You named like all my favorite classics LOL Rebecca is NOT a difficult read. Honestly almost reads like a modern gothic thriller? She has such a clean way of writing. 100 Years of Solitude IS a masterpiece. My reading life is split between before I read that book and after I read that book. I judge all endings against the ending in that book. Not to overhype it hahahahah The Master and Margarita is such a fun romp lmao. I mean I don’t know if Bulgakov would agree with that but I always have a lot of fun reading it. Fahrenheit 451 is super easy, I read it when I was 12. Great straightforward point. Austen is Austen and every book is a jewel box of fascinating main characters. And finally- I also have been meaning to read Wide Saragasso Sea for YEARS but I wanna buddy read it along w a reread of Jane Eyre which is also a favorite of all time of mine haha.
"Master and Margarita" used to be a required high school reading when I was a teenager. I loved it. I remember having a "wtf?" feeling many times through it, but it was funny. I'm due for a re-read. :)
I loved the Master and Margarita. Someone said the parts with Christ and Pontius Pilot weren't necessary but they are very important to the whole story so If you aren't familiar read the scriptures in the New Testament (there aren't many, so easy) and see how Pilot is perplexed. I read Moby Dick slowly with a partner and loved it. It is fiction and nonfiction at once. You get the feel of what the necessary oil of that time cost real people. 1984 is easy. Of Mice and Men still tugs at my heart so I am anxious to read East of Eden. Started 100 Years of Solitude twice so far. I'll try again some day.
I have some similar classics on my shelf! I also have Middlemarch sitting there. put off by how long it is! Same with War and Peace and Bleak House. I have Wide Sargasso Sea and also keep thinking I'll read Jane Eyre again first but haven't... I have books I've had for 20 years and they're still sitting there because I still intend to get to them one day! I do remember really enjoying The Woman in White, and I love Ray Bradbury, although Dandelion Wine is my favourite so far which is a very different book to Fahrenheit 451.
Today, the first of December, is my birthday and I am very pleased to watch your new video and it was interesting to hear your analysis of individual books of classical literature. From your list, I have only read Budkagov's "Master and Margarita" and Ray Bradbury's "Fahrenheit 451". I attribute the rest to my wishes. Over the past week, we have had air raids again every day, the Russian occupiers have used phosphorus munitions against the civilians of our city of Sumy (this is prohibited by the Geneva Convention). As a result, a car service station and a residential apartment burned down, and two civilians died. Usually the situation in our city is kept silent, but last week even the president of Ukraine mentioned the crimes committed by Russia against the civilians of our city. As always, we are holding on. Your video is also a pleasant light that should come to my soul. Thank you very much!
Hi Alice, Anna here. I love John Steinbeck, and of Mice and Men is one of my favorite books of all time. I’ve also read East of Eden and loved it. I highly recommend it.
I read most of Austen’s books but Mansfield Park and Lady Susan. I really liked Northanger Abbey, it’s not a heavy read. I did NOT like A Hundred Years of Solitude, though (but that edition looks really beautiful). It is strange, messy and obnoxious, in my opinion. I read Fahrenheit many many years ago and liked it then. I Also liked The Master and Margarita even though it’s weird. I want to read East of Eden aswell but the length of it scares me too. I hope you Will get to some of those novell and that you’ll enjoyed them.
Hi Alice, greetings again from Toronto 🇨🇦. I’ve made it a rule that every time I go to the library to get fiction books (about every 4-5 weeks), I must get one non-fiction and one classic/literature. Recently I’ve read ‘Ethan Frome’ by Edith Wharton, ‘Snows of Kilimanjaro’ by Ernest Hemingway and ‘Of Mice and Men’ by John Steinbeck. BTW, Northanger Abbey, Fahrenheit 451 and East of Eden are all great reads. Take care and good reading to you!
I really enjoyed Moby Dick and The Woman in White. They do take a loooong time to read, but you just have to be okay with that and read consistently. What I love about Moby Dick is how the first person narrator is not really the main character. It’s such an unusual epic. It’s like poetry, but it’s not. It’s worth reading and rereading. The Woman in White goes faster, but you do have to settle in and strengthen your sense of delayed gratification. It’s a mystery and a romance and exciting and beautifully written. It’s a good time. Not as special as Moby Dick, but certainly worth the time invested.
Northanger Abbey is one of my favourite Austen books. It pokes gentle fun at gothic novels and delivers a fun story along the way. Middlemarch - I finally read that in 2021 by reading it in the way it was written - serialised… so I read a chapter or two each night before bed. As I read through, I got hooked into the story, and started reading extra chapters,. Still took me close to a month, but I did enjoy it. Currently reading The Woman in White for the first time and really enjoying it. I swap between reading the physical copy, and listening to the audiobook while doing a jigsaw puzzle.
I read Wide Sargasso Sea and would love to know what you think about it because I’m still not sure how I feel about it. I don’t think you necessarily need to re-read Jane Eyre though
The woman in white is one of my favorites books! Someone commented on disliking the author’s Victorian views on women but that is the time in which it was written. It’s a great story and goes quickly! Mansfield Park and Northanger Abbey also excellent.
