/lit/ - Literature

That seems reasonable, OP. You should attempt friendship. It's key to have friends with different tastes. "The surest way to corrupt a youth is to instruct him to hold in higher esteem those who think alike than those who think differently." And all that shit.

>thread?
>okay.

>On a book shopping/stealing rampage with some friends
>see Dostoyevsky's TBK
>snatch it up like a hungry goblin
>get it home
>open
>Translated by Constance Garnett
>FFFFFFFFFF---

or...

>In a creative writing course
>kid says he's hot shit
>critical acclaim from class
>my turn to edit his story
>grammatically incorrect mix of pop culture, Lovecraft and a whale with a lazer
>fix the grammar
>hand it back
>give it a 0 on the little sheet
>an hero

>read The Catcher in the Rye
>hate it
>attempt to discuss it with friend
>"No way man, it's so deep! It's one of my favorite books."
>insults me when I insult the book
>repeat for three more people
>finally talk to girl who hates it
>we're mocking it together
>girl next to me turns around and abuses me for not liking it
>whatthefuckisgoingon.jpg

>>1358660
>a whale with a lazer
I hope you critically acclaimed the shit out of him.

>>1358663
Fuck you man, you're such a dick and will die alone with that girl.

>>1358668
>implying people with a similar taste don't wish to discuss material they liked or disliked

Catcher in the Rye was shit.

>>1358671
No, you are shit you shitty shit shit.

>>1358683
I forgot to say, I didn't actually seek out people who enjoyed it to mock them for doing so, I was looking for a conversation about the book. All I got was the amount of sense you'd expect from someone fangirling over the new Twilight book. The second I brought up a negative aspect I found with the book, I was personally insulted.

So fuck them.

>>1358686
Oh, now you're staring on Twilight are you? You philistine.

Eh, most people are ridiculous, don't worry about it,

>>1358668
>alone
>with someone

>>1358660
Me and the kid are acquaintances. Definitely no bad blood. I wouldn't mind being his friend, he seems like a reasonable/nice enough guy, but usually you have to leave those sorts of things up to nature.

>>1358671
Why do you think the catcher in the rye is shit?

speaking of catcher in teh rye:

>start talking to a girl from college, after being strangers (after we graduated)
>says salinger is her fav author
>start to kinda fall helplessly in love with the idea of not being alone anymore. see her as only female that has given me any attention in literally a decade.
>read catcher and franny in a weekend
>OK with it until it starts being all "god is good" and thinking how the girl im crushing on read that and didn't go "Fuck this shit".
>realize she's religious, but still hold out hope for an "understanding relationship"
>see her getting mac'd on by a friend of mine she met at my birthday party, and basically ignoring me
>an hero
>the last thing i read was fucking catcher in the rye...

>>1358695
OMG I LOL'D SO HARD. IM THE SAME. FUCK WOMEN. YOU DON'T NEED TO BE LOVED TO BE HAPPY

>>1358696
thanks bro. yeah fuck women. What happend to you?

>>1358698
only lit related cause the girl was a lit major at the time, but:

>girl i really like, who has the best personality i have ever whitnessed asks me if i want to go to portland with her.
>think, shit man, we gonna get a hotel, ima but mah 23 Y.O. cherry. thank god, women aren't all that bad
>on way down she says we're going to be staying with her ex boyfriend and asks if that's weird.
>"no, y would that be weird?"
>first night there, the dude gives me a sleeping bag and goes to take a shower
>girl comes back from brushing her teeth and starts talking to me about what we will do tomorrow and stuff.
>wind up convo. i ask where she's gonna sleep
>with (her ex bf).
>okay.
>try to sleep clutching the pillow the dude lent me
>cant sleep. morning comes and i hear a weird sound - like a jackhammer upstairs.
>realize its the girl getting pounded by her ex
>feel my tiny penis shrink into my body
>have to spend 2 more days like this
>3 years later, and still virgin. but, fuck! plenty of successful people died alone. who was that virgin artist? and that virgin poet? shit, u kno, right? right???

>>1358702
>but i bought my first and favorite murakami novel on that trip. and was introduced to camus.
>i guess it IS lit related after all!

so alone.

