What I Read in August 📚 22 Books
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- čas přidán 27. 07. 2024
- In which I talk about all of the books I read in August. Grab a cup of tea and pull up a seat. x
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If you like my videos and podcasts, please consider supporting me on Patreon: / jenvcampbell
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MY BOOKS:
THE GIRL AQUARIUM: tinyurl.com/yc6tn9xs
THE BEGINNING OF THE WORLD IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT tinyurl.com/lnz5bb6
FRANKLIN’S FLYING BOOKSHOP: tinyurl.com/hlsgkjq
FRANKLIN AND LUNA GO TO THE MOON tinyurl.com/yb2xnuv2
FRANKLIN AND LUNA AND THE BOOK OF FAIRY TALES: tinyurl.com/y2g9wqv5
THE BOOKSHOP BOOK: tinyurl.com/qbs3d2p
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Things mentioned
TOAST article/giveaway: www.toa.st/magazine/womens-pr...
Hamnet by Maggie O'Farrell
interview: / b_podrki6ba
Girl, Woman, Other by Bernardine Evaristo*
interview: / cb3lcidp9fo
Weather by Jenny Offill*
Dominicana by Angie Cruz*
A Thousand Ships by Natalie Haynes*
Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel
Our Green and Pleasant Land by Aiysha Malik
The Invisible Bear by Cecile Metzger
24hr reading vlog • I read 24 books last m...
Outsiders tinyurl.com/y98wl4rr
People from My Neighbourhood by Hiromi Kawakami*
How to Fly by Barbara Kingsolver*
Review copies video • Do I Want to Read Thes...
The Prose Poem Project
poet mentioned: Alexandra Van De Kamp
Tales of India: Folk Tales from Bengal, Punjab, and Tamil Nadu
The Tiny Boy and Other Tales from Indonesia by Murti Bunanta
Chinese Fairy Tales and Legends by Frederick H. Martens and Richard Wilhelm
How the Stars Came to Be by Poonam Mistry
Queer Folk Tales by Kevin Walker*
Fairy Tales with Jen: • FAIRY TALE VIDEOS
Mikumari by Misumi Kubo*
Strangers Press www.strangers.press
Translating Feminisms www.tiltedaxispress.com/store...
Desires Become Demons showcases four Tamil poets: Malathi Maithri, Salma, Kutti Revathi and Sukirtharani. Translated by Lakshmi Holmström and Meena Kandasamy.
Against Healing showcases poems by Kim Hyesoon, Choi Young-Mi, Kim Seon-U, Kim Yideum, Kim Seung-Hee, Shin Hyeon-Rim, Choi Seung-Ja, Yi Yeon-Ju and Park Seo-Won, translated from the Korean by Emily Jungmin Yoon.
Night by Sulochana Manandhar, translated from the Nepali by Muna Gurung.
Moon Fevers by Nhã Thuyên, translated from the Vietnamese by Kaitlin Rees.
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WHO I AM
Hello, my name's Jen. I'm an award-winning poet and short story writer. My debut short story collection 'The Beginning of the World in the Middle of the Night' is published by Two Roads, and my children's books 'Franklin's Flying Bookshop,’ ‘Franklin and Luna Go To The Moon’ and ‘Franklin and Luna and the Book of Fairy Tales’ are published by Thames and Hudson. I'm also the author of the Sunday Times bestselling 'Weird Things Customers Say in Bookshops' series, 'The Bookshop Book,' 'The Hungry Ghost Festival’ and ‘The Girl Aquarium.’ I run writing workshops, give talks at universities & book festivals on a variety of topics, judge literary prizes, and take on freelance writing and editing. If you would like to speak with me about the possibility of working together, please get in touch via email: jenvcampbell@gmail.com x
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Where to find me:
Website: www.jen-campbell.co.uk
Editorial services: www.jen-campbell.co.uk/editorial
Writing Workshops: www.jen-campbell.co.uk/writing...
Twitter: / jenvcampbell
Instagram: / jenvcampbell
Patreon: / jenvcampbell
Events: www.jen-campbell.co.uk/events
Podcast: www.jen-campbell.co.uk/podcast
Facebook: tinyurl.com/3o3s4d2
Goodreads: tinyurl.com/hs8nxjm
Email: jenvcampbell@gmail.com
(Since starting CZcams, some of you have been asking what's wrong with my hands. This should answer any questions :) tinyurl.com/z3kzk24.)
This video does not contain any sponsored content.
