Osebol is excellent, and you’re right, its size is deceptive. I flew through it in an afternoon. Great to see it on the shortlist for the Warwick Prize for Women In Translation, too!
Great to be reminded of Orhan Pamuk. Love his fiction but started reading him through his book on Istanbul which was fantastic!! Great recommendations thanks.
I don't have these on my year-end TBR. One chunker I do want to at least begin before 2023 is The Labyrinth of the Spirits by Carlos Ruiz Zafon, an 800pg. conclusion to novels about Spain and The Cemetery of Forgotten Books. Have fun.
I’m so surprised to see Babel on your TBR! I’ve read it and I’m glad I did, I got a lot from it, but indeed I have several reservations about it. As for The Way We Live Now, great choice! I’ve watched the TV series and it’s a fantastic story. Amazing how relevant it is to today, it’s really stayed with me.
Someone reviewed a Pamuk, which I liked because I hadn't before had any familiarity with the Turkish master, but on the topic of Plague, for me the first thought is always Sinclair Lewis' (who also won a Nobel) Arrowsmith, and then Camus' (who also won a Nobel) The Plague, and since you mentioned that Babel is a Cholera plague, there's Marquez' (who also won a Nobel) Love in the Time of Cholera. Altho I'm interested in reading those, tbh I'm currently tied down in my Shakespeare project, and when I finish that I need to finally finish (in French) Proust's Search for Lost Time. Thx; enjoyed.
I’m embarrassed to say I have not read Pamuk, but he is on my TBR list. Maybe I will join you in reading this one. I just bought Dhalgren, so we’re on the same wavelength.
Reading the stories of Carol Oates now, thanks so much for this recommendation. I love your passion for book. Only frustrating thing is to see how much you read and how little I do compared to you. You never have a reading crisis? By the way, the new Nino Haratischwili is out in German/Dutch and the reviews are ravenous. Hopefully it gets translated in English soon, so you can cover it 🙂
Oooo the Censor's Notebook sounds so so interesting. Can't wait to get your thoughts on it. 💛 I too have Nights of Plague and Babel on my TBR but I'm probably going to read Nights of Plague in the upcoming year. Too many books, too little time!
I hope you start with the Trollope book. It's been on my TBR for a while and would love to know what you think before I make the commitment. I plan to read Lonesome Dove before the end of the year. I've heard such wonderful things.
i have only read Babel out of all of these. I did really enjoy it with huge caveats. Kuang is extremely knowledgeable, and her themes on colonialism, language,and their intersection are raw, hard hitting, and very modern and insightful. I fundamentally did not disagree with the theme or the tone of the story at all. However, as a story, I felt it had a lot of weaknesses in character and plot, particularly, that stopped the book from hitting those emotional notes I was looking for. Especially coming from a place where our national language took a beating from colonialism. So the lack of character connection disappointed a little. Overall, I still think its a book to read, and I would love to hear your thoughts on Babel and any of the others too!
I'm going to do a huge push to get through A Suitable Boy by the end of November, which is almost as long in itself as three 'long books' at almost 1500 pages. I'm about halfway, and started in January. It's actually very readable, but I kept putting it aside for something I can finish faster, lol. I also read (well, listened to) my first Trollope this year, quite enjoyable!! I'd like to get to The Books of Jacob and Babel by the end of the year, as well as one of the Norwegian chunksters I have (The Border or The Bell in the Lake)... we'll see... that's also likely an overambitious list for me!
It's great to extend such a good reading experience to a full year like that. And I'm so glad you enjoyed your first Trollope! The Books of Jacob is another I want to get to. Too little time! 😅📚
I don't have shelf space either making it impossible to have multiple copies of favorite books. There are a lot of big books I need to read, but I think for November I might focus on Dombey and Son by Charles Dickens, Walt Disney: A Triumph in the American Imagination by Neal Gabler, and The Physician by Noah Gordon. Although, as I'm looking at my shelves for the author's names, I'm adding to the list.
Ocebol sounds fabulous! Thanks for putting it on my radar! I've also never had interest in Babel, but may consider picking that up as well after watching this.
