living in Somalia i feel somehow really fortunate and lucky for learning English and reading books can sometime save lives and change you for the better
^^ Cliff, I'd advise you to get rid of these basement dweller toy nazis in your comment section. They emit a rather foul stench and soil any space they choose to colonize with their ridiculously unintelligent thought processes, that quite obviously stem from a life experience of anxious unattractive social outcasts who never got any attention from a lady (nor a a potentially respectable socially intelligent peer for that matter). Everyone's seen the pattern of these guys... It's adorable. Not that anything they say or think is personally offensive, it's just lacking in class. It's aesthetically unpleasant. They're more like flies, that you flick off of your shoulder. Anyway, keep up with the vids! Good stuff.
Sergio Delgado I don't know if you were specifically referring to me with your comment. Anyway I still think that being smug and judging people that you don't know (from short comments) is very witless. >Basement dweller I'm actually working in Construction even if I plan to live off grid in the Baltic as soon as possible. I don't live in the USA, in my country only idiotic individuals from rich families can afford the _dweller's_ lifestyle. >Nazi I know that the _reductio ad hitlerum_ is very popular in these days, but I'm actually a traditionalist in a sense that I find the modern world horrifying. I think that any kind of civilisation corrupts the individual (by domesticating him and disconnecting him from nature) and is extremely harmful for the environment, the national socialist one surely doesn't make an exception. >never got any attention from a lady I'm actually engaged in a relationship with a beautiful european woman. I don't know where you got all those inaccurate informations about myself, but honestly you're off the track.
Nuntis Schwarze Sonne Hello my friend! It's interesting when fellow RU-vidrs find each other in unexpected places. It's probably not really even worth engaging with people like Sergio above as anyone that randomly attacks others with the stupid and childish "Anyone I don't like is a basement dweller virgin and a Nazi and must be silenced!" argument is obviously irrational, immature and unlikely to be able to have an adult conversation. We just have to hope such people will grow up and become better people and better thinkers with time.
Because of your marvelous channel, I have discovered Bolaño, Bataille, Lowry, Pessoa, and so many other fantastic authors I hadn't read before. I thank you for your knowledge and insight, Mr Sargent. Here's to many more years and many more books.
I really only started reading seriously about 3 years ago. I did so, because I felt I was wasting an opportunity to enrich my life. I have since read about 200 books( quite a few of your suggestions ) and all I can say is that I made the right choice.
This prompted me to look at the numbers in my own country, Ireland. It's estimated that one quarter of the population struggle with basic literacy... that to me is insane. I have a daughter who will turn 10 in December and I think the best gift I have ever given her, is instilled a love of reading. And not just books for her age but she's tackled books like Little Women and sleeps with a dictionary beside her bed to look up words she doesn't understand at bedtime reading. I truly believe reading is so important, it can take you places in your mind other mediums just can't. I found your channel maybe 2 years ago, and just fell in love with your no nonsense approach to reviewing, you have such a fantastic presence on the screen. I look forward to each review you put out there. Thank you for all you do... we are infinitely fortunate to have you here.
I absolutely will, she is currently working her way slowly through The Woman in Black by Susan Hill. She wanted something spooky for Halloween but she's not convinced by Goosebumps or the norm for what you could direct a kid her age toward. She's loving it so far!
Hello, I live in Brazil and... you know, I'm so fortunate. I can read in Portuguese and in English. Lots of peolpe here can't read and many can read but can't afford books. I'm passionate about learning English: it is such a beautiful language... I fell in love with it when I was 11. Your videos are inspiring. The one about Machado de Assis was breathtaking. Long pauses: they remind me of Tchekhov.
Did you know that the very first word in Quran is "Read " in the imperative form Sadly millions of muslims don't read :( I love your channel man, keep up the good work
And a lot of them limit their reading material to what was in line of their religion. No new knowledges, and can be kind of dismissive to phylosophy and science books. Sad
Who unliked this video? My aunt who I see as my mother is in her early 60's and she can barely read and write. She had to leave school at age 6 to work. My grandmother is completely illiterate. She was never given the chance to go to school. That happens with a lot of Amerindian people. I read anything I can get my hands on!
I'm the only one in my family who reads books. My parents' generation cannot read and understand English. My siblings can read and write English. And yet, it's only me who has always had a passion for books. I wish so much that my parents could read books that I read...
My interest in litterature and poetry started for real when I was 19. Never to late for anyone to get into reading. Many people dont read simply because of the fact they aren't aware about all the great litterature that exists out there.
