For the first 3 months of lockdown I could only read books I'd already read, because I knew what the ending would be. Could not cope with unpredictable fiction as well as chaotic outside events!
Thank you for what you said about translated books! Translators don't get the credit they deserve but you give me hope that our work doesn't go unnoticed
They really should! I remember reading harry potter in both english and dutch (my mother tongue) and loving the dutch even more because the translation is so witty! It is so incredibly translated, that is has even more punny jokes than the original! And I am also in awe of anyone capable of translating Roald Dahls works. Again they have been translated incredibly well in dutch, with the rhyme and rhythm intact, I love it.
The train thing was so lovely! Made me emotional too. A girl on the Glasgow to Edinburgh train talked with me all the way to my stop when I was moving out into student accommodation for the first time and she said she wanted to make me less nervous and it was genuinely such a nice moment of human interaction. It’s cool how you’re interested in Scotland it can feel a bit like the only people interested in us are us Scots sometimes haha 🏴
I just bought the Heartstopper graphic novels which are the most wholesome and I highly recommend if you want adorable love story but also deals with issues like bullying/homophobia as well as mental health stuff in a productive and supportive way that lends itself to hope. They are just so lovely and perfect as a antidote to the fear and the dread that comes with 2020.
One of my favourite nighttime books is the secret garden, especially in the spring/summer. I've read it so many times that I'm never stressed about what's going to happen next, but it contains such lovely descriptions of being outside, and children's wonder at friendship and the ability of the world to make things grow that it makes me feel excited for the next day and the changing seasons and I want to be outside.
Australia has just come out of our second very strict lockdown, still can’t travel for two weeks. But I’ll finally get to see my mum, it’s been 5 months, I usually would see her twice a week, this is the longest I’ve gone in 25 years without seeing her and on top of that, I had a baby. It’s been rough, but I’m really grateful for our government who kicked our asses so that our daily cases are 0-5 🙌💕 good luck to all of you going back into lockdown! Sending all of the love 💕
Ugh same! Looking forward to lots of good reads to sooth my soul because I'm not ready to start socialising yet...I just need some sun and good food and fresh air and voluntary solitude
@@justperpetuallybothered3474 socialising with anyone in person? The thought of it fills me with anxiety, it’s like I’ve forgotten how normal interactions go! Honestly I just want to see mum, and then I’ll probably avoid everyone else haha 😆 Reading has gotten me through, that’s for sure and I now have my own little library going, looking on the bright side 💕
Pandemic baby club! I love it when the ven diagrams of life intersect. I am hanging for the borders to open up again so my family can come visit me in Dirty Melbourne and come meet their grandbaby. What a weird year right??
I have definitely been guilty of reading books that were either too intense, or that I wanted to keep reading so much, right before bed and ruining my sleep so I'm going to have to keep this in mind!
ASOUE is about the Jewish diaspora and I can talk about it at length. They are incredible children's books but I truly believe they are such an important cultural critique as well. Just mentioning this because of what you said about being socialist. I don't want to give any spoilers so I won't go further but it is canon that the Baudelaires are Jewish and Jews being chased for their SUPPOSED wealth (because Violet doesn't truly have access to it) across various "safe" harbours only to be sold out either through malice or incompetence is a very important story to me.
You are such an incredibly special woman with more integrity than I’m used to seeing from a person of any age. I’m so glad that I stumbled upon your channel while fighting my clothes addiction. God bless.❤
I needed this :) I've begun to realise I love a middle grade book. Read coraline recently and blew me away! I am definitely going to be picking up a few of these ❤
You explaining the story about the trains in 'Imagine A Country' also made me cry, so thanks for that. 😂 Really good recommendations, it looks like I might be buying some books! 🤙
@@isabbygabbyorcrabby Coraline is legit one of the creepiest books ever, especially considering it's a children's book. That being said, I absolutely love it and you've reminded me that I should read it again.
Another thing to soothe the soul: watching a video on soothing books, especially if it involves cosy duvets 🥰 I've added The Housekeeper and the Professor to my tbr - it sounds wonderful :)
there's a theory in translation called "explicitation" which is basically the phenomenon of making (potential) ambiguities in the original text more explicit in the translation, so that might be one reason why you feel translations are often clearer
I made pumkin pure for the first time ever for Halloween this year. I find a lot of comfort in doing things that reminds me of the passage of time because I feel completely removed from it. When it comes to books on my beedside table I recently started turning darkness into light which I was meant to read on a holiday this year that never happened.
My millenial ass also uses a windowsill as a nightstand but mostly because "why'd I spent money on a nightstand when I have perfectly functional windowsill!"
Awww this was a really lovely idea for a video!! It would have been great at any time, but especially right now. I also really like to read some poetry before bed - my current favourite poet is Mary Oliver because I always find her writing very hopeful. Another recommendation to read before bed is Tiny Beautiful Things by Cheryl Strayed because her advice feels like a hug. Also, when you got emotional over the chatty carriage idea, that almost made me cry as well (I always tear up when other people start crying; it can be inconvenient, as I'm a doctor and see a more than average number of people cry every week, but I've accepted that this is how I am). But I really liked both train ideas as well; the inherent kindness and solidarity of them is exactly what we need I think. Thank you for making this video!!
