I’m so happy you found Hyperion a worthwhile read! It’s my top 3 all time in the genre. To me it’s the perfect SF book as Simmons offers the reader: excellent prose (I also get chills reading the opening paragraph), a mind bending view of a possible future, fabulous ideas, deep philosophical questions, crazy action, and does not forget to build interesting characters (often missing pice in SF). 🙌
What a great month! The Hyperion Cantos will work well spread out because all 4 books are incredibly different. (So also have that expectation going in). I love the Paper Menagerie collection, most notably for the discussions of culture that you mentioned. Teaching at a minority majority school (collective Asian nationalities being the majority), I'm very aware of the differences of my culture and those of a lot of my families, and I continue to love learning about these differences. Ken Liu I felt walked a fine line in this discussion in many of his tales.
I didn't know that about the school where you teach! I LOVE cultural intersectionality as a topic and the way Liu explored that in SFF. Thank you for letting me know that about Hyperion Cantos!
You finally read Hyperion! Yay Johanna. It has years since I read Dan Simmons’ masterpiece and now you are making me want to reread it. It is truly one of science fiction’s greatest books post 1980 and it has held up nearly 4 decades since it was released. I started reading more short stories in the last 3-4 years. It has really helped my reading life and is a nice change of pace between novels. I have not read the ones you mentioned in the video. But here are some of my favorite short stories: 1) Haven by Alice Munro (from her Dear Life collection) 2) Galapago by Kali Fajardo-Anstine (from her Sabrina & Corina Collection) 3) L’Alchimsta by NK Jemisin (from her How Long Til Black Future Month collection) 4) Speech Sounds by Octavia Butler (from her Bloodchild & Other Stories collection) 5) George by Terry Bisson (from his Bears Discover Fire Collection) 6) Sticks by George Saunders (from his Tenth of December collection) Those stories are some of the best I’ve read so far. Happy reading Johanna!
Hyperion was so good! It's also fun if you like short stories since it kind of functions like a short story collection. Thanks for sharing all the best short stories you've read so far. Happy reading! 😊
Thank you once again for hosting the discussion of Return to Edan (and the other Edan Trilogy discussions), Johanna! I had a wonderful time! Every semester, I teach "A Good Man is Hard to Find" in my introduction to literature course, and I love it. It's not the easiest story to teach in that it leaves many readers puzzled, but it never fails to generate excellent discussion. All the best!
I'm glad we've been able to have some amazing Edan discussions! I'm so excited to hear that you teach "A Good Man is Hard to Find!" I would love to hear your analysis of it, if you're ever willing to share. I can understand why it leaves readers puzzled, and that's part of why it's so fascinating and great to discuss!
Hyperion really is the best. Who could have guessed that existential dread+Canterbury Tales=Masterpiece. I think you are on to something about the crisis of faith. Dan Simmons proves he is a master of multiple genres with Hyperion. Edan is really close to the top of my TBR. I need to get back to it. The Paper Menagerie is on my TBR but I plan on getting to it after I finish the Dandelion Dynasty series. Yay! Happy Place! I think your criticisms make perfect sense. I keep seeing news online that every Emily Henry book is in production for TV shows or Movies. I worry they will be terrible 🤣. Great wrap up!
I'm so glad to hear that you think I'm onto something with that Hyperion theory! Simmons is so good at blending so many different elements into a seamless story. Hooray for Ken Liu on the TBR! That's hilarious about all the Henry adaptations 🤣! Thanks for validating my criticisms of Happy Place. It was still a fun read, and I look forward to picking up another Henry book someday!
In case Philip missed it, the Beowulf alarm was set off at the 3:52 mark. Love this video, Johanna and I'm so glad you liked Hyperion! And yes, Return to Edan is so great!!
Thank you, Jonathan! As much as I loved the structure in Hyperion, I often appreciate when subsequent books do something different. I’m looking forward to checking out Fall of Hyperion!
Hyperion is one i've had on my radar for ages, always slips away from me... glad to hear you say you felt satisfied and without the urge to press on with the series, that makes it more attractive to a slow reader like me ~ the Stephen King tribute to Flannery O'Connor sounds super interesting, will have to check out both stories!
Great wrap-up Johanna! I loved Hyperion. My spouse and I listened to it on audio as we moved cross-country from Ft Lauderdale to Seattle. It was a perfect traveling audiobook. Getting to see a lot of the US along the way, so the book holds a special place now in my memories. I am excited to get back to the Edan Trilogy. I already read the first but I think I'm going to do a reread before starting Prophet of Edan Sidebar: I love your new setup, for a moment I didn't realize that was a mirror (until I saw the plant) adds a lot of 3D depth to the space! - Cheers
Thank you, Christopher! That must've been an incredible experience with your spouse. I doubled-up with the audiobook and loved the cast and quality. I greatly appreciate the background feedback! ❤️
What a cool month of variety! I read the first few stories on Paper Menagerie and they blew me away completely (connecting more than the Dandelion style did). I can’t wait to read the rest of his short fiction! Every now and then I enjoy a romance novel and I’ve been seeing so much Henry love it was great to get your take on one of them-I think I’ll likely try one of her other ones And yeah Hyperion does work great as a standalone-the next one is crazy and it’s one of the most unique duologies where the books are so so different from each other
Thank you, Ben! I'm so excited you're loving The Paper Menagerie so far! I'd love to hear your thoughts on the rest of the collection. I'm thinking of trying Book Lovers as my next Emily Henry read, but I'm not in a hurry to get to it. Good to know about the Fall of Hyperion!
