6 Modern Classics: Books your English Teacher Recommends

[@juliaromero7512]

The Dark Academia society made me read The Secret History and I never regretted it. It was soooo good.

[@thomasthompson6378]

It is quite fine, but perhaps not quite up to The Goldfinch, by the same author.

[@juliaromero7512]

@@thomasthompson6378 How was it? I actually just purchased the book yesterday.

[@frenchie8651]

Hi, by any chance, do you have any recommendation of books with this "Dark academia aura" ? :)

[@juliaromero7512]

@@frenchie8651 The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wild If We Were Villains by M.L. Rio The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt (this, too. I heard so) Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo Truly Devious by Maureen Johnson The Secret Place by Tana French The Lake of Dead Languages by Carol Goodman is based on The Secret History. But i haven't read it so I don't know if I'd recommend it. The Dead Poets Society by N.H. Klienbaum is also a dark academia book to but its not a mystery or thriller, it's a nice book though. I'd also recommend Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë. Here are other books that has the vibe of Dark Academia but I haven't read: A Separate Peace by John Knowles The Likeness by Tana French Vicious by V.E. Schwab People Like Us by Dana Mele Black Chalk by Christopher Yates (this one has low ratings though) Enjoy reading :)

[@AtlanticGiantPumpkin]

@@juliaromero7512 I can 100% verify A Separate Peace is totally Dark Academia. Boarding school setting, kinda gay, great and twisted characters.

[@jasp9661]

You have described and presented all of these books so well, I'm actually so excited to read these now. Usually book recommendation videos just fly over my head but the description and excerpts were done so well here.

[@kacperpietrenko4477]

Hi, I'm currently reading Murakami's "What I talk about when I talk about running" and I find it very enjoyable, mostly because of his descriptions of his running adventures which are occasionally enhanced with some marvellous observations of a general nature. Cheers from Poland!

[@artsketchbook]

Please keep recommending books - I have audible on all the time listening to books while working from home, but sometimes it's hard to find a good next book!

[@LetThemTalkTV]

Thanks for your comment. I will indeed more book reviews coming soon.

[@yvonnetan3447]

I’m impressed by people who can listen to audiobooks while working! I can’t do audiobooks even while not doing anything.

[@benkylo8015]

Listening isn't reading.

[@benkylo8015]

@Mr. Sweet Sugar Please explain to me how listening to someone else reading equates to sitting down, focusing and interpenetrating text for yourself?

[@holkangel]

I have had a great time listening to the Martian :)

[@bekesicsabakoppany93]

01:31 Life of Pi 04:35 The Secret History 06:01 Hand to Mouth 08:02 A Confederacy of Dunces 12:29 Our Man in Havana 14:41 Wild Swans

[@catfish4035]

Thank U

[@user-gr6ti7xw5h]

thank you!!!

[@lucasgdrezes]

I could listen to you talk all day. You look like one of those English teachers who change their students' lives. By the way, Life of Pi was one of the first English novels I read. It was pretty easy and I think I did after two years of learning English.

[@nic5958]

Hey man, I've read Secret History, Life of Pi and Confederacy of Dunces. Those are all among my favorite books! I'm adding the rest of your recommendations on my list for sure! Thanks :)

[@kimswhims8435]

The Life of Pi and Wild Swans are high on my list too. I've even recommended Wild Swans to my Chinese sister-in-law. She's in her early 40s, an only child (because of the one child policy) her father is a highschool headmaster in China, both he and her Mum meet while they were in the country during the cultural revolution. She found it such an eye-opener as did I. She's lived in Australia for about 15 years and her parents have visited often. You've reminded me that I've been meaning to read Paul Auster for years. Great list, thanks for sharing.

[@kaseywahl]

A Confederacy of Dunces is my absolute favorite book. Glad to see someone else spreading the word!

[@viveknukala962]

What a book man ! Recently i completed

[@Olivina330]

Yes! Such a pleasure to read 🥰

[@davidcopson5800]

Very true Kasey. By the way, you look a bit like its author.

[@JeffRebornNow]

It's my favorite, as well. And I usually get on extremely well with other fans of the book. It's as though we are on the same absurd wave-length.

[@steveneardley7541]

I enjoyed A Confederacy of Dunces so much that I read it again almost immediately upon finishing it. I like this kind of video, and will check out a few of these books from our library. I know it may be considered a bit obvious, but I loved Angela's Ashes.

[@jennifersantosuosso4479]

I have no idea how your video came into my KZbin feed but am so grateful. So nice to hear about books I haven't thought about reading.

[@mvsfunhouse]

I was never much of a book reader growing up but now have the opportunity to enjoy book reads with my daughters on KZbin and share it with the rest of our world! Thank you for your book recommendations!