The book on my nightstand now is a 1000 page collection of Irish ghost stories. I've been writing my dissertation so i'm trying to focus more on that and told myself i'm not going to get involved into any novels until i finish writing it. Im failing tough, i've been powering through those stories like ive been book deprived my whole life lol
I can't believe it!!! I put The housekeeper and the professor on my TBR list yesterday because of a recommendation I saw on Instagram by one Brazilian mathematician and then I am watching your video and you talk about it. It's a sign, the world wants me to read this book
I recently picked up 99% Invisible City, which is diving into the design of the little invisible things in our world and the stories behind them. It's a great nightstand book because it's told in short little stories and isn't too scary, emotional, etc. I also love leaving books like Atlas Obscura and books of maps to take my mind off whatever is bothering me and explore new places. Love your suggestions--adding some to my to-buy list!
Mine is the Book Thief or the Cherub series (yes the books all the boys read in primary school: GREAT books by the way). The Book Thief is just that book that makes me feel so safe and gives me hope. I feel like when we think of Germany in WW2 we forget the simple stories of the actual people and how so much of the goodness of people with kind hearts was suppressed.
Seeing you wanting to cry from the idea of chatty carriages really reminded me that you live in London. I've had a fair few random conversations on trains elsewhere.
I read 'Names for the Sea: Strangers in Iceland' by Sarah Moss at the start of lockdown at a point I really needed comforting and it 100% fits this category of books and was the perfect read when I needed it
loved this, i took a four-day weekend and intend to do some cozy reading. love the idea of re-visiting a series of unfortunate events as bedtime reading. i've had robin wall kimmerer's braiding sweetgrass by my bedside for well over a year now and still haven't finished. part of me doesn't want to!
You know it’ll be an amazing video when an ad for Trials Of Apollo Tower Of Nero plays before the video. Can’t wait to read it on a floppy disk in an abandoned warehouse!
I love the Housekeeper and the Professor, would also recommend the Nakano thrift shop and Strange weather in Tokyo by Hiromi Kawakami which I felt was a similar vibe to it
Genius device: I’ve prayed for that (not literally) for a decade. Thanks for bringing joy to that part of me that wants to read a lot of physical media
Leena, I just adore your videos. One of my go-to comfy reads is the Southern Vampire Mysteries by Charlaine Harris. Great heroine, huge cast of diverse characters, typically ends with our heroine kicking some butt and ending her day on her porch with sweet tea. I listen to the entire series on audiobook every summer, but sometimes I start early if I need something to look forward to.
During the first lockdown I appropriated a book with Hannah Arendts Poems which had belonged to my mum and since then, it has been on my nightstand. Although hardly any of her poems are positive, it has been extremely comforting to me, because it has a sort of "just persevere" mentality woven through them. So I´ve been reading it again and again and it has become a sort of friend to me, and lately I started using it as a sort of oracle, where I ask her questions and just open a page on random, and though I hardly ever understand what she is trying to tell me, it feels like she is trying to tell me something
Ooooh, I am one of those people, who feel like they don't have any friends. (I don't think that it's objectively true, but it bloody well feels like it :-/ )
this video has officially converted me to a gumption clubber. going to join now! love you leena! few youtubers make me feel as seen as you do. oh also translation theory is wild. i thought your perspective on it was very intriguing.
I love how cozy this video is. I'm mostly eating pumpkin pie today (made it yesterday) and not reading because I've got a migraine and I struggle to get through two pages, so I've given up. Ngl, this is the weirdest halloween ever. It's absurdly quiet outside.
In a way that I imagine is probably similar to 'Imagine A Country', in that you could dip in and out of it if you wanted or binge it in one go, I really loved 'Dear NHS: 100 Stories to Say Thank You'. The thank yous come from a range of celebrities, and again they range from being a couple of pages, to maybe 6 pages maximum, but still had the power to make me want to burst out laughing at 1am, to tear up at the profound impact the service has had on all our lives. It provided me with a warm comfort that there are people in our country who continue to strive for the best care they can provide us all, which was something greatly needed during this pandemic. Also, all of the profits which would have been made by the editor and publisher will be donated to NHS Charities and the Lullaby Trust! (PSA: someone needs to make a 'Imagine A Country' but the Welsh version.)
My cousin gifted me The Housekeeper and the Professor a few years ago and it's been sitting on my bookshelf since then. I am going to read it soon, thanks for your recommendation!
You can buy day-passes for the train where I live and once in a while I just spot a day-pass that has been put on the screen of a ticket-machine as a small 'you can have this if you want it' gesture, presumably by someone who had simply gotten to their destination and didn't need their ticket anymore, and it always makes me so happy to see that small act of kindness.
So tempted by the housekeeper and the professor, I’m turned off from all plots that deal with that memory amnesia situ but this one seems so well loved!
