I agree. I severely struggle with ADD. Most days I read around 40 pages and on a very, very rare exception, 100. In my life, I've only read one book in the span of day--but that was only 200 pages. As much as I love Words of Radiance (I've read it twice now), I cannot imagine reading it in a week.
I was talking to this girl the other day and she’d apparently read like 100 books so far and is going for 200 for the year. I read soo slow and I’m still not able to comprehend everything. So there’s just no way these people are actually reading and comprehending all these books, they just want to say they did for some reason. It turns out she listens to the books on audio on 2x speed while she’s doing other shit. Like wtf are we doing here lmao
I'm sure some people are wired that way. I only know I'm not one of them. I certainly would not be able to comprehend anything at that speed. And retention is another issue--when rereading a book I haven't read in a number of years, it's like reading it for the time. If the number of characters exceed the Dunbar limit, it becomes a challenge to keep track of who is who.
Clicked on the video. Saw the book shelf and the shirt and it was an immediate follow for me. The Stormlight Archive series is on my TBR and seeing it on your list gives me motivation to start.
There's a point in Morning Star where I stopped reading and started pacing in complete disbelief. I have Blood Over Bright Haven and it has been on my reading list, but I am currently going through the worst reading slump. Thank you for the reading recommendations. Artificial Wisdom seems like a book I would like.
sevros "death" made me go 😮, then at that point I realised that everytime I think somethings going well, it all goes downhill after that. morning star was such a good book
Excellent list as always and while I haven't read some of them, I will be soon. Thank you so much. Your channel is so underrated. I started Suneater finally because of you.
I'm literally coming out of a 3 YEAR reading slump so I've read 5 books. 29 sounds AMAZING 😂❤ I had never heard of Chain Gang All-Stars before like a week ago and now I've heard soooo many people mention it, it's going to the top of my list! I want to try to reread Stormlight before December but thats uhhh ambitious lol we'll see
The Fifth Season's ending (book 1) still has me in a chokehold. That series was soooo good. Also, I definitely added like 3 books to my TBR. Thanks for this!
Just finished Will of the many and loved it. Ending left me going hmmmm. No second book yet. Starting Sun Eaters as soon as finish Assassin’s. Great top 10 !Apprentice
Just finished this phenomenal collection of fairy tales entitled 'Sillies, Fancies, and Trifles' - highly recommend to go along with the books here and its perfect for the season. Keep up the beautiful vids :)
A) I love your tee. I miss him. B) You are awesome to listen to! What a beautiful voice!! C) You give excellent insight and detail without giving away too much. Awesome reviews. D) You’re killing my TBR!! 😂 Going to have to buy another bookshelf at this rate. ✌🏻💙
I just got my turn with Chain-Gang All-Stars from my public library TODAY! I feel like I've been waiting for it forever! The Sun Eater books have been terrific, especially as audio books. Samuel Roukin has been NAILING it as narrator. My favorite read so far this year has been Cahokia Jazz by Francis Spufford. I think too many have snoozed on this excellent alternate history. I'm new to this channel but I'll be back. Great video and great list!
Chain Gang All Stars was so good!!! I was losing my mind at the ending too. Several books here on my TBR 😊 So hard for me to pick the order of my top 10 so I’ll just list the 10 books in the order I read them haha: Tress of the Emerald Sea, Emily Wilde’s Map of the Otherlands, Six of Crows, Finding Me, The Way of Kings, Words of Radiance, Seven Days in June, Piranesi, Parable of the Sower, and Just For the Summer!
Your video randomly popped up in my feed, and I am so happy it did! My 16 yo is a voracious reader, and I pre-read a ton of YA books for her when she was little, so I was stuck in YA world for several years. I’m excited to step back into the world of adult literature, and have been looking for recommendations. 🎉
Nice list - I've added some of these to my list. Some of my 4.5 - 5 stars reads of this year include: The Will of the Many, What the River Knows, Bloodmarked, The Fire Next Time, The Paris Housekeeper, Before the Coffee Gets Cold. Hopefully one of these will resonate with you.
One of my favorite authors, Stephen Graham Jones, shouts from the rooftops about The Reformatory and Tananarive Due's writing in general. I really should read that novel especially after enjoying Due's contribution to the Out There Screaming horror anthology. Yeeeeeees! I'm so glad that you loved The Spear Cuts Through Water! The Broken Earth trilogy is such a wonderfully crafted series. Jemisin's command of her stories is almost unmatched, in my opinion. I can't wait to see how you enjoy the rest of the trilogy!
Yes!! Tananarive Dues writing is incredible! Spear was weirdly, very weirdly amazing haha and yeah will let you know what I think about the rest of the trilogy!
Hi! I just discovered your channel and we have some book preferences in common. I just wanted to encourage you to keep on reading the Red Rising saga, with Iron Gold and Dark Age. They are even more blown-minding. I just finished Dark Age and Lightbringer is waiting for me but first I have to process everything about Dark Age. Great video 😊
Some of my favorite books this year have been Robin Hobb books, including the third book of the Farseer trilogy and the third book of the Liveship Traders trilogy 😊
Morning Star and The Rage of Dragons are both INSANE! I love following Tau as a perspective. I cannot wait to read Blood Over Bright Haven and Sun Eater.
Blood over Bright Haven, yeees! I read it last year and still keep thinking about it. It's so good! Still have not read The Fifth Season or Rage of Dragons but hopefully soon. Wow, you flew through Words of Radiance, it is a great book!
I'm glad your video popped up in my feed! I love The Fifth Season and just finished The Way of Kings in March. There were some books in your list that I'd never heard of that I've added to my TBR. Idk about a top 10 for me but my fave books I've read so far in 2024 include The Way of Kings (obviously), Kindred by Octavia Butler, and Ancillary Justice by Ann Leckie. Since you like sci-fi, I'd be curious to hear your thoughts on Ancillary Justice. It's super unique, just unlike anything I've ever read and def a series I want to continue with.
About to start Chain Gang Allstars, thanks. after watching several of your best of/favorite/5 star videos, I’d like to know more about what you don’t like, what you put down, and why. Thanks for the recommendations
Nice list, I am definitely going to check some of these titles. Thanks for sharing. Have you read/heard of the Lorien Legacies? I Am Number Four is the first book and was made into a movie many years ago. It's an amazing Sci Fi read. Thanks again, glad you're here!
