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Unless you have already read those, I could recommend books that I have just finished reading. By Italian author Donato Carissi from his series on hypnosis expert who works with children. They are really plot driven books. His cases seem to be supernatural but with logic and his critical thinking he gets to the bottom of almost criminal cases in most rational ways possible. If you recall a movie La raggazza en la nebla / The girl in the mist he us this guy behind the plot of the movie. I had great time wih 2 and 3 book in this series, still to read the 1 one. I know, ackward. I borrowed 3 part at random around Halloween having no clue I will be ready a trilogy backwards but as you can see IT can be done in this way and be really enjoyable, so if you want a worthwile read with great storyline with plenty of plot twists I highly recommend this series by him.

How dare you care so little about the feelings of fictional Russian nobility

I would say I had the same feeling when I started reading those chapters about hunting. But I think they should be there because first it shows the normal day to day life of that time second it shows some side of Nikolai rostov when he's praying to God asking if he could help him hunt down that wolf so he would at least have some luck in hunting after failing in everything else in life. Also I've read the book in Russian so Leo Tolstoy has a very distinctive style of writing and I don't what the war and peace is like in English.

Seems like you saved me a lot of time. That's one of the reasons I don't tend to read fantasy.. The names make it really hard to keep track of who is who. I definitely admire you using maps and really trying to figure it out. I started listening to the audiobook of game of thrones... And I just had to stop it just the character names were hard for me to follow

Takk!

Ages ago I read the memoirs of the Austrian writer Thomas Bernhard (5 slim volumes starting with A Child) and I was deeply impressed. You made me aware that it is high time to reread them.

This is a good review. Although, I’m very surprised by how many people are challenged by the book merely because of the wide cast of characters. I agree that there are a lot of characters and side characters, but once you get used to the characters, they’re pretty easy to keep track of. What I did was draw out family trees of the five main aristocratic families, and, from the beginning, it really helped me keep things in line. It wasn’t near as confusing as a book like, for instance, One Hundred Years of Solitude, where there were a large amount of characters across various generations, many of which shared the same exact names.

Intriguing discussion. I never thought about this much. I think what you said regarding memoirs being intense and extreme than fiction, hits a note. I recall a memoir by Ishmael Beah about recounting his time as a child soldier in Western Africa, it is very jarring.

Hi. I have three favourite memoirs/autobiographies and I put them here in no particular order. 'Memoirs of a Sword Swallower' by Daniel P. Maddix which I first stumbled across in my thirties, read by the ex-Monkee Micky Dolenz, serialised by BBC radio a few decades ago. Mannix describes every boy's dream of running away to the circus. I read the paperback some years later and thoroughly enjoyed it as a light read. Next, 'Slaughterhouse 5' by Kurt Vonnegut is a masterpiece which discusses, semi fictionally, his WW2 experience as a US infantryman POW, then, later in Dresden during the allied firebombing of the city. His story is somewhat disguised as a sci-fi novel concerning alien abduction, but it's much deeper. Finally, 'Confessions of a Carp Fisher' by Denys Watkyns-Pitchforda lovely, o, ld fashioned, book which probably only appeals to Englishmen of a certain vintage. As an afterthought, Knausgård's 'A Death in the Family' sits on my bookshelf awaiting my attention. Cheers👍🏼

I have been enjoying the journals if James Boswell and listening to the journals of Samuel Pepys. I also find the letters of authors interesting in relation to how by lives are lived

I admire your courage for being honest about this book. So many reviewers on TH-cam regurgitate stale praise, because it’s easier to just repeat the canon. I have no doubt that 150 years ago this book was revolutionary and influential. But in the year 2025, is there anything fresh in this book that hasn’t been done better in a dozen other novels? I suppose if you’re interested in the history of literature, you should read this book, because it was the first to do many things. But if you are interested in dramatic plot, rich character development, and life lessons for the 21st century, then you should probably read something else. After all, you can read four other novels in the same time it would take to read War and Peace. Maybe the real question is whether one Tolstoy novel is better than, let’s say, one Jane Austin, one Dickens, one Dostoevsky, and one Melville all together?

What is your favourite memoire?

This video has made to make a discovery that for some reason my local librabry has plenty of memoirs of this man from Sweden, even translated into Polish. The book I have in mind is " In Every Moment We Are Still Alive" translated into Polish as "Wciąż jeszcze żyjemy" ( We are still alive ( after all) ).As can be seen here it's a memoir of a regular guy who had been through quite a lot in his life: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Malmquist

I have now realized that my local library reading challenge for this year is missing something- a book that would fall into a category of "a memoir". We only have one thing on this list that says "letters from the past". But maybe I can figure out how to fit in some memoir book into other categories such as: favourite books of famous people , book recommended by someone you know or a book that develops your interests/ hobbies. So, any recommendations of your long time favourites in the category of memoires? I read factual books often. Even now, I'm reading a factual book on Crimea. Sadly most likely not translated into English or Norwegian yet but maybe it should be in the future. The book is by Paweł Semmler and it's entitled "Krym. Znikający Półwysep" ( Crimea. The vanishing peninsula). And it explains a lot how Crimea without being discussed as a problem by Ukranian politicians in 2014 actually altogether with Sevastopol that does get a mention as well contributed to this current situation between Russia and Ukraine. It's a great intro into complexities of ethnic and geopolitical past of Crimea and helps to put the problems with Crimea into perspective. And this is what brings me to why memories are great and why I shall update my reading challenge for this year, to be able to put things into perspective better by being able to look at past through the eyes of people for whom it was their present time.

