Great video! “The book you read at 20 years old is not the same book you read when you are 30 or more years old”. The book doesn’t change but the reader does which is why I love to reread books.
"I have loved books since before I knew how to read" Damn I relate to that. I have been obsessed with books for as long as I can remember. The feel, the smell, the vibe of just being surrounded by books is something that's difficult to explain to those who don't already know what you mean.
When I was a child, it was The Secret Garden that really got me into reading proactively. As an adult, it was The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Bronte. The Tenant of Wildfell Hall isn't my favorite book or anything, but it helped me start to read more unfamiliar classics!
Reading, among other things, is about going out of your comfort zone, immersing yourself in alien ways of thinking, doing and being and above all, constructing cohesive meaning amid life's seeming randomness.
Just found your channel. I really love your content. Anna Karenina and Crime and Punishment were my first Russian classics. They really changed my reading. I think reading War and Peace gave me the courage to read any long book. I have read several since.
The Brothers Karamazov - made me read all of his novels and get into classics, really changed the scope of what a book could be, like you said it's about life itself Inferno by Dante - half of every page was just notes about what each verse referenced, again really changed my perspective on how deep literature can be Frankenstein - it references so many classic works that you just want to read more, also great adventure elements The Republic - Makes you realise you are 2500 years behind on just thinking about stuff Blood Meridian - A modern novel that actually felt like a classic, again references so much, uses biblical language and it doesn't pull any punches.
Frankenstein was the watershed book for me, and it's still and probably always will be my favorite. And though I'm (thankfully) no longer blindly enamored of Stephen King like I once briefly was, his books were kind of a gateway into adult fiction, and some of the first books I read with more...err, risqué content. And of course Cormac McCarthy's books are still kind of the bar as regards what I want from the prose. Cool video though; I enjoyed seeing your picks.
I read Jane Eyre during a very black depression I was in and by the second day of reading it, it pushed away my depression. I got so swept up in its world that my depression lost its grip on me. Great video.
This is my first time on your channel and kudos to you! I remember being excited to graduate to the big kid books in kindergarten! When the other kids were learning to sound out words I perused the bookshelves. I read The Brother’s K 20 years ago and I need to reread it. You’ve introduced me to new books and my TBR is already more than 6000 books long. I look forward to watching more of your videos. I’m going to reread The Brothers K and War and Peace once I finish The Count of Monte Cristo. ❤other books that made an impact include Pride and Prejudice, Beloved, Crime and Punishment, One Hundred Years of Solitude and Hamlet.
Thanks for watching!! Ooooh you've got some classic classics listed here! I need to do a part 2 for this video, because War & Peace, Dante's Inferno, etc. should also be mentioned!
❤Have been a huge fan of your channel for years and just had to comment finally because it is clear you are a kindred spirit. Have read most of the books you mentioned and particularly was blown away when you mentioned Dee Brown since he was big in the 70s and you are too young to know him really . Your insight and depth of analysis of the material is absolutely riveting in every one of your videos. You get right to the heart of why these particular works of art are great. Loved your Hemingway Sun Also Rises breakdown. Agree that he's good but not in the same way Charlotte Bronte is of course. Jane Eyre is absolutely at the top of my list too! She speaks for all thinking individuals yearning to breathe free in this life. Looking forward to your next video. Is Murakami overrated? Probably. But at least he knows how to spin a yarn. Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki was a surprisingly good one.
That was so lovely and such a nice chance to think about the books that have influenced me most in turn. Great video! A few books that changed my reading are The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, Of Mice and Men, The Lord of The Rings, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, and A Moveable Feast and you know what Goodnight Moon deserves a spot on my list too 😂
Alana, I finished The Brothers K. It is arguably the best novel of the 19th century, however, for me, not enough to edge out The Count of Monte Cristo. With that having been said, Dostoyevsky led me to Nabokov, Pasternak, Chekhov and others. The Lord of the Rings gave me the firmness of mind to take on the Game of Thrones series. Lastly, I've started The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov. I think you'd like it. Well done...Mark.
This one may sound strange, but I found The Epic of Gilgamesh and it floored me. I realized history and religion were so much more than I had ever really given thought to. It began my love for ancient history, which lead to me reading nonfiction and research papers in various sciences.
That's a gorgeous edition of Kamikaze Girls! I read it in high school as well. I was really into Lolita fashion. 😆 Wuthering Heights is the book that influenced my reading the most since it got me into Victorian literature.
