Red At The Bone Jacqueline Woodson [Short Book Review] [Spoiler-Free] [CC]Mike Gs Eclectic Reads2021-03-25 | Red At the Bone isn’t an easy read in spite of its short length, but you might get a lot out of it.
0:00 Intro 0:40 Joan Didion 3:42 What is this book? 5:20 A tabloid novel 7:54 Thwarted motherhood 10:13 Riffing off Roxane Gay’s reading 12:26 Victim of her own decisions? 13:19 Silver mine with a rattlesnake 15:52 One other thing
For book giveaway, email mikegseclecticreads@gmail.com. I'll allow a few weeks (or until the first response if longer) and then put a note here once it's been claimed.The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich – William Shirer [Book Discussion and Deep Dive]Mike Gs Eclectic Reads2024-09-16 | William Shirer's account of Nazi Germany told just 15 years after the end of the war, though in some moments dated and/or highly biased, still certainly deserves its reputation as a classic.
0:00 Intro 0:48 About the author 3:10 Yes this book is huge but 7:06 The Rise of Adolf Hitler 10:19 Triumph and Consolidation 16:40 The Road to War 22:12 (A digression on Realpolitik) 28:57 Early Victories and the Turning Point 31:24 The Beginning of the End 41:01 The Fall of the Third Reich 42:44 Final thoughts
Also mentioned in this video: * The Tragedy of Great Power Politics – John Mearsheimer * The Diary of a Young Girl – Anne Frank * Night – Elie Wiesel * Germany: A Nation in Its Time: Before, During, and After Nationalism, 1500-2000 – Helmut Walser-SmithFriday Reads 3Mike Gs Eclectic Reads2024-08-17 | This time, actually on Friday.
0:00 Intro 1:23 Curtain -- Agatha Christie 2:25 Poirot and Me -- David Suchet 5:54 The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes -- Arthur Conan Doyle 10:04 War and Peace -- Leo Tolstoy 15:10 The Sun Also Rises -- Ernest Hemingway 22:14 Jane Eyre -- Charlotte Brontë 26:31 Beautiful World, Where Are You -- Sally Rooney 35:02 Prophet Song -- Paul Lynch 49:13 Play It As It Lays -- Joan Didion 50:08 German history books 50:55 The EndIn Cold Blood Truman Capote [Book Discussion]Mike Gs Eclectic Reads2024-07-20 | This forerunner of the true crime genre surprised me in the end with the effort the author puts into getting to know his protagonists -- two cold-blooded killers.A Thousand Acres Jane Smiley [Book Discussion] [Spoilers Second Half]Mike Gs Eclectic Reads2024-06-28 | Jane Smiley's American retelling of Shakespeare's "King Lear" brings fresh new perspective to an old classic.
0:00 Intro 1:37 The art of retelling SPOILERS BEGIN 7:23 Three ways of dealing with conflict 16:45 The prodigal son 20:40 Some character nitpicks? 25:07 A few forced parallels 30:00 Alternate endingA Man Lay Dead Ngaio Marsh [Book Discussion] [Spoilers Second Half]Mike Gs Eclectic Reads2024-05-26 | In Marsh's first of 32 detective novels, a murder game at a party provides cover for an actual murderer.
0:00 Intro 0:19 Queen of crime (fiction) 1:49 A murder “game” 2:49 Not quite there yet SPOILERS BEGIN 7:59 The perfect crime 10:46 Missed opportunityFriday Reads 2Mike Gs Eclectic Reads2024-05-19 | Another loosely structured, barely edited reflection on what I've been reading lately.
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Mentioned in the video, Davood's reading group: youtube.com/@DavoodGozliThe Big Four Agatha Christie [Book Review]Mike Gs Eclectic Reads2024-04-15 | At long last, I return to the one Poirot novel I couldn't finish my first time through, for a second chance.
0:00 The Big Four 6:03 What’s next after Curtain?Elephants Can Remember Agatha Christie [Book Review] [Spoilers Second Half]Mike Gs Eclectic Reads2024-04-14 | This mystery is so uninteresting that not even Hercule Poirot himself can be bothered to care about it.
