Yess! Here for the vlog content and cat content. Cats being in the background of booktubers is the most natural thing in the world.

Long vlogs = more nuttyness And I'm here for it

Excellent vlog Jimmy! Loved the impassioned, artful discussion on A Little Life all while your cat is in the background performing just the most intense cat bath. Perspective at its finest.

Excellent vlog. I'm excited to get Cloud Atlas now. Also, that settles it. if I ever write a book, I'm asking you to write the blurb. "It's the literary equivalent of edging." - Jimmy Nutts, The Fantasy Nuttwork.

Keep doing this, Jimmy. Reading vlogs are dope. And seeing you stand and wave the book around while you rant is cool, gives a different energy to the video that is good, as opposed to always sitting. I just ordered Cloud Atlas.

Cats!!!❤ My mom was a psychiatric nurse and when people said it was over the top, torture porn, she said she has known people who went through just as much or even more but without people loving them. That broke me more than the book itself. No matter what the intent of the author, I do think it's important to know there are people going through this horror. I agree, that cover is awful

Loving the new format and the chaos, Jimmy.

Yay!! Cloud Atlas is an all-time favourite and I hope you watched the movie adaptation coz David Mitchell has a cameo and it's a masterpiece in its own right. They take the eternal recurrence theme to another level by using the same actors in every timeline

Funny that you bring up Erikson alongside A Little Life, I actually directly compared how Erikson wrote trauma to how Yanagihara does in A Little Life when I wrote an essay on Deadhouse Gates (that I believe Erikson read and liked so yay me). As for how people love A Little Life, or why it was nominated for "prestigious" awards and so on, I just watched a movie last night called American Fiction (based on the novel Erasure by Percival Everett) that sort of tackles this exact subject but in regards to how critical acclaim is given to black fiction that often seems reductive of our perception of black people in America. I think you'd enjoy it a lot. Here's an excerpt from my essay if you're interested: "Another aspect of Erikson’s writing that impressed me was the level of respect with which he writes his characters, and in order to emphasise what I mean about respecting the characters, I need to give an example of a narrative that disrespects them. Please be aware of spoilers for Hanya Yanagihara’s 2015 novel A Little Life: In A Little Life, the narrative is focused on the character of Jude, a man who, in his childhood, suffered innumerable traumas that haunt him for the entirety of the novel. Battered constantly by trauma, self-harm, and self-hatred, Jude refuses to tell any of his friends (or later, his adoptive family) of his past. When he thinks of it, he feels intense shame and self-loathing, he could not bear it if any of the people he loves were to know of what has happened to him. So, of course, Yanagihara uses this as an opportunity to give the reader an omniscient view into Jude’s past. Jude does not explicitly ruminate on these things. He does not explicitly think of them. He does not give the reader access to his past, Yanagihara does. She uses these long, detailed chapters of his abuse as carrots on a stick for the impatient reader. Right when we reach a point where Jude’s self-loathing and self-pity might get overbearing for a reader, the reader is rewarded with details of Jude’s abuse, so the impatient reader can then empathise, can feel their own pity, can feel bad for him. Jude’s friends, Jude’s family, on the other hand, do not get this omniscient privilege. They must stick with Jude, through thick and thin, through his unwillingness to share, and they must love him through it. They do not require his past in order to sympathise or empathise with him, and when, towards the end of the book, where Jude overcomes his biggest fears, and tells his loved ones of his past, what does the reader gain? We don’t get anything. We didn’t gain Jude’s trust. We broke it. We were complicit with Yanagihara’s willingness to exploit a character in order to appease the whims of her narrative. But would it not have been more impactful, would it not have felt more earned, if instead of betraying Jude’s biggest fears, he opened his history up to us at the same time he did his closest friends, his family? And it’s in this way that Yanagihara disrespects Jude as a character. Disrespects his agency as a person, his privacy as a person. And it feels wrong. Erikson doesn’t have this issue. Take Felisin, for example, we have already discussed her at length, but let’s focus on the ways in which her character is respected: a great contention I’ve seen regarding Felisin is a terrific example for how Erikson respects her as a character. Felisin’s hurt, her rage, isn’t undermined or sanitised by Erikson. The narrative does not make judgements or excuses for how she behaves, it does not take time to pity her, and it respects her development. I already mentioned it earlier, but this is especially applicable in how “rape” is not mentioned until Felisin herself is ready to acknowledge it for herself. Before this, we see her refer to it, to Baudin, as “lovemaking”. Felisin is presented exactly how she is, how she thinks, and how she acts, and the reader is left to pick up the pieces. Erikson does not interject trying to defend or decry her, he lets Felisin be who she is as a character, and the narrative supports her growth as it happens. It feels natural, and earned, and above all, it feels respectful of this character. Similarly, with Icarium and Mappo’s relationship is left for us to observe within the characters’ actions. When we see Mappo’s fears for what his friend might learn, or become, or what he might do, we never get the full picture, because Mappo himself is too afraid to acknowledge them-even to himself. He has no need to reiterate his fears in detail to himself, and so they unravel naturally throughout the course of the novel. And in the end, when Mappo lies to Icarium, who has forgotten most of the narrative’s events, the story respects that by not casting any form of judgement or exposition on this moment. It just lets it happen. And we are left to decide what to feel for ourselves. This way of respecting the characters also just plainly respects us, as readers. It acknowledges that we don’t need an author to interject, to tell us what to feel, to tell us how to interpret a character, a scene, or a moment."

