The Yellow Wallpaper has so so much historical context and personal contacts related to the author that it makes for such a fascinating deep dive especially if you read it in school like I did.
The Yellow Wallpaper gave me actual chills at the end. For some reason the abrupt ending totally worked for me which is not normally something I like but it just felt so... accurate to rest of the story. The book ended - and maybe so did she.
i read the yellow wallpaper in high school and for a WGS class and it really is thought-provoking. It touches not only on mental health in women and the treatment regarding women's health, but the whole point is that she is actually suffering from postpartum depression which was often seen as just women having a psychotic break. It is a super interesting read for a deep dive and I highly recommend sitting down and breaking it down!
Jesse really out here being like "there must be a deeper meaning to the piss" like boi,,, that's a fetish. there's a 95% chance the author has a (possibly repressed) piss kink and there's nothing else to it
I read the yellow wallpaper in university and the analysis we were told was that her illness was actually post partum depression and that the isolation made it worse. Her husband was to be blamed for a lot of it, he wouldn't even let her see her kid and whatnot. That's most of what I remember.
The worst part is that it was kind of based on the author's real-life experience-acknowledging a fate that she came dangerously close to herself, and only escaped by rebelling and refusing to follow her physician's orders.
If I remember correctly the author sent this book once it was published to the doctor that recommended the isolation as proof that it was harmful and he publicly acknowledged his wrong doing?
I'm a PhD student in literature and study this time period. This is often the conclusion my students interpret the story and how I do as well. In addition Gilman herself was treated this way after giving birth so an autobiographical reading is what many use.
@@chelsey8737 I've heard that she sent it to him, and that at one point she did claim that he had eventually renounced his ways afterward-but I've also read that it's somewhat disputed if he ever actually did change his ways or not. (But perhaps I'm misinformed; I am, admittedly, not an expert historian or anything.)
I'm so happy to see The Yellow Wallpaper making the rounds on BookTube. It's a classic that has a tremendous real world impact--and is so intensely engaging.
How is it that you don't have more followers?! You're like pure serotonin, Your editing is great, and your setup stunning. Not to mention the fact that you just seem very real which is always good. Sending much love. Hope you finally finished the shadowhunter series 🤣
I totally have those moments where you say a word right and feel like it comes out wrong. Not just you, Jesse! Solidarity! (PS, such a fun video, as always! You are a blessing to me!)
A weird book rec from me would be Welcome to Night Vale by Joseph Fink & Jeffrey Cranor. It's inspired by a podcast of the same name (created by the book's authors). It'll be too confusing if I try explaining anything, but let's just say this deliciously weird book has a surprising amount of heart to it. (Also as a library aide, your worry about returning an overdue book made me laugh. There's no need to be afraid of the library staff - besides, there are plenty of other people who are far far worse at returning books than you!)
I have a weird book rec. 'Hollow Kingdom' is from the prospective of a (sorta crass) crow navigating life after the apocalypse. Humans have evolved into monster like creatures, and the animals have to survive and lean on each other so as not to be wiped out. It was a wild series, but im really glad I read it. ☆☆☆☆
So glad you read The Yellow Wallpaper! I’m not big into short stories, but it’d one of my favorites. If you’re looking for books with a strange, dream-like feel and uneasiness, The Lost History of Dreams by Kris Waldherr definitely fire the description! Kind of a gothic mystery, and the main character takes pictures of the dead for mourning families. I happened to have an allergic reaction at the time and accidentally took a full dose of Benadryl rather than 1, went back to certain parts to see if the book was really that weird or it was just the Benadryl, but no…the book just feels like a fever dream. Charles Williams also write some pretty bizarre stuff, but his books might require a bit of background/research because his writing is so infused with his personal theology. Descent into Hell was the best of the few I’ve read from him, though.
I am so happy you enjoyed yourself. I personally love Bunny and The Yellow Wallpaper. As for weird books...Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke may be classified as such. It is a novella following two women in a chatroom. One is 'daring' the other to do things and it escalates quite quickly.
