@@machinatingminotaur6285 I had the same problem (tho I gave up after book two), but every time I start thinking about the series, the feeling comes back. Idk if that's normal
I love your meme videos, but I hope you never stop doing this kind of content. I really appreciate the brevity and honesty of your books recommendations.
You might be the first person I’ve heard describe The Road as “a happy book,” Jake, but I love your reason, which I find convincing enough to resolve to quote you the next time I’m recommending it to someone. Great to hear your thoughts on these stories!
i just read the road. absolutely amazing book, cant wait to read blood meridan next. i like cormac’s incredibly idiosyncratic writing style. a lot. such a desolate yet moving story
Blood Meridian had me so on edge at one point that I realized I was baring my teeth and bugging my eyes out. Cannot recommend highly enough in the "books about awful things that teach you about humanity" category.
I love how when you display your past video of 'A Little Life' it is half watched which is representative of the fact you were hooked for the first half of the book. Brilliant Metaphor. Bravo Man Who Carry Thing.
I'm amazed that your balancing both styles of content on the channel and somehow keeping it cohesive. I'm not a big reader but your reviews are pulling me in ❤️
Great point. I've not seen many channels manage that. At least not without throwing off their audience after going one route for so long that a good chunk of subscribers might not like the other kind. Alternatively, the common thing to do would be separate channels for either topic. But I'd probably have a hard time deciding which one to use for the main thing. The humorous videos seem to have drawn in the bulk of the subscriptions, but the more serious side is what got it started.
Personally, I prefer your book videos. I love your funny vids too but these videos remind me to appreciate the art! Thanks for helping me get back into reading again!
I started reading the Dark Tower series in part because of your videos on them. I just finished Wizard and Glass, moving on to Eyes of the Dragon next. King has a way of writing that is so offensive and crass that it heightens the tension and makes the rare moments of beauty and catharsis stand out. I love it.
I started reading the stormlight archive, in part because of your channel. I had heard things about this series before hand, but you talking about it encouraged me to pick it up!
My favorite recent book has been One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. I ended up buying five of his other books immediately after finishing. I fell in love with the Latin American magical realism genre reading Jorge Borges, but I admit to being a little too slow to understand all of Borges' stories by myself. Gabriel Marquez was so easy to be absorbed in by comparison.
I've mostly considered myself a "non-reader" but I read "The Road" for a college class and really liked it. granted my 19-20 year old classmates and I weren't ready to fully process the book as we spent the first two classes debating about what caused the apocalypse (I insisted it was a volcano). Over the course of the book though you could feel our class discussions get more insightful and mature.
The Road is such an odd case with me On a reread I now genuinely love the book for its odd prose and great tone, but man was the taste originally soured when I was in school; everyone was assigned one of five books and i ended up with this one. Problem is, it was a class section on dystopias, and even now I wonder "did she mix up post-apoc and dystopia or am I missing something?"
I read Five Decembers because of this vid! I got it for my birthday and read about 20 pages before putting it down for lack of time. I picked it back up the day after Christmas and read the remaining 400 pages. It is absolutely incredible. I love the style and could hear the dialogue in an old-timey radio voice and would love to see this come to a radio performance series. Absolutely stunning work! Thanks for getting me into it!
Okay, Five Decembers sounds fantastic. On my Wish List at once, although it sounds like A Little Life needs to drop off that list. McCarthy's a favorite of mine. Definitely get more people to read his work, and that of Westlake and Leonard, too. Have you yet discovered the Pendergast or other novels by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child? They collaborate seamlessly on elevated, intelligent thrillers, and each writes the same kind of thing on their own. In addition, Douglas Preston's The Monster of Florence and The Lost City of the Monkey God are superb nonfiction books.
Thank you for the warning for "A Little Life"! I've seen this book a lot and I've been smart enough not to pick it up because I know that it could make my mental health issues worse (because the only context I see it in are the videos of people crying because of this book... I don't even know what it's about) but I have never seen anyone put this kind of warning in their content about the book. Maybe sadness can be a good thing, but despair and hopelessness aren't... So thank you again for caring about those who are not very well when it comes to mental health!
