I felt the same about The Beautiful and The Damned, and I read it straight after reading and loving The Great Gatsby. I've not read any of the others mentioned, and it's good to feel that I'm not missing out😅
@@PageTurnersWithKatja There are a few good books on the list from great authors, just none that are great. But yeah, reading other books by these authors would be best. Thanks for watching.
I see This Side of Paradise, The Great Gatsby, and Tender is the Night as a pretty perfect "trilogy" defining three stages or areas of Fitzgerald's life. Those three are great, but I don't really care to read any of his other works.
I think where to start with an author with multiple books can be equally difficult. If someone asked me where to start with Cormac McCarthy, unless I already knew that they were a fan of Faulkner, particularly As I Lay Dying or The Sound and the Fury, I would recommend No Country for Old Men or All the Pretty Horses. For Faulkner, I’d probably recommend The Reivers since it contains many of his major themes while being a fairly straightforward first person narrative. As for James Joyce, start with Dubliners. Benjamin McEvoy did an excellent video on finding your entrance to Dickens. Like most Americans of my generation, I was introduced to A Christmas Carol and A Tale of Two Cities in school, but Great Expectations is far better and funnier and I didn’t read it until last year. Its length makes it prohibitive for any survey type class.
That is very true. In each of my “where not to start” videos I also suggest books to start with for each author. Our suggestions for McCarthy are exactly in line and I agree about Joyce. The Reivers for Faulkner is a good suggestion as well.
I‘ve still not read Trevor at all-but now I know not to start with The Boarding-House…although I do know that interesting characters can persuade me to love books that others are less keen on. What an interesting idea for a video!
Your thoughts about “Autumn of the Patriarch” make me want to read it. I studied with a Melville specialist who thought it was greater than “Moby Dick.”
@@BookishTexanpersonally I love Autumn as much as his other novels of that period. True the patriarch is a hideous monster but that is partly created in the imagination of his persecuted people. I found the incessant stream of words hypnotic and made it difficult to escape their grasp. It was clearly influenced by Faulkner and as a different reader now it might be worth another look. On the other hand the book that his family recently released would easily qualify as his worst - he didn’t want it published.
You are right, I have not read Until August. Maybe I should just to see. The title of the Balzac novel is a lot classier in French and a lot less fun.🤓
Scott Fitzgerald wrote a perfect book (Great Gatsby) but also some very boring, I found "Tender is the Night" boring. Another one very good is "Last Tycoon" despite being unfinished. I haven't finished "Across the River and Into the Trees". Loved the video.
I found“God Help The Child” not to be up to Morrison’s standards. I actually felt sad reading it as I thought it showed an author’s writing in decline.On the other hand,I was pleasantly surprised by “Until August” by Gabriel Garcia Marquez.I thought it hit the right note and it stayed with me long after I finished the novel.
Perhaps it was evident to me because Morrison is so good and in her other works the prose is pitch perfect.. On another note, I wanted to mention I watched a very interesting interview with Francis Ford Coppola on UA-cam on the Daily Stoic channel. He discusses how philosophy has inspired his life and career. I know you are a fan of Balzac.He discusses him as well as Goethe.I got several book recommendations I am looking forward to reading. I think you would enjoy it.
My least favourite Balzac is Lost Illusions. I was so annoyed by the main character that it was impossible to get through. I think a mature reader is someone who can say they don't like the protagonist but like the work, but outside of short stories that's still difficult for me. The one that was so interesting that I couldn't stop turning the pages was 'Cousin Bette'.
It's been a long time since I've made a comment. I hope you're well. I just found a 1st edition of Tar Baby. Not to disagree with you but ... I appreciate her ambition.
Great to hear from you. Toni Morrison never wrote a bad book. Tar Baby is very ambitious and it is a good book. But first me next to her other books it’s at the bottom.
