It's a pleasure to hear about your favorite reads of the year, Jake, and I can't tell you how honored and grateful I am that you not only dedicated your precious reading time to The Edan Trilogy, but that you also found The Prophet of Edan resonating enough with you to include it here. Especially considering the excellent company you've put it in, I am thrilled! I look forward to your thoughts on Return to Edan whenever you're able to get to it!
The Edan Trilogy has been such a bright spot of my reading journey recently, thanks so much for sharing it with all of us! Can't wait to get into Return to Edan, I'm hoping to jump in to it before the month is out
Excited to dive into more of your content. Top 10 lists for the year make the algorithm go crazy and a hundred ‘new’ creators end up in the feed. But it’s worth digging through to find a channel like this that I’m excited about. Your earnest love for stories and writing shine in this list. While I’m always looking for recommendations, I honestly watch a lot more booktube when I’m in a bit of a reading slump and struggling to find motivation after a few less than stellar reads. Hearing your passion for great books is exactly what I need to find that next great reading experience! Cheers and may you have many great reading experiences in 2025!!
So happy to see this list! Thank you for sharing! Been looking forward to seeing a favourites of the year from you! I had a feeling several of those would appear. Such a fantastic list!
What a banger of a list!! When Howling Dark popped up at no. 4, I was almost surprised that it wasn't higher, until I realised that you were doing multiple instalments in one series and Sun Eater just dominates the list hahahah. Gotta get to it myself asap!! And you've got me so excited to get back to Edan! I still have to finalise my own list (procrastinating HARD), but same as you I just know that Wind and Truth is on there hahaha. Though my no.1 favourite has to be Asunder by Kerstin Hall, as it's been since I read it in September!
I just discovered your channel (thanks to youtube recommendations) and I couldn't be happier. New subscriber and bell activated. The level of quality of the channel is incredible, very good lighting, sound and that background is 10/10. A hug from Spain! PS: Bridge 4!
Just discovered your channel, and loving the list! I can’t wait to get to Sun Eater next year and get through more of the Malazan Book of the Fallen. I’m glad you had a good year of reading!
@@ToriTalks2 hey Tori! Thanks for checking out my channel :) I have no doubt you will continue loving Malazan and I'm excited for you to start Sun Eater!!
Awesome list man! Suneater for you was Stormlight for me last year. I read all of the cosmere in 2023 and I had all four stormlight book in my top 10 along with The Finial empire.
Yeah dude that checks out!! And something tells me if I'd gotten through Disquiet Gods this year that it would have been on my list as well lol. Love that you didn't limit yourself to just 1 book per author or series
Fab list. Finished empire of silence recently and already ordered books 2 and 3! Very excited 👀 I was a bit worried I wouldn’t like the singular POV after reading so many books that hop around a lot. It was actually kind of refreshing and I really enjoyed that aspect of it!
New to your channel! So many great reads and ones I want to get to. Super excited to get to the Edan trilogy, Janny Wurts, and dig deeper into Suneater. Also glad you are enjoying Wind and Truth! Here is hoping 2025 is an even better reading year for ya!
Just stumbled across your channel (thanks, RUclips algorithm) and really enjoyed your video. I'll definitely be reading some of the books on your list. Thanks for the suggestions. 😊
So glad to see Janny on this list, I'm gonna be honest and say that reading her books this year has changed my life. And my wallet, but we don't need to talk about that.
Top 3 this year for me: 1. A Bloodsworn book (I just finished hunger and have started fury so jury is still out but one of them is taking the top spot no doubt) 2. The Dungeon Anarchist’s Cookbook (DCC book 3) 3. Empire of Silence I think next year is the year of suneater for me. Glad to see so many of the books high on your list!
