*another* what i read in lockdown // march 2021

right this better be the last one of these that I make like I'd quite like to get vaccinated and go clubbing now - EA xoxoxoxoxoox
🌼 Chapters 🌼
00:00 Intro
01:49 South of the Border West of the Sun - Haruki Murakami
05:11 The Alchemist - Paulo Coelho
09:07 In Watermelon Sugar - Richard Brautigan
13:15 Catch and Kill - Ronan Farrow
19:39 Normal People - Sally Rooney
25:32 The Secret History - Donna Tartt
36:29 A Journal of the Plague Year - Daniel Defoe
45:13 Gender Trouble - Judith Butler
47:06 Outro
New Yorker Article 'From Aggressive Overtures to Sexual Assault: Harvey Weinstein’s Accusers Tell Their Stories': www.newyorker.com/news/news-d...
Catch and Kill Podcast: open.spotify.com/show/7DTFS97...
another lockdown book haul - January 2021: • another lockdown book ...
What I Read in Lockdown - July 2020: • LOCKDOWN: Every Book I...
What I Bought in Lockdown - July 2020: • LOCKDOWN: Every Book I...
🍒 Watch my Films 🍒 / @sarcasticfishfilms2015
🍑 Redbubble Shop 🍑 www.redbubble.com/people/sarc...
🍋 Related Playlists 🍋
The Weekly Vlog Master Playlist: • WEEKLY VLOGS!
Books & Films: • Best Bookshops in Lond...
University / College: • how I learn french! 🇫🇷
🥑 My Socials 🥑
GoodReads: / emma-angeline
Letterboxd: letterboxd.com/sarcastic_fish/
Twitter: / sarcastic_fish
Instagram: / sarcastic_fish
Website: www.sarcasticfish.com
🫐 My Playlists rn 🫐
🍇 Outro Music 🍇
Marxist Arrow by Twin Musicom is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution licence (creativecommons.org/licenses/...)
Artist: www.twinmusicom.org/
❤️🧡💛💚💙💖💜🖤 / 🍒🍑🍋🥑🥭🫐🍇
hi creeper xo

[@sheissarahg]

*still not a booktube channel* yet my favourite booktube channel

[@sarcastic_fish]

heheheheh

[@mariaescola3716]

Finally a booktuber who thought Normal People was just ‘fine’

[@carlag5983]

You should check out Noelle Gallagher!! ;)

[@mariaescola3716]

@@carlag5983 i love her!!!!!!

[@carlag5983]

@@mariaescola3716 oh me tooooo 😜

[@booksarebrainfood1708]

Aw no :( I think people would appreciate it more if they read it in Irish context

[@itsflowerside]

@@booksarebrainfood1708 yeah but it’s probably quite hard to do that when you’re not irish

[@AnneleenRoesems]

Academic Noir is honestly a way better name than dark academia! Also your analysis of normal people gave me a bit more appreciation for it. I was honestly simply frustrated the whole time that the main characters (I can't recall their names) didn't actually talk to each other. They just kind of said words to each other lol

[@isadoraseabra526]

Dont feel bad about hating the alchemist cause Paulo Coelho is a joke here in Brazil 🤣

[@lfior]

Oh my god, is he?? Haven't read him but when someone becomes such a big deal internationally I always assume they are a big deal in their country of origin

[@isadoraseabra526]

@@lfior i guess he is a big deal cuz of the lack of substance in the text so it is easy to read But he also suffers prejudice because he is considered "crazy" due to being hospitalized once and having used drugs so i believe this weights a lot on peoples judgement

[@CanalPanendithas]

@@lfior I honestly dont know what gave him such an international fame, in brazilian academia he isn't anything, you won't find his books in a brazilian literature course.

[@itsflowerside]

i think the fact that we didn't get any closure on julian is exactly the point. it's supposed to showcase the way how students (not just university students but in general) often love if not _idolise_ their professors (to the point of almost being in love and obsessed with them), who then in most cases end up being completely mediocre and boring. because we've all hyped them up to be these perfect intellectual gods in our minds, which is exactly what the kids in tsh do and this is at least what i think, the point here. they somehow think julian is gonna save them and praise them for doing the bacchanal but then julian realises what they've done, is horrified by it and bolts like a p*ssy (probably good for him).

[@rachelwoods2279]

My favourite way of hearing this interpretation explained.

