Congrats on the nuptials! No one needs a reason not to meet reading goals, but that said, getting married is a great reason not to read. I've been blasting through books, mostly because I got a new job, so I'm on the bus about 90 minutes a day. Just finished the final novel in Tanith Lee's Flat Earth series, and it was great. It's probably my favorite fantasy series now. Currently reading Wolf Hall, and next up is some Anne Rice in honor of spooky season. Hope you get some space to relax as the year comes to a close!
It took me awhile to get into Dune I think. I DNFed it twice before reading the whole the book but then I enjoyed it. I read the next three books in the series and just kind of stopped after that. I have also read books which were have either won or have been acclaimed as great books. In 1967 the Hugo went to Heinlein's The Moon is a Harsh Mistress. I read the book and was disappointed. The first third of the book was great as a rebellion happens on the Moon. When the moon dwellers come to Earth to negotiate a better life the book just dragged and went on for too long. I finished it, but put in my trade pile and it has been taken a used bookstore I go to. I also tried reading Stand on Zanzibar by Brunner and could never get into it. The same year that book won, another nominee was Rite of Passage by Alexei Panshin. I read this many years ago but did like the book. I think a lot of this might be context. Great books should be great no matter when they came out but some just don't hold up. It also depends when you read them. If you read them when you were younger and enjoyed it and then came back to it years later. Maybe you didn't like it as much or maybe you liked it better. I re-read Rendezvous with Rama by Clarke. I remember when I first read this i enjoyed it a lot because it reminded me of Jules Verne. On the second read, I like it again but I realized it something I would not read again. It went to the trade pile. I have been toying with reading the Wells Murderbot series but it seems the books are very short but you pay the same price for them as a longer book.
I think some of these books were great, fresh ideas for their time, but they're certainly not all timeless. It's fun to see what was popular or notable for the year they were released, but a lot of these do drag on in the middle as they try to make their point. I do agree Murderbot is a bit pricey for the length. I read the series from my library, definitely recommend giving it a try if you can get them that way.
I very much enjoyed your latest book reviews in this pleasant presentation. So much, that now I need to find time to tuck in🐝to one of your selected keeps.🌺
Hi! I just finished the silverpromise and it was good. Very much like Locke Lamorra or Sebastian De Castelle writing. A little juvenile but fun story. Beginning was the best part😊
Hell yeah, this is a great attitude. I grab a lot of books from little free libraries or buy really cheap used books, which means my to-read pile can quickly grow to two piles. But I'll often abandon two or three books (sometimes after just a few paragraphs) for each book I finish. Back to the little free libraries with them! Life is too short.
I used to have a hard time giving up on books, but I've been loving reading this way. Life really is too short, and there are too many books out there to spend time on ones you aren't truly enjoying.
Unfortunately I don't read a ton of sci-fi to have many recommendations, but I think Dark Matter by Blake Crouch is fairly similar (parallel universes). Also the sequel to Infinity Gate is out now, Echo of Worlds
Hello! Found your channel via the algorithm and subscribed after watching your 2024 reading goals video. I also try to read 52 books a year! I succeed maybe one third of the time. Thanks for the rec on Sophia Keetch. I have a couple friends who are very into retellings of Arthuriana, so I passed that along, and she was new to both of them. And good luck with the Black Company! I bounced off it hard. A little too '80s dudely fantasy for me. Hoping to read a few books for sure in August: The Ballad of Black Tom by Victor Lavalle, Exile's Gate by C. J. Cherryh, and Delirium's Mistress by Tanith Lee. Cherryh and Lee have been real revelations for me, both women writing fantasy and sci-fi in the '70s and '80s that seem a little forgotten or underrated today. I think their work is up there with anyone else writing in those genres at the time.
I hope your friends like Sophie Keetch as much as I have been. That's kind of what I'm expecting from The Black Company, but sometimes that works for me. C.J. Cherryh had been on my radar, but I haven't gotten around to her works yet. Lavalle and Lee are new to me though. I hope you enjoy, and thanks for sharing!
Cool list! The last Witch of Edinburgh and Long Live Evil were new to me and sound good. I'm on the lookout for witchy books my last one wasn't great, it was The Familiars by Stacy Halls which lost it's momentum and feminist message near the end.
I just finished this. I think above all, what the author got most right with this story was the atmosphere. It was haunting and surreal in an almost tangible way. Thank you for sharing your thoughts.
Great hearing from you! I really like learning about new books that you check out even if you don’t finish. Life is too short to waste on books you don’t enjoy!☺️
Hi! Great to hear from you. Wise decision not to spend time on books you are not enjoying. Our lives and time are so limited. I just finished reading Red Rabbit by Alex Grecian… that was weird and dark and so fun. Total mind bender. Not for everyone, so would not recommend but maybe ?
Hi! Really like hearing from you😊. I’ve started reading the expanse series this week and wondering if you might like it. I really like it so far. Early still in book one so hopefully will like till the end. Leviathan Wakes is the first book in the series. Have you read it? Tried? Liked?
Hi! I’m 100 pages until the end and can barely make myself finish. It got so far from where it started I won’t continue with the series. Sometimes stories make a complete 180
I was never really a reader but I finally started reading books near the end of this year im hoping 24 can be a great year for reading, lots of books im looking forward to. So much to read too tho lol
Ever read The Historian? I think you may enjoy it! 🧛♂️ My students suggested No Longer Human, a Japanese novel. Start that next, right sfter the thousands of other titles in my TBR pile! 🤷♂️🤦♂️🤣
My female students - I teach college-prep lit & composition courses - will love Lies We Sing to the Sea. Thanks for the rec, even if it wasn't your favorite!
I received "The Bear and the Nightingale" for Christmas from a friend who adores the trilogy. I have two books to read before diving into this and can't wait! It looks like the perfect winter read. "Gods of the Wyrdwood" also sounds really, really good! Thanks so much for sharing your top ten!!!
These are reviews of books that I may not have stumbled upon for a good read! Thank you for the creative suggestions. The Owl Book (The Parliament) is right out of a dream. Penelope in city of Stardust Book is straight out of Cruella de vil. Can't wait till January.
I'm enjoying having a monthly TBR at the moment though I can see myself dropping it at some point and moving onto mood reading. I think you have to do what works for you and reading is for fun! I have heard quite a few mixed reviews on Witch King so I can't decide if I want to pick it up or not.
I like the idea of a monthly TBR more than I like actually having one right now I think Witch King is worth trying if you don't mind figuring the world out on your own for a while instead of having anything explained up front
I think an ending can make me like a book that I felt meh about, but I think that only works if the twist at the end makes me recontextualize everything that happened before. But I also ruthlessly dnf books 🤷♀🤷♀
I just read The Book That Wouldn't Burn and one of the quotes I highlighted was “It's always the books you don't have that call to you, you know that. Not the ones on your shelf. They can wait.” Never related to something more 😂
I know what you mean about adding so many books to my endless tbr 😅 Hammer of Fate sounds really interesting! And I like retellings so I'll definitely check out Morgan is My Name
