I tried posting this earlier, but it looks like my comment disappeared. Foundation by Asimov, Hyperion by Simmons, and virtually anything by my all-time favorite wordsmith: Clark Ashton Smith. The latter was a master of literary horror and turn-of-the-century science fiction. His extensive vocabulary and ability to paint a luscious yet foreboding atmosphere overshadows that of any writer whose work I've encountered before or since. He was every bit the equal of Poe and Lovecraft, and some of his poetry is downright Shakespearean. Seriously, give him a try. You won't be disappointed. I'll stop gushing about him now - sorry! ;)
Desert Solitaire by Ed Abbey (memoir). Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy (fiction). I too only give five stars to my favorites. Anyway. Those are my top two.
You're not just a Witcher fan, but also a lover of literature! Will definitely take these books as suggestions to check out. I've missed The Catcher in the Rye, but with what you said, I will quickly correct that. I'm also very excited to go through the comments and see all the suggestions. Since Cormac McCarthy's passing, I have felt that passing of a titan and the need to find more authors. With that said, I'll be suggesting Cormac McCarthy's final works-- The Passenger and Stella Maris. I hope you give them a read and they seem very in line with what you look for and crave in books. Would love to hear what you think.
@@13loodbanex I have a Cormac McCarthy video planned (no idea for when) but I’ve since learned that he uses experimental grammar and that’s one of my pet peeves 😭😭 is it truly that hard or can I get thru it?
@@valliyarnl I looked into experimental grammar and Cormac McCarthy and what I am finding seems to vary. What specifically would be a pet peeve of yours?
Yep. No matter how many literary standards may inhabit a novel, there will always also be a factor of convergence that'll be decisive when scrutinizing it. These standards can function as a testament of consensual attributes, but if a book is a 3/5 for you, it's just a 3/5 for you. And the same goes for the distribution of these appreciations; that the majority is situated in the middle part of the curve is even statistically logical: exceptional is exceptional precisely for that, for being an exception. Something outstanding should be rare. And now I'll stop yapping.
YES exactly!! You put my thoughts together exactly but in a better worded and more concise manner. The thing is, I also don’t think that I’m the authority on what is “good literature”. That’s so absurd. I’m ✨just a girl✨. I can read a classic and LOVE it because it resonated with who I was at the moment of finishing the novel. Likewise I can NOT enjoy something but still appreciate it for what it did for the culture. I also don’t believe reading for pleasure is the only reason to read! I read sometimes to challenge myself, my worldviews, or to be able to take part in discussion and educate myself. I’m so glad someone else understood this 🫶🏻🫶🏻 Thank you for this comment 😊
"I also don’t believe reading for pleasure is the only reason to read". Same here. Reading as an extension of life and so, like life, there should be everything. The good, the bad, the nothingness, the truth. And thanks to you; The Catcher in the Rye has been orbiting me for years for some reason, and now I'll make it my next read.
Classics. I'm always surprised when folks are surprised that a classic moves them. They have survived because of their greatness. People 50, 100, 500 years ago are no different than folks today, on the whole. And Shakespeare. Not my favorite, but he's so culturally prominent for a reason.
So I had your Witcher opinions video pop up and it led me to this video. I have yet to see your Dune take or your "dystopian classics" video so, beyond YA sci-fi, I don't know where you stand with those genres but for some reason I thought about the Philip K. Dick novel The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch. It's a short read but really makes the ol' hamster wheel turn. It reminds me a lot of Brave New World. Similar size and themes and other particulars. Phil can be an acquired taste if you've never read any of his other stuff but I highly recommend it. I wasn't ready for your reaction to talking about Catcher in the Rye. I read it years ago but only remember thinking it leaned into the accent a bit hard but I could be mistaken about that. Really liked your Witcher video. Cheers.
I would highly recommend you read some of the works of Robin Hobb, I feel like you would love her books so much looking at the things you like to read! Assassin's Apprentice is the first book of the first trilogy. I honestly don't know how you've not read any of her books yet!
Oh no… the Robin Hobb fans have found me again ‼️ (My friends having pressuring me to read her for so long. Plan is to knock out the Farseer trilogy this summer)
@@valliyarnl Hahaha, that's funny, everyone I ask either doesn't know her or did not ready any of her works. Hope you like it tho! Although the finish of the first trilogy might disappoint you a bit, I wasn't disappointed, just was not expecting it to finish like that, a lot of people did not like it.. But lots of luck to you and have fun!
