I've read my first Trollope earlier this year and it was like the loveliest thing. "The Warden", which happened to be the one and Steve said was a great place to start, from the very first page tricks the reader into thinking that there is no way somewhere out there there wasn't a city like that with these exact people living there. The entire book (and it's so tiny) so wonderfully showcases the situation in which two parties follow their moral codes and you find yourself agreeing with arguments of both but you as well as the characters know only one side can win and either way it will be devastating given their priorities. The titular Warden is one of these "truly good people" who can get so annoying in books sometimes but here you're just happy to be in his glowing presence. The narration leaves you in the constant company of the author who tells the story like a tale. It could end badly as sometimes it just gives authors a chance to indulge in their own voice but here it so organic and more like listening to a friend talking about some people he's met along the way. I really think you would like it. I, Claudius! I, Claudius has got to have one of my all-time favorite book endings. The last paragraph is just so perfect. Plus Livia. She is such a complex, strong, dominant presence in the book and once everything about her unfolds you find yourself choosing her for every fantasy book team you were ever to create. Agree, Kaligula is like a different set of dresses and ship bridges altogether. The best thing about the Anna Karenina adaptation is the scenography. The sets unfolding and shifting in that one created that beautiful illusion of theater meeting big screen. "La Regenta" - I have to read it. I just do. I WILL be waiting for your face to show up sitting right here a front of my screen. Or maybe I'm just saying that cuz it was the last point you made and I want you to think I watched the whole thing. Who knows...
7 лет назад+8
Of course I am sitting at my computer, waiting for your new video! All day. Every day. PS: Have a good holiday!
I've had three Shakespeare classes. I teach at least one of his plays every year, and of all his works, it's Julius Caesar that I've still never read/seen. I, Claudius is on my TBR for later this month.
I don't even read classics (I have read about a handful) but this video just makes me want to rent a cabin in the woods for a year and read all the books you mentioned. Also I loved your "putting your American citizenship in jeopardy" thing for not loving The Great Gatsby, you always make me crack up 😂
I also melt when I listen to Richard Armitage and I couldn't think of a better (or funnier) way to express that than you did. Don Quixote was also a great book for me and I am so glad I read it. It takes a bit of commitment but I found it helpful just to approach each little episode as they come and to slow down and really enjoy the story. It always makes me happy to hear how much other people have enjoyed it too.
Oooo you should read Trollope, he is so, so brilliant! Mansfield Park is one of my favourite Austens, so enjoy :) And yes, the BBC North and South is so wonderful
Add me to the list of hearty "yay"s for the Don Quixote video! We only touched on parts of it in my Spanish classes, but I've always wanted to re-visit it and read the whole thing!
Yes!!! I actually might start reading Don Quijote with a group next month and I have been going back and forth on whether I am going to join in the group read. I think this video just put me over the edge, but I would love more info on how to get the most out of the reading experience! I love your take on everything especially classics!
"I Claudius" and "Claudius the God" (the sequel) are two of the best Historical Fictions in print today. Robert Graves was an Englishman who was Classically trained in some of the best Universities in the UK. Both books were made into a BBC mini-series in 1975 and well worth the watching.
I completely agree with your assessment of The Great Gatsby. I have read it twice, hoping to see what everyone sees in the book. It's ok, but not great (no pun intended).
Omg, finally someone mentions La Regenta. It's been on my shelf for ages, unread, waiting for someone to recommend it highly to boost it up my to-read list lol. I mean, I always heard Tale of Genji was the first novel, but I guess Don Quixote is the first Western novel. OH! I, Claudius! Loved the miniseries, loved Livia, loved Sian Phillips [to whom I'm hoping I am distantly related lmao] and John Hurt as Caligula was hilarious. Such a wild story.... I've been meaning to read that one for forever too.
Don Quijote de la Mancha was one of the first books that Dickens read as a child, out from his dad's shelves, it was a true inspiration to him. And Cervantes wrote it as a mockery towards the chivalry novels and ended up writing a masterpiece. Great video, thks.
I enjoyed studying The Great Gatsby. I always liked going in-depth in the character analysis. I honestly haven't read it just by itself for fun. I don't know how I'd feel about it now.
Oh wow! I thought *I* was the only one who thinks The Great Gatsby is overhyped! So happy you think so too. If we're going to be driven out of America for feeling this way let's found our own non-Great Gatsby country. :) I want to read Emerson too. I'm going on a New England road trip soon so maybe that's the time to do it. Don Quijote is hilarious! I try to prompt people to read it insisting "But it's really funny!" Loved your responses to these!
YES let's make that country, it seems like more people need a refuge than we thought. And I know, Don Quixote is hilarious, I still remember parts of it and laugh at random moments about them
I would be 100% interested in advice for Don Quixote. I have read parts in the past and really enjoyed it, but admittedly got intimidated by the length of it. I have it on my TBR for this year, but worry about finishing it.
I loved Don Quixote!! I was so pleasantly surprised when I had to read it for one of my lit classes in college. It's massive but it flew by, and I still think about it a lot. I'm actually listening to The Iliad right now, having read it before years ago, and I've gotten so much more out of it so I highly recommend taking it in that way if you are an audiobook fan!
The TV series on the JULIA DYNASTY, called YO CLAUDIO based on Robert Graves book is fantastic. It goes from Augustus throught the emperors and ending with Neron. I really like your posts but it was until yesterday that I discovered you. I have just watched three videos but I will always appreaciate a point of view which considers the style of writing, the historical context and how the book made you feel and of course no spoilers (so many booktubers think that describing the plot is a good thing, no it is not). Thank you, looking forward to watching all your videos.
I'm coming in quite late on this, but my 40-something self has no time for Gatsby or Mockingbird either. I can admire the skill of the latter, at least, but I find its determination to Be Important gets in the way of my actually liking it. Gatsby just bores me to tears.
