All those books have been immediately added to my tbr XD, knowing you are really exclusive with 5 stars helps seal the deal for me. I find it really like it when booktubers are selective with their ratings(helps me prioritizing) even tho I am kinda unreliable when I'm giving 5 stars, because my system is the most subjective ever, if a book meets at least one of the following criteria I give it 5 stars no questions asked: -makes me cry (I'm not an easy crier) -makes me laugh out loud several times(I don't even care if the humor isn't the most sophisticated, if a book brings me that level of joy it deserves the 5 stars) -leaves me with a gaping hole in my chest by the end because the story was so good I didn't want it to end. - if I guess so obsessed with the characters I cave to the urge of either reading fanfic just to spend more time with them or drawing them
Since you love Piranesi you should try Jorges Luis Borges short story "Library of Babel" from his short story collection "Fictions". It's what first inspired Susanna Clarke and Borges is a lovely magical realism author!
When I got back into reading again I gave out many more 5 star reviews, now that Im a few years in books really have to earn it. I was surprised by how many on your list I still haven't picked up. That Argyle author writes a good book, good call adding that one on at the end. IYKYK 😂.
12:24 i feel the same way about Wheel of time. I read them back to back in little over a month ages ago, so they all blend together in my memories. I want to do a reread of them eventually.
@@jaredthomas7778 Which are you top 5 favourite characters? Mine are Verin Mathwin, Nynaeve, Thom, Siuan. Some might change depending on my reread, except Verin, liked her character from first appearance.
For me the best Wheel of Time book, as well as my first Brandon Sanderson book, is The Gathering Storm. Some of the best Rand and Egwene moments are in that book.
I read them in a really short time all close together (I think I finished number 13 two weeks before 14 came out, so I got to binge all the books) and so they all run together. As I reread them over the next few years, it'll be interesting to see which ones pop out as my fav.
Gathering storm and fires of heave are my favourites. Egwene and the tower was incredible and the Verin reveal literally had me gasping. The chapter veins of gold will always stick out as one of the greatest moments I’ve ever read along with some in stormlight and mistborn. When rand is on dragon mount and has his epiphany was absolutely amazing.
Good Omens and The Hobbit are both outstanding reads. Rather than trying to decide what are 5 stars and I don't tend to give many perfect scores anyway, I'll stick instead to books that had an impact when I read them: Guy Gavriel Kay - Tigana (though honestly I could pick any of his books) Raymond E Fiest - Magician (on re-reads you could never give it a 5 but in pulling me in to a world when I was young...) Raymond E Fiest and Janny Wurts - Servent of the Empire Terry Brooks - Running with the Demon (Word and the Void) David Gemmell - Waylander Katherine Kerr - Daggerspell (Deverry) Julian May - The Many Coloured Land (The Saga of Exiles) Sherri S Tepper - King's Blood Four (The True Game) Weis & Hickman - Dragons of Autumn Twilight If we are allowed to go back and grab classics then that would be Alexandre Dumas - The Three Musketeers which I read so many times when I was young. The best adaptation of which is without question Dogtanian and The Three Muskehounds!
Age of Madness rules! One of my favourite trilogies. I don't give ratings (sorry I just don't think that way) but I'd say my favourite reads of the year so far have been: The Dragonbone Chair / Tad Williams - I don't read Traditional Fantasy very often but I thoroughly enjoyed this, especially as an ASOIAF fan. The Grace of Kings / Ken Liu - It took a bit to truly gel with me (about halfway through) but once it did it was off to the races. I can't wait to read Wall of Storms. The Name of the Wind / Patrick Rothfuss - I'd been putting this off for far too long and will forever be kicking myself for it. It may never be complete (tbh I don't care) but I loved it for the most part. The Wilful Princess & Piebald Prince / Robin Hobb - I don't think this was necessary but I enjoyed it. Its Hobb. I don't know if I will be resuming RotE anytime soon but still very happy to have read this. Under Heaven / Guy Gavriel Kay - GGK has been rising further up my list of favourite authors, in terms of prose I think is my favourite writer but he writes with such elegance, depth and emotional richness. If I had to pick a definite favourite of the year so far, it would be this one.
There's a reason I didn't keep star ratings before I got onto book instagram! I also never thought of books that way until it was sort of expected lol. I don't think there's anything wrong with that. So glad to see Grace of Kings on this list!
@@thatsci-firogueahh.. some do, others will catch up... Daniel has read one piece and berserk. personally, I love Fables, watchmen and V for Vendetta. EDIT: forgot Scott Pilgrim and seconds, both by Brian Lee O'malley.
I feel like I have had way more 5 stars this year than I have had in such a long time because of booktube pointing me to some great books (you included!). Tress, Warbreaker, and the Blade Itself have been some faves this year. Along with the Princess Bride.
I'm surprised you didn't shout out Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell when talking about Piranesi. What's wrong with Mindy Kaling's memoir? I really enjoyed it! I like to think that I don't give five stars out like candy, but I'm not also very reserved with them either. So far this year, I've given out six five-star ratings: Fool's Quest, Assassin's Fate, and The Wilful Princess and the Piebald Prince by Robin Hobb; Prosper's Demon and The Big Score by K. J. Parker; and, The Last Tale of the Flower Bride by Roshani Chokshi.
Are we surprised at all that Robin Hobb makes up almost half of your five star list 😂 I only gave JS&MN a 4! I mean, I really liked that book and everything it did, but it didn't quite have the 5 star magic for me. I didn't think anything was wrong with it, but every time I mention it now people always have something to say like, "she's self-centered" "she's not actually funny" "she comes off as a brat in that book" and I didn't want to DEAL with that in my comment section. I've given that book to a ton of my friends. I remember it being hilarious.
I didn't know most of the books you started with (probably as a result of living in a non-English speaking country and most of those books not being translated to my native language), found it interesting you gave Peter Pan 5 stars! I'm from the kind of people that like to be grumpy over people watching the movie and not reading the book (even though this is hypocrisy - I honestly don't know how many adaptations I've watched without reading the original), so it's great to hear you liked it! Found myself nodding along about the Ten Thousand Doors of January - really liked that book - and then... Spinning Silver. I've read that book! It was recommended to me by my cousin a couple of days ago, and I liked it - I'm Jewish, and it's nice for me to see a more-or-less accurate portrayal of my people. Personally, I don't really rate books that much. I mean, I can probably tell you which books are my favourites and which are less so, but I don't rate them with stars mostly even though I do have a Goodreads account. Anyway, if I had a list of five star rating it probably would have been somewhat exclusive, and as is obvious from the start of my message - vastly different from yours. It'll probably include the Last Unicorn, Taran Wanderer from the Chronicles of Prydain, maybe the Horse and His Boy? I don't really know, I think I've tried only once to organize my list of favourite books and gave up on it rather quickly.
I read Last Unicorn and Horse and His Boy long before I started keeping my excel sheet, although I'm not sure either of them would've made the 5 stars (although I liked Narnia as a kid, it doesn't hold the same special place for me in fantasy as it does for a lot of people). I also don't think it's weird not to do star ratings - I didn't until I specifically got on Instagram to try and be a "book person"!
Added Slip of the Keyboard to my TBR. And not the part of the TBR that never moves, I'll get to it soon for sure! Thanks for mentioning it, as it wasn't even on my radar.
I've been watching your channel for a while and remember when you were hesitant to read First Law because you aren't a big grimdark fan. Very happy to see you liked A Little Hatred. The Age of Madness trilogy is so brilliant and better than the original (imo). I picked up The Paper Menagerie because of your previous recommendations and am very grateful!
I give out five-stars rarely and entirely subjectively. Five stars is a book that I feel was written especially for me, like a book I've been waiting for all my life. Even a brilliantly written book will only get 4.5 stars because I'm just biased that way haha. Not fair, but who makes the rules? 😂 Star ratings on public sites I rate more objectively and give 5 stars where they are due.
This is definitely me lol. The five star has to just FEEL right. I once rated something five stars and thought “objectively this doesn’t deserve it but I don’t care I love this”
REALLY interested to see what you think of the rest of the Age of Madness. I don't think there is any doubt that Abercrombie has grown a TON as a writer and the prose and plotting in those books is so sharp and polished. I loved ALH too and thought The Trouble With Peace was even better. Unfortunately, The Wisdom of Crowds let me down a little. Not because it isn't 'good' - it for sure is - but I found it a little formulaic. Or at least, a little too similar to the beats that Joe had shown (or really, made popular) with his previous work. Intrigued to see what you think.
