books i read this summer

[@a_bookish_gemini]

I don’t think I’ve ever seen you this passionate and animated about a book.. thank you for being so honest and straightforward about your thoughts. I, too, am a child of a single mom and I remember so so many conversations in which my mom had mouthed my dad all through my childhood - I can’t imagine having a manifesto like this out there for generations to come. 😞

[@MChristina]

I just want to say that you're my fave booktuber. You're so naturally smart and articulate. As someone whose first language isn't english, your videos help my vocabulary a lot.

[@jasmeenmalhotra2225]

Olive it’s great to see you back and I really enjoyed these slightly longer more detailed reviews where you don’t hold back. I also loved Heartbreak and am shocking at small talk, so am excited to have a listen to that one.

[@mikalareads]

I know EXACTLY what you mean about the books you read "speaking" to one another later down your reads, it's so cool when that happens!!! Ive been wanting to read Cultish for a long time, definitely going to have to check it out soon!

[@SciVerse111]

So happy to see you again❤

[@abookolive]

Happy to be back!! 💞

[@SciVerse111]

​@@abookolive Thank You So Much Olive For making me to get into nonfiction world with a wide Recs 💜 Lots of love from India 😍 I Hope You are Doing well May God Bless you & Your Family Dear🙌🏻💜

[@siljeborgan4531]

I really understand what you mean about the Maid-book. I have not read it but I do not know my father either but my mother has never said one bad word about him to me. I know their relationship was not good. But all of the anger towards him is all mine, not something my mother put in to me, and she could have easily done that. But she didin´t.

[@julierogers1155]

SO AGREE with you regarding exposing a child (by way of criticizing one parent) is damaging ... really, indefensible.

[@catsandbats77]

Last year, I discovered that Libby had the audiobook of a childhood favorite available immediately - Bunnicula! Not only did I listen to the first four books that I read as a kid, I listened to all seven of them. It was so much fun and made my heart happy. I don't reread a lot, but I do sometimes get that urge to do it. It's been a while since I read Uprooted, but I loved it and I loved her book Spinning Silver. Maybe I should read them again.

[@MyGrannyEra]

I really relate to what you said about reading helping you to exercise that empathy muscle. Also, I'm very curious about Rules of Civility! Great video-- thanks, Olive!

[@scahalan]

I'm so glad to hear you loved Cultish and also so glad to hear the views of someone else who had issues with Maid! I have felt for so long like maybe I read a different book than everyone else because I found a lot of what she was saying and doing very hypocritical. It has also been a book to stick with me, but not in a good way.

[@BookChats]

I know Pushkin primarily from their podcasts so it's very intriguing to hear they also make great audiobooks

[@deborahreynolds7518]

You are my favorite book tuber for a couple of reasons. I love the way you describe nonfiction; it very inspiring and has piqued my interest in reading more nonfiction. I have a pen and paper handy whenever I watch you so that I can make note of the books that I want to read. Your videos are the best on book tube. I understand that your skill in videography doesn't come naturally to you, but only because you've said so. Thank you very much for all of your hard work. I didn't know "Book Tube" existed before you popped up on my screen.

[@dianeplacht8201]

Hope your back continues to heal. Glad you are back. Also glad you took tome off to refresh yourself

[@arobinreads]

Great video! ❤

[@skylark1250]

Maid is an excellent intelligent piece of writing. I liked it very much. I think it’s okay for the author to out the dad as a loser; he really is. The daughter will be fine. She doesn’t exist in a bubble. Children see their parents for what they are. As a single mom she had to talk about her daughter’s father. And it creates tension in the book that makes it memorable. Read Nickled and Dimed alongside Maid. Low income workers have a terrible time just getting by.

[@abookolive]

Absolutely agree about low income workers having a hard time getting by. My opinion on this book, though, remains the same. Kids are resilient, sure. That's no excuse for a mother to blast her child's business like this - and for profit, too (this book deal).