Bah! All this Gatsby hate being echoed through the comment section! I curse ALL of booktube! Love Gatsby, read it once a year, love it 😭 That Beaver impression !! Lol.. I remember renting both the animated and BBC miniseries of Lion/Witch non stop as a child . I'm sure I would horrified if I watched today at how bad they were
mementomori loved Gatsby too ! I read it when I was 19 and loved it so much ! I liked the movie adaption because it showed who was Gatsby and how he was doomed. Beautiful. Sorry but can't follow you on that Jen ! I don't like many French classics too but you are right having to read it for school changes it all. I still haven't read Don Quichotte (love to see the many spellings of it in the comments section) so looking forward to seeing your video. And it's Leo Tolstoï 😉 in French and you made me laughed with the actor who played Vronski ! his haircut really troubled me !
my reply didn't show up !! I love that book too ! So awesome, and that character doomed from the start ! I can't agree with you on that Jen ! Were you just too young ? and I don't like the French classics I studied in school (except for one) so yes not the best period. The movie was pretty good at showing the fall of that man. I'm really interested by your video about Don Quichotte and laughed at your comment about the movie adaptation and the actor who played Vronski (his hair did puzzle me a lot) :-)
Loved this video, Jennifer. Totally agree with you about the BBC mini-series - they are so well done. We read parts of Don Quixote in high school (not in the US) and I remember I was so engrossed by the story I read the whole book. I''m sure some of it went over my head so maybe it's time for a reread.
Would very much enjoy hearing your experience of Don Quixote. I put off reading it for 15 years, finally got to it during quarantine; it was unforgettable, and easily the funniest book of my life. Found the Spanish original too difficult, read the Raffel translation, along with little bits of the new version by Edith Grossman. We love playing Donny Q and Sancho in our household. Would be great to get your take.
Really enjoyed this video and was especially delighted to see you mention La Regenta. I've always thought of it as the Spanish Madame Bovary but, as you say, it can equally be the Spanish Ana Karenina. Thanks for sharing
Sitting at the computer waiting for you: thank you for wording my worries about Gassy Gatsby and Mockingbird. I read mostly classics but those two eluded me completely! I want to read I, Claudius so bad, but I don't want to start it if it means finishing it and it being over with... Welcome back, whenever that is, I hope you enjoyed yourself!
I'd be really interested in a video about Don Quixote - I haven't read it myself for exactly the reasons you mentioned, I've always felt a bit daunted by it, but it would be great to hear more about why you really enjoyed it.
Hi~ enjoyed hearing your answers to the questions! I'd say I understand why The Great Gatsby is so hyped but after reading a couple of Fitzgerald's other works I like those better (This Side of Paradise). Also, I am mildly jealous of your Modern Library Classics look at the gorgeous spines!! I'm definitely interested on hearing your guide to don quijote, I've had this on my tbr forever but I don't know how to start it!
I didn't much care for Gatsby either, but I though maybe it's because I'm not an American. Before reading Gatsby I read mostly French and Russian classics and after that THE GREAT Gatsby seemed like such a silly little thing. Now that I think of it, I still don't really appreciate any of 'great American novels'. I loved I, Claudius as a teenager, I must have read it five times. Grandma Livia rules.
I know, I feel like a bad citizen but the "great American novels" have rarely done anything for me (although maybe I've just tried the wrong ones? who knows)
K dot Perhaps you should try Moby Dick, Fahrenheit 451, For Whom the Bell Tolls, The Grapes of Wrath, The Red Badge of Courage and A Connecticut Yankee at King Arthur's Court.
You made my weekend with that Lucy impersonation 🤣🤣I laughed so loud the sound waves almost cracked the screen on my tablet 😂🤣. It was really good, talk about a classic 🤣. I remember watching that cartoon over and over again as a kid until Jadis the white witch started giving me nightmares, why’d she have to scream so much. I saw it again some 20 years later and said wow, I guess they did the best they could with the budget they had (all 50 dollars of it). I agree about Gatsby I gave it 3 stars I thought it was okay, I couldn’t stand Daisy. You should give To Kill a Mockingbird a second try. I first read it in 8 th grade and I just remember thinking the movie was way better. I read it for the second time this February and it is a 5 star book in my opinion, now I see why it is a classic. Anyway I love your channel, you have quickly become one of my favorite booktubers and not just because of that killer Lucy impersonation although that did help. Seriously, you are really great at what you do, thank you🤗.
@@InsertLiteraryPunHere Kudos on the Lucy impression...but you didn't mention if you enjoyed the original Narnia books themselves! If you did, Lucy's character is foreshadowed by 19th century author George MacDonald's (C S Lewis's "master") princess Irene in The Princess and The Goblin. And MacDonald also wrote 19th century realistic fiction like the Brontes and George Eliot-my translations of which are recommended by C S Lewis's stepson: ruclips.net/video/dYZ19lHp6j8/видео.html
Oh I have to read The Snow Queen! I already have all of Andersen's fairy tales, but I haven't been reading them! When I was supposed to read To Kill a Mockingbird in high school, I only got about halfway through, I didn't like it then, either. But I read it back in May and absolutely loved it. And I completely agree about books being made into mini-series!!
Seconded on I, Claudius. It's a riveting, classy potboiler. Also, check out the fabulous Masterpiece Theatre adaptation if you haven't seen it. Derek Jacobi as Claudius, Patrick Stewart as Sejanus, John Hurt as Caligula! I'd love a Don Quixote video. Everyone I know who has read it loves it, but the book is such a doorstop, its daunting.
Loved that Richard Armitage comment! Perhaps you've seen it already, but a good Anthony Trollope adaptation would be the one of The Way We Live Now with David Suchet. Recently discovered your channel. Really enjoying your content!☺
Very interesting thoughts! And your beaver impression was hilarious! Also, I agree with you for the Lord of the Rings adaptation and the Anna Karenina's one! Hearing you I realize how much I need to read more Ancient Greek classics and philosophy but the accurate and well-edited Greek editions are quite expensive therefore I have postponed my willing for so long! I, Claudius is in my tbr for ages. It's time to read it too! Happy vacations!
Hiya! Firstly, I love your videos ! It's nice to see someone who isn't afraid to say what they actually think about a book. I had a completely different reaction to Great Gatsby. I actually really liked it. Maybe because it was book I read when I was 15 and with the rest of the class. It was cool to see how differently we all perceived the book. Also quick book suggestions (if you haven't already read these books ) : you might like Cats Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut. In the lake of the woods by Tim O'Brien. And Fountainhead by Ayn Rand.
