I wish I could be this organised when it comes to my bookcases. Usually, my historical fiction is shoved together and that's it. Though, I do keep things together. Holocaust fiction goes together, Arthurian historical fiction goes together, that sort of thing.
I mean in this best and most flattering way, but I love your chaotic, neurotic but insanely coherent, torrent of thought and dialogue. I am here for it - love the video (and all the videos!) thanks for sharing!
This video is so satisfying to watch. I love your collection. So glad I found your channel. I just ordered Ross poldark and cold mountain after watching this.
I bought cold mountain recently because of your praise... I'm also tired of having books on my self I never plan on reading. I need to do a major purge. I feel like I wouldn't get on with Ali Smith either 💀
Oh Portrait of a Lady is such a good book. In my top five forever! It is James at his least intimidating, I think. His later work is much more difficult. This was such a fun video! I loved the recommendations throughout.
Yes! I've been patiently awaiting this video Firstly, that little vine is impressive! He's touching the floor! Love seeing all the genres on your shelves, such a varied collection. And I'm jealous of your Penguin English Library collection; you've got a lot of out of print titles, especially the Hardy's! I'm scared of Henry James too; that's why I'm putting off Wings of the Dove. However, I'd recommend starting with Washington Square. Its the James that I've enjoyed the most so far.
Lil Vine had come so far 🥹 I though he was gonna die at one point 🤣 I got really lucky and was able to snag a lot of those PELs before they went MIA. Ooooh I have Washington Square! Thanks for the rec!
What a great video! You bring a smile to my face. Did you ever review Pineapple Street? I don't remember seeing it, but I was away from civilization for almost 3 months, so I might have missed it. I ALMOST bought it today, but I stopped myself and went to the art store instead. I don't knit, but I do paint, so I went to an art store to throw my money on art supplies. I've not taken an art class in 6 years; it's time to return to learning new media and work those grey cells. What a lovely video. Thanks for inviting us into your home.
Nice collection! May I suggest a novel called The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie by Muriel Spark? Its a modern British classic, slightly longer than a novella, but one of my favourite novels ever
The only Mary Stewart books I've read is her Merlin series. They are amazing. Huge Arthurian nerd here and I am absolutely obsessed with how she depicted Merlin. I love Persephone Classics, too. I've had my eye out for a few titles but they are extremely expensive where I am. Not sure if you have a video discussing your collection, but I would be interested in seeing what titles you have since even when I pause the video I can't read their spines since eyesight issues and all. 😅 Loved your bookshelf tour! You have a lot of good books and I've added a few historical fiction books to my wish list!
Oooo, I didn't know she have another series!! Ah, I don't have a video breaking down my Persephones, but I know the titles from memory: The Priory, Someone at a Distance, Young Anne, Emmeline, A Far Cry, Mariana
Oh my gosh! Oh my gosh! I just read New Grub Street. Im not sure if you said you haven’t done so yet. But if not I definitely recommend it. I really love your reading and your videos. You don’t only talk about new stuff. A tip of the hat to you, Ma’am! 🎩
Daniel Deronda is great! And you've got to get to North and South at some point....so good!! I need to read Villette because, ya know, its Charlotte. I started it once but laid it aside because I wasnt in the right frame of mind and I didnt want to read it flippantly. Love the shelves!!
I know Kieran hates Ali Smith but she is one of my favourite authors. She plays with words and weaves wonderful tales that have remarkably real people. They are usually quite quick reads too so just try one maybe? Autumn would do, or Hotel World. My favourite is How to be Both.
The way I immediately ran to thriftbooks to add the other boleyn girl to my cart 🤣 as a side note, I just started winter's tale (I'm on page 95 out of like 750) and I think you would like it!
Loved your tour ! especially that pretty swath of Penguin English Classics. You have lots of lovely editions, and plenty of interesting reads, too. Per Frankenstein, "loved the monster, not the doctor." I think that is how you are supposed to feel. Author succeeded, I recommend _Pale Fire_ by Nabokov. I think you'd love it There is one book in particular I found amusing. Can you guess?
Thanks!!! Haha yea that’s how we are supposed to feel with Frankenstein but I still wanted to throw the book 🤣 Oooh, I’ve eyeballed Pale Fire 👀 I can’t guess 🤣 which one??
"Into historical fiction? Excellent. The Tudor period, no less? Tick. Likes ASOIAF, so presumably into adventure, politics and intrigue? No doubt. Coolcoolcool, should probably recommend Dunnett's Lymond Chronicles, one of the - if not THE - best historical fiction series of all time, and certainly the best reading series of my life." ~DNF'd Game of Kings.~ "Damn." Honestly, the series really does take off from the second novel. Game of Kings was her first ever novel and Dunnett was too keen to show off her research and erudition. If the first book wasn't such a slog to get through more people would persevere with the series to realise ii is spectacularly rave-worthy.
Hi from Australia. That's a really solid collection. A nice even spread of Classics, Modern Classics and Contemporary fiction. Lots that I've read, lots that I still need to read or reread. I have to ask, have you thought about reading any Australian works?
