Favourite Books of 2023 | Classics

[@Calcprof]

The other Wilkie Collins novels -- other than The Moonstone and The Women in White -- deserve to be better known.

[@MothGirl007]

I've just recently discovered him, and love everything I've read so far - he's wonderful, imho!

[@hasteyebooks]

Adding more classics to my tbr now! Especially The Secret Diaries of Anne Lister and A Struggle for Fame!

[@acratone8300]

This channel is costing us money. Christmas was about 3 dozen Oxford Illustrated and Macmillan Collectors Library and a cabinet to store them.

[@katiejlumsden]

Sorry! 🤦‍♀️

[@jamesduggan7200]

It's a pleasure to listen to someone recapturing the emotions felt while reading a great novel. For me, the writers are different but the excitement, marvel, and astonishment are the same. Meanwhile, it is reasonably certain that hundreds, if not thousands of similarly situated readers on this channel feel and felt the same exact way! Thank you: As I said, it's a pleasure.

[@mae9064]

Totally agree with your comment. Katie you are inspirational 🙌

[@katiejlumsden]

Thanks, all ☺️

[@IamSquirrel]

I am impressed by how much you read. I love reading. I need someone to influence me to sit down and do it. I fall asleep when I read or listen to audio books. It takes me forever to get through a book.

[@laurak5196]

Your enthusiasm is so very contagious (as you would say) in the best way! Thank you. As always. You’ve pointed me to countless great books, including your own. Very grateful for your time and wonderful way of making me want to read all the books you’re most excited about. ❤️

[@bellathereader1328]

Thank you for all the reading inspiration!!💐📚💖

[@stephenn3727]

Thank you Katie!

[@melinda.stubleva]

I just stumbled upon your channel and I'm so happy I found it! I was instantly drawn by the topics of your videos - Victorian era novels, Dickens and Jane Austen, which are my favourite too. English is not my first language, I read primarily in Italian and Bulgarian, but you talk with such passion you might convince me to try and read some classics in English. Thank you for your videos, I'm looking forward to new ones!

[@barbarahelgaker390]

I loved the readalong of the Way We Live Now and am looking forward to all the stand alone Trollope novels I haven’t read yet!

[@RaynorReadsStuff]

Great video. So many books I will be adding to my TBR. Thank you for introducing me to Anthony Trollope in the group read in Victober. I loved it and am looking forward to more Victoriana this year 😊

[@noteworthyfiction]

I was just gifted a collection of Bulwer-Lytton books for Christmas, including Night and Morning. It's hard to find descriptions of all the books but a David Copperfield/Oliver Twist meet Count of Monte Cristo sounds amazing!

[@jf8559]

Always enjoy your year end wrap-ups! Happy New Year to you and all the best to you in 2024! I hope you find many delights.

[@jorjastonej]

I love the breadth of perspective and knowledge you have about Victorian literature and classics in general. It’s open reams of new book possibilities for me. Thank you!

[@MLLatUtube]

My favorite classic this year was Lady Audley's Secret, which I read for Victober. It was so good and so suspenseful! I may have found another favorite Victorian author.

[@fallenangelz291]

Have you seen the film Gaslight? It's wonderful.

[@katiejlumsden]

I haven't, but I should!

[@MothGirl007]

@@katiejlumsden I very much recommend that UK version of the story. The American version is quite good, but imho the UK one is the better of the two - Anton Walbrook is terrifying as the male lead and it's just a great movie, in every way,

[@beckybleaden]

Great video! I only read 13 classics this year which is the lowest ever 😮 my favourite has to be Maurice by EM Forster - so moving. My favourite non fiction had to be All Creatures Great and Small by James Herriot, so so cosy

[@katiejlumsden]

Maurice is such an amazing book.

[@launchedathousand]

Every time you talk about Trollope it makes me want to pick him up, sadly I didn't get to the group read this year but hopefully this year I'll finally be able to read one of his works. I think my favourite classics this year were Dombey and Son, East of Eden by John Steinbeck and A Woman of No Importance.

[@librariesandlabradors]

Currently reading Phineas Finn by Trollope and so enjoying it. I can’t believe he wrote so many novels, I have so much to look forward to!

