 So we're behind but it's fine. It's wonderfully fluffy. We do love that. I will just keep re-reading Leo Cruz books. Thanks a lot guys! I smell like I'm busy in January. Happy New Year! It has been a minute since I posted a video. I intended to maybe try to do some filming over the holidays but I just couldn't be arsed. I just wanted to enjoy my holiday. Not worry about creating or posting content. So we're behind but it's fine. So starting the year off with a TBR that is quite late. I've already read some of what's on this TBR but we're still doing it. And yeah, first TBR of the year. See if we remember how to film videos. The first book on my TBR is Ludd in the Mist by Hope Merlis. This is the Blades and Bodice Rippers book club pick, my pick. And if you missed the announcement, if you missed the decision, it was actually during our last Blades and Bodice Rippers book club meeting that we decided this, that we are now the book club that dresses up. So we've been dressing up for Halloween, for when we do our Halloween book slash live show. But we just have so much fun dressing up. We were like, why don't we just dress up every time? And we only do it quarterly now so dressing up four times a year is not that much. So anyway, the live show for this will be on my channel. And because this is about a sort of like fairy land that's on the border of a normal town, we're all dressing as Faye for the live show for it. I've got my stuff ready to go for that. I'm excited to see what the ladies will wear as well. But yeah, this is a pre-Tolkenean fantasy. And that's the main reason I've picked it. Because I like to pick kind of like genre progenitors and kind of like history lessons for the genre. Whether or not they end up being enjoyable is a different matter. But that's what I like to do. And I believe the ladies are also doing that this year with different genres. So this is a kind of the history of fantasy pick. I think we're going to be doing a history of mystery, history of romance. So we tentatively made some choices, but I don't know that they have pinned down for sure the books they want to do for their quarters. So I'm sure we will come to some decisions during the live for Let In The Mist at the end of January. Next up is the book that my patrons and I, it was the runner up to our official buddy read. So I was like, let's do it too, because I want to read it. And it was like off by one vote. So we're just doing both. And that is Northern Lights or the first book in his dark materials or The Golden Compass. I primarily have UK copies. I have several editions as I am what to do. Yeah, so we're reading Northern Lights, Golden Compass January, then February, we're reading The Subtle Knife, and in March we're reading the Amber Spyglass. This is a reread for me. The whole of his dark materials is a reread from me, but I am excited to re-experience this lovely little series. And then the other patron buddy read read along is the Warlord Chronicles by Bernard Cornwall. So in January, we are reading The Winter King. And then in February, we will be reading Enemy of God. I think it's called and the next caliber in March. I think I have the titles and order correct on that. So the Winter King. I was going to say that this will be my first Bernard Cornwall and it should be my first Bernard Cornwall, but I may or may not have started reading a Bernard Cornwall book that is not on my TBR already this month. Then for the year of gay men that I'm doing, the first book we are reading or I'm reading or that is being read in January because I'm reading them in publication order is Neverware. And yeah, this will be my third time reading Neverware. It's not one of my favorites, but it's gay men, so it's fine. Then the book that my patrons have chosen for me to read and vlog for them is Children of Time by Adrian Tchaikovsky. I've read Guns of the Dawn, and I think that's the only Tchaikovsky I've read. I own The Tiger and the Wolf that series. I haven't read it though. So this will be my second Tchaikovsky. Pretty sure. Yeah, I don't think I've read. I'm fairly certain I've not read any other Tchaikovsky. This is, I think, his most famous, best known. And it won the Arthur C. Clark Award. All I know about this is spiders. Spider people. I'm pretty sure. I might be wrong about that, but I believe this is about aliens that look like spiders or something like that. It's also very, very long. So thanks a lot guys. It's not like I'm busy in January. So yeah, I mean I've heard a lot about this despite the fact that I know very little about the details. So I'm looking forward to this, but we'll see how it goes. Then my stack is in size order to make it a stable stack. So this is, the next book is like part of another book that's lower down in my stack due to size. But Queen Amid Ashes is the short story collection, the second short story collection in the world of the Sun Eater. The first short story collection was The Last Year Devil and Other Stories. This is Queen Amid Ashes and Other Stories. So Alex and I, the other book in the stack is Ashes of Man, which we are reading and doing a live for in January or the beginning of February. But we're also reading this bind up because this also just came out. So Queen Amid Ashes. But next to my stack is Not Ashes of Man. It is another Patreon read-along buddy read thing. We are doing a read-along for The Book of the New Sun by Gene Wolfe. And we are doing patron only live shows for them as well, separate from