It does seem that the entire First Law as a series serves to forward the idea of lack of growth, we start where we end, etc. So I'll be interested to see how that plays out at the end of this trilogy since I think it's the last in the first law universe? Or maybe I made that up lol
I devoured Ted Chiang's both books when I found out a few months ago. He's ridiculously talented! Since I've been following your channel, I've added tons of "to read" in my list! Thanks for the good content! :)
Thank you for sharing! My most recent 5 Star was "Ready Player 2". Love to actually escape into a book. The other 5-Star is Goblet of Fire. These are the only two books I've given 5-stars. Hopefully, your suggestions will change that stat.
Interesting list thanks. Haven't read many of these but certainly agree on Cixin Liu, Susanna Clark, Madeline Miller. This year some of my faves are Seveneves, Ministry of the Future, and Years of Rice and Salt (all more in SF though Years has some fantasy elements). I am now on Malazan 3 Memories of Ice. Glad I am not the only one with spreadsheets! My movies watched sheet just hit 2000 ack!
I thought I was the only person who likes Oathbringer the least out of Stormlight books (all of them 5-star though). Thank you for the video and new TBR books for my endless list!🥲
Oathbringer on a reread hit way harder so as a reread it was 5 stars for me. But I don’t rerate my rereads and I have to admit the first time I read it the shadesmar stuff felt so long. I probably would’ve given it a 4.5
Great List!! I have started to be more cautious of what I give 5 stars, I would be so quick to go off my feelings as soon as I completed a book and then look back a few days later and question whether it really was a 5 star, now I give myself a day or two with the book after finishing before determining a rating.. I have the exact same feelings about Jurassic Park! Loved the movie but that book hit different and I tell people to check that book out if they love the movie. And I swear I think I’m the only person that loved The Well of Ascension LOL!!
LOL I wonder if I'd feel very differently about Well of Ascension now. I read Mistborn at the beginning of my adult fantasy journey and so my perception of what I enjoy has changed a lot. I need to reread!
Ten Thousand Doors of January surprises me with how much I liked it. You’re right that it’s slow at the beginning. I almost DNF’d but my wife had already read and I powered through. By the 1/3 maybe 1/2 mark I was fully onboard and ended up thinking it was a masterpiece. I don’t really do star ratings but if I did I’d probably be a five stars trumpet like Allen.
WARBREAKER BEST BOOK CLUB! Anyway, yeah Jurassic Park was an unexpected delight for me. I especially found it interesting how different the creator/grandfather character was portrayed in the book vs movie.
I am so excited to see Peter Pan mentioned here. That was my childhood favourite book and I still find it so beautiful. Definitely there are some things that don't hold up great (e.g. the way Indigenous people are portrayed). But the book is still so charming and enchanting.
I have only given 3 or 4 books 5 stars since I began rating what I read. 4.75 stars - maybe around 6 books? 4.5 stars - maybe around 20 books? I haven't had any new reads that were 5 stars for me in 2023 unfortunately. Happy reading!
I love your video! I just did my own 5-star analysis recently: In 9 years of Goodreads, I had 27 books rated 5 stars. 10 Fantasy, 10 Sci-fi, 4 Fiction, and 3 Non-Fiction. I also ranked them, as follows: 1. The Martian 2. To Green Angel Tower 3. Words of Radiance 4. Moby Dick 5. Project Hail Mary 6. The Way of Kings 7. The Return of Sherlock Holmes 8. Stand on Zanzibar 9. Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell 10. Among Others We had some good overlap! Elsewhere on my list I had Death's End and The Hero of Ages. Other books I had read earlier, like Memory of Light and LOTR, that would be 5 stars.
Yeah I'm with you, I find most good reads accounts give out way too many 5 star reviews. Just 4% of the books I've read I've given 5 stars too. I really want to reserve it for just the special books rather then giving it out to every book I liked
Oh my god I'm so happy to see Ten Thousand Doors of January I LOVE that book. I also barely give 5 stars even if I'm in love with a book because I usually have some aspects I don't like (tbh I usually have no problem ignoring those things if other aspects really resonate with me but it does affect my rating)
@@Bookborn Awesome! Funny enough, that's around the same time I started as well! Also, I'm JUST NOW getting into reading fantasy... thanks for the intro!
The only Ken Liu ive ever read is the titular story in The Paper Menagerie. Actually, Lavar Burton has a podcast where he reads a work of short fiction. One of his episodes was The Paper Menagerie. Oh my gosh, i was literally crying in my kitchen over that story. I don't know why i haven't read the rest of the collection.
Oh I sobbed at that story LOL I feel like everyone I've given it to has. It's just so simple in it's absolute devastation. The rest of the collection is amazing as well, although The titular story is still my favorite.
Haha! How could you not give your husband a 5-star without the reminder? Too funny. I tend to give 5 stars out like candy on Halloween. If it's a series that I'm continuing to read, it will get a 5 (maybe a 4 if I didn't find it compelling). If a book in a series gets lower than that, I might not continue with it. The two series exceptions to that: Naked Empire and Richard & Kahlan Meet the Clintons (I can't remember the real name of the book between Temple of the Wind and Faith of the Fallen) and there were some books in the latter part of Robert Jordan's part of the Wheel of Time that dealt too much with Aes Sedai and left Perrin or Mat out of entire books. In both cases I was too invested in the series to not continue, but all of those were 2 star books.
I try to reserve 5 stars for the creme de la creme, even if I may round up the 4.5 on goodreads, it's still a 4.5 (or a 9). I've got 3 five star reads so far this year: The invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick - it may be children's or Middle grade and have different requirements, but it's still immaculately told and is kind of a medium all to itself. Piranesi by Susanna Clarke - It was just so damn pleasant to be with this protagonist! The mystery is cool, but isn't hard - you're just waiting for the blow that it'll do to Piranesi when he catches up. The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle - I already loved the film, but this is that and much deeper nuance, an intimate reflection on what many of us are looking for in this genre, fairy tales or just in magical thinking. Your totally right on Peter Pan! I finally read it 3 year ago.
Ender's game is definitely a 5 star book for me. I read that book in 2 days which is really fast for me. I still remember my neck hurting after reading it. The funny thing is I never read any of the sequels. I read all the WoT together so I have a hard time knowing what is in each book. They run together for me. I remember events happening, but not in what books. The end of book 6 is kind of a reference point for me. I haven't read Anxious People, but I have read, A Man called Ove, and I probably would give that close to 5 stars. It's more SciFi, but the audio book for Ready Player One is really good. I think you'd probably enjoy that.
I also reserve 5 stars for books that blow me away or hit me in a certain way. A book I would add as a 5 star for me is Frankenstein. That book hit me just perfect. So so good! I haven't read a lot of these books! But the ones I have read: Yeeesss to Sanderson(Oathbringer also being my least fav), LOTR(I would include Silmarillion), Piranesi, and Ten Thousand Doors of January! WoT- definitely. I remember my favorites reading the first time were 2,4, and 6 and the last 4. In a reread though I enjoyed 3,5, and 7 more! lol I DNF'd Peter Pan. I was hating it. That was like 5 years ago though. Maybe I should give it another go... Spinning Silver I also DNF'd because I found it very confusing, and I was not enjoying the vibe. Jurassic Park I was forced to read in 8th grade biology and I HATED it, lol. Obviously I was young and if I didn't know the story I would probably enjoy it mostly today. But I also have just always disliked dinosaurs. I don't know why. But movies and books(including children's) that have dinosaurs in them have just always bugged me. I'd rather read/watch anything else! Loved Educated! Nonfiction that's a MUST read is The Choice by Edith Eger. It's her incredible story about WW2 and then healing after! Like seriously, she's a fantastic writer. Please go read this book! I've added Code Name Verity to my list! Thanks!
I couldn't five-star the Silmarillion. It was really awesome but had a few parts that realllly slogged for me, so it was only 4 stars. While LOTR and Hobbit didn't have those moments ever! I wonder how you'd feel about Peter Pan now! It hit me really hard as a parent, especially the ending. But maybe I was just in the right mindset for it lol
This is why we say books are subjective. I love them both, but I personally love uprooted more than spinning silver. We have different tastes, and that's totally fine.
Reaper Man was the first Terry Pratchett novel i ever read Ted Chiang, yup, i could guess him being on your list. Great author I didn't think of The Martian, but yeah, i should've. Great book.
