My favourite books of all time!

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  • Опубликовано: 30 ноя 2024

Комментарии • 119

  • @Greymalkin-
    @Greymalkin- 22 дня назад +1

    I have fond, almost psychedelic memories of reading Jane Eyre on a long bus journey in Cornwall. Hearing Cornish ladies nattering away in the background about bin collections and seagulls while the mad wife in the attic is rampaging around was something I'll never be able to replicate.

  • @SandKeats
    @SandKeats Год назад +3

    I gasped when you said "I like this more than Jane Austen".
    Well. I'm going to read Middlemarch then, I guess.

    • @DickensFangirl
      @DickensFangirl Месяц назад +2

      It’s rather darker and grittier than Austen, Austen tends to put satire and humor in her books to blunt the hard truths of the times, I think. The themes are not so different

  • @BrandonsBookshelf
    @BrandonsBookshelf Год назад +4

    showing a clip of cornflake girl is how I know I can trust your recs. Great list here!

  • @Sopranistineberhard
    @Sopranistineberhard Год назад +7

    So happy to see you back after a little break in the winter :) I adore your videos ;) keep them coming! Would be awesome to see your runner-ups or “books that make you feel better” video!
    Much love from Berlin ❤

    • @somebenfen
      @somebenfen  Год назад +1

      Thanks so much! Thats a great idea with those vid suggestions... 😃

    • @Sopranistineberhard
      @Sopranistineberhard Год назад

      Also, I adore all of your book choices! Might have had Frankenstein on there, myself and I haven’t read Ducks… but the rest of absolutely winners! Love Sappho and Middlemarch, especially!

  • @girishgowda7661
    @girishgowda7661 Год назад +2

    Beloved is truly something.

  • @eugeniekruijt2853
    @eugeniekruijt2853 Год назад +20

    Jane Eyre has a BLINDsiding ending... hmm i see what you did there

    • @somebenfen
      @somebenfen  Год назад +3

      Omg 😂😂

    • @hanffd
      @hanffd Год назад +3

      Hah hah. I noticed that too and was going to comment but you beat me to it!

    • @ariannelg
      @ariannelg Год назад

      OMG 😂

  • @thelefthandedreader6632
    @thelefthandedreader6632 Год назад +1

    I really enjoyed this. Happy to see Jane Eyre. I only read this book THIS yr and was blown away by it. The Secret History remains one of my all time favorites. The quality of the writing, the reading experience. It’s all there. I’m going to get to Ducks. Your experience of it and your feedback here have really encouraged me.

  • @anarapeach9254
    @anarapeach9254 19 дней назад

    I love that you heckle yourself!

  • @markoneill7657
    @markoneill7657 Год назад +1

    Thank you so much. I loved your list. I just finished The Brothers K and loved it. I’m gearing up to go back to Beloved. Looking forward to all your vids. 😃

  • @ReadADayClub
    @ReadADayClub Год назад +2

    Plenty of favorite books in common, how fascinating!!!
    As for Ducks, Newburyport, I bought the book and didn't even try reading it before I thrifted it. But you've somehow convinced me to give it a go, so I'll start the audiobook (didn't know there was one).
    Great recommendations by the way :):)
    Have yet to buy If Not, Winter by Sappho.

    • @somebenfen
      @somebenfen  Год назад +1

      Thank you! Good luck with Ducks, I'm not sure how relentless the audiobook will be but hope it's worth it!

  • @stews9
    @stews9 Год назад +2

    Great selections, and I like that you're a bit nuts. Bravo.

  • @vincentf6527
    @vincentf6527 Год назад +5

    We have two “favorite books ever” in common: One hundred years of solitude and The song of Achilles. I heard you say you haven’t read other Garcia Marquez books so I will suggest his short stories which are ver good, with amazing titles such as “A very old man with huge wings” and “The incredible and sad story of candid Erendira and her soulless grandmother” (I’m paraphrasing). Erendira also appears in OHYOS. And from Madeline Miller “Circe” is also very very good. Thanks for the video!

    • @somebenfen
      @somebenfen  Год назад +2

      I'd love to read more GGM books! And I love Circe, can't wait for her new book :)

  • @apocalypsereading7117
    @apocalypsereading7117 Год назад +1

    the trickle of blood and Ursula-reaction sequence is one of my stand-out scenes from 100 Years too!

