She is amazing. Though I would probably leave it quite a long time after reading it to watch it. I like the books to live and breathe in my head a bit. And have my brain cast them rather than have the actual cast cast in my brain if you know what I mean. Ha.
Hi Simon - Thank you so much for keeping me entertained while I lie in bed with my cat with covid 🙁 I absolutely love Elizabeth Strout. Her books seem so simplistic on the surface but are incredibly complex and so moving. Oh William had me in tears! I can’t wait to read Lucy by the Sea. I was so lucky to see Laura Linney perform My Name Is Lucy Barton at the theatre - it did bring Lucy’s character alive. It was fantastic.
Elizabeth Strout is one of my favourite writers ❤ I’m so glad you found her! I’m just about to start Lucy by the Sea, which is the only one of all of her works, I haven’t read yet. Olive Kitteridge is a masterpiece! After reading it, do try to find the tv series starring Frances McDormand, which is also excellent! Olive, again and Amy and Isabelle are so good too! And The Burgess Boys and Abide with Me! Elizabeth Strout really gets life in all its messiness, such humanity! 🎃
Thank you so much for this blog, Simon! I haven't read any Elizabeth Strout yet, but I convinced my mom to try the Lucy Barton series and I'm planning on getting the books from her when she's done with her (aka sneaky proxy book shopping). I think that a great author candidate for a similar blog would be Emily St. John Mandel and her last three novels, Station Eleven, The Glass Hotel and Sea of Tranquility. They are loosely connected and I found the interplay between the novels fascinating, it makes the trio feel like much more than the sum of its parts.
So glad you loved these! I'm finishing the audio of Oh William! now, and you've made me want to move straight on to Lucy by the Sea. I'm loving these, but of her other novels, my favorite was definitely Amy and Isabelle. I read it many years ago, but it's still echoing. Very different in some ways, but the tone and voice were similar, and the mother/daughter relationship was brilliant. This was fun to watch...I wonder if you'd consider a Percival Everett author-centered vlog? I feel like he hasn't gotten enough attention, but all the books I've read from him have been incredible. All so very different, he's so versatile, so it might be fun to pick and choose between the titles. (He also has a new book coming out soon.)
Ooh it’s lovely when you read a book and it stays with you for years and years. Or echo’s as you’ve delightfully put it. I’ve read The Trees, so it wouldn’t be a fully new to me author vlog, I also had a few issues with it but I would like to try his short story collection to give him another whirl.
Excellent news that youve enjoyed these. I picked up Olive Kitteridge last I was out for a haul a couple months ago, so I'll be looking forward to trying Strout. Way to go Pip!
😅😊 I would start with My Name is Lucy Barton. They are complete and she has a neat way of referring to the other books without retelling the tale. I have just finished Lucy by the Sea and I must say glad to have read Oh William.
@@SavidgeReads are your teeth clenched?. Dear me. I’m retiring gracefully and graciously.. maybe I should watch your video again. But Ok have a recommendation- read Inga Simpson, amazing Australian author , anything and everything she has written. 😇
🎃thank you Simon! I have not read that series, so it’s an interesting look at her work. I’ve been told that she writes characters as rich and rewarding like Maeve Binchy and I love Maeve’s writing! Ps: I love the new smile ❤️🎃😉
I’ve never read any Maeve Binchy, I wonder if mum has. I’ll ask her this weekend. I know she’s keen to read more of Lucy which I’ll certainly be advising her to do!
That was a refreshing blog and where did the time go? I’d love another similar blog perhaps featuring either Kristin Hannah or Maggie Farrell. The video was so varied and I enjoyed the trips to the theatre, shopping and the cinema.
Ha. Glad it whizzed by for you. I’ve read almost all Maggie’s books but have read nothing of Kristin Hannah’s, though they’re quite chunky aren’t they so could be a looooong period of time to vlog 🤣
🎃🎃 so glad to hear you enjoyed the series! Olive Kitteridge is a lot more like Anything is Possible in terms of form, but still a wonderful character study and really rich prose in that wonderful Elizabeth Strout way. I can't wait to pick up a copy of Lucy by the Sea 🐚🌊
When I saw the title of this vlog- I thought "well my is definitely Elizabeth Strout. started Lucy By the Sea yesterday and an halfway though it. Of course you are my favorite book vloger because we share a brain!
🎃 Love Lucy! Wasn't keen on starting Anything is Possible, but after seeing your vlog, I feel I can skip this one and go straight to Oh William and Lucy by the Sea. Thank you for your thorough insight!
Loved this vlog, bloody love a long vlog 😊 I haven't read any of Strout, I've only just become aware since the booker, but you've convinced me to dive in! 😄 Happy belated Halloween 🎃🎃🎃
Hi Simon i really enjoyed this long form look at E Strout's Lucy series. You did it so well. Really gave a taster without giving 2 much away. Will look out for them at the library.
