“Why’d ya do it?!?” Is becoming my new favorite substitute for “wtf” when I read a book.

@FM95.5

2 жыл бұрын

I will have to start using this!

@cherimcelroy7431

2 жыл бұрын

Same!

Secret Garden -- two children learn to be decent people by being crap to each other, with Dickon teaching them how to garden.

@juju.le.toilet

2 жыл бұрын

I love those babies so much😭😭

@britneynicole8903

Жыл бұрын

Yes, yes!

There's nothing that will get me to click on a Merphy video faster than seeing both gushing AND rants XD

@FM95.5

2 жыл бұрын

Merphy's SO great!

The second book you mentioned sounds like a good set up for a psychological thriller, not a romance. Like she she lurs this mentally unstable guy into her house, analyzing him for her own purpose and pretending she loves him for her studies (maybe a psychiatrist who lost her license?), but he's not only the victim being also not a very good person, making her fall in doubt as to if this is worthy. So you have these two morally corrupt people tormenting each other which, by your description, they seem to already do in the book but through different, romantic lenses.

@merphynapier42

2 жыл бұрын

I actually thought the same while reading it. I felt tension in the set up and then realized I wasn’t supposed to, it was supposed to be sweet 😅

@britneynicole8903

Жыл бұрын

After watching this and her worst books of the year so far video, I am so glad that I did not end up picking up that book!

I got back into reading this year and got to 19 books this month! It's been super fun rediscovering this hobby:)

@kaidzz

2 жыл бұрын

Woah

@myleemartin4297

2 жыл бұрын

@@kaidzz Yeah that’s a ton of books, Kinoru! Great job!

@britneynicole8903

Жыл бұрын

That is awesome!!

Since you liked The Secret Garden, you should check out the classic "A Little Princess" by Frances Hodgson Burnett.

@zofiabochenska1240

2 жыл бұрын

IYes, absolutely! I liked Little Princess even more, both as a kid and when I reread them both recently.

@roneliadelgrange8315

2 жыл бұрын

That one and Little Lord Fauntleroy

@mjk6335

2 жыл бұрын

The imaginary descriptions in The Little Princess are even more vivid. It makes you cry with sadness and joy. You would love it

@britneynicole8903

Жыл бұрын

I loved that book as a kid!

6 books in one month while married and as a mom of two little kids… how????? I read three books this month and don’t know how I could have read any faster!

@MrHellmager

2 жыл бұрын

she's built different

@klnamba

2 жыл бұрын

Audiobooks is a gamechanger! I am a single mom of 5, work full-time, and read 10 books last month by mixing in audio. I listen while I clean etc. I think she does audio as well.

This Close to Okay recap was worth the wait 🤣

Great stuff, hard to believe January is over

I plan on re-reading The Secret Garden in the next month or two and hearing you gush about it makes me even more excited for the re-read!

Hearing you talk makes my day. I always listen to you in the mornings over a hot drink. I love the way you describe things, your passion and emotion for them, and I usually share similar opinions with you and can easily understand what you mean.

As an Indian, I always have a very troubling relationship with the Secret Garden. If you know the dark and blood history of british colonialism...there are portions that trigger due to tone deafness despite attempting to grow the character towards a more compassionate self. It still has that subliminal racism that you find in colonial era literature trying to criticize colonialism but at the same time not letting go of the 'western ideals' . I love the writing...and of course this issue i have is not the main part of the book.

@merphynapier42

2 жыл бұрын

This is very understandable. And I very much agree with you. I could see that the author was trying, but still failing in many ways.

@vishal7arora

2 жыл бұрын

@@christopherru100 Did't want to open that discussion. A classic is a classic. even if flawed. Although, I would hope for 'de-colonization' of the literature canon. Fortunately, it is happening for sure. Happy reading!

@kalanasandaruwan5764

2 жыл бұрын

@@christopherru100 Umm what British empire? That is long gone and good riddance

@nonabgo

2 жыл бұрын

@@vishal7arora That sounds a lot like censure. Leave it be, it's gone. What is important is that people do not write like this TODAY.

Merphy talking about the Secret Garden!! Finally! You made my day. I'm so glad you liked it!

I'm so glad you loved Secret Garden. It was my favorite book growing up and I reread it like every week. Also Lady Trent just gets better as the series progresses imo. I love watching her grow and seeing how blunt she is about her past behaviors and mistakes. Lady Trent is just amazing

You have convinced me to add Lady Trent series to TBR, looking forward to reading the series

@quirkygeekgirl

2 жыл бұрын

It's such a joy to read, books 3 & 4 are my favorite. Since reading the series I have read it at least 4 times. The audiobooks are fantastic.

