Mammoths on the March: My Immediate Fiction Reading Plans (Focusing on Chinese and Asian Literature)
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 29 ก.พ. 2024
- Books Mentioned:
War and Peace by Tolstoy
Anna Karenina by Tolstoy
Don Quixote by Cervantes
Remembrance of Things Past or In Search of Lost Time by Proust
The Water Margin or Outlaws of the Marsh
The Tale of Genji
The Cairo Trilogy by Mahfouz
The Scholars by Wu Ching-tzu
The Plum in the Golden Vase translated by Roy
A Dream of Red Mansions
Les Miserables by Hugo
The Journey to the West
Romance of the Three Kingdoms
The Tale of the Heike with a foreword by Seidensticker
The Ramayana of Valmiki
The history books about China which I hope to get to: • On Accruing and Accumu...
Love the Yoshitomo Nara prints in the back! So tasteful
The moment you answered your cat with „I know“ I knew I had to subscribe to your channel. Besides being a lover of mammoths myself, obviously. The Miserables is also high on my list. Greetings from Germany!
Glad to have you on board! This mammoth thing is new to me, we’ll see how it goes. Have you any favorites?
Those pictures on the wall are cool! 💞
Good luck with your challenge!
Thank you!
I’m extremely envious of your sets of books. Not gonna lie. 😂
I think you have an eye for books. 😂
I've been an avid reader my whole life but you have introduced me to quite a few books I've never heard of and I'm adding a few of them to my ever-growing list of books I want to read. I will also say that there is something so comforting and endearing about your video that I just love. I wish you luck in accomplishing these mammoths!
Thank you! I’m finding mammoths a good vehicle toward building up my reading practice - which traditionally has been lackluster. But - in this uncertain world - a little luck is what we need to complement the best of intentions. 😂
I loved hearing about your experience working at that tax company. So neat! And so lucky you were able to read while getting paid! And I love your plan of making this year the year of the mammoths. I might copy you! 😊 Lastly, your kitty was so precious! 🐈
Kitty says thank you!
Mammoth’s are fun! I just started reading some of the biggest books on my shelves, and it’s been such an enriching experience.
I agree - though I’m not sure I have the words to say why.
What a great collection! I'm glad to hear you like Plum in the Golden Vase as it's high on my list to buy. I'll probably get it at the same time as The Ramayana. Nice to find another youtuber who likes big books and also loves asian literature!! Subscribed!
Wow! I just watched your alphabet mammoth video - I’m subscribed back.
@@davidnovakreadspoetry lol. Hello new bookish friend!
Just wanna say thank you for opening my eyes to New Lit to explore. You might already be aware, but for April ‘Classics & Company’ YT channel is doing a read along of Les Misérables :) I’m here from watching Steve’s input video ‘You Don’t Have to Read Hard Books’ Thanks, again 😻
You’re welcome! I’m hoping to join in with the Classics and Company group read. Then after, one of these other mammoth novels from Asia if I can get my act together. 😂 Thanks for dropping by.
I need to read Romance of the 3 Kingdoms at some point. The Dream of Red Mansions look really nice on the spines. That Princeton University Press Sale is really good if you can find stuff, I got a lot of nature books as usual lol. Good luck with your March reading!
So many things to read! Fiction, history, and now I want nature books on my menu also. I’m thinking about funguses a lot, at other times cephalopods, after last year’s reading. Probably I should choose some hardcore book on birds next. I’ll be checking your channel for possibilities. 😂
@@davidnovakreadspoetry For sure lol. Just did my Princeton Press book haul lol with 10 nature books. One of the other books I got was also on Octopuses so it was destined for cephalopods haha. Always love nature reads.
I read and enjoyed the first book in The Cairo Trilogy but never went on. Now I think I’d have to re-read the first to get back into them. I read he first book in my three volume set of Proust and don’t have any motivation for going on.
I didn’t finish _Swann’s Way_ but I suspect Proust at least is more even; with _Cairo_ I felt each volume fell further down, and I liked the first best. Proust? Maybe I’ll pick it up again sometime, but first I may need to run out of other things. 🤔
The Everyman's Library edition is fantastic.
