Should i read this abridged edition or go through the 2500 pages of the original one?
>>24987165Websloppers eat 10 million word sloppas for breakfast and you can’t even read one book.
>>24987986Web novels don't count as reading.
>>24987986This man knows whats up
>>24987165Out of those 2500 pages, maybe a hundred are actual plot. The other 2400 is chink cultivation autism so if that's your jam, go for it.
>>24988110Cultivation is unironically the highest form of literature
Love doesn't exist
love does exist
>>24987863this has to do with literature, does it? fuck off
>>24987863and love is not enough.
>>24987874You should cry about it on 4chan
>>24987863>You could have saved her.
>Civilizations may last for centuries and be extremely eventful; Imperial Rome is a prime example.>…>But autumn ends, and a civilization becomes a culture gone frozen in its brains and heart, and its finale is anything but grand. We are now far into what the Chinese called the period of contending states, and the collapse of Caesarism.>In such a period, politics becomes an arena of competing generals and plutocrats, under a dummy ruler chosen for low intelligence and complete moral plasticity, who amuses himself and keeps the masses distracted from their troubles with bread, circuses, and brushfire-wars. (This is the time of all times when a culture should unite — and the time when such a thing has become impossible.) Technology flourishes (the late Romans were first-class engineers) but science disintegrates into a welter of competing, grandiosely trivial hypotheses which supersede each other almost weekly and veer more and more markedly toward the occult.>Among the masses there arises a “second religiousness” in which nobody actually believes; an attempt is made to buttress this by syncretism, the wrenching out of context of religious forms from other cultures, such as the Indian, without the faintest hope of knowing what they mean. This process, too, leads inevitably towards a revival of the occult, and here science and religion overlap, to the benefit of neither. Economic inequity, instability and wretchedness become endemic on a hitherto unprecedented scale; the highest buildings ever erected by the Classical culture were the tenements of the Imperial Roman slums, crammed to bursting point with freed and runaway slaves, bankrupts, and deposed petty kings and other political refugees.When will cesaerism start in europe?
>>24987182Already has, kind of.
>>24987925On further consideration, this briggs character OP likely got the quotes from seems like a politics peddler of some sort. I doubt Spengler would be pleased to know his philosophy would be mobilized by legions of megalopolitan male prostitutes to advance their petty journalistic ends, but he would not be surprised.
>>24987182You know how “psychics” and “fortune tellers” really just say very general things that are applicable to almost anyone
>>24987925>And from the summarizing excerpts, I would dispute his interpretationsWhy?
>>24987994Its a matter of being incorrect you absolute nigger
I've written an account of my travels which lasted around six months. During this time, I tried to make myself as vulnerable as possible: hitchhiking, wild camping, sleeping in abandoned churches, travelling with no possessions etc. So that in my frail state I might enter a purely emotional state of being, and in doing so learn from my feelings more about what it is to be human, unobscured by thoughts polluted by the modern age. I'm deeply inspired by the Romantics like Wordsworth and my goal was to learn from all nature, incl my own self, as much about humanity as possible. This piece I wrote is the first finished piece of writing i've ever written and since it is such a peculiar piece I would really appreciate some feedback to really understand what sort of level it is at. I know most anons will squeal at the lack of irony and cynicism, it is purposefully earnest to the point it will put people off, but any feedback is appreciated. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Np6ZWpuBUVRu7vErExCus2OVylaXezwX/view
>>24977091>>24977847post your writings faggot
>>24984787Thank you anonI suppose I am not sure entirely myself what my intentions were. I just had lots of thoughts swirling around from the trip and I wanted a way to explain to my friends when I got back what it was that I was actually doing. So it was a way to understand myself what I had done but also show my friends what it is that that is going through my mind when I travel. Also, while I was travelling I was thinking about some ideas for a fiction novel I've been thinking about writing and this was a way to experiment to write in a certain register that I feel best expresses the ideas I want it to convey.Its not an entirely serious piece but I am taking it seriously as an exercise for when I might something genuinely serious in the future
>>24977389I don't know
>>24984369no need to bring victoriaslop into this thread
>>24977847Pompous shit, almost nobody needs to know all the garbage details. If you have money you travel yourself not read some traveloger garbage takes, looking at pictures and videos is a superior experience if you are a poorfag and can't travel.
i have never met anyone my age [zoomer] who has watched the disney alice in wonderland cartoon movie. my chances of meeting someone who has read the original alice's adventures in wonderland text is even lower. thread to discuss how younger people do not care for "Classic" media or literature
>>24987885familiar with the concept, obviously, but as for actual consumption?
