I loved The Luminaries and I think the main characters are actually the 2 women. The meeting at the beginning doesn't last long and it's worth the read, I think.
I do the same thing: get tons of library books, prioritize finishing them, often at the cost of reading the books I've been interested in enough to actually purchase! I need to wean myself from the library and focus on reading from my personal library. You got me interested in that Catton book The Rehearsal! 🎉🎉🎉
It's so difficult isn't it?! I think borrowing from the library and reading them feels like more of a fun achievement more than just reading your own books 🤣
the Eagle of the Ninth was a childhood fave of mine so I am biased, it is great. It isn't fantasy, it's historical fiction. And the POV character is like 20, so it might not quite be what you are expecting. But please do try it.
I really liked Gallant. I don’t remember feeling it was all that fast paced. The size of my tbr is larger than I’m comfortable with at the moment, but it’s smaller than it was at the beginning of the year.
I've not read Gallant, but I've read other VE Schwab books and they're good - very readable, not too serious - usually lots of peril and adventure and the prose isn't like wattpad. As long as you like fantasy I think you'll like Schwab. Her Darker Shade of Magic books are worth a read too.
I really hope you get to reading A Flat Place - it's such an excellent memoir and it was also personally very meaningful to me in renegotiating how I contemplate memory and inhabiting my own space. Also, it makes me so happy to see Plain Bad Heroines on the shelf behind you - loved that novel. 💛🐝
Care Work is amazing!! I read it physically and with audio simultaneously and that was a great experience. It's really a quite accesible read. Same for Post-Traumatic, it's intense and confronting but really really good. My tbr is around 380 books, which is ridiculous, but I also really love it haha. It's slowly reducing but I'm also constantly unhauling unread books which no longer interest me as much. I go through phases where I'm into a really specific genre and buy a lot within that genre, but then after a while my interest shifts and I have all these unread books left.. Using the library is a bit more difficult for me, since I read mostly in English and my very Dutch library rarely has any books in English (and I don't like reading Dutch translations of books originally written in English). I do use Everand, but predominantly for audiobooks!
I have Care Work on audio too so maybe I'll do the same thing :) That's exactly how I managed to reduce my tbr - I just kept unhauling the books I was no longer interested in. I did the same thing. I remember wanting to read a book set on a cold isolated island and buying 12 of them. I think I only ended up reading 4 and unhauling the rest 🤣
Regarding Haven ; look up Skellig Michael. Part of the last Star Wars movie was filmed there. It’s off the coast of Kerry. Look up the tv adaptation of The Luminaries.
i have around maybe 5-7 unread books in my home i cant handle more than that i get nervous . But on my goodreads tbr i have 300 books . I dont let it go up more than that
Gallant is deffo not too fast paced at all, of course it’s small so things have to develop “quickly” but it doesn’t feel fast whilst reading - it’s very very vibey I loved it for all the reasons people hated it 😅
Mercedes, have you ever read Red Sister by Mark Lawrence? It’s fantasy and leans pretty grim rather than epic, but it’s coming of age story about a girl, found family, magical nunnery for orphaned girls, fight training, themes of queer love. So well done, it’s a trilogy, and I devoured every single one of them and I’m very picky when it comes to fantasy.
I completely share your reluctance to read multi-generational sagas. A particular example recently was the wonderful North Woods by Daniel Mason. He drew lovable interesting characters. Then just when you had fallen in love with them he deserted them and moved on 50 years.
I would not clarify Woman of Light as a Western. At all. I enjoyed it, despite usually not liking historical fiction. We're mostly focused on one character if I remember correctly. I gave it 4 stars (had an ARC), the only problems were for me a few weird descriptions (especially concerning eyes) and it ended too early for me. I'd recommend it.
I currently have 125 physical books, and 700+ on my kindle 😬 I would love to get it to around 30 physical books (excluding my 1001 BTRBYD and non-fiction books), I stopped going to the library and reading much on my kindle to try and achieve this but haven’t been very successful as I can’t stop buying new releases. I have 10 preorders arriving in the next 3 months.
I just read The Rehearsal a few months ago and feel the need to re-read it, if only because I never fully grasped what the hell was going on lol. Still enjoyed it
for whatever it's worth, only the first chunk of The Luminaries is about that group of men chatting. the actual protagonist who has by far the most scenes is a woman, who you meet as soon as those dudes are done yapping at that meeting that opens the novel lol
I've only read one of these which is Rainbow, Rainbow. I remember really enjoying some of these - quirky details and very specific and unexpected situations with nuance too. I particularly liked the one about the lesbian couple trying for a baby and the one about the office worker and their nephew. I will say I did find some of the stories a bit deliberately uncomfortable and a bit ick but not in a good way, or some fell a bit flat - still, that makes me want to see you review it to see how you feel about it. As for my 'already owned TBH', it's a bit longer than I like atm because life and poor concentration have got in the way of reading...There's currently 13 physical books and 8 kindle books (and some audiobooks but I'm not so bothered by that as I know I just get to them) which isn't *too* many but it feels like its building up
I'm glad to heat how much you enjoyed Rainbow, Rainbow :) Ick but not in a good way is never good though! I'll be interested to see if I feel the same. I know what you mean. The smaller my tbr gets the smaller I think I'd be comfortable with!