@@alanaestelle2076 It really is! I ended up doing a whole project on it in undergrad for a sociology class. I had a few pieces (probably still do, just not sure where), but it was waaaay too expensive. I'd show them to my mom and she'd say absolutely not to the prices haha.
Great list…and the thought that reading should develop as we mature is spot on. My thoughts are the same regarding Memoirs of a Geisha and the Kite Runner-complex characters with great writing. One classic author I’m wondering if you’ve read is Toni Morrison? Once I read The Bluest Eye in high school my reading taste started to change. 2 other novels : The Good Earth and Things Fall Apart
"The Bluest Eye" is immaculate. Toni Morrison's writing is nothing like anyone has ever or will ever read. Have you ever read "The Women of Brewster Place" by Gloria Naylor?
Loved the start to the video--imagining a ton of books spread out on the floor and you finally having them sorted and stacked in prep for the video. I've usually just thought of one or two books as the most formative, but now I'm challenged to think it through a bit more. Nice list and some fine reviews of yours remembered as I consider whether I need to re-read the whole Ring or not.
Alana, you’ve got my mind turning! I may have to make a video inspired by this…wow. Iris Murdoch may have been my first literary fiction and it gave me an appetite for more writing like that. And for sure Stoner…same. And my guy Tolstoy.
what a great video topic. I just found your channel and I love the way you talk about books :) I also have those books that completely changed the way I read. Back in college, I was obsessed with fantasy (all sorts of it). I loved it. Then, I read The Death of Ivan Ilyich and it completely transformed my reading tastes. It also changed the way in which I review books because so many things I read now fail so much in comparison that I barely give books 5 stars nowadays.
What a fabulous video concept! I read Stoner for the first time last year and went in with no expectations, and ended up really loving. Stoner as a character was exceptionally created.
I'd definitely include Cold Mountain on my list too! I was lucky enough to study it in a high school "novels" course with one of my favorite teachers ever. Great video!
I read Crime and Punishment many years ago and really enjoyed it, but The Brothers K keeps making its way to the top of the queue, shuffling its feet, coughing politely and trying to make eye contact while I pointedly ignore it. I will get to it when I man up and stop letting the sheer size intimidate me. I read Jane Eyre for the first time last year and really enjoyed it, but I did feel that the narrative really suffered after the big reveal and became very meandering and entirely subject to the most unlikely coincidences. Still, it motivated me to read some Jane Eyre inspired things like Wide Sargasso Sea and Rebecca which I really loved. Great video, thank you
I knew Stoner was definitely going to be on here. I think the one book I always credit with changing the trajectory of my life as a reader is On Writing by Stephen King.
Stoner is a perfect read for me. I read it 4 years ago and still think about it. Ive read 1,000 maybe closer to 1500 books at this point-- and to have a book that i still think about often, or at all, is truly something. It is silently devastating 😢
@@ashantiemily1067 it’s one that’s impossible to shake, isn’t it? I actually think about re-reading it all the time but I’m so afraid I won’t love it as much as I did the first time.
I've just finished A Little Life and it gutted me. I want to read Stoner, but wondering if it's too soon after A Little Life. Thoughts? Alternate suggestions for now? Thanks
Hi Alana! I am only 18 but some books that have impacted me as a reader have been: Maximum Ride: I used to read this all the time as a kid in middle school, very fun and readable series not exactly peak fiction lol On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous: Made me fall in love with lyrical and poetic writing, also a very personal book that made me sob out of my mind. The Extraordinary Life of Sam Hell: Showed me so much about self-love, friendships, insecurities, etc. Very easy and accessible to read that had so many life lessons in them.
Hi there! You are so thoughtful when you speak. I adored this video. Thank you for sharing novels that follow your story and not the story of the internet trends! You are so refreshing and delightful! I’m so excited to enjoy more of your videos :)
A great, thought provoking video that had me reviewing my entire reading history! Thinking back into childhood, I think "Jurassic Park" by Michael Crichton was what broke me out of reading kids books (Goosebumps, Choose Your Own Adventure, Hardy Boys) and into reading grown up books. From there, I started reading more Michael Crichton ("Congo", "Sphere", "The Andromeda Strain"), along with Stephen King (when my mom let me, or I found a way to sneak it), Peter "Jaws" Benchley, John Grisham, and Tom Clancy. Another milestone was Ray Bradbury's "Fahrenheit 451" which expanded my horizons beyond reading just for entertainment and got me into reading books that gave me more to think about later. Later, in late high school, when I was , let's say "experimenting" and getting into questioning reality, I read Philip K Dick's "VALIS" and it blew my away. I learned to appreciate books where there aren't always clear answers and the reader is forced to come to one's own conclusions. Around this time I also read Kerouac's "On the Road", that led me to learn to appreciate writing style and not just the story. I got into classics only recently. I read "Frankenstein" when I was a kid, but the "old timey" language was a little much for me at the time. I re-read it about three years ago and thought it was amazing. After tackling "Frankenstein" and becoming more confident in handling the classic style of writing, I read the other horror classics ("Jekyll and Hyde", "Phantom of the Opera", "Dracula", Lovecraft) and later expanded into the more serious classics like Dicken's "Tale of Two Cities" and Hugo's "Hunchback of Notre Dame". From there, I got confident enough to take on Dostoyevsky, Dante, Cervantes, Melville, and Shakespeare.