[@RobinPalmerTV]

That winged liner is cute af 😍😍😍

[@sarcastic_fish]

🥰🥰🥰🥰

[@alicewatkinson2981]

I couldn’t finish The Alchemist, I HATED this book. It completely lacked nuance and talked down to its readers so much it infuriated me.

[@tangerinecoral1822]

Same I really disliked it !!!

[@JulEnglefaris]

The UK: has a lockdown every other week. The US: has pretty much been fully open since April 2020.

[@OCTNH]

Lol Abbot stopped the mask mandate, however it is still mandatory among businesses that're private. He still encouraged people to wear them, so it's not all that bad.

[@iconsonscreen7291]

Provide us books about philosophy 101 🤪 I would see that video, deffinitely (even though im deep in philosophy).

[@millybartholomew2380]

love the chaotic reading energy! the best not-a-booktube-channel :)

[@sanahs323]

i LOVE the secret history i’m so glad you read it! here’s some more dark academia books if you want recommendations! -if we were villains by ml rio -the atlas six by olivie blake -vicious by ve schwab -ninth house by leigh bardugo - these violent delights by micah nemerever -the lake of dead languages -black chalk -a deadly education

[@sarcastic_fish]

Oh amazing thank you!!

[@sanahs323]

@@sarcastic_fish no problem hope u find something u like!😊

[@margarethestruber]

I can't even explain how much I enjoy watching your videos

[@atenagutierrezchavez9999]

i just had a quiz this morning :( but this video came to lighten my mood!! I hope you have a wonderful day :)

[@Caroulinas]

I'm so happy I found your channel, I know you're not a book channel (😏) but seeing as how most booktubers cover genres I have no interest in I'm so excited to have found you

[@libertysuzanne9199]

continuing the 'the secret history' conversation, along with camilla/henry relationship and the tw*nc*st, people fail to mention the harmful depiction of francis' qu**rness. especially his advancements on richard. but also how true is that because richard is such an unreliable narrator its so interesting omg

[@sarcastic_fish]

Oh my god yes that’s such a good point

[@booksarebrainfood1708]

I wanted to stick my arm in about normal people cos I love it 😭 normal people is revolutionary I think in its way for us in Ireland who never get romances where we can recognise our issues , for example like the glory the GAA sports players had at school, the epidemic of suicide in young males in Ireland, like how involvement in social justice/feminism alienates you from your town etc because Irish small towns are so ruled by Catholic values !! i think also when discussing it’s value it’s important to realise how crazy it is when something this raunchy and steamy came out of Ireland and had worldwide notice when Ireland is traditionally so repressed especially when it comes to female sexuality (see abortion rights still being debated in the north, mother and baby homes villainising women who got pregnant out of wedlock etc, the glorification of a female teen virgin etc) idk it’s just nice to read something that is both so universal but also so common for young people here at odds with the religious values inevitably tangled into their upbringing and how they struggle to transition into the modern world

[@Shreyalahkar]

Loved this Emma! If you've enjoyed Murakami so far, I'd really recommend After Dark. It's one of his shorter works but truly incredible. It's set in metropolitan Tokyo over the course of one night and is one of the most powerful stories by him that I have ever read. Another book I think you'll love if Breasts & Eggs by Meiko Kawakami! Awaiting more LONG book video's - they're the best!

[@melissabardakci1]

Oh my god thank you for saying that the Alchemist was bad. Thank you thank you thank you! I didn't like this when I read it at 15-16 years of age and I think I haven't understood how bad it actually was until I finished my literature degree.

[@bitchmaghostt8579]

Kill your darling is an amazing movie. Dark academia. Alsooooo We Were Villians is also a really cool read!!

[@katerina6228]

I liked "One Day" up until the ending which felt so gimmicky it made me laugh. At least "Normal People"'s ending was unspectacular, but realistic. I think the show might feel more frustrating to people, because you don't have access to the characters' inner monologues, but the book is such a wonderfully nuanced understanding of relationships. Especially if you've been in a situation where you keep being drawn to a person who seems perfect, but there's always something in the way be it class, family, other people, yourselves.

[@FlyingElectra]

I agree with you on the quality of inner monologue and how she can dissect a relationship. So well done

[@ma.9029]

on another topic, that bookshelf is so pleasing to the eye

[@lauramartens30]

I really liked The Alchemist because it has that folk/fairy tale feeling that makes it really good for children. When I'm babysitting I always bring a few books, and kids tend to pick ones that are full of whimsy and fantasy; they might not be realistic, but there's something otherworldly about them. It's like "The Boy the Mole the Fox and the Horse." Plenty of grown ups don't like it, but that's because it's not made for grown ups. It's meant for children, and for learning how to connect to your inner child. From a literary point of view, the Alchemist isn't brilliant. Its glow comes from memories of reading it as a child, from its ability (if you let it) to make you into a child again.

