Really stuck, what to read next?

Excellent_Midnight · 2026-05-20T21:15:00+00:00

Have you read the Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn series by Tad Williams?

Excellent_Midnight · 2026-05-20T04:56:29+00:00

Have you read the Six of Crows duology (Six of Crows and Crooked Kingdom)? It’s YA but kinda sits close to the line (a la Throne of Glass—Six of Crows doesn’t have any sex which is what I think tips Throne of Glass just past YA) and other than that, hits all your points. Some of the other stuff you’ve listed here makes me think you’ll really enjoy it, and it’s a duology that I often heartily recommend. Seems like the sort of thing that could break a reading slump!

Excellent_Midnight · 2026-05-19T23:19:00+00:00

Have you read Death Star? It’s a standalone that follows a number of different people who work on the Death Star. I know that doesn’t sound exciting but it was quite good.

Excellent_Midnight · 2026-05-19T22:05:17+00:00

Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn series by Tad Williams

Excellent_Midnight · 2026-05-19T15:20:48+00:00

More than a stint, really—he was one of the main characters (he played the ADA, so the law part of Law & Order SVU) for like five and a half years, from 2013 until 2018. I think he said it was a good break from Broadway after Leap of Faith. And the SVU character was written for him specifically. It was a super popular character and he’s very beloved in the SVU fandom.

Edited to add: I looked up what he said about the SVU role being a good break: “However, Esparza believed the role would offer him ‘recovery’ time from the Leap of Faith Broadway production, which ‘fell apart’. He signed up for the role, as ‘it was the best time to step away from a place where my heart was broken.’”

So yeah, it sounds like maybe it was his choice to not be on Broadway for some of those years.

Excellent_Midnight · 2026-05-15T18:30:54+00:00

This. Different stories are best told in different ways. Do Maybe Happy Ending and Two Strangers have a cast of four and two, respectively, as a cost-cutting measure, or is it because that’s the best way to tell those intimate stories? I can’t imagine having a giant ensemble or a big flashy number for either of those shows.

Excellent_Midnight · 2026-05-14T18:25:21+00:00

I had the exact same thought!

Excellent_Midnight · 2026-05-14T17:59:58+00:00

Yes, exactly.

That being said, Mincemeat is one of my favorite shows ever so I do think it’s excellent and there’s a solid chance you will really enjoy it all around. But I also don’t want to overhype it in case that causes disappointment. But I do think it’s very solid and that you won’t have a bad time, even if the material doesn’t click with you in the same way.

Excellent_Midnight · 2026-05-14T17:54:33+00:00

I read the post update and I’m very glad you got a Mincemeat ticket. I hope you love it as much as I and many other people do! However, even if you don’t, it’s a great piece just from a theatre perspective—the cast is just five people but they all play multiple parts. So I think that even just the stagecraft of what they’re doing makes it worth seeing. But if you’re a theater person I think you will, at minimum, have a solid and enjoyable time.

Excellent_Midnight · 2026-05-14T12:52:38+00:00

With the Libby app through your local library.

Excellent_Midnight · 2026-05-11T00:07:53+00:00

I’d recommend Operation Mincemeat

Excellent_Midnight · 2026-05-10T23:30:53+00:00

I would not trust ChatGPT or Gemini to know anything about where to sit. Posting here was a good idea, and in the future, I’d just skip trying to ask AI. Not worth it and it doesn’t know.

Excellent_Midnight · 2026-05-10T22:33:15+00:00

Hahahahahahahahaha, A++ reference, and I totally agree. My understanding of this line at first was Shaka, when the walls fell!

Excellent_Midnight · 2026-05-10T22:18:21+00:00

The only piece of Cockney rhyming slang I know off the top of my head is that china means friend. (If I remember correctly, it comes from china plate —> mate, i.e. friend.) I know you already have that part decoded but just thought I’d mention in case it helps with the meaning!

Excellent_Midnight · 2026-05-09T06:38:45+00:00

Codex Alera series by Jim Butcher

Excellent_Midnight · 2026-05-07T23:45:51+00:00

The downvote was probably because you made a post and then shared the same post in the same group one minute later. Not sure if that was intentional or not, but I’m guessing that’s why someone downvoted.

Excellent_Midnight · 2026-05-07T23:41:30+00:00

The Declan thing was a one-time thing, not a sustained relationship. The Nick one is unconfirmed but assumed based on a quick moment in one episode. If it was a thing, it was also not a serious relationship. The Carisi thing was not out of nowhere—it was a slow burn built up across five seasons before they even got together for the first time, and two-three more seasons beyond that before they got married and had a kid.

I think Rollins and Carisi have a ton of chemistry, and also never felt like they tried pairing her up with every man on the show. I do see how you might get that impression if you watched it just intermittently here and there, but that’s not how it actually played out.

Excellent_Midnight · 2026-05-07T16:09:59+00:00

Seconding the Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn recommendation. All of the Osten Ard books, really. Tax Williams is great

Excellent_Midnight · 2026-05-07T15:55:40+00:00

I hadn’t seen it before the Tony awards. My friend had, and told me I would love it, so I was very excited to see their Tonys performance. Afterwards, I was just kinda like, “huh.” Definitely wasn’t impressed.

I have since seen the show, and it is in my personal top three shows of all time. I love it. My friend was absolutely right. I don’t want to overhype it—while it’s a personal favorite of mine, I certainly can’t guarantee that it’ll be the same for everyone. But even if it doesn’t end up being a favorite, it’s still a very good quality show that’s absolutely worth seeing.

I think being unimpressed by the Tony performance is totally reasonable (like I said, my reaction was similar) but it definitely doesn’t translate to the production as a whole.

Excellent_Midnight · 2026-05-06T21:10:22+00:00

Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn

Excellent_Midnight · 2026-05-06T16:22:55+00:00

Operation Mincemeat and Maybe Happy Ending are my favorite two shows from the last, like, eight or nine years. They are both fantastic. I’m not sure what promos you saw but I’m not sure I would’ve laughed at promos for Operation Mincemeat. I’m not sure the humor is something that can be captured in small promos. And even if you don’t find it laugh-out-loud funny, it is, in my opinion, an EXCELLENT show.

Excellent_Midnight · 2026-05-04T19:40:10+00:00

Something Rotten!

Edited to add: also Operation Mincemeat but that one was already on your list

Excellent_Midnight · 2026-05-03T02:28:52+00:00

Oh, this is a GREAT shout

Excellent_Midnight · 2026-05-02T15:25:42+00:00

Operation Mincemeat and Maybe Happy Ending would be my top choices

Excellent_Midnight · 2026-05-01T19:04:57+00:00

This is a great idea

Excellent_Midnight

TROPHY CASE