Gonna join my town's public library for the first time tomorrow in my 22 years of existence...

Gonna join my town's public library for the first time tomorrow in my 22 years of existence. New Veeky Forums guy here so recommend me some shit to pick up from there, remember I haven't read a book since my high school literature so let it be something that's easy to read for starters and gets me going there again.
Don't really trust the sticky recommended reading so decided to consult with you lads.

It's too late if you're 22. Sorry.

desu going to the library is a bad way to start. a lot of people check out the book and then have to return it, and that can be an excuse for not reading it. if you buy it, you have to put some money down, and you have a physical copy forever, both of which make you more likely to actually read it

or you know, just have discipline and brain and do the right thing, which is reading a book and doing lots of hard sweat work

I'd suggest you to start with Shakespeare. Most of the plays are really short and they are a great read regardless of how much you understand.

Novellas so they're all less than 200 pages, or should be.

very good graphic

Note from the underground
Or
Cannery row

Some variety.

What kind of books did you like when you still read? What are your hobbies and interests?

> never been to a library in 22 years
Today's youth, eh.

not OP but maybe someone can answer my question:
Which do I read first Paradise Lost or Divine Comedy
>Serious question
Also what books do I avoid to not look like a pretentious cunt when I'm at the library

On the other hand, having a due date can push you to finish because you're racing against the clock.

Doesn't really matter, both are reliant on a basic knowledge of the bible, which, if you live in the western sphere you should have. Beyond that, the divine comedy, if you read it, should hopefully include footnotes explaining half the dudes who are getting tortured in Inferno.

Here's the thing about your latter question: only on the internet will you get that kind of judgement. Most people are going to assume you buy/check out the books you do because you are geniunely interested.

Starship Troopers. But really, browsing the shelves is part of the fun.

get the catcher in the rye or what worked for me - lat reader too - was the lord of the flies.

What's so great about notes from the underground? I haven't read it, I'm just not completely sold by its description. Is it really just ramblings of a bitter man?

Start with the greeks.

good book to start with is stoner by john williams. read a few more books then just dive in and do moby dick, then you'll have the hang of it

Notes From Underground is a political, philosophical and religious dissertation narrated by an author unique in tone and experience from Dostoevsky himself. It is notable for it's extremely derisive tone, marked with dark humor and interspersed with commentary from Dostoevsky himself.
Mainly it's a response to Chernyshevsky's "What is to be Done?", a socialist and moralist text that is widely identified as the crux of the socialst movement in mid-19th century Russia and which Dostoevsky et al hold equally responsible for the sweepingly anti-social nihilism of the later 19th century Russia as explored in Crime & Punishment.

OP here

Don't be like that lads, its not like I never read a single book in my life, its just when I finished high school it all stopped.

Pretty much all the lit that was needed in high school.

For others who were kind enough to suggest stuff, I thank you, I'll check em all down and pick up what they have tomorrow.

In that case test the waters, see what kind of literature you like, and come back in a few months and we'll be able to help you more.

Here's a few authors you can check out: Philip K Dick, Doestovesky, Hans Fallada, Charles Dickens,Italo Calvino, Aleksander Solzhenitsyn. All of their works touch on extremely broad themes and do a bit of research in advanced and decide which one you'd wanna check out first. Of course, asking friends and family is all good too. Honestly, you could even refresh yourself and read what you read in high school.

>Doestovesky
why.jpg

Also, if you're itching for some mythological classics and don't want to get bogged down in the Greeks, Seamus Heaney's Beowulf is stellar and widely available.

Thanks, Amazon didn't really say much. Much appreciated.

>what books do I avoid to not look like a pretentious cunt when I'm at the library
Well, someone is definitely going to judge you if you read philosophy and literary fiction, so maybe you should only read YA and fantasy. But then Veeky Forums and similar people are going to judge you for being a pleb cunt. Maybe you shouldn't read at all. But if you don't read at all people are going to judge you again for being illiterate and stupid.
Maybe read whatever the fuck you want and don't give a shit about the few sad fucks who care so much about your choices. Only Veeky Forums judges other people like that and only Veeky Forums expects to be judged by other people like that.

Not that user but Dosto is pretty accessible, I see many people who aren't big readers enjoying him. Crime and Punishment is basically a detective novel, just inverted and with philosophy.

woot north cambridge, that library is good for reading but not for borrowing--they have a very slim fiction selection.

That's not where I'm joining lol its just the first pic that popped up on google when I searched for public library.

Start with the Greeks. It's a meme for a reason. The Iliad and Odyssey are essential reading and a great place to start as they are pretty straight forward. I recommend the Latimore translations but that's up to your personal preference.