Thanks for sharing your opinion, it's cool to hear that somebody enjoyed Gatsby in school (usually you hear the opposite)! I read it on my own, so maybe that had something to do with my reaction. Ayn Rand isn't an author I'm interested in, and I've read Cat's Cradle, but I'd love to read more Tim O'Brien
Omg yes penguin deluxe classics! I really love the penguin threads editions especially! I have four of the six threads and two Shirley Jackson. I want Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights but I'm having trouble justifying buying them since I already own multiple copies of both.
I don't get The Great Gatsby either! I think I only read it because I like Leonardo Di Caprio and the movie was coming out. But I think To Kill a Mockingbird is wonderful.
I watched and loved the movie adaptation ( yes the one with Leo Di Caprio) but struggled through the book because I thought I didn't get the America cultural references. Well that has kind of put me off reading anymore Fitzgerald. Will definitely be looking forward to the video of Don Quixote.
Hi Jennifer! I totally agree with you about The Great Gatsby. I read it a couple of weeks ago and was like: Whatttt??? This is all?? Come on! :) Veeery dissapointed! It's so cool that you mentioned two Spanish novels that, by the way, I haven't read yet... I know!!!! But I will read La Regenta in the next weeks. About Don Quijote I think it is probably easier (and I mean easier in the way of not feeling lazy about it) to read it in English (?) I mean, in Spanish you have to read it in ancient Spanish and it makes you feel kind of lazy. I guess that is what a lot os Spanish speakers feel. But I definitely will read it sometime. By the way, the way you pronounce La ReGenta and Don QuiJote is amazing! You have a wonderful pronuntiation! :) Un abrazo fuerte! :)
I agree with your feelings toward The Great Gatsby. A classic I've been meaning to read for ages is The Wings of a Dove by Henry James. Every time I try I can't get past the first 20 or so pages. I read Portrait of a Lady with no issues. Was wondering if you've read either and your thoughts on them. Thanks!
I read To Kill A Mockingbird quite late in my life as where I grew up and lived (aka as Hungary) it was not in the canon at all (the movie was, the book was not). So I thought I knew the story, the social commentary, etc etc. But. Then. I came across the audiobook version of it, Sissy Spacek narrating. OMG. I literary ran home every day and instead of doing anything else that I should have, I listened to it obsessively. I think it is The Book in my life that Caused The Biggest Surprise (is there a category like that? :D) - that how much it is *not* about what I thought it was about based on my previous and only experience with the story (=the movie). The audiobook is phenomenal, probably The Best Audiobook I have ever listened to.
I've been starting to try to get into Czech authors, but I hadn't heard of Ladislav Klima. Thanks for mentioning him! I wonder if he's related to Ivan Klima, whose Love and Garbage I just bought while I was in Prague. I also agree that To Kill a Mockingbird is overrated as a novel, though I love the movie.
I love what you've done with your hair, and that lipstick colour looks great on you. About the books: 1) I must say that we have to agree to disagree on "The Great Gatsby" :) I can't help it I LOVE Fitzgerald and The Roaring Twenties. 2) I certainly agree with you about "I, Claudius". You know that book is going to be great, when it's written by a classical scholar such as Graves. I'm a big fan of Roman history I've read Livy, Tacitus, Suetonius, etc and that book painted a great picture of that era. 3) I read "Don Quijote" when I was a teenager and clearly we didn't have the same experience. IMHO it was nice :) I read it in Spanish so I can't blame the translation. Maybe I should read it again to see if I feel the same way :)
I read a fair amount of it in Spanish, but also parts of it in a modern English translation, and really enjoyed the combination, so maybe that helped :)
100% with you on LOTR casting, Victorian era novels esp love Eliott,BBC miniseries,not planning to read Gatsby anytime soon.. DQ on my TBR..sometime soon..
Yeah! I get what you're saying about Gatsby. I had the same reaction, like, Okay, it's a cute nice story but Why in the world is this on every list of books "you need to read before you die" ?! :D Personally I would love to hear more of your opinion about "Don Quijote". I have this huge edition on my shelf and am actually very interested in it - I think I'm gonna like it but for now I'm waiting with reading it. A bit intimidating. Great video as always :)
You couldn't have talked about Richard Armitage any better, he is so perfect in that role. The worst adaptation of a classic in my opinion is 2007's Mansfield Park with Billie Piper as Fanny which was terrible. As a Spaniard I was made to read Don Quijote while in school and enjoyed it. I think the video on advices about is a great idea, it's a very daunting book.
I don't know which book they read before they made it but it wasn't the same Mansfield Park I read...I love Persuasion so much, it's my favourite Austen and I think the adaptation is awesome!
haha, I yelled when you said you don't like The Great Gatsby. I don't understand why people think it's one of the greatest novel of all time. Same thing with Lord of the Flies.
I thought I was the only one who hated Gatsby! I remember very clearly, my English teacher just fawning over it. I need to read more Jane Austen, and every time you mention her, it always reminds me I need to. I've only read Pride and Prejudice, and I loved it. I've just been unsure which one to pick up next. Any recommendations?
Great video! Did you try the French? Flaubert's Sentimental education is so good, not to mention Stendhals novels. All a bit Anglo-Saxon focused, not a reproach but you are missing out!
Somebody else, who doesn't like "The Great Gatsby"! I'm so relieved...I really (REALLY!) thought I was the only one! And "The Snow Queen" is my favourite fairytale, too!
I know, I thought I was the only person and now all these people are coming out of the woodwork and commenting saying they feel the same! It's awesome haha :)
I also did not like Gatsby... and about la Regenta, I read it probably when I was 16 or so, and found it a bit boring, I think I was not ready for it yet, but there was this movie adaptation in Spanish TV that I really liked and wanted to read the book where it came from. And also love don quijote! Such a genuinely funny guy!!
Won't be sitting at the computer waiting?! Hold your tongue! I was actually just thinking "it's a shame she doesn't have an Instagram..." (so if you do, message me on Goodreads.) Also, your knowledge of classics is extremely impressive and altogether intimidating. I do love a good Victorian novel, so I agree with you there. I wish I had more of a first hand opinion on many of these books, but I'm a sham, it seems.