[@beccascraps8141]

Regarding cults- I was involved in one. I have a history of childhood abuse and neglect and I was an EASY catch. They played on my weaknesses and pulled me in. And I felt like I was finally a part of something

[@novelideea]

Yay! So great to hear your thoughts again. ❤ Uprooted has always felt like two separate stories to me. I like both but it doesn’t feel like it should be one book. Loved Cultish. May have to give it a reread in November - which, by the way, so excited to see you putting the readathon together again after thinking last year might be the end!♥️♥️♥️

[@abookolive]

Oh, Uprooted is definitely a flawed book, no arguments here! I adore it anyway, haha! Yes, there will be one more Nonfiction November (the 10th!) this year before I say goodbye to it.

[@thefictionedition3171]

Hi Olive. Great video. Can you recommend a good nonfiction about the Wild West. Or if you did a video about nonfiction Wild West can you let me know and I will watch it. Thanks!

[@abookolive]

How about Brave Hearted by Katie Hickman?

[@wendyvilla2904]

💚🖤

[@Aeva]

I’m an INTJ as well.

[@MrRosebeing]

I hope your back is better and that you're a fan of alliteration. If not, I've blown it.

[@abookolive]

Best believe the back is better!

[@MrRosebeing]

@@abookolive I do believe it, I do.

[@MMjones6459]

Your enthusiasm & your selection of books - don't know which I appreciate more. Thanks

[@Heothbremel]

❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤

[@sandyokey7728]

I love it when my books speak to each other, which is a great way to put it! Thanks for that, I’m sure I’m going to remember and use that thought😊 I love Amor Towles.

[@prettyinpink9893]

Really great points about Maid. I had not even thought of the amount of detail she shared about her child and her child’s father. I’m so glad you widened my perspective about this. My main issue about Maid was that it is described as social criticism of the inefficiencies of American service systems and I felt that’s a huge stretch

[@AJ-hz3tx]

It took me 1 video to know you were a fellow female INTJ 😂 Subscribed!

[@ReadingIDEAS.-uz9xk]

Food for thought. So many books and so little time. The ever expanding tbr! Best wishes.

[@bybeebooks]

Yes, Rules of Civility IS a perfect book. This summer, I worked on finishing the Kopp Sisters series by Amy Stewart. I love the strong female characters, and Stewart's careful adherence to the language and mores of the 1910s.

[@thornyrose1235]

I read Going Clear a few years ago and thought it was fantastic. Btw, I'm Canadian and Scientology's tentacles in Canada made it so that the book cannot be sold in Canada (unless someone sells it on Amazon but no bookstore will sell it). I had to buy it from the US. Crazy. I hated Maid. I thought I was going to love it because my mother was a cleaner when I was growing up. She was educated with a Master's degree from another country but it didn't amount to much when she immigrated to Canada so she ended up cleaning to make ends meet. I found Stephanie to be incredibly entitled and it came off to me like she thought she was so above the cleaning job, when in reality, she hasn't done ANYTHING to feel like she is above it. Like I said, my mother had a Master's degree and spent years cleaning because she had to make ends meet. My mother didn't feel like she was above cleaning because she had 3 small children to take care of. Stephanie, meanwhile, partied her way through her 20s without ever holding a steady job and then has the gall to be disgusted that she has to do something she considers dirty and gross. Also, every time she was spending money on stupid crap instead of saving it or spending it on her daughter's needs, I cringed. I haven't read Class but heard it's basically the same as Maid, down to her having a second child with another man she hates.

[@blabbinglobster]

Class was appalling. Graphic and offensive. Land seemed to take no responsibility for any of her actions and had a terrible sense of entitlement.

[@HannahsBooks]

Meet Me by the Fountain intrigues me! I too really love to pair books up. Sometimes I do it consciously, but often the connections are unexpected and exciting. Hope your back continues to heal.

