 So most of you all know this year I'm doing a series where each month I go to a different source to get book recommendations, personalized book recommendations, and I read them in order to try and have my best reading year ever. The series is called Year of Wrex. So far we've paid a professional to give me reading recommendations and I've asked you guys to give me reading recommendations and today we're going to be asking my patrons. I wanted to do this after subscribers because it's kind of like a smaller subsection of the subscribers. It's basically the same people, just a smaller subsection. And I feel like my patrons, probably like you guys, but I thought you guys knew me best and that didn't go the greatest. But I feel like my patrons know me very, very well as well. So I think I'm going to get good recommendations from this. This is supposed to be March's episode. I'm starting it in March, but I'm pretty sure it probably won't go up until April. So April will have two year of Wrex episodes go up because March has been so crazy. But listen, my reading year did not start off well in January. But then February and March so far have been really, really positive reading months and I've been getting such high average ratings. I've been above my goal in February and March. So I feel like let's just continue the good vibes and we're going to pick three books for my patrons. I think I'm going to follow the same formula that I did with the subscribers where from their recommendations I'll pick one book from my TBR, one book I've heard of, but for whatever reason have never bought, and then one book I've never heard of is going to be the format we're going to do. And I'm excited. I'm excited to see what we end up reading in this video and hopefully we'll get, I think we haven't had an episode of year of Wrex yet where it's been above a 3.8 average rating, which is what I want my year average rating to be. So hopefully this will be the first episode where we can get that. But yes, let's go get more personalized book recommendations and find out what we're going to be reading in this vlog. Okay, it's time to decide what books we're going to be reading for this and one book I have already decided because I'm pretty sure it's going to be on hit. Yep, first comment. One book I've decided I'm going to be reading for this video is Ask for Andrea because Kirstie in particular, a few other patrons as well, but Kirstie in particular, one of my patrons has been on a One Woman mission to get me through this book. Listen, Ask for Andrea is here. I'm sure there'll be other ones as well recommended me because multiple people have read it. Ask for Andrea, there it is from Jesse. The Kirstie did multiple Ask for Andrea's actually. So Kirstie's known for loving this book and although I do own this book, I am going to choose it as the book that I'd never heard of because if it was not for Kirstie, who is one of my patrons, I never would have heard of it. So I still think it fits the idea of that challenge. Like if Kirstie is the only place and other patrons have read this because of Kirstie, but you know, the only place I've ever heard of this book, I've got me far on my face and it's really annoying me. And the thing is I can never see it, but I can feel it. I'm like, wow. So yeah, I still think it fits the idea of that challenge. So yeah, I'm very excited to read this. We're following three women who were all murdered by the same man and were reading from their perspectives, I think both before and after their death. And I just feel like I could not do this video without reading Ask for Andrea. We need this. This is essential. This is a crisis. But anyway, that's the book we're going to read for that. Now we have to look through the other comments. We've got a lot of them to choose what book we're going to be reading. Now we have a lot of comments. I'm just going to scroll through and see what jumps out at me. Murder Road by Samos and James. That could be an option. I do want to pick books that maybe a few people have recommended, I feel like. The Tainted Cup is another one that I've been eyeing out so far this year. Oh, I do own Little Women. That could be one on my TBR. I don't know if I'm quite ready for that. Oh, actually no, I've got another video planned for that so I can't do that. Oh, Penance by Eliza Clark is one I've heard of but never bought. Reminds me a lot of True Crime Story. It's semi-mixed media, told us if it's a True Crime book but obviously fictional and love theoretically. Oh yeah, love theoretically is highly recommended as well. Okay, those are both options actually. Thank you, Jesse. I'm just going to be like Jesse picks what I read though if I pick all of those. Because it's going to be love theoretically. And Alistair Andrea. The Radium Girls is one that's on my TBR. Oh, the Seven-Year Slip has got a lot of people recommending it. It's a romance with a touch of magical realism and I doored it and I think you would too. Madison Seconds it and Catherine Thirds it. Okay, I don't own that, partly just because I tend to with romance just read from the authors I trust and like authors that I've read from multiple times. So I just have never