I appreciate your reviews a lot. I’m at a point in my life where “fluff” is not satisfying so I started reading “Notes from Underground” after watching your review. Loving it so I downloaded the Gogol stories you mentioned from project Gutenberg. Thank you for being unapologetic in your reviews and rants!
Life is so strange. If I had had your looks back in the day, even on a bad day, I wouldn’t have stopped looking in the mirror. And, yeah, I would have been a tremendous snob. You’re gorgeous and brilliant. The Lord really shined all over you.
I need this. I really enjoyed the overcoat when I read it. Lol "nothing going on behind those eyes" 🤣 great rants. Can't wait for the end of year the video, the highly curated haul, and the necessity of the bad review! You're spoiling the people!
Hi @Thecatlady, Dead Souls is a great book, very funny at times. Hope you try it out. Might make an excellent palate cleanser after all that damn Cormac McCarthy. 😂Enjoy!
So cool! I've never read that one. My favorite 'talking K-9' story was Garth Stein's Art of Racing in the Rain. Not generally wild about experimental POV's but Enzo really pulled it off!
I have heard about Gogol but have not read any of his books. I will definitely will put this book on my wish list. I am try to read a few books next year that are out of my comfort zone. I want to say you did a great review on Simon De Beauvoir, " The Woman Destroyed". Thank you for that review and I just finished it too. Wow! I also could not put the book down. Once I finished one story , I had to take a pause before I read the next store, phew. Thanks and have a wonderful day.
Yay! I'm so glad you liked The Woman Destroyed! It's a good one and I still think about it from time to time!:) Hope you enjoy Gogol when you get around to him!
The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri has a base layer about Gogol. The character of the dad experiences a tragedy and survives, but Gogol, who he was reading when it happened, is an overarching concept in the book.
Hi Alana, great work as usual! I'm sure you'll LOVE Dead Souls. Gogol doesn't get the attention he deserves. For some reason very little of his work has been turned into professionally produced audiobooks 😢. Also I just finished Lonesome Dove, absolutely loved it. Many thanks for a great rec!
👍 Recently bought the vintage classics collected tales of gogol trans by the polarizing pevear/volokonsky. Looking forward to it. My plans for 2025, five or fewer chunkers and all the untouched short stories off my shelf.
Hi @R.V.I., Dante & his 34 cantos of Hell and Gogol both rock but you've got me cudgeling my brain to see the connection. It's been many years since I read Dante's little trilogy so maybe it's just my memory failing me. Can you elaborate on your position? Many thanks in advance.
I love your rambling, but let's keep the criticism and critiques on the books. You do not look pale, you look beautiful, vibrant (and a little sharp) on every video that you do. You would look just as good without any makeup whatsoever. Just putting that out there. Now, when it comes to short stories, what do you look for when you are reading them. I don't just mean collections, but short stories in and of themselves. Do you look for complete mini three act progressions where something is resolved? Do you read stories that aren't conclusive (they may start and end in the dark)? What do you hope to take away from a short story after you have read it that may not be related to whether you would read an author's longer works. I am writing short stories, but it does intrigue me about what a person looks for in the format of a short story rather than in novel format. Keep doing your thing. ✌🏼
Naw, the summer tan is GONE LOL When it comes to short stories, I like to see if they are cohesive - is the author essentially writing a complete story, that makes sense, with waaay fewer words and is it still impactful, regardless of the length?
Your channel is wonderful, and I love your talk about Russian literature, and I hope you read A Hero of Our Time novel by Mikhail Lermontov Thank you ❤
You look great to me, I say critique books, not yourself! You sound like an Italian grandmother self-reviewing how you "don't look well" 😸😆 There's not a lot of Gogol to review, "Dead Souls" was his one novel and I'm not sure it was complete, to me it reads like Fitzgerald's incomplete "Last Tycoon." To me Gogol is more noteable for things that he originated as opposed to doing it well, which people like the young Dostoyevsky would accomplish.
LOOOOOL! I'm a realist haha As far as I'm aware, there is no Italian in the bloodline and trust me, I've asked hahahaha. Yea, Dead Souls isn't completed, unfortunately.
just finished Dead Souls. what a masterful writing! would recommend Guilbert Guerney's translation
Haha was waiting for that JLo joke. As a Latino, Gogol's rant is so accurate to today's time in my community. Wonderful review as always Alana!
LOL! Thank you!
I appreciate your reviews a lot. I’m at a point in my life where “fluff” is not satisfying so I started reading “Notes from Underground” after watching your review. Loving it so I downloaded the Gogol stories you mentioned from project Gutenberg. Thank you for being unapologetic in your reviews and rants!
Thank you!! And i'm glad you've enjoyed Notes from Underground! :)
Life is so strange. If I had had your looks back in the day, even on a bad day, I wouldn’t have stopped looking in the mirror. And, yeah, I would have been a tremendous snob. You’re gorgeous and brilliant. The Lord really shined all over you.
Omg thank you hahaha!
I need this. I really enjoyed the overcoat when I read it. Lol "nothing going on behind those eyes" 🤣 great rants. Can't wait for the end of year the video, the highly curated haul, and the necessity of the bad review! You're spoiling the people!
