10 01:52:54 2016 No.8709946 File: 40 KB, 320x320, 1478642436890.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google] >>8709932

>>	Anonymous Thu Nov 10 02:03:52 2016 No.8709968 Sputnik Sweetheart. By far the worst Murakami I've read.

>>	Anonymous Thu Nov 10 02:04:21 2016 No.8709970 >>8709943 >>8709946 Answer the question, fools

>>	Anonymous Thu Nov 10 02:11:20 2016 No.8709979 >Joseph Andrews I like it I guess.

>>	Anonymous Thu Nov 10 03:15:38 2016 No.8710066 >>8709979 What's that?

>>	Anonymous Thu Nov 10 03:16:38 2016 No.8710068 >>8709932 Invitation to a Beheading. Why wasn't I told Nabokov was so funny?

>>	Anonymous Thu Nov 10 03:23:32 2016 No.8710070 Melancholy of Resistance It's really great, I love the prose and the motives especially after reading Farewell to Arms which was absolutely awful.

>>	Anonymous Thu Nov 10 03:27:05 2016 No.8710074 >>8710070 motifs*

>>	Anonymous Thu Nov 10 04:49:43 2016 No.8710143 The Simulacra by PKD. Liking it so far, seems highly pertinent today.

>>	Anonymous Thu Nov 10 05:10:20 2016 No.8710155 Re-reading the Republic. Pretty ok desu

>>	Anonymous Thu Nov 10 05:24:59 2016 No.8710162 >>8709932 Een talloos veel miljoenen by W.F. Hermans It's okay, but rather dull, which I suppose is somewhat the point.

Anonymous Thu Nov 10 05:26:05 2016 No.8710163

I'm reading Butcher's Crossing.

I wasn't expecting it to be anywhere near as good as Stoner but I'm honestly surprised at how obviously flawed it is. The prose is acceptable but nothing amazing, Stoner had some really inspiring and beautiful passage, but the characters are almost genre fiction-tier. I'll probably finish it still because it's not bad really it's just amazing how much Williams improved between this book and Stoner.

>>	Anonymous Thu Nov 10 05:27:16 2016 No.8710166 >>8709932 >fellowship of the ring. beautiful. although i think they're spending a bit too much time in the shire and outskirts of the shire. super comfy though.

>>	Anonymous Thu Nov 10 05:30:51 2016 No.8710170 Dubliners I like Araby and A Painful Case so far

>>	Anonymous Thu Nov 10 05:39:11 2016 No.8710174 The Tigress of Forli. Probably the best portrait of Caterina Sforza I've ever read (not that there are many biographies readily available). I'm a little over halfway through it now.

>>	Anonymous Thu Nov 10 06:13:23 2016 No.8710197 Have just finished reading Stoner. Good, but vastly overrated. Ending is great, though.

>>	Anonymous Thu Nov 10 06:29:09 2016 No.8710223 >Oblomov Pretty great, I like how well the characters are described >What I Talk About When I Talk About Running Makes me feel like a lazy piece of shit desu

>>	Anonymous Thu Nov 10 06:33:14 2016 No.8710228 >>8709932 >Where angels fear to tread Is it good? I am 3 pages in

>>	Anonymous Thu Nov 10 06:37:01 2016 No.8710234 >>8709946 i like it

>>	Anonymous Thu Nov 10 06:38:23 2016 No.8710237 >>8710234 Answer the OP you little bitch

>>	Anonymous Thu Nov 10 06:39:31 2016 No.8710240 > The Trial / Kafka >Fuck the shitty system XDD amirite???,

>>	Anonymous Thu Nov 10 06:39:46 2016 No.8710242 >>8709932 Decided to read Houllebeque's the Elementary Particles. I'm really loving it and can (sadly) relate a lot to him

>>	Anonymous Thu Nov 10 06:41:58 2016 No.8710246 >>8710240 go back to your own board

>>	Anonymous Thu Nov 10 10:21:44 2016 No.8710531 Crime and Punishment. Very compelling and strangely relatable.

Anonymous Thu Nov 10 10:24:00 2016 No.8710534

>>8709932
Currently reading The Tunnel by Gass (at about page 150). The first few readings I was considering shelfing it because I had no idea wtf was going on. Around page 100 it started to settle in and have more dirtection, my last few readings have been very enjoyable and I'm looking forward to the rest of it.

>>	Anonymous Thu Nov 10 10:27:33 2016 No.8710540 Da Vinci Code - It's entertaining

>>	Anonymous Thu Nov 10 10:27:54 2016 No.8710541 Prince Caspian. I thought it would be charming like the first book, but i'm bored and fed up.

>>	Anonymous Thu Nov 10 10:29:05 2016 No.8710543 >>8710166 >tfw get really sad when they leave the Shire and all the bad shit happens >>8709932 The Master and Margarita. Really fun and comfy novel so far. I feel bad for Ivan though and I want to protect him.

>>	Anonymous Thu Nov 10 10:29:14 2016 No.8710544 The Man Without Qualities it's beautiful

>>	Anonymous Thu Nov 10 10:30:14 2016 No.8710546 >>8710240 You clearly have no understanding of what you read.

>>	Anonymous Thu Nov 10 10:40:59 2016 No.8710567 >>8709946 liked xDD

>>	Anonymous Thu Nov 10 11:01:26 2016 No.8710602 Light in August About 200 pages in, I like how Faulkner's built up the narrative and characters. I've been reading his works in chronological order and can see the strides he's made from As I Lay Dying and Sanctuary.

>>	Anonymous Thu Nov 10 11:53:35 2016 No.8710717 Re-reading The Road for some reason. I still really like how it deals with slog and repetition, but honestly I can't say it's as compelling as I remember it. McCarthy's prose style is fun though.