really thought about reading it but that's interesting. A lot of people are suggesting it. Oh, we've also got a lot of recommendations for Know My Name by Chanel Miller. I don't know if I'm ready for that. I don't know if I'm emotionally prepared but I can't keep putting it off and so many people have told me it's going to be a five star. So maybe I will put that as an option for a book that's on my TBR. Oh, we've got another Penance. Penance? I am pronouncing it. I keep wanting to say Penzance but that's a place. That alone tells you how stupid you are. Interesting, interesting, interesting. Okay, I shall think about that. Piranesi by Susanna Clark, please with with six hearts. I think I'm gonna have to put that on the list as well. Okay, interesting. Thank you Conner. A Latte's Away by Darcy. I do want to read a Latte's Away and that kind of is a five star prediction for me. I've got another Piranesi, oh god, oh god. So far definitely for the books I had heard of but I don't own. I'm feeling definitely it's between Penance the Seven Year Slip and Piranesi. We've got another Piranesi, oh dear god. Oh shit. Okay, okay, okay, okay. Oh, it's time for Mistborn. I do own Mistborn. I own the first Mistborn. Do I want to read that? Oh, another Know My Name recommendation. Oh, we've got mold for Mistborns. Oh shit. Right, it's between The Final Empire and Know My Name by Chanel Miller. We've got a lot of Piranesi recommendations Oh shit. Okay, okay, okay. I'm thinking. You had a brain, you'd be dangerous there. By the way, with all these recommendations, with the ones that you guys sent me and Patreon, I'm reading, I'm gonna read through them later on and look up a lot of these books just in terms of what I'm picking for this video. And for the last one, I like to keep it a bit faster pace because otherwise I'll sit here for like hours looking at all these books names. Another Piranesi. Oh shit. Okay, I think we need to total up the Piranesis and the Seven Year Slip. Right. One, two, three, four, five, six. Okay, six of Piranesi. The Seven Year Slip, there was like some people saying I second this. We've got one, two, three, four. Is that it? Okay. By that logic, I should go with Piranesi. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know what to go for. Should we flip a coin? I feel like I need to flip a coin and then we'll decide, right, what should we say? Let's say Seven Year Slip is heads, Piranesi is tails. Flip it. Tails. We're reading Piranesi. I am scared. I don't know why I'm so scared. And then, should we do the same thing again for either Know My Name by Chanel Miller or The Final Empire by Brandon Sanderson because I feel like they're the two, the two ones that are on my TBR that I saw the most. So we'll do Know My Name heads, Mistborn Tails. We're reading Know My Name by Chanel Miller. Okay. Interesting collection of books. Know My Name by Chanel Miller, Piranesi, and Ask Andrea. I don't know what I'm going to start with, but I feel like it's an interesting selection of books. So we'll see how my patrons do with book recommendations. I'm excited. Firstly, I just want to say, Kirstie, if I say anything bad, please don't be mad at me. I'm feeling so much responsibility reading this book. I'm feeling like the pressure of the world is crushing down on me. I don't mean to make you nervous that much. So much pressure. So, the snob society I told you is really all you need to know is that this man has murdered these three women, and now it says they might be dead, but they're not gone, and they found each other. These girls, they won't rest until they find a way to stop him. And so, yeah, he's mad at all of them. We're following them at different timelines. We'll get on to that in a second. And some of them are following him. Some of them are staying with their body. Some of them are with their families, following the aftermath of their death. And yeah, so I'm dealing with their death and like hating this man, of course, because he's a murderer, and we hate him. He's a trash man. Um, okay. Okay, you might have noticed what I said. No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. This is really overthinking this one. I first want to say, for the most part, I am really enjoying this. It's a very fast read, right? It's a very compulsive read. I've read that first half very, very quickly. And I think that it's paced well. I think it's very intriguing. It's very high stakes. It's very, you know what I mean? It's a good thriller to read. And so that is my overwhelming feeling. I'm enjoying it, you know, I'm enjoying it. But I, no, that's just my thought. I'm enjoying it. Whereas I have some other thoughts that would make you think I'm skewering towards the other side a bit more. At the moment, I'd say it's a four star. Okay? Okay, custody. The biggest problem we have is that it's a split timeline. There's three different timelines going on. Okay? There's three different timelines. And on the back, it says they found each other and they won't rest until they find a way to stop him. I don't think it's spoiled today. That ain't happened. That ain't happened. They're all still separate. None of them have met. I think somebody tried to set me