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That is a quite a list of books to reread! I usually just keep it to one per year, maybe two. I hope you find Slaves of Solitude some time, it is really quite a great book, that feels like it was fun to read. Hope you are well Nikki, thanks for writing!

There are a few similarities to Madame Bovary, but essentially it is quite different. If you liked Madam B. I would highly recommend Custom of the Country!

Thanks Deb! I had fun making that video. I was happy I ordered that book.

My pleasure Deb! Thanks a lot for your continued support of the channel. School is really busy right now and it's hard to find the time to make videos right now. I hope in one or two weeks I can sit down, record edit and upload a few new videos.

Hello Timothy, I think I am more annoyed with university professors constantly relying on the same old books. However, a lot of these young students have never read these books, and it would really be a crime if an English Literature major got a BA and never had to read Gatsby. I really haven't a clue if they read anything at all in high school. I do give this teacher a pass on Gatsby this time, he's teaching a Literature on Film class, so Gatsby makes sense, although I would have preferred No Country For Old Men, maybe even Dracula. I actually ended up loving Gatsby reading it this time, but I hated having to watch the ridiculous film.

@@grantlovesbooks It was a good rant and any academic worth their salt must sometimes rail against the academy. I was about to ask with Gatsby, but of course the new one, which I enjoyed but I like all three. No Country for Old Men is a great book to film. Dracula -- I suppose the Francis Cord is the closest to the novel, if that's your measure -- but I once took a vampire in film course saw 10 vampire films, fantastic -- the prof's favorite Dracula was Horror of Dracula, which barely follows the story but invokes the atmosphere. My favorite Dracula is son of Dracula. Dracula is a great novel which I've re-read several times. I love structure and the collection of primary sources to make up the story is so artful. I read Gatsby for structure. I might suggest that while many Dracula movies are far better films than any of the three Gatsby's they don't contain Stoker like the others do Fitzgerald.

Yeah, I'm still having trouble figuring everything out.

Hello Ned, I really needed that rant. I recorded this video several months ago, and when I watched it yesterday I was a little surprised at how annoyed I was. I highly recommend M. Bovary, it is really a great one. I know it can feel pretty slow compared to the modern stuff, especially if you are a fan of Pynchon, but once you get beyond the big initial setting up of the scene, and the story begins to move, man is it ever good. I'm glad to hear that about Ministry of Fear, every time I pick it up I am struck with utter indifference. It seems like I've got more to read these days than ever. Hope you are well!

Hello Sal! I am also a little worried The Magus might be something that appeals to me at a bygone age. I did really love it the first time, and I would like to reread it, but I am worried about it. I know what you mean about his other books. French Lieutenants Woman seemed just OK. A Maggot seemed good until it got really bizarre. I read The Collector, but wished I hadn't. Who knows if I will ever go back to Fowles, but it's nice to have in case a certain mood strikes me. I've got so much stuff to read on my shelves these days, it's ridiculous. But 2024 is really turning out to be a great year so far!

Give it a try, there's some good stuff in there, I just think professors rely to heavily on it, and steal all their notes from other professors.

I tried writing to him a year ago, but he didn't reply. I've been spying on him a little on Facebook, it seems he is well. I would really like to sit down with him and have some drinks, but I don't know if we'll ever manage it living so far apart. He got everything he always wanted, if he's unhappy, he's only got himself to blame.

I'm also tempted, but I have a strict rule about not watching movies of books that I love. Otherwise I can never read the book again.

Hello Sal, thanks for writing. Are you sure the character from The Fixer is based off of someone in America? I haven't read that one since 2002, but I was pretty sure it was based on Russian persecution of the Jews. So far that is the only Malamud book I really loved. I remember these prison scenes where he had nothing else to do but sweep, so he swept until the broom fell apart, and then he was thrown into sorrow because the only thing he had was taken away from him. Man, I have a lot of books to re-read. Hope you are well!

