I'm also reading The Count of Monte Cristo, 1250 pages, I'm only halfway through (enjoying). The Woman in White and One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich would make wonderful "lockdown" reads, I think.
I'm so happy The Betrothed is on this list! Here in Italy, we study it very thoroughly in middle school and then in high school, Manzoni is as important as Dante to Italian literature. I would highly recommend the novel to those who love Victorian literature and Walter Scott. Scott was one of Manzoni's inspirations, Manzoni couldn't speak English so he read Ivanhoe in French and was so charmed that he proceeded to read every other Scott book he could find in French (Scott wasn't translated in Italian). Manzoni wanted to write a historical novel, but he didn't want to use all the fantastical elements Scott used because he thought that historical accuracy was the most important thing when writing about history. He chooses to talk about the XVII century because it was a very dark and corrupted time which allows him to talk about injustice, violence and ignorance, this is also the perfect setting for him to introduce the Divine Providence. He also talks about the plague of 1630 and in the second edition he adds a short essay, Storia della colonna infame, where he condemns how people were acting irrationally when dealing with the disease by unjustly blaming others and giving in to panic. The things I love the most about Manzoni's novel are how he explores the reasons why people act the way they do and how he describes landscapes because he can make the reader visualise what he is describing without being too lyrical. I would say that The Betrothed is a book about History, justice, faith and how these things intertwine. This comment is definitely too long, I'm really sorry, I love Manzoni, I could ramble about him for decades 😅
Oh! We almost commented at the same time on the same book: I promessi sposi. Italy here too and - unfortunately for me - I'm one of those unable to find joy in reading Manzoni. So, I'm just happy to have read your enthusiastic comment. Why? I always felt it was a problem, me not enjoying Manzoni. Especially because of his very accurate work in describing psychologies giving an incredible account of the experience of life and its torments.
@@QM3980 Manzoni is definitely not for everybody with his lengthy descriptions of basically everything that can be described. I think I enjoy his work so much because my Italian professor in quinta ginnasio was a very good teacher, he spent three months on Manzoni's life so that we could really understand what influenced him and the ideas behind The betrothed, then we read every single chapter and comment each and everyone of them one by one, we dedicated two hours a week for the whole year to manzoni, it was a massive work haha
@@QM3980 I do think it's also connected to the age you read it and how they introduce it to you. I used to hate it in school, for years and years I could find any reason to study the damn book. Then I read it as an adult - or better, I listened to a fantastic audiobook- and a world opened up for me. Now what I enjoy the most is Manzoni's irony. That book is so crammed with funny moments I'm really disappointed with my high school teacher, who never read it a if it could be enjoyed, as if we could laugh because the author was laughing in the first place.
The beauty of Proust is that he is looking for the meaning and purpose of life , he tries with the aristocratical success and love but realised that there are not the right path. Then he finally realised that it is art, creation and the joy that it can procure. Proudt strenght is that he can describe all the nuances of a heart. Back in the days at school ( I am french), we ve been told that La recherche ( all of its 2 novels) is made by 1.25 millions of accurate words. Hope you will enjoy it!
I LOVE the Everyman’s Library editions. They’re beautiful and, like yourself, I really enjoy the chronology they include, for putting the author’s life and work in context. As I may have mentioned previously, I’m reading their edition of Joyce’s Ulysses right now, with War and Peace on its way in the mail, and a few others in my TBR pile such as Anna Karenina and Mansfield Park. I’ve got a bunch of the Everyman’s editions and they’re always favorites. Some of their more contemporary publications are really nice too, like Rushdie’s Midnight’s Children and John Updike’s Rabbit Angstrom novels. I love that Proust collection you have there... gorgeous! I also dressed up a little today, because I’ve been out of work and going through most of my days in pajamas or sweatpants. You look great! Thanks for the video!!!
You seem so cheerful. It's hard to imagine you being glum 😔. I couldn't even fake being as cheerful as you seem. It is nice to watch someone young and handsome talk about great books 📚.
This is a great selection. It includes some that my hand has hovered over many times in bookshops, particularly The Moonstone, The Transylvanian Trilogy and Buddenbrooks. You may have given me the push to acquire them. I've never hear of Lucky Per, but it sounds fascinating. I've read The Cairo Trilogy, The Brothers Karamazov and The Betrothed, all worthy of being called classics. The Betrothed is of particular significance. Manzoni revised his original text over a period of ten years, losing French influences and the Milanese dialect. He replaced it with Tuscan vernacular and in this form it was so wildly popular that it helped the Tuscan dialect become the national language of Italy helping to unite the country. For that, not only was he honoured, but a year after his death Verdi dedicated his magnificent Requiem to his memory. This explains why every Italian student studies this book and maybe why they don't like it (who likes books you MUST read?). It is, nonetheless a rollicking good read.
I’m a new subscriber but I wanted to say that the smile throughout the video even though you mentioned being glum is amazing to me! I love that you dressed up a little, you look great! We gotta do what brings us even a little happiness :) Also you’re amazing at discussing books, I’m going to watch all your videos. Thank you for your uploads!
Eric Karl Anderson Well I can tell, it’s a pleasure to watch someone so visibly passionate about books! And it’s lovely that you have made this platform for yourself to voice your insight 📚✨Thank you
Thank you for this. You gave me a few new ideas for reading. Those editions were really beautiful too. Glad to see you felt inspired to change out of your comfy clothes, hoping to get there myself soon. Have a wonderful time reading!
