Remembering Alice, and the regular news segments • This Month in Book News ✨

Hi everyone. For part of this video, I wanted to remember a BookTube friend, Alice from ‪@AliceandtheGiantBookshelf‬, who suddenly and tragically passed away a few weeks ago. This was difficult to film, but I wanted to pay my respects to a really wonderful person. I hope you join me in wishing the very best to her friends and family.
‪@CharlieBrookReads‬ did a wonderful, much longer tribute to her good friend Alice here:
• My friend Alice 💔 #plo...
Here’s the livestream I did with Alice and the other Women’s Prize plodders (the most fun I’ve had on Booktube):
kzbin.info1QTQnFUp...
The usual book news and other segments follow, as does a somewhat surreal feelgood story at the end.
Article on English language titles in Europe (paywalled but you should be able to read one article for free):
www.nytimes.com/2024/06/07/bo...
The Big Read by Bookshop.org:
uk.bookshop.org/lists/the-big...
Curated Kindle deals list:
www.amazon.co.uk/hz/wishlist/...
Booker Prize predictions:
• Booker Prize 2024 long...
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00:00 Remembering Alice
01:36 Future release announcements
03:03 Book news
05:46 Prize news and dates
08:27 New book releases
12:56 Books on screen
15:13 Deals
16:39 Feelgood story
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Thank you so much for watching.
📚 Join the Read Good Challenge 2024: • Read Good Challenge 20...
✉️ Email: benreadsgood[at]gmail.com
📸 Instagram: / benreadsgood
📊 Storygraph: app.thestorygraph.com/profile...
🎁 Amazon wishlist (books that are tricky to get in a physical bookshop in the UK): www.amazon.co.uk/hz/wishlist/...
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#books #booktube #booknews

[@benreadsgood]

Got my dates a bit mixed up: Anyone’s Ghost was out on the 11th, and Goodnight Tokyo is out on the 18th. I also managed to miss out a release I’m *very* excited about: Anton Hur’s debut Toward Eternity, which is out on the 18th as well.

[@onourpath]

Lovely comments about Alice, Ben. I only ever "met" her online, and we only ever "talked in the comments," but I feel so gutted about her death. Thirty-nine: what a horrible tragedy! The post her husband made, the posts all the booktubers are making, it's just so wretched. I feel so much for her family and loved ones. It's good to see how much she was loved in the book community. 💚

[@benreadsgood]

It's really upsetting, and although I wasn't as close to Alice as a number of other BookTubers, it's been terribly upsetting and emphasised to me just how real "internet" friendships can be. She'll be missed by all of us 💔

[@emmavd]

Somehow it’s comforting to hear fellow booktubers remembering Alice so fondly. I only knew her from her videos and our interactions in the comment section. However, “I have way too many books” is a phrase which will always remind me of her. Thank you, Ben.

[@benreadsgood]

I couldn't help but say it - it was *the* catchphrase of her channel. I'm so sad she's gone 💔

[@ReadingNymph]

Such well deserved recognition! Congratulations 🎉 Alice was such a lovely person ❤

[@benreadsgood]

Thanks so much - it's a bit bonkers but very lovely! Alice will be missed 💔

[@lawliet6910]

Such a kind message celebrating Alice. Your message really touched me. Thank you for the heartfelt tribute. Also always appreciate the news as always, so helpful!

[@benreadsgood]

She'll truly be missed 💔 Thank you for watching.

[@evelinsandor]

Hey Ben! I'm from Hungary and I mostly read in English instead of Hungarian. The main reason is that I don't really want to wait until the book gets translated and many books don't get translated at all. Of course if the book is written in a language other than English, I chose the Hungarian translation. And I have a "weird" habit: since Hungarian is a very complex and beautiful language ("the magic mushroom of the languages"), I like the Hungarian translation of literary fiction novels and the more sophisticatedly written novels, but for example thriller books or most sci-fi books are better to read in English because they don't have to be beautifully written, if you know what I mean :) I really love your videos, keep up the good work ;)

[@janethansen9612]

The mention in The Guardian is wild, clearly someone connected is watching you. Thanks for sharing your memories of Alice, she will be missed by the book community.

[@benreadsgood]

It's very odd to think that someone out there pitched including my channel in their write up, and an editor kept it in! 😅 Alice was such a gem and we'll really miss her 💔

[@MountainShadow8]

I'm so sorry for your loss. Take care. I thank you for your channel.

[@benreadsgood]

Thanks for the kind comment. We’ll miss Alice 💔

[@ameliabarlowbooks]

honestly you deserve ALL the accolades my friend, these book news videos are so spot on and this one was particularly special given all the kind and beautiful words said about Alice ♥️ I’m particularly excited for the Say Nothing adaptation, Maxine Peake can do no wrong!!

