/lit/ - Literature

lol books are for nerds get a life

I was one of those people. Decided for my NYR to be to read 12 books this year. Not even the end of January and I'm 4 books deep. Really glad I picked up the habit.

I don't see any reason to read a book.

I'd read a book if it gave me some useful info about things/ non-fiction.

Other than that, I find fiction very boring and stupid.

Also, why read philosophy and all that? Make your own observations.

Embrace nihilism (including cultural relativism).

>reading books
>2014

>>4499539
I read that this morning.

I didn't understand. What's his endgame?

I literally only finished one book in school. I wasn't dyslexic or anything, my reading comprehension was insane and I was in a shitload of advanced courses, but reading is boring as fuuuuck when you have to do it as schoolwork. Now I'm reading all the time.
Hilariously, I had a ton of classmates that read fucking non-stop in school, and as soon as they graduated they practically stopped reading.

>>4499532
>*tips fedora*

>>4499532
>being this pleb

>>4499580
Haha, to which part?

>>4499583
>>4499580
>>4499573
Meant to quote both.

>>4499532
>thinking that some ignorant, illiterate, wanker in poverty could come up with the idea of the noumena-distinction, or the idea of the Absolute, or anything for that matter.

You're such a major faggot for saying "make your own observations". Well, idk, maybe we should read philosophy -- in lieu of listening to Carl who works at Mcdonalds philosophize about life -- because it has already been said before, you dumb faggot.

>>4499566
I didn't read it. Ironically?
Either it's outlandish enough to read books in the US to warrant an article or it's outlandish as a brown American to read books to warrant an article.

>>4499532
Your entire post is foolish. Kill yourself. Leave this bored. and recognize that your parents are disappointed in their child for being fucking stupid.

>>4499605
>Leave this bored

>>4499610
You have a problem with solecisms, faggot? You think a solecism invalidates a post, faggot? Huh, faggot? You're probably right, faggot.

>>4499605
You're projecting. Name one (reasonable, none of your biased closed-mind bullshit) thing wrong with what I said.
>>4499600
I cannot understand what you're trying to say. The McDs is not relevant whatsoever and what are you trying to convey?

tfw I write in cursive and some of my peers cannot understand my nktes because they've not learned to write in such a form.

>>4499630
You're unequivocally an idiot. Philosophy will be beneficial for you.

>>4499640
Or maybe you can't write in cursive. I know people who write in "cursive" and fuck them for being shit at it. I also write my notes in "cursive" and none of my peers can read it either.

>>4499642
Your remarks have no basis. I have read whatever philosophic works that were given to me in school. Nietzsche, Trio (Socrates, Plato, Aristotle), Cicero, John Locke, Machiavelli, Moore, and a bunch of other minor ones I cannot remember.

Their insights have caused me to think more, but it was a waste. Come to your own conclusions from your own observations and knowledge.

>>4499646
my cursive is legible

>implying philosophy has any influence on anyone's life

Great, you understand a vague point some dead white dude was talking about 300 years ago. Can you even think for yourself?

>>4499749
Go be oppressed somewhere else
> muh old white dudes ruined the world.
> dere influence is evil
> whiteyy privilege means thay he can't be right


This is the sum of what you've said.

>>4499776
>butthurt philosophy major detected

Enjoy cleaning up my office, pleb.

>>4499722
I lost after reading fence. Damn, the reason I could read that was because my handwriting is also incomplete.

Isn't this a good thing?

>wanting more plebs with shit taste driving the market

it's bad enough as it is

>>4499749

Where's your rangler, man?

That is fine. Art only becomes truly terrible when it tries to pander to the masses.

>>4500290
Buyers don't drive the market so much as potential buyers; because of all these former-readers/non-readers, publishing companies are seeking out works that are dumbed-down enough to entice 'new readers'. This process should continue until Western society is extinguished completely.

>>4499497
C'mon no need to be snobby about people who don't read.
Seems arrogant and elitist to look down on these people

>>4500489
>exert yourself, over thousands of hours of reading, studying, experimenting and writing, to improve your lifestyle and abilities and outlook, whereas you could have been having fun doing nothing
>'but I mustn't ever dare hold myself in esteem; that would be elitist, that would be classist; i'm part of a cultural group now'
Just be an elitist, man. It'll feel better.