up. I believe that none of them have crossed paths and talked to each other. It's still all separate. And I just think on the back, you're telling me, oh, they're ganging up. They're going to get this man together. And I'm halfway through the book. And that hasn't happened. We got a little bit of a problem. We got a little bit of a problem. And it's a personal thing we know. I don't like split timelines. Or usually, it just seems a little bit boring. Like I want us to just unite. Like when, when I read that substance, I was like, okay, okay, okay. And when I started the book and there were three set timelines, like, it won't be for long. I'm halfway in. I'm halfway in. And this isn't a problem with the book. It's a problem with me. We all know it's a problem I have where I'm much less likely to love a book if it has split timelines. I just think they're difficult to keep me engaged. I feel like, again, I've only, I'm 130 pages in. I've only read 40 pages of each story. I still feel like I'm very much at the beginning. We haven't progressed enough. I need us to unite so that we're progressing as one. There's always a problem I have with split timelines. And there's a few books out there that are split timelines I love. I can't think of them right now. But you guys probably could tell me, oh my god, you love this book. I love split timelines. Yes, I probably did. I probably did. But um, in this, in this case, I think it's impacting my enjoyment a little bit in this book. You know, like I said, it's a very quick read. It's paced very well. But I don't know if the writing is the first one I've ever read. I don't, I think this is maybe self-published. Like I, when I was looking into my spreadsheet, I looked up the publisher. And as far as I can tell, the publishers only published her. Maybe a few pen names that I think could be her. Wait a minute. I'm figuring this out. I'm like Scooby and Shaggy. I'm solving a mystery. So I don't know if it's self-published and I'm just feeling the lack of maybe an editor. This is like conjecture. It says they're publishing it at the very, at the very end indie published. But I feel like it's self-published. Not that I'm dunking on that, but I don't read a lot of self-published or indie published. And so I think I maybe I'm just used to a certain, a book to have gone through a certain machine subconsciously that this hasn't gone through. And I'm sensing that a little bit. Does that make sense? So listen, I'm enjoying it. Kirstie, please. I feel like Kirstie's in the corner of my room watching me and Jesse. I'm enjoying it. I'm enjoying it. I'm enjoying it, but I'm not like obsessed with it. And I'm hoping once their stories unite, I will enjoy it more. So I'm going to finish it tonight. I'll check in with you first thing in the morning on my thoughts. Yeah, I'm enjoying it, but I just want the split timelines to end. Kirstie, why didn't you warn me about the split time? Hello, friends. I finished Ask for Andrea technically this morning, quarter to one this morning. But let's say yesterday. And this is like actually making me anxious. I don't want to talk about it. I don't know what to write this because obviously I could not put this book down. I stayed up until one o'clock pretty much to finish reading this. I never do that. I'm a grandma. I'm a sleep bar 11. Like I had shit to do today. I woke up late because I stayed up late. We're not watching reading this book. The ending to this is so high octane, unputdownable, tense, incredible. I can see how people compare it to no exit. Like I could not put this book down, not knowing what happened. Like you are in it. You are in the moment. You are like, oh my God, all consumed by it. However, I still have more critiques of it. Kirstie, look away. Now, my only other critique that I didn't mention to you in the last clip is that for something that has three perspectives, these women all have the same voice and that is another big bugbear of mine is that when we have multiple perspectives, they're not having a distinctive voice. Otherwise, what's the point? It's the truth. We got to a point like just after I checked with you from like kind of the half to three quarter mark where the timelines were shifting a lot and I could not remember which woman was which. I could not remember which backstory. Like when I was reading a perspective, I'm like, which one are you? I was getting parts of each other's story confused and mixed up with one another. And I think that's because they all sounded the same. They all sounded exactly the same in terms of a writer voice, which is another pet peeve of mine. So I really, I've been thinking all day, I do not want to rate this. I'm stuck between a 3.5 and a four is kind of my rating. Like part of me is like, I stayed up until one o'clock to finish this that is surely deserving of a four. But then I feel like I do have some valid issues with it. Oh my God, Kirsty, look away. Don't, don't, don't. I can't, I can't look you in the eye. I don't know what my rating is. I got to come down on a side. I've literally been going back and forth all day because that ending is great. But the writing, I don't think the writing in this is wonderful. And