Seeing you constantly give thriller books 3-3.5 stars and not love anything but picking them up anyways is giving me flashbacks to your romance era lol
22:19 I am by no means an expert, but I am a bit of a linguistics nerd. Basically, the word "psalm" has origins in ancient greek and the greek character psi (Ψ) gets romanized to "ps". This is a sound we use in English, like in words that end in ps ("snips", "clips", etc.), but is never a sound we use at the beginning of words, so we just drop the p. The same thing happens with the "ng" sound that we use at the end of words ("sing", "bring", etc.), but we never use it at the beginning of words. Similarly, Tsumani is a Japanese word and the romanized spelling "ts" represents the voiceless alveolar affricate which is a sound we don't have in English, so it just kinda gets simplified to the "s" sound, rather than the combined t and s sounds together.
I just came on here to say this! Didn't know about the ts-thing, but I knew about "ps" being originally Greek and guessed that there was probably a connection✨. Anyway, hi from a fellow linguistics nerd👋🏻
not a linguistics nerd and not a native english speaker but a psychologist lol. i was told through uni that all the "psi" words (psychology, psyquiatry, psycho etc) come from the same greek character, and we even use it as a symbol in mental health workers' unions and stuff. i never bothered to check but it does feel like a "psalm" case, where in english you just drop the p
Ah but there are plenty of "ts" sounds in English, not usually at the beginning of words except in onomatopoeia as a sizzle sound or to mimic cymbals. But quite frequent otherwise, such as Mets or jets or bits.
I wonder if the reason you don’t love besties’ favorites as much is because you have so much in common with them, so you don’t have options of what to read? Normally in other favorites videos, I feel like you have more choices. 🤷🏼♀️ just a thought
I had a similar thought. In some of those lists there was literally only one book to choose. I think the besties that get picked should also provide 10 honorable mentions to give more options.
Thank you for including me ✨ I am glad you liked Psalm For The Wild Build. I don't know why it is so popular right now anywhere else, but in Finland it has been popular because it was translated into Finnish last year. I read it in English though. And now I am excited to hear your thoughts on Bear and the Nightingale because I have been thinking I might be interested in it for a while now.
I think you struggle with the besties because our favorite books we have in common were influenced by you, so the few we don’t have in common might be in different genres we read, but you don’t read and then that common ground doesn’t apply.
I just found your channel and it is one of the most impressive channels I’ve found. The amount of content is insane! Going to binge and try to find my next read. My most recent read was Penpal. So good.
Maybe to slightly mitigate the risk of a fake list to "force" you into a specific book, or just to cast slightly broader net, you could take the options from the 10-20 people with the most in common with you and then randomly pull 5 (and maybe even give yourself a veto). (Though really I was just rooting for Crime and Punishment to be here!)
As someone who doesn’t read mystery/thriller novels very frequently, I would love spoiler talks for books like The Trap! I want to be in the know for your discussion of the book without having to actually read it haha A besties-only spoiler clip for the M/T novels you try this year would bring me so much joy!
The "knowing you're reading a book" bit is very interesting to me and also why I shy away from standard thrillers nowadays. However, I think you could like books by Janice Hallett for this reason. They're all mixed media, very self aware and play around with the mystery genre in a tongue in cheek way (and have out there endings). If you end up trying one and hate it, I never said anything haha
you know next year it might be fun to make one of those like 20 options things you do and show us going through besties things (especially if you have people make visuals again!!) and then you can choose from there!! i'd love to see you have more choice here so that you can maybe pick ones that really are calling to you in the moment
I also read A Psalm for the Wild-Built (and it's sequel) in 2024! I just think it continues to get more traction as time goes on, and with the current climate, it's a much needed breather between books. While they weren't on my favorites list and I also rated both 4 stars, they stick out in my mind as something that's a much needed respite.
