Just recently found this channel! Some of the most beautifully written books I’ve read have been Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston, The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath and Like Water for Chocolate by Laura Esquivel

Rome is my favorite city. I've just added The Marble Faun to my cart, thank you so much, I did not know of this novel.

Definitely agree with you on Frankenstein. For me Willa Cather's My Antonia and Death Comes for the Archbishop are beautifully written. Her descriptions of the prairie in My Antonia and New Mexico in Death Comes are exquisite.

@jenniferbrooks

2 жыл бұрын

I have never read Willa Cather! Sounds like I need to change that!

@meggy8868

9 ай бұрын

Absolutely. Her rhythms are as stunning as a poet's

@TheNutmegStitcher

6 ай бұрын

My Antonia is haunting. I've thought about it for years.

Totally agree with you on Moby Dick. Even though everyone kept on saying it’s so boring, I was so shocked by how beautifully written it was. I also felt like it was going to be a special book from the very beginning. Not a huge fan of American classics, but this one was so beautiful.

@jenniferbrooks

2 жыл бұрын

I agree! I'm also not big on American classics but there was just something about Moby Dick.

Hardy and Dickens - for sure. What Hardy does for descriptions of nature, Tolstoy does for descriptions of human nature. War and Peace is (surprisingly) a delight to read, as you feel that you’re in the room with the characters and can sense their emotions from Tolstoy’s subtle descriptions of body language interspersed with (often contrasting) dialogue. Dickens’ prose can seem mannered by today’s standards. But if you pick up a newspaper from his era, you’d recognise his style. It is often strangely ‘journalistic’, which lends a sense of realism and authority to a subjective narrator’s account - contrasted with naturalistic dialogue, illustrating the various dialects and social classes of his well-drawn characters.

My 2nd favourite novel of all-time is 'Return of the Native" with Edgon Heath being its most fascinating 'character'.

You make me want to read them all! You are an excellent presenter and your delivery is perfect! So happy I found your channel ❤

@historical_lisa315

4 ай бұрын

I can't believe that she is gone! So sad.

I would add Vladimir Nabokov to your list. The prose in Lolita is divine! Totally agree with you on Hardy..I hate nature writing, farming etc but I freaking loved all of it in Tess..so he sold it to me!

Melvilles ''Confidence Man '' is a tricky short novel about the sneaky nature of evil .

I have completed Moby Dick on my just concluded vacation with family. That's a huge achievement as they allowed me enough time to read. The prose is full of comparisons and metaphors and I beleive the whaling facts is an essential part of this great book. Melville was recognized as most of the authors only after his death. A lukewarm response when the book was printed but a colossus of American literature.

Yourcenar‘s Memoirs of Hadrian is stunning also in the original French

I just have to compliment you Jennifer on how you describe all these books. You make me want to read every last one! And I agree wholeheartedly with the ones I have read that you feature. 💕

@jenniferbrooks

2 жыл бұрын

Wow, thank you, Melissa! Hope you and Sam are doing well!

I've heard that Seven Pillars of Wisdom and Black Lamb and Grey Falcon are brilliantly written. What little I've read from each of them confirms that. Seductively written.

ok you've got this Dracula fan convinced he needs to revisit Frankenstein. really happy for you finding two new favs, you describe them beautifully and it inspires me to go hunting for new favs myself ~

Wonderful list! I loved "Frankenstein" and "Villette". . My favorite Hardy was "Jude The Obscure". Earlier this year I also read "Middlemarch" and It was amazing. Also, that edition of Frankenstein is so stunning! I'll recommend Virginia Woolf, "To The Lighthouse" or "The Waves" for her extremely beautiful prose. :)

Frankenstein is from my very top favorite books! I also love Moby Dick! It does have some difficult parts, but the writing is incredible!!!

As someone who reads classics in Russian and English, I can say that a lot is lost in translation. I think that if you like the translated version, the original language is even better. Anything by Victor Hugo is some of the most beautiful writing I've ever read. Out of the Russian classics, to me, Gogol has the most beautiful purple prose writing. I've only read the originals of his work so I don't how good the translation is. This year I discovered Dickens and I'm in love with his writing style. I need to check out more Victorian writers.

