Read two 5 star books and now I'm sad... || Reading Vlog 2023

[@BookswithEmilyFox]

What's the last book that gave you an hangover?? Because I'm not sure when I'll want to pick another book after Jade Legacy...

[@willowsnow]

The Forgotten Garden and The Distant Hours by Kate Morton. Certain parts of those books are still haunting me. It is something I always go through after reading her books usually. It has been months since I read them and they are still haunting me. She is one of my favourite authors at the moment. 😊

[@Carolina-rd3gh]

A thousand splendid suns

[@renata374]

i think it was jade legacy for me too lol read it a few months ago

[@dornesque]

Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie for me!The end haunted me for days as it is reflective of real life situation people have to live through in the aftermath of armed conflict/civil war

[@jmschnepp]

I’m in the middle of On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous. I’m going slowly as I spend the whole time interacting with the book sobbing.

[@urosmartinovic940]

I just wanted to say that you're killing it with this year's content 💅

[@BookswithEmilyFox]

Thank you! Nature hasn't been on my side but we're finally on track and finding good books lol

[@DufortIsa]

The weather sure is entertaining! It's getting crazier too it seems.

[@eleanorhenderson9896]

Agreed!! I’ve been subscribed for years but I’ve recently started watching you religiously and I’m obsessed

[@DufortIsa]

Clawdia going nuts with all the space on the couch is priceless 😂. My cats would do that everytime I would cleanup and remove pillows and blankets from the couch. Like they've never seen it before and it's awesome! 🤣

[@BookswithEmilyFox]

Apparently the new cover is very fun to play with their claws lol

[@zacharygale7886]

“The Clan is my blood and the Pillar is it’s master. On my life, on my honor, on my Jade” Fonda Lee is a genius

[@BannedBooksUS]

"What we do not speak, even to ourselves". That is genius.

[@BookswithEmilyFox]

I'm curious how good it is in Italian because the writing is great in English!

[@greywarenly]

​@@BookswithEmilyFoxcan confirm that the original writing is excellent! The audiobooks are also great.

[@conniescove5497]

Italian reader here! Binge reading L'amica geniale, currently listening to the fourth one

[@aliebellule]

Je l’ai lu en français et c’était super!

[@MlleSophietr]

I read Jade Legacy last year! It is a great conclusion to a really big serie. When I started it, I couldn't figure out hoe Fonda Lee would finish this one in one book. It is a roller coaster of emotion, but it is really well done and a great ending to a great serie! My engagement was through the roof, it was a 5 stars read for me!

[@BookswithEmilyFox]

Book 3 was a whole series in one... so much happened!

[@AprilWolf_]

I agree with Clawdia, the new couch cover is great ! Sorry you lost power again, can't imagine how exhausting it must feel. Happy to hear that the kittens are doing great, is mama Pear doing better too ? I am not thanking you for ruining my TBR by shooting Jade City and My Brilliant Friend up the list (but I guess thank you for the recommendations...) !! Also I'm supper happy you're finally finding more 5 star books this year, hope the second half of the year keeps going that way 🤞🏼

[@BookswithEmilyFox]

They're worth the TBR mess! She's slowly improving 🤞🏼🤞🏼

[@melanievanderdonk1881]

My partner and me are playing some Minecraft lately (while I listen to audiobooks). Today he got me a fox and he named her Emily 😂

[@maddielc204]

Try washing the headband with vinegar. Usually that'll get all the dye out. If not they sell tablets to put in your washer that'll help it get the dye out so it doesn’t stain stuff.

[@kittyshiv]

yay!!! happy you loved jade legacy, definitely some hard hitting moments for sure. 🥰

[@BookswithEmilyFox]

I'm still in pain :(

[@Carolina-rd3gh]

I just started My brilliant friend thanks to you!

[@laurenschenck5355]

I am glad pear is slowly healing and getting better 🩵💛📚📚🌞🌞🩵💛📚📙📙📖📖📖📚📚🩵🌞🏝️🏝️🌞💛📚📚📚📚📚📚🩵🏝️🩵💛📚📚📚📚📚💛🩵🌞🏝️🩵💛📚📚📚📙📙📖📚📚📚📚📚📚

[@kathleenverhulst4833]

I've only read my brilliant friend a couple of years ago and thought it was really good but not my genre so I did not continue. What I do remember was the setting of Naples and I could imagine myself being there with the way it was written. I recently saw a video by Peter Santenello on KZbin about Naples and even though it's the city today you could totally imagine the poor areas looking exactly the same in the '50. Would highly recommend watching.

