the big book diaries ep. 1 🗡️ THE COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO 

Dumas knew exactly what he was doing with that ending cause it left me wanting so much more of Edmond and I’m never gonna get more and that breaks my heart. We couldn’t have had a better book to start off the year 😭

Really missed vlogs dedicated to one book, your vlogs on War and Peace are still my favourites, thank you Emma!! 💗

EVERYTHING that the Count does is sooooo calculated, even in the little parts where you might think this is so random and unrelated, it ALWAYS ends up linking back. It’s soooooo good!!!

I find that The Count of Monte Cristo is such a mystery. In the sense that I personally never met anyone reading it and not falling in love. My best friend’s husband was never much of a reader but she convinced him to read The Count of Monte Cristo and he couldn’t put it down. Now he is always searching to read more in the hopes of finding another one as good. And that my friends is how a reader is born. And that is the power of this book. The only sad part is that finding something similar is almost impossible. Wonderful video Emma. 😌♥️

The Count of Monte Cristo audiobook narrated by Bill Homewood is PHENOMENAL, highly recommended. So helpful for knowing how to pronounce all the names properly. It’s a beautiful experience

I read this book when I was fourteen and it still remains my favorite book of ALL TIME. My personal copy is FILLED with highlights, doodles, personal notes and I have read it three times XD

Fun fact: the lady that describes The Count as a Vampire actually existed: she is Countes Guiccioli, who Dumas met, and she was the big love of Lord Byron and friend of Mary and Percy Shelley. The ending between Mercedes and Edmond destroyed me too the first time I read it, but after many years and after rereading it I can tell you that it was the best choice. Dumas did the right thing. They had become two different people, too many things happened, Mercedes only lived for her son and Edmond respected her fo that. It's sad but realistic. Besides answering your question: Edmond never really hated her for what she did, he was maybe a little bit resentful but it's understandable, in the end he knew it was not her fault, she was never on the list of people he wanted to avenge to, she unfortunately found herself on the way. Together with Edmond, Albert is my favorite character. He had such a wonderful growth in the end. You reader (and the Count) expect to hate the guy because of who he is but instead here he is: a boy full of positivity, good intentions, a little silly but nice. Even Edmond learns to respect him and see him for what he is. Edmond first understands that Albert was something "else" in Rome, when he finds out how courageous he has been with the bandits. I mean... he fell asleep? 😂 And I loved how responsible and mature he became at the end when the truth came out. I could talk about this book forever.

If you are interested: Jules Verne’s novel Mathias Sandorf (written in 1885) is dedicated to the memory of Alexandre Dumas. Dumas' son was so moved by the love expressed in the dedication that he wrote a letter to Verne: "I've been loving you for so long that I feel like your brother". He said that in literature Verne is Dumas' son more than he himself. (that’s a quote from wikipedia) I highly, HIGHLY recommend Mathias Sandorf !!

If it’s possible for a 1,200-page novel to be a “page-turner”, this is it! I finished it in about 3 weeks and had difficulty putting it down to do other important things, such as sleep. “The Count of Monte Cristo” is often overlooked in lists of “Greatest Books of All Time”, which is a crime. Like you, I hope to do several rereads. Thanks for your wonderful vlog!

I never ever skip your Book of the Month ads, they’re so good 😂

I read this book in my teenege years. I'm 31 now and it's a book I re read FRECUENTLY. Has a special place in my heart.

saving this to watch later bc i just started the book this week omg

Yayyyy 🥺✨ "this is so good, why is this so good." relatable af 😭

I would love to watch your reactions on The Count of Monte Cristo Teaser as well as the Trailer. The teaser should be watched first. 😁

So excited to watch this video

Could not put this book down - what a great story. I finished it in mid January. I have watched other videos about the book and can’t believe that some of them complained about the length. I didn’t want it to end. Edmund is such a sympathetic character.

