Intimacies is one of my favourites of 2021! The narrator’s thoughts on language, the male gaze, budding relationships, moving abroad, belonging… ah I truly loved it! I also had a minor interaction with Katie Kitamura of Instagram because of the book and she was so nice! I would have never expected her to respond to a random person’s thoughts on her book but she did and she was genuinely lovely.
How the Word is Passed is a favorite of mine this year. I just moved to Virginia and a few of the locations are here so I look forward to taking a few field trips to learn more for myself.
I was able to watch the reveal of the NYT Top Ten live on Tuesday. It’s always interesting to hear the critics talk about these books and also mention personal favorites that did not make the cut. I have read five of these. I adored the Lockwood and was extremely impressed with the Labatut and the Smith. Intimacies actually left me dissatisfied but people do love it. Looking forward to more best book lists throughout the month!
Ahh, I will never not love these lists! The Copenhagen Trilogy sounds so interesting to me, but yes, I can totally imagine the need for a pause in between them! It's been so lovely to see Labatut's book still getting so much love this year- I was really blown away by it! Those non-fiction books sound great- like you said, I tend to miss most of the good non-fiction coming out because of focusing more on novels, but I really want to read them all! Red Comet is one I've heard some amazing things about!
Hi Eric, could you make a video recommending “Books about books”? I’m reading Reading Lolita in Tehran and that book just wowed me, so I’m wondering if there are other books like that out there. Please help, yes?
Syria's Secret Library, Polysyllabic Spree, Ex Libris (Orlean), 84, Charing Cross Road, Dear Fahrenheit 451, The Bookseller of Florence, The Book Thief is fiction but powerful.
I really want to read Intimacies, which I hadn't heard of prior to this list, and When We Cease to Understand the World, which has been on my TBR since you recommended it a few videos back!
How the Word is Passed is brilliant. It’s my top non-fiction book of the year. I definitely recommend the audiobook read by the author. After listening to it, I went out and bought the physical book. (I accidentally bought the book twice!) Highly recommended!
All the Frequent Troubles of Our Days by Rebecca Donner, writing about Mildred Harnack, an American woman who worked to aid the Resistance against Hitler. Truly fascinating and an incredible story (nonfiction).
The Love Songs of W.E.B. Dubois is a wonderful story. I have heard quite a few people say it's a Putilzer Prize contender. I tend to agree. Invisible Child moved me to tears several times. I think it is a contender for the Putilzer Prize for nonfiction. I am not good at picking prize winners. You are much better at that.
Enjoyed most of that, thank you. You said that Intimacies was about a translator. I looked it up as it sounded very interesting but it is about an interpreter, not a translator. There is a huge difference. I should know as I am both. A translator writes, an interpreter talks... FYI.
Ohh I want to get to almost all of these ones. Especially Love Songs, which yeah, so many people are singing the praises of. A couple are coming down the line on Libby. Slowly but surely.
Invisible child is incredibly good!! I didn't know anything about it, just wanted to get an impression when the library bought it and instead continued listening for a couple of days until I was done. I really appreciated how the ethics and interpersonal difficulties of the situation of reporting on and befriending the family over so many years were discussed. And the reporting and storytelling itself is also done so well. I was really captured by the story and then very impressed by the execution of the whole book. I also have only read the first one of the copenhagen trilogy. It sometimes takes me particularly long to get around to books I know I will love. I only pick them up when I have enough space and clarity for them. and I hope to get to the sylvia Plath bio at some point. A book I just discovered and think should be much more well known is Future Feeling by Joss Lake! struggling trans guys in a near future. they go to the shadowlands, there are really beautiful ways of safety and care. after someone was accidentally hexed. some internet famous, some rich, some dog walking. Someone didn't like the book because she found it to confusing and the characters too grumpy and sad but I love it so much. To me it is very funny and heartwarming.
Intimacies by Kitty Kitamura begins well and the writing is lovely. However I found the final chapter disappointing. I don’t understand the fascination book prize judges have with No One Is Talking About This.
Interesting list. I tried Intimacies, gave up early, it wasn't doing it for me. The Love Songs of W.E.B. Du Bois is way too long. When We Cease to Understand the World - I read half. It was OK, but I couldn't see what the fuss all about. Then I read some reviews and realised it was a fictionalised history or whatever you call it. Since the fiction part wasn't that great, I didn't feel compelled to finish it. I did read the entire No One is Talking About This, it was like two books in one, I rated it 4*.
The Wall Street Journal publishes their best books of the year. Fiction and Non Fiction. The NY Times and the Wall Street Journal never publishes the same books as books of the year.
Intimacies is one of my favourites of 2021! The narrator’s thoughts on language, the male gaze, budding relationships, moving abroad, belonging… ah I truly loved it! I also had a minor interaction with Katie Kitamura of Instagram because of the book and she was so nice! I would have never expected her to respond to a random person’s thoughts on her book but she did and she was genuinely lovely.
How the Word is Passed is a favorite of mine this year. I just moved to Virginia and a few of the locations are here so I look forward to taking a few field trips to learn more for myself.
Great recomendations! And I want a tea calendar like yours!
