Reading Wrap Up / September 2021

[@AnaMoShoshin]

I really like that your wraps ups are a discussion of the books, but also how they make you feel or how they pertain to your day to day life. You always mention something thoughtful and interesting whether it's about the book or not. Thanks!!

[@EricKarlAnderson]

Thanks so much! That's the balance I try to go for.

[@cindyhaiken5644]

It is an interesting reading time. I am trying to keep up with the big books of fall. I’ve read the Rooney, the Graff and also Bewilderment and Cloud Cuckoo Land and am 2/3rds of the way through Colson Whitehead’s new novel Harlem Shuffle. All very different, all worthy to varying degrees. I completely agree that the Rooney stays with you. I was delighted by its happier tone. For me, reading is an antidote to work stress or life stress, but I notice that I have less patience for books that maybe aren’t striking me as worthy right now. Thanks for sharing such a charming personal anecdote as well!

[@EricKarlAnderson]

I keep seeing people mention Cloud Cuckoo Land which makes me think I should read it. I also ought to get to Harlem Shuffle though I've heard mixed things.

[@cindyhaiken5644]

@@EricKarlAnderson Out of them all, I actually liked the Whitehead the best, but I have been a long-time fan of his.

[@SpringboardThought]

I’ve been pretty steady last month. I just finished all of David Mitchell’s books which has been really fun. I made videos about my experience with each one because I’m not reading them in order, and that’s changed the experience quite a bit because they’re all connected in different ways. It’s been a really fun experiment. And I just started Follow Me To Ground, which I am already loving. I had not heard about I Belong Here (or what she went through). The book sounds right up my alley, what an amazing way to deal with the experience she had. Fun seeing the emergent qualities your reading has. It’s often how I choose books even though I tell people I’m a mood reader. It’s probably much more guided by emergent leaps from book to book, typically. I haven’t yet tried any Austen novels. Or movies either. I’m not even adverse to it, just how things have worked out, somehow.

[@susanm2128]

This was a good reading month for me. Thank you for recommending Mrs. Caliban which I read last week. It was simply but beautifully written. Finished The Decameron which was a total delight. I'm looking forward to reading The Canterbury Tales to see how Chaucer handles some of the same stories. Willa Cather is one of my favorite American authors and I finally read Death Comes for the Archbishop. What I especially like about her writing is how she describes the landscape. Last night I finished Maugham's The Razor's Edge. This was the first book I've read by him and know this one will stay with me a long time. Have The Matrix on hold at the library and am looking forward to reading it.

[@EricKarlAnderson]

Oh I'm so glad you read Mrs Caliban! I really ought to embark on The Canterbury Tales at some point. And yes, Cather writes so well about landscape. I read the entirety of The Professor's House to my partner while we were on a road trip across the American midwest and it really brought the book alive.

[@bookofdust]

It’s intriguing to see the British book covers versus the US ones on your channel.

[@EricKarlAnderson]

I usually prefer them over US covers

[@christinacampbellbooks]

Enjoyed hearing your thoughts on all of these, Eric. I definitely want to read Beautiful World Where Are You soon. Unfortunately I had to return it back to the library before I could start reading it!

[@KierTheScrivener]

I love reading classics and seeing their intreprations throughout time period. I look forward to read Lady Chatterley's Lover. September was rough for me too. I read only 11 (but five of them were in the first week) and the other six were novella length and I just couldn't focus. My favourites were Whereabouts (Lahiri) and the Good Soldier (Ford)

[@Shellyish]

David Attenborough, I haven’t read him, but am glad to hear his name on your channel and would love to read A Life on Our Plane. Very interesting!! I desperately want to read Alameddine’s new novel. I read An Unnecessary Woman and raved about it my channel.

[@EricKarlAnderson]

It’s the first book I’ve read by Alameddine so I’m eager to read his other novels now.

[@Shellyish]

@@EricKarlAnderson So am I and we read two different books from this author! Maybe a good sign?