Thanks Leena! I've never read 'A series of unfortunate events' and I meant to do it for the longest time. Maybe this is the good moment. With everything that is happening right now in Poland, some soothing books are appreciated. I'm already exhausted and this will be a long fight, so I needed a moment of silence with a wholesome book :) Also could you recommend some books about women rights movement or abortion laws and restrictions in different countries in history? Stay strong, stay safe!
Did anyone else think Leena looked very snail-like in her duvet with the reading headlight thing on? No? Just me then 🐌💕 quite jealous of the cosiness level here too.
In middle school I found Steve Martin’s book of essays, Pure Drivel, in a dollar store and I’ve must of read through it a dozen times by now. Comfy, funny, and short pre-internet stuff
Sally Nicholls writes a time travel series for 7-9 yr olds which is just delightful. The first two are A Chase in Time and A Christmas in Time. They’re well researched and utterly charming, highly recommend!
Oof this is everything I needed. My most recent bedtime read was The Summer Sisters by Judy Blume. Terrible idea. It's a comfort book for me because I've loved it for like 15 years, but I always forget how bleak and sad a lot of it is until I'm in too deep. I finished it last night, and just replaced it with The Bad Beginning. I bought all the Series of Unfortunate Events books as an adult but realized I have not read them as an adult. Time to sort that. My favourite band is doing a livestream concert of their Forever Halloween album, so I'll be watching that and crying. But I'll also eat miniature candy bars, so it's festive.
Thank you for this! Definitely going to pick up imagine a country and the poetry pharmacy. I keep the highly sensitive person by Elaine N Aron on my bedside table. It's a good nice warm hug to those who feel they get overwhelmed by the world
I'm doing a harry potter themed party with the only friend I am still seeing! We have been crafting for weeks and it gives us something to look forward to :) Lovely video, will have to take a look at my childhood book collection!
I've realized that the Inkheart trilogy by Cornelia Funke (I think it's considered middle grade) is totally a comfort read for me. It's about a girl who's father has a strange talent - when he reads aloud, things in the world of the story he's reading swap places with something from our world. It's dark, but it's for children so it's not too bleak, and I think it's so well written. I first read it when I was maybe 10 or so and it really has a special place in my heart.
also hit my reading goal this week and just increased it because why not lol been all about the spooky books this week and they've just reignited my joy for reading again. definitely going to continue in november. ;]
I know this book series isn’t exactly soothing, but I must recommend the Dorothy Must Die series. While it presents a much darker and more maudlin experience, the brilliance of the writing and the characters are sensational. Also! I really want more people to appreciate the series, so I can talk to someone about how mind blowing each book is.
Lovely video, thank you for sharing your recommendations. I've been re-reading Before coffee gets cold (both books) and it had turn out to be a great companion, as in the coffee shop where is set, you can time travel, but it's got a set of rules that puts a lot of people off, so I've been telling my friends about it and we imagine who would we meet and for what reason! So it's a great conversation to have with family and friends too. Hope you can read it x
Going to carve a pumpkin and make dinner virtually with friends for Halloween this year :) This also reminds me that I should re-read the Series of Unfortunate Events, I LOVED those books as a child but I don't actually remember how the series ends...
I've had the essay collection 'Upstream' by Mary Oliver on my nightstand for like two years now. Since it's both nature writing and thoughts about authors I haven't read (Walt Whitman etc) it's perfect for nodding off
I LOVED Daily Rituals. I'm a middle aged artist, so I know who a good percentage of the people are, and I've struggled with my ideas of what my routine should be versus my actual life. It was useful to see how everyone seemed to need a fair number of breaks, and yes, the most prolific, well-known creators were inevitably middle class, male, didn't cook, clean or care for their children, and a lot of them used uppers. Definitely not my life, but I'm certainly not going to compare myself to these people. This book was like the answer to a burning question I've always had, but is rarely discussed.
As always I'm celebrating Samhain by taking time to think of my ancestors and everything that has come before and led up to me existing right now. Normally I do answer the door to trick or treaters, ensuring I have some non-edible treats, but obviously not doing that this year. So instead it meant I had time to enjoy a nice meal and be thankful for all I have. I also watched The Addam's Family (original film) and decorated (and ate) some gingerbread biscuits shaped like pumpkins as I find actual pumpkin carving very difficult and know I'm not currently in a position to cook all the innards.
Leena do you have a video of your favourite quotes? I would love to hear them! You have such a great selection of recommendations and really seem to appreciate the beauty in books.
for these times I'd really recommend handiwork by sara baume which is a sort of extended essay/musings on crafting and the flight of birds. the paragraphs are short, the words rich and it captures the minutiae of a very specific action. honestly it's so calming to read, like a literary valium.
I'm thinking about re-reading Red White and Royal Blue for the third time this year (!) cause it's so comforting. I just want to transport to that political timeline
Loved this video, I can't seem to considerate long enough to finish a book currently 😕. It seems like nothing can hold my attention long enough before I start worrying about other things.
