Im 27 and very new to reading. Ive read 3 books so far starting the beginning of november. I've read in this order 1. Sword of kaigen 2. Elantris 3. The blade itself My favorite so far is the sword of kaigen. Like i said, im new to reading, but im really getting into it thanks to great youtube channels like this. Im strapping in for a long journey.
I was 27 when I found Booktube and began reading (and loving it) as an adult! Hope you continue to enjoy it! Not going to lie, if I read Elantris and The Blade Itself as 2 of my first 3 I probably would have stopped reading! Hope you enjoyed them more than I did!
@youngstomach I probably should have chosen some easier books to start with, although i did like them. I used to hate reading going through school for some reason, but now i am thoroughly enjoying the reading process as a whole. I hope to keep with it. Do you have any recommendations for a newer reader like myself. I do like more adult themes in a story that have a good plot. I want to stick to the fantasy genre for now, but i pretty open!
Elantris is weakest Sanderson book I've read while the Blade Itself is the weakest book from First Law World,arguably ... so I really encourage you to read more Sanderson and Abercrombie ! :)
It's really interesting you mention Piranesi in Book that Wouldn't burn. I finally read Piranesi this year and immediately wanted to read Book that Wouldn't Burn again. They're nothing alike, but they have really similar vibes to me
I think my top 5 of the year would be… 1. Between Two Fires by Christopher Buehlman 2. A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, GRRM 3. The Will of the Many by Will Islington 4. Assassin’s Quest by Robin Hobb 5. The Dutch House by Ann Patchett In case you might read any of these! They were all really good. Christopher Buehlman’s work was a surprise hit and his book The Blacktongue Thief is also shaping up to be great
I randomly read the View from the Cheap Seats book because I wanted to read something after Good Omens by Neil Gaiman but not his fiction just yet and the way he expresses his thoughts has made me determined to read his entire catalogue.
Mark Lawrence's books are amazing. I started with Prince of Thorns and it basically hooked me. Recommend you put Mark's earlier series on your backlist, terrific characters and compelling stories.
The Red Sister series is great IMHO and I suspect Bookborn would enjoy it well enough, but I think Prince of Thorns is going to be too dark for her to enjoy it.
Thanks so much for convincing me to read “ the view from the cheap seats”. I enjoyed it so much and it convinced me of the quality of Neil Gaiman as a person as much as a writer. Very thought-provoking essays and I think about them often.
I also really loved Tress. It was the first book I read this year and nothing has topped it since, which is a mixed bag. I normally don't go for whimsy fairy tails but it just had the perfect combination of heart and humor.
I absolutely loved The Book That Wouldn’t Burn. It has been clear top read of 2023 until I read The Bitter Crown, second book in the Eidyn series (first is The Lost War).
I like watching your reviews because I, too, do not enjoy grimdark. And I trust that your opinions will closely align with mine. So now I have to read The Book that Wouldn't Burn. I read almost all the First Law books this year, except for the Age of Madness trilogy. I liked Best Served Cold better than The Heroes, though.
I don’t know where else to recommend this, but my favorite fantasy author is Steven Brust. My first book I read of his was To Reign In Hell, which is a creation story where Satan and Lucifer are the heroes, though they lose. Beazlebub is a Golden Retriever. But his major series is about a normal human trying to survive in a land of elves (far more powerful people). But what is the most interesting is that his books change styles. The first book Jhereg is pulp fiction, but other books change the style. It is designed to be 19 book series so I hope he finishes it. He also writes another series in the same setting based. On Cervantes, where he doesn’t only get the plot right, but he nails the style of Cervantes. Just a recommendation where I would love to see your take.
It's so cool that you love The Age of Madness and A Song of Ice & Fire. I think many people get intimidated by a "grimdark" categorization, but the story-telling is just masterclass level. And huge high-five on Neil Gaiman! A most-excellent human being. Love the channel!
Yes Hillary, love a favourite books pile 🙌🏻 Mark Lawrence’s is my book of the year. We are VERY different Abercrombie readers. I just finished The Trouble with Peace and definitely preferred A Little Hatred. Also Best Served Cold was my fav stand alone 😅
I always really like your end of the year videos. I allready have The Book that Wouldn't Burn on my shelf and will try to read it early next year. My top 5 for the year. Parable of the Sower and Kindred by Octavia Butler, I just loved both so much I have to pick both. It's Lonely here at the Centre of the Earth is a fantastic graphic novel by Zoe Thorogood and it depicts 6 months of here life while struggling with suicidal depression. It's much more hopeful than it sounds and left me feeling quite uplifted, also her art and playfulness with the style is incredible. Age of Ash by Daniel Abraham, despite beeing one half of The Expanse authors this has gotten little to no attention and I don't know why. Age of Ash has to amazing leads and never has a city felt more real to me. It's the first in a strange kind of trilogy where each book follows one set of characters during the same year. Lastly on my list is Infinity Gate by M.R. Carey. A multiversal story with a lot of focus on AI. A bit episodic at first but it comes together to a really satisfying ending and I can't wait for the second book. It has a lot of intriguing ideas and I have not read/seen another story tackle the multiverse this way.
Oh man, Parable was on my list last year, both that and Kindred are SO GOOD. I want to read so much more Butler but I didn't get around to it this year. I need to prioritize that for next year.
I really enjoy seeing your reaction to View from the Cheap Seats and how it altered your perception. I like when non fiction gets highlighted because I like seeing what moves people
I always try to read at least 5-6 non-fiction every year. This year I only read like 3: I need to try harder next year! I love when a non-fic can really alter your perception. Have you read any good ones recently?
@@Bookborn I have read SO many good ones lately that I am going to try for 1 a month in 2024! "Mating in Captivity" is about keeping the spark alive in long term relationships, "Invisible Women" is about data bias between genders that BLEW MY MIND, and "Laziness Does Not Exist" is a great anti-hustle culture book I think is valuable to us on BookTube, as we try to keep our hobby of reading FUN.
Looking forward to The Book that Wouldnt Burn. Have to admit early on in this video that i DNF'd Tress at about the 2/3 mark and Piranesi was the book most requested for ne to read and I didnt connect with it. Hoping for the best with this next one though because i like that type of Gormenghast surreal Labyrinth still story.
I need to pick up Book that Wouldn't a Burn... and more First Law books... and more ASOIAF... do I even read books? 🙄 I think you'd like Stone Boatmen by Sarah Tolmie. But that was last year, some favorites this year: Our Share of Night, Hild, Foreign Affairs by Allison Lurie.
The Book That Wouldn’t Burn was my second favorite book of the year. It was amazing. Yumi was my favorite. Will of the Many was third. Words of Kings and Prophets was fourth
Hi, I really like your content, and I'm glad you read ASOIAF. I'm looking forward to hearing your thoughts on the following books. Maybe you could also make content with some ideas and theories you come up with or reaction to existing ones. Greetings from Argentina.
I am currently reading that Gaiman book and adore it too. Listening to the audio book is extra fun, as he narrates it and is such a good narrator. Top reads this year have been Tress, Leviathan Wakes (The Expanse 1), Deadhouse Gates and Memories of Ice from Malazan. I think that The Mountain in the Sea will probably be in the top, if not the top, book this year. It’s absolutely fascinating and I cannot put it down. Especially interesting if you are interested in animal intelligence.
Oh so I actually listened to half of Cheap Seats!! Gaiman is one of only two audiobook narrators that I actually enjoy. His voice is SO amazing, I actually think I might prefer his books narrated by him which is an insane statement from me since I bounce off audiobooks so much.
