For those who are interested in books from North Korea, I recently finished "Friend" by Paek Nam-Nyong. It's very different from what we can usually read because it is not a memoir or a story about escaping North Korea, at all. It is written by a North Korean author who still lives there and is actually quite famous over there. The story is set in the late 70s (if memory serves) and the main character is a judge who has to decide whether or not a couple can divorce. It's so interesting because it gives the reader a totally "new" insight into what life in North Korea is and it is strangely... human. We often can forget that people over there also lead their "normal" life as well as they can. Of course, some ideas are very weird to a Western reader because ... well ... communist dictactorship, but you get my point. Anyway, sorry for rambling and sorry for any mistakes, English is not my first language.

@nassiba9188

3 жыл бұрын

Thanks for the recommendation, the book sounds very very interesting!

@TheYumblebee

3 жыл бұрын

Thank you! I was about to say like how Eurocentric it has become that when people want to read from other countries, the books they read are always about escaping that country lol

Hello Emma, Romanian subscriber here. Unfortunately, our literature is not very well-known in the English-speaking room due to the fact that it wasn't translated, but there are some authors that you might find interesting and I think you can easily find their books. - Mircea Eliade - he was a historian of religions, a professor at University of Chicago and most of his literature is what we call "fantastical literature" (not to be confused with fantasy) and it's a mix of Romanian folkloric and mythological themes nicely blend into a modern set-up (by modern, please read interwar period in Europe). Also, he has some novellas that touch Indian spirituality. - Mircea Cartarescu is the most famous living Romanian author. In English you can find a novel (Blinding) and a novellas collection (Nostalgia). Cartarescu creates a world of dreams in which science, chemistry, biology etc. are a core part. He's very good and Nostalgia is great book. Unfortunately, one of his best works in Romanian - Levantul - has not been translated into English. In Levantul, Cartarescu writes a verse epic (such as Iliad) in which the main character is the Romanian Poetry and he imitates (pastiche, not exactly imitation) the writing style of canonical Romanian poets :)

@anamorales3722

3 жыл бұрын

Love Mircea Eliade, if you read Spanish you can find his works in translation. 😊

@urbanbeardman6840

3 жыл бұрын

Sunt de acord. I fully agree. Personally I would add my favorite Romanian poet, Nichita Stanescu. However, his work reads best in Romanian. I don’t think a translation, as great as it could be, would truly do justice to his body of work.

@michaelchen6017

3 жыл бұрын

Cool! I actually found a copy of Two Strange Tales by Eliade the other day at a used bookstore and picked it up because of how interesting it looked. :)

@claudiud1654

3 жыл бұрын

@@michaelchen6017 Hope you like it. Which tales are in the collection? I find it kinda odd that it's called tales and not novellas 🙂

@michaelchen6017

3 жыл бұрын

@@claudiud1654 Ah sorry; I didn’t know if it was a known collection or something. 😄 It has “Nights at Serampore” and “The Secret of Dr. Honigberger”. Published by Shambhala; they look novella-length! I’m scanning thru the author’s introduction and he calls it “Tales of the Occult”, and he notes reasons for lack of translations into English. Apparently these aren’t as representative of him as some of his other works.

My TBR has no chance. If it's not adding from the video, it's scrolling through the comments to find MORE amazing books. Thanks to everyone who leaves wonderful recommendations :)

@DanielaGarridou

3 жыл бұрын

Literally!

@lumieredice485

Жыл бұрын

Damn, you really hit the spot. I'm dying from hoarding all these books and good recs from the comments, haha.