Books marked with * were sent to me by publishers for an honest review. - Zábava
Thank you for mentioning that it's not okay that the translator is not listed in that book and for always making sure to say who the translator is! Translators are often forgotten about and, as I translator myself, I find it quite frustrating.
A friend has just introduced me to your video and I love it. Especially intrigued by the translation series which I'm going to get hold of now. Thank you!
The entire time I was reading This Green and Pleasant Land I was thinking: this would make a wonderful TV series! Happy Jen agrees :)
I'd recommend Barbara Kingsolver The Poisonwood Bible, if you want to read one of her novels. It traps you in a sort of sticky atmosphere. And we have the Chinese fairytales book, it's lovely reading it with my partner as he has slightly different versions of some of the stories from his family growing up.
Caitlin Quinn I adore the Poisonwood Bible.
I love the Thomas Cromwell trilogy myself but I can very much relate to your description of how you felt reading it- admiring it and knowing there is skill and genius there but also knowing that it's just not for you. I've had that with a lot of books!
I loved Our Green and Pleasant Land. I loved hearing you talk about it, too. I agree that it would be a great TV series.
I come here to discover new books that no other CZcamsr talks about. The fact that you too love Japanese novels makes me all the more interested in your videos. I was introduced to Hiromi Kawakami in your videos and a big thank you for that. ☺☺ Your reading list encourages me to read more often and try new genres. Love your work and always looking forward to your videos. 😘😘
I stopped watching booktube videos for a while, but coming back to your channel is so comforting, like rediscovering an old friendship and it's just so nice x
the village-mosque one has got my name on it
Hi Jen! Really enjoy your thoughts on books. Appreciate your candor. I am one of the ones who love the Wolf Hall trilogy. For me the dialogue is the best - I find myself quoting some of it to friends. How nerdy is that. But the power of the trilogy is how she puts it all in the here and now. I really felt I was looking over his shoulder as the story unfolds as someone else described it.
I love the nerdy-ness of that ♥️
Your channel is like reading an author, falling in love w their work & realize they have a back log. Started watching you a year or so ago & love finding videos I missed to hold me off until ya post new ones . Blahdiggityblah
Love your description of the Wolf Hall trilogy. I own them, but am not a fan of long books, so I'm saving them for when I retire. They call me, but not very loudly.
It's so interesting to hear you discuss Hamnet and then the Wolf Hall/Cromwell Trilogy. I have the exact opposite experience. I found Hamnet both underwritten and overwrought if possible and spent most of my time wishing Mantel had written it. Also although I'm not a particular fan of Shakespeare I was longing for the book to follow him and get out of that house. The highlight for me was Agnes's trip into London, I was hoping she'd spend more pages on that.
You read such interesting books, Jen. I love how different your selections are from other CZcamsrs, especially the inclusion of poetry, short stories, and translated works. Your analysis is so smart. Much love. ❤️
I’ve already ordered This Green and Pleasant Land. You’re the second person I’ve seen rave about this, maybe Simon was the other, I can’t remember. I was on Book Depository and saw it sitting in my cart the other day and just hit the order button.😀
Your observation on the word 'quaint' actually made me laugh because it's unfortunately so true. Loved this video, especially your thoughts on A Thousand Ships - as a classicist myself I did wonder when I was reading it how accessible it would be for someone who doesn't already know the Trojan War and all the peripheral characters and tragedies. It's knowledge I have accumulated over ten years, so I don't know how it would have felt meeting it all for the first time in one book - probably a little overwhelming. Again, loved this vid x
Always look forward for your uploads!
♥️
Apparently Eleventh Hour Films have optioned TV rights for ‘This Green and Pleasant Land’ so your wish will come true!😁
🙌🏼🙌🏼🙌🏼🙌🏼
Books I’m enjoying most at the moment is
The Midnight Library by Matt Haig
Shuggie Bain by Douglas Stuart
On BBC Sounds Radio4 I’m listening to
The Lying Lives of Adults
Burning the Books
A History of Solitude
👋🤗☘️🤩📚🥰🦋🌈📖
Been reading the Wolf Hall trilogy lately too - finished Mirror&Light this afternoon - it was lush. Can't wait to check out the discussion with Maggie O'Farrell - all I've heard are rave reviews of Hamnet, so want to check out some actual writing of hers lol.
That's really interesting about the list of characters at the beginning of A Thousand Ships. I saw that not as something to be intimidated by but because when you read any of the classical texts it always begins with a list of characters telling you who everyone is and so doing that to me felt like Haynes was just sort of establishing this book as part of classical tradition.
