@@madyleine i've had the first book on my tbr for a while lol so i already wanted to read that one but she sold it even more. it seems like it's gonna be a very "character driven" book, which i usually love.
I just have 2 on going big books right now (Stephen King & Brandon Sanderson) so once I'm done with those, I'll get on the first book. probably post Christmas- first book of the new year. she definitely bumped it up my tbr
Love how enthusiastic everyone was, and how comfortable you’ve gotten with asking from the first video. Now I have to rewatch and write down some of the books.
Omg that girl convinced ME to read if we were villains! I’ve kinda wanted to read it for a while but I wasn’t fully sure of the plot and themes but she made it so much clearer and it sounds INCREDIBLE
Um I havent seen anyone else in the comments list the books so i did it myself, enjoy: - Dry, Neal Shusterman & Jarrod Shusterman - The Silent Patient, Alex Michaelides - A Series of Unfortunate Events, Lemony Snicket - The Invention of Hugo Cabret, Brian Selznick - If We Were Villains, M.L. Rio - The Metamorphosis, Franz Kafka - Exhalation, Ted Chiang - The Road Not Taken, Susan Rubin - The Castle, Franz Kafka - The Trial, Franz Kafka - In the Penal Colony, Franz Kafka - Confessions, Saint Augustine - The Housemaid, Freida McFadden - The Selection, Kiera Cass - The Count of Monte Cristo, Alexandre Dumas - The Bible - A Good Idea, Cristina Moracho - I Who Have Never Known Men, Jaqueline Harpman - A Little Life, Hanya Yanagihara - Lord Foul’s Bane, Stephen R. Donaldson - Harry Potter, J.K. Rowling - Normal People, Sally Rooney - The Maze Runner, James Dashner - Lord of the Flies, William Golding - The Stand, Stephen King - Misery, Stephen King - Swan Song, Robert McCammon - Berserk, Kentaro Miura - Fight Club, Chuck Palahniuk - Annihilation, Jeff Vandermeer - All The Light We Cannot See, Anthony Doerr - The Help, Kathryn Stockett - The Ascent of Humanity, Charles Eisenstein - The Subtle Art of Not Giving A F**k, Mark Manson - The Book of Mormon - Extreme Ownership, Jocko Willink & Leif Babin - Untamed, Glennon Doyle - The Dark Tower Series, Stephen King - Without Remorse, Tom Clancy There you go, hope someone finds this useful. Please like this so more people can see it.
Please please read Flowers for Algernon. It follows Charlie, who has a mental disability and he undergoes an experiment that could increase his level of intelligence. It is so heartbreaking in the most incredible way.
I love the missionaries saying the Book of Mormon 😂❤️ My favorite book is The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue. It’s about a girl born in 17th century France who dreams of exploring the world and having the freedom to choose her own path in life. She gets set up in an arranged marriage and on her wedding night runs into the woods praying to the Gods for help to get her out of the union. She doesn’t realize that the sun has gone down and she breaks the one rule the village witch taught her “never pray to the Gods who answer after dark”. She makes a deal with a dark God and is given the freedom that she begs for but at the cost of no one remembering her. The story is so enchanting and I absolutely recommend it! ❤️
I love this book!! It's not my favourite but it's my girlfriend's. And I have especially good memory from it because I got it to buy, started reading and one day after I started talking to her and said I was reading it and she said it was her favourite book. The only time I believed in destiny.
Wuthering heights by Emily Bronte is a harrowing story of betrayal and love and the way one can be haunted by the past. I went into this book thinking I wasn’t going to like it, and I don’t read many classics. But I have it 5 stars, and it made me cry.
How on earth is Wuthering Heights about love? X))) It is about abuse and toxic relationship of psychologically non-stable individuals. About how a family with abusive tendencies spirals to the next generation and further and further without a chance of getting out of it.
@@arinalowery7167 Because love isn't this pure, beautiful thing we'd all like it to be. For some it's obsessive, possessive and makes a person worse. You might not call it love but others do - and it's an important message to be put out there - that not all love is good, that it has the ability to make us worse. Some love stories are cautionary tales.
i read life of pi recently, and i was blown away, astonished, and changed. i can’t say much because it’s best go in completely blind. i don’t think a reader should go without reading it.
As a librarian, I wanna thank you for not shaming that young lady who doesn't read. Not everybody reads, and that's OKAY. There are different forms of literacy, and some folks who don't read have higher levels of other types of literacy and we can learn a lot from them. Reading, while amazing, is not something we should moralize. Thank you for being encouraging & non-judgemental.
"Not everybody reads and that's OKAY." Wouldn't we have to know the reason the person has for not reading before judging it "OKAY"? To assume that those who don't read have intelligent reasons for abstaining seems a very optimistic leap of faith. What if the person doesn't read because he or she lacks intellectual curiosity? (Am I the only person who has meant many non-readers with that issue?) Or has decided that all reading is boring? Or just for nerds? Or that it has not connection to real life? What if the college student who "doesn't read books" is studying to be a teacher or a librarian? I agree that reading is "not something we should moralize." But I also think we should not overrate, or make assumptions about-or moralize about-non-reading.
@@DarthMessias To be fair, she said, "Not everybody reads, and that's OKAY." Some people no doubt do have legitimate reasons for not reading. But the primary, overarching claim in the librarian's judgment was what I quoted above (with no "some people" about it). That claim prompts this question: Why should we judge all the reasons that one large group has for not reading as "OKAY" without even knowing what all those reasons are? P.S. Happy Christmas!
@marcsmirnoff936 That is incorrect. She wrote: "...some folks who don't read have higher levels of other types of literacy...". Your comment is based on her stating that all people have a higher literary in a way, which she never said. That is simply a strawman fallacy.
@@marcsmirnoff936 The great thing about being human is that... You don't NEED a reason for every little thing you do or do not do. Some people just don't like reading, and guess what... That's fine. I don't like watching horror movies, or eating certain things that some gastronomes would deam "essential" for every human pallet. Some people just don't like certain things, and that doesn't make them any better or worse of a human. The only reason that you listed in your initial comment that I would find concerning is someone labelling reading as "just for nerds." That reason includes an element of shame and judgement towards others for being different... and that would be a reason (for not reading) that I would consider to be morally problematic. We absolutely CAN look down on people for shaming other people. But we shouldn't think of others as "less than" just because they don't enjoy an activity that many believe to be "intellectual."
Stoner by John Williams. A quiet book about the life of a man called William Stoner, from leaving his parents farm to going to university, then working at the university, marriage etc etc. it’s simple but perfect. I hugged that book for too long after I finished it and I’d do it again!
I loved that book! I need more books that follow the life of a person from birth to death. Another I love that’s like that is Perfume by Patrick Suskind. It’s darker but so interesting.
@@jamgart There are a few women whose scent the main character Grenouille covets, so he spends his life learning how to make perfume to preserve their scent.
My favorite books are children's books. I love that one guy in the video mentioned a children's book, Hugo Cabret; so I see I'm not the only one who feels this way. :) I don't have one single favorite, but one that I've re-read multiple times in my life since I was 7 years old, and it still never gets old (I'm pushing 40 now), is Howard Pyle's *Merry Adventures of Robin Hood.* The modern conception we get of Robin Hood from film/TV is inaccurate and skewed by presentism, and reading an old version like this immerses you in a truer historical and cultural context of the legend. Also, it's just fun: the word "merry" is literally in the title, and it's not ironic. It's also a fairly quick read. This video was an absolute joy to watch. People really light up and get excited talking about their favorite books. I was smiling and laughing the whole time watching. Thank you so much for filming and sharing. :)
Strange the Dreamer... Male main character who is SUCH a cinnimon roll. His goodness is what makes him the hero, and I love that about it. The world is really intriguing and the writing is fantastic.
“I knew it’d happen eventually” with the MM😂😂😂 my husband and I laughed so hard😅 He’s also former LDS & he said he could not of held his tongue like you did😂😅👏
Slaughterhouse 5 by Kurt Vonnegut - it’s a fictionalized (but also somewhat biographical) take on his experience as a POW during WW2 and the devastating bombing of Dresden and the aftermath. It kind of takes an interesting and weird look at the cost of war on the soldiers who fight in the wars. With it, I would HIGHLY suggest reading an essay he wrote YEARS later about the experience in a non-fiction way called Wailing Shall be in All Streets because it takes the distance away from him describing the events through that fictional lens and him expressing the cost of being a POW on his own life. I will concede that yes, the alien bits are weird, but they’re also not really supposed to be normal.