@@alanaestelle2076 Bradbury is in a league of his own, with his imagination and unique descriptive writing. I'm currently reading his "Long After Midnight" collection, so far very good.
I agree with you on The Lord of the Rings, The Brothers Karamozov, and Jane Eyre. I would add The Eyre Affair, All the Light We Cannot See, The Immortal Nicholas, Babel, We Were the Lucky Ones, Spinning Silver, and Pride and Prejudice. I was an English major and got burned out on reading the classics for awhile (for probably 12 years). I had lost my love of reading but rediscovered it again when reading what I consider to be some modern classics as well as venturing into the fantasy genre. Thanks for the video!
Memoirs of a Geisha was also the first book I read to transition me out of young adult reading. Definitely want to read it again. May need to buy a new copy because mine is in shambles.
The comparison of the destruction of the Native tribes in the West and the clans is Scotland is so interesting. Do you have any books you recommend for the Scottish Clan history? Also, shoutout to Jane Eyre! I've read so many classics since picking that book up!
When I was younger, I was never much of a reader. Early out of high school, I read Choke from Chuck Palahniuk. It's a dark comedy, and it made me realize that a book could make me laugh outloud. The movie came out, and it is good, but it also taught me that adaptations could miss the mark.
My books: The Executioners Song by Norman Mailer....i read it as a teen and the need for deep feelings or books that pull out feelings. The last few years.... most anything by Cormac McCarthy (I've read them all except Child of God(wont be reading that one) and Blood Meridian and i plan on that soon). Jane Eyre for SURE! Crime and Punishment. Anthony Trollope first two in Barchester Chronicles. The Realm of the Elderlings as to what i tend to choose in fantasy now.
I clicked on the video because I saw Kamikaze Girls in the stack. I read that book when I was 17. It is still on my shelves. Frankenstein was the first classic that I read on my own. The style blew me away. Jane Eyre took two attempts, once in high school and the second in college, but once I read through it, I loved it. I am glad that I stumbled upon this video.
The Client by John Grisham changed my life. I know. It's not the deep kind of a book you'd think would change someone's life, but it's the first adult novel I read in English. I was 14; I was in Canada for just two years and was chosen to be the valedictorian of my grade 8 class. Everything went downhill after that. Also, Catcher in the Rye changed me (how can a writer make a book about a mentally ill boy funny is the genius I found in it). Jane Eyre of course for the same reasons you mention. I was so scared of university and then, there was Jane Eyre. Sylvia Plath's poem DADDY changed me: one poem with so much power. Roxanne by Daniel Defoe is challenging. Beloved traumatized me- I'd never reread it. And Chocolate War- the best YA I've ever read. I was worried you'd not put Cold Mountain on your list, but there it was.
Since you like Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee, I highly recommend checking out The Heartbeat of Wounded Knee by David Treuer, who is Ojibwe. Treuer gives a narrative that after Wounded Knee, Native American culture didn’t end or disappear but through resourcefulness and reinvention they found ways to keep their culture and languages alive. I loved Memoirs of a Geisha too. Great video!