William Gibson - Neuromancer trilogy, Virtual Light trilogy Joe Abercrombie - First Law trilogy (yes I'm a Glokta man too) Andrzej Sapkowski - that whole Geralt stuff Richard Morgan - Altered Carbon (and yes: If you're upset about Netflix' Witcher, then think about what they've done to this masterpiece. Well - actually better don't.) J.R.R. Tolkien - Lord of the Rings (sorry, but...) F.M. Dostojewksi - Crime and punishment Douglas Adams - The hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy (which truely changed my way of looking at life itself) Terry Pratchett - everything. This whole discworld thing seems to have started only as some kind of joke. About 40 novels later we have such a rich world filled with so very deep thinking disguised by shakingly hilarious humour and characters we really care about. Snuff is a true piece of art making you laugh out loud and cry in pity at the same time. Alexandre Dumas - everything Michael Ende - The neverending story (in my opinion still one of the alltime masterpieces of really heavyly loaded consciousness expanding fantasy)
@@valliyarnl And you won't be surprised to hear that my favourite video games are The Witcher 3, Fallout 4 and Skyrim. So yes: I do share your taste in literature and popular culture a lot. What else? Do you feel a deep love for very disturbing heavy music mixed up with pure kitsch? Then you must be my soulmate or lost daughter or something like that. BTW: If you haven't yet please try out The Last of Us 2. You will find an example of outrageous storytelling never done before in a video game. Without wanting to spoiler: There's an overwhelming ambivalent experience of changing perspectives which can keep up with some of the best character developments in literature (although this isn't about developing characters but developing your views on these). After finishing this game I sat for more than an hour thinking about good and evil and how futile those expressions are.
🤩🙌🏻Timestamps 🫶🏻🏆 0:00 - Intro 2024 0:47 - Book #1 - The Wisdom of Crowds 2023 1:58 - Book #2 - Recursion 2022 3:05 - Book #3 - Conversations with Friends 2021 4:30 - Book #4 - Shakespeare in a Divided America 2020 7:09 - Book #5 - The Catcher in The Rye 8:36 - Book #6 - Othbringer 9:08 - Book #7 - My Dark Vanessa 10:19 - Book #8 - Skyward 2018 11:05 - Book #9 - Thunderhead 2017 12:06 - Book #10 - Sleeping Giants 12:26 - Book #11 - When Dimple met Rishi 13:06 - Conclusion
Dang it, I need to read some of these, but I'm too poor to buy them 😂. And picking my absolute favorites is really hard, but I think this is a pretty solid list. 1. The Way of Kings 2. Words of Radiance 3. Royal Assassin 4. Wrath 5. Assassin's Quest Loving your channel by the way! You're becoming one of my favorite Booktubers because of how sincere you seem. A lot of others have eccentric "RUclips personalities," but you just seem to love books and want to talk about them. It's rare to find someone as honest as you are. I hope you continue to read and find more 5 star books (even though I still think that borders on treason to the Great Richard, Hairless of Ramble)😂
Great list! Definitely want to do a video on the faithful and the fallen at some point. So I see my plans of opening my next video with “WASSAP GUYS!!! ITS YOUR GIRL WERA” were a bad idea 😂😂 in all seriousness I’m really flattered that you’re enjoying the way I talk about reading 🫶🏻 Question: what’s Austin’s title?
I also love Conversations with Friends and Catcher in the Rye 🥹🫶 FANTASTIC books! I already bumped Recursion up on my tbr but now seeing that you rated it 5 stars I need to get to it ASAP. I’m also so shocked you said Arc of the Scythe is better than The Hunger Games 😯 it’s been on my tbr for years… need to grab a copy next time I’m at a bookstore 👀
They’re really good! It’s important to remember the audience that they’re intended for tho. And the fact that it’s a subversion of a dystopia*** Hope you like them!
Coming from someone who doesn't have a lot of books under their belt (maybe 20 or so in total). My favorite and only 5 star would have to be The Time Machine by H.G Wells, I don't know why I liked it so much. Maybe the sense of adventure in it, I don't know. But I just have great memories from reading it. Great video and the way you talk about your favorite books makes me want to read some of them, especially The Catcher in the Rye.
"Don't ever tell anybody anything. If you do, you'll start missing everybody." I never understood this line. Salinger's inference, if I'm interpreting it correctly, is that once people know everything about you, they'll get bored, move on, and you'll lose them as friends. But of course, those types of people aren't really your friends to begin with. If Holden believes they are, or that everyone in the world is out to get him, doesn't that suggest he's rather troubled, and perhaps mentally ill? My honors English teacher required us to read Catcher in high school, and at that time, I completely failed to see the point. Holden struck me as whiny for the sake of whiny. I'm sure there were deeper messages about society, individualism, and ethics at play, but for the most part, those messages went over my head. Perhaps a re-read is in order. If the writing style and word choice can move you to tears, Wera, then there must be something I'm missing - especially considering I wasn't yet fifteen years old when I first attempted to tackle it. Your insightfulness and passion for literature are truly something else, and I love hearing you talk about bookish, nerdy things. Thanks for another excellent video. Cheers!
