"And Then There Were None" is also a mini-series, with 3 episodes that is brilliant as well. It is three hours in total and, if you loved the book, you will like it for sure.
Also there is a great story called “and then there were n-1” somewhat inspired by “and then there were none” in that there is a bunch of people isolated and a case of foul play, but it has a very interesting twist in that it happens at a convention for a bunch of alternative universe versions of the main character( one version of her figures out how to cross over into the multiverse). I listened to it on Escape Pod. It’s a good listen and it’s free to listen to.
I remember reading The Yellow Wallpaper in high school lit class - it really struck me because of the main character's trauma and emotional unraveling. Glad you enjoyed it so much too! I also loved Shirley Jackson's The Lottery for the same reasons.
Abercrombie is superb, seems like more and more people are reading his books, which is awesome, Best Served Cold is one of my favourite books, can’t recommend it enough You just now sold me on Rage Of Dragons, I quite like a good revenge tale, people at their wits end mostly... The Yellow Wallpaper?... will track it down today!
I just started reading Best Served Cold a few days ago. I read the original trilogy a long time ago, I forgot how absolutely brutal these books can be. I've already seen characters get beheaded, garotted, beaten to death with a hammer, poisoned, set on fire, stabbed in the back of the neck, get their eye burned out with a hot poker, have their skull crushed, get cleaved to death over a dice game, and I'm not even halfway through. More blood!
I finished Rage of Dragons this week and it's so freaking good! I loved it. I'm so glad you recommended it because I had not heard of it before you mentioned it.
Rage of Dragons was very good. Read it at random from one of your favorites lists. Fantastic. Can't wait for next one. The only bad thing I can say about it is that I had trouble putting it down to get some sleep.
Wonderful summary post. Interesting that so many of your best reads were non-fiction books. I've read the Daughter of Seven Names too and it was a gripping story. My best read so far has been Kings of the Wyld by Nicholas Eames (a D&D like fantasy where 50 year old Adventurers get back together to save one guy's daughter, has lots of snarky humor, old metal music references and adventurer bands are treated like rock bands in our world). I highly recommend this one, especially now when you're starting your own D&D game. Have fun with it! Contesting for first spot is Seanan McGuire's Urban fantasy InCryptid series' book 9. The MC is for the first time Sarah, the cousin of previous characters. Sarah belongs to a normally murderous supernatural species called Johrlac but tries to be good. We finally learn many secrets of the Johrlac/cuckoo culture. Yes! Adorable speaking Aeslin mice also feature. You could start reading from here but the previous books are awesome and worth reading too. And if you've read them, you understand the world and the stakes a lot better.
Lies of Locke Lamora, of course A little hatred by Joe Abercrombie was a surprise. He came for a book sign at my favourite bookshop so I stayed in line without knowing anything about him. Needless to say, I read 50 pages while waiting.
Excited for this video. I'm about to finish Viscious so I need some new books. Thanks for another great video, Merphy. I hope you're staying safe everyone.
So I just read The Yellow Wallpaper now. As in just now. But I read it after researching a bit about the author. If you put that into account, then man. That little book is GOOD and even inspiring in a...weird way.
I need to give And Then There Were None another go. When I initially tried to read it years and years ago, I DNFd it cause I thought the characters were incredibly dumb. Thinking about it now, I think that may have been the point though lol. Haven't read too many 5 star reads so far this year (that were also not rereads), but so far my top books this year are all of the books in The Riyria Chronicles series, and Ascendance of a Bookworm Part 2 Vol 2. All of them are just so much fun!
The Yellow Wallpaper was a story I read in high school. I read it around 1 or 2 am. To this day it is the only story I have EVER ready that has had me literally scared as I read.
Agatha Christie is an absolute legend but don't worry - in my (and many others' opinion) her best book is The Murder of Roger Ackroyd. It's fantastic .... and it's easy to forget that most of the cliches and habits we see so often in murder mysteries were all invented by her!
Have you read Escape From Camp 14? It's another book about North Korea. I will need to check out The Girl With Seven Names, I find it a fascinating subject to read about.
Believe it or not I’ve been more busy during this quarantine than I would’ve been if we were not... so I haven’t seen much videos lately. This is the first one I see in a while and omg I missed you merphy
I'm picking up My Dark Vanessa soon. I'm so interested in how it handles some themes from the #MeToo movement in such a nuanced and new way especially with the younger version of Vanessa.
I started Best Served Cold by Joe Abercromie and it is being my new favorite. I'm already trying to figure out to get my hands on the other two stand alone because his books just keep getting better and better. I read The Yellow Wallpaper in high school and I read it several times because I thought it was so amazing. I think several of the required readings in high school take on a whole new meaning after you start living real adult life. Awesome video as usual!
