“Charles Dickens likes to write sentences longer than the Mississippi River” resonated so deeply with my soul, like this man is one of my all time favorite authors and yet he makes my adhd brain suffer all the gd time
I probably have ADHD but personally I love run on sentences and stream of consciousness writing and sometimes it actually helps me concentrate and get through a book.
0:00- Intro 4:30 - The Broken Wings by Kahlil Gibran 8:00 - The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde 11:46 - Pro Tip #1 13:11 - The Alienist by Machado de Assis 16:19 - Brave New World by Aldous Huxley 18:21 - Pro Tip #2 19:50 - Frankenstein by Mary Shelley 23:07 - Giovanni’s Room by James Baldwin 26:07 - The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grathame 28:53 - Snow Country by Yasunari Kawabata 31:57 - Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton 35:05 - Perfume by Patrick Suskind
So many good recommendations! If I could add a few, I'd put: •Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë • Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier • The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett (another children's classic, yay!) • Steppenwolf by Herman Hesse (the structure can be a bit weird at first, but when the story fully kicks in you're in for a ride lmao) • The Martian Chronicles or Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury (for those who enjoy sci-fi) • Pedro Páramo by Juan Rulfo (a piece of classical Mexican literature, said to be the inspiration for One Hundred Years of Solitude)
I would add las batallas en el desierto (the desert battles?) By jose emilio pacheco, it is short and easy to read. I found pedro paramo a bit too hard, but it was a fun read. I might need to read it couple more times to understand it hahaha
@@heyyouyou1000 Hahaha totally agree, Pedro Páramo can be hard to follow at times. But I thought the magical realism element was amazing. Also I've never heard about Pacheco, but i'll be checking it out for sure
@Lady Macbeth Haha I guess its how your going into it and how your reading it, and also it comes down to personal preference. For some people its not the book for them, and for others its not the right time in their life to read it or they're not in the right state of mind.
For me it was Alice in Wonderland, Oliver Twist and Pride and Prejudice that got me into classics. Haven't read Dorian Gray yet, but I want to read it very soon 🤩
@@leonmayne797 i like the book but i kind of hate the vocabulary? like why does he say sonovabitch every two seconds.. i don’t know maybe it’s the raging lesbian in me just absolutely hating the level of MAN this character is. i don’t know it’s a cool look into just a terrible humans mind but personally i’m not very good at enjoying books with “protagonists” i don’t like or relate to
@@yviivy Firstly, I like and relate to the protagonist and that's one of the main reasons why I even enjoyed the book to begin with. Secondly, he speaks like that because he's from New York in the 50s. Thirdly, if you have a book with a protagonist you relate to I probably don't want to read that either.
The writing in The Picture of Dorian Gray is so unique. I remember reading the first couple of chapters and literally smelling roses and and linen. It felt beautiful without luscious prose somehow.
I know right! It is so beautifully written that you can actually feel yourself in the environment and you can actually picture the characters and even hear their voices 🦋🦋 The Picture of Dorian Gray has a special place in my heart since it was the first classic lit novel I read 🧡✨
Russian literature (my favorite literature) got me into classics.. Dostoevsky is my favorite I’ve read everything by him. Immediately read Tolstoy, Turgenev, Chekhov’s short stories, Bulgakov, and Nabokov. Dickens is another favorite I’ve read a handful of his books and they’re unbelievably charming. Crime and Punishment, The Brothers Karamazov, Anna Karenina, War and Peace, Great Expectations, Bleak House, A Tale of Two Cities, Wuthering Heights, Don Quixote and Les Miserables are all favorites of mine. And all fantastic places to start I think.
I absolutely adore Les Miserables!!! And I quite enjoy Dickens and Dostoevsky as well. Tolstoy's works on on my bucket list. I f I might ask, what exactly do you love about Don Quixote? I am reading it now (about half way through) and am not very enamored of it so far. I feel like there must be more than I'm getting out of it, but am not sure what exactly. I'd be interested to hear the thoughts of someone who really enjoys it.
Perfume: Story of A Murderer is one of the books that got me excited about reading in general. Which is both a blessing and a curse because I have yet to read a book as good as it since.
@@carlottaschmitz3441 We had to read it at school but I skipped it. Picked it up after some time on my own and it’s one of my favorite books now, probably my favorite
@@fae4513 There is a movie, but the book is so much better because it’s hard to describe smells visually. The way the smells were described in the book made you almost be able to smell them yourself, it was such an interesting concept
i'm actually in an English major and English is not my first language (it's Spanish) and yes reading classics is really overwhelming especially if it's not your first language, at least for me what it helped me was start with short stories or poems so you can go slow with unknown words. Also start with classical short stories like a 20th century author for me are a way easier than ancient authors. Another thing you can do is let the text flows naturally, when i read the scarlet letter it was hard for some words but as long as you know the context or what is happening is fine.💗
I honestly cannot tell you enough how much your videos help me deal with my anxiety, plus to expand my understanding of literature of course. Thank you for all the effort you put into your channel!
If you’re getting into Machado de Assis, you might also enjoy Dom Casmurro, it’s still a really discussed book in Brazilian literature to this day and it has incredibly intriguing characters and wonderful writing
in the UK spotify has released some free classic audio books and that has really helped me get into classics as I can follow along but also listen whilst im dog walking/driving etc. I've conquered 'frankenstein' and 'the awakening' this year so far and I'm really eager to continue opening my mind to more classics.
I've been enjoying them too, hope they do more. If you haven't read Dracula there is a really good reading on Spotify read by a guy called Mike Bennett, he has 2 chapters left to upload mind.