@@Bookborn I completely agree! Something about his voice also ignites the creative spark in me to write. It's like a warm hug for the soul. Thanks for all you do and I am also looking forward to finally reading (and listening!) to a certain author's trilogy you may know well. Bought the series in both formats and need to dig in.
I'm not sure if I have a #1 book, but battling for the top spot would be: Reaper (Cradle #10); Light Bringer (Red Rising 6); Guns of the Dawn or Ogres (Adrian Tchaikovsky), or The Spear Cuts Through Water. I'm sure I'm missing some, but those are the ones that come to mind. Yumi or Tress are probably honorable mentions. Could I say the whole original First Law trilogy? I haven't gotten to Age of Madness yet.
Rhythm of War is currently my favorite read of the year. Though I’m in the middle of The Well of Ascension, and it may surpass it depending how I feel by the end. So either way a Sanderson book will be my favorite 😂
I spent the year catching up with Sanderson... had never really read his works (except for the Wheel of Time completion). Finished the Stormlight Archive all this year... loved them (so totally agree with you on those)! Have just started the Mistborn series. I started the Dandelion Dynasty... struggling to get through it. Adding these to my backlog of books to read (or listen on audible as I drive for work)
I read through Age of Madness and the First Law stand alones this year myself. Read the OG FL trilogy last year or there would be more Abercrombie in my top 5 of the year, lol. As it stands 3 made it onto the list. I actually preferred the stand alones to the AoM trilogy but all of the FL books were outstanding. Here is my list: 1. The Heroes (5 out of 5 stars) 2. Red Country (5) 3. Bloody Rose by Nicolaus Eames (4.5) 4. Wrath of Empire by Brian McClellen (4.5) 5. The Wisdom of Crowds (4.5)
A very tangential point but if you were meh on Neverwhere, but liked the premises of it, I highly recommend Kraken by China Mieville. Very unique take on contemporary fantasy weird fiction. Speaking of which my top this year: - The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood - Blood Music by Greg Bear - A Fire Upon the Deep by Vernor Vinge - The Trial by Franz Kafka - Kraken by China Mieville Just made me realize how sci-fi heavy my reading has been this year
Hi there. How are you doing? Thanks for this video, because you have encouraged me to give all of those series a try. This year has been a major year for me taking a deep dive and falling in love with light novels which are chapter books that have been translated from Japanese to English. The A Certain Magical Index series and the series Spice and Wolf have been amazing. Also, I have just recently finished listening to the audiobook version of the Mistborn era 1 series. I have also recently finished listening to The Alloy of Law. I'm hoping to work on finishing the last three books in the Mistborn era 2 series, working on all of the secret projects, and then going on to listen to all of these Stormlight Archive books that have been released so far. I have never read or listened to the song of ice and fire books yet. The only thing that might get in the way of that plan is there are about maybe 10 or in between 6 to 10:00 different standalone books or trilogies that I need to get to that I haven't started yet. I have no idea where my reading mood is going to take me. I will keep you updated though.
Feel like I'm WAY behind the times after getting back into SciFi and Fantasy after an extended slump, but The Fifth Season was by far the best thing I read this year. Absolutely loved it.
My favourite Fantasy reads of the year are Susanna Clarke's Piranesi, Ken Liu's Wall of Storms, GGK's Under Heaven and Daniel Abraham's Blade of Dream. If i finish them before the year is out then I can see Tolkien's Silmarillion or Robin Hobb's Ship of Magic making it onto fav lists. I've read Lawrence's Broken Empire and Red Queen's War and only BE I'd call Grimdark. RQW is still dark but not as BE. There's also a lot more humour and emotional range.
Ok well your first three are incredible picks (2 of which made my top lists in previous years lol). Everyone wants me to read red sister. I’m hoping I can prioritize it this year
My top five fantasy books of 2024: Sarantine Mosaic by Guy Gavriel Kay An Autumn War by Daniel Abraham The Shadowed Sun by N.K. Jemisin The Martyr by Anthony Ryan False Value by Ben Aaronovitch
Just wanted to say that 2023 was the year I started following your content and your thoughts and opinions around books have contributed to a great year of reading for me. Thanks for doing what you do!
My top reads of the year are: Ymir by Rich Larson - a grim sci fi standalone that really resonated with the bleak year I had. It Rides a Pale Horse by Andy Marino- A perfect cosmic horror tale The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton- an epic and thrilling murder mystery with a twist. Tiamat's Wrath by James S.A Corey. The epic penultimate book in the Expanse. An Altar on the Village Green by Nathan Hall. An incredible job translating the gameplay and mechanics of Dark Souls into a compelling mystery. Can't wait for the sequel
That's a great top 5! I've really enjoyed seeing your reactions to ASOIAF. My top 5 in the order I read them: - Assassin's Fate by Robin Hobb - Surface Detail by Iain M Banks - Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler - Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon - The Bone Clocks by David Mitchell
I had an interesting reading year too, reading way less than I anticipated as I hit April and just stopped reading except for the Secret projects. I read EIGHT Sanderson books this year😂 and don't regret it at all. If I'm being honest, I loved every single one except Frugal Wizard's Guide, the tops being Tress, Yumi, Sunlit Man(I actually really loved it) and Defiant. Sword of Kaigen is definitely in my top 5 of the year as well.🥺😭 I also enjoyed finishing the Aurelian Cycle series with Furysong. A very well-done YA dragon riding series! The politics and moral dilemmas set this series apart from other YA fantasy. I still don't want to read A Song of Ice and Fire! You can't make me with your positive reviews!!🤣😂🤣
What a great list. Tress was absolutely 5 stars for me, brilliant from beginning to end and Top 3 Sanderson books. I also started reading The first Law this year and I kinda have been stuck on The last argument of the kings for a couple of months. It’s good but idk, I’ll give it a rest and try to finish it since I’m more than halfway through. BUT I also started reading A game of thrones recently (because of your recommendations) and I’m only 120 pages in but like it goes so hard? The voice of the characters is great, the prose is fantastic, the situation is very promising… Yeah, loving it thus far. I also want to take a look to “the book that wouldn’t burn” some day So top of the year… idk, I didn’t read that much at all, but Tress is definitely up there and even though I didn’t finish all the stories the paper menagerie by Ken Liu had such phenomenal short stories that I would put it even if I haven’t finished it
Sins of the Mother , Brave foolish souls from the City of swords , Johnathan Strange & Mr. Norrell , Death's Beating Heart , Black Tongue Thief , Yumi and the Nightmare Painter are my top books. Only read 60ish books this year and a good amount was rereading classics
Strong list of books. I’m curious how you will feel about A Feast for Crows and A Dance With Dragons. I know they don’t have the best rep, but many in the community still love those books. I thought AFFC is right there with the first three. ADWD has a small dropoff in quality, but it’s still better than 90% of the fantasy books I’ve read.
Wait wtf? Thats your first Mark Lawrence book?! Thats crazy I'm shocked. Im conflicted about The Book That Wouldnt Burn. I liked it a lot, but was also kind of disappointed by it at the same time? The ending really bumped up my rating. I think my issue is that I've already read his Magnus Opus and so I compare all his books to Book of the Ancestor and they all fall short of how insanely glorious that trilogy is. You NEED to pick up Red Sister asap. Its sooo good and who doesn't love a magic school setting? Nona is such a great character and I love the way Mark writes the relationships between characters. The overall story is also super interesting and the world is fascinating. We get a lot more info about the world in The Book of Ice sequel trilogy, but again, it just doesn't live up to the other series. I've read all his books and Nonas story is my fav 😍 Its not grim at all btw. Only his first trilogy is that dark.
