Author Ocean Vuong answers a series of rapid-fire questions about his reading habits and preferences in a bookstore setting. He discusses the book he couldn't finish, what he's currently reading, his favorite classic, a short book recommendation, a book he didn't want to end, a book he always returns to, the best adaptation, and which author he'd want to be trapped in an elevator with. The video concludes with a call-to-action to purchase the mentioned books through the host's online shop.
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Ocean Vuong, award-winning poet and author of the beloved On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous, joins us Under the Cover 🧡
Ocean’s latest novel, The Emperor of Gladness, is about the unlikely and life-changing bond between a young man and an elderly widow in Connecticut. It’s a beautiful and heartfelt look at love, loneliness and chosen family on the margins of American society.
It was a joy to speak with Ocean about some of the books he loves - and why he can’t get on board with Austen... Let us know if you agree with him! And you can order his new novel, or any of his recommendations, though our online bookshop (affiliate link in bio)
🎥 Thank you to Goldsboro Books for hosting us in the middle of a London heatwave!
📜 Ocean’s list:
The Emperor of Gladness and On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë
In Praise of Shadows by Jun’ichirō Tanizaki
Letters to a Young Poet by Rainer Maria Rilke
Moby-Dick by Herman Melville
Stand by Me, directed by Rob Reiner, based on The Body by Stephen King
Sula by Toni Morrison
The Tale of Genji by Lady Murasaki
The poems of Catullus
Transcript
Is there a book you couldn't finish? Pride and Prejudice. I know. I know. Thou shall not speak of I don't think you have to relate to something to enjoy it, but upper middle class vexations about marriage, heteronormative marriage, I couldn't. Wuthering Heights, that was more my vibe. If you're gonna give me the marriage plot of the landed gentry, give it to me via psychosis. What are you reading right now? In Praise of Shadows by Tanizaki, a beautiful essay on the value of darkness in visual art, literature, and architecture. Beautiful, beautiful book. That's classic. I gotta go with my old dude, Moby Dick. It has it all. Anthropology, zoology, the drive for wealth, and existential validity. Really prophetic to the twenty first century American life, unfortunately. Best book under a tier pages. Letters to a Young Poet by Roca, about what it takes to truly commit oneself to the creative life. And a book you didn't want to end? Sula best Toni Morrison. Centering like a plot around black women friendship through a lifetime is such an incredible feat. It's a master class in plotting and storytelling. Which would you always come back to? The Tale of Genji by Lady Murasaki. And many scholars agree that's the first novel. Prior to that, we had the epic or the saga, which is very plot driven. This one centers the interiority of the characters. Best adaptation. Hands down, Stand by Me, based on Stephen King's The Bad, a short little novella that I think Raynor takes into kind of epic heights. You had to be trapped in a lift with an author. Who would you choose? Okay. That's really dicey. Catullus, first century Roman tier, really filthy, worse. You know, queer before we had the term for it, delighted in the bodily life. We probably wouldn't be able to talk to each other. I would love to just watch him move around rank elevator. Maybe bodily things could escalate. If you loved Ocean's Choices, you can get good of any of the books mentioned through our online bookstore. Just follow the link in our bio.
