"Peter and Wendy" is lovely, but IMO "Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens", which preceded it, is one of the most heartbreakingly beautiful things ever written.
A few books you might enjoy: 1920's: Cather - Death Comes for the Archbishop - about place - New Mexico 1930's: Steinbeck -Grapes of Wrath - wonderful 2012: Rifka - Tell the Wolves I'm Home - poignant yet heart-warming Books I've read many times from late teens to my early 40's - Rand: The Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged - but I read them more as a study in individualism and humanity (if you don't stand for something, you'll fall for anything) rather than a primer on how to be a jerk politician and/or businessman and/or human. Enjoyed the video! Thank you! 🙏🏼✨🤓
Great video, including the accents 😉. Agatha Christie has some more famous novels. "And Then There Were None" is assigned at most high schools. Its original title was "Ten Little Indians" but was changed for obvious reasons. "The Murder of Roger Ackroyd" is famous because it's a book you can only *"experience"* once but re-read to appreciate its originality at the time (i.e.: Christie did it first). I just recently read a book that is hot in social media only to discover that the author imitated Ms. Christie. - "The Good Earth" is an incredible book. It's an easy, fast read with only a few characters yet it touches on deep issues we as humans relate to. Highly recommended. - "Roots" is an extraordinary masterpiece. I remember reading this in college and getting to this one sentence (which I still remember) that got me choked up. - "The Shining" is slightly different from the movie adaptation. I read the book after seeing the movie and prefer the book more. - "The Bonfire of the Vanities" is **THE** quintessential New York City book of the 1980s. It captures all the people, scenes and craziness that gives NYC its attitude and heartbeat and is so unforgettable. Skip the horrible movie adaptation.
Actually the original title of And Then There Were None was something else before it was changed to Indians . . . I won't even hint at it here other than to say, put it this way, it's the worst word you know.
The Maltese Falcon is so good, you truly feel like you are in San Francisco with how descriptive Hammett is. I also love that they have streets named after the book/author and a plaque where an important event in the book happened
Interesting about the Jane Addams book! Her work and Hull House are a huge piece of history regarding social work and social welfare. Us modern social workers who practice from a mutual aid model role our eyes at her and the social welfare theory of those times but it is history we can’t ignore! Still pondering how it made this list…. You gotta read all Willa Cather! O Pioneers is a masterpiece. She was mentored by Sarah Orne Jewett who happens to be from my neck of the woods! Seacoast NH/ME. Lots of amazing women who need to be read more! Great video idea!
I appreciate you not editing out that giggly segment ! You are fantastic! I totaled 23 of those books, but so many more were started and never finished!! Grrr
I'm a lurker but I'm not lurking today. You must read Pearl S Buck, Lonesome Dove, House on Mango Street and if you want to get into science fiction - Octavia E Butler is the way to go. I highly recommend starting with Kindred then picking up the Lilith's Brood trilogy - Dawn is the first book. So. Freaking, Good. Love your channel. xo
I agree with all the books from the 50's, but I would personally want to add "Lord of the Flies" to this list. I know that this is supposed to be books of the "American spirit", more or less, but I feel "Flies" transcends just being British or American and is a statement of mankind in general. It's also way up there among my all time favorites.
Omg Knausgaard's My struggle... I can see that the English translation took the easy route (its original title is Min Kamp/Mein Kampf. I haven't read anything by him but a lot of that book series' sequels reference something to do with Nazism such as "The third kingdom". )
Just because self-appointed authorities esteem "Ulysses" is not proof that others have to read "Ulysses" to be "devoted to reading." One would have hoped that was obvious. Honestly.
