Hi, Fran, thanks for your books recommendations! I am from Ukraine and I was very pleased to see our writer Gogol among the recommended ones. In Ukraine, Gogol's novels and short stories are included in the school curriculum. If you get a chance, please take a look at his collection of short stories, called "Evenings on a Farm Near Dikanka". These stories are a mixture of humor, ancient mythology of Gogol's homeland, and horror. I'm pretty sure that they should be published as comics one day)))
Entiendo taaaanto eso de "no comprar cosas porque estoy en modo me mudo pronto" y ahora que, al fin siento que estoy en mi casita de largo plazo, la horda de cosas que quiero coleccionar (con un tantito de autocontrol de consumismo consciente) esta ACTIVEITED
Fran, I know you didn't specifically ask for sci-fi recommendations, but hearing you talk about Le Guin at the end made me want to give you one. If you're looking for a very approachable, non-jargon or made-up word heavy book, please read (literally anything) by Becky Chambers. Her stories are so beautifully written and so moving, yet easy to read. You can start with her Wayfarer series, or you can start with "A Psalm for the Wild-Built" which is a novella and readable in 2 hrs! Even though not all her characters are human, her books tell such lovely stories about humanity, relationships, identity, gender, race and love. Her worlds are so inventive and immersive, but they definitely don't overwhelm you with too many fancy terms. They're also not stressful or tense. but still very engaging. I recommend Chambers to everyone! She's hands down my favourite author. p.s. hi from Canada
Becky Chambers has become one of my all time favorite authors. Her hopeful and uplifting stories carried me through 2020, and she has such a unique and brilliant take on sci-fi. Highly recommend to all!
I can absolutely recommend the 2020 movie "Tove". The costumes and set designs are just gorgeous and paint a vivid picture how every room, weather and fabric must have felt. It is mesmerizing. Also the choice of actors and actresses is perfect. It is such a beautiful and bittersweet movie with ups and downs and, I feel, huge accuracy for the time and Tove's life.
First, fabulous book haul! Thank you for sharing Moebius with me. /swoon I have known of him for a number of years but, admittedly, had not really seen any of his work. I can see so much of Ghibli in it and am completely enthralled with Edena now. I'm on the hunt now for copies. His work is breathtaking and right up my alley. I love simple linework, and so much texture! I am that way with fantasy. I get overwhelmed trying to keep track of all the characters and their complicated names, which is the opposite of why I read. I like relaxing with my books when I'm not researching or learning (writer)... I first delved into Sci-Fi with Nnedi Okorafor's series, "Binti". I LOVE it. It's three books and all novellas, very easy read and any terminology is explained in the text as she tells the story. Highly recommend, I've read them twice now. After that, I've started on "Wool" by Hugh Howey. I bought the other two when I was only two chapters in, I was hooked. It is post-apocalyptic. They made a series out of it, "Silo", but I've not seen it yet because it is only on Apple TV. The other one I've started, with fitful pauses from overwhelm, is the series that The Expanse TV show is based on. "Leviathan Wakes" by James S.A. Corey (think it is actually two or three authors under one pen name) is the first book of 14+ and the books themselves are HUGE. (Not sure what I've gotten myself into. ha) The show is fabulous if you've not seen it.
I love Manben!! Ito’s episode stuck with me because of his imagery… the girl on her bed with all the layers… it lives in head rent free. I love seeing the behind the scenes of artist’s lives, like your vlogs. Bakuman is a fun manga that also does the behind the scenes thing, kind of meta.
Always love watching your videos and seeing what you're reading! As for science fiction book, a lot of them do have a glossary in the back in case you get confused, but if the writing style is something you enjoy, you should be able to just continue on and eventually everything will click. It's a process of becoming familiar with a new world. And while it's never fun to be reading and not understand everything, that moment when it clicks and you get it is beautiful. :) I hope that helps!! Much love.
I completely understand what you mean when you mentioned clicking to the way Frankenstein was written. I didn't think I would like the book either but when I read it, it captivated me, and it became my absolute favorite book. I also loved learning afterwards that the genre of science fiction was created by Mary Shelley. Thanks for the recommendations as well, The Left Hand of Darkness is going to be the first on my list.
I love Lolita. It is very troubling. For me ( a non American) it is primarily a story about America. It is dark and depressing and exquisitely written. And it is troubling in more than one way.
Great books! Did you know Mary Shelley wrote Frankenstein when she was 15??? She was so good. I can't stand Lolita. I tried reading it and was so grossed out I couldn't finish it. I don't know why others enjoy it! Haha
As a Russian and a Language and Literature graduate, I am so glad Russian classic novels find their audience in you, Fran. So please, don't be ashamed of pronouncing russian names wrong, it's completely fine for a non-russian speaker. Actually, Nabokov wrote "Lolita" in English and then translated it into Russian, and the fun fact is that he actually got a lot of the realia wrong and messed the book up with this translation. Also, "Lolita" is not an easy book to read, and the main point is quite opposite to the movie depiction (false narrative moment), so I would recommend you also to read his other novel - "Pnin" about a Russian professor in America, it's really entertaining and deserves more recognition.
