Great conversation. One of my favorite books. I’m so ready to read it again after listening to your conversation. 3 years ago I heard that Noah Baumbach was making a film of this book. My reaction was absolutely “Nooooo!” I assumed he would somehow turn it into some plot driven film and completely miss the characters, the humor, the voice of the book. I reluctantly went to see it when it was released and I was more than pleased. Baumbach clearly translated his experience of the book into an alternate version of the book. A worthwhile companion piece. And he proved that DeLillo can be made into a movie. The casting is perfect and each actor in the film will forever be their DeLillo role first in my mind. Which will be to their credit. Speaking of companions to the book, the audiobook version narrated by Michael Prichard is amazing. Prichard embodies DeLillo’s voice almost as if DeLillo created him just to perform this narration. I loved your dad’s comments about not marking his books. Same here. But I visited my daughter last year and randomly picked books off her shelf to find hundreds of gloriously highlighted sentences and paragraphs, often in different colored highlighter. I wanted to go back to the beginning and read everything all over again with highlighters in hand. (Hard to do with the many audiobooks I listen to though;-) Finally, I know you love Nabokov so you may know he said “One cannot read a book: one can only reread it.” Thanks so much for this.

Great video!!

Great video. You're giving me suggestions to books that sound fascinating that I've never heard of! Have a good time in your classes!

good one keep these types of videos they are easy to follow unlike other youtubers i hope the next videos have Contemporary literature.

So far, I’ve only read The Enchanter by Nabokov, and while it’s quite a disturbing book, I really appreciated his narrative style.. I truly hope you continue making videos like this. The way you break down the book and its ideas makes me want to read it. Your analysis was really engaging!

I came across your video, and even though I didn’t like the book, I really enjoyed watching it.

Thank you, Alex. Loved the video. Your passion for reading and the book comes through so strong that I now have it on my very long to read list.

Hi Alex, loved what you shared, I was wondering if you have an email address for business.🥰

Really love your channel - you're treating your viewers with respect. So far from the standard booktuber McDonalds-approach. Hope you liked Copenhagen, a big upvote from a Danish viewer!

I love how you mentioned at 4:44 how nothing written feels like an accident. Me being fluent in Russian, it made me think about the name Luzhin itself: the name is derived from the word "luzha," which means "puddle." I haven't read the book myself but I'm bringing it up because from the class I took on Russian literature, the professor would emphasize the importance of the names of the characters, what they or their prefixes meant in Russian, and so on. Great video, btw! Very engaging and intellectually-stimulating. :)

pls keep doing reading vlogs! i'm a fan of the longer videos :) now I want to read my first Nabokov! I hope you make a reading vlog of Intermezzo too

Can you make a video discussing how to review books? Focusing on literary analysis and critique. Also a creative writing major here, I love your channel.

Wonderful video! All the best to you. And save a summer for War and Peace-a life-changer!

Glad I found your channel! Do you have a reading routine or just read whenever you have time?

Good vibes from you. I like the content.

A Nobokov centered course?!!! I couldn’t think of anything better I wish I could take this

Great reading voice!! Best of everything in your future!!

Your dad referred to the recording as “video taped.” That’s how we Gen Xers recognize eachother! I have a college aged kid and hope that he attributes some of his academic interests to me too. What did he study in college?

Just dropping in while I have some wifi - I'm currently staying off-grid for a few weeks, so I'm in and out of being able to watch anything. But it does mean that I have time to read, which is great. I'm impressed that you find the time to make these videos with all your classes going on - it always felt like I had hardly any extra time in uni. I'm sort of fresh out of it, so just hearing about all your essays gave me flashbacks haha. Although it's super interesting to hear about what you're having to read and your different classes - I did engineering, but had always wished of taking some English classes (the most I managed to fit in was a philosophy class). I'm keen to hear your thoughts on Crime and Punishment when you read it. I haven't read it yet, but I've heard great things! That's so true about being forced to read and how it gets you to read things you might otherwise push aside for later. I'm the same! Also looking forward to hearing about all the Nabokov books if you choose to review them. I've only read Lolita, which I read when I was about 15. It makes me laugh to think about because I'm sure a lot of the writing went over my head back then and I probably didn't quite grasp the gravity of the content, but I remember loving it. It was my first to exposure to the idea of "can one feel for the bad person?" I just found it an interesting concept to see a terrible situation from the inside instead of only from the outside. Last year, I read My Dark Vanessa, which is in conversation with Lolita (although one can't compare the writing), and seeing that perspective enhanced it. That's so relatable about being forced to write, too! I always wonder when things changed for me. When I was younger and had discovered my love of writing, it flowed and it almost felt like I'd never stop. And then at some point I got critical of my writing and it takes a lot for me to get words on a page now. I guess it's good to just be aware of it, though. I'm glad you've got the chance to be forced to write haha. Anyway, thanks for the video! And good luck for the semester :)

Gogols Tara's bulba is an exciting read.