When I start a big book I have a habit of putting them down for long periods of time. I loved The Woman in White. Mansfield is my second favorite Austen. I need to pick Moby Dick as well, but Its a book I started a few years ago and I did enjoy what I have read so far.
Hi Alice, thank you for another inspiring video. I would like to get to read Jane Austen. I have read "Master in Margarita" 2 times, in Russian though. I have enjoyed it both times and going to read it again and again. Highly recommend ❤
Northanger Abbey is one of my absolute favorite novels. It is hilarious and sassy, and you will (hopefully) really enjoy it. Moby Dick has moments that I think are worth reading, but the vast majority of the book felt slow and laborious to me.
Moby Dick is one of my favorite classics! It does have a lot about whales in it. I read another book reviewing the natural history in Moby Dick, and Melville was very accurate by the knowledge of his time. I do enjoy natural history so was fine with those sections. Having said that, yes, you could skip those chapters and just read the adventure parts. I was also intimidated by the length of Middlemarch but I am so glad I read it. And I also recommend The Woman in White. PS: Jane Eyre is my favorite book of all time.
Aaah that’s interesting! Maybe I’ll actually end up being really interested in the whale bits 👀 I do like nature and history. Also, agree on Jane Eyre 😍
I definitely recommend Northanger Abbey, it's my second favourite after Persuasion! Please note in advance that Austen started writing it when she was still relatively young so the lovely witty style she's known for isn't quite as refined yet, it's a bit more clumsy but very charming and endearing. I love One Hundred Years of Solitude and I'm pretty sure you'd love it too, it has a bunch of weird stuff and I know you're a fan of the weird 🥰 The Master and Margarita is another profoundly weird book, I tried reading it three times and haven't been able to finish it but I'm not giving up 😂 P.S. I finally read The Silent Companions after seeing you praise it multiple times and I'm so so grateful for it because it was INSANELY good so thank you very much! 😊
I‘ve read all Jane Austen novels and Northanger Abbey is by far my favourite. I‘d say the way you described is quite accurate, so you‘d be going in with realistic expectations. Also relatively short compared to some others on your list, so might be a motivating one to start with. 😊
I keep looking at my edition of “the woman in white” for like 6 months now lol. This is my sign to get moving on it! I’m almost done with Rebecca and enjoy it as well!
5:17 it would be cool if you read both and did a reading vlog. I’m currently reading Jane Eyre for the first time (along with Rebecca) so I’d love your perspective on it.
I don't have the best relationship with classics but it's been a goal of mine to read more, so I feel like this video is a sign for me to pick those classics up 😅 That being said, Fahrenheit 451 is one of my favorite books ever. And for someone who doesn't care for dystopian stories, that's kinda huge. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did ✨🕯️
Benjamin McEvoy has a video on his channel " How to read Middlemarch" or something like that. I can't remember the exact title. You read the parts of Middlemarch in the months they are published. Book 1 "Miss Broke" published in december 1871, so starting with book 1 in december. I want to try this but haven't found a copy of Middlemarch yet. I am a bit anxious to start this project😅.
I read an liked Moby Dick, but I took my time with it, listened to the Audiobook for couple hours a week for a few months. And to your question: yes, you could very easily skim through some of the very detailed descriptions about whaling if you wanted to, typically there are chapters dedicated to one specific aspects. I also read and quite liked Mansfield Park. I think it's important to know when getting into it that it is more of a character study, quite melancholy, and feels less like a romantic comedy (especially the ending) than some of Jane Austen's other books.
❤📚📚❤️ My sister and I are going to buddy read One Hundred Years of Solitude in 2025, and we're both scared. 😅 I really enjoyed Middlemarch by George Eliot. I just took my time with it. 🤗
My plan is to read Rebecca super soon! You will love Farenheit 451, such a readable book! Also, could you please tell me what lip products you are wearing? You look stunning! 😘
Hope you enjoy Rebecca!! 🥰 The lipstick is from Charlotte Tilbury in the color Glastonberry, and then I think I used a brown lipliner underneath (it’s from Fenty but the shade has rubbed off 😅)
I really want to read Middlemarch and Woman in White. I was just thumbing through East of Eden last night wondering if I should start. I need to find something to read for the rest of the year.
Thanks for the mention of Wide Sargasso Sea. I’ve been slowly working my way through Jane Eyre (enjoying it but also finding it a bit of a slog) so WSS sounds like an interesting addendum.❤
Read them all! The only ones I haven’t read are The Makiota Sisters (in my tbr pile) and The Sea, The Sea but now I’m adding it to my list. I know I can’t go wrong with Iris Murdoch. Definitely dive into Moby Dick, Fahrenheit 451, and Middlemarch. Very different styles but all worth a read. I especially loved Middlemarch; it’s beautiful and reminds me of an amped up Miss Read. Village life is not simple! I actually enjoyed Moby Dick and the idea that someone posted of it being 2 books makes so much sense. I live in a place where whaling was everything so maybe that’s what kept me engaged. Fahrenheit 451 was written during the 1950s when McCarthyism seemed like a good idea to a lot of people. It’s powerful and sadly, still relevant.
