Monthly Wrap Up & Book of the Month | April 2024 

Though you had those three red arrows, a month with books you enjoyed and some great community engagement is a win. My best wishes to you for an awesome May, Mike!

Honduras is a bold travel destination...good luck and stay safe.

Mike I've been following you for quite some time and your recommendations are getting me in trouble with my boss aka the missus . I keep buying books !!!!!!!! Keep up the good work I know other booktubers have left but I hope you continue bcoz people read with your passion for it . Have a great day from Ireland 🇮🇪

Great vid as always. Glad the kitchen is done and the reading will be back to full swing in no time.

Easily the best RU-vid book channel Mike! keep up the great work, thanks for all the content, very much appreciated mate. cheers

I moved up reading the Faithful and the Fallen thanks to you, Matt’s Book Reviews and Brian Lee Durfee. Just finished Valor on Tuesday. It’s been fantastic so far. So thank you! Gonna take a quick break to read Reaper Man and then back to the Banished Lands!

I just had my April wrap up with a few friends last night and we also talked about a video game we played. Alan Wake 2!!! For anyone who likes horror movies/books and wants a game that plays like: your watching the best music video, scary movie, while playing as an author like Stephen King live through a reality that’s a mix of X-Files and Twin Peaks… then this is the game for you! It was ahhh-freakin- mazing!!! Just thought I’d rave about it here with fellow scary book lovers ❤❤❤❤

I’ve been watching you since your Wheel of Time reviews, and I love your book reviews. It’s a shame they don’t get the attention they deserve! Your Shogun review was my fav of the month, and it really inspired me to push it up my TBR!

Crouch potato 🤣🤣🤣

New sub here, glad to have found your channel! Currently, I am reading Blindsight and really considering rereading The Stand because of your channel. 👍👍

I overdid it in April. I read 11.5 books. The whole Codex Alera was the first week. All 6 were fantastic and my first Jim Butcher experience. Sold on him as an author now and looking forward to eventually hitting the Dresden books. My wife and Sister in Law decided they wanted to read for the first time in years and started Acotar, so I decided to read it with them as a fun family thing where we could get together over drinks and talk about it, and I read the first 4 books of that series. I read the Troop which was fun in a horrific kind of way, and then I made it halfway through Eleventh Cycle, which I will finish this week and then get started on EMpire of the Vampire. I'm planning to finish everything Ryan Cahill has out for now this month too, so another busy month of reading, but I am glad to be back into the hobby after so long away.

You started with the right one with Discworld

Book 1 good! Don't sweat impatient Discworld fans 😅

Peaks and valleys! A very important lesson you shared with me here early on. Now I want to go to Honduras!

I'm glad you enjoyed 'Streets of Loredo' so much. I'll say, I read the Lonesome Dove Saga a couple months ago and loved it overall. But my personal favorite is "Comanche Moon". Enjoy.

I appreciated the recommendation of The Faithful and the Fallen. I don't mind some grim content--i have read The Black Company and the Malazan books after all--BUT I don't like it too dark either. FaTF sounds like a series I might like a lot.

Crouch potatoe ... loved this 😂

Dang, I really need to get back to some Blake Crouch! Probably Pines for me next, as I have done all the newer standalones already. Also happy to hear that the sequel to Lonesome Dove was such a big hit for you!

I love Tommyknockers. But I enjoyed the whole history of the town and the character of Gard. And McMurtry is right up there with James Clavell and Ken Follett for crafting exception epics. Take care, Mike!

My book of the month for April was Kingdoms Of Death. So dark. So good.

For perspective, I wish my channel grew at 0.5% yours did in April 😂😂😂 I'm not a Western reader, but you've got me convinced to try Lonesome Dove and Streets of Laredo, not surprised to see it take BoTM after your review on it!

My book of the month, hands down, Ship of Magic! However the best 6 hours listening to an audiobook was Ellison narrating the Wizard of Earthsea! I can not imagine anything topping that! Pure magic in that performance.

For april reading id say my favourite was either the notebook or house of suns

I love the book reviews, even for books I know I will not read. Also love the Faithful and the Fallen video as I am near the end of Ruin (glad no spoilers). And I love videos like this one. If there was a video type I do not watch as regularly it is the 'Talk about nothing' videos. I mean, I do enjoy them but they usually are long and can be hard for me to make it to the end. Otherwise I think they are good. Oh, and to add to this the Thinner review had me put that on my TBR. I do like Stephen King but never know what to read of his other than the biggies.

