My Top 15 books of 2020 | A literary overview

[@kialazyeyereader1822]

I couldn't help but be reminded of something I thought of the other day as I looked for a KZbin video to watch: I noticed how a lot of the booktubers I follow talk about the same books, or same series, even when they are reading classics or "diverse" it's the same like 5-10 books still... so you really have to dig deep into booktube to find the different stuff 🤔 That's why I like channels like yours, because you don't just read what is hyped, and I lost my mind when I saw you read a book from my country (Denmark) by an author I adore hehe I may not be commenting a lot, but I love watching your videos ^-^

[@kialazyeyereader1822]

Also may I add I really like this type of video :)

[@IguessImight]

I agree completely! This channel is an incredible enrichment for booktube.

[@kialazyeyereader1822]

@@IguessImight it really is ^-^

[@harry_ord]

Likewise, I had never thought of reading beyond Japanese science fiction before now I'm more interested. Like you said a lot of the books they review tend to be the same new releases.

[@chaoticacademiavibes_]

Yess, i completely agree!!😍

[@subhakhan1900]

I am so fucking happy that this one-hour-long video exists! also yes the pumpkins are back!

[@TheArtisanGeek]

Ahh thank you!! Very glad to pumpkins are back!! :D

[@RoisinsReading]

Really enjoyed this chill style of video, just folded my laundry and listened to you talk about literature. I turn 30 at the end of 2022 and you've made me think about taking on a challenge to read 30 classics before I'm 30, but make it so none of them are written by English authors. I grew up in London and we read very little of anything outside of England even at school, like I don't think we even read Scottish or Welsh classic literature and of course nothing from Asia or Latin America so there's so much I have to try.

[@Lotta-sk8bi]

I love the fact that you got more into classic literature this year, that’s how I found your channel and I love your diverse approach! 😍👏

[@TheArtisanGeek]

Ah that's so nice to hear, thank you very much!! :D

[@nthabiandherbooks]

I think the shift in your content was evident and I really enjoyed it as someone who has been a long time subscriber. I picked up some of your classics recommendations and I really enjoyed them. Looking forward to more of this. And I love this video, you look so relaxed.

[@TheArtisanGeek]

Thank you very much, I'm so glad to hear that! :D

[@lmac3869]

A classics video would be amazing. I could listen to you talk about books all day. Ramble on 🙂📚

[@TheArtisanGeek]

Haha glad to hear it!! I think I'll try and make a video about classics next month :)

[@nico-et3cz]

watched the patreon early video and folks, you're gonna enjoy this one! personally loved the laid back type of video and it brought up some interesting topics and lots of books I'm looking forward to reading at some point :)

[@keijello3632]

my excitement seeing this in my feed is IMMENSE

[@TheArtisanGeek]

Aaah thank you so much!! :D

[@colbyo4817]

Great discussion and list! Would love to see another video on classics. I don't have a KZbin channel but have been getting more involved with challenges and comments, etc. over the past few months and definitely began feeling burned out from trying to read so many hyped books just to participate in the discussions. This video is a good reminder that I need to go back to reading what I want to read whether or not it's popular in the moment - otherwise reading doesn't feel as fun.

[@sassafrass3636]

I absolutely love that you make a genuine effort to pronounce authors' names accurately in their native tongue. This is something I am personally working on and I just appreciate your attention to this!

[@meghadey9281]

It's 2:44 am in the morning and I am watching this. Don't have any regrets.

[@TheArtisanGeek]

Thank you for sacrificing your sleep for my watch time haha! :D

[@Lotta-sk8bi]

Yes, we are interested in the wrap up! 🤓

[@TheArtisanGeek]

Will do! :D

[@zcapari]

yesssss re the new releases things. There are great even contemporary books from the last 10 years that are still relevant and underappreciated and they're worth the time and discussion

[@adriannamartin5992]

Subscribing to last year, was one of the best decisions last year. Every time I watch your videos I feel my brain cells increase !!!

