Hey bookworms! Excited to narrow down all the books I read this year to my 10 favorite. Here is everything I read this year, for those interested. 1. Grave Peril - Jim Butcher 2. The Crown Conspiracy - Michael J. Sullivan 3. Avempartha - Michael J. Sullivan 4. Harry Potter & the Sorcerer’s Stone - JK Rowling (Reading with kids) 5. Summer Knight - Jim Butcher 6. Elantris - Brandon Sanderson 7. The Colour Out of Space - HP Lovecraft 8. The Hope of Elantris - Brandon Sanderson 9. The Emperor’s Soul - Brandon Sanderson 10. The Rage of Dragons - Evan Winter 11. Locke & Key (Welcome to Lovecraft) - Joe Hill 12. Locke & Key (Head Games) - Joe Hill 13. Death Masks - Jim Butcher 14. Winter’s Heart - Robert Jordan 15. Warbreaker - Brandon Sanderson 16. Blood Rites - Jim Butcher 17. The Outsider - Stephen King 18. Crossroads of Twilight - Robert Jordan 19. New Spring - Robert Jordan 20. Harry Potter & The Chamber of Secrets - JK Rowling (Reading with kids) 21. Knife of Dreams - Robert Jordan 22. The Gathering Storm - Robert Jordan w/ Brandon Sanderson 23. Dead Beat - Jim Butcher 24. Proven Guilty - Jim Butcher 25. Towers of Midnight - Robert Jordan w/ Brandon Sanderson 26. White Night - Jim Butcher 27. A Memory of Light - Robert Jordan w/ Brandon Sanderson 28. Malice - John Gwynne 29. Harry Potter & The Prisoner of Azkaban - JK Rowling (Reading with kids) 30. Small Favor - Jim Butcher 31. Valour - John Gwynne 32. The Eleventh Metal - Brandon Sanderson 33. Turn Coat - Jim Butcher 34. Ruin - John Gwynne 35. The Alloy of Law - Brandon Sanderson 36. Changes - Jim Butcher 37. Aftermath - Jim Butcher 38. Ghost Story - Jim Butcher 39. Cold Days - Jim Butcher 40. Wrath - John Gwynne 41. Skin Game - Jim Butcher 42. The Gunslinger - Stephen King 43. Peace Talks - Jim Butcher 44. Shadows of Self - Brandon Sanderson 45. Nyphron Rising - Michael J. Sullivan 46. The Emerald Storm - Michael J. Sullivan 47. Something Wicked This Way Comes - Ray Bradbury 48. At the Mountains of Madness - HP Lovecraft 49. Traitor’s Blade - Sebastien De Castell 50. A Time of Dread - John Gwynne 51. The Bands of Mourning - Brandon Sanderson 52. The Shadow of What Was Lost - James Islington 53. The Trouble with Peace - Joe Abercrombie 54. An Echo of Things to Come - James Islington 55. Knight’s Shadow - Sebastien De Castell 56. The Light of All That Falls - James Islington 57. Battle Ground - Jim Butcher 58. The Willows - Algernon Blackwood 59. The Hunger - Alma Katsu 60. A Time of Blood - John Gwynne 61. Saint’s Blood - Sebastien De Castell 62. Weaveworld - Clive Barker 63. The Eyes of the Dragon - Stephen King 64. Empire of Silence - Christopher Ruocchio 65. A Time of Courage - John Gwynne 66. The Fires of Vengeance - Evan Winter 67. Dawnshard - Brandon Sanderson 68. Tyrant’s Throne - Sebastien De Castell 69. Rhythm of War - Brandon Sanderson 70. Kings of the Wyld - Nicholas Eames 71. The Martian - Andy Weir 72. The Talisman - Stephen King & Peter Straub 73. Kings of Paradise - Richard Nell DNF/Will Come Back to Later 1. Emperor of Thorns - Mark Lawrence 2. The Time of Contempt - Andrzej Sapkowski Still in Progress 1. Harry Potter & The Goblet of Fire - JK Rowling (reading wi th kids)
I only just finished Changes and Aftermath a few days ago and still trying to process it all emotionally. I figured I’ll pick up Dresden again after I read the first Malazan
That is impressive. I think the most I have read in a year is 56 novels. That was in 2018 after my father died and my husband and I started having issues. Thankfully we worked through it. Maybe it’s because I had my nose in books and ignored everything? We’ll never know.
mikey's awards would be an awesome way to close out the year! best in category, best debut, best fictional character, best new author, best of the year.
I finished 32 books this year starting in April. I gave 3 books 5 star ratings, so I’ll call them my top three, ha. 1. Misery - Stephen King 2. IT - Stephen King 3. The Picture Of Dorian Gray - Oscar Wilde I’ve really enjoyed your channel, looking forward to more videos in 2021, Cheers!
Btw, just want to say I really appreciate your channel. I love the more mature presentation and your calm and collected perspectives. You convinced me of First Law and it's now one of my favorite stories of all time.
My top 10 out of the 47 I read this year. RoW would probably be around 11 or 12. 1. A Memory of Light 2. Hyperion 3. Best Served Cold 4. First Law Trilogy 5. End of Watch 6. Oathbringer 7. Jaws 8. Tales of the South Pacific 9. Farnham’s Freehold 10. The Haunting of Hill House
Gathering Storm is one of my favorites in the WoT series too -- some iconic scenes in there. Hearing you talk about it in your earlier review has made me decide I've got to try Kings of the Wyld next year. Great to see The Trouble with Peace in there -- I think it would be in my top three for the year. That is a beautiful edition of Warbreaker! I'll be reading Gravel Peril soon, but I've got a long way to go to catch up to you in the Dresden Files. Malice is amazing so far, so I can't wait to get to Ruin! That's an impressive year of reading, my friend. May you have great fulfillment from your reading in 2021!
Warbreaker is my favorite book ever!!! I just love everything about it and as you mentioned vivenna quickly became my favorite female character in any book I read! Her character development was amazing in every way possible! I wish we get a second book soon:,) meanwhile I will be starting mistborn soooon yay
I found your channel in March (I think) and you were probably the big contributor to reigniting my love for reading. Got me out of my reading slump so thanks!
Great top 10 (I would SO watch the Mikeys!!!). I haven't read as many books as usual because the whole virus thing threw me off my reading mojo. But amongst my favourites this year have been Poppy War and Dragon Republic, Rage of Dragons and Fires of Vengeance, the Bear and the Nightingale trilogy, A long way to a small angry planet, and Terry Pratchett's Truth (the one about the newspaper). However my absolute top read this year was The Sword of Kaigen - granted a slow start, but ends up being a great story with absolute gut punching twists (as a Mum of boys this book totally broke me). I look forward to your brilliant book reviews in the year ahead 😊
That's it. Gonna order John Gwynne now. Thanks for the channel btw! As a guy under 30 years old I do enjoy Daniel Greenes and such but your mature and calm approach (as mentioned dozen times in your comment sections) makes me check your channel quite often.
I don’t think I read quite as many as you this year, Mike (but close!). My top 5 are: 1. First Law Trilogy - Joe Abercrombie 2. The Lord of the Rings - J R R Tolkien 3. Pet Sematary - Stephen King 4. The Stand - Stephen King 5. Crash - J G Ballard Currently 2/3 through The Road (Cormac McCarthy) and man is it desperate but some of the passages are just beautiful. Keep doing what you’re doing Mike, and all the best for 2021!
1Howling Dark - Chris Ruicchio. ( this went into my top 3 series ) 2Rhythm of War 3The Hod King- Josiah Bancroft 4The Light of all that Falls -Jame Islington 5The Dragonbone Chair - Tad Williams( if you can get past first 200 pages , it’s a special book) I almost quit at one point 6Priest of Bones - Peter McLean( you’ll enjoy this series ) 7Core - Peter Brett ( you should finish this series) 8Jade City - Fonda Lee 9Holy Sister - Mark Lawrence 10Kings of Paradise - Richard Nell (was disappointed with the next 2 ) 11The lost War - Justin Lee Anderson 12 Crimson Campaign - Brian Mcclellan 59 books Great list Mike. I’ll have to read Warbreaker ASAP
This was my first big year of reading. I read 25 books which I know isn't much (but I'm proud of it anyway!) Did you find that once you started getting into reading you started reading faster and getting through more books? Thanks!
