Fantasy is my main genre, but Lonesome Dove is my favorite book of all time. The whole series is great.

Snow crash is in my opinion one of the greatest books ever written. It is weird wild and completely unique

I'm so glad to see Backman in the line-up. I loved this book!

Gus McCrae and Woodrow Call from Lonesome Dove are probably my favorite main characters of all time

Read Lonesome Dove earlier this year, just incredible. Augustus McCrae is one of my favourite characters in fiction now. Amazing dialogue and some absolutely jaw-dropping moments. Also the only western I've ever read!

Fevre Dream is an excellent read!!

Lonesome Dove is a top 10 book of all time for me. It’s that good. You will laugh out loud multiple times, and you will cry multiple times. It’s brutal and heartwarming at the same time. Brian Lee Durfee’s review summed it up really well.

I'm highly excited by this video, because the VAST MAJORITY of these titles have been on my TBR (some, for years) and I can't wait for the time you begin to read them, which will kick my ass into gear and read along

I definitely was not expecting the first palate cleanser to be “We Need to Talk About Kevin”

I can not wait to hear your thoughts on Lonesome Dove. McMurtry wrote some of the all time best characters I’ve ever had the pleasure of reading about. The way he writes, I feel like I’m sitting around the table, or out driving cattle with them. I was never a western fan growing up. I read Lonesome Dove and fell in love with the genre. I’ve been a solely scifi and fantasy reader my entire life. But Lonesome Dove is the best book I’ve ever read.

Excited for "A Man Called Ove". As for the pronunciation I'd say your 2nd attempt was pretty spot on. Something like "O-veh".

I really liked Fevre Dream; it is very close to Anne rice in the mood and imagery. I’ve been reading Stuart Turton’s “Devil in Dark Water” which is like a Sherlock Holmes mystery, a dash of gothic, on a boat in the 18th century. I loved his debut novel “Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle”. If you’re looking for a mystery/gothic standalone, I highly recommend giving Turton a try.

Tigana is one of my favorite books. You are in for a treat

Fevre Dream is awesome!

Dandelion Wine was my first Bradbury. It starts super wholesome and progressively gets weirder and creepier. Did not expect that, really liked it.

The Right Stuff is a great book, it does a great job giving you the mindset of the early space program. It also covers the history, but the psychology of those early times was what it was best at. So essentially, it has good character work.

Am currently reading the shining before I start the last book in the First Law Trilogy: Last Argument Of Kings. I sort of burnt myself out with the first 2 books, as I read them back to back. So, I'm using the shining as a break before I continue with First Law. The shining is great so far, half way through, loving it!

Mike, I know you didnt like Blood Meridian, but I would suggest his Border trilogy westerns. You don't really have to read each one as the first 2 have different characters and apparently they join in the last book. I've only read All The Pretty Horses and it was really good.

Fevre Dream is fantastic

The way I've had GGK's books explained to me, is that they all take place in an alternate "fantasy" world that mirrors our world's history. The cultures have different names, their histories are slightly changed, and there's magic. But each book (for the most part) can be read standalone. It's like reading real world historical fiction from many different cultures and time periods.

If you read Fevre Dream, I will be very interested in hearing your opinion on that book. I read it over 10 years ago and loved it. I'm happy to hear you may be reading A Man Called Ove. Fredrik Backman is my favorite author next to Brandon Sanderson.

Michael Connolly has been my palette cleanser easy simple well written comfort food

Such a diverse list of books! I'm also hoping to pick up Lonesome Dove and GGK next year. I have A Head Full of Ghosts on my shelves so will probably read it alongside some Thomas Olde Heuvelt for next spooky season

Tigana was my first of Guy's books. The excerpt was what pulled me in. He's very... descriptive. 😆

A head full of ghosts is a modern horror masterpiece. Great picks! And thanks for giving me some new reads!

I own Snow Crash and am looking forward to reading it soon!

We need to talk about Kevin is very grim and I remember liking it a lot. Little Heaven and Fevre Dream are great as well. A Head Full of Ghosts is overall really good with a few rough moments. The Ruins I honestly didn’t like at all. Haven’t read any of the other ones. Might have to check them out!