Wonderful list and brilliant idea for a video! For me A Hero of Our Time and The Picture of Dorian Gray were very memorable as a teenager. Brothers K is probably one of my favorite novels of all time. I wonder if you’ve read the The Gambler? It opened to me a different Dostoevsky experience, more.. fun? but in Dostoevsky sick way, obviously :)
Some recommendations…Celine’s Journey to the End of the Night & Death on the Installment Plan…Life : A User’s Manual by Georges Perec…they will leave you flabbergasted, to say the least…Celine’s torrential prose…& Life… is utterly beautiful… in its minute attention to detail… also check out Butcher’s Crossing by John Williams…as for Russians, the novel Oblamov, Envy by Yuri Olesha… & if you haven’t yet …Tolstoy’s The Death of Ivan Ilyich…The Master & Margarita…I loved Stoner & The Brothers K…insightful channel… thank you…there’s a godzillion amount of terrific books out there… I’m intrigued. & eager to read Memories of a Geisha & Kamikaze Girls…the kite runner… cold mountain…
Currently I am deep diving into Frankenstein. Listening to audiobook. Reading the K-bk. And then reading Koontz's retelling in 4 book series. 📖 I am NEVER want to read another "Frankie" again.😂
I read the book - Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee - in college and it broke my heart and made me feel some kind of way about the college I was attending at the time in Indiana (which no longer exists). But the school touted their involvement in colonializing the Native Indian children in the West during the 17 and 18 hundreds; even the social (Halleck) center had a mural of their Christian Colonializing terror (I'll say that). But this book, opened my eyes as a 20-year-old to what really happened, and the TERROR inflicted on a people; my life and how I viewed people as a whole changed completely. Just a few months ago, I decided to buy several books, including this one when that Floridian Fool started spewing his own self-inflicted delusional definition brand of "Woke" and started banning books. I wanted to make sure this one was on my shelf before anything else occurred in the way of banning books.
@@alanaestelle2076 oh really ! Have u reviewed any i might have to check out ? U know what they say it's that time of the month "Shaketember". Lol what do u think 🤔
Great video! “The book you read at 20 years old is not the same book you read when you are 30 or more years old”. The book doesn’t change but the reader does which is why I love to reread books.
Yes! Love rereading :)
"I have loved books since before I knew how to read" Damn I relate to that. I have been obsessed with books for as long as I can remember. The feel, the smell, the vibe of just being surrounded by books is something that's difficult to explain to those who don't already know what you mean.
Yes! Reading is also a sensory experience to me, which is why I have a hard time with kindles and audiobooks.
When I was a child, it was The Secret Garden that really got me into reading proactively. As an adult, it was The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Bronte. The Tenant of Wildfell Hall isn't my favorite book or anything, but it helped me start to read more unfamiliar classics!
Reading, among other things, is about going out of your comfort zone, immersing yourself in alien ways of thinking, doing and being and above all, constructing cohesive meaning amid life's seeming randomness.
Well spoken. Reading is indeed all of that and then some.
Just found your channel. I really love your content. Anna Karenina and Crime and Punishment were my first Russian classics. They really changed my reading. I think reading War and Peace gave me the courage to read any long book. I have read several since.
Thank you!! Aw yes, War & Peace - that is one, once you tackle it, because of it's sheer size, you feel like you can read almost anything haha.
The Brothers Karamazov - made me read all of his novels and get into classics, really changed the scope of what a book could be, like you said it's about life itself
Inferno by Dante - half of every page was just notes about what each verse referenced, again really changed my perspective on how deep literature can be
Frankenstein - it references so many classic works that you just want to read more, also great adventure elements
The Republic - Makes you realise you are 2500 years behind on just thinking about stuff
Blood Meridian - A modern novel that actually felt like a classic, again references so much, uses biblical language and it doesn't pull any punches.
I feel likei should have included Inferno on this list because ... that was effort LOL. I may have to do a Part 2.
Frankenstein was the watershed book for me, and it's still and probably always will be my favorite. And though I'm (thankfully) no longer blindly enamored of Stephen King like I once briefly was, his books were kind of a gateway into adult fiction, and some of the first books I read with more...err, risqué content. And of course Cormac McCarthy's books are still kind of the bar as regards what I want from the prose. Cool video though; I enjoyed seeing your picks.
It's difficult to read everything😅
What a great video! Parable of the Sower and Passing are recent books that have impacted me as a reader.
I read Jane Eyre during a very black depression I was in and by the second day of reading it, it pushed away my depression. I got so swept up in its world that my depression lost its grip on me. Great video.
AW!! That's amazing!
That is so cool to hear. Jane Eyre had such an interesting effect on me. A beautiful book.
This is my first time on your channel and kudos to you! I remember being excited to graduate to the big kid books in kindergarten! When the other kids were learning to sound out words I perused the bookshelves. I read The Brother’s K 20 years ago and I need to reread it. You’ve introduced me to new books and my TBR is already more than 6000 books long. I look forward to watching more of your videos. I’m going to reread The Brothers K and War and Peace once I finish The Count of Monte Cristo. ❤other books that made an impact include Pride and Prejudice, Beloved, Crime and Punishment, One Hundred Years of Solitude and Hamlet.