@@grantlovesbooks the title was taken from a sign that hung for the first 40 years or so of my life on 2nd Street in Corvallis, Oregon www.oregonencyclopedia.org/articles/malamud_bernard_1914_1986_/ scarc.library.oregonstate.edu/omeka/files/original/36851fa2e5ea99c94f37f0df0c3f658a.jpg

@@grantlovesbooks Title taken from a sign that hung for the first 40 or so years of my life down on 2nd Street in Corvallis, Oregon. It’s now an artifact in the local museum. scarc.library.oregonstate.edu/omeka/files/original/36851fa2e5ea99c94f37f0df0c3f658a.jpg www.oregonencyclopedia.org/articles/malamud_bernard_1914_1986_/

Hello Rufus, Thanks for writing. I also enjoyed Moments of Reprieve, but I wished I had of read it directly after The Periodic Table, so that it was all fresh in my mind. I'm a huge fan of Levi and think it's a shame he is not more well known in North America.

I've got to be honest with my opinions, or I'll have to change the name of the RUclips channel. "Grantrecommendsbookbecauseeveryoneagreestheyaregreat." It just isn't as spunky as Grantlovesbooks.

@@grantlovesbooks not only that, but way too long.

Thanks for writing, I love this book also. It is VERY much worth re-reading this one.

You are really quite right, I really hope people aren't intimidated by the length, it is so easy to read and the story is so wonderfully human. Thanks for writing!

Hello Nikki, thanks for writing! I think Mother Night still might be good to read. And I would hope that Cat's Cradle is also one to go back to. I had forgotten how 'what a silly old man I am' Vonnegut can be. But I don't think he kept using the same phrase over and over again (so it goes), to the point where I wanted to tear the book in half, in any of his other novels. I hope life in America is calmer than it seems in the media these days. I through George W. in 2000 was bad, but this is really going to some unprecedented extremes. Good call with the Steinbeck, he always made me feel good. I would also like to go back and revisit Tortilla Flat and Canary Row, but I'm a bit worried they might not be as good as I remember them Hope you are doing well Nikki!

Thanks a lot Deb! Monday is not my favourite class, but at least it is an easy start to the week!

Thanks a lot Timothy for the insightful comment as usual! I had always wanted to track down a copy of Kilgore Trout's novel, but never managed to find one, I'm happy to hear you enjoyed it. Marc Vonneguts novel, The Eden Express, is really a bad trip into schizophrenia. And really quite odd now that I recall, was that he and his friends were attempting to set up a hippy commune, away from society, with goats. If I'm not mistaken, up around these BC parts of the world. It was strange when I came back to Canada and it felt like this country was stuck in a time warp. Nothing had changed from when I left in 2000, except that everything was a lot more expensive. But they were still playing the same god damn guitar music on the radio. North Americans love that rock and roll guitar sound. I had got used to the European techno sounds, and found going back to Canada to be like travelling 25 years into the past.

Mother night was quite good, if I am remembering well. I think the moral was, 'Be careful what you pretend to be, because you might end up being the thing you pretend to be.' Which I thought was an interesting idea that has really stuck with me over the years. Perhaps it has something to do with the way we see ourselves, compared to how others see us. I would read Mother Night again, but I think it will be a while before I go back to Vonnegut again.

@@grantlovesbooks Hope my reaction to your stories was okay. It isn't easy to write something like that in a foreign language. Overall good stories, liked them very much.

@@the3rdpillblog934 Hello, sorry I haven't responded for a while. Things have been busy at school and it was my birthday so my Facebook got bombarded with friendly messages and happy greetings. I liked what you wrote about my stories. I hope you are doing well. It's been a little hard recently to stay on top of everything.

@@grantlovesbooks Belated birthday greetings (fun fact: My birthday was last sunday). No worries. I hope you have a great time.

