Literature Discussion Thread

[Nipplestockings]

Hello guys, I was thinking since we have a thread for most other forms of media, we could use one for good ol' books. I know there was a reading thread at some point in the past, but it's dead and I couldn't find it in my ten seconds of looking.

What have you guys been reading? Anything interesting that you'd like to discuss? Looking for recommendations? Want to recommend a book/series/comic? Go ahead right here.

I've been reading Crime and Punishment at the insistence of my friend, and I'm about 50 pages in and loving it so far. Dostoevsky is a fantastic storyteller and he knows how to expertly insert the reader into the shoes occupied by the miserable protagonist and his dreadful plight.

I've also gotten into Grossman's Life and Fate, which has been called the Soviet War and Peace - and rightfully so, in my opinion. It follows the story of a number of people during world war 2 at the time of the battle of Stalingrad - from mothers at home in Smolensk to soldiers fighting at the front, to bureaucrats struggling with paperwork in Moscow. It's probably one of the best books I've read in a long time.

Russian literature is quickly becoming my favorite. Anyway, please do tell. I want to talk. Now. Pls.

A basic recommended reading list:

Spoiler

[close]

And finally, thread music so we can all feel like the true pretentious pseudo-intellectuals we are.

[Killington]

I read Solaris and Dune a while ago, both are excellent books.

[Shredder]

Nice idea. Probably find some good recommendations to put to use from people here.

[Dan the Seagull Chef]

A recommendation or two.

Wheel of Time 1-6ish then read a summery of 7-10(extremely boring) then read the rest. Wonderful fantasy series with a large cast as well as quite a bit of back story.

The Mortal Instruments all of them plus the spin off(soon to be another spin off). More of a teen drama, it keeps me entertained.

Percy Jackson. Surprising decent books.

[Nipplestockings]

Nice idea. Probably find some good recommendations to put to use from people here.

Yeah. I might start a FSE recommendation list in the OP if people start suggesting enough stuff, but that's for later. I might also add that literally anything is okay to be discussed here - I know I only mentioned classical literature, but graphic novels, erotica, twilight, comics, etc. are also fine (although ur a cunt). Feel free to talk about whatever you please, I'm not going to stamp out unconventional/controversial tastes or discussions.

Percy Jackson. Surprising decent books.

I agree. I read them when I was younger and I enjoyed them, and then I re-read them earlier this year and they were unexpectedly just as good as I remembered them to be.

Other good teen fiction series are Alex Rider, Pendragon, and Artemis Fowl. Most people know them anyway, but I think they stand up to the test of time exceptionally well.

[Nipplestockings]

What do you guys think of Spritz, the new digital reading method that was introduced a couple months ago? It basically reasons that the vast majority of time people spend reading is moving their eyes from one word to the next, and so Spritz deals with that by flashing words in front of your eyes in rapid succession. It makes reading far faster, and Spritzinc says it doesn't impact reading comprehension - something that is being debated by its critics.

Try it out here -
http://www.spritzinc.com

And here's an article on it -
http://shelf-life.ew.com/2014/03/06/new-speed-reading-technology-might-change-reading-forever/

What do you guys think of this? Revolutionary? Worrying? Wonderful? There was an article written in 2010 - far before the release of Spritz, that sort of touched upon many of the issues that critics of Spritz raised. Those being convenience and sleekness over understanding and thinking, and reading as a distraction and time passer rather than as a tool for learning and discovery.

http://www.wired.com/2010/09/the-future-of-reading-2/

All interesting stuff. Any thoughts?

[ClearlyInvsible]

I've always been a pretty big reader, actually I read "To Kill a Mockingbird" for the first time when I was 3 3/4 (Yes I realize that sounds crazy, no I'm not trolling).

It's always been to me that books seem to teleport you to a different world, one where you can immerse yourself in something other, if only for a small time.

Anyhow, my personal favorite book would be "The Book Thief" by Marcus Zusack. I always felt to to be disturbingly underrated for the honest masterpiece it really is. Hell I'd compare this to the likes of Slaughterhouse 5 when it comes to novels about war. "I am the Messenger" is a good book by Zusack also.

Series I've read are Percy Jackson and Hunger Games

[Madbull]

Just finished to Kill A Mocking Bird in school, I might have to kill myself shortly.

[Shredder]

Whoaa that Spritz thing is really neat.

[Marcellus]

I have just started "All Quiet on the Western Front" and have loved it so far.

I have also started "Propyläen Weltgeschichte" (1961-65), a book series about the history of the world in eleven volumes, although I seem to lack the last volume... each volume has about 600-700 pages, so I need to allocate some time for reading. I plan to have read all of it by the end of 2015, though!

[Nipplestockings]

Just finished to Kill A Mocking Bird in school, I might have to kill myself shortly.

Yeah, a shame assigned reading in school does that to people. I really wish they handled mandatory reading differently, so people didn't end up hating the books they were assigned even they might have enjoyed them in other circumstances. But yeah, I was never too big of a fan of To Kill a Mockingbird, even though I never had to read it in school. A tad bit overrated, I think.

[Colonel Howe]

Need to start Gravity's Rainbow by Pynchon. I'm in a non-fiction history phase of reading now though.

As for Hemingway, I personally don't like him with his machismo bullshit

[Allasaphore]

I enjoyed reading Crime and Punishment, personally. It's a great book.

All Quiet on the Western Front is another must-read, as well as "Man is Wolf to Man".

[Colonel Howe]

I've always been a pretty big reader, actually I read "To Kill a Mockingbird" for the first time when I was 3 3/4 (Yes I realize that sounds crazy, no I'm not trolling).

It's always been to me that books seem to teleport you to a different world, one where you can immerse yourself in something other, if only for a small time.

Anyhow, my personal favorite book would be "The Book Thief" by Marcus Zusack. I always felt to to be disturbingly underrated for the honest masterpiece it really is. Hell I'd compare this to the likes of Slaughterhouse 5 when it comes to novels about war. "I am the Messenger" is a good book by Zusack also.

Series I've read are Percy Jackson and Hunger Games

I read a Percy Jackson book every week. If books were shit, those books were "the shit" in terms of teen literature. Know I can barely stand young adult novels

[ClearlyInvsible]

I like Percy Jackson tbh, I started reading them around when the Lightning Thief came out and just kept reading. I almost feel like I'm growing up with the demi-god kids.