all the books i read and dnfed in september 🪐 brandon sanderson, new romance, booktok favs

[@caricanread]

posting on a tuesday morning?! thanks for your patience while i was on vacation - tired to get this to you asap :'''') also more thoughts on 'how to end a love story' (only spoiling the prologue!) - i think it would have been interesting if grant had had an accident with a totally different person and he and helen clashed on their opinions/experience with su!cide. Like helen loses someone she loves vs grant was traumatized by a stranger so they obviously have very different feelings and since they TV show they're working on involves a su!cide, they could clash in the writers room about their experiences and that would have been an interesting way to explore the themes and characters without having grant be the person involved with her sisters death?? i guess it makes the 'i shouldnt feel this way about this guy' feelings a little less strong but they dont NEED to be that strong! we've had romances between coworkers with even smaller issues that still work lol, i just dont know why HE needed to be at the wheel of the car her sister jumped in front of?

[@juliacintrae]

I literally forget everyday that you're on the other side of the world 😭

[@StashaA.]

Totally agree on "How To End A Love Story". The whole idea was just too much for me and I couldn't relax. I constantly had a thought in the back of my head about the the fact why would these two people be in the same room even for a couple of minutes, and everything more than that just gave me the creeps.

[@ellenlovre]

I know! I had to dnf how to end a love story cause it stressed me out way too much for a romance. And the fact that the mcs had no chemistry at all just made it terrible and not worth it.

[@pointegal96]

Am I overwhelmed by books rn? Yes. Am I watching Cari for more books to read? Yes.

[@sabiha.sayeed]

I feel like autumn is peak reading season. So many recommendations all around, but I also can't stop watching them and jotting down the books I wanna try...someday.

[@THEWLLAS97]

Been having an off day and was thinking “a Cari video sounds really good right now” was trying to decide which old one to rewatch when LO AND BEHOLD!!

[@caricanread]

wahhhhh happy to deliver :''')

[@ReiyukaE]

Talk about manifesting!

[@britneyfrancis5757]

OMG I cackled when you said your husband loves perfume 😂😂😂 Love your wrap up as usual, added so many to my tbr

[@girlskylark1816]

That little nugget about your husband’s favorite book made me laugh out loud WHAT DO YOU MEAN THAT’S HIS FAVORITE BOOK 😂 WHY DIDN’T WE FOCUS ON THAT A LITTLE LONGER????

[@tallisdavidson9236]

I cheered out loud when you started with A Memory Called Empire. Literally I love that book with my whole heart. No notes. It is perfect.

[@caricanread]

PERFECT.

[@librarianlirael]

I really appreciate how you always say the title of the book at the beginning and end of each section about that book, and keep the title on the screen the entire time. Sometimes I'm not interested in a book until I hear what someone has to say, and I appreciate not having to rewind to write it down. 💜 Glad you made it home safe! Hope you have a good week. 🫶🏻

[@aliciamichalkiewicz]

"this is for the gideon girlies" imediatelly dropping the book im reading rn for this.

[@madison2939]

Literally leaving my state from a hurricane at the moment and this makes my night so so so much better. Thank you as always, Cari!

[@caricanread]

hope you and your loved ones are safe!!

[@kimbersgrandadventure]

We are all watching 😢 and praying for Fl ❤❤❤ love from Ut.

[@madison2939]

@@kimbersgrandadventure 🫶🫶

[@madison2939]

@@caricanread thank you, Cari🫶

[@redlikeroses1062]

Stay safe! I hope you are doing ok.

[@The_hexgames]

I just finished a Memory Called Empire yesterday! Was actually scrolling back through your old videos to see if you had said anything about it and then you uploaded this one! Definitely one for the Gideon girlies.

[@The_hexgames]

Gonna need to pick up the second book today at my local bookstore lol, can’t focus on anything else 🤣

[@Selitos676]

Emperor’s Soul, the Elantris novella, is one of Sanderson’s best works and the best novella I’ve ever read! It’s set in a different part of the world and introduces a new magic system.

[@waxwingsfall]

The emperors soul is so good honestly some of his best

[@NIka-fx5fp]

For a year i was ignoring "Sorcery of thornes" and now when i've finally read it, i will not repeat my mistake and just read books that Cari liked. I feel like a year of my life without "Sorcery of thorns" was wasted.

[@Tamina-gb6ri]

I also read sorcery of thorns last week and I don’t even know how to explain it but it really made me sooo excited about books again, which I had not felt in a while

[@NIka-fx5fp]

@@Tamina-gb6ri Same! I haven't read such a good book in a while. Though i was reading it for autumn vibes and now i'm going to read it's winter novella. But who am i to complain?