The Kitchen God’s Wife by Amy Tan has been my favorite book since I first read it in high school (2010). It’s a beautifully woven tale of love, sacrifice, and the unbreakable bond between mothers and daughters. Set against the backdrop of Chinese culture and family secrets, it dives into Winnie Louie’s harrowing past in war-torn China, revealing layers of resilience, forgiveness, and self-discovery. As a Mexican American, this story changed how I viewed my relationship with my mom, showing me how different generations and experiences shape us. Amy Tan’s vivid storytelling grips your heart, making you feel every emotion and question the stories passed down through generations. This book taught me empathy and helped me appreciate my mom, even through misunderstandings. It’s raw, emotional, and unforgettable-a must-read for anyone who loves rich culture and heartfelt family drama.
My favorite book is Flowers for Algernon, I first read it 10 years ago and bring it out for a reread every couple years to see if it still holds the same power and it never fails to make me cry and question humanity and intelligence
My favorite book this year was The House In The Cerulean Sea and being able to finish the Duology as well. It is about a case worker that is given a job from the leaders of the business to go to an island to find out if the daycare facility is following all the rules that they are supposed to. It is a very wholesome book that reminded me of the movie Scooby Doo and the Ghoul School. Happy reading!!
I love the house on the cerulean sea, tj klune is one of my favorite authors. I also loved under the whispering door, and especially the lives of puppets.
I'm so torn about that book... I started reading it a while back and I wanted to love it, but then I found out the author took inspiration from the treatment of Indigenous people in residential schools in... kind of a really slimy way??? Taking a place of genocide and reimagining it as a place of found family, with no Indigenous people in sight?!?! And it doesn't impact the quality of the book itself, but it makes it harder to recommend :/
There are so many ways that this could go, your favorite book you actually love but are afraid others will judge you for it, a book that makes you seem intellectual, cool, or along the lines of the image you want to project for others to acciciate with you, and there are countless to choose from! I have so many favorites I dont know where to begin. My answer would depend on the day and the genre.
A book combo I read recently that go surprisingly well together are “The Anatomy of Peace”, and “The Poppy War”. They both deal with similar themes of conflict and being better than your demons, retaining your humanity when faced with evil, etc. I don’t know that I would recommend “The Poppy War” by itself, as it is an extremely disturbing book, with many sections taken directly from real war stories of some of the bloodiest scenes of human history. Plus there are some bits that I really just do not agree with on a personal level, but having read “The Anatomy of Peace” fairly recently beforehand, I feel like the two books complement one another very well and together they changed my perspective on some very important topics.
Oh dude! Have you read “Flowers for Algernon yet?” It’s really good, and really different. It’s fiction, and written in the style of a journal being kept by a man who is the subject of an experiment.
East Of Eden by John Steinbeck. Absolutely incredible. It's a book about love and being human. At the choices we make and the choices others make and how they affect our lives. It parallels the Adam and Eve storyline beautifully. It is so thought-provoking and absolutely stunning. "And now that you don't have to be perfect, you can be good." John Steinbeck, East of Eden.
You should definitely give "This is How You lose the Time War" a try! It's a sci-fi about a war between red and blue, who are also the main characters, its a war through different timelines and moments in time and they leave messages for each other. But when you finish the book, you will be wanting to re-read it immediately, cause it is a completely different story the second time you read it. So worth it!
My favorite book this year, potentially of all time is Babel by R.F. Kuang. It’s historical mixed with fantasy mixed with dark academia. It was the first book I ever annotated, the writing style is beautiful. It’s a book that will make you think about the world, specifically the academia setting and it also will pull at your heartstrings and make you feel in so many different ways.
Omg I just finished Babel a couple months ago and it is seriously one of the best books I've read in a long time. It is so beautiful and relatable and necessary (especially in this day and age) and I don't think a single sentence has shot me in the heart with such depth as "And then Letty broke the world." Like UGH even now my heart aches!
@@katiasabrina880 Ooh I didn't know she had a release slated for next year, I'll definitely have to check it out! (I also need to get my hands on her other books as well *sigh* so many books, so little time lol)
I started the audiobook and realized it was one I’d rather read than listen to because I relate to Robin in so many different ways. I put it down because I really shouldn’t have started it while reading three other books, but it’s at the top of my list to restart after I finish my current books!
I love these videos so much! You have the best positive energy, and you're so kind to everyone who approaches you! 😊 If I saw you on the street doing this I'd talk your ear off 😂
The Night Circus is my favorite book because of the incredible descriptive writing style! I was so immersed in the story because of the writing, it was just so magical and easy to picture everything! I wish the author had more than 2 books out I’m dying for more
Ian: “What’s your favorite book.” Missionaries: “The Book of Mormon.” Ian: “I knew it’d happen eventually.” 😂 Coming from someone who used to be Mormon and has been a missionary, this is hilarious. It is Salt Lake City after all. The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss is one of my new favourites. It’s about this legendary man who has kind of gone into hiding but gets found out and ends up telling his origin story. It takes three days for him to tell his story. Book one is day one. I haven’t read book two yet but I’m about to. It’s way better than my explanation!
I’m inactive but I served a mission too, and those missionaries seriously missed an opportunity 😂. I still think the BoM is an interesting read even in a non-religious way, just like the Bible and the Quran.
The Phantom of the Opera!! Such a good story with super compelling characters (much more interesting than the musical in my opinion lol) and an interesting interpretation of mental illness in the late 1800s/early 1900s! It’s also a gut-punch, so that’s fun too lol
YES! I'm reading it right now! Watching the 25th anniversary musical got me interested. The differences, similarities, and references are so cool! Also the characters have no chill and it's awesome! Poor Raoul😂 the guy walked into a madhouse. Christine is playing 4D chess just not very well, and the Phantom is terrifying and tragic. Honestly, the movie was such a sh*t show in comparison to both the stage production and the book. Shallow and sexualized. I always hated it, but I hate it even more after seeing the beautiful portrayal in the 25th anniversary stage production, and the book.
@@QuoVadi Oh my gosh please don't remind me that the movie even exists, it was such a mess! For sure the 25th anniversary production is the way to go when trying to watch the musical vs just listening to the cast album. And I honestly love Christine so much more in the book. Like we get to see so much more of her personality and agency in the book. It's so good!
Mine is either The Stand, or 11/22/63, both by Stephen King. I love how long they are because you feel so connected to the characters by the end of it. They also are both very thought provoking regarding human nature and psychology.
A Darkness At Ingrams Crest by Frank Yerby. Atlas Shrugged by A. Rand, Standing At The Scratch Line by Guy Johnson, and the children's book, The Flower Man, there are no words. It's a great book for all ages.
I just read "Foundation" and was blown away. Fantastic collection of connected short stories. I can definitely see how it influenced books like Dune and even Star Wars.
I think you should definitely read ‘Cleopatra & Frankenstein’ by Coco Mellors. It is a Fiction book. It’s about a woman from London named Cleo, she goes to art school in NY, and she meets a man names Frank, who doubles her age. They called each other Cleopatra and Frankenstein. They fell in love and got married fairly quickly, Cleo’s student visa was about to expire. They soon realize their personal problems kept them for working as a couple. It also follows two more characters who are related/connected to the two main characters. Really good book!!! It was the book that got me into Literary Fiction.
Fifteen Dogs by Andre Alexis. You will cry but it will change you as a person. An apologue, Fifteen Dogs tells the story of fifteen dogs, kenneled at a veterinary clinic, who are gifted by the gods with human consciousness when Apollo and Hermes bet on whether animals could ever live happily if they had the same cognitive abilities as humans.
Always love this type of video!! I can’t commit to a favorite book right now but I’ll go with two favorites from this year that I don’t think you’ve read. First, The God of the Woods! A literary slow burn mystery about missing children at a summer camp in the 1970’s featuring complex characters, amazing atmosphere, multiple timelines and POVs, and just a sense of unease and tension throughout. I felt so attached to the characters and loved the reading experience in general. And secondly, The Things We Cannot Say. This is historical fiction set in Poland during WWII and then it also jumps back and forth from present day in America following two different characters that are connected but we don’t know until the end how they’re connected and what their full stories are. I sobbed while reading this one and just loved the story so much ❤️
Some great recommendations this time! I always try to get people that want to try fiction again to go with Mistborn, though I can understand some people it's a hit or miss. The Mistborn series got me back into reading.
@@einherzsprichtstaub But their lack of knowledge transforms into everyone's problems in the long run (I'm not gonna elaborate how, if you read you can imagine how) to put it in short, those people end up a bit like Mildred form Fahrenheit 451.
If you like to read there’s a chance you are still a dumb ass person 😅 nowadays there’s so much garbage published that I don’t judge… but if you “DONT like to read” (which in my opinion is just a matter of finding the stuff you like) and you are not ashamed of saying it out loud them lol 😅 we are really lost as a society
If you have not allready you must read Little Women by Louisa May Alcott! ☺️It's such a good classic because it was so ahead of its time and Jo March is an amazing role model for young women!