Anonymous Thu Nov 10 12:02:05 2016 No.8710739

I'm reading The trip to Echo Falls. I'm not as hooked by it as I was the last book by the same author but it's an interesting account of the drinking habits of various American authors from the previous century. The writing is very good in some places and it's generally illuminating.

Anonymous Thu Nov 10 12:32:29 2016 No.8710787
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Don Quixote

I only have 30 pages left to go and I plan on finishing it later today, but it's been a magical experience. Before I stopped reading last night, I flipped back and read some of his first adventures together with Sancho and it genuinely saddened me that I wouldn't get to spend more time with these characters. I don't want it to ever end ;_;

I'm curious why the windmill stuff became the big meme that everyone knows with this book though, considering they have about a million other adventures over the course of it. Is it just because it's early on?

>>	Anonymous Thu Nov 10 12:39:50 2016 No.8710803 >>8710787 >I only have 30 pages left to go and I plan on finishing it later today Are you me? I haven't been able to read these last few days cause of tooth pain. Sad that I have to leave Don Quixote and Sancho, but at least I get to start a new book.

Anonymous Thu Nov 10 12:41:06 2016 No.8710806

Clockwork orange

Never had it before, decided to give it a go. The slang took some getting used to but I like it. I am still at the beginning, just starting chapter 6 part one, and I have the full 21 chapter book. So far I like it but the rape scene with 2 ten year olds made me uncomfortable, to be honest. Still, I see the purpose.

>>	Anonymous Thu Nov 10 12:41:10 2016 No.8710809 >>8709946 like I'm reading The Stranger, it's pretty good

>>	Anonymous Thu Nov 10 12:41:41 2016 No.8710810 Just finished the trial. The only thing I don't like is that we never get to know why the Italian businessan never showed up to the cathedral, I get that Kafka probably wanted to leave us guessing, but to me it just seemed lazy and unsatisfying

>>	Anonymous Thu Nov 10 12:42:57 2016 No.8710814 just started The Unconsoled didn't think it would be a Wes Anderson novel

Anonymous Thu Nov 10 12:48:08 2016 No.8710828
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The Bible, NRSV translation with notes.

I'm about 40 chapters into Genesis at the moment, and holy shit is it boring. Parts of it is really good, but then you have the bits that is just justifying wars between nations that stopped existing two thousand years ago.

And there are other dry bits as well, like when Abraham sends Jacob away to another land to acquire a wife, and he stays there and works for 14 years, and all the characters constantly try and scam each other.

>>	Anonymous Thu Nov 10 12:50:43 2016 No.8710834 >>8710810 wasn't he implied to be an agent of the courts?

>>	Anonymous Thu Nov 10 12:52:17 2016 No.8710838 File: 270 KB, 412x700, beard book.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google] >>8709932 Really makes me think.

>>	Anonymous Thu Nov 10 12:52:34 2016 No.8710839 >>8709932 >The Bible just started Numbers, Leviticus wasn't as boring as people make it seem... I just want to get to Job and the Gospels asap

>>	Anonymous Thu Nov 10 12:53:40 2016 No.8710841 >>8709946 like :^)

>>	Anonymous Thu Nov 10 13:02:09 2016 No.8710858 Labyrinths, by Borges Interesting read, the stories are really imaginative and I haven't read much else like them, but I'm fairly retarded and usually only have a surface understanding of them.

>>	Anonymous Thu Nov 10 13:09:00 2016 No.8710873 >>8710828 Jacob's story was made into a ~400 page novel by Thomas Mann kek

>>	Anonymous Thu Nov 10 13:25:02 2016 No.8710909 >>8710828 when Isaac send Jacob*

Anonymous Thu Nov 10 14:51:21 2016 No.8711090

>>8710839
Most of the content of Job isn't that interesting, IMHO. It's the overall structure and some of specific details that make it worth reading now.

I'd argue that you can read it whenever you want, although it's worth going over every the earlier books to realize that (at its position in the Bible), it's the first place to mention Satan by name. Especially considering how much of the Hebrew Bible had been written at that point and what Satan actually does in Job, it might change some of your previously held notions of things.

>>8710828
Genesis is mostly there to set up the history of the family of Jacob/Israel (and to a lesser degree, the world as a whole) leading up to Exodus.

Anonymous Thu Nov 10 15:27:55 2016 No.8711201

>>8710531
It hits so close to home that I've begin to wonder if I should turn myself in. It is as if I'm reading my own journal and at times it's almost to tough to read, but it's such an amazing character study of myself that it's strangely compelling.

Anonymous Thu Nov 10 17:25:32 2016 No.8711467

>>8709932
Like Demian, it characterizes some of my own thoughts, feelings, and experiences in a new way and makes me feel a bit less alone. Also like Demian, though, it sometimes seems a little juvenile. I personally have enjoyed these books but I don't know if I would go around recommending them.

>>	Anonymous Thu Nov 10 18:21:00 2016 No.8711605 >>8709932 The Art of the Deal. Praise kek and MAGA.

>>	Anonymous Thu Nov 10 18:52:30 2016 No.8711683 On the Origin of Species, it is hard to comprehend for me desu , partly because of shitty translation, but impressed with researching work in it.

>>	Anonymous Thu Nov 10 18:57:05 2016 No.8711690 >>8710163 Have you read Augustus or any of Williams poetry?

>>	Anonymous Thu Nov 10 19:02:23 2016 No.8711712 File: 60 KB, 326x530, 4CB221EC-46BD-4AAF-930C-6328DEAFB6BB-12713-00000EF495A5CF1D_tmp.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google] Good so far, though I'm finding the club more interesting than the stories they tell.

