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File 12893996859.jpg - (464.15KB , 850x565 , books.jpg )
183 No. 183 [Edit]
I'm not sure where to post it but I think it will fit nicely in /ot/.

So, don't you guys read lots of books? I feel that it's pretty much common sense to assume that you do - I mean, you've got to do something with all this free time.

I actually wanted to post it in /fb/ to ask how fellow Brohnos (and Tohno himself) feel about a board dedicated to literature but maybe we can keep all of it in one thread (but then again, we've got a few boards which barely get any traffic at all).

So, let's have a literature thread! Post about what you've read recently, what you're currently reading and what do you plan to read.

Last book I finished: Cat's Cradle
Short opinion: Good book but I liked some of his other books much more (especially Breakfast for Champions, although Vonnegut himself wasn't to fond of it). Still, definitely worth a read.
Favorite quote: '"Beware of the man who works hard to learn something, learns it, and finds himself no wiser than before," Bokonon tells us. "He is full of murderous resentment of people who are ignorant without having come by their ignorance the hard way."' SO. TRUE.

Currently reading: Atlas Shrugged
Opinion: Well, I'm only some 200 pages in so it's too early to really form an opinion, but so far it's very enjoyable even though my views on various topics differ greatly from Rand's opinions.

What I'll (probably) read next: The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle, I've been putting it off for years.
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>> No. 184 [Edit]
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184
Last book I finished: Lolita (Actually "The Idiot" by Dostoevsky, but Lolita is more relevant)

Short opinion: Fantastic narration, very witty and subtle humor that made me crack up a few times and very interesting theme. (‐^▽^‐)

Favorite quote: "I am trying to describe these things not to relive them in my present
boundless misery, but to sort out the portion of hell and the portion of
heaven in that strange, awful, maddening world--nymphet love."

Currently reading: Das Parfum (Reading it on German, English title probably Perfume)
Opinion: Not too far in, but very interesting. I just love late 18th, 19th and early 20th century settings.
>> No. 185 [Edit]
i used to love discworld books but when i grew up they because too aspie for my tastes
i think i read LOTR aswell
>> No. 188 [Edit]
>>184
I loved Lolita, great book. I'm a big fan of novels that explore the thoughts of one character deeply like that. Speaking of, how was The Idiot? I've read Crime and Punishment and Brothers Karamazov and I'm feeling like more Dostoevsky right now.

Last book I read was a little volume of short stories by Ernest Hemingway. I'd never actually read any of his stuff before. I like his style; it's simple and clear but sometimes there's a lot left implied. The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber is a good one to look up.
>> No. 189 [Edit]
>>188
The Idiot is pure Dostoevsky. Russia, brilliant psychoanalysis, exciting narrative.. The characters are so well done, their psyches are so well put together, it's fantastic. Unlike Crime and Punishment and Brothers Karamazov, Idiot focuses, amongst others, mainly on love, so I don't know how you'll find it. And it's a huge, heavy book. Needs time and effort to digest.

A lot of people didn't like the book, but I thought it was pretty good. I recommend it.
>> No. 190 [Edit]
I used to read a lot of books when I was younger but I stopped as time went on, I keep telling myself I'm going to start doing it again, but I just keep not getting around to it despite having downloaded tons of ebooks.
>> No. 196 [Edit]
>>190
yea this happened to me too, except I actually buy the books since I think it'll make me more likely to read it.

I did read blindsight about a month ago though, it was pretty interesting.
>> No. 370 [Edit]
I usually get a book or two for christmas, but aside from that I don't really read them. I would read more, but I don't like reading at my computer, and I'm too lazy(scared) to go to the library.
>> No. 377 [Edit]
Fuck. FUCK. Tohno, please, bring back the edit function. ;_; After I typed the first post I made sure to check wether I made any mistakes (being the dyslectic I am) and sure enough, I typed 'to' instead of 'too'. But I was 100% positive I corrected it. ... I feel like killing myself now (well, it's not like something new or anything). I'll live in eternal shame.



