Alright, truth time motherfuckers

Alright, truth time motherfuckers.

Nobody can read hardcore lit all the time, and we all like to unwind from time to time. I mean, okay, my mom's ex used to read fucking manuals, and he was the most boring, autistic fuck I ever had the misfortune of meeting. The point is:

Go for it. Post what you read when you read trash books. Post what you read when you want to unwind. Cast off that Veeky Forums patrician bullshit for a second and admit it.

I'll admit:
when I feel like unwinding I read fanfiction and urban fantasies. I'm even planning on reading a Hellboy novelization. It's gonna be great (I hope).

Jesus dude. Are you okay?

I...
I don't know...

So this is the mind of a pleb...

Yeah. I think about tentacle frenching, like, all the time.

I'm not very smart and the complex texts always go way over my head, so I stick to reading sci-fi and fantasy.
Does anyone have any recommendations for someone with an IQ of 5 to not only read, but comprehend and really understand what I'm reading? Getting sick of having to put books down because I don't fucking understand any of it.

Okay, here you go:

I read Ligotti and Lovecraft, and even fucking Berserk.

Can you give me an example of a text you had this sort of trouble with?

To elaborate a little further, I can read something like Lord Jim or Catch 22 and understand the face value of whatever it is I'm reading, which is to say I understand the plot and what the characters are doing and blah blah blah, but I never know the implications of it. I don't catch on to the underlying themes or motifs or etc... In other words, my analysis is terrible (I think). heeeeelp meeeee

It's literally as simple as:

1) Read first sentence
2) If it makes sense, carry on to the next sentence with the context of the previous
3)if it doesn't make sense, think about the sentence until it does.

what's your favorite book?
I'll try to find some like it.

There are different kinds of readers. My father is a good reader, but he reads exactly the way you do. So long as you're enjoying them I wouldn't get too bogged down in your "analysis".

Focus on finding the underlying motifs that speak to you on a personal level before getting tied up exploring other interpretations. Not only will it be easier to interpret hidden meaning if its an original conclusion but you'll actually get more out of the themes and motifs you discover alone because it has more bearing on your life and mind.

well, I don't think you have to worry if that's the case. You seem a little like me: I thought I was just awful at math because I couldn't visualize large numbers. But it's not like that.
In depth analyzation of books is effort. People work at it- they write thesises on that and shit, you know? Watch some good movie reviews: the things they comment on are things you missed completely as a casual viewer. The same thing with books.

I loved Mary Shelley's Frankenstein because of the romantic writing. All of the characters were so well developed and as a result I felt as though I could truly sympathize and understand all of them. It was also not that complex so it was not too difficult to digest.
>if it doesn't make sense, think about the sentence until it does.
While technically true this doesn't always work. I usually end up researching the particular sentence or whatever I don't understand until I can get a semblance of understanding.
That's actually very helpful, thanks for the advice.

I forgot to mention, you can interpret ANYTHING.. there's no "right" interpretation of any meaningful text. There's also usually a variety of themes and allegories that make up most stories. As long as you can evidence from the text you could argue anything.

Just practice making your own connections basically. You can't train understanding any other way

Researching a sentence is completely allowed and actually what I meant by that

Good luck friend

Have you read the Haunting of Hill House?
Some Dumas maybe.

It just takes practice. Try writing an essay on whatever you're reading that analyzes something beyond the explicit plot. You'll get better over time

Yes but I'd eventually like to reach that level. I absolutely admire the living hell out of the people who are capable of doing in-depth analysis on complex texts, it's just so damn impressive they can extract the information they do from whatever it is they read and it's something I aspire to.
These posts have fundamentally changed the way I plan on reading books now. I'll read through and develop my own interpretation before reading others' (probably more developed) interpretations. Foreal user, your words had a huge impact for whatever reason, so thank you.
Never heard of them. I particularly enjoy books with themes of madness so the next one I was looking at is the Sufferings of Prince Sternondoch.

Neil Gaiman.
Manga and graphic novels.
Science fiction and fantasy.
"Comedy" books. Recently bought Aziz Ansari's book on romance being replaced by technology and social media addictions.
Literally Harry Potter.
Dave Eggers.
I bought a copy of I'm Travelling Alone from my local ASDA because it sounded cool.
I loved Animal Farm.
I want to buy almost all of the SF Masterworks sci-fi books from Golliancz.
I want more cyberpunk dystopia.

>I particularly enjoy books with themes of madness
then you'll love the Haunting of Hill House. please check it out

Ordering it now, thanks for the suggestion

awesome!
I hope you enjoy it.

Kek no. I always read challenging books to feel smarter than everybody else.
I'm better than you

my dick is as big as my forearm

My dick's bigger than yours

I don't know dude, I got fuckhuge forearms

Ask yer mum

GASP
me mum is happily married you mooseknuckle

Ur mum's happily married to this dick kek

I read Veeky Forums posts.

Read Blame! And Lucifer and Biscuit Hammer to cool off after finishing Moby Dick a mammoth of a book. Next up is Grapes of Wrath when it arrives (I loved East of Eden)

I like reading for plot

Life is to short to read bs if I want to experience something 'unitellectual' or whatever I watch a movie/series

Well, I've been meaning to ask Veeky Forums, is John Le Carré genrefiction? I would name him and Vonnegut for someone I read frequently when I "just want to relax".

do you get invited to a lot of parties?

I'm not a patrician, but I absolutely never read trash. And why would I? There is more worthy material than I can read in a lifetime, why should I waste my time on nonsense?

>nobody can read hardcore lit all the time
Yes, they can. Some people are more entertained by difficult literature and just because you have to force yourself through it to feel accomplished doesn't mean others aren't genuinely passionate about it. I used to read a lot of pulp, and I wish I could have those hours back. I'd honestly rather re-read something like The Recognitions or Ulysses than read what is basically a movie novelization written for the lowest common denominator.

I like to take a break and read a chapter of Infinite Jest when too much Plato, Stephen King and Shakespeare (in the original, not the modern or emoji) starts weighing on me