Top 12 Books of 2021

[@Echoesoflostlibraries]

Excellent video, you had quite the reading year indeed! You've been a great addition to the space, thank you for your considered and careful reading and that you use your energy to help the world focus on reading these quality works.

[@travelthroughstories]

Thank you so much for the kind words, Echo! It means a lot.

[@LS-LectoriSalutem]

Every video by you is a gem! Getting into medieval literature from the dutch/flemish region this year myself. Thanks for your videos and have a good 2022!

[@travelthroughstories]

You are far too kind! Very cool - for some reason I've never really read too much medieval Dutch literature... It's definitely a gap that I need to fill. Do let me know how your adventure goes and if there are any gems that you find. Cheers to a new year!

[@LS-LectoriSalutem]

​@@travelthroughstories Thanks! I did already finish 'the murder of charles the good' by Galbert van Brugge, which is a literary diary telling of the murder of the count, and mostly the giant chaos that ensued after, with the punishments of the traitors (some of which were hiding in a church under siege) and a lot of political shenanigans and turmoil concerning the installation of a new count and a changing political and social landscape. It was written in Latin (as opposed to old-/middledutch as I hope most of my reading will become), but a very very fun read, and I do recommend it.

[@travelthroughstories]

@@LS-LectoriSalutem That sounds fascinating! And my library has a copy of it - perfect. Thanks for the recommendation!

[@jddowning1]

You've done a nice job with your channel, Sean. This video captures the contagious enthusiasm you have for top-shelf literature, while being frank about books that you may have expected to love but just didn't connect with (i.e., Bolano). It's just good to hear your voice in these parts. Especially appreciate your insights on Evan Dara and Permanent Earthquake.

[@travelthroughstories]

Thank you for the kind words! Dara is a writer that I need to read more of - I've read The Lost Scrapbook, but I'm looking forward to getting to The Easy Chain and Flee soon.

[@afloareidaniel5197]

I'm glad you mentioned Fem, I loved it tll. If you want to read more Romanian authors I recommend Nostalgia and Solenoid by Cartarescu, Book of Perilous Dishes by Doina Rusti and Life Begins on a Friday by Ioana Parvulescu. And if you're interested in philosophy, Emil Cioran is an amazing thinker. Great video btw

[@travelthroughstories]

I read Solenoid a few weeks ago and ABSOLUTELY loved it! I haven't read a Romanian book I didn't love yet. I'll look into all of these authors - thanks so much for the recommendations.

[@P.EnglishLiterature]

I love this video. It's a great idea and your list seems fascinating.

[@travelthroughstories]

Thank you!!

[@ruanstrydom7533]

Such an excellent video and youtube channel.I've read the birds by Vesaas , a few months ago and it has to be one of my top 5 books ever.Definitely novel perfection.I also enjoyed reading the book of disquiet , a lot.Are there any books you can recommend , that are somewhat similar to the book of disquiet?

[@hasteyebooks]

What a great list! So many I've not heard from before or at all on booktube! The main one on my tbr for this year is The Love Songs of W. E. B. Du Bois - can't wait!

[@travelthroughstories]

Thank you! I hope you enjoy The Love Songs as much as I did! It's a great book.

[@josmith5992]

What a great selection of books! I’ve only read The Copenhagen Trilogy- which I loved but am reading both The Other Name and EEG in March. It will be my first Daša Drndić but I read Fosse’s Aliss at the Fire a few years ago and loved it.

[@travelthroughstories]

I don't think you can go wrong with either Drndić or Fosse! I haven't read Aliss at the Fire yet, but I've read quite a few of Fosse's other works and he has such a unique voice that I'm sure anything he writes will be wonderful. I'm looking forward to hearing your thoughts on Fosse and Drndić!

[@morbidswither3051]

The Birds - sublime. I am in the same camp completely. Heartbreakingly beautiful writer.

[@travelthroughstories]

Sublime is the perfect word for that novel. I'm always looking forward to my next Vesaas, though I'm being careful not to rush through them.

[@morbidswither3051]

@@travelthroughstories lol same here. Fleur Jaeggy too.

[@spinecrackers1497]

Fantastic and really nicely varied list. Glad you're around these parts.

[@travelthroughstories]

Thanks so much! I appreciate the kind words.

