"he's so depressed, he's so emo, he's so spiteful, he's such a little shit BUT I just love it" is literally the perfect way to describe Hamlet lol

My friends won't read classics with me. Maybe because I keep saying things like "It gets good I swear, just ignore the 20 page description of the bleak winter morning sky, and the 50 conversations like I will not marry you peasant unless your income exceeds 12 pounds & 5 shillings per fortnight and you own at least 63.7 acres of farmland"

@k_i_n_z_a

4 ай бұрын

No worries. We can read together.

@melofy-vibes

4 ай бұрын

Hahahaha. Same :))

@picketfenced5771

4 ай бұрын

If I knew you, I’d read classics with you Annakin Skywanker

@Moriahg

4 ай бұрын

Same.

@k_i_n_z_a

4 ай бұрын

@@Moriahg on insta or where should we make reading plans?

When I was extremely suicidal in 2020 i used to listen to her KZread videos because her voice was the only thing that made me stop overthinking and calm down enough to sleep . I'm so glad i found her channel again , love you tons Emmie , you saved me in a way .

@clairelunetta3550

4 ай бұрын

me too 😭🥹

@mkahini

4 ай бұрын

ikr? her voice is immaculate

@maricarlabarreto303

3 ай бұрын

❤

@nishthagupta1357

3 ай бұрын

She's so nice & articulate & has such good views in life. She's super sophisticated too ❤

I prefer this style of ranking over tiers honestly because I feel we get to see far more of unfiltered opinion

My favourite classic reads from 2023: - phantom of the opera - Dracula - catcher in the rye - paradise lost (Most of them picked up because of your kind recommendation:))

@maryvandehei

3 ай бұрын

Dude loveeee Dracula

Emma talking about classics is something I'll never get tired of.

Any chance you'll do more "specific book recommendation" videos? They were always so fun to watch

@emmiereads

4 ай бұрын

Ah yes I’d love to!

Finished my last exam today! So now I can sit down and enjoy this long video with a cup of tea 🤍 Thank you Emma!

@emmiereads

4 ай бұрын

Congratulations! Hope you have such a well deserved rest💙

@bookswithcoffees_

4 ай бұрын

@@emmiereadsthank you :)

The Brothers Karamazov is so great. It's like the "War and Peace" of Russian Literature.

@Qvadratus.

4 ай бұрын

what? lol

@agustinamei6691

4 ай бұрын

War and peace is also Russian lol

@theYankss

4 ай бұрын

😂

@dmlll

4 ай бұрын

lol😂

@nishthagupta1357

3 ай бұрын

​@@agustinamei6691ikr i got confused by this comment too😂

I'm German and I've never read any Rilke before in my life. Because of you I picked up "Letters to a Young Poet" both in English and in German and I absolutely adore this book! It's kind of rewiring my brain if that makes sense... Anyway. I also wanted to point out that the translated version I've read (Joanna Macy & Anita Barrows) is just as beautiful as the original version. Thank you so much for the recommendation. ♥

l also reread the stranger and wuthering heights last year! wuthering heights is one of my fave classics, along with frankenstein

Emmie, I would love love love to hear your thoughts on Faulkner. Please consider reading A light in August or The sound and the fury! I think you’ll love it too and I’ll love to hear your thoughts on it❤

@LanceRulau

4 ай бұрын

Absolom, Absolom. This is the Faulkner masterpiece. Sound and Fury feels like a sequel (a master sequel) because Thomas Sutpen is so real. Sutpen is Ahab. Absolom, Absolom reads just like Moby Dick (Melville) or Swann's Way (Proust). I only read Hemingway so that I can fully appreciate Faulkner.

@Cakewalkingbaby

4 ай бұрын

@@LanceRulau after my first read of the sound and the fury I immediately started to reread it and I love it so much more. I plan on reading a lot more of him, including Absalom Absalom, his earlier work and short stories. I'm hooked:)

@saqweq

3 ай бұрын

I think she would love As I Lay Dying

@Cakewalkingbaby

3 ай бұрын

@@saqweq oh yeah...definitely

I am very glad you loved The Brothers Karamazov, it is my all time favorite book. I probably own like 6 copies, and I even began studying the Russian language a year ago for it. This is a story that is endlessly re-readable, and each time you will find a new glimmer of wisdom. My words cannot even express how much this book has done for me. Happy reading!

