Anybody else has a complicated relationship with big books? Some are all time faves but when I don’t love them… it’s a lot of time commitment to be underwhelmed 😂

"Ok. Those are words." 😂 this is indeed the best description of that feeling

Charlie does look like a panther 😂😅

That is indeed how to say Appalachia. 😂 My husband was born and raised there and spent the first year of our relationship correcting my pronunciation.

Honestly I feel like the main reason the Dandelion Dynasty is so underrated is because of the first book. It really does read like a history book. It’s quite sad though since the rest of the series is soooo good.

Charlie is like a little vacuum cleaner lol!

You can buy thin slices of fish in vacuum packed bags. They're still wet and everything, my older cat loves them

Your Mother of Cats Tshirt is perfect! 🤣

Clawdia's cute chirps 💙💙💙 also love the fact that you knew the cats so well and spot on!! (i know its obvious that you would know enough about your cats at that point) also charlie just going for the treats without sniffing them was so funny 💀

English is my 3rd language, so I don't usually go beyond 1.5. Sometimes 1.8 if the narrator is slow and I'm fully focused. Beyond that is just me trying to be done and over with that book 😂

I like big books. I cannot lie. 😆 My TBR is full of them. But if I could only stop reading the other shorter ones instead and pick up a big one to read. 🤦‍♀️

Horns and Cujo in the background as your black cat chomps down on hearts is so perfect 🫀😺 lol

I listen to all my audiobooks at 1.25 speed. I can't handle listen to chipmunks reading my books too me. 😂

One of my cats loves asparagus. I found out when he was maybe four months old and he stole a whole asparagus spear off my plate one night and ate it faster than a kid eating chocolate he's not supposed to have lmaooo. Also! That shirt you wear while doing the treat experiment is everything to me lmao

My late cat was crazy for canned asparagus juice. She was my little weirdo.

I like big books when I like the subject. 📚 Charlie on the wheel is like a panther. 🐈‍⬛

My cat doesn't usually go for treats like Clawdia, except I discovered she LOVES those liquid treats that look like a little gogurt

Oh my gosh your cats 😂 lately I have been really struggling with not being interested in books, if by page 50-100 it’s not interesting or gripping to me at all then I usually dnf and it keeps happening so much. It’s so frustrating! I didn’t used to be this picky but I think the book should at least have me getting emotionally attached or just interested by page 100

OMG at 7mins one of your cats meows and I was so sure it was one of mine and it sounded so different than usual so I panicked 😂

App uh latch uh is correct. I have incredibly huge respect for the Appalachian people, the history of the region is rough and when the railroad and other forms of progress came to the area in the late 1800s, the people that were there were subjugated by the extremely wealthy. The people and the natural resources were used and abused, all the wealth was exported out of the state and everyone and everything was left in a worse position than they were when the ultra wealthy came in and disrupted everything. Very little resources were used to fund or support local infrastructure. To this day, the area is far lower than the poverty line than the rest of the country, and the area in the states where mining was possible the pollution has made giant swathes of those states toxic and uninhabitable. The biggest blessing that area received was the federal government stepping in and claiming chunks of wilderness for national parks, protecting those places from the same horrific fate.

Your cats are THE BESTT 🥹🥹🥹 they are so adorable! Love their personalities! You can certainly have lill shorts of the gorgeous babies 🥰

If you have a Lidl near your house my cats will go absolutely crazy for their little cushion-shaped crunchy snacks (a bit like the Whiskas ones in cat-shaped purple boxes)

Your babies are so beautiful!

1.5 speed for audiobooks too! English is also my second language, too!

I listen to most audiobooks between 1.5 and 2x speed. That’s perfect. Any faster than that and I would have to go back and relisten to parts that I missed 😂

I usually start my audiobooks at 1.5 for the first few chapters. I then go up to 1.75-1.8. I never go above 2x speed. That said, I don’t listen to fantasy or sci-fi via audio because I can’t understand them, no matter the speed! English is also my second language (French is my first!)

Claudia might like freeze-dried minnows - my cats loved them

I usually listen at 1.5-1.75x depending on the book. Fantasy or sci fi at 1.5, thrillers or more contemporary stuff at 1.75. Sometimes if I’m really really on board and really engaged and understanding the book super well, I can bring it up to 2. But if I am fortunate enough to be doing an immersive read (listening to the audio while reading with my eyes) I can speed it way up. I wish I could do immersive reads all the time.

