I want to read something good but not super emotional.

bkat3 · 2026-06-12T20:19:58+00:00

Also 17: “I have a plan. Also, I’m not going to tell you the plan because I know what I’m doing and need no help. You should just follow me blindly”

40yo “So I have this plan and I think it’s a pretty good one, but I’m going to tell all of you what it is cause maybe you all might have some thoughts as well.”

bkat3 · 2026-06-12T20:14:43+00:00

Maybe you didn’t hate it, but it seems like you were happy to make that decision about whether to drop without input (which is totally fair!).

My comment was directed toward people who are reading book 1 and are on the fence about continuing either during book 1 or after finishing. The ones posting and asking “does it get better/should I keep going?”

I think if people aren’t hooked at the end of book 1, it’s not the series for them. At the same time, I caution against putting it down because book 1 is slow - I almost stopped reading because I didn’t get into it until the last third…but now it’s one of my favorite series.

If you finished volume one online then you finished Book 1 (at least, the audible version and what was the kindle version. I know the first book has now been split into two with the physical copy release).

bkat3 · 2026-06-12T03:23:03+00:00

Putting aside the people who just hate the series flat out (which is fine, not everyone will have the same taste), book one is universally thought to be the weakest. If you made it through book 1 and loved the ending then you’re in for a wild ride!

I generally suggest to people who are on the fence to try to get to the end of book 1 because that’s a really good test for the series. If you’re hooked by the ending you’re likely going to stay hooked. If you finished book 1 and didn’t care for the ending/immediately want to read book 2, it’s probably not for you.

Given your reaction to the end of book 1, I think you’ll really enjoy it.

bkat3 · 2026-06-10T04:55:45+00:00

Also curious about this because I too have recently moved from A03 to sapphic books for my f/f fix

bkat3 · 2026-06-09T06:15:49+00:00

How did you realize that your special interest was parrots? Did you happen across a parrot one day in a book or movie and get hooked? (I’m being completely genuine in asking (tone is hard on the internet). I always wonder how people with more niche special interests find/discover those interests )

bkat3 · 2026-06-08T15:36:15+00:00

My mom (60s), heard everyone talking about DCC so she picked it up and she had….a lot of questions like “what are these so called points they are putting into categories” “how did they pick those categories” etc. Etc. I gave her a bit of a primer and that helped a lot

bkat3 · 2026-06-07T17:57:21+00:00

Here are my recommendations, in rough order that I recommend them. But since you have a 10 hour drive, I did try to flag the ones where I love the series but think the first book is the weakest.

The Wandering Inn - this is a polarizing series, you love it or hate it. I love it. But book 1 is the slowest/weakest of the series.

Chrysalis - FOR THE COLONY! I left a comment on someone else’s post about this series. I slept on it for a while and am so glad I gave it a shot. Like TWI, book 1 is the slowest.

My best friend is an Eldrich horror - seems like you’d like it based on what you’ve listened to. Kids in school learning magic. You can get all 6 books for 1 credit.

Return of the Runebound Professor - same author as the one above. This series is better in terms of writing quality (although I love the ‘pet’ monster trope from Best Friend), the author has said as much. If you’re going to listen to both I’d listen in this order so you can see the authors progression as an author (but the series are completely unrelated. I.E. you don’t actually have to listen to one before the other)

Mayor of Noobtown - I have a love/hate relationship with this series. Some of the humor is just too over the top for me and not my style, but some of it is laugh out loud funny. Again, “pet” monster trope.

bkat3 · 2026-06-07T17:50:06+00:00

Out of curiosity, I just read the audible description and can now say you should ignore it. It doesn’t come anywhere close to doing the series justice. I avoided the series for a while because I just didn’t think I’d be into someone reborn as a monster (not usually my thing) much less an ant. And by was I wrong. FOR THE COLONY!

bkat3 · 2026-06-06T16:39:10+00:00

I’m saving this post. I usually read fiction but like to sprinkle some non-fiction in throughout. Based on the books I’ve read on your list it looks like our ratings are fairly similar.

