Han Kang won the Nobel Prize for Literature which is awarded for an author’s body of work, not for a specific book. She is the first Korean person to win this award and one of the youngest winners… amazing accomplishment 😊
Right after I heard about Han Kang, I watched Past Lives in which the main character makes a comment that Koreans don't win the Nobel Prize and it was so exciting lol
The Bell Jar is amazing. I read it years ago when studying Sylvia Plath. I need to read it again. I can totally relate to needing to live several lives in order to do everything I want to do.
Captive Prince is one of my all time fave series, but I cannot see you liking it🤣 The only advice I could give is that book 1 is objectively bad, but book 2 is great.
Captive Prince is one of my all time favourite series and I reread it every year, but I fear that you'll absolutely LOATHE it 🙈 It has almost all the tropes that you hate and many people consider this book highly problematic. You are right, the problematic stuff goes away in book 2. But I'm worried. I cannot imagine a universe where you like this 😅
The Captive Prince trilogy is genuinely one of my all time absolute fave trilogies ever - I love Damen and Laurent with ALL my heart and I reread the entire series pretty much every year, that's how much I love them. HOWEVER, there's loads of TW for this book so be aware! So worth it tho
Emily! Pick books that spark joy! I would rather hear that you read a fantasy, sci-fi, etc. novel from 10 years ago that has amazing characters, a really good story, or incredible idea - than a bunch of 2-3 star recent releases. Read Brandi Sandi and/or do your Nebula/Hugo challenge instead of forcing yourself to read books with bad reviews. Whatever it takes to increase your odds of really enjoying the books.💕 (I am doing this too. I had to put down Matt Haig’s newest book. I just finished the Brilliant Friend quartet - which was good but I now need something v different - and am going back to tried and trues, e.g. Sanderson and Discworld.) You’ve said that you’ve had a rough reading year. End it by maximizing your odds of 5 stars instead of what you think we want? ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I am glad I am not the only one with a cat that sits outside a closed door meowing. My cat was very extra in this regard today. I hope your reads go well.
just a note about Han Kang winning the Nobel Prize over Murakami, the nominations are acutally kept secret for 50 years so there's no way to know right now if he was even nominated in the first place. On a completely different note, I would really recommend Hunger by Roxane Gay. It's described as a memoir of her body and really focuses on weight and society's obsession with dictating how women should look and act whilst also being a really powerful memoir. It can get pretty dark though, so I would definitely check CWs if you decide to pick it up :)
I find the stormlight archive intimidating too! Something I did to make them more manageable was treating each “book” within the story as a separate book. I’d read through Book 1 in words of radiance and then take a break and read something completely different. Then I’d feel refreshed and ready to come back and read the next “book.” I think giving my brain a break from the intense world building helped me enjoy it more.
My only advice for you each month you choose a pile of books to read, make sure you have back-up books that are from your tried-and-true authors that never fail you. So you can at least enjoy a familiar journey after you have been disappointed. My go to author is Mary Stewart just because its nostalgia. Reminds me of a simpler time and dated attitudes that are gone today also. I am sure you have some too.
Emily, you NEED to LISTEN to Incidents Around the House. Delaney Nicole Gill knocks that out of the park. You absolutely feel what the characters are feeling.
As one of your older subscribers, im happy to see you interested in peri/menopause. I learned nothing from my mother and did my own reading. I would urge every woman to PLAN their menopause to the best of their ability and reproductive situation.
Clawdia's claws at the door, and her meows in the background. So cute and funny. If you ever want a cat that will do nothing but leave you alone, I'd be happy to trade. (Ok, fine, I wouldn't be happy to trade. I still love my monster beast of a cat.)
Oh, btw, I did enjoy Yumi and the Nightmare Painter. It got a little slow in the middle of the book, but the ending was really nice and it overall seemed more wholesome than what I'm used to for Brandon Sanderson. But don't necessarily trust my opinion. I'm the weirdo who really liked the Frugal Wizard's Handbook. (So sue me- I related to the main character who felt like he'd screwed up everything in his whole life.)
I've read all of Han Kang's books and personally The Vegetarian was my favorite, but I'm not sure you will like her writing style. Also you're super lucky to have amazing modern composer Clawdia the Cat providing your background music lol
🌹 Emily, this video was so relatable for some reason... I always watch but never comment because I don't read nearly as much as you... I just like your energy and your smile... Just your vibe in general... But this video touched on some things that were so on point for me... Thank you... Makes me appreciate you that much more... xox from Montreal... 🌹🌹🌹
I find it easier to finish(or start😅) a long book if it'a an eBook, especially Sanderson's. I've read the whole Stormlight Archive that way... 😁 But that was years ago when it was the only thing I was reading 😂 Love you content ❤
I love Megan Miranda. I hear a lot of people criticizing her but I enjoy every one I have read. Who cares what others think. The whole point is to love the escape a book can offer.
