I'm a planetary scientist doing research at Curtin University on the formation of impact craters on Mars. I love horror sci-fi and fantasy, as well as a range of nonfiction genres.
I'm not as active as I'd like to be, but most of my content is TBRs, reading and travel vlogs, and wrap ups/reviews.
💻Find me on other platforms💻 Twitter: twitter.com/jjosh_h Blog: jjoshh.com/ Instagram: instagram.com/jjosh.h/ Storygraph: app.thestorygraph.com/profile/8acb62e4-d25e-436b-837b-deb6c2a7014d Goodreads: www.goodreads.com/user/show/37705991-josh-hedgepeth
Great content as always! I will add Being Mortal and Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe to my long TBR 😅. Do you plan to read books by Australian authors and Aboriginal Australian authors? I love your thematic vlog/reviews. I liked your previous Golden Girls book tag video. I still watch one of your mid-year freak out where you dressed up as Shirley Jackson and one of the witch from Hocus Pocus 😂. Thank you for sticking around after all these years Josh 😉 (I've been watching your videos since you were in Canada).
Thank you for watching and saying that. I won't pretend I don't sometimes question whether it's worth continuing. But I do enjoy making them and am glad you enjoy watching them. As for reading Australian authors, it's not something I've currently planned. But it is a good idea. I'll probably look into some possible books
@@JoshsBookishVoyage For fried Green Tomatoes it is really out of curiosity. I remember watching the movie adaptation a few years ago. I'd like to know if the book is that different.
Regarding Avatar done well, have you read Unreconciled by Jesse Wente? He is an indigenous film ciritc and his memoir is amazing and he talks about Avatar. Great vlog!
Great examination! I do enjoy Riley Sager but I always go in with the knowledge that there will be at least one twist too many. For me they are fun summer reads. I’ve not taken the time to examine them as literature though so this was interesting.
Thank you for this video Josh! I wanted to add Queer books to my readings and didn't really know where to start. The Death of Vivek Oji, Tell Me I'm Worthless, Another Country (I have started my Baldwin cycle with Nobody knows my Name) and A Un kindness of Ghosts have sparked my interest.
Great list! All Boys Aren't Blue was among the six most banned books in America last year. I bought all six and left them casually around my house so my son can read them at leisure. We elevate banned voices in this house. This is How You Lose the Time War is a favorite of min.
Thanks for watching. I thought about putting the time war on the list. I love it too. The main reason I chose not to was that it was less about queer themes then it was just a story with queer characters.
Such a great list thanks for putting it together🌻 Here’s some of my favorites💜 Memoir- Hijab Butch Blues by Lamya H Poetry- it was never going to be okay by jaye simpson Graphic Novel- The Magic Fish by Trung Le Nguyen Fantasy- Strange Grace by Tessa Gratton Scifi- Ninefox Gambit by Yoon Ha Lee Middle grade- Moonflower by Kacen Callender Short Stories- The Secret Lives of Church Ladies by Deesha Philyaw
Loved this video!! I am currently in the middle of my Wayward Children Series reading vlog. Your non-spoiler thoughts got me even more excited!! haha I'm eager to see how similar our rankings will be.
To be honest, this didn't work for me. The author has very limited singular vision where she is nothing but criminalising the already criminalised e g. black man, demonizing the already demonized e.g. black man. On to Sula now.
Thank you Josh for this review. I'm currently reading The Only Good Indians. Usually I don't like reading series, but I will make an exception for this one. I like the way Stephen Graham Jones writes and the issues he raises in his books.
I hope you like it! The first book does work as a standalone sort of. Sure, more happens, but the mysteries of book one are largely self contained, with the sequels expanding it.
You shouldn't be annoyed being drawn to something by popular opinion. I prefer to read 100 popular books and be disapointed by a handful rather than go the unpopular route and be disapointed by 95 books. I loved 1Q84, but I love everything by Murakami anyways. It's not as good as The wind up bird chronicle, but I love the athmosphere in his books while listening to some Ludovico Einaudi. That said, it's miles away from my favorite book, "The Left Hand of Darkness" by Ursula K. Le Guin. But it's also a million times better than the worst book I read which would be Fifty shades of Grey..
I disagree. Popular doesn't make it bad, but there is absolutely a threshold of popularity above which something tends to lean into LCD territory. It's the problem with a lot of major movie franchises like Marvel at times or Avatar. Popularity doesn't make something bad, but it feels like such a red flag at least at first glance.