>>1358703
>>1358702
touching story broham. yeah, i have a tiny penis too, and at times im glad ive never been with a female, because then talk of my micro would spread around town. from what people say, japan is the place to be for men with small penis AND men who cant seem to get a date even if they are on one.

i keep trying to tell myself that love is not the answer. that i can be happy pwning noobs online, and doing my own littler personal projects- trying to bring myself the most joy i can on my own. but damn if i dont't just feel like giving up sometimes. often times.

ive certainly given up on love. still soldiering on in life tho... who knows? who knows.

>>1358702
You can't pound someone on such a high pedestal.

>>1358704
do you remember what it was like before your soul got crushed?

i remember having some kind of hope for the future a kind of warm fuzzy hope that made me think i was good at heart. these days im even more convinced im good at heart, and always was, but when i think about the future, i just get a cold hard feeling. like the feeling i get when i crunch numbers.

>>1358707
hmmm
yeah, i do really feel crushed these days, and i feel that ive lost faith in humanity. i also feel a lot of outright envy and jealosy when i see a pretty boy with a girl on his arm. or any kind of anyone in a relationship. i emagine running over couples as i watch them cross the street from inside my car. i tend to just dislike dudes i meet that have girlfriends or are married. (tho, if they are ok people, i end up coming around eventually). It wouldnt be so bad, except that my best friend left the country to teach english recently, and nowadays, im only surrounded by people i hate. at first things were looking good after he left - thats when i started talking to the salinger fan girl. then i just got more and more alone. nowadays, ill spend an entire day online without even blinking. and i dont care at all about other people - live or die, happy or sad.

>>1358710
i realized i had lost hope when upon whitnessing a beautiful woman while walking on the street or soemthing, i would feel depressed rather than envigorated. i remember watching the fifth element and falling in love with Lelu when i was in middle school. Now i see it and i want to murder suicide.

>>1358712
fuck man ur depressing me.

>>1358710
>>1358707
Hey guys, don't mind me. Just pointing out that, even if you do find that special someone, she'll probably cheat on you.

Just throwing that out there.

>>1358663
>>1358653
>>1358693
Violent sodomy with a pistol in the mouth really does wonders for bringing people around to your point of view

> at a university for an interview to get into my course
> guy sits across from me
> notice he's reading tender is the night
> initiate convo about fitzgerald
> he gives me his number
> after the interview i realise i've lost it and only know his first name

/lit/, don't despair.

>>1358714
yeah i know. whats sad is that, i kind of get some attention these days because im sort of mildly successful in my career (im not saying women are affectionate towards me - but i am respected, and liked in the community). and i know that even if - through money or power or skill or whatever - i land a chick, there's no way ill be able to keep her around. basically from day one i will be waiting for her to leave me.

i try to tell myself im better off because "it wouldnt have worked out". but what depresses me is that 99% of relationships dont work out, and u are supposed to do it anyways to learn and to have fun. im so desperate that when i see a pretty girl and dont feel like offing myself i just think about how we would get devorced (meaning we would get married first).

>>1358714
agree w/: >>1358718

another depressing thing for me is that im so fucking desperate that i WOULD marry the first girl im able to date. and i would probably love life - i would probably think its awesome, while she openly cheats on me, denies me any kind of happiness, and takes advantage of me until she's able to leave me high and dry.

and thats the best case scenario.

>>1358719
stfu bitch. ur only making it worse. the fact that everyone else we have ever known tells us that (or indicates by example) only makes us feel more broken and unlovable.

>>1358722
dude, dont tell her to shut up. she's just being nice. thats better than getting shit on.

>>1358723
idk man, i feel like believing that kind of bullshit for the past 24 years is what got me here in the first place. back when i was a teen, i could have had a chance. i was normal when i entered higschool. i even kissed 2 girls. now,

>i masturbate to the memory
>while whiping cum off my hand realize, i just jerked off to a 13 year old girl.

>>1358724
>while whiping cum off my hand realize, i just jerked off to a 13 year old girl.

lol'd

>>1358695
>>1358702
>>1358704

>Sophomore in college, take a freshman–level honors course in American lit. I was a transfer student.
>Class ends early one day. Sarcastic, pretty girl with the husky voice complains about the lack of Flannery O'Connor in the curriculum.
>I commiserate with her.
>In bed.

>>1358778
You should have at least touched her up man.