@CourtneyReads

2 жыл бұрын

I'm learning Russian specifically with the goal of being able to read some of the classics in the original. I've only read Dead Souls (in an English translation) from Gogol so far but I really enjoyed it and can imagine that it would be even better on the original.

@NatalyaVins-blueflower775

2 жыл бұрын

@@CourtneyReads I find Gogol more accessible than many other Russian classical authors. Although when I first had to read him for school in grade 5, I really struggled with understanding many words because of the dialect he writes in. It's amazing that Russian literature makes people who don't speak Russian want to learn it.

@CourtneyReads

2 жыл бұрын

@@NatalyaVins-blueflower775 it is amazing! And it's a beautiful language. I'm really enjoying learning ☺

I'm definitely reading more Melville next year. I've read Billy Budd, but really looking forward to Moby Dick after reading The Wager. The entire period and industry fascinates me. I plan to follow all the rabbit holes.

Beautiful prose is my favorite quality in a book. I wasn't familiar with The Marble Faun. I'll have to add it to my list. Thanks for the recommendations!

I recently read "The House of Mirth" by Edith Wharton and thought it was beautifully written.

@missanne2908

2 жыл бұрын

I agree. I found the writing in _The House of Mirth_ far more haunting than in her more famous novel _The Age of Innocence,_ though I enjoyed both books.

@jenniferbrooks

2 жыл бұрын

A lot of people have mentioned Edith Wharton!

@meggy8868

9 ай бұрын

Love love love Edith Wharton, under-read, under appreciated

I love the Bronte sisters so much. Wuthering Heights is my favorite book of all time. I am still working my way through all of their works. I now own them all, aside from the complete poetry & juvenilia. I read Jane Eyre (loved) & read most of The Tenant of Wildfell Hall. Need to finish it soon.

@jenniferbrooks

2 жыл бұрын

You will really enjoy some of the juvenilia, I think. It's similarly beautifully written!

I am reading Moby Dick. Loved the first part but started to started to fade out after about 300 pages. Your description makes me want to pick it up again and give it another go. Thanks.

I've named Demian as my favorite book for years! Hermann Hesse has been my second-favorite writer since I was a teenager, and I've read probably 95% of everything he ever wrote (all his novels, plus many stories and non-fiction works). I particularly love the Midrash on how the Mark of Cain is the mark of a nonconformist, someone special, unafraid to go against the crowd. My other favorite books by Hesse are Rosshalde, Beneath the Wheel, Narcissus and Goldmund, Steppenwolf, and Peter Camenzind. I'd recommend saving The Glass Bead Game for last, since it's much different than his usual storytelling style, and is hard to read even for many longtime passionate fans.

I love these thoughtful reviews! Wow! I haven’t read many of these, but have dipped into many of these authors. Dickens is REALLY growing on me and I adore Hardy’s nature descriptions. Frankenstein is such a fascinating read. I so want to try Demian after listening to you talk about it lately. I’m saving this video to my TBR! 😂 Also I’m so glad there are other people out there that love books for their beautiful writing and don’t necessarily need a heavy plot! ♥️😄

If you loved Memoirs of Hadrian, please please pick up a copy of The Death of Virgil by Hermann Broch. Far and away some of the greatest prose I've ever read, and the English translation came out first even though it was written in German (Broch signed off on it himself). It recounts the last 18 hours of Virgil's life in first person/third person narration. Highly, highly recommend!

Well said; The Marble Faun is absolutely stunning.

I love the Memoir of Hadrian. Of course, I read it on my mother tongue (Castellano) and I found it a very beautiful translation.

I love 1800's classics as well!! I'm surprised there is no Edgar Allan Poa, Shirley Jackson or H.P Lovecraft, they are some amazing prose and atmosphere writers.

I love the nails

Completely agree that Romola is the most beautiful of Eliot's works! (That I've read anyway.) I usually struggle with her, but I enjoyed Romola so much.

I agree with you regarding being stunned when you read something and wonder how in the world could a mere human be able to create such beauty using a string of letters!

This was just a beautiful list of books. I adore The Picture of Dorian Gray. Wilde is just a fantastic writer. I became a fan of Wilde over night. I love more videos like this. I'm diving deeper into poetry and a video on the most beautiful written poetry books would be lovely.