[@bebitter]

I love this video, amazing descriptions and I am glad you included some excerpts from the actual books. I wish everyone did book recommendations like this.

[@douglaso6428]

Well said! I completely agree! :-)

[@dudablack2426]

Hi Gideon! This is one of your best videos! Maybe because I’m a voracious reader LOL .. I didn’t know these titles, but will certainly get them, you’ve got my attention! On thing that I do to improve my English is not only reading in English but also listening to audio books... it’s fun, and helps to keep in contact with the language, vocabulary, etc... thanks again! My best wishes from North Carolina, USA 🌸

[@dangaines405]

The Confederacy of Dunces made me laugh loud so hard that my wife and her uncle started reading it! This could easily be named among top 10 best comedic books!

[@winterland122977]

A Confederacy Of Dunces is on the very short list of my favorite books. It has such a unique heart.

[@deboracastenetto6547]

I am in lockdown too, in Italy, and in this period I'm studying English, I am completely overwhelmed of your lessons, I have finally found a very good web Teacher. My congratulation !

[@Ruylopez778]

I think I wouldn't use "overwhelmed" in this context. In learning or studying, overwhelmed has the feeling of being too much, in a negative way. I would also say 'overwhelmed by'. In the case of opera or ballet, something emotional; you could say, "I was overwhelmed [by the performance]" but more likely you would say, "I was moved [to tears]". For a lesson or presentation [something more educational or fact based], I would probably choose "impressed with" or "inspired by"

[@sulmansohailfarooqui]

Thank you for the very entertaining introduction to the books. I used to be a voracious reader but have not read a book in more than a decade. But your description of the plot and story line and your very evident enjoyment of the books has piqued my interest. I may start reading, if I can find a balance between gardening and DIY and other hands on hobbies that I seem to have gravitated to for some mysterious reasons, abandoning my old friends, and my first love !!

[@LetThemTalkTV]

Brilliant comment. Move to a small apartment this will cut out the gardening and most of the DIY. I hope you manage to rekindle the love you left behind.

[@LindaC616]

I haven't done this as yet, but lots of people tell me that audio books are great for listening while you're doing gardening, etc. Of course, it depends on the book. It would have to be something that doesn't require a ridiculous amount of focus.

[@sulmansohailfarooqui]

Hi Linda, well that kind of excludes all the books in this list !! Maybe we need a list of books which require little attention, but then you might as well listen to music, or muzak !!

[@LindaC616]

@@sulmansohailfarooqui I have never listened to a book yet. It's mostly because I read the types of books that around this list and not popular fiction. I do think that Trevor Noah's autobiography would have been better as an audio book than reading it. I could hear his voice the entire time I was reading ot

[@Alberto-dc4dh]

Thanks for the recommendations! I knew of a couple of authors of the list, and I own the Secret History, but haven't checked them for real. The way you talked about them and the fragments read made want to dive right in.

[@ramyarao4499]

Some of my favorites: Stoner by John Williams Revolutionary Road by Richard Yates In Cold Blood by Truman Capote

[@oliviakirby1409]

Try Proust's, In Search of Lost Time - I recently completed the whole thing. Not because I wanted to, but I was going to be fucked backwards before letting a dead French bastard get the better of me.

[@ingridbjrnstad4763]

@@oliviakirby1409 try Camus anything, its awesome! and no exit by Sartre is both pretty interesting and pretty biphobic. if youve watched the good place youll find some similarities

[@ingridbjrnstad4763]

@@oliviakirby1409 and the human condition by Andre Malraux

[@oliviakirby1409]

@@ingridbjrnstad4763 Yeah, I've read Camus and No Exit, both. In Search of Lost Time was one of those white whales, which you know is out there swimming in the ocean and sooner or later you feel compelled to harpoon the bastard. Am I glad I read it? Yes. Did I enjoy it? In parts. Do I feel I'm a better or more well rounded person for it? Hmmm, the jury's out on that one. Dostoyevsky though, does it for me everytime.

[@duncantrout]

I don't know Stoner, but those other two are amazing. Yates short stories are fun

[@knitty781]

Thank you! Not a single book I expected. I've only read one of these books - The Life of Pi. As you said, the prose is wonderfully descriptive and easy to access.

