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I read it and liked it. However there is way too much info dump about the magic. It slows the story down. Also it's a little preachy. Why did I like it? Good characters and the magic was original (at least to me).❤

Thanks for this information. I’m very interested in reading this book. I think the format of this video is very helpful. I’d love to see y’all do this with other books in the future.

Oh I love this book. I could tell the twists a mile away but I still cried like a little baby. I had the self published version and HATED the font but I'm glad I persevered and read it. I have since gotten the traditionally published version too.

I have to agree that there are some potentially boring parts of the book. The magic system is very much like using a computer programming language and yes, it's not interesting to everyone. I disagree about there not being any character development, though. She definitely does grow and change, but she understandably fights that change to some degree, as I think anyone would who experiences something so drastic. As an example, if a priest discovered that their God didn't exist, they would really struggle to come to terms with that.

Wow yes Elliott Brooks! She's my main go-to for fantasy recs, I can't believe I forgot to recommend her before. She's such a gem on booktube. 😊 she also has her own fantasy book if you wanna get your hands on it!

I have not read that book but I have to say that I usually read the one star ratings for entertainment only. They are usually some blowhard wanna be novelist who knows everything and honestly their reviews are usually so boring and very pretentious. Just me? 🤪🌵🌻

Thanks guys!

Today, Branden is pitching the book Blood Over Bright Haven by ML Wang to Tayler (and you) and refuting some of the more compelling 1-star reviews. Join us!

I’m so happy you read Billy Summers! My favorite book of the past several years!

My hubby and I are currently staying at HCML based on your rec. Such a cool little place and going to Bookman’s tomorrow😊.

I have to speak out for James Michener. He's an American writer, historian, archaeological historian, anthropologist, and good story teller. Long thick books, but he puts you in the story.

I have great memories of The Joy luck Club. Dumplin as a movie was really surprisingly good

My wife is reading Dungeon Crawler Carl and on the back are various blurbs from celebrities and authors. One of which is from the legend himself, Scott Lynch. Amanda and I were both wondering who that was. Well I dug a little and discovered he’s the mastermind behind Lies of Locke Lamora! And as usual the internet pulls me into spiraling curiosity and I saw a top comment on a video about this series. That in fact the first book can pretty much be read as a stand alone. This was my green light to purchase a copy of that beautiful new cover. Plus many who have LOVED Name of the Wind (as you know is my favorite book), recommend that series. So I am very much looking forward to that this year! You two are amazing and so down to earth. Much needed on this platform. If you find yourself in Cali my wife and I would love to meet up for coffee!

Please thank Aengus for his review! I recently found your channel so I’m trying to watch as many videos as I can. Really like the style of your videos.

I really want to start a little free library, but Sean isn't into the idea... I'm working on him! Yours has lots of great books in it!

I adore Amor Towles -- but I *still* havent read Lincoln HIghway yet! I highly recommend A Gentleman In Moscow .. I also liked his Rules of Engagement but I dont know it is as universally loved.

The past few months have been wild for me so I'm just catching up on your videos now and am sad I missed the book club. The Night Circus is one of my favourite books and even though my TBR pile is ready to topple, I would have joined in! My book looks like it's been to hell and back because I have loaned it to everyone who is willing to listen to me talk about it over the past 13 years.

I read The Lincoln Highway. It was a five star read for me. Here is my review on Good Reads This book was nothing like I thought it would be. I had not read the authors other books. The story takes place in 1954. Emmett at age 18 is released from a juvenile work farm and driven home to Nebraska. After his father dyeing he is the one left to care for his 8 year old brother Billy. Arriving home to find out the farm is now foreclosed and belongs to the bank. Emmett plans to travel West with his little brother and start a new life away from the little town that holds bad memories and the judgement of the townsfolk. As the story unfolds so many wrenches are thrown into the works of trying to accomplish the goal of starting a new life. Two of those wrenches come in the form of Duchess and Woolly two guys that escaped the juvenile work farm that Emmett came from. They show up with plans of their own. I loved the characters with all their flaws, talents & skills. I enjoyed reading this book. It is a book that is hard to write a review with out spoilers. There is so much to talk about all the things that happen on their journey of accountability, responsibility, fate & destiny.