[@jodihowe7274]

I love Barnaby Rudge and thrilled to hear your review. My favorite Victorian novel this year was, also, Man and Wife! Happy New Year🎉

[@Baileyhouse1]

Thanks again for sharing your love of classics, some great suggestions added to my TBR. My favourite 2023 classics were Evelina by Frances Burney (a reread with a book group), Barnaby Rudge and Martin Chuzzlewit as part of the Mega Dickens Readalong. 😎

[@CharlesHeathcote]

I wish that I'd read more classics in 2023, although I'm thinking more in terms of Victorian literature than anything else. Very pleased to hear Barnaby Rudge get a mention as it's a book from Dickens that I have avoided for over a decade because other readers labelled it a slog. Also, hoping to try and make some headway into Anthony Trollope this year because I tend to always like what I read from him - I'm considering The Struggles of Brown, Jones & Robinson next as it seems rather short, and I saw the word "haberdashery" mentioned in the blurb, and it is a favourite word of mine. Either way, I look forward to your next best of list, and hope 2024 brings a whole host of new favourites your way.

[@katiejlumsden]

I want to read The Struggles of Brown, Jones & Robinson soon, too. Trollope is just so great. I'd definitely recommend Barnaby Rudge - it's great and very underrated!

[@josmith5992]

I read Barnaby Rudge for the first year with the readalong with low expectations as I’d never heard much about it but I was so surprised how much I enjoyed it and I was having the exact same thought the other day Katie, I often think Trollope is my favorite Victorian author but am rereading Bleak House at the moment and am loving it so much. I think they are just very different authors and it’s probably more a case of favorite individual books by them both than one author being better than the other. 🤔

[@katiejlumsden]

I think that's it - they are both so very different as writers.

[@ludd7929]

Please a new Trollope ranking this year, so great !! Happy New Year 🎉🎇

[@katiejlumsden]

I want to wait until I've finished them all - it won't be too long now! :)

[@JulianTheRanger]

I didn't read many classics this year, only 5 (out of a total of 81 books) but it was a great selection! My favourite was Frankenstein, closely followed by Sylvia's Lovers, both of which I was reading for the first time. I watched your video about Sylvia's Lovers after finishing it and totally agree that Philip is both the protagonist and a very interesting character! Sometimes he really melted my heart and at other moments I straight-up loathed him, what a fascinating figure.

[@katiejlumsden]

Such a great book!

[@scallydandlingaboutthebooks]

So many splendours in this video so I just want to agree that Patrick Hamilton is such a fine writer, troubled himself and delving into the dark parts of the human psyche. I think Hangover Square may be my favourite of his novels. And that whenever I hear the words Charley's Aunt I automatically break into a grin.

[@katiejlumsden]

Hangover Square is so great - I must read more by Patrick Hamilton this year!

[@rustiqjoy]

My two favourites are The Odd Women and The Way We Live Now. Anthony Trollope is fast becoming a favourite as well. Happy New Year.

[@betinaceciliafeld9854]

Excellent video! Oh, that reflection at the end! I can't believe you're so close to read all of Trollope's works, I still remember when you announced your Anthony Trollope project and the tally was at 26, I believe. Such a journey! From this list I've only read Nina Balatka and absolutely loved it! That scene at the Sinagogue was so vivid, and the ending! I was at the edge of my seat! I wish you a very happy New Year and happy reading!

[@katiejlumsden]

So, I think before 2019, I had only read 12 books by Anthony Trollope! And then these last five years, I have read a lot XD

[@lizh9497]

I hope to get to Trollope one day. This year I only read 8 classics. My favourite was Sense and Sensibility (now just have 1 Austen to go - Emma). I also enjoyed Dombey and Son which I bought based on one of your videos. This was only my 3rd Dickens (after A Christmas Carol and Oliver Twist). I hope to get to David Copperfield and Great Expectations this year.

[@ArtBookshelfOdyssey]

I’ll be rereading Barnaby Rudge this year! I’ve only read it once a while ago and I can’t remember much about it either.

[@katiejlumsden]

I hope you love it on a reread - it's great!

[@ArtBookshelfOdyssey]

@@katiejlumsden I'm rereading Nicholas Nickleby right now. I'm enjoying that!

[@KierTheScrivener]

I have had that feeling when reading Trollope this year, being like maybe? Just maybe and I'm only on my ninth Trollope.

[@danieljackson3367]

I'm reading Ralph the Heir at the moment! Trollope described it as "one of the worst novels I have written", but it seems good so far (I'm still relatively early in it). I'm encouraged to hear you liked it so much. I'm on a bit of a Trollope kick at the moment - this is the sixth of his novels I've read on my summer holiday and I'm hoping to get through several more in the week that remains of my holiday! An Eye for an Eye and Nina Balatka are among the Trollope novels that I still have to look forward to.

[@danieljackson3367]

I have now just got to a sad bit (you can probably guess what!) and have had to pause for a bit because I am too sad.

[@katiejlumsden]

I really loved Ralph the Heir myself - it was massive fun! Trollope is so great.

[@danieljackson3367]

@@katiejlumsden I have just finished it and did really enjoy it! Onto Mr Scarborough's Family now!

