A cozy tour of books I read in the rainy month 🌧 whimsy, fantasy & classics

Hi! Here’s my April wrap-up :)
Books Mentioned
The Alchemist tidd.ly/3t6nLYT
The Library of Legends tidd.ly/3nvX3rq
Almond tidd.ly/3e9aN8B
So You Want to Talk About Race tidd.ly/3e1zGCO
The House in the Cerulean Sea tidd.ly/2QZghcK
War and Peace tidd.ly/2R5qPao
Legendborn tidd.ly/3gIYoJT
Swimming in the Dark tidd.ly/3eHpsa6
The Silent Patient tidd.ly/3nqWj6M
Rhapsodic tidd.ly/2QzLOC4
The Armies of Those I Love
A Wizard of Earthsea www.bookdeposi...
*the Book Depository links above are affiliate links, (I receive a small commission if you purchase any of them) and if you would like to use my general affiliate link to fulfill all the rest of your book-buying dreams and support my channel, here it is and thank you so much!
www.awin1.com/...
🏺I also exist in these places 🏺
GOODREADS: / emma
INSTAGRAM: / emmie.reads
DISCORD: / discord
BOOKISH-WISHLIST www.amazon.ca/...
BUSINESS: [e-mail]

[@bookoffholicbookwart5945]

Your channel is my escape place. So cozy and calm

[@juanpablozamoramoncada9946]

Relatable

[@emma-zb9ss]

mine too 🥰

[@monjeanarquista3893]

I know right? Her voice is ASMRish

[@kellydowell3050]

Hi there 😊☺ 🤗 😊 ☺ 🙂 😄 😊☺ 🤗 😊 ☺ 🙂 😄 😊☺ 🤗 😊 ☺ 🙂

[@Nicolas-eb5oh]

The aesthetic of this channel is just ✨ enchanting ✨

[@tunakarasu9988]

most of the booktubers read only bestsellers so it’s hard for me to find people i can let influence me but you read good books from different genres and i know i can trust your taste. that’s why before reading a new book i come to your channel and check if you have mentioned the book in your videos. thanks♥️

[@winterkeptuswarm]

+

[@aadityanailwal7368]

Try, better than food book reviews

[@tasya8789]

yeah same!!

[@WeirdTangent]

I'm more-than-half-way through _The Picture of Dorian Gray_ and trying to resist highlighting nearly every other sentence on my kindle...

[@adiahite2516]

ughhh i love Wilde's writing. It's beautiful!!

[@happiness4654]

Same🥺 but I ended up highlighting almost the entire book. It’s such an incredible piece of worl

[@livi6041]

I just finished and I was doing the same thing

[@haleymorgan2345]

I could not stop tabbing everything its so fantastic

[@dipra264]

i literally just finished the book rn! and now searching the booktube for recommendations for my next one!

[@fays7309]

pls do a “how i annotate” video bestie!

[@cosmazoe7751]

yesss

[@slowstorms]

she already did long time ago! a vlog with annotating phantom of the opera

[@fays7309]

@@slowstorms tysm !!!!!

[@katiasabrina880]

just found your channel last week after going through a dry period with reading for the past few months. i spent the entirety of yesterday basking in the sun on my patio and reading the vanishing half without touching my phone. your content is so lovely. thank you for doing what you do.

[@hammyyam]

“Are you alright?” You know, every time I watch you I feel cozy and OUTSTANDING

[@EllenChernevich]

Your War and Peace becomes so festive with the tabs :)

[@mostlyemmy]

I absolutely love videos like this. I've loved reading since the third grade and I collect books to this day. Watching videos of people talk about books they like makes me feel so comfy and safe, and it gives me good ideas of what to read myself someday. ♡

[@anaba-z3f]

People in Brazil usually dont enjoy Paulo Coelho as well so dont worry! We have so many better writers, keep reading Machado de Assis he is one of the best.

[@sarahsperusals]

i felt meh about the alchemist as well. also i can never take paulo coelho seriously because he's always quoting his own books on twitter 💀

[@vaniafernandez2125]

I was soo convinced that this man was dead!!

[@sarahsperusals]

@@vaniafernandez2125 LOL nope he's alive and kicking!!!

[@Erika-pq7ip]

@@vaniafernandez2125 😅🤣🤣 lmao me too

[@llamahat9028]

I think that people outside Latin America are just realising how mediocre of a writer he is.

