I'm always worried when people read my favorite books but I'm so so glad that you enjoyed tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow!!! sorry about those heartstrings - im still recovering :')
Ahh I’m so honored to be included in this video with so many iconic people!! 🥰 I’m so glad you decided to give Daisy Darker a chance even if it didn’t end up being your thing 💕
So glad you loved tomorrow x3! It was one of my favorites last year. And so happy you ended up loving Hamnet. I read the book in 2021 but the ending has still stuck out to me, it was so beautifully written
Oh my god I literally just finished Crying in H Mart YESTERDAY! I absolutely loved her book. It was so honest and so relatable if you’ve ever lost someone significant. So cool to see you enjoying it as well ❤
LOVED this! Immediately adding Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow to my tbr. I'm only buying one book a month this year, and I think it's going to be my February book!
Tomorrow was definitely a top fave of 2022! I don't cry often reading books, but that one made me SOB. Ugly cry, sob. With some things that were going on in my life at the time, it hit me in a way that I did not expect. So so good!
I’m really surprised you thought Crying in H Mart didn’t connect to a broader context! Zauner uses her experiences to comment on broad themes of culture, identity, the immigrant experience, women’s experiences, creating art, grief. She specifically zeros in on what it means to be a mixed race person and what their relationship to culture is. These concepts seemed way more central to the book than Eating Disorders in America or Child Stardom were in I’m Glad My Mom Died.
You should check out What My Bones Know by Stephanie Foo if you’re looking for a memoir discussing personal life struggles in relation to larger sociocultural discourse 😊
Hamnet is one of my favorite books of 2022. I also listened to it on audiobook and that was a game changer. I am currently reading Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow and I can see why everyone loves it but so far it may be a 4-star book for me.
Loved having such a long video from you, Jananie! Tomorrowx3 is so good, heartbreaking at that one point. The video games were so interesting to read about. I can't wait for more of your content this year; I found one of my favorite books last year because of you (Kaikeyi). I just read another book that briefly mentioned Sita and it was cool to recognize her.
I’m reading Hamnet right now and I’m enjoying it! It will mostly likely be 4 stars. I’m not as attached to the characters as I would’ve liked, and it was a bit confusing at first, but I’m obsessed with O’Farrell’s writing style and think she has phenomenal craft
Honestly I saw the cover; my favorite booktubers on the cover of another of my favorite booktubers video? and I click Also: I just finished Hamnet (a few minutes ago) and I bawled my eyes out and gave it 5 stars so I’m curious to see what you think!!
I just read Tomorrowx3 as well and really enjoyed it. The Storied Life of AJ Fikry by the same author is one of my favourite books, do read it if you haven't - a heartwarming story of a grumpy bookstore owner, it has a lot of bookish elements and references. I felt the same way about Daisy Darker regarding the narrator and main character. I DNF-ed it about 20% into it.
I agree 100% with your ratings. I was left feeling unsatisfied when I finished H Mart and Hamlet. I was disappointed by Daisy Darker; it felt like an Agatha Christie copycat. And I LOVED TandTandT
I'm reading the winner and loser for each Goodreads Awards category and everything I hear about T&T&T has so excited to start that project. Especially since it sounds like it's gonna be heavily linked to my childhood and how I grew up.
This was fun! I'm glad you ended up loving some of them! Most of these are also on my tbr, so now I'm just even more excited to get to them (especially Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow)! The only one I've already read is Crying in H Mart. Like you, I enjoyed it but it wasnt a 5 star for me. It was a 4 star though, and I am glad that I read it. 😊
you took me on a RIDE with not being able to get into hamnet at first, we have such similar taste that i just could not fathom you not liking it! it is more character-driven than plot, for sure, but once you get attached to the characters it's so hard to put down. i kind of wish i had read the audiobook now!
I felt the exact same way you did about Love on the Brain and the Love Hypothesis. Love on the Brain was SO GOOD! I don't understand why so many other people I've heard didn't like it as much. Oh well *shrugs*
I literally just finished Tomorrow x3 last night and I absolutely loved it. I actually started it back in November so it took me quite a while to get into it. But seriously I loved it so much. The characters and the plot are just 🤌
This is my first video I've watched of yours and I am already a fan. I really love the recommendations. Other than the thriller, I've put the rest of the recommendations on my TBR (I'm just sick of the genre haha, wanted to read something else). I'm excited to start reading these books.
even just thinking about the last words of Hamnet i'm getting The Shivers!!! So good!! but also same experience, it took me a while to get into it but it was so worth it!
I remember reading Hamnet. And I get why you were struggling. For me, the whole book is so drenched in description that it feels like a chore to get through. It is beautifully written but at the same time, it feels like you are trudging through the book. I actually described it as feeling like walking through a swamp on a hot summer's day in my review, and I ended up dnfing it because it was too much for me. Which is odd because I usually love lots of description, I just don't love how she did it here. That being said, I do recognise it as an excellent book and I think it deserves the praise it gets.
I've got another recommendation from cari's video, it's called as long as the lemon trees grow, and it is a book about a girl in Syrian at the time of war (still currently happening) and her MANY struggles, if you wanna hear a better synopsis than you could see how cari talks about it, truly it makes me feel so good that an Islamic book with middle eastern characters, and it isn't very popular!!
I literally finished buddy reading Tomorrow x 3 last night and could not agree more with your thoughts!!!!! A STUNNING book, hooked me from the first chapter
I feel like Hamnet resonates a bit more with mothers. There is a scene where she says that you always feel this thread between you and your children that your mind casts out, always knowing where they are or checking in mentally and yet when she casts out for Hamnet, it is emptiness. That really kills you as a parent and really kicks you in the guts because it's so true.
I think it would be funny to start and finish love on the brain as my first book of the year) when I get it) considering the love hypothesis was the first book of last year for me :’)
I have the audiobook for tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow but I feel like this book is better to read physically right? I actually do have the audiobook from the library but I had trouble getting into it when I started the audiobook. However, I have heard great things about it.
I always fast forward descriptions of books, you tell the entire book. I'm surprised you don't tell us the ending. I know it's just me, but I don't like knowing so much about a book. I can do with recommendations, I trust you.
🌼 Agree with you on Daisy Darker! The premise had promise but the execution was lacklustre… probably one of the driest thrillers I’ve read. And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie is the much better original and it’s only 250 pages. Though, it isn’t a diverse set of characters by any means and there are a few outdated comments made regarding race so be aware of prior to reading.
I enjoyed Love on the brain, but I HATED that riddiculous ending. That "action" storyline was just so unecessary. Still excited about her future books.
Hamnet was great in terms of writing. The words are just so beautifully crafted. However, I did not like the portrayal of Agnes. I hate the mysterious, wictchy woman trope and it has been used to death. Also, the book was more about Agnes in my opinion than it was about Hamnet and that just reduced my enjoyment overall.
I had my book club read Hamnet. I guess we were all outliers, but we had several DNF and the ones who finished didn’t love it. It’s over-hyped, in my humble opinion. It’s slow and there isn’t enough happening IMP
I heard really mixed reviews on the love hypothesis, more so gearing towards the negative. But since you are raving about the love on the brain, I am going to pick it up next i time I see it at Target!
I'm envious of western countries getting access to new releases and others :((( I'm hoping to buy Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow but I'm still waiting for its price to go down (I just checked it and now out of stock)🥲. Checked on Amazon how to order but I can't afford the shipping, LOL. 🤣
