What were your favourite reads of the summer? Least favourite? Was there a book that surprised you? Let me know! And you can check out the description for a full list of the books I talk about in this video.
Hi Adam. I just wanted to send a quick note to tell you how much I’m enjoying your channel. You present your reviews in a thoughtful and concise manner. We both like to read widely so I’m always interested to her about what you’re picking up and liking.
Thank you, so much. It means a lot to me that you're finding value in this, and I'll do my best not to disappoint you in the future! Thanks for watching and commenting :)
Hi Adam - personally, I’ve never gotten into sci-fi or fantasy, or graphic novels either, but I enjoyed hearing about your summer reads. Considering the way your list was going, I was very surprised that I had actually read your #1 book. I read it about ten years ago and remember that I couldn’t put it down. I was still working in the library then, and everyone on staff was reading it. After hearing you talk about it, it may be time for a reread. This summer I read two fictional accounts of Frank Lloyd Wright’s personal life: Loving Frank by Nancy Horan, and The Women by T.C. Boyle. Absolutely loved both of them.
Hah. That's often the case with my lists, you think they're going one way and suddenly you're in a completely different place. :) Because of the way I read, I end up reading a lot more Fantasy and SciFi by volume, because I go through those quickly, whereas when I'm reading the Classics, or literary fiction or even good narrative nonfiction, those books tend to take a lot longer, because I'm often annotating, and sometimes even journaling at the same time. As a result, I end up with a reading catalog that makes it seem like I spend all my time reading in a couple of genres, when in fact, that's not actually how it pans out. Also, I didn't know there was a fictional account of Frank Lloyd Wright's life, let alone two of them! I'm a fan of his work, but know little about his life, so I may just need to check those out. Thanks so much for watching and commenting!
Rage, Adam, rage! I’ve read the Fagles translations of the epics and Oresteria a numbers of years ago in my Greek days. It’s probably time to re-read. I’m not into fantasy, but my easy reading has been Paul Doiron’s Mike Bowditch mysteries-about a very human Maine Game Warden. I’ve been reading a lot of US History including Ron Chernow’s George Washington (not quite as engaging as his Hamilton, IMO). When my Brother-in-Law saw the book he exclaimed, “With all the hundreds of books, why this one?” I replied, “Chernow’s writing!” Do Canadians read a lot about your history? My reading du jour is Brideshead Revisited. I greatly enjoyed The Wager, hated The Road, and nearly went into a violent rage with Empire of Pain and its scum of the earth Sackler Family. Stay f-k-n awesome! Mike
I can't speak for all Canadians, but I read a lot of history, not necessarily limited to Canadian history. For instance, Chernow is on my list of biographers that I still need to get around to reading. I'm a sucker for a good historical biography. Manchester's series on Churchill and anything by Robert Caro or Doris Kearns Goodwin are big favourites. Thanks so much for watching and commenting (and raging with me a little bit)!
The book that I wanna rave about that I read this summer is Prodigal Summer by Barbara Kingsolver. (Yes, I timed to read it in summer haha). It blew my mind how expertly it transported me to the Appalachian mountains and how it interweaves 3 narratives in the aura of biology and ecology. It made me think about how I stand as one creature of one species among many, while being blown away by the language that Barbara is known for.
@@ADudeWhoReads Like any other “vibey” book, some readers may find it boring as it’s slow-paced. And maybe the best entry to Barbara Kingsolver might be her “best” books (best meaning awarded by prizes). Poisonwood Bible or Demon Copperhead. Personally though, I think Prodigal Summer is a great entry. It displays Barbara’s great writing style, good research, and great characters!
I recently started reading Best Served Cold! The First Law trilogy is my favourite fantasy series (though my #1 fantasy book of all time is a standalone, even though it has other companion books that are in the same world: The Curse of Chalion by Lois McMaster Bujold). And I have now added The Nice House on the Lake to me TBR!
This is awesome! Let me know how you like Nice House on the Lake and Best Served Cold when you’re done with them. I haven’t read Curse of Chalion, so I’ll have to add that one to my list as well!