When I started The Road, I was thrown off by the lack of punctuation in dialogue. But as I read, it somehow made the book better and more intense for me.
Yes, the lack of punctuation almost eliminates the separation between the different gears of "narrator telling the story" and "people talking" you usually see in books. Another book that does this well is News of the World by Paulette Jiles (the choice to do this in a western was almost certainly inspired by McCarthy).
@@AcmeMonkeyCompany When I was reading "How I Live Now" by Meg Rosoff, mostly after seven years of school English, the punctuation in that book somewhat confused me. We'd been taught pretty much no punctuation rules in our English classes, so I knew it was possible that I had a bad grasp on them. But still, I had never felt that way when reading any other English text. It was years later that I read a review on the book that mentioned its "idiosyncratic punctuation".
Yeah The Road was relentlessly bleak, but weirdly optimistic. Father and son carrying the fire and keeping hope alive...very poignant. Also, I read The Mad and The Bad after your rec...pretty cool! Didn't stick with me like The Road, but still a fun story
After watching this video I read Five Decembers and it has probably become one of my top favorite books of all time. The story is extremely engaging, the character work is solid and it left me with a large variety of emotions. Thank you for the fantastic recommendation and I can’t stress enough for other readers to pick this book up as well!
I just finished reading Project Hail Mary, by Andy Weir. Definitely recommend! Also, read The Road in high school. It was a good read but a little more intense than I usually prefer
Always love it when I see a book video from you. In fact you just motivated me to stop wasting time and to pick up my book again. Currently reading a classic, 1984
I studied the road in school and it's stayed with me ever since. The way he describes the desolate environment the book is set in and the constant danger they face, while still managing to weave such a beautiful relationship throughout is haunting. Great review!
I can't recommend the short graphic novel Cheer Up! Love and Pom-Poms enough, especially for a queer audience. My trans lesbian ass cried so hard so much at how truly and gently the transfemme experience was handled, and the sappy romance was Supposed to take the edge off but I cried even harder at it. Love love love. Also read Lincoln in the Bardo which is funny, imaginative, experimental (but in a readable way) and strikingly non-patriotic which is welcome :)
I gave my Dad my copy of The Road to read. Such a moving piece of fiction. I think it wasn't exactly disturbing, but the depth of detail in the description was so vivid it slapped me in the face like I was there.
J.G Ballard covers disturbing quite nicely. High-Rise is a particular favourite (his short stories are brilliant, too). On other notes: The Killjoy, by Anne Fine - The Driver's Seat, by Muriel Spark - The New York Trilogy, by Paul Auster.
I read The Road in high school, but as with pretty much every book in high school (except for, somehow, Great Expectations?) I did not enjoy my experience because of its attachment to homework and school, but also because I hadn't yet reached a level of emotional and mental maturity to really dissect what's happening in the book. I'd love to go back. Anyways, I know your channel really popped off because of your short skits (which is also how I found it) but I really do appreciate your videos on books because, while I don't get to read as much as I'd like, I love to get recommendations because I do keep an eye out for the next book I'm going to read.
The Discomfort of Evening is one of my favourite disturbing books. It's a picture of a young girl's life as she deals with the fallout of severe trauma when left untreated and unrecognised by her highly religious (and equally suffering) family. Very bleak. Very moving, and an accurate portrayal of trauma.
I agree - don’t read The Road during a bad time in your life. I read it during one of the best summers of my life and it is probably my favorite novel. Your description of it is exactly on point
I started reading Revival by Stephen King and felt I had to put the book down after the first 49 pages - just wasn't getting into it. But then three weeks goes by and I decided to give it another chance and literally the story picked up on page 50 with a really disturbing accident that leaves a beautiful young woman and her baby completely disfigured. This book is actually becoming one of my more admirable King novels so far. And I can't wait to check out The Road after finishing it. I really appreciate that you're still making videos about books on occasion because I always value recommendation from content creators I enjoy watching.