GGK and Lonesome Dove are priorities for me next year. I read The Ruins years ago and thought it was really good. Thanks for the video!

I’m going to try Shogun, I’ve never read it and I think it would be a great palate cleanser.

I can't wait to hear your thoughts on The Ruins.

Lonesome dove and Snow Crash are both in my top 10. Amazing books. Hope you enjoy!

Run was great. Love Blake Crouch! Another great stand alone is Snowbound

I understand if you don't want to hear about Discworld in a video about standalones, but those books are perfect palate cleansers. The books are like watching episodes of your favourite sitcom.

Some great reading plans right there! Hope you enjoy the horror selections!! ☠️

I have The lions of Al-Rasan on my TBR pile. I got interested after watching Jimmy Nuts' review.

"The Right Stuff" is a pretty good read. It does a great job of delving into the pressures that both the politicians and senior NASA officials were facing during the Cold War, and I really like that it offers a deep dive into the philosophy and mindset of the actual astronauts themselves. It's also a really good coming of age story, and that's why I think that Mike would like it alot. I've seen the movie twice, and sadly, in spite of the four Oscars, I think it fails to capture the energy and intensity of the book. A movie that does a much better job of capturing it would be "Chariots of Fire," even though the subject matter is completely different. But I think as a book, "The Right Stuff" deserves all of the influence that it's had on subsequent works - especially military history books like "Black Hawk Down," "Neptune's Inferno," etc. It's an excellent choice.

I absolutely loved The Ruins!

Great list and great shirt!

We need to talk about Kevin is rough!!! It’s also one of my favorite top five books.

Great video! I'm also going to attempt some horror through the year. I feel like we naturally save up the horror for the fall. I usually use Dresden Files as a pallet cleanser as well, but I'm thinking of breaking into some Will Wight. I hear his books are good in between some of those heavier books I'll be reading next year.

Awesome video, Mike! Added a few to my list. Thanks for the reminder about Run, it sounds awesome and it's staring me in the face, so might be due for a Crouch book.

Always nice to have some standalone reqs! We Need to Talk About Kevin is a very dark and difficult read emotionally, but it’s written beautifully. Highly recommend. I look forward to your thoughts on Backman! I hope you love his writing as much as I do!! I’ve been meaning to read Lonesome Dove for a long time, maybe 2023 will be the year. 🤞

I'm going to try and get to Kings of the Wyld next year. I'm still slowly making my way through Malazan (about a third through Bonehunters). I'm excited to hear you're going to read Lonesome Dove. That's my second favorite book of all time, right behind Dune.

I read The Ruins in an entire day. Not because it’s a quick easy read, but because it was SO freaking hypnotizing. And it freaked me out too.

I recommend a non-Shannara book by the great Terry Brooks. OK, so there's 2 books (so far) in this series. The first one is called the "Child of Light". That's the one I'm reading now. It's so good so far. It'll be a quick read for you, I think. By the way, my hubby and I actually got to MEET Terry Brooks in a book signing, and he's SUCH a gentleman. I was afraid he would be a literary snob, because of his success, but he's not. He is SO cool and down-to-earth. THAT'S what sold me to start reading his work. He's already my hubby's favorite author (you should've SEEN how happy he was to meet Terry Brooks), so I was already interested. But the fact that he's so nice just makes it so much better. If you ever happen to hear about Terry Brooks going to Huston or something, GO SEE HIM. He's amazing!

Hey Mike You should read The Windup Girl. You'll love it as a one-off read. Biopunk!

thanks Mike

I absolutely LOVED A Man Called Ove! It made me cry at the end but so worth it. I now want to read every book that that author wrote

You're gonna love GGK.