Book trivia: “The Magnificent Ambersons”earned Booth Tarkington his first Pulitzer. “The Dead” is the “party story” (and best) in the Joyce’s Dubliners collection. 1920’s / they left out “The Age of Innocence” by Edith Wharton and “Main Street” by Sinclair Lewis. I really liked “The Good Earth” by Pearl Buck when I read as a teenager. The author was born in China daughter of missionaries. She created a fascinating story of a striving peasant family. When Mao came to power she was no longer welcomed in China.The realism of her writing was not appreciated. 1960’s: “The Group” by Mary McCarthy (it’s really good). I’ve heard of most of the books you mentioned. Several were read as school assignments which varied by our different generations. “In Cold Blood” was assigned reading in 10th grade during the 1970’s. With today’s current climate it probably wouldn’t be assigned at all. (Trigger warnings, etc)
if you want to introduce science fiction Asimov is the way to go i’ve read this year the two prequels to the foundation trilogy and it was such a good read , he writes so well
Can you do a most-hated or critically panned books of every decade too? I wouldn't be surprised if half of them ended up becoming cult classics or just didn't find their audience until decades later.
8:23 Re: the question you asked about popular books from 100 years ago being difficult to read - remember that the literacy rate in the US was lower back then, and generally fewer people received a solid education. So, to oversimplify, the overall number of American adults reading popular books was lower, meaning that readers with the privilege of being highly educated and well-read (often rich, white, male, etc.) were driving popular book sales way more than they are today. Not to mention that the publishing industry and academia were dominated by men!
The Good Earth is one of my favorite books. Don't want to give spoilers but there are several instances where, um, cultural sensibilities are different.
You might want to lower your expectations as it pertains to people reading popular titles from the early twentieth century. Most younger readers today aren't that deep. University professors are complaining students can't read entire books!
If young people weren’t reading, there would not be the enormous supply of young people fiction on the shelves that currently exists. Young people have NEVER been “that deep” and those “university professors” sound like Boomers 🙄
I’ve read the first five or so pages of Ulysses about ten time. Each time I just cannot form an image in my head of what the heck is going on and I bail in disgust. Like “Infinite Jest,” it’s just not worth it.
I find it so interesting there's novels by female authors on the 'most popular' lists from the early 20th century.......yet very few of those became declared 'classics'. Hmmm, perhaps letting male critics define for all of us what's 'good' or not is absurd
You want a good western... read "Blood Meridien" by Cormac McCarthy. BTW... Be careful with those hot juices dripping on you and, also, that hot cup of tea. Peace on earth.
Thanks. You're enjoyable to watch and listen to. I liked the list, that is, I was entertained by it and your commentary, but the lists are not very representative. No Dreiser, no Anais Nin, no Edith Wharton, no Hesse. I think you should read "Lonesome Dove" since you want to get into cowboy/western novels. It's a real hoot and very easy but engaging reading. You will definitely like it. And I want you to do a video on it, too, because I know you'll make it be very funny and enjoyable.
So follow up read Metamorphisis, There There Stranger In Strange Land. Am currently reading Infinet Jest he wrot another book about tennis forget the name. Much shorter and easier to read. I. J. is a biographical novel then he committed suicide.
It makes sense that children's books are so represented in the 40's given that that was the start of the baby boomer generation. Lotta babies to read to before bed
if you want to read more sci fi do not go for heinlein, whose fiction is uncomfortably sexist. i think you might like philip k dick or samuel delany, who wrote very weird sci fi
Peter and Wendy by JM Barrie... better known as "Peter Pan" (can't believe Lit Hub didn't include that important fact!)
Lol right?! 😂 I was like “Of course you’ve heard of it!” But not everyone will make the leap 😊
I read this recently and I was surprised how dark it was
"Peter and Wendy" is lovely, but IMO "Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens", which preceded it, is one of the most heartbreakingly beautiful things ever written.
@orpheusgoeselectric I've never heard of that, I'll have to check it out
I find the chapter entitled "Lock Out Time" to be particularly moving.
The struggle through the Brussels spouts joke only for the punchline to be “wow” killed me
Clearly she was implying 'Oleg's balls'.
You have a wicked sense of humor! Love it!!