Hello guys, I remember reading the yellow wallpaper at school. It was very confusing and sad just like Jesse said. But one thing that wasn't mentioned is that there's the possibility that the main character was mentally ill and the husband and sister-in-law were just her doctor and nurse. That was a theory that the teacher told us since we were so confused but if it is true, then everything is just even more sad.
The Yellow Wallpaper reminds me of Gentle Lena. Had to read Gentle Lena in college and as a woman it filled me with so much rage seeing what our mothers and grandmothers had to deal with at the hands of men. 10/10 recommend
The Monsters We Deserve by Marcus Sedgewick is fantastic and very, very odd! 💜 I love strange books and I'm certainly reading all the ones on this list that I haven't already read 🤩
I just finished reading Bunny and although I have some complaints, I really enjoyed reading it! I like how it is so weird, easy to read (even addictive), and interesting from a literary perspective. It's hard to tick all three of those boxes in one book :). The weirdest book I've ever read is probably Truismes, but that might be because I went into it completely blind, whereas with Bunny I knew things were gonna get weird. If you speak French, I would recommend the French version with a completely blank cover, because that way you can go into it completely blind, whereas the English title and cover already hint at certain things. Truismes is a book where I did not think 'I like this book' or 'I hate this book' or 'this book is boring'. I was too busy thinking 'wtf did I just read?' One of my favorite weird books (though not as weird as Bunny or Truismes) is Sideways Stories From Wayside School. It's not quite as weird as the others, because it's a kids' book and absurd stuff is more expected in a kids' book. But I loved the humor and the absurd rules of this school, where dead rats try to sneak into the classroom and the 19th floor is missing.
Hopefully this doesn't sound creepy or something. But I love all the shirts you put on for this video! I really love your style ☺️ Yellow really is your color.
I agree with all your thoughts on The Yellow Wallpaper! Definitely a strange one, but it provoked such deep thoughts & discussions! The weirdest book/short story I've ever read was Greasy Lake. I can't even begin to describe that story to you. Maybe try that in the future? ❤
I finished My Annihilation by Fuminori Nakamura last night, which you mentioned in a video way back and after you did I came across it in a bookstore and got it 😅 that was a wild ride and I can stop thinking about the mind games the characters were put through! Love bizarrely told stories and trying to figure out what's going on and found myself rereading sections doing that "what no, no?!"
There are a lot of popular contemporary horror novels that would fit the bill for weird. Woom by Duncan Ralston, Our Wives Under the Sea by Julia Armfield, All's Well by Mona Awad (I guess she just writes weird books, lol); those are just a few I can come up with from the top of my head, but there's definitely more. I would be very interested to hear your opinion on Woom, because it is considered an extreme horror novel, but it's also pretty literary, and the extreme elements aren't just there for shock value, they do add to the story and have symbolic meaning as well.
A good weird/ dark fairytale books for me to read are always the Grimm brothers fairytales pick up anyone of there stories and hopefully you will enjoy It.
I feel like if you combine most of these books together in some way, shape, or form-- bringing elements from each together then add a time traveling bear, MMM Bop, 90's references, and carnivorous plant aliens-- you'd get the movie "Detention"... but I have yet to read a book that gives me "weird/trippy/what the heck did I just read" vibes as much as that movie did.
Oh my goodness, you're wearing a pink bunnyhug while reading a book called Bunny?! (Or at least introducing it anyway, as I look up to see you wearing a button up) Were you aware of that or is this a Saskatchewan specific realisation that you didn't plan or know about?😂 (no clue what he book is about. Just loved that fact. And that bunnyhug looked so good on you!)
I read The Yellow Wallpaper. Virginia Woolf did a similar short story called The Mark on the Wall, I believe. For a future read, I recommend Orlando by Virginia Woolf.
5:41 I think the urine symbolises their intimacy and closeness and the lack of privacy - what is more intimate and vulnerable than your insides coming outside (especially when you consider that Jo studies biology). Additionally - bodily fluids are a symptom (for want of a better word) of life, so it reflects the life that can be found in decay (urea is broken down into ammonia - and so is decaying matter).