[@benreadsgood]

Thank you Amelia! I'm glad I've managed to keep making these ones - they're a lot of work but hoping to keep it going as long as I can 😅 Still absolutely gutted by the news about Alice 💔

[@YourTrueShelf]

I absolutely share your sentiments and heartbreak over our lovely friend Alice 💔 I'm so glad you got to do the surprise quiz as that was such a great plodalong moment. Thank you for all of the bookish news, I literally wait for your curated book deal list each month!! Absolutely fantastic re The Guardian - you so deserve it. I told you, wait for the TV offers!! X

[@benreadsgood]

It's just so terribly sad 😔 Just seems unthinkable when we were all chatting along on the livestreams so recently. We'll miss her 💔 Funnily enough the TV offers haven't flooded in yet 😂

[@Shelf_Improvement]

Wow, congrats on your Guardian acknowledgment, how exciting!

[@benreadsgood]

Thank you - it's so surreal!

[@janeduffield4801]

Congratulations Ben - and thank you for your kind and thoughtful words about my daughter Alice. 💔

[@benreadsgood]

Thank you Jane. I am so terribly sorry for your loss. She was a bright light in our little community and we'll miss her terribly 💔 Sending love to you and your family.

[@Lena-mv3gu]

What a big recognition for the dedication you put in you YT channel: the mention in the Guardian under the header ‘Brain food’. Congratulations! I’m Dutch and living in The Netherlands. In The Netherlands bookshops are indeed selling more English books. I read some articles about this topic in a national newspaper (Trouw) and I did same extra research, because erit sparked my interest. Some figures. 1 out of 5 physical books sold in 2023 were books written in a foreign language, mainly English. 66% of the customers bought monthly a book in Dutch and only a few books in English in a year. Customers buying books weekly: 48% Dutch books, 17% English books. The biggest group customers buying English books are between 16-25 years of age (56% of their book purchases). They buy mostly YA, fantasy, horror, books promoted on Tiktok and booktube. Reasons why they prefer English books: more choice, cheaper, nicer cover, they want to improve their English, low quality of Dutch translations, English books releases are earlier than the Dutch translation. In a newspaper article a publisher specialized in YA and fantasy said her publishing house is selling less Dutch translations. They organized a book tour for a popular writer. This used to be profitable for them, but now it isn’t any longer. The sale figures of the English edition were rocking high and the profit is for the English publishing house. A spokesman of a well-known publishing house said they tend to focus more on translating books from a language less mastered by the Dutch. I’ve been reading translated book from very different languages since I was a child and in general the quality of Dutch translations of literary fiction is high. The quality of non-literary fiction can, depending on the publishing house, be good, but also inferior. Translators of literary fiction have access to benefits translators of non-literary fiction haven’t, like a grant from the Dutch Foundation for literature on the top of the compensation they get from the publishing house. They can also get individual support and enroll for classes and trainings organized by the Centre of Expertise for literary translations (ELV). ELV ‘furthers the quality of literary translation into and from Dutch through education, training and the sharing of expertise and is a partnership between the Taalunie (Union for the Dutch Language), KU (University) Leuven and Utrecht University, in cooperation with Flanders Literature and the Dutch Foundation for Literature. It was set up by the Taalunie in 2001. Like the Taalunie, the ELV is a joint Dutch/Flemish organization’(website ELV). All these institutions are public. Publishing houses of literary fiction often get financial support from the government or a similar institution as the Dutch Foundation for literature of the country the book is originally from. General speaking non-literary fiction are romances, fantasy, thrillers, YA (sometimes). On the top of not having access to benefits the translators of literary fiction have, translators of non-literary fiction get less compensation for their work, they work under a higher time pressure , no or minimal editing, no proof reading. In a survey 17% of adults and 29% of youngster would buy a Dutch copy instead of an English one if the translation into Dutch would be much better. I do buy English book written originally in English, but I won't buy English translations unless no Dutch translation is available.

[@PabloReyesVelasco]

I see in bookstores here in Spain increasing space for books in English and more people (often young) buy those books instead of waiting months or a year for the spanish translation. My experience is: paperbacks are cheaper than the ones we get in translation and more accesible, book awards are exciting (we don't have anything even close to the Booker Prize) and social media encourage FOMO. Thanks for the brain food!😊

[@benreadsgood]

Thanks for sharing your perspective from Spain - that all makes sense! In a way it's quite nice for me as a potential tourist... I always love to pop into nearby bookshops when I'm visiting 👀

[@Bookchara]

Ben! This is the first I’ve heard about Alice passing. How very very sad 💔 I think your tribute to her was lovely! And congrats on the mention in the Guardian! I don’t think you’ll be a “relatively small” booktube for long ☺️

[@benreadsgood]

Thanks very much - I'm almost 0.38% of a Jack Edwards 😂 Really devastated by the news about Alice. She won't be forgotten 💔

[@Slothreadersclub]

In Serbia the translations can be sometimes bad but we've had some wonderful independent small publishers pop up in the last few years and honestly it was refreshing. We actually have many people from former Yugoslavia who can read in Serbian buy more books in Serbia as translations in Croatia and especially Slovenia can be extremely expensive. I love reading regional authors in our local language abbreviation BHS but prefer foreign books in English translation. I also did a video on bookstores in Belgrade and I also mentioned publishers from Serbia.

[@janeshuttleworth5563]

Love these monthly videos and great news about the mention in the Guardian. You deserve it. Fab channel. Thanks.

[@benreadsgood]

Thank you so much, that's a very kind comment!

