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/lit/ - Literature

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773043 No.773043 [Reply] [Original]

so i want to be a book snob like most of the folks here on lit. i'm starting my quest by reading the autobiography of ben franklin, and so far it's very interesting.

so tell me /lit/, what is the snobbiest, most elitist novel you can recommend for me to add into my repertoire.

>> No.773048

I'll help you.

For starters, don't read anything, because that will skew your viewpoint that everything is garbage, which you should espouse at every turn, except for a few select book you choose because they sound elitist, and act like you're better than everyone.

>> No.773047

Well obviously we can rule out American authors.

>> No.773049

Novels aren't really elitist by definition. Try Boswell's Life of Johnson. Be able to quote quips from it etc.

>> No.773051

Ulysses

>> No.773054

>>773051
This.

>> No.773058

>>773051
Bullshit, Ulysses is actually good. Finnegan's Wake is what you're after.

>> No.773059

obligatory Ayn Rand and Nietzsche mention.

>> No.773063

>>773058
It still remains snobby

>> No.773064

>>773058
it is good, i love it. but that doesn't mean it's not snobby and elitist.

>> No.773066

>>773049
yeah i know elitist probably isn't the best way to describe what i'm thinking, but it's the most straightforward way.

anyway, any good war stories or stories of people who went through great hardships are cool too.

>> No.773071

>reading autobiography of ben fanklin

oh you have a long way to go, i have books that make ole' benny look like a simpleton.

>> No.773076

If Ulysses is snobby then why isn't Terry Goodkinds Sword of Truth?

>> No.773077

Obscure decadent writers
Huge books with nothing on the cover but the title
Something in Latin or Greek

>> No.773082

>>773071
wow you're fancy!

>> No.773083

Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica. In Latin.

>> No.773086

get many leather bound books, and fill your home with mahogany

>> No.773093

>>773076
not even the same league

>> No.773103

do you guys catch the irony of mocking elitists?..............

>> No.773105

Don't be a book snob! Read because you fucking love books, books of all kinds, because they're the best thing going and imaginative and wise and witty and human. Don't be some prick who reads to impress others, because frankly, you won't; you'll simply seem overintellectual and boring.

>> No.773110

>>773103
There is no irony in mocking elitists. Please, explain to me what irony there is.

>> No.773111

>>773105
well i do love books, that's why i'm searching for the "doctorate in literature" tier of reading material. i have a pretty good list going that should last me the summer.

>> No.773114

Only read foreign books in their original language and laugh off anyone who said they read it in english

>> No.773117

>>773114
In fact, don't read any English literature at all. This allows you to look down your nose at anyone who reads any english literature, or any translated literature, as being unbearably provincial and unsophisticated.

>> No.773118

oh my, i fear i have sparked a troll thread.

>> No.773121

>>773118
i think we all assumed you were trying to troll, duder

You called us all book snobs, said you wanted to be a book snob, and asked for elitist literature. any of those things on its own could constitute a troll.

>> No.773125

>>773110
there is definitely an irony. let me show you by example.
> egoist 1: herp derp I'm better than everyone because I read Atlas Shrugged
> egoist 2: herp derp I'm better than you because I see through your ego
> indifferent observer: hey, egoist 2, do you not realize that you are being just as snobby as egoist 1?

The irony is that egoist 2 does not realize his/her behavior is similar to egoist 1, and it is the same behavior that egoist 1 is being mocked about.

>> No.773131

>>773125
By this argument, any criticism of anyone for anything ever is snobby and elitist, which is clearly untrue.

It is entirely possible to criticize people for being elitists without being snobby yourself; being a snob is not the same as disliking things. It's a matter of attitude. And I say that as someone who is, alas, very probably a snob.

>> No.773133
File: 32 KB, 302x425, yeahbaby.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
773133

>>773125
/thread

>> No.773139

>>773131
semantics does not equal behavior

>> No.773142

>>773139
How do you mean? I don't see how that relates to the issue at hand.

>> No.773145

>>773125
>implying you're not joining as egoist #3 inthinking you see something special.

hypocrisy is a bitch but some points can't be made in any other way.

>> No.773146

>>773125
does indifferent observer not imply his own superiority as well?

