Sorry there were no Interludes today, it's been a crazy week 😅

@notrixamoris3318

Жыл бұрын

No worries...sorry for venting but love the interludes. It adds flavour to the video.

@marocat4749

Жыл бұрын

I dont think , i think my mom died, is very typical, its way to much expose about, even i iots probably the perect revenge to persue writing and suceeding likely, i dont think its typical.

@notrixamoris3318

Жыл бұрын

@@marocat4749 it is revenge tho??? I thought it is about letting it out of your system and being free from it all...then again maybe I am wrong.

@naimharris4516

Жыл бұрын

I have a book recommendation though I don’t know if you’ll see it. The Kate Daniels series by Ilona Andrews. The first book lays the ground work for the world and the second gets things rolling. It’s kind of a slow build. It might be easier if you listen to the audio version. At least that’s my experience.

if you listen to the audio book for i'm glad my mum died, there are parts where jennette (who is also the narrator) gets audibly chocked up whilst reading. it's honestly so effective, to hear the words that seem very distant and separated from the experience itself on paper so heavily contrasted by the emotion in her voice. i'd honestly recommend everyone to read the book whilst listening to the audiobook. its definitely an experience

I know it’s a polarizing series but the magicians is one of my all time favourites 😂🤷🏻‍♀️

The Magicians TV show is amazing. The books weren't my favourite but the TV show really holds a special place in my heart

@Jackolantirn

Жыл бұрын

The TV show was such a breath of fresh air. It's as if the showrunners thought to themselves, "what if we adapted the books, but made the story good?"

@brandog1391

Жыл бұрын

It's definitely one of my more favorite TV adaptations. The books were still good.

@almogdov

Жыл бұрын

I haven't read the books but I watched the show and loved it a lot (and hated it occasionally since well, some stuff are messed up XD). Funny to learn that the books are less loved than the show.

@Merve77772

Жыл бұрын

I totally agree. The Magicians TV show is different from the books but in such a fun way. It's also so refreshing to watch/ read a fantasy college book/show for once

!!!!!!! The Magicians !!!!!!!!!! some of us were not born good/perfect and still try every day to a person that we can live with.

The honesty in “I'm Glad My Mom Died” is very refreshing.

It’s been roughly five years since I finished The Magicians trilogy, and your discussion of the first one made me want to reread it. I remember loving the second one.

Yona will just keep getting exponentially better ❤ 200+ chapters and it hasn't hit the plateau yet.

Part of what I love about the Magicians trilogy is the writing. I've highlighted more passages in them than in any fantasy I've read since Tolkien (although I certainly don't mean to imply that their style is anything like Tolkien's).

The Magicians TV show is just AMAZING. The later seasons are just so masterfully done and so beautiful, and the characters feel so real and alive, that it is one of my all time favorite tv shows. After watching the show I didn't feel like reading the books anymore, because even the fans of the books agree that the show is miles better than the books.

Quentin is a character that I have a love/hate relationship with. All of your thoughts with The Magicians series is how I felt the whole entire time. With the graphic scenes, I kept asking myself, is this really nessascary? But I won't spoil anything for you. But with Grossman is that everything is intended. Also the TV series is very good and worth watching if you love the books. The series was a solid 4 stars for me. I'm Glad My Mom Died was a powerful memoir I wish I had taken my time with reading it.

Oooof, The Magicians. I never recommend it for the same reasons you hate it, but a small part of myself keeps it on my shelf for when I need a purge. The Magicians, if it gets anything, gets depression, and how depression infects the most sacred of childhood locations (Narnia/HP/LoTR) and sometimes I keep it for purge purposes.

The Magicians is excellent. I'm glad you loved it, Merph. I thought it was an adult take on Harry Potter and Narnia, and I found Grossman's prose superb. I really liked it. It's a five star book for me too. Quentin and his gang are not the most likeable characters though--I think everyone agrees on this--and I'm not sure I'm interested enough to find out what happens to them next. I still haven't read book 2.

Happy to hear there’s more love for The Magicians than hate! I read it in about the same time of my life as Quentin and it helped me understand how easy it can be to get into his mindset at that age based on your own personal experiences ofc. But book 3 was a bit triggering (joblessness and not being a part of the capital machine) so I stopped it and basically have dnf’d it for years. Maybe I’ll pick it up during another era of my life when it doesn’t hurt so badly.