the regular Patreon buddy read. In January, we are reading Shadow of the Torch fur. Then in February, we'll read Claw of the Conceliator, etc, etc. This is the first three will be rereads for me and then the Citadel of the Autarch and Earth of the New Sun will be new for me. So I'm very excited to be rereading and finishing The Book of the New Sun. Next up I have another read-along buddy read. Erin from Bookton Busy, as I mentioned in my read-along plans announcements video, invited me to read with her the Five Warrior Angels series. So the first book is The Forgetting Moon. And the text is pretty big, so that's something. And it is wonderfully floppy, so we do love that. But yikes, it's a very long look. Anyway, I am excited to read this and I'm excited to chat about it with Erin on her channel towards the end of the month. I actually, if she has told me the exact date, then I don't remember. But we will chat about it. And yeah, next up is another read-along. That's all I do nowadays. So on Chapter 3 podcast this year, we are doing a semi-year-long Witcher read-along. So in January, we are reading The Last Wish by Andrea Sapkowski. And we are doing live shows now instead of pre-recorded videos. So the last Tuesday of every month, we're doing our live shows for the Witcher read-along. So we'll be chatting about The Last Wish, the last Tuesday of January, and then in February, the last Tuesday of February, we will be chatting about sort of destiny. These are all rereads for me. The only Witcher book that I've not read, and that we are going to be reading for this read-along is Season of Storms. That will be new to me. These are all rereads for me. They are mostly not rereads for Bethany. I think Bethany might have read The Last Wish already, at some point before. But for the most part, this will be all new to Bethany. So it's just like first law. All rereads for me and all new to Bethany. So anyway, do come and join us if you've read this before. If you plan to join us for reading it now, it should be good time. Next up is Ashes of Man by Christopher Akiyoth, which I will be reading and chatting about with Alex from Alex Pnevus. I think we are back to my channel because we go back and forth. So I think we did Kingdoms of Death on Alex's channel. So I think it's my turn to host for Ashes of Man, which will be chatted about soon. Well, not that soon, end of January. But that's pretty soon. I did actually start reading Kingdoms of Death, rereading Kingdoms of Death because I was like, I don't think I remember the details. So I am glad that I decided to do that because even I've been about like probably like a third of the way through Kingdoms of Death right now. And I was like, oh, thank God I did this. I forgot like half of this. So soon as I finish Kingdoms of Death, I'll actually read Ashes of Man, which I am very much looking forward to. And then last are my Book of the Month Club books, one of which I actually already finished. So at the end of the year, Book of the Month Club subscribers get they like vote on the best book of the year. And then there's like, well, the top five and then of that top five, the best book of the year. And then in your last box for free, you get a copy of like one of those like finalists. And among the finalists, the only one that I had not already read and possibly hated, the only one that I had not read that I was actually like possibly interested in was The Lincoln Highway by Amor Tolles. I don't think that's what you say. And this is the book that I've already finished. This is the first book I read in 2023. And I really, really liked this. So yay, I don't know that I mean, maybe I would have picked it up without that being the reason but certainly wouldn't have picked it up that soon. So I did really like this, but I'll talk about it more in my wrap up. And then the book that it was like my book of the month in December was The Circus Train by Amida Pari. And we'll see how this goes. I have seen the Canadian cover because I think Book of the Month also has the Canadian box. And the Canadian cover is way better. Why are US covers always shitty except for because except for a Sun Eater. Sun Eater US covers are pretty fantastic. A War of Forbidden Love One Girl's Survival 1938. Lena Papadopoulos. Aw, they folded my dust jacket. Crooked jerks. And those are all the books that I will be reading in January, or at least those are the books that I will for sure read in January. As you know, I've already, I'm reading Kingdoms of Death which is not even on my TBR and a Bernard Cornwall book that is not on my TBR. But somehow I will also get through all of these books. And I don't have it in my stack right now but in theory I'm reading The Spider and the Cuckoo again per the read-along. I don't know exactly when and where I'm doing these live shows. I will just keep rereading Leo Kuru's books until such time as people are ready to do live shows about them. So like kind of also on the TBR are The Spider and the Cuckoo, which I just read in December, but I will read them again, no problem. So yeah, let me know in the comments down below your thoughts and feelings about the books that I will be reading. If you'll be joining, me slash us slash whoever on any of the buddy reads, read alongs, things that are happening, whatever you all, you know. I post videos on Saturdays, other random times as well, lovely Saturdays, so like and subscribe, join my Patreon if you feel so inclined, and I'll see you when I see you.