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hi everyone it's Jenny today's video is
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a very selfish video where I just want
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to talk about two topics that I love so
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the first is obviously with this channel
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books and the second one is Studio jibli
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or Studio gibli movies I want to tie the
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two get together and give you some
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recommendations to fill that studio
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jibli void in your hearts because there
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are obviously limited movies and there's
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only so much rewatching we can
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reasonably do please don't bark so I
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think we'll start off with recapping
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what exactly it means to be a studio
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gibli or Studio gibl Vibe based on the
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recommendations I'm looking for on that
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note I'll also preface by saying I know
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a lot of people say studio gibli um I
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grew up for some reason staying saying
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jibli so if that bothers you I will be
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doing that through the whole video and I
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hope you understand all right so moving
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into the themes the obvious thing about
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Studio ji is all of the movies are
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beautiful animations so a lot of these
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books that I'm recommending
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I actually picture it sometimes in that
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style of like pastel and and wonderful
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beautiful illustrations that have a
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certain flow to them however that's
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obviously not the main reason we're
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choosing it because that's really just
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the core of like what the movies look
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like themselves if we get into the
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themes that's where you'll see a lot of
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these recommendations fitting in so the
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very big obvious point is that they are
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all kind of fantasy related stories very
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frequently built into contemporary
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stories about you know Modern Life and
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sometimes like historical as well on top
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of that I find all the movies have like
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very yes very simple and often very
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wholesome stories but they actually have
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underlying very complex themes and
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sometimes darker themes as well so
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you'll see some of the books touching on
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that balance between them there's also
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the constant exploration of General
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humanism and also nature and how the two
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actually come together very frequently
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in the studio jibli and Miyazaki movies
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so that's something that I took into
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account for sure while recommending this
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list of books and finally what I tried
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to do as well is incorporate the fact
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that I think genuinely for the content
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that comes out of Japan Production
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Studios Studio JBL is very very good at
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exploring complex female protagonists
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very frequently so in many of the books
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I recommend I'll be looking for that
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theme as well with that recap aside I
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want to go straight into the six books I
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would recommend for all Studio jibli
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fans to read and to check out I'll also
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give you exactly which movies they
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remind me of so if you're a fan of
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certain movies specifically you'll know
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um maybe leaning towards some of the
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recommendations over others all right
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let's get started the first book I want
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to talk about is the reason that this
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list even exists many many years ago
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okay not many years ago probably two or
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three years ago I was reading this book
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and I thought this is so heavily Studio
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jibli that I must start right now on
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thinking of a list a reading list for
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Studio JBL fans and that is the
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mysterious Society of Lady Scoundrels I
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would recommend this movie to fans of
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Howl's Moving Castle and Castle in the
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Sky so both the castle related movies
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I'll first get into what the book is
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about so this book is actually part of a
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larger series of fantasy romance chaos
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I'm just going to say chaos books and
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they're about Pirates Who Don't they're
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not Pirates of ships they're Pirates of
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flying houses which sounds ridic
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ridiculous it was actually exactly what
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I needed in the moment I was reading it
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and I actually gave this book five stars
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because I just had such a good time with
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the story essentially you have these
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ladies in society who are very proper
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and have very good etiquette and they're
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like essentially the perfect kind of
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eligible ladies in society but at the
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same time they're Pirates Who are very
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into theft and essentially the main girl
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in this book gets an assassin assigned
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to her So This Man shows up and his
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assignment is to kill her and that means
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it's like a huge honor for the for the
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matriarchy and the woman in this book
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for some reason so they're all part of
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this like scoundrel Pirates Society of
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sorts and having an assassination
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attempt on you is deemed as a very high
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honor the romance line is between her
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and her assassin as they fly around in
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houses and you know chaos ensues um I
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won't say much more than that but it
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really is that crazy and that funny to
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read so I just found this book to be a
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very very fun time where this reminds me
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of how's Moving Castle and Castle in the
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Sky is very obviously in Castle in the
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Sky you have like almost an identical
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storyline around the pirate matriarchy
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so you have that pirate society that
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flies around and I think vehicles or
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maybe even like those those houses or
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blimps as well um so it's almost
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identical to the setup of the story and
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maybe it even took inspiration from that
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so that's where you get the level of
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crazy like amazing badass matriarchal um
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societies from at the same time the
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romance to me is very reminiscent of how
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Moving Castle sometimes the humor is
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quite similar in just the level of
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preposterousness that is written in so I
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would just really recommend this book
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for for fans of the two movies the
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second book is going to take a bit of a
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turn into the darker and complex themes
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that we see in studio jii sometimes and
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this book is Juniper and Thorne Juniper
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and Thorne is about three sisters and it
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follows one of the sisters as the main
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character C and they're essentially
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locked up in their house by their dad
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and they're three of the last I believe
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like existing witches in this society
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and rather than using being able to use
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their power for all that there is
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potential for they end up being used by
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their dad and sold for like little
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Services here and there the story starts
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off when the sisters finally kind of
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sneak out at night one night and they go
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out into the world and they just
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experience the magic behind it um
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there's a lot more that goes into the
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story but I won't go too much into the
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full premise of it because I think
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you'll need to check it out so Juniper
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and Thorn really reminds me of Spirited
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Away and Princess monoc both because
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these are the two Studio ji movies that
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I believe touch on the most dark themes
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um in this book there's actually quite a
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bit revolving around um abuse obviously
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being three women Locked Away by their
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dad in this house and being largely
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controlled with their powers and also
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there's that kind of grotesque imagery
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as well um that is similar to
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specifically Spirited Away in princess
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monoke in the sense where um there's a
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lot of like I think different monsters
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and different creatures that exist in
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this universe in Juniper and Thorn that
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have that grotesque level of imagery
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that's very reminiscent of the
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illustrations behind those those two
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movies that I'm also talking about it's
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very simplified but when I read this
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book I was also thinking very strongly
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of studio jibli and that's how I
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pictured a lot of and visualized a lot
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of the creatures that the book described
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so I would recommend this book very very
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strongly I know a lot of people in book
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talk and book communities really enjoy
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it um just be prepared to know because
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of the movies I tied it with it is less
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of the Feelgood story and more of that
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like Dark Fantasy side of things I have
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the third book I'm going to recommend
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and it is Legends and lates this is such
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a book talk specific book when cozy
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fantasy was at its peak and this book I
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really really enjoyed it's about an orc
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who decides to stop her life of
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adventuring and open up the first Cafe
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that the village she's settling in would
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have seen so it's her introducing like
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coffee and lattes and pastries to the
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different towns people and also the
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people who are traveling around and
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stopping by it's a very it's just the
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definition of cozy fantasy because most
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of it is just like small challenges here
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and there but ultimately baking and
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coffee out of the different cozy books
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I've read this is definitely one of my
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personal favorites probably because I'm
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a big Cafe person and Baker myself so
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it's just happens to tie in with my
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hobbies this book really has that aspect
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of found family and it's just overall
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very heartwarming and uplifting for that
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exact reason I would recommend this book
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to fans of Kiki's Delivery Service so
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Kiki's Delivery Service just reminds me
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a lot of this similar Vibe where they
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you know they just make their little
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potions and obviously that legendary
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Kiki cake and everything so it just fits
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into that um idea of just uh quaint cozy
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exploration
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of a town and the surroundings and also
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just this character um not really like
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in the book she's not really at a Coming
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of Age moment but she is in the moment
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of kind of finding herself so similar to
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where Kiki is as a character overall if
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you're looking for like a
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peaceful and fantasy vibe then uh
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Legends and lattes is definitely your
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book okay sticking on the more wholesome
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route the next book I want to recommend
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is the house in the Cerulean sea this
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book was also a recommendation I got
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from the internet but a lot of my book
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club friends have only recently started
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getting into this book so I think it's
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still worth mentioning in case you never
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read it house in the seran sea is one of
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the most wholesome books I've read and I
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would actually go like I've been meaning
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to go buy this book and if I ever have
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kids in the future this is very much a
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book that is appropriate for them to
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read and they would truly enjoy and get
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swept into with the universe as well so
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house in the Cilan sea is about two main
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characters who are adults but it
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revolves largely around the story of
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also found family and just like children
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the first main character lonus is
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actually coming from a I think a
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government type society and he is meant
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to go visit this house of orphaned and
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troubled children who are deemed to be
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potentially Evil by Society so he's
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there to inspect them and essentially
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shut things down if needed the next
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character who is this book is actually
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the man who was running this orphanage
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or this little house of Misfit children
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and it becomes this wonderful wonderful
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story of discovering the beauty behind
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people who have been stigmatized and the
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danger of making assumptions of people
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um it really is almost like a big
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metaphor for discrimination and racism
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and everything but told in such a
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wonderful honestly like family friendly
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and magical way this book was just like
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such a warm hug when when I read it a
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few years ago and the way that the kids
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are described as well is very Studio
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jibbly because you'll see like there's a
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mix of fantasy so they have different
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powers or they're of different species
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and everything so it really is a
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wonderful beautiful world to go into all
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of this to say I would recommend this to
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fans of Kiki's Delivery Service as well
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because of that element of just
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childhood and wonderment and the the
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charm of being kids and at the same time
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that's also why I would recommend it for
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my neighbor Toto I think it's just that
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aspect of the story being told alongside
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children who are discovering the good
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and the bad in the world but also
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finding support and Beauty alongside all
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of it as well as the the wonderful El
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element of weaving in adults as the main
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characters who tell this story and who
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are essentially like unb brainwashed
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from being bitter people who are just
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bureaucrats you know so um it's a very
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nice story to tell all right I'm going
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to talk about the next book which I read
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very recently in My Autumn reading Vlog
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and that is a psalm for the wild built
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without a doubt if you're a studio jly
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fan I would almost force you to read
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this book and it's been really popular
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lately for also being kind of a cozy
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sci-fi book the premise of this book
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I've described a few times already in
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the channel but if in case you haven't
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seen it is about a Utopia world where
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Society is essentially at peace and very
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wholesome and everyone's just like very
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happy doing um mundane day-to-day little
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jobs and tasks that they quite Frank
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frankly assigned for themselves it's
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about a main character who previously
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was in I guess the peak of the city and
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civilization of this Utopia and they
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suddenly decide they want to change
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their career so they become a t- monk
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who travels around and serves tea and
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chats with different inhabitants of
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different towns they visit essentially
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offering tea and therapy which is
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wonderful then as the main character is
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traveling they end up meeting a robot
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who comes out from the forest and this
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is when you get the introduction into
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robots and how they've kind of chosen to
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disappear from Human Society and live in
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their own peaceful world and also do
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their own thing this robot comes out and
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has one Mission from all the robots
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combined and their mission is to answer
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the question what do people need and it
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becomes a a very cozy story of the two
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characters traveling together trying to
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you know just discover fulfillment It's
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a Wonderful story for people who feel
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stuck in their current lives maybe their
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current current careers and just how you
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can go about mentally overcoming that
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and finding Beauty in the everyday
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because of this sort of existential
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message I would actually recommend this
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as part of the newest Miyazaki movie
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which is the boy and the Heron which I
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think has a similar level of existential
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themes on what it means to live and a
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song for the wild buil touches on that
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exactly in such a Charming way on top of
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that I would recommend this for Castle
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in the Sky fans as well because I think
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that is largely how I pictured the robot
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in this story in Castle in the Sky there
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is an existence of these like wild
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robots who are covered in plants and
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they're just you know doing their best
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and really just like part of Nature and
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that's really how I pictured the robots
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in Assam for the wild build so I think a
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lot of that visualization and themes
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came straight to mind when I was reading
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this book on top of that I think there