Yesssss!! It’s one of my favorite classics!! 😍 It’s long and a little slow, but I loved the writing (especially the descriptions of nature) ❤️ It’s also got more to it than just the story of Anna, and I loved all of it!
Ho Alice. One hundred years of solitude is one of my favorite books of all times. I am about to re-read it in preparation for the release of the Netflix series. Another great book by Garcia Marquez is Chronicle of a Death Foretold. 😊
Thank you! I’ve got a candle by Midsummer Child in the back there, and the lanterns and stuff I’ve just gotten at second hand stores etc ❤️ Looking at them, they don’t seem to be branded so I can’t find them online for you 🥲
I remember reading The Master and Margarita when I was around 16... as you said, I can't remember the plot, but I remember finding it funny and having a good time. And if I'm not mistaken, it comes with a lesson to be learned plot... I keep wanting to re-read it, but can't find it anywhere.
Sadly, I live in the UK and we have no Barnes and Nobles, but started looking for it again today and found it on an app called Vinted 🎉 so I sound have it soon ❤
I read Moby Dick a longgg time ago and it just wasn't for me. East of Eden (one brother desperately trying to get his father's attention/affection) has stayed with me for decades. I did like Fahrenheit 451and I got a copy recently to reread. (I also got a copy of The Old Man and The Sea by Hemingway to reread.) Hope you find some gems among the books you have collected. 🎄📚🎄
Moby Dick wasn’t for me. I remember buying it and trying to read it a long time ago “because I needed to” but ended up bored out of my mind. I don’t know if it would be different today 🤷🏻♀️ I did read a lot of French classics though! Not a lot of American or English literature ( except for Poe or Lovecraft) but I really want to read Jane Eyre, Wuthering Heights and all the likes!
@ i have many but Alexandre Dumas has to be my favorite author! I also love Zola, Balzac, etc. But Queen Margot, The Count of Monte Cristo, The Three Musketeers are really worth it! Don’t be scared by the thickness of the books though, they are page turners! Especially Dumas! I love that his stories are based on facts but changed into fiction. For example, Queen Margot really existed and her brothers really ended up being kings and her mother was Catherine de Medici but Dumas is a genius and you end up learning a lot about History but being immensely entertained! I really don’t know how it translates into English ( I read them in French, my native language), but the dialogues are pure gems 💎 📚 🤺 Duels, treachery, intrigues, oooh I think I need to read it again! 😂
Ah Moby Dick. Truly a literary great white whale! Like you, I also tend to remember more how a book made me feel rather than what it was about. I came away from MD thinking that there were 3 books intertwined: one about whaling (yuck), one about Melville’s philosophy (yawn) and one that would have been a great adventure novel by itself. I mostly listened to it on my hour long commute so there wasn’t really any way to skip the boring parts. I can’t recommend it personally although obviously there are a LOT of people who love it (the New Bedford Whaling Museum holds an annual MD read-a-thon!!). One tome that I *would* recommend as an alternative is Don Quixote. I thought it was excellent (although I did skip the sonnets 😉).
We have many books in common on our tbrs! I've only read a few: One hundred years of solitude is one of my favorite books, it's a ride, fun and serious, and unique. The Master and Margarita...I dnfed it. Loved the first chapter and then didn't like a single page lol it felt all over the place and just didn't bring nothing new, but since I didn't finish it I can't say... The woman in white: read it and loved it when I was in high school, but totally forgot it and now I want to reread it. East of Eden, Middlemarch and Northanger Abbey are also on my list, and Don Quijote! Did you read it already? I think you did.. Btw, if you're intimidated by the size of Middlemarch, you could start with Silas Marner by G Eliot, it's short and absolutely amazing.
I heard a lot of good things about Moby Dick, but I ended up DNF-ing the book, that was purely due to the quality of the publication that I was reading. The font was tiny and the paper was really thin, I've never got another copy of it yet though.
Ive read both of the Jane Austen books and while they’re not my favorites of hers, I did enjoy them. I liked northanger abbey more than Mansfield Park. Lady Susan is good too. I had to read moby dick in high school. I didn’t like it and have never felt the need to or want to reread it. Definitely read the Bradbury. While I won’t reread it, I was glad I read it. Ditto Middlemarch. I’m doing a Steinbeck project, and I really liked East of Eden. I’m finding the more I read of his books, the more I like him. I read The Woman in White for this Victober and enjoyed it.
Ok, I'm biased about Moby Dick - it's my favorite book, but hear me out. It's a great book, but it's a boring book. I love it and think it's boring, however, I think that really puts things in perspective to see how pirates really lived. To be honest, whaling things draaag on, you can skip them. You might actually skin them as they do help you understand what is going on because in the story they use proper terminology for stuff above just anchor, harpoon etc. But I love it and it made me think a lot, so I do recommend it!