[@mistywindow16]

I saw Brandon Sanderson and RAN

[@caricanread]

LOL!

[@feltrix334]

As a SFF fan, so happy you're reading A Memory Called Empire and Sanderson! As a big Brando Sando fan, Elantris is the only Sanderson book I've considered DNFing (this was partially due to not vibing with the audiobook reader, sorry to the reader, I'm sure you're very nice). I'd love to see your takes on some of his later books-- I know you read Tress and Mistborn, but "Yumi and the Nightmare Painter" and "Warbreaker" might be up your alley if you don't want to commit to something like The Stormlight Archive. EDIT: speaking as a fan of both Gideon the Ninth and A Memory Called Empire, they have very different vibes, and I'm not sure the fandom overlap is going to be that big.

[@JairsReadingList]

I'm so glad you read A Memory called Empire! I loved that book and feel like its super underrated.

[@caricanread]

its so SO good :'''')

[@Morfeusm]

It just doesn’t appeal or gets advertised for majority of people who read SF and space opera. I did pick it up randomly knowing I was not the target audience but I must say as a life long SF fan I enjoyed it very much! I think it just needs time, most of the SF fans don’t read hyped or new books. We are still stucked rewatching TNG while sipping on Earl Grey Tea 😂

[@caricanread]

@@JairsReadingList sorry deleting this comment because its a spoiler!

[@JairsReadingList]

@@caricanread Binned it myself, no sweat! My bad, dude!

[@chacharealsmoove]

an hour of content?? LETS GOOO

[@lippyjean3236]

the bit about your husband loving perfume and the "let me know what you think about that!" made me actually cackle out loud omg

[@alexohno]

Yay! It’s nice to know there’s at least ONE other person on the planet who also didn’t love The Seven Year Slip!

[@caricanread]

there are two of us yesss! hahahah

[@Showtunediva]

@@caricanread🙋‍♀️ 3rd

[@SlugReads]

I was so nervous and excited to see you read A Memory Called Empire/A Desolation Called Peace. Such wonderful books, some of my favorites I've ever read in Sci-Fi, really happy to hear you enjoyed it!!

[@elizabethg4282]

I read Immortal Dark because of your dark acidemia book video and I completely agree with you. It had a great beginning and a really interesting world and I loved seeing how Kidan's feelings on certain things but the end made me feel a little iffy on the book. I really liked it but I wasn't necessarily expecting it to be a series and I think that might have been what through me off.

[@happybeauty5771]

I'm so happy you read and review books other than those that are popular on booktok! Great recommendations.

[@Rachel-6016]

AHH so glad to see the love for a memory called empire/a desolation called peace!! too underrated in my opinion, it’s a perfect series! If you liked that duology, I would recommend the author Ann Leckie, with her series starting with Ancillary Justice. I see your sci-fi era coming girl!! 💅🪐

[@maeveodonovan3861]

Seconding Ancillary Justice, just finished the trilogy and I'm losing my gd mind

[@hanzbanan]

I was going to recommend these too, but I’ll third your recommendation! Lots of nice thematic similarities between the worlds in both series and they’re also just great.

[@dkotaalynn]

I truly think this is my favorite type of video you make. Which is saying a lot because I love them all! I’m always so excited to discover books I’ve never heard of or see titles I’ve considered reading, along with an honest and detailed review. It helps me determine if I’d be wasting my time or if I’d have a new 5 star read!

[@tiffanymoton704]

omg was not expecting to see elantris pop up on here! i've been mulling over a mistborn reread (i read the trilogy in 2019) and ive decided this was a sign from the cosmere heavens that i should greenlight it. would you ever consider a reread vlog??

[@morgancrum9139]

I work at a bookstore and today I put a girl onto your channel to help figure out what she likes/wants to read :)

[@Luthiennes]

that slack notification going off at 1:01 xD

[@fernandadiesel8369]

can't believe you conviced me to read a sci-fi book but i will look for it immediately, and the seventh veil of salome is already on my tbr but now I'm excited to start it soon

[@aicha72]

Nothing relaxes me as much as your videos Cari ❤️ will definitely read A Memory Called Empire!

[@miaastrange]

currently reading mickey 7 and loving it! i just went through and added all your sci fi recommendations to my holds list at the library

[@violaerbach5566]

A Cari video dropping means my lunch break just became that much more interesting! My favourite book of September was Foul Days by Genoveva Dimova, just an amazing story!