Haha my knowledge of classics is NOTHING to write home about, but I'm glad it didn't come off that way :) (And no Instagram yet, but I'll let you know if that changes)
Did you read don quixote in Spanish? I'm wondering whether you lose a lot by reading a translated version.. I speak ok Spanish but reading a Spanish book, especially this one would be tough going
I read about 60% of it in Spanish (original version), and 40% in a modern English translation, and actually it worked out perfectly. The Edith Grossman English translation is absolutely superb, can't recommend it highly enough (it's well-regarded in both academic and casual circles)
Good call on The Great Gatsby, and To Kill a Mockingbird. You've never read any Anthony Trollope! What sort of faux classics poseur are you? I Claudius was a brilliant book. Does the adulteress in La Regenta commit suicide? I had a suicidal adulteresses bookshelf on Goodreads, but I only had two books on it. I am reading Don Quixote. I read the first part years ago and gave up in despair at the start of the 2nd. Now I am reading it backwards from the end. Only have another 27 chapters then I've ticked it off the list.
For me, understanding the historical context in which Gatsby was written gave me greater appreciation for the novel. No piece of great art exists outside the world in which is was produced. This connection is one of the things that makes it a work of art. You also need to approach the novel on a level separate and distinct from the plot. A work of art is more than the story being told. It is the manner in which the story is told. In this case, the manner in which the story is being told does not rely on gimmicks that are so prevalent in today's realm of literature such as no punctuation or one long sentence comprising the book. An inspired and purposeful attention to the arrangement and choice of words is so evident in The Great Gatsby. I personally believe that when people say they did not like the book and in particular when they say they did not like the characters in the book, they have not given much introspective thought to what the author is telling them. Unlike genre fiction, the obvious is not always apparent in books of this kind. One needs to be open to the possibility that there is meaning that dwells below the surface. The reader needs to be willing to put in more effort in understanding the book than that effort required to read a great many of the books being written today. The greatness is there. Sometimes it just needs to be explained to the reader who cannot experience it on their own. Consider the last few lines of the novel: "Gatsby believed in the green light, the orgiastic future that year by year recedes before us. It eluded us then, but that's no matter - tomorrow we will run faster, stretch out our arms farther....And one fine morning - So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past." The beauty of these words is incomparable. They always move me. If one cannot see beyond the image of a boat in the water being buffeted by the flow of water around it, one cannot begin to understand what the novel was about.
Maybe you're trying to help me, but this comment is incredibly condescending and assumes many things about me (and what kind of a reader I am) that simply aren't true. Kindly give people the benefit of the doubt before you lecture them, even if your intentions are positive
I totally hate when people do this, but have you seen the old BBC I Claudius? I have to disagree about the Lord of the Rings movies. There are some major changes in the plot that make major changes in some of my favorite characters, especially Faramir, but it includes also the change to the Arwen story, especially the place where Elrond is taking her away in anger, rather than having her send the banner to Aragorn before the battle. I love Faramir and like Elrond, and these changes made me angry. But the most serious fault is Aragorn. He is just too young, and they leave out the king's ability to heal as well as fight, which to me is one of the most important aspects of the whole series, which in turn leaves out the houses of healing and everything that happens there. Especially the story of Faramir and Eowyn - but that wouldn't be the same with Faramir almost as ambitious as Boromir. Sorry.
"I still have nightmares they cast Brad Pitt in that role." LOL My 11 year old self agrees with your 14 year old self about To Kill Mockingbird. I denoted it a long time ago and I just have no interest in buying it.
I used to love To Kill A Mockingbird as a child but now that I'm a lot older I think it's a shame that TKAMB is the default book that schools use to teach about civil rights when there are so many other books that actually come from black perspectives and are written by black authors.
I've read my first Trollope earlier this year and it was like the loveliest thing. "The Warden", which happened to be the one and Steve said was a great place to start, from the very first page tricks the reader into thinking that there is no way somewhere out there there wasn't a city like that with these exact people living there. The entire book (and it's so tiny) so wonderfully showcases the situation in which two parties follow their moral codes and you find yourself agreeing with arguments of both but you as well as the characters know only one side can win and either way it will be devastating given their priorities. The titular Warden is one of these "truly good people" who can get so annoying in books sometimes but here you're just happy to be in his glowing presence. The narration leaves you in the constant company of the author who tells the story like a tale. It could end badly as sometimes it just gives authors a chance to indulge in their own voice but here it so organic and more like listening to a friend talking about some people he's met along the way.
I really think you would like it.
I, Claudius! I, Claudius has got to have one of my all-time favorite book endings. The last paragraph is just so perfect. Plus Livia. She is such a complex, strong, dominant presence in the book and once everything about her unfolds you find yourself choosing her for every fantasy book team you were ever to create. Agree, Kaligula is like a different set of dresses and ship bridges altogether.
The best thing about the Anna Karenina adaptation is the scenography. The sets unfolding and shifting in that one created that beautiful illusion of theater meeting big screen.
"La Regenta" - I have to read it. I just do.
I WILL be waiting for your face to show up sitting right here a front of my screen. Or maybe I'm just saying that cuz it was the last point you made and I want you to think I watched the whole thing. Who knows...
Of course I am sitting at my computer, waiting for your new video! All day. Every day. PS: Have a good holiday!
Haha thanks Britta!
I've had three Shakespeare classes. I teach at least one of his plays every year, and of all his works, it's Julius Caesar that I've still never read/seen.
I, Claudius is on my TBR for later this month.
Wow, I wouldn't have guessed that that would be the one to slip through the cracks!
lol "Richard Armitage's base murmuring single-handedly started puberty for me" same...same... seriously though (I want to high five you on that)
I don't even read classics (I have read about a handful) but this video just makes me want to rent a cabin in the woods for a year and read all the books you mentioned.
Also I loved your "putting your American citizenship in jeopardy" thing for not loving The Great Gatsby, you always make me crack up 😂
I know exactly what you mean about the cabin - I feel that way all the time watching booktube!
I also melt when I listen to Richard Armitage and I couldn't think of a better (or funnier) way to express that than you did. Don Quixote was also a great book for me and I am so glad I read it. It takes a bit of commitment but I found it helpful just to approach each little episode as they come and to slow down and really enjoy the story. It always makes me happy to hear how much other people have enjoyed it too.
Oooo you should read Trollope, he is so, so brilliant! Mansfield Park is one of my favourite Austens, so enjoy :) And yes, the BBC North and South is so wonderful
Please do a video about "Don Quixote"
Add me to the list of hearty "yay"s for the Don Quixote video! We only touched on parts of it in my Spanish classes, but I've always wanted to re-visit it and read the whole thing!