Well after this I’m gonna have to keep going on Red Rising! Love everything about your style Memories of Ice is one of the very few that comes close to Words of Radiance for me. Similar to how you described The Spear Cuts Through Water, the series is very confusing at first, but it is absolutely exquisite if you continue with it
More books to add to my ever-growing list, I both despair and rejoice! And 29 books per year is a super respectable number, don't let anybody tell you different, especially since some of these are quite thick!
I came from Tiktok. Your recommendations are awesome! I'm on semestral break since June* and I've read three books from you recos: Rage of Dragons, Chain-Gang All-Stars, and The Spear Cuts Through Water. All three are ❤️🔥. I'm currently reading Fires of Vengeance 😊
Great list! Red Rising Saga and M.L. Wang Amaazing! I can’t wait to read Stormlight. I’m almost done with the Realm of the Elderings by Robin Hobb. Thanks for sharing!
Great list! Some of my favorites have been- Razorblade Tears, The Devil Takes you home, the ACOTAR series , House on the Cerulean Sea and Crying in H Mart
I JUST bought Artificial Wisdom and I'm so excited to read it! I'm also really excited to read The Fifth Season this year. I decided to read Sword of Kaigen before Blood over Bright Haven but you (and others) have me SO excited to read both. Great list!!!
Definitely added some of those to my to buy list. A couple of my 2024s I read: Gideon the Ninth - Tamsyn Muir Salvaged - Madelein Roux Spear - Nicola Griffith You'd probably like them based on the list you put out there.
I read The Reformatory this month and it blew me away , such an amazing book . Not sure what my top 10 would like this year but I discovered John Gwynn so The Faithful and the Fallen series would definitely be in there. Chain Gang All Stars is our Bookclub read this month , looking forward to it even more now I've seen your review!
Gosh reading these comments and listening to your list, I feel like I have found my tribe. Best book I have read all year other than stormlight archive was the Will of the Many. It was a 5 star read that came out of nowhere, I read it on a whim! I also would love to see the Library at Mount Char get more love. It is the weirdest book I will ever read.
A Spear Cuts Through Water is one of my top books this year, and The Broken Earth trilogy were my top books last year! If you’re interested in sci-fi/fantasy with experimental writing/POVs, some recs: - The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern (currently reading) - The Saint of Bright Doors by Vajra Chandrasekera - Leech by Hiron Ennes - The Raven Tower by Ann Leckie - This is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone - Harrow the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir (sequel to Gideon the Ninth)
Glad to see Evan Winter and his burning series make the list. Others: I loved Morning Star but might have loved Golden Son a bit more, and you excited me to continue with Suneater. Demon In White is my next entry. - Cheers 🍻
Some incredible books. The Reformatory recently won the Shirley Jackson award for 2023! I really need to get to Blood over Bright Haven. I've been enjoying your videos, great stuff!
I finally got the courage to read Dune and loved it! My highlights - besides Dune - of the year so far: - Piranesi (Susanna Clarke) - Lapvona (Otessa Moshfegh) - All Systems Red (Martha Wells)
I decided to read Gardens of the moon, I loved it. I think you would like it too, based on your favourites. Malazan is really giving me chills and i thought it was near impossible at this stage in my reading life. I think you should give it a go :) awesome video!
I added most of the books you mentioned! Thanks for the solid recs! I finished Red Rising today and i felt pretty meh about it, so you and some others who have mentioned to me that its absolutely worth pushing to book 2 and 3 to read. So I'm glad that seems a really common consensus! My top books this year (not in order) Dreams of Steel (Black Comoany is a great series, but it is a bit aged) Armour of Contempt or Only in Death were absolutely amazing. The First Law Trilogy as a whole. 5/5. Whalefall is a surprisingly random recommendation that i really enjoyed. This is how you lose the time war. Sword of Kaigen The Word Bearers Trilogy was an great read as well. Look forward to your end of year list!
Great list! My top picks of the books I’ve read this year are (only one per series): 1: Words of Radiance 2: Red Seas Under Red Skies (The Lies of Locke Lamora was in December or that would be it) 3: The Door to Door Book Store 4: The Well of Ascension 5: Alcatraz Versus the Evil Librarians (Just a fun bedtime read to the kids). 6: Kings of the Wyld 7: The Will of the Many 8: Firefly Big Damn Hero 9: The Dresden Files: Stormfront 10: Annihilation Not using multiple books in a series made this very difficult as the last two just weren’t my cup of tea. I did read more Dresden Files, but decided to stop the series.
@@Smitty1423 Stormlight is just fantastic overall (almost can’t pick a favorite of the series). I’ve always been more character driven in reading than plot, but when it hits both like Stormlight does, just top tier.
African Immortals Series by Tananarive Due. Book 1 My Soul to keep and Book 2 The living blood. I haven’t finished the series yet but I highly recommend it.
OK, so the only Sanderson I've read has been his Wheel of Time issues, but those were not his characters so it's hard to judge his writing. Your vid has finally given me the motivation to try some Sanderson, but I'm going to start with the Mistborn Trilogy first (smaller commitment), if I like it then I'll probably try Way of Kings. I have a long TBR currently (which includes The Broken Earth Trilogy, The Spear that Cuts Water, The Sun Eater Series, and both ML Wang books, among others) but I'm going to try to get to some Sanderson this year.
read The Spear Cuts Through Water after your and another booktokers recommendation and since english is not my first language i was so confused the first 100 pages and had to read the first 25 twice but after i got past the 150 pages it was such a smooth and captivating reading experience and the ending was so beautiful i almost cried! and regarding my top 10 of this year so far is relatively easy to rank since i 'only' read 18 so far and a few of them were mediocre in my opinion so i‘m ranking a top 7 of those 18 that i truly enjoyed (top to bottom): Jade City, Bullet Train, The Spear Cuts Trough Water, The Burning God, The Library at Mount Char, The Starless Sea, The Helm of Midnight loved your video!! nice and cozy :)
Yeah Spear is so interesting because you get to a point where you want to dnf but then you keep going and you’re like why would I ever think about dnfing this lol
@@Smitty1423hmm, I'm one who did DNF it 55% in, but it's still on my Kindle and I might pick it back up at some point. This is the first video of yours I've seen and I like your style. Our tastes seem to overlap in some areas (eg, Fifth Season & Stormlight Archive - I agree, amazing!) and not so much in others (I had to DNF Chain Gang Allstars) - but I love your enthusiasm for your favs and you've made me really want to hurry to pick up M.L. Wang, the Suneater series, etc. I hope your 2nd half of 2024 will be as good as the first!