The Deptford trilogy is the one that begins with Fifth Business, and The Cornish Trilogy begins with The Rebel Angels, right? I have read two of Robertson Davies three trilogies, but I get them all mixed up. Maybe The Cornish Trilogy is the one I haven't read.

I especially loved The Rebel Angels! I don’t know why Davies isn’t lauded more on these book channels.

@@deirdre108 I will make a point of including him in 2025. Thanks for voting for Davies! Even at university now, he hasn't even been mentioned. I had intended to highlight Canadian authors when I started this RUclips channel, but I've done a very poor job of it. I will make sure to get to one of the Davies trilogies within the next year! Thanks for the motivation!

@@deirdre108 The Rebel Angels was great, and the second novel in the series, The Lyre of Orpheus, is also quite excellent. Although I felt the third novel let the series down rather badly.

It took me a long time as well. I always used to see that ugly little red copy of Justine in the used bookstores and wonder why anyone would give a novel the same name as one by deSade. The most fun with the series is to read them all, and then go back and read Justine again, as the fifth book, to see how much the main character doesn't know about what's going on in the situation.

Hello Capybara, three to go! Good job! Currently I have 4 left, and I know I can read one, but the other three I have a feeling I might never have the patience for. The audible version sounds good. I think this could be a really fun book to listen to, especially with someone with the right accent. Thanks for writing! (Which three?)

@@grantlovesbooksThe 3 to go are Old Wives Tale, Nostromo, and Finnigan's Wake. I am in the middle of listening to the Old Wive's Tale on you tube Mystic Books with an excellent reader. Hoopla has Nostromo on audio and I have the book. Finnigan's Wake may remain unread.

@@Capybara87515 Do your best. Sometimes I would like to get my hands on the dummies who came up with this list and ask them what they were thinking. Point Counterpoint? All those wretched books by Henry James? But it has been great for really opening a lot of doors to me. Tobacco Road and The Ginger Man! Holy Cats!

@@grantlovesbooks I agree that Tobacco Road and The Ginger Man took me out of my normal sphere of existence. Evidently, the Ginger Man influenced a few bars of which one still exists in New York City. Some people seem to find the Ginger Man endearing but I did find his honesty about himself refreshing. Have you attempted to attack the Nonfiction Modern Library to 100? I have only read 7 (unintentionally) but tried starting with #1 The Education of Henry Adams and stopped cold.

@@Capybara87515 I've never even heard of the non-fiction top 100. I am not sure that is my cup of tea. I sometimes get a bit interested in reading something 'real' especially history, but I've got at least 200 books of fiction just on my shelves to read, and I'm keen to read most of them. Who knows, if I live long enough I might have a go at it. I just checked it. I've got 7 also. I might like to read that Nabokov, but the rest don't do much for me.

Hello Capybara, The Old Wives Tale is a great book, long, but really that beautiful old style. It might be hard work for some people, but if you give it the patience it deserves, the rewards are great. I wasn't very keen on Nostromo, I won't say anything because I don't want to influence your reading of it, but I had a few problems with it. Finnegans Wake... I don't know if I will ever have the patience for it. Although I did read an amazing article in the Guardian about a group in California who met once a week to discuss one page of F.W. a week, to see what they could come up with. This weekly meeting has been going on for 30 years. One page a week. www.theguardian.com/books/2023/nov/12/california-venice-book-club-finngeans-wake-28-years

@@grantlovesbooks OMG! One page a week! I did read the first page and listened to it read and read the analysis of page 1- not sure if there is enough time in a human life to do it all! Which 4 do you have to go on the top 100 list and which was your favorite?

@@Capybara87515 Hello Capy, Finnegans Wake, The Ambassadors, Wings of the Dove and one more that I constantly cannot remember. The Death of the Heart (I had to look it up.) I don't know why I simply cannot keep that title in mind. It's funny, because I am sure I will enjoy that one a lot, I just can't remember to find a copy. Favourites would have to be The Alexandria Quartet and The USA trilogy. I keep meaning to reread USA, but have a hard time finding good copies in the used bookstores. And I will forever have a soft spot for Tropic of Cancer. You, favourites?

