2023 LxL Awards, 2024 Plans, & Subscriber Wildcard Pick

Like what I do? Feel free to buy me a coffee: ko-fi.com/leafbyleaf
#leafbyleaf #bookreview #reading #literature #books #booktube

[@LeafbyLeaf]

THE WINNER OF THE 2024 LXL SUBSCRIBER WILDCARD PICK IS _Suttree_ by Cormac McCarthy, thanks to @hmmrage ! Thanks to all who participated!

[@sockfeet_johnson]

My all-time favorite!

[@cilliansands6166]

Roberto Arlt! Yes! The Mad Toy was...unsettling; I read it when I was too young, you know, required school reading. Love your picks for this year; I'm a bit too much like you and haven't gotten in touch with contemporary fiction. I checked out some Latin American and Spaniard books from the library, I have so far Por mi gran culpa by Raúl Ariza and the newest by Héctor Abad Faciolince. I meant to check out more contemporaries, but of course, I failed. I came out with Camilo José Cela, Saramago (my spirit animal), Sándor Márai, Roberto Bolaño, Alejo Carpentier and Mario Benedetti (Uruguay is a country everyone should add to their list of amazing discoveries). I accumulated 3 stacks of both library and purchased books that only contain 2 contemporaries. That's 2 more than I had before so I'm not doing too poorly. Too late in the year for this, but happy new year to you too and a toast to 2024's great reads and discoveries.

[@LeafbyLeaf]

Never too late for some good wishes! Thank you! Speaking of Uruguay-I’m planning to read the stories of Juan Carlos Onetti soon.

[@robotummy]

What an unexpected delight and thrill to hear my name on your channel again! Can't wait for another beautiful year of LxL content, Chris (:

[@LeafbyLeaf]

Thanks for all the great recommendations and conversations! 🙏

[@username_username10]

PORTUGUESE WILDCARD PICK: “Baltasar & Blimunda” by José Saramago, unquestionably one of the most important novels in Portugal’s canon, drenched in historical magic realism. Can’t recommend it enough (and I don’t believe you’ve covered Portuguese authors before, maybe besides Fernando Pessoa!).

[@LeafbyLeaf]

I wanna get Saramago on the channel so bad! Of Portuguese writers, I’ve covered João Reis. Shameful that I don’t have Pessoa on here yet either.

[@JSON_888]

Great video, as always! Also, you gotta do a video on Sorrentino’s “Mulligan Stew” at some point!

[@LeafbyLeaf]

Yes, indeed! I'll throw that into this year's wildcard for you. Thanks!

[@JSON_888]

@@LeafbyLeaf Fantastic! I’m re-reading it right now, and it would be a treat to see you talk about it, especially considering how underrated it seems to be. Hopefully it gets some new attention with the recent Dalkey Archive edition

[@SteveReadswithSeamus]

Been a while. Took a break for that FOMO problem. Happy to revisit your videos! I am tackling Wilson’s Iliad next month. 👍

[@gracerobiou7]

I finally signed up in KZbin to be able to sign up for your channel. I’ve been watching you for over two years. Congrats on turning 40 (late forties here already). Please keep this channel going- it’s fantastic!

[@LeafbyLeaf]

Many, many sincere thanks! :):):)

[@kieran_forster_artist]

Chris, even physical malaise can’t hold you back! All I request you look at in 2024 is the very short but powerful The Burnout Society by the German Korean philosopher Byang-chul Han AND anything by Bernardo Kastrup…..both obviously non fiction but I believe they both have quietly revolutionary and incisive analysis of the wider society in which all the novels have their seed in. Thank you again for your boddhisatva like commitment to helping everyone rediscover the world of reading in a distracted world. Turning forty is a great time to bring together all the different lines of creativity into something approaching a synthesis. Paris is the most amazing place in the world. And I too will be reading much much more selectively: that is, books that help me clarify my sense of meaning. That way I can help more of my patients as possible. Hopefully u can do something similar for ur readers. Thank you Chris !

[@gabrielseanwallace3979]

Hey man, I've read all of Kastrup's books! Wonderful philosophy expressed so beautifully that it not only resonates with me, but I feel now as though I've borrowed much of it as a mental framework for conceptualizing reality.

[@michaelrhodes4712]

Bravo Bernardo and bravo Daniel Dennett's autobiography I spied in Chris's library a while ago.

[@LeafbyLeaf]

Thanks (once again), Kieran! I ordered Burnout Society immediately. This looks very much like something I want to read. I will read this this year. Thank you. I love the idea of starting to think about my videos as ways of helping people discover more than just exciting books. I wish you the absolute best in your noble profession this year! 🙏

[@LeafbyLeaf]

I’ve been following Daniel Dennett’s work for quite some time. He intrigues me. Even though I’m not a materialist, I still get a lot from him.

[@LeafbyLeaf]

Thanks for the tip on Kastrup!

