the best books I've read recently! Fantasy, Japanese literature, etc. ~

[@christy-anne-jones]

Hellooo! I hope you all enjoy this chatty wrap-up/favourite books I've read recently! 💛

[@tulikamitra6846]

I love your videos.. please bring some more bookish videos.. love from India ❤️❤️

[@kidgucci4114]

Beautiful as always 💖

[@_C____]

I´m not much into Tolkien but would absolutely LOVE a video on Tolkien and gender! This was beautiful btw :)

[@etc4604]

I would really absolutely love to hear you talk about tolkien & gender!! and also. jonathan strange & mr norrell is one of my favourite books, I'm currently rereading it, and I'm so glad to see you enjoyed it so much!

[@delaneyjewel]

Great video! I’m hoping to read some of these very soon like Jonathan Strange and The Girl Who Drank the Moon!! I actually also almost wrote a (undergrad) thesis on Tolkien though I was going to explore his environmental themes and philosophy. So cheers to half written theses that endowed us with deep random knowledge 😂 I think discussing gender and Tolkien would be so interesting but I think it would be best to take all his work into consideration. I know she’s only one character but Eowyn has one of the best arcs in all his writing and he genuinely explores themes of gender with her character. So much of her is reduced to a love interest in the movies, a lot of her dialogue and dialogue surrounding her is stripped away. The books do her so much more justice. Galadriel is also given a lot more significance in the books. She’s the oldest and most powerful elf in Middle Earth at the time and her role as protector and giver of gifts hints at Virgin Mary inspiration which Tolkien would only endow on a character with the utmost respect. I think even beyond that, The Silmarillion provides even more context as the Valar are equally “male” and “female” though he even suggests gender is just an outward expression of their power and not their identity. Characters like Luthien, Melian, Morwen are given agency and roles within the story that exist outside pushing male character growth forward. I think this is why I enjoy The Hobbit least of all his writing. It’s fun and classic and cute but after writing it is when he really began developing the world more thoroughly and I think that’s clear in the way he creates not just better female characters but better characters overall in his other writings. I hope you enjoy your first full reading of LOTR! Maybe I’ll join you on a reread ❤️

[@christy-anne-jones]

Your undergrad thesis sounds like it would have been really interesting!! And I hope you enjoy Jonathan Strange and The Girl Who Drank the Moon if you get to them 💛 And oh, I 100% agree--taking the rest of his work into consideration is super important and I wouldn't want to make any sweeping statements about Tolkien until I've read LOTR, specifically. I'm excited to see the roles Galadriel, Eowyn and the other female characters in LOTR play, and how they differ from the films. I'm really excited to read it!! Hoping to pick it up really soon 💛💛

[@Sammowrimo]

His dark materials is my comfort book! It’s really creepy and deep for kids but for some reason I find it a giant hug in a book. I can always read it!

[@christy-anne-jones]

I think it's super comforting! It's just so lovely, and interesting, and magical 💛

[@Sammowrimo]

@@christy-anne-jones 100% - the whole thing with the angels and the mulefa are so imaginative I can never get enough!

[@josefineli4604]

His dark materials was my first really magical reading experience. I was 11-12, and I vividly remember finishing The amber spyglass and just sitting there, completely in awe, for a long time afterwards. I liked Harry Potter as much as the next kid at the time. But HDM was the life altering one for me, on a whole other level. Still love it to death.

[@nayoungkim2170]

I would also be interested in book recommendations specifically researching and analyzing Tolkien! (So YESSS PLEASE TO THE TOLKIEN VIDEO)

[@abrilvonbunny6205]

I was waiting im-patiently for this ♡ you are part of my sunday routine now... Bought Ocean at the end of the lane, cant wait to start reading it !