Thx for Skillshare. Also thanks for Butcher’s Crossing recommendation. I ordered it a few weeks back and it’s now on my reading list. Really excited for that, the whole idea of transcendentalism as a romantic yet unrealistic aspiration is something that I’ve wanted to write about for a while. To me that’s even what the Adam and Eve story is about, in a way. There’s this tragic quality about humanity isolating itself from the rest of the natural world and being unable to fully integrate itself into it again. Thanks again for the inspiration (Also loved your thoughts on Faulkner)!
I got a book recommendation. I read tochman’s Eli Eli as required reading and it was amazing. I love it. It’s a polish report about slums in philippines and photography and partly about slum tourism, but the theme of photography is most prevalent. It might be tough to find an english translation, but if you do, please check it out. I’m not too into reading but this left such an impression on me
MCT, I'm a Canadian viewer who just watched one of your videos. I've read The Hot Rock and The Road, both mentioned in this video (dissimilar, I know). This is the first time I have heard someone speak with your kind of enthusiasm for Donald E. Westlake. Our municipal librarians probably stocked so much Westlake because of Westlake's upstate New York residence, but I would like to shake your hand, MCT, if I met you, to hear what you think. Unlike Westlake's other titles that are disturbing reading, the Hot Rock doesn't bother me, except that Dortmunder and his crew aren't succeeding in their tasks at hand. One of the more disturbing novels of Westlake's is one he penned late in life, titled Humans, about the divine decision to end life on Earth. I want to thank you, MCT, for helping me let go of some of my feelings about Westlake, and I wish you the best of luck with your comedy career.
I started watching for the memes after the 'intros are getting weird' video, but the booktuber side has gotten me into reading for the first time in like three years. I Just finished 'Capone: The Man and The Era' and started on the 2011 Steve jobs biography. Thanks Jake!
I'm only 100 pages into Stephen King's newest book "Fairy Tale" and I'm really, really enjoying it. His newer work isn't for everyone but this book has an intriguing premise that I wish I hadn't spoiled for myself before pre-ordering it.
so I scoped The Hot Rcok from one of yer skit videos and checked it out and really enjoyed it from how absurd it was with the cast of goofy heist men. Their escalating efforts to retrieve the stone and the increasing desperation of the man paying for them really starts getting grimy at the end, like drowning rats. Good stuff
I know this video is old, but I so wonder what you’d think of The Road as an expecting father, or even better, a new father in the future. I would highly recommend a reread at some point, from my experience!
I loved The Road, for the same reason you mentioned. The stubborn hope that weaves through the otherwise bleak storyscape was so wonderful. I'm currently reading Shadow of the Torturer, by Gene Wolf, and loving it. Despite the name, it's not really a splatterpunk, overly gorey tale (so far, at least). And I love a good unreliable narrator 😊
big fan of Cormac McCarthy. No Country For Old Men is one of my favorite books and the movie is my favorite movie. i absolutely loved The Road, it made me cry multiple times and its a book i recommend constantly. it’s beautifully depressing and the relationship between the father and son is so well written. glad you enjoyed it!
The road is one of the few times I've cried at a work of art. McCarthy always is wonderful at staring into the absolute evil mankind is able to do and still have moments of true altruism bleed through.
I bought and read Butcher's Crossing based off one of your earlier videos and it's become one of my favourite books. Don't think I would have ever tried it or even known it existed without your video, so thank you!
It continues to be so difficult for me to get back into reading when I used to do it so often, but I’ll check out some of these recommendations! Thank you, funny meme man
I got back into reading through classic scifi a little while ago (recently having read dune, 2001, foundation, and currently reading ringworld), and I’m glad youtube is recommending me book videos now so I can find new books to check out and expand my horizons!! Your recommendation really made me want to read The Road so I plan on getting that next. Thanks! :)
I recently finished reading Five Decembers and I can't say I've read something quite like it before. The book is vivid and intense, but is also quite often melancholy and heartbreaking. It took me a few weeks to get through the beginning, but as soon as the plot picked up the pace I couldn't put the book down. Thanks for the recommendation!
I read Wuthering Heights a few weeks/months ago after watching your vid on it and remembering I had the ebook I'd gotten a long time ago. Absolutely loved it. One of my favorite reads of the year so far for sure.