I started using Elements of Style by S&W in 1988 because my favorite English teacher was always banging on about what an excellent reference it was. Admittedly my go-to now though is Mignon Fogarty LOL
Cool. It actually functions a bit like a library loan. You can "borrow" a certain amount of digital books as a Prime member at a time. The list of books tends to be rather limited, but you can get digital versions of a lot of the out of copyright classics. Also, there are a lot of (what I assume based on the covers) steamy romance novels, if that's your thing!
@@ADudeWhoReads My aunt reads the “granny smut” as we call it. I will be sure to let *her* know (personally, I’d rather die than read that stuff 🤣) I am Allowed one FREE book to keep per month it seems as a Prime member….I’ll search around and see if there are any limits to that. I know I’ve borrowed a few Brontë sister books in the past from their lending library.
Really enjoyed Poppy War trilogy as well as her other 2 novels although I think the first book was so different from 2 and 3 - much like Red Rising. Book one of RR set up this situation that was not mimicked in subsequent books, and Poppy War was very much the same. Her other 2 novels were nothing like PWar. Babel was my favorite RFK so far but Yellowface was definitely worth a read if for no other reason than the fascinating insight into the publishing world, much of which I can only assume was based on her own experience.
Haven't read Red Rising, yet (is it wrong that I want Pierce Brown to finish the second trilogy before I start the first one?). But for Poppy Wars, I'd argue that the first HALF of book one of Poppy Wars was completely different from the other 2 1/2 books. Unfortunately, I really liked the first half of book one... I will give RF Kuang another shot at some point, though. As always, thanks for watching and commenting :)
Awesome about your number one though. I love it when a book comes out of nowhere and takes you by surprise like that. Great list mate! Seems like you had a good summer of reading.
Thanks for stopping by and commenting! I fully acknowledge that my opinion on the Poopy Wars is in the minority, but it's just one of those things where people rave about it and I just don't get it... let me know your thoughts once you get into it. As for my number one, absolutely! I tend to follow a pretty structured reading schedule, so on the off times I do go off script and just grab something that seems interesting it feels extra special and reminds me that I should probably do it more often!
I was also blown away by Wild. Strayed writes so beautifully about transgression, grief and love. As a book, I felt it was just so full of LIFE :) Just realized it would be a great gift for some of my lady friends.
@@ADudeWhoReads That's who I gave my copy to after reading it some years ago, although he wasn't really a gentleman and is no longer a friend, but hopefully he enjoyed it! By the way, I added The Nice House on the Lake to my list of books I'd like to read and I'm super excited about it. I have never really read a graphic novel, so I'm stoked to see what it's like.
@@sarahsuze7742 Woo! That's exciting to hear. It's about as far away from Wild as can be, but I still think you'll enjoy it. Once you've read it, if you feel like it, drop me a line to let me know what you thought of it!
Nice reads! I’ve been looking which fantasy author I should start with if I wanna venture into the fantasy genre (I’m a litfic reader). I’ll definitely check Abercrombie based on your praises :)
If you're primarily a literary fiction reader, you could also try Steven Erikson (who wrote Gardens of the Moon which I also mention in this video). The only issue with Erikson is that it's more of an investment, since his primary work is a giant 10-book series, which may not be the best ENTRY point into Fantasy. However, I do find that his writing style would be appealing to someone who enjoys lit fic. The other author worth trying out is Robin Hobb. I'm not Hobb's biggest fan, but her prose is probably the most polished of any author in the fantasy genre that I've read to date, so depending on what you're looking for, that might also be an option!
I also own On Writing. Ironically, it’s probably my favourite Stephen King book. I dont quite place it in the same category as S&W or On Writing Well, because although there are some tips on style (like the adverbs advice and the “murder your darlings” advice), I read it more like a motivational book in the vein of the War of Art. Thanks so much for watching and taking the time to comment!
I have read Snow Crash and Cryptonomicon. Enjoyed the former a lot. The latter not so much. It wasn't what I was really looking for but it was a gift. It was really long and Stephenson gets too cute for his own good. Sometimes it works, sometimes not. I do have Anathem to read at some point. Have enjoyed the first two Edan books by Dr. Chase and really surprised how good the Daughter of the Emlire series by Wurtz/Feist is. Big disappointment was Blood Meridian.
