my favorite books of 2023
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- Опубликовано: 8 июл 2024
- RIP stoner by John Williams…forgot to put it on the list. Animals (emma jane unsworth) was also really great..oops
0:00 intro
3:43 death in her hands (ottessa moshfegh)
5:13 memories of my melancholy whores (marquez)
6:40 brideshead revisited (evelyn waugh)
9:54 olive kitteridge (elizabeth strout)
14:01 interpreter of maladies (jhumpa lahiri)
15:43 rebecca (daphne du maurier)
18:29 out (natsuo kirino)
21:08 I capture the castle (dodie smith)
24:17 the days of abandonment (elena ferrante)
27:56 anna karenina (leo tolstoy)
31:48 the shards (bret easton ellis)
34:43 gtg oops
“My reading taste is similar to what my fans read” this is me erasure !!!! I am your #1 fan and I am very much a speculative fiction girly. I’ll forgive the oversight 🥰🥰🥰
only a loyal fan could be so gracious 🙏does speculative include fantasy...if so im really trying these days 🫣
@@cs0p yes speculative includes fantasy! Does a bestie need some recs? 😳😳
@@jakeykayyreads always….
The plot twist In Rebecca is genuinely so good. Jaw? On the floor.
so so juicy 🤤
i really like listening to your ramblings, it feels like listening to a friend in real time, i love the slight chaos and non scripted, honest tone of your videos :) so relaxing and in a way welcoming :)
omg thank you, you sweet sweet fan
I live for your videos, ngl. I love listening while I get ready in the morning. You feel like a friend!
Or like a lover. 🤭
thank you 🥺🥺
So glad to see some love for The Days of Abandonment! It was one of my favorite reads of this year, too! I especially loved when you said the main character was ‘feral’. That was a perfect description.
its the best most compelling feral book ever.
You’re the gift that keeps on giving x
and goddamnit im not done.
“Out” is one of my all time favorites of its genre! Glad more people are talking about it and reading it 👏
amen. it deserves so much more hype
agreed, u can't do sad w/out funny! and so happy we read the "razor sharp" days of abandonment w/ our pal nathan
it was such a wild ride -- spoiler alert, it's also in my top ten !!!
spoiler... it's not in mine LOL (i dont think i might change my mind lol) @@nathansnook
@@kiranreader gasp!!! lol regardless cannot wait for ur sexy list!!!
a wild ride with my wild apes.
This is such a great idea. Well done posting this so early. I'm depending on my Winter Break to catch up on the Goodreads Challenge I set for myself. Perusing my shelves for books under 200 pages. . . .
lolll understandable. winter break is always the best time to catch up on reading
i love your comments section, so many good and unique recs
no i know. ppl be leaving the best comments i gd love my fans
I’m currently reading I Capture the Castle and loving it! Thanks for the great recs 🤓
tell me your thoughts when you finish!! enjoy the recs ;)
This is very motivating to me because I’m much more comfortable reading poetry, nonfiction, or short stories than I am “novels” per se. Sometimes approaching novels makes me nervous, so these videos show me how fun it can be. Thank u sm Charles!!
im the reverse!! i hope you enjoy one of the recs 🫶
@@cs0p Thank u!! already added a few to my list :)
few of my 2023 favs! far from the madding crowd, all the pretty horses (lol!), and days of abandonment (based on your rec so ty!)
my dad loves far from the madding crowd..i might need to give it a shot. not cormac! haha maybe ill audiobook horses if i get bedridden....im glad you enjoyed Days!!
So glad to see The Days of Abandonment here!! it was one of my favourite reads this year!! The writing really is so all-consuming, when she's spiralling you feel like you're going down with her
amen amen amen.
babe wake up, video of the year just dropped
forget him. let him sleep. ill be babe.
lol love it when you eye roll and shrug
i do it just for you baby 😘
You are at your informative-and-entertaining best, Charles. A good way to end the year! (Get du Maurier’s Don’t look now and My cousin Rachel.)
thank you! i bought don't look now literally 2 hours ago... and i have Rachel. im looking forward to both, but the stories are really calling my name right now
yessss give us the end of year content!
order up. ready.