  • @raleighvar
    @raleighvar Год назад

    Because of this video, I finally decided to pick up Beloved after years of being a bit intimidated by it, and I absolutely loved it ❤️❤️ I might actually pick another book off this list for one of my next reads 😄 Thanks, Ben!

    • @somebenfen
      @somebenfen  Год назад +1

      Aww yey I'm glad ☺️☺️

  • @mame-musing
    @mame-musing Год назад +1

    I don’t think I’ve heard any other Booktube describe Ducks... as a favorite. For a long time, I have been curious about reading it. Before undertaking that I will wait for your 2024 opinion as to whether it holds up (amazing, it’s approx. 5 yrs since it was released).
    I enjoyed The Goldfinch more for all the allusions and metaphors than the characters.
    Hope to read The Secret History in the near future.
    Can’t help but think Charlotte Bronte was working through her Unrequited love for her real life married Belgian professor when she wrote Jane Eyre and Villette. (It makes the stories more interesting to me.)
    I’m glad to hear you are so positive about Middlemarch and The Waves, I have each book and look forward to reading them.
    Happy Spring 🌱🌷🌱

    • @somebenfen
      @somebenfen  Год назад

      I need to read up on Charlotte Brontes life it sounds so interesting. Hope you enjoy MM and the waves!

  • @Indigo_snakes
    @Indigo_snakes Год назад +3

    I also love George Eliot more than Jane Austen oops. I just find that her novels have so much emotion and the character feel so REAL!! Really recommend Adam Bede from Eliot if you haven’t read it, I enjoyed it even more than Middlemarch :) also Jane Eyre is in my top three list of fav books, you’ve got great taste!

    • @somebenfen
      @somebenfen  Год назад +1

      I have Adam Bede ready to go on my shelf! Glad to hear you like it 😊

  • @keithdennis1462
    @keithdennis1462 Год назад +3

    Interesting that most of your recommendations here are by women writers. I thought the Tartt book outstayed its welcome. On the other hand I have read Jane Eyre three times and found something new in it each time. Thanks for posting. It’s always intesresting to hear about people’s favourite books.

    • @somebenfen
      @somebenfen  Год назад

      I'd like to read more of her books too. Thanks for watching!

  • @thelefthandedreader6632
    @thelefthandedreader6632 Год назад

    I’m actually reading, finally, Tartt’s The Little Friend. It too starts off in the first sentence announcing a murder and then we’re off to the races. The voice of the young Harriet is so endearing. I’m loving it. Have you read it?

  • @sakinaalia1067
    @sakinaalia1067 Год назад

    The tori clip was so surprising but amazing.

  • @Squirtal1970s
    @Squirtal1970s 3 месяца назад +1

    I need to start reading more.

  • @BookwormAdventureGirl
    @BookwormAdventureGirl Год назад

    Great list, Ben! Great editing as always too. I enjoyed The Waves. I have 100 years of Solitude and The Secret History on my TBR. I will be reading Beloved next month with AJ. Hoping to like it more than Tar Baby. Ducks Newburyport also remains unread on my shelf. I will get to it. Yes, I will. Interesting about it being out of print. 😊💙

  • @ashappyasiget140
    @ashappyasiget140 Год назад +1

    Love all these books. Jane Eyre, Middlemarch and The Secret History are incredible. looking forward to DT's 4th book as well.

  • @megdrummond-wilson824
    @megdrummond-wilson824 Год назад

    You are so funny and im so glad i found your channel! Subscribed and cant wait to see more :)

  • @materiagrix
    @materiagrix 11 месяцев назад

    Let me know when you reread Duck Newburyport, I’d like to read it too. Great list btw!

  • @mudaralchaar5855
    @mudaralchaar5855 Год назад +1

    your voice impressions always have me giggling through the videos

  • @ThatReadingGuy28
    @ThatReadingGuy28 Год назад +2

    This list makes me want to go back to reading novels when I promised I'd read more nonfiction this year. The struggle is real!!

  • @marcpaters0n
    @marcpaters0n Год назад

    I'm now wondering if I should reread The Waves. Like you I read it as a young man and I was utterly bewildered by it. I've read other books by her since and loved them so it's due another look.
    I haven't ever compiled a list of favourites but I think top of it would be The Crow Road. I Recommend it if you haven't read it. Trainspotting too. Oh now I am compiling a list. I'll stop there. 😊

    • @somebenfen
      @somebenfen  Год назад +1

      Oh nice. I don't read the Wasp Factory by him but never that, will check it out!