Master and Margarita never was banned in USSR, it's just the part of his antisoviet black legend. Bulgakov died before he could finish his novel, there was a banch of drafts left. And his widow rewrote those drafts many times for decades, I have edition with all varies of this novel. BTW, Bulgakov was one of the favourite Stalin's playwright and Stalin often watсhed his plays repeatedly. Master and Margarita is the most untypical Bulgakov's novel I guess
Middlemarch is a much better story by George Elliot than The Mill on the Floss, another big book (avoid!). Watch a movie adaptation instead and move on your TBR list. And Middlemarch is on TH-cam as a series which you can watch after you read it. You will be less frustrated. If it were me, I would read Sargasso Sea (something I want to do) and then read Jane Eyre and that way I would have the complete story from beginning to end. Good luck, Alice. We all have classics on our shelves calling to us! The only book on your list that I have read is Moby Dick and I was not prepared for it. I have seen movie versions before I read it. TH-cam, thank God, has audiobooks on most of the books on your list. It can really help you get through thick books. I would open the book, put it on audiobook and let the narrator read it to me as I followed along with the book. That way if I needed a definition for a word, I could pause the recording.
East of Eden is one of my favorite books. Highly recommend it. DNF'd 100 years of Solitude, one of the worst books I've ever attempted to read, made me downright angry!
The thing with moby dick for me is that it feels like 2 books. You've got all the actual plot about Ishmael and captain Ahab and thats genuinely really entertaining , but then you do have just pages and pages about the actual process of whaling and how the ships were set up and how the whales were broken down by the whalers. This was 100% on purpose, since Melville knew that whaling was a dying profession and wanted to like chronical the process, but those sections can be super tedious, and most ppl who don't end up liking moby dick will site those sections as the reason. I think its worth reading in full at least once, but tbh if i reread it again i might do the abridged version 😅
I read Fahrenheit 451 by Bradbury and liked it. I'm a Bradbury fan though so I'm maybe a bit biased. I'd go ahead and read it. It's not super long and should be an easier one to remove from the TBR. The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins, I couldn't stand it and I dnf'd it early on. The main character goes to a house to start tutoring a gentleman's daughters who are young women. The first sister we meet is not portrayed in a positive light. If I remember correctly, Collins describes her as mannish and dark complected and these are both conveyed as negatives. In addition to that, this character parroted the Victorian views of women that made my brain want to run away. And this character also agreed with all of these views. So--cardboard character, seemingly no thought of her own really. Seems like Collins had his views on women and wanted a character to completely agree with him. I was disappointed because I had wanted to read this book for a long time.
“The Woman in White” was great. I never became bored and went through it quickly for its size. I had to find out it resolved. Highly recommended.
Jane Eyre is my fav classic tooo!!!
You named like all my favorite classics LOL
Rebecca is NOT a difficult read. Honestly almost reads like a modern gothic thriller? She has such a clean way of writing.
100 Years of Solitude IS a masterpiece. My reading life is split between before I read that book and after I read that book. I judge all endings against the ending in that book. Not to overhype it hahahahah
The Master and Margarita is such a fun romp lmao. I mean I don’t know if Bulgakov would agree with that but I always have a lot of fun reading it.
Fahrenheit 451 is super easy, I read it when I was 12. Great straightforward point.
Austen is Austen and every book is a jewel box of fascinating main characters.
And finally- I also have been meaning to read Wide Saragasso Sea for YEARS but I wanna buddy read it along w a reread of Jane Eyre which is also a favorite of all time of mine haha.
Next year is Jane Austens 250th "birthday" so I would say: celebrate her by reading both!
What an excellent idea!! 😍
@@vmpapillon8984 I agree
"Master and Margarita" used to be a required high school reading when I was a teenager. I loved it. I remember having a "wtf?" feeling many times through it, but it was funny. I'm due for a re-read. :)
Sounds intriguing 👀🥰
Mansfield Park is a challenge and I was glad, when I finished it. But Northanger Abbey was pure joy, my favorite Jane Austen novel.
One Hundred Years of Solitude and Gatsby are two of my favorite books of all time. I think you'll love them.
I loved the Master and Margarita. Someone said the parts with Christ and Pontius Pilot weren't necessary but they are very important to the whole story so If you aren't familiar read the scriptures in the New Testament (there aren't many, so easy) and see how Pilot is perplexed.
I read Moby Dick slowly with a partner and loved it. It is fiction and nonfiction at once. You get the feel of what the necessary oil of that time cost real people. 1984 is easy. Of Mice and Men still tugs at my heart so I am anxious to read East of Eden. Started 100 Years of Solitude twice so far. I'll try again some day.
I have the exact same edition of Northanger Abbey, such a beautiful edition! 😊
You will enjoy as many as you can get to next year and enjoy your reading 📖 time xxxx
I have some similar classics on my shelf! I also have Middlemarch sitting there. put off by how long it is! Same with War and Peace and Bleak House. I have Wide Sargasso Sea and also keep thinking I'll read Jane Eyre again first but haven't... I have books I've had for 20 years and they're still sitting there because I still intend to get to them one day! I do remember really enjoying The Woman in White, and I love Ray Bradbury, although Dandelion Wine is my favourite so far which is a very different book to Fahrenheit 451.