You never fail to deliver the most diverse wrap-ups, I love it! Super interesting to hear your thoughts on Happy Place. I was thinking of making that my next (and 3rd) Emily Henry book, but so far I have felt very similar on her works as you described here. I feel like I might prefer dual POV romances, because that helps me get more invested in the romance from both sides, but Henry never does that. Still, I am curious to try out more, especially after all of Laura's hype hahah. Also delighted to hear that the discussion for Return to Edan was such a fun time! I can't wait to get back to that series before the end of the year (hopefully with Allen's audio performance along with it!) 🤩
Thank you, Esmay! Laura and I have very different feelings and thoughts about Happy Place, but she's been very validating of my experience. The miscommunication parts tanked for me, but I was still engaged and enjoyed the characters. Maybe dual POV would've saved it for me! 😅 Allen's narration is going to be a hit for that series! Happy reading, Esmay!
@@Johanna_reads If anyone is going to be fun to discuss with, it's Laura. She is so good at being a hype woman while also accepting other views!! And yes, Allen is for sure going to nail that 😍
After trying a couple of Emily Henry books and not being the biggest fan, you are the only person who has made me actually want to read one of her books again, what a feat 👏🏼
I so need to get into Hyperion!! Something tells me that it's going to be right up my alley, and quite thematic as well! The Paper Menagerie has been recommended to me a few times and never got it it; good to see it's quite thematic, I'm intrigued now! Great readings, Johanna, hope you have good reads during July/August as well!
I’m a HUGE fan of Flannery! She’s one of my favorite authors. I’ve done a few videos with her and her stories as the subject. Her work is so rich and ripe for discussion. I recommend getting her big bind up of short stories. If you and Philip ever decide to do a Flannery O’Connor discussion I’d 100% be eager to watch!
Nice wrap up😊 Need to get to Hyperion and finish Paper Menagerie. Really interesting about O’Connor and King (I watch Hannah too, and started following Alana Estelle). As for Henry, only read Book Lovers, which I liked. Looking forward to Sat’s Why Read 🤓
Thank you! 🥰 I'd love to hear your thoughts if you pick up Hyperion, and the last story in Paper Menagerie was soooo good, in my opinion. I might pick up Book Lovers as my next Henry read! 😊
Oh my gosh I HATE Happy Place. I don’t read too much romance but the two Emily Henry books I read before this one were so so good :( I agree with what you said about her writing style! Even though I didn’t think it came across as well in Happy Place, her sentimentality really pulled me in (especially the way it builds in her latest novel Funny Story was amazing). Happy reading next month!
Ooh! I’m excited to hear this, and I’m so glad I’m not alone in having issues with Happy Place! Maybe I’ll try Funny Story then. Happy reading to you too! 💜
What a lovely video! I’m so glad you read Flannery O’Connor’s story! Some of my favorite stories of hers are Everything That Rises Must Converge, Revelation, and Good Country People.
Ooh how interesting to read those two short stories to compare them. I love how you highlight how other BooKTubers inspire your reads. With Happy Place, I agree that combo of tropes does not sound ideal. I haaaaate miscommunication anyways, and this kind of "fake dating" did not appeal to me.
Thank you! 😊 Yeah, I don't think you'd like Happy Place. Henry is a good writer in terms of style and character work, but I was so unsatisfied with the conflict!
If you are looking for further short story collections... 1. Stories of Your Life by Ted Chiang 2. The Shell Collector by Anthony Doerr 3. Magic for Beginners by Kelly Link 4. Vampires in the Lemon Grove by Karen Russell 5. Her Body & Other Parties by Carmen Maria Machado 6. Tenth of December by George Saunders
Hi Johanna. Going to share my reading excitement of the month, even though I doubt you'll ever pick this one up. It's a compilation of two novels published in English as "Those Who Survive" by Kir Bulychev. It's a Russian 80's sci-fi covering the classic survival story of an abandoned group on a hostile planet, but this one stands out for me. It's much more complex, focusing on children growing up and maturing in this environment, very emotional and gritty. Surprisingly free of any political agenda considering the time it was published.
Hi Johanna. My favorite Flannery O'Connor story is "Good Country People." It's bizarre, darkly funny and surprising in its' twist ending. I hope you love it.
YES, HYPERION. The priest's tale was one of my favourites as well. That and the scholar's. It's so good. I really loved it. And also, it's not even that Hyperion is book one in a series, it's a first half of a book by itself, as that and Fall of Hyperion were supposed to be one big book. So it literally ends in the halfway point of the story, with absolutely no conclusion and an abrupt cut, lol. But I'm glad you're feeling satisfied with that. I wasn't, and I really liked book 2 as well, which I hope you also enjoy! I want to read Flannery O'Connor at some point as well. I haven't heard much about her, but what I've heard sounds pretty interesting Oh my god, I read The Paper Menagerie in July (and a bit of August). IT'S SO GOOD. I read it because of Angela's recommendation, and damn was she right. I found all of the stories at least interesting, and some were very compelling and even emotional. It really got me wanting to read The Dandelion Dynasty.
Oh, that's interesting and it makes sense to think of Fall of Hyperion as the second half of Hyperion. I still haven't gotten to Fall, but I'll keep that in mind. I'm so happy to hear you also loved The Paper Menagerie! It's been a huge standout for me this year!
Nice update! You have been putting in the extra effort on that production lately. I need to read King's new anthology. People seem to be really high on it. I read Mark Lawrence's The Book that Wouldn't Burn in June and enjoyed it quite a bit but took awhile to get going for me. Not my favorite from him but still worth the read. He is one of the best in fantasy when it comes to his endings. My favorite book in June was Hellenic Tantra: The Theurgic Platonism of Iamblichus by Prof. Gregory Shaw. Despite the eyebrow raising use of tantra in the title for a book on neoplatonism, it is actually a book written by an academic specialist on the subject. It argues that the neoplatonist philosophy, meditations, and rituals of Iamblichus and Proclus were a nondual embodied forms of Platonism that was similar in scope to the nondualist philosophy and practice of medieval Kashmir Shivism. It's a worthwhile read if you like eastern nondual philosophy and are interested in how it could look like in a classical Western philosophical context. Thanks for sharing your thoughts. I can't wait to hear yours and Philip's thoughts on The White-Luck Warrior soon.