“Charles dickens likes to write sentences longer than the Mississippi River” Me: *laughs in Portuguese language in which there are sentences that can be literally one paragraph long*
@@CanalPanendithas I know. Syntactically speaking it is much more common for Portuguese to have a longer sentence filled with commas and many ideas. Which is not as common in the English language. But I know that this is not exclusive to Portuguese. I used Portuguese as an example because I’m Brazilian so it’s to what I relate closely :)
@@larissaprates1384 Could you share your sources for this affirmation? Have you ever opened a Woolf or a dickens book? "syntactically speaking" I find that very hard to believe
@@CanalPanendithas I literally studied that at university with a professor who has a PhD. But hey, I’ve said it twice that what I meant isn’t exclusive of one another (as in only one is correct). And yes, I have read both Woolf and Dickens. Why, now, is my opinion valid?
I heard that this is also the case for German, but I am not sure if this is true. I only speak English and French and am more used to the grammar of both of these languages.
I want to add some things to this list: Hemingway would be a great entry into the classics. Some people hate his short, choppy sentences but it's so clear and easy reading and you're amazed that he can say something so clearly in so few words. Rudyard Kipling and Jules Verne would probably be considered classic children's authors, but an adventure book like Treasure Island or Around the World in 80 days is so entertaining. Also, I think the Hound of the Baskervilles is a great place to start- novella length so not intimidatingly long, but the language and situations are still that 19th century formality that you have to get used to, and everyone loves a murder mystery. The language in County of the Pointed Firs by Sara Orne Jewett is also lovely, and the book is nice and short.
I'm literally not even ten seconds in and I can tell you right now the video is good from the unfathomable amounts of Matilda vibes from you and the thumbnail alone.
I would recommend anyone trying to get into classics to start with what interests you. There's no need to read Dickins if you have no interest in doing so. Find classics that appeal to you, either an interest in the writer or the premise. It will motivate you to read because you will enjoy it more than following a prescriptive list.
Perfume is such a fantastic book, I’m excited for you to try it out! I loved its descriptive writing, and the way Suskind described smell is just phenomenal.
i recently found your channel through your video on what a first year english major has to study and I've been *loving* your videos, i love that they're usually long, it just brings me so much joy to sit down in a cozy setting with snack or a drink and watch you talk about literature, it has been my favourite part of my days lately, thank you make these lovely videos🤗
giovanni’s room is so freaking good 🤍 i just read ‘begin again’ by eddie s glaude which is full of excerpts from baldwin’s essays and newly uncovered interviews, he is so singular and brilliant it’s a privilege just to be able to experience his words i highly recommend his nonfiction
For the most part I didn’t find it that hard to get through or understand who was who or what was going on personally, but I fell off so close to the end like I often do with books, which was kind of gutting.
Crime and Punishment is the one that led me right into reading any piece of classic literature without fear. Even as a literature student, I feared every classic. I then met my husband, who told me that his favorite author was Dostoyevski. His favorite book, The Brothers Karamazov, was too intimidating at the time, but I picked up Crime and Punishment and didn't put it back down until I finished it a few days later. I immediately transitioned into The Brothers Karamazov, which is now also my favorite novel (all time favorite piece of literature is Whitman's "Song of Myself"). After The Brothers Karamazov, I read Steinbeck's Grapes of Wrath and fell in love. Now, I'm not afraid of any piece of writing. I am excited to read your recommendations that I haven't read.
when you said Machado de Assis my brazilian ass got so excited lol i really wasn't expecting for his name to be on this video, i'm so happy! His works are amazing (well, i read then in portuguese so idk about the translation but it's probably really good) and i'm sure you'll love it! He's so famous here that when you simply say "did she cheat or not?" EVERYONE knows it's about one if his books (Dom Casmurro). So good!
AHHHH thank you so much! I was in a reading slump but your channel has rekindled my love for reading. I'm graduating from high school soon and I'm gonna major in Literature! My entrance exam is on April 20th, soo fingers crossed! >~
Thank you for motivating me to pick up a book in my language which for the longest time I couldn't do. I've always wanted to start reading khalil gibran, I heard alot about him come up in everyday conversation since he's a really respected author in my country. I'm grateful that I have Arabic language privilege so I can read The Broken Wings in its original text 💙
ooh that must be an amazing experience. My grandma was lebanese, but she moved here when she was a teen and forgot the language, so I'm not familiar with it at all. But I want to get closer to her culture now she's gone, so I'm gonna pick up Gibran's book. Hopefully you like it!
Oh man, I love this video! I’ve been obsessed with reading my whole life (even worked in bookstores for years), but succumbed to “gifted burnout” a while back and pretty much stopped reading for a long time. This video singlehandedly revived my love of reading, so thanks! ☺️
I'm not sure how I stumbled into your video(s) but I just want to say that your voice is so soothing yet it's not...boring? You have one of those voices that I can listen to while still understanding the content, even though I'm multitasking with something else. Which is great because sometimes I want to focus on some work but I don't feel like listening to music. I've never read a classic book before. But I want to pick up reading again, so I'll try some of these. Thank you for your amazing contents!
This is exactly the video I was looking for, I’ve struggled to read classics since I was forced to read pride and prejudice my sophomore year of highschool and disliked every moment of it. I think I just needed some beginner classics first in order to enjoy it, so thanks for all the awesome recommendations!
Ethan Frome was such an impressive read, I definitely agree that it’s a good book to get into classics. The characters were so interesting and layered.
