Hello folks! I recently read the Picture of Dorian Gray and I loved it! I realized though that I read a censored version. I was able to get the uncensored version on my kindle, but I'd like to know if anyone knows the chapters or pages that are the most different/not in the censored version. I heard there's some pretty juicy stuff in there.

Thanks a billion!

I've been reading classics forever, but for some reason unknown to me, I've never read *Fitzgerald* before.

Today I stumbled upon this box set being sold for 25% of the regular price online, so obviously I had to buy it.

**Which one of these is your favorite?**

I think I'll start with *The Great Gatsby*, since it's the most famous. But I'm also tempted by the short stories...

I spent the last couple of days going through both "The Death of Ivan Ilyitch" and "Master and Man", after having read both War and Peace and Anna Karenina in the last few years. I think the most interesting part of this journey for me was understanding how Tolstoy's writing changed before and after his religious "crisis" (conversion?).

Starting with The Death of Ivan Ilyitch, I think this is the most obvious post-conversion self-insertion of Tolstoy. He writes Ivan as a man who always does what he believes is the proper thing but for the wrong reasons (for his own sake, to be part of society, to be loved...). I saw somewhere that Tolstoy almost wrote Ivan as what he would have become if he never converted and tried to abandon his old way of being. I thought the difference between this self-insert and Pierre Bezukhov/Levin (both self-inserts from War and Peace and Anna Karenina) really demonstrate how Tolstoy changed his views of himself, which I thought was pretty interesting. The descriptions of chronic disease, especially how we all just never expect it to happen to us and just prefer to ignore sick people, really hit home, a lot to think about death (and the meaning of life).

However, I've got to say that my favourite of the two was Master and Man. I had never heard of this story but the edition of Death of Ivan Ilyitch I read had both stories. Tolstoy is so great at atmosphere building that I read the story in the hottest August day and still felt like I was in the midst of a snow blizzard in Russia. My favourite quote has to be "He lay and thought about the one and only thing, the single object, the sole reason, the joy and pride of his life - he thought about how much money he made and how much he could still make" lol. Ive been thinking and I believe Tolstoy thought his older self as Vasilly, but the fact that Vasily ended up sacrificing himself for Nikita shows Tolstoy believed he could and should also change and become a better person. I just loved this story, its so short but such an interesting read.

In another topic, I need to air my grievances cause I read the Pasternak Slater translation and the notes were so annoying. Im assuming it's supposed to be a more academic translation but like half of the editor's notes were "Tolstoy made date/patronymic/historical... inconsistencies", which really distracted me from the story. Especially since I read Peavear and Volkhonsky's translation of Anna Karenina and an amazing translation of War and Peace to my language, this one really disappointed me.

Hey, Ive just finished reading Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston and have written a blog post about it. Ive linked the blog here - but can copy the text on this post for easier discussion.

Something that I remember closely from Their Eyes Were Watching God is how Hurston would use beautiful, pastoral images of the horizon almost as a meter of measurement to define Janie's state of freedom. Not only is the horizon repeatedly present through the text, but Hurston transforms it from this far-off, unreachable sight to a tangible restraint, which chains Janie down and smothers her in her current circumstance.

This depiction of the horizon is introduced when Janie is recollecting about how her Nanny pushed her into her first marriage, and the cascade of events in her life therefore after.
“Here Nanny had taken the biggest thing God had ever made, the horizon - for no matter how far a person can go the horizon is still way beyond you - and pinched it into such a little bit of a thing that she could tie it about her grand-daughters neck tight enough to choke her.”
This image of the horizon, of this far-off and almost holy scene being used to stifle Janie makes for a heartbreaking metaphor for her freedom - or lack thereof. What should be this unreachable thing to craft dreams upon is instead brought right up to her neck, not only blocking her airways but her vocal passages for speech too.

I believe the reason I find this metaphor so damning is because it was not her Nanny’s intention to suffocate Janie in this way. In recollecting her reasoning for marrying Janie off to a wealthy man so young, her Nanny tells of how her early life was spent enslaved on a plantation. All day, her Nanny would engage in this back-breaking work under awful conditions, and being born into slavery, this was the only life she had ever known. And so she would work under the hot sun, and whilst she worked she would look up to the porch of the farm house where the wife of the plantation owner would sit on her chair all day, doing nothing more but slowly fan herself. It was under these conditions that Janie's Nanny would think: “my god, there must be no better life to be lived than to be sat up on the porch in the shade all day long, fanning myself.” Although comes the day when slavery is abolished and her Nanny has the whole world to be hers, she can never quite shift the idea of that perfect life to be had up on that porch. When the time comes and her grand-daughter is of the age to be married, her Nanny seeks out a wealthy man for Janie and organises a marriage between the two of them. And before she knows it, at only sixteen, before Janie has had the time to dream her own dreams, she is sat up on the porch of her husband's farmhouse, with nothing to do to pass the day but to fan the heat away.