I am an absolute softie with 5 stars, giving out too many, for different reasons, that is for sure. It also varies from genre to genre, if traditionally published or independently/self published & how much reading experience I have in the respective genre. I separate more between 5 stars and all time favourites. Absolute top reads this year were for me in Fantasy Cursed by Marissa Meyer that brings her YA retelling of rumpelstiltskin & blue beard to its conclusion, A Thousand Heartbeats by Kiera Cass, a YA fantasy romance that I just loved, The Atlas Paradox by Olivie Blake, Daggerspell by Katharine Kerr, a beginner of a series from the 1990ies, however, to check on trigger warnings is recommended for this book, and then the best of them all, Mark Lawrence's new book that's just about to come out, The Book That Wouldn't Burn, what a wild & amazing ride. It equates for me to my last year's read & liking of Babel by R.F. Kuang. In anything but Fantasy, I found The Silk Roads by Peter Frankopan a very interesting & thought provoking read. Persuasion by Jane Austen was also splendid to reconnect with, and then Foundation by Isaac Asimov and Aurora Rising, previously The Prefect by Alastair Reynolds in SciFi made me want to read more SciFi. With space, there is just more space to explore 😂
A recommendation similar to Terry Pratchett’s non-fic collection is A View from the Cheap Seats by Neil Gaiman. Another easy 5 star non-fic collection.
Oh I’ll absolutely be reading this, thank you for the Rec. I’ve been slowly working through Gaiman’s fiction and would love to hear his non-fic. Also, the forward he wrote to Pratchett non fiction was brilliant.
Piranesi is great, but a book I struggle to rate because it pulls on so many different emotions. Personally agree in leaving Oathbringer off the five star list, that book’s pacing dragged a bit for me.😊 Enjoyed so many elements of it, but was tough for me to stay invested the whole 1300 pages.
Loved “The Emperor’s Soul” and recently recommended that as a quick intro to Sanderson for someone. I just re-read that and “Elantris” in a fit of nostalgia, and need to re-read “Warbreaker” and even “Firstborn”. Definitely check out the movie of “The Martian”. I think Matt Damon did a masterful job of capturing the snarky humor “The Passage” sounds interesting. Added to my TBR.
I’m with you - I wouldn’t have Oathbringer on my 5 star list even though that’s the darling of the Sanderson subreddits. My top top 5 star Sanderson book is the Way of Kings. Included in this list would be Rhythm of War, Words of Radiance, Mistborn the final empire, Hero of Ages, Warbreaker.
I don't often give 5 stars as well,, this year, I've read 4 5-star books so far : East of Eden by Steinbeck, The Poppy War by R.F. Kuang, A Psalm for the Wild Built by Becky Chambers and The Mercies by Kiran Millwood Hargrave, all very different but equally amazing reads.
I choose The Gathering Storm The Shadows For Silence in the Forests of Hell I gave all 4 SA books 5 stars, but OB was the closest to not getting 5 stars. Wait, Parable of the Sower is fantasy? Also, A Little Hatred is indeed GOATed. Stones of Light, seems dubious. I also mostly give 4.5s. I am of course a madman who uses decimal points, and anything that is 9.5 or higher rounds up to a full 5 star ratings, and I generally reserve that for books I consider among my favorites ever. Which currently includes 26 novels.
Surprised you didn't include Oathbringer and Tress of the Emerald Sea out there. My five star reads since 2023 started would be, 'Tress of the Emerald Sea', by Brandon Sanderson and 'The Psychology of Money' by Morgan Housel.
If you haven't checked out nk jemisin, you really should. The Fifth Season is probably one of the best books of the decade, the trilogy each won a Hugo but the style of the first book makes it special.
I’ve read the entire fifth season! I read it before I gave star ratings but you know I probably would’ve given the first book 5 stars and it’s missing from this list. I didn’t actually like the other two quite as much though
I have very few 5 star reviews. A book has to blow me away to get 5 stars. I re-listened to A Memory of Light last month and it is a 5 star book. I did give Tress 5 stars. It probably is more like a 4.5. A few of Steven Kings Dark Tower books are 5 stars. I listen to a lot of books each year (130-150) so it’s hard to keep track of them all.
I'm also pretty conservative with giving out 5 stars. For me it's more about that extra wow factor in terms of my personal enjoyment moreso than whether I'd recommend it widely, though I suppose the two are sort of related. Paper Menagerie is one I've heard nothing but good things about, so I will be reading that at some point this year.
Ooh, you are in for such a treat with The Trouble with Peace by Abercrombie... ALH was also a 5 stars for me (second book with 5 stars after LAOK in First Law) and I thought TTwP was superior. Cannot wait for The Wisdom of Crowds later this month! When it comes to 5 stars, I've arranged the following criteria for me. - Needs to destroy my sleep regime. - Need to have at least 3-5 moments where I need to put the book down, think about what I've just read and then re-read it. - Needs to get me talking to my girlfriend about it, despite how uninterested in reading she is, but I just can't help it.
Ooh, you are in for such a treat with Wisdoms of crowds.... lol couldn't help myself. but yeah every age of madness book is amazing. Have you read sharp ends? i don't read a lot of short stories but I hate how long I put this one off, truly a gem
@@damp2269 I did The Wisdom of Crowds already, and I have done Sharp ends, so I'm fully caught up on First Law now. Wow! An amazing series and I hope he writes more in this world. Will be picked up instantly.!
@@georgitrichkov1640 nice! sadly the next Abercrombie book is in a separate world..... that said it looks like its going to be bonkers. it's called the devils and released is planned for 2025 but he said that he has completed a draft already...
I do give a lot of 5 stars, (and not often the .5 but on the occasion)... that's only because I read really good books. This Zach Argyle sounds like quite a writer, I should give his stuff a try 🤔
I’m the same with 5 star reviews. A 4 or 4.5 rating is for books that I absolutely loved but 5 stars have to have just a little bit more to them. Usually books that I feel have beautiful prose and that hit all my story and emotional buttons. I’ve read 45 books this year and have only given out 3 five star ratings: Ten Thousand Doors of January (I love Harrows fairytale style writing), Every Morning the Way Home Gets Longer by Fredrick Backman, and Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt. In comparison I gave a 4/4.5 star rating to 18 books so far this year
YES another Ten Thousand Doors fan! I just love that book. Did you like her other works? I gave Witches a 4, it was fine, but I wasn't a huge fan of the novella Spindled Splitered.
Three-Body Problem trilogy, Parable of the Sower, Piranesi, Grace of Kings, and, ahem, waiting on KS for Threadlight trilogy thus far as direct recommendations. I still have Pratchett on my list to read along with Warbreaker downloaded. And then off the 5-star list Sword of Kaigen (waiting on KS). Whew.
People say A Little Hatred is the worst in the trilogy? I'm sorry but those people couldn't be more wrong, A Little Hatred is the least AWESOME book in the trilogy. A book much beloved of the moon.
Hi Bookborn (and anyone else who wants to answer this), I have a question about Age of Madness. I read TFL trilogy and Red Country. I really enjoyed the trilogy but I also like fantasy in my fantasy and what I'm hearing is that the fantasy elements are either not there or much more muted in Age of Madness which has me hesitating on reading it. I have no doubt when all is said and done, if I read it, I'd enjoy it, but that doesn't necessarily mean I'm hyped to start it. Any thoughts or suggestions on my concerns? Are they valid (ie, that there really isn't much of the fantastical or magical or mysterious in it)? I know the fantasy elements in the First Law weren't always right at the top like WOT or any number of other fantasy series, but there was still magi and mythology and lore and a few other types of beings other than just humans and of course the Makers House and the reason behind fellowship journey. Can any "convince" me that my wonderings/concerns are just overblown? I want them to be. Thanks, and I just recently subscribed. Lots of thoughtful videos you put out.
The last time I gave a book 5 stars was 4 years ago, it was Notes from Underground by Dostoevsky. Since then I've read about 500 books. By this point I'm not sure what a book should do for me to give it 5 stars.
Is it just me or is there some ringing/jingling (the right English word for this eludes me) in the background? I searched around if it was the phone or something in the house before I realised it was from the video 😂
Of your Sanderson list I actually prefered Mistborn Alloy Gen 2 series better than the first trilogy. Emporers Soul I have to agree it is incredible, and anything with Lyft. The Radients spend to much time back tracking to give any of them 5 Stars. Recluse Saga continues to get better and a number of books in that series are at 5 star level for me, also many books by Card are 5 star, in fantasy the Alvin Maker series all rank as 5 star, and Hearts Hope is utterly unforgettable and poinient. Wizard of Oz also makes my list, I made my mother read the entire book to me in one after noon and re-read it years later as an adult. I wouldn't give any Wheel of Time 5 stars, I would give Faith of the Fallen by Terry Goodkind 5 stars (other books leading up to this one not quite on the same level but nessisary for full impact), and perhaps Girl in the Moon (he passed just after finishing the begining of this series).