You're so charming. I'm reading Marcel Proust during the lockdown. I've always wanted to read In Search of Lost Time and I think this is possibly the most perfect time to finally dive in. Hugs from Mexico!
I have just come across your channel, and immediately added all of the books you discussed into my shopping bag since you made them all sound so exciting :)
Those are all marvellous titles. I have read some of them but I now have added the Italian one to my list. . Dickens has always been my favourite author and frequently read and reread great expectations. You do scrub up very well. Thanks Eric.
Here in Italy The Betrothed is one of the greatest nightmares of every high school student, it's so strange to see someone reading it on their own free will 😂😂 Joking apart, it's an admirable work of course, especially if you think about all the parallels between the novel historical setting and the periond in which the book was published. Let us know your thoughts, I'm super curious! Greetings from Italy 😘
Lucky per is one of my favorite books, but unfortunatly it's the first time someone recomended it. . . . . My first impresion was negative, I was a kid, 12 or 13 years old and was heard to like charecter like him, not a classical "good boy", the family would be proud of. It took me for about 7 years to continue reading. Suddenly I felt compassion for him and he became one of my favorite charecter. I don't know it was becouse of the book or I have changed, but this was the first time I realise how the person, who you think does not care about anything, is the one who cares the most. And this discovery made this book great for me
You look great! I am so looking forward to reading The Moonstone, The Count of Monte Cristo, Middlemarch, War and Peace, Bleak House, and Brothers Karamazov! Seeing my books brings me some necessary sense of calm these days. 💛
Hi, Eric, thank you for adding BUDDENBROOKS, it’s one of my favourites of all time and my favourite of all his books. LÜBECK, where the story takes place, is my favourite town, I’ve been in the BUDDENBROOKS house and as my favourite sweet is marcipan (?) and Lübeck is famous for that, too, I’ve at least 2 good reasons to make a visit there from time to time... There are some recommendations I’ve to look at, now, the comments gave me new ideas, too...so, if I’ll be ready at Christmas, I’ll be content with my reading. Of course I hope, the crisis will come to an end long before. Sometimes friends admire how much I read, but if I watch videos like yours, I know: that’s a never ending story for me, and if I want to read all I’m interested in, I have to look forward to my 130th birth...now I’m 65. Let’s take care, live healthy and enjoy reading 📖! Love from Germany, stay healthy, Monika❣️
Happy Easter! I have read The Brothers Karamazov and The Cairo Trilogy, which definitely deserve to be on this list. I have The Transylvanian Trilogy (in 3 separate volumes) waiting to be read and perhaps after The Eighth Life (am half way through it) I'll start on that. The Eighth Life is fascinating, albeit a bit on the sad side but really looking forward to reading the next 500 pages...
As a professor of 19th century literature, I'm glad to see a lot of 19th c works on your list. I have to admit that I read some of them quickly as they were on my oral exam reading lists. Also, having concentrated on the Romantics in my dissertation, I have since then discovered that I really love the Victorians a little more and have been reading several Victorian works. I have finished _Bleak House_ and think it is nearly a masterpiece---it is 100-200 pages too long and with the exit of Lady Dedlock (her character is riveting), the novel loses steam. And that weird ending...anyhow, it's good to see your enthusiasm for literature. It's encouraging.
@@EricKarlAnderson Hi Eric. Well, I've taught a Romanticism course titled _Romanticism & Religion_, which looked at several canonical (Blake, Byron, Wordsworth, et al) and non-canonical writers of the period in light of religious controversies. Something I learned from this experience is that you have give courses sparkly and spectacular titles or not a lot of students will sign up! My dissertation looked at Romantic-era English, Irish, and Mexican Literature, so I can teach in these areas, and some Latinx Lit as well. I am set to start as a prof of World Lit in the Fall. In May after I finish teaching a writing course for the school where I got my PhD from, I'm going to start designing a World Lit I course, which will become one of my staple courses, for my new institution and I'll be teaching other courses too. I'm very excited :-)
I agree gettiing dressed in your best clothes is very important. It improves the day. Here in South Africa we are not allowed to go out unless you are doing food shopping going to the chemist or the doctor. I love the idea of reading classics. I adored the Banfy trilogy . It is wonderful to immerse yourself in that world. I also loved Buddenbrooks. I have never finished The Cairo Trilogy . I have it on my TB F list.. reading classics. I too have The Betrothed and will get to it soon. I have readingADHD at the moment.
I finally finished reading all of Proust last year, it's one of the best books imaginable for if you're stuck in one place. I shall have to look into that box set...
Great video Eric. I'm reading David Copper field right now and also plan to read Moby Dick, The Lost World and The Good Soldier. My quarantine list also has some heavyweight contemporary literature there as well though; Lincoln In The Bardo, The Ministry of Utmost Happiness and Do Not Say We Have Nothing feature. Enjoy!
Sounds akin to me, in my dreams. As a kind of old guy, I could build this whole comment on cliches. Worthy list and review selections, for reread and 1st-read. I should, I really want to reread Moby Dickens, but I draw the line, no reread war and peace. I'd have to cross off 3 or 4 great new reads and be no happier for it.