Early again!!! YOU'RE SPOLING US WITH BEAUTIFUL, STUNNING, WONDERFUL CONTENT EMMA

Can I just say, I love love love the diversity of books and authors you add to your TBRs ? You keep introducing me to a variety of books I would never find out about otherwise ! You're amazing, Emma ! 🥰 lots of love from Portugal (also, can't wait to know your thoughts about Fernando Pessoa and The Book of Disquiet - it's my favorite author and book of all time ! I would suggest, if you have the chance, learning about what a peculiar individual Pessoa was! You will definitely be amazed by his genius mind) 💙

Heidi is my favorite book of all time. If you want a sweet, emotional, quite, nostalgic moment go for it

I just finished Heidi the other day, and I literally cried through the whole thing. Not because it was sad, but because it was so sweet and loveable. It made me feel nostalgic for the happy parts of my childhood.

@sausana2501

3 жыл бұрын

Then i highly recommend daddy long legs by Jean Webster

Anne of green gables is soo good!

It’s so lovely to see people who are interested in Russian literature. I don’t really like Turgenev. I enjoyed “Fathers and sons” but I hated “A house of gentlefolk” and “Bezhin meadow”. “Mumu”was heartbreaking. I would like to recommend you to read Irina Odoevtseva. She wrote about Russian immigrants after revolution. Sholokhov’s “Quite Don” is also very good. It is about the Cossacks and their lives during the First World War, the revolution and the Civil War in Russia. It’s “War and peace” of 20th century. P.S. letter G in Turgenev’s name is pronounced as in the word “great”

As a brazilian, it makes me so happy to see other people appreciating our literature!

I’ve just finished “Sadako and the thousand paper cranes”. It’s such a heartbreaking story about a girl from Hiroshima who suffered from leukemia. I highly recommend it

I recommend discovering Bulgakov, beyond Master & Margarita - his exploration of human psychology, the bold social criticism... Also don't overlook "Les Miserables" (someday, when you recover from chunky books such as War and Peace). In April I read "On Love and Other Demons" by Gabriel Garzia Marquez, which you've mentioned in one of your recent videos - I liked the dark themes, vivid imagery, unique characters, and the (beloved) author's distinctive language and imagination. It was a short, atmospheric read. I've just started "The Hours" by Michael Cunningham - going in with very vague expectations... Thank you for many great recommendations, my TBR has expanded so much over the past year. Looking forward to the Dark Academics birthday party!

@hannahg.7196

2 жыл бұрын

i adore les miserables! it’s my favorite classic! it’s quite long but worth it.

Wow I'm brazilian and I'm so happy because you are reading machado de assis. He is my favorite and I hope you enjoy it!

Just so you know, Nana from The Traveling Cat Chronicles is actually pronounced like nah-nah. It means "seven." You'll learn why they're named that in the book :)

"My brilliant friend" was my favourite of the year so far..I think you'll like it for its character's introspect. Thank you for your videos 🙏

I’m addicted to your videos they have such a soothing, atmospheric, relaxing effect and I’m in love with them. Thank you so much :)

"A GIRL CAN DREAM " ..indeed

Two videos in two days... Thank you... 💛I am getting back to reading this month... I hadn't been reading for a few months due to my exams... But I am so happy to get back at it😊

I am obsessed with your reading plan with me's! I just love how you're not just showing us your tbr - you're letting us into your process which I adore 🥰 I'm a huge mood reader and I don't have planned TBRs but I love watching others fulfill their lists ✨

I love that when you do your TBR you take us through your whole thought process. I think you’ll enjoy In Watermelon Sugar since the writing is especially gorgeous. I’m not sure what I’m reading for the readathon yet in May, but I am prioritizing some myths and legends-the Ramayana and Home Fire, which is a retelling of Antigone. I’ll be reading a book following a cat as well! (I am a Cat by Soseki Natsume.)

Hi! Romanian subscriber right here. "Zenobia" by Gellu Naum is a Romanian book and you can find it in english too. I read this book in April, this year and was amazing. I hope you can find this book and if you will read it I hope you will like it. Aaaaaand... Sorry for my english. ;-;

I have two local book club selections - The Memory Police (already finished it) and The Night Watchman by Louise Erdrich. For the 1900-1950 Readathon I have Passing by Nella Larson and Anne of Green Gables. I have three more books set aside as extras or alternatives. For the Springathon (nonfiction nature or natural history books) I just finished The Nature of Oaks by Doug Tallamy. I also have Entangled Web by Merlin Sheldrake and Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer (which I have already started but need to complete.) I haven't decided which books to read for the DA Book Club readathon but I think some of the books I've already mentioned might work for a few of the prompts and if I choose carefully I might be able to add only three or four books in order to finish all the "classes". Sorry this is so long but you DID ask what I planned to read. LOL.