>>24987908https://arch.b4k.dev/v/thread/727540903/#727541927https://arch.b4k.dev/v/thread/727540903/#727543107https://arch.b4k.dev/v/thread/728981512/#728996180
>>24988057easily compared to discussions of alice: madness returns, another video game. thread is about widespread zoomer ignorance of classical literature, not it's imbued corpse in your vaugely pedophilic rpgmaker weeb trash
>>24988057at least they read a book
>>24988095
WHEN>tomorrow morning (Friday 2nd) at 10:00am GMT the character and theme requirements will be released. RULES>1. incorporate the theme and character requirements (creative interpretations allowed) into a piece of writing>2. submissions must be made by Monday 5th at 21:59 BST>3. you must submit using rentry.co >4. link of your piece under a unique tripcode (Namefield: Name + "#" + Password)>5 you are allowed to edit your work on rentry.co page until the submission deadline.>6. entrants must vote or will be disqualifiedVOTING>anyone can vote>a Strawpoll will be made where you can rank your top three: 1st gets 3 points, 2nd gets 2, 3rd gets 1 for entrants:Comment too long. Click here to view the full text.
I'm gonna join this one :)
>>24986266You're thinking of wibac, the other """competition""" that was organized by another namefag from here
>>24986102I participated in these before, though to no fanfare for myself. My short story though, I included elements of it in another project I was on. Then I based my next writing project around the ideas the short story had given me, mixed with some WN tropes it fit into. Will scan thread to see requirements for this comp. PS i hate renty it fucks my text up and its complicated for a drop text, get link site. its geared for code and other specialty writings. We just need drop file get link for text. something like catbox or another similar, would be easier.
>>24987534yes, this is very much what happened for me. a little story on here turning into something larger. >rentry sucksi haven't had any problems with rentry? I just looked at catbox website and theres an anime girl on the front page which is super gay so lets stick with rentry.
THEME REQUIREMENT: Beginnings CHARACTER REQUIREMENT: A character must be a minor celebrity YOU HAVE UNTIL MONDAY 5th 21:59 TO SUBMIT.
why do you read books?
>>24982488We are so overdue for massive gladiatorial games featuring women and large predators
>>24982409Helps me think clearly, like I can actually hear my thoughts and see in some metaphysical space the pattern of my thoughts kinda structure together, like this one leads to this one leads to that. As opposed to my disorderly thinking if I'm just mindlessly consuming, and my thoughts are just like explosions of emotions that I follow non sequiterly from one to another. It all makes me way calmer in general and a more pleasant person.
>>24982546This is the autism capital of the WWW.
>>24982409Because I'm not retarded.>>24982420>Just found out about readingIs this bait or Americans really like this? Last week I was shocked when somebody told me here they don't read any of the world classics in elementary school or any philosophy in high school.
>>24982452is it a book title?
Crocodile Tears edition.OLD: >>24978375
>>24987939Hmmm. I wonder what's happening.
>>24987752Progress in the virtues, and therefore the realisation of true humanity and life in Christ, continues into infinity in the eschaton. St Maximos the Confessor speaks about this
really happy about my life right now. I feel like I became independent really late in my life, like in my late 20s I'm living out the life of someone who is 22. But I took a bunch of risks, got away from my family, dumped the last of my toxic friends and I feel like I've achieved escape veloicty now. I went for a polar bear swim with three new friends today, all who I've met outdoors ever since I fully commited to my passions outdoors. It took some work to get here. Going through my newby phase, I was still all alone, just learning the ropes, learning how to speak to people and be a person in general, and I had to trust that in a few years time I can become who I am today. that I will make friends who will appreciate the new version of me who I knew I could one day become.I think back and it's crazy how just three years ago I had trouble speaking to women even generally. It's so beautiful being an adult how you can essentially become whoever you want to be, and that you'll attract the people who will lvoe you for those very reasons.>>24986415used to wish I was taller all the time growing up, mostly so women would notice me more, and then I started really filling into my body and leaning into the stuff I can do as an average height person and for the first time in my life I feel super happy about my height. took a lot of maturity and work on myself to get to this point but trust me... every body type has it's disadvantages, especially athletically. and once you're performing to your bodies advantages in whatever discipline it is the women will notice anyway, but they'll actually be your type, instead of some rando who you find attractive but have nothing in common to connect with.
