@@richardfairley9882 nice one! Haven’t read Spenser in a few years. Did a deep dive into the English renaissance a while back and I think it’s coming up time to do some rereading in that period. Thanks for sharing!
0:01 David Copperfield - Charles Dickens 1:31 Speak Memory - Vladimir Nabokov 6:41 Giovannis' Room - James Baldwin 10:42 The Half-Finished Heaven - Tomas Transformer 14:26 Russian Short Stories from Pushkin to Buida 16:59 Lucky Jim - Kingsley Amis 19:19 Mrs Dalloway - Virginia Woolf 21:06 Poetics - Aristotle 23:26 The Lonely Londoners - Sam Selvon 24:30 Poet's Pub - Erik Linklater
Honestly one of the most beautiful reviews I’ve ever watched. Especially when introducing (me at least) to Tranströmer. Wow. I thank you for this. Your lovely calm voice, your insights, your critiques are resonating whether I’ve read the books or not. Now I have Ben McEvoy,Tristan & the Classics and Ben Booth-Jones to follow along with and keep gaining insights into my favorite passion- reading. Thank you so much! Bravo!! 👏🏼
Penguins have just been such a gift for me; finishing the ones that have allured me since I was in college are a lifetime goal that I am slowly accomplishing. It is staggering all the things you almost missed.. the great characters/plots/ideas/styles/history that are just sitting there, quietly waiting for the right person. I loved Mrs Dalloway, and only read it within the last year. I'm reading Livy now. Aristotle is on my list.
So true! Worlds within worlds. And most people never experience the riches of literature. Such a pity. But it’s nice to know there are kindred spirits out there. Happy reading!
Thanks for some reminders of things I have not read. I loved Giovanni's Room and Mrs Dalloway. Really liked Nabokov's PNIN, Cormac McCarthy's BORDER TRILOGY, especially the first two novels in it.
Thank you so much! I’m happy you enjoyed it. Haven’t read that one but I think it might be in included in the first 3000 penguins so I’ll get to it soon :)
Will definitely be doing more Dickens on my channel soon. Rereading is the best! Thank you for watching and enjoy The Collected Stories of Lispector. She is wonderful! :)
I love how quickly my black-spine Penguin classics get tattered and beat up, they all inevitably look worn and well-loved. My favorite designs are probably the white-spine Penguin Modern Classics, I love the minimalistic typeface and artwork on the covers. I had no idea Bulgakov was included in the Russian short stories collection! The Master and Margarita is one of my favorite hilarious, satirical, and deeply strange reads - will definitely have to check out that short story collection, great recs!
Thank you! I also love the battered, love-worn look of a beloved paperback. Ooh I should definitely cover M&M soon on my channel. A true masterpiece. Thank you for reminding me of it!
Love a lot of these, but haven't read/heard a lot of these too! David Copperfield, Mrs. Dalloway, Giovani's Room are my favorites I will read again and again in the future. The way you describe these books are just masterful. Shall get that copy of Nabokov memoir soon! Wonderful video/list!
A wonderful video. You've helped me realize I haven't read Aristotle's Poetics yet, and it seems obvious that I should: his terms and arguments percolate through my thinking. What a shame to have not read the source. "Where do you get your catharsis from?"-That is a wise question. We seem rather often in a perpetual state of teasing, stacks of temptations none of them culminating. Our eager torment of ongoing desire.
Thucydides History of the Peloponnesian War and Livy The War with Hannibal are my two potential favorites. I have a large collection of Penguin Classics I mainly like all the old Greek and Roman stuff.
Nice man, love Nabokov, Russian Lit, Mrs Dalloway, and The Poetics. You can never get to everything, but I gotta knock off David Copperfield one of these days!
The name is pronounced Na-boak-off. Stress on the “boak.” I met an old lady who had him as a professor at Cornell. She said that is how he told the class his last name is pronounced. She gave me the book they used in class. She also hung with Thomas Pynchon and played tennis with Ruth Bader Ginsberg. She said, “That’s why you go to an Ivy League college.” And there I was, a high school dropout. You got the pronunciation of Nabokov’s first name wrong, too, but I’ll let you work on that on your own.