I miss getting ready and having a routine during quarantine. I don’t have any Everyman library editions and they look absolutely gorgeous. I have been reading classics all this year and have had so many hits! The Betrothed sound really interesting: I will be checking it out. Also Buddenbrooks and Cairo Trilogy 🙌 Thanks for these!
I really like the fact that you read various authors from various cultures. I've read the first two volumes of Proust's Remembrance of Things Past. It was a very solid and complex read, but I liked it a lot. It's complicated to read them all at once, one after another, since you can easily feel fatigued.
I’ve wanted to read The Moonstone since I saw a TV dramatisation of it in the 90s, but somehow never got around to it. These editions look really nice so I may have to get one once I can get back into a book store.
I've only one question about Everyman's Library editions - do they all have notes? Like transactions of French for Jane Eyre, for example. Or other relative to the text notes at the end of each book? Your reply would be very much appreciated!
Beautiful volumes. I’ve wanted to read Wilkie Collins for awhile now, but his books are mostly extremely long. I just don’t have the patience and I’ve got so many others I want to spend time with.
So Handsome !!! Made me smile !! I am finishing the last of the Trollope books, then I can say I have read then all. phew !! I think I would recommend Mr. Scarbroughs Family. Then see if you want more. Several of the books that you talked about here are pretty much downers, and I have put aside several that need to wait until a later time. Especially Dickens and Proust.
I read Swann's Way a few years ago and it was such a mesmerising read! I so wanna read more books by Proust! I guess now is the perfect time for that. You look very handsome btw! :-)
Thank you - I had a feeling I was pronouncing his name wrong. And yes, I really enjoyed Soueif's novel The Map of Love and got to meet her once doing a writing retreat.
I'm thinking about concentrating on the series and authors I've been meaning to complete and haven't got round to. It will be satisfying to finish them off yet also comforting going back to an author/setting/character I know. I have started with Barbara Pym and her autobiography Private Eye as she lived through some fascinating times. I wonder what she would have made of all this.
I have; Parade's End, by Ford Maddox Ford. But have yet to read the novel. There is a booktuber who has Everyman's Library edition from the early 1900's.😊
Looking good! :D These Everyman's Library editions are so beautiful. I've been wanting to read The Betrothed for so long... but the text looks so dense at least in my edition. :) I really really want to finally read Wilkie Collins, starting with The Woman in White, maybe this year or next haha. Bleak House is soo good! My favourite Dickens so far.
May I also suggest Wilkie Collins’s The Woman in White, No Name, & Armadale...I have yet to read The Moonstone so look forward to your observations. I can also enthusiastically recommend The Good Soldier by Ford Maddox Ford. Read The Brothers Karamazov as a senior in high school, & I’m sure I was too young to appreciate it. Time to give it another go. Have promised myself for years to read George Eliot’s Middlemarch, & I think this is the year! My late mother read all of Dickens, & said her favorite was Our Mutual Friend. Have u read it? By the way, may I say you look particularly handsome, Eric?! Thanks so much for your excellent & informative videos. Happy reading! 👓
A little sartorial splendor now and then can be relished by the wisest folks. 👏🏻 You’ve sparked my curiosity with this nice collection of international titles. Many of them were unfamiliar to me. The only one I have read is The Buddenbrooks. I really enjoyed reading it many years ago.
Have you read Hamnet yet by Maggie O’Farrell? One of the most incredible novels I have ever read. Both incredibly heart breaking and incredibly heart warming. Tucson Bob
I loved The Moonstone in high school. I always intended to read The Woman in White, but I never got around to it. Is it told in the same way, with different perspectives?
Happy to see you, smiling and sleek :). I loved Buddenbrooks not only did I love it bit I was also astonnished that Mann has written it when he was 25 years. Have you ever read the autobiography of his son Klaus ? The Brothers Karamazov was good but my least favorite one from Dostoievski ( The religion and faith part was a little bit to much for my taste ) , whereas I loved Idiot. Have you had the chance to read it ? Enjoy your reading! And stay safe with your hubby ! x
Everyman's Library editions are my favourite editions ever. I have a few of them including that mammoth of Cairo Trilogy. Brothers Karamazov is one of the books I plan on reading this year, I love Dostoyevsky but this is his only big book I haven’t read. Oh Dickens, my shameful neglect, I read only one, just one of his novels 🙊🙉🙈
Yeah, i'm a sucker for a sleek classic design and quality bonus material. I'll be eager to hear your thoughts on Brother Karamazov later on once you've finished your Int Booker marathon. And no shame in not having read more Dickens. There are so many classic authors I've never even read.
I encourage you to read The Moonstone. Not only is it grippingly readable, it is also wonderful to read aloud. It is a perfect choice for where we are right now. I also strongly recommend The Woman in White, which I consider one of the most enjoyable reading experiences of my life.