[@gemmalouiseg]

i related so much to what you said about how the passing of your friend has affected you. i had a friend pass away in my final year of high school and it was obviously devastating but the added element of our age made it feel especially difficult for me. i'm sending you love as you continue to cope with their passing xx on another note - im a relatively recent subscriber and i appreciate your approach to booktube/reading in general so much! i definitely find myself getting caught up trying to read all the newest releases and ive loved discovering more classics through you so thank you for that!

[@aloveoflibraries]

Totally relate to what you said about book fomo! I made a resolution this year to read everything I own before I allow myself to buy any more books (still can access stuff I don't own via the library, but haven't done that yet) and that's definitely helped relieve the pressure I feel to read the books everyone is talking about and always be up to date with what everyone is talking about (and the guilt I feel when I haven't read certain books yet).

[@BolshephobicBabe]

Yess, the mini personal renaissance description was so relatable. I feel like at some point during quarantine, I just gave in to my interests instead of worrying about which classic I should read next, or what new media is regarded as good, and it's been great.

[@lorevelasco48]

I really appreciate your diverse reading and insight, love your enunciation (very ESL friendly, thank you). Your content is great, keep it up Also thank u SO MUCH for all ur effort to pronounce names right. It means the world. Nobody pronounces my name right and it feels awful

[@AdyGrafovna]

These Ghosts Are Family was my favorite book of 2020 and some of the books on your list also made it to my own “best of 2020” list. But the novel in stories format and kaleidoscopic story telling of These Ghosts Are Family really impressed me.

[@tammikma]

It has been a gift to watch you grow in experience and confidence. I don’t often comment but want to send you some love and appreciation. You are doing such beautiful, good work.

[@inabacklistmood3124]

The opening of this video! 😆 Edit: Also I would definitely love to see you do a separate classics video in the future.

[@juliagamarano2779]

loved the video! will you ever do a bookshelf tour? or maybe just show the books you took with you to your new house :)

[@vikigirl14997]

your channel brings me such a wealth of knowledge tysm

[@TheArtisanGeek]

Thank you so much for watching, the pleasure is always mine :)

[@ThisIsMyEverybody]

Great book chat, Seji! Your comments on refining your reading experience (as well as booktuber experience) resonated with me deeply this morning... Thank you for your insight. I really enjoy expanding my understanding of how my own reading & booktuber experience impacts both my own experience and those I interact with... Always interested in your videos on classics and more. Whatever you are interested in talking about, I am interested in listening to! I look forward to "visiting with you" again soon... Denise ✨😎✨

[@ifihadfriends437]

I really hate when booktubers call a list/their reading "diverse" when it's all American authors of different ethnicities (with the occasional Canadian thrown in). How is that diverse???? It would be more diverse to me to read white men from around Europe because at least then you're exploring different cultures. I love that you don't do this Seji you're a legend!

[@GabrielBarbosa-bl4sb]

Primeiro video estrangeiro, com mais de 50 minutos, que eu assisto hahahaha Muito bom!!

[@crazybooklady8682]

Interesting that you've loved so many short stories collections in 2020! I haven't found a favourite short stories collection, but I'll keep trying anyway

[@TheArtisanGeek]

Yeah I seem to like shorter stories in general :) Hope you'll end up finding a favourite!! :D

[@dearpax6020]

I loved listening to you talk about this, many of the recommendations had me very interested, but the general discussion was so great as well! I really like to hear the discussion about the fact that on a lot of online literature/book community is very fast the newest books to talk about bam the next is quite stressful. this year im not gonna buy any books, so I can't really get to reading new books which is quite nice cause there's no stress!

[@miaarndt9501]

I just reserved the audiobook of Revenge from my library and I’m so excited!! I’m always looking for good audiobook recommendations (cause a good book can be ruined in audio, in my experience) - I wasn’t planning on listening to horror-esque stories this spring but thanks to you it’s happening 🌷💀

[@kialazyeyereader1822]

I've commented before but I just thought that I would let you know that a Danish singer Anne Linnet actually made a music album using Tove Ditlevsen's poems... thought it might be an interesting way of experiencing her poems 😅 If you would like I can find some of them and send the link ^-^

[@subhakhan1900]

Also yes! everything you said makes so much sense. I've always been into world classics, magical realism, and with not being able to continually buy books I always ended up reading a lot of backlist gems. In school in the US as you said the western canon was so narrow. So for me, because what I was being taught was so narrow I forced myself to branch out and actually intentionally look for diverse classics and you making videos about what I had/was experiencing with discovering new types of literature was so marvelous!