Hint - you’re looking at the wrong part of the camera - with those - I must add - stunning green eyes. It feels as if you are speaking to someone beside us. Look into the lens, so that you are looking at us. 😉
The only one I have read is Giovanni's Room. I remember being quite disappointed in one central aspect of the book. The Giovanni character seemed manipulated to support the needs of the narrative in ways the felt false to me. He was an independent, self-confident character who suddenly became a clinging, needy burden when the plot needed him to be, and not in a way that any real person might transition. I'll admit I read it when I was younger and am a little lacking in detail here, but that was my enduring memory. I still have it, maybe I'll give it another look to see if the older me sees it any differently.
Now you make me want to reread it too! I think perhaps his personal tragedy back home in Italy at least partly explains the dark complexity and inconsistency of his character-his experience of the direst and most unexpected sufferings warping him forever? But yeah I feel like I need to lose myself in that book again very soon. Thanks for sharing!
To bad that Charles dickens theme park is defunct that was a thing in England. If you’re a big fan of his books I have feeling you would have enjoyed that .
What are your favourite Penguin Classics?
Intro music by the superlative Noir Disco!
I loved Death in Venice/Tale of Genji/Dracula/Bernal Diaz' Conquest of Mexico/ Euripides Medea/The Iliad/Mrs. Dalloway.
@@markbeck8384 a stellar list!
'The Faerie Queene' by Edmund Spenser. My 'desert island' book!
@@richardfairley9882 nice one! Haven’t read Spenser in a few years. Did a deep dive into the English renaissance a while back and I think it’s coming up time to do some rereading in that period. Thanks for sharing!
0:01 David Copperfield - Charles Dickens
1:31 Speak Memory - Vladimir Nabokov
6:41 Giovannis' Room - James Baldwin
10:42 The Half-Finished Heaven - Tomas Transformer
14:26 Russian Short Stories from Pushkin to Buida
16:59 Lucky Jim - Kingsley Amis
19:19 Mrs Dalloway - Virginia Woolf
21:06 Poetics - Aristotle
23:26 The Lonely Londoners - Sam Selvon
24:30 Poet's Pub - Erik Linklater
‘ Speak’ Memory😊
@@lizardslaw2661 Thx.
tomas transformer LOL his name is transtrømer
the people transcribing lists for booktube are the real heroes
Giovanni's room was my introduction to a wonderful experience with James Baldwin! I truly recommend anything that he wrote!
Giovanni’s Room and the Collected Essays for me. Sublime! Thanks for sharing!
Honestly one of the most beautiful reviews I’ve ever watched. Especially when introducing (me at least) to Tranströmer. Wow. I thank you for this. Your lovely calm voice, your insights, your critiques are resonating whether I’ve read the books or not. Now I have Ben McEvoy,Tristan & the Classics and Ben Booth-Jones to follow along with and keep gaining insights into my favorite passion- reading. Thank you so much! Bravo!! 👏🏼
What a lovely, heartening comment. Thank you so much!
the way you discuss these pearls is so eloquent and captivating, great video!
Thank you kindly!
Penguins have just been such a gift for me; finishing the ones that have allured me since I was in college are a lifetime goal that I am slowly accomplishing. It is staggering all the things you almost missed.. the great characters/plots/ideas/styles/history that are just sitting there, quietly waiting for the right person. I loved Mrs Dalloway, and only read it within the last year. I'm reading Livy now. Aristotle is on my list.
So true! Worlds within worlds. And most people never experience the riches of literature. Such a pity. But it’s nice to know there are kindred spirits out there. Happy reading!
Thanks for some reminders of things I have not read. I loved Giovanni's Room and Mrs Dalloway. Really liked Nabokov's PNIN, Cormac McCarthy's BORDER TRILOGY, especially the first two novels in it.
Thank you for watching! Will definitely be covering Cormac McCarthy on the channel one of these days. Happy reading :)
Damn man, you included the Writer (acc. to me, don't bite!) in your list of life changing books- Nabokov! I sincerely thank you 😂❤
I read David Copperfield for the first time this year, ahead of Demon Copperhead. I was transported!
Ah nice-thanks for sharing :)
Nice compliment to my reading, this video. Thank you very much. My Penguin classic choice would be “Titus Groan” by M. Peake.
Thank you so much! I’m happy you enjoyed it. Haven’t read that one but I think it might be in included in the first 3000 penguins so I’ll get to it soon :)
David Copperfield and A tale of two cities are my favorites. Must reread one of these days.
Will definitely be doing more Dickens on my channel soon. Rereading is the best! Thank you for watching and enjoy The Collected Stories of Lispector. She is wonderful! :)
I need that Nabokov book! Thanks for this video 😊 just subscribed
Ah gosh thank you so much!
Hey! I think I just became your 4,000th subscriber. Milestone.