I don't have any 5 stars (my rating is on 10 so you could say 10/10). I really reserve it for best of the best, and I've read only around 150 books in my life and a lot when I was young so it's not enough. For exemple I've seen 1300 animes and have 0 10/10 and I have 3 of them for around 800 mangas. I think videogames have the best ratio (something around 8-9 for 500 solo games) So you're not alone !
you and I are totally on the same page with your Sanderson list .. Cytonic was weird in that series. I read all three but my daughter (9 years old) really liked skyward but lost interest in the series with the 2nd book. I think I really enjoyed Daniel Abraham the long price quartet Id for sure give a shadow in summer 5 stars and from his Dagger and the coin the dragons path was a great 1st book in that series.
Uh oh, I’m starting Oathbringer next and now hoping it’s not a huge letdown compared to the first two 😂 I’ve realized I’m pretty stingy with 5 stars too. And sometimes I’ll give a book 4 stars but it will stick with me more in the long run than some of my 5 stars do. Kind of weird how that works.
It’s def not a huge letdown, the ending is incredible. There are just parts that drag to me on the first read. On the second read when I was less worried about the ending, I found I enjoyed those slower parts a LOT more.
I know i'm massively MASSIVELY in the minority, but i really didn't like Joe's last trilogy as much as any of his other books. By quite a bit. Aside from his YA ones which i've not read. They are still really good books, of course, i just read them and never felt as interested or as excited as during his others, and not since felt like re reading them. Whereas the blade trilogy i've read 3 times and listened to about 4 - 5.
@@Bookborn Funny thing is heroes is one of my favs actually, but it was the first one i read. in fact it was the first fantasy book i read, and i only bought it cos the cover looked cool when i was hanging around the shop with my gf.
I loved the first two of AoM but thought Wisdom of Crowds was a bit of a let down personally. Every other book in the world of the First Law was a 5 star book. WoC was like a 3.5.
Here’s my 5-stars that weren’t in your list: -Ruin and Wrath by John Gwynne -The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch -The Sword of Kaigen by ML Wang -The Rage of Dragons by Evan Winter
Book number 4 in WOT would be my 5-star, most likely. Although I haven't read the entire series yet, I'm stuck on book ten and am slowly making my way through it. Like dreadfully slow 🤦🏻♂️
I think the problem with "a little hatred being the worst of the trilogy" is just a repeat of First Law. the first book does a lot setup that the sequels take advantage of and that work is often underappreciated. That said Joe does tend to sacrifice plot when working on world building and character setup, very evident on "the blade itself" but "a little hatred" shows a lot of improvement. Can't wait for more stories on this crazy world, I'd particularly love to know more about Shevedieh and Javre.
@@KalCraig i'd say there is about the same level of magic presence that first law had or slightly less (last argument had quite a bit more than any other book). but it's, i think, impactful.
@@KalCraig no prob. I think Joe's character work went up a notch too on age of madness and it was already amazing to begin with. story also way more focused (structured?) this time around. can't wait for next year with his new series.
@@damp2269 He's doing another series in this world? I saw a few of his interviews but they may have been a year or two old, but he did say never say never with continuing in the First Law world, but nothing more specific than that.
You should totally tell that Zack guy to go pound sand. Or at the very least you should be properly compensated for the 5 star 😀. Tell him congrats on the Kickstarter, I look forward to getting mine.
I haven't read Artemis: I heard from some people I trust that I probably wouldn't like how the main character was portrayed in that book. And I haven't read dragon lance yet!
Excited to see what your five-stars are. Agree that five-stars should be rare and not handed out often (for me it's a "I know a 5 when I read it" kinda feeling), so intrigued to see how many of yours I agree/disagree with. Hoping to see LotR and NotW receive 5s..but guess I'll need to watch video and find out. Back in a few.
I'm very stingy with my 5 stars. If a book doesn't grab me emotionally, it isn't getting 5 stars. If I'm not invested to that degree, it doesn't feel right to rate it 5 stars.
How about books you hated? I hated Ghost Written... very well written, incredibly well written actually, but i went in not realizing it was science fiction and the resulting twist ending seemed to come out of nowhere and just cheapened it all. Lord Foul 's Bane by Stephen Donaldson. I heard so many great things about the series. So i tried to get into all the books. Nope. Not my jam at all. I think i actively hate the series. Yeah, it has some good aspects, but all in all, i don't see why it got the recognition it did
I read a ton of SFF and this list shocked me with how many I HAVEN’T read. Thanks for pointing me to some more quality reads.
It’s always sobering to remember how many books there are out there and how little time 😭
All those books have been immediately added to my tbr XD, knowing you are really exclusive with 5 stars helps seal the deal for me. I find it really like it when booktubers are selective with their ratings(helps me prioritizing) even tho I am kinda unreliable when I'm giving 5 stars, because my system is the most subjective ever, if a book meets at least one of the following criteria I give it 5 stars no questions asked:
-makes me cry (I'm not an easy crier)
-makes me laugh out loud several times(I don't even care if the humor isn't the most sophisticated, if a book brings me that level of joy it deserves the 5 stars)
-leaves me with a gaping hole in my chest by the end because the story was so good I didn't want it to end.
- if I guess so obsessed with the characters I cave to the urge of either reading fanfic just to spend more time with them or drawing them
The difference between a 4/4.5 and a 5 for me is all gut as well. I can't explain it, it's totally subjective, it just ~feels~ right lol
Since you love Piranesi you should try Jorges Luis Borges short story "Library of Babel" from his short story collection "Fictions". It's what first inspired Susanna Clarke and Borges is a lovely magical realism author!
"The House of Asterion" is the other Borgian short story that inspired Susanna Clarke.
The collection Labyrinths is fantastic, just do Tlon last
When I got back into reading again I gave out many more 5 star reviews, now that Im a few years in books really have to earn it. I was surprised by how many on your list I still haven't picked up.
That Argyle author writes a good book, good call adding that one on at the end. IYKYK 😂.
Another person who made it to the after credits scene 🤣
12:24 i feel the same way about Wheel of time. I read them back to back in little over a month ages ago, so they all blend together in my memories. I want to do a reread of them eventually.
When I started rereading I was already surprised but what happened in different books lol it’s such a different experience
The wheel of time is perfect! I will die on this hill!
@@jaredthomas7778 Which are you top 5 favourite characters? Mine are Verin Mathwin, Nynaeve, Thom, Siuan.
Some might change depending on my reread, except Verin, liked her character from first appearance.
@@Zivilin Perrin, Mat, Moraine, Aviendha, Verin, and Loial! Brown is my favorite ajah! I love history and mythology!
For me the best Wheel of Time book, as well as my first Brandon Sanderson book, is The Gathering Storm. Some of the best Rand and Egwene moments are in that book.
I read them in a really short time all close together (I think I finished number 13 two weeks before 14 came out, so I got to binge all the books) and so they all run together. As I reread them over the next few years, it'll be interesting to see which ones pop out as my fav.
Gathering storm and fires of heave are my favourites. Egwene and the tower was incredible and the Verin reveal literally had me gasping. The chapter veins of gold will always stick out as one of the greatest moments I’ve ever read along with some in stormlight and mistborn. When rand is on dragon mount and has his epiphany was absolutely amazing.
Good Omens and The Hobbit are both outstanding reads. Rather than trying to decide what are 5 stars and I don't tend to give many perfect scores anyway, I'll stick instead to books that had an impact when I read them:
Guy Gavriel Kay - Tigana (though honestly I could pick any of his books)
Raymond E Fiest - Magician (on re-reads you could never give it a 5 but in pulling me in to a world when I was young...)
Raymond E Fiest and Janny Wurts - Servent of the Empire
Terry Brooks - Running with the Demon (Word and the Void)
David Gemmell - Waylander
Katherine Kerr - Daggerspell (Deverry)
Julian May - The Many Coloured Land (The Saga of Exiles)
Sherri S Tepper - King's Blood Four (The True Game)
Weis & Hickman - Dragons of Autumn Twilight
If we are allowed to go back and grab classics then that would be Alexandre Dumas - The Three Musketeers which I read so many times when I was young. The best adaptation of which is without question Dogtanian and The Three Muskehounds!
