HOUSE OF LEAVES BOOK REVIEW 🏠
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- Опубліковано 30 жов 2020
- A book review for House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski, brought to you by my husband Sean for a special Halloween episode :)
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#houseofleaves #houseofleavesreview #houseofleavesbookreview - Розваги
I had a nightmare about this book last night. It happens regularly. I read this book ten years ago. There's nothing quite so horrifying to me as spatial impermanence, and it's never really left my mind.
I am in book sıɥʇ pleaseh̵̬͚̺̘̱͚͛̅̄͗̋̈́̚͝ͅȇ̶͙́͐̈̔̀̈́̕̚͝l̴̪̺̙̼̜̤͖͎̣͛̐̊͂͋͊͛͒͠ͅp̴̢̦̱̩͉̻̞̩͗̽̏̈́̓̎̆
@@ewoknroll 👁👁
This comment sold me on the book, as F’ed up as that is 😂😂😂
chill
JOHNNY TRUANT IS THAT YOU
Might be the amongst few books which absolutely must be read in paperback version only. Digital version cannot do it justice.
this and I would argue Infinite Jest as well.
Absolutely
@@oliverschor4337 what is that never heard of that one
Agreed! There’s no real way to put this into an audio format.
To the person that mentioned hardcover… come on, that should already be implied lol
@@Someone-lf7izwhy would hardcover be implied by saying softcover?
I got the turtleback edition because I wanted a hardcover but I did want the softcover cover design. I literally spent over a week deliberating over which version to get. Turtleback all the way baby, lol.
Have a good day, guys.
This is one of my favorite books and my husband and I reread it every other year together. I always end up picking up new things from each read. I describe it as the literary Twin Peaks. Night Mind has an incredible multi-video series on the book, too, that I think you'd enjoy. It's such a hard book to talk about and not spoil. I think you did a great job.
Yes!! Twin peaks in book form is perfect
twin peaks has a book form though 👀 it's called The Secret History of Twin Peaks. just finished it not too long ago, it was very interesting
@@thepagesofsamantha it does -- more than that, actually, if you count Laura's diary, Coopers tapes, the Secret History, and The Final Dossier. That does take away the sentiment, though. It's weird, It's strange, there's really people, there's supernatural elements, there's more that's going on than surface level, it's open to multiple interpretations, deals with some similar themes, and was groundbreaking in it's medium.
And, really, the Secret History really isn't Twin Peaks in book form. It's supplemental literary material to Twin Peaks 1, 2, The Return, and Fire Walk With Me. There's debate it's even Canon. Heck, some ppl think most of season 2 isn't Canon. It does offer some super interesting backstory, though.
Suddenly the channel became ASMR.
From what I remember about reading House of Leaves, it starts out very text heavy but then slowly gets weirder and weirder with the format. So yes, it's daunting at first, but I do think it's worth at least trying! Also, the Navidson Record portion of the book (the parts about the house with the weird hallway) are by far the best parts. It's eerie but not really jump scares. It's just very off-putting.
Sean takeover is something I didn't know I needed until now
agreed!
One of my favorite books of all time, and I always struggle to explain it properly. I think Sean did a great job.
I’ve had this book for years and have been super intimidated by it. I tried reading it once and gave up about 70 pages in. I’m determined to give it another shot by the end of this year though!
So, did you end up reading it?
Another year later, we need to know!!
I mostly found it tedious, but the expedition section is really gripping and I love the way it used text as part of the story. I sort of want to tear out the rest of it, just keep that section because it’s really clever.
For me, the most interesting part was Truant’s mom letters, possibly the saddest and scariest section. To have your mom… read it, I will not spoil it.
I just saw in a video that the author released a seperate book with just his mom's letters. And there are more than in House of Leaves.
It's called The whalestoe Letters.
I agree. I think it’s my favorite part of the book and it made me *feel* the most, I guess.
@@plumdutchess Wow, I should find it, thanks!
i had to take breaks later in her notes cause they made me cry so hard lmao
@@snailbutchthe fact I still can’t tell how much of what she said was true and how much was delusional manipulation is the worst part for me. Those letters were such a highlight I’d say only the maze chapter tops it for me
I love that we get little surprise videos from hubs sometimes. You guys are awesome!
