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/lit/ - Literature

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1621342 No.1621342 [Reply] [Original]

I'm back since the other day, sorta remembering what's wrong with /lit/. Time for a last read / currently reading / next to read. Include thoughts, reviews, etc.

Last read: Lies My Teacher Told Me
>Filled holes I have about US History, lays out problems with textbooks convincingly. Chapter 11 (or was it 12) is all about how textbooks are ghost written by people who don't know shit about history. Most memorable part, strangely, was an example of the laziness of writing in textbooks: an exercise asked students to find a copy of a poem and write a two paragraph response to it. The poem (which one it actually was escapes me) was 400 pages long, and no high school student is going to read it.

Currently: How Schools Work
>How race and class affect ones scholastic achievement. Pretty straightforward.

Next: I dunno. Maybe Guns, Germs, & Steel, because I see (saw) it here all the time, and I really just want to read about the guy who asks why others have so much "cargo" (read wiki for context.) I also ordered something off Amazon for a penny, but I forgot what it was.

>> No.1621349

Awesome, it's the same exact thread for the third time today.

>> No.1621370

>>1621349
>>1621349
>saging a literature thread

Last Read:
Ferdydurke
>really enjoyed it actually, a great modernist piece split into 3 parts with nice messages behind each part which are easy to spot. Hilarious and had me chuckling and laughing out loud a few times, which is rare for a book to get me to do. I really enjoyed it and the ending left me confused and very sad ;_;
would definately recommend!

Current:
catcher in the rye
naked lunch

next:
probably only gonna be mainly reading one so same as current

>> No.1621377

>>1621370
probably going to read Ferdydurke soon - might take a class on it next quarter. Hear it's awesome.

Not really reading anything right now, in the midst of finals. Last thing was Hannah Arendt for a class; not sure what next.

>> No.1621378

>>1621377
>>1621377
that'd be really cool, i feel there's a lot of it i 'missed' or at least didn't fully understand, so i'll look out for any threads you might make about it!

>> No.1621379

>>1621370

Anonymous is an imbecile! He is the cancer killing Lit! Thanks for letting us know what you're reading again, Brownbear! I almost forgot! I'm sure Tofu did, too!

>> No.1621382

>>1621349
I POSTED THE FIRST ONE. NOT LIKE SOME PEOPLE WHO DON'T BOTHER TO CHECK

>> No.1621384

>>1621378

OK, Brownbear! Brownbear will be on the lookout!

>> No.1621415

>Last
Ender's Game. I'd give it about a 7/10. It was fun, but not legendary.
>Current
Dracula. I fucking love this shit. It's starting to sadden me that there's such a gap between this and the 2nd best in vampire literature, e.g. stuff like Salem's Lot and I Am Legend.
>Next
Probably gonna go with House of Leaves, but it's up for debate.

>> No.1621429

OP, read Howard Zinn if you liked that book.

~A People's History of the United States~

>> No.1621431

Last - Chaucer stuff (which I found translated because I'm lazy and it was for a class) or Paradise by Toni Morrison (I think, again for a class) which rocked except for the strong feminist vibe. Other than that, it was Very Short Introductions, just finished Logic (not bad) and The Laws of Thermodynamics (amazing)

Currently - Ulysses (for fun, literary orgasm), Dubliners (for kinda fun, kinda class, basically is inspiring me to try my own kind of approach to this in my own writing. Hella setting myself up for failure, but it's still amazing), A Dissertation on Natural Phonology (for a research project, dry but good if you're into phonology), Reading in the Dark (for school, pretty damn good though I'd like it more if it was for pleasure), and like three others for school

Next - Who the hell knows. Once school's done I want to take a lot of time reading Greek Myths and some postmoderners like DFW, Bolano (maybe), Nabakov. Maybe some Dostoevsky/Tolstoy in there sorta stuff. Idk, just want to read a lot this summer. Any advice on great stuff will be noted.

>> No.1621446

>>1621431
that's fucking well read

>> No.1621454

Last Read: The Collector by John Fowles
>Althought I haven't read any of is other stuff, like the Magus and whatnot I thought it was excellent and I really enjoyed his style. Firstly when I read part one I noticed he had a strange, really bland writing style and I got bored pretty quickly. It was only after reaching part two that I realised this writing style was representative of the character who was narrating. It changed dramatically when the narrators switched palces which I thought that was pretty damn epic. I wouldn't really consider the book a classic or one of my favorites but it was a great read. Despite this, I though there were a few really interesting and thoughtful lines in there.

Currently Reading: Nausea by Jean Paul-Sartre
>I've been reading this one on and off for a few months now, (don't ask why, it just hasn't pulled me in) and I can safely say I respect it but I don't enjoy it all too much. Some of the things he discusses are amazing and I love Sartres prose, but I just can't get into his characterisation or his lack of tension. It's a great entry-level philosphical novel but it's just not for me and I'll soon have it finished and I'll be glad.

Next read: I've got a few lined up but I'm not sure, these include One Hundred Years of Solitude, the latter half of Don Quixote, Hedda Gabler and I wouldn't mind tackling Infinite Jest.

>> No.1621506

>>1621454
drop everything you are reading and read one hundred years of solitude right now. i recommend taking notes on what the characters do and reflecting on it after you are done. the book is not life-changing, but it does change your perspective.

>> No.1622212

Lies My Teacher Told Me! That was my bible as a snotnosed fuck-you-mom 15-year-old. I really enjoyed his book about 'sundown towns' a couple years back

>> No.1622228

Last Read: A Game of Thrones
>it was a fun political fantasy read, exactly what I was expecting. I'll probably read more of the series, but honestly I like this sort of thing more from the historical tangent. Reading A Game of Thrones just reminded me of how awesome Stephensons' Quicksilver trilogy was.

Currently Reading: A Man in Full, by Tom Wolfe
>actually, I JUST finished this last night. Pretty fun little read, realized that the protagonist of the book has the same name as the protagonist of the original Italian Job. I wonder if thats intentional. The ending caught me completely off guard, but it was hilarious none-the-less. I enjoyed it, nothing too difficult or deep, but entertaining.

Next to read: not sure... its either going to be Pynchon or Vidal. Maybe Burr, or V.