recommending you books I've read recently

[@AnUncreativePerson]

I have a lot of back to school anxiety, but when I watch Carolyn I feel like it's going to be okay

[@CarolynMarieReads]

I always felt that way too when going back to school, so you’re not alone! You will absolutely be okay 😊 Whenever I was feeling anxious, books were always wonderful companions! Wishing you the best of luck! 💖

[@jmsl_910]

i'm so jealous that you are going back to school. i'm a retired ELA teacher

[@JohnSaxon-vw5vi]

I had school anxiety back in the late seventies and early eighties so I know how you are feeling

[@asan1050]

There's something about you and books, can't seem to put my finger on it. Thank you very much!

[@CarolynMarieReads]

Aw well thank *you* :)

[@elysec8726]

This got me excited for more Woolf and ready to dive into Orlando. To the Lighthouse was such a memorable experience for me. I’m ready for more!

[@circleofleaves2676]

The Waves is my favourite Woolf book.

[@waymanirwin2539]

I also read Orlando this year. Truly ahead of its time, like you said. As a big Gore Vidal fan, I see how this book was probably a huge influence on him and I'm sure he's not the only later author who was inspired

[@eleanorball7906]

Ahhhhh yes I read Orlando recently and LOVED it!!

[@wccziberri7713]

Books Carolyn reads = Books i will buy and read ❤

[@CarolynMarieReads]

Honored 😊📚😂

[@authorgreene]

Orlando and The Awakening are both favorite books of mine. I'm happy you're getting to experience both of these amazing novels!

[@AmalijaKomar]

Love love love Orlando. About Earthsea: read it and love as a teenager. Try to read it again after couple of decades and just never finished. Ursula K. LeGuin had a such nice style of writing, read a lots of books from her, but mostly when I was very young. Still love her very much for that.

[@kriskringlereads]

It’s always such a joy to watch your videos! 🥰 Thank you!

[@CarolynMarieReads]

I’m so glad! Thank *you*!!!

[@JustinianG]

@@CarolynMarieReads Hi, after seeing this book recommendations vid and some of ur other vids, I think you'll love a book I'm writing. Can you give it a read & review when I'm done.

[@soph7173]

You are by far my favorite booktuber at the moment.. you just such a calming voice and your outlook on books is always so positive and happy! I love watching videos from people who truly are excited about what they are reading ^_^

[@Mariak82]

I love classics as well. ❤📚

[@circleofleaves2676]

Virginia Woolf is my favourite writer and I love Orlando, have read it several times. It's important to realise that as well as being experimental in form, it's a mock-biography of Virginia's friend and lover, fellow author Vita Sackville-West. Because Vita was a woman, she could never inherit Knole. Virginia immortalised Knole for her throughout the book (Knole is the inspiration for the 'castle' that was Orlando's home), and the romp through the centuries is also in part a tribute to the generations of history of that place. Vita was a masculine-presenting gay woman. The character of Marmaduke Bonthrop Shelmerdine, or "Shel", is a portrayal of Harold Nicholson, Vita's husband, who was also gay. Within their supportive marriage, they were both free to be their authentic selves and have love affairs of their preference. They had mutual acceptance and genuine respect for one another and it was a good arrangement. The relationship between Orlando and Shel was a nod to that relationship. The playing around with gender within the novel reflects the sexuality (though gender and sexuality aren't the same thing) and gender expression of both Vita/Orlando and Harold/Shel and the societal norms and expectations of the time. We of course have better awareness and terms for all things within queer culture these days and if Virginia was alive today she most likely would have written things a bit differently. But it was ahead of its time, at the time. Virginia turned a confronting event in real life (Vita going off with another woman) into art, by writing Orlando, escaping being overwhelmed by an experience where others were worried for her. She channelled loss into genius. Really looking forward to the live shows coming up! Sorry if my asking in pretty much every video if there are any updates for the date of the live show; I hope that didn't come across as annoying! I just didn't want to miss it that's all. I totally get how life and schedules (and also trying to coordinate different peoples schedules) is tricky to navigate. As someone who spends half her life in hospital, I totally get how things pile up. I watched many of your older videos, Carolyn (the ones I haven't seen yet) while I had a week-long hospital stay last week and they were a very calming comforting companion, so thank you for all that you do. Oh I also bought 5 Brian Selznick books the other day. Yay books

[@steffikreis2030]

Thanks for this detailed explanation. I am planning to read orlando soon and didn’t know anything about the real life inspirations behind it so far. I’ll definitely keep this in mind while reading to better understand the story.