Totally agree with you about Gatsby. That opinion makes me unpopular with my English teacher colleagues
Yes!!! I actually might start reading Don Quijote with a group next month and I have been going back and forth on whether I am going to join in the group read. I think this video just put me over the edge, but I would love more info on how to get the most out of the reading experience! I love your take on everything especially classics!
"I Claudius" and "Claudius the God" (the sequel) are two of the best Historical Fictions in print today. Robert Graves was an Englishman who was Classically trained in some of the best Universities in the UK. Both books were made into a BBC mini-series in 1975 and well worth the watching.
I completely agree with your assessment of The Great Gatsby. I have read it twice, hoping to see what everyone sees in the book. It's ok, but not great (no pun intended).
Omg, finally someone mentions La Regenta. It's been on my shelf for ages, unread, waiting for someone to recommend it highly to boost it up my to-read list lol.
I mean, I always heard Tale of Genji was the first novel, but I guess Don Quixote is the first Western novel.
OH! I, Claudius! Loved the miniseries, loved Livia, loved Sian Phillips [to whom I'm hoping I am distantly related lmao] and John Hurt as Caligula was hilarious. Such a wild story.... I've been meaning to read that one for forever too.
Don Quijote de la Mancha was one of the first books that Dickens read as a child, out from his dad's shelves, it was a true inspiration to him. And Cervantes wrote it as a mockery towards the chivalry novels and ended up writing a masterpiece. Great video, thks.
I'm 100% with you on Gatsby! x
I enjoyed studying The Great Gatsby. I always liked going in-depth in the character analysis. I honestly haven't read it just by itself for fun. I don't know how I'd feel about it now.
Lovely video! You've made me a subscriber! I love how mellow and eloquent you are :)
Thank you, I'm so happy to hear it!
What a great 'classic' booktube tag. I added the book by Robert Graves! Btw I need to get a copy of that fairy tale, sounds macabre!
My favorite tag video + my favorite RUclipsr = I've been waiting for this video for a long time :)
Oh wow! I thought *I* was the only one who thinks The Great Gatsby is overhyped! So happy you think so too. If we're going to be driven out of America for feeling this way let's found our own non-Great Gatsby country. :)
I want to read Emerson too. I'm going on a New England road trip soon so maybe that's the time to do it.
Don Quijote is hilarious! I try to prompt people to read it insisting "But it's really funny!"
Loved your responses to these!
YES let's make that country, it seems like more people need a refuge than we thought. And I know, Don Quixote is hilarious, I still remember parts of it and laugh at random moments about them
Don Quijote de la mancha changed my relationship with literature. I'm glad I'm a spanish native reader
I would be 100% interested in advice for Don Quixote. I have read parts in the past and really enjoyed it, but admittedly got intimidated by the length of it. I have it on my TBR for this year, but worry about finishing it.
I loved Don Quixote!! I was so pleasantly surprised when I had to read it for one of my lit classes in college. It's massive but it flew by, and I still think about it a lot. I'm actually listening to The Iliad right now, having read it before years ago, and I've gotten so much more out of it so I highly recommend taking it in that way if you are an audiobook fan!
The TV series on the JULIA DYNASTY, called YO CLAUDIO based on Robert Graves book is fantastic. It goes from Augustus throught the emperors and ending with Neron. I really like your posts but it was until yesterday that I discovered you. I have just watched three videos but I will always appreaciate a point of view which considers the style of writing, the historical context and how the book made you feel and of course no spoilers (so many booktubers think that describing the plot is a good thing, no it is not). Thank you, looking forward to watching all your videos.
Ohh, the North and South series! Nobody smolders like Richard Armitage.
Love your Lucy impression 😄
I'm coming in quite late on this, but my 40-something self has no time for Gatsby or Mockingbird either. I can admire the skill of the latter, at least, but I find its determination to Be Important gets in the way of my actually liking it. Gatsby just bores me to tears.
Your impersonation of Lucy from The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe...🤣...I had to rewind and watch more than once!
Bah! All this Gatsby hate being echoed through the comment section! I curse ALL of booktube! Love Gatsby, read it once a year, love it 😭 That Beaver impression !! Lol.. I remember renting both the animated and BBC miniseries of Lion/Witch non stop as a child . I'm sure I would horrified if I watched today at how bad they were
mementomori loved Gatsby too ! I read it when I was 19 and loved it so much ! I liked the movie adaption because it showed who was Gatsby and how he was doomed. Beautiful. Sorry but can't follow you on that Jen ! I don't like many French classics too but you are right having to read it for school changes it all. I still haven't read Don Quichotte (love to see the many spellings of it in the comments section) so looking forward to seeing your video. And it's Leo Tolstoï 😉 in French and you made me laughed with the actor who played Vronski ! his haircut really troubled me !
I love that damn book. And Tender is the Night not far behind it. Ears plugged on all the blasphemy.
my reply didn't show up !! I love that book too ! So awesome, and that character doomed from the start ! I can't agree with you on that Jen ! Were you just too young ? and I don't like the French classics I studied in school (except for one) so yes not the best period. The movie was pretty good at showing the fall of that man. I'm really interested by your video about Don Quichotte and laughed at your comment about the movie adaptation and the actor who played Vronski (his hair did puzzle me a lot) :-)
Sorry to drag your book love through the mud! But I think The Great Gatsby can handle it ;)
I’m with you, I adore the Great Gatsby, probably the best classic there is!
Loved this video, Jennifer. Totally agree with you about the BBC mini-series - they are so well done. We read parts of Don Quixote in high school (not in the US) and I remember I was so engrossed by the story I read the whole book. I''m sure some of it went over my head so maybe it's time for a reread.
Would very much enjoy hearing your experience of Don Quixote. I put off reading it for 15 years, finally got to it during quarantine; it was unforgettable, and easily the funniest book of my life. Found the Spanish original too difficult, read the Raffel translation, along with little bits of the new version by Edith Grossman. We love playing Donny Q and Sancho in our household. Would be great to get your take.
Somerset Maugham once wrote that the only book by Trollope worth reading is "The Eustace Diamonds".
