Moby-Dick is *really* fun, much weirder and funnier than its reputation suggests. There's a gay romance, an eagle used as a metaphor for melancholia, a whole chapter written like a stage-play complete with directions, and a moment when the narrator (or is it Melville?) pauses the story to tell you the exact time and date on which he's writing the current scene. It's truly the best thing ever written by an American author, and a total joy to read.
Wow, you have totally sold me on Moby Dick! That sounds amazing, genuinely. I love it when an author goes really hard into the things that they love or get experimental
Those old Virginia Woolf novels are gorgeous. A Voyage Out is the only novel of hers that I've read and it was a long time ago. Far from the Madding Crowd is coming up later in the year in a classics read-along I've joined. I read Tess of the D'Urbervilles this year and enjoyed it, though you're right - it's pretty dark.
Glad to have found your channel! I've read some of Helen Castor and enjoyed her Joan of Arc. I have an English translation of Le Goff but haven't got around to it yet. Great vid
I love your edition of the Odyssey! The poetry form is my favorite way to read it, but I haven’t tried Henry’s translation. Loved Bartleby as well. Isn’t it funny how a novel about an elusive great, white whale has become a euphemism for the novel itself?! 🧐 Far from the madding is the only Hardy I like. 😂 I had to dnf the Bell Jar.
Ha, I'm really glad to hear you did like Far From the Madding Crowd though! And you're so right about Moby Dick. I completely understand not finishing The Bell Jar, it's a lot
I love Virginia Woolf. My VW collection now spans 2 full shelves, around 60 books (works by and about VW). The Voyage Out was her first novel, and Night and Day was her second novel. They are definitely in a more conventional format, though within that, especially in Night and Day, you definitely see her tunnel into the inner workings of her characters more so than in other conventional novels of the time period by other authors. When Virginia and Leonard Woolf set up The Hogarth Press, it was then that Virginia could branch off with her more experimental form novels, which she did with her first novel published by THP, Jacob's Room. The Waves still remains my favourite novel of hers. I really like Far From The Madding Crowd and I definitely wouldn't classify as 'grim'. It's certainly at the lighter end of the spectrum of Hardy novels. I hadn't watched the film before reading the book, but I had watched the trailer (and scenes) many times - the one with Carey Mulligan playing Bathsheba Everdeen, so I couldn't help but see Bathsheba as looking/sounding like her when I did read the book.
Your VW collection sounds wonderful! Mine is still very much in its beginning stage. I haven't seen anything from the Far from the Madding Crowd movie, but I look forward to watching it once I've finished the novel!
Very interesting and insightful book review, thank you! I would add to your list the book "Gateway of Europe" by Harvard professor Serhiy Plokhiy. The book "Clouds" by Ivan Nechui-Levytsky, written in 1874, is also worthy of attention. From it we learn that the rhetoric and evil intentions of Russian propagandists have not changed in 150 years! Thank you very much for your positive attitude, which you spread!
Thank you for the recommendations! I would love to read more from Ukrainian authors. Sadly my local book shop never seems to have them in stock. I'm really glad you enjoyed my video!
Hiya! I heard in the intro of your video that some of your books are still based in the Netherlands? I have a similar unfortunate dilemma, where my books are a long flight away from where I am. I have about 80-100 books that I'd like to ship and get back but unsure of the most economical way to do that. Have you found anything in your research about shipping books internationally? Thanks so much.
Unfortunately I have no tips! We used to ship boxes of books through DHL, but the prices have risen immensely since Brexit. At the moment, we just carry a bunch of books in our suitcases whenever we visit. Hope you can find a way to ship your books!
I mailed copies of old magazines to a museum, and the postage was waived. I don't know if this just pertains to the US. Inquire, and if you know someone who works at a museum, problem solved.
Definitely check out "Personal Recollections of Joan of Arc" by Mark Twain. IMO the best book written about JofA Like Christ, she was executed by the same people she liberated. Unreal... Do yourself a favor.... cool list... TY
*shudders* Virginia Woolf. I abhor stream of consciousness writing. Have utterly hated every stream of consciousness author I've tried - Salinger (Catcher is my all-time least favorite book), Beckett, Joyce (refused to read because he doesn't use quotation marks for dialogue, an instant deal-breaker for me), Faulkner, Dostoevsky. I don't even remember why I DNF'd To the Lighthouse, but I remember absolutely nothing about it. Completely forgettable book. I don't even recall trying it. I don't respect SOC writing because to me it requires no thought. Just sit at a keyboard/typewriter, write whatever comes to mind, and publish it as a first draft. That's not art. That's doodling. I could write a 200 page book that would be superior to Catcher in the Rye, Waiting for Godot, James Joyce, anything by Faulkner, etc in two days as a first draft, that's how low I view each of those authors. I don't want to do it though because I would be mortified that all my books that I work for 5-6 years on would never get any attention, but the book I wrote in 2 days completely as a spoof of Salinger/Faulkner would be successful/beloved. I'd rather die in obscurity than to become famous from writing something like that. Sorry for the rant. 🤪
Also the Decameron is pretty good, I liked it much more than Canterbury Tales and Arabian Nights. It's set during the plague. A group of women and a few men go into isolation (social distancing) to avoid the plague, and every day each tell a story, most of them quite mature/scandalous. My favorite of the 25 or so that I read involved a woman going into like a monastery and what happens with a couple priests. You can imagine the Church wasn't happy. I love that. I love writers who dare to offend.
