I have thoughts. 😃 1st off. I’m so happy to hear I’m not the only one who did not enjoyed Hitchhiker! But, you may actually enjoy Pratchett. I read Guards2 and had a good time with it. Nothing earth shattering but lots of fun and the story makes sense; unlike you know what. 😉 Cornwall is amazing! His battle scenes are top and pacing is 👍; very readable. LeGuin is a legend. I’m currently rereading the Dispossessed; a great place to start in my opinion is The Lathe of Heaven. I enjoyed Mieville’s City and the City. Interesting story! Stoner is fabulous, but may or may not work for you. I’m 50 this year; if I read it 10 or 15 years ago, I would not have connected with it. Asimov can be dry… I need to read Stevenson as well… 😬 I might start with Seveneves.
Hearing that you enjoyed some of Pratchett gives me some hope for those books. LeGuin has got to be a priority for me next year. I only hear good things about her and I have no idea why ive waited this long. I actually wondered a little about that with Stoner. I know its the story of this guys life and I wonder if some of those lessons/feelings he has wont hit me the same way right now.
Terry Pratchett's prose is beautiful! I would recommend you read it with your eyes, because a lot of the meaning is lost on audio, despite the beautiful productions. But be prepared, it's not about the story as such, but all of his books are mostly observations on the human condition... Neil Stephenson is awesome! I am so happy that you will be discovering these wonderful authors for the first time!😊
Okay so I have only read one GGK book but I know exactly what you mean with that trepidation. However, I feel like with you loving Wurts and Hobb, you should have a high chance of liking his stuff. Also very curious to hear what you think of Discworld when you get to it, I personally think Going Postal is a better entry point than any of the other often recommended ones like Guards Guards or Mort. Happy reading!
I was hesitant to start Discworld as well because I’m not particularly drawn the “humorous” literature: I can safely say, after being six books in, that Pratchett’s Discworld is not “humorous”. There are humorous moments, for sure, but there is a wit to the humor and they are just that, moments. Pratchett’s thematic explorations through characters and plots are truly the standout of Discworld for me.
This was a great list Tom. Terry Pratchett, Bernard Cornwell, Ursula LeGuin, and China Mieville are all on my list as well. It hurts my heart you didn’t like Hitchieker’s haha. One of my favorite sci-fi novels of all time. Another big author I want to read is Janny Wurts. She’s a Booktube darling and I haven’t read anything by her.
Stoner is probably my favorite non-fantasy book, and I think it is the best place to start with his books. I would read that followed by Augustus and then Butcher’s Crossing. All three are great! I recommend not starting with Tigana when it comes to GGK. I recommend starting with Lions of Al-Rassan or A Song for Arbonne. I think you will love his style! Snow Crash has the best opening of sci-fi book I’ve ever read, but the middle and end fell flat for me. The Dispossessed was excellent! I need to read more from Le Guin. Can’t wait to hear your thoughts on all these books/authors!
That is some really strong praise for Stoner. Good to know about GGK. I feel like I have heard Tigana is not the best place to start a few times but ill 100% trust your opinion on it. Thats a little scary to hear about for Snow Crash. Le Guin has got to be a high priority for me in 2025
David Gemmell and Raymond E. Feist are two you should to the list if you haven't already. Both are great authors and have great characters. The worlds they build are different since they both lean into the fantasy science grene.
I feel exactly the same about Terry Pratchett. I compare it to when your friend going to a party you don't want to go to "I'm sure the party will be fun, I hope you have a great time, but I'm going to stay home"
Stoner is a excellent starting point for John Williams. With murakami i would reccomend start with Kafka on the Shore, many people start with Tokyo blues but i don't think is the greatest starting point (even Murakami doesn't know why that novel is popular)
I haven’t read any of these authors either. I’m going to get into Robin Hobb and Robert Jordan this year. Also, I’m going to be finishing up The Bloodsworn Trilogy this month.
Kraken is pretty fun, if it caught your attention then it's definitely as good a starting place as any. Hopefully your predictions about GGK and Pratchett are wrong! For Pratchett, if Guards Guards doesn't work out then Going Postal's probably what you want to try. Snow Crash was cool, and for Le Guin you can't go wrong with any of her SF - I liked The Dispossessed most from her, but Lathe of Heaven and Left Hand of Darkness are also bangers. I can't think of anything I have FOMO to get to - I've read far too much, lol. Closest I can get to might be Clark Ashton Smith and Don Quixote.
Oof a lot to tackle there! Cloud Atlas is brilliant, I’m sure you’ll love it. Terry Pratchett is an all time favourite of mine so I will cancel you if you don’t like him 😉 Guards Guards is a good place to start but so is Mort which is a bit shorter. Le Guin is the queen! I’m curious as to whether you’ve considered Iain M Banks? I’ve talked about him a fair amount on my channel and think lovers of sci fi and space opera really need to give him a chance!