Thank you for this comment 🤍 I know the catcher in the rye isn’t for everyone. I’m of the opinion that you’ll love it if you see yourself in Holden, but you won’t if you don’t (or find him annoying). I see his “whininess” as a way that he’s looking for meaning in his every day life after his brother died (which seems to be a turning point). There were so many scenes that moved me in that book. Thank you for the comment and if I got you thinking about maybe giving it a reread then I’m very happy 😊
@@valliyarnl I'll try to be brief (I tried), because I did love it and so it is one of those that I prefer a conversation rather than a big wall of text. So I'll highlight the big overall takeaways. 1. This book is banned from schools in the US and I did always hear about it being divisive, both partially why I had not read it before. After finishing, I had to double-google to make sure I read the right book because the reasons for the ban are; "vulgar language", "inappropriate scenes", and "communist propaganda". For the first two, I was assigned far more controversial material in High School. The third, I am laughing about. I struggle to see where I am in any danger there with this book. 2. I am going to be thinking about the book for a good long while. The building anxiety at each failed and backfired attempt Holden makes to find meaning and human connection made me very concerned for what was coming as the book neared the climax, which paid off with a relief that really impacted me. The image of Holden watching Phoebe ride the carousel, finally "so damn happy" really resonated. He had found an anchor amidst his tempest. Amidst COVID, I had a 10-day break off of University. The week before Thanksgiving, then three days for Thanksgiving. I had been dealing with my own tempests, and with work, university and isolation, I needed something. I love Neil Gaiman and in American Gods there is a real place in Wisconsin that plays a major part called The House on the Rock that I wanted to visit, home of the world's largest carousel. I had told the story to my older sisters and nieces many times, and they dearly wanted to go, made me promise that I would take them with me. So I drove up, picked them up and we set off. It was a 26-hour drive there, partly because I insisted we stay off the freeways/highways and make it a true road trip, the "American Gods" way. I'll never forget that trip with them, the spectacle of the many fascinations of the House on the Rock, the magnificent carousel and my nieces faces when we were able to convince the attendant to let them ride it. "They're only small, after all." They are my anchor, and I'm even drinking coffee from my "world's largest carousel" mug as I type this out! 3. The struggle of fading childhood -- transition to adulthood. Your individual dreams reconciling with the demands of reality is a painful lesson. Too often the lesson that is taken away is "give up kid, life is shit", from either an external voice or internal voice. Holden is struggling with this himself and because he is struggling with it, he eventually confesses to Phoebe his dream to be "The Catcher in the Rye", a preserver of that dreamlike wonder that he is desperately trying to hold onto, fears is lost, but sees in his sister and is able to feel when he is with her. It isn't until the carousel scene where Phoebe fully fulfills that role for him and she "catches him". Holden is special because he is "Holding On" and he wants to catch others. For those of you holding on, the catchers in the rye, I hope someone will catch you when you need it. Just like we all need a Sam, we all need a Phoebe and a Holden.
Great to hear what makes a 5* book for you and see what has achieved it. I like that you reserve 5 stars for the truly impactful, rather than any book that you really like. I'm tempted to read The Catcher in the Rye this weekend after your reaction. I had dismissed it as one of those books that school makes you read which wouldn't interest me. Shakespeare in a Divided America sounds intriguing, as does Conversations with Friends.I will have to check them out. I loved Recursion, too. Definitely my favourite Blake Crouch for the reasons you said, and it wasn't afraid to get quite dark. The storytelling format worked really well in Sleeping Giants, but the next two books I liked increasingly less as they became less mysterious and went in a direction that didn't work for me. Other than several Abercrombie books, a few 5* (on the Wera Scale) books for me are Tender is the Flesh by Agustina Bazterrica, Beartown by Fredrik Backman, And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie, Dark Matter by Michelle Paver, Pandora's Star by Peter F. Hamilton, Grey Sister by Mark Lawrence and Sweetpea by C.J. Skuse.
Awwwhhh the fact you called it “5 stars on the Wera scale” is so special thank you 🫶🏻 good news! I’m doing a Dune/3BP style video for the red sister trilogy late(ish) May! I’ve heard amazing things. Thank you for sharing!
Have you ever considered/read Crime and Punishment by Dostoevsky? I just finished it yesterday and it had me laying in my bed and staring at the ceiling for a solid 20 minutes trying to process everything. I haven't seen character work and a story this gripping in any other forms of media ever!! (I'm still new to reading and this just made me want to read even more)
I attempted Crime and Punishment a few years back and got just over half way and DNFed :( I think I might've just been too young for it at that point... I did read Dostoevsky's White Nights this year and absolutely adored it! And I do want to read the Brothers Karamazov :)
@@valliyarnl it is a really dense book so I definitely understand haha, maybe you would like it now! I really want to read white nights next, I’ve heard it’s super good!
Yeah so the big thing with Sanderson is that he wants his writing to be accessible. Prose in my head is the window through which we view the story: it can be beautiful and complex to enhance the story (like a stained glass window), it can be so bad it destroys the novel (shattered, brown tinge window), or it can be simply telling the story point by point without embellishments (normal translucent window). Sanderson aims for that last one. If you enjoy beautiful prose, then he might be a skip for you 😊
@@valliyarnl A good story goes a long way toward making the elegance of the prose less relevant, but the story and characters have to be exceptional to squash that. IMHO. And, there are plenty of authors whose prose is both accessible and elegant. :) But, like I said, maybe I need to give him another chance. Your endorsement intrigues me once again. Also, there's a reason he is so popular.
What a great video ✨️ I was in a reading slump while you were reading all these books lol. So good that you can talk about books you've read since 2018 + I guess it's very hard to get five stars from you ;))
Haha I’m in a slight reading slump now 😅 like I said in the video tho, I’d probably not rate the books earlier than 2020 5 stars now but they were very foundational in forming my tastes! Maybe I’ll make videos for books that nearly made 5 stars in the future?
