The Best Books I Read in 2021 (Rereads & Book Club Lectures)

[@christinejoystaber8337]

Benjamin , I am not a well educated women. But how much I enjoy listening to your love and knowledge of classic books. I am 71 years old and I am just now growing to love the idea that I too can read the classics, at least I am going to try. I delight in learning about many more classic books than I can possible read! Thank you for inspiring me to embrace living beyond the pigeon hole I had put myself in. Joy Staber

[@BenjaminMcEvoy]

Thank you so much. You've truly moved me with such a beautiful message. I'm so grateful to have such kind souls like yourself reading with me :) Thank you so much for being here!

[@drsabrinamolden]

I was hesitant about reading “Anna Karenina” again because I did not want to spoil the previous reading experience. Glad to hear this video which has convinced that I certainly need to do that

[@elizabethmurphy3931]

Benjamin, after a very difficult Covid filled month, and the loss of my oldest and dearest friend, I have found picking up a book, any book, too much for my mind to wrestle with. However, after coming back to book tube and watching this video, you have sparked the desire to go back to comforting old friends in the pages of wonderful literature. Thank you for sharing your thoughts. Stay well.

[@BenjaminMcEvoy]

Hi Elizabeth, I am so sorry to hear of your loss. My heart breaks for you. You're in my thoughts and prayers. I've lost too many close friends and family, and the pain never gets easier to deal with. I hope you look after yourself during this difficult time, and wishing you a speedy recovery 🙏

[@tommiller3017]

I'm so sorry.

[@everydaylifetroubles]

just here to say that you, sir, are a prized gem of youtube; a hidden treasure.

[@BenjaminMcEvoy]

Aw, thank you :) I really appreciate that!

[@AljaVast]

Finally found my favorite book tuber! While there are many who make great content based on literature on this platform, I am glad that there are people who are very much fond of “classical” literature. Very few out there but this is done best!

[@BenjaminMcEvoy]

Aw, thank you :) I'm happy to have you here reading along with me!

[@waterglas21]

39:00 I really agree with you in that point. Quality>Quantity. Sometimes i feel like some booktubers focus more on reading for the stats and not for enjoyment or insights.

[@BenjaminMcEvoy]

I used to get caught up in this myself, and it led to me abandoning books for quite a long time. Learning to love literature again, for me, required slowing down.

[@rajdas1201]

Hello Benjamin. You are pretty much a god-send as far as a booktuber is concerned. In fact, I'm not quite sure if booktuber is the best description of what you do. There are a lot of youtubers who talk about books but you are exactly what I was looking for. Firstly, you talk about the craft of book reading and on the evidence of watching your other videos, I can safely vouch for the fact that you are a connoisseur of high literature. I discovered your videos accidentally just over a week back and since then your voice has filled my room for most of my waking hours. After watching your video on Homer, I decided to get a Samuel Butler edition of the Iliad and the Odyssey in prose. I've ordered Don Quixote online (the John Rutherford translation, not the Grossman one because I liked Rutherford more), and I am about to get Middlemarch (which sadly I haven't yet read). I'm currently pondering whether to order the Christine Donougher edition of Les Miserables. Your views on literature match so eerily with mine that I somehow think that we both share the same soul. For example, you don't read award winning books (especially the Bookers) because you believe that such awards are given on the basis of political correctness/relevance rather than on true literary merit. I can't emphasize enough how important that revelation was to me because I thought I was the only person thinking that. Next, your video on annotations is nothing short of extraordinary. More importantly, it matches so much with my own system. I believe that underlining is an important aspect of reading and writing on the margins is essential to being a good reader/student. Your views on the cutthroat nature of Oxford was both unnerving and illuminating. I especially loved how you advocate for creating our own personal canon, a sort of specially curated list that has contributed to our personal growth and appreciation of literature. The fact that you have named another of your channels "Hardcore Literature" reveals a lot about your book preferences. I love your bookstore vlogs and how you passionately advocate the support of second hand book shops by buying from these stores. Every sentance of yours shines through with erudition, wisdom and a sublime understanding of life. Your videos are so exclusive and so original that I doubt other youtubers will be able to copy their style even if they wanted to. There are other booktubers with ten times more subscribers than you but they are precisely that - booktubers. You on the other hand are a true student of literature, with critical insights that I'm sure we'll not find anywhere on KZbin. Your book choices are so eclectic and your emphasis on picking the right translation is truly life changing. I wish I had a friend like you in real life with whom I could talk hours on books and discuss about our favourite quotations from our favourite poems. In some of your videos you have dark circles under your eyes and I even had a conversation with my nephew about it - whether you even step out of your room and get proper sunlight. My nephew thinks you'll be awful in sports, especially cricket. In fact, he said you wouldn't even be able to lift a bat. You have almost become a part of my daily routine. I just want to thank you for invigorating and reinforcing my love for books and reading. Please continue brining more of your insights, learning and expertise to us.