[@giulianavieiragoncalves1999]

I'm glad the kittens are fine, I miss seeing mama cat, hope she's okay too. I'm sorry about the power problems you're having, I hope you can get a generator. I was very emotional when I read the last book in the napolitan quartet, I hope you enjoy it too

[@AshleyZieman]

I love love love Elena Ferrante. Now I feel like I need to re read them asap😊

[@mjsdc8072]

The quartet is my all time favorite fiction to date! Absolutely wonderful.

[@maria83maria]

Is popular in Europe "My brilliant friend "

[@laurenschenck5355]

SO EXCITED!!🏝️🩵🩵🏝️📚📖📚🏝️🩵📙📙🌞🌞🌞🩵💛📖📖📖📖🏝️💛🩵💛🏝️🌞🌞📙🩵💛💛🏝️📚🏝️🩵🩵🏝️📚📚📚📚🏝️💛🩵

[@blandface9957]

I feel you on the long audiobooks I'm listening to Oathbringer and it's 55hrs long 😅

[@DufortIsa]

When I heard they were making The Mayfair Witches series, I wanted to re-read them, because I read them ages ago and in french. The Witching Hour by Anne Rice is 50 hours long!! It was not even worth it 💔😅 I am not sure I will continue this series.

[@ktglick]

I think Elena Ferrante’s series is super popular but with a slightly older crowd so it doesn’t show up on social media as much. I remember around 10 years ago or so, this was required reading for hipster-ish young women.

[@kuriosni3458]

Would you be able to provide an update on Pear? Has she stopped trying to attack the kittens?

[@BookswithEmilyFox]

She’s still isolated but attacks the door less…? Kinda better but not really

[@serendipity939]

I hope the mama cat is doing great.

[@Yvette.T]

Awww Em, I really hope things improve soon! Wow, Charlie is a big boy! My 10 year old cat is only about 3.8kgs! 😂 Now Clawdia's trying to rearrange the couch cover😅 I brought home some carpet samples and had to hide them from my cat as she was doing the same thing! RIP my future new carpet 🐾

[@BookswithEmilyFox]

Oh gosh! I'm planning on getting some samples for them to play with when I make them a "cat space" in the basement lol

[@lindacasalgrandi292]

Ferrante is amazing. Her books are hard hitting and sometimes painful to read but they are real. That’s the beauty of them

[@BookswithEmilyFox]

Which one should I pick once I'm done with the series?

[@laurenschenck5355]

Hope you are doing well Emily having a great summer 📚🩵💛🩵🏝️🏝️🏝️📚🩵🩵💛🌞🌞🌞📚🏝️📖📖📚🩵💛💛💛💛🩵🩵🩵💛💛🌞🌞📙🌞💛🩵📚📚📖🏝️🏝️📚💛💛🌞🌞📙📙📙📖📖📚📚

[@riankoch9126]

Oh I’m so sorry about the groceries and the loss of power. I know how painful that is.

[@theverybest_carley919]

Glad the babies are getting snipped soon! I didn't realize that cats can get pregnant starting at 4 months old! Sheesh

[@LudvigReads]

Incredibly frustrated with the characters sums up quite well what I was feeling throughout the first three books as well. I tend to pick favorites, which ones I like/dislike but in this third book I just stopped expecting them to be "good" or "bad" and that helped a lot. They are, as you say, complex and annoying haha. (Also my bf is from Napoli and grew up in the 90s and he confirms the accuracy of some of the socio political issues discussed in the books some of which remain to this day; the socio-economic differences between the northern/southern Italy, working class vs academics in Napoli, prejudice against the south/Napoli, and the social pressure to speak a flawless academic Italian and hide the Napoli accent (and language) at university.) Sorry for the long comment but this series is so interesting and thought provoking. Thank you for your reflections!

[@BookswithEmilyFox]

That's actually super interesting! I also gave up on rooting for them in this book haha Have you seen the tv show? I want to try it after I'm done with the series!