I'm a lit and linguistics major, but that came after reading for pleasure and forming some tastes and ideas. I actually hadn't thought of a top 5. Here goes: Ursula K LeGuin - A Wizard of Earthsea (my gateway to fantasy, and LeGuin) Russell Hoban - Riddley Walker Neal Stephenson - Cryptonomicon JG Ballard - Myths of the Near Future / Vermilion Sands (achingly beautiful, profoundly strange) Iain M Banks - The Use of Weapons (stunningly realized two-stream narrative structure, one forward in time, one back) ok first equal with William Gibson - The Peripheral but I could list another 10 by Banks!
@@valliyarnl oooh, that's a challenge! I would recommend a non-linear arc which runs: The Use of Weapons Look to Windward Surface Detail These are all set in The Culture universe and are vaguely linked. An excellent stand-alone addition is Excession. Outside of the Culture universe, Against a Dark Background is good. So is one of his last, The Algebraist.
Excellent intro, love what you said there. 👏 interesting 5 ⭐️ choices for sure! The Neal Shusterman looks like one I’d like, did he also write Scythe? I believe I have that one..and seeing how emotional you got from Catcher in the Rye I just may have to pick that up! I almost teared up watching you! Oh and thanks for the shoutout on helping with your design problem! Looks better without the black box at the bottom..❤
Thank you so much with the thumbnail it is so much better after your advice! The Neal Shusterman one is the sequel to Scythe! I really think it’s a fantastic trilogy but of course we have to keep in mind the audience it is intended for and go into it with those expectations!! Thank you for liking my intro I worked very hard on it 😄😄
Glad I could help a little..and your intro was the bomb! It shows how passionate you are about reading..I mentioned before how The Wheel of Time is my favorite book series. I think Robert Jordan does such a great job with characters that it feels like they are your friends.. when my mother first read it she had trouble keeping them straight. She asked me “ who is Bella?”.. I told her that it was a horse! Ended up being one of our most beloved characters in the series! Sorry if I rambled on too much! lol and you have a great weekend! Do something fun!
Hey I found your channel from Richard's failed attempt at building lego stream. Subbed to your channel, it already looks like you've been making videos for years. You do it so naturally and professionally. Also you moved to Ireland! How are you liking it here?
awww thank you for the compliment! I can't believe it took THREE HOURS for Richard to go through two(ish) packets? 😂 I'm still trying to find my niche, but I think I'm going to go more into the style of video that I did with Dune and The Three-Body Problem (my best video I think). Ireland is lovely! I adore the culture of sea swimming even when it is freezing haha. Are you Irish? I'm currently studying here and am in exam season so I'm taking a two week break from uploading but after that I'll be back to the regular Friday uploads.
@@valliyarnl I'll check out your dune and three body videos. Been meaning to start the netflix series. Yeah most people who come to Ireland seem to love our sea culture. I'm Irish, from Cork. Good luck with exams, I finished university last year so I know your pain haha.
@@valliyarnl Woah you're in Cork aswell, that's wild. I just watched one of your YT shorts and saw you going into Waterstones and I was like "I know that Waterstones."
@@whrecordings I NEED to read that series! it's just so long but I've been thinking of doing a book a month or so... i'd say there will be a video on it but just not very soon :)
@@valliyarnl I get it, it's a massive story to take on, but after I recently finished it...I knew you would love it, whether you read it now or put it in the pocket for another time.
Catcher in the Rye is a 5/5? Bruh. I chuckled when you started tearing up about that book. Lol. When I was younger I felt the same way. Now as an adult I see Holden as a pretentious dork. I prefer a perfect day for banana fish. JD Salinger is kinda bland imo. I saw you talking about Cormac McCarthy in an earlier comment, I think you should read No Country For Old Men instead of Blood Meridian. It’s easier to read & not nearly as revolting to the average reader. Cormac ain’t for everyone. I’ve never heard of these other books. They sound interesting though. Edit: it’s worth mentioning too that Holden was the first real anti-hero. Prior to him, there was no one. No other American writer did what he did. Holden’s enemy was himself- everyone else had a tangible opponent. It literally revolutionized our perspective of characters. Without Holden’s crybaby ass we wouldn’t have Cormac McCarthy, we wouldn’t have David Foster Wallace, we wouldn’t have Hunter Thompson, or any of those cool guys.
What are your favorite books of all time?
‧₊˚📚✩ ₊☕📖🌿𓍢ִ໋🌷͙֒
I tried posting this earlier, but it looks like my comment disappeared.
Foundation by Asimov, Hyperion by Simmons, and virtually anything by my all-time favorite wordsmith: Clark Ashton Smith. The latter was a master of literary horror and turn-of-the-century science fiction. His extensive vocabulary and ability to paint a luscious yet foreboding atmosphere overshadows that of any writer whose work I've encountered before or since. He was every bit the equal of Poe and Lovecraft, and some of his poetry is downright Shakespearean.
Seriously, give him a try. You won't be disappointed.
I'll stop gushing about him now - sorry! ;)
Desert Solitaire by Ed Abbey (memoir).
Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy (fiction).
I too only give five stars to my favorites. Anyway. Those are my top two.
You're not just a Witcher fan, but also a lover of literature! Will definitely take these books as suggestions to check out. I've missed The Catcher in the Rye, but with what you said, I will quickly correct that.
I'm also very excited to go through the comments and see all the suggestions. Since Cormac McCarthy's passing, I have felt that passing of a titan and the need to find more authors.