Your recommendation of ELDoctorow a few videos back has got me hooked. I've already read 4 of his books, and I think I'm going to read everything he ever published. I also got Butcher's Crossing on your recommendation, and adored it (its now on loan to my best friend, she's enjoying it too) And I even got Blood Meridian, you finally pushed me to order a copy of it after years of putting it off Other than that what I read recently was the Earthsea quartet (pretty much flawless, in my opinion) and Foe by Iain Reid, who has now solidified himself as an instant-purchase author for me, i've already preordered his third novel.
I read Butcher's Crossing because of you and absolutely loved it. Stoner remains Williams' masterpiece though. You should check out the Invention of Morel, the most beautiful sci fi story ever written (and it's like 130 pages long)
I read butchers crossing because of your recommendation in your favorite books video since I had just re read blood meridian and was looking for things in a similar western vein... Absolutely loved it. Just wanted to say thanks for pointing that one out.
The Road is indeed a happy book!! The love between the father and son is very heartwarming and heartbreaking at the same time, I didn't think it was disturbing, but it was indeed very bleak
I loved your reviews :) I've been wanting to expand the books I've been reading outside of my young adult, fantasy, etc stuff since I've kinda grown tired of it. These all seem so interesting!
The first 1,000 people to use the link will get a 1 month free trial of Skillshare: skl.sh/mancarryingthing09221
Sure is taking a long time for 1,000 people to click that link...
Didn’t expect such a glowing recommendation to read the entire Twilight series, but I guess I should start reading it.
you should
I tried that, but by half way through book two I became profoundly disorientated and could no longer feel my feet.
i thought this was a fantano comment section cliche
@@ian_b That's Normal.
@@machinatingminotaur6285 I had the same problem (tho I gave up after book two), but every time I start thinking about the series, the feeling comes back. Idk if that's normal
I love that The Road is basically about how no matter what state the world is in, love and being nice always make things better.
I love your meme videos, but I hope you never stop doing this kind of content. I really appreciate the brevity and honesty of your books recommendations.
thanks! and i never plan to stop, i love to read
@@ManCarryingThing 🤓
Ooooo brevity what a big word
for disturbing read NIGHT IN ZAGREB by author Adam Medvidović
Hey man you're genuinely really good at reviewing these books good job keep it up and keep holding that thing
hey thanks, i appreciate it
He's the man holding things
god I love how many booktubers there r each with their own taste, I'll never run out of books to read thx to u guys
HAVE YOU HEARD OF BRANDEN SUNDERSON
I love how even your serious videos are not taken too seriously.
You might be the first person I’ve heard describe The Road as “a happy book,” Jake, but I love your reason, which I find convincing enough to resolve to quote you the next time I’m recommending it to someone. Great to hear your thoughts on these stories!
hahaha thanks Philip! Yes, the road is a happy book, perfect for a beach read!
@@ManCarryingThing my mother in law actually read it on our beach trip
I'd call it more hopeful than happy
i just read the road. absolutely amazing book, cant wait to read blood meridan next. i like cormac’s incredibly idiosyncratic writing style. a lot. such a desolate yet moving story
Blood Meridian had me so on edge at one point that I realized I was baring my teeth and bugging my eyes out. Cannot recommend highly enough in the "books about awful things that teach you about humanity" category.
*The Road in thumbnail*
11/10
such an incredible and depresing read, loved it so much!
It's been Skit Carrying Thing for a while and although i got used to it, I'm glad Man is back!
I love how when you display your past video of 'A Little Life' it is half watched which is representative of the fact you were hooked for the first half of the book. Brilliant Metaphor. Bravo Man Who Carry Thing.
I'm amazed that your balancing both styles of content on the channel and somehow keeping it cohesive. I'm not a big reader but your reviews are pulling me in ❤️
that's really nice to hear, thanks!
@@ManCarryingThing absolutely! I love your content. Cheers! 🥂
Great point. I've not seen many channels manage that.
At least not without throwing off their audience after going one route for so long that a good chunk of subscribers might not like the other kind.
Alternatively, the common thing to do would be separate channels for either topic.
But I'd probably have a hard time deciding which one to use for the main thing.
The humorous videos seem to have drawn in the bulk of the subscriptions, but the more serious side is what got it started.