I feel really grateful that I read A Little Life as it just came out, before all the commentary. I might have had the same experience as you if I'd read it now!

Yay, a vlog! I really enjoyed this. Watching your opinions and thoughts form as you read was so interesting. I personally would love longer ones- I think between an hour and ninety minutes is ideal. Heck, even more! I’ve happily watched Gavin’s 3+ hour ones! As to the book, I personally consider A Little Life one of my faves. I do understand the critiques of it. I even agree with a lot of them. Can’t really explain it- I just know that no book has ever made me feel so much, good and bad. Please consider doing more vlog content, I think they’d quickly become a must watch. (My current faves to watch are BooksandLala, Bookslikewhoa, Gavinreadsitall,and BookswithEmilyFox).

Keep the vlogs coming, Jimmy. You don't need to add much. You talking about books, with the kitties in frame is just perfect. 😊

Love the long videos…I keep them playing in the background while im reading. Keep em coming. Thanks.

Note to self….pick up card and gift for Jimmy because he read A Little Life……hmmmmm, what kind of card?…….Congratulations? Thinking of you? With Sympathy? Ah hell….maybe cute kitten in a basket with a bow…….do they make psychotherapy gift cards? 😋. Thx for sharing! 💚😬

A Little Life is the best book I have ever read. I still think about the characters. It is a tough read though. I need to move Cloud Atlas up on my TBR.

Love the vlog format! It's really nice to see how your thoughts ebb and flow and can change about books in the moments you're reading them. Feels like a nice accompaniment to the more structured or polished format of wrap-ups!

Enjoyed hearing your thoughts on these books and the new format is great! Thanks for sharing Jimmy!

Thanks for the vid Jimmy! I loved that. Watching you always helps me articulate how I think about books better. I loved your vlog style and hope you do more! Have a great Easter!

Love the vlog format! Love your raw thoughts on the books!

I’m loving this format! Great job bro

Enjoyed this dude! Although I did spend the first 8 minutes coveting those Dandelion Dynasty Books😅

This was a great video, I loved the way you showed how the reading experience developed along the way. Well done!

Yay, a vlog! I liked your insights on Cloud Atlas. I read it last year during my vacation on Malta and fell in love as well, although some parts were difficult to get through for someone whose first language isn't English but it is so clever how David Mitchell changes his writing style to fit the time periods. The recording setup around 30:00 is quite cool btw!

Embrace the chaos! Love this vlog Jimmy, keep em coming!

