2014 Booktube ▶️ Re-reading my favourite books from 10 years ago

[@ErinMegan]

I feel like we moved on from the stolen pillow too quickly…I’m gonna need the full story. 😂

[@amberc1356]

Same!

[@ReadingAce]

Definitely!!

[@jessicah6839]

Both the story of how she got the pillow and if she ever found a another one to buy. It didn't look like there was one in Rob's costco haul...

[@lindsayhartje6678]

@@jessicah6839 I'm also curious because I am also very particular about what pillows I like.

[@sarah_serif]

the rob costco saga killed me lol that place is dangerous

[@booknerdwithlipstick]

I read your comment before watching the video and didn't know if it was about Rob at Costco or about Kayla robbing a Costco 😂

[@lindsayhartje6678]

This is why I have to do this shopping. My husband goes nuts every time.

[@AliDoisRead]

Critiquing the representation of Park while critiquing someone’s parking, we love your dedication to a theme 👏

[@BooksandLala]

oop

[@colleenhanson3284]

I’m glad it’s not just my husband that can’t be alone in a grocery store 😂 I’ve had almost the same conversation with my husband. Once he came home with several different types of cheese. Sliced, cubed, block, shredded. I asked him why he bought so much cheese and he said “for my lunches”. I’m dead.

[@CharleyBSmith]

Looking at that cover I never would have guessed Eleanor was plus sized. She looks thinner than Park. Strange seeing as that seems to be a defining aspect of her character 😂

[@BooksandLala]

GREAT point. The alternative cover also features her quite thin, now that you mention it. Strange.

[@sarah_serif]

THE COUCH BOOKS REVEAL??!?

[@cat.book.nook.]

And I thought the book closet was fascinating!

[@nicolecaron1892]

When talking about the person parking: "oh you're just going to go with that, okay" LOLOL I loved this

[@achapterahead]

The teenage boy hockey hug was very soft 😂 loved that. Also its the 2015 Kayla not telling us the plot of her “maybe favorite series” for me 😂😂😂

[@snailflowers]

sometimes i hate rereading old favorites because i realize something that changed my life was actually kind of poorly written. can’t wait to watch!!

[@daryanthelibrarian]

the "I JUST TOLD THE MAN" came from the soul

[@magie.wieneke55]

I love that you reread 'Eleanor & Park' and the way you spoke about your thoughts about it then vs. now, it really speaks to how I feel about the book. When I first read it, in my early twenties like you, I remember being so happy Eleanor was a character that I could truly see myself in and she was more than the sidekick with some sort of weight loss storyline too! And that excitement over that did blind me to seeing the poor representation of Park and his Koren identity, as well as the way his mom was written as well. When the comments and call outs started coming out, as they should have, I was kinda thrown at first because I didn't remember thinking it was as bad or wrong as it was. But I knew that it wasn't my place to say people were overreacting and so I did my best to listen to them and learn about the bias I and the things I was previously ignorant to. It sucked to have to rethink a book that I had such a connection and good time with, but I knew it was more important to listen to the problems people had with it so that I could be more aware should I encounter issues like that in other books in the future. I'm glad you read it and got to reflect on your experience then vs now and I am happy you shared it with us.

[@BookReviewsWithBecky]

Congrats on 10 years, Kayla!! ☺ I've been here only 2 months, but I'm loving it! This community is awesome!

[@HelloAdna]

Ugh I'll Give You the Sun is such a beautiful story that is beautifully written. It is truly a gem. It is incredible that it is more than ten years old now. Loved this video though, as always I love hearing your thoughts on everything you read and your commentary on how they hold up over time. It makes you wonder about how books that are being released now will also hold up in ten plus years.

[@mellowgre]

Pausing to say the costco saga was adorable and hilarious 😂

[@juliagaylard4186]

Well done to Liam for playing well after being so sick!

