Oh how I love all your categories. And you are so vigorous and lively all the way through the video. Every year in Jane Austen July I debate whether to bother with the retelling prompt as they are always disappointing especially in a month when I am rereading Austen herself. I didn't feel so negative about Wifedom. I saw it as a portmanteau book with a mix of biography, polemic and fiction. Not one of my best of the year though. Eve was of course.
I try not to have my hopes up too much for Jane Austen retellings, but even then they often end up being disappointing. There is a magic in Austen's writing that is very hard to imitate.
I love that most of the books you chose, either for the best or worst category, were not the usual ones that most UA-camrs talked about in their year summaries. It was not just refreshing and original, but also gave us interesting suggestions as to what to read in the future. Thank you!!! Waiting for the review/rant of Wifedom 😉
I don't read many new releases (except for some nonfiction), so I rarely end up reading the big sellers. Also, since I have started shopping in used book stores, there is even more choice.
I really enjoyed your video, made me smile and at points giggle!! Looking forward to your next video, thanks for keeping me company!! Have a lovely week!! Samantha xxx
I've stayed far away from Jane Austen retellings because of all you say and, well, I'd just rather reread the real thing! However, there's one book that kind of riffs on P&P that I *love* (but not really because it doesn't really follow the plot but meanders off in its own directions and so can indeed stand alone, but you can see the echoes) - Together Tea by Marjan Kamali. She just has a new book that's getting way more buzz, but this, her debut, really won my heart. And I think my favorite character is the mother, who starts out seeming a bit of a ditz, making spreadsheets trying to matchmake her daughter, but ends up she's a frustrated mathematician (the spreadsheets were a symptom) and she really improves after figuring out how to live more for herself and not through her daughter. I have very much enjoyed some movie P&P updates like Bride & Prejudice, Lost in Austen, Austenland etc, but I think it helps that I only have to commit 2 hours or less to it and it's just silly fun... I want to read the Sophus Helle Gilgamesh this year - sounds fantastic!!
Together Tea sounds like a much better retelling; I think not following the plot too closely is the key to success. I'll keep the title in mind for Jane Austen July. Thank you! 😁
I've never heard of Roger Lemelin before, and no he's not very available from Australia. I do have access to a digital version of a book called The Town Below but I suspect that this is a different book. I'll put him on my eternal TBR though anyway.
Lemelin is not very much known outside Québec. The Town Below is probably the translation of Au pied de la pente douce, which is Lemelin's first novel. I read it too (though not last year) and it's very good too. It is a coming of age story set in a working class neighbourhood of Quebec city, which is literally at the bottom the hill. The main character is a young man with wit, education and ambition, and decides that writing will be his ticket out of poverty. It is not as quirky as The Plouffe Family, but it has its funny moments too. I would recommend it too. 😁
There are books you've mentioned that I'd like to get to, but I don't think I'll get to them any time soon. King is one of them. I keep debating with myself about reading US history in or out of order. If I read in order, I'll have lots of context, but it'll take me many years before I read about the civil rights movement.
Eig does a good job of placing King's life in its wider context, but I understand the value of reading history chronologically. It's much easier to understand the after if we know the before. 😁
I love the category “book that made me google the most” 😂 genius haha! And it happens to me too! I recently finished a book about the extinction of megafauna in the quaternary period and it mentions a lot of prehistoric species, so I was googling like crazy haha! I also google a lot with art books and history books.
Reading with Google can be so much fun! Sometimes we complain that technology hinders reading, but at other times, it enhances the experience wonderfully. 😁
@@bouquinsbooks totally, it depends on the book! When I'm reading certain types of nonfiction books I often find myself with so many open tabs on my browser because I google things to "research later" 😅 ...Sometimes that research actually gets done and other times it doesn't.
![Lp. Сердце Вселенной #60 РОЖДЕНИЕ ЛОЛОЛОШКИ [Финал] • Майнкрафт](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/YoR0pAV9FVQ/mqdefault.jpg)
Love this list and your creative categories! We share some NF favorites!