[@harrymusic5507]

I wish all “awards ceremonies” could be like this. It’s really valuable to have such thoughtful curation. Thank you for a brilliant year of videos, cant wait for what’s up ahead.

[@LeafbyLeaf]

Thanks so much for your affirmation and encouragement! I have a lot of fun doing it. Part of me thinks I should say more about each book, but I figure people can seek out the full videos of they’re interested.

[@semiote]

For the wildcard pick: I'd love to see you talk about Divine Days, by Leon Forrest, if only because I just got it and am planning on reading it soon, and would love to see your take.

[@valpergalit]

Enjoy it - it’s a feast! If you are able to find a copy of The Bloodworth Orphans, read it first. Dozens of characters and storylines are established there.

[@semiote]

@@valpergalit Thanks! Yeah, I've heard this, so I'll probably start there.

[@LeafbyLeaf]

Great wildcard! Fun fact: I've been working, off and on, on a long essay on Forrest's life and work for years now.

[@semiote]

@LeafbyLeaf Oh cool. I'm planning on reading the other Forrest County books before tackling the big one. Since you're familiar, is that the right tack?

[@sventhemoose1218]

Thanks Chris, and Happy New Year! If you are looking for modern fiction - I recommend the magical Jon Fosse novella "A Shining" My Wildcard pick: The Red Cavalry by Isaac Babel. I would really like to hear your take on this short story collection.

[@LeafbyLeaf]

Fosse is so amazing! I’ve got that book waiting on me. Thanks for the pick!

[@jojodogface898]

The Red Cavalry is so good. I love Babel

[@dehiscence]

Thanks for the hours of insight and fun Chris, my vote is for 'Warlock' by Oakley Hall (Originally was 'The Tunnel' but I had a pleasant surprise as you were talking about your reading plans).

[@LeafbyLeaf]

I am so looking forward to revisiting Gass’s great book! Thanks for the pick!

[@readreadofficial]

Great video! When you go to Paris, I highly recommend carving out an hour or two to go to the Rodin Museum. It was easily the most intellectually impactful experience I had in Paris, but the museum is also just stunning (I mean, The Thinker and The Gates of Hell and the Monument to Balzac are just chilling out in the gardens). My wild pick is 'Forces In Motion: Anthony Braxton and the Meta-Reality of Creative Music'. Can't wait to see what 2024 has in store for this channel!

[@buffyinthewalls6034]

The Gates are absolutely stunning to look at in person.

[@LeafbyLeaf]

I will absolutely be going to the Rodin museum! The title of your pick is intriguing enough to make me just read it without it winning the selection! 🙏🙏🙏

[@robertgarland3625]

Great video and a great year as always! Wildcard pick: The Power Broker by Robert A. Caro. Might be too long and is a biography but it is truly a feast.

[@LeafbyLeaf]

I’ve heard of this book! Thanks so much!

[@BibberCore]

Thanks for the great work you've been doing with this channel. My biggest literary discovery this year was Arno Schmidt. So my wildcard pick would be "Nobodaddy's Children".

[@LeafbyLeaf]

Thanks so much! Glad you've discovered the Teutonic wunderkind! I'll put that one in the running.

[@jasonleedle8256]

Happy new year Chris! My wildcard pick has got to be Absalom, Absalom! by Faulkner. My absolute favorite book, really hits close to home being raised in the south.

[@LeafbyLeaf]

Of all the Faulkner I’ve read, I think that might be his strongest. Great pick!

[@lincolnd0]

I had a dream last night that you posted a 24 hour long review of Bottom's Dream

[@LeafbyLeaf]

Is that your suggestion of my 5-year-anniversary video? 😁

[@lincolnd0]

absolutely

[@stevenatkinson1101]

Wildcard - The Last Samurai by Helen Dewitt. Just finished the delightfully fun The English Understand Wool. I need to finally read this one which has been on my shelf for 10+ years

[@LeafbyLeaf]

I love Helen DeWitt! I've read all her work. Read _Samurai_ back in 2018 and would love to revisit it!

[@rickharsch8797]

Chris, great to see you so off the cuff.

[@LeafbyLeaf]

Thanks, Rick!

[@jojodogface898]

Congratulatioms! I just turned 40 a few years ago. It's somethinng you know will happen, but is still a bit unreal when it does. If I had one rec for the new year it would be "The House of Breath", by William Goyen. Don't know if you've read it or not, but It's beautiful, modernist, and, to the great relief of your reading list, is short--only 180 pages, or so--but packed with language.

[@LeafbyLeaf]

Yeah, I’m bracing myself for the surreality of it. Thanks for the support! I’ve not heard of that book before. Thanks!

[@radiantchristina]

Glad you are on the mend. Love the t-shirt ! Happy new year ! Looks like you've got a great year planned. I really like the way you do your best of video. It is so much better and more fun than just a typical best books of the year video.