Let's go!!! Two Yona volumes in a row that were excellent according to Merphy!!! Technically 3 if we count the last volume that you read last week. Glad that Yona is a character that you love now despite your initial thoughts of her. I am so excited for you to read this arc and the next one.

As a longtime anime viewer who's also 26 chapters into the series, I will never NOT be mad Yona of the Dawn hasn't been a continuing series (they stopped after meeting Zeno). And considering I'm not the manga's "target audience" (late 20's male, published in a magazine for teen girls) I think that just speaks to the series' quality. Glad you picked it up.

Im so happy you where able to enjoy the magicians. I didnt realize the show made the friendships stronger and I was surprised with the change ups. I really believe you talking about the series will bring the fans of the show to come see whats up and realize theres a huge difference in how this story was portrayed in the book cannon. couldnt be happier right now I also have book two. I will read it with you, you basically inspired me to finally order a bunch of books things I always wanted. and im so happy to be reading through alot of material I love and im finding for the first time in book cannon form

I remember I really enjoyed the Magicians trilogy, even though it has many flaws and I wouldn't fault those who dislike it. I actually enjoy Quentin as a protagonist too. He is an awful person who makes terrible decisions but his struggles are just relatable enough that he is still readable. The other characters are great too, though they vary in likability, and they develop in interesting ways over time. There's a deconstructionist element present throughout the books, building up fantasies only to subvert them, tear them down, or reveal them as having been hollow the whole time; that is really fascinating, even if it isn't always handled well. I also really like that, through all of the nihilism, there are these sparse moments of genuine humanity and honest human connection that the characters have but fail to recognise and hold on to because they're searching for the next great high or grand adventure. The sequels are great in some ways and not in others, but I'd still encourage anyone who found any value in the first book to continue onwards. The tv series is decent on its own, but as an adaptation I feel that it loses or dilutes a lot of the themes and ideas from the book in order to make the characters more likable, the story more palatable, and making it fit a more conventional tv fantasy adventure (at least in the two seasons I have seen). It also almost completely changes the characterization of Quentin, Alice, Julia, and Asmodeus (for the worse, in my opinion), though I do really like its interpretations of Eliot and Penny (even if the latter is completely different from the books).

@SpookedTarsier

Жыл бұрын

Decent? Come on, the tv series is more than decent. I get it if its not your taste but it is objectivly a good show. I have only read one of the books and so far I prefer the characters, the pacing, the storylines, the humor and the relationships in the tv series (whitch I have finished). But thats just my taste. I will probably find aspects that I enjoy more in the books and things that I wish that the series could have included, as I read on. A tv series and a series of books can and should do different things. Better to not compare and simply enjoy them as two separate forms of entertainment. I think both are worth a watch and a read!

You're supposed to hate Q. Perfectly valid feelings. I do hope you read the whole thing just the one time, though. It is horrible and gross and disturbing but it is such an amazing pop culture filled juxtaposition to the academic magical fantasy that it's also amazing. Happy reading!

Awwwww yeeaaahhh. Incoming magicians trilogy review! Atta girl merphy, drown out the haters 😂. You described the elitism of the students perfectly lol. Also, I know this will be a long shot but seriously consider the show. Portrays their addiction to magic better there

@keravnos2231

Жыл бұрын

@@Nasser851000 definitely not. I see more Julia in her

This made me move The Magicians way up my TBR! I always knew it was going to be about unlikable characters, but I can totally take that if the story is compelling. I really liked the first few seasons of the show, and have been curious about the books.

I await The Magicians tv show Merphy review soon.

I love your review of The Magicians. I felt the same way when i read it. I loved it and i hated it. I thought the tv series was great, but doesn't resemble the books much.

I started reading it, but got side tracked and lost interest, but I loved the show. You make me want to give another shot, but not sure if it's still in the pile of books to be donated. I think just cover what part of their life they want to talk about, but not encompassing person's. whole life. Julie Andrew's wrote two that were about her career, but she does cover some of her childhood, because does connect to how she became actress.