🍌 Too late for the pumpkin so you've got a banana instead! Just about to start the Elizabeth Strout journey and looking forward to it very much. Loved having an extra long vlog, just settled back and enjoyed ride 😂 Thank you for the content, love it when I see a new one has been posted 🌻
Can it ever be too late for a pumpkin Carol hahaha. Thank you for the banana. There might not be a bit of content for a while I’m as I’m on holiday and didn’t get round to filming before hand.
I’ve been longing to mention your new smile but didn’t know whether it was a bit awkward for you. Just so you know - gorgeous. I enjoyed this Vlog very much Thank you. I will have to look at Elizabeth Strout now, which will be very different, but the idea of a book that might make me cry is tempting. I haven’t read one of those for ages. It will have to go some to beat me sitting sobbing when I read The Physician - the race section but who knows. Thank you 🥧couldn't find a pumpkin I think it's in this pie tbh
Not awkward. I am just very much about letting creators mention anything like that if they want to as it’s quite a personal thing. Anyway… love the pie emoji lol. Ps. I think, no spoilers, I cried because I was so invested four books in. Not sure I would have if I hadn’t read the others. I may have. But can’t be sure.
I Just read these four after watching your episode with your mother and was so intrigued that I jumped immediately into the series and lived with Lucy for a month…. I love the way Strouts writes in way that seems simple but not any writer can do it…. I Read Olive Kitteridge and Olive Again a couple of years ago, and I can’t wait to read the rest of her novels, but I am afraid of running out since she doesn’t have that many…
My unread books are currently judging me as I think about buying some Elizabeth Strout books when I next have money! Also, Oscar is just such a star, absolutely love him! I hope you get to see Eurovision.... fun fact I went to college and was on the same performing arts course as Jessica Garlick who sang for the UK about twenty years ago and she was also on pop idol with Wil Young! Your vlogs are always such a joy btw and always cheer me up but my purse hates me right now lol! xx
OMG! I just read My Name Is Lucy Barton and almost fell out of bed (yes, I was reading in bed). I AM FROM AMGASH!!! I grew up in Northern Illinois in the Sauk Valley area (actually in a town called Polo IL). I grew up in the 70s/80s and it was one of the most depressed areas in the US, due to the collapse of the US steel industry ( along the Rock River area) and the demise of the small farmer. I think unemployment was something horrible like 20%. Forty years later, It is still a poor area with many poor people. Whereas I do think Elizabeth Strout is a brilliant writer, the entire read was a bit depressing for me. Not sure if I will continue with this Lucy Barton series or not. But loved your long vlog. ❤❤
Glad you enjoyed the vlog and how spooky that you suddenly saw your hometown in it. Ha. Isn't it scary how 20% unemployment used to sound like a big number, now it seems small with what the world is looking like at the moment. I am going to have a 'summer of strout' this year and head to all the ones I haven't yet.
Thank you, Simon! 🎃 I’ve read My Name is Lucy Barton, liked it but didn’t love it. I’m not so keen on short stories, so I’ve skipped the second book. I decided to listen to Oh William! Best decision ever! I’m currently listening to Lucy by the Sea and I’m absolutely loving it. Elizabeth Strout is becoming a new favourite author for me too. The Olive Kettridge books will be next. 🎃📚🎃
I think I’m going to pop and visit Amy and Isobel before Olive. I may even read the books I haven’t in order of publication date. Wild right? Hahahaha.
So first 🎃 And I have been waiting for you to read Strout for a while. So excited to see your reactions to the Amgash books. Lucy By the Sea is one of my favorite reads of 2022 as well. I have read all of Strout’s novels and have been a fan for a while. You will find Olive Kitteridge to be a one. I love her. Her 2 books are made up of interconnected chronological stories like Anything is Possible. Just food for thought for you. I might head to The Burgess Boys next to see some more strands of Lucy By the Sea. And this was definitely not too long!
Hahaha. I love Olive already now you’ve described her as ‘a one’. Hahaha. I didn’t realise The Burgess Boys linked into LBTS. That intrigues me but with the surname it now totally makes sense. How amazing to create such an interlinking world. Weirdly that and Abide With Me seem tricky to get in the UK, I’ll keep hunting.
I love love love Elizabeth Strout! I just found the writing so simple and stark with not a word to spare. I also love her character development and how they link between books....the web is woven throughout her work. First read Olive Kitteridge and then went on to read her back list and also read each new one as it came out. Not yet read Lucy by the Sea yet so will look to get that as a treat before the end of the year. 🎃🎃🎃
🎃 just marking that I watched all of it, thanks. Nice to see (as well) all the non-book bits and pieces - Sheffield Wintergarden and what looked like Sheffield University book stacks, looks like the old library next to the Arts Tower, brings back memories - but could be Hallam, it's been a long time 🤫🤭😚
Really liked the long vlog doing a deep dive into the Lucy B. books. I found Lucy by the Sea at the library then realized I’d missed Oh, William, so downloaded that one to read first. Strout is an amazing writer. I’m totally with you with regard to Bob B. I enjoyed their friendship and thought things might go a different way. It made me think about how your romantic partner doesn’t have to fulfill all your needs, but that it could be a slippery slope getting too close to someone else. I cried, too. I’ve read Olive Kitteridge but not its sequel. I think the next one for me will be The Burgess Boys, since I already own it, but will take a pause for awhile. 🎃🎃🎃
I didn’t dive too deep as didn’t want to spoil anything, really glad that you enjoyed it. I had so many hopes for Bob B and Lucy though. Maybe in the next one. I feel there’s unfinished business. Ha.