@@TomOrange haha nahh Pratchett isn't for everyone but I definitely endorse trying a couple, fair enough if after that you don't want to read more. The Culture is my number 2 series of all time. If you pick it up, start with The Player of Games.
Everything on your list is also on mine, but mine has hundreds in addition to those. I cant even make a list because it would be too time consuming due to length.
I started with Perdido Street Station and went on to read loads of Mieville's books. I wouldn't start Asimov with The Foundation - it is excellent, but I'm not sure I enjoyed it much. Very dense and dry.
I read quite a bit of Cornwell and decided after several books that I just don't like him. His history is great but he writes characters with no consistent motivations whose actions are just all over the place. And all of the female characters are insane and backstabbing. But that's just me. :) As for LeGuin, def read her.
John Williams also wrote Hard Rain Falling which I found in Q4 of my tbr this year and messed up my rankings lol it was so so great! Also I am relieved I am now officially not the only person who didn’t like Hitchhikers 😅
I have thoughts. 😃
1st off. I’m so happy to hear I’m not the only one who did not enjoyed Hitchhiker!
But, you may actually enjoy Pratchett. I read Guards2 and had a good time with it. Nothing earth shattering but lots of fun and the story makes sense; unlike you know what. 😉
Cornwall is amazing! His battle scenes are top and pacing is 👍; very readable.
LeGuin is a legend. I’m currently rereading the Dispossessed; a great place to start in my opinion is The Lathe of Heaven.
I enjoyed Mieville’s City and the City. Interesting story!
Stoner is fabulous, but may or may not work for you. I’m 50 this year; if I read it 10 or 15 years ago, I would not have connected with it.
Asimov can be dry…
I need to read Stevenson as well… 😬
I might start with Seveneves.
Hearing that you enjoyed some of Pratchett gives me some hope for those books.
LeGuin has got to be a priority for me next year. I only hear good things about her and I have no idea why ive waited this long.
I actually wondered a little about that with Stoner. I know its the story of this guys life and I wonder if some of those lessons/feelings he has wont hit me the same way right now.
Terry Pratchett's prose is beautiful! I would recommend you read it with your eyes, because a lot of the meaning is lost on audio, despite the beautiful productions. But be prepared, it's not about the story as such, but all of his books are mostly observations on the human condition...
Neil Stephenson is awesome! I am so happy that you will be discovering these wonderful authors for the first time!😊
Thanks for that suggestion!
Great video Tom! I love the Warlord Chronicles! I DNFd both Perdido and Cloud Atlas lol.
Okay so I have only read one GGK book but I know exactly what you mean with that trepidation. However, I feel like with you loving Wurts and Hobb, you should have a high chance of liking his stuff. Also very curious to hear what you think of Discworld when you get to it, I personally think Going Postal is a better entry point than any of the other often recommended ones like Guards Guards or Mort.
Happy reading!
Ill keep Going Postal in mind whenever its time to make that decision
It's a pleasure watching you :)
I appreciate you watching!
I’d definitely recommend Bernard Cornwell!!! The Saxon Stories are great!
I was hesitant to start Discworld as well because I’m not particularly drawn the “humorous” literature: I can safely say, after being six books in, that Pratchett’s Discworld is not “humorous”. There are humorous moments, for sure, but there is a wit to the humor and they are just that, moments. Pratchett’s thematic explorations through characters and plots are truly the standout of Discworld for me.
That is the best pitch anyone has given me for Discworld.
@@TomOrange I'm just an extension of Allen and Derri when it comes to Discworld, so they get all the credit by default. 🤣
This was a great list Tom. Terry Pratchett, Bernard Cornwell, Ursula LeGuin, and China Mieville are all on my list as well. It hurts my heart you didn’t like Hitchieker’s haha. One of my favorite sci-fi novels of all time. Another big author I want to read is Janny Wurts. She’s a Booktube darling and I haven’t read anything by her.
I know not liking Hitchhikers is a red flag lol.
Stoner is probably my favorite non-fantasy book, and I think it is the best place to start with his books. I would read that followed by Augustus and then Butcher’s Crossing. All three are great!
I recommend not starting with Tigana when it comes to GGK. I recommend starting with Lions of Al-Rassan or A Song for Arbonne. I think you will love his style!
Snow Crash has the best opening of sci-fi book I’ve ever read, but the middle and end fell flat for me.
The Dispossessed was excellent! I need to read more from Le Guin.
Can’t wait to hear your thoughts on all these books/authors!
That is some really strong praise for Stoner.
Good to know about GGK. I feel like I have heard Tigana is not the best place to start a few times but ill 100% trust your opinion on it.
Thats a little scary to hear about for Snow Crash.