0:00 Intro 1:31 Elephants can remember 4:25 Super convoluted 5:05 They remember 6:19 Because they are elephants 7:25 Ariadne Oliver SPOILERS begin 8:03 Maybe solvable, with heroic patience 10:16 Psycho killer? 10:57 Poirot is bored 12:28 Elephants can remember 12:59 Elephants 13:27 can 13:45 rememberHalloween Party Agatha Christie [Book Review] [Spoilers Second Half]Mike Gs Eclectic Reads2024-04-13 | One of the darker installments in the Poirot series ... is it a trick or a treat?
0:00 Hallowe’en! 1:28 A surprisingly dark novel 2:39 Nonlinear storytelling 4:45 Irksome aspects 6:53 Better upon reflection? SPOILERS BEGIN 8:23 Some decent clues and some great ones 13:08 Detective Psychologist Poirot 14:45 OutroThird Girl Agatha Christie [Book Review] [Spoilers Second Half]Mike Gs Eclectic Reads2024-04-12 | A psychedelic romp around London (and the countryside) with Poirot, Ms. Oliver, and a mysterious girl who confesses to Poirot that she "may have committed a murder."
0:00 Intro SPOILERS BEGIN 5:08 A fair puzzle mysteryFriday ReadsMike Gs Eclectic Reads2024-03-31 | Trying something new.
0:00 Intro 8:55 Recent readingThe Employees Olga Ravn [Book Discussion]Mike Gs Eclectic Reads2024-03-09 | A series of short exit interviews with a spaceship's crew touch upon psychological and philosophical questions about what it is to be human.
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Review from Willow Talks Books (this is how I first learned about the book): youtu.be/O3WcsAlIWuk?si=Hn3UwN97vpStEu_cThe Clocks Agatha Christie [Book Discussion] [Spoilers Second Half]Mike Gs Eclectic Reads2024-03-03 | What seems like a promising start to the novel turns out to be what Poirot calls one of the most unimaginative crimes he's ever seen.
0:00 Intro 2:45 A well-paced novel, maybe 5:34 Subpar mystery plot SPOILERS BEGIN 7:13 Who are the suspects? 9:01 On coincidence 11:47 Red herrings not that fishy 14:42 The clockSense and Sensibility Jane Austen [Book Discussion]Mike Gs Eclectic Reads2024-02-19 | Austen's first novel explores how our cherished values and beliefs often limit us when we esteem them too greatly.
0:00 Intro 2:16 Character development and probing 6:46 A more melancholic Austen novel 10:30 A classic romance? 17:37 Sense or sensibility? 19:57 OutroCat Among the Pigeons Agatha Christie [Book Discussion] [Spoilers Second Half]Mike Gs Eclectic Reads2024-01-11 | An international mystery comes to a girls' boarding school in this odd one out among the Poirot series.
0:00 Intro 0:47 Not your typical Poirot mystery SPOILERS, ALREADY 4:15 Tennis rackets galore 6:05 Dubious tropes, done well 7:24 Possibly solvable 9:17 Wrapping upMikes Best Reads of 2023Mike Gs Eclectic Reads2024-01-04 | The title says it all.
0:00 Intro 2:08 The Old Man and the Sea 3:08 The Twist of a Knife 4:59 My Year of Rest and Relaxation 6:01 Sense and Sensibility 6:58 The Thirteen Problems 8:00 Slouching Towards Bethlehem 9:11 The Fall 10:09 Americanah 11:01 God Human Animal Machine 11:51 Born a Crime
0:00 Intro 1:16 More than just a parable 2:46 A reflection on aging 4:32 Human vs nature 6:45 A modern touch 8:17 Final thoughtsAmericanah Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie [Book Discussion] [Spoilers at the End]Mike Gs Eclectic Reads2023-12-10 | A young Nigerian woman attends a university in the U.S. and over time finds she is neither fully American nor fully Nigerian anymore.
I've had this video just lying in the vault for almost a year at this point ... after I started working on it, I just wasn't that happy with the overall quality. But I finally decided it had a lot of good stuff in it and finished it up, and I'm glad I did. (Sorry about the audio distortions!)
