Book classification is a sometimes tricky thing! People seem to especially struggle with the definition of historical fiction. When I was a school librarian I had to make judgement calls many times. I also had the challenge of teaching and explaining genres and trying to encourage kids to try different ones. Loot has been waiting on my book cart for a couple of months; thank you for the review; it really gives me some great expectations. Have a good week!
I find it so interesting to see different classifications/genre descriptions of books in different geographical contexts. I am intrigued by Sheila Heiti’s book but think I would need to read it when I have time to sink into it properly.
I’m fascinated to hear you discuss the Heti book! I am currently working on a video about how this book is actually poetry, and you are the first person I have heard who mentions it!!!!!! As you can tell, I’m very excited. As for the fiction / non-fiction debate, Heti herself says in interviews that it is unclear, which of course fits very well into the poetry category lol. E x
I love your videos. Thanks for reminding me about Weyward-it caught my eye months ago just because of the gorgeous cover and the title’s nod to Shakespeare (weyward being the old English version of “weird”, and the Weyward Sisters being the witches in Macbeth; I love all things Shakespeare). Feminist witches and magic sound like it’s just my kind of book, so I ordered it-I’ll let you know how I get on with it. Loot has been on my TBR from a couple prize lists-someday I’ll get to it. I definitely want to read Birnam Wood soon (another Macbeth reference). Portrait of a Body is so unique!-I’m adding it to my list to pick up. And I love peeking over your shoulder to your neighbor’s yard to see the green and blooming flowers. Gorgeous pics at the end-our trees are just showing the hints of buds, still weeks away from blossoms. Take care, happy reading.
Thanks very much for your comments. I agree that the Weyward cover is gorgeous. The novel opens with a comment about the Wyrd sisters from Macbeth. I look forward to hearing what you think of it. It’s a fun coincidence that Birnam Wood is also on your TBR. Happy reading and may you see blossoms nearby soon. 🌸
Hi Lindy, first of all, I love your smile at the beginning of the video. Portrait of a body sounds fascinating. I do love graphic memoirs, best of graphic books. Regarding genre classification, I really dislike when fictional memoirs are classified as nonfiction but that’s a personal preference because a teacher once told me that to remember That fiction is in true think of fake. So if a memoir is made up to me, it’s fake thus fiction. But I know not everyone agrees with that. cherry blossoms reminded me of Japan. Sending you much aloha.
Thank you so much for your comments Maya. I will tell you more about Portrait of a Body: the author focuses on her feelings about sexual intimacy. Early trauma has caused her to disassociate in bed; she also used to feel like it was impolite to say no to men’s desires; and she still has times when she can’t bear to be touched by another person - it’s written in a matter of fact way and with only a few sentences on each page. I really like her style.
Hello, Lindy! Really interesting video. I enjoyed your discussion about genre and how to classify many of these books. I also could really appreciate your sense that a few of these books were just not right for you now. I've only recently been getting better at saying that myself. Thank you for another really thoughtful video.
Great video as always. I am going to be in Montreal for a week this summer and if I don’t come across Portrait of a Body before then I think it would be a great one to pick up there! I personally love the term autofiction. The more we learn about memory the more I’m convinced that all memoir should be classified as fiction which a counsellor friend said to me once. I wonder if Heti’s book could be classified as autofiction? Also, I wonder if this might have been a more enjoyable project for the author than any reader.
Autofiction sounds like a good description to me. A lot of authors have praised Alphabetical Diaries (Zadie Smith, Claire Dederer, Kerri ni Dochartaigh etc) so it’s the kind of writing other writers appreciate. My friend and fellow booktuber @marilynmayamendoza feels quite strongly that memoir should be factual, not fictional. Of course our memories are faulty, but I think a memoirist who strives for accuracy is writing nonfiction. That doesn’t seem to be Sheila Heti’s aim. Her sentences as they are presented in Alphabetical Diaries reflect the banality and contradictions of our lives.
@katiesikkes1527 I also meant to comment about your plan to look for Portrait of a Body when you visit Montreal: great idea! It’s the kind of book that is nice to own so that you can pull it from your shelf and revisit it whenever the mood strikes.