[@LudvigReads]

@@BookswithEmilyFox No I haven't seen it yet either and also plan to finish the last book before I watch it. I read the first three back to back which was a bit much for me so I paused to enjoy the 4th to the fullest when I pick it up in a few weeks. (Or earlier now as I got inspired by this video haha). Please update with your thoughts if you watch it after you're done with the reading :D

[@mirela2608]

Claudia is adorable ❤❤❤

[@veronicavolumes]

I read the Green Bone Saga this month too. I finished Jade Legacy just the other day and I’m still mourning. That book was evil, and it made me cry more than I have in a hot minute over a book. But it was so worth it, and it was such a perfect conclusion. One of my new all time fave fantasy series for sure!

[@laurenschenck5355]

Jade Lagacy is so good and love this series 🏝️📚🩵🩵📚💛💛💛📖📖📙📚📚💛💛🌞💛📚📚🩵🩵📚💛💛🏝️🩵📖📖📙📙📙📙🩵📚🏝️💛🌞🌞💛🩵🩵🩵🩵🩵📚🏝️🌞🌞🌞🏝️📚🩵🩵📖📖📙📚📚💛💛

[@swedish_malin]

You're really making me want to jump my TBR to read both the Jade books and Ferrante. 😃 I've read Fonda Lee's sci-fi duology Exo and Cross Fire before, as well as her recent novella Untethered Sky. The sci-fi duology was really good! It's upper YA but one of the really readable ones. Great alien invasion concept with where the first book starts... 👾

[@jmschnepp]

A deep cell battery and an inverter have been amazing. I bought it for camping, but between jumping the car and power outages, it was the best purchase I’ve ever made. Not sure how the fridge will work with it, but a question would answer that?

[@kari9085]

Jade Legacy had me sobbing

[@ericapoe]

How is Pear doing? Haven’t seen her in awhile. Also, I put “Men who hate women” on hold at the library after you were discussing it previously. Preparing for a bumpy ride 😂.

[@BookswithEmilyFox]

All healed and improving very slowly with her aggression. I read another ~25 pages with a battery operated lamp during the power outage.... truly a horror book lol

[@shaylaatiles]

God, the Green Bone Saga is so fucking goooood. I read the whole series in a week when I had c0vid. Still the best fantasy series I’ve ever read.

[@BookswithEmilyFox]

I can't imagine the rollercoaster of emotion you went through in one week!!

[@laurenschenck5355]

I am so sorry you lost power and Claudia is so cute and so fearless wild and hope you get ur power back and i couldn’t imagine that especially during the summer time 🌞🩵🩵💛📚📚📚💛🌞🩵📚📚📙📙📙📙🏝️💛🩵🌞📖🌞🌞🩵💛📚📚💛🩵📚📚📙🏝️🏝️🏝️📚💛🩵🌞📖📖🌞🌞💛💛📚📚📚📙💛🩵🌞

[@jio5680]

I'm glad to be one of the ppl who commented abt Jade Legacy lol Welcome to the traumatized club! (I literally cried in my office while listening to the audiobook ending)

[@kathleenbrashier2579]

Jade Legacy kicked my ass. As soon as I saw how time was going to work for each chapter, I knew (I KNEW!) It would tear at my heart. Beautiful ending to the trilogy, but....😭.

[@JayGTheAwkwardBookworm]

I still need to read the first Jade book 🥹

[@BookswithEmilyFox]

I got so emotionally invested :(

[@emilyreads5207]

Me, too. And Jade City was gifted to me.

[@badfaith4u]

Hope you and the cats are safe during the storm and electricity lost.

[@BookswithEmilyFox]

They're all good! I was more worried in April when we had no power for 48h... it was 15C in the house and the babies were 4 weeks old :/

[@badfaith4u]

@@BookswithEmilyFox They seem to be growing so quickly and looking so freaking adorable while being menaces. I'm speaking from experience.

[@Alliebara]

I'm currently in a book hangover from the Wayward Pines Trilogy. Saw book one at a library book sale and picked it up based on your reviews. I loved it so much that I ended up reading the trilogy in a few days. Great recommendation, thank you!!

[@BookswithEmilyFox]

That series is so readable! Have you tried the tv show? The ending isn't 100% the same

[@Alliebara]

@@BookswithEmilyFox Yes, just started! I'm halfway through the first season. I heard the second season ends on a cliff hanger and was cancelled, but I'll probably watch it anyway out of curiosity.