I love Frankenstein so much! I only read it for the first time 4 or 5 years ago and have re-read it, I think, twice. It's just so beautiful. I also love The Pickwick Papers and Dorian Gray. 🤓 I read The Tenant of Wildfell Hall last year and it blew me away! I _might_ like it as much as Jane Eyre. 📚 I have just put Moby Dick on my Kindle and I have The Marble Faun in my cart on Amazon. Thanks for the recs! ❤️

Have you ever read Marcel Proust? If you love beautiful prose without a lot of plot, you'll adore him.

@jenniferbrooks

2 жыл бұрын

I have not! Moving Proust to the top of the TBR!

Excellent video and Yes to Prose! The purpley-er the better. Not to say I don’t enjoy contemporary novels but I find that with a contemporary novel, the story must carry everything because the writing while perhaps good, is not inspirational. Inspirational, purple prose elicits a sigh after reading. For me, it’s what separates writers from wordsmiths. Wilde, Shelley, Brontes, Hardy, all wordsmiths. I’m saving the video as well for the comments because of all the awesome recommendations from your community.

James Salter's little masterpiece "A Sport and a Pastime" has poetry on every page. It is almost synaesthetic the way he often combiines disparate kinds of observations to create surprising epiphanies. And Nabokov, Proust, Faulkner, and Cormac McCarthy (R.I.P.) are also very vivid and thoughtful writers with a lot of style.

I love Victorian writers.....great use of our English language.

i've just about added all of these to my TBR list other than the ones I have read already !! I love this video idea.

Great video Jenny. Dickens is one of my favourite novelist too. Dombey and son is my 5 star read as well as Dumas's The Count of Monte Cristo

What a great episode. Just followed you on Goodreads. Demian by Hermann Hesse - Never heard of it. The Memoirs of Hadrian by Marguerite Yourcenar - going to read it next. Frankenstein by Mary Shelley - read it in college in 1990s. Pleasure by Gabriele D'Annunzio - loved it. Read it in Rome 2 years ago. Moby Dick by Herman Melville - hated it. Read it in 2017. But thanks for insights. First Love by Ivan Turgenev - never heard of it. The Marble Faun by Nathaniel Hawthorne - Henry James' Roderick Hudson is better. The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde - loved it. The Pickwick Papers by Charles Dickens - hate Dickens. Romola by George Eliot - heard of it and now want to read it based on your review. The Return of the Native by Thomas Hardy - heard of it but never read it.

After DNFing Demian last year, your recent reading vlog made me reconsider giving the book a second chance. Last week I was lucky to pick up a copy of Demian in a little free library, and now you recommend it again so strongly - I'll take it as a sign to put it right on top of next month's TBR :D I often feel like falling in love with the books you recommend even before I read them, your enthusiasm is just that infectious! I appreciate how clearly you describe your reading taste and what you like about the books. I used to be intimidated by Moby Dick because of all the negative things I've heard, but I feel like your feedback gives me a way better idea of what to expect from this book. Now a copy of Moby Dick is waiting on my shelf and I'm looking forward to my next vacation at the seaside to read it!

All I can say is that you have convinced me to re read some of these books 📚 please stay safe and enjoy your reading love your friend John xxx

@jenniferbrooks

2 жыл бұрын

Thanks, John!

@johnsaxongitno4life588

2 жыл бұрын

@@jenniferbrooks no worries 😉

Great video! I just happened to finish 'The picture of Dorian Gray' a few days ago and to me it's undoubtedly one of the most beautiful pieces of prose. The sheer level of the sentence was so pleasant that I often found myself reading phases out loud🙌🏻 I'm German and hearing you talk about Hesse was quite interesting because I've mostly had negative experiences with many german translations of english novels, especially Oscar Wilde. That is to say that there are so many gorgeously written german books, where english translations do not capture the full scale of the original... I highly recommend Hugo von Hofmannsthal though❤️

Love this! I only read Turgenev’s First Love from this list and it's one of my favourite books of all time. A great deal of the criteria for a book to be a favourite for me is the writing. I love beautiful prose and you definitely convinced me to read all of these books.

I really like this video and understanding of classics like Charles dickens which I need to read sometime but my mood abit everywhere atm .love the brontes a lot specially Jane eyre.

Awesome video, it almost felt like ASMR!

@jenniferbrooks

2 жыл бұрын

Thank you!

It's a subject area that's not often discussed.

