I also loved The Hopkin's Manuscript (love all RC Sherriff's books) as you say it is both frightening and hilarious. I could imagine Hopkins living very comfortably in Tilling with Mapp and Lucia, matching them for pettiness. It's also incredibly prescient, I kept reading aloud and astonished the bits that just appeared to be talking about Brexit, in fact it's so spookily right about things that I keep checking the moon isn't getting any closer!
Jen, I think this type of video is probably my favorite that you do! I just love the balance of book discussions and walking and cooking content. And I'm sure you enjoy making them. :) Off the top of my head, I think the oldest book on my shelf is a book my cousin, who's not much of a reader, was gifted by one of their favorite teachers and liked and gave to me cause she knew I liked reading. I would say this video has definitely inspired me to finally pick it up this year. I suppose it's like one of those super special things that you put off because, after you've completed it, it won't feel the same, haha. But I think it's time. Oh and really, really wanna pick up The Hopkins Manuscript and probably gift it to my mom, too.
Well I paused it in the middle to go find a copy of The Hopkins Manuscript.. happy to report I have a 1974 Ed. en route! I always adore your recs. Thank you!
I think the Princess Bride is the book I've owned the longest. My brother gave it to me for Christmas when I was a teenager and I'm nearly 30 so I've probably owned it nearly half my life. The whole concept of the book went completely over my head when I was a teenager 😂
Hi Jen! I loved everything about this video: the cosy atmosphere, your super interesting insights into books I had never heard about, your outfits, hats and wigs which all look so great on you... So thank you for a delightful, calming and inspiring moment in your (virtual) company!
Hi Jen, thanks for the great video! You inspired me to go to revisit my tbr pile and the oldest title is a short story collection first published in 1988 that I bought in the 90s. It’s Like Life by Lorrie Moore. I loved her other collection Self-Help, so I’ve got high hopes for this one.
The lanterns 😍 what a lovely vlog! I really love these videos, you're really good at making them super interesting and cosy :) Intrigued by the Hopkins manuscript. One of the oldest book on my shelves is probably in search of lost time volume 1 by Marcel proust, that I bought in high school for 50 cents...never even read a single page..😅
I love the outfit in the last clip- the mix of blues are really nice ✨ it’s no surprise to me that the books on my tbr that are the oldest are lots of classics!
@@jenvcampbell To me reading classics sometimes feels like eating my veggies or taking vitamins. I know I should do it, that it's good for me, but I just don't really want to.
Lola looking gorgeous in the wig was just what I needed this morning. So cute. Thank you for another lovely, comforting vlog. I'm really not sure which book I have had longest.
Oldest on my bookshelves are probably the collection of Steinbeck books, some I've read but others I haven't yet. They were a gift from my college boss so it's been about a decade that I've had them 😅
I have to shamefully admit that I didn't watch your vlogs for quite some time as I'm usually not a big fan of the format in general but I'm so happy to finally have given them a try! I really like the ratio of book content and nature/cooking/assorted tidbits :) Always a very relaxing atmosphere.
So glad to hear your response to The Hopkins Manuscript - I think RC Sherriff is one of the most underrated novelists, particularly since his books are often so understated. THM obviously has quite a dramatic plot, but others are much quieter but equally brilliant. Loved hearing you talk about THM :D
Your discussions of The Hopkins Manuscript sort of remind me of the film Melancholia, which I saw for the first time earlier this year. I wonder if/how those two texts would be in conversation with each other, as they both seem to focus on impending and unavoidable doom. Love your cozy vlogs, as always 🥰
My longest unread book is ALSO the one I own that was written the longest ago! In high school (15 years ago) I bought a fancy edition of Le Morte D'Arthur but I haven't ever gotten more than 100 pages into it, because it's in Middle English.
Very cool you could do a whole thing on the lights. Both the reading lights and forest lights. You could write a poem on the forest lights. Some beauty should be remembered.
Those lamps look incredible, might have to add to my savings list because they seem perfect for cosy reading evenings. I am currently working on getting through all of the oldest books on my TBR and next up is Eating Animals by Jonathan Saffran Foer and Born with a Tooth by Boyne - both I have had since 2015 and for some reason not yet tackled! Everything after that is from 2019 and that’s far more reasonable in my mind.
I LOVED The Hopkins Manuscript and really didn't expect to... was such a pleasant surprise as it seemed atypical for a Persephone book. The Tenant of Wildfell Hall is such a favourite. The Unbearable Lightness of Being has been on my TBR for ages and still haven't picked it up... Also, the red wig and red dungaree combo is lovely!
Hello Jen! I was on a Wilkie Collins jag many years ago. I read several of his fantastic tales & mysteries, but still have one left, “Blind Love”, first published in 1890. Glancing through it as I write this, it seems the print has gotten a bit smaller since I first picked it up! Telltale sign of how long it’s been on my shelf! Appreciated this video so much & all the lovely things included. Happy reading to you! 📚👓🫖
🤣🤣🤣 I CACKLED out loud when you said about Ishiguro's book - it made me want to slap things 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 ahahaha I know exactly that feeling and you put it to words also, batman hens 🤣🤣🤣 loved this video Jen
Wonderful video, Jen! So comforting and cozy, as always. Thank you for all you do! You are such a delight. ❤️’Anna Karenina’ by Tolstoy and ‘The Collected Journals’ by Sylvia Plath immediately come to mind! Both have been on my shelves for ages. I am 40ish pages into AK and am loving it so far! I’ve read bits and pieces from Sylvia Plath’s journals, but that’s a book I can dip in and out of. Happy reading! ☺️❤️
Great vlog. Those lamps look amazing. Lola rocking a wig was the content I needed today & I didn't even know it. Rather spookily I think The Unconsoled by Ishiguro is the book that's been languishing on my shelves the longest!!