[@zubooks]

Thank you for your video, Eric! Just put The Wrong End of the Telescope on my reading list thanks to you. I really liked this author's previous novel, An Unnecessary Woman, and what you said about this one just makes me want to try it! I also have the new Elif Shafak book on my pile, I think it will be a winter read for me. I also had a very chaotic reading month in September, couldn't seem to stay focused. I stopped a couple of slower, beautifully lyrical books I had started (including the Dragonfly Sea by Yvonne Adhiambo Owuor, which I think will end up being a favourite of the year when I finish it, hopefully in October) and I picked up a plotty, episodic-style fantasy adventure, The Lies of Locke Lamorra. It isn't my usual style, but it is fun and keeping me reading, like a TV show would. Hopefully it will help me get back into a reading mood!

[@EricKarlAnderson]

Great, both worth getting to! I'm glad you've found some books which are engaging you so much. Best to stick to books which grip you if you can't stay focused. Hope you're well!

[@mradcaqbdb]

Glad you weren’t sick on holiday at least, and definitely glad it was just a cold! I’ve had a slow September reading month too. I’ve only finished 5 books and only really loved The Appeal by Janice Hallett. I got the new Colson Whitehead the day it came out, read and loved the first two chapters, and then put it down. No idea why. But I will be finishing it this weekend!

[@EricKarlAnderson]

Yes, I was quite lucky to get the cold out of the way so I could enjoy the holiday. I’ve heard such mixed things about Whitehead’s new novel but I’m curious to read it too.

[@ScullyPop]

This is one of the best booktubers on KZbin 🔥

[@EricKarlAnderson]

😊

[@DruDruia]

This channel is so wholesome!

[@EricKarlAnderson]

😄😇

[@loveinthetimeofmrsa2542]

Rabih Alameddine is such an under appreciated author! I read KoolAIDS last year and have wanted to carve out some time to read all of his books. The wrong end of the telescope sounds so interesting and what a great title!

[@EricKarlAnderson]

I’m really eager to read that first novel of his. It’s even referred to in passing in this new novel.

[@The7cristina]

So much interesting your comments about those books!

[@laura__5544]

Have you read Cantoras? It's one of the best historical fiction I've ever read and I think it would be up your alley.

[@shawnbreathesbooks]

I second that emotion! 🌈😍

[@EricKarlAnderson]

I’ve not but will look it up. Thanks!

[@bianquita1]

I love environmental books, I adore Attenborough. I Belong Here sounds compelling. I'm on page 40 of Beautiful World, Where Are you - I hope it gets much better, so far I'm not impressed, its tone keeps me at a distance. I'm currently fully immersed and awed by Wallace Stegner's Angle of Repose - have you read him? What a writer! I should read Lady Chatterley's Lover, but then I should read many others. Wow, I just love the cover of A Calling for Charlie Barnes. I'm not drawn to historical fiction books, but I may try the Matrix.

[@athertonca]

Yes! Another Wallace Stegner fan! I feel as though there aren’t too many of us. He’s definitely not an en vogue writer, but I think his work is timeless. I adore Angle of Repose ( Pulitzer Fiction 1972), Crossing to Safety, The Big Rock Candy Mountain, and The Spectator Bird (National Book Award 1977).

[@bianquita1]

@@athertonca I'm telling everyone about him. First, I read Crossing To Safety - it was like nothing I'd read before, not when it came to a friendship between adult couples. The Spectator Bird enchanted me as well. And now Angle of Repose - each sentence is perfect. Honestly, he's such an amazing writer, he makes every other writer/book seem inconsequential.

[@irena7777777]

@@athertonca And All The Little Live Things is brilliant too

[@michelleneal2023]

Hey, Eric!!! I hope you're feeling much better. I love the cover of Lady Chatterley's Lover. Do you know if I can get this copy at Waterstones or Book Depository? I just received my copy of Sally Rooney's new book. I can't wait to read it. Great video!!! Take care😊😊😊

[@EricKarlAnderson]

Hi Michelle! Thank you. Yes, you can get a copy of this edition from Book Depository here: tidd.ly/3n3gZ5g - hope you enjoy it and Rooney's new novel. 🤗📚

[@ianp9086]

I love your definition of a poor reading month - I’ve had a few distractions too and have only managed half a book - Nervous System by Lina Meruane - but enjoying it very much, although wonder if I should reread it. Also started the new biography of W G Sebald which seems pretty good although I groaned when she pondered whether as a child he had a premonition of his death in a car crash.

