the biggest mindf*ck since House of Leaves 🤯 S. by J.J. Abrams & Doug Dorst reading vlog

[@edwardmeade]

Even the title has a story. The Ship of Theseus is a famous philosophical thought experiment. TL:DR edition is: The ship is the one that brought Theseus back from Minos. You decide to save the ship but slowly the wooden parts rot away, so they are gradually replaced. Once you have all the parts replaced is it still the "ship of Theseus"? If not, when did it become 'not' the ship of Theseus? So is this Straka's book? Is it the translator's. Is it Jen's book? Is it Eric's book? The way to read is read each book in it's entirety, then the next, then the next.

[@lauramichelle6976]

“You could make this book your entire personality” 💀 I love this quote

[@Lauren_Jeanne_]

Oh I didn’t realize it was a love story! How neat. I think that‘a such a romantic idea of falling in love with someone who annotated a library book 🥰

[@ashleyslittlelibrary]

Right?! I loved that part about it 🥰

[@Lauren_Jeanne_]

@@ashleyslittlelibrary so good!

[@GwendolynKensinger]

I've seen this book around for YEARSSSS but literally no one talks about the actual book or actually reading it so thanks for doing the hard work Ashley 🚢

[@sydgerald]

My thoughts exactly. I've seen countless videos talking about the annotations, postcards, etc. But not many talk about the actual book. This book has been published in Spanish now, and I thought about buying it (English's is my second language) and I thought about buying it in Spanish, in order to lend it to a friend who doesn't speak English. Anyway, looking at reviews of the actual book (story) many people say the book's actually not that good, so I'm having second thoughts about buying it. Thank you, Ashley, as Gwen mentioned; for doing the hard work.

[@tlr253]

I bought this book the month it was released - it was recommended by a police detective friend - and we worked for months to work out the solution and it was AMAZING. I have a whole notebook of notes to solve the puzzles. It’s a masterpiece of multi layer stories, of physical printing (who puts a cocktail napkin in a book!), and puzzle crafting. For me it was less a ‘read’ and more a ‘activity’.

[@katherinekennedy414]

This book is so good! I loved it- and now I’m dedicated to figuring out the mysteries in some of the footnotes that haven’t been solved yet.

[@ReadingWryly]

Part of me REALLY wants to read this, and the other part of me wants to just own it. Lol. After watching your struggle I’m reticent, but what a cool concept!

[@SorryBookedSolid]

That is one of the coolest books I’ve seen, not sure if it would work for me but maybe someday! Loved watching you kind of figure it out

[@boxerjeep]

Ahhhhhhh!!! I want everyone to love this book. I literally had to slow myself down while reading it to savor every minute of it and every review the readers don’t like it. This is such an amazing book. 😢

[@bonaldpettit-zg5kt]

I agree! This book turned me on to other ergodic books!

[@SorryBookedSolid]

That book looks soooo intimidating to me 🤣 SO cool though!

[@ashleyslittlelibrary]

Hahah yeah there’s a reason it sat on my shelves for months before I had the courage to pick it up 😂 it’s really not too bad though! Just takes a lot of time to get through

[@annedixon7609]

I'm going to buy one hopefully I'll be have it sometime right after the first

[@DeniseDivesIn]

I bought this a book over a year ago. I didn’t get passed like 5 pages haha! You’ve made me interested once again!

[@ashleyslittlelibrary]

Haha it definitely takes a ton of time and concentration - hope you enjoy it if you decide to pick it up again!

[@caronstout354]

Another tough book to read: Riddley Walker by Russell Hiban, a post-apocalyptic novel written in a "de-evolved" form of English that includes a dictionary of the language...

[@carolpascua1848]

I bought this book years ago, painfully made it about 10 pages, then quit. Until now, I've only ever considered it a super cool artifact and have actually gifted it a few times. The fact that it comes with inserts makes me feel like I stumbled upon someone's secret journal. You've inspired me to try and read the book again. Thanks!

[@ashleyslittlelibrary]

Good luck! You can do it!