So do you disregard other elements, devices, & ideas in stream of consciousness works, or do you somewhat appreciate or like those things despite your hating and disrespect towards the writing style and authors who use it?
More thought went into every page of Ulysses than most people manage to assemble in their head over a lifetime. 17 years of strenuous everyday-work went into the Wake. Calling Joycean stream of consciousness 'doodling' without ever having even read it might be the most disingenuous I've ever come across on here. And then equating it with Salinger and Woolf. And then thinking you could've written it yourself. My God.
Good morning my favourite Dutch BookTuber who talks with her eyebrows ! recently had the insightful experience of reading Emily Wilson's haughty take-down of the work and legacy of Anne Carson in her new book review published in The Nation under the title, "The Myth of Anne Carson." In short, it left a very bad taste in my mouth. When I read Wilson's review of Carson's new book, steeped in lofty Oxford stuffiness, I realized then why I didn't bother reading her much-vaunted translation of The Iliad. That said, good luck breezing through Wilson's take on the Odyssey. Sylvia Plath remains a popular interest, good to see that.
The Emily Wilson translation of The Odyssey is excellent! I used that version recently when I taught it.
I'm very glad to hear that! It came highly recommended
Mate, that was outstanding. Very helpful. Thank you.
Thanks! 🙂
Moby-Dick is *really* fun, much weirder and funnier than its reputation suggests. There's a gay romance, an eagle used as a metaphor for melancholia, a whole chapter written like a stage-play complete with directions, and a moment when the narrator (or is it Melville?) pauses the story to tell you the exact time and date on which he's writing the current scene. It's truly the best thing ever written by an American author, and a total joy to read.
Wow, you have totally sold me on Moby Dick! That sounds amazing, genuinely. I love it when an author goes really hard into the things that they love or get experimental
Those old Virginia Woolf novels are gorgeous. A Voyage Out is the only novel of hers that I've read and it was a long time ago.
Far from the Madding Crowd is coming up later in the year in a classics read-along I've joined. I read Tess of the D'Urbervilles this year and enjoyed it, though you're right - it's pretty dark.
Ariel easily my favorite collection of poems.
I can't wait to dive in :)
Glad to have found your channel! I've read some of Helen Castor and enjoyed her Joan of Arc. I have an English translation of Le Goff but haven't got around to it yet. Great vid
Thank you for watching!
I love your edition of the Odyssey! The poetry form is my favorite way to read it, but I haven’t tried Henry’s translation.
Loved Bartleby as well.
Isn’t it funny how a novel about an elusive great, white whale has become a euphemism for the novel itself?! 🧐
Far from the madding is the only Hardy I like. 😂
I had to dnf the Bell Jar.
Ha, I'm really glad to hear you did like Far From the Madding Crowd though! And you're so right about Moby Dick. I completely understand not finishing The Bell Jar, it's a lot
I love Virginia Woolf. My VW collection now spans 2 full shelves, around 60 books (works by and about VW). The Voyage Out was her first novel, and Night and Day was her second novel. They are definitely in a more conventional format, though within that, especially in Night and Day, you definitely see her tunnel into the inner workings of her characters more so than in other conventional novels of the time period by other authors. When Virginia and Leonard Woolf set up The Hogarth Press, it was then that Virginia could branch off with her more experimental form novels, which she did with her first novel published by THP, Jacob's Room. The Waves still remains my favourite novel of hers.
I really like Far From The Madding Crowd and I definitely wouldn't classify as 'grim'. It's certainly at the lighter end of the spectrum of Hardy novels. I hadn't watched the film before reading the book, but I had watched the trailer (and scenes) many times - the one with Carey Mulligan playing Bathsheba Everdeen, so I couldn't help but see Bathsheba as looking/sounding like her when I did read the book.
Your VW collection sounds wonderful! Mine is still very much in its beginning stage. I haven't seen anything from the Far from the Madding Crowd movie, but I look forward to watching it once I've finished the novel!
