I’ve been bouncing around trying to find a book to read but nothing’s really caught my attention. Think I’ve settled on After London Or, Wild England by Richard Jeffries. Heard about it on Extra Credits—I think one of their videos on sci fi or possibly post apocalyptic literature or maybe Lovecraft?—and figured I should give it a shot. It’s starting off really slow by today’s standards but hoping there’s a payoff further in.
Edit: was also free on Kindle so that helps 
I just watched a bunch of their videos on horror since I was preparing to run a game, and don’t remember seeing it. I may have to check it out.
I got through the first two but lost interest. Someday I will probably revisit them.
That is a incredible series. I read them years ago and have been thinking of hitting them up again. Only downside is the sad reality that George R.R Martin probably will never finish the last two books.
I basically refuse to start that series until it’s all finished and published.
They are definitely worth reading if you enjoy fantasy. I dont blame you though. He has said he has gotten a good chunk done already. Atleast now that the show is over he will probably be able to get more focused on finishing. I think he also puts alot of time into the Wild Cards series. They have been putting out those books pretty consistently. Also some awesome reads if you are into more realistic superhuman novels.
Ooo thanks for the suggestion! I’ll have to check out Wild Cards
Oh, man, Wild Cards is so great.
I’ve been trying to read more older literature lately and I think it serves as a sort of time capsule too, very interesting to read almost 100 years later. I read my first Hemingway novel, The Sun Also rises, last year and really enjoyed it. Have a few more on my list to read next.
To the original topic - The recently finished Cat’s Cradle (Vonnegut) and i’m currently in the middle of Big Sur (Kerouac). Not sure how I feel about Big Sur yet, i’ve read most of Kerouac’s other novels and really like them, but this this one feels more scattered. Might not be in the right frame of mind when reading it. 
I think ASOIAF is one of the most overrated fantasy series of all time. I could expand more but I’ll keep this succinct.
My main issues are the purple prose and the lack of plotting. He is overly descriptive and has basically admitted as much, saying he believes that it is more immersive. I think there’s a not so fine line between immersive and indulgent, and his indulgence ruins the pacing.
He also does not plot out heavily in advance, and this is why 5 books in the main plot concerning the Others has barely advanced in any meaningful way. This is just poor writing, there’s no other way to put it. It’s also why it takes him so long to write, as he has written himself into holes that he has to then write himself out of.
It’s not like he’s doing anything revolutionary by toning down the fantasy elements and focusing on political intrigue, this is pretty standard grimdark stuff and is much more interesting to the reader who is reading this type of fantasy for the first time.
It’s one of those series like Harry Potter that earns cultural reverence not because it is so much better than other books/ series, but because it hopped on the hype train at the right time and most of its devout fan base doesn’t read much outside of the mainstream. It’s not bad by any means, but it’s nowhere near as fantastic as the hype would have you believe.
Yeah I totally get that. I still kinda wanna read it at some point though, or at least try to. I was really invested in the show and the world overall until the last couple of seasons, and I kinda wanna read it for the cultural zeitgeist. But I’ve also heard it drags at places and that it’s even more gratuitous than the series (I’ve had about enough Ramsay Bolton for a lifetime) so I may end up passing it up eventually.
I really enjoyed the first book, but it’s took me something absurd like 60 pages to get into it. I had to force myself to keep going.
i recently read Islands In The Stream by Ernest Hemingway for a Literature class that my dad is teaching i enjoyed it a bit some of it is really depressing we’re going to read Old Man in the Sea next (these books have some GOOD Literature in them)
Edit: just finished Old Man in The Sea and it was amazing some parts were sad but it is a great book
just got done with the 2nd book in the hunger games series
You’re definitely on track there. It’s nice to see younger people reading classics and enjoying them.
I enjoyed reading almost every book I was ever assigned, I was never the type of person that disliked something because I was being “forced” to read it.
You should check this out:
This dudes animation style is incredible, he paints on glass for it.
yeah some of the books i read i AM forced to read and i don’t like being forced to read books i enjoy books a ton but when i am forced to read it it makes it much less enjoyable
i will watch it when i can
I finished reading “How To” by Randall Munroe (XKCD) the other day and am now reading “The Physics of Superheroes” which was written by my professor James Kakalios.
I have a copy of Slaughterhouse 5 by Vonnegut that I plan on reading as well.
I also plan on reading the next Yoyo Book Club Book, Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer.
im reading the deathly hollows for the 14th time lol I love Harry Potter
The Dark Tower series by Steven King. An amazing series.