[@myeuphxriia5026]

i know this not related at all but i remember you recommending emily wilde’s encyclopaedia of faries and I had loved it as well but i recently read the spellsshop by sarah beth durst and omgg i think you’ll love it !!!!

[@SuperAnalaloca]

Hi Cari! I'm reading the Legendborn second book and I can't stop reading! It's absolutely one of my favorite series I read so far. I left your video talking about it unseen just so I can watch it when I finish. Always a random comment from me 😂 thank you!!

[@madalenapires21]

Elantris can be read as a standalone, I agree, but the sequels (that aren't out yet) won't folllow the same characters, at least as far as Brandon Sanderson has said. I do recommend you read The Emperor's Soul. It's set on the same planet as Elantris, but in a compelitely different country, with different characters and a different magic system, and it is possibly one of Sanderson's best books ever. It's also a novella so you can read it quickly.

[@bluseadragon]

This video didn’t come up in my feed on KZbin at all :( I’m glad I thought to search for Cari because I wouldn’t want to miss this

[@StephMorgan_]

Yessss! I'm so excited you loved A Memory Called Empire!

[@bashfulnath]

I am one of the people who loved how to end a love story, but I fully understand how people wouldn’t. I just really emotionally connected to the story and characters because of some of my experience I think and I read it when I was really sick and cried from beginning to end. I wouldn’t just recommend it to everyone looking for a romance. I agree that it’s a book more about the grief and processing something so horrible years and years later than it is a love story.

[@MariaAlexia24]

Today is my birthday and Cari's posting is the best gift 😊❤

[@PatiNagy]

Love love love your monthly wrap ups. Again some addition to my never-ending TBR 🙈

[@alishadonna]

Memory called empire is SO good!! Loved the second book too. I can’t wait for the third.

[@tintenschreiberin4362]

I don't think, there is a third coming

[@camryn_tayler]

Ah! Gorgeous Cari you couldn't have posted at a better time🥺💕needed this so bad, I'm glad to hear your trip was lovely

[@malimili]

QUEEENN,, right when i needed you the most 😭😭 i love listening to your videos while finishing my lab record. Great video as always. (Alsooo maybe one day you could do a reading vlog of the percy jackson series 🥺🥺 i cant stop thinking about how much you would love it)

[@shannonhhey9058]

my favorite when you talk about sanderson :”) night made thank you

[@BeaEspeña]

Super love the variety!! Definitely looking into A Memory Called Empire and Elantris!! ❤🎉

[@NonAnonD]

Monday cari??? what on earth but i’ll take it

[@caricanread]

lol vacation cari turned into back to work cari :'''')

[@HannahFarrell-v7v]

I don’t even read but I come when Cari calls🎉

[@candyhyojung1860]

omg okayyy you have totally sold me on a memory called empire!! i already did have it on my radar and wanted to read it probably at some point but the idea of it i had before was like a really daunting scifi and you just made it sound so fun and interesting so yay😁 (i do still need to read gideon though as well ahahha)

[@matcha.cinnamon]

checked my youtube notifications at the right time🫡 excited to watch this one!!

[@caricanread]

wahhh thank you!

[@fatimawright8575]

Oh I’m so glad you loved A Memory Called Empire. I really loved everything about it and the sequel was great too. There were so many good quotes; the writing was great. The only problem I have is that Arkady Martine hasn’t written any other books 😢. I actually started immortal dark after watching your video and don’t really like it so far about 17% in. But hearing you say that some people like the end and not the beginning makes me want to continue. We’ll see. I was in a reading slump for a week and haven’t really left yet. Thank you for the video!

[@BrennaBochenek]

I love all your videos! Your voice is so soothing and I feel like you do an amazing job of explaining your feelings about all the books you read! Can’t wait to see more! ❤

[@cinnamonsunshine914]

So glad you got back safely! Hope you had the best time ❤️

[@lucdoodle]

That was a very cool video! Also very excited for the Halloween romcoms! Hope you'll have a good day and have fun reading the next books!

[@warlocksarecool]

I had to put down A Memory Called Empire bc it was too much to keep track of at the time but your review inspired me to pick it back up 👀

[@marysnyder9405]

This BOTM month was so insane, I got five books! 💀

[@odeofpoets]

i was just watching one of your videos earlier today 💥💥💥 i hope you had a great vacation cari!

[@joyc.e.7511]

You have no idea how excited I was to see a new video lol

[@summerg.2934]

You're husband loves Perfume...lol😂...that had me rolling...blink twice in your next video if you need help lol 😂 Me and Sanderson just never vibe unfortunately. Everytime I pick up one of his books thinking this is gonna be the one...zero chemistry...sigh. Great recs and agree on a few of those let downs. Definitely getting A Memory Called Empire immediately, that sounds fantastic.