[@veenaraina4379]

Many people shun award winning books. Me too. Same for bestseller lists.

[@radiantchristina]

This year I reread Anna Karenina while I was also rereading The Elegance of the Hedgehog and the experience was so special. They are my two favorite books and the fact that Anna K plays such a big role in Hedgehog makes the extra special together. If you don't have one out already, I would love to see a video discussing pairing books together for a magnified reading experience. Thank you for your awesome content 😘

[@maryfilippou6667]

In Search of Lost Time was a consolation for me as well, going through stressful year 4 years ago. What a source of comfort, a balm, to read it in original at coffee shop next block, in quiet back room with low jazz playing. Thank you for putting it to fore.

[@deanhill9370]

This channel deserves recognition. Love the content.

[@BenjaminMcEvoy]

Thank you, Dean :)

[@janseb6750]

I thought I was crazy for years, but seriously one of my favorite scenes in all the books I've ever read is the scene when Levin mows that haystack.

[@DATo_DATonian]

As always, an excellent presentation. My best re-read of the year was _My Antonia_ by Willa Cather (1873 - 1947). I read it in school because I had to; now, after decades of collecting dust on my bookshelf, I read it once again because I wanted to. It was the same book, it didn't change, but in rereading it I discovered that I had changed. I discovered that in the decades between now and the first time I held that book in my hands I had somehow collected the life experience needed to truly appreciate this novel.

[@BenjaminMcEvoy]

Nice :) I love returning to the books I had to read for school and discovering that they actually mean something to me years later. Great books are lost on us in our younger years. I love the way you've put it - "in rereading it I discovered that I had changed." So true! I'll have to check My Antonia out - Willa Cather has been an author I've wanted to read for a while now.

[@melissarestous1204]

I discovered Anna Karenina with a friend and it was an interesting experience : we both had a plan to follow so we could discuss the book as our reading progressed. It was more fun than I expected and we did it again by reading Germinal (Zola). By myself, I read WWII literature for a work project, especially testimonials about the Holocaust. It was heartbreaking. Your list inspires me, I want to read more of classic literature (especially russian) to get out of my comfort zone.

[@BenjaminMcEvoy]

That's amazing to hear, Mélissa! You have such a great reading set-up, and you're lucky to have a great friend reading deeply with you. We always get so much more out of our books when we discuss them with those close to us. You have a great journey ahead of you with the Russian classics - so many wonderful ones to immerse oneself in!

[@orvillewrightjr9330]

Hello, Benjamin! I immensely enjoy your erudition and passion, with which you deliver these wonderfully witty lectures. I am currently confined with illness and immobility, so you have inspired me to go back to voluminous reading. I cannot begin to express my gratitude for your insights and opinions, which i greatly take to heart. Bravissimo Benjamin!

[@annamattos8627]

The best books I read in 2021 were: - Genesis (deep reread) - Time and the Wind, by Erico Verissimo - A Canticle for Leibowitz, by Walter M. Miller Jr. - The Tartar Steppe, by Dino Buzzati I also enjoyed: - A Moreninha, by Joaquim Manoel de Macedo (reread) - Flatland, by Edwin Abbott Abbott - Tuf Voyaging, by George R. R. Martin - Jurassic Park, by Michael Crichton It was a good reading year, but 2022 has been even better, so far.

[@linus_d_music]

Lots of the books on this list are books that I’ve read for the first time this year, many of them because you’ve recommended them. Thank you for being part of why I’m so into classics now! Here’s to another great year of literature.

[@BenjaminMcEvoy]

That makes me so happy to hear! I really appreciate that :) Absolutely, here’s to more great books!

[@cherylynlarking191]

Taking more time to deep dive into classical literature has been very rewarding. I formerly read the newest book awards, lists and latest publications of new books, however have not had the same response as I had with the classics. Thanks for informative reviews.

[@BenjaminMcEvoy]

Thank you :) I feel exactly the same way. Now and then, a contemporary work will surprise me, but, for the most part, they leave me wanting to return to the classics!