I get why it’s there and that it’s reflective of classical texts, but any book with such a weighted history requires a lot of background work and if you’re not familiar with the canon that’s often intimidating.
You look great today! Love the shade of lipstick on you! Thanks as always for the great review!
Thanks Jen, great recommendations as always! Top of my list are some of the women’s prize books that you mentioned. I’m still working through some of the ones that you reviewed last year- there is just so much to read! Have a great September!
You always have such exciting giveawaysssss girl
Great content! Just discovered your channel and really like what you are doing. Subscribed!
Green And Pleasant Land sounds great, must seek that out. I enjoyed Girl Woman Other and am now reading The Seven Husbands Of Evelyn Hugo which is a treat.
The Green Pleasant Land sounds right up my street (sorry for adding to the puns) I really liked the film Pride too! I do love small town dramas.
Can really recommend the audiobook, too ☺️ x
This was so lovely, thank you!
I’m still flabbergasted that Red At The Bone was passed over to put Weather and Dominicana on the shortlist. Jacqueline Woodson’s writing was sublime. The book was so timely and relevant. Argh! Actually I would have bypassed both those books to put Red At The Bone and How We Disappeared on the shortlist. Anyway, I’m really hoping that Hamnet takes the prize. It is a work of staggering beauty and deserves every bit of recognition. I’ll be starting on Maggie’s backlist, and Bernardine’s, this fall.
I loved How We Disappeared! Definitely preferred it to Dominicana.
This Women's Prize has been one of my favourite short lists. Only have Dominicana to read before the winner is announced.
Try listening to the Wolf Hall Trilogy on audiobook. It's been edited for pace and the narrators are brilliant. Held me enthralled for an entire weekend.
The Miniseries is wonderful too, excellent understated acting from Mark Rylance.
I listened to the unabridged audiobook of Wolf Hall. If I go back to the series I think I will try the dramatised abridged versions, though. x
Currently reading Hamnet while working from home on audiobook and had to stop working for a short cry session! Oh my gosh such great writing!!
So much crying with that book 😭
Jen. I am often in the place of not loving things other people love. It’s ok. We can’t all love everything. We can also appreciate what a book/series/author is trying to do without loving it. 💕
lovely vid! I've been reading mostly memoirs lately. haven't had the patience for fiction, but it should pass soon;hopefully😀💙
This video is wonderful, thank you!📚
Thanks for watching, Lily x
Thank you Jen ❤️
Just in the few days I've been subscribed to your channel I've written down pages of books I want to check out. And I'm now reading Ruby by Cynthia Bond and Mr. Loverman by Bernadine Evaristo. Thank you so much for your candor and excitement for books you enjoy!
♥️
I just finished Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel. As much I love it, I feel I need to take a break before getting to the next one. The book is huge in many way, and I think your comparing it to an art gallery is apt - maybe that's exactly why I love it, even if it does get exhausting at times.
Love your videos :)
Do you think that some books might be better at different stages of our lives? I loved all the Cromwell trilogy and that it is a series that will last. Some books are quick and easy and enjoyable but some require something other from their readers. I love Hammett but it was a quick read and although I found it moving I felt it finished before it should have done. I think it should have been longer and that I wanted to know what happened next.
I love your reviews of books Jen, I think you have to be one of the best, most articulate readers on Booktube. Please keep doing what you’re doing. So good, so clear, so deep. ❤️🌷
I think the time we read a book is crucial to our enjoyment for so many reasons. At the same time, some books just aren't for us at any point, and that's ok, too. Sometimes tricky to work out which one is at play, though!
I read The Bean Trees by Barbara Kingsolver in high school and later read the sequel Pigs in Heaven and really enjoyed them both.
I feel exactly the same about Wolf Hall. I read the first one, appreciated Mantel's talent and then felt no desire to pick up the other two.
Thanks for the video ❤️
I've been reading the Women's Prize as well. I feel like Dominicana was the most straightforward of the novels in terms of structure etc but that I agree it felt like it was not saying much about things it began, I didn't really see why Malcolm X was involved to begin with because it, and the colourism, never really got any pay off, except in a throw away line about Ana seeing how Dominicans are talked about being they way Juan talks about other people.
As a classicist who writes poems that are retellings of Greek Mythology, I should have loved A Thousand Ships, but I also didn't. I know the myths, but I felt like Calliope was too obviously Natalie Haynes laying out her reason for writing the book, and I also felt her dialogue was clunky and expositional. I loved the ideas, I thought it was very clever, and her prose is beautiful, but her dialogue and direct address I didn't like.