... So anyway, to make this rant somewhat topic related I remebered what I've read before Cat's Cradle (and why I forgot about it). I wanted to read Zusak's 'The Book Thief' and I ended up buying both it and 'The Messenger' (since the latter was 66% off if you bought both of them together). I read 'The Messenger' first (since Zusak wrote it before 'The Book Thief') and boy, what a pile of shit that was. That's what you get when you read a story about a normalfag, I feel like I totally deserved it. It will take some time before I'll muster up the courage to read 'The Book Thief'. After that I will stick to the classics, there are hundreds which I haven't read yet.
>> No. 378 [Edit]
>>377
Sorry man, we're still working on figuring it out.
It's not as easy as just copying code from the old site. (most of ib4f's software was hidden from us.)
We're pretty much trying to figure it out from scratch.
>> No. 379 [Edit]
I used to read regularly in primary school (elementary school). Nowadays I hardly read anything besides manga and forum posts. Actually, a lot of the stuff out there bores me. The last book i've bothered to pick up was Orwell's essays which i've read several times. Boy I like Orwell.

I write on a semi-regular basis though, mainly articles about my opinion or to explain some technical thingamabob. Unfortunately my skills haven't improved at all, probably from lack of osmosis of other people's writing techniques. My style is more like a blunt weapon to hit people over the top of their head with facts.
>> No. 381 [Edit]
Currently reading: Notes from Underground // 2666
I really love Notes from Underground. I haven't connected that heavily with a book in my life. The first half has some parts that remind me of the whole waifu situation, actually (namely the hen house/Crystal Palace section).
2666 is interesting as well, from what I understand (which I don't), it's about the decay of Latin culture. It's very At The Drive-in-esque at times, which is probably why I like it. I love Bolaño's style, but, it is a translation from Spanish, so I can't say I love his style - I love the translator's style. Either way, I want to read more of his stuff.

Last read: The Trial // The Fountainhead
The Trial is just...insanely inexplicable. I do understand that Kafka's strength lies in forcing the reader to re-read his work (according to Albert Camus, anyway). I plan to revisit it soon. Just because something is inexplicable doesn't mean it's awful.
On the other hand...The Fountainhead was ridiculously simple. Moving from The Trial to The Fountainhead was like moving from Frank Zappa to Nirvana. Personally, I enjoyed both. It's just that one is so much more simple than the other. I really disagree with Rand's opinions in some places, on other subjects, I think she has something.

Plan to read: No Longer Human.
I really tried to watch Aoi Bungaku last year (?). I really did. But then I realized, "Hey, this is an actual book. And the actual book is probably better than this anime." I'd love to read this novel. It looks like the shit. Osamu Dazai looks like the shit. It appears to be like Underground for Japan - Just a lot more angst-y, with that special kind of Japanese angst that I've grown to enjoy. And it was translated in my home state. But first, I should finish the two I'm working on now.

I'm also taking a break from Atlas Shrugged. I just started Part 3, and decided I wanted some Russian-styled bitterness.
>> No. 382 [Edit]
>>381

The world is a small place. I'm currently reading Atlas Shrugged, too (as I wrote in the first post). Also, 'The Notes from Underground' have been on my to-read list for a really long time. And just a week or so ago I found out that Kafka didn't want his works to be published. On his deathbed he told his friend where he hid them and asked him to burn all of it. And to top it off 'Fountainhead' was recommended by someone on /so/ before we moved and it's one fo the main reasons why I'm actually reading Atlas Shrugged.

Oh, did I mention that I'm the guy who complained about lack of save states on /so/?


Anyway, do you guys listen to any music while reading books or do you prefer complete silence? I sometimes listen to some jazz (I love The Dave Brubeck Quartet) and I use RainyMood.com every now and then. How about you, Brohno?
>> No. 383 [Edit]
>>382
I prefer to listen to music, though really quietly. I've been reading the last book of the Hunger Games series by Suzanne Collins while listening to Japanese post-rock bands a picture of her and Water Fai.
>> No. 385 [Edit]
>>382
Hey, I'm the guy who complained about my shitty past and wanting to break things sometimes.