[@waterglas21]

Nice list! My top reads in 2021 were: •The birth of tragedy (Nietzche) •Hamlet (Shakespeare) •Eroticism (George Bataille) •White Nights (Dostoyevsky) •Ortodoxy (Chesterton)

[@BenjaminMcEvoy]

That’s a powerful list right there too! I just finished Georges Bataille’s Literature and Evil, and was wondering if it would be worth picking up Erotism too. I’ll do it now :)

[@waterglas21]

@@BenjaminMcEvoy It's quite a dense read, but if you enjoy Nietzsche dionysian perspective it goes quite similar. Pretty interesting. Also tears of eros is quite a good book by him.

[@tommonk7651]

Benjamin, your channel, which I discovered only a couple of months ago, has encouraged me to read some of the classics that have escaped me over my 62 years. I consider myself fairly well read, but many of the classics have slipped through the gaps in my experience. I read mostly history, modern historical fiction and various crime and spy novels just as escapism. In the last couple of weeks, I have collected Dickens, Tolstoy, Dostoyevsky, Dumas, Melville, Hugo, Cervantes, Kafka, Mann, Eliot and many more that I will soon be reading. Thanks for the motivation.

[@tommiller3017]

I read Anna K when a teen and in an undergrad Russian lit class. For all writers, I recall Tolstoy's line, "I didn't push her under the train. She jumped." The theme of people misunderstanding each other is a theme. The keystone of understanding is broached when Levin and Anna meet. As far as Dostoevsky, I concluded you could spend a lifetime studying his books. He is writing multiple novels at the same time. Even the patronyms refer the characters to different czars.

[@felician2632]

Nice! The best book I read this year was The Count of Monte Cristo. I really enjoyed it.

[@BenjaminMcEvoy]

Amazing book! I’m looking forward to a reread myself :)

[@tommiller3017]

Read and loved as a teen and couldn't understand why no one else was reading it. All the shows about it were dreadful.

[@olgaotherstories8355]

They way you pronounced Vronsky..with this R. Well done!!! Suddenly the character is alive! Your reviews r magical....magically real.

[@katiedarken5219]

Your videos have really influenced me to pick up Les miserables and so far I have managed to get through 40 pages, which is a lot for me!

[@BenjaminMcEvoy]

Nice one, Katie! 40 pages is great - you’re with one of my favourite characters at the moment then: Monseigneur Bienvenu :)

[@chambeet]

How is it so far? I’ve never read it, but I am 700 pages into Don Quixote myself. :)

[@JuanReads]

I'm all in favor of slowing down and going deeper into the great works of literature. Keep up the good work, Benjamin!

[@BenjaminMcEvoy]

Thank you, Juan!

[@migueljosemaxit8529]

I fully agree with your comments of "Anna Karanina" and I think that the two real heroes of the novel are Levin and Dolly.

[@maryfilippou6667]

I did only read vol.1; not to give the impression I sped through in French my difficult year. Thank goodness we were healthy to sit and read, enjoy, concentrate, gain comfort and repose from dear ill Proust.

[@georgianaandrone3036]

The best book I read in 2021 was, by far, The Plague by Albert Camus. I couldn't believe I hadn't stumbled upon it earlier, given the Covid pandemic... I was shocked at how accurately Camus was able to predict almost all of the states of mind we've been through, and impressed with his great empathy for his characters and humanity in general (though I think he was rather more optimistic than how we actually handled events, and didn't foresee things like fake news and anti-vaxxers...). This was my first Camus read and I definitely intend to go through more of his work this year. I will also try to read the first volume of In Search of Lost Time. Hopefully embarking on a multi-year project with the entire book :)

[@BenjaminMcEvoy]

Ah, Camus' The Plague! I read Daniel Defoe's A Journal of the Plague Year during the height of English lockdown. Understanding human nature, and how little it changes, is key to predicting the future. I recently reread Arthur Miller's The Crucible - despite using the witch hunts as a stand-in for McCarthyism, we can read that book in light of any time. If you're enjoying Camus, you might like The Myth of Sisyphus. That was my first of his books. And good luck with your journey into the Search, Georgiana :)

[@sharonalbanese8084]

Thank you so much for your wonderful videos Benjamin. I have loved reading all my life and you have inspired me to reread some of these classics. Your absolute love of these books shines through and is infectious.

[@BenjaminMcEvoy]

Aw, thank you so much, Sharon. That really means a lot to me :)

[@MariamsHusband]

For me the best book i read last year was A Wizard of Earthsea. I did a fantasy module at university to try and branch out a bit and it was like a religious experience. I've already read it through three more times and even though I've read other fantastic works like The Brothers Karamazov and Moby Dick this year, very few things will be able to match Earthsea for me

[@BenjaminMcEvoy]

I love A Wizard of Earthsea! Ursula K. Le Guin is so wonderful. I recently enjoyed The Left Hand of Darkness so much I had to reread it immediately. Your conversion to fantasy literature sounds magical :)

[@MariamsHusband]

@@BenjaminMcEvoy i actually just finished The Left Hand of Darkness yesterday! I don't think I've come across anyone that can craft a world as well as Le Guin!