Loved this video! Becky Chambers is one of my favorite authors because she’s the only author so far who writes good cozy sci-fi. Also sending all the love to your fam and Liam! I have Long COVID, specifically, it’s affected my lungs and prevents me from pushing myself physically otherwise I have a flare up where I get sick with a fever, coughing, and breathing hurts. It’s terrible and I’ve been advocating for folks to mask up these last few years. Luckily, my doctor did say that mine is “mild” (compared to the patients she treats who can’t even get up from bed) and I will heal, it will just take very, very long, and for now, it’s a chronic illness I have to deal with.
Fellow masker and disabled person here. I'm so sorry to hear you've been struggling with LC. I hope your body is able to heal in time. 💗 (I also love Becky Chambers. Nobody seems to do it quite like her!)
Let the games begin! Here's my humble suggestion for nest year, inspired by what you presented here, or maybe a suggestion for a future cideo. What if, instead of picking a book out of the besties who have read more books in common with you, why not read the most mentioned books you haven't read yet (and you have the power to veto one or two of them)? There were some very interesting books on that list.
I've definitely considered this!! But it takes away from the intent cause what if the besties with the most commonly mentioned books are also the ones who listed a whole bunch of books I hated haha 🫣
@@BooksandLala It would be more maths, but you could do what you’ve done here and score each member based on their list. Then, you could take each unread book and rank it by the average members scores of those who have listed it. And shortlist a top 20 of the books you haven’t read yet, weighted by how much you have in common with the people who recommended it.
20:01 that absolutely did scare me 😅 I was like “oh my god there’s someone behind you oh my god he’s getting in the car!” Liam has gotten so big and I hope he feels better soon!
That purple shirt color looks soooo pretty on you 💜 Would've never found Knock Knock Open Wide without your recommendation and it's my #2 book of 2024!
I just immediately went and took No One Can Know off my "on hold" shelf on Goodreads and completely off my TBR, LOL. I tried to read this when it first came out and had so much trouble getting into it, and your hatred of it just further confirmed it's not the book for me. So sorry you had to struggle through it, but thanks for saving me from the same fate!
I feel you on mystery thrillers! It takes a lot for one to really wow me and for me to have that shocked feeling by the end. Hoping we both find some new favorites in that genre this year! I really liked A Psalm For The Wild Built. 3x speed is insane to me though 😂
Oh gosh I really hope Liam starts feeling better soon! That’s so hard especially being in sports like he is. I have heard from so many people after Covid their lungs were just never the same. 😢
I love love love The Autobiography of Red (it’s on my favorite books of all time list), but I read it 4-5 years ago… so also we have to take into account that people might have already read and loved backlist titles in years prior to 2024! Love this video series 💕
I hope Liam feels better. Getting over Covid too after my whole family had it and my lungs are a mess. Looking forward to reading Grady Hendrix’s new book soon. Love your content 🌷
I'm surprised you haven't read A Psalm for the Wild Built before, I will say the idea of listening to it on 3x speed did feel a little sacrilegious when you said it hahaha
Awww so pleased you enjoyed Psalm for the Wild-Built, its sequel A Prayer for the Crown Shy was in my top 5 last year so I hope if you do read the next one, you enjoy it even more 💕
I always get so excited when I see you have a new video up and this is no exception. I'm so glad you have so many reading vlog series coming up this year. I have to ask - where did you get that amazing halloween/spooky sweatshirt you wore during no one can know? I have always loved seeing all your comfy ass sweaters.
I knew you were going to pick The Bear and the Nightingale and probably not love it 😭 but I had to be honest in my top 20. And yes, I do love the writing in all of my favorites. I’m curious to see what you think of Erasure by Percival Everett when you get to it, because I read it last year and appreciated it but wasn’t sure it was a fave.
FUN time watching this today! I sadly dnf'd The Bear and the Nightingale several years ago. Psalm for the Wild Built was a 4 for me. I haven't read any of the others.