>>4499532
8/8

>>4500514
Haha, I'm not sure elitist is the right word for me, but I am very self loving and self confident. It just seems judgmental to look at someone who doesn't read as somehow missing out, when it's clear that different people find different ways of learning, understanding and applying their time the way they want.

You can hold yourself in esteem you just don't need to foster your esteem by feeling elite as compared to people who don't read, that's all. Seems the wrong way to go about attaining confidence and "esteem" as you say.

I read your post in the aphorisms thread and you were very good. Still probably my favourite or at least one of my favourites from the thread. So I know you are certainly worthy of esteem, I wasn't trying to challenge this and I'm sorry if I seemed like I was.

>>4500524
Just concentrate on making 5 star quality posts mate, be what makes our slow comfy elitist circlejerk worthwhile.

>>4500532
I'm not quite sure if you're on my side or not.

>>4500535
If your the guy who made the aphorism thread, I'm a fan, if not, I still like you.

>>4500537
*You're

Damn it.

>>4499749
>some dead white dude

>>4500537
Oh well thank you that is very kind (nosarcasm). If you like me I'm 99% sure I'd like you to. Wait, I already do like you.

>>4499673
>Come to your own conclusions from your own observations and knowledge.

Reading philosophy doesn't mean you aren't coming to your own conclusions (though many young readers unconsciously make this mistake). It simply helps in taking you down paths that you may not have taken or making connections you may not have noticed. You may realize that you've made grave errors or fallacies in your personal thinking. You may find new ways to think about things you had previously thought were irrelevant.

>>4500569
Yeah, exactly. A balance can be achieved where the reading actually aids your own original thought. How much you want to read as compared to write is your choice, but I'd find it very hard to write if I didn't read things which I enjoyed from time to time.

>>4500524
I wouldn't have made this thread, personally, as I tend to see the uneducated as a kind of horde or seething mass and so am not too interested in how they 'apply their time', but it's only because of my elitism that I consider them unavailable for comparison. An absolute non-reader will, as a general rule, be something of an amateur, or downright non-participant, at 'learning and understanding', and so, naturally, if those are the values we want to espouse, it would seem disingenuous if we described these non-readers as 'other' rather than 'lesser'. Isn't that what we think, when we, say, are told a joke out of some worn-down tradition, when we know that if the joke's teller had bothered to keep up with the literature, the movements of culture, rather than be only dragged or destroyed by them, they'd have not told it, that they're doing something badly, that they're failing at something? I'm not awed by the fact that I might be somewhat more 'on the button' than some people, but the proposition, where learning and understanding is concerned, that such people are equals, or 'fellows', is raw sentimentality.

>>4500605
I offer a very reasonable position and you continue to go on about how great you are. I think you have some real confidence issues if you continue to feel the need to see people as "lesser" because they don't read. Seriously how petty and downright arrogant is that?

I disagree with basically everything you just said.

I always knew tripcoders were more likely to be faggots. Why do you need an identity here, so you can foster this weird ego-identity thing? Do you want people to remember who you are?

Half your post didn't even make sense

>Isn't that what we think, when we, say, are told a joke out of some worn-down tradition, when we know that if the joke's teller had bothered to keep up with the literature, the movements of culture, rather than be only dragged or destroyed by them, they'd have not told it, that they're doing something badly, that they're failing at something?

What the fuck is that? Please for the love of god, using that many commas in a sentence is neither useful nor original.

>>4500619
What need? I don't consider them, flat. (I'm trying to demonstrate that non-judgementalism implies a failure to meet people as equals.)

>>4499722
Your cursive is shit.

>>4500629
non-judgementalism? is that some kind of defined behavioural condition now? Why don't you just say;

>"...demonstrate that being non judgmental implies...

Or

>"...demonstrate that not being judgmental implies..."

It's like you're complicating something which is really very simple for no reason. I don't see how it serves a purpose other than one for yourself, which is silly because any writer wants to write for others right? Writing is communication and I feel you're losing sight of the connection between the reader and the writer because you are so caught up in yourself.