The cat on the cover of Scalzi's book looks just like my cat! 😻 Regarding Incidents around the house: if critiques are really bad, maybe you'll get to read it much sooner than you thought. 🤷♀️
I love nonfiction!! Science wise i have enjoyed Rise and Fall of Dinosaurs, Botany of Desire, and The Man Who Mistook his Wife for a Hat. History wise really enjoyed The Library Book, When Women Ruled the World, Killers of the Flower Moon, and The Monsters Bones
Lol Captive Prince will not be for you. I'd be amazed if you like it. I devoured the trilogy years ago but fully acknowledge its issues. Doubt I'd enjoy it now but was one heck of a ride at the time. 😅 oh and set your expectations to it being very dark and not a romance (there is a relationship later in the books but in no way meets the romance genre definition). And that new cover is far to cutesy for the actual story!
I just finished Here one moment a few hours ago and it was SO good! it’s definitely not very thriller-y but it is awesome. the audiobook is fantastic, highly recommend!!
oh emily I don't think the captive prince is gonna be your cup of tea... I've read the first two and it certainly was an experience... not sure if I would consider it enjoyable lol
The Bell Jar is good but you were told correctly, there are parts that have not aged well. I love Sylvia Plath, LOVE her, and so I’m always inclined to go total fangirl and to view everything she ever wrote through rose-colored glasses… so if I get irritated by the parts that haven’t aged well, you might actually feel a little bit of rage! BUT… The Bell Jar is a pretty insightful portrait of depression if you ask me. And I love what she says about the recurring nature of depression. There is a sentence near the end of the book that begins “How did I know that someday …?” I’ll keep it vague, but it’s a brilliant sentence. The book is full of many little moments like that, sharp insights, moments when you’ll be like “OMG, that’s so true.” Or at least my young, angsty self thought so when I first read it. And there are great lines all throughout the book. Her writing has a special edgy, knife out of nowhere quality to it - it’s “like a mixture of honey and razor blades”. I think that’s a description a critic once gave of Lawrence Olivier’s voice in Othello; don’t hold me to that. Anyway, I like The Bell Jar, but I love her poetry. Ariel is her best known collection, if you’re interested. The Colossus is also fantastic. One of my favorite poems by her, which is in the collection Crossing the Water, is Blackberrying. Thank you for reminding me to read her, Emily - I haven’t in a while but I totally should. Sorry this went on so long. All I will say in closing is that if you hate The Bell Jar, please don’t hate me. We usually agree, I swear! Oh, and as always, love the Clawdia background track. :-)
Echoing everyone else... You're going to hate Captive Prince 😆 everyone that enjoyed the series generally doesn't like the first book as much (me included - I think I read the series in a day). Pacat's YA series (Dark Rise) has some of the same themes but is slightly tamer if you want to try that.
Oooh! I read the James Islington series earlier this year. Book 2 is heavy world-building and characters moving around a lot, and I found it a bit confusing. The audio helped me. If you get to the end and are not sure what is going on, there is a sweet summary of worldbuilding and events from books 1 and 2 at the beginning of book 3
I am really excited to hear your opinion on the Bell Jar. I read it a few years back on a long train ride and was absolutely mesmerised. Also, always excited about your feminist books. That is an area I really need to invest more focus on!
I can share a positive review of a recent release. I read Everyone This Christmas Has a Secret, the third book in the Ernest Cuningham mystery series from Benjamin Stevenson, and I liked it! It's shorter than the previous two and the author frames this as a "Holiday Special." I was not sure about it the whole way through, but I did like how the author wrapped up the mystery so gave it a four stars and found it entertaining. Good luck with your November reads - I hope the ones you are giving a chance despite the negative reviews pan out!
I went on goodreads to read the synopsis of the eyes are the best part and saw one review that just said”honestly, good for her” and I immediately thought of you! I hope you enjoy it. I added it to my TBR
I loved They Never Learn. And I am not a thriller girlie, but I seriously enjoyed that one. I have no clue, however, if you're gonna like it. But I'm looking forward to finding out.
