BIG BOOK HAUL: new year, new books!

[@aydaybaynay]

/Opens story graph and cracks knuckles/ I'm ready!

[@roxannejoncas]

Ditto! Which one are you most looking forward to read, Dayna?

[@aydaybaynay]

@@roxannejoncas definitely elsewhere! I picked it up from the library today!!

[@awpageofabook]

Sales are honestly so lethal. It's not my fault those books are half price!!! I'm saving money really, if you think about it...

[@allisonpaiges]

and that's on math!

[@LourdesEsmeralda]

I get poor when sales are ON!

[@quincifreeman8934]

I actually really enjoyed kafka on the shore! I rated it lower because of his descriptions of women but the story and magical realism were beautiful!!

[@kailsko]

agree with you about haruki murakami, BUT that cover is SO BEAUTIFUL ughhhh 😭

[@Jeffrey.e]

Wait wait wait I have to recommend you Slewfoot!!! Gorgeous cover, gorgeous story! It gave me exactly what I wanted out of a witchy book and more. I'm dying for more people to read it.

[@smallfroginthetrees]

I made my first ever novel I read in Japanese Lonely Castle in the Mirror because of your recommendation, so I want to say thank you! I’m three years into my degree in Japanese, and I took a class where half the class is just reading a book in Japanese (how is that real??) I had never read a full novel in Japanese before and it was very daunting, and I thought I’d made a grave mistake when I realised Lonely Castle is over 500 pages. I found myself loving it so much and needing to know ever twist and turn, so that I ended up finishing way ahead of schedule and had the wonderful experience of a book in a language I am learning and struggling in managing to move me to tears (wonderful for me, although it did worry everyone else in the cafe - why the white girl is weeping and ordering hot chocolate after hot chocolate?) Thank you so much for your channel and all the wonderful book positivity you share with all of us! My aim is to become a literary translator (Japanese to English) so I hope I can give back with some more Tsujimura goodness (she is a very beloved author here - and a prolific one! So many books…) and introduce more wonderful Japanese authors for people to discover and enjoy 💚

[@kinrateia]

My favorite is DEFINITELY the Buried Giant! The atmosphere there is SO UNIQUE, it combines historical and magical realism, it has dragons and philosophical thread about forgetting and love, it's perfect!

[@yarelysmarie1583]

Alison bechdel has a second graphic novel where we follow her relationship with her mother in the same style as fun home. 17:28

[@oraclyd]

So excited to see They Can't Kill Us Until They Kill Us on your TBR! It immediately become one of my favorite books and is one that I keep rebuying and gifting away to anyone who will listen to me talk about it.

[@blackheartbooks]

Thank you for putting Elliot’s memoir on my radar

[@Soleils]

I once lived where Ducks takes place. Where she worked was north of the town. I know live in the city 5 hours south of there. I need to read Ducks my husband bought it

[@prplrhinomilk]

Dolly Alderton is a joy to read for me, personable and conversational reading that just feels so natural. I hope you like too!! 😊

[@dnvrdnvr]

i too am trying to read the tbr shelf currently but I just stumbled across the most adorable independent bookshop near me and I simply can't walk out of there empty handed!

[@jessicaroberson6545]

Deaf Republic is my second favorite poetry collection of ALL TIME. Also Danez Smith is an ARTIST and Don't Call Us Dead is stunning. I teach literature and I use some of his poems from that collection in class, so so so good. Ugh

[@EllaAndCoffee]

My booktok friend and I did a (used) book advent calendar too! We basically spent the whole year hunting for books in thriftstore/usedbookstores in Brussels/all over Belgium. It was so much fun!

[@xangel6721]

YES, Remains of the Day is Ishiguro's best! I had no idea other fans felt this way but glad to know I'm not alone. Excited for you to read it -- I am rereading it right now since you mentioned it :)

[@boringthings]

I said, “Shut up!” out loud when you flashed the Murakami. What a gorgeous edition!