I read Girl, Woman, Other, or I listened to the audiobook, and I didn't love it. There was a lot to like but I kept getting annoyed about how much Bernardine Evaristo loves to list things. In every voice there were two or three pages of lists. I also felt the second half was not as strong as the beginning. However, it is a book that has really stuck with me and grown on me as I think about it, I think because of the strength of the writing and the clever interplays between the stories. It's one I want to reread.
Hilary Mantel is a genius and will forever have my heart, and I think Bring Up The Bodies is actually the most accessible and has the most driven plot because it's the shortest but also only covers three weeks I believe, and it's about Anne Boleyn who is one of the best characters, as well as Mary Boleyn whom I love. Not that you have to read the next one, just that I think if it were first people would get into the series more because you'd be in the world and be able to revel in teh way Mantel works with history and memory and fiction and ghosts, filing in the howevers and the maybes. I felt bad reading the Women's Prize Shortlist as a Mantel fangirl because she is a genius and it would be so hard for any to reach that level. I am reading Hamnet now however and I'm 25 pages in and already hooked. I don't think Mantel will win the Women's Prize but I'd love her to get the Booker hat-trick, although that's not fair to the other books nominated.
Sorry for the over long comment.
No need to apologise for a long comment! Thank you for sharing your thoughts on these books ☺️ x
I felt the same about Wolf Hall, I love the six tudor queens book series and the time period, but my knowledge of the tudors was not what it needed to be to get much out of wolf hall 😂
Iv found it 🤯bless you 😊thank you x xx
I completely agree with you about Wolf Hall. I have tried maybe (four?) times to read it, and have only ever made it about half way. While I can appreciate it, I'm not sure that I'm ever going to actually finish it.
Jillian .Matchett I really struggled through Wolf Hall but I persisted because I love this period of history. But I really enjoyed the next two especially Bring Up the Bodies.
Hi - glad someone else finds Wolf Hall difficult to read. I dragged myself through the book some years ago (having enjoyed other work by Hilary Mantel). Enjoyed the TV series though.
That 🐻❄️ poem - I agree 📖🪱💚
I always fall for your lip colours, Jen! May I ask what it is in this video? It suits you so well!
Nars Red Square x
Thank you Jen, it's in my trolley now X
Hi Jen. Just wanted to say I hope you are well . Love your channel .x I felt much the same about Wolf Hall. It was such hard work like wading through treacle.I thought it was just me. Tried the Ayesha Malik some time ago but just couldn' t get into it. The plot really intrigued me.Perhaps it was just not the right time.
Thank you. I hope you are well, too x
a fussy old lady had the same fight with a neighbour and read aloud a 'theatening note' about 'coming round to trim your bush' in my mother's office and everyone had to hide under the desk... so in real life too it happened!
Hi I’d love the link to toast please 😁and great vids as ever I have green and pleasant land and hamlet on my huge TBR ! 📖🤓🥰
It’s in the video description. x
I’m slowly making my way back to BookTube and feel like I’m coming home to a safe space when I watch your video. Jen Campbell, you are my bookish queen! ❤️
The US is in a state of absolute disaster currently and I’m finding my solace in books again. I’m currently reading The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett, Caste by Isabel Wilkerson, Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas, and The Berlin Stories by Christopher Isherwood and a collection of stories by James Baldwin called Going to Meet the Man. I’m trying to catch up on my reading since this darn pandemic has begun.
I hope you’re well and I look forward to watching more videos!!
Jer! I missed you x
This Green and Pleasant Land, i enjoyed but i felt like it tied things up a little bit too easy at the end for me. Saying that, i thought the relationships between all characters were excellent
It did tie everything up in a bit of a bow, that’s true, but I forgave it 😂 x
I totally agree with you on a Wolf Hall, I also made my way through it, with admiration, but not with real enjoyment. What kept me going was my interest in Thomas Cromwell. But I will never continue with the series. It's also not for me.
I was never able to get into the Cromwell trilogy either. I did however LOVE her book Beyond Black, and I think you would too!
That’s the first book of hers I tried to read fifteen years ago. I DNFed that, too 🙈 x
@@jenvcampbell Woops! Well, can't say you didn't give her a fair shot. Haha!
Haha. I feel like I’m being left out of the club, though 😂 I want to have a good time, why aren’t I having a good time? 😂
I feel the same way about Mantel's trilogy. I've tried several times including trying the audiobook.
I love the idea of a historical trilogy like this, and especially the Cromwell era, but ... no.