@@grantlovesbooks I also tried to find used copies. Thriftbooks was a good source. I had to slog through the DH Lawrence and Henry James ones and there were so many of them! I agree- what were the pickers thinking? My favorites were the 3 Faulkners, Lolita, and the Bridge of San Luis Rey. I had read the Heart of Darkness in high school and really liked Lord Jim. So I am looking forward to Nostromo.

@@Capybara87515 Faulkner is great, Lolita is incredible, it's too bad people focus on the entirely wrong element of that novel. And The Bridge of San Luis Rey is an absolute masterpiece. I'll wish you the best of luck with Nostromo! Let me know what you think when you get through it.

Thanks the dam truth!

Thanks Cristina! I've just learned a little about libraries offering money to authors for their 'collection.' Letters, diaries, really anything at all they are willing to give to have preserved, analyzed and sorted forevermore. Hope you are well, it has been HOT here!

@@grantlovesbooks I fully subscribe to what you said in the video about these matters. As for the heat, Grant, uffff, the last two days it was a little too much too, around 29/30ºC (about 84.2/86ºF), but Lisbon in the summer is sometimes much hotter. I went to check and curiously, in the last few days, in your location it has been similar, despite being at a higher latitude than ours (we have a more Mediterranean climate with some Atlantic nuances, which, on the other hand, gives us a certain thermal amenity) but you, despite being further north, are also moderated by an oceanic influence, probably due to Pacific currents, which gives you milder winters than other places in Canada and cooler summers. (upss geographer's vices! I'll stop right now!!!). I'm not a fan of too much heat, I prefer cooler temperatures, for me the ideal is below 23ºC! (Spring time, here), I suppose that by what you said, you’re not a big fan of warm weather either!

@@CristinaInNeverland When I first came to BC I used to complain that because the summers and winters were so mild I could hardly recognize a year passing. This was true, a little snow, a few days of tolerable heat, and one more year gone. But now the summers have become really hot. Budapest was always exceptionally hot all through August and well into September, so I don't complain too much, and actually enjoy the heat when I am outside. But being at home in a small apartment is awful. We had to buy an air conditioner. It's frightening how quickly the world is warming. I hope you are well in beautiful Lisboa! Sorry about Portugal losing to France. We've been watching the Euro Cup the last few weeks and enjoying it.

@@grantlovesbooks ah, you've been following the Euro! Of course, around here, during those days, it’s madness! 😁 many bitten nails on my account! but well, we won in 2016, and precisely against France 😏 Next time, perhaps! Take care!

Thanks Timothy, I think I feel the same way about everything you wrote. When I was young I thought to be a good reader one had to find an author, and then read all of their work. All of Bukowski, all of Vonnegut, all of Salinger... That went on for a surprisingly long time. It's been such a long time though, I think I had forgotten the constant horse racing stories until you mentioned it!

@@grantlovesbooks I thought I was still reading science fiction when I got to Vonnegut, which was before Bukowski or Salinger. Funny, with Vonnegut, I too read like all his books in that period, then as the reading became literary focused, Factotum just made more sense to me than Catcher in the Rye. I liked his Franny & Zoey stories but always felt he was overrated.

Hello Ms Crunchy, I've been looking for A Far Cry from Kensington for a long time. I'm a fan of Spark, really enjoyed The Prime of Jean Brody, When I was young and artistic I read a few other plays by Beckett, they were not very good. Karl Ove Knausgard, the first book in his series, A Death in the Family is really great, but take my advice and stop there.

I've never read it and I don't think I will read Murakami again. Maybe I will go back to Norwegian Wood to see if it is still as good as I remember. But The Wind Up Bird and this Kafka on the Floor were so stupid it killed all my interesting in him.