Glad to hear your thoughts on The Book That Wouldn't Burn and Hellenic Tantra: The Theurgic Platonism of Iamblichus. I still haven't read anything by Mark Lawrence. I'm loving White-Luck Warrior so much! I'm in the second half. I hope to finish soon and get that discussion scheduled. Thanks, Andrew!
My most recent reads include The Demon of Unrest by Erik Larson and To the Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf which I enjoyed more than I thought I would. My current read is A Game of Thrones by GRRM.
The priest's tale was definitely my favorite, while the scholar's tale might have been the emotional core. Parts i loved, parts not so much. But i appreciate the effort and style. I had some great reads in June. The Trees by Percival Everett was funny, horrific, absurd, sadly authentic. Drawn from the murder of Emmett Till in 1955, this is a novel about rage at injustice, and what a farce society can be. Definitely going to read more from him. His new James (retelling of Huck Finn from Jim's perspective) or Erasure. Carpentaria by Alexis Wright, still in progress, about indigenous Australians clashing with the growing white culture and a mining company. Written in a very mythic style like a story like it's a legend passed down through generations. I'm excited to get to her other book Praiseworthy. Look at Me by Anita Brookner, my first by her, but not my last. She has a biography coming out by famous biographer Hermione Lee, so I wanted to familiarize myself. This was about an aimless woman working at a library, being sucked in by this dazzling couple. Very introspective, as the experience brings certain issues to the surface she must deal with. Emma Lion 4 by Beth Brower, continuing my adventures with Miss Lion as she makes her way in this quirky London neighborhood. Charming, delightful, I wish I were friends with these characters. Not sure if I started it in June, and I recently finished A Stranger in Olondria by Sofia Samatar, and it will be some of the most beautiful writing I'll read this year. The love of books, and stories, permeating this whole thing. A boy's country is illiterate; they don't have a written language. A foreign tutor teaches him, and when he grows takes a trip to that land, full of lofty ideas and dreams, with his learned love for literature. There he has a spiritual experience, and gets caught between two cults fighting over political control. I can't wait to read her other works.
I felt the same way about those Hyperion storylines! Nothing paralleled the priest, but the scholar's tale was sad. I keep seeing the book "James" pop up everywhere. Glad to hear you enjoyed this author. I was fascinated by the Australian Indigenous cultures when I visited last summer, and Carpentaria sounds impactful. All those books sound interesting, Matt!
Glad you enjoyed Hyperion, the Cantos is my 2nd favourite SF series just behind Iain M Banks' The Culture In June I read: *Historical-Fantasy* Children of Earth & Sky / Guy Gavriel Kay - Carried over from May. Loved it. A Brightness Long Ago / Guy Gavriel Kay - My new favourite Kay I've read so far, and a new favourite book of all-time! Book of the Month!!! All the Seas of the World / Guy Gavriel Kay - Pretty good. Glad I read this loose trilogy in publication order. I understand the lukewarm reviews and I seem to have liked it more than most, though my favourite parts were the tie-ins to ABLA, CoE&S and Lions of Al-Rassan. *Sci-Fi* Vorkosigan Saga 1: Shards of Honor - Definitely be continuing this series. *Southern Gothic* Child of God / Cormac McCarthy - It was fine, but really creepy at times. For now I NFNed Jonathan Maberry's Patient Zero, Christopher Ruocchio's Howling Dark and my re-read of Brandon Sanderson's Way of Kings. They're good, just not what I'm looking for right now. As for what I'm currently reading: *Historical-Fantasy* The Last Light of the Sun / Guy Gavriel Kay - Kay's re-imagining of the Viking invasions of King Alfred's England, its really good so far. *Historical-Fiction* Red Sky in Morning / Paul Lynch - I wanted to read more Irish authors, and this is set in my home county. Getting Cormac McCarthy vibes so far. *Sci-Fi* Cloud Atlas / David Mitchell - I was really tempted to DNF it after slogging through the first story but I'm loving it now. *Thriller* Winter of Frankie Machine / Don Winslow - Really good so far.
Good to know you're a Hyperion Cantos fan. You have me excited to get to A Brightness Long Ago, but I'm going to start with Sarantine Mosaic. Glad Cloud Atlas is picking up!
🐯 I’ve got the Ken Liu “Paper Menagerie” on my shopping wishlist, but I’m trying to hold off because I haven’t read him yet. I’ve got his “Dandelion Dynasty” set on my shelves, and I really ought to try reading some first before I haul more. There are a few authors that I keep buying after seeing all the hypewagon, whom I haven’t yet read anything by, so it feels like a big punt to add ever more books by them! I got another Stephen Aryan this week, for example - his new “The Blood Dimmed Tide” - which takes me to five books and zero read. This cannot hold 🤣
Book buying is it's own form of pleasure! I hope you enjoy Ken Liu's books. I was so impressed with several of the stories in The Paper Menagerie. I think his epic fantasy is going to be very different in some ways, but I've heard explores similar themes. Happy reading and hauling! 😊
Hyperion was legit! But I actually liked The Fall of Hyperion better. The wrap-up of the suspense was soooo satisfying. In my opinion, the last paragraph of the book makes you rethink the whole story. Although..... the Priests' story in Hyperion was.... I'm speechless 😅. So, read both books as 1 story, you won't be disappointed.
If you’re in the mood for more short fiction, yesterday I finished the collection, Tender, by Sofia Samatar. Magnificent collection; it reminded me of Le Guin’s short fiction :)
Hyperion is a book that has been on my TBR for a while now. Maybe I should bump it up. However I just started Lud-in-the-Mist a couple days ago and that really covers my "classic" for probably the rest of this month. Loved Return to Edan. I was so happy I liked it as much as I did. Philip is such a nice guy that I legit would have hated it if I didn't like this. Personally I don't see the Gwynne comparisons. However the only Gywnne I've read is the Bloodsworn Saga.
