Great video! Haven’t come cross a relatively new booktuber with such fluent and natural way of speaking in a long time! It is concise and clear without being too formal. It is intelligent and interesting without being too pretentious. I enjoyed every second of it. And the kind of books you love is aligned with mine! What more to ask? So happy to find this channel! Made my day🎉
I really enjoy the way you describe books even when you didny like them. The way you present them is open for others to look pass what you didn't like and might actually interest them. Loving the different books you have brought to my attention🎉
As someone who is completely Morrison-pilled its so great to see someone else discovering her work! Sula is my favorite ive read of hers with Song of Solomon and Paradise rounding out the top 3. Honestly you cant go wrong with any of her books 😊
New subscriber. Thoroughly enjoyed listening to your descriptions of each book. Totally unlike any other booktuber. Loved the way you express your thoughts.
I was just recommended your videos earlier today and watched them all so far. I adore the way you describe the books you talk about and I added so many to my TBR list because of you 🫶
so so glad your short story collection video popped up on my feed the other day, im so happy to have discovered your channel!! we have very similar taste, im currently getting back into reading and have discovered my love for short story collections!! im so grateful for your opinions on crime and punishment, doesn't sound like the kind of book i need for attempting to read more classics too lol!!
collections are the best ! i love getting so many little closures i’ve been reading classics this week for a video and i would really recommend frankenstein if you haven’t got to it yet, i LOVED it
if you like bizarre books, magical realism, etc and want to read some more russian classics, try the master and margarita or dead souls! i havent been able to get through any of dostoevsky's full length novels but i found both of those very entertaining.
just found your channel and you've already become one of my favorites on booktube lol. this is parroting what tons of other comments already said but i looooove the way you speak, it's so intelligent and insightful and captivating and funny!
I've never seen anyone talk about "we have always lived in the castle"! I quite liked it, but I understand what you mean about it being wordy. I would recommend you watch the movie; I watched it before I read the book, and I think having the added visuals made me enjoy the book more, the movie really highlights the sister's devotion for each other in a way that made me understand the book better (this is unusual for me, I normally dislike or tolerate movie versions of things lol)
oh i totally will the movie looks really good, i love to see how different my interpretation is it’s so hard to see merricat as anything other than a 13 year old even though i KNOW she’s not i’m super interested in watching her being played by an adult
Just stumbled across your channel and really appreciate your videos! I loved Life Ceremony but I haven't read Earthlings yet. Sounds like I saved the best for last!
Love the video, thanks. I would suggest in relation to Crime and Punishment, when I read it, I struggled with it but knew it was a good book and finally simply bought a different edition, which turned out to be a far better translation and suddenly started to enjoy it. The translations of the classics should be tested before you finalise which one suits you, though you could still hate any particular book, no matter how good/bad it is.
this is such a great point! i think i actually will reread a different translation of this one day, a modicum of research makes it seem like i didn’t read the best version. i definitely prioritized buying a softcover copy which in hindsight was not right choice lol
we read a few books at the same time, apparently, so it was nice hearing you give your opinions on them when they're still fresh in my mind. It made me wonder whether you've considered sharing your TBR list, so it would be a kind of a book club situation for those interested, if that makes sense? anyway i'm glad i discovered your channel, i really liked the way you talk about the stories you read!
wow that’s so sweet!! i would absolutely love to do that, i’ll try to put together a video about what i plan to read for the rest of the summer i’m curious what books we both read recently and what you thought of them !!
@@frankiesshelf it'd be so cool !! :) it can be kind of lonely experience being a big reader because none of my friend keeps up with my recommendations lol I loved Sula but, like you, felt more attached to the characters in Beloved. By the way my favorite book by Toni Morrison is Song of Solomon and it also has magical elements that feel super normal, i don't how she does it but it's so well done ! I was a bit disappointed with life ceremony, i really enjoyed earthlings and konbini so i had high expectations, it felt almost like drafts of stories to me, but maybe that's was the point. i also don't know if the french translation payed justice to it ? i'd love to hear the opinion of someone who read them in Japanese ! I love russian literature, i saw someone advise you another translation and it can be a game changer. but i think the pacing might still be a struggle (it is for me), and the characters are called many names which makes it sooo confusing. i feel like the more you read russian books from that time, the easier it gets to immerse in the stories, and you started with a pretty dense one, i hope you give it another chance :)
Oh my gosh I also love short story collections!! It's nice to find someone who really likes them too since most people on booktube seem to prefer novels. If I were going to recommend something I'd probably recommend Voices in the Night, a fabulism/literary short story collection by Steven Millhauser. Also don't let Crime and Punishment scare you away from other Russian classics, especially Tolstoy's two novels, which are much more accessible and vibrant and interesting.