[@BookswithEmilyFox]

No they changed a few things but it's not a cliffhanger! (at least not more than the books)

[@Alliebara]

@@BookswithEmilyFox That's good news! Thank you, I'll definitely watch the second season then. And after I'll start round 2 of my Wayward Pines hangover...

[@jmschnepp]

It’s always interesting to me how ideas recycle irl and in books. Fredrick Douglass said, “Knowledge unfits a child to be a slave.”

[@AshleyZieman]

That's a good quote!

[@juditkovacse]

I read 3 of the 4 in the Neapolitan Quartet this year, and am very curious what you will think of the ending. I didn't love the first one, like everyone else seems to. But I loved where it went from about the second half of the third book.

[@BookswithEmilyFox]

I'm so scared of what will happened in the last book!

[@caitlinmorris7274]

While I can't give you a 5 star book recommendation. I can give you a book that almost has 5 stars. Its called Lockwood and Co. Its a book about these kids who fight ghosts in London and they all have special talents and only kids can see them. I really recommend it. I'm not the biggest book reader and I could not put it down.

[@xmilax96]

I feel like those two series sound super intresting, i have the friends one to read but it kinda soubds a little depressing so i'm reluctant lol mostly bc im somewhat in a slump... About the headband: have you tried vinegar? I was told dunking it in vinegar/ washing it with vinegar would make things not stain anymore

[@jc37070]

Elena Ferrante is truly the best!

[@BookswithEmilyFox]

What should be my next read by her?

[@jc37070]

@@BookswithEmilyFox Hmm depends on your interest - if you’re most drawn to her writing about motherhood, I’d recommend The Lost Daughter; if you’re drawn to her writing about adolescence and growing up, I’d recommend The Lying Life of Adults

[@rachaelhmack]

How is mama doing with the babies? Hopefully better? 🖤

[@BookswithEmilyFox]

She hasn't killed any... but she still hisses at them through the door :/

[@BirgitHaeupl]

❤️📚🐱

[@densilhmay8262]

Maybe you can look up what things inside your fridge will still be okay after 24 hours - I was surprised recently finding out about things that I always stored in the fridge that didn't even need it depending on the room temp - like bell peppers and cucumbers. Of course it's summer so those maybe do still need the fridge but I think certain vegetables you could def still use after a day. (Plus, the fridge would still be cold for a while even without power, not the full 24 hours but certain things that do need a fridge could still have made it through okay. Like cheese or butter. And maybe you could get like UHT-milk if you drink cow milk - the opened one you would have to throw away but unopened you don't even need to store that kind of milk in the fridge. Maybe unnecessary advice lol you know best how much of the groceries you have lost and either way it's really frustrating - all the freezer products as well! smh A generator would def be good in a situation like that.

[@shivanshbhatnagar5140]

New sub here 😀

[@zixaz00]

I just started Jade Legacy today and I know I’m not prepared, Jade War was a wild ride! 😩😭 so glad you enjoyed the series though. Are you planning on reading the two prequels?

[@rhysaia]

Elena Ferrante's series is quite popular in Europe, you can try and look for reviews in French maybe if you want a taste of other people's opinion on it. HBO did a series based on it too, i don't know if you've watched it?

[@emilyreads5207]

Do you have insurance (home owners or renters). If so, you might be able to claim the fiod liss with your insurance

[@cruelaz]

probably not interesting to you as you already have three of the four books in this edition but i red the first book of the Neapolitan saga in german (100+ more pages than the english translation 😮) and got the second book in english in a different edition I find is very pretty and not so tacky 😅

[@zachreads]

I've had audible since 2012, this month I hit 6 months of total listening time. The longest book I've listened to was Count of Monte Cristo which was 57 hours long

[@BookswithEmilyFox]

I didn’t realize it was that long! Probably wouldn’t have taken me two years to finish it if I had listened to it 😂

[@christinedugas3089]

If only you could save up all that kitten energy to use when you have a power failure.

[@BookswithEmilyFox]

Enough power for the whole planet lol

[@vil1906]

“Lets start with a bit of trauma… before i go into more trauma “ 😂

[@jesserodriguez7680]

is Claudia or is it Clawdia?

[@BookswithEmilyFox]

Clawdia!

[@livingamongpages]

I finished the series in January and it still hurts :(

[@lucysomeone3455]

I’ve been watching the tv serie of that book you were reading at the first half of this video, it’s absolutely painful to watch as well, just too much for me to handle ( in a good way). I just can’t going through this process again so I can never actually start to read these books

[@kellymanfredini3835]

Yikes, for losing electricity again. That really sucks. How is Mama Cat doing?

