You’re as positive as Larry David. I love it!

@JasonFuhrman

5 ай бұрын

Hahaha I try 🙂

Loved Boy’s Life and old McCammon horror novels. McCammon wrote an end of the world novel called “Swan Song” that was similar in scope to The Stand but bested that one for me.

@JasonFuhrman

7 ай бұрын

I know of that one but have yet to read it. After Boy's Life I should put it on my list.

@phunkysai

7 ай бұрын

@@JasonFuhrman it’s definitely a different animal than this one (and ginormous). Boy’s Life marked an era where he started moving away from his kind of schlocky horror ideas (to great effect, obviously), but his older horror concepts and writing (which were “of that time” if that makes sense) still hold a special place in my heart.

Negative? That's a little too far. Highly critical? Oh yes. Hilarious thumbnail, keep up the great work Jason!

Worst Book: The horror novella, Nothing But Blackened Teeth by Cassandra Khaw. Best Book: Chasing Bright Medusas: A life of Willa Cather by Benjamin Taylor. Btw Boy's life was my favorite book of 2022. Happy New Year.

@JasonFuhrman

7 ай бұрын

Haven't heard of either but thanks for letting me know one to stay away from and one to check out. Happy new year!

Would you still feature Sea of Tranquility as one of the worst books of the year if you'd ignore the fact that it's similar to Station Eleven? I haven't read Station Eleven but enjoyed Sea of Tranquility. Granted, I'm a sucker for time travel novels. However, I'm kind of fed up with the whole interconnected stories style.

@JasonFuhrman

7 ай бұрын

Probably not as bad, but it would still be a low one on my list. The narrative had some issues. The main plot hit at around 50% of the novel and since it's so short, it felt like she was trying to fit a larger plot into a low page count. The book really needed time to develop in my opinion. The most well-developed character was the meta one (the writer), and there is another character tie to her other novel I haven't read. The whole thing felt like an odd stepping stone to try to connect her other books.

My favorite novels were Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk, Babel by R F Kuang and Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng. My least favorite books were Daisy Jones and the Six (felt too derivative of the author's other book Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, characters were flat), A Discomfort of Evening (I think this one is on me and idk if it's a case of translation but it did not resonate with me at all, felt unnecessarily disgusting at times. Also it could be a case of just not being familiar with the culture of the author, there wasn't much of a plot). My least favorite book was As Good as Dead ( I thought that the book was too long and disliked how what the main character did was not challenged enough by the narrative or the people around her and some things which occurred felt too unrealistic for me).

@JasonFuhrman

7 ай бұрын

cool, thanks for the list! I read Fight Club too and really enjoyed it. I kind of adjusted my list since that book has been so well-received. I was hoping to feature a few books people hadn't heard of. Babel by RF Kuang looks interesting. I haven't heard of the other.

@aliaab123

7 ай бұрын

@@JasonFuhrman Yeah, definitely. I actually was surprised by how much I enjoyed Fight Club despite being spoiled on the plot twist. Despite being less than 300 pages, Chuck Palahniuk makes every page count. Everything I Never Told You is a family drama mystery. It follows a Chinese American family in the 1970s after the death of Lydia, the favorite child of the parents. It was a very heart wrenching novel and there were multiple times where I cried whilst reading.

@JasonFuhrman

7 ай бұрын

@aliaab123 yeah I'm always floored by how tight his writing is. I've read a few of his books and they're all great. I love heart wrenching novels so glad to hear of a new one:)

Aww yeah, glad to see I wasn't the only one with The Passenger on their best list. 😍 And Boy's Life...what a book...🤤 (And, though I know it's not a contest, I can't help but feel a teensy bit of pride that my measly little no-budget self-published book dodged the worst list while another, hundred-thousand-dollar self-published book got top dishonors. 😅)

@JasonFuhrman

7 ай бұрын

hahaha don't worry your book wouldn't make any of my worst lists. You're one of the exceptions of a self-published author who did not use an editor and did not put out an unfinished manuscript. Which reminds me, I need to select a winner for a free copy on the other video.

It's suspicious how many 4 and 5 star reviews Daniel Greene has...

@JasonFuhrman

5 ай бұрын

Yep...

So you did like Real Story more than Forbidden Knowledge?

@JasonFuhrman

7 ай бұрын

I thought about that. There are things I liked more, being how it developed into a larger story, but since it was a continuation and didn't feel like it had an actual end of an arc, I didn't put it on the list.

Great video Jason! I’m glad The Haunting of Hill House wasn’t on the worst :) and you’ve definitely piqued my interest with a few, especially your fave. And lol about Emily St J. She’s one of the few authors that made me angry because I disliked the Station Eleven book so much haha. Included my lists below: Faves (ordered by fave 1st) - Wuthering Heights - Emily Brontë (wild, tense and unnerving) - A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens (the antidote to the above and a delight to read) - Sanditon - Jane Austen (one of my favourites authors and this met my high expectations) - The Return of the King - JRR Tolkien (one of the best endings I have ever read) - Slow Regard of Silent Things - Patrick Rothfuss (remarkable feat of fiction. Nothing really happens and there is no character development but I was engrossed and bewitched by every page). Worst (ordered by worst 1st) - The Ancient Magus’ Bride Vol 1 - Kore Yamazaki (manga which basically glorifies child brides and sex trafficking) - Station Eleven - Emily St. John Mandel (what was the point of it all- zero payoff and so frustrating). - Vampire Knight - Matsuri Hiro (supposed to be a manga for Twilight lovers but the dialogue was terrible and the characters were caricatures of themselves) - Survivor Song - Paul Tremblay (was hooked at the start but it seemed too linear. No depth, nothing surprising or unpredictable. And the pregnant woman in the apocalypse trope is tired). - Heart Shaped Box - Joe Hill (technically a dnf as I stopped halfway but this story started to feel silly halfway through like it was a parody of a horror). That was cathartic to write haha. Many thanks for the video and discussion!

@JasonFuhrman

7 ай бұрын

I really need to read Slow Regard. I agree with Survivor Song too. I need to read more Tremblay because I like his style of ambiguity. Two out of the four books of his I've read have been good.

@helenasf1782

7 ай бұрын

@@JasonFuhrman Fair warning- I think part of the reason I liked it is because I liked the character in the main series, so I’m not sure what it’d be like to read as an intro to his work and also as it breaks nearly every rule of storytelling so I’m guessing it’ll be a love it or hate it thing. And that’s good to know re Tremblay I think I’ll give him another go.

@helenasf1782

7 ай бұрын

Ps my prediction is you might not like slow regard so might be worth getting a sample first to see what you think of the vibe.

@JasonFuhrman

7 ай бұрын

I have read The Name of the Wind, so I'm familiar with the character. I also know it's not a conventional narrative. I remember reading the "you might not like this book" message at the beginning. So I think at the very least I don't have unrealistic expectations of what to expect.

@helenasf1782

7 ай бұрын

@@JasonFuhrman Ah I must have forgotten you’ve read the first one. Ah cool then you’ll be fine. I think a lot of it is going in with the right expectations and even then it won’t be for everyone. Curious to hear your view when you get around to it!