[@Scottlp2]

The first 3-4 Earthsea books were excellent. If you look for them there is like 1-2 sentences of real world wisedom in I think maybe volumes 1 and 3.

[@toddbelanger1923]

Your amazing Dude..really really insightful content... Love all your videos... So glad I found your channel

[@BenjaminMcEvoy]

Thank you, Todd :) Happy to have you here!

[@toddbelanger1923]

@@BenjaminMcEvoy I'm learning so much watching your videos its insane..you are good my friend...thank you for sharing your knowledge... This Dude in the good ole USA appreciates ya

[@andrewglasson592]

So far I have re-read Middlemarch this year and currently re-reading Ulysses. Hoping to re-read Mrs Dalloway, The Waves, Gravity's Rainbow, Crime and Punishment. May even try to re-read Infinite Jest after failing at my first attempt.

[@BenjaminMcEvoy]

Very nice. What a great line-up. I'm currently rereading Orlando, my favourite Virginia Woolf. Like you, Andrew, I'm also making my way through Gravity's Rainbow, and rather enjoying it!

[@andrewglasson592]

@@BenjaminMcEvoy Yes it is a good book. I have also read his Against The Day, Crying of Lot 49 and Inherent VIce. I find once you get to the age of 51and having read for the last 40 years the books I have in my collection I have read so I think this year may be a time for a lot more re-reading books than in previous years with a few new books as well. Who knows I might even attempt to finish reading Finnegans Wake at the 3rd time of trying. I always seem to get to the 150 page mark of that book and then give up because its like reading a foreign language.

[@veenaraina4379]

I reread Anna karenina , The snow leapord , The Good Earth , and Siddharth last year. And I read The Bhagwat Gita again and again to really understand it’s deep meaning. I love Russian authors but you have omitted Gogol. And apart from English language writers there are so many great writers of so many languages. My world has become richer by reading Jose Saramago , Orhan Pamuk , Yukio Mishima ,Maria Vargas Llosa ,Naguib Mahfouz and so many others. The list is endless.

[@phandao5404]

You make me happy everyday ! Thanks

[@frodobaggins4255]

Such a great video this one. My favourite books of the year were In Cold Blood and Things Fall Apart 🙏🏼

[@BenjaminMcEvoy]

Thank you :) Both incredible books!

[@foxandscout]

Salman Rushie when young was not drawn into Don Quixote. More recently he read a new translation and now he thinks it’s marvelous. I have to go listen to the podcast interview where he gave her name: I don’t remember it. Rushdie gushed at how good it is. I will be reading this translation. I love Rushdie’s books and am so glad he survived the vicious attack, though with some permanent damage. His wife is extraordinary as a partner and as a creative force.

[@EuropeanWorldTraveler]

Benjamin, Thanks to inspiration from your channel, I finally started reading Moby Dick, and have almost finished it. It truly is a majestic book, and seems to be less thought of overall. I agree Moby Dick is one of the best Western novels ever written. I shall soon start reading in French Émile Zola' complete "Rougon-Macquart" cycle of 20 books, in the order in which Zola wrote them (although it's not a requirement to read the novels in order) (I read, speak, write fluent French). Have you read any works in Zola's magnum opus? (I'm unsure if all the novels have been translated into English) Or Balzac? I highly recommend Balzac, especially "The Dance at Sceaux." Regards.

[@leovlogslife]

Anna K is magnificence. That's all that needs to be said.

[@jeff8835]

My most transformative reading experience was with Jack Ketchum's The Girl Next Door while listening to Max Richter's Sleep, since then i put on Richter for most of my reading. Hope to finish some classics this year, been listening to Maggie Gyllenhaal's audiobook of Anna Karenina, what a sweet voice she has!

[@waningegg4712]

It was my first reading year. I thought I didn't treat my books the right way. But I read quite regularly. I also was all over the place with my choice of books. But now I'm stuck with the Greeks, because of reading Nietzsche. Also, thanks for recommending Persuasion and After The Quake, two of my favs, maybe with Prometheus Bound.