I laughed when you started talking about autumn of the patriarch. After I got it I noticed it looked like it was written without punctuation or separate paragraphs so I put off reading it. After what you said about it I probably will NEVER read it. I keep hearing Trevor’s short stories are some of the best in the English language but if I ever get around to reading him I’ll know to avoid that novel you talked about. As for the passenger I know it’s not considered some of his best work but you’re the first person I’ve heard to describe it as terrible. After I’ve finished it maybe I can give you my opinion. Be well.⚛️
I've noticed a large silence about that Erdrich book on Booktube. The Boarding House actually sounds good but I guess there's just not enough to it? I agree about the Fitzgerald.
Other William Trevor readers like The Boarding House. It might just be me. I think part of my issue with the Erdrich book is that it’s out of the ordinary for her work and I don’t like dystopian.
@@BookishTexan I do like dystopian books but it never comes up on those lists either. I'm guessing it's just not her best, like you said. I have so many of hers yet to read that it's probably never making the cut but who knows?
She has much, much better books. They all contain elements of Indigenous American spiritual beliefs/practices (I don’t like calling that magical realism) but if that doesn’t bother you The Plague of Doves and The Sentence are very good. The Round House also.
On the strength of the prose throughout his short stories and F 451, Ray Bradbury is my 2nd favorite author. I finally read Something Wicked This Way Comes last week and found it largely insufferable, weighing down by a prose style that was far too purple at every passage and dialogue that was oddly unnatural throughout. I was like, “How is this by Ray???”
@@BookishTexan Bury it in the back of your shelf in favor of Martian Chronicles, Fahrenheit 451, or any of his short stories. It might make an interesting Halloween project if you’re desperate for something darkly and bizarrely atmospheric to read, but it’s studded with candy corn on every page so book an appointment with your dentist when you’re through.
@@MargaretPinard I don’t think so. I pulled the image from a google search then cropped it and applied a filter that substantially changed the look. I guess it does look AI. I never thought about it🤔
I have never been so disappointed in a book as I was with The Passenger. Stella Maris was probably worse but I wasn't expecting much after The Passenger.
I can read Spanish however I believe Gabriel Garcia Marquez is rather overrated in a "The Emperor's New Clothes " way , it used to be fashionable to claim to have read his books merely to be able to be admitted in any intellectual club..
I think his work deserves the attention it got as he was publishing it. I’m sure it’s become a shibboleth for some circles, but that’s their problem. I reread Leaf Storm earlier this year and it was mighty fine.
I think his work deserves the attention it got as he was publishing it. I’m sure it’s become a shibboleth for some circles, but that’s their problem. I reread Leaf Storm earlier this year and it was mighty fine.
I felt the same about The Beautiful and The Damned, and I read it straight after reading and loving The Great Gatsby. I've not read any of the others mentioned, and it's good to feel that I'm not missing out😅
@@PageTurnersWithKatja There are a few good books on the list from great authors, just none that are great. But yeah, reading other books by these authors would be best. Thanks for watching.
I see This Side of Paradise, The Great Gatsby, and Tender is the Night as a pretty perfect "trilogy" defining three stages or areas of Fitzgerald's life. Those three are great, but I don't really care to read any of his other works.
I think where to start with an author with multiple books can be equally difficult. If someone asked me where to start with Cormac McCarthy, unless I already knew that they were a fan of Faulkner, particularly As I Lay Dying or The Sound and the Fury, I would recommend No Country for Old Men or All the Pretty Horses. For Faulkner, I’d probably recommend The Reivers since it contains many of his major themes while being a fairly straightforward first person narrative. As for James Joyce, start with Dubliners.
Benjamin McEvoy did an excellent video on finding your entrance to Dickens. Like most Americans of my generation, I was introduced to A Christmas Carol and A Tale of Two Cities in school, but Great Expectations is far better and funnier and I didn’t read it until last year. Its length makes it prohibitive for any survey type class.
That is very true. In each of my “where not to start” videos I also suggest books to start with for each author. Our suggestions for McCarthy are exactly in line and I agree about Joyce. The Reivers for Faulkner is a good suggestion as well.
I find that Joyce's short stories are much better than his novels.
@@parkerbrown-nesbit1747 YES, especially "The Dead."
Could only appreciate "Love in the Time of Cholera" after finishing it. A very deep book worth rereading. Thanks for reminding me.
You’re welcome.