I love this type of content

I wish I was taking more English classes like yours- you're reading a bunch of good books that hit the core of literature. I'm jealous!

Man I love this it brings me to tears you are truly blessed to have a dad to share a love of reading Not many have that (including myself ) Keep pushing man Nothing beats the love a father

Dude, you’re gorgeous. That’s it. That’s my shallow contribution to the world.

Where are you from I’m trying to figure out your accent. Thanks!

really enjoyed the commentary on normal people! best of luck in copenhagen, the literary festival with rachel cusk sounds awesome

Hi from Croatia, glad you liked it here! Here's a recommendation for an amazing contemporary Croatian novel - Sons, Daughters by Ivana Bodrozic. It's recently been published in English and it's absolutely worth reading. Thanks for the good content!

Such a good video. I just followed you on insta I hope you post bookish stuff!!

why is there a shitty cover on hero of our time.

Nice

i read Pale Fire this summer; I was surprised how much I laughed!

Currently taking a break from getting heartburn from the Bears’ game (nice hat) and this was a perfect breather. Love Letters to a Young Poet

I just started crime and punishment a few days ago, super exciting! Also that specific cover of a hero of our time is so funny to me.

I always wished I had majored in English instead of Film. Also, I know you read Norwegian Wood recently. Right now I’m about half way through Kafka on the Shore and it is phenomenal. Way better than Norwegian Wood. Highly recommend it.

A lot of very interesting insights! Bring dad back some day

If you haven’t already I would highly recommend Foster also by Keegan. One of the few books that made me tear up at the end. Her ability to do so much in less than 100 pages is enviable

I'm kicking myself - I went away for a few days and happened to find White Noise in a second-hand bookstore, but this video hadn't come out yet and I wanted to wait to hear the full review before a making a decision. And I'm wishing I'd just got the book haha. But alas, I shall find it again. I want to start off by saying that this video was so wholesome! It felt like sitting in on an in-depth conversation and not needing to add anything because simply listening is enough. It sounds like a book that is wonderfully funny yet equally thought-provoking. Character over plot is a preference for me, so I'm always keen to hear about recommendations of those types of books. I thought the part about banishing silence was really interesting because one realises that it's so true - we've come to live in a world with so much stimulation that it's almost unsettling to strip ourselves of that. I often think about something I was once told, that we're exposed to between hundreds and thousands of adverts every day, and a lot of it is unnecessary information that our brain is still having to process. For someone like me who is highly sensitive, my brain processes things deeply, so it ends up expending more energy than I am conscious of. Anyway, sorry, that's a tangent. The fear of death thing also piqued my interest because it's something I think about a lot. It definitely made me curious to see how it's depicted in the book. It was nice to hear that I'm not the only one who isn't too keen on science fiction, as well as being someone who doesn't re-read much. Although I realise that I still get pleasure from just dipping into parts of books on my shelf instead of re-reading the entire book. Another long ramble-y comment haha. Thanks, again, for a great video! It would be lovely to hear more discussions between you and your dad when you guys have the time. P.S. Thank you for all your thoughtful responses to my comments, by the way. I really appreciate it :)

dad reveal!!!

just discovered your channel and really enjoy hearing your thoughts on everything! i love murakami-- both his magical realism and his grounded stuff like Norwegian Wood. my favorite version of him is when there's just a touch of magical realism. there are times in life when you feel like things are so absurd, or strange, or foreign to you, that it might be some magical force being enacted on your life. i think his best fiction captures that feeling and literalizes it. I saw in another comment that you said Kafka on the Shore was next for you-- that was my favorite book for a long time (and is still way up there). i think you'd like The Wind-Up Bird Chronicles, as it has a touch of magical realism but it's not heavy (at least not that i remember). Also, i agree with another commenter that A Wild Sheep Chase (and its sequel Dance Dance Dance) are awesome. quick and to me the perfect level of strange. also, the film adaptation of Barn Burning (just called Burning) is really amazing if you havent seen it already. omg and Drive My Car. dont get me started. so good. okay thats it :-)

I squeaked when i saw the thumbnail, heard great things about your dad and finally get to meet him, Thank you 😭❤

I also did not find the book exceptionally funny, as I was just in this slightly absurd world. As always love hearing about what others think about book, cool to see you and your fathers thoughts! Haha this could be a whole segment of its own.

on rereading nabokov said you cannot read a book but can only reread one flaubert also said something about what a scholar someone would be if they new half a dozen works by heart!

Awesome ☘️

"Don't worry ... all my videos are awkward" - HAH!

You two are so similar in your mannerisms and subtle inflections, it's really funny and enjoyable to watch you talk about the book at length. Would love more dad-book-club reading series! (I might even read along with my father.)

First one

God i love your voice ❤

I'd never heard of the Magdalene Laundries before but this prompted me to look into it... and wow what a crazy situation. I'm really surprised it doesn't get talked about more.

Can’t wait for white noise review! Have you read Lincoln in The Bardo by goerge saunders?

I really liked Small Things Like These, but I loved Foster 📕🪱💚