Realmente aprecio que traduzcas tus videos aun despues de tantos años creando videos por aqui tambien ver tu crecimiento al hacer videos es grandioso super fan de todo lo que haces Fran me inspiras a seguir dibujando 🙂🫂💜
While I haven't read Lolita myself I absolutely loved the Lolita Podcast created by Jamie Loftus. It explores the author & book but also looks at the film and cultural impact, it's one of my favourite limited run podcasts. I also want to tackle Rory Gilmore's list! But I'm not anywhere close lol
I read a lot of sci-fi (and fantasy) and for the most part I just go-with-the-flow when it comes to terms and new vocabulary. You have to have faith that it will all come together eventually and that you will understand as you spend more time in the world and learn about how it functions.
please tell me: when reading science fiction, do you pay attention/memorize all new terms and names, or do you go through the story hoping the important names will stick? (currently feeling overwhelmed by the amount of new names on The Left Hand of Darkness)
I rely on repetition of names in a story so I can eventually memorize them (especially when I read Cien Años de Soledad,… good lord). I also write notes in the margins. I do like your method of creating character maps, tho! Also, Left Hand of Darkness is one of my favorites and I hope you are enjoying it!
I also just keep reading and assume I'll figure it out. 😆 If there's a list of characters at the front, I don't read it super closely to begin with but will refer back to it if needed (sometimes I put a sticky note there if I am referring to it a lot). I also think it gets somewhat easier the more sff you read, though there are definitely different levels of difficulty, both due to the inherent nature of a book and how good an author is at their craft.
Tip/suggestion: Personally I’ve found a good book won’t make you work so hard and you’ll be able to pick up on words that are used often with ease. But it does help to listen to the audible book as you read the physical copy 🤜🤛. NOW plz plz plz go check out the book/ series The Three Body Problem. I am not a science fiction girly but this book has a HOLD on my soul. Also the audible version has a really good narrator who completely immerses you into the story. Happy reading 🫶
been loving hearing u talk about books! i recently got a lot more into reading in the last year or so and am so happy seeing u talk about ur own book discoveries :0)
Haha I am a cis woman and I love Lolita (both the book and the movie). I had listened to the audiobook when I was very young actually and later I had watched both movie adaptions but I love the one with Jeremy Irons a lot more. (I'm not sure which movie you have seen?). So I encourage you to read it. The writing style is superb and the psychology behind it is absolutely fascinating. But then again I have always loved books that went into someone's unusual psyche :D
I just came to say I also love Manben!! All of NHK’s content is amazing and entertaining and so fun but that show is really special. There are so many good shows on that app!
Fran, you have to go to the library and check out more of Moebius' work. I have the two Edena books you have, and trust me, it just gets better and better and better.
I remember i tried to do some of the rory gilmore Girls reading list too ! I think i still have "The amazing adventures of kavalier and clay" on my kindle. Not finished but enjoyable. And about Gilmore Girls hugs, it's so true
Thank you for posting up what you're reading. I always like to get inspiration for what to read next. I totally relate with what you said about keeping up with names and terminology when reading sci-fi. It's hard to keep up sometimes. I just sort of accept that its not completely going in at first and just let the words wash over me. They do tend to cement themselves in with more of the story. Though I do think it depends on where your head is at the time, at least it is for me, and perhaps whether the story is resonating. I'd definitely recommend Rendezvous with Rama and Childhood's End by Arthur C Clarke. I loved the Earthsea books by Ursula which is more fantasy but *shrugs*. Two of my absolute favourite books of all time though are KPAX by Gene Brewer and Contact by Carl Sagan, which talk about the universe and space but also what it means to be human. Just mentioning them here is making me want to reread them.
Lolita - The book is more disturbing than the movie, but worth a read once in your life. The writing is glorious but the content is creepy Count of Monte Cristo is wonderful! Worth the investment in time.
For sci-fi, I find it easier to read the made-up words and move on, without worrying if I have memorized it. Often that means I have to go back and look up the words again to see what they were about, but at least I can stay "in" the story and not pause all the time. Maybe reading sci-fi in Spanish would make it easier as well, since you would recognize the made-up words or even understand their nuance a bit more. :)
Pausing this video to say, if you think moving homes with a book collection is hard, having a book and record collection will make you rethink whether you really even want to leave your place, lol... It's a privilege and an honor to be able to fill a home with the art and media you love though, so I'm not complaining one bit
The feeling you're describing you felt while reading Dune happened to me with other pieces of media as well. Unfortunately the piece I was watching and then bought the novels to read was not science fiction but it shared the same type of heavy 'native' vocabulary you're describing. I remember my first attempts left me confused and it was going a little too fast for me to catch up and eventually that made me stop. Later on I decided to give it another chance and dedicate a real quiet time and take it at my own pace; it is essentially like learning a new language. You will learn the terms the more you repeat them, and as the story progresses more significance will be added to each new term. The series that made me feel that way is The Twelve Kingdoms, often referred to as 'The Lord of the Rings of Japan'. Great feudal fantasy series. I love everything you got in your haul, I wish you happy times reading each one of them. Cheers!
I liked the art book part the most, it was absolutely new for me. Once I started reading sci fi book about androis but they had no names only numbers. I just kept a little note who is who. And I tend to read sci fi in my native language if it's too complicated. What a collection you have!