I read the Housekeeper and the Professor this year and loved it so much. If you loved that one I would recommend the book The Guest Cat by Takashi Hiraide. Very similar vibes but its about a cat... and it made me cry BUT the ending... people have different opinions on it but I found it to be hopeful. Nakano Thrift Shop and Kitchen are too other Japanese lit books I read this year and enjoyed but the first ones I mentioned. They go on my favorites shelf.
My soothing book is "The Penderwicks on Gardam Street" by Jeanne Birdsall. The first chapter is a description of the eldest sister in the book baking a pineapple upside down cake and greeting her sisters as they come home from school and it just leaves me feeling so peaceful and content. I've probably reread the second chapter like 10 times.
Thanks for this Leena, it was just what I needed today. I have a nightstand, but it's at the opposite end of my bed so that I actually have to sit up to turn off my alarm. So my books are in a pile on the floor next to my bed instead. Currently propped against my bed are A.S. Byatt's Ragnarok, a lovely retelling of Norse myths, Crow by Ted Hughes, and Fathoms by Rebecca Giggs, a strange mix of memour and science about our relationship with whales and how whales shape the world.
I remember hating poetry and being forced to study it at gcse, and of the entire wjec anthology, I came out liking the darkest poem in there , dulce et decorum est by Wilfred Owen
Ireland is currently in a second lock down (😭), but this period so far has allowed me to rediscover my love of shitty romance books! They're just so soothing, and nothing bad ever happens, and there's some hopeful love stuff in them, so I'm totally unashamed to be on board! Also I read A Series of Unfortunate Events when I was a kid, and when I first met my boyfriend we bonded over a mutual love for the series, so it holds a special place in my heart.
I'm looking for some new romance books to read before my city goes into second lockdown!! Do you have any recommendations? The more cliche the better lol. I just love the warmth and predictability of romance novels
@@hiraeth3382 me too, they just make me so happy! Anna and the French Kiss (Stephanie Perkins) and Amy and Roger's Epic Detour (Morgan Matson) are my personal go-tos at the moment, but they are very cliche! I'm currently making my way through Eat Pray Love by Elizabeth Gilbert and very much enjoying that, but I'm always on the hunt for new ones. Hope you find something good!
'everything i know about love' by dolly alderton was my most recent nightstand book that i just finished and it was PERFECT bedtime reading !!! bedtime is the only time i read for pleasure rn (english lit masters student so LOTS of reading always but mostly for uni lmao) n i find bedtime books so hard to choose so this video was perfeCT thank u
A Series of Unfortunate Events was my life as a tween! I would wait in quivering anticipation for the next one to come out so I could use my hard earned pocket money to buy a copy. I still have all 13 and I credit them for all my good English grades thanks to their "this is a word that means" explanations.
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"I hit my goal but I feel nothing".
A mood.
So 2020. Feeling generally apathetic.
For the first 3 months of lockdown I could only read books I'd already read, because I knew what the ending would be. Could not cope with unpredictable fiction as well as chaotic outside events!
“choose your poetry carefully” should be on a tshirt
france is going into its second lockdown right now so i've been feeling this weird mixture of anger and sadness, i needed this
same same here from germany x
@@lila3372 same same same here from the Netherlands :(
French person here, I felt that
Honestly, this is exactly what I needed today.
Xxx
Thank you for what you said about translated books! Translators don't get the credit they deserve but you give me hope that our work doesn't go unnoticed
They really should! I remember reading harry potter in both english and dutch (my mother tongue) and loving the dutch even more because the translation is so witty! It is so incredibly translated, that is has even more punny jokes than the original! And I am also in awe of anyone capable of translating Roald Dahls works. Again they have been translated incredibly well in dutch, with the rhyme and rhythm intact, I love it.
@@febeschoemaker8571 Children's books are both impossibly fun and exhausting to translate 😄
The train thing was so lovely! Made me emotional too. A girl on the Glasgow to Edinburgh train talked with me all the way to my stop when I was moving out into student accommodation for the first time and she said she wanted to make me less nervous and it was genuinely such a nice moment of human interaction. It’s cool how you’re interested in Scotland it can feel a bit like the only people interested in us are us Scots sometimes haha 🏴
I just bought the Heartstopper graphic novels which are the most wholesome and I highly recommend if you want adorable love story but also deals with issues like bullying/homophobia as well as mental health stuff in a productive and supportive way that lends itself to hope. They are just so lovely and perfect as a antidote to the fear and the dread that comes with 2020.
I could not agree more. I have been reading Heartstopper for over a year now and it has been invaluable to me as well as just so wholesome. I love it
I read the books this week and they're so gorgeous and comforting 💖
Moonstruck is also really fluffy and cute!
One of my favourite nighttime books is the secret garden, especially in the spring/summer. I've read it so many times that I'm never stressed about what's going to happen next, but it contains such lovely descriptions of being outside, and children's wonder at friendship and the ability of the world to make things grow that it makes me feel excited for the next day and the changing seasons and I want to be outside.