I started Wolf Hall some days ago and I just decided to drop it, I really wanted to like it but I really really don't think it's for me... Yeah, so many people love it... but what can you do ;D
Will there be a review of Ali Smith's Summer? :)))
Yes, I'm reviewing that for TOAST this month. Will of course also talk about it here, too. x
I love that you read some Tamil poetry, I'm definitely going to pick that pamphlet! My parents used to read these famous three-lined poems in Tamil to us, it's a beautiful language with such a rich literary tradition, I don't think gets enough attention! (though I have to mention, it's pronounced with the emphasis on the first syllable, so "TA-muhl" or "THA-muhl" rather than "ta-MEEL")
Thank you for clarify that ♥️
I also cannot read Hilary Mantel. I could not get past the first 50 pages of "Wolf Hall."
Out of curiosity how do you get so many poetry pamphlets. And were would someone who like to read more poetry start.
I have a video on where to start with reading poetry if you want to search for that but, as for where to start with pamphlets I go through publishers’ websites: Hyacinth Girl Press, Dancing Girl Press, Rialto, Happenstance etc. x
This August I finished, The Other Bennet Sister, Bookish & The Beast, and Beautifully Foolish Endeavor‼️Also this week I finished The Truths We Hold‼️
Did you enjoy The Other Bennet Sister?
@@jenvcampbell It was amazing, I liked how smart Mary is, and how brave she becomes throughout the story!
That is a rid-on-culous number of books!
I don’t get the Cromwell series either: I just found u couldn’t yet attached to the characters. I also don’t find that period of history all that engaging. I tried the audiobook as well and still couldn’t manage it
I tried the audiobook, too, which is the way I managed to finish it. I think it’s really well done. If I ever did go back to the series, I think I’d go for the dramatised abridged audiobooks by Dan Stevens etc. Heard good things about those x
Jen Campbell 🧏♀️ Did I hear Dan Stevens? 😍 I’ve listened to a bunch of books that he narrated and he’s been just wonderful every time. Perhaps this is a way for me to have a piece of the Mantel experience. I’m never going to read 2000 pages.
Hi Jen! You're channel (and the Fitness Marshall!) is the only channel I get on CZcams to watch. I've searched for other booktubers with tastes as wide-ranging and ecclectic as yours but am always disappointed. Do you have any booktube channels to reccommend? I am always looking for book recommendations that are a bit off the beaten path. The stranger a book recommendation, the better! I am currently reading The Gray House and loving it (I've always had a fondness for Russian magical realism). Thank you for the wonderful work you do in promoting the work of people of all kinds from around the world!
You should check The Artisan Geek's channel!
I second the recommendation for Seji ☺️ I need to film a new booktube recommendation video but here are the ones I’ve made in the past JEN RECOMMENDS BOOKTUBE CHANNELS m.czcams.com/video/yRsz2aqCLr4/video.html
I've been feeling too guilty to watch your what I read videos! My aim for the year is 30 books and it feels like you almost reach that monthly!
You’ve got to remember: books are my job x
@@jenvcampbell and you do it amazingly ❤️
@@IzziATL Bless you. And any amount of reading is fab; it's all for fun, after all. x
is that a polar bear on your necklace?
Yup!
💙
I study the gosh-darn 16th-century and I can't get into Wolf Hall. I feel absolutely terrible for not loving it, but it just doesn't work for me. Also, I just can't stand Hilary Mantel. She's so arrogant in her interviews. I feel terrible not liking her book because she makes her readers feel that way. How dare she not be the greatest thing since sliced bread?!
the kindle sample chapter of Dominicana was in cliches which is the racist thing it's fighting against! I'm sure it picks up and the first chapter is just 'sketch in the mise-en-semble quick' but...
"slight" would sum up dept of speculation, it was fine but i got bored halfway through, people liked it who were young mothers, ponderings about yoga classes and being over-obsessed about some obscure music are unrelatable and only applied to me before i had responsibilities respectively, but undermined the believability and when the book doesn't build and plaster on its own 'world', it has to rely on your memories for that....
Hilary Mantel writes in pictures, or tableaux vivants, and very mannered prose, it's love or hate, but i think for many people the pictures and themes do nothing and the mannered prose does nothing. I love paintings, and i liked the themes. Certain objects are alive, are characters - the tapestry, the ring etc - and you have to follow them carefully. Other 'themes' are the same: 'what people wear under their clothes' especially! But yes, you either like books written in pictures, or you don't - land of green plums is another example. It's not very literary, it's almost like people who think in painting insist on using another medium from shear orneriness!