>>1358778
where did you put the body?

>>1358778

Har. Actually, we had a thing going for a few months after that. It was one of the better casual relationships I had in college, but I ended up transferring again.

>>1358803

My last comment was supposed to be to you, not to myself.

>>1358829

A gentleman never tells.

>summer of this year
>start to get into reading again, thanks to LibraryThing + /lit/
>reading ~3 books per week since there is nothing else to do
>buy books
>keep buying books
>buy shelves
>moar shelves
>somehow there are now 4 shelves filled to brimming with books in my bedroom that weren't there 7 months ago
>i'm okay with this

>mfw everyone in this thread says "yeah man love doesn't mean shit" but still feels it's relevant to tell stories of the times they were shut down because in reality they live in soul-crushing loneliness

> sitting in university cafeteria, crowded as fuck
> making excerpt of ovid's Ars Amatoria
> person sitting next to me saying "hey, I read that"
> "uh huh..."
> "watcha think about it"
> "uh huh..."
> ...
> "you reading that for class?"
> "uh huh..."
> "how do you like it?"
> "yeah... whatever"
> "ok, see you around then..."
> look up the first time
> see stunningly beautiful girl leave the table and return her tray, smiling at you when exiting the place
> never see her again

>>1358898
> Ars Amatoria
> totally failing to pick up when a girl is interested

I bet when I look up irony I find your picture.

>Meet this girl
>I fall helplessly in love with her after talking 4 hours.
>Hang out one day at a book store, talking about books we find, and recommending stuff.
>Find out she hates Cortazar even tough i love him
>Fall even more deeply in love because she has her own opinions and can actually hate a popular (and great) writers with good enough reasons and not just hipster shit.


In the end, she was a the most beautiful lesbian i ever seen, and i'm still in love with her, despite being friends.

>>1358930
>Find out she hates Cortazar even tough i love him
>Fall even more deeply in love because she has her own opinions and can actually hate a popular (and great) writers with good enough reasons and not just hipster shit.

what the fuck is wrong with you people?

>>1358694
I simply can't relate to the repetitive and immature writing, despite being the age group the novel was supposedly aimed at and narrated by. Yes, it proves the point that all teenagers are depressed little shits but I feel no sympathy for Holden as it all seems as if he brings it on himself.

God damn, I'm crazy like that. She really knocked me out.

If you start to notice how many times he says anything from the above sentence, you will go insane.

>>1358935
I'm personally more concerned with

>I fall helplessly in love with her after talking 4 hours.

That's not love. Stop thinking you're in love when you are just desperate. Men on 4chan are the most romance addicted fucks I know.

>>1358653
MOST OF THE PEOPLE HERE IN JAPAN DON'T HAVE ANY SPECIAL FEELINGS TOWARDS WESTERNERS, OTHER THAN FOR A COMICAL VALUE.

IT'S STILL COLLECTIVE MIND HERE, CANNOT SAY THE SAME FOR WESTERN NATIONS, NOT TO MENTION THE DIFFERENCE IN FASHION. UNLESS YOU'RE A WEEABOO FAGGOT THAT TRIES TO DRESS LIKE THE JAPANESE.

>>1358990
I KNOW THIS BECAUSE I AM A TOURIST IN JAPAN, THEREFORE THIS MAKES ME AN EXPERT ON JAPANESE CULTURE AND HISTORY.

>>1358995
NOT LIKE I'VE WORKED IN THE JAPANESE SECTION OF A MAJOR EDUCATION AGENCY OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT.

OH WAIT, I HAVE, AND THE JOB'S STILL THERE WHEN I GET BACK.

SHIT.

IT'S NOT LIKE BACK HOME I ORGANISE A LANGUAGE EXCHANGE MEETUP.

NOT LIKE I'VE LIVED WITH JAPANESE OR AM ABLE TO MAKE UP AN OPINION BASED OFF MY OWN EXPERIENCES AND THE IMMENSE NUMBER OF JAPANESE I AM ACQUAINTED WITH.

NOT LIKE I HAVE FRIENDS WHO WORK IN VARIOUS UNIVERSITIES IN JAPAN THAT COULD BACK ME UP

OH YEAH, AND IT'S NOT LIKE THIS IS MY FIRST TIME TO JAPAN BRO.