Growing up I loved reading children’s books such as A little princess , little lord Fauntleroy , The enchanted castle , Little women ,etc and my love for classic literature has only grown !! Many of my friends think they are boring but I find them rather enjoyable and comforting 😌
Your voice is so calming you could talk for hours and I would do nothing but simply listen to you. Also I will definitely try out the books you named. :)
I'm 48 and probably not the demographic that watches your videos.... but I loved this so much! I've been a voracious reader since I could first read. My first love has always been books~~~~I haven't read a couple of the books you recommended, but I totally agree with your choices of Ethan Fromme(which is pure brilliance...so bleak, but I like my sad literature), The Wind in the Willows. I didn't care for Giovanni's room enough to consider it a classic(in my own eyes), but it's ok to have different opinions on books. I added to my Amazon order The Broken Wings as well as Snow Country. I tend to consider a classic as a book written prior to 1950. I have always enjoyed Stephen King and literary fiction and classics. However, the older I get the more I want to read exclusively classics. I feel pulled in that direction and I'm just fine with that. Although, I'll always read King, too. So King and Classics for the win.
i haven't read any books that weren't for school for soooo long that i actually thought i can't enjoy them anymore and you changed my mind haha, so thank you for that :) I started reading The Broken Wings and i'm crying so hard, my voice is trembling and quite frankly i'm in love with it
Classics is something I could never get myself into reading. But absolutely love this video and I bought five of the books you mentioned and I'm already loving "The broken wings". All your videos are aesthetically pleasing and calm and makes one happy! Thank you and lots of love! ❤️❤️🌼🌼
Going backwards in time is excellent advice. I also recommend sticking to your native country at first, so reading American classics before hoping to British (if you’re American). I started with Count of Monte Cristo and beat myself down when I couldn’t get a grip on it. Then I picked up Gone with the Wind and it was much more accessible!
look at you recommending clarice lispector and machado de assis!!! aaaah, i'm brazilian and it makes me really happy to see booktubers and people in general appreciating brazilian literature
I liked a lot of your suggestions! I'm a lit major too and classical literature can be so intimidating to do even for me, much less the average person. I agree with your point on tackling smaller works first and I think a great starting place is shorter novels, such as The Pearl or Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck. I read both of these in middle school and loved them, they are very short and (while not without flaws) the endings are very powerful. I think it is also important to acknowledge that some books really benefit from being read under the guise of a teacher who can guide you through a reading and help you establish the context of a work. For example, I would not have gotten a solid understanding of Slaughterhouse-Five if I had read it on my own. If you don't have access to this, don't be afraid to use guides like Sparknotes! They do tend to spell things out for you which is a bummer and they do not catch everything, but looking at their guides *after* you read something can point out things to you that you missed on your own. I'd really love to listen to you talk about the problematic nature of the literary canon! I feel like the exclusionary nature of it is starting to be tackled in literature studies and I'd love to hear your thoughts about it!
I am Brazilian and I discovered your channel yesterday. I am very happy to know that you have indicated Machado de Assis, he is a great Brazilian writer and finally people outside Brazil are discovering this brilliant man! A tip: Try to read Dom Casmurro, it is his masterpiece.
Great recommendations! I would also recommend: - The master an Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov. A bit lenghty, but so beautiful and it played in my head as muture studio Ghibli film - The Collector by John Fowles - Nights at the circus by Angela Carter - Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keys. I´ve never cried so much and felt so much over a book, as I did reading this
I stumbled on one of your videos yesterday and now am in absolute love with them. You have the most soothing voice. These recommendations are fantastic. Love that you included books that are not usually talked about.
heyy emilyy, i´m from brazil and i´m actually so happy you mentioned Machado on this video!!! brazilian´s literature really shoud be given more apreciation, so it´s really cool to see you talking about it S2 !
I completely agree! The first classic I read was "The Picture of Dorian Gray". I was under the impression that it would be really hard to read. Boy was I wrong. The writing is accessible and fascinating. Truly one of the greatest books out there. And a great start to classical literature!
As a classics reader and someone who tries to make people read ( because it makes me sad to think all the great stories that they are missing), excelent job!! I may star quoting you!!🤗🤗❤
The first classic I read in a long long time was Little Women and it’s easily one of my favorite books of all time. I can’t wait to read more classics, I’m adding all of these to my list.
I LOVE Frankenstein! It was my first scifi book and my first (literary) encounter with humanism. The themes of creation and power are so intelligently explored and have been speculated to be indicative of Mary's own emotions about her mother, Mary Wollstonecraft, who died during childbirth. Mary Shelley's a genius and I love her.
This video was literally for me as I was searching for some recommendations for beginners to start reading classics and you uploaded a video!😍 I would start reading the broken wings soon. Thanks Emma🙂😊❣.
Great video ✨ I loved “The importance of being earnest” by Oscar Wilde when I started getting into classic literature. It was so much fun and easy to read.
Great list! Loved the One Hundred Years of Solitude reference 😂 Perfume was required reading in one of my high school literature classes in Turkey! Absolute thrill ride. So so creepy but you just can't put it down.
Must-read classics: Great Expectations, Jane Eyre, Wuthering Heights, Pride and Prejudice (but I prefer Northanger Abbey), and anything by Shakespeare.
Is jus me or everyone feels that all the booktubers have really calm and soothing personality. I mean I follow quiet few of them n I really find them all very soothing and calming.
Loved the recommendations. 😃 Even though I’m German, we did not read Perfume at high school unfortunately, but I read it at home and it really is brilliant! Already at the beginning Süßkind describes nicely how badly it stinks in Paris and he did such a good job at it. (I know sounds weird... but read for yourself). The end is a little bit... “surprising” I think. 😂 Other than that I would also recommend “Fahrenheit 451” by Ray Bradbury if you want to start reading classics. It has very simple but beautiful language and the content is also very intriguing. And of course “The Woman in White” by Wilkie Collins which is an exciting mystery novel. 👌🏼
Machado de Assis is one of the best brasilians writers. The Alienist is a book that we read when we are about the finish the school and it's a great book to start to read his books, but i reccomend you to read Dom Casmurro, his most famous book. I hope you like it
"Dom Casmurro" is brilliant! Capitu is such a interesting female characther, one of the most iconic in Brazilian literature; And Bentinho (Dom Casmurro) it's such a tragic figure, full of complexity and obscure marks in the spirit. And Machado's rithim and style. WOW!
Thank you for being you Emmie. You have so many interests, like a patchwork quilt and I always love to listen to your voice. Thank you for all the inspiration.
There's so much great classic literature. I try to get through as much as I can. I don't read like I used to. I have read over four thousand books, though.