Great ideas here! I've always had a hard a hard time getting into Westerns as well so I'll have to give that a whirl. Mike I know your TBR list is super long already, buf I wanted to rec something for a potential future read I think you'd really enjoy - The Darth Bane trilogy and Darth Plagueis book in the Star Wars EU (Plagueis is a standalone 😉 but should be read after Bane because he's referenced quite a bit). I know you're a fan of many of the post-RotJ EU stuff, but I reread these books recently and it reminded me how they're among my favorite Star Wars books/stories ever made. A bonus is that they make the original movies even better with the lore introduced (this isn't Disney SW)

Your wisdom has been passed on. Usually I love the first book of a series and push onward to burn myself out and never finish every book. I just finished The Blade Itself, and I'm forcing myself to read a palate cleanser before continuing onward--even though I want nothing more than to pick up the second book in the trilogy. Thanks for the concept of palate cleansers!

I just read Fevre Dream for spooky season. It was amazing.

As Sci-fi goes I’d recommend Robert J Sawyer for stand alone books.

A Man Called Ove (pronounced oo-vay) and The Right Stuff are fabulous.

Backman has been great, character focused and super quick reads, I think you'll like Ove. Backman has been a great cure for fantasy burnout I was struggling with.

I loved a man called Ove. Hope you get round to it

Just finished Lonesome Dove last week. Excellent book. The characters are fantastic

youre definitely going to like Snowcrash

I read The Ritual before seeing the movie, and I loved it. Very unique, which makes it hit or miss for most. But it was a hit for me

I have Lonesome dove on my shelf too. I tried it once only came till chapter 8 or something and kinda forgot about it (not because i did not like it or anything) Then one day, i decided to build a Western Theme Park in a game called Planet Coaster. When i made my first building i really wanted it to be a saloon. Then i tought back about Lonesome Dove, those first 8 chapters i read, and decided to make that saloon exactly like the descriptions from Lonesome Dove. I even made the backdoor that is used in the book as a way to move the piano from and to the small white church. Next i made the small church. It was great.

Great picks! 'A Man Called Ove' is such a well-written novel. The character work is indeed great. I read 'Lonesome Dove' this past June. It is a massive tome, but it is in my opinion one of the essential western novels. I have 'Run' on my list to get to someday. Probably won't be until next year. Throwing another horror standalone recommendation your way: 'The Last Days of Jack Sparks' by Jason Arnopp. I read it a few years ago and loved it! Happy reading!

Snow Crash! My dude, you're in for SUCH a treat!

A Head Full of Ghosts sound intriguing. I have Snow Crash on my shelf and plan to read it next year as well! Currently reading Interview with the Vampire (finally!). It's amazing, I'm so mad at myself for waiting this long to pick it up. As for my progress on reading all of Stephen King in order.. I'm on Rose Madder but whew, I need a break after Insomnia. About twice as long as it needed to be in my opinion. Great video man, happy reading!

With you mentioning The Exorcist, I highly recommend you read William Peter Blatty‘s book “Legion”, which is basically Exorcist 2, and cinematically it’s Exorcist 3. Both the movie and book are outstanding. Much more of a detective thriller in this story where the plot pertains to the events that happened in the first story with a few horror elements strewn throughout. Definitely does not get the credit it deserves.

Ooooh! A lot of these are on my radar, maybe we’ll have some crossover. And that shirt is amazing.

I loved Lonesome Dove. I had no idea it was part of a series. I thought it was a stand alone.

Hey man! I’m loving your channel! Outstanding job! Might consider Quietus by Vivian Schilling or Battlefield Earth(or have you already read that one?) i’m personally not big on SciFi myself to read(like you with westerns) but I loved BE.. and Toxin by Robin Cook; again love your vids! So glad I found ya

If you like Lonesome Dove, also try The Virginian.

Hi 👋 great video... thanks for talking about everything on ur channel!! Happy reading to you! 🎥🍂🍁🎞

Super excited for this list! Just finished The Ruins myself, I’d put it on my top 10 thrillers and horror lists. Reading his a simple plan thriller next. Head Full of ghosts is probably Tremblay’s best (which is either a good or bad thing) it’s kind of the anti-exorcist. I won’t explain what I mean by that so you can find out yourself.

Alfred Bester - The Stars My Destination. You can read it in a day and every page is exciting. There's a BBC audiodrama of it too.

I just read Tigana and loved it!

Thanks for the videos

My favorite Western is “Welcome to Hard Times” by E.L. Doctorow… I think you would like it a lot Mike!