Oh how I love all your categories. And you are so vigorous and lively all the way through the video.
Every year in Jane Austen July I debate whether to bother with the retelling prompt as they are always disappointing especially in a month when I am rereading Austen herself.
I didn't feel so negative about Wifedom. I saw it as a portmanteau book with a mix of biography, polemic and fiction. Not one of my best of the year though. Eve was of course.
I try not to have my hopes up too much for Jane Austen retellings, but even then they often end up being disappointing. There is a magic in Austen's writing that is very hard to imitate.
I love that most of the books you chose, either for the best or worst category, were not the usual ones that most UA-camrs talked about in their year summaries. It was not just refreshing and original, but also gave us interesting suggestions as to what to read in the future. Thank you!!! Waiting for the review/rant of Wifedom 😉
I don't read many new releases (except for some nonfiction), so I rarely end up reading the big sellers. Also, since I have started shopping in used book stores, there is even more choice.
I really enjoyed your video, made me smile and at points giggle!! Looking forward to your next video, thanks for keeping me company!! Have a lovely week!! Samantha xxx
I am happy I made you smile! That's the whole point of having a channel. On the surface, it's about books, but really, it's about joy. 😁
📚🏆
I've stayed far away from Jane Austen retellings because of all you say and, well, I'd just rather reread the real thing! However, there's one book that kind of riffs on P&P that I *love* (but not really because it doesn't really follow the plot but meanders off in its own directions and so can indeed stand alone, but you can see the echoes) - Together Tea by Marjan Kamali. She just has a new book that's getting way more buzz, but this, her debut, really won my heart. And I think my favorite character is the mother, who starts out seeming a bit of a ditz, making spreadsheets trying to matchmake her daughter, but ends up she's a frustrated mathematician (the spreadsheets were a symptom) and she really improves after figuring out how to live more for herself and not through her daughter.
I have very much enjoyed some movie P&P updates like Bride & Prejudice, Lost in Austen, Austenland etc, but I think it helps that I only have to commit 2 hours or less to it and it's just silly fun...
I want to read the Sophus Helle Gilgamesh this year - sounds fantastic!!
Together Tea sounds like a much better retelling; I think not following the plot too closely is the key to success. I'll keep the title in mind for Jane Austen July. Thank you! 😁
I've never heard of Roger Lemelin before, and no he's not very available from Australia. I do have access to a digital version of a book called The Town Below but I suspect that this is a different book. I'll put him on my eternal TBR though anyway.
Lemelin is not very much known outside Québec. The Town Below is probably the translation of Au pied de la pente douce, which is Lemelin's first novel. I read it too (though not last year) and it's very good too. It is a coming of age story set in a working class neighbourhood of Quebec city, which is literally at the bottom the hill. The main character is a young man with wit, education and ambition, and decides that writing will be his ticket out of poverty. It is not as quirky as The Plouffe Family, but it has its funny moments too. I would recommend it too. 😁
Best reading year review categories on BookTube! 🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆
♥
Thank you! 😁
There are books you've mentioned that I'd like to get to, but I don't think I'll get to them any time soon. King is one of them. I keep debating with myself about reading US history in or out of order. If I read in order, I'll have lots of context, but it'll take me many years before I read about the civil rights movement.
Eig does a good job of placing King's life in its wider context, but I understand the value of reading history chronologically. It's much easier to understand the after if we know the before. 😁
Hooray! More books to add to my long-term tbr!
Woohoo! 😁
I love the category “book that made me google the most” 😂 genius haha! And it happens to me too! I recently finished a book about the extinction of megafauna in the quaternary period and it mentions a lot of prehistoric species, so I was googling like crazy haha! I also google a lot with art books and history books.
Reading with Google can be so much fun! Sometimes we complain that technology hinders reading, but at other times, it enhances the experience wonderfully. 😁
@@bouquinsbooks totally, it depends on the book! When I'm reading certain types of nonfiction books I often find myself with so many open tabs on my browser because I google things to "research later" 😅 ...Sometimes that research actually gets done and other times it doesn't.
I have a project to finish but I would rather watch you...