I highly recommend Hyperion! I haven't read Lud-in-the-Mist, but I'm going to guess that book has a more classic writing style. Glad you loved Return to Edan!
The Happy Place polaroid 🤣 It's interesting that you think this is a "friends to lovers" book because I think Harriet maybe felt they were friends but I don't think Wyn did. He never really viewed her as a friend it was more that she was always love for him, or his "happy place". Her friends to lovers book is People We Meet on Vacation. I'd be curious if you ever read it (you'll hate it 🤣) if you'd see the difference. I'm still glad you liked aspects of the book!
Haha! I was actually wondering if I jumped to the wrong conclusion about friends to lovers when editing this video. Loved your insight that it was maybe one-sided. Does she have any enemies to lovers books? 👀
In June I read: «A Princess of Mars» (John Carter of Mars/Barsoom #1) by Edgar Rice Burroughs (Sword & Planet: I received a library copy from 1920, the British 4th Edition, 104 years old!) «All Tomorrow’s Parties» by William Gibson (Cyberpunk) «The Dragonbone Chair» (Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn, #1) by Tad Williams (Epic Fantasy, a key influence for George R. R. Martin's « A Song of Ice and Fire») «A Brightness Long Ago» by Guy Gavriel Kay (Fantasy inspired by the Mercenary Wars of Renaissance Italy: Book of the Month AND Book of the Year so far!) «The Darkness That Comes Before» (The Prince of Nothing #1) by R. Scott Bakker (Grimdark/Dark Epic Fantasy inspired by the Crusades, Silmarillion & Dune) Have you read «The Darkness That Comes Before» Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn, Johanna? With your love for A Song of Ice And Fire, I would love to hear your thoughts on MS&T: I already have a «Homework that George copied from Tad» list in my notes! 😄 Also, if all goes to plan, I will get to meet Professor Chase in person during his European Family Vacation! Wish you a continuing Great Summer!
I thought I recommended The Darkness That Comes Before to you, and I'm so happy you enjoyed it. I'm reading book 5 in the Second Apocalypse. Wait until you get to The Warrior Prophet! I'm guilty of not having read Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn yet, but I intend to! How exciting that you're meeting Philip! 😃
@@Johanna_reads Apologies, I meant to just write MS&T, of course you have read The Prince of Nothing Trilogy, my bad!😅 Yeah, I am very excited to meet the Professor: Outside of sightseeing, I will definitely discuss with him some MS&T influence on the Edan Trilogy, both directly and indirectly through ASOIAF! Cheers! 😊
Here's what I read Worthy by jada pinkett Smith memoir Howling dark by Christopher ruoccichio Iris Kelly doesn't date by Ashley herring Blake The wall of Winnipeg and me by Mariana Zapata The maid by nita prose Redeeming 6 by chloe Walsh Going bicoastal by dahlia Adler Same time next summer by annabel Monaghan Pride and protest by nikki Payne
The Priests tale was also my favorite from Hyperion. I ended up really enjoying the book overall. I read the next book and did not connect with it as much and decided to not go on with the next two at least for now.
The only Simmons book I have read is The Terror. If Hyperion is half as good as that it will be great. It's sitting on my shelf begging me to read it. I'll have to go back and watch the Why Read? episode with Criminolly and Brian. I somehow missed it. 😔Another great wrap-up!
Hey there Johanna, just published my first video ever! I will definitely need to refine my production a bit but hopefully one day you'd have me on one of your why read episodes :)
Hi Johanna, as a new author, I was wondering if you could review my novel 'Red Scarf?' Johanna, I would be happy to pay you for this honest review, bye, for now, Alex 🙃
Thank you so much for the offer! I'm not accepting arcs or books right now and don't accept payment for reviews, but I hope it finds the right audience!
Like you very much but couldn't feel more differently about "A Good Man is Hard to Find" (and Flannery O'Connor in general). Nothing called something. No offense meant.
Also I really don't like the friends to lovers trope. Give me a well written good friendship over that any day of the week. That was the one big misstep for me in Legends and Lattes. Loved the book until that trope reared it's ugly head.
I really need to get to Flannery O’Connor and Hyperion!
I had a great time chatting with you and Brian as well 😊
I hope you enjoy Hyperion and O'Connor if you do get to them. Thanks again for being a Why Read guest! 😊
I’m so happy you found Hyperion a worthwhile read! It’s my top 3 all time in the genre. To me it’s the perfect SF book as Simmons offers the reader: excellent prose (I also get chills reading the opening paragraph), a mind bending view of a possible future, fabulous ideas, deep philosophical questions, crazy action, and does not forget to build interesting characters (often missing pice in SF). 🙌
Beautifully said! Thanks for sharing that, Bart! It was truly breathtaking at times.
What a great month! The Hyperion Cantos will work well spread out because all 4 books are incredibly different. (So also have that expectation going in). I love the Paper Menagerie collection, most notably for the discussions of culture that you mentioned. Teaching at a minority majority school (collective Asian nationalities being the majority), I'm very aware of the differences of my culture and those of a lot of my families, and I continue to love learning about these differences. Ken Liu I felt walked a fine line in this discussion in many of his tales.
I didn't know that about the school where you teach! I LOVE cultural intersectionality as a topic and the way Liu explored that in SFF. Thank you for letting me know that about Hyperion Cantos!
You finally read Hyperion! Yay Johanna. It has years since I read Dan Simmons’ masterpiece and now you are making me want to reread it. It is truly one of science fiction’s greatest books post 1980 and it has held up nearly 4 decades since it was released.
I started reading more short stories in the last 3-4 years. It has really helped my reading life and is a nice change of pace between novels. I have not read the ones you mentioned in the video. But here are some of my favorite short stories:
1) Haven by Alice Munro (from her Dear Life collection)
2) Galapago by Kali Fajardo-Anstine (from her Sabrina & Corina Collection)
3) L’Alchimsta by NK Jemisin (from her How Long Til Black Future Month collection)
4) Speech Sounds by Octavia Butler (from her Bloodchild & Other Stories collection)
5) George by Terry Bisson (from his Bears Discover Fire Collection)
6) Sticks by George Saunders (from his Tenth of December collection)
Those stories are some of the best I’ve read so far.
