Why HOW TO BE ALONE is the Best Book I've Read All Year (2024)

Why you should read HOW TO BE ALONE by Jonathan Franzen

[jsong]

Thank you for articulating “People who need that regular retreat within themselves, to help redefine the world around them, before they’re ready to enter back into the world again”

Positively beautiful

[mioselee]

I'm reading the first essay on his father's brain following your recommendation and I absolutely love it. I love the sentiment, the writing style, and everything. Please keep recommending!! Thank you so much, William. Also enjoying your work, Fumes. :)

[skybaby]

Actually I clicked on because the video wasn’t excessively long.

[lillianbarker]

There’s a wonderful short book by anthropologist, Frank Smith, that is the most profound book I’ve read about reading. He studied reading and language all through his career and was an important spokesman for how to promote reading in schools. It’s called Between Hope and Havoc. It’s well written and I think you’ll like it.

[sevdanaivanova]

Jonathan Franzen is one of my favourite writers, brilliant!

[julest]

I love your saying about one of your favorite novels "It makes me feel a lot more like myself." Yes, I felt very alive and like the most important part of me was resonating while listening to a professor discussing Russian short stories, George Saunders: A Swim in a Pond in the Rain!

[ExpatRiot]

I remember reading this years ago when it first came out. Franzen has great prose. And no one does upper-middle-class guilt like him. Like oatmeal with just a little brown sugar and one square of butter, he's utterly consumable.

[bookish.bulletin]

Perhaps the best video I’ve found on my home page all week. Thank you for the recommendation!

[EnglishisEZ]

great vid William. big fan of the corrections and have been eyeing this for a long time. this video may have just convinced me to bite the bullet on it. im very sorry about your family member, best wishes and keep making videos!

[antoninima]

Interesting, I'll check this collection out. I read more fiction too, but there are some powerful essay writers who really elevate this genre. I think many talented writers have so much focus on their fiction that their nonfiction is overlooked. Although some, like James Baldwin, are the inverse. His work is so good that his fiction is often overlooked.

[parvathykutralingam]

Thanks...I've wanted to read this book for some time. Will try picking it up soon

[tomassink]

Thanks for the recommendation! Feel like I'll enjoy this one.

[lauren]

Sir you are both well-read and handsome which is lethal congratulations William

[boopitydoopity]

Excellent video. Your conversational tone kept me engaged and attentive throughout, to the point it felt "rude" to you to peek at my phone during the video lol

Despite never having read an essay compilation before, I'm curious to give this one a try thanks to your passionate and insightful recommendation.

[gioscott]

You just popped into my feed, I am so luck. I subed, thanks for the recommendation.

[MarkKamibaya]

I need more videos of you going through Franzen's works! A why you should read Freedom or Crossroads would be fire

[nolanjones]

Thanks for the recommendation. I've been meaning to find an essayist akin to David Wallace.

[BadKittyNoMilk]

Sounds sad, I’m sad a lot, because I’m alone.
I’d like to not be more sad
Thanks for sharing .

[BoLuko-wh]

You got my subscription. Good video and great book shelf jeez

[marygeorge]

I'm a reader, and am currently immersed in David Eggers, "A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genuis." It's one of the most beautifully written and heart-wrenching books I've read - well, some of it is hysterically irreverent - and each chapter can be read as a short story. Cheers! And thanks for this recommendation.