Ll
Australia has just come out of our second very strict lockdown, still can’t travel for two weeks. But I’ll finally get to see my mum, it’s been 5 months, I usually would see her twice a week, this is the longest I’ve gone in 25 years without seeing her and on top of that, I had a baby. It’s been rough, but I’m really grateful for our government who kicked our asses so that our daily cases are 0-5 🙌💕 good luck to all of you going back into lockdown! Sending all of the love 💕
Ugh same! Looking forward to lots of good reads to sooth my soul because I'm not ready to start socialising yet...I just need some sun and good food and fresh air and voluntary solitude
@@justperpetuallybothered3474 socialising with anyone in person? The thought of it fills me with anxiety, it’s like I’ve forgotten how normal interactions go! Honestly I just want to see mum, and then I’ll probably avoid everyone else haha 😆
Reading has gotten me through, that’s for sure and I now have my own little library going, looking on the bright side 💕
Congrats on your baby!!
We (czech republic) are currently the worst in covid so its pretty harsh here :Dd
Pandemic baby club! I love it when the ven diagrams of life intersect. I am hanging for the borders to open up again so my family can come visit me in Dirty Melbourne and come meet their grandbaby. What a weird year right??
I have no joke been searching the depths of the internet for wholesome books
The train thing made me cry too. I love that.
I have definitely been guilty of reading books that were either too intense, or that I wanted to keep reading so much, right before bed and ruining my sleep so I'm going to have to keep this in mind!
ASOUE is about the Jewish diaspora and I can talk about it at length. They are incredible children's books but I truly believe they are such an important cultural critique as well. Just mentioning this because of what you said about being socialist. I don't want to give any spoilers so I won't go further but it is canon that the Baudelaires are Jewish and Jews being chased for their SUPPOSED wealth (because Violet doesn't truly have access to it) across various "safe" harbours only to be sold out either through malice or incompetence is a very important story to me.
good grief i’ve never heard of this theory
You are such an incredibly special woman with more integrity than I’m used to seeing from a person of any age. I’m so glad that I stumbled upon your channel while fighting my clothes addiction. God bless.❤
I needed this :) I've begun to realise I love a middle grade book. Read coraline recently and blew me away! I am definitely going to be picking up a few of these ❤
Ooo I've never read Coraline, maybe that's next on the list to try after I finish SOUE.
I listened to the readings done for the New York Public Library earlier this year, it was great. Graveyard Book still remains my fave though. 😊
You explaining the story about the trains in 'Imagine A Country' also made me cry, so thanks for that. 😂 Really good recommendations, it looks like I might be buying some books! 🤙
Knowing other people also can't cope with 12s is the relateable content I didn't know I needed
THEY'RE SO SCARY
Aha I watched Coraline as an adult (it's rated PG) and couldn't cope! 😂
@@isabbygabbyorcrabby Right!? I used to teach year 5, and the Neil gaiman books for that age group are so legit terrifying! 😱👻
@@isabbygabbyorcrabby Coraline is legit one of the creepiest books ever, especially considering it's a children's book. That being said, I absolutely love it and you've reminded me that I should read it again.
Another thing to soothe the soul: watching a video on soothing books, especially if it involves cosy duvets 🥰 I've added The Housekeeper and the Professor to my tbr - it sounds wonderful :)
there's a theory in translation called "explicitation" which is basically the phenomenon of making (potential) ambiguities in the original text more explicit in the translation, so that might be one reason why you feel translations are often clearer
I’ve found myself returning to a Series Of Unfortunate Events as well! I loved it as a child and think the nostalgia brings some much needed comfort
I made pumkin pure for the first time ever for Halloween this year. I find a lot of comfort in doing things that reminds me of the passage of time because I feel completely removed from it. When it comes to books on my beedside table I recently started turning darkness into light which I was meant to read on a holiday this year that never happened.
This is exactly the video I didn't know I needed right now. Have a safe and cosy Halloween, everyone.
My millenial ass also uses a windowsill as a nightstand but mostly because "why'd I spent money on a nightstand when I have perfectly functional windowsill!"
I dont have a bed so i just put my books next to my matress :Dd i have a perfecly functional floor!
Thank you for this, Leena! Comfort reads are exactly what I need.
Sherlock Holmes is the best! Lovely short stories and so so easy to read for it’s time
Awww this was a really lovely idea for a video!! It would have been great at any time, but especially right now. I also really like to read some poetry before bed - my current favourite poet is Mary Oliver because I always find her writing very hopeful. Another recommendation to read before bed is Tiny Beautiful Things by Cheryl Strayed because her advice feels like a hug.
Also, when you got emotional over the chatty carriage idea, that almost made me cry as well (I always tear up when other people start crying; it can be inconvenient, as I'm a doctor and see a more than average number of people cry every week, but I've accepted that this is how I am). But I really liked both train ideas as well; the inherent kindness and solidarity of them is exactly what we need I think.
Thank you for making this video!!