I'd like to reread _Don Quixote,_ amongst others, someday.
I love a good mammoth, but similar to you I read a lot last year but for some reason they were mostly novellas. I have Anna Karenina on my list, but also Don Quixote, Les Miserables, and a few others. I have actually never gone a year without reading a mammoth, but the last couple of years we had a lot going on and it left me very little space ot either commit to a big read or even to a series. In any case, love your series recommendations, love your views, and your cat.
Thank you! I’m doing my best - trying to squeeze in the reading. Lack of time is not such an issue for me, but I stare into space a lot. I wish I had a better track record with mammoths - they’ve become a highlight of the last two years.
So I’m trying to ‘lean in’. 😂😂😂
Thanks for stopping by.
Your cat is so cute!
Thank you! 😊
Don’t forget about C.P. Snow’s “Strangers and Brothers” series of connected novels. Wonderful.
I vaguely believe I must’ve heard about it - I’ll have to add it to my prospectus.
not sure if this is your cup of tea, but maybe check out Sei Shonagon's "The Pillow Book" and Nick Joaquin's "The Woman Who Had Two Navels"
edit:
i know they're not mammoths, but since you're currently into chinese / asian literature, i'm reminded of these books.
I have read Sei Shonagon, had not heard of Joaquin - absolutely right up my alley! Thanks for the suggestions.
I have read all or most of an abridged children's version of 'Black Beauty' by Anna Sewell.
That was demanding enough for me.
For first person narratives told by a horse you’re way ahead of me. 👍😂
@@davidnovakreadspoetry
Lol! Better written than Mr Ed too?
This is an incredible project David!
My experience with Anna Karenina is also making me think to tackle more mammoths … but I might feel tooconfident right now 😅
Thank you! I’m trying to build myself up. At any other time in my life I couldn’t have contemplated back-to-back mammoths. You did _Anna,_ a break might be in order. 🤣
Nice video! Excellent-looking Princeton complete Ramayana...may have to cop one for myself. "Marienbad My Love", at almost 18 million words, may claim the title of longest novel, although given its unusual structure and manner of composition some people might not consider it to truly be a novel. Great interjections from the animals -- would like to hear their thoughts specifically on mammoth novels in the sequel.
Thank you. _Ramayana_ may be a far-off venture for me - if I get to it - but _Marienbad_ even farther. 😂
Believe me the animals have their own agendas… on everything. Thanks for dropping in.
I ordered one series and saved the rest for later. Thank you so much for this video. I've not heard of any of these books aside from "The Tale of Genji" to which I had purchased previously. I would also like to respond with a new favorite of mine that I had just finished reading two days ago called "1Q84" by Murakami. It is a trilogy, yet my copy is contained within a singular binding. Over a thousand pages in total. Give your pups head pats from me tell them I said they're good dogs. Thank you.
Which did you order?
I was just thinking about Murakami and wondering if I should add him to the list. (I’ve only read his nonfiction on the Tokyo subway attacks.)
Thanks for the vicarious head pats and good words; if they could the dogs would sit imploringly and expectantly. 😂
Wow. Crazy, man.
A daunting prospect but I do wish you all the luck you'll need for this project. I admire your enthusiasm. Sixty-two years ago I achieved (seems impossible now!) a degree in French, and I can still read Proust pretty easily in French, as long as a dictionary is at hand. My advice: Put Proust at the very bottom of your list. Heresy, perhaps, but... Well. Enough said, I guess. By the way, I love both the cat and dog. Best to them, too.
Thank you! I read about 2/3rds of _Swann’s Way_ with enjoyment, but set it aside for reasons I can’t identify. Having had a taste, I may heed your ‘heretical’ (😂) advice - it’s a mammoth of mammoths. But I’ve only heard good reports from those who’ve done it.
I saw the title and got excited thinking you would be reading the “Clan of the Cave Bear” series. They are all mammoths, about mammoths and Neanderthals…great read.
Another one for the to-be-read list. 😂😂😂😭
A Dance to The Music of Time by Anthony Powell.
12 Volumes - I really enjoyed reading it.
Ha! If I see _A Question of Upbringing_ I’ll pick it up.
