Sixty eight year old bibliophile here. I'm hopelessly addicted to both books and coffee. You do a great job and are a pleasure to watch and listen to while drinking a strong black Java. I have subscribed and look forward to getting your take on more books.
Honestly, I'm really into finding the right cover. For classis I usually go for the black penguin editions as they seem to be simple and aesthetically pleasing. If i end up buying a cover that i dislike i will 100% unconsciously delay or not end up not reading the book. There's just something about the cover art that has to be attractive to me for me to pick it up🤷♀
Can totally relate with the obsession for neat cover arts, like the Penguin Classics editions! Even though I feel that the paper quality is better with certain other publishers, just the elegance of the cover makes up for it🙌
1) This video reminded me of books I need to go back and read. Especially now that I'm back with the reading momentum I had during my English degree. 2) Life and Fate is the second most impactful book I've ever read. I did my senior thesis comparing Viktor and Alyosha from Brothers Kamazov. It was a wild ride. I actually recently discovered that there's a prequel to it, and it's also a TOME. 3) House of Government is a book I started and sits at the top of the guilty "DNF" pile. Simple because life as a teacher gets crazy. However, the second or third chapter is one of the best pieces of writing I've ever read. So good!
@@TheActiveMind1 Can't wait to see your review of Life and Fate! Everything Flows by Grossman (also by NYRB) is a great short novel by him as well. Gives you the essence of his philosophy and writing style. If your philosophy oriented and have read Brothers Karamazov, you have to read Emanuel Levinas' Otherwise than Being!
A recent subscriber, I'm hopping back and forth through your back catalog as the algorithm demands (Ha ha). I appreciate your opinions and analyses and varied tastes very much. Your concentration on Russian literature is getting me excited to start on the copies of Crime and Punishment and War and Peace sitting on my shelves. I had Russian Lit as an undergrad; I loved Chekov the most, but the gem of the entire semester was a book of short stories by Fyodor Sologub, Kiss Of The Unborn. The title story was both sad AND hopeful. The edition I had was a hardback edited by my professor, Murl Barker (don't you love when professors do that?). As for Moby Dick, I have no edition preferences per se, but I do dislike deckled pages, they're a PITA to turn. I also prefer that any book have a good 'hand-feel', rest in my hand easily, have generous inside margins, and an attractive cover is a plus but not a deal-breaker. If you see this before you read it, try to pick out the Bible allegories you come across. That was the challenge put to us by my American Lit professor when I read it. No skipping the middle section on cetology. 😆
What a wonderful haul! I do hope you will try another Hardy. Jude is a tough place to start. Tess is my personal favorite-and Far from the Madding Crowd. Archipelago is an interesting press! I’ve only read one of theirs so far.
@@TheActiveMind1 If you fall in love with Hardy, you might love Jude after you’ve read his earlier novels and fallen under his spell. I did! And I totally changed my mind about Faulkner when I finally read “the right first book”-which for me was Light in August.
It's called deckled edges and you're right they do look like a rat chewed on them 😂 They're also hard to turn the pages with it too. I loved your book haul as well.
My son was reading The Series of Unfortunate Events as they were being published. My sister was in the US for two years about 20 years ago, and she bought him the latest (they were published earlier in the US). I thought the book was faulty, but I didn't say anything because, after all, it was a gift. It is literally only this year I have discovered that was intentional! I can't imagine why anyone would find deckled edges attractive. Re book editions: I try to get hardbacks made of acid free paper, but I will buy a book because it goes with others I have. The introductory essay on Italo Calvino's "If On A Winter's Night A Traveller" talks about our reasons for reading, or buying, certain books. It's a fun read.
Jude the Obscure is my least favourite Hardy of those I've read. I would definitely give him another go though when you're ready. I loved Tess of the D'Urbevilles.
Great finds! I can't wait to get to Dead Souls, I'm hoping to read Resurrection this month, and House of Government may happen next March of the Mammoths. Happy Reading!
I care about the cover and particular edition of a book and will buy an older used copy if I don't like the latest printing. I did that with Gravity"s Rainbow because I wanted the blue rocket blueprint cover Penguin edition. Same with some old science fiction such as old Larry Niven books with the same style cover that I read long ago,
For editions I don't particularly care how they look, but I always try to find whatever the best annotated version of it is. This matters more for classics and philosophy. I have the Norton Critical version of Moby Dick, and it has footnotes for references to the Bible, Shakespeare etc. that really help.
@@TheActiveMind1 On the topic of Nietzsche (and since you like him a lot and have made many videos on him) I recommend picking up the new Stanford editions of his works, if you don't have any of them yet. They're publishing his complete works, including all his unpublished work. Crazy detailed annotations and based on what's considered the most scholarly editions of his corpus. They aren't done yet, but most of it has been released.
I actually picked up Grossman's Stalingrad when browsing a local shop out my way. I got it because Life & Fate is on my list and apparently Stalingrad acts as a sort of precursor to the novel. It's a beefy boi, though. So I gotta carve out the time for it. I'm interested to see what you have to say about Life & Fate once you get through it, though!
Love Thomas Hardy, especially The Mayor of Casterbridge, Tess of the Durbervilles, The Return of the Native, Two on a Tower, Life's Little Ironies and Far from the Madding Crowd. Can recommend them all.
