If you had ti make a list containing the characteristics of writers of genius that set them apart from merely very talented writers, what would this list be?
>>22765557Maybe I should have made a meme thread
Off the topAn real understanding of humans, I think Samuel Johnson says this about Shakespeare.A true command of the language their writing in, looking at authors like Joyce or Keats they are able to do thing with the English language not many authors have been able to do
>>22766396Joyce I know, but what's special about Keats?
>>22764994> I give you the mausoleum of all hope and desire; it's rather excruciatingly apt that you will use it to gain the reducto absurdum of all human experience which can fit your individual needs no better than it fitted his or his father's. I give it to you not that you may remember time, but that you may forget it now and then for a moment and not spend all your breath trying to conquer it. Because no battle is ever won he said. They are not even fought. The field only reveals to man his own folly and despair, and victory is the illusion of philosophers and fools.
>The girl who was nice to him on 24 smiled and said hello. She told him how much she appreciated what he did. She had a regular voice and straight hair, but Sloper sometimes wondered a little about her, about if maybe she was passing for something she wasn’t, if there was something in her blood that was darker than her skin. But of course you couldn’t just ask, and he liked her thick muscular calves and watching them walk away from him when he knelt before the lobby doors. She worked late often, even when the Annual Statement was done. She kept a pair of sneakers under her desk. When she left she put on the sneakers and left her pumps under the desk. She’d go the ladies’ room carrying a magazine called The Progressive.Sloper never knew what to say to her. There were too many words to choose from. His mind would arrive at “good” and “cool” and his mouth would be unable to decide. It would come out “gool.”When she was gone he jerked off in her shoes and cleaned them out with germicidal foam. You could use it on anything but woodwork.The Waste, Eugene Marten
/// Boyd qualified his opinion, noting that the evidence could be interpreted in other ways /// There is usually a period of shakedown with new technology /// Sit down and have some lunch, then go round and do the glad-handing afterwards /// If you need help, just call on Mike. He can come at the drop of a hat /// That rinky-dink shelf is likely to collapse if you fill it with books /// James Addison Baker was the consummate master at actually getting things done in Washington /// I could hear the champagne fizz as he poured it into my glass /// In all human affairs, there is virtue in a successor's not being a precise simulacrum of the predecessor whom he or she follows /// The country's criminal and civil courts were creaking at the seams in spite of efforts to shore them up /// The boat was hit by a squall north of the island /// Children who expect a supportive response to their emotional displays are more likely to express emotion, whereas children who expect a negative interpersonal response report dissembling emotional expression /// People left so much food on their plates and crumpled a few dollar bills down, as though it were an offering, expiation for the wasted food /// The most erudite people in medical research attended the conference /// In issue two, Chang wanders around gibbering like a raw-meat lunatic /// Hope you got enough poontang to last you till next time /// Companies blame the economy for the lay offs, while workers chalk it up to bad management /// He was reeling a little. He must be very drunk /// Two new natural-gas plants should help slake the country's demand for power /// Roses climbed the trellises /// In 37 years with British Rail, I saw how station staff always bore the brunt of public anger over fare rises /// He's constantly switching up his cadence and his delivery /// Red, white and blue bunting hung in the city's renovated train station /// The 82-year-old songwriter mixes serious contemplation with mordant humor on his new album /// She threw him a look of haughty disdain /// This recognition frees logic from the epistemological discussion of secondary qualities /// Was there no postman or postmaster whom he could suborn to intercept them for him? /// As to syllogism specifically, Locke in a passage, 8 which has an obviously Cartesian ring, lays down four stages or degrees of reasoning, and points out that syllogism serves us in but one of these /// Littoral warfare includes amphibious landings /// He's a science-fiction maven who can talk for hours about fictional technology /// Bacterial sepsis continues to be the leading cause of death in intensive care units /// My husband is retreating into sullen withdrawal or making sharp passive-aggressive digs at me /// He turned away to wring out the wet shirt /// We are far too concerned to repeat the old shibboleths of the past without trying to face the vexing and intractable problems of the present ///
>>22764994>The heart wants what it wants or else it doesn't care. --Emily Dickinson, LettersI'm a simple dude, yo
Has anyone else read this? I rarely see it talked about in the English world, although it might be more popular in France?