This is such a beautiful video, the one that made me fall in love with your channel in fact, and thus many of the books you've recommended. I share this very video with friends whenever I have the chance. There must have been something in the air when you shot this. It really gets me, every time. And them too, most of the time. I hope you will keep up sharing yourself as much as you do, every single week, for a long time. I appreciate you.
Uff, thank you Cliff. I've bought and read so many of the books you've reviewed. When I first saw your review of Notes From Underground by Dostoyevsky years ago, I hadn't payed attention to books as much as I had music for my entire life. It's been something I've been delving into and am almost at around 20 books I've read since then, and I still can't thank you enough for helping me realize just how awesome reading actually is.
Cliff, do you know of Chris Hedges' book Empire of Illusion: The End of Literacy and the Triumph of Spectacle? This video is something like an indirect book review of that. You'll definitely see what I mean by the first chapter alone: "The Illusion of Literacy".
I disagree with you on audiobooks, it's a great way for people with literacy issues and sight issues to read, and some people absorb the information better that way. I like physical books better, but it's a bit pretentious to insist that audiobooks aren't real books.
I'm bad dislexic , but I've been trugging my way through Novak the past two and a half year . It take me a insane amount of time (slowly getting quicker but still) and I almost always have to read paragraphs, pages, chapters ect... Till a full know what's even going on. And I've enjoyed it I love most of the books I've been able to read (slowly raising in complexety) this channel was motivation to do so , so thanks. (About to start blood meridian next week should be finished in 3 years lol )
I was a bit disgusted with the latest ad I saw on You Tube, from Audible. It said, "Reading is hard, so we do it for you." So they are saying it's hard, so go on give up, because we will do it for you. Aaagh!
I'm learning Japanese for the simple reason that their writing system fascinates me. All those kanji : pictures that mean things. It's just amazing to learn about all the different way to read and write. Keep up the good work :)
Thank you for raising the quality of the books I read. I used to read for the sake of just boosting my numbers but now its about the quality. Every book I read now I expect things from whether its entertainment or challenging ideas. Thanks for introducing me to so many great books.
Cliff, I want to thank you, and your channel for helping me (along with a few other friends) to rid myself of an addiction to watching meaningless RU-vid videos, and various online click bait trash. I have started reading veraciously again. I also picked up the pen and began writing again, and am making more progress with my writing than I have in decades. Love the channel, and your dedication to true art. Thanks also you for reminding me that the ability to read and write are a privilege and should not be taken for granted.
went to the comment section to see angry comments about the “audio books are not reading” and haven’t found any so i’m just going to say it myself (but not angrily). when i listen to audio books i create the same world and characters as i would if i were to read a physical book. there are also many research papers on that (+ don’t forget that some people have disabilities that make it impossible to read a physical book). just sharing my opinion, anyone is welcome to agree or disagree. p.s. some books can be listened to and some are meant to be read on that i absolutely agree
I think readers around the world tend to be trapped in their little world. That’s because reading does that to you, especially if you’re someone who’s starting out on it. You might feel some desolation, because you’ll be unrecognizable for most people, perhaps even for yourself. And what the hell do you know about yourself anyway ? It’s crazy to me, because I never thought about reading, I found myself reading before I knew it, looking for book recommendations on RU-vid, getting stuck on goodreads for sometime, then later, picking up whatever book I was reading at the time. It’s not just that, very often, I feel like my mind is a messy doodle of ideas that I can’t happen to turn into a coherent lot. I feel like I’m experiencing this huge shift in my life, but I have no clue about the product. But if I’m to thank anyone for this, it’ll be booktube, particularly this amazing channel and R.C Waldun. Thanks!
I'm Brazilian 🇧🇷 came to get know you're channel due to ur review of "Memórias póstimas de Brás Cubas" - Machado de Assis is indeed a phenomenal genius - and came back today to see ur review on "Alphaville" from another ultra-talented soul, J-L Godard. Absolutely amazed by ur work! 💞🙌🏿 My country is facing a horrible corona catastrophe and despite the fact I belong to the bourgeoisie, in desperate times like these - for the vast majority of my country's population who can't isolate themselves in their summerhouses - nothing like literature to keep the faith alive. Warm hugs 🤗 you're channel is a very much needed space on the internet
My mom started taking me to the library when I was a baby. I had a library card before all the other kids in my kindergarten class. I am so thankful she and my grandfather read to me regularly as a child, and made me a reader so early. It's easy to take reading and literacy for granted. Thank you for the reminder.
Very good video, some key points are raised here. Reading - as an act - is a unique and complex experience. Unfortunately, too many people are dismissive of their very ability to read and write, the fact that they possess literacy. Indeed, we are 'infinitely fortunate' and we need to be grateful for that fact...by reading more.