Frankowski Conrad series, Spider Robinson Callahan's Crosstime Saloon series have several time travel stories Robert Young wrote several, but I read in English only The Dandelion Girl. Heinlein has several Door into Summer is the best. Connie Willis Oxford series.
@@JoshsBookishVoyage lol this person is referencing a line in the book. It’s something that is told to Tengo by his father. Anyway I just finished the book last night, it had some interesting parts but I did not like it overall
Really enjoyed your review Josh. I read tons of science but it's mostly nature or environmental or biology focused in some way or other. I have felt that when I try to branch out sometimes into astronomy or physical sciences most that I read are pretty middle of the road for some reason. I'll definitely be checking out the science memoir you had mentioned in the video as that sort of is a staple in life science and nature writing now haha. Don't know if i would pick this one up or not, I'm not a professional or anything but I do read a lot of science in general so maybe if it was on sale or something haha. As far as planetary science books, one I really liked a long time ago was How I Killed Pluto and I felt the author did a good job combining science information with memoir with how astronomy actually works on a day to day basis.
Thanks! Id def recommend Sara Seagers book, especially if you want that personal story. I prefer a good science focused book but I def can see the value of a balanced approach (and I def have some like those that I still love)
Great review! I just read about 850 pages of it before deciding I needed to stop or I was going to blow my brains out. I'm disgusted by the number of people who have praised it.
Ooh tracking the audiobook quality is such a good idea I think I’ll start doing that too. Hope the 2nd quarter is filled with more standout reads for you🌻
I liked "My Heart is a Chainsaw," but unfortunately lack enough horror movie knowledge to really understand the inside jokes. She I keep reading the series?
I'll let you know once I've reread the first one and read the rest. It's too soon for me to say for sure. I'll hopefully have it read and a review out by mid April.
Thank you for this honest review Josh! Jacky Kennedy deserved better than that first biography... I'm glad that Sarah Bradford wrote a better biography. I'm always super cautious about biography, because most of the time it is made to portray the main "character" as good or bad. I like biographies based on facts that show the complexity of a person life.
I've also heard amazing things about The Sparrow - I really like the idea of religious characters + scifi! And I definitely enjoyed Einstein's Dreams!! It's very short and definitely all about the ideas vs. characters but it's a SUPER quick read and I like how thoughtful some of them are. Great list!
I liked the narrator. But if you weren't feeling it I don't think it's worth pushing through it. What wasn't vibing? I really liked the writing style. The biggest thing for me was the heavy handed themes.
Thanks for the ride and the Mandurah trip Josh! I've always liked your vlogs. I'll definitely add the Good House, Black Flamingo and Chain Gang All-Stars to my TBR.
Thanks! I really appreciate that bc this one is my first one in like a year and it took a while to edit 😅. I hope you like the books! I think they're all sure to satisfy
I noticed System Collapse was harder to follow if the previous book was not fresh in your mind anymore as it picked up where Network Effect stopped. I will have to listen to it again, to fully comprehend everything. I laso felt his trauma made it harder too follow and less enjoyable than previous books. Although that might have been me in a not perfect mental space when it came out. Still enjoying the series though. I just recently started on the Wayward Children and am just flying through the audiobooks. I find them very easy to listen to and fast paced.
Little, Big is a personal favorite of mine. I still say it’s the single most beatifically written book I’ve ever read. I write a whole chapter of my MA thesis on it. It is slow and strange, but I earnestly hope you enjoy it :)
Girl, Woman, Other is so good! Very readable and not dense at all. I actually read Dawn in February...it was sooo good! I'm excited to continue the series.
I was also disappointed by Only One Left. I was sort of casually onboard with the first like 2 reveals. Its not my fav but a lot of thrillers go there. Ok. But then when we learn who Ricky is I just noped. And the thing we learn at the end also made me mad. Like, how messed up and full of self hate do you gotta be to make that sort of life choice. It made Miss Hope much less sympathetic to me. Up until then I felt a bit bad for her. Then I didn't anymore.
I really enjoyed this video! The only book mentioned that I've read is Call of Thunder, Hear My Cry, and WOW is that an incredible book; truly one of the most moving works of children's literature I've ever read. Have you read Ring Shout by P Djeli Clark? I get the impression that you would really it.
Thanks! I have read it, but it didn't work well for me. I don't have a solid reason. Part of me wonders if maybe I was just in a bad headspace, and if I reread it I might like it more. But it's made me hesitant to read more Clarks work bc I'm worried I just don't vibe with his writing.
Id enjoy more stories in this world, but this one is built a lot on the mystery of the larger universe. So any new entry would have to do an entire new thing to really stand up in my opinion.