>>	Anonymous Thu Nov 10 19:12:09 2016 No.8711742 >>8711690 No I've just read Stoner, I've got Augustus though and plan on reading it after Butcher's Crossing

Anonymous Thu Nov 10 19:23:18 2016 No.8711768
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I'm not reading anything right now, but I've started and finished The Setting Sun today.

It was very nice, with the same "melancholic and thought-provoking, but not quite depressive" aura that No Longer Human had, while being more cohesive and fleshed out.

The story was well-rounded and the struggle of the characters (and Dazai) to adapt was compelling and verossimile, he had a great ability to express the feeling of inadequacy and cultural/moral clash.

I wish that Dazai had written more before his suicide, his style and themes are very attractive to me.

Now I'm not sure if I should read another novella (probably Taipei or Confessions of a Mask) or get a bigger book (Map and the Territory, Book of Disquiet or Death on the Installment Plan).

>>8711742
Augustus is very good, read it as soon as you can.

>>	Anonymous Thu Nov 10 19:29:03 2016 No.8711785 >>8710163 Augustus is the best of the bunch desu senpai. Williams always admitted to being a genre author--I'd argue that BC feels "worse" because Stoner is in a genre that you consider loftier by nature.

Anonymous Thu Nov 10 19:38:44 2016 No.8711813

>>8711785
I hate to spout memes but there's nothing holding me back from enjoying a great western, like Blood Meridian, it's just that in those kind of books the conventions of the genre and the clichés are totally transcended by the quality of the writing and mature characters, themes etc. I'm only 60 pages in so I'm not sure of that will come later in Butchers Crossing, but the prose at least isn't much to write home about.

slow reader Thu Nov 10 20:04:24 2016 No.8711878
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"Conquered City" by Victor Serge

I've never heard of Serge before, but I couldn't pass the cool cover and the fact that the book was an NYRB on sale for $6.99 in good condition. That being said, from the first chapter that I've been able to read in this empty waiting room, I can conclude that it'll be a damn good read.

Anyone else read this?

(Pic related.)

>>	Anonymous Thu Nov 10 20:18:39 2016 No.8711917 >>8709932 i have bottom's dream on my desk right now it's big and scary (but might be a good collectible)

>>	Anonymous Thu Nov 10 20:19:11 2016 No.8711919 >>8709946 thumb up

>>	Anonymous Thu Nov 10 20:20:33 2016 No.8711924 >>8710166 Enjoy your time in the Shire area. Also please confirm you've read The Hobbit before this.

>>	Anonymous Thu Nov 10 20:21:19 2016 No.8711927 House of Leaves. I like it quite a bit, but I'm not far into it. I like the fact that he's able to create a world through random footnotes.Truant's narration is getting a bit annoying.

>>	Anonymous Thu Nov 10 20:45:58 2016 No.8711997 >>8711924 confirmed. although it was a while ago i did read it.

>>	Anonymous Fri Nov 11 00:02:45 2016 No.8712503 >>8709932 Diary of an Oxygen Thief. It's a meme book, I got memed. One of you faggots wrote it yes?

>>	Anonymous Fri Nov 11 00:35:48 2016 No.8712564 fountainhead its great; wasnt expecting to like it this much

>>	Anonymous Fri Nov 11 00:57:43 2016 No.8712607 Lolita. First time reading Nabokov and I'm captivated.

Anonymous Fri Nov 11 01:19:47 2016 No.8712633

>>8709932
Reading the Iliad right now, in Lombardo, Alexander, and Pope translations. My brain is usually stuck in 1st gear so it's taking some time. I'm on book 9 and it's been almost a month since starting. The poem is lengthy because each individual is recognized by their relation to someone or something. Every time, in two-word increments to vast digressions on history.

For relative ease of narrative form, I started Annie John by Jamaica Kincaid today. It's reminding me of Wide Sargasso Sea, but probably of its world before it grew cold and brutal. The prose is appreciably clean without sacrificing rich imagery so far.

>>	Anonymous Fri Nov 11 01:25:43 2016 No.8712639 >>8709946 like

>>	Anonymous Fri Nov 11 01:37:03 2016 No.8712652 >>8712503 i saw this in a store and almost bought it. the only reason i didn't buy it was because it looked a little memey

>>	Anonymous Fri Nov 11 01:47:09 2016 No.8712663 1Q84 fucking love memekami

>>	Anonymous Fri Nov 11 02:50:20 2016 No.8712747 >>8712633 >in Lombardo, Alexander, and Pope translations That's commitment, goddamn.

>>	Anonymous Fri Nov 11 05:11:08 2016 No.8712956 >>8710068 Now that's top tier nabakov my man

Anonymous Fri Nov 11 05:12:52 2016 No.8712959

I am a 19-year-old, svelte cute male currently 650k words into my debut six-part autobiography. I work a superficially interesting and respected job and live in a major city. If it weren't for my intense self-awareness and heightened intelligence and sensitive to external stimuli I would literally be one of the most sexually active members of my age group. Most people are incapable of appreciating just how much of a mental hurdle there is to overcome when you are a Will Hunting-tier genius like myself. It isn't easy. For all the upside (perfect ethical standards, increased insight into human motives, awesome memory capacity, and so on) there is a significant downside, especially when it comes to interacting with women, who are on the most part essentially looking for a dictator-type boyfriend to claim them physically and dominate them psychologically. When you are a pure, sensitive, erudite introvert like myself the idea of doing those things to anybody, let alone a girl, is as repulsive as any other type of behaviour which reminds us of the brute, irrational aspect of the human disposition. At this point, on the verge of international fame and renown as I am (I intend to self-publish my autobiography in Spring 2017), I am literally only willing to date a girl who is pale, petite, cute and completely docile without being a complete masochist. I have accepted that I will never find an intellectual peer to either befriend or date, so I am resigned to settling for someone who is at the very least a virgin (like myself) and who is at least curious about my intellectual capabilities, even if she (male) is incapable of relating to them.