I read an old SciFi that's published as a Penguin Modern Classic, The Black Cloud by Fred Holye (1955). Holye was an astronomer and he coined the term "The Big Bang". It was so good, and it also had quite a bit of humour in it and the prologue took a form of a letter dated 2020 (which blew my mind). The event that is the centre of the plot takes place in the 1960s.
Hi jen really excited for the video! Im currently reading Matt Haig's Midnight Librart which i started today and just finished Richard Osmon's The Thursday Murder club which is one of my favourite reads this year i think! I have a lot more on my tbr but these have been ones that i have been waiting to read for ages 😊 ❤️
Lovely video, as usual. I watched it with breakfast in bed - suitably cosy. That butternut squash lasagne looked amazing! I think the book that’s been on my shelf the longest is Parade’s End, it’s been about 9 years now.
Thanks Jen, the book that I've had on my for TBR for the longest is the The Forest of Hours by Kerstin Ekman, set in a real forest in Sweden called Skule over five hundred years, it's a mix of fairytale and history. It's time I read it. :-)
Your last wig/outfit combo looks so cozy and wintery 😍 I think the oldest book on my shelves is Dubliners by James Joyce (I’ve started it before but never made it very far) - however, there are definitely unread books I’ve owned for longer but they’re boxed up at my parents house so I can’t even remember what they are 🙈
I’ve had Memory by Margaret Mahy for over 20 years, it’s been part of pretty much every bookshelf I’ve had as an adult! I somehow missed it in my video when I tried reading all the books I’d had the longest back in June, as it was not listed as being in my book pile in a list I made in 2008. May have to do a vlog where I finally read it! Love your autumn walks in the woods, spectacular colours and trees! I think I’m going to have to add The Hopkins Manuscript to my most wanted list.
Loved the vlog, of course 💕 I really enjoy hearing about older books. I have just ordered the Hopkins manuscript in at the library, as it sounds so my cup of tea. The wood lanterns were beautiful, love seeing acts of kindness. Oldest on my tbr are the Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver and House Of God by Samuel Shem. Ha both biblical references in the titles, didn't realise until I wrote it down!! X
I probably have some books I bought/received in the 90s on my TBR, but I wasn't really tracking anything back then, and honestly my library is a bit of a shambles, so who actually knows? But I know that I've had Over Tumbled Graves by Jess Walters since at least 2000, because the copy I have is an ARC from when I worked in the book industry.
Oldest book on my shelf Rejected Princess: Tales of History's Boldest Heroines, Hellions, & Heretics by Jason Porath. I've had it for six or seven years now. I've even read parts of it. It sits in my shelf mostly because it's beautiful.
what a beautiful forest with all those lights, wow so magical :) I have soooooo many books waiting on my shelf and keep buying more :D that I could not say which one is the oldest, but I guess I have read tiny bits from all of them at some point. Especially when I like a book I have a hard time to finish it I want it to last forever hehehhehe...but yesterday I finished an amazing amazing book by Olga Tokarcuzk "Drive your plow over the bones of the dead" wow what an awesome book about a lady in her 60's that lives near the forest, loves astrology, is found of poetry and prefers animals to people....there will be some murders and apparentely she has a strange idea about who the murderer is...shhhhh !!!!! Loved it so much, now I'm going to read all her novels. Have you read any of Olga's books ?
I've had forty rooms by olga grushin and an orchestra of minorities by chigozie obioma on my TBR for almost 2 years now! The oldest of my TBR for sure!
The theme of Earth colliding with a planet is fixed by Lars von Trier in Melancholia, a film from some 10 years ago. It's about two sisters who respond differently to this frightening event to happen. Not an easy to watch film! I still have the Buried Giant on my tbr but now I'm even less sure if I'll ever start it.
I’ve put The Hopkins Manuscript on my TBR. Sounds up my street! I have the same problem with Ishiguro that you do. I love some of his books and hate others. Hate is a strong word but there it is. It looks as if we might have to shield again or have another booster! I love the story about the lights in the forest. We have trees in our garden so could do the same.