I've been reading North Country Fair by Harry Pearson, which is a nonfiction book about country fairs in the north of England, where I live. It's very funny. I think you might quite enjoy the anime series Fate/Zero and Fate/Stay Night: Unlimited Blade Works (The series, not the film). They're dark fantasy series about mages engaging in a fight to the death with the help of summoned historical and legendary figures to complete a ritual that will grant the winner the Holy Grail, which will give them their heart's desire. Zero is a prequel to Unlimited Blade Works, but they can be watched in either order, so giving away anything else about the setups would spoil them a bit. I think both of them are on Netflix. Normally I'd just recommend you the source material something's based on, but this isn't really possible with Fate. The original Fate/Stay Night visual novel was never officially released in English, and the Japanese PC version is no longer available, so you can't just buy it and add a fan made translation. (A visual novel is a kind of interactive fiction, with illustrations and often music and voice acting, often with multiple routes to take through the story) Similarly, Fate/Zero was originally a series of light novels that never got a release in English. (Light novels are a form of serialised fiction made up of many short volumes, and are very common in Japan.) This leaves the anime adaptations. Unlimited Blade Works is an adaptation of the second route from the visual novel. An adaptation of the first route was also made, but it's not as good as Unlimited Blade Works, and it covers a lot of the same ground, so it's not particularly worth watching for a casual viewer. The third route, Heavens Feel, has also been adapted into a series of films, and like the source material they're definitely intended for an audience that's already consumed Unlimited Blade Works.
I couldn't read My Dark Vanessa. I started the first chapter and I just couldn't. As much as I wanted to, it was just to upsetting and cringy from the start. Maybe some day I can try again, but for now I just can't do it.
I really want to see about "Dear Authors , friendship ".I want to hear about what people thibk about a good and a bad friendship stories as I want to write more about it.
Would you make a video on how you take notes on books you read? Also Top reads of 2020 so far are The Last Argument of Kings (book 3 of The First Law), The Eye of the World, and The Way of Kings.
Help! Please! I'm writing a book with a really cool magic system and it would be awesome if you guys could tell me what important differences a world with this magic might have: So in this world, a specific material can be used to make photos which create a perfect, physical copy of the subject when burned. For example, if you take a picture of a boulder that is rolling down the hill, and then burn that picture, a boulder would appear (not the hill since its not the subject, rules are too complex for here) in the air, and it would have the same momentum relative to the camera as the original boulder. The 'Images' (the name for the copy) have a limited duration which is related to how large they are and how much stress you put on them (so you can use them to help make a building, but you can't actually make a building out of them). The Photo material is quite cheap to produce, but the general public doesn't know how it is made. How would this magic effect an otherwise normal world? Edit: also sorry this isn't related to the video, I just want to get in early on any one of Murphys videos to get replies :p
More details about the world in my story, or things I have already decided the magic would change: SPOILERS - The world has an industrial revolution level of technology (so carts and lanterns are still in use). - The world has no special wars, disasters or conflicts occurring right now. - Their technology has been affected by the magic to be extremely advanced in some areas, and non-existent in others, with the most important changes from Industrial being [no electricity, very limited explosives technology including guns, bombs and engines, incredibly advanced biology (particularly autopsies), chemistry and Newtonian physics (including light theory)] - The legal system is very modern and strong, partly to combat the huge damage misuse of the magic can cause (also the main plot is focused on detectives) - People can be duplicated perfectly, but with the memories etc of when the photo was taken. However, Images of people are quite controversial, so some uses of copying people are underused or taboo (also a major part of the story). - There is a large class divide, but the lines are blurring with so many manufacturers and clever Image users gaining often more money power and fame than the aristocracy. - The city the plot takes place in isn't London... but it might as well be. That's just where historical detective stories are set right?
Jake Scott I have a couple ideas as to how the magic system can be used. First it is about the pictures of humans. That is something that can be exploited in so many ways. A simple concept is how you can tie it into the main plot. For example the villain could take a picture of a person who is close to this other person the villain wants to kill and distort that image to use the person he took a photo of to kill that other person. Another thing is that a detective needs clues as to how the person got merdered. They could take a photo of the person before he died interrogate him to see if there is anybody he could think of that could kill him and they put whoever he said as a suspect of the crime. The bad guys could also take a picture of a dude and torture him to gain any information they want out of him. Btw if there is something I said that will counteract an aspect of your magic system then don’t use it. The most important thing for any magic system is consistency. Anything you read in here you do not have to put in your book. I am just trying to make your head work trying to think of all the different ways the magic can be used. Next anything that is related to humans can be easily exploited which is an easy way to explain why the practice of taking pictures of humans is considered taboo. Finally a thing I would consider is how easy it is to take pictures with this magic system. For example if the magic system is vary maneuverable then a person could just take a picture of a key to place they want to get into and use that picture to get into that place. If it is not maneuverable (like they need a giant camera to take pictures with this magic system) then that possibility with the key would be impossible or much harder to pull of.