I love, love, love Brideshead Revisited, I've probably read it 20 times or more. The first time I read The Secret History (in 1992), I was IMMEDIATELY reminded of Brideshead. In my opinion, they're both perfect novels and have so many parallels in both theme and style.
Miss Tartt loved it too.. ppl criticized TSH because it seemed unrealistic for kids in the 80s to be walking around as if plucked straight from Brideshead Revisited… only they actually were
I'm sure you've seen the BBC mini-series adapted from the books?
@@JeffRebornNow I have. As well as the more recent film adaptation. Of course neither could hold up to the novel, but they were each enjoyable enough.
@@bookpogo I did my undergrad studies at the University of South Carolina in the mid-1980s. But my bf studied at a small private school and I visited him there most weekends. Many of the students at his college reminded me so much of the characters from TSH. That elite snobbery and desire to grow up too soon was definitely a thing in the 80s.
tartt cites brideshead as inspiration for tsh! im not sure ill ever get to 20 times, but i cant wait to reread it ;)
Charles you’re feeding us with so much content lately
and MORE is on the WAY 😌
Hello!
I'm french reader and I discovered your channel this morning and I can tell you that your videos are going to help me learn English for the next few months! I love your personality and your taste in literature... I also loved Rebecca!!
Thank you for these recommendations ☺️✨
aww thank you! im glad you're enjoying the content
I was so interested to see what your favorite reads of the year were, and what an eclectic, lovely list!?!?! On a whole other note, I LOVE the shirt you're wearing!!!!! So stylish, chic and fits you beautifully!!!!! I hear Vile Bodies by Evelyn Waugh is an excellent read- I, too, have only read Brideshead Revisited, and thoroughly enjoyed it!!! May you have a delightful week: Be merry, be joyful, eat lots of sweets and until next time, terrific Mr. Charles!!!!! 😀
thank you! i think vile bodies might just be on the 2024 list...happy new year!
Great video! I absolutely loved Rebecca, read it a few years ago and have Jamaica Inn on my shelf waiting to be read. I also have Out and have moved it to the top of my list now. After hearing you talk of Shards, I kept thinking you might enjoy The Savage Side by Tiffany McDaniel, not an easy read but amazing, raw, realistic life of a family that was dysfunctional and yet shows so much love, wonderful writing about a difficult life. Thanks again, going to Hay On Wye and will add some of these books to my shopping list !
thank you! i hope you enjoy some of the books!
this list is telling a story, and she is largely melancholy and on the edge (but with charismatic humor). obviously, this is a combination I heartily get behind
re thumbnails: take a video with yr smize and pile of alluring books, then use a still from it. admittedly I've mostly given up on obtaining the most clickable thumbnail in favor of tumblr-esque pensive composition, but the advice is sound nonetheless
no comment🫣 i will be trying the video method. you do nail the cohesive thumbnail composition--the feeling of scrolling through your channel is very similar to the actual videos. i cant wait to hear what your favorite books of the year are...
not me watching your videos religiously while i literally have my MBBS exams in a few days
what can i say you have earned a loyal fan with your expressions
omg stop watching and study!! good luck on your exams, loyal fan
thank you🫶🏼
Brideshead Revisited is one of the handful of books that I re-read with pleasure now and again. Every time I try to identify the moment when it goes bad for Charles and Sebastian; every time, it’s painfully early.
it is painfully early! i cant wait to reread it
that quote you read from 'days of abandonment' gave me chills, not even joking, so so good. must read it like now. i was lucky this year, i read so many good books but 'raise high the roofbeam carpenters etc' by salinger just wrecked me. also 'mrs dalloway' and 'the waves'. awesome video as always, charles, happy holidays! (oh and please do make your end of the year vid-tag-thing, i don't have any good questions, my brain's rotting atp, but do make it)
days of A is all that good and its crazy. ive never even heard of that salinger! (ive also never read any salinger oops). mrs dalloway is on the horizon for me..im looking forward to it. happy holidays
I just ordered 'Rebecca' because of you. I'm finally going to read it. I look forward to reading this one and 'I capture the castle'. You really know how to sell it, because you're the first BookTuber ever who actually makes me buy and read books.