Yeah everyone wants me to pick up Red Sister 🤣 I'm hoping to prioritize my reading year for things I've wanted to get to for a while. I think a lot of people looked at Prince of Thorns and said "that's not for me" and then judged his other books. But I'm going to fix that mistake!
You should make a video on your favorite games of all time. As a fan of great literature, Red Dead Redemption 2, the Witcher 3 and honestly even Dark Souls and Elden Ring (ironically written by GRRM), have some great stories!
Your tastes seem to align quite well with mine (Though I don't hesitate with a good grimdark series), so I appreciate this list. I am currently progressing through the First Law books, and I will probably start with Gaiman when I finish thanks to your continued gushing over his books. I also like Liene's channel. She has an interesting point of view I appreciate as well!
Looking at my 5 stars this year and limiting myself to one book per author (because I read most of the Cosmere this year and it would just be a Sanderlanche if I didn't) my Top 3 are Words of Radiance (with Tress as a close follower), The Will of the Many by James Islington and also Sons of Darkness by Gourav Mohanty. Mohanty is very clearly inspired by Song of Ice and Fire, but sets his take on the Grimdark genre inside Indian mythology. Amazing book in my opinion.
I try to do the same thing so I don't have all one series in my top. I think Words of Radiance is a great choice...I feel like it's widely considered one of Sanderson's best. That ending!
Tress is my favorite book of 2024. I honestly enjoyed all four of the Sanderson books. I didn't back the Kickstarter because, when it launched, I was just discovering him. While I liked his work, I wouldn't rank him as a favorite. The secret projects, and specifically Tress, reinvigorated my interest in his books and now I think I have read all the Cosmere. Sunlit Man, although my least favorite of the four, had so many references to Stormlight that it got me psyched to read the series again in 2024 to prepare for the book five launch. 2023 was the year I "discovered" Discworld. I always wanted to try, but it was hard to know where to start. Then Daniel Green talked about the trilogy starting with Going Postal. I raced through all three in a few days. I loved those and now hope to read more Discworld in 2024. One goal I have each year is to try out a genre I don't usually read. I had a huge list of reasons not to read thrillers, because I hate scary movies and horror. But I started reading them and discovered (1) Horror and Thriller are NOT the same and (2) I really like thrillers. There were several I loved, so it's hard to pick one. Probably if forced I would choose Memory Man. It was the first I read, so maybe that's why, but it was a blast to read and try to stay one step ahead of the story. The Winternight Trilogy was a delight that I had no plans to read until the same friend recommended it for the third or fourth time. And then I devoured the whole series. I liked Three Body Problem and The Dark Forest but the second half of Death's End just lost me so I don't think that's a series I will ever pick up again. I also discovered American Royals, quite by accident. This is WAY outside of what I normally read, but I thoroughly enjoyed all four of those books. They Both Die at the End was surprisingly heartfelt and really impacted me. So did the Lonely Hearts Book Club. 2022 was a year of leaving one community and 2023 was mostly about finding my place in a new community of people. Books like this resonated more because I was battling the voices in my head saying I didn't belong. Overall, 2023 was a year of rediscovering my love of reading. I gave myself permission to read whatever I wanted and to DNF whenever I wanted, so I read more books and I read more of what I like. I can’t wait to see what new worlds I discover in 2024.
I havent put together a list, but i finished The Eye Of The World this morning and its absolutely one of my favorites of the year. Cannot wait to start book 2!!
I usually do the same and don’t read a few books in a raw from the same author. But this year I binged read three series that I couldn’t put down: Age of Madness, The Beartown series ( although I didn’t like the winners) and The Threadlight trilogy by your husband. I just loved it. ❤
Can’t wait to binge your wheel of time content. There is so much going on in those books, I can’t get into them. But if I learn the story and setting a bit through your wonderful content… then maybe I can tackle it. Sounds like you read a similar number of pages and words but read a lot of larger books.
Here's my top 5 1. Spare by prince harry 2. Delilah green doesn't care 3. The fiancee farce by Alexandra belfour 4. The mind series by s.t abby 5. Tell me everything by minka Kelly memoir
I was a bit lax in my reading this year as well. (I did the whole Malazan BotF last year, so I sympathize with your plight😹) Loved everything I read from Guy Gavriel Kay (particularly The Sarantine Mosaic) and the secret projects from Brandon Sanderson. Got into Octavia Butler and read the whole Shattered Sand series from Bradley P Beaulieu. I’m starting the Sun Eater series by Chris Ruocchio crossing into the new year. Love your channel!
I have actually read and loved all five of these, Huzzah! For a second I was horrified that maybe the Sanderson book would be my least favorite on the list but I did like it more then Cheap Seats so I'm safe 😅
I started playing Tears of the Kingdom last summer about a month after it came out. And I barely read anything that entire summer! It was gonna read so much lol! 😂
My Top 10 reads of 2023 My top favorite read, is a tie between «Under Heaven» by Guy Gavriel Kay & «The Veiled Throne» by Ken Liu: «Under Heaven» should be teached next to «War & Peace» and «Le Miserables» for GGK’s prose and Ken Liu’s Character Work has few if any rivals! A character that has only one scene in «TVT» (though a series veteran in «The Dandelion Dynasty»), earned with that scene alone my favorite character: Cogo Yelu! Next is another tie between «The Retreat to Avalon» by Sean Poage & «The Winter King» by Bernard Cornwell: Poage has written my favorite take on «A Historical King Arthur» and the Seige of Yves Trebon/St. Michel in «TWK» shows why Cornwell might be the best at writing battles! The next are unsorted: «The Way of Edan» by Philip Chase «Bold Ascension» by Vaughn Roycroft «The Winter Road» by Adrian Selby «Salammbo» by Gustave Flaubert «The Farthest Shore» by Ursula K. Le Guin «Brigantia» by Adrian Goldsworthy Honourable Mentions «The Little Emperors»/«The Conscience of the King» by Alfred Duggan (Love very dry British humor on ambitions, politics and bureaucracy (so many great quotes!), and excellent descriptions of how (possibly) Roman Britain fell!) «Tortilla Flat» by John Steinbeck (my biggest laughs this year, Great Feelgood Read if you don’t mind some tragedy too!)
So American gods was one of my top 5 the year I read it! Sandman I didn’t like as much 🥲 I read a collection with like… 30 issues in it I think? Liked the concept but didn’t love the execution
I loved the few essays I've read of the View from the Cheep Seats - like "why our future depends on libraries" - it's just I never seem to want to read through a whole collection or anthology - short fiction or essays - in one reading. It can take me years to get through, depite my love for buying them. This one in particular I want to wait to pair up his introductions with when I get to that book/comic/film (BTW, he's not the sort to speak of the story as if you already read it is he?). I at least should read more of the "Some things I believe" and "Real Things" sections. I have started Sandman this year - nearly halfway through - though and really loving it psychedelic, meditative trip of many tangents. See if your library has it as mine does, since getting complete comic runs can be expensive. Your other top books are all authors I really want to try. Top five reads this year (from amazing to great): Piranesi by Susana Clarke, The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle, The Prophet of Edan by Philip Chase (still to read book 3), The Adventures of Pinocchio by Carlo Collodi, and the Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch.
I think everyone who played Tears of the Kingdom can relate. I've been playing videogames since the NES came out, grew up playing a lot of RPGs, and I've sunk more time into Tears than any other game. Probably the closest I've even been to an addict.