@@SavidgeReads exciting! Nigella said this about it “I know nothing is perfect in life, but this is surely the perfect piece of writing. And every time I return to it, it seems to turn up something new” I concur! olive again is also brilliant and I love the burgess boys, must read amy and Isabelle
Lucy by the sea was and is my favourite book 📖 I read in 2022. And I loved the format of the video a lot. I really enjoyed it and hope you’ll make more of this kind. Thank you so very much. For training your new smile I can only tell you to relax and imagine your husband in a bath with a glass of champagne in his one hand an a rose in his other one. Don’t you worry a cute man like you will succeed in this endeavour. With ❤ and a 🎃 from Flanders in Belgium.
Ha. I couldn’t imagine that as Chris bans all glass from the bathroom (I sometimes break this rule) as he’s terrified of smashed glass. I’m also just not a big smiler and that’s ok. Glad you enjoyed the vlog!
Elizabeth Strout is one of my new favourites and Lucy by the Sea is magical! You will love Olive, as a person and the books. Olive is a complex character and very different to Lucy. 🎃
🎃 I like editing Simon don't worry to much from a viewing perspective it makes the vlog more immediate and intermet. Obviously its also great when editing Simon doesn't appear as well. All I am saying is he doesn't detract from my viewing experience at all.
I think it’s good to mention when it’s the editing version of yourself because you’re coming at the books from a slightly less fresh and different angle if you know what I mean. But I’ve had a big sort of my phone storage now so I’m hoping he won’t appear too often from now on. Ha.
Oooh I don’t know if I ate in an Italian in Liverpool during this vlog. I had some pasta in Salt House Bacaro which is tapas, so maybe that. Or do you mean with Pip? That was just a Gordon Ramsey which I wouldn’t rate to be honest.
I’ve read quite a few Sarah Moss, and love her, though I’ve not read her unofficial sort of series so that could be good. I feel like that would need to be done on a trip to the lakes or something. Nice idea.
oh - Olive Kitteridge! Just like how some of my book club didn't like one if my all time favorite books, _The Island of Missing Trees_, some of my book club didn't like _Olive Kitteridge_. I loved them both, so I await hearing how you fair with Olive! I am now planning a stop at my indie bookstore this week to get the Lucy books! ;)
Hahaha. I did indeed. I’ve not been too sure if I should address it or not but as it has been something I’ve been getting used to thought I would mention it 😁
🎃 I didn't really "get" the first two in the series but I adored Oh William! I thought it was fantastic. I've not read Lucy by the Sea yet but hope to shortly.
🎃Thanks for this, I really enjoyed it and it has made me want to get up and go and explore my shelves because I’m sure I have one or two by Elizabeth Strout that I thrifted, but never actually properly picked up. Will now add to my TBR.
🎃 I previously disregarded these books. I know you should never judge a book by its cover but they just felt bland to me. However now sold I intend to devour these via my local library. Great blog Simon. Thank you. 😘😍
I think I had a similar feeling to be honest. However I found them anything but. That said they won’t be for everyone. So borrowing from the library as a taster is a brilliant idea. Aren’t libraries brilliant?
I think I had a similar feeling to be honest. However I found them anything but. That said they won’t be for everyone. So borrowing from the library as a taster is a brilliant idea. Aren’t libraries brilliant?
🎃 Welcome to the world of Strout lovers! I predict you will adore Olive Kitteridge, which was my first. (You always remember your first!) But the Lucy Barton series is my favorite. And as much as I love them, Lucy By the Sea was still a wonderful surprise. One of the details about the book that I just loved was Lucy's friendship with Bob Burgess (another character from a different book within Strout's universe). A suggestion for another author series: Ann Tyler. She has a little bit of a similar vibe to Strout but uses a lot more words 😉. Or Anne Patchett. Her books are all very different from each other; it would be interesting to watch you consider her works as a whole. Or some other Ann(e) of your choosing! Happy Halloween! 👻
I loooooove Ann Tyler. I’ve not read her for ages though I’m not sure if she has an unofficial series and wouldn’t be a new to me author. Could have a Tyler Binge though maybe. Sadly Patchett and I just don’t get along. Very excited for Olive and The Burgess Boys.