You reading Brazilian literature is everything to me!!!!!! I love Machado de Assis sooo much

The heavens are upon us - blessed with yet another Emile vid whoop whoop (where my bookish party people at?)

Love your desktop wallpaper ♥️

@tony_soprano1076

3 жыл бұрын

Can someone tell me the name of it?

I love all the content! You’re nearly at 90k I’m here since 7k. I’m so happy for you and all the loving people here! 🧡

Your videos have such soothing effect. I'm in love with them

Currently I’m reading ‘100 Years of Solitude’, as per your recommendation (and a blooming good recommendation, might I add!), and I only have one chapter to go, which I both fear and can’t wait for enough, as I don’t want the bonkers Buendia family to stop their crazy fiascos. I intend to read ‘Song of Achilles’ finally for the DA partayyy thang too, and I’m hella excited to jump into that bad boy. Also, I don’t think anyone mentions enough just how delightful the “ciao” at the end of every video is... brings a tear to me eye!

@authorgreene

3 жыл бұрын

100 Years of Solitude is a favorite of mine. If you enjoyed it because of the magical realism aspect, I'd also recommend The Satanic Verses if you haven't had a chance to read it. It's just as funny and almost as tragic. It's brilliant, bloody mind trip.

@bruh-iy9ec

3 жыл бұрын

@@authorgreene I've heard of The Satanic Verses - we've discussed it's controversy and political impact in Lit class before, but it had completely passed my mind, so thank you for the recommendation (p.s. I finished the book last night and I feel a plethora of emotions right now.. and I'm devastated that it's all over now.. I was half tempted to start reading it all again already aha)

@parul6658

3 жыл бұрын

@@bruh-iy9ec I am currently in the middle of The Songs of Achilles and let me give you heads up - its brilliantly written, I oohed and aaawed on almost every page of it so far. Its So pretty storywise and I am glad I took this book bcoz Emma recommended !!! You'll love it

@honeysuckle888

2 жыл бұрын

@@authorgreene Hey I live in India where The Satanic Verses is banned. I really really want a copy of that book. If you have a pdf could you please send it to me ??

Greetings from Brazil! So great that you’re reading Machado de Assis 👏🏻🧡

EMMA I'M SO GLAD YOU MENTIONED ROMANIA IN YOUR VIDEO! As a Romanian subscriber I can say we do have some great authors, one of my favorites being Ion Luca Caragiale, who wrote mostly plays and short texts. Actually, an acting college in Bucharest was named after him! I enjoy the themes he explores in his works because he does it in a very amusing manner. If you can ever get your hands on Romanian literature I highly recommend Caragiale. Love your videos!

If you’re interested in reading modern Russian books I recommend Laurus by Eugene Vodolazkin (it’s set in the Middle Ages Russia though) and Zuleikha Opens Her Eyes by Guzel Yakhina (it’s about the 1930s and all the horrors that regular Tatar people had to face)

I'm Italian and I highly recommend My brilliant friend. I've only watched the tv show (and loved it) but many many people I know adored the book series.

That green velvet sweater looks super comfortable!

I'm happy you liked the first story from Machado's The Alienist. Hope you like the whole book. Anne of Green Gables and The Travelling Cat Chronicles are really great. My brilliant friend is the first of four books. I've read the entire serie and i can tell you: It's fantastic!

i know you already have a few north korean memoirs on your radar, but if you're interested in adding another to your list i highly recommend the girl with seven names by hyeonseo lee!

