 Well, hello. I haven't done a vlog for my main channel in a really really It's Mainly because I can't be ours to do it because I do a vlog for my patrons every single month and vlogs are a ton of work And doing one a month has been you know More than enough in terms of like time and effort, but I do miss doing it for my main channel and right now Where I because I if you may have noticed I didn't post anything in November the only thing I did in November was a patron vlog and So I'm trying to get back to doing videos But like the idea of sitting down and doing like a a proper sit down like put up the lights on and put my makeup on and Like sit down and talk books like I just cannot I cannot and even though a vlog is more work Both to film and to edit that seemed like less of a burdensome task to me because I Guess because even though it's more work. It's sort of like integrated into your day So the stuff that you're like already doing you just like it takes longer to do each thing all day because you film it But you're not doing something that you wouldn't be doing. I guess talking to the camera So anyway, I thought I'd do a festive holiday vlog just cozy and reading and that's what a reading blog is and Also because I do owe you two months worth of wrap up and a TBR I thought I would just kind of like work those into the vlog The TBR is definitely easier and more straightforward the wrap up is well I don't know if you can see from here That stack is the wrap up that I need to do So I don't even know if I'll do it all at once Maybe I'll sit down and do half and then half again later. I don't know. We'll figure it out But I just carried over my TBR stack, which you should have seen What I sat down. Let's quickly talk about those books. There's one book that I won't tell you about cuz it's a secret. Oh also yesterday When originally I thought maybe possibly I'd sit down and do proper videos I don't know what it was, but there was something going on in the park It's like a block from me like not just like a party like an event There was a Ferris wheel and like loud music that was getting louder and louder and louder as they even went on to the point Or like I just went to my parents house because I couldn't handle the noise Nobody will develop anything anyway. So anyway The my December TBR is is pretty manageable. I would like to think anyway So so the first book That I just started reading this morning put the jacket back on it is Murder at Holly House, which I know nothing about except that I saw this on waterstones and it arrived a little bit Up, which I'm pretty upset about but um, it's beautiful sprayed pages and it's like all I know is it's like a Christmas a British Christmas Romance romance. What am I saying mystery murder mystery? I like murder mysteries and I like Christmas and This is pretty so that's all the thought that way It's both the purchase and the choice to put it on my TBR, but I'm looking forward to it Then my patrons and I are continuing our little read-along of the Hornblower books We are at Hornblower and the Hotspur, so we're gonna read it in December and talk about at the beginning of January I'm very much looking forward to this. I've been really enjoying the Hornblower books. Then I got this from Waterstones as well It doesn't have these sprayed pages, but it is signed by the author the Christmas appeal also like a Christmas mystery, but then my patrons were telling me that you have like should or have to have read a Non-Christmasy like other book that came first that this is like a Christmasy follow-up to it to make sense of it And that also it's like a more of like a puzzle than a book where You're kind of like given the pieces and you kind of have to put it together I think I think it's something like that Anyway, it's more interactive in some in some capacity, so I was like I don't like that I'll try it. We'll see how it goes. So this it's tiny anyway, then the my patrons and I oh, I should move this up Technically this one won, but it was so close It was like nearly a tie and I was like fine. We can do both or not long So my patrons and I are reading together for our like official patron buddy read for the month of December. Shush out there People truck We are reading both The Wizard of Earthsea and the Christmas a Christmas carol. I have read a Christmas carol before but I got this new edition of it I've never read the Wizard of Earthsea. I've always meant to read the Earthsea books So I got this cool edition of it and then I also got a bind-up that well, I bought like I went crazy I bought all of the Earthsea books in these editions But then I also bought a bind-up which I did not realize was a bind-up of the same books that I had just purchased because I Think it's called the books of Earthsea or something. Is the name of the bind-up, but in fairness to me There is an installment called tales of Earthsea that is also an individual book in this and it's not a bind-up So how