[@snhreader7765]

The cover for Never Let Me Go is beautiful! The cassette tape!😭😭😭 All the feelings are coming back and I may need to re-read it this year. 😭😭😭

[@BaileeWalsh]

I love Fun Home! It's also one of my favorite musicals, so you must listen to the soundtrack after reading it, if you've never listened to it!! what a coincidence, too, because I've been listening to it again lately myself. And I've been looking at getting Are You My Mother? which is Bechdel's other graphic memoir, obviously focusing on her mom as opposed to her father. adding Dogs of Summer to my wishlist NOW. I bought Tell Me I'm Worthless around October. But a few booktubers I watch hated it and found it incredibly triggering, so much trauma stuffed in one book apparently. sooo, I haven't read it, yet, and I'm nervous to 😬

[@twoghostsinacornfeild]

I just found your channel and I love your videos so much! I am in year 10 and suspected chronically ill, and finding someone else who shares that and a love of books is so amazing ❤

[@SaharaKnoblauch]

the covers here are indeed SUPERB omg

[@giorgiaz777]

When I sing mountains dances is incredible!!! Every chapter is narrated from a different point of view and some of them are incredible. It's set in the Spanish Pyrenees in a very rural area and the way the area is described is magical. It was one of the best books I read last year

[@user-qu8zs7vs1x]

Just FYI, devotions by mary Oliver is a selection of poems from other single collections, so there's more of her poems to enjoy from her other collections!

[@allisonpaiges]

omg there’s moooooore!

[@kimberley_f]

My tbr just grew so much!!!

[@speaking_bookish]

The edition you have of The turn of the key is the pocket books edition- it’s just another version of a mass market paperback. You can find many genres in that edition (or shape lol) 😊

[@wereallwallflowers]

I love seeing the Nova Scotia representation! The author of Ducks and Eliot Page are both from my home province of NS, Canada! I can’t wait to read both 🥰

[@littleonepaige]

yaaaaaa! hello fellow nova scotian 🥰

[@norahbrady6392]

omg! so excited for you to read Claudia Rankine, Natalie Diaz, Illya Kaminky, and Danez Smith! These are fantastic poets and I think especially Rankine is good for first-time readers of poetry because she's so fantastic at using language to get across a larger feeling. If you like these I'd recommend Franny Choi, Shira Erlichman, Chen Chen, Ross Gay, Ada Limón, and Tracy K. Smith. The last two are Poet Laureates. And if you're interested in poetry and listen to podcasts I'd recommend listening to "VS", where poets have conversations with each other and about their work!

[@toweringtbr]

Love both of Danez Smith's poetry collections! If you can, get the audiobook as they narrate it themselves.

[@deborahmroy]

The seas and never let me go two of my favorite books ever. ❤

[@niamhl6964]

Danez Smith is one of my all time favourite poets they are insanely talented!

[@books-n-cats]

Hi! I watched your video where you read “the magic fish” recently. I found it at my library and check it out and oh my gosh, instant favorite. It was everything you said and more. I cried while reading it and I knew I had to have a copy. Thank you for talking about this book, and thanks for everything you do.

[@witchreads]

Elsewhere made me sob a bit last year and I had to tell myself no more books about motherhood for the rest of the year! I couldn’t handle it anymore because everything I was reading was SO good that I could actually feel the pain.

[@jennadunn2338]

I've added the elliot page book to my amazon wishlist but there's more I'll be adding for sure ❤️

[@eveliiina1290]

uploaded literally the second i was looking for something great to watch!

[@sonikaga9869]

Postcolonial love poem is one of my favorite collections of poetry ever! I hope you enjoy it!!

[@kuzmazuza]

I watch your videos for such a long time and I never leave comments so It’s time to start doing that, you are always making my Sunday better so thank you ❤ I am in love with all these books covers and also my TBR just got bigger so thank you or maybe not because I don’t think my wallet can handle that

[@allisonpaiges]

aww hi! i really appreciate hearing from folks :-) which book(s) are you most excited for? happy reading!