There's one more book I'd like to recommend to you, especially since you like 'Rebecca'. It has a calm and poetic writing style, it's eerie, it's a modern classic... 'The wall' by Marlen Haushofer. I'm almost 100% sure you'll love it. The story is unsettling, but the writing style is really beautiful and melancholic. It's not very plot driven, but when I read it a couple of years ago I LOVED it.
I just finished watching this video, and now I'll watch it again. :D You're REALLY spoiling us by uploading so frequently. I'm loving every part of it. Can I just add that you're looking SUPER super good in this video? (Sorry for my poor English, btw, it's not my first language...)
@@elizabethfailure Not German, but close: Dutch, I'm from Belgium. 😊 If you love The Wall, I can recommend the novel 'Lehre mich zu leben' by Loekie Zvonik. It will appear in March 2024 and it's translated from Dutch (it was originally released in 1975) I wrote the preface for the German edition! It's such a beautiful book. It will be published by btb Verlag. You can read about the book online. It has the same poetic vibe to The Wall and I'm so happy it will be available in Germany as well next year.
@@elizabethfailure I like it as well. It's an autobiographical novel about two writers who have a short, passionate affair before one of them commits s**cide. It's been my favorite book since I've read it for the first time 13 years ago... Now I'll stop yapping about it. 😄
reading two of my favorite fans chat with each other made my day. id bet money youre right about the wall. it looks great and the cow cover is so good. i have requested it from my library....
@@cs0p We appreciate you so much, Charles. 💓
You’re kind of serving in this thumbnail your hard work was worth it
im afraid you might be right im afraid i ate 😌
I read olive kitteridge and interpreter of maladies because of you and I loved them!! I’ve read all of the Lucy Barton books since and they were really good 💌
I also read some Claire keegan which reminds me of Elizabeth strout, especially small things like these (they’re really short as well!!)
!! im glad you had fun. i will check out claire keegan! thank you...
I love you even more now that i know how you despise lateness and that you really enjoyed Olive Kittredge.
I'm so tempted by The Shards but I've never read anything by that author. He's never appealed to me, i guess. You've nearly got me into putting it on my wishlist. Merry Christmas!
the shards is a great place to start with BEE! if you dont mind gore, and you like a suspenseful repetitive teen clique-esque drama...you might just love it. merry christmas
My favorite Waugh book, Charles, is "The Ordeal of Gilbert Pinfold." It is literally (yes, literally, not figuratively) laugh-out-loud funny. I tried reading it in public once, but every time I laughed people would turn and stare at me like they thought I was crazy or something; so I finished the book in private. In the 1980s, the BBC filmed a wonderful adaptation of "Brideshead ..." It was a television mini-series but it was so well done and so faithfully followed the narrative of Waugh's novel that it transcended the medium in which it was couched.
i need to start watching adaptations of my fav books! the Ordeal has been added to my list...im looking forward to a good chuckle
the only book recs i trust !!
😏🤝🤭 good.
I just finished 'where angels fear to tread ' and enjoyed it so much I feel sad for the baby like he was completely innocent ...the books was full of surprises loved it thanks a ton for introducing me to this book .
it is very sad :/ im glad you enjoyed it!!
We don’t have the same reading tastes at all. I mostly read horror/thrillers and romance but I like your personality and your thoughts on the books ( I do plan on finishing “ Out “ though) So I won’t be reading any of these books ( except Out) but I love your channel. You are a breath of fresh air on the internet. Edit: wait wait wait. That passage from The Days of Abandonment just slapped me in my face. I might have to read that. Thank you for that.
damn this is one of the sweetest comments somebody has left me 🥺 feel free to leave recs whenever you feel like it! im trying to branch out in genre. the days of abandonment is crazy good. tell me if you end up reading!!