Didn't read most of the stuff you had on your list (most of it being pretty high on my TBR though), so the only point of comparison would be Philip Chase's Prophet of Edan, which didn't even made my Top 10 just because the first half of it didn't really click with me, so to me, while still being a highly enjoyable reading experience, it marks the weakest part of the story. Still fantastic, though. On the other hand, I was blown away be Return to Edan, because what Philip basically achieved is evoking the same emotions I had when reading LotR for the first time. And I really can't give higher praise than that, so of course it was my number one read this year. Second there's Guy Gavriel Kay's Tigana. That also put me through the emotional wringer several times,and I think as far as writing skill goes, I still would put him over Philip Chase. There are a few (mostly sex) scenes though that put me a bit off this book, and with a lesser writer, that would have put him to the trash bin, but apart from that, Kay is so damn good. Third being The Poison Song by Jen Williams, the third and final book of the Winnowing Flame saga. Again, brilliant conclusion to the story, again, evoked emotions, and like you, catch me another day, and this one might end higher up on the list. Then comes Anthony Ryan's - A Tide of Black Steel. Ryan's an absolute favorite of mine, and the only thing I regret about reading this book is that I didn't read the Covenant of Steel trilogy before that, because it plays 20 years after the events of that, and it would have spared me some initial confusion with the easter eggs I didn't recognize because of that. But if Viking stuff is your thing, this is a must read in my opinion. Fifth place goes to Shannon Chakraborty's Adventures of Amina Al-Sirafi. Wonderful story playing in the same world as her Daevabad trilogy, and as I am a huge fan of any Arabian Nights stuff, this was totally my thing. Chakraborty is a wonderful writer, and Amina is such a delightful protagonist, probably my favorite character this year (and given the books I already talked about, that's a real achievement). I also don't know that I've seen a mature woman, already retired from her former career and being a mother and still totally kicking ass being the main character of a story. Was on the short list for the Hugo award and I would have loved to see it win. Next is The Ninth Rain, first book in the Winnowing Flame trilogy, that I mostly loved because of it's fantastic world-building, meshing SciFi elements into the fantasy (you could describe it as Starship Trooper with recurring attacks on a sword & sorcery planet, only that the last time this happened, the defenders had to sacrifice themselves, so when the next attack is looming at the horizon, there's basically no one there to do it.) Seventh is Wole Talabi's Shigidi and the Brass Head of Obalufon, that kinda takes Gaiman's American Gods into the Realms of Nigerian Orisha, and adds a great Heist story as well as a very well done Love story to the mix. Had an absolute blast reading it. Next is, again, Philip Chase, with the first book of the Edan Trilogy, The Way of Edan. Again, in my review, I was talking a lot about Tolkien, because Philip hits so many themes of those books, but he also succeeds in giving me that warm, nostalgic feeling of my favorite classic fantasy but modernized in a way that it doesn't feel old at all. Also, great worldbuilding, great characters and I loved the chapters where we saw through the eyes of the villains, making their ideas and goals somewhat relatable and showing that they are more than one-dimensional evil guys. Ninth place goes to Adrian Tchaikovsky's Shards of Earth, first in the Final Architecture trilogy, which interestingly has a certain similarity to Ninth Rain, as far as the narrative goes. Great Space Opera with very interesting characters, and I especially loved how he did the truly alien cast, because they really felt alien, when often in other books they just behave as humans with a limited mindset and a foreign skin. Might have ranked higher, but I still have to read the other two books. Was a bit hesitating with the tenth place, because I would have loved to showcase another author, but truth is, I need to put the second part of the Winnowing Flame trilogy on here as well. Absolutely loved how Jen Williams inserted more world-building into the second book, and without wanting to spoil anything, I loved the storyline around the adversial main character so much, because I don't think that I have ever seen anything like this before. As a complete trilogy, I probably would put the Winnowing Flame even over Edan, just because Jen Williams is so crazily creative with all the weird stuff she succeeds to combine into a cohesive entity throughout all three books, and there was no part in those books I didn't like that much, and I also can't wait to read her Talon Duology next year and all her other stuff just because she's such a great writer.