[@kuzmazuza]

a lot of them are speaking to me but especially Pageboy, new Tillie Walden (still didn’t read any of her but this year is year for her, in my county her graphic novels are just really expensive so that’s why I didn’t pick any of them), uzumaki (I am also a baby sooo we will see), ducks, dogs of summer and this year I really want to try reading Kazuo Ishiguro and I think the last one would be The book of goose (it’s the cover and the title for me) Yes I did mention a lot of the books I just wasn’t able to choose

[@buttercupetc]

i love the perspective of a tbr being "beautifully overwhelming" 🥰

[@hslotfan]

so many books on here that i’ve never heard of !! thank you ally !

[@sebsy6429]

i will not keep my socks on for mary oliver! so excited your reading my favorite poet!!!

[@obiwanderouus]

"when i sing mountains dance" is soooo good!!!! incredible use of pov chapters!!!! loved reading about my own country through a magical realism lens! might re-read it in english this time because that cover wow✨

[@ratgirl107]

Just listening to your intro and the music you usually use in your videos already calms me down so much and brings me so much joy. And after a long day full of anxiety hits even harder. Thank you Ally for this safe space ❤

[@Books_coffee_and_ducks]

Awh. 12 days of Christmas with daily gifts. That's fun 😍 MTG and Books. I have been thinking about Hidden Pictures...but still haven't picked it up. Haha.

[@janniketarander4212]

Thank you! ❤️ I always look forward to your videos 🙂🪷 Also, I’d recommend you google trigger warnings for “Kafka on the shore” But I still liked the book 🙂

[@soniciris]

A win for the YT algorithm, I am inspired by your book buying rules and I love your enthusiasm 😎 intrigued by the poetry collections, rather than single-writer collections I love anthologies, I recommend the two 'good poems' collections edited by Garrison Keillor! If you want to start getting into Manga, definitely try Magus of the Library! It's about a young boy of mixed (fantasy) race who wants to become a kafna--basically a magic library agent. The series is full of love and reverence for books, but also for education and knowledge and tolerance and trying your best at everything you do. The art is gorgeous and the lessons/morals are aimed at younger readers and imo can be a little on-the-nose but they are good and kind lessons so I'm not mad about it!

[@artrose3763]

The Book of Goose oh my gosh I loved that book! Also Tell Me I'm Worthless has been on my radar so this seems like a sign.

[@books_for_bees4476]

I just found and read Gleanings and I loved it! Super fun companion to Arc of a Scythe!

[@kylierussell0207]

Yeah that copy of Kafka on the Shore is 😍😍😍 definitely making me reconsider reading it too 😂

[@s.ophiejohn]

In the most formal and regal way, Thank You For Talking About I Who Have Never Known Men, i bought and read it at the end of 2022 and i never could have predicted ANYTHING about that book or how much i would love it

[@katzill]

These Silent Woods sounds so interesting! Added immediately to my tbr 🙈 I have ‚my brilliant friend‘ it sounds like a book you might really like✨

[@elizabethward4024]

Claudia Rankine is one of my favorite authors and I hope you like Citizen! I have Postcolonial Love Poem out from the library and will be reading it soon!

[@MicahRion]

ooooh thank you for recommending Call it Off! so good I'm listening to it on repeat. SO RAD you're supporting worker's rights! So happy I found this channel :)

[@ElTorcho]

seasonal fears was soooooo good. much more accessible (less math/science) than middle game but still so weird and fun also if you haven't already you should look into her wayward children series! it's a portal fantasy about kids that go to different worlds and have to navigate both those new places and their home lives when they come back.

[@allegraintegra9023]

Post Colonial Love Poems is one of my favorite recent poetry collections. It's heartbreaking and beautiful

[@rowan.27]

Instantly added Ducks to my storygraph tbr, I didn't know Kate Beaton had a memoir so I'm very excited to read that now!

[@readingshawtys]

Allison….you don’t know how much joy hearing the kingdom hearts little song and cursor clicks brings to my ears I love it so much ….. brings back good memories ! 🧡

[@raccoonsnacks]

I'm so excited for you to read Fun Home!

[@rinareads0_0]

dogs of summer sounds amazing! I ordered the paperback of our wives under the sea bc of your review and I'm so so excited for it to arrive! :)

[@Ratoleitor]

The book of goose cover… omg :0 this is the best cover. For sure.