I still think about A Farewell To Arms like once every two weeks

@jamesduggan7200

4 ай бұрын

yeah, when it comes to powerful endings FtA has got to be way up high on the list

Great summary, and congrats on your degree! I really enjoy Hemingway as well and got to visit his home outside of Havana in October. A really beautiful place where he wrote some of his later novels.

My top 3 favorite classics of 2023 were: Gad's Hall/The Haunting of Gad's Hall by Norah Lofts The Mysteries of Udolpho by Anne Radcliffe Lud In The Mist by Hope Mirrlees Gad's has a certain gothic element akin to wuthering heights that I think you may enjoy- and Lud In the Mist is a rainbow after the rain, such a lovely story.

Yay! I was just rewatching your tier-ranking of classics series from '20-'22 a few hours agooo

I was waiting for this! Thank you so much for posting. I can finally take a break from all my homework ❤ you’re amazing ✨ have a spectacular rest of your week!!

Love the lighting! It makes the video seem so cozy ☺️

2023 became the year Emma read my favourite books and authors - 1984, The Catcher, Hemingway... Hoping for some Steinbeck love in 2024! East of Eden, Emma, pleeease!

3:03 so sad to hear this because I loveeed David Copperfield, although I didn’t know that Dickens loved it that much, good to know so thank you!!

Legit needed it, Em. Thank you. 🥺✨

I share your thoughts about Northanger Abbey, in the best way! I finished it two weeks ago, and I really loved that it could make me invested in Catherine's trite social setting, just becaust the scale of the story was so small. I like slice-of-life stories where the stakes are so low that the anxiety and release of a misunderstood conversation being set right is the most pleasing thing in the world 😂

I'm already looking forward to your rankings for this year now. Just one year to wait. I wonder where The Count Of Monte Cristo will be placed. I'm a fifth of the way through and I'm hooked and loving it.

Great list! I loved Catcher ever since I read it in high school. Favorite classic of 23 was Crime and Punishment. Aiming to read some more Russian classics in 24; got my eye on War and Peace & Notes from the Underground, but Brothers Karamazov also sounds really good!

Congrats on finishing your undergrad!! I finished mine last may and it has really allowed me to broaden my reading horizons. Also thank you thank you thank you for the cloud atlas rec in some video forever ago. New favorite of all time!

Congrats on finishing your undergraduates degree!! That would definitely feel good to have done. Also, I invested in your analuisa piece about four months ago and I've been wearing it all the time, it's such a great piece, thankyou!

Your Videos got me into reading more classics and I'm loving it!❤ Especially proud that I'm reading most of them in English, which isn't my mother tongue, I'm learning quite a lot. So really looking forward to watching this video!

If you ever get back into reading Dickens, I would definitely recommend Little Dorrit it’s one of my favorites of his

I absolutely love Letters to a Young Poet! It’s written so beautifully, the most beautifully written book I’ve ever read. So many of the lines hit me deep and I was in awe of how anyone could write with so much feeling and sense. Ugh just beautiful. I’m currently reading The Brothers Karamazov. I’m just about to finish part 1, where Smerdyakov speaks. Only about 750 more pages to go 😬😁

My favourite classic was The Count of Monte Christo ❤ Hope you like it! I am reading The Brothers Karamazov now and really enjoying it 😊

your next lispector should be near to the wild heart!!! it's her debut (released when she was 23) so it's obviously easier to read than other of her books. it's just sooo good, i need to hear your thoughts on it so bad❤

Of course!! We know how much you love Letters to a young poet ❤ I’m so excited to read it soon! Such a beautiful calming video as always, Emma 🩵 I think my favorite classics were The awakening and Orlando, so that moment in Game of tomes with u and Carolyn was so precious to me 🩵🩵

I've always loved your reading taste! Like yours is so sophisticated ❤

Emma, i loved the video! You commented about the books beautifully! ❤😊

I live for your Classic Lit ranking videos. So relaxing☕

I read Vita and Virginia's letters earlier this year and now I can't wait to re-read Orlando, it's so beautiful. I'm excited for more Woolf too! Lots of faves here ❤

David Copperfield, Wuthering Heights and Hamlet, I like these three! Thank you for your sharing!

