Getting back into reading

Give me some book recommendations in the comments!
My Friends:
Mark: / @drunzo363
Matt: / @mattsbookshelf4084
Movie Podcast:
/ @filmfrauds7018
Music: www.bensound.c...
#booktube #book #classicliterature #literature

[@mattsbookshelf4084]

I think you would really like this book called "Shogun"

[@colorlesswonderland]

You are my mortal enemy

[@EveryoneWhoReadsitMustConverse]

@The Booked Escape Plan Shogun is an amazing novel. I am reading it in March

[@EveryoneWhoReadsitMustConverse]

@The Booked Escape Plan reread 😝

[@EveryoneWhoReadsitMustConverse]

@The Booked Escape Plan an event all about reading BIG books- March of the Mammoths! 😎

[@EveryoneWhoReadsitMustConverse]

@The Booked Escape Plan aw yeah! There are many themes and prompts for reading here on Booktube 👍 I just reread The Violent Bear it Away so, content coming soon 😝

[@JulianWyllie]

I just read Confessions of a Mask this year. Picked it up on a whim after knowing about Mishima for years but never trying him. I really love everything about that book.

[@mrsn00del]

booktube jack harlow

[@ruben2574]

Glad to see you liked confessions of a mask. I think you will also enjoy reading Yu Hua, his best works are "To live" and "Chronicle of a Blood Merchant"

[@colorlesswonderland]

I'll have to check those out! Thank you for the recommendation!

[@hw744]

Yes! I read Yu hua’s To live couple years ago. I can still remember the devastating feeling it gave me. It’s a shame that I’ve only read one of his novel. Although I thoroughly loved it, I dread to pick up another work by him because how depressing it is. But I can’t recommend the book enough.

[@vera2352]

Do you have goodreads?

[@stanbrown32]

Have you read any of Margaret Atwood? The Handmaid's Tale is most famous, but you might want to start with Alias Grace, set in 19th century Ontario, or The Blind Assassin, a book with parts set in 1930s Ontario, part in the 1990s, with a science fiction narrative woven throughout.

[@colorlesswonderland]

I actually taught The Handmaid's Tale my first year teaching so I have read her stuff before! I have not checked out Alias Grace thought but it sounds really compelling! Thank you for the recommendation!

[@douloureux.]

Since you liked Mishima, i highly recommend Dazai (esp no longer human). For Mishima: the sailor who fell from grace with the sea

[@colorlesswonderland]

I will have to check out Dazai thank you for the rec! I also bought that Mishima book recently and plan on reading it soon!

[@yenasung]

The book that emotionally ravaged me while covid was ravaging me is The Days of Abandonment by Elena Ferrante. I’d already read and loved the Neapolitan novels so I knew what a Ferrante novel does to a person, but it still erupted my emotions despite the strange blandness I felt with everything else during covid recovery. It sounds similar to Ruth Hall but for women circa 1980s which doesn’t seem that long ago to me, a woman born during the 1980s, but at the same time the blatantly misogynistic normalities of life feels absolutely ancient. Even though things aren’t that much different today, tbh. I’m glad you’re feeling better and finding yourself again through great books and stories. Stay safe!

[@colorlesswonderland]

Thank you so much for the kind words and the recommendation! If it feels similar to Ruth Hall then it's an immediate pick-up for me! Also it being set in the 1980s -- which really has so many similarities like you said -- makes it all the more interesting!

[@guyakerstimelord]

first

[@boe3579]

I would suggest doing some light reading/video watching on postmodern literature to better understand Thomas Pynchon. I had to do this for varsity literature and it definitely helps with understanding the likes of Pynchon, DeLilo and Murakami.

[@colorlesswonderland]

That is a great idea! Thank you for the tips! I'll definitely watch/read stuff before I tackle Gravity's Rainbow

[@CezzL]

I feel like I found your channel at the perfect time. I'm also a teacher and have lately realised I've been burning the candle at both ends - lots of long hours, working over the weekends, barely getting enough sleep, and (like you said) dropping all of my interests. I just haven't been able to sit and concentrate on reading (one of my favourite hobbies!) and just watching you speak so passionately about these books is so inspiring.