I've almost entirely moved over to tracking my reading on Storygraph, partly because it doesn't have the books average rating up top where you see it no matter what. It can be so freeing not knowing a books rating before I read it. Edited to add that I really enjoyed The Eyes Are The Best Part
Captive prince is one of my all time favorite fantasy series but I don’t know if you’d like it. Princes gambit, the second book, was the best one by far but I think you’d really enjoy it. But it’s true enemy’s to lovers
They never learn is also on my self. Picked it up a while ago when used book shopping. Can’t wait to hear your thoughts! Maybe I’ll read that one next.
I actually picked up Incidents Around the House as an audiobook because I was seeing rave reviews about it. I really enjoyed it, thought the ending was great
Would definitely be interested in a captive prince vlog. Just remember book 1 is not a Romance. You are supposed to hate Laurent in book 1. And the series is so readable, I binged all 3 books when I first read them
I really enjoyed Tress but I am absolutely struggling with Yumi and the Nightmare Painter so perhaps you‘ll love it! I totally dnf‘d Frugal Wizard. Planning to read Words of Radiance, Circe by Madeline Miller and The Fall of Hyperion in November. I should have picked only one chunky book to read haha
My wife has read both human acts and the vegeterian, but she liked the vegeterian the most. I read only the vegeterian but it's amazing. Very weird, though, but once you realize what the weirdness is about you see how amazing this book really is
Captive Prince was a very dark uncomfortable read. Certainly NOT a romance although I think that changes in the sequel books which I didn’t read. Interested to hear your thoughts on it! 🥴
I read The vegetarian for a bookclub and I loved it, it's a very short book but the discussion was very interesting, and it made me wanna read Human Acts, I think u might like it!
I read about half of the Han Kang one last year, but had to stop because it was such a sad read, and I battle depression so have to be careful. I’m really interested in your thoughts though. I’ve heard that The Pumpkin Spice Cafe is fun and cozy. Lol.
I'm reading Human Acts right now! It's about a real event that happened in South Korea in 1980. We follow multiple characters and see how they were affected by this event (all related in one way or another to this one central character). The way it's written is very odd, but I think it's impactful. It's also literary fiction which can be a hit or miss for me, but so far I'm enjoying. I hope you pick it up as well!
Hey! To make your list even longer I'm going to recommend Alice Munro; her book Runaway specifically to start with. Her writing and story telling is very reminiscent of Elena Ferrante.
Please read The Captive Prince. I read all 3 over one weekend (it should have been one large book), and it got me back into reading. While it does get better with each book, please just read the first one all the way through. If you finish it, and don't want to continue on, fine. But please don't immediately DNF that book.
I was ready to give you a hard time for not mentioning Oathbringer and then you did! Although love the honesty about not being likely to finish it this month 🤣 I am super excited about Wind and Truth, and I'm afraid to start anything else significant between now and then even though it's over a month away. On that note, I'm about 60% through Sword of Kaigen and I am enjoying it so so much. Still time for things to change but so far I think I'm enjoying it more than Blood Over Bright Haven. The prose is beautiful and Misaki is such an enjoyable and interesting character. Yumi is a lovely and easy read by the way. I hated the medieval England one but enjoyed Yumi and Tress, and loved Sunlit Man. Also Clawdia's dedication to reminding you that she is the main character in these videos is so admirable 🤩
I’m glad ML Wang is getting more and more recognition. She’s so talented. I’ve really slow down on my Sanderson’s reading. I need to try and catch up. We’ll see if she tires of it before I do 💀
a new release i loved is Rest Stop- Nat Cassidy's new horror novella. for fantasy- not new, but John Gwynne's Faithful & Fallen series (Malice is the first book) is so good, one of my favorite fantasy series of all time! I think you would love it!
I found Human Acts to be a hard read, but very impactful. It's my favourite of Han Kang's works so far. Yumi & the Nightmare Painter is a much more pleasant read, I breezed through that one. I enjoyed the dual perspectives. 😊
I read the Captive Prince series a few years ago because I needed to know how it ended. There's going to be a few scenes that you're not going to like and suspect you'll dnf it.
I literally just filmed a vlog saying how I noticed that I can't buy books now without checking the Goodreads rating and how I low key hate myself for it. I grew up in the 90s and one of my favorite things was going to a bookstore and just totally judging a book by its cover. I was a teen, so never cared what other people said about the books I chose, I just chose what I felt drawn to. Now, it's like I won't pick up a book unless I know other people have liked it. Currently, I am reading one (which I will eventually vlog about) with a 3.42 on Goodreads and I honestly love it. I wouldn't give it 5* but a solid 4* is likely if it ends well - I'm only about halfway through. But still, I feel like the people giving it only 1* or 2* just aren't getting the point, you know? LOL, it's so damn subjective, lol.