[@readpersephone]

omg petition to make dark academia henceforth known as academia noir!!!! from a fellow boarding school gal, i totally also got big boarding school vibes too. check out m.l. rio's if we were villains if you're looking for a similar vibe (and imo has an even bigger boarding school-esque atmosphere)

[@kimkaak347]

Butlers theory was the key part of my capstone for my bachelor. It is definitely not an easy read. It takes some time to get to the core of the argument. The way that the arguments are presented is very dense. Big hat tip for jumping into it feminist philosophy and straight into Butler. I would recommend reading the second sex by Simone du Beauvoir (the Constance Borde and Sheila Malovany-Chevallier is a good one) and this sex which is none by Luce Irigaray to provide some context from which Butler in a way draws from but also counters and the theory is kind of a respond to. To give a shout out to more interesting feminist and gender philosophers bell hooks, Jack Halberstam, Sarah Ahmed, Patricia Hil Collins, Audre Lorde, Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak

[@lfior]

AH YES THANK YOU NEEDED THIS OKAY IM HAPPY NOW 50 MINUTES OF BOOKS FUN

[@georgia9092]

Just finished the secret history and WOW

[@willlexie]

30:47 About why The Secret History has no film adaptation is because Donna Tartt is very strict on adaptation. It took so long to convinced her to let The Goldfinch adaptation (which is just a fine film). But there are some rumours that she rejected many film offer for TSH adaptation.

[@sarcastic_fish]

not my god complex being like 'I cOuLd TaLk hEr InTo It'

[@WateryFire]

@Moon Joe There was talk about a movie deal back when the book was published, in the 90’s, and was really popular but the companies took too long in deciding about making it and too much time had passed so as soon as the book was not the hottest fire anymore movie industry lost interest. Tartt was up for a movie, that’s why Goldfinch was made close to the release of the book.

[@willlexie]

@@WateryFire There was another offers in 2010s for TSH but Donna Tartt rejected it again (rumour). But I’m glad. Look at The Goldfinch film, turned out to be so-so. I prefer TSH has no adaptation, rather than bad adaptation, to make non-readers judge TSH book because of the ugly adaptation.

[@eileen9898]

My favourite dark academia book is If We Were Villains by LM Rio ✨ the book is about a group of Shakespeare theatre students at an arts Academy and one of them gets killed 👀 It's very atmospheric because of the setting and the Shakespeare stuff because they also act out scenes like Macbeth during a Halloween festival. All the characters are based off of archetypes in Shakespeare plays and it gets really intense! I loved the audiobook because the narrator is a Shakespeare theatre actor himself and he is brilliant.

[@sarahs4354]

it's my favourite book!! but i'm always afraid of recommending it to people because ik not everyone will like all the shakespeare references lmaoo

[@eileen9898]

@@sarahs4354 it's one of my faves too!! The Shakespeare stuff is my favourite part ✨❤️

[@yj6118]

@@sarahs4354 which of Shakespeare’s works should you be familiar with to appreciate the references?

[@sarahs4354]

Y J i hadn’t read any of the plays beforehand and still enjoyed the book! the most referenced works are Macbeth, King Lear, and Julius Caesar (some hamlet and r&j too) basicaly all his tragedies lmaoo

[@yj6118]

@@sarahs4354 thank you!

[@zlzlzl2]

Totally agree on One Day comparison, the span of it gave more depth for discussion with respect to Normal People.

[@catarinathebookworm]

One day is such an amazing book I absolutly love it and that is partially the reason I want to read normal people. I am pretty sure nothing can beat one day but I wish to get to know this new story 😊

[@michelemaria463]

Wow I don't know if I've ever watched a video of you speaking this slowly hahaha! So many pauses haha! Great books

[@wingcastlereads5657]

I kinda enjoyed the alchemist, but that might be cause I was in my early teens...

[@lauramartens30]

Have you read Phillip Pullman's The Golden Compass? I think it might be called the Northern Lights in the UK but I'm not sure

[@mihmarcondes]

I thought Julien was behind it all. And the fact that he wasn't and, like you said, NOTHING came out of the whole buildup up of his persona bugged me.