Hi Kayla! Just became a member! I love so many aspects of your channel! I look forward to watching even more and becoming a part of the Lala Family! Thank you for doing what you do 💜
I definitely feel similar re thrillers/ mystery thrillers. I've just cleared a whole bunch off my TBR. I want to be on the edge of my seat with books like this, just gobbling up the pages. Lots of them are so boring and and predictable. The fun/cosy ones are so much more enjoyable
You feel the way you feel about the books, and you’re not letting anyone down by giving books in this video series low ratings ❤ love this series no matter the book ratings
That “wait, 2017 was *not* 5 years ago” made me go “…um it wasn’t!??” And had to COUNT ON MY FINGERS because that’s absolutely insane to me that it was more than 5 years ago😅😅😅
I hope you find a way to read Martyr! soon, it was easily my top read of last year next to Beautyland! It is fantastic and the audiobook was really great.
For what it's worth, if I were a channel member, Autobiography of Red would have been on my list! (In the no. 2 spot, in fact!) I actually read it right before your video came out where you read it and I was so overjoyed to see someone spreading so much positivity about it :)
What was really cool about the spreadsheet was looking up a book that one of my best friends published this year and seeing it on people's favorites list! As for trying more Kate Alice Marshall, her YA Horror has always been better for me than her Adult thrillers. I know a lot of us have phased out of YA in the past few years but if you're interested, I Highly recommend Rules for Vanishing. It's one of her best books IMO. Also, if you're ever feeling it, her mid-grade horror is also good.
I also put A Psalm in the Wild Built on the spreadsheet - I didn't see it really recommended by people this year but I had in past years so it was already on my TBR and finally got around to it and LOVED it this year. I'm not sure if all of the other besties listing it also just coincidentally had the same experience or if I missed out on it being promoted somewhere. Also for the pronunciation of psalm, you were right that in ancient greek you do pronounce both the p and s, but thats not really a sound that English would do so we drop the p - there's a lot of other words like that in English that we are technically pronouncing the ancient greek wrong - psychology for another ps word, but also pt together would both be pronounced (like pteron, as in pterodactyl, should have both p and t pronounced), and ph as in philosophy should have both letters pronunced (in this case it's like a p with an aspirated breath after it, the ph should not become an f). The way we have changed the pronunciation of loaned words over time is super interesting to me so when you brought it up I was !!!!!!!
Katherine Arden’s middle grade seasonal themed horror quartet for me is better then winter night, which I still loved, but I re-listen to those short (5 hour audio each) kids books every Halloween and have so much fun
I literally signed up for the channel membership so that I could recommend to you through the spreadsheet (I was already thinking about getting it but that pushed me to.)
Lala!!! Autobiography of Red was on my top 10 of the year, I’m just not a member!!! I had been meaning to read it for a long time, and you pushed me to do so!
I feel for Liam. I got walking pneumonia in October and still occasionally cough. I think my lungs were/are scarred from it. In the thick of it, it was debilitating. The inhaler definitely helped. I hope he starts to feel better and heals his lungs!
I wanted you to know that Indigo shared Stephen Graham Jones' list of recommendations on their site and one of them was The Bear and the Nightingale. I haven't seem your reaction to that book yet but I thought it was rather interesting coming from him.
it’s so funny that autobiography of red didn’t make it onto the spreadsheet once, let it be known that you influenced me to read it and it was one of my fav reads last year
I’d be so interested to see what you think of Kate Alice Marshall’s queer horror books, I’m not a fan of her thrillers, but her horror is always SO unique I love them! Rules for Vanishing is my favorite but Our Last Echoes and These Fleeting Shadows are also really really good
Not sure if this will help Liam, but I've had severe asthma my entire life, and one thing my mom always did for me that I don't hear people suggest often, she had me drink black coffee. Not a whole lot, maybe just a small cup. But it did help my lungs a little bit when the inhaler wasn't enough
You’re cracking me up with the psalm rant. 😂 I think a lot of us who were raised religious were just told as children that the P is silent, and we never thought about it again. Like too many things they told us at church. 😶
Annie Bot was surprisingly impactful for me. Also, after covid I got asthma that presented as a cough. Good news though- it did get better! I rarely use an inhaler now. So fingers crossed for Liam!