You are extremely good at talking about the books and also really funny. The way you felt about Crime and punishment is how I felt reading wuthering heights this last week. Literally hated most of the experience because I was confused, bored, frustrated and mad and only liked very few of the characters- and the bad ones was to bad and it made me feel like an extreme man hater lol. While alot of people say it is the best book they have read. Do you have a goodreads I could follow possibly?:)
I love James Bladwin, but I really had trouble getting through Giovanni's room because of just how much sexist language and misogyny was used, and I haven't really heard anyone bring this up, I'd love to know your thoughts
It is very possible that I'm speaking out of my ass but I'm pretty sure Dostoevsky's Notes from Underground was the inspiration for Crime and Punishment and that story is so. Good. It's around 100 pages and only mentions like 4 characters by name and it's incredibly funny. If you haven't read it yet I highly recommend it. I loved it so much I read it twice in a row and I've never done that with any book.
Thank you! Love this channel! And yes, I think exactly the same way with The Dangers of Smoking in Bed. It was gimmicky and she was writing shocking things just to shock, but no purpose, I couldn't buy it. There was no depth in the writing as well. I prefer The Houseguest by Amparo Davila. Please, please, please read GHOSTS by Edith Wharton. It's a collection of her short stories published by NYRB. The writing was insane!
I feel like we have very similar taste in literature. That’s why I subscribed. Well, that and your art wall lol. But I LOVED Signs Preceding the End of the World. But it’s so deeply rooted in mexica (aka aztec) culture that I get why it wouldn’t resonate with you. The journey to the underworld allegory and the theme of moving borders is kinda the whole thing, so if you aren’t familiar with those topics from the mexica perspective, I’m sure it falls flat. The use of “verse” is meant to be as weird and fabricated as borders themselves. And language runs parallel with borders (nahautl/spanish/english) so translation is a whole thing too. And when she gets shot and just moves right along, it’s a stand in for the part of the journey to the underworld where you essentially shed your flesh. That journey is a really long process and each chapter is like a level in the journey. Not sure if I’m making sense, but the novel is heavily symbolic. I also fuck with Russian classics so I guess our taste differs there too. Anyway, I hope you’re doing well. Keep up the good work!
this makes so much sense THANK YOU for the explanation !! i can absolutely see this being a fantastic read now. it was definitely just confusing for me because of how unfamiliar i am with the culture and metaphors it was inspired by :) let me know if you have any russian classic recommendations!! i don’t want to write them all off lol i just need time to recover from crime and punishment
@@frankiesshelf I totally understand the need to recover lol. To be honest, Dostoyevsky is my favorite of the Russians but I feel like the pacing issue is kind of a hallmark of Russian writing. At least from what I’ve read, but I’m no expert. Notes from underground is shorter and is excellent. You might also really like the master and margarita. I just finished it so it might be a recency bias, but I really enjoyed it. It also has a lot of allegory and societal context, but my copy had footnotes that were really helpful. It has two story lines. In one the devil is up to all sorts of shenanigans in Moscow and it reads like magical realism. The other is the trial and execution of Jesus and you might get bored lol. It really depends on your familiarity with the Bible and Christianity. The only interesting thing about that story line is in how it differs from traditional tellings of that story and a few compelling philosophical debates. It’s worth it for the Moscow parts though.
I think the transfobic words in The Dangers of smoking in bed are a translation issue... I read in both Portuguese and Spanish, and I didn't find any of it. Also, fuck Crime and Punishment
I know I'm late to this video, but it's kind of validating to hear someone else who doesn't just gush about Shirley Jackson's writing. I like her ideas, but I find her writing style pretty irritating.