I usually listen at 2x speed, 1,5 if I need to get myself oriented in a new story and 2,5 when I just want to be done. I built it up from 1,5 gradually. English also is not my first language.

I usually read at 1.75-2.1x speed depending on the audiobook. The narrator of one audiobook I listened to recently was so slow I was able to get up to 2.4 with no issues, which was new for me! But I definitely had to build up to it. 1.25x felt super fast to me when I first started listening to audiobooks. Also your cats are so funny to me because all 3 of my cats will eat anything presented to them! I’ve never had an issue with them not liking anything 😂

Google said it right! Appalachia is pronounced that way by those of us who live here. However, some of the country that doesn't live here pronounces it differently. (It's very upsetting. Lol)

Nooo, please do not give up on Grace of Kings. I also felt it read like a history book, but the series in total is the very best series I have read in years! By book three you will look back and laugh that you ever felt this way about bok one. Please, please give it another shot. The audiobook is great btw.

I started listening to audiobooks only last December, when someone here on comments mentioned that you can buy a subscription (a card) for Queens Public Library even if you are not an USA resident. English is not my first language, I read a lot in it and watch youtube but audiobooks was another type of experience -> the great one actually. I usually listen on 0.95 speed and I am okay with that. Tom Hanks narration of "The Dutch House" was too fast for me, had to slow down to 0.85 but he was amazing !

I'm literally about to tackle A Day of Fallen Night today... This video feels like a bad omen 😂

Without watching the video I can say I agree wholeheartedly with the title (most of the time).

Haha my dog loves chicken hearts too

My cats go crazy for the same chicken hearts! 😂

I agree with you about audiobook speed! I’m usually right around 1.5. However, I do think you can train yourself to listen to it faster because when I first started getting into audiobooks, I couldn’t listen to anything over 1 and now that sounds so slow to me.

English is my second language but it doesn't feel like it, weirdly enough. I am comfortable at 2x speed and up to 2.5/3x speed. It depends on my focus, the speaker and the topic. But i generally like listening at a high speed because i can finish more books that way and i get a sense of accomplishment from it

So I used to agree with you about the audiobook speed but now I’m more use to it and I can listen to books at 2x speed.

My favorite speed is usually 2.5, and it makes my brain purr 😂 adhd is fun like that, if the narrator reads faster I go down to 2. To me it does not aound as fast after about a minute.

The best way to remember how to say Appalachia is think “ I’m going to throw an Apple-at-yah”

My cats go absolutely feral for the fancy feast chicken savory treats! (The one that looks like chocolate bars)

My cat is such a picky eater, but he LOVES the Greenies catnip dental treats. In the US they come in multiple sized packages, so maybe try a small pack of those to see if your babies are a fan.

Over the past few days I've heard nothing but good reviews from people about the TV show Dark Matter. They are all just delighted! But they are all from those who have not read this book... 😅

big books are still intimidating to me, I usually take so long to read them because I'll read other books at the same time. loved the cat content and as usual my cats were so excited to see them! I would be so interested if you did a video on French classics you enjoyed doing your French minor! I'm curious which ones you think are the most worthwhile to read!

I've been wanting to read Grace of Kings as well. I should check my library for it. Charlie is a long boi, my cat is a slug, she'd never use one of those wheels. Granted, she's a bit of an old lady now, about 10.

I listen to my audiobooks at x2.0 or x2.5 😅 and english is my second language. But I think is because it helps me focus on the book. Because I really need to pay attention to understand it

I also go for 1.5 maybe upto 1.7 but when I start I usually start at 1.3 just to get used to the world/names

I usually listen at 3-3.5x speed. My ADHD doesn't let me listen at lower than 2x speed, even before I engaged in any ear training. I also listen to youtube at 3x or more 😅But I've always been a fast talker/reader/etc. 3x speed is fairly close to my personal reading speed so I usually immersion read

I finished The Grace of Kings... it never got better. (Spoilers) It's just endless fighting, betrayed, politics, and mass SA in every city any army conquered. There was a woman general I liked but she wasn't in it much. There were also submaines they built to look like the sea monsters and that went way past my suspension of disbelief. I still have my 0 dnf book club record but that was a worst experience than Anna Karenina and Crime and Punishment

I listen at either 2.0 or 2.5 I do understand it helps me process it quicker.

1.5x in Spanish, but the maximum for me is 1.25x in English and depend on the accent of the narrator. I love the experiment with the cats.

