I LOVED this video! Such an original idea. I was wonderfully surprised to see someone else has read Henry Miller's "Books In My Life"! I read it years and years ago, and I believe it's due for a re-read now. Thanks for a fabulous first video of 2020, Chris!
You are a real stakanovist! Awesome surprise to see you on the first day of the new year with such an amazing theme! Yesterday I read the first thirty pages of the recognitions. Marvelous! Today I'll keep reading this masterpiece. It will take me a lot of time in order to read all 1,000 pages but I think it's worth trying. Among your books there is also italo calvino, one of our best writers! Have you read "if on a winter's night a traveler" by calvino? It's a very good book. Once again I wish you a booky new year!
I was excited when you mentioned that you'd be reading “The Book of Disquiet” by Fernando Pessoa this year. I read the book in Portuguese, which is my first language, and I really liked it. I look forward to your review! “Sometimes, with a sad delight, I think that if some day, in a future to which I may not belong, these words I’m writing will endure and receive praise, I will finally have people who ‘understand’ me, my people, the true family to be born into and to be loved by. But far from being born into it, I will have already died a long time before. I will be understood only in effigy, when affection no longer compensates the dead person for the disaffection he experienced when alive.” - Pessoa
I am envious that you got to experience it in its native tongue! Portuguese is a beautiful language (I work with a lot of Brazilians). What are some other books you’ve really liked?
Thank you! That's so cool that you work with Brazilians. I’m originally from Brazil, but I have been living in Texas for a few years now. Do you like strange books? I think you may like these two: “Epitaph of a Small Winner” by Machado de Assis and “The Passion According to G.H.” by Clarice Lispector. Machado de Assis is on Bloom's list of the greatest 100 geniuses. But be warned - If you read and review these books, a lot of Brazilians may show up here! :) These two are (besides Fernando Pessoa) the other Portuguese speaking authors I’d recommend. One book I always suggest to basically everyone is “The Little Prince” by Saint-Exupéry. I think this is such a beautiful little book, but it’s not a book for children; IMHO; it’s for the child we all were one day. I actually bought several copies when they were only one dollar on Amazon so that I could give them away. I also like philosophy books - “Meditations” by Marcos Aurelius and “Letters from a Stoic” by Seneca are my favorite in this category. I love poetry books, but there are so many good ones to name! Please, let us know what you’re reading at the moment, so some of us can read along with you.
Thanks for those two recommendations! I highlight Le Petit Prince on my 10 Short Books I Love video. I can read French so I’ve read it many times in the original. Agreed-wonderful book! Philosophy is also a major part of my literary diet. I, too, love the ancient Greco-Roman philosophers. Perhaps I will do a video on my favorite philosophy books. Currently I am read Robert Musil’s The Man Without Qualities, which is proving to be a intellectual feast. It’ll probably take me all of January to read it!
“Now, I’m the envious one! If I had another lifetime, I would surely try to learn French just so I could read TLP in its original language, “ said the fox. I would love to see a review of your favorite philosophy books. I will check the video and the book out for sure. Thanks!
I've found your channel a couple of days ago, and my goodness what a great find! I've been watching video after video, with great pleasure. It's improving the quality of this lockdown imensely! Btw, hope you and your close ones are well and safe. Also, I'm very glad to see that, like me, you're a proponent of slow reading. These days, with all the reading challenges and readathons and whatnot, I guess we're the black sheep amongst the herd.
@@LeafbyLeaf at the moment I'm about halfway through "Boyhood Island", the third volume of Knausgård's "My Struggle". I've been reading other books in-between, and this one has been on the back burner, so I'm trying to make it a priority this week, to see if I manage to make good progress on it.
Wonderful! I only have a vague recollection of a quote from Borges I think it was, just that he emphasized something like, A book is only as good as its reader. Something critics should probably think more about (and readers in general). Does it irk you at all when readers complain about having to look up words and such? For me, it's always a pleasure to discover and 'decode' strange words. Many endangered species that I try to conserve in my own work if I can. Happy new year! P.S. I spy Anniversaries.
In regards to your question about having to look up words-my answer will be in my forthcoming video on a delightful little book called Sea Above, Sun Below!