[@ciganyweaverandherperiwink6293]

I like trying to find extreme literature, I think the term 'transgressive' is played out and meaningless these days but I search in vain for people who are 'out there' but brilliant writers and thinkers. The lone wolves with no 'woke' agenda or attendant language and sensibilities. I want to feel confronted and challenged, especially by grotesque characters that compel me or non-fiction that I know will upset or anger me. But brutal honesty and wonderful writing always triumphs for me. It's also better for my intellectual growth to keep being shaken up and stimulated in this way. Japanese literature does the opposite: when someone's been doing a lot of relentless, combative thinking in life I always prescribe Japanese literature. It's like a spell being cast, beckoning you into a dream with the strangest elements in a scenario becoming the focus. You look for subtext or loading of meaning, analogies, metaphor and parables but they're never there. So your brain will loosen and relax and give in to thinking differently whilst you read. It's wonderful, nobody else can imitate this uniquely Japanese sensibility. It's not a twee affectation, it all happens by accident which is where the authenticity and magic spring from. I like the heavy cultural details too, so if you've been to Japan you'll be delighted at all you will recognise in a novel. I like balance in my reading and so the books on my recommendations list would include material that would both turn some stomachs and make people feel caught in a half-dream. And old English literature, just for the beautiful use of language which nobody on earth can express themselves in anymore. Gorgeous, what a rich dessert that is, language itself.

[@maxalberts2003]

Joyce Carol Oates.

[@ciganyweaverandherperiwink6293]

@@maxalberts2003 LOL. I'm a child of the 1980's-1990's and the underground zines and literature that I was reading back then would make college kids of 2020 throw up. That is, if it all managed to get around obscenity laws etc as set out in 2020. Dreadful. The supposed '"Cool Kids" today are the dorks monitoring, censoring, flinging bike locks into people's heads, crying, burning books for 'the common good', rioting when someone upsets or offends them or gets invited to do a talk...what the hell happened to cause this bizarro-world switcheroo?! Wow. I can tell you this was NOT the way the underground 'cool kids' behaved in my time. So arcane.

[@JackCoxMSquirrel]

@@ciganyweaverandherperiwink6293 I'm sure it feels good to feel better than everyone else. Congratulations.

[@ciganyweaverandherperiwink6293]

@@JackCoxMSquirrel I have no idea which of my personal experiences or points of view triggered you into writing that but I welcome your own weird and wonderful opinions as long as they're not tainted by Identity Politics and Critical Race Theory, all that toxic mob-think and reactionary, censorious, sanctimonious claptrap is intellectually bogus and I end up knowing nothing about YOU, just how well you are able to represent the ideology that you have been taught, or taught yourself. That's all I was saying. Nothing you have to say would be judged by me or attacked by me because I value nuance, context and honesty in the spirit of true education-- also, I don't know you or what experiences have informed your views or values. It's gonna be a bloody hard life if we all get uncontrollably angry with the 7 billion human beings also living with us on this space rock who randomly will volunteer all kinds of potentially unsettling opinions, stories or questions out loud during a lifetime. I will never understand it when people go out of their way to burp rude comments at strangers online. I would defend your right to say whatever you like, or ask whatever inflammatory or 'problematic' questions you genuinely wanted to know the answers to. And I just ignore most people with whom I greatly differ in both mentality and character rather than insult them. I sincerely hope tomorrow is a better day for you. :)

[@preponement]

All excellent books. Can't go wrong reading any of these.

[@tbone2885]

I just finished reading "Don't Say We Have Nothing" by Madeleine Thien, which also deals with the aspects of the Chinese Cultural Revolution. Beautifully written and I highly recommend it. I look forward to reading Wild Swans to make comparisons between similar themes. Thank you for this recommendation!

[@cynthiaszirmai1900]

“Unto the Sons” written by Gay Talese which I kept in my bookshelf, untouched, for two decades because it was quite thick. The author wrote about the migration of his southern Italian family to the U.S. in the early 1900 and the hardships and challenges they faced a soon as they set foot in the country. I picked up this book in mid March just as Dr. Fauci and N.Y. Gov. Cuomo were thrust into the limelight, thanks to the coronavirus, and these two icons made me tackle the book with so much pleasure. I finally found the right time and atmosphere to appreciate the book and its author.

[@aatmaa85]

Thank you, Gideon, great recommendations. Graham Green has been one of my favourite authors since my teenage years.

[@LetThemTalkTV]

Glad to hear it. thanks

[@jackieedwards-henry8315]

Here’s another: The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson. True story about the Chicago World’s Fair, and it reads like a novel; grabbed me from the first paragraph.

[@aaron___6014]

Get your own channel!

[@annasoloweszyk5224]

Jackie Edwards-Henry I love all his works. Chicago seen through the eyes of an architect and a monstrous serial killer. Both involved with architecture for very different reasons. I plan to read his new one soon.

[@wakkjobbwizard]

Jackie Edwards-Henry I actually had to read that over the summer for my English high school class just last year. Great book and intriguing mystery.