@@jenvcampbell I’m the same as you, I’ve been shielding forever! I was diagnosed with COPD and kidney stuff so I was being very careful, but still I had to go to the optician, for a mammogram, for dental cruelty (don’t ask!😢😢)and then I got a chest infection from somewhere and it just wouldn’t go. I had a chest X-ray and the shadow on the lung turned out to be cancer caught at an early stage. So I had to go in for a lobectomy which was supposed to be keyhole but had apparently to be done as a big cut. Then I nearly died in their ICU and I came home very very shaken and in a lot of pain. I’m doing ok at 3 months, I’m on targeted therapy to stop any spread. I just feel so exhausted and get quite breathless from time to time. So I need to shield! I go out to see my friend Sylvia because I know she doesn’t mix because she has another close friend with cancer and wants to protect us bless her. I’ve just loaded The Hopkins Manuscript onto my kindle so looking forward to that. I know I should be supporting indie bookshops but we have 42 Billy bookcases from IKEA in our house so… Thank you for all your hard work doing these videos. I am very much in awe of Booktubers be they about reading or junk journaling, or stitching in all its guises, and even girls from Japan describing their lives and cooking delicious looking food. Yours shines brightly. With love 🥰💐🌹🌺
I did a project this year where I read a book off my long unread tbr every month. Highlights were Crown Duel by Sherwood Smith, The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros, and Indian Horse by Richard Wagamese. I read The Buried Giant and yes, it was boring. I didn't mind the ending though!
That charcoal and carmine outfit just suits you so well, looks so good! Longest tbr book...uhhh...you know, the problem with this question is that it's likely to be a book I've forgotten...which means I won't remember it to answer this question...maybe...it might be Game of Thrones. Oddly enough. I keep saying I'll get to it...one day...
Longest on my TBR is Bring up the Bodies by Hilary Mantel, which I bought instantly when it came out and then never read. I know the series is complete now, but I would have to re-read Wolf Hall to get back into it and I just never seem to be in the mood to take that on...
The publisher did bring out a small pamphlet refresher for anyone who wanted to catch up with/remember certain parts of the series. Not sure if you can pick that up anywhere, still, but Hilary Mantel herself did a refresher on the Waterstones blog, too. This is for both Wolf Wall and Bringing up the Bodies, though, so make sure you stop at the right point to avoid spoilers :) www.waterstones.com/blog/hilary-mantel-summarises-bring-up-the-bodies x
Bring up the Bodies has one of the best first sentences I have ever read: "His children are falling from the sky." It claims, for the often looked-down-on genre of historical novel, the right to be Art. It's also very pacy and thrilling/chilling. Second sentence, and boom! you're there. I think it could be read without re-acquainting oneself with Wolf Hall. I'd give it a go.
2nd reply - am now almost finished re-reading Bring Up the Bodies, and I can confirm you totally don't need to re-read Wolf Hall first - I haven't, for several years. All the information you need is there, and because the reader is in Cromwell's mind, you, too, are "there", seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting everything, knowing and remembering what he knows and remembers, not knowing what he doesn't know. Just try a page or two, and you'll see what I mean.
Anansi Boys and Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman have been on my shelf since 2014. Got them my senior year of high school when we had to pick a book to read over the summer. I ended up reading The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon but purchased all 3 at the time because I couldn’t decide 🥴
Thanks for another great video Jen. Those lights sound just amazing, and I wish they would manufacture and ship for the USA! Hopefully, in the future, I just finished Cackle and another in the Laura Lippman private investigator series set in Baltimore, MD, USA. The latest Louise Penny is sitting on my night table, and I'm deliberately waiting so that I can read it with a friend over the Christmas holiday! PS I loved Cackle, and found it delightful and loved the main character Annie.
Hi, I'm rather interested in the lamp, I have hands that can't do fiddly things or press hard buttons. I was just wondering how you've found that side of things? Thanks 😊
Ahh, I would happily welcome your copy of The Buried Giant into my home if I could! XD As well as one of the reading lights! But they are SO INCREDIBLY EXPENSIIIIIIVE! I died when I saw the prices. Totally out of my league! Even though they would be the perfect gift for my mom who has cataracts and loves to read. :( But I will never be able to afford such a thing, much less now that I've lost all of my income... As for the book I still have to read and that I've owned the longest... i think that would be the first volume of a manga called Please Save My Earth. I own it since around 1999, but I never could get the other volumes, so I never see the point in eading just the first one... :P
Yes! I did not enjoy The Buried Giant. I wish I had DNFed it. I got to the end and honestly just regretted the time I invested slogging through it. That is not a feeling I often have.
I definitely have some books that I bought in the 1980s on my shelves. Some F Scott Fitzgeralds that I'll never get to, and Catch 22. I should get rid of them.