-Tender is the Flesh by Agustina Bazterrica (all animals contract a virus and the government makes cannibalism legal, deals with a lot of what’s wrong and right) -The Book Thief by Markus Zusak (historical fiction set in Germany during WW2, following a young girl and death personified) -You Shouldn’t Have Come Here by Jeneva Rose (mystery, really good plot twist) -This Is Where it Ends by Marieke Nijkamp (school shooting from multiple perspectives, truly heartbreaking)
The Summer Guest by Justin Cronin does not get nearly the amount of love it deserves. An old man returns to his favorite fishing lodge because that's where he wants to spend his last days and we slowly learn the details of his past and how it intersects and intertwines with the lives of the family that owns and lives at the lodge.
The Name of the Wind, by Patrick Rothfuss. I actually challenge you to read the Prologue and don't get completely hooked. The writing is absolutly beautilfull, the Universe is awesome. And in the 10th aniversary edition Lin Manuel Miranda wrote the commentary in the cover saying that "nobody writes like Patrick Ruthfuss" and I agree. hahaha
"No one writes about economic reality within this genre like Pat Rothfuss. The real-world weight of the sometimes impossible distance between the things you want and need and what you have in your pocket. No one writes about music like Pat Rothfuss. The way it sneaks into your soul, the way it feeds you like nothing else. No one writes about stories like Pat Rothfuss. How the right story at the right time can change the world, how the teller can shape a life. No one writes like Pat Rothfuss. Full stop. Read this book." Lin Manuel Miranda
@@cristinaottohe and JRR Martian share one thing. They will never complete their series. This is why I won’t read anymore of either one until the series are complete.
Yeah, they might not end the series, but for me, all the released kooks from both GOT and The Kingkiller Chronicles are worth reading. And the Name of the Wind is my all time favorite, I read multiple times, in multiple languages and it still moves me like no other. I still recommend with all my heart 💜
I really liked The Name of the Wind but rather less convinced by A Wise Man's Fear - it seemed to be rambling unconnected episodes. But I really enjoyed The Slow Regard of Silent Things. It is weird - most of the characters are inanimate objects and the human character is clearly broken - but it is beautiful.
Yay, Ian! Love that you made this video! While I rarely reach for sci-fi or fantasy, I too enjoyed This Is How You Win the Time War. In an entirely different genre, a book I read over and over again is In the Skin of a Lion by Michael Ondaatje. This dreamlike novel is grounded in a real place and time (Canada in the early 20th century) and follows Patrick Lewis, a young man whose coming of age, pulls him from the country into the city and deeply involves him in the colliding social, industrial changes happening there. Romance, mystery, poetry, humanity, destiny... It's a really good read!
Definitely 'When breath becomes air' by Paul Kalanithi. The author was a neurosurgeon, who through his work had been standing in front of death so many times in context to his patients, and he is suddenly diagnosed with stage four lung cancer, now having to face the other side of death (his own death). He just about finishes writing the book before he dies. The book is so poetic and lyrical and reflects on dying and facing one's mortality.
My Favorite book has to be "A house in the Cerulean sea". It isn't a book I would normally reach for but Klune took me on a ride of love, hate, sadness, and even bliss. He wrote with a way that keeps you enthralled by the world he created. Runner up is "How to stop time" by Matt Haig
The midnight children by Dan Gamienhart. I love it so so much. It is about a lonely soul yearning for love, any kind of love other than familial because he has the sweetest parents ever...but one night, he sees, through his window, that seven children dressed in white, looking like ghosts, and alone without any parents get out of a truck...he decides that he wants _them_ to end his extreme loneliness. I literally cried on the first page because "i hope nobody has to cry to sleep due to lonliness" it's about friendship and adventure and it being okay to not be okay... accepting ourselves and oh the narration is like a gentle mother, always talking to you as if you're her child.
Neuromancer by William Gibson. I adore this book. It's an action fuelled heist story set against the backdrop of a retro-futuristic dystopian cityscape. The main character is presented with the offer of a rescue from his imminent demise if he runs one last job for a stranger. As he gets deeper and deeper into the job things start to unravel and reveal a pretty interesting twist. Many other works have taken inspiration from this book.
I’m a huge Cyberpunk 2077 fan and hearing the name “Night City” really elevated this book for me, even though it’s not the same Night City. They definitely took some inspo from this book.
I would recommend the six of crows if u haven't read it already, it is a a fantasy heist story and the novel shifts between the alternating points of view of five teenagers who team up to pull off the ultimate prison break.
@@Goolop77 so tbh not to spoil it lol but that guy is not one of the main characters. i say give it another try, bc the rest of them are very interesting and complex characters with some of the best/my favorite characterization and relationships i've read about. if you can get through to the second chapter, it picks up and is more interesting, you start to meet the leads and see more of the juicy criminal underground. i've read a lot of books since, and it still holds up as one of my favorites and a great reread as well :)
I love these videos! The guy who recommended The Maze Runner series I second that. It’s so good! And the girl who suggested The Help. That’s another great one. My fiancé Ray says his favorite is the Night Angel series by Brent Weeks. He got me to read it and I really enjoyed the first three.
Anything by John Green is bound to be spectacular. TJ Klune is an exceptional writer as well. The Song of Achilles has to be one of my favorite books though, filled with heartbreak and beautiful writing. It won the Orange Prize, and Madeline Miller (the author) researches greek mythology. Truly a gorgeous story and could not recommend it more.
These videos are great. I love hearing about the books people enjoy reading. These videos give me ideas on what to read next. Please keep making these videos!
The Poppy War trilogy is one of my favorites; its long, but it takes the readers on a journey that you never thought you would enjoy. I also believe there are very few fantasy books where the world-building is truly very interesting, and this book blew me away with the world-building, and it made me ponder about the society within the book and also our own society and my own ideology. It was a great reading experience, and it helped me get out of a reading slump. Highly recommend. FIVE START READ FOR ME THIS YEAR.
I was about to recommend the same thing!! Just finished the trilogy and the world building is sooo good. I've never loved and hated a character as much i do Rin.
My favorite is a YA book series called "The Lunar Chronicles." Its inspired by classical fairy tales, but it very much has its own story other than that (it also has a sci-fi setting, so thats cool). There are 4 books, each based on a different story. The first book is called Cinder, based on Cinderella. Cinder is a 16 year old cyborg who has always been cast aside by her family and discriminated against for her cyborg-ness. She's a really good mechanic bc she always had to work on her parts, and she makes a living doing that. One day, the crown prince of the nation brings her his broken android to be fixed. A bunch of stuff happens from there for the whole series. I've reaf it 7 times, its so good. It gets really political later on, too!
If I ever came across someone doing this, ‘Children Of Time’ would be my immediate recommendation. They’ll either quit halfway through, or they’ll find a new favourite author.
Favourites are hard, but Blood Meridian keeps coming back in my mind. Perfect prose, perfect plot, perfect characters and themes. It's truly the last great epic, and joins Moby Dick as one of America's great mythological novels.
@ I’m not a re-reader at all, but I re-read BM a year after my first reading on a whim. I just couldn’t stop thinking about it, so I picked it up and finished it in a week. I just got the 25th anniversary edition, as well as the border trilogy and Suttree. Blood Meridian simply rocks, and Cormac is one of the greats
You should read the six deaths of the Saint because it’s a very short thirty page short story but it’ll make you feel more than a full length book. It is so mind blowing and just absolutely all around amazing there are plot twists that just have you shocked and the writing is stunning and the whole story is just all around beautiful
First time seeing one of your videos and I instantly subscribed! Even just watching this video, I stressed about which book I would pick to convince you to read 😂 Such a fun video my friend!
I was waiting for the day someone recommended Berserk. I really think you would love it, and if you do, please give Vinland Saga a try as well. It's historical fiction story about love, death, and revenge. It's one of the most impactful stories I've ever read.
The Thief by Megan Whalen Turner. A King's magus, two princelings, a guard, and a thief go on a road trip to find and steal a hidden treasure. Told from the perspective of the foul mouthed thief who is up to his own sneaky mischief. The whole series is incredible with lots of royal politics, adventure, espionage, and plot twists with just a tiny smattering of fantasy and romance for some extra spice. But it's mostly about the politics and espionage. The first book is so good it was the first time I ever got to the end of a book and immediately flipped back to the front and started reading it again in the same sitting!
I never comment on a video but I feel like this book deserves it. In Memoriam by Alice Winn, it’s her debut novel and it is absolutely incredible. It’s a story set during the First World War and it follows two school boys with very opposing views regarding the war, which is very reflective of the attitude people had back then. It is a love story, a tragedy, a history lesson all in one. It is a literary fiction with beautiful writing.