I’ve read all Jane Austen novels (many, MANY times over), Woman in White, and Middlemarch (and a few other George Eliot novels)
Today, the first of December, is my birthday and I am very pleased to watch your new video and it was interesting to hear your analysis of individual books of classical literature. From your list, I have only read Budkagov's "Master and Margarita" and Ray Bradbury's "Fahrenheit 451". I attribute the rest to my wishes.
Over the past week, we have had air raids again every day, the Russian occupiers have used phosphorus munitions against the civilians of our city of Sumy (this is prohibited by the Geneva Convention). As a result, a car service station and a residential apartment burned down, and two civilians died.
Usually the situation in our city is kept silent, but last week even the president of Ukraine mentioned the crimes committed by Russia against the civilians of our city.
As always, we are holding on.
Your video is also a pleasant light that should come to my soul.
Thank you very much!
Happy birthday ❤️ Sending you my love!
@@TheBookCastle Thank you, very nice! I really appreciate your pleasant emotions!
Happy Birthday. I will pray for you and am sorry you are in such a situation. Master and Margarita is one of my favorite books.
Happy Birthday from California. I am so sad for Ukraine.
Hi Alice, Anna here. I love John Steinbeck, and of Mice and Men is one of my favorite books of all time. I’ve also read East of Eden and loved it. I highly recommend it.
😍🥰
I read most of Austen’s books but Mansfield Park and Lady Susan. I really liked Northanger Abbey, it’s not a heavy read. I did NOT like A Hundred Years of Solitude, though (but that edition looks really beautiful). It is strange, messy and obnoxious, in my opinion. I read Fahrenheit many many years ago and liked it then. I Also liked The Master and Margarita even though it’s weird. I want to read East of Eden aswell but the length of it scares me too. I hope you Will get to some of those novell and that you’ll enjoyed them.
Northanger Abbey is so much fun!
Hi Alice, greetings again from Toronto 🇨🇦. I’ve made it a rule that every time I go to the library to get fiction books (about every 4-5 weeks), I must get one non-fiction and one classic/literature. Recently I’ve read ‘Ethan Frome’ by Edith Wharton, ‘Snows of Kilimanjaro’ by Ernest Hemingway and ‘Of Mice and Men’ by John Steinbeck. BTW, Northanger Abbey, Fahrenheit 451 and East of Eden are all great reads.
Take care and good reading to you!
That’s a great rule to have! 😍 Thank you!
I really enjoyed Moby Dick and The Woman in White. They do take a loooong time to read, but you just have to be okay with that and read consistently. What I love about Moby Dick is how the first person narrator is not really the main character. It’s such an unusual epic. It’s like poetry, but it’s not. It’s worth reading and rereading. The Woman in White goes faster, but you do have to settle in and strengthen your sense of delayed gratification. It’s a mystery and a romance and exciting and beautifully written. It’s a good time. Not as special as Moby Dick, but certainly worth the time invested.
That’s interesting, thank you for sharing! 🥰❤️
Northanger Abbey is one of my favourite Austen books. It pokes gentle fun at gothic novels and delivers a fun story along the way. Middlemarch - I finally read that in 2021 by reading it in the way it was written - serialised… so I read a chapter or two each night before bed. As I read through, I got hooked into the story, and started reading extra chapters,. Still took me close to a month, but I did enjoy it.
Currently reading The Woman in White for the first time and really enjoying it. I swap between reading the physical copy, and listening to the audiobook while doing a jigsaw puzzle.
Thank you for sharing! ❤️
I loved Rebecca!
Me too! 😍🥰
I read Wide Sargasso Sea and would love to know what you think about it because I’m still not sure how I feel about it. I don’t think you necessarily need to re-read Jane Eyre though
I've read Moby Dick, but much preferred Billy Budd. Might try the lesser known Melville for a switch up.
The woman in white is one of my favorites books! Someone commented on disliking the author’s Victorian views on women but that is the time in which it was written. It’s a great story and goes quickly! Mansfield Park and Northanger Abbey also excellent.
Fahrenheit 451 is good. Glad you finally got to Rebecca; I thought it was really good. There are so many classics that I feel I need to read!
When I start a big book I have a habit of putting them down for long periods of time. I loved The Woman in White. Mansfield is my second favorite Austen. I need to pick Moby Dick as well, but Its a book I started a few years ago and I did enjoy what I have read so far.
Hi Alice, thank you for another inspiring video. I would like to get to read Jane Austen.
I have read "Master in Margarita" 2 times, in Russian though. I have enjoyed it both times and going to read it again and again. Highly recommend ❤
🥰❤️
You have a fantastic stack of books to choose from! My personal favorite is The Woman in White ... I'm a big fan of Gothic lit!