was I to know that tales of Earthsea is an installment, but the books of Earthsea is not an installment So I own both now The bind-up is pretty unwieldy. So I will be reading the individual installments, but the bind-up is nice So anyway Yeah, I'm very much looking forward to this if for no other reason than that everyone else has read this Except for me it feels like and my dad's been recommending it for ages. It says it's illustrated I see one illustration which I mean is more than most books have in fairness I think this is the only illustration Whereas Christmas Carol this edition has so many illustrations So anyway, we're gonna read them and talk about them for December then another Christmas-y book the winter spirits Do we need to be crowing right now? Traumatizing my kitty My patrons would know I guess you wouldn't know that there's an ongoing war betwixt Mine kitty and the crows of the neighborhood. She had like a had it out with them. It was quite dramatic So tensions are high today Yeah, in a previous vlog. I think in like early autumn or late summer or something It was it was quite intense cast versus the crows So anyway a Christmas-y book the haul the winter spirits ghostly tales for frosty nights This is an anthology of like spooky stories, which I love the old-timey tradition of like telling ghost stories at Christmas because I prefer spookies Like the woman in black which I love the woman in black in general. I do recommend that It's what I think the framing device for I'm trying because I've seen the play of it as well I've read the book and I've seen the play and I think it's in both the book and the play But the framing device for it is that someone is telling the story as a ghost story at Christmas Any hoesies, so this is ghost stories for Christmas. I picked it up where it came on my radar because I Was looking for Bridget Collins books because I really enjoyed the two of hers I think she has only published two The betrayals and the binding so then when I was searching for Bridget Collins This came up because she's one of the contributing authors to it And then also Karen Millwood Hargrave I've only read one book by her but I liked it and Natasha Pully who I've always meant to read but have I have a bunch of her books But I've read them and catch her on a ward who wrote the last house on needless state Which needless street which I very much enjoyed so I'm looking forward to this anthology and at the very least it is stunning So It's pretty if nothing else and then last and probably least who knows Is my very last book of the month club book because I canceled The Helsinki affair by Anna Pitoniak One of my I think my app actually I hadn't thought of it until this moment But this is a perfect way to end because the very first book that I ever got from book of the month club Was one of her books was her first book Necessary people and it took me a million years to read it, which is why I hadn't really thought of this before Because I was like yeah, I'll read it. It was a thriller and I was like I'm sure it's fine And then like literally years later. I finally read necessary people and was like, oh my gosh This was so good. This was so much better than like a normal thriller Like it like it felt like it would kind of like I was like, oh, I think I know where this is gonna go I know how thrillers go and it didn't like it went in a quite different direction and I was so impressed with it so I was like thinking of probably canceling book of the month club by the end of the year and This is the first time I've seen this author again, and I was like, oh, well, I'm picking that This is um, I think it's a spy thriller and Yeah, first and last that actually like I love the symmetry of that This feels like the universe is confirming my decision to cancel the book of the month I'm I am looking forward to it. So anyway that and then one other book, which I can't tell you about Well, I could but I'm choosing not to because my patrons are very kindly for December for the vlog that I do for my Patience every single month They they pick and vote on a book for me to read for that blog. So like I don't choose when I'm reading for it But so on the poll and it won by a landslide For December was Leanna chooses something that she thinks that she will love So I've chosen something. I know what it's going to be. I'm pretty excited about it. I am Not much better at choosing books for myself than other people. I think there's a pretty good chance that I will like it And I'm pretty excited about it. So I'm not I haven't told my patrons what it is. It'll be a surprise To everyone I guess Yeah, and then later today We'll talk about that Situation which is October and November because a lot of November I spent just like reading all like a bunch of books that I didn't manage to get through in October plus a few more Actually, there's a book missing from the top of that stock. There's that plus one more So I did good. I did