Personally, I prefer your book videos. I love your funny vids too but these videos remind me to appreciate the art! Thanks for helping me get back into reading again!
I started reading the Dark Tower series in part because of your videos on them. I just finished Wizard and Glass, moving on to Eyes of the Dragon next.
King has a way of writing that is so offensive and crass that it heightens the tension and makes the rare moments of beauty and catharsis stand out. I love it.
I was feeling a bit sad before reading The Road, and felt great afterward. It was like a new appreciation for my life. Thanks for the Video Jake!
I started reading the stormlight archive, in part because of your channel. I had heard things about this series before hand, but you talking about it encouraged me to pick it up!
My favorite recent book has been One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. I ended up buying five of his other books immediately after finishing. I fell in love with the Latin American magical realism genre reading Jorge Borges, but I admit to being a little too slow to understand all of Borges' stories by myself. Gabriel Marquez was so easy to be absorbed in by comparison.
"the handsomest drowned man in the world" is one of my all time favorites
I'm reading this right now and it's beautiful
What's a books
Super happy to see a book review video! Your short form vids are great but hearing your opinions on titles is really a treat.
you have this certain passion with which you speak that makes me want to stay, even if it doesn't really interest me all that much
thanks!
I've mostly considered myself a "non-reader" but I read "The Road" for a college class and really liked it. granted my 19-20 year old classmates and I weren't ready to fully process the book as we spent the first two classes debating about what caused the apocalypse (I insisted it was a volcano). Over the course of the book though you could feel our class discussions get more insightful and mature.
The Road is my favorite dad story! You're right that above all it is a story about human connection and surviving together at all costs
The Road is such an odd case with me
On a reread I now genuinely love the book for its odd prose and great tone, but man was the taste originally soured when I was in school; everyone was assigned one of five books and i ended up with this one. Problem is, it was a class section on dystopias, and even now I wonder "did she mix up post-apoc and dystopia or am I missing something?"
Nice to see another book related vid!
I read Five Decembers because of this vid! I got it for my birthday and read about 20 pages before putting it down for lack of time. I picked it back up the day after Christmas and read the remaining 400 pages. It is absolutely incredible. I love the style and could hear the dialogue in an old-timey radio voice and would love to see this come to a radio performance series. Absolutely stunning work! Thanks for getting me into it!
That's awesome! So glad you enjoyed it
love when these drop, they’re really fantastic, man.
thanks my friend
Okay, Five Decembers sounds fantastic. On my Wish List at once, although it sounds like A Little Life needs to drop off that list.
McCarthy's a favorite of mine. Definitely get more people to read his work, and that of Westlake and Leonard, too.
Have you yet discovered the Pendergast or other novels by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child? They collaborate seamlessly on elevated, intelligent thrillers, and each writes the same kind of thing on their own. In addition, Douglas Preston's The Monster of Florence and The Lost City of the Monkey God are superb nonfiction books.
Thank you for the warning for "A Little Life"! I've seen this book a lot and I've been smart enough not to pick it up because I know that it could make my mental health issues worse (because the only context I see it in are the videos of people crying because of this book... I don't even know what it's about) but I have never seen anyone put this kind of warning in their content about the book. Maybe sadness can be a good thing, but despair and hopelessness aren't... So thank you again for caring about those who are not very well when it comes to mental health!
When I started The Road, I was thrown off by the lack of punctuation in dialogue. But as I read, it somehow made the book better and more intense for me.
What did you think about the ending
Yes, the lack of punctuation almost eliminates the separation between the different gears of "narrator telling the story" and "people talking" you usually see in books. Another book that does this well is News of the World by Paulette Jiles (the choice to do this in a western was almost certainly inspired by McCarthy).
@@spectrumto8521 it was disappointing, but I think it was more realistic than other possibilities
@@AcmeMonkeyCompany When I was reading "How I Live Now" by Meg Rosoff, mostly after seven years of school English, the punctuation in that book somewhat confused me. We'd been taught pretty much no punctuation rules in our English classes, so I knew it was possible that I had a bad grasp on them. But still, I had never felt that way when reading any other English text. It was years later that I read a review on the book that mentioned its "idiosyncratic punctuation".