>>	Anonymous Fri Nov 11 05:55:45 2016 No.8713007 transparent things by nabokov. i can't read it in public, somehow i can't understand what is being said if i don't actively pay attention to it.

>>	Anonymous Fri Nov 11 06:05:59 2016 No.8713023 >>8709932 Wuthering Heights, great storytelling and great prose.

>>	Anonymous Fri Nov 11 07:14:36 2016 No.8713138 >>8712633 How is Pope's Homer? i have immense respect for the man, but i cant imagine him as an accurate translator for some reason .

>>	Anonymous Fri Nov 11 07:34:59 2016 No.8713176 I'm reading No COuntry for Old Men. It's good stuff. >>8709946 Liked

Anonymous Fri Nov 11 09:18:32 2016 No.8713310
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>>8709932
Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance
It was great in the first third but then it suddenly got really abstract really quickly and I'm not sure if I like that or not. Also I wish that Phaedrus wasn't an actual character, I get that he's just used to described his own philosophy but if I have to go read through another Phaedrus backstory then I'm going to shoot myself.

>>	Anonymous Fri Nov 11 09:21:58 2016 No.8713322 >>8709932 Paradise lost. Fucking badass. I wish I had found it in highschool but still enjoying it a lot.

>>	Anonymous Fri Nov 11 09:23:55 2016 No.8713328 >>8712959 Show me your boipussi

>>	Anonymous Fri Nov 11 09:43:20 2016 No.8713381 >>8712959 Reading this feels like swimming trough shit only to get to the diarrhea part of the shit sea.

Anonymous Fri Nov 11 09:54:10 2016 No.8713404

Statism and Anarchy by Bakunin

His reactionary attitude to nineteenth century European democracies makes sense when you realize the repression the majority of people had to face in his lifetime.

His ideas are powerful, but their impact to illicit a perceptible public response has diminished with the emphasis on civil rights in Western democracies.

>>	Anonymous Fri Nov 11 15:38:24 2016 No.8714220 >>8709946 I like it

Anonymous Fri Nov 11 17:12:18 2016 No.8714425
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[ERROR]

1/3 into Krasznahorkai's Melancholy of Resistance.
Holy moly, that's great.
I am really enjoying how the enormous sentences can give very detailed descriptions, while at the same time surrounding the narrative in a dismal and dreadful ambience.

The themes are also very promising. I will definitely check out Satantango soon.

>>	Anonymous Fri Nov 11 19:33:34 2016 No.8714741 >>8714425 >a dismal and dreadful ambience I'll never understand why people want to read books like this.

>>	Anonymous Fri Nov 11 19:38:22 2016 No.8714758 The Civil War: A Narrative by Shelby Foote. Badly needs footnotes.

>>	Anonymous Fri Nov 11 19:41:24 2016 No.8714767 >>8710544 good taste

>>	Anonymous Fri Nov 11 19:44:44 2016 No.8714776 >>8709946 Like

>>	Anonymous Fri Nov 11 19:50:14 2016 No.8714801 >>8709946 What if I like it but I don't write anything?

Anonymous Fri Nov 11 20:03:58 2016 No.8714836

>>8710806
If this thread is still going, I am the post linked to above. I just finished a clockwork orange this afternoon, and I must say, I cannot believe the American version and movie take out the last chapter. It left me with a whole different taste in my mouth than if I had been stopped at part 3 ch 6. I do t think I will watch the movie now. Also I enjoyed the book more once the rape stopped.

>>	Anonymous Fri Nov 11 20:19:42 2016 No.8714875 >>8709946 Like I'm reading Aristotle's Poetics right now, pretty good.

>>	Anonymous Fri Nov 11 20:23:17 2016 No.8714886 >>8709946 I like it xd

>>	Anonymous Fri Nov 11 20:24:55 2016 No.8714888 The Iliad for the first time Really cool so far

>>	Anonymous Fri Nov 11 20:39:35 2016 No.8714916 >>8714741 Not all enjoyable experiences need to be joyful.

Anonymous Fri Nov 11 20:51:21 2016 No.8714944

>>8709946
real nice pepe

I'm reading notes from the underground. It's breddy gud, the first bit was a little written pretty much like a philisophical text as opposed to a narrative so it felt a little bit dry and I had to re-read it a million times just to get some semblance of understanding but it been smooth sailing after that. Protagonist is basically a robot so that makes it more entertaining too. Would recommend.

>>	Anonymous Fri Nov 11 20:52:24 2016 No.8714948 >>8714944 >the first bit was a little written pretty much like fug. Thought I deleted that bit, must've stroked out. Oh well.

>>	Anonymous Fri Nov 11 20:53:39 2016 No.8714955 File: 38 KB, 500x375, 1453763491739.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google] >>8709946 Like

>>	Anonymous Fri Nov 11 21:19:20 2016 No.8715016 >>8709946 I like it

>>	Anonymous Fri Nov 11 21:28:46 2016 No.8715044 2666 >that Pakistani taxi driver was right Liz Norton is a slut

>>	Anonymous Fri Nov 11 21:32:44 2016 No.8715056 >>8710787 Currently halfway through. I'm enjoying it so far, but I get annoyed a little bit with novels of the era with all their asides and how every character they meet has a life story. But it's generally funny and I'm having fun reading it

>>	Anonymous Fri Nov 11 22:16:39 2016 No.8715171 >>8710170 >Araby This was always my favourite, Eveline and An Encounter are great too.