[@iamtherealjulia]

Congratulations! well deserved mention! So sorry about the loss of your friend.

[@benreadsgood]

Thanks very much. And we'll truly miss her - it's so sad 💔

[@kimswhims8435]

The Guardian! Congratulations on some well deserved recognition, I learn so much from these monthly updates! A lovely tribute to Alice too, she was another booktuber who was great at sharing her bookish love.

[@benreadsgood]

Thanks very much, glad you are still enjoying these videos. Alice will be so missed 💔

[@marjoriedybec3450]

I'm so sorry for your sad heart and our collective loss regarding Alice. Your tribute was lovely. TY. Congratulations on your deserved recognition in The Guardian. What a hoot! BTW, your bookish updates were perfectly paced. I got a lot out of them. Thanks again.

[@benreadsgood]

It's just desperately sad and it's happened to her far too young. We'll miss her 💔 Glad you're still enjoying these videos.

[@Leoslittlebooklife]

Yes, it’s a clear trend here in the Netherlands too, the popularity of English language books. In the past year or so bookshops’ shelves with these have at least doubled in size. Booksellers told me that especially young people come in and ask where the English language tik tok books are. And they are much cheaper than the Dutch translations, often about half as cheap. As for myself, I count myself very lucky to be able to read English, I have been training my English for fifty years now at a daily basis. It gives me access to books that are not translated into Dutch. The one thing I don’t like is reading a book translated into English from another language, for example a French novel into English. I prefer to read them in a Dutch translation because in English it would be two languages removed from my native language and maybe more of the original tone of language would be lost.

[@HardcoverHearts]

Congratulations on the recent flip to 5k subs and on the very well deserved recognition! And thank you for the lovely acknowledgement of Alice’s untimely passing. I also met her for the very first time at the same meet up and was struck by her warmth. It makes no sense. Lastly, I’ve come to rely on these videos to help me place my library holds for new releases so thank you ever so much for that service. 😊

[@benreadsgood]

Thanks so much. Alice's passing is so desperately sad, and we'll miss her 💔 Glad you are finding these videos useful!

[@CharlesHeathcote]

Congratulations on 5,000 subscribers, it is incredibly well-deserved. Those were some kind words about Alice - I'm glad that you got to meet her outside of the KZbin sphere. I do enjoy these book news videos; I'm regularly out of the loop when it comes to knowing what is going on in the literary world, so this is a great help.

[@benreadsgood]

Thank you, really appreciate it! I'm also glad I got to meet Alice, and it's just terribly sad not to be able to do so again 💔

[@deegrows7589]

Your recognition as a wonderful and thoroughly enjoyable channel is richly deserved! Congrats!! 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼😊

[@benreadsgood]

Thanks so much for the kind words! 🙏

[@rebecca.reader]

Congratulations on the Guardian mention ! That is so cool. But also very well deserved! Thank you for the remembering Alice part of the video. I only ever chatted to her in comments, but I was quite taken aback by how much it affected me...considering I had never met her in real life.I felt really shocked and heartbroken for a good while afterwards. It just goes to show what a special person she was! ❤

[@benreadsgood]

Thank you very much for the kind words. I feel very similarly - sometimes you think of these relationships as secondary because they're "internet" friends, but I was similarly taken aback by how upset I felt. Honestly to the point where part of this filming was quite difficult (you'll notice the camera moves at one point because I had to take a break). She was such a lovely person and we'll miss her 💔

[@Uphere-do9zh]

So sorry to learn of Alice’s passing. Her Agatha Christie videos were enormously entertaining and informative. Thanks for those videos, Alice. Much love to her family and friends. ❤

[@benreadsgood]

We'll really miss her. It's absolutely terrible news 💔

[@jacquelinemcmenamin8204]

I’ll miss Alice’s sense of humour. We only communicated online about book recommendations but I’ll miss her self deprecating humour 😢

[@benreadsgood]

She was such a lovely person, so warm and funny. I’m so devastated, and my heart breaks for her loved ones.

[@curatoriallyyours]

How cool to get a mention in the paper! Congratulations on your subscriber milestone too 😀

[@benreadsgood]

Thanks so much - it was such a surprise! 🤯

[@glendaw5221]

I immediately thought of the PlodAlongs when I heard the shocking news of Alice’s death. Although I never met her I felt as though I knew her. I’m so sad for those of you who were close to her and I am heartbroken for her family.

[@benreadsgood]

She was a really wonderful person, and although we weren't the closest of friends, I've been taken aback by how upsetting it's been. My heart goes out to her family and close friends. She'll be missed 💔

[@jaimee-kate]

Congrats to you about the newspaper callout! How fun & wild!!

[@benreadsgood]

So wild! I never would have expected it, but very happy it happened!

[@helenteddyhawker9434]

Love the feel good story- especially as I am looking at you KZbin because I’ve also got the Guardian magazine on my lap- the Brain food in front of me. So it worked! And I found your channel fab- thanks, and thanks Guardian!