I liked the audiobook of Grace of Kings but not enough to continue. I’m a quick, long time reader but I listen at 1.25, with non fiction sometimes at 1.5. I don’t want to miss anything and I like the “performance” aspect and feel like a higher speed ruins all that hard work. We all read how we read!

I'm also from quebec and cannot listened to audiobook faster than 1.75x. One of my cat is a weirdo and goes insane when we buy salad and chick peas. Our more fussy cat loovees Delectables Squeeze Up. I don't know if it would be doable with multiple kitties and one human because my 2 cats go feral for them.

Claudia’s zoomie noises 😂🥹

I love classics and most of them are really long. Les Miserables is my favorite book ever. Read it four times and wanting to reread it asap. Right now, my life is on pause because of work so short stories are saving my reading life. In the end, I think that a good book is a good book and if you can tell the story in 5 pages or a 5000 doesn't matter to me as long as it's needed. ❤

My cat loves the Catit jerky and Catit grills. I have to cut them up to make them last longer

I have four cats lol and they seem to all love these little freeze dried shrimp. I live in Portugal, but I am sure that's also available elsewhere. But yea they are obsessed with them.

I liked Dark Matter the book. But I only watched one episode of the series. Weird I didn’t like it more because the author Blake Crouch I believe wrote the show and is also the show runner. Husband likes it a lot! Demon Copperhead is in my night stand. I gave it to my sis for her birthday (She wanted it) and she DNF’d it. I wanted to try it and now I can’t bring myself to start. I have a lot of LONG books to read at my house! Love seeing your kitties! Always the highlight!

If a book is over 500 pages, I usually listen to it via audiobook at 1.5- 1.75 speed (depending on how complex the writing is). I find it's easier for me to get invested that way, and much easier to continue if I'm waffling about doing so.

Demon Copperhead was a DNF for me but I might try it again later. I was just not in the mood for it.

I read audio at 1.7-2x depending on the type of work. I tend to read memoir type books at 2x esp if narrated by author. But fantasy has to be slower or I just miss details as I listen to audio while I clean or play games

In Spanish (mother tongue) I listen to it at 2, sometimes and really specific getting to 2.3… but a good speed is 1.75!

I know you hate hearing that the latter books are better, but it really is true with regard to the dandelion dynasty hahahaha. Book 1 feels like a prequel and books 2-4 like a really tight trilogy. Speaking bones is one of the best books I've ever read, a finale I'll carry with me forever

You try to do 100 pages a day of reading??? That’s amazing and I now aim to work my way up to that. 🎉 Also, Clawdia’s zoomies sound like a race car going fast. Myoooowm. 😂

2.25x speed is my sweet spot for audiobooks. English is not my first language either, but it's just the speed that works well for me. It depends on the book too though.

I recently read Demon Copperhead & again felt out of the bubble-gave it 3 generous ⭐️…wayyy too long & drawn out with an ultimate message of hopelessness despite hope.

I also DNFed The grace of kings. I don't like fantasy books with very infodumpy worldbuilding and that was definitely one of them. Also did not like the MC I do like big books, but they have to be good. Even more so then short books I think. So haven't found that many I have enjoyed

My go to speed is 1.5 but some books are better at 1.25 and some I can listen to at 2. But I have never listened to faster than 2. Anything above that is gibberish to me too 😅

Oh no 😭Dandelion Dynasty is like my favorite series of all time! The first book does feel segmented for sure but I think the audiobook definitely improves the overall enjoyment. Sorry it didn't work for you tho

I tried to read Grace of Kings a few weeks ago, we basically had the same reaction, I only made it like 35% through and gave up. I had the same Issue with Ship of Magic series, too many perspectives usually ruins it for.

Yeah that's why I started DNfing like 90% of books I read. Life's just too short. I try to stick to what I'm enjoying.

I listen at around 2.5x for most audios, but it really depends on the narrator bc sometimes I'm higher than that or a little lower. I was pretty bored with Grace of Kings, I tried but it did NOT play well with my ADHD. 😂

English is my first language and I prefer 1.25-1.5 speed. I also get distracted so if I were listening faster I would miss way too much.

I default start an audiobook at 1.5 speed and usually speed up to 1.7 or 2 depending on narrator and how I’m feeling. Sometimes I’ll even speed up further than 2 times if the narrator is especially slow or I just want to get through a section of book or the whole book faster. On the rare occasion I slow it down but usually to 1.3 if the narrator has a thick accent that my brain struggles with at faster speeds. My old boy, he just turned 16, has always been a bit picky but has gotten pickier with age. He tends to get bored of chicken, turkey and any fish real fast. If I buy any of those flavors I have to have a backup of a different flavor for when he inevitably gets bored. He really likes quail but his favorite flavors are pretty much anything red meat, he goes nuts over it and if I’m eating anything with beef he will be very determined to steal it from me. It’s gotten better in recent years to be able to find treats for cats being made with red meat but it’s still not that common and it’s usually just beef so I’ll occasionally buy some dehydrated treats from the dog section so he can have bison and other flavors.