good Still a few that I need to read like light bringer Yeah, I just thought I'd have a cozy day read some Christmasy books. I Was thinking of making some festive food. I was thinking of making like a squash and sage risotto and maybe some Roasted broccolini and I have some blueberries. This isn't festive I suppose But I was thinking of making like lemon blueberry muffins to use up the blueberries. Yeah Yeah, just hang out so yeah welcome and Lovely dinner. Um, I think I'm finally ready to do my reading a wrap-up or at least Well, we'll give it our best shot My massive tummy books is it? 26 books Over two months. That's not shabby. All right, let's get them This is a terrible idea. All right. Well, they're a bit out of order now. I'm pretty sure I'm really sure Oh, no, we're gonna do our best Because you know stop it first book that I read in October October was fall of Hyperion, which is hey, don't do that. Oh My patrons and I were My god, be quiet. My patrons and I Were ostensibly doing a read-along of the Hyperion cantoes Um, I had read Hyperion and fall of Hyperion before and I had not finished the cantoes So the plan was to reread the first two and then read the third and fourth ones, but I Already didn't I already didn't like the first one as much as I remember liking it and then I really didn't like this very much the second time I was like, I don't I think I must have like rose colored glasses Been giving it the benefit of the belt first time so I was like God, this is not good Anyway, so we decided collectively To not continue with Hyperion cantoes and I shan't be finishing the cantoes ever I don't think unless there's a very specific reason for me to Definitely peaked at book one and even book one. I think is best on the first read It's not so great on the reread then Possibly next. Oh God, these are definitely out of order. Okay. Well Early in October. I know it was pretty early in October. I read Joyland by Stephen King I always try to read a king in October at least a couple and I will never read Carrie. I always put Carrie on my TBR and I never read Carrie So Yeah, I was looking for books that would be like Creepy carnival kind of vibe. I read something we get this way comes already several years ago What is your problem? Huh? What do you want? What do you want look at this angel? So I read something we get this way comes a few years ago and I Just realized that I could use my TV as a light and it's more effective than I expected So, mm-hmm. That's interesting Um, you can see angel. Oh, you're so cute. Oh, look at her Would you like to tell us you're reading wrap-up? Wait, huh, baby? So cute. As I was saying, I've already read something we get this way comes So I was looking for other books with that vibe And there's a ton of haunted house books to be found. There's a ton of I mean Rather vampire books. There's there's like a lot of other types of stuff creepy carnival. Not so much so Joyland Was like one of like the two books that would come up It would always be like something we get this way comes and I was like yeah, I've already read that and then Joyland And I was like, all right. Well, I guess I'll read Joyland and it's not really creepy carnival, but it was really good I did really really enjoy this um, and I even cried which I think I might have cried a little bit reading pet cemetery because I don't really cry or I don't expect to cry reading Stephen King so yeah, definitely among my new not like my favorite king that I've read but like at the top Very solid definitely definitely really really enjoyed it would recommend then I dnf'd the river we remember by William Kent Krueger um legitimately because I mean, I wasn't loving it. I wasn't like super into it or anything. Um, but in the oodles of like Let's paint the scene and give you like details about these people to flesh out the portrait of humanity and look at me being out there um, what was the line it was some line about how strong this lady made her coffee and how um like The specific counterpoint is that like how no um It was like how no Scandinavian or how no swede would ever make their coffee. You know, she made it good and strong And I was like tell me, you know nothing about Scandinavia without telling me because they love coffee Like they drink more and darker and blacker and stronger coffee than anyone in the world So if you're telling me that oh this lady made strong-ass coffee, not like the weak-ass swedish coffee like I did Oh all things to begin to use as an example. I just What And so after that I just felt like I couldn't trust anything the author said I was like I happened to know that But there's things that I don't know and if you're like saying stuff like making assertions I don't trust any of them now and I'm very annoyed and I already wasn't loving this so I was I kept reading it after that But it just kept bothering me and I kept and made me question every single thing that he said And I was like I can't read