Might I suggest The Sun Eater series? What if Anakin becoming Darth Vader was the right thing? Nuff said. This is the next series I will be diving into after I cleanse the pallet!

I'm 1/3 of the way through _The Secret History._ Highly recommended.

I found Mexican Gothic at Goodwill, didn't know anything about it but I had just finished listening to La Hacienda by Isabel Cañas and loved it, so i decided it would be ok. I read it, liked it a lot, not loved it, but i was entertained. I feel like most times I'm ok with an entertaining book, not all books have to be life changing. The way I see it, it's like movies or TV shows, not all movies are life changing, they are entertaining (Spiderman, Iron Man, etc.). I don't know why we have to put so much pressure on books to move the earth beneath our feet, can't they just be a good time during the time we consume them and then, if in conversation someone says, "hey have you heard of X book?" you can just say "Yeah, it was good" and move on with your life. I don't know, I guess since I turned 50, I just stopped chasing waterfalls and decided to wade in the cool waters instead. I also don't rely on star ratings to determine what books I pick up because I realized I have strange tastes in books. Some popular books I find boring and some "Meh" books I find entertaining. I do relay heavily on UA-cam for recommendations, but I listen to people that have, in the past, had similar taste to mine, so books I've liked, they like and books I've not liked or DNF'd they have also not liked, so I know their taste is similar, BUT I do think, knowing clearly what you like helps.

Check out Mike’s Book Reviews!!

The Historian is really good. It has easily the scariest appearance of Dracula since the original novel. Sadly, the ending is very weak.

Let’s goooo I don’t recommend this series lightly. It’s long. It’s slow. To most people who like modern fantasy will say it’s boring. But this is traditional and classical fantasy. Jordan has created one of the richest worlds with three dimensional characters. They truly feel real! The foreshadowing. The multilayered story. It’s a masterclass of storytelling. But again it’s 14 books long. Who has time for that?? One thing about me, I don’t outright recommend books and tell people to read them. I like to ask questions and present “ifs”. And allow you to make that decision! So the Wheel of Time… IF you like a slow and realistically paced story… IF you like multilayered characters who are flawed and you see them grow in the most organic ways with each book… IF you like Ambiguity and Politics. Military warfare and strategies… IF you like multiple magic systems that are fully realized and still shrouded in mystery. Note these magic systems were created by a man who was a nuclear engineer. He was a genius. IF any of those aspects intrigue you, you might want to give the series a shot. At least the first few books. See if you like the pacing. The writing style. Etc. And you might want to try out the audio books (the first four are narrated by Rosmund Pike. Truly a masterpiece).

I read The Joy Luck Club years ago and enjoyed it. I went through an Amy Tan kick and read several of her books. Ahhh, James Michener--I read Centennial a while back and he really gets into the history of a place. It's big and long to read, but good. I'd like to read more of his books. Love the sound of A Woman of No Importance! Thanks for sharing!

James Mitchener is an institution. He wrote bunches of books located all over the world and they can always be relied on for a good read. He’s very much in the same class as James Clavelle who wrote Shogun. Read Alaska!

The thing with fiction especially if they have facts based on true life you will get down a rabbit hole and read about those things in non fiction. I'm clutching my pearls needs to be on merch!

I love non fiction you get a original story every time. The Art Thief looks great.

I want to join your book club but I read too slow to be in anyone’s book club lol. I love the shirt btw. I love the granny squares, I found this channel because I follow you on wool needles hands. 😊

Fun fact! That circular purple price sticker on Dumplin’ is from a bookstore in Canada called Indigo. So that book has travelled a bit!

Joy Luck Club was a staple in the AP Lit course I taught for many years. The mothers’ stories of life in China were harrowing and poignant and they juxtapose beautifully with their daughters’ experiences growing up in America in another generation. Love it and it always sparked amazing discussions among my students, many of whom were first generation Americans. ❤

my mom was a big reader and loved the James Michener books, ALASKA, HAWAII, TEXAS were just a few of them. I would definitely read the spy book! My grandma always said she had a top-secret job with the government during the war although she never elaborated and took the secret to her grave!

I wish there were more Amy Tan books out there because I've read them all, some 2 or 3 times over, including The Joy Luck Club. And yep that was made into a movie. The Kitchen God's Wife was a favorite, even her memoir, which is tragic and possibly explains why there are no other books by her. Her mother/daughter theme does run in many of her books so if that's not your jam, you might not enjoy it.