If you're trying to demonstrate that non-judgementalism implies a failure to meet people as equals then you're doing a shit job. Flat out, I don't think anyone would understand what it is you are trying to say. I'm not saying you don't have something meaningful to say it's just you're not helping me find or anyone else find that meaning.

See, aren't I concise and simple? I'm not even bragging, I just think that these are easy, fairly objective things to measure and you're either measuring wrong or measuring right and just not bothering to deviate from your very personal (too personal when trying to demonstrate a point, as demonstration implies an interpersonal relationship between understandings) and hard to understand style of writing. You are isolating yourself if you continue to do this.

Also, who the fuck admits they are elitist but doesn't see any obvious problem with it? It's a word with such ugly connotations why don't you just say confidence? Oh wait, I know why, because you are an unashamedly arrogant person and not really confident at all. You seem to define all your self worth from degrading the self worth of others. God, I'm actually disgusted. You disgusted me, but you're probably not disgusting. I'm sorry now I'm just being hurtful. I'd like to think of it as passion, as opposed to anger.

>>4499600
>>thinking that some ignorant, illiterate, wanker in poverty could come up with the idea of the noumena-distinction, or the idea of the Absolute, or anything for that matter.
First of all, those things are pretty much just wanky platonic masturbation that dont even have a place in philosophy anymore, and secondly if you look at fields like math (well, I guess thats probably the only field that applies, maybe music and art) where ideas have value independent from cultural norms (again, to an extent, the whole zero thing kind of fucked us but we're getting better) or academic circlejerking there are lots of ignorant iliterate wankers in poverty making huge advancements.

YOu sound like kind of a cunt

>>4499497

tfw some people can't play a musical instrument.

>>4500737
>First of all, those things are pretty much just wanky platonic masturbation that dont even have a place in philosophy anymore,

You're a fool. It's actually embarrassing to read that proposition. You're a cunt who is completely unaware of the field of philosophy, and you will never understand it. Kill yourself, ingenue.

>>4500739
tfw you're an elitist asshole who thinks that knowing how to play an instrument makes you better than people who don't know how.

>>4499497
>tfw in college and the only person I'm close with reads Darren Shan and brags about his reading speed

>>4500861
I can't fucking STAND people who brag about their reading speed, or those cunts in school who when you had to share reading material with, would finish and then just fucking stare at you, saying taunting and incredibly irritating things like "Haven't you finished yet? Heh." or, "I'm done!" like it's some urgent thing I must be aware of even though it's blatantly obvious I'm not done.

holy fuck did that make me mad.

I can't enjoy non-fiction anymore.

I try re-reading my favorite books and give up half-way.

Non-fiction masterrace ;_;

>>4500890
>I can't enjoy non-fiction anymore

fiction*
damn

>>4500605
Are you saying that you can't think on your own without reading books?
How about reading scientific literature instead of non-scientific literature?
A 12-pages paper isn't exactly a "book".

I am the Cancer. I haven't read anything for over half a year now and have at least 7 books on my backlog... I- I guess i'll start them once I am done these Steam games also sitting somewhere in a backlog.

>tfw there are people who seriously think Harry Potter is high tier literature

>tfw there are some people that haven't even read a book in school
I have friends that never even read books for novel studies. One of them read someone's autobriography though lol

>>4501917

Don't be so hard on yourself, you're only a teenager after all.

>>4499749
>dead white dude

Why is this ok?

>tfw qt says the book thief is her fave book

>>4499749

>>implying philosophy has any influence on anyone's life

Hippocratic Oath

also 2/10 for getting a response

>>4499497
yfw one in seven adults in the US is functionally illiterate or worse and can't read a book if they wanted to.

I haven't touched fiction since high school. Of course I still go through books, at least insofar that I can get whatever knowledge I need and call it a day.

Actually, I read a few novels for an intro to lit class. Didn't like the novels, or, better said, I didn't my prof's tastes. Easily the most bullshit class I've taken.

OP I love reading and make it a priority to read at least one book every other month, but there is no reason for books to become a requirement for an interesting life. Other mediums can tell interesting stories, you can be informed through articles, documentaries, and visual media. While it is true that books may have a wider range and number of well composed ideas and fictional stories than other mediums, this is only due to it being so old and well accepted.

