Hey there, Veeky Forums. Hope you're having a fantastic day, I just bought this book and it's my first ever book. I am not joking when I say that for my entire life I have never read a book before. A random person online that I had a debate with opened the topic of literature and he convinced me to get into reading.
I wanted this to be my first as I like things that have to do with Angels and Demons stuff like that. I sort of judged the book by it's cover and bought the more expensive and prettier book translated by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow instead of the John Ciardi one. I don't know if I made a mistake buying this one instead of the John Ciardi books but that's what I'm hoping to find out with the help of you.
I've never really got into reading because I thought it was boring and not interesting, I always prefered watching Movies and Animation over reading the source material. I don't know how hard it will be for me to stay focused and actually read the book and enjoy it but I guess I'll just have to see.
I'd love it if you shared your first experiences with books and reading. Thank you! :D
Connor Phillips
>I am not joking when I say that for my entire life I have never read a book before. If this isn't a ruse you will not get very far in that book.
Lucas Gonzalez
Not a ruse, I've never bothered to read a book. I know that I most likely will not understand it all but I hope it's a good introduction to literature.
Dominic Thompson
A good introduction to literature would be Siddhartha or Catcher In The Rye or Full Metal Jacket. Not an incredibly dense, incredibly religious, translated epic of a man's personal journey through Hell during the Middle Ages.
Ian Young
I definitely must check out "The Catcher In The Rye" in the future.
Colton Diaz
Dante is a very fine choice, but you should know that the Divine Comedy is a heavyweight of Western literature – it is a poetic summation of Medieval theology, a systematization of Late Antiquity metaphysics, a retelling of Graeco-Roman mythology and overall a phenomenal and deeply penetrating discourse on human nature woven with a masterful skill of allegory.
It is in many ways a book for educated readers, but I have met a few who enjoyed it without any serious background in the prerequisite matters – just make sure to read casually through it without looking anything up. That is, take from it what you can for now and don't bother with the elements that goes over your head. Longfellow is fine precision wise, though his language is a bit archaic, but it tends to hit a sweet spot here and there.
What is your general taste in anime, movies and - I suppose - videogames? I might have some recommendations based on that. Likewise, what was the argument that got you into reading?
Elijah Miller
With movies, anime and video games I love fantasy, supernatural stuff interests me. Yesterday, we were arguing about politics for some hours and we ended off on what we agreed on and I don't remember exactly how but he mentioned literature. I said that I've never been interested in it and he continued to tell me all about it, I felt like I was missing out on a lot of fun and the next day I decided to go and buy Divine Comedy as it's a book that has been in my head for a while after watching the anime 7 Deadly Sins. (even tho they have no connection, the book popped up when I searched for the 7 Deadly Sins).
Jordan Bennett
Well done on taking the initiative! But like other posters said, Divine Comedy is a bit heavy to start with. If you've legitimately never read a book through before, pic related is quite good, most of these are standard high school reading (don't let that put you off!), so they're all accessible and relatively short.
Gavin Hernandez
>Huck Finn >Lord of the Flies >Mice and Men Good list user; I'd add Steinbeck's Tortilla Flat and Cannery Row (both humorous). Also, Hemingway's short stories In Our Time.
Robert Scott
I see. I found 7 Deadly Sins to be an alright anime, but nowhere near Death Note, HxH (2011) or Berserk (1997).
The quintessential classic of fantasy would be The King of Elfland's Daughter by Lord Dunsany. It's a very dreamlike work with exceedingly beautiful writing and a great inspiration for later authors of fantasy, though largely forgotten these days.
The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov in Hugh Aplin's translation is likewise an excellent work of fantasy with diabolical undertones.
Personally, I'm particularly fond of Dark Fantasy. I would recommend the following in no particular order.
>The Golem, Gustav Meyrink >The Other Side, Alfred Kubin >The Circus of Dr. Lao, Charles Finney
The Gormenghast Trilogy by Mervyn Peake is simply out of this world and stands apart from the rest. If you have an affinity for the grim and ambigious atmosphere of Dark Souls, you'll love this.
The Worm Ouroboros by E.R Eddison is fairly difficult due to the nature of it's archaic language, but well worth the effort.
You can read up on these works online and see if it's something that takes your fancy.
Daniel Jenkins
How is it even possible to have never read a book before? (Assuming you live in a developed country) Even here in Burgerland this seems impossible. This must be a b8 thread. Explain how this happened to you, user.
Wyatt Long
A good introduction to literature would be something that you can understand. When I started lifting weights I didn't begin with the heaviest weights, I had to build up to them. It's kind of the same way with literature. You have to exercise your mind and build up to the classics.
I was a late starter when it came to reading and I spent a long time with lots of fantasy and young adult fiction because that was where my reading level was. It was the only sort of stuff that I could read without getting bored and discouraged. I built up my ability to comprehend, and to remember, and to concentrate on what I was reading and now I feel like I can read anything I choose to. I would recommend going a similar route as me.
You can get a cheap e-reader for about 20 dollars and you can pirate any book you want from Libgen. This can be a very cheap hobby to have and it will change your life for the better.