I don't listen to music when I read. I used to when studying, but now I find it too distracting because I have to concentrate a lot more. I only put it on when I'm fucking around on the internet.
>> No. 386 [Edit]
This thread has inspired me to pick up some quality books and at least read them while mulitasking in my game instead of just sitting in front of the computer like a zombie. I borrowed 'Sophies World' from the library and I'm enjoying it. Perhaps this will rejuvenate some of my past curiosity. Ive become too world weary for these few years.
>> No. 387 [Edit]
I haven't read a book in months. Last was Catcher in the Rye. I'm not sure what my opinion was on that book because I'm an idiot with no sense of what is good and what is bad when it comes to literature.

I bought a book of Osamu Dazai's short stories a while ago but haven't read past a page before I go back to do something retarded on the computer like look at anime boobs

So yeah
I do something with my free time
And reading proper books isn't part of it
>> No. 388 [Edit]
>>386

Awesome, I'm glad to hear that. It's always hard to start doing something (sometimes that's the case even if we talk about enjoyable activities) but once you start everything seems to be much easier.

>>387

I think I understand what you mean. I wish I only had bad taste in literature. Instead, I have shittastic taste in just about everything. I divide all kind of media in two categories: stuff that's good and stuff I enjoy. Most of the time I can tell whether the movie, book or even anime was good (as in, the characters were complex, the plot was interesting and meanigful - stuff like that) but even if I decide it was it doesn't make it any more enjoyable for me.
I think it's okay to enjoy even the worst kind of graphomania. You should simply ask yourself 'do I enjoy reading this book?'. If you do, there's no problem. If you don't you should consider picking something else instead. As Mark Twain said: 'A classic is something that everybody wants to have read and nobody wants to read.'. There's a good reason behind it.

As for 'Catcher in the Rye'... Well, I think you read it 'too late'. I enjoyed it but when I read it I was a rebellious teen so I could idenitfy with the book better. I honestly don't know what I'd think of it had I read it now. I think there are some books which you simply should read as a teen. Crime and Punishment, 1984 (with my favorite quote: 'Perhaps one did not want to be loved so much as to be understood'), Steppenwolf and countless other weltschemrz-ish books. Now that I think about it, Atlas Shrugged would probably be among them.
>> No. 389 [Edit]
>>190
Same here. The biggest problem I have when reading books is trying to bear through the rather boring beginning part when characters are introduced, plot elements are established and whatnot. Often at times, I find myself temporarily "pausing" only to never return again (which is what I do with a lot of anime as well). For now, I've partially worked around my problem by reading mainly historical non-fiction which I can immerse myself easily right from the beginning.

I'm currently reading Genghis Khan, his life and legacy.
>> No. 396 [Edit]
Last book I finished: South of the Border, West of the Sun.
It was a great read. Murakami is a fantastic writer.

What I'll (probably) read next: Collection of Lovecraft books/stories.

The Catcher in the Rye is my favorite novel and was one of those things that has changed the way I think and taught me lot about myself. The best novel I read this year has been American Psycho.
>> No. 402 [Edit]
Currently Reading: Some short stories from Dostoevsky and essays on Japanese radio.

Reading is the best.
>> No. 404 [Edit]
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404
It was Remembrance Day yesterday so I had been in the mood for some World War I stuff all week. I've been reading A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway for a couple days, I wanted to finish it yesterday but I've been distracted and still have about 80 pages left. After that I'll start All Quiet on the Western Front and then try to find some more good novels about World War I.

Any Suggestions?
>> No. 405 [Edit]
>>404
Considering how Farewell to Arms and All Quiet are both sentimental anti-war books, you might find it interesting to read one on the other side of the spectrum, Storm of Steel (In Stahlgewittern). Try to get the original 1920s translation if you can and avoid the newer translation published in the 60s, which is less interesting because Junger removes some of his more pro-war lines that was in the original novel.
>> No. 764 [Edit]
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764
Last book I finished: American Psycho.
All the while when reading it I had the feeling that I was missing the point. I don't think I actually enjoyed it (apart from the sex scenes, especially big hairy rat in vagina) and yet I found myself always wanting to read on, despite nothing happening and the bloody band reviews. When I finished it I actually felt quite angry, sort of like "What the fuck? Is this it?" But thinking about it later I'm glad I read it though probably won't look at it again for quite some time.

