Every Book I DNFed in 2019

[@WhitneyDahlin]

Congratulations on adopting! I gave up my daughter for adoption right after I had her when I had just turned 17. It was the hardest thing I have ever had to do or will ever have to do. It was a mostly closed adoption but they send me pictures of her a few times a year and she's so happy! I got to pick out the family who wanted to adopt her myself and I know I made the right choice. She has everything she could ever want or need, she has a stable, happy home and which is far more than I could have provided her when I was 17. The world needs compassionate people like you to adopt and give a child the best life they could have! I know made the right choice and i can't handle reading anything negative happen to children either. Good luck on starting the adoption process! Any child is going to be lucky to have you for a mother

[@merphynapier42]

this is so sweet, thank you so much!

[@touche5616]

My dad was adopted, half of my siblings were adopted. My children will be adopted. You are a wonderful person.

[@racheldemain1940]

I am adopted as is my Sister.

[@arjenachten8273]

I interpreted your comment as you saying you were going to put your biological children up for adoption and I was so confused until I thought about it for a second.

[@firstnamelastname6016]

My brother was adopted when I was little. It broke my heart when he ran away because I guess I loved him more than he loved me. I still want to adopt when I am older, every child deserves a loving and caring environment to grow up in.

[@nicolekane1341]

Hey just an FYI you put up a picture for book 3 (A Storm of Swords) in ASOIAF instead of book 2 (Clash of Kings) :) love your videos!

[@lutherfloyd597]

just an for your information...

[@Dfndrofmnknd]

Luther Floyd the rule for proper usage of the singular indefinite article is based on the sound the following word begins with, not the letter. E.g. You'd say "an hour" despite the first letter being a consonant. So if Nicole pronounces the acronym /ɛfwaɪaɪ/ instead of saying "for your info," then her usage is correct

[@brunobucciarati7278]

@@lutherfloyd597 “an eff why eye.” Not “an for your information.”

[@lutherfloyd597]

@@brunobucciarati7278 "F" stands for "For" not "Eff"

[@brunobucciarati7278]

@@lutherfloyd597 I can’t believe I have to explain this to you... when most people read FYI, they don’t read it as the individual words it stands for. They read the letters: “eff. Why. Eye.”

[@morchario]

It amazes me how you can rememeber all the plots of your DNFs. I can't remember my name sometimes, and more important, the plots of my finished books! (Which is like 3 books).

[@crizaashley4692]

I'd say we, readers don't always DNF books when the books aren't our type. Sometimes we are just not in the mood for that particular theme. Quite a lot times I have loved re reading the books that I had DNFed 😂

[@samanthaa.6055]

I DNF'ed Rage of Dragons because I was driving and the prologue was SO long in the audiobook- I just needed to stay awake! Finished it months later and loved it

[@missy0390]

I didn't realize there was a controversy with Memoirs of a Geisha. It says it is a novel, so I read it as a Fiction. It was quite enjoyable. That is a very sad scenario between the author and Ms. Iwasaki.

[@jillczarnyszewicz7494]

I love detective fiction, but everyone recommending you Chandler and Hammet is out of their goddamn mind. That's like if someone told you they didn't like alcohol and you said: "Oh, I know! Drink this 80 proof vodka straight from the bottle! Ignore the burning sensation!" If you want to start and you you don't know where, start with detective stories blended with other genres. "Caves of Steel" or "The Yiddish Policeman's Union", "Crocodile on the Sandbank" or "The Name of the Rose", "The Historian" is detective fiction about vampires, "Daughter of Time" is about Richard III's historical legacy. Do NOT start with pure, unblended American hard-boiled noir. Just don't, you wont enjoy it. (And also, you don't have to read genres you don't like, it's all okay and you're doing great.)

[@arlostein1000]

Jill Czarnyszewicz all due respect but Chandler and Hammet are better than what you recommended. Even if someone doesn't think they'd vibe with it they are better books; better written, better characters and it explains where a lot of the tropes and conventions of noir and detective come from. Particularly Red Harvest which has a great claim on being one of the best books ever written and as tough they might be and admittedly can do the female characters a disservice (not the Thin Man, Nora is amazing) but it preps you for Elroy who has some great female characters and really intricate plots which require a more analytical reading

[@jillczarnyszewicz7494]

​@@arlostein1000 I agree completely, but I'm talking about detective fiction for people who don't like detective fiction. And yes, of course, Hammet and Chandler are amazing and a vital part of the genre and the American canon, but recommending excellent books isn't always the same as recommending the best books for the reader at hand. "Red Harvest" is a masterpiece, "The Long Goodbye" is a kaleidoscopic meditation on masculinity and friendship in post-war America. "American Tabloid" is one of my most favourite books ever. They should all be read. But if someone doesn't like swimming, I don't push them in at the deep end just because I enjoy the pool. They'd only resent me and continue to hate swimming.