Very surprised to see Alessandro Manzoni is on this list! In Italy The Bethroted is part of high school curriculum, both because of its high literary qualities but also because of its "patriotic" (I hate this word) values. On a side because of its relevancy in the process of Italian linguistic unification, but also because of its denunciation of the Austrian occupation of Northern Italy. Yes: Austrian, since at the time of writing, Lombardy (the region Manzoni was born and lived) was occupied by the Austrian empire, along with other areas of Italy. The historical setting under the Spanish dominion is partially a stratagem for the author to express his views of the Austro-Ungaric dominion that kept Italy from being unified. Of course he would have been censored and punished if he openly expressed his thoughts on the Austrian occupation. And, there's something else worthwhile noting: the events are taking place during an epidemic of bubonic plague and this is such an incredible parallel to what we are living these days. I'm especially thinking about how Lombardy is now so heavily hit by this novel coronavirus... Anyway, I am surprised to see this book on your list because I really hated it during my teenage years! I tried re-reading it when I was a little older, but its vocabulary and its prose and its syntaxis are so very much XIX century (and early XIX century!!) that I found it impossible to get any kind of pleasure in the book. But it definitely is a very powerful book, especially in describing all kinds of psychologies and giving an account of the variety of the human race. Sorry for such a long comment! I am now nervously waiting for my fellow nationals to correct my (limited) explanations of Manzoni's work! Ouch. (looking very dapper today Eric!)
the moonstone is great fun, his best, you'll be highly diverted and forget the crisis the betrothed is a great weepy overwritten tragedy thing (my opinion, i couldn't take it) i do mean to read parade's end, its grim dry writing bored me too much as a teenager (i had such high standards then, i read trash now) Banffy. Oh boy. I had it in three..... some day i'm reading Defoe's Plague Year and it's terribly written, no structure, the good bits are the historical details, that's fascinating. I've read the start (the plague bit) of McWilliams' Radetsky March is beautiful, i stone cold classic. Love love love. It is in fact perfect. I've always hoped Buddenbrooks is similar. My favourite translation Cairo Trilogy is good. The first is the best. Big downhill after that. Lots of trilogies like that eg the olivia manning one (long, part one great). He changes totally the way he tells it, but the middle one is still interesting the way it's told. I'm planning to read Cities of Salt, but i want to finish The Volunteer, decameron (in translation) and Selimovic (one of the greatest writers of the 20th century) first. Brothers Karamazov i love the constance garnett translation most but i've read the 60s? one too. Who isn't in love with Alyosha?
I’ve read The Moonstone twice during the nineties! It was one of the stories that made me love mysteries in addition to The Woman in White! I read Najeeb Mahfouz Triology in Arabic when I was in my teens and I hated them even though they are considered masterpieces, maybe I should reread them now!
The thing about legal fees draining the estate in contention isn’t the conclusion of the novel or the primary aspect of the plot but this was more a system which inspired Dickens to write the story.
if you want a long book, the Penguin translation of the Story of the Stone is amazing, i don't normally buy ebooks but if they're huge and heavy i do (bad eyesight, need to hold it inches from my eyes). Proust is so boring. The huge disquisitions are great usually, but the snobbery and 'jealousy is love' stuff is banal. Try reading the start of Chateaubriand to see how much he stole.
I've mostly been reading classics this quarantine.. Started with The Count of Monte Cristo then Middlemarch and now Jane Eyre :)
Great choices! Hope you've been enjoying them. 📚
You can’t go wrong with Jane Eyre 💜
I’m also reading Jane Eyre-really enjoying it so far.
I'm also reading The Count of Monte Cristo, 1250 pages, I'm only halfway through (enjoying). The Woman in White and One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich would make wonderful "lockdown" reads, I think.
You’ve got some big boys in there!
I'm so happy The Betrothed is on this list! Here in Italy, we study it very thoroughly in middle school and then in high school, Manzoni is as important as Dante to Italian literature. I would highly recommend the novel to those who love Victorian literature and Walter Scott. Scott was one of Manzoni's inspirations, Manzoni couldn't speak English so he read Ivanhoe in French and was so charmed that he proceeded to read every other Scott book he could find in French (Scott wasn't translated in Italian). Manzoni wanted to write a historical novel, but he didn't want to use all the fantastical elements Scott used because he thought that historical accuracy was the most important thing when writing about history. He chooses to talk about the XVII century because it was a very dark and corrupted time which allows him to talk about injustice, violence and ignorance, this is also the perfect setting for him to introduce the Divine Providence. He also talks about the plague of 1630 and in the second edition he adds a short essay, Storia della colonna infame, where he condemns how people were acting irrationally when dealing with the disease by unjustly blaming others and giving in to panic. The things I love the most about Manzoni's novel are how he explores the reasons why people act the way they do and how he describes landscapes because he can make the reader visualise what he is describing without being too lyrical. I would say that The Betrothed is a book about History, justice, faith and how these things intertwine.
This comment is definitely too long, I'm really sorry, I love Manzoni, I could ramble about him for decades 😅
@Emmanuelle I'm so happy! Hope you enjoy it a lot!
Oh! We almost commented at the same time on the same book: I promessi sposi.
Italy here too and - unfortunately for me - I'm one of those unable to find joy in reading Manzoni. So, I'm just happy to have read your enthusiastic comment. Why? I always felt it was a problem, me not enjoying Manzoni. Especially because of his very accurate work in describing psychologies giving an incredible account of the experience of life and its torments.