Books are awesome, but other mediums are just as capable. Literature has its strengths as a medium and so do the others. We should be against people who think consuming information and ideas in general is a bad thing instead of staying biased in thinking that your preferred medium is the only acceptable one.

What exactly is the point of reading?

>Fiction
Television and film and videogames and physical exercise and martial arts and hanging out with your friends and practicing philosophy and a ton of things are better than fiction.

>Nonfiction
There are much more efficient ways of gaining information. If I wanted to know the name of the president of the United States in 1894 I could either google it or pick up a US history book. Google is easier.

>Philosophy
Going on for 20 pages to make a point that could be made in 2 sentences? Philosophers go out of their way to address every single argument against their claim, as if their readers can't think at all for themselves.

>>4502905
Stories. We're a story-telling animal.

>>4502910

>Stories
Facial expression, tone of voice, setting of the storyteller. A story told in person can be more effective than any story written down, since it can literally be the same thing but with the things listed previously.

>>4502912
>Facial expression, tone of voice, setting of the storyteller
>implying any of these are better than footnotes

>>4502915

Don't you say footnotes in real life?

"I follow the teachings of Chuang Tzu asterisk a Chinese Taoist philosopher."

>>4502905

>What exactly is the point of reading?
>>Nonfiction
>There are much more efficient ways of gaining information.

Okay, go and tell every doctor that you see that they no longer need to pay attention to any medical journal or online article related to their field.

Better yet, tell every single person in every single field and profession that not only should they not read published discussions or discoveries from peers in their field, but in addition they should no longer publish any of their own, as you have now deemed it all thoroughly pointless.

"What exactly is the point of reading"?
Just stop fucking posting you abject failure.

>>4502930

How does this apply to the everyman?
If your argument only applies to a select few, it's not much of an argument.

>>4502931

It's time to stop posting.

>>4502309
>the book thief
Read that shit because my high school crush thought it was a modern classic.

Genuinely the worst book I have ever read.

This really sucks, my mother used to read a bunch and I loved discussing books with her. But over the last three or so years she just straight up stopped reading. She didn't have the greatest taste but it was still something for us to discuss.

My sister in law is actually proud of herself for that, and she ofter complains that I own too many books, and that no one should have that many books since you can just go get them from the library.

haven't read any of the prescribed texts in two years in my english lit degree

u mad

>>4502975
it's now a movie so it'll become more even more popular

>>4499749
thank u meadow soprano

>>4502905
>physical exercise is fictional

Are you an American?

>>4502975
I thought it was alright

>>4499722
Your cursive sucks, accept that and do better

>>4500877

>tfw very slow, thorough reader
>tfw most faggots I know skim in lieu of actually reading
>tfw they make fun of you for it

It actually raises my blood pressure.

I want to read, but I find it difficult to plunge into anything of depth. Anything written before the 20th century (and a great deal of the modern classics within that century) feels dense and impenetrable, and I find it very difficult to enjoy and get captivated. I have to actively force myself to read it; Candide, On Liberty, and even Dickens are books I have to actively force myself to get through.

I usually end up stuck on a single page for 10+ minutes because I keep needing to re-read paragraphs as I wasn't paying as much attention as I should the first time around.

So yeah, I'm pleb. I want to be a better reader and get into the canon and all. How do I do it?

>>4499532
>Make your own observations.

Yes let's forget what great ppl from the past already observed and let's work out all our ancient problems ourselfes!

>>4499722
why is it even important to know cursive

then again i am dysgraphic

>>4505059
It's not. Print is always easier to read, especially if you're writing in a hurry, since you get sloppy(-er) and make more mistakes. Despite this, I do write everything in cursive for fun.

Also, that guy's script is awful. Just lol.

how do you find wellread people to discuss stuff with?

>>4499497
How bout the

>Oh I never used to read till I got my tablet, it holds all my Ebooks, I have like 50 of them!
>Does nothing but play games on it.

I love cursive. This has probably been posted before but
http://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2013/04/30/should-schools-require-children-to-learn-cursive/the-benefits-of-cursive-go-beyond-writing

Really, I found it sad when people in my class asked me "how do you write a 'G' in cursive"? It is quicker than print and allows for more experimentation.

