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I always love hearing your opinions on books, Tori. Although no 2 people have the same reading taste, I do find your opinions align more closely with my own and your review of Lonesome Dove is giving me pause about picking it up. It's such a long book and everyone raves about it so I bought the book thinking it would be an easy 5 star but I wondered if it might be a bit too dark for me. Your notes about the grim dark aspect and the treatment of women is really great information... it's probably not the book for me.

I finished Earthsea in january and ended up really loving it. Was a first read for me having started the first book last year. Gave me nostalgic d&d vibes reading it, which i found a little amusing since le guin pre-dates dungeons & dragons. 😂

Despite the almost universal praise it gets, I have always felt like Lonesome Dove would not be an Esmay book, and I think you just confirmed that with your review, so thanks for that!! Really glad that most of the other reads were so great though! I really need to get to some Andrew Howard Jones. Hope August treats you well 🤩

Can't imagine not connecting with Ged, his story and Le Guin's way of telling is amazing IMO, though I do have to read beyond Wizard of Earthsea still. On the other hand, I tried Dandelion Wine last year, and did have trouble focusing on Bradbury's rambling poem-prose, and had to (temporarily) DNF, even though I had previously read Something Wicked This Way Comes and totally 5 stared it and loved Bradbury's style, which I had thought kind of a kindred spirit to the way Le Guin writes like fluid dream words. Maybe it's largely a state of mind thing, I've mostly really liked his short stories in the Illustrated Man and want to give Dandelion Wine another go. Have yet to try Fahrenheit 451 (or much dystopian sci-fi for that matter).

Lonesome Dove: Wow, that is not an aspect of the book that anyone else had touched on (that I am aware of). That would be really rough to get through. Audiobooks are the main reason I'm able to get through any book. I feel like any time I can sit down and read a book that I should be writing instead. I listen to audio books on my commute and doing chores around the house. Running a TH-cam channel where you need to read in order to put out content AND try to find time to write has got to be TOUGH!

Did you just read the first earthsea? I'm not a huge fan, it is just a kids book. The second one is v fun kids book and then the third is another decent kids book (better than the first). But I read the fourth recently, written 20 years latre and definitely aimed at much older readers who've grown up and it is a masterpiece imo. It's v v modern in prose and it is so deep and interesting while she grapples with ideas of feminism and reinterrogating her original stories. I think she's an incredible author v much done a disservice by people who recommend her very first book (wizard).

I'd a feeling you wouldn't jive with LeGuin, I've read maybe 4 or 5 of her books and none of them I'd call character driven. More theme focused than anything, but Earthsea would be the most character centric of her's I've read. You still ended up liking Lonesome Dove more than I predicted. Despite the treatment of women, i found them to be well-written characters, except that chapter with Roscoe and the widow, that was just weird. I don't think it was nilhistic, just tragic. I mostly just read comics in July.

Eleni was an incredible book, written by a son about his mother, and her journey through surviving the Greek internal wars after WW2 ended, the constant switching between fascism and communism and the impacts on the small villages and towns. Incredible book. I don’t think we can ever understand the horror some communities and people endure. Absolutely heartbreaking

I’ve never got the Earthsea hype, read them years ago. Nice reads, but I have no plans to ever re read them.

Good to get your thoughts on Lonesome Dove...I have it on my shelf but it may move down the tbr as I have similar views...I read Where the Crawdads Sing and really enjoyed it and I don’t read a lot of lit fiction but I found the characters really compelling.

July was a really good month for me, but I'll especially mention Nathan Lowell's "The Wizard's Butler". It's heartwarming in the way that most of Lowell's books are, with an interesting (though not particularly surprising) plot and excellent character work. If it's not my favorite book of the year so far, it's very, very close.

If you think Lonesome Dave was bad don’t read Streets of Laredo! If anyone missed the grimdark in LD McMurtry really got his point across in that one.

What a great pile o books. Night is profound.

Lord of a Shattered Land seems to be influenced by Greek Literature as well as Sword and Sorcery. Hanuvar very clearly resembles Odysseus his traveling companion seems inspired by Greek playwrights like Sophocles. The sword and sorcery influences are reminiscent of many Conan novels I have read - both new and old. It works well.

I think you saved me from a future reading slump by being honest about Lonesome Dove. Thank you!

Night was a very impactful book. I’m glad you got a lot out of it. My parents survived the holocaust and Wiesel’s story really hit home.

Great video Tori! Too bad Earthsea wasn’t quite what you wanted, but I totally understand why. I’ve never had a desire to read Lonesome Dove, and I’m glad to hear your thoughts on it. 😊

It’s taking me forever to get through 11/22/63. I like it a lot, but for some reason I’m only half way through after two weeks.

Glad you are out of your slump Tori. I had a great month of reading in July with one exception. I managed 4 comic books: Annihilation - Books 1 to 3 (re-read) Judge Dredd Complete Casefiles Vol 24 6 books: Thornhedge - T Kingfisher The Rage Of Dragons - Evan Winter To Kill A Mockingbird - Harper Lee The Bookstore Wedding (The Once Upon a Time Bookshop Stories) - Alice Hoffman Snow Country - Yasunari Kawabata (which was the exception) Crow Girls - Charles De Lint (Please read De Lint sometime soon, I'm sure you'll love his character work) Book of the month is a hard pick between Rage Of Dragons and To Kill A Mockingbird so I'm not going to.