I love hearing Claudia in the background XD The Pumpkin Spice Cafe can work as a really good palate cleanser after some heavier books. It does have spice, but that's mostly at the end (I've heard the second one has more though...), and it's good for the fall vibes.
Captive Prince book 1 is kinda hard to get through because of a lot of problematic topics but the rest of the series is really cool from a fantasy perspective!
Starter Villain is a fun one! It's my first Scalzi book, but the humor came at the right time for me. I'd say it's lighthearted by scifi standards, but still full of action. And I think you'll love the cats! Also: I am looking forward to your reaction to Captive Prince, and fully expecting you to hate it, LOL. I read the whole series right after I binged the Foxhole Court series by Nora Sakavic, and I spent like two months in 2017 raging about how much I hated all the characters in these books and yet I could not put them down 😅 The first book is definitely the worst in the series, but it goes by fast. I might not have continued if I didn't have the second one immediately available, but Tumblr also had its claws in me post-Raven Cycle.
I did like the Megan Miranda. I think it was one of the best of hers. It hold the tension great. Was it her best i don’t know but I liked the atmosphere.
I read a lot of new releases I enjoyed this year, but most of them were sequels. There are actually only two new releases I read this year that weren't sequels, both of them were 5-star reads. One of them is Compound Fracture by Andrew Joseph White (YA thriller). I think it could work for you, but The Spirit Bares Its Teeth would be my first recommendation for this author. Also, don't read more than the first paragraph of Compound Fracture's goodreads synopsis, I think it spoils too much! The other one is The Sins On Their Bones (historical fantasy) it's the first book in a series, but it wraps up in a satisfying way.
I really enjoyed Asunder by Kerstin Hall. It’s a new release that I hadn’t heard anything about and just thought I would read a paragraph and ended up reading the whole book 🤓
Han Kang is a brilliant author! The Vegetarian is a lot weirder than Human Acts, but Human Acts hurts a lot more to read - I think you'd enjoy it more tbh
The cat meowing makes it impossible to listen to the video with headphones 😅 cats are such drama queens when they don’t get their way, mine is the same 😂 I think I catch about 10% of what you say though 😢
What's on your TBR for November?
i wanna read that old YA mediator series, seems fun and flippant ᵔ ᵕ ᵔ
The dragon republic. I want to finish the serie this year. The Poppy War was fine. Hopefully the second book is better!
I'm finally going to finish the Greeenbone series with Jade Legacy. Pray for me. 🙏😭🙏
There, There
The Story of a Good Name
Babel
Monstrilio
"Libby Lost and Found" by Stephanie Booth is first up and because of grad school, it will likely be the only one I get to.
"hey everyone"
clawdia *MEOW*... She's so polite she says hi too now!!!
Han Kang won the Nobel Prize for Literature which is awarded for an author’s body of work, not for a specific book. She is the first Korean person to win this award and one of the youngest winners… amazing accomplishment 😊
Right after I heard about Han Kang, I watched Past Lives in which the main character makes a comment that Koreans don't win the Nobel Prize and it was so exciting lol
The paw under the door gets me every time 😭 😂😂
You would think she would get over it, but no, closed door are unacceptable 😂💀
@@BookswithEmilyFox I think it's a cat thing. Mine often screams when the door to garage is closed.
I hear the cats meowing in the background and I thought my son woke up from his nap 😂
The meowing in the intro 🥺
Emily's cat alarm was going off 😂
The Bell Jar is amazing. I read it years ago when studying Sylvia Plath. I need to read it again. I can totally relate to needing to live several lives in order to do everything I want to do.
I’m soooo living for the time of the year we get a video every other day!! truly the highlight of the dark, cold winter days
Captive Prince is one of my all time fave series, but I cannot see you liking it🤣
The only advice I could give is that book 1 is objectively bad, but book 2 is great.
Captive Prince is one of my all time favourite series and I reread it every year, but I fear that you'll absolutely LOATHE it 🙈 It has almost all the tropes that you hate and many people consider this book highly problematic. You are right, the problematic stuff goes away in book 2. But I'm worried. I cannot imagine a universe where you like this 😅
It'll be interesting to see what you think of Captive Prince... 😅Also, Clawdia's paw sticking out from under the door never fails to get me!
The Captive Prince trilogy is genuinely one of my all time absolute fave trilogies ever - I love Damen and Laurent with ALL my heart and I reread the entire series pretty much every year, that's how much I love them. HOWEVER, there's loads of TW for this book so be aware! So worth it tho
All I want for Christmas is for Emily to read Captive Prince! 😅
Emily!
Pick books that spark joy!
