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Sorry for the late response. I'm not going to argue, or debate, with your choices; they're all strong female leads. I will, however, offer a comments I'd encourage you, and your fans, to read a whole lot more classical fantasies written by females. C.J. Cherryh, C.S Friedman, Hambly, Diana Wynne Jones, Le Guin, McCaffrey, Moon, Norton, Tepper, Walton, Wells, Wurts and Yolen, just to name a few of my favorites, all are extraordinarily well written, and feature extraordinary female leads. Many of whom directly influenced those on your list. Hope you enjoy!

What a wonderful chat this was! (I watched over a few sessions). It’s always great to hear a bit more chat about sci fi :) As always I will champion The Culture. None of the books are super chunky, and my favourite, The Use of Weapons, is fairly skinny. If anyone ever wants to discuss The Culture I am there with bells on! Also want to champion Alastair Reynolds.

My heart burns there, too.

:)

Now do a livestream collab with a youtuber asoiaf theorist like Glidus or David Lightbringer or Grey Waste Tim or Preston Jacobs so they blackpill you on the deep lore and introduce you to the endless well of asoiaf theories like they did to Bookborn 😈

The FOMO from this video is insane

What a gorgeous backyard background!

Just finished Royal Assassin. I’m not okay 😞

I totally read guns at dawn, LPQ because of Allen!!!!

Hate to break it to you Johanna, read Electric Forest a few months back, rated it 3.5 ⭐😅 IMO it's also definitely scifi.

❤😊 thanks for a great time!!! Let’s do it again sometime- maybe to chat about Dawn!

I totally agree with you about the horror in it. The supernatural parts of that book are well done but the real world stuff the kids deal with hit me so much harder.

To me there is very little difference between Sci Fi and Fantasy. If you think about it what is the difference between something like visiting a VR world vs The Chronicles of Narnia? That or space operas versus something like Game of Thrones or Memory, Sorrow, and Thorns. Or even things like first contact/wars of invasions can and have happened in fantasy. So to me they are all one in the same just different time/levels of tech.

What a surprise.. I turn on RUclips and see 3 of my favorites in my feed !

I had a fabulous time chatting today with both of YOU! Thank you, Johanna and Whitney. ❤

Slade House sounds great! I read the Bone Clocks near to the time it was released, so will probably need to do a re-read at some point. I have Never Let Me Go on my physical TBR, so hoping I can get to it before the end of the year.

Oooh really good to hear about the connection between Slade House and The Bone Clocks, I had no idea. So, can you start with either one or do you have a recommended order yourself? Also, I have managed to avoid any spoilers about the notorious scene in IT for so long because I am using it as motivation to keep that book on my TBR in hopes that I will eventually cave out of morbid curiosity lol. Glad to hear that it was overall a good read for you! I personally finished 11/22/63 recently and I think that is currently my favourite King! Sending all the love your way, hope you have been doing well over the last week 🫂🥰

You've inspired me to start Bakker, most likely after I finish Malazan. I suspect I'm going to love him. Ishiguro is another author I'm hoping to try as well. I always enjoy hearing you talking about the books you've read as you articulate your thoughts so well. Though it might not be healthy for my neverending TBR. 😅

Loved your thoughts on Slade House and Never Let Me Go! The Betrayal tag video was HILARIOUS I couldn’t look away :)

Ha Waldo

What a fantastic video!! Can’t wait to start Prince of nothing next year (might be overkill with starting Janny Wurts + Malazan next year, but who needs sleep anyways 😂)

Thanks for the mention! _Why Read?_ was a lot of fun, I really appreciate the invitation. I haven't read any Ishiguro other than _Klara..._ and your review made _Never Let Me Go_ sound very much right up my alley. I've read both _Cloud Atlas_ and _The Bone Clocks,_ and have had a copy of _Slade House_ lingering for a while. But my memory of _The Bone Clocks_ is super foggy, and it sounds like maybe re-reading that first will add to my reading of _Slade House,_ so that's good to know!

I'm sorry to hear about your cat .. and I thank you for talking about your experience with grief. The way you relate to your reads and how you talk about stories is fascinating 🌸

I can’t wait to discuss The Great Ordeal with you, Johanna! Why Read? with Lekden was so much fun - thank you for including me. Allen is so mean to make you cry like that!

I look forward to reading Bakker someday, but I need something a little more uplifting this week 😅

You look like Waldo! 😉 Glad you liked Never Let me Go; Ishiguro just does not miss.