It took me 5 years to finish it. I was graduating from a PhD, applying for teaching jobs, reading other books, editing book reviews for an academic journal, moving from one city to another, and recovering from a debilitating disease, but I finished it last week. It was good, weird, interesting, erudite, funny, but for me it wasn’t scary as it was for other readers.
Nice review. One tip: When Sean does the show, raise the camera up a bit.
Same the head cut off bothers me a bit 😬
If the top of his head getting cut off bothers you, then this book is definitely not for you.
Loved House of Leaves! Every now and again, myself and two other friends that have read it will get into discussions about it. Sometimes it's hard to stop talking about it as there is so much to chat about! Too many people find that book intimidating and never start it, but just rip off the band aid and start it. It really isn't intimidating at all once you begin. Definitely worth the read. I plan to reread it next year. Thanks for your review! Glad you liked it!
I agree, but so many people are afraid to start it.
@@kristey2663 just read the intro. The rumblings xi......and i know im in for a Head Coaster also my friend is very scared the more he re reads it time by time cause he describes it to me as That Fever dream Of Dread always Creeping in and out while making uncomfortable in times. He was Clusterphobia. That didn't help. What i just get from this is it really Delves to your own mind
PS i just read the intro and Dropped it cause I was reading a book not worth to this masterpiece but i was dumb that time
Sounds intriguing! I bet those one word pages go by pretty fast, but turning the book every which way and those footnotes would have the opposite effect, and knowing me, I’d chase down every single word. Thanks for making me aware of this experiential book!
Please read. It is amazing.
@@rubewaddell1704 I’ll give it a try someday- I tend to like something different. Thanks!
I'd say those empty pages might go by rather slow
You had me at “hallway”. Done. Sold.
L I M I N A L S P A C E S
Sean blink twice if El is holding u hostage to do this video
Sean’s voice is so relaxing to listen to! Give us more Sean reviews..
Ha long time no see! Welcome back Sean! Better than food is great channel!
Great review (and references), Sean. It’s kind of hard to talk too much about this book without spoiling things so I think you handled it really well, especially explaining the challenges with the format. I didn’t think House of Leaves was that scary either. Like you said, more creepy than anything at parts. Glad you enjoyed it!
Love having Sean on! This book sounds like it would make me sad with all the effort it want me to expend reading it. At the same time, I like feeling like a detective.
Sean... - soo cute. 😀 How can you look so grown-up and so boy-ish at the same time? 😅
I love the fact that you like books that are normally different from what Elle reads, so we can see a variety of genres on this channel. 😁
Great review, might pick it up after this!
This was such a good review! I had to put it down because it was such a chore but I may try to go back to it someday!
Loved the Review, Loved the book, Love that its the weekend!
Sean's Corner is the best booktube channel
One of my husband's favorite books. I'll get around to reading it eventually.
Jacob Geller has a fantastic video essay called 'Control, Anatomy, and The Legacy of a Haunted House' where he discusses House of Leaves and the game Control.
After really wanting to read this book for years I've finally gotten around to it and while I'm a bit more than halfway through your review seems pretty spot on. Honestly, the Zampano sections are fantastic with lots of interesting ideas and really vivid portrayals of what happened in the house. Also, not all of the citations are fake, I actually found a few interesting architecture books mentioned in the text :). Johnny's sections, however, are *extremely* hit or miss. Sometimes he adds a nice quip or details how he's slowly losing touch with reality, but many of his passages veer into graphic sex scenes/fantasies with *heavy* 'men writing women' energy. Like.. It's really a lot. At first, I read through them thinking I'd miss an important detail, not the case so far, so now I just skim through the sex bits as they really add nothing to the story and just become really obnoxious. That said, the book is still very worth reading imo.
Hey, what age would you recommend this for? I am really eager to read it, and I just wanna know what age its appropriate for. Thanks!
@@gacha_kira1322 Depends honestly, I'd say 15-16+ is a safe bet. Like I said above though the super nsfw parts are easily the worst part of the book, you can skip them easily and miss out on nothing. The rest is how well you can deal with more psychological horror.
