In elementary school I loved reading, but after reading boring as shit books I kinda drifted away.
During high school I was a lazy fuck and didn't read because I spent too much time wasting my life away.
I really want to get into reading now because it just seems so peaceful. What are some good books to help me get back into reading? In particular, science fiction/fantasy books.
you're such a fucking idiot man, just search the question instead of making shitty threads with shitty questions that are answered a billion times a day. fuck off, seriously. no one cares about your "wow i stopped reading >:(" bullshit, you're lazy and no book is going to get you "back into" reading.
I'm gonna help you out here.
Read 'The Golden Cockerel' by Juan Rulfo. It's not sci-fi/fantasy, but it will get you back into reading.
It helped by my friend who hated books all his life. He was my roommate and I just left it in his stuff to read it.
He's become an avid reader since then.
Catcher in the Rye
Thanks for your help! I appreciate it! :D
Pretty much this I doubt anything is going to get you into reading. You just don't sound like the bookish type, and maybe reading and other "intellectual" activities just aren't your thing. For instance, you seem to be unaware of the very basic distinction between literature and genre fiction (e.g. between someone like Fyodor Dostoevsky and J.K. Rowling). Literature is generally more thoughtful and reflective and is considered a form of art, whereas genre fiction tends to be repetitive, formulaic, and unoriginal - and hence is more so a form of entertainment... Coming to a literature forum and asking for a recommendation for genre fiction (namely scifi/fantasy) just reveals that you probably have very little interest or passion for intellectual pursuits, be they artistic, philosophical, scientific, or mathematical. Of course, that can change over time, but it usually doesn't. I'm not trying to discourage you, but I'm just saying all this because it often seems to me that people develop an urge to become more "intellectual" so as to impress or create a certain image - so if you're going to do this, do it because you're actually passionate (and anyway if you're not, this phase probably wont last long). That being said, if you'd like to better understand the distinction between "literature" and "genre fiction", just check out Wikipedia.
Perhaps, however, you've just begun a journey that will lead down a path to you discovering literature and ultimately other intellectual hobbies and interests. If that's the case, then awesome - some recommendations are Stendhal, Lewis Carroll, Ivan Turgenev, Alexandre Dumas (kinda genre fictiony, but still literature), Honore de Balzac, etc. Of course, there are many other great authors, but I just named a few off the top of my head that I think would be the most interesting to a newcomer (in particular, I recommend Stendhal and Turgenev).
>"You don't know this super specific distinction between stuff you never really gave a shit about until now, you must be retarded and will never have any interest in anything related to academics."
>majoring in physics at one of the better colleges in my state.
>wat
I imagine pic related is you. You sound like a fucking elitist asshole, my dude.
That being said though, thanks for the recommendations.
Here's pic related because I'm literally retarded and forgot about it.
El Túnel - Ernesto Sabato
Really? Opposite for me. I hated reading in elementary school. Didn't finish a single one of the assigned readings. I didn't enjoy reading until high school when the assigned readings got better.
Mason & Dixon is the best fantasy novel I've ever read
I think that my personal attitudes tends to the appreciation of literature, but I've never caved in.
I've wasted my teenagood away, but (sorry if I'll sound pretentious) I've always had a keen eye for the aesthetic experience: I've spent most of my time drawing and playing piano, or writing scripts with my best friend, always trying to reach something new, since everything that was available did not satisfy me.
Being so entrenched in counter-culture, I've literally never thought about looking for high culture. I've never read literature, philosophy and poetry, analyzed paintings, listened to classical music or paid attention to architecture, even though in these fields are included the pieces of art that are closer to my sensibilities.
Now, I can manage to read, since I'm genuinely so interested in what I usually read, but somehow I think I'm lacking method. My analysis is weak and my memory is too vague (it's very rare for me to actually remember a quote, although summarizing it is not a problem).
Are these skills that can be trained? Or they're inherent to the reader's intellect? Have I just fucked up my brain with too much internet?
More in general: what's the best way to deliberately train all of those skills that are associated with the act of reading?
the fact that you replied so smugly is evidence that you're a lazy faggot who isn't looking for actual advice, i doubt you thought 30 seconds about your "problems" before posting the question here. the site isn't a blog site, go fuck urself :D
Don't know how exactly it was "smug" when the asshole basically told me to go fuck myself for asking for advice.
Why is everyone on this board a bunch of faggoty elitist losers? All I wanted was some fucking recommendations, Jesus Christ. No need to be so fucking rude.
kys
Reading isn't going to magically fix your shit life. Do it because it's enjoyable, not because you want to replace the vidya with a more pseud hobby
Yah, this board just tries to shun and scoff at people who read for enjoyment and other "less noble" pursuits. There is a sci fi/fantasy thread that isn't filled with raging, hate filled autists (we're just the regular kind), so you can check there.
If you want to start reading again stop shitposting and pick up the first book you find, you don't need recommandations.
That was kinda the whole point of my post...
>Why is everyone on this board a bunch of faggoty elitist losers?
Because endless recommendation threads literally kill communities. Being elitist assholes is the only way to not have "just read 1984 now what" discussions every day.
You sound like you might yet succeed. Start with novellas or short stories collections, that way you're getting a sense of accomplishment from the get go.
For novellas try, The Stranger, The Tunnel (Sabato), Animal Farm, Chronicle of a Death Foretold, or The Death of Ivan Ilyich.
For short stories collections check Bestiario or Las armas secretas (Cortázar), Will You Please Be Quiet, Please? (Carver), A Good Man is Hard to Find (Flannery O'Connor), Forty Stories (Chekhov), Nine Stories (Salinger), or after the quake (Murakami).
You could have deleted the entire top paragraph and just posted the second one you pompous faggot
Here's a tl;dr for you OP - stop browsing Veeky Forums, shitty sites, social media, stop playing video games and stop watching movies, anime, yt videos etc. It will completely detox your brain: now you can get on with your reading.
>Movies
Shitty movies perhaps.