[@kathleencraine7335]

Great wrap-up, as always. My experience was the same with Barnaby Rudge--first reading was OK, but it was the audiobook that made it so fantastic, especially the riot scenes. Yes, I understand the feeling about Dickens and Trollope. I also just finished Ralph the Heir and am in the middle of Bleak House, and so I feel very much the same. I did love the old squire Gregory, but I also appreciated the nuance that Trollope put into Sir Thomas--he felt more like the main character to me and he felt very real to me. I found the election chapters much more interesting and engaging than I expected. However, I didn't like the way Trollope handled Patience; I think she deserved better. And I could have used a little less of Mr. Neefit and a little more of Mr Moggs. But still a great novel. And isn't it fantastic to have 13 more to go! And then start re-reading them all!😀

[@katiejlumsden]

I feel like the audiobook of Barnaby Rudge did make a big difference to the riot scenes - I remember finding them hard to follow and not that engaging when I read it physically, but on audiobook, they were amazing. Sir Thomas was amazing, too. It is exciting to have only 13 more to go! I do need to reread Rachel Ray and He Knew He Was Right, too - those are the two I read as a teenager and haven't reread since, so I definitely need to return to them.

[@jackiesliterarycorner]

I cannot pick one favorite, but some of them were Anne of Green Gables, Anna Karenina, The Idiot, and Anglo-Saxon Attitudes

[@polyglotreading]

Thank you for this great video 😊 You make me want to give a 2nd try to Barnaby Rudge. I dnf'ed it about 10 years ago, because I found it slow and boring. Maybe I was just not in the right mood, - we'll see. I love to see a good amount of Trollope on your list, he's currently my favourite victorian author. It's a pity he is almost unknown in Germany. I consider myself an avid reader, but the first time I came across one of his novels was in my forties 😂

[@katiejlumsden]

Maybe give Barnaby Rudge a try on audiobook, if you like audiobooks - the audiobook made a big difference to me, I'd say, especially in the more dramatic scenes.

[@polyglotreading]

@@katiejlumsden Thank you, - I'll give it a try. I noticed that there's even a free audiobook version available at LibriVox 🙂

[@Heartonmysleeve-gj1kp]

It must have been quite a read to tempt you away from Dickens whose Pictures From Italy I am currently reading and loving, and wonderful to relate Sky Arts have recently broadcast a documentary on Dickens in Italy which I'm so looking forward to watching after completing the book.

[@cafeaulivre]

If you liked Ariadne Oliver, then I have good news: she'll pop up again now and then in later Agatha Christie books. ;) I do agree do, Cards on the table is amongst my favorites.

[@katiejlumsden]

So I have heard! I'm excited.

[@kana7715]

lovely video! an unrelated question: have you read vanity fair? by william makepeace. I'd love to hear your thoughts on that, and if you have spoken about this novel before, could you point me the video? I didn't find anything by the titles

[@katiejlumsden]

So, I have read Vanity Fair, but about 15 years ago when I was a teenager, so I haven't spoken about it much on this channel. I need to reread it some time.

[@whatkaylasays]

Do you have a recommendation on where to start with Trollope?

[@katiejlumsden]

I've got a video here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/a4LZnYuKodZjn7c which covers it, because I have lots of different thoughts. Generally I recommend starting with one of his standalones, something like The Claverings, Doctor Wortle's School, The Way We Live Now, etc.

[@whatkaylasays]

@@katiejlumsden oh! Thank you so much. I guess I have another video to watch 😁

[@AmalijaKomar]

Please tell me, should I read Trollop's Can You Forgive Her cos heard a lot of bad reviews. It is so hard to find him in translation.

[@katiejlumsden]

Can You Forgive Her is great - it's the first book in a series though, so I don't necessarily recommend starting with it. I'm surprised you've heard a lot of bad reviews, though; I know a lot of people who love it.

[@moonwalk3rr]

4:38 I just realised that the reason this seems familiar to me is that it's been adapted into a marathi play i saw as a child, what a trip 😅 This is that play kzbin.info/www/bejne/m3SyloWBbrNqh68feature=shared

[@katiejlumsden]

So interesting!

[@properlittlemadam4789]

I'm reading Bleak House for the Dickens mega readathon , what can I say? I'm thinking what is this all about and I'm finding it so boring, honestly . Trollop is fast becoming my favourite author .I just love all his books.

[@katiejlumsden]

Perhaps Dickens just isn't so much for you!

[@RossMaynardProcessExcellence]

That's a lot of books read. I thought I was doing well with 20-30 per year!

[@andreadaleyutronebel5894]

Read some books about the Palestinian struggle. They are facing genocide under the zionists.