My favorite classics of the year were A Moveable Feast and The Awakening, both of which I read on your recommendation! So thank you!!

Omgg I was waiting for this video 😍

I am so happy to see classics get so much attention from such a supportive community

It's great to see the classics getting some attention again. Enjoying the book club on Fable and looking forward to the next read! :-) Have you heard Tchaikovsky's opera based on Eugene Onegin? I'm not huge into opera but I do like Tchaikovsky. I'll have to check out the book! P.S. I agree with you on David Copperfield and Merchant of Venice. I knowing DC was Dickens' favorite just made me wonder a lot about Dickens.

My first time ever being early! Hi emmie, I love your videos so so much and I am always happy to see another! Your vlogs are the only thing getting me through this semester so far lol, undergrad is kind of getting me rn.

Glad to see you've gotten into Borges! Reading almost all of Borges' fiction when I was in college helped motivate me to read more in general.

The Catcher in The Rye I find this book lovely.

I’m rereading Letters to a Young Poet right now. So so good, such a comfort read

The last classic I read in December 2023 is Richard II. I like your classics ranking video!!!!!!

Hey Emma: I'm very glad you've built a firm foundation of classics. In my experience, it's so much easier to chat when you share a lot of classics. I hope you'll find that's true for you too. Honestly, if you're not going to write then the the next best way to give back is to chat about them, I think.

I'm currently reading dance dance dance it's very good so far thanks for the rec olso it's my first fiction ❤

i also just finished college emmie, congratulations for us!

Really hoping our erudite and lovely hostess can see some Shakespeare performed this year in addition to reading him.

@jamesduggan7200

4 ай бұрын

Yeah, too often they ask you in school not to rent the play but actually read it, which makes sense for some classes but for people who like reading, people who like drama, people who like the theater it's a good idea to see the plays. And indeed some of them work better on the stage than they do while reading them, like 12th Night, where you neither hear all the music nor see all the physical comedy. The Tempest, too, works very well in production, as does Coriolanus and Comedy of Errors. Of course many of them work on stage but some work on stage to your surprise and possibly chagrin.

i've been wanting to get into classics this year - a great list ☕

Loved the video so much ❤

Orlando was my favourite classic of the year. It was my 4th time reading it.

Thank you for the video!

Yayyyy ✨🥺 Needed this.

Given that i was unable to read many books from my tbr this past year but i had a lot of re-reads and I cannot start to express how much I still and will always love Pride and Prejudice. So, that definitely takes up the #1 spot followed by Wuthering heights (again a reread). Its probably my weak spot for the suffering Heathcliff himself but this gothic novel has definitely piqued my interest after Frankenstein. And one book which is not a classic but my last re-read of 2023 was In the Miso Soup by Ryu Murakami. This book again broke me, left me shivering for hours after ending and made me promise (again) not to touch Ryu's works anymore until I have fully recovered. XD [highly recommend, if you enjoy the horror]

Hi Emma! Thank you for this ranking, I have been trying to read more classics. It is also so so fantastic to see the dramatic shift in your mood since you've been back home. It makes me happy to see you happy 🩵❄️🩵✨️

Wuthering Heights is sooo good if you go into it without the expectation of it being a "romance." The way the reader is clued in on the narrative is so fascinating. We are following a character who is then hearing a story being told to him by a woman who knows the stories about other people from the past. I found it delightful and so well crafted. I always think about Heathcliff's cry and get a little teary, "I cannot live without my life! I cannot live without my soul!" He's such a monster but I always find myself hoping he could have had happiness.

@DaDa-ur6kg

4 ай бұрын

Yes, one of my all time favourites

When I was on my Shakespeare journey, I watched The Hollow Crown to see the history plays performed. I also saw the RSC’s recordings of Richard II and Hamlet, both with David Tennant. Recommended! My fave Shakespeare is Richard II, haha, but I understand the appeal of Richard III. I’m inspired to read Good Morning Midnight (I had read and appreciated Voyage of Darkness) and The Hour of the Star! 💫

Rilke's discussion of loneliness is so impressive!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This video has really put me in the mood for reading Shakespeare.