Loved your description of Rebecca which I also love, so I can trust you! So.. just added Out to my 'Will buy with my National Book Token' I am sure to be getting from Santa! Thanks
omg i hope santa didnt disappoint...enjoy Out 🤝
yesss to the underrated Moshfegh! i honestly think it's so self-aware for Moshfegh in how she gets to play god, while also being atmospheric. please do the short stories! Moshfegh bedtime stories to put sum z's into charles yum yum yes !
AHAHA stories have been PLACED on my bedside. amen to your thots on death in her hands
loved anna karenina so much, definitively my fave book of the year and possibly my all-time fave! i also had the book spoiled to me believe it or not lmao. looking forward to tackling war and peace in the new year :)
and a worthy fav too 😤 i might try and do war and peace next year too... 🫣
eep! The Shards! will be kicking off 2024 with it! can't wait! and i can't wait for the Luca Guadagnino adaptation!
i cant wait to hear what you think..if the movie doesnt live up to the book....
just picked up days of abandonment, excited to start it
eek!! tell me if you love it or never talk to me again....
For a short story collection, I would recommend Hybrid Creatures by Matthew Baker (who is also an alum of my alma mater). Each story utilizes a tool like music dynamics, math or coding to narrate. Super fun!
mmmm my interest is piqued... 👀
Great list - we have very similar tastes.
My top reads of the year:
Alone in Berlin by Hans Fallada
The Door by Magda Szabo
Stoner and Butcher's Crossing by John Williams
Our Man in Havana by Graham Greene
East of Eden by John Steinbeck ❤
Vile Bodies by Evelyn Waugh (who wrote Brideshead) is a fabulous, satirical read.
My recommendation is Cold Comfort Farm 🚜🐄🌾 by Stella Gibbons - very witty (I have the Folio Society edition!!!😊) 🏴🏴🏴
these books sound very good 👀 ilove east of eden. Stoner was one of my favorites this year, but i forgot to put it on the list 😭 im looking forward to butchers crossing. Graham greene has been on my tbr for too many months🫣 i almost picked up cold comfort farm at the bookstore a week ago!! eek i will get it.
Magda Szabo is my favorite author, The Door is an amazing book! I really want to read Alone in Berlin. I highly recommend you "The Kindly Ones" by Jonathan Littell, written from the perspective of a former Nazi officer
@@carmensirbu8585 I've just read up on The Kindly Ones - sounds like a horrific, harrowing, monstrous, fascinating book from an unusual perspective.
I have several more Magda Szabo books on my 2024 TBR - excited ☺
the door and stoner are amazing reads
I hate being late, too. You influenced me to try reading 1 of your fav author’s, Donna T. I’m looking forward to reading it next week or so as I’ll be staying inside & warm. (I’ll let you know the book title & my thoughts when I’m finished.) The element of surprise. 😂🤣🤪 PS: Loving your channel. ❤️
thank you!!
hi! tip from super fan here on thumbnail pix 😄 I just record my poses as if I'm doing a video then upload the clip to editing program so it's the right 16:9 dimension, then take multiple screenshots by pausing on my favorite poses, then crop it... maybe you can try that? That way you're not trying to hold all the books and physically take the photo if that makes sense. And if you want to get all your books in the thumbnail but not hold all of them, you can take your "photo" of just you (or maybe with just a few of the books) in front of a blank white wall, then you can upload cover photos of the books as your "background"... like tile them for example. (I do this in canva) Just some ideas if it helps!
no thats actually brilliant. i cant say im surprised--you have to be brilliant to be a superfan 😏
@@cs0p 😆 well I'm sure there are other ways but that's what I do for now. hope it helps though!
Question for your end of year video: what book surprised you the most this year? :)
i like this
Thank god I found you! A gem!!!
im glad you found me...
