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thanks for your review! for some random algorithmic reason, this video was recommended to me even though i don't watch "booktube" videos. however- i did read this book in high school, which is why it caught my eye. unfortunately, as a high schooler, i can't say i had an appreciation for this book at the time. but i really loved hearing what you had to say about it! the plot slowly came back to me as you described your thoughts and it was fun to reminisce. i think nowadays i would really enjoy it, so i may have to go back and check it out. anyways, thanks again for the video. i didn't know those things about pearl buck! i will have to check out your other videos :)

Love this

I really like the "We're all MAD here" mug. The banned book stuff was my favourite, and also the way that I found you. Re: 2025, I have several boxes of books that were given to me by friends this year. I'm in for the reading sprints you host. Let's freaking GO! My bookish goal for the next year is to add 100k words to my draft of All New Mistakes (my Autobiography)

Also, Merry Christmas, since that's when I watched this video.

I think the mic is better, but the volume is a bit lower than most of the other videos on the Tube.

Those are some magnificent cat names. Mine have one word names, but a pile of titles Boudica the Fearless, first of her Titles, Recycled, Keeper of the Rumble Box and Master of the Broken Squeaker, Featherdancer, Parkour Punk, Maskless Bandit, the failboat, garage disposal unit Raven of the Void; the Unexpectedly Lorge, Doppler Demonstrator, Aggressive Pet Recipient, Cranky Soft Goth, Chancellor of Fear

This was so much fun to watch😃🐱🐈🐈‍⬛📚!

What a fun video! Your cats javelin great taste.

I'm really grateful that I can read ludicrously fast... I'm also really grateful that you did banned books month, since that's how I found you. And to the readers of this comment, I'm glad you're here.

Thanks for sticking up for this book dosnt sound poor taste at all my son is reading it currently in 5th grade. I have to say his teacher has had some really good books they have done especially for a class with a ton of boys like 80% boys they have had some very adventurous books like this and hatchet

Was not expecting to sit with you through the decision process, but it was incredibly similar to my process. I especially liked your commentary on Three Hours in Paris. Definitely made me want to read it. I enjoyed watching the wine glass change levels between cuts. Wine and reading is such a great combo. (Just finished Dandelion Wine by Ray Bradbury; would love to hear your thoughts on that one) Video request: cat intro/summary, because I'm having difficulty remembering all their names. Re: cameras, I use OBS. Free, open source software that has a lot of versatility and no watermarks. Thanks for bringing us on your journey. (Also, are you on Bluesky?)

I love this mixture of tag and book discussion!

Also, on the note of Bradbury, I also read Dandelion Wine for the first time. It was very interesting because at first, I thought it was just a series of events in an idyllic town in Illinois, but it actually covers similar themes to Fahrenheit 451 and some of his other work, but from a VERY different angle.

This has been a phenomenal month, and while I'm sorry to see it end, I've enjoyed the journey. I'm glad you're taking care of yourself and setting a reasonable release schedule, and I look forward to continuing our conversations. I did sigh a bit dramatically at 3:38 in this, when you said that religion and science were coexisting. My parents are still young earth creationists, because otherwise, the dogma might be upset at them. Oh well.

I read this last year and loved it. I've never seen any of the film adaptations. And honestly, after reading the book, I'm not sure that I'd want to. Frankenstein was infuriating and I felt so bad for the creature(it's a shame he's never given a name). This is a book that I think everyone should attempt to read at least once. I've enjoyed this series immensely. I have a totally unrelated, and very random question. What are all your cats names and how did you come up with them? So technically, that's 2 questions. But, my curiosity is definitely piqued. 🙂📖🐈‍⬛

To be fair you can say that part of Snapes problem with Harry,James Lilyand that whole entire situation may not necessarily stem from just simply the fact that Lily decided to move on and marry somebody other then him part of it can be said to be related to the fact that Lily married one of the men who acted like an A hole towards him but none of that still doesn't excuse or let Snape off the hook for the way in which he acted particularly towards Harry.People can change even people James Potter could have changed or might have changed in various ways since his time in Hogwarts but yet again there are legitimately people who are supposed to be adult figures or play the roles of adult figures yet at the same time were kind of immature and still lived in the past.Lupin and Sirius kind of gave the vibe of still being a couple of dumb stupid immature kids in certain ways and Snape just seemed like a sad bitter whiny sniveling pathetic little piss baby of a man.

Things shouldn't be censored things shouldn't be banned but the monetization of art still creates certain potential problems and or dilemmas nonetheless.

As far as adult character not maturing go I would say that certain character including Snape and even Sirius kind of live in the past and they never really seem to grow or move on past various things.