🎃 Ask me who my favorite living writer is and I will not be able to choose between Julian Barnes and Elizabeth Strout. Your reading vlog was, unsurprisingly, a real treat for me. I have read all of her books and personally I like Olive a little bit better; she’s such an odd duck. There’s a snippet in both Lucy Barton and Oh William involving Lucy’s high school counselor driving her to college and it’s so poignant I don’t think I will ever forget it. There is a fifth Amgash book-I saw it on Penguin Random House U.K.’s website about six months ago, now it’s been changed to something generic like “upcoming book.” Great video!
Ha. I could definitely pick between Julian and Elizabeth. I’ve loved some Barnes books and really not got on with others, these were all hits. Glad you enjoyed the vlog. Always lovely to hear. Can’t wait to meet Olive the odd duck (brilliant expression) in 2023.
@@SavidgeReads The newest one deals with COVID and Trump, both topics that I find interesting to explore in fiction. Sorry to say this, but the other books, while beautifully written, sound rather dull to me.
Absolutely loved Olive Kittredge. HBO adapted it into a mini series with Frances McDormand, who was, of course, AMAZING.
She is amazing. Though I would probably leave it quite a long time after reading it to watch it. I like the books to live and breathe in my head a bit. And have my brain cast them rather than have the actual cast cast in my brain if you know what I mean. Ha.
I love Elizabeth Strout. I love watching her interviews and readings on UA-cam.
I haven’t checked any of those out. Maybe I should!
Hi Simon - Thank you so much for keeping me entertained while I lie in bed with my cat with covid 🙁
I absolutely love Elizabeth Strout. Her books seem so simplistic on the surface but are incredibly complex and so moving. Oh William had me in tears! I can’t wait to read Lucy by the Sea.
I was so lucky to see Laura Linney perform My Name Is Lucy Barton at the theatre - it did bring Lucy’s character alive. It was fantastic.
Hope you’re feeling better soon.
Elizabeth Strout is one of my favourite writers ❤ I’m so glad you found her! I’m just about to start Lucy by the Sea, which is the only one of all of her works, I haven’t read yet. Olive Kitteridge is a masterpiece! After reading it, do try to find the tv series starring Frances McDormand, which is also excellent! Olive, again and Amy and Isabelle are so good too! And The Burgess Boys and Abide with Me! Elizabeth Strout really gets life in all its messiness, such humanity! 🎃
The Burgess Boys and Abide By Me seem oddly tricky to get at the moment. I’ll keep hunting.
Olive surprised me. One of my favorite all time books. Which did surprised me.
Nothing like a good surprise.
Thank you so much for this blog, Simon! I haven't read any Elizabeth Strout yet, but I convinced my mom to try the Lucy Barton series and I'm planning on getting the books from her when she's done with her (aka sneaky proxy book shopping).
I think that a great author candidate for a similar blog would be Emily St. John Mandel and her last three novels, Station Eleven, The Glass Hotel and Sea of Tranquility. They are loosely connected and I found the interplay between the novels fascinating, it makes the trio feel like much more than the sum of its parts.
Oooh sneaky proxy book buying for the win. Hahaha. I read Station Eleven and liked it. No idea why I haven’t read the others.
your mum's place is so cute, it's serving inspo for a lil house to build on sims 4 :3
Hahaha. I was trying to explain the Sims to her just this weekend.
Can't find a pumpkin, but I got there! Glad you've joined the Elizabeth Strout club!!
Haha. Better late than never, really looking forward to more next year.
There’s signed ones available on the Waterstones app! Brill video. 👍 happy reading. 🤓
Oooh I might hold off as I’ve already got them all and also have now got a dream that one day Elizabeth and I may meet. Ha.
So glad you loved these! I'm finishing the audio of Oh William! now, and you've made me want to move straight on to Lucy by the Sea. I'm loving these, but of her other novels, my favorite was definitely Amy and Isabelle. I read it many years ago, but it's still echoing. Very different in some ways, but the tone and voice were similar, and the mother/daughter relationship was brilliant.
This was fun to watch...I wonder if you'd consider a Percival Everett author-centered vlog? I feel like he hasn't gotten enough attention, but all the books I've read from him have been incredible. All so very different, he's so versatile, so it might be fun to pick and choose between the titles. (He also has a new book coming out soon.)
Ooh it’s lovely when you read a book and it stays with you for years and years. Or echo’s as you’ve delightfully put it. I’ve read The Trees, so it wouldn’t be a fully new to me author vlog, I also had a few issues with it but I would like to try his short story collection to give him another whirl.
Definitely love the longer vlogs🎃 never heard of that author before but I’m definitely gunna check her out now!
Hope you enjoy her when you do.
Excellent news that youve enjoyed these. I picked up Olive Kitteridge last I was out for a haul a couple months ago, so I'll be looking forward to trying Strout. Way to go Pip!
Pip is doing amazing stuff. I’ll be featuring another project she’s been working on in a mu next vlog.
Can’t wait to read these now. Really enjoyed this video, too!
So pleased you enjoyed!