My top books this year 1. Old Man's War: John Scalzi 2. Promise Of Blood: Brian McCllenan 3. Best Served Cold: Lord Grimdark 4. Red Sister: Mark Lawrence 5. Red Rising: Pierce Brown 6. Elric Of Melniboné: Michael Moorecock 7. Time Of Contempt: Andrezj Sapkowski 8. The Thief Who Pulled On Troubles Braids: Michael McClung. Read alot this year, but tried sticking to the one book per author rule. 2021 reading is packed and I'm excited. Great vid as always.
Similar to u I did not go into warbreaker expecting much and was caught off guard by how good it was. Yes the ending was quick but I still loved it. Once in a while I like it when things r just so nicely and quickly wrapped up in a way that makes sense, it was actually a quite satisfying ending
Wonderful video. Read all these except for Butcher and Warbreaker, which is one of the only Sanderson's I have not read. Lastly Ruin, read Mailce, but haven't had the time to move forward. With Malazan and other books to get to, it will be a quite a year. So many.
Man, you've got a way of breaking my heart and making my day all in the span of 2 videos. I am pumped that THEFT OF SWORDS made your "best" list. As you may recall, Riyria Revelations is my favorite series. But then you broke my heart by placing RISE OF EMPIRE (namely, "The Emerald Storm") in your "disappointing" list. But I can understand your points. Just make sure you read HEIR OF NOVRON soon. Incredible ending to a great series.
Hi Mike Kings of the Wyld is excellent! Listened to the Audiobook a few years back. Is Bloody Rose the next one in the series. Not as good in my opinion!
Thanks again Mike, I picked up The Empire of Silence for some sci fi pallet cleansing and boy did it go down smooth. One of the rare few series that I just couldn't put down until I was finished with three books that are out. Only shame is that I need to wait for the next installment. On to the Theft of Swords, let's see what's that about. I have read the rest of the list, except Dresden Files, for some reason it just doesn't speak to me, maybe one day. I'm really glad you liked Gwynne as you did, his books felt like such a perfect fit for you while reading them.
Hey Mike. I'm really enjoying your channel. Subscribed. I recent bought a kindle Oasis, as in typical fashion, i read way way more than ever before it.. took me months to finish Dune in paperback although i really enjoyed it, and I've read 12 books in three weeks since i got the Kindle. Almost exclusively scifi. Keep up the good content, keep up the sci Fi predominantly, and I'll keep on watching. Thanks for some good recommendations, i started Hyperion yesterday. Planning on reading the leviathan series after that, i think space opera is my jam. If you're interested in a really fun, cheap, Amazon scifi opera, try Mars colony. No aliens.
Very hard to order these. 1. Before they are Hanged 2. Ruin 3. Wizard and Glass 4. Dune 5. Last Argument of Kings 6. The Waste Lands 7. Wrath 8. Fahrenheit 451 9. God Emperor of Dune 10. The Gunslinger
The Stand, Dune, Dragon Reborn, top 3 of 2020 for me. finished The Stand in january it really set a weird tone for the year, in Ready player 2 and Shadow Rising to finish out the year.
Can't wait to read John Gwynne. Nice list Mike. Here's my top 5: 1. The Heroes 2. Wizard of Earthsea 3. Hero of Ages 4. 11/22/63 5. The Nightingale (WW2 Historical fiction)
78 books read this year and a lot have been on recommendations from you and Petrik! I entirely agree with your top 2, they’re right up there in my top 5 of the year.
Great list Mike you have really inspired me to read much more. I’ve read the first 7 books of The Wheel of Time all of The Storm Light Warbreaker The Licanus trilogy and I’m starting Malice ... Thank you Mike for all your great recommendations. I’ll wait to see how you like Malazan before I start another series.... I’ll let you do the hard work 😅
I read 76 books this year because of yours and a few other great channels. Before this I would’ve been lucky to finish a book a year if that. So for that I thank you. This is my top ten a few of the same authors 1. Mistborn both 1&3 top books this year. Brandon Sanderson 2. Royal assassin. Robin Hobb (reread) 3. Last argument of kings. Joe Abercrombie 4. The great hunt. Robert Jordan 5. A sword of swords. GRRM 6. Enders game. Orson Scott Card 7. Starsight. Brandon Sanderson 8. Magician. Raymond E Reist 9. Jurassic Park. Michael Crichton (reread) 10. The stand or pet sematary. Stephen King
I've read 45 books this year. I have a broader mix of titles in my reading diet. Two of my favorites of the year kind of intersect with what you like to read. I was totally blown away by the horror novel The Only Good Indians by Stephen Graham Jones told from the viewpoint of Native American characters and including myths of the American West. I also read a vastly entertaining mystery/dark fantasy type book by Jeff Noon called The Body Library. It has a Twin Peaks or Twilight Zone vibe to it where the explanations for things and people don't square with our reality. You might enjoy both of them yourself. Happy New Year! P.S. I listened to you talk about Joe Abercrombie so much I decided to try his books. He's a little out of my wheelhouse but he writes with such wit and creativity I'll be fine with visiting his world from time to time. I read Sharp Ends to get a taste of what he does. I liked it. I'll probably re-read that one after I've read The First Law trilogy.
John Gwynne is so awesome! I'm glad he made your #1 spot. Also glad that Warbreaker made it on your list. Loved that one! I read The Faithful and the Fallen this year and am finishing up Of Blood and Bone now. Are you going to do a review for Of Blood and Bone? I'd like to hear your thoughts :)
I've read 105 this year, so a solid list for me. I read a lot of genres, so my list may be different than others on there. And I also give a series a single entry instead of just picking a book. 1. Wheel of Time 2. The Stand (I include re-reads) 3. Mistborn Trilogy (Era 1) (never read Sanderson until this year - have a lot of catching up to do!) 4. The Summer Guest - Justin Cronin 5. Norwegian Wood - Haruki Murakami 6. Of Mice and Men 7. A Column of Fire - Ken Follett 8. Oryx and Crake - Margaret Atwood 9. Kafka on the Shore - Haruki Murakami 10. Where the Crawdads Sing - Delia Owens
My top 5: 1.Words of Radiance-Brandon Sanderson 2.Changes-Jim Butcher 3.Last Argument of Kings-Joe Abercrombie 4.Matilda-Roald Dahl 5.Rhythm of War-Brandon Sanderson
Great list! Mine would be: 1. Enders Game 2. Mort (Terry Pratchett) 3. 1984 4. The Pale Horsemen (Saxon Stories #2) 5. Bag of Bones (Stephen King) 6. The Eye of the World 7. Dead Beat 8. The Burning Land (Saxon Stories #5) 9. Before they are hanged 10. Concrete Blonde (Harry Bosch series)
If I go by your rules of not having multiple books from the same author then my top 10 would be : 10. Lord of Chaos by R. Jordan 9. The Kings of Paradise by Richard Nell 8. Fires of Vengeance by Evan Winter 7. The Burning God by R.F Kuang 6. The Hod King by Josiah Bancroft 5. Mistborn : The Final Empire by Brandon Sanderson 4. Red Sister by Mark Lawrence 3. Ruin by John Gwynne 2. The Trouble with Peace by Lord Grimdark ( who sups tea ) 1. King of Assassins by R.J Barker
Heir of Novron broke my best book of the year slot. I read it last month. All year since March Wanderers has been my best book of the year I COULDNT see anyone stealing that spot till I read Heir of Novron. Hurry up and finish that shit!!!!!!
Very nice list, I've read most of those (and have 2 more on my tbr now). You also induced me to begin (and finish) a Harry Dresden Marathon this year, including the short stories. I also think Licanius gets too much flak. 67 books this year, mostly fantasy. I'll turn my attention more back towards history this year, though. MY top 10 in no particular order for 2020 M.L. Wang - The Sword of Kaigen Madeline Miller - Circe Jim Butcher - Changes Isaac Asimov - Foundation A Knight of Seven Kingdoms - George R.R. Martin Joe Abercrombie - Best Served Cold Brandon Sanderson - Elantris John Gwynne - Valor Guy Gavriel Kay - The Darkest Road Mark Lawrence - Grey Sister
Vivenna is in Stormlight. Read Oathbringer again. She doesn't go by the name Vivenna in that book, but you can tell it is her. I'm hoping she will show up in book 5 as well.
