Thank you for the wonderful discussion Claire. I am starting with Medicine walk from your list. I love stories that describe father and son relationships/chemistry/dynamics.
Thank you for a spectacular video Claire! I love the dynamic between you and Sam as well as the adorable Lila interludes. You always have the most interesting selection of contemporary books to rave about. And you have this special superpower of discussing books in a way that entices me to read things I'd never pick up otherwise. Perhaps it's genetic bc Sam seems to have the same effect. Also, I do hope you get to read Piranesi. It's a fascinating book that Sam described perfectly! It was either on my best of 2020 list or should have been.
Lilaaaaaq 🥰Sam's review of The Overstory has actually made me want to read it after holding out for years being like "eh...still don't think it's for me?" And YAY for A Brightness Long Ago! Glad something good came out of our yikes buddy read
The other Lila!! 😭 And yeah, I'm not 100% convinced on The Overstory, but I might dip back in at some point. And YES A Brightness Long Ago - thank you, Jen, you were the top influencer of my reading year! haha
Piranesi was one of my favorites of 2021 too. Catch the Rabbit and Red Sorghum are on my to-read list. I also have a book by Yan Lianke on my to-read list (Dream of Ding Village). Thanks for the great video.
I love listening to you two talking about books. I'm kind of jealous ;) Unfortunately my brothers are not interested in my book recommendations let alone reading in general. 😅 My favourite books were Against the loveless World, The Mountains sing and where reasons end.
Thank you! If it makes you feel better, our younger brother never takes our book recs and wouldn't be caught dead associating with either of us on the interview :')
As always, thanks for the video. I surprisingly have heard of your brothers number 5 book Red Sorghum by Mo Yan thx to the fact that he won the Nobel prize many years ago. I wanted to read him bc of his affinity for Gabriel Garcia Marquez but it just sort of faded away in my memory and thus never got to it. I might give it a shot later on. Thanks! I also loved Exhalation by Ted Chiang but the story by him that stuck with me the most is if I recall correctly is in his other book Story of my life and others which is about building this enormous building that goes up to the sky. It’s really well done you should give it a shot. Anyways, nice to see you with your family again. Eagerly awaiting your next video!
@@ClaireReadsBooks yes! Tower of Babylon! That story is amazing! I hope that Mo Yan has a reasonable violence threshold. I would definitely like to hear your thoughts on Mo Yan specifically for that reason.
This was fun to watch! The things you liked about Medicine Walk put me in the mind of Dirt Road by James Kelman - which is also about grief and the accordion. One of my favourites of the past five years so I recommend it!
Exhalation is such a great book of stories. Hearing your brother talk about it makes me want to re-read on audio. Yes Chiang =Idea without all the wars/machines/politics so often found in science fiction novels. I love Sci Fi and am always looking for great books that explore mind bending ideas. A Brightness Long Ago is a favorite due to your channel. I too recommend it so often. Have a great 2022. Hope to see you in more videos.
Oh my goodness, I would give ANYTHING to have conversations about books like this with my brother 😭 Or anyone in real life really… Great video, as always.
Enjoyed this very much. I had the exact same thought as you did about Piranesi, heard a lot about it but still in the dark! I am Canadian( but have lived overseas for 18 years) and had never heard about Richard Wagamese. I will look him up. Thank you!
Such a fun video. Catch the Rabbit and Piranesi are two of my favorite reads of the year. Sorrow and Bliss and A Brightness Long Ago are ones I want to get to soon. Adding Firekeeper’s Daugter and Playing Indian to my tbr. I’ve been looking for a book similar to Playing Indian ever since I read The Inconvenient Indian by Thomas King, which I would recommend if you haven’t read it.
Lila is so cute ! I really enjoyed Firekeeper's Daughter it was so good and a great page-turner and of course I'm glad you read Richard Wagamese's Medecine Walk, it was the first book I have read by this author and I remember it so vividly :-) And yeah for Piranesi, the modern Candid of the year :-)
The collaboration with your brother really works - an excellent review of 2021. For me my favourite book this year has been Jonathan Frantzen's Crossroads. He publishes sparingly but I have never been disappointed with any of his books starting with The Corrections.
