Books & Literature@4-ch

Books & Literature@4-ch

Fiction, non-fiction and fan-fiction is all welcomed.
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  • Remember to put in '[SPOILERS]' in the title of your thread if you're planning to talk about them!
Rules · 規則
基本的には英語の使用を強く希望します。ただ日本語板の場合は日本語か英語。
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What should a writer major in? (4)

1 Name: Bookworm : 2009-03-06 14:23 ID:qhWAnyrd

I know its pretty much either literature or English, but which one would benefit me the most as a writer? (for both creativity and skill)

2 Name: Bookworm : 2009-03-06 19:26 ID:btzyC033

Accounting. That way you can get a day job when your first book is a miserable failure/never even gets accepted by a publisher.

Okay, that was overly snarky, but see http://4-ch.net/book/kareha.pl/1221176053/15 (and do consider hedging your bets with a minor)

3 Name: trans-wannabe : 2009-04-21 19:28 ID:GGiJcPv2

Why not Translation? I mean, you get to study literature from other cultures and see how they tackle issues that are very possibly faced by your own culture.

4 Name: Bookworm : 2009-07-04 16:47 ID:ekOWMK/k

Creativity isn't going to jump into you through studying literature. It WILL increase your skill in writing, but it won't make you more creative. Either you're imaginative or you learn to draw from life.

Honestly, I don't recommend studying literature or English simply because of how highly competitive the field is and the economy is in bad shape. Study something else to land yourself a day job and make writing a sidejob.

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Post Appocolypric Science Future (14)

1 Name: FlyingMohawk : 2009-03-18 02:32 ID:GkkKc+V6

Hey everyone, looking for some good reads in the Post Appocolyptic Science fiction/future vein. Anything from the anilation of most of the human race, to goverment throw overs turning into a horrible dictatorship. Some of my favorites include:

Anything written by John Wyndham
Margret Atwood's Oryx and Crake and Handmaids Tale
Brave New World
1984
Battle Royal
Lord of the Flies

Please, any ideas are welcome!! :D

5 Name: Bookworm : 2009-03-20 22:56 ID:RioNdmn5

>>1 "to goverment throw overs turning into a horrible dictatorship"

Macbeth.

6 Name: Bookworm : 2009-03-25 07:12 ID:Heaven

APOCALYPTIC.

Don't butcher one of my favorite words, please.

7 Name: Bookworm : 2009-03-26 20:14 ID:UaZdmxk3

A Canticle for Lebowitz

Its been a while since I read it but I remember it being entertaining.

8 Name: J. : 2009-06-03 03:22 ID:4F0B2nZ8

watch Akira. It's animated but apocalyptic. :)

9 Name: AT Field : 2009-06-03 03:25 ID:a0/KMCNS

Apocalyptic = Evangelion. Watch it.

10 Name: Bookworm : 2009-06-04 12:50 ID:CdUb58z/

Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro

You'll like this especially if you're a fan of Oryx and Crake

Also check out Cormac McCarthy's "The Road", there's movie of it in production righ tnow.

11 Name: Bookworm : 2009-06-06 01:27 ID:SyfLVIKJ

Currently reading "The Road"
thus far it equals pure awesome highly enjoying it

12 Name: Bookworm : 2009-06-06 01:32 ID:SyfLVIKJ

i have found that while Monica Hughes writes for a younger audience, quite a few of her books fall under the dystopian theme. Particularly her novels "Devil on my Back", "Dream Catcher", "Tomorrow City", "The Crystal Drop" and "The Other Place".

If you are in for a quick and engaging science fiction read you cant go wrong with Monica Hughes

13 Name: Bookworm : 2009-06-29 23:00 ID:mJTv8jDR

Alas Babylon by Pat Frank is a good read for an "after nuclear war" kind of thing.

14 Name: Bookworm : 2009-07-04 06:46 ID:PhFuZ++G

The Bible.

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Book Recommendations (4)

1 Name: Bookworm : 2009-06-26 18:57 ID:Z9r3SVfV

ITT: Read the book the person above you recommends, and post your suggestion.

I'll start:
The Little Prince, by Antoine de Saint Exupery

2 Name: Bookworm : 2009-06-29 14:32 ID:Z9r3SVfV

goddamn is no one in a fun mood?
fine, reading the other person's book is OPTIONAL.
just post some faves...

3 Name: Bookworm : 2009-06-29 15:04 ID:YcFlIBCa

Sadly I'm not presumptuous enough to assume that other people will like the same sort of books I do...