My weird book recommendation is a book called The Wish Tree by Katherine Applegate. It's not the weirdest story out there, but it's an interesting read nonetheless!
Dawn by Octavia e butler it’s one of the weirdest books I’ve ever read, the first 50% was normal but the second half was crazy. Also kinda in the same vibe of the yellow wallpaper I think I who have never known men it’s a great weird book 🙌🏻
Weirdest book I’ve read in a long time is Killing Commendatore by Murakami. I used to read (and love) his older stuff as a teen but when I picked this up… just WTF
Earthlings by Sayaka Murata! 💯 Weird book and I love the author 😊 Or her short story collection Life Ceremony 😏 They are interesting also because they are from a Japanese view point and the culture and the society are showing from the twisted stories with hidden meanings and messages
Hello kind Sir, I am writing this letter to you this evening to formally request a part 2. If one chooses to act on my request I recommend We Ride Upon Sticks by Quan Barry. Sincerely, Katelyn (Sorry, I’m on a Bridgerton kick… and an edible🤣)
Remainder by Tom McCarthy is weird to the power of madness. Also, the Piano Teacher by Elfriede Jelinek (but then you need to be ready for some more p*ss...)
i wrote an analysis of the yellow wallpaper and how it affected the treatment of women with postpartum depression, as it is theorized that is what the woman was going through
I love the shirt changes with every book. Jesse really pays attention to the little details.
The Yellow Wallpaper changed how doctors treated patients in real life.
What’s the next challenge, Jesse? “Reading your fanfic recommendations”?
Please 🙏
YES!! 👏🏻
Oh, I’ve got SO many recommendations for this, which fandom? XD
@@morganmeadowes6861 i like Harry Potter personally…lol
I would love that
The Yellow Wallpaper has so so much historical context and personal contacts related to the author that it makes for such a fascinating deep dive especially if you read it in school like I did.
The Yellow Wallpaper gave me actual chills at the end. For some reason the abrupt ending totally worked for me which is not normally something I like but it just felt so... accurate to rest of the story. The book ended - and maybe so did she.
i read the yellow wallpaper in high school and for a WGS class and it really is thought-provoking. It touches not only on mental health in women and the treatment regarding women's health, but the whole point is that she is actually suffering from postpartum depression which was often seen as just women having a psychotic break. It is a super interesting read for a deep dive and I highly recommend sitting down and breaking it down!
Jesse really out here being like "there must be a deeper meaning to the piss" like boi,,, that's a fetish. there's a 95% chance the author has a (possibly repressed) piss kink and there's nothing else to it
Hahaha I was just about to write the same thing
I read the yellow wallpaper in university and the analysis we were told was that her illness was actually post partum depression and that the isolation made it worse. Her husband was to be blamed for a lot of it, he wouldn't even let her see her kid and whatnot. That's most of what I remember.
The worst part is that it was kind of based on the author's real-life experience-acknowledging a fate that she came dangerously close to herself, and only escaped by rebelling and refusing to follow her physician's orders.
If I remember correctly the author sent this book once it was published to the doctor that recommended the isolation as proof that it was harmful and he publicly acknowledged his wrong doing?
I'm a PhD student in literature and study this time period. This is often the conclusion my students interpret the story and how I do as well. In addition Gilman herself was treated this way after giving birth so an autobiographical reading is what many use.
@@chelsey8737 I've heard that she sent it to him, and that at one point she did claim that he had eventually renounced his ways afterward-but I've also read that it's somewhat disputed if he ever actually did change his ways or not. (But perhaps I'm misinformed; I am, admittedly, not an expert historian or anything.)
You really matched your shirts to the covers of the books… so aesthetically satisfying 😌
I'm sorry but Jesse saying piss caught me off guard Lol
I'm so happy to see The Yellow Wallpaper making the rounds on BookTube.
It's a classic that has a tremendous real world impact--and is so intensely engaging.