>Qui suis je?That's all I remember from it, and then there was a chapter where he reviewed a Grand Guignol play. Something about naughty school girls and him feeling haunted by the leas actress's face. Oh and some weird paraphilia with Nadja's glove and these drawing she keeps making. It honestly wasn't good, but I can appreciate the attempt at form. Paysan de Paris by Louis Aragon does what Breton was attempting much better.
>>22765723Don’t care. Didn’t ask. Plus, you’re never gunna “write” you “novel”
>>22766009Based. Loved Paris Peasant, but it's the only Aragon I've read. What else by him would you recommend?
>>22766371Aurélien. It's one of the best novels about love I have ever read. It's not surrealist though. It's a naturalist novel I think. It's a great novel about the impossibility of love. Aragon wrote it while hiding out during WW2, so you kind of see where that theme comes in. The setting is Paris in the 20's.
>>22766386I forgot to add, I don't think there is an English translation. If there is, it's an old one that's out of print and probably hard to find.
I wasted my life on reading and have nothing to show for it
>>22762905>>22765084>engineer who was in the navy before becoming a sci fi author>wow i literally know everything useful and everyone who knows more than me is an insectcringe old man who looked down on everyone who knew less than him and everyone who knew more than him
>>22765996Based. I have been gooning to Ada Wong.
>>22766022This, pretentious hippie fruitcake
>>22765876>ReadYes I did and I suggest you do the same before commenting on topics you have no clue about next time.
>>22762919>a lot of what he mentioned is uselessname one useless thing he mentioned
>performs an over-hasty off-biffing upon receipt of but a solitary hyperborean visualarity directed, videlicet, aimed, at your spats videlicet, footwearThis is a thread for discussion of Jeeves and Wooster, both in the individual and severally.To start: How old do you imagine Jeeves? In reading Springtime for Jeeves just now, I found it odd that he should be able to seduce both the cook and the waitress; I had assumed him to be a little old for that kind of philandering.
>>22765156Haven’t read any Wodehouse where do you recommend to start?
>>22766115He has short stories which are fun. Thank You, Jeeves is the first Jeeves novel chronologically.
>>22765156Probably mid-30s or early 40s. He was a soldier in world war 1 which would make him born in the 1990s or 90s and the novels were written in the late 30s.
Discuss /lit/bros. I want your take.
>>22766150Depends on the translation.
>>22766190>if the bible were split up into different booksit is though
>>22766199For me it's the New King James :)
>>22766150The only people who say the bible is the greatest x of all time have a religious commitment to the greatness of the bible. Plus I really don't think anyone in their right mind finds the descriptions of the tabernacle, jew law etc. very interesting in literary terms, unless you're a schizo and find the answers to all of life in sequences of numbers or retarded dream-vision-prophecies
>>22766150The Bible is a collection of works whereas an epic has to be a single work. An epic has to be in verse and the Bible has very little verse in it.