[@sillysylsara]

what a wonderful video to watch twice (first time is now, putting on to fall asleep, second time will be tomorrow when i rewatch it 😂😂) ❤❤❤

[@paperback_cat]

Just randomly: my uncle Patrick made the mistake of liking a frog once and for decades we called him Uncle Paddy and he had a whole cabinet of gifted frogs 😅 before he finally said he didn't even like frogs!

[@beyoncebeyonce2747]

As someone who’s been watching you essentially since 2014 (and read I’ll Give You the Sun at your recommendation) this was such a lovely video to watch.

[@okalanibergschneider1201]

I remember reading Eleanor and Park in 2014/2015 as well and loving everything about it. I have zero plans to reread that book so I’m living vicariously through your reread.

[@daijahsbookworld]

yesssss i love a kayla feature length film

[@awpageofabook]

Don't we all? 😅

[@Zer0.th0ughts]

I recently found out tgat audiobooks narrators don't know what accents are in the book before they take the job so that explains the non korean doing a korean accent thing

[@SillyCelly411]

I just unhauled the Mara Dyer series this week! I’m living vicariously through your reread because I know I simply do not have it in me to relive my YA paranormal romance era.

[@thisbookbelongstopam]

Love seeing the difference in how you describe books then and now! I’m both excited and terrified to reread books I loved 😂 I’ll Give You The Sun goes straight into my tbr!

[@jacsYT]

lol the secret 3-star stash 😂

[@Raven_Nivhaar]

The true question is: Did you get your pillow?

[@BooksandLala]

Absolutely not 💀

[@Raven_Nivhaar]

@@BooksandLala Oh noo 😂 Rob! You literally only had one job 😂😂

[@xavierfzq]

I’m so glad I found your channel!! You made reading such a joy for me! Happy 10th anniversary Kayla!!🎉❤

[@NaluhCastro]

your videos are such a joy to watch that by the time you were concluding the video I thought "aw, dang, it's already over... well, that's ok, 20min-long videos go by really fast, I can just rewatch it" only to read the comments and realize this is 1h long 😭 LOL as someone who has recently started rereading a favorite from when I was 12, this was great timing!

[@pucksandpaperbacks]

6:23 "doesn't this lady have a bunch of books written about her?" LOL

[@pucksandpaperbacks]

10:59 Liam's got a good shot!!

[@jellytotsjamie]

i'm so glad you still loved i'll give you the sun because it's probably my favourite book of all time and i've been worried about it since you first mentioned rereading it!

[@keziagroesbeek9935]

So in the Mara Dyer she's dating Noah and haunted by Jude... and in I'll Give You the Sun there are twins named Noah and Jude😂😂😂😂

[@beckyduff]

The way I laughed when Rob came in with a box from Costco, then stepped back out to get even more!! 😆

[@BrooklynJean]

The example of the Extreme Home Makeover Frog Bedroom for 10 years haha!!!! 😂🤣

[@smittenforfiction]

Hidden stash of books!!! *GASP*

[@rachelmaybeidk]

as (hopefully not the only) mara dyer-loving bestie, this video was so much fun and felt like a message from the universe to reread again 😭 no one gets this series like me and it feels so good to see it get some love for the silly but cool story it is 🥰

[@bestbedhead]

I'll Give You the Sun remains one of my favorite books of all time. I was also hesitant to reread it in recent years because I think it would have broken my heart if it hadn't aged well and didn't hold up. I'm glad your reread of it was just as good.

[@jamieplans2read]

As someone who doesn't care about an author's nationality/color/etc, and very much believes that you should read books that sound interesting - you need to follow people who DO read from authors of color, or you're never going to diversify your authors. THAT is what people need to focus on if they do believe like I do. And they're either going to be successful, ,or not. Also, Rob's costco thing was hilarious lol.

[@nannybells]

that feeling when you remember reading something weird about a famous person but you can't remember exactly what it was but you also don't wanna look it up so you just feel off seeing their name.. so real LOL.