How is it that you don't have more followers?! You're like pure serotonin, Your editing is great, and your setup stunning. Not to mention the fact that you just seem very real which is always good. Sending much love. Hope you finally finished the shadowhunter series 🤣
I totally have those moments where you say a word right and feel like it comes out wrong. Not just you, Jesse! Solidarity! (PS, such a fun video, as always! You are a blessing to me!)
I love how you're expanding your reading taste!
Agreed ☺️
A weird book rec from me would be Welcome to Night Vale by Joseph Fink & Jeffrey Cranor. It's inspired by a podcast of the same name (created by the book's authors). It'll be too confusing if I try explaining anything, but let's just say this deliciously weird book has a surprising amount of heart to it. (Also as a library aide, your worry about returning an overdue book made me laugh. There's no need to be afraid of the library staff - besides, there are plenty of other people who are far far worse at returning books than you!)
The yellow wallpaper sounds interesting :) !
“Reading experiments” me too bestie me too, trying random challenges cause ✨ reading slump ✨
I really appreciate how you matched your shirt to the book covers
I have a weird book rec. 'Hollow Kingdom' is from the prospective of a (sorta crass) crow navigating life after the apocalypse. Humans have evolved into monster like creatures, and the animals have to survive and lean on each other so as not to be wiped out. It was a wild series, but im really glad I read it. ☆☆☆☆
So glad you read The Yellow Wallpaper! I’m not big into short stories, but it’d one of my favorites. If you’re looking for books with a strange, dream-like feel and uneasiness, The Lost History of Dreams by Kris Waldherr definitely fire the description! Kind of a gothic mystery, and the main character takes pictures of the dead for mourning families. I happened to have an allergic reaction at the time and accidentally took a full dose of Benadryl rather than 1, went back to certain parts to see if the book was really that weird or it was just the Benadryl, but no…the book just feels like a fever dream. Charles Williams also write some pretty bizarre stuff, but his books might require a bit of background/research because his writing is so infused with his personal theology. Descent into Hell was the best of the few I’ve read from him, though.
yessssss, a new bookish Jesse video is just what I needed rn 😁😊💜💜 thank youuuuu
I am so happy you enjoyed yourself. I personally love Bunny and The Yellow Wallpaper. As for weird books...Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke may be classified as such. It is a novella following two women in a chatroom. One is 'daring' the other to do things and it escalates quite quickly.
Hello guys, I remember reading the yellow wallpaper at school. It was very confusing and sad just like Jesse said. But one thing that wasn't mentioned is that there's the possibility that the main character was mentally ill and the husband and sister-in-law were just her doctor and nurse. That was a theory that the teacher told us since we were so confused but if it is true, then everything is just even more sad.
16:18 same, I read each Heartstopper novel in like 15 minutes, I fekt my reading slump vanish 😂😂
Let us thank Shakespeare for introducing us to the word ‘Weird’. He’d be happy to hear the word being used rather frequently here.
I think "wyrd" was in Beowulf. It's been a while since I read it 😂
Definitely recommend “Lincoln in the Bardo”. It’s the weirdest reading experience I’ve ever had, but also loved it.
i added literally all of these to my tbr (besides bunny which i already read and enjoyed), thank you for the reviews!
On an unrelated note, I love your tops in this video. We Stan a man of Feshawn.
I remember reading The Yellow Wallpaper in uni and loving it! Looking back, definitely describes my experience with PPD well
I loooove weird lit so much!
The end of video bloopers always make my day hehehe thanks for another slay video Bestie, it was so funnn
I mean with Jesse I get great recommendations or just good videos BUT THE SHIRTS!!!! I want them all
The Yellow Wallpaper reminds me of Gentle Lena. Had to read Gentle Lena in college and as a woman it filled me with so much rage seeing what our mothers and grandmothers had to deal with at the hands of men. 10/10 recommend
The Monsters We Deserve by Marcus Sedgewick is fantastic and very, very odd! 💜 I love strange books and I'm certainly reading all the ones on this list that I haven't already read 🤩
I just finished reading Bunny and although I have some complaints, I really enjoyed reading it! I like how it is so weird, easy to read (even addictive), and interesting from a literary perspective. It's hard to tick all three of those boxes in one book :).
