Pretty pretty pretty good month My goodreads : www.goodreads.com/truthless_of_shinovar Intro music: Music is by Budapest BluesBoy ccmixter.org/files/hepepe/25027 the music is is Creative Commons licensed for commercial use
Yessssss The Blade Itself is so good, and Pacey is one of the GOATs for sure. Right with you on not needing much plot thrust when spending time in each POV is so engaging. Love the argument on its grimadarkness-there’s such a cynical undertone and the lack of beauty in the descriptions is a great indicator of that. You have me actually thinking I should continue with Dune after my disastrous slog with Messiah. I look forward to getting De Lint’s oeuvre broken down for me at some point!
Like I said before God Emperor is my favorite book in the series. Pacey is the best. de Lint is on my list of authors to look out for when I'm browsing my local book store. I went to a new bookstore but Instead of de Lint I found a Canadian first edition, first printing of A Song for Arbonne 😎 I have not read A Clash of Kings in a very long time. I think I read it in 2007. I need to read the series again, someday. It looks like you had a good month!
@@JosephReadsBooks God Emperor is also my favorite, except for that it is also definitely my least favorite. Good luck in your used bookstore adventures. It twas
I definitely agree with you in term of the best books showing both the horror and beauty in the world. I think your thought on these subjects were very insightful.
Great update Jake! I get what you mean about grimdarkness. I think you make a good point. Grimdark is largely about atmosphere. And also imo the cynycism of the PoVs. Here's to a great July for you!
Always here for some First Law gushing!! Also, absolutely spot on with that little grimdark discussion. And consider me sold on De Lint's works now... the TBR is ever expanding 🥲
Very cool. I also read Memory and Dream after it randomly caught my eye at a used book store and later that same day seeing you post about it. One of those ones that I think is objectively very good, but unfortunately just isn’t entirely my thing genre and style-wise.
@@mitch8948 i, believing myself to be the center of the universe thought my goodreads review may have caused you to read it, and I am now trying to reevaluate my existence
You’re probably the booktuber that I relate most with in terms of taste, so I really need to add your book of the month to my tbr! Also, “nothing in the blade itself, except Ardee from Jezals POV is called beautiful”. That’s actually really unintentionally romantic lol
Steven Pacey’s is amazing, love his Arch Lector Salt! 😄 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: Doubt I will surprise you that it is my Book of the Month AND contender for 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) Cheers!
Very curious what you think of Prince of Nothing, and Dragonbone chair, I should be starting Darkness That Comes Before very soon. Brightness Long Ago for the win. So good. Like the rain misses the clouds
God Emperor is my favourite book in the series, and I can see your point 😅 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 pub 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 the other books. *Sci-Fi* Vorkosigan Saga 1: Shards of Honor - Definitely be continuing this series. Thanks for the recommendation. *Southern Gothic* Child of God / Cormac McCarthy - It was fine, but really creepy at times. For now I NFNed Jonathan Maberry's Patient Zero, Christopher Ruocchio's Howling Dark and my re-read of Brandon Sanderson's Way of Kings. They're good, just not what I'm looking for right now. Of the 3 Howling Dark is the one I'm the most keen to return to. As for what I'm currently reading: *Historical-Fantasy* The Last Light of the Sun / Guy Gavriel Kay - Halfway and really liking it so far. I'm surprised this isn't talked about more. I'll probably re-read Sarantine Mosaic for my next GGK read. *Historical-Fiction* Red Sky in Morning / Paul Lynch - I wanted to read more Irish authors, and this is set in my home county. Getting Cormac McCarthy vibes so far. *Sci-Fi* Cloud Atlas / David Mitchell - 1st story was such a struggle for me, I don't know if I want to continue. Think I'll pick Howling Dark back up again instead. *Thriller* Winter of Frankie Machine / Don Winslow - Really good so far.
Ooh that Charles De Lint book sounds really intriguing, will need to give it a go. Currently listening to Red Country by Pacey, and as much as I love Abercrombie, I think Pacey has me hooked. I wanted to love Ferro in FIrst Law, but I just felt like she was just there, like I liked her most in book 1 but by book 2 & 3 I was like "oh you are still here".How did you find the audio for Al-Rassan, I really enjoyed the book and the audio was very good for me however I wonder if Id read it with my eyes that I might have given it 5 stars over 4.5.
@@jakebishop7822 God Awful Emperor of Dumb is why I stopped reading that series till someone told while it was absolutely the worst, the last two were good. Well they are vastly more entertaining anyway. The first was the best and then it went downhill. I read it first in the Analog serialized version.
I will be reading God Emperor later this month (potentially). I am one of those Dune readers that loved Dune Messiah. I liked Children a bunch but not as much as the previous two instalments. Also will be adding Charles de List to the TBR thanks to your recommendation! Cheers!
Looking forward to seeing which De Lint book you pick up next Jake. You may find another challenger for BOTY. Although Memory and Dream is one of De Lint's finest.
The only de Lint that I have is Someplace to be Flying. I bought it a year or two after it was published (probably for the cover). I think I was enjoying it, but based on a slip of paper tucked into it, I must have only read 110 pages.
You will find that my position has always been that "underrated" is an acceptable word to use, as if you think there is a book that a huge number of people would really like, but haven't read, than that book is underrated. The belief that the word overrated is overrated does not entail the word underrated being overrated
underrated imo is actually a misused word. people use it to mean 'underread', but the term 'rate' means to 'rate something' ie rate something good or bad. this means that underrated actually refers to a book that is disliked by most people, with the person liking it saying it is underrated. as an example, Twilight isnt 'overrated' despite being very popular, because most people have a negative perception of it. a book that is truly underrated is something like Dark Tower or The Silmarillion, books that are contreversial and often disliked by most, therefore being 'rated' poorly, but are considered underated masterpieces by their fans. in short; underrated doesnt equal underead, it means rated wrong (by the person calling it underrated, at least) was this neccesary? probably not. but good on anybody who reads this.
@@johntencate4781 I kind of agree, but an important distinction is I don't think it means rated wrong by the people who read it, I think it means rated wrong because a bunch of people who would really like it didn't read it, and if they did they would bring up the average rating. Also I also think the volume does matter to some degree, , because popularity is another type of measurable sucess. So as an extreme example if someone writes the best book ever and only 3 people ever read it, and all 3 people give it 5 stars, but that's it. I think I would still call that underrated even though it has an average rating of 5.
Also forgot to mention I got through 6 books and 2 comic books in June. 2 Judge Dredd comic books - The Complete Case Files 37 & 38 6 books: Kamusari Tales Told At Night - Shion Miura Last Summer Boys - Bill Rivers Memory And Dream - Charles De Lint The Shepherd’s Crown - Terry Pratchett Bridge To Terabithia - Katherine Paterson Flowers For Algernon - Daniel Keyes Book of the month for me was the re-read of Memory And Dream closely followed by Flowers For Algernon.
@@jakebishop7822 Flowers is an amazing book, but because of the subject matter it doesn't lend itself to being called an enjoyable read. It's a real emotional journey and it hits hard.