I agree with your assessment of Stephenson. Sometimes it works… sometimes not. I have heard a lot of good things about the Edan books. I’ll have to check them out at some point. Haven’t heard much about Emlire, but I can understand why Blood Meridian could be a let down. It’s not for everyone (I’m not a big fan of Cormac McCarthy to begin with, so there’s also that). Thanks so much for watching and commenting!
Hah. Fair enough on the typo. I was going by the authors’ names anyway. I’ve heard good things about Feist and Wurts, but not about this series specifically. Thanks for putting it in my radar!
Robert Fitzgerald's translation of Homer is great. Yellowface is terrible, I don't know about Babel. Great video. I'll add your number one to my TBR, I've never heard of it. The only thing that surprised me was the manga Gantz for how TERRIBLE it was. Everybody was recommend it to me, on the internet and real life. I don't know what's wrong with people.
Thanks for the Fitzgerald recommendation. I'll need to look into it and donate my copy somewhere ;) Every once in a while there's something that everyone else seems to love and that, but that just doesn't land. Sounds like Gantz was that for you. I guess that's what makes things interesting!
What were your favourite reads of the summer? Least favourite? Was there a book that surprised you? Let me know! And you can check out the description for a full list of the books I talk about in this video.
Hi Adam. I just wanted to send a quick note to tell you how much I’m enjoying your channel. You present your reviews in a thoughtful and concise manner. We both like to read widely so I’m always interested to her about what you’re picking up and liking.
Thank you, so much. It means a lot to me that you're finding value in this, and I'll do my best not to disappoint you in the future! Thanks for watching and commenting :)
Hi Adam - personally, I’ve never gotten into sci-fi or fantasy, or graphic novels either, but I enjoyed hearing about your summer reads. Considering the way your list was going, I was very surprised that I had actually read your #1 book. I read it about ten years ago and remember that I couldn’t put it down. I was still working in the library then, and everyone on staff was reading it. After hearing you talk about it, it may be time for a reread. This summer I read two fictional accounts of Frank Lloyd Wright’s personal life: Loving Frank by Nancy Horan, and The Women by T.C. Boyle. Absolutely loved both of them.
Hah. That's often the case with my lists, you think they're going one way and suddenly you're in a completely different place. :) Because of the way I read, I end up reading a lot more Fantasy and SciFi by volume, because I go through those quickly, whereas when I'm reading the Classics, or literary fiction or even good narrative nonfiction, those books tend to take a lot longer, because I'm often annotating, and sometimes even journaling at the same time. As a result, I end up with a reading catalog that makes it seem like I spend all my time reading in a couple of genres, when in fact, that's not actually how it pans out.
Also, I didn't know there was a fictional account of Frank Lloyd Wright's life, let alone two of them! I'm a fan of his work, but know little about his life, so I may just need to check those out.
Thanks so much for watching and commenting!
Rage, Adam, rage! I’ve read the Fagles translations of the epics and Oresteria a numbers of years ago in my Greek days. It’s probably time to re-read. I’m not into fantasy, but my easy reading has been Paul Doiron’s Mike Bowditch mysteries-about a very human Maine Game Warden. I’ve been reading a lot of US History including Ron Chernow’s George Washington (not quite as engaging as his Hamilton, IMO). When my Brother-in-Law saw the book he exclaimed, “With all the hundreds of books, why this one?” I replied, “Chernow’s writing!” Do Canadians read a lot about your history? My reading du jour is Brideshead Revisited. I greatly enjoyed The Wager, hated The Road, and nearly went into a violent rage with Empire of Pain and its scum of the earth Sackler Family. Stay f-k-n awesome! Mike
I can't speak for all Canadians, but I read a lot of history, not necessarily limited to Canadian history. For instance, Chernow is on my list of biographers that I still need to get around to reading. I'm a sucker for a good historical biography. Manchester's series on Churchill and anything by Robert Caro or Doris Kearns Goodwin are big favourites. Thanks so much for watching and commenting (and raging with me a little bit)!
