June is packed with books - better use the time stamps. But first a moment about Alice
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- čas přidán 23. 07. 2024
- A long and lively June wrap up with plenty of delights and discoveries. But first a little reflection on BookTube friendship, mourning Alice and meeting Berna.
0:00 Intro. Thoughts about the loveliness that was Alice @AliceandtheGiantBookshelf. And a happy day with Berna @BernasBookishAdventures • Bookish Chat: Ros and ...
4:04 Pyongyang by Guy Delisle translated by Helge Dascher.
7:23 Give Birth Like a Feminist by Milli Hill
8:55 The Wife of Bath: a biography by Marion Turner
11:24 Not talking about BookTube Prize semi final reading Tom Lake and Lone Women. Then ten more novels to come.
12:53 Hungry Ghosts by Kevin Jared Hossein read for #CaribAthon
16:28 Elizabeth Bowen's Eva Trout and A World of Love
18:42 Ordinary Human Failings by Megan Nolan
21:00 The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida by Shehan Karunarilaka and Brotherless Night • Did we love Brotherles...
22:56 You Dreamed of Empires by Alvaro Enrigues translated by Natasha Wimmer to be a discussion soon with @tillysshelf
24:13 The Portrait of a Lady by Henry James
27:29 Still Born by Guadalupe Nettel translated by Rosalind Harvey
29:33 Forbidden Notebook by Alba de Céspedes translated by Ann Goldstein
33:10 After Sappho by Selby Wynn Schwartz
Thank you so much Ros for your kind words and thoughts about Alice. She had great respect for you and your opinions on books from around the world and always found something intriguing in your choices that tempted her to think about reading beyond her comfort zone. I know she had many chats with you and enjoyed meeting you. Also she loved the mother and daughter vibe with you and Tilly - we definitely saw ourselves there! So hard to think I shall never have those long bookish chats with her again,no library or bookshop visit will ever be the same. Thank you for your thoughts for our family at this sad time. Jane
@@janeduffield4801 I hope it is a comfort rather than an added distress to hear how loved and admired she was by so many people.
@@scallydandlingaboutthebook2711 Very definitely a comfort. Thank you.
Hi Roz, i’m very sad about Alice. Even though I’d never met her in person, I watched her videos very often because we both had a love for golden Age mysteries and Agatha Christie. we also have mutual friends.
I have read “portrait of a lady” a few years ago before I joined the community. I remember being very proud of myself for sticking with a book that was not in my wheelhouse at the time. I remember enjoying it very much. Aloha
She was a wide reader but her love of golden age crime made a connection with all sorts of booktubers around the world which is lovely.
I think I had a similar sense of satisfaction about Portrait. Reading it with Hannah helped enormously.
Still in shock about Alice. We only corresponded online about books but I loved her sense of humour. The TBR she battled with. How passionate she was . 😢
She was a deeply funny person as well as thoughtful and serious.
I’m really in shock. I loved to watch Alice and exchanged some messages with her? This year is being really tragic, 3 people already and some of my favourite.
@@knittingbooksetc.2810 it is hard to comprehend isn't it?
After Sappho is on my list. Sounds amazing. What a joy it was to read Portrait of a Lady with you! And I absolutely loved Marion Turner’s book. (I have a story about it which I promise to share with you soon.)
@@HannahsBooks I think you would enjoy After Sappho. I look forward to the story about Turner's book.
Looking forward to your discussion with Tilley even more now. Your thumbnail reminded me that I listened to the audiobook of Tom Lake but forgot to cover it in my wrap up.
Tilly and I just recorded it. Good fun. I don't think I convinced her but I tried.
Thank you for mentioning Alice, I had no idea, as I have been on holiday and just now catching up - but I had been wondering - where is Alice , as I looked forward to her videos so much. Such a terrible thing for her family, she was such fun, so nice and so engaging about books.
@@barbarahelgaker390 sorry to be the bearer of sad news.
@@scallydandlingaboutthebook2711 well, it was good to know, and I have seen more now, but I always go to your chats when I see them come up.
Absolutely adored Still Born - 5+ stars, so good. I also loved Maali Almeida and quite enjoyed You Dreamed of Empires. I'll have to tune into your discussion with Tilly and hear your perspectives!
Ah Erin brilliant to hear another reader who had that response to Still Born. It is hard to explain why it is so good.