You're not wearing a scarf/wrap/shawl! Thanks for. the kind shoutout. Funny, I am having the non-fiction/fiction quandry for People April! I thought Undiscovered (Gabriela Weiner) was a memoir. However, i was nominated for the Booker International. How does one classify autofiction? I'm making it work all the same. I went to hear Daryl Gregory speak last night and he considered himself a genre writer. He says he writes fiction with "weird" elements. Those elements can be fantasy, sci fi or horror. His publisher gets frustrated that he can't stick to one obvious box!
Ha! I was in a t-shirt that day because it was 17 C, but the porch where I filmed was in the shade, so I pulled on a sweater. Yesterday I had to mow the lawn because the grass was so long. I’m not familiar with Daryl Gregory’s work. Fiction with weird elements tends to appeal to me. Life itself is pretty weird. I support including autofiction in People April. Why not? It’s definitely going to be about a real person, even if there are some fictional elements. I support going rogue on booktube reading events too. 😉
I agree with your thoughts on Alphabetical diaries. I really wanted to like it but I’ve decided to dnf at I which is of course a very long section. There are so many other books I can go on with.
Genre classification suppose to help us in the navigating through the ocean of books we have on the shelves in shops and libraries, however, it gets more complicated with every year to understand the rules. First time I heard about a genre dilemma from the never-ending discussion if Harry Potter is Young Adult or Children literature. People argued if YA is about characters of the book or stories, or something else. Here genres were mixed with the target audience and its age. Second time I had interesting discussion about the difference between fantasy, sci-fi, mystic, even horror. Magic realism is also in that group of confusions. Detective books vs thrillers was the third discussion. And the last one - memoirs, and fiction memoirs. Frankly, I stopped relying on genres, and try to focus on the annotation or people opinions. I try to find people, whose taste I like and try to follow them. But in real life I am the person who goes in circles in libraries, checking even cookbooks and books in Chinese 😂 I am always eager to find gems
Oh my yes Aleksandra! The topic of categorizing books by age of the target audience is a minefield! Again, publishers play a role. Sometimes the same book is marketed with two different covers, one to appeal to teens and one for adult readers. A series like Harry Potter starts out suitable for children, then shifts to teen territory as the characters age and the content gets more mature. Reader’s services was the favourite part of my job at the library. It’s important to know about genres but also necessary to be ready to go rogue in order to match books with readers.
I was interested in what you said about Weyward. Heard Scott describe it and wandered if I might like it. Steve had Loot from the library but I was buried in booktube prize reading so didn't get to it. He described it as good and enjoyable but fairly standard historical fiction. That genre question. I read Vaster Wilds by Lauren Groff and wonder what a librarian would do with that as it's somewhere between literary fiction, historical fiction and fable with a sprinkle of crime.
Hello Ros! Answer to your question about Vaster Wilds: at EPL it’s in general fiction, the catch-all category. Novels that straddle categories are good entry points for readers approaching new genres. Loot is a good entry point for fans of historical fiction who want to read more literary fiction, for example. It’s Tania James’ prose and construction, as well as her treatment of themes, that cross into the literary category. I was going to use the word “elevate” but realized that makes a judgment on historical fiction in general. I think of individual genres (and also all novels taken together) as being on a continuum, with schlock at one end and literary works at the other.
Book classification is a sometimes tricky thing! People seem to especially struggle with the definition of historical fiction. When I was a school librarian I had to make judgement calls many times. I also had the challenge of teaching and explaining genres and trying to encourage kids to try different ones. Loot has been waiting on my book cart for a couple of months; thank you for the review; it really gives me some great expectations. Have a good week!
Yes, historical fiction has several conflicting definitions. However it’s described, Loot is a good read. I hope you enjoy it! 😊
I find it so interesting to see different classifications/genre descriptions of books in different geographical contexts. I am intrigued by Sheila Heiti’s book but think I would need to read it when I have time to sink into it properly.