The road is just a tear-jerker.
Yeah The Road was relentlessly bleak, but weirdly optimistic. Father and son carrying the fire and keeping hope alive...very poignant. Also, I read The Mad and The Bad after your rec...pretty cool! Didn't stick with me like The Road, but still a fun story
After watching this video I read Five Decembers and it has probably become one of my top favorite books of all time. The story is extremely engaging, the character work is solid and it left me with a large variety of emotions.
Thank you for the fantastic recommendation and I can’t stress enough for other readers to pick this book up as well!
So happy you enjoyed it!
First booktuber I've followed/known about. I've always struggled with finding books/getting recommendations and this is a god send
I just finished reading Project Hail Mary, by Andy Weir. Definitely recommend!
Also, read The Road in high school. It was a good read but a little more intense than I usually prefer
I second this. The Audio book version was phenomenal!
Always love it when I see a book video from you. In fact you just motivated me to stop wasting time and to pick up my book again. Currently reading a classic, 1984
Always keen to hear what you’ve been reading and enjoying Jake! I get excited when I see you’ve put out new book related videos
I love seeing the longer form videos from you. It’s engaging
I studied the road in school and it's stayed with me ever since. The way he describes the desolate environment the book is set in and the constant danger they face, while still managing to weave such a beautiful relationship throughout is haunting. Great review!
It's always a pleasant surprise when you drop some bookish content. 👏
thanks david!
Five Decembers is my favorite read over the last five years or so. Absolutely loved it
I read The Sound and The Fury based off one of your other video recommendations. So glad I did. What a great book.
I can't recommend the short graphic novel Cheer Up! Love and Pom-Poms enough, especially for a queer audience. My trans lesbian ass cried so hard so much at how truly and gently the transfemme experience was handled, and the sappy romance was Supposed to take the edge off but I cried even harder at it. Love love love.
Also read Lincoln in the Bardo which is funny, imaginative, experimental (but in a readable way) and strikingly non-patriotic which is welcome :)
I gave my Dad my copy of The Road to read. Such a moving piece of fiction. I think it wasn't exactly disturbing, but the depth of detail in the description was so vivid it slapped me in the face like I was there.
your channel is probably the one with the best evolution over time that i’ve ever seen
❤️
I could have sworn this channel was called Man Carrying Things MANDELA EFFECT
i would never carry THINGS
Getting into books, this channel is perfect. I love your comedy and I appreciate the good recs
The Road is a must read. Not so much disturbing as bleak.
love your longer videos- they’re always really interesting (even as someone who doesn’t read very often) keep up the good work
I read Butcher's Crossing, Valdez is Coming, and Stoner all because of your recommendations. I loved them all, hope the book content keeps rolling.
that's terrific, glad you enjoyed them
J.G Ballard covers disturbing quite nicely. High-Rise is a particular favourite (his short stories are brilliant, too).
On other notes: The Killjoy, by Anne Fine - The Driver's Seat, by Muriel Spark - The New York Trilogy, by Paul Auster.
I read The Road in high school, but as with pretty much every book in high school (except for, somehow, Great Expectations?) I did not enjoy my experience because of its attachment to homework and school, but also because I hadn't yet reached a level of emotional and mental maturity to really dissect what's happening in the book. I'd love to go back.
Anyways, I know your channel really popped off because of your short skits (which is also how I found it) but I really do appreciate your videos on books because, while I don't get to read as much as I'd like, I love to get recommendations because I do keep an eye out for the next book I'm going to read.
I'm still trying to catch up on Sanderson so I don't have much time for recommendations. But I always enjoy your vids and it motivates me to read more
The Discomfort of Evening is one of my favourite disturbing books. It's a picture of a young girl's life as she deals with the fallout of severe trauma when left untreated and unrecognised by her highly religious (and equally suffering) family. Very bleak. Very moving, and an accurate portrayal of trauma.
A BOOK VIDEO, MY FAITH HAS BEEN REWARDED
I agree - don’t read The Road during a bad time in your life. I read it during one of the best summers of my life and it is probably my favorite novel. Your description of it is exactly on point
The sick twisted form is the thing you’re carrying.