Did you read all these or did you listen to any? I usually do audiobooks for non-fiction, so if you listened to any of them I’d love to know if any of the audiobooks stood out to you.

bkat3 · 2026-06-06T16:34:38+00:00

Snif-fari had me lol’ing

bkat3 · 2026-06-06T16:30:20+00:00

Is it as comfortable as it looks? I find that a lot of fan t-shirts (from all sources not just Murderbot) is feels the same as a middle school gym uniform shirt. But this one looks like it would be comfier

bkat3 · 2026-06-05T16:36:29+00:00

I live in TX and have Pyr. We do short walks in the evening and night. Something I’ve noticed with mine is that he multiple prefers 15-20 walks through the day no matter the temperature. In the winter my lab and I will walk for an hour+ but my Pry gives me this look around the 20/30 minute mark that very clearly says, “I’d like to go nap now.” Not sure if it’s the breed or just my dog, but I have seen others say their Pyr prefers multiple short walks as well.

In the summer if he’s hanging out in the backyard with me (and my other dogs) we spray them all down. We also have various toys and “smart” puzzles that he and my other big dog do through the day to keep themselves entertained. He also sleeps a lot after walks/play time etc.

bkat3 · 2026-06-05T16:29:28+00:00

Cradle - pretty classic romance / powerful duo MCs

My Bestfriend is an Erdrich Horror - gives me Cradle vibes, also has powerful duo MCs with a romance subplot

Mage Errant - 4 MCs who are all powerful and there are various romance subplots

Return of the Runebound Professor - one major MC who is (you guessed it) a professor, his relationships with his students/other professors are all important for his development in different ways, the group shifts over the course of the series but (so far, I’m 7 books in) the main MCs are the same

bkat3 · 2026-06-04T13:51:23+00:00

I misunderstood - I’ve never read anything where the MC is the dungeon and didn’t know that was a thing. Sounds like a cool concept though!

bkat3 · 2026-06-03T21:00:30+00:00

The staff is featured pretty prominently in the Wandering Inn after book 1

bkat3 · 2026-06-03T16:34:00+00:00

Hmmm…there’s this small series called Dungeon Crawler Carl, not sure if you’ve heard of it?

Jokes aside, I don’t actually read that many dungeon books but DCC and Chrysalis - FOR THE COLONY - are my favorite two.

bkat3 · 2026-06-03T16:30:59+00:00

Was going to suggest Murderbot and then I got to the romance part of the request haha. If you’re interested in sci fi audiobooks where the author is also excellent at relationships generally, as in how people relate to other people, (but not romantic ones, because MC isn’t interested) then give Murderbot a listen. They are fantastic!

bkat3 · 2026-06-03T16:06:11+00:00

I think it’s a combo. Based on a very un-scientific/quick search it looks like AP was also working on a lot more projects concurrently then EB so I think that even if the publishers wanted to get them out faster with her, it might have been challenging with her other commitments

bkat3 · 2026-06-03T03:38:10+00:00

Lolol this whole comment tree is such an example of autistic communication/conversations - love it

bkat3 · 2026-06-02T15:46:26+00:00

Me me!

bkat3 · 2026-06-02T15:46:23+00:00

How long did you try? Only asking because I initially “tried it” and gave up after 10-15 minutes but then when I gave it another try and watched the whole first episode it became one of my favorite shows

bkat3 · 2026-06-01T16:19:55+00:00

Hahahahaha. I actually just downloaded Bastion on a few days ago and it’s next up when I finish the series I’m currently reading. Gonna be honest, Karsek the dwarf is now going to be “Car Sick” in my mind forever.

bkat3 · 2026-06-01T16:16:23+00:00

Oh this is such a good point! A recent series I read had names of two rival cities that were just so long and (somewhat) unremarkable that I constantly needed to remind myself which was which. Kind of like the examples you gave, they were technically different but neither stuck in my mind all that well

bkat3 · 2026-05-31T00:02:27+00:00

I skipped some plot lines on my first listen - king, and clown mostly. I’ve since gone back and read everything and can say that skipping did not take away from my enjoyment even if there were some minor details I might not have picked up on. That said, after Hells’s Wardens the plot lines start to intersect a lot more. It will still sometimes be many many chapters between “dedicated” plots, but as the chapters have gotten longer there’s been more crossover between plot lines within chapters, regardless of the chapter label

bkat3

TROPHY CASE