With regard to writing in your books, I had a university lecturer who was extremely passionate about encouraging people to write in their books, because doing so is incredibly valuable for future historians - not just for when famous authors like George Eliot/Charlotte Bronte/Charles Dickens etc. write in the margins of their books, and we can see what their thought processes were, but for ordinary people like you and me. We can learn so much about how ordinary people lived and felt because of things they wrote down in their books, and this actually makes the books more valuable over time than books that AREN'T written/scribbled in, because unmarked books are less special. Books with special or unique markings are ALWAYS more interesting to book historians and collectors. Example - one of the reasons we have a terminus ad quem (i.e. a date by which something must have happened) for a performance of Shakespeare's Hamlet is because somebody wrote in the marginalia of one of his books "I went to see Hamlet today" or something like that. This little fact had nothing to do with the book he was writing it in, but based on the date of his inscription we know that Shakespeare's Hamlet must have been performed by 1601, and this is a goldmine for Shakespeare historians because it would be so much harder to date Hamlet properly if the guy hadn't bothered to take the time to write this down in his book on a whim. My lecturer made such a convincing case for the importance of people writing in their books that now I genuinely think it is a huge loss on our part and for future generations that they'll never get the thrill of looking in books over 100 years old and seeing notes of their great-great-great grandparents.
I love this, thank you so much for sharing. I see the benefit, and I think journals and commonplace books are also extremely important. I do wonder how important information could get lost today, in this digital age where everything is stored online. Back in the days they didn't have social media, or e-mails, or computers to store information. We only have their letters and written notes. How lucky we are that they didn't mind making notes in their books! ;)
Finally, someone who shares the same view on audiobooks as I do -- thank you! 😊I thought there was something wrong with me. Multitasking with audiobooks must be a superpower haha. However, unlike you, I've since stopped listening to audiobooks because ONLY listening doesn't work for me either, I always end up falling asleep. And yes to Project Gutenberg! Thank you for sharing your opinions. You've convinced me to finally read Les Misérables and Hunchback of Notre Dame! Also, your aesthetic and taste in books are impeccable!
I am pro-owning private property so I will always purchase books to keep.. especially important for works they want to censor or ban, and non-fiction. I collect very little.. some art supplies, some decorative yet meaningful knick-knacks, but mostly books. I don't do clutter but love being surrounded by things that I love and enrich my life.
It's true - they can never censor or take away the books that are already out there. E-books, however... It's a joy to surround yourself with things you love. Thanks for the lovely comment.
You should give George Orwell a second chance. You should try reading “Down and out in Paris and London” , “Burmese days”, “Keep the aspidistra flying” and “Homage to Catalonia”. These works have a more autobiographical tinge. These works provide a very vivid picture of the twenties and thirties of the last century.
1984 is absolutely a must-read. It is not only a great piece of literature but its message is extremely important. It is part of what I call the Dystopian Trilogy, which includes 1984, Brave New World and Fahrenheit 451. All are excellent and, at least in my opinion, are required reading.
Hello Emmelie! This week's video was incredibly interesting, especially when you discussed the comment that I submitted which made me smile. 😀 I enjoyed your points and opinions and I agreed on the majority of them. I look forward to next weeks video and keep up the great work. Have a fantastic week!
I totally agree about listening vs reading. Reading is much more reflective. If the book is fast paced or easy to digest, then listening is fine, but if the story is intricate or philosophical then reading is more gratifying.
Listening to a story is the OG way of consuming literature. Listening to Homer, for example, makes much more sense than reading him, as the Iliad and Odyssey were originally oral poetry. Even after they were written down, they would usually be performed orally. Silent reading didn't become a thing until the Middle Ages.
On #5 Poetic language... I tend to plot my stories quite a bit: scenes, outline, draft revision draft. I keep a thesaurus nearby after the story is planned out, and then I replace some of the language. Focus on story first. I can always go back and change the language. But that's just me.