[@JulEnglefaris]

I know right. He was described in the synopsis like he was going to be a huge part but he was barely involved in the book.

[@ninapaterson6316]

similar to The Secret History is If We Were Liars! xx

[@mariagiseladelgado8831]

Dude if you’re gonna read Latin American authors Cohelo is SO not the way to go (or Neruda either, for that matter) We have so many beautiful authors and so many stunning works of fiction, I’m sure you would love and should totally read (I think hopscotch by Cortázar or the general in his labyrinth by Garcia Marquez are strong candidates if you ever were inclined to do a video reading Latin American books maybe...which would be pretty cool I’m not gonna lie)

[@huberttwardowski1428]

Borges^

[@yj6118]

I didn’t know people don’t really like Neruda...?

[@mariagiseladelgado8831]

@@yj6118 I think that's just a personal thing to be honest, 'poem xx' is pretty much the only one of his I can stand

[@ineswotton7069]

that eyeliner is gorgeous and it suits you SO well! wheres it from?

[@RobinPalmerTV]

IKR!

[@sebastianrbcousins2409]

Fan of your videos, and a massive reader myself! So through lockdown I read: Friends of Harry Perkins by Chris Mullin History of Modern Russia by Robert Service Snakes and Earings by Hitomi Kanehara I am not your N*gro by James Baldwin Well of Loneliness by Radclyffe Hall Fraternity of the Estranged by Brian Anderson Trans by Juliet Jacques The 'Come Close' anthology of Sappho's poetry 20000 Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne The Places In Between by Rory Stewart And the whole trilogy of the Ballad of Halo Jones by Alan Moore.

[@camimvasquez]

✨Request✨ I would really love to you a favourite films video or sth related to that. Please and thank you🥺

[@sarcastic_fish]

oh you are gunna love next weeks vid

[@camimvasquez]

@@sarcastic_fish 👀 oop I can’t wait

[@HopeMariah03]

I really wanna read Secret History and I just haven't gotten around to it...maybe this is a sign to pick it up rn?

[@WateryFire]

I’m jealous you haven’t read it yet.

[@dianeyoung2666]

do it, trust me

[@alyssasilveira113]

Please read If We Were Villians by M.L Rio... it is absolutely amazing! If you enjoyed the secret history it is very similar but still different please just read it lol

[@user-pz3ni6xf3u]

not me having read TSH and forgetting henry died and getting equally shocked and traumatised again

[@carlosfernandez3245]

The spy, I think is a good book. The problem of Coelho is his life is more better that his books.

[@DyslexicMitochondria]

Damn Look at you! Almost at 50k

[@Nicolembradbury]

SO eager to get to Judith Butler. Excited to hear your thoughts when you finish!

[@beaucoupvintage]

Bunny by Mona Awad is SUCH an amazing dark academia book.

[@johnsaxongitno4life588]

Finally some one agrees with me with the Alchemist I can not stand it please stay safe love you and your amazing channel love John your Australia fan

[@katescorner7658]

HIGHLY RECOMMEND IF WE WERE VILLIANS - fantastic weaving of Shakespeare into the plot, there’s murder, there’s homoeroticism, there’s humour, there’s struggling against the stereotypes and dogma that institutions place on you, it’s fantastic. (I personally prefer it to TSH but that’s just me)

[@sarcastic_fish]

oh man you’re gunna luv my next book haul 👀👀👀

[@zoewilliamson4034]

DO A VIDEO ON ADAPTATIONS!!!

[@lunamiranda8428]

U’r British? I love ur channel ‼️

[@joannaszulc1496]

Supposedly there is no film of the secret history because donna tartt refuses to sell the movie rights but I'm not sure

[@yj6118]

I wonder if making it a mini-series would change her mind? 🤔 those seem to be pretty popular rn

[@libertysuzanne9199]

gwynth paltrow (or however its spelt) owns the rights to the secret history.... she's owned them since the 90s, she was supposed to play camilla it just never happened

[@stephenbyrne8746]

42:09 fucking hell, Emma, don’t make me laugh at that

[@AnaLuiza-pi1tu]

Emma, i'd like to be part of the problem and slide into your comments to say you should really really check out Carmen Maria Machado's In the dream house. Not a dark academia book, but it has that same... subtle horror? Can I call it that? that The Secret History has. Also, it's queer and just the best thing i've read in a while.