Just writing here to back you up on the love of Tove Jansson, all her work - drawings and writings. I love her adult prose, and was very fascinated by Moomins when I was a child. I have her beautifully illustrated biography by Tuula Karjalainen “Tove Jansson. Work and Love”, I think you might like that book. So great you read classics. I read Tolstoy and Gogol at middle/high school (obligatory), so there was not much understanding really. Now I am faced with the wish to reread these and some others, but at the same time, with my “inner child” resentment to do that.
I don't read much science fiction, so Dune was a challenge for me too, but I found that if I just kept reading and didn't put pressure on myself to remember everything, I enjoyed it more and understood more. Remember that there will be no test at the end and it's okay not to remember or understand every little thing :)
Fran you are my favorite person on RUclips. Every one of your new videos is a special delight. You will love "The Count of Monte Cristo" and it provides exactly the type of big experience you are looking for. Check the paperback you got to make sure it's an unabridged edition -- sometimes the paperbacks excise some of the original story to make them slightly shorter. When you are ready to get into it, the full original book is totes worth it -- and would be worth looking for the full versh if the one you got doesn't include it
I loved your book haul! For sci-fi, I don’t think Dune is a good one to start with. I found it really difficult with lots of vocabulary. I also read a bit of sci-if occasionally and here are my top rated ones that I gave 5 stars . - Dark Matter by Blake Couch - Binti, by Nnedi Okorafor ( it’s 3 books , but I think you can just read the first one, it’s really interesting) and the first book is just 100 pages. - The one by John Mars - The passengers by John Mars - Annihilation by Jeff VanderMeer - The fifth season ( it’s book one of a trilogy) , It’s kind of dystopia, sci- fi, fantasy. A mish mash, but what an interesting world. - Blindness by Jose Sarmago ( dystopia /sci-fi ) - The Martian by Andy weir - The humans by Matt Haig Some book are easy to read and you don’t need to take notes, others, I would open a note on my iPhone and write vocabulary or characters . It depends on your style.
I struggle with names and vocab in fantasy and sci fi, even if my native language, let alone a second. I tend to mumble the words and just carry on without paying attention to them lol On some reading apps you can name change too which helps sometimes if names are too similar which is great.
Back in the day (1980-1999) we used to get Schwermetall - Comics for Grown-Ups, a monthly publication of various comic authors here in Germany. It was called Métal Hurlant in original French version. Moebius was always my favourite of the story tellers. It was expensive but always fantastic when the new edition came out! Glad you found these books because the outline drawings with little accents that convey such a lot of meaning and are universal in their "language" really are fantastic.😍🥰
I did my master's in English and I'm an artist. Hands down loving your book list and what you have selected. You're leaning toward the gothic. You should definitely DEFINITELY read Frankenstein.
I totally posted this before I got to the Frankenstein comment!!! omg loving that you read that book. Frankenstein is and always will be my favorite book.
Sci-fi recommendation: "Martian Chronicles" by Ray Bradbury! In general Bradbury's prose are concise and masterfully simple. Every word has a purpose and seemingly avoids unnecessary complicated verbiage. Each chapter is a short story so it's a great fast nighttime read.
I have been following you for YEARS. Hahaha! I followed your youtube from when you used to live in Hastings and followed your journey till now. I moved to US for a few years and at one point of time I was in NYC and thought that huh so strange that I we are in the same city and feels like I know so much about you but you don't know me at all. I was staying in Boston at the time and when I saw you were exhibiting in NYC, I asked my friend to go and visit your stall cuz she was also exhibiting in the same fair. I managed to buy the ugly sketchbook while I was still there! I had to come back to India due to visa issues, but I love that you are thriving there, it's like for a moment or paths almost colided and then went separate. Your channel means so much to me because your passion for you work, your consistency and dedication through thick and thin always reminded a panick stricken person like me to keep going and not treat my work like the end of the world. The ugly sketch book traveled and lives on with me. Love you and love your content.
Also liked Lolita. It is So strange when you catch yourself liking the guy and sad for his struggles. Then you realized but, but wait he is not a good guy. Realy cool.
Love this! Manben is so good - I discovered it through your recommendation. It's great you're getting stuck into chunky novels. One of my favourite books is Haruki Murakami's 'Killing Commendatore'. It's a dive into another world for sure! x
hey ! to keep track maybe you can underline the new words/names (i differents colors per category if you need to) and when you see it again but dont remember anything, you can go back a find an occurrence ;)
Fran! Thanks for the Manben recommendation! As a picture book writer working on my first graphic novel script, I am obsessed with shows, podcasts, books, etc. that deal with the process of making comics (including your videos, of course!). Have you listed to the Graphic Novel TK podcast?! I bet you have, but if not, I highly recommend it! Each episode deep dives into an aspect of the process of creating and selling a graphic novel. My favourite episode is the one that talks about how they are printed and shipped in such detail. So mind blowing!
hello Fran! it's so nice to watch your vlogs after a while and to see you're cheerful and enjoying travelling, hope everything goes okay :) and all the time I hear foreigners being interested in classical russian literature I feel joy and concern at the same time because russian literature of 18-19th century is kinda tricky: you might be bored or confused by lots of things + the length of works and moreover lots of writers' actions for modern realities may be too much (for example you might read about Tolstoy's life, he were, well, a shitty person lol, but seeing you enjoy works and not criticizing it because of authors warms my heart. yeah I do agree in many cases you need to know authors background to "feel" their work properly, but still), so I highly recommend you checking ""Humiliated and insulted", " Crime and Punishment" by Fyodor Dostoevsky and "Cancer Ward" by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn. and, I know this book is extremely violent and gross, but I was interested would you like to read "Exquisite corpse" by Poppy Brite? thanks for the video 🤍
I love listening to you talk! I get that this particular subject requires visuals since you're also talking about the art and stuff but I was listening to this while drawing and I gotta say I wouldn't mind if you'd ever start a podcast or do more of these talking videos haha 💖💖
Have you read Brahm Stoker's "Dracula"? It's mesmerizing Fran. It's written as if the main characters are writing in their diaries or writing letters back and forth. I have read the novel twice now.