there was a lot of points I was reading this. I was like, I don't quite get what I think everyone else is getting, you know? I think I see when I finish it last night, I was like, okay, that's a four then. But I now I think in the cold line of day when I have to look back on it, I think I'm giving it a 3.5. I think I'm giving it a 3.5. Kirsty, are we mad at me? I'm sorry that my behavior has upset people and I've never intentionally set out to upset anyone. I still very much enjoyed it. I think there's wonderful elements to this, but then I think there's a few issues that I had with it. Also guys, how exciting. Piranesi arrived today, but I'm going to start. I've actually got reading sprints on my patrons in a second. I'm going to start Know My Name by Chanel Miller and try and get halfway through tonight. I'm trying to like mentally prepare myself. I've got the audiobook as well. I'm trying to like prepare myself for what a difficult read and distressing read I know this is going to be, but an important one. So I don't want to say I'm excited, but I am looking forward to finally giving this book the space that I think it deserves. So we've got both the rest of the books now for this vlog and also arrived my order of How to Solve Your Own Murder. Oh, I said that weird. How to Solve Your Own Murder, which I bought in my last vlog and I just, I'm so excited to read this. I think this could be a 5 star. I'm very, very excited to read this one. I also just want to take a moment, I've been thinking about this a lot, to give a shout out to my patrons. I cannot tell you guys, those of you who are not part of the patron community, what an incredible community it is. Truly, these are some of the people I'm closest to. These are people I love chatting with. The discord has grown so immeasurably. The reading sprints we do, the comments I get on my posts on there, the Zoom calls because I do Zoom calls with the Team Rural patrons every month. The Zoom calls where I get to chat with people and like, I was on a Zoom call last weekend and Tom was like, we heard you from upstairs like laughing so loudly because I just love the people that I've gotten to know on the patron and I just want to give you guys a shout out. Those of you who are on the patron. A, thank you for supporting me and like helping me do this is my job because we'll get into that in a second. But B, thank you for being such wonderful people and people that I love. I can't look at the camera. But yeah, people that I love very much. And also, you know, I think like a bit of like behind the scenes creator, you know, the way that this shit works. For those of you who don't know, patron is my most stable form of income. But most months, bar a few every year, it's my highest form of income. Patron is really the reason I'm able to do this is my job. And for any of you who have supported me at any time, I know some people have to come and go because of financial situations. Some people just want to support for a couple months and some people stay. Thank you from the bottom of my heart because I'm now in a place where I'm earning enough for the patron to start wanting to break the mold with some of the stuff I'm doing here on YouTube. And patron is really what gives me the stability to do that because I'm going to take some risks in the rest this year with the videos I want to make with the projects that I want to do with the size and the kind of ambition of the projects I want to make on YouTube. And that might mean like some weeks, I don't post three times a week. At the moment, I'm supposed to post three times a week, one week and two another week. But that might mean cutting back on a few videos here and there to make these really ambitious projects that I've always wanted to make. And patron really is the thing that as a creator allows me allows me to do that, you know, like full transparency. It's an incredibly important tool, like it's why I always try and support some of my favorite creators on there because it truly gives you the space to do that. And so, you know, this is not me like trying to like beg, but you know, my cheapest tier on there is three pounds a month. That's like the cost of a coffee. How often do we get a coffee or hot chocolate or a sandwich or a little cake somewhere without thinking twice about it. But sometimes I think like committing to this, you know, fee to give to our favorite creators or whatever every month, the subscription is a little bit daunting. But my cheapest subscription is three pounds a month. And with that, you get access to weekly reading sprints, movie nights, the whole discord, there's loads of stuff. I can't even begin to tell you the amount of stuff that you get access to with that. And I do, I do truly believe it's worth it. So I guess it's just my way of saying, if you've ever thought about it, you know, if 10 of you watching this video was something to the patron, if 20 of you watching this video was something to the patron, it would make a massive difference to me and my life, like truly, truly, like I have a kind of in my brain goal I would want to get to by the end of the year. And it would take maybe, let's say, 50 to 80 more people joining