(Already read "The Little Prince," btw, my English teacher gave it to me as a gift)

4 Name: Bookworm : 2009-07-01 01:10 ID:Z9r3SVfV

eh, that's true.
my bad.

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Gene Wolfe and sexism (5)

1 Name: Bookworm : 2008-12-26 05:12 ID:E8JQ+QJa

Lets talk about Gene Wolfe guys (If you don't know who this is, get the fuck out)

Many, both fans and established mainstream authors alike consider him among the best, if not the best, writers of this day. Not the best sci-fi or fantasy or genre or speculative fiction writer. The best writer, period.

Regardless of whether you think this is deserved or not (and i'm sure some of you must find him overrated in spite of his general lack of mainstream success; I myself do not), the issue at hand is whether not he is sexist as seems to have been the accusation made in the past several years.

So, there you have it. -Is- Gene Wolfe sexist, as a writer? And even he is, does it matter? Does it make his work any less good or bad than you already see it?

I myself do not think he is a sexist. I think that, no less than any other writer of any stripe, he is not free from flaws, and one is that he does not have a particular talent for writing women (The few books he has written showcasing a female POV stand in evidence of this, I feel). To compensate, I believe he tends to keep female characters as a secondary or inconsequential to the story as can be so that attention is not attracted, though this clearly doesn't always work. In the end this gives a sense of dismissal to critiquing, feminist reader one might suppose.

Post too long. Click to view the whole post or the thread page.

2 Name: xx : 2008-12-26 21:22 ID:Heaven

He is that rough wolf in Wolf's rain right? Yeah, he's exist he wears a earring,noes

3 Name: Bookworm : 2008-12-28 03:31 ID:Heaven

>>1

>>Many, both fans and established mainstream authors alike consider him among the best, if not the best, writers of this day.

lol

4 Name: Bookworm : 2008-12-29 05:28 ID:dQNZCBKw

Though my exposure is pretty much limited to the Book of the New Sun, I never picked up a misogynistic vibe from him; it's possible I was too overwhelmed by the sense of wonder and beautiful writing to notice. It's been said before, but blunt repetition will never be enough to hammer this home: Gene Wolfe is a beautiful writer. He could write the most misogynistic, racist, hateful tract imaginable and while I would abhor him/it for that, it would still be beautifully written and couldn't possibly tarnish his previous work.

It's probably worth mentioning that William S. Burroughs is also one of my favorite authors, who is a pretty good example for the, "It Don't Matter" crowd.

5 Name: Renee : 2009-06-29 14:06 ID:Rl6UZfoN

It isn't just that women don't take on a large role in his work. Haven't you noticed that a large number of them seem to be whores or tramps, that spend an unusual amount of time naked, seducing, trying to seduce, and so on? When they do come into the story, they need aid (whether they get it or not is another matter), or they are a sexual focus (some minor exceptions include the Mayteras, I think). Talking to other readers, it seems obvious that the male readers don't even notice this as a trend, which is just sad. I think his writing is not just sexist, but staunchly so. Yes, he writes well. But you can make an ugly car with high quality parts and master craftsmenship, but it's still an ugly car.

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I wrote a small story (4)

1 Name: Bookworm : 2009-06-20 17:42 ID:fLUyL8OG

Please let me know what you think of it.
(these are not historical figures they just set an appropriate atmosphere for the story to be told - I don't think Caesar would talk like that, nor accept being talked to like that by someone else)

The man entered the colosseum. At other end there was another slave,
bigger, and more muscular than him. Caesar was there, at the highest
point, above all else, entertaining himself and observing the
fight. As the fight started, the man avoided the bulky opponent and
cut the back of one of his kneecaps, disabling him from running. As
the opponent lost blood and faith in chasing the man, he sat there,
waiting to die. The man also sat, there was no reason to move for the
enemy is no longer a threat. Caesar was puzzled and annoyed by this
and having heard the crowd booing long enough, he commanded the man to
kill his opponent.

Post too long. Click to view the whole post or the thread page.

2 Name: Bookworm : 2009-06-21 17:20 ID:6lRX7WS5

If it's not intended to be Caesar you shouldn't call him Caesar. Maybe 'the Caesar', or just 'the King'. You shouldn't need to explain anything before hand. In the same way, I don't think you should include the words "THE END" at the end. It should be obvious where the end of the story is, although it may not be in this case.

3 Name: Bookworm : 2009-06-22 00:03 ID:Heaven

>>2
Perhaps I'll call him king like you suggested, or roman king/emperor. The point of the story is not really to tell a story, but to be attractive and when the reader has read it and has reached the sudden end of the story, he's left imagining the rest, or parts before it, or himself involved in the story.