YES, thank you! Same thoughts on The Great Gatsby :D
Really enjoyed this video and was especially delighted to see you mention La Regenta. I've always thought of it as the Spanish Madame Bovary but, as you say, it can equally be the Spanish Ana Karenina. Thanks for sharing
Sitting at the computer waiting for you: thank you for wording my worries about Gassy Gatsby and Mockingbird. I read mostly classics but those two eluded me completely! I want to read I, Claudius so bad, but I don't want to start it if it means finishing it and it being over with... Welcome back, whenever that is, I hope you enjoyed yourself!
I'd be really interested in a video about Don Quixote - I haven't read it myself for exactly the reasons you mentioned, I've always felt a bit daunted by it, but it would be great to hear more about why you really enjoyed it.
Hi~ enjoyed hearing your answers to the questions! I'd say I understand why The Great Gatsby is so hyped but after reading a couple of Fitzgerald's other works I like those better (This Side of Paradise). Also, I am mildly jealous of your Modern Library Classics look at the gorgeous spines!! I'm definitely interested on hearing your guide to don quijote, I've had this on my tbr forever but I don't know how to start it!
That's good to hear, because I'm definitely going to try more Fitzgerald in the future!
I didn't much care for Gatsby either, but I though maybe it's because I'm not an American. Before reading Gatsby I read mostly French and Russian classics and after that THE GREAT Gatsby seemed like such a silly little thing. Now that I think of it, I still don't really appreciate any of 'great American novels'.
I loved I, Claudius as a teenager, I must have read it five times. Grandma Livia rules.
I know, I feel like a bad citizen but the "great American novels" have rarely done anything for me (although maybe I've just tried the wrong ones? who knows)
K dot Perhaps you should try Moby Dick, Fahrenheit 451, For Whom the Bell Tolls, The Grapes of Wrath, The Red Badge of Courage and A Connecticut Yankee at King Arthur's Court.
Glad to know you’re a part of the « Gatsby is Super Overrated » club. I, Claudius is phenomenal. I need to watch the miniseries now.
You made my weekend with that Lucy impersonation 🤣🤣I laughed so loud the sound waves almost cracked the screen on my tablet 😂🤣. It was really good, talk about a classic 🤣. I remember watching that cartoon over and over again as a kid until Jadis the white witch started giving me nightmares, why’d she have to scream so much. I saw it again some 20 years later and said wow, I guess they did the best they could with the budget they had (all 50 dollars of it). I agree about Gatsby I gave it 3 stars I thought it was okay, I couldn’t stand Daisy. You should give To Kill a Mockingbird a second try. I first read it in 8 th grade and I just remember thinking the movie was way better. I read it for the second time this February and it is a 5 star book in my opinion, now I see why it is a classic. Anyway I love your channel, you have quickly become one of my favorite booktubers and not just because of that killer Lucy impersonation although that did help. Seriously, you are really great at what you do, thank you🤗.
Thank you so much! And I'm glad my take on Lucy spoke to you ;)
@@InsertLiteraryPunHere Kudos on the Lucy impression...but you didn't mention if you enjoyed the original Narnia books themselves! If you did, Lucy's character is foreshadowed by 19th century author George MacDonald's (C S Lewis's "master") princess Irene in The Princess and The Goblin. And MacDonald also wrote 19th century realistic fiction like the Brontes and George Eliot-my translations of which are recommended by C S Lewis's stepson: ruclips.net/video/dYZ19lHp6j8/видео.html
Oh I have to read The Snow Queen! I already have all of Andersen's fairy tales, but I haven't been reading them! When I was supposed to read To Kill a Mockingbird in high school, I only got about halfway through, I didn't like it then, either. But I read it back in May and absolutely loved it. And I completely agree about books being made into mini-series!!
Seconded on I, Claudius. It's a riveting, classy potboiler. Also, check out the fabulous Masterpiece Theatre adaptation if you haven't seen it. Derek Jacobi as Claudius, Patrick Stewart as Sejanus, John Hurt as Caligula!
I'd love a Don Quixote video. Everyone I know who has read it loves it, but the book is such a doorstop, its daunting.
Do you know the 70s TV adaptation of I, Claudius? It's got that 70s BBC look, but I still liked it.
Loved that Richard Armitage comment! Perhaps you've seen it already, but a good Anthony Trollope adaptation would be the one of The Way We Live Now with David Suchet.
Recently discovered your channel. Really enjoying your content!☺
Thank you, glad you found your way here!
Very interesting thoughts! And your beaver impression was hilarious! Also, I agree with you for the Lord of the Rings adaptation and the Anna Karenina's one! Hearing you I realize how much I need to read more Ancient Greek classics and philosophy but the accurate and well-edited Greek editions are quite expensive therefore I have postponed my willing for so long! I, Claudius is in my tbr for ages. It's time to read it too! Happy vacations!
I know, the Ancient Greeks are majorly on my list for next year!
Hiya! Firstly, I love your videos ! It's nice to see someone who isn't afraid to say what they actually think about a book. I had a completely different reaction to Great Gatsby. I actually really liked it. Maybe because it was book I read when I was 15 and with the rest of the class. It was cool to see how differently we all perceived the book.
Also quick book suggestions (if you haven't already read these books ) : you might like Cats Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut. In the lake of the woods by Tim O'Brien. And Fountainhead by Ayn Rand.
Thanks for sharing your opinion, it's cool to hear that somebody enjoyed Gatsby in school (usually you hear the opposite)! I read it on my own, so maybe that had something to do with my reaction. Ayn Rand isn't an author I'm interested in, and I've read Cat's Cradle, but I'd love to read more Tim O'Brien
Omg yes penguin deluxe classics! I really love the penguin threads editions especially! I have four of the six threads and two Shirley Jackson. I want Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights but I'm having trouble justifying buying them since I already own multiple copies of both.
I don't get The Great Gatsby either! I think I only read it because I like Leonardo Di Caprio and the movie was coming out. But I think To Kill a Mockingbird is wonderful.
I'd love to hear what you have to say about Don Quixote. I've always wanted to read it but haven't gotten to it.
I watched and loved the movie adaptation ( yes the one with Leo Di Caprio) but struggled through the book because I thought I didn't get the America cultural references. Well that has kind of put me off reading anymore Fitzgerald. Will definitely be looking forward to the video of Don Quixote.
I'm still going to try more Fitzgerald, so we'll see how it goes!