The 3 red arrows need to go green real fast because you deserve every bit of it. I've got some of the best book recommendations from you that includes Lonesome Dove and now the sequel. Thank you for that. 🎩

I can’t wait for you to read some more discworld, my fav so far are Mort and Guard’s Guard’s

Book of the month was Dark Matter. Easy 5 stars. Also did a Dune reread. I'd be interested to see you give Dostoevsky a try. Crime and Punishment may be up your alley. Dark subject matter, great character work.

Honduras is a beautiful place

I just discovered you, love it.

Reading more horror will make all arrows green ☻️

Here I am starting Blackwater and Lonesome Dove because of your book reviews. I don’t typically read westerns or southern gothic but you convinced me to give it a shot. I plan on starting Empire of Silence by June.

Lonesome Dove was my book of the month. Planning on trying Shogun Pillars of earth and blackwater. I wonder what will be book of the year :)

Nice! I continue to enjoy the channel. I don’t believe you’ve read Holly yet - my question is - how many King books have you not read?

Mike, are there any booktubers you'd do a Blackwater spoilers discussion with? I'm loving this book so much and I think it has so much to it. I cannot believe I still have 500 pages left

Dead Man's Walk and Comanche Moon are every bit as good as Streets of Laredo, so if you do read the whole series, I think you'll be quite satisfied. Just a guess! I recently bought McMurtry's "Berrybender" series (four books published from 2002 - 2004). From what I understand, it's about English nobles on a hunting expedition across the American West in the late 1800s and things take a turn let's just say. The idea of it amused me and it's supposed to be darkly funny.

*Mike voice* Hey, Whats up Cook Germs!

Streets of Laredo was a great sequel, couldn't have asked for more from it

Good stuff Mike, as usual your monthly stats are amazing. Good luck with your May reading. 👍🔥📚🎬

27 books in April, with 4 new 5-star reads and only 2 new 2-star reads. I think the best of the lot for me was Nathan Lowell's "School Days", which is the start of a new SF series (mostly with pre-existing characters). Lowell isn't for everyone, since he spends a lot of time on the mundane elements of his world (details of contracts, information about shipping lanes, whatever). I see lots of reviews that say that "nothing happens", which is fair for a certain definition of the term, but I see his books as a fascinatingly detailed deep dive into a part of a possible future society. And Lowell does characters really well, so I care about the results. As I say, not for everyone, but for me it was absolutely excellent. The other 5-star books: "Night Owl" - Andrew Mayne, "Murderbot 1-4" (which I consider to be functionally a single novel, the novellas individually are not that great) - Martha Wells, and "Defiance of the Fall 2" - JF Brink.

My book of the month was a change of pace. I read A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles. It was a delightful, feel good book about how one individual makes the most of his change of circumstances and affects the lives of various people close to him. Just excellent. It just edged out Empire of the Vampire (how's that for genre whiplash), a book that I read because of your recommendation. You didn't steer me wrong as I thoroughly enjoyed that dark world. That book is just begging for a movie adaptation! How about Aidan Turner as Gabriel?

I almost spit out my coffee when you said "the second half turned into Independence Day"

Yes Mr Mike my ambition goes out for guys like you man cause I know that If I ever became a booktuber it’d not be for anything else except the passion for reading if the success or money comes then it comes but it’s enough to destroy anyone’s motivation if they’re jumping into this shark infested waters with money or fame on their mind. Secondly I’m not sure why people dislike the later parts of Dreamcatcher as for me to say that I absolutely loved the entire story is an understatement specially the later parts as it had a lot to do with reaching the inner parts of your mind so it was like opium for me from the part how it’s been almost played out from a 3d perspective from the sky switching between of all these characters then how that guy caused an entire stampede of the masses and spoiled that sherif guy’s plan then how Owen later joins up with him and also how deep it was happening in his mind where that alien Mr Grey takes over him and how the entire story is being played out sort of inside the mind of that character how he’s locked inside his own head and there’s two different perspectives from inside his own head one from him and one from Mr Grey and then how he created that room to lock himself from the alien; I mean I had no idea the power of words until I read this book. WOW what a mind job it was like opium for my brain; the deepness that King was illustrating from while narrating the the past and current story and how that sheriff guy was following Owen to exact his revenge on him. Man i can’t help but wonder about Stephen King’s inner intellect because i was blown away as far as his ability being able to go so damn deep inside his characters while explaining a detailed characters story. I’ve read his other works like the stand, IT, Salem’s and others and they’re all amazing larger then life massively detailed stories but this was a mindjob. So the best way for me to describe King after I read that book is like a special effects IMax Inner Mind Master Super Engineer. and then there was that scene where that character finds something on the top visor of the car but the art and way that King told it was unbelievable. I’m not sure exactly how King thinks the way he does but though him I’ve come to understand the power of words and why he’s called the master storyteller. While this book isn’t my top story from King but it’s definitely extreme mind deep out of every book that I’ve ever read; I just don’t get why people didn’t dig it. Dark matter is read quiete a few years ago now and his only book but at the end of it I just felt like there wasn’t much originality of the story “it’s. been done” sort of felt like an episode of Rick and Morty but that’s his only book I’ve read so far; I’ve also added lonesome dove to my ever expanding reading list but best wishes for all you and all your content Mr Mike Sir; just finished boys life and am currently on the name of the rose