Loved hearing both of your favs from the past year! Definitely adding a few of these to my tbr for 2022. Ted Chiang’s short stories sound right up my alley when it comes to getting my fix of sci-fi in a more explorative of the meaning of life kind of way if that makes sense haha. Hope you have a great year ☺️
I’m loving these books recs from First Nations authors! I’m in Australia so not too familiar with other indigenous writers around the world. I added Indian Horse to my tbr from one of your other videos. Medicine Walk is definitely my kind of story so I’ve added that one too, along with Exhalation. Thanks so much Claire 💕 love this favourites video with your brother and gorgeous Lila. Have a great new year and take care xx
Thanks so much! I'm reading the sequel to Medicine Walk (Starlight) now and am already loving it! If you're looking for more North American Indigenous author and book recs, @erins_library and @thunderbirdwomanreads over on Instagram have a lot of great recs! Bigalbooks on RUclips also has some older videos where she recommends Indigenous and First Nations books, which is where I first heard about Richard Wagamese a few years ago.
It was fun listening to you two talking books! I’ve now added the Deloria and the Wagamese to my wishlist which really means that they’ll be on my tbr pile sooner rather than later. I’m with Sam on The Overstory. It was my favorite book of 2018. My top reads of 2021 were Still Life by Sarah Winman, Bewilderment by Richard Powers, A Brightness Long Ago (thank you!), Shadowplay by Joseph O’Conner, and China Room by Sunjeev Sahota.
Oh so interesting to hear the author of Catch the Rabbit translated it herself! It might be why I had previously thought it was originally written in English. Hearing you both talk about Exhalation made me keen to check it out! The Sleepwalkers sounds so interesting too.
Yes, it sounds like the only way it was going to be translated was if she did it herself :( Which is too bad, although it is really interesting when authors do the translation
I enjoyed Piranesi and think you can go analytical crazy on it :) I also accidentally bought Exhalation instead of just adding it to my wish list as it was under $2 on Kindle and I couldn't resist.
hello & happy new year! one of my favourites - if not The Favourite - book of the year was Milkman by Anna Burns which I discovered & was made to want to read by your gushing review so thank you so much!
Happy new year, Claire! I love how you and your brother talk it’s so civil and appreciative of each other’s thoughts and it’s sad that that’s so unheard of 😅 The Overstory is also one of my fav books of the year, as well as the Neapolitan novels (hi Lila! 👋🏻🐶). Hope you have a great 2022 reading!
Really enjoyed A Brightness Long Ago' and I'm about to start 'Exhalation' on audio book. I read Richard Powers' Bewilderment as part of my Booker Long list reading this year and had mixed views. I am still tempted to read The Overstory however, though suspect it may be overlong. Your passionate advocacy of Playing Indian could well persuade me to give that one a try also.
Happy New Year, Claire (and family) 🤗💝 What a wonderful conclusion of lovely books from both of you. And Lila's input was adorable!!! Looking forward to your future videos. All the best! 🌻💫🍀🍀
So excited about this video! I’ve rewatched the previous video you did with Sam multiple times because it’s one of my faves, so I’m glad you were able to film this together :) Currently reading Firekeeper’s Daughter & My Brilliant Friend as I know you like them & I’ve heard good reviews from others as well. I’m really enjoying both! Firekeeper’s Daughter is my fave of the two so far. Are you still hoping to eventually do a full review of the Neapolitan novels? It would be a lot of work so I get it if not, just curious! Hope you had a lovely New Years :)
I read Catch the Rabbit too Claire but unfortunately didn’t love it although I did enjoy it, it felt a little repetitive and claustrophobic although maybe that’s part of its nod to Alice in Wonderland 🤔I’ve also read and loved The Overstory and Red Sorghum, The Four Books sounds really good and Exhalations is on my list to read. Lovely to meet your brother and the beautiful Lila!