[@arlostein1000]

Jill Czarnyszewicz I disagree but understand what you mean. I'd rather push them in the deep and they learn to swim and appreciate the pool than keep them in the shallows where they might get comfortable and never leave.

[@jillczarnyszewicz7494]

@@arlostein1000 Except that's not fun. These are recreational reading suggestions for people who are already predisposed to not liking the genre, not an outline for a proposed college course. In a world where somebody only has an hour or two a day to read for pleasure, why not try to give them something they'll enjoy and grow from? (You're acting like I suggested Encyclopedia Brown and a bunch of "Cat Who" cozies instead of Umberto Eco and Michael Chabon.) Maybe they'll get to Hammett one day, maybe they won't. Maybe they'll love him, maybe they won't. Enthusiasms are caught, not taught.

[@arlostein1000]

Jill Czarnyszewicz I'm not being shitty with you I know what you mean I just don't think it's as effective. I think it's better for a reader to go straight to the better texts than slowly have taster versions which will affect their reading of the genre. So let's get off detective fiction for a second and use a different genre. Fantasy for example I think is a boring, infantile genre I'm never going to appreciate it by reading lighter work by Terry Brooks or Leigh Bardugo and the juvenile style of GRRM. But when I was given Mervyn Peake and his Gormenghast stuff that is much more difficult and much more grounded that gives me an appreciation of what the genre can do and what its potential is. And it not being fun isn't a negative to me, reading Blindness wasn't fun, reading Middlemarch isn't fun but art doesn't always have to be fun, sometimes it has to be tough so you can learn from it.

[@LegendsWJ]

"A Storm of Swords" is book 3, and "A Clash of Kings" is book 2 :v The rest of the vide is aswome.

[@Skabanis]

I think she is trying so I’ll give her credit!

[@witchsorrowful1918]

I really don't understand how people dislike Martin's writing. His ideas are genius, and have affected the face of fantasy.

[@arrakis7132]

@@witchsorrowful1918 I know!!

[@legionairesunny5507]

@@witchsorrowful1918 Some people are turned off by the gore and sex. The books are waay better then the show but it has it moments.

[@killer92173]

@@witchsorrowful1918 I don't get it either. I LOVE his writing style, and I was flying through the first 3 books!!

[@marijkecuffe5488]

You probably weren't enjoying Storm of Swords as the second book in the ASOIAF series because it's actually the 3rd book. You missed everything in A Clash of Kings, which is actually the second book and picks up right where the first book left off.

[@LenaWolschaap]

I almost DNFed the second song of ice and fire book as well, but I'm really glad I pushed through because the third book really makes it worthwile. In my opinion, the second book is the slowest book of the series, but it does get better!

[@touche5616]

Third book was my favorite

[@noelnovels6511]

LenaWolschaap ASOS is the best one in the series in my opinion

[@Sealwithwificonnection]

It's so weird to me because ACOK is one of my favorites in the series. Very close second to ASOS, actually. Everything that happened in the last third of the book was fantastic imo

[@arrakis7132]

@@Sealwithwificonnection ya the politics and magic..and how the characters deal with the things in book 1 and is perfect...

[@killer92173]

My favorite parts of book 2 is Tyrion trying to clean up the mess of the previous book, and I really like his character ark and scheming. While I do feel like it does drag in some places like some POVs are better than others, but I really like the last 3rd of the book, and the climax was epic!!

[@strdseraph2765]

I didn't know there was a controversy about Memoirs of a Geisha but it's one of my favorite books and the movie adaption is beautiful. Personally I don't let anything outside of the actual book influence my opinion of it.

[@paradisiak]

K L Moser I think it’s important to not support authors who exploit people for money, but that’s just my opinion

[@beatalks]

I didn’t know this either! I love the book but can definitely see the very problematic elements of the way Golden went about it.

[@TheJak121212]

Aww I loved Far From the Tree so much. But yeah, sometimes even really good books are so emotionally draining. I am glad you eventually picked it back up.

[@timetravelingpenguin]

Good luck with your adoption process! You and your husband are doing a wonderful thing ❤️

[@vieraiglesias4463]

I really admire you, Merphy. There are many children out there who need love and family. And you're a wonderful, loving person, any child would've been blessed to have you as their mom. Same goes to your husband too.