You, Emma, offered the best advice once when you said, when confronting a known classic that might be confusing you, to trust the writer and, "Just keep going and it'll become clear." So true. Of course, something the inverse happens, and you find the fatal flaw or crutch, the gimmick, the lacuna at the core, and it deflates the greatness at once. That's useful too.
Que incrível eu não sabia que o Machado tinha esse reconhecimento internacional, estou muito feliz e me sinto representado, uso seus vídeos para treinar o meu inglês 😍
this is the first video i watch of yours, and usually i'm not down to hear people i'm not very familiar with ramble on at length BUT the way you speak and your analysis of each book besides all the great and interesting recommendations, god, i watched all the way through without skipping or speeding up and i rarely do that even with my favourite youtubers! i love the way you speak simply and how diverse your list was, i was specially hooked on when the first author was Gibran! i'll definitely check more of your videos out, you're so interesting :))
Thank you so much for this video, I'm going to buy Dorian Gray as soon as possible !! 💜 Now, here is a list of very very well known French classics, most of them studied at school, so I think they are suitable for starting to read classic litterature . (I put the names in French, but I think you can find the translation very easily ) : • Les Fleurs du mal by Charles Baudelaire • L'Étranger by Albert Camus • Les Misérables by Victor Hugo • Les Liaisons dangereuses by Choderlos de Laclos • Le Petit Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry • Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert • Cyrano de Bergerac by Edmond Rostand • Bel-Ami by Guy de Maupassant • Le Rouge et le Noir by Stendhal • Le Comte de Monte-Cristo by Alexandre Dumas • Les Trois Mousquetaires by Alexandre Dumas • Antigone by Jean Anouilh • L'Écume des jours by Boris Vian • La Peste by Albert Camus • La Nuit des temps by René Barjavel • Le Dernier Jour d'un condamné by Victor Hugo Have a good day, everyone !! 💜
Great video, and book reccs I pretty much went from modern generic self help-esque books, straight to The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky. Was definitely challenging but no regrets. Still is my favorite book to this day.
So happy that you included Machado de Assis on your list! As a Brazilian, I'll always defend this jewelry of an author who was ahead of his time. Imagine ironically reporting and criticizing a 19th-century society that you're part of as a black man. His writing is breathtaking, you can find so much fun with his books. Try reading Dom Casmurro or Memórias Póstumas de Brás Cubas and you'll truly understand what literature is about! 🥰
I'm SO DELIGHTED right now to see a brazilian author here, I'm brazilian and Machado de Assis it's my favorite national author. His books are really good, I love his writing and how deep we can reflect about the stories, it doesn't matter how many times you read one of his books, you will always realize something new if you read it again. He is one of our most important authors here and we are constantly reading his books and discussing them in our Portuguese classes. I would definitely recommend "The Posthumous Memoirs of Bras Cubas" and "Dom Casmuro" for you to read, this two books are master pieces.
I am forever obsessed about how Emmie remembers these books and shares them in detail sooo brilliantly. I mean ,,, her: (goes on about how the books are written, the details etc.) me: this book is amazing. READ IT!😅
“Charles Dickens likes to write sentences longer than the Mississippi River” resonated so deeply with my soul, like this man is one of my all time favorite authors and yet he makes my adhd brain suffer all the gd time
I probably have ADHD but personally I love run on sentences and stream of consciousness writing and sometimes it actually helps me concentrate and get through a book.
**Virginia Woolf has entered the chat**
I've only ever read A Christmas Carol by Dickens but I have a feeling I'd be in the same boat as you. I also have ADHD so I feel ya
*Chuckles in Marcel Proust*
Wow. I just discovered your awesome channel
You’re the kind of person that everyone wants as their best friend
100%
YES. ❤️
agreed. i wish i had someone to discuss classic literature with 😳😔
Can't agree more.
Absolutely
im not an English lit student but I need you as my English lit teacher
How in the world I've recognized you.. Hello bookish brews!
Where are you from? PK? Glad to see ppl loving literature.
@@areeshakhan3427 hiiii
@@muhammadhanzilah7395 yes I am
Would love to chat about literature and books if its easy for you, cause i literally am in expedition to make friends those are bookholics :p
0:00- Intro
4:30 - The Broken Wings by Kahlil Gibran
8:00 - The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde
11:46 - Pro Tip #1
13:11 - The Alienist by Machado de Assis
16:19 - Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
18:21 - Pro Tip #2
19:50 - Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
23:07 - Giovanni’s Room by James Baldwin
26:07 - The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grathame
28:53 - Snow Country by Yasunari Kawabata
31:57 - Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton
35:05 - Perfume by Patrick Suskind
I believe you made a mistake while writing one of the authors' names. It's not Kablil Bibran it's Khalil Gibran.
But he is also referred in English as Kahlil for some reason...
@@user-rq7jn9ce9i Thanks for catching that.
thanks
thank you!!!
So many good recommendations! If I could add a few, I'd put:
•Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë
• Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier
• The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett (another children's classic, yay!)
• Steppenwolf by Herman Hesse (the structure can be a bit weird at first, but when the story fully kicks in you're in for a ride lmao)
• The Martian Chronicles or Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury (for those who enjoy sci-fi)
• Pedro Páramo by Juan Rulfo (a piece of classical Mexican literature, said to be the inspiration for One Hundred Years of Solitude)
I would add las batallas en el desierto (the desert battles?) By jose emilio pacheco, it is short and easy to read.
I found pedro paramo a bit too hard, but it was a fun read. I might need to read it couple more times to understand it hahaha
Love Rebecca!!
@@heyyouyou1000 Hahaha totally agree, Pedro Páramo can be hard to follow at times. But I thought the magical realism element was amazing. Also I've never heard about Pacheco, but i'll be checking it out for sure
@@ashleycaralee1369 Yay! Maybe i'm just too stupid, but I totally didn't see that twist coming :)
@@valel1879 i hope you like it :)
I knew Dorian Gray would be on this list! This is the book that made me realize classics could be engrossing and accessible to people today
For me, the book that really made me feel that way was my favourite book of all time, The Catcher in the Rye.