If you give Kate Alice Marshall another shot, try one of her horror books! Rules For Vanishing is one of my favorite horror books hands down and i think it would be right up your alley
As a russian raised on folk tales about characters that Katherine Arden featured in The Bear and the Nightingale , reading this series was.. a journey.😆 Because the books themselves were really fun, but the more she leaned into the slavic fairy tale stuff the more absurd the story got.)) Overall would recommend just for the pure chaos of it.
I'm not a big fan of mystery/thrillers, but I'd strongly recommend you pick up The Thing in the Snow by Sean Adams. There's a clear mystery at the heart of it, but it encompasses a lot of qualities that I know you really enjoy (ie. insular, descent into madness, creeping dread, thought-provoking ending, etc.). Plus it has likeable male characters, an unusual premise to the point of being kinda weird, and is balanced with a good dose of humor.
okay so i know you dont like series but for me, the third and final book in the bear and the nightingale series was the strongest and one of my favorite books ive ever read!
Seeing you constantly give thriller books 3-3.5 stars and not love anything but picking them up anyways is giving me flashbacks to your romance era lol
😭😭😭
Kayla is doing the MOST to avoid reading Crime and Punishment
“When it comes to math…maybe I shouldn’t be doing it.” 😂😂 girl, same. Calculators exist for a reason.
That is the most relatable thing she said in the whole video.
Your face when a psalm for the wild built said "for anyone who needs a break"...I love how that book manages to find people when they need it most
This and you reading other booktubers best and worst books are my Super Bowl ❤
22:19 I am by no means an expert, but I am a bit of a linguistics nerd. Basically, the word "psalm" has origins in ancient greek and the greek character psi (Ψ) gets romanized to "ps". This is a sound we use in English, like in words that end in ps ("snips", "clips", etc.), but is never a sound we use at the beginning of words, so we just drop the p. The same thing happens with the "ng" sound that we use at the end of words ("sing", "bring", etc.), but we never use it at the beginning of words. Similarly, Tsumani is a Japanese word and the romanized spelling "ts" represents the voiceless alveolar affricate which is a sound we don't have in English, so it just kinda gets simplified to the "s" sound, rather than the combined t and s sounds together.
I just came on here to say this! Didn't know about the ts-thing, but I knew about "ps" being originally Greek and guessed that there was probably a connection✨. Anyway, hi from a fellow linguistics nerd👋🏻
As a greek,psalm is ψαλμός ,and we use a good fat ps
not a linguistics nerd and not a native english speaker but a psychologist lol. i was told through uni that all the "psi" words (psychology, psyquiatry, psycho etc) come from the same greek character, and we even use it as a symbol in mental health workers' unions and stuff. i never bothered to check but it does feel like a "psalm" case, where in english you just drop the p
Ah but there are plenty of "ts" sounds in English, not usually at the beginning of words except in onomatopoeia as a sizzle sound or to mimic cymbals. But quite frequent otherwise, such as Mets or jets or bits.
The fake turning the pages is cracking me up so hard 😂😂
😂😂 me too
Don’t put so much pressure on yourself! We’re here for Kayla content - whatever that is on any given day. Also, I hope Liam is feeling better💛
"if I wanted a sad girl book, I'd read lit fic" is so real 🤣
we’re going to get you to read crime and punishment TRUST
Hahahahaha some day Oriana, some day 😅
I wonder if the reason you don’t love besties’ favorites as much is because you have so much in common with them, so you don’t have options of what to read? Normally in other favorites videos, I feel like you have more choices. 🤷🏼♀️ just a thought
I had a similar thought. In some of those lists there was literally only one book to choose. I think the besties that get picked should also provide 10 honorable mentions to give more options.