[@MaryAmongStories]

couldn't agree more about Priory, and I did finish it 😅 I'm just hoping for the day you decide to try A Song of Ice and Fire again 🙈 I get what you're saying about his writing, but my god those characters and the plot are brilliant!

[@killer92173]

Not to mention around the half way point of ASOS I'm basically flying through the book!! To me, there is so much shit that went down in that book it's almost unbelievable!!!

[@touche5616]

@@killer92173 The third and fourth books were my favorites.

[@raouflamri1172]

My favorite serie ❤❤ I was expecting her to like it...it's one of the best book series ever written ! And for me it's the best

[@giuf175]

the quality of the books is only going down, it seems as if the more time is between books the worse the books get so that doesn't bode well for the next one if it ever gets published.

[@ivanjozic5493]

In A Song of Ice and Fire A Clash of Kings is book 2, A Storm of Swords is book 3

[@matthewdeancole]

A storm of Swords is the best novel in A the Song of Ice and Fire series to date.

[@TheWinglessHawk]

I picked up mazerunner after watching the first movie. For me, it was easy to follow and sometimes even too childish in a post apocalyptic scenario, but it entertained me fairly well.

[@Archonsx]

The next 2 movies are rly bad tho

[@touche5616]

@@Archonsx yes

[@aidanlau390]

I watched the movies and was going to read the books but it was just too similar to Lord of the Flies

[@Omega-fb9ji]

Storm of Sword is the third book in the series.

[@killer92173]

And easily the best one in the series.

[@joyclendening9908]

Memoirs of a Geisha is such a good book though. I understand the controversy puts you off but I read it like it was fiction, it's easier to enjoy that way.

[@desireeskumachan]

Totally. I approached that book with a mindset treating it as historical fiction (more fictional), and understanding that since it was written by a white guy it definitely is NOT a definitive guide or insight into geisha/maiko culture.

[@sensen1080]

Memoirs of a Geisha is 100% a fictional story. I just wrote a big comment about this on this video that goes into more detail, but Memoirs is not at all about the real former geiko, Mineko Iwasaki.

[@anicealien]

"Two kingdoms, dragons, feuds . . . It was really boring."

[@bigpun60]

Right 😂 I thought it was amazing

[@supershinigami1]

well you gotta like it apparently. A lot of people did me included.

[@frikintrash5360]

It’s weird seeing a lot of people say it’s boring because I loved it, but I can see why the writing style might put people off.

[@letsgoasuka]

@@bigpun60 Me too! I've got 20 pages left and I don't want to finish it because then it'll be over... I love the author's writing style! 😂

[@callie5180]

I always seperate the art and the artist, so when books have massive controversies i don't mind too much. Both memoirs are interesting in their own right, though I understand your stance on not wanting to touch them.

[@DavidDecero]

Definitely voting for Red Sister. It feels kind of long for being the first book in the series, but it's worth it.

[@ivymuse]

On an unrelated note, your hair is always so on point 😍 I did finish The Husband‘s Secret and I think I quite enjoyed it but as you were talking about it I realized I had retained exactly nothing about this story 😂 Priory was on my TBR but I usually find overly long high fantasy novels with an uninspiring plot (according to the synopsis) not super appealing, it seems I made the right decision 😅

[@CozyReaderKelly]

I just enjoyed listening to you trying to recall the synopsis for each of these 😂

[@harricartney]

Merphy I've got a book recommendation for you it's called the hunting party and it's about a group of friends at a remote hunting lodge in Scotland, but one of them has been murdered. It's set in the present and three days before the murder happens. It switches perspectives through all the friends and the owners of the lodge. It is written by Lucy Foley and I think you will love it. It is a bit like Agatha Christie but a bit edgier

[@carynschmidt5061]

That actually sounds amazing

[@darlingcrafting]

That sounds really interesting! Putting that on my to read list. (:

[@dg9531]

The only book you dnf'd that I have any interest in is Red Sister.

[@anwitisingh5085]

I'm so glad you didn't waste time on The Husband's Secret. I absolutely hated every single page but I also have this thing where I cannot leave a book half-finished. It's so full of cliches, absolutely hated the portrayal of female characters. And SO MANY STEREOTYPES! I remember, as soon I finished, I wanted to burn the book but sadly it was on my Kindle. And, spoiler alert and TW- I absolutely loathed how they turned a violent attempt to murder by a psycho, jealous boy into something forgivable by the epilogue. He attacked her with the intent to kill, she dies as well, but voila! She doesn't die because of the attack itself but Due to a genetic disease that she has and it worsened the effects of the attack. The epilogue was so apologetic in nature! hey! Please don't hate on this man who tried to kill a girl. She would have died anyway. He was just an innocent, jealous, stalking creep. I have literally never felt the rage I felt while reading this book, and I have read some pretty shitty books. The rage was enough to make me comment on KZbin, something I never do. In case it wasn't clear enough, this book was my worse decision of 2019. I HATED IT.