Emma I finished the entire and I mean ENTIRE Tokyo Ghoul manga in April. It was an experience which wouldn't have been possible without your rec. So thanks a lot!!! ✨

Literally just finished the Japanese Ghost Stories this morning! x

YOU WILL ADORE ANNE OF GREEN GABLES!!!!🌸✨✨ READ IT!!! I AM SO EXCITED!!! IT'S MY FAVOURITE BOOK EVER! 💜💜

Thank you Emma. That reading journal is so beautiful and the invisible cities is such an interesting project. There are some books I've been meaning to read from Romania so I think maybe I'll choose a book from there.

I’m from naples, Italy & Ferrante is a Neapolitan classic. A must read! Let us know how you like it !!

So...this may sound weird but I'm very picky when it comes to book tubers. Maybe bc i love books so much and take everything so personally even though I'm just watching strangers on the internet. But I've really grown to like and trust your channel and many of your reads go on my tbr. So yay!

I loved Heidi both the book and the anime

I never get time to read because of schoolwork, but this month I decided to make a bit more of an effort. Especially thanks to the DA readathon coming up💕

Your videos are a delight to see, I usually binge watch them❤ I had a couple of hard weeks and your videos were a ray of shine, thanks for that💛 Hope you are doing great and I hope you get a lot of 5 stars reads🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 Love from Panamá🇵🇦

The Neapolitan books by Ferrante are very readable...you may end up wanting to read all four in one go.

Ahhh emma i cannot explain how happy i get when u post!!

Emma actually you remind me so much of Amybeth McNulty the actress who plays Anne Shirley in the Netflix adaptation of Anne of Green Gables!! Wanted to say this for a long time and the moment you mentioned you once played Anne in a play I was so happy!

My copy of War and Peace arrives tomorrow and I can’t wait to get started. My current reads are Gardens of the Moon and The Midnight Library, both of which I’m loving. My TBR for May is Headhouse Gates, Reasons to Stay Alive, Notes on a Nervous Planet, Legendborn and hopefully the Hobbit! Beautiful video as always - I find your videos bless my day when they’re released. Your voice is so calming and you inspire me to read so much. ✨🤍

this was so nice to watch! I'm in the middle of exam season and I haven't read anything not school related for ages and I miss it so much. I can't wait to get to planning June's reads when I finally can actually read!! Also though, particularly Heidi, but also Anne of Green Gables, were a couple of my absolute favourite comfort reads as a - would highly recommend!

It is a dream to have owned so many books and get to go through it like you're in your library!

Love the format of this video. You also inspired me to pick up «War and Peace» and I am loving it so much so far. :)

Amazing tbr😍 I definitely need to read The Travelling Cat Chronicles soon!

Yesss, I love plan with me videos! 💜 My TBRs are not very realistic, they end up being kind of obsolete by the end of the month, but I still make them cause they're fun lol

I’m also thinking about reading My Brilliant Friend in May! I hope we both enjoy it! I’m way behind on War and Peace, lol. I’m struggling with the motivation to pick it up! Looking forward to the DA readathon, your TBR sounds so exciting.

Book (nonfiction) on Madagascar: David Graeber, Lost People: Magic and the Legacy of Slavery in Madagascar A work of anthropology by one of the greatest anarchist scholar of all time. It’s an ethnography, a writing on people’s narrative. It’s a scholarship, but not a kind where author mobilizes professional jargons. Rather it’s more about how daily cultural experience shapes concepts that enables one to think about social world. Highly recommend if you are into long-reads (more than 450 pages) 🤣

your presence is so cute and soft I had to subscribe, thank u for this video I never really thought about planning out what to read next :]

I just finished in watermelon sugar this weekend, and I loved it!!!

oh emma, how lovely it is to see you first thing in the morning ♡ I'm so excited for the readathon! and if you're looking for north korean fiction, I highly recommend the accusation by bandi and friend by paek namnyong.

my sunday just are complete with a new emma’s video.