Jaxson Gonzalez
This thread is surprisingly enjoyable
Bentley Robinson
I have only sort of read one book that I had to because I was gonna fail a class. I only read half of it and looked the summery up online. I've avoided books basically.
Anthony Butler
Thank you! I did quite enjoy Death Note, although I did not watch HxH or Berserk because it didn't really appeal to me. I like boyish fantasy, like in 7 Deadly Sins the characters were overpowered and a lot of "fun" stuff happened.
I will definitely keep note of everything you've mentioned and check them out. Once again, thank you for your time and effort. :D
Robert White
This thread has to be bait or we really have an infestation of 15yo kids. There's someone even praising death fucking note in the comments.
Nathaniel Bennett
What's bad about praising Death Note?
Jace Adams
Let's not derail the thread by discussing a well-known anime. This is a literature board
Daniel Perry
xD
Owen Rodriguez
It's against the rules, but I think it's great that they start so early. Wish I had had 4chin around when I was fifteen.
Aaron Fisher
Yeah something's fishy
Anthony Walker
lol
Liam Bailey
867-5309
Asher Reyes
Good start OP, hope you enjoy literature and keep finding more cool books for you. Since The Divine Comedy is a classic, maybe you can check other classics, if you don't care, let me name a few of my favorite ones:
-The Complete Storys of Edgar Allan Poe (short storys of horror [he wrote poetry too]) -The Complete Storys of H.P. Lovecraft (short storys of horror) -The Flowers of Evil by Charles Baudelaire (poetry) -The Lord of the Flies by William Golding(a novel) Thousand and One Nights (a big collection of storys) 1984 by George Orwell (a dystopian novel) Starship Troopers by Heinlein (a sci-fi novel) Lolita by Nabokov (a novel) -Complete Plays of Shakespeare (a collection of plays [he wrote poetry too]) -Don Quixote by Cervantes (a comedy novel) -Orlando Furioso by Ludovico Ariosto (a epic poem)
There are more, but I think I told you some of my personal favorites in the classic literature, and you should check others suggestions. If you wanna try more contemporary novels, you may try:
- A Song of Ice and Fire series by George R.R. Martin (fantasy novels) - Iris Hotel by Yōko Ogawa (a novel) - A Wild Sheep Chase by Haruki Murakami (a novel) - The Coldest Girl in Coldtown by Holly Black (a edgy YA novel) - Misery by Stephen King (a horror novel) - Battle Royale by Koushun Takami (a thriller novel) And there is more, but this is enought, if you want, I can search for more.
I wont say the classical works of philosophy and politics neither the newer ones because idk if you are up to more "tecnical" reading, but as for literature, I think I gave you a nice stack of options. Hope you give a try in some of the ones I told you and hopefully, you will enjoy them and find others very cool by your own.
You can ask for me if you wanna. I have a ton of then, and the only thing I can do with then other then read and re-read is to recommend and sometimes shitpost about them.
Brody Fisher
Didn't read it, but do not discourage yourself. Even if it's too hard, try it, and if you get bored if it, just try something easier. You've got nothing to lose.
Austin Phillips
Oh, oh yeah, Clockwork Orange is great, a personal favorite.
Jayden Flores
Great buy OP, hope you have a good read. Here in Italy the Divine comedy is mandatory in most high school programs.
The picture of Dorian Grey is not that easy to read though. I had a hard time sometimes during the most philosophical parts of it.
Camden Richardson
>high schools who demand people to read Divine Comedy Thank the lord I wasen't born in Italy. I am still reading the Inferno.
Lincoln Diaz
They let you digest it pretty nicely, though. In most cases you read the hell section in the third year, purgatory in fourth and heaven in fifth. It all depends on how good your teacher is at organizing.
My teacher was utter shit and fucked up the whole program, deciding to stop reading dante after a couple chapters. We had to read it on our own anyway because the final exam comprised questions regarding the comedy.
Italian high schools fucking suck when it comes to the average quality of teaching, glad I'm a britbong student now.
Owen Rogers
>dorian grey >hard to read wtf is wrong with you
Jeremiah Bennett
I mean, its great that you want to get into literature and all, but I've been reading my whole life and I still have a little trouble with that one, definitely not a starter book.
Blake Martin
Yep, most people here eitheir are autistic or very away from Veeky Forums culture
Robert Rogers
Madonna ma quanto cazzo è letteraria la scuola italiana. Studio di Divina Commedia, classici greci e latini obbligatori. Gli unici che iniziano veramente coi greci qua sono gli italiani.
>My teacher was utter shit and fucked up the whole program, deciding to stop reading dante after a couple chapters Well, I guess that sucks-- >We had to read it on our own anyway because the final exam comprised questions regarding the comedy What in the seven shits
Lucas Gutierrez
If you find the book too hard OP read Siddhartha. Not because it's the easiest but because I think it's one of the books which can be appealing to everyone.
Christopher Powell
I really hope I don't find it too hard as I feel like I should enjoy this book. A lot of people recommended Siddhartha and I definitely put it on my list.
Nathan Martinez
Hey, a little advice from me: absolutely dive into the deep end. Don't bother with the small fry, you understand? Just read the good works which actually matter (and are actually fun). Don't waste time on Catcher in the Rye or Nineteen Eighty-Four.
