Recent Reads #21

BOOKS:
0:00 - Intro

OUTRO MUSIC: "l u v t e a [acoustic]" by Autumn Keys

SOCIAL

[baileyblundell]

I'm rewatching this immediately after finishing Eileen and I'm absolutely flabbergasted, floored, bamboozled but Moshfegh's pure brilliance.

[crstph]

"I don't want to write this for the author, but, "
me: *flashes back to every professor who's ever told me not to be too prescriptive in workshop*

[HenricusGames]

Moshfegh is for sure a genius. Would definitely recommend My Year of Rest and Relaxation and also her short story collection Homesick for Another World.

[davies]

Lol, I was just sat here scrolling through YouTube and thinking how great it would be if Shaelin posted a video. Thank you for being faster than Amazon Prime :)

[erikaroth]

Just listening to your feelings on Bitter Orange was so engrossing!

[KelliSings]

Wind-Up Bird Chronicle...my all-time favorite book. I'm here for that capital W Weird. Plus, a novel has never before had me laughing out loud on page 2.

[fictionfatale]

If you enjoyed the over sharing / intimate nature of Eileen, I’d highly recommend “The Discomfort of evening” which is translated from Dutch

[kxrimgh]

YESSS I LOVEEEDDDD EILEEN IT WAS GREAT I AGREE!!! ♥♥️

[catharinel]

I completely agree about Bitter Orange. I haven't heard anyone else put my thoughts into words the way you did. I wanted to love it but it was just missing something

[TheCherrypop]

bunny was a fucking wild ride. i’m glad you enjoyed it too lmao!!

[imaginativebibliophile]

Shaelin, My first read of 2020 was Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf. I love the use of stream of consciousness style. The final book I read in 2019 was The Complete Christmas Stories by Lucy Maud Montgomery. We have read the short stories, The Tell-Tale Heart by Edgar Allan Poe, The Girl in the Lavender Dress by Maureen Scott, Lamb to the Slaughter by Roald Dahl, The Landlady by Roald Dahl, The Lottery by Shirley Jackson, The Monkey’s Paw by WW Jacobs, A Retrieved Reformation by O. Henry, and The Lie by Kurt Vonnegut in English class so far. As for novels, we have read Down a Dark Hall by Lois Duncan and The Pearl by John Steinbeck. We will read The Outsiders by SE Hinton, Night by Elie Wiesel, and The Giver by Lois Lowry. I recently wrote the poems, Changes and Into Reality. I love you

[sanakan]

I mostly enjoyed Wind-Up Bird but I agree w/ a lot of your criticisms, especially about Toru as a protagonist. imo some of the most interesting stuff in the book was when the POV shifted from him and instead focused on Mamiya or Nutmeg recounting their experiences in Manchukuo. also I think you've sold me on Eileen, definitely gonna check that out soon

[authorgreene]

You mentioned Fuller's book as being oddly structured. A couple of books I liked with odd narrative structures were American Pastoral by Philip Roth and Kokoro by Natsume Sōseki.
I don't know if you've read either, but the former is almost what the narrator imagines happened to someone who's younger brother he reconnected with at a high school reunion. The latter is a third the story of the narrator who is fascinated by this older gentleman he befriends. The rest of the book is the story of the friend, still being told by the narrator. Both are oddly structured, but unlike the nursing home reminiscence trope, they work hard to twist direct expression of experience into a more rewarding and (ironically) truthful voice.

[royaldigitalmedia]

I like your style. It's changed a little bit.

[frannieforthoughts]

I haven’t read anything by Ottessa Moshfegh but Eileen sounds so interesting and messed up! Tbr, right away.

[bloomheller]

I agree with all your criticisms of Murakami. Literally everything you said is the basis for a legit appreciation of him, however. The passive nature of the main character (the anti-protagonist?), his location only on the edge of meaningful event, and the pace of events, is Murakami's critique of modern Japanese life. There's no clear interconnection between events and characters, that's true, but also intended. Murakami is exploring the mystical. In fact, Murakami's grandfather was a Buddhist priest, and I feel like Buddhism and the Buddhist worldview (which eschews rationality for direct experience with absolute reality) really infuses the text of that book in particular. If you want to read something way better from a Japanese writer, check out Yukio Mishima, who is the writer Murakami hates most. Murakami himself has said that his entire body of work is a philosophical, moral, and aesthetic rejection of Mishima (who, for my money is the greatest Japanese writer since WW2). There is also a classic movie from the 1980s about Mishima called, "Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters." If you're interested in the lives of writers (seems like you are), definitely check it out on Amazon or Netflix or wherever it's available. The movie also has an awesome soundtrack by Phillip Glass.

[anniepeter]

Hello Shaelin! I love your videos and your recent reads! I was wondering if you could maybe indicate in the description box which books are poetry collections ? I find myself going back to the videos because I failed to write the recommendations down the first time, but then I have to click through all the links. This takes especially long if I forgot which recent reads it was! Let me know what you think, and thank you so much for sharing all that you share 🥰

[kxrimgh]

can u do a video reading your oldest writing?

[cjpreach]

SHAELIN - My Recent Read - "Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl" is good. It's a memoir by Harriet Ann Jacobs (under the pseudonym Linda Brent). Be prepared to cry. Her slave master began making unwanted advances toward her when she reached the age of about 14/15 years old. 7 years in hiding in the attic. Two children born out of wedlock (Master was NOT the father!). Finally, a friend purchased her freedom. A wonderful true story, but the structure of it parallels fiction, so it can inform our work as novelists.

[heavensxnt]

Oh my god Bunny is so fucking weird. I loved it.