Age of Madness rules! One of my favourite trilogies.
I don't give ratings (sorry I just don't think that way) but I'd say my favourite reads of the year so far have been:
The Dragonbone Chair / Tad Williams
- I don't read Traditional Fantasy very often but I thoroughly enjoyed this, especially as an ASOIAF fan.
The Grace of Kings / Ken Liu
- It took a bit to truly gel with me (about halfway through) but once it did it was off to the races. I can't wait to read Wall of Storms.
The Name of the Wind / Patrick Rothfuss
- I'd been putting this off for far too long and will forever be kicking myself for it. It may never be complete (tbh I don't care) but I loved it for the most part.
The Wilful Princess & Piebald Prince / Robin Hobb
- I don't think this was necessary but I enjoyed it. Its Hobb. I don't know if I will be resuming RotE anytime soon but still very happy to have read this.
Under Heaven / Guy Gavriel Kay
- GGK has been rising further up my list of favourite authors, in terms of prose I think is my favourite writer but he writes with such elegance, depth and emotional richness. If I had to pick a definite favourite of the year so far, it would be this one.
There's a reason I didn't keep star ratings before I got onto book instagram! I also never thought of books that way until it was sort of expected lol. I don't think there's anything wrong with that. So glad to see Grace of Kings on this list!
The Dragonbone Chair and the whole Memory, Sorrow and Thorn series was great 👍
I don't rate either. I do have a top 10 of all time but honestly is very lose and includes comics.
@@damp2269 that's cool, booktube doesn't give comics enough love
@@thatsci-firogueahh.. some do, others will catch up... Daniel has read one piece and berserk. personally, I love Fables, watchmen and V for Vendetta.
EDIT: forgot Scott Pilgrim and seconds, both by Brian Lee O'malley.
I feel like I have had way more 5 stars this year than I have had in such a long time because of booktube pointing me to some great books (you included!). Tress, Warbreaker, and the Blade Itself have been some faves this year. Along with the Princess Bride.
Oh I absolutely agree that I get more five stars now! My list is more “curated” so I feel like the chance for higher ratings just increases!
If the Blade Itself is a 5 stars for you, you’ll be blown away by the rest of Abercrombies
@@tyrson4331 I’m over half way through Before They Are Hanged right now and loving it
I'm surprised you didn't shout out Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell when talking about Piranesi.
What's wrong with Mindy Kaling's memoir? I really enjoyed it!
I like to think that I don't give five stars out like candy, but I'm not also very reserved with them either. So far this year, I've given out six five-star ratings: Fool's Quest, Assassin's Fate, and The Wilful Princess and the Piebald Prince by Robin Hobb; Prosper's Demon and The Big Score by K. J. Parker; and, The Last Tale of the Flower Bride by Roshani Chokshi.
Are we surprised at all that Robin Hobb makes up almost half of your five star list 😂
I only gave JS&MN a 4! I mean, I really liked that book and everything it did, but it didn't quite have the 5 star magic for me.
I didn't think anything was wrong with it, but every time I mention it now people always have something to say like, "she's self-centered" "she's not actually funny" "she comes off as a brat in that book" and I didn't want to DEAL with that in my comment section. I've given that book to a ton of my friends. I remember it being hilarious.
I didn't know most of the books you started with (probably as a result of living in a non-English speaking country and most of those books not being translated to my native language), found it interesting you gave Peter Pan 5 stars! I'm from the kind of people that like to be grumpy over people watching the movie and not reading the book (even though this is hypocrisy - I honestly don't know how many adaptations I've watched without reading the original), so it's great to hear you liked it!
Found myself nodding along about the Ten Thousand Doors of January - really liked that book - and then... Spinning Silver. I've read that book! It was recommended to me by my cousin a couple of days ago, and I liked it - I'm Jewish, and it's nice for me to see a more-or-less accurate portrayal of my people.
Personally, I don't really rate books that much. I mean, I can probably tell you which books are my favourites and which are less so, but I don't rate them with stars mostly even though I do have a Goodreads account. Anyway, if I had a list of five star rating it probably would have been somewhat exclusive, and as is obvious from the start of my message - vastly different from yours. It'll probably include the Last Unicorn, Taran Wanderer from the Chronicles of Prydain, maybe the Horse and His Boy? I don't really know, I think I've tried only once to organize my list of favourite books and gave up on it rather quickly.
I read Last Unicorn and Horse and His Boy long before I started keeping my excel sheet, although I'm not sure either of them would've made the 5 stars (although I liked Narnia as a kid, it doesn't hold the same special place for me in fantasy as it does for a lot of people). I also don't think it's weird not to do star ratings - I didn't until I specifically got on Instagram to try and be a "book person"!
Added Slip of the Keyboard to my TBR. And not the part of the TBR that never moves, I'll get to it soon for sure! Thanks for mentioning it, as it wasn't even on my radar.
Thanks for the video! Adding some things to my TBR. :)
I've been watching your channel for a while and remember when you were hesitant to read First Law because you aren't a big grimdark fan. Very happy to see you liked A Little Hatred. The Age of Madness trilogy is so brilliant and better than the original (imo).
I picked up The Paper Menagerie because of your previous recommendations and am very grateful!
I give out five-stars rarely and entirely subjectively. Five stars is a book that I feel was written especially for me, like a book I've been waiting for all my life. Even a brilliantly written book will only get 4.5 stars because I'm just biased that way haha. Not fair, but who makes the rules? 😂 Star ratings on public sites I rate more objectively and give 5 stars where they are due.
This is definitely me lol. The five star has to just FEEL right. I once rated something five stars and thought “objectively this doesn’t deserve it but I don’t care I love this”
REALLY interested to see what you think of the rest of the Age of Madness. I don't think there is any doubt that Abercrombie has grown a TON as a writer and the prose and plotting in those books is so sharp and polished. I loved ALH too and thought The Trouble With Peace was even better. Unfortunately, The Wisdom of Crowds let me down a little. Not because it isn't 'good' - it for sure is - but I found it a little formulaic. Or at least, a little too similar to the beats that Joe had shown (or really, made popular) with his previous work. Intrigued to see what you think.
It does seem that the entire First Law as a series serves to forward the idea of lack of growth, we start where we end, etc. So I'll be interested to see how that plays out at the end of this trilogy since I think it's the last in the first law universe? Or maybe I made that up lol
@@Bookborn It's definitely the last for a while. Joe is working on something set in an entirely new world right now, IIRC
@@tkinsey3 Ok, that's what I thought! I think that's a good idea because you never want a setting/world to get too stale.
I devoured Ted Chiang's both books when I found out a few months ago. He's ridiculously talented!
Since I've been following your channel, I've added tons of "to read" in my list! Thanks for the good content! :)
I read Exhalation then immediately went and devoured his second collection lol. It's hard not to, they are just all so insightful.
Thank you for sharing! My most recent 5 Star was "Ready Player 2". Love to actually escape into a book. The other 5-Star is Goblet of Fire. These are the only two books I've given 5-stars. Hopefully, your suggestions will change that stat.
Interesting list thanks. Haven't read many of these but certainly agree on Cixin Liu, Susanna Clark, Madeline Miller. This year some of my faves are Seveneves, Ministry of the Future, and Years of Rice and Salt (all more in SF though Years has some fantasy elements). I am now on Malazan 3 Memories of Ice. Glad I am not the only one with spreadsheets! My movies watched sheet just hit 2000 ack!
I give your channel 5 stars.
I thought I was the only person who likes Oathbringer the least out of Stormlight books (all of them 5-star though). Thank you for the video and new TBR books for my endless list!🥲
Oathbringer on a reread hit way harder so as a reread it was 5 stars for me. But I don’t rerate my rereads and I have to admit the first time I read it the shadesmar stuff felt so long. I probably would’ve given it a 4.5
8:07 never tired of you talking about Piranesi 🤩
Im like you when it comes to rating. Since I started keeping track in 2019 ive only given out 15 five star ratings
Yeah I've given 34 to SFF in the last decade. So averaging about 3.5 a year? That feels right.
Great List!! I have started to be more cautious of what I give 5 stars, I would be so quick to go off my feelings as soon as I completed a book and then look back a few days later and question whether it really was a 5 star, now I give myself a day or two with the book after finishing before determining a rating.. I have the exact same feelings about Jurassic Park! Loved the movie but that book hit different and I tell people to check that book out if they love the movie. And I swear I think I’m the only person that loved The Well of Ascension LOL!!