>>	Anonymous Fri Nov 11 22:17:41 2016 No.8715176 >>8714425 Have you seen Werckmeister Harmonies? How do the two compare? I've got the film and I'm gonna watch it soon, then maybe read the book later.

>>	Anonymous Fri Nov 11 22:18:41 2016 No.8715179 >>8709946 Damn that's a real Pepe, I like it. I'm reading Studies in Pessimism, Artie is a real Pepe too.

>>	Anonymous Fri Nov 11 22:18:43 2016 No.8715180 >>8709932 really interesting thread, can't wait to read everyone's responses!

>>	Anonymous Fri Nov 11 22:26:13 2016 No.8715193 >>8713007 That's the person I want. Hello person! The ending is really good. I love nabokov's descriptions.

>>	Anonymous Fri Nov 11 22:31:44 2016 No.8715207 >>8709946 Like

>>	Anonymous Fri Nov 11 22:32:32 2016 No.8715210 >>8715180 Good answer from someone who doesn't read!

>>	Anonymous Fri Nov 11 23:47:36 2016 No.8715355 >>8711878 is nyrb usually a pretty safe bet?

>>	Anonymous Fri Nov 11 23:51:53 2016 No.8715362 >>8714944 >Protagonist is basically a robot He isn't at all. Please read it a little deeper

Anonymous Fri Nov 11 23:53:34 2016 No.8715363

>>8709932
currently reading Paradise Lost (and like 8 other books). I had a bit of a rough time starting out, but I really like it now. Finished Part 8 recently. Blank verse is a bit depressing but Milton often touches upon the sublime, especially in describing the battle between Satan's army and the Heavenly Host.

>>	Anonymous Sat Nov 12 00:20:11 2016 No.8715416 >>8710540 Hey, me! I'm reading it because of how shitty the inferno movie was and this was the only Dan Brown book I had on hand.

>>	Anonymous Sat Nov 12 00:25:46 2016 No.8715425 >>8715362 I'm only about half way through but he seems pretty robot to me. Super nervous and anxious, thinks he's intellectually superior to everyone, extreme self hate,etc. But yeah, I'll try to reflect deeper on it once I finish up.

>>	Anonymous Sat Nov 12 03:08:00 2016 No.8715709 >>8709946 like

>>	Anonymous Sat Nov 12 03:20:15 2016 No.8715717 >>8709946 like

>>	Anonymous Sat Nov 12 04:04:02 2016 No.8715752 The Sellout it's fucking funny

>>	Anonymous Sat Nov 12 06:14:54 2016 No.8715879 >>8715176 I haven't watched it yet, so I'll finish the book and then give it a try.

Anonymous Sat Nov 12 07:20:04 2016 No.8715948
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I usually read literature and philosophical works. One day I thought I should try some scifi that half of the /lit/ despise. Finished Dune and found it acceptable, just didn't quite understand why everyone praised it so much. I looked on amazon, saw that a majority of reviewers claimed that the second book is highly philosophical and interesting. It seemed like something I would like, so I gave it a try.

But boy, how disappointing it was. The characters were actually blanker, and the dialogues were unsophisticated. The ending was alright but the twist was just plain stupid. Worst of all the book was nowhere as philosophical as everyone claimed it to be and the author failed to explore many of the would-be interesting themes (like ghola). Alia was the most disappointing of all characters. I was expecting her to be at least on par with her brother in the first novel, but at the end she just turned out to be a whinny little bitch who can't even get her thought straight.

>>	Anonymous Sat Nov 12 08:09:22 2016 No.8716022 >>8713310 Anon for your own sake, please don't finish the book as there is a lot more back story. But I enjoyed it anyway

>>	Anonymous Sat Nov 12 09:55:35 2016 No.8716280 >>8716022 I feel like I have too anyways. Wish me luck.

>>	Anonymous Sat Nov 12 10:24:38 2016 No.8716332 >>8709946 like

>>	Anonymous Sat Nov 12 11:40:19 2016 No.8716467 The Recognitions I'm 800 pages into it. It's exhausting. I hope there are no more Greenwich Village parties. And no more letters from crazy women pls.

>>	Anonymous Sat Nov 12 13:18:18 2016 No.8716744 when nietzche wheps, great book

>>	Anonymous Sat Nov 12 13:20:20 2016 No.8716750 Buddenbrooks. It's a nice, comfy read.

>>	Anonymous Sat Nov 12 13:21:32 2016 No.8716753 >>8710068 Nabokov is always funny, in every single one of his books.

>>	Anonymous Sat Nov 12 13:39:22 2016 No.8716801 >The witcher: Times of contempt I'm liking it but not as much as the previous book and short stories. Geralts character seems to be "intelligent,nihilistic and with a wicked sense of humour"more so in this book than the previous.

>>	Anonymous Sat Nov 12 13:44:11 2016 No.8716817 >>8709946 like

>>	Anonymous Sat Nov 12 18:43:54 2016 No.8717583 >>8709932 Genesis The structure is pretty interesting, what with the "historical" content of it as a familial narrative. The whole Abraham section was the strongest, desu.

>>	Anonymous Sat Nov 12 20:11:41 2016 No.8717776 >>8709946 up-thumb

>>	Anonymous Sun Nov 13 00:07:18 2016 No.8718280 >>8709946 like

>>	Anonymous Sun Nov 13 00:34:25 2016 No.8718325 File: 42 KB, 326x499, 51ipbNTSdLL._SX324_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google] It reminds me of myself because i'm simply too intelligent to enjoy myself in this society

>>	Anonymous Sun Nov 13 00:48:55 2016 No.8718349 >>8709946 liked

>>	Anonymous Sun Nov 13 00:51:02 2016 No.8718355 >>8709932 Maps of Meaning - Jordan Peterson It has changed my perspective on life. Somewhat drastically I might add.

