Announcing the next Mark Reads project and the future of videos

Hello, lovely readers! Today is an important day because I have to make two BIG announcements. (And don’t worry, Mark Reads isn’t going anywhere; here’s to me making a post in 2029 celebrating the 20th anniversary of this place I LOVE REVIEWING BOOKS.)

First, the not-so-great news. I ask that you please respect my privacy in terms of like… not asking invasive questions about my medical stuff. Thank you in advance! The short of it is: I got sick in January 2019, did not go to the hospital (as I assumed it was a cold), and have been dealing with some ramifications of that since then. The main issue, though, is that over 2019, I sustained damage to my vocal chords. If we were not in a pandemic, I might have just taken a break from videos and then jumped back into things, but since this is not an emergency, most non-essential stuff is postponed here in NYC.

So, doctor’s orders: I need to stop doing Mark Reads videos. (Not Mark Watches, though, since it is not me continuously talking/yelling for 30-40 mins straight.)

The last official video will be for The Shepherd’s Crown. I shoulda stopped earlier, but I couldn’t NOT finish out Discworld. It also bought me time: time to organize all outstanding commissions in a lovely spreadsheet, and time to save up from some short story sales so that I could immediately refund anyone who wanted that option.

Each of you with an outstanding commission will be BCC’d on an email arriving shortly in your inboxes that links to this post to explain what’s going on. You’ll be given your options of what to do with your commission. (For transparency, those are: 1) immediate refund via your platform of choice, since I can’t directly refund most folks, especially those whose cards may have changed; 2) transfer commission to Mark Watches 3) ask for the amount in a Video Pass 4) nothing!) Again: I have the money, and I want NO ONE to feel guilt for asking for a refund, especially NOW, when some extra money might come in handy. It’s only fair; you gave me money to complete something, I can’t fulfill it, so you deserve it all back. The end!

For Patrons: I will finish out any book I’m reading for you, but once I’m done, I’ll ask you to switch to a Mark Watches one.

And while this has made me sad and depressed–I feel like this whole part of my life is coming to an end–I know protecting my health is important, and I am honest-to-gods trying to get better at centering myself with these things.

But also: I’M NOT GOING ANYWHERE. Because it’s time to start a NEW SERIES here on Mark Reads and YES, SERIES.

drumroll, please

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I will be reading N.K. Jemisin’s Broken Earth trilogy next!!!

There won’t be videos, but there will be REVIEWS! And it’s kinda exciting to get to go back to the old style of reviews, where I have to put my immediate reactions into the review instead of relying on videos for that part. Discworld friends, I’ll be plotting out some liveblog parties and reviews to watch adaptations of Discworld books, so be on the lookout for that, too, once I finish the series.

Thank you, friends, for the support over all these years. I may have had my hand forced, but I’m coming to terms with one part of this ending. May there be many more years of book reviews, though, and I hope you’ll continue reading.

— Mark