this. I I can't I can't I cannot forgive the Scandinavian coffee debacle so I didn't have to then I I'm pretty sure I read this first and then this but they fell down Um, I also don't think I read them next or back to back, but I might have done. I don't know So obviously these are all book of the month the books. Um, I read stranger upstairs by lisa and matlin Um, which is a debut and I read none of this is true by lisa jewel Which is definitely not a debut and it's not my first lisa jewel. Um, this one I thought at first that I was not gonna like it and I thought that I was like Oh, this is a debut and it seems like it like it feels like it like she doesn't know what she's doing This is a thriller that's like not very thrilling it's kind of cliche and it's gonna like do really predictable and stupid things and By no means is this a perfect thriller But it actually did surprise me quite a bit and it went places that I was not expecting at first Like it seems very cookie cutter to begin with But it takes some turns that are unexpected and the ending for it is not what you think it's going to be Because I was pretty sure I knew what was going to be and I was annoyed one that I knew and two at what it was Because I was like, are we doing this? We're not doing this So I think this is actually quite good and I would definitely read another thriller by this author since this was their debut Um, yeah, I pretty pretty good. And then none of this is true. This is I think my second lisa jewel I think the only other lisa jewel book I've read is um the family upstairs Which was not really what I expected it to be but I did enjoy it None of this is true. Also fantastic. I think this is better than the other one that I read by her Um, this is really really really good. I really liked this It kept my attention and it kept making like twisting and turning in ways that I did not expect But I didn't feel like clumsy and gimmicky. I've read quite a few thrillers where like It feels like every Feels like every chapter ends on a cliffhanger just for the sake of it Um, and it's ridiculous This like certainly like was somewhat unlikely and some of the things that happened but It still thought that like it kept me guessing and it kept turning in ways that like Weren't reliant on the characters being idiots or me being an idiot And even though like the book tells you that it's unreliable like that's literally the title Um, it's still quite surprising So I would definitely recommend this then. I don't think I read this next but it's next in the stack Um, my patrons chose for me to read and vlog for them, which I did I feel like I was going to say something about the vlog But I don't well, I whatever it was. It must not have been very important But anyway, I vlogged children of gods and fighting men by Shauna Lawless And um, I did not like it I did not hate it. It's not the worst thing my patrons have ever made me read But it was not a win for me In fairness. I was just getting over COVID Um, when I read this and I vlogged it, um So I don't know that that helped it, but I don't think it really changed much like I I don't think it's that well written. I think it's quite, um Cliche and cookie cutter and shallow And borderline offensively shallow and it's like kind of reliance on stereotype Maybe not even stereotype archetype perhaps is what I mean to say. Yeah, this was just I mean I wasn't particularly interested in picking it up when it came out Even though you it seems like the type of thing that'd be a me book, but I'll say I don't know Um Yeah, I did not like it and I will not be reading the words of kings and prophets So alas and for the year of gaming I did reread the graveyard book so that I could do my video And I'm very behind on the year of gaming and the year of gaming chance to be concluded at the end of this year But I did reread graveyard book and super duper enjoyed it and did get my video done Then the book that I picked up when I was in Nashville, um with mara and jess and Cas what the actual fuck? Why? Um murder your employer by rupert holmes. Um The audiobook is how I listened or how I consumed this Cas do you want to get sprayed? Yeah, I'm talking to you The audiobook is read by Neil Patrick Harris and someone else And Neil Patrick Harris's narration was quite enjoyable. The other narrator Was was decent But also the problem is that Neil Patrick Harris is part of it is when the narrative is in first person And so he's reading it like he is the character um speaking in first person And then the other narrator is reading in third person and would have Like would say things like that are supposed to be the dialogue of Neil Patrick Harris's character And I guess they never spoke to each other or never heard Each other how they were going to do it because when he would do the dialogue that was meant to be Neil Patrick Harris's character It sounded nothing like him. I don't expect him to do like an impression of Neil Patrick