I haven't read either Barth or Wallace, but again, I love hearing your thoughts to give me idea of their work. Wallace definitely sounds like he has a good sense of humour - I really enjoyed those quotes you read out! And goodness, to write long sentences like that you really have to have your wits about you to make them make sense (and as you said, to read them aloud is a breath workout). Also very interesting to think about the "secret sadness" in educated Americans (or Americans in general). Definitely food for thought there. It often makes me think of when people talk about how certain countries might be first-world and function efficiently, but then have an imbalance with drinking problems or depression. And then you get some poverty-stricken cultures who seem to have deep-rooted peace or joy in the little things. Obviously that's a generalisation, but it's interesting to think about in terms of what seems to be a better life or society versus our inherent needs for contentment and such. Sorry if that is a bit jumbled, my thoughts are running. Anyway, thanks for the video! :)
11:14 This reminded me of the quote: "Only optimists commit suicide, optimists who no longer succeed at being optimists. The others, having no reason to live, why would they have any to die?" It's from _The Trouble with Being Born_ by the philosopher E.M. Cioran. However, that was published in '73, and so I guess it's not an influence. I'd recommend reading Cioran if you're interested in this kind of stuff-although it's very depressing at times-because he's very readable and writes poetically, and there's an underlying beauty and strange optimism in his ostensibly nihilistic writing.
@@agwriting Yeah, I think The Trouble With Being Born is a great place to start, though it's more like a collection of aphorisms or journal entries than a traditional essay which can make it a bit difficult to read linearly; I approached it like a book of poems almost, i.e. I read a small portion and let them sit with me for a bit before moving on. A Short History of Decay is another good starting point and it's a bit more structured.
I haven't read either Barth or Wallace, but again, I love hearing your thoughts to give me idea of their work. Wallace definitely sounds like he has a good sense of humour - I really enjoyed those quotes you read out! And goodness, to write long sentences like that you really have to have your wits about you to make them make sense (and as you said, to read them aloud is a breath workout). Also very interesting to think about the "secret sadness" in educated Americans (or Americans in general). Definitely food for thought there. It often makes me think of when people talk about how certain countries might be first-world and function efficiently, but then have an imbalance with drinking problems or depression. And then you get some poverty-stricken cultures who seem to have deep-rooted peace or joy in the little things. Obviously that's a generalisation, but it's interesting to think about in terms of what seems to be a better life or society versus our inherent needs for contentment and such. Sorry if that is a bit jumbled, my thoughts are running.
Anyway, thanks for the video! :)
11:14 This reminded me of the quote: "Only optimists commit suicide, optimists who no longer succeed at being optimists. The others, having no reason to live, why would they have any to die?" It's from _The Trouble with Being Born_ by the philosopher E.M. Cioran. However, that was published in '73, and so I guess it's not an influence. I'd recommend reading Cioran if you're interested in this kind of stuff-although it's very depressing at times-because he's very readable and writes poetically, and there's an underlying beauty and strange optimism in his ostensibly nihilistic writing.
thanks for the recs
That sounds really interesting. Should I start with The Trouble With Being Born or is there a different place you'd recommend?
@@agwriting Yeah, I think The Trouble With Being Born is a great place to start, though it's more like a collection of aphorisms or journal entries than a traditional essay which can make it a bit difficult to read linearly; I approached it like a book of poems almost, i.e. I read a small portion and let them sit with me for a bit before moving on. A Short History of Decay is another good starting point and it's a bit more structured.
Love this video!
I tried in get into Infinite Jest and couldn’t. Might try one of his shorter novels first.
Yeah that's probably the last one I'll read of his--would recommend maybe Oblivion? Some great short stories in there.
this is great BUT jimmy butler wants out of miamiiii
Hahaha yup. In New York rn and his jerseys at the NBA store are already half off, which is funny.