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My issue with Cormac McCarthy is that he and Iain Banks are, somewhat bafflingly, practically interchangeable in my mind. I really have to focus to distinguish who wrote what. Haven’t read Child of God - have been wanting to - but like others, I would recommend The Road and No Country for Old Men. On Wilde - Salome by him is beautiful. I tell everyone to read it, it’s my favourite play. The eroticism of her obsession: I find it absolutely captivating. First video I’ve seen of yours, not sure if you’ve read it or go in that sort of thing but I will talk about Salome at the drop of a hat.

When you got speechless about The Death of Ivan Ilych, I really felt that haha. I absolutely love it when a book makes one feel that. Hearing all the quotes you read out sold me, so it's just been moved up my list. Also great to hear your thoughts on Cormac McCarthy. I've been on the fence about him for ages. Granted, I've only read snippets of his work, but I'm not sure if it's entirely for me. But yeah, won't write him off just yet. Enjoy Iceland! And good luck for all that follows. Looking forward to your thoughts on whatever you read next. :)

you might have already read it but omg Anna Karenina is so so good!!! it's my fav tolstoy novel ever, the way he writes about women/ women's issues with so much clarity and empathy is insane considering the time period

every time i see that cultish book i immediately think of PTA"s "THE MASTER", my fav movie of all time. also i'm glad you mentioned "one hundred years of solitude" because i'm still not over that book.

Personally I think Child of God is McCarthy's worse novel. If you end up not enjoying it I would definitely recommend trying No Country For Old Men or The Road.

Hi, if you would share your spotify/ current playlist you're listening to, that would be really nice:)

hehe i'm taking a class on kierkegaard when i'm studying abroad in copenhagen in the spring!

Interesting, I haven't got into Tolstoy yet; I'm currently reading Kafka. 📚

fathers and children is fire once you get into it

i read no country for old men last month and would love to hear your thoughts on that one. just moved ivan ilyich up on my queue 👀 another great video man!

If you wanted to read something light by McCarthy I recommend no country for old men because he originally wrote it as a screenplay. It’s also just really good

Have a feeling that some of your complaints about McCarthy will still hold true in the Road and Blood Meridian especially

Thank you for some great reads - did “the Road” which is so dark, I haven’t read any more of his, will be picking up the Tolstoy book, - enjoyed the little trip around Copenhagen - hubby and I did Sweden and Denmark a few years ago., loved our trip, I think a term abroad is so worthwhile - you are doing such a great job with this video - I always enjoy - have a great Iceland trip!! See you next time😊🎉

I’ve been wanting to get into Cormac. I hear The Road is a good place to start, I’ve never even heard of the one you discussed. Yeah separating the art from the artist is something I’ve dealt with a lot. It can be tough. But I think ultimately I think art should be about how you perceive it, not about what kind of life the artist lived. Enjoy Iceland. I hear it’s great.

I read The Death of Ivan Ilych a long while back and quite enjoyed it. I hope the philosophy reading is going well, do you have any particular favourites or philosophers youre more interested in than others?

Brilliant taste in literature young man. 👍

I remember reading “Smog,” by Italo Calvino, in college and then pretty much devouring the rest of his short fiction. He is forever in my heart as one of the non-cynical writers.

This is one of my favorite books! I dunno if this is weird, but I tried her other books and did not like that at all.

What an amazing channel. We love to see such young people actually reading books and you are sharing your passion. Well done. If you are in Ireland, come visit us in our bookshop. All the best.

I loved this, Alex! I got an ARC of Intermezzo and I'm just still a little scared to read it--mostly because of the agonising anticipation. Watching this beautiful talk about my favourite Rooney novel made me want to go and finally pick it up.

This was a really interesting video, thank you! I went to listen to the songs you mentioned and his music is gorgeous. Got me a bit emotional haha. Will definitely be listening to more. And I can imagine he must be brilliant live! I also really like your thoughts in the comments about creating something beautiful for the sake of it and having it impact someone in a meaningful way. I think that's something I strive for with writing. It helps me to process things, especially because I tend to feel deeply. It's nice to know that there are like-minded people out there.

