Hello /lit/. When I was a teenager, I read stuff like To Kill a Mockingbird, Catcher in the Rye, 1984, etc., and I enjoyed them. But, rereading these books, or reading other classics like Mice and Men, I find that...they feel lacking in depth. I think they're pretty solid, don't get me wrong, better than 99% of fiction. People way smarter than me say that these books are classics, but to be honest I don't even think they're better than some anime I've watched, like Steins; Gate or Clannad. So basically I'm a big fat fucking retard. I know these novels are supposedly "entry level." Do you guys have any recommendations for novels that I should read as an adult that will actually feel impactful?
>>25322882One Hundred Years of Solitude, it felt like a slow, degenerate anime or VN to me.
>>25322882Blood Meridian. But it's very unhappy, violent, and negative.
>>25322882Those American high school lit novels aren't "classics" in the sense others are, so it isn't just you. But also, you should think about WHY you want to read. Of course literature can be incredibly impactful, but if you only treat it as something to extract life lessons from, you might aswell just read the wikipedia article or watch a YouTube video. I suggest a change in perspective. Read for entertainment. Edification will come on its own. Anyway, pic related is a good start. Don't treat it as a checklist, but read what interests you most.
>>25322882Since you namedrop Steins;Gate and Clannad I assume that you want highly emotional, cathartic stories. If that's the case, then go straight for Dostoevsky; Crime & Punishment was life-changing for me back in high school, perfect for a beginner. I regret putting off reading TBK so much, as it's undoubtedly better than C&P, but my tastes changed too much over the years. I now value formal experimentation and the writer's technical ability more than great plotting or characters.Other great entry-level novels are:>The Road>Tartar Steppe>Stoner>Stranger (though I personally hate it)If you want something on the ambitious side, then Berlin Alexanderplatz hits like a hammer, but you might get annoyed by the unusual writing style.You can also go straight for poetry; Homer is both simple and profound, he was my poetic awakening. I used to hate poetry before I read the Iliad, and years later it's still in my personal top 10.And if you really want to sail the wider waters, to go for something life-changing, then I'd say the following books influenced me the most:>Moby-Dick>Pierre; or, the Ambiguities>Confidence-Man: His Masquerade>Ulysses>Gravity's RainbowI can confidently say that these changed me, they shaped my view of art. And I tend to view all other novels in the context of these 5, I compare the structure, writing style, themes.The Recognitions also seems like a foundational type of novel, one that can influence your thought process greatly, but I think I read it too late. I don't think anything will ever seem as revolutionary as GR to me.
>>25322931Looks super long. I'll put in on the list though.>>25322935I read it, it was fine. Fun to read, in a way. Not something I think about often. >>25322940>>25323025Thank you guys for the advice and recommendations.
>>25322882if you want depth, the obvious is Dostoyevsky, Tolstoy, Herman Hesse. for more recent stuff, the Unbearable Lightness of Being or The Book of Marlon
Read Moby Dick. If you like it, you will be allowed into the cool kids club. If you don't like it, literature is objectively not for you, and you should go back to anime.