I started watching, but when you described how he was all naive and trusting, then he got betrayed and he was so confused and all of that, I knew I had to read it myself. That description reminds me so much of my own character arc (is it still a character arc if you're a real person?). I think I might fall in love with this book if I read it, so I'm going to have to save this video for later to avoid any spoilies and go find myself a copy. Thanks for getting me hooked into a new (new? lol) great book!

I loved how the theme of rising from the grave builds relentlessly throughout the book, starting with Edmond himself and continuing with all the main instruments of his revenge (most obviously Andrea and Valentine but arguably Haydée as well). So cool.

I loved The Count of Monte Cristo. It changed the way I thought. One of those life-changing books, for sure!

Duma lived in time when writers were mostly paid by number of words they had written in a book. That's why his books are ridiculously long and contain useless dialogue 😁But they are so damn good 😅

Not going to lie. I've seen tons of book of the month sponsors and this is the best one. It made me smile and laugh

I'm so glad you enjoyed as much as I did. ❤❤ I finished it in the middle of February and I've already got middlemarch lock and loaded for the second two months

Also a five star read for me but I too was conflicted about the ending for Edmond and Mercedes. The hopeless romantic in me definitely wanted them together but another part of me is just glad Edmond was able to move on after the whole revenge saga

I had exactly the same reaction at the end of the book. ☺ I read it when I was 17 as a summer reading assignment, and I thought that I would be reading it the whole summer. However, I devoured it in less than a week and begged everybody around me to read it. 🤭 I read it two more times in the next twenty years.

I am so glad that you loved CoMC! My mom and I read it together last year and it was easily a new favorite.

Back to back episodes ❤❤❤ I'm crying 😭❤😊

Hey Emma. You're amazing and i love all the videos you make. I've been in and out of a reading slump and your videos always remind me of the joys of reading. They're like a warm cup of coffee after a long long day. Thank you for all the work you put in for these videos. Take care ❤ I also miss winters 🥺

I miss winter too, Emmie, so much. It’s disappearing slowly every year more and moore 😢

my favorite book tuber reading my favorite book so happy right now!

I'm so glad you found a book to enjoy reading. Sometimes we find ourselves reading as if it's our job so books like the Count are such welcome surprises. I too enjoyed it immensely.

I’m fascinated that the translation is so different. I’m 10000% getting that cloth bound edition and reading it!

There is actually a French TV series with Gerard Depardieu that I absolutely love! It covers the main plot of the book, changes a few things and the ending is very different. I still love it though to this day :)

Ok well let me just cry over you showing my letter in the book. ❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤ 🥺🥺🥺🥺

I loved this book, I finished it the other day! It doesn't fill like the amount of pages it actually is because it's so intriguing and so much happens! The way he plotted everything is *chief kiss*, but that exception to his plains near the end makes us remember he is a human, in that way we can feel sympathy for him. Also at the end I realized that every one of the villains got exactly what they deserved, based on the evil they had done, and all lost what they valued the most.

This is my boyfriend's favorite book and I still have yet to read it. This vlog made me want to pick it up immediately after I finish the book club read 😊

Absolutely love these long vlogs! Thank you for making these huge books more accessible, Emma! 😊

Your enthusiasm is infectious.

Oh my god I love your ad read. I have been soooo disappointed with this winter! I got like no snow and it warmed up super fast. ❄️

I adore your videos you are one of my inspirations in terms of booktube and I just wanted to thank you for being that and for being a huge comfort

WHILE I UNDERSTAND MERCEDES POINT OF VIEW, SHE DID NOT HAVE FAITH AND HOPE. WHEN IN LIFE, ALL YOU CAN DO IS HOPE, SHE DID NOT. SHE GAVE UP ON THE HOPE OF BEING WITH HER LOVE. IMAGINE EDMOND’s POV, LIKE HE COMES BACK AND HIS FIANCÉ WHO WAS ABOUT TO VOW TO BE ETERNALLY FAITHFUL IS OVER THERE CANOODLING WITH HIS SWORN ENEMY NAH FORGET HER. Trust me, I was rooting for them at first but once I finished reading, it all clicked. She lost her faith, so she lost her love. Edmond deserves better.

