Halfway through Dune and really enjoying it. I'm struggling to view the book on its own, seperate from the films, but struggling because the films were so good (a real tragedy, I know).
Hello there, Not a great reading week this time. Had a major health scare with my dog 🐕 We thought Monday he wasn’t going to make it. He has since, quite miraculously, recovered but it was a bloody rough week. I have made some good progress on Goldsworthy’s Julius Caesar biography this weekend though, so we’ll see. I’m in Erie for the solar eclipse so nobody is disturbing my reading at the moment. I have watched this series about Texas before. I found it quite fascinating. I know how you feel about hearing familiar place names on crime documentaries. I recently read a book about The DC Sniper and I am just old enough to remember bolting into the grocery store with mom. She made it sound like someone was sneaking up on people in a clown suit and scaring them. She’s a Steven King fan. This week I plan on finishing this biography. Goldsworthy is an excellent writer if you would like to read more about the Roman Empire. He writes historical fiction as well. I also plan on rereading a book from the far past, The Trumpeter of Krakow. Happy Reading and a Toast to Better Weeks to Come! 🍻
Woot woot, glad you are coming out of the slump! Glad to hear that Priest of Lies was a hit for you, I think you will be very pleased with the last two instalments as well ;) Hope you enjoy the King reread! Have a great week, Mike!
A why you should read for The Faithful and the Fallen is a great idea! Perhaps include the follow up trilogy as well? It’s my favourite series of all time and I think it deserves all the recognition it can get.
The Faithful and the Fallen is my second favorite fantasy series of all time, and I picked it up based on your recommendation. I think a Why You Should Read would be awesome.
Congrats on the kitchen renovations finally being done. Would love to hear what the first thing was that you and your wife made in the new setup. Also, many thanks for giving us this update, and great work on the channel as always. ;)
@@mikesbookreviews That's awesome. Note that last year, I sold my house, and it needed about $30,000 worth of work to get it ready to put on the market. I was able to do about half of it myself, and had to hire folks to do the other half. Turned out to be an 11-month odyssey. I definitely feel you on trying to find folks willing to do the work for reasonable prices, then getting them to show up when they're supposed to, and then trying to find solutions to unanticipated problems when they come up. I'm glad that it's worked out for you in the end. :)
I finished The Three Body Problem a couple days ago! This book was so good! The science in it and the mystery throughout really reminded me of Michael Crichton. I don’t think I enjoyed it any less from having watch the show first, but I was impressed how closely they follow the book. The end of the show got a little bit into the second book. I think either that or they just added something. This is the kind of science fiction I love. If you aren’t planning to read this book, I highly recommend adding it to your TBR because I think based on your love of Crouch and Crichton that you’d love it. I’m currently on the final Realm of the Elderlings book. So far I’m really enjoying it and so far Fitz doesn’t seem to be Fitzing quite so much though I’ve only had one chapter from his POV which I’m not complaining about.
I was reading Blake Crouch way before he got popular, my first book was Desert Places, then Locked Doors. Those are still my favorite Crouch books. He's an amazing author.
Crouch is amazing, you never know which way he's going but you know it's going to be a fun thrill ride you can't put down! In the end it's always about...family
Glad the slump is over, Mike. I finally finished reading The Hunt for Red October by Tom Clancy this week. It did drag a bit with all the jargon, but I expected that from the Naval Institute Press. It had a thrilling ending. Happy reading, everyone.
Halfway done with Wisdom of Crowds and then I think I’m going to read another Stephen King book myself, after enjoying Salems Lot I’ve been dying to get into IT, my first time.
Love getting hyped to try the War for the Rose Throne and seeing it’s 2 for 2 with you so far! Also after loving Dark Matter so much I can’t wait to try more Crouch books!