[@Johanna_reads]

Wonderful list! You bring attention to so many interesting and unique books. The premise to Permanent Earthquakes sounds fascinating and disturbing! I’m curious about The Eighth. I live in GA though I’m from the southwest, and I’m sure I would appreciate the perspectives that one offers. I’m reading The Love Songs of W.E.B. Du Bois in March with my friend, Brittany (Books with Brittany) thanks to your review. We’re looking forward to it!

[@travelthroughstories]

Thanks so much, Johanna! Permanent Earthquake is a remarkable book - it's actually has a lot of similarities with NK Jemisin's The Broken Earth Trilogy in how all of the characters are affected by an earth that is...broken, or at least breaking. It has some interesting world building as well. I should have been more clear with The Eighth Life - it focuses on the country of Georgia, not the US state!! That being said, I think you'll love The Love Songs as that book really does focus on the state of Georgia and there's a lot of regional history that I'm sure you'll be better situated to pick up on that I was. I'm eager to hear what you and Brittany think of it!

[@Johanna_reads]

@@travelthroughstories Oh, I can’t believe my mistake about Georgia in The Eighth Life! That makes sense since I think you said Stalin, and I just failed to think clearly about that in the moment. I had Georgia state in my head 😅. That’s very interesting about Permanent Earthquake. I will add that to my list!

[@travelthroughstories]

@@Johanna_reads No worries at all! My very American accent probably makes everyone immediately think of the state rather than the country. In hindsight, I should have noted the languages and countries of each book. Alas!

[@TheCollidescopePodcast]

A nice stack there, brother! Permanent Earthquake was also a notable 2021 release for me. The other one was Lance's Skin Elegies.

[@travelthroughstories]

Thanks, George! I still need to get to Skin Elegies. I have it on my desk now and I'm really looking forward to it. Permanent Earthquake was incredibly good though - one of the few books that I wish was longer.

[@BookGirlTV]

Love your video, you have been reading a lot. looking forward to your next video...!

[@travelthroughstories]

Thank you!!

[@libraryofthelabyrinth]

What an amazing list! You seriously have a knack for making me want to read literally every book you talk about. I think I’m going to try Knausgaard again. I read about half of the first installment of my struggle but ended up DNFing it for whatever reason. Maybe I was too young, I don’t know. But The Morning Star sounds so intriguing and right up my alley.

[@travelthroughstories]

I'm glad I could convince someone! The My Struggle series seems to be hit-or-miss with readers -- I totally understand why a lot of readers don't fully click with it. The Morning Star is more...accessible? I think, in that there's actually a plot, traditional characters, etc. It's a nice blend of that same narrative voice of My Struggle, but in a Stephen King-esque world. It borders on genre fiction. I hope you enjoy it if you do decide to check it out!!

[@BrandonsBookshelf]

wow what a list. I have not read any of these! The Trees caught my eye the most!

[@travelthroughstories]

Thanks, Brandon! The Trees is brilliant. It's incredibly smart, but it's a relatively "easy" read, in that it reads like a thriller novel.

[@Lbbrooke]

You might already have this somewhere, but could you share what your reading habits look like? I wonder how often you put books down (if you decide you won’t finish) and if you enjoy different genres?

[@kewl0210]

Good list! I've read a couple of these and I'd like to get to more of them but long books like those just end up eating up so much time.

[@travelthroughstories]

Thank you! I also find it difficult to convince myself to read a long book when there are so many short ones that are so tantalizing. I find that audiobooks help me kickstart my interest in longer books - I often switch back and forth while reading them, though I realize that audiobooks don't work for a lot of people.

[@makebelievestunt]

One of my favorite authors, Daša Drndić -- I think I've read everything that's been translated so far. All brilliant. Her unique style reminds me of WG Sebald, that blending of fact and fiction, in the use of photos and lists as in her 'Trieste.' Zweig, another author I discovered a few years ago and admire greatly. 'A Naked Singularity' -- wonderful, I loved it. 'The Secret Service' is on my shelf collecting a bit of dust, but not for long. Great selection.