I absolutely love the magicians. Theres so much that almost feels problematic and is blatantly frustrating related to themes that I usually hate exploring. But I only love it. I love how thats handled as the series progresses. It DOES change how i feel about the beginning. Im constantly surprised its not more popular considering the show being so popular. But I guess it makes sense considering how melancholy depressing the tone can be. Its very much a book with major shifts in focus for each book of the series. Its definitely incredibly frustrating throughout and every character is the worst. But I love how it all ties up too. Warning for the show. Ive heard people love it for what it is and lev grossman seems to appreciate it. But it bastardizes the book and characters the story tells of and gives later book spoilers in the first few episodes for no clear reason. So if you give it a chance dont do so until youve finished all of the books.

Glad to hear you are enjoying The Magicians. I loved all three books very much! 😄

I enjoy all the life sounds swirling in the background, especially outdoors.

but thank you merphy for hearing me out when I was recommending this series to you. I really thought youd vibe with it to a degree and im excited for book 2.

I've been wanting to read The Magician for yeaaaars but been too scared to pick it up 'cause of all the bad I've heard about it in the fantasy community. But you've convinced me to finally read it. Based on everything you said and knowing your taste as well as mine, I feel like it could really be my thing. The way you describe books is simply perfect and I can't wait to hear your full thoughts on the series.🎩🥰

I thought each book in the Magicians series got better and better so I'm looking forward to your thoughts about the next books. Your excitement made me feel like rereading the series

You definitely should check out these memoirs Brave by rose McGowan From this moment by shania Twain Not my father son by Alan Cummings his first memoir The great peace by mena suvari

I really need to catch upto both Yona and Vagabond I do hope you get to watch Mushishi too

Just found the channel, watched the first couple seconds and heard her say "I'm glad my mum died". Was so confused till I realised it was a book 😂😂

okay I’m hopping over here after seeing the video on the other channel, The Magicians trilogy is one of my all time favorites, THAT said, I keep nodding along to the things you said and going “yeah, that tracks”. Honestly Quentin is a jackass but by the end of the series he became one of my favorite characters of all time and I think it comes down to how well he embodies being young and horribly depressed and self-loathing and how all those things can turn a person so bitter.

Give us the hour long book review

the show does handle and flip and add a character to make it a fresh experience for itself. but im really sure show fans would love to understand a whole new timeline is here. you just gotta read it

I did start reading the 2nd book yesterday because I wanna be at the same points as you when you get threw a section of story and Im having a good time so far 3 chapters. easy

This is one of the few instances where the show is way better then the book. Book still fun but the show is better paced

I wanted to read Jeanette McCurdy’s memoir back when it came out but I never got around to it. Thanks for the reminder 🙂

That you ,“love it, and hate it”, makes me want to read it more than if you just said “I love it”.

based off of how you describe the magicians...it almost seems like a metaphor for money, to me atleast. Love your stuff! think I'll add it to my TBR

💕💕💕

Merphy reads The Magicians by Lev Grossman so we don't have to! Badge of honor.

Something tells me I would love Magicians!

I hugely recommend the audiobook version of I'm Glad My Mom Died. The author is the narrator, and any lack of emotion the writing may have is made up for by her reading it.

nice blue cofffee cup

You're making me doubt myself! Maybe, I just read the Magicians at the wrong time in my life. I didn't dislike it because of the darker themes or even the abundance of pretentiousness. I had watched the first three seasons of the show and thought I would give the book a try. I heard this TV show and the books were wildly different but had similar themes. This is true, but the show has dark humor and irony to balance out the depression. The book didn't really. The show felt like that punk kid that tells a lot of jokes but you know they have trouble at home. The book felt like a sad dad explaining why his marriage didn't work. It wasn't that the writing was bad, it's that tonal hit me in the face. I think I might have been feeling too melancholy myself to really appreciate the book.

@merphynapierreviews

Жыл бұрын

It may just not be the one for you. Honestly I can’t really recommend this book because me liking it feels like such an anomaly because there’s so many flaws. If you do give it a go again though ill be curious to see if anything changes!

@AseAPS

Жыл бұрын

@@merphynapierreviews Well the thing is that most of the time our tastes really seem to align (Thank you for all the great book recommendations by the way! XD). Not only that, I also like other books that people say are like this. I really liked Bunny and Ninth House. I'll probably give it another chance but not this month. Ironically, I'm currently mired in dark academia books - The Secret History and Babel by R.F. Kuang.