  • @womenwotreads
    @womenwotreads Год назад +1

    I knew Song of Achilles would be there ! I love it too. I desperately want to read A Secret History very soon but you haven't sold me on Ducks Newbury I'm afraid . Sorry . Love Jane Eyre too by the way .

    • @somebenfen
      @somebenfen  Год назад

      Oh go on! Read Ducks, you know you want to... 😄

  • @troytradup
    @troytradup Год назад

    Interesting choices, Ben! It appears Ducks, Newburyport is still in print here in the States. Although maybe we just have many copies because everyone was too daunted to pick up such an enormous book.

    • @somebenfen
      @somebenfen  Год назад

      That's good to know! It doesn't seem you can buy it new here. Thanks Troy!

  • @barbarahelgaker390
    @barbarahelgaker390 Год назад +1

    From Jane Eyre ❤❤❤ to Ducks😱😱😱and everything in between! Really interesting - have read and liked Crime And Punishment so must get round to Brothers!

    • @somebenfen
      @somebenfen  Год назад

      I need to reread C&P very soon!

  • @emmavd
    @emmavd Год назад

    Thanks, Ben!🌷I’ve read half of your favourites (Sappho’s poetry!❤), have two, still unread, on my shelves (The Waves and The Song of Achilles), tried to read Dostoyevsky a couple of times many years ago (and miserably failed), am totally scared by Toni Morrison and all novels dealing with slavery (I’ll have to do something about it at some point, but not just now). That leaves Ducks, of which I’ve just downloaded a sample on my kindle just to see whether the style agrees with me😊

    • @somebenfen
      @somebenfen  Год назад

      Morrissons writing style can be pretty brutal so it's not surprising of you're wary. Song ofnAchilles is so worth it!

  • @sillysausage2244
    @sillysausage2244 Месяц назад

    You are so engaging, Bey.... [* twirls moustache thoughtfully*]

  • @CoynieReads
    @CoynieReads Год назад +4

    I have also cried each time I've finished The Song of Achilles. Every single time. It's concerning 😂

    • @somebenfen
      @somebenfen  Год назад

      I need to read it again soon!

  • @kiranreader
    @kiranreader Год назад +1

    been waiting for this vid a long time!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ty for sharing ur favs w/ us :)

  • @papaglenford
    @papaglenford 7 месяцев назад +1

    the sudden offscreen voices made me feel insane for a moment.

  • @my_19th_personality
    @my_19th_personality Год назад

    100 years of solitude and Beloved would definitely on my favorite list too! very excited now to read some of the other books mentioned

  • @curioushmm9027
    @curioushmm9027 Год назад +2

    i've read and loved most of the books on the list...song of achilles waits patiently for me but i did love circe...don't want to read ducks, newburyport. and really enjoyed secret history on my first read many years ago but on a re-read in the last few years it had lost it's magic and felt just ugly.

    • @somebenfen
      @somebenfen  Год назад

      Hope you like SofA! Ugly is a good way of describing secret history, they are not likable characters 😄

    • @curioushmm9027
      @curioushmm9027 Год назад

      @@somebenfen 😀

  • @papaglenford
    @papaglenford 7 месяцев назад

    i have read lots and worked in a big bookstore for 10 years.
    my #1 Ever.. is
    Travels, by Michael Crichton. non-fiction.
    episodes from his life.
    very smart, profound, funny, and his curiosity about himself and his willingness to change are remarkable.

    • @papaglenford
      @papaglenford 7 месяцев назад

      sean connery said to him, "always tell the truth. that way you make it the other person's problem."

  • @kikicarr2797
    @kikicarr2797 Месяц назад

    IF YOU HAVEN"T ALREADY,
    From the depths of my soul: PLEASE read, review and make some stellar reels from *"The Princess Bride"* 😄
    It is one of the BEST books. I always end up reading it aloud because it's just BETTER that way.
    Anytime I go on vacation, a small copy of The Princess Bride travels with me because it puts me in the lightest of moods.
    For anyone who likes WITTY writing, The Princess Bride is WITTen so wonderfully! 😉
    The first chapter will forever be my favorite.
    "The year that Buttercup was born, the most beautiful woman in the world was a French scullery maid named Annette." The Intro To Beauty paragraph's before Buttercup is peak comedy and written from the desk of a true artist...as is the rest of the story ("Ticklish?!... -Don't mock my methods!..." Miracle Max can't lose😆)
    Disclaimer: I DO tend to skip the "author notes" in the beginning and throughout the book, It's not for everyone and just doesn't do it for me-
    I skip to Buttercup's introduction in Chapter One: The Bride. 👑
    (Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is also sheer perfection on it's own and I highly recommend you listening to the audio book narrated entirely by Stephan Fry. That is my road trip MUST HAVE 👽
    "Ford, you're turning into a penguin... stop it!")
    Have fun storming the castle ! 🏰