With that said, I'll be suggesting Cormac McCarthy's final works-- The Passenger and Stella Maris. I hope you give them a read and they seem very in line with what you look for and crave in books. Would love to hear what you think.
@@13loodbanex I have a Cormac McCarthy video planned (no idea for when) but I’ve since learned that he uses experimental grammar and that’s one of my pet peeves 😭😭 is it truly that hard or can I get thru it?
@@valliyarnl I looked into experimental grammar and Cormac McCarthy and what I am finding seems to vary. What specifically would be a pet peeve of yours?
Yep. No matter how many literary standards may inhabit a novel, there will always also be a factor of convergence that'll be decisive when scrutinizing it. These standards can function as a testament of consensual attributes, but if a book is a 3/5 for you, it's just a 3/5 for you.
And the same goes for the distribution of these appreciations; that the majority is situated in the middle part of the curve is even statistically logical: exceptional is exceptional precisely for that, for being an exception. Something outstanding should be rare. And now I'll stop yapping.
YES exactly!! You put my thoughts together exactly but in a better worded and more concise manner.
The thing is, I also don’t think that I’m the authority on what is “good literature”. That’s so absurd. I’m ✨just a girl✨. I can read a classic and LOVE it because it resonated with who I was at the moment of finishing the novel. Likewise I can NOT enjoy something but still appreciate it for what it did for the culture. I also don’t believe reading for pleasure is the only reason to read! I read sometimes to challenge myself, my worldviews, or to be able to take part in discussion and educate myself. I’m so glad someone else understood this 🫶🏻🫶🏻
Thank you for this comment 😊
"I also don’t believe reading for pleasure is the only reason to read". Same here. Reading as an extension of life and so, like life, there should be everything. The good, the bad, the nothingness, the truth.
And thanks to you; The Catcher in the Rye has been orbiting me for years for some reason, and now I'll make it my next read.
Classics. I'm always surprised when folks are surprised that a classic moves them. They have survived because of their greatness. People 50, 100, 500 years ago are no different than folks today, on the whole.
And Shakespeare. Not my favorite, but he's so culturally prominent for a reason.
So I had your Witcher opinions video pop up and it led me to this video. I have yet to see your Dune take or your "dystopian classics" video so, beyond YA sci-fi, I don't know where you stand with those genres but for some reason I thought about the Philip K. Dick novel The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch. It's a short read but really makes the ol' hamster wheel turn. It reminds me a lot of Brave New World. Similar size and themes and other particulars. Phil can be an acquired taste if you've never read any of his other stuff but I highly recommend it. I wasn't ready for your reaction to talking about Catcher in the Rye. I read it years ago but only remember thinking it leaned into the accent a bit hard but I could be mistaken about that. Really liked your Witcher video. Cheers.
Brilliant video, I'm going to have to take a look at some of these! You and my girlfriend have very similar tastes in books 😂
Ur girlfriend clearly has immaculate taste then 😌💅
I would highly recommend you read some of the works of Robin Hobb, I feel like you would love her books so much looking at the things you like to read! Assassin's Apprentice is the first book of the first trilogy. I honestly don't know how you've not read any of her books yet!
Oh no… the Robin Hobb fans have found me again ‼️
(My friends having pressuring me to read her for so long. Plan is to knock out the Farseer trilogy this summer)
@@valliyarnl Hahaha, that's funny, everyone I ask either doesn't know her or did not ready any of her works. Hope you like it tho! Although the finish of the first trilogy might disappoint you a bit, I wasn't disappointed, just was not expecting it to finish like that, a lot of people did not like it.. But lots of luck to you and have fun!
William Gibson - Neuromancer trilogy, Virtual Light trilogy
Joe Abercrombie - First Law trilogy (yes I'm a Glokta man too)
Andrzej Sapkowski - that whole Geralt stuff
Richard Morgan - Altered Carbon (and yes: If you're upset about Netflix' Witcher, then think about what they've done to this masterpiece. Well - actually better don't.)
J.R.R. Tolkien - Lord of the Rings (sorry, but...)
F.M. Dostojewksi - Crime and punishment
Douglas Adams - The hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy (which truely changed my way of looking at life itself)
Terry Pratchett - everything. This whole discworld thing seems to have started only as some kind of joke. About 40 novels later we have such a rich world filled with so very deep thinking disguised by shakingly hilarious humour and characters we really care about. Snuff is a true piece of art making you laugh out loud and cry in pity at the same time.
Alexandre Dumas - everything
Michael Ende - The neverending story (in my opinion still one of the alltime masterpieces of really heavyly loaded consciousness expanding fantasy)
A man of taste 🤌
@@valliyarnl And you won't be surprised to hear that my favourite video games are The Witcher 3, Fallout 4 and Skyrim. So yes: I do share your taste in literature and popular culture a lot. What else? Do you feel a deep love for very disturbing heavy music mixed up with pure kitsch? Then you must be my soulmate or lost daughter or something like that. BTW: If you haven't yet please try out The Last of Us 2. You will find an example of outrageous storytelling never done before in a video game. Without wanting to spoiler: There's an overwhelming ambivalent experience of changing perspectives which can keep up with some of the best character developments in literature (although this isn't about developing characters but developing your views on these). After finishing this game I sat for more than an hour thinking about good and evil and how futile those expressions are.