@@samfowler9851Thanks for the reply! A few great ideas here: The 'distorting' idea sounds really cool, but probably doesn't fit well into the detective story I'm writing. The key thing is exactly the kind of detail I was looking for! How would this world adapt security when any key can be stolen so easily? Perhaps my antagonist can use this to get into an area secretly, and the detective characters have to figure out a special 'locked room' mystery. Also you've come close to some of the more thematic elements of the human duplication, but I'll stay vague about those for now ;)
I'm halfway through Lies of Locke Lamora and...I'm also annotating and the experience is....GREAT!!!! Alot of people are saying that book 2 and 3 aren't as amazing but I hope they're wrong cause I ALREADY really want to love this series!!!!
Good series, I want to read the rest but the second and third just aren't as good. I believe book 4 is set up to be amazing. It's going to be a while though. I just finished the republic of thieves the night before last.
Does anyone else not understand the love for rage of Dragons? I DNFed it. Just found it incredibly dull. The beginning was just constant battle amongst people you don't care about and know nothing about. For me, extended battle scenes are very boring if I'm not already invested in the characters. Maybe I need to push farther, but it really was a slog for me with no character development.
Hi Merphy, just wanted to let you know that 'the boy, the mole, the fox and the horse' isn't actually a children's book, nor is it a 'story'. It's a collection of Charlie Mackesy's favourite drawings. It's a wonderful book to leaf through and find comfort in, and so nice to give to friends too! I absolutely love it.
Same 2 you..i also picked it up 3 weeks before cuz i saw merphy's channel..i am loving this ride though it was hard at first not being a native speaker and not having read a ton of books as i an still a child.
@@remadevi3082 same and same. English is also my second language. My pace was so extremely slow at the beginning of the first book cuz the writing is so weird and old school.. Especially with descriptions of the landscape i have no clue sometimes lol..
Yeah..Tolkein's description of landscape and the extensive details on the folklore of middle earth appeared pretty boring to me at the beginning and i wanted to understand elvish sooo much.. Now i think i might pick up simarillion or some other books on middle earth. Its so good to discuss books. I dont really get to do that often. Thank you a lot.😊
I started fellowship of the Ring like a week ago and the descriptions are really hard to get by my plan is to get through the 1st book so that I am familiar with the writing style and can enjoy the next 2 books
@@merphynapier42 the 2nd one i'd say is most peoples least favorite of the 5 main Percy Jackson books, the series as a whole i'd say is definitely worth a read through though.
I love your videos. You remind me SO MUCH of the actress that played Velma from the live action Scooby Doo. Super compliment. She and you are gorgeous.
Yellow Wallpaper sounds so fascinating! Definitely intend to read that. I’ve also got My Dark Venessa and The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and The Horse to read. Knowing that you enjoyed them had heightened my excitement to read them.
If you get a chance, read “the murder of Roger Ackroyd.” I think it was better than “and then there were none.” For me, the whodunit in this book was not in the story itself, but was in how Agatha Christie pull this story off!
SPOILERS for the ending for the rage of dragons TAU IS CHAMPION.... AND HE DESERVES IT. (I'm sorry im still not over that epilogue) I loved the the rage of dragons.
I had been looking at the Rage of Dragons for a while but finally picked it up after one of your videos about it. So glad I did. Best book I've read this year so far. Totally didn't seem like my style but I was so wrong!
Well now The Girl with Seven Names, And Then There Were None, The Yellow Wallpaper, and My Dark Vanessa are added to my list!!! Currently reading Rage of Dragons (you inspired me to read) and just finished a bunch of Edgar Allen Poe stories, so I'll get there hopefully.
I know this is kind of unrelated, but I want to put this out for people who like middle grade novels. I recommend the Jinx Trilogy by Sage Blackwood and The Gryphon Chronicles by E.G. Foley. The Jinx Trilogy is shorter, though. I'm sorry for the lack of relation to the video. But actually I reread the Jinx trilogy this January, and loved it, so I guess this is validation.
