comprehensive list of books that will make you think a lot
at the request of @uglydumbbitchdotcom and @dreamingmappist (just to let you know, most of this is european and pre-1930 so if you're looking for literature from other continents this is not the list to go to. i wish i knew more about african, asian, and latin american literature, but alas - i do not.)
a portrait of the artist as a young man and dubliners: short stories of a city by james joyce
anything by fyodor dostoevsky (specifically crime and punishment, demons, notes from underground, but really anything will do and i'm not going to list his complete works on here)
the goldfinch and the secret history by donna tartt
frankenstein by mary shelley
fathers and sons by ivan turgenev
station eleven by emily st. john mandel
the death of ivan ilyich by leo tolstoy
in the first circle by aleksandr solzhenitsyn
paradise lost and paradise regained by john milton
till we have faces and that hideous strength by c.s. lewis
ninety-three and the man who laughs by victor hugo
faust, pt. 1 by goethe
the ulster cycle and an táin bó cúailnge
the a wrinkle in time quartet by madeleine l'engle
grace by paul lynch (this might be sort of an odd addition but he's one of the authors who follows in the joyce tradition and this is a beautiful book with a fascinating plot set during the great hunger so it deserves a place here)
a streetcar named desire by tennessee williams
the plough and the stars by sean o'casey
the grapes of wrath by john steinbeck
common sense by thomas paine
macbeth and henry v by william shakespeare
a room of one's own by virginia woolf
beowulf
say nothing by patrick radden keefe
one hundred years of solitude and the general in his labyrinth by gabriel garcia marquez
the underground railroad by william still
the letters of vincent van gogh
my god, there is a lot of russian literature on there. anyway, here are the books that made me think the most and hardest out of anything i've read
1. stand in the middle of a lake staring at the way the moonlight reflects off the blood on your hands
2. start using words with more syllables because it sounds smarter and you need everyone to know how smart you are so they won’t know you bribed your way into the gentleman’s club
3. cover your chin with a black scarf so people can’t see the scar you got from turning the pages of the encyclopaedia too quickly
4. clutter your room with things that you bought from old charity shops, so you can watch them collect dust (and so you won’t have to look at that mysterious red stain on the floor)
5. buy a coffin to sleep in (you can find one secondhand if it’s too expensive - don’t worry, that just adds to the mystique).
6. string balls of cosy yarn across the floor, lest any intruders come. this way, you can catch them easily.
7. spell your name wrong to prevent identity theft
8. cut all your hair off in an attempt to become someone else and then send the locks to your neighbours (don’t provide context)
9. dig yourself a grave four feet to the left of the nearest skyscraper
10. don’t look behind your shoulder or you’ll see her. donna.
omg i’m crying i can’t believe i found some valid information on what has been disturbing me for such a long time. i felt like i didn’t belong to the language i speak and.. jeez here it is, i’m not alone
All I can think abt is that one quote that basically just describes that you can’t be your true self in your native language bc there’s too much emotional attachment, but that second languages allow speakers to be truly free with their words
her body is always slightly bent to the side from being used to carry her leather satchel, heavy with books and notes
passes notes to her friends in latin during class to avoid being caught by the teacher
spends her evenings wrapped up in a fuzzy blanket drinking chamomile tea and reading ancient greek philosophy
can recite stabat mater by heart
quotes philosophers in her essays without actually specifying it's a quote
sneaks red wine in a thermos at school
has lent tsh to all her friends, encouraging them to annotate it
has engraved "pulvis et umbra sumus" on the stone of her school building
is excited beyond reason for duolingo latin
has named her roomba "alyosha"
wears very low heels/flats but can and will run after her bus in stilletos if need be
has pierced ears but rarely ever wears earrings
collects old books
is a grandma in terms of operating electronic devices
uses old books as a means of holding coffee/tea cups
Thoreau said, “Most men lead lives of quiet desperation.” Don’t be resigned to that. Break out! Break out! Now is the time!
DEAD POETS SOCIETY 1989 | Peter Weir
A Thorn Amidst the Roses, 1887, by James Sant (1820-1916)
- Having a ridiculous amount of tabs open of Wikipedia pages about ancient paintings, essays about Plato’s books and information about ivy league university’s.
- Listening to Hozier, Lana del Rey, classical music and slowed down versions of pop songs.
- Carrying notebooks, now twice the size as they were when I first bought them, filled with notes, paintings, lose papers with sketches and Latin words and their definition.
- Finishing a book and immediately starting another one.
- Staying up till sunrise while drinking tea and reading poetry.
You’re busy doubting yourself while so many people are intimidated by your potential
english: knit turtlenecks, corduroy pants. going to stationery stores and buying ink. writing notes and penning stories in leather-bound notebooks. critiquing your friend’s essay as you walk hurriedly through a grove of oak trees in the rain on your way to class.
math: perpetually foggy glasses. biting your pencil eraser to focus when you’re stuck on a particularly difficult problem. taking notes and putting them into a worn binder, bursting with variegated papers. late night study sessions fueled by multiple cups of black tea.
chemistry: heavy old textbooks covered in post-it notes. empty beakers sitting in the windowsill, reflecting random patterns of light onto the classroom walls. a cozy striped sweater peeking out from underneath a pristine white lab coat. coffee from the local cafe, filled just to the brim with creamer - very precisely, a skill learned from hours spent measuring chemicals.
history: dark woolen coats, long socks hidden under plaid pants. old maps from all across the glove hung around the room. analyzing (and admiring!) prolific writing and pieces of art that have survived the test of time. long walks on cobblestone streets, stopping to read on the steps of a museum.
latin: sturdy leather backpacks with straps. stopping to explain the meaning of words and their roots, followed by looks of intrigue. writing latin sayings into tea-stained planners. sitting in a cafe, eating a macaron in a window booth and watching people walk by.
art: hair pulled back into a low bun, random strands poking out. hands always stained with paint, charcoal - the medium changes daily. sketching under a sycamore tree, its leaves slowly browning. standing in front of a painting in a museum, becoming lost in it, slowly pulled back in time into its story.
» John Atkinson Grimshaw (1836 - 1893)
Liverpool from Wapping
Stapleton Park near Pontefract Sun
Shipping on the Clyde
Park Row, Leeds
A Moonlit Lane
Blackman Street, London
INFJ/ISFJ: true crime, scrolling through wikipedia for hours, looking up riddles, scrolling through "onlyjayyus" tiktok, has a huge duolingo streak
ENFJ/ENTJ: uses se to support te/fe ambitions (sports, performing arts, community service, cleaning)
ESFJ/ESTJ: fantasizing, vision boards on pinterest, adding items to amazon wishlist, makes a bucket list for the year,
ESTP/ENTP: touches grass, hangs our with friends, class clown, watches reality tv, starts drama for no reason, debates on the internet (or fights irl if you're an estp 👀)
ESFP/ENFP: random urge to organize computer, random internet debates, creates new playlists, watches video essays about random topics, argues with friends about either stupid or smart things
INFP/INTP: reminisces about things. procrastinates. overthinking past conversations in the shower. collects cool rocks. photography. listens to the same song over and over again.
ISFP/ISTP: planning and...stuff. zodiac, psuedoscience, etc. strategic/world building video games, has a whole fictional world planned out in their head.
INTJ/ISTJ: "write in their feelings diary" 💀 IM SORRY, introspection, often known as super "self aware" as a result, watches nostalgic or comfort movies
dark academia | xxi | ♂| INFJ-T | oct.24 — active
192 posts