  • @rbbonotto
    @rbbonotto Год назад

    You DO need to do a sequel to this one. I'm not sure that having '10 books That Make Me Happy' wouldn't be a better sell and make you rich (by RUclips standards, anyway) but a sequel of some sort is a good idea. Also, if you liked the Tartt (pun intended), try one of Lev Raphael's murder mysteries, a series about a gay couple teaching literature at a fairly toxic Midwest University. ("The Edith Wharton Murders" includes a hilarious description of warring factions of scholars during a weekend seminar, each with their own agenda.)

  • @papaglenford
    @papaglenford 7 месяцев назад

    scott smith (a simple plan, the ruins) is someone else who likes to make things worse, and worse, and worse. i love those books so much

  • @wandguardnoodle
    @wandguardnoodle Год назад

    I haven't read many of these books, but Song of Achilles is def one of my all-time favorites! I've now read it in two languages lol (the original and translation into my native tongue) and I don't do that often, but I was just very curious about how they handled the translation (turns out: pretty well). I feel like I might want to re-read the original soon, since it's been a couple years since I read it in translation.

    • @somebenfen
      @somebenfen  Год назад

      I can't wait to read it again!

  • @claudiaferreira585
    @claudiaferreira585 Год назад +1

    Jane Eyre, Middlemarch, The Brothers Karamazov,Song of Achilles, yes, they're surely in my top. Gabriel Garcia Marquez ' The love in the Time of Cholera is too (not 100 years!). I love another russian even more Life and Fate by Vassili Grossman, I love Mario Vargas Llosa's The war at the end of the world, Virginia's Orlando. I 'll stop here, too many books for the last two spots 😅

    • @claudiaferreira585
      @claudiaferreira585 Год назад

      Ohhh, it's just one spot, Beloved is one of my lifetime reads too

    • @somebenfen
      @somebenfen  Год назад

      Orlando is immense! Would love to read Love in the time of Cholera too

  • @chrissy1510
    @chrissy1510 Год назад

    I’m currently reading both Middlemarch and TBK., which seemed like a good idea at the time.

  • @yenasung
    @yenasung Год назад

    6:57 lol i NEED to get my eyeballs on middlemarch!! Always a pleasure watching your videos, Ben ❤ did i mention in your last vid how much i love the new card additions on your bookshelf? And ofc your fresh cut 😍 i love that pretty much all your fav books are full of heartache, longing, and thicccccc af 🙆🏻‍♀️

    • @somebenfen
      @somebenfen  Год назад +1

      We love a thiccc longing heartbreak 😄 You can thank the family for their good taste in card giving ha. You neeeeed to read mIddlemarch! 🥰

  • @hanffd
    @hanffd Год назад

    So happy you loved Ducks! Thank you for mentioning payoff ending. So sick of hearing people say nothing happens in Ducks. Interesting question about whether or not it will become a forgotten book. So sad out of print. Glad I have my copy, then! 😉

    • @somebenfen
      @somebenfen  Год назад

      It felt so gratifying at the end! We'll see what happens in the future... hopefully it'll have a life of its own

  • @ianp9086
    @ianp9086 Год назад

    I have read 7 of those and several would definitely be in my all time favourites list (Marquez, Morrison and Ducks), the others not far off. Haven’t read Sappho, Middlemarch 😱or Song of Achilles yet but obviously must! Even the final sentence of Ducks is brilliant and it is still the only book I have ever finished and found myself missing the narrator and wanting to start it again just to be back with her. Garcia Marquez has at least 4 other books which come close to 100 years (Autumn of the Patriarch, Chronicle of a death foretold, General in his Labyrinth and Love in time of Cholera) but they are all very different books.

    • @somebenfen
      @somebenfen  Год назад

      Omg the last "clause" of Ducks! 😱

    • @ianp9086
      @ianp9086 Год назад

      @@somebenfen worth the journey!