I love this video! So many great tips. I have a terrible memory, so I keep a thin piece of paper in the books I read, with lists of people's names and places, etc. 😁
Thanks for the video and for the Manben suggestion! Speaking about Lolita (I personally have been disturbed by both the book and the movie 😔) I loved a lot "Reading Lolita in Tehran: a Memoir in Books" by Azar Nafisi; I'm sure that if you read the mentioned book first, you could enjoy Nafisi's work even more. I put it in my super-fav spot on my library ✨
Loved this thick stack of book recs, Fran!! Definitelyyy adding the Manben series to my to-watch list. Also, I recommend Lolita podcast of iheartradio's for a literary and cultural analysis! It made me want to reread the book, which would probably be a very different experience from when I read it in high school.
Fraaaaan muchas graciiias por poner el link para poder ver MANBEN, no podia encontrar mas episodios de este show!!! mil graciias. Amo demasiado los pocos capitulos que he visto y me siento tan inspirado viendolos! 🥰
hi Fran, thank you for keeping me company while I knit :) The Left Hand of Darkness is one of my favourite books, and I think it definitely gets better on the second (or third!) read. That's how I got comfortable with all the new names and terms. If you end up liking it, can I recommend the Lilith's Brood Trilogy by Octavia Butler? The first book is called Dawn. Soo fascinating and very character-driven, similar to The Left Hand of Darkness.
¡¡Aaaaaah!! Amo, amo, AMO los libros. Y si, es lo que más pesa en las mudanzas. Me encanta el video y tus recomendaciones.❤ ¡Que chido que tengas libros físicos de Moebius!
Best video ever, Fraaaan! 🎉🎉 One of my recent favorite graphic novels is DUCKS by Kate Beaton, I don’t know if it’s your style or not, but the story was so moving and frustating, that maybe you could check it out. I really like it when you talk books! 😊
Love the book haul! I read somewhere that Miyazaki was an animator for the 90s Moomin cartoon, and I noticed that in Totoro they describe the Totoros as looking like the “trolls” from Mei’s book ;) Love the hair, too! 💜
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Thank you Native! : - ) Save 20% on your first Native purchase! Click here bit.ly/nativemeneses and use my code MENESES #AD
obsessed with reading rn so I'm super down for more of this content! ty ty ,3
Hi, Fran, thanks for your books recommendations! I am from Ukraine and I was very pleased to see our writer Gogol among the recommended ones. In Ukraine, Gogol's novels and short stories are included in the school curriculum. If you get a chance, please take a look at his collection of short stories, called "Evenings on a Farm Near Dikanka". These stories are a mixture of humor, ancient mythology of Gogol's homeland, and horror. I'm pretty sure that they should be published as comics one day)))
I'm loving your booktube era
Sabrina is my number one graphic novel I recommend to people who aren't into comics. It's SO GOOD and so impactful.
Omg I’m reading it rn!!!
Entiendo taaaanto eso de "no comprar cosas porque estoy en modo me mudo pronto" y ahora que, al fin siento que estoy en mi casita de largo plazo, la horda de cosas que quiero coleccionar (con un tantito de autocontrol de consumismo consciente) esta ACTIVEITED
Fran, I know you didn't specifically ask for sci-fi recommendations, but hearing you talk about Le Guin at the end made me want to give you one. If you're looking for a very approachable, non-jargon or made-up word heavy book, please read (literally anything) by Becky Chambers. Her stories are so beautifully written and so moving, yet easy to read. You can start with her Wayfarer series, or you can start with "A Psalm for the Wild-Built" which is a novella and readable in 2 hrs! Even though not all her characters are human, her books tell such lovely stories about humanity, relationships, identity, gender, race and love. Her worlds are so inventive and immersive, but they definitely don't overwhelm you with too many fancy terms. They're also not stressful or tense. but still very engaging. I recommend Chambers to everyone! She's hands down my favourite author. p.s. hi from Canada
Becky Chambers has become one of my all time favorite authors. Her hopeful and uplifting stories carried me through 2020, and she has such a unique and brilliant take on sci-fi. Highly recommend to all!
It’s so cute how you pronounced Junji Ito’s name in a Spanish way lol 💕
Dime que eres de Chile sin decirme que eres de Chile
I can absolutely recommend the 2020 movie "Tove". The costumes and set designs are just gorgeous and paint a vivid picture how every room, weather and fabric must have felt. It is mesmerizing. Also the choice of actors and actresses is perfect. It is such a beautiful and bittersweet movie with ups and downs and, I feel, huge accuracy for the time and Tove's life.