The weirdest book I've ever read is probably Truismes, but that might be because I went into it completely blind, whereas with Bunny I knew things were gonna get weird. If you speak French, I would recommend the French version with a completely blank cover, because that way you can go into it completely blind, whereas the English title and cover already hint at certain things. Truismes is a book where I did not think 'I like this book' or 'I hate this book' or 'this book is boring'. I was too busy thinking 'wtf did I just read?'
One of my favorite weird books (though not as weird as Bunny or Truismes) is Sideways Stories From Wayside School. It's not quite as weird as the others, because it's a kids' book and absurd stuff is more expected in a kids' book. But I loved the humor and the absurd rules of this school, where dead rats try to sneak into the classroom and the 19th floor is missing.
Hopefully this doesn't sound creepy or something. But I love all the shirts you put on for this video! I really love your style ☺️ Yellow really is your color.
Right? His shirts are so cool, I want all of them! Especially the floral ones!
That intro. Glorious. Thank you.
The yellow shirt looks great on you. 😌💛
I honestly just stared at your Mistborn collection half the time..I need a video where you talk about Brando Sando for half an hour 😂
I agree with all your thoughts on The Yellow Wallpaper! Definitely a strange one, but it provoked such deep thoughts & discussions!
The weirdest book/short story I've ever read was Greasy Lake. I can't even begin to describe that story to you. Maybe try that in the future? ❤
I finished My Annihilation by Fuminori Nakamura last night, which you mentioned in a video way back and after you did I came across it in a bookstore and got it 😅 that was a wild ride and I can stop thinking about the mind games the characters were put through! Love bizarrely told stories and trying to figure out what's going on and found myself rereading sections doing that "what no, no?!"
I love how respectful you’re talking about books ❤
need a part two please!!! these were so great!!
I think the piss descriptions mean that sis is dehydrated! 😮 Nobody’s pee should be looking like melted butter!
40 seconds in and the video already gives major adhd vibes. Same
There are a lot of popular contemporary horror novels that would fit the bill for weird. Woom by Duncan Ralston, Our Wives Under the Sea by Julia Armfield, All's Well by Mona Awad (I guess she just writes weird books, lol); those are just a few I can come up with from the top of my head, but there's definitely more. I would be very interested to hear your opinion on Woom, because it is considered an extreme horror novel, but it's also pretty literary, and the extreme elements aren't just there for shock value, they do add to the story and have symbolic meaning as well.
I love every single video you post, always such a great time😋
A good weird/ dark fairytale books for me to read are always the Grimm brothers fairytales pick up anyone of there stories and hopefully you will enjoy It.
A very strange book, but one of my favorite is the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
Bunny is a polarizing book. 🐰
There's actually a couple books here that really struck an interest for me, I'll have to check them out
Off topic - love the shirt!!
Bunny legit was one of those books where I was like wtf did I just read 🤣
RIGHT
I saw Bunny and clicked SO FAST
I feel like if you combine most of these books together in some way, shape, or form-- bringing elements from each together then add a time traveling bear, MMM Bop, 90's references, and carnivorous plant aliens-- you'd get the movie "Detention"... but I have yet to read a book that gives me "weird/trippy/what the heck did I just read" vibes as much as that movie did.
Oh my goodness, you're wearing a pink bunnyhug while reading a book called Bunny?! (Or at least introducing it anyway, as I look up to see you wearing a button up) Were you aware of that or is this a Saskatchewan specific realisation that you didn't plan or know about?😂 (no clue what he book is about. Just loved that fact. And that bunnyhug looked so good on you!)
I read a lot of weird stories for my English degree. One of them was The Beetle by Richard Marsh.
Thanks for posting! Hope you’re doing well ❤️❤️❤️
This Is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone is the weirdest and best book I read recently. Highly recommend it!
For a weird book I gotta recommend Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman. Such a bizarre fantasy/magical realism story with a lot of humor!