I’m with you on Weyward. I enjoyed it enough, but it didn’t set my world on fire.
Lovely to hear what you’ve been reading as always Lindy 🧡
I’m always looking for books that set my world on fire 😉
I’m fascinated to hear you discuss the Heti book! I am currently working on a video about how this book is actually poetry, and you are the first person I have heard who mentions it!!!!!! As you can tell, I’m very excited. As for the fiction / non-fiction debate, Heti herself says in interviews that it is unclear, which of course fits very well into the poetry category lol. E x
@@theonlyrealproperty2567 Thanks for your comment, Eleanor. I look forward to watching your video about Alphabetical Diaries. 😊
I love your videos. Thanks for reminding me about Weyward-it caught my eye months ago just because of the gorgeous cover and the title’s nod to Shakespeare (weyward being the old English version of “weird”, and the Weyward Sisters being the witches in Macbeth; I love all things Shakespeare). Feminist witches and magic sound like it’s just my kind of book, so I ordered it-I’ll let you know how I get on with it.
Loot has been on my TBR from a couple prize lists-someday I’ll get to it. I definitely want to read Birnam Wood soon (another Macbeth reference). Portrait of a Body is so unique!-I’m adding it to my list to pick up.
And I love peeking over your shoulder to your neighbor’s yard to see the green and blooming flowers. Gorgeous pics at the end-our trees are just showing the hints of buds, still weeks away from blossoms. Take care, happy reading.
Thanks very much for your comments. I agree that the Weyward cover is gorgeous. The novel opens with a comment about the Wyrd sisters from Macbeth. I look forward to hearing what you think of it. It’s a fun coincidence that Birnam Wood is also on your TBR. Happy reading and may you see blossoms nearby soon. 🌸
Hi Lindy, first of all, I love your smile at the beginning of the video. Portrait of a body sounds fascinating. I do love graphic memoirs, best of graphic books.
Regarding genre classification, I really dislike when fictional memoirs are classified as nonfiction but that’s a personal preference because a teacher once told me that to remember
That fiction is in true think of fake. So if a memoir is made up to me, it’s fake thus fiction. But I know not everyone agrees with that. cherry blossoms reminded me of Japan. Sending you much aloha.
Thank you so much for your comments Maya. I will tell you more about Portrait of a Body: the author focuses on her feelings about sexual intimacy. Early trauma has caused her to disassociate in bed; she also used to feel like it was impolite to say no to men’s desires; and she still has times when she can’t bear to be touched by another person - it’s written in a matter of fact way and with only a few sentences on each page. I really like her style.
Hello, Lindy! Really interesting video. I enjoyed your discussion about genre and how to classify many of these books. I also could really appreciate your sense that a few of these books were just not right for you now. I've only recently been getting better at saying that myself. Thank you for another really thoughtful video.
Thank you Pat! We keep learning about ourselves as readers, don’t we?
Great video as always. I am going to be in Montreal for a week this summer and if I don’t come across Portrait of a Body before then I think it would be a great one to pick up there!
I personally love the term autofiction. The more we learn about memory the more I’m convinced that all memoir should be classified as fiction which a counsellor friend said to me once. I wonder if Heti’s book could be classified as autofiction? Also, I wonder if this might have been a more enjoyable project for the author than any reader.
Autofiction sounds like a good description to me. A lot of authors have praised Alphabetical Diaries (Zadie Smith, Claire Dederer, Kerri ni Dochartaigh etc) so it’s the kind of writing other writers appreciate.
My friend and fellow booktuber @marilynmayamendoza feels quite strongly that memoir should be factual, not fictional. Of course our memories are faulty, but I think a memoirist who strives for accuracy is writing nonfiction. That doesn’t seem to be Sheila Heti’s aim. Her sentences as they are presented in Alphabetical Diaries reflect the banality and contradictions of our lives.
@katiesikkes1527 I also meant to comment about your plan to look for Portrait of a Body when you visit Montreal: great idea! It’s the kind of book that is nice to own so that you can pull it from your shelf and revisit it whenever the mood strikes.