Mike, Nice update. I wanted to ask you if you've read Fevre Dream by Martin? It seems like it would be right up your alley and its a fairly small book/quick read. It shows how talented Martin is and how well he does dialogue and characters. Its a great vampire story that takes place in the old South and I'm certain you would enjoy it...If you've read it already then just ignore this post. :)
I felt the same about Dreamcatcher, I really enjoyed it then was confused to see the negative talk about it online. I think the movie is underrated too.
Glad that you’re making it out of your reading slump, it’s always really annoying and demoralizing. I finished Shadow of the Torturer by Gene Wolfe, really enjoyed it. I’m working on the Emerald Storm by Michael J. Sullivan. I always enjoy a Riyria novel. I should be finishing in the next couple of days.
Once you’re out of Blake crouch books I wholeheartedly recommend Steve Cavanaugh’s Eddie Flynn books. Thirteen and fifty fifty are two of my favourite thriller books, super fast paced, courtroom thrillers and murder.
Glad your reading slump is ending. I’m doing my 20th (or so) reread of foundation and also finished up veiled (book six in the Alex verus series). Getting ready to start duma key for the first time in the next couple weeks.
Very nice update. I have the Mountain of Madness video on my list to watch, its my favourite work by Lovecraft of the ones I have read other than The Colour Out Of Space. Happy reading!
I started Priest of Bones just yesterday, and it is so damn good. That opening chapter was great. I love the violence, the narrative voice. I got sucked in immediately. I'm 3/4 through Golden Son, too. I really like the Red Rising Saga, but I'm not a mega fan. And lastly I got Blackwater and Empire of the Vampire coming in soon!
I really hope you have a better time with Priest of Crowns than I did when you get to it, it really fizzled out when it could have been a banger of a book. Priest of Lies was a great read though.
Only read Dark Matter by Crouch so far and you inspired me to pick another one up. I went for Run, it’s good so far, throws you straight in with little explanation or character introductions and just gets straight into a crazy ride
I'm a bit late on parade, but I'm currently watching Homeland. Reading Soldier by Neal Asher. Playing Pacific Drive on Steam. Can I recommend the Saevus Corax trilogy by KJ Parker. I whizzed through all three in a couple of weeks 👍
It may also be April here in Cumbria UK but it's STILL RAINING.. I dream about 1 day seeing blue sky again! Don't need 2 read any dystopian novels. We seem to be living it here right now. Lol UK Chris
Funny that you mention the killing fields on Netflix. The same incidents were also on their cold case files show. Being from Houston I never thought that ‘Dexter’ levels of murders were or would be possible in the area.
Dark matter was my first blake crouch book. Then read the wayward pines trilogy. Very good and are quick reads. Upgrade will be the next I read by him.
This week I read Her too by bonnie kistler it's a thriller i absolutely enjoyed it then i read miss memory lane by colten Haynes memoir it was heartbreaking but still good and lizzie Blake's best mistake by mazey eddings good romantic comedy loved it still reading the witching hour by Anne rice
I am finishing The Shield tonight. I'm actually more than halfway through the last episode, and am slightly heartbroken already. I'm about halfway through Empire of the Damned, also.
As someone with autism wasn’t a fan of how he treated the whole aspect of disability and the constant back patting of the others over having a disabled friend was very upsetting. Still, liked the IT vibes of the story. It had good potential but wasn’t in the mood of aliens when I read it.
I’m currently reading lost man’s lane By Scott Carson and it’s great! You should check it out it’s coming of age story along the same lines as boylife mixed with the little bit of Nos4a2. It’s very funny and the characters are super relatable and it’s takes place in the 90s
Do you ever have a gut feeling that certain authors are not for you? In my case, those authors are Neil Gaiman, Brandon Sanderson, and Blake Crouch. I have never read a word of anything they wrote so this feeling is totally irrational but it keeps those books away from my TBR.
Halfway through Dune and really enjoying it. I'm struggling to view the book on its own, seperate from the films, but struggling because the films were so good (a real tragedy, I know).
Yeah the book is good but villenueves movies ruined my first reading. It’s impossible they could ever live up to how good part 2 is in imax.