Hi Jen, hope you're doing well. I just want to make a point about Simorgh If it's OK. Although Simorgh is one of the most important persian mythology creatures, the 2 "more recent" retelling of the myth, Book of the Kings and The Conference of the Birds have the most impacts on literature and later retellings (actually one of these books is more than 800years old And the other one is 1000 years old, but comparing to 2500 years old manuscripts I guess we can call them more "recent" ones) The description the book you own gave refers to Shahnameh, in which Simorgh adopt and raised Zal, an epic figure who born with white hair and had albinism therefore abounded by his parents as his father believed that his child appearance is caused by the devil. (Long story short Zal became the king of Sistan and his son Rostam is probably the most praised legendary hero known to Iranians) But the other and if I shall say more important retelling of Simorgh comes from The Conference of the Birds, which is the story about 30 birds who decided to go to the Qaf mountain to find Simorgh (by the way Simorgh also means 30 birds in Persian) it's one of the most beautiful stories ever about love and the 7 valleys that a lover should cross to reach her/his love. (I'm not going to spoil the end as it's so breath taking and touching) I think this book is based on the The Conference of the Birds retelling of the myth. Hope I haven't bored you with lots of unwanted explanation. I'm just so interested in this myth ... excuse my lack of control over sharing my feelings for the story ❤
i loved buried giant, but it's 'the feels' not the book itself, but i liked the themes, like - at the end it becomes clear it's about crossing the river Styx and dementia - and what happened during the dark ages, and memory loss how devastating it is, and stuff. The princess stuff was stilted but it was the dreams and whether what was happening was really happening i liked you are the only person i listen to ads by. You should take the miracle hair growers' money and then do the sponsored bit really badly and sarcastically and we can all laugh
I have the next three in my read of the *Outlander* series (4, 5, & 6) still on my TBR shelf. I love them, but I need to return to them. I just saw that the new one was released this month! Winter is coming, so maybe I'll catch up soon. About the voice recognition software comments. I had to use it earlier this year after an arm surgery since I write and work on spreadsheets for a living. I might be facing another arm surgery soon. While voice recognition can be darn humorous, it also is still fairly inaccurate and frustrating to use. If anyone has any good software or apps to recommend, I'd love it if you could share them!
You must have had great something, because you have looked your chirpiest and sharpest yet. I caught the McArthur Park reference, which rarely happens. I was really pleased with listening to you talking about your books. And I too dislike overwrought books.
I read The Buried Giant and made myself read it all the way to the end, thinking the point would be revealed. Nope. Very disappointed. His An Artist of the Floating World is my favorite, and When We were Orphans I really disliked. For the squash, if you have a deep covered skillet, you can put the whole squash in, add an inch or so of water, and then simmer it for 5 or more minutes, till a knife can easily penetrate the skin. This is great if you want to peel the squash and then slice it for later cooking (I make a squash and apples dish which needs cubed squash).
logically, you should start all the books you think you'll dnf, to get them over with, but that's more of a january new year's resolutions video isn't it?
I hope you enjoy the vlog, folks! Let me know what book has been sitting on your shelves for the longest, unread, in a comment down below! xx
these reading vlogs with creative themes like reading one shelf or reading the oldest books on your tbr are my absolute favorite! 💜
I also loved The Hopkin's Manuscript (love all RC Sherriff's books) as you say it is both frightening and hilarious. I could imagine Hopkins living very comfortably in Tilling with Mapp and Lucia, matching them for pettiness. It's also incredibly prescient, I kept reading aloud and astonished the bits that just appeared to be talking about Brexit, in fact it's so spookily right about things that I keep checking the moon isn't getting any closer!
Oh god, don’t 😅🙈 x
Jen, I think this type of video is probably my favorite that you do! I just love the balance of book discussions and walking and cooking content. And I'm sure you enjoy making them. :)
Off the top of my head, I think the oldest book on my shelf is a book my cousin, who's not much of a reader, was gifted by one of their favorite teachers and liked and gave to me cause she knew I liked reading. I would say this video has definitely inspired me to finally pick it up this year. I suppose it's like one of those super special things that you put off because, after you've completed it, it won't feel the same, haha. But I think it's time.
Oh and really, really wanna pick up The Hopkins Manuscript and probably gift it to my mom, too.
Okay that wig and overall combo 👌🏻 vampire librarian with a penchant for gardening vibes
Well I paused it in the middle to go find a copy of The Hopkins Manuscript.. happy to report I have a 1974 Ed. en route! I always adore your recs. Thank you!
I think the Princess Bride is the book I've owned the longest. My brother gave it to me for Christmas when I was a teenager and I'm nearly 30 so I've probably owned it nearly half my life. The whole concept of the book went completely over my head when I was a teenager 😂
Hi Jen! I loved everything about this video: the cosy atmosphere, your super interesting insights into books I had never heard about, your outfits, hats and wigs which all look so great on you... So thank you for a delightful, calming and inspiring moment in your (virtual) company!
You are such a kind and humble person. You deserve all the happiness in the world ❤️
That’s very kind, Robin. Thank you. x
Hi Jen, thanks for the great video! You inspired me to go to revisit my tbr pile and the oldest title is a short story collection first published in 1988 that I bought in the 90s. It’s Like Life by Lorrie Moore. I loved her other collection Self-Help, so I’ve got high hopes for this one.
I love Lola! She is such a sweet girl 🐶
The lanterns 😍 what a lovely vlog! I really love these videos, you're really good at making them super interesting and cosy :)
Intrigued by the Hopkins manuscript. One of the oldest book on my shelves is probably in search of lost time volume 1 by Marcel proust, that I bought in high school for 50 cents...never even read a single page..😅
I love the outfit in the last clip- the mix of blues are really nice ✨ it’s no surprise to me that the books on my tbr that are the oldest are lots of classics!
Why do we do this? 😅 maybe a lack of a sense of urgency given they’ve been around so long? x
@@jenvcampbell To me reading classics sometimes feels like eating my veggies or taking vitamins. I know I should do it, that it's good for me, but I just don't really want to.
Lola looking gorgeous in the wig was just what I needed this morning. So cute. Thank you for another lovely, comforting vlog. I'm really not sure which book I have had longest.