My favorite read of 2023 is actually a whole trilogy. It is called "Rook & Rose" by M.A. Carrick. It is a political fantasy set in one city with a lot of tensions and starts with Ren trying to con herself into a noble family and all the consequences of that. This trilogy is all about family, friendship and how political tensions can influence these relationships. Some people would call it too slowly paced but I loved every moment of it. My second favorite read is the prequel of "Priory of the Orang Tree" called "A Day of Fallen Night" by Samantha Shannon. I love this fantasy world and how Samantha Shannon shows it. Every POV is interesting and in a similar way to "Rook & Rose" the main conflict is not something only one chosen one can resolve but instead it something society as a whole has to react to. And on my third place is another series I completly read this year. This time it is a adult romance trilogy called "Bright Falls" by Ashley Herring Blake. This trilogy focuses on a femal friend group of a small town and how they find love. It is full of romance tropes but just as often tells its story in its own way. This was my feel good series this year.
Priory of the Orange Tree is one I'm so conflicted on reading. It's so long and also it has such mixed reviews: it seems it's either everyones favorite of the year OR they said its painfully slow and boring. I can't tell which I'd think it is!
Very hard to pick a favourite! Yumi was my favourite of the secret projects (though I loved Tress as well). I also read the Age of Madness trilogy this year, and it was wonderful. I’m still bloody furious at Leo! I’m thinking that my absolute best discovery this year was Tamsyn Muir’s Locked Tomb series. I’ve been reading sci-fi and fantasy since I was a teenager in the 90’s and I’ve never read anything as fun and original as this series. Gideon the Ninth in particular was an absolute blast, but the rest of the series adds a lot more depth and intrigue. I know you’re not into audiobooks, but if you ever read this series, you should definitely consider trying the audiobooks - Moira Quirk’s narration is right up there with Steven Pacey’s reading of Abercrombie, and I don’t make that comparison lightly!
Seeing you fall in love with ASOIAF has been a highlight of my year, to be honest, haha. I also read that series for the first time this year and it was just as good as everyone said it would be! And I'll be reading Age of Madness next year and truly can't wait!! Hope you find many more new faves in the new year 🤩
Did you read the three stand alone books between the first law and age of madness? I was kind of meh on the first trilogy and wasn't planning on continuing with the books, but we'll see.
Yeah! I read the entire thing in publication order. The first trilogy was good to me but not incredible (none made a top books of the year or anything). The second stand alone sold me, although a lot of people LOVE the first stand alone
The view of Neil Gaiman about what kids "should read" reminds me of a quote that I often heard and that I try to apply : "If they're old enough to ask the question, they're old enough to hear the answer."
Age of Madness is a big let down. Joe Abercrombie started out awesome with 1st Law and the stand alones. But this one fell off the tracks big time. GRRM dug a hole that he can’t get out of. Makes no sense to read ASOIAF. Robin Hobb is the GOAT, read Farseer.
After you read asoiaf you should check out the prequel A knight of the seven Kingdoms. its a lot less dark and just as well written as the main series imo.
Hi. I appreciate your honest opinions. I want to read "All Books Fall To Dust" but cannot find it. You state you received an ARC. Has this book not been published yet? I understand if you don't have time to respond. Thank you.
Hey I would like to get into Cosmere but I feel like I have already lost the vibe (the times those were written) and feels like going through it to just catch up (to now)feels kind of ... Do you think is there a way that I can fast-track it somehow?
My number 1 is definitely The Will of the Many! Its insanely good, impossible to put down. Though The Blighted Stars by Megan O'Keefe is a close second ane NOBLDY IS FUCKING TALKING ABKUT IT 😱 its a travesty its getting 0 attention on booktube. Shes a perfect author for booktube virality because her pacing is absolutely perfect. Its such a good scifi book and it deserves some love.
ASOIAF is not less graphic than the show. On the contrary. And yes, SOS is one the greatest fiction ever written. Regardless of the genre. No modern fantasy book and author is even close.
I think you would enjoy the Dunk & Egg novellas. They won't be your favorite books, they aren't anybody's. But if you are interested in the Seven Kingdoms; they are a nice, peaceful break from the political viciousness of the "Game of Thrones" while still enjoying the world of Westeros.
Ok SO apparently there's a few accepted pronunciations! I just find it funny because mostly the fandom says "pronounce it how you want" but in my video several people were like "oh hmmm I've never heard it pronounced THAT way" 🤣🤣 (to be clear everyone was nice about it, but I'm trying to get at least in the realm of accepted)
Im 27 and very new to reading. Ive read 3 books so far starting the beginning of november. I've read in this order
1. Sword of kaigen
2. Elantris
3. The blade itself
My favorite so far is the sword of kaigen. Like i said, im new to reading, but im really getting into it thanks to great youtube channels like this. Im strapping in for a long journey.
Welcome to reading! 🙂💖
Hopefully it will continue to being enjoyable for a long time to come!!!
I was 27 when I found Booktube and began reading (and loving it) as an adult! Hope you continue to enjoy it! Not going to lie, if I read Elantris and The Blade Itself as 2 of my first 3 I probably would have stopped reading! Hope you enjoyed them more than I did!
@youngstomach I probably should have chosen some easier books to start with, although i did like them. I used to hate reading going through school for some reason, but now i am thoroughly enjoying the reading process as a whole. I hope to keep with it. Do you have any recommendations for a newer reader like myself. I do like more adult themes in a story that have a good plot. I want to stick to the fantasy genre for now, but i pretty open!
Elantris is weakest Sanderson book I've read while the Blade Itself is the weakest book from First Law World,arguably ... so I really encourage you to read more Sanderson and Abercrombie ! :)
I wish I started reading at 27! Its not about the numbers, read and have fun.
Tress, trouble with peace, and storm of swords are all 5/5 books for me. Might have to try that Lawrence book if it’s close to the other 3.
Seems like we have similar taste...you might enjoy it...
@@Bookborn we definitely do! Putting it up on my TBR!
It's really interesting you mention Piranesi in Book that Wouldn't burn. I finally read Piranesi this year and immediately wanted to read Book that Wouldn't Burn again. They're nothing alike, but they have really similar vibes to me
OK THANK YOU! They sort of remind me of each other even though they are sooo different. They elicit the same emotional response in me, I think
I think my top 5 of the year would be…
1. Between Two Fires by Christopher Buehlman
2. A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, GRRM
3. The Will of the Many by Will Islington
4. Assassin’s Quest by Robin Hobb
5. The Dutch House by Ann Patchett
In case you might read any of these! They were all really good. Christopher Buehlman’s work was a surprise hit and his book The Blacktongue Thief is also shaping up to be great
I randomly read the View from the Cheap Seats book because I wanted to read something after Good Omens by Neil Gaiman but not his fiction just yet and the way he expresses his thoughts has made me determined to read his entire catalogue.
SAME! He said SO many things I feel but have never been able to put into words. He’s such a fascinating person
Mark Lawrence's books are amazing. I started with Prince of Thorns and it basically hooked me. Recommend you put Mark's earlier series on your backlist, terrific characters and compelling stories.
The Red Sister series is great IMHO and I suspect Bookborn would enjoy it well enough, but I think Prince of Thorns is going to be too dark for her to enjoy it.
Prince of Thorns was psychotic. Main character is a genocidal maniac. Stop reading that trilogy after book 1. 😝
Thanks so much for convincing me to read “ the view from the cheap seats”. I enjoyed it so much and it convinced me of the quality of Neil Gaiman as a person as much as a writer. Very thought-provoking essays and I think about them often.
YAY I’m glad you enjoyed it!! He just has so much good to say. Even though his stuff doesn’t always work for me, I just love the way he thinks
Right with you Tress and ASoIaF in captivating me this year! And ditto for Trouble with Peace a few years ago-glad you found all these new favs!
I also really loved Tress. It was the first book I read this year and nothing has topped it since, which is a mixed bag. I normally don't go for whimsy fairy tails but it just had the perfect combination of heart and humor.