@@gacha_kira1322 if you can handle liminal space/the backrooms/SCP/creepypasta kinds of content you should be fine, especially backrooms as this basically inspired the idea for most.
@@chacecampbell2697 Oh, okay, thank you so much for your help! I have no problem with horror but I will have to wait a few years to read it, thank you!
Is that music at the end from witcher 3? It's a very good book Btw but I would suggest reading all the footnotes as they do some interesting stuff.
Happy Halloween to both of u!! 📖👻🎃🧙♀️
I really liked this book when I read it in college. I actually have a copy now, because I loved it so much. There's so much strangeness to it, and that's what makes it great. Did you know that Mark Danielewski is actually the brother of the lead singer of Poe? Their CD Haunted was actually done as a companion to the book. I love Poe, so that was just gravy. Apparently, the book was partially about them working out their own demons.
Hello! I've read it last year, really liked the beginning (like 300 first pages) but to be fair by the end I was very confused. Maybe if I read it in my native language it would have been easier, but I'm not sure.
I loved how creepy it was in a subtle way and the format was very fun!
It was a challenging book. When I finished I was unsure if I liked it or not. Weird, I know. I felt almost exhausted. But it stayed with me. I found myself returning to it and rereading different parts and I still find myself reflecting on it from time to time.
Fyi the authors sister is a singer songwriter named Poe who has an album all about the novel
Johnny Angry Johnny.
This was an awesome review. I had fun while I was reading it but was conflicted with the way it ended. I kept it for a future re read lol
One word in an entire page? Is this expiramental like finnegans Wake?My point is will I "get it" at the or at some point during reading?
Is be interested to see what Sean would think of Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell. I feel like it reads more like a historical account of two magicians in England with the footnotes in it and such.
Poe's (his sister's) 'Haunted' album is good to listen to (as an adjunct), as it seems related to it.
one of my lifetime goals to read.this book!!
I finished this book last night.
I bought it four years ago, tried reading it then. I couldn't, it was hard. Tried reading it again a year ago. And I put it down again.
Finally I had the courage to finally finish it this year. From the start. And even if I did finish it, I still feel like I still didn't finish it. There's just so many layers into it. Definitely a must read for any horror fans even if it crosses genre borders. Just INSANE.
I've heard a lot of great tbigs about this. I really want to read it.
Is it just me, or does this sound like a found footage movie in book format?
YES!! Great review. One of my favorite books of all times. So ominous and creepy. Hahaha I read every name on that list because I’m a completist but certainly wasnt necessary. Also, I think Johnny is definitely an unreliable narrator so the womanizing I think was largely in his head and/or an illusion fueled in part by drug psychosis. And thanks for mentioning the letter decoding that was one of my favorite parts!
My husband read this a long time ago and to this day says it’s one of the few books that has freaked him out (and he’s a huge Stephen king fan). I could never get into it.
I've been reading this! Hopefully I'll be done by the end of the year
Sean is the GOAT
Is this a book that can be read on kindle? I’m assuming not, but thought I’d ask
you want the full colour paper/hard cover version, the text colour is important.
This book, while it seems SO interesting, intimidates the crap out of me lol
Really enjoyed Sean's review, but the camera angle is giving me anxiety. Lol
i could listen to you forever. we need to see you more. really great booktuber couple
Interesting new look you have there.
wow he's actually a solid book reviewer
I read this for my capstone class, and it was the weirdest book I have ever read, but I still think about it sometimes. Totally bizarre.
Is it good bizzare ?! Or scary bizzare ?! I just ordered this books and I wanna have a good experience lol.
@@Jenny-mo1be It was intriguing to begin with, then a bit confusing, then creepy. I don't have a high level of tolerance for creepiness. I feel like it's part speculative fiction, part alternate history, part horror...it's a book that makes you question everything XD
This novel has transcended the boundaries of what novels and books can do and gives it a property of films and cinema where by using editing you cut into different times , non linear narrative , circular barrative etc etc. Novel is basically read in one way , it does not have much mobility and freedom as cinema but this particular book has defied those rules in a very creative way giving it a "cinema like" feel. It is revolutionary. As we study films like battleship potemkin etc to pioneer cinema, books such as these will extend the boundaries of what novels and book as an art form can do.