I think that if you want to interpret not being in favor of censorship in the most broad and loosest way one possibly can then I would say that one would be in favor of being able to have access to books including J.K Rowlings books without having to give anybody money or paying anybody anything however libraries are a fairly good avenue for that.

Fiction is jot reality..HP will ALWYS be excellent and iconic regardlesa of the author. yall can keep crying about it

Whatcha playing lately, Ms Peepers? (As far as video games)

Ms Peepers is lawful neutral? Fascinating. Well, know that your content appeals to at least one of the (self-described) chaotic good aligned folks out here.

My kids read some of this series, but the more important thing is that Weird Al wrote the theme music for the show.

stop calling her lolita, it's just the spanish word for girl, her name is Dolores. Also 'fun' fact: the auther was SA-ed as a kid and he wrote this book to understand why it happened

Hi Katrina. I read Alice in Wonderland, last year, for the very first time. I had heard the rumors about it being "about drug use", which honestly peaked my interest, knowing how old this story is 🤷‍♀️ When I finished reading the book, I understood it for what it was.....something made up to entertain young children. In that context, it's a fascinating story. Adults, with all our learned/life experience can make anything "fit the current narrative", if we try hard enough. Younger children aren't gonna analyze this book like that. Kids are either gonna like it, or not like it.

Dumpy said Harry had to stay with blood family to keep Lilly's spell to work. The spell was about where his mothers blood dwels or something. And if another wizard family took him in they'ed spoil him to much. Still very bad writing.

I like "Aunt Flo is in town"

Interesting, and a good take. My mother mentioned them to me, as she had found her grandchildren liked them and she thought they were good for reading. I knew some adults who also liked the books and shipped various relationships (something I never got into) so I did buy the entire book series and enjoyed them. I thought they followed a long tradition of school stories in Britain that are often about boarding schools and rife with with class distinctions. This was before the author's transphobia emerged.

I was reading this in 3rd grade this is dumb that they banned this book

In the series' final book, George and Harold travel to the future and meet their adult selves, with adult Harold having a husband. You can imagine how that went down.

At 13:05, the discussion of Kreature, is super interesting. It seems to me (as a USer) a very English thing- servant & class loyalty at the cost of any self-interest, and Harry really leans into that. If he can't be "old family line" in Kreature's eyes, he IS from a wealthy English family, and simply tries to find a better way to treat him without letting him go...it suits the storyline, of course.

NOOOOOO NOT MY FAVORITE BOOK

Seriously? I remember these when my children were small and never considered them serious or harmful reading material, I believe my boys liked them and suffered no harm. The current law banning books and criminalizing the providing of in my state uses the term ' harmful' to minors. But never defines harmful. All in the eyes of the beholder I guess. Thanks, great video series.

I've never read this book, but I have watched the original Color Purple adaptation. That movie was difficult enough for me to get through. I don't know that I could take reading the book. I agree with you that 11 years old is too young of a reader for this material. As far as separating an author's work from their personal views, everyone has the right to weigh it out for themselves. Just because you like an author(or a comedian or a musician) for their work, doesn't mean that you agree with every viewpoint they express/action that they've taken. We are humans, not sheep. Although in the times we live in, it can be difficult to remember that.

I love your nail color! Mine are a similar color today. The RUclipsr Shaun has a great video essay about many of the problematic aspects of Harry Potter. The Onion had a great headline: "Evangelical Leaders Announce J.K. Rowling Finally Bigoted Enough That It’s Okay For Kids To Read About Witchcraft". So true! For a much better series about a wizard named Harry, read The Dresden Files. (Although it's a series for adults, so it's not really a substitute.)

An author being shitty and their books being mid is absolutely not a case for them to get banned

Thank you for this wonderful review. I could not agree more. This is one of the sweetest, and most wholesome stories ever.

Loved the books as a kid, re-read them all every time a new one came out and re read them every few years after that. I started noticing the flaws in the books when I was an adult but pushed that aside as they were "For kids" Then I read Johnathan Stroud's works and Rick Riordan's halfblood books and I saw how much better children's/young adult books could be. Want a wizard book where the fundamental underlying flaws with the political/social systems are addressed and the hero actually changes something other than killing "the bad guy' try the Bartimaeus series from Johnathan Stroud. Great series.

I read the first 4 books as they came out when I was a kid. The lazy world building initially turned me away (the house elves especially). In high school I wrote essays railing against how racist it was and that the wizardworld only makes sense if you dont think about it. The fact the one poor wizard family is Irish coded has always stuck with me; uniquely british racism. It's funny that back then I would get ostracized by fellow literary nerds for hating it. I'm glad I read The Shining waiting for the 4th book to come out. I was quite done with children's books after that.