KOTW was my fav book I read this year. Hadn’t had that much fun in a book in a long time! My first book of 21 will be Martha Wells sci-fi book in her Murderbot series.
I have kept to the 1 book per author rule otherwise this list would be 70% Joe Abercrombie 1. Best Served cold by Joe Abercrombie 2. Dark Age by Pierce Brown 3. The Stand by Stephen King 4. Memories of Ice by Steven Erikson 5. A Memory of light by Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson 6. King of Thorns by Mark Lawerence 7. Baptism of Fire by Andrej Sapkowski 8. Priest of Lies by Peter McLean 9. Jade War by Fonda Lee 10. The lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch
Oh man I'm so eager to start The Faithful and the Fallen in January. Seems like its on everyone's best of the year list! My top 5 because I'm too lazy for 10: 1. Fools Errand by Robin Hobb (though everything I read by her this year was incredible) 2. Dark Age by Pierce Brown 3. The Lions of Al-Rassan by Guy Gavriel Kay 4. Holy Sister by Mark Lawrence 5. Assassins Quest by Robin Hobb
I only got into reading again near the end of last year after years of not reading very much. 90% of the books I read this year were King, and I've loved just about all of them, but I also read Clive Barker's Books of Blood Vol 1-3 and man are they good. I've also got many on my "to read" list thanks to your channel. Going to try Dune soon thanks to you. Happy New Year, and thanks for inspiring me to start reading more horror, fantasy and sci fi!
Top ten, in no particular order: Stalingrad - Antony Beevor The Price of Glory: Verdun 1916 - Alistair Horne The Guns at Last Light - Rick Atkinson Life of Pi - Yann Martel Ruin - John Gwynne Valor - John Gwynne Way of Kings - Brandon Sanderson The Revenant - Michael Punke Hell is Empty - Craig Johnson The Cold Dish - Craig Johnson Nice to hear a shout out to Terry Brooks ... I always enjoyed his books.
I read 26 books in the first 6 months of the year (which is around my normal pace of 4-5 a month), but only 4 in the second 6 months as corona lockdown fatigue/work really cut into my reading time. I'd say my top 5 reads were: 1. Parable of the Sower (Earthseed) - Octavia Butler 2. The Lady of The Lake (The Witcher) - Andrzej Sapkowski 3. Battle Ground (The Dresden Files) - Jim Butcher 4. All Systems Red (The Murderbot Diaries) - Martha Wells 5. Rage of Dragons (The Burning) - Evan Winder Honorable mentions: Gideon the Ninth, Why We're Polarized, Ninefox Gambit, and The House of the Spirits.
People on the internet: “I didn’t like Licanius because it isn’t as good as Wot” Mike: “Oh, I see” *Puts Shadow of what was lost one spot higher than Gathering Storm*
Yeasss!! first fantasy book series I binged all three volumes in like 2 months. I kept gasping while reading Riyria lol. I also have the Age of Series...aah you don't even know lol!!
As someone who is moderately into sci-fi and fantasy (getting nervous the farther into Dark Tower I get) but is a bookworm overall, really enjoy the channel! Loved the Michael Crichton video. Do you have thoughts on Robert Heinlein?
Out of the 101 books I have read this year. 1. the terror by Dan simmons 2. Sphere by Michael crichton 3. the magic cottage by James herbert 4. The honor of duty by a. r. Arand 5. Captain James cook biography by Richard hough 6. The road by cormac Mccarthy 7. Disclosure by Michael crichton 8. Dungeon goddess by gideon Caldwell 9. Waterloo by Bernard cornwell 10. The gladiator by Simon scarrow
im not a heavy reader especially this year but ive spent the past 6-7 months trying to get thru path of daggers by robert jordan. i will finish it before 2021. watchin this channel gives me motivation and gets me excited to read
10: Fahrenheit 451: Ray Bradbury 9: The Power of Now: Eckhart Tolle 8: Heart Bones: Coleen Hoover 7: Tyrant’s Throne: Sebastian De Castell 6: Hero of Ages: Brandon Sanderson 5: Death of a Salesman: Arthur Miller 4: Reading with the Right Brain: David Butler 3: Fellowship of the Ring: JRR Tolkien 2: Golden Son: Pierce Brown 1: Half Blood Prince: JK Rowling I may start Morning Star soon though, so this is subject to change of course ;)
My Top 10 for 2020 10. Disgrace by Jussi Adler-Olsen 9. A Game Of Thrones by George R. R. Martin 8. The Lies Of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch 7. All Hell Let Loose by Max Hastings 6. Flowers For Algernon by Daniel Keyes 5. Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card 4. The Day Of The Triffids by John Wyndham 3. Dune by Frank Herbert 2. The Trouble With Peace by Joe Abercrombie 1. World War Z: An Oral History Of The Zombie War by Max Brooks
I got to 95 books this year (go figure, staying inside = more reading) In terms of books published in 2020, Addie Larue, Rhythm of War and Trouble With Peace would be up there In terms of books I read this year “Ruin” by John Gwynne and “Blackest Heart” by Brian Lee Durfee would be my top picks
Honorable Mention since it isn't exactly new: LotR. #4 The Blade Itself(lower since the book was a starter/non-standalone), #3 Rage of Dragons, #2 Poppy Wars books 1-2. #1 Mistborn trilogy /Warbreaker. If I have to pick one book, The Hero of Ages. The rest of First Law is slated for January. I'm glad Sanderson wants to add more to Warbreaker. Some of his characters in it were fantastic. Favorite non-fiction was Just Mercy.
Tough tough tough 5. The Heir of Novron - Sullivan 4. Wrath - Gwynn 3. Mistborn 1 - Sanderson 2. The Light of all that Falls - Islington 1. The Name of the Wind - Rothfuss
Riyria Revelations is one of my favorites! Make time to finish it, book 3 pays off really well! Also check out Riyria Chronicles if you want more fun adventures of Royce and Hadrian, gives them a lot of backstory with some fun easter eggs.
My top 10 out of 62 books this year are 1. The Lords of the North, Bernard Cornwell 2. Fires of vengeance, Evan Winter 3. Time of Courage, John Gwynne 4. Rhythm of War, Brandon Sanderson 5. The trouble with peace, Joe Abercrombie 6. Dead Beat, Jim Butcher 7. Jurrasic Park, Michael Crichton 8. Tigana, Guy Gavriel Kay 9. The Green Mile, Stephen King 10. Speaker for the Dead, Orson Scott Card
I'll cut out both my Dresden and First Law re-reads (2 of my 3 favourite series), otherwise, they would crowd my top 11 a bit too much ^^ 1. The Deep by Nick Cutter 2. Manifest Delusions Series by Michael R. Fletcher 3. Demon Cycle Series by Peter V. Brett 3. 11/22/63 by Stephen King 4. The Troop by Nick Cutter 5. A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles 6. Kings of the Wyld by Nicholas Eames 7. The Hollow Places by T. Kingfisher 8. Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik 9. Children of Time by Adrian Tchaikovsky 10. Siódemka by Ziemowit Szczerek 11. Piranesi by Susanna Clarke
Dude, you're killing my TBR list, I've had to add so many new books based on your reviews. :D Just finished Artemis by Andy Weir a few weeks ago, and it was pretty good. Wildly different from The Martian, so don't go in expecting a sequel, but it does have some of the same features (set in space, technology-based, and very funny). I still definitely recommend it though, it was fun!