@Lady Macbeth Haha I guess its how your going into it and how your reading it, and also it comes down to personal preference. For some people its not the book for them, and for others its not the right time in their life to read it or they're not in the right state of mind.
For me it was Alice in Wonderland, Oliver Twist and Pride and Prejudice that got me into classics. Haven't read Dorian Gray yet, but I want to read it very soon 🤩
@@leonmayne797 i like the book but i kind of hate the vocabulary? like why does he say sonovabitch every two seconds.. i don’t know maybe it’s the raging lesbian in me just absolutely hating the level of MAN this character is. i don’t know it’s a cool look into just a terrible humans mind but personally i’m not very good at enjoying books with “protagonists” i don’t like or relate to
@@yviivy Firstly, I like and relate to the protagonist and that's one of the main reasons why I even enjoyed the book to begin with.
Secondly, he speaks like that because he's from New York in the 50s.
Thirdly, if you have a book with a protagonist you relate to I probably don't want to read that either.
The writing in The Picture of Dorian Gray is so unique. I remember reading the first couple of chapters and literally smelling roses and and linen. It felt beautiful without luscious prose somehow.
I know right! It is so beautifully written that you can actually feel yourself in the environment and you can actually picture the characters and even hear their voices 🦋🦋
The Picture of Dorian Gray has a special place in my heart since it was the first classic lit novel I read 🧡✨
the first couple of pages were my absolute favorite
Has anyone ever told you how beautiful your voice is? It’s rich like chocolate or honey.
Exactly. I love hearing her talk
it feels like warm tea with honey
Like liquid chocolate
Right like it’s just so “I love classic lit want recommendations” like it feels so right for someone like her
Some people don’t understand the impact of RUclips videos… until they see someone who inspires them so much in just a few mins, thats you for me!
You should definitely make videos on how you annotate your books and write your essays 💜🥺
Russian literature (my favorite literature) got me into classics.. Dostoevsky is my favorite I’ve read everything by him. Immediately read Tolstoy, Turgenev, Chekhov’s short stories, Bulgakov, and Nabokov. Dickens is another favorite I’ve read a handful of his books and they’re unbelievably charming. Crime and Punishment, The Brothers Karamazov, Anna Karenina, War and Peace, Great Expectations, Bleak House, A Tale of Two Cities, Wuthering Heights, Don Quixote and Les Miserables are all favorites of mine. And all fantastic places to start I think.
I absolutely adore Les Miserables!!! And I quite enjoy Dickens and Dostoevsky as well. Tolstoy's works on on my bucket list. I
f I might ask, what exactly do you love about Don Quixote? I am reading it now (about half way through) and am not very enamored of it so far. I feel like there must be more than I'm getting out of it, but am not sure what exactly. I'd be interested to hear the thoughts of someone who really enjoys it.
Perfume: Story of A Murderer is one of the books that got me excited about reading in general. Which is both a blessing and a curse because I have yet to read a book as good as it since.
I had to read it in school and absolutely despised it 😅
My favorite book ever
I think there is a movie or series about this.
@@carlottaschmitz3441 We had to read it at school but I skipped it. Picked it up after some time on my own and it’s one of my favorite books now, probably my favorite
@@fae4513 There is a movie, but the book is so much better because it’s hard to describe smells visually. The way the smells were described in the book made you almost be able to smell them yourself, it was such an interesting concept
i'm actually in an English major and English is not my first language (it's Spanish) and yes reading classics is really overwhelming especially if it's not your first language, at least for me what it helped me was start with short stories or poems so you can go slow with unknown words. Also start with classical short stories like a 20th century author for me are a way easier than ancient authors. Another thing you can do is let the text flows naturally, when i read the scarlet letter it was hard for some words but as long as you know the context or what is happening is fine.💗
I absolutely love Dorian Gray. The plot is so good .
Hey, I'm Brazilian and it was a surprise to see a foreigner recommend a Machado de Assis novel, it made me feel happy somehow lol💙
aaaaaa sim! senti o mesmo
nossa,simm, fiquei tão feliz
simm
Que satisfação ver o Bruxo do Cosme Velho sendo recomendado, hein?
nossa simm
me who’s not planning to read classics anytime soon but is watching anyway because it’s emma: 👁👄👁
Still can't get enough of your mild voice and manner, thank you.
I honestly cannot tell you enough how much your videos help me deal with my anxiety, plus to expand my understanding of literature of course. Thank you for all the effort you put into your channel!
If you’re getting into Machado de Assis, you might also enjoy Dom Casmurro, it’s still a really discussed book in Brazilian literature to this day and it has incredibly intriguing characters and wonderful writing
yes, excellent
in the UK spotify has released some free classic audio books and that has really helped me get into classics as I can follow along but also listen whilst im dog walking/driving etc. I've conquered 'frankenstein' and 'the awakening' this year so far and I'm really eager to continue opening my mind to more classics.
I've been enjoying them too, hope they do more.
If you haven't read Dracula there is a really good reading on Spotify read by a guy called Mike Bennett, he has 2 chapters left to upload mind.
really love you emmie ✨ I’m a huge classic lit nerd so this ones right up my alley. Thank you for your recommendations 🙂
NATILIE
You are one of the influencers that helped me get on track with my mental health
“Charles dickens likes to write sentences longer than the Mississippi River”
Me: *laughs in Portuguese language in which there are sentences that can be literally one paragraph long*
?????? Every language can have sentences that are a paragraph long
@@CanalPanendithas I know. Syntactically speaking it is much more common for Portuguese to have a longer sentence filled with commas and many ideas. Which is not as common in the English language. But I know that this is not exclusive to Portuguese. I used Portuguese as an example because I’m Brazilian so it’s to what I relate closely :)
@@larissaprates1384 Could you share your sources for this affirmation? Have you ever opened a Woolf or a dickens book?