[@caricanread]

when he made me watch the movie with him i was like...why are all his victims red headed women? and kurt was like huh...never noticed that before. HELP HAHAHAHA

[@pauieeepau]

@carincanread i also never noticed in the movie lol. I don't think the women were supposed to be all redheads in the book?😂

[@summerg.2934]

@caricanread I think ur good...unless he's really good at picking out perfume. If so, I shall watch your videos daily in memoriam lol 😆

[@ModernChinglish]

as soon as I heard you were reviewing sci fi this month i stopped what i was doing, put this on full screen and SAT MY ASS DOWN. i am present. i am listening. i am taking notes.

[@KYX1994]

Love you so much Cari! You're hilarious 🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉

[@_rayafterhours]

Sheee is backkkk the intro have me giggling already.🫧❤️

[@caricanread]

:'''''')

[@chocolateoreo6489]

I’m sending you all the love Cari❤ I hope you have a great fall (;

[@isadoratoledo822]

I have been refreshing your channel daily since I saw your post about having read Elantris, so excited to hear your opinion! 🎉

[@iiisha864]

Your review of the seventh veil of salome is so validating to me. I felt like an idiot cause I found the book to be soo overwhelming.

[@joalgustas6498]

I actually have a middle grade suggestion for you that I think you will love. It may actually be my favorite book this year. It’s called “The Whisperwicks: Labyrinth of Lost and Found” by Jordan Lees. It’s magic, two different book shop settings, Greek mythology, found family. I did not see the ending coming and it is by far, a book for any one of any age. I need more people to read this book, especially as it’s now autumn, matches the vibes. It’s a quick read too. Please please read it!

[@michellecgb]

I just laid down to start reading before I go to sleep, but this is the most welcome change of plans ❤❤❤ AND IT’S AN HOUR? I’m blessed today

[@dominiquemaldonado1906]

Ty for your vids I’m in SUCH a slump

[@Morfeusm]

Read a comic book or manga! Something like Junji Ito for Halloween season! Graphic novels always get me out of the slump!

[@carladiaz8399]

Your husband favourite book being the perfume is si funny 😂😂 I'm sorry girl are you okay?? Not but seriously how much he relates to the protagonist 😂

[@arbradway]

I've never been this early!! Was looking for a cozy video for my evening routine, refreshed my KZbin app, and there you were! Excited to hear what you thought of the Brando Sando book(s??) you read 👀

[@DenaliMarina]

Feel like I’m talking about books with a friend❤️

[@abbeyglass4013]

cari i’m begging you to read a terry pratchett book or hitchhikers guide to the galaxy!!!!! definitely same vibes at the first book you mentioned

[@caricanread]

i grew up with those books!

[@carolinaochoa2104]

Nooo 😢 I wanted you to like how to end a love story but I totally get your thoughts on this. I don’t know why but I loved it. It needed to be marketed better because I think there is an audience for this but the marketing was not done well.

[@chacharealsmoove]

needed this to start my day because i am NOT motivated to stay awake

[@mishelly]

A dark and drowning tide- thank you for saying what I was feeling. I actually felt I was being harsh or I missed something I also loved the beginning but there came a point I just dreaded picking it up again! I couldn’t process the story or plot I guess my brain just checked out it was boring I didn’t care. Because I had no memory of what I read I thought it was me!

[@melanie2269]

My favorite book I read this month was Dreadful by Caitlin Rozakis! Our protagonist wakes up with total memory loss and discovers that he’s an evil wizard. It’s super funny and a quick, light read that also brings up some interesting deeper themes. It’s a good autumnal read for those of us who don’t like darker grittier horror books! ☺️

[@Amanda_Rachelle]

Ahhh, can’t wait for your Halloween romcom video! I loved your Christmas one - I read those Catherine Walsh books because of it and they were 🤌🏻✨✨

[@andatodica]

Blood and steel! Shan was very demure, very mindful! 😂😂 The round of editing helped a little bit with the typos, but not with the general plot and with the 1 swearing used by everybody. I felt similar to you. Somebody said on a discord group, that if you cut out the fantasy part, it is a romance and if you cut the romance out it's nothing and I agree with that. This book could have been great, but unfortunately for me it was bad. You made me very curious about A memory called empire. I put it on the list :).

[@pauieeepau]

40:32 Perfume is so interesting to me. I read it a long time ago, and my cousin also read it but for school (i borrowed her book), so we had a convo about it and the movie. I didn't support the main character, but I enjoyed it. In a "this guy is a sicko, what will he do next?" kinda way.