I've read Emerson's essay on Education; highly recommend it. It's very good. I was surprised at his concern even then. And then OOOH! I have that book! As you hold up How to Read a Book. I was looking at it today on my shelf wondering when I'll make it a priority. (because I just read how Virginia Woolf read books). Sometimes I read for luxury/entertainment, but mostly I read to learn something. Great video!
@@BookZealots To be honest, I've only read To the Lighthouse (sublime!) and A Room of One's Own (I quite liked this essay), as far as books. But her short fiction is great, too. In particular "A Haunted House." I plan to read The Waves this year, which good authority tells me is better than Lighthouse.
@@LeafbyLeaf Thank you. According to the bio Woolf felt Night and Day was her best. But that's still so early in her writing career. I'm surprised you liked A Room...I felt she came off as really pretentious and man hating. Ironically, in the bio, she has a room of her own and complains about it. 😆
BookZealots at this point I think I’m so used to man-hating in the humanities that I don’t notice it. And pretension is often part of the nature of genius. I have a remarkable ability, I believe, to take the meat and leave the bones. :-)
Thank you for making my favorite nerd channel on RUclips. Two things: (1.) Nabokov is pronounced nah-bow-cough. Or like nah-BOW-kauf. This is according to a Russian lit prof I once had... Russian has an emphasis on intonation. Apparently Dostoyevsky is pronounced doh-STOY!-evsky. 🤷🏼♂️ (2.) Didn’t finish the vid but I think you missed a book: “How to be Alone” by Jonathan Franzen. Please read it. Just busting your balls a bit because I really like your vids...
You’re welcome! Thanks for the compliment. I almost added the Franzen, which I read and enjoyed many years ago, but I was getting to the point that I needed to be more selective. Still-you’ve cited a woeful omission. Along with some other misses that commenters are pointing out, it sounds like I’ll need to make a follow-up video. Thanks for the pronunciation tips! I am wretched when it comes to pronunciation.
You know-I thought of the Proust a few hours after I posted the video. And I did consider going through my Critical Tradition anthology and picking out Foucault, Barthes, Iser, Hirsch, et al. But at that point it was getting a bit more than I wanted in a single video. Still, your omissions are certainly blemishes on the video. Perhaps a follow-up video is in order!
If you haven't already can you do a video or a series of videos on literary theory/criticism such as deconstructionism? Also, i appreciate your channel!
It’s been a while since I’ve really been immersed in lit theory (other than psychoanalytical) but some other responses to this video have been thinking of doing some videos on theory. Thanks for the push!
Great Video. I love the Henry David Thoreau quote.. Only because I always feel like i am not necessarily having a conversation with an author, but like I enter a world and he is my guide through it. I trust 100 percent and give him my hand. Some disappoint me but others just blow my mind. :) I return to them often. The Nabokov though hits home only because I am not a rereader if I was honest. Do you reread often?
I only reread a very small selection often. Homer, Dante, Milton, Shakespeare, Chaucer, Melville, Austen, Joyce, Proust, Woolf. And only a very smaller selection of post-Proustian literature. I definitely don’t reread everything. I love your formulation of giving over control to the author. That is precisely how I aim to experience each work.
Like always, it's a pleasure to hear your selection of books, and I always find something new to read thank to you. Happy new year!
Why thank you very much! Happy New Year and Happy Reading!
Have a blessed New Year. I really enjoy your videos. peace
Thanks, Jonny! Right back atcha! Happy New Year and blessings to you and yours!
Amazing list!! I'm going to create a reading list with my library and start checking these off.
Awesome! Glad you like it!
Superb list. Sure to be many more. Cheers.
Thanks! There are indeed many more. I want to do a continuation of this video. Also: books on writing.
Love those Thoreau quotes. Happy New Year!
Isn’t Thoreau a treasure?! Happy New Year!
I LOVED this video! Such an original idea. I was wonderfully surprised to see someone else has read Henry Miller's "Books In My Life"! I read it years and years ago, and I believe it's due for a re-read now. Thanks for a fabulous first video of 2020, Chris!
Thanks! Glad you got something out of it. Miller is great! HAPPY NEW YEAR!