Received this book for Christmas. It is the right translation and your enthusiasm is so inspirational. I want to read this even more now. Thomas Mann's The Magic Mountain will have to wait...

I haven't even watched this yet but I am so excited. I've discovered and fallen in love with your channel with the Tolstoy diaries. I'm getting a bit melancholic to know that so much time has passed, yet I'm super excited to witness your journey with the Count ❤

YES!!!!! FINALLY! I read it in French when I was a teenager and you make me want to reread it so much!

I instantly grow a big smile on my face when I saw the book you about to start ❤read it and love it and recommend it❤

Thank you so much for arranging this book club and putting The Count of Monte Cristo on the list! I LOVED it!💖 New favourite book of all time!🏆Million stars!✨I got so invested, got so many emotions... just one of the best reading experiences of my life.😊

I love that you finally read this and that you love it as much as i do. I read it in high school and then reread it last year. Definitely worth the time.

I meant to start reading this LAST YEAR, AAAA Now I can read alongside Emmie~☆

This book was brilliant. I knew that I wanted to read this eventually but the game of tomes gave me that final push I needed. Thank you Emma for getting me to read what ended up being one of my very favorite books

You inspired me to re-read it after last reading it about a decade ago. It feels like the first time again! I forgot how fresh and vibrant the book feels

My heart feels so complete now seeing you finish and love this book like I did. ❤

So excited! When you started reading it I was really hoping you would do a reading vlog! 💕Read it with my sister last year and LOVED it!

I'm SO glad I decided to finally read this book along with you because I ended up so so in love with it and also craving more🥺I think I started missing the characters the second I finished the last page hahaha it's definitely my new favourite classic of all time

I have wanted to read this for so long and this reading blog is really making me want to finally tackle it! I grew up with the movie so it is nostalgic and very dear to me 😂

I found your channel a few days ago and i squirled when i saw you had uploaded count of monte cristo content! I've just finished it myself today after a 27 day long journey and im over the moon ❤ have a lovely time reading my new favorit classic ~ Wait and hope

this is my favorite book of all time, hope you love it emma!!❤❤

God I can’t wait to get my video up about this book. I have like 10 pages of a script written and I can’t wait to talk in depth about so many things you touched on.

Never thought I’d sit here and watch 43 minutes of you reading a book, but really liked this vlog. Thanks so much for making the translation issue clear!

This was one of those life-changing books for me. Absolutely adored it! I'm so happy you read it!

I loved so much this book it became one of my favorites of all time, i almost sobbed as you said wait and hope, it hits DEEEP, hahaha. Also, I read so many books on the side just to stop myself from finishing this one, to the point that February was my best reading month in years😂, sooooo goood!🤍🤍⚔️

omg this video totally made my day. this book has been a before and after in my life

Yeah i also miss winter. It is the only weather which isnt just feeling like im on a frying pan. Only 2 months of winter ugh.

i was so excited to watch these diaries 😭😭😭

i'm happy to inform that there's an anime adaptation where the count is in fact a vampire. it's old and a bit weird but very very good!

I’m so excited that you guys are reading this book, Dumas is my favourite author!

Kitten under the coat! 😂 loved it!

Thank you for making me read this book, Emma and Carolyn! I'm also not so happy with that ending, but by god this book just proves that a good story is a good story is a good story.

Can't wait to watch this video which I know for sure will be great! Just another motivation to finish this big tome uni forced me to put down Sending much love your way❤

The book has many adaptations for film, miniseries and anime (direct adaptations and not mere inspirations like revenge). Even this year we will have two new adaptations, a film and a miniseries. The trailer for the new adaptation of the book to film is now available on RU-vid. The screenwriter changed the ending of the book because Haydee is younger, but the film Ema with Annya Taylor Joy, Emma Woodhouse: is much younger than Mr. Knightley, but the film kept their relationship. And Mr. Knightley met Emma when she was 13. I'm irritated by Hollywood's disdain for Alexandre Dumas and how carelessly they adapt his books. What I don't see in adaptations of Jane Austen's books.