'Out' is a really great novel, I loved it, thanks for reminding me to reread it. 'Rebecca' is also on my backlog for a while, I will definitely get to it after Out.
i hope you enjoy 😛im looking forward to picking up Grotesque by kirino...
Thanks ❤ Although I guess I'll still start with The Shards 😂 sounds quite a read
Vile Bodies is another Evelyn Waugh novel that I think you would love, based on your Brideshead Revisited choice.
added to 2024 list...
I though it was a bad year for me reading-wise, but thinking about your question I’ve realised that I discovered some amazing books this year. My absolute favourite read was Giovanni’s Room by Baldwin. If you’re actually moved by humanity, I believe you’d like it, too. Then, I reread one of my favourite book ever: The Book of Disquiet by Pessoa, which I still adore just as much as two years ago. Sabato’s On Heroes and Tombs was fantastic, especially Report on the Blind (I probably underlined 70% of the chapter). The End of the Road by Barth was great, though more recently I didn’t enjoy Lost in the Funhouse except for maybe two stories, so… Honorable mentions: Kitchen by Banana Yoshimoto and Too Loud a Solitude by Hrabal. Both made me think and prompted towards some changes in my life. Currently, I’m reading Walden by Thoreau and the first essay already makes it worth mentioning, too.
Also, I want to say that your channel was recommended to me about two weeks ago and since then I’m slowly watching the old videos and this is instantly my favourite YT channel. You make me want to read Donna Tartt and Anna Karenina. Have you read Resurrection? This is the only Tolstoy book I know…
You mention Goodreads’ ratings in the video. Do you have an account? 😏
the end of the road!!! my sister has been trying to bully me into reading it for a year! i read a few pages of disquiet and love it but havent circled back yet. both Road and Disquiet are due to be conquered in 2024, along with giovannis room 👀 i dont have a goodreads!! ive only read AK, but more tolstoy in 24 is the goal. i just sometimes stalk books on it when im considering buying
Qs for video:
how do u make time for reading/ squeeze in reading without cutting out every other media(tv, phones, etc)
what are your reading habits like and do you have reading goals?
were u always a reader and if so howd u get here?
anyways love all ur vids :) !!!🫰🫰🫰
ok i like these. happy holidays, sexy fan
The way most of these already were on my tbr beause you've talked about them before.... :)
i hope ive equipped you with some fun 2024 reads
@@cs0pI've bought I Capture The Castle and The Secret History because of your recommendations. I also have a ton of your recommendations on my library list 😅😊
I'm looking forward to reading The Shards!
i hope you love it as much as i did 👀
Question for year end book tag- Hottest book cover of the year? (you can only pick one)
Shortest and Longest book you've read (pages)
Book that took you the longest and shortest to read (time)
I'm happy you got over the anxiety of reading translated fiction, I've recently got into japanese translated fiction and loving it so far, my current favourites-
Conveience Storewomen by Sayaka Murata
Kitchen by Banana Yoshimoto
The Housekeeper and the Professor by Yoko Ogawa
these are hot Qs. im worried about convenience store! ive seen it and been allured but havent taken the plunge yet
Du Maurier’s “Jamaica Inn” and “My Cousin Rachael” are also great atmospheric reads.
i just bought both of them..really looking forward to more du maurier
I’m reading Interpreter of Maladies because of your Pulitzer Prize reading video. I only have two stories left, and have gotten out of a reading slump because of it.
That's really nice to hear, it happened to me last year, I also was in a slump and it was his recommendation of this specific book that got me out of it. I loved this book, it was one of my best reading experiences of not only last year but one of the best books I've ever read. This year, I wanna tackle Olive Kitteridge because he said they are quite similar, theme wise, can't wait to get to that one, and also another goal is to read more from Jhumpa Lahiri, I'm intrigued to get into her other short story collection called Unaccustomed Earth, can't wait to get to that one too!