Dude you should definitely read a book called The hair-carpet weavers. Practically nobody talks about it and I watch A LOT of yt book channels. It's a hidden scifi gem. I've read it a few years ago and that story and ideas in the story just sticked with me, I think about the the book every other day. Every sentence felt impactful.
One of my favorite books of all time is Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand. It's not fiction, but more a biography of an incredible man, Louis Zamperini. An elite athlete who goes to the 1936 Olympics in Berlin, and then ends up fighting in WWII. His story is AMAZING and will stay with me FOREVER.
"And Then There Were None" by Agatha Christie. I read it a long time ago at my school's library but I still remember all the details. Closed circle mystery. It's a classic.
Ian, i dont know if you read graphic novels, but even if you dont this would be a perfect introduction. Daytripper by Fabio Moon and Gabriel Ba. Each chapter follows the protagonist at a different age in his life (not in order) and what his life would amount to if he died at that age. By the end of the book, you learn so much about the persons life through seeing the different ways ue could have died. It hits all the emotions and is one of my favorite works of fiction of all time
I love “The last kingdom” by Bernhard Cornwell. It has a lot of historical significance, only the protagonist was actually non-existent in this storytelling. It's about Vikings against England, which is trying to become a united kingdom within this series. There is a lot more exposure of the English side and not just the Viking side, which I personally found very cool. Another book I loved was “The Lautern of lost memories” by Sanaka Hiiragi. It's about how after you die, you enter a kind of in-between world where you can choose a picture from each day of your life for each year when you lives, which is then seen in this “it passes me by at death” moment. It's a really lovely book and the ending is just wow. (sorry im not a native speaker, I don't even know, if anybody can understand hahaha)
That was so fun and cool. I loved seeing what different people were into and why. Thank you for that. I already had a very full tbr but I had to add like four or five books. lol
Wooooo I’m so early lmao! Awesome video Ian! I also highly recommend I who have never known men, it’s great and I still think about it weekly 6 months later. My fav book this year is “A Certain Hunger” by Chelsea g summers. It’s a fiction novel written in the style of a memoir, the main character is a woman who is a serial killer food critic cannibal. Enough said 😂
My absolute favourite book is The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon (which happens to be my absolute favourite author). It's the first book of a series called The Cemetery of Forgotten Books. It starts with our protagonist being taken by his father to The Cemetery of Forgotten books, and there he has to pick a book that he'll have to protect and take care of for the rest of his life. The title of the book he chooses is "The Shadow of the Wind" by Julian Carax. After a while he'll realise that the book he picked is extremely rare, because all the other books by this author are being burnt by someone mysterious, and he'll soon notice that he's being followed by someone. I tried to sum up the plot as much as possible but it feels like heresy, there's sooo much more haha All I will add is that it takes place in a mysterious, dark and foggy Barcelona, the characters are written incredibly, the story is extremely captivating, and Zafon's writing is absolutely mesmerising. Every book by this author is a gem, even the first ones he wrote, which are YA, are *chef's kiss* so I guess more than convincing you to read my favourite book, I'd say I'm trying to convince you to read my favourite writer haha
I'm not that good at convincing, but I'll give it my best shot. You are also one of my favourite TH-camrs. These books are the only books that have ever made me cry, get angry, or really care and love the characters: - The Paris Daughter by Kristin Harmel - The German Wife by Kelly Rimmer - The Girl Behind the Wall by Mandy Robotham - The War Pianist by Mandy Robotham - The Paris Secret by Lily Graham. These are all Historical Fiction that are mainly set around WWII, usually with dual timelines.
Out of all of these, 'All the Light we cannot see'---please be high priority! Book is amazing! Amazing prose/writing style. Love the dual POV characters and how everything comes together toward the end. Also Without Remorse--great thriller novel as a prequel to the Jack Ryan series--Great action, and lovely characters. It's hard to recommend the whole Jack Ryan series cause it's SEVERAL books long (still ongoing after ~30-40 years by authors still after Tom Clancy's death). As for my favorite book, right this minute between Rape of Nanking and All Quiet on the Western Front. Both pretty short books set during WW2, and 1 respectively. Bit of an antiwar theme to it. IF you had to choose, definitely All quiet on the western front. Love these Vids! keep it up! :D
I don't have a fav book (other than the best seller of all time: The Bible. Which has got everything! Poetry, sex, revenge, war, demons, etc.) But here's 3 of my fav authors & why you should try them. 1)Terry Brooks. My fav fantasy author. So far. He creates stories that are easy to read or get into. Start with "Sword of Shannara." Or, pick any of his books. Turn to a random page and read. I dare you to read one paragraph without wanting more. 2) Rick Bragg. This Pulitzer Prize winning journalist turned to bio and memoir. Start with "All Over But the Shoutin'". This is a heartbreaking memoir. His Alabama childhood is achingly described with sublime, poetic mastery. Sentimental and poignant this book describes his single Mother's struggle to provide, protect and empower her three sons to rise higher than the clouds. One did. 3) Anne Dillard. "Pilgram at Tinker's Creek." A naturalist with the heart of Emily Dickinson. She describes the natural world with reverence and adoration. Each page has atleast one phrase or line that is exquisitely written. Enough so to make any amateur writer pull their hair out with envy. Read slowly and savor.
That man was so right about the Invention Of Hugo Cabret. An incredible children's book. So intricate and intriguing and creative. Love it.
i read it in the fourth grade and it had a pretty huge impact on me!! such a great book
I literally just went and purchased this for my third grader!
I didn’t read this one but I LOVED The Marvels. I *sobbed* and still think of it even though I read it almost 8 years ago
I've never heard of it before but it sounds great! I really want to read it now
My daughter loved this book!
You know what? That girl completely convinced me to read If we were villains. She absolutely sold it!
15:00 really said "idk how to convince people" after actually selling the hell out of the book better than most of them
downloaded the trilogy cause of her. really looking forward to reading it 🤍
@@madyleine i've had the first book on my tbr for a while lol so i already wanted to read that one but she sold it even more. it seems like it's gonna be a very "character driven" book, which i usually love.
I just have 2 on going big books right now (Stephen King & Brandon Sanderson) so once I'm done with those, I'll get on the first book. probably post Christmas- first book of the new year. she definitely bumped it up my tbr
It's a really good book actually! There's a fourth book in the series called Absolution that I haven't read yet. But I loved the other 3.
@@sammiller5120I didn't know about Absolution... thanks!! will add it on my kindle 🥰
Love how enthusiastic everyone was, and how comfortable you’ve gotten with asking from the first video. Now I have to rewatch and write down some of the books.
Glad I got to be in a video!
Omg that girl convinced ME to read if we were villains! I’ve kinda wanted to read it for a while but I wasn’t fully sure of the plot and themes but she made it so much clearer and it sounds INCREDIBLE
Um I havent seen anyone else in the comments list the books so i did it myself, enjoy:
- Dry, Neal Shusterman & Jarrod Shusterman
- The Silent Patient, Alex Michaelides
- A Series of Unfortunate Events, Lemony Snicket
- The Invention of Hugo Cabret, Brian Selznick
- If We Were Villains, M.L. Rio
- The Metamorphosis, Franz Kafka
- Exhalation, Ted Chiang
- The Road Not Taken, Susan Rubin
- The Castle, Franz Kafka
- The Trial, Franz Kafka
- In the Penal Colony, Franz Kafka
- Confessions, Saint Augustine
- The Housemaid, Freida McFadden
- The Selection, Kiera Cass
- The Count of Monte Cristo, Alexandre Dumas
- The Bible
- A Good Idea, Cristina Moracho
- I Who Have Never Known Men, Jaqueline Harpman
- A Little Life, Hanya Yanagihara
- Lord Foul’s Bane, Stephen R. Donaldson
- Harry Potter, J.K. Rowling
- Normal People, Sally Rooney
- The Maze Runner, James Dashner
- Lord of the Flies, William Golding
- The Stand, Stephen King
- Misery, Stephen King
- Swan Song, Robert McCammon
- Berserk, Kentaro Miura
- Fight Club, Chuck Palahniuk
- Annihilation, Jeff Vandermeer
- All The Light We Cannot See, Anthony Doerr
- The Help, Kathryn Stockett
- The Ascent of Humanity, Charles Eisenstein
- The Subtle Art of Not Giving A F**k, Mark Manson
- The Book of Mormon
- Extreme Ownership, Jocko Willink & Leif Babin
- Untamed, Glennon Doyle
- The Dark Tower Series, Stephen King
- Without Remorse, Tom Clancy
There you go, hope someone finds this useful. Please like this so more people can see it.
you are a real one
@@claireverse You're welcome!!
we appreciate people like you who take the timeee 🙏🏾
No problem :)
It's so interesting how much the people "look" like their favorite book.