You are in for such a treat. Strout is an amazing writer and anything she writes is worth any amount of time and energy.
In for such a treat with which one’s Penelope? I don’t know what to head to next as I mentioned lol.
😅😊 I would start with My Name is Lucy Barton. They are complete and she has a neat way of referring to the other books without retelling the tale. I have just finished Lucy by the Sea and I must say glad to have read Oh William.
@@penelopegough6050 erm, this video is me reading all the Lucy Barton books… 😬
@@SavidgeReads are your teeth clenched?. Dear me. I’m retiring gracefully and graciously.. maybe I should watch your video again. But Ok have a recommendation- read Inga Simpson, amazing Australian author , anything and everything she has written. 😇
Your new smile is beautiful!
Awwww thank you!
🎃thank you Simon! I have not read that series, so it’s an interesting look at her work. I’ve been told that she writes characters as rich and rewarding like Maeve Binchy and I love Maeve’s writing!
Ps: I love the new smile ❤️🎃😉
I’ve never read any Maeve Binchy, I wonder if mum has. I’ll ask her this weekend. I know she’s keen to read more of Lucy which I’ll certainly be advising her to do!
Such a treat Simon! Thanks. I’ve read all but Lucy by the sea and have loved them. So great that you did too 😘
I thought they were fab. Loved them waaaay more than I expected. I miss them quite a bit now.
That was a refreshing blog and where did the time go? I’d love another similar blog perhaps featuring either Kristin Hannah or Maggie Farrell. The video was so varied and I enjoyed the trips to the theatre, shopping and the cinema.
Ha. Glad it whizzed by for you. I’ve read almost all Maggie’s books but have read nothing of Kristin Hannah’s, though they’re quite chunky aren’t they so could be a looooong period of time to vlog 🤣
I love Elizabeth Strout's writing. You are in for a treat when you read the backlist. 🎃
Hahaha. I have been reading some of the backlist 🤣
🎃🎃 so glad to hear you enjoyed the series! Olive Kitteridge is a lot more like Anything is Possible in terms of form, but still a wonderful character study and really rich prose in that wonderful Elizabeth Strout way. I can't wait to pick up a copy of Lucy by the Sea 🐚🌊
Hope you enjoy it when you get to it. I almost bought both the Olive books at a bookshop in Conwy this weekend, almost!
When I saw the title of this vlog- I thought "well my is definitely Elizabeth Strout. started Lucy By the Sea yesterday and an halfway though it. Of course you are my favorite book vloger because we share a brain!
Hahaha. Lovely… yet also a little sinister. Hahaha.
🎃 Love Lucy! Wasn't keen on starting Anything is Possible, but after seeing your vlog, I feel I can skip this one and go straight to Oh William and Lucy by the Sea. Thank you for your thorough insight!
A pleasure. I’m still really glad I read it but I don’t think it’s essential to the other Lucy books. Though one story is referred to a few times.
Loved this vlog, bloody love a long vlog 😊 I haven't read any of Strout, I've only just become aware since the booker, but you've convinced me to dive in! 😄 Happy belated Halloween 🎃🎃🎃
Happy belated Halloween to you too! Hope you enjoy the Strout books if you give them a go. I’m looking forward to heading back to her work.
Hi Simon i really enjoyed this long form look at E Strout's Lucy series. You did it so well. Really gave a taster without giving 2 much away. Will look out for them at the library.
I’m so pleased you’ve said that, I was aiming for a teasing taster without any spoilers. So phew! It was quite tricky lol.
🍌 Too late for the pumpkin so you've got a banana instead! Just about to start the Elizabeth Strout journey and looking forward to it very much. Loved having an extra long vlog, just settled back and enjoyed ride 😂 Thank you for the content, love it when I see a new one has been posted 🌻
Can it ever be too late for a pumpkin Carol hahaha. Thank you for the banana. There might not be a bit of content for a while I’m as I’m on holiday and didn’t get round to filming before hand.
I’ve been longing to mention your new smile but didn’t know whether it was a bit awkward for you. Just so you know - gorgeous.
I enjoyed this Vlog very much Thank you. I will have to look at Elizabeth Strout now, which will be very different, but the idea of a book that might make me cry is tempting. I haven’t read one of those for ages. It will have to go some to beat me sitting sobbing when I read The Physician - the race section but who knows. Thank you
🥧couldn't find a pumpkin I think it's in this pie tbh
Not awkward. I am just very much about letting creators mention anything like that if they want to as it’s quite a personal thing. Anyway… love the pie emoji lol.
Ps. I think, no spoilers, I cried because I was so invested four books in. Not sure I would have if I hadn’t read the others. I may have. But can’t be sure.
