My 5-star reads of 2024 (so far)

[@GaryMartinDobbs]

I think your rating system is wel thought out - I'm going to use this to devise my own system. Great video

[@DutchGreyBeard]

Thanks. The rating itself is still based on gut-feeling 😅

[@Infernoshotguns]

I really feel the same way once I pass the 50% mark. It like I don’t even have to try to finish the book. It flows so well after that 😂.

[@DutchGreyBeard]

Exactly!

[@OnlyTheBestFantasyNovels]

Between the 4.5 and 5 stars, you've had a great year. My vote is definitely Abercrombie, I'm actually going to do a re-read of First Law myself sometime later this year!

[@DutchGreyBeard]

Certainly this was a great reading-year. Thanks for the vote. I have a feeling it is going to be that one...

[@NevsBookChannel]

I think you’ll love Daughter of the Empire. Don’t know about the other two as I haven’t read them yet. I like the pickupability scores.

[@DutchGreyBeard]

So far, 2 Daughter and 2 First Law. I lean toward Daugher of Empire...

[@bjminton2698]

Six 5* reads is great!! I'm very envious. When I finish the 7 books I'm currently reading, I will have read close to 130 books this year. No perfect books (5*) at all ☹️. For me, a perfect book is one that is well written, meaningful and hard to put down. That combination is rare! My best book of the year has been a children's book - Because of Winn-Dixie. My favorite fantasies have been by Ilona Andrews - The Kate Daniels series and the Hidden Legacy series - along with The House In The Cerulean Sea. And yes, Pillars will be among my best reads for the year - lol. I think you should try the Abercrombie. So many people love his books! I did not enjoy Blade because there's no plot and no likable characters, but parts of it have stayed with me for months. Maybe because I was so aggravated with the guy with only alternate teeth struggling endlessly to get up stairs - lol. I kept reading, hoping that someone would just pull his remaining teeth so I wouldn't have to read about them anymore!! I hope Abercrombie will be another author you love!! I look forward to your next visit!!

[@DutchGreyBeard]

130 books and not one 5*?! Is it your choice of books or are you getting (too) critical? I remember that you were pretty disgusted by The Blade Itself. Your small description here already makes me very curious 😂 My next video is wrapping up my Read-What-You-Own-Challenge. FINALLY!!!

[@bjminton2698]

​@DutchGreyBeard Yea for completing the RWYO challenge!! IMHO, each of the Sanderson chunkers should have counted for 3 - lol. For sure I am very picky about labeling a book 5*, but this year, about 75% of my reads have been new to me authors/genres. I have found a few treasures (still love the dragons in Fourth Wing 🙂🙃) and a lot of books that are just not my cup of tea even though others enjoyed them (Gunslinger, fantasy by King - big yuck!). Next year, my plans are to read more that I know I will enjoy with only a couple of "experiments" a month. Time will tell if FOMO affects that goal. Two of my favorite booktubers for mystery recommendations died and I am still searching for another in the genre whose tastes are similar to mine. Bottom line though, I am blessed with practically infinite book opportunities 😊.

[@DutchGreyBeard]

@@bjminton2698 Regarding the RWYO, I am going to bend my initial rules a bit. If you can find mystery and thriller coming from the same family, I can highly recommend James Rollins and Steve Berry.

[@bjminton2698]

​@DutchGreyBeard Thank you! I have read Sandstorm and Templar Legacy, but my favorite spy thriller authors are Ken Follett and Vince Flynn. Lee Child somewhat fits the genre, and he's one of my all-time favorite genre authors. Next year, I plan to concentrate on the authors which I already know that I enjoy, a kind of a read-what-you-already-know type of project. 🙂 I don't like reading 2 of an author back to back as the books get "samey", but I think I have enough series going to rotate among them without getting too bored. Very few " new releases" next year is the plan!!

[@simonedwards9450]

The blade itself is brilliant and the other books in the series just get better

[@DutchGreyBeard]

Thanks

[@tbc907]

I’ve only read The Blade Itself but if you choose this book, I recommend listening to it on audiobook. In my opinion, the narrator Stephen Pacey is the best there is. Abercrombie’s characters are complex, flawed, funny, and Pacey brings their individuality out.

[@DutchGreyBeard]

Thanks. Audiobook is a good idea, although so far I've done only re-reads on audio. It requires a different kind of concentration, to which I am not really used to yet.

[@christopherdoolan925]

Daughter of the Empire is unputdownable.

[@DutchGreyBeard]

I secretly lean towards this book... Don't tell anyone

[@mnbgfdsa]

Oh wow. 2k views almost. Nice!!!!

[@chevalierdulys]

Quick question because you touch something that I've noticed that happens with me but really can't put in words/explain better.. when I grab a 800 pages book(which is always difficult) my mind goes overdrive and always thinking this will take weeks... Then I start reading a book and after the first 100 to 200 pages book I grab another smaller. Then I take weeks to go to it again. I recently read and loved (like everyone else swan song by Robert mccammon) best book of the year but it took me around 2/3 months to read it. Suffice to say it has 900 pages. Don't you feel something like this?

[@DutchGreyBeard]

Sounds familiar. In my case it's not that my mind is going overdrive. I am more overconfident that I'll read Oathbringer for instance (1300 pages) within a week, because I am so excited for the story. But then after 100, 200, 300 pages (and way past that intended week) I feel I am not making any progress and that the gratification of finishing a book seems to be getting away from me. Rarely do I give in to the tendency to pick up another book, because the story I'm reading keeps on fascinating me. So, it is double. On the one hand the lack of progress gives me the feeling of drag, while on the other hand I am enjoying the story immensely. (At this point, less than 150 pages to go in Oathbringer, which I started reading on October 20.) My lesson learned so far, is that I have to dose reading real big chunkers.

[@chevalierdulys]

@@DutchGreyBeard thank you for sharing this. It's this. The instant gratification that makes sense