Reading Expectations + 5 New Authors I Think I'll Love
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- Опубліковано 6 сер 2024
- How do you manage expectations when reading a new book or new author?
00:00 Expectations
02:34 Authors
11:43 Outro
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Thanks for watching!
I forgot to mention that I'm using a new audio setup for this video. What do you think?
Audio quality sounds great to me!
Before I saw this comment I noticed that the sound was different, in a good way!
@@geauxreadbooks great!
What kind of mic were you using, and what setup are you using now?
@@thelibraryladder my older videos I was just using my iPhone 13's internal mic. This new video (and the two that will follow), I used a Shure mic from a video kit that I purchased to record my concerts and occasional rehearsal footage.
I fully expect everyone to enjoy Ruocchio's books. That's why I've been so adamant for almost 4 years that folks read them immediately.
I'm starting book 3 next month. Loving what he's done so far. Do you recommend reading his short story collections as well
Ruocchio has certainly gained a lot of traction, and you're a part of that!
I've never heard of James A. Michener so thanks for mentioning him. Just looked up some books and they do look epic. I'll keep my eye out for Texas at HFB since I'm from Texas too and would be a good start. While I'm not really into sci fi, I have Leviathan Wakes and it's on my TBR. I've only heard amazing things and did watch the first season of The Expanse and it was fantastic.
There is an old TV maxi series called Centennial Based on his book of the same name.You can find on DVD I don't know if it's on streaming anywhere That Is what introduced me to him.
I hope we both enjoy Texas by James Michener! That seems like the logical starting point for me since I live here.
every time your theme music comes on, I feel like I'm a superhero being called to action. Love it! I have "Caribbean" by Michener that I haven't read yet but look forward to. I'm just starting book 3 in Sun Eater, and I think it's for sure up your alley. I haven't read LPQ either... Regarding Kingkiller / Rothfuss, I think it's worth the read once it's finished. His writing is top-tier but yeah, there's no signs of life on the 3rd book. ok, there's the outro theme.. Nonsense-Man Away!
Haha glad the theme music spurs your interest!
I cannot hold back my excitement and expectations. Shocker I know. I try to go in with no preconceived ideas of the kind of journey the artist has in store for me. Fast paced or slow burn, purple prose or workman like, philosophical or just an all out plot driven race of book. I want to be open to what the writer is giving me but I go in often times hyped about how much I will enjoy it especially now that I have joined booktube.
The hype is real!
My expectations of an over hyped book only get dulled by reading the first few chapters…but I will still push through as book ones usually have much set up. If I find it painful to my mind to continue then I will dnf and just accept that it is not for me.
Suneater: Moments of greatness no doubt but in between, the author is waxing poetic!! I sum it up as Fitz in Space. I am up to Demon in White and seems like I am still waiting for the rocketship moment to happen for me, no pun intended.🤪 The Suneater is like the Godfather, every time I am ready to quit it, it pulls me back in.
Memory, Sorrow, perfect balance in the prose and story. The set up is only about one-fourth into the book… no subversion of most tropes because he partially invented most of the modern ones we know today.
Kingkiller: Again perfect prose balance, not purple at all and a good hero and one of the best villians! Music is a character in itself so I think you will love of it, of course you will!!
When I was growing up in the early 70’s we still had some old black & white tv sets in the house.
That's awesome to hear about Kingkiller! It'll be awhile but I look forward to that one!
I am also getting ready to Christopher Ruocchio, Daniel Abraham and the Expanse series.
I can recommend Tad Williams for sure, his Fantasy and Sci-Fi fiction novels are excellent.
The audio seems good to me. 👂
What a cool idea for a video instead of the usual single book-focused 5-star predictions! I'm right with you on embracing high expectations for certain authors, and I'm actually right there with you on having those for Daniel Abraham (though I've already loved the whole Expanse series, so that's kinda cheating).
I have similar sky high expectations for Ken Liu and the Dandelion Dynasty, and have had them building for myself and Guy Gavriel Kay for years and years ever since Jake Bishop started singing his praises since our reading tastes had always been so closely aligned.
The issue with those sky high expectations is that I always want to have the perfect reading situation or exact right mood come together to start them, and that almost never happens. I waited a loooong time to finally start GGK this month with Song for Arbonne...and even though I was confident, it also made me a bit worried, like I didn't want to let down my friends who also love his writing. Still I'd prefer to build up expectations since I do like getting excited to try new authors and series and to have a good idea of what might be a huge hit with me, since those special reads and authors are always what I'm hoping for with everything I pick up.