Loved this format!! It was great seeing your thoughts evolve, especially on A Little Life--there's something really compelling about watching the life cycle of a story shift from the pre-read, during, after, and after-processed/researched stages. Especially on a book that controversial and thought provoking! Hope you really enjoyed tour trip!

Love the format. Looking forward to more of these.

Great video, love the format and the cat content! :) Gardens of the Moon is really high on my TBR.

I’m excited for your vlog era! Vlogs are my favorite thing by to watch. Can’t wait to see more! Every time I see the Little Life cover all I think is “is that James Franco”

Vlog style was great Jimmy, hope you keep it up! Loved to hear the hype on Cloud Atlas, reading it soon. Cheers!

yay! been waiting for a nutty vlog! 😄

Love hearing your thoughts in the moment. I say yes to the vlogs

Great vlog!! Loved the kitty portions ❤ What you said as Editing Jimmy about A Little Life is why I don't look that stuff up. I don't care what the author or critics or normies have to say.. I experience a book how I do and I'm ok with that. 😅

Love the new format Jimmy, and embrace the tangents, chaos and toothpaste on t-shirts. And no worries, I also look like crap 😆, relatable! Keep these coming Jimmy 😄

Yay! I LOVE the vlog format. My vote is for more vlogs, but ya know - whatever works best for you works for us. 🙂

Great to see you putting out more videos! Keep the vlogs coming!

Another banger as always Jimmy. Always appreciate hearing your measured and thorough insight on these books. David Mitchell is definitely going on the TBR.

I'm liking this format for you, the off-the-cuffness and low maintenance is fun. Glad you liked at least a good portion of Sailing to Sarantium, there was one sequence in particular that was maybe the most beautifully-written scene I've ever read, involving a bison god if I recall correctly. I need to read Cloud Atlas one of these days.

loved seeing your "raw" opinions on books, and yes, Sailing to Sarantium is awesome, Lord of Emperors just continues with the awesomeness! I did not know this about the author of aLittleLife, and wow, that's not a nice way of looking at therapy... sad to hear such a thing in this day and age... looking forward to more of these from you in the future embrace the chaos!

Really enjoyed this video, nothing wrong with more 'unscripted' content. Also, it's great to see people sharing that they read widely and not just withing a genre or niche.

Really enjoyed the vlog format!! And obviously loved the cat content

Well done vlog Jimmy! If this is an easier format for you than I’m all for it - to me I get pretty much the same from this as your other videos. Thanks!

Absolutely loved this video. Really into the spontaneous thoughts about books just because how real that is. Like, I've had similar experiences to that moment you had while researching that author's interviews and we don't really see that in the usual reviews. Looking forward to whatever content is coming down the pipeline :D

I discovered your channel through this video. Both "A Little Life" and "Cloud Atlas" are some of my favorite books. Happy Reading! 😎📚👍

Love the vlog content! I'm starting Gradens of the Moon reread after (I hope) snag Broken Bindings edition this summer. I've read it four times, it's my favorite Malazan book, because I like it's leaner style. Never had issues following it. When you start going deep into the rest of the six Dune books, it becomes very apparent how much the series influenced Bakker's The Second Apocalypse. Man! You are really getting me wanting to read David Mitchell. Thanks for the upload! Hope you have a great April

Enjoyed this exceedingly, hoping to see more reading vlogs in the near future

I had the same struggle starting with Cloud Atlas, I tried it once and DNF'd after 10 pages of the first character 😂 came back to it later and was so glad I read the entire thing. Beautiful book, glad you loved it! Now you've got me jonesing for some GGK, been putting off StS for far too long.

“Absolute slammer!!!” 😂 Cloud Atlas doesn’t seem my type of book but your excitement alone makes me wanna pick it up. It sounds wild I love these vlogs. Would love to see more

You have great thoughts about A Little Life. I read it years ago and have the same idea that stars mean nothing as a rating here because it’s a book full of excellent and terrible aspects of human existence and the making of art. It was a memorable experience that still generates a lot of wonderful conversations for me in random interactions. BTW you should google that picture used for the cover art. There’s a whole conversation about this image. What you see and interpret and the actual event that it’s depicting. Thanks for an interesting vlog!