[@BenjaminMcEvoy]

It sounds like you had a great reading year! My reading is all over the place too, and I love it :) I love that Nietzsche led you to the Greeks. The Birth of Tragedy had the same effect on me. I'm glad to hear you enjoyed Persuasion and After The Quake - I've been thinking about doing a podcast on the latter, but I'm torn between choosing Norwegian Wood, Kafka on the Shore, or 1Q84 instead. Prometheus Bound is powerful stuff. I chanced upon an old secondhand edition in my collection the other day and had to read much of it out loud!

[@patriciacrabtree3257]

When i read Mansfield Park this year i wanted to reread it because when you know how it ends the beginning will be more satisfying than in the first reading.

[@NjIceTea]

Great video, great books. Your commentary is fantastic. Keep it up man!

[@BenjaminMcEvoy]

Thank you :) I appreciate that!

[@Ozgipsy]

This is the one I’m going to make my BIG read in the next couple of weeks 👍 I’m ebjoying the Hardcore Bookclub, thanks.

[@BenjaminMcEvoy]

That's awesome! I'm so happy to hear that :) Thanks for reading along with us!

[@roryboytube]

I adore the Levin's pastoral journey. One of the most glorious pictures of rural life in all of literature. The description of the loss of rural life across Europe as a result of industrialisation in parallel with the cultural clash of old Russia of the peasants & serfs v. The modern European urban Russia of the st. Petersburg elite. This same theme appears in war and peace too with Pierre's story line. This is also very much a background with Thomas Hardy novels too.

[@АлександрАнтонов-р2ч]

three musketeers is adventure classics i finally got through past year

[@BenjaminMcEvoy]

Brilliant story!

[@emmavd]

Thank you, Benjamin, for your excellent videos. I’ve recently discovered your channel and am, ever so slowly, catching up. As to my most impressive read of 2021 I will mention Lucky Per by Henrik Pontippidan (Danish Nobel Prize winnar, if I remember correctly, in 1917) in the English translation published by Everyman. I had never heard of this writer before, and came across his name and work in The New York Review of Books. I was just curious, and was rewarded by a masterpiece which brought me to the core of Danish society in the 19th century. I found the atmosphere of Karen Blixen’s short story Babette’s Feast come back to life in Lucky Per’s protagonist’s background in rural Denmark. A wonderful and most rewarding read.

[@oblomovtheunknown]

I knew Kim Larsen and regularly met this "Paul McCartney" of Danish music at a bar in Odense. He told me that Henrik Pontippidan was his all time favourite writer.

[@emmavd]

@@oblomovtheunknown 😊

[@SabineThinkerbellum]

You are one of the rare booktubers who are reading German authors. Have you read Hesse’s Steppenwolf? We read it in German class and it hit me like a brick. I found solitude in that book. I felt understood. I highly recommend it. Steppenwolf kicked off my journey into Hesse’s work (Siddhartha, The Glass Bead Game, Demian, Peter Camenzind, Beneath the Wheel) and the journey hasn’t come to an end yet. I enjoy your content so much.

[@BenjaminMcEvoy]

Steppenwolf is tremendous. It kicked off my journey into Hesse's work too. He's a very special writer to me. I recently justified a purchase of a first edition of Siddharta, which has become a prized possession. Incredible author, who deserves a lot more love. Thank you for the kind words, my friend :)

[@artstocker60]

Steppenwolf was a popular read back in the '70's, but Sidhartha is better.

[@artur__s]

Benjamin, hi. Do you plan to make a similar video about the main books of 2022?

[@BenjaminMcEvoy]

I have a podcast up for the 2022 books :) open.spotify.com/episode/4MdtFtozz6pJdV8BU8k38h?si=7uVMmL2WSS2QXoSVWhGmKA

[@sauravsikdar9649]

Hello.Huge fan of your commentaries. I have ordered 4 books today.War and Peace,Anna Karenina,Crime and Punishment,and Pride and Prejudice. Can u suggest the order in which I should read these books to maximize my happiness of reading? I am no English Scholar.I am a Social Worker and I read to enrich my spare times.

[@pjfreeman4789]

I just found you by chance. Lucky me. Thank you for your thoughts on these great books.

[@BenjaminMcEvoy]

Thank you so much for watching :) I appreciate you being here!

[@susprime7018]

Just started Muchado de Assis' The Posthumous Memoirs of Bras Cubas and slowly soldier on with Clarissa, recently came to the amusing letter of Lovelace's partner in crime with the hooked on phonics spelling, very funny. I love Grest Expectstions. The Siddhartha insights were interesting. Milo Hastings' City of Endless Night was certainly the most interesting fiction, Gaskell's Wives and Daughters the most enjoyable and Housman Country by Peter Parker the best non-fiction.

