Glad the break ended up to be a good thing! Your video reminds me of my job - I'm absolutely exhausted in May but when August rolls around I'm really excited to get back to school. Breaks are good!

Have you read light bringer yet?

I have discovered Tad Williams. I am currently immersed in The Dragonbone Chair.

Super late to the party but congrats 👏

Super glad you're having some fun with RoTG and thank you so much for the pitch! Also, good luck with your own writing, looking forward to your next release.

Glad ur OK Tori, I just assumed the writing was flat out 😇 hope your muse is doing u proud 💫

Tori!!! Definitely believe that it was a sign from the universe to make you take a step back and realign with yourself and your values. Glad it was a rejuvenating break :) I hope your computer is all back up and running asap so the creative juices can start flowing again. My summer has been fine, nothing too special tbh. Though I did find my new favourite book of the year recently, which is Asunder by Kerstin Hall! 🤩

Just finished Long Live Evil by Sarah Rees Brennan (fun read). Almost done with The Book of Elsewhere by Keanu Reeves and China Mieville (jury is still out). Also, really liked Breath of the Dragon by Fonda Lee and Shannon Lee (comes out in January).

She's alive!!!!! Good to take a break if and when you need it. I've spent most of my summer reading and learning how to drive. I also took on a very special creative project that i'm super excited for!!

Completely feel you on the need for a break 💕 I also just got back to making things so….welcome back! ✨ Looking forward to what you put out :)

July was way too hot to do anything and August has been much better, so we’ve gotten out to enjoy our summer. Currently reading Locklands, last of the foundryside novels and loving it. Glad you had a break!

Glad to see you're doing well, Tori. Unless its Hobb or GGK, reading hasn't been as much of a priority for me this year as I've been re-focusing on my weight loss journey, and I'm happy to say I made significant progress so far this year. I haven't felt this good in years. I just yesterday finished Wurts' Ships of Merior, and it was great. I'm not quite ready yet to return to Rain Wild Chronicles, so I restarted my re-read of Deadhouse Gates and I'm having so much fun. I'm slowly chipping away at Streets of Laredo and I just started Dennis Lehane's Mystic River. Happy reading to you!

Happy it was nothing serious. I just finished The Philosopher Kings, book 2 in the Thessaly Trilogy, and also The Professor's House by Willa Cather. I just started The Library at Mount Char .

Nice to see you back for quick update. See u soon!! 😊

Yeah summer has gone by rapidly huh. Haven't read too many books lately, I'm actually gonna take a hiatus from my current re-read of Wheel of Time and my first read of The Expanse series, so that I can focus on the books that I've had that I hadn't read yet. Also attended some more concerts.

Summer really has flown by! I got married, moved into an apartment with my wife and started a new job😂. Yet I’ve managed to keep reading through all of this. I’m currently reading Ryan Cahill’s Of War and Ruin, Stephen King’s The Regulators, and Robin Hobb’s Assassin’s Quest 😂😅.

Summer is just flying by, isn't it?! You already know this, but re-reading The Wheel of Time. The fact that I read this series fifteen years ago, and I still remember A LOT of what happened still amazes me. 😊

As long as this channel is fun for you, keep at it because I always enjoy hearing your perspectives. At best, KZfaq and its Sacred Algorithms are a marketing channel for your business as an author. Reading Napper’s _36 Streets_ and next up is the Conan collected works for Cimmerian September!

Glad you’re enjoying a good break Tori! Good to see you!

Good to see you back, and I'm glad the break has been refreshing! I have finally started The Lies of Locke Lamora. 20% in and this is feeling like an all timer for sure 😁 I am also reading PL Stuart's The Last of the Atalanteans, which continues the brilliance (imo) of book 1!

So glad you are enjoying Return of the Griffin! Thanks for the YT update!

Good to see you're doing well, Tori. Sometimes we need to unwind. Good for you.

Fully understandable! Best of luck on your projects and take care!

Hey Tori! Glad you’re back. Hope the writing is going well.

We all have a comp problem. My hard disc died and I lost everything that I wrote last year.

JCM Berne Rules

🎉🎉🎉❤️❤️❤️

I am still focused on sci-fi but Mistborn and Green Bone are two series I want to try when I eventually dip my toe into fantasy waters!

Idk where to watch either 🤮🤮🤮

I just finished Dandelion Dynasty by Ken Liu. My god the world building, political intrigue, the battles AMAZING. Book 2 wall of storms might be my favorite fantasy book of all time.

One exemple how i love williams story telling is tgat from time to time i come back to last chapter of stoner. I never read a better describing of a death, of the last moments. Reading it is like Memento mori

Haven't read Day Zero yet, but I did read Sea of Rust (same world) and it was excellent.

