Why do you read "difficult" literature?

[Anonymous No.9761861]

I am reading because reading more difficult material changes the structure of your mind. There are too many books in the world, which is why I agree with Harold Bloom that you should only read the very best.

Like when you're young and naive, you listen to adults talking and what they're saying doesn't make sense, so to does the mind that hasn't approached heavy literature process information. I read heavy literature, because I believe that when I read heavier literature, not only is it an accomplishment, but it also programs, wires my mind in a way that is conducive to processing more complex information.

This is the reason why I read these books, and also because I want the deepest, most spine chilling stories that I could possibly hope for. Your general tripe doesn't entertain me, and I, by nature, am always seeking deeper existential marvels. It's just the way I am wired, I am always seeking. This is why I read dense, classic, intimidating literature.

[Anonymous No.9761866]

>>9761861
It's make my brain hurt, and makes me smarter.

[Anonymous No.9762029]

>>9761866
>It's
Looks like your not so smart after all lmao

[Anonymous No.9762212]

>>9761861
fuck that question, the real meat is "what genius and difficult work should i read next?". such idle thoughts of why are absolutely useless. I crave difficult, complex, and massive maximalist novels with exceptional prose. i don't give a shit why, i just want more. i only have like, two dozen, i need more, fuck. fuck. give me more. give me all the ones you know of, you shithole. fuck.

[Anonymous No.9762216]

>>9762029
Me Styles. Me smart.

[Anonymous No.9762219]

>>9762212
>maximalist
Minimalists can be complex and challenging too.

[Anonymous No.9762433]

>>9762219
yeah, but that's not what i fucking want. i said maximalists, you fucking dickbag. i don't care about minimalists, hence why i didn't fucking say minimalists. god damn you shitty faggot, taking what i say, injecting your narcissistic ego into it, and offering absolutely nothing but dogshit. do me a huge favor and keep your fucking trap shut next time you want to be helpful. imagine it's your own personal prime directive.

[Anonymous No.9762478]

>>9762433
Calm down

[Anonymous No.9762488]

>>9762478
no. i'm fucking jonesin'. i need my fix. fuck that cohen shit, fuck that diluted trash levin's instructions, fuck fuck fuck. you start fucking writing and be a god damn genius, and send me your shit immediately. i don't have time for this dogshit.

[Anonymous No.9762492]

>>9762488
Why don't you write what you want instead of getting mad at strangers then?

[Anonymous No.9762495]

>>9762488
P R O U S T

[Anonymous No.9762504]

>>9762495
It is another episode where PROUST poster saves the thread!

[Anonymous No.9762600]

>>9762495
>proust
>maximalist
>>9762492
if i write it, i will nullify it by reading it as i go, amd won't have a fucking book to read, now will i, you creamsucking faggot.

[Anonymous No.9762610]

>>9762600
>>proust
>>maximalist
are you retarded?

[Anonymous No.9762620]

>>9762610
define maximalism, then explain how proust meets these guidelines, you enormous dolphin fucking anal parasite.

[Anonymous No.9762720]

>>9762212
Curious as to what your thoughts on pynchon or joyce are. What are your favorite books?

[Anonymous No.9762735]

>>9762720
i love joyce and am going to read all of pynchon soon. i'm just a hoarder. i don't like to start unless i have it all plotted out. i have about two dozen books to go through, and i'm trying to squeeze out what little there is left that will interest me.
i don't have very creative or erudite opinions on anything i read, i just enjoy diving in, drowning in it. it's like a drug to be out of my element and overwhelmed by actual genius. and not piddly subtle genius but the real in your face fuck you genius.

[Anonymous No.9762786]

>>9762735
I have read dubliners and portrait. I am itching to read ulysses.
I've found pynchon to be brilliant. The references and math he throws in dont really mark his talent, they are background detail. The writing itself though...ive immensely enjoyed so many of his passages. There is nothing like reading the work of somebody great and thinking, "well shit, i couldnt do that if i tried."

[Anonymous No.9762800]

>>9762786
you're the guy from the "would people still like pynchon if.." thread, eh?
anyway, Ulysses is mind blowing. I can't wait to go through and read Joyce again, and this time read Finnegans Wake. it's going to be a fucking blast. I'm sure pynchon will be delightful.

[Anonymous No.9762834]

>>9761861
How the fuck does one read this? It is even worse to slog through that Brothers Karamazov. I thinkk it's all the fucking retarded russian names. It's like I read the page and have no idea what the fuck I just read about.

[Anonymous No.9762842]

>>9762488
>>9762433
>>9762600

[Anonymous No.9763014]

What happens when you read a classic work and realize that it no longer has anything to teach you about modern life since the conditions that gave rise to its brilliance are long gone?

[Anonymous No.9763032]

>>9761861
>I am reading because reading more difficult material changes the structure of your mind.
You answered your own question in your first sentence. The rest of your post is kind of cringe.

>>9762212
>>9762433
>>9762488
Dude you are insufferable.

[Anonymous No.9763224]

>>9762834
How fucking dumb are you?
>muh names
It's a fucking straightforward plot. The only thing 'hard' about it are kirilov's thoughts and they are explained for pages and pages..

[Anonymous No.9763255]

>>9763032
To be fair, he said "why do *you*", as in he wants to hear about other people's reasons for doing so.

>>9761861
I only really care for difficulty to the extent that it makes the book more challenging, I just see it as a puzzle that gives me something to do for a while until I either figure it out or give up. I prefer straightforwardly beautiful writing, generally, but that doesn't provide the same sort of experience.

[Anonymous No.9763861]

When you read hard literature, it ceases being hard. Dense and complex lit keeps my brain going.