I also have great trust in Jake's recommendations as we share two favorite fantasy authors in Hobb and GGK. I will chime in that I think you'll love Ken Liu - I've only read the short story collection so far but MAN it's good!
As far as Ruocchio, I’m currently being blown away by his prose. He’s quickly becoming a favorite author of mine.
Awesome to hear!
I am so excited for you to read some of my favourite series and authors! I have yet to read anything by Tad Williams, but Dragonbone Chair is on the TBR for March. As for the other four: I recently finished The Expanse and loved it. Very different from the Long Price Quartet, btw. Very fast paced, action-filled, but also I like the character work. I am reading the fourth Ruochio book right now and the first three have been SO fantastic. Hope this series lands for you too. I read my first Michener book 20 years ago and have read about 10 of them by now. Not a bad book among them, but standouts for me have been The Source, Hawaii, The Caribbean, Mexico and Poland. Haven't read Texas, I might try to get to that one day. I read The Kingkiller Chronicles last autumn, and was blown away by the books. I think that even if the series might never be finished, I will never regret having read it. Great video and happy reading, Josh! /Minna
That's awesome, Minna, I hope you love Dragonbone Chair too! Glad you enjoy a lot of these other's I want to read, and I appreciate everyone chiming in about Michener!
It's a bit weird for me to hear of people who haven't read James A Michener - but I'm in my 70s and was reading him from my teen years so I guess he's been overtaken in the intervening years. I remember reading Space, which is the story of the early manned missions and can still remember how they trained the astronauts to dock spacecraft by driving jeeps in big circles out in the desert. Guess what, you can't dock just by speeding up or slowing down, you've got to do some fancy on-the-go math work about changing orbit as well. And ironically I've never needed to use that information in my whole life but here it is still taking up brain space. 😀
Hello Josh. I appreciate your commentary about reading expectations. I will share that I have been a book review blogger since 2011 and my reading expectations have changed a lot of over that time period.
I used to have high expectations for a recommended book from friends or social media when I first started. I found those expectations did not always meet the enthusiasm of the recommendation. I build up someone else’s expectations of a novel in my mind and that tainted my reading experience of the story: good or bad.
In the past three to four years, I have really tried to take a novel (from whatever genre) I read and approach the story on its own terms. That mind shift has changed my reading life tremendously.
I will share an example of what I mean. I just read Midnight’s Children by Salman Rushdie. I had wanted to read Rushdie for a long time and Midnight’s Children is considered his masterwork.
I finished the novel last month and truly appreciate Rushdie’s brilliance as a storyteller and the way he uses language in the novel. But on an enjoyment reading experience, the novel did not reach it for me. However, I wrote a positive review on my blog and posted on my Goodreads page stating all serious readers should read it.
In the past my expectations for Rushdie’s novel would have disappointed me because I did not enjoy reading it. But, I have learned that every novel (even some that are highly regarded) will not meet your expectations. And I can not let other’s expectations getting in the way of my own reading experience.
This has liberated me a reader and reviewer and made a better reader too.
Reading expectations is an excellent discussion to have and one that all readers must examine regularly.
In closing, I liked Name of the Wind and because of your love of well-written prose you will too.
Thanks for sharing this. I try my best to temper my enthusiasm for certain books, but it's definitely a challenge! And I feel that Name of the Wind will be a great book for me when I get to it. Hopefully soon! I appreciate your comments - thanks!
I am definitely someone who is very easily influenced, which can be a good and a bad thing. Sometimes it's really fun to get sucked into the hype with everyone, but at the same time it can lead to some big disappointments. Luckily I am not the most picky reader, so I tend to have a great time, even if it wasn't the new favourite I was maybe expecting it to be.
Anyway, I am curious to see if all of these predictions will come true for you! I am hoping to start Sun Eater as well this year and catch up before the finale, fingers crossed we both love it! Happy reading, Josh ;)
Maybe we'll end up reading Sun Eater around the same time! :)
@@RedFuryBooks That would be great fun!
Love James Michener, I loved Poland and Caribbean especially. Also have Space and Alaska on my TBR list
What I find so interesting is that everyone seems like different Michener books best!