'Tis the long book season, with the extra hour tonight to kick it off! The Way We Live Now is brilliant, and so modern- parallels have been drawn between it and some disgraced entrpreneurs over the years. I'd like to read The Love Songs of WE du Bois, and some non-fiction doorstops on the rival lives of Jane Jacobs and Robert Moses. Keep up the good work!!
Yes, exactly! 😄📚 It's so handy being gifted an extra hour at this time of year for morning reading. I hope you get to Jeffers' novel! It's fantastic and immersive.
One of two real big book I read this year was The Cook of Castamar. I read it in Portuguese, not sure if it is translated in English yet. It is written by the same guy that wrote the TV series, it does not follow the same plotline, although some things also happen in the book. It was beautiful, well written and pretty fast paced. It didn´t feel like as a fat book. I also read Score by Jilly Cooper. i love her books. They areall pretty fat. As for challenges, I pull titles from my reading jar, so i have no influence on how fat the book is, really. I usually end up reading a mix. Also do some audio books i can find on You Tube when I start to get behind in my challenge. I also get some extra books from the library, but size is not a critereum. This year I read all the work i could find of Daphne Du Maurier, f.i.
Osebol sounds like a great read. It’s so lucky you found that copy of JCO short stories, that must have been very exciting 😊 I hope you enjoy all the big books as you get to them. The main big book I have is The Pickwick Papers but I think that will keep me busy enough 😅
Very ambitious! This gave me a bit of motivation to return to my big book TBR that I set at the beginning of this year haha And it is a comfort to hear about someone else starting a large book during a readathon but not finishing it. I've got at least two books like that on my TBR
Yeah, I don't know why we kid ourselves when we put a big book down in favour of starting another book and say to ourselves "I'll get back to that soon" only to leave it to gather dust 😅📚
I envy you reading Trollope for the first time. If hi enjoy it you might consider the Palliser novels. There are six in all but they constitute a very rich reading experience. I had read them all twice in the past thirty years. But during lockdown I listened to them being read by Timothy West and the experience was just as rich as my own reading. He offers a great blend of social commentary, humour, exquisite characterisation and a little pathos. The ultimate Victorian read. Good luck with your marathon. I am struggling at present with the highly praised Freshwater for Flowers. It is too long for its subject. The Victorians got that right.
Nights of Plague sounds interesting. I'm half way through Vassily Grossman's Stalingrad and would like to finish it and the sequel, Life and Fate. Stalingrad has been described as the WWII War and Peace which I think is an apt description. Both books are roughly 900 pages each. Of all the chunkers that I've read, I think these are the heaviest (in terms of weight)!
I want to read Nights of Plague and a Trollope novel, but not until next year. Not too interested in the other books. I love the Oxford World Classic editions. I'm reading a series of Zola novels published by them.
Ostebol does sound rather wonderful and I think The Way we Live Now is Trollope’s masterpiece. I’ve just been eyeing those Oxford Classics editions including that one after I saw Dominic, chairman of the Trollope Society, rave about them on his interview with Kate Howe.
I’ve been wanting to read The Way We Live Now for some time. Maybe I will finally get to it. The two big novels I am determined to read before the end of the year are Demon Copperhead and The Last Chairlift. Hope I make it!
my big books tbr before the end of the year: 1. Demon copperhead (currently reading) 2. A fine balance by Rohinton Mistry 3. Zone by Mathias Enard 4. Romola by George Eliot 5. Tomb of sand by Geetanjali Shree
I finished Our Share of Night by Mariana Enriquez in 10 days which is an accomplishment for me since it's 700+ pages. It was so good!!! Gothic and witchy big books are such an autumnal vibe. Highly recommend
Wanting to feel a little more involved in BookTube, I joined readalongs for Pickwick Papers and The Shining. I'm woefully behind on both. The ones in this video are tempting but I think I can resist for now.