I read merchant of venice for school in 9th and 10th grade, we would be given a random part of the play in exams and we would have questions like who said this, what all people are in this scene and what happened before this scene etc etc, so we would have to take notes for like every single stanza of the play when the teacher would teach in class lol, regardless I enjoyed my time with it cause before that I had no experience with books outside of school

my favorite classics of 2023 were: a tree grows in brooklyn by betty smith, the bell jar by sylvia plath, franny and zooey by j.d. salinger, a separate peace by john knowles, the pastures of heaven by john steinbeck, joy in the morning by betty smith, and a wrinkle in time by madeleine l'engle (reread). i just finished rereading the catcher in the rye and i love it even more! i need to read more of salinger's works-any recommendations on what i should read next?

Lovely, looking forward to this one 😊 been really enjoying finding a few semi-obscure/slightly less well known classics lately so good to know which ones I should prioritize Edit: also my god I can't wait for when you read Ficciones, I am way too excited to hear your thoughts 😍

Hey emma i do re read Letters to a Young poet i completely agree when you called it your little bible ❤️❤️ and thank you i owe you for recommending this amazing book

emmie i miss u doing asmr!!🤍

The Awakening sounds very ethereal you have my attention Emma.

Macbeth is my favourite Shakespeare play, its so good! 👌🏻

Thank you, Emma - a lovely video. You're going to love The Sorrow of Angels by Stefansson. Wonderful. It picks up right where Heaven and Hell ends and the writing is still amazing. (Read these in order, Friends.) But I'd love to know what you think about some of the editing/translation choices for sentence structure in the early chapters. My favorite 2023 classic was a reread of The Picture of Dorian Gray.

Here are my top 3 classics of 2023: 1. Tess of the D’Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy 2. The Case of Sergeant Grischa by Arnold Zweig 3. The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro (a modern classic) Five stars books!!!

I could listen to Emma for hours

Love Medicine by Louise Erdrich floored me last year. I read a lot of memorable things in 2023, but none so gorgeous as this.

Lispector is difficult, but it's SO worth it. The hour of the star is my favorite work of hers, The Passion According to G.H. is really mentally demanding, but it's life changing.

Catcher in the rye is my favorite book among the ones i have read.... I lost my dad at a young age and always felt like i was different somehow... The book taught gave me clarity on something i like to call "slow effect of grief". How grief changes you over time... I relate to holden a lot..... This book have given a lot of clarity on my emotions.

You need to come to Denmark for the first weekend of December you can visit the Hamlet castle and there is a Christmas market inside its so so lovely! Or in the summer when they have Hamlet actors wandering around!

I can't wait to get to read more of my classics.❄️📚☕

During lockdown I had a chance to sit with my Penguin Classics paperback edition of "The Brothers Karamazov" - and devoured the entire volume in two sittings. I could not move away from it. It engaged me. It was like I was hearing the dialogues I've had in my head and heart outside of myself. I think I read it too fast though. I want to go back but this time to savor all of what Dostoevsky wrote.

As a classics reader, what are four or five modern books/novels/plays that you think will achieve classic/canon status? Cormac McCarthy and Otessa Moshfegh are two authors who I think will one day be regarded on the same level of Salinger or Richard Wright or Kerouac.

You are the first person I have ever seen who prefers "Taming of the Shrew" to "Twelfth Night". The trial in Act IV of Merchant of Venice is one of the great scenes in all of Shakespeare. Parts of Macbeth are absolutely missing. Orlando just entered the public domain in the U.S. A Farewell to Arms follows next Jan 1. If you like The Awakening read Madame Bovary!

@jamesduggan7200

4 ай бұрын

Yes, everyone should read Madame Bovary. Now it's established that on this channel we're not afraid of classics it would be a good choice. As for the Shakespeare, I've been discovering that when you let them people still have new and refreshing things to say. The reflex reaction is to explain the plays and well that sort of turns them off. So, it's not surprising in the current political climate new readers are afraid to say that they liked Merchant of Venice. Similarly, it's actually dangerous to suggest that Taming of the Shrew is a great play bc of the perceived misogyny. It's really not worth the arguments so I just let it go. As for 12th Night, it's a good test for a budding editors/producers. If they can understand why the play works so well on the stage then they may have what it takes to be a professional.

I absolutely loved the Merchant of Venice movie with Al Pacino

Happy to see a new video :). I have read Northanger Abbey along with you. But don't ask me what it was about. Probably not a good sign ^^ Have a nice day!