So I'm not sure of this will get seen but I've just found your channel (hi!) And I've been listening to your wrap ups and you've mentioned a couple of times that you like short story collections and I couldn't resist coming down here to recommend two I hardly ever see people read (so sorry if you've already read them) and that's Milk Blood Heat by Dantiel W Moniz which is just so so good and also Self-Help by Lorrie Moore - though it can be a little heavy if you're not in a good headspace in my opinion. Also Recitatif by Toni Morrison is excellent! It really makes you look at your biases about race and stereotypes that you might not even realise you have its super interesting
you speak so intelligently but also conversationally with a touch of humor so that it doesnt feel intimidating.. anyway very satisfying to watch
this made me so genuinely happy to hear, this is such a kind and thoughtful comment you made my day ❤️
Great video! Haven’t come cross a relatively new booktuber with such fluent and natural way of speaking in a long time! It is concise and clear without being too formal. It is intelligent and interesting without being too pretentious. I enjoyed every second of it.
And the kind of books you love is aligned with mine! What more to ask?
So happy to find this channel! Made my day🎉
this is so kind ❤️❤️
I really enjoy the way you describe books even when you didny like them. The way you present them is open for others to look pass what you didn't like and might actually interest them. Loving the different books you have brought to my attention🎉
wow thank you!! i try really hard to achieve this and i’m glad it’s coming through :)
you’re so goooood at talking about books!!!
I want to read like almost every book that you positively mention haha
Im loving your book videos so far, the way you describe them is really entertaining!!
thats so nice to hear :) i’m having so much fun making them !!
I’m so obsessed with your videos I could listen to speak about books for hours
New favorite booktuber!!!
As someone who is completely Morrison-pilled its so great to see someone else discovering her work! Sula is my favorite ive read of hers with Song of Solomon and Paradise rounding out the top 3. Honestly you cant go wrong with any of her books 😊
song of solomon is one of the books i wanna read next! im so sure i’m gonna love it
You’re the best. I can watch you talk about books all day!!!
watched this for literally two minutes and immediately put a reservation on a little luck
you’ve gotta update me with what you think about it
New subscriber. Thoroughly enjoyed listening to your descriptions of each book. Totally unlike any other booktuber. Loved the way you express your thoughts.
I'm in love with Claudia Piniero's writing. She just released her third book last week.
yess it looks SO good!!
I was just recommended your videos earlier today and watched them all so far. I adore the way you describe the books you talk about and I added so many to my TBR list because of you 🫶
omg thank you ❤️ you gotta let me know what you think if you read any of them!!
so so glad your short story collection video popped up on my feed the other day, im so happy to have discovered your channel!! we have very similar taste, im currently getting back into reading and have discovered my love for short story collections!! im so grateful for your opinions on crime and punishment, doesn't sound like the kind of book i need for attempting to read more classics too lol!!
collections are the best ! i love getting so many little closures
i’ve been reading classics this week for a video and i would really recommend frankenstein if you haven’t got to it yet, i LOVED it
Crime and punishment is a six hundred plus page anxiety attack.
if you like bizarre books, magical realism, etc and want to read some more russian classics, try the master and margarita or dead souls! i havent been able to get through any of dostoevsky's full length novels but i found both of those very entertaining.
just found your channel and you've already become one of my favorites on booktube lol. this is parroting what tons of other comments already said but i looooove the way you speak, it's so intelligent and insightful and captivating and funny!
this makes me so happy thank you so much !!
I've never seen anyone talk about "we have always lived in the castle"! I quite liked it, but I understand what you mean about it being wordy. I would recommend you watch the movie; I watched it before I read the book, and I think having the added visuals made me enjoy the book more, the movie really highlights the sister's devotion for each other in a way that made me understand the book better (this is unusual for me, I normally dislike or tolerate movie versions of things lol)
oh i totally will the movie looks really good, i love to see how different my interpretation is
it’s so hard to see merricat as anything other than a 13 year old even though i KNOW she’s not i’m super interested in watching her being played by an adult
I think you’d really like the podcast books unbound, a lot of your reading overlaps with the hosts’.