>>	Anonymous Sun Nov 13 00:51:09 2016 No.8718357 >>8709946 fucking hell, I like

>>	Anonymous Sun Nov 13 01:37:03 2016 No.8718417 >>8718355 I read a bit about this and it seems like an updated Hero With A Thousand Faces, check that out if you haven't

>>	Anonymous Sun Nov 13 14:29:21 2016 No.8719799 >>8709946 Like Reading Moby Dick, it's just as boring as I heard it was but luckily I don't have the attention span of a child so I can at least enjoy the comfort and realism.

>>	Anonymous Sun Nov 13 15:07:12 2016 No.8719921 >>8718417 Is campbell a meme or not?

Anonymous Sun Nov 13 16:53:22 2016 No.8720302

>>8719921
Depends who you ask, most people here seem to give his ideas a fair hearing, which honestly surprises me because it's actually pretty easy to criticise given how unscientific it is. But fuck that bullshit.

Also some people in like Sanskrit studies claim he misinterprets Indian mythology or something but it's up to anyone to interpret that shit.

>>	Anonymous Sun Nov 13 16:55:03 2016 No.8720308 God Wants You Dead It's ok

>>	Anonymous Sun Nov 13 21:20:17 2016 No.8721196 >>8709932 >Girl With Curious Hair delightful in the dfw sense just finished My Appearance, you can see he held in mind/developed on some particular ideas throughout his career eg. irony/sincerity

>>	Anonymous Mon Nov 14 01:34:55 2016 No.8722024 >>8714916 Hmmm

Anonymous Mon Nov 14 02:09:12 2016 No.8722097

>>8713138
Not that guy, but it isn't at all an accurate translation in terms of how it adheres to the language and meter of Homer. It's shit and that guy got memed into reading something lauded by pseuds who don't know how Homeric poetry actually functions.

>>	Anonymous Mon Nov 14 02:24:37 2016 No.8722126 >>8719799 >Moby-Dick >boring You should go back to r/books

>>	Anonymous Mon Nov 14 02:29:37 2016 No.8722133 Moby-Dick. I like it almost as much as >>8709946

Anonymous Mon Nov 14 02:39:47 2016 No.8722145

>>8719921
Not really. His 'follow your bliss' mantra is pretty hippy dippy, and the monomyth is very rigid and does not allow for a differential analysis of cultures based on their mythologies (classic Jung). But otherwise he gives a pretty comprehensive survey in Masks of God, and he is worth reading even if only as a contrary to more academic anthropological thought, which don't have such broad sweeping exclusionist theses.

tl;dr he's a good introduction but don't put all your eggs in his basket

>>	Anonymous Mon Nov 14 02:43:54 2016 No.8722152 >>8722145 campbell's raddest shit is his commentary on joyce and mann, those lectures really got me into literary theory https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5BE0_noMsqE

Anonymous Mon Nov 14 02:57:47 2016 No.8722183

Recollections of the revolution of 48 by Alexander Tocqueville.

He was a great honest man who tried his best to find truth in the great shitshow that was french government. He even admits to being no leader or well in front of large groups of men and his multiple faults, which is rare to see in an autobiography. Wish I knew more about the 2nd french republic and republics in general before reading it to grasp better all the talk about the senate, constituent assembly, voting procedures, cabinet makeups, etc.

Entertaining how he makes omissions which are included showing his obvious disdain for the working class's ideas regarding socialism or rather the fantasy of it.

I know democracy in america is supposed to be excellent as well but a lot of these types of books unless you're actively studying or a brain you can only retain so much information.

Also nobodadys children by Arno Schmidt, excellent writer, in pure brainpower and knowledge of history, literature, art it's obvious how high up he ranks with any other writer from his time. You might think it hogwash if you read an excerpt or just wrote off arno cause of all his idiosyncrasies and editing style but he's exceptional as well as poetic without even seeming to try. I'm not sure whens the last time I saw a writer use 4-5 different languages, nudge high level philosophy into a book, obscure subjects, and have an exceeding wit while making fun of hitler, bringing a surprisingly well placed erotic element to his books and making up a few words a page.

>>	Anonymous Mon Nov 14 03:02:25 2016 No.8722196 >>8718325 I really hope this is a joke

>>	Anonymous Mon Nov 14 10:13:15 2016 No.8722881 Les Miserables It sucks.

>>	Anonymous Mon Nov 14 10:24:30 2016 No.8722912 >>8722881 What page are you on?

>>	Anonymous Mon Nov 14 10:33:19 2016 No.8722929 >>8722126 I said I'm enjoying it, but I can see where people get the "moby dick is boring" meme from

>>	Anonymous Mon Nov 14 10:33:53 2016 No.8722932 >>8709932 Just got done with Joyce which was vague and confusing and it was a horrible idea going straight to genre fiction. I am now reading Time Salvager. It's ok

>>	Anonymous Mon Nov 14 10:36:01 2016 No.8722937 Finally started reading the New Testament after reading like 70% of the Old Testament. Even though I'm only in Matthew, lots of light bulbs are clicking. I'm beginning to understand why Nietzsche viewed the OT much more favorably than the NT.