Ah, I've been waiting to hear your thoughts on Normal People (and Sally Rooney in general)! I've come to realise that I love reading about the human condition and how we interact with and influence one another in all types of relationships, and that's something I feel like Sally Rooney captures really well. As you said, it makes one pause and think about these things. And then to talk about characters, I've also learnt over the years that as long as a character has depth and is written well, it doesn't matter whether I like them or not. In fact, I often enjoy characters that are unlikeable because it's a way of viewing human behaviour and how it affects others and the world around them. I'm not sure if that's making much sense, but basically, I agree, it's good to notice that the characters aren't necessarily good people, but then to look beyond that see what we can learn from it all. In general, I also just love when there are subtle comments made by characters or the author which have deeper meaning (I get frustrated when things are too spelt out and there's not a lot of thinking to be done). Anyway, enjoy Copenhagen! Thanks again for the video and the thoughts. I liked hearing about what you learnt in that dialogue lecture. And good luck with all the reading and work! :)

The best thing about Rooney is she trusts her reader to discern what she's saying without outright saying it. Excited to hear your thoughts on Conversations with Friends once you get to it! & personally, I couldn't be more excited for intermezzo!

So glad to have had this video come up on my recommends! I just recently finished rereading Normal People and I wholeheartedly agree with the thoughts you’re sharing here. The intense study of and focus on the dynamic itself is so fascinating, I never tire of seeing it in literature and Sally Rooney particularly lays bare some really vulnerable and visceral concepts about the workings of the human mind and human behavior in relation to interpersonal and romantic relationships. Lovely video, thank you for sharing your thoughts!

Lots of good points! It’s been about 4 years since I read Normal People for the first time, but listening to you chat about it makes me think it might be time for a reread. I’d be interested to hear your thoughts on Conversations with Friends. I’ve only read those two Sally Rooney novels, but I definitely preferred it to Normal People.

Strangely I didn’t love Normal People, maybe I was reading it with the wrong focus. I shall pick it up again some time. I did like the mini series the acting was superb. Just wondering do you like movies/films at all? If so do you have any favourites?

Normal people is my least favourite Rooney so far. Going into it, I thought I would love it, being in the same age group/life stage as the main characters and whatnot. However, I felt a bit disconnected from both the characters and the prose. It felt like looking through a glass pane at caricatures of ‘normal people’ lol. In contrast, I really loved Beautiful world (one of my all time favourites). I loved the emails between Alice and Eileen. I loved dissecting the relationships and dynamics that exist between Alice, Eileen, Simon and Felix. They felt like real people, with real emotions and real problems. And the writing flowed so seamlessly. It was Rooney at her best imo. I also love Conversations with friends and can’t wait to read Intermezzo

Funny-I just happened to finish Normal People yesterday, when your video came out. Also, I live in Copenhagen 😂 Anyway, I had a very different reading experience. I did enjoy the book and I agree that the writing really hooks you. I do see your point in that Rooney focuses so much (if not only) in the relationships. However, in my opinion that made the character’s identity fade away. I personally didn’t like that. In my opinion this book lacks character development and depth, I really couldn’t feel that I “knew” any of them. Also, because of the shallowness in which they are described, they all fell very stereotypical and almost Disney-like: the cruel mother, the bully brother, the masochistic Cinderella, the shy and handsome prince, the ugly and dumb boyfriend… Also I felt like after all the turmoil of their relationship though out the years everything falls into place quite suddenly and without much explanation besides -they realised they are good for each other-. And then again, they are not…? I did appreciate the interesting topics that she brings up for debate through the book , like the one you mentioned about the privilege and status of reading . Sorry for the rant, I guess I’m going to turn this into a Goodreadds review 😄

Did I finish Normal People last night just to prepare for this video? Yes, yes I did. 4:17 I like how you described Connell and Marianne as "not great people." They are definitely very flawed, but to what extent can we blame them for their behavior? We learn that a lot of Connell's insecurities come from his lower social class and his missing father; that's not something he can control. It's why he's constantly seeking approval of others; it's why he alienated Marianne at the beginning of the book, taking someone else to the Debs that was more socially acceptable. And then we learn that Marianne's insecurities come from her abusive family -- again, something that isn't really able to be controlled. It's why she accepted being in some terribly abusive relationships; because she didn't believe that she deserved anything better. They don't make the best choices, but under their circumstances, I think they are okay. 5:02 I like how you highlighted that Rooney conceives characters in relation to others, and not so much the self. We kind of get to explore both sides to this throughout the novel. We see Connell and Marianne stuggling to find their place in university, and then they realize that they are happiest when they are nobody at all. And throughout the novel, we might be led to believe that Connell and Marianne are logically not good for each other, but in our hearts, we want them to be in love forever. Great video, enjoy your time at Copenhagen. :)

hello Alex, it is very wonderful to hear about all your meowings. I do want to ask you some cat themed brain topics however. oooh, also White Noise is one of my favourite books ever!! its very silly and cute and fun :D thank you, thank you GOSH I WANT TO THANK YOU AHHHHHHH AHHHHHHH AHHHHHHHH hahah :D

Really really like your videos, I've been meaning to read the book ever since I heard abt the tv series but haven't gotten around to it. You make me wanna read more!!! Enjoy Copenhagen:)

I've been really unsure about Normal People so it hasn't made my tbr so far but hearing you talk about it a bit makes me wanna give it a chance. thanks for that! I could really use a book to get me out of my reading slump so maybe I'm gonna check it out sooner rather than later Also, even though you seem to be a bit over essay's right now, I wanna recommend Blueberries by Ellena Savage. I haven't finished it yet tbh but so far it's great and I've only heard good things about it!