[@leiselclayton5772]

Also, thanks for your review of The Priory of the Orange Tree. It makes me glad, that even though I love the cover art, I was able to buy it for Kindle for $3 on Cyber Monday. I won’t feel nearly as bad giving up on it if I don’t end up liking it.

[@touche5616]

I bought it then too. Let's see if it lives up to the hype!

[@deathbyduckie]

I came back through your videos to see what you thought of The Priory of the Orange Tree because I knew you'd read it. I'm now disappointed 😂. I read it this month and it was my first 5 star of the year. I absolutely loved it and was so gutted when I found out it was a stand alone. I loved everything you hated and didn't find it boring at all. Looking back, I think the reason I didn't pick it up earlier was because you said you hated it but the cover swayed me in the end.

[@beatalks]

Samantha Shannon is writing something else in the same world at the moment!

[@deathbyduckie]

@@beatalks I know!! I'm so excited.

[@desireeskumachan]

I DNF’ed The Priory of the Orange Tree very early on (too early even imo), but may I know why you loved the book? I’m still intrigued by the book but the first few chapters felt difficult for me to read so I need some baiting to push through LOL

[@deathbyduckie]

@@desireeskumachan I loved the world and the characters. It is pretty slow at the beginning but once you get into it, it's an interesting story. Also, all the characters are connected eventually even though they don't know each other or live miles apart. I remember not loving it at first.

[@tulekahju]

I'm going to have to pick up Far from the Tree ... adoption/foster families strike true to my heart given my history. I rarely read contemporary but the concept simply tugs at my heartstrings to not give it a go one day... hopefully I wont become an emotional wreck when/if I do, LoL.

[@stevensymonds7165]

Would you ever read His Dark Materials?

[@racheldemain1940]

I Love those books! Got them all. Prefer these to the Harry Potter books!

[@yanamariarassy3359]

A truly magnificent series

[@samchau3476]

Can someone who finished the whole series tell me if the entire series is like 4/4.5 stars worthy or is it just book 1 that's good? I've seen the reviews and they go on to mostly criticize everything after book 1.

[@federicojimenez2065]

I implore you to continue giving a song of Ice and fire a try. You say you love worldbuilding, and I honestly cannot think of a series I have read that has a world that feels as alive as George R R Martin’s creation

[@frantictoast3741]

Lord of the Rings doesn't hold a candle to the way George crafted his world. Martin's world building feels alive and lived in while Tolkien's feels like a tedious history book.

[@Koooles]

@@frantictoast3741 Yeah when people put Tolkien first above everything I feel like they take the human element out of reading. As you said, it is great, but it also is... Like a history book, dense with information and quite "dry". For me the enjoyment and quality of writing doesn't come from how much words and backgrounds you can put to your world, but more from how believable it is and how immersed you are. In a way I find reading Tolkien writing a lot like... Bible. For each it's taste ofc.

[@morganecachia6501]

Not newish at all , I’ve seen all your dnf’s videos this year but still watching the entirety of this one 😂 love you merphy I wish you a good day !

[@Micahlee_19]

I loved Priory it was one of my top reads of the year!

[@GrayOlson]

Same here. It had its issues, but on the whole, I absolutely adore(d) it.

[@letsgoasuka]

Me too!

[@beatalks]

I could NOT get on with Priory - I finished it but didn’t like it much at all, though I love the Bone Season series.

[@manaalsidd]

Far From The Tree was amazing. A five star read for me.

[@Kalli315]

Manaal Siddiqui same :)

[@laurafinocchiarostudios]

My husband and I are in the middle of our adoption process and I finally picked up and finished Far From the Tree yesterday. SO MANY EMOTIONS! Especially since we are adopting older children from the foster system. But yes, I agree it was worth it. Easy 5 stars for me. If you have any other favorite adoption related book recommendations I’d love to hear them! either fiction or nonfiction (religious or secular) 💖

[@Yondi1000]

A couple people mentioned this already, but A Clash of Kings is actually the second book in the song of ice and fire series. You were reading a storm of swords, which is the third book.

[@whitneymouse]

Omg, when you were talking about Lifelike’s slang mess and brought up Maze Runner! I had the SAME reaction! I finished Lifelike because I was reading it for a class, but it was AWFUL! One of my least favorites ever. Same with Priory of the Orange Tree. I didn’t get as far as you did, but it was boring and I wasn’t about to commit to 800 pages if I was bored. Edit: Memoirs of a Geisha used to be my favorite book. It’s still a good book. I honestly don’t think enough of the events of the book can be true for either of them to be completely 100% right. I understand if you are uncomfortable with it because of the controversy, but the story is enjoyable if you pick it back up. Thanks for all your hard work!