I'm confused about why the English translation of the Censor's Notebook is almost 500 pages. I have the book in the original Romanian and it's only 330 pages. Is it a large print edition perhaps?
babel is really good - r.f. kuang based it on her experience as a student of color at oxford; it's definitely her postcolonial response to the 'dark academia' trend. the fantastical linguistics is more an allegory than anything
I want to read Clarice Lispector's Complete Cronicas - recently released by New Directions - by the end of the year. If I do, I will have read everything she published under her own name this year! I only discovered her late last year, and obviously, I love her enough to have decided to take the completist approach.
Chunksters I have in the wings to read are Babel and Tomb of Sand. However just added Extenuating Circumstances to the list after seeing this video. 😬😬😍😍🙏🏻
I set up an Instagram challenge at the beginning of the year for exactly this ( # bigbookreading2022 ) and, though other people have completed it, I haven't yet!!! My main big book goal before the end of the year is to read Rohinton Mistry's A Fine Balance.
What a great list Orhan Pamuk is one of my favorites but I haven’t read that one yet. I’ll be copying your list and they all sound. What do think is a good place to start with Trollope? Currently in my big book pile which I know I won’t finish. The Sea The Sea Iris Murdoch. Tomb of Sand Geetamjali, the Tale of Genji Mursaki Shikiba and a Suitable Boy Vikiam Seth. Poison wood Bible by Barbara kingsolver
It is funny that, for me, it isn't the length of the book that is the challenge it is content density for example Babel seems like a long book but because of Kuang's very strong anti colonialism message that spoke to my soul, I whizzed through it in a couple days whereas having read two books by Pamuk thus far, I anticipate that Nights of Plague will be more effortful, so would need several weeks to complete.
The book on Chinese characters is on my tbr, so Babel also sounds interesting to me. Osebol is a must as I live in Norway and our cultures are not that far apart. And I have just finished Barchester Towers so am completely in love with Trollope! I read as I listen along to Timothy west reading and he IS Trollope for me....and he has a reading of The Way We Live Now which I have just downloaded from Audible.
I loved Babel. I don't ordinarily read fantasy so was concerned it wouldn't be for me but the fantastical elements were so well woven in they felt believable.
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Osebol is excellent, and you’re right, its size is deceptive. I flew through it in an afternoon. Great to see it on the shortlist for the Warwick Prize for Women In Translation, too!
Great list! I am going to start with Orhan Pamuk's book, which I have just bought.
Love the varied genres you have decided for your chunky reads. Oooo I want to read more Trollope , this one sounds intriguing.
Great to be reminded of Orhan Pamuk. Love his fiction but started reading him through his book on Istanbul which was fantastic!! Great recommendations thanks.
I don't have these on my year-end TBR. One chunker I do want to at least begin before 2023 is The Labyrinth of the Spirits by Carlos Ruiz Zafon, an 800pg. conclusion to novels about Spain and The Cemetery of Forgotten Books. Have fun.
I’m so surprised to see Babel on your TBR! I’ve read it and I’m glad I did, I got a lot from it, but indeed I have several reservations about it. As for The Way We Live Now, great choice! I’ve watched the TV series and it’s a fantastic story. Amazing how relevant it is to today, it’s really stayed with me.
Ooh, I'm looking forward to watching the tv series of The Way We Live Now after reading the novel.
Loved this video. Subscribed 💙 You seem like such a nice person, by the way :)
Thank you! 😊📚
you are correct ... it is gut wrenching in parts .... but digs deep into the psyche
Which book do you mean?
Someone reviewed a Pamuk, which I liked because I hadn't before had any familiarity with the Turkish master, but on the topic of Plague, for me the first thought is always Sinclair Lewis' (who also won a Nobel) Arrowsmith, and then Camus' (who also won a Nobel) The Plague, and since you mentioned that Babel is a Cholera plague, there's Marquez' (who also won a Nobel) Love in the Time of Cholera. Altho I'm interested in reading those, tbh I'm currently tied down in my Shakespeare project, and when I finish that I need to finally finish (in French) Proust's Search for Lost Time. Thx; enjoyed.
I’m embarrassed to say I have not read Pamuk, but he is on my TBR list. Maybe I will join you in reading this one. I just bought Dhalgren, so we’re on the same wavelength.