[@OldSchool1947]

One of the most disturbing books EVER!

[@bhodges00]

That was a great book. In the Garden of Beasts was another great book by the same author.

[@LinhNguyen-ry6jc]

Hi Gideon, Thank you so much for your recommendation! Many of them are not books that I would normally pick up at the store. Also, I would love hearing you talk and share more about books, please!

[@askarusin8408]

This was a beautiful presentation. Thank you so much. Scooped a lot as an aspiring author.

[@jooheepaik811]

Wow~! I'm getting so interested in those books you recommended. Your description of each book sounded exciting and enjoyable! I already put The Secret History and Hand to Mouth in my cart of an internet book store. Thanks a lot! You're WONDERFUL!!❤😊

[@LetThemTalkTV]

You are wonderful

[@rogerpayne709]

Pleasantly surprised to see your inclusion of "Confederacy of Dunces." I could not agree more. I always wondered why there wasn't a movie made, thank you for clearing the mystery up. And thank you for your interesting videos.

[@JeffRebornNow]

Roger, I, too, was pleased to see him recommend "A Confederacy of Dunces." I've read it several times over the years, though none of the re-readings ever induced in me the convulsions of laughter the first reading did. I fully believe I can tell the quality of a person's mind by the way he or he reacts to this book. A dullard will have little to moderate reaction, while a sharp-witted person will be consumed by laughter and wonderment at the accurate depiction of the absurdity of post-war American life.

[@Afroniponica]

Rewatching your videos as depression is getting the best of me. The thing I love is that I feel that I'm not wrong when I listen to you. I don't know if I'm in the process of burnout, but I feel like there's a chance for me in the end.

[@LetThemTalkTV]

Take care of yourself. Reach out to friends if you're feeling depressed.

[@alfred1920]

LetThemTalkTV please make more book recommendations videos!

[@englishathand1927]

How can this channel only have 300k subscribes? This is one of the most wonderful channels I've ever visited, this channel should have at least three millions subscribers, but anyway, thank you so much mister for all your videos they are absolutely great! I am a new subscriber by the way!

[@LetThemTalkTV]

Thank you for your perspicacious comments. You are obviously a brilliant person destined to go far and achieve great things. Best wishes.

[@englishathand1927]

@@LetThemTalkTV Thank you for your words sir, I really appreciate it. Kind regards

[@ylayla6009]

I wanted to read something from modern literature. It’s a namely that advice what I was looking for! Thanks a lot. It was the great luck to have come across your channel.Спасибо!

[@merularubia5476]

Loved your recommendations, espeacially the snippets to get to know the books. You couldn't do another video concerning books, could you?

[@willk7184]

I really enjoyed your descriptions of these books without giving too much away. Thanks for your recommendations, I'll definitely check them out.

[@jendam1]

My tips for you: Quichotte - Salman Rushdie The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro Sing, unburied, sing - Jesmyn Ward Tightrope - Simon Mawer Nine stories - J. D. Salinger

[@LetThemTalkTV]

Thanks for your recommendations. I've only read. Salinger

[@susansmiles2630]

Thank you for sharing your experiences of these books! Can't wait to read them! Stay healthy!

[@jstanders6973]

Hi Gideon, I love your channel. How sad the Indian actor Irrfan Khan has died. He played a beautiful part in the Life of Pi movie. The book itself I found magical and I loved the philosophy and depth of it. Beautifully written and I found myself in tears. Thank you from the UK. best wishes..

[@Misseggy24]

My absolute favourite modern classic is Cloudstreet by Tim Winton. It’s a very well-known and celebrated story in Australia, but I don’t think it’s very popular elsewhere. I must admit, if you’re not Australian, it might be quite difficult to relate to and understand - it grapples a great deal with the convoluted nature “Australian” identity - but if you ARE Australian and haven’t read it yet, or you’re not, and just want a challenge, I would highly recommend it.

[@salvatoregisonna8953]

Paul Auster is one of my favorite writers but I never read From Hand to Mouth, finally I found a copy and I'm waiting for it ; in the meantime I read " A Confederacy of Dunces " and wow was it good ! Thank you , I hope you'll recommend other books soon. I'm looking for the others too

[@lauratorchio1541]

I just finished Pachinko by Min Jin Lee: wonderful!! It is a novel set in Korea and Japan from 1910 to 1989 and tells the story of 4 generations of a family. Very moving.

[@metas6755]

I would recommend Fyodor Dostoevsky's: The Idiot & Crime and Punishment

[@meldrickravida718]

Which translation of crime and punishment?