I love these videos.. also props to the guy who asked Ian HIS favorite book. I like that guy 👊
Please please read Flowers for Algernon. It follows Charlie, who has a mental disability and he undergoes an experiment that could increase his level of intelligence. It is so heartbreaking in the most incredible way.
Second this!!!
Yes, I third this! I read it this year and I loved it. We need more books like that one!
Joining in to convince you!
I read this in the eighth grade, and it actually made me cry in class. I'm not usually one to enjoy sad stories, but it was really good!
This is my favorite book too !!! 😁
I love how people still held so many of their childhood reads so closely in their hearts 🥹
4:30 "You're a reader I can tell" was diabolical
I love the missionaries saying the Book of Mormon 😂❤️
My favorite book is The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue. It’s about a girl born in 17th century France who dreams of exploring the world and having the freedom to choose her own path in life. She gets set up in an arranged marriage and on her wedding night runs into the woods praying to the Gods for help to get her out of the union. She doesn’t realize that the sun has gone down and she breaks the one rule the village witch taught her “never pray to the Gods who answer after dark”. She makes a deal with a dark God and is given the freedom that she begs for but at the cost of no one remembering her. The story is so enchanting and I absolutely recommend it! ❤️
This would be my answer as well. I read it a few years ago and it has stuck with me. So full of history and magic and emotion. Poetic.
Loved this book so much, so atmospheric and dark and I really dig the darkness and addie
I love this book!! It's not my favourite but it's my girlfriend's. And I have especially good memory from it because I got it to buy, started reading and one day after I started talking to her and said I was reading it and she said it was her favourite book. The only time I believed in destiny.
Takes so much bravery to do these videos! Go Ian! Love these
Wuthering heights by Emily Bronte is a harrowing story of betrayal and love and the way one can be haunted by the past. I went into this book thinking I wasn’t going to like it, and I don’t read many classics. But I have it 5 stars, and it made me cry.
A must read! My favorite book of all time! ❤
Yes! I also didn’t think I was going to like it, but it’s now my favorite book of all time.
I read this when I was too young to appreciate it and you just reminded me to reread it again. Thank you!!!
How on earth is Wuthering Heights about love? X))) It is about abuse and toxic relationship of psychologically non-stable individuals. About how a family with abusive tendencies spirals to the next generation and further and further without a chance of getting out of it.
@@arinalowery7167 Because love isn't this pure, beautiful thing we'd all like it to be. For some it's obsessive, possessive and makes a person worse. You might not call it love but others do - and it's an important message to be put out there - that not all love is good, that it has the ability to make us worse. Some love stories are cautionary tales.
i read life of pi recently, and i was blown away, astonished, and changed. i can’t say much because it’s best go in completely blind. i don’t think a reader should go without reading it.
This is a great video. Most people are just begging to share what brought them joy. Thanks for giving them the opportunity
As a librarian, I wanna thank you for not shaming that young lady who doesn't read. Not everybody reads, and that's OKAY. There are different forms of literacy, and some folks who don't read have higher levels of other types of literacy and we can learn a lot from them. Reading, while amazing, is not something we should moralize. Thank you for being encouraging & non-judgemental.
"Not everybody reads and that's OKAY."
Wouldn't we have to know the reason the person has for not reading before judging it "OKAY"? To assume that those who don't read have intelligent reasons for abstaining seems a very optimistic leap of faith.
What if the person doesn't read because he or she lacks intellectual curiosity? (Am I the only person who has meant many non-readers with that issue?) Or has decided that all reading is boring? Or just for nerds? Or that it has not connection to real life? What if the college student who "doesn't read books" is studying to be a teacher or a librarian?
I agree that reading is "not something we should moralize." But I also think we should not overrate, or make assumptions about-or moralize about-non-reading.
@@marcsmirnoff936Well, to be fair, she did say some people...xD
@@DarthMessias To be fair, she said, "Not everybody reads, and that's OKAY."
Some people no doubt do have legitimate reasons for not reading. But the primary, overarching claim in the librarian's judgment was what I quoted above (with no "some people" about it).
That claim prompts this question: Why should we judge all the reasons that one large group has for not reading as "OKAY" without even knowing what all those reasons are?
P.S. Happy Christmas!
@marcsmirnoff936 That is incorrect. She wrote: "...some folks who don't read have higher levels of other types of literacy...". Your comment is based on her stating that all people have a higher literary in a way, which she never said. That is simply a strawman fallacy.
@@marcsmirnoff936 The great thing about being human is that... You don't NEED a reason for every little thing you do or do not do. Some people just don't like reading, and guess what... That's fine. I don't like watching horror movies, or eating certain things that some gastronomes would deam "essential" for every human pallet. Some people just don't like certain things, and that doesn't make them any better or worse of a human.
The only reason that you listed in your initial comment that I would find concerning is someone labelling reading as "just for nerds." That reason includes an element of shame and judgement towards others for being different... and that would be a reason (for not reading) that I would consider to be morally problematic. We absolutely CAN look down on people for shaming other people.
But we shouldn't think of others as "less than" just because they don't enjoy an activity that many believe to be "intellectual."
Stoner by John Williams. A quiet book about the life of a man called William Stoner, from leaving his parents farm to going to university, then working at the university, marriage etc etc. it’s simple but perfect. I hugged that book for too long after I finished it and I’d do it again!
I loved that book! I need more books that follow the life of a person from birth to death. Another I love that’s like that is Perfume by Patrick Suskind. It’s darker but so interesting.
@ Ah yes, I know this book. The perfume being the scent of women? I haven’t read it but it definitely sounds interesting!
@@jamgart There are a few women whose scent the main character Grenouille covets, so he spends his life learning how to make perfume to preserve their scent.
My favorite books are children's books. I love that one guy in the video mentioned a children's book, Hugo Cabret; so I see I'm not the only one who feels this way. :)
I don't have one single favorite, but one that I've re-read multiple times in my life since I was 7 years old, and it still never gets old (I'm pushing 40 now), is Howard Pyle's *Merry Adventures of Robin Hood.* The modern conception we get of Robin Hood from film/TV is inaccurate and skewed by presentism, and reading an old version like this immerses you in a truer historical and cultural context of the legend. Also, it's just fun: the word "merry" is literally in the title, and it's not ironic. It's also a fairly quick read.
This video was an absolute joy to watch. People really light up and get excited talking about their favorite books. I was smiling and laughing the whole time watching. Thank you so much for filming and sharing. :)
Aw yes please A Series of Unfortunate Events!!! I love that series!!!!
Love SOUE
I love that series so much!
Loved it from the end of elementary school till now ten years later! Stuck with me all the way and is still amazing, heartbreaking, and hilarious!
Strange the Dreamer... Male main character who is SUCH a cinnimon roll. His goodness is what makes him the hero, and I love that about it. The world is really intriguing and the writing is fantastic.
thanks for reminding us that the internet isnt totally screwed
“I knew it’d happen eventually” with the MM😂😂😂 my husband and I laughed so hard😅
He’s also former LDS & he said he could not of held his tongue like you did😂😅👏
They didn’t even give me the chance, they did a drive by on me😂🙈
i love kafka, it's awesome that you got a couple recs to read his work :D
I love this! So nice to see people talking about books they love. Please do more if these.
Slaughterhouse 5 by Kurt Vonnegut - it’s a fictionalized (but also somewhat biographical) take on his experience as a POW during WW2 and the devastating bombing of Dresden and the aftermath. It kind of takes an interesting and weird look at the cost of war on the soldiers who fight in the wars. With it, I would HIGHLY suggest reading an essay he wrote YEARS later about the experience in a non-fiction way called Wailing Shall be in All Streets because it takes the distance away from him describing the events through that fictional lens and him expressing the cost of being a POW on his own life. I will concede that yes, the alien bits are weird, but they’re also not really supposed to be normal.
I love that book
One of my very favorite books way back when… I quite liked Vonnegut during my youth. I should revisit his works. Thanks for reminder.
The Kitchen God’s Wife by Amy Tan has been my favorite book since I first read it in high school (2010). It’s a beautifully woven tale of love, sacrifice, and the unbreakable bond between mothers and daughters. Set against the backdrop of Chinese culture and family secrets, it dives into Winnie Louie’s harrowing past in war-torn China, revealing layers of resilience, forgiveness, and self-discovery.
As a Mexican American, this story changed how I viewed my relationship with my mom, showing me how different generations and experiences shape us. Amy Tan’s vivid storytelling grips your heart, making you feel every emotion and question the stories passed down through generations. This book taught me empathy and helped me appreciate my mom, even through misunderstandings. It’s raw, emotional, and unforgettable-a must-read for anyone who loves rich culture and heartfelt family drama.