right over the course of the rest of the year. And like, you guys don't realize the power that you have as an audience through, yes, monetarily supporting your favorite creators and able us to make bigger, better, more ambitious content, you know? So that was kind of like a thank you to my patrons who I love dearly. And also kind of an explanation to you guys who may be, you know, I see the patron as an extension of you guys, because everyone's come from here, right? But the power that it has for me as a creator is immeasurable, like the power you're giving me and the power that you have as an audience is immeasurable. So yes, anyways, love you. I'm literally about to hop on to Reading Sprints right now with my patrons, and we shall start, no, my name. I've got the audiobook, like a lot of you have recommended me on the patron, a lot of people recommend it. So I'm very, very, very, very much, yeah, I'm nervous, but I am looking forward to starting this now. Hello, friends. I just have to kick raw off of my lap to film this clip for you. I hope you feel lucky and blessed. Also, my dog's a hair. I sleep with these whenever Tom's not here, because I have to cuddle something, and these are my dogs for my childhood. Just if you hear me, if you hear their, their paws. I just realized I was like touching its paws, and you're like, what is that noise? Okay, I'm feeling weird right now. I'm feeling like so weird. Anyways, on a more serious note, I am about halfway through, Know My Name by Chanel Miller, and like, this is an incredible book. This is an incredible book, objectively. It's, oh, we'll get into it. So this is the memoir of, if you don't know, Chanel Miller was the woman identified as Emily Doe, who was raped by the Stanford swimmer, Brock Turner, and this is her telling her story, and it begins from the night that she goes to the party where the incident happened and kind of takes you through, and it is an incredibly powerful narrative. She writes this so well. She is an incredible, incredible author. Like, the way the cadence of the words, the way she describes things is so beautifully written with such tenderness that I absolutely, I'm awe, I mean awe that this is a debut, and she's able to write about these incidences with such tenderness, such gentleness with her words, but also such impactfulness. I am up to the point now where the trial is happening. She is just testified in the trial, and I think some of the strongest parts of this were the night that happened, and basically she does not remember it happening. She kind of blacks out and then wakes up in hospital, and the way that she moves through the things happening to her at the hospital in this kind of days is a very strange, you know, as a reader, you're absorbing so much of what she's feeling, or maybe not even feeling, not even realising the kind of magnitude of what's happening, and afterwards, and kind of the time afterwards, she is just violated again and again and again and again. Like, the horror of what he did to her is not isolated to that one night. It continues for years as moments where stuff she'd said at the hospital to the nurses is brought up, is brought up in the trial, and she's like, where can I say something? Where can I be safe if it's not there? Where can I feel protected if it's not there? And just, yeah, just the way that her violation continues is very heartbreaking. So I don't know, this feels like a thing that's almost impossible to rate because her experience is so harrowing and her writing is so important and, you know, etc, etc. What does my opinion on, you know, how impactful everything came together into the book for me? At the moment, if I had to get your rating, it's probably like a 4.5, just because it doesn't feel like a 5 in terms of, like, that elusive 5-star feeling, I hope doesn't make it seem like I'm not seeing the importance that this book has and the magnitude that this book has, but that sounds like stupid. Like, just, what does it matter when giving up a 4.5 when she's laying her soul out like this? I think I can't over how incredible the quality of her writing is. So I'm going to keep listening to it. The audiobook as well, she narrates the audiobook very, very powerfully. So this is the kind of book that I feel like everyone should read. Did you know what I mean? I think everyone can learn from this and take from something from this, and this is important. It's important how we view sexual assault in our society and the attitudes that we have and how we treat these victims and the way that the justice system continues to violate them. I think it's very important for everyone to read. So I'll let you know when I finish it at my final rating, but it is a very, very impactful book. Hello, friends. Sorry if I look an absolute mess. We just went on a very windy walk. We saw a frog. I'll show you the frog. Let's look at another frog. But I have finished, I want to take my, keep losing my bookmarks because I leave them in books and I read books in such quick succession that I then don't know what book I left them in and then I'm too lazy to find them, put them in the next book. So let me just put that in piranhas now. Oh, you poor cow. I