Le Guin has got to be a high priority for me in 2025
David Gemmell and Raymond E. Feist are two you should to the list if you haven't already. Both are great authors and have great characters. The worlds they build are different since they both lean into the fantasy science grene.
Thanks for the suggestion! I have not read either of them yet
I feel exactly the same about Terry Pratchett. I compare it to when your friend going to a party you don't want to go to "I'm sure the party will be fun, I hope you have a great time, but I'm going to stay home"
Thats a great way to put it.
Guy Gavriel Kay!! So good. Definitely leans more towards historical fiction than fantasy, but his storytelling is so good.
Im hopeful that ill like it.
Stoner is a excellent starting point for John Williams. With murakami i would reccomend start with Kafka on the Shore, many people start with Tokyo blues but i don't think is the greatest starting point (even Murakami doesn't know why that novel is popular)
good to know!
I haven’t read any of these authors either. I’m going to get into Robin Hobb and Robert Jordan this year. Also, I’m going to be finishing up The Bloodsworn Trilogy this month.
Im a big fan of Robert Jordan so I hope you enjoy!
Kraken is pretty fun, if it caught your attention then it's definitely as good a starting place as any.
Hopefully your predictions about GGK and Pratchett are wrong! For Pratchett, if Guards Guards doesn't work out then Going Postal's probably what you want to try.
Snow Crash was cool, and for Le Guin you can't go wrong with any of her SF - I liked The Dispossessed most from her, but Lathe of Heaven and Left Hand of Darkness are also bangers.
I can't think of anything I have FOMO to get to - I've read far too much, lol. Closest I can get to might be Clark Ashton Smith and Don Quixote.
Thanks for the suggestions! I hope I’m wrong about GGK and Pratchett as well. It would open up so many books for me to read if I enjoy them.
Oof a lot to tackle there! Cloud Atlas is brilliant, I’m sure you’ll love it. Terry Pratchett is an all time favourite of mine so I will cancel you if you don’t like him 😉 Guards Guards is a good place to start but so is Mort which is a bit shorter. Le Guin is the queen!
I’m curious as to whether you’ve considered Iain M Banks? I’ve talked about him a fair amount on my channel and think lovers of sci fi and space opera really need to give him a chance!
I accept being cancelled over Pratchett lol. Banks is another author I want to try. I’m super curious about The culture books
@@TomOrange haha nahh Pratchett isn't for everyone but I definitely endorse trying a couple, fair enough if after that you don't want to read more. The Culture is my number 2 series of all time. If you pick it up, start with The Player of Games.
Bernard cornwell is solid. Definitely worth a read
good to hear
Everything on your list is also on mine, but mine has hundreds in addition to those. I cant even make a list because it would be too time consuming due to length.
oh there are for sure more on mine as well
Cool list, that’s twice today I’ve come across Asimov/Foundation, I’ll have to add to my TBR as well.
Hope you like it!
I started with Perdido Street Station and went on to read loads of Mieville's books.
I wouldn't start Asimov with The Foundation - it is excellent, but I'm not sure I enjoyed it much. Very dense and dry.
I dont always mind the dry sci-fi stuff but we will see
May I suggest your read. Norwegian Wood
absolutely! what's the pitch for it?
Honestly a lot of Authors I’ve never heard of before. 😢
Nothing wrong with that!
If you haven't checked out Isaac Asimov's short story the Last Question, I highly recommend it. One of the best short stories of all time.
I have not heard of that one but I just went ahead and bought it!
I love British humor and even I didn't really like Hitchhiker's. I felt so off and weird after finishing that book.
Yeah that one just did not work for me.
I read quite a bit of Cornwell and decided after several books that I just don't like him. His history is great but he writes characters with no consistent motivations whose actions are just all over the place. And all of the female characters are insane and backstabbing.
But that's just me. :)
As for LeGuin, def read her.
Interesting, I do get annoyed with bad female characters
surprised no Joe Abercrombie
He for sure could be on the list!
Maybe I start with something by Brandon Sanderson one day (:
I enjoy his stuff!
I, Robot is short stories
good to know!
The one to read is Stoner
Good to know!
I don't even know who these authors are
nothing wrong with that!
John Williams also wrote Hard Rain Falling which I found in Q4 of my tbr this year and messed up my rankings lol it was so so great!
Also I am relieved I am now officially not the only person who didn’t like Hitchhikers 😅
That’s good to know!
I think you may be thinking of Don Carpenter.
@@smrfymrfy you’re so right 🙃 regardless, that’s a good one too
It's not a race. Don't be obsessed with the literary canon. Just read who you want.
These are all authors I want to read
@@TomOrange Fair! Just cautioning against giving into "FOMO"
If you want to read authors outside the USA, try Liu Cixin.
His my favorite author!