I read an ARC of The Rehearsal years and years ago. I didn’t really know what to make of it and ultimately never reviewed it (despite being kind of obligated to). My memory is spotty but I believe there are multiple viewpoints. Didn’t care for it.
It has been great to see frequent videos again from you! It seems like you are excited about reading again. I loved Salt Houses. I think I liked it more than The Arsonist’s City. I would give Woman of Light a pass. I found it to be just kind of meh.
I'm glad you've been enjoying them! I've had fun creating more videos and uploading more regularly. That's exciting about Salt Houses :) Thanks for the tip about Woman of Light.
I really enjoyed Haven, a bit slower than my usual taste but worth it. I DNF'd Rainbow Rainbow only because it was much darker than I was expecting and I wasn't in the mood for it (it was kind of a mismatch with the cover for me).
Just came across a book you might be interested in. The Cursed Friend by Beatrice Salvioni. It's translated from the Italian and I know you would like to read more translated books.
I own over 400 unread books. I am a public librarian. There is no excuse for this behavior. And yet, here we are. I am trying to read them down, but it isn't stopping me from buying more books. I might have a problem.
I have two hobbies: reading physical books and buying books. I have nearly as many as you, @adrienneteague992! However it creates the dilemma of what to read next!!
![10 Tips for Conquering Your TBR [CC]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/KbZhHGR4PDI/mqdefault.jpg)
I loved The Luminaries and I think the main characters are actually the 2 women. The meeting at the beginning doesn't last long and it's worth the read, I think.
I’ve also had this on my tbr for years now, really should pick it up this year
I do the same thing: get tons of library books, prioritize finishing them, often at the cost of reading the books I've been interested in enough to actually purchase! I need to wean myself from the library and focus on reading from my personal library. You got me interested in that Catton book The Rehearsal! 🎉🎉🎉
It's so difficult isn't it?! I think borrowing from the library and reading them feels like more of a fun achievement more than just reading your own books 🤣
I've read Haven and The Circle, so i vote for those two.
the Eagle of the Ninth was a childhood fave of mine so I am biased, it is great. It isn't fantasy, it's historical fiction. And the POV character is like 20, so it might not quite be what you are expecting. But please do try it.
I really liked Gallant. I don’t remember feeling it was all that fast paced. The size of my tbr is larger than I’m comfortable with at the moment, but it’s smaller than it was at the beginning of the year.
I am picking up Haven today from the library. I will let you know how I get on. Thanks Mercedes.
Salt Houses is on my TBR as well. Happy reading!
I've not read Gallant, but I've read other VE Schwab books and they're good - very readable, not too serious - usually lots of peril and adventure and the prose isn't like wattpad. As long as you like fantasy I think you'll like Schwab. Her Darker Shade of Magic books are worth a read too.
The only one I've read is Haven and i really liked it. Like the sound of The Rehearsal.
I really hope you get to reading A Flat Place - it's such an excellent memoir and it was also personally very meaningful to me in renegotiating how I contemplate memory and inhabiting my own space. Also, it makes me so happy to see Plain Bad Heroines on the shelf behind you - loved that novel. 💛🐝
I'm glad to hear how much A Flat Place resonated with you. Oh, yes! I had such fun reading Plain Bad Heroines. It's definitely book I'll revisit.
I loved Haven and Between Two Moons.
Care Work is amazing!! I read it physically and with audio simultaneously and that was a great experience. It's really a quite accesible read.
Same for Post-Traumatic, it's intense and confronting but really really good.
My tbr is around 380 books, which is ridiculous, but I also really love it haha. It's slowly reducing but I'm also constantly unhauling unread books which no longer interest me as much. I go through phases where I'm into a really specific genre and buy a lot within that genre, but then after a while my interest shifts and I have all these unread books left.. Using the library is a bit more difficult for me, since I read mostly in English and my very Dutch library rarely has any books in English (and I don't like reading Dutch translations of books originally written in English). I do use Everand, but predominantly for audiobooks!
I have Care Work on audio too so maybe I'll do the same thing :)
That's exactly how I managed to reduce my tbr - I just kept unhauling the books I was no longer interested in. I did the same thing. I remember wanting to read a book set on a cold isolated island and buying 12 of them. I think I only ended up reading 4 and unhauling the rest 🤣
I've honestly got no idea how many are on my tbr - I think maybe about 150💀💀
These all sound super interesting - especially Pretty Baby and Haven!
Regarding Haven ; look up Skellig Michael. Part of the last Star Wars movie was filmed there. It’s off the coast of Kerry.
