Let's Talk about Books

In which John recommends some of his favorite fiction, poetry, and nonfiction reading of the year. Books discussed in this video include:

The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas
The Inexplicable Logic of My Life by Benjamin Alire Saenz
We Are Okay by Nina Lacour
Piecing Me Together by Renee Watson
Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng
The King Is Always about the People by Daniel Alarcon
Ordinary Beast by Nicole Sealey
Calling a Wolf a Wolf by Kaveh Akbar
Counting Descent by Clint Smith
City of Light, City of Poison by Holly Tucker
City of Thorns by Ben Rawlence
The Man Who Couldn't Stop by David Adam
The Water Will Come by Jeff Goddell

Also very excited for E. Lockhart's Genuine Fraud, Maggie Steifvater's All the Crooked Saints, and Nnedi Okorafor's Akata Warrior.

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[Jontman]

"We were nostalgic for a time that wasn't over yet." Holy hell that hit me hard, it perfectly describes this feeling I've had for the past couple years.

[milissamackey]

John says, "Book recommenations, " and I say, "Hang on, John, I need to open up a couple of browser windows and grab my wallet."

[guppy]

Does John have a GoodReads? I want to see all his recommended books!

[BeCurieUs]

Just started reading Harry Potter, pretty good, I think it's gonna be big

[kitwinters]

Sometimes I go down the endless infinity of available YouTube videos begging for new content, and I forget there are also so many books being written and published and promoted every day. Thanks for keeping the crossover between the two worlds alive for me John!

[coena]

“We were nostalgic for a time that wasn’t over yet” reminds me of another great quote from a short story a friend of mine wrote.
“I’m nostalgic for the memories I never got to make”

[starpasta]

I always love your book recommendations! I recently finished Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, and the ending broke my heart into a million tiny pieces. Now I'm reading Hunger by Roxane Gay, and FRENCH THE LLAMA ITS ONE OF THE MOST INTENSE BOOKS I HAVE EVER READ. But it's so worth it!

[kristentan]

hi john not sure if you’re ever gonna see this but speaking of books that i’ve been reading recently, i just finished turtles all the way down. i read it basically all in one day (one chapter the previous night and all the rest in one day) and stayed up till 1:30 am last night to finish it and oh my god. it was so good. it was phenomenal. i was thinking about it before i woke up, i woke up thinking about it, and i’m still thinking about it. i don’t know if i have the words for how much i enjoyed it, but i can say this: it made me feel. it made me feel so much and so deeply and so truly. and it’s been a while since a book made me feel this much. thank you for writing this john. (also thank you for signing enough copies that they were just on sale at target. i’m sure you got many hand cramps just so people like me could have a signed copy.) thank you again. <3

[noah]

"The God of Small Things" by Arundhati Roy, is my absolute favorite book of all time. A story about a pair of twins growing up in a dysfunctional family in India, it is not only brilliant but GORGEOUS. It starts at the end, then tells the beginning, then ends at middle, and reading it was enlightening. God, I'd give anything to read it for the first time again. When all the pieces fall together at the end, it is astounding. John, you would love it!

[Mrams]

Whenever John talks about books, it feels like a hot water bottle for my heart

[paperbacksgalore]

Kaveh Akbar is a professor at my university (Purdue University in West Lafayette, IN) and I had the pleasure of attending a poetry reading of his last week. Before the reading, I had never heard any of Kaveh's work, nor did I know anything about him. His poetry shocked me. Truly, I can't think of a better word than shocked. I don't usually read poetry, and I won't lie and say that I understood the meaning of every poem he read, but I was enthralled during the entire reading. What astonished me the most about Kaveh was his eloquence, and his kindness. After the reading he answered questions from the audience, and I have never heard someone speak with such precision, clarity and emotion. I could listen to him talk for hours. Unfortunately I will probably never get the opportunity to take his class. I was pleasantly surprised to see you recommend him, John.

[annabeljoyner]

PSA TO EVERYONE WHO LOVED TFIOS
My english teacher, McCall Hoyle is an up and coming writer. She released her first book in September of this year. She is a fantastic writer, teacher, and all around human being. Her book is titled The Thing With Feathers and it is centered around a high school age girl with epilepsy whose mother made her enroll in a public school. I won't give away anymore, but it is truly an amazing and heartwarming read that I would recommend to anyone ESPECIALLY anyone who fell in love with The Fault in Our Stars.

[yesthisisshi]

hearing that you went to school with another successful novelist makes me so happy. i get discouraged sometimes thinking that there can only be ONE, as in, only one person in a group of graduates can really get anywhere with these sorts of careers. Feels good to see people supporting each other and there's room for several at the top.

[mineola_]

I always love book recs from John, it just makes me so happy. I always discover gems.

[spencerhale]

It is so unusual, I have been subscribed for most of the Vlogbrothers YouTube career and the truthfulness and consistent yearn for us to be happy and understand the world around us has finally brought me to tears. It is a shame that you guys only exist now, every moment in ti, e could have benefited having you both around.

[technilumi]

I am so glad you love Celeste Ng's Book I love 'Little Fires Everywhere'. I love her book 'Everything I Never Told you' such another great book by such an underrated author imo. Cannot believe it's ONLY 1 MORE WEEK TILL TATWD!! looking forward to reading it 🐢🐢🐢

[zoezarth]

Your new book has had a tremendous impact on my life! Having had anxiety and OCD obstacles in the past that are still with me today, it was so amazing to be able to connect so deeply with a character. I felt as though I was Aza Holmes and I have never felt to close to a character before. Thank you so much for writing this and being able to get personal with your readers. I am so grateful for having the opportunity to read it. It has been extremely helpful in my own anxiety battles and I will continue to use your book as a resource for my mind. Thank you.

[Mariapink]

Who else can't wait to read Turtles all the way down?!?!

[elizabeth-gceg]

I saw the title and I screamed, I’m so excited, I love listening to you talk about books

[HelenH]

MAN!!!! I loved your book!!! I read it in about 2 days and annotated the heck out of it! I am so glad that I found your channel!