I have 100 pages left in Words of Randiance, and it’s so damn good! The Sanderlanche has definitely begun, and I will absolutely be back to share my thoughts!! Chain Gang and Fifth Season so very interesting, and I’ve had some others recommend them. It’s cool to see they made your list for the year so far.
@@Smitty1423 I am back after finishing and I ABSOLUTELY see why people say that Words of Radiance is better than Way of Kings. The last couple hundred pages of Words of Radiance was just so damn good! I honestly was holding out like like Way of Kings more pretty much the entire read through, partly due to the fact of limit Dalinar PoVs, but man did that change in part five! I was not really the biggest fan of Shallan and Kaladin, but this book absolutely did a wonderful job of their character growth! I’m just glad I don’t have to wait for Oathbringer to release 😂😂
I would recommend These Burning Stars by Bethany Jacobs! It's a sci-fi/space opera and it has amazing worldbuilding, setting, characters, and the plot is so captivating! It's a duology and the next book comes out in October!
DEMON IN WHITE!!!! So good. Ruocchio is such fun and deep at the same time! Have you read Gene Wolfe at all? He’s a big influence on Ruocchio but twice as trippy!
The Red Rising saga was my first real dive into science fiction and what an introduction! I inhaled that entire series back to back. Some of my faves this year is Ruin in the Faithful and the Fallen series by John Gwynne and Trials of Empire in the Empire of the Wolf series by Richard Swan. Have you read those? The Rage of Dragons is also one of my tops books this year.
Got some new titles to look into from your list! A couple that I’ve really enjoyed this year are Black Sun by Rebecca Roanhorse and Pariah by Anthony Ryan. Also read the sequels to those…two great series.
Who's old enough to remember good ole pulp fiction no, not the movie... The guy who wrote Dianetics also wrote fantasy/sci-fi and absurd airport reads... This list reminds me of that genre- but on steroids. Keep up the great work. Keep us reading. This has been a great review. The only 1 in common is The Reformatory so imma put Percival Everett's books down and do a "Rando-Reading" of 1 of yours and get back to you...thanx😊
Good picks The Reformatory is one my favorite books this year as well. Good picks will b checking out the chain gang all stars sounds very interesting 🤔thanks
Thinking of starting the Stormlight Archive soon. I'm not a huge fantasy guy (I read primarily horror and sci fi) but should be interesting. Best books I've read this year The Terror by Dan Simmons, Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy, Revival by Stephen King, and currently reading the Fall of Hyperion by Dan Simmons and it looks like it'll be up there!
Hey King I been wanting to start my book tube channel for awhile as well cause I have so many books to talk about. I will subscribe to your channel cause most of the books you mentioned I have read and would like to talk about. I will recommend for fantasy The Faithful and Fallen for you a truly dope series on every level.
I did the same thing and read them for the first time this year. Currently reading Rhythm of War right now! My top will always be Words of Radiance tho haha
Bro I swear I found Brandon Sanderson and almost haven’t looked back! That whole stormlight archive series is a major problem in the best way. I’ll have to check out that rage of dragons
GOAT list, GOAT content creator, just gotta add some John Gwynne 😁 my top 5 of the year so far are 5) Before they are hanged 4) kings of the wyld 3) the hero of ages 2) sword of Kaigen 1) ruin/wrath
My top 5 1). Jurassic Park 2) Words of Radiance 3). The Great Hunt 4) Mistborn 5). The Count of Monte Cristo I want to read Blood over Bright Haven and The Rage of Dragons. I have Rage, just need to fit it in schedule. Wang's The Sword of Kaigen is an all-timer for me.
Spear Cuts Through Water has been on my radar a while, i definitely need to check it out! Also, really like that there's not 20+ shelves packed with books 💟 Feels like you're a normal guy who just enjoys reading ^_^
Nice video, Smitty. I have a question for you. You said you read everyday. Do you have like a set schedule or amount of time you try to read a day? I'm just getting into reading over the last year or so and was just curious. Appreciate you. Happy reading.
Great question! So I try to set time in the morning about an hour before work and then at night time I try to get 2-3 hours in. I don’t really watch tv so reading takes up most of my time
Nice timing on the drop. Omw to see DP:3 and this was great listening material. I love onscreen sci-fi but I'm not a fan of reading it, can't explain. Yet, I'm adding Artificial Wisdom to my reading list. The concept alone is captivating. Rage of Dragons was insane. Now, I have to admit I almost dropped it. I think when Tau goes to Daba for the first time I took interest. Then me and my wife started arguing bc I wouldn't do anything else but read it.
Have to suggest John Gwynne’s “Blood Sworn Saga” first two books; The Shadow of the Gods & The Hunger of the Gods are great reads.. final in the trilogy; “The Fury of the Gods” drops October of this year.. already pre-ordered!
The cover of The Spear Cuts Through Water is gorgeous. Which of these books has the most satistfying chapter or section breaks such that you can easily read three to five chapters before putting the book down for whatever reason; and not every chapter ending is a cliffhanger?
My top 10 so far in no particular order: Interesting Facts About Space, Emily Wild’s Map of the Otherworlds, My Happy Marriage, All Systems Red, Five Broken Blades, The Ninth Rain, The God and the Gumiho, The Spellshop, A Dawn with the Wolf Knight, A Fate Inked in Blood.
@@Smitty1423 given your tastes, I think you’d probably enjoy All Systems Red (Murderbot Diaries) and The Ninth Rain (The Winnowing Flame). If you’re okay with some romance then I’d also recommend Emily Wild’s Encyclopedia of Fairies, Five Broken Blades, and The God and the Gumiho too, it’s just they either have a strong romance theme or would fall into the cozy fantasy reads. Which can be really nice after a grand fantasy adventure.
I'd say my Top 3 of the year so far have been: A Brightness Long Ago / Guy Gavriel Kay - Historical-Fantasy inspired by the City States and mercenary companies of Renaissance Italy. Fool's Errand / Robin Hobb - 1st book of the Tawny Man trilogy. Hobb and Kay have dominated the Fantasy I've read this year. Lonesome Dove / Larry McMurtry - A western My favourite re-read of the year so far as been R Scott Bakker's The Warrior-Prophet the 2nd book of the Prince of Nothing trilogy. Peak Grimdark Fantasy for me. Imagine Dune if it was a Fantasy series written by GRRM.