Great video! Also, you gave me some new books to find and read. (P.S. I really disliked the Chapman translation either 👀)
Always my goal! And yeah... booo Chapman ;)
The book that I wanna rave about that I read this summer is Prodigal Summer by Barbara Kingsolver. (Yes, I timed to read it in summer haha). It blew my mind how expertly it transported me to the Appalachian mountains and how it interweaves 3 narratives in the aura of biology and ecology. It made me think about how I stand as one creature of one species among many, while being blown away by the language that Barbara is known for.
Very cool. I've never read anything by Kingsolver. Any hesitation recommending this as a starting point?
@@ADudeWhoReads Like any other “vibey” book, some readers may find it boring as it’s slow-paced. And maybe the best entry to Barbara Kingsolver might be her “best” books (best meaning awarded by prizes). Poisonwood Bible or Demon Copperhead. Personally though, I think Prodigal Summer is a great entry. It displays Barbara’s great writing style, good research, and great characters!
I have no problem with a slow burn so sounds good to me!
I recently started reading Best Served Cold! The First Law trilogy is my favourite fantasy series (though my #1 fantasy book of all time is a standalone, even though it has other companion books that are in the same world: The Curse of Chalion by Lois McMaster Bujold). And I have now added The Nice House on the Lake to me TBR!
This is awesome! Let me know how you like Nice House on the Lake and Best Served Cold when you’re done with them. I haven’t read Curse of Chalion, so I’ll have to add that one to my list as well!
I started using Elements of Style by S&W in 1988 because my favorite English teacher was always banging on about what an excellent reference it was. Admittedly my go-to now though is Mignon Fogarty LOL
Sacrilege!
Great List!
Keep up the wonderful work!
Thank you Adam!
Thanks so much! 😃
I’m definitely going to pick up Wild now. Great video 😊
Awesome! I hope you love it as much as I did. Thanks so much for watching and commenting!
P.P.S. I had *NO IDEA* I could get a free book every month with my Prime membership…THANK YOU for pointing that out🤘
Cool. It actually functions a bit like a library loan. You can "borrow" a certain amount of digital books as a Prime member at a time. The list of books tends to be rather limited, but you can get digital versions of a lot of the out of copyright classics. Also, there are a lot of (what I assume based on the covers) steamy romance novels, if that's your thing!
@@ADudeWhoReads My aunt reads the “granny smut” as we call it. I will be sure to let *her* know (personally, I’d rather die than read that stuff 🤣) I am Allowed one FREE book to keep per month it seems as a Prime member….I’ll search around and see if there are any limits to that. I know I’ve borrowed a few Brontë sister books in the past from their lending library.
Granny smut 🤣😂🤣
Really enjoyed Poppy War trilogy as well as her other 2 novels although I think the first book was so different from 2 and 3 - much like Red Rising. Book one of RR set up this situation that was not mimicked in subsequent books, and Poppy War was very much the same. Her other 2 novels were nothing like PWar. Babel was my favorite RFK so far but Yellowface was definitely worth a read if for no other reason than the fascinating insight into the publishing world, much of which I can only assume was based on her own experience.
Haven't read Red Rising, yet (is it wrong that I want Pierce Brown to finish the second trilogy before I start the first one?). But for Poppy Wars, I'd argue that the first HALF of book one of Poppy Wars was completely different from the other 2 1/2 books. Unfortunately, I really liked the first half of book one... I will give RF Kuang another shot at some point, though. As always, thanks for watching and commenting :)
Oooh this is the first take I've seen that didn't like the Poppy War trilogy. I just picked it up too.
Awesome about your number one though. I love it when a book comes out of nowhere and takes you by surprise like that. Great list mate! Seems like you had a good summer of reading.
Thanks for stopping by and commenting! I fully acknowledge that my opinion on the Poopy Wars is in the minority, but it's just one of those things where people rave about it and I just don't get it... let me know your thoughts once you get into it. As for my number one, absolutely! I tend to follow a pretty structured reading schedule, so on the off times I do go off script and just grab something that seems interesting it feels extra special and reminds me that I should probably do it more often!