[@Ratoleitor]

But also Aquarion 💛🥵

[@KaraToNihongo]

You should try Saul Williams's poetry! 'Said the shotgun to the head' and 'US(a)' are particularly powerful!

[@Hillary429]

The covers you showed for dogs of summer and the inseparables are eerily similar too 💜♥️

[@deedsreadswithtea]

Danez Smith is incredible!!! Don’t call us dead is my favorite of the two, but Homie was amazing as well. Citizen is on my owned TBR, hoping to get to it in the first half of the year. And Never Let Me Go is without a doubt one of my fave books of all time - I don’t know if it can be supplanted by another Ishiguro, but we’ll see :)

[@cheyennemartin8138]

✏️ taking notes for my own TBR… and readying for a trip to all my local libraries ❤

[@aloveoflibraries]

What a beautiful and perfect combination of favorites (fun home, citizen), books currently on MY tbr (the collected schizophrenias, if an Egyptian cannot speak English) and a few newbies! Excited to hear your thoughts on all of them, happy new year & happy reading 🥳

[@craftyreads]

Thank you for posting, i got my daily dose of serotonin!!

[@joreneereads]

The journeyyyyy I went through in that 3 seconds of Call it Off lmao, how did I forget listening to that song on repeat for hoursss.. DAYS

[@Jenniferdiz535]

Reading upstream (first Mary Oliver) it’s FANTASTIC! Hope you like it too :)

[@HollieSikes]

I'm halfway through Conversations on Love ! holy dang!! i really am enjoying it and hope you do as well, the middle bit on sustaining love is soooo wonderful and she interviews some of my personal all time greats when it comes to writers

[@lemonshorts3079]

Dogs of Summer for book club - yes please!!

[@nimrodgrrrl]

After Fun Home, you should absolutely ABSOLUTELY read Are You My Mother? I made my library buy it so they’d have both. They absolutely should both be read together. Really blew my mind!!

[@pilar9400]

"When I sing mountains dance" was my favourite book of 2022!!! I listened to the audiobook (in Spanish) and it was lovely. I also bought it for my sister as an excuse to reread it on paper (and she loved it too). Looking forward to hear yout thoughts :)

[@booksthehausdown]

Tegan and Sarah had me weeping to 'You Wouldn't Like Me' as a PRETEEN lol

[@baeticat]

Ooh I've also picked up Dolly Aldertons book today! I've been loving easy to read memoirs lately. So this one will fit perfectly I think. Also I very much appreciate you not just reading the back of the books to summarise the premise! I love how you just tell us your first impressions. ❤️❤️

[@CJReads]

Immediately added Elsewhere to the tbr 🫡

[@allisonpaiges]

🫡

[@witchreads]

Omg yes read it!

[@Zablazer7]

I don't know if your aware, but Danez Smith hosts a podcast along with another poet named Franny Choi. It is called "Vs." The tagline is "The podcast where poets confront the ideas that move them." The two hosts interview various Queer and/or BIPOC poets. It is equal parts profound discussion of artistic ideas and goofball shenanigans. It is delightful.

[@medu6a67]

I found my matching edition of The Remains of the Day from book depository and it's still available :'D

[@readingwithEmilyk]

Animal farm was really pretty drab in my opinion but I’ve heard great things about Glory so I’m going to pick that one up. I love your goal for every 10 books you read you can buy one more. I wish I could have that kind of control.

[@ShivangiBhasin]

Allllyyyyy, I was watching Jen Campbell (a booktuber you should DEFINITELY watch cuz she’s a disability advocate and I’m almost 1000% sure that, even if your tastes differ from hers, she’ll be someone you’d want to listen to regarding her views on disability and it’s rep in lit) and she mentioned this book: All in Your Head by Marcus Sedgwick which is about not being believed by your doctors about your symptoms🙃

[@ajthecosmonaut1870]

just added like 20 books to my wishlist u always have the best recommendations

[@draculaissus]

citizen is great I read it in an africana studies course last year

[@mikaylaabsher2529]

I've been following you for a while and just want to say I LOVE your channel! I also wanted to say I actually JUST finished (literally like 2 days ago) Hidden Pictures and it's SO GOOD! I hope you enjoy it!