[@mlledeejay]

your sigh when rob came home from costco with the box 😂 no one leaves costco with just the one thing they went in for

[@madisonemily4083]

I think when people say that they don’t take into account an author’s background or race when choosing books, they’re not realizing that publishing and social media are both very biased towards white authors. That’s why it’s so important for readers to go out of their way to broaden their own horizons and choose to read diversely. It’s something that I’m working on, too!!

[@HJPeet]

I think there should be an Unaccompanied Minor sticker on men’s Costco cards so they can’t go in without a chaperone.

[@BooksandLala]

reeeeeeal

[@amylouise7289]

Omg hiii I’m saving this for the morning as a birthday present to myself 🥳

[@kyestrella]

happy early birthday!!!! 🎉❤

[@amylouise7289]

@ thank you!! 😁😁

[@awpageofabook]

Happy birthday!

[@BRhymesss]

Happy birthday!!🎈

[@havenkamps7931]

I also recently reread I’ll give you the sun and ugh I just love that book and the writing and is one I still think about all the time

[@lynnelz2]

Your anecdote about your pillow is so relatable because I too stole my pillow from someone because I’m incredibly picky about pillows 😂

[@KendraRB]

I’m also incredibly picky about pillows and ended up going to sleep country for a new one. They find you a mattress similar to the one you have and then you test them all out in the position you sleep in… it may have been $200 but it is probably my favourite thing I own.

[@laurlovesliterature]

the middle part is such a slay lala

[@ReadingAce]

"Doesn't this lady have a bunch of books about her?" killed me 🤣

[@maxipizzicotti]

I remember picking up the first two Mara Dyer books because of your videos back then and i had a really good time too! Greetings from Argentina

[@grayswagner]

You’re right, I never knew what Mara Dyer was about but I KNEW that Noah Shaw was everything to you back in the day

[@beccadoingstuff]

i randomly remembered the plot to I’ll Give You the Sun the other day and it took me hoursss to find what book it was💀😂truly a gem of a read, so glad to hear it still holds up!

[@camillereadss]

jandy nelson is such a special writer, i’m so glad we have her!

[@maskedmarvel09]

The fact I don’t have notifs on but still here in first minutes..maybe I need to get off yt? 😅

[@BooksandLala]

hahahaha ily

[@BookReviewsWithBecky]

I need you on my channel too! 😂😂 It's hard to get the watch hours I need to monatize!

[@maskedmarvel09]

@ ❤️

[@Lisa-vb3gn]

⁠maybe if your videos were longer? Would that help?@@BookReviewsWithBecky

[@Catsandcamera]

I loved I'll Give You the Sun on the reread as much as the first time I read it, definitely holds up!

[@calamitywindpetal]

I read I'll Give You the Sun for the first time last year and absolutely LOVED it, it was a five star for me, and I think the fact that it continues to hold up is fantastic

[@jaimee-kate]

I've only read A Series of Unfortunate Events by Daniel Handler but just from those I could tell that Handler is a really clever author. Reading those as a kid really defined my reading taste and set me up to only be impressed with the really good twists and genuinely smart satire

[@jzarin]

Blue top in the intro is so cute I need it

[@JordanStar7]

Turned on notifications for you! One of only a handful. I love your videos and excited to jump into this one! 🎉

[@Alanitoo]

Oh Lala I didn't realize I've been following your KZbin channel for this long! I read Mara Dyer, Unravel and I'll give you the sun in my late teens based on your recommendations. I remember really liking Mara Dyer and I'll give you the sun but I was very disappointed with Unravel.

[@amandas_reading_nook]

Best way to start a Friday!! I am glad you spoiled this book. I think it should be something you should do for books over 10 years old

[@losterthanlife]

I read (and enjoyed) the Mara Dyer trilogy because of you, and avoided the Noah Shaw trilogy because of you. I hadn't realized it was never finished, I assumed I didn't know about it because you didn't talk about it. 😄

[@jwi1085]

Happy anniversary🎉🎉🎉🎉

[@awpageofabook]

Thank you Kayla for blessing us with a new reading vlog!

