I watched the documentary about her on Netflix today and so i went searching to find videos of people recommending her books. I've never read any of Didion and I really enjoyed this video and hearing you speak on her. Looking forward to watching your other videos on your channel! 😊 💖
I’m so glad to hear that and to have you here!! I know she’s popular, but I wish more people talked about her, for sure. I just found out last night that she had a new book coming out, too, next year! Just so you know. 🙂 I hope you enjoy reading her work as much as I have! ♥️
Do not whine... Do not complain. Work harder. Spend more time alone. - Joan Didion's advice for writers (can't improve on that). Thank you for this review of her work.
I know this video was posted so long ago, but a Didion book club sounds like a dream! I’m also on the journey of reading all her books, have finished 4 by now
So sorry my response was so slow! I'm hoping to do a read along soon - lots of people are interested, so I hope I'll have time soon! So glad to find fellow Didion enthusiasts! :)
Really interesting to come across your video, I have been watching Joan Didion vids since finishing Blue Nights recently. Since you posted this three years ago, you might have already read Blue Nights. I read The Year of Magical Thinking and Blue Nights as a package, which trust me, was not an easy thing to do, fortunately I am not a heavy drinker, those two books back to back may have proven to be too much of a temptation. I agree with you about the picture on the back of Magical Thinking, sad to see that picture when you know what the future held for those three smiling faces. Like a lot of people, I had heard her name mentioned for years, before reading any of her work, and because I did essentially no research, the first book I picked up was Play it as it Lays. It is great book, but that is first class punch in the gut. It was heavy and dark, but because it was so well written, I went back to her work. Great vid, hope you are still reading enjoying Joan Didion
I really enjoyed hearing more about Didion! I’ve read South and West but need to read The Year of Magical Thinking. Would love to buddy read one of her works next year!
Yess! Joan Didion is my hero and idol. You hit it right on - her writing is so honest and real and not uplifting. But I can often find a certain kind of hope in it. She has such a way with words. I like how you recommend South and West to get used to her writing. I often recommend The White Album or Slouching Toward Bethlehem to people - her essays and journalistic essays. The Year of Magical Thinking is such a master piece. It's so deep, short but hits you straight in the heart. Blue Nights is SOOO good, but yeah you need the right headspace. Always looking for a reason to read more Didion if you want to buddy read something.
Hello, fellow Didion enthusiast!! I am looking forward to reading Slouching Towards Bethlehem! I also really need to read Blue Nights, for sure. I would love to read one of her books together - I found out she has a new release next year, so I'm going to see when that comes out and try to see if I can coordinate something. :) Thanks again for watching!
I’m sorry that I’m just now seeing this. I have a goal of reading all her books, and I’m close to meeting that goal. I’d love to be in a book discussion about Joan Didion’s books.
I recently read The Year of Magical Thinking. I know people say it's dark and hard to read because of the feelings she experienced but I didn't find it hard to read in that way. Sometimes I couldn't quite follow what she was saying but I know what you mean about her giving a gut punch. There's just something about her that draws you in. I want to read Blue Nights. I find Joan's life fascinating, especially when I found out her connection with Dominick Dunne and his family. I got more information on her husband's relationship with his family and that was fascinating too. I enjoyed seeing what she experienced, living in sort of the fast lane. She was very deep and I appreciate that. I'm interested in whatever other books you want to talk about too. I just wanted to mention my favorite book that I'm always trying to get people to read. It's Seventeenth Summer by Maureen Daly and was written in the 40s. I've read it a million times but it goes right to my soul each time.
I just read Blue Nights. It's short and I couldn't put it down but I was a little disappointed in it. For one thing, it seems to be me, but I don't quite understand a lot of what Joan Didion is trying to say. I would have liked to hear more about her daughter and their relationship in the book.
I’m so glad The Year of Magical Thinking was able to help you, though I’m sorry it was needed ❤️ I don’t know if I’m up for Joan Didion’s type of heaviness right now (at least from what it sounds like!) but we DEFINITELY need to buddy read something together!! Hopefully soon 😁
I watched the documentary, "The Center Will Not Hold", very soon after watching one of your earlier videos in which you mention Joan Didion and reading The White Album. I was fascinated by her morning ritual of going to the fridge for a very cold bottle of coke, after waking up, and then beginning to write! I think I will start with The Year of Magical Thinking, since grief is a salient topic in my mind (one of my all-time favorites is C.S. Lewis's A Grief Observed). Thanks for introducing me to Joan Didion (& would love to be in a J. Didion Reading Group!).
Oh, I'm so glad to hear that! :) I agree - the coca-cola ritual is fascinating. I can't imagine drinking soda in the morning and then just jumping into writing, but it must work wonders for her! I hope you enjoy The Year of Magical Thinking! I'm working my way through C.S. Lewis's works, and I have heard incredible things about A Grief Observed. Maybe that'll be my next book of his to read! I'm so glad you are interested in Didion now, and I'll be sure to keep you in mind as I formulate my reading group! :)
I LOVE the year of magical thinking. It was a brilliant exploration and a very raw depiction of grief - grief experiences and books definitely intrigue me. I think we have gotten better when it comes to having more books about grief around. I also enjoyed Slouching towards bethlehem which was a collection of issues. I have a few more of her books and January... could be a good month for me to buddy read one of them with you if you were up for it!
It is brilliant, isn't it?? And I really need to read Slouching Towards Bethlehem. :) January could absolutely work - I'd love to buddy read with you!! :D
Just finished the White Album, and Slouching Towards Bethlehem and I love her work. Reading Play it As It Lays this weekend, and have yet to have the guts to read The Year of Magical Thinking.
It is such a powerful book!! I hope to do the book club soon. Life threw me some curveballs and made it impossible to start it sooner. I’ll keep everyone posted!
As a chronicler of '60s and '70s California, I prefer Eve Babitz. Joan Didion is a square person's idea of a hip person, while Babitz was the genuine article. Read "Some Dreamers of the Golden Dream" - Didion's snobbery is insufferable and rooted entirely in her own ignorance of the lives lived by people who can't afford to live in Malibu. In "The White Album," when Didion tried to interview Jim Morrison, Morrison repeatedly tossed lit matches into her lap. I think Morrison had accurately taken the measure of her.