[@andreluissoriano]

I just finished Orlando and I was just mesmerized with the writing that I didn't even care at all where the plot is going, I just wanted to read. It's just fortunate that the plot is also very interesting and Orlando as a character is just magnificent. I did get some idea that Shel could have been a representation of a gay husband, so thanks for confirming it here a little bit. I will definitely reread this again in the future.

[@jamesduggan7200]

Thanks Carolyn: I've just started three books: Lioness, a biography of Golda Meir, Nights of Plague, a novel about life on a Mediterranean island in the early 20th cent. hit by plague, and Le Deuxieme Sexe, vol 2. Lately I've been reading a lot of books by and about women, tho not by design. It may continue into next month, when I hope to read two from Any Tan that have been on the tbr too long. Add to that The Vanishing Half and the romance novel I inherited from my sister, People We Meet on Vacation, and probably for the first time ever the women's books easily outnumber the men's.

[@grff_]

As you described Instructions it sounded familiar and after checking i realized it was in his fragile things collection haha. I reread it with your words in mind and it became a little more special than before.

[@denisefreitas6727]

Carolyn, i'm currently rereading Orlando! It's an amazing book indeed! 😊

[@chloetaylor1839]

I’m a huge Ursula K le Guin fan and have been ever since I read Earthsea when I was a teenager, but thinking about your take on the first book I completely understand why it might be a little underwhelming if you don’t go straight on to the second book! As individual novels they are very short for fantasy, which I think is why they are always published together as the Earthsea quartet. Maybe think about it as one complete fantasy novel in four parts and try and read it straight through! When the other characters come in (especially Tenar, who you meet immediately in the second book) it gets much more satisfying and the stakes feel more important! Love the video, as always ❤

[@ReadingNymph]

Orlando is a fantastic book ♡

[@lou9776]

I just read "Tyger" by SF. Said. You will love it. It's a great story with very beautiful illustrations by Dave McKean

[@campbellcampbell9059]

Carolyn, like your choices. For me, 'The Siberia Job'. It masterfully combines historical context, heart-pounding adventure, and high-stakes suspense, all wrapped up in a well-written narrative. If you're in for a thrilling read, this is your pick

[@campbellcampbell9059]

Great video by the way

[@MotherofMax-he6mj]

I just finished Orlando, and just fell in LOVE. It's so strange to me just how far ahead of it's time it was or how very relevant it is in today's world. What stuck with me most is the feeling of loneliness that I could identify with. I am 44 years old and have never really "fit in" anywhere. I finished this book feeling the same way for Orlando. Like, it didn't matter if Orlando was man or woman, or what century he/she was living in.... he/she never quite "fit in". I very much identified with that aspect. Also, the way that Virginia Wolfe wrote Orlando waking up and just being a woman... and then moving forward with the story was kinda brilliant. Like, oh he's a woman now... cool.... then continues on with the story. I'm so impressed with Wolfe because of that!

[@andreluissoriano]

The whole scene with the entities when Orlando was sleeping as a man, and then waking up as a woman is just so vivid and iconic already to me. Just finished reading Orlando yesterday.

[@elizabeth_davel]

Two African recommendations: Maru by Bessie Head. A book about love, friendship (has one of my fav female friendships), racism, being comfortable with oneself in spite of the boxes we are placed in by our societies. Stunning writing. So Long a Letter by Mariama Bâ. An epistolary novel, letters that a woman writes to her best friend after her husband dies. It's a book about life, also beautifully written. It's considered one of the first African feminist texts and to me, this feels like a love letter to women :)

[@amandarose57116]

What happened to your Anna Karenina reading vlogs? I loved them videos 🥺

[@illymns3339]

Hi Carolyn, great video as always ❤

[@janebaily3758]

Re-read Kafka and Prague as well as SANDITION and other stories by Jane Austen. Also Harrison Burgeron by Kurt Vonnegout (spelled incorrectly, sorry!)