[@LeafbyLeaf]

Thanks, thanks, thanks! 🙏

[@pepperbellaaa]

Wildcard - Morning and Evening by Jon Fosse - it’s a tiny novella, but is such a fantastic piece

[@ann-marieodonnell6102]

Beautiful book. I have been holding off on his Septology series for so long. Soon...

[@LeafbyLeaf]

I just picked that one up a couple weeks ago! I, too, have been trying to hold off on the Septology. But I need more Fosse!

[@katharos8231]

My favorite content creator! Discovering you and your channel has felt like having a compassionate friend by one’s side. Love your award videos. from Texas

[@LeafbyLeaf]

Ahhh, thanks so much! Cheers! 🙏

[@JulioVirrueta]

Hi Chris, thank you for all the fantastic content, finally getting around to reading Solenoid. I hope you enjoy Paris! I was there for the holidays and I was amazed at the many English bookstores, of course, Shakespeare and Co. but many other less known ones, maybe plan an extra suitcase. My wildcard pick: News from the Empire, by Fernando del Paso.

[@LeafbyLeaf]

Thanks so much! Shakespeare & Co. is mandatory! Great pick for the wildcard, too-I need to get around to that one!

[@conchitacolez]

BIG YES to both The Bee Sting and North Woods. Front table reads for sure, but both deeply satisfying.

[@LeafbyLeaf]

Thanks so much for the affirmation!

[@thebasedgodmax1163]

love your content so much Chris, super excited for the fifth anniversary! my wildcard pick would be Been Down So Long It Looks Like Up To Me by Richard Farina. I feel Farina's work so needs more attention, and I think you'd have a blast with this one.

[@LeafbyLeaf]

I really appreciate it! Thank you! I’ve been curious about Fariña’s work ever since I saw the Gravity’s Rainbow dedication page!

[@BooksYouHaventRead]

Chris, thanks so much for spreading these great book (and bookstore!) recommendations to the masses. I believe Hind's Kidnap is Ben from Bookshore's recommendation for the first McElroy to start with. Would be very interested in a video of whichever you choose though.

[@LeafbyLeaf]

Oh, sweet! I feel validated in my choice now. Thanks!

[@noeditbookreviews]

Hey Chris, I'm happy to hear that things are going well in your life. It's funny, I pretty much only read nonfiction, yet your channel has always been one of my favorite book-related channels. It's really cool to peer into other genres of the book world, especially when they're populated with friendly people from whom I can always learn interesting things.

[@LeafbyLeaf]

That really means a lot. Thank you so much. 🙏

[@castorp4909]

Happy New Year, Chris! Nice to hear about your upcoming travels and plans. To my knowledge you haven't done any videos on John Banville. I offer his superb 1997 novel The Untouchable for the Wildcard.

[@LeafbyLeaf]

Thanks! I have not read Banville yet (sadly).

[@TS1111WYWH]

The literary shirts are 💯. An intellectually honest substantial reflection video. Your recommendation of Bookworm by Michael Silverblatt was very enjoyable. All the best in 2024

[@LeafbyLeaf]

Thanks so much on all counts! 🙏

[@valpergalit]

Thanks for another year of great videos, Chris! For my wildcard pick, I’d throw in Ceremony by Leslie Marmon Silko.

[@LeafbyLeaf]

Wow! I haven’t read Silko since my undergrad! Thanks for your pick.

[@colemanstewart6131]

Woah! I just moved to Cincinnati yesterday! Crazy timing, thanks for the recommendations as always!

[@LeafbyLeaf]

Whoa! Well, I know I’m coming back in 2026 for sure. Stick around!

[@michaelcroke1103]

Hi Chris, great video, love these annual ones. I'm also having a milestone birthday this year so I know a little how you feel. Going to Paris is a great idea to make the milestone palatable. It will be an absolute treat with it being your first time, I hope you have a fantastic time there.

[@LeafbyLeaf]

Thanks so much! And happy milestone birthday year to you, too!

[@michaelcroke1103]

@@LeafbyLeaf thank you!

[@reecemcdermott]

Awesome update - and the notes on busy living, as well as new ventures (like language learning) are super relatable. Went from somewhere north of 100 reads in 2022 to around 40 or so in 2023. Your note on being especially selective with less time allotted for reading has also been on the back of my mind myself. I'm currently on my first go at Leviathan and Faulkner's collected stories, so those two large works are going to immediately plummet my number to start off with, but it's also been good to come to terms with the fact that I'm happy all the same since the quality and allure of both works satisfy me so well. Hope for another great year on your end! :) Edit: Wrote this before seeing the very end of the video. Fun that we'll both be going through one tome of Faulkner!

[@LeafbyLeaf]

Yeah, at some point in our lives as readers we have to start being more selective. Going for that quality over quantity. I think that the first decades of a reader’s life is about quantity (reading far and wide) so you can figure out what you like. Then you can be selective with personalized quality. Anyway, Leviathan is a feat of English language in addition to being a very important work or political philosophy. Enjoy, slowly. And cheers for Faulkner!