Thanks a ton for sharing such in depth comments here! I love this and you've given me some new things to check out! Some of these were on my radar already (like Tchaikovsky for example) but some of the others I've never even heard of. I absolutely cannot wait to get in to Return to Edan, I've loved that series so far (obviously) and your high praise for book 3 makes me even more excited!
@@NerdLevelRising Thanks for being so appreciative. I'm never sure if I should put out those long posts because I'm assuming you creators might have better things to do than to read longwinded ramblings, but I thought just presenting a top ten without any comment wouldn't do your own effort any justice. And I also probably like talking(writing) a bit to much ^^.
You’ve made me so excited to read Janny Wurts and more Ruocchio. ‘My Top 10 For the Year’ would probably be (with no repeat authors): 1. Persepliquis (Michael J. Sullivan) 2. The Exile (Ryan Cahill) 3. The Dragonbone Chair (Tad Williams) 4. The Shadow Rising (Robert Jordan) 5. Dune: Messiah (Frank Herbert) 6. A Time of Courage (John Gwynne) 7. The Other Wind (Ursula K. Le Guin) 8. The Shadow of the Torturer (Gene Wolfe) 9. Rattle of Bones (Robert E. Howard) 10. Coraline (Neil Gaiman) Honorable Mentions (with repeat authors): Children of Dune (Frank Herbert) True Grit (Charles Portis) The Rest of Riyria (Michael J. Sullivan)
Oh man. Orb Sceptre Throne. Also my favorite Esselmont book I've read so far. Read the Novels of the Malazan Empire. My favorite read of the year so far was Dragonbone Chair. Just loved it. Also for "reading experience" I'll lump in all I've read so far of The Last Kingdom series. Been reading one a month, currently on book 11 of 14. Man. I'm going to miss Uhtred once I finish this off. I feel like I've known him for so long now. Also had a blast with the Children of Hurin. Look like Lord of the Rings, but I think I respect it more than like it. Discovering Tokiens first age stuff was mind blowing. This tragedy had so much heart to it it really effected me more than his more popular work. Got the Fall of Gondolin on a black friday sale. Looking forward to reading that next year.
Yay! Excited to see Tress on the list 🥰 it was my first Sanderson. And I loved it. It’s whimsical and just so loveable. Have you read the other “secret projects” yet?
Thanks for the quick summary on Esselmont’s books. I started my Malazan journey in 2023 and will hopefully wrap up the main series by the end of 2025. In the middle of book 5 as we speak. Once done, I’ll see which addtl books I’m going to read. I might a loooong break first 🤣 but I definitely want more of the Bridgeburners. And there are other characters as well that I’m hoping there will be addtl books available (I haven’t looked at all of them yet, so no clue what’s even going on 🤣).
@@FineReads Tress was so good! And yes, I've read everything in the cosmere :) Yumi might still be my favorite secret project but wow Tress was so fun YES MALAZAN!! You have so much amazing story ahead of you there ❤️ I hope you love that journey even half as much as I did!
Love the video! Just watched your conversation with Dr Chase. I’m not well read in comics but I do know that the graphic novel House of X / Powers of X reset the X-men universe back in I think 2019 and to my knowledge it’s been well received. I need to reread it myself so I can continue through some storylines. I’m sure there are great runs I’m not aware of, I just got into comics a couple years back and my local shop recommended it to me.
@ I think comics can be an intimidating place, not knowing where to go or where to jump in. Finding some limited run stories and a person you trust to give recommendations helped me a whole lot!
first video of yours I'm seeing and we share a lot of similar taste! tho i've been mostly intimidated and haven't started yet...but i'm very excited to get into sun eater and stormlight next year :)) (do i spy a fellow metalhead? 👀)
Best of the year for me in no particular order. Dust of Dreams by Steven Erickson All the Colors of the Dark and We Begin at the End by Chris Whitaker The Wounded Kingdom trilogy by RJ Barker The Blood Stones by Tori Tecken The Sundering Hours by Jacquelyn Hagen Legacy of the Brightwash by Krystle Matar Ordinary Grace by William Kent Krueger Frankenstein by Mary Shelley Blood Over Bright Haven by ML Wang
Great list!! Have a bunch of these on my list as well. And I love seeing the love for Dust of Dreams, I feel that one is generally underrated as far as Malazan goes
My takeaway from this is that I need to start Suneater sooner than later. And the only thing on my top list that I think you might not have read is Pet Sematary. Fantastic read.
