Hi! I'm Helen. Reading is one of the best ways to learn about ourselves and empathise with others. Books give us different insights and perspectives that allow us to question why and how we have lived our lives.
Here, I share my life lessons learned through books bought from independent booksellers, second-hand stores and borrowed from friends or libraries. Most of the time I come away with more questions than answers - and that’s okay. 🤣
I love community so feel free to share your own life lessons from the books shared here.
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Just a point of interest. Eileen has an Irish surname pronounced O'Seanasee (shorn as in trimmed sheep😂). or in my county pronounced O'Shockensee ..... dont ask😂😂😂😂
I thought the book was a fun read but relatively shallow. The main character was relatable (unfortunately) but the story for the most part felt like depression p*rn. Books like No Longer Human and The Blind Owl portray NW's themes much more fluently and originally.
Thank you for sharing your thoughts of the book here and also recommending a couple of new ones especially from a Japanese and Iranian author. I’ve added these to a list I compile based on what viewers of this channel recommend to me to read. 🙏 . www.goodreads.com/review/list/7228482?shelf=life-lessons-viewers-love&sort=date_added&order=d
I finally understood Chemistry, when i took an education at the age of 31. Listen...If a majority is to understand and STAY INTERESTED IN CHEMISTRY, YOU HAVE TO MAKE IT INTERESTING. WITH ALL IT INCLUDES...LIKE FIRST OF ALL...EXPLOSIVES. I DONT KNOW ANY CHEMIST, THAT DIDNT START WITH THE MOST INTERESTING. AND THEN EXPLAIN WHAT HAPPENS IN THAT CHEMICAL REACTION. Then the rest is like LEGO. Teach what is dangerous, and what is not. AND WHY IT IS LIKE THAT IN NATURE. Incredible you havent learned that yet. So called teachers.
Well I started my professional life as an organic chemist and then I spent the rest of it in learning and development. What you say is correct. Teach what may spark an interest and curiosity but ultimately it’s up to the individual to find the motivation, practice the skill, get feedback from learning to master anything. I enjoyed chemistry because it was like a puzzle for me.
I enjoyed this review a lot! I've just finished reading 'We' and agree with a lot of your analysis, especially that it's a reminder that all of your favourite authors took their inspiration from somewhere. Atwood from Orwell, Orwell from Zamyatin, Zamyatin from Kafka, Verne...? Considering 'We' and '1984': I think Zamyatin's book is more difficult, but also more rewarding. It's a more 'literary' text, the narrative style is different to Orwell's, and that makes for a very different reading experience, even if the content is very, very similar in places. 'We' has that 1920s modernist/expressionist thing going on, it doesn't strive to tell you exactly what is happening at every moment. In places it's almost stream of consciousness style: you get the protagonist-narrator's diary entries, and it's kind of up to you to work out exactly what's going on. (If you haven't read it yet, don't be put off by this! It's not that hard, I'm just comparing to Orwell's style which is quite plain and straightforward to read.)
A while ago a did some reading on Greek history, culture, mythology and theatre. I bought a book Sophocles The Three Theban Plays..your review made me pull the book off the shelf and give Antigone another go..if i see your book on my rounds ill scoop it up and give it a go..who wouldnt love to go to Greece once in their lives
Thank you for your review dont think so negatively about yourself and your reviews keep doing what you love and i found this one useful if that gives you some motivation
Medea is one of my favorite tragedies. I've re-read it often, but never seen it performed. Even made a video about it on my channel. When I read Jason and the Argonauts by Appolinius of Rhodes, it added another layer to Medea, exploring how her love for Jason was orchestrated by Hera and Aphrodite, leading to betray her family and have her brother killed. In the Rhodes book Jason is a hero, in Medea he isn't. That's something that appeals to me deeply about Greek mythology, the ebb and flow of emotion, intent, conflicted characters who we strive for and then in another story are horrified by their actions.
Thanks again for watching and sharing your thoughts. I headed over to your channel and watched what you said about Medea too. I should have read these years ago!
I read the book, soon after high school, still a teenager, before university. I think it made me very cynical in employment situations. Nobody likes a smart-alec one boss told me. Under the circumstances, how could be anything else?, I replied.