[@BenjaminMcEvoy]

Very nice! I love how you've put that - soldiering on with Clarissa. Definitely a novel that needs a long-term approach, but hopefully you enjoy the ride! I've not read City of Endless Night - looks very cool. I'll have to check that one out :)

[@nickwyatt9498]

How I love Anna Karenin. I reread it (like Proust) ever few years and every time I find something new to admire (as with Marcel). I imagine you know Nabokov's Lectures on Russian Literature? I'd recommend it to anyone wanting a helping hand with Tolstoy. Oh btw, I was once offered a place at your Oxford college, Oriel. But during the summer I fell madly in love with a Parisian girl and ended up at the Sorbonne instead. Not so much fun, and no tutorial system worth a damn. But God she was gorgeous!

[@BenjaminMcEvoy]

That's amazing! I didn't know Marcel read and marvelled at it every year. I love him even more now. Yes, I've read Nabokov's lectures on Russian Literature (and also Don Quixote). That's so cool to hear you were offered a place at Oriel. What did you make of the college? Did you get a chance to check out the library? Your decision to spend your time in the Sorbonne with your French love sounds like the better schooling in all honesty :)

[@nickwyatt9498]

Hi Ben, nice to hear from you. I fear I expressed myself badly. I didn't mean that, like me, Proust read Anna Karenin every few years - although as I'm sure you know he did admire Dostoevsky, don't know about Tolstoy - but that I always found something new to admire every time I reread it, as I do every time I dip back into Proust, who has been a constant companion for me since I was sixteen. Oriel - yes, I do remember getting the tour, and loving the place. This would have been well before your time, 1995 I think. Oriel's been having a rough time lately (Rhodes) but on the other hand the college did give us not just Gilbert White but (phwooarr!) Rachel Riley. I can't really regret heading off for Paris instead - it's where I met my wife - but Oxford will always be for me the road not taken. God I'm going to start sounding like Uncle Monty out of Withnail. To get back to books - just read Ali Smith's Public Library and Other Stories, think you'd like it. So glad I came across your channel today (Proust brought me here).

[@bliblablub921]

Hey Benjamin, after finding your chanel yesterday and literally inhaling your content (I espacially liked your video about creating your own literary canon which brought literal tears of joy to my eyes, for the passion with wich you talked about the power of literature) I wondered: Ever thought of making a colaboration with another booktuber? I think a discussion with Cliff, from better than food, could be realy interesting, especialy because you are quite different in your approach, but similiar in style. (and both of you being Harold Bloom fans ;)). Anyway, have a wonderful day and greetings from Germany!

[@shabirmagami146]

Thank you for sharing your insights with us .... this is really inspiring....hope to read all of these books someday .... have read Siddharta and that is one of my favourite novels ...thank you for these wonderful videos ...love and respect ...

[@BenjaminMcEvoy]

Thank you, Shabir :) Siddharta is a strong favourite of mine too! Happy reading - let me know if you enjoy any of these works!

[@mouflam]

2021 like 2020 was a hard time would say the great Dickens...

[@franklintruby2695]

My favorite is Tolstoy's How much land does a man need.

[@kaidoloveboat1591]

If you haven't read The Brothers Karamazov yet, I can't recommend it enough. For me it stands with Anna Karenina

[@BenjaminMcEvoy]

Masterpiece! I'm currently rereading and listening, this time with the Ignat Avsey translation.

[@HIgginFlips]

Ever tried Southeast Asian lit? I'm reading Noli Me Tangere by Jose Rizal right now and it cemented the meaning of what a 'classic' is to me. I see much of what he wrote over a century ago is alive in my society. The characters and what they do seem ridiculous/unrealistic on the page but my experience with the people of the country would prove otherwise.

[@jitterbug5180]

i was actually just thinking about starting on that one too. 🇵🇭❤️

[@debbiewood4105]

Benjamin really enjoying your KZbin channel. I live in New Zealand and was wondering if you have ever read anything by any New Zealand authors? I presume you’ve read Catherine Mansfield’s books but have read anything by Janet Frame? Janet frame was NZ most distinguished writers and deserve every accolade she received. I don’t think there is any other author that has a writing style quite like Janet Frame She was in a league of her own. I have read Owl’s do Cry and Faces in the Water, also her autobiography. Her life was turned into a film by Peter Jackson, Angle at my table. I’m sure you will enjoy the reads if you have not already done so.