Thanks for watching!! Ooooh you've got some classic classics listed here! I need to do a part 2 for this video, because War & Peace, Dante's Inferno, etc. should also be mentioned!
Great recommendation! I love classics and some of my favorite authors are Edgar Allan Poe, John Steinbeck, and Charlotte Bronte. 📚 ❤😊
❤Have been a huge fan of your channel for years and just had to comment finally because it is clear you are a kindred spirit. Have read most of the books you mentioned and particularly was blown away when you mentioned Dee Brown since he was big in the 70s and you are too young to know him really . Your insight and depth of analysis of the material is absolutely riveting in every one of your videos. You get right to the heart of why these particular works of art are great. Loved your Hemingway Sun Also Rises breakdown. Agree that he's good but not in the same way Charlotte Bronte is of course. Jane Eyre is absolutely at the top of my list too! She speaks for all thinking individuals yearning to breathe free in this life. Looking forward to your next video. Is Murakami overrated? Probably. But at least he knows how to spin a yarn. Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki was a surprisingly good one.
This is so sweet - thank you so much!❤️ I love that - yes Murakami knows how to spin yarn!
That was so lovely and such a nice chance to think about the books that have influenced me most in turn. Great video!
A few books that changed my reading are The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, Of Mice and Men, The Lord of The Rings, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, and A Moveable Feast and you know what Goodnight Moon deserves a spot on my list too 😂
Goodnight MOOOOOOOON!😍
Yup that Kite Runner is a gamechanger!
Alana,
I finished The Brothers K. It is arguably the best novel of the 19th century, however, for me, not enough to edge out The Count of Monte Cristo. With that having been said, Dostoyevsky led me to Nabokov, Pasternak, Chekhov and others. The Lord of the Rings gave me the firmness of mind to take on the Game of Thrones series. Lastly, I've started The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov. I think you'd like it. Well done...Mark.
This one may sound strange, but I found The Epic of Gilgamesh and it floored me. I realized history and religion were so much more than I had ever really given thought to. It began my love for ancient history, which lead to me reading nonfiction and research papers in various sciences.
That's a gorgeous edition of Kamikaze Girls! I read it in high school as well. I was really into Lolita fashion. 😆 Wuthering Heights is the book that influenced my reading the most since it got me into Victorian literature.
RIGHT!? I love this copy. Lolita fashion is SOOOO fascinating lol.
@@alanaestelle2076 It really is! I ended up doing a whole project on it in undergrad for a sociology class. I had a few pieces (probably still do, just not sure where), but it was waaaay too expensive. I'd show them to my mom and she'd say absolutely not to the prices haha.
Great list…and the thought that reading should develop as we mature is spot on. My thoughts are the same regarding Memoirs of a Geisha and the Kite Runner-complex characters with great writing.
One classic author I’m wondering if you’ve read is Toni Morrison? Once I read The Bluest Eye in high school my reading taste started to change. 2 other novels : The Good Earth and Things Fall Apart
I have Toni Morrison on my shelf but haven't picked her up yet :)
"The Bluest Eye" is immaculate. Toni Morrison's writing is nothing like anyone has ever or will ever read.
Have you ever read "The Women of Brewster Place" by Gloria Naylor?
Loved the start to the video--imagining a ton of books spread out on the floor and you finally having them sorted and stacked in prep for the video. I've usually just thought of one or two books as the most formative, but now I'm challenged to think it through a bit more. Nice list and some fine reviews of yours remembered as I consider whether I need to re-read the whole Ring or not.
LOL that's exactly what was happening at the beginning of the video.
@@alanaestelle2076 All it needed was a "Why, hello there..." :P
Great video! I love how passionately you talk about the books - but at the same time in a very intelligent and introspective way.
Thank you so much! :)
Alana, you’ve got my mind turning! I may have to make a video inspired by this…wow. Iris Murdoch may have been my first literary fiction and it gave me an appetite for more writing like that. And for sure Stoner…same. And my guy Tolstoy.
@@thelefthandedreader6632 ah! Would love to see your version of this! ❤️
what a great video topic. I just found your channel and I love the way you talk about books :) I also have those books that completely changed the way I read. Back in college, I was obsessed with fantasy (all sorts of it). I loved it. Then, I read The Death of Ivan Ilyich and it completely transformed my reading tastes. It also changed the way in which I review books because so many things I read now fail so much in comparison that I barely give books 5 stars nowadays.