[@celestialcircledance]

I just read Maid and was engrossed in it . I liked it much better then her next book Class because I thought that her cleaning assignments and college aspirations helped give her hard luck story more structure . I think that one of the casualties of writing an autobiography is the effect that it will have on the privacy of the characters but it's unavoidable unless you want a tame watered down version which wouldn't do it for me . It is also worth noting that in an interview Stephanie Land she said that her daughter Story who is now 16 years old, got to read and approve of the draft before the book was finalized .

[@HenrieAsconir]

Hi! I recently published my novel Archangel: World at War on Amazon and Kobo. I’ve really enjoyed your videos and would be honored if you’d consider reviewing my book in one of your vlogs! It’s not fully edited yet, but I’d be excited to send you a physical copy once it’s finalized. Cultish seems like a great find-I’m interested in learning more about the language used. Thanks for the recommendation and for your time and consideration! God bless!

[@ainwena7595]

I finally read the Empire of Pain on one of your recommendations a while ago. It is fantastic and it was a 5 star for me. Thank you for the recommendation!

[@nanimaonovi2528]

I discovered Catherine Newman this summer. I read 'Sandwich' and 'We All Want Impossible Things'. She writes about flawed and loving older women at the center of families experiencing pregnancy loss and the loss of aging parents but that doesn't really describe the rapacious zest for life and close bonds in these books. I found myself thinking: "Would Olive like this book?" more than once. 'Hello Beautiful' was great too.

[@GregHarness]

I love the way you put this jigsaw puzzle together. Nicely done. And as a fellow INTJ, I absolutely understand how reading makes us better. And I am a big fan of re-reading. The book I read this summer that I enjoyed the most was "The Garden Against Time: In Search of a Common Paradise" by Olivia Laing. Thank you for your reviews and for sharing with us.

[@TheBookBully]

I also found Going Clear disturbing but it's so well written and researched and explained that I hold it as an example of exemplary narrative journalism. Glad you got to Cultish too - two books I think are excellent!

[@socaltoobie8984]

Best books I read this summer were Project Hail Mary (might be my favorite for 2024) and Dark Matter. My non-fiction reading has really suffered this year! Hope to make up some ground getting motivated during non-fiction November! ☺️👍

[@smileycindy]

Always a pleasure to hear your thoughts on what you have read lately. 😀

[@Nina_DP]

A Sunday morning video from Olive!! My life makes sense again.

[@stephenn3727]

Thank you Olive!

[@Dinadoesyoga]

Okay, I added Rules of Civility to my tbr. 10 reads! 😮 My top reads this summer have been The Age of Innocence, The Night Circus, Jayber Crow, and The Painted Veil.

[@thedoodlebakery]

I am so glad that you are back! It's great to hear from you again. It's always a great way to start off my Sundays. I am so sorry that you are injured right now, and I hope the injury heals soon. I am definitely thinking about picking up Cultish and Going Clear. They weren't available at my local library, so I picked up "Don't Call It A Cult: The Shocking Story of Keith Raniere and the Women of NXIVM" by Sarah Berman. Are you planning to read that one or are you done with cult reading for right now? After I saw your video earlier in the summer about malls, I added Meet Me by the Fountain and Big Mall to my TBR. Now hearing that Meet Me by the Fountain is about architectural mall elements may make me pick up sooner. I am currently reading through American Sirens by Kevin Hazzard. Thank you for recommending it earlier this year. I am also reading through "The Bodies Keep Coming" by Brian Williams and "Sex in the Sea: Our Intimate Connection With Sex-changing Fish, Romantic Lobsters, Kinky Squid, and Other Salty Erotica of the Deep" by Marah J. Hardt. I heard about Sex in the Sea during an NPR interview with the author. I heard the interview earlier this summer and I think it was a re-run. The author was funny, engaging and insight. I knew I had to pick up her book. Earlier this summer I found a copy of Swimming Pretty: The Untold Story of Women in Water by Vicki Valosik at my local library branch. I thought it would be a great read while watching the Olympics synchronized swimming competitions. Unfortunately I had to return it recently before I finished it. I am eager to delve back into it. I feel like there's so much reading to do and so little time. I cannot believe it's almost time for Victober and Nonfiction November. How are we already in the latter half of 2024?