I didn't even fully read the title so I thought that was your boyfriend. I'm so nosey my immediate thought was 'oh that's the boyfriend huh. Well, we'll see if he's good enough for her'.
Nice video and enjoyed seeing Sam. But the overuse of "like" drove me crazy. I just finished reading Sorrow and Bliss and did not enjoy it at all. The main character came across as selfish and whiney.
Thank you for the wonderful discussion Claire. I am starting with Medicine walk from your list. I love stories that describe father and son relationships/chemistry/dynamics.
Thank you for a spectacular video Claire! I love the dynamic between you and Sam as well as the adorable Lila interludes. You always have the most interesting selection of contemporary books to rave about. And you have this special superpower of discussing books in a way that entices me to read things I'd never pick up otherwise. Perhaps it's genetic bc Sam seems to have the same effect. Also, I do hope you get to read Piranesi. It's a fascinating book that Sam described perfectly! It was either on my best of 2020 list or should have been.
Thanks, Marissa, for these very kind words!
Lilaaaaaq 🥰Sam's review of The Overstory has actually made me want to read it after holding out for years being like "eh...still don't think it's for me?" And YAY for A Brightness Long Ago! Glad something good came out of our yikes buddy read
The other Lila!! 😭 And yeah, I'm not 100% convinced on The Overstory, but I might dip back in at some point. And YES A Brightness Long Ago - thank you, Jen, you were the top influencer of my reading year! haha
Piranesi was one of my favorites of 2021 too. Catch the Rabbit and Red Sorghum are on my to-read list. I also have a book by Yan Lianke on my to-read list (Dream of Ding Village). Thanks for the great video.
I love listening to you two talking about books. I'm kind of jealous ;) Unfortunately my brothers are not interested in my book recommendations let alone reading in general. 😅
My favourite books were Against the loveless World, The Mountains sing and where reasons end.
Thank you! If it makes you feel better, our younger brother never takes our book recs and wouldn't be caught dead associating with either of us on the interview :')
As always, thanks for the video. I surprisingly have heard of your brothers number 5 book Red Sorghum by Mo Yan thx to the fact that he won the Nobel prize many years ago. I wanted to read him bc of his affinity for Gabriel Garcia Marquez but it just sort of faded away in my memory and thus never got to it. I might give it a shot later on. Thanks! I also loved Exhalation by Ted Chiang but the story by him that stuck with me the most is if I recall correctly is in his other book Story of my life and others which is about building this enormous building that goes up to the sky. It’s really well done you should give it a shot. Anyways, nice to see you with your family again. Eagerly awaiting your next video!
I need to check out some Mo Yan! And yes, I think you're maybe referring to the Tower of Babylon? I liked that story, too
@@ClaireReadsBooks yes! Tower of Babylon! That story is amazing! I hope that Mo Yan has a reasonable violence threshold. I would definitely like to hear your thoughts on Mo Yan specifically for that reason.
This was fun to watch! The things you liked about Medicine Walk put me in the mind of Dirt Road by James Kelman - which is also about grief and the accordion. One of my favourites of the past five years so I recommend it!
Ooh interesting, I'll check it out!
Exhalation is such a great book of stories. Hearing your brother talk about it makes me want to re-read on audio. Yes Chiang =Idea without all the wars/machines/politics so often found in science fiction novels. I love Sci Fi and am always looking for great books that explore mind bending ideas. A Brightness Long Ago is a favorite due to your channel. I too recommend it so often. Have a great 2022. Hope to see you in more videos.
Happy New Year, Kerry! Do you have any other Sci Fi recs in the vein of Ted Chiang?
Oh my goodness, I would give ANYTHING to have conversations about books like this with my brother 😭 Or anyone in real life really…
Great video, as always.
Thanks, Anne!
Enjoyed this very much. I had the exact same thought as you did about Piranesi, heard a lot about it but still in the dark! I am Canadian( but have lived overseas for 18 years) and had never heard about Richard Wagamese. I will look him up. Thank you!