Interesting reading list, Eric. Im glad you're including Pamuk, Oates (whom i have to come to soon!) and Trollope.
Once you get into Oates I predict you won't want to stop. 😄📚
I also have “Nights of Plague” on my TBR. Have you read his novel “The Museum of Innocence”? It is one of my favorite books.
Reading the stories of Carol Oates now, thanks so much for this recommendation. I love your passion for book. Only frustrating thing is to see how much you read and how little I do compared to you. You never have a reading crisis? By the way, the new Nino Haratischwili is out in German/Dutch and the reviews are ravenous. Hopefully it gets translated in English soon, so you can cover it 🙂
Oooo the Censor's Notebook sounds so so interesting. Can't wait to get your thoughts on it. 💛 I too have Nights of Plague and Babel on my TBR but I'm probably going to read Nights of Plague in the upcoming year. Too many books, too little time!
Definitely! 😅📚📚📚
I hope you start with the Trollope book. It's been on my TBR for a while and would love to know what you think before I make the commitment. I plan to read Lonesome Dove before the end of the year. I've heard such wonderful things.
A great Novel. It’s on my to be reread list.
i have only read Babel out of all of these. I did really enjoy it with huge caveats. Kuang is extremely knowledgeable, and her themes on colonialism, language,and their intersection are raw, hard hitting, and very modern and insightful. I fundamentally did not disagree with the theme or the tone of the story at all. However, as a story, I felt it had a lot of weaknesses in character and plot, particularly, that stopped the book from hitting those emotional notes I was looking for. Especially coming from a place where our national language took a beating from colonialism. So the lack of character connection disappointed a little. Overall, I still think its a book to read, and I would love to hear your thoughts on Babel and any of the others too!
I felt much the same, nicely put :)
Always love your recommendations! The Censor's Notebook looks good! I'm going to read that one.
Hope you enjoy! 😊📚
I'm going to do a huge push to get through A Suitable Boy by the end of November, which is almost as long in itself as three 'long books' at almost 1500 pages. I'm about halfway, and started in January. It's actually very readable, but I kept putting it aside for something I can finish faster, lol. I also read (well, listened to) my first Trollope this year, quite enjoyable!! I'd like to get to The Books of Jacob and Babel by the end of the year, as well as one of the Norwegian chunksters I have (The Border or The Bell in the Lake)... we'll see... that's also likely an overambitious list for me!
It's great to extend such a good reading experience to a full year like that. And I'm so glad you enjoyed your first Trollope! The Books of Jacob is another I want to get to. Too little time! 😅📚
I don't have shelf space either making it impossible to have multiple copies of favorite books. There are a lot of big books I need to read, but I think for November I might focus on Dombey and Son by Charles Dickens, Walt Disney: A Triumph in the American Imagination by Neal Gabler, and The Physician by Noah Gordon. Although, as I'm looking at my shelves for the author's names, I'm adding to the list.
Great selection! Babel and The Way We Live Now are on my TBR, too, so I'm looking forward to hearing your thoughts on them 😊
😊📚
Really interested in the nights of plague!!
It’s such a great epic!
I really love big books. Looking forward to looking into this list. Thank you! ☺️
😊📚
Ocebol sounds fabulous! Thanks for putting it on my radar! I've also never had interest in Babel, but may consider picking that up as well after watching this.
I'll be keen to hear what you think if you get time to read them.
'Tis the long book season, with the extra hour tonight to kick it off! The Way We Live Now is brilliant, and so modern- parallels have been drawn between it and some disgraced entrpreneurs over the years. I'd like to read The Love Songs of WE du Bois, and some non-fiction doorstops on the rival lives of Jane Jacobs and Robert Moses. Keep up the good work!!
Yes, exactly! 😄📚 It's so handy being gifted an extra hour at this time of year for morning reading. I hope you get to Jeffers' novel! It's fantastic and immersive.
Dhalgren by Samuel R. Delany is almost 900 pages long. I've read it at least 8 times. The pinnacle of speculative science fiction in my opinion.