Best weird book o ever read was "The Archive of Alternate Endings" by Lindsey Drager
I read The Yellow Wallpaper. Virginia Woolf did a similar short story called The Mark on the Wall, I believe. For a future read, I recommend Orlando by Virginia Woolf.
I had to read The Yellow Wallpapper multiple times in school.
As someone who is deficient in keeping things concise, I’m taking notes on how to manage time.
Hi Jesse. My weird recommendation is Tales from the Gas Station vol 1,2 & 3 by Jack Townsend. Maybe check them out. Happy reading.
5:41 I think the urine symbolises their intimacy and closeness and the lack of privacy - what is more intimate and vulnerable than your insides coming outside (especially when you consider that Jo studies biology). Additionally - bodily fluids are a symptom (for want of a better word) of life, so it reflects the life that can be found in decay (urea is broken down into ammonia - and so is decaying matter).
The Regrets by Amy Bonaffons is one of my all time favourite weird books
This was really fun!
I remember reading “The Giant Wisteria” in college - it’s a short story by Charlotte Perkins Gilman - and thinking it was pretty weird
Other weird recs? Woyzeck by Georg Buchner 😂 Weirdest one I've ever read. Also Summerhouse, later by Judith Hermann.
6:58 Love a matchy matchy moment.
My weird book recommendation is a book called The Wish Tree by Katherine Applegate. It's not the weirdest story out there, but it's an interesting read nonetheless!
Dawn by Octavia e butler it’s one of the weirdest books I’ve ever read, the first 50% was normal but the second half was crazy. Also kinda in the same vibe of the yellow wallpaper I think I who have never known men it’s a great weird book 🙌🏻
I haven't read any of these, but if you want weird, I definitely recommend Bear v Shark by Chris Bacheldor.
Physician? Physicist? 😂
Ooo, I've read them all 😁❤️
THE DESCRIPTION OF THE URINE NAURRRR NOOOO
Short Review of ‘Paradise Rot’: “Piss off.”
the tornado book is horror. on that note, my weird rec is more strange horror.... You've Lost a Lot of Blood by Eric LaRocca!!
19:40 Let’s just say you attract the right energy.
This is all i needed😭
THE RANDOM FACT TOOK ME OUT PLEASE
Another day, another slayyy
Weirdest book I’ve read in a long time is Killing Commendatore
by Murakami. I used to read (and love) his older stuff as a teen but when I picked this up… just WTF
12:34 you beatboxed well 🤭
Strange Beasts of China by Yan Ge is a great weird book rec!
Earthlings by Sayaka Murata! 💯 Weird book and I love the author 😊
Or her short story collection Life Ceremony 😏
They are interesting also because they are from a Japanese view point and the culture and the society are showing from the twisted stories with hidden meanings and messages
I came here to say Earthlings too! Then he started going "Po!, pop! pop!" and I lost. 😂
Great Video!
Fun video idea!
Weirdest book I have read is “The Night Guest” by Fiona McFarlane. I picked it up for it’s pretty cover, but it was a strange, and pretty sad, story.
I read the yellow wallpaper in high school for dual credit
bunny is so weird but good (in my opinion)
You think that first book had a weird piss obsession? Try reading The Hellbound Heart. Actually don't. I still wish I hadn't.
Hello kind Sir, I am writing this letter to you this evening to formally request a part 2. If one chooses to act on my request I recommend We Ride Upon Sticks by Quan Barry.
Sincerely, Katelyn
(Sorry, I’m on a Bridgerton kick… and an edible🤣)
bless you.
Pls the protagonist of the first book has her work cut out for her please- she’s going THRU it
Read some Max Porter for some weird books.
read The Marbled Swarm by Dennis Cooper
Remainder by Tom McCarthy is weird to the power of madness. Also, the Piano Teacher by Elfriede Jelinek (but then you need to be ready for some more p*ss...)
i wrote an analysis of the yellow wallpaper and how it affected the treatment of women with postpartum depression, as it is theorized that is what the woman was going through