As in the Thing (1982)
A horrible shapeshifting alien
Thanks for the videos!
I started reading Revival by Stephen King and felt I had to put the book down after the first 49 pages - just wasn't getting into it. But then three weeks goes by and I decided to give it another chance and literally the story picked up on page 50 with a really disturbing accident that leaves a beautiful young woman and her baby completely disfigured. This book is actually becoming one of my more admirable King novels so far. And I can't wait to check out The Road after finishing it. I really appreciate that you're still making videos about books on occasion because I always value recommendation from content creators I enjoy watching.
Revival is a good one
Thx for Skillshare. Also thanks for Butcher’s Crossing recommendation. I ordered it a few weeks back and it’s now on my reading list. Really excited for that, the whole idea of transcendentalism as a romantic yet unrealistic aspiration is something that I’ve wanted to write about for a while. To me that’s even what the Adam and Eve story is about, in a way. There’s this tragic quality about humanity isolating itself from the rest of the natural world and being unable to fully integrate itself into it again. Thanks again for the inspiration (Also loved your thoughts on Faulkner)!
Nice! Hope you enjoy Butcher's crossing!
You've helped reignite my love for reading, these videos are great
I got a book recommendation. I read tochman’s Eli Eli as required reading and it was amazing. I love it. It’s a polish report about slums in philippines and photography and partly about slum tourism, but the theme of photography is most prevalent. It might be tough to find an english translation, but if you do, please check it out. I’m not too into reading but this left such an impression on me
MCT, I'm a Canadian viewer who just watched one of your videos. I've read The Hot Rock and The Road, both mentioned in this video (dissimilar, I know). This is the first time I have heard someone speak with your kind of enthusiasm for Donald E. Westlake.
Our municipal librarians probably stocked so much Westlake because of Westlake's upstate New York residence, but I would like to shake your hand, MCT, if I met you, to hear what you think. Unlike Westlake's other titles that are disturbing reading, the Hot Rock doesn't bother me, except that Dortmunder and his crew aren't succeeding in their tasks at hand. One of the more disturbing novels of Westlake's is one he penned late in life, titled Humans, about the divine decision to end life on Earth.
I want to thank you, MCT, for helping me let go of some of my feelings about Westlake, and I wish you the best of luck with your comedy career.
That's really nice to hear, thanks for the message. I need to check out Humans now - currently reading Smoke
Congrats for 200k subscribers, Man!
thanks dr!
I need more for these cuz you're only one I take recommendations from and for the past year I've read mostly books I've heard from you.
Just finished ‘Five Decembers’ which I read solely due to your recommendation! Really enjoyed it :) Thank you!
I love your meme videos and also love these book videos too! I'm gonna check out Five Decembers when I can. Thanks!
The Road is good, but Blood Meridian is perhaps the finest piece of literature written in the last hundred years.
As you command, funny man in my phone.
Also, congrats on 200k (almost)
hey thanks
I started watching for the memes after the 'intros are getting weird' video, but the booktuber side has gotten me into reading for the first time in like three years. I Just finished 'Capone: The Man and The Era' and started on the 2011 Steve jobs biography. Thanks Jake!
That makes me happy to hear
Agree completely with your review of The Road. Very moving depiction of father's love for his son. Great book
I'm only 100 pages into Stephen King's newest book "Fairy Tale" and I'm really, really enjoying it. His newer work isn't for everyone but this book has an intriguing premise that I wish I hadn't spoiled for myself before pre-ordering it.
halfway through butcher's crossing and really enjoying it - the road up next! appreciate the recommendations!
so I scoped The Hot Rcok from one of yer skit videos and checked it out and really enjoyed it from how absurd it was with the cast of goofy heist men. Their escalating efforts to retrieve the stone and the increasing desperation of the man paying for them really starts getting grimy at the end, like drowning rats. Good stuff
haha glad you liked it!
I know this video is old, but I so wonder what you’d think of The Road as an expecting father, or even better, a new father in the future. I would highly recommend a reread at some point, from my experience!