[@Pollymacho]

Just came across this through the power of the youtube algorithm, this channel seems incredibly based. If you haven't already read it, I would highly recommend checking out the novel Stoner by John Williams, it's such a beautiful experience.

[@colorlesswonderland]

Hey Pollymacho! I've actually already read Stoner by John Williams and made an entire video gushing about how much I love the book! I'm glad there are more us out there who love it

[@jackallan9446]

Can I send you a book?

[@lidiarebecchi3332]

If you liked Mishima, I really recommend, and think you'd really like, his piece "The sailor who fell from grace with the sea". It's very short but makes such a strong impression! It's also a coming of age story and includes a lot of the same "explicit" elements you described, it's a really good book :)

[@BrandonsBookshelf]

Hey man, love what you said here, welcome back to reading ha! I just finished an amazing novel called In The Distance and I freaking love it! Give it a shot!

[@colorlesswonderland]

Hey thank you so much! I'll add it to the list it looks really good!

[@BrandonsBookshelf]

@@colorlesswonderland I dont read much fiction, so when I find one that hits I hold on tight!

[@stanbrown32]

I'm really glad you got your reading spirit back! Teaching is a really hard job, and being a novice teacher is extra tough--you spend so much time lesson planning, grading, and just thinking about your students and what happens in the classroom--it's intense. Making time to read for pleasure, maybe a half hour before you go to bed (this can be hard if you're staying up late writing lesson plans or grading) to settle your mind for sleep, is a great self-care mechanism. By the way, "roman a clef," as you probably know, means "novel with a key"--so you read a novel like Primary Colors, for example, and the key to it is that the main character is modeled on Bill Clinton. The phrase is French, so you pronounce it roh-MANN ah clay.

[@sknight2810]

I bought mashima book, that exact one but i couldn’t understand anything so i feel soo dumb, im just not a classic gurl😭

[@b0dab9]

From what you said about Yukio Mishima I think you would love Osamu Dazai. They both are very reflective and overall tackle life and identity!

[@LaurensNerdyFunStuff]

High school and university was what made me burnt out from reading. Especially at university since we had to read so many dry texts, often that were also poorly formatted and scanned/reprinted. I have a few disabilities that make reading more difficult for me, so I especially struggled with that, and I felt like I struggled much more than my peers. I felt incredibly stupid for not keeping pace or understanding the text as thoroughly as I was supposed to. Now that I've finished university, I've been trying to get back into reading. It's been a bit of mixed results since the recent years have been awful, but I feel like I'm slowly getting back into it. There hasn't been any one book in particular that has helped, but what had worked well so far for me was to give myself permission to read easier books. Stuff like manga, light novels, children's books, and middle grade books. I do want to tackle more challenging works, but just getting those easy wins has helped a lot for getting my reading confidence back.

[@malusantana586]

This is super biased, but a book I really like is "The Posthumous Memoirs of Brás Cubas", its a fiction by Machado de Assis, a brazilian novelist. Its one of those books that you simply laugh out loud. Its basically about this guy who dies and wants to narrate how his life was, but he is one of those protagonists that you can't trust, and everything he says is filled with either irony or absurd lies, that make this book hilarious. Also, those jokes are filled with critical commentary on society and its interactions , just like anything Machado does. I don't know if you are into classics from other countries, but i think you really should try this one. Also, it has one of the best opening lines i've read: "To the worm that first gnawed at the cold flesh of my cadaver I dedicate as a fond remembrance these posthumous memoirs.".

[@fazeblackbean]

I know this isn’t in the same genre as the books you talked about in this video but if you’re ever looking for a short story collection, check out Afterparties by Anthony Veasna So! I’ve been recommending it to all my friends, it was one of my favorite books from last year. I loved this video btw, can’t wait to check out Confessions of a Mask

[@colorlesswonderland]

Thank you so much for the kind words! I cant wait to see what you think about with Confessions of a Mask! And I just added that short story collection to my TBR it looks really fascinating! Thank you again!