I've once read a memoar, it felt like beginning with 'I...'and ending with 'I', it was the worst book I've ever read.😄 But memoars well written , are a pleasure to read and are very interesting.

I haven't read a single Bjørnebo book, and I have no idea why.

Your channel just showed up in my feed. I think we started channels for similar reasons. Glad to find your channel 🙂

Loved Kristin Lavransdatter! I did read it one volume at a time, but then I went and bought the combined chonker for my shelves. Ibsen is super-well known outside Norway! I just read one of his plays last week - The Lady from the Sea. I've read one by Tarjei Vessas - I think for me The Birds is next.

I used to love Odd Eidem, but I haven't read anything by him in many years so I don't know how he have survived my teen hood-crush. Have you read anything by him, or Johan Borgen, Torborg Nedraas, Bjørg Vik, the 1950-60-writers? Not sure if they are classic yet though. I guess Hamsun and Undset would be Norwegian classics (but they are soooo boring!)

I 'm really interred, could you send me the norwegian title, please?

Takk!

Been thinking about reading this since I read the My Struggle series. The notorious "Manny" on Goodreads said he thought Knausgaard's teenage installment was loosely based around it, and he said it's a great read. Makes sense now, given what you're saying here :) Have you ever read Ordinary Men, or Panzram? Other books with a similar theme, I think - inside evil. They've both been on my tbr for a while.

Is there a Norwegian classic you feel like I should read?

I LOVE Of Mice and Men. I honestly think it would have a higher rating but people "penalize" it because the ending is so sad. The brutal ending is part of what makes this a stellar novel. If the ending was different, the title wouldn't even make sense anymore (the Burns poem allusion) and half of the plot would be pointless. It's a masterpiece. I used to teach it whenever I could.

I will vomit after listening 5 hours Robots reading

for me I think < war and peace> is much interesting and much easy to read than <crime and punishment>

I also absolutely loved Hva jeg snakker om når jeg snakker om løping. It has many layers, and you can read it in several ways.

Oh I have been wanting to read that book by Arto Paasilinna so bad but it hasn't been translated into English! As far as I know - and I looked! Heard it mentioned by another booktuber I follow and been curious about it ever since

Great video - and a few books for me to check out. I love the Italian books by Giovannino Guareschi - The Little World Of Don Camillo. I was surprised to find out last year that they are considered silly and trivial in Italy. Oh well…

Great channel. Thanks for speaking in a language I understand and introducing me to new writers from another part of the world. Subbed.

"Collected suicide" sounds great.

It is difficult to tell about books you don't like because ... well, I tend not to read more than a few pages. My point being Rooney. Which I don't read because I don't like "her". But I agree on your take on Murakami, how can anyone give him less than five stars?! On a totally different note. Can I ask if you ever buy or pick books from the library, based on its cover alone? Not knowing anything about the writer and/or the story?

Everyone loves the book Bunny by Mona Award… I didn’t care for it all!

I think, since mental health, and espially/spesielt suicide is an issue in Norway, maybe people , who think about it, should read it, just for getting another point of view.(Sometimes your can't imagine that there is another way of feeling with things, I experienced it, when I came to Norway (from Germany))

I'd give 1Q84 a five plus plus, along with Infinite Jest. Steinbeck's book has depth, breadth, and beauty is should be rated more highly. I've added a few of these to my list; thank you.

What's a book you feel gets unnecessary hate?

I did like it . I'm fascinated with history of wider Europe including Russia - not just facts but the human beings who have made up this amazingly tangled continent which produced so many of our ancestors.

I'm voting for the Fifth Season as I'll be reading it too this year, so I'd be curious to hear your thoughts and "compare notes" ^^ Happy reading!

The book is essential … Whatever nationality or culture… we can all learn from it

If I wasn't so stuck on my yearly 50 books every year, I would probably have gone for one book. I know Silje did that a while ago, and it worked very well for her. They talk about Michel Houellebecq on the Bittelitteratur podcast, and though they don't get in depth, it's still quite interesting. I thought Lolita was a good read, but FUNNY? I LOVE Mio, min Mio!

Definitely Kingkiller Chronicle - Name of the Wind is one of my favourites. Waiting for the third book sucks but it's still my favourite. Happy New Year.

10:40 this was on purpose. Brothers Karamazov is not a common novel by any stretch, it’s a massive allegory. If you take out financial worry, you end up gaining a lot of width for discussing whatever you want to discuss. This was not Fyodor’s stupidity, Fyodor was a poor man. He knew poverty.

Tip: before reading this do a crash course on Russian culture, specially nicknames, patronymics, and name meanings. Russian naming conventions rely heavily on symbols, name meanings. Each name has a meaning, each name can be said 10 different ways, and each way can signify a different relation with the characters.

Sorry I missed your livestream. Watching now. Folks are discussing some interesting titles. 😺✌️

All should read "madame chartreuse sweet 66s" its the most original work in decades