😍🥰
Think I have over 25+ classics in my collection to someday get to reading. ❄️🎄☕☃️📚
Lots to look forward to then!! 😍😍
Northanger Abbey is one of my absolute favorite novels. It is hilarious and sassy, and you will (hopefully) really enjoy it. Moby Dick has moments that I think are worth reading, but the vast majority of the book felt slow and laborious to me.
Absolutely agree with both points :-)
Moby Dick is one of my favorite classics! It does have a lot about whales in it. I read another book reviewing the natural history in Moby Dick, and Melville was very accurate by the knowledge of his time. I do enjoy natural history so was fine with those sections. Having said that, yes, you could skip those chapters and just read the adventure parts. I was also intimidated by the length of Middlemarch but I am so glad I read it. And I also recommend The Woman in White. PS: Jane Eyre is my favorite book of all time.
Aaah that’s interesting! Maybe I’ll actually end up being really interested in the whale bits 👀 I do like nature and history.
Also, agree on Jane Eyre 😍
I definitely recommend Northanger Abbey, it's my second favourite after Persuasion! Please note in advance that Austen started writing it when she was still relatively young so the lovely witty style she's known for isn't quite as refined yet, it's a bit more clumsy but very charming and endearing.
I love One Hundred Years of Solitude and I'm pretty sure you'd love it too, it has a bunch of weird stuff and I know you're a fan of the weird 🥰
The Master and Margarita is another profoundly weird book, I tried reading it three times and haven't been able to finish it but I'm not giving up 😂
P.S. I finally read The Silent Companions after seeing you praise it multiple times and I'm so so grateful for it because it was INSANELY good so thank you very much! 😊
Thank you for sharing! And yes, I do like weird so I should probably like the Garcia book 😍
Yay, I’m so happy you liked The Silent Companions!!!! 🥰🥰🥰
I‘ve read all Jane Austen novels and Northanger Abbey is by far my favourite. I‘d say the way you described is quite accurate, so you‘d be going in with realistic expectations. Also relatively short compared to some others on your list, so might be a motivating one to start with. 😊
Love that, thank you for sharing! 🥰
I read 📚 GREAT GATSBY and THE PICTURE OF DORIAN GRAY in November and I loved reading them. I annotated them a lottt
Both great books!! 😍
@@TheBookCastle I know right
I am planning to read 📚 atleast "crime and punishment " and "the wind in the willows"
Northanger Abbey is a fun read, I found that to be quick and entertaining. Mansfield Park is also on my tbr and I'm intimidated 😅
Yay, so happy to hear you liked it!! 😍 And we’re in the same boat with being intimidated by Mansfield 😂
I keep looking at my edition of “the woman in white” for like 6 months now lol. This is my sign to get moving on it! I’m almost done with Rebecca and enjoy it as well!
Yay! 😍
5:17 it would be cool if you read both and did a reading vlog. I’m currently reading Jane Eyre for the first time (along with Rebecca) so I’d love your perspective on it.
Ooooh that’s a good idea! 😍
I don't have the best relationship with classics but it's been a goal of mine to read more, so I feel like this video is a sign for me to pick those classics up 😅
That being said, Fahrenheit 451 is one of my favorite books ever. And for someone who doesn't care for dystopian stories, that's kinda huge. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did ✨🕯️
Really need to read Fahrenheit!! 😍
Benjamin McEvoy has a video on his channel " How to read Middlemarch" or something like that. I can't remember the exact title. You read the parts of Middlemarch in the months they are published. Book 1 "Miss Broke" published in december 1871, so starting with book 1 in december. I want to try this but haven't found a copy of Middlemarch yet. I am a bit anxious to start this project😅.
What a cool idea! 😍
My plan is Fahrenheit 451 and 1984 for January
Lovely! 😍
I read an liked Moby Dick, but I took my time with it, listened to the Audiobook for couple hours a week for a few months. And to your question: yes, you could very easily skim through some of the very detailed descriptions about whaling if you wanted to, typically there are chapters dedicated to one specific aspects.
I also read and quite liked Mansfield Park. I think it's important to know when getting into it that it is more of a character study, quite melancholy, and feels less like a romantic comedy (especially the ending) than some of Jane Austen's other books.
Interesting! I think taking my time with Moby Dick would be a good idea 😅
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My sister and I are going to buddy read One Hundred Years of Solitude in 2025, and we're both scared. 😅
I really enjoyed Middlemarch by George Eliot. I just took my time with it. 🤗
Love it! ❤️ Hopefully both you and your sister will like it!
My plan is to read Rebecca super soon! You will love Farenheit 451, such a readable book!
Also, could you please tell me what lip products you are wearing? You look stunning! 😘
Hope you enjoy Rebecca!! 🥰 The lipstick is from Charlotte Tilbury in the color Glastonberry, and then I think I used a brown lipliner underneath (it’s from Fenty but the shade has rubbed off 😅)
I really want to read Middlemarch and Woman in White. I was just thumbing through East of Eden last night wondering if I should start. I need to find something to read for the rest of the year.