0:00 Intro 1:20 A Nigerian novel 3:13 A dense, rich novel (sometimes) 6:31 When things get overly academic 9:07 A “message” book? 13:10 Personal depth but with plenty of humor 16:40 An immigrant's experience in America (mild) SPOILERS BEGIN 18:40 The ending
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Other reviews I enjoyed and/or referenced in the video:
Debbie's Goodreads review (referenced in the video): (Although I offered a rebuttal to part of this review in the video, I think it's a fair review that's just more critical of the book than I was.) goodreads.com/review/show/948063693A Month in the Country J. L. Carr [Book Discussion]Mike Gs Eclectic Reads2023-11-05 | A recently returned WWI veteran tries to get his life back in order by spending the summer working in a rural English village.
0:00 Intro 1:40 A quiet novel 2:34 Nostalgia 5:16 A story of healing? 6:51 Outro
0:00 Intro 1:47 A need for speed 3:55 Attention deficit 6:47 The dancer and the elect 7:49 Critical reception and public discussion of the work 11:23 Alternate readings
0:00 Intro 0:20 A good old country estate mystery 1:10 Decent characters 2:25 Who's up for a murder hunt?! 3:08 A fun albeit wacky mystery plot SPOILERS BEGIN 6:24 Just barely solvable? 8:35 Questions galore 10:16 The ending 11:14 Wrapping upA New World Begins Jeremy Popkin [Book Review] #Historathon2023Mike Gs Eclectic Reads2023-07-26 | Jeremy Popkin's overview of the French Revolution is a coherent, albeit somewhat dry, introduction for those new to the topic.
0:00 Historathon 2023 plug 0:50 Intro 2:40 The time frame 3:44 Sober and chronological, perhaps to a fault 7:39 A successful introduction to the French Revolution 9:10 Napoleon Bonaparte and Toussaint Louverture 10:19 Best and worst of the overall presentation Recurring themes in history: 11:35 Reformists and revolutionaries 14:06 Can liberties be violated to introduce liberalism? 15:58 The driving force of the common people 17:30 Final reflections
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HISTORATHON INFO:
I learned about #historathon2023 from @NicholasOfAutrecourt; watch his announcement video here: youtu.be/eU1F2EQ5txM.
And for more details, check out the original announcement by the creator @revenantreads: youtu.be/MkzJ1BKpmG4
Search for #historathon2023 for lots more history videos by other creators and! Q3 covers 1500-1820, but read whatever history you like ;)
0:00 Intro 1:10 Hostel setting 2:34 Characters 6:58 Deductions even too good for Poirot SPOILERS BEGIN 8:18 Lots of mystery, lazy clues 11:43 Boring back stories 13:05 Outro
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LINKS
bookslikewhoa (Mara)'s review: youtu.be/MRUfBAM8IP8 Considers the novel and its characters within their historical context.
G. K. Chesterton's short story, "The Honour of Israel Gow": gutenberg.org/cache/epub/204/pg204-images.html#chap06 Free (!) public domain text of G. K. Chesterton's mystery from his first collection "The Innocence of Father Brown", in which the crux of the mystery is a similar question of what several seemingly disconnected items have in common.God Human Animal Machine Meghan OGieblyn [Book Review]Mike Gs Eclectic Reads2023-05-14 | Journalist Meghan O' Gieblyn takes on religion, philosophy of mind, and AI in a memoir-ish journey that resonates as strongly as ever in 2023.
0:00 Intro 2:32 The inevitability of antrophocentrism 4:30 Disenchantment and reenchantment 6:12 Seeking a basis for human knowledge and meaning 8:02 A philosophical memoir for a popular audience 11:10 Philosophical theories of mind and metaphysics 13:56 Who should read this? 16:50 OutroThe Black Tulip Alexandre Dumas [Short Book Review] [Spoilers]Mike Gs Eclectic Reads2023-05-08 | A novel as melodramatic as Dumas's best, but with much duller characters.
I filmed this one before fixing my audio gain issues (it's pretty bad), but wanted to release it anyway. Sorry about that!Beautiful Country Qian Julie Wang [Book Review]Mike Gs Eclectic Reads2023-03-19 | Qian Julie Wang recalls her experience as a young girl relocating to a "beautiful country" and adjusting to this new life.