[@lostingothicmusic]

There's a wonderful TV film adaptation of Cold Comfort Farm starring Kate Beckinsdale and Rufus Sewell from the, 1990s which really gets the ridiculousness of the characters (including the flaws of Flora, herself). Brilliant. So many little phrases from this book have made it into my families day to day vocabulary , such as 'clettering the dishes' and 'something nasty in the woodshed'.😆

[@disakland4714]

I have been enjoying continuing my Jane Austen project of reading them all this year so I finished up Mansfield Park and continuing on to Emma. Also reading Moby Dick and an Ibsen play. And lastly I finally got my preordered Everyman’s Library edition of Never Let Me Go which I’m rereading for the fifth time maybe? 🥰

[@martinelanglois3158]

Hello Carolyn! I was wondering if you had read "Cancer Ward" by Solzhenitsyn or "Doctor Zhivago" by Pasternak. Thanks. Have a great week. 🌻

[@CarolynMarieReads]

Not yet, but they’re on my shelves! 😊📚 And I hope you have a great week as well!

[@janebaily3758]

Both are great and WELL WORTH YOUR TIME!

[@winnietp596]

Hey Caroline, I just want to say that I just read the Last Tree after your recommendation and I forgot how lovely and deeply affectionate children stories are, especially reading it as an adult. Thank you for this recommendation! Please if you read any more gorgeous books like this, pop them to this channel, they really make a difference:)

[@alyssaguevarra8687]

I Hope you have a great August Carolyn! Thank you for posting a video to start of our Auguuuuust ❤

[@tundeszabo8220]

I read The Awakening last week, so I can't wait to hear your thoughts about it, especially compared to Orlando. 😊

[@clairebott1539]

Hi Carolyn, I wrote to you mentioning about the lack of Russian Classics at Barnes and Noble. I don’t know what is wrong with me 🤷🏻‍♀️ I have Anna Karenina and War and Peace in those LEATHERBOUND editions in my house 🏡. Maybe they could do some others though? Kindest regards Claire B

[@harryjamessmithmusic7762]

Awesome video, Carolyn! Greetings from the EU!

[@Cevin.]

the Awakening is one of my top 5 fav books of all time! Forever, grateful to my AP lit teacher in HS for placing Queen Chopin into my consciousness, and after all these years I STILL live for Edna and her nonchalantness. (Definitely a part of what made me who I am today) I'm looking forward to hearing yall's thoughts about it

[@ewelinahernon6556]

Orlando might be one of my favourite books ever. It definitely adds to the experience when you keep in mind that it was a story about Virginia's lover Vita. :) Last month I read The Summer Book by Tove Jansson, On Being Ill and Flush by Virginia Woolf and Les Mis :) Currently I'm reading The Common Reader. Congratulations on finishing your first draft :)

[@johnmooney9403]

Great video Carolyn. Always enjoy your analysis of your recent reads. Do you have an all time favourite novel?

[@LemmyCaution66]

The drawing you showed us in that great book, “Big Tree” was that of a Tyrannosaurus rex, a grand and fearsome creature with its massive jaws and surprisingly tiny arms. It roamed the Earth during the Late Cretaceous Period, approximately 68 to 66 million years ago. So a little while ago. 😊 This period when the T. rex was the big boss of the prehistoric world, it ruled its territory with might and terror. But don't let those little arms fool you - they didn't hold the T. rex back from being one of the top predators of its time.

[@Scottlp2]

Earthsea is wonderful (1st 4 books). Is you pay close attention there is one of two sentences in several of the books of practical real world wisdom (if you’re attuned).

[@BambuProductions]

Ursula K LeGuin 's books are never a disappointment!

[@disakland4714]

I was also expecting more from Earthsea. Haven’t read all though, just first many years ago. I was like oh, this is it?