[@アギレラダヤナ]

Im currently reading crime and punishment and I love it

[@atiquapon]

@@meldrickravida718 Michael R. Katz is good,check it out

[@anaghasiddheshwar3573]

But you must try The Brothers Karamazov. Way more profound

[@forestranger590]

@@anaghasiddheshwar3573 brothers karmazov is ❤

[@smailwaltit38]

have learnt much from you due to your awsome and your brilliant way of teaching.... in between I like your sence of humour :)

[@AyngeMackay]

I've read The Secret History five times and I still love it. Whenever I see a copy, I buy it to give away. Everyone loves it, and we all can't believe they haven't made a movie yet. One that deserves attention is The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell. EXCELLENT.

[@alishbaali7223]

I hope someone gifts it to me I'm dying to read it 😭

[@AyngeMackay]

@@alishbaali7223 just don't read The Little Friend, her second book. Ugh.

[@alishbaali7223]

@@AyngeMackay that one isn't good? a friend, who loves donna, told me all three of her books are masterpieces

[@AyngeMackay]

@@alishbaali7223 No! It's unreadable. Pass. My pals say her last one is great but I haven't read it and probably won't. Read The Secret History. Also The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell. I read that in like, 1996 I think, and it haunts me to this day. It's about a secret Catholic mission to another planet after a gorgeous song is heard coming from there. OMG so, so good.

[@rini9325]

You buy them just so you can give them away? Why don't I have angels like you close to me

[@davidinman2788]

I think it is important to mention John Toole was a genius who started teaching at Browne when he was 24 i believe. The book was in the process of being published but his publisher kept making edit after edit that lead to his depression. He lived with his mother (the book is very autobiographical) who suffered from her own mental health issues which made his day to day life miserable (which makes the whole story of her getting it published that much more fascinating). It is a tragic story of a great genius lost because of an editor stifling brilliance.

[@LetThemTalkTV]

Interesting I didn't know most of that.

[@anabananana2326]

One of my favorites is God of small things by Arundhati Roy, it definitely deserves to be a modern classic.

[@LetThemTalkTV]

That's on my reading list. thanks for the tip.

[@sandeepjoshi8280]

Thanks a lot for the Literature recommendations. Wonderful introduction and discussion on books. I haven't read any of those but have made it a point to read them. Also, I would like to add to the list some of my own recommendations : 1) The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy; 2) The White Tiger by Arvind Adiga; 3) Disgrace by J.M. Coetzee; 4) Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky; 5) Midnight Children by Salmaan Rushdie; 6) The Stranger by Albere Camus

[@johnbrown3560]

Hi, i'm from poland. i study english, so i watch your films becouse thanks to them, I get to know new words and learn pronunciation. I love your channel, and i think that these books are very interesting. I have hope that when i improve my english, i will can read these books in original language.

[@irsonandersen]

It is such a pleasure to listen to you - I truly enjoy the way you speak English, it motivates me to work harder on my English 😊 Thank you for great book recommedations!

[@LetThemTalkTV]

Thank you for your kind words

[@markdonovan1540]

Great idea, the books reviews, sample readings and the level references are very helpful. Thank you for sharing this. Stay safe.

[@cristinaomarrementeria6105]

HI, I have just discover you now ,you are very very funny and your english is clear and easy to follow, I am Cris from Spain, my english is not good but I get by, Why the hell you live in Paris? , thank you for your classes,..Right? ,,TA RA.

[@carolineharnish5633]

I recommend, "The Hacienda" by Lisa St. Aubin de Teran,& The Glass Castle, by Jeannette Walls

[@M-T-123]

Alexander McCall Smith 44 Scotland Street has been my lifesaver during the Pandemic, funny and extremely witty

[@alisonarmstrong8421]

This session is especially terrific, thanks for emphasis on how to cope with lockdown with reading books!

[@dannaab8459]

I completely trust you. Confederacy of Dunces is incredible, and one of my all time favorites.

[@amypoulin3121]

thank you for mentioning Wild swans! not an easy read, yet so important

[@fancynancy2870]

Please do more recommendations! Loved this video :)

[@BaronKatoski]

I am also an English teacher. My recommendations: 1. In the Night of Time by Antonio Muñoz Molina. 2. Stoner by John Williams. 3. Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy. 4. Plainsong by Kent Haruf. 5. Oscar & Lucinda by Peter Carey. 6. Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adechi.

[@carloscuellar9733]

Thank you so much Sir Joseph , i am reading a book called " a tree grows in brooklyn" do you know it ?

[@minimalistagourmet]

"The Gadarene", by Alex Alcantara (That's me!! Haha!) I'm a Brazilian novelist. "The Gadarene" is my third novel, the first to be translated. A story that takes place in the Middle East, in the first century, based on true events. And you can tell to anybody that it comes from one of your pulpils.