LOL I wonder if I'd feel very differently about Well of Ascension now. I read Mistborn at the beginning of my adult fantasy journey and so my perception of what I enjoy has changed a lot. I need to reread!
Ten Thousand Doors of January surprises me with how much I liked it. You’re right that it’s slow at the beginning. I almost DNF’d but my wife had already read and I powered through. By the 1/3 maybe 1/2 mark I was fully onboard and ended up thinking it was a masterpiece.
I don’t really do star ratings but if I did I’d probably be a five stars trumpet like Allen.
I’m trying to read one essay a day of The Slip of the Keyboard, and it is so enjoyable.
I JUST finished Jurassic Park yesterday, excellent book I was very surprised by how good it was. Warbreaker 5 star club for life also 🤘🏼
WARBREAKER BEST BOOK CLUB! Anyway, yeah Jurassic Park was an unexpected delight for me. I especially found it interesting how different the creator/grandfather character was portrayed in the book vs movie.
I am so excited to see Peter Pan mentioned here. That was my childhood favourite book and I still find it so beautiful. Definitely there are some things that don't hold up great (e.g. the way Indigenous people are portrayed). But the book is still so charming and enchanting.
I have only given 3 or 4 books 5 stars since I began rating what I read.
4.75 stars - maybe around 6 books?
4.5 stars - maybe around 20 books?
I haven't had any new reads that were 5 stars for me in 2023 unfortunately.
Happy reading!
Ahhh you're the .25 person lol I only go by .5's. I did have 2 five stars this year which is crazy. Some really good stuff.
Joe Abercrombie is higher on my list after this video. Ive owned Blade Itself for a while and need to get to it
It def took me a while to understand it because it's so depressing lol but the humor really carries it, and the character-work is seriously top notch.
I love your video! I just did my own 5-star analysis recently: In 9 years of Goodreads, I had 27 books rated 5 stars. 10 Fantasy, 10 Sci-fi, 4 Fiction, and 3 Non-Fiction. I also ranked them, as follows:
1. The Martian
2. To Green Angel Tower
3. Words of Radiance
4. Moby Dick
5. Project Hail Mary
6. The Way of Kings
7. The Return of Sherlock Holmes
8. Stand on Zanzibar
9. Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell
10. Among Others
We had some good overlap! Elsewhere on my list I had Death's End and The Hero of Ages. Other books I had read earlier, like Memory of Light and LOTR, that would be 5 stars.
Yeah I'm with you, I find most good reads accounts give out way too many 5 star reviews.
Just 4% of the books I've read I've given 5 stars too. I really want to reserve it for just the special books rather then giving it out to every book I liked
Oh my god I'm so happy to see Ten Thousand Doors of January I LOVE that book. I also barely give 5 stars even if I'm in love with a book because I usually have some aspects I don't like (tbh I usually have no problem ignoring those things if other aspects really resonate with me but it does affect my rating)
First time to your channel. Couldn't help but notice... IS THAT A DM SCREEN AND D&D BOOKS BEHIND YOU!?!? Heck yeah. Gained a subscriber.
Absolutely lol I’m a huge D&D fan! Started playing about 6 years ago and have never looked back (and have bought too much dnd stuff now 🙃😂)
@@Bookborn Awesome! Funny enough, that's around the same time I started as well! Also, I'm JUST NOW getting into reading fantasy... thanks for the intro!
Todd here. Nice video Bookborn, you are right it's hard to give a book 5 stars.
This list is definitely a win from top to bottom. What really sold me though was the love shown to Jurassic Park and Starsight.
The only Ken Liu ive ever read is the titular story in The Paper Menagerie. Actually, Lavar Burton has a podcast where he reads a work of short fiction. One of his episodes was The Paper Menagerie. Oh my gosh, i was literally crying in my kitchen over that story. I don't know why i haven't read the rest of the collection.
Oh I sobbed at that story LOL I feel like everyone I've given it to has. It's just so simple in it's absolute devastation. The rest of the collection is amazing as well, although The titular story is still my favorite.
Haha! How could you not give your husband a 5-star without the reminder? Too funny. I tend to give 5 stars out like candy on Halloween. If it's a series that I'm continuing to read, it will get a 5 (maybe a 4 if I didn't find it compelling). If a book in a series gets lower than that, I might not continue with it. The two series exceptions to that: Naked Empire and Richard & Kahlan Meet the Clintons (I can't remember the real name of the book between Temple of the Wind and Faith of the Fallen) and there were some books in the latter part of Robert Jordan's part of the Wheel of Time that dealt too much with Aes Sedai and left Perrin or Mat out of entire books. In both cases I was too invested in the series to not continue, but all of those were 2 star books.
I try to reserve 5 stars for the creme de la creme, even if I may round up the 4.5 on goodreads, it's still a 4.5 (or a 9). I've got 3 five star reads so far this year:
The invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick - it may be children's or Middle grade and have different requirements, but it's still immaculately told and is kind of a medium all to itself.
Piranesi by Susanna Clarke - It was just so damn pleasant to be with this protagonist! The mystery is cool, but isn't hard - you're just waiting for the blow that it'll do to Piranesi when he catches up.
The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle - I already loved the film, but this is that and much deeper nuance, an intimate reflection on what many of us are looking for in this genre, fairy tales or just in magical thinking.
Your totally right on Peter Pan! I finally read it 3 year ago.
I enjoyed age of madness way more than first law. The second book in the trilogy is my 5 star though, can’t wait until you read it!
I have had Jurassic Park on my TBR to get to for so long. I need to get to it. Remember seeing the first 1 in theaters when I was way too young.
Lol my sister saw it in the theater when she was way too young 😂 must be a common thread lol
Wow. A post-credit scene! :-) I gave that Zack Argyle book 5 stars too. (I gave the first book 4 stars and third 5 stars too.)
Ender's game is definitely a 5 star book for me. I read that book in 2 days which is really fast for me. I still remember my neck hurting after reading it. The funny thing is I never read any of the sequels.
I read all the WoT together so I have a hard time knowing what is in each book. They run together for me. I remember events happening, but not in what books. The end of book 6 is kind of a reference point for me.
I haven't read Anxious People, but I have read, A Man called Ove, and I probably would give that close to 5 stars.
It's more SciFi, but the audio book for Ready Player One is really good. I think you'd probably enjoy that.
I also reserve 5 stars for books that blow me away or hit me in a certain way.
A book I would add as a 5 star for me is Frankenstein. That book hit me just perfect. So so good!
I haven't read a lot of these books! But the ones I have read:
Yeeesss to Sanderson(Oathbringer also being my least fav), LOTR(I would include Silmarillion), Piranesi, and Ten Thousand Doors of January! WoT- definitely. I remember my favorites reading the first time were 2,4, and 6 and the last 4. In a reread though I enjoyed 3,5, and 7 more! lol
I DNF'd Peter Pan. I was hating it. That was like 5 years ago though. Maybe I should give it another go...
Spinning Silver I also DNF'd because I found it very confusing, and I was not enjoying the vibe.
Jurassic Park I was forced to read in 8th grade biology and I HATED it, lol. Obviously I was young and if I didn't know the story I would probably enjoy it mostly today. But I also have just always disliked dinosaurs. I don't know why. But movies and books(including children's) that have dinosaurs in them have just always bugged me. I'd rather read/watch anything else!
Loved Educated!
Nonfiction that's a MUST read is The Choice by Edith Eger. It's her incredible story about WW2 and then healing after! Like seriously, she's a fantastic writer. Please go read this book!
I've added Code Name Verity to my list! Thanks!
I couldn't five-star the Silmarillion. It was really awesome but had a few parts that realllly slogged for me, so it was only 4 stars. While LOTR and Hobbit didn't have those moments ever!
I wonder how you'd feel about Peter Pan now! It hit me really hard as a parent, especially the ending. But maybe I was just in the right mindset for it lol
This is why we say books are subjective. I love them both, but I personally love uprooted more than spinning silver. We have different tastes, and that's totally fine.
Reaper Man was the first Terry Pratchett novel i ever read
Ted Chiang, yup, i could guess him being on your list. Great author
I didn't think of The Martian, but yeah, i should've. Great book.
Martian is maybe a little out of left field in this list, but I'm sorry, it was a fantastic book. I read it in like 2 days lol
I am an absolute softie with 5 stars, giving out too many, for different reasons, that is for sure. It also varies from genre to genre, if traditionally published or independently/self published & how much reading experience I have in the respective genre. I separate more between 5 stars and all time favourites.