[@i.7566]

Oh God, I can't highlight how much he isn't liked here in Brazil, also... I've recently read a self-help book by him that was given in the shopping back in 2008 and his opinions are just gross???? Like, the way he talks about woman... it is awful.

[@beanbagbooks]

So I gave The Alchemist and The House in the Cerulean Sea the same ratings as you did, for a lot of the same reasons, and my name is Emma ... are we the same person??? Fun video!

[@tahminakhaleel2395]

I loved 'The Silent Patient' especially because of the feel of the sessions between Theo and Alicia. There was something so different; gentle and quiet, energy during them. I was disappointed because of the ending but I still liked the book. Looking forward to his next book which is releasing next month if I'm not mistaken. It seems like a dark academia one which I love. 🙂

[@jackthemlits]

I just found your channel bc im going on a “english major/reading books youtubers” kinda spree and your channel vibe is so calm and i love your voice. And i had more books recommendation now, so thank u :D

[@Zion-95]

Hi, I’m from Shanghai, China, where people also appreciate reading. We read some of them in Chinese translation. Your explanation is very inspiring 👍

[@kristinandj]

HI, I did not not you have access to YTB in China ? Or is it only Shangai ?

[@Zion-95]

@@kristinandj In China, because the CCP government needs to maintain national stability, they block KZbin☹️ But most well-educated young people know to use VPN to browse KZbin, and even some university networks are open because they need scientific research materials :)

[@Zion-95]

@@annamagni1926 Thank you, you too.

[@fedesbooks]

this month I have an awful lot of exams so this video really helped me calm and relax. thank you so much Emma, love you and your channel!! 🥰❤️

[@CalamariAtari]

The alchemist is probably my favorite book of all time. I don’t know where I would be in life without that book.

[@leahsinspace3315]

You should definitely read Ursula K Le Guin’s adult sci-fi books - she’s a total legend in the genre!

[@zainhartono7193]

Ooh I love the Earthsea Cycle. I love Ged, the best character arc in classic fantasy in my opinion. It was also surprisingly very meditative. Afterwards it does get better, perhaps you might even end up liking Sparrowhawk by the end of the second book. Earthsea is grossly underrated.

[@Onechaoticlibrarian]

One of my favorite books of last month was "Janye Eyre". It was a bumpy ride but I truley, turley loved it. It`s dark and it`s heavy but also so, so beautiful. :)

[@selenagarcia8234]

I love the description of fake cheese! 🤣 that’s a good way to put cheesy books you don’t enjoy hahaha! Cuz I’ve read a fair share of yummy real cheese books and tasteless fake cheese lol

[@scifychick42]

YES! I felt the exact same about The House in the Cerulean Sea. Thank you! I've seen so many booktubers rave about this book and I was starting to think I had a heart of stone for not loving it as much as them 🙃

[@ellenrooms_writes9047]

Completely agree with everything you said about Swimming In The Dark, I picked up the audiobook last week after seeing it on your channel and listened to the entire thing in a day. The audiobook narrator has such a beautiful soothing voice and the story is very believable. I really enjoyed it (although it is, like you said, heartbreaking)

[@annagyorsa8100]

I had to stop watching an other Emma video just to come here haha

[@akshidashottar8842]

The struggle is real lmao

[@fedesbooks]

very relatable lol

[@camilla9196]

This month I read Killing Commendatore by Haruki Murakami and it was absolutely incredible! I definitely reccomend his books to anyone who hasn’t ready any of them!

[@rehabyasser2990]

thank you for uploading! today was not good for me at all so i really needed to see you and listen to your voice! thank you thank you emma !

[@lr2ldn]

I've been here since you had like, 2k subscribers and now you're over 100k! Wow! So happy to see this channel grow!

[@toliyeptho3313]

I remember when I started reading The Alchemist I just couldn't stop it was so intriguing for me that I finsished in my one sitting. Since then I read all of his other books.♥️

[@wiktor5016]

Thank you Emma. Your thing about cheese was so accurate! That and 14:59 made me laugh😂

[@marija2177]

Last month's reading highlight for me was Small Memories by Jose Saramago. That being the third book of his that I read (the other two being Blindness and The Stone Raft), I can now, without hesitation, say he's my favourite author. I remember that you showed Blindness in one of your book hauls a while ago, and I'm so excited for you to read it eventually and get acquainted with the work of this amazing man.