[@PERFECTDARK10]

I missed this princess ❤

[@jeskoumm]

The more I read about you, I feel less scared about falling in-between the lines....hopefully it basks on a highlight

[@mononoke8015]

Again, thanks so so much! I love your Chanel. And i love „Orlando“ and all Books from Neil Gamain❤. I wish you all the Best for your Novel☺👏. What a great Thing😉😄. Love Greetings from Germany, Susanne🙏🌷

[@jackiesliterarycorner]

I'm reading Bag of Bones by Stephen King and I decided to start the sequel to The Bladed Faith by David Dalglish, The Sapphire Altar.

[@cafeaulivre]

Such a coincidence, just did a Virginia Woolf video myself :D Absolutely love Orlando: based on Vita Sackville-West, her muse and lover, it's truly a phenomenal book.

[@Diadochi184]

I had to buy a new shelf because I subscribed lol

[@CarolynMarieReads]

That’s what I like to hear 😂📚

[@umamamuhammad3238]

What edition of Orlando is that?😍

[@asteroefstathiou5407]

I would like to recommend the sea the sea by Airis Murdoch

[@Harmosaurus]

Whats the dad update on the martian?? LOL

[@negarshafia]

I'm reading group portrait with lady by Heinrich Boll, I think you should read it❤️

[@tiarebastias3112]

The ones who walk away from omelas/BTS-Spring day 💜

[@pageturner242]

carolyn i would like to humbly request war & peace tattoo ideas

[@CarolynMarieReads]

I’ve actually done them already on my Instagram 😊

[@pageturner242]

@@CarolynMarieReads oh yay!!

[@oak_leaf]

My last favourite: The brothers Karamazov

[@__rishikasingh]

❤❤❤❤❤❤❤

[@signdigger]

Hi Carolyn, I hope you are doing well and love the channel! It's nice to find KZbinrs who add emphasis to the great books. I'm publishing a book right, a short story collection similar to the works of Alice Munro. I'm looking for someone who might be interested in writing an introduction for me and thought of you. I'd really love to have you start off my book for me, if you've got the time. Thanks for all you do and your channel!

[@reaper_allwyn]

Kitne saal tak roj likhogi daily novel?

[@jmsl_910]

🩵🩵🩵

[@xnoname223]

What do you do for life? Are you reading as a full time job? Or still in school? I’m keen to do this type of dream job, but I’m a woman of color and youtube algorithm usually prioritize white ppl channels to be recommended or at least the kind of viewers (exposure)

[@jamesduggan7200]

I wish you luck. I've followed Carolyn several years; and have watched her channel grow from a very small one to an especially popular one. I can't say with any authority what the root cause of her popularity is, but I believe it is her positive attitude and consistent hard work. As for it being a dream job: Based on what I've seen and heard it's hard work and not particularly remunerative from a financial perspective. Again, I wish you luck with your (new) channel and hope it will be something I can enjoy watching.

[@kurtfox4944]

When people comment on what YT prioritizes in its algorithms, all I can say is (a) it constantly seems to change (b) the reasons for the changes (and timing) are willy-nilly and nobody can see a pattern, (c) changes seem to be inconsistent (works one way for one channel and another for a different channel), and (d) many people say just the opposite to your experience of prioritization. Personally, I feel like the algorithm watches what you click and prioritizes similar videos/channels. So if you are seeing white ppl channels, it is perhaps because that is what you tend to watch (?). I don't think skin tone is part of their algorithm (of course I could be wrong). I think it is more topics (such as literary criticism, or classics) - eg. I do not get any romance novel reviews popping up. If this is a dream job, my recommendation is not to quit your day job until you have become established. It takes quite some time to get a following, which is only the beginning of monetization (and it may not be enough to pay the bills). Additionally, you might need to be on all the social media platforms and constantly promote your channel in order to get anywhere. In short, it will be more a job of promotion (in essence, 'advertising') more so than reading and making videos. Either way, good luck!

[@thebrowneyedstitcher]

I don't know how I came across you but I've had your channel open on a tab on my laptop for several weeks now and I'm so glad I did. 🤍