Best reads of the year, for me, has to be put into best series of the year top 5.Cant pick specific books. No particular order ( yes i entered my Lit RPG era) Dungeon Crawler Carl The Wandering Inn Sun Eater The Bound and the Broken The Realm of the Elderlings
Heck yes, SE and TBATB are so great! I think Elderlings is going to enter my favorites as well once I finally get to it. LitRPG hasn't clicked with me too yet but I've still only barely dipped my toe in - glad you're liking it so much!
When I see Brandon Sanderson consistently topping BookTuber lists, I can't help but take it with a grain of salt. While I enjoy his work, I sometimes wonder if his frequent collaborations with BookTubers influence his rankings. It’s hard to tell whether their high praise is entirely genuine or partially motivated by the potential opportunity to work with him.
@@Axxis270 that's a totally reasonable concern! I'm sure that does happen to some degree, but I'm personally wayyyy too small to catch his attention like that 😅
@@NerdLevelRising You hadn’t even read his book yet but still ranked it #1 on your list of favorites. To me, that highlights the Sanderson bias that makes it hard to trust reviewers.
@Axxis270 totally fair! My reasoning is that Stormlight is certainly top 3 and probably my #1 favorite series of all time, and I have complete trust in Sanderson from his other series (I've read everything he's written aside from some of his YA/middle-grade stuff) to deliver an extremely satisfying ending. So admittedly I'm going out on a limb a bit, but it feels like a safe bet to me! But that's a totally fair critique
It's a pleasure to hear about your favorite reads of the year, Jake, and I can't tell you how honored and grateful I am that you not only dedicated your precious reading time to The Edan Trilogy, but that you also found The Prophet of Edan resonating enough with you to include it here. Especially considering the excellent company you've put it in, I am thrilled! I look forward to your thoughts on Return to Edan whenever you're able to get to it!
The Edan Trilogy has been such a bright spot of my reading journey recently, thanks so much for sharing it with all of us! Can't wait to get into Return to Edan, I'm hoping to jump in to it before the month is out
So many books and so little time! Best wishes and happy reading for 2025.
@@ReadingIDEAS.-uz9xk the eternal problem! Thank you, and likewise!!
Excited to dive into more of your content. Top 10 lists for the year make the algorithm go crazy and a hundred ‘new’ creators end up in the feed. But it’s worth digging through to find a channel like this that I’m excited about. Your earnest love for stories and writing shine in this list. While I’m always looking for recommendations, I honestly watch a lot more booktube when I’m in a bit of a reading slump and struggling to find motivation after a few less than stellar reads. Hearing your passion for great books is exactly what I need to find that next great reading experience! Cheers and may you have many great reading experiences in 2025!!
@@LuckbeaSladey that's so amazing to hear!! Thank you so much 😊 I hope you find your next amazing read very soon!!
So happy to see this list! Thank you for sharing! Been looking forward to seeing a favourites of the year from you! I had a feeling several of those would appear.
Such a fantastic list!
I'm probably not hard to predict 😂
So glad to have found this channel. Such a wholesome list!
@@00Laire00 thanks a lot for being here! 😄
What a banger of a list!! When Howling Dark popped up at no. 4, I was almost surprised that it wasn't higher, until I realised that you were doing multiple instalments in one series and Sun Eater just dominates the list hahahah. Gotta get to it myself asap!! And you've got me so excited to get back to Edan!
I still have to finalise my own list (procrastinating HARD), but same as you I just know that Wind and Truth is on there hahaha. Though my no.1 favourite has to be Asunder by Kerstin Hall, as it's been since I read it in September!