This is the type of content we all need in 2020. Thank you for the reccs, I'm looking forward to reading more instead of doom scrolling 💕
The book on my nightstand now is a 1000 page collection of Irish ghost stories. I've been writing my dissertation so i'm trying to focus more on that and told myself i'm not going to get involved into any novels until i finish writing it. Im failing tough, i've been powering through those stories like ive been book deprived my whole life lol
What is the book called? I've been wanting to read more Irish lit :)
probably the wordsworth irish ghost stories collection, it's a whopper of a tome :)
I can't believe it!!! I put The housekeeper and the professor on my TBR list yesterday because of a recommendation I saw on Instagram by one Brazilian mathematician and then I am watching your video and you talk about it. It's a sign, the world wants me to read this book
I recently picked up 99% Invisible City, which is diving into the design of the little invisible things in our world and the stories behind them. It's a great nightstand book because it's told in short little stories and isn't too scary, emotional, etc. I also love leaving books like Atlas Obscura and books of maps to take my mind off whatever is bothering me and explore new places. Love your suggestions--adding some to my to-buy list!
Mine is the Book Thief or the Cherub series (yes the books all the boys read in primary school: GREAT books by the way). The Book Thief is just that book that makes me feel so safe and gives me hope. I feel like when we think of Germany in WW2 we forget the simple stories of the actual people and how so much of the goodness of people with kind hearts was suppressed.
Awe!!! Thank you, Leena, for the lovely video! Every time you mention a list of book my book list grows. It’s a lovely feeling!
Seeing you wanting to cry from the idea of chatty carriages really reminded me that you live in London. I've had a fair few random conversations on trains elsewhere.
I read 'Names for the Sea: Strangers in Iceland' by Sarah Moss at the start of lockdown at a point I really needed comforting and it 100% fits this category of books and was the perfect read when I needed it
loved this, i took a four-day weekend and intend to do some cozy reading. love the idea of re-visiting a series of unfortunate events as bedtime reading. i've had robin wall kimmerer's braiding sweetgrass by my bedside for well over a year now and still haven't finished. part of me doesn't want to!
You made me cry with the train story and now I need that return ticket box and that chatty carriage.
I also agree about that translated books are easier and I also agree about why their easier. I really liked this very comforting
Your content gives me life!
You know it’ll be an amazing video when an ad for Trials Of Apollo Tower Of Nero plays before the video. Can’t wait to read it on a floppy disk in an abandoned warehouse!
I really love the idea of a different kind of book for your bedside table. Love your suggestions. Thank you for this!!
I love the Housekeeper and the Professor, would also recommend the Nakano thrift shop and Strange weather in Tokyo by Hiromi Kawakami which I felt was a similar vibe to it
Genius device: I’ve prayed for that (not literally) for a decade. Thanks for bringing joy to that part of me that wants to read a lot of physical media
Reading light shot, gellpen nostalgia & tour of very stylish window sill made my evening
Wonderful and diverse choices: thanks for the inspiration
I also have the Daily Rituals book by my bed FOR YEARS so I relate
"low stakes peril" she says while holding the book where the scheme of the week is to saw violet's head in half...
Leena, I just adore your videos.
One of my go-to comfy reads is the Southern Vampire Mysteries by Charlaine Harris. Great heroine, huge cast of diverse characters, typically ends with our heroine kicking some butt and ending her day on her porch with sweet tea. I listen to the entire series on audiobook every summer, but sometimes I start early if I need something to look forward to.
Iceland has just announced more restrictions, so I really enjoyed these recommendations
THAT READING LIGHT IS FUCKING GENIUS
Thank you leena x
I’ve just started a hunger games re read inspired by yourself and it is making me feel a bit better about the state of the world
During the first lockdown I appropriated a book with Hannah Arendts Poems which had belonged to my mum and since then, it has been on my nightstand. Although hardly any of her poems are positive, it has been extremely comforting to me, because it has a sort of "just persevere" mentality woven through them. So I´ve been reading it again and again and it has become a sort of friend to me, and lately I started using it as a sort of oracle, where I ask her questions and just open a page on random, and though I hardly ever understand what she is trying to tell me, it feels like she is trying to tell me something
Ooooh, I am one of those people, who feel like they don't have any friends. (I don't think that it's objectively true, but it bloody well feels like it :-/ )
I've had the Bookshop Book on my shelves for years, and I think this is the right time to crack it open
I couldn't complete the video yesterday evening, because I finally got tired enough to sleep. I think this is a good sign. 💝
The Bear Went Over the Mountain is my #1 nightstand book. Light- hearted and hilarious
I am buying those reading lights!
this video has officially converted me to a gumption clubber. going to join now!
love you leena! few youtubers make me feel as seen as you do.
oh also translation theory is wild. i thought your perspective on it was very intriguing.
I love how cozy this video is. I'm mostly eating pumpkin pie today (made it yesterday) and not reading because I've got a migraine and I struggle to get through two pages, so I've given up. Ngl, this is the weirdest halloween ever. It's absurdly quiet outside.