Awesome. Thank you! I hope you enjoy the back catalog of videos. Some new stuff brewing :)
I love how quickly my black-spine Penguin classics get tattered and beat up, they all inevitably look worn and well-loved. My favorite designs are probably the white-spine Penguin Modern Classics, I love the minimalistic typeface and artwork on the covers.
I had no idea Bulgakov was included in the Russian short stories collection! The Master and Margarita is one of my favorite hilarious, satirical, and deeply strange reads - will definitely have to check out that short story collection, great recs!
Thank you!
I also love the battered, love-worn look of a beloved paperback.
Ooh I should definitely cover M&M soon on my channel. A true masterpiece. Thank you for reminding me of it!
Love a lot of these, but haven't read/heard a lot of these too! David Copperfield, Mrs. Dalloway, Giovani's Room are my favorites I will read again and again in the future. The way you describe these books are just masterful. Shall get that copy of Nabokov memoir soon! Wonderful video/list!
Wow, thank you for the generous comment! Really happy to hear that you enjoyed the video. Hope you enjoy Nabokov’s brilliant memoir.
A wonderful video. You've helped me realize I haven't read Aristotle's Poetics yet, and it seems obvious that I should: his terms and arguments percolate through my thinking. What a shame to have not read the source. "Where do you get your catharsis from?"-That is a wise question. We seem rather often in a perpetual state of teasing, stacks of temptations none of them culminating. Our eager torment of ongoing desire.
Well said, my friend! And thank you for the kind words!
Never read any of Vladimir Nabokov yet, inspired to do now!
Speak, Memory is a great place to start!
Omg I’ve been waiting for this video 🙏 love to see your favourites ☺️
Ah wonderful to hear! Thank you!
Your accent is transatlantic.
Thucydides History of the Peloponnesian War and Livy The War with Hannibal are my two potential favorites. I have a large collection of Penguin Classics I mainly like all the old Greek and Roman stuff.
Nice! Planning to get into ye olde classics on the channel v soon! Thanks for sharing!
The full Tranströmer poem here:
wordsfortheyear.com/2015/10/29/vermeer-by-tomas-transtromer/
Who else is just here for the hot dude?
😂
Nice man, love Nabokov, Russian Lit, Mrs Dalloway, and The Poetics. You can never get to everything, but I gotta knock off David Copperfield one of these days!
Thank you! I hope you’ll enjoy D Copperfield when you get around to it.
The name is pronounced Na-boak-off. Stress on the “boak.” I met an old lady who had him as a professor at Cornell. She said that is how he told the class his last name is pronounced. She gave me the book they used in class. She also hung with Thomas Pynchon and played tennis with Ruth Bader Ginsberg. She said, “That’s why you go to an Ivy League college.” And there I was, a high school dropout. You got the pronunciation of Nabokov’s first name wrong, too, but I’ll let you work on that on your own.
Wow!! She must’ve been a fascinating friend!
@@Karaya715 it’s a long story.
Hint - you’re looking at the wrong part of the camera - with those - I must add - stunning green eyes. It feels as if you are speaking to someone beside us. Look into the lens, so that you are looking at us. 😉
Someone else also commented on that-I will try looking into the lens next time! Thanks for the feedback.
The only one I have read is Giovanni's Room. I remember being quite disappointed in one central aspect of the book. The Giovanni character seemed manipulated to support the needs of the narrative in ways the felt false to me. He was an independent, self-confident character who suddenly became a clinging, needy burden when the plot needed him to be, and not in a way that any real person might transition. I'll admit I read it when I was younger and am a little lacking in detail here, but that was my enduring memory. I still have it, maybe I'll give it another look to see if the older me sees it any differently.
Now you make me want to reread it too! I think perhaps his personal tragedy back home in Italy at least partly explains the dark complexity and inconsistency of his character-his experience of the direst and most unexpected sufferings warping him forever? But yeah I feel like I need to lose myself in that book again very soon. Thanks for sharing!
Do you have a goodreads account?
yes I do! Not sure how to see what my handle is but maybe you can find me if you search Bren Booth-Jones. Thanks for watching :)
To bad that Charles dickens theme park is defunct that was a thing in England. If you’re a big fan of his books I have feeling you would have enjoyed that .
What about Joyce? Proust?
Will be discussing both of them soon (in fact I actually talked about Proust in my latest video!)
It’s pronounced Giovanni not Gïovanni
I asked Gïovanni himself and he said call me Gïo