Moby Dick is THE "Great American Novel." It covers so much about the American identity in the form of our collective obsessions and brutal engine of our chosen economic reality requiring both our subjugation to madmen and the destruction of nature for profit (just replace Ahab with an oil or gas foreman and his crew). The roughness and brutality of Ahab and his crew is juxtaposed with the alternating chapters covering the zoological nature of whales which sums up an America where scholarship maintains an uneasy relationship with industry. I like Frankenstein but I don't recall considering the prose beautiful. I also love the Bronte sisters (Wuthering Heights is my second favorite work of literature, but I was having difficulty teaching it as students reduced it to "Heathcliff is toxic male and serial abuser!" which I can understand from a modern standpoint, but they failed to understand that he knew Cathy loved him as much as he did her and that Heathcliff is a classic example of an antihero); however, the most beautiful prose I ever read was either in Swann's Way or Lolita. Lolita was interesting because the subject matter disgusted me, but the prose was uncommonly beautiful.

@meggy8868

9 ай бұрын

Very interesting commentary

Forty years ago while riding the BART a stranger started speaking to me about the beauty of Mary Shelley's language in _Frankenstein._ Shortly thereafter I read the book and have loved it ever since. I would like to see a faithful adaptation of this work, and dream of seeing an accurate depiction of bringing the monster to life - the book is so different from anything that has been on the screen. I know this is a pipe dream though, and can't see any modern day studio doing justice to this work. Could you make more videos on the best translations of foreign works? After reading a disappointing translation of _The Hunchback of Notre Dame_ I've researched what translation would be the best for any work that I'd like to read. I recommend Richard Pevear's translation of _War and Peace_ and Robin Buss's translation of _The Count of Monte Cristo._ Sadly enough, there can be problems with books by English authors as well. I had to go with the Norton Critical Edition of _Wuthering Heights_ to get the 1847 text complete with the servant's patois as the Bronte wrote it. In looking for a Kindle edition for _Pride and Prejudice_ I found that many of the editions on sale had dumbed down Austen's language! When making a recommendation for a book the edition and the translator (for foreign language books) are important for potential readers to know.

@lorannamoody7011

8 ай бұрын

I know this is over a year old and you might not see it. Whenever I was on BART, I would always ask people what they were reading. I still do it at airports and doctor’s offices. It’s a good way to find new books

Beautiful video Jennifer, I am also obsessed with anything Rome and Italy, so the recommendations are amazing. Can’t wait to read them ❤️

I don't know how to explain this and I'll probably fail, but this video made me feel the urge to pick up a classic in a way I haven't experienced for quite a while. I'm so glad I discovered your channel and I've been really enjoying your content 😃 Also, I 100% agree with you on The Marble Faun being the most beautifully written book on this list without having to read it because Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter blew my mind with how beautifully written it was, and that's coming from someone who didn't really pay attention to the writing style or prose. That's how good it was! As for the Brontës, WUTHERING HEIGHTS ALL THE WAY!!! It's a timeless masterpiece 💛💛💛 Oh, and Oscar Wilde...*sighs in bliss*

Great list! I added quite a few books from it to my ever-growing tbr pile. For me, nothing beats Ada, or Ardor by Vladimir Nabokov.

@jenniferbrooks

2 жыл бұрын

I'm adding that to my TBR!

@melissahouse1296

2 жыл бұрын

Good to know/ this makes me excited as i just received AorA in the mail (first N.. it was a tough choice)!🤗

@mariabarnes4094

2 жыл бұрын

@@melissahouse1296 hope you like it! Although for your first Nabokov I would recommend The Defence or Lolita. They are easier to get into

oh wow I’m going to read Moby Dick next! I recently so many people raving about it but the way you described it definitely convinced me :)

Congratulations on the 5k subscribers! So well deserved.

@jenniferbrooks

2 жыл бұрын

Thank you so much!!