Honestly the reason I stopped with the magicians was because it felt like the author (through the main character) kept being like, "This ain't your kids magic school". Like it was trying to constantly remind us how grown up and mature and dark everything was. Having stuff be very mature and dark isn't an issue, but feeling like it's constantly talking about "how edgy this is" got really annoying, stopped after the first book

@merphynapierreviews

Жыл бұрын

yeah I think there's deeper purpose with most of those scenes but the skill in writing them was weak which often times made it feel like "edgelord" writing instead of "Deeper meaning" writing if that makes sense

@PenultimatePenPen

Жыл бұрын

@@merphynapierreviews Totally makes sense! It's also possible me listening to it on audiobook contributed to the annoyance ha. Hearing it vs reading it may change my perception

the crazy thing about this book it was written as a stand alone he didnt have a trilogy in mind. but I still believe its gonna be a good time

@36424567254

Жыл бұрын

So that's it, I suspected as much! I felt that way because the first ends in a suspension-shattering epilogue where Quenting suddenly solves seemingly implausible challenges (compared to the magic system that had been in play throughout the book) in the space of a few months and 10 pages, only to conveniently forget all about it come book 2.

I kinda disagree about magicians. It’s one of my favorite fantasy series of all time. There are “gross scenes” but I think he handled them perfectly. This is a piece of literature imo that is trying to do something very specific. It’s a book about an immature, bad person learning how to be a better person. I think that’s the point of the book. Julia has the best arc in the entire book for me. He deals with some pretty visceral stuff. He makes you feel her situation, which again, is the point. He shows how she overcomes and deals with her situation. The people in here are never perfect, and they’re messy, but that what being human is. And that’s more or less what the series is about. It’s about humans learning to overcome and become better people.

@36424567254

Жыл бұрын

i wouldn't claim "perfectly", but probably better than I have seen done in many/most stories where seriously flawed (but realistic) young characters are featured. As you said, Quentin is immature, selfish even, but not *terrible to the core* as some people depict him.

My favourite celebrity memoir is Stalin Ate My Homework by the comedian Alexei Sayle. It's about his childhood in Liverpool raised by very communist parents.

I agree that the pacing is uneven, but it worked for me. It sounds as though you prefer Potter pacing.

The magicians huh, the main problem with book one was that I hated the pacing, basically it went through the school years so fast that while there where a few nice scenes I mostly considered it a somewhat boring summary. But at the same time it took long enough for that that I had to deal with a lot of "somewhat boring summary". Honestly I might enjoy book two if I ever read it since the school years are done now and the pacing is probably better and book 1 had some genuinely good scenes. But on the other hand the MC isn't the greatest so he might annoy me?

I wish I had stopped at book one. Book two was meh and I’m still having nightmares from book three.

Is The Shadow Casket pretty easy to jump into if it’s been a while since I’ve read The Ember Blade? I don’t know if I want to do a full reread beforehand or if I just want to read a brief plot summary.

@merphynapierreviews

Жыл бұрын

I didn’t do a reread and I’ve been fine!

@thejustinwestra

Жыл бұрын

@@merphynapierreviews Thanks Merph! I can’t wait to read it (I’m waiting for my physical copy)!

🧡📚🧡📚🧡📚🧡

Ther i also a dierent magicians tv show. Also part 2 seems to be likes more and the character. Also yeah, just read the trilogy.

Merphy, in case you'll see this (It's probably a million to one chance, but it might just work.), what's the next Discworld book you are gonna read? I'm trying to sync my re-read with you :D

so in the show. they never finish the schooling. and getting to the end points seem to happen in a few months. the girl who dies to the beast in the first attack that takes place at school. survives in show and gets a new name kady and goes on to have her own storyline that I realize never happened in books because her inspo died eariler book one. juila is seen so much more in the show then the few times she blips in for this first book. Lev said in interviews if he thought of julia more during this first book he probably would handled it the way the show does flipping perspective's between them. and Penny. in show its a totally role reversal Q is the one that wants to believe everything is true and Penny is the one calling him a loser for wanting that. like its kinda legendary the total flip up is. also, jane chatwin at the end did not happen in show. she gets killed off super early in season setting up that this timeline is the most important suddenly cause we get no more 2nd chances. and the way they set up the magicians land. totally different set up then the show the show ends book one. season 1 doesnt even cover all of the first book it takes 3 episodes into season 2 to finally finish that part. and after that. Im totally unsure cause it doesnt line up at all. and I love that

Merph... are those like... 2327648498574985729 post its in your book at 1:20? 👀

could you buddy read book 2 with daniel green? because his review on this book was pretty positive

So, The Magicians is a dark, edgy magic school.