I've never read this book, but.....wow. It's a real shame that adults, some of whom are probably college educated, don't have the emotional intelligence of a fictional(albeit very reality-based) 11 year old character. Adults 🤦‍♀.

When reflecting on Harry Potter and especially Harry Potter the character I am disappointed by how much his experiences of abuse did not shape his character. You can have bad adults leaving a child in a bad situation, but at least have it make a narrative or character impact! That said, we won’t be able to analyze and reflect on this series if it is banned

Excellent video! I havent read the books but have watched the series and loved it.

are you trans or cis?

no, it is a bad magic sistem. A VERY BAD ONE IN THAT

I'm a trans person who grew up reading her books, relating to Harry, I don't think any book should be banned. Even terrible books and media that have terrible messages, the bad ideas should be called out for everyone to see, not hidden away for bad actors to put up on pedastals in echo chambers. I think she(Rowling) put some very bad ideas in her books especially with the goblins and the house elves, and a lot of the subtle racism, I don't think they were intentional and that she just had a lot of biases that she never looked into (although I really don't know what she was thinking with anything with the house elves.) And that she herself espouses terrible views and funds harmful things with the money she makes off the series, but that doesn't warrant banning them. I don't think the books should be banned, but given that the only actual censorship of it is coming from religious zealots who are usually also as against the people she's actively attacking, I'm not sure this video hit the message it may have been intended to, or needed to be made, at least in this way, considering your audience and the reasons why the books are actually problematic isn't part of the group that wants it banned or their reasons for banning it. I don't want this to come off as an attack, I'm only making this comment since you asked for someone to (kindly) let you know if you missteped. I don't think you misstepped, persay, but I think maybe the video should've focused on the harms of bookburning and how allowing religious based censorship can hurt EVERYONE would've been better, with the disclaimer of not endorsing Rowling being shorter and having the problematic features in the books being at the end as a why you don't necessarily support/why it can/maybe should be boycotted instead of banned at the end instead of the middle/bulk of it. Because the part about the actual censorship is at the end and is shorter than the parts talking about the people she's attacked and the issues in it, it feels for most of the video like you're equating the criticism and backlash the books have gotten with the actual censorship of them. I know you made it pretty clear in the video that's not what you meant, but I think the tone of video and especially the title and sequencing (especially since a lot of people don't watch the video all the way through) lend itself to that interpretation. I do think this video was very thoughtful and I can see you tried to handle it with a lot of care and respect, I appreciate that and will check out some of your other videos in the future, I just wanted to let you know how it came off to me since you made that comment at the beginning (I hope my comment conveys the same level of respect and lack of hostility I tried to type it with) Edited twice for clarification and once for spelling :p

Very, very well put. Agree completely. I happen to have enjoyed the movies and still watch them occasionally. I love the magic and I thought the cast was great. I have read the books and bought them for my grandchildren even though the more I experienced them the more I did notice the things you mentioned regarding racism or at least some very unfortunate stereotyping, and the more uncomfortable they became and immposible to ignore. Maybe a teaching moment. The objection from people I knew at the time was the religious aspect which I found silly. It is so sad that the author feels the way she does and finds it necessary to publicly argue her position to some of the same people that most likely contributed to her wealth through her products. I personally find it offensive that she does all this in the name of women's rights. There have been a lot of things and people in my life that have hindered my rights as women but never has that been a transperson. Thank you again for such a thoughtful viewpoint.

I don't remember liking this as much as most seem to, but I haven't reread it either. Interesting story about the conclusion of that ban. It's so unfortunate when people or just one person can force their values on others. My state passed a law recently that went even beyond book banning by criminalizing the selling of or providing of a book to children they deem inappropriate. This would apply to teachers, booksellers, and librarians. No one has been prosecuted yet but librarians have been fired and forced to retire early.

Hi, Katrina. This the only F. Scott Fitzgerald that I've read. I read it because my son had to read it last year, as a high school junior. I do remember liking it. The passages that I remember the most were a broken nose and a car accident. Kids in 1987, and even with Christian values, were exposed this language at least on t.v. and probably in real life. My son(as most students possibly do) read the book because it was assigned...no more/no less. I get it, as far as exposing young people to content that you may deem" morally questionable". But, kids deserve some credit to be able to take in fictional material with the knowledge that "yeah it's on the page", but "I don't have to emulate this". 🤷‍♀

Thanks so much for taking time to do this. Loved this. I've managed to make it to my 70's and still haven't read 1984! Sounds like it needs to be read by many. I have read 'It can't Happen Here' by Sinclair Lewis. Its more political satire and boy do you see some similarities to today even though of course it was published right around this time in 1935. But I think we assume, we and our time is so unique but we are just continuing repeating patterns and nothing is new. Thanks again!