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Good morning, how are you!
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It's such a nice day today
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I wish I could...
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...be in it.
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Welcome back to my channel, I suppose.
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Uhm, I'm Dakota.
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I'm 22.
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I'm from Melbourne, Australia
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and I talk about books...
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that's all there is to it.
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I've had like no motivation
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to film anything recently because
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lockdown blues but then
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I suddenly went
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perhaps talking to a camera would be nice!
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Anyway, here are ten actually good
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classic literature recommendations
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for actual beginners.
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Because I'm so hyperaware
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of how beginners don't have those
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preconceived notions that
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everybody seems to think they do
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we've all been beginners.
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These are all varying degrees
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of genre.
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You will definitely see a theme
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amongst my favourites.
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I'm not going to recommend
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an absolute beginner
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Dostoevsky... or Shakespeare.
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I think when it comes down to
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classic literature for beginners,
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there's a few aspects that
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need to be considered like
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the length of the book
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because if it's quite wordy and
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in older English or more advanced English
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it's... a lot to deal with
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especially in big chunks.
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And captivating...
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I think that captivating is
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an imperative aspect.
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Nobody wants to read a classic
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that just draaags on.
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That's gonna turn you off on classics forever.
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First few classics that
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somebody reads in their classic journey...
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sets the mark for their
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classic taste in life.
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New drinking game:
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take a shot every time she says classic.
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You will also notice
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that I source secondhand
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whenever I can and
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that's very attainable for classics.
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So the covers for these books
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will be interesting.
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I get a lot of messages asking
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where I got that edition from
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and where the people can find it
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and that it was $600 on Amazon and
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that's because I got it from Savers for $1.50.
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I'm sorry but covers don't matter
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is what's on the inside that counts.
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And without further ado,
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onto the books.
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The first book is very dear to me
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and that is: Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland
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slash Through the Looking Glass slash
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whatever you will.
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We all know what this book is about and
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I don't need to detail it too much but
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a young girl falls down a rabbit hole and
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is exposed to the world of...
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marvel and wonder and awe and
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bizarre adventures.
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This is written eloquently,
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it's wise, it's humorous, it's captivating
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from the get-go.
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As a 22-year-old, I am still captivated
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by this book.
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It's also a very fast-paced read and
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you can get through it quickly.
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A.) because you're captivated and
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B.) because it's short.
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I also find that it helps reading classics
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when you're in an unfamiliar territory...
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that you already have an idea of the plot.
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Try and look past the fact that it's a
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"children's book" and consider it
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to be a fantasy book with some
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deeper meaning and some hidden themes.
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Try to ignore
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the constantly changing lighting
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the sun is tucking itself beneath a new cloud
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every minute. So it's going to be
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a journey.
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The next recommendation that I have
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is more so an author than a book itself
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and that is none other than Edgar Allan Poe
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one of the most influential writers for me...
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in my entire life.
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"Father of the Modern Detective Story"
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not so much the "Father of the Short Story"
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though it definitely helps that gain momentum.
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Not so much the "Father of Gothic Horror,"
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though it definitely helps that gain momentum.
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Just a very influential figure
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in literature itself.
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I'm in love with his mind.
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He's a genius.
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His writing is eery, it's creepy,
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it's spooky, it's gruesome, it's raw...
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but it's not terrifying.
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Like it's not the stuff of nightmares
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that's going to keep you up awake.
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I recommend this book to anyone that
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asks me for... recommendations
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whether it be classics, gothic lit,
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gothic horror, detective stories,
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mysteries, anything!
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Everyone I've ever recommended
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Poe has thanked me with their life
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and so I will recommend Poe
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to everyone until the day I die.
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It's very easy to find his works and collections.
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I got this one at a bookstore
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and I got this one secondhand.
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They have a collection of his short stories
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and his poetry
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and I think that it's great
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because you can power through them,
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and you have that sense of accomplishment
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and achievement and you're powering through
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and you're finishing stories and
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so you can tuck all of his books
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under your arm at the same time.
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My favourite short story of Poe's is
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called the "Tell-Tale Heart."
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and it is essentially the story of
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an unnamed narrator who
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is trying to convince you, the reader,
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of his sanity.
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Whilst he is describing to you, the reader,
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of the crimes he committed.
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The poetry and prose is magical.
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The man is a genius.
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The next book, we love some vampire fiction,
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haha, just joking!
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It's Carmilla.