You have me so intrigued about It, and after loving 11/22/63 as much as I did I plan to get to all of King’s stuff (or at least the SFF stuff). After just bouncing off the end of Pet Sematary I can see how just one scene could really hinder my enjoyment of the overall experience, and I’ll be curious to see if something similar happens for me with It. Can’t wait to try David Mitchell as well! Love hearing about those interconnections and Easter eggs 🔥

Can’t wait for that Great Ordeal discussion. IT for me is definitely good. I actually liked the ending. The final confrontation, least. The structure of the storylines was great. The *scene* was also amazing. I’m joking

Great upload! Based on your and Jimmy's reviews, I'm going to have to try and get David Mitchell on my to read pile for 2025. I read Clara and the Sun based on your reviews and it was really good so I might have to squeez Never Let Me Go next year as well. I read It when I was 13. I was born and grew up in small forest town that architecture at the time was of mostly structers built in the 1950s, so when I read the book, I really related to the kids a lot. Which is why it's my favorite despite the poor ending. King was a school teacher before becoming a profesional writer so I wonder if that is what gave him the insight into writing kids and teens so well. Bakker is really starting to tip his hand in The Great Ordeal. The Prince of Nothing trilogy feels quaint and wholesome compared to The Great Ordeal and The Unholy Consult. I'm looking forward to hearing yours and Philips thoughts on this book, because these finale two books lose a lot of reader for being too much. When you finish The Unholy Consult you should watch Mark Slowly Red spoiler talk on it. It had me tearing up.

I loved this video AND thank you for creating the Betrayal book tag! I truly had a blast with it!! (ps, thank you for joining in our livestream last night!!)

Yeah the controversial scene wasn’t the best for me either, but it didn’t detract from the rest of the book. It does however annoy me whenever I bring up Stephen King and the first thing people say is ‘but yeah what about that scene’! Never Let Me Go has been a favourite of mine for a while and I loved it more on reread, so I can see why the spoiler didn’t affect you enjoyment. I really need to get to more Mitchell!

Great video Johanna! I loved heaving your thoughts on IT, and the controversy surrounding it. I agree with you on the overprotection/underprotection discussion.

I’m so glad you liked Never Let Me Go so much!!! That book has meant so much to me. It came to me at the best time b/c I was struggling myself a lot. My closest friends, the people I had built the deepest connections with up to that point, were moving on after high school. They were moving away and I was stuck in our home town and left behind. I had felt abandoned and extremely depressed. This book brought me the deepest catharsis b/c Kathy was coming to terms with losing that part in her life, and I had to do that as well. Those good times may have been no more, but I was able to look back at them and accept my feelings and move on with life. And I just love the writing style! He is so good at telling you without telling you what is going on. And I felt he had captured the complicated feelings of growing up and becoming who you are so well. I’ve got to read Klara and the Sun soon! Also I loved your discussion with Philip and Lekden! It was so fascinating, and I really need to listen to it again.

HEAD ON A POLE BEHIND YOU!! There was a video Mr. Nutts did a while back, could have been his review for Great Ordeal, where he kept going back to that line. Thanks for the video!

I've read IT a loooooong time ago (like 25-ish years ago) and I really liked it ... up until the controversial scene which is as you've nicely described clunky and the ending itself which I quite disliked. I've also read Never Let Me Go soon after it's publication and that one just blew me away. After all these years it's still in my Top 5 books of all time. I must say you have a very nice way of describing books without any spoilers. I really enjoy that.

😂.. was not expecting that ending. Just got Bone Clocks and Slade House. Which should I start with?

The ending of IT was also problematic for me but still overall a fav for what it gets right

So glad to hear you enjoyed Never Let Me Go! I first read it back in college for my lit class and it left an impact on me. His works affect me emotionally in the most quiet, subtle yet powerful way.

You could go to the beginning of the story with 1000 Autumns of Jacob DeZoet now or if you want jump into Cloud Atlas. So happy you had haunting good time!

Very interesting insight into “It”. I feel like I have a hard time with how bloated Kings books feel and I know that one is one of his longest works. Did you feel like the story is worth the long time commitment?

On "that scene," personally I have always been baffled about how big a deal people make of it. Spoilers: When I was in high school from 2000-2004, people started around 14, 13 in some cases, and they hadn't even walked hours through pitch darkness after a life-or-death struggle against a multidimensional god to bring them to the frayed ends of sanity first. So my take has always basically been "Should the scene have been there? Probably not, but *shrug*." Personally I find the Patrick Hockstetter stuff infinitely more disturbing, and nobody ever talks about that.

OK, now you need to read The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet, and then Utopia Ave.

I'm so sorry for your kitten...I love blackies. I haven't read King in about a decade maybe I should revisit him just to see how he writes children.

I am guessing you have never watched the Addams Family or Wednesday? The BEST chopped-off hand that might cure your fear..haha

David Mitchell is one of my favorite authors. I love that he’s been getting more attention on booktube.

Sounds like an awesome month! I so agree, Malazan and SA are very different beasts. That chat with Allen was one of the most fun things I've seen on Booktube to date, lol.

Just had a strange vision of Kelmomas out trick or treating. Looking forward to spoiler discussion and the quotes you are referring to. So many to choose from.