Pronunciation depends on what part of the mountains you're from. Where I'm from it's pronounced App-uh-lay-shun.

My cat goes feral for freeze dried minnows! I break 1 minnow into about 4 treats for him lol

My comfort speed is 1.2/1.25, sometimes I go up to 1.5 if it's really slow. I can comprehend 2, but honestly its just too intense and draining so it doesn't stay enjoyable.

The Grace of Kings was a huge letdown. I'm into historical fantasy, not history textbooks. And I'm seriously not feeling the idea of wasting my time on Book 2. But hey, maybe one day I'll give it a shot.

I usually listen in normal speed. Sometimes, I go up to x0.5. Mainly because I want to be emersed in the story, and I don't want to listen to a chipmunk 🐿😅 One time, I wasn't invested, but still wanted to know the conclusion of the trilogy, I diled it up to 2×speed. Wich to me was the audio version of skim reading 😅

I'm quite cautious about big books, they either have to be highly recommended by someone I trust, have the most amazing premise or come from a trusted author. The Grace of Kings has had quite a bit of hype but I soft dnf'd at page 236. I might come back to it, we'll see...

I listen normally now at 2 times speed unless the narrator has a strong accent, then a little slower. I can listen to higher but I usually need to focus. It took me a few years to build up to, but slower sounds like people are eating cotton as they talk 😂 English is my first language

I also can't focus when i listen to books faster than 1.5, and English is not my first language either but I don't think it's because of that. I'm surprised you didn't like the dark matter show. I'm really enjoying it, especially the last few episodes because he added so many things that aren't in the book

You can also call the Appalachian Mountains the Blue Ridge Mountains if you have a hard time saying it. I'm from near the area and people will know what you're talking about.

❤

Most people who didn’t like The Grace of Kings say the rest of the books are really good. But yeah the first is supposed to be not great.

Other youtubers: What’s happening to Epic Fantasy? I want our big Fantasy books. This is horrible. Emily:

I find big books can live or die by their endings - the entire time I was reading A Book Of American Martyrs, it was only a 2 star experience for me, but then the payoff at the very end so justified the journey that I ended up giving it 4 stars. Compared to Under The Whispering Door where I enjoyed the journey very much, but ultimately it had no reason to be as long as it was and so I only ended up giving it a 3 star because it was so bloated (and that was like, half the length of ABoAM). For audiobooks I default to 1.75x, which goes down to 1.5x if it's something more complicated/literary or up to 2-2.25x speed if the narrator is slower

Two of my friends have read Demon Copperhead and they hated it. When they were talking about the book to me I got so bored. So I think I won't try reading that one.

Google is correct on the pronunciation of Appalachia.

Have you tried Churu? They have the tubes and the bites, my cats go crazy for both

Claudia is me if I was a cat

I always feel very weird because, even though I am from the area, Appalachuh sounds incredibly wrong to me because I've always said/say it Appa-lay-shuh. I have Grace of Kings to try and I'm looking forward to it so I hope I have a better time than you did :D Also, I've been struggling to put a name to the type of fiction that my book club is constantly picking and STRUGGLE FICTION is the absolute best description. Just constantly what is picked.

I DNFed The Grace of Kings too.

Ma chatte aime beaucoup les Gâteries de poisson blanc séchées à froid de Vietdiet. Je les achète chez Mondou et elles sont excellentes pour la santé!

i'm usually reading audiobooks at between 1.5 and 1.85 speed, 2 is usually too fast and under 1.5 waaaaay too slow

I have NO idea how people listen at 3x speed lol. I listen at 2x or sometimes for romance I can do like 2.2x. If the person has a different accent than mine, like British or Irish or something, I might have to slow it down. I had to listen to Harry's audiobook at 1.5x speed because it was too hard for me to understand at 2x with his accent!

My reading speed depends on the book, it generally ranges from 1 to 1.2. if I'm reading faster than that, then it means that I just want it over with 😂

If you try a butcher you might be able to get raw chicken hearts! I know this because my kitty gets homemade raw food. 😂