MAQUIN, the best character in Gywnne’s TFATF!!
Correct answer
He’s an amazing character!
I stopped at book 2 in that series, but I only got as far as I did because I loved Maquin!😅
@@brightwatcher3757
You should continue on as his story is everything, even though it is the secondary storyline. Chef’s kiss to Manquin😘
Hello there,
Not a great reading week this time. Had a major health scare with my dog 🐕 We thought Monday he wasn’t going to make it. He has since, quite miraculously, recovered but it was a bloody rough week. I have made some good progress on Goldsworthy’s Julius Caesar biography this weekend though, so we’ll see. I’m in Erie for the solar eclipse so nobody is disturbing my reading at the moment.
I have watched this series about Texas before. I found it quite fascinating. I know how you feel about hearing familiar place names on crime documentaries. I recently read a book about The DC Sniper and I am just old enough to remember bolting into the grocery store with mom. She made it sound like someone was sneaking up on people in a clown suit and scaring them. She’s a Steven King fan.
This week I plan on finishing this biography. Goldsworthy is an excellent writer if you would like to read more about the Roman Empire. He writes historical fiction as well. I also plan on rereading a book from the far past, The Trumpeter of Krakow.
Happy Reading and a Toast to Better Weeks to Come! 🍻
Hope your pooch is okay!
He appears to be ok 👌🏻 we were quite worried there for a bit but dogs are incredibly resilient.
Looking forward to seeing what you cook up, Mike! Truth and courage.
Ed
Hope I can do it justice!
Woot woot, glad you are coming out of the slump! Glad to hear that Priest of Lies was a hit for you, I think you will be very pleased with the last two instalments as well ;) Hope you enjoy the King reread! Have a great week, Mike!
Thanks! You, too.
A why you should read for The Faithful and the Fallen is a great idea! Perhaps include the follow up trilogy as well? It’s my favourite series of all time and I think it deserves all the recognition it can get.
Can confirm, it's April here in UK.😀
Time is a stubborn thing.
That felt like pretty good mojo!
He's Baaaaaaaaaaack!!
The Faithful and the Fallen is my second favorite fantasy series of all time, and I picked it up based on your recommendation. I think a Why You Should Read would be awesome.
Good to hear!
i read faitful and the fallen because of you and became fan for life
Happy reading to you!!
Congrats on the kitchen renovations finally being done. Would love to hear what the first thing was that you and your wife made in the new setup. Also, many thanks for giving us this update, and great work on the channel as always. ;)
Eggs. We missed having eggs so we had a “breakfast for dinner” night. The kids loved it!
Got to love brenner. Glad the reading slump is over. Baseball season is back in full swing too. Good times ahead
@@mikesbookreviews That's awesome. Note that last year, I sold my house, and it needed about $30,000 worth of work to get it ready to put on the market. I was able to do about half of it myself, and had to hire folks to do the other half. Turned out to be an 11-month odyssey. I definitely feel you on trying to find folks willing to do the work for reasonable prices, then getting them to show up when they're supposed to, and then trying to find solutions to unanticipated problems when they come up. I'm glad that it's worked out for you in the end. :)
I finished The Three Body Problem a couple days ago! This book was so good! The science in it and the mystery throughout really reminded me of Michael Crichton. I don’t think I enjoyed it any less from having watch the show first, but I was impressed how closely they follow the book. The end of the show got a little bit into the second book. I think either that or they just added something. This is the kind of science fiction I love. If you aren’t planning to read this book, I highly recommend adding it to your TBR because I think based on your love of Crouch and Crichton that you’d love it.
I’m currently on the final Realm of the Elderlings book. So far I’m really enjoying it and so far Fitz doesn’t seem to be Fitzing quite so much though I’ve only had one chapter from his POV which I’m not complaining about.
That's what everyone told me but it was the rare DNF for me.
I've just started Malice and will still watch the Why you should read
Mike your love for Blake Crouch has perked my interest. Just picked up Dark Matter to use as a break during in between the Faithful and the Fallen
Hope you love it!