LOL! Well more rants on the way!
The beginning reminds me of that video with the newscast “I so pale” 😂😂😂
@@kathab8826 I haven’t seen that 🤣
Good review! My advice is to reread Inferno by Dante before Dead Soles🙂
I don't know about the re-reading lol. I have to get through the rest of Dante LOL
Yes.... hard hitting! That's my jam!!
I've liked the small bits of Gogol I've read. I liked The Overcoat.
Preach girl!!
Yessss! 🙌🏼
Hi @Thecatlady, Dead Souls is a great book, very funny at times. Hope you try it out. Might make an excellent palate cleanser after all that damn Cormac McCarthy. 😂Enjoy!
@dougirvin2413 hahaha! I do own Dead Souls but haven't gotten to it yet.
You sold me on it when you said there's a talking dog!
Hi Elizabeth, have you ever read The Master and Margarita by Bulgakov? A good, if a bit weird, Russian read.
@@dougirvin2413 I haven't, but it's on my list to pick up eventually!
@@elizabethaliteraryprincess If you're into talking dogs, you should definitely read Bulgakov's "Heart of a Dog".
So cool! I've never read that one. My favorite 'talking K-9' story was Garth Stein's Art of Racing in the Rain. Not generally wild about experimental POV's but Enzo really pulled it off!
The dog is hilarious!
I have heard about Gogol but have not read any of his books. I will definitely will put this book on my wish list. I am try to read a few books next year that are out of my comfort zone. I want to say you did a great review on Simon De Beauvoir, " The Woman Destroyed". Thank you for that review and I just finished it too. Wow! I also could not put the book down. Once I finished one story , I had to take a pause before I read the next store, phew. Thanks and have a wonderful day.
Yay! I'm so glad you liked The Woman Destroyed! It's a good one and I still think about it from time to time!:) Hope you enjoy Gogol when you get around to him!
The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri has a base layer about Gogol. The character of the dad experiences a tragedy and survives, but Gogol, who he was reading when it happened, is an overarching concept in the book.
Oooh good to know!
Hi Alana, great work as usual! I'm sure you'll LOVE Dead Souls. Gogol doesn't get the attention he deserves. For some reason very little of his work has been turned into professionally produced audiobooks 😢. Also I just finished Lonesome Dove, absolutely loved it. Many thanks for a great rec!
Perhaps I'll get around to Dead Souls in 2025! Glad you liked Lonesome Dove! It's a ride.
👍 Recently bought the vintage classics collected tales of gogol trans by the polarizing pevear/volokonsky. Looking forward to it. My plans for 2025, five or fewer chunkers and all the untouched short stories off my shelf.
I definitely plan to knock out some chunky novels as well, and sandwich the slim volumes in between for 2025!
Thank you Alana!
FYI, I love to hear you rumble and rant! 😂
Hahaha more rants on the way!
This was short! I've been spoiled by the 30+ min videos😤😤😤
I use fluffy slice of life reads as palate cleansers between heavy reads😅
LOL! Ain't no shame in it!
Hi @R.V.I., Dante & his 34 cantos of Hell and Gogol both rock but you've got me cudgeling my brain to see the connection. It's been many years since I read Dante's little trilogy so maybe it's just my memory failing me. Can you elaborate on your position? Many thanks in advance.
forget a book review, we just want to hear a 1/2 hr rant and ramble
@@kurtfox4944 oh … that’s on the way 🤣
Those are the best!!
I love your rambling, but let's keep the criticism and critiques on the books. You do not look pale, you look beautiful, vibrant (and a little sharp) on every video that you do. You would look just as good without any makeup whatsoever. Just putting that out there.
Now, when it comes to short stories, what do you look for when you are reading them. I don't just mean collections, but short stories in and of themselves. Do you look for complete mini three act progressions where something is resolved? Do you read stories that aren't conclusive (they may start and end in the dark)? What do you hope to take away from a short story after you have read it that may not be related to whether you would read an author's longer works.
I am writing short stories, but it does intrigue me about what a person looks for in the format of a short story rather than in novel format.
Keep doing your thing. ✌🏼
Naw, the summer tan is GONE LOL
When it comes to short stories, I like to see if they are cohesive - is the author essentially writing a complete story, that makes sense, with waaay fewer words and is it still impactful, regardless of the length?
you look exactly like - Gina Torres. In fact I thought she started a youtube channel
I don't know who that is😅
Your channel is wonderful, and I love your talk about Russian literature, and I hope you read
A Hero of Our Time novel by Mikhail Lermontov
Thank you ❤
Thank you and thank you for the rec! :)
You look great to me, I say critique books, not yourself! You sound like an Italian grandmother self-reviewing how you "don't look well" 😸😆 There's not a lot of Gogol to review, "Dead Souls" was his one novel and I'm not sure it was complete, to me it reads like Fitzgerald's incomplete "Last Tycoon." To me Gogol is more noteable for things that he originated as opposed to doing it well, which people like the young Dostoyevsky would accomplish.
LOOOOOL! I'm a realist haha As far as I'm aware, there is no Italian in the bloodline and trust me, I've asked hahahaha. Yea, Dead Souls isn't completed, unfortunately.