I was also blown away by Wild. Strayed writes so beautifully about transgression, grief and love. As a book, I felt it was just so full of LIFE :) Just realized it would be a great gift for some of my lady friends.
And maybe even for some of your gentleman friends! ;) In all seriousness, I agree with you. Strayed's writing sticks with you.
@@ADudeWhoReads That's who I gave my copy to after reading it some years ago, although he wasn't really a gentleman and is no longer a friend, but hopefully he enjoyed it!
By the way, I added The Nice House on the Lake to my list of books I'd like to read and I'm super excited about it. I have never really read a graphic novel, so I'm stoked to see what it's like.
@@sarahsuze7742 Woo! That's exciting to hear. It's about as far away from Wild as can be, but I still think you'll enjoy it. Once you've read it, if you feel like it, drop me a line to let me know what you thought of it!
Nice reads! I’ve been looking which fantasy author I should start with if I wanna venture into the fantasy genre (I’m a litfic reader). I’ll definitely check Abercrombie based on your praises :)
If you're primarily a literary fiction reader, you could also try Steven Erikson (who wrote Gardens of the Moon which I also mention in this video). The only issue with Erikson is that it's more of an investment, since his primary work is a giant 10-book series, which may not be the best ENTRY point into Fantasy. However, I do find that his writing style would be appealing to someone who enjoys lit fic. The other author worth trying out is Robin Hobb. I'm not Hobb's biggest fan, but her prose is probably the most polished of any author in the fantasy genre that I've read to date, so depending on what you're looking for, that might also be an option!
Already own Strunk &White. Will pick up On Witing Well. Read Stephen King’s On Writing a few years ago via Kindle. The hardback arrived last week.
I also own On Writing. Ironically, it’s probably my favourite Stephen King book. I dont quite place it in the same category as S&W or On Writing Well, because although there are some tips on style (like the adverbs advice and the “murder your darlings” advice), I read it more like a motivational book in the vein of the War of Art. Thanks so much for watching and taking the time to comment!
I have read Snow Crash and Cryptonomicon. Enjoyed the former a lot. The latter not so much. It wasn't what I was really looking for but it was a gift. It was really long and Stephenson gets too cute for his own good. Sometimes it works, sometimes not. I do have Anathem to read at some point.
Have enjoyed the first two Edan books by Dr. Chase and really surprised how good the Daughter of the Emlire series by Wurtz/Feist is.
Big disappointment was Blood Meridian.
I agree with your assessment of Stephenson. Sometimes it works… sometimes not. I have heard a lot of good things about the Edan books. I’ll have to check them out at some point. Haven’t heard much about Emlire, but I can understand why Blood Meridian could be a let down. It’s not for everyone (I’m not a big fan of Cormac McCarthy to begin with, so there’s also that). Thanks so much for watching and commenting!
@ADudeWhoReads Fat fingers, Empire. Late 80s fantasy in same world as Magician but the other side of the Rift. Fairly quick not too thinky read.
Hah. Fair enough on the typo. I was going by the authors’ names anyway. I’ve heard good things about Feist and Wurts, but not about this series specifically. Thanks for putting it in my radar!
Robert Fitzgerald's translation of Homer is great. Yellowface is terrible, I don't know about Babel. Great video. I'll add your number one to my TBR, I've never heard of it.
The only thing that surprised me was the manga Gantz for how TERRIBLE it was. Everybody was recommend it to me, on the internet and real life. I don't know what's wrong with people.
Thanks for the Fitzgerald recommendation. I'll need to look into it and donate my copy somewhere ;) Every once in a while there's something that everyone else seems to love and that, but that just doesn't land. Sounds like Gantz was that for you. I guess that's what makes things interesting!
@@ADudeWhoReads You're going to read the Elon Musk biography, right? You kinda sorta have to.
@@leopercara3477 ... but do I have to? I kinda feel like I already get enough Elon in my life ;)