15:50 Oh dear 😭

Love your review. I agree on almost everything. Maquin and Camlin omg chefs kiss. Especially Camlin. I was so happy to see his name at the start of a new chapter every time. Especially because of his lack of martial prowess compared to most of the other characters. I was so sad to finish the last book. Despite the issues I had with this series I loved it dearly because of the characters.

The world Brandon has created is magical... however, the writing itself is average.

Oathbringer is one of my favorites. Epic scale, WoR is "better" but WoR didn't make me pull over while driving and burst into tears like Oathbringer did. At a time when I just wanted to give up, "You can't have my pain" and "the most important step a man can take is the next one" left me bawling my eyes out. Both phrases still echo in my head almost daily. What happened, happened; the only thing you can do is keep moving forward.

National Book award 1973. John Williams, Augustus and John Barth, Chimera

Urgh -- I hope War and Peace isn't on your shelf.

My 10 favourites series of all time so far are 10. Dune 9. The Wheel of time (the first seven books only) 8. The Farseer Trilogy(the first book only) 7. Memory,Sorrow and thorn( the first two books only) 6. Gentleman Bastards 5. The Kingkiller Chronichle 4. The Stormlight Archive ( the first book only) 3. Malazan book of the fallen ( the first book only) 2. The First Law World 1. A Song of Ice and Fire

Really hope to get to «Lord Of A Shattered Land» in the not too far future! In July I read: «The Stone of Farewell» (Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn, #2) by Tad Williams (Epic Fantasy, a key influence for George R. R. Martin's « A Song of Ice and Fire») «Tiamat's Wrath» (The Expanse, #8) by James S.A. Corey (Space opera) «The Warrior Prophet» (The Prince of Nothing #2) by R. Scott Bakker (Grimdark/Dark Epic Fantasy inspired by the Crusades, Silmarillion & Dune)

100% my favorite book in the series

I spent money on that book, so you best believe I'm finishing it 😂

Such a great chat, I always love AP's mentorship on becoming better writers and readers. His Erikson meeting story was hilarious 😂 I can totally relate to the struggles of finding the right editor. It really has to be someone that gels with your individual writing

Great assortment!

Hey! Thanks for a great video! I'm so glad you got out of your reading slump. I've been thinking for at least half a day about your comments about Lonesome Dove and I would like to share some thoughts. I want to emphasize that it is by no means to invalidate your thoughts or experience, but I feel that your critiques on the book are actually completely in line with the purpose of the book and I kind of missed it in your review. I empathize anyone not wanting to read the scenes you mentioned. Even as a man, I had a physical reaction of revulsion at some of the scenes. But the purpose of the book seems to me to illustrate a particularly bleak, dangerous and kind of empty life for a lot of the characters (the males as well). The westerns written by McMurtry are intentionally bleak to move away from the then popular trigger happy, plot armor cowboy on the white horse with all the pretty ladies swooning over him. McMurtry tries to be more historically plausible in his novels. As a corollary, it is a world where black people are being treated as second degree citizens and where the position of women is very vulnerable if not supported by a husband or father. Like I said, I understand it is not for everybody. However, I also feel that McMurtry really made these women particularly powerful over many of these boys and men by being smart and playing their cards well. Similarly, I feel he acknowledged how black people were treated in those times, while making the black person in the party one of the smarter and well-respected members. So I think for it's intent, the book delivered very much. So in summary, not trying to invalidate anything you said, just wanted to add this. (also definitely reading Wiesel soon, after your review).

I always love hearing your opinions on books, Tori. Although no 2 people have the same reading taste, I do find your opinions align more closely with my own and your review of Lonesome Dove is giving me pause about picking it up. It's such a long book and everyone raves about it so I bought the book thinking it would be an easy 5 star but I wondered if it might be a bit too dark for me. Your notes about the grim dark aspect and the treatment of women is really great information... it's probably not the book for me.

I finished Earthsea in january and ended up really loving it. Was a first read for me having started the first book last year. Gave me nostalgic d&d vibes reading it, which i found a little amusing since le guin pre-dates dungeons & dragons. 😂

Despite the almost universal praise it gets, I have always felt like Lonesome Dove would not be an Esmay book, and I think you just confirmed that with your review, so thanks for that!! Really glad that most of the other reads were so great though! I really need to get to some Andrew Howard Jones. Hope August treats you well 🤩

Can't imagine not connecting with Ged, his story and Le Guin's way of telling is amazing IMO, though I do have to read beyond Wizard of Earthsea still. On the other hand, I tried Dandelion Wine last year, and did have trouble focusing on Bradbury's rambling poem-prose, and had to (temporarily) DNF, even though I had previously read Something Wicked This Way Comes and totally 5 stared it and loved Bradbury's style, which I had thought kind of a kindred spirit to the way Le Guin writes like fluid dream words. Maybe it's largely a state of mind thing, I've mostly really liked his short stories in the Illustrated Man and want to give Dandelion Wine another go. Have yet to try Fahrenheit 451 (or much dystopian sci-fi for that matter).