I really recommend the audiobook of How The Word Is Passed. He narrates it himself and just adds to it.
Loved Juneteenth as well!
I was able to watch the reveal of the NYT Top Ten live on Tuesday. It’s always interesting to hear the critics talk about these books and also mention personal favorites that did not make the cut. I have read five of these. I adored the Lockwood and was extremely impressed with the Labatut and the Smith. Intimacies actually left me dissatisfied but people do love it. Looking forward to more best book lists throughout the month!
Ahh, I will never not love these lists!
The Copenhagen Trilogy sounds so interesting to me, but yes, I can totally imagine the need for a pause in between them!
It's been so lovely to see Labatut's book still getting so much love this year- I was really blown away by it!
Those non-fiction books sound great- like you said, I tend to miss most of the good non-fiction coming out because of focusing more on novels, but I really want to read them all! Red Comet is one I've heard some amazing things about!
Yeah, I can't stop reading through them and adjusting my TBR - rather than just getting to reading the books. 😅📚
@@EricKarlAnderson Haha, at least we both know that we’ll never have empty TBRs 😂
Hi Eric, could you make a video recommending “Books about books”? I’m reading Reading Lolita in Tehran and that book just wowed me, so I’m wondering if there are other books like that out there. Please help, yes?
Syria's Secret Library, Polysyllabic Spree, Ex Libris (Orlean), 84, Charing Cross Road, Dear Fahrenheit 451, The Bookseller of Florence, The Book Thief is fiction but powerful.
The midnight library, the Paris Library, the book thief
I think Red Comet is a landmark biography that future biographies will be measured against.
"Red Comet" will be translated soon in my country. Can't wait to read it.
I really want to read Intimacies, which I hadn't heard of prior to this list, and When We Cease to Understand the World, which has been on my TBR since you recommended it a few videos back!
A tea advent calendar!!! That is very cool! I keep seeing love songs and am very curious about it! Interesting picks by NY times
Interesting selection. How the Word is Passed sounds fascinating.
How the Word is Passed is brilliant. It’s my top non-fiction book of the year. I definitely recommend the audiobook read by the author. After listening to it, I went out and bought the physical book. (I accidentally bought the book twice!) Highly recommended!
Oh wow! I’ll definitely try to get a copy then.
Ah, the Love Songs of W.E.B Du Bois is one that is everywhere just now and I wish I had the time just now to dive into such a big novel.
All the Frequent Troubles of Our Days by Rebecca Donner, writing about Mildred Harnack, an American woman who worked to aid the Resistance against Hitler. Truly fascinating and an incredible story (nonfiction).
The Love Songs of W.E.B. Dubois is a wonderful story. I have heard quite a few people say it's a Putilzer Prize contender. I tend to agree. Invisible Child moved me to tears several times. I think it is a contender for the Putilzer Prize for nonfiction. I am not good at picking prize winners. You are much better at that.
Enjoyed most of that, thank you. You said that Intimacies was about a translator. I looked it up as it sounded very interesting but it is about an interpreter, not a translator. There is a huge difference. I should know as I am both. A translator writes, an interpreter talks... FYI.
Ohh I want to get to almost all of these ones. Especially Love Songs, which yeah, so many people are singing the praises of. A couple are coming down the line on Libby. Slowly but surely.
only read lockwood out of these, there's always way more books than i can keep up with!
Invisible child is incredibly good!!
I didn't know anything about it, just wanted to get an impression when the library bought it and instead continued listening for a couple of days until I was done.
I really appreciated how the ethics and interpersonal difficulties of the situation of reporting on and befriending the family over so many years were discussed. And the reporting and storytelling itself is also done so well. I was really captured by the story and then very impressed by the execution of the whole book.
I also have only read the first one of the copenhagen trilogy. It sometimes takes me particularly long to get around to books I know I will love. I only pick them up when I have enough space and clarity for them. and I hope to get to the sylvia Plath bio at some point.
A book I just discovered and think should be much more well known is Future Feeling by Joss Lake!
struggling trans guys in a near future. they go to the shadowlands, there are really beautiful ways of safety and care. after someone was accidentally hexed. some internet famous, some rich, some dog walking.
Someone didn't like the book because she found it to confusing and the characters too grumpy and sad but I love it so much. To me it is very funny and heartwarming.
Intimacies by Kitty Kitamura begins well and the writing is lovely. However I found the final chapter disappointing.
I don’t understand the fascination book prize judges have with No One Is Talking About This.
thanks for the coverage.....labatut book on a truck!
Interesting list. I tried Intimacies, gave up early, it wasn't doing it for me.
The Love Songs of W.E.B. Du Bois is way too long. When We Cease to Understand the World - I read half. It was OK, but I couldn't see what the fuss all about. Then I read some reviews and realised it was a fictionalised history or whatever you call it. Since the fiction part wasn't that great, I didn't feel compelled to finish it. I did read the entire
No One is Talking About This, it was like two books in one, I rated it 4*.
Kiss from Lithuania!
The Wall Street Journal publishes their best books of the year. Fiction and Non Fiction.
The NY Times and the Wall Street Journal never publishes the same books as books of the year.