[@angelaparente4470]

ENJOY YOUR COMMENTS A LOT. THANKS

[@marieuzes]

I’ve just reread The Sound and the Fury - one of my favourites. And I’m going to go back to Pynchon’s Gravity’s Rainbow. Wondering why this one wasn’t on your list of “best”books in another video.

[@laidman2007]

Thanks to you, I am reading again and...better. Great Expectatons is my current read. If I join the book club, can I hear previous book club discussions?

[@BenjaminMcEvoy]

I'm so happy to hear that, Roberta! I'd love to hear what you make of Great Expectations. I love this novel very deeply. And, absolutely, as a member of the book club you get access to all of the previous and ongoing discussions and content. We would love to have you reading with us! :)

[@laidman2007]

@@BenjaminMcEvoy Which tier will give me access to previous materials and ongoing discussions?

[@laidman2007]

@@BenjaminMcEvoy As soon as I'm sure the addiction has taken a firm hold, I'll be joining the Proust reading club. Yesterday I Told a friend about your channels. Two hours later she messaged to thank me and to share that her new version of the Odyssey, according to you, is the correct one. See what you've done!😊

[@Edward-ef7cp]

Hey I came across your channel while researching Blood Meridian and I want to just appreciate how great your content is! You're a really passionate creator, thank you so much for this channel! I wanted to ask, do you have any book reccomendations for me during the summer break before I start Law school?

[@BenjaminMcEvoy]

Thank you, Parth! I really appreciate that :) It's very exciting to hear that you're about to start Law school! You'll want to relish the downtime before the hard work kicks off. As for book recommendations, what kind of literature are you into? I'm rereading Joyce's Ulysses and Richardson's Clarissa across summer for our book club lectures, but they don't make for the lightest reading material. It sounds like you're a fan of Cormac McCarthy, so you could pick up some of his influences - Moby Dick is his favourite novel (and mine), and there's also a lot of Faulkner and Hemingway in his prose style. I read Hemingway's short stories every summer. For a slim one, I would recommend Hermann Hesse's Siddharta. Life-changing book if it comes to you at the right time in your life :)

[@joebeamish]

Where are you listening to the French version of in search of lost Time?

[@ElaineDarlingtonBrown]

Does anyone know whether one can join the Book Club mid-year, please?

[@BenjaminMcEvoy]

You absolutely can :) I would encourage jumping on with the book that interests you most right now. There is quite a big back catalogue, and we're also discussing some great works at the moment: James Joyce's Ulysses, the plays of Shakespeare, and a serialised reading of George Eliot's Middlemarch. You would be very warmly welcomed, and we'd love to have you reading with us!

[@rafd3593]

Do you read any contemporary novels? If so, maybe you could lecture us on them. Thank you.

[@BenjaminMcEvoy]

I do indeed. We have an upcoming podcast on Klara and the Sun by Ishiguro, which I found thought-provoking :)

[@rafd3593]

@@BenjaminMcEvoy Thank you. I will look out for that.

[@debifambro1039]

Thanks I'll read Crime and Punishment again.

[@BenjaminMcEvoy]

Nice one! I hope you have a rewarding reread :)

[@DATo_DATonian]

The final thoughts of the last paragraph of _Anna Karenina_ (1878) are so much like the last paragraph of _Milddlemarch_ (1872) that I can't help but wonder if Tolstoy was in any way influenced by Eliot when he was penning those final words.

[@BenjaminMcEvoy]

I believe Middlemarch was on Tolstoy's bookshelf around the time of writing Anna Karenina, and I'm sure he was a big fan. Tons of similarities :)

[@DressyCrooner]

​@@BenjaminMcEvoy Anna Karenina was written after War and Peace? Didn't know that.

[@milesp2260]

Hi Benjamin, love the videos. Have you read George Martins A Song of Ice and Fire series? They are absolutely incredible and I feel like they elevate the entire genre of high fantasy to another level. I just discovered your channel so forgive me if you have mentioned them in a previous video, but if not I would be interested in your thoughts on the series.

[@samjordan4731]

Hi Ben, I really slowed down my reading in 2021, after finding your channel and now finding I'm getting so much more out of the great books. Have you read Petersburg by Andrei Bely? One of my favourite Russian classics. Nabokov considered it up there with Joyce, Kafka and Proust in 20th century literature. Definitely worth a read.

[@BenjaminMcEvoy]

Nice one, Sam. Sounds like you're reading deeply and with a lot of joy :) I haven't read Bely's Petersburg. A quick search tells me that many critics compare it with/see it foreshadowing Joyce's Ulysses. And you say that Nabokov puts it up there with Joyce, Kafka, and Proust. That's so cool. I'll have to check it out now!