(Note: I tried to improve my audio quality but I seem to have achieved the opposite. Thanks for bearing with me for the next few videos as I work to get things right.)
0:00 Intro 1:00 A child’s story 5:27 Growing up Chinese in the U.S. 7:47 Growing up poor in the U.S. 9:10 Growing up undocumented in the U.S. 10:16 Still a joyful story 10:41 A strong ending
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The Bookish Land (Meonicorn): youtu.be/ktaKO2KvsKg The review that first alerted me to this book's existence.The Devotion Of Suspect X Keigo Higashino [Book Review] [Spoilers Second Half]Mike Gs Eclectic Reads2023-03-13 | You know the hokey math analogies will be coming on strong in this mystery when there's already a variable in the title.
0:00 Intro 1:37 Unconventional framing 4:53 SPOILER ALERT 5:35 An inconsistent character 10:30 A math “genius” 13:59 Other characters 14:44 The solution 16:10 Outro
Reddit comment on the portrayal of mathematicians (contains spoilers): reddit.com/r/books/comments/pl5zv0/i_like_math_but_i_did_not_like_how_ishigami_isKnives Out [Film Review]Mike Gs Eclectic Reads2023-03-02 | In a special FILM review, I review a mystery that really blew me away through its clever breaking of conventional detective fiction rules in a way that still felt true to the spirit of the genre that inspired it.Klara and the Sun Kazuo Ishiguro [Book Review] [Spoilers After First Few Mins]Mike Gs Eclectic Reads2023-02-10 | Klara would have had some rough evenings after Daylight Savings ended. Just like I did when filming this video.
Note: I changed the way I was pronouncing “Ishiguro” when recording this video because I thought I was doing it wrong before, only to then learn that I was probably closer in the first place … oops!
0:00 Intro 0:43 Recurring Ishiguro themes 2:56 Emotional weight SPOILERS BEGIN 4:37 The Sun and religion 8:45 Continuation of a human life 13:52 The transformation 16:50 Wrapping up
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LINKS:
Other recommended YouTube reviews:
Eddiecational: youtu.be/Lo7e7T-bm3Q A solid review, placing this story within the context of Ishiguro's other novels. Some spoilers.
Kaela’s Archive: youtu.be/56BW9PD07qQ An extended and insightful reflection on the themes of the book, and an excellent possible interpretation of the ending. Spoilers (obviously).
Books and Bao: youtu.be/rvOJIGJvGOw An engaging and passionately positive review, as I always expect from this channel. Spoiler-free.
Freshly Read Books: youtu.be/05aNeOgVEX4 A more lukewarm, but ultimately still positive, review of the book. Spoilers.
Short interview with Kazuo Ishiguro on the narrative perspective, themes, and framing: youtu.be/6GJ7mrqo9nQ Spoiler-free.After The Funeral Agatha Christie [Book Review] [Spoilers Second Half]Mike Gs Eclectic Reads2023-01-31 | A murder investigation starting from a funeral seems like a simple premise, but turns out more interesting than I originally expected.
0:00 Intro 2:07 Dull characters 4:09 SPOILERS BEGIN 4:11 A deceptively simple premise 6:45 The search for a motive 8:07 The classic mid-novel poisoning attempt! 10:10 Still dull characters 11:19 OutroHeaven Mieko Kawakami [Book Review] [Some Spoilers Throughout]Mike Gs Eclectic Reads2023-01-19 | A story of two bullied teenagers that goes much deeper than I expected. [Translated by Sam Bett and David Boyd.]
(Sorry about some distortion on the audio – I’ve been experimenting with recording settings but haven’t gotten the gain exactly right.)