Oldest on my bookshelves are probably the collection of Steinbeck books, some I've read but others I haven't yet. They were a gift from my college boss so it's been about a decade that I've had them 😅
I have to shamefully admit that I didn't watch your vlogs for quite some time as I'm usually not a big fan of the format in general but I'm so happy to finally have given them a try! I really like the ratio of book content and nature/cooking/assorted tidbits :) Always a very relaxing atmosphere.
Glad you like it ☺️ x
So glad to hear your response to The Hopkins Manuscript - I think RC Sherriff is one of the most underrated novelists, particularly since his books are often so understated. THM obviously has quite a dramatic plot, but others are much quieter but equally brilliant. Loved hearing you talk about THM :D
Grey wig is my favourite but honourable mention goes to burgundy wig. 💕
As always, this has made me excited to check out the ones you loved.
Your discussions of The Hopkins Manuscript sort of remind me of the film Melancholia, which I saw for the first time earlier this year. I wonder if/how those two texts would be in conversation with each other, as they both seem to focus on impending and unavoidable doom.
Love your cozy vlogs, as always 🥰
My longest unread book is ALSO the one I own that was written the longest ago! In high school (15 years ago) I bought a fancy edition of Le Morte D'Arthur but I haven't ever gotten more than 100 pages into it, because it's in Middle English.
Ah, that's a throwback! I've only read snippets of that myself, too. x
I loved 'The Tenant of Wildfell Hall." Hope you like it.
Great video Jen, I also must hang my head in shame the oldest book on my tbr is from 2003, I hope to rectify this over Christmas!
* whispers * I'm sure there are a few books on my shelf from pre-Booktube days, but this is the best catalogue I have, so I'm going by old videos. x
The Hopkins Manuscript sounds brilliant! I put it on my wishlist 😊
Hope you enjoy it, too. x
Very cool you could do a whole thing on the lights. Both the reading lights and forest lights. You could write a poem on the forest lights. Some beauty should be remembered.
Double light action! 💡
Jen, I absolutely loved this video! I love hearing your opinion and description of these books! Also, you’re adorable. Can’t wait to watch more!
I loved this vlog, Jen. Thank you for always brightening my day! ❤️
Those lamps look incredible, might have to add to my savings list because they seem perfect for cosy reading evenings.
I am currently working on getting through all of the oldest books on my TBR and next up is Eating Animals by Jonathan Saffran Foer and Born with a Tooth by Boyne - both I have had since 2015 and for some reason not yet tackled! Everything after that is from 2019 and that’s far more reasonable in my mind.
2019 is absolutely reasonable! The lamps truly are wonderful; my eyes are very grateful. I hope you love it, too, if you decide to save up for one. xx
I LOVED The Hopkins Manuscript and really didn't expect to... was such a pleasant surprise as it seemed atypical for a Persephone book. The Tenant of Wildfell Hall is such a favourite. The Unbearable Lightness of Being has been on my TBR for ages and still haven't picked it up... Also, the red wig and red dungaree combo is lovely!
I’m going to listen to The Tenant of Wildfell Hall on audiobook in December ☺️. x
@@jenvcampbell I hope you enjoy it :) it's definitely a lovely cosy one for this time of year x
Hello Jen! I was on a Wilkie Collins jag many years ago. I read several of his fantastic tales & mysteries, but still have one left, “Blind Love”, first published in 1890. Glancing through it as I write this, it seems the print has gotten a bit smaller since I first picked it up! Telltale sign of how long it’s been on my shelf! Appreciated this video so much & all the lovely things included. Happy reading to you! 📚👓🫖
🤣🤣🤣 I CACKLED out loud when you said about Ishiguro's book - it made me want to slap things 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 ahahaha I know exactly that feeling and you put it to words
also, batman hens 🤣🤣🤣 loved this video Jen
BATMAN HENS. Someone get on that Chicken Run sequel!
Wonderful video, Jen! So comforting and cozy, as always. Thank you for all you do! You are such a delight. ❤️’Anna Karenina’ by Tolstoy and ‘The Collected Journals’ by Sylvia Plath immediately come to mind! Both have been on my shelves for ages. I am 40ish pages into AK and am loving it so far! I’ve read bits and pieces from Sylvia Plath’s journals, but that’s a book I can dip in and out of. Happy reading! ☺️❤️
Really enjoyed. THE lanterswere Beautiful. WISHING YOU THE BEST..
Thank you, Therese x
Just realised I am watching this video this morning wearing the exact same dungas ☺️
I love the burgundy hair colour on you! I also DNF’d The Buried Giant
I got emotional watching the bake off finale too. 💙 I’ve had The Hopkin’s Manuscript on my get to eventually tbr for awhile, it sounds so good!
It's great :) x
Wig flick 😆 love your sass
Great vlog. Those lamps look amazing. Lola rocking a wig was the content I needed today & I didn't even know it. Rather spookily I think The Unconsoled by Ishiguro is the book that's been languishing on my shelves the longest!!
I’m not surprised; it’s a beast! x
I read an old SciFi that's published as a Penguin Modern Classic, The Black Cloud by Fred Holye (1955). Holye was an astronomer and he coined the term "The Big Bang". It was so good, and it also had quite a bit of humour in it and the prologue took a form of a letter dated 2020 (which blew my mind). The event that is the centre of the plot takes place in the 1960s.