Harris, but like Different accent different intonation different tone and vibe and personality even um Which really kind of made it confusing And then the story itself, I think it was an interesting premise But I think the author didn't quite know what to do with it So it started much more interestingly than it ended by the end. I was kind of sick of it Um, I didn't wasn't doing anything that terribly interesting with its premise It was like I wasn't mad. I read it. It was fun But it wasn't that good And I certainly wouldn't want to reread it and for being such a pretty book It did not live up to its cover and then another book of the month club that I dnaf'd was bright young women by Jessica Noll not even because of anything the book did I just I don't know how I completely missed that this book is about Ted Bundy like it from the perspective of his victims Um, and I just don't want to read about that. I knew it was like True crime like thriller, but I don't know how I missed That it's about Ted Bundy um So I just as soon as I realized that I was like not very far into it when I realized that I was like, oh I nope. No, I'm good. No, thank you So it might be a fantastic book. Um, I just don't want to read it And then the blades and bodice rippers book was the magic toy shop by Angela Carter We all dressed up as usual and the live show was on Bethany's channel. We all dressed up like dolls Um, it was yeah, I was gonna say I think the prompt was to dress like toys, but I think we all dressed like dolls Um, which was fun. I enjoyed the book. Um I was not the one that hated it this time. So that's that's always refreshing and then I read this is not what I read next by no means. I think I might have read this next The books that Mara tells me to read I've read all of them So I'm not going to talk about them really here because she and I are going to talk about oh Yeah, I realized that I you probably don't know what books I picked for Mara Um, so I talked to my tbr about the books that she picked for me um, and I didn't have the books With me when we visited Nashville So you would have seen these books in her video because she gave them to me and in my tbr But she doesn't do tbr videos and I didn't have them then so I don't think anyone knows What books I chose for Mara? So in anticipation of us chatting about them when she's done with them the books that I chose for Mara fyi are Good Omens by Neil Gaiman and Terry Project um for obvious reasons, um And the Mary Shelley Club by uh, Goldie Moldovsky I think is my name of the author The Unlikely Escape of Uriah Heap by HG Perry and The Paper Menagerie by Ken Liu and yeah, I don't know how she's doing with them I don't know if she started or finished them. Those are the four books that I picked for her that we will discuss soon Anyway, um, the first of the books that she gave to me to read that I finished was The Traveling Cat Chronicles So we will talk about them soon Um, then my patrons and I buddy read and and had a live chat talking about the strange case of Dr. Jacqueline Mr. Hyde in October. I never read this before so it was very, um, I don't know, edifying? Perhaps is the word? I don't know just it's something that people talk about so much that even if you haven't read it You know what this story is So it was interesting to read the the original to actually read the story that I feel like I already knew Yeah, so Yeah, um, I did not read this next, but we'll talk about it next. Um I read Horseman by Christina Henry, um, which is a retelling of the Legend of Sleepy Hollow Um, I've only read one of their Christina Henry book. I've always meant to read more But I love Lost Boy by Christina Henry, which I read a few years ago Um, and my friend was like, oh, well, I am she also likes Lost Boy and she's like, I just read Horseman and it was really good So I picked it up on her say so no pressure And I didn't really care for it like I didn't hate it but I thought I was pretty silly and Didn't really know what it was trying to do in terms of like why why it's retelling this this story Like what it's trying to do about that or change about that or comment on or be in conversation with I just it was very silly to me and like very, um Not quite self aggrandizing but a little bit maybe that I don't know the tone of it was so strange to me and I honestly like the way that it um The changes that it makes to the original I mean it makes a ton of changes But I mean some of the changes it makes to the core characters not just that like it expands the story or extends the story I mean like changes it makes to kind of like who you kind of um how you feel about the the main characters in it um I just I I don't know why and I don't I don't like it and I think I gave it three stars I just This was not it at least not for me And I'm not even like a mega fan of the original story But I definitely prefer a Washington Irving story to this and then my patrons and I are reading the