[@travelthroughstories]

Drndić is so good. I'm planning on reading Trieste in the coming weeks. It's interesting that you mention Sebald because he's an author that I know is very similar to Drndić , but I haven't quite been able to get into. I read Austerlitz and The Emigrants, and while I enjoyed both, I didn't love them. I do plan on reading Rings of Saturn soon though. The Secret Service was my most surprising read of the year - absolutely loved it. Thanks for your thoughts - you have great reading taste!

[@wonderwoman5528]

After watching your recommendation I’m going to read The Birds, thanks 😊

[@travelthroughstories]

That's great to hear - I hope you love it as much as I do!

[@KnowledgelostOrgOnline]

I find it weird that people do a top books in December, the year isn’t over. This is a great list of books, I’ve been dipping into the book of disquiet for about a year and I’ve been enjoying doing it slowly. I need to read more Daša Drndić, loved Belladonna but haven’t picked up more of her books. Also as someone that still hasn’t finished the My Struggle series, I’m not sure if I should complete that or try something else by Knausgård. I’ve wanted to read Naked Singularity for so long, but I keep putting off longer books (same with Eighth Life) yet I absolutely love Ducks, Newburyport and most of 2666 (that part 4 was a struggle).

[@travelthroughstories]

Agreed - it was weird feeling "late" in the first week of 2022. The Book of Disquiet is a great book to dip in and out of - I keep my copy on my nightstand and often find myself reading a couple sections at random. The Morning Star *might* be a nice break from My Struggle as it actually has (more of) a plot and it reads almost like a Stephen King book, though it's quite similar in narrative voice to My Struggle. A Naked Singularity is long, but I read it really quickly - at times it's more of a thriller than anything else. It does tend towards digressions though, which makes parts of the book feel longer, but overall it's an absolute joy to read! Perhaps that's my problem with 2666 - I don't think I've yet gotten over The Part about the Crimes... That was indeed a struggle. A painful struggle. Thanks for watching!

[@KnowledgelostOrgOnline]

@@travelthroughstories as someone that hates Stephen King books, that doesn’t sound promising. I just not a plot reader 😂

[@travelthroughstories]

@@KnowledgelostOrgOnline Fair enough! I'm not too keen on plot-driven books myself. The Morning Star has *more of* a plot than My Struggle, though the majority of it is certainly not plot-driven. The plot could be summed up in about a sentence or two. The comparison to Stephen King is more in terms of atmosphere and interest in the supernatural/uncanny.

[@EricKarlAnderson]

What a great group of unique/different recommendations and it's wonderful listening to your thoughts and personal feelings about all of them! I especially love that one of your top choices is one you're not even sure you like but felt so impressed by its scale. I've been meaning to read Peter Nadas' work ever since I saw Sontag once endorsed him. I got a copy of Pessoa's book when I once visited Portugal but never got around to reading it but you've convinced me I need to actually open it. Even though I loved the first part of Ditlevsen's trilogy I've been too worried the other two parts will emotionally break me and your description makes me think this is true but I've also heard before that the third part is the best. I'll have to really steel myself when I finally get to parts 2 and 3. I loved reading Fosse as well and I'm eager to read more from Septology but I really struggled with the ending of The Other Name where it suddenly introduces this traumatic memory. I still feel uncertain whether this was a crass way of trying to explain Asle's psychological complexity or if it added an interesting way of viewing everything in the book that proceeded it. How did you feel about the conclusion? It's exciting that Nino Haratischvili has a newly translated novel coming out in November! And I'm so glad you've discovered Annie Ernaux! Have you read The Years yet? I'm also so glad you started this channel! Thanks for speaking so thoughtfully about what you read.

[@travelthroughstories]

Thank you so much for the kind words, Eric!! It means a lot. Pessoa and Nádas are both hefty time commitments, but they're both wonderful to experience. The third part of The Copenhagen Trilogy is a very difficult read, but it's incredibly moving. I think about it a lot to this day. I had similar problems with the ending of The Other Name - I'm not entirely sure what to think of it, but I read it as a positive, as forcing us to revise everything that came before like you suggested. I'm interested in how it will develop over book 2 and 3 though. Perhaps I'll have a more concrete thought on it when I reread it in the coming weeks! I didn't know about a new Haratischvili novel! That's super exciting. I picked up The Eighth Life after watching your review and your interview with Haratishvili, Collins, and Martin. So, thank you deeply for recommending and promoting it. Extraordinary novel. I haven't read The Years yet! I've been saving it - the last time I read Ernaux, I read 3 of her books in a single weekend, so I'm trying to savor her writing. The Years is definitely next on my list of her books though. I've only ever heard good things. Thanks for your thoughtful reply! I hope your new year is off to a good start.