[@Paromita_M]

Happy New Year! Been enjoying your book discussions for a long time, looking forward to many more. For Wildcard Pick, I am going to nominate a book that I loved- The Seven Moons of Maali Almeidaa by Shehan Karunatilaka.

[@LeafbyLeaf]

Thanks so much! That’s a new book to me-yay!

[@MarcNash]

Happy 40th birthday this year Chris1 If you think 40 is sordid, wait till you reach 60 which I do in 7 days time. On the plus side, I find myself writing about death more and more! Congrats on the 5th anniversary for the channel too. Bests.

[@LeafbyLeaf]

Thanks, Marc! And a happy 60th birthday year for you! I’m jealous: you’ve been reading for roughly 20 more years than I!

[@bendtheory2247]

Independent People - Halldór Laxness

[@LeafbyLeaf]

Great pick! I need Laxness on the channel!

[@CoanBread751]

I’ll once again recommend Andrew Lytle’s The Velvet Horn. A forgotten southern masterpiece. Thanks for another year of great videos!

[@LeafbyLeaf]

My pleasure! Thanks for the pick!

[@matthewpotter878]

You’ll have a great time with Emily Wilson’s Iliad! Great awards this year 🎉

[@anbuchelvan]

I ve always planned for Robert Fagles translation, now im confused...

[@LeafbyLeaf]

I’ve read Fagles (and a few others) so I can let you know!

[@jackwalter5970]

Hey Chris! Just finishing Gravity's Rainbow. Now on to The Iliad. Thanks for all you do!! I suggest you read The Train Was on Time by Heinrich Boll.

[@LeafbyLeaf]

Two fantastic books back to back! 🙌 Thanks for the pick-I’ve (sadly) not yet read Böll.

[@hamzasaid3368]

Thinking about time going by and you're visiting Paris soon; perhaps it's time for a Proust reread?

[@LeafbyLeaf]

Hmmmmmmmm

[@Azzy1921]

Wildcard pick: The witness by Juan José Saer. My favourite novel of the best argentinian writer just behind Borges.

[@LeafbyLeaf]

Man, what is up with Argentina and its legion of great writers?!

[@Azzy1921]

@@LeafbyLeaf I live in Argentina, and I can't really understand it. There are endless talented writers. Every other week I find new gems, and forgotten brilliance. You should really read Sear, I think you will love his works.

[@LeafbyLeaf]

@Azzy1921 I’ve come across another recently: The House Of Paper by Carlos María Domínguez

[@Azzy1921]

@@LeafbyLeaf Haven't read that one. Heard interesting things. Have you read it? One more hidden gem I must read. I've been delving deep into Juan Rodolfo Wilcock, one of Borges's friends, and his work is remarkable. He is like an acid and darker, more bizarre and surreal Borges. Deeply recommend: The temple of iconoclasts by him.

[@kip388]

Thank you for sharing another year of excellent videos and insights! Brysons ‘Short History’ is one of my favorite books of all time. Bryson has a sharp lens for detailing human nature in all its absurd glory, and his exploration of the most brilliant, eccentric minds the race has produced (our great scientists) is so phenomenally entertaining and funny. There is actually an illustrated edition which is great as well and I’d recommend the audiobook narrated by Richard Matthews as his English delivery makes it doubly funny, in my opinion.

[@LeafbyLeaf]

Thanks so much for the confirmation of the Bryson! I’ve been hearing great things for years and years. It’s time!

[@jimjackson509]

Wildcard pick: Underworld by Don DeLillo

[@LeafbyLeaf]

Yeah, it’s seriously time DeLillo gets on this channel. My last DeLillo (Point Omega) is so many years ago. Sad. Thanks for this!

[@SirGamerismify]

hi chris! i've loved your channel for years, the video you did on beckett has motivated me to read through his work the first half of this year. anyway, my wildcard pick is profane friendship by harold brodkey. brodkey isn't for everyone, but i think he was greatly misunderstood while he was alive, and i'd love to hear what you think of it. happy new year!

[@LeafbyLeaf]

Thanks so much! Of Brodkey, I’ve read a few stories and I really wanna get around to Runaway Soul. Thanks for this pick!

[@burke9497]

Hi Chris. Always great to see you! Wildcard pick: Absalom, Absalom! Love you brother. Jeff

[@LeafbyLeaf]

Any ways this goes, I will start getting Faulkner on the channel this year! Thanks for everything, Jeff!

[@lucaseravalli4924]

Yes! I am so happy for Solenoid for winning the LxL Award for favorite book, as I am a die-hard Cartarescu fan. And also kind of proud of suggesting him to you some time ago, Chris! My wildcard pick: Dictionary of the Khazars by Milorad Pavic. A fascinating, experimental, unique book dedicated to a strange mythical tale with a beautiful Borgesian flavour, an Oulipo structure and the feeling that literature is great because it never is truthful. And an idea for the 5th anniversary of LxL: the creation of a digital space (forum, group on GR, Reddit or something similar) where aficionados of this great channel can discuss literature, exchange ideas, talk about great books together with you. I’ve been looking for such a place for years, but I always end up in groups talking about best-sellers, pop culture, celebrity authors.