Look up the tv adaptation of The Luminaries.
i have around maybe 5-7 unread books in my home i cant handle more than that i get nervous . But on my goodreads tbr i have 300 books . I dont let it go up more than that
Gallant is deffo not too fast paced at all, of course it’s small so things have to develop “quickly” but it doesn’t feel fast whilst reading - it’s very very vibey I loved it for all the reasons people hated it 😅
Mercedes, have you ever read Red Sister by Mark Lawrence? It’s fantasy and leans pretty grim rather than epic, but it’s coming of age story about a girl, found family, magical nunnery for orphaned girls, fight training, themes of queer love. So well done, it’s a trilogy, and I devoured every single one of them and I’m very picky when it comes to fantasy.
I tried it last year and gave up after about 60 pages. I liked the premise but wasn't a fan of the writing style which was a shame.
I love Liz Moore and plan to read all her books! I enjoyed Heft more. Would recommend that you should read The Words of Every Song
I loved Heft too :)
I completely share your reluctance to read multi-generational sagas. A particular example recently was the wonderful North Woods by Daniel Mason. He drew lovable interesting characters. Then just when you had fallen in love with them he deserted them and moved on 50 years.
I have thta book lined up on audio but I'm a bit nervous of it for exactly that reason!
I would not clarify Woman of Light as a Western. At all. I enjoyed it, despite usually not liking historical fiction. We're mostly focused on one character if I remember correctly. I gave it 4 stars (had an ARC), the only problems were for me a few weird descriptions (especially concerning eyes) and it ended too early for me. I'd recommend it.
I'm glad to hear that it's not a western and mainly focused on one character :)
I am in Canada - would b be happy to get books to you from here - I could probably get you stuff at a lower price and with less shipping cost!! :)
Awww, that's a lovely offer - thank you :)
I currently have 125 physical books, and 700+ on my kindle 😬 I would love to get it to around 30 physical books (excluding my 1001 BTRBYD and non-fiction books), I stopped going to the library and reading much on my kindle to try and achieve this but haven’t been very successful as I can’t stop buying new releases. I have 10 preorders arriving in the next 3 months.
Hahahaah, pre-orders are so much fun but not v good at reducing the tbr! I'd love to know which books you have on pre-order 🤓
I just read The Rehearsal a few months ago and feel the need to re-read it, if only because I never fully grasped what the hell was going on lol. Still enjoyed it
Ohhhh, that has me really intrigued!
for whatever it's worth, only the first chunk of The Luminaries is about that group of men chatting. the actual protagonist who has by far the most scenes is a woman, who you meet as soon as those dudes are done yapping at that meeting that opens the novel lol
Second this! The Luminaries is such a brilliant book
I'm very glad to hear that!
I've only read one of these which is Rainbow, Rainbow. I remember really enjoying some of these - quirky details and very specific and unexpected situations with nuance too. I particularly liked the one about the lesbian couple trying for a baby and the one about the office worker and their nephew. I will say I did find some of the stories a bit deliberately uncomfortable and a bit ick but not in a good way, or some fell a bit flat - still, that makes me want to see you review it to see how you feel about it.
As for my 'already owned TBH', it's a bit longer than I like atm because life and poor concentration have got in the way of reading...There's currently 13 physical books and 8 kindle books (and some audiobooks but I'm not so bothered by that as I know I just get to them) which isn't *too* many but it feels like its building up
I'm glad to heat how much you enjoyed Rainbow, Rainbow :) Ick but not in a good way is never good though! I'll be interested to see if I feel the same.
I know what you mean. The smaller my tbr gets the smaller I think I'd be comfortable with!
I read an ARC of The Rehearsal years and years ago. I didn’t really know what to make of it and ultimately never reviewed it (despite being kind of obligated to). My memory is spotty but I believe there are multiple viewpoints. Didn’t care for it.
It has been great to see frequent videos again from you! It seems like you are excited about reading again. I loved Salt Houses. I think I liked it more than The Arsonist’s City. I would give Woman of Light a pass. I found it to be just kind of meh.
I'm glad you've been enjoying them! I've had fun creating more videos and uploading more regularly. That's exciting about Salt Houses :) Thanks for the tip about Woman of Light.
I really enjoyed Haven, a bit slower than my usual taste but worth it. I DNF'd Rainbow Rainbow only because it was much darker than I was expecting and I wasn't in the mood for it (it was kind of a mismatch with the cover for me).
Yeah, the cover and the description give off pretty fun vibes!
Just came across a book you might be interested in. The Cursed Friend by Beatrice Salvioni. It's translated from the Italian and I know you would like to read more translated books.
I own over 400 unread books. I am a public librarian. There is no excuse for this behavior. And yet, here we are. I am trying to read them down, but it isn't stopping me from buying more books. I might have a problem.
Hahahah, it sounds like you might! Do you use your library too?
@@MercysBookishMusings Of course, but then I feel guilty reading them in front of my TBR bookcases.
@@adrienneteague992 🤣🤣🤣
I heard great things about lost in the garden
I have two hobbies: reading physical books and buying books. I have nearly as many as you, @adrienneteague992! However it creates the dilemma of what to read next!!