Those are indeed some big books and equally intimidating. Thank you for introducing me to some of these titles.
Ps- I've also failed many a times while reading some big books but I plan on returning to them once more. I recently got done with one having 700+ pages. So, I'm cheering you on!!!
Thanks for the cheering on! I’m beginning to realize that the intimidation factor is a part of the battle. At first I wasn’t sure I would ever tackle _War and Peace_ after failing the first time. I wish you propitious reads. 700pp is indeed good work. 👍
@@davidnovakreadspoetry War and Peace is a beast. So is Les Misérables. I'm going to attempt to finish them this year as well. Congratulations on finishing W&P. :)
I just finished Lonesome Dove, a great read. More casual and written in the 80s it’s not too complicated either.
Good job! 👍 I hope to get there one day.
What you are doing here is, you are preventing these books from becoming extinct. By purchasing them you make sure that the legacy of their authors lives on. Thanks for the video man!! Best wishes to you from Ásgeir in Iceland!!
I do sometimes think along those lines. (It feels like the new Dark Ages is nearly upon us. 🤔) Best wishes right back atcha in Ásgeir!! Thanks for visiting.
There’s something I really like about “aspirations”. More than just wanting, not necessarily as much as a firm external commitment, but significant and meaningful.
I’m doing some major whittling back on my TH-cam subscriptions to carve out some more time for physical therapy-related projects, and perhaps some long-stewing fiction. Hoping this current heady-brew subscription works out well.
Mammoths really do have a special appeal. At the moment I’m reading some series of shorter volumes I’ve been meaning to get to (for thirty years, in some cases) But I also have my eye on what my younger friends call chonky boiz to swim in for a while.
For what it’s worth, I wouldn’t expect to read Journey to the West in a month. But then I would also not expect to read it exclusively.
I’ll miss your comments if I see you less frequently but I understand.
There’s a genuine satisfaction to getting to a “meaning to” of long standing, even 30 years. (I need to up my PT also, it’s a whole area I prefer not to face and wish things would just resolve magically….)
I don’t want to pressure myself on _Journey_ (I’m already “behind” schedule) but I do want to catch _Les Miz_ in April which a group are reading. And then there’s life.
@@davidnovakreadspoetry It’s always something! :)
dalkey archive press are about to release the first english translation of "marshland" by otohiko kaga, a big sweeping japanese novel that has been compared to tolstoy. thought it would fit well with your mammoths of asian literature.
I never heard of it. I must look into it. Thanks for letting me know.
Kitty, kitty, kitty♥ I'm Japanese and yet, I've never read the whole Tale of Genji. It's written in old Japanese, so it's quite challenging to read the entire work, even for a native reader. We read some in school, of course, but it's rare that people read the whole original work. We have lots of related books: modern-translated version, manga versions, shorter versions, how-to-read-The Tale-Of-Genji versions, etc. Hopefully, I can read the whole work someday with the help of different versions.
Reading a translation into contemporary Japanese sounds doable - but as for tackling the original, even in a dual-page edition with translation or glosses, makes me tremble just thinking of. 😂
I’m sure it’s worthwhile though.
i've not heard of A Dream of Red Mansions! and have not read enough Chinese lit! thank you for sharing your mammoths!
as a side note, love your Yoshitomo Nara prints!
Thank you! I, too, have not read enough Chinese lit. Or Korean lit. Or Vietnamese lit. Working to correct that. 🤣
The Recognitions of Dhalgren by Richard S. Prolegemon
That’s a troubling book.
Proust was mind numbing. I highly recommend the duology 'Stalingrad' and 'Life and Fate' by Grossman, combined just under 2000 pages. You will have guessed that it revolves around characters, both Russian and German, involved in the Battle of Stalingrad in WW2. Totally absorbing. My favourite mammoths are War and Peace (I have read it three times over the years), and Quiet Flows the Don by Sholokhov . Enjoy your reading everyone.