[@shanerand]

Leaf x Leaf Discord digital space would be rad

[@lucaseravalli4924]

Right, thanks for this! Discord would be a very good option to share, discuss and exchange ideas!

[@LeafbyLeaf]

Luca - I will always have you to thank for turning me to Cartarescu! 🙏 Great wildcard pick-I actually just got his “crossword” novel, too, Landscape Painted with Tea! I’m gonna look into this Discord business. Thanks for everything!

[@waidsim1863]

Reading Solenoid right now. It’s incredible writing. Thank you for recommendation! 👍

[@LeafbyLeaf]

My pleasure! 🙏

[@watermelonmanied]

I'll be very interested to see what you make of the D.B. Hart.

[@joshtate6476]

Subscriber Wildcard Pick: Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry

[@LeafbyLeaf]

Been wanting to read that one for yeeeeeaaaarrrrssss!

[@redneckinthebardo]

Yeah Lonesome Dove! It's so good, one of my all time favorites. I adore the whole 4 book series.

[@Henri79]

Concerning Graeber's The Dawn of Everything: before starting the book I would very much recommend looking into its critical reception by the scientific community. In my view it helps to frame the text against the established understanding on the development of human societies.

[@LeafbyLeaf]

Sage advice indeed. Thank you!🙏

[@mathis2]

My wildcard pick has to be 'Buddenbrooks' by Thomas Mann. I've been wanting to read this for a long time and finally started after visiting Lübeck (The hometown of Thomas Mann) last fall. Buddenbrooks is one of the greatest German novels and deserves much more attention in the English-speaking world.

[@LeafbyLeaf]

How awesome! I’ve been wanting to read that, too. Of Mann, I’ve only read Magic Mountain and Death in Venice. (I actually have Joseph and His Brothers as one of my secret picks for this year. Don’t tell anyone.)

[@mathis2]

​@@LeafbyLeaf As with many, Death in Venice was my introduction to Thomas Mann and The Magic Mountain is on my ever-growing list of books I want to read. I hope you get round to reading Joseph and His Brothers! And if you do, a video on it would be fantastic.

[@meyersmegafictionalmusings7692]

Chris this was great! Your plans for 2024 look fabulous. Young, Sims, 7 Dreams!!👏🏻👊 And, not sure if it’s already been mentioned, but The Deluge has been a game changer for me. 1/2 through. Would love to hear your take!

[@LeafbyLeaf]

I've read _Ohio_ (loved it) but not _The Deluge_ . I'll put it in as your wildcard pick!

[@wastemailinglist726]

Happy New Year Chris! As always, I'm inspired and envious of your consistent and high quality output. My wildcard pick for this year is A Bended Circuity by Robert S Stickley (RSS), published by Corona Samizdat Press.

[@LeafbyLeaf]

Appreciate your words, Seth, and what you do for literature! Thanks for this pick-that book has been sitting here for far too long unread. Shameful.

[@ashulman2008]

On the contemporary front, I recommend Fever Dream by Samanta Schweblin. Quick read that sticks with me well after finishing. A powerful voice.

[@LeafbyLeaf]

Thanks for this rec!

[@Dinan54]

Wildcard pick - Sometimes A Great Notion by Ken Kesey

[@LeafbyLeaf]

Whoa! It’s been a very long while since I’ve read Keezy!

[@Sportello95]

I love that you gave an award for best cover. I love looking at book covers and I think it is an underappreciated art. Wild card: 60 Stories by Donald Barthelme (I just really want to see you do a video on Barthelme's writing/short stories).

[@LeafbyLeaf]

Thanks so much! I, too, love great cover art. New Directions had a great art director. Speaking of Barthelme-I was actually thinking of doing Sadness this year. But I’ll pick 60 Stories in the wildcard candidates!

[@andrewmerritt4032]

Some contemporary picks I'd recommend would be Same Bed Different Dreams by Ed Park, Pay As You Go by Eskor David Johnson, and Troll by David Fitzgerald

[@LeafbyLeaf]

I bought the Ed Park at the end of last year! 🙌 Thanks for those other recs!

[@noeditbookreviews]

Ooh, I too have been wanting to read the Dawn of Everything. It's supposed to be pretty challenging of widely accepted ideas, and considering the discussions it raises, is sure to be an interesting read.

[@LeafbyLeaf]

Wicked! Yeah, another commenter mentioned that it would be good to also look into criticism of the book from the scientific community. I quite like looking into such provocations! I am pretty tolerant of speculation, i.e. my imagination seems hungrier than my rational side. 😁

[@misquotedbuffalo7125]

I used to spend my free Saturdays reading infinite jest in my room while listening to music and singing sometimes along. Few books have the ability of allowing the reader such a free flow of reading. I know many people have said it. And I know it has his critics. But infinite jest is my number one book.