Happy reading Johanna!
Hyperion was so good! It's also fun if you like short stories since it kind of functions like a short story collection. Thanks for sharing all the best short stories you've read so far. Happy reading! 😊
Thank you once again for hosting the discussion of Return to Edan (and the other Edan Trilogy discussions), Johanna! I had a wonderful time! Every semester, I teach "A Good Man is Hard to Find" in my introduction to literature course, and I love it. It's not the easiest story to teach in that it leaves many readers puzzled, but it never fails to generate excellent discussion. All the best!
I'm glad we've been able to have some amazing Edan discussions! I'm so excited to hear that you teach "A Good Man is Hard to Find!" I would love to hear your analysis of it, if you're ever willing to share. I can understand why it leaves readers puzzled, and that's part of why it's so fascinating and great to discuss!
Hyperion really is the best. Who could have guessed that existential dread+Canterbury Tales=Masterpiece. I think you are on to something about the crisis of faith.
Dan Simmons proves he is a master of multiple genres with Hyperion.
Edan is really close to the top of my TBR. I need to get back to it.
The Paper Menagerie is on my TBR but I plan on getting to it after I finish the Dandelion Dynasty series.
Yay! Happy Place! I think your criticisms make perfect sense.
I keep seeing news online that every Emily Henry book is in production for TV shows or Movies. I worry they will be terrible 🤣.
Great wrap up!
I'm so glad to hear that you think I'm onto something with that Hyperion theory! Simmons is so good at blending so many different elements into a seamless story.
Hooray for Ken Liu on the TBR!
That's hilarious about all the Henry adaptations 🤣! Thanks for validating my criticisms of Happy Place. It was still a fun read, and I look forward to picking up another Henry book someday!
In case Philip missed it, the Beowulf alarm was set off at the 3:52 mark. Love this video, Johanna and I'm so glad you liked Hyperion! And yes, Return to Edan is so great!!
Hahaha! I know he's read Hyperion before or I would've gotten after him to read it. It was truly wonderful! Thank you, Brian!
I'm reading Fall of Hyperion right now. I am loving it.
@@eternal_napalm6442 Great! I hope I love it as well. Thanks for sharing!
I’m glad you enjoyed Hyperion! The Fall of Hyperion is quite different in structure, but it worked for me!
Thank you, Jonathan! As much as I loved the structure in Hyperion, I often appreciate when subsequent books do something different. I’m looking forward to checking out Fall of Hyperion!
Super happy you enjoyed Hyperion! ❤️😀❤️ And I suppose not continuing immediately is forgivable. 😉
Thank you so much for choosing the book for me! It was so good, even breathtaking at times. ❤️😊
Hyperion is one i've had on my radar for ages, always slips away from me... glad to hear you say you felt satisfied and without the urge to press on with the series, that makes it more attractive to a slow reader like me ~ the Stephen King tribute to Flannery O'Connor sounds super interesting, will have to check out both stories!
I'm a slow reader as well! 🐌 It's structured so well, so I think you'll find a nice flow with it. Happy reading!
Great wrap-up Johanna! I loved Hyperion. My spouse and I listened to it on audio as we moved cross-country from Ft Lauderdale to Seattle. It was a perfect traveling audiobook. Getting to see a lot of the US along the way, so the book holds a special place now in my memories. I am excited to get back to the Edan Trilogy. I already read the first but I think I'm going to do a reread before starting Prophet of Edan Sidebar: I love your new setup, for a moment I didn't realize that was a mirror (until I saw the plant) adds a lot of 3D depth to the space! - Cheers
Thank you, Christopher! That must've been an incredible experience with your spouse. I doubled-up with the audiobook and loved the cast and quality. I greatly appreciate the background feedback! ❤️
What a cool month of variety! I read the first few stories on Paper Menagerie and they blew me away completely (connecting more than the Dandelion style did). I can’t wait to read the rest of his short fiction!
Every now and then I enjoy a romance novel and I’ve been seeing so much Henry love it was great to get your take on one of them-I think I’ll likely try one of her other ones
And yeah Hyperion does work great as a standalone-the next one is crazy and it’s one of the most unique duologies where the books are so so different from each other
Thank you, Ben! I'm so excited you're loving The Paper Menagerie so far! I'd love to hear your thoughts on the rest of the collection.
I'm thinking of trying Book Lovers as my next Emily Henry read, but I'm not in a hurry to get to it.
Good to know about the Fall of Hyperion!
You never fail to deliver the most diverse wrap-ups, I love it! Super interesting to hear your thoughts on Happy Place. I was thinking of making that my next (and 3rd) Emily Henry book, but so far I have felt very similar on her works as you described here. I feel like I might prefer dual POV romances, because that helps me get more invested in the romance from both sides, but Henry never does that. Still, I am curious to try out more, especially after all of Laura's hype hahah.
Also delighted to hear that the discussion for Return to Edan was such a fun time! I can't wait to get back to that series before the end of the year (hopefully with Allen's audio performance along with it!) 🤩
Thank you, Esmay! Laura and I have very different feelings and thoughts about Happy Place, but she's been very validating of my experience. The miscommunication parts tanked for me, but I was still engaged and enjoyed the characters. Maybe dual POV would've saved it for me! 😅 Allen's narration is going to be a hit for that series! Happy reading, Esmay!
@@Johanna_reads If anyone is going to be fun to discuss with, it's Laura. She is so good at being a hype woman while also accepting other views!!
And yes, Allen is for sure going to nail that 😍
After trying a couple of Emily Henry books and not being the biggest fan, you are the only person who has made me actually want to read one of her books again, what a feat 👏🏼
I'm honored! 😁 I had my gripes, but I was thoroughly engaged!