Aquanaut sounds so interesting. I wanna watch the documentary. I've enjoyed alot of your recommendations so I can't wait to check this out

Ah my comfort channel upload a vid! Absolutely gonna read big panda and tiny dragon, Thanks Merphy

It felt like I’ve been waiting for this month’s wrap up for an eternity! Finally!! Haha

That smile makes days. No, it very carefully handcrafts them with love and detail, stay awesome Merphy

The only book I’ve read out of these is The Midnight Library, and I was one of the people who didn’t like his execution. It was too surface-level and “fun adventure book” for my style considering the theme of the story. There were some discussions I really liked, but overall I would’ve preferred a more deep-dive into the topic at hand. But I also feel it’s mostly a preference thing. I love deep psychological things and I felt that book wasn’t it for me, it was more plot-focused than I was hoping it would be. But if you want something with dark and somewhat relatable themes with a unique plot revolving around it then it’s recommended!

Merphy and her phone is me every hour of every day

Oh hey she’s finally doing the quote journal thing. Good job Merph!

I love the Lady Trent Memoirs! So gad you like them, I think they get better and better as they go along

I read The Midnight Library last year and I really really liked it, glad to hear your thought on it! What you mentioned in terms of repetitiveness didn't bother me as much though, and overall the story and Nora as a main character really stuck with me.

Your videos just make me so cosy 😌

Watching your channel feels like a hug

6:11 odd metaphors are a pet peeve of mine as well. Bath Haus is riddled with such bizarre metaphors. You've explained the problem with dual pov Is that Hannah's reading journal 😍

Oh boy second one off and we get a glorious Murf rant 🤣🤣🤣 this was a pretty fun one lol

thank you for the recommendations! i'll definitely check out Big panda Tiny dragon! it's right up my alley

From a Brit... it's York"SHEAR" 😉 love the reviews from 🇬🇧 !!!

@andrewrose3841

2 жыл бұрын

Not that the pronunciation matters or is anything but endearing, as a Yorkshireman I was fighting pretty hard not to write same thing. Glad to see someone got their first!

@slidenaway

2 жыл бұрын

from an american... do you REALLY say "shear"??? I've always heard "york-sher" (that's meant to be phonetic but another way to say the same thing is "york-sure").

@alexgarrett4673

2 жыл бұрын

@@slidenaway in a Yorkshire accent it'd be closer to "sure" but depending on the accent it could be closer to "shear".

@slidenaway

2 жыл бұрын

@@alexgarrett4673 thanks for the reply. I've definitely only ever heard "sure" but good to know it can be "shear."

Mahalo for the fantastic “Aquanaut” recommendation…The Secret Garden is all time childhood fave…

I’m glad you liked The Midnight Library! I’ve seen a lot of booktubers really hate it but I enjoyed it. I agree that some parts are repetitive and the message isn’t groundbreaking but it’s still a great concept that’s executed decently.

Ranting Merphy is my favorite Merphy.

The Secret Garden was my most favorite book growing up! Has a special place in my heart. ❤

It's always great to hear your thoughts. You were much nicer to The Midnight Library than I was, even though, like you said, I was ultimately still glad I read it. Peace!

Yay! I love the Secret Garden! I'm now really interested in reading The Midnight Library.

I know a friend of mine has The Midnight Library on his TBR I'm think I'm going to pick it up and read it too

I adored The Midnight Library and am very excited to read more from him.

I really like this video, thank you

I love Big Panda and Tiny Dragon! One of my favourites of last year :D

Oohh merph if you like fictional memoirs with a character finally opening up about their life you would love The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo! It’s about a major Hollywood star finally telling the unfiltered truth about her life and it’s written really really well!

@theoryofperfection4777

2 жыл бұрын

She did read it and loved it a lot. Can't remember when exactly

This Close to Okay discussion was incredibly entertaining.

yayy Secret Garden! i also remember reading it and enjoying it! i do wanna re-read it soon!!! :)

Love your videos Merphy! Just finished "An Unkindness of Magicians" and loved it. I'm also reading the Harry Potter series for the first time and keep watching your reviews of each book after I finish reading to see if I agree. Looking forward to discovering more gems from your videos (The Lies of Locke Lamore is on TBR list)

As someone who used to work in a greenhouse and have been scheduled of reading the secret garden, he made me interested in it

Awesome video!

I'd love a video where you go over how you organize your tabs in your books!

Thanks for the vid

I read The Secret Garden so many times growing up I loved it

I don't know if you have heard of Chinese web novels, but some of them can be really fun to read. I recommend doing some research on one called "Lord of the Mysteries." It is a huge fantasy series that uses a pretty unique "magic system." Not to mention, the MC is definitely one of a kind

Thanks for sharing that The Rescue was on Disney+! I've been wanting to watch it and missed it getting added. The book also sounds really interesting.

So glad you loved The Voyage of the Basilisk. So far Bk. 4 is my favorite, but I haven’t read Bk. 5 yet. Looking forward to hearing more of your thoughts on the series. -T

The first book looks SO CUTE!