>> No.773150

>>773145
>Implying >>773131didn't already mention that.

Obvious point is obvious. Also, I don't see what gave you the impression that I'm afraid of being an egoist.

>> No.773153

>>773049
>>773049
>>773049
This.

Also, read only books approved by Harold Bloom in his canon.

>> No.773154
File: 14 KB, 303x475, holy_bible.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
773154

>> No.773158

anyone else notice how this was supposed to be a troll thread and bloomed into something else?

A dover thrift edition of the autobiography of Ben Franklin? elitist? really?

>> No.773172

Seriouspost, OP. Read Clive James' "Cultural Amnesia" (everyone should actually read this, it's a really great book, illuminated by a genuine love of literature & learning), and then just google every fucking name in that mother and read everything by them, preferably in the original. It's not a snobby book, but he's read so damn much that anyone looking for recommendations can get a ton out of it.

And, again, it's excellent.

>> No.773174

only read first editions

>> No.773185

>>773150
>Also, I don't see what gave you the impression that I'm afraid of being an egoist.

have you read your previous post here? >>773125

your memory is shit, son.

>> No.773188

>>773174
and dog-ear them

>> No.773218

>>773158
op here, it wasnt supposed to be a troll thread, and i'm not reading the dover-thrift book. i'm reading the version that is hand-penned by franklin and scanned into pdf format.

>> No.773227

>>773172
just looked it up and ordered it.

>> No.773242

Reading this thread is a good introduction to e/lit/ist snob wankery.

>> No.773249

Carry on a bible, but claim that you're atheist

>> No.773254

>>773249
Carry an unlit lantern and claim you're searching for an honest man

The classics are always the best, really...

>> No.773300

OP, if you want elitist, you want the existential stuff. The only title that comes to mind off hand is Camus' The Stranger. While I dig the protagonists "I could give a fuck" attitude, I found the writing itself to be incredibly pretentious.

It'd be great if you knew French, then you could read the original and follow this: >>773117

>> No.773314
File: 28 KB, 371x582, harry_potter_and_the_philosophers_stone_book_j_k_rowling.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
773314

>> No.773317

>>773300

Notes from underground maybe?

>> No.773322

>>773172

Are there other books like this? More of this essay stuff?

>> No.773326

>>773300
>I found the writing itself to be incredibly pretentious.

Please elaborate.

>> No.773328
File: 220 KB, 1920x1080, veronicamars wp2.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
773328

A true snobby elitist would never deign to reveal his secrets to such a filthy pleb as yourself. You hoi polloi disgust me, thinking you can obtain taste by being hand fed suggestions. Seek and discover the truth for yourself the same way us honest ones do; alone.

of course the pic is non-related this is 4chan, son.

>> No.773361

>>773326
he won't elaborate because he's the type that uses "existentialism" and "pretentious" in every post to try and sound smart without understanding what the words mean.

Fake it till you make it!

>> No.773374

>>773361
you have something against existentialists, chap?

>> No.773378

Anything by Goethe or Nietzsche.

>> No.773397

Heart of Darkness By Joseph Conrad is a great one to read. He would be considered existentialist.

>> No.773461

>>773361

No, I didn't answer because I forgot all about this thread, honestly.

>>773326

As for how I feel the writing is pretentious, I don't know, perhaps I used the wrong word to describe it. I don't recall what translation I read, but I felt like the translator was trying too hard to capture the overall feeling of the book in the original French. For example, the part where he shoots the guy, "It was like four knocks on the door of unhappiness." wtf is that shit? I get it, I really do, what you're trying to convey there, but it sounds so elitist.

>Fake it till you make it!

That's what the OP wants to do, lol.

>> No.773487

>>773461
You can excuse such moments when Camus's prose is so simplistic for the greater part of the book.

>> No.773563

>>773397
a) shut the fuck up b) you don't know shit c) again, shut the fuck up, bitch

>> No.774107

>>773125

thank you :3

>> No.774114

I STILL READ CAPTAIN UNDERPANTS.

>> No.774705
File: 7 KB, 160x124, vcm_s_kf_m160_160x124.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
774705

>>773154
>>773154
>>773154

>> No.774783

>>773300
wow never heard of that one. nice nice suggestion, added it to my amazon wish list so i dont forget.