I had such a mixed bag this year in my top books 8. Battle Royale by Koushun Takami 7. The Princess Bride by William Goldman 6. The Secret History by Donna Tartt 5. The Well of Ascension by Brandon Sanderson 4. The Shining by Stephen King 3. Red, White & Royal Blue by Casie McQuiston 2. Columbine by Dave Cullen 1. A Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller (my top 3 can be pretty interchangeable depending what day you ask me)
10. Musical Misfires by Mark A. Robinson 9. Double Star by Robert A. Heinlein 8. If it Bleeds by Stephen King 7. Middlegame by Seanan McGuire 6. Injustice: Year One by Tom Taylor 5. Superman: The Unofficial Biography by Glenn Weldon 4. Godsgrave by Jay Kristoff 3. Battle Ground by Jim Butcher (if we're picking one for the list) 2. The Lathe of Heaven by Ursula K. Le Guin 1. Once There Was a Way: What if The Beatles Stayed Together? by Bryce Zabel
64 books finished since I started tracking them in May. Top top, going by your rules of no rereads and one book per author in no specific order: The Poppy War, R.F. Kuang Harrow The Ninth, Tamsyn Muir Old Man's War, John Scalzi Battle Ground, Jim Butcher Bright Steel, Miles Cameron The Fires of Vengeance, Evan Winters Ninefox Gambit, Yoon Ha lee The Belly Of The Bow, K.J. Parker Guns of the Dawn, Adrian Tchaikovsky Priest of Bones, Peter Mclean
Top 5 (of 131) for me, in no particular order: The Lies of Locke Lamora - Scott Lynch David Copperfield - Charles Dickens The Green Mile - Stephen King Death's End - Cixin Liu Best Served Cold - Joe Abercromie Honourable mentions: Stardust (Neil Gaiman), I Am Legend (Richard Matheson), Wessex Tales (Thomas Hardy), Let the Right One In (John Ajvide Lindqvist). Would have had another three Abercrombies and an extra Liu in contention without the one book per author rule. And a big shout out to Merphy Napier who just wouldn't stop going on about Locke Lamora on her channel at the end of 2019 - really good call on that one. Talking of recommendations, Kings of the Wyld is a special offer here in the UK today. Well... I had to, didn't I? And Piranesi. And Revelation Space. Restocking the ebooks for a (hopefully) saner year!
Hi Mike.This year I read 196 books. Here are a few of my favorites. Battle Ground by JB Shadow of the Conqueror by Shad Brooks Rhythm of War by BS Troubled Blood by Robert Galbraith Ashes of the SuN by Django Wexler Dragontiarna books by Jonathan Moeller A Testament of Steel by Davis Ashura The Tiger’s Wrath by Marc Alan Edelheit Relentless: A Drizzt Novel by R. A. Salvatore Paternus: War of Gods by Dyrk Ashton The Black Song by Anthony Ryan Return of a Warlord by R.K. Lander Morning Star by Pierce Brown
I read 24 this year, following the one per author rule my favourites would be: 1) Best Served Cold /Joe Abercrombie 2) Words of Radiance / Brandon Sanderson 3) Summer Knight / Jim Butcher 4) Artificial Condition / Martha Wells 5) The Rise of Kyoshi / F.C Yee (that one may be due to a healthy dose of nostalgia but meh I really enjoyed it 😅)
Need to check out The Shadow Of What Was Lost (those covers look amazing too). I finished 47 books this year (with a few chonkers thrown in the mix) For me it was: 10. Mistborn: The Final Empire 9. Elric Of Melnibone 8. Total Recall (The Arnold Schwarzenegger Autobiography) 7. Stillness Is The Key 6. Wool 5. Dune 4. Grave Peril 3. The Stand 2. A Memory Of Light 1. The Way Of Kings
I read a lot of books this year and the best I read were ( not in order) 1. The way of kings/ Words of radiance 2. A memory of light 3. Last argument of kings 4. Ruin 5. The heroes
my top 5 with a couple of honorable mentions. 1: A Theft of Swords by Michael J Sullivan. Just love Royce and Hadrian. Books 3 and 4 are a bit slower but books 1 and 2 (combined) is awesome. 2:The Harp of Kings by Juliet Marillier. Forgotten how much I enjoy her books and an added bonus she is a Kiwi. 3:Ruin by John Gwynne. Hell lets put all his books here cause they are amazing. 4:Kill the Father by Sandrone Dazieri Great for the fantasy burn out and a fast paced action read. 5:The Outsider by Stephen King Still an amazing writer. plus Scarecrow by Matthew Reilly, fast paced action read. The Waking Fire by Anthony Ryan, what can I say but DRAGONS and to finish it off Thief's Magic by Trudi Caravan cause I wanted to read more female fantasy writers.
I read 39 books this year. My Top 5: 1.) The Living Dead by George Romero & Daniel Kraus 2.) The Geek's Guide to Unrequited Love by Sarvenaz Tash 3.) Christine by Stephen King 4.) Running with Lions by Julian Winters 5.) Star Wars Galaxy's Edge: Black Spire by Delilah S. Dawson
If I go top 10 with one book per author with the year I had... Jim Butcher, Robin Hobb, Brent Weeks, and Joe Abercrombie... I can barely make a list. So, my top10 with 39 books read this year with two books per author max, is: 10. Emperor's Soul - Brandon Sanderson 9. Tombs of Atuan - Ursula K. Le Guin 8. Broken Eye - Brent Weeks 7. Royal Assassin - Robin Hobb 6. Black Prism - Brent Weeks 5. Assassin's Apprentice - Robin Hobb 4. Red Country - Joe Abercrombie 3. Ghost Story - Jim Butcher 2. Before they are hanged - Joe Abercrombie 1. Changes - Jim Butcher With one book per author books that would make the list: Lies of Locke Lamora, Promise of Blood, The Master and Margarita, and Guards! Guards!
Idea for 2021 (or 2022) if you're looking for a great palate cleansing: try a book from Robert McCammon 😀 he started as a horror writer (Swan Song or The Wolf's Hour) and every American male favorite, 60s thriller/fantasy/coming of age "Boy's Life"
Not 10 and in no particular order; The Player of Games - Iain M Banks Word for World is Forest - LeGuin God Emperor of Dune - Frank Herbert The Stand - Stephen King Animal Farm - George Orwell Words of Radiance - Brandon Sanderson Last Argument of Kings - Joe Abercrombie Lord of the Rings - Tolkien I Robot - Asimov
Actually kinda slow year for books, I read 35 new books. Top 10 10: things you save in a fire 9: cinder spires: Astronaut windlass 8:one second after 7: an unkindness of magician 6: Neverwhere 5: witches of Ash and Ruin 4:between burning world's 3: Season of storms 2: Captains Fury 1: Battleground( I read changes December 2019 otherwise would be that one)
Hey bookworms! Excited to narrow down all the books I read this year to my 10 favorite. Here is everything I read this year, for those interested.
1. Grave Peril - Jim Butcher
2. The Crown Conspiracy - Michael J. Sullivan
3. Avempartha - Michael J. Sullivan
4. Harry Potter & the Sorcerer’s Stone - JK Rowling (Reading with kids)
5. Summer Knight - Jim Butcher
6. Elantris - Brandon Sanderson
7. The Colour Out of Space - HP Lovecraft
8. The Hope of Elantris - Brandon Sanderson
9. The Emperor’s Soul - Brandon Sanderson
10. The Rage of Dragons - Evan Winter
11. Locke & Key (Welcome to Lovecraft) - Joe Hill
12. Locke & Key (Head Games) - Joe Hill
13. Death Masks - Jim Butcher
14. Winter’s Heart - Robert Jordan
15. Warbreaker - Brandon Sanderson
16. Blood Rites - Jim Butcher
17. The Outsider - Stephen King
18. Crossroads of Twilight - Robert Jordan
19. New Spring - Robert Jordan
20. Harry Potter & The Chamber of Secrets - JK Rowling (Reading with kids)
21. Knife of Dreams - Robert Jordan
22. The Gathering Storm - Robert Jordan w/ Brandon Sanderson
23. Dead Beat - Jim Butcher
24. Proven Guilty - Jim Butcher
25. Towers of Midnight - Robert Jordan w/ Brandon Sanderson
26. White Night - Jim Butcher
27. A Memory of Light - Robert Jordan w/ Brandon Sanderson
28. Malice - John Gwynne
29. Harry Potter & The Prisoner of Azkaban - JK Rowling (Reading with kids)
30. Small Favor - Jim Butcher
31. Valour - John Gwynne
32. The Eleventh Metal - Brandon Sanderson
33. Turn Coat - Jim Butcher
34. Ruin - John Gwynne
35. The Alloy of Law - Brandon Sanderson
36. Changes - Jim Butcher
37. Aftermath - Jim Butcher
38. Ghost Story - Jim Butcher
39. Cold Days - Jim Butcher
40. Wrath - John Gwynne
41. Skin Game - Jim Butcher
42. The Gunslinger - Stephen King
43. Peace Talks - Jim Butcher
44. Shadows of Self - Brandon Sanderson
45. Nyphron Rising - Michael J. Sullivan
46. The Emerald Storm - Michael J. Sullivan
47. Something Wicked This Way Comes - Ray Bradbury
48. At the Mountains of Madness - HP Lovecraft
49. Traitor’s Blade - Sebastien De Castell
50. A Time of Dread - John Gwynne
51. The Bands of Mourning - Brandon Sanderson
52. The Shadow of What Was Lost - James Islington
53. The Trouble with Peace - Joe Abercrombie
54. An Echo of Things to Come - James Islington
55. Knight’s Shadow - Sebastien De Castell
56. The Light of All That Falls - James Islington
57. Battle Ground - Jim Butcher
58. The Willows - Algernon Blackwood
59. The Hunger - Alma Katsu
60. A Time of Blood - John Gwynne
61. Saint’s Blood - Sebastien De Castell
62. Weaveworld - Clive Barker
63. The Eyes of the Dragon - Stephen King
64. Empire of Silence - Christopher Ruocchio
65. A Time of Courage - John Gwynne
66. The Fires of Vengeance - Evan Winter
67. Dawnshard - Brandon Sanderson
68. Tyrant’s Throne - Sebastien De Castell
69. Rhythm of War - Brandon Sanderson
70. Kings of the Wyld - Nicholas Eames
71. The Martian - Andy Weir
72. The Talisman - Stephen King & Peter Straub
73. Kings of Paradise - Richard Nell
DNF/Will Come Back to Later
1. Emperor of Thorns - Mark Lawrence
2. The Time of Contempt - Andrzej Sapkowski
Still in Progress
1. Harry Potter & The Goblet of Fire - JK Rowling (reading wi
th kids)
that's it?