[@BookishTexan]

I got my copy of _The Trees_ last week and plan to start it soon, February at the latest. _The Birds_ sounds amazing. Not sure I'm down for maximalist literature anymore, but those big book do sound interesting.

[@travelthroughstories]

Nice - looking forward to hearing what you think of The Trees. Everett is a writer that I really need to read more of. The Birds is simply beautiful in every respect. I would also recommend The Ice Palace by Vesaas if you were ever interested in reading him - both books are short, but they pack quite the punch.

[@ErikAkerman]

Great video. I really like your style of describing your reading experience. It's a "like and subscribe" for me. Look forward to seeing more of your videos. :)

[@travelthroughstories]

Thanks so much!

[@chrisbeveridge3066]

I'm doing Euripides currently... The play Orestes is so cool ...a hero / debunking take on the whole Agamemnon/ Clytemnestra/ Orestes debacle...taking the myth and transporting it into modern ( 5 cent Greece) era...like John Gardeners Grendel sort of...which sympathizes with the beast in that case...check out the movie I hipped you to...

[@travelthroughstories]

That sounds interesting! I've never read Orestes, but I've read some of Euripides' other dramas.

[@chadbuff]

I love seeing your reading tastes here on KZbin! I’m adding quite a few of these titles to my tbr (Love Songs, Naked Singularity, and Jon Fosse). The Copenhagen trilogy and Morning Star both made my top 12, as well. Happy reading in 2022!

[@travelthroughstories]

Thank you! Ditlevsen and Knausgård are great - I hope you enjoy the others when you get to them!

[@impywimpy]

The inclusion of Vesaas is something I find curious, as he's not among Norway's most read authors. Has there been a critical revival of some kind? Good luck with the Nynorsk! A lot of Norwegian pupils struggle with that version of Norwegian, but it might be easier to get into as a linguist. And if you ever get the chance to see the movie adaptation of The Ice Palace, I wholly recommend it. It's a little known treasure. You should also get around to Halldor Laxness if you haven't. If you're interested at all in the Saga-literature, the picaresque, or just like good books, he's written some of the most amusing and beautiful things I've ever read.

[@travelthroughstories]

I'm not aware of any critical revival, but he's an author I've been reading in the past few years. I'll try to find that movie - I can imagine The Ice Palace making a beautiful (though probably terrifying?) movie. And thanks for the luck with Nynorsk. I've heard it's somewhat more akin to Old Norse whereas Bokål is more influenced by Danish, so perhaps the former will be a bit easier for me to pick up on. Not sure though - I'm really looking forward to studying both this year. As for Laxness - I love Laxness! There are plenty of his books that I still need to read, but Iceland's Bell, The Fish Can Sing, and Independent People are among my favorite books. I've been wanting to finally dig into World Light sometime soon, as well as Wayward Heroes (Gerpla) as Fóstbrœðra saga is one of my personal favorite sagas! Thanks for the reminder!

[@impywimpy]