finished My Name by Chanel Miller and I loved this. This is going to be a 4.5. And listen, me not giving it a 5, it's deserving of a 5. Why am I not giving it a 5? I don't know. I've only had three, five stars this year and five star is just that feeling, you know? But I think objectively this is a five star. Just in terms of my rating, I'm giving it a 4.5. This is so incredible. And I don't, Chanel Miller, I, you know, I think this book proves there'll be some people in the world who view her just as the victim of this sexual assault by this man and everyone knows his face and oh, what a promising swimmer he was. But she is so much more than that. That is not what defines her. And with this book, she really lays that out. And oh my gosh, it's, it's incredible. The way she writes about feelings and particularly, I mean, I would recommend the audiobook hearing her narrate it, but particularly hearing her narrate her victim impact statement that she gave at the sentencing was incredibly, incredibly powerful. I think this is a must read for everyone. It's a very difficult read. So I would say wait to read it until you're in the right headspace. But I think it is a book that I'm going to very much widely recommend to people in my life. I think there's a lot of people that would benefit from reading this. I, I cannot imagine the bravery that it takes to write about this in this way. It's this book is so bold and brave, yet soft and gentle at the same time. It's truly incredible. Wow, I can't, I'm excited to see because I think she's spoken about wanting to write more stuff in the future. Her writing is absolutely, absolutely incredible. The only reason it's not a five-star for me was there were moments where I felt like the pacing, if you can call it that, was a little bit off, and there were a few sections that dragged. But again, that's like a very minute thing. And I don't want, you know, that's a very small critique. And in some ways, I feel like this book is kind of above critique. I loved it. What a great recommendation from everyone. I'm already like looking back at it and feeling like I need to read it a second and a third time to truly take it in. It was outstanding. It was absolutely outstanding. And I think, yeah, just a book that everyone, everyone should read. I am now going to read our last book, Piranesi. I'm surprised by what quick read this is. I actually have the audio book for this. I got it ages ago, like it's all the way back in my audible catalog. I must have got it in like a two for one sale or a two 99 sale, one of the sales they do. I am a bit nervous to read this one. It's gotta get a sip of water. Because I know it's a little bit weird and a little bit meandering, and sometimes that's a five-star for me, and sometimes it's not. So we shall see. But I'm going to go and start it and hopefully I'll get maybe about halfway through tonight and let you know my thoughts. Good morning, friends. I am just under halfway through Piranesi. I think it's, I've been saying Piranesi, and in the audio book they say Piranesi. I prefer really not to, not to speak. If I speak I am in big trouble, in big trouble. I firstly don't even know what synopsis to give you. I've gone into this not knowing a synopsis and I think that might be the best way. There's Piranesi who lives in this house with loads of rooms and hallways and vestibules and statues and all these things, right? He lives in the house and he has these notebooks and he meets with the only other guy who he believes lives, is alive in the world like twice a week or something. They meet for these scientific meetings and it's just him and his diaries and him walking around this house and meeting the other, okay? And the first 70 pages of this is a slog. Oh my god. I was like picturing myself having to come to you at this check in and be like I'm so bored. I hate it. Like I don't understand the point of this. I'm so sorry. I apologize to everyone who recommended this to me. But since then a lot of interesting things have been happening and there's obviously a lot going on. Like there's obviously gonna be a big twist. There's obviously a lot going on underneath the surface of this and there's a lot of interesting clues coming to help you figure that out. But I, I don't, I really don't know what I think of this book yet. I haven't sussed out. I haven't sussed it out. I know a lot of things but I don't know about that. I'm not sure why. It's a very weird, very unique book and I just, I just don't, I can't take off my mind on my opinions of it. I mean those first 70 pages, oh I was not into it. I was not into it. I think it's a little bit House of Leavesy. Which if you read House of Leaves, it's kind of, this is obviously a much shorter version but like reality is very much not on our side and like it's all a bit untethered and a little bit strange. And listen, there's some strange untethered formality books that I love. This one, I don't know. I don't know. And House of Leaves was a very interesting reading experience for me because there were moments in that book that were five stars for me. There were moments in that book that were one star. So I think I gave it like a three star in the