First, fabulous book haul!
Thank you for sharing Moebius with me. /swoon I have known of him for a number of years but, admittedly, had not really seen any of his work. I can see so much of Ghibli in it and am completely enthralled with Edena now. I'm on the hunt now for copies. His work is breathtaking and right up my alley. I love simple linework, and so much texture!
I am that way with fantasy. I get overwhelmed trying to keep track of all the characters and their complicated names, which is the opposite of why I read. I like relaxing with my books when I'm not researching or learning (writer)...
I first delved into Sci-Fi with Nnedi Okorafor's series, "Binti". I LOVE it. It's three books and all novellas, very easy read and any terminology is explained in the text as she tells the story. Highly recommend, I've read them twice now.
After that, I've started on "Wool" by Hugh Howey. I bought the other two when I was only two chapters in, I was hooked. It is post-apocalyptic. They made a series out of it, "Silo", but I've not seen it yet because it is only on Apple TV.
The other one I've started, with fitful pauses from overwhelm, is the series that The Expanse TV show is based on. "Leviathan Wakes" by James S.A. Corey (think it is actually two or three authors under one pen name) is the first book of 14+ and the books themselves are HUGE. (Not sure what I've gotten myself into. ha) The show is fabulous if you've not seen it.
I LOVE the way she talks/describes things!
I love Manben!! Ito’s episode stuck with me because of his imagery… the girl on her bed with all the layers… it lives in head rent free. I love seeing the behind the scenes of artist’s lives, like your vlogs. Bakuman is a fun manga that also does the behind the scenes thing, kind of meta.
Always love watching your videos and seeing what you're reading! As for science fiction book, a lot of them do have a glossary in the back in case you get confused, but if the writing style is something you enjoy, you should be able to just continue on and eventually everything will click. It's a process of becoming familiar with a new world. And while it's never fun to be reading and not understand everything, that moment when it clicks and you get it is beautiful. :) I hope that helps!! Much love.
I completely understand what you mean when you mentioned clicking to the way Frankenstein was written. I didn't think I would like the book either but when I read it, it captivated me, and it became my absolute favorite book. I also loved learning afterwards that the genre of science fiction was created by Mary Shelley.
Thanks for the recommendations as well, The Left Hand of Darkness is going to be the first on my list.
Fran, Commodity has a fragrance called Book. It’s quite lovely.
I love Lolita. It is very troubling. For me ( a non American) it is primarily a story about America. It is dark and depressing and exquisitely written. And it is troubling in more than one way.
Great books! Did you know Mary Shelley wrote Frankenstein when she was 15??? She was so good. I can't stand Lolita. I tried reading it and was so grossed out I couldn't finish it. I don't know why others enjoy it! Haha
As a Russian and a Language and Literature graduate, I am so glad Russian classic novels find their audience in you, Fran. So please, don't be ashamed of pronouncing russian names wrong, it's completely fine for a non-russian speaker. Actually, Nabokov wrote "Lolita" in English and then translated it into Russian, and the fun fact is that he actually got a lot of the realia wrong and messed the book up with this translation. Also, "Lolita" is not an easy book to read, and the main point is quite opposite to the movie depiction (false narrative moment), so I would recommend you also to read his other novel - "Pnin" about a Russian professor in America, it's really entertaining and deserves more recognition.
Realmente aprecio que traduzcas tus videos aun despues de tantos años creando videos por aqui tambien ver tu crecimiento al hacer videos es grandioso super fan de todo lo que haces Fran me inspiras a seguir dibujando 🙂🫂💜
While I haven't read Lolita myself I absolutely loved the Lolita Podcast created by Jamie Loftus. It explores the author & book but also looks at the film and cultural impact, it's one of my favourite limited run podcasts. I also want to tackle Rory Gilmore's list! But I'm not anywhere close lol
Oh very interesting. Thank you for recommending the podcast :)
I loved this❤ please please make an update video on how you liked the books or another book haul if you get more ✨
I read a lot of sci-fi (and fantasy) and for the most part I just go-with-the-flow when it comes to terms and new vocabulary. You have to have faith that it will all come together eventually and that you will understand as you spend more time in the world and learn about how it functions.
please tell me: when reading science fiction, do you pay attention/memorize all new terms and names, or do you go through the story hoping the important names will stick? (currently feeling overwhelmed by the amount of new names on The Left Hand of Darkness)
I rely on repetition of names in a story so I can eventually memorize them (especially when I read Cien Años de Soledad,… good lord). I also write notes in the margins. I do like your method of creating character maps, tho! Also, Left Hand of Darkness is one of my favorites and I hope you are enjoying it!
I tend to read them twice! First pass I hope that seeing a name multiple times will make me remember who’s who
@@abeguezsame
I also just keep reading and assume I'll figure it out. 😆 If there's a list of characters at the front, I don't read it super closely to begin with but will refer back to it if needed (sometimes I put a sticky note there if I am referring to it a lot). I also think it gets somewhat easier the more sff you read, though there are definitely different levels of difficulty, both due to the inherent nature of a book and how good an author is at their craft.