My elderly and possibly dying grandfather just told me this is his favorite book series, a few weeks ago. He suggested I start with Laughing Policeman, and now I'm reading Roseanne, which is actually the first book.I tore through first half in a single night, and the rest of the book took me about 3 weeks. It feels really dull, and now that I've started Roseanne, I still don't feel like I know how I would talk about this series with my grandfather. Like "Hey, remember when X character did Y?" but I feel obligated to plug on, with the help of Audible, since all the books are available for free.Is there anyone out there who gives a fuck about these books and would actually have interesting insights into them? According to my grandfather they get really good because the characters develop across all ten books.>Martin Beck is a fictional Swedish police detective and the main character in the ten novels by Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö (who are husband and wife),[1] collectively titled The Story of a Crime. Frequently referred to as the Martin Beck stories, all have been adapted into films between 1967 and 1994, six of which were included in a series featuring Gösta Ekman as Martin Beck. Between 1997 and 2018 there have also been 38 films (some released direct for video and broadcast on television) based on the characters, with Peter Haber as Martin Beck. Apart from the core duo of Beck and his right-hand man Gunvald Larsson, the latter have little resemblance to the original series, and feature a widely different and evolving cast of characters, though roughly similar themes and settings around Stockholm. >During the 1960s and 1970s Sjöwall and Wahlöö conceived and wrote a series of ten police procedural novels about the exploits of detectives from the special homicide commission of the Swedish national police; in these the character of Martin Beck was the protagonist.[2] Both authors also wrote novels separately. For the Martin Beck series, they plotted and researched each book together, and then wrote alternate chapters simultaneously.[3] The books cover ten years and are renowned for extensive character and setting development throughout the series. This is in part due to careful planning by Sjöwall and Wahlöö.[4]Roseanna (Roseanna, 1965)The Man Who Went Up in Smoke (Mannen som gick upp i rök, 1966)The Man on the Balcony (Mannen på balkongen, 1967)The Laughing Policeman (Den skrattande polisen, 1968) (Edgar Award, Best Novel, 1971)The Fire Engine That Disappeared (Brandbilen som försvann, 1969)Murder at the Savoy (Polis, polis, potatismos!, 1970)The Abominable Man (Den vedervärdige mannen från Säffle, 1971)Comment too long. Click here to view the full text.
>>22766266>repost bot thread is psychologically bizarre. I can't trust any thread I ever see on here again.It's not a bot. I was just desperate. Be nice.
>>22766266>modest use of copy-paste is PSYCHOLOGICALLY BIZARRE.You live a comfortable sheltered life, and I envy you so much for that.
>>22766296>>22766300Well I was going to come in and contribute to this thread again with more effortposts but now I don't think I will. Have fun!
>>22766266Take it as a compliment. We don't sign our posts here.
>>22766331>Well I was going to come in and contribute to this thread again with more effortpostsI don't think you were.
I wandered lonely as a cloudThat floats on high o'er vales and hills,When all at once I saw a crowd,A host, of golden daffodils;Beside the lake, beneath the trees,Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.Continuous as the stars that shineAnd twinkle on the milky way,They stretched in never-ending lineAlong the margin of a bay:Ten thousand saw I at a glance,Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.The waves beside them danced; but theyComment too long. Click here to view the full text.
keats > blake > byron > coleridge > shelley > wordsworth
>>22765835Looks good except 5 and 6 should be 2 and 1
Books with this feel?
>>22763515Lolita
>>22764751>imagine you go to a library
Well this thread went to shit. Anyways, I read pic related recently and liked it well enough. The two mcs bicker a lot but I wouldn't say their relationship is romantic
>>22766044I already said no lolshit, waifushit/lightnovel shit. I meant real books.
>>22764437>if you dont share my perspective its only because you're X or YThe sinews of every /lit/ard argument.
Describe 'Love' to me, /lit/.
>>22764904But why do you like ugly pictures of ugly women with ass pimples? And why do you write like a retard? Too many things are unexplained here
>>22764895that's a dude, look at the broad shoulders
>>22764927>>22764962holy cope lol
>>22764895Gay
>>22763578Love is an ever-growing sense of trust, respect, and devoting that feels like overflowing with a bubble of incandescent numinous infinite possibility.Happy?