Writing was SOOOO good, I couldn't stop giggling and thinking of high praise for Ms Rooney. I read this book in March I think and I was going through alota shit and was not in right mind to even pick a book but I saw this one collecting dust on my shelf I always thought that I'll never read it cause one it's a romance (not a big fan) and second there's no quotations so I knew my ADHD could never but I just randomly picked it and started to read and didn't stop for 20 pages straight and I couldn't believe myself, that was the longest I'd read in one sitting in past few months and I just felt so emotional and literally the writing made me feel something, not to be dramatic but it made me feel alive again! I have so much love for this book.

congrats on 1k subs!

I only got introduced to Zach Bryan a few years ago and I feel like I still haven't actually fully explored his discography but this video made me want to finally dive a bit deeper into his stuff cause I do really like the feel of his music. Also, I think videos about songwriting are super interesting and I'd love to see more of that!

Great video, love this style of chill/talking/stream-of-consciousness video! :) Also proud to be 1000th sub 💪🏼

Definitely adding some of these to my TBR! Was great to see someone just sit and chat about books (no editing, I'm guessing limited is any scripting) so authentically. As a creative writing major, have you been requested to read any books on writing? I did a BA in Creative and Professional Writing and a lot of the books on our reading lists were very craft focused :)

Happy birthday 🎉! I tried to read Norwegian woods in 2022 but I couldn’t get into it for some reason, may be I’ll try again next year. Also I have been trying to read more short stories (very busy with school 😬) so these recs are really appreciated. I love your channel it’s so calming and slow-paced 🤍

I love how often you mention your dad. Waiting for his RUclips debut.

It's been about four years since I've read "Norwegian Wood", but it feels like someone finally put my thoughts/feelings into words, so thank you! Overall, I did really enjoy it, and I think that's a lot to do with writing style and Murakami's gorgeous descriptions, but there were definitely some relationship dynamics I found a bit strange and a little uncomfortable. I also remember liking the fact that Toru was an average person without anything too special about him. At the time, I hadn't come across many characters like that, and it felt refreshing after most characters being written with some special talent or whatever. I'm not much into the magical realism/sci-fi stuff, so the only other book of his I've read is a compilation of short stories called "The Elephant Vanishes", which I think has the Barn Burning story you mentioned previously. I've also just bulk-ordered Claire Keegan books because I need to read all that she has written haha. I only discovered her last year, but I love her writing! Thanks again for these discussions. It's lovely hearing someone else's thoughts. :)

What’s your snap my dude?

This is such a beautiful video-I’ve never heard of Zach Bryan before. I’m wondering if you've had a chance to listen to Adrianne Lenker's album "songs." It’d be lovely to hear your thoughts on her songwriting too.

I don't know of Zach Bryans work, but I'm going to check him out now. This is wonderful!

I’ll listen to anything you want to talk about 😊

What an interesting change of pace! Now I naturally want to know how much songwriting you yourself do -

I have to highly recommend Waylon Wyatt He's going into senior year of high school and yet has put out some incredible songs he wrote himself with teasers to many more

Great vid, Alex Excited for the Sally Rooney one too :) she's one of my fav

That deep voice. Damnnnnn *faints* 🤣. Fr very nice lad. Keep it up

Zach Bryan, this artist is not on my playlist, have to listen to him, thank you for your recommendation ☘️ have a good day 🎈

I was too worried about sounding dumb for most of this video, so a few thoughts I didn't mention: -The reason I'm such a big fan is because discovering Zach Bryan as a 15 year old showed me that someone just like me (no fame, connections, etc) can create something really beautiful simply for the sake of creating it, and it can impact someone else in a meaningful way - Sorry for saying "really incredible" a million times -Pink Skies is an awesome song, was just released as an early single so I didn't have any "new" thoughts -Purple Gas is interesting because it's the first song he's put out that he didn't write. It's about rural Canadian life, so kind of interesting to put on an album with America in the title. Noeline Hofmann is great nonetheless. -This album is perfect to listen to while running