>>	Anonymous Mon Nov 14 10:36:14 2016 No.8722938 >>8709932 The bible (Old Testamen) I'm not sure what to make of it

>>	Anonymous Mon Nov 14 10:36:57 2016 No.8722941 >>8709946 Like

>>	Anonymous Mon Nov 14 10:42:39 2016 No.8722948 >>8722912 802

>>	Anonymous Mon Nov 14 12:28:35 2016 No.8723221 >>8709946 liked

>>	Anonymous Mon Nov 14 12:33:27 2016 No.8723237 >>8709932 Sharpe's Siege by Bernard Cornwell I'm only about 30 pages in or so, and it's good, but I'm not reading as much as I used to. Too busy writing.

>>	Anonymous Mon Nov 14 12:37:46 2016 No.8723249 >>8709946 LIKE

>>	Anonymous Mon Nov 14 13:25:37 2016 No.8723417 >>8709946 like

Anonymous Mon Nov 14 13:42:54 2016 No.8723449

>>8710242
I will finish the last 30 pages today, it's the greatest book I read in a long time. Houellebecq seems to be the writer with the most relevant works in our time. I bet this one will go down in the history of Literature like all The other big Names like 1984 or animal farm

>>	Anonymous Mon Nov 14 13:45:41 2016 No.8723460 >>8710810 The book was never finished. We cant know what He intended

Anonymous Mon Nov 14 13:53:07 2016 No.8723489

>Rise and Fall of the Third Reich - William Shirer

I'm up to just before Barbarossa, it's probably the most in depth I've ever been into WW2. I personally would like a bit more info about the other theatres (especially Japan, I think they've only been mentioned in passing 3 or 4 times up to now) but I guess it's supposed to be a more specific look at Germany.

8/10 so far

>>	Anonymous Mon Nov 14 22:02:01 2016 No.8725140 >>8709946 Like

>>	Anonymous Mon Nov 14 22:06:13 2016 No.8725151 >>8709946 like

>>	Anonymous Mon Nov 14 22:11:47 2016 No.8725168 >>8709946 like

Anonymous Mon Nov 14 22:30:03 2016 No.8725225

>>8709946
like

I'm reading Brand by Ibsen. Its good, not a masterpiece like Peer Gynt but still very good. Its a shame that these two are neglected in favour of his later plays just because he is better known as the master of realism, people forget he mastered verse before.

>>	Anonymous Mon Nov 14 23:54:35 2016 No.8725448 The Brothers Karamazov. I just picked it up again after a year, about 180 pages in. I like it. Russians are fascinating.

>>	Anonymous Mon Nov 14 23:58:13 2016 No.8725459 >>8709946 Like Just read Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. I must have read an abridged version as a kid or something because I remembered the whole plot. Still enjoyed it a lot though.

>>	Anonymous Tue Nov 15 00:05:16 2016 No.8725477 Pandora's Star by Peter Hamilton have never read scifi before but I really like it so far. Lots of characters with good stories to them and a deep setting in politics and tech

>>	Anonymous Tue Nov 15 00:16:28 2016 No.8725499 The Moviegoer I like what I've read so far, but I've made very little actual progress because I've been busy with school. One of the more accurate depictions of suburbs that I've come across

>>	Anonymous Tue Nov 15 00:29:24 2016 No.8725521 File: 89 KB, 1000x800, 1475034588744.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google] >>8709946 I like it

Anonymous Tue Nov 15 02:59:06 2016 No.8725815
File: 104 KB, 570x800, 692949_orig.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]

>>8709932

>''Do Androids Dream of Magic Sheep

It's meh, I was hoping for something more immersive with a vivid cyberpunk world that I could get lost in, but so far it seems a bit mellow (nearing the end).

Maybe my lack of imagination is the issue? I don't know.

>>	Anonymous Tue Nov 15 03:04:41 2016 No.8725821 The Outsider, by Albert Camus. It made me hate Muslims even more.

Anonymous Tue Nov 15 03:16:36 2016 No.8725840 [DELETED]

Todos los Fuegos el Fuego ("All Fires The Fire") by Borges
Nice narration about fascinating yet realistic scenarios of human interaction in society, family and friendship.
Borges describes a whole character with only a few paragraphs which I found very fascinating compared to most anglo books I've read.
Borges gives all the hints in order for you to analyze every single situation and the real outcome of it, he doesn't really narrates his point of view or whether a situation is real or not, he just gives very subjective points of views that build up to the whole plot of the story.

>>	Anonymous Tue Nov 15 03:19:02 2016 No.8725844 Jesus chist, I hope no one saw that huge fuck up I just made.

>>	Anonymous Tue Nov 15 03:25:55 2016 No.8725851 The Wind Up Bird Chronicle I like it the same amount as the other Murakami novels I've read.

>>	Anonymous Tue Nov 15 03:59:07 2016 No.8725899 >>8722196 me too

>>	Anonymous Tue Nov 15 05:36:37 2016 No.8726036 >>8709946 like

>>	Anonymous Tue Nov 15 05:49:03 2016 No.8726050 In The Twilight, so far all the stories have been enjoyable. Chekhov is pretty good.

>>	Anonymous Tue Nov 15 05:49:10 2016 No.8726051 >>8709946 liked +1

>>	Anonymous Tue Nov 15 05:57:50 2016 No.8726060 >>8709946 like

>>	Anonymous Tue Nov 15 06:05:04 2016 No.8726069 >>8709946 Dislike I am not afraid

Anonymous Tue Nov 15 06:06:45 2016 No.8726073
File: 61 KB, 1300x1300, 3777243-a-3d-robotic-hand-giving-the-okay-sign-Stock-Photo-robot-hand[1].jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]

>>8725477
Hamilton is a great sci-fi author
>huge universes with dozens of entertaining characters
>not above a bit of smut here and there
>top notch technobabble
I've almost finished The Naked God and it's been quite a ride.

>>	Anonymous Tue Nov 15 06:35:57 2016 No.8726110 Steppenwolf by Hesse I expected something different.