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Thanks for the mention of Wide Sargasso Sea. I’ve been slowly working my way through Jane Eyre (enjoying it but also finding it a bit of a slog) so WSS sounds like an interesting addendum.❤
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Read them all! The only ones I haven’t read are The Makiota Sisters (in my tbr pile) and The Sea, The Sea but now I’m adding it to my list. I know I can’t go wrong with Iris Murdoch. Definitely dive into Moby Dick, Fahrenheit 451, and Middlemarch. Very different styles but all worth a read. I especially loved Middlemarch; it’s beautiful and reminds me of an amped up Miss Read. Village life is not simple! I actually enjoyed Moby Dick and the idea that someone posted of it being 2 books makes so much sense. I live in a place where whaling was everything so maybe that’s what kept me engaged. Fahrenheit 451 was written during the 1950s when McCarthyism seemed like a good idea to a lot of people. It’s powerful and sadly, still relevant.
Thank you for sharing your thoughts! And interesting that you live in a place they did whaling! ❤️
For me I also have several classics like this. The one I'm planning to get to soon is Anna Karenina. Have you read it?
Yesssss!! It’s one of my favorite classics!! 😍 It’s long and a little slow, but I loved the writing (especially the descriptions of nature) ❤️ It’s also got more to it than just the story of Anna, and I loved all of it!
@TheBookCastle Oooh thank you! That makes me even more excited to read it 😊
Ho Alice. One hundred years of solitude is one of my favorite books of all times. I am about to re-read it in preparation for the release of the Netflix series. Another great book by Garcia Marquez is Chronicle of a Death Foretold. 😊
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There is a Netflix series starting next week of 100 Years of Solitude…looking forward to it❤
Ooooh I didn’t know about that!! Sounds cool 😍
The little lanterns statues and candles etc on the tables behind you are so pretty! Can u tell me where you got those? I love the look
Thank you! I’ve got a candle by Midsummer Child in the back there, and the lanterns and stuff I’ve just gotten at second hand stores etc ❤️ Looking at them, they don’t seem to be branded so I can’t find them online for you 🥲
I remember reading The Master and Margarita when I was around 16... as you said, I can't remember the plot, but I remember finding it funny and having a good time. And if I'm not mistaken, it comes with a lesson to be learned plot... I keep wanting to re-read it, but can't find it anywhere.
Oooh interesting 😍
Don't know where you're located, but I got my copy of The Master and Margarita from Barnes and Noble.
Sadly, I live in the UK and we have no Barnes and Nobles, but started looking for it again today and found it on an app called Vinted 🎉 so I sound have it soon ❤
I read Moby Dick a longgg time ago and it just wasn't for me. East of Eden (one brother desperately trying to get his father's attention/affection) has stayed with me for decades. I did like Fahrenheit 451and I got a copy recently to reread. (I also got a copy of The Old Man and The Sea by Hemingway to reread.) Hope you find some gems among the books you have collected. 🎄📚🎄
Oooh interesting!! Thank you for sharing ❤️
Moby Dick wasn’t for me. I remember buying it and trying to read it a long time ago “because I needed to” but ended up bored out of my mind. I don’t know if it would be different today 🤷🏻♀️
I did read a lot of French classics though! Not a lot of American or English literature ( except for Poe or Lovecraft) but I really want to read Jane Eyre, Wuthering Heights and all the likes!
Oooh what’s your fave French classics? I’d love to know!
@ i have many but Alexandre Dumas has to be my favorite author! I also love Zola, Balzac, etc. But Queen Margot, The Count of Monte Cristo, The Three Musketeers are really worth it! Don’t be scared by the thickness of the books though, they are page turners! Especially Dumas! I love that his stories are based on facts but changed into fiction. For example, Queen Margot really existed and her brothers really ended up being kings and her mother was Catherine de Medici but Dumas is a genius and you end up learning a lot about History but being immensely entertained! I really don’t know how it translates into English ( I read them in French, my native language), but the dialogues are pure gems 💎 📚 🤺 Duels, treachery, intrigues, oooh I think I need to read it again! 😂
@@Darkpumpkinspice Love that, thank you! I think I would love The Count of Monte Cristo and The Three Musketeers!
Ah Moby Dick. Truly a literary great white whale! Like you, I also tend to remember more how a book made me feel rather than what it was about. I came away from MD thinking that there were 3 books intertwined: one about whaling (yuck), one about Melville’s philosophy (yawn) and one that would have been a great adventure novel by itself. I mostly listened to it on my hour long commute so there wasn’t really any way to skip the boring parts. I can’t recommend it personally although obviously there are a LOT of people who love it (the New Bedford Whaling Museum holds an annual MD read-a-thon!!).
One tome that I *would* recommend as an alternative is Don Quixote. I thought it was excellent (although I did skip the sonnets 😉).
Interesting! I’ve actually read Don Quixote, but I was a teen so can’t remember a thing from it 😂 Should definitely reread!
We have many books in common on our tbrs!
I've only read a few: One hundred years of solitude is one of my favorite books, it's a ride, fun and serious, and unique.
