Wonderful list, Matthew. I'm in agreement, wholeheartedly, on 'The Magic Mountain' -- might be my favorite novel. Then again, Proust is right there at the top as well -- truly a life-changing novel, all 2000+ pages. Incredible. I think I'd have to include both 'Ulysses' and 'Finnegans Wake' -- a lesser known work by a sadly neglected author, 'Mickelsson's Ghosts' by John Gardner (not the Gardner of the genre novels) -- I read 'Ghosts' every few years, a wonderful, deep, philosophical novel. Add Pynchon's 'Against the Day' and 'Gravity's Rainbow' and McElroy's 'Women and Men.' Dickens' 'Bleak House.' Those are top of the head choices -- I'd have to think about what else I might add. And like you commented, titles change over the years, though books like 'The Magic Mountain' will never leave that coveted spot on high. I do hold 'Infinite Jest' close to my heart, but honestly I don't know how that novel will age.
Thanks for this Matthew, I love hearing folks' favorite books! I have never read any Will Self but when I get to it I will start with his trilogy. Proust is must-read material, on the tbr for sometime 🙄
Great list, i have learned a few titles i might check out in the future. Both Stendhal's Red and Black and The Cartuge of Parma are my two favorite french novels...granted, I haven't read nearly as many as you! Subscribed!
So many great novels! I know I’m going to be getting into The Magic Mountain again, hopefully by May, because I still think about it, wondering what Hans is doing 😊Some of these books are on my list others I have never heard of. I think it would be fun to do this every year to see how favorites shift. I’m really loving An Equal Music by Vikram Seth. As I’m reading I feel that it might be a new favorite 😊
Filming at 3:30AM?! I was surprised with the first picks but then I started seeing the classic French authors roll in and I started nodding my head - my hunch is they'll be sticking around for your next favorite list!
Hi Matthew. Thank you for sharing some of your favorite novels in this wonderful video. I truly enjoyed watching it. Your selected list of literature, I find it to be quite interesting and refreshing, specially those novels that I am unfamiliar with. My curiosity peaked when you made reference to The Red and the Black and also Bel Ami. For sure those two novels are now on my list of "must read novels". Once finished I will check out other novels that you listed here. Once again, thank you and keep up the great work you do on your beautiful RU-vid channel.
I love karamzov, the first dostoevsky I read. Was blown away by the depth of thought,,, you have me really interested in 'death on the installment plan' i have a couple questions, 1. do i need to read journey to the end of the night first? if not necessarily is it still a dark read that i should check out? 2. how dark would you consider DotIP, I enjoy reading darker work that highlights how harsh reality can be and has been (maybe that liking is tied to my disbelief in a god) --- great video man, really dig your videos, keep it up please sir!
Gormanghast, Dhalgren, and of course LOTR and MobDik. Anyone who survives those tales till the bitter end deserves a star on their report card. How do you assess C.S. Lewis? So many infamous tools coming from that early college of wizards. English boy and girl stories, got to love'em.
Thank you for your video! I am a non native English speaker, and I just ordered the house of the seven gables, by Hawthorne. In English. I always wanted to read that book, but I would like to ask you if you believe that the language of this book is particularly difficult. I mean, I think I'm fluent in English, but literature is a different thing. I initially wanted to read Moby Dick in English but a friend of mine told me that even for native English speakers it is really difficult. Thanks!
@@MayberryBookclub Thank you! Would you say any of the books you mentioned would be OK for a non native English speaker? Maybe the contemporary ones? (except French books because I read them in French).
Do you have a preferred translation of Proust? I read Swann's Way in the Lydia Davis translation and thought about switching over to the revised Moncrieff's translation for consistency reasons since all Penguin are translated by different translators. Great video and channel! :)
I can't say that I do, I read both versions you talked about and really enjoyed them. I suppose the Lydia Davis translation is my favorite of the bunch!