I would rather hear that you read a fantasy, sci-fi, etc. novel from 10 years ago that has amazing characters, a really good story, or incredible idea - than a bunch of 2-3 star recent releases.
Read Brandi Sandi and/or do your Nebula/Hugo challenge instead of forcing yourself to read books with bad reviews. Whatever it takes to increase your odds of really enjoying the books.💕
(I am doing this too. I had to put down Matt Haig’s newest book. I just finished the Brilliant Friend quartet - which was good but I now need something v different - and am going back to tried and trues, e.g. Sanderson and Discworld.)
You’ve said that you’ve had a rough reading year. End it by maximizing your odds of 5 stars instead of what you think we want?
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I am glad I am not the only one with a cat that sits outside a closed door meowing. My cat was very extra in this regard today. I hope your reads go well.
just a note about Han Kang winning the Nobel Prize over Murakami, the nominations are acutally kept secret for 50 years so there's no way to know right now if he was even nominated in the first place.
On a completely different note, I would really recommend Hunger by Roxane Gay. It's described as a memoir of her body and really focuses on weight and society's obsession with dictating how women should look and act whilst also being a really powerful memoir. It can get pretty dark though, so I would definitely check CWs if you decide to pick it up :)
I kept thinking I was hearing my cat but no, he was camped out in front of the heater ignoring me 😂
Claudia trying to get inside is always hilarious to see.
I find the stormlight archive intimidating too! Something I did to make them more manageable was treating each “book” within the story as a separate book. I’d read through Book 1 in words of radiance and then take a break and read something completely different. Then I’d feel refreshed and ready to come back and read the next “book.” I think giving my brain a break from the intense world building helped me enjoy it more.
My only advice for you each month you choose a pile of books to read, make sure you have back-up books that are from your tried-and-true authors that never fail you. So you can at least enjoy a familiar journey after you have been disappointed. My go to author is Mary Stewart just because its nostalgia. Reminds me of a simpler time and dated attitudes that are gone today also. I am sure you have some too.
Mary Stewart is one of my reliable backups too
I really enjoyed Starter Villain, you do need to suspend your disbelief a bit, but it's good fun and yes, the cat is part of the story 🐱
Also, The Eyes Are The Best Part is 'interesting' especially if you're not into body horror
Claudia fighting for her life in the background always gets me lol
23 seconds in and I'm already smiling because I hear the cats outside your door :)) I don't know how you can keep a straight face!
The Bell Jar is one of my favourite books. read it a dozen times, absolutely beautiful!!
Emily, you NEED to LISTEN to Incidents Around the House. Delaney Nicole Gill knocks that out of the park. You absolutely feel what the characters are feeling.
The Bell Jar has been on my TBR for so long, but with that quote you just convinced me that I need to read it soon
As one of your older subscribers, im happy to see you interested in peri/menopause. I learned nothing from my mother and did my own reading. I would urge every woman to PLAN their menopause to the best of their ability and reproductive situation.
Clawdia's claws at the door, and her meows in the background. So cute and funny. If you ever want a cat that will do nothing but leave you alone, I'd be happy to trade. (Ok, fine, I wouldn't be happy to trade. I still love my monster beast of a cat.)
Oh, btw, I did enjoy Yumi and the Nightmare Painter. It got a little slow in the middle of the book, but the ending was really nice and it overall seemed more wholesome than what I'm used to for Brandon Sanderson. But don't necessarily trust my opinion. I'm the weirdo who really liked the Frugal Wizard's Handbook. (So sue me- I related to the main character who felt like he'd screwed up everything in his whole life.)
I've read all of Han Kang's books and personally The Vegetarian was my favorite, but I'm not sure you will like her writing style.
Also you're super lucky to have amazing modern composer Clawdia the Cat providing your background music lol
I get the best non fictions recs from you! I added the last 2 to my library holds! Thank you!
I just finished They Never Learned and really liked it! 4/5 stars. I think you'll really like it.
I just love Clawdia and all the kitties so much 😂❤
I really loved They Never Learn! It's an amazing female revenge fantasy with sapphic love. Also The Bell Jar is definitely worth a resd.
I liked They Never Learn too.