Happy anniversary and thank you for all the videos these years. I'm thankful I found this channel, and I'm thankful for being able to read. Love from AbuDhabi ♥️
I read at an advanced level, but only listen to audiobooks because I struggle to keep focusing after a page or two, which makes sitting down and reading a book a miserable experience (I might have undiagnosed ADHD). I think saying that you can't say you read a book if you listened to an audiobook is equivalent to saying you can't say you wrote a book if you typed it on a computer rather than literally writing it on a piece of paper; it's a silly distinction between two things that *are* equivalent, and I'm not going say "I've listened to that book." I just find that to be an awkward wording, as much as "I typed a book" sounds awkward.
I completely agree with 90% of what you have shared in this beautiful video, however as someone who has acquired dyslexia due to head trauma and can therefore no longer read since 13 years ago, I recoil at the simplification of audiobooks in relation to physical books. I have definitely had to re-learn how to ‘read’ using audiobooks but so long as I free myself from distractions and focus on the content I can get into the same state of flow, deep comprehension and almost total immersion that I used to enjoy from their physical counterparts. If you are also dyslexic then please don’t despair (as your text-to-speech software reads this comment to you), there is hope for us yet.
I'm glad you included the Herzog quote. Have you reviewed or read The Peregrine, by J.A. Baker? That too is another of his recommendations. One I enjoyed.
I wouldn't dismiss audio books or kindle! Audio books are necessary for people blind or sight impaired! I wish people would be more concerned about. trying to educate illiterate people with a total experience through audio readings, Kindle and film, to try to show what reading can mean to someone ! I don't know if it could work , but it seems like so many will never know the joy of all these imaginary worlds abandoned like ancient ruins.
Writing this in august 2019, I'm italian, born and bread: I think that what your friend really meant was not that 47% of the people in Italy can't read, but that 47% of the population CAN'T understand texts of "medium" complexity (although they can actually read), which is very different. That said, I'm well aware of how deeply disturbing the current state of our country is, populism and a sort of underskin-fascism is in full rage and, obviously, the medium cultural level strictly follows that. Really sad.
What you described is called functional literacy. As I understand it, it's exactly what he was talking about. People who can spell their names and read simple commands are not fully literate in that sense.
I know this may sound stupid to some people but please be kind to what I'm about to say I was one of those kids/teens in America who couldn't read for a very very long time I couldn't read or even write or type any words for a very long time I had to have people do it for me but when I was 13 to 14 years old yes it took me that long I learned how to read and spell and I learned it all through music lyrics and subtitles on movies and games yes I still struggle with some words especially big and long words but I'm improving I'm starting to actually read books and trying to find time in my day to read more and sadly I still can't write when it comes to pen and paper but I can type like hell I may mess up a few spellings but I try not to nobody perfect
Had an experience with this first hand when i t.e.f.l'ed a kurdish family -- went in there with a lesson plan and had to throw the plan by the wayside when it turned out the mother had never used a pen before.
I taught English to some Congolese refugees last summer. It was so eye opening. Women my mother’s age and older who couldn’t even hold a pencil. Of course, they were refugees and women. But how are there so many millions of Americans who are functionally illiterate? We are incredibly privileged. Great video!
I appreciate what you were trying to say but I got a little sensitive about the italian stats. I am italian and I don't think that 47% cannot understand a simple text. Especially knowing that we have a very high education comparing other countries... (I don't want to call out anybody but you get the idea) Not to mention that New generation can speak at least english! That being said, I think that reading is a blessing not just for fiction books, but especially when you have a task that you don't know and you have nobody that can help you! Meaning the process of passing knoledge from a person to another...
hello ! i'm so grateful, having discovered this channel a couple of months ago. it has sparked my interest in books and especially in authors that i didn't even care of! ... AND God, i recently read the contempt of Alberto Moravia, it's so good and for sure gave me stuff or vision or if we may call "experience" that i had never suspected to. Don't forget that you do an excellent job. Even in france, reading is so underratted... and i don't think school has responsability with... i think it more a matter of age and maturity... sorry for my english, it's not my native language. Bye have a good day !
I just came across this video now so I'm late to the party but you have just expressed something I have thought about for years. I am so grateful that I can read and that I have the opportunity to access such a vast amount of literature and history. I can't imagine how small your world must be if you can't read. I feel so strongly about this that I have started working with an adult literacy organization where I live. So many people get through their school years and never really master reading due to any number of circumstances. I have seen people's minds open up once they start to feel confident in their reading ability. It's such a beautiful and exciting thing. I love your tag line - Don't waste it. It really is such a gift.