[@giovannitodeschini7670]

“Hey what are you reading there?” “Ass.”

[@celly589]

I’m a beginner in thrillers and recently found your channel and love it! Your videos are so calming and nice to watch. I can’t wait to dive into lots of your recommendations!

[@ashleyslittlelibrary]

💕 thanks for being here!!

[@LiteraryLightweight]

I remember seeing this book years and years ago at the library and it had a huge amount of inserts in back and i was too nervous to take it home in case i lost any stuff lol. I recently saw it in barnes in noble a couple months ago and bought it. Im gonna watch your full vlog after i finish it because i want to be surprised. Cant wait to hear your thoughts and journey with this book!

[@ashleyslittlelibrary]

Haha I would be nervous of that too! Hope you enjoy it 😊

[@Moriarty70]

One key thing to keep in mind when reading something with JJ's hands on it, are his views on the "Mystery Box". That always puts things in context for me.

[@kristiereed1403]

How you read this book is definitely important. I just read the actual novel “Ship of Theseus” with the forward first. Then read the pencil, blue script and black print with the footnotes and the extra pieces that are placed in the book. Next the orange and green Than the red and purple. Then lastly the black script.

[@renata39528]

exactly what i did and it’s definitely the best way to read it, a lot less confusing

[@kapattpaul]

Did you actually read the book 5 times through (and each time only read the black cursive from each page or red pen or whatever, as if it’s a separate story), or is that the order of the text then annotations you read for each page in one read? … or am I just making it more complicated than it really is?!

[@ZacksBooks]

I see this all the time and have been so curious what it was like. Nice Video!

[@papaveraceas]

it really is about how you read it. The book itself is the painfull part but it prepares you for what is about to come. The main story lays on the theseus paradoxe and philosophical thinking of identity. Like you said only then you start reading the notes but you should go through it cronologicaly because that's how "it was writen". First you read all the blue and black, then come back and ready the red and purple and the greens and orange. The bold black ones are the last. that's why they have changed the colours of the pens. you will find it SOOOO MUCH interesting this way. The inserts read it only when they are mensioned and the wheel... you have to find the hints 😉 Hope it helps cause it's a great book.

[@StankeyWang]

I'm a fairly slow reader so when you said "-took me 25 mins to read a few pages" hit so hard cause yea house of leaves took me a month of reading at least 3-4 hours most days with somedays being a lot more.

[@gelatinouscube2342]

"It looks like it's going to be easier to read" oh my sweet summer child

[@Voldenae]

I never took the plunge to grab the book since no one I knew had read it, but I might get it now! 🚢

[@Hannah_Lynch]

This book looks so interesting!! Like I’m pretty confident it would not be for me, but I’m still so intrigued to give it a shot! 👀🚢

[@saracherouk4988]

Thank you soo much for this 😍😍 i've been wanting to get this Book for soo long 🥰

[@klw1009]

I bought this book a year ago and struggled to get through it. I recently picked it back up. I decided to listen to The Ship of Theseus on audiobook to get that story without being overwhelmed by the annotations and commentary in the margins. I just finished reading through all the margins. I feel like I’ve missed things or didn’t understand them which was frustrating. I don’t really know if things are just going over my head or if the story just is what it is.

[@plumdutchess]

I was actually going to ask you whether to read S. or House of Leaves first. They're both on my bookshelf, waiting to be read. I will definitely read S. first. It always felt a bit more solid to me. A little less trippy then House of Leaves. 🚢

[@bartelsjnyable]

🚢 Definitely interesting. I think I’ll give it a try later on. I like stuff like this that makes you think. And getting involved with others on social media to solve it sounds fun too. Thanks for sharing.

[@Priscilla_Bettis]

S. looks like a bizarre book. It sounds intimidating but fun. Good vlog.

[@kierstenpellerin63]

Ship of Theseus reminded me of Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness. Very dry. But with consistent themes of loneliness and madness.

