 She chose these four books. Oh my God, I'm so dumb. It's about you. I think I've seen white runner many times. We could be meant together. I will weep. I have a stupidly long June TBR. And I equally stupidly agreed. Well, okay, no. When I agreed to allow Bookborn to choose my TBR again, and I'm also choosing her TBR. This, like, we talked about this months ago. So I had time to plan my life in such a way as to accommodate that. And then I just didn't. So it's on me, but nevertheless, I'm complaining about it. But yeah, as you would have seen in my thumbnail, I'm guessing my stack of books is pretty massive. So when I say Bookborn chose my TBR, I mean she chose these four books that I don't know what the, I'm pretty sure I know what one of them is based on like what her little note is, but I don't know what the rest of them are. So these four books, which is like a totally doable amount of things to read in a month. And then I have brought upon myself, well, patrons and other things as well, but then there's also all of these. Bookborn isn't responsible for that. But anyway, I'll tell you about all of them, but I assume that we're almost excited to see what Bookborn chose for me. That's what I'm most excited about. So well, let's find out together. I'll read you what her little notes are unless they seem super private, but I haven't actually looked at the notes either, because I was like, I don't want to know. All right, so I don't know if it signifies that there's three that are wrapped in black paper and one in brown. I'm guessing not. I think probably she's like right out of the black paper, but I guess I'll try to keep track of which one it was that had brown paper and see if I figured that out. Anyway, the brown paper package tied up in strings is hopefully one of my favorite things. She says, super thought-provoking and one of my other top three short story collections. When she says other, I'm assuming it's because she chose paper menagerie for me last year, which was a short story collection. I think that's why other, otherwise, maybe there's another short story collection here. I don't think so though. So I'm gonna hang onto this. I can stick it inside the book. Make sure Kaz doesn't eat the string. I did not individually wrap all of her books because I hate wrapping things. So unless I absolutely have to. All right, the big reveal. Stories of your life and others? Stories of your life and others? I don't know what the title means by Ted Chang. Oh yeah, where's the note? Okay, so super thought-provoking and one of my other top three short story collections. Delivers dual delights of the very, very strange and the heartbreakingly familiar, often presenting characters who must confront sudden change, inevitable rise of automatons or the appearance of aliens while striving to maintain some sense of normalcy with sharp intelligence and humor Chang examines what it means to be alive in a world marked by uncertainty but also by beauty and wonder. An award-winning collection from one of today's most lauded writers, stories of your life and others is a contemporary classic. What I know the name Ted Chang. What else has Ted Chang written? Is there an also by? It's killing me. I definitely know that name. I don't think I've read anything by him but. Well, story of your life, the basis for a major emotion picture. What motion picture? What was it called? Was it called that? Cause that doesn't ring any bells. Okay, I'm Googling it. I know, I know the name Ted Chang. Exhalation? Is that it? I haven't read that but that's what I've heard of, I think. Is exhalation? Arrival, arrival! I haven't read that either but my dad is obsessed with the arrival. He and I saw it together in the cinema and that's the only time I've seen Arrival and my dad has watched Arrival. I don't even know how many times. Four times and he's seen Blade Runner I think and he's seen Blade Runner many times. Okay, that's why the name is familiar to me. And maybe that's, story of your life is that? Oh my God, I'm so stupid. Right there, it says Arrival. Oh my God, I'm so dumb. I could have saved all that Googling but. We're off to a smashing start. Next one, if we do this long enough you'll be forced to read his entire backlog. I'm pretty sure I know what this is. I think you can also probably guess what this is based on. That note and the size of this and who's sending it to me. Oh, I guess I should prove. I have to tell you what I think it is so that I can prove that I didn't just say, oh yeah, of course that is what I thought it was. I think this is Brandon Sanderson's Emperor's Soul. Is that what it's called? I have had a lot of people who know that I don't really like Sanderson that much recommend that to me. And I like the length of it. Emperor's Soul. I don't think I've ever seen this cover. I think I only ever see the UK cover for it. And yeah, with his other books I usually know what both the American and the UK covers look like. But I don't think I've ever seen this cover before. It's a very intriguing cover. Very eerie cover. 