Winter Reading Vlog | War & Peace, Lonesome Dove, and Good Material

[@zoezheng1908]

I have never clicked anything faster than the notifications of your new video. My favorite book reviewer is back🎉

[@euginny19]

I clicked as soon as I saw the notification of your vlog. It's good to see you back! ☺️

[@hyqu3462]

Fav channel is back!! & beautiful intro too

[@TCS088]

I'm glad you are back! Missed you ❤. Excellent reviews of some classic tomes.

[@peterowen4456]

Really good video and I loved the way you showed pictures of your neighbourhood as you went along. That quote about Tolstoy that you finished with is so right. I seem to remember frequent use of the word "universality" from school days to describe those books that genuinely reflect the human condition. War ad Peace has that quality.

[@ClaireReadsBooks]

It really does! I am blown away by it already

[@davidcardwell9086]

Wow, can't believe it. You're back.

[@julianb.g.8435]

I missed you ! from 70-year-old-Japanese-man

[@amyb3737]

East of Eden is tome-ish. It's been years since I read it but I loved it...

[@ClaireReadsBooks]

Talk about a book I’ve started about 5 different times! The last time I made it 200 pages…I don’t know what it is because I love Steinbeck, I just always set it down and then never get the momentum back…but maybe I should give it another try and see it through

[@haxel222]

OH MY GOD YOU'RE BACK!!

[@conniemeade1082]

Loved good material. Dolly never misses!

[@buildsbyjo]

good to see u here again

[@1siddynickhead]

Yup, I'm definitely a Tolstoy girl myself..and btw I also read brothers Karamazov first and was underwhelmed and then read War and Peace and was blown away! You're in for such a fun ride!! And NO! The war parts are not boring! They are actually sometimes more interesting than the society sections..when you're done at the end of the year, I highly recommend watching the BBC adaptation with James Norton as Prince Andrei and Paul Dano as Pierre and Lily James as Natasha..so so good! Also, Tolstoy is just great as a writer. Dostoyevsky is all about ideas and he's great too but he doesnt present his material in a compelling writing style.. this is why Nabokov dissed him mercilessly because he insisted that Dostoyevsky's style is just as clunky in Russian, not just english.

[@ClaireReadsBooks]

This is so great to hear!! I am already planning to watch the BBC - it’s the ultimate act of patience on my part to wait till the end of the year (and to not look up spoilers in the meantime)

[@1siddynickhead]

​@@ClaireReadsBooks😅 I feel you on that! But hey, if you finish earlier than anticipated, there's nothing stopping you from watching it😊 having said that, I do think it's the perfect Christmas time drama❤

[@she5139]

Welcome back 🫶🏼

[@ephrussi9765]

I get so excited when you post - and eagerly/immediately start watching. You are my favorite. Selfishly, I wish you'd post more often.

[@ClaireReadsBooks]

🩷 I wish I did, too!!

[@christinejohnson4399]

The Kristin Lavransdatter trilogy is the best recent tome for me!

[@aruna394]

You’re back 🙌 these vlogs are so cozy! 💕

[@executived1]

Great to see you again! Inspired by your approach to this year :)

[@jayj8524]

Hi, Great to see you again. What a marvellous video of your perception and thoughts of Tolstoy's War and Peace, along with your intelligent and personal presentation of this masterpiece of Russian literature. - Your reflections on Lonesome Dove were equally very interesting. I also liked the amazing moody introduction and the really nice snapshots of winterly New York. So hope to see you soon, and stay safe!

[@walkingenthusiast1115]

so excited to see this video pop up when i logged on after a long day at work. it made my day! love your videos!

[@unboundbookishnotions7373]

Oh this was such a treat today! Love to see you back!

[@whatpageareyouon]

I can’t wait until you finish war and peace! I love Andrei, he has my favorite moment in the book. And I hope you love my sweet, silly, stupid Nikolai ❤️ lol. I’m excited to pick up the Alderton based on your thoughts! I ended up being won over by the end of Everything I Know About Love, and I didn’t like it that much when I started it! I think you’d maybe like it too. Good to see you Claire!

[@ClaireReadsBooks]

I think I might like EIKAL, too! I put a hold on it at the library. And the substack chat HATES Nikolai right now…to be continued. I will keep you posted in the meantime 😅

[@CuriousReader]

Really resonating with the bit on intentionality and reading consistently - both things that I didn't really have in 2023 but am laying the groundwork for this year. I read Anna Karenina quite a few years back now and have been meaning to get to War and Peace, you're certainly making me want to get to it sooner rather than later.