There is a horror film that actually freaked me out about ballet dansers it’s called “Suspiria” I think you might enjoy it it gets super ridiculous near the ending you might end up having a chuckle ngl 💀💀 but it was kinda dark art housey European I think you might like it since you’re so into ballet
@@alanaestelle2076 oh yeah then def don’t watch that one nvm!! 🤣🤣 I watch heaps but that one actually freaked me out it was eerie/creepy not just jumpscare ahh scary yk it was actually traumatising
@@alanaestelle2076 I just read a piece online “The Ultimate Guide to the Penguin English Library” - just fascinating. (I don’t need another thing to collect right now lol.) If I ever run across one I will think about it - I have a couple of the Pantone/Puffin collection (I love the idea) but don’t need the set!
I still have to read The Idiot... but the size of my edition makes me scared to pick it up. Do you know if anyone is doing a buddy read with this book this year? I feel this should be a buddy read sort of book.
"Everyone should read To Kill a Mockingbird" - why? For me, books everyone has read improve society because there is a wider shared reference point to start (or continue) conversations. However, determining the proper constituents of that reference point is too hard for me on my own. Maybe, across time some books emerge as books everyone has read and it seems to make sense everyone should continue reading them? On the other hand, maybe those choices become too heavily weighted with majoritarian preferences, or unwisely lock us into a peculiar culture? Well, I don't know, but I did enjoy reading TKAM.
I enjoy your comments because it gives me something to think about. It almost seems like you are arguing both for (reference points) and against (majoritarian preferences) reading books everyone has read. If we were talking film, the peculiar culture today knows the music of the _Jaws_ attack theme, and the violins of the _Psycho_ shower scene. They know the Hungarian accent of Bela Lugosi's Dracula, Jack Pierce's neck-bolted Frankenstein on Karloff, and even Peter Lorre's bug-eyed weasel-esque sidekick / henchman role. All of this they know without having seen any of these films or actors, or in fact, never even having heard of those films or actors. Even 6 year old kids know this 'culture'. Does watching these films lock us into a peculiar culture? Or do you understand your current culture better for having seen those films? (or read those books) I'd argue you'd have a better chance to get out of a locked culture if you understand your current culture better, and how it got there. If nothing else, the more knowledge is probably not going to hurt you. Reading a particular book does not mean you have to agree with the viewpoints therein. As they say, keep you friends close and your enemies closer; it is good to have an understanding of altering viewpoints. Perhaps it too heavily weighted if that is the ONLY thing you have read. As far as locking us into a peculiar culture, I think books are on the far lower end of the impactful media nowadays, as compared to tiktok, youtube, film / netflix / hulu, and other social media. Alana is not asking us to read a book because everyone else has. We are reading it because we enjoy her content, value her opinion, and chances are if she likes it, we will too.
@@kurtfox4944 Thank you: I enjoy well thought-out feedback presented without aggression or acrimony. First, to clarify my opinion the problem we run into - the elephant in the room, as it were - is The Bible. At one time it was relatively easy to find a common frame of reference because almost everyone had some familiarity with Jonah and the whale, Daniel in the lion's den, the tribulations of Job, the heartbreak of Samson and Delilah, et c. Of course today no one would dare propose including the Bible in a school curriculum, nor would it be particularly politic to do on social media. However, without it we find ourselves lacking one core text to which most people have familiarity. TV, the movies, and pop music have filled in the lacunae to some degree but it does sometimes seem that we exist in a desert and that one book we all have read is the oasis toward we march. So, I very much enjoy being here in BookTube because all of a sudden there are other people who speak my language, including the references upon which I rely. I feel confident that if I use Scout's costume of the giant ham to express a point a lot of people will know what the heck I'm talking about. There is of course sometimes a problem with spoilers, so one must be careful saying something like he ran like Danny Torrence from Jack because to go one more step and oops it's a big spoiler. Thus, to bring it to an end: When someone - an influencer perhaps - recommends everyone here read this book or that one I wish to know the motive. Is it because this book expresses a belief or opinion the creator means to endorse? Or perhaps because after reading Moby Dick as a group we become a more tightly-knit community? Of course, it could be something as simple as this book is a real page-turner that you won't put down until you finish. I can't speak for Alana, so I don't know why we all should have that book at our fingertips. I like to think that it's because once we do we'll be more comfortable interacting and providing meaty feedback.
That’s a good question! When I first read it, I was like “this was a good book!” But when I read it a second time it’s intricacies really hit me. I love how Harper portrays societal issues through the simplicity of a child’s eyes and it’s just 🤌🏼 chef’s kiss. I think that if we looked at issues in today’s world through a child’s innocence, more people would get along!
Just wanted to say it's worth the read, just prepare for a lot of rambling/descriptions of streets/history of this & that place, etc.@@alanaestelle2076
Ali Smith is a no for me. I had to read Autumn for the Booktube Prize and it took everything out of me to finish it. Boring and made no sense. I just wanted it to be over. I DNF-ed The Goldfinch twice. I'm only going to give it one more chance maybe next year. Thanks forswearing your shelves! They are beautiful.
Seeee more and more I’m thinking Ali Smith isn’t for me 😅 Ooomph - I’ll be starting The Goldfinch before the end of this year. We’ll see how it goes. And thank you!
I'll be interested to see how you get on with The Goldfinch. I'm giving it one more try which will be the third time I believe. If it doesn't work it's out.😅 Happy reading!@@alanaestelle2076
Hello! New subscriber here! We have such similar tastes in books so I'm loving your work. I am wondering what you think of The Sea, The Sea. I have it on my wishlist but have heard mixed things. I'd really appreciate your feedback.❤ Thank you!