After Sappho sounds fascinating! Adding it to my tbr. ❤
Fascinating is the word. I hope you enjoy it too if you get to it.
Brilliant wrap up Ros. Really want to read some more from South America and After Sappho sounds fascinating 😊
@@RaynorReadsStuff Latin American literature is a powerhouse currently.
❤❤
It was such a delightful day for me too
A perfect memory. I hope we get to repeat it somehow somewhere 😊
While we're in disagreement about After Sappho, I'm glad that you've had such an effusive reaction to the book and that it has suited your sensibilities so wholeheartedly. I hadn't previously heard of The Forbidden Notebook, but I'm always glad to hear of more Italian authors and look forward to reading it in future. Also, very glad that you got to Seven Moons of Maali Almeida - I was fond of it when I read it. I hope that July brings some brilliant reads your way.
@@CharlesHeathcote I can see thst After Sappho could be a marmite book. I love marmite though. The Forbidden Notebook is wonderful and not marmitey I think. Seven Moons was wild, wasn't it? Have a tremendous July yourself Charlie.
Thanks so much for your lovely words on Alice.. I did buy Tom lake after Alice recommendation so I look forward to hearing what you thought of it. I was going to read seven moons this month but will have to try again when I’m stronger
@@novellenovels Seven Moons is definitely a book for when one is feeling robust. Civil war is so cruel.
Still can't believe Alice is gone. She will be missed. 💔
Booktubers ranking their monthly reads from their least favourite to most favourite always leads to the situation that they are worried in the end about the video is already too long and then the books who would deserve to get the most time get the least. I feel somehow pity for these books. 😂 But I get it, sometimes it's easier to say what you didn't like about a book than what you enjoyed. And you did a good job as always! 🤗
That's true Amelia. I should consider an alternative approach. Often I have made an different video about a couple more of the books during the month which helps.
Amelia, my personal experience is that by saving best books for the end I can draw on my passion for them to summon energy to continue a longish video and end on a strong note.
@@lindysmagpiereads That's another way to see it and I love the suspense what will make the top.
@@ameliareads589 😘
perfect pronunciation of Guadalupe Nettel ⭐ I enjoy her books very much. Last week I finally finished Forbidden Notebook (I read it very slowly) and would also recommend it to anyone.
@@patricia_ps that's a relief. Nettel is a name I have never heard before. Good to hear you felt the same about The Forbidden Notebook.
Ros, I loved how you described Pyongyang-the astute observations, the absurdities, the sinister atmosphere. I look forward to hearing your thoughts on Factory Summer. I also look forward to your You Dreamed of Empires discussion with Tilly.
Still Born and Forbidden Notebook were both favourites of mine too, and I picked them up because other booktubers listed them in their best of 2023 videos.
Thank you for this video in general but I am especially grateful that you have revived my excitement for After Sappho, which had kind of fallen off my radar.
@@lindysmagpiereads I think I half remembered you talking about Still Born. Such an unusual novel. After Sappho is one I think would appeal to you. Tilly and I have recorded our chat. I'll get it out later in the week.
Still Born. love hearing you talk about it. I felt much the same about it as you, haunting in so many good ways. Not since Claudia Pineior in Elena Knows have I been so captivated by a quiet story with minimal plot but so much power. I would be interested to know if you read the House of Doors.
@@Ihearbooks it is lovely to hear others felt that way about Still Born. Yes I have read The House of Doors. It was one of my favourites of 2023 but I need to revisit it this month as it is in my semifinal group for the BookTube Prize.
@@scallydandlingaboutthebook2711 I did find your first video take on House of Doors. I found it the best of Eng. I had read his 2nd book several years ago but went back and read his first which I liked much but House of Doors is a new favorite. I read it in print but am looking forward to see if the audio is as good;.
You read several that I've been meaning to get to. I just bought Forbidden Notebook last week. I've been very curious about Ordinary Human Failings, so I enjoyed hearing more about that, too. I wonder if our BookTube rankings will be similar once again!?
@@readandre-read I am prepared to bet you will enjoy The Forbidden Notebook. I only have one book left to read from our semifinal group. Two have been a bit disappointing.