[@jadeddiamonds9983]

This is definitely my sign to pick up Lonesome Dove. I just bought it for my birthday but wasn’t quite ready yet. Your review of it has me all set.

[@ClaireReadsBooks]

It is a worthwhile journey! Some of my favorite characters I’ve ever read (and ones that I’ll be thinking about for a long time!)

[@jeremiahbok9028]

Such a pretty vlog! I'm late to the party, but it's so good to see you back. War and Peace is such a masterpiece! I read it pre-pandemic and thoroughly enjoyed, I thought the characters, all except Pierre who I found tiresome from beginning to end, were a delight. I was very surprised how readable it is, like you, I even enjoyed the actual war parts quite well, I thought they were sprawling but intimate, mostly quite fast- paced overall, and just very well-written. I'd never heard of Lonesome Doves, cowboys, much like you, are pretty unexplored territory for me. I actually enjoy some old Western films... I like Westerns and Hitchcock. I'm a guy. But I also love The Shop Around the Corner, It's a Wonderful Life, etc. I'm glad you overall enjoyed Lonesome Doves, it really does sound good, even if you had qualms in the end.

[@1book1review]

Totally commenting after only watching a few minutes, because I so relate to reading tomes and planning out specific books. I really wanted to read bigger books this year and raise my average pages/minutes per book again. So far I have been flipping between big and short books. The plan to dive into my wish list and finally get to some of those books has not worked as well as I mostly got distracted by other things. Typical :D For reading specific books I started bying more physical books again to have those books visible and as a reminder staring at me. It's working better than just having them in a wish list, still mostly adding books than actually reading so far. Hope you do better than me. I listened to war and peace and really thought that helped with pushing through it. I thought most of it boring to be honest. So nice to see you again.

[@mrmorganmusic]

I read Lonesome Dove last summer. It definitely starts off slowly, with lots of attention given to understanding the characters (that aspect of it continues) and place. The journey is an immense one, and I felt quite exhausted emotionally by the hardships they encounter. It made me weep on multiple occasions. A really wonderful story, but also challenging. I was fascinated by the snapshot in time of the west: the novel is set in a time before it was completely settled (there's still a wildness and an unforgiving danger to the land), yet also after the bison had been largely killed off. As a result the native Americans are struggling immensely, and the land feels often just empty. Towards the end I kept waiting for characters to declare their feelings, yet no one does. There's a real stark quality to the ending. Great, great book.

[@patriciaa65]

YAY! So glad you’re back

[@Ihearbooks]

What a treat to see a video from you. War and Peace--I know I would love it but I've never found the reading time to try to devote. can you tell me why, from what I see, you have the book but seem to be reading it on your ereader. I loved Lonesome Dove but read it so long ago I remember little. My big book to conquer this year is The Count of Monte Cristo. Look forward to seeing a full review on Lonesome Dove, hope you find the time to get to it. Loved also seeing your part of NYC. Great video

[@ClaireReadsBooks]

I wanted a hard copy of W&P so I can see how far into it I am (and move the bookmark every day even though I’m mostly reading on Kindle) I did promptly spill a glass of water on it though 😅

[@jpm5205]

Terms of Endearment, The Last Picture Show, and Horsemen Pass By are the other McMurtry classics. You’ll love them.

[@yenasung]

“Andrei this fkn guy” 😂 yesss justice for the war parts in w&p!!! It’s the meat of the book! Omg ppl sending pics of their sky after reading ☁️that scene☁️ swoon now that’s a reading community ❤ Loooove seeing your vid on my feed and a vlog what a treat!! Love you, Claire 🙆🏻‍♀️

[@ClaireReadsBooks]

More W&P love to come!!!

[@electraandbooks5925]

Clicked as soon as I saw your face ! Thanks for the lovely snowy videos of NYC 😊 Lonesome Dove is in my top 5. I read it ten years ago and loved it. I had no conflicting feelings afterwards. I just thought it was so well done bi had to laugh when you sais what you thought the book was about 😅 I have yet to read War and Peace though I have seen the adaptation and loved it. I just had in my mind oh then she reads on her Kindle and thus won’t have any notes or tags on the physical book. 😂 but I am actually planning to read David Copperfield with a friend and the book is 12,000 pages so I got the book on my Kindle as well. But when I read Middlemarch I ended up tagging and annoying the book too.