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Sheridan Le Fanu. Carmilla.
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Bram Stroke's predecessor and inspiration
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when it came to vampire fiction.
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I think it came out 26 years before Dracula
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We love some gothic romanticism
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this is a classic Victorian vampire novela
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and I think that is...
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such an amazing starting point for classics.
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Perhaps my affinity for gothic literature
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is showing through,
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in these recommendations.
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This is a very important book,
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in a historic sense.
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It's also written very easily.
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It's written very beautifully
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but very easily to follow and
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it's a very quick read.
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And a great one to say
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you've actually read.
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Also an absolute... moment
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in homoerotecism.
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We love some lesbian literature...
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Sappho would be both proud
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and terrified with this novel.
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The next one is
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very commonly on the lists
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of classics for beginners.
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Which is the first book I've seen
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that rightfully so earned it's place
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on our board.
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The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde
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Oscar Wilde is also a genius
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for your information.
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This is about
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a seemingly good-natured young man,
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who discovers the power behind...
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his exceptional beauty.
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It really explores the relationship
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between beauty and morality.
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Oscar Wilde plays a lot with
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the presumption that...
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gorgeous people are inherently morally good
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and that "ugly" people are,
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therefore, bad.
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But it's a fascinating book.
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It's considerably short
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and it's written in a very nice
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easy-to-understand way
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for a beginner.
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The next genre is exciting
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because it's a philosophical classic
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and that is
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Albert Camus' The Stranger slash
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The Outsider.
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It's the exact same book.
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It has two titles.
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This was published in '82.
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This was published in 2021.
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I'm not sure if it depends on translation
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or just the year of publication
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but it's the same book.
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Ahhh... ah books smell so good.
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It's about alienation of an individual
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from society, entirely self-inlicted
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because he refuses to conform to social norms.
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The first opening line of this book,
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his mother dies
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and he refuses to acknowledge his feelings,
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let alone show them,
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to uphold the expectations
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from those around him.
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And that sets up the novel...
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in a perfect way.
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It's written simply enough to grasp
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a good understanding of.
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But it's very fast-paced too.
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And it will leave you feeling,
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dare I say, enlightened.
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After I read this,
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after I read anything by Camus,
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I feel more mature,
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more intelligent, more philosophical,
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more spiritual, more cynical.
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I think that it's an amazing way
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to cross off philosophy and a classic
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in the same book.
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It's raw and it's real and it's honest.
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And I think it's a super book.
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Russian literature is my favorite.
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My absolute favorite due to its darkness, really.
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But much of it is not for beginners...
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except for The Death of Ivan Ilyich by Leo Tolstoy.
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You can see how small and short this is.
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Which is another great fast-paced read.
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This book is one of the most
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profound books I've ever read...
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because of its nature.
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As the title suggests,
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the book is about death.
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A man learns he's dying
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and the entire novel is about him
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trying to deal with that,
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and face the reality of that,
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and whatever that means...
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to him and the world around him.
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It is perhaps one of the greatest tales
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of redemption and forgiveness
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I've ever read.
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I can't give much away,
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but the last ten pages of this novella...
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you have to read it.
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It leaves you feeling sad,
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and scared, and pensive.
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It's just an all-around great book to read
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due to the writing style,
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the fast-paced nature,
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the context, the substance,
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and also the fact that it's from Tolstoy,
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who is an incredible writer.
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But much of his literature
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is really really long.
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The next book we have
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is a psychological thriller
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and that is, John Fowles' The Collector.
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This... is a genius book.
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It's so unsettling.
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It makes your skin crawl.
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It's basically about
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to, grossly condense,
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this man who is considered to be
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a reject of society.
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He collects butterflies,
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he is obsessed with butterflies,
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he dedicates everything to butterflies
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until he comes across
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a beautiful woman,
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an art student, and he decides
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he's going to collect her
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like one of his butterflies,
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by any means necessary.
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It's been dubbed
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as one of the most disturbing books
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ever written.
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And that's not because
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of the way it was written
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in a graphic sense.
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It's the way that it gets under your skin,
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and the way that... it creeps into your mind
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and you think about it for a long time
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after you finish the book.
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And I think that's the make up
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of an amazing book.
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It's not too long
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but it's not short either
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but it's so captivating
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that you're not going to want to put it down
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regardless of the length of the book.
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I think if you're looking
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into psychological thriller
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or just... books that get under your skin
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this is an amazing recommendation for classics.