This is one of your best videos, i love your fascination with reading. This whole channel is just awesome, if it wasn't for you i probably never would have stolen the amazing collected fictions of borges or read the book of disquiet. Thanks for making these.
Cliff have ever heard of the novel „the man who loved dogs“ by cuban author padura? I read it recently and it might be something for you. If something is allowed to call itself literature, its books like that one. Glad i read it and glad that i am able to read.
Any ideas on navigating the bloated/saturated market? There is so much stuff out there. I get over stimulated and fatigued by the quantity of stuff that has been published so far, and is published on a regular basis. It can make me very angstie. which can lead to me not buying or reading anything at all. Making a choice becomes so problematic that I in the end don't make a choice at all. This, and the thing about (because of the technology we have today) never loosing anythig we publish to the wheel of time agan. always and forever having access to all of it. This could be a subject for a great video, or two. Peace out!
The illiteracy thing is totally mind fucking boggling..... I'm happy to read that Canada is at 99% reading rate... Btw Powell's books is insane in how massive it is.. it's awe inspiring. And don't worry I am very grateful for the skill of reading, it truly is magic. Many things about human existence are essentially magic. We just haven't figured it out yet so it seem spernatural
Cliff, long time viewer here. For almost a year now I've been doing my own reviews and vlogs about reading, though I'm primarily a writer myself. I'm not sure RU-vid allows tagging anymore, so I've just come here to say that my video Why We Should Read is a direct response to yours. It admittedly goes off on a fair few tangents, but it does try to address and stress the importance of reading. Cheers.
Not only thankful to just read and write, mais aussi je lis et écrit en Français! I love reading, writing, and languages! Thanks for the channel brotha. I'm reading Naked Lunch and Brothers Karamazov right now. Heavy stuff. When you mentioned about stories unlocking spaces in your mind you didn't even know existed, it reminded me of something. A story so disturbing it literally felt like my brain was being churned with a stick. It quite literally felt like someone was disturbing my brain *physically*. Because this man was picking at the dark corners of being human. Something with intellect that can enjoy animalistic delights. But my description is already a travesty on the story itself. That very short story is "Why Men Love War", and it's like a 20 minute read. Although it is not a story really, it is more a torn open, raw mouth of confession of some of the tiniest, darkest corners of a soldier's head. I highly recommend, and in the same breath remind you it is *intense*.
I have no idea if you (or anyone) will see this, but: a great book about what writing and reading can mean is a short story by Rodrigo Rey Rosa: Jail of Trees. It's a about a medical experiments on prisoners. They can not speak anymore, not even speak in their own heads. Shortly, it's about the magic of writing and reading and the usefullness of it. Makes you aware of the power of an easily adjusted and inscripted communication device, not only to communicate with others but with yourself as well. I think you would love that story, it's quiet short and will give you some food to to ruminate.
You look different in this video, paler, maybe it's the light, making your skin look marble-like, and your eyes' colour is more clearly visible. Can't say the sight isn't pleasing...
Generally speaking, the books you review are often a little difficult to keep up with. I've picked up 2 of the books you recommended so far, and I'm moving through them, slower than I'd like, but I am. Simply put. The way you review books makes me want to read more. Thank you, please continue.
When I was growing up, there were hardly any books in the house. The only book I can remember one of my parents reading to me, I can't recall which one, father or mother, was Alice in Wonderland, and I hated it. However, later I was reading all to time, comics to start with, Australian, British and American. After that books of all kinds, children's novels, poetry and books on science and mathematics. When I became an adult, I taught myself to read French novels and later Italian. I just sat down with the book and a good dictionary. It meant a lot of looking up words, so my reading was very slow but I usually got to the end.
What great timing for me. Since reading more books from January to August than I have in any year since age 11, I've only read 2 books. None in October. That's an entire month of reading I'll never get back; 3 or more books I'll never get to read. Sheesh.
I've been trying to learn thai and reading children books, its not a regular thing unfortunately, even tho I have lived here for 4 years. Absolutely agree about signs and symbols, reading the text and trying to follow the story. It's such satisfaction when you start to read a little faster and begin to comprehend what you are reading. Agree with you 100%!
Thank you for this video Cliff! I truly understand your passion about all the knowledge that's available for us out there and sometimes it does make me feel sick thinking about it too , it's awesome ! We are indeed very fortunate ! Thank you for recommending thought provoking books!!
I go to a public university in the states. A few weeks ago, a 40 year old man who works as a custodian in my dorm told me he never learned to read... Blew my mind. I thought he was joking at first