Did you like the book? Two stories didn't hit me as much (A real durwan & The treatment of Bibi...), and I had two absolute favorites (A temporary matter & Sexy)! I liked the other rest not mentioned too.
And... what you reading right now?
I wish he would do another Pulitzer prize video, that one was a really good video of his
@@edsonemilio8841 I agree on your take that A real Durwan and The Treatment of Bibi were not as good as the other stories. My favorite was Mrs. Sen’s.
My current read is The Little Friend by Donna Tartt and Time of White Horses by Ibrahim Nasrallah.
@@edsonemilio8841I forgot to mention Trust by Domenico Starnone which I’m reading because Jhumpa Lahiri translated it from the Italian.
@@beckduvall5389 that's really nice, I also really enjoyed Mrs. Sen's, a really interesting character and so well written
I read I Capture the Castle earlier in the year. I still need to read Rebecca, i did read Frenchman's Creek, i enjoyed that one and gave it 4 stars. Merry Christmas! 📚🎄
i hope you liked Castle 👀 i need to get to rachel and Jamaica before creek!! im working my way through du maurier. merry christmas!
I've read Brideshead Revisited and Anna Karenina both multiple times so - good choices.
i could read ak start to finish to start for the rest of my life
How many books did you read last year and which was the genre you read the most?
i like this.
Have you read all of Bret Easton Ellis’ books? I would love to see you do a ranking video. Also have you listened to that podcast called “once upon a time at Bennington college “? If so, what did you think?
i havent read them all.. im trying to space them out bc theyre such a blast. ill rank them when im done i promise. i havent listened to it i will..
okay i got a question for you: what’s a book you’d wanna read again for the first time? :p
good good good ;)
I did read the days of abandonment based on your recommendation and wow it was such a ride , she is my kind of crazy . Anna Karenina is a classic that I can't say anything other than superb . Im dying to get your thoughts on French books and Dostoevsky too / p.s im kinda disappointed the last video of the year is not an HOUR AND HALF AT LEAST :/
im honored you read per my rec and happy you enjoyed🫡 AK is crazy perfect. ugh i dont think i get on with french lit...💀i dont love the flaubert or zola ive read. what should i try next? who SAYS this is the last video of the year.... ;)
@@cs0p I'm a Camus fan boy so lets start with him The Stranger ( he won a noble prize for it ) The Fall and the trendy again because of covid " The Plague " they are very philosophical its a must read for French lovers , and if you want a heavy book on existential and freedom try The Age Of Reason by sarte its about a teacher who got his girlfriend pregnant and how he deal with it and conflicted thoughts on what to do , should he be a father or go with his freedom I think you will hate all the character and their reasons for being free yet love the novel it shows you how we understand freedom and how we believe we are free its totally crazy and page turner ..... he then produced two more books with the same theme freedom and choice
Jean Genet novel The Thief's Journal / If you want some sci fi you can go with the master René Barjavel he is the father of French science fiction and of course if you have time you must must read Marcel Proust In Search of Lost Time its around 5000 page long but by the time you finish it you will know its all worth it all the above are 20th century books
For the classic I would absolutely recommend The Hunchback of Notre-Dame and Le Miserable by Victor Hugo , I hate Zola too so maybe you will like the Hugo like me . its not French but please read Kafka's The Metamorphosis its very much mind blowing insane . and marry Christmas
Another great one, thank you. Re Evelyn Waugh - have your read the early ones? Decline and Fall? Vile Bodies (amazing!), Scoop, Black Mischief and Put Out More Flags. They're all hilarious. And maybe read something by Firbank, who really influenced him. Merry Days!
ive only read Brideshead! i think ill give vile bodies a shot in 24. merry christmas ;)
My Cousin Rachel by Daphne Du Maurier is so good! Her father was a writer as well and George Du Maurier book called Peter Ibbetson is one of my all time favorite:)
i think i read her father was a writer in the rebecca afterward! i might have to give peter a shot...
really felt it when you said 1:45
time really flying post 2020
Hope you have a good Christmas, Charles - and a very happy 24!
you too!! happy new year 🥳
@@cs0p Remember I have promised you The Little Friend, UK first edition, signed by DT - when I get to London later in the year. (I currently live in Dubai.) If you still want it.