Exactly the same for me with Mark Lawrence. My first book by him, my favourite book of 2023. I feel the same as you about it, so glad you loved it 😁
I absolutely loved The Book That Wouldn’t Burn. It has been clear top read of 2023 until I read The Bitter Crown, second book in the Eidyn series (first is The Lost War).
I like watching your reviews because I, too, do not enjoy grimdark. And I trust that your opinions will closely align with mine. So now I have to read The Book that Wouldn't Burn. I read almost all the First Law books this year, except for the Age of Madness trilogy. I liked Best Served Cold better than The Heroes, though.
I think most people like best served cold better than the heroes in the fandom tbh so you aren’t alone!
I don’t know where else to recommend this, but my favorite fantasy author is Steven Brust. My first book I read of his was To Reign In Hell, which is a creation story where Satan and Lucifer are the heroes, though they lose. Beazlebub is a Golden Retriever.
But his major series is about a normal human trying to survive in a land of elves (far more powerful people). But what is the most interesting is that his books change styles. The first book Jhereg is pulp fiction, but other books change the style. It is designed to be 19 book series so I hope he finishes it.
He also writes another series in the same setting based. On Cervantes, where he doesn’t only get the plot right, but he nails the style of Cervantes.
Just a recommendation where I would love to see your take.
Discworld is on the top of my list this year. I read a good chunk of it this year and it'd say Going Postal is one of my top books of this year
Moist von Lipwig is the best.
It's so cool that you love The Age of Madness and A Song of Ice & Fire. I think many people get intimidated by a "grimdark" categorization, but the story-telling is just masterclass level. And huge high-five on Neil Gaiman! A most-excellent human being. Love the channel!
Just ordered "The Book that Would Not Burn" after hearing you gush about it. Somehow haven't heard about it until now!! Very excited to read...!!
Yes Hillary, love a favourite books pile 🙌🏻 Mark Lawrence’s is my book of the year. We are VERY different Abercrombie readers. I just finished The Trouble with Peace and definitely preferred A Little Hatred. Also Best Served Cold was my fav stand alone 😅
I always really like your end of the year videos. I allready have The Book that Wouldn't Burn on my shelf and will try to read it early next year.
My top 5 for the year. Parable of the Sower and Kindred by Octavia Butler, I just loved both so much I have to pick both. It's Lonely here at the Centre of the Earth is a fantastic graphic novel by Zoe Thorogood and it depicts 6 months of here life while struggling with suicidal depression. It's much more hopeful than it sounds and left me feeling quite uplifted, also her art and playfulness with the style is incredible. Age of Ash by Daniel Abraham, despite beeing one half of The Expanse authors this has gotten little to no attention and I don't know why. Age of Ash has to amazing leads and never has a city felt more real to me. It's the first in a strange kind of trilogy where each book follows one set of characters during the same year. Lastly on my list is Infinity Gate by M.R. Carey. A multiversal story with a lot of focus on AI. A bit episodic at first but it comes together to a really satisfying ending and I can't wait for the second book. It has a lot of intriguing ideas and I have not read/seen another story tackle the multiverse this way.
Oh man, Parable was on my list last year, both that and Kindred are SO GOOD. I want to read so much more Butler but I didn't get around to it this year. I need to prioritize that for next year.
@@Bookborn I have read Parable of the Talents and have read two books in her trilogy Lilith's Brood. Every book by her has been great!
I really enjoy seeing your reaction to View from the Cheap Seats and how it altered your perception. I like when non fiction gets highlighted because I like seeing what moves people
I always try to read at least 5-6 non-fiction every year. This year I only read like 3: I need to try harder next year! I love when a non-fic can really alter your perception. Have you read any good ones recently?
@@Bookborn I have read SO many good ones lately that I am going to try for 1 a month in 2024! "Mating in Captivity" is about keeping the spark alive in long term relationships, "Invisible Women" is about data bias between genders that BLEW MY MIND, and "Laziness Does Not Exist" is a great anti-hustle culture book I think is valuable to us on BookTube, as we try to keep our hobby of reading FUN.
Looking forward to The Book that Wouldnt Burn. Have to admit early on in this video that i DNF'd Tress at about the 2/3 mark and Piranesi was the book most requested for ne to read and I didnt connect with it. Hoping for the best with this next one though because i like that type of Gormenghast surreal Labyrinth still story.
I need to pick up Book that Wouldn't a Burn... and more First Law books... and more ASOIAF... do I even read books? 🙄
I think you'd like Stone Boatmen by Sarah Tolmie. But that was last year, some favorites this year: Our Share of Night, Hild, Foreign Affairs by Allison Lurie.
The Book That Wouldn’t Burn was my second favorite book of the year. It was amazing. Yumi was my favorite. Will of the Many was third. Words of Kings and Prophets was fourth
Hi, I really like your content, and I'm glad you read ASOIAF. I'm looking forward to hearing your thoughts on the following books. Maybe you could also make content with some ideas and theories you come up with or reaction to existing ones. Greetings from Argentina.
Planning on a few video essays about ASOIAF 😊
@@Bookborn Can't wait for you to finish so you can explore all of the crackpot theories people have come up with during this 12 year wait
I am currently reading that Gaiman book and adore it too. Listening to the audio book is extra fun, as he narrates it and is such a good narrator. Top reads this year have been Tress, Leviathan Wakes (The Expanse 1), Deadhouse Gates and Memories of Ice from Malazan. I think that The Mountain in the Sea will probably be in the top, if not the top, book this year. It’s absolutely fascinating and I cannot put it down. Especially interesting if you are interested in animal intelligence.
Oh so I actually listened to half of Cheap Seats!! Gaiman is one of only two audiobook narrators that I actually enjoy. His voice is SO amazing, I actually think I might prefer his books narrated by him which is an insane statement from me since I bounce off audiobooks so much.
@@Bookborn I completely agree! Something about his voice also ignites the creative spark in me to write. It's like a warm hug for the soul. Thanks for all you do and I am also looking forward to finally reading (and listening!) to a certain author's trilogy you may know well. Bought the series in both formats and need to dig in.
I'm not sure if I have a #1 book, but battling for the top spot would be: Reaper (Cradle #10); Light Bringer (Red Rising 6); Guns of the Dawn or Ogres (Adrian Tchaikovsky), or The Spear Cuts Through Water. I'm sure I'm missing some, but those are the ones that come to mind. Yumi or Tress are probably honorable mentions. Could I say the whole original First Law trilogy? I haven't gotten to Age of Madness yet.
Rhythm of War is currently my favorite read of the year. Though I’m in the middle of The Well of Ascension, and it may surpass it depending how I feel by the end.
So either way a Sanderson book will be my favorite 😂
YES ANOTHER ROW STAN. I feel like it gets too much flack in the fandom!
@@Bookborn I know I’m in the minority but Rhythm of War might be my favorite of the series so far.
I spent the year catching up with Sanderson... had never really read his works (except for the Wheel of Time completion). Finished the Stormlight Archive all this year... loved them (so totally agree with you on those)! Have just started the Mistborn series. I started the Dandelion Dynasty... struggling to get through it. Adding these to my backlog of books to read (or listen on audible as I drive for work)
Dandelion dynasty is def a lot slower so it can take more investment to get into for sure
@@Bookborn slower and very different voice for the story. Totally agree there. I will try and finish it after I do Mistborn
The Will of The Many is my #1 by a solid margin!
