10 Must-Read Literary Novels

Рет қаралды 11,419

11 ай бұрын

Read the full article: booksandbao.com/essential-lit...
Here are ten fantastic literary novels about a variety of important themes, including feminsm, race, war, gender, love, tradition, and so much more!
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Пікірлер: 45

@RachaelsLibrary 11 ай бұрын

My fave post: recommendations from Willow. You have a sophisticated taste, I'm all ears 💕

@flyleafdiaries1819 11 ай бұрын

I tried reading Chain-Gang All-Stars on audio and had to dnf it because it was too overwhelming, but I’ve ordered the hardback because I think that experience will be more conducive. From everything I’ve heard it just ticks so many boxes for me-the American prison system, capitalism, racism-I can’t imagine I won’t appreciate it.

@Tutankhamun18Reads 10 ай бұрын

Fantastic definition of literary fiction at the start. Watching this has made me realise that I just sort of accepted what literary fiction was and particularly vs. commerical fiction w/o really trying to grasp what it is acctually. Thanks for sparking some interesting thoughts!

@tesswood411 11 ай бұрын

I absolutely loved "Woman, Eating" by Claire Kohda. The book was honestly the best lit fic I've read all year. Who doesn't love a modern day vampire obsessed with humanity and battling her hunger in a multitude of ways.

@WillowTalksBooks 11 ай бұрын

I have it but still haven’t gotten to it

@bobbykeniston7240 11 ай бұрын

As always, thanks for your recommendations! Ishiguro is also one of my absolute favorite living authors, and Sayaka Murata and Mieko Kawakami are becoming others (thanks to your channel introducing me to them!) . Have you read any Jesmyn Ward? She is one of my favorites as well, and I think her "Sing, Unburied, Sing" is perhaps my favorite American novel of the last twenty years

@hazelsun8493 11 ай бұрын

I loved Second Place! Thank you for such a great recommendation for this. I’ve heard so many people talk about it and not get it. I think it might be time for a reread.

@iamangieh 10 ай бұрын

the books mentioned 🫡 the remains of the day *kazuo* *ishiguro* i'm a fan *sheena* *patel* second place *rachel* *cusk* finger bone *hiroki* *takahashi* shy *max* *porter* breasts and eggs *mieko* *kawakami* convenience store woman *sayaka* *murata* mrs. s *k.* *patrick* bellies *nicola* *dinan* chain-gang all-stars *nana* *kwame* *adjei-brenyah*

@isirlasplace91 11 ай бұрын

15:49 I definitely need to read this book. After doing the married thing and having children, I got divorced and have been single for 17 years now with no interest in being in a relationship ever again. I'm very close to my kids and I have friends and family and that's enough for me. But according to my family, "I'm doing it wrong!! I should find another husband!" Uhh, no thanks!? And who's to say I wouldn't want a wife instead?! Come to think of it, I should get a gf!! Haha, make those French prissy conservatives' tongues wagging😂

@vitareads 11 ай бұрын

Wonderful recommendations as always! Most of these are on my TBR, but I've only read Convenience Store Woman so far, and I loved it. 🖤

@professor_handricka 11 ай бұрын

I need to stop watching your videos, everytime I'll add at least 5+ books to my to-read list, lol. But for real, thank you. I love reading, but honestly I couldnt pick up a book and finish it in ages. Since I found your channel 4 months ago I'm on my 16th book and I cant get enough. Im currently reading Breast and Eggs, and only after couple of pages in, I know its gonna be a treat. Thank you again for helping me find a way back! ❤

@WillowTalksBooks 11 ай бұрын

Oh wow, I’m so happy for you! 💜

@sylviakanel9766 10 ай бұрын

So now that I have encountered your take on Convenience Store Woman several times in different videos I realize I have developed a great desire to read it. What a different experience from the usual way I encounter a book through reviews, Willow. It's like encountering a person several times in different situations and finally realizing how much I want to start being very intentional about getting to know that person in a deeper way than mere happenstance allows. Thank you!

@Rinn421 11 ай бұрын

Thanks for making this video! I wrote down a few that I wanna check out including convenience store woman. It’s been on my radar for a while but the way you described it makes me wanna read this this august. 😊

@itsGabrielaCristina 11 ай бұрын

Well… added like 5 more books to my wishlist! 😂 Thanks, Willow! I love your reviews.

@rachel1021 11 ай бұрын

I just noticed that The Wind that Lays Waste is featured in the article. I'm planning to read that for WIT month :) Some literary novels I've read and enjoyed recently are Just by Looking at Him by Ryan O'Connell, Monstrilio by Gerardo Samano Cordova, Witches by Brenda Lozano (translated by Heather Cleary), and The Human Origins of Beatrice Porter by Soraya Palmer. And I'm really liking Your Driver is Waiting by Priya Guns, then soon I'm going to start Homebodies by Tembe Denton-Hurst. I'm such a sucker for literary novels. :D

@lindsayejoy 11 ай бұрын

based on your review of the book about the teenage boy's thoughts, i think you would LOVE "Harold" by Stephen Wright. i requested an arc of it solely for the insane book cover, and the book ended up being incredible!!! in the book we follow the thoughts of a 1960s 3rd grade boy during a single day of school. his thoughts come to him as birds flying through a small rectangle in the middle of his brain. he does things like envisioning his own funeral procession and wonders if the driver of the hearse has even been born yet. in another one, he also visits a cafe on the moon after being invited by carl sagan. being inside Harold's mind is an absolute treat!! please give this strange little book a chance! thanks for another awesome video! 60% of my TBR are books that you recommended specifically. take care and please never stop making these videos! and if you ever read "Harold", i'd love to hear how you liked (or hated) it!