Been a slow year, so far. Here's my list, in no particular order: The Cleanup - John Skipp and Craig Spector - Horror The Scream - John Skipp and Craig Spector - Horror Saevus Corax Deals with the Dead - K J Parker - low fantasy Saevus Corax Captures the Castle Saevus Corax Gets Away with Murder Alias the Saint - Leslie Charteris - adventure/crime The Magic Wagon - Joe R Lansdale - Lansdale's his own genre. Weird or Pulp is the best description. The Best Thing to Steal - SImon R Green - Heist / Urban Fantasy
Not a huge sci fi or fantasy reader but I’m gonna check out The Reformatory. Have you read Ring Shout by P. Djèlí Clark? It’s historical fiction with fantasy elements in there.
Sun eater is literally just flat out the best book series I’ve ever read. SOOOO happy to see so much love being shown to this series
Book series is just so amazing
Do people really say "you've only read 29 books"??? I'm on my 5th book of the year 🫠 people are wild
Haha yes. Especially on booktok people swear I read 100 books a month so want to temper expectations
I agree. I severely struggle with ADD. Most days I read around 40 pages and on a very, very rare exception, 100. In my life, I've only read one book in the span of day--but that was only 200 pages. As much as I love Words of Radiance (I've read it twice now), I cannot imagine reading it in a week.
@@chrisowenssff4876 not gonna lie I didn’t sleep well that week lol
I was talking to this girl the other day and she’d apparently read like 100 books so far and is going for 200 for the year. I read soo slow and I’m still not able to comprehend everything. So there’s just no way these people are actually reading and comprehending all these books, they just want to say they did for some reason. It turns out she listens to the books on audio on 2x speed while she’s doing other shit. Like wtf are we doing here lmao
I'm sure some people are wired that way. I only know I'm not one of them. I certainly would not be able to comprehend anything at that speed. And retention is another issue--when rereading a book I haven't read in a number of years, it's like reading it for the time. If the number of characters exceed the Dunbar limit, it becomes a challenge to keep track of who is who.
I picked up the Sun Eater series on prime day from your recommendation, cant wait to start reading after I finish Dune!
You gotta let me know what you think!
One of the top series out there. Great series and a great story
I’m currently reading Words of Radiance, I’m so excited for this adventure. Love your videos man, can’t wait to check out all your recommendations.
Thanks and that book is a ride for sure
This is my first video of yours. Saw the shirt and the books on the shelf, instant subscribe!
Ahhh that’s so fire welcome!
My dad would see Kobe in church regularly in New Port Beach. RIP 😢
@@pennPi incredible
Clicked on the video. Saw the book shelf and the shirt and it was an immediate follow for me. The Stormlight Archive series is on my TBR and seeing it on your list gives me motivation to start.
That’s so fire! And hopefully you can get to Stormlight before book 5 comes out!
There's a point in Morning Star where I stopped reading and started pacing in complete disbelief.
I have Blood Over Bright Haven and it has been on my reading list, but I am currently going through the worst reading slump.
Thank you for the reading recommendations. Artificial Wisdom seems like a book I would like.
Yeah Morning Star was absolutely nuts! And yeah you def gotta check out those two for sure and let me know what you think!
sevros "death" made me go 😮, then at that point I realised that everytime I think somethings going well, it all goes downhill after that. morning star was such a good book
Excellent list as always and while I haven't read some of them, I will be soon. Thank you so much. Your channel is so underrated. I started Suneater finally because of you.
Chain Gang All-Stars added to my list... I love that you rate and review books that are not often heard of! :)
Loved Chain Gang! And I try! There are so many dope books out there that deserve attention
Very excited for you to read the rest of Broken Earth for the first time! So obsessed with Jemisin!!!
I’m excited for it too!
I'm literally coming out of a 3 YEAR reading slump so I've read 5 books. 29 sounds AMAZING 😂❤
I had never heard of Chain Gang All-Stars before like a week ago and now I've heard soooo many people mention it, it's going to the top of my list!
I want to try to reread Stormlight before December but thats uhhh ambitious lol we'll see
🔥🔥🔥
Im so happy to have you here on youtube as I do not use tiktok anymore and prefer long form content ❤ thank you!
Happy to be here!
The Fifth Season's ending (book 1) still has me in a chokehold. That series was soooo good. Also, I definitely added like 3 books to my TBR. Thanks for this!
@@GatlingXYZ so insane
Really really love your channel! I just read Blood over bright heaven and it’s amazinggggggg 🔥🔥🔥🔥
So amazing that was such an incredible read ML Wang really did her thing
Just finished Will of the many and loved it. Ending left me going hmmmm. No second book yet. Starting Sun Eaters as soon as finish Assassin’s. Great top 10 !Apprentice
We need book 2!
Just finished this phenomenal collection of fairy tales entitled 'Sillies, Fancies, and Trifles' - highly recommend to go along with the books here and its perfect for the season. Keep up the beautiful vids :)
A) I love your tee. I miss him.
B) You are awesome to listen to! What a beautiful voice!!
C) You give excellent insight and detail without giving away too much. Awesome reviews.
D) You’re killing my TBR!! 😂
Going to have to buy another bookshelf at this rate. ✌🏻💙
Such great compliments! Also apologies for your TBR lmao mine is in shambles too
@@Smitty1423 I went and bought Wangs 2nd book. So I’ll have to wait until October. And - Hardcover but I was too excited about it to wait. 😂✌🏻
I just got my turn with Chain-Gang All-Stars from my public library TODAY! I feel like I've been waiting for it forever!
The Sun Eater books have been terrific, especially as audio books. Samuel Roukin has been NAILING it as narrator.
My favorite read so far this year has been Cahokia Jazz by Francis Spufford. I think too many have snoozed on this excellent alternate history.
I'm new to this channel but I'll be back. Great video and great list!
Yeah especially Demon in White for Sun Eater with the audio book soooo good. Glad you got Chain Gang hope you enjoy it!
@Smitty1423 It was sofa king good
I read project Hail Mary because of you and now I can’t wait to check out some of these recs
@@EssenceEtienne so amazing!