I Just read these four after watching your episode with your mother and was so intrigued that I jumped immediately into the series and lived with Lucy for a month…. I love the way Strouts writes in way that seems simple but not any writer can do it…. I Read Olive Kitteridge and Olive Again a couple of years ago, and I can’t wait to read the rest of her novels, but I am afraid of running out since she doesn’t have that many…
Ha. She’s three more. Nine is quite a lot of books from an author I think 🤣
Gréât vlog, glad you found a new favourite author! 🎃
I am really pleased to. I’m still thinking about Lucy and particularly Lucy by the Sea, over a week later.
🎃 - adding Elizabeth Stroud to my TBR.
Hooray. Hope you enjoy her as much as I have.
My unread books are currently judging me as I think about buying some Elizabeth Strout books when I next have money! Also, Oscar is just such a star, absolutely love him! I hope you get to see Eurovision.... fun fact I went to college and was on the same performing arts course as Jessica Garlick who sang for the UK about twenty years ago and she was also on pop idol with Wil Young! Your vlogs are always such a joy btw and always cheer me up but my purse hates me right now lol! xx
Oooh I remember Jessica’s song ‘Come Back’. Ha. I love a Eurovision song. Hope you enjoy Strout when you get to her!
OMG! I just read My Name Is Lucy Barton and almost fell out of bed (yes, I was reading in bed). I AM FROM AMGASH!!! I grew up in Northern Illinois in the Sauk Valley area (actually in a town called Polo IL). I grew up in the 70s/80s and it was one of the most depressed areas in the US, due to the collapse of the US steel industry ( along the Rock River area) and the demise of the small farmer. I think unemployment was something horrible like 20%. Forty years later, It is still a poor area with many poor people. Whereas I do think Elizabeth Strout is a brilliant writer, the entire read was a bit depressing for me. Not sure if I will continue with this Lucy Barton series or not. But loved your long vlog. ❤❤
Glad you enjoyed the vlog and how spooky that you suddenly saw your hometown in it. Ha. Isn't it scary how 20% unemployment used to sound like a big number, now it seems small with what the world is looking like at the moment. I am going to have a 'summer of strout' this year and head to all the ones I haven't yet.
Thank you, Simon! 🎃 I’ve read My Name is Lucy Barton, liked it but didn’t love it. I’m not so keen on short stories, so I’ve skipped the second book. I decided to listen to Oh William! Best decision ever! I’m currently listening to Lucy by the Sea and I’m absolutely loving it. Elizabeth Strout is becoming a new favourite author for me too. The Olive Kettridge books will be next. 🎃📚🎃
I think I’m going to pop and visit Amy and Isobel before Olive. I may even read the books I haven’t in order of publication date. Wild right? Hahahaha.
@@SavidgeReads 🎃🎃🎃
🎃🎃 I loooved Amy and Isabel - So good 😄
I think that might be where I head next.
Awesome. I've only read one Elizabeth Strout book and have considered binging them. Now this has inspired me to do that a little sooner. 😊💙
It was so much fun. I read a few books in between some of them which I am grateful for as it meant I eeked them out a bit longer.
So first 🎃 And I have been waiting for you to read Strout for a while. So excited to see your reactions to the Amgash books. Lucy By the Sea is one of my favorite reads of 2022 as well. I have read all of Strout’s novels and have been a fan for a while. You will find Olive Kitteridge to be a one. I love her. Her 2 books are made up of interconnected chronological stories like Anything is Possible. Just food for thought for you. I might head to The Burgess Boys next to see some more strands of Lucy By the Sea. And this was definitely not too long!
Hahaha. I love Olive already now you’ve described her as ‘a one’. Hahaha. I didn’t realise The Burgess Boys linked into LBTS. That intrigues me but with the surname it now totally makes sense. How amazing to create such an interlinking world. Weirdly that and Abide With Me seem tricky to get in the UK, I’ll keep hunting.
I love love love Elizabeth Strout! I just found the writing so simple and stark with not a word to spare. I also love her character development and how they link between books....the web is woven throughout her work. First read Olive Kitteridge and then went on to read her back list and also read each new one as it came out. Not yet read Lucy by the Sea yet so will look to get that as a treat before the end of the year. 🎃🎃🎃
Hope you enjoy it when you get to it. I am so looking forward to going backward through her backlist.
🎃 you will love the Olive books
Really looking forward to them.
Love long videos from you!!!
Awwww thanks April.
This was great, loved all the insights 🎃🎃🎃
Awwww thanks Angie 🎃
🎃 just marking that I watched all of it, thanks. Nice to see (as well) all the non-book bits and pieces - Sheffield Wintergarden and what looked like Sheffield University book stacks, looks like the old library next to the Arts Tower, brings back memories - but could be Hallam, it's been a long time 🤫🤭😚
Ha. It was Sheffield Central Library’s secret stacks. Always a perk to get to go behind the scenes.
🎃🍄📖📚🎃Yes want to buy the full selection you have read very intrigued.