I have two Ishiguro books on my TBR this month: The Remains of the Day and A Pale View of the Hills. What I love about Ishiguro's writing is how each of his novels feels entirely distinct from the others. The plots, settings, and characters vary so much from one book to the next, making each reading experience unique. I know Never Let Me Go is one of his most famous works, and I'm familiar with the story and its ending. While I’m tempted to give it a try, I’m not sure if it will resonate with me. We’ll see! I wish I had Allan's ability to think up these comebacks and rants off the cuff. Absolutely fantastic Have you read The Body? AKA Stand by Me? This has the compelling human elements of IT you mentioned without the fantastical elements. Here's some booktalk from me, should you choose to accept it. Ahem......... First on the docket this month was a reread of the Silver Chair by CS Lewis. I listened to this on audio while running and it remains one of my favorite audiobooks of all time, an opinion I have maintained since early childhood. Jeremy Northram is absolutely fantastic. Silver Chair is always on my list of favorite fantasy books of all time, in part due to the introduction of Puddleglum the Marshwiggle, whose unlimitless pessimism, or boundless optimism depending on how you look at it, has inspired me to claw my way out of many a melancholic episode. Good times this book. Lots of complaining which I appreciate, obviously, mostly about being cold and hungry. Just makes me crack up. Next I finished Yumi and the Nightmare Painter, which was my first full novel by Brandon Sanderson. First off, the illustrations were absolutely stunning. I actually bought the book mainly for the artwork and didn’t honestly care too much if the story was amazing or not. The book ended up being really enjoyable. The way the characters interact in this world felt fresh and distinct enough that I didn't find myself endlessly comparing it to Sanderson's influences, particularly the film Your Name which he has mentioned inspired him, a fantastic animated film I’d definitely recommend if you're into that kind of movie (or honestly, even if you're not). One thing I will say about Yumi and the Nightmare Painter-and this isn't a criticism at all-is that I don’t think this book is going to be the one to make me dive into more Sanderson novels right away. It’s pretty different from his usual stuff, so I’m still on the fence about whether I’ll explore his larger bibliography. But who knows, maybe I’ll change my mind down the line. I picked up Snow Country by Kawabata. This is my third book by him, and I’ve really enjoyed his other works, especially The Old Capital. But this one… was just *okay*. A month ago, I read a Japanese classic called Tales of Snow Country, written by a guy from the Snow Country region in the 19th century. That one was super interesting and gave a lot of cool insight into the setting. Snow Country (the Kawabata one) takes place in the same area, but it's more of a romance between two-or maybe three-selfish jerks. Honestly, everyone in this book just seemed to spend all their valuable time either drunk as a skunk or waiting around on train platforms, which didn’t make for the most engaging read. Maybe it’s the translation, who knows. But still, Kawabata is a fantastic author, and I’m definitely planning to read more of his work. Oh! This month I finally got around to reading the latest Witcher book, Season of Storms. When I say "latest," I mean it came out like ten years ago, but hey, better late than never, right? Anyway, the book was pretty solid! It didn’t quite reach the highs of The Dear Friend Letter, but it was definitely an enjoyable read. The structure was a bit different from the others-it felt more like a collection of connected short stories rather than one continuous narrative. There was also a bit more focus on the theme of unreliable historical narratives, which the author kind of tried to shoehorn into Lady of the Lake, but honestly, it didn’t bother me here. I just love this world so much. Every time I hear "Temeria" or "Kaer Morhen," I can't help but feel a little more chipper. I'm already excited for the next book, though I have no idea when the English translation will be out. At least I’ve got something to look forward to! This month, I picked up Barrayar from the Vorkosigan Saga. At this point, I’ve given up trying to read the series in publication order and switched to chronological order instead. Honestly, my brain just can’t handle jumping back and forth in time. The Vorkosigan books are a really solid sci-fi series-short and quick enough to make for nice listening during my runs. I know Jake Bishop and Read by Kyle are huge fans of these books, so I’m diving into the ones featuring Miles Vorkosigan and enjoying the ride. Nice change of pace. Reread Fareinheit 451. Haven't read this since middle school with Mom so it was nice to revist. If you haven't read it, read it. I would actually recommend reading it over listening because it seems like all the narrators I have listened to tend to end up agressively SHOUTING some of these internal monologues which I could have done without. Good book. I finished two big books on my list this month! One was, "The First Man in Rome", the first book in the "Masters of Rome" series, written by an Australian neurologist. The series spans seven books, and they're all massive-this one was over 1,000 pages. Only parts of this I wasn't crazy about was Sulla who sucks. This is the second book I have read lately that featured Sulla and he was AWFUL is both. Like Harkonnen bad sometimes. Now, in this book you can just skip through these parts if this isn't something you want to get through as it mostly stops about a third of the way through the book. There’s a ton of other characters and events to dive into, so it never feels like you’re stuck with him. This book really felt epic in scope, so I think fantasy readers who enjoy long, intricate series will probably get a lot out of it. Next big read, and the last one of the month, was the original "Tale of the Heike". I say "original" because, you know, it’s a translation for those of us who don’t speak medieval Japanese. This monumental work has been on my TBR for ages, and I’m so glad I finally finished it. Well, that was October. Not a bad month all in all. I wish I had been home for Halloween and to see the leaves change. I did give a presentation on Halloween to the students here in Europe and was given hell by EVERYONE for being one of the only people in the school who didn't dress up. Happy reading and have a great month!

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