I read through Age of Madness and the First Law stand alones this year myself. Read the OG FL trilogy last year or there would be more Abercrombie in my top 5 of the year, lol. As it stands 3 made it onto the list. I actually preferred the stand alones to the AoM trilogy but all of the FL books were outstanding. Here is my list:
1. The Heroes (5 out of 5 stars)
2. Red Country (5)
3. Bloody Rose by Nicolaus Eames (4.5)
4. Wrath of Empire by Brian McClellen (4.5)
5. The Wisdom of Crowds (4.5)
A very tangential point but if you were meh on Neverwhere, but liked the premises of it, I highly recommend Kraken by China Mieville. Very unique take on contemporary fantasy weird fiction.
Speaking of which my top this year:
- The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood
- Blood Music by Greg Bear
- A Fire Upon the Deep by Vernor Vinge
- The Trial by Franz Kafka
- Kraken by China Mieville
Just made me realize how sci-fi heavy my reading has been this year
Hi there. How are you doing? Thanks for this video, because you have encouraged me to give all of those series a try. This year has been a major year for me taking a deep dive and falling in love with light novels which are chapter books that have been translated from Japanese to English. The A Certain Magical Index series and the series Spice and Wolf have been amazing. Also, I have just recently finished listening to the audiobook version of the Mistborn era 1 series. I have also recently finished listening to The Alloy of Law. I'm hoping to work on finishing the last three books in the Mistborn era 2 series, working on all of the secret projects, and then going on to listen to all of these Stormlight Archive books that have been released so far. I have never read or listened to the song of ice and fire books yet. The only thing that might get in the way of that plan is there are about maybe 10 or in between 6 to 10:00 different standalone books or trilogies that I need to get to that I haven't started yet. I have no idea where my reading mood is going to take me. I will keep you updated though.
Feel like I'm WAY behind the times after getting back into SciFi and Fantasy after an extended slump, but The Fifth Season was by far the best thing I read this year. Absolutely loved it.
My favorite read this year was Memories of Ice by Steven Erikson. I've never cried so much over a book in my life.
Malazan is awesome. Read all 10 this year.
I think those tears of the kingdom numbers need released!
I did some math about roughly how much that meant I played daily and I was not impressed with myself 🤣
@@Bookborn yuup, you're absolutely right, best of luck with the channel
My favourite Fantasy reads of the year are Susanna Clarke's Piranesi, Ken Liu's Wall of Storms, GGK's Under Heaven and Daniel Abraham's Blade of Dream. If i finish them before the year is out then I can see Tolkien's Silmarillion or Robin Hobb's Ship of Magic making it onto fav lists.
I've read Lawrence's Broken Empire and Red Queen's War and only BE I'd call Grimdark. RQW is still dark but not as BE. There's also a lot more humour and emotional range.
Ok well your first three are incredible picks (2 of which made my top lists in previous years lol). Everyone wants me to read red sister. I’m hoping I can prioritize it this year
My top five fantasy books of 2024:
Sarantine Mosaic by Guy Gavriel Kay
An Autumn War by Daniel Abraham
The Shadowed Sun by N.K. Jemisin
The Martyr by Anthony Ryan
False Value by Ben Aaronovitch
Just wanted to say that 2023 was the year I started following your content and your thoughts and opinions around books have contributed to a great year of reading for me. Thanks for doing what you do!
Any recs ?
@@tevildo45 On book 3 of the Temeraire series by Naomi Novik. Loved every entry so far!
My top reads of the year are:
Ymir by Rich Larson - a grim sci fi standalone that really resonated with the bleak year I had.
It Rides a Pale Horse by Andy Marino- A perfect cosmic horror tale
The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton- an epic and thrilling murder mystery with a twist.
Tiamat's Wrath by James S.A Corey. The epic penultimate book in the Expanse.
An Altar on the Village Green by Nathan Hall. An incredible job translating the gameplay and mechanics of Dark Souls into a compelling mystery. Can't wait for the sequel
That's a great top 5! I've really enjoyed seeing your reactions to ASOIAF. My top 5 in the order I read them:
- Assassin's Fate by Robin Hobb
- Surface Detail by Iain M Banks
- Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler
- Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon
- The Bone Clocks by David Mitchell
I had an interesting reading year too, reading way less than I anticipated as I hit April and just stopped reading except for the Secret projects. I read EIGHT Sanderson books this year😂 and don't regret it at all. If I'm being honest, I loved every single one except Frugal Wizard's Guide, the tops being Tress, Yumi, Sunlit Man(I actually really loved it) and Defiant.
Sword of Kaigen is definitely in my top 5 of the year as well.🥺😭
I also enjoyed finishing the Aurelian Cycle series with Furysong. A very well-done YA dragon riding series! The politics and moral dilemmas set this series apart from other YA fantasy.
I still don't want to read A Song of Ice and Fire! You can't make me with your positive reviews!!🤣😂🤣
Ok 8 Sanderson books is so incredible, reminds me of when I was getting into him. SO FUN. And I don't blame you on ASOIAF tbh lmao it's pretty dark
What a great list. Tress was absolutely 5 stars for me, brilliant from beginning to end and Top 3 Sanderson books. I also started reading The first Law this year and I kinda have been stuck on The last argument of the kings for a couple of months. It’s good but idk, I’ll give it a rest and try to finish it since I’m more than halfway through. BUT I also started reading A game of thrones recently (because of your recommendations) and I’m only 120 pages in but like it goes so hard? The voice of the characters is great, the prose is fantastic, the situation is very promising… Yeah, loving it thus far. I also want to take a look to “the book that wouldn’t burn” some day
So top of the year… idk, I didn’t read that much at all, but Tress is definitely up there and even though I didn’t finish all the stories the paper menagerie by Ken Liu had such phenomenal short stories that I would put it even if I haven’t finished it
"It goes so hard" is such a good way to describe it, like EVERY Character is interesting, it's so crazy. I'm so glad you are enjoying it!
Sins of the Mother , Brave foolish souls from the City of swords , Johnathan Strange & Mr. Norrell , Death's Beating Heart , Black Tongue Thief , Yumi and the Nightmare Painter are my top books.
Only read 60ish books this year and a good amount was rereading classics
Strong list of books. I’m curious how you will feel about A Feast for Crows and A Dance With Dragons. I know they don’t have the best rep, but many in the community still love those books. I thought AFFC is right there with the first three. ADWD has a small dropoff in quality, but it’s still better than 90% of the fantasy books I’ve read.
Wait wtf? Thats your first Mark Lawrence book?! Thats crazy I'm shocked. Im conflicted about The Book That Wouldnt Burn. I liked it a lot, but was also kind of disappointed by it at the same time? The ending really bumped up my rating.
I think my issue is that I've already read his Magnus Opus and so I compare all his books to Book of the Ancestor and they all fall short of how insanely glorious that trilogy is. You NEED to pick up Red Sister asap. Its sooo good and who doesn't love a magic school setting? Nona is such a great character and I love the way Mark writes the relationships between characters. The overall story is also super interesting and the world is fascinating. We get a lot more info about the world in The Book of Ice sequel trilogy, but again, it just doesn't live up to the other series.
I've read all his books and Nonas story is my fav 😍
Its not grim at all btw. Only his first trilogy is that dark.
Yeah everyone wants me to pick up Red Sister 🤣 I'm hoping to prioritize my reading year for things I've wanted to get to for a while. I think a lot of people looked at Prince of Thorns and said "that's not for me" and then judged his other books. But I'm going to fix that mistake!
You should make a video on your favorite games of all time. As a fan of great literature, Red Dead Redemption 2, the Witcher 3 and honestly even Dark Souls and Elden Ring (ironically written by GRRM), have some great stories!