[@christy-anne-jones]

I hope you really enjoy it 💛💛

[@Silverraine1]

+1 Yes, same! I'm going to read it next month for the Magical Readathon

[@donnasoriano5110]

Yey, I've been waiting for you to post a video before going to sleep. I'm happy you did 😘❤️ thank you💞

[@christy-anne-jones]

You're very welcome 💛💛

[@tejaswinisureshkrishnan4228]

This is such an amazing video!!! Added so many books to my TBR hehe

[@rosessmariie]

Just seeing you talking about books always makes me so happy😍🧡 thank you so so much for your recommendations!!

[@mikesbookreviews]

His Dark Materials has been "on deck" on my TBR for like a decade now. Makes me wonder if it's ever going to happen. No idea why I keep putting it off.

[@priyap5279]

Lovely video 😍😍. I actually dnfed his dark materials earlier, but I picked it up again after your recommendation and I am so glad I did, because I am enjoying it a LOT now!😍 Thank you 💓. I will surely pick up a few from this list too😊, I love your recs so much 😘

[@christy-anne-jones]

Oh I'm glad you enjoyed it!! I think it's a little slow in the beginning, but I really loved it 💛

[@joshyaks]

Interesting comments about Tolkien! When I re-read The Hobbit a year or two ago I had the same frustration with the total absence of female characters (as I mentioned in a video I made at that time). If you were to do a whole video about your abandoned Master's thesis, I'd definitely watch it.

[@christy-anne-jones]

I'd love to make one eventually!! Maybe in a video essay format 😀

[@marywong9976]

Definitely love this! I had so many books to add to my TBR!

[@pattog5549]

Sciiiiiience!!!! I loved this Frank. So cool. You should consider doing this frequently. 😃

[@florencebastien2162]

I’m reading Jonathan Strange right now while I’m recovering from surgery! Feels nice to immerse myself in another world. ❤️

[@christy-anne-jones]

Hope you're doing okay! 💛

[@saram.2573]

I would like to hear more about the impact of some authors/books throughout the history of literature. I feel like you have so much knowledge and you could do much more than just wrap ups (which we see on every other channel). Do you recommend any booktuber to go deeper on literature?

[@SammieMousie]

I'm glad I'm not the only one who sees a cover and thinks "I need this book".

[@CafeBuono44]

Tolkien had a decent female presence in the Lord of the Rings trilogy. Especially with the character Eowen...he seriously created this strong female presence who freaking defeated the witch king! I always thought he was ahead of his time for including a female with such an important and strong role in the Lord of the Rings...but yes there is lack of it in the Hobbit but he makes up for it in the LOTR trilogy

[@CafeBuono44]

also love the video! thanks! :)

[@AnaFuentes]

Great video! Made me chuckle a couple of times

[@SL-ld8nz]

Hello!! The girl who drank the moon 🌙 is a great story!! ❤️❤️❤️

[@jules.mp3]

I highly recommend The Poppy War trilogy if you haven't already read those books. It's absolutely brilliant! x

[@julian.884]

EDIT: You just said that if we want to see a vid on you talking about Tolkien and gender, than we should let you know. I am letting you know! The moment you started talking about how Tolkien had a big influence on fantasy and how he changed it I almost cried haha. I loved the passion when you talked about it - could you please make a seprate video about this topic? You said it would be your thesis, so I am... very interested in this :D

[@kimesch9698]

Me, too!

[@filiumdei4121]

hi thanks for the video 😊 I want to compliment video quality, video editing, and lighting. you deserve more subscribers.

[@christy-anne-jones]

Thank you so, so much 💛💛

[@ginny4e]

You should read Dogsbody, Fire & Hemlock, and Hexwood by Diana Wynne Jones, you would love them!

[@kristalt.7404]

Yes, both JRR Tolkein *AND* CS Lewis are the BIGGEST writers that influenced fantasy literature. And fascinatingly, both authors are best friends too. Hahahaha! I love CS Lewis' Chronicles Of Narnia btw

[@subtlefire7256]

I'd love to see a video about Tolkien and gender!

[@cheleywilliams7438]

I hear you talk about His Dark Materials fairly often but I never hear you talk about the film. Interested to know your opinion on that. Did you know that the Golden Compass is His Dark Materials?