In a way that I imagine is probably similar to 'Imagine A Country', in that you could dip in and out of it if you wanted or binge it in one go, I really loved 'Dear NHS: 100 Stories to Say Thank You'. The thank yous come from a range of celebrities, and again they range from being a couple of pages, to maybe 6 pages maximum, but still had the power to make me want to burst out laughing at 1am, to tear up at the profound impact the service has had on all our lives. It provided me with a warm comfort that there are people in our country who continue to strive for the best care they can provide us all, which was something greatly needed during this pandemic. Also, all of the profits which would have been made by the editor and publisher will be donated to NHS Charities and the Lullaby Trust!
(PSA: someone needs to make a 'Imagine A Country' but the Welsh version.)
My cousin gifted me The Housekeeper and the Professor a few years ago and it's been sitting on my bookshelf since then. I am going to read it soon, thanks for your recommendation!
You can buy day-passes for the train where I live and once in a while I just spot a day-pass that has been put on the screen of a ticket-machine as a small 'you can have this if you want it' gesture, presumably by someone who had simply gotten to their destination and didn't need their ticket anymore, and it always makes me so happy to see that small act of kindness.
Gorgeously cosy video! At the moment I have The Little Prince and some books of short stories by my bed
thank you for this. I especially felt the first few minutes.
So tempted by the housekeeper and the professor, I’m turned off from all plots that deal with that memory amnesia situ but this one seems so well loved!
Charlie Mackesy's 'the Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse' lives next to my bed to give me hope for the world
Thanks Leena!
I've never read 'A series of unfortunate events' and I meant to do it for the longest time. Maybe this is the good moment.
With everything that is happening right now in Poland, some soothing books are appreciated. I'm already exhausted and this will be a long fight, so I needed a moment of silence with a wholesome book :)
Also could you recommend some books about women rights movement or abortion laws and restrictions in different countries in history?
Stay strong, stay safe!
Did anyone else think Leena looked very snail-like in her duvet with the reading headlight thing on? No? Just me then 🐌💕 quite jealous of the cosiness level here too.
In middle school I found Steve Martin’s book of essays, Pure Drivel, in a dollar store and I’ve must of read through it a dozen times by now. Comfy, funny, and short pre-internet stuff
Sally Nicholls writes a time travel series for 7-9 yr olds which is just delightful. The first two are A Chase in Time and A Christmas in Time. They’re well researched and utterly charming, highly recommend!
Oof this is everything I needed.
My most recent bedtime read was The Summer Sisters by Judy Blume.
Terrible idea. It's a comfort book for me because I've loved it for like 15 years, but I always forget how bleak and sad a lot of it is until I'm in too deep.
I finished it last night, and just replaced it with The Bad Beginning.
I bought all the Series of Unfortunate Events books as an adult but realized I have not read them as an adult. Time to sort that.
My favourite band is doing a livestream concert of their Forever Halloween album, so I'll be watching that and crying.
But I'll also eat miniature candy bars, so it's festive.
The Maine???
Thank you for this! Definitely going to pick up imagine a country and the poetry pharmacy. I keep the highly sensitive person by Elaine N Aron on my bedside table. It's a good nice warm hug to those who feel they get overwhelmed by the world
I'm doing a harry potter themed party with the only friend I am still seeing! We have been crafting for weeks and it gives us something to look forward to :) Lovely video, will have to take a look at my childhood book collection!
I've realized that the Inkheart trilogy by Cornelia Funke (I think it's considered middle grade) is totally a comfort read for me. It's about a girl who's father has a strange talent - when he reads aloud, things in the world of the story he's reading swap places with something from our world. It's dark, but it's for children so it's not too bleak, and I think it's so well written. I first read it when I was maybe 10 or so and it really has a special place in my heart.
also hit my reading goal this week and just increased it because why not lol been all about the spooky books this week and they've just reignited my joy for reading again. definitely going to continue in november. ;]
The housekeeper and the professor!!! Yes! I love that book!
I know this book series isn’t exactly soothing, but I must recommend the Dorothy Must Die series. While it presents a much darker and more maudlin experience, the brilliance of the writing and the characters are sensational. Also! I really want more people to appreciate the series, so I can talk to someone about how mind blowing each book is.
Lovely video, thank you for sharing your recommendations. I've been re-reading Before coffee gets cold (both books) and it had turn out to be a great companion, as in the coffee shop where is set, you can time travel, but it's got a set of rules that puts a lot of people off, so I've been telling my friends about it and we imagine who would we meet and for what reason! So it's a great conversation to have with family and friends too. Hope you can read it x
As always this is exactly what I needed at this point of the shitshow of all shitshows that is 2020!
Ps. Where is the reading light of dreams from?
Thank you. Thats all i gotta say. Needed this. ❤️
Going to carve a pumpkin and make dinner virtually with friends for Halloween this year :)
This also reminds me that I should re-read the Series of Unfortunate Events, I LOVED those books as a child but I don't actually remember how the series ends...
Same!!!