I couldn't tolerate Atonement, what a pretentious piece of absolute nothing. Currently I am taking a postmodernism class, and it is not that great. I wonder if the teacher knows what he is talking about sometimes. I'm happy you enjoyed The Accidental, it's a strange one.

Hello Nikki! I think Simenon is well known in Europe, but not in North America, considering he has written hundreds of books, you would think the used bookstores would be crammed full of them. But I only discovered him last year. It sounds like you had a really nice 4th of July. It must be really special when you move to a new place. I'm happy the relocation to Maine is turning out so well for you!

Hello Nikki! I really liked his novel Factotum, it's filled with a lot of crazy stories. Post Office, I really don't recall it very well, but that was his first novel and has a lot of what people like about Bukowski. I guess I am well-read, although there always seems so much more to discover. My goal is to read really broadly. That's why I could never be a university professor, they have to specialize in their small area of interest, and it seems like a strange thing to do, if someone really loves literature. One of my favourite things is to go from country to country to see how different authors tell stories, and hopefully also get a little bit of their history and culture as well.

@@grantlovesbooks I will add Factotum to my wishlist. See, I should do as you do. I am trying to read more broadly the older I get and it's pretty cool, actually, but it took me too darn long to do that and truthfully, I don't do it enough. I have weird hangups...case in point: Earlier this year, I picked up a book called North Woods that was published in 2023. I typically NEVER buy books/read books written after 2015. I just happen to think they're derivative and not written very well...I've been burned too many times. Well, a book reviewer said to run out and buy it and read it and not to look back and I thought, hmmmm, I'll give it a go and do you know that that is the ONE book that I think about almost everyday? I finished it in October of '23 and I think it may be in my top 5 books I've ever read? WTF? I need to get out of my own head and stop making these boundaries for myself of what I can/cannot/should/shouldn't read. How many other great books from contemporary authors have I now missed out on? Or what great books from other countries have I missed out on? Ugh, I rambled. Always good to talk to you!

@@nikkivenable73 What a nice story, I'm glad that you had a good experience. I just had a quick look for North Woods, it looks interesting, I will put it on my list. I suppose Factotum is good if you really want to see what Bukowski is all about. I just don't think I have much time for him these days. But it is very easy to read and you can probably get through it quickly.

Thanks Deb! It's really wild to look back and ask myself, 'Did that really happen?' One day I hope I can write some memories, for my own remembering, to see how much of my childhood and teenage years I can recall.

@@grantlovesbooks and share a few with us!

@@debpalm8667 I might, I do have a tendency to ramble away in my videos. You never know what's coming next. If I think of something good, related to the book I'm talking about I will remember to include it for you!

Thanks, as always Deb!

Hello Sal! I think you've got a good point. There was something about being young and discovering Bukowski. Certain writers really give you a feeling when you read their books, maybe those semi-autobiographical books, because it feels like you are getting to know the actual person. He was good fun for a while, but I wish I hadn't of spent so much time on his books. One of the best things about Buk was his mentioning other writers. I don't know if I ever would have heard of John Fante if it weren't for Bukowski.

It always makes me happy when I hear someone had a similar experience to mine with this poorly written novel. The story has some interesting bits, but the writing is appalling. Maybe this is what people read after Harry Potter and think it's real highbrow literature.

It has a lot of good stuff in it, quite remarkable for 1965. Several times I thought, 'Is this why everyone got so weird in the late 60s?' But I suppose I will always feel that there are a lot of books to read before I get back around to Pynchon. Thanks John!

Hello Jack! There is a long bit right in the middle where Oedipa goes to see a play, something like Hamlet or The Revengers Tragedy, which is all about a character named Trystero, who might secretly have been the originator of this secret society of alternative mail carriers. If only she could get here hands on the original text of the play, she might get some answers! It is nothing if not imaginative. The layers of intrigue get deeper and deeper. Hope you are well Jack!