[@sammomin8115]

Ha! I'm born in the Middle East and live in the USA and wrote a novel in English about Brazil and the USA. The novel's title is No Land for Dead Men.

[@locutusdborg126]

@@sammomin8115 I'm a American who did not write a story about Brazil.

[@stevepricern]

A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles. I found this fun.

[@harrietst6114]

It was fascinating! I recommended it to a friend after finishing reading it.

[@rolanddeschain6089]

I've been thinking about reading it for a long time

[@barbarabaker5552]

I loved this book so much that I went back and read his first book - Rules of Civility. Also excellent, but very different.

[@stefaniechong9640]

In fact, three weeks of lockdown or movement control order whatever we are kind of on the verge of stir-crazy. Having said that, when life gives you lemons, make lemonade. You're absolutely right Gideon. Reading books is one of the best ways to endure this difficult moment. In fact I hadn't read the book Life of PI but I watched the movie sometime in 2012 or 2013. This movie was directed by Ang Lee, a Taiwanese director who had won best director category in Academy Award and Oscar. The protagonist Pi Patel finds a way to survive in a lifeboat that is adrift in the middle if nowhere. I learned so much in this movie his fight against the odds. He surmounted the impossible and gave himself a new lease of life. 👍🏻

[@saswatidash2000]

I have no idea, how I ended up here. I have been learning English since I was 3(and that was a long time ago), and I consider my English skills good enough. But the reading list was surprisingly so eclectic, they all ended up in my 'wishlist'. Now as I sharpen my skills in my official language #5, I guess I would get this reading list in my target language. It would be something to re-read 'Life of Pi' as 'Schiffbruch mit Tiger'. Keep up the great work, my best wishes!

[@julioumbertopinto1567]

He's such a bright, charming and handsome fellow ~ it's utterly delightful to watch this videos, especially because of his great humor! Thumbs up.

[@athenassigil5820]

Don Quixote by Miguel Cervantes. I thought this book was what I had seen from films and popular culture, a crazed, crane like man mounted on an old mare jousting windmills. It was that, but oh, so much more! It is a nest of stories, bawdy slapstick, philosophy,women's rights, history, dark humour and a homage and deprecation of chivalry and it's departure from Cervantes world. My only gripe is the repetitive reminders in the stories, but it's from that older period when most writers were informed by their classical roots...and yet the book also feels modern in its exploration of the seemier side of life. I really loved the two heroes plight and the introduction of a large cast of characters you won't forget....there's this and a myriad of other reasons to read on....it's also considered by many as the first modern classic.

[@ingridbjrnstad4763]

its so much fun! i need to finish the second book

[@athenassigil5820]

@@ingridbjrnstad4763 Yes, indeed! I notice people either love or hate this book...glad you're enjoying it!

[@charlie-obrien]

It is considered the advent of the modern novel, and for good reason. Cervantes penned a strategically layered tale that could be read and enjoyed by many different readers on different levels. I have always recommended reading the first book and then allowing some time before the second, during which the time can be filled with study of his life. You see, he wrote them ten years apart and the second relies heavily on the story continuing inside and outside of the first book and dealing with it's success as a novel and also defeating the many who tried to copy his characters and original story. By doing this Cervantes adds yet another delicious layer to the experience.

[@athenassigil5820]

@@charlie-obrien Agreed! Yes, I knew that part 2 was a reaction to another authors attempt of profiting off of part 1...hence Cervantes part 2...it is such a meta book...brilliant and I'm glad the collective "We" still read and participate in it's story and pages 400 plus years, later.. Cheers!

[@enriquemoranmartinez6706]

Míster You are amazing. These books are on my list now. Thanks so much. Hope lockdown is going well.

[@LorriSanga]

I have been read A Confederacy of Dunces for the last 2 days. Thoroughly enjoying it. Thank you.

[@12701270able]

Awesome lesson Perfect It encourages me to read those books, also, it seems to me it will be so helpful that you kind of do such a program/video about books like this one. So helpful and we can understand better the book and the use of language . Thanks a lot You are one of the teachers I have ever got a lot of benefit.

[@abedabdu2241]

I've really enjoyed watching your videos and this one particularly, I was for a long time asking teachers and even KZbinr's books readers to recommend some classic for Eng learners, but here you did it for us. Thank you so much for your interesting informative videos.

[@prasoonpandey7658]

In this tough situation tons of respect and Love from india 🙏

[@LetThemTalkTV]

Take care

[@skybright9447]

Animal farm. This book was written over 70 years ago yet the premise is still relevant today. Highly recommend but I suggest you read this yourself and delve in the meaning as I read this again in school and it took the love out of it.