0:00 Intro 1:15 Getting started 5:34 Two children 8:02 Unrealistic characters 13:34 Themes and philosophy 21:03 As a whole 23:14 Outro
0:00 Intro --- 1:19 Burning Down the House 2:29 Wild Swans 3:39 The Biggest Bluff 4:53 The Lincoln Highway 6:09 King Lear 7:35 Stories of Your Life and Others 8:09 Amusing Ourselves to Death 9:01 Klara and the Sun 10:09 Vanity Fair 11:09 The Body in the Library 11:35 Heaven 13:38 Flowers for Algernon 14:37 Slowness 15:27 Beautiful Country 17:12 Thank You, Mr. Nixon --- 18:33 Looking aheadThe Moving Finger Agatha Christie [Book Review] [Spoilers Second Half]Mike Gs Eclectic Reads2022-12-19 | This isn't exactly the best review I've done, but that's OK because this isn't one of the best crimes Miss Marple has solved either.
0:00 Intro 1:07 Interesting characters (but just some of them) 6:52 SPOILERS BEGIN 7:06 Is the letter writer the murderer? 11:16 Exceptionally incompetent detectives 14:39 Other suspects 18:09 Not my favorite mystery plot
This review does contain spoilers in that I'll talk about what happens throughout the entire book, but it isn't a particularly "spoilable" book because the main interest lies in Selin's commentaries themselves, more than in any driving plot.
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0:00 Intro 1:59 Was this book really necessary? 7:10 Same great style, but not quite as fresh 10:11 What’s new in sophomore year? 14:29 Where does this all end up?Vanity Fair William Makepeace Thackeray [Book Review] [Spoilers]Mike Gs Eclectic Reads2022-11-11 | This incisive 1848 caricature of society still offers modern readers plenty of food for thought.
0:00 Intro 2:06 The ever-present narrator 6:37 A tale of two women 9:45 Products of circumstance and society 12:10 A rigged game 13:09 Delightfully flawed characters 22:09 Outro
Davood Gozli on “deathbed scenes” in Don Quixote and in general -- youtu.be/eoI6AwnYtTo?t=602The Body in the Library Agatha Christie [Book Review] [Spoilers Second Half]Mike Gs Eclectic Reads2022-11-04 | Miss Marple is back on the scene when a body turns up in an unexpected location. No spoilers, but you can probably guess where that is.
0:00 Intro 3:10 The unidentified body trope 4:52 Excellent setting and pacing [SPOILERS BEGIN] 7:35 Whose body? 11:16 Why is the body in the library? 13:06 The right questions?Amusing Ourselves To Death Neil Postman [Book Review]Mike Gs Eclectic Reads2022-10-29 | In a prescient essay from 1985, Postman warns future generations of the dangers of TV, computers, and Sesame Street.
* I erroneously state in the video that Indiana was the 18th state admitted to the Union -- a fact check while editing revealed that it was actually the 19th state, which can also be verified by counting the stars on the state flag. This would be an example of a statement that is both misinformation AND disinformation :)
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0:00 Intro 2:42 The age of show business 5:07 Information and disinformation 9:07 The danger of education as entertainment 12:19 Was Postman right? 14:09 Would Postman have hated this video?Ageism Unmasked Tracey Gendron [Book Review]Mike Gs Eclectic Reads2022-09-14 | This book raises important discussions about age discrimination, but some of it could have used deeper critical reflection.
0:00 Intro 1:38 More ideological than analytical? 3:44 Cultural fear of aging 5:42 View of aging as weakness 6:55 Downplaying the value of aging 8:52 Reaction: Another -ism 10:28 Reaction: Aging actually does make our bodies more vulnerable 11:46 Reaction: The concept of generations 13:22 My bottom line
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Politics and Prose discussion with author Tracey Gendron: youtu.be/GyhUFWBVYUcHarlem Shuffle Colson Whitehead [Book Review] [Minimal Spoilers]Mike Gs Eclectic Reads2022-08-29 | This tale of a Harlem crook, I mean, furniture salesman, is classic Whitehead for better and for worse.
0:00 Intro 1:20 Harlem noir 3:41 Excellence in detail 5:08 Immersion in… racism 6:26 Weakness in character depth 13:15 Limited lasting impact
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My Goodreads account: goodreads.com/user/show/5996769-mikeThe Regatta Mystery and Other Stories Agatha Christie [Short Book Review] [Spoiler-Free]Mike Gs Eclectic Reads2022-08-20 | Don't be fooled for a minute by the boat on the cover! I'd really only recommend this short story collection once you're through most of Christie's other works.