I loved the review and the mention of of The Nervous Breakdown, which I will read. I think as a 20 something hearing the breakdown of the book from someone who’s lived it really helps me grasp the concepts present better. I will definitely check out more of your reveiws to find more books
The Good Soldier, wonderful book. I think I commented that I have it next to Great Gatsby and The Age of Innocence. When I read one I read the other two.
Interesting, I'm looking forward to reading it. I think I'll read it this year. I haven't read Age of Innocence but I'll keep that in mind to read both close together. Great Gatsby was good too. I think I did a review of that too on this channel.
@@LifeLessonsFromBooks All three books have many things in common which I won't mention here to not spoil anything. The Good Soldier was the first Ford book I read and it led me to his quartet of novels collected as Parade's End. It's one of my favorite books. A few years ago the BBC did a faithful adaptation starring Benedict Cumberbach.
@@LibroParadiso-ep4zt Intriguing. Okay, I'll definitely need to read this book. I love Benedict Cumberbach so I'll need to check this out too. I have been collecting all the books that viewers of this channel have been suggesting to me to read and adding them to the GoodReads Collection so these will be what I will refer to anytime I'm at a library or shop to find these books. I really appreciate you sharing these www.goodreads.com/review/list/7228482-helen-blunden?shelf=life-lessons-viewers-love&utf8=%E2%9C%93
No I haven't. I haven't even heard of it but you sent me down a rabbit warren now exploring it. Thanks for this recommendation, I've added it to my list of books to read!
1st: Goethe was more of a poet than philosopher (I mean.. ok.. granted, there is much "philosophy" in his works, but that is the case with almost all poetry/writing art) If anything, he was a science man (in addition to being a poet) 2nd: I read the "Steppenwolf" and "Glasperlenspiel" and.. well.. I still don't like Hesse :D ... A friend of mine said , it is because I didn't read it as a Teen, but in my mid twenties. So yes, it seems Hesse really "speaks" to (modern) teens somehow
That’s an excellent point you make here. It could easily align to who we are and claim to be in this modern world of being online. Or even, how we change depending on our environment and circumstances. Thanks for watching and sharing your thoughts.
Wordsworth speaks like many 80 year olds from the Islands spoke at the time. There was no subservience in his tone. It’s just Creole intonation mixed with English, Spanish and French mannerisms - it’s a more old-fashioned way of speaking and they have a specific accent. It’s a book about another period of time so historically re-creating the past with present PC tones would not be PC, it’s simply would not be authentic.
What a fun video! I wish I could go book hunting with you in Melbourne sometime! (Not likely to happen since I'm on the other side of the planet.) Thanks for taking me along via video!
Hello!!! Hope your writing is going well? Yes, I think this City Basement tour would have been right up your alley with all the non-fiction books stacked on shelves and floors and every nook and cranny. At least you can come along virtually. Happy writing :-)
Done. Noted. I have to get to Brunswick one day soon. I haven't been since 2019 when my friend and I went to all the places that were in the movie starring a young Sam Neill called "Death in Brunswick". We re-enacted scenes from the movie and also spoke to the guy who owned the crazy blue and white house. As my friend doesn't show her face online, it was me being an idiot most of the time. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-_beTY8N0MgM.html Yes, a visit to the Brunswick bookstore and a jaunt down Sydney Road is in order.
Such a nice video! It was really cool going book hunting with you! Nice books you bought. The Penguin Classics are always tempting to buy, right? I just recently purchased 24 Hours in the Life of a Woman by Stefan Zweig, and I'm really curious to read it. The "Fear of Fifty" book was really funny!
Completely agreed with you. I just completed the book! And realized this genre is not for me! And Norwegian Wood was my very first book of Haruki Murakami’s. And i was hoping Kafka on the shore would be that good. But i don’t know sometime this book doesn’t make any sense. Was Johnny Walker really dead? And who is this ‘boy named crow’ is it Kafka Tamura’s alter ego? I am really confused here!