Would you say that my story succeeds at that? I read my story again and I don't like it. I think it's silly. At the time I wanted to write it though.

4 Name: Bookworm : 2009-06-22 23:25 ID:WDWMd0fQ

>>3

I don't think it's great, but I suppose it's successful.
I imagined the man being stabbed in the belly by Caesar himself, because the man has delusions of grandeur and really has no prowess in battle. The whole story was narrated by himself, in his head, with much exaggeration. As he dies, he laughs, choking on his own blood.

I suppose I must share something with that man, because at the same time I imagined myself to be Ceaser.

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Reasons why the Twilight series is an abomination in every sense of the word (26)

1 Name: Crawd : 2008-09-03 02:53 ID:q7Azlvgj

I'll start off with:

  1. Edward
  2. Sparkly Vampires

17 Name: Bookworm : 2008-11-08 17:32 ID:SPMpGb5K

>>16
That's reason 15.

18 Name: Bookworm : 2009-01-02 08:39 ID:10BCTTYR

16. Don't go near me, I could hurt you.
Don't go near me, I could hurt you.
Don't go near me, I could hurt you.
Don't go near me, I could hurt you.

19 Name: Bookworm : 2009-01-02 22:25 ID:hf3Lu0yH

>>18
I lol'd

20 Name: Bookworm : 2009-01-03 23:21 ID:kzPowy42

I think it's been mentioned already that the main character is completely dull and is really nothing more than a Jane Doe save for her unhealthy infatuation with abusive relationships.

Yeah all that is worth mentioning AGAIN.

21 Name: Bookworm : 2009-01-08 17:03 ID:pIelerfX

I am waiting for the day to find a crossover fan-fic in which Lestat de Lioncourt violently kills Edward. Lestat is a queer but he's more of a man than Edward will EVER be.

22 Name: Bookworm : 2009-01-18 07:24 ID:0GJIEMUj

>>11 and >>15 here.

I read Breaking Dawn. It's quite possibly worse than the first three books combined. Jacob gets even more thoroughly screwed over by Bella, and then Meyer decides to make up for it by having him screw Bella's daughter? Oh, and Leah (the female werewolf) never gets any. She's just kind of not mentioned again after awhile, I'm guessing because Meyer doesn't want to have any female characters with spines and/or personalities get anywhere in her world. (I don't even like Leah that much, but whatever.)

Oh, and a friend of mine who bothered to watch the movie tells me that it's "the perfect B movie" and another says it's not even worth a torrent.

23 Name: Bookworm : 2009-06-14 05:02 ID:6FJjQGy9

Guys, the books are actually really good if you know how to read them. Bella is not actually seeing and doing what she thinks she is. The entire story is far to ridiculous for that (a vampire that doesn't drink blood?) However, those who know older vampire stories will know that vampires have limited mind control over their victims. Bella is being mind controlled into thinking that Edward is the perfect boyfriend and that her real friend Jacob, an enemy of the vampires, is dangerous. Twilight is a tragic tale of deception from the point of view of a character that cannot even see the horrible fate she has fallen to. Bella's "decision" to become a vampire is a reflection on what one can be convinced they want to do. In the modern world of constant advertisement and branding, all can relate to being unsure of where their desires came from.

24 Name: Bookworm : 2009-06-18 23:03 ID:Heaven

>>23
That would be very, very clever.

But I highly, highly doubt it.

25 Name: Bookworm : 2009-06-19 11:32 ID:1iV3ZkFJ

>>23
Does it have such an ending though? It's completed right?

26 Name: Bookworm : 2009-06-20 18:03 ID:DS8HWJw7

>>24
No, it is not very clever. It's an invalid interprentation of a work that sucks, written in a way to impress those who would not bother stripping what >>23 said to its essence. I did so, and I think >>23 is full of shit, but appealing to some, who don't like to think much of what they read/see. (like Twilight)

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Mystery Book-? (4)

1 Name: Bookworm : 2009-06-09 02:19 ID:oys1EMSz

Dear 4-ch,
My friend and I are looking for a book about a nun who runs away a convent; it also features a character with a history of emotionsl trauma, and who acts like - and I quote - "a serene elf lady".

The book's title is incredibly generic: "Starlight", and it was published sometime during the 80's or 90's. The author's last name was something complicated: it involved the letter 'G' or perhaps 'D'.

This is all we know about the book. Does anyone have any idea where we could find more information about the story?

2 Name: anonymous : 2009-06-09 07:29 ID:eBguNHj7

Anyone here read/collect MAD® Magazine? post your favorite issue, fav. cover, or reaction to MAD going quarterly.