This book can feel like hard work. He has a strangely dense and fast-moving style. It's kind of nice because it has that 'underground' quality that a few writers had in the 60's. But the paranoia and secret societies gets a little too much for me. Especially today with the world threatened by so many obvious dangers, I don't feel I need to spend time worrying about strange alternate societies in my literature. Even if it's less than 200 pages, I found the anxiety a bit much.

I have to admire his ability, but it doesn't give me what I love about literature. And still I find myself more than a little fascinated by what he wants to do with 'the novel.' I guess it's like cilantro, you either have a taste for it or you don't.

@@grantlovesbooks nice metaphor

Or rather simile.

@@TheSalMaris Thanks!

@@grantlovesbooks Personally, I like cilantro, but I'm not at all sure where that places me on any literary scale.

Very true, in this age of flat-earthers, and people putting butter in their morning coffee, maybe Pynchon looks a little pedestrian. As I have been replying to all the comments, I can't fault him for his ability and intellect, really, he blows me away. But it comes down to enjoying the book I'm reading, and although there are moments, and there are several moments, it just doesn't leave me wanting to read any more. People say DH Lawrence is boring, but I'll read Women in Love way sooner than I want to read Vineland again.

I really liked that bit! Once I'd finished recording the video I realized there were about 100 plot threads I would have liked to mention. The Anti-love society was a good one. Sometimes I feel there are so many incredible books, there isn't any sense in agonizing over an author who wants to make it a task and a chore to get through. I've always loved the cleanly stated brevity of many Japanese novels. This feels like the opposite. It's like trying to read a book during a riot.

There are so many amazing books out there... I always say, go for the good ones first, because you never know how much time you'll have later. I hope, with this channel, I can help guide people to the books that I think are worth finding and reading. If someone is reading 4-5 books a year, I don't want them to waste their time with an author just because he has a massive cult following. I think Pynchon is doing something very interesting, but it is really for a very select audience who enjoys his type of work.

It's a strange one, and I can't say I loved the theatre scene that went on and one. But it is quite an experience. It sometimes felt like watching a really wild film, rather than reading a book.

I don't think Pynchon will ever be my favourite writer. His intelligence is obvious on every page, his weird weaving the story together is sharp and incredibly creative... but I just don't enjoy reading his books. It feels like sci-fi to me. When the paranoia and secret society stuff gets too out of control, I just can't be bothered any more.

@@grantlovesbooks I liked Pynchon ... so 15-20 years ago. But of course he was never my favourite writer. That are/were people like Borges, Cortázar, Pessoa, Leo Perutz and funny enough, Philip K. Dick. ;-) By the way: Did you read my story. And was it horrible? ;-)

@@the3rdpillblog934 Hello 3rdpill, I printed your story yesterday at school, but haven't looked at it yet. I am a little crushed right now by essays and reading for presentations. I will read it soon, I hope within the next week. I would really be surprised to meet someone who tells me Pynchon is their favourite writer. But sometimes people get stuck on one particular style and can't give it up.

@@grantlovesbooks No hurry. I just was curious. There is always the possibility that you find it so bad that you immediately break off contact (that actually happened to me with a fairly well-known German author; I had apparently given him the wrong story to read) or you don't know how to react to it... I haven't read the story for... maybe 10 years, but since only 2 of my stories have been translated and this one is clearly the better one (since the other one really isn't good), I had no choice but to give you this one. 🙂 - And it also has a questionable connection to Japan. Haha.

@@the3rdpillblog934 I'm going to try to read it tomorrow commuting back and forth from school. If I don't get it finished, I will do the same on Tuesday and that should get it finished. I will let you know!

It was not a very fun day. It is a shame, if I am in good condition, then half marathon feels like a party at the end of three month of training. If I am not in condition I will really have to work for every one of the 21 km. This year I was NOT in as good a condition as I would have liked. That's OK, there's always next year!