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You're 15 and you write like this? I haven't read the Wasp Factory, but have to say you write extremely well. You have some skills!

Having an interest in dark thing doesn't mean you need therapy. There's a bunch of people into true crime. Kidnappings and murders and stuff. Do they all need therapy?

Just because you're not into it doesn't mean people are crazy for being curious about a side of life that's different from theirs.

Quentin Compson’s monologue in The Sound and The Fury is up there

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The final 200 pages of In Search of Lost Time (which count as basically a chapter in a book that big) are told like a book-length essay and grapple with the meaning of life itself. It is truly something life-changing.

Like another commenter has said, the final two chapters of Ulysses are serious contenders, as is the third chapter and Oxen of the Sun (?), where Joyce chronicles the birth of modern language through prose describing a birth. Ulysses, in general, is the best book ever written so really anything from it except the Wandering Rocks could count.

The final section of Tristram Shandy has the best joke in literature, and the chapter in The Recognitions that describes a party as a jungle should count for its amazing prose. Under the Volcano’s carousel chapter is great for its description of an alcoholic losing everything in his life before his eyes.

Your comment really resonated with me— could you possibly list some of your favorite mystery short stories?

At my favorite used book store, I once found a pressed four leaf clover in a book of Irish fairy tales. I’ve never had that kind of magic happen at a Barnes and Noble.

The smell. There’s something about decaying book glue that gets you high.

I love how completely different it is from every other chapter, even it’s writing style. It’s nearly jokeless, almost completely lacks satirical punch, it’s just really sad and powerful and Heller’s attempt to give us something real. Without it I don’t think Catch-22 would be remembered as such a masterpiece.

I think it somewhat depends on the library’s collection, but overall you’re right. I think a big thing is the feeling of scarcity. If you decide not to buy something at a chain store, you can expect it to be there the next time you’re there. The same is true of the library, though you may have to wait for it. At a used bookstore, that may be the only copy that ever comes into that store. If you don’t buy it and don’t write down the name/author, you may not ever be able to find it again.

I mean, pick any chapter of One Hundred Years of Solitude. The hurricane chapter is probably my favorite though.

Could you remind me of what it was? I read it maybe a year or two ago and I can’t remember it. I loved the chapter on his affair with Lou and the literary tirade in chapter 2.

Yeah, that’s concerning and sad. Every single one of those people needs therapy, not a trope.

Oh ffs 🤦‍♀️I mean, the woman can’t even keep her occupation drama and conflict-free. But this is exactly what I’m saying. She can’t write a romcom because she’s never had a happy, cute romantic relationship.

And to be clear: I’m not criticizing her for possibly having had only abusive relationships in her life and becoming desensitized to it. But I am criticizing her for passing abuse off as simply “enemies to lovers” - except without them ever loving each other - for financial gain. It’s okay to talk about abuse and express what it means to you, but it is not okay to pass it off as something it’s not and misrepresent the dynamic, possibly influencing readers who are in abusive relationships (and already vulnerable and impressionable) into thinking their situation is normal and just “romantically tragic.”

The Lyrical Ballad in Saratoga, NY, is one of my old favorites. It was founded over 50 years ago and located in the basement of a building that used to be a bank. You’ll find room after room just filled to the brim with used books, antiquarian books and periodicals, and prints. It even has the original bank vault with brass cage doors and books inside. I’ve shopped there for over 30 years, whenever I find myself in upstate NY. The original owner, John (now deceased), once told me he had twice again as many books in storage.

Lots of actual people romanticize abuse. That might be a reason her books are popular. The drama and the strife. It has an audience, which is probably why she writes about it.

Don't do that. Their end-game isn't to move the books. It's to identify the books so that they can be banned in some direct way. Next they'll demand that the library keep track of how much money they spend on LGBTQ books and spend an equal amount of money on anti-LGBTQ hate books. They'll demand that kids get parental permission before they can look at those books. They'll challenge every single book and make the library staff spend a lot of time fighting the challenges. You can't give in to these people and hope they'll move on. They won't move on. You have to fight them.

Sounds like it's time to put on a drag show story time!

As stated, the vast consensus is that Kerouac was a lousy poet.

However, as turnabout is fair play, let's look at what Vuong is saying. He's making a very nonsubtle observation. It's basically a bit of hack writing in that he took the easiest example he could find. It's like saying Shirley Temple was a lousy basketball player.

Perhaps Vuong's a better poet than he is a writer.

People who don’t read banning books. Sounds familiarly fascist and anti American.

Because you write what you know and every single one of her books romanticizes abuse to a disgusting degree.

Also library doesn't seem to do that for most people. There's something about the potential for ownership that adds to it, like it's not just a potential source of reading material, but also a shelf/coffee table piece to display your mental prowess for years to come

When I was a kid, I browsed libraries and just read things that looked good. I was literally judging books by their covers.

When I got older, I started relying more upon people. I'd read based on talking to people. Someone would describe a book. If it sounded good, I'd either put it on my TO READ list or just read it. If it was good, I'd look for other books by the same author. I'd also look for similar books/authors.

Other ways of relying upon people are awards. People voted for those books to get the awards-they didn't win them based on some marketing push. Science Fiction/Fantasy has the Hugo and Nebula as the top awards. It's got other significant awards. Most genres have their own awards. There are also general awards for non-genre books. I've not been liked by some books that've won awards, but overall they have been a reliable source of suggestions.

When I was younger, I had clumsier TO READ lists. Now, I use goodreads. It's also good for keeping track of books you have already read. Like a book journal. I write reviews, but mostly for myself. However, goodreads is now owned by Amazon. Since you are starting a new TO READ list, I'd recommend starting a list with a website that is not owned by Amazon. Goodreads will try to sell the books Amazon wants to sell. The will probably restrict exporting your data-which will make changing your website difficult.

What I'm trying to do is read a chapter or two at a time. Some books make that easier than others; the book I'm reading right now has a ton of short chapters, but something like Ducks, Newburyport might be a little more of an ask.