I so need to get into Hyperion!! Something tells me that it's going to be right up my alley, and quite thematic as well! The Paper Menagerie has been recommended to me a few times and never got it it; good to see it's quite thematic, I'm intrigued now! Great readings, Johanna, hope you have good reads during July/August as well!
I highly recommend Hyperion to you, Livia! I think you'd love it! Thank you so much! 😊
I’m a HUGE fan of Flannery! She’s one of my favorite authors. I’ve done a few videos with her and her stories as the subject. Her work is so rich and ripe for discussion. I recommend getting her big bind up of short stories. If you and Philip ever decide to do a Flannery O’Connor discussion I’d 100% be eager to watch!
Thank you so much, Marianne! You're making me excited to pick up more of her stories!
Nice wrap up😊 Need to get to Hyperion and finish Paper Menagerie. Really interesting about O’Connor and King (I watch Hannah too, and started following Alana Estelle). As for Henry, only read Book Lovers, which I liked. Looking forward to Sat’s Why Read 🤓
Thank you! 🥰 I'd love to hear your thoughts if you pick up Hyperion, and the last story in Paper Menagerie was soooo good, in my opinion. I might pick up Book Lovers as my next Henry read! 😊
Oh my gosh I HATE Happy Place. I don’t read too much romance but the two Emily Henry books I read before this one were so so good :(
I agree with what you said about her writing style! Even though I didn’t think it came across as well in Happy Place, her sentimentality really pulled me in (especially the way it builds in her latest novel Funny Story was amazing).
Happy reading next month!
Ooh! I’m excited to hear this, and I’m so glad I’m not alone in having issues with Happy Place! Maybe I’ll try Funny Story then. Happy reading to you too! 💜
Johanna, I’m so happy you enjoyed Hyperion. It’s my second favorite sci-fi of all time. Paper Menagerie is on my list to read, hopefully soon.
I didn't know it was your second favorite! It seems to be everyone's favorite or second favorite. I hope you love The Paper Menagerie, Chas! 😊
What a lovely video! I’m so glad you read Flannery O’Connor’s story! Some of my favorite stories of hers are Everything That Rises Must Converge, Revelation, and Good Country People.
I loved your analysis of those two short stories, so thank you for inspiring me to pick them up! I'll look up those O'Connor recommendations. 😊
@@Johanna_reads Thank you so much!
Ooh how interesting to read those two short stories to compare them. I love how you highlight how other BooKTubers inspire your reads. With Happy Place, I agree that combo of tropes does not sound ideal. I haaaaate miscommunication anyways, and this kind of "fake dating" did not appeal to me.
Thank you! 😊 Yeah, I don't think you'd like Happy Place. Henry is a good writer in terms of style and character work, but I was so unsatisfied with the conflict!
quite the month thanks again for the Edan invite.
It wouldn't have been the same without you!
@@Johanna_reads you are very kind😀 my friend.
If you are looking for further short story collections...
1. Stories of Your Life by Ted Chiang
2. The Shell Collector by Anthony Doerr
3. Magic for Beginners by Kelly Link
4. Vampires in the Lemon Grove by Karen Russell
5. Her Body & Other Parties by Carmen Maria Machado
6. Tenth of December by George Saunders
Thanks for the recommendations! I’ve been meaning to get to Ted Chiang’s works for some time.
Loved the midyear tag with Allen and that it inspired Pete, Anitha and Evie to do their own!!
Thank you, Angela! I saw that they did that and was very happy about it!
I love when people read Hyperion for the first time, so good!
It's breathtaking at times!
Hi Johanna. Going to share my reading excitement of the month, even though I doubt you'll ever pick this one up. It's a compilation of two novels published in English as "Those Who Survive" by Kir Bulychev. It's a Russian 80's sci-fi covering the classic survival story of an abandoned group on a hostile planet, but this one stands out for me. It's much more complex, focusing on children growing up and maturing in this environment, very emotional and gritty. Surprisingly free of any political agenda considering the time it was published.
I love that you're sharing your monthly highlight with me! I added it to my recommendations list just in case. That sounds interesting!
Hi Johanna. My favorite Flannery O'Connor story is "Good Country People." It's bizarre, darkly funny and surprising in its' twist ending. I hope you love it.
Thanks for the recommendation, Curt!
YES, HYPERION. The priest's tale was one of my favourites as well. That and the scholar's. It's so good. I really loved it. And also, it's not even that Hyperion is book one in a series, it's a first half of a book by itself, as that and Fall of Hyperion were supposed to be one big book. So it literally ends in the halfway point of the story, with absolutely no conclusion and an abrupt cut, lol. But I'm glad you're feeling satisfied with that. I wasn't, and I really liked book 2 as well, which I hope you also enjoy!
I want to read Flannery O'Connor at some point as well. I haven't heard much about her, but what I've heard sounds pretty interesting
Oh my god, I read The Paper Menagerie in July (and a bit of August). IT'S SO GOOD. I read it because of Angela's recommendation, and damn was she right. I found all of the stories at least interesting, and some were very compelling and even emotional. It really got me wanting to read The Dandelion Dynasty.
Oh, that's interesting and it makes sense to think of Fall of Hyperion as the second half of Hyperion. I still haven't gotten to Fall, but I'll keep that in mind.
I'm so happy to hear you also loved The Paper Menagerie! It's been a huge standout for me this year!
@@Johanna_reads For me too! There have been books that I liked more than The Paper Menagerie this year, but I think that one is pretty unique
Nice update! You have been putting in the extra effort on that production lately.
I need to read King's new anthology. People seem to be really high on it.
I read Mark Lawrence's The Book that Wouldn't Burn in June and enjoyed it quite a bit but took awhile to get going for me. Not my favorite from him but still worth the read. He is one of the best in fantasy when it comes to his endings.