Just stumbled across your channel and really appreciate your videos! I loved Life Ceremony but I haven't read Earthlings yet. Sounds like I saved the best for last!
Love the video, thanks. I would suggest in relation to Crime and Punishment, when I read it, I struggled with it but knew it was a good book and finally simply bought a different edition, which turned out to be a far better translation and suddenly started to enjoy it. The translations of the classics should be tested before you finalise which one suits you, though you could still hate any particular book, no matter how good/bad it is.
this is such a great point! i think i actually will reread a different translation of this one day, a modicum of research makes it seem like i didn’t read the best version. i definitely prioritized buying a softcover copy which in hindsight was not right choice lol
we read a few books at the same time, apparently, so it was nice hearing you give your opinions on them when they're still fresh in my mind. It made me wonder whether you've considered sharing your TBR list, so it would be a kind of a book club situation for those interested, if that makes sense?
anyway i'm glad i discovered your channel, i really liked the way you talk about the stories you read!
wow that’s so sweet!! i would absolutely love to do that, i’ll try to put together a video about what i plan to read for the rest of the summer
i’m curious what books we both read recently and what you thought of them !!
@@frankiesshelf it'd be so cool !! :) it can be kind of lonely experience being a big reader because none of my friend keeps up with my recommendations lol
I loved Sula but, like you, felt more attached to the characters in Beloved. By the way my favorite book by Toni Morrison is Song of Solomon and it also has magical elements that feel super normal, i don't how she does it but it's so well done !
I was a bit disappointed with life ceremony, i really enjoyed earthlings and konbini so i had high expectations, it felt almost like drafts of stories to me, but maybe that's was the point. i also don't know if the french translation payed justice to it ? i'd love to hear the opinion of someone who read them in Japanese !
I love russian literature, i saw someone advise you another translation and it can be a game changer. but i think the pacing might still be a struggle (it is for me), and the characters are called many names which makes it sooo confusing. i feel like the more you read russian books from that time, the easier it gets to immerse in the stories, and you started with a pretty dense one, i hope you give it another chance :)
Oh my gosh I also love short story collections!! It's nice to find someone who really likes them too since most people on booktube seem to prefer novels. If I were going to recommend something I'd probably recommend Voices in the Night, a fabulism/literary short story collection by Steven Millhauser. Also don't let Crime and Punishment scare you away from other Russian classics, especially Tolstoy's two novels, which are much more accessible and vibrant and interesting.
ooh that looks great i’m adding it to my list thank you !!
lol at crime and punishment decimating your will to live - can relate
i was questioning every moment and decision that had led me to that point .. it was eye opening
I just watched your what I read in June video, and I would recommend the book monstrous affections, it’s a collection of short stories
You are extremely good at talking about the books and also really funny. The way you felt about Crime and punishment is how I felt reading wuthering heights this last week. Literally hated most of the experience because I was confused, bored, frustrated and mad and only liked very few of the characters- and the bad ones was to bad and it made me feel like an extreme man hater lol. While alot of people say it is the best book they have read. Do you have a goodreads I could follow possibly?:)
thank you so much !! wuthering heights has always sounded painful to me lol
my goodreads is
www.goodreads.com/user/show/149266264-frankie :)
If you like stories told from the "we" perspective, have you checked out This is Paradise? The title story of that collection I really loved
amazing, very well spoken, very valid opinions
I love James Bladwin, but I really had trouble getting through Giovanni's room because of just how much sexist language and misogyny was used, and I haven't really heard anyone bring this up, I'd love to know your thoughts
I think you'd love Mundo Cruel by Luis Negron - super interesting short story collection from Puerto Rico
ooh yes that looks fantastic thank you!
I loved Milk Fed, can’t wait to read Death Valley.
its SO good!! milk fed might be a little better but death valley made me melissa broder’s #1 fan
It is very possible that I'm speaking out of my ass but I'm pretty sure Dostoevsky's Notes from Underground was the inspiration for Crime and Punishment and that story is so. Good. It's around 100 pages and only mentions like 4 characters by name and it's incredibly funny. If you haven't read it yet I highly recommend it. I loved it so much I read it twice in a row and I've never done that with any book.
idk if you’ve read it but swimming in the dark revolves around giovanni’s room
ooh that looks great thank you !