Hello Emmelie! I have just discovered your channel, ( which I am enjoying very much, by the way) so please forgive me for being eight months late with my response to your video. I had a bad experience as a child with George Eliot. I was excited by a tv production of "The Mill on the Floss" and bought a copy with my pocket money. I was about twelve or thirteen years old at the time. Despite being a native English speaker, I struggled to understand Eliot's prose style immediately, especially the passages containing the rural dialect used by the characters - and I gave it up. I was too young, I suppose, but that experience affected me quite badly as I was an avid book worm and had never had that kind of failure before. Since then I have not read another George Eliot novel, although I downloaded Daniel Deronda from Project Gutenberg last year, and have tentatively dipped into it. I think I would enjoy reading that. I know what you mean about the Harry Potter novels. I took me a while to learn to love them. I came to them as an adult so I didn't have any childhood nostalgia about them. I read the first book in the series - "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone" and I was disappointed with it. I couldn't see anything special about it and couldn't see what everyone was so excited about. But my sister urged me to continue reading them and when I reached the third book, "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban," I felt the writing just massively improved and I realised what a good writer J K Rowling is. Perhaps it is because, with that book, she became much more confident in her writing ability. I would urge anyone who enjoys Harry Potter to read the novels for the same reason I would advise a fan of Lord of the Rings to read the novel. Reading a novel is a completely different experience than watching a movie. The author takes you on a journey with them that requires you to use your own imagination as well as benefiting from theirs and ultimately, this is much more rewarding. Also, there is a lot more story in the Harry Potter novels than in the films and the books can be very, very funny as well.
Hi Belinda, I'm so glad to have you here! I can't believe this video is already eight months old. Time flies. I'm sorry about your bad experience with Eliot. Sometimes we're just not ready for certain authors or works and need to wait a little longer! :)
I have not read Wuthering Heights myself, but it has been sitting on my shelf for a while... looking pretty. I have read Frankenstein twice. It is one of my most favorite books. I also read Dracula and have a review coming out tomorrow on my own channel. Spoiler... I was not as impressed as some people were with it. I found The War of the Worlds by HG Wells more terrifying. Stay safe, everyone and happy reading.
Thank you! I'll make sure to make one in the future. I do have some videos on books I've fallen in love with: You might enjoy these. 1) th-cam.com/video/eEzkE_uDV6s/w-d-xo.html 2) th-cam.com/video/37k17CY1YC4/w-d-xo.html
I don't own a kindle, but I do read books on my iPad. I love digital reading because I can annotate as much as I want, but I do prefer physical copies! Nothing beats the feeling of holding a book and turning the pages.
I used to underline and write in my books, but stopped because I did it too much and it became a crutch not trusting myself to just deeply read my book and periodically write in my journal. To replace that I have small notebooks and other notebooks aside from my journals to write short thoughts or scribe short lines in them. My journals I use for my in depth musings, story sketches and detailed commentary on what I've read or currently reading.
Be careful with those tapes - if they are not acid free, they could destroy the paper over time! This mistake is often done by people trying to repair their books with any kind of tape...
I'm an older man and I loved the P&P book and I loved the movie with Jennifer Erle & Colin Firth BUT I'm a guy who loves Raiders of the Lost Arc,Casablanca,action,Tolkienetc...You get the picture..and you make me wish I were 50 years younger....ciao
I suppose I should reread Wuthering Heights, then... 🙃 If you wanna try readind George R. R. Martin, but the "Game of Thrones" series was too dark for you, I suggest picking up his short stories. He has a good mix of fantasy and science fiction out there, all pretty solid. "Dreamsongs" (volumes 1 & 2), "The Ice Dragon" and "Tuf Voyaging" are all very good.
I didn't know he has written short stories! Thank you for the info. I don't know if you should give Wuthering Heights a second chance. There's so much to read out there! I'd say, go with your gut feeling. :)
Some interesting opinions! I tend to agree with the individual that does not like to journal. Aside from marking up the book, it takes me out of the book in the moment and it's a type of knee jerk reaction to what has been read. If I would annotate, it would only be on a second or third read when the entire arc of the story is in my mind and any passages that are key to understanding would be more significant. And to the person who said audiobooks are terrible, they are just wrong!😂
Fiction, storytelling, like beauty, are in the eye of the beholder. For those who can't bear too much reality in their life, to paraphrase Eliot, The Great Gatsby and Wuthering Heights may weigh them down, but not me. True to the human spirit and what makes life bearable. Although , it is a mystery what Jay saw in Daisy to dedicate his life to her.