I’m reading War and Peace as well for my book group ..I am just loving it so much and just wish I had more hours of the day to devote to it ! Every year I do a reading challenge ( for myself ) 2021 has become short story collections ..trying to find some new writers if possible , but also diving into the classics ..I picked Hemingway’s “ In our Time “ and “ Men without Women “ for my April selections ...love your channel !! btw I second everyone’s enthusiasm for the Ferrante series ..it’s a stunner !

"My Brilliant Friend" is excellent. It took me a little bit to get into the story but once I was in it, I couldn't stop reading. All of the four books are brilliant, I couldn't recommend them enough! Nice to discover your channel btw :)

Emma, so excited to find your channel 😍 I absolutely in love with atmosphere in your videos, thank you so much ❤ Hope you'll love Turgenev and I highly recommend "Fathers and sons", really heartbreaking book

I cannot wait to hear what you think about Anne of Green Gables !!

Emmie! I love your videos!!!

ahhh Emma I'm so excited to hear your thoughts 🖤

Ahh I'm loving these kind of videos, i'm already looking forward to next month haha

Heidi was my favourite as a child and my copy no longer has a spine and it is so loved and worn. If you don't get to it this readathon I highly recommend you pick it up sometime. Super wholesome and sweet.

I just read In Order to Live a couple months ago- phenomenal book!

Omg im so excited for you to read Anne of Green Gables!!

I love planning videos!! 😍

Your videos are so amazing I love them so much

You're vids are kind of like asmr! I love it🌸

You make me so comfy 😌

i think you're gonna LOVE heidi! have a nice day emma 💓

I love to see your big tbr, you always make an interesting selection. Also, the whole video I was thinking about how soft your sweater seems to be haha

I just finished The Travelling Cat Chronicles and cried the entire last 50 pages! It's so heartwarming and lovely.

Omg I'm currently reading Anne of Green Gables! It'd be so nice to feel like I'm "buddy reading" it with you if you do decide to read it 🙈 hihi on a completely unrelated note, please drop the new asmr video soon? 🙏 I'm your number 1 asmr fan!! Sending you love, hope you keep strong and healthy during the new lockdown!💜 Your videos have become my comfort place

I’m probably going to read Cloud Atlas for the extra credit challenge and I’m so excited because that’s a book I’ve wanted to read for ages. I absolutely adored The Bone Clocks by the same author, so it’s about time I read more by him!

Love your level of comfort with planning beyond your capability to read in a month 😂 I've been feeling guilty about doing that...but plans never hurt anyone, right? Especially not if you enjoy planning!

I love this type of videos!!!!

I just started reading: Madame Bovary by: Gustave Flauber and I heard good things about this book and I have an beautiful edition of it.

I finished a thousand boy kisses recently and I loved it! It was so heart warming and wholesome but so sad and heartbreaking at the same time, the romance was beautifully written and I recommend it to everyone

You're close to 90k subs!! congrats in advance

Yay! From Jamaica 🇯🇲

I love watching your videos , your videos always inspires me. We are the same age as you but we have very different lives. I believe someday , I will live the life i want. Greetings from Turkey 💕💕

That is a neat interesting way to put a TBR together. 😃 I think I might get into the 'Invisible Cities' idea and read more international books. "The Alienist" has me intrigued. Then maybe see one from N. Korea. I am finishing 'Arthur Gordon Pym' by E. A. Poe soon. Then I also hope to get to 'The Bridge of San Luis Rey' in May. Then there are the big books by Tolstoy, and Hugo for May. Those might not get finished up until early June though. I also hope to read a book by Elizabeth Gaskell.

My Brilliant Friend its amazing, one of my favorite of all times. I hope you like it

Love your tbr! For May I'm currently re-reading one of my favourite books, The Unbearable Lightness of Being by Kundera. Then I'm planning to read Untold Night and Day by Bae Suah for my Nabi Book Club (dedicated to Korean Literature), Lonely Castle in the Mirror by Mizuki Tsujimura and The Man with the Compound Eyes by Wu Ming-yi. I hope I'll manage to fit it also some poetry collections and graphic novels but I don't have anything planned yet :D love fro Germany

Just started Anne of Green Gables and am enjoying it so far 👍

Loved that "Tabla" beats in the background! :) btw I picked up the "Millennium series" for MAY. p.s- you are so inspiring!

im rereading the secret garden !