[@whatthekate4688]

This month im reading Crime and Punishment, but next week i start university and idk if i will have enough time. I love your channel so much, it brings me so much peace ❤

[@hat_maker]

I would definitely recommend you continue with the Earthsea series! I’d also recommend ursula’s other hainish cycle books, specifically the dispossessed… definitely a life changing read for me

[@lillyp6905]

Educated by Tara Westover was one of my favorite books I’ve read last month. I loved it so much I bought my mom an Spanish version so she would read it too. I am usually nit a fan of memoirs. It I had to read this for one of my courses at university. It was a 5 star read for me and highly recommend!

[@joseperez-nl8cx]

Hii I'm here to vouch for the Earthsea cycle!! The pace of the books tends to be on the slower side for a fantasy series, but that's because the author focuses a lot more on making her stories introspective and thought provoking and using the plot as a conductor for the theme. The books in this series can be read separately for the most part without too much detail getting lost (the interest of reading them all is just knowing the backstory of a few characters and their relationship) so even if you don't read the rest I'd say give The Farthest Shore a try, it's the best one of series in my opinion.

[@OSarahKate]

Emmie’s videos always makes my TBR list look impossibly long. 📚

[@booksinbed]

I’ve only read the first three of the Earthsea Quartet, and the first and third are that cozy, classic fantasy style I also enjoyed. But the second book really knocked me over! It’s a totally different feel, dark and strange with a new, female protagonist, yet very life-affirming. It’s one of the few books I’ve reread, and it made me emotional at the end both times. It’s super short and totally worth the time, I think.

[@suu5006]

I can watch you talking all day! Thanks for the cozy content!

[@aishwaryasmruti6611]

I love how you smile talking about books.

[@jackjohnhameld6401]

Reading 640 pages of War and Peace in April is a fine way to end (we hope) lockdown. Hemingway said he would go a few rounds with Monsieur Flaubert and Monsieur Balzac but nothing would get him in the ring with Count Tolstoy.

[@learajkovic]

"we're not here to eat fake cheese" emma aren't you vegan

[@emmiereads]

Baha yes

[@aadityanailwal7368]

Veganism is plant murder

[@denisefreitas6727]

Ursula K Le Guin is amazing! Glad you liked her book. I love your videos!💖

[@mlleariane6667]

You have no idea how much I want you to create your ASMR channel, I'm so excited for it.

[@ardenpardon6419]

Love the jellyfish in the back ❤️

[@iiAngelic]

I'm not a great book reader (I fall asleep easily reading) but I am grateful I get to ADORE and love reading vicariously through you. 😊

[@subtlefire7256]

I read the first four Earthsea books last year (there's another novel & a short story collection). I struggled with the first three books, like, I did appreciate them for what they were doing, but I just wasn't feeling it. But then book four all but slapped me in the face. It handles some very dark topics (some horrible things that happened to a child before the beginning of the story), but it's so so good and felt worth the trouble I'd had getting there. So if you enjoyed the first one, I'd definitely recommend you continue.

[@shreyasanjay8905]

Heyy!! Just found your channel from my recommended section (your Tolstoy diaries got recommended to me and I'm so HAPPY) SO I'm gonna stick around ❤️

[@harrietsbookcorner]

I’m glad you enjoyed A Wizard Of Earthsea! There are 6 books and 4 short stories, I personally love all the books but feel like as the series moves on the books get better and stronger ☺️ I also recommend the Studio Ghibli adaptation, though it’s very different to the books! Very comforting and wholesome though.

[@excd1577]

ik im late but u have now become my comfort book nook, youtuber

[@Onechaoticlibrarian]

The Silent Patient is one of my favorite books and I have aleady pre-ordered his next book that comes out in June. :)

[@monikasinha4351]

I am currently reading the Picture of Dorian Grey and I am loving it... It probably will become one of my favorites... Oscar Wilde's writing is soo beautiful 💛💛💛

[@Sthemingway]

I liked hearing your thoughts on The Alchemist. I read it many years ago and remember liking it as a story but wasn't keen on the "wait, what?" aspect of the ending. I liked Veronica Decides to Die much more. I liked your Legendborn comments on grief too.