Thank you so much! Ooooh I still need to read The Death of Ivan Ilyich.
What a fabulous video concept!
I read Stoner for the first time last year and went in with no expectations, and ended up really loving. Stoner as a character was exceptionally created.
Thank you!! Stoner is ACE!
I'd definitely include Cold Mountain on my list too! I was lucky enough to study it in a high school "novels" course with one of my favorite teachers ever. Great video!
Thanks for watching :)
I read Crime and Punishment many years ago and really enjoyed it, but The Brothers K keeps making its way to the top of the queue, shuffling its feet, coughing politely and trying to make eye contact while I pointedly ignore it. I will get to it when I man up and stop letting the sheer size intimidate me. I read Jane Eyre for the first time last year and really enjoyed it, but I did feel that the narrative really suffered after the big reveal and became very meandering and entirely subject to the most unlikely coincidences. Still, it motivated me to read some Jane Eyre inspired things like Wide Sargasso Sea and Rebecca which I really loved.
Great video, thank you
Thanks for watching :)
James Baldwin’s Another Country did it for me
I knew Stoner was definitely going to be on here. I think the one book I always credit with changing the trajectory of my life as a reader is On Writing by Stephen King.
You are a big Stephen King fan lol
Stoner is a perfect read for me. I read it 4 years ago and still think about it. Ive read 1,000 maybe closer to 1500 books at this point-- and to have a book that i still think about often, or at all, is truly something. It is silently devastating 😢
silently devastating is the perfect way to put it, i think about this novel all the time and it makes my heart ache
@@ashantiemily1067 it’s one that’s impossible to shake, isn’t it? I actually think about re-reading it all the time but I’m so afraid I won’t love it as much as I did the first time.
Yes, it's so good!
I've just finished A Little Life and it gutted me. I want to read Stoner, but wondering if it's too soon after A Little Life. Thoughts? Alternate suggestions for now? Thanks
Hi Alana! I am only 18 but some books that have impacted me as a reader have been:
Maximum Ride: I used to read this all the time as a kid in middle school, very fun and readable series not exactly peak fiction lol
On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous: Made me fall in love with lyrical and poetic writing, also a very personal book that made me sob out of my mind.
The Extraordinary Life of Sam Hell: Showed me so much about self-love, friendships, insecurities, etc. Very easy and accessible to read that had so many life lessons in them.
Thanks for watching and thanks for sharing! :) Love this!
Hi there! You are so thoughtful when you speak. I adored this video. Thank you for sharing novels that follow your story and not the story of the internet trends!
You are so refreshing and delightful! I’m so excited to enjoy more of your videos :)
Wow, thank you so much, Olivia!❤️
Great review! The Brothers K was life changing for me. War and Peace broke my heart. Thank you for sharing so much.
Thanks for watching!
A great, thought provoking video that had me reviewing my entire reading history! Thinking back into childhood, I think "Jurassic Park" by Michael Crichton was what broke me out of reading kids books (Goosebumps, Choose Your Own Adventure, Hardy Boys) and into reading grown up books. From there, I started reading more Michael Crichton ("Congo", "Sphere", "The Andromeda Strain"), along with Stephen King (when my mom let me, or I found a way to sneak it), Peter "Jaws" Benchley, John Grisham, and Tom Clancy.
Another milestone was Ray Bradbury's "Fahrenheit 451" which expanded my horizons beyond reading just for entertainment and got me into reading books that gave me more to think about later. Later, in late high school, when I was , let's say "experimenting" and getting into questioning reality, I read Philip K Dick's "VALIS" and it blew my away. I learned to appreciate books where there aren't always clear answers and the reader is forced to come to one's own conclusions. Around this time I also read Kerouac's "On the Road", that led me to learn to appreciate writing style and not just the story.
I got into classics only recently. I read "Frankenstein" when I was a kid, but the "old timey" language was a little much for me at the time. I re-read it about three years ago and thought it was amazing. After tackling "Frankenstein" and becoming more confident in handling the classic style of writing, I read the other horror classics ("Jekyll and Hyde", "Phantom of the Opera", "Dracula", Lovecraft) and later expanded into the more serious classics like Dicken's "Tale of Two Cities" and Hugo's "Hunchback of Notre Dame". From there, I got confident enough to take on Dostoyevsky, Dante, Cervantes, Melville, and Shakespeare.
Ah, Fahrenheit 451 is so good!
@@alanaestelle2076 Bradbury is in a league of his own, with his imagination and unique descriptive writing. I'm currently reading his "Long After Midnight" collection, so far very good.