[@harricartney]

Cool been waiting for this list for a while Love your channel 😋✌️

[@jessi4894]

About ASOIAF, George and that series are insanely popular, but that writing style isn't for everyone. I'm curious about what exactly you didn't like about it. To me, George's style reminded me a lot of Robert Jordan's style, but with less drag, less repetition and tons of action. I love series that have thick, dense, almost excruciatingly detailed writing.

[@MrJordwalk]

"I love series that have thick, dense, almost excruciatingly detailed writing" THEN YOU. WOULD. LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOVE STEVEN ERIKSON'S "THE MALAZAN BOOK OF THE FALLEN".

[@dudleyreads4582]

Hi, been watching for a while, really enjoy the channel. I have a suggestion for a mystery/murder series you may like. It's the Kate Shugak series by Dana Stabenow. Stabenow is a native Alaskan and her protagonist. Kate Shugak is Aleut. The first book picks up 18 months after she left the Anchorage DA's office where she was in investigator and left after to a horrific event. She returns to her family's homestead in what is called the "Park". Kate becomes a private investigator to supplement her subsistence living, so this a mystery/detective series. However, it's the world Stabenow builds that is the heart of the book. The "Park" is a fictional place, akin to Denali National park. It is inhabited with both non-natives (park rats) as well as native Americans from various tribes. Stabenow populates her books with these marvelous, colorful characters. She weaves in the culture of the Aleut, the problems and politics of the region along with the social issues such as alcoholism Kate is a great character, a 5' tall tornado that everyone in the Park knows not to tangle with. A lot of what goes into fantasy world-building is present here and the Park and the Alaskan wilderness are characters in the books. Oh, and yeah, Kate has a half-wolf named Mutt.

[@AndYouWillBeWithMe]

girl of paper and fire sounds like the plot of a very elaborate p*rn :/

[@hellothere2464]

AndYouWillBeWithMe it’s mainly about how terrible sexual assault is and how so many women are ignored even though they go through these terrible experience. I finished this book and while I didn’t like it as much as everyone else did, the best part was how the “demon king” was never painted to be a good person at all, and it also featured a relationship between two women (the main character and another Paper girl) which isn’t seen as much in YA books

[@703jay4]

Woah mr.mercedes is amazing

[@touche5616]

I liked Finders Keepers the best, but liked the whole trilogy.

[@snowrs1]

Yeah I wonder how far she got in. Also it is a shame as the other two books get very much more Kingish.

[@jazzey19921]

I feel sad you dnfed Red sister. You missed the great friendships they've developed in the last 2 books 😔

[@skullfullofbooks7398]

New to the channel, don't know why this is the first one I want to watch, but it is a good gauge of whether we like the same books or dislike the same things in books.

[@JesseOnYoutube]

I was so sad when you said Far From the Tree and then you explained why and it totally made sense. i can't wait to read it. i've dreamed of adopting a teenager for many many years. I'm hoping to be able to adopt or foster a teen within the next six years. Also i pushed through with Priory and let me tell you, you didn't miss a thing. lmao

[@merphynapier42]

That is beautiful Jesse! I hope you get to adopt a teen one day, and knowing that, I think you'd fall in love with one of the characters in this book

[@leiselclayton5772]

I totally get how the book you were reading about adoption could have been way too much emotion. I’m adopted, and I’ve had a lot of trouble with infertility and miscarriages. I had to DNF The Light Between Oceans because there came a point in the book where I knew that someone’s Mama heart was going to be broken, and I just couldn’t. From what the ladies at my book club said, there doesn’t seem to be a good emotional payoff in the end, either, so I have no desire to ever finish the book.

[@Bellatrixstrange09]

I loved loved loved Far From the Tree by Robin Benway. I’m really glad you finished it.

[@richardmontes4589]

I think this is a really good video to do because it's interesting to hear you reflect on the past dnf's

[@courtneylinn3465]

I think I heard you say that Storm of Swords was the second GOT book. It’s the third, which I am sure someone already told you. I hope you gave Clash of Kings a shot and went back to Storm of Swords. Anyhoo, new to the channel, but I love how passionate you are for books, and while I might not always agree, it’s great to have another person in the trenches!! Thanks for posting!

[@ajregister5974]

Oh my gosh!! Letters to the Lost by Brigid Kemmerer? I haven’t heard anyone else talk about it but I loved it so much!