[@EricKarlAnderson]

Yeah, reading is really my happy place so if I have multiple days when I can't focus on it I feel out of sorts. But I realise I've still read more than the average person this month. Meruane's book sounds really interesting and I've only just heard about the Sebald biography. I ought to have a Sebald reading stint at some point as I've only read one book by him.

[@Europa1749]

I'm trying to get through The Complete Stories of Dorothy Parker and Great Circle, but I'm also binge watching hundreds of CSI shows that I could never get to before, so I have to juggle my free time better because it's all so good....(the books and the shows).

[@EricKarlAnderson]

Two great books! Yeah, I go to see a lot of films too. It's all about balance.

[@thessalymeteora3789]

Yeah, it’s been difficult to focus. That’s frustrating when you can’t concentrate on your book and then you realize you’ve read five pages while thinking about something else and you don’t know what you just read so you have to go back and read what your eyes read but your brain didn’t over again. I’m glad you got to go on holiday. Sounds like you needed a break. Hugs!

[@EricKarlAnderson]

Definitely! That happens to me all the time. And thank you! It was a good opportunity to clear my head apart from normal day to day life.

[@ilseortega1102]

Leonora in The Morning Light by Michaela Carter (finalist of the 2021 Book Award of the American Library in Paris) was my best read of September… I didn’t want it to end! Now I have Matrix, Bewilderment, A Passage North…

[@EricKarlAnderson]

Interesting! I'll look up Carter's book. Thanks!

[@BobTheBookerer]

Ahh, I love this range of books! I really like how you described ‘I Belong Here’ and ‘A Life On Our Planet’- they’re the only two I’ve read of the Wainwright Prize shortlists so far, but I’m planning to work my way through the rest- they all sounded so fascinating at the ceremony. ‘The Wrong End of the Telescope’ sounds really powerful- I really want to check it out! And so glad you enjoyed Shafak’s new novel! Her writing is just so luscious and sensuous. And the imaginary child is brilliant! 😂 Haha, your wrap-up of Lady Chatterley’s Lover makes me realise that it was a lot wilder than I remember 😂 I love that JCO has an essay on it too! And sorry to hear that about the Joshua Ferris book- I enjoyed ‘To Rise Again’ too! Ooh, ‘Matrix’ is one of those books I keep on hearing about and being tempted by! Totally with you on the worry about not doing a reading experience justice! I worry about that a lot!

[@EricKarlAnderson]

Yes, I've still got Entangled Life, English Pastoral and Under a White Sky sitting on my 'books I want to get to soon' pile. 😅 I think you'll really like Alameddine's book and apparently his first novel was about the AIDS crisis so I'd like to read that too. It's funny because Lawrence's novel was so much more tame than I expected it to be but I think I have much higher tolerance for sex scenes in novels or it takes a lot to shock me. More than the physical aspect, I found it more cringey the later scenes where Connie's father is talking to her about how she's found a real man and then joking with her lover later about how his daughter has experienced real sensual pleasure now. eek! Maybe I just wasn't in the right mood for Ferris' book. Critics seem to love it.

[@BobTheBookerer]

@@EricKarlAnderson Oh lovely- good choices! I’m just listening to English Pastoral now! Nice! I’ve reserved Alameddine’s book from my library, so I’m excited to read it, and then to read his first one! Oh gosh, I’d forgotten those parts of the Lady Chatterley’s Lover! Eek. 😬 And that’s fair! I’m intrigued to eventually get around to it!

[@cherylynlarking191]

Strange I also was sick for a week but not with Covid as well. I was unable to read or concentrate. Have read Love after Love which was amazing. Bought all emotions to the fore. Breathe by Tim Winton made me homesick for Australia and The behaviour of Moths by Poppy Adams.