[@lalilaura1000]

oh my!! my favourite booktuber talking about my national literature??? about Borges??? i love it so much!!

[@heydearstayhere]

dropping in to say your channel is a blessing and a breath of fresh air for me! i love the content of your interests and totally understand the "personal renaissance" esp in regards to animanga, actually. i didn't used to get swept up in what people watched and read but socmed has changed that for me. i felt the fomo and then decided to leave socmed for the month and... Fomo Gone. i'm watching anime that just interest me and have started reading more books again!!

[@laughingallthetime8D]

it's been sooo cool to see how your channel has grown this year!!

[@TheArtisanGeek]

Ah thank you so much for sticking around! :)

[@victorysampson]

Thank you so much for recommending The Death of Vivek Oji by Akwaeke Emezi. I needed to read that.

[@sab8019]

love ur energy/vibes here ❤️ im catching up ur vlogs so sorry for the late comment but id love a classics video!! 🏄‍♀️

[@mcollezione]

I am obsessed with your hairstyles. They are so 50s and I LOVE IT

[@mcollezione]

1950s*

[@OutlanderImagination]

incredible, inspiring, innovative appreciated really getting to know you and your reading with this video !

[@tanishaorejuela1501]

I feel you in regards to reading Borges! I’m Latin American, my mother tongue is Spanish, I studied in the Humanities faculty and I still struggle so much with his literary works! Nevertheless, he was a genius.

[@mymessynotebook2207]

an hour long video? It is a good day!!!!

[@reflectionsonliterature804]

Have you heard about or read "They Will Drown in Their Mothers' Tears" by Johannes Anyuru? It's a Swedish speculative fiction about terrorism, it's by an afro-swedish poet. Since you mentioned that you like prose written by poets. I've heard that the translation isn't very good in English, but maybe you can find a better one in another language you speak. It's called "De kommer att drunkna i sina mödrars tårar" in its original if it will be easier to find that way. It won a literary prize here and I really loved it ☺️ The ending is a little cheesy, but the writing and plot is great regardless 🙂

[@luca.desu.2590]

I loved this! & very glad you put time stamps because I kept getting interested as you're talking but then not remembering the title and author 😅

[@lizjanet6742]

These all sound amazing, I can't wait to catch up on reading! Hope you're doing well!

[@TheArtisanGeek]

I'm doing alright Liz, hope you are too! We need to catch up soon xx

[@favbookshelf8788]

Loved the video. Amazing books. Actually going to read some books from the video.

[@bud993]

Hello , first of all thank you for the video , and could u make the video on classic literature , whenever I try to read classics I get stumped since I do not have a diverse enough selection i guess ?

[@carlottalivrieri216]

I’m so happy that you got into classic literature this year, otherwise I would have never found out about you! I was looking for diverse classics to read, too, and stumbled on one of your videos! Since then, I added sooo many interesting books to my wishlist! Thank you! Really curious to see what you’ll read this year. I’ll take notes. ;)

[@Guitar4Eva100]

Hey I just wanted to let you know that I tried out quite a few different books last year because of you, and I really appreciate it! My highlight was a Gabriel García Márquez novel, The Autumn Of The Patriarch. I'd never have even heard about his works, if not for you, so I'm really grateful! I'll do my best to check out more of your recommendations as well. Really appreciate your work & I look forward to your future videos :D

[@NicoleMae]

i love everything about thisssss

[@PiaMakinang]

I love this so much!! You’re so eloquent and lovely!! 💖 and your discussion of classic literature 👌🏼👌🏼👌🏼👌🏼

[@starwolvie]

I picked up Earthlings from the library yesterday evening and read it all in one sitting. So much more intense than Convenience Store Woman! It was so good! As I've only recently found your channel I've now got to put so many more books on my TBR

[@TheQuinnLetitia]

I love ur channel omggg. Your books and comic reviews are so good

[@TheArtisanGeek]

Ah thank you very much!! :D

[@depressedtv]

I just finished reading Black No More by George Schuyler because I saw on goodreads that you had read it. It's funny. It's also kind of wild it was written in the 1930s.