@kellymcfarlane6120 11 ай бұрын

Ohhhhhhhh ok you convinced me to read all of these… including the ones I already read 😂 particularly intrigued by Mrs S.

@radiantchristina 11 ай бұрын

As always, excellent recommendations 😘

@potatosocreepy7778 10 ай бұрын

Just wanna say you’re my favorite booktuber ❤

@kmaggs7804 11 ай бұрын

Great reviews. Thanks.

@queenmotherbug 2 ай бұрын

Kazuo Ishiguro is a brilliant novelist. My favorite book by him is oft-overlooked and more polarizing to readers-- The Unconsoled. It's bizarre and dreamlike and thought-provoking. It's not always an easy read, but it's fascinating and left me thinking about it long after I finished reading it.

@im_a_passenger 11 ай бұрын

This is the first time I am commenting on your video, even though I have been following you for a couple of months and have watched so many of your videos (sorry) Thank you for sharing your opinions and views on each book. I initially found your channel while searching for more contemporary Japanese novels to read, and it turns out I now have a pile of horror novels in my collection. 😂As a slow, non-English native reader, it might take me a while to read them all. Nevertheless, the books in this genre are exactly what I was looking for. Thanks again for your wonderful videosit's so nice to discover more books from various types of authors from different backgrounds, genders, and races Breasts and Eggs and Convenience Store Woman are my all-time favorites too!

@veschannel 11 ай бұрын

These are amazing book recommendations! Thank you so much for sharing them. And I am so happy that Breasts and Eggs is included here since it is also one of my favorite books of all time. 😊❤

@philstrand 11 ай бұрын

Thanks for this list! Breast and Eggs is one of the greatest things I’ve ever read. And Chain-Gang All-Stars is astonishing both in its construction and its blistering critique of the American prison industrial complex. It left me crushed and amazed. I need to read more Ishiguro and Porter but they’re both authors whose works astound me. By the way, I wanted to offer the viewpoint that literary fiction is, itself, a genre. A very flexible one, but a genre nonetheless with its own typical concerns, subject matter, style, and tone. As I tend to view it, any fiction writer who thinks they’re not writing within a genre is simply mistaken. Even if they’ve created their own genre by combination, such as W.G. Sebald or Clarice Lispector. Just a thought.

@aldakendall4921 10 ай бұрын

Well, there goes the tbr list. I will need a reading day now.

@o_o-lj1ym 11 ай бұрын

I love your definition of literary fiction

@AlFrBu 6 ай бұрын

The Remains of the Day is also my favorite novel. Cheers!

@vixxnmusicofficial 7 ай бұрын

Thank you for this!

@KDbooks 11 ай бұрын

Cusk being described as the “Queen of Literary Fiction” sent shivers down my spine. I need a moment to reflect on this 😅

@WillowTalksBooks 11 ай бұрын

That’s fair

@vitoriar8753 10 ай бұрын

i've had Mrs. S release marked on my calendar since before it's release!! haven't been able to read it yet bc the transportation fee to my country is ridiculous but now that you've talked about it i'm even more eager to get to it 😅😩

@wsmith4020 11 ай бұрын

I'm very interested in this Shy book 👀

@keys2stone1984 10 ай бұрын

I've been watching recently your videos..and this vid made me hit Subscribe after... I've been looking for more book recommendation that explores book selection I can relate too and includes book Id prefer. Most are based on booktok or whatsoever that's popular..but yours is eclectic and recently my vibe for TBR. Thank you for the list. New fan & subscriber here from the Philippines 🏳️‍🌈🇵🇭

@jackseney7906 11 ай бұрын

Yes "Second Place" was impressive in that most abundantly clear of ways: I could not put it down until I was done with it. Oh yeah, and because it was short 😁😸 I need to read "Breasts and Eggs" which is NOT short, but considering it's Kawakami I figure I will burn right through it. Thank you for including Sayaka Murata here and for being one of those who introduced me to her 👍

@amysmith1044 3 ай бұрын

Please do a video on Eve babitz❤ would love to hear your thoughts on her as I respect your views so much❤

@steveurick3044 11 ай бұрын

It’s scary when you get me all hyped to read Second Place, which I had been ambivalent about, and then give high praise to Convenience Store Woman, which (I’m sorry) I found vapid…but I guess we all just have different tastes…

@WillowTalksBooks 11 ай бұрын

I guess so

@steveurick3044 11 ай бұрын

@@WillowTalksBooks Anyway, sorry to be somewhat negative with my first comment. I really like your channel and you’ve introduced me to lots of books that I would not have encountered otherwise. Peace and love!