@@travelthroughstories I think a lot of Norwegians are perplexed with Nynorsk as they don't approach it as a language, but more as a variant of something familiar. A lot of pupils don't see the point of studying it in a serious manner, as it's similar to Bokmål in function. Still, it's grammatically different, with a plethora of variations in words (side-forms). It's also primarily spoken in the western parts of Norway (written, but those dialects are what the average Norwegian finds closest to the language as text). In Norway, Oslo is the only city that has urban weight to it, with most of the national administration being centered in the area and it being so much bigger than the other cities. Bokmål is considered as being close to the dialect in the Oslo area, and gets a lot of prestige from that. Much of the difficulty in writing Nynorsk comes from the side-forms and grammar having to be consistent, which is why applying a simple dictionary to "translate" leads to bad results. However, most avid readers consider it to be a poetic language open to experimentation, which you see clearly in some of your favourite Norwegian writers (Fosse, Vesaas), Kjartan Fløgstad and several beloved poets (the wife of Tarjei Vesaas, for one). As you're probably aware, Norwegian is a more context-dependent language than English with fewer synonyms, which makes Nynorsk even harder to truly master when you are forced into writing it in your early teens. Back when I was in Junior High, it was common practice to modify the title of every single Nynorsk dictionaries we got passed out into "Spynorsk Mordliste". Spy=Puke, Mord=Murder. This was the late 90's, mind. I've been looking through some of your videos, and I find them informative, erudite, eclectic, and somewhat inspirational as I've been having a reading draught for several years after going through way too much fiction in my formative years. I don't know if you've ever felt you've read so much that finding something new to enjoy is not worth the hassle, but seeing your approach here might actually lead me to start reading some more again. My experience with certain works mentioned here and in other videos: - Baron Wenckheim is one of the weaker works in the authors ouvre as far as I can tell. I haven't read The Last Wolf or Animalinside, but I enjoyed Seiobo (my favourite), The World Goes On and Destruction and Sorrow... way more. - I've been trying to read Drive Your Plow... by Olga Tokarczuk out loud to my girlfriend for over a year now. It's accomplished, but we usually run into trouble when we get to the astrology parts (she falls asleep). It's a bit like Tolstoy and agriculture. :p - I fail miserably when it comes to enjoying Knausgård. He's so damn indulgent! Sorry for the wall of text!

[@travelthroughstories]

​@@impywimpy That's all really interesting about Nynorsk - thanks for explaining that all to me. It's difficult to see how Nynorsk is perceived in Norway from outside of Norway. It seems like it's related to the problem of dialect vs. full language. It seems that Nynorsk is treated like "only" a dialect, but it requires a bit more study than just a dialect would. I'm glad I could inspire you a bit to return to fiction - I totally understand that feeling. My love of reading pretty much dried up in my late teens and it wasn't until my early/mid 20s that I came back to it in a serious way. And even still I go through periods where I get burnt out. For Krasznahorkai - I really want to read Seibo There Below! It looks very different, in terms of subject matter, than his other works. Tokarczuk does have that "problem" of digressing into things like astrology...I happen to really like her digressions, but I can see how one might not enjoy it! Hah. Knausgård is an author that I can completely see why people don't enjoy him. For me, his self-indulgence is the reason I like him. I find his writing to be incredibly raw and honest, but again, I can see why that turns off other readers. Don't apologize for the wall of text! I appreciate your insight!

[@SpringboardThought]

Reading Love Songs right now, just got The Secret Service in the mail yesterday! That Evan Dara book is like nowhere lol Amazon has one listing of it for $65 and then nothing. It's wild how unavailable it is everywhere. Also just got Copenhagen Trilogy over the holidays. Excited to check it out. And 2666 has been on my list for some time, shaming me from the shelf. Happy Ducks, Newburyport made the mentions too. That was a great experience.

[@travelthroughstories]

Nice! Very excited to hear your thoughts on The Love Songs, et al. Hmm. I think the problem with Dara is that he publishes under his own mysterious press, Aurora, which has a print-on-demand deal with Amazon (I think? It's definitely print-on-demand and you can only get it on Amazon). Here in the States it's $16.95 on Amazon, but he must not have it on different countries' Amazons... That's odd and a bit frustrating - that might help explain why he's so unknown. If you decide that you really want a copy and can't get one though, let me know and we'll figure something out! It's one of the better literary post-apocalyptic novels I've read. I enjoyed Ducks, Newburyport immensely - I may have been too negative here as I was trying to justify why it didn't make the top 12. In almost any of year it easily would have. And 2666 really is something. I've read it and it's still looking down at me, shaming me for not understanding it fully.

[@SpringboardThought]

@@travelthroughstories ah yeah must not have set it up for other countries then. Rough! We’ll see how we go in the year here. Haha I see! I probably will read 2666 this year. I put it on a short list of books I really want to get to. My chunky ones are piling up. Need to cut down a few, at the very least. IJ, as well.

[@travelthroughstories]

@@SpringboardThought Good luck with it! And thanks for the reminder that I need to reread IJ... I read it back when I was like 21/22, so I understood literally none of it. I've been wanting to reread it. Lastly speaking of chunky books, I remember hearing you mention that you were interested in Rian Hughes' XX - I just got that one in the mail and I'm also very eager to start it, though I'm trying to squeeze in a few shorter books before I do.

