The (Almost) Mid Year Freak Out Tag | 2024 

FREAKOUT! Always a joy to see you two together, and you’ve reminded me I need to schedule in doing this tag!!

I died every time the clip of Chic singing popped up 😂 comedic timing at its finest

Great fun! You didn’t ask for our answers, but I’m going to give them anyway! 1. Best: Still My Government Means to Kill Me, which I read in January. 2. Best Sequel: The Collapsing Wave by Doug Johnstone, second book about my namesake, Sandy the 🐙! 3. New release: James by Percival Everett 4. Upcoming: ooh! Either the new Janice Hallett, The Examiner, or the new Costanza Casati, Babylonia. Can’t decide. 5. Disappointment: Murder on Lake Garuda 6. Surprise: Three Fires by Denise Mina. Absolutely tremendous audiobook! 7. Rasheed Newson 8. Crush: none 9. Cry: not really any 10. Beautiful: I think it will be Babylonia. I have preordered it, so it counts! 11. Read by EoY: too many

Did you put 2023 in the description box just to check who reads it? I may have to watch this again s I was on loading and reloading a dishwasher and making to much noise while trying to listen. Best book so far? Difficult to answer. I’ve given so many books 5 stars so far. I’m going to say Enter Ghost by Isabella Hammad Sequel? No Anticipated release? I’ve preordered The God In the Woods byLiz Moore Disappointed? Time Shelter. I gave it 4 stars for writing quality but it went right over my head. Surprise ? Fayne by AnnMarie MacDonald. The audio was narrated by a brilliant voice artist and the story wowed me. New favourite author? Greta & Valdin was a book I loved. I want to see what Rebecca K Reilly writes next. Crush? My favourite character is a real person. Fern Brady’s memoir Strong Female Character Cry? Brotherless Night Beautiful? Sunburn by Chloe Michelle Howarth Too many to read. I made a plan to read 3 backlist books a month in January. In 6 months I’ve read one. 🍀👋☘️☕️📚📖📕🤗

Lovely video. Now I must watch all the ones where you're together before I get to the rest. Also a lot of recommendations for my TBR.

Tear jerkers for me, all O'Farrell, Hamnet of course, but After You'd Gone as well and number 1 teary-eyed, The Hand that First Held Mine. Glad you liked Mona of the Manor, I plan to read it. I know you don't like ships Simon, but one of my best reads ever was Nightship by Jess Kidd. Just ordered Chanel's Riviera by Anne de Courcy, it's about the twenties crowd, so before Chanel started sleeping with Nazis. I loved the Dior series on the tube. I also ordered the Duff Cooper Diaries by John Julius Norwich and Bad, Bad, Seymour Brown by Susan Isaacs, always have loved her books, especially Red, White and Blue. My main fiction crush has been that melancholy Russian Arkady Renko since Gorky Park and beyond, the last one Arkady was helping a Ukranian lady, I'm sure there are many Russians that did not agree with the Soviets or with Putin. Almost finished with the Anne de Courcy Nancy Cunard of Jazz Age Paris, enjoyed reading about Josephine Baker on her birthday and Hemingway was a creep, always liked Fitzgerald better anyway. See Simon, you made your smart Mommy even smarter. Loved seeing Louise.❤

I did not know that on the same day, I subscribed to both channels, which belonged to the dynamic mum-and-son duo.

a lovely and charming mother and son relationship, and a lovely happy go lucky vibe to your literary discussions which is very very enjoyable even when the discussions are about serious books and issues

Speaking of being a teeny bit early... this was magnificent timing to check RU-vid!

Agree Maggie o’farrell sign off on o’caledonia made me want to read it, not a good book

Always a pleasure to catch a video of you two together 😄

Sociopath on audio is amazing

One of my favorite videos of the year thus far! Truly enjoyed it! 📚😀

These are my fave videos to watch every year. Very happy to see one a few weeks early 🤩 Glorious Exploits sounds like such an interesting book- I'm intrigued!

I love your lemon top!

Very fun video and insert for this ‘freak out’ book tag Simon😁 loved it! Of course also looking forward to the ‘ranking and ranting’ 📚 videos on each of your channels. Really enjoyed laughing along with you and your mom ( aka Tim would call him a knob!😂) Also agree with you about Birnam Wood 😠though and Brotherless Night😢Have Matrescence, Ordinary Human Failings, and Blue sisters on my tbr. I’ve had a slow start this year📚 but won’t ‘freak out’ about it. Lol

always like how the two of you banter and bounce off of each other, and this vid was particularly gold 💖

Love Louise's top!

I would really recommend Losing Eden by Lucy Jones too. The audiobook is great as well. Read both Matrescence and Losing Eden by her this year and adore her writing!