Tip/suggestion: Personally I’ve found a good book won’t make you work so hard and you’ll be able to pick up on words that are used often with ease. But it does help to listen to the audible book as you read the physical copy 🤜🤛. NOW plz plz plz go check out the book/ series The Three Body Problem. I am not a science fiction girly but this book has a HOLD on my soul. Also the audible version has a really good narrator who completely immerses you into the story. Happy reading 🫶
been loving hearing u talk about books! i recently got a lot more into reading in the last year or so and am so happy seeing u talk about ur own book discoveries :0)
Gracias por la charla tan inspiradora!!🙏 Los trabajos de Moebius con Jodorowsky son geniales, "El incal" un clásico.😉
I remember that you’ve learnt hiragana so this is how you pronounce Junji Itō’s name: じゅんじ いとう 😉
it's great that you are open to try so many types of different books ☺☺
Haha I am a cis woman and I love Lolita (both the book and the movie). I had listened to the audiobook when I was very young actually and later I had watched both movie adaptions but I love the one with Jeremy Irons a lot more. (I'm not sure which movie you have seen?). So I encourage you to read it. The writing style is superb and the psychology behind it is absolutely fascinating. But then again I have always loved books that went into someone's unusual psyche :D
Me encantó este vídeo ❤ amo la era de frannerd booktuber
Something I didn’t even know till this year is manga is printed in Japan with six different black inks. Crazy.
I just came to say I also love Manben!! All of NHK’s content is amazing and entertaining and so fun but that show is really special. There are so many good shows on that app!
I just watched the Tezuka episode and it was soooo good!
Fran, you have to go to the library and check out more of Moebius' work. I have the two Edena books you have, and trust me, it just gets better and better and better.
Used bookstores are everything!!
I remember i tried to do some of the rory gilmore Girls reading list too ! I think i still have "The amazing adventures of kavalier and clay" on my kindle. Not finished but enjoyable. And about Gilmore Girls hugs, it's so true
the first o in tove is elongated, so TOO-ve is the correct pronunciation, just like you would say 'too' in english.
Thank you for posting up what you're reading. I always like to get inspiration for what to read next. I totally relate with what you said about keeping up with names and terminology when reading sci-fi. It's hard to keep up sometimes. I just sort of accept that its not completely going in at first and just let the words wash over me. They do tend to cement themselves in with more of the story. Though I do think it depends on where your head is at the time, at least it is for me, and perhaps whether the story is resonating. I'd definitely recommend Rendezvous with Rama and Childhood's End by Arthur C Clarke. I loved the Earthsea books by Ursula which is more fantasy but *shrugs*. Two of my absolute favourite books of all time though are KPAX by Gene Brewer and Contact by Carl Sagan, which talk about the universe and space but also what it means to be human. Just mentioning them here is making me want to reread them.
Lolita - The book is more disturbing than the movie, but worth a read once in your life. The writing is glorious but the content is creepy
Count of Monte Cristo is wonderful! Worth the investment in time.
For sci-fi, I find it easier to read the made-up words and move on, without worrying if I have memorized it. Often that means I have to go back and look up the words again to see what they were about, but at least I can stay "in" the story and not pause all the time. Maybe reading sci-fi in Spanish would make it easier as well, since you would recognize the made-up words or even understand their nuance a bit more. :)
I haven’t seen moebius books anywhere in Canada except at an anime con 10 years ago and I regret not getting them 🥺😭 such an Inspiration
Pausing this video to say, if you think moving homes with a book collection is hard, having a book and record collection will make you rethink whether you really even want to leave your place, lol... It's a privilege and an honor to be able to fill a home with the art and media you love though, so I'm not complaining one bit
Fran, siempre vuelvo a ti. Eres genial!
The feeling you're describing you felt while reading Dune happened to me with other pieces of media as well.
Unfortunately the piece I was watching and then bought the novels to read was not science fiction but it shared the same type of heavy 'native' vocabulary you're describing.
I remember my first attempts left me confused and it was going a little too fast for me to catch up and eventually that made me stop.
Later on I decided to give it another chance and dedicate a real quiet time and take it at my own pace; it is essentially like learning a new language. You will learn the terms the more you repeat them, and as the story progresses more significance will be added to each new term.
The series that made me feel that way is The Twelve Kingdoms, often referred to as 'The Lord of the Rings of Japan'. Great feudal fantasy series.
I love everything you got in your haul, I wish you happy times reading each one of them.
Cheers!
I liked the art book part the most, it was absolutely new for me. Once I started reading sci fi book about androis but they had no names only numbers. I just kept a little note who is who. And I tend to read sci fi in my native language if it's too complicated. What a collection you have!
when u said u love book hauls and putting them on the background 😭💖 exactly what I did hehe, love to hear what you’re checking out :)
Just writing here to back you up on the love of Tove Jansson, all her work - drawings and writings. I love her adult prose, and was very fascinated by Moomins when I was a child. I have her beautifully illustrated biography by Tuula Karjalainen “Tove Jansson. Work and Love”, I think you might like that book.
So great you read classics. I read Tolstoy and Gogol at middle/high school (obligatory), so there was not much understanding really. Now I am faced with the wish to reread these and some others, but at the same time, with my “inner child” resentment to do that.
I don't read much science fiction, so Dune was a challenge for me too, but I found that if I just kept reading and didn't put pressure on myself to remember everything, I enjoyed it more and understood more. Remember that there will be no test at the end and it's okay not to remember or understand every little thing :)
Omg not related to the content but finally an ad that I can relate, I love Native 😂😂 and thanks for the book recs!!