Currently half way through wheel of time (my 99th reread most likely) but i am with you on abercrombie and martin
Your tastes seem to align quite well with mine (Though I don't hesitate with a good grimdark series), so I appreciate this list. I am currently progressing through the First Law books, and I will probably start with Gaiman when I finish thanks to your continued gushing over his books.
I also like Liene's channel. She has an interesting point of view I appreciate as well!
Looking at my 5 stars this year and limiting myself to one book per author (because I read most of the Cosmere this year and it would just be a Sanderlanche if I didn't) my Top 3 are Words of Radiance (with Tress as a close follower), The Will of the Many by James Islington and also Sons of Darkness by Gourav Mohanty. Mohanty is very clearly inspired by Song of Ice and Fire, but sets his take on the Grimdark genre inside Indian mythology. Amazing book in my opinion.
I try to do the same thing so I don't have all one series in my top. I think Words of Radiance is a great choice...I feel like it's widely considered one of Sanderson's best. That ending!
Tress is my favorite book of 2024. I honestly enjoyed all four of the Sanderson books. I didn't back the Kickstarter because, when it launched, I was just discovering him. While I liked his work, I wouldn't rank him as a favorite. The secret projects, and specifically Tress, reinvigorated my interest in his books and now I think I have read all the Cosmere. Sunlit Man, although my least favorite of the four, had so many references to Stormlight that it got me psyched to read the series again in 2024 to prepare for the book five launch.
2023 was the year I "discovered" Discworld. I always wanted to try, but it was hard to know where to start. Then Daniel Green talked about the trilogy starting with Going Postal. I raced through all three in a few days. I loved those and now hope to read more Discworld in 2024.
One goal I have each year is to try out a genre I don't usually read. I had a huge list of reasons not to read thrillers, because I hate scary movies and horror. But I started reading them and discovered (1) Horror and Thriller are NOT the same and (2) I really like thrillers. There were several I loved, so it's hard to pick one. Probably if forced I would choose Memory Man. It was the first I read, so maybe that's why, but it was a blast to read and try to stay one step ahead of the story.
The Winternight Trilogy was a delight that I had no plans to read until the same friend recommended it for the third or fourth time. And then I devoured the whole series.
I liked Three Body Problem and The Dark Forest but the second half of Death's End just lost me so I don't think that's a series I will ever pick up again.
I also discovered American Royals, quite by accident. This is WAY outside of what I normally read, but I thoroughly enjoyed all four of those books.
They Both Die at the End was surprisingly heartfelt and really impacted me. So did the Lonely Hearts Book Club. 2022 was a year of leaving one community and 2023 was mostly about finding my place in a new community of people. Books like this resonated more because I was battling the voices in my head saying I didn't belong.
Overall, 2023 was a year of rediscovering my love of reading. I gave myself permission to read whatever I wanted and to DNF whenever I wanted, so I read more books and I read more of what I like. I can’t wait to see what new worlds I discover in 2024.
adding Prince of Thorns to my list :)
I havent put together a list, but i finished The Eye Of The World this morning and its absolutely one of my favorites of the year. Cannot wait to start book 2!!
Book two gets good!
I usually do the same and don’t read a few books in a raw from the same author. But this year I binged read three series that I couldn’t put down:
Age of Madness,
The Beartown series ( although I didn’t like the winners) and
The Threadlight trilogy by your husband. I just loved it. ❤
Can’t wait to binge your wheel of time content. There is so much going on in those books, I can’t get into them. But if I learn the story and setting a bit through your wonderful content… then maybe I can tackle it.
Sounds like you read a similar number of pages and words but read a lot of larger books.
I need to get caught up on Abercrombie. First Law is one of my top 10 of all time! Tress made it in my Top 10 of 2023 as well!
The trouble with Peace is the best fantasy book i've read this year.
Tress was really awesome too !
My favorite books this year: Mother of Learning Arc 1, The Sunlit Man, and Exit Strategy (Murderbot).
Here's my top 5
1. Spare by prince harry
2. Delilah green doesn't care
3. The fiancee farce by Alexandra belfour
4. The mind series by s.t abby
5. Tell me everything by minka Kelly memoir
Oohh that’s a controversial number one! I’ve heard super polarizing reviews on it
@@Bookborn yes I know but I really enjoyed it
I was a bit lax in my reading this year as well. (I did the whole Malazan BotF last year, so I sympathize with your plight😹)
Loved everything I read from Guy Gavriel Kay (particularly The Sarantine Mosaic) and the secret projects from Brandon Sanderson.
Got into Octavia Butler and read the whole Shattered Sand series from Bradley P Beaulieu.
I’m starting the Sun Eater series by Chris Ruocchio crossing into the new year.
Love your channel!
I have actually read and loved all five of these, Huzzah! For a second I was horrified that maybe the Sanderson book would be my least favorite on the list but I did like it more then Cheap Seats so I'm safe 😅
Eeeexcellent, I was just looking for fantasy recs
I started playing Tears of the Kingdom last summer about a month after it came out. And I barely read anything that entire summer! It was gonna read so much lol! 😂
My Top 10 reads of 2023
My top favorite read, is a tie between «Under Heaven» by Guy Gavriel Kay & «The Veiled Throne» by Ken Liu: «Under Heaven» should be teached next to «War & Peace» and «Le Miserables» for GGK’s prose and Ken Liu’s Character Work has few if any rivals! A character that has only one scene in «TVT» (though a series veteran in «The Dandelion Dynasty»), earned with that scene alone my favorite character: Cogo Yelu!
Next is another tie between «The Retreat to Avalon» by Sean Poage & «The Winter King» by Bernard Cornwell: Poage has written my favorite take on «A Historical King Arthur» and the Seige of Yves Trebon/St. Michel in «TWK» shows why Cornwell might be the best at writing battles!
The next are unsorted:
«The Way of Edan» by Philip Chase
«Bold Ascension» by Vaughn Roycroft
«The Winter Road» by Adrian Selby
«Salammbo» by Gustave Flaubert
«The Farthest Shore» by Ursula K. Le Guin
«Brigantia» by Adrian Goldsworthy
Honourable Mentions
«The Little Emperors»/«The Conscience of the King» by Alfred Duggan (Love very dry British humor on ambitions, politics and bureaucracy (so many great quotes!), and excellent descriptions of how (possibly) Roman Britain fell!)
«Tortilla Flat» by John Steinbeck (my biggest laughs this year, Great Feelgood Read if you don’t mind some tragedy too!)
Have you ever read Neil Gaiman’s Sandman graphic novel series? In my opinion it’s his best work, along with American Gods
So American gods was one of my top 5 the year I read it! Sandman I didn’t like as much 🥲 I read a collection with like… 30 issues in it I think? Liked the concept but didn’t love the execution
I loved the few essays I've read of the View from the Cheep Seats - like "why our future depends on libraries" - it's just I never seem to want to read through a whole collection or anthology - short fiction or essays - in one reading. It can take me years to get through, depite my love for buying them. This one in particular I want to wait to pair up his introductions with when I get to that book/comic/film (BTW, he's not the sort to speak of the story as if you already read it is he?). I at least should read more of the "Some things I believe" and "Real Things" sections.
I have started Sandman this year - nearly halfway through - though and really loving it psychedelic, meditative trip of many tangents. See if your library has it as mine does, since getting complete comic runs can be expensive.
Your other top books are all authors I really want to try.
Top five reads this year (from amazing to great): Piranesi by Susana Clarke, The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle, The Prophet of Edan by Philip Chase (still to read book 3), The Adventures of Pinocchio by Carlo Collodi, and the Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch.
I think everyone who played Tears of the Kingdom can relate. I've been playing videogames since the NES came out, grew up playing a lot of RPGs, and I've sunk more time into Tears than any other game. Probably the closest I've even been to an addict.