Oooh Birnam Wood has odious characters you love to hate - exciting! Reading it for bookgroup later in the year. 😊

The last discussion on the video had me wondering: over the course of years, you have read hundreds of books, primarily fiction--do you think overall that reading these books have enriched your life? Does it ever feel like you've just been killing time if they've been fiction? Do they really change your life and make you think differently?

Winter in Madrid was wonderful That book introduced me to C.J.Sansom

You two are the best. I loved Such Ordinary Failings and am getting through the Shardlake series I can’t wait for the new Jackson Broide I too love a good crime novel

Hello 🎉 A great vlog as always thank you 🎉 Simon , me neither I have not read a good thriller for a while . I have just ordered Swift River by Essie Chambers. hmmm I’ll see , I was looking for a lighter read.

I need to get to Coco Mellors already! I posted my review/rant about Sociopath last week, a month after I read it, and the thoughts still haven't settled in my head. It was very enjoyable and very thought-provoking, just get to it so we can discuss ^^ The Elodie Harper that Lousie mentioned is also on my tbr, as well as half of these FRANKLY. Lovely video! love the freakout!s! 😂 It will be my first time getting to do this tag, so I'm very excited 🤓 Oh, and for translated fiction, have you read Stolen by Ann-Helén Laestadius? Translated from Swedish, it's a crime novel, first in a series, Nordic Noir centred around a Samí girl (the indigenous people of Scandinavia). I wouldn't call it a thriller exactly, but in that direction.

Clear is absolutely wonderful. It was recommended to me by the lovely Kate from Harris and Harris Books and was a 5 star read from me

Crow Country has a beautiful cover. ;) That chat was so lovely. Best book so far? What is the Grass? My Life with Walt Whitman (M Doty) and Shakespeare: The Man Who Pays the Rent (J Dench) Best sequel? I don't believe I read any series (I hardly ever do.) A new release want to? My Mama, Cass (O E Kugell), and Liberty, Equality, Fashion: The Women who Styled the French Revolution (A Higgonet) Most anticipated release for the second half of the year? No idea. Biggest disappointment ? Now All Roads Lead to France: A Life of Edward Thomas (M Hollis) Biggest surprise? Peter Pan (J M Barrie--a violent and racist book, enchantingly written) Favourite new author (new to you)? Claire Keegan, NTM this year Favourite debut author? Chetna Maroo, Western Lane. Newest fictional crush? Felix Holt (G Eliot) Book that made you cry? What is The Grass (M Doty), A Man Called Ove (F Backman--sobbed all the way thru and its billed as humorous!) Most beautiful book you bought this year? none were remarkably gorgeous but I like Claire Keegan's cover. What are the books you need to read by the end of the year? Look Homeward Angel (T Wolfe,) Mayflower Lives: Pilgrims in a New World (M Whitlock,) Face of Britain: A Nation through Portraits (S Shama,) Slip/The Slip (P Peiffer,) another poetry collection by Billy Collins, and a Shakespeare play. Boy! what a book nerd. marjorieapple.substack.com

It is always a pleasure to see you both together. Can't wait for the Booker prize videos!

Looking forward to your Woman’s Prize video

Dinner with Christos? Lucky you two. He does come across the way you describe. I heard him speak on a panel this year in Australia. Will we see any clips Simon?

Always a joy to see your face pop up on the screen - and a chill one with you mum even, what a delight. I want to focus on books for pride this month but first read in July will (hopefully) be Cleo & Frank, I can’t wait. Also, fully agree that Akwaeke Emezi is brilliant, I hope you love Little Rot, another one I’m slightly obsessed with before I even read it… Hope your reading year will turn from fine to fab soon!

Ya’ll are too adorable!!! I want to get to Glorious Exploits and now intrigued by CJ Samson… glad I read Brotherless Night since it’s received so many accolades!

Go Louise! Love you and your mom----I am about to spend 7 days traveling with my Mom (fingers crossed we both come home sane) . I am taking a book for each plane trip ( there and back ) know that I can pass them off to her when I am done. When the trip is over I am going to spend the entire summer trying to catch up on the books I bought for my birthday last month (20 books). I only have 6 preorders for the entire summer so hopefully I will get some read. Starting the trip with The Last One by Will Dean and Speculation in Sin by Jennifer Ashley

😂😂 Ahhhh😂😂awesome video guys, as per usual 👏👏👏

Thank you, Savidges! I’ve been in a real reading slump so some great recommendations

You guys are so cute ❤, what a fun video😊

Reading Cleo & Frank at mo and loving it 📚

♫Ah, freak out! Le freak, c'est chic♫

I thought you were re doing that room

I'm so happy to see another Tales of the City fan! I really want to read Mona of the Manor.

❤❤❤

The editing 10/10

Love your videos 😊

I love you two ❤

Love Emezi!!!

I could not stop laughing from every freak out insert! What a riot!!! I love this tag, so the earlier the better. What a tease not to share your favorite book of the year so far!! Can’t wait for the WP videos and the Emezi interview. Will think of a question to ask.