Oh God, that adaptation of Anna Karenina, shudders. Never have I rooted for the fate of Anna more.
Please do the video about Don Quixote. I've been putting it off for so long and I really should read it soon. Great video as always:)
Brad Pitt as Aragorn?! Gave me shivers! Couldn't agree more about The Great Gatsby
Hi Jennifer! I totally agree with you about The Great Gatsby. I read it a couple of weeks ago and was like: Whatttt??? This is all?? Come on! :) Veeery dissapointed! It's so cool that you mentioned two Spanish novels that, by the way, I haven't read yet... I know!!!! But I will read La Regenta in the next weeks. About Don Quijote I think it is probably easier (and I mean easier in the way of not feeling lazy about it) to read it in English (?) I mean, in Spanish you have to read it in ancient Spanish and it makes you feel kind of lazy. I guess that is what a lot os Spanish speakers feel. But I definitely will read it sometime. By the way, the way you pronounce La ReGenta and Don QuiJote is amazing! You have a wonderful pronuntiation! :) Un abrazo fuerte! :)
Gracias María! I don't think my Spanish pronunciation is very good, but your comment made me feel nice :) Always interesting to hear your thoughts
Have you read Claudius The God, too? It's been years since I've read Gatsby, I'm kinda excited for a re-read to see what I think now.
Haven't read Claudius the God, but I plan to in the future!
I agree with your feelings toward The Great Gatsby. A classic I've been meaning to read for ages is The Wings of a Dove by Henry James. Every time I try I can't get past the first 20 or so pages. I read Portrait of a Lady with no issues. Was wondering if you've read either and your thoughts on them. Thanks!
Haven't read either, but Portrait of a Lady is high up on my list
They wanted Stuart Townsend for Aragorn at first ... dodged a serious bullet there 😜
I read To Kill A Mockingbird quite late in my life as where I grew up and lived (aka as Hungary) it was not in the canon at all (the movie was, the book was not). So I thought I knew the story, the social commentary, etc etc. But. Then. I came across the audiobook version of it, Sissy Spacek narrating. OMG. I literary ran home every day and instead of doing anything else that I should have, I listened to it obsessively. I think it is The Book in my life that Caused The Biggest Surprise (is there a category like that? :D) - that how much it is *not* about what I thought it was about based on my previous and only experience with the story (=the movie). The audiobook is phenomenal, probably The Best Audiobook I have ever listened to.
Wow, I'm not a big audiobook person but I might have to try that one when I reread the book
I've been starting to try to get into Czech authors, but I hadn't heard of Ladislav Klima. Thanks for mentioning him! I wonder if he's related to Ivan Klima, whose Love and Garbage I just bought while I was in Prague. I also agree that To Kill a Mockingbird is overrated as a novel, though I love the movie.
Its like i walked into world of classic variety and i end of the video.. i now have listed 10 books lol thanks this was awesome
I love what you've done with your hair, and that lipstick colour looks great on you. About the books: 1) I must say that we have to agree to disagree on "The Great Gatsby" :) I can't help it I LOVE Fitzgerald and The Roaring Twenties.
2) I certainly agree with you about "I, Claudius". You know that book is going to be great, when it's written by a classical scholar such as Graves. I'm a big fan of Roman history I've read Livy, Tacitus, Suetonius, etc and that book painted a great picture of that era.
3) I read "Don Quijote" when I was a teenager and clearly we didn't have the same experience. IMHO it was nice :) I read it in Spanish so I can't blame the translation. Maybe I should read it again to see if I feel the same way :)
I read a fair amount of it in Spanish, but also parts of it in a modern English translation, and really enjoyed the combination, so maybe that helped :)
Feel the same way about Gatsby. Still don´t know what the fuss is about.Great video!
100% with you on LOTR casting, Victorian era novels esp love Eliott,BBC miniseries,not planning to read Gatsby anytime soon..
DQ on my TBR..sometime soon..
I know its not a classic but I would recommend The Autobiography of Malcolm X. I hope you do eventually read this book.
It's been on my list for a while, thanks for bringing it up!
You haven't read Anthony Trollope????? ANY Anthony Trollope?
Somehow I knew this would be the part you'd fixate on...
Yeah! I get what you're saying about Gatsby. I had the same reaction, like, Okay, it's a cute nice story but Why in the world is this on every list of books "you need to read before you die" ?! :D
Personally I would love to hear more of your opinion about "Don Quijote". I have this huge edition on my shelf and am actually very interested in it - I think I'm gonna like it but for now I'm waiting with reading it. A bit intimidating.
Great video as always :)
Oh I felt the same about Great Gatsby .. not for me unfortunately 🙁
*sits at computer*
*waits*
I need to read me some Trollope as well.
Please make that video about Don Quijote!
Okay I am subscribing just for the gatsby answer already :D I agree it was alright but damn there are so many better books out there :D
Amen! :)
I'd love to see a Don Quixote video, please!
You couldn't have talked about Richard Armitage any better, he is so perfect in that role. The worst adaptation of a classic in my opinion is 2007's Mansfield Park with Billie Piper as Fanny which was terrible.
As a Spaniard I was made to read Don Quijote while in school and enjoyed it. I think the video on advices about is a great idea, it's a very daunting book.
I don't know which book they read before they made it but it wasn't the same Mansfield Park I read...I love Persuasion so much, it's my favourite Austen and I think the adaptation is awesome!
I haven't watched any adaptations of Mansfield Park because I haven't read the book, but I've also heard that the 2007 one was ghastly
Just subscribed thanks to this video. Will wait patiently for the tips on reading (re-reading) Don Quijote. ❤️
haha, I yelled when you said you don't like The Great Gatsby. I don't understand why people think it's one of the greatest novel of all time. Same thing with Lord of the Flies.
I thought I was the only one who hated Gatsby! I remember very clearly, my English teacher just fawning over it. I need to read more Jane Austen, and every time you mention her, it always reminds me I need to. I've only read Pride and Prejudice, and I loved it. I've just been unsure which one to pick up next. Any recommendations?
Just read them all in any order at all. And then read them again.
Great video! Did you try the French? Flaubert's Sentimental education is so good, not to mention Stendhals novels. All a bit Anglo-Saxon focused, not a reproach but you are missing out!