[@benreadsgood]

Thank you so much for hopping on over! I didn't really expect anyone seeing the magazine to actually end up here to be honest, thought it might just be a nice story to be able to tell, but glad to hear you're here 🙌

[@maureencalder9911]

All of your hard work definitely deserves the accolades it is getting. Well done Ben!

[@benreadsgood]

Thanks so much! 🙏

[@emmaselby4836]

I discovered your channel about a week before the Guardian mention, so I feel like I have my finger on the pulse 😂 Well done!

[@benreadsgood]

Wait a second... do you work at The Guardian by any chance? 😂 That would explain everything!

[@Tetsujin-28]

Over 5k subscribers. Congratulations. No surprise and well deserved.

[@benreadsgood]

Thank you so much!

[@rozreallyreads]

omg say nothing adaptation?? patrick radden keefe is sooooo good😭😭 i'm so excited for this! i just made my mum read it like a month ago!! so exciting. also you mentioned interview with the vampire s2 has just dropped but it's actually just been renewed for s3 as well, the week before the finale! i would really recommend it and s1 is on bbc iplayer, with s2 arrive there soon too, it's the best tv i've watched this year :) congrats on 5k & the guardian mention btw! i love your channel for reviews but also book news as i did feel there was a gap in this area on booktube!

[@benreadsgood]

Ooh thank you for the Interview with a Vampire intel! I actually haven't watched it as I want to read the book first (and it is, of course, sitting on my shelf).

[@Dottiemi]

New to the channel, really enjoyed this. I haven’t come across Alice but very sad to hear the news.

[@benreadsgood]

Thanks for watching and subscribing. It's a shame you have missed Alice - she was a source of great joy on BookTube, and we'll miss her 💔

[@readandre-read]

I think the Orwell prize had my favorite shortlist so far this year. Recursion is also my favorite of the Blake Crouch books I've read.

[@benreadsgood]

The Orwell Prize did such a great job with its longlist this year. I think people would have been extremely happy with that being the Booker list!

[@readingoffmyshelf2088]

It was lovely to hear you talk about Alice, and this year, your guest appearance on the podalong was a highlight of the prize season. I have recently picked up a copy of Brotherless Night after it won the prize, but I had wanted to because so many good reviews had been on booktube. The cover for Goodnight Toko looks very up lifting and bright . Oh, Ben, I was going to watch the new Thor movie from the sounds of things I might give it a miss. Congratulations to all your good news .

[@benreadsgood]

Thank you, that's really nice to hear, and I'm so glad I got the chance to spend time with the plodders. It's unthinkable what has happened, but it is a lovely memory to have had such fun with them.

[@HannahsBooks]

Wonderful video! And congratulations about the mention! “Brain food” indeed! I saw Percival Everett recently at my local bookstore. When asked how negotiations for a film deal were going, Everett paused-then said something like, “I really don’t feel comfortable talking about, um, selling James.” Aaack!

[@benreadsgood]

Ooh that's really interesting! In a way I wonder if that's actually a good thing... they must have promised to take a lot of care with it if Everett felt uncomfortable. That or they've given him more money than he can refuse 😅

[@marianryan2991]

Congrats again on the lovely shout-out! A new title I'm excited for is the new Joy Williams collection, out July 2 in the States but I see not till August in the UK. It's a bit niche, in that it's 99 quite short, fable-like stories about essentially the grim reaper (aka angel of death), a companion to her earlier 99 Stories of God. William is absolutely singular and regularly astounding and full of dark flinty humor. Plus she's 80, so there may not be many more from her. Probably not the best Williams to start with, though.

[@benreadsgood]

Thanks for sharing - I recognised the name but wasn't sure where from, but I think it's because she won the Kirkus Prize for her novel Harrow a few years ago. Hope you enjoy the new collection!

[@Djcooksandbooks]

Congratulations on the Guardian mention! I’m going to pick up one of the winners of the prizes you mentioned as my next read. Thanks!

[@benreadsgood]

Thanks so much 🙏 Very surreal! All of the winners sound pretty good, so you should be in safe hands whichever you go for!

[@CharlieBrookReads]

❤❤❤

[@benreadsgood]

Sending lots of love your way Charlie ❤️

[@rudy679]

OMG Ben! A mention in The Guardian! Good for you. 🤩

[@benreadsgood]

Such a weird thing to happen, but so cool!

[@leeh4343]

Lovely words about Alice. Boris Johnson’s book is coming out on my birthday, I will have to make it clear to my family that that is NOT the autobiography that I’d like - it’s Rick Astley’s ! (out on the same day) 😆

[@benreadsgood]

Such terribly sad news 💔 And make sure you tell everyone twice that you don't want Boris!!

[@KierTheScrivener]

😊📖

[@seamusgaelic6447]

Congrats on getting a mention in The Guardian and exceeding 5K subscribers, Ben!

[@benreadsgood]

Thank you very much - so strange but so cool!

[@lawliet6910]

Also, I loved James. My hold was finally ready and when I started I knew why it was so well-loved. And Empire of Pain! So good.

[@benreadsgood]

The weight of expectation can often bring a novel down for me... but not for James. A future classic!