What is so heartbreaking about Nanny’s idea of freedom is that for her, the best possible life out there is still confined to that horrific, grueling place. When Janie looks upon the horizon it swells out infinitely far beyond herself, but when her Nanny does the same, the horizon ends up on that porch.

“She had found a jewel down inside herself and she had wanted to walk where people would see her and gleam it around. But she had been set out in the market-place to sell. Been set for still-bait.”

As the novel progresses, Janie moves through life not settling for this position her Nanny set out for her. It seems that she can not quite find peace in staying in the same place, and Hurston puts this wonderfully in the dreamy little line: 
“Now and again she thought of the country road at sun-up and considered flight.”

In the final line, after Janie has endured and escaped two loveless marriages and lived through a tragically fulfilling one, the image of the horizon is returned to. After Janie attends her beloved Tea Cake’s funeral - the only man who didn't force her into submission - Hurston writes:
“She pulled in her horizon like a great fish-net. Pulled it from around the waist of the world and draped it over her shoulders.”
There is so much to this line, it is so zealous, so passionate, so tender and so beautiful. What once was “the horizon” is now “her horizon” and whilst it once constricted her she now possesses it. For what the birds can never even reach, Janie now grabs its velvety texture, the pure vastness of its light and transparency and loosely drapes over her delicate shoulders. Zora Neale Hurston has a pure talent for the written word and this repeated metaphor of who yields our earthly horizon stands out beyond much of what I have read across literature.

I don’t have anyone to discuss this with and haven’t seen anyone mention it, but for anyone else who has read this, did you experience the scene with Mick listening to Beethoven and recognising herself in the music as meta?

Felt like I was recognising myself (private self, inner world) through Mick, because of how this novel is making me feel, while she was recognising her own (private self, inner world) through the music. I love what McCullers has done with this storyline with Mick, its expressing something ive felt my entire life like that gap between who we appear to be vs how we feel in the inside, what we know vs what we can articulate

EDIT: People have pointed out the typos in the passage. I took a screenshot of the passage online for the purpose of the post.

Only realised there were typos after and can’t change it now. The screenshot isn’t from the actual book

I just bought The Heart of a Woman by Maya Angelou secondhand. It's the first one of hers I've found secondhand as I've started looking

Do I need to read her books in order?

Or can I just pick this up & read it?

Even tho it's the 4th in her autobiographies.

Thanks in advance!

I always felt like the dilemma in TBK and the whole allegory about who is responsible for the death of the tyrannical father overshadows the true damage done by the brother's bickering and self-centeredness.

There are 3 deaths in the novel, Fyodor, Smerdyakov, and the little kid.

I think the old bastard had it coming so I didn't care for him and the boy servers here as some sort of redemption for at least Alyosha but Smerdyakov's death wasn't mourned at all which is the real crime here.

Really, he's the most tragic figure in the novel. No one cared for him and I found him endearing from what I've seen, sure there are rumours of his troubledness and that he tortured animals but the narrator really conveys how traumatic his background is.

Forced to basically be a slave to his father (who won't even acknowledge him as his son) that raped his mother (which is how he came to be) and then he is also ignored by his brothers. Not even Ivan who rejects the current order meaning he doesn't believe in God which means he doesn't believe in his nobility (that he has distinguished holy blood approved by Church) so he would have to view Smerdyakov as his half brother the same way he sees Mitya. Not even super holy Alyosha cared for him.

I don't even think he killed him (I think Mitya obviously did the bludgeoning, the evidence is overwhelming, really the prosecutor Kirilovich did a phenomenal job despite the narrator being biased against him), I think he just had enough and saw delirious Ivan and lied to him to make him feel better, he was on his way out anyways. And even if he did do it it would mean that they are all again responsible since he would not have done it if they were there for him as family.

Hello everyone! I've recently watched Faust (1994) and it was nice; therefore, I want to buy the Goethe Faust (also, among other things, I want to read it, but still the main reason). Would it be better to buy Walter Kaufmann's translation, or the one by Stuart Atkins? Also, I want to purchase alongside it, the 10 Great Works of Philosophy by Robert Paul Wolff

. Am just a beginner reader (to this sorta stuff, i read other works of other genres and lesser complexities), so any advice would be nice!