[@LeafbyLeaf]

It really is an incredible book, unfortunately freighted with a human-all-too-human author (which actually makes the book all the more potent for me). I am really wanting to do a long in-depth video where I comb through IJ page by page (leaf by leaf) and just focus on why I love reading it.

[@fj103]

Love your t shirt ❤

[@LeafbyLeaf]

Thanks! 🙏

[@redneckinthebardo]

Ishmael, mark my words, you do not want insomnia.

[@LeafbyLeaf]

😁😁😁

[@kieran_forster_artist]

Great to hear, I feel the same way!

[@TheBookedEscapePlan]

Against the Day was the first novel I ever studied. I went through it line-by-line when I discovered it over a decade ago. Good contemporary writers include Ali Smith, Rachel Cusk, Kathleen Rooney. Also, pay attention to small literary presses. You've mentioned Two Dollar Radio. They are one example. But small literary presses have always been where a lot of the more interesting, exciting and formally explorative writing gets published. You are going to love Hind's Kidnap, by the way.

[@LeafbyLeaf]

Ohhh, I like the line-by-line analysis! You know, I should have made clearer what I meant by ignorance of contemporary work. I tend to read way more new fiction from the small presses because, as you said, they put out the much better stuff in general. Where I am out of touch is the bigger house stuff. Thanks so much for the trio of recommendations! And here’s to McElroy!

[@manlikeJoe1010]

The Experience of God by David Bentley-Hart really is great. I read it 2 years ago and it's changed a lot of things for me. I hope you'll enjoy it

[@LeafbyLeaf]

I’ve been reading DBH’s essays and his New Testament translation-and he has changed my perspective in several ways, too. Can’t wait to start getting into his books. 🙏

[@kidAonafriday]

I'm super late to this but what were the bookstores you visited in Cincy? I live in the Cincy suburbs and am not always hip to the cool stores likes that and would love to go check those out. I wrote down Conveyor Belt Books I'm definitely going there next time I'm down around Covington.

[@LeafbyLeaf]

Conveyor Belt had an outstanding selection! The Ohio Bookstore was incredible. Other than those two, I got over to Joy and Matt's Bookstore after eating dinner at the superb Pepp & Dolores, and I visited the charming Wheatberry Books in fun-to-say Chillicothe, Ohio!

[@k.e.7016]

I was actually looking for your opinion on Haruki Murakami's Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage, I wouldn't recommend it (I gave it one star on Goodreads) but I was curious it seems that not many have read it or made a review here. If you aren't the most handsome book tuber in the land of Internet. I wish you success in your reading endeavors for 2024.

[@LeafbyLeaf]

Hey there! Thanks so much for all your kind words and compliments! It looks like I've got two more of HM's books to get to before I get to that one. Yours is the first word I've ever heard about it. Luckily, I've got no deadlines. Who knows when (or if) I'll ever get to it. :)

[@jebbiesmalls]

Thanks for the inspiration to read more and bigger books. What a channel! My wildcard pick: Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel. For pure enjoyment and writing craft, one of the best I’ve ever read. It’ll still be around in 100 years.

[@LeafbyLeaf]

Thanks so much! This channel really is a pleasure! I’ve been hearing about Mantel for a long time now. Is Wolf Hall related to a series of novel on Cromwell?

[@jebbiesmalls]

Yep that’s the first book in the trilogy, but it also stands well on its own. There’s also of course the award-winning narrative nonfiction Iceland’s Secret. 😉

[@tonerperson280]

Finnegans wake by James Joyce

[@LeafbyLeaf]

Was waiting for that one!

[@dbag57]

Great to hear you are on the up and have so many positive things going on! Have you ever read The Illuminatus Trillogy by Robert Anton Wilson? It seems very similar to the kind of stuff you read like IJ and Gravities Rainbow

[@LeafbyLeaf]

I’ve heard about it for years and years and it just so happens that I grabbed a copy at my local used bookstore today! 😮🙏

[@dbag57]

@@LeafbyLeaf oh wow..I hadnt hears of pynchon and wallace etc until I found your channel last year..but I read it when I was 18...(I too turned 40 this year) and thought how similar they sounded. My experience with that book is really helping my get through IJ, and there are big sections which clearly reference it..especially the game "eschaton". Cant wait to hear your thoughts when you get round to it, and thanks for introuducing me to so much great literature! 2666 in particular just blew me away!

[@Booksandchess]

Love your award videos. Have you ever looked at Rodrigo Fresán’s The Invented Part? I’ll make this my wildcard!

[@LeafbyLeaf]

Thanks! That’s the only one of that trilogy that I’ve read. The last book is a whopper!

[@emilylee5353]

Hi!! A suggestion for your 5 years on KZbin.... Your 5 fav books from since you started featuring 5 quotes or extracts from each. And maybe 5 books you want to read because of a quote or extract you've read.