Lovely video! I've got the same struggle with science fiction and sometimes even fantasy books.
Fran you are my favorite person on RUclips. Every one of your new videos is a special delight. You will love "The Count of Monte Cristo" and it provides exactly the type of big experience you are looking for. Check the paperback you got to make sure it's an unabridged edition -- sometimes the paperbacks excise some of the original story to make them slightly shorter. When you are ready to get into it, the full original book is totes worth it -- and would be worth looking for the full versh if the one you got doesn't include it
I loved your book haul!
For sci-fi, I don’t think Dune is a good one to start with. I found it really difficult with lots of vocabulary.
I also read a bit of sci-if occasionally and here are my top rated ones that I gave 5 stars .
- Dark Matter by Blake Couch
- Binti, by Nnedi Okorafor ( it’s 3 books , but I think you can just read the first one, it’s really interesting) and the first book is just 100 pages.
- The one by John Mars
- The passengers by John Mars
- Annihilation by Jeff VanderMeer
- The fifth season ( it’s book one of a trilogy) , It’s kind of dystopia, sci- fi, fantasy. A mish mash, but what an interesting world.
- Blindness by Jose Sarmago ( dystopia /sci-fi )
- The Martian by Andy weir
- The humans by Matt Haig
Some book are easy to read and you don’t need to take notes, others, I would open a note on my iPhone and write vocabulary or characters . It depends on your style.
I feel like your videos are like a gold mine, really. I feel so inspired and full of exciting information to share and to look up. I love ittt
Yesss, all the book content please! ❤❤❤
I'm currently also reading Tove Jansson, Invisible Child, yesterday, adorable
Hi Fran! Loved seeing you get excited over books, I now have added a couple of books to my never ending TBR list lol.
Nice and easy to understand science fiction book is Mickey 7. Amazing book that recommend to you
You may like the comic WhiteOut by Greg Rucka and artist Steve Lieber . It’s in black and white
I struggle with names and vocab in fantasy and sci fi, even if my native language, let alone a second. I tend to mumble the words and just carry on without paying attention to them lol On some reading apps you can name change too which helps sometimes if names are too similar which is great.
I ordered Sabrina and Acting Class by Nick Drnaso right away!😊 Thanks so much Fran for the inspiration✨
Back in the day (1980-1999) we used to get Schwermetall - Comics for Grown-Ups, a monthly publication of various comic authors here in Germany. It was called Métal Hurlant in original French version. Moebius was always my favourite of the story tellers. It was expensive but always fantastic when the new edition came out! Glad you found these books because the outline drawings with little accents that convey such a lot of meaning and are universal in their "language" really are fantastic.😍🥰
I would love to hear you talk about more books and review them once you finish!
I did my master's in English and I'm an artist. Hands down loving your book list and what you have selected. You're leaning toward the gothic. You should definitely DEFINITELY read Frankenstein.
I totally posted this before I got to the Frankenstein comment!!! omg loving that you read that book. Frankenstein is and always will be my favorite book.
amé muchísimo este video, amo los bookhauls gracias por hacerlo Fran!
I also have several paper books on the go & audiobooks. I'm a huge Haruki Murakami fan ❤
The Last Man by Mary Shelley is such a good book, highly recommended!!! 😊😊😊
Sci-fi recommendation: "Martian Chronicles" by Ray Bradbury! In general Bradbury's prose are concise and masterfully simple. Every word has a purpose and seemingly avoids unnecessary complicated verbiage. Each chapter is a short story so it's a great fast nighttime read.
I couldn't read Dune, I got overwhelmed too. I recently listened to Dune on Audible and listening instead of reading helped in the case of Dune.
Have you checked out the manga, Akane-banashi? It’s about a girl on her journey to become a traditional Japanese storyteller.
i’m so happy to see sabrina on here - absolutely one of my favorites. i just finished reading acting class and i recommend it as well!
I have been following you for YEARS. Hahaha! I followed your youtube from when you used to live in Hastings and followed your journey till now. I moved to US for a few years and at one point of time I was in NYC and thought that huh so strange that I we are in the same city and feels like I know so much about you but you don't know me at all. I was staying in Boston at the time and when I saw you were exhibiting in NYC, I asked my friend to go and visit your stall cuz she was also exhibiting in the same fair. I managed to buy the ugly sketchbook while I was still there! I had to come back to India due to visa issues, but I love that you are thriving there, it's like for a moment or paths almost colided and then went separate. Your channel means so much to me because your passion for you work, your consistency and dedication through thick and thin always reminded a panick stricken person like me to keep going and not treat my work like the end of the world. The ugly sketch book traveled and lives on with me. Love you and love your content.
Also liked Lolita. It is So strange when you catch yourself liking the guy and sad for his struggles. Then you realized but, but wait he is not a good guy. Realy cool.