And also, has anyone seen Japanese cursive? Really amazing.

>>4505215
Maybe ask your professors/ teachers?
Toastmasters
Librarians
...just brainstorming

>>4506178
(Perso-)Arabic is the GOAT cursive writing system.

I was like that, and I dropped out of high school, so I wasn't even a reader in school.
I probably read 3 books from the age of 10-20.
But then, when I was 21, my work started receiving New Yorker magazines by accident . I picked up a few on lunch breaks.
Hooked ever since. don't know how I lived without reading.

>tfw people reading Biff and Chip books and I'm reading Terry Pratchett

>>4499497
>Can't read a book without pictures in it.

>>4499532

>I don't see any reason to read a book.

they are more in depth than cinema or tv

>I'd read a book if it gave me some useful info about things/ non-fiction.

answering your own question

>Other than that, I find fiction very boring and stupid.

Fiction isn't just fairy tales and wonder. Are you implying you can't learn anything from a fictional story? Way to shit in the face of thousands of years of folk lore and literature.

>Also, why read philosophy and all that? Make your own observations.

To hear new ideas and think over them to see if you agree or not. Are you implying once you read philosophy you automatically and brainlessly accept the ideas?

>>4499569

Reading is a lot like anal sex.

If you're forced to do it as you're a kid, you won't like it as an adult.

>>4508446
Not the same anon, but...
>they are more in depth than cinema or tv
Both have their strong points and weak points. It all comes down to what the individual prefers.
>answering your own question
I'm sorry, but that wasn't a question. That was actually a statement.
>Fiction isn't just fairy tales and wonder. Are you implying you can't learn anything from a fictional story? Way to shit in the face of thousands of years of folk lore and literature.
There was no implication that fiction is all fairytales and wonder, and the second part of your question actually addresses the second part of his comment.
>To hear new ideas and think over them to see if you agree or not. Are you implying once you read philosophy you automatically and brainlessly accept the ideas?
I 100 percent agree on that notion.
Thank you for the intelligent response, unlike many other people here.
>>4509143
Good analogy.

>>4499573
>>4499580
>>4499600
>>4499605
>>4500517
>>4505058
>>4508446
costanza.bmp

>>4499569
>my reading comprehension was insane and I was in a shitload of advanced courses
>reading is boring as fuuuuck
>fuuuuck

Why did you spell 'fuck' with 3 extra letters if you were in such advanced classes? I don't understand.

>>4505016
>>4500877

I think when I went to college, my reading speed actually slowed down, but my retention improved. That might also be result of reading more challenging books, though.

then you don't have any interest in books other than their allure of appearing smart or learned.

these fags read books so the can feel important, toplel, books are for old people

hey old people, how many of you have reading glasses? toplel

i like shampoo bottle literature when im taking a dump lelelelel

>>4499497
It makes me want to die when people say they dont care about books as if it was something funny or to be proud of

it's not the fact that they don't read, it's that they don't care. If someone doesn't read much books but still admits they're valuable and reads other stuff (articles, essays or even world news) it's ok i guess

>>4499497

>tfw you will never meet a qt 3.14 who shares your love of literature
>tfw most people don't even understand the extent to which reading has shaped your personal development
>tfw you despair and almost want to settle for a girl you know who is cute, but not really culturally refined and therefore unable to conduct the type of conversation you crave
>tfw people everywhere are increasingly concerned about the healthiness of what they feed their bodies, but don't give a shit about what the feed their minds
>tfw
>tfw
>mfw

captcha: was tairful

>>4506266
I actually agree.

>>4499497
>tfw some people haven't read a book since school and have no interest in books at all

we're rather experience life directly, than read shitty approximations of it

>>4510090

we're = we'd

>>4510090
>implying dicking around on /lit/ is in anyway experiencing life

>>4510090

this ^
x10000000

>>4502931
What percentage of the everyman actually reads regularly?

>>4499722
>Jhe oDeuik knouen box junps oner the bence swiblly arel uiith daring amlilues

>>4505059
It's helpful to realize you can blend letters together, but some shit like 'r' and 's' is completely unnecessary