[@zaebruni]

With my library card I borrowed the Ebook and the Audiobook of "The secret history".I started it today!! I am so excited!!

[@AyngeMackay]

Who is the reader?

[@zaebruni]

@@AyngeMackay Hi!, the reader is the author.

[@TatianaBelyaeva]

Thank you so much for your fascinating work as well as the brilliant recommendations!

[@LetThemTalkTV]

My pleasure

[@TatianaBelyaeva]

@@LetThemTalkTV www.broadwayworld.com/shows/A-Confederacy-of-Dunces-332118.html. It was not entirely cursed.)I started reading it. Thank you!)

[@hayyanalali1394]

You are lucky because our teacher answers your questions Is your beauty the main reason behind this 🤔😐

[@melleno]

@@LetThemTalkTV great! You're alive and well!

[@3088sd]

Would recommend 'The Glass Palace' by Amitav Ghosh. It was actually gifted to me by my English teacher! I like the simple narrative style covering the colonial period in India - Myanmar and following the journey of the last queen of Burma - in a fictional capacity of course. If you like the historical fiction genre - would definitely recommend the author's other books - The Hungry Tide, and the 'Ibis trilogy' about the opium trade in the 1800s.

[@Anca820]

One of my favorites, so easy to get absorbed in--The Old Man and the Sea by Hemingway. His best work.

[@BobJones-dq9mx]

That is the only Hemingway book I liked.

[@analicemadi2111]

Bob Jones a moveable feast is a great one too!

[@BobJones-dq9mx]

@@analicemadi2111 thanks

[@bschuler6216]

I'm not a fan of Hemingway. I guess my favorite book of his that I've read is To Have And Have Not.

[@BobJones-dq9mx]

@@bschuler6216 I am not so hot about Hemingway,but his "Old Man and the Sea" is a masterpiece.

[@MrSabur]

It's not only your books you recommend but your speaking way is awesome!

[@garethmorris299]

Guys exactly right about Secret History;perfect explanation of this brilliant book

[@zdoriksandorik]

I am every time so genuinely excited to see someone recommend The secret history, because somehow it has this indie/niche reputation despite being a massive commercial hit

[@douglaso6428]

Thank you so much! This was compelling. I love the way you talk about life and that includes your description of the books and how you experience them. Some of the books that I have loved are “Dreams of my Russian summers” by Andre Makin; “To kill a Mockingbird” by Harper Lee; “Great Expectations“ by Charles Dickens; and a book that might surprise people because it’s known as a children’s classic, “Anne of Green Gables” by L. M. Montgomery. It is a brilliant, funny, touching and insightful book.

[@arunasstanskovis2086]

Gideon ! Good Soldier Svejk by Jaroslaw Hasek. Insanely absurd dark humor story about adventures of a soldier during World War. It critisizes the way cogs run in the big system through the character of Svejk, who is often described almost as imbecile but at the same time he is corageous and audacious, making good manly desicions. Sadly the book is unfinished but nevertheless worth anyones time especially in current situation :)

[@1sdrgtbdyrytw]

Very good book!

[@LetThemTalkTV]

I read it. enjoyed it.

[@bryshares]

Hey, Gideon! I've struggled to muster up the motivation and focus to read books for the past couple of years. I can listen to new music albums (some pretty long ones, too) all day but I can NOT get through a single page of a book without getting distracted or lost. I read some poems here and there but nothing else usually. This summer I started reading The Catcher in the Rye. I haven't finished it yet but it's amazing. Thank you for showing us these interesting books. I now have something to read once I'm done with The Catcher in the Rye! Much love.

[@LetThemTalkTV]

It's interesting what you say. The Catcher in the Rye blew my mind when I read it when I was 16 before that I didn't read much. It started a lifelong love of books. Thanks for your comment.

[@Dangerous0Fairy]

I read wild swans and loved it , thank you for the recommendation !

[@danacampbell8331]

Confederacy of Dunces! My favorite book! Toole did write another book when he was a teenager. It's called The Neon Cross and, if you read it, you will find out why his mother, who was so persistent trying to get Confederacy published, wasn't so keen on that one seeing the light of day.

[@JeffRebornNow]

I love "Dunces." I've bought a dozen copies of it over the years and I always give them away to people I meet who have yet to read it.

[@studentfilmed]

1:30 Life of Pi - 460 pages 5:59 Hand to Mouth - 170 pages 8:00 A Confederacy of Dances - 394 pages 12:29 Our Man in Havana - 220 pages 14:40 - Wild Swans - 562 Pages

[@captainch371]

Thank you!