Dhalgren is one of my favorites. I've read it twice, due for another reread.
@@jackwalter5030 very cool to see Dhalgren popping up as a recommendation! I love Delany.
It’s been on my TBR for some time.
Wow! Great to hear. I’ve been meaning to explore Delany’s work for a long time.
One of two real big book I read this year was The Cook of Castamar. I read it in Portuguese, not sure if it is translated in English yet. It is written by the same guy that wrote the TV series, it does not follow the same plotline, although some things also happen in the book. It was beautiful, well written and pretty fast paced. It didn´t feel like as a fat book. I also read Score by Jilly Cooper. i love her books. They areall pretty fat. As for challenges, I pull titles from my reading jar, so i have no influence on how fat the book is, really. I usually end up reading a mix. Also do some audio books i can find on You Tube when I start to get behind in my challenge. I also get some extra books from the library, but size is not a critereum. This year I read all the work i could find of Daphne Du Maurier, f.i.
Osebol sounds like a great read. It’s so lucky you found that copy of JCO short stories, that must have been very exciting 😊 I hope you enjoy all the big books as you get to them.
The main big book I have is The Pickwick Papers but I think that will keep me busy enough 😅
Yes, I was thrilled to get that last copy! Oh yes, a big fat Dickens like that takes plenty of time. Hope you enjoy! 😊📚
I am interested in Babel, it does get mixed reviews but those who give it positive reviews seem to really love it.
Very ambitious! This gave me a bit of motivation to return to my big book TBR that I set at the beginning of this year haha And it is a comfort to hear about someone else starting a large book during a readathon but not finishing it. I've got at least two books like that on my TBR
Yeah, I don't know why we kid ourselves when we put a big book down in favour of starting another book and say to ourselves "I'll get back to that soon" only to leave it to gather dust 😅📚
I’m halfway through Babel and loving it. One of my favorite books of the year so far. Thank you for the review.
That’s great to hear! Thank you
Just bought Osebol, ready to read in front of our log fire this Winter
Perfect!
I envy you reading Trollope for the first time. If hi enjoy it you might consider the Palliser novels. There are six in all but they constitute a very rich reading experience. I had read them all twice in the past thirty years. But during lockdown I listened to them being read by Timothy West and the experience was just as rich as my own reading. He offers a great blend of social commentary, humour, exquisite characterisation and a little pathos. The ultimate Victorian read. Good luck with your marathon. I am struggling at present with the highly praised Freshwater for Flowers. It is too long for its subject. The Victorians got that right.
Nights of Plague sounds interesting. I'm half way through Vassily Grossman's Stalingrad and would like to finish it and the sequel, Life and Fate. Stalingrad has been described as the WWII War and Peace which I think is an apt description. Both books are roughly 900 pages each. Of all the chunkers that I've read, I think these are the heaviest (in terms of weight)!
The Trollope novel is superb.
I want to read Nights of Plague and a Trollope novel, but not until next year. Not too interested in the other books. I love the Oxford World Classic editions. I'm reading a series of Zola novels published by them.
Osebol sounds tempting
Ostebol does sound rather wonderful and I think The Way we Live Now is Trollope’s masterpiece. I’ve just been eyeing those Oxford Classics editions including that one after I saw Dominic, chairman of the Trollope Society, rave about them on his interview with Kate Howe.
Kate and Dominic’s discussion was so lovely!
I am halfway through Pamuk's Nights of Plague: fascinating, great storytelling, but...really too long :) The Censor's Notebook sounds great!
I’ve been wanting to read The Way We Live Now for some time. Maybe I will finally get to it. The two big novels I am determined to read before the end of the year are Demon Copperhead and The Last Chairlift. Hope I make it!
my big books tbr before the end of the year:
1. Demon copperhead (currently reading)
2. A fine balance by Rohinton Mistry
3. Zone by Mathias Enard
4. Romola by George Eliot
5. Tomb of sand by Geetanjali Shree
A fine balance is a wonderful read
I finished Our Share of Night by Mariana Enriquez in 10 days which is an accomplishment for me since it's 700+ pages. It was so good!!! Gothic and witchy big books are such an autumnal vibe. Highly recommend
I am in the middle of reading it myself, and based on my experience thus far, I second your endorsement.