[@michaelortiz9359]

Awesome! I’m definitely gunna check it out

[@valmentajat8267]

Had this book on my shelf for a couple years now before TikTok bigged it up. Well worth the read, but read the main story first then the margins on the 2nd read

[@SorryBookedSolid]

I’m so intrigued!!!

[@sharath_95]

Firstly, that thumbnail is so cool 💙 secondly, I felt your struggle while you reading this book😀 and i don't have the courage to read these kind of books because I can't process the story. But you did a great job i am very proud of you!!😜 Love your content ❤️🛳️

[@ashleyslittlelibrary]

Haha thank you! 💕

[@nestorgerardopicodiaz397]

¿ El libro “El barco de Teseo” ya está disponible en idioma español?

[@sumii12]

Thank you for explaining the ways to read it and how you read it. It sounds very complicated 🤯 don’t know if it’s for me but it was an interesting video, I rather “read” it through you 🚢

[@Vampirith]

You should read Hal Duncan's Book of all hours, Vellum and Ink.

[@deeslittlecorner217]

I've heard a lot about house of leaves and really wanted to read it ever since. After watching this en hearing you recommend to read this first I think I will!

[@kimt3864]

Very cool book! Never saw this before even though it is almost 10 years old!

[@ashleyslittlelibrary]

I never heard about it myself until I saw it making the rounds on TikTok recently! You would think with a name like JJ Abrams tied to it that you’d hear about it more but I guess it’s still a hidden gem for now!

[@kerryT123]

I’m really intrigued by this one 🚢

[@bonaldpettit-zg5kt]

I found it in a thrift store. ITS AMAZING!

[@Lauren_Jeanne_]

I was wondering if it would be this book!!

[@lauramichelle6976]

This just reminds me that I Bought this book in like 2015 and APPARENTLY I gave it away because I never read it and I don’t have it anymore 😒

[@ashleyslittlelibrary]

Oh no!

[@brookecrimaldi8018]

Great video! Sounds like an interesting book. Which book did you like better? House of Leaves or S.? 🚢 ⚓ 🛳 🚢

[@ashleyslittlelibrary]

Hard to say! There’s definitely things I like about each better than the other, but overall I like them about the same. I don’t think I would ever have it in me to reread one of them again 😂😅

[@SuperStrangSshadow]

I don't know why but TikTok has never ineterested me.

[@ashleyslittlelibrary]

That’s how I felt too until I started getting on there and now I’m hooked. The algorithm tailors content very specifically to what you’re interested in so there’s something for everyone!

[@Zangerstein]

🚢 That looks like a fun-boring experience 😅… and it being a love story is a surprise 👀 P.S. I have the copy of House of Leaves 🍁 and hasn’t touch it in a year but will this year 🤞🏽

[@ashleyslittlelibrary]

Good luck with House of Leaves!

[@dandiego7298]

Ughhhh….just finished this mess and regretted it almost immediately. So much potential but it’s really just a fairly uninteresting mystery with the sub plot of another uninteresting and cheesy somewhat one-sided love affair blossoming between two lit geeks. Uggggghhhh.

[@WhitneyOpfar]

Do you think you would have had more fun if there was some sort of schizophrenia plot line where you are unsure if the two people writing are actually real?

[@ashleyslittlelibrary]

It might’ve been more annoying that way tbh. It was nice to accept that they were real people bonding over the story and falling in love!

[@davidlona7553]

hi Ashley

[@bryanfrancis3033]

Its called ship of theseus by v.m. straka lmao

[@desertwitch9608]

🛳

[@M.elissa.M]

🚢

[@groundtalkradio]

S. In space and time numerical eight Is the infinite systems in a whole the iconic S symbolism consideredjourneys dimensional matter weight stability beating though conscious speeds tempering in kinetic light outside energies will forever find their Host & shall shines shoulder to shoulder hand & hand The greatest builders of all cosmic matter influence the influencer...

[@abandonedmuse]

Abrams annoys me though.

[@terrijenkins2809]

🚢

[@rogue_hitman6582]

🚢

[@NG-qo7nu]

🚢

[@mordyth]

🚢