I only just finished Changes and Aftermath a few days ago and still trying to process it all emotionally. I figured I’ll pick up Dresden again after I read the first Malazan
That is impressive. I think the most I have read in a year is 56 novels. That was in 2018 after my father died and my husband and I started having issues. Thankfully we worked through it. Maybe it’s because I had my nose in books and ignored everything? We’ll never know.
Didn’t you read Mistborn secret history too? Cause it isn’t on the list.
Illegal amount of books
mikey's awards would be an awesome way to close out the year! best in category, best debut, best fictional character, best new author, best of the year.
Hmm...let's reassess in December of 2021.
@@mikesbookreviews You're giving us hope
I finished 32 books this year starting in April. I gave 3 books 5 star ratings, so I’ll call them my top three, ha.
1. Misery - Stephen King
2. IT - Stephen King
3. The Picture Of Dorian Gray - Oscar Wilde
I’ve really enjoyed your channel, looking forward to more videos in 2021, Cheers!
Picture of Dorian Gray is so good! It surprised me immensely!
Thanks! And I'll always love a list that has King at the top.
"Dorian Gray" has some of the best dialogue I've ever read.
I haven't had the chance to read "It" yet, but I also read Misery this year, and I really enjoyed it as well.
WOW 73 books!! I read 17 this year, I thought that was a lot. PS that Thundercats shirt is awesome.
Btw, just want to say I really appreciate your channel. I love the more mature presentation and your calm and collected perspectives. You convinced me of First Law and it's now one of my favorite stories of all time.
My top 10 out of the 47 I read this year. RoW would probably be around 11 or 12.
1. A Memory of Light
2. Hyperion
3. Best Served Cold
4. First Law Trilogy
5. End of Watch
6. Oathbringer
7. Jaws
8. Tales of the South Pacific
9. Farnham’s Freehold
10. The Haunting of Hill House
JAWS! Awesome.
Interesting. I keep hearing everyone saying that End of watch is bad
TRUTHHHHH ANDDDD COURRRAGGGGGEEEEEEEE!!!!!!
I knew you'd approve.
All wings of the John Gwynne fan club, report in!!!!
Gathering Storm is one of my favorites in the WoT series too -- some iconic scenes in there. Hearing you talk about it in your earlier review has made me decide I've got to try Kings of the Wyld next year. Great to see The Trouble with Peace in there -- I think it would be in my top three for the year. That is a beautiful edition of Warbreaker! I'll be reading Gravel Peril soon, but I've got a long way to go to catch up to you in the Dresden Files. Malice is amazing so far, so I can't wait to get to Ruin! That's an impressive year of reading, my friend. May you have great fulfillment from your reading in 2021!
Warbreaker is my favorite book ever!!! I just love everything about it and as you mentioned vivenna quickly became my favorite female character in any book I read! Her character development was amazing in every way possible! I wish we get a second book soon:,) meanwhile I will be starting mistborn soooon yay
Vivenna is just awesome.
I found your channel in March (I think) and you were probably the big contributor to reigniting my love for reading. Got me out of my reading slump so thanks!
Great top 10 (I would SO watch the Mikeys!!!).
I haven't read as many books as usual because the whole virus thing threw me off my reading mojo. But amongst my favourites this year have been Poppy War and Dragon Republic, Rage of Dragons and Fires of Vengeance, the Bear and the Nightingale trilogy, A long way to a small angry planet, and Terry Pratchett's Truth (the one about the newspaper). However my absolute top read this year was The Sword of Kaigen - granted a slow start, but ends up being a great story with absolute gut punching twists (as a Mum of boys this book totally broke me).
I look forward to your brilliant book reviews in the year ahead 😊
Been waiting for this for days now. Always a pleasure watching your videos
Thanks!
That's it. Gonna order John Gwynne now. Thanks for the channel btw! As a guy under 30 years old I do enjoy Daniel Greenes and such but your mature and calm approach (as mentioned dozen times in your comment sections) makes me check your channel quite often.
Thanks for watching!
I don’t think I read quite as many as you this year, Mike (but close!). My top 5 are:
1. First Law Trilogy - Joe Abercrombie
2. The Lord of the Rings - J R R Tolkien
3. Pet Sematary - Stephen King
4. The Stand - Stephen King
5. Crash - J G Ballard
Currently 2/3 through The Road (Cormac McCarthy) and man is it desperate but some of the passages are just beautiful.
Keep doing what you’re doing Mike, and all the best for 2021!
That's some strong picks. I wish I could experience The Stand again for the first time.
@@mikesbookreviews Me too, it’s such an absorbing book. Hopefully I’ll get around to it again and find new things in it
I love that you're wearing a ThunderCats shirt! That's great.
1Howling Dark - Chris Ruicchio. ( this went into my top 3 series )
2Rhythm of War
3The Hod King- Josiah Bancroft
4The Light of all that Falls -Jame Islington
5The Dragonbone Chair - Tad Williams( if you can get past first 200 pages , it’s a special book) I almost quit at one point
6Priest of Bones - Peter McLean( you’ll enjoy this series )
7Core - Peter Brett ( you should finish this series)
8Jade City - Fonda Lee
9Holy Sister - Mark Lawrence
10Kings of Paradise - Richard Nell (was disappointed with the next 2 )
11The lost War - Justin Lee Anderson
12 Crimson Campaign - Brian Mcclellan
59 books
Great list Mike. I’ll have to read Warbreaker ASAP
This was my first big year of reading. I read 25 books which I know isn't much (but I'm proud of it anyway!) Did you find that once you started getting into reading you started reading faster and getting through more books? Thanks!
As a matter of fact it’s a LOT. Congratulations! Reading is not a race. If you read one book per month it’s an excellent accomplishment.
I read 30 this year, Mistborn was my favorite top 3 :)
Good picks.
My top books this year
1. Old Man's War: John Scalzi
2. Promise Of Blood: Brian McCllenan
3. Best Served Cold: Lord Grimdark
4. Red Sister: Mark Lawrence
5. Red Rising: Pierce Brown
6. Elric Of Melniboné: Michael Moorecock
7. Time Of Contempt: Andrezj Sapkowski
8. The Thief Who Pulled On Troubles Braids: Michael McClung.
Read alot this year, but tried sticking to the one book per author rule. 2021 reading is packed and I'm excited.
Great vid as always.
Similar to u I did not go into warbreaker expecting much and was caught off guard by how good it was. Yes the ending was quick but I still loved it. Once in a while I like it when things r just so nicely and quickly wrapped up in a way that makes sense, it was actually a quite satisfying ending
For sure. I think we've just been trained to expect huge endings in Sando books.
