EVERYTHING I Read in June + Book of the Month! 

Thank you for all the kind words about Return to Edan, John, and for your incredible support! Once again, I'm so glad the story spoke to you. I believe the discussion on Johanna's channel will be out tomorrow (Wednesday). May you encounter great stories in July and ever after!

Oh, I've been meaning to get to Edan ever since Dr. Fantasy first mentioned it and hearing your summary of it, i'm now even more hyped! "Because, let's face it, she's very smart." is my favorite thing I've ever heard 😂 Dalinar is one of the best things to happen to literature ever. There's not a one thing I have in common with this fictional man, and somehow I couldn't relate to and understand him more. Oooh, Necrotek sounds fantastic!

I feel like John looks like what I picture Dalinar to look like 😅 the Bondsmith tattoo has never been more relevant 😊

See, these wrap-up videos is where the true magic happens, because even though I have kept up with all the weekly readers and have heard you talk about these books all month, I am still glued to the screen for this entire wrap-up. HOW do you do it?!?! Anyway, really enjoyed the Quilluminati discussion, and I think our experience with the book was very very similar! Also, I am soooo happy that Oathbringer is also such a hit for you, we need more people in this camp! My favourites of June were Sundered Moon by Zammar Ahmer, Requiem for a Star by U.G. Gutman (novella), and A Letter to the Luminous Deep by Sylvie Cathrall!

Looking forward to the Oathbringer conversation!

Oathbringer is my favorite Stormlight 😍 glad it won Book of the Month :)

Strong beginning guys! Good morning to my favorite BookTubers!!!!

The Tainted Cup's sequel is A Drop of Corruption and Amazon has Feb 6th as the date! So that's roughly when we can expect it I guess. Dalinar's the GOAT of Stormlight for me too. I get the Kaladin love, but Dalinar's just an absolute blast to read in any scene he appears in. Fun month all in all! P.S. Jakob either needs to hook you up with sound effects like you keep asking, or more Mr. Pooh. There are no other options 😂

Right with you on the transcendent achievement that is Oathbringer. Dalinar’s arc is tremendous, and when I binged the first 3 books it definitely cemented its place as one of my very favorite series. We still got a long way to go with it though!

My book of the month for June was The Trouble with Peace by Joe Abercrombie. I can’t wait to wrap up Age of Madness in the coming weeks!

Would love to see a studio tour!

Great video! I loved your description of oathbringer- you summed up perfectly why i love the series. I also just got the tainted cup from the library based on your recommendation, and am excited to start that!

Every time John has struggled to make a choice for a book of the month i have guessed which one he is going to pick. Love your videos.Cheers!

I love Philip but I'm still relieved Oathbringer won. Anything else would have been disturbing. Happy you liked both books though; I did too. I agree - If I grow up to be anything like Philip Chase that would be amazing.

Definitely over selling my intelligence, John 😂😂 Looking forward to our chat!!

Just found your channel via X/Twitter earlier today. Haven't had a chance to sit down and watch a whole video (silly day job getting in the way). But the bit I watched was really good. Love the banter between you two. Can't wait to check out the rest of the video later!

Great video as always, John! Yeah, I'm sure I've missed some things with Oathbringer too lol. Looking forward to the upcoming chat. Watching this, makes me want to start Rhythm of War now, and that's crazy! And I didn't cringe, it's all good 😊👍🇦🇺

"John's Reads!" 👩🏻‍🎤🎶 Y'all are hilarious.

It was wonderful having you in the Return to Edan discussion! I love dads in fantasy, and I loved hearing how you connected with Dalinar!

I read a handful of gems in the month of June -- 1. Robin Hobb's Fool's Quest (#15 of Realm/Elderlings); 2. Ronald Malfi's Small Town Horror -- perfect for the summer creeps and squirms; 3. Larry McMurtry's Dead Man's Walk -- almost as great as Lonesome Dove. Not as long and epic, but still maintains the quality in character development. Where this book lacks in humor, it makes up for in bleakness. It was quite harsh; 4. Dennis Lehane's Small Mercies -- these Bostonians are brutal! 5. Stephen King's You Like it Darker -- only read the first 5 stories, as I'm reading one or two between novels. Danny Coughlin's Bad Dream is my favorite so far! That was a wild tale

I finished reading The Fall last night and have just started reading Of Blood and Fire with a friend :) I'm also reading Warbreaker by Brandon Sanderson. For the first time in my life I'm reading two books at once haha! Once I've finished I'm going to do some shuffling and move on to The Tainted Cup next before starting the Stormlight Archives I just keep adding stuff to my read list haha! :D

What a month, wow! No worries John I'm here for my daily does of tingle 😆. My 5 star read in june was destroyer of worlds by Larry Correia. What a ride, these books by Correia reminds me a bit of Jonathan Maberry's fantasy books, which are sublime 👌

Awesome! You get me so pumped to read😂. Can't wait to start Stormlight later this month!