end but I think I feel similarly about this. There's moments in this where I feel like I'm dragging myself through mud and then there's moments where I'm like oh my god this is pure genius and I can't wait to see how it turns out. I can't wait to see how this turns out. I really do not, I have not figured this book out yet and I think maybe it's the kind of book that you have to finish to figure it out. It's very unique but I don't know and I've got a lot of theories. That's the fun thing about this book. I've got a lot of theories about what could be happening underneath the surface. Yeah, I really, I cannot give you a concrete opinion yet. I really don't know what my opinion is. I'll see you when I've finished it but it could go either way. I'm gonna be able to see. I could end up giving this a two star. I could end up giving it a five star if it lays me at the park. I really, truly do not know. I don't want to talk about it. I don't want to talk about it. I just didn't get this, okay? Some people seem to get it and I did not. But it's not what I paid for. It's not. It sucks. It's fucking horrible anyway. I don't want to see but I even got the like more expensive hardback because I was so convinced. Look at this. Look at this shit. I was so convinced I was gonna love it. It just wasn't for me. Here's the thing. I'm gonna give this a three star. I can see that this has merit to it. I can see it's wonderfully written. I can see there's probably meaning behind the surface if you connect with it. I just didn't. This is a story about a guy in a lot of rooms. And here's the thing. I was expecting more from the twist. There wasn't a twist. The twist is just saying what I believe is self-evident throughout the entirety of the book, which maybe I should have expected because I think that's more of a literary fiction thing to do. Like the characters realise the thing you've realised all along. But I was expecting it to be that and then some. Do you know what I mean? Like that and that and there wasn't. It was just that. I'm very disappointed. I'm very sad. I'm almost heartbroken. There wasn't anything more to it. So yeah, I'm giving it a three because I can see the value in it but I was so bored and I did not want to pick this book up at all. At all. Like there are moments I should have read it today where I was like cooking. I didn't want to do that. I just wanted to listen to like my favourite book podcast or something. Do you know what I mean? I want to, when I'm reading a book, I want to want to read it. I want to be looking forward to the moment I get next to read it. I want to be angry at the moments that I can't read it. Alas, I did not want to read this at any moment. I, yeah, I don't, why do everyone recommend this to me? I guess I can see why. I think my level of like weird, we don't know the truth of what's happening is less literary perhaps and more like spooky, oaky, kooky, creepy. I don't, I don't know. I don't know but alas, this wasn't for me. It reminded me of studying religious, when I did religious studies and we studied like Plato and the cave. Plato and the cave. Do you know the shit I'm talking about with the people looking at the cave? I felt like I was back in RS class and I don't want to be back in RS class. I left that behind like six years ago. Jesus Christ. I'm getting old guys. I'm getting old. I'm getting old. I'm getting older. I don't know if I can, if I want all this drama all the time, if I'm being honest. Thank you to everyone who recommended this to me. In what instance, I can see Madeline Miron era in Rawkinson blurred it. So I guess I can see why people think I enjoy this but it just wasn't for me. So that brings the score or the average rating of the patron episode of Year of Rex to a 3.66, which is the best we've had so far. Let me just say that. That is currently the one. But that is below my average rating for the year so far still. I have yet to have a episode of this where it's given me 3.8 average rating or higher, which is the whole point of this series. I'm yet to have a five star from this series, but we're not giving up hope. I've got some really fun episodes coming. So I'm hopeful that we're going to get the episode where I love the books. But that hasn't really happened yet. This is definitely our most successful episode so far because we're going to help if I can speak because we have a 4.5 as well. So you know, there's positives to take but yes, the patron is winning but at what cost? It's winning but I hope that they don't say the winner because I hope every other episode in this series we get higher than a 3.6. At least give me a 3.7. At least get what I usually get from average rating. 3.66 is our highest. So what a dire strength we're in. Anyways guys, I hope you enjoyed this video. Let me know, do you think I would have been- I feel like sometimes I keep picking the wrong ones but it's not my fault. I keep trying to pick them in fair ways. Like should I have read the seven year slip instead? Should I have read the final empire instead? Do we think that would have been more successful? Let me know your thoughts. Thank you guys so much for watching and I'll see you very soon in another video. Bye!