[@SpringboardThought]

@@travelthroughstories yes! I’m going to buddy read it with Sina from Beating Around the Books in a couple months. If you’re interested in something like that, could see if she’d be open to another person reading it too. I’m almost positive she wouldn’t mind.

[@travelthroughstories]

@@SpringboardThought Very kind of you to offer! I'll keep that in mind for sure - it sounds like a lot of fun. Sina is a really great reader though. Any sort of buddy read with her is sure to be illuminating.

[@bookmark_kl]

Excellent list, and thanks for all the videos. I read Copenhagen and Birds the year b4, I read morning star and started Fosse's series (deep into the second book now) in 2021, I have added Trees after seeing your review and I do plan to read parallel stories at some point this year. Btw, Initially, I had thought you were from Nordic, somehow, do you have any connections? wonder if it was the first videos I watched or you said something to that effect.

[@travelthroughstories]

Thanks for the continued support, Abhilash. Wow, we have a lot of similarities in reading tastes - I'd be interested to hear what you think of Parallel Stories when you get to it. Alas, I have no connections to any of the Nordic countries. I'm just doing a PhD focusing on Old English and Old Norse literature/language and thus I have a subsidiary interest in contemporary Nordic literature and languages. I can read some of the Nordic languages, though I wouldn't claim to be fluent in any (yet!).

[@bookmark_kl]

@@travelthroughstories (y)

[@laurasalo6160]

Since you're reading on atrocities of the 20th century, and as well about the Great Georgian figure Ioseb Besarionis dze Jughashvili, then you must have also read The Gulag Archipelago by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn? Do you have a review of it? I looked but I cannot find it ...

[@revenantreads]

The Songs of W.E.B. Du Bois and Trees both sound compelling.

[@travelthroughstories]

Both are highly recommended. The Love Songs is worth its length and The Trees is a relatively quick, but immensely impactful read.

Excellent video.

[@travelthroughstories]

Thank you, Christian!!

[@RememberedReads]

I’m months late in commenting, but - Fantastic list! 👍

[@travelthroughstories]

Thanks so much!

[@b1oho]

What an impressive reading list to start the year! Read Below: Honorée Fanonne Jeffers - The Love Songs of W. E. B. Du Bois Fernando Pessoa - The Book of Disquiet Karl Ove Knausgård - The Morning Star Sergio de la Pava - A Naked Singularity Jon Fosse - The Other Name Roberto Bolaño - 2666 Lucy Ellmann - Ducks, Newburyport Reading Now: Péter Nádas - Parallel Stories Reading Next: The Collected Stories, Fragments, Letters - Breece D' J Pancake The Posthumous Memoirs of Bras Cubas Novel - Joaquim Maria Machado de Assis To Paradise Book - Hanya Yanagihara Herman Melville A Biography Volume 1. 1819 - 1851 - Hershel Parker 1000 Years of Joys and Sorrows: A Memoir - Ai Weiwei Wendy Walker - The Secret Service Nino Haratischvili - The Eighth Life The Magician - Colm Tóibín The Book of Form and Emptiness Book by Ruth Ozeki Reread: Péter Nádas - Parallel Stories Karl Ove Knausgård - The Morning Star

[@travelthroughstories]

Great list! I also have The Posthumous Memoirs on my immediate TBR! The Ozeki is really good too - she does some really cool things in that book. I'm not sure if I'll get to the new Yanagihara, but it looks interesting!

[@b1oho]

@@travelthroughstories The new Yanagihara is a read with my wife! Where are you based?

[@travelthroughstories]

@@b1oho Nice! I'm in the USA near New York City.

[@sausana2501]

Do you have a goodreads account?

[@TK-kf8zc]

Got any ideas for top 10 for this year yet?

[@Gl1tch2263]

The book of disquiet! It was great just at face value but adding the insane fake author universe thing he created pushes it to a different level.

[@chrisbeveridge3066]

Are you a competitive runner?

[@travelthroughstories]

Define "competitive." I ran track in college and continue to run long distance 6-7 times a week, though I don't compete anymore. Did my scrawny arms give that away?

[@chrisbeveridge3066]

@@travelthroughstories that a lot of milage