So I am an avid Ghibli fan. Like, Spirited Away is my favourite movie of all time, and I've adored Howl's Moving Castle for years and years. I've seen it a hundred times before I even learned there was a book! Of course, I wanted to read it, but while it has been translated into my language, it probably didn't sell too well here because it was nowhere to be found. I've been searching for the book for years, but to no avail. Then, I finally realized my English was at a level that I could easily read it in English; I got the book, read it, and my god I fell in love. It's wonderful. I'm planning to re-read it soon. One thing I really love is just how different the book and the movie are. They are two standalone pieces of art, each unique and enough of its own thing that I can easily keep loving both without feeling the need to really compare them. But I do have to admit that the book really stole my heart... hehe. It actually reminded me a lot of Terry Pratchett's writing style. The humour, fairy tale-like setting with a twist, the way the magic and logic within the world work... I can't quite explain it, but yes, I do thing it has a bunch in common. (And I adore Pratchett, so) So yeah, that was a tangent, but I second this comment 100%!!
Not always, this isn’t a ironclad rule. But, we largely take from literature that which we lack or wish for in our real lives. So, with that said. Can we all take a moment to pay solid props to your hubby? Because if you rarely like standard romance novels, I can only assume the lad is rocking it like a boss!
Taylor Gayhart that I can very much appreciate. Literally escapes should help us find joy reprieve from life. Not remind us of its short comings. It is a complex thing literature.
"I'm either super analytical or completely whimsical" You just diagnosed my reading problems 😅 although I think I have a third one, which is wholesomely rom-com romances that know they aren't Jane Austen and don't try to be, so I can read them quickly.
As usual the ad is amazing, but even better is the fact that you have "I'm proud of you!" written on the wall. Is that how you stay so driven and motivated? Everyone, I'm proud of you. Now write it on the wall and see if it helps :p
I think with Animal Farm is so heavily steeped in allegory that the talking animals aren’t really whimsical or magical and that tends to be the trope? I love Animal Farm, too, it’s a very good book.
My bookshelf is mainly epic fantasy, but if you let me bring up The Picture of Dorian Grey. I do not shut up. I also have Pride and Prejudice, and a BUNCH of Shakespeare sprinkled among my favs too. My soft spot for everything and anything Alice in Wonderland too.
You probably won’t like His Dark Materials then-because of talking animals. But would it help if the animals are actually the person’s soul, but it takes the shape of an animal????
Hey Merphy, an old teacher of mine from high school has been writing books for years now. I’ve just recently gotten back into reading so I haven’t read any of his books. But if you’re looking for an author to check out, I’d love if I could hear your thoughts on a Gordon Bonnet book! Lock & Key is rated 4/5 on Goodreads! :)
That's the magic of books! They introduce us to new worlds, bringing us along to explore new vistas. Plus, it's always a joy to find a gem in what you thought was a wasteland!
The mention of vampires being tied to sex reminded me of the Directors Commentary on a Hellsing Ultimate installment. One person said that vampires have always been associated with sex, at least as far back as Bram Stoker, and that around the time of Draculas' publication there was a fear that eastern Europeans were a threat to English women.
I tried to read to read the Remnant Chronicles but I couldn't get past the first chapter due to all the plot armor for the MC. I've been told that it's worth continuing I'd love to get your guy's opinions.
I’ve only read the first book and I gave it three stars because nothing really happened until the end, but I still liked it. I heard it gets really really good during the second and third books.
@@boredreader2177 That kinda sucks, i don't want to have to wait to read a second and third book for it to pick up. Looks like one i'll probably have to skip I have a huge TBR pile and would rather read a book that'll keep me interested.
I am pretty certain of middle grade you would like Nevermoor. (Jessica Townsend) . I also loved Frostheart by Jamie Littler. Both recently published ones.
Animal farm is phenomenal. Every scene in that book just reflect so perfectly some of the things happened in my country. I couldn't believe the year it was written when I first read it.
I love The Remnant chronicles. I read them because of your recommendation and indeed, Lia was so strong. I liked that she was a fighter when it came to politcs not swords
I Am Legend worked because Richard Matheson is a great writer and actually did something interesting and turned the vampire story on its head. If you didn't like the Will Smith adaptation, try The Last Man on Earth starring Vincent Price. Classic. There's also The Ωmega Man starring Charlton Heston, which I haven't seen, but come on, Charlton Heston.
This is hard for me to think of! Elle tagged me when she did this a few days ago (and the “books I SHOULD have loved” one) & I’m super jazzed to sit down & think about it though!
I read a lot of detective mystery and I have one recommendation for Merphy. She should try E.R. Punshon's 1934 book Death Among the Sunbathers which focuses more on the suspects trying to outsmart a detective who is working off page for most of the book rather than on the detective solving it. Plus it's third act that feels more like a thriller than detective fiction. I also think she will enjoy his prose as he generally has witty asides through out his books.