Chain Gang All Stars was so good!!! I was losing my mind at the ending too. Several books here on my TBR 😊
So hard for me to pick the order of my top 10 so I’ll just list the 10 books in the order I read them haha: Tress of the Emerald Sea, Emily Wilde’s Map of the Otherlands, Six of Crows, Finding Me, The Way of Kings, Words of Radiance, Seven Days in June, Piranesi, Parable of the Sower, and Just For the Summer!
So so good! And funny enough Tress and Yumi barely missed this top 10 haha
@@Smitty1423 haha nice!! I want to read Yumi as well but I guess I need to make it through more Cosmere books first 😂
Your video randomly popped up in my feed, and I am so happy it did!
My 16 yo is a voracious reader, and I pre-read a ton of YA books for her when she was little, so I was stuck in YA world for several years. I’m excited to step back into the world of adult literature, and have been looking for recommendations. 🎉
Nice! Glad you found my page!
Nice list - I've added some of these to my list. Some of my 4.5 - 5 stars reads of this year include: The Will of the Many, What the River Knows, Bloodmarked, The Fire Next Time, The Paris Housekeeper, Before the Coffee Gets Cold. Hopefully one of these will resonate with you.
Amazing!!
One of my favorite authors, Stephen Graham Jones, shouts from the rooftops about The Reformatory and Tananarive Due's writing in general. I really should read that novel especially after enjoying Due's contribution to the Out There Screaming horror anthology.
Yeeeeeees! I'm so glad that you loved The Spear Cuts Through Water!
The Broken Earth trilogy is such a wonderfully crafted series. Jemisin's command of her stories is almost unmatched, in my opinion. I can't wait to see how you enjoy the rest of the trilogy!
Yes!! Tananarive Dues writing is incredible! Spear was weirdly, very weirdly amazing haha and yeah will let you know what I think about the rest of the trilogy!
Hi! I just discovered your channel and we have some book preferences in common. I just wanted to encourage you to keep on reading the Red Rising saga, with Iron Gold and Dark Age. They are even more blown-minding. I just finished Dark Age and Lightbringer is waiting for me but first I have to process everything about Dark Age. Great video 😊
I will keep reading at some point!
Happy to see the First Law trilogy in your shelf! Recently finished the whole series(standalone books and Age of Madness). One of my favorite series
Some of my favorite books this year have been Robin Hobb books, including the third book of the Farseer trilogy and the third book of the Liveship Traders trilogy 😊
Morning Star and The Rage of Dragons are both INSANE! I love following Tau as a perspective. I cannot wait to read Blood Over Bright Haven and Sun Eater.
@@williamgwynne went so crazyyyy. But yes check out those 2!
Blood over Bright Haven, yeees! I read it last year and still keep thinking about it. It's so good!
Still have not read The Fifth Season or Rage of Dragons but hopefully soon.
Wow, you flew through Words of Radiance, it is a great book!
That book is so incredible
I'm glad your video popped up in my feed! I love The Fifth Season and just finished The Way of Kings in March. There were some books in your list that I'd never heard of that I've added to my TBR.
Idk about a top 10 for me but my fave books I've read so far in 2024 include The Way of Kings (obviously), Kindred by Octavia Butler, and Ancillary Justice by Ann Leckie. Since you like sci-fi, I'd be curious to hear your thoughts on Ancillary Justice. It's super unique, just unlike anything I've ever read and def a series I want to continue with.
@@Vanessa-fs7oz I still haven’t checked out Kindred I need to
About to start Chain Gang Allstars, thanks.
after watching several of your best of/favorite/5 star videos, I’d like to know more about what you don’t like, what you put down, and why.
Thanks for the recommendations
I normally go through that in my monthly wrap ups so look for one coming soon
Really interesting top ten! Added Chain-Gang All Stars to my TBR. All of the ones on this list I've read I gave five stars to!
Let me know what you think!
Awesome choices with Morning Star and Demon in White, the absolute best books in their respective series. Solid choices man!
Those go absolutely insane
Adding The Reformatory to my TBR! Thank you!
That’s incredible! You gotta let me know what you think
Nice list, I am definitely going to check some of these titles. Thanks for sharing. Have you read/heard of the Lorien Legacies? I Am Number Four is the first book and was made into a movie many years ago. It's an amazing Sci Fi read. Thanks again, glad you're here!
I actually haven’t heard of that will have to look into it!
Well after this I’m gonna have to keep going on Red Rising! Love everything about your style
Memories of Ice is one of the very few that comes close to Words of Radiance for me. Similar to how you described The Spear Cuts Through Water, the series is very confusing at first, but it is absolutely exquisite if you continue with it
Yes 1000% about Spear. And yes Morning Star in that series is incredible so def at least get there lol
More books to add to my ever-growing list, I both despair and rejoice! And 29 books per year is a super respectable number, don't let anybody tell you different, especially since some of these are quite thick!
I appreciate you for this comment
Epic list. Many of these are now up on my queue
That’s so dope! Hope you enjoy!
I came from Tiktok. Your recommendations are awesome! I'm on semestral break since June* and I've read three books from you recos: Rage of Dragons, Chain-Gang All-Stars, and The Spear Cuts Through Water. All three are ❤️🔥.
I'm currently reading Fires of Vengeance 😊
Ahhh those are so amazing and hopefully you have a great school year!
@@Smitty1423 thank you! And more good books for us this year 🫶
Great list! Red Rising Saga and M.L. Wang Amaazing! I can’t wait to read Stormlight. I’m almost done with the Realm of the Elderings by Robin Hobb. Thanks for sharing!
Got you!
Great list! Some of my favorites have been- Razorblade Tears, The Devil Takes you home, the ACOTAR series , House on the Cerulean Sea and Crying in H Mart
@@o_summer nice!!
Just found your channel and I wanted to say thank you so much for the recommendations!
That’s so amazing and I got you!
I'm excited to read Blood over Bright Haven. I've also now added Artificial Wisdom to my TBR.
Ahh those are some great adds!
I JUST bought Artificial Wisdom and I'm so excited to read it! I'm also really excited to read The Fifth Season this year. I decided to read Sword of Kaigen before Blood over Bright Haven but you (and others) have me SO excited to read both. Great list!!!
Definitely added some of those to my to buy list.
