The phrases "unfettered intensity" and "concentration of feeling" absolutely nail it for me. They keep popping into my head since first watching this, great stuff.
I take it this won't be a controversial recommendation, but when you mentioned 'wholesome' books I immediately thought of Don Quixote, which I'm near the end of right now. I don't think I've ever encountered a book that is so relentlessly charming and funny but also rich and deep. The whole book has on the one hand felt like a warm blanket - like a book I've read numerous times before and turn to for cozy comfort during anxious times, despite the fact that this is my first time reading it. On the other, though, it provides endless stimulation for the intellect. It's one of those books that I thought I knew simply through cultural osmosis - that I kept putting off because, well, doesn't everyone kind of know what its deal is? I was seriously wrong.
It's funny how that happens, isn't it? There are so many books like that for me, where I just assume I've already got the idea. It's something I should probably fight against a little more. Good to hear that about Don Quixote - it's yet another that I haven't ever managed to get to. This is a good push for me to pick it up. :)
I plan to read “Don Quixote” soon and can’t wait to finally begin. For now my best encounter with exactly the type of book that you have characterized was absolutely brilliant “Tristram Shandy” by Sterne, which was inspired mainly by Rabelais and Locke, and by Cervantes also.
Год назад+1
Samie, Cudowny, Utalentowany, Mądry Człowieku, popłakałam się ze wzruszenia! Naprawdę! Uwielbiam Cię słuchać (i czytać) nie tylko po polsku. Twój polski to absolutny sztos! Bardzo się cieszę, że mogłam uczyć (i uczyć się od) kogoś tak wyjątkowego jak Ty❤ Jak dobrze Cię widzieć! Tęsknię i bardzo ciepło Cię pozdrawiam 😍
Close To The Knives has been on my to-be-read pile for a while, really looking forward to it now. Also have to praise your videography - yours is one of the rare literary channels I always take time to watch, instead of treating it like a podcast:)
Yes, 'Close to the Knives' took me completely by surprise. I hope you find it as exciting as I did. Thanks so much! I really appreciate the kind words - I always try to make it visually pleasing, if I can.
Hi from Vancouver 🇨🇦 New follower. Wholesome’s not a favourite place of mine either - but I did have a lovely time reading Ivica Prtenjača this summer (The Hill and Let’s Go Home, Son). They were charming without being twee, earnest, with enough grit/rub to feel authentic (admittedly I was day drinking on the shores of the Adriatic while reading tho so…). Plainsong by Kent Haruf is the most wholesome book I’ve read. It left a watermark so high for me that I buy every used copy I come across - and give them away; I am that confident in it. 🤍
My favorite ever "queer" piece of art is 'Happy Together ' - the 1997 movie by Wong Kar-Wai. Set in Argentina it has stunning cinematography and atmosphere, and powerful/intense performances by the two male leads (Tony Leung Chiu Wai is one of the most underappreciated actors ever, one of my absolute favorites). It even contains a scene that was for many years my favorite ever movie scene (still might be), in which Tony Leung Chiu Wai's character cries into a tape recorder at a bar. A subtle but truly beautiful emotional moment (in conjunction with when the recording is heard, at the very end of the film) that has forever stayed with me. I also checked for wholesome books in my read pile, and almost no titles seemed to fit the description. However, I could find many examples of darker books with wholesome or touching scenes in them, which probably feels more acutely real to a reader like me than an entire work of wholesomeness. I find the same to be true of music and films generally speaking (happy music just never works for me, I always resonate more with the melancholic stuff, even if I would not describe myself as a melancholic person). Loved the video as always Sam, you scratch an itch with your content that no one else can :) /Andreas, Copenhagen
Thanks for all your support and you thoughtful comments, Andreas! I'm going to try and watch 'Happy Together' soon. I've watched (and loved) a few of Wong Kar-Wai's films, but haven't seen that particular one. Thanks again.
I would add boulder by Eva baltasar as a stunning novella that would be considered queer fiction. Whilst wholesome is a loaded word (imo) Jon Fosse's septology seeks solice through cyclical hypnotic prose whilst questioning the tenets of mortality, grief and faith . Honestly the first warm hug of a book I would think of is the offing by Ben Myers . An awakening to the pleasure and mystery of the world via a cross generational tale of friendship.
Thanks for these suggestions. I always had Ben Myers down as a writer who liked the darker end of the spectrum. Interesting to hear about 'The Offing'! Thanks for alerting me to it.
As a longtime fan of your channel, I must say it's quite disappointing hearing you refer to Mishima's work as "queer literature", imposing a label which only has any meaning in the narrowest and most current iteration of Western academia. Many writing today about same-sex love are rejecting the signifier, but projecting it backwards feels like a great disservice to both the artists' work and the contexts in which they created and understood themselves.
The phrases "unfettered intensity" and "concentration of feeling" absolutely nail it for me. They keep popping into my head since first watching this, great stuff.