I'm loving the Lady Trent series as well. It's made me curious about Mask of Mirrors, since Marie Brennan is half the writing team for that series.

That "this close to okay" paragraph gave me ... SHIVERS

Ooof... Midnight Library was on my Worst of 2021 list, but glad you had a good time with it!

You reading from "This Close to Okay" made me feel like I was dying. Or at least, wish I were. That was rough.

@TLBainter

2 жыл бұрын

It sounded like the author was trying really hard to have poetic prose... and just totally missed the mark.

I feel like the thing with The Secret Garden. I love all the arcs . But the first half of the book was really hard to get through .

I am really curious about the Midnight Library. Planning on reading How to Stop Time this month, which will be my first Matt Haig book 😊

Heyy..I also read Midnight Library, loved it. Bit much at the end, but provides great warmth and satisfaction.

I love The Secret Garden, I've also never read the last 2 chapters. I also love the movies, my favorite is the black and white one with Dean Stockwell.

I can’t wait until you get to the last Lady Trent book. There’s something you’ve mentioned a few times now, and I’m dying to see your reaction. Also looking forward so so much to that spoiler-ful discussion video. :D

I love your content milady 😊😊😊

Big panda and Tiny dragon is added to the tbr!

I can’t wait to read the Lady Trent books!

Hoping onto my library site to request Big Panda And Tiny Dragon ASAP, I also need a reminder to slow down at times.

Love The Secret Garden

I'm thinking I might need to pick up Midnight Library now. It sounds very interesting with some great life questions to think through.

So, 'This Close To Okay' is basically 'Hurts - Wonderful Life (acoustic)' 😄... minus the patient dating thing. Spiritbox - Secret Garden as a bonus.

_Dagummit_ is absolutely iconic

Hi Merphy, I have wondered for a while now if you know the swedish author Astrid Lindgren? She wrote many children's stories/novel and I loved them growing up. I recently reread Ronia, the Robber's Daughter and man... I teared up so often. I still love that book so much. Maybe you would like it, too. :) And I wanted to thank you for recommending the Locke Lamorra serries! They are among my favourite books now.

@00ammy00

2 жыл бұрын

Is she the one who wrote the Pippi Longstocking books?

@naloma1113

2 жыл бұрын

@@00ammy00 yes :) Among other books are: Emil of Lönneberga Mio, My Son Brothers Lionheart The Children of Noisy Village I highly recommend all of them :D

@cat2helen

2 жыл бұрын

@@00ammy00 Yes! She did.

@willemketelaars4342

2 жыл бұрын

I remember loving Brothers Lionheart so much! That book is amazing

@johannas3

2 жыл бұрын

@@willemketelaars4342 I loved it, too. My dad used to read to me before bedtime and I wanted to hear the Brothers Lionheart over and over again.

i want to recommend you a book for feb, a book called oh great i was reincarnated as a farmer. 1 its a litrpg, 2 its was my favorite read of 2021, 3 something new for you, 4 because because

Loved The Secret Garden so much!! First read it as an adult and its magic was not lost on me :D I agree with other comments that you may enjoy A Little Princess if you haven't yet and 1000% recommend the 1990's movie adaptation which in my humble opinion improves upon the book ending and is so so so wonderful!

@RB-eb9mr

2 жыл бұрын

Totally agree about A Little Princess. That movie was my childhood; I've watched it easily a hundred time.

My favourite Frances Hodgson Burnett is the short story at the end of Queen Silverbell, about a little girl who becomes the “wife” of a rook. It was so odd 😂

4:03 new favorite phrase

Hii!! First of all, sorry for my English, I'm just a Portuguese Girl living in Switzerland! After that, I would like to thank you because with all the videos that you have where you speak about the Lies of Locke Lamora, I convinced my husband to give it a try and now he loves fantasy!! Job accomplished!!! I will read it next! P.S. I love what you're doing in your channel!!

I need a good book. I really want something fantasy oriented but with more high Magic concepts with interesting systems of magic. Something I can try and figure out

wine soaking down ones throat like ribbons sounds like choking on a string.. or is it just my non-native-english "ears"?

5:40 this has made my day 🤣🤣

I'm so depressed about The Midnight Library. I'm an aspiring author but, due to a previous setback, procrastinated really heavily (like 4 or 5 years) over an idea about a man wanting to die and being given the opportunity to see how his life could've played out if he'd made different choices at various points in his life and then my sister brought this book home. I guess stories like these are all just versions of A Christmas Carol in a sense and this one was hit and miss so maybe in the future but for now... guess I have to work on a different idea lol. Definitely motivation to make sure none of my other ideas are taken away from me!