hornblower books Which I mentioned my TBR so in October not November because we're doing one every other month So for October we read the tenant hornblower or as the British would have it left tenant hornblower And had our chat talking about it and then November no hornblower and then December which we're currently in another hornblower So, um, yeah, I don't have like too much to say about the individual installments I just like I really enjoy the adaptations and I'm enjoying the books and it's just a good time another Mara book, um the Amorbid Taste for Bones by Ellis Peters, which is the first cadfell mystery, um, so Shant be saying lips are sealed what I think of it. You'll have to wait till me and Mara discuss it I definitely did not read that next. Oh, maybe I read this next the witcher read along in In October, so I must have read this in October um We finished the books. We've we've finished season of storms Which is the last of the books, um and chatted about it on tribesry podcast and then in November what we talked about was the show season three because um, I hadn't seen it So I had to hurry up and watch it so we could talk about it. Um, but yeah season of storms Not my favorite witcher book it There were some enjoyable things about it But definitely kind of a letdown after you finished the series And I definitely think you have to read it after finishing the series because it would be kind of spoilery for the series But yeah, I Bethany like this a lot better than I did. Um I definitely feel like it depends on what it is Like I think people who don't really like the witcher series that much would probably like season of storms better But if you like the witcher series, you probably won't like season of storms. So It wasn't bad, but definitely not my favorite. And at some point I read another mara book, um The slave uh, just just slave to sensation by Nalini Singh the first in the side changeling series And I am not going to tell you what I think about this Then I maybe after that But whatever at some point I read had a cello haunted house by Grady Hendricks and Grady Hendricks is three for three. This is possibly my favorite of the Grady Hendricks books that I've read. I've read um the vampire southern book loves guide to selling vampires and the ikea one horror store and now how to sell haunted house and partly why this one worked so so well for me is that like the kind of like central characters slash driving conflict slash main relationship in the In the book is between a brother and a sister And by no means do I want to say that my relationship with my brother is like this, but there are parts of it that like They're much worse in the book that would mean my brother have ever gone through. But like I feel like if anyone's ever had like a brother sister relationship that like has Some issues like this is like way worse and way more exaggerated way more intense and she's worse and he's worse and my brother and I are much chiller than this but nonetheless like it resonated with me because of that um And in in good ways and in bad ways And then the haunting itself I thought was more interesting like usually when I read these types of stories So there's kind of a supernatural element I tend to find them very silly or I feel like by the time I get to the end of the author was like Well, I wanted to do this story But I didn't really know like what the reason for it would be so I kind of had to like come up with something at the end Like they usually feel kind of like cobbled together But this felt like thematically thought through Um And yeah, I really enjoyed this. I really like greedy Hendricks So I guess I will continue reading greedy Hendricks the last mara book, which Did I read it last? I think I did finish this last. So at least those were in order Um barrow of winter by h.m. Long and I shan't be telling you What I think of this all right home stretch. No, that's not true. There's oh god. There's stacks everywhere. Okay Um, I read Our Lady of Mysterious Aliments by TL Huchu Which is the sequel to the library of the dead. I really liked the library of it I didn't love it, but I really liked it and I was looking forward to like reading the series But I really did not like Our Lady of Mysterious Aliments So unless I hear the book three is like really amazing and that book two was like a massive dip But we came back like I'm done with the series The first one was charming while imperfect and not not spectacular, but like a good time And the second one is not a good time So I don't know what happened. It feels like a different person wrote this I do not recommend if you even if you like to the first I mean, I guess I still recommend the first one because it was a good time But don't read the second one Then Uh, nope. This was next. Yes. Yes Um, the book that my patrons chose for me to read and vlog for them in November was um, The Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler And Octavia