Відео

Favorite novel read in 2024 is the startling In a Free State by V. S. Naipaul 1971; special mention goes to The Magic Mountain by Thomas Mann 1924-incredible English translation by H. T. Lowe-Porter 1927. Thanks for your insightful and energetic reviews of serious books.

Two of these are my faves as well. Great list Andy 📚❤️

Both boys with Abercrombie and Stoner on their lists, we're eating this year

Dude - lose the riff at the beginning! 😂

Rejection slid in 11th hour as one of my top reads and I read based partly on your review so tysm 📖📖🪱💚

Ahhh I'm so happy to see Foster Dade making it onto your best of list for this year! I'm still thinking about that book 16 months on 😃 . As for my best reads of 2024: 1 - Anyone's Ghost, by August Thompson 2 - Runt, by Niall Griffiths 3 - God's Own Country, by Ross Raisin . Full list and extras up on my instagram lol 😉 - @disaffected.youth Have a great 2025 everyone! :)

I very much appreciate the thumbnail. I *think* my tops include James, Committed by Suzanne Scanlon (memoir), The God of the Woods, Soldier Sailor, Ordinary Human Failings, both Brooklyn and Long Island by Colm Toibin, that's off the top of my head, I'll have to look properly at my list. But I feel like it's been quite a conservative reading year.

Soldier sailor was also one of my favourites this year

Beautiful!

Our top 10 lists have James and Soldier Sailor in common. I will be trying Joe Abercrombie in the coming year thanks to you.

I loved Rejection. It was my surprise for this year. But yes, definitely not for school.

First time viewer and already love your content! I personally haven’t read Annie Bot (and I didn’t initially intend to), but I have consistently seen this book be on either “The Best of 2024” videos or “The Worst of 2024” videos. The massive contradictions in opinion I’ve seen on this novel are now making me want to read it.

1 I Who Have Never Known Men by Jacqueline Harpman 2 Safekeep by Yael van der Wouden 3 Soldier Sailor by Claire Kilroy 4 Prophet by Paul Lynch 5 Axeman's Carnival by Catherine Chidgey 6 James by Percival Everett 7 Again and Again by Jonathan Evison 8 So Late in the Day by Claire Keegan 9 Elena Knows by Claudia Piñeiro 10 Monstrilio by Gerardo Samano Cordova I could just keep on going..... 🤷🏻‍♀️

Annie Bot and Rejection are already on my TBR; James was my #1 of the year. My video also posted today. Now I’m also interested in Foster Dade. This was fun to watch!

1. Soldier Sailor- Claire Kilroy 2. The Love Songs of WEB DuBois-Honoree Jeffers 3. There Are Rivers In The Sky- Elif Shafek 4. And So I Roar- Abi Daré 5. James Percival Everett 6. Wellness- Nathan Hill 7. Little Rot- Akwaeke Emezi 8. The Vaster Wilds- Lauren Groff 9. I’m So Glad We Had This Time Together- Maurice Vellekoop 10. Ohio- Stephen Markley (I had this book for years and your review motivated me to finally read it)

Great list. I am looking forward to Rejection. His 2016 novel Private Citizens is brilliant.

If anyone wants to really understand what slavery and slaves were like, I would recommend reading 12 Years a Slave by Solomon Northup. This autobiographical novel is an excellent non-fictional account of a free man who was kidnapped and sold into slavery. The story is compelling and the writing excellent. It is factual unlike James and really is a superb book. John Williams is a master and Hyperion was excellent also. Have a Happy New Year. Thanks.

Read Stoner this year too! I read 3 Deborah Levy books this year- they would be my number one this year

I’m pretty sure that I read Soldier Sailor, Hyperion and Stoner this year because of recommendations from this channel. Rated all highly, although only one made my Top Ten (not ordered!): Private Rites by Julia Armfield North Woods by Daniel Mason All Fours by Miranda July Soldier Sailor by Claire Kilroy The Bee Sting by Paul Murray Hamnet by Maggie O’Farrell Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke Intermezzo by Sally Rooney The Safe Keep by Yael van der Wouden Glorious Exploits by Ferdia Lennon

I’m with you… book before movie. I remember when Girl with the Pearl Earring opening in the theaters, I was reading the book. I did a 2 hr marathon read to finish the book then ran out, THAT DAY, to see the movie😉😁

One thing I already know for sure about you: You LOVE this Abercrombie guy! Anyway hope to read Rejection next week if my local library comes through. Be well, Happy New Year!⚛❤

The thumbnail 😂 Very pleased to see Soldier Sailor here. James too. Bloody loved them both. Glad you liked Rejection - I’m looking forward to it getting its UK release in the new year. And this is the second video in a row I’ve watched with Stoner at number one… sign from the universe maybe? 👀

Thank you! There's a couple here I want to read. My favourite of 2024 has been "The Sons of El Rey" by Alex Espinoza.

My top 5 are James, My Friends, Long Island, How to Say Babylon, & Knife. Hit a reading slump (around Election Day). Hope to start the New Year with fresh energy & a long TBR. Happy New Year! ,

Nice list. Happy New Year and Happy reading!