@@QM3980 Manzoni is definitely not for everybody with his lengthy descriptions of basically everything that can be described. I think I enjoy his work so much because my Italian professor in quinta ginnasio was a very good teacher, he spent three months on Manzoni's life so that we could really understand what influenced him and the ideas behind The betrothed, then we read every single chapter and comment each and everyone of them one by one, we dedicated two hours a week for the whole year to manzoni, it was a massive work haha
Chiyoko Takeda w i professori come il tuo di V ginnasio! :-)
@@QM3980 I do think it's also connected to the age you read it and how they introduce it to you. I used to hate it in school, for years and years I could find any reason to study the damn book. Then I read it as an adult - or better, I listened to a fantastic audiobook- and a world opened up for me.
Now what I enjoy the most is Manzoni's irony. That book is so crammed with funny moments I'm really disappointed with my high school teacher, who never read it a if it could be enjoyed, as if we could laugh because the author was laughing in the first place.
The beauty of Proust is that he is looking for the meaning and purpose of life , he tries with the aristocratical success and love
but realised that there are not the right path. Then he finally realised that it is art, creation and the joy that it can procure. Proudt strenght is that he can describe all the nuances of a heart. Back in the days at school ( I am french), we ve been told that La recherche ( all of its 2 novels) is made by 1.25 millions of accurate words.
Hope you will enjoy it!
I LOVE the Everyman’s Library editions. They’re beautiful and, like yourself, I really enjoy the chronology they include, for putting the author’s life and work in context. As I may have mentioned previously, I’m reading their edition of Joyce’s Ulysses right now, with War and Peace on its way in the mail, and a few others in my TBR pile such as Anna Karenina and Mansfield Park. I’ve got a bunch of the Everyman’s editions and they’re always favorites. Some of their more contemporary publications are really nice too, like Rushdie’s Midnight’s Children and John Updike’s Rabbit Angstrom novels. I love that Proust collection you have there... gorgeous!
I also dressed up a little today, because I’ve been out of work and going through most of my days in pajamas or sweatpants. You look great! Thanks for the video!!!
Your channel is simply delightful. Thank you for sharing your videos!
Thank you! 😊📚
You seem so cheerful. It's hard to imagine you being glum 😔. I couldn't even fake being as cheerful as you seem. It is nice to watch someone young and handsome talk about great books 📚.
Thank you for these great suggestions. The Betrothed has been on my radar for so long.
I love everymans library.
Plus if you want a book collection that you want to keep forever, I've heard everymans library are very sturdy.
This is a great selection. It includes some that my hand has hovered over many times in bookshops, particularly The Moonstone, The Transylvanian Trilogy and Buddenbrooks. You may have given me the push to acquire them. I've never hear of Lucky Per, but it sounds fascinating. I've read The Cairo Trilogy, The Brothers Karamazov and The Betrothed, all worthy of being called classics.
The Betrothed is of particular significance. Manzoni revised his original text over a period of ten years, losing French influences and the Milanese dialect. He replaced it with Tuscan vernacular and in this form it was so wildly popular that it helped the Tuscan dialect become the national language of Italy helping to unite the country. For that, not only was he honoured, but a year after his death Verdi dedicated his magnificent Requiem to his memory. This explains why every Italian student studies this book and maybe why they don't like it (who likes books you MUST read?). It is, nonetheless a rollicking good read.
I’m a new subscriber but I wanted to say that the smile throughout the video even though you mentioned being glum is amazing to me! I love that you dressed up a little, you look great! We gotta do what brings us even a little happiness :) Also you’re amazing at discussing books, I’m going to watch all your videos. Thank you for your uploads!
Thanks so much! Honestly, talking about books makes me happy which is why I smile so often. 📚
Eric Karl Anderson Well I can tell, it’s a pleasure to watch someone so visibly passionate about books! And it’s lovely that you have made this platform for yourself to voice your insight 📚✨Thank you
Thank you for this. You gave me a few new ideas for reading. Those editions were really beautiful too. Glad to see you felt inspired to change out of your comfy clothes, hoping to get there myself soon. Have a wonderful time reading!
You're so charming. I'm reading Marcel Proust during the lockdown. I've always wanted to read In Search of Lost Time and I think this is possibly the most perfect time to finally dive in. Hugs from Mexico!
Great! Good to get lost in. 🤗
So many beautiful books to enjoy 👏👏. Thanks so much for dressing up for us. Looking very smart! I feel really bad for watching you in my PJs 😉 xx
Thanks, Erik; a delightful video.
Loved Bleak House.
I have just come across your channel, and immediately added all of the books you discussed into my shopping bag since you made them all sound so exciting :)
Oh wow, hope you enjoy them! 📚 Thanks for watching.
Those are all marvellous titles. I have read some of them but I now have added the Italian one to my list. . Dickens has always been my favourite author and frequently read and reread great expectations. You do scrub up very well. Thanks Eric.
Here in Italy The Betrothed is one of the greatest nightmares of every high school student, it's so strange to see someone reading it on their own free will 😂😂 Joking apart, it's an admirable work of course, especially if you think about all the parallels between the novel historical setting and the periond in which the book was published. Let us know your thoughts, I'm super curious! Greetings from Italy 😘
Great sprit of dressing up!
Lucky per is one of my favorite books, but unfortunatly it's the first time someone recomended it.
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My first impresion was negative, I was a kid, 12 or 13 years old and was heard to like charecter like him, not a classical "good boy", the family would be proud of. It took me for about 7 years to continue reading. Suddenly I felt compassion for him and he became one of my favorite charecter. I don't know it was becouse of the book or I have changed, but this was the first time I realise how the person, who you think does not care about anything, is the one who cares the most. And this discovery made this book great for me
Moonstone is marvelous. A favourite. Victorian lit at its best.... Great video, sir. Thank you!