[@hegeste]

Hey Ben! I`m norwegian and I read a lot in english just because I can`t be bothered to wait for the norwegian translation. But I prefer to read in norwegian. And if a book has a lot of more technical or other more difficult language it can be tricky to read it in english, i find. I don`t know if this is the same for other non native english readers. My impression is that a lot of younger readers actually prefer to read in english.

[@chiayinhung]

So much information in only 20 minutes. Thank you,Ben After watching your video, I realized that I've only read one book by a Taiwanese author this year; the rest were in English or translated. I've decided to support Taiwanese authors more.

[@benreadsgood]

Thanks for watching. I actually don't know of too many Taiwanese authors that we get translated to English over here. I should check some out!

[@19Billebob94]

I’m Italian and I speak multiple languages. I think the main reason for buying and reading books in English is the idea of reading a book in its original form. Many people now have a level of English that is near native and with Netflix and other entertainment platforms you see more and more people watching the series in its original language. I read Spanish books in Spanish, French in French and Italian in Italian. If anything, the books that tend to be popular are the English speaking books, and therefore the question should be if there should be more of an effort to promote non-English books, but that’s been an issue for far longer than people reading English books in English

[@benreadsgood]

Thanks for sharing the perspective from Italy! I'm envious of you being able to read the books in their original language - I'd love to be able to do that for some non-English books. And you're totally right that so much comes down to marketing - social media has just become 'free' marketing in a way and it skews towards English language stuff so much!

[@lindabelina5256]

Hi Ben, I'm from Slovenia (but living in Singapore :) ) and there has always been a problem with books translated into Slovene language. Mainly it's because they are much more expensive than English originals due of a super small market for Slovene language - total of 2 million Slovenians. I think this is the case with most of the smaller populated countries in Europe together with the fact that most readers are very fluent in English and have no problem reading in the original English.

[@benreadsgood]

Thank you for sharing your perspective on this! That makes a lot of sense actually - I suppose with a smaller pool of potential readers (and translators) the whole process is more expensive and less likely to make a return. A shame it comes down to money really.

[@andrewmolloy8848]

Superb again

[@benreadsgood]

Thank you!

[@ameliareads589]

I only read books in English when they are originally published in English or if the original is from another language, but not translated into German. Which is not so often the case, because we have a lot of translated books in Germany from all over the world. As much as I often like UK book covers, I would be sad if there wouldn't be different covers for German translations, because they are often great too. I'm not worried too much about that though, because quite a few of German publishers of literary fiction have a certain style, which is very recognisable, so I would assume it will be more a thing for publishers of genre fiction.

[@benreadsgood]

Interesting to hear the German perspective. It's always fascinating to me to see the different book cover styles from different countries, even when they are the same language. The US has a lot more typography-focused covers, and the UK has more illustrations, and then when I visited some Japanese bookshops there was *so* much more text on the covers that a lot of them looked very similar. Fascinating to think where all of these cultural norms around covers came from.

[@emmavd]

Thanks, Ben, and congratulations on your well-deserved mention in The Guardian!!💐I can read in three languages: English, Italian and Dutch. I always read books written in one of these languages in the original language. Then I would read books written in French, Spanish or Portuguese preferably in Italian, books written in German, in Dutch, and the rest mainly in English, depending on the availability of translations and the price. One example is books written in Danish, translated into Italian and Dutch. At the time when I bought them, the price of the Dutch translation was double the price of the first two books in Italian. So I bought them and read them in Italian. By the way, it’s a novel by Solvej Balle in seven short books of which the first two will be available in English in November with the title On the Calculation of Volume (book 3 is already available in Italian, Dutch and other languages). It’s about a woman whose life is stuck on November 18 of a certain year, for years (it’s amazing!). I see that the the English translation will be more expensive than the Italian, but cheaper than the Dutch!

[@benreadsgood]

Being able to read in three languages is so impressive! And interesting that the translations from languages in similar families (romance to romance, germanic to germanic) work best. Makes sense but I hadn't thought about it before! That book sounds interesting - wonder if it might be an International Booker contender 👀

[@emmavd]

@@benreadsgoodDanish books, with a French protagonist, read in Italian in the Netherlands! The first three books won a prestigious Scandinavian prize. It would be great to see it on a Booker list.

[@benreadsgood]

@@emmavd an ‘all-Europe’ reading experience! 😅

[@karenshann]

Love the channel Ben and really enjoy your book reviews even though we have opposing political views

[@benreadsgood]

Thanks Karen - glad that books can be a bridge.

[@mradcaqbdb]

I just received a book from your side of the pond today that I’m very excited about. It’s called The Betrayal of Thomas True written by AJ West from Orenda Books. It takes place in 1715 London and tells the story of the molly houses of the time. I’m just about to start it. I literally squealed when I found it in the mailbox today!

[@benreadsgood]

Ooh, I haven't heard of that one! Hope it turns out to be a corker 🤞

[@mradcaqbdb]

@@benreadsgood It’s fantastic so far! Check it out! Plus, it’s an absolutely stunning package!

[@MsEleanorShelby]

In Germany we have a book price fixing for books in german language by law. The publisher sets the price for the book; bookseller-discounts are forbidden. This was originally to protect indie bookshops and small publishers. But this way the english original books are now way cheaper to get than their german translation, because for the originals you can get discounts. And for me personally as a romance reader: The german language can be beautiful, but not for smut😆. And the german romance book covers are 50 shades of violet - my eyes just can't endure them.