[@AgricultureSpecialists]

So glad to hear you're loving War and Peace! I also love it, the way Tolstoy writes characters is so different from most writers. His characters feel so vivid and vital, I swear he can draw a character completely in only a few paragraphs. His writing in general is just so energetic and page-turning. I definitely prefer the peace scenes to the war scenes, though I will agree that the war scenes, while sometimes dense, are also quite good. They are very funny and satirical, and they feel like war scenes out of Catch 22 lol (if Catch 22 had war scenes). There are some parts that drag though, (specific Pierre scenes come to mind 😖) I'm on page 750 right now and I've been reading it for...a while now lol. Also, it's funny to hear you say you didn't like Prince Andrei at first, I liked him from the very beginning lol, but that could just be because I like deeply flawed characters--my favorite character in the book is Anatole lmaoooooo

[@mirandawiklund]

What a lovely video! Thanks for showing us some NYC cityscapes ☺️ Loved the quote about “long unwieldy books”. I just re-read 100 years of solitude, it took me 8 months, but it was worth it. Does it count as a tome? If so, highly recommend!

[@melissahouse1296]

This was an absolute joy (particularly your Tolstoy thoughts).. W&P has done the rounds last few yrs & it's just so nice to hear someone have a similar experience (inc your Dostoeyevsky comparison) 🧐👍as i felt i couldn't relate to alot of the disparaging comments/ analysis😅 You're in for a treat.. i thought the war *&* the peace parts were equally strong/ compelling.. a real celebration of life 💝Does T wax at times excessively / philosophically? yeah.. but i still wouldn't change a thing. I loved the LD mini series.. glad to have you back 😉🤗😊

[@louise1510]

Girl, where have u been 😭🫶

[@ClaireReadsBooks]

just sitting on my couch mostly 😭🫶🏻

[@katiejlumsden]

Lovely to see you again! 😊

[@ClaireReadsBooks]

Thanks, Katie! I hope you’re well 😇

[@tima8572]

claire i was literally just thinking about you the other day!!! so glad you’re back

[@ClaireReadsBooks]

🥰🥰

[@ReadingIDEAS.-uz9xk]

Got war and peace on the list for this year. Best wishes. Hope you are reading something good.

[@renelaliquesoapdispeser]

so good to see you again!

[@firasmujeeb5038]

Please do a video with your brother. Love to hear what is he reading.

[@meghanrichardson8608]

This inspired me to get back into war and peace, I started it a few years ago and never made it past the 100 page mark but you reminded me how much I did enjoy the very beginning! If you’re looking for tomes, I highly recommend the Wolf Hall trilogy by Hilary Mantel.

[@LoroHunt]

I read Anna Karenina first and later War & Peace, and so I too am a Tolstoy nut! I would definitely recommend AK, with a tighter cast of characters and some incredible moments that I still think of often. Interesting to hear your thoughts on Tolstoy Vs Dostoyevski as I'm yet to pick up the later, I'll reserve my judgement! Currently reading Life & Fate by Vasily Grossman in the relatively recent Vintage Classics republication - intensity levels dialled up to 100 on this one and definitely am enjoying it!

[@ClaireReadsBooks]

I started AK last year and was loving it - I need to get back to it!

[@patriciaa65]

Also as fellow ARMY, how are you holding up? 😄

[@CJReads]

Oh thank god

[@Phil-p7p]

YAY!!!!!!!

[@jboneduce7568]

According to the author Robert Duvall was originally casted to play Call and "slid" into the Gus role. I had the same hang-up when I realized Duvall was Gus, given the way the men were described in the book. Cool review! I thought the book was great and found it had a strong tragic theme about time, aging, and regret.

[@neil3467]

Me too. Then I watched it and couldn’t imagine anyone else portraying Gus. I believe that he won an Emmy.

[@jesuisnoach]

Homegirl is back!

[@jesuisnoach]

I am also reading lonesome dove.

[@ClaireReadsBooks]

@@jesuisnoachomg how are you finding it so far

[@jesuisnoach]

@@ClaireReadsBooks So far great. I like westerns, and I just finished re-reading Blood Meridian. This is very different though.

[@TimeTravelReads]

I've only seen men talk about Lonesome Dove. It has a reputation as being addictive entertainment for men. I'm glad to see a woman talk about it. It's on my list, with reservations because I wasn't sure how the myth of the west would be treated.

[@vaoannou5988]

I just finished Anna Karenina, hope you get to that as well, it was incredible!

[@ClaireReadsBooks]

I read the first half last summer! I do want to return to it

[@frankx3074]

Have you heard of The Wheel of Time series by Robert Jordan? The first book is wonderful and is a classic of the high fantasy subgenre. I know you asked for novels, but I have to mention Parting the Waters by Taylor Branch. It’s the first in a trilogy of a history of the civil rights movement during MLK’s lifetime. The people and events are obviously compelling, and when you combine that with the fact that Branch is an incredible storyteller, the book basically reads like a novel!