Butler is three for three. Um, I've read Fledgling, Kindred, and now Powerful of the Sower Which I had originally intended to be my first Octavia Butler and now I'm only now reading it. I really enjoyed it. I don't know Which is my favorite Octavia Butler of the three that I've read I like them all though So yeah, anyway, um, like I said, I read this and vlogged it for my patrons and I Unlike Children of Gods of Fighting Men this This was good. And then I read The Unmaking of June Farrow by Adrienne Young and this was awful Worst Adrienne Young book yet, and I don't know why I keep reading her I mean, I do know why I keep reading her books is because the premise always sounds like something I would be interested in and then the execution is always so Painfully lackluster But this one in addition to being lackluster and it was very lackluster It was also Very weird in what it's some of its choices. And then the author's note at the end just kind of like Made it worse Um, so no, I give this one star and I think I'm finally done with Adrienne Young I don't care how enticing the premise of her next book sounds. I'm shan't be reading it I know enough Then um, I read Mr. Mercedes by Stephen King because I got all the Mr. Mercedes books That's just because I want to read his new one Holly Um, and then people were like, uh-oh, you're not gonna like those. It's too bad you bought them all And I was like, well I really liked this. I really really liked this again one of my Not in my all-time favorite, but one of better Stephen King than one of the better ones Like I definitely enjoyed this more than Salem's lot. I enjoyed this more than The Shining um I enjoyed this more than Other books presumably. I don't remember what I've read. Um, yeah, this was really really good And I'm very happy to read the next two books um Yeah, I don't why do people think I wouldn't like this? I don't understand I also now know why the next book or the book that I was reading this for is called Holly Um, so when that came I was like, Holly! Um Yeah, this was really good really really good Um That's all I have to say about that. Then I read suddenly a murder by Lauren Munoz and this was fine It was nothing to write home about the mystery was like, okay I guessed a lot of it well before it was revealed. Um, so It I maybe I'm too old for it. Maybe if I was like in middle school or high school I would like this better It was fine. It wasn't bad It was better than my lady of mysterious ailments Definitely better than June Varro, but it was it was pretty forgettable if I'm honest Then one of my new favorite books I well the one that I read was this copy from book of the month Starling House by Alex E. Harrow Which I almost didn't choose but someone was like, I'm reading this one right now And it's really good and I saw it on book of the month and I was like, I'll get that too Um, and then I will be probably getting rid of this because I bought now the Barnes and Noble special edition of it But this is the copy I read Um, and I read it physically because I tried the audiobook and I did not like the narrator. So I was like, nope Um, this book is Raven Cycle for adults for grown-ups If you like the Raven Cycle by Maggie Steve Otter Then you have to read the Starling House because The writing itself the vibe of the story the also like the actual story itself Like what it's about and the kind of magical realism of it. I mean, I guess it's straight up magic It's not even magical realism, but it's more like magical realism, which is also how Raven Cycle is um, the like highly metaphorical language Mixed with like kind of crass maybe not crass humor, but I don't know. There's an edginess to the writing and to the humor in both Maggie Steve Otter and in this Um I really loved this. I like devoured it. Um Yes Very very very much like this book. The writing is stunning. The story was impactful and creative and Immersive and this made me remember that I do actually like reading and I do actually like books And then last but least also Um is The Ninth Rain by Jen Williams, which my patrons and I buddy read And none of us were terribly impressed Which is a shame because I have these gorgeous editions from The Broken Binding And I probably I'm not going to read books two and three But so it goes All right, we did it and now You can finally put this stack away and Yeah Watch the TV Read a book Go to bed Think I'll probably end the vlog here though because I'm pretty tired And I have nothing for them to say But let me know if this video was Fun like if I should do this again. I kind of liked it Um doing it this way And I'm happy to vlog again in December Cook some things and snuggle up with a book and get cute footage of cats. I don't know. I like vlogging a lot. It's just a lot of work Anyway, um, yeah I guess that's all from me and uh I think I used to have an outro, but it's been like three years since I ever did a video I don't know See you Around happy holidays