Mentioning the little prince. Hell yah. Take my like and comment
🤍🤍🤍
🤩🙌🏻Timestamps 🫶🏻🏆
0:00 - Intro
2024
0:47 - Book #1 - The Wisdom of Crowds
2023
1:58 - Book #2 - Recursion
2022
3:05 - Book #3 - Conversations with Friends
2021
4:30 - Book #4 - Shakespeare in a Divided America
2020
7:09 - Book #5 - The Catcher in The Rye
8:36 - Book #6 - Othbringer
9:08 - Book #7 - My Dark Vanessa
10:19 - Book #8 - Skyward
2018
11:05 - Book #9 - Thunderhead
2017
12:06 - Book #10 - Sleeping Giants
12:26 - Book #11 - When Dimple met Rishi
13:06 - Conclusion
Dang it, I need to read some of these, but I'm too poor to buy them 😂.
And picking my absolute favorites is really hard, but I think this is a pretty solid list.
1. The Way of Kings
2. Words of Radiance
3. Royal Assassin
4. Wrath
5. Assassin's Quest
Loving your channel by the way! You're becoming one of my favorite Booktubers because of how sincere you seem. A lot of others have eccentric "RUclips personalities," but you just seem to love books and want to talk about them. It's rare to find someone as honest as you are. I hope you continue to read and find more 5 star books (even though I still think that borders on treason to the Great Richard, Hairless of Ramble)😂
Great list! Definitely want to do a video on the faithful and the fallen at some point.
So I see my plans of opening my next video with “WASSAP GUYS!!! ITS YOUR GIRL WERA” were a bad idea 😂😂 in all seriousness I’m really flattered that you’re enjoying the way I talk about reading 🫶🏻
Question: what’s Austin’s title?
@@valliyarnl Can't wait for the Faithful and the Fallen review! It's my #3 series!
Answer: Captain Austin Hairblessed
@@KALtheLostie108 lmaoooooo
@@2ToRamble Howdy! You look familiar. Do I know you?
I also love Conversations with Friends and Catcher in the Rye 🥹🫶 FANTASTIC books!
I already bumped Recursion up on my tbr but now seeing that you rated it 5 stars I need to get to it ASAP. I’m also so shocked you said Arc of the Scythe is better than The Hunger Games 😯 it’s been on my tbr for years… need to grab a copy next time I’m at a bookstore 👀
They’re really good! It’s important to remember the audience that they’re intended for tho. And the fact that it’s a subversion of a dystopia***
Hope you like them!
Coming from someone who doesn't have a lot of books under their belt (maybe 20 or so in total). My favorite and only 5 star would have to be
The Time Machine by H.G Wells, I don't know why I liked it so much. Maybe the sense of adventure in it, I don't know. But I just have great memories from reading it. Great video and the way you talk about your favorite books makes me want to read some of them, especially The Catcher in the Rye.
Thank you for sharing! The Time Machine is on my to read list! Good luck on your reading journey 🤍
"Don't ever tell anybody anything. If you do, you'll start missing everybody."
I never understood this line. Salinger's inference, if I'm interpreting it correctly, is that once people know everything about you, they'll get bored, move on, and you'll lose them as friends. But of course, those types of people aren't really your friends to begin with. If Holden believes they are, or that everyone in the world is out to get him, doesn't that suggest he's rather troubled, and perhaps mentally ill?
My honors English teacher required us to read Catcher in high school, and at that time, I completely failed to see the point. Holden struck me as whiny for the sake of whiny. I'm sure there were deeper messages about society, individualism, and ethics at play, but for the most part, those messages went over my head.
Perhaps a re-read is in order. If the writing style and word choice can move you to tears, Wera, then there must be something I'm missing - especially considering I wasn't yet fifteen years old when I first attempted to tackle it. Your insightfulness and passion for literature are truly something else, and I love hearing you talk about bookish, nerdy things. Thanks for another excellent video.
Cheers!
Thank you for this comment 🤍 I know the catcher in the rye isn’t for everyone. I’m of the opinion that you’ll love it if you see yourself in Holden, but you won’t if you don’t (or find him annoying). I see his “whininess” as a way that he’s looking for meaning in his every day life after his brother died (which seems to be a turning point). There were so many scenes that moved me in that book.
Thank you for the comment and if I got you thinking about maybe giving it a reread then I’m very happy 😊
I think i sense an accent
I'm Polish!
Just finished The Catcher in the Rye :')
AHHH what did you think of it!!!?? I know it is quite divisive but i hope you loved it like I did :)
@@valliyarnl I'll try to be brief (I tried), because I did love it and so it is one of those that I prefer a conversation rather than a big wall of text. So I'll highlight the big overall takeaways.
1. This book is banned from schools in the US and I did always hear about it being divisive, both partially why I had not read it before. After finishing, I had to double-google to make sure I read the right book because the reasons for the ban are; "vulgar language", "inappropriate scenes", and "communist propaganda". For the first two, I was assigned far more controversial material in High School. The third, I am laughing about. I struggle to see where I am in any danger there with this book.