I have never really liked Romance at all, but upon Merphy's recommendation I finally read Pride and Prejudice and LOVED it- so while I'm still not a Romance fan, that book in particular is now one of my favorites!
I've read it too and I think there's a reason why we love it more than contemporary ones: Jane Austen's clever (and beautiful) writing and social critique. She had something to say beyond "an exciting romance" (which wasn't that, her characters were interesting and complex). It seems like contemporary romance writers don't have anything deep to say in their books.
Another book with a cast of talking animals that you liked is Winnie the Pooh. The only human I recall that was in the book was Christopher Robin and he was a pretty minor character
when I started watching this video it had 400+ views, now it had 1.1k... wow! Also, I recently re-watched an older video with that add, it's so funny!🤣
I kind of want to (hesitantly) recommend The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires. It's a fantastic horror book, great focus on character relationships, good plot, and the vampire bit isn't really the focus or point of the book as a whole. However, huge trigger warning for gaslighting, and the few times the vampire is caught in the act, it is uncomfortably sexual. So it has some stuff in it I think you'd definitely hate, but it also includes stuff I think you'd definitely love!
I am the exact same way with romance! The few books I do enjoy I LOVE to death. Like 5/5 stars. But then I pick up a romance book everyone likes, and suddenly I’m like, um no. Not down with this 😂 I can’t stand love triangles and cheating, and those seem to be common tropes in the romance genre from what I’ve attempted to read, so maybe that’s why. Honestly, I have better luck with short erotica stories for my romance cravings.
I'm the same, I want to LOVE romance but it's such a vast genre and I don't know what I like or don't or how to even pick it out from the blurb. With fantasy (which I read mostly) I can read the blurb and go "yes this one" or know straight up if it won't suit my tastes. :|
I totally agree with your comments re: Wayward Children series. I love the worlds, but couldn’t care less about the characters. I think Seanan McGuire does an amazing job of writing atmosphere, and that’s what pulls me in. But the characters in these novellas are usually unlikeable and forgettable.
I Am Legend was turned into the film The Omega Man with acting legend Charlton Heston. While I have not yet read the book, I enjoyed that they stayed more true to the source material by keeping the vampires. Good old school horror movie 🎥
tbh I didn’t like the first book that much and it didn’t really add to the story that much for me other than introducing the world. books 2 and 3 are phenomenal and the development of the characters in the later 2 books are amazing. definitely still give it a go
Recently found your content. Enjoying it. 1. Seen your Sanderson love, but haven't seen you mention the reckoners series????? (I couldn't put it down.... And I don't read as often as I should) 2. Animal farm breaks all laws it's great 3. You have triggered a need to rewatch Avatar:TLA. Enjoying all over again!!!
I don't read Romantic Comedy, but I love Kevin Kwan's Crazy Rich Asians Trilogy. He was born and raised in affluence in Singapore, but HE SPICILY satirizes the absurdity of attitudes in the upper echelons of that society.
Hi Merphy! I just realized you never talk about Astrid Lindgren on your channel (in proportion to the fact, that you are not really that into middlegrade), I obviously do not know if you have never read anything by her, but I highly recommend "The Brothers Lionheart", "Mio, my son" and "Ronja, the robbers daughter" - if you're looking for some fun middlegrades as well, anything "Pippi Longstocking" and The "Emil" books are great as well. Lots of love frem Denmark
I am reading The Naked Sun by Asimov right now and I freaking love it. I kinda wish he put more impact with the detective elements since I can really get behind that, but I still absolutely love the characters of the book and the world around them! That is why I stay with Asimov and his books I can sit there for days just reading about the huge worlds he creates, the societies among them and the relationships he makes between Android/robots and humans. I live for that stuff!
Murphy, have you read Hazel Wood? It's a dark fairytale fantasy I just finnished. The first 3/4ths were AMAZING but I found the ending a little disappointing. Love to hear your thoughts!
There are very few YA I enjoy so, I may have to give The Remnant Chronicles a try. Animal Farm: one of my absolute favorite books of all time. Why? Because it's so relevant and important and so well told. Why did you like it in spite if the talking animals? Because it's not a story about a cast of animals. :) Favorite, for sure. Romance: my issue with romance is because so many are ridiculous. I don't like ridiculous. Example, The Notebook, so ridiculous and silly. Terrible.
I feel the same way about the Remnant Chronicles. It has a lot of tropes and clichés, but somehow it's really well done and engaging, and I love the fact that it has different languages and a mythology, since YA fantasy books usually have the laziest worldbuilding possible. Definitely one of the best YA fantasy series. I haven't read "On the Fence", but I checked it out on Goodreads and based on the synopsis I think you might like "My Life Next Door" by Huntley Fitzpatrick. It was a great suprise for me, I usually don't really like romances because I'm not a fan of contemporaries, but that one was so engrossing I read it really fast.