>>	Anonymous Tue Nov 15 06:39:47 2016 No.8726115 >>8709946 like

>>	Anonymous Tue Nov 15 06:40:50 2016 No.8726116 >>8726073 His endings tend to be kind of shit. I was legitimately mad at the end of the void trilogy. Manhattan in Reverse was a great short story collection though.

Anonymous Tue Nov 15 07:59:57 2016 No.8726236

>>8710787
>tfw native spanish speaker
>tfw think that it was just alright
How unpopular is my opinion?
To be fair, it made me realize what was the secret to writting: "give no fucks and write what you want, you can throw the narrative out of the Window and fucking review books in the middle of your story and people will eat it as long as you put effort in it" also I still have yet to see a story that makes the "out of character" work, only story that has done it correctly.

Anonymous Tue Nov 15 08:11:16 2016 No.8726262

>>8709932
I've started reading Roadside Picknick and promptly dropped it at page 20 or so.
The narrator is a cunt and the thought of having to spend the rest of the book reading about him makes me suicidal. The intro was really interesting, the interview with the proffesor. It made me curious about the world of the book, but the MC basically fucked that.

I've since picked up infinite jest and I'm enjoying it so far.

>>	Anonymous Tue Nov 15 08:18:28 2016 No.8726272 >>8709946 like

>>	Anonymous Tue Nov 15 08:50:04 2016 No.8726338 File: 85 KB, 759x1092, elliot.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google] >>8709946

>>	Anonymous Tue Nov 15 08:56:46 2016 No.8726352 >>8709946 like

Anonymous Tue Nov 15 10:29:09 2016 No.8726546

>>8709932
The Process, by Kafka
Ummm, well, I'm almost halfway through it and I'm still confused by the spaghetti-wielding autist K. What's his deal. First of, he flirted with, and kissed, that neighbour (what's her name), then he flirted with the maid at the """""courthouse"""""", falling in love left and right. Did Kafka really not have sex with women, was he such a fucking robot? The universe is entertaining, though. Everything's at the exact amount of ridiculuos, I guess.
All in all, I gib it 3*/5*

>>	Anonymous Tue Nov 15 10:42:29 2016 No.8726576 >>8726262 Desu you should just play S.T.A.L.K.E.R.

>>	Anonymous Tue Nov 15 10:44:36 2016 No.8726584 Diary of a Superfluous Man. I don't really care for it, it has something effete to it.

>>	Anonymous Tue Nov 15 10:46:50 2016 No.8726591 >>8726546 It's The Trial, they translated it into The Process in my language :/

>>	Anonymous Tue Nov 15 10:47:00 2016 No.8726592 >>8726546 The title was translated as "The Trial" in English, dear Kraut.

>>	Anonymous Tue Nov 15 11:00:42 2016 No.8726628 >>8710810 >>8723460 this

>>	Anonymous Tue Nov 15 11:04:53 2016 No.8726646 Mason & Dixon. Probably the most beautiful prose I've encountered so far, though it is hard to decypher for someone whose native language isn't English. The story itself is just heartwarming and enchanting.

Anonymous Tue Nov 15 11:06:28 2016 No.8726654

>>8726576
Fucking love that game, especially with the sadistic Misery mod coupled with the utterly awesome The Armed Zone mod. I want to write a book set in that Universe, but I'm PRETTY damn sure that would be copyrighting... perhaps I could just make it incredibly vague, or just set it in a fictional North American city that suffered a terrible radiation leak and after a couple decades people started to illegally scavenge there... but then there wouldn't be all the glorious Russian firearms, and that's part of what makes it so awesome. Perhaps I'll set it in Canada; lots of Russian firearms in Canada except for AKs and SMGs. SVT-40s, SKS-45s, TT-33s, even some Makarovs came in, M1895s, M91/30s, M44s, and so on and so forth. Perhaps include someone in 'The Zone' (would obviously be renamed to something else) who specializes in importing illegal firearms to sell at outrageous prices. Also lots of supposed American tourists who drive accross the border come just for the sake of going to this 'Zone' to see what kind of decades-old riches they can find. Make it so the entire world is, for one reason or another, fascinated by whatever went on there, resulting in a huge mark-up when selling things that are proven to have come from 'The Zone'.

It's an interesting thought... but the lack of "Cheeki Breeki" would definitely be unfortunate.

>>	Anonymous Tue Nov 15 11:40:07 2016 No.8726753 >>8709946 Might as well.

>>	Anonymous Tue Nov 15 11:59:52 2016 No.8726793 >>8709946 Like. Dammit

>>	Anonymous Tue Nov 15 12:34:17 2016 No.8726878 The Silmarillion. I'm nearly starting, and loving it because it settles a great mythology that goes deep into philosophical questions i already had.

>>	Anonymous Tue Nov 15 12:40:43 2016 No.8726893 just started Bestiario by Julio Cortazar, looking forward to exploring the latin american boom

>>	Anonymous Tue Nov 15 12:44:38 2016 No.8726905 File: 63 KB, 552x904, Bernie.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google] >>8709932 like Consumption-good

>>	Anonymous Tue Nov 15 12:52:37 2016 No.8726933 >>8709946 like

>>	Anonymous Tue Nov 15 12:57:19 2016 No.8726946 >>8716467 keep going lad . . . ending is top notch

>>	Anonymous Tue Nov 15 13:02:09 2016 No.8726958 File: 213 KB, 1400x2158, IMG_6355.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google] Gone With The Wind It's good. Scarlett's a major bitch but Rhett is super cool.

>>	Anonymous Tue Nov 15 13:34:49 2016 No.8727060 >>8709946 like

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/lit/ - Literature