A couple of my 2024s I read:
Gideon the Ninth - Tamsyn Muir
Salvaged - Madelein Roux
Spear - Nicola Griffith
You'd probably like them based on the list you put out there.
That’s dope! I read Gideon last month and enjoyed it!
@@Smitty1423 I agree! I just ordered the sequel and am excited for it to show up.
I read The Reformatory this month and it blew me away , such an amazing book .
Not sure what my top 10 would like this year but I discovered John Gwynn so The Faithful and the Fallen series would definitely be in there.
Chain Gang All Stars is our Bookclub read this month , looking forward to it even more now I've seen your review!
That’s so dope hope you enjoy Chain Gang and The Faithful and the Fallen is on my list for next month
@@Smitty1423 It's an amazing series , I hope you love it as much as I did 😊
FYI, you got me back into reading after 2 years hiatus 😅 thankyou 👍 keep it up 🙂↔️
@@Killakaysz this is so dope! No thank you! You keep it up!
Gosh reading these comments and listening to your list, I feel like I have found my tribe. Best book I have read all year other than stormlight archive was the Will of the Many. It was a 5 star read that came out of nowhere, I read it on a whim! I also would love to see the Library at Mount Char get more love. It is the weirdest book I will ever read.
Ahh welcome! And yes The Will of the Many was in my top last year! Soooo good!
A Spear Cuts Through Water is one of my top books this year, and The Broken Earth trilogy were my top books last year! If you’re interested in sci-fi/fantasy with experimental writing/POVs, some recs:
- The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern (currently reading)
- The Saint of Bright Doors by Vajra Chandrasekera
- Leech by Hiron Ennes
- The Raven Tower by Ann Leckie
- This is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone
- Harrow the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir (sequel to Gideon the Ninth)
Ooo this list is giving me some good recs
That's a fire Kobe shirt I was looking at that one online. Great book list, already downloaded a few on the Kindle.
Ahhh let’s goooo
Chain Gang All Stars sounds so interesting! Will have to check it out! 😃
It was so good!
Glad to see Evan Winter and his burning series make the list. Others: I loved Morning Star but might have loved Golden Son a bit more, and you excited me to continue with Suneater. Demon In White is my next entry. - Cheers 🍻
Let’s gooo so glad you are on Sun Eater and yeah the Burning Series is incredible
Some incredible books. The Reformatory recently won the Shirley Jackson award for 2023! I really need to get to Blood over Bright Haven. I've been enjoying your videos, great stuff!
That’s dope it won that didn’t know! And yeah loved Blood Over Bright Haven
Haven’t heard of Artificial Wisdom until yesterday but now I’ve seen it in like 4 different spots, giving it praise. Will need to check it out.
You def should!
Oh wow, Steven Pacey does the audiobook. He’s the narrator for the first law books and in my opinion he’s the best. Going to start listening tomorrow.
@@kevinwalsh9704 yepp he does a great job in this one too!
Struggling to continue words of radiance just because of not wanting to read another 1,300 pages but your praise has motivated me to stick through it
Hopefully you enjoy the rest!
I finally got the courage to read Dune and loved it!
My highlights - besides Dune - of the year so far:
- Piranesi (Susanna Clarke)
- Lapvona (Otessa Moshfegh)
- All Systems Red (Martha Wells)
Dope year so far!
I decided to read Gardens of the moon, I loved it. I think you would like it too, based on your favourites. Malazan is really giving me chills and i thought it was near impossible at this stage in my reading life. I think you should give it a go :) awesome video!
I’ve heard a lot about Malazan will have to check it out
I added most of the books you mentioned! Thanks for the solid recs!
I finished Red Rising today and i felt pretty meh about it, so you and some others who have mentioned to me that its absolutely worth pushing to book 2 and 3 to read. So I'm glad that seems a really common consensus!
My top books this year (not in order)
Dreams of Steel (Black Comoany is a great series, but it is a bit aged)
Armour of Contempt or Only in Death were absolutely amazing.
The First Law Trilogy as a whole. 5/5.
Whalefall is a surprisingly random recommendation that i really enjoyed.
This is how you lose the time war.
Sword of Kaigen
The Word Bearers Trilogy was an great read as well.
Look forward to your end of year list!
I’ll check out the ones I haven’t read. Sword of Kaigen I’ve read and yes so amazing!
Great list!
My top picks of the books I’ve read this year are (only one per series):
1: Words of Radiance
2: Red Seas Under Red Skies (The Lies of Locke Lamora was in December or that would be it)
3: The Door to Door Book Store
4: The Well of Ascension
5: Alcatraz Versus the Evil Librarians (Just a fun bedtime read to the kids).
6: Kings of the Wyld
7: The Will of the Many
8: Firefly Big Damn Hero
9: The Dresden Files: Stormfront
10: Annihilation
Not using multiple books in a series made this very difficult as the last two just weren’t my cup of tea. I did read more Dresden Files, but decided to stop the series.
Damn you read some absolute gas this year. Good to see we both have Words of Radiance at our top haha
@@Smitty1423 Stormlight is just fantastic overall (almost can’t pick a favorite of the series). I’ve always been more character driven in reading than plot, but when it hits both like Stormlight does, just top tier.
finally someone agrees with well of ascension supremacy
@@lukeherbst7885 Easily my favorite of the trilogy. The Tensoon/Oreseur mystery alone makes it fantastic for me. Really enjoyed Elend's arc as well.
African Immortals Series by Tananarive Due. Book 1 My Soul to keep and Book 2 The living blood. I haven’t finished the series yet but I highly recommend it.
Ahh I'll have to look into that!
I enjoyed all of her books. Her husband Steven Barnes is also a good read.😊
Stormlight archive is 🔥can’t wait for book 5. New sub! This was awesome
I finished rhythm of war and I’m readyyyyy
OK, so the only Sanderson I've read has been his Wheel of Time issues, but those were not his characters so it's hard to judge his writing. Your vid has finally given me the motivation to try some Sanderson, but I'm going to start with the Mistborn Trilogy first (smaller commitment), if I like it then I'll probably try Way of Kings. I have a long TBR currently (which includes The Broken Earth Trilogy, The Spear that Cuts Water, The Sun Eater Series, and both ML Wang books, among others) but I'm going to try to get to some Sanderson this year.
