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With all of the projects I have going on between WoW Insider, Nitpixels and my other writing, I haven’t had as much free time for reading as I’d like. I’ve also been watching more television since Game of Thrones started its HBO run. Work-related things are calming down a little and Game of Thrones has wrapped up its first season, so it’s back to the Kindle.

Codex Alera

In my last “whatcha readin’?” post, I mentioned that I was just starting in on Codex Alera, Jim Butcher’s more traditional fantasy series. I mentioned that it didn’t grab me, and that continued to be true. I didn’t actually finish the first book. In fact, it contributed to me falling off the reading wagon — it had so little grip on me that I spent less and less time reading, until I didn’t want to pick up my Kindle at all. Maybe the series gets better after Furies of Calderon, but if I can’t get past the first book in the series, it’s very hard to find out if I’ll enjoy the rest. Maybe I’ll read a summary of #1 on a wiki and try out #2 one day, but that’s so far on the backburner that that day may never come.

A Song of Ice and Fire

I went into this series knowing I was in for disaster. One of my dark secrets is that I don’t really like Lord of the Rings. I like it in theory and I enjoy the base story and I appreciate it for what it is, but I don’t like to read things where I have to chew through every thick page to get to the next one. I want to be urged onwards constantly, and these massive fantasy tomes do not necessarily do that — that’s not their goal. They create something much larger, much more expansive. Still, I enjoyed watching Game of Thrones so I thought I would start in on Game of Thrones the novel. I read part of it, and I will continue to read it, but it isn’t something I’m going to be able to read cover-to-cover without any pauses. I read a good chunk of it and I’m taking a break by going back to an old friend.

The Tawny Man Trilogy

Robin Hobb’s The Farseer Trilogy was on my list last time — it was a trilogy that, despite its slow beginnings, I really came to enjoy, full of characters I really loved. After being in a reading slump for a few months, going back to that world was exactly what I needed. The first book in the trilogy, Fool’s Errand, picks up 15 years after Assassin’s Apprentice. Fool’s Errand is what I have in progress right now, and right within the first few pages it immerses you in the Six Duchies again. It’s like a homecoming. It feels good.

What next?

After I’ve wrapped up the Tawny Man Trilogy, I’ll go back and read a little more Game of Thrones. Ghost Story, the latest Dresden Files novel, releases on July 26th — top of my list, for sure. After those, who knows? We’ll see what time brings.