[@jonathancooper4914]

They’re gonna love your library and wealth of knowledge on books.

[@McMerlin11]

One of my favorite fantasy swear word is “aces” from The Lunar Chronicles. Welp, there’s something I don’t say every day lol

[@rayven5534]

Yassss

[@thomasgerhart4333]

I'm still a fan of "phewmets" from the Madeleine L'Engle stories.

[@jakobjohnson984]

Fucking thank you, The Big Sleep was assigned from a college course I'm taking and I just absolutely hate it.

[@Paaseliten]

I also dnf’ed The Priory of the Orange Tree. YAAAAWN.

[@dylandavis2737]

oh my god, I'm so glad someone else said it, I tried to read a song of ice and fire too and hated it the writing style was so flawed going into far to much detail about frankly inconsequential things, meandering on already fully fleshed out parts while seeming dismissive of the actual story,

[@kunai9390]

Havent watched your video yet but I saw red sister in the thumbnail... Im a little over half way through grey sister and Im really enjoying it! Hope you give it a 2nd shot! 😊

[@DebateDeliberate]

Huh? The Big Sleep was recommended to win you over? I love crime & detective fiction. That would not be in any of my suggestions.

[@AllLadyGagaSongs]

I read My grandmother sends her regards and apologies last week and ik was my favoriete Backman book so far. I felt really connected with Elsa as a child of divorce. She represents my inner angry child very well.

[@kateworkman921]

Honestly, I hope you go back at some point and give Mr. Mercedes another chance. I'm not big on the "detective" type stories, either, but Mr. Mercedes was terrific, as are the other two books in the trilogy, Finders Keepers and End of Watch. I've only just begun to delve into Stephen King, and I've only read five of his so far, but Mr. Mercedes is my favorite right now by a pretty wide margin.

[@majolie2426]

Oh no that’s so sad that Memoirs of a Geisha, I had no idea. It literally is my favorite book.

[@alyssanielsen8521]

I understand your feelings about Kasie West because the last three or four I just haven't enjoyed as much as the first ones. I also get the feeling of wondering if it's you, because I definitely have had a lot of life changes and it just makes it hard for me to figure out if I still like it. The last one she released reminded me a lot of the beginning characters, so maybe try that one.

[@Alithia451]

I almost gave up on Nevernight.

[@GabeOtto]

If you ever decide to go back to mysteries, trying "murder on the orient express." P.S. I hated the big sleep too.

[@ella_encantada]

Such a good one!

[@janayhiatt2816]

The ultimate detective books are by Agatha Christie. I love all the Hercule Poirot books I've read so far. Some that everyone seem to love are "murder on the orient Express" and "and then there were none" (that's not a Poirot book, however).

[@wtk6069]

I have read and like The Big Sleep as a clever puzzle to solve, but I much prefer the film version. It's a rare case of the movie adaptation being better than the novel because the 1946 screenplay was co-written by William Faulkner (the eventual Nobel Laureate) and Leigh Brackett (probably the best female genre-fiction writer of the golden age of pulp). Adapting alternating chapters of the novel, they certainly breathed more life into the characters (though having Bogart and Bacall probably helped in that regard, too).

[@ammalyrical5646]

Golden age sounds so weird to me. Here in The Netherlands, that's an actual part of our history (1568-1648 A.D.) where we flourished in trading and had a chunk of very rich people. Just a little bit of info. So what kind of golden age do you mean? I genuine haven't heard of many others I could link this comment to.

[@wtk6069]

@@ammalyrical5646Sorry, I left out a prepositional phrase there. The Golden Age of Pulp. I will edit.

[@ammalyrical5646]

@@wtk6069 aah. That makes it make more sense.

[@Luvcatz88]

You're really missing out with Memoirs of a Geisha :( yeah, the controversy sucks but ignoring that, it's such a beautiful love story and I usually hate love stories. The movie also has controversy cuz they used Chinese actors but its SO well shot and beautiful and it's my favorite movie along with the music score

[@purplewine7362]

+1

[@callmeaftercoffee]

Oh boy. Clash of Kings is definitely a rough one to get through 🙈. Took me 2 years the first time... And like 6 months on the reread 😂.

[@Archonsx]

how do u read a book in 2 years😂

[@callmeaftercoffee]

Archons 😂🙈 I literally read the first half or so in 2013... And then didn't pick it up again until 2015 and I just started where I left off. I have a pretty good memory? Once I read all 5 though, they really blended together (which is why I'm rereading them all now ☺️).