You look great! I am so looking forward to reading The Moonstone, The Count of Monte Cristo, Middlemarch, War and Peace, Bleak House, and Brothers Karamazov! Seeing my books brings me some necessary sense of calm these days. 💛
I have a small set of these Everyman's Library titles and they are very nice books. Excellent quality.
Hi, Eric, thank you for adding BUDDENBROOKS, it’s one of my favourites of all time and my favourite of all his books. LÜBECK, where the story takes place, is my favourite town, I’ve been in the BUDDENBROOKS house and as my favourite sweet is marcipan (?) and Lübeck is famous for that, too, I’ve at least 2 good reasons to make a visit there from time to time... There are some recommendations I’ve to look at, now, the comments gave me new ideas, too...so, if I’ll be ready at Christmas, I’ll be content with my reading. Of course I hope, the crisis will come to an end long before. Sometimes friends admire how much I read, but if I watch videos like yours, I know: that’s a never ending story for me, and if I want to read all I’m interested in, I have to look forward to my 130th birth...now I’m 65. Let’s take care, live healthy and enjoy reading 📖! Love from Germany, stay healthy, Monika❣️
Happy Easter! I have read The Brothers Karamazov and The Cairo Trilogy, which definitely deserve to be on this list. I have The Transylvanian Trilogy (in 3 separate volumes) waiting to be read and perhaps after The Eighth Life (am half way through it) I'll start on that. The Eighth Life is fascinating, albeit a bit on the sad side but really looking forward to reading the next 500 pages...
Thanks. I am interested in the book Parade’s End as I watched the series with Cumberbatch. Thanks for the video.
Thanks for watching! 📚
Good to have this list on the description box. It helps. I didn't get all the titles 🤔
I love your double accent. Very calming.
☺️
As a professor of 19th century literature, I'm glad to see a lot of 19th c works on your list. I have to admit that I read some of them quickly as they were on my oral exam reading lists. Also, having concentrated on the Romantics in my dissertation, I have since then discovered that I really love the Victorians a little more and have been reading several Victorian works. I have finished _Bleak House_ and think it is nearly a masterpiece---it is 100-200 pages too long and with the exit of Lady Dedlock (her character is riveting), the novel loses steam. And that weird ending...anyhow, it's good to see your enthusiasm for literature. It's encouraging.
That’s great! Yes Bleak House is definitely a quirky novel. What are the primary texts that you teach?
@@EricKarlAnderson Hi Eric. Well, I've taught a Romanticism course titled _Romanticism & Religion_, which looked at several canonical (Blake, Byron, Wordsworth, et al) and non-canonical writers of the period in light of religious controversies. Something I learned from this experience is that you have give courses sparkly and spectacular titles or not a lot of students will sign up! My dissertation looked at Romantic-era English, Irish, and Mexican Literature, so I can teach in these areas, and some Latinx Lit as well. I am set to start as a prof of World Lit in the Fall. In May after I finish teaching a writing course for the school where I got my PhD from, I'm going to start designing a World Lit I course, which will become one of my staple courses, for my new institution and I'll be teaching other courses too. I'm very excited :-)
I have read everything Wilkie Collins has written. He is a wonderful writer!
You know, here in Italy we know the betrothed almost by heart, it’s such a staple of our culture! I hope you like it :)
That's interesting, thanks!
I agree gettiing dressed in your best clothes is very important. It improves the day. Here in South Africa we are not allowed to go out unless you are doing food shopping going to the chemist or the doctor. I love the idea of reading classics. I adored the Banfy trilogy . It is wonderful to immerse yourself in that world. I also loved Buddenbrooks. I have never finished The Cairo Trilogy . I have it on my TB F list..
reading classics. I too have The Betrothed and will get to it soon. I have readingADHD at the moment.
I’ve read very few of these books, but I did love the audio version of Bleak House, read by Miriam Margolyes.
I finally finished reading all of Proust last year, it's one of the best books imaginable for if you're stuck in one place. I shall have to look into that box set...
Great video Eric. I'm reading David Copper field right now and also plan to read Moby Dick, The Lost World and The Good Soldier. My quarantine list also has some heavyweight contemporary literature there as well though; Lincoln In The Bardo, The Ministry of Utmost Happiness and Do Not Say We Have Nothing feature. Enjoy!
Sounds akin to me, in my dreams. As a kind of old guy, I could build this whole comment on cliches. Worthy list and review selections, for reread and 1st-read. I should, I really want to reread Moby Dickens, but I draw the line, no reread war and peace. I'd have to cross off 3 or 4 great new reads and be no happier for it.
I miss getting ready and having a routine during quarantine.
I don’t have any Everyman library editions and they look absolutely gorgeous.
I have been reading classics all this year and have had so many hits!
The Betrothed sound really interesting: I will be checking it out.
Also Buddenbrooks and Cairo Trilogy 🙌 Thanks for these!
I've read and greatly enjoyed the Proust novels as well as the Russian, Italian and Hungarian novels. I shall tackle the Ford novels soon. Thanks .
I really like the fact that you read various authors from various cultures.