I’ve been playing since I was a kid too! Dragon Age Inquisition still has tears beat, but mag not by the time I’m done with it 🤣
My favorite read of 2023 is actually a whole trilogy. It is called "Rook & Rose" by M.A. Carrick. It is a political fantasy set in one city with a lot of tensions and starts with Ren trying to con herself into a noble family and all the consequences of that. This trilogy is all about family, friendship and how political tensions can influence these relationships. Some people would call it too slowly paced but I loved every moment of it.
My second favorite read is the prequel of "Priory of the Orang Tree" called "A Day of Fallen Night" by Samantha Shannon. I love this fantasy world and how Samantha Shannon shows it. Every POV is interesting and in a similar way to "Rook & Rose" the main conflict is not something only one chosen one can resolve but instead it something society as a whole has to react to.
And on my third place is another series I completly read this year. This time it is a adult romance trilogy called "Bright Falls" by Ashley Herring Blake. This trilogy focuses on a femal friend group of a small town and how they find love. It is full of romance tropes but just as often tells its story in its own way. This was my feel good series this year.
Priory of the Orange Tree is one I'm so conflicted on reading. It's so long and also it has such mixed reviews: it seems it's either everyones favorite of the year OR they said its painfully slow and boring. I can't tell which I'd think it is!
The Will of the Many is far and away my favorite book of 2023. The Book that Wouldn’t Burn and the Ferryman come in second and third.
I have been meaning to start reading Neil Gaiman for so long-I should really just start already.! ^-^
I’m savoring TOTK as well!
This year I read book 1-5 of the Witcher and book 1-5 of Harry Potter and both were really good experiences
Very hard to pick a favourite! Yumi was my favourite of the secret projects (though I loved Tress as well).
I also read the Age of Madness trilogy this year, and it was wonderful. I’m still bloody furious at Leo!
I’m thinking that my absolute best discovery this year was Tamsyn Muir’s Locked Tomb series. I’ve been reading sci-fi and fantasy since I was a teenager in the 90’s and I’ve never read anything as fun and original as this series. Gideon the Ninth in particular was an absolute blast, but the rest of the series adds a lot more depth and intrigue. I know you’re not into audiobooks, but if you ever read this series, you should definitely consider trying the audiobooks - Moira Quirk’s narration is right up there with Steven Pacey’s reading of Abercrombie, and I don’t make that comparison lightly!
Loved it!
Seeing you fall in love with ASOIAF has been a highlight of my year, to be honest, haha. I also read that series for the first time this year and it was just as good as everyone said it would be!
And I'll be reading Age of Madness next year and truly can't wait!! Hope you find many more new faves in the new year 🤩
Surprised you use Excel to log books. You strike me as a Notion person for additional organization and features
I've just always been an excel girl idk why, like it's objectively not the correct way to log books but here we are lmao
I’m glad I’m not the only one that TotK ate into her reading time. lol 😂
No regrets the game is one of my favorites I’ve ever played lol (I still don’t understand how it’s so similar yet soo much better than BOTW)
Did you read the three stand alone books between the first law and age of madness? I was kind of meh on the first trilogy and wasn't planning on continuing with the books, but we'll see.
Yeah! I read the entire thing in publication order. The first trilogy was good to me but not incredible (none made a top books of the year or anything). The second stand alone sold me, although a lot of people LOVE the first stand alone
The Heroes was amazing !
You had a video about re-reading WoT books 1-3; are you planning on continuing that?
have you read Perdido Street Station by China Mieville, I would describe it as steampunk fantasy
The view of Neil Gaiman about what kids "should read" reminds me of a quote that I often heard and that I try to apply : "If they're old enough to ask the question, they're old enough to hear the answer."
Great list.
Age of Madness is a big let down. Joe Abercrombie started out awesome with 1st Law and the stand alones. But this one fell off the tracks big time. GRRM dug a hole that he can’t get out of. Makes no sense to read ASOIAF. Robin Hobb is the GOAT, read Farseer.
After you read asoiaf you should check out the prequel A knight of the seven Kingdoms. its a lot less dark and just as well written as the main series imo.
Planning on reading it before book 4! That’s when the ASOIAF gods told me I should
🙏 I accept worship in the form of reading more ASOIAF pages @@Bookborn
Hi. I appreciate your honest opinions. I want to read "All Books Fall To Dust" but cannot find it. You state you received an ARC. Has this book not been published yet? I understand if you don't have time to respond. Thank you.
Hey I would like to get into Cosmere but I feel like I have already lost the vibe (the times those were written) and feels like going through it to just catch up (to now)feels kind of ... Do you think is there a way that I can fast-track it somehow?
Are the Game of Thrones books worth reading if you’ve seen the show?
Always like ur videos 🎥
What type of camera u use, it shows so clear and clean
So you read a book as a birthday gift to Kyke, but it looks like you really gave a gift to yourself 😅
My number 1 is definitely The Will of the Many! Its insanely good, impossible to put down.
Though The Blighted Stars by Megan O'Keefe is a close second ane NOBLDY IS FUCKING TALKING ABKUT IT 😱 its a travesty its getting 0 attention on booktube. Shes a perfect author for booktube virality because her pacing is absolutely perfect. Its such a good scifi book and it deserves some love.
I've heard several people say the Will of the Many just in this thread haha I need to go look into that one...
Nettle and Bone was a good read too.
If you wanna jump into another non-fantasy Gaiman read- Art Matters is really good.
I've read 3 Nail Gaiman books. I only liked one, American Gods. I don't think his writing is for me.
ASOIAF is not less graphic than the show. On the contrary. And yes, SOS is one the greatest fiction ever written. Regardless of the genre. No modern fantasy book and author is even close.
Have you read Abercrombie's "The Heroes"?
Welp a couple minutes later, yes! I guess so!
Yeah, I actually ranked all of abercrombie's first law and Heroes is one of my top of the entire series! I love it SO much
I think you would enjoy the Dunk & Egg novellas. They won't be your favorite books, they aren't anybody's.
But if you are interested in the Seven Kingdoms; they are a nice, peaceful break from the political viciousness of the "Game of Thrones" while still enjoying the world of Westeros.
Oh I’m planning on reading them before book four ☺️
This is Jimmy Nutts erasure they might be his favorites in the series 🤣
Fahrenheit 451. That's all I'm gonna say.
I still haven’t beat Tears of the Kingdom or Baldurs Gate 3 😭
The correct Malazan pronunciation always catches me off guard, I know that’s how it’s supposed to be said but it whyyyy
Oh there's no way I'm saying it the correct way lmao I'm pretty sure this is wrong
@@Bookborn I’ve heard that the way you were saying it is but the way people usually say it sounds a lot better in my opinion
Is that how Malzan is pronounced? I have been off!
About 3yrs ago all of booktube suddenly switched up and changed how they pronounce it. I hold strong with my original pronunciation in my videos lmao.
@@BooksRebound I respect that lol, I need to find an interview with the author
@@ManningKent there are plenty on booktube you can watch. Like with Critical Dragon and Phillip Chase for example if I recall correctly.
Ok SO apparently there's a few accepted pronunciations! I just find it funny because mostly the fandom says "pronounce it how you want" but in my video several people were like "oh hmmm I've never heard it pronounced THAT way" 🤣🤣 (to be clear everyone was nice about it, but I'm trying to get at least in the realm of accepted)
Very easy: Steven Erikson is interviewed by different booktubers. Daniel Greene, Philip Chase, etc. hear him out. He mentions titles, names, etc..
Neil Gaiman is our age master storyteller. Sandman is missing from your reviews.