Currently reading: Zaregoto Book 2.
200 pages in and I'm loving it. Though aside from the obvious anime-like appeals of passive but badass protagonist, sexy girls attracted to protag for no good reason, casual murders and pretentious pretensions, I don't really think it's got anything substantial that explains why I get so excited when reading it. I do enjoy the ramblings on attitudes and morals, and seeing how they either match or contrast with my own views, but I feel that any person with taste would dismiss them as the author's ego-stroking attempts at sounding clever.

Planning to read next: Atonement.
I try to alternate between "proper" books acknowledged as good by society and those which have some kind of anime/manga relation.
>> No. 766 [Edit]
The internet and imageboards ruined my attention span. Rarely read books anymore. I can't read for shit. I will be going along then as I'm reading a word it will remind me of something and I start thinking about it instead of the book.
>> No. 788 [Edit]
>>766

I think we all have our share of problems with mental noise. As a matter of fact, I believe that it's exactly what ruined my life. I simply gave it more fuel and after some time I was unable to control it and it sort of fried my brain (with the help of some psychotrops, too). I always have a piece paper of paper and a pencil nearby to write down what I wanted to check and then continue to read as my mind is a little bit at peace knowing I will check it later.

And yeah, I got stuck after a week of Atlas Shrugged. I read too much in a short amount of time and I feel the effects of oversaturation. I haven't touched it in a week. I hope I'll be able to pick it up soon.
>> No. 984 [Edit]
>>788
>>766
Fuck, me too. Adderall helps though, but I usually only use that to study.
>> No. 997 [Edit]
>>788
Ayn Rand has this dense, sludgy writing style that makes it feel like a struggle to get through one of her books. Part of that might be my bias against a lot of her views talking, but I don't really think that's the case.
>> No. 1001 [Edit]
>Ayn Rand has this dense, sludgy writing style that makes it feel like a struggle to get through one of her books.

Wow, really? That's the opposite of the feeling I got. Actually, I expected it to be somewhat hard to read with quite a lot of philosophical blabber but instead I got a 'normal' story with some elements that could be even classified as sci-fi. Reading it was a breeze. I stopped because I didn't think it's that interesting and I've got lots of other things to do. I'll definitely finish it before the year's over, though.

>Part of that might be my bias against a lot of her views talking, but I don't really think that's the case.

Yeah, I know what you mean. The opinions she seems to parodize (I can NEVER tell wether she's serious or just making fun of the reader) are ones I share while the ones that are supposed to be taken seriously make me sick. But I still think it's a decent book.
>> No. 1002 [Edit]
>>1001
You know, it's been a long time since I got through part of The Fountainhead, so maybe I'm just saying a lot of bullshit right now. I know I have read some particularly sludgy stuff by her before, though. Maybe one of her essays?
>> No. 1023 [Edit]
At the moment I am re-re reading Crime and Punishment and starting And the Ass saw the Angel by Nick Cave. I also picked up a novelty book by Tom Reynolds called 'Touch Me, I'm Sick' (subtitle: The 52 creepiest love songs you've ever heard). It's surprisingly good if you are into comedic, non novel books with a bit of light musical analysis and covers topics from chronic narcissism to pedophilia and incest. I tend to have books in different places in my house so that I have something interesting to read when I am outside my room. Anyone else do that?
>> No. 1068 [Edit]
I like to read, but I rarely get any done.
>> No. 1207 [Edit]
Does anyone recommend any of Isaac Asimov's books? I've read a few of his short stories I really liked (The Last Question, The Feeling of Power, basically the ones everyone has read.) Not sure how well his style would extend into a whole novel, though.
>> No. 1219 [Edit]
>>402 here.

I'm now reading The Cossacks by Tolstoy.
>> No. 1828 [Edit]
>>381
I just remembered that I posted in this thread.

I finally got my hands on No Longer Human. I'd say it's my favorite book that I've read in the past few years. Possibly my favorite book ever, but I'm not too sure about that.
What the main character went through after he left school is something I really understood (other than the 3DPD). I thought that really enhanced the story - How much I could relate to it.