The Master and Margarita...I dnfed it. Loved the first chapter and then didn't like a single page lol it felt all over the place and just didn't bring nothing new, but since I didn't finish it I can't say...
The woman in white: read it and loved it when I was in high school, but totally forgot it and now I want to reread it.
East of Eden, Middlemarch and Northanger Abbey are also on my list, and Don Quijote! Did you read it already? I think you did..
Btw, if you're intimidated by the size of Middlemarch, you could start with Silas Marner by G Eliot, it's short and absolutely amazing.
I read Don Quixote aaaaaages ago, but can’t remember anything except something about some windmills, so it’s due a reread 😅
Where did you get the edition of 100 years of solitude? I really want that edition
It was released in 2014, Cover design by Coralie Bickford- Smith for Penguin.
But it's still readily available in my country online.
I heard a lot of good things about Moby Dick, but I ended up DNF-ing the book, that was purely due to the quality of the publication that I was reading. The font was tiny and the paper was really thin, I've never got another copy of it yet though.
Ive read both of the Jane Austen books and while they’re not my favorites of hers, I did enjoy them. I liked northanger abbey more than Mansfield Park. Lady Susan is good too. I had to read moby dick in high school. I didn’t like it and have never felt the need to or want to reread it. Definitely read the Bradbury. While I won’t reread it, I was glad I read it. Ditto Middlemarch. I’m doing a Steinbeck project, and I really liked East of Eden. I’m finding the more I read of his books, the more I like him. I read The Woman in White for this Victober and enjoyed it.
So cool that you’re doing a Steinbeck project! 😍
Ok, I'm biased about Moby Dick - it's my favorite book, but hear me out. It's a great book, but it's a boring book. I love it and think it's boring, however, I think that really puts things in perspective to see how pirates really lived. To be honest, whaling things draaag on, you can skip them. You might actually skin them as they do help you understand what is going on because in the story they use proper terminology for stuff above just anchor, harpoon etc. But I love it and it made me think a lot, so I do recommend it!
This is super helpful, thank you!! I sometimes like boring books as well, so maybe it’ll be a new fave, who knows! ❤️
Master and Margarita never was banned in USSR, it's just the part of his antisoviet black legend. Bulgakov died before he could finish his novel, there was a banch of drafts left. And his widow rewrote those drafts many times for decades, I have edition with all varies of this novel.
BTW, Bulgakov was one of the favourite Stalin's playwright and Stalin often watсhed his plays repeatedly.
Master and Margarita is the most untypical Bulgakov's novel I guess
Interesting, I didn’t know that!
Middlemarch is a much better story by George Elliot than The Mill on the Floss, another big book (avoid!). Watch a movie adaptation instead and move on your TBR list. And Middlemarch is on TH-cam as a series which you can watch after you read it. You will be less frustrated. If it were me, I would read Sargasso Sea (something I want to do) and then read Jane Eyre and that way I would have the complete story from beginning to end. Good luck, Alice. We all have classics on our shelves calling to us! The only book on your list that I have read is Moby Dick and I was not prepared for it. I have seen movie versions before I read it. TH-cam, thank God, has audiobooks on most of the books on your list. It can really help you get through thick books. I would open the book, put it on audiobook and let the narrator read it to me as I followed along with the book. That way if I needed a definition for a word, I could pause the recording.
Thank you for sharing! ❤️❤️❤️
East of Eden is one of my favorite books. Highly recommend it. DNF'd 100 years of Solitude, one of the worst books I've ever attempted to read, made me downright angry!
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The thing with moby dick for me is that it feels like 2 books. You've got all the actual plot about Ishmael and captain Ahab and thats genuinely really entertaining , but then you do have just pages and pages about the actual process of whaling and how the ships were set up and how the whales were broken down by the whalers. This was 100% on purpose, since Melville knew that whaling was a dying profession and wanted to like chronical the process, but those sections can be super tedious, and most ppl who don't end up liking moby dick will site those sections as the reason. I think its worth reading in full at least once, but tbh if i reread it again i might do the abridged version 😅
That’s very interesting! 🤔 I can’t make up my mind if I should give it a go still 😅
I read Fahrenheit 451 by Bradbury and liked it. I'm a Bradbury fan though so I'm maybe a bit biased. I'd go ahead and read it. It's not super long and should be an easier one to remove from the TBR. The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins, I couldn't stand it and I dnf'd it early on. The main character goes to a house to start tutoring a gentleman's daughters who are young women. The first sister we meet is not portrayed in a positive light. If I remember correctly, Collins describes her as mannish and dark complected and these are both conveyed as negatives. In addition to that, this character parroted the Victorian views of women that made my brain want to run away. And this character also agreed with all of these views. So--cardboard character, seemingly no thought of her own really. Seems like Collins had his views on women and wanted a character to completely agree with him. I was disappointed because I had wanted to read this book for a long time.
Thank you for sharing your thoughts! ❤️
Moby Dick ... People seems to like it, but god I didn't
Fair 😅