I've read the first two volumes of Proust's Remembrance of Things Past. It was a very solid and complex read, but I liked it a lot. It's complicated to read them all at once, one after another, since you can easily feel fatigued.
Those covers are beautiful!
I’ve wanted to read The Moonstone since I saw a TV dramatisation of it in the 90s, but somehow never got around to it. These editions look really nice so I may have to get one once I can get back into a book store.
Oh interesting! I’ll have to look up that tv series once I’ve read it
@@EricKarlAnderson I think there was a more recent one in 2016 which is probably easier to find, but I've not seen that one...yet
The Betrothed by Alessandro Manzoni seems very interesting.
I've only one question about Everyman's Library editions - do they all have notes? Like transactions of French for Jane Eyre, for example. Or other relative to the text notes at the end of each book? Your reply would be very much appreciated!
Read The Brothers Karamazov just before this crisis. Absolutely loved it
Beautiful volumes. I’ve wanted to read Wilkie Collins for awhile now, but his books are mostly extremely long. I just don’t have the patience and I’ve got so many others I want to spend time with.
So Handsome !!! Made me smile !! I am finishing the last of the Trollope books, then I can say I have read then all. phew !! I think I would recommend Mr. Scarbroughs Family. Then see if you want more. Several of the books that you talked about here are pretty much downers, and I have put aside several that need to wait until a later time. Especially Dickens and Proust.
I read Swann's Way a few years ago and it was such a mesmerising read! I so wanna read more books by Proust! I guess now is the perfect time for that. You look very handsome btw! :-)
The moonstone's book cover depicts a painting of maharaja Daleep Singh (panjab)
I did like cover
Naguib = “Nazheeb”
I highly recommend his works, as well as Ahdaf Soueif if you find yourself particularly liking Egyptian literature 😊
Thank you - I had a feeling I was pronouncing his name wrong. And yes, I really enjoyed Soueif's novel The Map of Love and got to meet her once doing a writing retreat.
I'm thinking about concentrating on the series and authors I've been meaning to complete and haven't got round to. It will be satisfying to finish them off yet also comforting going back to an author/setting/character I know. I have started with Barbara Pym and her autobiography Private Eye as she lived through some fascinating times. I wonder what she would have made of all this.
Great, I've always meant to read Pym's books.
@@EricKarlAnderson you should they are wonderful :)
Good to know that I'm not the only one who waits until the end of the novel to read the introduction. Always thought that I was overreacting 😅
I have; Parade's End, by Ford Maddox Ford.
But have yet to read the novel.
There is a booktuber who has Everyman's Library edition from the early 1900's.😊
Eric，where can I purchase everyman‘s library edition book online？
Looking good! :D
These Everyman's Library editions are so beautiful. I've been wanting to read The Betrothed for so long... but the text looks so dense at least in my edition. :) I really really want to finally read Wilkie Collins, starting with The Woman in White, maybe this year or next haha. Bleak House is soo good! My favourite Dickens so far.
Great! I'm unsure if it's best to begin with The Woman in White or Moonstone.
May I also suggest Wilkie Collins’s The Woman in White, No Name, & Armadale...I have yet to read The Moonstone so look forward to your observations. I can also enthusiastically recommend The Good Soldier by Ford Maddox Ford. Read The Brothers Karamazov as a senior in high school, & I’m sure I was too young to appreciate it. Time to give it another go. Have promised myself for years to read George Eliot’s Middlemarch, & I think this is the year! My late mother read all of Dickens, & said her favorite was Our Mutual Friend. Have u read it? By the way, may I say you look particularly handsome, Eric?! Thanks so much for your excellent & informative videos. Happy reading! 👓
A little sartorial splendor now and then can be relished by the wisest folks. 👏🏻
You’ve sparked my curiosity with this nice collection of international titles. Many of them were unfamiliar to me. The only one I have read is The Buddenbrooks. I really enjoyed reading it many years ago.
Great, hope you get to read some of them at some point.
Have you read Hamnet yet by Maggie O’Farrell? One of the most incredible novels I have ever read. Both incredibly heart breaking and incredibly heart warming. Tucson Bob
I've read Moonstone by Wilkie Collins, but my favorite of his is The Woman in White. I hope you get a chance to read it too, it's great!
I loved The Moonstone in high school. I always intended to read The Woman in White, but I never got around to it. Is it told in the same way, with different perspectives?
@@uptown3636 "The Woman in White" is my preferred novel by Wilkie Collins.
I'm reading Persuasion by Jane Austen this past few days for quarantine!!
oh, me too!
Happy to see you, smiling and sleek :).
I loved Buddenbrooks not only did I love it bit I was also astonnished that Mann has written it when he was 25 years. Have you ever read the autobiography of his son Klaus ?
The Brothers Karamazov was good but my least favorite one from Dostoievski ( The religion and faith part was a little bit to much for my taste ) , whereas I loved Idiot. Have you had the chance to read it ?
Enjoy your reading! And stay safe with your hubby ! x
Everyman's Library editions are my favourite editions ever. I have a few of them including that mammoth of Cairo Trilogy. Brothers Karamazov is one of the books I plan on reading this year, I love Dostoyevsky but this is his only big book I haven’t read.
Oh Dickens, my shameful neglect, I read only one, just one of his novels 🙊🙉🙈
Yeah, i'm a sucker for a sleek classic design and quality bonus material. I'll be eager to hear your thoughts on Brother Karamazov later on once you've finished your Int Booker marathon. And no shame in not having read more Dickens. There are so many classic authors I've never even read.