[@EricKarlAnderson]

I'm so glad you read Love After Love! And I adored Breathe - such a beautiful novel.

[@kimswhims8435]

It's Spring here and I tend to have more difficulty concentrating during Spring. I put it down to more pollen in the air but also we've been in lockdown for two months and I suspect there is such a thing as "lockdown brain" so not concentrating as closely. As more things become available and we ease out of lockdown, I suspect I will have less focus on reading too. It is what it is, just have to go with it. I am getting into Still Life by Sarah Winman and thoroughly enjoying it, but it's completely outside my challenges that I wanted to finish this year, oh well. :D

[@EricKarlAnderson]

Yeah, I definitely had that while we were in lockdown. Hard to concentrate while society is so out of sorts. Definitely best to stick to the books that you respond to the most during these times so I'm glad you're enjoying Winman.

[@LarryHasOpinions]

im quite curious about lady chatterley will pick it up at some point... matrix is definitely starting to get a bit of a booktube buzz, keen to hear what you think once you finish it

[@EricKarlAnderson]

Yeah, I've seen Rick and ABookOlive have made videos about it but waiting to watch theirs till I finish reading it and have put my own thoughts down in a blog post first.

[@Scrimosa]

I am trying to let go of guit of not reading when something important or exciting takes me away. Books are nice getaway and food for thought and emotions but real life experience is more important. Love your channel!!

[@EricKarlAnderson]

Ahhh, that's a life lesson I've yet to fully embrace. 😅

[@moviemagus1921]

I recommend you to give another try to Jane Austen, I think you'd really like Pride and Prejudice for example.

[@andrewglasson592]

I have read Klara and the Sun, Yasunari Kawabata's Snow Country, Dandelions and The Master of Go, Entangled Life this month and I'm currently reading Tom McCarthy's The Making of Incarnation.

[@EricKarlAnderson]

Oh some great books! And I'm curious about McCarthy's book because I enjoyed his novel C but really didn't like Satin Island. How are you finding it?

[@andrewglasson592]

@@EricKarlAnderson Yes I enjoyed C and Remainder and didn't like Satin Island but I am finding this new one good. Its basically 2 stories about recording the movement of the body and how different industries such as the film industry, military, medical and sports industries find use for recording movement of the body and another story is about this person researching the archives of the time and motion pioneer Lillian Gilbreth. I'm half way through it at the moment and I am enjoying it so far.

[@TheGoldenflower58]

Its been the same for me for the past two months. I read 10 books in July and felt I had hit my stride. But then several issues came up and in August I barely read 3 Donna Leon crime stories( really enjoyed them I must say; and also a collection of short stories by Patricia Highsmith). In September I read a biography of W G Sebald (whom I revere) after which I needed something fun. So now I am 70% in, reading China Mieville's Perdido Street Station which is certainly fun but not really light. I am enjoying it very much though. I have learnt that one has to let go at times, when the slumps come, and read with renewed vigour when it is over.:-) And it is completely Ok not to have read Austen; a cousin of mine simply hates her. To each his own.

[@EricKarlAnderson]

Thank you! I didn’t know there’s a biography of Sebald. Interesting!

[@neetupd8510]

I've had a very bad reading month... Been extremely busy throughout. Just read one book called The Help by Kathryn Stockett. Hope October isn't as bad.... 😊

[@EricKarlAnderson]

Yes, hope you get some more good reading time. 🤞

[@neetupd8510]

@@EricKarlAnderson 😊

[@alanshadastrokeanddiedinho2897]

Very interesting discussion about books that you read. I read several books in September. Journey to Mount Athos a memoir about an Anglican Priest, from the UK, who has become disillusioned by the constant change in the Anglican Church which he feels goes against the Bible. His journey takes him to the monasteries in Greece for spiritual growth. The worst book I read in September was Harlem Shuffle by Colson Whitehead.

[@EricKarlAnderson]

Thanks! Glad you got to some good books.