>reach climax of book>drop it because I can't read it before bed without raising my heart rate and not being able to fall asleep
>>22764364>reach climax of book>protag is about to overcome his depression and have sex>drop it because then I can't relate to the main character anymore
>reach climax of sex>cant cum cause start feeling bad about all the virgins on /lit/
/// He had the look of a man whose original rustic stolidity had been supercharged with cockney cunning /// Some of the clothes in the fashion show were too off the wall for the average customer /// The weather becomes more erratic, increasing the risk of summer droughts and harvest failures /// She had the calloused hands of someone who had always worked hard for a living /// I like to swirl in a pat or two of butter off heat to add sheen and give the sauce a velvety texture /// We refute this scurrilous allegation /// Criminy, what is this world coming to? /// We could hear the sergeant bellowing orders to his troops /// Just plunk your stuff down on any old desk /// He let out a holler as he fell /// The crates were unloaded onto the wharf /// Whence does Parliament derive this power? /// There was no warrant for such behavior /// Now the last of these three objectives was obviously a pipe dream /// Neath his calm surface there was seething anger /// From what I was able to glean, the news isn't good /// The drug has a litany of possible side effects /// They gobbled up all the sandwiches /// Legislators who enact an unconstitutional law, for example, would be rebuffed by a court through the exercise of judicial review /// The US Constitution confers certain powers on the president /// A yearning for life has turned into disenchantment and ennui /// He denies making off-color remarks about his colleagues /// I shall be back ere nightfall /// Let's not make such a rash judgment /// There was also a romantic subplot where Kimble has an affair with his dead wife’s sister while on the lam /// It's not sustained through genuine economic productivity but rather through shaking down the entire country for pennies to direct towards war /// The model is available as a three-door hatchback or coupe /// On sites where consumers tend to make nasty, unqualified remarks, negative reviews have more potential to hurt than help /// Calvin had prepared the way by having the city placarded with a blasphemous denunciation of the Blessed Eucharist /// The normally dour Mr. James was photographed smiling and joking with friends ///
>reading to pump myself up for a workout
What the fuck do we do ?
>>22766198Aesopbros
>>22766187The current civilization is in the process of running its course, just like Spengler said. Maybe the books being written now will be read with gusto in 500 years.
WHAT TO DO? NOTHING.IN A WORLD OF ILLITERATES, THE FUNCTIONALLY ILLITERATE RULE, AND WE, THE LITERATE, RULE OVER YOU ALL.
>>22766206Imagining some guy treating Jack Ryan like War and Peace
>>22766208cum genius
these are all the books I've read/will finish this year. What would you recommend I look into? The only books left in my stack are Godel, Escher, Bach; Walden, Spring Snow, and Ada. I like stuff that'll make me think and challenge my beliefs as well as stuff that's entertaining like the horror, especially the short story collections. I generally like anti-tech, memoirs about interesting or out there people, and the Holocaust (I've heard Primo Levi is very good).
>>22765315already read it, but thank you
>>22765786Honestly, I loved it. Don't understand the hate he gets. Absolutely worth your time imo. It drags a little in the second part but it's still great and I've been unexpectedly thinking about it a lot after reading it. I also have The Corrections for next year; I was going to try and get it in this year but I couldn't get into. Think I may just be burnt out a little. What'd you think of it?
>>22764680He's one of my favorite writers, along with Mishima, Franzen and Gillian Flynn. I'm trying to work through his oeuvre bit by bit so I may go with this next (either that or Pnin, or Invitation) This is going to sound silly but I want to try and expand my tastes and not just stick with my favorites. I appreciate the rec though, I've heard great things about Speak Memory
>>22765846when i read the first chapter of the corrections i didn't like it, but it's way better after once it gets started with the other characters which are incredibly written. the one thing i would knock the novel for is that it doesn't have a grand story or traditional type of character journey or timeline, but that's not what franzen was trying to write so its useless to hate it for that.
>>22764127did you enjoy Endurance, personally I really enjoy it. I recommend:In A Lonely Place by Karl Edward WagnerThe Sorrows of Young Werther by Johann Wolfgang von GoetheSimplicissimus by Hans Jakob Christoffel von GrimmelshausenThe Hitler Worship Cult: Distortion, Justification & Mythmaking by Weronika Kuzniarthe flashman papersThe Glass Bees by Ernst Jüngersuttree by Cormac McCarthy
I'm currently reading the greeks, so I'll need the names of all the important authors. Here's what I plan to read: Homer, Aeschylus, Sophocles, Herodotus, Euripides, Thucydides, Aristophanes, Hesiod, Plato, Aristotle, Euclid, Epicurus, Archimedes. Am I missing someone? I have only read Homer and Aeschylus. Also, is that order okay?