>>24987906>>24987945There was a story in their News section about how people were using Grok to make nudes of random people and celebrities a couple days ago. If you opened Grok's page and went to media it was just picture after picture of naked people that I'm assuming we're generated against the will of those pictured. Anyway, I don't use Twitter for porn but I try to pay attention to social media being regulated. If what you're noticing is actually happening the above probably has something to do with it.
Should I, as a man, shave my armpits?
What would he be doing today?What would have he thought of tiktok? The transgender issue? AI literature? current human literature? current american politics landscape?
>>24988000>shitposter shitposts
>>24988006I just spent half an hour looking for a single post worth responding to with an effort post, could not even find a post worth responding to with a shitpost, so I stated the obvious.
>>24984765He had the perceiving of course, but many people do. The difference is he also had a dreadful, melancholic, pessimistic association in which ended most things he perceived has even the slighest thing to do with the idea which had become now enormous and immovable. if he was here 2day, he would self-immolate.
>>24988037having*
>>24984765He already gave quite accurate takes on current times in Infinite Jest. Tiktok is the Entertainment. You, me and everyone has the choice to use it or not, knowing how addictive it can be. There are teenagers with screen time of 14 hours a day. If that doesn't sound the Entertainment, I don't know what is.Transgenders are mentally ill people who we should feel bad for, like Poor Tony was. It's quite a freak show, but in the end, those people are the ones suffering. Not always addicts of drugs, but most likely some sort of substance or drug users non the less. Don't know about literature necessarily. In some interview he said some weird renaissance of "honest" literature will emerge instead of this humorous wave of ironic literature we are having. But I guess he also would've thought literature is going to the same direction as media overall, that is becoming increasingly lazy. Donald Trump is Johnny Gentle, Famous Crooner. A pop star president, who sweeps the garbage under the rug and tries playing it cool. In the end, it doesn't pay off, I don't think. And about the politics, I believe you could draw a line between the Quebec separatists actions and Chinese hybrid warfare. It's really subtle, but it's there.
I finished reading this yesterday and honestly it was kind of boring.The first few chapters detailing how the Spanish plundered the continent were great but then when it comes to the 20th century he gets bogged down into way too much detail and mentions a bunch of literally whos and corporations that make me lose interest.
>>24987397The synopsis for this book makes it seem like a sensationalist 1990s conspiraboomer title that was lightly plausible at the time but is woefully outdated now. Studying the drug trade from the standpoint of economics and co-opration with state (or failing that, non-state) power is far more useful.P.S: The U.S is the chief party responsible for its own drug problems. Maybe if Agency A and Agency B stopped undermining eachother constantly they'd get something done.>>24987192>Brazil who got worse after the Monarchy fell.You don't get to criticize communists for drinking the koolaid just to say this.>>24987424Ah ok.
>>24987161Instruments of Statecraft and Unequal Exchange are macro but the rest are more nation specific.
>>24987607Do you have anything about the Mexican economy during the PRI era? Liberalization of the 1980s or before is fine. I'll just search myself if not.
>>24987607alan macleod is a good journalist. you guys should read him more on mintpress
>>24979122Ok, but are there any factual mistakes in the OP book?
Can we all agree that he was a mediocre sci fi writer, and that jurassic park was just lightning in a bottle?
>>24987543Genre writer? Sheeeeit, no wonder the ladies are running lit these days.
>>24986421At 6’9, Crichton was probably the tallest writer to ever achieve mainstream success. If I had to assemble a basketball team from reanimated dead authors, Crichton would definitely be my first choice. Could you say the same about your favorite author?