You are a real stakanovist! Awesome surprise to see you on the first day of the new year with such an amazing theme! Yesterday I read the first thirty pages of the recognitions. Marvelous! Today I'll keep reading this masterpiece. It will take me a lot of time in order to read all 1,000 pages but I think it's worth trying. Among your books there is also italo calvino, one of our best writers! Have you read "if on a winter's night a traveler" by calvino? It's a very good book. Once again I wish you a booky new year!
Thank you! I’ve only read “if on a winter’s night a traveler” and it features in my favorite first lines video! Happy New Year!
I was excited when you mentioned that you'd be reading “The Book of Disquiet” by Fernando Pessoa this year. I read the book in Portuguese, which is my first language, and I really liked it.
I look forward to your review!
“Sometimes, with a sad delight, I think that if some day, in a future to which I may not belong, these words I’m writing will endure and receive praise, I will finally have people who ‘understand’ me, my people, the true family to be born into and to be loved by. But far from being born into it, I will have already died a long time before. I will be understood only in effigy, when affection no longer compensates the dead person for the disaffection he experienced when alive.”
- Pessoa
I am envious that you got to experience it in its native tongue! Portuguese is a beautiful language (I work with a lot of Brazilians). What are some other books you’ve really liked?
Thank you! That's so cool that you work with Brazilians. I’m originally from Brazil, but I have been living in Texas for a few years now.
Do you like strange books? I think you may like these two:
“Epitaph of a Small Winner” by Machado de Assis and “The Passion According to G.H.” by Clarice Lispector.
Machado de Assis is on Bloom's list of the greatest 100 geniuses.
But be warned - If you read and review these books, a lot of Brazilians may show up here! :)
These two are (besides Fernando Pessoa) the other Portuguese speaking authors I’d recommend.
One book I always suggest to basically everyone is “The Little Prince” by Saint-Exupéry. I think this is such a beautiful little book, but it’s not a book for children; IMHO; it’s for the child we all were one day. I actually bought several copies when they were only one dollar on Amazon so that I could give them away.
I also like philosophy books - “Meditations” by Marcos Aurelius and “Letters from a Stoic” by Seneca are my favorite in this category. I love poetry books, but there are so many good ones to name!
Please, let us know what you’re reading at the moment, so some of us can read along with you.
Thanks for those two recommendations!
I highlight Le Petit Prince on my 10 Short Books I Love video. I can read French so I’ve read it many times in the original. Agreed-wonderful book!
Philosophy is also a major part of my literary diet. I, too, love the ancient Greco-Roman philosophers. Perhaps I will do a video on my favorite philosophy books.
Currently I am read Robert Musil’s The Man Without Qualities, which is proving to be a intellectual feast. It’ll probably take me all of January to read it!
“Now, I’m the envious one! If I had another lifetime, I would surely try to learn French just so I could read TLP in its original language, “ said the fox.
I would love to see a review of your favorite philosophy books. I will check the video and the book out for sure. Thanks!
:-)
I just bought those two books you recommended me!
Wonderful video!
Thanks, Silje!
I've found your channel a couple of days ago, and my goodness what a great find! I've been watching video after video, with great pleasure. It's improving the quality of this lockdown imensely! Btw, hope you and your close ones are well and safe.
Also, I'm very glad to see that, like me, you're a proponent of slow reading. These days, with all the reading challenges and readathons and whatnot, I guess we're the black sheep amongst the herd.
Welcome aboard! So glad to have a kindred spirit! What are you reading these days? Hope you and yours are well too.
@@LeafbyLeaf at the moment I'm about halfway through "Boyhood Island", the third volume of Knausgård's "My Struggle". I've been reading other books in-between, and this one has been on the back burner, so I'm trying to make it a priority this week, to see if I manage to make good progress on it.
Awesome! I loved the Min kamp novel cycle!
Gold!
:-)
Wonderful!
I only have a vague recollection of a quote from Borges I think it was, just that he emphasized something like, A book is only as good as its reader. Something critics should probably think more about (and readers in general). Does it irk you at all when readers complain about having to look up words and such? For me, it's always a pleasure to discover and 'decode' strange words. Many endangered species that I try to conserve in my own work if I can.