Absolute top reads this year were for me in Fantasy
Cursed by Marissa Meyer that brings her YA retelling of rumpelstiltskin & blue beard to its conclusion, A Thousand Heartbeats by Kiera Cass, a YA fantasy romance that I just loved, The Atlas Paradox by Olivie Blake, Daggerspell by Katharine Kerr, a beginner of a series from the 1990ies, however, to check on trigger warnings is recommended for this book, and then the best of them all, Mark Lawrence's new book that's just about to come out, The Book That Wouldn't Burn, what a wild & amazing ride. It equates for me to my last year's read & liking of Babel by R.F. Kuang.
In anything but Fantasy, I found The Silk Roads by Peter Frankopan a very interesting & thought provoking read. Persuasion by Jane Austen was also splendid to reconnect with, and then Foundation by Isaac Asimov and Aurora Rising, previously The Prefect by Alastair Reynolds in SciFi made me want to read more SciFi. With space, there is just more space to explore 😂
A recommendation similar to Terry Pratchett’s non-fic collection is A View from the Cheap Seats by Neil Gaiman. Another easy 5 star non-fic collection.
Oh I’ll absolutely be reading this, thank you for the Rec. I’ve been slowly working through Gaiman’s fiction and would love to hear his non-fic. Also, the forward he wrote to Pratchett non fiction was brilliant.
Hahaha 🤣 iykyk😂
I think I’m with you on all but a few of these (fantasy) choices. 🤗
Glad you made it to the after credits scene 🤣
I don't really track my reading so I can't say, but I'm more of a four star strumpet.
I gotta get you on some non-SFF buddy reads. 👨🏫
I'm def a 4/4.5 star person. It drives people crazy. I have to feel the 5 star in my gut lol
Piranesi is great, but a book I struggle to rate because it pulls on so many different emotions.
Personally agree in leaving Oathbringer off the five star list, that book’s pacing dragged a bit for me.😊 Enjoyed so many elements of it, but was tough for me to stay invested the whole 1300 pages.
Loved “The Emperor’s Soul” and recently recommended that as a quick intro to Sanderson for someone. I just re-read that and “Elantris” in a fit of nostalgia, and need to re-read “Warbreaker” and even “Firstborn”.
Definitely check out the movie of “The Martian”. I think Matt Damon did a masterful job of capturing the snarky humor
“The Passage” sounds interesting. Added to my TBR.
I’m with you - I wouldn’t have Oathbringer on my 5 star list even though that’s the darling of the Sanderson subreddits. My top top 5 star Sanderson book is the Way of Kings. Included in this list would be Rhythm of War, Words of Radiance, Mistborn the final empire, Hero of Ages, Warbreaker.
I don't often give 5 stars as well,, this year, I've read 4 5-star books so far : East of Eden by Steinbeck, The Poppy War by R.F. Kuang, A Psalm for the Wild Built by Becky Chambers and The Mercies by Kiran Millwood Hargrave, all very different but equally amazing reads.
FINALLY....someone else who thinks Warbreaker is one of the best!! It's my fav Sanderson as well.....
I choose The Gathering Storm
The Shadows For Silence in the Forests of Hell
I gave all 4 SA books 5 stars, but OB was the closest to not getting 5 stars.
Wait, Parable of the Sower is fantasy?
Also, A Little Hatred is indeed GOATed.
Stones of Light, seems dubious.
I also mostly give 4.5s. I am of course a madman who uses decimal points, and anything that is 9.5 or higher rounds up to a full 5 star ratings, and I generally reserve that for books I consider among my favorites ever. Which currently includes 26 novels.
Surprised you didn't include Oathbringer and Tress of the Emerald Sea out there.
My five star reads since 2023 started would be, 'Tress of the Emerald Sea', by Brandon Sanderson and 'The Psychology of Money' by Morgan Housel.
Tress was 4.5 :)
If you haven't checked out nk jemisin, you really should. The Fifth Season is probably one of the best books of the decade, the trilogy each won a Hugo but the style of the first book makes it special.
I’ve read the entire fifth season! I read it before I gave star ratings but you know I probably would’ve given the first book 5 stars and it’s missing from this list. I didn’t actually like the other two quite as much though
love the channel and your comments. The background music is sooooo distracting !!!!
I have very few 5 star reviews. A book has to blow me away to get 5 stars. I re-listened to A Memory of Light last month and it is a 5 star book. I did give Tress 5 stars. It probably is more like a 4.5. A few of Steven Kings Dark Tower books are 5 stars. I listen to a lot of books each year (130-150) so it’s hard to keep track of them all.
I'm also pretty conservative with giving out 5 stars. For me it's more about that extra wow factor in terms of my personal enjoyment moreso than whether I'd recommend it widely, though I suppose the two are sort of related. Paper Menagerie is one I've heard nothing but good things about, so I will be reading that at some point this year.
Uh oh. I didn't see a certain author named Zack on this list...I feel a fight coming on... ;)
15:33 ;)
@@Bookborn Well...that's what I get for closing the video early...
Ooh, you are in for such a treat with The Trouble with Peace by Abercrombie... ALH was also a 5 stars for me (second book with 5 stars after LAOK in First Law) and I thought TTwP was superior. Cannot wait for The Wisdom of Crowds later this month!
When it comes to 5 stars, I've arranged the following criteria for me.
- Needs to destroy my sleep regime.
- Need to have at least 3-5 moments where I need to put the book down, think about what I've just read and then re-read it.
- Needs to get me talking to my girlfriend about it, despite how uninterested in reading she is, but I just can't help it.
Ooh, you are in for such a treat with Wisdoms of crowds.... lol couldn't help myself. but yeah every age of madness book is amazing. Have you read sharp ends? i don't read a lot of short stories but I hate how long I put this one off, truly a gem
@@damp2269 I did The Wisdom of Crowds already, and I have done Sharp ends, so I'm fully caught up on First Law now. Wow! An amazing series and I hope he writes more in this world. Will be picked up instantly.!
@@georgitrichkov1640 nice! sadly the next Abercrombie book is in a separate world..... that said it looks like its going to be bonkers. it's called the devils and released is planned for 2025 but he said that he has completed a draft already...
I do give a lot of 5 stars, (and not often the .5 but on the occasion)... that's only because I read really good books.
This Zach Argyle sounds like quite a writer, I should give his stuff a try 🤔
I liked Zack Argyle’s novels.
sucha nice video! thank you for all the recs
I’m the same with 5 star reviews. A 4 or 4.5 rating is for books that I absolutely loved but 5 stars have to have just a little bit more to them. Usually books that I feel have beautiful prose and that hit all my story and emotional buttons. I’ve read 45 books this year and have only given out 3 five star ratings: Ten Thousand Doors of January (I love Harrows fairytale style writing), Every Morning the Way Home Gets Longer by Fredrick Backman, and Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt.
In comparison I gave a 4/4.5 star rating to 18 books so far this year
YES another Ten Thousand Doors fan! I just love that book. Did you like her other works? I gave Witches a 4, it was fine, but I wasn't a huge fan of the novella Spindled Splitered.
@@Bookborn Witches was a 4.5 for me 🙂 I read it a few weeks ago. I haven’t read her novellas yet but I’m sad to hear they were disappointing!
Three-Body Problem trilogy, Parable of the Sower, Piranesi, Grace of Kings, and, ahem, waiting on KS for Threadlight trilogy thus far as direct recommendations. I still have Pratchett on my list to read along with Warbreaker downloaded. And then off the 5-star list Sword of Kaigen (waiting on KS). Whew.
@1:42 Allen would be proud of your “genre” emphasis.
People say A Little Hatred is the worst in the trilogy? I'm sorry but those people couldn't be more wrong, A Little Hatred is the least AWESOME book in the trilogy. A book much beloved of the moon.
Well that's what they mean lol. Everyone has said "A Little Hatred seems amazing until you read the rest...and somehow they are even better!"
@@Bookborn Say one thing for the Age of Madness trilogy, say they get better with each entry.
Hi Bookborn (and anyone else who wants to answer this),
I have a question about Age of Madness. I read TFL trilogy and Red Country. I really enjoyed the trilogy but I also like fantasy in my fantasy and what I'm hearing is that the fantasy elements are either not there or much more muted in Age of Madness which has me hesitating on reading it. I have no doubt when all is said and done, if I read it, I'd enjoy it, but that doesn't necessarily mean I'm hyped to start it. Any thoughts or suggestions on my concerns? Are they valid (ie, that there really isn't much of the fantastical or magical or mysterious in it)?