I’m right with you there on a Woman of No Importance. I think she is mentioned in the series on Netflix called Churchill’s Secret Agents (loved that series). That looks like a book that I would want to read. I read the Joy Luck Club years ago as well as another of Amy Tan’s books. There is fascinating history in her books as well as deeply moving characters and situations. I would definitely recommend giving her a good chance. If you like books like Alaska, I would highly recommend London, by Edward Rutherford. I read that a couple of decades ago and really enjoyed that. Currently, I am reading the Apollo Murders, by Canadian astronaut, Chris Hadfield. It’s not a book that I would have reached for, but my youngest son (who is in Air Cadets Canada) gave it to me for Christmas. What an amazingly talented man Chris Hadfield is. On top of being a pilot, astronaut, and musician, he can add accomplished writer to his credit. The Apollo Murders is an alternative history tale, taking place in 1973 with the 18th Apollo mission. As a bonafide pilot and astronaut, Chris Hadfield gives this story an authenticity that I don’t think someone without his experience could convey. Brandon, in particular, I think you might enjoy this one. Love your videos. Warmest regards to both of you.

"The Lincoln Highway" is really good! Enjoy! "The Joy Luck Club" is also very good.

I’m not a romance reader either but one of my closest friends and her adult daughter are and they love Emily Henry so the handed me one of her books and practically begged me to read it saying it’s more than just a romance. So it is sitting on my shelf taunting me so it is my goal to read it this month, one because they asked and two because at this point it is taunting me 😂. Also I just added A Woman of No Importance to my TBR not really a non fiction reader but want to sprinkle some in this year.

I’ve read Joy Luck Club and did not enjoy it at all! I think your ranking was spot on.

You know, I just love you guys. I don’t always even like the books that you choose. Sometimes I do and that’s fine because I don’t need to buy every single book in the world. But I just really like you too and the work that you do. So I’m here watching you. Take care.

Dumplin is a movie too, but I couldn't get past the first 10 min. 🙄 That was a fun episode, thank you.

Where did you get your glasses?

I read Centennial by James A Michener in the 70's (I still have the book) an epic read of early settlement of Colorado, which became an even more epic TV Mini series. It was either Roots or Centennial that gave birth to a new phenomenon, the TV mini series. I loved the Joy Luck Club, which also became a movie. I wouldn't classify Joy Luck Club as a coming of age at all but rather, the differences, yet the similarities within those differences generations face during their lives. The efforts mothers endure to make sure that their own daughters don't face the same hardships, yet inadvertently their daughters will go through hardships just by the era of which they live in. One of the mother characters, was a young bride of an arranged marriage, bullied by her mother inlaw about being 'such a worthless girl', she seeks escape and plots her plan. I love her line, 'Ma got her grandchild and I got a ticket to America'

Recently read The Secret War of Julia Childs by Dianna R. Chambers. It's about Julia Childs' and her time during WWII in the OSS in Southeast Asia. Very interesting.

Would have to reread but I remember hating Earl and the Dying Girl when I read it back in 2017 - granted I was in my 20s but still. Lol. The juvenile tone aside, the characters did not vibe with me. However, The Joy Luck Club and Dumplin' have always intrigued me and I'd be interested to see you read and discuss them!! They patiently sit on my TBR. 😅

😊James Michener is one of my all time favorite authors. Definitely worth the read no matter how many pages.

I haven't read The Joy Luck Club, but I've seen the movie more than a couple times... It's rather heartbreaking but beautiful. I think the intriguing thing about it, was the insight into a very different culture of the younger generation vs. their immigrant parents.

I was so excited to see you pull A Woman of No Importance! You won’t be disappointed. It’s hands down one of the best books I’ve ever read.

I enjoyed this vlog. Like Branden's droll sense of humour. Keep reading 📚

Hawaii was one of his big sellers and then he started doing lots of States - Joy Luck Club was Amy Tan- best seller and I would say what brought her fame.

I loved Alaska! I read it in the 80s and loved it. I think of it as historical fiction, it’s big but keeps your interest.

I chuckled at cold and wintery……..we have about 4” or 5” of snow on the ground and yesterday it was -40 celcius with the windchill.