I really really enjoyed watching this video so thank you for it please stay safe and enjoy your reading 📖
i have an old copy of I Capture the Castle purchased at a Borders long long before they went out of biz that might be one of the oldest unread things.
Hopkins Manuscript sounds really good
Indeed it is ☺️ x
Lovely video as always, Jen! and oh my god the GBBO final was so tense but so wonderful and heartwarming
It was 😭♥️
My oldest book is swamplandia. But I’ve sold and rebought it three times till I found a signed first edition. Lol I hope I love it
That’s definitely one of my oldest, too!
Hi jen really excited for the video! Im currently reading Matt Haig's Midnight Librart which i started today and just finished Richard Osmon's The Thursday Murder club which is one of my favourite reads this year i think! I have a lot more on my tbr but these have been ones that i have been waiting to read for ages 😊 ❤️
Happy reading! x
Lovely video, as usual. I watched it with breakfast in bed - suitably cosy. That butternut squash lasagne looked amazing! I think the book that’s been on my shelf the longest is Parade’s End, it’s been about 9 years now.
Thanks Jen, the book that I've had on my for TBR for the longest is the The Forest of Hours by Kerstin Ekman, set in a real forest in Sweden called Skule over five hundred years, it's a mix of fairytale and history. It's time I read it. :-)
Your last wig/outfit combo looks so cozy and wintery 😍 I think the oldest book on my shelves is Dubliners by James Joyce (I’ve started it before but never made it very far) - however, there are definitely unread books I’ve owned for longer but they’re boxed up at my parents house so I can’t even remember what they are 🙈
Oh no, The buried giant is one of my favorite books of all times. 😅
Sorry 🙈 x
I’ve had Memory by Margaret Mahy for over 20 years, it’s been part of pretty much every bookshelf I’ve had as an adult! I somehow missed it in my video when I tried reading all the books I’d had the longest back in June, as it was not listed as being in my book pile in a list I made in 2008. May have to do a vlog where I finally read it!
Love your autumn walks in the woods, spectacular colours and trees! I think I’m going to have to add The Hopkins Manuscript to my most wanted list.
Lola in the wig 😭❤️
Loved the vlog, of course 💕 I really enjoy hearing about older books. I have just ordered the Hopkins manuscript in at the library, as it sounds so my cup of tea.
The wood lanterns were beautiful, love seeing acts of kindness.
Oldest on my tbr are the Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver and House Of God by Samuel Shem. Ha both biblical references in the titles, didn't realise until I wrote it down!! X
Tenant of Wildfell Hall is so good!
Going to listen to the audiobook in December :) Looking forward to it. x
You have no idea how much you validated my disdain for the Buried Giant! And I finished it still don't know why lol!
Ha! You're welcome. x
I probably have some books I bought/received in the 90s on my TBR, but I wasn't really tracking anything back then, and honestly my library is a bit of a shambles, so who actually knows? But I know that I've had Over Tumbled Graves by Jess Walters since at least 2000, because the copy I have is an ARC from when I worked in the book industry.
Oldest book on my shelf Rejected Princess: Tales of History's Boldest Heroines, Hellions, & Heretics by Jason Porath. I've had it for six or seven years now. I've even read parts of it. It sits in my shelf mostly because it's beautiful.
The red color looks very good in you!
Great video...p.s
...your necklace and pendant are lovely
Thanks! This is the maker, if you're interested www.etsy.com/uk/shop/tinatarnoff?ref=notif_nfyfs&order=date_desc x
you sold me on 'the hopkins manuscript'..so glad you dnf'd 'the buried giant'..i hated that book..some interesting setup and zero payoff.
Everytime I read the husband call his wife princess I couldn't help but imagine him saying it in an east london accent ala Phil Mitchell 😭
I ordered the book! I’m so excited! Sounds wonderful
I loved The Sparrow, it's worth picking up ;)
I’ll definitely get to it ☺️ x
what a beautiful forest with all those lights, wow so magical :) I have soooooo many books waiting on my shelf and keep buying more :D that I could not say which one is the oldest, but I guess I have read tiny bits from all of them at some point. Especially when I like a book I have a hard time to finish it I want it to last forever hehehhehe...but yesterday I finished an amazing amazing book by Olga Tokarcuzk "Drive your plow over the bones of the dead" wow what an awesome book about a lady in her 60's that lives near the forest, loves astrology, is found of poetry and prefers animals to people....there will be some murders and apparentely she has a strange idea about who the murderer is...shhhhh !!!!! Loved it so much, now I'm going to read all her novels. Have you read any of Olga's books ?
I've had forty rooms by olga grushin and an orchestra of minorities by chigozie obioma on my TBR for almost 2 years now! The oldest of my TBR for sure!
Two years is pretty good! x
The theme of Earth colliding with a planet is fixed by Lars von Trier in Melancholia, a film from some 10 years ago. It's about two sisters who respond differently to this frightening event to happen. Not an easy to watch film!
I still have the Buried Giant on my tbr but now I'm even less sure if I'll ever start it.
Fixed should be filmed
I’ve put The Hopkins Manuscript on my TBR. Sounds up my street! I have the same problem with Ishiguro that you do. I love some of his books and hate others. Hate is a strong word but there it is. It looks as if we might have to shield again or have another booster! I love the story about the lights in the forest. We have trees in our garden so could do the same.