I encourage you to read The Moonstone. Not only is it grippingly readable, it is also wonderful to read aloud. It is a perfect choice for where we are right now. I also strongly recommend The Woman in White, which I consider one of the most enjoyable reading experiences of my life.
where is the everyman link?
Very surprised to see Alessandro Manzoni is on this list!
In Italy The Bethroted is part of high school curriculum, both because of its high literary qualities but also because of its "patriotic" (I hate this word) values. On a side because of its relevancy in the process of Italian linguistic unification, but also because of its denunciation of the Austrian occupation of Northern Italy. Yes: Austrian, since at the time of writing, Lombardy (the region Manzoni was born and lived) was occupied by the Austrian empire, along with other areas of Italy. The historical setting under the Spanish dominion is partially a stratagem for the author to express his views of the Austro-Ungaric dominion that kept Italy from being unified. Of course he would have been censored and punished if he openly expressed his thoughts on the Austrian occupation.
And, there's something else worthwhile noting: the events are taking place during an epidemic of bubonic plague and this is such an incredible parallel to what we are living these days. I'm especially thinking about how Lombardy is now so heavily hit by this novel coronavirus...
Anyway, I am surprised to see this book on your list because I really hated it during my teenage years! I tried re-reading it when I was a little older, but its vocabulary and its prose and its syntaxis are so very much XIX century (and early XIX century!!) that I found it impossible to get any kind of pleasure in the book. But it definitely is a very powerful book, especially in describing all kinds of psychologies and giving an account of the variety of the human race.
Sorry for such a long comment! I am now nervously waiting for my fellow nationals to correct my (limited) explanations of Manzoni's work! Ouch.
(looking very dapper today Eric!)
That's really interesting, thank you. I wonder if I'll find the prose antiquated or not but the subject and story is definitely interesting.
@@EricKarlAnderson Looking forward to hearing your thoughts!
I own 2 books with them cover types. 1984 george Orwell, and james ellroy, the L.A Quartet. Pretty nice editions.
i'm going to try the lucky per
the moonstone is great fun, his best, you'll be highly diverted and forget the crisis
the betrothed is a great weepy overwritten tragedy thing (my opinion, i couldn't take it)
i do mean to read parade's end, its grim dry writing bored me too much as a teenager (i had such high standards then, i read trash now)
Banffy. Oh boy. I had it in three..... some day
i'm reading Defoe's Plague Year and it's terribly written, no structure, the good bits are the historical details, that's fascinating. I've read the start (the plague bit) of McWilliams'
Radetsky March is beautiful, i stone cold classic. Love love love. It is in fact perfect. I've always hoped Buddenbrooks is similar. My favourite translation
Cairo Trilogy is good. The first is the best. Big downhill after that. Lots of trilogies like that eg the olivia manning one (long, part one great). He changes totally the way he tells it, but the middle one is still interesting the way it's told.
I'm planning to read Cities of Salt, but i want to finish The Volunteer, decameron (in translation) and Selimovic (one of the greatest writers of the 20th century) first.
Brothers Karamazov i love the constance garnett translation most but i've read the 60s? one too. Who isn't in love with Alyosha?
I'm reading les miserables!
Excellent intro! "Do what I'm tellin ya!"
Love that movie
Yes! So few people get the film reference so glad you love Born Yesterday too!
@@EricKarlAnderson kindred spirits!
I’m reading Buddenbrooks right now. I highly recommend sinking into it during this time.
Great! 📚
Got me a copy of Buddenbrooks Will read it sometime. Reading Sinclair Lewis Dodsworth at the moment
Read The Idiot by Dosteovsky and now want to read The brothers Karamazov
I am Italian and we read and examined the novel The Betrothed, we had tests about it and oral exams. I hate that book so much lmao
Have fun with Thomas Mann...His sentences are pages long. But a classic Bildungsroman.
I’ve read The Moonstone twice during the nineties! It was one of the stories that made me love mysteries in addition to The Woman in White!
I read Najeeb Mahfouz Triology in Arabic when I was in my teens and I hated them even though they are considered masterpieces, maybe I should reread them now!
Excellent you think so highly of them. I'm looking forward to diving in!
Spoiler on Bleak House!!!☹️ I haven’t read it yet!
The thing about legal fees draining the estate in contention isn’t the conclusion of the novel or the primary aspect of the plot but this was more a system which inspired Dickens to write the story.
if you want a long book, the Penguin translation of the Story of the Stone is amazing, i don't normally buy ebooks but if they're huge and heavy i do (bad eyesight, need to hold it inches from my eyes). Proust is so boring. The huge disquisitions are great usually, but the snobbery and 'jealousy is love' stuff is banal. Try reading the start of Chateaubriand to see how much he stole.
Has anyone ever tell you that you look like Billy Mays the oxi clean guy?
I am also interested in reading the brothers kharmazov at these times, I would love to hear your thoughts on it in more detail
Proust :-)))))))))))))))))))))))
This man is so incoherent; he can barely talk. He should take a lesson from the writers he discusses, in brevity and style and clarity.
Who are you? Let's hear you talk about some books.
Why should I bother? We clearly have different approaches.
Why are you being so rude?