Well I'm glad I'm not the only one on prose. It's hard to explain but you put it nicely. In re-reading past books that I loved, the more "basic" prose writing style definitely changes the experience. For example, I recently read Empire of the Vampire by J. Kristoff. What a gift with words that guy has! Same with Jodi Picoult, I read a few books of hers and really it's her writing style that keeps me invested as much as the story/characters. Obviously Dennis Lehane is a king in my house lol, and so is Andy Weir. I love Ken Follett, probably my favorite author, but his prose, while great certainly, is not on the same level as a Lehane or even what Kristoff does with his wording style. It's all subjective and really all the different styles is what makes reading all the more exciting.
I agree 100% with Follett - he's one of those authors that I love even if his prose style isn't my favorite. But great prose for me can elevate a story in such a rich way.
Can confirm you will love Williams & Ruocchio. Corey is a fun read also. Rothfuss is good, but the LONG wait between novels lessens the overall impact. Ruocchio is easily my favorite of the bunch.
Awesome to know!
It's really hard to step back from expectations and have a 'wait and see' approach while reading. Especially for an author you have read before.
Was really excited for Song of Arbonne and it took a hit right in the prologue.
Oh, I hope A Song for Arbonne bounces back for you!
The book of Michener’s that won the Pulitzer is quite short, and a great entry to his work. It’s called Tales of the South Pacific, it’s a quick read, and a great indication whether you’d like the epic length books.
Oh, this is great to know - thank you!
Tad Williams is great! His books may be a bit more leisurely than what modern readers are used to, but his prose is god-tier.
Oooh, I can't wait!
Dragonbone chair is slow, but I think you will be fine with it as you are used to reading those types of books. The worldbuilding is great and it is really interesting to spot the links to Game of Thrones and Wheel of Time (of course, Dragonbone chair came first)
Oh awesome! It will be fun looking at Dragonbone Chair from that lens!
The detractors make me more excited sometimes than the people raving about a book. I am probably a little bit of a contrarian. If someone says that the writing style is outdated, I immediately put it on my TBR. I love Victorian or Tolkienesque anything.
Glad it's not only me with this contrarian approach I have at times!
Edward Rutherfurd also does those great area focused historical epics (Sarum, Paris, London, New York, etc).
I'm writing that name down - thanks!
Great when you find a new author you like. Best wishes.
Thank you!
Long Price Quartet is excellent-I'll feed into that expectation😁 ! I'm really surprised you haven't read Kingkiller, and I look forward to hearing your thoughts on those books. I'm also with you on slow-paced books over fast-paced books, as long as I love the writing style (I think that can make a difference for me). I'm certain I'll love Tad William's epic fantasy as well!
Yep, writing style makes a difference to me as well! LPQ likely won't happen this year, but I suspect it's going to be a winner for me.
You will love Sun Eater! It’s my favorite series of all time, and yes I love amazing prose too! Rauchio has some of the best prose I’ve ever read, and it’s also very unique.
But everything is just so perfect too. Prose, characters, world building, plot, it’s all just perfect.
In fact I commented on your ‘A Song for Arbonne’ video saying that is one of my favorite, or possibly my favorite book of all time. If it’s not that, it would probably be Demon in White, the third book in the Sun Eater series! Just so good.
And speaking of GGK, I would honestly put Rauchio’s prose ability right up there with his! But it’s still very much his own style that I wouldn’t say copies from anyone else I’ve read. So imagine GGK-quality prose, with a unique Sci-fi vibe.
Also I think Rauchio is only in his twenties which is mind blowing. 🤯 Sun Eater feels like it was written by an 80 year old grandmaster of the English language and storytelling. He’s genuinely a progeny
You're definitely adding to my hype and high expectations of Sun Eater!!!
@@RedFuryBooks Good! That’s my goal 😂
Thank you for this video! You've mentioned 2 authors that I am also considering reading, so maybe I'll just wait for you to do it - Mitchener and Williams :-) I know Edward Rutherford has written in a similar fashion to Mitchener, but on different regions (I think "Sarum" is the book that is considered his best). I highly recommend (HIGHLY) "The Sunne in splendour" by Sharon Kay Penman, about Richard III. And for a book that is about music, a literary fiction called "Body and soul" by Frank Conroy- I think it's considered one of the best American novels talking about the experience of being a musician.
Read most of rutherford and michener. In my scandinavian perspective, Michener is a lot better author. While Rutherford is more modern
I already have The Sunne in Splendour on the TBR, but I'm DEFINITELY adding Body and Soul -that sounds amazing! Thanks!
Some great authors you've lined up to read, Josh! I've really enjoyed four of the five you listed.