Totally good book. I'd recommend it to everyone. Dazai gets mad props for managing to finish this before he killed himself/was murdered.
>> No. 1832 [Edit]
>>1828

Well fuck. I'd definitely like to read that but it hasn't been translated into my mother tongue and even though I have no problems with reading in English I hate to do it. Coincidentally, I wanted to watch Aoi Bungaku ever since it was announced and for last few weeks I constantly remember and forget to look for a batch. Now I'm not sure whether that's a good thing or not. I guess I might as well watch it (or rather try to do so) since there's no way I'll get my hands on a copy of this book.
>> No. 1836 [Edit]
>>1828
Since my local library refuses to carry it, I just ordered No Longer Human (and that other book of his) from Amazon.

To address the topic, I haven't really read a book in a long time.

I tried to read Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, because it sounded like it could be a really funny idea AND I could learn more about history at the same time, but it is just like an awful, formulaic 1980s Hollywood movie. Got pretty boring eventually.

Pygmy, by the same guy who wrote Fight Club, was terrible and I couldn't finish the first chapter (I skipped ahead to see if the writing style would stop, but it doesn't).

The Gunslinger, from Stephen King's "The Dark Tower" series, is not bad so far, and I appreciate what he's trying to do (write a fantasy novel that isn't a ripoff of Tolkein), but the writing is awkward and I think I just don't like fantasy writing as much as I did when I was younger. (Maybe an "urban fantasy" where the characters talked normally would be more enjoyable?)

I have high hopes for No Longer Human.
>> No. 1837 [Edit]
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1837
I'm not much of a novel guy. I'm more interested in reading political, economic or scientific books since that the field I'm currently in (even though I don't plan to get a jerb, it's still interesting).

Last read: Lords of Finance
Plan to read: Don't know yet (recommendations?)

Oh, I do plan to read some philosophy stuff though, I've been meaning to read some for quite some time now. Want to start with all that pre-Socratic stuff.
>> No. 1846 [Edit]
I'm currently working my way through 100 Years of Solitude, enjoying every bit of it, though I just started reading.

I have to ask, to those of you that have finished Lolita, does it pick up towards the end? I loved part 1 (no pedo) but after part 2 started the pacing started to crawl and I began to lose interest, eventually giving up. I know I will eventually finish it but will it be as much of a chore as the first few chapters of part 2 or will it get better?

And for those of you that are having trouble reading books because of your attention span I would have to recommend picking up some collection of works by Kafka. They are cheap as hell and worth every penny, some of his stories are barely a paragraph in length but rich enough to inspire you to start reading again, it definitely reinvigorated my interest. They're the sort of writing that you can read quickly but sit a while, digesting in your head, and really make you appreciate language and its power.
>> No. 1857 [Edit]
>>190

I was about to say the same thing.

I read like 200 books when i was 15-17 but i haven't read anything in years, infact i barely remember the content of all the books i read. I blame anime.
>> No. 2469 [Edit]
Hi guys, OP here. I already complained about this in another thread but since it's been really frustrating I'll do it again: my PC died on me almost two weeks ago (and I had some other problems the week before that so all in all I could say it's been three weeks and it wouldn't be a lie... or at least not a big one) and I had to do something with my free time. Of course, the obvious answer was 'go and read some books!' and that's what I did.

When I finally managed to make... well, more or less eveyrthing work (i.e. by the time I was able to successfully access /tc/'s front page) I thought to myself 'oh boy, I've read so much over these past two weeks, so maybe I'll post about it and hopefully someone else will decide to pick up something to read'. Sadly, I realized that even though I really did read a lot there's not much I can talk about as I've spent most of my time finishing old books I've been putting off, reading some books about psychiatry and psychology (and I would prefer to talk about beletristics in this thread... of course you're free to discuss other books, too!) and the two novels I've finished were written by a local, rather unknown author (i.e. they aren't avaible in English) so there's not much I can talk about...