Salut, Actually, I did like George Orwell's "Animal Farm", (even though we had to study this long ago in the Lycée ‼️), but I do really hate his "1984"! So for me too, Orwell is an author I won't read any more, time is to precious! The same for "The Catcher in the Rye" by J. D. Salinger. I think that, among others, Charlotte Brontë with "Jane Eyre" has in fact reached the perfect balance between amazing rich language and Victorian storytelling. In general, as for classic literature, you are right. Nowadays, in reading those books and to appreciate them for their literary value, we should always be able to reset those novels into their real historic and social background. In our days, as we are living in a very stressing and fast-paced internet- and computer-depending modern world, most people are only looking for rapid and spectacular captivating action scenes in books or movies, concepts which were absolutely unheard-of back then. One has to consider that social and moral life in the 19th was so far away from such expectations. Regarding audio-books, I fully agree with your reflections (deep-reading for me is not compatible with multitasking). As for the post regarding highlighting and annotating books, I think that were some very interesting ideas. Stay safe! 👍
I agree with most of what you said, it's all well thought out so quite easy to go along with. On Harry Potter, I've only read 1.5 books, the films are better but not exceptionally great either imo. I think the main reason for that is that HP is put on a pedestal as a special character but I don't find him so special at all, rather quite an average boy. So it's not all as meaningful as it could have been. I've just realised it now. 🤔 But if HP hadn't been ordinary, maybe the books wouldn't have been so popular. ... Reading now 'The Princess and the Goblin ' ( you've mentioned it in a video) and it's blooming great! 😃
I have an unpopular opinion when it comes to Jane Austen’s books, I think Emma is highly overrated. Maybe I was really hyped to read it, but the book, despite the good writing, had pretty much no story, felt really boring and I felt so underwhelmed with the characters.
* I so very much appreciated your responses… (1) Orwell was apparently known for his essays. A few years back George Packer put together a two volume collection of them. (2) Yes, the discussion about annotating was thought provoking. I often read and listen simultaneously (sometimes referred to as “immersive reading “) however, the audio can sometimes be too pushy - not allowing the opportunity for those unplanned moments of contemplation or reflection . (3) Also in regard to audio books, I’m older now, and my eyes often run out of gas before I’m out of steam…. so yes, I’m glad they’re there. And (4) Mostly I find pleasure in running across the annotations of previous owners - yet another and unexpected dialogue of sorts… with the possible exception of those done in pink ink and with the added benefit of flower decorations. 🌸 Thank you for taking the time to do this for us! ~Rusty Spike 🥸 .
I did not enjoy the Great Gatsby at all....boring to say the least....Game of Thrones books are worse than the show in my opinion...well it seems like we have to like everything that becomes popular...not my case...reading Harry Potter was just a waste of time for me! Others I do not understand the overhype are...The grapes of wrath ...Lolita...Frankestein and Dracula to name but a few..Love your content
With regard to writing in your books, I had a university lecturer who was extremely passionate about encouraging people to write in their books, because doing so is incredibly valuable for future historians - not just for when famous authors like George Eliot/Charlotte Bronte/Charles Dickens etc. write in the margins of their books, and we can see what their thought processes were, but for ordinary people like you and me. We can learn so much about how ordinary people lived and felt because of things they wrote down in their books, and this actually makes the books more valuable over time than books that AREN'T written/scribbled in, because unmarked books are less special. Books with special or unique markings are ALWAYS more interesting to book historians and collectors.
Example - one of the reasons we have a terminus ad quem (i.e. a date by which something must have happened) for a performance of Shakespeare's Hamlet is because somebody wrote in the marginalia of one of his books "I went to see Hamlet today" or something like that. This little fact had nothing to do with the book he was writing it in, but based on the date of his inscription we know that Shakespeare's Hamlet must have been performed by 1601, and this is a goldmine for Shakespeare historians because it would be so much harder to date Hamlet properly if the guy hadn't bothered to take the time to write this down in his book on a whim. My lecturer made such a convincing case for the importance of people writing in their books that now I genuinely think it is a huge loss on our part and for future generations that they'll never get the thrill of looking in books over 100 years old and seeing notes of their great-great-great grandparents.