@@priscilla.t.a Not a bad idea! Maybe just have an extra slot in the doc to list as many honorables as you want (up to 10).
@ that's perfect!
Thank you for including me ✨ I am glad you liked Psalm For The Wild Build. I don't know why it is so popular right now anywhere else, but in Finland it has been popular because it was translated into Finnish last year. I read it in English though.
And now I am excited to hear your thoughts on Bear and the Nightingale because I have been thinking I might be interested in it for a while now.
the color walk is such a cool concept!! Reminds me of learning about dérives in school
I think you struggle with the besties because our favorite books we have in common were influenced by you, so the few we don’t have in common might be in different genres we read, but you don’t read and then that common ground doesn’t apply.
I just found your channel and it is one of the most impressive channels I’ve found. The amount of content is insane! Going to binge and try to find my next read. My most recent read was Penpal. So good.
Maybe to slightly mitigate the risk of a fake list to "force" you into a specific book, or just to cast slightly broader net, you could take the options from the 10-20 people with the most in common with you and then randomly pull 5 (and maybe even give yourself a veto).
(Though really I was just rooting for Crime and Punishment to be here!)
As someone who doesn’t read mystery/thriller novels very frequently, I would love spoiler talks for books like The Trap! I want to be in the know for your discussion of the book without having to actually read it haha
A besties-only spoiler clip for the M/T novels you try this year would bring me so much joy!
The "knowing you're reading a book" bit is very interesting to me and also why I shy away from standard thrillers nowadays. However, I think you could like books by Janice Hallett for this reason. They're all mixed media, very self aware and play around with the mystery genre in a tongue in cheek way (and have out there endings). If you end up trying one and hate it, I never said anything haha
you know next year it might be fun to make one of those like 20 options things you do and show us going through besties things (especially if you have people make visuals again!!) and then you can choose from there!! i'd love to see you have more choice here so that you can maybe pick ones that really are calling to you in the moment
3:11 persepolis is so good, i don't read graphic novels but i loved this one
It’s definitely worth reading even if graphic novels aren’t really your thing. So good.
I also read A Psalm for the Wild-Built (and it's sequel) in 2024! I just think it continues to get more traction as time goes on, and with the current climate, it's a much needed breather between books. While they weren't on my favorites list and I also rated both 4 stars, they stick out in my mind as something that's a much needed respite.
Loved this video! Becky Chambers is one of my favorite authors because she’s the only author so far who writes good cozy sci-fi. Also sending all the love to your fam and Liam! I have Long COVID, specifically, it’s affected my lungs and prevents me from pushing myself physically otherwise I have a flare up where I get sick with a fever, coughing, and breathing hurts. It’s terrible and I’ve been advocating for folks to mask up these last few years. Luckily, my doctor did say that mine is “mild” (compared to the patients she treats who can’t even get up from bed) and I will heal, it will just take very, very long, and for now, it’s a chronic illness I have to deal with.
Fellow masker and disabled person here. I'm so sorry to hear you've been struggling with LC. I hope your body is able to heal in time. 💗 (I also love Becky Chambers. Nobody seems to do it quite like her!)
@ Aww, thank you, you beautiful person, you 🖤✨
Ahhh always so here for this series! It doesn’t feel like the new year until this series starts!!
Let the games begin!
Here's my humble suggestion for nest year, inspired by what you presented here, or maybe a suggestion for a future cideo. What if, instead of picking a book out of the besties who have read more books in common with you, why not read the most mentioned books you haven't read yet (and you have the power to veto one or two of them)? There were some very interesting books on that list.
I've definitely considered this!! But it takes away from the intent cause what if the besties with the most commonly mentioned books are also the ones who listed a whole bunch of books I hated haha 🫣
@BooksandLala it can be an idea for a video, then. I think it's a good way to build a TBR with popular books from a specific group of people.