I'm in the minority on Ruocchio's Suneater series, though. It's been a deep disappointment for me so far, partly because of the high expectations set by the many glowing reviews by other booktubers (in contrast, I think it's good but not great), and partly because of how shamelessly derivative it is of earlier classic works (including, among others, Dune, The Name of the Wind and the Vorkosigan Saga). It borders on plagiarism, all the way down to the writing style, which mimics _very_ closely those earlier authors. As I read Empire of Silence, I noticed the writing style frequently shifted abruptly from moments of polished power and eloquence to clunky passages seemingly written by a teenage fanboy, and the best writing tended to coincide with elements that overlapped with famous works by other authors.
oof - I hope I can overlook some of your critiques of Ruocchio and enjoy him! I've been blown away by hearing from so many people that love Michener - I think he's been somewhat forgotten unfortunately.
I have expectations, usually high. I tend to skip low expectations anymore. I LOVE Tad Williams. Great choices of authors. I recommend COIN and Dagger series to for Abrams. I think Name of the Wind did not meet my expectations. Michener's Spain is excellent. I would rank my top three: Alaska, Spain, Chesapeake. Great video.
Thanks for checking out the video! I definitely tend to prioritize the higher expectation books too.
Daniel Abraham is one of my favorite author, his dagger and the coin series has one of the best villains ever written.
Oh yes, I can't wait to get to him!
@@RedFuryBooks its definitely an underrated series, even when it came out, people weren't really talking about it in spite of the great reviews.
I read James Michener’s Space and loved it…I would like to read more of him. I have read London and The Forest by Edward Rutherfurd and they were both great historical fiction novels that span hundreds of years. Between the two The Forest was my favorite. Thanks for another great video. C.
Thanks for watching and chiming in! It appears I might need to explore Edward Rutherford as well!
I have Tad Williams and Christopher Roccio on my list too. I fully intend to read Suneater this year.
I almost can't believe you haven't read LPQ yet! I really think you'll love that series. I started Dagger and Coin last month. It's a lot different than Abraham's other series, but i think I'm going to love it.
I definitely think Name of the Wind is worth your time to read. I know people say all kinds of stuff about it, but it's a good book. I think you should read Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver. It's not fantasy, but I think it was the best book I read last year.
Yeah, I know I should read LPQ! Ill likely get to Demon Copperhead sometime too, I've read Kingsolver before and am a fan.
Ruocchio is *fantastic!* I'm a huge fan, though I'm planning to re-start the series in ebook as opposed to audio. He's one of those authors who really nails characterization, and the stories are so immersive--and I could say much the same thing about Tad Williams. Totally with you on slow burn: as I've mentioned before, The Dragonbone Chair does it right, and it's incredibly satisfying.
Two authors I think you might enjoy are my friend Joseph Sale and Robert Victor Mills. I did a review of Sale's "Dark Hilarity," a character-driven dark portal fantasy, and I found a lot to love. I'm planning to read another series of his, Lost Carcosa, next (it looks very dark, Gothic, and sensual). Joseph is one of those authors I'm proud to call a friend: he's both a consummate professional and a wonderful, absolute gem of a human being.
Robert Victor Mills writes sword and sorcery fantasy with God-tier prose. I'm being entirely serious and in no way hyperbolic when I say that it's easily on a level with Homer (he of The Odyssey and The Iliad) and my favorite author, R. Scott Bakker.
Thanks for the recommendations and glad to hear Ruocchio and Williams are both authors you enjoy! Adding to my high expectations! :)
Right on,@@RedFuryBooks! Oh, speaking of prose, I should have added that Ruocchio has been a substantial influence on my prose in The Rosteval Saga, particularly the latter books. He's definitely an author with an evocative, even lyrical, prose styling.
I know that you enjoy crime fiction. I think you would love S. A. Cosby. I read "Razorblade Tears" and it blew me the eff away. My gf loved it so much that she read it in a day lol.
Sounds awesome - thanks!
«The Expanse» is amazing, I have read 7 of 9 books and hope to finish the last two this year. «The Kingkiller Chronicle» can be divisive, but even if you should not take a shine to the main character, I think the prose and the musical elements might be! I also hope to start reading «Sun Eater» and «Memory, Sorrow & Thorn» this year!
I’m really divided on the expanse. The first two books are so different from the rest of the series that I find it hard to give the collection a high rating. Almost like they’re two different stories smashed together
@@General_reader Book 2 is my personal favorite (love Bobbie and Avasarala so, so very much, every time they show up is amazing!), followed by books 5 and 6 as a duo, then book 7, followed by books 1 and 3, with book 4 as my least favorite (most are 5 or 4 star reads, book 4 is my only 3 star).