[@BookswithEmilyFox]

Healed well but still hating the babies :(

[@kellymanfredini3835]

@@BookswithEmilyFox oh no! I'm so sorry to hear that. 😔

[@marniejade]

If you feel that strongly about the ending of Jade Legacy then the author did her job very well. :)

[@caitlinl2750]

Anden🥺

[@BookswithEmilyFox]

I love him!

[@Tangeloor]

BLUETTI please. UPS feature ROCKS. And even if you are not saving your own food, you might need to bring it over to family/friends when THEY lose power.

[@booklover6963]

The Woman They Could Not Silence by Kate Moore. I read it last year and I still get mad at her husband.

[@BookswithEmilyFox]

Oh that was a good one! Have you tried her other book "the radium girls"? Just as frustrating lol

[@booklover6963]

There is a new book coming out in August called Canary Girls by Jennifer Chiaverini. About women in WW2 turning yellow from the chemicals they handle while packing bombs. I did read Radium Girls but I liked the other one a bit better.

[@aye.p]

I knew it!! I knew you would comment on Anna not being as important as it should be since is in the title. I read it two years ago. When you said you were going to read it ... I didn't want to spoil you. I hate Tolstoi for that. I was sooo disapointed and took it personally 😂. I let pass the sexist comments because it was written in a another time and culture. But I will never forget how Anna is just another character. Prepare for more of that. Btw how is mama cat doing??

[@BookswithEmilyFox]

She’s doing well, but still hates her babies. The vet said to give her another month for the hormones to go down 🤞🤞

[@freckledklutz]

Jade legacy ruins you speaking from personal experience. Like the number of times I was in tears, raging and cringing because in fact it did get worse and in a way you didn't expect yeah it takes a while to get over that one but its so brilliant. And glad that you got a couple of 5 stars but damnnit they tend to be the kick you in the gut painful ones I find. The new couch cover is glorious but I don't blame you if you don't trust Claudia. I hope you can get a generator and fix that situation so that when you do lose power it doesn't SUCK. Sorry that happened again!

[@zachreads]

First!

[@ametrinemoon]

I am currently reading kaftka on the shore by your nemesis murakami. This time I am even finding issues with this dude keeping heads of cats and killing them and eating their organs? Same with a book in the diviners series. Was abusing/killing cats really necessary? Leave them alone

[@naomisworld4265]

Why dont you post in instagram and makeup channels of yours 0:52

[@conniescove5497]

The third book in the Brilliant Friend series talks about some horrible political stuff that happened in the sixties when some people (mainly communists) attacked cities, a bomb blew up in a big train station, and stuff like that. A reminder that the finality doesn't always excuse the modes used to reach it

[@Rank.Roundup]

You’ve been awfully quiet about Pear since a couple weeks ago when you said she was about to go in for her spay surgery. How’s she doing? I feel like the silence is suspicious. 😳

[@BookswithEmilyFox]

Can we not do that? Calling it suspicious?? Come on. She just had surgery and had to be kept isolated. She’s doing well but still hates her babies, I’m doing everything I can. There’s no need to make this more stressful for me.

[@Rank.Roundup]

@@BookswithEmilyFox So sorry! I think you might have read that in a way it wasn’t intended. Usually you keep us posted on her, and you’ve been unusually silent about her, that’s all. And sometimes when influencers are unusually silent about something they’ve formerly been open about, it means something has happened. The last time you mentioned her, you said things weren’t going well. That’s all. I’ve been thinking of her and just wanted an update. ❤️

[@sbayles5593]

You can’t read classics and projects our societal norms on it. You will hate them all.

[@analallena]

It was confirmed a few years ago that Elena Ferrante was in fact the Italian translator Anita Raja.

[@BookswithEmilyFox]

Was it? Last time I said that someone said it wasn't and then I tried to look it up and couldn't find the answer lol

[@analallena]

omg, you're right!!! i didn't realise that the article I had read was made up by a journalist... so, the secret continues!!!

[@JETSETGIRLZ]

I feel like I'm always left a bit empty after finishing a book. But I also have the same after finishing a certain chapter in my life, you kind of have to rebalance things before you can continue your journey sometimes.