@@58christiansful i would open a PO box just for you.... no pressure...
@@cs0p That’s ok. I will let you know when I get to London in couple of months.
do a q&a!! would love to know more about u🤍
youre obsessed with me!!
My favorite book that I read in 2023 was "Cancer Ward" by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn. It's an allegory about the malignancy of Stalinism but, surprising for an allegory, cites its subject (Stalin) several times. The best scene in the book occurs when one of the doctors on the ward, a young woman who is kind to all of her patients, develops cancer herself. She speaks to her mentor, an older man, and tells him how ironic it is that she, of all people, should develop cancer, and how unfair. To which he replies, "It's not unfair, it's justice." "Justice?!" she screams. "How can you call that justice?" To which he answers, "How can you possibly understand what your patients are going through until you've gone through it yourself?" Now that I think about it, it's one of the best scenes I've ever read.
i always pick this book up at the bookstore and never end up pulling the trigger! the scene does sound hot.. i need to pick it up
Evelyn Waugh’s earlier books like decline and fall, vile bodies and scoop are so much fun I think you’d enjoy those. My question would be - what surprised you most this year? Any revelations?
im feeling titillated by decline and vile bodies theyve been placed on the 2024 hit list 👀
What book from this year changed your perspective about something going on in your own life? Mine was Big Swiss. It made me stop feeling sorry for myself for working a job I hate lol
ooo oo very good question. ive heard lots about big swiss 👀 getting over feeling sorry for myself is definitely a task i relate to hahah
I looooove the shards! so underrated
so so underrated but im doing the lords work and spreading gospel.
by the way, there will be an adaptation by Luca Guadagnino :)@@cs0p
The Shards was one of my favorite reads too.
it's so so good
have you read less than zero by bret easton ellis? it's my fave book of his so far
i keep putting it off!! im looking forward to it though
Charles you should try Shirley Jackson’s short story collections, she talks a lot about human nature in a very haunting way and her stories aren’t long and really leave an impact. I think your two favourites would be the witch and the lottery. They’re only only 30 pages long.
omg i saw a hot hot new edition of her short stories at barnes. I might have to cop 👀
@@cs0p you should, then make a video so we can discuss it
booktube question:what’s that book the completely shifted your outlook on something in life
omg i need to think on that one thats good
hey hey hey! please give us more recs on thoughtful thrillers 19:05 (it sounded like something i would love love)
omg ok i made a note to do a video on thoughtful thrillers. it might take a sec so i can gather more data...
@@cs0p omg yes that’s alright! Thanks in advance! (I’d add Long bright River to that list. Idk if you’ve read it, but it’s exactly what came to my mind you when u said ‘thoughtful thriller” and so that’s my recommendation to you)
I need a whole rec video from you where the genre is only “if you like a crazy broad, this is for you”
HAHA catch me doing this in 2024
let's get some 2024 reading plans up in here
maybe MAYBE
I feel like you might like The Wall by Marlen Haushofer. The story is wild - one of the best I read this year!
i have just checked it out from the library....cant wait 👀
That fit…ur making me blush
HAHA youre making ME blush
The life of a superstar is hard work!
you heard it here first 😤
@@cs0p !!
This Is like the cancelled MV by larri for me I'm not even joking I have my reading journal out rn ( I have a whole section js for your suggestions lol) tbh this year reading was kinda trash cause the books were not hitting
this is one of the most flattering comment ive got...
Decline and Fall by Evelyn Waugh is my all-time favourite book.