Oathbringer is amazing Emily, it is slow paced but you will love the sanderlanch
I'm sure I'll love it but it's so heavy XD
I enjoyed Starter Villain - it is entertaining and there are cats 😀
I am currently reading “Here one moment” and really enjoying it so far
🌹 Emily, this video was so relatable for some reason... I always watch but never comment because I don't read nearly as much as you... I just like your energy and your smile... Just your vibe in general... But this video touched on some things that were so on point for me... Thank you... Makes me appreciate you that much more... xox from Montreal... 🌹🌹🌹
I find it easier to finish(or start😅) a long book if it'a an eBook, especially Sanderson's. I've read the whole Stormlight Archive that way... 😁 But that was years ago when it was the only thing I was reading 😂
Love you content ❤
I swear the fact that it's super heavy and a hardcover must be playing a role in me soft DNFing it
Starter Villain was 5 stars for me this year! It was so fun that I bought myself a copy after I returned the book to the library 😃
I love Megan Miranda. I hear a lot of people criticizing her but I enjoy every one I have read. Who cares what others think. The whole point is to love the escape a book can offer.
True! The pink cover one is one of my faves by her and the reviews are bad so 🤷♀️
Her books are reliability fun escapism, love her
The cat on the cover of Scalzi's book looks just like my cat! 😻
Regarding Incidents around the house: if critiques are really bad, maybe you'll get to read it much sooner than you thought. 🤷♀️
I love nonfiction!! Science wise i have enjoyed Rise and Fall of Dinosaurs, Botany of Desire, and The Man Who Mistook his Wife for a Hat. History wise really enjoyed The Library Book, When Women Ruled the World, Killers of the Flower Moon, and The Monsters Bones
I loved Starter Villian ❤🎉
Hope you read lots of fun books in November
Lol Captive Prince will not be for you. I'd be amazed if you like it. I devoured the trilogy years ago but fully acknowledge its issues. Doubt I'd enjoy it now but was one heck of a ride at the time. 😅 oh and set your expectations to it being very dark and not a romance (there is a relationship later in the books but in no way meets the romance genre definition). And that new cover is far to cutesy for the actual story!
I just finished Here one moment a few hours ago and it was SO good! it’s definitely not very thriller-y but it is awesome. the audiobook is fantastic, highly recommend!!
Oh no, spare yourself the pain of reading Incidents Around the House. It's awful. But also, you have to read Starter Villain. I loved it!
The cat in starter villain is the best!!!
oh emily I don't think the captive prince is gonna be your cup of tea... I've read the first two and it certainly was an experience... not sure if I would consider it enjoyable lol
LOL I'm curious at this point so I'll try it and then go back to my normal stuff XD
The Bell Jar is good but you were told correctly, there are parts that have not aged well. I love Sylvia Plath, LOVE her, and so I’m always inclined to go total fangirl and to view everything she ever wrote through rose-colored glasses… so if I get irritated by the parts that haven’t aged well, you might actually feel a little bit of rage! BUT… The Bell Jar is a pretty insightful portrait of depression if you ask me. And I love what she says about the recurring nature of depression. There is a sentence near the end of the book that begins “How did I know that someday …?” I’ll keep it vague, but it’s a brilliant sentence. The book is full of many little moments like that, sharp insights, moments when you’ll be like “OMG, that’s so true.” Or at least my young, angsty self thought so when I first read it. And there are great lines all throughout the book. Her writing has a special edgy, knife out of nowhere quality to it - it’s “like a mixture of honey and razor blades”. I think that’s a description a critic once gave of Lawrence Olivier’s voice in Othello; don’t hold me to that. Anyway, I like The Bell Jar, but I love her poetry. Ariel is her best known collection, if you’re interested. The Colossus is also fantastic. One of my favorite poems by her, which is in the collection Crossing the Water, is Blackberrying. Thank you for reminding me to read her, Emily - I haven’t in a while but I totally should. Sorry this went on so long. All I will say in closing is that if you hate The Bell Jar, please don’t hate me. We usually agree, I swear! Oh, and as always, love the Clawdia background track. :-)
Petition for you to put a meow-counter on one of your videos. Every time Claudia meows? one point
I’m curious about the Menopause nonfiction. I agree it’s not talked about enough.
Echoing everyone else... You're going to hate Captive Prince 😆 everyone that enjoyed the series generally doesn't like the first book as much (me included - I think I read the series in a day). Pacat's YA series (Dark Rise) has some of the same themes but is slightly tamer if you want to try that.
Oooh! I read the James Islington series earlier this year. Book 2 is heavy world-building and characters moving around a lot, and I found it a bit confusing. The audio helped me. If you get to the end and are not sure what is going on, there is a sweet summary of worldbuilding and events from books 1 and 2 at the beginning of book 3
I have both human acts and the vegetarian by han kang on my TBR! I am really excited to get into her work!
I am really excited to hear your opinion on the Bell Jar. I read it a few years back on a long train ride and was absolutely mesmerised.
Also, always excited about your feminist books. That is an area I really need to invest more focus on!