Wonderful video. Read all these except for Butcher and Warbreaker, which is one of the only Sanderson's I have not read. Lastly Ruin, read Mailce, but haven't had the time to move forward. With Malazan and other books to get to, it will be a quite a year. So many.
Read my first Fantasy book The kings of the Wyld based on your review. keep up the great reviews.
I love your channel so much Mike. I love that you do horror on top of fantasy and sci fi. You say it like you see it.
Thanks! Merry Christmas.
Man, you've got a way of breaking my heart and making my day all in the span of 2 videos. I am pumped that THEFT OF SWORDS made your "best" list. As you may recall, Riyria Revelations is my favorite series. But then you broke my heart by placing RISE OF EMPIRE (namely, "The Emerald Storm") in your "disappointing" list. But I can understand your points. Just make sure you read HEIR OF NOVRON soon. Incredible ending to a great series.
Hi Mike
Kings of the Wyld is excellent! Listened to the Audiobook a few years back. Is Bloody Rose the next one in the series. Not as good in my opinion!
Yes! I was hoping to see "Changes" in the list. Glad to see you ranked it so highly.
I had Warbreaker as number 3 too! I also had Malice, Theft of Swords, and Kings of the Wyld in my top 10
Thanks again Mike, I picked up The Empire of Silence for some sci fi pallet cleansing and boy did it go down smooth. One of the rare few series that I just couldn't put down until I was finished with three books that are out. Only shame is that I need to wait for the next installment. On to the Theft of Swords, let's see what's that about. I have read the rest of the list, except Dresden Files, for some reason it just doesn't speak to me, maybe one day. I'm really glad you liked Gwynne as you did, his books felt like such a perfect fit for you while reading them.
Great list! I need to read Ryria for sure and then continue with Faithful and the Fallen and Dresden! I'm reading Valor in January!
Hey Mike. I'm really enjoying your channel. Subscribed. I recent bought a kindle Oasis, as in typical fashion, i read way way more than ever before it.. took me months to finish Dune in paperback although i really enjoyed it, and I've read 12 books in three weeks since i got the Kindle. Almost exclusively scifi. Keep up the good content, keep up the sci Fi predominantly, and I'll keep on watching. Thanks for some good recommendations, i started Hyperion yesterday. Planning on reading the leviathan series after that, i think space opera is my jam. If you're interested in a really fun, cheap, Amazon scifi opera, try Mars colony. No aliens.
Very hard to order these.
1. Before they are Hanged
2. Ruin
3. Wizard and Glass
4. Dune
5. Last Argument of Kings
6. The Waste Lands
7. Wrath
8. Fahrenheit 451
9. God Emperor of Dune
10. The Gunslinger
The Stand, Dune, Dragon Reborn, top 3 of 2020 for me. finished The Stand in january it really set a weird tone for the year, in Ready player 2 and Shadow Rising to finish out the year.
Can't wait to read John Gwynne. Nice list Mike. Here's my top 5:
1. The Heroes
2. Wizard of Earthsea
3. Hero of Ages
4. 11/22/63
5. The Nightingale (WW2 Historical fiction)
78 books read this year and a lot have been on recommendations from you and Petrik! I entirely agree with your top 2, they’re right up there in my top 5 of the year.
Great list Mike you have really inspired me to read much more. I’ve read the first 7 books of The Wheel of Time all of The Storm Light Warbreaker The Licanus trilogy and I’m starting Malice ... Thank you Mike for all your great recommendations. I’ll wait to see how you like Malazan before I start another series.... I’ll let you do the hard work 😅
I've enjoyed the crime series by King as of late. Liked the characters. I'll have to look up you video on The Outsider.
Haven’t done one yet but I loved the book.
I read 76 books this year because of yours and a few other great channels. Before this I would’ve been lucky to finish a book a year if that. So for that I thank you. This is my top ten a few of the same authors
1. Mistborn both 1&3 top books this year. Brandon Sanderson
2. Royal assassin. Robin Hobb (reread)
3. Last argument of kings. Joe Abercrombie
4. The great hunt. Robert Jordan
5. A sword of swords. GRRM
6. Enders game. Orson Scott Card
7. Starsight. Brandon Sanderson
8. Magician. Raymond E Reist
9. Jurassic Park. Michael Crichton (reread)
10. The stand or pet sematary. Stephen King
I've read 45 books this year. I have a broader mix of titles in my reading diet. Two of my favorites of the year kind of intersect with what you like to read. I was totally blown away by the horror novel The Only Good Indians by Stephen Graham Jones told from the viewpoint of Native American characters and including myths of the American West. I also read a vastly entertaining mystery/dark fantasy type book by Jeff Noon called The Body Library. It has a Twin Peaks or Twilight Zone vibe to it where the explanations for things and people don't square with our reality. You might enjoy both of them yourself. Happy New Year!
P.S. I listened to you talk about Joe Abercrombie so much I decided to try his books. He's a little out of my wheelhouse but he writes with such wit and creativity I'll be fine with visiting his world from time to time. I read Sharp Ends to get a taste of what he does. I liked it. I'll probably re-read that one after I've read The First Law trilogy.
Ive been watching your vids since the pandemic while working ! love your stuff
John Gwynne is so awesome! I'm glad he made your #1 spot. Also glad that Warbreaker made it on your list. Loved that one! I read The Faithful and the Fallen this year and am finishing up Of Blood and Bone now. Are you going to do a review for Of Blood and Bone? I'd like to hear your thoughts :)
I'm so glad you love Faithful and the Fallen and have introduced so many more people to his books! I adore him and tell EVERYONE to read his stuff! 🙌
Read 39 books in 2020. Read all of the WoT thanks to this channel
that fight scene in ruin! ahhh it gave me chills reading it!
Soooooooooooooo good.
I've read 105 this year, so a solid list for me. I read a lot of genres, so my list may be different than others on there. And I also give a series a single entry instead of just picking a book.
1. Wheel of Time
2. The Stand (I include re-reads)
3. Mistborn Trilogy (Era 1) (never read Sanderson until this year - have a lot of catching up to do!)
4. The Summer Guest - Justin Cronin
5. Norwegian Wood - Haruki Murakami
6. Of Mice and Men
7. A Column of Fire - Ken Follett
8. Oryx and Crake - Margaret Atwood
9. Kafka on the Shore - Haruki Murakami
10. Where the Crawdads Sing - Delia Owens
I just completed reading Malice, really loved it, am glad I've read it!! Thanks to you for your though
My top 5:
1.Words of Radiance-Brandon Sanderson
2.Changes-Jim Butcher
3.Last Argument of Kings-Joe Abercrombie
4.Matilda-Roald Dahl
5.Rhythm of War-Brandon Sanderson
I just got the first law trilogy. About halfway through book 1. And thank you for turning me on to this!
Great list! Mine would be:
1. Enders Game
2. Mort (Terry Pratchett)
3. 1984
4. The Pale Horsemen (Saxon Stories #2)
5. Bag of Bones (Stephen King)
6. The Eye of the World
7. Dead Beat
8. The Burning Land (Saxon Stories #5)
9. Before they are hanged
10. Concrete Blonde (Harry Bosch series)
If I go by your rules of not having multiple books from the same author then my top 10 would be :
10. Lord of Chaos by R. Jordan
9. The Kings of Paradise by Richard Nell
8. Fires of Vengeance by Evan Winter
7. The Burning God by R.F Kuang
6. The Hod King by Josiah Bancroft
5. Mistborn : The Final Empire by Brandon Sanderson
4. Red Sister by Mark Lawrence
3. Ruin by John Gwynne
2. The Trouble with Peace by Lord Grimdark ( who sups tea )
1. King of Assassins by R.J Barker
Sounds like I need to read some RJ Barker.
Heir of Novron broke my best book of the year slot. I read it last month. All year since March Wanderers has been my best book of the year I COULDNT see anyone stealing that spot till I read Heir of Novron. Hurry up and finish that shit!!!!!!
Ha ha it'll happen.
Very nice list, I've read most of those (and have 2 more on my tbr now). You also induced me to begin (and finish) a Harry Dresden Marathon this year, including the short stories.
I also think Licanius gets too much flak.
67 books this year, mostly fantasy. I'll turn my attention more back towards history this year, though.