I thinking starting with Mistborn is the right move! That’s where I started!
read The Spear Cuts Through Water after your and another booktokers recommendation
and since english is not my first language i was so confused the first 100 pages and had to read the first 25 twice but after i got past the 150 pages it was such a smooth and captivating reading experience and the ending was so beautiful i almost cried!
and regarding my top 10 of this year so far is relatively easy to rank since i 'only' read 18 so far and a few of them were mediocre in my opinion
so i‘m ranking a top 7 of those 18 that i truly enjoyed (top to bottom): Jade City, Bullet Train, The Spear Cuts Trough Water, The Burning God, The Library at Mount Char, The Starless Sea, The Helm of Midnight
loved your video!! nice and cozy :)
Yeah Spear is so interesting because you get to a point where you want to dnf but then you keep going and you’re like why would I ever think about dnfing this lol
@@Smitty1423 exactly that and i agree with it not being something for everyone but man that was something for ME
@@Smitty1423hmm, I'm one who did DNF it 55% in, but it's still on my Kindle and I might pick it back up at some point.
This is the first video of yours I've seen and I like your style. Our tastes seem to overlap in some areas (eg, Fifth Season & Stormlight Archive - I agree, amazing!) and not so much in others (I had to DNF Chain Gang Allstars) - but I love your enthusiasm for your favs and you've made me really want to hurry to pick up M.L. Wang, the Suneater series, etc. I hope your 2nd half of 2024 will be as good as the first!
@@Jodi9810 amazing!!
I have 100 pages left in Words of Randiance, and it’s so damn good! The Sanderlanche has definitely begun, and I will absolutely be back to share my thoughts!!
Chain Gang and Fifth Season so very interesting, and I’ve had some others recommend them. It’s cool to see they made your list for the year so far.
The last few 100 pages of Words of Radiance is ingrained in my head forever! And yes def check out those two!
@@Smitty1423 I am back after finishing and I ABSOLUTELY see why people say that Words of Radiance is better than Way of Kings. The last couple hundred pages of Words of Radiance was just so damn good!
I honestly was holding out like like Way of Kings more pretty much the entire read through, partly due to the fact of limit Dalinar PoVs, but man did that change in part five! I was not really the biggest fan of Shallan and Kaladin, but this book absolutely did a wonderful job of their character growth!
I’m just glad I don’t have to wait for Oathbringer to release 😂😂
@@holdenpop12 let’s gooo glad you enjoyed it man that book was something else
I would recommend These Burning Stars by Bethany Jacobs! It's a sci-fi/space opera and it has amazing worldbuilding, setting, characters, and the plot is so captivating! It's a duology and the next book comes out in October!
Will look into it!
DEMON IN WHITE!!!! So good. Ruocchio is such fun and deep at the same time! Have you read Gene Wolfe at all? He’s a big influence on Ruocchio but twice as trippy!
I haven’t! But agree really enjoy his writing!
Book of the New Sun is the only series I’d re-read. I’m starting the Long Sun/Short Sun cycles at some point this year.
@@mystikmusings5451 YESSSS!! Really you only read Wolfe to prep for the reread. And that’s why he keeps his books short too!
I just found this channel and I love it. Thanks for the reviews, I’m always looking for something new to read.
Got you! And hope I can continue to recommend good ones for you
The Red Rising saga was my first real dive into science fiction and what an introduction! I inhaled that entire series back to back. Some of my faves this year is Ruin in the Faithful and the Fallen series by John Gwynne and Trials of Empire in the Empire of the Wolf series by Richard Swan. Have you read those? The Rage of Dragons is also one of my tops books this year.
@@MM-introvert I have the Faithful and the Fallen on my list for next month!
Got some new titles to look into from your list! A couple that I’ve really enjoyed this year are Black Sun by Rebecca Roanhorse and Pariah by Anthony Ryan. Also read the sequels to those…two great series.
Discovered you on Book tok. Know you're on youtube. (which i prefer). Keep posting videos.
So fire!! Will keep posting for sure
Who's old enough to remember good ole pulp fiction no, not the movie... The guy who wrote Dianetics also wrote fantasy/sci-fi and absurd airport reads... This list reminds me of that genre- but on steroids. Keep up the great work. Keep us reading. This has been a great review. The only 1 in common is The Reformatory so imma put Percival Everett's books down and do a "Rando-Reading" of 1 of yours and get back to you...thanx😊
Thank you and let me know!
I'm halfway through The Spear Cuts Through Water and I am loving it so unbelievably much!
Yeah soon as you get over halfway it gets so damn good, still confusing but so damn good
Good picks The Reformatory is one my favorite books this year as well. Good picks will b checking out the chain gang all stars sounds very interesting 🤔thanks
Thinking of starting the Stormlight Archive soon. I'm not a huge fantasy guy (I read primarily horror and sci fi) but should be interesting. Best books I've read this year The Terror by Dan Simmons, Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy, Revival by Stephen King, and currently reading the Fall of Hyperion by Dan Simmons and it looks like it'll be up there!
Nice I’ll have to look into the ones you mentioned!
Tananarive has a book out?! Oh goodness I’ve always loved her writing since “ My Soul To Keep” and “ Devils Wake”😮
It’s a great one!
love the reformatory and the fifth season! need to read so many of these especially blood over bright haven and the spear cuts through water
Yes for sure check them out!
Hey King I been wanting to start my book tube channel for awhile as well cause I have so many books to talk about. I will subscribe to your channel cause most of the books you mentioned I have read and would like to talk about. I will recommend for fantasy The Faithful and Fallen for you a truly dope series on every level.
Thanks for the rec!
After Wheel of Time. Now you got me debating do I start Suneater or Stormlight?
Way of Kings, Words of Radiance and Oathbringer I’ve read for the first time this year. I can’t decide which is the best, each one is so good.
I did the same thing and read them for the first time this year. Currently reading Rhythm of War right now! My top will always be Words of Radiance tho haha
Bro I swear I found Brandon Sanderson and almost haven’t looked back! That whole stormlight archive series is a major problem in the best way. I’ll have to check out that rage of dragons
@@devinwilson9899 big facts!!
GOAT list, GOAT content creator, just gotta add some John Gwynne 😁 my top 5 of the year so far are
5) Before they are hanged
4) kings of the wyld
3) the hero of ages
2) sword of Kaigen
1) ruin/wrath
Great list! And yes on my list for next month actually
@@Smitty1423 ayyy love to see it!