Ooh, that's high on my priority list too and glad to hear you found it so effective!
Wanting to feel a little more involved in BookTube, I joined readalongs for Pickwick Papers and The Shining. I'm woefully behind on both. The ones in this video are tempting but I think I can resist for now.
I'm confused about why the English translation of the Censor's Notebook is almost 500 pages. I have the book in the original Romanian and it's only 330 pages. Is it a large print edition perhaps?
Thanks
Thank you so much! That's very kind. 😊📚
Being a translator myself, Babel is my big book at the top of my to-read-in-2022 book
Great! I'll be so interested in hearing your opinion once you've read it.
Have not read any Trollop for a long time and I think I may well try The Way We Live Now, I like to read an « old book » after Booker season !
And Kindle version available for 49p! (Must admit, would prefer Folio Edition).
babel is really good - r.f. kuang based it on her experience as a student of color at oxford; it's definitely her postcolonial response to the 'dark academia' trend. the fantastical linguistics is more an allegory than anything
I want to read Clarice Lispector's Complete Cronicas - recently released by New Directions - by the end of the year. If I do, I will have read everything she published under her own name this year! I only discovered her late last year, and obviously, I love her enough to have decided to take the completist approach.
That's a great goal and I want to go on a Lispector journey at some point too!
If you want to read an easy, fast book, go for The power of rain by Rosalie Rayburn that just came out.
Chunksters I have in the wings to read are Babel and Tomb of Sand. However just added Extenuating Circumstances to the list after seeing this video. 😬😬😍😍🙏🏻
Great! Hope you enjoy the stories. And it took me a long time to read Tomb of Sand but it is definitely worth it.
I hope to finish reading A Little Life by the end of this year....
It’s an epic emotional journey but I was glad I persisted to the end of A Little Life.
great book .... could not put it down
@@patnaicker7673 a bit intimidated by the length as well as all the sobbing seen on booktube...
Solenoid by Mircea Cărtărescu was just released in English. Much anticipated!
Yes, Sean (from his Travel Through Stories YT channel) has made me so keen to read it!
I set up an Instagram challenge at the beginning of the year for exactly this ( # bigbookreading2022 ) and, though other people have completed it, I haven't yet!!! My main big book goal before the end of the year is to read Rohinton Mistry's A Fine Balance.
I loved A Fine Balance. You’re in for a real treat.
A fine balance is my favourite
Recommend Our Mutual Friend by Charles Dickens
What a great list Orhan Pamuk is one of my favorites but I haven’t read that one yet. I’ll be copying your list and they all sound. What do think is a good place to start with Trollope?
Currently in my big book pile which I know I won’t finish. The Sea The Sea Iris Murdoch. Tomb of Sand Geetamjali, the Tale of Genji Mursaki Shikiba and a Suitable Boy Vikiam Seth. Poison wood Bible by Barbara kingsolver
Yes there is nothing worse than having full bookshelves - then what does one do?? 😕
It is funny that, for me, it isn't the length of the book that is the challenge it is content density for example Babel seems like a long book but because of Kuang's very strong anti colonialism message that spoke to my soul, I whizzed through it in a couple days whereas having read two books by Pamuk thus far, I anticipate that Nights of Plague will be more effortful, so would need several weeks to complete.
The book on Chinese characters is on my tbr, so Babel also sounds interesting to me. Osebol is a must as I live in Norway and our cultures are not that far apart. And I have just finished Barchester Towers so am completely in love with Trollope! I read as I listen along to Timothy west reading and he IS Trollope for me....and he has a reading of The Way We Live Now which I have just downloaded from Audible.
I loved Babel. I don't ordinarily read fantasy so was concerned it wouldn't be for me but the fantastical elements were so well woven in they felt believable.
That’s great to hear!
I tried Babel. It didnt work for me. YA material