Some very interesting pick ups. I've heard of a few, but not all. I picked up Sartre's "Existentialism Is a Humanism" yesterday at a small local bookstore based off of your recommendation and am enjoying it so far. My copy of Michael Katz translation of TBK also arrives today so i'm very excited to dig into that over the next month.
Agreed. Life and Fate is one of the very few books I’ve read that have profoundly changed my worldview. Reading it will bring you through an emotional rollercoaster. You’ll cry tears of joy for how inspiring and compassionate people can be when their backs are against the wall, as well of tears of sadness at how pointlessly cruel and base humanity can be when intoxicated with totalitarian ideologies. When reading, be sure to refer to the character chart extensively and mark it up however you need to. There are a ton of characters, and some have multiple names. Also, read about Grossman’s life on Wikipedia before you start and you’ll fully appreciate how raw and personal Life and Fate is to him. Lastly, look out for a character named Ikonnokov in a German POW camp. There’s a section like 3/4 in that uses his words to beautifully explain Grossman’s true world view-the “so what?” of the novel. Have fun reading! I’m somewhat jealous you’re gonna experience that one for the first time haha.
New subscriber here...hola 👋 . Great haul. I love the Deluxe Penguin Classics for that very "chewed up" pages look lol. As far as publishers...I just started collecting black spines Penguin Classics and Barnes and Noble classics. I just like the way they look together...plus the ocd kicks in 😂. Great vid...in search of Moby Dick at the moment I've never read it. P.s. I prefer 2nd hand books...well loved books 📚 😊. Currently reading Dracula Penguin Deluxe Edition...loving it!
It’s the pages for me. If they feel chalky, heavy and cheap then the whole book doesn’t really turn pages well and is more likely to have rips in the binding if you open a certain page too wide. My book peeve is if I flip through a book and it automatically opens to a certain page that someone must have laid flat on and expanded the binding on….yeah thats what does it for me lol
as a European I was shocked when I got Hunger of the Gods, I didnt know those ripped pages existed! So I contacted support and they gave me a full refund and they said I can keep the book. After that I actually found out that the book is supposed to look like that but it was a US edition.
@@TheActiveMind1 I had to cute most pages because they were still held together by the paper so it was mildly annoying. But atleast I got my 20euros back.
I have not tried Golgol but you made me want to try. I have read Tolstoy, Dostoevsky (both, not all but most) and Solzhenitsyn's abridged Gulag Archipelago. That one was so very depressing as I precieve America is headed that way despite what we should have learned from history. Dostoevsky is my favorite of the three with such intriguing character development-you don't forget his characters. Like Dickens, he develops all his characters, even somewhat minor ones, so well that you don't forget them (Uriah Heep-Dickens, Father Ferrapont-Dostoevsky). I hate short stories so you lose me on those. I mean, I really hate short stories. I don't know why, but I hate them. And you google alongside the book! I do too! I started doing that with DaVinci Code, LOL. My best recommendation is the number one best seller in the world... the Bible. I have been studying it for YEARS and learned so much and it's so much deeper than most people realize. It includes different times, authors and genres and yet the same theme. I have studied it with historical and cultural context and WOW! Then I've studied it with life application and WOW! I've studied it as character development (not characters but they were real life people but their lives) and WOW! Then I've studied it with Christ as THE central figure and WOW! As literature, as life coaching, as spiritual depth, as character development or maybe I should say biography, it just can't be beat! I enjoyed your video!
I cannot afford to buy new books so look for ones in the charity shops or in book exchange kiosks (i leave the one i have just read and take another) - So I dont get to choose exactly what I read but love to read certain topics -
I haven't read Jude The Obscure but thinking about people on booktube I watch who have read and talked about it, I'd say it's the least liked of Hardy's major work. I've read Far From the Madding Crowd and Tess of the D'Urbervilles from him. Tess is one of my favorite books and I did like FFTMC but I think it was the wrong time to read it. I don't exactly know how to explain it, I just think it didn't line up with my mood and what I maybe wanted to read more. I'd like to give it another read, probably after reading other titles by him. I like deckled edges but they can be annoying and just look bad if it or the binding is done poorly. As for covers and editions- I'm so particular about which to get! Cover art and matching editions to lines/collections I already have is a huge factor. I like getting same editions of an author's work if I can and find a preference. But I also take the extra content, translation (if applicable), and book & text sizing into account. And I like cover designs that I think more so align with the book's style, tone, and content. These are the things I think about when getting a book, obviously more specifically a classic because there can be so many editions.
Glad I found your channel. I'm also considering re-learning Russian to pick up where I left off in college. Is there a particular language program you are using? Thanks.
I have the same copy of Resurrection, it’s definitely a gut wrenching book. Overall not my favorite from Tolstoy, but certainly worth reading. It is very engaging. In fact my friend from Moscow prefers it over War and Peace. Also good luck with your Russian studies. I have been learning the language for a year and a half- it’s a tough one!
Nice video per usual! I don't know if it was mentioned in the Q and A or in another video, but are you religious at all? I don't mean to be judgmental or weird or anything, I was just curious. Thanks!
Mate seriously what have you done to your teeth? They look creepy. Reminds me of friends when ross whitens his teeth and phoebe shouts NO!! DEMON!!! Lol. nah seriously though they look like they're about to dissolve.