>>24986421Eater of the Dead was alright
>>24987722Ask me how I know you're a woman
Sphere is fantastic, and so is its sequel, Cube.
Recently I got into highly acclaimed literature because I heard it had narratives that were vastly superior to low-brow entertainment (like anything that's not artsy film). So I read Crime and Punishment and I thought it was pretty interesting. But the way everyone acted it was like the book was supposed to give me an existential crisis or something like that. I also read The Great Gatsby which I think was basically just a 1920s Shakespeare play and I think it was just fine but not groundbreaking. I also tried to read Infinite Jest but I think it filtered me honestly. Anyway what do I do? Am I too retarded for this? Should I just watch anime instead or?
If you like lowbrow shit why not enjoy it? Just because something is said to be great doesn't mean you'll enjoy it.
>>24987882I want something that describes a lot of what is going on in my life right now, I'm curious about what people think of as great art to compare it to what I already like, and I want to be more open-minded in general
The way plot is used is why literature is acclaimed. It's a hierarchyTrash fiction is plot above all else for shallow stimulation Great genre fiction partners with plot as a stucture for explorationGreat literature subordinates plot in service of reflection
>>24986891>Should I just watch anime instead or?People who end sentences with "or" are always fucking retards.
>>24986891Yes.>>24987013Dostoevsky is highbrow. Ironically your insistence that something that is also read by "normies" disqualifies it from being great makes you a midwit who certainly doesn't have any qualifications as to quantify what is middle- or highbrow.
what books are essential to understand more the american mindset? i've been living in the US for the past 4 years and still not part of the culture and i think i will never be and that's ok but if i can indulge myself a little bit more it would be beneficial for me career wise
>>24987213Read New Journalism stuff (Joan Didion, Tom Wolfe, etc) and check out Class by Paul Fussell.
>>24987213The Talmud
>>24987213Americans dont have a culture. They're just a loose collection of selfish individuals who worship money and occasionally collaborate with each other in order to steal from a third party. Their idea of friendship is being slightly less likely to fuck each other over as long as its convenient and they dont have something the other wants.
>>24987581>As has been said already, there are very few topics that have one cohesive "American" perspective.This. There so many "Americas". People say America is shallow. America is just busy. America doesn't have time to help you understand it.>>24987213In my humble opinion, to understand the American mindset, you have to look around, and watch people, there is no book that captures it. I'm one of those assholes everyone hates, who claims that America has an extraordinarily rich culture, because it is an amalgam of so many cultural influences, and by virtue of violent collision, facilitates so many cultural experiments.Examples Twain, Faulkner, Steinbeck, you can't really understand why they wrote what they wrote, without looking at the late 1800s early 1900s south, or the great depression, they were just reporting what they saw, through the lens of a story. Their characters were just vehicles for you to feel what they felt, as they explain to you what they understand about what they are seeing. Reporting the world as you experience and understand it is the most American act. But reading an old report can't explain why it became this.With industrialization, it gets even crazier divergent, when you see legit literary geniuses using emergent pulp genres.Like, I consider Borges, and Kafka to be great American authors, because they describe the experience of coming to understand America so well. It's emerging from confusion, and realizing how you're trapped. America is just you navigating the oppressive force of people conquering a space, and each other. It's dimensionally infinite, but there's only as much to understand intellectually, as you can or will reach for.William Faulkner's America was not Cormac McCarthy's America.William Burrogh's America was not Dennis Johnson's AmericaComment too long. Click here to view the full text.
>>24987314Ah right, America has 1 culture: the black culture.
If you had to summarize the meaning of this book and it's sequels very briefly, what would it be?
Same as The Secret, I would imagine (Positive thinking)
>>24985813
You do have a basic understanding of how human language works, don't you?
>>24987960This filtered you? Wow, how sad.>>24987961Name the mistake.
>>24986942so we should talk in African-American vernacular mayhaps?
>>24985487>>24985525good books on language + philosophy of mind?
>>24988020You filter yourself. You need to study argumentation.
>>24988030You're gay