A few books you might enjoy:
1920's: Cather - Death Comes for the Archbishop - about place - New Mexico
1930's: Steinbeck -Grapes of Wrath - wonderful
2012: Rifka - Tell the Wolves I'm Home - poignant yet heart-warming
Books I've read many times from late teens to my early 40's - Rand: The Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged - but I read them more as a study in individualism and humanity (if you don't stand for something, you'll fall for anything) rather than a primer on how to be a jerk politician and/or businessman and/or human.
Enjoyed the video! Thank you! 🙏🏼✨🤓
Grapes of Wrath is spectacular and devastating. One of the most powerful endings I’ve ever read and the entire book is just GORGEOUSLY written!
John steinbeck or boyd cable?
Also thank you for not having ads through the whole video! ❤❤❤
@@thehorrorwasforlove Steinbeck. Don’t know the other guy.
@@Lari-lc3zqlol thanks
Yes, I also prefer Grapes of Wrath over East of Eden😊
Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien is fantastic, so dark and surreal, haunting portrayal of a soldier's mindset/ptsd
Great video, including the accents 😉.
Agatha Christie has some more famous novels. "And Then There Were None" is assigned at most high schools. Its original title was "Ten Little Indians" but was changed for obvious reasons. "The Murder of Roger Ackroyd" is famous because it's a book you can only *"experience"* once but re-read to appreciate its originality at the time (i.e.: Christie did it first). I just recently read a book that is hot in social media only to discover that the author imitated Ms. Christie.
-
"The Good Earth" is an incredible book. It's an easy, fast read with only a few characters yet it touches on deep issues we as humans relate to. Highly recommended.
-
"Roots" is an extraordinary masterpiece. I remember reading this in college and getting to this one sentence (which I still remember) that got me choked up.
-
"The Shining" is slightly different from the movie adaptation. I read the book after seeing the movie and prefer the book more.
-
"The Bonfire of the Vanities" is **THE** quintessential New York City book of the 1980s. It captures all the people, scenes and craziness that gives NYC its attitude and heartbeat and is so unforgettable. Skip the horrible movie adaptation.
Actually the original title of And Then There Were None was something else before it was changed to Indians . . . I won't even hint at it here other than to say, put it this way, it's the worst word you know.
@@nobbynoris Did not know that. I looked it up and found out. OMG.
The Maltese Falcon is so good, you truly feel like you are in San Francisco with how descriptive Hammett is. I also love that they have streets named after the book/author and a plaque where an important event in the book happened
YES I was just bingeing your videos yesterday. Perfect timing.
love this video! I love to learn about obscure classics
Interesting about the Jane Addams book! Her work and Hull House are a huge piece of history regarding social work and social welfare. Us modern social workers who practice from a mutual aid model role our eyes at her and the social welfare theory of those times but it is history we can’t ignore! Still pondering how it made this list….
You gotta read all Willa Cather! O Pioneers is a masterpiece. She was mentored by Sarah Orne Jewett who happens to be from my neck of the woods! Seacoast NH/ME. Lots of amazing women who need to be read more!
Great video idea!
Invisible Man is such a great read!
Books, dude. 📚 They're the best 💯.
I appreciate you not editing out that giggly segment ! You are fantastic!
I totaled 23 of those books, but so many more were started and never finished!! Grrr
You MUST read Grapes of Wrath!
I'm a lurker but I'm not lurking today. You must read Pearl S Buck, Lonesome Dove, House on Mango Street and if you want to get into science fiction - Octavia E Butler is the way to go. I highly recommend starting with Kindred then picking up the Lilith's Brood trilogy - Dawn is the first book. So. Freaking, Good. Love your channel. xo
I agree with all the books from the 50's, but I would personally want to add "Lord of the Flies" to this list. I know that this is supposed to be books of the "American spirit", more or less, but I feel "Flies" transcends just being British or American and is a statement of mankind in general. It's also way up there among my all time favorites.