[@chambeet]

What are the seven novels longer than Proust? I always heard it was one of the top two or three longest novels.

[@BenjaminMcEvoy]

Personally, I would consider Proust one of the longest - he's only really beaten by serialised stories that spanned several decades. There's a work that's almost 3x the length of the Search based on the Mahabharata. There's a serialised story written in Urdu, which took over 30 years to complete. There's a long Dutch novel, a long Croatian novel, a 10-volume French novel published in the 17th Century. This list is quite fun to browse through: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_longest_novels - Clarissa is on there, as is Les Misérables, Atlas Shrugged, and The Romance of the Three Kingdoms.

[@chambeet]

@@BenjaminMcEvoy Me being a geek, I’ve definitely browsed that list before! I actually did after watching your video. One day I want to read all of the Mahabharata and Ramayana, as well as Proust, Clarissa, etc. I’m a slow reader, though, so it’ll take me probably a year for each of those.

[@stefanreiser2081]

I read "War and Peace " by Tolstoj and I want to reread " Simplicissimus " by Grimmelshausen , my favourite german book . I like your reviews . What do you think of "Simplicissimus " ?

[@stefanreiser2081]

Translated by S. Goodrich (1912) , also readable online on Gutenberg , or by Mike Mitchell (2005) , awarded translation .

[@englishliterature6056]

In your playlist and videos all the videos are are not showing...I cannot find the books for young women...that video

[@arjunpaudel709]

Bro, we need long videos on “ how to read like a writer ” , “ how to read to improve your writing ” “ why is re- reading important ? ” “ how to learn more from a book ? ” these are the topics mostly spoken about. We want you to explain everything in detail ;

[@karinaliwska7077]

Oh, it's great idea!

[@maryjoburnette7589]

Thank you for your help but for your introduction to many of them. I did not know previously about Virginia Woolf, nor hear much of Tolstoy. The meeting between Anna and Levin sounds interesting. - the meaning of life and value of suffering in the book. They have voices of their own. People think of the people we knew in the past. People have special memories of the characters in the book. It is so sad. And the meaning of the next book is gruesome. I must stop….

[@lucianapimenta9602]

Benjamin is handsome, and intelligent, eyes blue like sky, but interressant read a lot.and coment about books amazing.

[@ceciliabustos9979]

Hi Benjamin, I am 🙏 I have found you. 🙌

[@BenjaminMcEvoy]

Hi Cecilia :) I'm so grateful you're here too!

[@lucianapimenta9602]

This is literature russian amazing.

[@lucianapimenta9602]

One paradaise of books.

[@quantumfizzics9265]

What do you think of Jordan Peterson? He recommended the following authors to educate myself: - Dostoevsky - Tolstoy - Solzhenitsyn - George Orwell - Alduous Huxley - Nietzsche - Carl Jung I mostly read Dostoevsky so far. Just read The Brother's Karamazov. It was a long, deep, and emotional read. The part where Ivan talks about how he rejects everything about God's world, as one unredeemed drop of tear from a child is not worth all the suffering in the world for the whole truth or something like that. Man Dostoevsky goes deep.

[@BenjaminMcEvoy]

It's a good list - you'll have a blast exploring them all. I would throw in some Shakespeare, especially if you are enjoying Dostoyevsky. Macbeth and King Lear being great links. Harold Goddard in his Meaning of Shakespeare draws Dostoyevsky, and The Brothers Karamazov, significantly into the conversation. And the great thing about these writers, like Jung and Nietzsche, is that they reference many more writers - so endless exploration :)

[@quantumfizzics9265]

@@BenjaminMcEvoy Thanks for the suggestions. I will definitely check out Shakespeare!

[@jonahbabei6883]

I very much enjoyed The Go-Between by L.P Hartley. Are you familiar? The opening lines are very famous, but the whole novel is heartfelt and beautiful

[@sweetmarie287]

My favorite reads in 2021 were Elizabeth Gaskell's North & South and Lily King's Euphoria. I remember reading the original ending of Great Expectations at 16 and being quite sad about it for the rest of the day. I honestly can't say which ending I prefer, but I do still find the original one far more affecting.

[@BenjaminMcEvoy]

North and South is great! I'll have to check out Lily King's Euphoria, as this one is new to me :) Like you, I can't choose a favourite ending for Great Expectations, but the original definitely seems more affecting and truthful.

[@annamattos8627]

@@BenjaminMcEvoy Please, make a video about North and South. Elizabeth Gaskell has been a favorite of mine for some time now, Cranford is delicious and My Lady Ludlow is so intense!