TEN BOOKS THAT MADE ME!

[@TheLinguistsLibrary]

Absolutely love The Shadow of the Wind! Great list

[@alex_unabridged]

Cheers! Thanks for watching 😊

[@Already-Overbooked]

Yes!!! Can't agree more about Project Hail Mary. The audiobook was amazing

[@alex_unabridged]

Absolutely! 😀I've had some amazing audiobook experiences, but that one's going to take a hell of a lot to top.

[@Already-Overbooked]

@@alex_unabridged Right! It's hard to compare

[@troytradup]

At some point I'll pick The Passage up again. See if I can approach it with a more open mind now that I know what's coming ... great video, Alex -- very illuminating!

[@alex_unabridged]

Cheers, buddy 😀Glad you enjoyed it. I would be really interested to see how you do with a Passage re-read!

[@troytradup]

@@alex_unabridged I have to say -- maybe I've already said -- I enjoyed what I read quite a bit. I just hit a wall at that one particular point, as many people do. How dare a writer try to be original and innovative! Also, I realize I've somewhat conflated The Passage and The Strain in my head.

[@alex_unabridged]

@@troytradup Yeah, I know you enjoyed The Passage somewhat - that particular point is definitely a sticky one for so many folks. Was for me when I first read it - nearly caused a DNF! Though every re-read I've done since I've not noticed anything jarring about it, because I knew it was coming. Funny you should mention The Strain - after I finished The Passage I went on a hunt for more great modern vampire-y books, and picked up The Strain. It started well, but I ended up disappointed with it overall (though that might be because nothing could live up to The Passage in my eyes 😉). I didn't continue on with the series. But there's one piece of writing, right near the beginning of it, that stuck in my head and I always expect to see it in The Passage when I re-read it!

[@BookChatWithPat8668]

This is a wonderful video, Alex. I really loved hearing you talk about each of your selections, and I was especially moved to hear you speak about the connections with specific people that you associate with several of these books. Very thoughtful approach to this topic. 🥰

[@alex_unabridged]

Thanks very much, Pat ☺I value those connections so much. Books have a special power in connecting folks, don't they - just look at BookTube! 😉

[@pickyourpopculturepoison]

The Shining was my first King, too! You have really sold me on The Passage. This is a great list idea, and I may steal it. :D

[@alex_unabridged]

Steal away! I stole it from Olly, as did various other folks, so keep the thievery going 😉 It's a really enjoyable list to come up with. Yay for The Shining! Fantastic book 👍Hope you enjoy The Passage - I'm always interested to hear what folks make of it!

[@elliyo4286]

I love this tag. Thank you for sharing the books that made you, it was lovely to get to know them, and you, even better. 😊What a lovely way to show some support through the story of ´the minotaur takes a cigarette break´; I know how much books can help when we´re in a bad place, for whatever reason. I think that´s why I still love anything Found Family, and stories about lonely people, so much; they always make me feel less lonely. Feel hugged! 🥰 Having stuff in common, I think, should come down to values and moral opinions, not what kind of books you like, we know that c: I don´t read much non-fiction, but I´ve loved most of the sociology texts we´ve had to read for university. :D

[@alex_unabridged]

Cheers, Elli 😊Books are indeed wonderful things for connecting with other folks and sharing something important. And absolutely, having stuff in common like values etc is what really matters, but it's always lovely to find media (books, films, tv etc) and hobbies that you share too, especially when you live with someone and spend the majority of your time together. We found some similarities eventually, but it was much harder to find those than shared opinions on politics/ethics/morals etc! And we still absolutely hate either other's taste in music, that's never going to change! 🤣

[@elliyo4286]

@@alex_unabridged True! My partner doesn´t read at all, but he´s come to find some joy in me talking about most books. But some more disturbing books he doesn´t want to hear about because it upsets him. And there´s only a small overlap in movies and TV we both enjoy. But there´s some, at least 😄 But he hates most of the horror I watch and I´m not that into anime which he watches a lot ^^ But I like his taste in music at least :D And he even goes to art exhibits with me, and can even enjoy them (I hope) ^^

[@Already-Overbooked]

The shining still haunts my dreams

[@alex_unabridged]

Lol, one scene in particular still gives me the shivers every time I think about it - the topiary animals... that's even more scary to me than what's in Room 217!