My favorite book is Flowers for Algernon, I first read it 10 years ago and bring it out for a reread every couple years to see if it still holds the same power and it never fails to make me cry and question humanity and intelligence
I just read this book for the first time (in French) and my heart sinks. And by chance, I discovered your comment.
My favorite book this year was The House In The Cerulean Sea and being able to finish the Duology as well. It is about a case worker that is given a job from the leaders of the business to go to an island to find out if the daycare facility is following all the rules that they are supposed to. It is a very wholesome book that reminded me of the movie Scooby Doo and the Ghoul School. Happy reading!!
TJ Klune also wrote "Under the Whispering Door" (highly recommend) which I loved more than "The House..."
I love the house on the cerulean sea, tj klune is one of my favorite authors. I also loved under the whispering door, and especially the lives of puppets.
I'm so torn about that book... I started reading it a while back and I wanted to love it, but then I found out the author took inspiration from the treatment of Indigenous people in residential schools in... kind of a really slimy way??? Taking a place of genocide and reimagining it as a place of found family, with no Indigenous people in sight?!?! And it doesn't impact the quality of the book itself, but it makes it harder to recommend :/
@@MagretaWestby oh ick :( I didn’t know that,
There are so many ways that this could go, your favorite book you actually love but are afraid others will judge you for it, a book that makes you seem intellectual, cool, or along the lines of the image you want to project for others to acciciate with you, and there are countless to choose from!
I have so many favorites I dont know where to begin. My answer would depend on the day and the genre.
A book combo I read recently that go surprisingly well together are “The Anatomy of Peace”, and “The Poppy War”. They both deal with similar themes of conflict and being better than your demons, retaining your humanity when faced with evil, etc.
I don’t know that I would recommend “The Poppy War” by itself, as it is an extremely disturbing book, with many sections taken directly from real war stories of some of the bloodiest scenes of human history. Plus there are some bits that I really just do not agree with on a personal level, but having read “The Anatomy of Peace” fairly recently beforehand, I feel like the two books complement one another very well and together they changed my perspective on some very important topics.
The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafón! Read it more than a decade ago and I still think about it every now and then.
Omg this series!! absolutely brilliant!😍😍
Flowers for algernon! Thought provoking & Very emotional 👍🏻
Oh dude! Have you read “Flowers for Algernon yet?” It’s really good, and really different. It’s fiction, and written in the style of a journal being kept by a man who is the subject of an experiment.
East Of Eden by John Steinbeck. Absolutely incredible. It's a book about love and being human. At the choices we make and the choices others make and how they affect our lives. It parallels the Adam and Eve storyline beautifully. It is so thought-provoking and absolutely stunning.
"And now that you don't have to be perfect, you can be good." John Steinbeck, East of Eden.
That is my favourite book. Steinbeck is such a great storyteller. ❤
I read this one right after Grapes of Wrath, loved both
You should definitely give "This is How You lose the Time War" a try! It's a sci-fi about a war between red and blue, who are also the main characters, its a war through different timelines and moments in time and they leave messages for each other. But when you finish the book, you will be wanting to re-read it immediately, cause it is a completely different story the second time you read it. So worth it!
I just finished that book and you are so right! The writing is gorgeous and I was stunned by the way the plot kept unfolding. It was so amazing!
YESS!
That book had me weeping lol
My favorite book this year, potentially of all time is Babel by R.F. Kuang. It’s historical mixed with fantasy mixed with dark academia. It was the first book I ever annotated, the writing style is beautiful. It’s a book that will make you think about the world, specifically the academia setting and it also will pull at your heartstrings and make you feel in so many different ways.
Omg I just finished Babel a couple months ago and it is seriously one of the best books I've read in a long time. It is so beautiful and relatable and necessary (especially in this day and age) and I don't think a single sentence has shot me in the heart with such depth as "And then Letty broke the world." Like UGH even now my heart aches!
Could not agree more!!! Already planning to preorder R F Kuang’s August 2025 release!
@@katiasabrina880 Ooh I didn't know she had a release slated for next year, I'll definitely have to check it out! (I also need to get my hands on her other books as well *sigh* so many books, so little time lol)
I started the audiobook and realized it was one I’d rather read than listen to because I relate to Robin in so many different ways. I put it down because I really shouldn’t have started it while reading three other books, but it’s at the top of my list to restart after I finish my current books!
One my fav read last year
I love these videos so much! You have the best positive energy, and you're so kind to everyone who approaches you! 😊 If I saw you on the street doing this I'd talk your ear off 😂
The Night Circus is my favorite book because of the incredible descriptive writing style! I was so immersed in the story because of the writing, it was just so magical and easy to picture everything! I wish the author had more than 2 books out I’m dying for more
That's what I was going to suggest. I really loved it. I wasn't a big fan of The Endless Sea but hopefully she'll write more.
Ian: “What’s your favorite book.”
Missionaries: “The Book of Mormon.”
Ian: “I knew it’d happen eventually.”
😂 Coming from someone who used to be Mormon and has been a missionary, this is hilarious. It is Salt Lake City after all.
The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss is one of my new favourites. It’s about this legendary man who has kind of gone into hiding but gets found out and ends up telling his origin story. It takes three days for him to tell his story. Book one is day one. I haven’t read book two yet but I’m about to.
It’s way better than my explanation!
I’m inactive but I served a mission too, and those missionaries seriously missed an opportunity 😂. I still think the BoM is an interesting read even in a non-religious way, just like the Bible and the Quran.
The Phantom of the Opera!! Such a good story with super compelling characters (much more interesting than the musical in my opinion lol) and an interesting interpretation of mental illness in the late 1800s/early 1900s! It’s also a gut-punch, so that’s fun too lol
YES! I'm reading it right now! Watching the 25th anniversary musical got me interested. The differences, similarities, and references are so cool! Also the characters have no chill and it's awesome! Poor Raoul😂 the guy walked into a madhouse. Christine is playing 4D chess just not very well, and the Phantom is terrifying and tragic.
Honestly, the movie was such a sh*t show in comparison to both the stage production and the book. Shallow and sexualized. I always hated it, but I hate it even more after seeing the beautiful portrayal in the 25th anniversary stage production, and the book.
@@QuoVadi Oh my gosh please don't remind me that the movie even exists, it was such a mess! For sure the 25th anniversary production is the way to go when trying to watch the musical vs just listening to the cast album. And I honestly love Christine so much more in the book. Like we get to see so much more of her personality and agency in the book. It's so good!
I loved this book so much!!! I need to read it again
Mine is either The Stand, or 11/22/63, both by Stephen King. I love how long they are because you feel so connected to the characters by the end of it. They also are both very thought provoking regarding human nature and psychology.
Ian these videos are so much fun to watch 😊
A Darkness At Ingrams Crest by Frank Yerby. Atlas Shrugged by A. Rand, Standing At The Scratch Line by Guy Johnson, and the children's book, The Flower Man, there are no words. It's a great book for all ages.
I just read "Foundation" and was blown away. Fantastic collection of connected short stories. I can definitely see how it influenced books like Dune and even Star Wars.
I think you should definitely read ‘Cleopatra & Frankenstein’ by Coco Mellors. It is a Fiction book. It’s about a woman from London named Cleo, she goes to art school in NY, and she meets a man names Frank, who doubles her age. They called each other Cleopatra and Frankenstein. They fell in love and got married fairly quickly, Cleo’s student visa was about to expire. They soon realize their personal problems kept them for working as a couple. It also follows two more characters who are related/connected to the two main characters. Really good book!!! It was the book that got me into Literary Fiction.
Fifteen Dogs by Andre Alexis. You will cry but it will change you as a person. An apologue, Fifteen Dogs tells the story of fifteen dogs, kenneled at a veterinary clinic, who are gifted by the gods with human consciousness when Apollo and Hermes bet on whether animals could ever live happily if they had the same cognitive abilities as humans.
Always love this type of video!! I can’t commit to a favorite book right now but I’ll go with two favorites from this year that I don’t think you’ve read. First, The God of the Woods! A literary slow burn mystery about missing children at a summer camp in the 1970’s featuring complex characters, amazing atmosphere, multiple timelines and POVs, and just a sense of unease and tension throughout. I felt so attached to the characters and loved the reading experience in general. And secondly, The Things We Cannot Say. This is historical fiction set in Poland during WWII and then it also jumps back and forth from present day in America following two different characters that are connected but we don’t know until the end how they’re connected and what their full stories are. I sobbed while reading this one and just loved the story so much ❤️
Sword of Kaigen by M. L. Wang. It was the book that got me into reading fantasy.
