Pessimistic May Wrap up, Optimistic June TBR + Book on Book of the Year Watch 

LPQ is hard to follow! I had a hard time committing the names to memory for some reason

Titus Alone is a finished novel, but Peake's wife wrote the fourth novel, Titus Awakes, from the unfinished "manuscript" (literally, Peake had only started writing it). Don't worry, you can not enjoy a book regardless of who the author is and/or what is going on with them (and, no matter what people say, you can enjoy a book regardless of who the author is and/or what is going on with them). You were critical, not mean-spirited or hateful: there's a difference.

Oh man definitely getting intrigued by Too Like the Lightning! What’s the Oathbringer chapter you almost dislike?

Too Like the Lightning was a 7/10 for me. The ending had me intrigued to continue, but I found it a bit of slog to get through, which is why I’ve put it off. I thought the worldbuilding was really layered, but I also found the level of importance given to what seemed like a BuzzFeed list was kind of goofy to me. I plan to read Children of Dune soon after I finish Dawn then The Dark Tower book 7. I liked Dune Messiah slightly less than Dune but still liked it.

How dare you not have a pretty bookshelf behind you, now the content value is basically gone... Lol no but really, loved hearing your thoughts on these books even if it wasn't a spectacular month. I will definitely still give 5 Warrior Angels a shot, it has intrigued me for so long! Hope you enjoy the reads you have coming up ;)))

I'll second Mr. Bishop that Too Like The Lightning isn't all that dense or difficult to read. For example, I found myself slowing down and flipping back to check things in Malazan much more often than in this book. If you're interested, don't be intimidated give it a try! Looking forward to continuing on to Seven Surrenders, too! (Also might read Titus Groan soon if you're doing it, it's been on my shelf for a while).

I am really looking forward to hearing your thoughts on God Emperor of Dune. I guess I need to stop passing over all the Charles De Lint I see in my local used book stores. Too Like the Lightning is on my TBR. I just need to make time to read it. That got put on the back burner after reading Red Rising. Great wrap up!

Excited to see the Clash of Kings discussion if you're doing one! I will be reading the Jasmine Throne sometime this year.

Good video, will I ever be happy ever again?

Looking forward to your thoughts on De Lint. He’s basically ignored on RU-vid and it’s a shame. I liked Memory and Dream, but there are others I like even more. Trader is at least as good, if not better, and the Newford novels seem to get better as you go along.

I haven't read Memory and Dream yet, but I've read a bunch of Charles de Lint's books and I've loved most of them.

Memory and Dream is one of de Lint's best, but as you know when I messaged you, I am a big fan of the Newford books. I need to catch up on the non-Newfords, and for sure need to read his classic Moonheart.

I just finished The Lonesome Crown yesterday and had the same experience. Your "redshirt syndrome" analogy is spot on (just like all your reviews 👍). I skimmed most of the last 300 or 400 pages because of the redshirt syndrome and also because it felt very repetitive.

What sci-fi book series are you considering starting after finishing Dune? Going by the premise of Memory & Dream, de Lint sounds pretty interesting. Might check him out. 😬🤘

Lezlie @ the Nerdy Narrative & Will Gywnne have reviewed her books! Children of Gods and Fighting Men is book 1.

Too Like The Lightning is on my wish list. I think I might bump it up the list and get it sooner. Looking forward to the propaganda machine getting into full swing. Also got another author to suggest you try when you're ready.

gasp. the bookshelves are gone. I am scarred. how do you even call yourself a booktuber now. I see no books on the tube

Jake, not sure if the Gael Song is on your radar by Shauna Lawless. It will be a 6 part series with 2 arcs and many novellas. It is historically fantasy in 1000 AD Ireland. The first book is truly a set up book but then the story really takes off like a rocket ship!! I loved the first two 5WA books but really hated Lonesome Crown!! The characters were not the same and there was a lot of crossing back & forth the same road too which was tiresome.

God Emperor of God is my favourite of the Dune books. I honestly think you could stop there and not read the remaining 2 novels. Heretics of Dune was good but Chapterhouse is a boring slog. I definitely plan on reading Forgetting Moon eventually, Lonesome Crown is still unavailable for either ebook or paperback here. May was a weird one for me. It was a month of indecisiveness, randomly picking up books and DNFed/NFNed on a whim very quickly. But what I did finish I really enjoyed. *Epic Fantasy* Wars of Light & Shadow 1: Curse of the Mistwraith - I liked it a lot, Lysaer and Arithon are great characters. I did struggle at times, especially in the 2nd half, with the high magic elements, its not a hard magic system but there's a lot at play. The prose is very rich and elaborate but not overly so. I think I'm gonna treat this series like I did Malazan, and read it over the course of a couple of years. Carried over from April. *Mystery* Shutter Island / Dennis Lehane - I'll certainly be reading more Lehane, this was fantastic! Book of the Month!!! *Sci-Fi* Warhammer 40k - Gaunt's Ghosts: A Ghost Return (re-read) - Short story prelude to a much longer series. I'm already a fan of Abentt through his comics, especially Sinister Dexter. *Steampunk* Books of Babel 1: Senlin Ascends (re-read) - Carry over from April. I had gotten 40% into a re-read of The Blade Itself via audiobook and just wasn't feeling it, I NFNed Robert McCammon's Swan Song and M.L.N Hanover (Daniel Abraham)'s Unclean Spirits for now. And I re-read Part 1 and the first set of Interludes for the Way of Kings. So far in June I have finished: *Historical-Fantasy* Children of Earth & Sky / Guy Gavriel Kay - Not my favourite GGK so far, but still superb. I'm a huge of fan of Renaissance inspired stories and this did not disappoint, there was a particular character I wanted more of because the dialogue and interactions were just so good but what we did get was fantastic. A Brightness Long Ago / Guy Gavriel Kay - Picked it up immediately after finishing Children of Earth & Sky, and blazed through it. I think I can comfortably say its my favourite GGK I've read so far. *Southern Gothic* Child of God / Cormac McCarthy As for what I'm currently reading: *Epic Fantasy* Wars of Light & Shadow 2: Ships of Merior - Kinda on the back-burner for now but still enjoying it. *Historical-Fantasy* All the Seas of the World / Guy Gavriel Kay *Sci-Fi* Sun Eater 2: Howling Dark

I read The Forgetting Moon in the last couple of weeks and really didn't like it. Durfee's paragraph by paragraph writing was quite good. But I didn't like the characters, found the plot muddled and jerky, hated the constant jumping between PoV characters, and disliked the tone. And I had some of the same feelings about Durfee when I was writing my review. He seems like such a positive guy, even while going through a really tough time, that I hated slamming the book. All I can say is that there is both an audience and an anti-audience for pretty much every book. Lots of people have rated the book quite highly, but it was very much not for me.

Already a book of the year? Interesting.

The unmade bed is far superior to books as a background.

All hail the propaganda machine! You should read God Emperor of Dune next so you don't lose your momentum. The Jasmine Throne is good but SLOW. Keep in mind the books I like when I say that. Really interesting magic though.