[@AnaLuiza-pi1tu]

also i'm still laughing at "that academia noir books you were reading"

[@JulEnglefaris]

Carman Marie Machado's books are INCREDIBLE. Her writing is extremely good. Love both her books.

[@lukasrodrigues5833]

I don't know how is possible have been translated Paulo Coelho to English. I'm brazilian and really he is a trash. Emma, now how about Paulo Freire and Gilberto Freire, do you know them too? In the high school or in the university you study something about them? Please, respond me because i was get much curious 😉.

[@itsflowerside]

did you know that ronan farrow is woody allen's son? kind of hilarious how _he_ was the one to breach a story like that, given the fact that he has a father in this business who is just as bad edit: i just did some googling and while he is allen's son, he's _biologcally_ probably frank sinatra's son which..... hello?????

[@guaoa5715]

I felt similarly about Julian on TSH when I read it, but then I heard this presentation Donna Tartt did (kzbin.info/www/bejne/jJ3JdZyMbZqdpdE) where she talks about the intention on making him basically disappear during most of the book but yet him being so idealized. Really recommend listening!

[@youtubename894]

This was so chaotic. I was confused but entertained throughout

[@sanahs323]

also, the secret history was never turned into a movie but there was actually a script written! it just never became anything (imo the script is pretty awful lol) so maybe it's a good thing??

[@thettproject4534]

Ohh I’m soo relieved you hated the Alchemist, I would seriously have to question your book taste 😁

[@soliannerubattino]

it’s called magical realism

[@ksch1177]

I unfortunately can't enjoy Murakami anymore, I was really annoyed by the in depth description of the breasts of an underage girl in 1Q84 and in general constantly this sexual description of her without any critical context.... But I read it in German, maybe in English it's not as extreme, sometimes I feel like connotations shift in different languages. (edit: Ha, just watched your video a few more seconds (sorry as soon as I heard Murakami I had to share my thought :D), I completely agree with your statement of men sometimes not understanding why a book is questionable!

[@JulEnglefaris]

I despise his writing and also the things he writes about are definitely gross (like what you stayed above). Also he has some terrible depictions of violence against animals which I can only guess is for shock value.

[@ale950921]

I value your opinion and love coming here because you have such a different perspective than most booktubers. But maybe don't call a book stupid several times like that? I understand we're not here to baby people or soften our opinions for others sake, but I just feel like that type of repeated comment makes people who might like a certain type of book actually feel stupid or inadequate or not intelligent. i didn't like the alchemist personally, but i respect that for some people of a certain age or at a certain time in their lives, it could be useful as an allegory. i don't think that's stupid.

[@tanvinamjoshi7415]

Read Hippie by Paolo, it one of his decent book instead of alchemist which sounds very pretentious to me tbh

[@acherontas666]

Donna Tartt has this brilliant talent of coming with really original ideas but execute them in a so shallow way you completly lose interest . The same experience I had with the Goldfinch at least it was promissing until shit got so stupid and boring in the last part

[@maidas1905]

Liked that you didnt like The Alchemist. I red IDENTICAL story in The 1001 Nights wich is at least 1000 years old - and still can not belive that this plagiator is selling it as his own... and selling it good. Sad.

[@acherontas666]

Am I the only one who coompletly hated this utter shit called the secret history ? It was all so shallow as a plot or character . The whole 600+ pages book was like " Bunny being a dork till his end , all the other characters : oh we killed our friend lets spend our time just drinking and smoking untill Tartt get a clue how to end this shit " znd god the dialogues were just so stupid God

[@joannaszulc1496]

I read the alchemist at 12 and my opinion was exactly the same as yours now. Actually, probably I thought it was even worse So yeah, this book has absolutely no value and it's not worth the paper it's printed on. It actually makes me sad that there are publishing directors with so much prestige and knowledge and power over what people read, and they picked this garbage to publish instead of something faaar more worthwile that the public won't get to see because capitalism and sales........damn.....

[@carlosfernandez3245]

I recomend you Reading Lolita in theran Nazir Efasi Beirut, I Love you The people of forever not afraid Bionju The girls

[@emiliabugueiromeyer8166]

I also hated The Alchemist. So biblically preachy

[@mikamenzel4583]

god i was so scared you'd say you liked the alchemist. i ugh hated that book so damn much, i feel like it, or more the author is super pretentious

[@2ndhandbookclan274]

A lot of gender assumptions here......