@@esmayrosalyne I couldn't resist it being a sun eater tier list at the end of the day 😂😂 excited to hear about your finalized list!
I just discovered your channel (thanks to youtube recommendations) and I couldn't be happier. New subscriber and bell activated. The level of quality of the channel is incredible, very good lighting, sound and that background is 10/10. A hug from Spain!
PS: Bridge 4!
@@Fran_Shepard my man!! Thank you so much 🙏😁
Just discovered your channel, and loving the list! I can’t wait to get to Sun Eater next year and get through more of the Malazan Book of the Fallen.
I’m glad you had a good year of reading!
@@ToriTalks2 hey Tori! Thanks for checking out my channel :) I have no doubt you will continue loving Malazan and I'm excited for you to start Sun Eater!!
Omg you got me hyped for Howling Dark! Should be starting it in February.
@@arabellawillow you're gonna love it!! It's so awesome :D
Wow! What a year. Amazing list my friend!
@@Talking_Story thank you sir, it's been quite the fantastic year for sure 🙌
Awesome list man! Suneater for you was Stormlight for me last year. I read all of the cosmere in 2023 and I had all four stormlight book in my top 10 along with The Finial empire.
Yeah dude that checks out!! And something tells me if I'd gotten through Disquiet Gods this year that it would have been on my list as well lol. Love that you didn't limit yourself to just 1 book per author or series
Yessss was excited for this one!
Fab list. Finished empire of silence recently and already ordered books 2 and 3! Very excited 👀 I was a bit worried I wouldn’t like the singular POV after reading so many books that hop around a lot. It was actually kind of refreshing and I really enjoyed that aspect of it!
@@melonandfigg you have SO MUCH to look forward to! Enjoy the ride with Hadrian 😁
New to your channel! So many great reads and ones I want to get to. Super excited to get to the Edan trilogy, Janny Wurts, and dig deeper into Suneater. Also glad you are enjoying Wind and Truth! Here is hoping 2025 is an even better reading year for ya!
@@ianthereader thanks for being here!! I hope you really love all of those stories :D
Just stumbled across your channel (thanks, RUclips algorithm) and really enjoyed your video. I'll definitely be reading some of the books on your list. Thanks for the suggestions. 😊
@@elliw. thanks so much for giving my channel a shot! 😊
So glad to see Janny on this list, I'm gonna be honest and say that reading her books this year has changed my life. And my wallet, but we don't need to talk about that.
Have you seen the Live he did with her? She seemed so cool!
@@groofay agreed!! She's the best
@@WillMcc_WriterGoblin Yep, watched the Live, and seen a few of hers with other booktubers before. She is a legend.
Top 3 this year for me:
1. A Bloodsworn book (I just finished hunger and have started fury so jury is still out but one of them is taking the top spot no doubt)
2. The Dungeon Anarchist’s Cookbook (DCC book 3)
3. Empire of Silence
I think next year is the year of suneater for me. Glad to see so many of the books high on your list!
A big Suneater read-through leading up to book 7 end of next year will be INCREDIBLE
Didn't read most of the stuff you had on your list (most of it being pretty high on my TBR though), so the only point of comparison would be Philip Chase's Prophet of Edan, which didn't even made my Top 10 just because the first half of it didn't really click with me, so to me, while still being a highly enjoyable reading experience, it marks the weakest part of the story. Still fantastic, though.
On the other hand, I was blown away be Return to Edan, because what Philip basically achieved is evoking the same emotions I had when reading LotR for the first time. And I really can't give higher praise than that, so of course it was my number one read this year.
Second there's Guy Gavriel Kay's Tigana. That also put me through the emotional wringer several times,and I think as far as writing skill goes, I still would put him over Philip Chase. There are a few (mostly sex) scenes though that put me a bit off this book, and with a lesser writer, that would have put him to the trash bin, but apart from that, Kay is so damn good.
Third being The Poison Song by Jen Williams, the third and final book of the Winnowing Flame saga. Again, brilliant conclusion to the story, again, evoked emotions, and like you, catch me another day, and this one might end higher up on the list.
