By weakest reading year so far.I enjoyed none of these books even though I really wanted to read them.What should I do? I've read at least one book of most big name writers hoping I would develop a taste on my own but it hasn't happened yet and I'm thinking of quitting literature altogether.
>>24748307what did you not like about them? generally?
>>247483071. Stop reading genre fiction2. Stop reading (bad) translationsBolano's Savage Detectives was poorly translated, so I assume 2666 is the same. And the only people I've seen who seem to hate Marquez are people who read him in the English translation.Name the big name authors you liked and the ones you hated, I'll try to recommend some to you based on that.
>>24748307Need more info about why you disliked these books or if it's just reading as a whole that you're growing burnt out on
So far this year I've read, >Small Gods - 9/10, luv me discworld>The Black Company, from Bleak Seasons to end - 10/10, luv me croaker>On Desperate Ground, 10/10 history book, korean war last stand vs 100,000,000 chinamen kino>The Forever War - 7/10, I wasnt a fan, but better than my initial impression a few years back when i put it down almost instantly>Discworld, Witches series - they run the gamut from 8/10-10/10. Discworld should be required reading for high school students>Sphere - 8/10, JP and Andromeda Strain were better. Felt like this dragged a bit.Currently reading Mien Kampf. I know its going to become a slog. Hitler is already rambling, but its fascinating to read an autobiography about his youth. Very interesting parallels you see in current political discussion regarding multiculturalism expressed by the man himself. I'm also doing light research on the side too to see just how much he's lying about to establish his own heroic ethos. I honestly believe that at least this first portion before he goes fully into antisemitic ranting should be required reading at least at the collegiate level. His intense hatred of slavs comes out too which is generally overlooked, but key to understanding his grand strategy in WW2.
time to read chiclit
>>24748389To add to this anon Haruki Murakami is very famously censored in his English translations removing anything offensive and a few times entire chapters cut because the publisher wanted shorter books.
>>24748455Is this also prevalent in the UK editions? I think I read that version because they randomly threw im the word "arse" for what I'm assuming was originally "ass". Other than that it's hard to know because it's the only version I read.
>>24748751Norwegian wood is the book I'm talking about my bad lol
>>24748756>>24748751Alfred Birnbaum was the translator of Hardboiled Wonderland which had over 100 pages cut.He may have done the same to Norwegian Wood and others and he isn't the only translator to do so.
>>24748418For real my guy. I just ordered the Neapolitan Novels. But i've heard Elsa Morante has been a great influence on Ferrante and she has like 2 big novels I would like to read before the Ferrante tetralogy.After that idk I may try Sally Rooney or KMS who knows
Read:>Justine, by SadeRepetitive, but also great. I loved all the philosophical digressions about nature. It also really prepared me for—>Thus Spoke Zarathustra, Beyond Good & Evil, On the Genealogy of Morals, Ecce Homo, Human, All Too Human (I & II), The Will to Power, and The Gay Science, by NietzscheTo read all these together also proved repetitive, but the ideas about the will and overcoming were comforting and instructive. Felt he was at his best when writing aphorisms. Nietzsche should have been a creative writer.>Whore, Hysteric, Exit, and Burqa of Skin, by Nelly ArcanLoved how she played with the barriers of autofiction (if it’s even appropriate to call them that). Really blunt and brutal and depressing books. Criminally under read.>Spy in the House of Love, by NinI still prefer her erotic story collections I think, but this book proved to me that she’s as good and important a Modernist author as anyone else. The prose was so smooth and beautiful.>Is There a Text in this Class?, by FishEveryone should read about interpretative communities. Great essay collection.>Wisdom & Metaphor, by ZwickyWish more essays were written like this, formally, with the claims on the left-hand page, and the quotes on the right. Enjoyable if self-indulgent and susceptible to idle musing.>Decreation, by CarsonLoved the oratorio on guns.>On Giving Up, by PhillipsFelt like a very long New Yorker article, but I was happy to learn what I learned.>This is Water, by WallaceWould’ve been happy to hear this speech when I was younger.>The Hole, by OyamadaPretty (if subtly) scary actually. Made me feel sad about women.>A Coney Island of the Mind, by FerlinghettiBeatnik, cat.>I Who Have Never Known Men, by HarpmanI wonder if it would have been stronger with a tighter structure/plot, but otherwise really liked it. Very depressing to imagine the scenario it depicts. Made me want to run away from the world.>Tampa, by NuttingGod this had fantastic prose: every sentence is funny, vile, quotable. Really successful satire, just as good as both>Ride a Cockhorse, by KennedyAnd>Success, by AmisEach had me consistently laughing out loud. Strong critiques with great sense for pacing, in both.>Piercing, by MurakamiNot as good as In the Miso Soup, but still full of exciting twists and turns.>Giving Godhead, by KriegerYucky poems, had me thinking about Christ. Uneven but interesting collection.>The Mirror of Simple Souls, by PoreteShame she was burned at the stake.>On Guerrilla Warfare, by MaoStrange to read claims that warfare is tantamount to civilized statesmanship.>Bad Behavior, by GaitskillReally really good, the best thing of hers I’ve read.>Selected Poems, by NowlanCozy.>Pricksongs and Descants, by CooverSome gems in here, but overall a very uneven collection. >The Weather, by Goldsmithlol>Something Happened, by HellerMight be better than Catch-22. Very dry but very funny, with a strong sense of voice
>>24748307R8 me /lit/ Young Men and FireJesus of Nazareth: The Infancy NarrativesOne Day in the Life of Ivan DenisovichAdult Children of Emotionally Immature ParentsThe Lost City of the Monkey GodTravels with Charley: In Search of AmericaVoices from ChernobylWill You Please Be Quiet, PleaseAnimal Wise: The Thoughts and Emotions of Our Fellow CreaturesButchers CrossingOut of the Silent PlanetMedium Raw: A Bloody Valentine to the World of Food and the People Who CookThrough A Glass, Darkly: Sir Aurthur Conan Doyle and the Quest to Solve the Greatest Mystery of AllJoylandState and RevolutionRocket MenA Brief History of TimeThe Lost City of ZNeuromancerThe Fall of HyperionHyperionBlackshirts and Reds: Rational Fascism and the Overthrow of CommunismRed PlentyThe StrangerThe Caves of Steel>Currently ReadingCatch-22New Seeds of ContemplationLa Palabra del Mudo
>>24749510What would you say motivates your choices in books?