The next book in the Memoirs of Lady Trent (In the Labyrinth of Drakes) is my favourite of the series. I hope you'll love it as much as I do! (And now I want to reread them!)

I had no idea that thing with those boys happened. This video is the first I'm hearing of it. I must have been doing something at that time where I wasn't going on the computer or watching TV a lot.

also i have read the lady trent book 3 from your list. but i read 3 of those book back to back to back and i felt like i was getting burnt out by book 3 so i took a break form the series right after that book with plans to continue it in the future.

HI MERPHYYY

I think you'll enjoy some of the Japanese light novels series as well, If you ever think of picking one up I would recommend Overlord. It's a fun dark fantasy series.

Loving the non-one piece content

I really enjoy your videos I'm gonna have to try some of your recommendations. Off hand but you're super beautiful as well.

I wonder if you would do a video on "recommended narrators for Audiobooks". I sometimes will choose a book because of the narrator rather than the author.

I would like to recommend a million junes if you haven't read it, it's a small town supernatural book that felt quite atmospheric to me.

I know I've commented this on one of your previous videos, but I highly recommended the Tide Child trilogy by RJ Barker, it would be right up your alley. It's an epic fantasy with pirates (kinda sorta, more like privateers) and sea battles and unlikely friendships and just beautiful prose. Not enough people are reading it.

@merphynapier42

2 жыл бұрын

Oh that’s funny, my dad just finished reading the trilogy. I’ve started book one but I’m moving through it slowly

@KillianProse

2 жыл бұрын

@@merphynapier42 I just finished reading it too! I hope you'll enjoy it as much as I did, because it has become one of my all time favourite series

Oh man, your critiques of This Close to Okay sound identical to my thoughts on This is How You Lose the Time War... Like, just because what you're saying sounds pretty does not mean it makes sense!! And both characters speaking that way also makes no sense!! Still laughing at "modest like fresh cut grass"... H... HOW. How is fresh cut grass MODEST, ma'am. 🤣

If you like musicals at all please listen to the Musical version of the Secret Garden. It is so beautiful!!!

I just finished the first Lady Trent book, it was amazing. I think I missed your review for the second one. Edit: Nevermind I found it.

Have you read Blood Meridian? Or any novels of Cormac McCarthy? I highly recommend it, his prose and imagery is amazing.

Please do a reread of The Count of Monte Cristo. I really need some spoiler full discussions about this book.(from you specifically)🙏 I may be the only one who wants this. But I'd love to hear your comments on it after a reread. Also, I'd love to hear your thoughts on Netflix making a live-action Avatar: The Last Airbender. Sorry I didn't have anything to say about the book's in the video. I'm a fairly new reader, and haven't read much.😄 sorry this was so long-winded. 😂lol

@surenderbeniwal8578

2 жыл бұрын

Nah-uh, u ain't the only one wishing for a dedicated review of the Count. I've been secretly hoping for one since couple of months now🙃.

@bertybell4781

2 жыл бұрын

@@surenderbeniwal8578 good to know I'm not the only one.😊

@surenderbeniwal8578

2 жыл бұрын

@@bertybell4781 yeah :) Moreover, I've been putting off reading it a) bc of its chunky, intimidating size, b) waiting for Merph to come up with a dedicated vid of it.

@bertybell4781

2 жыл бұрын

@@surenderbeniwal8578 It took me about 8 months to finish it back in 2020. Not because I was bored but because I'm slow with every book I read. When I wasn't reading it, I was thinking and reading about it. It is a very chunky boy, but it's worth it in my opinion. There's never a dull moment.

@surenderbeniwal8578

2 жыл бұрын

@@bertybell4781 *nod nod* Thanku for sharing :) Every once in a while, i see a reassuring mssg (like this) n' the Count becomes lil less scary each time. I'm also into believing that a book comes to u when u need it most in ur life, when it has the best meaning -at least sometimes- so m not pushing so hard, I'll pick it up the day i feel like it...hope that made a lil sense, i promise it did in my head🙃. Also, u seem to have enjoyed the ride, at ur prefered pace, am glad about that. 👋🏻trying to fall back asleep, just woke up from lightning ⛈😬😥.

Hi Merphy, can we please pick up Skulduggery Pleasant now? I literally cannot believe you haven't read it yet. It is an absolutely amazing series (Book 5 is my favorite, followed very closely by Book 4) and you must read it. Please.

@kishenravindaran3913

2 жыл бұрын

Yes! This! PLEASEE!!

I liked The Midnight Library

I started the year with a book that I hated (Whose Body by Dorothy L Sayers) but then had a couple books that I really loved (The Swimming Pool by Mary Roberts Rinehart & Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir)!

Will you be finishing Percy Jackson? No pressure or anything I'd just be really interested in seeing your thoughts on the last Olympian.

the next lady trent book The Labyrinth of Drakes is my favorite one it’s AMAZING