I still am shielding (never stopped), though appreciate it's easier for me to do that as a freelancer. Hope you're doing ok. x
@@jenvcampbell I’m the same as you, I’ve been shielding forever! I was diagnosed with COPD and kidney stuff so I was being very careful, but still I had to go to the optician, for a mammogram, for dental cruelty (don’t ask!😢😢)and then I got a chest infection from somewhere and it just wouldn’t go. I had a chest X-ray and the shadow on the lung turned out to be cancer caught at an early stage. So I had to go in for a lobectomy which was supposed to be keyhole but had apparently to be done as a big cut. Then I nearly died in their ICU and I came home very very shaken and in a lot of pain. I’m doing ok at 3 months, I’m on targeted therapy to stop any spread. I just feel so exhausted and get quite breathless from time to time. So I need to shield! I go out to see my friend Sylvia because I know she doesn’t mix because she has another close friend with cancer and wants to protect us bless her.
I’ve just loaded The Hopkins Manuscript onto my kindle so looking forward to that. I know I should be supporting indie bookshops but we have 42 Billy bookcases from IKEA in our house so…
Thank you for all your hard work doing these videos. I am very much in awe of Booktubers be they about reading or junk journaling, or stitching in all its guises, and even girls from Japan describing their lives and cooking delicious looking food. Yours shines brightly. With love 🥰💐🌹🌺
I did a project this year where I read a book off my long unread tbr every month. Highlights were Crown Duel by Sherwood Smith, The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros, and Indian Horse by Richard Wagamese. I read The Buried Giant and yes, it was boring. I didn't mind the ending though!
That charcoal and carmine outfit just suits you so well, looks so good! Longest tbr book...uhhh...you know, the problem with this question is that it's likely to be a book I've forgotten...which means I won't remember it to answer this question...maybe...it might be Game of Thrones. Oddly enough. I keep saying I'll get to it...one day...
😂 I feel this comment in my bones x
That lasagna looked delicious ❤️
Longest on my TBR is Bring up the Bodies by Hilary Mantel, which I bought instantly when it came out and then never read. I know the series is complete now, but I would have to re-read Wolf Hall to get back into it and I just never seem to be in the mood to take that on...
The publisher did bring out a small pamphlet refresher for anyone who wanted to catch up with/remember certain parts of the series. Not sure if you can pick that up anywhere, still, but Hilary Mantel herself did a refresher on the Waterstones blog, too. This is for both Wolf Wall and Bringing up the Bodies, though, so make sure you stop at the right point to avoid spoilers :) www.waterstones.com/blog/hilary-mantel-summarises-bring-up-the-bodies x
Bring up the Bodies has one of the best first sentences I have ever read: "His children are falling from the sky." It claims, for the often looked-down-on genre of historical novel, the right to be Art. It's also very pacy and thrilling/chilling. Second sentence, and boom! you're there. I think it could be read without re-acquainting oneself with Wolf Hall. I'd give it a go.
2nd reply - am now almost finished re-reading Bring Up the Bodies, and I can confirm you totally don't need to re-read Wolf Hall first - I haven't, for several years. All the information you need is there, and because the reader is in Cromwell's mind, you, too, are "there", seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting everything, knowing and remembering what he knows and remembers, not knowing what he doesn't know. Just try a page or two, and you'll see what I mean.
I was not expecting that Lola in a wig transition, thank you so much for that!
was really rooting for the sparrow :) next time!
Great film work! How do you get it so good?
Anansi Boys and Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman have been on my shelf since 2014. Got them my senior year of high school when we had to pick a book to read over the summer. I ended up reading The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon but purchased all 3 at the time because I couldn’t decide 🥴
The Hopkins Manuscript sounds so similar to the upcoming film "Don't Look Up"
True! But I’d still like to see this made, set in the 1930s - very different vibe x
@@jenvcampbell oh absolutely!
Oldest TBR, easy, Portrait of a Lady by Henry James.
Thanks for another great video Jen. Those lights sound just amazing, and I wish they would manufacture and ship for the USA! Hopefully, in the future,
I just finished Cackle and another in the Laura Lippman private investigator series set in Baltimore, MD, USA. The latest Louise Penny is sitting on my night table, and I'm deliberately waiting so that I can read it with a friend over the Christmas holiday! PS I loved Cackle, and found it delightful and loved the main character Annie.
Glad you enjoyed the video ☺️ and yes, hopefully in the future! x
Hi, I'm rather interested in the lamp, I have hands that can't do fiddly things or press hard buttons. I was just wondering how you've found that side of things? Thanks 😊
I’ve had no issues at all with that (and I often do with other things!); the lamp also arrives already fully assembled which was a relief ☺️ x
Your lasagnia looked amazing 😍🤤
I like the way you did this video. I hate when tubers read the whole book flap!
Ahh, I would happily welcome your copy of The Buried Giant into my home if I could! XD
As well as one of the reading lights! But they are SO INCREDIBLY EXPENSIIIIIIVE! I died when I saw the prices. Totally out of my league! Even though they would be the perfect gift for my mom who has cataracts and loves to read. :( But I will never be able to afford such a thing, much less now that I've lost all of my income...