You're not wearing a scarf/wrap/shawl! Thanks for. the kind shoutout. Funny, I am having the non-fiction/fiction quandry for People April! I thought Undiscovered (Gabriela Weiner) was a memoir. However, i was nominated for the Booker International. How does one classify autofiction? I'm making it work all the same. I went to hear Daryl Gregory speak last night and he considered himself a genre writer. He says he writes fiction with "weird" elements. Those elements can be fantasy, sci fi or horror. His publisher gets frustrated that he can't stick to one obvious box!
Ha! I was in a t-shirt that day because it was 17 C, but the porch where I filmed was in the shade, so I pulled on a sweater. Yesterday I had to mow the lawn because the grass was so long.
I’m not familiar with Daryl Gregory’s work. Fiction with weird elements tends to appeal to me. Life itself is pretty weird.
I support including autofiction in People April. Why not? It’s definitely going to be about a real person, even if there are some fictional elements. I support going rogue on booktube reading events too. 😉
I agree with your thoughts on Alphabetical diaries. I really wanted to like it but I’ve decided to dnf at I which is of course a very long section. There are so many other books I can go on with.
Yes, I’m my case, it was at a much earlier point it felt like a one trick pony and I was tired of the trick.
@@lindysmagpiereads I went back to see what you had said and that informed my decision to move on. Thank you
Genre classification suppose to help us in the navigating through the ocean of books we have on the shelves in shops and libraries, however, it gets more complicated with every year to understand the rules.
First time I heard about a genre dilemma from the never-ending discussion if Harry Potter is Young Adult or Children literature. People argued if YA is about characters of the book or stories, or something else. Here genres were mixed with the target audience and its age.
Second time I had interesting discussion about the difference between fantasy, sci-fi, mystic, even horror. Magic realism is also in that group of confusions. Detective books vs thrillers was the third discussion. And the last one - memoirs, and fiction memoirs.
Frankly, I stopped relying on genres, and try to focus on the annotation or people opinions. I try to find people, whose taste I like and try to follow them. But in real life I am the person who goes in circles in libraries, checking even cookbooks and books in Chinese 😂 I am always eager to find gems
Oh my yes Aleksandra! The topic of categorizing books by age of the target audience is a minefield! Again, publishers play a role. Sometimes the same book is marketed with two different covers, one to appeal to teens and one for adult readers. A series like Harry Potter starts out suitable for children, then shifts to teen territory as the characters age and the content gets more mature. Reader’s services was the favourite part of my job at the library. It’s important to know about genres but also necessary to be ready to go rogue in order to match books with readers.
PS. May you have much success in your search for gems! 📚
I have Weyward on hold. I’ll let you know what I think. 💜
I hope you enjoy it 🤗
I was interested in what you said about Weyward. Heard Scott describe it and wandered if I might like it. Steve had Loot from the library but I was buried in booktube prize reading so didn't get to it. He described it as good and enjoyable but fairly standard historical fiction. That genre question. I read Vaster Wilds by Lauren Groff and wonder what a librarian would do with that as it's somewhere between literary fiction, historical fiction and fable with a sprinkle of crime.
Hello Ros! Answer to your question about Vaster Wilds: at EPL it’s in general fiction, the catch-all category.
Novels that straddle categories are good entry points for readers approaching new genres. Loot is a good entry point for fans of historical fiction who want to read more literary fiction, for example. It’s Tania James’ prose and construction, as well as her treatment of themes, that cross into the literary category. I was going to use the word “elevate” but realized that makes a judgment on historical fiction in general. I think of individual genres (and also all novels taken together) as being on a continuum, with schlock at one end and literary works at the other.
PS. I just started North Woods this morning. The first chapter reminds me of Vaster Wilds.
@@lindysmagpiereads I must get to North Woods. Also Birnam Wood.
Also i meant to say I have seen the tiger automaton in the V&A Museum in London and a replica in the palace in Mysore so Loot does appeal.
@@scallydandlingaboutthebook2711 I think you would like Michael Christie’s Greenwood too. All the woods!