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My Goodreads account: goodreads.com/user/show/5996769-mikeThe Anomaly Hervé Le Tellier [Extended Book Review] [Spoilers Second Half]Mike Gs Eclectic Reads2022-08-07 | The Anomaly is enjoyable enough in the stories of its major characters, but it's lousy as science fiction.
0:00 Intro 1:07 Framing the novel 2:08 The exposition … and a digression on philosophy 8:34 The “explanation” … and a digression on effective science fiction 17:20 SPOILERS BEGIN 18:38 The confrontation (no digression here) 25:02 Final thoughts
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An entertaining description of the simulation argument, shared by a viewer (Lucas Garcia): youtu.be/tlTKTTt47WE
My Goodreads account: goodreads.com/user/show/5996769-mikeProject Hail Mary Andy Weir [Book Review] [Basically Spoiler-Free]Mike Gs Eclectic Reads2022-07-28 | A last-ditch effort to save humanity is really just par for the course in sci-fi, but Andy Weir makes it fun, even while teaching us some physics in the process.
My Goodreads account: goodreads.com/user/show/5996769-mikeTwilight Of Democracy Anne Applebaum [Political Book Review]Mike Gs Eclectic Reads2022-07-19 | Historian Anne Applebaum lays out several factors she sees as contributing to a rise in popularity of authoritarian movements in the West, but this short book feels more like a collection of opinion pieces than a fully coherent thesis.
0:00 Intro 1:46 Authoritarians in bloom 3:45 Restorative nostalgia 6:08 Authoritarian personalities 10:06 Treason of the intellectuals 12:02 Final thoughts
My Goodreads account: goodreads.com/user/show/5996769-mikeThe Hunting Party Lucy Foley [Full Book Review] [Spoilers Second Half]Mike Gs Eclectic Reads2022-07-12 | Someone turns up dead during a winter weekend getaway of former friends poorly pretending not to hate each other.
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0:00 Intro 0:26 “Evocative of Agatha Christie?” 3:52 The characters SPOILERS BEGIN 7:06 My meta-deductions 10:22 My real deductions 11:42 My take on the mystery plot
Paul Cantor's lecture series on King Lear (the King Lear part of this video starts at the hour mark and continues through an additional 3 videos): youtu.be/Ynd10_g2IDA
Javier Rivera's video talking about whether conditional love means anything: youtu.be/7xAek1pHYZA
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My Goodreads account: goodreads.com/user/show/5996769-mikeMrs. McGintys Dead Agatha Christie [Book Review] [Spoilers Second Half]Mike Gs Eclectic Reads2022-06-13 | Hercule Poirot and Ariadne Oliver tag-team a mystery where you'll find it hard to keep straight who did what and which character is which.
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0:00 Intro 0:54 The good (the characters) 2:42 The bad (the mystery) 7:17 The ugly (SPOILERS)
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My Goodreads account: goodreads.com/user/show/5996769-mikeThe Lincoln Highway Amor Towles [Book Review] [Spoilers at the End]Mike Gs Eclectic Reads2022-06-01 | Amor Towles takes us along for the ride on a mid-20th century adventure to California. Minus the California part, but you won't mind.
0:00 Intro 1:40 The literary inspirations 3:18 The themes 8:04 The characters 14:45 The four musketeers 22:59 The exit (spoilers!)
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Other YouTube discussions I found interesting:
Marvellous Monday Book Club: youtube.com/watch?v=e24ZlvWNCME (they mentioned the Steinbeck parallels and Towles's way of not always giving the readers what we want if it's not necessary)
My Goodreads account: goodreads.com/user/show/5996769-mikeThank You, Mr. Nixon Gish Jen [Book Review]Mike Gs Eclectic Reads2022-05-05 | Experience the intersection of China and America through the past 50 years in this wonderfully witty fictional short story collection.
0:00 Intro 0:16 A post-WWII British mystery 2:39 A scattered mystery 3:56 SPOILERS BEGIN 4:00 Concealed identities 5:18 Assessing characters’ guilt 7:03 Is Poirot’s verdict indisputable? 9:02 The fall of a would-be-hero 10:52 Conclusion