I agree with you on The Lord of the Rings, The Brothers Karamozov, and Jane Eyre. I would add The Eyre Affair, All the Light We Cannot See, The Immortal Nicholas, Babel, We Were the Lucky Ones, Spinning Silver, and Pride and Prejudice. I was an English major and got burned out on reading the classics for awhile (for probably 12 years). I had lost my love of reading but rediscovered it again when reading what I consider to be some modern classics as well as venturing into the fantasy genre. Thanks for the video!
Thanks for watching! :)
kamikaze girls! a true throwback! i used to love the movie w fukada kyoko and tsuchiya anna
YAS!!! I've never seen the movie!
Great video, got me thinking of my own list for this premise, very enjoyed your thoughts and subscribed
Thank you! :)
Memoirs of a Geisha was also the first book I read to transition me out of young adult reading. Definitely want to read it again. May need to buy a new copy because mine is in shambles.
I know I need to read it again, because I'd be curious to see how I react to it now lol.
@@alanaestelle2076 there’s a 50/50 chance it won’t be in our favor lol.
@@gemgerm right!? 🤣
The comparison of the destruction of the Native tribes in the West and the clans is Scotland is so interesting. Do you have any books you recommend for the Scottish Clan history? Also, shoutout to Jane Eyre! I've read so many classics since picking that book up!
Oomph back in 2015 when that connection clicked, i started making a list of books to look into but that list is gone now.
Stoner is a top 5 favorite book for me. Highly underrated.
It's so good!
When I was younger, I was never much of a reader. Early out of high school, I read Choke from Chuck Palahniuk. It's a dark comedy, and it made me realize that a book could make me laugh outloud. The movie came out, and it is good, but it also taught me that adaptations could miss the mark.
Yes, that's how I feel as well, there's something I still can't put my finger on lol.
That's a really good point about religion on this novel!
Absolutely love to hear about impactful books.
:)
My books: The Executioners Song by Norman Mailer....i read it as a teen and the need for deep feelings or books that pull out feelings.
The last few years.... most anything by Cormac McCarthy (I've read them all except Child of God(wont be reading that one) and Blood Meridian and i plan on that soon). Jane Eyre for SURE! Crime and Punishment. Anthony Trollope first two in Barchester Chronicles. The Realm of the Elderlings as to what i tend to choose in fantasy now.
I still need ot read McCarthy!
I clicked on the video because I saw Kamikaze Girls in the stack. I read that book when I was 17. It is still on my shelves.
Frankenstein was the first classic that I read on my own. The style blew me away.
Jane Eyre took two attempts, once in high school and the second in college, but once I read through it, I loved it.
I am glad that I stumbled upon this video.
The OGs know about Kamikaze Girls LOL.
Great list! The Kite Runner has stuck with me for years, and I feel like it isn’t talked about that much anymore. Also Brothers K is top tier!
I really need to read the Kite Runner again - it's been so long!
Thank you for sharing this list. I've been wanting to pick up Dostoevsky but have been too intimidated. You just convinced me!
AH! This is exciting and I'll have a review for it coming up in October.
The Client by John Grisham changed my life. I know. It's not the deep kind of a book you'd think would change someone's life, but it's the first adult novel I read in English. I was 14; I was in Canada for just two years and was chosen to be the valedictorian of my grade 8 class. Everything went downhill after that. Also, Catcher in the Rye changed me (how can a writer make a book about a mentally ill boy funny is the genius I found in it). Jane Eyre of course for the same reasons you mention. I was so scared of university and then, there was Jane Eyre. Sylvia Plath's poem DADDY changed me: one poem with so much power. Roxanne by Daniel Defoe is challenging. Beloved traumatized me- I'd never reread it. And Chocolate War- the best YA I've ever read. I was worried you'd not put Cold Mountain on your list, but there it was.
Had to put Cold Mountain on this list ;)
Since you like Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee, I highly recommend checking out The Heartbeat of Wounded Knee by David Treuer, who is Ojibwe. Treuer gives a narrative that after Wounded Knee, Native American culture didn’t end or disappear but through resourcefulness and reinvention they found ways to keep their culture and languages alive. I loved Memoirs of a Geisha too. Great video!
Thanks for the rec and thanks for watcing :) ! I'm part Native so yes, the culture is not dead.
Wonderful list and brilliant idea for a video!
For me A Hero of Our Time and The Picture of Dorian Gray were very memorable as a teenager. Brothers K is probably one of my favorite novels of all time.