  • @janethansen9612
    @janethansen9612 Год назад

    I don't know about Jane Eyre. I still have some trust issues with it. I'm yet to read some of these, there is no end to the number of books on my tbr list. My next giant classic to read is The Count of Monte Cristo. How are you going with it so far?

    • @somebenfen
      @somebenfen  Год назад +1

      I'd really like to finish it by the end of this month but we'll have to see... I am enjoying it so far though!

  • @readandre-read
    @readandre-read Год назад

    My favorite one here is Jane Eyre by a mile followed by Middlemarch and Beloved. Unpopular opinion: I loved The Little Friend and The Goldfinch but didn't care for The Secret History. It was fun to hear why you loved all of these books.

    • @somebenfen
      @somebenfen  Год назад +1

      Thank you! Jane Eyre is the best 😊

    • @Galdra
      @Galdra Год назад +1

      Same love Jane Eyre, and middlemarch, I disliked the secret history.

  • @originaltwyla4991
    @originaltwyla4991 Год назад

    Interesting group of books. I’ve read Jane Eyre ❤️, Song of Achilles💔, Beloved ❤️‍🩹, One Hundred Years of Solitude🙇🏻‍♀️, The Waves🙇🏻‍♀️🙇🏻‍♀️🙇🏻‍♀️, and The Secret History 📜. What I really wonder, do you miss your man-bun?

    • @somebenfen
      @somebenfen  Год назад

      I do a little bit ha, but it was a big old mess 👩

    • @pegthebookprizeaddict579
      @pegthebookprizeaddict579 Год назад

      Loved this video but will need to be a bossy grandmother and tell you to get some Eye drops for itchy eyes. It is allergy season here in NE US and i was just about to scratch my one eye out. Do they have Visine brand there? Happy spring reading!🤦‍♀️📕📚

  • @ariannelg
    @ariannelg Год назад +2

    First of all: CELERY

    • @ariannelg
      @ariannelg Год назад +1

      Secondly: I love you for loving Jane Eyre 🖤
      My favorite book of all time together with Frankenstein
      Once one reads 100 years of solitude they have two options: favorite book of all time or masterpiece

    • @ariannelg
      @ariannelg Год назад +1

      I’ve just finished moby dick and I don’t remember if you read it
      If not give it a go
      Every day that passes by it goes higher on my list… 🐳

    • @somebenfen
      @somebenfen  Год назад

      CELERY! Moby Dick very nearly made it to the list... 🐳

  • @sandra7319.
    @sandra7319. Год назад

    So no little hidden gems we might not have heard of?? Maybe a video on that??🤔

    • @somebenfen
      @somebenfen  Год назад

      Good idea! Although I'm not particularly a big contrarian ha

  • @Galdra
    @Galdra Год назад +1

    We were getting so much along until you mentioned The secret history I don't get the hype, I detest it. I love middlemarch, Jane Eyre and the brothers Karamazov all favourites of mine.

    • @somebenfen
      @somebenfen  Год назад +1

      😄 3/10 isn't so bad

    • @Galdra
      @Galdra Год назад

      @@somebenfen No, it's not. The others I have not read, so there might be more😊

  • @KDbooks
    @KDbooks Год назад

    16:52 That’s me ❤

  • @comette4u
    @comette4u Год назад

    Proust didn't make the cut? Wow.😮

    • @somebenfen
      @somebenfen  Год назад +1

      Maybe he comes 11th... 😁🤫

  • @lorr123x
    @lorr123x Год назад

    😂 love it.

  • @lavenderlady7441
    @lavenderlady7441 Год назад +1

    hellooooo i just found you!!! 😊

  • @whatpageareyouon
    @whatpageareyouon Год назад

    🌊 🌊🌊❤️❤️❤️

  • @DanaPurgaru
    @DanaPurgaru Год назад

    Middlemarch is killing me. Slooooowwwwwly.... 😅

    • @somebenfen
      @somebenfen  Год назад +2

      It's worth it, honest! 😄

    • @maryh4650
      @maryh4650 Год назад +1

      Just go with it, it's hypnotic when you just let go and don't expect anything.

  • @Shellyish
    @Shellyish Год назад

    Oh no! I’m one of the other Sappho people. The kind unlike you. 🫣
    Jane Eyre is amazing. I love Middlemarch and Beloved! I just finished The Secret History.
    Great list.

    • @somebenfen
      @somebenfen  Год назад +2

      I know haha it's ok, I will enjoy my "celery" poem by myself 😂