Richard Wagamese is wonderful! Can't recommend him enough
Such a fun video. Catch the Rabbit and Piranesi are two of my favorite reads of the year. Sorrow and Bliss and A Brightness Long Ago are ones I want to get to soon. Adding Firekeeper’s Daugter and Playing Indian to my tbr. I’ve been looking for a book similar to Playing Indian ever since I read The Inconvenient Indian by Thomas King, which I would recommend if you haven’t read it.
Thanks, Stephanie! Another reason for me to find a copy of Piranesi :D
Lila is so cute ! I really enjoyed Firekeeper's Daughter it was so good and a great page-turner and of course I'm glad you read Richard Wagamese's Medecine Walk, it was the first book I have read by this author and I remember it so vividly :-) And yeah for Piranesi, the modern Candid of the year :-)
on my channel, my best books of 2021 and Piranesi is one of them :-)
I ordered a bunch of other Richard Wagamese books over the holiday break and can't wait to get to them! :)
The collaboration with your brother really works - an excellent review of 2021. For me my favourite book this year has been Jonathan Frantzen's Crossroads. He publishes sparingly but I have never been disappointed with any of his books starting with The Corrections.
You know what, I might have to check Franzen out in 2022 - I've never read him, but all the Crossroads love is swaying me!
Aww, I wish my brother still read books that we could talk about together!
Loved hearing both of your favs from the past year! Definitely adding a few of these to my tbr for 2022. Ted Chiang’s short stories sound right up my alley when it comes to getting my fix of sci-fi in a more explorative of the meaning of life kind of way if that makes sense haha. Hope you have a great year ☺️
I can't recommend Ted Chiang enough! And hope you're having a nice start to 2022, too, Vivian :D
Happy new year, Claire! Medicine Walk sounds beautiful, will definitely look for it.
Happy New Year! And yes, it's wonderful! I hope you enjoy it if you find it :)
I’m loving these books recs from First Nations authors! I’m in Australia so not too familiar with other indigenous writers around the world. I added Indian Horse to my tbr from one of your other videos. Medicine Walk is definitely my kind of story so I’ve added that one too, along with Exhalation. Thanks so much Claire 💕 love this favourites video with your brother and gorgeous Lila. Have a great new year and take care xx
Thanks so much! I'm reading the sequel to Medicine Walk (Starlight) now and am already loving it! If you're looking for more North American Indigenous author and book recs, @erins_library and @thunderbirdwomanreads over on Instagram have a lot of great recs! Bigalbooks on RUclips also has some older videos where she recommends Indigenous and First Nations books, which is where I first heard about Richard Wagamese a few years ago.
@@ClaireReadsBooks wow, thanks for sharing these 😊
It was fun listening to you two talking books! I’ve now added the Deloria and the Wagamese to my wishlist which really means that they’ll be on my tbr pile sooner rather than later. I’m with Sam on The Overstory. It was my favorite book of 2018. My top reads of 2021 were Still Life by Sarah Winman, Bewilderment by Richard Powers, A Brightness Long Ago (thank you!), Shadowplay by Joseph O’Conner, and China Room by Sunjeev Sahota.
Yay!! I hope you enjoy those if you get to them. And I am very intrigued by Still Life because I loved Tin Man a few years ago!
Oh so interesting to hear the author of Catch the Rabbit translated it herself! It might be why I had previously thought it was originally written in English. Hearing you both talk about Exhalation made me keen to check it out! The Sleepwalkers sounds so interesting too.
Yes, it sounds like the only way it was going to be translated was if she did it herself :( Which is too bad, although it is really interesting when authors do the translation
I enjoyed Piranesi and think you can go analytical crazy on it :)
I also accidentally bought Exhalation instead of just adding it to my wish list as it was under $2 on Kindle and I couldn't resist.