We had to park our disbelief when reading this book or on the other hand, it was open to interpretation. There were too many open and confusing parts as your mind tried to understand. I thought Norwegian Wood was far better. Thanks for watching. 😊
As someone who has studied Soviet history and as a history major, I can confirm that Yevgeny Zamyatin was not necessarily writing about the Soviet Union in his novel *We* . The Soviet Union as a state came into existence in December 1922, while *We* was published in 1920-1921. Therefore, the views you might associate with the Soviet Union did not exist in 1920-1921. At that time, what existed was the Russian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic (RSFSR), which was embroiled in a civil war. Please do not misunderstand me, but this exemplifies how misconceptions about the Soviet Union are prevalent in the West. The Soviet Union was never a uniform, monolithic state. When people think about the Soviet Union, they often reference the period from 1927 to 1953 under Joseph Stalin. However, Zamyatin wrote his book before this period, without fully knowing what the Soviet Union would become. During the civil war, the government in the RSFSR was not identical to the one depicted in *We*. I am not suggesting that it was better, but rather that Zamyatin wrote about something that would occur relatively soon without realizing it.
Wonderful. Thank you so much for sharing this as I appreciate the clarification. Yes, I certainly see how we are already on the path towards surveillance and control and the themes he wrote in this book. It’s a book for this time that’s for sure.
im a teen and when i read it i deeply related to it, i think it has the best description of suicidality that ive ever read and i really latched onto it, though there are parts which i think are unique to middle age and i cant fully understand (my copy even has a warning from Hesse in the front to young people who have latched onto it despite being able to understand which i ignored). then again many of my favourite books are about middle age
Thank you so much for this thought provoking response. It’s so interesting to get different viewpoints and in particular, from people younger than me. I do wonder at times that certain periods in our life - transitions - bring about change where we reflect about what lies ahead. Eg. Adolescence to adulthood. Adulthood to middle aged ;middle aged to senior age. Periods where we take stock of where we have come from, where we are going and the person we choose to be through it.
Oooh, this one sounds right up my alley. I'm very interested in Eastern European politics so I may give this a try. I've only read The Sense of an Ending by Barnes.
Give it a go and see what you think. Given your interest in Eastern European politics this may be far more interesting than I found it. The main message I got through it though was nothing changes in life. You can be on the one side of politics one day and considered an enemy and then that changes, and you're not.
Yes! It's on the TBR list as I have all of Dostoyevsky's books. Now that winter is coming, I think I may need to get cracking into this one. Thanks for watching.
One of the mistakes in interpreting the text, per Hesse, is to take it literally: Hesse provided a short introductory note to the text in 1961, in which he states that "of all my books Steppenwolf is the one that was more often and more violently misunderstood than any other." One of the keys to the text, to me, is the magical theater where transcendence takes place. Another is that he leaves the text behind and it is the nephew who is actually narrating. The nephew ultimately changes his opinion about haller. Another interesting thing is that Haller had been to that town before.
I was trying to find more detail as to why he said that and what his explanation of Steppenwolf was but couldn’t find anything. I think it may be in that reference book you mentioned about his work. Ultimately though, I still liked the book but I think it needs a few more reads. I think I’ll get something more with each reread. It stays on my shelf now….
Hi Helen..its great how you bring these oft over looked little beauties to the fore for us to seek out and enjoy..its on my list for a pick up from the library tomorrow..its right behind The Dumas Club by Arturo Perez Reverte!!.. i like your comments at the end, live your life, dance to your own tune, walk your own path...life is fleeting and as Bellow said its a small glint of light between two eternal darknesses..
Wow, I read this book in my twenties and I specifically remember thinking it’s the perfect book for adolescents. But now I’m in my forties and find many themes you mention in your video very relatable. I guess I’ll have to read it again. Thank you for another great video!
Thank you! Yeah I read it was a school book for adolescents somewhere and I thought, “what the?” Anyone who is in a cusp of some life change would resonate with this book! Thanks for watching and sharing this feedback
I would recommend if you come across it The Novels of Hermann Hesse: A Study in Theme and Structure by Theodore Ziolkowski. It can be found on archive if you are interested or your library doesn't have a copy. I got my used copy some years back online. Chapter 9 pages 178-228 deal specifically with this novel and I think you find it worth your time to read it.
I think it was you who requested it. I had it on my bookshelves so I thought I’d give it a read. Thanks again. I liked it. Despite it being odd towards the end, I think in its oddness, I came to realise the message.