[@kaylacote5376]

I just found your channel, I adore your content and I must say I am in LOVE with your style. Fashion advice please? 😅💕

[@melissamybubbles6139]

This will be my second year doing a reading goal. So far it's set at 35 and I've finished 6, almost 7. I mostly read nonfiction, but I'm looking to add some fiction. It might be nice to try some international books, either fiction or nonfiction. I agree with the idea that it's exhausting and less fun to try to keep up with reading Joneses.

[@lisa3965]

ohhhh, I'm really looking forward to watching this video after work today 🥺 fyi, the kokoro timestamp in the description doesn't work (I think there's an extra space)

[@TheArtisanGeek]

Thanks so much for watching Lisa, I hope you'll enjoy it! :) And thank, you were right -- it's fixed now :)

[@dalalali1628]

Godd this is amazing i feel like my friend is talking with me and we’re sitting down chilling

[@heyimsasa]

first of all, that entrance was grand and you're beautiful 💖 this is a really fantastic discussion seji~ i've also really been enjoying your streams lately! i agree about problematic in content from authors who were a product of their time--even now, i have to adjust to the generational differences being a millennial (myself) and zoomers (gen z). it's really important to acknowledge problematic content, especially as public content creators. i feel like it's easier to do with creators who are dead rather than people who are alive now. this was a big discussion in one of loc'd booktician's streams about terfs like jk blahblah, agatha christie, and most recently chimamanda ngozi adichie. she was explicity nasty and transphobic to akwaeke emezi (who has spoken about this a lot). so is adichie a product of her time or does her being alive today change things? personally, i think her transphobia is unforgivable because she went out of her way to hurt someone and she has the resources and the reach available to her to have a change of heart--which i can only hope she'd do.

[@pb1475]

Just subscribed to your channel Really enjoy your content First video I watched from your channel was Osamu Dazai's No Longer Human book review🥺💕

[@dragontears]

Fantastic video, and I'm glad you're reading Latin American literature! I've not read as much as I should, but everything I've ever read is amazing. I wish it would get more love on the other side of the planet. Or even just in the US.

[@christinacampbellbooks]

Definitely want to read The Death of Vivek Oji this year. It sounds wonderful. I really enjoy hearing a story backwards.

[@TheArtisanGeek]

Oh it's a total trip, beautifully written! I hope you'll enjoy it :D

[@fmenesessalgado]

31:50 LOVELY! Also, the crazy thing is that you never know if all of the references are true of made up by the own Borges.

[@ChristyLuisDostoevskyinSpace]

100% interested in hearing about what you read but haven't reviewed :D I am loving #BlackLitChallenge! The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman has become a new favorite 🖤

[@trina7012]

Is "The Human Chair" included in the book you mentioned "Japanese Tales" ??? I've read nearly all of Junji Ito's stuff and "The Human Chair" was one of my favorites, SO creepy haha, but I didn't realize it was based on something else!!!

[@carlredmon5885]

Hey! The pumpkin pillows are back!

[@TheArtisanGeek]

Yess!! :D

[@JoshsBookishVoyage]

I did not realize this video was so long when I started it. What a pleasant surprise.

[@TheArtisanGeek]

Happy to hear it! Cheers! :)