WHY THE FUCK WOULD I LIVE HERE WORKING SOME SHITKICKER JOB LIKE AN ENGLISH TEACHER? I CAN GET PAID TO BE HERE ON HOLIDAYS, WHILST I'M A STUDENT. SOUNDS GOOD TO ME.

>Have some free time in lab
>Start reading the only book I had on me
>Hot girl across the table asks,
>"What book is that?"
>"This? Oh, only something for my ethics course." :/
>"oh."
>Girl doesn't show interest in me the rest of the semester
>Wish I had brought along Gravity's Rainbow instead

>>1358968
I know, its obsessive love, but is there a better kind?
You dont know the person, so you can pretty much idealize everything about them. Its an ideal love. Probably if i ever dated her i would have just hated her for not living up to my expectations, but this way that ideal person is eternal.

>>1358990
Hey CAPSGUY, this is OP.
I'm that guy that goes to a University in Tokyo and has lived here for nearly 2 years.

I don't entirely disagree with you on the westerner bit, but I think it's incredibly obnoxious when people who have experience with this country try to find every opportunity to shout their opinion about it (which you do quite often on this board). I can guarantee that I have had much more interesting and colorful experiences here than you have but I don't try to brag about them or even hint at them every chance I get.

That said, when are we gonna hang out man???

>>1359060
OP again.
I am referring to this post:
>>1359015

Although, I respect your sage. Maybe I was out of line. I am tired and apologize.

>>1359060
THAT'S COOL. I JUST HATE IT HOW EVERYONE THINKS ALL JAPANESE BOW DOWN BEFORE WESTERNERS, READY TO SUCK THEIR DICKS.

THERE ARE PLENTY OF PEOPLE LIKE THAT, BUT IT'S A MINORITY, NOT MAJORITY. KNOW WHAT I MEAN?

I'm noticing an utter lack of pants getting tight in this thread.

>See mind-bendingly attractive woman reading in cafe.
>Pants get tight
>Make out 'Steppenwolf' on cover.
>Know book like back of hand.
>Want to go talk to her.
>Remember I'm in Germany and that she's both reading in and would want to converse in a language I suck at.
>feelsbadman.jpg

i can't quite understand the cache Japan seems to have on this board. looks like just another capitalist fuckhole to me. with little people.

>>1359071
I know what you mean.

I guess the book I was referring to in the first post was probably about the Meiji era, which is an era characterized by modernity which is synonymous with Westernization in the context of Japanese history. If you read some Japanese literature from that era, you'd see a lot of allusions to Western works, clothes, and the way it was assimilated into the culture.

>>1359079
lolwut?

you know the very reason of 4chans existence lies in Japanese pop-culture, don't you?

>>1359087
AH FAIR ENOUGH, I THOUGHT THAT THE OP WAS IN MORE REGARDS TO CURRENT TIME.

>>1359078
>Germany
>European Country
>obviously well-read female
>10/10 chance fluent in English
>beta as fuck

>>1359090
He did mention and use a picture of Nagai Kafu, which should have given you a hint.

>>1359088
yeah. and good smack comes from afghanistan. ain't booking any flights over there though.

>>1359094

>Don't want to come off like a standard Amerifag.

Trust me man. You don't want the girls who are easily charmed by English speakers (Specifically Americans).

>>1359095
"pic unrelated"

>>1359102
Huh, strange. It is pretty related to Japan's Westernization. Not sure why OP would say it's unrelated.

>>1359099
> Trust me man. You don't want the girls who are easily charmed by cunts who crap their pants because of Steppenwolf

FTFY

also, us germans look down on you americunts no matter how good your german is.
It's because you are all race-traitors.

>>1359109
Its unrelated because this is a greentext story thread, not Japanese westernization thread.

>>1359114

Well aware. It's pretty sweet here, anyway.

And staying on topic:

>first day of 'Postwar German Short Prose'
>get reader
>first three stories: Poe, Hemingway, Hemingway
>lolwut

>>1359114
I was going to come back with a witty retort along with a picture of Hitler but it seems I am not allowed to post a picture like that on this board.

What a shame.

>>1359078
I have hung out in Germany, and most Germans who went Gymnasium or even Realschule can speak pretty damn decent English.