2. I am going to be thinking about the book for a good long while. The building anxiety at each failed and backfired attempt Holden makes to find meaning and human connection made me very concerned for what was coming as the book neared the climax, which paid off with a relief that really impacted me. The image of Holden watching Phoebe ride the carousel, finally "so damn happy" really resonated. He had found an anchor amidst his tempest. Amidst COVID, I had a 10-day break off of University. The week before Thanksgiving, then three days for Thanksgiving. I had been dealing with my own tempests, and with work, university and isolation, I needed something. I love Neil Gaiman and in American Gods there is a real place in Wisconsin that plays a major part called The House on the Rock that I wanted to visit, home of the world's largest carousel. I had told the story to my older sisters and nieces many times, and they dearly wanted to go, made me promise that I would take them with me. So I drove up, picked them up and we set off. It was a 26-hour drive there, partly because I insisted we stay off the freeways/highways and make it a true road trip, the "American Gods" way. I'll never forget that trip with them, the spectacle of the many fascinations of the House on the Rock, the magnificent carousel and my nieces faces when we were able to convince the attendant to let them ride it. "They're only small, after all." They are my anchor, and I'm even drinking coffee from my "world's largest carousel" mug as I type this out!
3. The struggle of fading childhood -- transition to adulthood. Your individual dreams reconciling with the demands of reality is a painful lesson. Too often the lesson that is taken away is "give up kid, life is shit", from either an external voice or internal voice. Holden is struggling with this himself and because he is struggling with it, he eventually confesses to Phoebe his dream to be "The Catcher in the Rye", a preserver of that dreamlike wonder that he is desperately trying to hold onto, fears is lost, but sees in his sister and is able to feel when he is with her. It isn't until the carousel scene where Phoebe fully fulfills that role for him and she "catches him". Holden is special because he is "Holding On" and he wants to catch others. For those of you holding on, the catchers in the rye, I hope someone will catch you when you need it. Just like we all need a Sam, we all need a Phoebe and a Holden.
Great to hear what makes a 5* book for you and see what has achieved it. I like that you reserve 5 stars for the truly impactful, rather than any book that you really like. I'm tempted to read The Catcher in the Rye this weekend after your reaction. I had dismissed it as one of those books that school makes you read which wouldn't interest me. Shakespeare in a Divided America sounds intriguing, as does Conversations with Friends.I will have to check them out. I loved Recursion, too. Definitely my favourite Blake Crouch for the reasons you said, and it wasn't afraid to get quite dark. The storytelling format worked really well in Sleeping Giants, but the next two books I liked increasingly less as they became less mysterious and went in a direction that didn't work for me. Other than several Abercrombie books, a few 5* (on the Wera Scale) books for me are Tender is the Flesh by Agustina Bazterrica, Beartown by Fredrik Backman, And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie, Dark Matter by Michelle Paver, Pandora's Star by Peter F. Hamilton, Grey Sister by Mark Lawrence and Sweetpea by C.J. Skuse.
Awwwhhh the fact you called it “5 stars on the Wera scale” is so special thank you 🫶🏻 good news! I’m doing a Dune/3BP style video for the red sister trilogy late(ish) May! I’ve heard amazing things.
Thank you for sharing!
Loved Oathbringer but I think Words of Radiance will always be my favourite book
Oh Words of Radiance is fantastic!!! It was a 4.75 for me! Idk if I’ll ever read a better fight scene than THE duel in that book
Have you ever considered/read Crime and Punishment by Dostoevsky? I just finished it yesterday and it had me laying in my bed and staring at the ceiling for a solid 20 minutes trying to process everything. I haven't seen character work and a story this gripping in any other forms of media ever!! (I'm still new to reading and this just made me want to read even more)
I attempted Crime and Punishment a few years back and got just over half way and DNFed :( I think I might've just been too young for it at that point... I did read Dostoevsky's White Nights this year and absolutely adored it! And I do want to read the Brothers Karamazov :)
@@valliyarnl it is a really dense book so I definitely understand haha, maybe you would like it now! I really want to read white nights next, I’ve heard it’s super good!
Idk anything about these books except for conversation with friends
I just love how you talk about em
Can listen to you all day
That’s so sweet thank you!
the intro was so cute!! 😍
also lowkey a red flag crying for TCitR but i get it 😭😭
😂🚩🚩🚩
Maybe I'll give Sanderson another chance. I always felt his prose to be so … uninspired. Pedestrian.
Yeah so the big thing with Sanderson is that he wants his writing to be accessible. Prose in my head is the window through which we view the story: it can be beautiful and complex to enhance the story (like a stained glass window), it can be so bad it destroys the novel (shattered, brown tinge window), or it can be simply telling the story point by point without embellishments (normal translucent window). Sanderson aims for that last one. If you enjoy beautiful prose, then he might be a skip for you 😊
@@valliyarnl A good story goes a long way toward making the elegance of the prose less relevant, but the story and characters have to be exceptional to squash that. IMHO. And, there are plenty of authors whose prose is both accessible and elegant. :)
But, like I said, maybe I need to give him another chance. Your endorsement intrigues me once again. Also, there's a reason he is so popular.
What a great video ✨️ I was in a reading slump while you were reading all these books lol. So good that you can talk about books you've read since 2018 + I guess it's very hard to get five stars from you ;))
Haha I’m in a slight reading slump now 😅 like I said in the video tho, I’d probably not rate the books earlier than 2020 5 stars now but they were very foundational in forming my tastes! Maybe I’ll make videos for books that nearly made 5 stars in the future?