[@benreadsgood]

Ooh that's interesting on the fixed pricing. Guess it's one of those age-old unintended consequences that always happen when you try to control the market in a certain way. I would have thought German might be quite entertaining for smut - the compound words must be brilliant! 😂

[@1book1review]

Being German I sadly struggle reading German authors for ages. I just don't enjoy them as much. Every year I try to go for a German author/book a month and every year I fail miserably. I find myself more often than not choosing an English translation over a German one as well lately as there are subtle differences and when I get a chance to compare I like the English tone better than the German once. Having said that, I would never read any translation of a German book on purpose.

[@petrageciova5719]

Hi Ben! 👋😊 I am from Slovakia and I am very happy that my level of English has reached the level that I can read books in English. It has many benefits. For example, books in Slovak or Czech translation sometimes arrive a year after the book release, some of them never receive a Czech or Slovak translation. The price of the translated book is of course much higher due to the translation, and when I read a translated book, the emotion and meaning of the text is sometimes lost because structure of our languages is completely different. Something that works in English may not work with a Slovak or Czech translation. And another thing is the book cover - translated books in the Czech or Slovak language usually get a not very nice book cover. But what I consider to be the biggest disadvantage of translated books is the book format. Many times translated books are printed in a format that is not at all standard for English titles, and I personally do not like these formats. They are small even when in hard cover, and that's why some books are very thick or with small letters. So these are the reasons why I prefer to read books in the original English 😉👍📖

[@benreadsgood]

That's so cool to be able to read in a second language! It's a shame the price can be inflated so much because of the translation, but I suppose it makes sense - people have to be paid for their labour. And as a book cover lover, I hear you on wanting a nice cover!

[@GuroFlemmen]

Here's how I do things: I'm Norwegian and have read books in English for 20 years. Norwegian is a small language (about 5 million people). People are generally fluent in English. I prefer to read the book in the language it was published, or the Norwegian translation if that language was not English (even though I understand Swedish and Danish, I've never read a book in those languages. Prefer reading Norwegian translations. But I'm planning on trying reading in those languages too. I've lately started to read German books in German ("learned" in school 25 years ago), and French books in French (used Duolingo for some years, now progressed to reading short books)). I would never read an English translation of a Norwegian book. Most Norwegian books I can borrow from the library (both originally in Norwegian or translated; either physical or digital copies). As for wanting to read a book translated into Norwegian, there are two problems. Firstly: if it's a new book, it takes time for it to become translated and published. So I might have read it in English already. And the books usually cost a lot more. Secondly: Norway is a small market. Relatively few books are translated into Norwegian. So books might only be available in English or as English translations. You mentioned Yellowface. I read it in English not long after it was published. It was published in Norwegian earlier this spring. It was the first of her books to be translated into Norwegian even though she's such a successful author. The title is Yellowface in Norwegian too, but I don't think that is because people want the same cover as in English. It's just that we don't have a good word for "Yellowface" in Norwegian. We use the English word. If the book title is a name/place/expression, it's usually the same for the Norwegian book, but otherwise the title is translated (sometimes directly, and other times they make weird choises. As a side note: that goes both ways. Helga Flatland's latest book Etterklang has recently been translated into English. Etterklang means reverberation. The word is also used for the sound from the fiddle Hardingfele, which has eight strings, four under the main four. The English title is Toxic. Okay??? Great book, by the way. )

[@benreadsgood]

Thanks for sharing your thoughts on this. Seems to be lots of factors at play! But makes sense to want to read in the original languages where possible, but that doing that can be made harder by lag in translations happening. I'd love to be able to read in two languages so that I could look at both books and see what decisions the translator has made. I am always curious when there are multiple translations of the same book, and I like to give them a little look to see how different they are!

[@jsjim]

Hi Ben! I am from Spain and I read in English most of my books (unless they're written in Spanish) so that I'm more exposed to it. On the other hand, books in the UK are waaaaay cheaper than in Spain (both new and second-hand), so buying in WOB is cheaper for me (in spite of paying shipping costs) than buying those books in Spanish via Vinted or Wallapop (another more popular second-hand marketplace). Also, and this could seem trivial but it's a determinant factor for me: the covers. They're much more beautiful in the UK and I treasure my books as works of art, which means I want to have the best of the best, haha. I am amongst a minority in here though as Spaniards still prefer to read in Spanish and are quite loyal to their native tongue while buying and reading, so I don't think Spanish translations are in danger, but it'd be sad other languages could lose translators/translated books.

[@benreadsgood]

So interesting to hear how much more expensive reading can be as a hobby outside the UK. I'm always shocked by how much books cost in the US (and how much longer they stay in hardback). And covers are important to me too, so I can totally understand your opinion there! Spanish is definitely one language that has such a brilliantly rich amount of literature available. Guess it helps that there's so much great stuff coming out of Latin America!