Here's the list: Homer (8th century BC)Hesiod (8th century BC)Sappho (550 BC)Aeschylus (525-456 BC)Sophocles (496-406 BC)Euripides (480-406 BC)Aristophanes (446-386 BC)Herodotus (484-425 BC)Thucydides (460-395 BC)Pindar (518-438 BC)Anacreon (570-488 BC)Sappho (630-570 BC)Demosthenes (384-322 BC)Comment too long. Click here to view the full text.
>>22765674You Forgot euclid
>>22765624This is an extremely well-covered topic. Here's a good rule of thumb for noob anons: don't go by /lit/'s opinion. Don't use fucking chatGPT. Find a real authority (older stuff can be good, it's free from academia politics, has more personality, and is still accurate enough for the purposes of a hobbyist) and go from there. If, after being exposed to real scholarship, you still want to subject yourself to /lit/, come back and ask more advanced questions or share thoughts about what you've learned. But please don't go by /lit/'s guidance for basic stuff that has plenty of resources available.
>>22765624Everything from the green section of Loebs classical library if you are daring.
>>22765960Sorry I think this came across as more rude and forum-oldfag-ish bc I forgot to link the example I found: something like this >https://www.google.com/books/edition/A_History_of_Ancient_Greek_Literature/6UbRVGCxbdIC?hl=en&gbpv=0 should provide you with everything you need to get started on reading the West's greatest poetic tradition. I don't mean to imply you're dumb for asking here or whatever, just trying to dissuade you from taking /lit/'s opinion seriously. >>22765643 is a chad though, he knows what's up.
It reads like schizo notes, but this nigga is up to something when it comes to our reality rules. It almost filtered me.
>>22765528Its okay, but its too brief. If you find this book too be too hard to read, read the wiki and then check youtube for an analysis video
>>22765580Baudrillard was an ex-communist and initially a post-Marxist. His early work was on the political economy of signs, how they are produced etc. In Simulacra and Simulation, what Baudrillard is saying that we live in a world of mass produced signs that no longer have a "real" referent and the result is that the old distinctions between fiction and reality are beginning to break down. A sign, in structuralist linguistics, that which stands in for and represents a real object e.g. the map that Baudrillard refers to in the first paragraph is a representation of a physical place (the empire or territory that it is supposed to represent) or in Baudrillard's terminology, a simulation. Since the map is assumed to be accurate, people's sense of space is shaped more by the map than the physical territory. The map influences our behavior and our sense of reality. What Baudrillard is saying is that there are now signs that don't represent a real object, or simulacra. These signs aren't meant to represent a real object, they are in effect representations of simulations e.g. Disney's mainstreet is supposed to represent an iydillic American town's main street. However, it's not modelled on any actual town but the whole thing is entirely fictional and based on what the set designers think an ideal American traditional town was supposed to have looked like. Nevertheless, Disney's main street has come to dominante the visual images of historic American towns, it's copied into films, historical movies, etc. it becomes an established fact that this is how things were and how they ought to be. When new towns are built, they take inspiration from Disney and so the simulacra isn't a fake, it becomes true ie. it is a truth that masks the fact that there is none. The simulacra of Disney's main street totally warps our perception of reality. Baudrillard says we are living in a media landscape dominated by these simulacra and he calls this state hyperreality. In the hyperreal world, we struggle distinguish true from false, fact from fiction, we even question what even is real (e.g. the feeling that the world is fake or the internet is fake or schizos thinking we are literally living in a simulation or conspiracy theorists denying the earth is flat etc. all are symptoms of our hyperreal world). Hence, Baudrillard says we are living in a world where the real (the actual object that was abstracted into a sign which was supposed to represent it, like the word "cat" represents a physical cat) has disappeared and we are living in a "desert of the real."
>>22765694>Baudrillard says we are living in a world where the real has disappeared and we are living in a "desert of the real."This is what I truly dont get. I understand the referential real that has an origin point and eventually loses its meaning, but what I dont understand whats the true real according to Baudrillard. I think he is pretty vague on that
>>22764841i read this when i was 16.
>>22764960And the invisibles. They practically stole the character designs.