I really didn't like The adventures of Huckleberry Finn and couldn't finish it. Would you say James can be understood and enjoyed as much if you haven’t read/didn't like Huckleberry Finn?

Really happy to have found you channel this year. It's nice to find someone with similar reading taste (except for Stoner lol). Here's to great books in 2025. My top 5 this year were 1)Wellness 2)Small Things Like These 3)Eileen 4) The Rachel Incident 5) The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry

O yes, Stoner is one of my favorites 😍

Lol i appreciate your thumbnail and including an entire series as one of the top 10-it totally counts! Happy to have seen your reading life unfold all year, excited to see how 2025 fares ❤

Love your list! Hyperion, James and Stoner were also some of my favorite books. Annie Bot and Soldier Sailor were two of my least favorites last year. That is the magic of books, something for everybody. Rejection is on my tbr list but going into it with some trepidation.

What a corking selection of books. I have been wanting to read Foster Dade since I first saw you talk about it - just need to get my mitts on the edition you showed. Butcher's Crossing sounds great, love a beautiful but brutal book. I will be reading Rejection early in the new year, am excited for the uncomfortableness ahead.

How can people read long long books like this one?? There’s something wrong with me for sure

Are you watching the netflix series?

I've just finish it. Before your seeing your review. I find myself agreeing with you mostly. In regard to the girl and ending. I just get this feeling of the story going on somehow for some reason. As if there is a part two in the future. Which. I'm sure there's not. Probably expected a more final ending after 500 pages. I suppose 😂 Great book though and fair review, bud. Keep up the good work

The greatest literature begs to be re-read, for sure. I'm a "War And Peace" fan, as well as anything by Dickens and Kafka, Fauilkner and Fitzgerald. Every one of these divine writers has hooked me for life...I never forget their work. As for magical realism, I have to read "100 Yers of Solitude." I've probably read some MR, but can't, at the moment, remember. I'm watching the series on Netflix, and I'd say they've done a darned good job at making me want to read the book. Thanks for this review. I'm on it. PS I do love everything Colombian...their comic series (like "The Good Bandit" and "Suddenly Rich, Suddenly Poor") on Netflix are hilarious to the max. Who knew the Colombians were so witty? Of course, all the greatest literature must be witty, even while presenting serious themes.

As a person that enjoyed toriko(anime) butter gave me the satisfaction I was yearning for. But it’s easily forgotten. Nice read nonetheless.

I was so disappointed. I ended up DNF it.

Who all are watching the web series...

I loved this book, although I found the ending overly dramatic. I particularly liked the discussions of plagiarism, beyond the obvious lifting of the original manuscript. Athena's use of real people's stories was particularly thought-provoking in this regard. The examinations of race were much more nuanced than I'd expected and the role of social media rang true. A quick, intelligent read.

Honestly, I thought the book was quite complicated, understanding Mesher and his implant, how that all worked, then with the "sludge" taking over etc, I wasn't sure how literally be taking certain things... I really enjoyed the bits in the "past", the "present" however was a slog

I thought it was a bore. No magical realism for me.

Hey there, first time commenting but subscribe couple of months ago! I always enjoy your reviews! I was just introduced to Abercrombie and in your review you said you’d completed all 10 books. I’ve ordered or thought I’d ordered them all recently but I’m only aware of 9. The first law trilogy, the age of madness trilogy and then three in the middle - Best Served Cold, The Heroes and Red Country. What have I missed ordering?? Thank you! Also are you on the Sanderson train? I haven’t read a lot of fantasy novels. I did just also order the Dandelion Dynasty trilogy.

Yay you did it! Merry Christmas!🎄 Love the new background.

That was the fastest "hello" lmao

Loved watching your journey through this series! Glad you enjoyed it so much! I'm the same where my weakest is 3.5 stars but I think our ranking will be very different lol

Don’t think I’ve heard of this author before but now very interested to find out more. The fact that it’s light on fantasy makes me more likely to read it than less. If you’d said there were dragons in it I would have put him on my do not read list forever. Anyway your videos are always a pleasure to watch unlike some others I could name. Merry Christmas.⚛❤

Just finished reading it 🙊 Agree on all points, especially with the unnecessary sex scene with the "sister" 😮‍💨 Being a book falling in the magic realism category, I also expected the wtf feeling and it did not disappoint 😂 Then I had IQ84 downloaded on my kindle but after your review, maybe I might go for another book of his or from the same genre. Gained a new sub here, keep it up! 💖

After reading Babel and The Secret History, I was hugely let down by If We Were Villains. The characters were shallows and the constant quotes from Shakespeare irritating for someone not familiar with same. Richards development I found rather peculiar, the abrupt change to that kind of aggressive behaviour just seemed a bit artificial or far-fetched. I could not sympathise with none of the characters

weirdly i enjoyed the graphic audio version of this book more than some of stormlight archive

Really good and fair review. I’d recommend watching this review before reading, I think that would enhance the reading experience. Well done.