@@BooksandLala It would be more maths, but you could do what you’ve done here and score each member based on their list. Then, you could take each unread book and rank it by the average members scores of those who have listed it. And shortlist a top 20 of the books you haven’t read yet, weighted by how much you have in common with the people who recommended it.
Loved your reaction to the dedication of psalm for the wild built. It’s total soul food so a perfect read for a stressful day.
20:01 that absolutely did scare me 😅 I was like “oh my god there’s someone behind you oh my god he’s getting in the car!” Liam has gotten so big and I hope he feels better soon!
The beanie book look was a slay 💚
14:44 The way I yelped thinking the fuzzy was a bug! Kayla you are so brave! 🤣❤️
That purple shirt color looks soooo pretty on you 💜 Would've never found Knock Knock Open Wide without your recommendation and it's my #2 book of 2024!
Oh bestie what a good start to my day 🫶🏻
When you said "today i'm feeling stressed" I thought "perfect day to read A psalm..." 😅 It was in my 2024 favorites, too!
How to Become the Dark Lord and Die Trying has a CHOKEHOLD on me. The audiobook is the best audiobook I’ve ever listened to.
Ahhhhhh I love it!!
UPDATE I HAVE NOW FOUND OUT THERE’S A SEQUEL COMING OUT ON MAY 27 ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh
The audiobook is so fun! I love how they did the footnotes
Omg I’m so excited for you to read Psalm for the Wild Built!! I loved that duology when I read it last year.
⭐️I read Autobiography of Red! When you described it I knew everything from its topic to its narrative form was RIGHT up my alley. I loved it!
I just immediately went and took No One Can Know off my "on hold" shelf on Goodreads and completely off my TBR, LOL. I tried to read this when it first came out and had so much trouble getting into it, and your hatred of it just further confirmed it's not the book for me. So sorry you had to struggle through it, but thanks for saving me from the same fate!
Oh YAY Kayla I needed a video from you today! 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
While you mention Autobiography of Red I have to say, Its been on my radar for years but you reading it recently convinced me to actually buy it!!
Love to see that Liam is feeling better and is back to his usual activities! I know he still has that cough, but I'm happy that he's up and about!
I love how you interact with your members most loved books- it’s such a cool idea!
I love this series! Looking forward to the next! 😊
And I hope Liam fully recovers as soon as possible 🥺
Can you do a follow up to this where you read the most popular books from the list? Would be interesting to see !
Oh it's so cool seeing Coley on here, I watched her UA-cam for years! Such a random crossover, I love it. 🎉❤
Ahhh thank you!!! 🥹💕
Sending all of the best thoughts and healing for Liam! I know that's tough, but I hope he gets through it quickly!
16:47 love that your hat matches your book. 😊
I feel you on mystery thrillers! It takes a lot for one to really wow me and for me to have that shocked feeling by the end. Hoping we both find some new favorites in that genre this year! I really liked A Psalm For The Wild Built. 3x speed is insane to me though 😂
Oh gosh I really hope Liam starts feeling better soon! That’s so hard especially being in sports like he is. I have heard from so many people after Covid their lungs were just never the same. 😢
I love love love The Autobiography of Red (it’s on my favorite books of all time list), but I read it 4-5 years ago… so also we have to take into account that people might have already read and loved backlist titles in years prior to 2024! Love this video series 💕
Ohhh I’ve been waiting all day for this and refreshing my feed 😍
I need a subscriber like this! 😂😂
I hope Liam feels better. Getting over Covid too after my whole family had it and my lungs are a mess. Looking forward to reading Grady Hendrix’s new book soon. Love your content 🌷
I'm surprised you haven't read A Psalm for the Wild Built before, I will say the idea of listening to it on 3x speed did feel a little sacrilegious when you said it hahaha
It sounded best at 2.5 🙏🏻
Your power of fast listening astounds me!!
