Yay!!!! I knew you would love it! So, his first book is a collection of short stories called Knockemstiff, and his third book is The Heavenly Table, a novel. Pollock worked for 30 years at a paper mill, retired, took a few writing classes, and this is the result. Are you f*ing kidding me??? It's just insane how talented he is. He is a small, tidy, ordinary man who looks like he works at the post office or something, but wow, all that is bubbling in that mind of his! I'll read anything he writes, I don't care what it's about, plus I'll pre-order it! I'm so glad you read it! See, trust your local bookseller, lol! Several of my coworkers read it as well, and for months, whenever we ran into each other, we'd just shake our heads and say, "Oh my god, Donald Ray Pollock." It's like he drugged us, lol! So, so glad you loved it! 💚💚💚
Wow!! What a success story!! Who knows what other gems we would have had he started writing earlier in life!! I immediately went out and bought Knockemstiff from my local used bookstore after finishing The Devil all the Time. It is top priority for this summer! Thank you again for the recommendation- please feel free to send more over my way!!
@@ianthereader see, he's drugged you too! Well, The Heavenly Table, for sure. I've been a bookseller for 16 years, and I've never found anyone like him. Thank you so much for spreading the word -- I want everyone to read him!
Love this wildly diverse list!! I am glad Will of the Many lived up to the hype for you. And I love to see Paper Menagerie (spot on with your assessment that Liu is even better in short form) and Princess Bride getting some love! Also, The Devil All the Time is one of those books that left me feeling kinda weird and bad for enjoying such a messed up story hahaha. My top 10 of the year so far is probably: - Hell for Hire by Rachel Aaron - A Love Song For Ricki Wilde by Tia Williams - The Storm Beneath the World by Michael R. Fletcher - A Strange & Stubborn Endurance by Foz Meadows - Mushroom Blues by Adrian M. Gibson - Just for the Summer by Abby Jimenez - The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Sangu Mandana - Riven Earth by Zammar Ahmer - Butcher & Blackbird by Brynne Weaver - Empire of the Damned by Jay Kristoff Much less fantasy than usual, but I am loving that! Hope you find many more faves in the 2nd half of the year!! 🥰
Ian: Love your book videos. Would it be possible for you to do a top 3 or 4 of Greg Isles? I see a lot of them on your shelf. Would like to hear your thoughts on his books that are your favorites.
It took until my 3rd try to get through the first 100 pages of Dune. I just had to concentrate and make myself do it and I am glad I did. It's just not a casual read but it is a great read.
I think DCC is going to be a readalong on bookish drummer for the second half of next year so if you’re itching for a reread but want to read other things holding off til then might be a good compromise? 😂
Three days ago i bought The first book of the Witcher saga and the first of the dark tower's. I don't think I will go on with the witcher after finishing the first, and even though the Gunslinger is a bit confusionary at first i hope it gets better
The devil all the time is my all time favorite book (so far). Glad you also loved it!
Yes, it was amazing!! So beyond my expectations!
Boy's Life & 11/22/63 have been my favorites so far this year. Definitely adding The Devil All the Time to my tbr list.
Both of those are incredible books!
Needful Things is fantastic! The Dark Tower has a fantastic ending, overall, not my favorite though
Yeah, the ending totally worked for me.
nice selection of books! I feel similar about the Dandelion Dynasty. Sounds like I should give his short story a try :P
You shouuuuld!!
Yay!!!! I knew you would love it! So, his first book is a collection of short stories called Knockemstiff, and his third book is The Heavenly Table, a novel. Pollock worked for 30 years at a paper mill, retired, took a few writing classes, and this is the result. Are you f*ing kidding me??? It's just insane how talented he is. He is a small, tidy, ordinary man who looks like he works at the post office or something, but wow, all that is bubbling in that mind of his! I'll read anything he writes, I don't care what it's about, plus I'll pre-order it! I'm so glad you read it! See, trust your local bookseller, lol! Several of my coworkers read it as well, and for months, whenever we ran into each other, we'd just shake our heads and say, "Oh my god, Donald Ray Pollock." It's like he drugged us, lol! So, so glad you loved it! 💚💚💚
Wow!! What a success story!! Who knows what other gems we would have had he started writing earlier in life!!