Then comes Anthony Ryan's - A Tide of Black Steel. Ryan's an absolute favorite of mine, and the only thing I regret about reading this book is that I didn't read the Covenant of Steel trilogy before that, because it plays 20 years after the events of that, and it would have spared me some initial confusion with the easter eggs I didn't recognize because of that. But if Viking stuff is your thing, this is a must read in my opinion.
Fifth place goes to Shannon Chakraborty's Adventures of Amina Al-Sirafi. Wonderful story playing in the same world as her Daevabad trilogy, and as I am a huge fan of any Arabian Nights stuff, this was totally my thing. Chakraborty is a wonderful writer, and Amina is such a delightful protagonist, probably my favorite character this year (and given the books I already talked about, that's a real achievement). I also don't know that I've seen a mature woman, already retired from her former career and being a mother and still totally kicking ass being the main character of a story. Was on the short list for the Hugo award and I would have loved to see it win.
Next is The Ninth Rain, first book in the Winnowing Flame trilogy, that I mostly loved because of it's fantastic world-building, meshing SciFi elements into the fantasy (you could describe it as Starship Trooper with recurring attacks on a sword & sorcery planet, only that the last time this happened, the defenders had to sacrifice themselves, so when the next attack is looming at the horizon, there's basically no one there to do it.)
Seventh is Wole Talabi's Shigidi and the Brass Head of Obalufon, that kinda takes Gaiman's American Gods into the Realms of Nigerian Orisha, and adds a great Heist story as well as a very well done Love story to the mix. Had an absolute blast reading it.
Next is, again, Philip Chase, with the first book of the Edan Trilogy, The Way of Edan. Again, in my review, I was talking a lot about Tolkien, because Philip hits so many themes of those books, but he also succeeds in giving me that warm, nostalgic feeling of my favorite classic fantasy but modernized in a way that it doesn't feel old at all. Also, great worldbuilding, great characters and I loved the chapters where we saw through the eyes of the villains, making their ideas and goals somewhat relatable and showing that they are more than one-dimensional evil guys.
Ninth place goes to Adrian Tchaikovsky's Shards of Earth, first in the Final Architecture trilogy, which interestingly has a certain similarity to Ninth Rain, as far as the narrative goes. Great Space Opera with very interesting characters, and I especially loved how he did the truly alien cast, because they really felt alien, when often in other books they just behave as humans with a limited mindset and a foreign skin. Might have ranked higher, but I still have to read the other two books.
Was a bit hesitating with the tenth place, because I would have loved to showcase another author, but truth is, I need to put the second part of the Winnowing Flame trilogy on here as well. Absolutely loved how Jen Williams inserted more world-building into the second book, and without wanting to spoil anything, I loved the storyline around the adversial main character so much, because I don't think that I have ever seen anything like this before. As a complete trilogy, I probably would put the Winnowing Flame even over Edan, just because Jen Williams is so crazily creative with all the weird stuff she succeeds to combine into a cohesive entity throughout all three books, and there was no part in those books I didn't like that much, and I also can't wait to read her Talon Duology next year and all her other stuff just because she's such a great writer.
Thanks a ton for sharing such in depth comments here! I love this and you've given me some new things to check out! Some of these were on my radar already (like Tchaikovsky for example) but some of the others I've never even heard of. I absolutely cannot wait to get in to Return to Edan, I've loved that series so far (obviously) and your high praise for book 3 makes me even more excited!
@@NerdLevelRising Thanks for being so appreciative. I'm never sure if I should put out those long posts because I'm assuming you creators might have better things to do than to read longwinded ramblings, but I thought just presenting a top ten without any comment wouldn't do your own effort any justice. And I also probably like talking(writing) a bit to much ^^.
@@Eluarelon talking/writing about or sharing our love for stories is what it's all about! 😁
just getting into reading and mistborn was the first fantasy book I picked up and became my favourite of the year and can't wait to finish the series
@@jakewood2998 awesome!! Mistborn is fantastic, hope you love the rest of the series!