But I have read (or rather, I'm currently reading) a short story compliation by Hemingway ('The Fifth Column and the First Forty-Nine Stories') and I've found a really short story I'd like to share with you. It's something you might enjoy and maybe you'll even think it sounds somewhat familiar, as it's complete with cute imuoto and mother trying to make her NEET son get a job. Since I'm a retard it took me some time to find it (well, I didn't really know where to look for it so googling it was my best option) but here it is! For some reason I'm really pumped today (maybe because I managed to fix my PC) so I hope I'll make you do something you might enjoy if you're bored and looking for something fun to do. So, without further ado:



Soldier’s Home
By Ernest Hemingway


Krebs went to the war from a Methodist college in Kansas. There is a picture which shows him among his fraternity brothers, all of them wearing exactly the same height and style collar. He enlisted in the Marines in 1917 and did not return to the United States until the second division returned home from the Rhine in the summer of 1919.
There is a picture which shows him on the Rhine with two German girls and another corporal. Krebs and the corporal look too big for their uniforms. The German girls are not beautiful. The Rhine does not show in the picture.
By the time Krebs returned to his home town in Oklahoma the greeting of heroes was over. He came back much too late. The men from the town who had been drafted had all been welcomed elaborately on their return. There had been a great deal of hysteria. Now the reaction had set in. People seemed to think it was rather ridiculous for Krebs to be getting back so late, years after the war was over.
At first Krebs, who had been at Belleau Wood, Soissons, the Champagne, St. Mihiel and in the Argonne did not want to talk about the war at all. Later he felt the need to talk but no one wanted to hear about it. His town had heard too many atrocity stories to be thrilled by actualities. Krebs found that to be listened to at all he had to lie, and after he had done this twice he, too, had a reaction against the war and against talking about it. A distaste for everything that had happened to him in the war set in because of the lies he had told. All of the times that had been able to make him feel cool and clear inside himself when he thought of them; the times so long back when he had done the one thing, the only thing for a man to do, easily and naturally, when he might have done something else, now lost their cool, valuable quality and then were lost themselves.
His lies were quite unimportant lies and consisted in attributing to himself things other men had seen, done or heard of, and stating as facts certain apocryphal incidents familiar to all soldiers. Even his lies were not sensational at the pool room. His acquaintances, who had heard detailed accounts of German women found chained to machine guns in the Argonne forest and who could not comprehend, or were barred by their patriotism from interest in, any German machine gunners who were not chained, were not thrilled by his stories.
Krebs acquired the nausea in regard to experience that is the result of untruth or exaggeration, and when he occasionally met another man who had really been a soldier and they talked a few minutes in the dressing room at a dance he fell into the easy pose of the old soldier among other soldiers: that he had been badly, sickeningly frightened all the time. In this way he lost everything.
During this time, it was late summer, he was sleeping late in bed, getting up to walk down town to the library to get a book, eating lunch at home, reading on the front porch until he became bored and then walking down through the town to spend the hottest hours of the day in the cool dark of the pool room. He loved to play pool.
In the evening he practised on his clarinet, strolled down town, read and went to bed. He was still a hero to his two young sisters. His mother would have given him breakfast in bed if he had wanted it. She often came in when he was in bed and asked him to tell her about the war, but her attention always wandered. His father was non-committal.
Before Krebs went away to the war he had never been allowed to drive the family motor car. His father was in the real estate business and always wanted the car to be at his command when he required it to take clients out into the country to show them a piece of farm property. The car always stood outside the First National Bank building where his father had an office on the second floor. Now, after the war, it was still the same car.
Nothing was changed in the town except that the young girls had grown up. But they lived in such a complicated world of already defined alliances and shifting feuds that Krebs did not feel the energy or the courage to break into it. He liked to look at them, though. There were so many good-looking young girls. Most of them had their hair cut short. When he went away only little girls wore their hair like that or girls that were fast. They all wore sweaters and shirt waists with round Dutch collars. It was a pattern. He liked to look at them from the front porch as they walked on the other side of the street. He liked to watch them walking under the shade of the trees. He liked the round Dutch collars above their sweaters. He liked their silk stockings and flat shoes. He liked their bobbed hair and the way they walked.