"syntactically speaking" I find that very hard to believe
@@CanalPanendithas I literally studied that at university with a professor who has a PhD. But hey, I’ve said it twice that what I meant isn’t exclusive of one another (as in only one is correct). And yes, I have read both Woolf and Dickens. Why, now, is my opinion valid?
I heard that this is also the case for German, but I am not sure if this is true. I only speak English and French and am more used to the grammar of both of these languages.
I want to add some things to this list: Hemingway would be a great entry into the classics. Some people hate his short, choppy sentences but it's so clear and easy reading and you're amazed that he can say something so clearly in so few words. Rudyard Kipling and Jules Verne would probably be considered classic children's authors, but an adventure book like Treasure Island or Around the World in 80 days is so entertaining. Also, I think the Hound of the Baskervilles is a great place to start- novella length so not intimidatingly long, but the language and situations are still that 19th century formality that you have to get used to, and everyone loves a murder mystery. The language in County of the Pointed Firs by Sara Orne Jewett is also lovely, and the book is nice and short.
I'm literally not even ten seconds in and I can tell you right now the video is good from the unfathomable amounts of Matilda vibes from you and the thumbnail alone.
I would recommend anyone trying to get into classics to start with what interests you. There's no need to read Dickins if you have no interest in doing so. Find classics that appeal to you, either an interest in the writer or the premise. It will motivate you to read because you will enjoy it more than following a prescriptive list.
Appriciate how well spoken you are. No ums or ahs, you can even tell it's not scripted.
I literally just picked up Perfume yesterday and i’m LOVING it.
Perfume is such a fantastic book, I’m excited for you to try it out! I loved its descriptive writing, and the way Suskind described smell is just phenomenal.
And I don't know if it was supposed to be as funny as it was, I literally laughed so many times while reading it.
oh emma, you make me want to become the best version of myself that I can be, and I can't thank you enough for that.
also your taste is impeccable.
i recently found your channel through your video on what a first year english major has to study and I've been *loving* your videos, i love that they're usually long, it just brings me so much joy to sit down in a cozy setting with snack or a drink and watch you talk about literature, it has been my favourite part of my days lately, thank you make these lovely videos🤗
giovanni’s room is so freaking good 🤍 i just read ‘begin again’ by eddie s glaude which is full of excerpts from baldwin’s essays and newly uncovered interviews, he is so singular and brilliant it’s a privilege just to be able to experience his words i highly recommend his nonfiction
I love the way you speak, your voice is so calming while your choice of vocabulary is tremendous
I died at the 100 years of solitude reference 😂💀
For the most part I didn’t find it that hard to get through or understand who was who or what was going on personally, but I fell off so close to the end like I often do with books, which was kind of gutting.
I didn't even looked at the title, I was so excited
I love that you do your world wide tour in literature. That's so important for new readers to widen their horizons ❤️
Crime and Punishment is the one that led me right into reading any piece of classic literature without fear. Even as a literature student, I feared every classic. I then met my husband, who told me that his favorite author was Dostoyevski. His favorite book, The Brothers Karamazov, was too intimidating at the time, but I picked up Crime and Punishment and didn't put it back down until I finished it a few days later. I immediately transitioned into The Brothers Karamazov, which is now also my favorite novel (all time favorite piece of literature is Whitman's "Song of Myself"). After The Brothers Karamazov, I read Steinbeck's Grapes of Wrath and fell in love. Now, I'm not afraid of any piece of writing. I am excited to read your recommendations that I haven't read.
when you said Machado de Assis my brazilian ass got so excited lol i really wasn't expecting for his name to be on this video, i'm so happy! His works are amazing (well, i read then in portuguese so idk about the translation but it's probably really good) and i'm sure you'll love it! He's so famous here that when you simply say "did she cheat or not?" EVERYONE knows it's about one if his books (Dom Casmurro). So good!
AHHHH thank you so much! I was in a reading slump but your channel has rekindled my love for reading. I'm graduating from high school soon and I'm gonna major in Literature! My entrance exam is on April 20th, soo fingers crossed! >~
Hey! All the best for your exam! I hope it goes really well!!
@@Afrah03 it was moved to next month 🤧 but thank youuu anyways 🥺💛 stay safe!
@@melaviosa7152 Ah okay! :D Yep stay safe!
Omg how did you do?
your voice is so calming and relaxing :(was seriously having the worst anxiety day and i'm so glad i clicked on this
Thank you for motivating me to pick up a book in my language which for the longest time I couldn't do. I've always wanted to start reading khalil gibran, I heard alot about him come up in everyday conversation since he's a really respected author in my country. I'm grateful that I have Arabic language privilege so I can read The Broken Wings in its original text 💙
ooh that must be an amazing experience. My grandma was lebanese, but she moved here when she was a teen and forgot the language, so I'm not familiar with it at all. But I want to get closer to her culture now she's gone, so I'm gonna pick up Gibran's book. Hopefully you like it!
LOVE that ive found a booktuber whos not afraid of long form videos. I love relaxing for a while with ur vids
Oh man, I love this video! I’ve been obsessed with reading my whole life (even worked in bookstores for years), but succumbed to “gifted burnout” a while back and pretty much stopped reading for a long time. This video singlehandedly revived my love of reading, so thanks! ☺️
I'm not sure how I stumbled into your video(s) but I just want to say that your voice is so soothing yet it's not...boring? You have one of those voices that I can listen to while still understanding the content, even though I'm multitasking with something else. Which is great because sometimes I want to focus on some work but I don't feel like listening to music. I've never read a classic book before. But I want to pick up reading again, so I'll try some of these. Thank you for your amazing contents!
This is exactly the video I was looking for, I’ve struggled to read classics since I was forced to read pride and prejudice my sophomore year of highschool and disliked every moment of it. I think I just needed some beginner classics first in order to enjoy it, so thanks for all the awesome recommendations!
Ethan Frome was such an impressive read, I definitely agree that it’s a good book to get into classics. The characters were so interesting and layered.