MY top 10 in no particular order for 2020
M.L. Wang - The Sword of Kaigen
Madeline Miller - Circe
Jim Butcher - Changes
Isaac Asimov - Foundation
A Knight of Seven Kingdoms - George R.R. Martin
Joe Abercrombie - Best Served Cold
Brandon Sanderson - Elantris
John Gwynne - Valor
Guy Gavriel Kay - The Darkest Road
Mark Lawrence - Grey Sister
I might try to fit in a GGK book for the first time next year.
Vivenna is in Stormlight. Read Oathbringer again. She doesn't go by the name Vivenna in that book, but you can tell it is her. I'm hoping she will show up in book 5 as well.
I took two things away from this.... 1. Moving The Faithful and the Fallen up in my TBR. 2. I need to buy Warbreaker leatherbound somehow.
I'm so happy you liked Warbreaker! It's one of my favorites this year too. And yes, Changes is worth the hype!
KOTW was my fav book I read this year. Hadn’t had that much fun in a book in a long time! My first book of 21 will be Martha Wells sci-fi book in her Murderbot series.
I have kept to the 1 book per author rule otherwise this list would be 70% Joe Abercrombie
1. Best Served cold by Joe Abercrombie
2. Dark Age by Pierce Brown
3. The Stand by Stephen King
4. Memories of Ice by Steven Erikson
5. A Memory of light by Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson
6. King of Thorns by Mark Lawerence
7. Baptism of Fire by Andrej Sapkowski
8. Priest of Lies by Peter McLean
9. Jade War by Fonda Lee
10. The lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch
Ha ha, yeah I'd have had 5 John Gwynne books on mine probably.
Oh man I'm so eager to start The Faithful and the Fallen in January. Seems like its on everyone's best of the year list!
My top 5 because I'm too lazy for 10:
1. Fools Errand by Robin Hobb (though everything I read by her this year was incredible)
2. Dark Age by Pierce Brown
3. The Lions of Al-Rassan by Guy Gavriel Kay
4. Holy Sister by Mark Lawrence
5. Assassins Quest by Robin Hobb
Excited to start Robin Hobb for the first time next year.
Hard to narrow down but my Top three are Rage of Dragons, MorningStar, and Royal Assassin
My TBR for 2021 just got a little longer :o
Always happy to help.
I only got into reading again near the end of last year after years of not reading very much. 90% of the books I read this year were King, and I've loved just about all of them, but I also read Clive Barker's Books of Blood Vol 1-3 and man are they good. I've also got many on my "to read" list thanks to your channel. Going to try Dune soon thanks to you. Happy New Year, and thanks for inspiring me to start reading more horror, fantasy and sci fi!
Top ten, in no particular order:
Stalingrad - Antony Beevor
The Price of Glory: Verdun 1916 - Alistair Horne
The Guns at Last Light - Rick Atkinson
Life of Pi - Yann Martel
Ruin - John Gwynne
Valor - John Gwynne
Way of Kings - Brandon Sanderson
The Revenant - Michael Punke
Hell is Empty - Craig Johnson
The Cold Dish - Craig Johnson
Nice to hear a shout out to Terry Brooks ... I always enjoyed his books.
Big ups for Stalingrad, his best book for me
@@procrastinatingperfectioni278 Yes, excellent! Incredible what went on there, really not that long ago.
I read 26 books in the first 6 months of the year (which is around my normal pace of 4-5 a month), but only 4 in the second 6 months as corona lockdown fatigue/work really cut into my reading time. I'd say my top 5 reads were:
1. Parable of the Sower (Earthseed) - Octavia Butler
2. The Lady of The Lake (The Witcher) - Andrzej Sapkowski
3. Battle Ground (The Dresden Files) - Jim Butcher
4. All Systems Red (The Murderbot Diaries) - Martha Wells
5. Rage of Dragons (The Burning) - Evan Winder
Honorable mentions: Gideon the Ninth, Why We're Polarized, Ninefox Gambit, and The House of the Spirits.
People on the internet: “I didn’t like Licanius because it isn’t as good as Wot”
Mike: “Oh, I see” *Puts Shadow of what was lost one spot higher than Gathering Storm*
Yeasss!! first fantasy book series I binged all three volumes in like 2 months. I kept gasping while reading Riyria lol. I also have the Age of Series...aah you don't even know lol!!
As someone who is moderately into sci-fi and fantasy (getting nervous the farther into Dark Tower I get) but is a bookworm overall, really enjoy the channel! Loved the Michael Crichton video. Do you have thoughts on Robert Heinlein?
Out of the 101 books I have read this year.
1. the terror by Dan simmons
2. Sphere by Michael crichton
3. the magic cottage by James herbert
4. The honor of duty by a. r. Arand
5. Captain James cook biography by Richard hough
6. The road by cormac Mccarthy
7. Disclosure by Michael crichton
8. Dungeon goddess by gideon Caldwell
9. Waterloo by Bernard cornwell
10. The gladiator by Simon scarrow
im not a heavy reader especially this year but ive spent the past 6-7 months trying to get thru path of daggers by robert jordan. i will finish it before 2021. watchin this channel gives me motivation and gets me excited to read
10: Fahrenheit 451: Ray Bradbury
9: The Power of Now: Eckhart Tolle
8: Heart Bones: Coleen Hoover
7: Tyrant’s Throne: Sebastian De Castell
6: Hero of Ages: Brandon Sanderson
5: Death of a Salesman: Arthur Miller
4: Reading with the Right Brain: David Butler
3: Fellowship of the Ring: JRR Tolkien
2: Golden Son: Pierce Brown
1: Half Blood Prince: JK Rowling
I may start Morning Star soon though, so this is subject to change of course ;)
My Top 10 for 2020
10. Disgrace by Jussi Adler-Olsen
9. A Game Of Thrones by George R. R. Martin
8. The Lies Of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch
7. All Hell Let Loose by Max Hastings
6. Flowers For Algernon by Daniel Keyes
5. Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card
4. The Day Of The Triffids by John Wyndham
3. Dune by Frank Herbert
2. The Trouble With Peace by Joe Abercrombie
1. World War Z: An Oral History Of The Zombie War by Max Brooks
I got to 95 books this year (go figure, staying inside = more reading)
In terms of books published in 2020, Addie Larue, Rhythm of War and Trouble With Peace would be up there
In terms of books I read this year “Ruin” by John Gwynne and “Blackest Heart” by Brian Lee Durfee would be my top picks
Yeah, I'm sure my output will be different next year, too. I'm setting a goal of 45.
Honorable Mention since it isn't exactly new: LotR. #4 The Blade Itself(lower since the book was a starter/non-standalone), #3 Rage of Dragons, #2 Poppy Wars books 1-2. #1 Mistborn trilogy /Warbreaker. If I have to pick one book, The Hero of Ages. The rest of First Law is slated for January. I'm glad Sanderson wants to add more to Warbreaker. Some of his characters in it were fantastic. Favorite non-fiction was Just Mercy.
love Theft of Swords and the entire series so much. Can't recommend anything MJS writes enough
Tough tough tough
5. The Heir of Novron - Sullivan
4. Wrath - Gwynn
3. Mistborn 1 - Sanderson
2. The Light of all that Falls - Islington
1. The Name of the Wind - Rothfuss
Riyria Revelations is one of my favorites! Make time to finish it, book 3 pays off really well! Also check out Riyria Chronicles if you want more fun adventures of Royce and Hadrian, gives them a lot of backstory with some fun easter eggs.
My top 10 out of 62 books this year are
1. The Lords of the North, Bernard Cornwell
2. Fires of vengeance, Evan Winter
3. Time of Courage, John Gwynne
4. Rhythm of War, Brandon Sanderson
5. The trouble with peace, Joe Abercrombie
6. Dead Beat, Jim Butcher
7. Jurrasic Park, Michael Crichton
8. Tigana, Guy Gavriel Kay
9. The Green Mile, Stephen King
10. Speaker for the Dead, Orson Scott Card
Best channel I found this year;
Mike!
I also enjoy the discord too much.