[@TheSelkie1990]

I loved the Earthsea series! I want to re-read them soon. In April, I read: A Kingdom of Flesh and Fire, The Girl Who Saved the King of Sweden (audiobook was really good), Mrs. Dalloway, The Selected Poems of Rainer Maria Rilke, The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue, and The House of Whispers. I think I heard you talk about the Girl Who Saved the King of Sweden and then I got the audiobook for it. I really liked that one! Crazy story. I've also been reading Rilke because of you too. :)

[@rchhtt5210]

I recommend reading his other books. I LOVED "Veronica Decides to Die," & "The Devil and Miss Prim."

[@Selenite11]

The Alchemist is actually his weakest book.

[@1siddynickhead]

Yes! Those are his best

[@mariaangel815]

I really appreciate your videos. they're so cozy and puts me in a calming mood. ❤

[@taniyaghosh9452]

I absolutely love your videos! They make me so happy. Your laugh is infectious and your recommendations are so amazing!

[@natytavaresfalcao]

I am from Brazil and I think you would love Dom Casmurro by Machado de Assis, it is my favorite book by him. Love your videos and the way you talk about books 😍❤️

[@smritithapa]

can we just appreciate her hairstyle!

[@sophsbookss]

when i finished the alchemist i threw it as hard as i possibly could across my room. one star.

[@sophsbookss]

@@iknowexactlywhoyouare8701 hey nothing against people who like it, just wasn’t for me. I also guaranteed its not a universal favorite.

[@aisling8308]

My younger sister had to read it for school, I picked it up and read it in a day or two but I couldn't stop laughing and rolling my eyes at how bad it was.

[@sophsbookss]

@@aisling8308 haha yeah same

[@Julia-sy6bl]

I feel like Paulo Coelho's books are quite disliked in Brazil (nowadays), I'm always surprised when people from other places pick them up

[@mariadelpilarcolomatorrent6065]

My day got instanly better, thank you for that. Love from Panamá

[@ambermoore8208]

Omg you hair 😊 its so cute!

[@merle-k]

I ordered Swimming in the dark today and now I am SO excited to read it!!

[@2009ashmi]

New to your channel and I love it!! It has inspired me to get back to reading. Definitely interested in reading War and Peace! Will definitely check out the vlogs of that! Hugs!! 📚📚📚💚💚💚🥰🥰🥰

[@milkawickramasinghe164]

Need a book haul video sooon. Love your channel so much! 💕

[@izziedias]

your pronunciation of Coelho is adorable. very wrong and cute. i loved it :)

[@maeiscompletelyfine]

thank you for another wonderful video, Emma!!! you look stunning

[@joycellmanzanares5039]

Ohmy. An Emma video✨ after a very tiring week. ♥️

[@blackanne]

Paolo Coelho I think is widely considered to be a bad author who writes very simplistic stuff. I got his book as a gift from someone in the middle school before I knew about his reputation and I thought something was wrong with me because I didn't see his "genius" but then I learned that I'm just not his target audience, I don't like moralistic books that hand out simple digestable answers, I like books that make me think and doubt.

[@nancyabbott2660]

I loved The Silent Patient...I was a Psych nurse so I gave it 5 stars because I fell through the same trap door as you!

[@camposmurilloalejandra3838]

Just in time, really, your videos make me so happy

[@carlosmedrano2590]

I would love to suggest a couple of Mexican authors. - The Houseguest: And Other Stories by Amparo Davila. - The Empty Book by Josefina Vicens Also an extra that I really love but it is a bit strange. - Einstein’s Dreams by Alan Lightman

[@doineedanid]

i think one of my biggest dreams as a brazilian is machado de assis getting more recognition outside of brazil instead of paulo coelho (no shaming on him, i just think that assis represents and brings something much more meaningful from brazil)

[@doineedanid]

or clarice lispector 💗

[@Mothchewedgirl]

My favourite book I read in April was where the crawdads sing but I also read the poet x, here the whole time, late to the party, Frankenstein and and then there were none.

[@Laura-wd4ly]

Hey! I'm from Brazil and I think you would like The Posthumous Memoirs of Bras Cubas (another translate of the title is Epitaph of a Small Winner), written by Machado de Assis. Machado is the greatest author of all times here, and this book is what we consider his masterpiece, and it's an incredible experience reading!

[@beanbagbooks]

I second that recommendation!