SEAN: "Have a happy and safe Halloween, kiddos."
*regrets saying "kiddos" immediately* 🤣
That was seriously so funny, I had to rewatch it a few times :D
this totally makes me want to read this very scary book
If david lynch was a book. If cinema was a novel
I read House of Leaves back in February and I remember being much more annoyed with it than I am in hindsight but that's probably because my wrists have recovered from carting that heavy thing around and trying find a comfortable position to read it in. I don't know if I did something wrong or if I'm the world's slowest reader because it took me just shy of 15 hours to read so it definitely wasn't a fast read for me! 💀😓
It's best to read it on a table and then just flip the book around on the surface.
Just finished it, mostly annoyed too
I just finished this book yesterday and shared most of your opinions on it. I really enjoyed the experimental layouts and the Navidson/house storyline, but I will say I liked it a lot less because of Johnny’s accounts of the women he encountered. That knocked a whole star off for me. Happy Halloween! 🧛🏼♀️🖤🧛🏻♂️
Agreed. I had to fight the urge to skim all Johnny's personal accounts.
lol I enjoyed Johnny more than the house
I've tried to read that book several times already, but I always stop after a few dozen pages. Too annoying and pretentious for my taste. I'm just not into postmodern rethreads of 70s psychodelic writing style.
Sean gives me such professor vibes! 😅
Sounds cool 👍
Does anyone else have any similar book recommendations? There’s so much I loved about this book despite not usually being much of a reader. The kind of unsettling and existential vibes are rad? But I also really liked that this book made me WORK and really try to figure it out. I liked that the more effort I put in the more I got out of it if that makes sense
There's a book called Night Film that has a multimedia aspect to it. There's certain spots where you can use your phone to go on a site to hear an excerpt of music or a news article or a picture or video snippet. Its a creepy mystery set in new York
@@chrisbender8714 Oh cool! I especially like that it ties music into it, sounds pretty interesting! I’ll give it a read and thank you for the suggestion
@@high_stakes_ikea7087, just so you know, the author of House of Leaves, Mark Danielewski, has a sister, Anne Decatur Danielewski. She is a musician who recorded under the name Poe. Poe has an entire companion album to HoL titled: "Haunted".
@@jamessovlinsky5017 OH MY GOSH, cannot believe I’ve gone this long not knowing that? Thank you!! That sounds super nifty I’ll check it out ASAP- damn might even have to reread HoL again while I listen to it lol
If you want to be unsettled, Mare Inturnum is about a man trapped in an underground chasm on mars. It explores isolation l, personal demons, and schizophrenia.
Raining knives is about a young man who murdered his twin. ‘Will he be caught’ is the least of the consequences he faces. It’s about guilt.
I've gotten like 100 pages in and am following the footnotes. Multiple book marks are a must. I feel like've read half the book already just by following the footnotes. The horror element purely psychological IMO, I guess it's a book that cannot really be categorized. Now all I have to do if finish it.
I read House of Leaves earlier this year. Interesting book for sure, I did find it creepy.
Though we have similar tastes in books, I'm personally not interested in that one, not because your review was bad by any means, but I just know I wouldn't have the patience. ^^" I love Better Than Food, I'm not surprised you follow his channel. Have you ever read The Perfume: Story of a Murderer? It's quite an haunting book in my opinion, beautifully written, clever and ironic. Cliff reviewed it, so I'm sure you've heard about it. If you ever read it I would gladly watch a review by you. Good job man! I'd love for my husband to be as enthusiastic about books as you are. ^^"
I bought that book but haven't had time to get around to it yet. I remember seeing the movie trailer a few years ago and found out it was a book and it had been stuck in my mind for soooo long so I think I really need to pick it up asap. there's honestly just so many books to read and just not enough time lol
@@thepagesofsamantha No need to rush, but it's among my top 5 favourite fiction books and I don't think it'll be dethroned. I've read it three times and will read it again in the future. It doesn't mean you'll be as obsessed by it as I am though haha. It just really stuck with me. One of the most disturbing ending I've ever read. You could analyse this story in many ways and that's what I love about it. Unlike what people might think, there's no rape or unhealthy sexual behavior depicted at all (but if you've seen the movie, you know that -- but the movie has a different take when it comes to the main character. A take I didn't hate, but the author was never going in that direction and I feel that's quite important in what he was trying to do).