This was great! I too keep opening up Gardens of the Moon and think "Wtf am I doing? I have a huge TBR". GGK is a must read for me this year. David Mitchell is a "hopefully this year". I... will never read A Little Life. Bruh, did you steal my plaid shirt? 😂 I did a double take when I looked over at the video. (Cat chilling in the background enhances the vlog significantly 😎)

A great idea, looking forward to the future ones!

The first and only reading vlog that discusses edging. LOL! This was a fun vlog!

I read Cloud Atlas awhile ago but after hearing your thoughts I think I need to reread it. I don't think I really got it when I read it the first time. Your thoughts on A Little Life have solidified that it is not for me lol The vlog format is fun, this was great!

So excited for Nutts vlog girly era You are so eloquent and thoughtful in your book reviews, always appreciate hearing your thoughts. 👌

Glad Sailing to Sarantium worked for you. I read it a few years ago while travelling for a funeral and found it a comforting read.

OMG I WAS AT DISNEY/UNIVERSAL TOO MARCH 2-8 😂. I was reading Jurassic Park while standing in line for rides! Cloud Atlas is on my shelf and I’m definitely picking it up now. Long vlogs are great, so don’t worry about the length. Listening to initial thoughts is fun! Great vlog!

I read and loved Cloud Atlas a long time ago, and I've since forgotten why :) Your description of the book here helped remind me - thank you! Now I've got to figure out how to fit a re-read into my reading schedule 😆

"Toothpaste"?😂 No but, I'm really happy to hear how much you got out of Cloud Atlas. I'm gonna reread it someday soon. It floored me the first time.

Look at you kicking the vlog era off strong!! I mean, I will love any and all videos you make, but I am digging this more laid-back and slightly chaotic vibe. Very interesting to hear your developing thoughts on A Little Life this way. I was morbidly fascinated by that book when I read it, but I also never want to read it again. Didn't know about the author's comments in the interviews, that is... IntEresTinG, thanks for sharing. Anyway, YAY for cat clips and theme park fun! Also, I am completely sold on Cloud Atlas, you are so good at coherently gushing about a book!! And how lovely that you got to meet up with Taylor, the queen of the life vlogs if you ask me. Keep this content coming, I love it! 🤩

Hi Jimmy. I love the cats and the 'casual hair' glimpses. Longer talking about the books is good. Sorry to hear A Little Life was such a downer challenge subject wise and author intentions. Real life events have fractured my reading into little pieces so far this year. Haven't finished any books, but have read parts of several and liked all of them, including Don Quixote, To Marry an English Lord (non-fiction about American heiresses in the 19th century seeking titled husbands in England), Prime Evil (horror anthology) and Omens of Millenium by Harold Bloom. Have a wonderful week. Nice to see you again.

I am glad you said Cloud Atlas gets better because I tried it before and never get past the 1st chapter. I still own it because it has a pretty cover and I enjoyed the movie so now I will probably pick it up again this year :D

25:51 yessss cat content! 🐈🐈‍⬛ Love the vlog style. I also really appreciate your thoughts on A Little Life. I have it on my TBR for 2024.

I love the restaurant in the future having those double golden arches. Sounds a lot like a certain big fast food place today 😌

I like the around the house views, take us on a tour!

I put down Cloud Atlas a few page in for the exact same reason. But I'm glad to hear it gets a lot better! That might get me to pick it back up lol.

This was a fun video! I’d love to see more vlogs. You make me want to check out David Mitchell especially!

late to the party on this one (reading slump apparently means no reading videos either) but Im loving this! Id love to see more vlogs

I loved cloud atlas when I read it 6 years ago. But I’ve read so much since that I need to reread it to see how I like it now.