This was both interesting and helpful. Thank you.
Thank you.
I‘ve still not read Trevor at all-but now I know not to start with The Boarding-House…although I do know that interesting characters can persuade me to love books that others are less keen on. What an interesting idea for a video!
Thanks Hannah. It’s not that The Boarding House is bad, it’s that it’s much less good.🤓
Interesting, I very much enjoy the 'where not to start...' videos.
Thank you Clare.
Your thoughts about “Autumn of the Patriarch” make me want to read it. I studied with a Melville specialist
who thought it was greater than “Moby Dick.”
I’m glad to hear that. I read it a long time ago and I am a different reader now so who knows if I’d like it better,
@@BookishTexanpersonally I love Autumn as much as his other novels of that period. True the patriarch is a hideous monster but that is partly created in the imagination of his persecuted people. I found the incessant stream of words hypnotic and made it difficult to escape their grasp. It was clearly influenced by Faulkner and as a different reader now it might be worth another look. On the other hand the book that his family recently released would easily qualify as his worst - he didn’t want it published.
Loved this. But you mustn’t have read Until August if you didn’t name it as the the worst Marquez 🤪
The Wild Ass’s Skin? 🤭
You are right, I have not read Until August. Maybe I should just to see.
The title of the Balzac novel is a lot classier in French and a lot less fun.🤓
Scott Fitzgerald wrote a perfect book (Great Gatsby) but also some very boring, I found "Tender is the Night" boring. Another one very good is "Last Tycoon" despite being unfinished. I haven't finished "Across the River and Into the Trees". Loved the video.
Thank you. I agree with you about The Last Tycoon. I wish Fitzgerald had completed it. I like Tender is the Night though.
I found“God Help The Child” not to be up to Morrison’s standards. I actually felt sad reading it as I thought it showed an author’s writing in decline.On the other hand,I was pleasantly surprised by “Until August” by Gabriel Garcia Marquez.I thought it hit the right note and it stayed with me long after I finished the novel.
That makes me wish I hadn’t saved that Morrison novel for the last. I haven’t read Until August.
Perhaps it was evident to me because Morrison is so good and in her other works the prose is pitch perfect..
On another note, I wanted to mention I watched a very interesting interview with Francis Ford Coppola on UA-cam on the Daily Stoic channel. He discusses how philosophy has inspired his life and career. I know you are a fan of Balzac.He discusses him as well as Goethe.I got several book recommendations I am looking forward to reading. I think you would enjoy it.
@@joniheisenberg Thank you for the information about the Coppola interview I will check it out.
My least favourite Balzac is Lost Illusions. I was so annoyed by the main character that it was impossible to get through. I think a mature reader is someone who can say they don't like the protagonist but like the work, but outside of short stories that's still difficult for me.
The one that was so interesting that I couldn't stop turning the pages was 'Cousin Bette'.
Cousin Bette is such a great book! I like Lost Illusions a lot too. I too struggle with foolish main characters. They’re just so irritating.
It's been a long time since I've made a comment. I hope you're well. I just found a 1st edition of Tar Baby. Not to disagree with you but ... I appreciate her ambition.
Great to hear from you. Toni Morrison never wrote a bad book. Tar Baby is very ambitious and it is a good book. But first me next to her other books it’s at the bottom.
I laughed when you started talking about autumn of the patriarch. After I got it I noticed it looked like it was written without punctuation or separate paragraphs so I put off reading it. After what you said about it I probably will NEVER read it. I keep hearing Trevor’s short stories are some of the best in the English language but if I ever get around to reading him I’ll know to avoid that novel you talked about. As for the passenger I know it’s not considered some of his best work but you’re the first person I’ve heard to describe it as terrible. After I’ve finished it maybe I can give you my opinion. Be well.⚛️
I think I am definitely in the minority on The Passenger. I’m sorry that I put you off reading The Autumn of the Patriarch.🤓
I really liked The Boarding House, but I am an Anglophone and love everything about that kind of scenario.
I can see that. There was something about the set up that felt a bit to BBC drama from the 70s about it.
