Speaking of short reads, the The Last Question by Isaac Asimov is brilliant, and even as a short story it has one of the best endings ever, in the genre and in literature as a whole.
I've been focusing on shorter books this year in order to experience a different range of writing styles. I used to only read long series and I would only read a few authors every year. This is a perfect video for me atm. Thanks Zara!! Oh my recommendation is A Short Stay in Hell by Peck and of course Slaughter House 5 by Vonnegut both are 5 star reads for this year.
You’re welcome! Totally agree with you about trying a different range of writing styles. You know what, I’m going to try and read Slaughterhouse Five before the end of this year. Funnily enough, I was reading about the book (like the historical significance) yesterday for a little project I’m working on.
@ I hope so too! I doubt I won’t tbh. Also I watched The Holdovers last night. I think it was you who originally put it on my radar! I loved it so much.
OMG, I was so not expecting to see my own book alongside so many incredible recommendations. Thank you, Zara. It means a lot! That said, I have Annihilation in my TBR for next year, and can't wait to read it! Hiero's Journey will have to wait, I'm reading the SF Masterworks in pub order (as masterworks) and it'll take me a while to get there. Thank you again! 🙌🏻
@@liviajelliot you’re so welcome! Very well deserved because it is truly a fantastic piece of fiction! Excited to hear your thoughts on Annihilation and HJ as well!
Been in a reading slump for a couple of months. Too many loooonnnggg books. Picked up KJ Parker's Saevus Corax trilogy. Glad I did. Finished book 1 on the Saturday (it was raining). Book 2 on the Sunday (it wasn't raining). Book 3 took a few days ( I was working) and I needed to fully savour the quality. Just ordered The Thessaly trilogy based on your review of The Just City. No, not really. You just nudged me to look further into this author and I was convinced that I should give her a go!
@@callmeal4183 wow nicely done! I still need to read the final book in that series. Such fun! Word of warning, the second book isn’t as good as the first one but I still enjoyed it. I’m going to read the third book next month, really looking forward to it. Hope you like it!
My Favourite contemporary SciFi author, Adrian Tchaikovsky, doesn’t usually wrote short novels but “Ogres” is an exception, as a 100 page novella. Well, I’d call it SciFi rather than fantasy! Set in an alternative Earth. Quite creepy. Also Ted Chiang’s two collections of short stories. The collections as a whole are substantial but each story is quite ‘bite sized’, an hours reading at most, and as imaginative SciFi as I’ve read in recent years. “The Story of your Life and Others” (the title story is the basis of the first contact movie, Arrival), and “Exhalation”.
I’ve had Ogres since it came out but for some reason never picked it up! Same with Chiang haha. But now that you’ve put them back on to my radar, I may pick one up over the holiday period. Thanks Steve!
The Time Machine by HG Wells is a good short sci fi read. It poses some very interesting philosophical questions.
@@aprettybookshelf he’s got so many great books that could be on this list tbh! TTM is one I need to get to.
Awesome picks. Have you read Lud-In-The-Mist by chance? It's short and still to this day my favorite fantasy book of all time 😂
@@OnlyTheBestFantasyNovels I have not but I will check it out! Thanks :)
Speaking of short reads, the The Last Question by Isaac Asimov is brilliant, and even as a short story it has one of the best endings ever, in the genre and in literature as a whole.
@@ohadm6038 I haven’t read this but I did like his Foundation series. Will definitely check this out, thanks!
Great recommendations! The novella 'To Be Taught, if Fortunate' is my favorite Becky Chambers and also quite philosophical.
@@BookishVicky I neeeeed to read Becky Chambers!!
More added to my list.
Thank you miss Teach for adding to my huge book 📕 list 🍏🍏🍎🍎
@@JohnSaxon-vw5vi 🙏🏽
@ ❤️❤️
I've been focusing on shorter books this year in order to experience a different range of writing styles. I used to only read long series and I would only read a few authors every year. This is a perfect video for me atm. Thanks Zara!! Oh my recommendation is A Short Stay in Hell by Peck and of course Slaughter House 5 by Vonnegut both are 5 star reads for this year.
You’re welcome! Totally agree with you about trying a different range of writing styles. You know what, I’m going to try and read Slaughterhouse Five before the end of this year. Funnily enough, I was reading about the book (like the historical significance) yesterday for a little project I’m working on.
@bookswithzara I love hearing this!! I hope you like it. It's gonna be one of my favorite books this year.
@ I hope so too! I doubt I won’t tbh. Also I watched The Holdovers last night. I think it was you who originally put it on my radar! I loved it so much.
OMG, I was so not expecting to see my own book alongside so many incredible recommendations. Thank you, Zara. It means a lot! That said, I have Annihilation in my TBR for next year, and can't wait to read it! Hiero's Journey will have to wait, I'm reading the SF Masterworks in pub order (as masterworks) and it'll take me a while to get there.
Thank you again! 🙌🏻
@@liviajelliot you’re so welcome! Very well deserved because it is truly a fantastic piece of fiction! Excited to hear your thoughts on Annihilation and HJ as well!
@@bookswithzara Thank you, you're very kind. EAger to dive into Annihilation next year!
Been in a reading slump for a couple of months. Too many loooonnnggg books. Picked up KJ Parker's Saevus Corax trilogy. Glad I did. Finished book 1 on the Saturday (it was raining). Book 2 on the Sunday (it wasn't raining). Book 3 took a few days ( I was working) and I needed to fully savour the quality. Just ordered The Thessaly trilogy based on your review of The Just City. No, not really. You just nudged me to look further into this author and I was convinced that I should give her a go!
@@callmeal4183 wow nicely done! I still need to read the final book in that series. Such fun! Word of warning, the second book isn’t as good as the first one but I still enjoyed it. I’m going to read the third book next month, really looking forward to it. Hope you like it!
My Favourite contemporary SciFi author, Adrian Tchaikovsky, doesn’t usually wrote short novels but “Ogres” is an exception, as a 100 page novella. Well, I’d call it SciFi rather than fantasy! Set in an alternative Earth. Quite creepy.
Also Ted Chiang’s two collections of short stories. The collections as a whole are substantial but each story is quite ‘bite sized’, an hours reading at most, and as imaginative SciFi as I’ve read in recent years. “The Story of your Life and Others” (the title story is the basis of the first contact movie, Arrival), and “Exhalation”.
I’ve had Ogres since it came out but for some reason never picked it up! Same with Chiang haha. But now that you’ve put them back on to my radar, I may pick one up over the holiday period. Thanks Steve!
❤
I really enjoyed "The Just City" however not a fan of the sequel at all and not sure I'll be reading the final book.
@@ShawnC108 the second one was definitely a step down but I still enjoyed it. I’m looking forward to reading the final book soon!