[@ajw99a]

I second this.

[@LeafbyLeaf]

Oh, that’s a cool idea! Thank you!

[@williamgass9242]

I hope Blinding gets a reprint

[@LeafbyLeaf]

Me, too! I hate that it isn’t available to people! I’m gonna email Archipelago right now.

[@GetExercised]

Well, if you love any recent, contemporary fiction, i would definitely love to hear about it. Please keep us posted.

[@LeafbyLeaf]

Will do! Maybe I do a roundup here and there if the best is the crop.

[@tobsi2256]

I'd like to recommend to you Lina Wolff as an author, and The Polyglot Lovers as a novel. I love her novels and Saskia Vogel is a talented translator. Looking forward to The Devil's Grip translation that will be published after Eastern. She is on of Sweden's Finest, living in Spain (I think).

[@LeafbyLeaf]

I have a special place in my heart for Scandinavians! Thanks so much for this!

[@gabrielseanwallace3979]

My Subscriber Wildcard Pick: 'Soul Mountain' by Gao Xingjian (trans. Mabel Lee) Thank you for the new recommendations as always! Love how you have awards for different categories as well. Have an incredible 2024, in reading and in living and all in between!

[@LeafbyLeaf]

Thanks for this one! All my best to you and yours, too!

[@pessoasombra]

Love to see Jaeggy, and twice!

[@LeafbyLeaf]

🙌🙌🙌

[@sammoon1819]

Looking forward to your videos on your 2024 reading selections. Wildcard The Public Burning, Robert Coover, (who is now 91 years old)

[@LeafbyLeaf]

Thanks! Can’t believe I’ve only got one Coover on the channel. Unacceptable.

[@marcelhidalgo1076]

I won't submit a wildcard pick since you picked mine last year. That being said, it seems like Same Bed Different Dreams and Pay As You Go would be two contemporary works of fiction you would like. This is just based on the little I've heard of them. Have a great year! Glad you enjoyed transrelating house one.

[@LeafbyLeaf]

Feel free to submit again-I don’t mind! I got my hands on the Ed Park late last year and I’ve heard good things about the other one. Thanks for the recommendations!

[@marcelhidalgo1076]

In that case, I'll nominate Omer Pasha Latas: Marshal to the Sultan by Ivo Andrić as my WILDCARD pick

[@BenjaminHeels]

Amazing video! Philip Glass’s memoir is an excellent read. I’m glad to hear that you’re enjoying his music. My Wildcard Pick: “Still No Word From You: Notes in the Margin” by Peter Orner.

[@LeafbyLeaf]

Thanks! I've read Orner's _Am I Alone Here?_ and I quite liked it.

[@akeeperofsheep]

One of my favorite recent books was Richard Milward's Man-Eating Typewriter. An incredibly fun book written mostly in Polari.

[@LeafbyLeaf]

OK, now that is an awesome book title!

[@skmarcell]

I really recommend for your reading list Shimmering Details by Péter Nádas, which was published in English in November last year. A stunning childhood memoir with a ton of history, art history, sociology, and psychology infused.

[@LeafbyLeaf]

FSG actually sent me production copies of those volumes! I'm super excited about them. Even more so now! Shall I enter them as your wildcard pick?

[@skmarcell]

Happy to hear! And yes, entering them as a wildcard pick would be great.

[@pepperbellaaa]

In terms of more contemporary fiction, I would recommend Juno Loves Legs by Karl Geary if you haven’t come across it already. Even as an indie bookseller, I struggle to keep up with contemporary fiction, but that’s one well worth the read. Another that is a bit out of left field - Poor People With Money by Dominic Hoey. Not sure how available it is to order overseas, but it’s a fantastic piece of fiction from Aotearoa so if you can get your hands on it I’d highly recommend! The blurb really doesn’t do it justice, I will say that much.

[@LeafbyLeaf]

Thank you so much! I should’ve been clearer in the video: I stay on top of a lot of indie new release. What I’m out of touch with is the new fiction from bigger houses.

[@kip388]

Wildcard: ‘Vanishing Point’ by David Markson

[@LeafbyLeaf]

Oooooooo yeah, I wanna get more Markson on the channel!

[@kittraverse9871]

I would be very interested in your thoughts (if you have read it) on Jerusalem by Alan Moore. I read this one about a year ago and got a great deal out of it. I do recall that you possibly mentioned something about it in one of your older video’s. I wish you a great year, keep being awesome!

[@LeafbyLeaf]

It actually appears in my 10 Books that Defeated Me video. I couldn’t get past the first 100 page. BUT. Many different people have compelled me to revisit it and stick with it. So I have vowed to do so!

