Great list Murphy. I always look forward to and enjoy your videos and your enthusiasm. It was a great year of reading for me and my top six include three series. Station Eleven - Emily St John Mandel Gideon/Harrow/Nona the Ninth - Tamsyn Muir Half a King/World/War - Joe Abercrombie Tell me everything - Elizabeth Strout Hamnet - Maggie O'Farrell Autumn/Winter/Spring/Summer - Ali Smith
Authors Edward Eager, Roald Dahl, and E. Nesbit are good, and the Chronicles of Narnia, The Hobbit, Winnie the Pooh, the Wind in the Willows, A Wrinkle in Time, The Phantom Tollbooth, The Prydain Chronicles by Lloyd Alexander, and The Dark is Rising series by Susan Cooper are all good fantasy, which is what I know because that’s mostly what I read when I was that age. Outside of fantasy, I remember enjoying The Great Brain, Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing, and The House with a Clock in Its Walls. Now, I have to stop going back and adding more books to that list or I’ll never stop.
The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin was one of my absolute favorites as a kid. It’s a mystery story with some wonderfully clever twists. As someone who’s been reading the HP series to my nine-year-old daughter for the last year, I totally sympathize with your question… I think I’ll plan to dig out my old copy of Raskin’s classic once we finally get to the end of Hogwarts
Ishiguro's "Never Let Me Go" is amazing but heartbreaking! The film adaptation (screenplay by Alex Garland who also did "Annihilation") is great as well.
1. 0:40 - A Letter From An Unknown Woman by Stefan Zweig 2. 2:00 - Bourne by Jeff VanderMeer 3. 4:54 - Klara And The Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro 4. 7:56 - Toll The Hounds by Steven Erikson 5. 9:54 - Changes by Jim Butcher 6. 11:15 - House of Open Wounds by Adrian Tchaikovsky
I definitely want you read more Zweig. I've heard great things about his World of Yesterday. A selection of my favorite reads of the year: Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion - Beth Brower The Unseen - Roy Jacobsen Thessaly trilogy- Jo Walton Saint Sebastian's Abyss - Mark Haber Doomsday Book - Connie Willis The Ambassadors - Henry James Look at Me - Anita Brookner The Trees - Percival Everett Stranger in Olondria - Sofia Samatar The Bluest Eye - Toni Morrison Daughter of Time - Josephine Tey The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August - Catherine Webb
Seriously, why is no one discussing 'Hidden Signs of the Universe by Olivia Cooper'? This forbidden book is a goldmine of knowledge that can sincerely change your life
Erikson always writes a WOTesque climax where all things come together, or in Malazan words, "converge" at the end of the book. But, the convergence in TTH was next level and the cast of the characters involved far surpassed any expectations!! Also, I believe the climax started at about the 75% mark, so a full quarter of the book was just frantic page turning after frantic page turning. Loved that you loved it! Cannot wait for your full spoiler review. Make it as long as you want. :)
I keep seeing how amazing the series but I'll admit I'm a bit intimidated by it. But I think I'm going to give it a shot because I keep seeing comments like this for multiple books in the series.
If you like obsession, you might like Perfume by Patrick Suskind or Bruges-la-Morte by Rodenbach. I also think you would like Alien Clay by Adrian Tchaikovsky, it is ripe with overwhelming creepy nature.
Borne was one of two of my favorite characters this year along with Minna from Doors of Sleep. Changes was a shocker in every way and i think is my favorite Dresden book. My favorite moment though comes in Small Favor: SPOILER > > > > > > > > > > When Michael is taken to the hospital and Dresden turns to leave but Charity stops him and says, "Family would stay." 😭 I hope you have a great Christmas.
I have read so many great books this year but if I needed to pick just let’s say 6: J L Borges: Library of Babel Joe Abercrombie: Best Served Cold China Mieville & Keanu Reeves: the Book of Elsewhere Haruki Murakami: Kafka on the Shore Virginia Woolf: Mrs. Dalloway James Islington: The Will of the Many
My sister gave me a B&N gift card that I used to order Timeline and Sphere. They're due here Friday so I expect to be prepared for the discussion next month. Maybe next week I'll finish Klara and the Sun, which I am enjoying. I do have some reservations about it but still it's very good.
Just finished The Killing Moon by N.K. Jemisin and it's kind of restoring my faith in high fantasy as it very much the opposite of the predominately Eurocentric and heteronormative genre, on top of just being a great story full of compelling characters. A must read for somebody looking for something fresh and new.
My favourite book of the year was the Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver. It is a haunting story about family and colonialism in the 1950s Congo. I would really recommend it! The family dynamics are so fascinating and the discussion of colonialism is so eye opening. Very slow paced but still grabbing at the same time
Merphy, I remember you liked the game "Gris", do you know that the studio released the game "Nova" with the same vibe? Check it out, if you haven't already.