[@jacquelinemcmenamin8204]

Best books read in September Great Circle Seating Arrangements A Passage North Bewilderment Cantoras Beautiful World Where Are You Mrs Dalloway Are there books you want to read or finish before 2022? Currently listening to The Fortune Men HomeGoing ☘️👋📚🍀☕️📕🐝📖🫖

[@Gagging4Lit]

My reading is picking up now that I have a job again - getting back into the swing of regular daily reading. Recently read the new Rooney... can't say it will stick with me much. I'd rather re-read Normal People tbh. And Alice is attracted to Felix because he doesn't let her run rings around him!!! Also read Perks of Being a Wallflower, and am now onto my victober/gothtober reading.

[@EricKarlAnderson]

Congrats on the new job! And great it's allowing you to get more reading done. I've been struggling with work recently too. Totally understand your feeling about BWWAY and yes, that makes a lot of sense about Alice. I've been considering doing something for Victober but feel like I've already got enough reading on my plate. Maybe next year! 📚

[@athertonca]

I experienced several five-star reads in September: Lightning Strike by William Kent Krueger, Harlem Shuffle by Colson Whitehead, Matrix by Lauren Groff (despite not caring for Fates and Furies), but my favorite, most perfect reading experience was The Magician by Colm Toíbín (oh, how I love his writing). Biggest disappointment was Bewilderment-I just don’t connect with Powers’ storylines or his characters. I know I am out of step with most people on this, that’s why I keep reading his books, because I think eventually one is really going to resonate with me and I do appreciate his writing skill.

[@bianquita1]

I was disappointed with Bewilderment as well, even more so since I loved Overstory. I'm yet to read Toibin.

[@janethansen9612]

@@bianquita1 I'm part way through Bewilderment and I loved Overstory, but I'm struggling with the planets stuff.

[@irena7777777]

Bewilderment disappointed me too. I didn’t think the son’s Asperger’s was especially well rendered. He just seemed like a spoilt brat, not someone with autism.

[@FactoryOne]

Quite honestly hearing that you had a DNF breaks my heart a little because you are such a lover of books and have insights even into books that you don’t like (looking at you Second Place) and hearing that you didn’t finish one must leave some sort of fissure in space time.

[@EricKarlAnderson]

Haha! It happens. Also, as I said, I wasn't hating it: I just wanted to move onto something that would completely grip me. 😄📚

[@yarntalesbythesea5310]

Bit of a bad month for me, just five books, but I have a lot on my TBR pile to get stuck into now. I finished The Eyes of the Dragon by Stephen King x

[@EricKarlAnderson]

Oh, I think my nephew just read that Stephen King book recently. I remember reading it as a teenager.

[@qinlkpah]

I also read and enjoyed Elif Shafak and Sally Rooney (I thought Alice simply felt attracted to Felix - often it is not something rational :) and perhaps also because she was lonely or found his challenging and brutal honesty was something she needed). But the novel I enjoyed most was Intimacies by Katie Kitumura. Next month The Matrix is high on the list. Thanks for very nice video!

[@EricKarlAnderson]

Yeah, that's very true. there's that as well about Alice and Felix. Love isn't about logic. I really ought to get to reading Intimacies - thanks for the reminder!

[@ShivangiBhasin]

I’m reading books about the Holocaust, about women and suicide, and about the impact of long spells on loneliness on the mind. And these books speak volumes about my own state of mind 😅

[@EricKarlAnderson]

Hugs and good vibes coming your way!

[@ShivangiBhasin]

@@EricKarlAnderson 🥺❤️

[@krishnathapa177]

Well very first view and comments. Greetings from Kathmandu Nepal

[@krishnathapa177]

Very admired

[@jacquelinemcmenamin8204]

I’ve marked both The Wrong End of the Telescope The Island of Missing Trees as “want to read”. 🤩👍💐

[@EricKarlAnderson]

Fab! Both definitely worth it.

[@tleager]

I think your imaginary child is charming

[@EricKarlAnderson]

😊

[@janethansen9612]

He does a lot of dickish things...Nope, I'm not reading the Sally Rooney, I'm not much of a fan.