My one anxiety about Wind and Truth is I don’t see space on your shelf to fit it next to Rhythm of War!!!
lol I'll make space somehow!!
End of year content woo!!
@@theclassy4 that time of year :D
Such a killer list! Have to put mine together soon but let’s be honest, Wind and Truth will probably be my number 1
It's probably going to be number 1 for a lot of people 😅
Solid list and buddy Wind and Truth might have to straddle 2 years books of the year with its thickness haha
@@WillMcc_WriterGoblin facts 😂
The Farseer Trilogy was far and away the best thing I read this year! Great list man!
So much Hobb love in these comments, I really need to get in to her work!!
You’ve made me so excited to read Janny Wurts and more Ruocchio.
‘My Top 10 For the Year’ would probably be (with no repeat authors):
1. Persepliquis (Michael J. Sullivan)
2. The Exile (Ryan Cahill)
3. The Dragonbone Chair (Tad Williams)
4. The Shadow Rising (Robert Jordan)
5. Dune: Messiah (Frank Herbert)
6. A Time of Courage (John Gwynne)
7. The Other Wind (Ursula K. Le Guin)
8. The Shadow of the Torturer (Gene Wolfe)
9. Rattle of Bones (Robert E. Howard)
10. Coraline (Neil Gaiman)
Honorable Mentions (with repeat authors):
Children of Dune (Frank Herbert)
True Grit (Charles Portis)
The Rest of Riyria (Michael J. Sullivan)
Wow, that's an amazing list also - I've only read like half of those, so I'll take that as a pitch to check out the others!
@@NerdLevelRising If you’ve never read Riyria Revelations you definitely should.
@kingzzz6509 I have not! I'd really like to
@ It’s kind of like Errol Flynn’s Robin Hood with magic.
Oh man. Orb Sceptre Throne. Also my favorite Esselmont book I've read so far. Read the Novels of the Malazan Empire.
My favorite read of the year so far was Dragonbone Chair. Just loved it.
Also for "reading experience" I'll lump in all I've read so far of The Last Kingdom series. Been reading one a month, currently on book 11 of 14. Man. I'm going to miss Uhtred once I finish this off. I feel like I've known him for so long now.
Also had a blast with the Children of Hurin. Look like Lord of the Rings, but I think I respect it more than like it.
Discovering Tokiens first age stuff was mind blowing. This tragedy had so much heart to it it really effected me more than his more popular work. Got the Fall of Gondolin on a black friday sale. Looking forward to reading that next year.
I can't wait to get to Dragonbone Chair next year!! And Last Kingdom has recently joined my list as well, it seems awesome
Awesome choices! Just started Empire of Silence last week so it looks like I’m in for some excellent sequels.
Oh man, awesome to hear - enjoy the ride :D
Yay! Excited to see Tress on the list 🥰 it was my first Sanderson. And I loved it. It’s whimsical and just so loveable. Have you read the other “secret projects” yet?
Thanks for the quick summary on Esselmont’s books. I started my Malazan journey in 2023 and will hopefully wrap up the main series by the end of 2025. In the middle of book 5 as we speak. Once done, I’ll see which addtl books I’m going to read. I might a loooong break first 🤣 but I definitely want more of the Bridgeburners. And there are other characters as well that I’m hoping there will be addtl books available (I haven’t looked at all of them yet, so no clue what’s even going on 🤣).
@@FineReads Tress was so good! And yes, I've read everything in the cosmere :) Yumi might still be my favorite secret project but wow Tress was so fun
YES MALAZAN!! You have so much amazing story ahead of you there ❤️ I hope you love that journey even half as much as I did!
Love the video!
Just watched your conversation with Dr Chase. I’m not well read in comics but I do know that the graphic novel House of X / Powers of X reset the X-men universe back in I think 2019 and to my knowledge it’s been well received. I need to reread it myself so I can continue through some storylines. I’m sure there are great runs I’m not aware of, I just got into comics a couple years back and my local shop recommended it to me.