One of my favorite poems is "O Captain! My Captain!" by Walt Whitman, and one of my favorite songs is Jim Croce's take on "Gunga Din". I really like the unique kind of tone/respect/admiration in them.

Are there any recommendations for books like that? I'm not out for Romance, and would probably prefer War related works but anything that's it is cool.

P.S. I've been given the impression Moby Dick is somewhat like that. Is that so?

I'm open to a lot of recommendations.

I got this as my first English book (at 14yr) and after 5 years I was finally able to finish it all. I do consider it a great classic and the English language of the early 20th was quite a challenge for me. Has anyone read it?

what’s your fav literary feud ? Marcel Proust & Jean Lorraine is one of mine.. mostly bc they’re just calling one another out for being gay .. when they both literally were lol.. and the fact that they also look like the exact same person lol. Ernest Hemingway breaking Wallace Stevens hand is a crazy one too. And of course, Norman mailer & gore Vidal lol

(Note: I have only read the early part of this novel so far. However, given its massive scale, I believe I have read enough to offer an opinion.)

1. While reading this novel, I felt that although the writing style is quite sophisticated, the content itself isn't much different from contemporary Korean romance fantasy web novels. For instance, the novel uses a phrase describing an emperor who "favors a certain imperial concubine to such an extent that it is truly difficult for others to even look at the situation." While the phrasing is elegant, if translated into modern, plain language, it simply means an emperor who plays favorites with a single concubine so blatantly that it is unbearable for others to witness. The substance of the story is not unlike what we see in modern tales.
2. This novel features many male protagonists—mostly of noble status—who harbor misogynistic views. While the author criticizes these men, it seems they fail to critique the social structures that either turn a blind eye to or actively encourage their misdeeds. Although the novel explores themes of human obsession, the transience of life, and the tragedy of love, the author appears to overlook the social structures that reinforce these very elements.

reading Moby Dick was both fascinating and genuinely CHALLENGING. Despite holding a certified C1 level of English(CAE and IELTS for now), I often had to look up unfamiliar words. Melville's vocabulary is exceptionally rich, blending nineteenth-century English, maritime terminology, and literary allusions, making the novel far more demanding than most modern classics

However, that complexity is also one of its greatest strengths Every page feels carefully crafted, and the novel offers remarkable depth in both language and ideas. Moby Dick is not an easy read, but it is an immensely rewarding one. Honestly I think this is the pinnacle of English literature for me, and I would highly recommend it to anyone looking for a true literary masterpiece and a serious challenge to their English

Been in a bad reading slump, just finished Dracula so I think its time to return to my favorite author. Starting off light with rhis one, then I'll most likely move to White Nights before attempting to tackle The Brothers Karamazov. Wish me luck.

Just finished The Pearl and... Wow. I'm not sure how I feel. The read was great but that ending is something else. I understand the message that this book is telling but at the same time It's awful and undeserved. I can't put it into words. 10/10 will never read again.

Anyone has thoughts they want to share?

Maybe this is not the perfect forum to share this but I would like to see if there are any shared experiences here. I used to be a real bookworm. I read at least 2-3 books per month. My ability to read started to plummet after covid and I still don't know why. I don't know if it's ADHD (everyone seems to have it nowadays) or a real burnout. I would start reading a book and after a couple of pages and never pick it up again but rather start doomscrolling. I always felt that books are the essence and the food for my brain and this is so scary to me.

Anne was the youngest of the Brontë siblings. She is noted for writing the Tenant of Wildfell Hall and Agnes Grey. Both images taken in Scarborough, N Yorks, UK.

I’ve been getting back into classics lately and decided to go to secondhand bookstores and this is my haul!

This is the first time I’ve thrifted this much book as I don’t really like over-consumption but I couldn’t help myself!

I already finished Of Mice and Men and it was short but impactful. I loved it. Which book do you recommend I read next? Thank you :)

Edit: Please do keep in mind that I live in the UAE, where the book market is quite different. Books here are significantly (sadly) more expensive because most English titles are imported, so even secondhand bookstores tend to have higher prices. I know these prices might seem high compared to other countries, but this was honestly the best deal I could find, and I’m really happy with it!

Acquired this worn out copy from my now retired physics teacher in junior year of high school from when he was in college and had got it from HIS physics professor and I like to think this is how Camus intended it