Somebody else, who doesn't like "The Great Gatsby"! I'm so relieved...I really (REALLY!) thought I was the only one! And "The Snow Queen" is my favourite fairytale, too!
I know, I thought I was the only person and now all these people are coming out of the woodwork and commenting saying they feel the same! It's awesome haha :)
I love Don Quijote
I also did not like Gatsby... and about la Regenta, I read it probably when I was 16 or so, and found it a bit boring, I think I was not ready for it yet, but there was this movie adaptation in Spanish TV that I really liked and wanted to read the book where it came from. And also love don quijote! Such a genuinely funny guy!!
Oooh I'll have to check out that movie adaptation!
:) Actually, it is a miniseries apparently, my memory is fading :)
www.imdb.com/title/tt0121678/
Woww your pronounciation in other languages seems so good and espcially in the Czech language 🤩understandably so😌beauty with brains💛
Thumbs up for Klíma! 😀😊
Hello from Pakistan: Need a "readers' encouragement" guide for Don Quixote. Tried reading it twice but failed even though i loved the content!
Also if you read it in Spanish, did you read the original or modernised version?
I'M NOT THE ONLY ONE THAT DIDN'T LIKE TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD. Bless you, I'm not alone anymore 😭😭
Hi Jennifer! I just wanted to ask which Quixote translation did you read? Is it the Grossman?
I read a lot of it in Spanish, but for English, yes, the Grossman! Great translation
You owe yourself Barchester Towers by Anthony Trollope!
Won't be sitting at the computer waiting?! Hold your tongue! I was actually just thinking "it's a shame she doesn't have an Instagram..." (so if you do, message me on Goodreads.) Also, your knowledge of classics is extremely impressive and altogether intimidating. I do love a good Victorian novel, so I agree with you there. I wish I had more of a first hand opinion on many of these books, but I'm a sham, it seems.
Haha my knowledge of classics is NOTHING to write home about, but I'm glad it didn't come off that way :) (And no Instagram yet, but I'll let you know if that changes)
Insert Literary Pun Here Please doooooo.
Did you read don quixote in Spanish? I'm wondering whether you lose a lot by reading a translated version.. I speak ok Spanish but reading a Spanish book, especially this one would be tough going
I read about 60% of it in Spanish (original version), and 40% in a modern English translation, and actually it worked out perfectly. The Edith Grossman English translation is absolutely superb, can't recommend it highly enough (it's well-regarded in both academic and casual circles)
Insert Literary Pun Here thanks for the reply and the recommendation. I will purchase that version to go along with the original Spanish one.
Good call on The Great Gatsby, and To Kill a Mockingbird.
You've never read any Anthony Trollope! What sort of faux classics poseur are you?
I Claudius was a brilliant book.
Does the adulteress in La Regenta commit suicide? I had a suicidal adulteresses bookshelf on Goodreads, but I only had two books on it.
I am reading Don Quixote. I read the first part years ago and gave up in despair at the start of the 2nd. Now I am reading it backwards from the end. Only have another 27 chapters then I've ticked it off the list.
I don't think Ana commits suicide, but I read it years ago so don't quote me on that! Good luck finishing Don Quixote
Yeah I didn't love the Great Gadsby liked it though.
Some hate for that awful Anna Karenina! Awesome! :)
I know, and the book is one of my absolute favorites so the movie hurt that much more!
For me, understanding the historical context in which Gatsby was written gave me greater appreciation for the novel. No piece of great art exists outside the world in which is was produced. This connection is one of the things that makes it a work of art. You also need to approach the novel on a level separate and distinct from the plot. A work of art is more than the story being told. It is the manner in which the story is told. In this case, the manner in which the story is being told does not rely on gimmicks that are so prevalent in today's realm of literature such as no punctuation or one long sentence comprising the book. An inspired and purposeful attention to the arrangement and choice of words is so evident in The Great Gatsby. I personally believe that when people say they did not like the book and in particular when they say they did not like the characters in the book, they have not given much introspective thought to what the author is telling them. Unlike genre fiction, the obvious is not always apparent in books of this kind. One needs to be open to the possibility that there is meaning that dwells below the surface. The reader needs to be willing to put in more effort in understanding the book than that effort required to read a great many of the books being written today. The greatness is there. Sometimes it just needs to be explained to the reader who cannot experience it on their own. Consider the last few lines of the novel:
"Gatsby believed in the green light, the orgiastic future that year by year recedes before us. It eluded us then, but that's no matter - tomorrow we will run faster, stretch out our arms farther....And one fine morning -
So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past."
The beauty of these words is incomparable. They always move me. If one cannot see beyond the image of a boat in the water being buffeted by the flow of water around it, one cannot begin to understand what the novel was about.
Maybe you're trying to help me, but this comment is incredibly condescending and assumes many things about me (and what kind of a reader I am) that simply aren't true. Kindly give people the benefit of the doubt before you lecture them, even if your intentions are positive
Finally someone who didn't like The Great Gatsby!! I thought it was incredibly average.
I totally hate when people do this, but have you seen the old BBC I Claudius?
I have to disagree about the Lord of the Rings movies. There are some major changes in the plot that make major changes in some of my favorite characters, especially Faramir, but it includes also the change to the Arwen story, especially the place where Elrond is taking her away in anger, rather than having her send the banner to Aragorn before the battle. I love Faramir and like Elrond, and these changes made me angry. But the most serious fault is Aragorn. He is just too young, and they leave out the king's ability to heal as well as fight, which to me is one of the most important aspects of the whole series, which in turn leaves out the houses of healing and everything that happens there. Especially the story of Faramir and Eowyn - but that wouldn't be the same with Faramir almost as ambitious as Boromir. Sorry.
"I still have nightmares they cast Brad Pitt in that role." LOL My 11 year old self agrees with your 14 year old self about To Kill Mockingbird. I denoted it a long time ago and I just have no interest in buying it.
Many people said that Don Quixote is the best book of all time.
I used to love To Kill A Mockingbird as a child but now that I'm a lot older I think it's a shame that TKAMB is the default book that schools use to teach about civil rights when there are so many other books that actually come from black perspectives and are written by black authors.
The BBC adaption of 'Cousin Bette' by Honere De Balzac is atrocious.
5:16
Do you speak Spanish?
Yes!
I can tell! That’s awesome (: