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That book — and this one — were particularly intriguing to me, someone who has known the family for years.

Source:- https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/books/donald-antrims-one-friday-in-april-is-a-vital-book-about-mental-illness-and-recovery/2021/10/21/c01f6170-207c-11ec-8200-5e3fd4c49f5e_story.html

rahul sehrawat
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    The fact that the second book is mentioned in the supplement does not change the fact that there are two books. Were is the correct form to use. – JavaLatte Jan 10 '24 at 07:09
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    It's slightly awkward, but such sentences are quite common to indicate the development of thought processes or changing situations. There's a similar question with brackets not dashes and one with commas, and answers differ depending on how relevant/significant/closely-linked the parenthetical (second) part is. Here, I think the plural sounds better, because it applies equally to both books. – Stuart F Jan 10 '24 at 11:08
  • Other similar questions https://ell.stackexchange.com/questions/137227/difficulties-with-deciding-whether-it-is-a-plural-or-singular https://ell.stackexchange.com/questions/264451/should-i-use-make-or-makes-in-this-sentence https://ell.stackexchange.com/questions/285249/the-student-as-well-as-x-does-it-use-a-plural-form – Stuart F Jan 10 '24 at 11:11
  • Yes, the plural verb is correct. The supplement is relevant to determining the the form of the verb. – BillJ Jan 10 '24 at 12:46
  • I agree with "were" being correct. That said, these constructions can be awkward even for native speakers. When I'm writing, often I rewrite the sentence to avoid them. "These two books were particularly intriguing to me" or "That book--much like this book--was particularly intriguing to me" – Kaia Jan 10 '24 at 18:17

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