Oooooh. Hooray 🎃
Really liked the long vlog doing a deep dive into the Lucy B. books. I found Lucy by the Sea at the library then realized I’d missed Oh, William, so downloaded that one to read first. Strout is an amazing writer. I’m totally with you with regard to Bob B. I enjoyed their friendship and thought things might go a different way. It made me think about how your romantic partner doesn’t have to fulfill all your needs, but that it could be a slippery slope getting too close to someone else. I cried, too. I’ve read Olive Kitteridge but not its sequel. I think the next one for me will be The Burgess Boys, since I already own it, but will take a pause for awhile. 🎃🎃🎃
I didn’t dive too deep as didn’t want to spoil anything, really glad that you enjoyed it. I had so many hopes for Bob B and Lucy though. Maybe in the next one. I feel there’s unfinished business. Ha.
🎃🎃🎃 love the series. Can’t wait to read Lucy by the sea. Loved the vid Simon.
You’ve a treat ahead of you Ralph.
Happy to see you’ve become a Strout Stan! Hope you read olive kitteridge next as it’s a masterpiece
I think Olive will be next, I might save her to 2023 though. We shall see. Excited for it though.
@@SavidgeReads exciting! Nigella said this about it
“I know nothing is perfect in life, but this is surely the perfect piece of writing. And every time I return to it, it seems to turn up something new” I concur!
olive again is also brilliant and I love the burgess boys, must read amy and Isabelle
🎃 i will try to get on that series next yr! It sounds like my kind of series 💜 thanks Simon!
Hope you enjoy it as much as I did.
Lucy by the sea was and is my favourite book 📖 I read in 2022. And I loved the format of the video a lot. I really enjoyed it and hope you’ll make more of this kind.
Thank you so very much.
For training your new smile I can only tell you to relax and imagine your husband in a bath with a glass of champagne in his one hand an a rose in his other one. Don’t you worry a cute man like you will succeed in this endeavour. With ❤ and a 🎃 from Flanders in Belgium.
Ha. I couldn’t imagine that as Chris bans all glass from the bathroom (I sometimes break this rule) as he’s terrified of smashed glass. I’m also just not a big smiler and that’s ok. Glad you enjoyed the vlog!
Elizabeth Strout is one of my new favourites and Lucy by the Sea is magical! You will love Olive, as a person and the books. Olive is a complex character and very different to Lucy. 🎃
I’m really looking forward to meeting Olive, probably next year.
🎃 I like editing Simon don't worry to much from a viewing perspective it makes the vlog more immediate and intermet. Obviously its also great when editing Simon doesn't appear as well. All I am saying is he doesn't detract from my viewing experience at all.
I think it’s good to mention when it’s the editing version of yourself because you’re coming at the books from a slightly less fresh and different angle if you know what I mean. But I’ve had a big sort of my phone storage now so I’m hoping he won’t appear too often from now on. Ha.
🎃 where was that stunning Italian restaurant? Visiting Liverpool next year and listing many restaurants to consider xx
Oooh I don’t know if I ate in an Italian in Liverpool during this vlog. I had some pasta in Salt House Bacaro which is tapas, so maybe that. Or do you mean with Pip? That was just a Gordon Ramsey which I wouldn’t rate to be honest.
I've read olive but none of the other series yet. I'm a fan of old grumpy characters, so if you are in that mood, go for that. 🎃
Ooooh I loooove grumpy older characters. I married one. Hahaha.
Go to Olive and Olive again, they are also good! Yes would be lovely to do this on other authors - Sarah Moss, Julian Barnes?
I’ve read quite a few Sarah Moss, and love her, though I’ve not read her unofficial sort of series so that could be good. I feel like that would need to be done on a trip to the lakes or something. Nice idea.
oh - Olive Kitteridge! Just like how some of my book club didn't like one if my all time favorite books, _The Island of Missing Trees_, some of my book club didn't like _Olive Kitteridge_. I loved them both, so I await hearing how you fair with Olive! I am now planning a stop at my indie bookstore this week to get the Lucy books! ;)
Ooh you’re in for a treat with Lucy. I’ll definitely be heading to Olive in 2023.
🎃 I love Lucy and just received Lucy by the Sea. So excited. I love Olive too. Definitely one of my favourite modern authors.
Hopefully I didn’t give too much away about any of them. I tried my best. You’ve a treat with by the sea.
🎃 I read Oh William! for my Booker read, and I think you've just inspired me to read the rest of the series.
Hope you enjoy them if you do. I actually think Oh William! is my least favourite. Even though it’s brilliant. Ha.
Thanks Simon just got my name is Lucy Barton from library 🎃
Hope you enjoy it Sue.
Hope you enjoy it Sue.
Loving it
Loved this vlog Simon!😊🎃🎃🎃
So pleased Colleen 🎃
Love the vlog. 👻👻
🎃🎃
Your new smile is just lovely 🥰 x x been wanting to say so for ages but was worried to do so. But as you brought it up . . . ❤
🎃🎃🎃🎃
Sharon x x
Hahaha. I did indeed. I’ve not been too sure if I should address it or not but as it has been something I’ve been getting used to thought I would mention it 😁
🎃 I didn't really "get" the first two in the series but I adored Oh William! I thought it was fantastic. I've not read Lucy by the Sea yet but hope to shortly.