10th anniversary special edition, is that all? Okay, well I'm not gonna read the back. It's a Sanderson book. I actually, I think it takes place in the Cosmere? Possibly not. I guess I should find that out. And it's the winner of the Hugo Award. Although that doesn't necessarily signify. Yeah, I'm genuinely looking forward to this. As I have enjoyed Sanderson, I really liked Skyward. I mostly enjoyed Mistborn until the end. So I have the capacity to enjoy Sanderson and so many people have said that I would like this one. Oh my God. Unlike the Ted Chang book, there's definitely a list of previously by Sanderson or also by Sanderson, I shouldn't say previously. Anyway, okay. So we've got Ted Chang and Brandon Sanderson. Okay, this is for our General Feminine Rage. I got her a Feminine Rage book as well. Gotta make sure I get all these strings. Okay, I just need them. Invisible Women. Oh, I think, I think Bookborn told me about this when she was reading it. Data bias in a world designed format. Yeah, I think this is the... I remember her talking to me about a book like this and I think it was this. And if so, it's certainly intrigued when she was talking about it. But yeah, this is a little thick, but yeah. I remember being very much interested in this. So I feel quite hopeful that this will be a good read. And then last but not least, or possibly least actually, I have no idea, is for your general eye-stabbing energy, I think you might have the same issue with the ending I did, but still well worth the read. So this is like, well, not the eye-stabbing. Well, this is like me giving her a string to the doomer and being like, you'll be mad at the end too. We could be mad together. Okay, but eye-stabbing. Also, if you don't know, this is a running joke. That's not even that much of a joke that I tend to like book slash characters that enact violence upon eyeballs. It's just like a recurring trend. Some would say worrying trend. I'm okay with it. And Book Barn is clearly endorsing and encouraging it by giving me more material for that. All right, what is this glorious eye-stabbing book? A Song for the Void by Andrew C. Piazza. I've never seen or heard of this in my life. A mind imprisoned is the greatest of hells. 1853, South China Sea, while on patrol between the opium wars, the crew of the steam frigate HMS Charger pursues a fleet of pirates that have been terrorizing the waters surrounding Hong Kong. But now the hunters have become the hunted. Something else has come to the South China Sea, something ancient and powerful and malevolent. Now the crew of the Charger must face their worst nightmares in order to survive the terrible creature they came to know or they come to know as the Dark Star. A Song for the Void is a haunting terrifying historical horror novel that will keep you turning the pages and jumping at the shadows. That sounds kind of amazing. I'm dismayed by how small the type is and how small the margins are. If it's good, you know, then like you don't want it to end. So that's fine. I'm guessing this is self-published. Was this perhaps an SPFBO? Look, in which case I'm telling on myself for not knowing that when I saw it. Well, it doesn't say anything about that. Not that I would necessarily expect it to. It's pretty new, 2020. Okay, well, yeah. Never heard of this, but it's certainly intrigues. It also looks like a butthole. I'm not loving the cover. But I'm very intrigued by the book, by the content. Okay, and we'll stick the note back in. Also, general eye-stabbing energy. So if nothing else, eyes will be stabbed. I've been promised. All right, so that's what Book Born has chosen for me. We will do live shows like last year, exact date and time, TBD. But we'll talk about the book she picked for me on her channel and the books that I picked for her on my channel, like end of June, beginning of July, around there. So yeah, once more, it was Stories of Your Life and Others by Ted Chang. The Emperor's Soul by Brandon Sanderson. Invisible Women by Caroline Creado Perez. Hope I said that right. And A Song for the Void by Andrew C. Piazza. And yeah, I will squeeze those in between all the other books that I have to read in June, which are as follows. My patrons have chosen for me to vlog for them, mainly because I think they just want to force me to finish