Have you read Man’s Search For Meaning, by Viktor Frankl? I can’t remember if I’ve seen you mention it or not on the channel. Like Weisel, he spends a lot of time reflecting on faith and how it affects us as we face hard things, or how the lack of faith can also affect us. Have a great week!

5:44 🎶 “….baby don’t hurt me, don’t hurt me, no more!” 🎶

Your comment about loving survival memoirs, prompts me to recommend a little-known memoir of the Gulag called "Journey into the Whirlwind" by Eugenia Ginzburg. I was assigned it in college years ago. In my little book rating world, I rate it my 5th greatest read of all time. Her story is incredible. (I've read "Night" too, and it and Weisel are also amazing.)

I don't really have much to say, but i wanted to comment for the algorithm, so here's an emoji of a flamingo: 🦩

Great video! Is that an Algernon Blackwood book on your shelf?

Great update Tori, I totally understand what you mean about Earthsea. I didn't quite connect to Ged either but her prose is so pretty that I loved it regardless. Fully concur with everything you said about Night too. Glad you busted the slump! Hope August is an awesome reading month 😊

Great video!! 😊

Super glad you liked the books I picked for you 😊

I loved everything about this book! I get how we had to learn the science part, Adolin ❤Kaladin ❤️ Maya ❤️ Navoni

Loved the vlog!!! Train, mower and all 🤣 also: toe beans!!!! Great mix of books too!

Good times. Enjoyed the video game chat 🕹️

I love this concept! It seems so much fun Pro tip for vlogging in a messy house: Right before you hit record, you shove all the mess aside until it's just out of frame. I myself have of course never done this as my house is always 100% clean and tidy at all times, obviously 👀

I love Andrew's love for Lord of A Shattered Land so much hahah. Glad it was a hit for you as well, I really need to push it up the TBR! And a tiger nanny sounds way too wholesome, I need to check that out 👀 Also, I am all here for the realistically chaotic and messy vlogs, only makes it more cozy and chill for me 🥰

Books that i think other fantasy reader might enjoy from other genre Pillars of the Earth and The Lost Army of Cambyses (Yusuf Khalifa Series) by Paul Sussman. 48:54 Same, i can't just sit and listen to an audiobook or i'll zone out. What worked for me was putting on an audiobook while i'm playing a non-story focused game (i enjoy strategy games for this that i'm familiar with gameplay-wise).

Fun! Is this the first video in the TBR Takedown series?

This was such a fun vlog! Love the concept!☺

I’m not a big fan of Fahrenheit 451 either. I think I just don’t like his prose - it feels too unrealistic and vague

Very intrigued by that LoaSL as I've been getting into sword and sorcery - just gearing up for some more Conan after my current read in fact. I think you might find the women are more diverse as characters then you might suspect, and while they all rely on Conan's brawn and cunning, and some far better characters then others, and it does fall into a few salacious tropes that can feel tired, Howard could write wonders. Still, the praise for Jones seems to be immense from new S&S fans and old, so I'm intrigued to give it a try and see what the 21st century can do.

I totally feel you on the sneaking reading in with children…I also have three kids and though they’re older now, when they were little I barely got any reading done. Like a book or two a month. I think you’re doing great…and writing a book and keeping a channel running lol. Great vlog!

Great vlog! Love the reality and honesty😂. Living the kids life doesnt always jive with a readers life. Id say you killed it reading those in two weeks! Glad Andrews picks were enjoyable for you!

Love the concept. It feels like it helps work through those hiccups when you just don't know what to read next. Great books that Andrew put on my TBR as well.

It surprises me when people say they’re excited for gentleman bastards 4. Books 2 and 3 sucked so much compared to book 1. It just went downhill for me as the series went on.

I’ve never not read, I read every evening (except maybe the night I had my kid). I think the reason I don’t really have ‘slumps’ is when I’m feeling bored with fantasy, I’ll pick up a reread, thriller, mystery or romance to give my brain break. To me they aren’t any work and I do find I need to balance out all of the epic worlds with more easy reads

Lord of a Shattered Land is one of my favorite books of the year. I love Hannuvar as a character, in particular for his intelligence and his compassion.

Loved hearing your thoughts on the books you read. Day Zero made me think of Calvin and Hobbes when I first heard the synopsis. I will have to pick it up to try it.

TBR switches are always interesting.

Ah. Beautiful Midwest countryside. Feels like home. My wife has that same red chair on our back porch. Two of them in fact. Every booktuber that I've seen review Lord of a Shattered Land seems to praise it. Might need to pick it up myself in the future. Happy reading, everyone.

Sea of Rust was so good. I need to read Day Zero!

Fun idea. I wish I could read fast enough to have people select books for me. 😅 Glad this worked well for you and helped you get back into reading. -T

I’m glad you enjoyed my picks!!!!!

Omg this is amazing. What a good idea HAHA 🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