As for the book I still have to read and that I've owned the longest... i think that would be the first volume of a manga called Please Save My Earth. I own it since around 1999, but I never could get the other volumes, so I never see the point in eading just the first one... :P
Hi Jen, have you seen Lars von Trier's film "Melancholia"? One of my favourites. 👍❤
Yes! I did not enjoy The Buried Giant. I wish I had DNFed it. I got to the end and honestly just regretted the time I invested slogging through it. That is not a feeling I often have.
I definitely have some books that I bought in the 1980s on my shelves. Some F Scott Fitzgeralds that I'll never get to, and Catch 22. I should get rid of them.
Hi Jen, hope you're doing well.
I just want to make a point about Simorgh If it's OK. Although Simorgh is one of the most important persian mythology creatures, the 2 "more recent" retelling of the myth, Book of the Kings and The Conference of the Birds have the most impacts on literature and later retellings (actually one of these books is more than 800years old And the other one is 1000 years old, but comparing to 2500 years old manuscripts I guess we can call them more "recent" ones)
The description the book you own gave refers to Shahnameh, in which Simorgh adopt and raised Zal, an epic figure who born with white hair and had albinism therefore abounded by his parents as his father believed that his child appearance is caused by the devil. (Long story short Zal became the king of Sistan and his son Rostam is probably the most praised legendary hero known to Iranians)
But the other and if I shall say more important retelling of Simorgh comes from The Conference of the Birds, which is the story about 30 birds who decided to go to the Qaf mountain to find Simorgh (by the way Simorgh also means 30 birds in Persian) it's one of the most beautiful stories ever about love and the 7 valleys that a lover should cross to reach her/his love. (I'm not going to spoil the end as it's so breath taking and touching)
I think this book is based on the The Conference of the Birds retelling of the myth.
Hope I haven't bored you with lots of unwanted explanation. I'm just so interested in this myth ... excuse my lack of control over sharing my feelings for the story ❤
You definitely haven't bored me, thank you so much for sharing :) xx
@@jenvcampbell 🙈❤
I just did a tbr clean-out, but the oldest book on that tbr is probably 3 or 4 years old.
I have had Tolstoj's war&peace on my shelves for at least 20 years, still unread. Should I make it a priority read?
Not one that's ever appealed to me, I'm afraid. x
Candy by Luke Davies. Not proud of the fact that it has been on the shelf for....... NINE YEARS. But still, I do want to read it or at least try lol
So many books, so little time! x
would i get my tbr done if i made a video of it? If it works, expect weekly videos in which i do my maths homework
i loved buried giant, but it's 'the feels' not the book itself, but i liked the themes, like - at the end it becomes clear it's about crossing the river Styx and dementia - and what happened during the dark ages, and memory loss how devastating it is, and stuff. The princess stuff was stilted but it was the dreams and whether what was happening was really happening i liked
you are the only person i listen to ads by. You should take the miracle hair growers' money and then do the sponsored bit really badly and sarcastically and we can all laugh
I have the next three in my read of the *Outlander* series (4, 5, & 6) still on my TBR shelf. I love them, but I need to return to them. I just saw that the new one was released this month! Winter is coming, so maybe I'll catch up soon. About the voice recognition software comments. I had to use it earlier this year after an arm surgery since I write and work on spreadsheets for a living. I might be facing another arm surgery soon. While voice recognition can be darn humorous, it also is still fairly inaccurate and frustrating to use. If anyone has any good software or apps to recommend, I'd love it if you could share them!
Two recommendations for you
The Power of the Dog
Small Things Like These
☘️👋🫖🍀📖👓📕☕️📚
I’m looking forward to reading Small Things Like These ☺️
You must have had great something, because you have looked your chirpiest and sharpest yet. I caught the McArthur Park reference, which rarely happens. I was really pleased with listening to you talking about your books. And I too dislike overwrought books.
I don’t know what McArthur Park is so if you got that reference my subconscious must be working overtime 😂
I think it is Bleak House by Charles Dickens. It just seems so bleak 😅 I’m never in the mood to pick it up.
I see Simon Vance did an audiobook of it (he's great; I enjoyed his reading of The Little Stranger), if that sounds up your street. x
@@jenvcampbell Maybe I will have to try the audiobook then :D I really enjoyed his reading of Oliver Twist.
Probably Bag of Bones by Stephen King. I bought it in 2007 or so and still haven’t read it. 😬
It's a large book!
We call drop scones pikelets
Night, Again
The Buried Giant was not for me either, and I otherwise enjoy Ishiguro.
I read The Buried Giant and made myself read it all the way to the end, thinking the point would be revealed. Nope. Very disappointed. His An Artist of the Floating World is my favorite, and When We were Orphans I really disliked.
For the squash, if you have a deep covered skillet, you can put the whole squash in, add an inch or so of water, and then simmer it for 5 or more minutes, till a knife can easily penetrate the skin. This is great if you want to peel the squash and then slice it for later cooking (I make a squash and apples dish which needs cubed squash).
Thanks for the tip! x
logically, you should start all the books you think you'll dnf, to get them over with, but that's more of a january new year's resolutions video isn't it?
so many change in your hairstyle dressing in one vlog nice nice great