@36424567254

Жыл бұрын

only for most of book 1 actually, but kind of, yes.

What the huh?! No interlude...Lolx Merphy the Magicians is both hot n cold to you??? And try reading MOMMIE DEAREST if you still want to read " what is people like in hollywood" but it is not like Janmette McCurdy's book though...

With how you're discribing the charaters in "The Magicians" reminds me how I viewed Raskolnikov in "Crime and Punishment". Elistist, Haughty, Egotistical, blames the world and soceity for his proverity and struggles, and tries to keep quite on one horriable act that he got away with. At least if you get a good translation (bad Translations hyper focus on the religous aspect when in reality it's just his excuse to get away with not owning up with his shit until one person finally convinces him to do the right thing). I loved the book but a lot of people didn't like the book in my class. In a weird way the ending felt cathoric for me as I didn't like Raskolnikov as a *person* but saw him fasinating as a charater. So it would be intresting to see an actual comparison between the charaters of the Magicians Trilogy and Raskolnikov from Crime and Punishment.

@36424567254

Жыл бұрын

Amusingly, I felt like Crime and Punishment was much too heavy to bear for me. I was forced to read it for school a long time ago, and speed read it after the first few chapters because it felt like a bottomless pit that never ended (except for the quite literal deus ex machina in the end, if you will, though I don't know a lot about this mistranslation thing you are mentioning). This series is very dark, but I felt not _as_ dark as to make me want to stop reading like the former, even though I _did_ struggle and felt uncomfortable in Quentin's darkest moments (which again are never as severe as the whole premise of Raskolnikov, as much as people love to claim Quentin is a terrible person). I did read Crime and Punishment when I was significantly younger though so that may be a factor too.

@Merdragoon

Жыл бұрын

@@36424567254 you may have gotten a really bad translation because there was not a deus ex machina moment at the end because he was sent to a prison in Siberia with nothing for warmth... He got punished for his crimes.

@36424567254

Жыл бұрын

@@Merdragoon That is not what I meant though, I meant that "faith in God" is portrayed as the one and only way out of the hole he has dug himself into at the psychological level. In other words a religious redemption because "God accepts and forgives all who have faith", rather than a character that did something truly bad somehow working out a way (without projecting the task onto some external supernatural being) to accept his guilt yet accept himself and manage to actually get over the self-induced trauma after the fact.

Ah, yes, that feeling where you reach the end of book one! I forgot about that. You see so much potential, even though the execution was poor, and the last few pages fall pretty flat. And you have this image in your head that this alternate version of Narnia is so cool, but your brief time spent there falls so flat. And when you open the pages to book two, you will say to yourself, "surely the sequel will actually build upon the cool ideas in the first book." And so you progress through the story. You will follow along Quentin, who you will continue to hate. But, you will get attached to the second character as you experience their backstory through a series of flash backs. You will actually become invested in a POV character that you care about for the first time in the series. But then you will reach the conclusion. Your opinion of Quentin will have fermented like spoiled milk. And as far as your feelings for the one good character? Well... It will be like eating a tootsie pop candy, only to find that the center is literally dog shit. And if you hate yourself and truly have no self-respect, you'll continue on to book three. You'll read through book three, running on the fumes of a corpse that has been locked in an abandoned car, baking in the sun for weeks on end.

@merphynapierreviews

Жыл бұрын

what an excited peek into my future, can't wait 😂

@Lynn-CA

Жыл бұрын

Thank you so much for this, AMAZING! 🤣

I feel like Quentin's unlikability is exaggerated by most people. Yes he's very awkward and selfish in the first book, and sometimes difficult to accept as a protagonist, and he has certainly taken many questionable decisions, but can claim you did not at his age? It seems everyone describes him as _hopelessly_ terrible, while I thought it was a very realistic depiction of a teenager with serious flaws and in particular social problems, like so many other out there in the real world. I would even say I saw phases of my own life (certainly amped up, but not _inconceivably_ so) in him. If there is one character that is depicted as hopelessly terrible, it would be Janet imo, even for the little space that she gets (mostly in book 3).

I agree Quentin isn’t the best guy in the world, but the man is so clearly depressed that bashing on him just seems like bullying to me.

Ewwwwww the magicians lol yea he def can choke