[@studentfilmed]

Captainch You are very welcome!

[@graybow2255]

The lockdown needs War and Peace, The Brothers Karamazov, The Count of Monte Cristo, The Miserables, Ulysses, Don Quixote, Infinite Jest, and Gravity's Rainbow.

[@rebellehopes5899]

What a wonderful list you've written there... !! :)

[@graybow2255]

@@rebellehopes5899 Thank you :)

[@M_SC]

Missed the point did you?

[@davidcopson5800]

@@M_SC It appears so.

[@Amalthea11]

Gosh your way of describing the books is so engaging that I might actually get back to reading after 10 years or so 🤗😍

[@LetThemTalkTV]

Thanks. for your comment. Happy reading

[@pia1945]

thank you! these are really good recs i’m so happy!!!

[@helveciobrenolinssobreira6410]

Man you are the best English teacher on KZbin.

[@treelinesart7012]

Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: An Inquiry into Values is a book by Robert M. Pirsig published in 1974. One of best book to read from scientific & philosophical perspectives while beautifully, deeply drawing comparative lines between modern chaos and mental wellbeing.

[@chboth]

I read it many years ago but I didn't like it because of his coldness and indifference towards his son. But maybe that had more to do with my life at the time than with the two characters in the book.

[@Llamaeye1]

Thanks Gideon ! Hands to mouth resonates with me somehow.Make part 2 sometimes later.Its deeply intriguing ....

[@LetThemTalkTV]

I will ...somewhere down the line..

[@ceciliacpe]

I'd love to read the last one. It seems to be an inspirational story.

[@davantlag2000]

I appreciated a lot your suggestion. I would like to propose another title: Catch 22. It is a hilarious crazy masterpiece about the emptiness of war and its uselessness.

[@MostCommentsAreFake-ud8by]

Most people will need a dictionary for all the unusual words.

[@lasagna312]

Ahhh Catch 22 is one of my favorite books. I think it might be difficult for non-native English speakers due to a lot of the wordplay and overall weirdness of it.

[@priyankap4433]

@ Davide...My colleague had this book.. He suggested me to read it.. Later on we exchanged more books.. Thus books made me fall for him and he became my boyfriend. After 8 years of relationship (long distance, he being in Barcelona and me in India) we are finally married just 2 months back .. And currently in Barcelona.. In lockdown .. After reading your comment..I had a flashback of My 8 years of love journey... From colleague to friend to best friend to boyfriend to fiancee and now to husband.. I love my man.... I guess I typed too much of my life.. So wrapping up.. Love you all.. Stay safe, stay blessed. Regards Priyanka

[@alb0zfinest]

SlaughterHouse-Five will do just as well. Maybe even slightly better.

[@floxy20]

I thought it could be cut drastically.

[@kathrynmcnerney6490]

I have read the secret history a few times..its brilliant!

[@vidasabia6572]

I would definitely recommend to you the Dave Lodge`s Trilogy (Changing Places, Small World, Nice Work) !

[@rodoshi963]

He has very kind eyes.

[@nouraaljourny1949]

We missed you 😍 welcome back Thank you for your recommendations..we really appreciated ❤ 2 days ago I finished a great book (long way to freedom) Nelson Mandela.. Was translated to Arabic, so it became : ( طريق طويل للحرية ) I read it in Arabic 🙄 I highly recommend you to read it ... it had profound effect on me... ❤😘 Stay healthy and take care of yourself ❤❤

[@LetThemTalkTV]

Sound like an inspiring story. Thanks for the recommendation

[@kemouse]

I've only read Confederacy which was very enjoyable but I look forward to checking the rest of these out. Thank you.

[@nealsandidge3951]

Love Confederacy of Dunces. Another in a similar vein is Saul Bellows "Henderson the Rain King". Also, in the theme of eccentric main characters, Thomas Berger's "Little Big Man", which was made into a fantastic film.

[@JeffRebornNow]

I love "Confederacy ..." as well. If you like humor and absurdity in your fiction you'll enjoy Evelyn Waugh's "The Ordeal of Gilbert Pinfold."

[@timestamp_livewebservices6503]

I love this dude, idk why.. something about him is very entertaining. respect, sir.

[@alyssabeck6497]

I’ve read half of these, and the other ones sound very interesting! I trust your judgment with books so I’m going to give them a try.

[@M_SC]

I read all those books in my 20s except life of Pi, and I agree they are all great!

[@anvilch4799]

너무나 감사합니다...최고의 영어선생님입니다...(thank you for your channel..you are the best English teacher..from South Korea)

[@LetThemTalkTV]

감사합니다