I'll cut out both my Dresden and First Law re-reads (2 of my 3 favourite series), otherwise, they would crowd my top 11 a bit too much ^^
1. The Deep by Nick Cutter
2. Manifest Delusions Series by Michael R. Fletcher
3. Demon Cycle Series by Peter V. Brett
3. 11/22/63 by Stephen King
4. The Troop by Nick Cutter
5. A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles
6. Kings of the Wyld by Nicholas Eames
7. The Hollow Places by T. Kingfisher
8. Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik
9. Children of Time by Adrian Tchaikovsky
10. Siódemka by Ziemowit Szczerek
11. Piranesi by Susanna Clarke
Dude, you're killing my TBR list, I've had to add so many new books based on your reviews. :D
Just finished Artemis by Andy Weir a few weeks ago, and it was pretty good. Wildly different from The Martian, so don't go in expecting a sequel, but it does have some of the same features (set in space, technology-based, and very funny). I still definitely recommend it though, it was fun!
I had such a mixed bag this year in my top books
8. Battle Royale by Koushun Takami
7. The Princess Bride by William Goldman
6. The Secret History by Donna Tartt
5. The Well of Ascension by Brandon Sanderson
4. The Shining by Stephen King
3. Red, White & Royal Blue by Casie McQuiston
2. Columbine by Dave Cullen
1. A Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller
(my top 3 can be pretty interchangeable depending what day you ask me)
I've either read most of these or have them on my shelf already, nice. I was able to add two more books to my tbr though, thanks!
One my fav finds this year as been your channel. Thanks for all you do.
I managed to read 82 books this year...possibly 83 if I can just make myself sit down and finish the Fires of Vengeance.
10. Musical Misfires by Mark A. Robinson
9. Double Star by Robert A. Heinlein
8. If it Bleeds by Stephen King
7. Middlegame by Seanan McGuire
6. Injustice: Year One by Tom Taylor
5. Superman: The Unofficial Biography by Glenn Weldon
4. Godsgrave by Jay Kristoff
3. Battle Ground by Jim Butcher (if we're picking one for the list)
2. The Lathe of Heaven by Ursula K. Le Guin
1. Once There Was a Way: What if The Beatles Stayed Together? by Bryce Zabel
64 books finished since I started tracking them in May.
Top top, going by your rules of no rereads and one book per author in no specific order:
The Poppy War, R.F. Kuang
Harrow The Ninth, Tamsyn Muir
Old Man's War, John Scalzi
Battle Ground, Jim Butcher
Bright Steel, Miles Cameron
The Fires of Vengeance, Evan Winters
Ninefox Gambit, Yoon Ha lee
The Belly Of The Bow, K.J. Parker
Guns of the Dawn, Adrian Tchaikovsky
Priest of Bones, Peter Mclean
Top 5 (of 131) for me, in no particular order:
The Lies of Locke Lamora - Scott Lynch
David Copperfield - Charles Dickens
The Green Mile - Stephen King
Death's End - Cixin Liu
Best Served Cold - Joe Abercromie
Honourable mentions: Stardust (Neil Gaiman), I Am Legend (Richard Matheson), Wessex Tales (Thomas Hardy), Let the Right One In (John Ajvide Lindqvist).
Would have had another three Abercrombies and an extra Liu in contention without the one book per author rule.
And a big shout out to Merphy Napier who just wouldn't stop going on about Locke Lamora on her channel at the end of 2019 - really good call on that one.
Talking of recommendations, Kings of the Wyld is a special offer here in the UK today. Well... I had to, didn't I? And Piranesi. And Revelation Space. Restocking the ebooks for a (hopefully) saner year!
Hi Mike.This year I read 196 books. Here are a few of my favorites.
Battle Ground by JB
Shadow of the Conqueror by Shad Brooks
Rhythm of War by BS
Troubled Blood by Robert Galbraith
Ashes of the SuN by Django Wexler
Dragontiarna books by Jonathan Moeller
A Testament of Steel by Davis Ashura
The Tiger’s Wrath by Marc Alan Edelheit
Relentless: A Drizzt Novel by R. A. Salvatore
Paternus: War of Gods by Dyrk Ashton
The Black Song by Anthony Ryan
Return of a Warlord by R.K. Lander
Morning Star by Pierce Brown
I read 24 this year, following the one per author rule my favourites would be:
1) Best Served Cold /Joe Abercrombie
2) Words of Radiance / Brandon Sanderson
3) Summer Knight / Jim Butcher
4) Artificial Condition / Martha Wells
5) The Rise of Kyoshi / F.C Yee (that one may be due to a healthy dose of nostalgia but meh I really enjoyed it 😅)
Need to check out The Shadow Of What Was Lost (those covers look amazing too). I finished 47 books this year (with a few chonkers thrown in the mix)
For me it was:
10. Mistborn: The Final Empire
9. Elric Of Melnibone
8. Total Recall (The Arnold Schwarzenegger Autobiography)
7. Stillness Is The Key
6. Wool
5. Dune
4. Grave Peril
3. The Stand
2. A Memory Of Light
1. The Way Of Kings
I read a lot of books this year and the best I read were ( not in order)
1. The way of kings/ Words of radiance
2. A memory of light
3. Last argument of kings
4. Ruin
5. The heroes
my top 5 with a couple of honorable mentions.
1: A Theft of Swords by Michael J Sullivan.
Just love Royce and Hadrian. Books 3 and 4 are a bit slower but books 1 and 2 (combined) is awesome.
2:The Harp of Kings by Juliet Marillier.
Forgotten how much I enjoy her books and an added bonus she is a Kiwi.
3:Ruin by John Gwynne.
Hell lets put all his books here cause they are amazing.
4:Kill the Father by Sandrone Dazieri
Great for the fantasy burn out and a fast paced action read.
5:The Outsider by Stephen King
Still an amazing writer.
plus Scarecrow by Matthew Reilly, fast paced action read. The Waking Fire by Anthony Ryan, what can I say but DRAGONS and to finish it off Thief's Magic by Trudi Caravan cause I wanted to read more female fantasy writers.
quickly becoming my reference booktuber my good man
Top 5:
1. Rhythm of War
2. The Trouble with Peace
3. The Lies of Locke Lamora
4. Red Rising
5. Kings of the Wyld
I read 39 books this year. My Top 5:
1.) The Living Dead by George Romero & Daniel Kraus
2.) The Geek's Guide to Unrequited Love by Sarvenaz Tash
3.) Christine by Stephen King
4.) Running with Lions by Julian Winters
5.) Star Wars Galaxy's Edge: Black Spire by Delilah S. Dawson
Love the t-shirts! Thundercaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaatts!!! And of course good list of books :-)
If I go top 10 with one book per author with the year I had... Jim Butcher, Robin Hobb, Brent Weeks, and Joe Abercrombie... I can barely make a list.
So, my top10 with 39 books read this year with two books per author max, is:
10. Emperor's Soul - Brandon Sanderson
9. Tombs of Atuan - Ursula K. Le Guin
8. Broken Eye - Brent Weeks
7. Royal Assassin - Robin Hobb
6. Black Prism - Brent Weeks
5. Assassin's Apprentice - Robin Hobb
4. Red Country - Joe Abercrombie
3. Ghost Story - Jim Butcher
2. Before they are hanged - Joe Abercrombie
1. Changes - Jim Butcher
With one book per author books that would make the list: Lies of Locke Lamora, Promise of Blood, The Master and Margarita, and Guards! Guards!
Idea for 2021 (or 2022) if you're looking for a great palate cleansing: try a book from Robert McCammon 😀 he started as a horror writer (Swan Song or The Wolf's Hour) and every American male favorite, 60s thriller/fantasy/coming of age "Boy's Life"
Not 10 and in no particular order;
The Player of Games - Iain M Banks
Word for World is Forest - LeGuin
God Emperor of Dune - Frank Herbert
The Stand - Stephen King
Animal Farm - George Orwell
Words of Radiance - Brandon Sanderson
Last Argument of Kings - Joe Abercrombie
Lord of the Rings - Tolkien
I Robot - Asimov
Ugh i wish i didn't missed AGAIN the sales for warbreaker in leatherbound :'( it's a cuuurse !!
Actually kinda slow year for books, I read 35 new books.
Top 10
10: things you save in a fire
9: cinder spires: Astronaut windlass
8:one second after
7: an unkindness of magician
6: Neverwhere
5: witches of Ash and Ruin
4:between burning world's
3: Season of storms
2: Captains Fury
1: Battleground( I read changes December 2019 otherwise would be that one)
Ooh my favorites this year were the First Law trilogy and Name of the Wind! I also read Lord of the Rings for the first time, which was great too