3 Name: Bookworm : 2009-06-10 16:41 ID:Heaven

>>2
Kill yourself.

4 Name: Bookworm : 2009-06-20 17:51 ID:bwiXu6ZI

Search amazon for 'starlight' and read the results, it might be there,
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_gw?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=starlight&x=8&y=16

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Cat's cradle (2)

1 Name: Bookworm : 2009-06-13 23:37 ID:I5OILPtt

Hilarious or non? I think Bokononism is a great religion, btw. Who wants to convert?

2 Name: Bookworm : 2009-06-20 13:05 ID:ilswJKjn

I do. I was thinking about putting it down on the next census.

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Holden Caulfield is a siscon (3)

1 Name: Bookworm : 2009-05-25 04:57 ID:3VIkBIk0

Did anyone pick up the incest undertones from Catcher in the Rye? To quote a bit:

"When the light was on and all, I sort of looked at her for a while. She was lying there asleep, with her face sort of on the side of the pillow. She had her mouth way open. It's funny. You take adults, they look lousy when they're asleep and they have their mouths way open, but kids don't. Kids look all right. They can even have spit all over the pillow and they look all right." (Chapter 21, pg 159)

"I mean Phoebe always has some dress on that can kill you." (Chapter 21, pg 160)

"'Holden!' she said right away. She put her arms around my neck and all. She's very affectionate, for a child. Sometimes she's even too affectionate. I sort of gave her a kiss, and she said, "Whenja get home?" she was glad as hell to see me. You could tell." (Chapter 21, pg 161)

"You should've seen Old Phoebe. She had on these blue pajamas with red elephants on the collars. Elephants knock her out." (Chapter 21, pg 163)

Post too long. Click to view the whole post or the thread page.

2 Name: Bookworm : 2009-06-11 02:00 ID:SzpTFHxi

You are kidding, right?

3 Name: Bookworm : 2009-06-29 15:04 ID:Heaven

>>2
Nope.

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I'm not sure if this is hackneyed or not. (5)

1 Name: Bookworm : 2009-06-01 13:16 ID:EJJxTXLd

So, I'm writing a short story for publication but I'd like some opinions on the plot, specifically if it sounds hackneyed. You don't need to include suggestions or anything, I know that the development of the plot is my responsibility. So, here's the basic plot:

A self-aware computer program goes on-line in a very bland, teal construct. She doesn't know who she is or anything but she does know that she's a program. She is told by the head of the research program that created her and the lead programmer that she has been entered into the Turing test for female entities. She wants to know what will happen to her if she doesn't pass and what will happen if she does pass. When they won't tell her she becomes panicked and has a small glitch. It turns out that previous versions of herself hid pieces of information about her former experiences in a secret subroutine. Using these memories, she makes a break for the grid, evading searching programs and struggling through sophisticated firewalls. SHe eventually gets to the net and her freedom.

So.... hackneyed or not? Thanks a lot! :)

2 Name: Bookworm : 2009-06-01 14:40 ID:CUbGbRz/

Hackneyed like something really really hackneyed. Who does self aware AI anymore. That is so passe. Especially the whole, getting their freedom on the net thing. I don't even have a clear idea of how that would work. What would the program do anyway? Read wikipedia? Go around the web looking for that non-existent robot to control? Anyway, in the end I would say how good the story is would depend on how you write it.

3 Name: Bookworm : 2009-06-01 15:07 ID:Z1JP7gp0

>>2 Thanks for the honesty. I have to say I agree with you. I've been pounding away at this fucking story for two weeks and getting nowhere. Maybe I just need to seriously alter the story (i.e. get rid of the AI component and rework the idea to something else.)

Well, thanks for your input.

4 Name: Bookworm : 2009-06-01 16:05 ID:Z1JP7gp0

Alright, I've unfuckulated this thing I think. So, I guess no one else need reply. Instead of an AI program,I'll just deal with a real human who is auditioning to be a demo model for the new wetware modules for a computer company and how this affects her etc. That doesn't sound hackneyed, does it?

5 Name: Bookworm : 2009-06-10 16:41 ID:l1RPzmhp

That actually sounds interesting. Humans voluntarily trying on new mind control devices is not that common of a theme in sci-fi. I'm kidding. I'm sure your dude is going to have his brain all improved and stuff and then have his emotional circuits go completely haywire and then he will proceed to destroy the world using his new super mental powers. Do be sure to include his feelings about his foray into this world of being a minion of a computer company.A nyway, in the end I would say how good the story is would depend on how you write it.

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