It sounds like you need different levels of recommendation reads like Johnnie Walker makes different whiskie labels. A general audience recommendation (blue label, E for everyone), your hardcore genre fans recs (black label for macabre/lovecraft), and several others (e.g. brown label, because you're so late to the party that it's started to turn from not being anywhere near fresh). I love the Stormlight Archive. It's truly a phenomenal work of art. And Demon in White was my book of the month. Loving that series as well!

I read my first Yoshikawa book this month (The Take if the Heike) and I have subsequently purchased almost all the rest of his catalog that’s available in English. I think Shogun fans may really enjoy his work. I think that is my book of the month. I aldo finished Sailing to Sarantium by GGK. Under Heaven was my book of the year last year but I have tried three other books of Kay’s since then and didn’t like them nearly as much as Under Heaven. Thank you so much to Read by Kyle and Jake Bishop for championing these books. It was pretty damn good! Under Heaven remains my favorite GGK novel but this lies at a close second. Looking forward to reading Lord of Emperors.listened to Childten of Ash and Elm, a history of the Vikings, in the car this week and was really enjoying it up until the section on Biking funerals which made me feel a bit ill. As the only first hand account of a Viking longship funeral we have is Ibn Fadlan’s (if you’ve read Michael Chrichton’s Eaters of the Dead you’ve read it word for word) the writer of this nonfiction book quoted it quite a bit and then had to add some extra context which is really quite lovely to hear at 6:30 in the morning driving some the highway before one has has near enough coffee.completed the Jack London novel The Sea Wolf 🐺 this man can bloody write. I would strongly recommend any of his works for anyone who feels they would like to start reading more classics, or just anyone in particular. I also finished the Martian Chronicles by Bradbury which I read with my mom. I think she enjoyed it a bit more than I did, maybe because she grew up during the Cold War era and this reminds her of the books and shows she grew up with. I liked it though. Good stuff. on top of al this nonsense I have been attempting to finish the Legend of the Galactiv Heroes series. Well, happy reading!

Decided to follow the gang. Just finished Ordinary Grace, and I cannot wait for your thoughts. Wow.

Definitely a tough choice between Oathbringer and Return to Edan. They’re both excellent books.

What a huge stack of books for a month. I read one book (Tanith Lee - Night´s Master) and heard 4. My book of the month is: Joe Abercrombie - Last Argument Of Kings (First Law Book 3). It was an amazing conclusion to the first trilogy.

I guess it is my book of the month only because I read about a book a month 😂 but Duma Key by Stephen King! It’s been a long time since I’ve read Stephen King, and this has been great! I’m almost finished and I really enjoyed it. It was a nice break from what I normally read.

It sounds like you had a busy month John, you read a lot more than I did anyway. I completed three books this last month, though I won't spoil what they are as I'll be putting out my own video about what I read in June. I did complete the first season of Fallout this month, and it's actually pretty damn good, much better than I initially anticipated. I hope July goes well for you man, keep up the quality content!

Got me out here considering rearranging my plans to fit in the Edan Trilogy asap.... My read of June was without a doubt Sun Eater 3, Demon in White. I didn't quite finish it yet but I'm going to count it as book of the month anyway because it is just that incredible!

Read Oathbringer and Tainted Cup last month as well. Difficult to pick book of the month. I might even prefer Oathbringer over Words of Radiance now, but I think book of the month has gotta go to Tainted Cup. Just such a breath of fresh air for me that I was hooked into start to finish. But Oathbringer was really, really good as well.

I vote for "John's Reads & Recs". And A Drop of Corruption (the sequel to The Tainted Cup) is expected sometime in 2025. Trademarking "Treat yo'self, don't beat yo'self" ;)

What about John’s Rec-it list (wreck it?) hahah Btw love these videos! I bought Tainted Cup and got into a lot of fantasy sseries this year thanks to this channel! More power!

I honestly can't decide between WoR and Oathbringer. Every few days I say WoR and next few days I say Oathbringer. Gonna be really interesting when I start my Stormligt reread coming up in autumn. For me my book of the Month was Age och Ash. Such a beautiful examination of grief and I am a sucker for a good mystery. I need som answers in book 2 and 3! Although I'm very tempted to tie it with The expanse Dragontooth Volume 1. Loved going back to that universe and the comic style reminded me of the good old days of me as a kid reading spiderman comics.

If you love Robert Jackson Bennett I hope you've also read his debut horror novel Mr. Shivers, which reads like a mixture of The Stand meets The Grapes of Wrath. I loved it.

Read of the month for me was Morning Star!

I was really curious on what would end up being your book of the month. I knew it was going to be a hard choice for you!