[@brianclary8205]

Highly anticipating your read and listen of Gass and Vollmann. In honor of your trip to France and request for some recent fiction , The Map and the Territory by Michel Houellbecq. Much more focussed and far less vulgar than his earlier works it won the Prix Goncourt in 2010. His current perhaps final novel runs about 700 pages but hasn’t appeared yet in English translation

[@LeafbyLeaf]

I’ve actually read all of Houellebecq’s work in English. I reviewed Serotonin for Rain Taxi and it came out. Le carte et le territoire I bought in 2012 when I was in Lyon and struggled through it on the flight. Ended up reading it in English. 😁 I’m looking forward to his latest!

[@Focaminante]

Wildcard pick: Three Trapped Tigers, by Guillermo Cabrera Infante.

[@LeafbyLeaf]

Gracias mi amigo !

[@Etherchannel]

If you do decide to go with Lookout Cartridge I highly recommend you try and find a copy The Review of Contemporary Fiction Vol. 10, No. 1: Joseph McElroy. There are excellent essays in there that are a great companion to that work.

[@LeafbyLeaf]

I might have to ask Steven Moore to scan ‘em for me-can’t find a copy anywhere! I loved that periodical. Thanks for tip! I’ve used RCF essays in several videos.

[@kevincass7321]

My wildcard pick is the astonishing masterpiece of Argentinian surrealism Kalpa Imperial by Angélica Goródischer. It is a fantastical, dreamlike book that blends simple fable with sprawling political satire, and the Ursula K. Le Guin translation is excellent.

[@LeafbyLeaf]

Argentinian literature is so rich! Thanks for this!

[@bobfloy2119]

My wildcard submission is Lives of the Monster Dogs by Kirsten Bakis. Its her first novel -- came out in 1997. Her second novel comes out next month!

[@LeafbyLeaf]

Whoa! Talk about taking your time on a book. 😁

[@austinjohnbaker9521]

Wildcard: Wilhelm Meister’s Apprenticeship by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

[@LeafbyLeaf]

Of all the Goethe I’ve read, I haven’t read this one!

[@austinjohnbaker9521]

@@LeafbyLeaf When I first read it years ago, it was one of the most enjoyable experiences I’ve ever had with a book. Rereading it now, it feels very elusive, something that asks the reader to keep a critical eye on everything and every idea happening in the story.

[@simonailiescu3320]

Thank you for this video. Always great recommendations. What resources are you going to use in learning french? Thanks

[@LeafbyLeaf]

Thanks! I’m using a mix of Fluent Forever, Duolingo, Pimsleur, and a grammar workbook. Luckily, I’ve already got a decent base.

[@kieran_forster_artist]

My submission is the BurnOut Society by Byung-Chul Han. A short but powerful read.

[@LeafbyLeaf]

Thanks, Kieran!

[@42frames99]

Wildcard pick: "Antkind" by Charlie Kaufman. It's a lovely, sprawling mess of a book. Or if you wan't something not about movies, then perhaps "City of Glass" by Paul Auster.

[@LeafbyLeaf]

Antkind is getting nominated a few times and I happen to have gotten it for my birthday last year!

[@footwinner1]

Wildcard pick is An Elemental Thing by Eliot Weinberger

[@LeafbyLeaf]

Thanks!

[@sputniki5477]

Holy shit, HA! is wild!!!! Absolutely check out Next Episode by Aquin!!!

[@LeafbyLeaf]

Wicked! Just ordered Next Episode!

[@thegenesis0]

would love to buddy read Ha! I am currenttly reading some Hubert Aquin (I am Québécoise, and it's very well-known here).

[@LeafbyLeaf]

Quelle chance ! Shoot me an email.

[@sputniki5477]

Next Episode is one of my favorites!

[@vincedinga3070]

Wildcard: Butcher's Crossing by John Williams. I read this one right after reading Blood Meridian and I have to say, I resonated with and enjoyed Butcher's Crossing more than I did Blood Meridian. Not that it's a direct comparison, but there are certain similar themes in both.

[@LeafbyLeaf]

I’ve been wanting to read this for a while. Thanks!

[@jamesgwarrior1981]

“AntKind” by Charlie Kaufman

[@LeafbyLeaf]

Several people are picking this one. And it just so happens that I got it for my birthday last year!

[@jamesgwarrior1981]

@@LeafbyLeaf wow! Cool! I’m glad! Didn’t think too many got to it! It’s brilliant…

[@shanerand]

Wildcard - Antkind You could watch some of Kaufman’s films before, during, and after the reading experience! Would make a great video :) Solenoid was my favorite book of the year as well, easily. Can’t wait to get to more of his novels. Was lucky enough to meet the author and hear him discuss the novel during his book tour in Seattle. Big highlight of the year. Have a wonderful 2024 and thank you for your time and effort in making these videos, Chris!

[@LeafbyLeaf]

I can’t believe how many people are saying Antkind. I think I just need to read this one without submitting it to the wildcard process! Of CK’s work, I’ve only seen Eternal Sunshine and it was absolutely astounding! Loved it! I wanna watch Synecdoche NY next. Thanks so much for all the support and the recommendations!