Awww so pleased you enjoyed Psalm for the Wild-Built, its sequel A Prayer for the Crown Shy was in my top 5 last year so I hope if you do read the next one, you enjoy it even more 💕
I always get so excited when I see you have a new video up and this is no exception. I'm so glad you have so many reading vlog series coming up this year.
I have to ask - where did you get that amazing halloween/spooky sweatshirt you wore during no one can know? I have always loved seeing all your comfy ass sweaters.
I knew you were going to pick The Bear and the Nightingale and probably not love it 😭 but I had to be honest in my top 20. And yes, I do love the writing in all of my favorites. I’m curious to see what you think of Erasure by Percival Everett when you get to it, because I read it last year and appreciated it but wasn’t sure it was a fave.
This is one of my favorite series from you!
FUN time watching this today! I sadly dnf'd The Bear and the Nightingale several years ago. Psalm for the Wild Built was a 4 for me. I haven't read any of the others.
Hi Kayla! Just became a member! I love so many aspects of your channel! I look forward to watching even more and becoming a part of the Lala Family! Thank you for doing what you do 💜
oh yeah we're so back!!
I definitely feel similar re thrillers/ mystery thrillers. I've just cleared a whole bunch off my TBR. I want to be on the edge of my seat with books like this, just gobbling up the pages. Lots of them are so boring and and predictable. The fun/cosy ones are so much more enjoyable
You feel the way you feel about the books, and you’re not letting anyone down by giving books in this video series low ratings ❤ love this series no matter the book ratings
One of my favourite series of yours haha. I have been waiting for them
I absolutely adore The Bear and the Nightingale!! But I don't think I would have ever guessed it as a fave for you
That “wait, 2017 was *not* 5 years ago” made me go “…um it wasn’t!??” And had to COUNT ON MY FINGERS because that’s absolutely insane to me that it was more than 5 years ago😅😅😅
You flipping the hard cover jacket while listening to the audiobook is such a vibe 😂
I hope you find a way to read Martyr! soon, it was easily my top read of last year next to Beautyland! It is fantastic and the audiobook was really great.
For what it's worth, if I were a channel member, Autobiography of Red would have been on my list! (In the no. 2 spot, in fact!) I actually read it right before your video came out where you read it and I was so overjoyed to see someone spreading so much positivity about it :)
What was really cool about the spreadsheet was looking up a book that one of my best friends published this year and seeing it on people's favorites list! As for trying more Kate Alice Marshall, her YA Horror has always been better for me than her Adult thrillers. I know a lot of us have phased out of YA in the past few years but if you're interested, I Highly recommend Rules for Vanishing. It's one of her best books IMO. Also, if you're ever feeling it, her mid-grade horror is also good.
thank u for including me here kayla ❤️
one day i shall have my redemption arc and give u a rec that you’ll enjoy!
I also put A Psalm in the Wild Built on the spreadsheet - I didn't see it really recommended by people this year but I had in past years so it was already on my TBR and finally got around to it and LOVED it this year. I'm not sure if all of the other besties listing it also just coincidentally had the same experience or if I missed out on it being promoted somewhere.
Also for the pronunciation of psalm, you were right that in ancient greek you do pronounce both the p and s, but thats not really a sound that English would do so we drop the p - there's a lot of other words like that in English that we are technically pronouncing the ancient greek wrong - psychology for another ps word, but also pt together would both be pronounced (like pteron, as in pterodactyl, should have both p and t pronounced), and ph as in philosophy should have both letters pronunced (in this case it's like a p with an aspirated breath after it, the ph should not become an f). The way we have changed the pronunciation of loaned words over time is super interesting to me so when you brought it up I was !!!!!!!
Katherine Arden’s middle grade seasonal themed horror quartet for me is better then winter night, which I still loved, but I re-listen to those short (5 hour audio each) kids books every Halloween and have so much fun
I literally signed up for the channel membership so that I could recommend to you through the spreadsheet (I was already thinking about getting it but that pushed me to.)