Excuse me, you never heard of Peter Pan, Ana? :( Peter Pan is sad now..
Glad I'm not the only one who hadn't heard of a lot of these....
There are books that when read will leave many unforgettable things and you will want to read them over and over again because they are so good.
Not only is Lonesome Dove a spectacular book, but also your inner lingo would be so very pleased to meet it's lingo.
I audibly gasped when you said you hadn't heard of Peter Pan. I didn't even know that was possible
I think you'd enjoy The Little Prince now, it's not really just for kids
22:00 "i wanna say" lol your dads advice. I had an 80 yr old woman [my professor] tell me that once😂 she was so sweet.
Oh I just read The Shinning, loved it! Then watched the movie, there are some differences (i believe King hates the movie) but I really enjoyed both.
The brussel sprouts joke and the piano coming in at "what we talk about when we talk about love" lmaooo you're too funny
Omg Knausgaard's My struggle... I can see that the English translation took the easy route (its original title is Min Kamp/Mein Kampf. I haven't read anything by him but a lot of that book series' sequels reference something to do with Nazism such as "The third kingdom". )
Honestly, having a whole youtube channel devoted to reading and never having read 'Ulysses' is kinda......Queen energy
Just because self-appointed authorities esteem "Ulysses" is not proof that others have to read "Ulysses" to be "devoted to reading." One would have hoped that was obvious. Honestly.
You might really like Nightwood
Also if you want a Bolaño I'd try Savage Detectives or By Night in Chile (a shorty)!
Book trivia:
“The Magnificent Ambersons”earned Booth Tarkington his first Pulitzer.
“The Dead” is the “party story” (and best) in the Joyce’s Dubliners collection.
1920’s / they left out “The Age of Innocence” by Edith Wharton and “Main Street” by Sinclair Lewis.
I really liked “The Good Earth” by Pearl Buck when I read as a teenager. The author was born in China daughter of missionaries. She created a fascinating story of a striving peasant family. When Mao came to power she was no longer welcomed in China.The realism of her writing was not appreciated.
1960’s: “The Group” by Mary McCarthy (it’s really good).
I’ve heard of most of the books you mentioned. Several were read as school assignments which varied by our different generations. “In Cold Blood” was assigned reading in 10th grade during the 1970’s. With today’s current climate it probably wouldn’t be assigned at all. (Trigger warnings, etc)
I would love to watch you make a video like you did previously of big book, but this time little book, for those of us who have short attention span
Sherwood Anderson is definitely worth a read
If you like the Helter Skelter, you should definitely read How to make friends and influence people. It was Charlie's favorite book.
you have to read The Metamorphosis! you'll love it!
and The Things They Carried, I can't believe you haven't read that either
if you want to introduce science fiction Asimov is the way to go
i’ve read this year the two prequels to the foundation trilogy and it was such a good read , he writes so well
Can you do a most-hated or critically panned books of every decade too? I wouldn't be surprised if half of them ended up becoming cult classics or just didn't find their audience until decades later.
Ooh, I really want to read Nightwood
8:23 Re: the question you asked about popular books from 100 years ago being difficult to read - remember that the literacy rate in the US was lower back then, and generally fewer people received a solid education. So, to oversimplify, the overall number of American adults reading popular books was lower, meaning that readers with the privilege of being highly educated and well-read (often rich, white, male, etc.) were driving popular book sales way more than they are today. Not to mention that the publishing industry and academia were dominated by men!
So are you saying that books today are not as difficult because it's mostly women who are readers?
The Good Earth is one of my favorite books. Don't want to give spoilers but there are several instances where, um, cultural sensibilities are different.
I take a bit of umbrage at seeing The Great Gatsby in the 1920's category, mainly because it really wasn't popular until after WWII.
You might want to lower your expectations as it pertains to people reading popular titles from the early twentieth century. Most younger readers today aren't that deep. University professors are complaining students can't read entire books!