Currently reading it and the tornado just hit. 😱
Some great recommendations this time! I always try to get people that want to try fiction again to go with Mistborn, though I can understand some people it's a hit or miss. The Mistborn series got me back into reading.
Why am I so angry at the people that say they don’t read? Oh, right, because they are missing out on so much.
@@einherzsprichtstaub But their lack of knowledge transforms into everyone's problems in the long run (I'm not gonna elaborate how, if you read you can imagine how) to put it in short, those people end up a bit like Mildred form Fahrenheit 451.
If you like to read there’s a chance you are still a dumb ass person 😅 nowadays there’s so much garbage published that I don’t judge… but if you “DONT like to read” (which in my opinion is just a matter of finding the stuff you like) and you are not ashamed of saying it out loud them lol 😅 we are really lost as a society
If you have not allready you must read Little Women by Louisa May Alcott! ☺️It's such a good classic because it was so ahead of its time and Jo March is an amazing role model for young women!
I read a Christmas Carol and Heidi every year. These are favorite enough that they are annual reads, among others.
you should do this more ! it's really cool , added alot to my TBR
This should be a teaching moment for the non readers, don't just let them leave!
You should do the same concept but actually reading those books by the end of the video !! (only the most convincing ones)
I‘ll definitely be doing a separate vlog of reading some of these books!
-Tender is the Flesh by Agustina Bazterrica (all animals contract a virus and the government makes cannibalism legal, deals with a lot of what’s wrong and right)
-The Book Thief by Markus Zusak (historical fiction set in Germany during WW2, following a young girl and death personified)
-You Shouldn’t Have Come Here by Jeneva Rose (mystery, really good plot twist)
-This Is Where it Ends by Marieke Nijkamp (school shooting from multiple perspectives, truly heartbreaking)
i absolutely love tender is the flesh, i read it in one sitting, great recommendation! 📕
The Book Thief is amazing I cried so hard at the ending.
The Summer Guest by Justin Cronin does not get nearly the amount of love it deserves. An old man returns to his favorite fishing lodge because that's where he wants to spend his last days and we slowly learn the details of his past and how it intersects and intertwines with the lives of the family that owns and lives at the lodge.
The Name of the Wind, by Patrick Rothfuss.
I actually challenge you to read the Prologue and don't get completely hooked. The writing is absolutly beautilfull, the Universe is awesome. And in the 10th aniversary edition Lin Manuel Miranda wrote the commentary in the cover saying that "nobody writes like Patrick Ruthfuss" and I agree. hahaha
"No one writes about economic reality within this genre like Pat Rothfuss. The real-world weight of the sometimes impossible distance between the things you want and need and what you have in your pocket.
No one writes about music like Pat Rothfuss. The way it sneaks into your soul, the way it feeds you like nothing else.
No one writes about stories like Pat Rothfuss. How the right story at the right time can change the world, how the teller can shape a life.
No one writes like Pat Rothfuss. Full stop. Read this book."
Lin Manuel Miranda
@@cristinaottohe and JRR Martian share one thing. They will never complete their series. This is why I won’t read anymore of either one until the series are complete.
Yeah, they might not end the series, but for me, all the released kooks from both GOT and The Kingkiller Chronicles are worth reading. And the Name of the Wind is my all time favorite, I read multiple times, in multiple languages and it still moves me like no other. I still recommend with all my heart 💜
oh yes agree 100% on that. its an absolute beautiful book
I really liked The Name of the Wind but rather less convinced by A Wise Man's Fear - it seemed to be rambling unconnected episodes. But I really enjoyed The Slow Regard of Silent Things. It is weird - most of the characters are inanimate objects and the human character is clearly broken - but it is beautiful.
Yay, Ian! Love that you made this video! While I rarely reach for sci-fi or fantasy, I too enjoyed This Is How You Win the Time War. In an entirely different genre, a book I read over and over again is In the Skin of a Lion by Michael Ondaatje. This dreamlike novel is grounded in a real place and time (Canada in the early 20th century) and follows Patrick Lewis, a young man whose coming of age, pulls him from the country into the city and deeply involves him in the colliding social, industrial changes happening there. Romance, mystery, poetry, humanity, destiny... It's a really good read!
Yes, I knew someone had to recommend The Count of Monte Cristo ❤😊
My favorite, the book has everything 👌🏼
Definitely 'When breath becomes air' by Paul Kalanithi.
The author was a neurosurgeon, who through his work had been standing in front of death so many times in context to his patients, and he is suddenly diagnosed with stage four lung cancer, now having to face the other side of death (his own death). He just about finishes writing the book before he dies.
The book is so poetic and lyrical and reflects on dying and facing one's mortality.
This book is amazing!
My Favorite book has to be "A house in the Cerulean sea". It isn't a book I would normally reach for but Klune took me on a ride of love, hate, sadness, and even bliss. He wrote with a way that keeps you enthralled by the world he created. Runner up is "How to stop time" by Matt Haig
The midnight children by Dan Gamienhart. I love it so so much. It is about a lonely soul yearning for love, any kind of love other than familial because he has the sweetest parents ever...but one night, he sees, through his window, that seven children dressed in white, looking like ghosts, and alone without any parents get out of a truck...he decides that he wants _them_ to end his extreme loneliness. I literally cried on the first page because "i hope nobody has to cry to sleep due to lonliness" it's about friendship and adventure and it being okay to not be okay... accepting ourselves and oh the narration is like a gentle mother, always talking to you as if you're her child.
Read it last year so I can't explain more but I will never forget how it made me feel.
Neuromancer by William Gibson. I adore this book. It's an action fuelled heist story set against the backdrop of a retro-futuristic dystopian cityscape. The main character is presented with the offer of a rescue from his imminent demise if he runs one last job for a stranger. As he gets deeper and deeper into the job things start to unravel and reveal a pretty interesting twist. Many other works have taken inspiration from this book.
An absolute classic!!! 👍👍👍
I’m a huge Cyberpunk 2077 fan and hearing the name “Night City” really elevated this book for me, even though it’s not the same Night City. They definitely took some inspo from this book.
Thank you Ian so much for doing a second part to this challenge!!❤🔥 God bless you and Ashlynn
I would recommend the six of crows if u haven't read it already, it is a a fantasy heist story and the novel shifts between the alternating points of view of five teenagers who team up to pull off the ultimate prison break.
I tried reading it but that first chapter abt the guy trying to propose was very boring… should I still give it a try?
@@Goolop77 so tbh not to spoil it lol but that guy is not one of the main characters. i say give it another try, bc the rest of them are very interesting and complex characters with some of the best/my favorite characterization and relationships i've read about. if you can get through to the second chapter, it picks up and is more interesting, you start to meet the leads and see more of the juicy criminal underground. i've read a lot of books since, and it still holds up as one of my favorites and a great reread as well :)
@@Goolop77read a few more chapters and see f u like it. the story has no connection to that guy at all
Oh you sould definitely give it another try. The heist and the dynamic between the characters are really fun.@Goolop77
I love these videos! The guy who recommended The Maze Runner series I second that. It’s so good! And the girl who suggested The Help. That’s another great one. My fiancé Ray says his favorite is the Night Angel series by Brent Weeks. He got me to read it and I really enjoyed the first three.
Anything by John Green is bound to be spectacular. TJ Klune is an exceptional writer as well. The Song of Achilles has to be one of my favorite books though, filled with heartbreak and beautiful writing. It won the Orange Prize, and Madeline Miller (the author) researches greek mythology. Truly a gorgeous story and could not recommend it more.
I had to scroll an ungodly distance to see TSOA
These videos are great. I love hearing about the books people enjoy reading. These videos give me ideas on what to read next. Please keep making these videos!
The Poppy War trilogy is one of my favorites; its long, but it takes the readers on a journey that you never thought you would enjoy. I also believe there are very few fantasy books where the world-building is truly very interesting, and this book blew me away with the world-building, and it made me ponder about the society within the book and also our own society and my own ideology. It was a great reading experience, and it helped me get out of a reading slump. Highly recommend. FIVE START READ FOR ME THIS YEAR.
I was about to recommend the same thing!! Just finished the trilogy and the world building is sooo good. I've never loved and hated a character as much i do Rin.
In 20 years we would visit museums to see people who read.
That’s how rare it’ll be unfortunately.
My favorite book is “To Kill a Mockingbird”.
My favorite is a YA book series called "The Lunar Chronicles." Its inspired by classical fairy tales, but it very much has its own story other than that (it also has a sci-fi setting, so thats cool). There are 4 books, each based on a different story. The first book is called Cinder, based on Cinderella. Cinder is a 16 year old cyborg who has always been cast aside by her family and discriminated against for her cyborg-ness. She's a really good mechanic bc she always had to work on her parts, and she makes a living doing that. One day, the crown prince of the nation brings her his broken android to be fixed. A bunch of stuff happens from there for the whole series. I've reaf it 7 times, its so good. It gets really political later on, too!