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The next novel also pops up
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on a lot of the classics for beginners lists
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and this one's actually warranted.
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George Orwell's 1984.
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You would've heard of this
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you might not have,
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I shouldn't assume.
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How to condense this plot,
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a lot happens.
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Ah, residents of this super state oceana,
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are under this constant government surveillance,
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this omnipresent, dooming,
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government surveillance
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called Big Brother.
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There's war, manipulation,
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and a lot of truth.
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Truth to the year it was written– 1949?
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Truth to the year it was intended to be written about– 1984.
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In truth to the year of now– 2021.
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It's a dystopian novel
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and it's terrifying
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but it's not frightening in the way of it
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being gothic horror, psychological horror,
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or thriller.
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This also discussed a lot amongst literature
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it's referenced a lot,
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discussed a lot,
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studied a lot,
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it's in a lot of set texts,
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it's really helpful
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to just have a grasp on this book.
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When I tell you the next recommendation
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is Shakespeare,
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I don't want you panicking
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thinking I'm recommending you
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Hamlet or Macbeth
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or Antony and Cleopatra.
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I want you to panic because
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I'm recommending you poetry for kids.
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This is Starlight and Moonshine Poetry of the Supernatural
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and it is esentially just a compilation
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of extracts from plays
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that can be gorgeous poetry
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and prose.
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Maybe I'll read you one.
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I'm going to read you Love Song
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from a Midsummer Night's Dream Act 4 Scene 1.
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"Come, sit thee down upon this flowery bed,
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While I thy amiable cheeks do coy,
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And stick muskroses in thy sleek smooth head,
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And kiss thy fair large ears, my gentle joy."
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I just think it's so pretty.
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Reading Shakespeare
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in Shakespearean language,
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in the very particular way his plays
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are constructed, is a lot.
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Especially for a beginner.
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But when you take extracts,
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and put it into nice, neat poetry stanzas,
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that have one main focus,
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it becomes really easy to grasp.
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And it's an amazing gateway
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into Shakespeare
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and Shakespearian type,
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plays, and language.
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Hamlet's soliloquy... chef's kiss!
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"To be, or not to be, that is the question,"
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Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer,
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The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune,
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Or to take arms against a sea of troubles
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And by opposing end them.
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To die—to sleep," no more.
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I did thrift this book
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and I am unsure
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how easy it would be to find
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a duplicate copy.
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But I did take the liberty of looking up
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Shakespeare poetry
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and there is an abundance
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of various forms of Shakespeare poetry
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for "kids."
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It doesn't even need to be "for kids"
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but I just like "for kids,"
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it feels safe and nice.
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I must say, whosever idea it was to
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create plastic slips...
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should not have had that idea.
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If anybody ever recommends me
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a plastic slip book, they will ruin the day.
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The last book, you guessed it,
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you were probably wondering
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where it was.
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Mary Shelley's Frankenstein.
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I sent this as a text for my book club for August
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and it got some mixed reviews.
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A lot of people are dappling into classics
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for the first time,
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and said it was drawn out and lengthy,
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and a lot of people said
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"This was such an amazing introduction to classics!"
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And I think that very much depends
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on your patience
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because it is a mid-length book,
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and there are multiple chapters,
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that it's just him rambling on about his journies
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and his melancholy.
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I talk about this more in-depth
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in my first video, I believe,
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about books that I'd sell my soul
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for to read again.
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So that very much says enough
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about this book!
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But it's such an essential
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imperative read in the world of classics.
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It's such a common misconception that
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Frankenstein is the monster.
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Frankenstein is a scientist!
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It's also such a common misconception
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that Frankenstein kills the monster
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or Frankenstein builds the monster a wife!
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This really clarifies the plot for you
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and most people love it,
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if you hate it,
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you only have to read it once to say you have
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And to recap,
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here are the 10 classic literature books
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that are actually good
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for actual beginners.
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And these are for me,
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I know I say this a lot,
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and dare I say it again,
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God-tier.
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I suppose now it's time to conclude the video.
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Just kind of sad
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because this has been the most social interaction
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I've had in two weeks.
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Follow my social media,
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I'll have all that linked down below.
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I talk about books a lot more frequently on them
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because YouTube is a drag
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in a very lovable way.
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Thank you so much to the unmatched
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love and support.
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It's incredible, it's so gorgeous,
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I love every single one of you.
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I don't want to be one of those people
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that says like and subscribe but-