Surprised to see klara and the sun here because i remember you talking about multiple things that didnt quite make it and that could be better. for me i can get 10 books where i have maybe 1 or 2 complains that i gave 5 starts to 😅
You need to read Ethan Fromme by Edith Wharton MOSTLY because of what you said about the obsession in your top book of the year. AND it's super short AND it's perfect for winter. Very snowy.
Thank you for your delightful, fun and fantabulous content- it, as well as you, always put a smile to my face!!!!! 😃 May you, your family and all of your loved ones have a razzle dazzle, scrumptious food-filled, holly jolly, present 🎁 filled very Merry Christmas ⛄🎄🦌, with a delightful and ever super 2025 to come, spectacular Mrs. Merphy!!!!! ✨🌌🎆🌆🎉
My Favorite Book of 2024, "The Count of Monte Cristo" by Alexandre Dumas. But I didn't like "Clara and the Sun" at all, it seems to me that books about androids that have their own intelligence are not mine at all, I just don't believe in it! And in general, the book seemed very slow and boring!
This video is a game-changer! So much helpful information packed into one clip. I personally don't like promoting anything in comments, but I simply have to share with you a book called The Gilded Nexus of Prosperity, that book changed my approach to money, the methods in that book are impressive
You probably heard this or seen a comment about this, but Erikson wrote Toll the Hounds after his father died, so the grief themes are no coincidence.
Great list Murphy. I always look forward to and enjoy your videos and your enthusiasm. It was a great year of reading for me and my top six include three series.
Station Eleven - Emily St John Mandel
Gideon/Harrow/Nona the Ninth - Tamsyn Muir
Half a King/World/War - Joe Abercrombie
Tell me everything - Elizabeth Strout
Hamnet - Maggie O'Farrell
Autumn/Winter/Spring/Summer - Ali Smith
as a lover of strange fiction.. I need to read Borne lol
Can you do (or have you done) a video on the best books NOT named Harry potter to read a child under 10 that the parent will enjoy as well?
Try the The Keys to the Kingdom seris by Garth Nix.
Authors Edward Eager, Roald Dahl, and E. Nesbit are good, and the Chronicles of Narnia, The Hobbit, Winnie the Pooh, the Wind in the Willows, A Wrinkle in Time, The Phantom Tollbooth, The Prydain Chronicles by Lloyd Alexander, and The Dark is Rising series by Susan Cooper are all good fantasy, which is what I know because that’s mostly what I read when I was that age.
Outside of fantasy, I remember enjoying The Great Brain, Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing, and The House with a Clock in Its Walls.
Now, I have to stop going back and adding more books to that list or I’ll never stop.
The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin was one of my absolute favorites as a kid. It’s a mystery story with some wonderfully clever twists. As someone who’s been reading the HP series to my nine-year-old daughter for the last year, I totally sympathize with your question… I think I’ll plan to dig out my old copy of Raskin’s classic once we finally get to the end of Hogwarts
I think most of Diana Wynne Jones fits the bill
Ishiguro's "Never Let Me Go" is amazing but heartbreaking! The film adaptation (screenplay by Alex Garland who also did "Annihilation") is great as well.
1. 0:40 - A Letter From An Unknown Woman by Stefan Zweig
2. 2:00 - Bourne by Jeff VanderMeer
3. 4:54 - Klara And The Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro
4. 7:56 - Toll The Hounds by Steven Erikson
5. 9:54 - Changes by Jim Butcher
6. 11:15 - House of Open Wounds by Adrian Tchaikovsky
I really loved a Wizards Guide to Defensive Baking. It was a treat. I also really loved Wind and Truth, I read it in like 4 days lol
I definitely want you read more Zweig. I've heard great things about his World of Yesterday.
A selection of my favorite reads of the year:
Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion - Beth Brower
The Unseen - Roy Jacobsen
Thessaly trilogy- Jo Walton
Saint Sebastian's Abyss - Mark Haber
Doomsday Book - Connie Willis
The Ambassadors - Henry James
Look at Me - Anita Brookner
The Trees - Percival Everett
Stranger in Olondria - Sofia Samatar
The Bluest Eye - Toni Morrison
Daughter of Time - Josephine Tey
The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August - Catherine Webb
Merry Christmas!
Seriously, why is no one discussing 'Hidden Signs of the Universe by Olivia Cooper'? This forbidden book is a goldmine of knowledge that can sincerely change your life
Erikson always writes a WOTesque climax where all things come together, or in Malazan words, "converge" at the end of the book. But, the convergence in TTH was next level and the cast of the characters involved far surpassed any expectations!! Also, I believe the climax started at about the 75% mark, so a full quarter of the book was just frantic page turning after frantic page turning. Loved that you loved it! Cannot wait for your full spoiler review. Make it as long as you want. :)
I keep seeing how amazing the series but I'll admit I'm a bit intimidated by it. But I think I'm going to give it a shot because I keep seeing comments like this for multiple books in the series.