When he was in town their appeal to him was not very strong. He did not like them when he saw them in the Greek’s ice cream parlor. He did not want themselves really. They were too complicated. There was something else. Vaguely he wanted a girl but he did not want to have to work to get her. He would have liked to have a girl but he did not want to have to spend a long time getting her. He did not want to get into the intrigue and the politics. He did not want to have to do any courting. He did not want to tell any more lies. It wasn’t worth it.
He did not want any consequences. He did not want any consequences ever again. He wanted to live along without consequences. Besides he did not really need a girl. The army had taught him that. It was all right to pose as though you had to have a girl. Nearly everybody did that. But it wasn’t true. You did not need a girl. That was the funny thing. First a fellow boasted how girls mean nothing to him, that he never thought of them, that they could not touch him. Then a fellow boasted that he could not get along without girls, that he had to have them all the time, that he could not go to sleep without them.
That was all a lie. It was all a lie both ways. You did not need a girl unless you thought about them. He learned that in the army. Then sooner or later you always get one. When you were really ripe for a girl you always got one. You did not have to think about it. Sooner or later it would come. He had learned that in the army.
Now he would have liked a girl if she had come to him and not wanted to talk. But here at home it was all too complicated. He knew he could never get through it all again. It was not worth the trouble. That was the thing about French girls and German girls. There was not all this talking. You couldn’t talk much and you did not need to talk. It was simple and you were friends. He thought about France and then he began to think about Germany. On the whole he had liked Germany better. He did not want to leave Germany. He did not want to come home. Still, he had come home. He sat on the front porch.
He liked the girls that were walking along the other side of the street. He liked the look of them much better than the French girls or the German girls. But the world they were in was not the world he was in. He would like to have one of them. But it was not worth it. They were such a nice pattern. He liked the pattern. It was exciting. But he would not go through all the talking. He did not want one badly enough. He liked to look at them, though. It was not worth it. Not when things were getting good again.
He sat on the porch reading a book on the war. It was a history and he was reading about all the engagements he had been in. It was the most interesting reading he had ever done. He wished there were more maps. He looked forward with a good feeling to reading all the really good histories when they would come out with good detail maps. Now he was really learning about the war. He had been a good soldier. That made a difference.
One morning after he had been home about a month his mother came into his bedroom and sat on the bed. She smoothed her apron.
“I had a talk with your father last night, Harold,” she said, “and he is willing for you to take the car out in the evenings.”
“Yeah?” said Krebs, who was not fully awake. “Take the car out? Yeah?”
“Yes. Your father has felt for some time that you should be able to take the car out in the evenings whenever you wished but we only talked it over last night.”
“I’ll bet you made him,” Krebs said.
“No. It was your father’s suggestion that we talk the matter over.”
“Yeah. I’ll bet you made him,” Krebs sat up in bed.
“Will you come down to breakfast, Harold?” his mother said.
“As soon as I get my clothes on,” Krebs said.
His mother went out of the room and he could hear her frying something downstairs while he washed, shaved and dressed to go down into the dining-room for breakfast. While he was eating breakfast his sister brought in the mail.
“Well, Hare,” she said. “You sleepy-head. What to you ever get up for?”
Krebs looked at her. He liked her. She was his best sister.
“Have you got the paper?” he asked.
She handed him The Kansas City Star and he shucked off its brown wrapper and opened it to the sporting page. He folded The Star open and propped it against the water pitcher with his cereal dish to steady it, so he could read while he ate.
“Harold,” his mother stood in the kitchen doorway, “Harold, please don’t muss up the paper. Your father can’t read his Star if it’s been mussed.”
“I won’t muss it,” Krebs said.
His sister sat down at the table and watched him while he read.
“We’re playing indoor over at school this afternoon,” she said. “I’m going to pitch.”
“Good,” said Krebs. “How’s the old wing?”
“I can pitch better than lots of the boys. I tell them all you taught me. The other girls aren’t much good.”
“Yeah?” said Krebs.