I can share a positive review of a recent release. I read Everyone This Christmas Has a Secret, the third book in the Ernest Cuningham mystery series from Benjamin Stevenson, and I liked it! It's shorter than the previous two and the author frames this as a "Holiday Special." I was not sure about it the whole way through, but I did like how the author wrapped up the mystery so gave it a four stars and found it entertaining.
Good luck with your November reads - I hope the ones you are giving a chance despite the negative reviews pan out!
I went on goodreads to read the synopsis of the eyes are the best part and saw one review that just said”honestly, good for her” and I immediately thought of you! I hope you enjoy it. I added it to my TBR
I loved They Never Learn. And I am not a thriller girlie, but I seriously enjoyed that one. I have no clue, however, if you're gonna like it. But I'm looking forward to finding out.
I've almost entirely moved over to tracking my reading on Storygraph, partly because it doesn't have the books average rating up top where you see it no matter what. It can be so freeing not knowing a books rating before I read it.
Edited to add that I really enjoyed The Eyes Are The Best Part
omg captive prince LMFAOOOO
I need to know!
Captive prince is one of my all time favorite fantasy series but I don’t know if you’d like it. Princes gambit, the second book, was the best one by far but I think you’d really enjoy it. But it’s true enemy’s to lovers
They never learn is also on my self. Picked it up a while ago when used book shopping. Can’t wait to hear your thoughts! Maybe I’ll read that one next.
Here One Moment is my favorite Liane Moriarty in awhile! I really enjoyed
I just finished Lies He Told Me and liked that. And now I'm reading The Love Elixir of Augusta Stern and I'm liking that too.
I actually picked up Incidents Around the House as an audiobook because I was seeing rave reviews about it. I really enjoyed it, thought the ending was great
starter villain has more than 1 cat 🐈.also if you like villain stuff Hench was my favorite this year. though it is old I just picked it up.
Would definitely be interested in a captive prince vlog. Just remember book 1 is not a Romance. You are supposed to hate Laurent in book 1. And the series is so readable, I binged all 3 books when I first read them
I’m craving readable books so it might work… maybe lol
I really enjoyed Tress but I am absolutely struggling with Yumi and the Nightmare Painter so perhaps you‘ll love it! I totally dnf‘d Frugal Wizard.
Planning to read Words of Radiance, Circe by Madeline Miller and The Fall of Hyperion in November. I should have picked only one chunky book to read haha
My wife has read both human acts and the vegeterian, but she liked the vegeterian the most. I read only the vegeterian but it's amazing. Very weird, though, but once you realize what the weirdness is about you see how amazing this book really is
Captive Prince was a very dark uncomfortable read. Certainly NOT a romance although I think that changes in the sequel books which I didn’t read. Interested to hear your thoughts on it! 🥴
I read The vegetarian for a bookclub and I loved it, it's a very short book but the discussion was very interesting, and it made me wanna read Human Acts, I think u might like it!
I read Captive Prince a few years back and loved it. It is not too spicy in my opinion, I hope you like it if you read it 😊
i actually really enjoyed daughter of mine, one of her best in my opinion
Here One Moment was really good! 4.5⭐️ for me
I read about half of the Han Kang one last year, but had to stop because it was such a sad read, and I battle depression so have to be careful. I’m really interested in your thoughts though. I’ve heard that The Pumpkin Spice Cafe is fun and cozy. Lol.
I'm doing Nonfiction November. Have decided to only read nonfiction for the month. Mainly reading memoirs.
I'm reading Human Acts right now! It's about a real event that happened in South Korea in 1980. We follow multiple characters and see how they were affected by this event (all related in one way or another to this one central character). The way it's written is very odd, but I think it's impactful. It's also literary fiction which can be a hit or miss for me, but so far I'm enjoying. I hope you pick it up as well!
Hey! To make your list even longer I'm going to recommend Alice Munro; her book Runaway specifically to start with. Her writing and story telling is very reminiscent of Elena Ferrante.
I read Human Acts over the summer. It's a heavier book, content wise, but for sure an important story to be told. I have not read The Vegetarian yet.
Please read The Captive Prince. I read all 3 over one weekend (it should have been one large book), and it got me back into reading. While it does get better with each book, please just read the first one all the way through. If you finish it, and don't want to continue on, fine. But please don't immediately DNF that book.
I was ready to give you a hard time for not mentioning Oathbringer and then you did! Although love the honesty about not being likely to finish it this month 🤣 I am super excited about Wind and Truth, and I'm afraid to start anything else significant between now and then even though it's over a month away.