I read Letters to the Lost in February..... 5 stars, obviously!! It was because you praised it so much, so thank you sincerely. I don’t read contemporary, ever, it’s my least read/fav genre, so I was hesitant, but wow... it was good🥰🥰
These are 4 possible starting places: with her Miss Marple or Hercule Poirot series, with her short stories or stand alone books. Like Merphy said, And Then There Were None is widely thought to be one of her best. Maybe start with that one? If you want more perspective, Books like whoa booktube channel has many excellent Christie videos. I highly recommend them and her other videos too. She reads widely from literary fiction and classics to sff and romance.
I suggest for nonfiction Ordinary Men. I read it for a specific history class and it was exceptionally thought provoking and something everyone should read. It's a hard read because it is also depressing (it is about Nazi Germany), but still an important one.
I read And Then There Were None in school a while back, and normally having to read a book for school makes it less enjoyable for me, but I loved ATTWN anyways and kept reading ahead, and I finished the book when we were like halfway through because I couldn’t put it down
I am reading Bear Town. I am in love with it!!! Thank you for recommending him. The way he describes something in such a simple way makes me go “Yes!!l”
Hi Merphy, I just finished "My Dark Vanessa", which is not usually the kind of book I reach for but you made it sound very interesting and i must say, it was GREAT. It was aggravating in all the right ways and one of the best books I've read in a while, so thanks for the great rec :)
I have read a couple books this year so far. First was lord of the rings two towers, second was to kill a mocking bird for school, third was mistborn the final empire (dnf’d the series, did not enjoy the first book), I started reading the talisman by Steven king and stopped after the COVID-19 outbreak because the book is bit too depressing, and now I am starting wheel of time book 1 eye of the world. I am loving it so far and am 250 pages in.
WWFix yeah I am definitely going to pick the talisman back up later in the future just because of the main character Jack. To put it simply, Jack is just me when I was twelve. Everything from his depression to even little things such as him being tall for his age and him having a love for yellow cheese that was said in one throw away line. However, what sold me on his character was his motivation of his mom having cancer. When i was twelve, my grandmother was diagnosed with cancer. It was terrible seeing her slowly loss the ability to even move and she experienced a great deal of pain. I can still remember the night my parents took the family to show her dead body. That was the worst night of my life. So when I saw jack have time to enjoy his mother, seeing his mother’s way of handling her current situation, and especially seeing the queen in her bed being unable to do many things, all hit close to home for me. It told me there is one side you can be on, and I think that is why the book feels so depressing for me.
If you want more of characters from The First Law, your first Joe Abercrombie standalone should be Red Country, which follows Logen, so you can have just a bit more time with him.
Completely disagree. Publication order is necessary, otherwise you spoil character arcs like caul shivers. not to mention you miss out on the great stories in best served cold and the heroes
@@ItalianStallionBDM I mean, I didn't say not to read those. I think my order was Best Served Cold, then Red Country, then The Heroes and I don't remember feeling badly spoiled. To be fair, it's been a long time since I read them, so maybe I misremember.
@@JKWuco in that order (bsc, red country, the heroes) it wouldnt be majorly spoiled, but I think reading red country first would definitely spoil shivers and cosca. Basically I think starting with best served cold is a must
@@ItalianStallionBDM That may be fair. Like I said, I haven't read them in quite a while, but I did know that I read Red Country sooner than I would have in publication order and didn't have major spoilers. Based on what you're saying, BSC probably is the best one to read first, then.
The First Law sounds a lot like the Broken Empire by Mark Lawrence, except with less plot of course. Would highly recommend Lawrence’s trilogy, the second novel, the King of Thorns, is arguably my all time favorite book.
It isnt quite as dark as broken empire. Merphy and others kindof overstate how dark the first law is. The lack of plot is also overstated, apart from book 1 which is definitely a setup for the characters. Dont get me wrong, the first law characters are grey, some are pretty nasty, and Abercrombie doesnt coddle readers about violence, but theres a clever humor that makes the characters perhaps more likable than someone as fully psychopathic as jorg
The Murder of Roger Ackroyd by Agatha Christie completely blew my mind, I can't say if it compares to And Then There Were None because I just started this but it's definitely worth checking.
I just started The First Law Trilogy and I am enjoying it so far. I don't know if you have read his Half a King trilogy, but I had so much fun with that! Also, My Dark Venessa is on my TBR.
I have an arc of My Dark Vanessa that i'm exited to pick up, but i feel pretty buried in books right now! My favorites this quarter have been Anna Karenina, The Dearly Beloved (wall), & The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks
Thank you for responding to me ur kinda like my idol ur so busy and u still read so much unlike me I found ur channel by accident a few months ago love from India