My favorite book in June was Hellenic Tantra: The Theurgic Platonism of Iamblichus by Prof. Gregory Shaw. Despite the eyebrow raising use of tantra in the title for a book on neoplatonism, it is actually a book written by an academic specialist on the subject. It argues that the neoplatonist philosophy, meditations, and rituals of Iamblichus and Proclus were a nondual embodied forms of Platonism that was similar in scope to the nondualist philosophy and practice of medieval Kashmir Shivism. It's a worthwhile read if you like eastern nondual philosophy and are interested in how it could look like in a classical Western philosophical context.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts. I can't wait to hear yours and Philip's thoughts on The White-Luck Warrior soon.
Glad to hear your thoughts on The Book That Wouldn't Burn and Hellenic Tantra: The Theurgic Platonism of Iamblichus. I still haven't read anything by Mark Lawrence.
I'm loving White-Luck Warrior so much! I'm in the second half. I hope to finish soon and get that discussion scheduled. Thanks, Andrew!
My most recent reads include The Demon of Unrest by Erik Larson and To the Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf which I enjoyed more than I thought I would. My current read is A Game of Thrones by GRRM.
Hooray for A Game of Thrones! I've been wanting to read To the Lighthouse for some time. Enjoy!
The priest's tale was definitely my favorite, while the scholar's tale might have been the emotional core. Parts i loved, parts not so much. But i appreciate the effort and style.
I had some great reads in June.
The Trees by Percival Everett was funny, horrific, absurd, sadly authentic. Drawn from the murder of Emmett Till in 1955, this is a novel about rage at injustice, and what a farce society can be. Definitely going to read more from him. His new James (retelling of Huck Finn from Jim's perspective) or Erasure.
Carpentaria by Alexis Wright, still in progress, about indigenous Australians clashing with the growing white culture and a mining company. Written in a very mythic style like a story like it's a legend passed down through generations. I'm excited to get to her other book Praiseworthy.
Look at Me by Anita Brookner, my first by her, but not my last. She has a biography coming out by famous biographer Hermione Lee, so I wanted to familiarize myself. This was about an aimless woman working at a library, being sucked in by this dazzling couple. Very introspective, as the experience brings certain issues to the surface she must deal with.
Emma Lion 4 by Beth Brower, continuing my adventures with Miss Lion as she makes her way in this quirky London neighborhood. Charming, delightful, I wish I were friends with these characters.
Not sure if I started it in June, and I recently finished A Stranger in Olondria by Sofia Samatar, and it will be some of the most beautiful writing I'll read this year. The love of books, and stories, permeating this whole thing. A boy's country is illiterate; they don't have a written language. A foreign tutor teaches him, and when he grows takes a trip to that land, full of lofty ideas and dreams, with his learned love for literature. There he has a spiritual experience, and gets caught between two cults fighting over political control. I can't wait to read her other works.
I felt the same way about those Hyperion storylines! Nothing paralleled the priest, but the scholar's tale was sad.
I keep seeing the book "James" pop up everywhere. Glad to hear you enjoyed this author.
I was fascinated by the Australian Indigenous cultures when I visited last summer, and Carpentaria sounds impactful.
All those books sound interesting, Matt!
Glad you enjoyed Hyperion, the Cantos is my 2nd favourite SF series just behind Iain M Banks' The Culture
In June I read:
*Historical-Fantasy*
Children of Earth & Sky / Guy Gavriel Kay
- Carried over from May. Loved it.
A Brightness Long Ago / Guy Gavriel Kay
- My new favourite Kay I've read so far, and a new favourite book of all-time! Book of the Month!!!
All the Seas of the World / Guy Gavriel Kay
- Pretty good. Glad I read this loose trilogy in publication order. I understand the lukewarm reviews and I seem to have liked it more than most, though my favourite parts were the tie-ins to ABLA, CoE&S and Lions of Al-Rassan.
*Sci-Fi*
Vorkosigan Saga 1: Shards of Honor
- Definitely be continuing this series.
*Southern Gothic*
Child of God / Cormac McCarthy
- It was fine, but really creepy at times.
For now I NFNed Jonathan Maberry's Patient Zero, Christopher Ruocchio's Howling Dark and my re-read of Brandon Sanderson's Way of Kings. They're good, just not what I'm looking for right now.
As for what I'm currently reading:
*Historical-Fantasy*
The Last Light of the Sun / Guy Gavriel Kay
- Kay's re-imagining of the Viking invasions of King Alfred's England, its really good so far.
*Historical-Fiction*
Red Sky in Morning / Paul Lynch
- I wanted to read more Irish authors, and this is set in my home county. Getting Cormac McCarthy vibes so far.
*Sci-Fi*
Cloud Atlas / David Mitchell
- I was really tempted to DNF it after slogging through the first story but I'm loving it now.
*Thriller*
Winter of Frankie Machine / Don Winslow
- Really good so far.
Good to know you're a Hyperion Cantos fan. You have me excited to get to A Brightness Long Ago, but I'm going to start with Sarantine Mosaic. Glad Cloud Atlas is picking up!
@@Johanna_reads I definitely recommend reading Sarantine Mosaic first.
🐯 I’ve got the Ken Liu “Paper Menagerie” on my shopping wishlist, but I’m trying to hold off because I haven’t read him yet. I’ve got his “Dandelion Dynasty” set on my shelves, and I really ought to try reading some first before I haul more. There are a few authors that I keep buying after seeing all the hypewagon, whom I haven’t yet read anything by, so it feels like a big punt to add ever more books by them! I got another Stephen Aryan this week, for example - his new “The Blood Dimmed Tide” - which takes me to five books and zero read. This cannot hold 🤣
Book buying is it's own form of pleasure! I hope you enjoy Ken Liu's books. I was so impressed with several of the stories in The Paper Menagerie. I think his epic fantasy is going to be very different in some ways, but I've heard explores similar themes. Happy reading and hauling! 😊
Hyperion was legit! But I actually liked The Fall of Hyperion better. The wrap-up of the suspense was soooo satisfying. In my opinion, the last paragraph of the book makes you rethink the whole story. Although..... the Priests' story in Hyperion was.... I'm speechless 😅. So, read both books as 1 story, you won't be disappointed.