I was reading Blake Crouch way before he got popular, my first book was Desert Places, then Locked Doors. Those are still my favorite Crouch books. He's an amazing author.
I got here as fast as I could.
@@mikesbookreviews 😂
Crouch is amazing, you never know which way he's going but you know it's going to be a fun thrill ride you can't put down! In the end it's always about...family
💯
Glad the slump is over, Mike. I finally finished reading The Hunt for Red October by Tom Clancy this week. It did drag a bit with all the jargon, but I expected that from the Naval Institute Press. It had a thrilling ending. Happy reading, everyone.
I liked the movie.
Halfway done with Wisdom of Crowds and then I think I’m going to read another Stephen King book myself, after enjoying Salems Lot I’ve been dying to get into IT, my first time.
Enjoy that ride!
Love getting hyped to try the War for the Rose Throne and seeing it’s 2 for 2 with you so far! Also after loving Dark Matter so much I can’t wait to try more Crouch books!
I hear mixed things about books 3 and 4 but I'm optimistic.
Mike, Nice update. I wanted to ask you if you've read Fevre Dream by Martin? It seems like it would be right up your alley and its a fairly small book/quick read. It shows how talented Martin is and how well he does dialogue and characters. Its a great vampire story that takes place in the old South and I'm certain you would enjoy it...If you've read it already then just ignore this post. :)
Yeah I read it last year. Liked it a lot.
I felt the same about Dreamcatcher, I really enjoyed it then was confused to see the negative talk about it online. I think the movie is underrated too.
That movie had a banger cast.
I've always wanted to read Dreamcatcher. I don't know why I'm so fascinated by it. I know it's not really a fan favorite, but I feel drawn to it.
My wife said something similar 😆
Glad that you’re making it out of your reading slump, it’s always really annoying and demoralizing. I finished Shadow of the Torturer by Gene Wolfe, really enjoyed it. I’m working on the Emerald Storm by Michael J. Sullivan. I always enjoy a Riyria novel. I should be finishing in the next couple of days.
So annoying.
Once you’re out of Blake crouch books I wholeheartedly recommend Steve Cavanaugh’s Eddie Flynn books. Thirteen and fifty fifty are two of my favourite thriller books, super fast paced, courtroom thrillers and murder.
I'll look them up!
Glad your reading slump is ending. I’m doing my 20th (or so) reread of foundation and also finished up veiled (book six in the Alex verus series). Getting ready to start duma key for the first time in the next couple weeks.
Duma Key is super underrated.
Very nice update. I have the Mountain of Madness video on my list to watch, its my favourite work by Lovecraft of the ones I have read other than The Colour Out Of Space.
Happy reading!
COoS is incredible.
I started Priest of Bones just yesterday, and it is so damn good. That opening chapter was great. I love the violence, the narrative voice. I got sucked in immediately.
I'm 3/4 through Golden Son, too. I really like the Red Rising Saga, but I'm not a mega fan. And lastly I got Blackwater and Empire of the Vampire coming in soon!
You have some great times ahead!
I really hope you have a better time with Priest of Crowns than I did when you get to it, it really fizzled out when it could have been a banger of a book. Priest of Lies was a great read though.
Oh no!
Only read Dark Matter by Crouch so far and you inspired me to pick another one up. I went for Run, it’s good so far, throws you straight in with little explanation or character introductions and just gets straight into a crazy ride
His books never take long to get going.
I'm a bit late on parade, but I'm currently watching Homeland. Reading Soldier by Neal Asher. Playing Pacific Drive on Steam.
Can I recommend the Saevus Corax trilogy by KJ Parker. I whizzed through all three in a couple of weeks 👍
Can’t go wrong with a good page turning thriller to crack a reading slump 👍 I think Dark Matter actually got me out of a bad reading slump
Watched the first two episodes of Sugar on Apple tv. With Colin Farrell and really, really enjoyed it!