I don’t think _Quiet Flows_ can be gotten affordably (I’ve looked, but not lately). I read _Life and Fate_ before _Stalingrad_ became available in English and have hesitated to go back. I liked it, but missing the first chunk made it more difficult. I didn’t expect to give _War and Peace_ a second try but am glad that I did. Who knows about Proust? Thanks for sharing.
@@davidnovakreadspoetry I was the same Life and Fate first then Stalingrad finally turned up in the UK. Reading them in sequence obviously made more sense. As I am in my 8th decade, I go for slightly shorter novels(for obvious reasons). Grossman's The People Immortal, is a fine read, at under 300 pages, I suppose could be regarded as a novella by his standards. Enjoy your reading.
I have just finished my mammoth "The Eighth Life" by Nino Haratischwili (944 pages in Hardback, 1258 pages on Kindle), described as a "Georgian War and Peace" I am still processing my thoughts, I think March of the Mammoths is a great event to encourage us to read such behemoths. The actual War and Peace has defeated me twice, although I did read Anna Karenina a couple of years ago.
Ah, _War and Peace_ tends to defeat readers (even multiple times) before they conquer it! I’ve seen mention of _Eighth Life_ on BookTube without getting much of a sense of it. I’ve subscribed so I can see your video when it comes out.
@@davidnovakreadspoetry The Eighth Life is a family saga that goes through the 20th Century in Georgia following 8 characters in a family starting just before the October revolution and finishing in the early 2000s, where Georgia has independence but still had plenty of problems. Thanks for subscribing. There are many Booktube videos about The Eighth Life including one where Karl Eric Anderson interviews the author and her English translators.
Proud owner here of volume one of Plum in the Golden Vase
I owned only Vol. 1 for years without reading it, but immediately upon starting knew I had to snap up the rest.
Subscribed. Read the Mahabharata too.
IF I read the _Ramayana_ then I will certainly allow myself to consider it. The first is uncertain, though I would like to. I have read the _Gita_ so that only encourages me to read the full work.
Thanks for coming by.
Dear lord, I must not watch videos like this ... too many books already waiting to be read, dang.
Oops! 😂
do a pet intro!!
Is the Tale of Genji worth the commitment? My edition is 1300 pages and I'm told it is largely without a plot.
That’s a hard question. It may come down to, how interested are you in Japanese aesthetics, or the traditional Japanese aesthetic. The description is right on.
Last month I finished _War and Peace._ Some people have said that they DNFed it early on, because they couldn’t stand the idle rich, with their entertainments. If they had persisted, the plot and the war theme might have relieved them. _Genji_ offers none of that respite.
That said, it presents a compelling picture of Heian Japan. Morris’s _The World of the Shining Prince_ helped me enter that world, and I found it rewarding. It may be like a thin broth that you have to cultivate a taste for; I suspect I would get more out of it on a reread.
A year of reading mammoths is called #migrationofthemammoths; reading 18 mammoths of at least 800 pages in a year or 6 minimum.
18 in a year?!?! 😬
That’s impossible for me, but I wish I could. Right now I’m scrambling on _Journey to the West_ because I want to catch a group read of _Les Mis_ starting in April. It’s pushing a little too hard and I fear cracking. 😂 Now I’m going to follow that tag #migrationofthemammoths to see where it leads to. Maybe I can add to my Pile of Possibilities! 😂😂😂🤣
@@davidnovakreadspoetry That's only 40 pages a day (minimum), my brother.😊
@@davidnovakreadspoetry The minimum to read is six mammoths to complete the challenge.
@@nasilamak2201 I will do my best. 😂
Amother Chinese mammoth is The Three Kingdoms.
I’d swear that’s in there but I’m not going to rewatch the video to find it. 😉
You are correct. You did mention it.😂 I think I missed it because your edition is only two books. My edition is three.
@@nasilamak2201 Have you read a lot of these?
Game of Thrones reads as one novel.
When the TV show was on I got sick of it (I never watched, but it was on) though I believe the books are different. _Journey to the West_ is my first foray into fantasy and I’m loving it!
The rocking back and forth is dizzying for me. Sorry.
No need to apologize. You might try the TH-cam channels of “Steve Donoghue” or “Bookish” for less rocking. Thanks for giving it a try.
He must have a lot of spare time.