I know the fantasy elements in the First Law weren't always right at the top like WOT or any number of other fantasy series, but there was still magi and mythology and lore and a few other types of beings other than just humans and of course the Makers House and the reason behind fellowship journey.
Can any "convince" me that my wonderings/concerns are just overblown? I want them to be. Thanks, and I just recently subscribed. Lots of thoughtful videos you put out.
Im REALLY curious what Abacrombie has coming out next...
Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation - Favorite book of all time for me. It's my 5 star of all 5 star books.
The last time I gave a book 5 stars was 4 years ago, it was Notes from Underground by Dostoevsky. Since then I've read about 500 books. By this point I'm not sure what a book should do for me to give it 5 stars.
Is it just me or is there some ringing/jingling (the right English word for this eludes me) in the background? I searched around if it was the phone or something in the house before I realised it was from the video 😂
Wish this were a public list on Goodreads! 😊
Sean goodreads scares me. You’ll have to convince me otherwise at some point 😂
@@Bookborn haha how is it scary? Sure Amazon could turn it off at any moment...
Of your Sanderson list I actually prefered Mistborn Alloy Gen 2 series better than the first trilogy. Emporers Soul I have to agree it is incredible, and anything with Lyft. The Radients spend to much time back tracking to give any of them 5 Stars.
Recluse Saga continues to get better and a number of books in that series are at 5 star level for me, also many books by Card are 5 star, in fantasy the Alvin Maker series all rank as 5 star, and Hearts Hope is utterly unforgettable and poinient.
Wizard of Oz also makes my list, I made my mother read the entire book to me in one after noon and re-read it years later as an adult.
I wouldn't give any Wheel of Time 5 stars, I would give Faith of the Fallen by Terry Goodkind 5 stars (other books leading up to this one not quite on the same level but nessisary for full impact), and perhaps Girl in the Moon (he passed just after finishing the begining of this series).
I don't have any 5 stars (my rating is on 10 so you could say 10/10).
I really reserve it for best of the best, and I've read only around 150 books in my life and a lot when I was young so it's not enough.
For exemple I've seen 1300 animes and have 0 10/10 and I have 3 of them for around 800 mangas. I think videogames have the best ratio (something around 8-9 for 500 solo games)
So you're not alone !
you and I are totally on the same page with your Sanderson list .. Cytonic was weird in that series. I read all three but my daughter (9 years old) really liked skyward but lost interest in the series with the 2nd book. I think I really enjoyed Daniel Abraham the long price quartet Id for sure give a shadow in summer 5 stars and from his Dagger and the coin the dragons path was a great 1st book in that series.
Uh oh, I’m starting Oathbringer next and now hoping it’s not a huge letdown compared to the first two 😂
I’ve realized I’m pretty stingy with 5 stars too. And sometimes I’ll give a book 4 stars but it will stick with me more in the long run than some of my 5 stars do. Kind of weird how that works.
It’s def not a huge letdown, the ending is incredible. There are just parts that drag to me on the first read. On the second read when I was less worried about the ending, I found I enjoyed those slower parts a LOT more.
I feel ashamed for not having read Parable yet. I even bought it once and somehow lost it on vacation. Is it anything like 1984?
Never heard of that Zack guy at the end. Is he the sponsor of the video since he got the after credit mention? 🤔
I don't know about Zack, but now I can make a guess.
I know i'm massively MASSIVELY in the minority, but i really didn't like Joe's last trilogy as much as any of his other books. By quite a bit. Aside from his YA ones which i've not read. They are still really good books, of course, i just read them and never felt as interested or as excited as during his others, and not since felt like re reading them. Whereas the blade trilogy i've read 3 times and listened to about 4 - 5.
Oh that's an opinion I haven't heard yet! The Heroes was my favorite so far before A Little Hatred, and that's also an unpopular opinion lol
@@Bookborn Funny thing is heroes is one of my favs actually, but it was the first one i read. in fact it was the first fantasy book i read, and i only bought it cos the cover looked cool when i was hanging around the shop with my gf.
I didn't enjoy the first law, but I did finish the series which I am proud of.
I loved the first two of AoM but thought Wisdom of Crowds was a bit of a let down personally. Every other book in the world of the First Law was a 5 star book. WoC was like a 3.5.
Here’s my 5-stars that weren’t in your list:
-Ruin and Wrath by John Gwynne
-The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch
-The Sword of Kaigen by ML Wang
-The Rage of Dragons by Evan Winter
Sword of Kaigen got a 4.5 from me lol. I still am obsessed with that book tho. I just didn’t love the tie in ending at the end.
Book number 4 in WOT would be my 5-star, most likely. Although I haven't read the entire series yet, I'm stuck on book ten and am slowly making my way through it. Like dreadfully slow 🤦🏻♂️
I also, just finished Lonesome Dove and loved it! 5 stars for sure!
I think the problem with "a little hatred being the worst of the trilogy" is just a repeat of First Law. the first book does a lot setup that the sequels take advantage of and that work is often underappreciated. That said Joe does tend to sacrifice plot when working on world building and character setup, very evident on "the blade itself" but "a little hatred" shows a lot of improvement. Can't wait for more stories on this crazy world, I'd particularly love to know more about Shevedieh and Javre.
Can you tell me if Age of Madness still has elements of fantasy in it or is that much more in the background, if at all, compared to First Law?
@@KalCraig i'd say there is about the same level of magic presence that first law had or slightly less (last argument had quite a bit more than any other book). but it's, i think, impactful.
@@damp2269 Thank you. This helps a lot!
@@KalCraig no prob. I think Joe's character work went up a notch too on age of madness and it was already amazing to begin with. story also way more focused (structured?) this time around. can't wait for next year with his new series.
@@damp2269 He's doing another series in this world? I saw a few of his interviews but they may have been a year or two old, but he did say never say never with continuing in the First Law world, but nothing more specific than that.
You should totally tell that Zack guy to go pound sand. Or at the very least you should be properly compensated for the 5 star 😀. Tell him congrats on the Kickstarter, I look forward to getting mine.
Sorry if I missed it, but did you like/read Artemis? - I need to read enders game again and : no dragon lance 5 stars???
I haven't read Artemis: I heard from some people I trust that I probably wouldn't like how the main character was portrayed in that book. And I haven't read dragon lance yet!
@@Bookborn I remember the main character as being tough and scrappy - been a while since I read it
These videos help with ro read
Grear vid
I am rly looking forwarr to read Fonda lee
Hello, likes your video, I'm.also elusive about giving 5 stars Even My favorite books. Don't know why hahahah
I have some books I consider in my top ten that got a 4.5 LOL I’m totally the same way
Excited to see what your five-stars are. Agree that five-stars should be rare and not handed out often (for me it's a "I know a 5 when I read it" kinda feeling), so intrigued to see how many of yours I agree/disagree with.
Hoping to see LotR and NotW receive 5s..but guess I'll need to watch video and find out. Back in a few.
Oh I’m absolutely “gut feeling” about 5-stars. That’s why so many top books or books I LOVE get 4.5. Idk you have to feel the 5 rating 😂
I'm very stingy with my 5 stars. If a book doesn't grab me emotionally, it isn't getting 5 stars. If I'm not invested to that degree, it doesn't feel right to rate it 5 stars.
Time to remake this with A Storm of Swords and A Feast for Crows included 😂😂😂
I laughed really hard at Mindy K book 😂
Ok because it was hilarious. I know people love to hate on her but that book is so funny lol
Tress didn't make it?
Tress got the 4.5!
How about books you hated?
I hated Ghost Written... very well written, incredibly well written actually, but i went in not realizing it was science fiction and the resulting twist ending seemed to come out of nowhere and just cheapened it all.
Lord Foul 's Bane by Stephen Donaldson. I heard so many great things about the series. So i tried to get into all the books. Nope. Not my jam at all. I think i actively hate the series. Yeah, it has some good aspects, but all in all, i don't see why it got the recognition it did
I would dare to say that Stranger Things is not a non-fiction book :)
It is when it's an entirely behind-the-scenes look at casting and creation! It's really great if you're a fan of the show.
Fifth element
My last five star book was in 2021. Unless if you count manga then I’d probably give SpyxFamily five stars.
The Wheel of Time has so many five stars for me. I will only trash Crossroads of twilight.
Shhh we all pretend Crossroads doesn't exist