Hey Merphy! Have you read The Strain? that's a great trilogy of vampire horror, it's not romantic AT ALL and it's really interesting! I couldn't put down the books until I was finished!
I usually don't like sci-fi or middle grade book but The Many Worlds of Albie Bright is probably one of my favourite short (150-200 pages) books I've ever read. It also has a really pretty cover which was part of the reason I picked it up. Sorry that this is kinda a long comment
Weird question - I really like your shirt in this video. Where did you get it? I'd like to get something similar! :) Also, I agree with how you feel about vampires in general. I just tried reading another vampire book (The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova) and decided that vampires don't work well for me most of the time.
Listening to this video i am getting more worried about how Merphy is going to like The Dresden Files. Strike 1; Not a fan of Detective Books, Dresden is a Wizard/Detective (Yes there is more to him but those first couple books are structured that way). Strike 2; Not a fan of Vampires because of the overt forced sexual nature(I agree with this view of Vampires), two of the three courts of vampires in the series use sex as a luring hook. I could see both of these putting her off to the series. And i would totally understand. Even if she doesn't end up liking Dresden though, Butcher got her hooked with Cinder Spires. Now if he could just manage to write the second book that would be nice(Not complaining #Jim Butcher is Not our Bitch). I hope you read the rest of Codex Alura also cause they are phenomenal!
I haven't read Animal Farm since 9th grade. Might be time for a re-read. I liked Twilight even though I detest vampires. You still can't get me to like zombies though.
Merphy, Please give The Vampire Lestat and The Vampire Chronicles by Anne Rice another try. I thought these books gives you more an urban fantasy vibe and they are way better than Interview with The Vampire. The vampires in The Vampire Lestat and The Vampire Chronicles were protrayed moral of grey,because they hunts down and feed off criminals (the vampires refers the criminals as evildoers). They aren't rape-y and they always wants to blend with humans. You probably will get known the history of them and there's family relationship with vampires. You probably would like Lestat,because his personality is very similar to Lockes. These books has witches and ghosts in them,too.
Have you read Thr3e by Ted Dekker or the Pendragon series by D.J. MacHale? Thr3e is a thriller and a more YA-adult novel, and Pendragon is a lot of world building in an interesting way.
Reading the Peasprout Chen (middle grade) series as an almost 30 year old was stupidly enjoyable, even though it isn’t complete yet. It has a magical academy, political intrigue, strong friendships, strong family relationships, and a martial art that combines figure skating and kung fu.
I completely agree with the problems with vampires. I love the idea of vampires, the mythology surrounding them, but I don't like heavy romance and they tend to get kind of rape-y. The worst example of this is one of my sister's favorite series, Anne Rice's Vampire chronicles which has these problems dialed up to 15. If you are looking for recommendations, avoid that series.
14:00 If you like Urban Fantasy books, I recommend you Kate Daniels. It has romance, but it is harldy the focus of the series. In the novels, there are vampires which are creepy monsters without conscience or intelligence (they just crave blood) which are used as a tool and controlled by someone else mentally from afar... it's weird to explain, but I love it. Kate Daniels series has such a unique world and mythology
You should try Sunshine, by Robin McKinley for vampires. It's my fave vampire book, and the violence doesn't read as sexy. Protagonist does have a kind of romance with a very weird, alien feeling vampire, but the romance is not framed in the predatory way that is common in vampire stories.
Someone must recommend this every time you bring up loving these different magical world, but... may I recommend The Death Gate Cycle by Margaret Weis & Tracy Hickman. I'll just copy paste a bit from wikipedia here, and say that even though it's 7 books, it's maybe as long as the first 3 or 4 WoT books. If that. The Death Gate Cycle is a seven-part series (heptalogy) of fantasy novels written by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman. The main conflict is between two powerful races, the Sartan and the Patryns, which branched off from humans following a nuclear/anti-matter holocaust. Centuries prior to the events of the series, the Sartan attempted to end the conflict by sundering the Earth into four elemental realms, and imprisoning the Patryns in a fifth prison world, the Labyrinth. The Sartan took up stewardship of the elemental realms, but soon mysteriously lost contact with each other and disappeared. Centuries later, a Patryn known as Xar escaped the Labyrinth, and started returning to the Labyrinth to rescue others. He learned how to access the other worlds and dreamed of freeing all his people from the Labyrinth and conquering the other worlds. The books follow the fiercely independent Haplo, a Patryn agent sent to scout the elemental worlds and throw them into chaos in preparation for his Lord's conquest of them. Weis and Hickman created five distinct fantasy worlds during the course of the series, along with developing the cultures of five major races: the unique Patryn and Sartan, and the common fantasy races of dwarves, elves, and humans
If you love phantastic world building you should read One Piece. I know it is extremely long but it is worth it. The world building is unbelievably good and detailed. This manga tick all the right boxes of things you like about a story.