I love this, thank you so much for sharing. I see the benefit, and I think journals and commonplace books are also extremely important. I do wonder how important information could get lost today, in this digital age where everything is stored online. Back in the days they didn't have social media, or e-mails, or computers to store information. We only have their letters and written notes. How lucky we are that they didn't mind making notes in their books! ;)
Finally, someone who shares the same view on audiobooks as I do -- thank you! 😊I thought there was something wrong with me. Multitasking with audiobooks must be a superpower haha. However, unlike you, I've since stopped listening to audiobooks because ONLY listening doesn't work for me either, I always end up falling asleep. And yes to Project Gutenberg! Thank you for sharing your opinions. You've convinced me to finally read Les Misérables and Hunchback of Notre Dame! Also, your aesthetic and taste in books are impeccable!
Thank you so much! I'm glad we agree haha.
I am pro-owning private property so I will always purchase books to keep.. especially important for works they want to censor or ban, and non-fiction. I collect very little.. some art supplies, some decorative yet meaningful knick-knacks, but mostly books. I don't do clutter but love being surrounded by things that I love and enrich my life.
It's true - they can never censor or take away the books that are already out there. E-books, however... It's a joy to surround yourself with things you love. Thanks for the lovely comment.
@@ProseAndPetticoats welcome! 😊
You should give George Orwell a second chance. You should try reading “Down and out in Paris and London” , “Burmese days”, “Keep the aspidistra flying” and “Homage to Catalonia”. These works have a more autobiographical tinge. These works provide a very vivid picture of the twenties and thirties of the last century.
I will write these on my list and check them out. Thank you, Gerard.
1984 is absolutely a must-read. It is not only a great piece of literature but its message is extremely important. It is part of what I call the Dystopian Trilogy, which includes 1984, Brave New World and Fahrenheit 451. All are excellent and, at least in my opinion, are required reading.
Hello Emmelie! This week's video was incredibly interesting, especially when you discussed the comment that I submitted which made me smile. 😀 I enjoyed your points and opinions and I agreed on the majority of them. I look forward to next weeks video and keep up the great work. Have a fantastic week!
Thank you so much for sending in your opinion! 😁
I totally agree about listening vs reading. Reading is much more reflective. If the book is fast paced or easy to digest, then listening is fine, but if the story is intricate or philosophical then reading is more gratifying.
Listening to a story is the OG way of consuming literature. Listening to Homer, for example, makes much more sense than reading him, as the Iliad and Odyssey were originally oral poetry. Even after they were written down, they would usually be performed orally. Silent reading didn't become a thing until the Middle Ages.
Indeed! They also think the poetry was sung instead of dictated.
On #5 Poetic language... I tend to plot my stories quite a bit: scenes, outline, draft revision draft. I keep a thesaurus nearby after the story is planned out, and then I replace some of the language. Focus on story first. I can always go back and change the language. But that's just me.
Hello Emmelie! I have just discovered your channel, ( which I am enjoying very much, by the way) so please forgive me for being eight months late with my response to your video.
I had a bad experience as a child with George Eliot. I was excited by a tv production of "The Mill on the Floss" and bought a copy with my pocket money. I was about twelve or thirteen years old at the time. Despite being a native English speaker, I struggled to understand Eliot's prose style immediately, especially the passages containing the rural dialect used by the characters - and I gave it up. I was too young, I suppose, but that experience affected me quite badly as I was an avid book worm and had never had that kind of failure before. Since then I have not read another George Eliot novel, although I downloaded Daniel Deronda from Project Gutenberg last year, and have tentatively dipped into it. I think I would enjoy reading that.