I'd like to read Lonesome Dove as well. I once saw an interview of Joe Abercrombie saying that book is among his favorites.

Tailchaser's Song by Tad Williams and Piranesi by Susanna Clarke are both great fantasy standalones and they're both pretty short too.

I can also highly recommend Octavia E. Butler for sci-fi. Kindred is amazing.

For something totally left field that I have on my list is The Tea Dragon Society. I watched a full on super hero and comic fan just fall in love with and wax lyrical about these graphic novels, and they have spiked my interest. Apparently adorable, inclusive and just a lovely break from the norm

Please post when you do read The Ruins. My favorite horror in the past few years.

Lonesome Dove is one of the greatest novels ever written.

The Chill was a very good stand-alone I read not too long ago. Think you would enjoy.

Mike would you ever do a video on which Stephen king adaptations deserve a remake just curious on your thoughts 🤔

Dandelion Wine 🔥 I see a bunch of books here that I also want to get to soon.

Stand alones are the best book breaks. Have read and loved many on your list and can also recommend The Poisonwood Bible (actually anything by Barbara Kingsolver), John Irving is a huge fav for a break he was the author of The Cider House Rules and The World according to Garp, so incredible character work. An odd one I think you would like is Bill Bryson A Short History of Nearly Everything. I also love checking out Booker prize short lists. Try Birdsong by Sebastian Faulks. Another great break is to pick up sci fi and fantasy short stories. GRR Martin put an really great collection together of female authors and helped me find some new fav authors. Authors who can draw me in completely with just a short story are just incredible. Their skill just blows my mind. Madeline Miller’s Galatea is a master class in a short story. On fun short sci fi try Burn by Patrick Ness or A Profusion of Princes by Garth Nix. Both are very good at taking time out from big series. A recent fun read was Daniel Greene’s novella and first book. Had a blast with both..

Snow Crash is awesome! Sea of Rust is another cool standalone.

So I've read all of these except for the Blake Crouch and the horror. That one YA book wore my patience thin. The rest of the books are great reads. Lonesome Dove and Tigana are my two favorites of those. I like the movie of The Right Stuff better than the book, but the book is still good. Maybe to try other westerns you could try some fantasy westerns? RS Belcher's Golgotha series of 4 books is dark fantasy set in a small western town that's under siege by horrific creatures.

I pronounce Ove in my head the same way, lol I've been wanting to read this, because it reminds me of the Bill Murray movie St. Vincent

I’ve had Snow Crash on my mind for a while and never have tried it but I’ll give it a shot for 2023. I don’t want to over-hype but I’m 99% positive you will love Lonesome Dove. It is a masterpiece in every sense of the word.

Have you seen “First Man”? The movie is the story of the Apollo 11 mission, but also deals heavily with their personal life and pressures, I think you would really like it.

Good call on "Tigana" by GGK Mike - I have read it several times (along with most of Mr. Kayes fantastic work) and I consider it to be a masterpiece. Hoping to see a review of what you thought of it - and welcome to the GGK rabbit-hole!

I got into Westerns last summer, LD will land hard with you.

You'll definitely love the Ruins. I also recommend the movie afterwards. It's a solid adaptation.

A man called Ove is such a great book!

Battle Mage by Peter A. Flannery, awesome stand alone fantasy novel!

"Run" is fantastic...a cross between real-life events in Rwanda, and Garth Ennis's Crossed comics (though he wrote this before Crossed).

Nice set of books Mike!

We Need to Talk About Kevin is on my list, too! Such a great movie, as well, with Tilda Swinton, John C. Reilly, and Ezra Miller

Fredrik Backman is great, reas one of his other books and it was great. I'm currently reading How to Kill a Mockingbird, which is a good classic standalone for the moment

The Swedish movie version of A Man Called Ove is incredible. Absolutely fantastic, heartwarming, hopeful, sad... It's a lot of things. I had to pause it a few times to collect myself. Tom Hanks is working on an American version that I'm honestly worried about. Based on the trailer, I'm not sure it gets the tone right.

Tigana made me weep. Enjoy :)