My book of the month was Assassins Fate by Robin Hobb. Perfect end to my favorite series of all time

Oathbringer is my favorite Stormlight book and I admit I was a little shocked when I learned it was an unpopular opinion. You seem to have enjoyed Tainted Cup more than I did, as I thought the quirkiness of the inspector felt a little forced, but the world building in it is absolutely top notch. Can't wait to give Philip Chase's books a go, hopefully later this year. For my book of the month, I gotta go with Mad Ship (Liveship Traders #2), which could also very possibly be my book of the year Robin Hobb really is all people say she is. But I also gotta give props to Tyranny of Faith (Empire of the Wolf #2) and Marked (Alex Verus #9). If you loved Dresden Files, I cannot recommand Alex Verus enough. I would say the highs aren't as high as in Dresden, but the lows also aren't as low and the glaring issues from Dresden (Male gazing, for the most part) are completely absent. The books are also super short and they make for great palate cleanser. As for Tyranny of Faith, I loved the cosmic horror turn that the book took and I can't wait to read the series finale this month.

Wow, this channel is way more than just book reviews, but a philosophy study as well. Could this channel be any more awesome, I think not.

I really didn't like Robert Jackson Bennett's book Foundryside but I am interested in The Tainted Cup 🤔 anyone that's read it, is it similar in any way?

I'm surprised you managed to keep your 100 pages a day with Oathbtinger. I'm reading Way of Kings and one page of that is about 3 pages of another book I'm reading.

Treat Yourself, Party Hard, Excellent! 😄 Again, I feel I am rubbing it in your face, but I am very excited to met Professor Chase in Oslo later this Summer!😄 In June I read: «A Princess of Mars» (John Carter of Mars/Barsoom #1) by Edgar Rice Burroughs (Sword & Planet: I received a library copy from 1920, the British 4th Edition, 104 years old!) «All Tomorrow’s Parties» by William Gibson (Cyberpunk) «The Dragonbone Chair» (Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn, #1) by Tad Williams (Epic Fantasy, a key influence for George R. R. Martin's « A Song of Ice and Fire») «A Brightness Long Ago» by Guy Gavriel Kay (Fantasy inspired by the Mercenary Wars of Renaissance Italy: Book of the Month AND Book of the Year so far!) «The Darkness That Comes Before» (The Prince of Nothing #1) by R. Scott Bakker (Grimdark/Dark Epic Fantasy inspired by the Crusades, Silmarillion & Dune)

I need to get back to Spear Cuts Through Water, i can see that becoming a potential favourite of the year for me. I'm not a religious or spiritual person but I look forward to reading Philip's trilogy. Have the whole thing on my kindle ready to go. Plus, I do love religious conflict and examinations in SFF *cough* Prince of Nothing *cough* Lions of Al-Rassan *cough* In June I read: *Historical-Fantasy* Children of Earth & Sky / Guy Gavriel Kay - Carried over from May. Loved it. A Brightness Long Ago / Guy Gavriel Kay - My new favourite Kay I've read so far, and a new favourite book of all-time! Book of the Month!!! All the Seas of the World / Guy Gavriel Kay - Pretty good. Glad I read this loose trilogy in publication order. I understand the lukewarm reviews and I seem to have liked it more than most, though my favourite parts were the tie-ins to ABLA, CoE&S and Lions of Al-Rassan. *Sci-Fi* Vorkosigan Saga 1: Shards of Honor - Definitely be continuing this series. *Southern Gothic* Child of God / Cormac McCarthy - It was fine, but really creepy at times. For now I NFNed Jonathan Maberry's Patient Zero and Christopher Ruocchio's Howling Dark. They're good, just not what I'm looking for right now. As for what I'm currently reading: *Historical-Fantasy* The Last Light of the Sun / Guy Gavriel Kay - Kay's re-imagining of the Viking invasions of King Alfred's England, its really good so far. *Sci-Fi* Cloud Atlas / David Mitchell - Still early days yet but I haven't a clue wtf is going on. *Thriller* Winter of Frankie Machine / Don Winslow - Really good so far.

That wasn't as painful as I was hoping for lol. I haven't read any of them, so I can't tell you if you're right or wrong in that decision. I see you still can't break not calling him Dr and that man crush discussion was hilarious, kindof feel out of the loop not having a crush on him 😂

Honeslty the first few volumes of berserk kinda hit. Iron gold was eh for me but I’m excited to hit dark age. But house of chains would be my BOTM simply because I love Malazan… and it hits allll the Malazan notes

Owen Wilson!!! You remind me of Owen Wilson. It's been bugging me for a while 😜

I’m glad you loved oathbringer. I just finished rythym of war last night and wow what a read. Can’t wait till you get to it so I can see what you thought because it hit me like a truck. Oathbringer is still my favorite of the stormlight books but Rhythm really hit.

John’s Recommended Reads? JRR?? Can’t tie in Tolkien but you could with a little more creativity than I have!

This late night talk show vibe is silly. I kept fast forwarding through the BS. Come on, this is BookTube, not an XM Radio broadcast.