The point of a "Starter Kit" should be to provide two things; In order of importance >An introduction to literature >A groundwork for being able to participate in discussions on Yea Forums Currently our various Starter Kits have been better for the second of these two. The common main books recommended are often something akin to >Ulysses, Infinite Jest, Gravity's Rainbow, The Stranger This is fine for an intro to Yea Forums but I debate not a good intro into literature. I tried reading Ulysses as my start into serious reading. It, I really honestly think, is NOT a good starter book. Same goes for Infinite Jest and Gravity's Rainbow. Perhaps I was, or still am, a brainlet. But I feel these works would scare off more then they'd entice. Except for The Stranger, which is starter material.
I propose a new list of works. Works that are both discussed on Yea Forums often, are considered classics, and are actually for those starting out. Pic related is the proposal. I wish to explain some of the choices; >Why that work of Shakespears when there's better ones? It's his most famous. >Why Notes From Underground and Disquiet? Because I feel these two books represent Yea Forums. They represent the mindsets of, what I see, as the typical posters.
>It's his most famous. I don't know, Hamlet is up there too and it's much better. I say Hamlet instead. I also think you need at least one Homer at the beginning there. Probably a Plato dialogue as an intro to philosophy, which can go in and out of being literature.
Juan Flores
It's certaily better than the other one full of burgers and niggers. But you don't have to propose anything, we aren't a committee. Just meme it until it's a thing.
Bentley Ramirez
I agree with using Hamlet instead
Evan Morris
FUCK Hamlet would've been better. Good catch. I'm not gonna meme anything. If something is really honestly a meme, then I won't ever has to post anything about it, and it'd still be a meme. Everything else is just Pseudo-Memes.
Hey guys just a daily reminder that you have to read these books before you join on ANY literature debate. I do this to make sure you don't embarrass yourself.
>starter kit >takes mastery of 4 languages to fully enjoy Based retard
Henry Garcia
this really is a good overview of Yea Forums's ecology
Benjamin Thomas
Yeah well enjoy never reading anything that you don't know the original language of. Translations don't perfectly capture the essence of these books, but the translations of these classics are STILL BETTER then 90% of books written in english.
Carson Hill
Translations exist
Jose Harris
>book of disquiet >Dante's Inferno
Nigga, these are bad books for a gateway into literature. They are for people who already read, but want something different.
Nathaniel Fisher
>he HAS to read all books in their original language Was locking yourself out of most western canon part of your plan?
James Rogers
Book of disquiet is alright for beginners, I guess, but I agree on Dante. It might also scare beginners away - specially given its format. Same reason I wouldn't put something like Faust on that list, despite it being essential literature. A book that arguably deserves its place on that list is Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, if only to get a beginning interest into Gothic fiction. Or maybe some Poe, as he's also accessible.
Oliver Adams
Dante is essential to the canon, nigga. Literally top 5 essential text. It's not some alternative book.
Carson Phillips
thanks man
thanks man
Nathaniel Wilson
What’s significant about don quixote, quite new to lit myself but I see it mentioned often
Kevin Moore
the first modern novel
Andrew Kelly
Why do you people act like it's impossible to learn other languages? There's no excuse for a first worlder to not be a polyglot by their mid-30s.
Josiah Rivera
Yes.You're probably right considering i'm from from south america and i know two languages being 20.
Jonathan Reyes
So you have to be able to read -archaic Italian -middle English -relatively archaic spanish -relatively archaic English -English -Russian -and Portuguese to get into literature?
James Collins
I don’t think any of those are good starter books except for Notes and R&J. Pessoa is definitely not starter lit. You need to go more basic, like Of Mice and Men, Picture of Dorian Grey, The Sun Also Rises, The Great Gatsby, 1984, Death in Venice, The Stranger etc.
I don’t think epics are a good choice for a beginner, they can be really hard to get into at first. I say this as a lover of Homer, Dante, and Milton.
Moby-Dick is definitely not starter lit, though it’s my favorite novel. There are some very obtuse and strange sections in that book that people today are still debating the meaning of. I also don’t think any starter kit should have extremely long books, like Don Quixote.
You need to give people a taste before saying “read the canon!”
I think they should all be short novels or novellas with a good, accessible style and themes which are not too tough to interpret.
Nolan Gutierrez
That would also mean you would have to be a polyglot by the age of 15, since it’s hopeless trying to learn a language if you’re monolingual past the age of 18, and it’s extremely difficult if you start past the age of 12, that is at least with the current program of language learning that essentially assumes no monolingual would interested in learning more than enough of a language for a simple trip to a foreign country. Essentially yeah, it locks out at least 75% of the native anglophones
Anthony Perry
South American "people"
Hudson Rivera
Yes user, there are people in South America
Benjamin Parker
We don't call em people where I come from.
Jordan Baker
so?
Adrian Cruz
>le racist /pol/tard Wow very edgy.
Robert Jones
The starter kit is designed around high school reading, not around Yea Forums. We already have the meme trilogies we don't need to pretend that high schools have changed their reading lists to included memes off a Malaysian brocade weaving forum. Confining it to Yea Forums is very fucking retarded because literature in general is much broader than Yea Forums, and to try to include >>A groundwork for being able to participate in discussions on Yea Forums is nobbling those interested in basic competence at the first post.
Henry Rodriguez
100% this
Josiah Perez
Odyssey or Iliad. Probably Odyssey though because it requires less knowledge about Greeks already and can be read as a fun adventure around some islands.
Sebastian Watson
Nah the last on is >twitter
Kevin Hill
>he honestly thinks it's reasonable to expect the average person (even if an avid reader) to speak the following languages at a level they can comprehend (archaic or sometimes complex) prose: >English >German >French >Italian >Spanish >Portuguese >Russian >Latin >Ancient Greek
