/lit/ - Literature

Not just a book, but reading fiction in general. Each day i find it harder to care for other's imagined stories. Like, i was reading the novelas ejemplares, and some were really good (el licensiado vidriera, la tía fingida, rinconete y cortadillo); but cervantes' romantic stories are sappy as fuck, so i didn't read them all. Other books i've put down are to kill a mockingbird and the process by kafka (i know you faggots love that jew; but i can't stand his life denying... everything)

Now i only care about philosophy, non-fiction, and religious scripture.

>>10307172
>brainlet can't recognize le greatest Victorian author

>>10307172
I tried reading The Book of Disquiet earlier this year but it bored me too much and I was just skimming. Finally I just tossed it in the trash.

>>10307172
Assigned it for school, never got through the first three chapters.
>reason
Fucking gay lol

I read like 5 chapters of the bible before I got bored and had to stop

The first time I tried reading Gravity's Rainbow I got about 100 or so pages in and had to give up because I had no clue what was going on

Also stopped reading On the Road and Steppenwolf fairly early because they both sucked

>>10307172
If you've never read James before I'd recommend starting with one of his earlier ones (e.g. Washington Square or The Americans), The Ambassadors is written in his later, more difficult style.

>>10307318

>On the Road
Same

>Steppenwolf
Why did you think it sucked? I would encourage you to give it another go. Maybe try another Hesse like Beneath the Wheel or Demian first.

>>10307335
Do you know anything about The Bostonians? I was thinking about picking it up.

I got pic related from my local bookshop. Should I be concerned with the quality of the translation, /lit/?

>>10307318
Gravity's Rainbow is just awful. Felt obligated to read it, as it's my father's favorite book, but I know I'm never going to finish

>>10307299
not an austen fan either
for me its finnegans wake lmao
read ulysses this summer and i have my entire life to read this book

>>10307318
Gravity's Rainbow is amazing but it really is difficult too. I plan on re-reading it with some notes to help me but my initial opinion was "what the fuck" accompanied by fond memories of the book's most humorous moments (I love it when Tyrone Slothrop is discovering all of these ridiculous British sweets - as I'm from the UK, shit like sherbert lemons, chocolate limes, cola cubes and rhubarb and custards are very traditional [they're all boiled sweets] but to somebody unfamiliar to them, like an American, I would imagine that scene being very relatable). It really is a genius book with plenty of rewarding passages that require re-reading over and over until you think you've got what it means.

>>10307506
Try another translation but also re-read it when you're in the mood for a slowly-paced internal-conflict where crazy rationalisations and debates on ethics might be appeal to you. It really is a very accessible book but most people I've known who couldn't finish it said it usually came down to its pacing.

The Red and the Black, I've never appreciated a classic less, it's hundreds of pages of some dude worrying about his GFs

>>10308070
Imagine being your father.
Imagine having such a pleb son.

>>10307410
Bostonians is great. Perhaps the first appearance of the idea that SJW women secretly long to be sexually dominated by Chad.
The best way to read James is chronological, as his style slowly changes into the opaque indirect stuff that annoyed OP. If you read him in order you get the boiled frog effect and it doesn't hit you how vague he's getting

>>10308070
brainlet

>>10307221
>Kafka
>life denying

Can't say I've ever read Kafka as being particularly life denying. Perhaps modern life but not life in general.

>>10308386
Is it painfully slow or just not faced paced? It's one of my next books to read so I'm just wondering if I should pair it with something light and quick.

>>10308564
I didn't think it was painfully slow but when I say slowly-paced, I don't intend it as a pejorative, I should probably rephrase it as something casually-paced. I still think it's a pretty accessible book but if you're concerned, maybe try reading the first few chapters of C&P and if you think it's captivating, it's definitely for you, but if you're not won over that quickly by it, I would then say continue with it but also try pairing it with something short and sweet.