@@valliyarnl That is exactly why those books are important and dear 😌✨️
I'm a lit and linguistics major, but that came after reading for pleasure and forming some tastes and ideas.
I actually hadn't thought of a top 5. Here goes:
Ursula K LeGuin - A Wizard of Earthsea (my gateway to fantasy, and LeGuin)
Russell Hoban - Riddley Walker
Neal Stephenson - Cryptonomicon
JG Ballard - Myths of the Near Future / Vermilion Sands (achingly beautiful, profoundly strange)
Iain M Banks - The Use of Weapons (stunningly realized two-stream narrative structure, one forward in time, one back)
ok first equal with William Gibson - The Peripheral
but I could list another 10 by Banks!
Ooooo ok if I was to make a video on Banks (never read him before) what would be the 3-4 books that you think I should read?
@@valliyarnl oooh, that's a challenge! I would recommend a non-linear arc which runs:
The Use of Weapons
Look to Windward
Surface Detail
These are all set in The Culture universe and are vaguely linked. An excellent stand-alone addition is Excession.
Outside of the Culture universe, Against a Dark Background is good. So is one of his last, The Algebraist.
@@mxvega1097 ***takes notes***
Excellent intro, love what you said there. 👏 interesting 5 ⭐️ choices for sure! The Neal Shusterman looks like one I’d like, did he also write Scythe? I believe I have that one..and seeing how emotional you got from Catcher in the Rye I just may have to pick that up! I almost teared up watching you!
Oh and thanks for the shoutout on helping with your design problem! Looks better without the black box at the bottom..❤
Thank you so much with the thumbnail it is so much better after your advice! The Neal Shusterman one is the sequel to Scythe! I really think it’s a fantastic trilogy but of course we have to keep in mind the audience it is intended for and go into it with those expectations!!
Thank you for liking my intro I worked very hard on it 😄😄
Glad I could help a little..and your intro was the bomb! It shows how passionate you are about reading..I mentioned before how The Wheel of Time is my favorite book series. I think Robert Jordan does such a great job with characters that it feels like they are your friends.. when my mother first read it she had trouble keeping them straight. She asked me “ who is Bella?”.. I told her that it was a horse! Ended up being one of our most beloved characters in the series! Sorry if I rambled on too much! lol and you have a great weekend! Do something fun!
@@stevecanada4830 i loved Bella as well! Have a lovely weekend as well :D
Hey I found your channel from Richard's failed attempt at building lego stream. Subbed to your channel, it already looks like you've been making videos for years. You do it so naturally and professionally.
Also you moved to Ireland! How are you liking it here?
awww thank you for the compliment! I can't believe it took THREE HOURS for Richard to go through two(ish) packets? 😂 I'm still trying to find my niche, but I think I'm going to go more into the style of video that I did with Dune and The Three-Body Problem (my best video I think). Ireland is lovely! I adore the culture of sea swimming even when it is freezing haha. Are you Irish? I'm currently studying here and am in exam season so I'm taking a two week break from uploading but after that I'll be back to the regular Friday uploads.
@@valliyarnl I'll check out your dune and three body videos. Been meaning to start the netflix series.
Yeah most people who come to Ireland seem to love our sea culture. I'm Irish, from Cork. Good luck with exams, I finished university last year so I know your pain haha.
@@RuggerJug no way! I’m in Cork too! Hope you like the videos :D
@@valliyarnl Woah you're in Cork aswell, that's wild. I just watched one of your YT shorts and saw you going into Waterstones and I was like "I know that Waterstones."
I’ve read 8 of these!!
Oh wow!! Hope you enjoyed them 😄
Developing your voice is a beautiful thing, I'll be here on your journey
Thank you 🤍
@@valliyarnl Love to hear your thoughts on "The Expanse."
@@whrecordings I NEED to read that series! it's just so long but I've been thinking of doing a book a month or so... i'd say there will be a video on it but just not very soon :)
@@valliyarnl I get it, it's a massive story to take on, but after I recently finished it...I knew you would love it, whether you read it now or put it in the pocket for another time.
@@valliyarnl I just know it's something you will love that's why I don't want to say anything to spoil it. 😁
Catcher in the Rye is a 5/5? Bruh.
I chuckled when you started tearing up about that book. Lol. When I was younger I felt the same way. Now as an adult I see Holden as a pretentious dork.
I prefer a perfect day for banana fish.
JD Salinger is kinda bland imo. I saw you talking about Cormac McCarthy in an earlier comment, I think you should read No Country For Old Men instead of Blood Meridian. It’s easier to read & not nearly as revolting to the average reader.
Cormac ain’t for everyone.
I’ve never heard of these other books. They sound interesting though.
Edit: it’s worth mentioning too that Holden was the first real anti-hero. Prior to him, there was no one.
No other American writer did what he did. Holden’s enemy was himself- everyone else had a tangible opponent.
It literally revolutionized our perspective of characters. Without Holden’s crybaby ass we wouldn’t have Cormac McCarthy, we wouldn’t have David Foster Wallace, we wouldn’t have Hunter Thompson, or any of those cool guys.