“I tell them all you’re my beau. Aren’t you my beau, Hare?”
“You bet.”
“Couldn’t your brother really be your beau just because he’s your brother?”
“I don’t know.”
“Sure you know. Couldn’t you be my beau, Hare, I was old enough and if you wanted to?”
“Sure. You’re my girl now.”
“Am I really your girl?”
“Sure.”
“Do you love me?”
“Uh, huh.”
“Will you love me always?”
“Sure.”
“Will you come over and watch me play indoor?”
“Maybe.”
“Aw, Hare, you don’t love me. If you loved me, you’d want to come over and watch me play indoor.”
Kreb’s mother came into the dining-room from the kitchen. She carried a plate with two friend eggs and some crisp bacon on it and a plate of buckwheat cakes.
“You run along, Helen,” she said. “I want to talk to Harold.”
She put the eggs and bacon down in front of him and brought in a jug of maple syrup for the buckwheat cakes. Then she sat down across the table from Krebs.
“I wish you’d put down the paper a minute, Harold,” she said.
Krebs took down the paper and folded it.
“Have you decided what you are going to do yet, Harold?” his mother said, taking off her glasses.
“No,” said Krebs.
“Don’t you think it’s about time?” His mother did not say this in a mean way. She seemed worried.
“I hadn’t thought about it,” Krebs said.
“We are all of us in His Kingdom.”
Krebs felt embarrassed and resentful as always.
“I’ve worried about you so much, Harold,” his mother went on. “I know the temptations you must have been exposed to. I know how weak men are. I know what your own dear grandfather, my own father, told us about the Civil War and I have prayed for you. I pray for you all day long, Harold.”
Krebs looked at the bacon fat hardening on his plate.
“Your father is worried, too,” his mother went on. “He thinks you have lost your ambition, that you haven’t got a definite aim in life. Charley Simmons, who is just your age, has a good job and is going to be married. The boys are al settling down; they’re all determined to get somewhere; you can see that boys like Charley Simmons are on their way to being really a credit to the community.”
Krebs said nothing.
“Don’t look that way, Harold, his mother said. “You know we love you and I want to tell you for your own good how matters stand. Your father does not want to hamper your freedom. He thinks you should be allowed to drive the car. If you want to take some of the nice girls out riding with you, we are only too pleased. We want you to enjoy yourself. But you are going to have to settle down to work, Harold. Your father doesn’t care what you start in at. All work is honorable as he says. But you’ve got to make a start at something. He asked me to speak to you this morning and then you can stop in and see him at his office.”
“Is that all?” Krebs said.
“Yes. Don’t you love your mother, dear boy?”
“No,” Krebs said.
His mother looked at him across the table. Her eyes were shiny. She started crying.
“I don’t love anybody,” Krebs said.
It wasn’t any good. He couldn’t tell her, he couldn’t make her see it. It was silly to have said it. He had only hurt her. He went over and took hold of her arm. She was crying with her head in her hands.
“I didn’t mean it,” he said. “I was just angry at something. I didn’t mean I didn’t love you.”
His mother went on crying. Krebs put his arm on her shoulder.
“Can’t you believe me, mother?”
His mother shook her head.
“Please, please, mother. Please believe me.”
“All right,” his mother said chokily. She looked up at him. “I believe you, Harold.”
Krebs kissed her hair. She put her face up to him.
“I’m your mother,” she said. “I held you next to my heart when you were a tiny baby.”
Krebs felt sick and vaguely nauseated.
“I know, Mummy,” he said. “I’ll try and be a good boy for you.”
“Would you kneel and pray with me, Harold?” his mother asked.
They knelt down beside the dining-room table and Kreb’s mother prayed.
“Now, you pray, Harold,” she said.
“I can’t,” Krebs said.
“Try, Harold.”
“I can’t.”
“Do you want me to pray for you?”
“Yes.”
So his mother prayed for him and then they stood up and Krebs kissed his mother and went out of the house. He had tried so to keep his life from being complicated. Still, none of it had touched him. He had felt sorry for his mother and she had made him lie. He would go to Kansas City and get a job and she would feel all right about it. There would be one more scene maybe before he got away. He would not go down to his father’s office. He would miss that one. He wanted his life to go smoothly. It had just gotten that way. Well, that was all over now, anyway. He would go over to the schoolyard and watch Helen play indoor baseball.
>> No. 2699 [Edit]
>>1836
I read through No Longer Human. It's a quick read. I liked it a lot.

It's so odd. . .it's kind of like a series of melodramatic/exaggerated livejournal entries, but it's still compelling to read. It's comforting. I was really shocked when he revealed his age at the end of the book.
>> No. 2705 [Edit]
Right now I'm reading Blood meridian and the great gatsby, after that I'll read 1984 and finish Lolita.
>>1846
I'm stuck on the same part of Lolita as you are(Poor Lotte). Just can't get motivated to read more.

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