[@vanya2026]

i'm a bit late to the party, but great video! i've been meaning to pick up kokoro for a while now and you might have given me that final push. also, you mentioned at the beginning how narrow the western canon of classics is, and it's something i think about a lot whenever i pick up something outside that canon. but when you mentioned polish classics (it was probably just a random example, but still), it made me have some more thoughts™. of course, the belief that western europe is somehow better or more developed culturally than the rest is rooted in many complicated problems i'm too stupid to dwell on, but i also think that polish classics get ignored because polish people fucking hate them for the most part and therefore don't talk much about them. in school we're spoonfed 10 different plays and multiple long novels about how we should love and fight for our fatherland and how poor and tortured it is (sometimes literally comparing poland to jesus christ which i find disgustingly cheap) and by the time we get to the good stuff, everyone is so burned out they don't want to read anything ever, much less talk about it. oof, sorry for the rant but i'm just!! really frustrated with the polish education system, especially now that my final exams are coming up. if you're in the market for some polish classics i would definitely recommend the doll by boleslaw prus and ferdydurke by witold gombrowicz. the doll is about unrequited love during the early days of capitalism, but also so much more. it's reeeeeeeeally long, around 700 pages, but it's SO worth it. ferdydurke is um... difficult to describe. very avant-garde. very satirical. the author was also queer, and that's something that comes up in his works from time to time. i also thoroughly enjoyed the street of crocodiles by bruno schulz, though most of my friends didn't so this one seems to be a bit hit-or-miss. sorry again for this horrendous block of text, i rarely get to discuss polish lit outside the classroom and thought someone in the comment section might appreciate the recommendations : 3

[@ariannelg]

Being intelligent and knowing different languages makes it hard to speak our native language 😂 you are a blessing! I love your originality and the fact you read different books and specially Worldwide classics such as Machado de Assis 💚💛

[@TheBookFinch]

🎃🎃🎃 For the pumpkins!

[@raquelmarcalsantos]

I’m Brazilian and I studied languages in college. In the first semester, Borges was one of our mandatory readings. I read it. Did I understand ANYTHING? Not really 🤣😅 To this day, I run away from him, although I, now, as an adult who left college 6 years ago, completely understand and admire his role in not only Latin American but literature in general. Still, it’s a tough read. 😅

[@drawyourbook876]

So many thoughts I have had... I tend to not like classics because I often feel like they are very white male UK dominated here in book tube, and although there are some that deal with class, it feels mostly very first world problems of a 100 years ago, which I am not into it. Also, I love backlisted books, which is a lot of what I read since I read mostly from the library. I have just started a series in my channel about backlisted books for that exact reason, because I want to create a tiny bit of that newness and excitement, but with older books...

[@donghunsbeautifuleyes7692]

Hi there!! New sub here, tysm for the recommendations!!! I plan to start a lot more reading again after my finals in a few months and this really helped me out♡ thank. You. So much!!^^

[@mariamh99]

this made my day

[@ooh29]

I watched the entire video.

[@TheNovelSanctuary]

Love this

[@farransmith2976]

I feel like one of the issues with “classics” (esp written in English) are that they consist mainly of white men. Those are the books that sold the best and were discussed most in high school lit. So I think reading diverse classics is great, but that might mean you have a lot less classics to choose from or arent able to read those super commonly referenced ones. Guess it depends on your motivation for reading the genre.

[@mk.mn.8684]

YES AN HOUR LONG

[@juliaisagoodwitch]

😀😀😀

[@dawnlee1714]

📚

[@butyoursobeautiful]

There are female French classic authors that are worth reading but I never see them being read by book tube, maybe it’s because they are probably not translated

[@mglarson5936]

When you said “Fortnight Fright” I legit thought it was going to be Fortnite-themed…. My brain is poisoned

[@TheArtisanGeek]

lmaaao, if it helps you're not the first to think so XD

[@thetriptrap622]

It is strange that in the western literature you don't include Italian books

[@liwia9750]

Du u read any polish Literature?

[@TheArtisanGeek]

Yeah I do :) I've read Tokarczuk and am slowly working my way through a short story collection by Stefan Grabiński :)

[@elpocakoca120]

Your hair. I love your hair. Give us a hairstyles video please?

[@TheArtisanGeek]

Thank you! I have a couple on my channel :)

[@Miselfforever]

Dudeeee, Latin American literature -> Machado de Assis. He's basically God.

[@finay.2436]

yay!!! \^-^/

[@xxbeckyxx_6646]

Wait you had a moment where you didn't know a word? Is English your second language? What's your first?

[@hailmephistopheles]

first?

[@TheArtisanGeek]

Way to go! :)