[@florindaborici5366]

Hello from Albania! I like your you tube channel! Regarding what you mentioned about the fact of reading books in English in non- English speaking countries, I thinks it is true also in my country. Lots of people read in English. Me too, but that is because I am an English language teacher, but I also prefer to read books in original languages that I also speak such as Italian and Spanish. I don’t trust translators, I immediately start wondering what the sentence would be like in the original language. But of course for books written in languages I don’t speak, I will rely on the translated versions 😅.

[@benreadsgood]

Thank you for giving a view on this from Albania! Not trusting translators 😂 I get what you mean though! I find it fascinating the sorts of choices they must have to make, and I've love to be able to read in the original language *and* the translation to compare. It's a kind of magic!

[@reddleman2]

As you are mentioning quite some prizes this time, which prize would you recommend following after the discontinuation of the Costa Book Awards? I loved that award because it was both literary but also more accessible than, for example, the Man Booker Prize. And congrats on The Guardian! :)

[@benreadsgood]

The Nero Book Awards have stepped into that void, I think! Had their inaugural awards last year, which was won by The Bee Sting (although that’s a Booker overlap!) They should be back later this year 😊 Thanks!

[@jacquelinemcmenamin8204]

I’m currently listening to a book I preordered months ago The God of the Woods by Liz Moore

[@benreadsgood]

I've seen that pop up on social media quite a bit - lots of people seem to be loving it!

[@carl_oak]

That was a loaded video! So much to talk. First, gorgeous homage to Alice - very kind. FYI, the website bookbub filter ebook deals from Amazon, Apple, Kobo etc. I'm still testing, but so far it's consistent. Caroline O'Donoghue books were included in the plus subscription. Goodnight Tokyo is lovely and if you're enjoying the first bit, you'll enjoy the rest as it keeps good pacing and it's more of the same. Lastly - lol about translated titles to English, I believe it is more of a marketing strategy to include "non-bookish people" that watches TikTok? Perhaps they are trying to make things easier to people who usually don;t read? I'm not sure. In the end I don't think it'll make big impact for translators, as the content wouldn't be as good as when translated by e person. I am Brazillian and speak Portuguese. I started reading English fiction for the past 10 years or so. Due curiosity, I've re-read some translated books from Portuguese to English and there will always have some expressions that only who understands the language could translate properly. The passage that cames to mind is from Blindness by Jose Saramago - original title is Ensaio Sobre a Cegueira - where the pronoun "tu" - meaning "you" - is translated as "you". However, "tu" is used only when you know the person well. It is a small thing, but I reckon it illustrates well what I'm trying to say XD I guess that's it. Too confusing?

[@benreadsgood]

Thanks for sharing your thoughts 🙏 The translation thing is really interesting. On translation itself, it's such a dark art and must be so interesting to have to make all those decisions about meaning and subtext when one language has tools the other doesn't. I'd love to be able to read in more than one language to compare.

[@ritacarmo4721]

Alice will be missed 🖤 As a portuguese reader, I buy books in english because, sometimes, they never get a translation... But also because, to me, some genres make more sense to read in english (for example, fantasy books). I don't know why, but it's how my head works 😅 And books in english are cheaper than their portuguese translations...

[@benreadsgood]

She really will be missed 💔 That's an interesting point - I guess if it's not clear if a book will be translated, but you want to read it, it's not worth the potentially unlimited wait if you can just read the English. And hadn't thought of some genre fiction just making more sense in a certain language. I often wonder whether some Japanese books that feel quite simple and cozy make much more sense in Japanese.

[@Tristan-L-Space-Books]

While my native language is English, I'm a multilingual reader (Eng, Fren, Span) and aspiring scholar of Francophone literature. In the decade I've been studying French literature, I've read numerous English translations of books written in French concurrently with their French versions and the differences can be striking. For example, Thérèse Desqueyroux by François Mauriac is rich in queer undertones conveyed through gender neutral language (a feat that warrants notice in such a gendered language), but which are completely removed in the English translation by Gerard Hopkins in favor of solidifying Thérèse as straight. I think if people are able to do so, reading books in the original language is important, but otherwise, doing research on the translators themselves is equally important.

[@Shelf_Improvement]

How do you film without the light reflecting in your glasses? Currently I film black-screen videos and one reason is because I find the reflection so distracting.

[@benreadsgood]

Yeah it's a pain, isn't it. I have to have the light quite high up and off to the side - it used to mean putting a ring light on a perilous tower of books, but I've since got hold of an adjustable height clamp with a light on top. It took me a while (and a lot of Googling) to figure out!

[@lindysmagpiereads]

I like brain food. Thanks for creating these videos. 🙂

[@benreadsgood]

Thank you for watching them Lindy! 🙌

[@llliiivvvyyy]

I’m from Sweden and have been reading predominantly in English for over a decade. I got into the English language ya space mainly through blogs (so it was a loong time ago haha) and back then reading the original was your only option. The translation usually came months or years later, if it came at all. I think that could still be driving a part of this trend as well. Sure, the long term booktok staples have all been translated, but the trend cycles go so fast that if you wait for the translation of a newly popular book you might miss it. Nowadays I also feel weird reading translations of books that I could read in the original. Why would I want to read an interpretation of someone’s work if I can read their own words? I don’t like how much I’ve been reading in English, so the last few years I’ve made an effort to read more Swedish authors and follow our domestic new releases. I also love reading translations from languages I do not speak (translated both into English and Swedish). Translators rock!