It's completely different from Brideshead Revisited. It's more comical and satirical. Definitely worth the read.
shut up then it shall be the next waugh i pick up. i liked the comic bits of Brideshead, so im looking forward
Hey, guy! Your videos are nice!
thank you ;)
Abandonment: “Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.”
a great quote
Absolutely loved A Handful of Dust by Evelyn Waugh! Highly recommend.
omg everyone coming in clutch with the hot waugh recs. i have added dust to my list thank you 🤝
“The Shards” is magnificent. It has not received the praise it deserves.
agreed agreed
I’m reading Our Hideous Progeny by C.E. McGill and it is my favorite read of the year 💯
the cover looks spooky...i need to look into this
now you gotta show ur special editon copies!
theyre gorgeous ill show you i pinky promise
you should read a thousand splendid suns by Khaled Hosseini i think you will really love it
this has been on my tbr forever 👀
Questions for Q&A: If you're comfortable answering (sorry I'm a nosy/curious subscriber), what do you do for a living? Who do you live with? What do you like to do for fun besides reading? Any tentative plans/goals/aspirations for 2024?💘
omg i like these
You're bravey w the thumbnail is noted.
thank you 😤
Saaaame, king, I read 51 books so far, not one was a pure, brilliant 5 stars... Best one was Kundera's "The Joke" (1967). Very difficult novel.
I bought Dodie Smith and Ferrante.
Merry Christmas. Let's have a great reading year 2024!
smith and ferrante are great choices--so fun and clever. the joke was more than 50% off online....i ordered it...
Glad to see another huge BEE fan. My two favourite books ever are both my him (Less Than Zero and The Rules of Attraction) i'd really recommend getting the UK cover of The Shards. it is much better!
i like the green on the uk cover😛.. i havent read less than zero yet! rules is a blast so far
One of my favorite book is 11 kind of loneliness, it made me ache more than olive kitteridge did (probably not as witty tho), I’d recommend it if you haven’t already read it
i havent even heard of it! i will look into it 👀
I just checked my list of books read in 2023, and my favs were Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan….(Charles, please read and review!) and 2 non-fictions- The Best Minds and Necessary Trouble: Growing Up at Mid century. Both really excellent! In particular, I think you’d really like Best Minds
i placed a library hold on the best minds (there are 10 requests in front of me 😭), it looks very good 👀 i need to try claire keegan!! im looking forward to both
Endless Night! FINALLY LOVE posed on specific Agatha's work by Charles is served!
Pls pls pls make a content on your favourite works of Agatha
im waiting CHARLES
(I'm ur since-day-one fan who noticed your new haircut in the other video in case u don't remember me:)❤
hi there my sexy loyal A1 day1 fan
@@cs0p 🥺🫶
Thanks for the recs btw🤗
I really had no expectations when I read the Shards at the start of the year that it would hold steady and remain one of the best novels of the year for me, somewhere in the top five. I do think it’s BEE’s masterpiece and the book he’s been trying to write for decades.
The most outstanding books of the year really are Graphic Novels and memoirs in particular. There are literally too many to name.
Nonfictionwise it is again memoirs that were the most outstanding. Rex Ogle has a young reader trilogy of growing up as a smart, outsider half Mexican Gay boy living on the end of poverty with his bipolar mother who inflicts endless abuse on him. The saving grace is his grandmother who loves and supports him unconditionally. They are raw, honest and unflinching, even though written for a younger audience. I gave each five stars.
the shards really surprised me too! and i read it very early this year. i need to do more memoirs in 24, maybe ill branch out into graphic novels. the memoir trilogy sounds very interesting 👀
@@cs0p Ducks: Two Years In the Oil Sands is a stunning work in both image and story about a world I think few get a glimpse into and really should be aware of and the extraneous costs of the petroleum industry.
For Waugh you should try Decline and Fall, a short comic novel that should convince you to read more.
ok good good i will try thank you 🫡
love your unpretentious and relaxed reviews...BTW, it'd be interesting to hear your take on the book
White Girl Within ...later 😎
thank you
have you read other bret easton ellis or are you planning to?
ive read Psycho and imperial bedrooms (not realizing it's the sequel to less than zero). i plan on reading the rest!