[@chrissyfuhrie]

It’s crazy that getting Covid can lead to a pivotal life moment. I had a similar experience in November when I had it. Silver lining I guess? (2 videos in one day. Not trying to stalk- just really like your content 🙂)

[@colorlesswonderland]

You never have to apologize about watching my videos! It's literally the most flattering and humbling thing ever thank you so much! How was your experience with COVID? What literature direction did it throw you down?

[@chrissyfuhrie]

@@colorlesswonderland I was on the luckier end as far as COVID symptoms went. I did get winded easily and didn’t want to get out of bed much, but other than that it was pretty mild. I actually didn’t read much though. I ended up leaning on music which really surprised me. I took piano lessons throughout grade school and middle school, but didn’t stick to it. I was done with music the second my mom allowed me to quit- haha. I haven’t played an instrument in over 16 years. As an adult, we have a few guitars laying around the house now. I ended up bringing one to bed with me out of severe boredom and looking up tutorials. This resulted in me spending two weeks playing it. Afterwards, I bought a cheap electric piano. Since November I have played either guitar or piano almost daily. (not well by any means 😂) It was something that felt like a chore as a kid. I hated it. Turns out, as an adult, it actually centers me. If it wasn’t for COVID, I probably never would have began playing again. I hope your experience with COVID was also mild, but I’m happy that it got you back to your interest. 🙂

[@donnatalley144]

I’m new to your channel but I’d like to know if you’ve read A Gentleman In Moscow by Amor Towles. It’s an absolutely beautiful book. He’s an exceptional writer …

[@katr2771]

V should like the fictional life of George Eliot

[@marcelocarrion99]

V. is such an experience in how strange it all feels between the strange scenes of Profane in NY and the sewers and the Stencil stories all around the world (Mondaugen's story and the Florence one with the painting are some of the most amazing self-contained stories I've ever read). It's quite hard and I probably didn't "get" a lot of it with how abstract the different chapters felt, but there's some truly amazing passages in it. There's something on the way Pynchon develops stories within stories that's fascinating and captivating like few other writers. I read Lot 49 and Inherent Vice before it and they are definitely easier and also masterful novels which I recommend a lot (IV is so fun and engaging, Lot 49 is really short but full of paranoia and strangeness but if you got through V. it shouldn't be much trouble). Pynchon already is one of my favorite writers and I'm so excited to keep diving on his catalogue! He's definitely tough to crack, but there's few novelists out there that create such enveloping stories and complex narratives that at the same time are so fun and interesting, which doesn't make him as inaccesible as he's usually made out to be. Difficult, yes, but in a way that makes you keep wanting to engage with the texts :)

[@colorlesswonderland]

You just put Pynchon's appeal better than I ever could! I will 100% be checking out Lot 49 now because of how engrossed I am with the way he perfectly weaves together multiple narratives into some kind of beautiful symmetrical fever dream!

[@infinitemia]

You should read infinite jest. Also After the Banquet is another good mishima book

[@colorlesswonderland]

I own after the banquet so that's perfect I'll check that one out! Infinite Jest seems so daunting I am super nervous to try it

[@Le_Samourai]

I hadn’t heard of any of these books

[@douloureux.]

Time to change that

[@Facesforce]

So, I am probably going to be villified for my opinions, but I am going to say this as respectively as I can: First, I don't think we are going to see eye to eye, and second, I don't think you know what a patriarchal society truly is. You see, when I was living in Japan, I realized that is what a Patriarchal society is. Actually, make that a Patriarchal Ethnopolice state to be precise. Over there, your race and gender matter. If you're a woman, you are simply barred out of certain positions, out of most power hierarchies. If you are not Japanese, I hope you enjoy the 5 jobs you can actually hold over there, because if you're not Japanese, forget about working other then as a millitary man, English teacher, Salesman, Foreign Salaryman transferee or a Bouncer for one of the many nightclubs. That's the scope of what a truly limited society looks like. In contrast, there are no limitations on women or ethnic groups in America. It's only something you can see when you're not caught up in the political zeitgeist of our age, and actually spend time with boots on the ground for a few years in places where these institutional barriers actually do exist. Lastly, I recommend Raymond Chandler "The Long Goodbye". Might introduce you to a new perspective, something more open then what is provided so commonly these days.

[@xMoac]

What patriarchy? Why do you speak seemingly negatively of the system?