Love this! Manben is so good - I discovered it through your recommendation. It's great you're getting stuck into chunky novels. One of my favourite books is Haruki Murakami's 'Killing Commendatore'. It's a dive into another world for sure! x
Extrañaba escucharte hablar de tus pasiones, es contagioso ❤ Gracias Fran, procuro verte en domingo y con cafecito.
hey ! to keep track maybe you can underline the new words/names (i differents colors per category if you need to) and when you see it again but dont remember anything, you can go back a find an occurrence ;)
Fran! Thanks for the Manben recommendation! As a picture book writer working on my first graphic novel script, I am obsessed with shows, podcasts, books, etc. that deal with the process of making comics (including your videos, of course!). Have you listed to the Graphic Novel TK podcast?! I bet you have, but if not, I highly recommend it! Each episode deep dives into an aspect of the process of creating and selling a graphic novel. My favourite episode is the one that talks about how they are printed and shipped in such detail. So mind blowing!
i love bookish fran so much.
This is wonderful as always, thank you :) always so happy when one of your videos pops up
hello Fran! it's so nice to watch your vlogs after a while and to see you're cheerful and enjoying travelling, hope everything goes okay :)
and all the time I hear foreigners being interested in classical russian literature I feel joy and concern at the same time because russian literature of 18-19th century is kinda tricky: you might be bored or confused by lots of things + the length of works and moreover lots of writers' actions for modern realities may be too much (for example you might read about Tolstoy's life, he were, well, a shitty person lol, but seeing you enjoy works and not criticizing it because of authors warms my heart. yeah I do agree in many cases you need to know authors background to "feel" their work properly, but still), so I highly recommend you checking ""Humiliated and insulted", " Crime and Punishment" by Fyodor Dostoevsky and "Cancer Ward" by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn.
and, I know this book is extremely violent and gross, but I was interested would you like to read "Exquisite corpse" by Poppy Brite?
thanks for the video 🤍
I'm so here for your book content. Love getting new recommendations and also fan our the books I love that you're reading.💖
I love listening to you talk! I get that this particular subject requires visuals since you're also talking about the art and stuff but I was listening to this while drawing and I gotta say I wouldn't mind if you'd ever start a podcast or do more of these talking videos haha 💖💖
Mary Shelley tiene una colección de cuentos que se llama "Amar y revivir " que me gusta mucho por si la quieres leer😉😉
Have you read Brahm Stoker's "Dracula"? It's mesmerizing Fran. It's written as if the main characters are writing in their diaries or writing letters back and forth. I have read the novel twice now.
I think if you wanted to make a science fiction glossary, that would be a great graphic novel idea! Why not?
Moebius dibujaba también, westerns , bajo su verdadero nombre: Jean Giraud. Su obra maestra fue El Teniente Blueberry.
Amazing video!! Thanks for posting more, your videos and art make my life better ❤️❤️❤️❤️ waiting for the spain vlog jiji
I love this video! So many great tips. I have a terrible memory, so I keep a thin piece of paper in the books I read, with lists of people's names and places, etc. 😁
Thanks for the video and for the Manben suggestion! Speaking about Lolita (I personally have been disturbed by both the book and the movie 😔) I loved a lot "Reading Lolita in Tehran: a Memoir in Books" by Azar Nafisi; I'm sure that if you read the mentioned book first, you could enjoy Nafisi's work even more. I put it in my super-fav spot on my library ✨
Por favor sigue haciendo book hauls y reviews, Fran!
Such a lovely video! I love hearing how books find people.
Fran ya me acabé todas las temporadas del podcast de Edo y Fran 😢 compártenos la lista de tus podcast favoritos plissss. Atte tu fan de hace años ❤
Loved this thick stack of book recs, Fran!! Definitelyyy adding the Manben series to my to-watch list. Also, I recommend Lolita podcast of iheartradio's for a literary and cultural analysis! It made me want to reread the book, which would probably be a very different experience from when I read it in high school.
Fraaaaan muchas graciiias por poner el link para poder ver MANBEN, no podia encontrar mas episodios de este show!!! mil graciias. Amo demasiado los pocos capitulos que he visto y me siento tan inspirado viendolos!
🥰
hi Fran, thank you for keeping me company while I knit :) The Left Hand of Darkness is one of my favourite books, and I think it definitely gets better on the second (or third!) read. That's how I got comfortable with all the new names and terms. If you end up liking it, can I recommend the Lilith's Brood Trilogy by Octavia Butler? The first book is called Dawn. Soo fascinating and very character-driven, similar to The Left Hand of Darkness.
genial EDENA!!! moebius es un crack!!
¡¡Aaaaaah!! Amo, amo, AMO los libros. Y si, es lo que más pesa en las mudanzas.
Me encanta el video y tus recomendaciones.❤
¡Que chido que tengas libros físicos de Moebius!
now i'm kinda fighting the urge to immediately grab 5 books within reach and read nonstop no matter how crazy things get when you stop working
Best video ever, Fraaaan! 🎉🎉 One of my recent favorite graphic novels is DUCKS by Kate Beaton, I don’t know if it’s your style or not, but the story was so moving and frustating, that maybe you could check it out. I really like it when you talk books! 😊
thanks for this video ! I really liked your microphone
The Count Of Monte Cristo is my favorite book of all time.
I love this video so much! Thank you for sharing, you are such an interesting person! I have never read graphic books but I think I will buy one soon😊
Love the book haul! I read somewhere that Miyazaki was an animator for the 90s Moomin cartoon, and I noticed that in Totoro they describe the Totoros as looking like the “trolls” from Mei’s book ;) Love the hair, too! 💜