@@BookishTexan lol I can watch stuff like that, especially if it takes place in the 50’s or 60’s forever. One of my favorite writers is Muriel Spark.
I've noticed a large silence about that Erdrich book on Booktube. The Boarding House actually sounds good but I guess there's just not enough to it? I agree about the Fitzgerald.
Other William Trevor readers like The Boarding House. It might just be me. I think part of my issue with the Erdrich book is that it’s out of the ordinary for her work and I don’t like dystopian.
@@BookishTexan I do like dystopian books but it never comes up on those lists either. I'm guessing it's just not her best, like you said. I have so many of hers yet to read that it's probably never making the cut but who knows?
The Future Home of the Living God is the only Erdrich I've read. 😬-Becks
She has much, much better books. They all contain elements of Indigenous American spiritual beliefs/practices (I don’t like calling that magical realism) but if that doesn’t bother you The Plague of Doves and The Sentence are very good. The Round House also.
I remember The Sentence getting a lot of attention here so that would likely be the next one I would try.
I wish I hadn't read A Shining as my first try with Fosse. The damage may have been done alas.
You might try Aliss by the Fire. It’s much better, not as good as the Septology, but it’s the same style as that and short.
@@BookishTexan I'll try that.
On the strength of the prose throughout his short stories and F 451, Ray Bradbury is my 2nd favorite author. I finally read Something Wicked This Way Comes last week and found it largely insufferable, weighing down by a prose style that was far too purple at every passage and dialogue that was oddly unnatural throughout. I was like, “How is this by Ray???”
@@BooksForever That is the only Bradbury I have a copy of though I still haven’t read it.
@@BookishTexan Bury it in the back of your shelf in favor of Martian Chronicles, Fahrenheit 451, or any of his short stories. It might make an interesting Halloween project if you’re desperate for something darkly and bizarrely atmospheric to read, but it’s studded with candy corn on every page so book an appointment with your dentist when you’re through.
I enjoyed The Beautiful and Damned. I would have picked The Other Side of Paradise for Fitzgerald's worst book.
@@richfarmer3478 That’s fair. It’s not my favorite either, but it has the virtue of being shorter.🤓
Delighted to say I have never read any of these titles
@@MarcNashYou read A Shining didn’t you?
@@BookishTexan oh god yes. So abominably bad I had purged it from my memory banks!
Oooh how bout “Separating the Art from the Artist of My Ten Favorite Authors” 😂
That sounds like an interesting idea!
Is that an AI thumbnail?!?! Why it took me 7 days to click on this video, Brian...
@@MargaretPinard I don’t think so. I pulled the image from a google search then cropped it and applied a filter that substantially changed the look. I guess it does look AI. I never thought about it🤔
I will play! The worst book by my favorite author Stephen King is The Tommyknockers. Just terrible. 😂
I found it really kind of fun and liberating to think of the worst books by my favorite authors. Thanks for playing!
I kind of agree about The Passenger. I wasn’t impressed. In fact, going out on a limb, McCarthy didn’t write a good book after the Border Trilogy.
So you don’t like The Road or No Country for Old Men either. Interesting.
@@BookishTexan No Country For Old Men seemed like a sell out to Hollywood.
I have never been so disappointed in a book as I was with The Passenger. Stella Maris was probably worse but I wasn't expecting much after The Passenger.
@@anotherbibliophilereads Definitely was.
I can read Spanish however I believe Gabriel Garcia Marquez is rather overrated in a "The Emperor's New Clothes " way , it used to be fashionable to claim to have read his books merely to be able to be admitted in any intellectual club..
I haven’t read a GGM for more than a decade probably. I think One Hundred Years is brilliant and I think he wrote some very good short stories.
I think his work deserves the attention it got as he was publishing it. I’m sure it’s become a shibboleth for some circles, but that’s their problem. I reread Leaf Storm earlier this year and it was mighty fine.
I think his work deserves the attention it got as he was publishing it. I’m sure it’s become a shibboleth for some circles, but that’s their problem. I reread Leaf Storm earlier this year and it was mighty fine.
@@GentleReader01 I still have a few stories of his that I have not read and I guess I will read Until August