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are elements of my neighbor todoro just
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for the wholesomeness of it but
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ultimately it actually does lump into
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another movie I haven't mentioned yet
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which is NASA in the Valley of the wind
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hope I'm saying that right um I also
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watched that movie for the first time
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last year and it was so wonderful this
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theme of humans and how they coexist but
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also conflict with nature I think it it
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it just reminded me a lot of the
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illustrations in nasica of the Valley of
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the wind with the Wonders of Nature and
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how they added these little fantasy
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elements into it and that's how I saw
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kind of the world passing by when the
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robot and the t- monk went on their
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adventures together so definitely check
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out a song for the wild built if you are
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a studio jibi fan because I must have
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listed like four or five movies there
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that I coincides with okay we've made it
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to the last book and this is the only
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book that is not a fiction fantasy book
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I just read this this month first book I
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read in 2025 and I'm really glad I did
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because I think it really tied the rest
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of this video together so I am talking
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about the book The Serviceberry by Robin
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wall kimmerer she is the writer of
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braiding spr grass which is one of the
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most popular books I think of our decade
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and she is a I'm going to say a botanist
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but I know there's a lot of niches
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within botney that she is is an expert
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on so this is a non-fiction short essay
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you could read this easily in one
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sitting and it's about the theory of
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nature abundance and how giving is tied
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into nature and how it should be tied
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into society rather than going about
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everything in a capitalist way where
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things come with a price this essay
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explores the potential behind
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sustainable living and behind building a
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community that is largely formed around
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giving she gives examples of how plants
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and trees and bushes produce berries
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that give to the animals around them and
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the Animals then eat these berries and
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scatter them across the lands to spread
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the seeds and to give back to this
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ecosystem of plants by helping them
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replant themselves and essentially
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reproduce and it's this wonderful cycle
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where she touches on different things
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that human communities are doing as well
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now in terms of you know buy nothing
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groups and all of that and how they can
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build into it and she also uses it as a
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wonderful chance to criticize the the
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capitalist Society we live in where you
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know ultimately even with the small
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Grassroots movements and organizations
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of these giving societies um we
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ultimately still we have a long way to
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go with where we can take you know
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corporations and corporate greed and
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move away from that into a society
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that's built on sustainability and on
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lifting each other up so this book is
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exactly my cup of tea and it's also why
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my favorite Studio jibli Movie is
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Princess monoke these two go hand inand
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because I think ultimately the message
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is we have the choice as humans to live
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alongside nature respect nature and live
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sustainably or we have the choice to
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live destructively until we're the ones
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who simply perish and disappear and then
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nature will always heal itself and I
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think that's some of the message that
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Robin walim has in her books as well
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when she talks about the balance and the
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Rejuvenation and kind of how nature will
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always find a way to balance itself back
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out but it's really about whether we
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want to be there for it and to live in
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harmony with it or if we're going to
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continue down the certain paths we've
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chosen today where we instead just
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destroy our way through it until there's
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nothing left for us it sounds Bleak but
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the book really is wonderful and hopeful
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so I really recommend this if you're
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looking for just a short essay to read
00:17:18
and expand your non-fiction and also
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feel some direction on where we can go
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as a future and just feel inspired to
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take some action so the service Berry
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wonderful wonderful essay okay we've
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made it to the end a lot of this was
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just me rambling but I think now it's
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time because I have not rewatched my top
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re-watched movies from Miyazaki are
00:17:39
how's Moving Castle and princess monoke
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but I also in case you haven't noticed
00:17:43
in this example I still have some movies
00:17:45
to get to notably I have not watched
00:17:47
Pono yet or I think there's some others
00:17:50
like The Wind Rises and all of those
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movies that I need to get to slowly and
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I've been working my way through them
00:17:55
talking through these books I've read
00:17:57
and also talking through some some of
00:17:59
the movies I feel very inspired to go
00:18:01
watch one of the movies this week and
00:18:03
get back into that feeling of things
00:18:05
with all of that I hope you enjoyed this
00:18:07
video if you have other books to
00:18:09
recommend please let me know because it
00:18:10
seems every time I'm reading a book and
00:18:12
I start picturing a studio ji Mia Zak
00:18:15
Universe in my head the book ends up
00:18:16
ranking higher on my list so I guess
00:18:19
that's just my preference in reading so
00:18:21
if you have other recommendations I
00:18:22
would love to hear them I hope you
00:18:24
enjoyed the me dressing somewhat to the
00:18:26
theme with my pastels and everything and
00:18:28
getting into the studio JBL Vibes and
00:18:31
yeah I hope you enjoyed thanks for
00:18:33
watching and I will see you all in the
00:18:35
next video where we talk about some
00:18:36
other books goodbye