Merry Christmas, Merphy!! ✨
My favorite novel of this year is The Apprentice by Tess Gerritsen. My favorite nonfiction is The Twilight Warriors by Robert Gandt.
I've been eager for this to drop
Happy holidays Merphy
Merry Christmas to you and your family Merphy!!! ❄️🎄✨️🎁
Great video Merphy, love you!!!
Merry Christmas Eve Merphy and family.Great list of books as usual.
winds and truth review when ?
If you like obsession, you might like Perfume by Patrick Suskind or Bruges-la-Morte by Rodenbach. I also think you would like Alien Clay by Adrian Tchaikovsky, it is ripe with overwhelming creepy nature.
Borne was one of two of my favorite characters this year along with Minna from Doors of Sleep.
Changes was a shocker in every way and i think is my favorite Dresden book. My favorite moment though comes in Small Favor:
SPOILER
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
When Michael is taken to the hospital and Dresden turns to leave but Charity stops him and says, "Family would stay." 😭
I hope you have a great Christmas.
I have read so many great books this year but if I needed to pick just let’s say 6:
J L Borges: Library of Babel
Joe Abercrombie: Best Served Cold
China Mieville & Keanu Reeves: the Book of Elsewhere
Haruki Murakami: Kafka on the Shore
Virginia Woolf: Mrs. Dalloway
James Islington: The Will of the Many
I'm reading best served cold right now. It will definitely be in my top of the year!
My sister gave me a B&N gift card that I used to order Timeline and Sphere. They're due here Friday so I expect to be prepared for the discussion next month. Maybe next week I'll finish Klara and the Sun, which I am enjoying. I do have some reservations about it but still it's very good.
I love when one of my favorite booktubers can give me more books to add to my raider/TBR. 🥰
Just finished The Killing Moon by N.K. Jemisin and it's kind of restoring my faith in high fantasy as it very much the opposite of the predominately Eurocentric and heteronormative genre, on top of just being a great story full of compelling characters. A must read for somebody looking for something fresh and new.
Awesome picks! Won't lie, I expected half the list to be Vandermeer after how your year has gone 😂
Merry Christmas, Merphy. More Pratchett this year?
hopefully! I think Johnanna and I are reading City Watch together at some point
My favourite book of the year was the Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver. It is a haunting story about family and colonialism in the 1950s Congo. I would really recommend it! The family dynamics are so fascinating and the discussion of colonialism is so eye opening. Very slow paced but still grabbing at the same time
Merphy, I remember you liked the game "Gris", do you know that the studio released the game "Nova" with the same vibe?
Check it out, if you haven't already.
I do! I'm waiting for it to go on sale but I'm excited to try it!
Surprised to see klara and the sun here because i remember you talking about multiple things that didnt quite make it and that could be better. for me i can get 10 books where i have maybe 1 or 2 complains that i gave 5 starts to 😅
I was pretty surprised that it it was here too, but it's stuck with me with distance!
You need to read Ethan Fromme by Edith Wharton MOSTLY because of what you said about the obsession in your top book of the year. AND it's super short AND it's perfect for winter. Very snowy.
Klara and the Sun is a great read 🤖🌞
I recommend reading Whispers of Astrology by Ethan Parker that book is a real eye opener about shocking stuff they hide there
Ishiguro's _Buried Giants_ is worth reading.
Toll the Hounds!!!! My favorite Malazan book.
Klara and the Sun is so good
My library only has one of these books. None of the others exist there in english or have been translated (or will ever be). how fun 😮💨
Thank you for your delightful, fun and fantabulous content- it, as well as you, always put a smile to my face!!!!! 😃 May you, your family and all of your loved ones have a razzle dazzle, scrumptious food-filled, holly jolly, present 🎁 filled very Merry Christmas ⛄🎄🦌, with a delightful and ever super 2025 to come, spectacular Mrs. Merphy!!!!! ✨🌌🎆🌆🎉
That’s a list. 👏👏
What are the blue and pink books near bottom of Video next to the White Books with Lady on it (im assuming those white books are classics)?
I was just waiting for Jim butcher lol
I think you Should watch the anime movie Tokyo Godfathers
when we are done with dresden i vote for drizzt series
My Favorite Book of 2024, "The Count of Monte Cristo" by Alexandre Dumas. But I didn't like "Clara and the Sun" at all, it seems to me that books about androids that have their own intelligence are not mine at all, I just don't believe in it! And in general, the book seemed very slow and boring!
This video is a game-changer! So much helpful information packed into one clip. I personally don't like promoting anything in comments, but I simply have to share with you a book called The Gilded Nexus of Prosperity, that book changed my approach to money, the methods in that book are impressive
I definitely agree with you my friend...impressive book, my father recommended it to me
If you could bless us with an OF account for Christmas, that would be great for you and us.
get some help guy
@ did you assume my gender?