My favorite classic of the year was Tess of the D’Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy💞

Currently reading the brothers Karamazov (I started it like September last year) I think the reason why I have been struggling a little bit is because the translation that I have is not very good, but also because it's my first book by a russian author (that I can recall) and because there is a lot of talk about religion which I don't find interesting, but mainly I think is the translation, but I want to finish it

I've gotta start reading more classics

Emma I really hope you read To the Lighthouse sometime, I’d love to hear your opinion and I think you’d really like it

@jamesduggan7200

4 ай бұрын

To the Lighthouse is a marvelous book bc it directly addresses something important to most readers: motivation. Woolf tries to show more than tell that often the most important inspiration we have in life is something we can't properly put into words without sounding a little eccentric. Usually we're content with finding out what happened in a story but why it happens typically is bc that's what the writer decided to do, which is unfortunate. Topics like metaphysics are rarely studied in school these days, at least with the older terminology. So, if you're interested in how sometimes the invisible impels forward that with substance then To the Lighthouse is the novel for you.

If you can get a hold of it (There's a Google Drive link floating around somewhere), please try and watch David Tennant's Richard II. His Shakespearean performances have made the plays come alive for me in a way that nothing else has :)

@jamesduggan7200

4 ай бұрын

Good for you - glad you've found something you really like. It's not my favorite tho possibly because the main character sort of regresses rather than grows, which is more common for a drama. I find it very difficult to be sympathetic to R II while in other plays I find myself almost rooting for monstrous characters because I've watched them become that way between Acts one and five. It's a good play of course, but quite frankly I prefer reading it to seeing it, especially that long speech John of GAunt delivers from his deathbed.

can't wait to finish this! i love classic lit but haven't read any in so long because my attention span has unfortunately been at its absolute lowest :( hoping to get back into it in 2024 :) will you be uploading again on your asmr channel? no pressure just think it would be lovely if you did

Fave classic this year was brothers karamazov for sure

I read The Awakening and felt somewhat disappointed in the predictability of the ending when placed in the context of the rest of the book, but I do think of it a lot too

Favourite classic of 2023: A farewell to arms. Favourite that is not a classic: Strangers on a train by Patricia Highsmith.

since you love hotels so much I'm surprised you haven't read A Gentleman In Moscow by Amor Towles. Beautiful writing and a cozy read!

Great list, Emma. Very inspiring, and I really want to tackle Shakespeare now. He wrote so many great plays and I am starting to feel like I’m missing out. That Needs to change. Also, did you read Stranger in language other than English the first time? In French, I presume?

@jamesduggan7200

4 ай бұрын

Well, yes, it was written in French. It's a good starting point if you haven't read many novels in French. It's short and the language isn't very difficult. Personally, I think it makes good sense to read a book in the language in which it was written, but it translates well enough. It's really a personal preference, I's say, but who knows?

For anyone who's watched the Felicity Jones and Carey Mulligan adaptation of Northanger Abbey, how did their performances match the way they're characterized in the book?

I loved The Hour of Star ❤

The Wednesday wars made me want to read Shakespeare again. I want to read Macbeth so badly 😊

Clarice Lispector 🥰🥰👏

Richard III deformity is accurate! He had severe scoliosis

Also Emma you neeeeed to watch a Hamlet production asap

@jamesduggan7200

4 ай бұрын

There are so many very good ones. tbh I think that the Mel Gibson version is as good a place to start as any. He captures better than anyone else the dynamism of Prince Hamlet in the 5th Act, which has been hidden until then. Kevin Kline is very good too bc he hams it up a bit and that's very much in the spirit of Shakespeare in general and Hamlet in particular. Then of course there's Patrick Stewart, Derek Jacobi, Lawrence Olivier: all chef's kiss, five star productions. Richard Burton demonstrates why in the theater Hamlet works well when most of the lines are shouted so everyone in the theater can hear, and last but not least loved is the brilliant 4 hour film from Kenneth Branagh. There really are so many. If you enjoy the theater then yes certainly you should see a Hamlet adaptation soon, though perhaps not one of the lesser-known versions, idk.

You should definitely try David Copperfield again in a couple years. And spring for the Everyman's Library edition maybe; I think the Penguin cover design is awful plus they took out the illustrations.