If young people weren’t reading, there would not be the enormous supply of young people fiction on the shelves that currently exists. Young people have NEVER been “that deep” and those “university professors” sound like Boomers 🙄
Riders Of The Purple Sage is great!
I’ve read the first five or so pages of Ulysses about ten time. Each time I just cannot form an image in my head of what the heck is going on and I bail in disgust. Like “Infinite Jest,” it’s just not worth it.
I find it so interesting there's novels by female authors on the 'most popular' lists from the early 20th century.......yet very few of those became declared 'classics'. Hmmm, perhaps letting male critics define for all of us what's 'good' or not is absurd
You want a good western... read "Blood Meridien" by Cormac McCarthy.
BTW... Be careful with those hot juices dripping on you
and, also, that hot cup of tea.
Peace on earth.
I'm surprised Confendency of Dunces isn't on this list.
Wing Biddlebaum in Winesburg. I mean, yes!
Infinite Jest mentioned 🫨🫨
The Good Earth is excellent!
i personally think that those books defined decades in USA, but in Europe some decades could be filled with different books and topics
The heck is verbal cubism?¿¡
Thanks. You're enjoyable to watch and listen to. I liked the list, that is, I was entertained by it and your commentary, but the lists are not very representative. No Dreiser, no Anais Nin, no Edith Wharton, no Hesse. I think you should read "Lonesome Dove" since you want to get into cowboy/western novels. It's a real hoot and very easy but engaging reading. You will definitely like it. And I want you to do a video on it, too, because I know you'll make it be very funny and enjoyable.
Please read Kavelier and Clay!
Proof that popularity means nothing.
I would argue that Gatsby didn’t really define the 20s, nor was it popular during the decade. It didn’t become popular until WWII.
I think it’s fair to say it retrospectively defined the 20s.
So which book did?
How come Madonna’s notorious 1992 book, Sex, is never on these lists?
If you do end up reading Agatha Christie, start with And Then There Were None
If you only ever read one western make it lonesome dove.
That was quite a romp… 😂
Make Zane Grey famous again. Just for the sake of his cool name.
How do u get a book from the bottom of that book tower?
So i may add a comment later but Peter Pan yes Ulysis high school reguired Farenhiet 451 hischool reguired 1984 yes
So follow up read Metamorphisis, There There Stranger In Strange Land. Am currently reading Infinet Jest he wrot another book about tennis forget the name. Much shorter and easier to read. I. J. is a biographical novel then he committed suicide.
Ana, babe, you gotta hop on the Lord of the Rings train!!!! You won’t regret it!!!!!
It makes sense that children's books are so represented in the 40's given that that was the start of the baby boomer generation. Lotta babies to read to before bed
To me, any list that leaves off the great Henry Valentine Miller renders itself negligible.
Who?😂 also do you say "renders itself negligible" in your daily life?
@thehorrorwasforlove Henry Miller. The greatest writer of the 20th century.
Nail color please!
Anyone else here obsessed with Olivia's Cooper "Manifestation Hacks"? It's like discovering a secret treasure map of manifestation!
Don’t have faith in Don DeLillo. White Noise is also so bad 😂
What's your favorite book of all time mama ☺️😉🙀🙈
You haven’t read Kafka?! 😱
Kafka on The Shore by Haruki Murakami, not KAFKA😂
@ No? She spoke about The Metamorphosis then spoke about Kafka on the Shore later, so what do you mean?
@ No? She spoke about The Metamorphosis then spoke about Kafka on the Shore later, so what do you mean?
I mean… lots of people haven’t read Kafka. What is the purpose of this comment?
@@Lari-lc3zq It's just a comment of surprise given the fact that Kafka is a seminal author.
if you want to read more sci fi do not go for heinlein, whose fiction is uncomfortably sexist. i think you might like philip k dick or samuel delany, who wrote very weird sci fi
how beautiful you look ...
Please, what's your insta? I loooove your fancy aesthetic and book taste!