Lolita; Murphy; Watt; The Sound and the Fury; Go Down, Moses; Suttree; Black Spring; "Ligeia"; Walden; David Copperfield; The Wapshot Chronicle; A Fairwell To Arms; The Maltese Falcon; The Origin of Species; The Economic Consequences of the Peace; Life of Johnson; Awakenings (Sacks); any Sir Thomas Browne.-All, originally in English, although as for you, many beautiful reads were translated texts I won't include, Hesse, Hamsun, Baudelaire, Faure, Giono, Rabelais, Upanishads, Bible, and on and on. The Marvle Faun is now on my tbr, thanks

I am now reading Demian now because of a good bookish friend of mine forwarded me this episode of yours, I am only finishing Chapter 2 and I already know I am going to love this book A LOT, especially I read this just right after East of Eden and I am wondering if Steinbeck (I'm sure he must have been) read Demian before or during his writing of East of Eden, the Chapter 2 (Cain) on the Cain & Abel and reading this right after reading East of Eden just mind-blowing....and yes the writing certainly beautiful and my copy is translated by Damion Searls from Penguin Classics and I really like the cover with your edition!

Thank you, Jennifer. Your interests are truly insightful and inspiring. I've been diving head-first into a crazy reading schedule this year (3 hours daily), and I find your videos grounding. Thanks again, Jennifer, for the recommendations!😄👌 P.S I want to get into George Eliot, and have Middlemarch on my shelf; but I wondered if I should save it for a serialized reading plan (where I read it across the span of its original publication dates with my bookclub), or pick another one of her novels to read beforehand. Is that the best entry point (Middlemarch, I mean)? What do you think?

Incredible video. Thank you!

@jenniferbrooks

2 жыл бұрын

Thank you!

Chesterton rates Pickwick as the best of Dickens . i agree. it is a romping Don Quiote with Sam Weller as our guide .

i just love that i just found another booktuber who talks and likes classic literature! new sub here!

Your Demian might be the NH Priday translation.

Moby Dick pulpit scene so brilliant! I don't even think the great Orson Wells did it justice in movie.

virginia woolf, to the lighthouse and the waves

Moby Dick is stunning. ...for whoever can read Spanish, Don Quijote... it's Magic in the original. If you can read in Italian, I love the prose of Giovanni Verga. I also admire the prose of Alberto Moravia (also in Italian...I don't know how it comes off in translation). Ohhh....or the short stories of Isaac Bashevis Singer. He is like a Hippocrene of most natural prose, I love him utterly. Also Beautiful prose in the short stories of Thomas Wolfe. Yes, please make a poetry version of this video if you haven't yet. Loved this.

Gah i could listen to you talk about classics, HFic & poetry for days🤩 loved this video 💙😊 TMFaun & MDick are finally wingin their way to me (HHesse soon) v excited.. ps have u read The Man On A Donkey? (1950s Tudor classic) HFM Prescott.. i cant say that its PProse'ish' but just *wow* im loving it & wanted to put it on your radar 🤓👍

@jenniferbrooks

2 жыл бұрын

Glad you enjoyed! I haven't read that yet! I'm adding it to the list!

I’m curious to know if you’ve read Tolkien’s translation of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. If so would love to hear your thoughts!

I read a different translation fo Demian and it was GORGEOUS. (The Penguin one.) So my guess is that Herman Hesse is the real deal 😂👌

Have you read Outlander? Im reading it now its so nice and isn't smutty like the show lol

Such a well articulated set of reviews!

@jenniferbrooks

2 жыл бұрын

Thank you!

Hi. I thot I saw an ancient history video on your channel, but now can’t find?🤔😉

not a classic but have you read the blue helmet by william bell?

For GE fans best is Deronda. People avoid Felix holt the radical--hint "radical" refers to the man instead of politcs.. Ester Lyons is even more appeali g than Dorothea Brooke. Felix has some memorable scenes of the relations of mothers to their adult sons, and might be ge's most entertaining.

I didn't like Frankenstein because everybody, including the monster, sounded exactly alike.

I really loved this video, what a thoughtful selection. I just finished a reread of Moby Dick and I agree with you, the writing is amazing. I went on to read Blood Meridian because McCarthy was so influenced by Moby Dick. The book was shocking but the writing was staggeringly good.i could see how McCarthy had taken the themes and run with them. Is it a classic? Pickwick is my next Dickens read, I can’t wait.

Thank You. Will ck out Memoirs of Hadrian. Prescient pronounced. Pres-see-ent

I love 1800's classics as well!! I'm surprised there is no Edgar Allan Poa, Shirley Jackson or H.P Lovecraft, they are some amazing prose and atmosphere writers.