My top 5
1). Jurassic Park
2) Words of Radiance
3). The Great Hunt
4) Mistborn
5). The Count of Monte Cristo
I want to read Blood over Bright Haven and The Rage of Dragons. I have Rage, just need to fit it in schedule.
Wang's The Sword of Kaigen is an all-timer for me.
That’s a great 5! And yeah Sword of Kaigen is goated
Did you read mistborn before the stormlight archive?
@@yoneeronee I did read Mistborn era 1 before stormlight.
I appreciate the list ! I agree on words of radiance just straight fire I have read it 6 times although I do love storm of swords more!
Words of Radiance is just so good I def need to do a a reread
so glad i found your channel! and that shirt goes so hard
@@tine272 thank you!
Reformatory sounds so intetesting I'll have to add that to my tbr
You should! Let me know what you think!
Spear Cuts Through Water has been on my radar a while, i definitely need to check it out!
Also, really like that there's not 20+ shelves packed with books 💟 Feels like you're a normal guy who just enjoys reading ^_^
Haha yeah and even all the shelves in that book case isn’t full I use the library a lot a big reason for that
@@Smitty1423 i respect that 😁 i think libraries are tragically underrepresented on BookTube / BookTok / BookStagram
Nice video, Smitty. I have a question for you. You said you read everyday. Do you have like a set schedule or amount of time you try to read a day? I'm just getting into reading over the last year or so and was just curious. Appreciate you. Happy reading.
Great question! So I try to set time in the morning about an hour before work and then at night time I try to get 2-3 hours in. I don’t really watch tv so reading takes up most of my time
@@Smitty1423 Thanks for the answer.
Nice timing on the drop. Omw to see DP:3 and this was great listening material.
I love onscreen sci-fi but I'm not a fan of reading it, can't explain. Yet, I'm adding Artificial Wisdom to my reading list. The concept alone is captivating.
Rage of Dragons was insane. Now, I have to admit I almost dropped it. I think when Tau goes to Daba for the first time I took interest. Then me and my wife started arguing bc I wouldn't do anything else but read it.
Rage of Dragons will do that to you! But yes def check out Artificial Wisdom and let me know what you think!
Have to suggest John Gwynne’s “Blood Sworn Saga” first two books; The Shadow of the Gods & The Hunger of the Gods are great reads.. final in the trilogy; “The Fury of the Gods” drops October of this year.. already pre-ordered!
On my list for this month!
@@Smitty1423 Nice, please do a review!
Are you familiar with The Wars of Light and Shadow by Janny Wurts?
One of the most underrated/underread fantasy series I know..
I am not! Will have to look into it!
The cover of The Spear Cuts Through Water is gorgeous. Which of these books has the most satistfying chapter or section breaks such that you can easily read three to five chapters before putting the book down for whatever reason; and not every chapter ending is a cliffhanger?
Haha good question maybe Artificial Wisdom? But even that has you on your toes
My top 10 so far in no particular order: Interesting Facts About Space, Emily Wild’s Map of the Otherworlds, My Happy Marriage, All Systems Red, Five Broken Blades, The Ninth Rain, The God and the Gumiho, The Spellshop, A Dawn with the Wolf Knight, A Fate Inked in Blood.
I haven’t heard of a lot of these will check it out
@@Smitty1423 given your tastes, I think you’d probably enjoy All Systems Red (Murderbot Diaries) and The Ninth Rain (The Winnowing Flame). If you’re okay with some romance then I’d also recommend Emily Wild’s Encyclopedia of Fairies, Five Broken Blades, and The God and the Gumiho too, it’s just they either have a strong romance theme or would fall into the cozy fantasy reads. Which can be really nice after a grand fantasy adventure.
the Reformatory was heartbreaking and the ending was so tense...I just purchased Artificial Wisdom because I love the AI aspect
Hope you enjoy Artificial Wisdom!
words of radiance and rage of dragons were so good cant wait for book 3 and 5 of their series
You and me both! Will be starting Rhythm of War soon!
@@Smitty1423 same my rhythm of war comes in august 1st
The Wayward Pines and The First Law trilogies have been my favorite books so far.
@@nickherrera1313 I’m starting 1st law next month!
First Law books are good, but Abercrombie really starts cooking with Best Served Cold, Red Country, and The Heroes.
Picking up the reformatory!
Amazing!!
Have you read the Will of the Many? Currently reading it right now and it’s incredible! Would be really interested in hearing your thoughts
Yes I did! One of my favorite books from last year!
@@Smitty1423 I’m late to your response but I finished it on Monday and WOW… that is a hard book to follow up. The story is phenomenal.
I'd say my Top 3 of the year so far have been:
A Brightness Long Ago / Guy Gavriel Kay
- Historical-Fantasy inspired by the City States and mercenary companies of Renaissance Italy.
Fool's Errand / Robin Hobb
- 1st book of the Tawny Man trilogy. Hobb and Kay have dominated the Fantasy I've read this year.
Lonesome Dove / Larry McMurtry
- A western
My favourite re-read of the year so far as been R Scott Bakker's The Warrior-Prophet the 2nd book of the Prince of Nothing trilogy. Peak Grimdark Fantasy for me. Imagine Dune if it was a Fantasy series written by GRRM.
Dope but also thanks for these recs!
Been a slow year, so far. Here's my list, in no particular order:
The Cleanup - John Skipp and Craig Spector - Horror
The Scream - John Skipp and Craig Spector - Horror
Saevus Corax Deals with the Dead - K J Parker - low fantasy
Saevus Corax Captures the Castle
Saevus Corax Gets Away with Murder
Alias the Saint - Leslie Charteris - adventure/crime
The Magic Wagon - Joe R Lansdale - Lansdale's his own genre. Weird or Pulp is the best description.
The Best Thing to Steal - SImon R Green - Heist / Urban Fantasy
Will have to look into these for sure
I'm reading the fifth season right now and it's soooo good so far!! also reading average of 600 pages is intense imo that's dedication 😮💨
Haha yeah it’s pretty wild idk why I do it to myself
@@Smitty1423 respect 🫡🫡🫡
Not a huge sci fi or fantasy reader but I’m gonna check out The Reformatory. Have you read Ring Shout by P. Djèlí Clark? It’s historical fiction with fantasy elements in there.
I have not! I will check it out!