[@officialmkamzeemwatela]

I knew that there’s a reason I keep coming back to the channel- INTJ female here. I think the highly intuitive part of it also makes us really puzzled by people who can’t read character, so the following a clearly creepy person is puzzling. I often have to remind myself it’s not obvious to everyone

[@booksandbags]

Another INTJ here. I read Meet Me By the Fountain for Nonfiction November and liked it a lot. I will need to add the other one to my list.

[@coffemuse]

Great to visit with you again 💛 I really want to read those cult books!

[@ashleyhobgood7454]

I recently read The Science of Murder by Carla Valentine. I absolutely loved it. Thank you for putting it on my radar. I also read Uprooted by Naomi Novik. I enjoyed it as well. I am looking forward to your next video.

[@kathleenewing3673]

INTJ/ISTJ here and I had no idea Going Clear was a book because I heard about the documentary years ago.

[@cay6857]

INFJ here. I loved A Gentleman in Moscow. Rules of Civility and Uprooted are going on my TBR list. Thanks for this video

[@bookofdust]

Not a joiner - check Highly critical thinker - check Authority problem - check INTJ - check Distain for cults - check Well this explains a lot! Try American Cult, a graphic novel about 22-25 home grown cults, colonial times to present day. Each is by a different pair of writers and illustrators and in some cases one of them might even be a survivor of the cult. I kept hearing mixed things about Cultish, but I’m sold! But I think The Sullivans, about the NYC cult that came out last year, which is at the top of my TBR will be my pairing. That NN TBR keeps growing!

[@britbc4461]

I am also an INTJ... I never thought about how I gain empathy from books but I think you are spot on.

[@sbayles5593]

I’m not much of a non-fiction reader but I’ve missed your videos. If anyone could convince me to read non-fiction, I think it would be you. Glad to see you back.

[@tammyripp998]

Read many fiction books this summer, would like to add more nonfiction like this one that I just finished and recommend. . .Wanted: Toddler's Personal Assistant by Stephanie Kiser. Also, have this one in my stack up next. . .The New Breadline: Hunger and Hope in the Twenty-First Century by Jean-Martin Bauer.

[@nwwisconsin]

INTJ here. Love your videos. Always come away with new books for my TBR.

[@ahermannblue]

I'm another INTJ female. We are the smallest percentage of female personality types.

[@AnaGuillenBachs]

Here an INFP who loves Osho

[@RachelParker-1977]

6:01 He's demon-possessed. So was the Mormon cult founder Joseph Smith. It is very wrong for a parent to do that to their child. I experienced something similar with another family member. I hope you heal quickly.

[@VC_Home4Now]

Cheers to all the women with authority problems 😂🎉🎉🎉

[@beccascraps8141]

Also Lawrence wright has WR in both names. Interesting

[@caroltanzi29]

Olive: since I am still new to your channel, I am hesitant to express a decision on your opinion. However, I do enjoy your reviews because you seem to be very thorough and I enjoy your enthusiasm. I read biographies, autobiographies, mysteries and books dealing with retail and interior design. (my profession) However, with all that said, I am always interested in hearing what is on the market, other than what I’m interested in. Thank you. Carol from California

[@douglassasser4731]

Have you ever listened to the audio version of "Rules of Civility"?

[@daKal481]

I like all Amor Towles books, he's such a good writer. But my least favorite is Rules of Civility.

[@RachelB.BookReferences]

Stereotypical ISTJ here. I also hate small talk. I also hated Maid. lol.

[@theresas709]

I didn't have a great reading summer.

[@jdesarro73]

I loved Going Clear but ir was extremely disturbing.