Happy new year!
P.S. I spy Anniversaries.
In regards to your question about having to look up words-my answer will be in my forthcoming video on a delightful little book called Sea Above, Sun Below!
I've read Emerson's essay on Education; highly recommend it. It's very good. I was surprised at his concern even then. And then OOOH! I have that book! As you hold up How to Read a Book. I was looking at it today on my shelf wondering when I'll make it a priority. (because I just read how Virginia Woolf read books). Sometimes I read for luxury/entertainment, but mostly I read to learn something. Great video!
Thanks so much! I love Emerson! And Woolf!
@@LeafbyLeaf Which Woolf book would you recommend. I didn't like A Room of One's Own.
@@BookZealots To be honest, I've only read To the Lighthouse (sublime!) and A Room of One's Own (I quite liked this essay), as far as books. But her short fiction is great, too. In particular "A Haunted House." I plan to read The Waves this year, which good authority tells me is better than Lighthouse.
@@LeafbyLeaf Thank you. According to the bio Woolf felt Night and Day was her best. But that's still so early in her writing career. I'm surprised you liked A Room...I felt she came off as really pretentious and man hating. Ironically, in the bio, she has a room of her own and complains about it. 😆
BookZealots at this point I think I’m so used to man-hating in the humanities that I don’t notice it. And pretension is often part of the nature of genius. I have a remarkable ability, I believe, to take the meat and leave the bones. :-)
Thank you for making my favorite nerd channel on RUclips.
Two things:
(1.) Nabokov is pronounced nah-bow-cough. Or like nah-BOW-kauf. This is according to a Russian lit prof I once had... Russian has an emphasis on intonation. Apparently Dostoyevsky is pronounced doh-STOY!-evsky. 🤷🏼♂️
(2.) Didn’t finish the vid but I think you missed a book: “How to be Alone” by Jonathan Franzen. Please read it.
Just busting your balls a bit because I really like your vids...
Edit: yeah you still need to read that Franzen book. Easy reading essays that’ll make you happy...
You’re welcome! Thanks for the compliment.
I almost added the Franzen, which I read and enjoyed many years ago, but I was getting to the point that I needed to be more selective. Still-you’ve cited a woeful omission. Along with some other misses that commenters are pointing out, it sounds like I’ll need to make a follow-up video.
Thanks for the pronunciation tips! I am wretched when it comes to pronunciation.
I don't know why Roland Barthes' The Pleasure of the Text and Marcel Proust's Days of Reading aren't here!
You know-I thought of the Proust a few hours after I posted the video. And I did consider going through my Critical Tradition anthology and picking out Foucault, Barthes, Iser, Hirsch, et al. But at that point it was getting a bit more than I wanted in a single video. Still, your omissions are certainly blemishes on the video. Perhaps a follow-up video is in order!
Is that Art Blakey down there? (Love the changing masque effect.)
Sure is! (Haha, I didn’t realize that’s how it came off until I went back and watched it.)
If you haven't already can you do a video or a series of videos on literary theory/criticism such as deconstructionism? Also, i appreciate your channel!
It’s been a while since I’ve really been immersed in lit theory (other than psychoanalytical) but some other responses to this video have been thinking of doing some videos on theory. Thanks for the push!
Great Video. I love the Henry David Thoreau quote.. Only because I always feel like i am not necessarily having a conversation with an author, but like I enter a world and he is my guide through it. I trust 100 percent and give him my hand. Some disappoint me but others just blow my mind. :) I return to them often. The Nabokov though hits home only because I am not a rereader if I was honest. Do you reread often?
I only reread a very small selection often. Homer, Dante, Milton, Shakespeare, Chaucer, Melville, Austen, Joyce, Proust, Woolf. And only a very smaller selection of post-Proustian literature. I definitely don’t reread everything. I love your formulation of giving over control to the author. That is precisely how I aim to experience each work.
We read to leave
To leave?
@@LeafbyLeaf yes. Here.
Ahhhhh, yes! Forgive my density.
Montaigne talking about the weakness of his language and intellect... yeah right buddy.
😂🤣😂