[@_bookber]

ahhh i love this idea!! eleanor and park and the ENTIRE mara dyer series were 5 stars for me when i was in high school but i can't remember a thing about them now 🤣 i can safely say that they wouldn't be 5 stars now... i especially remember loving noah shaw, but straight up attacking people for looking at mara would totally be a red flag now hahaha

[@hopefulpolyglot3298]

I totally agree with your mini-rant about people's resistant to reading books by non-white authors. I see this come up all the time on Reddit. Like, I totally understand if someone only wants to read romance, or only sci fi, or only popcorn fiction. But there are now (thankfully) books being published by people of diverse races, nationalities, and perspectives in all those genres! How many thrillers about middle class, white women with seemingly perfect lives who have a Dark Secret do we really need? Do people not get bored of reading these without even a slight variation to this theme?

[@CleaSelene]

May I try to answer this from my perspective? Personally, I read for escapism and process real-life social issues through other means. As a result, I'm doing my best to dodge books that focus heavily/predominantly on politics (incl. identity politics) and social issues, especially when they do it heavy-handedly and/or tell-y and/or super explicitly as a main theme. Now, I'm not saying all non-white authors that get published only write these types of stories, thank the gods things have gotten much better in that regard over the last few decades. However. Very often, reviewers (on booktube, trad media, doesn't matter) still pitch books like this: - straight white author: This is a story about character A and character B, and they encounter this cool thing! - POC/queer author: This is a story about POC character A who whilst dealing with social issues encounters queer character B, and then this cool thing happens! Now, does the first pitch mean that character A isn't experiencing social issues or that character B's sexual/romantic life won't come up in the story? Of course not. But because these things are not included in the pitch, what captures my attention is the "cool thing", so I'll check the book out, and the inclusion of the other bits might ultimately not bother me cause they're just side elements. In the 2nd case, however, the "issues" - by being included in the pitch - sound to me like they might take centre-stage with the cool thing being just a backdrop/carrier for political discussion, and as I've been burnt too often by publishing choices in that direction over the last 20-30 years, I will often choose to play it safe and skip that book. In short, I think there's such a thing as reviewers over-emphasising the representational elements in certain books to a degree that unintentionally misrepresents where the focus of the actual books lies. And that's how these books lose readers like me and my reading ends up whiter than I'd like it to be. One concrete example to wrap up with, many decades old, but it still applies: Octavia E. Butler wrote a wonderful short story called "Bloodchild". Critics at the time and pitches till today call(ed) it "a story about slavery", while Butler herself is on record saying that she doesn't get how on earth people keeo coming to that interpretation, for her it was a story about love and many other things but not slavery. So, if I had been pitched "Bloodchild" as "a sci-fi story about slavery with a POC protagonist", I wouldn't have touched it. However, if you pitch it to me as "a coming-of-age story in which a human teenager on an alien planet forms a complicated bond with a giant centipede" - now you have my attention.

[@AwkwardBookworm]

“Doesn’t this lady have a bunch of books about her” 😂😂😂

[@josefinlundahl2676]

random book rec: on the calculation of volume by solvej balle! haven’t read it myself but sounds like something you’d enjoy. about a woman repeating the same day over and over, no real explanation of why or how. I’ve heard a lot of people not like it, which makes me feel like you might lol it’s pretty well read here in scandinavia:)

[@candyhyojung1860]

the noise you made when 2014 you said mara and noah were your otp hahahahhahahhahah

[@daryanthelibrarian]

YESSS everything you said about i'll give you the sun!! i'm so happy you loved it again haha

[@evergrowingtbr]

wait I need to know more about the lore of the Mara Dyer author how does one just disappear

[@makaelynelise1427]

i’ve been waiting for this one 🗣️🗣️

[@badassbaroness]

The books under the couch 🤣🤣🤣

[@kennedy0097]

YAYYY! Happy Anniversary 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼

[@Bookishbroccoli1]

This was really enjoyable. I think I’m going to re-read The Sky is Everywhere now which is my favorite Jandy Nelson book. ❤

[@katherinearrington107]

Stoppppp the Costco peanut butter pretzels are my literal fav. I eat them every day 😂

[@eimajhteb8288]

Ok but how can u actually remember the twist in a book u read ten years ago !!!!😂😂

[@blackcatseye22]

When Eleanor and Park came out was just interesting time.