I know what you mean about the Harry Potter novels. I took me a while to learn to love them. I came to them as an adult so I didn't have any childhood nostalgia about them. I read the first book in the series - "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone" and I was disappointed with it. I couldn't see anything special about it and couldn't see what everyone was so excited about. But my sister urged me to continue reading them and when I reached the third book, "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban," I felt the writing just massively improved and I realised what a good writer J K Rowling is. Perhaps it is because, with that book, she became much more confident in her writing ability. I would urge anyone who enjoys Harry Potter to read the novels for the same reason I would advise a fan of Lord of the Rings to read the novel. Reading a novel is a completely different experience than watching a movie. The author takes you on a journey with them that requires you to use your own imagination as well as benefiting from theirs and ultimately, this is much more rewarding. Also, there is a lot more story in the Harry Potter novels than in the films and the books can be very, very funny as well.
Hi Belinda, I'm so glad to have you here! I can't believe this video is already eight months old. Time flies. I'm sorry about your bad experience with Eliot. Sometimes we're just not ready for certain authors or works and need to wait a little longer! :)
I have not read Wuthering Heights myself, but it has been sitting on my shelf for a while... looking pretty. I have read Frankenstein twice. It is one of my most favorite books. I also read Dracula and have a review coming out tomorrow on my own channel. Spoiler... I was not as impressed as some people were with it. I found The War of the Worlds by HG Wells more terrifying. Stay safe, everyone and happy reading.
Another entertaining video 🥰 how come you've never done a 'my favorite books' video? Id LOVE to watch that!
Thank you! I'll make sure to make one in the future. I do have some videos on books I've fallen in love with: You might enjoy these.
1) th-cam.com/video/eEzkE_uDV6s/w-d-xo.html
2) th-cam.com/video/37k17CY1YC4/w-d-xo.html
I love writing in my books. I also love buying books with someone else's notes in them. It feels like I'm doing a buddy read with a stranger. 🤗
I never tried this, but I can see why that would be interesting! Could be fun to do with a friend, too.
@@ProseAndPetticoats // Yes, a very good friend.
Love your channel! You spoke about audio books vs reading on the page. What are your thoughts on reading on a kindle type device vs the page?
I don't own a kindle, but I do read books on my iPad. I love digital reading because I can annotate as much as I want, but I do prefer physical copies! Nothing beats the feeling of holding a book and turning the pages.
I used to underline and write in my books, but stopped because I did it too much and it became a crutch not trusting myself to just deeply read my book and periodically write in my journal. To replace that I have small notebooks and other notebooks aside from my journals to write short thoughts or scribe short lines in them. My journals I use for my in depth musings, story sketches and detailed commentary on what I've read or currently reading.
Same here. Also, there's just not much space in the margins of a book. At least, not enough for me :D I love that you take notes.
Be careful with those tapes - if they are not acid free, they could destroy the paper over time! This mistake is often done by people trying to repair their books with any kind of tape...
I have a 10 hour drive south to visit my family three or four times per year. Nothing like a good audiobook to make those hours fly by.
That sounds great!
I'm an older man and I loved the P&P book and I loved the movie with Jennifer Erle & Colin Firth BUT I'm a guy who loves Raiders of the Lost Arc,Casablanca,action,Tolkienetc...You get the picture..and you make me wish I were 50 years younger....ciao
I love that you can appreciate both genres!
I suppose I should reread Wuthering Heights, then... 🙃
If you wanna try readind George R. R. Martin, but the "Game of Thrones" series was too dark for you, I suggest picking up his short stories. He has a good mix of fantasy and science fiction out there, all pretty solid. "Dreamsongs" (volumes 1 & 2), "The Ice Dragon" and "Tuf Voyaging" are all very good.
I didn't know he has written short stories! Thank you for the info.
I don't know if you should give Wuthering Heights a second chance. There's so much to read out there! I'd say, go with your gut feeling. :)
Some interesting opinions! I tend to agree with the individual that does not like to journal. Aside from marking up the book, it takes me out of the book in the moment and it's a type of knee jerk reaction to what has been read. If I would annotate, it would only be on a second or third read when the entire arc of the story is in my mind and any passages that are key to understanding would be more significant. And to the person who said audiobooks are terrible, they are just wrong!😂
Fiction, storytelling, like beauty, are in the eye of the beholder. For those who can't bear too much reality in their life, to paraphrase Eliot, The Great Gatsby and Wuthering Heights may weigh them down, but not me. True to the human spirit and what makes life bearable. Although , it is a mystery what Jay saw in Daisy to dedicate his life to her.