I definitely read the abridged version (i got this copy maybe 20 years ago lmao) and I can definitely say that I did not miss much with the bits that got cut!

One of my favourite books I've ever read❤❤I loved every hour with this book, especially the end is so powerful (I had no control over my emotions anymore) I'm glad you like it as well😊 I needed three weeks to read it and yes, the story is so addictive. It was hard to put it down😂 There are different versions of The Count of Monte Cristo. The original french version was much longer than any translated version. I read an english version because my french is not good enough (but I have both versions in my shelf)😂

I’ve been going between a few books for my next classic read and 10 mins into this video you’ve already convinced me

The Penguin edition is the best one I’ve collectively seen is the right way to go with this one. There are so many editions that I really can’t say what an accurate page count is for this one

I adore french classics, they are just written so well

Now this is why Monte Cristo is my favorite book! Great video. Glad you enjoyed. Next: The d’Artagnan Romances?

Seeing you so passionate about this book is making me want to read it. Like right now haha. Thanks as always for sharing your passion with us.

I've read it while being on maternity leave. It was so much fun! Glad you liked it! 😊

I always enjoy an appearance from Book Man! I ❤ your sense of humor.

i just love your channel :)

I really struggle to read this book but you gave me a whole new perspective that I hope will motivate me to keep reading

Enjoyed this one SO much more than I ever expected I would 😊 really looking forward to watching this later

I love and miss ur vlogs so much, been here since 80k❤️

I borrowed this on my Kindle now because of this video I am thoroughly intrigued

I love these kind of videos!

Omg I've been waiting for this video!! Fyi, a MC movie is coming out in France in June with Pierre Niney as Dantes 👀

Out of the topic but your Book of the Month skits are the best!!!! I would repeat them a few times sometimes before continuing the vid huhu Can you make a compilation of it? 🥺

the saddest part is the ending, it is a feeling that we have lost home

Read it last year…Can understand your excitement…it’s a fast-paced superb classic and now Edmond Dantes is my favourite hero ever…though I really never fully understood him…even after the last page was long over…

I've been looking forward to this video since the beginning of the year!!! :D Yay!

YESSSSSS been waiting for this one!!! Also, "dammit, Emma, I can't control the weather!" 😂😂😂

Ahhhhhh I'm so excited you're doing this!!!!

Good to know it's so good! It's on my TBR list!

I HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR THISSSS AAAAAAHH

24:39 OMG!! ADORABLE!! 😭🤣

I have re-read this book 5 times ❤

Yaaaas!!! Can’t wait to read this. Thank you for reminding me to pay attention to the translation. Goodness knows I probably would have purchased the Anonymous edition and also felt something was a bit off. Happy Reading!! 📖❤

I’ve been waiting for your thoughts on this!!! I had the most amazing experience reading this and have been dying to hear you and Carolyn talk about this. I made a video when I finished this and words don’t do this justice! I jumped out of my chair when it dawned on me who they were trying to marry Eugenie to. I was like OMG! That is so messed up!!!😂 The courtroom catastrophe where they thought it better to shoot yourself than deal with that mess. I laughed out loud! This is now in my top 5 of all time! Can’t wait to read this again knowing what I know now. 😂

This was my favorite book when I was a kid and it makes me very happy when adult readers validate that opinion ❤️

the friends reference at the beginning got me hahah

I adore this book with my heart and soul 😭💔

Eugenie Danglars pleasantly surprised me as well 😊 . Every now and then I still think about that last scene between Edmond and Mercedes. I read War and Peace in the Clothbound edition and at the end I had the same impression you had, that the book had been on a journey with me. 😊