[@Already-Overbooked]

@@alex_unabridged hahaha I know right. Such a great book

[@arockinsamsara]

Wonderful list, and video, thanks for sharing! I was tempted to put the same Judith Butler book, but since I read the Mary Daly book first that one was more of a pivot point for me. I really appreciate your discussion around "The Minotaur...," because it is a beautiful testament to how monumentally important a (relatively) small gesture toward a friend can be. Also, your wife clearly has good taste 😄. I read Cronin's _The Ferryman,_ his newest release, and enjoyed it a lot. I will add _The Passage_ trilogy what seems to be a heaping pile of trilogies to read.

[@alex_unabridged]

Thanks, Lekden 😊It's a lovely list to put together, was really enjoyable just thinking back on those books and experiences. Yeah, I know you mentioned Butler in your video so I figured Gender Trouble had had some impact on you at some point! 'The Minotaur...' is the strongest example of that small but significant gesture from a friend, but there are others in my reading history that have had the same effect, though perhaps not with quite the same power. That connection with another person, through a book, is something I've definitely come to value more and more over the years, hence why it ended up being a running theme throughout this list! My wife does have good taste on the whole! She's a fan of early Palahniuk, which I know you'll appreciate 😉She just has a wildly different taste to me in general. Same for TV/film - it takes us an age to agree on a film to watch together, there's only so many period dramas I can handle... 😂She doesn't read much at all these days (she hasn't got the brain power after a day at work), but when she does she generally goes for contemporary literary fiction or classics - two sorts of books I rarely touch. But she has introduced me to a handful of books/authors over the years that I wouldn't have tried otherwise! I enjoyed 'The Ferryman' too, I like Cronin's writing style a lot. The Passage trilogy is a bit of an undertaking - they're all pretty hefty books, though I think they're pretty quick reads, they feel quite fast in pace. Will look forward to hearing what you make of the first when/if you get to it!

[@bookssongsandothermagic]

I love this and it's inspired me to do my own one. We have lots of cross over and I think we share a similar approach to reading in general. It would be interesting to see what you think of Enid Blyton now....I'm tempted to read The Minotaur Takes a Cigarette Break.

[@alex_unabridged]

Thanks Gareth 😊I noticed you've done yours already! Is in my watch later list for tonight's viewing 👍Will look forward to seeing where we might cross over - I definitely think there's a lot of similarity in our approaches to reading for sure. Am going to get to Enid Blyton again - am very intrigued to see what I make of it now! Absolutely give 'Minotaur' a go - it's beautifully written piece of magic realism with real warmth to it.

[@RaynorReadsStuff]

Absolutely love this. I’ve seen a couple of people do it and they are all great. I’m really going to have to give this a go 😊

[@alex_unabridged]

Thanks a lot, Debs 😊Yeah, I've loved each and everyone of these sorts of videos that I've seen, it's lovely to get to know the person a little better through their significant reading experiences! Absolutely give it a go! Would love to see what's on your list 😀

[@patricia_ps]

I read The Shadow of the Wind when I was pregnant with my boy and I even considered naming him Daniel... That's how much I was loving that book 😄

[@alex_unabridged]

Lol, that must have been a fabulous reading experience then! 😀 I remember being completely lost in 'Shadow', and grabbing the second in the series (The Angel's Game) as soon as I was finished with it. Have you read the others?

[@tyghe_bright]

I really like thinking about books that influenced me as opposed to my favorite books. Winnie-the-Pooh The Giving Tree The Dragonrider series The Riddlemaster of Hed trilogy A collection of the poems of Edna St. Vincent Millay* A complete works of Edgar Allen Poe* Little, Big Stranger in a Strange Land Letters to a Young Poet Sister Outsider *I don't remember which one

[@alex_unabridged]

Yeah, it's lovely to think about the importance of specific books on my personal development - definitely a different thing to favourite books! Yours is a really interesting list, I'm going to have a look-up a few of those as I've never heard of some of them before, like The Riddlemaster of Hed trilogy - the title of that one's intriguing! 👍

[@fiberartsyreads]

This was great! If I get my life together I’d like to out a list together also 😝

[@alex_unabridged]

Cheers, Crystal! Would love to see your list at some point, it's a really lovely exercise thinking back on all the important reading experiences from your past. Has been great for my current reading slump! :-)