I’m so glad you got to meet Alice in person Ros, from watching the plodalongs I could definitely see the wicked, funny and sweet sides of her, such a loss. I read and loved Seven Moons although when I first started I was unsure about it, it really is so different. I also loved Portrait of a Lady and am a James fan. I think his characterization, of women in particular, can be so well done, although, yes, he is a bit wordy. 😉 When you talked about the revitalization of authors from the past it made me think of Mercè Rodoreda, the Catalan author whose The Time of the Doves I read in May and loved. It’s fantastic that these authors, particularly women, are finally having their work translated into English so more people can read them.
You have that just right about Alice, Jo. Sweet but not saccharine was my experience of her. I think you must have mentioned enjoying Seven Moons and that encouraged me to get to it eventually. I will look up Mercé Rodoreda.
Thanks, Ros, for sharing your kind and heartfelt comments about Alice; I only knew her from a few glances at her videos and knowing she was part of Katie's outing to bookstores a few months back. That event was a variation on a pilgrimage (of sorts) to Mexican food and bookstores rather than to salvation and Canterbury.
And thanks for all the thoughtful summaries of your BYRR (books you recently read). I used to wear the conceit of being moderately read, but your list proves the lie. I've read NONE of them, and the only Henry James I ever attempted I DNF'd. It was Turn of the Screw, as I quickly decided he was too wordy, the pages didn't turn that fast, and the story contained more atmosphere than my young lungs could tolerate.
But you never know. As Scarlett would say, Tomorra is Anotha Dayay!
@@kevinrussell-jp6om there are so many wonderful books out there we can both be well read and yet scarcely have an overlap. James is very wordy. I am more patient with that nowadays I think.
@@scallydandlingaboutthebook2711 What a lovely way to put the case, Ros. My age and slowing body and intellect have encouraged me to TRY to be more patient, but I'm blessed with a spouse and son who do NOT know the meaning of the word. They are planners and doers, never late, and they HATE being thwarted. Perhaps I need to give another shot at James, or float off like The Wings of the Dove to the beat of my own drum.
I have the last six of those all on the shelf and unread as yet - good to have your thoughts that might get me to pick them up soon! After Sappho was actually in my mind for the summer. Henry James is an author that I have never read😮
Excellent. I think After Sappho will suit you too. I did lots of looking people up afterwards but reading it was fun not a chore.
Hi Roz, what a great bunch of books you read last month. I read Guadaluppe Nettel Stil Born last year in spanish and really liked it. I am still wondering why they called it Still Born in English translation as the original title would probably best translate as The Only Child/ Daughter. Anyway still a very good book. I am planning to read the Secret Notebook next month when it is Women in Translation month.
Also looking forward to your discussion with Tilly. Have a good weekend😊
@@59cubanita yes I saw that the title in Spanish was quite different. The English one has a double meaning. Does the Spanish?
Thank you. I remember loving the descriptions in the beginning of Portrait of a Lady that spoke of the perfect time of afternoon to have tea on an English lawn. I’m pretty sure I enjoyed the book as a whole. I was invested enough to be furious at the ending, which was far too enigmatic for me. Did anyone else have trouble with the ending or is this characteristic of James? Cheers!
@@constancecampbell4610 yes it is rather wonderful that it starts with afternoon tea on the lawn. The ending is frustrating although I was relieved that it was a bit ambiguous.
There is a historical fiction novel called The Good Wife of Bath about… well :) same lady, with Chaucer, all husbands, etc. By Karen Brooks. It was entertaining, feminist, sad, funny - everything; def worth checking trigger warnings in reviews. Overall, was a strong 4 stars for me. Maybe you’d be interested to pick it up.
@@Nastya-readsandlifts I'll have to look for that.
Hi Ros, I also read Portrait of a Lady recently. As a matter of interest, did you find Henry James funny? I detect a dry, ironic humour in his books which is not often commented on
@@timwong2777 I agree about the humour. There are some brilliant scenes with a twist of comedy, from chapter two even and the first encounter between Ralph and Isabel involving the dog. Osmond's sister the Countess has some very funny lines. Henrietta Stackpole is another character who often adds some humour.
Give Birth by a Radical Feminist peaks my interest. Surprised I hadn't heard of it. As a retired midwife who had many birth experiences I would be interested what new can be said on the subject that I had not been an audience of before. I worked in a Birth Center in New York City and think I may have helped birth with women who might have fit that description but in the 1990's. Hope the book is out here in the U.S. Thanks for a great video. The North Korean book also sounds most interesting
@@Ihearbooks I think it would interest you professionally then.