[@sarinebez]

Unrelated, but Rob constantly repping Montreal Canadiens merch…. He gets it👏

[@yvetteb.4549]

43:52 this conversation! Say it louder for the people in the back 🙌🏾

[@doria_king]

not the pretzels choking you with their thickness 😭😅😂🥨🥜

[@misslethality]

for as much as you always seem to have your shit extremely together (planning videos, analytics, etc) the COUCH STASH???? biggest plot twist

[@cat.book.nook.]

Who did you steal the pillow from though? 🤣

[@ReadingAce]

I don't remember anything about the Mara Dyer trilogy, except that I was super into it and then HATED the third book with a passion. I got rid of the trilogy at some point during a move.

[@cryingaboutbooks]

I looooooved the Costco haul 🤭

[@zachzackzak]

The Rob cosco thing is so funny, it must be a Gemini thing because my father is the exact same way.

[@lindsayhartje6678]

I appreciate your stance on diverse reading so much and that you know the actual terminology for DID! It's so important people understand it is not a personality disorder, but a dissociative disorder born out of repeated childhood abuse. What are you reading for Black History Month? I just finished The Trees by Percival Everett and absolutely loved it.

[@WickedWestBooks]

I was watching on booktube during the Mara Dyer, but I never read them. Didn't seem like I would enjoy it even back then.

[@Showtunediva]

I agree with EVERYTHING you said about Eleanor And Park Kayla.

[@leilanijenna]

im so early!!! happy anniversary. love you as a friend

[@myreadingisodd]

Natasha was here the whole time. 😂

[@rainydayreader5126]

PLEASE read Jandy’s new book When The World Tips Over! I love it so much!

[@margaretcapers2368]

so i need to know for science did he bring home the stupid pretzels - i feel u how many times i have to tell my dad that i do not like the texture of melted blueberries and he keeps asking me if i want pancakes with blueberries in them ........

[@BooksandLala]

the pretzels remained at the store. 🙏 blessed be.

[@lifeonabudget8513]

😂the plot of those Mara Dyer books is the same plot of The Boys's spin-off show

[@MyNameIsConnieB]

At around 8:05 when you’re talking about a building crumbling SOMETHING flies across the screen and I cannot for the life of me figure out what it is 😥

[@libraryofstitches459]

it looks like the light reflection from her phone

[@notaraventoolate]

Wow Liam is amazing!!

[@JustKlowningaround]

Oop im a bit earlier than usual, so excited for this!

[@sherthetruth]

You were always cute but the glow uppp 😍😍😍

[@smittenforfiction]

99.5K views on that Insta reel!!! WOW!! Congrats!

[@BookChats]

Not the commentary on strangers parking lol.

[@BooksandLala]

I'm a hater to my core

[@idk-oe5ig]

i wonder if carry on holds up, i remember LOVING that book so much and reread it multiple times when i was a teenager but haven't in my adult life. if anyone knows if it would hold up now if i reread it or if it would take away my fond memories let me know!!!

[@aquaticraccoon1467]

personally I reread it a couple years ago (after originally reading it when it first came out and LOVING it) and I thought it totally held up! the nostalgia was there and I think the themes of forging your own path instead of just going through the motions of what's been predetermined for you is still extremely resonant as an adult. I also ended up reading the rest of the trilogy and liked it but not as much as the original, so maybe your mileage will vary with those but I don't think a reread would taint any fond memories!

[@kirabrown8061]

Hi Kayla. How can you drop a video at 12. I dropped everything and started watching

[@BooksandLala]

oops! 😋

[@VictoriaCaswell]

The Basic Eight and Magnolia Parks seem to overlap alot!