I immediately went out and bought Knockemstiff from my local used bookstore after finishing The Devil all the Time. It is top priority for this summer! Thank you again for the recommendation- please feel free to send more over my way!!
@@ianthereader see, he's drugged you too! Well, The Heavenly Table, for sure. I've been a bookseller for 16 years, and I've never found anyone like him. Thank you so much for spreading the word -- I want everyone to read him!
! Thanks for putting some of the books on my radar!
Absolutely! Thanks for watching!
Love this wildly diverse list!! I am glad Will of the Many lived up to the hype for you. And I love to see Paper Menagerie (spot on with your assessment that Liu is even better in short form) and Princess Bride getting some love!
Also, The Devil All the Time is one of those books that left me feeling kinda weird and bad for enjoying such a messed up story hahaha.
My top 10 of the year so far is probably:
- Hell for Hire by Rachel Aaron
- A Love Song For Ricki Wilde by Tia Williams
- The Storm Beneath the World by Michael R. Fletcher
- A Strange & Stubborn Endurance by Foz Meadows
- Mushroom Blues by Adrian M. Gibson
- Just for the Summer by Abby Jimenez
- The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Sangu Mandana
- Riven Earth by Zammar Ahmer
- Butcher & Blackbird by Brynne Weaver
- Empire of the Damned by Jay Kristoff
Much less fantasy than usual, but I am loving that! Hope you find many more faves in the 2nd half of the year!! 🥰
I haven’t read a single one of your top 10! Makes me happy because that means I have so many good books yet to read!
Great list! Time to add more books to my TBR...
Yeeeeeeah buddy
Always cool to see a really interesting mix of different genres in a Top 10 list.
I love reading all sorts of genres! I’ve found some gems so far this year, for sure.
I'm going to start my husband on Dungeon Crawler Carl once he finishes the last Dresden book that's out - on audio, of course!
Yessss!! Hope he loves them!
Ian: Love your book videos. Would it be possible for you to do a top 3 or 4 of Greg Isles? I see a lot of them on your shelf. Would like to hear your thoughts on his books that are your favorites.
Thank you so much for your comment! So, all of the Greg Iles books I have/have read are in the Penn Cage series. I definitely recommend those!
I need to read The Will of tue Many soon. Definitely on my 5 star predictions list!
Yes, I think you’d love it!
@@ianthereader Good to hear! 😁
It took until my 3rd try to get through the first 100 pages of Dune. I just had to concentrate and make myself do it and I am glad I did. It's just not a casual read but it is a great read.
I 100% agree! It takes work to get into, but once you do, it’s amazing!
I think DCC is going to be a readalong on bookish drummer for the second half of next year so if you’re itching for a reread but want to read other things holding off til then might be a good compromise? 😂
That’ll work! 🎉
@@ianthereader Woo hoo! It'll be fun to have an experienced reader read it with us! :)
Three days ago i bought The first book of the Witcher saga and the first of the dark tower's. I don't think I will go on with the witcher after finishing the first, and even though the Gunslinger is a bit confusionary at first i hope it gets better
Haven’t read Witcher yet, but Dark Tower is definitely confusing at first! I encourage you to push through!!
As someone who doesn't like Red Rising, will I enjoy The Will of the Many?
I think it’s worth a shot!
The Will of the Many sounds wild.
It definitely is!
i need to do this video, but i'm still bummed i only have 1 true 5 star read this year lol
Yeeeah, that is a bit of a bummer. Still, you have quite a few 4.5s!
PAPER MENAGERIE
Thank you for your insightful contribution to this discussion, sir.