@@BradySpiker nice! Thanks for the rec, I hadn't heard of that reset but seems like a reasonable entry point
@ I think comics can be an intimidating place, not knowing where to go or where to jump in. Finding some limited run stories and a person you trust to give recommendations helped me a whole lot!
first video of yours I'm seeing and we share a lot of similar taste! tho i've been mostly intimidated and haven't started yet...but i'm very excited to get into sun eater and stormlight next year :)) (do i spy a fellow metalhead? 👀)
@@StarLitLibrary yessss you won't regret it, Sun Eater and Stormlight are simply the best 🙏 and yes indeed you do!!
ok new here. Subscribed now. That shelf is a work of art
Thanks for being here! :)
Best of the year for me in no particular order.
Dust of Dreams by Steven Erickson
All the Colors of the Dark and We Begin at the End by Chris Whitaker
The Wounded Kingdom trilogy by RJ Barker
The Blood Stones by Tori Tecken
The Sundering Hours by Jacquelyn Hagen
Legacy of the Brightwash by Krystle Matar
Ordinary Grace by William Kent Krueger
Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
Blood Over Bright Haven by ML Wang
Great list!! Have a bunch of these on my list as well. And I love seeing the love for Dust of Dreams, I feel that one is generally underrated as far as Malazan goes
Kingdoms of Death is absolutely a great pick! Personally (maybe it’s my black heart haha) I even liked it more than Demon in White.
It's SUCH a difficult choice dude. I honestly don't think I could rank the Sun Eater books without having multiple ties lol
My takeaway from this is that I need to start Suneater sooner than later.
And the only thing on my top list that I think you might not have read is Pet Sematary. Fantastic read.
I definitely need to get into King, and you definitely need to get into Sun Eater lolll
@ definitely lol
Okay here we effffffin go…. End of year top lists…. That’s actually a great idea. That would take my top 1 of all time out of the running
@@Chance.Dillon tis the season for end of year content 🙌🙌
Always like watching ur videos 🎥🎥🎥
And I always like seeing your comments! :)
Excited to start SunEater
PLEASE READ IT
The best reads I had this year were definitely Robin Hobb and Joe Abercrombie. 💜
I absolutely MUST start Robin Hobb before too much longer!
All great books 😀👍
@@stjepanvaresevaccobets 😁😁
Best reads of the year, for me, has to be put into best series of the year top 5.Cant pick specific books.
No particular order ( yes i entered my Lit RPG era)
Dungeon Crawler Carl
The Wandering Inn
Sun Eater
The Bound and the Broken
The Realm of the Elderlings
Heck yes, SE and TBATB are so great! I think Elderlings is going to enter my favorites as well once I finally get to it. LitRPG hasn't clicked with me too yet but I've still only barely dipped my toe in - glad you're liking it so much!
Alllll great picks. 3 sun eater books make sense to me
@@Chance.Dillon I just couldn't let go of any of them lol. Way too good
When I see Brandon Sanderson consistently topping BookTuber lists, I can't help but take it with a grain of salt. While I enjoy his work, I sometimes wonder if his frequent collaborations with BookTubers influence his rankings. It’s hard to tell whether their high praise is entirely genuine or partially motivated by the potential opportunity to work with him.
@@Axxis270 that's a totally reasonable concern! I'm sure that does happen to some degree, but I'm personally wayyyy too small to catch his attention like that 😅
@@NerdLevelRising You hadn’t even read his book yet but still ranked it #1 on your list of favorites. To me, that highlights the Sanderson bias that makes it hard to trust reviewers.
@Axxis270 totally fair! My reasoning is that Stormlight is certainly top 3 and probably my #1 favorite series of all time, and I have complete trust in Sanderson from his other series (I've read everything he's written aside from some of his YA/middle-grade stuff) to deliver an extremely satisfying ending. So admittedly I'm going out on a limb a bit, but it feels like a safe bet to me! But that's a totally fair critique