this. It's on my list for the year to accomplish. In fairness, though, they're not wrong. Like, I clearly needed a push. Jade Legacy. I purchased the paperback because I don't, I'm not listening to these on audiobook and I find the hardcovers, like genuinely, I think it took me a little bit longer to read Jade War because I had the hardcover. But Jade City, I had the paperback and I could just like, smush it around and like, take it into my bed and just like, you know, yeah, even in paperbacks, it's too massive to read super comfortably. But anyway, yeah, Jade War, I had the hardcover and it's just like more uncomfortable to read. I love collecting hardcovers, but for reading, like physically reading, paperbacks are preferable in my opinion. So I got myself a paperback of Jade Legacy, so I wouldn't have to deal with the giant hardcover. Hopefully that will make this go down easier. I'm pretty anxious about it. I'm not gonna lie. Not because I think I'm gonna dislike it, but because it'll be over. Well, I have the Jade setter of Jan Lune and I've ordered the other novella, but it will be over and I'm very afraid it's gonna break me emotionally and spiritually. I do want to know and I do want to finish it and I want to be able to talk about the whole series and see all the spoilers and everything. So I guess I'm ready guys. And I have my candles. If you don't know, it has become a requirement to light lilac vanilla candles while reading because I did that when I read Jade City because one of the chapters was called the lilac divine and I happened to have a lilac candle. And then I just, that candle kept burning as I continued unstoppably reading Jade City. And that scent is now the scent of the Greenbone Saga. And I continued, I purposely lit that candle when reading Jade War. And I have a backup in case I run out while I read Jade Legacy so it will always smell of lilac and vanilla. So we're ready. It'll be a long vlog though. I like, I have a bad habit of logging the books for my patrons like the last day of the month on one day or at least like the last weekend of the month. This, I can't, I can't do that. That's neither here nor there. I'm reading Jade Legacy, it's happening. Thank my patrons. Then the Red Rising Readalong continues with Dark Age. This is probably my favorite book. Well, the most fun remains Golden Sun but I think the best written book in the Red Rising saga so far is Dark Age. I'm really excited to reread this. Excited feels like the wrong word because it is dark. The live show for this will be on my channel. There will be another giveaway and we will also be announcing the giveaway winner for the Iron Gold giveaway. It'll be a good time. We can all, it'll be support group for the trauma of this book. This will be my third time reading it. Feel like it's kind of masochistic to keep reading this book because it's so dark but yep, then we'll be ready for Lightbringer in July. So I'm pumped. And again, I bought a paperback literally just because this book is massive and the hard cover is annoying to read. Then I joined a book club in my local area recently. I joined in the end of April and in June, we will be reading my first Kurt Vonnegut, Cat's Cradle. I actually before, I bought this for this. I didn't own this before. The only Vonnegut I owned and have not read is Slaughterhouse Five. So I thought that would be my first Vonnegut whenever I got around to it but instead we will be reading Cat's Cradle. I said, I feel like this might be a library copy. I really like the SF Masterworks editions and I saw that it had an hard cover and then it arrived and it's one of those hard covers that's like printed on the thing. And I know European books do that sometimes and it's not like a library copy. But anyway, that's fine. And yeah, I'm excited to finally read Vonnegut and discuss it with the book club that I'm now a part of which is a cool new thing. Then the year of Gaiman continues with Announcy Boys by Neil Gaiman. This will be my second time reading it. I haven't, the first and only time I read this was quite some time ago. So I remember the big things in it but the most of the specifics have left my mind. So I'm really excited to read this. I mean, I would be anyway but because it'll be almost like new. I mean, I know how it ends. But yeah, it'll be almost like new. Also, look at how young Neil Gaiman is on the back of this book. Holy shit, little baby, little baby Neil. I mean, he's still rocking the same aesthetic, same clothes, same haircut, hasn't changed. Yeah, I am. Oh, I think there's a spider on the cover of this. There surely is a spider. Announcy Boys video will be, I haven't decided what kind of video I'm