>join literature club
>meet some awesome people
>eventually find myself in a four way romance with three wonderful ladies
>we all live happily ever after

That's a lie. I haven't even talked to a woman, or a man for that matter, since some fat, ugly chick dumped me five years ago.

Feelsidon'tknowman

>>1359162
Why was she ugly to you?

>>1359165
I COULD NEVER BE WITH A FAT FUCK, I LOVE BEING ABLE TO JUST PICK UP THE CHICK WITH EASE, YOU KNOW?

NOT THE GUY WHO DATED FATTY THOUGH.

>get to college
>so excited to make friends and join clubs and be social
>check out the university website for a list of clubs
>asian student club, black student club, indian student club, anime club, accounting club, etc
>no reading or literature club
>nothing i'm even remotely interested in
>never make friends
>;_;

>>1359162
>>1359165

>>1359173
hey this happened to me!

what city are you from?

>get to college
>world literature teacher is a cute young Australian guy
>love world literature and love the class
>develop crush on teacher
>never muster the courage to actually talk to him besides answering questions in class
>final exam tomorrow
>i can do this ;_;

>High school english class
>teacher is having people read the book out loud, the fuck is this shit
>keep ending up way ahead because people are reading so slow
>flip book upside down to slow myself down
>still getting ahead
>it's two days before anyone notices what I'm doing

>>1359187
I'm in America, small town in the South. It was to be expected, but I still got sad.

>>1359114

>race-traitors

I don't recall rigging any races. You should be less passionate about Formula One if you are going to be that crabby about it.

>>1359171
But we value things more that are heavy.

>>1359165

Pussy blind. I didn't notice until after that she was homely as a mule's ass.

YOU MOTHERFUCKERS ARE SO FUCKING DEPRESSING
YOU ARE THE PROBLEM WITH YOUR LIFE NOT WOMEN
SORT YOUR FUCKING LIVES OUT JESUS FUCKING CHRIST

>>1359196
So you realized that the "relationship" was nothing more than a chimera, built on your own fantasy of the ideas of "love" or "companionship" or "romance" or "sex".

One cannot experience life through a fantasy. You must eschew all these things.

>>1359190
hey _ from tinychat :D

>>1359202
hey i dont do things like this & you guys said i was quite self-aware once after questioning apart from maybe thinking i was really fat.

why i hav no friend?

>>1359197

>get angry on the internet
>type in all caps
>feelscatharticman.jpg

>>1359202

You sound like a fortune cookie.

But yes, I realized all that years ago. That's why I don't pursue relationships.

I'm more of a 'If it happens, it happens' kind of person in regard to relationships. If you're out chasing it, you are more interested in the idea than you are interested in the person.

>>1359206
Why do you believe you have no friends?

>>1359211
Maybe I am a fortune cookie. Or a fortune cookie is me.

That's cool man. You're like an ubermensch.

>>1359204
Hah! I didn't think anyone would remember me talking about that.

>I start criticizing the twilight "saga"
>A female friend of mine says "how can you criticize something you haven't even read
>I agree to read that awful series of books (pirated of course)
>Suffer an aneurysm with every page i read (why is it so awful???)
>After a couple of weeks i go on and start to bash the series with the female friend that suggested me to read the books
>All of my male friends start calling me a fag and "why did you read the books, are you a fag or something, do you masturbate to vampires that glitter now? LOL WAT A FAG!"
>Spend hours discussing the fact that i read twilight to be able to discuss it with my female friend
>can't even discuss the series properly with her because of all the "FOR THE LAST TIME I READ IT BECAUSE OF HER, I DON'T LIKE THE SERIES GOD FUCKING DAMMIT"

Rot in hell Meyer, ROT IN HELL

>go into second hand bookshop
>find conan books
>get addicted
>can't stop
>can't stop
>can't stop
>READ EVERY CONAN STORY
>AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH
>AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH
>an hero
>life well spent

>>1359239
Do you masturbate to glittery vampires like a Mormon housewife?

>Wake up.
>Go to /lit/
>Make fun of books I haven't read to look cool.
>Praise books I haven't read to look smart.
>Fap
>Go to work

>People on Facebook using 'How many classic books have you read' app.
>75% of people get a score of >10/85

>>1359279
>Realise they are the books we were made to read in our English Lit class.