We may end up reading Sun Eater and Tad Williams around the same time!
Its interesting how unknown Michener is today compared to his fame in the 80s. Probably one of the greatest historical ficton authors. Epic, but not a lot of fast paced action
Yes, it's remarkable how some authors' fame fades after time.
I like slow books all the time but Stone of Farewell was still slower than anything else I can think of. Dragonbone was great though!
Ruocchio is the man.
Otherlands is even slower and a lot more repetitive.
Good to know with Stone of Farewell!
Tad Williams probably has the best prose in fantasy. Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn is a direct influence on Game of Thrones. Without it, GRRM might have gone on to write something very popular, with a whole lot of sex and violence, but it would not have been a winter fantasy tale with a crazy looking chair.
Wow - best prose! I'm definitely looking forward to that as Hobb and GGK are two favorites, and have some of the best prose in the genre.
He is like one of those influential musicians, that other musicians listen to, but nobody else has heard off.
Of the ones I've read:
Sun Eater, i liked it but wasn't wowed. A lot of people with similar taste to me were hooked with Book Two but those people also liked Empire of Silence more than I did. I will restart the series this year... probably.
I need to continue Memory Sorrow & Thorn but i loved Dragonbone Chair. Felt like a mix of Hobb, GRRM and GGK in a way. And of course, Tolkien.
Long Price Quartet is one of my favourite series of all-time. Kithamar has been great so far and I'm hoping to get to Dagger & Coin soon.
Name of the Wind was great and I've never liked Rothfuss as a person. Only criticism i have of NotW was the female characters were lacking.
If Tad Williams feels like a mix of Hobb, GRRM, GGK and Tolkien, sign me up!
I feel like Booktube is finally catching on to historical fiction. Just in the last year, McMurtry, Clavell, Michener, Rutherford, Wouk and Follett have gotten more mentions than the previous five. I think that TV shows based on books is really what’s been pushing it. The Last Kingdom and Shogun since the trailer dropped are examples.
I certainly hope you're right!
Hubby and I enjoy the fantasy genre, and he loved Patrick Rothfuss, while I was ‘meh’ about him. I don’t know why, but I just kept losing interest and couldn’t get into the one book (Name of the Wind) that I tried. James Michener is a crazy good author who is a must-read. Centennial was my favorite.
It seems everyone has a different Michener favorite! That means he's got a lot of quality in there.
My father named me for a character in Chesapeake. 😊
Oh cool!
If you like Robert Jordan and Robin Hobb then you will love Tad Williams! He’s amazing!
I'm fairly certain I will!
If you're into stories about native Americans And you like historical fiction I suggest checking out the author W. Michael geer he writes a series With with his wife O'Neill gear That is very good starts During the ice age The migration Of tribes Over the land bridge and down into north America
Awesome - thank you for the recommendation!
I hope these meet your expectations 🤞
Thanks, Al!
Have you read any Neil Gaiman, Josh? As a fellow prose connoisseur, I think you'd like him.
I liked American Gods, I loved Ocean at the End of the Lane. I'll definitely read more Gaiman.
@@RedFuryBooks Neverwhere and Norse Mythology are my two favorites!
Good to know - thanks!
Empire of silence is heavily influenced by Dune
I've learn to temper my excitement for books after TOR repeatedly crushed it with one garbage book after another. They started building some serious hype around pqrticular books that turned out to be really bad and barely had any substance. I don't like to be snobbish with what I read and other people's taste, but it soured me on TOR publishing, which I used to trust a lot. Now I just find reviewers I learned to trust and tenper my expectations. If I get the new book of a series I love, I tend to think it might not be as good as the last one and it usually serves me well, I normally end up happy and satisfied by the end.
Yes, you can't trust the publishing companies. Hopefully you've found some critics or reviewers that you trust!
@@RedFuryBooks this is why I love booktube, it provided me with a lot of good reviewers! I'm rarely disappointed now. Its pretty great 😁
@@pappywinky4749 glad to hear you've found some reviewers that appeal to your taste in books!
'promo sm' 🤭
I can't tell you how many booktubers I have seen review a book negatively based on their expectations. I expected the ending to be a certain way or expected the author to have written something differently.....ETC... . I have heard great authors parsed and demeaned because it didn't suit the reader. Utter madness and useless to the viewer. :)