Enjoyed the vlog very much!

I'll admit. When BookToubers do volgs I skip to the conclusion parts. Glad to have you back. Thank you for convincing me to finaly pre-order de 20th aniversary edition of "Cloud Atlas". It was waiting in my Waterstones basket for a while.

What a great way to start the day!

We need more Jimmy vlogs 😭😭

I’m here for it, let’s GOOO🎉

Loovvvveeee this!❤

Loved your first vlog! Needs more clips of your cats though 😁 For the next one can I suggest adding timestamps like Merphy Napier does in her vlogs?

My interest in reading A Little Life before this: 0 My interest after: in the negatives 😂

Just started the video and I already know Ill like his content.

Love the video! I share the same love for GGK! Sailing to Sarantium and lord of emperors are a single story split in two books, I wouldn't consider lord of emperors a "sequel", it's the second half of the story really

This was awesome, Jimmy

I read McCarthy's The Road during a summer holiday. The contrast with my environment was a bit jarring.

I've never read Cloud Atlas, but the film adaptation is one of my favourite movies ever. It's so grand, masterfully edited, and such an emotional experience. One can fault the Wachowskis for many things throughout their career, but not their lack of ambition. There's a 5-minute extended trailer on youtube, which IMO is the best film trailer ever made.

Ah yes, the good ole Infinite Jest on the bookshelf look. I have it on the top of mine

Great vlog, Jimmy! Ticks all the boxes. Plus extra points for the cat content! Couldn't agree more with you about rereading Malazan. Very glad I'm not the only one who thinks that the whole "you only get it on a reread" thing is nonsense. Now that you are entering your girly vlog phase, would you be interested to be part of a discussion on toxic masculinity and fantasy? Probably taking place in June.

If you want to read a story that pulls off the things you struggled with in A Little Life, you might try Goodnight Punpun at some point. Depression, anxiety, Gen Y struggles. Sounds like a downer and it is. But it's also one of the best manga I've ever read along with Berserk, One Piece, Vagabond, etc.

The Shutter Island tease in the background has me very interested! I think you will really enjoy it.

My goodness yimmynuts went full giga Chad! 🙏🙏❤️❤️

I´m about halfway through Butcher´s Crossing by John Williams and it´s probably the best western I´ve read since Blood Meridian

Another insane W

infinite jest in the back... i really wanna see you experience that novel

I need you to read the iron dragons daughter by Michael Swanwick it’s one of the most batshit books I’ve ever read that still manages to be excellent

Also....i forgot to mention... I'll be here for the Dune content. I atarted a slow reread of it after i saw Dune 2 and i plan to keep going at least thru the 4 books.

Hi Jimmy following the fact that you have started GotM again, when Walk in shadow is out - whenever that is - will you do a readthrough of the kharkanas series? Nostalgic over the malazan streams with Alan and co

Have you reviewed Crime and Punishment, or Dostoevsky in general? Would love to hear your thoughts on his books.

Good news: lord of emperors is fantastic

I want your Dandelion Dynasty books

Basic Jimmy has entered the chat

Cool video! Next time when you’re not tired from travel, can there be book marks/chapters for the different books? It might help people find more meaning. Thank you! Be well.

26:00 What happened to that poor cat's ear? 😧

I like the vlog laid back style for sure. Your thoughts on A Little Life made me want to try it until you got to the stuff about the author - being dismissive of therapy as a profession is a no-go for me. Still may give it a try, but... And yeah expectations with StS definitely matters, it is very much a part one. That chariot chapter is amazing but the funny thing is I met GGK this summer and told him that I loved the chariot scene in LoE and he said, "thats great to hear, because I set up how important the chariots were in StS, so I knew the scene in LoE had to be better, and I thought the first chariot scene was pretty good! So I shot myself in the foot before I even started." Hope you love Lord of Emperors!

I'm a minute into this vlog and there is no coffee being brewed, iced coffee being bought, pets, or barnes and noble trip. 0/10