@skywriter9359

3 жыл бұрын

I suggested it for my book club and everyone loved it!

This was fun! 🥰

hi, I'm planning on reading 5 books in May and I'm really excited because I have never read so many books in one month so this video really gave me the motivation to put myself some goals and respect them. Thank you Emma for your videos, they always make me smile and give me motivation!! love from Italy 💗

@chiara3879

3 жыл бұрын

Hiii, I’m also from Italy. What are you planning to read?🥰

@fedesbooks

3 жыл бұрын

@@chiara3879 I'm planning to read 1) "va dove ti porta il cuore" by Susanna Tamaro 2)"the wicked king" which is the second book in a trilogy by Holly Black 3) "oggetti di reato" by Patricia Cornwell 4)"cittá di cenere" which is the second book in the Shadowhunters series by Cassandra Clare 5) "phantom of the opera" I don't remember the author of

@fedesbooks

3 жыл бұрын

also what are you planning on reading this month? 🥰🥰

hello Emma, ​​I love your videos about books, I am fascinated by the amount of books you can read, your discipline and your good taste. you are an inspiration! I love the colorful tabs that mark your readings and I would like to know what method you use to mark the reading of your books. Congratulations, I love it! From Lisbon 💚❤️

I really enjoying watching your videos. I am currently reading The Picture of Dorian Gray and Peter Pan

Well you said in an earlier vlog you were wanting happy and wholesome - Anne of Green Gables (the whole series) is definitely that! (I love them). Actually if you want middle grade / fantasy / some romance I recommend Alanna: The First Adventure by Tamora Pierce (it's a quartet) written in the 80 so you may or may not have heard of them? She disguises herself as a boy so she can enter knight training and there's a huge magical element too.

"Heidi" the book is SOOOO much better than the movie(s). (I was named for that character, full disclosure.) It has a lot of depth, which you wouldn't expect from a child's book (putatively.) Read it!!!

I work really close to where Lafcadio Hearn lived as a child.Have just finished Frankenstein and have just begun Goodnight Mr Tom recommended by Rae Of Sunlight.Happy reading!😃

I’m currently reading Death Comes for the Archbishop (Willa Cather) and Cane (Jean Toomer). I’ve really been enjoying both of them-though right now I’m on vacation in Colorado exploring the desert and the old pueblos, so I’ll admit that I’m sort of focusing on Death Comes for the Archbishop rn. I have a really bad habit of not paying attention to my reading list and just choosing random books whenever I have a slot open (but in my defense, it tends to work out) I assume most people have heard of Death Comes for the Archbishop; Cane is a book that I’d never heard about before. It’s a narrative set of poems and lyrical short stories that’s really really incredibly beautiful-it follows a small town in 1920’s Georgia and I’m just absolutely blown away by the quality of the book-each individual chapter is really short (2-10 minutes in Audio form) and mostly self contained, so I’ve mostly been using it as a pallet cleanser for my mind during breaks (I have 10 minutes in between each class for online school). For anyone interested, Cane is free on Spotify with an incredible audio performance-I would really recommend listing to it in audio form-poetry in general, I think, benefits from being read aloud-and some of the rhymes and rhythms within the book are only really noticeable in a old-Georgian accent-the tones and inflictions of the narration on Spotify also help to transmit of the cultural ideas and values that are present in the book (believe me, the rural georgia of the book is not one that you are already familiar with)-Again, really incredible narration. This video might have knocked my tbr even further out of the window, because now I’m really interested in reading First Love and In Watermelon Sugar

Can't wait for you to finish In Watermelon Sugar cuz I need you to dissect that for me. It was totally a trip I wasn't prepared for lol.