On that note, I'm about 60% through Sword of Kaigen and I am enjoying it so so much. Still time for things to change but so far I think I'm enjoying it more than Blood Over Bright Haven. The prose is beautiful and Misaki is such an enjoyable and interesting character.
Yumi is a lovely and easy read by the way. I hated the medieval England one but enjoyed Yumi and Tress, and loved Sunlit Man.
Also Clawdia's dedication to reminding you that she is the main character in these videos is so admirable 🤩
I’m glad ML Wang is getting more and more recognition. She’s so talented. I’ve really slow down on my Sanderson’s reading. I need to try and catch up. We’ll see if she tires of it before I do 💀
"Jack of all trades master of none"
a new release i loved is Rest Stop- Nat Cassidy's new horror novella. for fantasy- not new, but John Gwynne's Faithful & Fallen series (Malice is the first book) is so good, one of my favorite fantasy series of all time! I think you would love it!
I found Human Acts to be a hard read, but very impactful. It's my favourite of Han Kang's works so far.
Yumi & the Nightmare Painter is a much more pleasant read, I breezed through that one. I enjoyed the dual perspectives. 😊
I read the Captive Prince series a few years ago because I needed to know how it ended. There's going to be a few scenes that you're not going to like and suspect you'll dnf it.
I literally just filmed a vlog saying how I noticed that I can't buy books now without checking the Goodreads rating and how I low key hate myself for it. I grew up in the 90s and one of my favorite things was going to a bookstore and just totally judging a book by its cover. I was a teen, so never cared what other people said about the books I chose, I just chose what I felt drawn to. Now, it's like I won't pick up a book unless I know other people have liked it. Currently, I am reading one (which I will eventually vlog about) with a 3.42 on Goodreads and I honestly love it. I wouldn't give it 5* but a solid 4* is likely if it ends well - I'm only about halfway through. But still, I feel like the people giving it only 1* or 2* just aren't getting the point, you know? LOL, it's so damn subjective, lol.
I love hearing Claudia in the background XD The Pumpkin Spice Cafe can work as a really good palate cleanser after some heavier books. It does have spice, but that's mostly at the end (I've heard the second one has more though...), and it's good for the fall vibes.
A palate cleanser might be exactly what I need!
PS good because there’s no stoping her lol
The Captive Prince turns into a romance eventually, but that first book is not really a romance. I enjoyed it but it is a lot 😂
I always get nervous when people go into Captive Prince expecting a romance. This is true Enemies to Lovers but book one is just ENEMIES. lol
Captive Prince book 1 is kinda hard to get through because of a lot of problematic topics but the rest of the series is really cool from a fantasy perspective!
You would love The Vegetarian
🤞🤞
Starter Villain is a fun one! It's my first Scalzi book, but the humor came at the right time for me. I'd say it's lighthearted by scifi standards, but still full of action. And I think you'll love the cats!
Also: I am looking forward to your reaction to Captive Prince, and fully expecting you to hate it, LOL. I read the whole series right after I binged the Foxhole Court series by Nora Sakavic, and I spent like two months in 2017 raging about how much I hated all the characters in these books and yet I could not put them down 😅
The first book is definitely the worst in the series, but it goes by fast. I might not have continued if I didn't have the second one immediately available, but Tumblr also had its claws in me post-Raven Cycle.
I did like the Megan Miranda. I think it was one of the best of hers. It hold the tension great. Was it her best i don’t know but I liked the atmosphere.
I read a lot of new releases I enjoyed this year, but most of them were sequels. There are actually only two new releases I read this year that weren't sequels, both of them were 5-star reads.
One of them is Compound Fracture by Andrew Joseph White (YA thriller). I think it could work for you, but The Spirit Bares Its Teeth would be my first recommendation for this author. Also, don't read more than the first paragraph of Compound Fracture's goodreads synopsis, I think it spoils too much!
The other one is The Sins On Their Bones (historical fantasy) it's the first book in a series, but it wraps up in a satisfying way.
I think about the book “Bullshit Jobs” at least once day
I really enjoyed Asunder by Kerstin Hall. It’s a new release that I hadn’t heard anything about and just thought I would read a paragraph and ended up reading the whole book 🤓
Glad you said you were from Quebec-I kept trying to place your accent. I also have only enjoyed Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty - I gave up on her.
Han Kang is a brilliant author! The Vegetarian is a lot weirder than Human Acts, but Human Acts hurts a lot more to read - I think you'd enjoy it more tbh
The cat meowing makes it impossible to listen to the video with headphones 😅 cats are such drama queens when they don’t get their way, mine is the same 😂 I think I catch about 10% of what you say though 😢