[@benreadsgood]

Oh that's a good point on the speed of the zeitgeist. I wonder if that's harder than ever, when a publisher needs to wait to see how a book does before paying out for the translation, but then by the time they get that positive feedback from the market the moment has passed... But yeah I get you - I would love to be able to read more books in the original language! But us English speakers are comparatively terrible at language learning. It's far too easy to fall back on English.

[@joanamarques6184]

Hey ben, I'm from portugal and in regards to the uptick of english novels being read I do believe tiktok and the internet is the biggest reason for it. The covers are one on the reasons, especially because for some reason the portuguese covers are always so ugly, but also there are other factors: 1- the translated versions are always more expensive, perhaps because they have to pay the translator and the portuguese market isn't that big etc etc 2- sometimes there aren't even translated copies available. Either they never get translated or they only get made after a while of the book being widely known 3- I know there are many countries not like this, but in portugal a lot of people are fluent in english, especially young people. If you see english books in your timeline all the time and you know english, why would you buy the translation? It's always better to read the original texts, and since a lot of what circulates online isn't exactly ulysses level english people want to read them Mostly, it comes down to what people are shown. Portuguese publishers don't have the grip they once had in the minds of readers, so people expand their horizons and see what the world (and english speaking countries' hegemony over it) has to offer

[@benreadsgood]

Thanks for sharing the view from Portugal! It's been so interesting to hear perspectives from so many different countries, but it seems like a lot of the themes are the same: lagging translations, expensive books, and wanting the best covers! Very jealous of those who can read in multiple languages!

[@douggordy]

Congrats on the Guardian mention - outstanding and well-deserved! PS: Hope you don't mind, but I sent ya a friend request on GR!

[@benreadsgood]

Thanks very much - it was such a surprise! Appreciate the GR request, although I do keep my account on there private. Happy to connect with anyone on my StoryGraph account though, if you're on there!

[@douggordy]

@@benreadsgood Nope, I'm only on GR, but understand! Just saw you on the M & G group and wanted to connect, so I could see your reviews there too.

[@benreadsgood]

@@douggordy ahh yeah I do pop up on there now and again. If it’s any consolation I only put star ratings on Goodreads. My written reviews are all just on Notion for use on this channel!

[@douggordy]

@@benreadsgood Good to know - just trying to make it easier to connect - guess I'll just follow you HERE - and bug you with a message when I have something to impart/ask! 😁 Cheers!

[@lozzyjohnson85]

Oh no! I hadn't heard about Alice! What happened? 💔

[@benreadsgood]

It was unexpected, but her husband has posted a message on her community tab. Really, really terribly sad 💔

[@NeddenOhSoLame]

I read books regularly in my native tongue but also in English and in a third language. I try to read books in their original language when possible, but when it comes to literature translated from other languages I tend to read them in the language that is available to me the easiest and often that is English. If the cover of a translated book is hideous, I do try to find a nicer version in another language. I also own a couple books in three more languages, but because I am not fluent in those languages they are slow projects that I work through when I have extra time and energy.

[@benreadsgood]

Thank you for sharing! Definitely makes sense to want to read in the original language. I wonder if there are many books out there that are *better* in translation - that would be so interesting to find out! Love the idea of having a book in another language as a slow project... maybe one day if I come back to Spanish 😅

[@Bessie-On-Wheels]

Vivek OJi is great

[@benreadsgood]

Heard such great things about it!

[@LynnHermione]

Hunger Games was mid when it launched and it's mid now. Please stop hyping that Battle Royale plagiarism.

[@benreadsgood]

I like to share what’s interesting to me, and this was interesting to me. Sorry!

[@LynnHermione]

English countries have cultural colonization so they publish a lot and publicize it, and translations are awful. I am a Spanish speaker from latin anerica do not read translations if I speak the language. And local books suck, they are all uniformly terrible

[@newbooksmell9221]

Such lovely words about Alice, Ben! I didn't know her and her channel, but I can feel the love that makes this community such a precious part of the internet. I'm Brazilian and the book industry here is wildly different from the one that's talked about on the article you shared so I may be thinking about it with a completely different lens. But, here's a story I'm not very proud of: "Torto Arado" was published in 2019 and it has been talked about extensively on the Brazillian media. It has won some prizes and is now a required reading for University entrance exams. I am quite a bookish person, but it was only when I saw English booktubers talking about "The Crooked Plow" that I went and got my own (Brazillian) copy and finally read it 🥲 I am not sure what you should take from this (besides that I am a terrible supporter of my own country's publishing industry), but to me it has nothing to do with having the same cover that I see on booktok and everything with being part of the same conversation and at the same moment 🤷‍♀

[@benreadsgood]

She was such a gem and we'll miss her 💔 On Crooked Plow - no need for shame! Especially not when we've just been through Reading Shame Forgiveness Month in June. It's cool that you were able to turn to the original when everyone online was checking out the translation.