Ahh I need to read it! And an amazing accident, haha - I hope you enjoy Exhalation :)
Wow, that was a rave review for Medicine Walk. I ordered it from my library immediately!
Great!! I hope you love it :)
hello & happy new year! one of my favourites - if not The Favourite - book of the year was Milkman by Anna Burns which I discovered & was made to want to read by your gushing review so thank you so much!
Ahh I'm so glad you loved it!! What a great book
Happy new year, Claire! I love how you and your brother talk it’s so civil and appreciative of each other’s thoughts and it’s sad that that’s so unheard of 😅 The Overstory is also one of my fav books of the year, as well as the Neapolitan novels (hi Lila! 👋🏻🐶). Hope you have a great 2022 reading!
Haha, we were on our best behavior for the camera. Hope you had a lovely holiday, Yena!
Really enjoyed A Brightness Long Ago' and I'm about to start 'Exhalation' on audio book. I read Richard Powers' Bewilderment as part of my Booker Long list reading this year and had mixed views. I am still tempted to read The Overstory however, though suspect it may be overlong. Your passionate advocacy of Playing Indian could well persuade me to give that one a try also.
I hope you enjoy Exhalation! And yes to Playing Indian - do it!!
I discovered your channel this year and I love it! Please keep uploading :)
Thanks, Connie! Happy New Year!!
Happy New Year, Claire (and family) 🤗💝 What a wonderful conclusion of lovely books from both of you. And Lila's input was adorable!!! Looking forward to your future videos. All the best! 🌻💫🍀🍀
Happy New Year, Natasha!
May Yahweh bless you and your brother and all those you call loved ones with a peace that passes understanding. You are a great book reviewer 🍁
Sam should read "When We Cease to Understand the World" by Benjamin Labatut! I think it might be a bit like the Koestler book.
I’ll pass it along to him! :)
So excited about this video! I’ve rewatched the previous video you did with Sam multiple times because it’s one of my faves, so I’m glad you were able to film this together :) Currently reading Firekeeper’s Daughter & My Brilliant Friend as I know you like them & I’ve heard good reviews from others as well. I’m really enjoying both! Firekeeper’s Daughter is my fave of the two so far. Are you still hoping to eventually do a full review of the Neapolitan novels? It would be a lot of work so I get it if not, just curious! Hope you had a lovely New Years :)
Ahh I'm glad you're enjoying both of them! And maybe some day on the Neapolitan Novels!!
@@ClaireReadsBooks Awesome :) Would defs watch if you decided to do one!
That yellow pillow makes him look like he’s got a halo like an icon, looks cool
lol, misleading! ;)
@@ClaireReadsBooks yeah, he’s probably totally evil!
I read Catch the Rabbit too Claire but unfortunately didn’t love it although I did enjoy it, it felt a little repetitive and claustrophobic although maybe that’s part of its nod to Alice in Wonderland 🤔I’ve also read and loved The Overstory and Red Sorghum, The Four Books sounds really good and Exhalations is on my list to read. Lovely to meet your brother and the beautiful Lila!
Ah, that's understandable, Jo! I think I appreciated it more by the end than I did while reading it. Hope you had a wonderful holiday!
I didn't even fully read the title so I thought that was your boyfriend. I'm so nosey my immediate thought was 'oh that's the boyfriend huh. Well, we'll see if he's good enough for her'.
The overstory IS about trees...that includes people who SEE them. ❤
hahah that's what i thought!
Happy New Year! Thanks for this collab video. Are you guys twins?
Happy New Year! And no, Sam is two year older than me 😭
@@ClaireReadsBooks 😊
Claire you are such a middle child. You guys weigh everything!
lol, and i'm also a libra on top of it! ⚖️
@@ClaireReadsBooks I just love your show. Your brother was a great idea.
@@ClaireReadsBooks this is still funny after all this time!
Nice video and enjoyed seeing Sam. But the overuse of "like" drove me crazy.
I just finished reading Sorrow and Bliss and did not enjoy it at all. The main character came across as selfish and whiney.