I love The Perfume! It's one of my favorites too! That ending...
Best book for Halloween
You didn’t do the wave!!
Can you read this book without reading Johnny's footnotes? I was enjoying the rest of the book, but I had to stop reading because I couldn't stand Johnny.
I don't know the book at all. Thinking about looking more into it, but also irritated(?) because I'm german and I think it would be interesting to see if its aviable in german or just english and that stuff. And it kind of reminds me of Gravity Falls with their puzzles at the end of every episode and the whole series as one giant puzzle kinda thing. Definetly going to look into it more, but also I dunno who to describe it tbh.
I hate reading, but this is one book I wasn’t able to put down until I was done with it. Definitely a thriller and plays off of the fears of the unknown
This year my costume is a Shawn costume
Yey
I actually would recommend reading every word as it really makes you feel like you’re losing your mind
I love this. One thing though, you arent in frame :P
It seems like a book that challenges you to read, or to make reading fun, interesting. get you to get interested in it. So , on another topic. We just bought it , this book, we need to brush up on my reading skills, help my reading. My reading is not so great, so i need to make it better. Yes. My book is coming , on order. Thank you.
Hello bro. From argentina salutes
You really have to pay attention to pellifina’s letters and be into code breaking.
Just finished. Yeah disturbing. Yeah scary but actually pretty phenomenal fantastic writing and there are some incredibly heartfelt moments.
Yeah there are some people out there who just dismiss it as a gimmick book with nothing else to offer but the actually narrative is really well written and engaging
@@plugshirt1762and the stories all run in parallels. Lots to dissect!
The author likes his name pronounced with LEV - SKI at the end. Just saying.
he looks like nikola vucevic from the orlando magic
I have ADHD and I think this book could get me into reading again because of how chaotic it looks
I remember coming across this book about 20 years ago. It was unusual and interesting but I only got about half way through. The format just starts to bog one down after awhile. The backward writing, the upside down pages, having to turn the book around or get a mirror to read it just got old hat. Ok, we get it, you wrote a clever book but it was too much and it’s cleverness is its undoing imo. A little of that goes a long way.
best book ever
I’m 80 pages in right now. I watched this video when I came out last fall but I wanted to refer back to it today. Anyway, as of right now, Johnny is annoying to me. Hopefully this will change.
You should check out this great ghost story, The fire in fortitude! By Melissa Scott, It blew my mind, part two had me up all night, it is a complete page turner, you should check it out. The legend of Beebledosh is about to take the world by storm.
I just looked that book up on Amazon and it doesn't have any reviews. Is it an experimental novel like House of Leaves?
@@klairem6593 I mean you could say that, it’s self published and new, reviews will be incoming soon I’m sure, mainly on good reads too. It is part of a trilogy! Part two and three are yet to come.
I can tell u enjoyed it but can tit give us a rating?
House of Leaves is good, but I think it is lacking in comparison to some of its predecessors such as Pale Fire and If On a Winter's Night a Traveler. Does less with more, if that makes any sense. I also thought that many of the Johnny passages were annoying, and that some of the appendices were a bit too much.
My favorite part of the book is actually when the wife starts interviewing different "real-life" celebrities and intellectuals about the footage, and we get fun little parodies of these people. Only "Stephen King" is convinced it's real.
Wait... what?
* checks channel name *
... what?!
Same bro hahaha
Hi! This is RE4D. I came across different universes to get into this video.. have you tried checking if the old resident and the author of the book is also himself? I don't know... there's something hidden and you will never see it if you still see the devil as himself, but not the purpose.
Thanks for validating my criticism on the womanizer aspect. It's actually the only part of the story that I didn't enjoy. I just kinda processed it by thinking how Johnny, as an unreliable narrator, exaggerated or twisted the events. I still really liked the book, and it really does demand effort.
Also, glad to know I'm not the only one who didn't read those lists. I tried, but you eventually just want to continue with the actual story.
Second
Well, this was a waste of time. This told me practically nothing about the book, and gave me no interest in reading it.
Luckily I've already read it, but still.