If I ever came across someone doing this, ‘Children Of Time’ would be my immediate recommendation. They’ll either quit halfway through, or they’ll find a new favourite author.
I think this is one of my favorite videos ever, so thank you!
(If you haven't read it yet...Trilogy of the city of K is so good)
So many random book people .... totally restored my faith in humanity ❤❤
❤📚📚❤️
Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett. I was surprised by how much I loved it.
My favorite book! The character arcs!!!
@@kristen7623 Yes, unforgettable!
Favourites are hard, but Blood Meridian keeps coming back in my mind. Perfect prose, perfect plot, perfect characters and themes. It's truly the last great epic, and joins Moby Dick as one of America's great mythological novels.
Stunning book. Just read it last year. I'll probably read it again someday.
@ I’m not a re-reader at all, but I re-read BM a year after my first reading on a whim. I just couldn’t stop thinking about it, so I picked it up and finished it in a week. I just got the 25th anniversary edition, as well as the border trilogy and Suttree. Blood Meridian simply rocks, and Cormac is one of the greats
That lady sold me more on "If we were villains" than anything else I read about it.
You should read the six deaths of the Saint because it’s a very short thirty page short story but it’ll make you feel more than a full length book. It is so mind blowing and just absolutely all around amazing there are plot twists that just have you shocked and the writing is stunning and the whole story is just all around beautiful
First time seeing one of your videos and I instantly subscribed! Even just watching this video, I stressed about which book I would pick to convince you to read 😂 Such a fun video my friend!
I was waiting for the day someone recommended Berserk. I really think you would love it, and if you do, please give Vinland Saga a try as well. It's historical fiction story about love, death, and revenge. It's one of the most impactful stories I've ever read.
The Thief by Megan Whalen Turner. A King's magus, two princelings, a guard, and a thief go on a road trip to find and steal a hidden treasure. Told from the perspective of the foul mouthed thief who is up to his own sneaky mischief.
The whole series is incredible with lots of royal politics, adventure, espionage, and plot twists with just a tiny smattering of fantasy and romance for some extra spice. But it's mostly about the politics and espionage.
The first book is so good it was the first time I ever got to the end of a book and immediately flipped back to the front and started reading it again in the same sitting!
I never comment on a video but I feel like this book deserves it. In Memoriam by Alice Winn, it’s her debut novel and it is absolutely incredible. It’s a story set during the First World War and it follows two school boys with very opposing views regarding the war, which is very reflective of the attitude people had back then. It is a love story, a tragedy, a history lesson all in one. It is a literary fiction with beautiful writing.
I love how diverse the recs were on this video (for SLC). Love to hear people nerding out about books they like
Dude you should definitely read a book called The hair-carpet weavers. Practically nobody talks about it and I watch A LOT of yt book channels. It's a hidden scifi gem. I've read it a few years ago and that story and ideas in the story just sticked with me, I think about the the book every other day. Every sentence felt impactful.
Honestly love this series!! I was bringing so hard about the student who loved we were villains. When people are passionate about reading ☺️☺️☺️☺️
One of my favorite books of all time is Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand. It's not fiction, but more a biography of an incredible man, Louis Zamperini. An elite athlete who goes to the 1936 Olympics in Berlin, and then ends up fighting in WWII. His story is AMAZING and will stay with me FOREVER.
Soooo good. But soo sad in parts.
"And Then There Were None" by Agatha Christie. I read it a long time ago at my school's library but I still remember all the details. Closed circle mystery. It's a classic.
I read that book when I was 13 and had nightmares for a couple weeks 😅
Ian, i dont know if you read graphic novels, but even if you dont this would be a perfect introduction. Daytripper by Fabio Moon and Gabriel Ba. Each chapter follows the protagonist at a different age in his life (not in order) and what his life would amount to if he died at that age. By the end of the book, you learn so much about the persons life through seeing the different ways ue could have died. It hits all the emotions and is one of my favorite works of fiction of all time
Thanks for the rec. I've just reserved it at the library.
@MizzInterpreted of course! You'll have to let me know what you think
Finding you in the wild would make my whole day. I love talking about books.
The girl with the dragon tattoo the trilogy deserves to be deemed a modern classic (only the ones written by steig Larson are good)
Thats right where i went to school! Had classes in some of those buildings. I no longer live in Utah so this was nostalgic. Very cool to see.
I love “The last kingdom” by Bernhard Cornwell. It has a lot of historical significance, only the protagonist was actually non-existent in this storytelling. It's about Vikings against England, which is trying to become a united kingdom within this series. There is a lot more exposure of the English side and not just the Viking side, which I personally found very cool.
Another book I loved was “The Lautern of lost memories” by Sanaka Hiiragi. It's about how after you die, you enter a kind of in-between world where you can choose a picture from each day of your life for each year when you lives, which is then seen in this “it passes me by at death” moment. It's a really lovely book and the ending is just wow. (sorry im not a native speaker, I don't even know, if anybody can understand hahaha)
That was so fun and cool. I loved seeing what different people were into and why. Thank you for that. I already had a very full tbr but I had to add like four or five books. lol
Wooooo I’m so early lmao! Awesome video Ian! I also highly recommend I who have never known men, it’s great and I still think about it weekly 6 months later.
My fav book this year is “A Certain Hunger” by Chelsea g summers. It’s a fiction novel written in the style of a memoir, the main character is a woman who is a serial killer food critic cannibal. Enough said 😂
My absolute favourite book is The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon (which happens to be my absolute favourite author). It's the first book of a series called The Cemetery of Forgotten Books. It starts with our protagonist being taken by his father to The Cemetery of Forgotten books, and there he has to pick a book that he'll have to protect and take care of for the rest of his life. The title of the book he chooses is "The Shadow of the Wind" by Julian Carax. After a while he'll realise that the book he picked is extremely rare, because all the other books by this author are being burnt by someone mysterious, and he'll soon notice that he's being followed by someone.
I tried to sum up the plot as much as possible but it feels like heresy, there's sooo much more haha
All I will add is that it takes place in a mysterious, dark and foggy Barcelona, the characters are written incredibly, the story is extremely captivating, and Zafon's writing is absolutely mesmerising.
Every book by this author is a gem, even the first ones he wrote, which are YA, are *chef's kiss* so I guess more than convincing you to read my favourite book, I'd say I'm trying to convince you to read my favourite writer haha
I'm not that good at convincing, but I'll give it my best shot. You are also one of my favourite TH-camrs.
These books are the only books that have ever made me cry, get angry, or really care and love the characters:
- The Paris Daughter by Kristin Harmel
- The German Wife by Kelly Rimmer
- The Girl Behind the Wall by Mandy Robotham
- The War Pianist by Mandy Robotham
- The Paris Secret by Lily Graham.
These are all Historical Fiction that are mainly set around WWII, usually with dual timelines.
Have you read any Ruta sepetys? She’s my favorite historical fiction author. I would recommend salt to the sea and and between shades of grey for you.
Out of all of these, 'All the Light we cannot see'---please be high priority! Book is amazing! Amazing prose/writing style. Love the dual POV characters and how everything comes together toward the end. Also Without Remorse--great thriller novel as a prequel to the Jack Ryan series--Great action, and lovely characters. It's hard to recommend the whole Jack Ryan series cause it's SEVERAL books long (still ongoing after ~30-40 years by authors still after Tom Clancy's death).
As for my favorite book, right this minute between Rape of Nanking and All Quiet on the Western Front. Both pretty short books set during WW2, and 1 respectively. Bit of an antiwar theme to it. IF you had to choose, definitely All quiet on the western front. Love these Vids! keep it up! :D
I don't have a fav book (other than the best seller of all time: The Bible. Which has got everything! Poetry, sex, revenge, war, demons, etc.) But here's 3 of my fav authors & why you should try them.
1)Terry Brooks. My fav fantasy author. So far. He creates stories that are easy to read or get into. Start with "Sword of Shannara." Or, pick any of his books. Turn to a random page and read. I dare you to read one paragraph without wanting more.
2) Rick Bragg. This Pulitzer Prize winning journalist turned to bio and memoir. Start with "All Over But the Shoutin'". This is a heartbreaking memoir. His Alabama childhood is achingly described with sublime, poetic mastery. Sentimental and poignant this book describes his single Mother's struggle to provide, protect and empower her three sons to rise higher than the clouds. One did.
3) Anne Dillard. "Pilgram at Tinker's Creek." A naturalist with the heart of Emily Dickinson. She describes the natural world with reverence and adoration. Each page has atleast one phrase or line that is exquisitely written. Enough so to make any amateur writer pull their hair out with envy. Read slowly and savor.