[@NikhilaKBalakrishnan]

Happy to see your videos ❤️

[@christy-anne-jones]

💛💛

[@Wolfhailstorm]

Adored all your thoughts and study ideas for Tolkien

[@christy-anne-jones]

Thank you 💛💛

[@Wolfhailstorm]

@@christy-anne-jones you're most welcome! 🥰

[@flaviaaghata6178]

I thought I was the only one that never answered calls for unknown numbers 🤭 Amazing list! 💛

[@chelseafairbank18]

‘The Hobbit is about a hobbit’ 😂 😂 I found that way too funny for some reason 💕💕

[@daniyaiqbal1855]

Thank you for making the videos you make♡♡♡♡

[@christy-anne-jones]

Thank you for watching them! 💛

[@thefairylibrarian3282]

I never really noticed the lack of female characters in The hobbit, but now you mention it I can't remember there being a single woman in there.

[@Silverraine1]

Same! And the irony is that if all the characters were female I would've definitely noticed a lack of males.

[@paxcattus]

You should read ´The Familiars´ by Stacey Halls. Its a historical fiction story about the witch hunts in 1612. I read it recently, and it was really good!

[@StorybooksInn]

can you pls tell me where that version of his dark materials is from? it's my fav series!! i need it ahhh

[@Kelli.Hicks.5]

I really enjoyed They Both Die At The End as well.

[@christy-anne-jones]

It was so good!! 💛

[@lin90210]

You may need to mic up to save your throat in your sit down videos :) Phillip's Pullmans books are amazing. I cried because of the subtle knife plot.

[@ruanneves4009]

no primeiro livro apresentado, conta de folclore brasileiro?

[@ivyamplifier1829]

Hi, I like your voice, I like the way you talk. I enjoy watching your videos. Cheers.

[@pazelemental]

Love Hiromi Kamikawa 💖

[@sorrisosouritsmile]

Hi Christy! Have you considered getting a lavalier microphone for your videos? It should let you speak at your normal volume without issues. I use one when I need to do speech-to-text dictation, and I find it picks up my voice much better because it's closer to my mouth. I have one by PowerDeWise that was only about $30 on amazon and that connects into my iPhone, so they don't have to be too expensive to work well. :)

[@christy-anne-jones]

Hilariously, I JUST ordered one so I can film baking videos with better quality audio hahahahah (What I meant about the quietness, though: it's not specifically the volume that's the issue--I think it's more the softness of my voice. Some people have really impactful, engaging voices and when I try to project my voice like that it's just... it's still soft hahaahah)

[@StorybooksInn]

in 2007 my teacher got in so much trouble for having us read his dark materials. it was ridiculous

[@daniyalkhan3080]

Hello how are you doing well, this video is very good, keep making videos like this, we need you now

[@Wolfhailstorm]

I honestly thought it said the Virgo book haha! I recently hauled it and made that mistake oopsiee

[@christy-anne-jones]

I mess up the name of at least one book per video, don't worry 😅💛💛

[@catherinelapointe8024]

Hahahaha you saying you feel like you scream or talk loudly to the camera is the same feel as a Zoom call! Idk why it always feels like you have to speak so much louder for people to actually hear you. 😅 An amazing selection of books I will add some to my TBR! ♥️🍁

[@christy-anne-jones]

Omg, yep! And it's the same when I'm on the phone--I feel like I'm yelling hahahah D: thank you!! I hope you enjoy them 💛💛

[@donnishadawson7338]

Hi I just subscribed to your channel. Your book taste is interesting.

[@MegaPieru3000]

Do you read manga?

[@masa59125656]

💕💕💕

[@christy-anne-jones]

💛💛💛

[@seekeroftheultimatetruth6188]

♥️♥️♥️

[@christy-anne-jones]

💛💛💛

[@burge2695]

I'm good with no women in the LOTR books.. As long as the story is good..