[@kenzievances]

not now sweetie, mommy’s busy watching allisonpaiges new video

[@ChloeTheePayne]

so excited for this reading year whoooooooot let's go!!! 🐌🐌🐌

[@anautisticreader2963]

I’ve been thinking about getting Hidden Pictures. Purely a cover intrigue. Loved your description of it. Pushed me over the edge to purchase it. 😂😂😂😂

[@VoidedLux]

HIDDEN PICS LOOK SO GOOD. i want to read it too!

[@Chrishernal]

I already know you're going to love uzumaki!!!

[@hylylgmn]

consider me influenced, i threw infinite country and the book of goose full speed into my TBR

[@suesmith4040]

An Immense World is very good!! Well written!!

[@laurengalloway4890]

We don’t really have the same taste in books (I love ones about terrible rich people) but you just radiate such cheeriness I watch every video anyway. Thanks for brightening my day 😊

[@ClumsyCharlott]

Hold on a second.... I KNOW THAT BACKGROUND MUSIC! KINGDOM HEARTS, I'M OBSESSED!

[@xxlobke]

Love those covers!!

[@juananjones]

adding These Silent Woods to my tbr right this moment!

[@Belladonna_Q]

Such beautiful books! I couldn't resist and added a few titles to my never-ending list. I'm also trying to get more into poetry - I'm going to the library tomorrow to pick up book of poetry filled to the brim with nature by Papusza, she was a Romani poet from Poland. I don't think it's translated into English, but the title means Forest, my father (but she's addressing the forest directly), many of her poems draw inspiration from the times when she was hiding in the woods from the holocaust. I can already feel the drowning, flooding wave of emotion getting closer.

[@Belladonna_Q]

I forgot to add that I am currently reading an author that I think you would enjoy very much. Simona Kossak was a professor of forest sciences, she was the originator of a globally unique device warning wild animals against the passage of trains, and she lived for thirty years(!) in a forester's lodge(!!!) in the Białowieża Forest. Amazing woman, one of her books came out in English if you'd like to check it out - The Białowieża Forest Saga. Her books contain scientific knowledge, but also a lot of old Slavic faith and herbal medicine, it's also a wondrous, beautiful tale about the forest, which unfolds slowly.

[@violettewise]

I feel the same about real the scary storied, as much as I love spooky stuff, I can't get over some things

[@martureads]

it is always v cool to see books written in my native language (catalan) being translated and read! when I sing, mountains dance has been a phenomenon in Catalonia (and the whole of Spain) basically since it came out and tbh it's about time I read it too 🤭

[@catherinefeather]

I just added so many books to my StoryGraph tbr 🙈

[@Fiona_Co]

Oooh I do love me some Ruth Ware. My personal favorite was The Death of Mrs. Westaway, which seems to be one of the less popular ones, but I thought it was good!!

[@Fiona_Co]

Also I added so many of these to my tbr 😅😂

[@anneoskamp5683]

Not sure if you have had this recommended before, but if you are trying to get into manga Cats of the Louvre by Taiyo Matsumoto is totally up your alley I think. The spine alone is totally gorgeous (and reminds me of Rumi). It is about the cats that live in the attic of the Louvre (duh) and the way art can draw us in.

[@felisfelidae6113]

And the book, The Walking Cat.

[@krsissweet]

Just gonna say, I liked Seasonal Fears as much if not more that Middlegame, and it has a really well done audiobook. I wasn't aware people didn't like it, but to me it tied together the world better, and it's more of a companion-sequel because it follows all new characters with old favorites popping up in a tangential way

[@whatscarlareading]

I just googled When I Sing the Mountains Dance, and I'm not sure if you knew but it's actually translated from Catalan, not Spanish. I'm really excited about this I'm half Catalan and have never read from a Catalan author! Thanks for the rec! xx

[@allisonpaiges]

oh so good to know - thank you!

[@antoniak2498]

Thank you so much for making such cosy videos! I've only found your channel recently but I'm so glad I did because you have given me a safe space in your videos during a not so fun mental health time