[@abigaillarion9365]

I would skip The Duchess Deal and pick up The Governess Game (the second in the Girl Meets Duke series) instead. It's a slow burn romance and features my favorite book children, who happen to be adopted. I think you'd love it.

[@readingwithstaci9001]

I ended up DNF-ing A Christmas Carol. It's a SUPER short book, only 100 pages, and I was excited to read it this Christmas... and I went until page 50 before I put it down, I was just miserable reading it.

[@firstnamelastname6016]

I enjoyed Girls of Paper and Fire mainly because of the characters but I do agree the world could have been better established.

[@TalibHOB]

The excessive use of rape and death as a shock element is one of the reason people quit on ' A song of ice and fire ' and yes for certain people it can be really disturbing

[@thiccpazuzu2573]

Yeah, let's make the book more happy!!! because a medieval inspired story about the corruption of power and about the effects of war on the population should make us all feel happy!!! xoxoxox

[@TalibHOB]

@@thiccpazuzu2573 I didn't mean that Martin should make the book more happy or it is badly written I was just stating a fact that some people quit on this series due to this reason. Personally I love A song of ice and fire (because I love dark content) but for many it's disturbing. As far as the dark content is concerned I love reading history and Martin's books are nowhere as terrifying as reality was. For instance why don't you read about qadsiya. Let me tell you again I like the series but facts doesn't change on the basis of my likings

[@YTLawnGnome]

Yea Priory was like the it thing for 5 seconds and now no one talks about that book anymore.

[@supershinigami1]

I'm reading it right now and it's really good actually.

[@tappkalina]

I'm reading it now too and I'm enjoying it.

[@touche5616]

Just bought it.

[@bigpun60]

Same bought it not to while ago and it’s amazing almost done tho breaks my heart

[@joecourtney8552]

I got it in a $2 kindle deal but dono when I’ll get to it.

[@alexthiebaut2195]

21:30 actually the female characters in Raymond Chandler's books and this one in particular are very deep. The two sisters here are very complex (as is revealed towards the end). If you felt the women were badly written it's because it's a first person novel where the lead character does not understand women. There's a lot happening behind the scenes or in front of Marlow that he doesn't understand.

[@jayscheer5529]

I like how you go into details of books. Like the general story line some main characters of the book. What one eho would read it can expect from the book. EVEN on books that you DNF! For me that places you on a plane above soooo many other book reviewers. Its not spoiling a book if you tell us something about whats in it. Rant over. Lol

[@asgrimurhartmannsson]

I thought I'd read something by Chandler, then realized I'd just seen some of the movies. And was confusing him with Dashiel Hammett & Mickey Spillane. They're good, BTW.

[@WILSSSSOOOONNNNNNN]

Do you have a review of The Magicians by Lev Grossman? I was looking through your videos and couldn’t find any thing.

[@160p2GHz]

I can understand it being hard to read about adoption. I would say it's probably worth working through that discomfort to read some nonfiction works on it though. There's a lot of critique about issues in adoption and I personally think it's better to know about them. Maybe you've already read a lot of that and it's just fiction that bothers you. I still very much want to adopt but I'm glad that I'm better educated about issues in psychology in any adoption, and in issues in international and "inter-race" adoption. It doesn't mean I wouldn't do it, it just means I feel more confident I could do it right, because there *are* other challenges.

[@catherinegreer854]

Heard you mention Gone Girl. I haven't read that one. But I read Sharp Objects and was so good! The HBO show was really good too.🙂

[@stallgastgivargarden1224]

I'm a bit late here but if you want some very unconventional detective story with a truly unique (if a little sarcastic) MC you might wanna try Paul Tremblay's "The Little Sleep". Mark's a narcoleptic whose episodes makes his every day seem like halfway between the diaries of an amnesiac and a drug-fuelled psychotic episode, but with a solid story attached to it.

[@varunantil1776]

I really enjoyed the bill hodges trilogy 👌😄

[@tnw206]

Have you seen the show?

[@varunantil1776]

@@tnw206 nope... Actually I read all of them this year..... And finished the book 3 just last week.

[@tnw206]

@@varunantil1776 The show is pretty good. It's on Audience an At&t channel. It's only three seasons. A season for each book. I enjoyed all of the books but I wish season 3 of the show was a little better.

[@varunantil1776]

@@tnw206 will definitely try it😄

[@fishsodas3629]

I picked up Mr Mercedes as the first Stephen King book I’ve ever read, and didn’t really like it past the first few chapters, should I finish it?