[Anonymous No.9763869]

I have been constantly plagued throughout my life of an anxiety in which I believe I am acting or have done things wrong, or sinfully [I'm not religious, but this word helps describe what I am trying to say].

I believe that if I become well read enough I will suddenly enter a state of mind in which I am no longer out of place within this world.

[Anonymous No.9763956]

>>9763032
>giving a shit what some pissant thinks
imagine, if you will, a world where you shut your bitchass up. infinitely better, right? incredible, isn't it, you horsecocksucking vomit salad.

[Anonymous No.9764242]

bump

[Anonymous No.9764249]

>Why do you read "difficult" literature?

Same reason bodybuilders lift "difficult" weights

[Anonymous No.9764273]

>>9763869
Read "L'Ecureuil Noir by Daniel Poliquin

[Anonymous No.9764339]

>>9761861
There's at least three types of 'difficult' literature. One, the overly complex kind. Rarely used words and definitions bloat the pages into tedious work.
Second, the subject is difficult. It either contradicts your perspective and facts, perhaps even axioms. Philosophy and religion do this a lot, science can do it. Quantum mechanics is nothing but this, for example.
Thirdly, the slow text. There is a book in Finnish, where a character goes out of his chair to get his pipe on the other side of the room. It takes 70 pages to complete this task. Of course, interesting material can be slow as well; when you anticipate something and want it resolved. However, you must not miss the details along the way.

There is a different reason to reach every one. The first is to analyze a new field, or to increase your vocabulary. Usually with a word or two - no more can be applied to 'real life'. The second on the other hand is read for growth, in theory, but in application it is read to survive. The third one is not read.

[Anonymous No.9764377]

>>9764339
god damn you're a pleb. genius and difficult lit falls under no simplistic trio of categories fashioned clunkily by some addlebrained faggot.

[Anonymous No.9764391]

>>9764377
Arbitrary and new definitions picked and discarded as one goes. I just can't commit.

[Anonymous No.9764392]

>>9763014
classic works are timeless, and even though we can't appreciate them fully without living in that time and place you can still derive value from them

[Anonymous No.9764577]

>>9762029

[Anonymous No.9764586]

>>9761861
>"difficult" as a proxy for anything

[Anonymous No.9764609]

I read the hardest novels and philosophies I can find because it's the only true enjoyment I get in my life. I don't watch television anymore, I stopped playing video games years ago, and pulp fiction bores me to tears. I get a warm, tingly sensation up my spine and into my skull every time I parse something dense and it clicks, and I fucking live for that moment. Reading Gravity's Rainbow for the second time was revelatory, and one of the greatest experiences I've ever had from any medium. I don't know for sure that it's making me more intelligent or improving my character, but it gets me through the day.

[Anonymous No.9764623]

>>9761861
Thanks for the new pasta.

[Anonymous No.9764629]

>>9764609
This, anon.

I hope your love of reading never goes away.

[Anonymous No.9764642]

>>9761861
>I am reading because reading more difficult material changes the structure of your mind.
Is there any evidence for what you really mean here, i.e. that it changes it for the better in some quantifiable way? Everything changes the structure of your mind and engaging in mentally straining activities all the time isn't necessarily beneficial.

[Anonymous No.9764654]

entertainment mostly. but also to expand my mind, learn something new, broaden my horizons. i suppose it doesn't hurt that people are impressed if you read a lot of difficult books.

[Anonymous No.9764669]

Why would you read "books" or read "difficult books"

What the fuck is people's problem

Do you have no real interests

Is everything about appearance with you?

What kind of bizarro world is this

[Anonymous No.9764671]

the only acceptable replies "to challenge my self" or "to grow" you long-winded faggots

[Anonymous No.9764698]

>>9761861

[Anonymous No.9764760]

>>9764671
The only acceptable reply for a man with no qualities. If someone has ambitions, if he actually developed his character to where he can say I want this this and this from life, that person wouldn't waste his time on an impersonal "growth" or "challenge".

/lit/, what I gather from the daily meta-"reading" threads, is doing it -fundamentally- wrong. I am >>9764669. Come at me bro.

[Anonymous No.9764810]

>>9764339
>There is a book in Finnish, where a character goes out of his chair to get his pipe on the other side of the room. It takes 70 pages to complete this task.
Well, what is it?

[Anonymous No.9764874]

>>9764669
does a man climb mt. everest for appearances only? or is it simply because it is there? just because you're a faggot who doesn't like a challenge doesn't mean everyone is, you solipsistic douchefountain.

[Anonymous No.9764875]

>>9764810
Tää

Missä romaanissa on näinkin pitkäveteistä introspektiota, joka kaivaa sanallista arkkuaan pienimpäänkin arjen askareeseen?

[Anonymous No.9764901]

>>9764810
Sounds like Kalle Päätalo, but I'm not familiar with the actual book in question. He's mainly known for his autistically long 26-part autobiography (longest in the world apparently).

[Anonymous No.9764941]

>>9764901
LMAO for Päätalo thinking for hours some useless shit before getting strength to stand up and light a pipe. The voice of baby boomers in Finland, I wonder if there really is anything significant work for real.

[Anonymous No.9765732]

I read challenging texts because it will help sustain the life force of our saviour Harold Bloom Senpai.

[Anonymous No.9766255]

>>9761861
holy kekeroni, his face is very punchable in this particular picture

[Anonymous No.9766451]

>>9762212
>>9762433
>>9762488
>this is how everyone that took high school AP literature ended up

[Anonymous No.9766465]

>>9761861
Because the difficult is less trod, and closer to new ground.

[Anonymous No.9766469]

>>9763956
You have a painfuly banal way of expressing yourself. You come across as an idiot who thinks he's a genius. Please understand this.