Unrelated question about writing: what you think is a best way to tell the reader someone is speaking another language? What is the method you would use? Thank you for answering!
No idea on the best way, but, as a reader, I'd say the worst way is to sprinkle bits of the language they're speaking into dialogue. To me that always reads as them actually speaking English and occasionally failing to translate a word.
You might like Indexing by Seanan Maguire. It was originally a series of short stories, but she put them together as two novels. It deals with a team of government agents who intervene in "Memetic Incursions" which are events that are superficially similar to fairy tales start to escalate into full-blown versions of fairy tales, which are disastrous for everyone caught up in one. The team consists of a Snow White in abeyance, a Wicked Stepsister that was averted, an inactive Cobbler's Elf, an active Pied Piper, and a perfectly normal man. It really straddles the line between whimsy and serious.
If you haven't heard or read the Girl of Fire and Thorns trilogy by Rae Carson i recommend those! Young adult fantasy. Main protagonist has a great character arc! It could be a hit or miss but I hope you enjoy! I love your channel ❤❤❤
You should read the Dream a little dream trilogy by Kerstin Gier, it is a low YA fantasy so not exactly your thing, but I believe you'd love it because it has strong friendships, strong relationships with family, and it is hilarious! It is such a heartwarming story that you'd love!
Vampires-have you read The Strain by Guillermo del Toro and Chuck Hogan? These are classic horror vampires, SOOOOOOO NOT sexual but legit terrifying. The series starts very sci-fi but turns fantastical by book three, which disappointed a bit, but still, highly recommend.
I'm not a romance reader, I've dnf'd the vast majority of romance books I've tried every now and the to see if my tastes have changed. But Get A Life Chloe Brown, I could not put that down.
Can you make a video about writing styles of authors you like or don't like? And have you tried webtoons? I think you might some that you enjoy. I think you might like ghosteller and ghost theater. I'm rambling oh my god I'm an idiot. I just love you and your videos so much.#smoothtransition.
A childhood favorite middle grade of mine is The Kindling by Braden Bell! I'm currently rereading the series for the first time in years, and I was scared to get back into it at first because I was afraid I'd realize it wasn't as good as I thought, but it's better than I was expecting! It's not the greatest series (I honestly find the second book difficult to get through) but the magic system is a really cool concept and the book is just incredibly fun to read.
For a bit of a different spin on a vampire story I would recommend the Noble Dead series by Barb & J.C. Hendee. Not that there aren't some tropes but they do at least tweak them. The vampires do get violent but it is not in a real sexual way (at least I don't remember any). The first book is titled 'Dhampri', is set in fantasy world and sets up future books well, while having a complete story (in my opinion). I don't want to say much about the story because the less you the better it is on the first read.
100% agree with you on the talking animal aspect. Doesn't matter what it is, talking animals shouldn't be a part of it. Films are the worst for this, especially when they try to animal the animals speaking. Creeps me out. Animal Farm was the only thing I can think of that did it well. I'm a little more forgiving if the animals can talk amongst themselves. If they can talk to humans, count me out.
Sometimes a combination of things is greater than their parts. For instance, I hate cucumbers and I hate yogurt. However, Greek tzatziki sauce (mostly combo of yogurt and cukes) on a gyro? Mwah 😗!
A book series that I like that I would say is middle grade is All the wrong questions by Lemony Snicket. Love that series. I honestly think its better than A series of unfortunate events.
@@neondemon5137 Hi, stranger. Friendly reminder that there's another human being with a soul on the other side of this digital stream of code. We choose whether to make this world, virtual of physical, a better place. No, I won't reply to any other comments you make, and yes, you have every right to say or think whatever you want about me because of it. And I every right to pray for you. May we both have a better day tomorrow.
Try the book A bridge to a better life by Ava Miles. I just love her romances because she adds some different vibes from just romance, and deals with mental struggles, and builds up the world in a strong way. If you don’t like it it’s whatever, but I don’t like a lot of romance either so I’mma try the ones you like to see how i feel about them lol
If you love a deep friendship and character development, don’t hesitate to read your copy of Narcissus and Goldmund. Be ready to look into the mirror a keep turning the page.
I wonder if I am Legend worked because it wasn't the typical vampire tropes of 'ancient evil' but simply a disease that transforms humans into this new species.
I had to read Animal Farm for school once, it was great, but it made me very irrationally angry with the word “comrade.” Orwell really loves that word.
My dissatisfaction(one of the) with the Wayward Children: Me, while reading the: Where are all the children who doesn't want to go back to their perspective worlds and are dealing with their perspective traumas? The book: Actually explains it Me: Well... Now I want to read the book about those chars instead! 😅
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