gonna do for Announcy Boys. So I guess we'll find out together. And the Witcher read-along continues with Baptism of Fire by Andrzej Sapkowski. I've been thoroughly enjoying rereading the Witcher books and these gorgeous hard covers are also a joy. And yeah, we will be chatting about it on chapter three podcast on the last Tuesday of June which I have no idea what the date of that is. Oh, I could check. Put my phone over to Google Ted Chang for no freaking reason. The 27th, unless something gets in the way, we will be chatting about this on chapter three podcast on the last Tuesday of June. Yeah, so join us. Then Amara and I are continuing to buddy read the first law trilogy with Before They Were Hanged. I think Amara just told me this morning that she finished the blade itself and is gonna dive right into Before They Were Hanged. Well, also we are like at the end of May. So, yeah. I mean, this is basically still, I mean, unless she plans to read it like in one day, which like I've been known to do but I don't think she plans to do that. Anyway, this is like end of May, beginning of June. She said she might even read last argument of Kings in June. I mean, despite the enormity of my TBR, I am quite happy to stick in another Abercrombie book immediately abandoned everything. I chose to read Abercrombie. I'm perfectly okay with doing that. So anyway, excited to reread this and excited to see Amara's first thoughts and well, general thoughts first time reading Before They Were Hanged. And I really hope she does immediately read the last argument of Kings because I'm dying to know what she thinks of like, you know, the answers and stuff that you get in last argument. But anyway, yes. So, Before They Were Hanged. And as ever, my book of the month club books that I'm not terribly excited. Well, that's not true. One of them I'm pretty excited about. So my book of the month, I chose the last word which is a thriller about like, I believe it's about an author coming for somebody who wrote like a one-star review for their book, which everyone was like, you have to pick that, Lena. It's about you. And I was like, oh God, it's too scary for me. It's gonna feel too real. Me after posting a negative book review, a woman living in a remote location begins to wonder if the author is a little touchy or very, very dangerous. In this pulse-pounding novel of psychological suspends and terror from the critically-claimed author of No Exit and Hairpin Bridge. So yeah, this might be a little too real but I'm kind of excited. But the one that I'm genuinely excited about is A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Tools. I really, really like Lincoln Highway. More than I thought I would. I didn't like Rules of Civility but everyone kind of told me that it wasn't that as good. Everyone who said Rules of Civility wasn't that good was like, a gentleman in Moscow is good. So I was like, all right, well, I'll get that next. And so I did. And I am pretty excited about it because if it's anything like Lincoln Highway, I'm in for a treat. And last but not least, the buddy read with my patrons is, well, we are continuing our read-along or a little mini read-along of the Daughter of Smoke and Bone trilogy. So we are on Days of Blood and Starlight by Lainey Taylor. That is unless they all decide to abandon this buddy read which they have been known to do. So we shall see. We haven't had our chat yet about Daughter of Smoke and Bone. If everybody in the Daughter of Smoke and Bone chat is like, we hate this, Lianna. We want no more of this. I will weep, but I will allow them freedom. I've read this before. I quite like it. So I hope they do too. But if not, it's okay that they're wrong. Those are all the books that I'm gonna attempt endeavor to get through in June. I feel like if there's anything that could hit the chopping block, it's my book of the month from books because it's really only me that's keeping me accountable on those because I don't want to fall behind on them. And I want to beat my book of the month club reading challenge. But the other rest are all obligations in one form or another. I guess Gabyn could also hit the chopping block but also a Nazi boy was pretty short. So it shouldn't really be a problem. I guess I will be very, very busy, very, very busy in June reading all these books. Let me know in the comments down below if you're reading these books as well, if you have read them, if you want to read them, if you never want to read them, whatever you want me to know. I post videos on Saturdays. Other random times as well, I post on Saturdays while I can subscribe. Join my Patreon if you feel so inclined and I'll see you when I see you.