[@amyb3737]

Fastest click ever. Welcome back!

[@scox0005]

Just wanted to see if you knew that much of the story of Lonesome Dove is based on the true story of the rancher Charles Goodnight and his best friend Oliver Loving. The Texas ranger history, cattle drive, the scene where two of the crew (Gus and Pea?)end up in a ditch dodging bullets, even Call's(Goodnight's) journey back to Texas really happened.

[@ClaireReadsBooks]

I did read that after the fact! Very interesting

[@mikegseclecticreads]

I keep considering starting War and Peace, but every time I remember the Charlie Brown New Year special where half of the whole show is joking about how impossible it is to read

[@ClaireReadsBooks]

You gotta try it, Mike!

[@mikegseclecticreads]

@@ClaireReadsBooks Yeah for sure, it had actually already crossed my mind a few times this year but I just hadn't taken the leap yet. I'm going to try to gradually catch up with the year-long slow read you mentioned, that's an awesome concept. Thanks for that final push!

[@ClaireReadsBooks]

@@mikegseclecticreads oh let me know if you do and we can discuss!

[@mikegseclecticreads]

@@ClaireReadsBooks Of course, that'd be great! I'm trying to just do 2 chapters a day until I catch up... really enjoying the pace and all the character intros so far. And the Substack chat is excellent

[@nikkivenable73]

A Republican western book? lol. I am both of these….a Republican who lives in the Midwest and have my whole life. I didn’t know Republicans and westerns were synonymous, but ok. 😂 That said, LD is in my top 10. The whole series is brilliant!

[@ClaireReadsBooks]

I’m tempted to pick up Streets of Laredo but did read about what happens to certain characters between LD and SoL and don’t want to confront those plot developments 😭

[@MatthewSciarappa]

😌⛅️💕

[@annapajmel5843]

Finally!

[@r.l.3316]

As someone who has never read Lonesome Dove but grew up watching the tv miniseries practically once a year, I wonder how much the show had to do with the turn from critique to mythologizing that McMurty is referring to. I couldn't help but laugh that you were picturing Tommy Lee Jones as Gus the whole time rather than Duvall. I can't even fathom that casting change! If you watch the show I hope that won't ruin it for you! I'd love to hear what you think of the show compared to the book if you get around to watching it.

[@ClaireReadsBooks]

Duvall is NOT MY GUS!!! I truly can’t picture it but maybe one day I will dip it and it’ll be all over for me. Such a good point about the show’s role in the book’s legacy! I need to do a little more digging on all that…

[@Thepeejay]

I think we all collectively clicked as fast as we could ive been scared of war and peace but lonesome dove sounds kinda interesting

[@ClaireReadsBooks]

🤩 don’t be scared of War & Peace, I was, too, but it’s such a delight!

[@RoisinsReading]

Hey, so I’m very behind on watching Booktube, hence watching this winter reading vlog in June, but on the off chance that you see this I was wondering if you might be interested in joining me for my August/September book club read. I have a book club where we read Big Books, and since you’re reading Tomes this year I thought maybe you would be up for it, last year we read War and Peace. I’m planning either The Lacuna or The Goldfinch next so if you see this and are interested, do let me know! You can see the previous live shows on my channel if you’re interested

[@jpm5205]

Lonesome Dove is a book Republicans do love. Why would that be a negative thing? Maybe you’re learning something through a shared love of art about a group of other people you previously villainized and stereotyped. That’s what’s great about literature - empathy through Art.

[@jpm5205]

People love Lonesome Dove not because, as McMurtry thinks, it unintentionally uberromanticizes the American West like John Wayne on steroids, No…men and women love Lonesome Dove because the modern realism McMurtry writes it is more sincere to truth vs myth. Truth - will always be more beautiful.

[@Yesica1993]

Oh, noes! Not Republicans!

[@ClaireReadsBooks]

and a book that could unite us all!

[@moann7234]

You spoiled Good Material. If you are going to do spoilers, you need to let people know before hand.

[@ClaireReadsBooks]

By saying you get the woman’s perspective at the end? Dolly Alderton said that during her Today Show interview so it seemed like fair game 🤷🏻‍♀️

[@dena2.09]

Hi 👋🏻 I love the winter scenes. We don’t get to see that here in the desert valley. 🙂🏜️🌵 You reminded me that I have Lonesome Dove on my TBR and since some people on booktube read big books in March, it’s the perfect time for me to finally pick this up.

[@ClaireReadsBooks]

Yes, it’s perfect for March of the Mammoths! Hope you’re doing well, Dena 😇🥰

[@dena2.09]

@@ClaireReadsBooks I am doing well, thank you. 🙂