Very glad to hear that! Thank you. :)
I take it this won't be a controversial recommendation, but when you mentioned 'wholesome' books I immediately thought of Don Quixote, which I'm near the end of right now. I don't think I've ever encountered a book that is so relentlessly charming and funny but also rich and deep. The whole book has on the one hand felt like a warm blanket - like a book I've read numerous times before and turn to for cozy comfort during anxious times, despite the fact that this is my first time reading it. On the other, though, it provides endless stimulation for the intellect. It's one of those books that I thought I knew simply through cultural osmosis - that I kept putting off because, well, doesn't everyone kind of know what its deal is? I was seriously wrong.
It's funny how that happens, isn't it? There are so many books like that for me, where I just assume I've already got the idea. It's something I should probably fight against a little more.
Good to hear that about Don Quixote - it's yet another that I haven't ever managed to get to. This is a good push for me to pick it up. :)
I plan to read “Don Quixote” soon and can’t wait to finally begin.
For now my best encounter with exactly the type of book that you have characterized was absolutely brilliant “Tristram Shandy” by Sterne, which was inspired mainly by Rabelais and Locke, and by Cervantes also.
Samie, Cudowny, Utalentowany, Mądry Człowieku, popłakałam się ze wzruszenia! Naprawdę! Uwielbiam Cię słuchać (i czytać) nie tylko po polsku. Twój polski to absolutny sztos! Bardzo się cieszę, że mogłam uczyć (i uczyć się od) kogoś tak wyjątkowego jak Ty❤ Jak dobrze Cię widzieć! Tęsknię i bardzo ciepło Cię pozdrawiam 😍
Dziękuję bardzo za miłe słowa. Jestem bardzo wzruszony! Też za tobą tęsknie i mam nadzieję, że niedługo się zobaczymy. :)
Nie no, super poziom polskiego! Szacun :)
Dzięki! :)
Close To The Knives has been on my to-be-read pile for a while, really looking forward to it now.
Also have to praise your videography - yours is one of the rare literary channels I always take time to watch, instead of treating it like a podcast:)
Yes, 'Close to the Knives' took me completely by surprise. I hope you find it as exciting as I did.
Thanks so much! I really appreciate the kind words - I always try to make it visually pleasing, if I can.
Hi from Vancouver 🇨🇦 New follower. Wholesome’s not a favourite place of mine either - but I did have a lovely time reading Ivica Prtenjača this summer (The Hill and Let’s Go Home, Son). They were charming without being twee, earnest, with enough grit/rub to feel authentic (admittedly I was day drinking on the shores of the Adriatic while reading tho so…). Plainsong by Kent Haruf is the most wholesome book I’ve read. It left a watermark so high for me that I buy every used copy I come across - and give them away; I am that confident in it. 🤍
Hello! Thanks so much for following - really appreciate it. Gosh, it's nice to have a few wholesome recommendations. Thanks again.
Another great video! Thank you!
My absolute pleasure. Thanks for saying so. :)
My favorite ever "queer" piece of art is 'Happy Together ' - the 1997 movie by Wong Kar-Wai.
Set in Argentina it has stunning cinematography and atmosphere, and powerful/intense performances by the two male leads (Tony Leung Chiu Wai is one of the most underappreciated actors ever, one of my absolute favorites).
It even contains a scene that was for many years my favorite ever movie scene (still might be), in which Tony Leung Chiu Wai's character cries into a tape recorder at a bar.
A subtle but truly beautiful emotional moment (in conjunction with when the recording is heard, at the very end of the film) that has forever stayed with me.
I also checked for wholesome books in my read pile, and almost no titles seemed to fit the description.
However, I could find many examples of darker books with wholesome or touching scenes in them, which probably feels more acutely real to a reader like me than an entire work of wholesomeness. I find the same to be true of music and films generally speaking (happy music just never works for me, I always resonate more with the melancholic stuff, even if I would not describe myself as a melancholic person).
Loved the video as always Sam, you scratch an itch with your content that no one else can :)
/Andreas, Copenhagen
Thanks for all your support and you thoughtful comments, Andreas! I'm going to try and watch 'Happy Together' soon. I've watched (and loved) a few of Wong Kar-Wai's films, but haven't seen that particular one.
Thanks again.
The most wholesome book I have ever read is the Gospel according to John.
Thanks for the thoughtful answer.
My pleasure - thanks for submitting such a nice question. :)
I would add boulder by Eva baltasar as a stunning novella that would be considered queer fiction.
Whilst wholesome is a loaded word (imo) Jon Fosse's septology seeks solice through cyclical hypnotic prose whilst questioning the tenets of mortality, grief and faith .
Honestly the first warm hug of a book I would think of is the offing by Ben Myers . An awakening to the pleasure and mystery of the world via a cross generational tale of friendship.
Thanks for these suggestions. I always had Ben Myers down as a writer who liked the darker end of the spectrum. Interesting to hear about 'The Offing'! Thanks for alerting me to it.
@@SherdsTube he's actually stated that he wrote the offing partly for his own mental health . It's a deeply human book
As a longtime fan of your channel, I must say it's quite disappointing hearing you refer to Mishima's work as "queer literature", imposing a label which only has any meaning in the narrowest and most current iteration of Western academia. Many writing today about same-sex love are rejecting the signifier, but projecting it backwards feels like a great disservice to both the artists' work and the contexts in which they created and understood themselves.