Yay! So glad you loved Streets! I know you would! I didn't like the other 2 as well.

After a slow March, in April I finished «The Fort» by Adrian Goldsworthy (City of Victory Trilogy #1, Historical Military Fiction set during the Campaigns of Roman Emperor Trajan, Sequel Trilogy to the «Vindolandia» Trilogy), «Empire of Silence» by Christopher Ruocchio (Sun Eater #1, Space Opera/Sci Fantasy), «Islands in the Net» by Bruce Sterling (80’s (Post-)Cyberpunk 😄), «Howling Dark» (Sun Eater #2) and «Idoru» by William Gibson (90s Cyberpunk 😄), having pushed back «The Green Pearl» (Lyonesse Trilogy #2) from April till May. Plus I bought the kindle editions of «The Lesser Devil» and «Queen Amid Ashes» (love the new cover😄)!

This is my sign to read Streets of Laredo

My book of the month was Misery

I enjoy making manga and book reviews on my channel. Although, I haven't read the dreamcatcher novel I have seen the film many times over the years. For me in the month of May I just started Delores Claiborne by Stephen King yesterday and I'm surprised I haven't started reading it sooner. I mainly look forward to your single book reviews Mike. 🙂❤📚

Some of these sound good, some of these sound ass. Perfectly balanced

I read 13 books in April many 5 and 4 star reads My book of the month is Out of shape by gracie gold memoir she's a professional figure skater even if you are not a fan of her or never herad of her i think it's totally worth a read because she truly reveals so much about her life i was surprised and sad while reading her book

I read 6 books in April, 2 of which were rereads. My book of the month is The Burning Sea by A.E. Rayne. In a normal productive month, it probably wouldn’t be book of the month, but the other 3 new reads were mostly meh.

I just started The Bound and the Broken and am loving it! Question for you, I want to kind of delve into Stephen King a little bit more because I haven't read him since maybe the 90s. However, I'm reading the Bound and the Broken and I'm working on finishing up Stormlight before book 5 comes out in December so I don't have much room for anymore large novels. Would you recommend any of his short stories? I think I saw Nightmares and Dreamscapes and Different Seasons as some others have suggested.

Hey Mike. I don't see that you really answer questions in the comments or at least in the ones for this video but I have a question and I think you are best suited to answer this...although, Im willing to hear from any of your fans regarding this question. I am a huge fan of 'coming of age' stories and i've heard you and others state that king is the master of these. as someone who has only read cujoo, i know very little about king. can you please suggest some of his best coming of age novels that i can read. preferably some that are less horror. Thanks

Alrighhhht I’ll pick up streets next month

Will Mike read the Familiar?

Don’t let Charles Barkley see your shirt 😂😂

Hey mike have you read the realm breaker trilogy? If you have what are your thoughts. Im planning on reading it

Make a full review for War for the rose throne when you finish it.

So sorry mike. I took a break watching. But I'm back!

Have you read the Robert Galbraith Strike series? It's JK Rowling's pseudonym. I think they're page-turners, the last 2 books, Running Grave and The Ink Black Heart, are outstanding I think. But you read a hell of a lot more than I do. I'd be curious to get your take on the series.

More horror reads!!!

Hey Mike are you still in to historical fiction?

🤘🏻🤘🏻🖤🖤

😮

Not the one of greatest but good books

Did you stop reading One Piece?