Apple TV hasn't had a miss for me yet.
It may also be April here in Cumbria UK but it's STILL RAINING.. I dream about 1 day seeing blue sky again! Don't need 2 read any dystopian novels. We seem to be living it here right now. Lol UK Chris
Yeah, we are dark and rainy right before the eclipse today. So gloomy.
I’ve been in a reading rut as well. Anything new to me doesn’t interest me so I’ve been doing rereads. Hopefully I’ll break out of it here soon!
Happens to the best of us.
Nice update!
Finished Childhood’s End and started American Gods. Enjoyed the update!
CE is a special book.
@@mikesbookreviews Indeed! I wouldn’t have read it without seeing how high you rated it!
Funny that you mention the killing fields on Netflix. The same incidents were also on their cold case files show. Being from Houston I never thought that ‘Dexter’ levels of murders were or would be possible in the area.
It's always different when it happened so close to you.
Dream catcher was my first steven king book and i loved it 😊
There are dozens of us.
Just finished reading Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury. Though it was alright.
I've considered reading this classic but just haven't gotten to it. I loved Dandelion Wine by Bradbury. It's a great coming of age classic.
Love the DDP shirt!!!
💎
Dark matter was my first blake crouch book. Then read the wayward pines trilogy. Very good and are quick reads. Upgrade will be the next I read by him.
Hope you like it!
I am really curious about your shirt. It seems very symbolic and I am alreaady imagining many things.
Ha ha it’s a Diamond Dallas Page tee from back in the 1990’s when WCW was still around.
This week I read
Her too by bonnie kistler it's a thriller i absolutely enjoyed it then i read miss memory lane by colten Haynes memoir it was heartbreaking but still good and lizzie Blake's best mistake by mazey eddings good romantic comedy loved it still reading the witching hour by Anne rice
I am finishing The Shield tonight. I'm actually more than halfway through the last episode, and am slightly heartbroken already. I'm about halfway through Empire of the Damned, also.
It’s a rough ending. But incredibly well-written.
Extremely well-written
Stand and deliver is a great movie! I know my 1s. I know my 2s. And I know my 3s. Finger man
Being married to a teacher I know way more about that movie than I ever thought I would.
Reading the lotus sutra and shards of earth
As someone with autism wasn’t a fan of how he treated the whole aspect of disability and the constant back patting of the others over having a disabled friend was very upsetting. Still, liked the IT vibes of the story. It had good potential but wasn’t in the mood of aliens when I read it.
Enjoy the eclipse tomorrow 😊
I’m currently reading lost man’s lane By Scott Carson and it’s great! You should check it out it’s coming of age story along the same lines as boylife mixed with the little bit of Nos4a2. It’s very funny and the characters are super relatable and it’s takes place in the 90s
Sounds great! I'll look it up.
Have fun with the kids with the rasslin. 😂
We did!
Do you ever have a gut feeling that certain authors are not for you? In my case, those authors are Neil Gaiman, Brandon Sanderson, and Blake Crouch. I have never read a word of anything they wrote so this feeling is totally irrational but it keeps those books away from my TBR.
Absolutely. I still get grief for saying Mark Lawrence just didn't click for me.
Well in Ethiopia it’s technically 2016 or 2017 so there is that
Howdy mike, did you get over your reading slump? how is your kitchen coming?
I answer both of those in this video 😆
Dream Catcher = one hell of a weird story.
No doubt.
I prefer Royal Rumble over Wrestle Mania.
Rumble is always fun.
Hey Mike, do you plan to continue with your Stephen King ranking based on time periods?
I do! Next video comes after I finish my Dark Tower re-read.
How is Toll the Hounds going?
It currently isn’t.
I recently read recursion and dnf it but loved dark matter
Interesting!
How come you or anyone else never mention Bentley Little?
Brian Lee Durfee reviewed at least six of his books.
Never heard of him. So that’s probably why.
I really hope they don’t do Fallout dirty 🫣