Love this. Thanks leena
I've had the essay collection 'Upstream' by Mary Oliver on my nightstand for like two years now. Since it's both nature writing and thoughts about authors I haven't read (Walt Whitman etc) it's perfect for nodding off
I LOVED Daily Rituals. I'm a middle aged artist, so I know who a good percentage of the people are, and I've struggled with my ideas of what my routine should be versus my actual life. It was useful to see how everyone seemed to need a fair number of breaks, and yes, the most prolific, well-known creators were inevitably middle class, male, didn't cook, clean or care for their children, and a lot of them used uppers. Definitely not my life, but I'm certainly not going to compare myself to these people. This book was like the answer to a burning question I've always had, but is rarely discussed.
Oh dang, I got that neck-light thing about two weeks back, it's such a good investment!
As always I'm celebrating Samhain by taking time to think of my ancestors and everything that has come before and led up to me existing right now. Normally I do answer the door to trick or treaters, ensuring I have some non-edible treats, but obviously not doing that this year. So instead it meant I had time to enjoy a nice meal and be thankful for all I have. I also watched The Addam's Family (original film) and decorated (and ate) some gingerbread biscuits shaped like pumpkins as I find actual pumpkin carving very difficult and know I'm not currently in a position to cook all the innards.
Leena do you have a video of your favourite quotes? I would love to hear them! You have such a great selection of recommendations and really seem to appreciate the beauty in books.
Middle grade rec I recently read is the Pages and Co trilogy by Anna James. So good!
for these times I'd really recommend handiwork by sara baume which is a sort of extended essay/musings on crafting and the flight of birds. the paragraphs are short, the words rich and it captures the minutiae of a very specific action. honestly it's so calming to read, like a literary valium.
I'm thinking about re-reading Red White and Royal Blue for the third time this year (!) cause it's so comforting. I just want to transport to that political timeline
I just finished reading it for the second time this year yesterday and something about it is just so... soothing? I absolutely get you!
that book stitched up my heart from the way it shattered in 2016
Loved this video, I can't seem to considerate long enough to finish a book currently 😕. It seems like nothing can hold my attention long enough before I start worrying about other things.
same :( I really force my way through books at the moment..
@@kimseehorn yeah I have resorted to reading some middle grade books just to see if it would help. So far it has not lol.
This was glorious. Thank-you ♥️
I read the Housekeeper and the Professor this year and loved it so much. If you loved that one I would recommend the book The Guest Cat by Takashi Hiraide. Very similar vibes but its about a cat... and it made me cry BUT the ending... people have different opinions on it but I found it to be hopeful.
Nakano Thrift Shop and Kitchen are too other Japanese lit books I read this year and enjoyed but the first ones I mentioned. They go on my favorites shelf.
My soothing book is "The Penderwicks on Gardam Street" by Jeanne Birdsall. The first chapter is a description of the eldest sister in the book baking a pineapple upside down cake and greeting her sisters as they come home from school and it just leaves me feeling so peaceful and content. I've probably reread the second chapter like 10 times.
Thanks for this Leena, it was just what I needed today.
I have a nightstand, but it's at the opposite end of my bed so that I actually have to sit up to turn off my alarm. So my books are in a pile on the floor next to my bed instead.
Currently propped against my bed are A.S. Byatt's Ragnarok, a lovely retelling of Norse myths, Crow by Ted Hughes, and Fathoms by Rebecca Giggs, a strange mix of memour and science about our relationship with whales and how whales shape the world.
I remember hating poetry and being forced to study it at gcse, and of the entire wjec anthology, I came out liking the darkest poem in there , dulce et decorum est by Wilfred Owen
I NEED that round the neck reading light
Ireland is currently in a second lock down (😭), but this period so far has allowed me to rediscover my love of shitty romance books! They're just so soothing, and nothing bad ever happens, and there's some hopeful love stuff in them, so I'm totally unashamed to be on board! Also I read A Series of Unfortunate Events when I was a kid, and when I first met my boyfriend we bonded over a mutual love for the series, so it holds a special place in my heart.
I'm looking for some new romance books to read before my city goes into second lockdown!! Do you have any recommendations? The more cliche the better lol. I just love the warmth and predictability of romance novels
@@hiraeth3382 me too, they just make me so happy! Anna and the French Kiss (Stephanie Perkins) and Amy and Roger's Epic Detour (Morgan Matson) are my personal go-tos at the moment, but they are very cliche! I'm currently making my way through Eat Pray Love by Elizabeth Gilbert and very much enjoying that, but I'm always on the hunt for new ones. Hope you find something good!
@@JennyBGoes Thank you so much!! They're all added to my reading list ❤
'everything i know about love' by dolly alderton was my most recent nightstand book that i just finished and it was PERFECT bedtime reading !!! bedtime is the only time i read for pleasure rn (english lit masters student so LOTS of reading always but mostly for uni lmao) n i find bedtime books so hard to choose so this video was perfeCT thank u
I always return to Good Omens because it makes me laugh and gives me hope. I probably read it once a year - maybe twice this year?
A Series of Unfortunate Events was my life as a tween! I would wait in quivering anticipation for the next one to come out so I could use my hard earned pocket money to buy a copy. I still have all 13 and I credit them for all my good English grades thanks to their "this is a word that means" explanations.