Hope you enjoy it as much as I did!
🎃I too love Elizabeth Strout.
Like you I wanted more
of Bob Burgess. I may have to have a reread of The Burgess Brothers for that very reason
Yeah I was a huge fan of Bob and look forward to meeting him again at some point.
🎃Thanks for this, I really enjoyed it and it has made me want to get up and go and explore my shelves because I’m sure I have one or two by Elizabeth Strout that I thrifted, but never actually properly picked up. Will now add to my TBR.
Oooooh that’s always lovely isn’t it, when you hear lovely things about an author you’ve got some books by on your shelves but have yet to read.
🎃 thank you Simon 😊
Pleasure Julia 🎃
🎃 I previously disregarded these books. I know you should never judge a book by its cover but they just felt bland to me. However now sold I intend to devour these via my local library. Great blog Simon. Thank you. 😘😍
I think I had a similar feeling to be honest. However I found them anything but. That said they won’t be for everyone. So borrowing from the library as a taster is a brilliant idea. Aren’t libraries brilliant?
I think I had a similar feeling to be honest. However I found them anything but. That said they won’t be for everyone. So borrowing from the library as a taster is a brilliant idea. Aren’t libraries brilliant?
🎃 Welcome to the world of Strout lovers! I predict you will adore Olive Kitteridge, which was my first. (You always remember your first!) But the Lucy Barton series is my favorite. And as much as I love them, Lucy By the Sea was still a wonderful surprise. One of the details about the book that I just loved was Lucy's friendship with Bob Burgess (another character from a different book within Strout's universe).
A suggestion for another author series: Ann Tyler. She has a little bit of a similar vibe to Strout but uses a lot more words 😉. Or Anne Patchett. Her books are all very different from each other; it would be interesting to watch you consider her works as a whole. Or some other Ann(e) of your choosing!
Happy Halloween! 👻
I loooooove Ann Tyler. I’ve not read her for ages though I’m not sure if she has an unofficial series and wouldn’t be a new to me author. Could have a Tyler Binge though maybe. Sadly Patchett and I just don’t get along. Very excited for Olive and The Burgess Boys.
🎃🎃 great vlog giving me more books to add to my TBR!
Hahaha. Oops. Though you won’t be sorry. Well, I don’t think you will. I would try the first and see how you feel about the writing.
You could do Barbara Kingsolver
Ha. I could but the size of her books it would take me about a year. Hahaha.
I enjoy Strout and hope you will too.
I think if you’ve watched you’ll know the answer to that 🤣
🎃 Another author to add to my list 😊loved the vlog
Thank you Mandy!
Elizabeth Strout is one of my favorite authors, too, and I LOVED her Olive Kitterige books. Her early book, AMY AND ISABELLE, is also wonderful!
I’m torn on whether to read Amy & Isobel or an Olive book as my next Strout though it may not be till the new year.
🎃 I love Lucy!
🎃 me too
🎃 great vlog 🎃 thank you 🎃
A pleasure. They won’t always be quite so long or crammed. Promise.
Great vlog! It would be fun to watch you read a bunch by Louise Erdrich. 🎃
I think sadly after my first encounter with her work I probably won’t be rushing to read anymore 😱
@@SavidgeReads Was it The Sentence? I liked that one ok but her older stuff is so good. Love Medicine and Tracks and The Round House.
🎃 Great vlog! 🎃
Thank you Angela 🎃
What genre of books would you say is your favourite go to?
I don’t really have one it has to be said. I like quite a mix. Variety is the spice of (my reading) life lol.
🎃 Ask me who my favorite living writer is and I will not be able to choose between Julian Barnes and Elizabeth Strout. Your reading vlog was, unsurprisingly, a real treat for me. I have read all of her books and personally I like Olive a little bit better; she’s such an odd duck. There’s a snippet in both Lucy Barton and Oh William involving Lucy’s high school counselor driving her to college and it’s so poignant I don’t think I will ever forget it. There is a fifth Amgash book-I saw it on Penguin Random House U.K.’s website about six months ago, now it’s been changed to something generic like “upcoming book.” Great video!
Ha. I could definitely pick between Julian and Elizabeth. I’ve loved some Barnes books and really not got on with others, these were all hits. Glad you enjoyed the vlog. Always lovely to hear. Can’t wait to meet Olive the odd duck (brilliant expression) in 2023.
Your boy friend is really cute.
Ha. My husband you mean 😉
💜📚🌞📚💜
I’m quite interested in trying Lucy By The Sea, but honestly not interested in any of her other work. 🎃
Oh. Why’s that?
@@SavidgeReads The newest one deals with COVID and Trump, both topics that I find interesting to explore in fiction. Sorry to say this, but the other books, while beautifully written, sound rather dull to me.
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