How cute is she!🥰
Very interesting and insightful book review, thank you!
I would add to your list the book "Gateway of Europe" by Harvard professor Serhiy Plokhiy.
The book "Clouds" by Ivan Nechui-Levytsky, written in 1874, is also worthy of attention. From it we learn that the rhetoric and evil intentions of Russian propagandists have not changed in 150 years!
Thank you very much for your positive attitude, which you spread!
Thank you for the recommendations! I would love to read more from Ukrainian authors. Sadly my local book shop never seems to have them in stock. I'm really glad you enjoyed my video!
What a great haul. Some real classics there. Enjoy 😊
Thank you!
Great collection! Definitely read Moby Dick and don't take it too seriously.
I actually quite look forward to it now!
Hiya! I heard in the intro of your video that some of your books are still based in the Netherlands? I have a similar unfortunate dilemma, where my books are a long flight away from where I am. I have about 80-100 books that I'd like to ship and get back but unsure of the most economical way to do that. Have you found anything in your research about shipping books internationally?
Thanks so much.
Unfortunately I have no tips! We used to ship boxes of books through DHL, but the prices have risen immensely since Brexit. At the moment, we just carry a bunch of books in our suitcases whenever we visit. Hope you can find a way to ship your books!
I mailed copies of old magazines to a museum, and the postage was waived. I don't know if this just pertains to the US. Inquire, and if you know someone who works at a museum, problem solved.
@@Rebecca-le9hn so interesting. what a great workaround. I'm in South Africa, so I'm not sure. Won't hurt to ask though. Thanks a million.
Had you read any books by Patrick J. Buchanan?
Not yet, I think!
Definitely check out "Personal Recollections of Joan of Arc" by Mark Twain. IMO the best book written about JofA Like Christ, she was executed by the same people she liberated. Unreal... Do yourself a favor.... cool list... TY
That sounds awesome, I'll check it out, thank you!
Not all of it i ..s..
*shudders* Virginia Woolf. I abhor stream of consciousness writing. Have utterly hated every stream of consciousness author I've tried - Salinger (Catcher is my all-time least favorite book), Beckett, Joyce (refused to read because he doesn't use quotation marks for dialogue, an instant deal-breaker for me), Faulkner, Dostoevsky. I don't even remember why I DNF'd To the Lighthouse, but I remember absolutely nothing about it. Completely forgettable book. I don't even recall trying it.
I don't respect SOC writing because to me it requires no thought. Just sit at a keyboard/typewriter, write whatever comes to mind, and publish it as a first draft. That's not art. That's doodling. I could write a 200 page book that would be superior to Catcher in the Rye, Waiting for Godot, James Joyce, anything by Faulkner, etc in two days as a first draft, that's how low I view each of those authors. I don't want to do it though because I would be mortified that all my books that I work for 5-6 years on would never get any attention, but the book I wrote in 2 days completely as a spoof of Salinger/Faulkner would be successful/beloved. I'd rather die in obscurity than to become famous from writing something like that.
Sorry for the rant. 🤪
Also the Decameron is pretty good, I liked it much more than Canterbury Tales and Arabian Nights. It's set during the plague. A group of women and a few men go into isolation (social distancing) to avoid the plague, and every day each tell a story, most of them quite mature/scandalous. My favorite of the 25 or so that I read involved a woman going into like a monastery and what happens with a couple priests. You can imagine the Church wasn't happy. I love that. I love writers who dare to offend.
@@shaunholt Yes Catcher is a big no!
So do you disregard other elements, devices, & ideas in stream of consciousness works, or do you somewhat appreciate or like those things despite your hating and disrespect towards the writing style and authors who use it?
More thought went into every page of Ulysses than most people manage to assemble in their head over a lifetime. 17 years of strenuous everyday-work went into the Wake. Calling Joycean stream of consciousness 'doodling' without ever having even read it might be the most disingenuous I've ever come across on here. And then equating it with Salinger and Woolf. And then thinking you could've written it yourself. My God.
Good morning my favourite Dutch BookTuber who talks with her eyebrows ! recently had the insightful experience of reading Emily Wilson's haughty take-down of the work and legacy of Anne Carson in her new book review published in The Nation under the title, "The Myth of Anne Carson." In short, it left a very bad taste in my mouth. When I read Wilson's review of Carson's new book, steeped in lofty Oxford stuffiness, I realized then why I didn't bother reading her much-vaunted translation of The Iliad. That said, good luck breezing through Wilson's take on the Odyssey. Sylvia Plath remains a popular interest, good to see that.
That's such a shame to hear about Wilson! I haven't seen that review but I'll have a look.
@@TheEclecticLibrary Yes, I encourage you to read it Celine. Let the review wash over you