I wonder if you’ve read the The Gambler? It opened to me a different Dostoevsky experience, more.. fun? but in Dostoevsky sick way, obviously :)
I haven't read The Gambler yet, but Dostoevsky's entire catalogue is on my list to read at some point.
You've got me thinking. I wish my list was as impressive as yours.
All books are impressive that are special to you!❤️
Some recommendations…Celine’s Journey to the End of the Night & Death on the Installment Plan…Life : A User’s Manual by Georges Perec…they will leave you flabbergasted, to say the least…Celine’s torrential prose…& Life… is utterly beautiful… in its minute attention to detail… also check out Butcher’s Crossing by John Williams…as for Russians, the novel Oblamov, Envy by Yuri Olesha… & if you haven’t yet …Tolstoy’s The Death of Ivan Ilyich…The Master & Margarita…I loved Stoner & The Brothers K…insightful channel… thank you…there’s a godzillion amount of terrific books out there… I’m intrigued. & eager to read Memories of a Geisha & Kamikaze Girls…the kite runner… cold mountain…
Oh, the Death of Ivan and Master & Margarita are on my list! Just don't know when lol
Currently I am deep diving into Frankenstein. Listening to audiobook. Reading the K-bk. And then reading Koontz's retelling in 4 book series. 📖 I am NEVER want to read another "Frankie" again.😂
Great to see some praise for Cold Mountain. I feel like the movie adaptation hurt the book’s reputation.
Yes, the movie does this book NO JUSTICE! lol
"...The pen in the right hand....there are just certain types of books you just don't put up with any more." 🎉🎉👏👏👏
I don’t know if anyone can read _Brothers K_ and it’s not a milestone.
Stoner is one of the best books I ever read.
That was a really interesting video thanks. I have had a copy of Bury my Heart on my shelf for years and have still never read it - shameful!
Thanks! You definitely have to be in the right frame of mind to read Bury my Heart.
Saw the Brothers Karamazov and immediately clicked the subscribe button
Thank you! :)
The Brothers K held my hand and pulled me out of the depths of nihilism. I will forever worship it.
It really is a stunning piece of literature.
What are some of your favorite books by black writers?
Lemme put it out there that Dorothy West is under read!!!!
I read the book - Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee - in college and it broke my heart and made me feel some kind of way about the college I was attending at the time in Indiana (which no longer exists). But the school touted their involvement in colonializing the Native Indian children in the West during the 17 and 18 hundreds; even the social (Halleck) center had a mural of their Christian Colonializing terror (I'll say that). But this book, opened my eyes as a 20-year-old to what really happened, and the TERROR inflicted on a people; my life and how I viewed people as a whole changed completely. Just a few months ago, I decided to buy several books, including this one when that Floridian Fool started spewing his own self-inflicted delusional definition brand of "Woke" and started banning books. I wanted to make sure this one was on my shelf before anything else occurred in the way of banning books.
What up Lana have u ever gotten into any Shakespeare ☺️🤔
@@Rolo_Bambino yes, I’ve read 8 of his plays.
@@alanaestelle2076 oh really ! Have u reviewed any i might have to check out ? U know what they say it's that time of the month "Shaketember". Lol what do u think 🤔
@@Rolo_Bambino I haven’t on RUclips. I have read any Shakespeare since maybe early 2020. I don’t typically crave him lol.
Do u have a goodreads?
I don't. Too much work lol
What happened to your van and your albino snake? I enjoyed them? I am also enjoying your book tube channel! Good to find you again
I’ve never owned a van and I never owned an albino snake. I’m very confused here lol.
@@alanaestelle2076 I guess I have you mixed up with another you tuber with a similar name, sorry
@@alanaestelle2076 Her name is Jannelle Eliana sorry I got your names mixed up
I wish I'd read more as a teenager. All those hours I wasted doing nothing.
Look, as teenagers we were all ... doing God knows what LOL.
@@alanaestelle2076 100%! 🙂
Has anyone ever read over a thousand hills i Walk with you 😢the most important story ever
haven't heard of that one.
Hi Alana!~ do you have Goodreads?? Do you mind sharing your account? I would like to follow your updates!~
I do not - I only use YT and IG. :)
@@alanaestelle2076 Oki! Thank you! 🙏
Brothers is a fire book u got a man tho
Did you just come in my house without speaking?! Hello how are you? 😅
😂
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@@SheanaJo ❤️❤️
Would love it if you checked out my novels 😎
it's impossible to read everything😅
@@alanaestelle2076 brruhhhhh. True though!