[@라라할로]

I think The Slum by Aluisio Azevedo is a good option too! Actually might add The Hour of the Star by Clarice Lispector and Captains of the Sands by Jorge Amado in this list if I'm going full brazilian literature agenda now

[@Laura-wd4ly]

@@라라할로 omg yes!! the one from Jorge Amado is my favorite book of life ❤️

[@라라할로]

@@jebdjdjsbdhjd Creio que Português do Brasil já que é este falado no país, agora, apontar qual obra foi traduzia de qual português não vou saber informar

[@라라할로]

@@jebdjdjsbdhjd Acho que tinha entendido a pergunta errado. São traduzidos em Português do Brasil já que este é o falado no Brasil, não um dialeto (o que temos regionalmente dentro do Brasil são dialetos e gírias). Obras em Portguês de Portugal são organizadas pro Português do Brasil ou se matém como o de lá, mas isso é mais difícil e eu, pelo menos, só encontrei obras em edições antigas assim.

[@JollyRose143]

Love the Alchemist♥️

[@le7516]

I really enjoyed The Alchemist as well!!

[@楊豐禎]

It is a pleasure to see you Emma🧑‍🚀 subscriber from Taiwan 🇹🇼 !

[@pachuaulalhlimpuii757]

I mean, The Alchemist is my all time favourite. I've re-read it so many times.

[@ashielovestolearn]

Yay! I'm early😍 Emma you mean a lot to me, you've got me into classics and I'm indebted to you forever 💞

[@ashielovestolearn]

Omg I got a heart😍😍😍

[@nancyabbott2660]

I just LOVE your channel. A video on how you annotate your books would be great I think.I am presently tackling Les Miserables by Victor Hugo.. I love the musical so much ..I’ve seen it 5 times so I decided to finally read this masterpiece.

[@AkaHeiwa]

I wonder how you found The Library of Legends, sounds super interesting!

[@Kenzzz1441]

I recently found your channel and I absolutely fell in love with the vibes 🥰

[@missblondiee22]

Omg, you put my thoughts about House on the Cerulean Sea into words, thank you! That is exactly how I felt too. I felt like an asshole almost because this was everyone and their mother's favorite book last year and I DNF'd it...

[@MagdaRybak2009]

I love the video and the way you say 'about'! :)

[@BelsBooks]

I LOVED the Earthsea Quartet! Definitely read the other three books, they intertwine excellently & will make you want to reread them!

[@ayah2894]

this whole video was very relaxing thank you for posting this ❤️

[@zurasiacole8044]

yay I got out of school and saw this and it made me so happy

[@jantaroyantor9980]

Well found the right video. Your channel is quite a tour!

[@maittrianand6261]

Hey Emma. Does one need to read Giovanni's Room before to read Swimming in the Dark to enjoy the latter more?

[@CathyCoconut]

I just purchased Earthsea, so I'm glad you think it's a good shout! I have just finished reading Pandora's Jar by Natalie Haynes; it's essentially a collection of essays about women in Greek myths which was very interesting. It was really witty, as well, which I wasn't expecting.

[@pedrofernandes7288]

We're near 100k, lets make it happen!

[@justine6303]

IM SO IN LOVE WITH YOUR CHANNEL AHHH

[@morganjustine3637]

Your outfit in this video is so cute!!

[@god8020]

I have read four of the earthsea books. Honestly I would advise to continue, I personaly enjoyed more the second and the forth, each is a little difderent from the others in each own way

[@zeynepeylulyuce6248]

I think it would be great if you continiue with the A Wizard Of Earthsea series.I suppose second book called The Tombs of Atuan impressed me most. By the way I just discovered your channel and it seems like I liked it!

[@annazhou3732]

i read ‘pachinko’ by min jin lee, so so so good

[@kate-ne]

I read it this month and it was SUCH an amazing book!!!! I loved every moment of it

[@jlzivi5277]

Currently reading Swimming in the Dark. The first 100 plus pages is sooooo good, like i couldn’t put the book down, but after that, I felt kind of lost. Im on page 126 and I am not sure if I can finish it since I got so bored suddenly. :(

[@ChristyLuisDostoevskyinSpace]

I'm loving the Red Rising Trilogy by Pierce Brown and Mere Christianity this month 😍

[@areaderstale]

You spoke my heart out about The Alchemist!

[@lourdescorpuz8441]

guess who stopped studying because emma uploaded

[@lovejuingong3337]

I like to read Amond...so interesting.