Growing up I loved reading children’s books such as A little princess , little lord Fauntleroy , The enchanted castle , Little women ,etc and my love for classic literature has only grown !! Many of my friends think they are boring but I find them rather enjoyable and comforting 😌
Your voice is so calming you could talk for hours and I would do nothing but simply listen to you. Also I will definitely try out the books you named. :)
"slowly work your way backwards"
my literature teachers: ok everyone so we're gonna start with dem Greeks 👊
this was just the video i needed right now because i want to get into more classical literature💞 thank you emmie
As a Brazilian, I was so happy to see Machado on your list! ❤️
I'm 48 and probably not the demographic that watches your videos.... but I loved this so much! I've been a voracious reader since I could first read. My first love has always been books~~~~I haven't read a couple of the books you recommended, but I totally agree with your choices of Ethan Fromme(which is pure brilliance...so bleak, but I like my sad literature), The Wind in the Willows. I didn't care for Giovanni's room enough to consider it a classic(in my own eyes), but it's ok to have different opinions on books. I added to my Amazon order The Broken Wings as well as Snow Country. I tend to consider a classic as a book written prior to 1950. I have always enjoyed Stephen King and literary fiction and classics. However, the older I get the more I want to read exclusively classics. I feel pulled in that direction and I'm just fine with that. Although, I'll always read King, too. So King and Classics for the win.
“Dickens likes to write sentences longer than the Mississippi River”
😂
i haven't read any books that weren't for school for soooo long that i actually thought i can't enjoy them anymore and you changed my mind haha, so thank you for that :) I started reading The Broken Wings and i'm crying so hard, my voice is trembling and quite frankly i'm in love with it
Classics is something I could never get myself into reading. But absolutely love this video and I bought five of the books you mentioned and I'm already loving "The broken wings". All your videos are aesthetically pleasing and calm and makes one happy! Thank you and lots of love! ❤️❤️🌼🌼
Going backwards in time is excellent advice. I also recommend sticking to your native country at first, so reading American classics before hoping to British (if you’re American). I started with Count of Monte Cristo and beat myself down when I couldn’t get a grip on it. Then I picked up Gone with the Wind and it was much more accessible!
look at you recommending clarice lispector and machado de assis!!! aaaah, i'm brazilian and it makes me really happy to see booktubers and people in general appreciating brazilian literature
I liked a lot of your suggestions! I'm a lit major too and classical literature can be so intimidating to do even for me, much less the average person. I agree with your point on tackling smaller works first and I think a great starting place is shorter novels, such as The Pearl or Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck. I read both of these in middle school and loved them, they are very short and (while not without flaws) the endings are very powerful.
I think it is also important to acknowledge that some books really benefit from being read under the guise of a teacher who can guide you through a reading and help you establish the context of a work. For example, I would not have gotten a solid understanding of Slaughterhouse-Five if I had read it on my own. If you don't have access to this, don't be afraid to use guides like Sparknotes! They do tend to spell things out for you which is a bummer and they do not catch everything, but looking at their guides *after* you read something can point out things to you that you missed on your own.
I'd really love to listen to you talk about the problematic nature of the literary canon! I feel like the exclusionary nature of it is starting to be tackled in literature studies and I'd love to hear your thoughts about it!
Your voice is really good. So calm and logical.
I am Brazilian and I discovered your channel yesterday. I am very happy to know that you have indicated Machado de Assis, he is a great Brazilian writer and finally people outside Brazil are discovering this brilliant man!
A tip: Try to read Dom Casmurro, it is his masterpiece.
Great recommendations! I would also recommend:
- The master an Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov. A bit lenghty, but so beautiful and it played in my head as muture studio Ghibli film
- The Collector by John Fowles
- Nights at the circus by Angela Carter
- Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keys. I´ve never cried so much and felt so much over a book, as I did reading this
Flower for Algernon was soooooooo good, post-reading blues are definitely the hardest. 😩♥️♥️
you have the most sweetest, calmest and prettiest voice i have ever heard
Never new Perfume was a classic. Read it because of Kurt Cobain. September 2020 was my third time through haha
I stumbled on one of your videos yesterday and now am in absolute love with them. You have the most soothing voice. These recommendations are fantastic. Love that you included books that are not usually talked about.
Love this video! Giovanni's Room is on my 2021 TBR, I'm so excited to finally read it
heyy emilyy, i´m from brazil and i´m actually so happy you mentioned Machado on this video!!! brazilian´s literature really shoud be given more apreciation, so it´s really cool to see you talking about it S2 !
emma * 😂
As a brazilian, I'm very happy that you recommended Machado de Assis cause I barely see brazilian authors being recognized worldwide
I completely agree!
The first classic I read was "The Picture of Dorian Gray". I was under the impression that it would be really hard to read. Boy was I wrong. The writing is accessible and fascinating. Truly one of the greatest books out there. And a great start to classical literature!
My recommendations:
1. Jane Eyre
2. Great Expectations
3. Sherlock Holmes
i love how you pull from non-european classics as well! i'll be checking these out!
As a classics reader and someone who tries to make people read ( because it makes me sad to think all the great stories that they are missing), excelent job!! I may star quoting you!!🤗🤗❤
Thank you for making this video. I've been hoping to delve into the classics a bit more and just didn't know where to start ☺
Me, a third year lit student who has to read multiple classics every month: 👁👄👁
The first classic I read in a long long time was Little Women and it’s easily one of my favorite books of all time. I can’t wait to read more classics, I’m adding all of these to my list.
I LOVE Frankenstein! It was my first scifi book and my first (literary) encounter with humanism. The themes of creation and power are so intelligently explored and have been speculated to be indicative of Mary's own emotions about her mother, Mary Wollstonecraft, who died during childbirth. Mary Shelley's a genius and I love her.
i’m reading it rn and it’s so boring i’m on page 50, does it get better??
Your way of expressing is so intelligently palatable, and what you emphasize is good orientation and worthwhile to take in.