I loved The Road, for the same reason you mentioned. The stubborn hope that weaves through the otherwise bleak storyscape was so wonderful.
I'm currently reading Shadow of the Torturer, by Gene Wolf, and loving it. Despite the name, it's not really a splatterpunk, overly gorey tale (so far, at least). And I love a good unreliable narrator 😊
Thanks for recommending Five Decembers, just finished it. Fantastic work.
glas to hear!
big fan of Cormac McCarthy. No Country For Old Men is one of my favorite books and the movie is my favorite movie. i absolutely loved The Road, it made me cry multiple times and its a book i recommend constantly. it’s beautifully depressing and the relationship between the father and son is so well written. glad you enjoyed it!
I read Butcher's Crossing based on your recommendation and thoroughly enjoyed it, will check out Five Decembers next.
cool! yes please do
More of these videos!
The road is one of the few times I've cried at a work of art. McCarthy always is wonderful at staring into the absolute evil mankind is able to do and still have moments of true altruism bleed through.
Oh a video that more then 30 secs, omg he is feeding us good today
Damn this channel has everything; love yer content mate...
I got a used donald e westlake book recently because I liked the cover, and now im even more excited for it
I bought and read Butcher's Crossing based off one of your earlier videos and it's become one of my favourite books. Don't think I would have ever tried it or even known it existed without your video, so thank you!
It continues to be so difficult for me to get back into reading when I used to do it so often, but I’ll check out some of these recommendations! Thank you, funny meme man
Love the skits but my true love is the booktalk.. Adding these recommendations to my list. Also the Road movie with Vigo Mortensen was awesome
"Read these books" *proceeds to explain why a book is bad and you shouldn't read it*
I wish I didn't struggle to get myself to read so much :(
I got back into reading through classic scifi a little while ago (recently having read dune, 2001, foundation, and currently reading ringworld), and I’m glad youtube is recommending me book videos now so I can find new books to check out and expand my horizons!! Your recommendation really made me want to read The Road so I plan on getting that next. Thanks! :)
I already had The Road on my tbr so that's awesome to hear. Concerning Five Decembers, I just put it on my TBR and I'm excited to eventually read it.
I recently finished reading Five Decembers and I can't say I've read something quite like it before. The book is vivid and intense, but is also quite often melancholy and heartbreaking. It took me a few weeks to get through the beginning, but as soon as the plot picked up the pace I couldn't put the book down. Thanks for the recommendation!
I read Wuthering Heights a few weeks/months ago after watching your vid on it and remembering I had the ebook I'd gotten a long time ago. Absolutely loved it. One of my favorite reads of the year so far for sure.
Your recommendation of ELDoctorow a few videos back has got me hooked. I've already read 4 of his books, and I think I'm going to read everything he ever published.
I also got Butcher's Crossing on your recommendation, and adored it (its now on loan to my best friend, she's enjoying it too)
And I even got Blood Meridian, you finally pushed me to order a copy of it after years of putting it off
Other than that what I read recently was the Earthsea quartet (pretty much flawless, in my opinion) and Foe by Iain Reid, who has now solidified himself as an instant-purchase author for me, i've already preordered his third novel.
I read Butcher's Crossing because of you and absolutely loved it. Stoner remains Williams' masterpiece though. You should check out the Invention of Morel, the most beautiful sci fi story ever written (and it's like 130 pages long)
I read Stoner about a month ago, and I've thought about it basically everyday since. Such a wonderful book!
I read Five Decembers based on your recommendation and I really liked the book! Thank you!
I read butchers crossing because of your recommendation in your favorite books video since I had just re read blood meridian and was looking for things in a similar western vein... Absolutely loved it. Just wanted to say thanks for pointing that one out.
I love when you make videos about books
The Road is indeed a happy book!! The love between the father and son is very heartwarming and heartbreaking at the same time, I didn't think it was disturbing, but it was indeed very bleak
I love the road! Such a great read!
I loved your reviews :) I've been wanting to expand the books I've been reading outside of my young adult, fantasy, etc stuff since I've kinda grown tired of it. These all seem so interesting!
Didn’t really expect fifty shades of grey as your no 1, maybe I should read it