I'm glad to hear you enjoyed Fall of Hyperion better! It seems a bit polarizing, but I hope I love it too!
If you’re in the mood for more short fiction, yesterday I finished the collection, Tender, by Sofia Samatar. Magnificent collection; it reminded me of Le Guin’s short fiction :)
Thank you for the recommendation! 😊
Hyperion is a book that has been on my TBR for a while now. Maybe I should bump it up. However I just started Lud-in-the-Mist a couple days ago and that really covers my "classic" for probably the rest of this month.
Loved Return to Edan. I was so happy I liked it as much as I did. Philip is such a nice guy that I legit would have hated it if I didn't like this. Personally I don't see the Gwynne comparisons. However the only Gywnne I've read is the Bloodsworn Saga.
I highly recommend Hyperion! I haven't read Lud-in-the-Mist, but I'm going to guess that book has a more classic writing style.
Glad you loved Return to Edan!
The Happy Place polaroid 🤣
It's interesting that you think this is a "friends to lovers" book because I think Harriet maybe felt they were friends but I don't think Wyn did. He never really viewed her as a friend it was more that she was always love for him, or his "happy place". Her friends to lovers book is People We Meet on Vacation. I'd be curious if you ever read it (you'll hate it 🤣) if you'd see the difference.
I'm still glad you liked aspects of the book!
Haha! I was actually wondering if I jumped to the wrong conclusion about friends to lovers when editing this video. Loved your insight that it was maybe one-sided. Does she have any enemies to lovers books? 👀
@@Johanna_reads Beach Read is the closest she has to it and I loved it!
In June I read:
«A Princess of Mars» (John Carter of Mars/Barsoom #1) by Edgar Rice Burroughs (Sword & Planet: I received a library copy from 1920, the British 4th Edition, 104 years old!)
«All Tomorrow’s Parties» by William Gibson (Cyberpunk)
«The Dragonbone Chair» (Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn, #1) by Tad Williams (Epic Fantasy, a key influence for George R. R. Martin's « A Song of Ice and Fire»)
«A Brightness Long Ago» by Guy Gavriel Kay (Fantasy inspired by the Mercenary Wars of Renaissance Italy: Book of the Month AND Book of the Year so far!)
«The Darkness That Comes Before» (The Prince of Nothing #1) by R. Scott Bakker (Grimdark/Dark Epic Fantasy inspired by the Crusades, Silmarillion & Dune)
Have you read «The Darkness That Comes Before» Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn, Johanna? With your love for A Song of Ice And Fire, I would love to hear your thoughts on MS&T: I already have a «Homework that George copied from Tad» list in my notes! 😄
Also, if all goes to plan, I will get to meet Professor Chase in person during his European Family Vacation! Wish you a continuing Great Summer!
I thought I recommended The Darkness That Comes Before to you, and I'm so happy you enjoyed it. I'm reading book 5 in the Second Apocalypse. Wait until you get to The Warrior Prophet!
I'm guilty of not having read Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn yet, but I intend to!
How exciting that you're meeting Philip! 😃
@@Johanna_reads Apologies, I meant to just write MS&T, of course you have read The Prince of Nothing Trilogy, my bad!😅
Yeah, I am very excited to meet the Professor: Outside of sightseeing, I will definitely discuss with him some MS&T influence on the Edan Trilogy, both directly and indirectly through ASOIAF! Cheers! 😊
Here's what I read
Worthy by jada pinkett Smith memoir
Howling dark by Christopher ruoccichio
Iris Kelly doesn't date by Ashley herring Blake
The wall of Winnipeg and me by Mariana Zapata
The maid by nita prose
Redeeming 6 by chloe Walsh
Going bicoastal by dahlia Adler
Same time next summer by annabel Monaghan
Pride and protest by nikki Payne
Excellent list! :)
The Priests tale was also my favorite from Hyperion. I ended up really enjoying the book overall. I read the next book and did not connect with it as much and decided to not go on with the next two at least for now.
Oh you’re not alone! The second book seems very polarizing. People love it or hate it. Guess I’ll find out where I land. 😅
The only Simmons book I have read is The Terror. If Hyperion is half as good as that it will be great. It's sitting on my shelf begging me to read it. I'll have to go back and watch the Why Read? episode with Criminolly and Brian. I somehow missed it. 😔Another great wrap-up!
Thank you! I haven’t read any other books by Dan Simmons, but I was impressed with his writing style. Cheers!
I like the thumbnail haha
@@Cale__1 🟧
Hey there Johanna, just published my first video ever! I will definitely need to refine my production a bit but hopefully one day you'd have me on one of your why read episodes :)
Hi there! Thanks for letting me know! I just subscribed to your channel and will watch your first video soon. Welcome to BookTube!
Hi there hello hello hello hello
Hello there! :)
Hi Johanna, as a new author, I was wondering if you could review my novel 'Red Scarf?' Johanna, I would be happy to pay you for this honest review, bye, for now, Alex 🙃
Thank you so much for the offer! I'm not accepting arcs or books right now and don't accept payment for reviews, but I hope it finds the right audience!
I'll say the sequel to Hyperion qualifies as good also but it's FAR too long.
Ooh good to know!! 😯
Like you very much but couldn't feel more differently about "A Good Man is Hard to Find" (and Flannery O'Connor in general). Nothing called something. No offense meant.
Thanks for sharing your different opinion!
@@Johanna_reads Thanks for not taking it as an attack!
Also I really don't like the friends to lovers trope. Give me a well written good friendship over that any day of the week. That was the one big misstep for me in Legends and Lattes. Loved the book until that trope reared it's ugly head.
Haha! I agree that a well written friendship is superior to that trope!