This video was literally for me as I was searching for some recommendations for beginners to start reading classics and you uploaded a video!😍 I would start reading the broken wings soon. Thanks Emma🙂😊❣.
This was my first time watching a video of yours and I feel like I could have listened to you talk forever. Great content!
Uhulll, Machado! I recommend João Guimarães Rosa, my favorite brazilian author!
hearing you talk so passionately about these books is so delightful idk hehe
Great video ✨ I loved “The importance of being earnest” by Oscar Wilde when I started getting into classic literature. It was so much fun and easy to read.
I love how you chill you are! Love your videos Emma!
Great list! Loved the One Hundred Years of Solitude reference 😂 Perfume was required reading in one of my high school literature classes in Turkey! Absolute thrill ride. So so creepy but you just can't put it down.
I could listen to you talk all day, I really like your voice! It's very calming
Must-read classics: Great Expectations, Jane Eyre, Wuthering Heights, Pride and Prejudice (but I prefer Northanger Abbey), and anything by Shakespeare.
Is jus me or everyone feels that all the booktubers have really calm and soothing personality.
I mean I follow quiet few of them n I really find them all very soothing and calming.
Loved the recommendations. 😃 Even though I’m German, we did not read Perfume at high school unfortunately, but I read it at home and it really is brilliant! Already at the beginning Süßkind describes nicely how badly it stinks in Paris and he did such a good job at it. (I know sounds weird... but read for yourself). The end is a little bit... “surprising” I think. 😂
Other than that I would also recommend “Fahrenheit 451” by Ray Bradbury if you want to start reading classics. It has very simple but beautiful language and the content is also very intriguing. And of course “The Woman in White” by Wilkie Collins which is an exciting mystery novel. 👌🏼
the picture of dorian gray and perfume are my absolute favourite books ever! I love that they're both on this list
Machado de Assis is one of the best brasilians writers. The Alienist is a book that we read when we are about the finish the school and it's a great book to start to read his books, but i reccomend you to read Dom Casmurro, his most famous book. I hope you like it
"Dom Casmurro" is brilliant!
Capitu is such a interesting female characther, one of the most iconic in Brazilian literature; And Bentinho (Dom Casmurro) it's such a tragic figure, full of complexity and obscure marks in the spirit.
And Machado's rithim and style. WOW!
Thank you for being you Emmie.
You have so many interests, like a patchwork quilt and I always love to listen to your voice. Thank you for all the inspiration.
There's so much great classic literature. I try to get through as much as I can. I don't read like I used to. I have read over four thousand books, though.
You, Emma, offered the best advice once when you said, when confronting a known classic that might be confusing you, to trust the writer and, "Just keep going and it'll become clear." So true. Of course, something the inverse happens, and you find the fatal flaw or crutch, the gimmick, the lacuna at the core, and it deflates the greatness at once. That's useful too.
Que incrível eu não sabia que o Machado tinha esse reconhecimento internacional, estou muito feliz e me sinto representado, uso seus vídeos para treinar o meu inglês 😍
this is the first video i watch of yours, and usually i'm not down to hear people i'm not very familiar with ramble on at length BUT the way you speak and your analysis of each book besides all the great and interesting recommendations, god, i watched all the way through without skipping or speeding up and i rarely do that even with my favourite youtubers! i love the way you speak simply and how diverse your list was, i was specially hooked on when the first author was Gibran! i'll definitely check more of your videos out, you're so interesting :))
Thank you so much for this video, I'm going to buy Dorian Gray as soon as possible !! 💜
Now, here is a list of very very well known French classics, most of them studied at school, so I think they are suitable for starting to read classic litterature . (I put the names in French, but I think you can find the translation very easily ) :
• Les Fleurs du mal by Charles Baudelaire
• L'Étranger by Albert Camus
• Les Misérables by Victor Hugo
• Les Liaisons dangereuses by Choderlos de Laclos
• Le Petit Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
• Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert
• Cyrano de Bergerac by Edmond Rostand
• Bel-Ami by Guy de Maupassant
• Le Rouge et le Noir by Stendhal
• Le Comte de Monte-Cristo by Alexandre Dumas
• Les Trois Mousquetaires by Alexandre Dumas
• Antigone by Jean Anouilh
• L'Écume des jours by Boris Vian
• La Peste by Albert Camus
• La Nuit des temps by René Barjavel
• Le Dernier Jour d'un condamné by Victor Hugo
Have a good day, everyone !! 💜
Great video, and book reccs
I pretty much went from modern generic self help-esque books, straight to The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky. Was definitely challenging but no regrets. Still is my favorite book to this day.
That's very bold of you to do that..
So happy that you included Machado de Assis on your list! As a Brazilian, I'll always defend this jewelry of an author who was ahead of his time. Imagine ironically reporting and criticizing a 19th-century society that you're part of as a black man. His writing is breathtaking, you can find so much fun with his books. Try reading Dom Casmurro or Memórias Póstumas de Brás Cubas and you'll truly understand what literature is about! 🥰
“What the hell is that” as she peers intently at the book cover. Lol. It’s a water rat. The Wind In The Willows is such a fun comforting read.
I'm SO DELIGHTED right now to see a brazilian author here, I'm brazilian and Machado de Assis it's my favorite national author.
His books are really good, I love his writing and how deep we can reflect about the stories, it doesn't matter how many times you read one of his books, you will always realize something new if you read it again.
He is one of our most important authors here and we are constantly reading his books and discussing them in our Portuguese classes. I would definitely recommend "The Posthumous Memoirs of Bras Cubas" and "Dom Casmuro" for you to read, this two books are master pieces.
Guys I'm wondering how can emma make all of these videos while she have college?and every video is so long wow she is amazing!
I am forever obsessed about how Emmie remembers these books and shares them in detail sooo brilliantly. I mean ,,,
her: (goes on about how the books are written, the details etc.)
me: this book is amazing. READ IT!😅