Love the hat and book matching! 💚
i’ve seen “a psalm for the wild built” a lot on tiktok so i think this is why it gained popularity again
SO EXCITED FOR THIS❤❤
Lala!!! Autobiography of Red was on my top 10 of the year, I’m just not a member!!! I had been meaning to read it for a long time, and you pushed me to do so!
Your thumbails are chef’s kiss ms 🤗
I feel for Liam. I got walking pneumonia in October and still occasionally cough. I think my lungs were/are scarred from it. In the thick of it, it was debilitating. The inhaler definitely helped. I hope he starts to feel better and heals his lungs!
I wanted you to know that Indigo shared Stephen Graham Jones' list of recommendations on their site and one of them was The Bear and the Nightingale. I haven't seem your reaction to that book yet but I thought it was rather interesting coming from him.
That purple 💜 shirt on you is so beautiful! Definitely one of your colors.
it’s so funny that autobiography of red didn’t make it onto the spreadsheet once, let it be known that you influenced me to read it and it was one of my fav reads last year
I’d be so interested to see what you think of Kate Alice Marshall’s queer horror books, I’m not a fan of her thrillers, but her horror is always SO unique I love them! Rules for Vanishing is my favorite but Our Last Echoes and These Fleeting Shadows are also really really good
Not sure if this will help Liam, but I've had severe asthma my entire life, and one thing my mom always did for me that I don't hear people suggest often, she had me drink black coffee.
Not a whole lot, maybe just a small cup. But it did help my lungs a little bit when the inhaler wasn't enough
“for anyone that could use a break” 😯
i cackled lmao
You’re cracking me up with the psalm rant. 😂 I think a lot of us who were raised religious were just told as children that the P is silent, and we never thought about it again. Like too many things they told us at church. 😶
Annie Bot was surprisingly impactful for me. Also, after covid I got asthma that presented as a cough. Good news though- it did get better! I rarely use an inhaler now. So fingers crossed for Liam!
Kayla, you look so good in purple! Love that colour on you.
If you give Kate Alice Marshall another shot, try one of her horror books! Rules For Vanishing is one of my favorite horror books hands down and i think it would be right up your alley
Kayla talking about eat the rich like it was a bad one night stand she can just forget cracked me up 😂😂😂
you're cracking me up with that dust jacket
I think a good way to have a better reading year is to count 4s as more of a win
Yesssss this series is so fun ❤❤❤
Colour walks sound so nice ❤️
“When it comes to math, maybe I shouldn’t be doing it” felttttt
The initial reaction to the end of no one can know has me dying and now I want to read the book just to figure out what happened 😂
46:13 i just really loved the color of your tee shirt.. i know its random and its not about the book or you but yeah
I also tried the Bear and the Nightingale this year and I also got bored! I DNFed though. But good to know I’m not alone!!
As a russian raised on folk tales about characters that Katherine Arden featured in The Bear and the Nightingale , reading this series was.. a journey.😆 Because the books themselves were really fun, but the more she leaned into the slavic fairy tale stuff the more absurd the story got.)) Overall would recommend just for the pure chaos of it.
I'm not a big fan of mystery/thrillers, but I'd strongly recommend you pick up The Thing in the Snow by Sean Adams. There's a clear mystery at the heart of it, but it encompasses a lot of qualities that I know you really enjoy (ie. insular, descent into madness, creeping dread, thought-provoking ending, etc.). Plus it has likeable male characters, an unusual premise to the point of being kinda weird, and is balanced with a good dose of humor.
okay so i know you dont like series but for me, the third and final book in the bear and the nightingale series was the strongest and one of my favorite books ive ever read!
The book that almost made it Role Playing by Cathy Yardley was my last five star of 2024.
The trap sounds like it would be good - sucks it wasn’t shocking though. That’s half the fun 😢