Have you read Big Swiss by Jenn Beagin? I think you’d be into it
i LOVED big swiss!!
amazing and wonderful fern...keep it up!
❤️❤️❤️
Can you pleeeeease do my top 10 books or something along those lines?
Thank you! Love this channel!
And yes, I think exactly the same way with The Dangers of Smoking in Bed. It was gimmicky and she was writing shocking things just to shock, but no purpose, I couldn't buy it. There was no depth in the writing as well. I prefer The Houseguest by Amparo Davila.
Please, please, please read GHOSTS by Edith Wharton. It's a collection of her short stories published by NYRB. The writing was insane!
I feel like we have very similar taste in literature. That’s why I subscribed. Well, that and your art wall lol.
But I LOVED Signs Preceding the End of the World. But it’s so deeply rooted in mexica (aka aztec) culture that I get why it wouldn’t resonate with you. The journey to the underworld allegory and the theme of moving borders is kinda the whole thing, so if you aren’t familiar with those topics from the mexica perspective, I’m sure it falls flat.
The use of “verse” is meant to be as weird and fabricated as borders themselves. And language runs parallel with borders (nahautl/spanish/english) so translation is a whole thing too.
And when she gets shot and just moves right along, it’s a stand in for the part of the journey to the underworld where you essentially shed your flesh. That journey is a really long process and each chapter is like a level in the journey. Not sure if I’m making sense, but the novel is heavily symbolic.
I also fuck with Russian classics so I guess our taste differs there too.
Anyway, I hope you’re doing well. Keep up the good work!
this makes so much sense THANK YOU for the explanation !! i can absolutely see this being a fantastic read now. it was definitely just confusing for me because of how unfamiliar i am with the culture and metaphors it was inspired by :)
let me know if you have any russian classic recommendations!! i don’t want to write them all off lol i just need time to recover from crime and punishment
@@frankiesshelf I totally understand the need to recover lol. To be honest, Dostoyevsky is my favorite of the Russians but I feel like the pacing issue is kind of a hallmark of Russian writing. At least from what I’ve read, but I’m no expert. Notes from underground is shorter and is excellent.
You might also really like the master and margarita. I just finished it so it might be a recency bias, but I really enjoyed it. It also has a lot of allegory and societal context, but my copy had footnotes that were really helpful. It has two story lines. In one the devil is up to all sorts of shenanigans in Moscow and it reads like magical realism. The other is the trial and execution of Jesus and you might get bored lol. It really depends on your familiarity with the Bible and Christianity. The only interesting thing about that story line is in how it differs from traditional tellings of that story and a few compelling philosophical debates. It’s worth it for the Moscow parts though.
okay you know what youve convinced me that sounds great i’m adding it to my list
I think the transfobic words in The Dangers of smoking in bed are a translation issue... I read in both Portuguese and Spanish, and I didn't find any of it. Also, fuck Crime and Punishment
14?! Pop off! I managed 8!
And I think I need to check out this is not miami!
i definitely spend an unreasonable amount of time reading
and you should !! i really like her fiction too
📖 🪱 💚
I know I'm late to this video, but it's kind of validating to hear someone else who doesn't just gush about Shirley Jackson's writing. I like her ideas, but I find her writing style pretty irritating.
New subscriber…. I tried listening to A Girl is A Half Formed Thing and gave up.
it's SUCH a difficult book on every level omg
what happened to your tiktok?
i just wasn’t having fun on it anymore
@@frankiesshelf i see, wish you the best!
So I'm not sure of this will get seen but I've just found your channel (hi!) And I've been listening to your wrap ups and you've mentioned a couple of times that you like short story collections and I couldn't resist coming down here to recommend two I hardly ever see people read (so sorry if you've already read them) and that's Milk Blood Heat by Dantiel W Moniz which is just so so good and also Self-Help by Lorrie Moore - though it can be a little heavy if you're not in a good headspace in my opinion.
Also Recitatif by Toni Morrison is excellent! It really makes you look at your biases about race and stereotypes that you might not even realise you have its super interesting