[@M_aryAnne]

Love your vids❤️ I find it interesting the you have a hard time with Martins writing for ASOIAF but loved The First Law. I find Abercrombie’s writing difficult and getting through the series is difficult for me. But I blew through ASOIAF! Haha I think watching the TV show first is probably why I found it easier lol

[@almalovebooks7338]

I disliked the husband's secret(but I'm not a fan of Leanne Moriarty's writing style), I finished it because it was a buddy read. The last chapter gave you an interesting perspective as it showed that one choice on everyone's part things would have been different. But for the most part it sucked.

[@jimsbooksreadingandstuff]

I should DNF more, I struggled through the Master and Margarita because so many people had told me it was brilliant but it didn't work for me. I did DNF George R R Martin's A Storm of Swords, although it wasn't really an active decision I just got distracted by other shorter books and went back to it less and less frequently until I just stopped picking it up, his books are just so long.

[@duttawsome7819]

One of the main reasons they did not find out about the lies in Red Sister was because they were 9-12 years old.

[@TheReadingWerewolf]

I already know imma be satisfied by this video.

[@macdavidson3814]

You keep putting a storm of swords in the thumbnail. It’s clash of kings you DNF’d.

[@Beast80001]

clash of kings was probably my least favorite of the series to be honest. Although the last few chapters were amazing.

[@andu1478]

@@Beast80001 the point is she doesnt even know what book she read

[@JillyMae89]

Does it really matter? Jeez

[@macdavidson3814]

JillyMae89 it matters because the point is to tell others what she thought of the book and she didn’t even read the book she’s saying she didn’t enjoy.

[@JillyMae89]

You knew what she meant 🙄 my god.

[@annitendo]

Regarding detective stories, have you tried Truly Devious?

[@BruceRF]

I'd send ya my books if only to have them ripped apart. It might be fun. My second book went out last October. Since then, I've been dying to re-edit my first book, as I see all my mistakes. And as I write my third book, I see the mistakes of the second. I guess it'll haunt me forever.

[@aGrimTurtle]

I'm an absolutely huge Game of Thrones/A Song of Ice and Fire fan, but I also DNF'd A Storm of Swords. I LOVED A Game of Thrones - I got so attached to Ned and Arya and Jon and the political intrigue and conspiring was really satisfying to me. A Clash of Kings is one of my favorite books. I came to really like Sansa in that book, and Catelyn's last chapter oh MY GOD Catelyn's last chapter! Unforgettable book to me. I don't know why A Storm of Swords lost my interest. I definitely plan to go back to it someday

[@frantictoast3741]

Yes! Finally someone else that liked Clash better than Storm. Battle of Blackwater Bay (book version) is probably my favorite battle of any fantasy series.

[@jimmy1232ya]

Invisible is an amazing crime thriller by James Patterson I would recommend the audiobook it's an experience. That's just a recommendation from someone who's not into detective novels to someone else not into detective novels

[@AllisonJones1875]

This video was posted three minutes ago and there are no comments..... huh

[@horsefreak1990]

Came here hoping to see Priory of the Orange Tree and feel validated. Did not disappoint. Girls of Paper and Fire too. We keep asking for smart, engaging f/f fantasy and we keep getting garbage in response. RIP

[@tyd2877]

As someone who was in the foster care system, Far From the Tree sounds like it should be a great book and something I could relate too.

[@WhitneyDahlin]

19:00 I don't think you should let controversy EVER stop you from reading a book. Memoirs of a Geisha really is a good book and I think you would really like it if you gave it a chance. As long as you get the book from a library he won't be getting money anyway if that's your issue with reading the book. People read Hitler's book Mein Kampf in history and literature classes all the time and that has to be the most evil book that was ever written. Just because something is controversial doesn't mean it should never be read.

[@merphynapier42]

My intention isn't to say a controversial book shouldn't be read. My thoughts on it are just that if I do end up loving a story that wrongfully ruined a person's life, I don't want to promote it. So I'd rather just focus on other things. I encourage anyone to pick up any book they want, I just made the choice not to spend my time on this one.

[@artwriter76]

There's a book on the top middle shelf over your right shoulder, second book from the left. What book is that?

[@staciegooldrup3644]

You may have given up on finding the right detective novel, but if you haven't then I'd recommend The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins. I also don't read a lot of detective novels, but this once has a lot of funny and unique characters.

[@shcheerchic1011]

Have you read the magicians trilogy yet? I think you might like it

[@tommymarx391]

Okay, as soon as you announced one of your books, I had to stop and comment. I love Fredrik Backman's books, and I own every one of his novels. But as much as I liked the rest of them (and I would highly recommend "Britt-Marie was Here" as his best), the "Grandmother" novel was one of the worst novels I ever read, and I've never met anyone who thought it was even decent, let alone worth finishing.