Salut,
Actually, I did like George Orwell's "Animal Farm", (even though we had to study this long ago in the Lycée ‼️), but I do really hate his "1984"!
So for me too, Orwell is an author I won't read any more, time is to precious!
The same for "The Catcher in the Rye" by J. D. Salinger.
I think that, among others, Charlotte Brontë with "Jane Eyre" has in fact reached the perfect balance between amazing rich language and Victorian storytelling.
In general, as for classic literature, you are right.
Nowadays, in reading those books and to appreciate them for their literary value, we should always be able to reset those novels into their real historic and social background.
In our days, as we are living in a very stressing and fast-paced internet- and computer-depending modern world, most people are only looking for rapid and spectacular captivating action scenes in books or movies, concepts which were absolutely unheard-of back then.
One has to consider that social and moral life in the 19th was so far away from such expectations.
Regarding audio-books, I fully agree with your reflections (deep-reading for me is not compatible with multitasking).
As for the post regarding highlighting and annotating books, I think that were some very interesting ideas.
Stay safe! 👍
Time is too precious not to read Orwell, especially his essays, which are a testament to his humanity.
I agree with most of what you said, it's all well thought out so quite easy to go along with.
On Harry Potter, I've only read 1.5 books, the films are better but not exceptionally great either imo. I think the main reason for that is that HP is put on a pedestal as a special character but I don't find him so special at all, rather quite an average boy. So it's not all as meaningful as it could have been. I've just realised it now. 🤔 But if HP hadn't been ordinary, maybe the books wouldn't have been so popular.
... Reading now 'The Princess and the Goblin ' ( you've mentioned it in a video) and it's blooming great! 😃
I'm unable to tell exactly why it was/is such a success haha. Oh yes I remember! It's so great that you're enjoying it. Happy to hear this!
0:52 it is worth reading
I have an unpopular opinion when it comes to Jane Austen’s books, I think Emma is highly overrated. Maybe I was really hyped to read it, but the book, despite the good writing, had pretty much no story, felt really boring and I felt so underwhelmed with the characters.
Yes, I 100% agree. We can't like everything 🤭
* I so very much appreciated your responses…
(1) Orwell was apparently known for his essays. A few years back George Packer put together a two volume collection of them. (2) Yes, the discussion about annotating was thought provoking. I often read and listen simultaneously (sometimes referred to as “immersive reading “) however, the audio can sometimes be too pushy - not allowing the opportunity for those unplanned moments of contemplation or reflection . (3) Also in regard to audio books, I’m older now, and my eyes often run out of gas before I’m out of steam…. so yes, I’m glad they’re there. And (4) Mostly I find pleasure in running across the annotations of previous owners - yet another and unexpected dialogue of sorts… with the possible exception of those done in pink ink and with the added benefit of flower decorations. 🌸 Thank you for taking the time to do this for us! ~Rusty Spike 🥸
.
Haha that last one made me laugh 😆🌸 Thanks for your lovely, interesting comment!
I like immersive reading especially for translated works where the people and place names can be difficult for an english speaker to pronounce.
I also did not like The Great Gatsby. That makes you among the cool ones in my view.
Haha I'm so glad we agree on this!
New on this channel. Gotta say I like your energy and your accent too. Greetings from Poland
Thank you so much! Glad you're here. 🥰
I really disliked Animal farm, but I thoroughly liked 1984
I did not enjoy the Great Gatsby at all....boring to say the least....Game of Thrones books are worse than the show in my opinion...well it seems like we have to like everything that becomes popular...not my case...reading Harry Potter was just a waste of time for me! Others I do not understand the overhype are...The grapes of wrath ...Lolita...Frankestein and Dracula to name but a few..Love your content
Yeah, popular books and movies usually don't work for me. It's a curious thing!
Nice
❤