[@Freckles929]

I’m totally with you about How To End A Love Story - I ended up DNFing at 53%. The romance also didn’t really work for me, and although I’m not against smut in fic, the dialogue in the scenes I got to that far into the book I was like…no.

[@x.j.1838]

Totally agree with how to end a love story. I was so frustrated when I read it. I also wish it could touch more regarding Asian American perspectives

[@DavidDecero]

If I remember correctly, Elantris was Sanderson's first published novel. Seems like he's just gotten better and better throughout the years. Have you tried the way of kings yet?

[@lenaa8194]

I feel like stormlight archive is not really Cari’s style as much as I love it (currently on my 3rd reread ahead of the release of the 5th book in December)

[@benbrelje1918]

So happy to see another vid I know I should be focusing on everything you're saying and this video which I'm only about 2 minutes but I'm really looking forward to those third book after hell bent because I tried to get into her latest book and I was just really sad about it I don't know what I was looking for

[@susannahlewis8464]

I liked Elantris a lot, but I can totally tell that it's Sanderson's first book. It's good, but it is wild to see how much better Sanderson has gotten.

[@TheEmeraldSword86]

Every book I read in September goes as follows: Read 'Black House' Reread 'Salem's Lot' Read 'Night Shift' That's my September list, but my October is already off to a great start.

[@lexisavard6092]

Welcome back!

[@alexisrounds5119]

Highlight of my week ❤❤

[@caricanread]

thank you so much!

[@rosebunches218]

I am so glad you also hated how to end a love story. it was so frustrating and i was so mad the whole time i was reading it

[@MatildaTheBookDragon]

When you talked about not reading funny books in public places, it reminded me about when my mum and I traveled on a train snd she was reading a very funny swedish book do she kept laughing all the time, and I had to know what it was about 😂😂( and everyone also around us too) I font think it's been translated though, but the author is Emma Hamberg, look her up, she is the funniest writer I know ❤❤

[@ceciliabattiato9467]

cariii I saw on instagram that your Slovenia vlog was supposed to be 1 hour long and you reduced it into 45 min. How about making part 1 and part 2 of 30 minutes? I would love to see it!

[@caricanread]

It was supposed to be 3hrs 💀

[@ceciliabattiato9467]

@@caricanread oh shoot, that’s a lot hahahaha

[@pauieeepau]

I just got Mistress of Lies. I hope I like it lol. Maybe the edited version is better. Even if it's not, I'm still kinda excited for it 😊

[@thatgirlnextfloor]

Same thoughts about how to end a love story. Also i feel like there were so much that they should have talked about first before being in a relationship like… it was uncomfortable to me that it was *bam* attraction. BUT it does have its moments. I think there were so many lines in this and moments that were great and had be bawling. This shouldn’t have been marketed as a romance book tbh

[@swab.9399]

The final romance book reminds me of this manga called Haru's Curse. You should check it out, it's amazing!

[@starsandsuch7778]

Ooh, I mistakenly wrote off A Memory Called Empire because I read some negative goodreads reviews. But after hearing you rave about it, I want to give it a chance!!

[@milenamiesse6578]

I recently read Mistress of Lies and will say that while I didn’t notice the repeating paragraph issue, there were still substantial issues with typos + grammar, on top of it feeling like very poor execution (in my opinion) of a great idea

[@biemstra]

11:45 ''kind of like this review'' hahahaa omg so excited about your upcoming halloween romance video!! i just know it's gonna be hilarious also the book ur husband loves, omg... lmao what a weird ''coincidence'' 👀

[@user-lo9jo2nj6d]

new cari can read video all is right in the world once more

[@r.e.m4279]

Just about to go to bed and I see this! Bye sleep! ♡

[@emmawylie2631]

Did a little happy dance

[@itjessie_]

how to end a love story was awwwful

[@melyibarra809]

I’m dying for intermezzo

[@ejohn2]

Yeah, I didn't love Elantris either .. you should check out Warbreaker though. I think you'll like it a bit more. At least I did. It's also a standalone (for now, there's supposed to be a sequel after he releases stormlight 5 but we'll see)

[@FireFog44]

I especially love the ebook version that has Brandon Sanderson’s annotations attached to each chapter where he summarizes his thought processes and intentions while writing each chapter. It gives a lot of nice insight.

[@dominoday26]

Totally agree with your Elantris take. It's a good book, but far from Brandon Sandersons other works. You really notice the difference in writing compared to Mistborn already and even more so to Warbreaker or Stormlight Archive. I am so hyped for Stormlight 5 later this year already, cant wait for it