The dreaded reading slump

I think it is time that we admit we have hit the dreaded reading slump. After a lovely summer of long days reading almost as much as we liked, the return to the real world has taken a bit of a toll.

I’m putting all of my extra energy into trying to get my thesis finished. It also doesn’t help that I just discovered This is Us and pretty much binge watched the whole first season. Watching TV is the only thing I seem to be capable of doing after spending the whole day writing.

I’m not sure what’s going on with Mr NW. He still has about 5 books on his bedside table, but seems to be re-reading Red Seas Under Red Skies (apparently this is comfort reading). I really don’t understand how he could be doing that when he is currently 1/4 of the way through The Hero of Ages.

What are your tips for getting out of a reading slump?

The Top 5 SF-F Heroes

I have spent a bit of time on my blog blabbing on and on about flawed yet interesting characters with a mixed (and sometimes entirely broken) moral compass. But there are also great heroes in science fiction & fantasy that I adore. You can’t help but admire their skills, courage, loyalty, intelligence, and all round perfectness. I always like to think I would behave in the same way and take on the same challenges if I were put in these characters positions, which I think is part of why people like heroes – our own little internal-hero inside our heads relates to them and is also what judges flawed characters so harshly. Yes of course, if you were Frodo, you would take the ring to Mordor. It’s the only logical thing to do…

…right?

Or you could just give the ring to Samwise and run off yelling “dibs not!” and hide in a hole with your over-sized ears plugged by your fingers yelling “la la la la la I can’t hear you.” Although it might be tricky having to answer to a disappointed Gandalf.

Gandalf looking underwhelmed with your abhorrent behavior.

Seventh Decimate – Stephen R. Donaldson

I was duly warned. Donaldson loves to write unlikable characters. He most certainly continues this trend in his latest book Seventh Decimate. The main character, Prince Bifalt, is completely and utterly infuriating at times. Funnily enough he reminded be rather too much of someone I know in the real world (I ain’t gonna name names) which isn’t really want you want to see in your fantasy heroes. Yet, when I closed the book after finishing the last page, I found that I actually liked the book. In fact I liked it quite a bit.

The cover art is awesome

Assigned Reading (#4): The Final Empire – Mistborn Book One by Brandon Sanderson

In an attempt to educate Mrs. NW, who is not exactly an avid reader of science fiction and fantasy, Mr. NW each month assigns a novel to read.

After my epic fail at finishing Childhood’s End by Arthur C.Clarke (way, way too dry for my tastes), I’m ecstatic to have finished a book for once. Clearly, I’m leaning heavily towards the fantasy genre at this point, except grimdark. I’m hoping Mr NW will up his game with picking sci-fi books (maybe you guys can help him out with some suggestions).

So I present my review of  The Final Empire by Brandon Sanderson.

In a world where ash falls from the sky, and mist dominates the night, an evil cloaks the land and stifles all life. The future of the empire rests on the shoulders of a troublemaker and his young apprentice. Together, can they fill the world with colour once more?
In Brandon Sanderson’s intriguing tale of love, loss, despair and hope, a new kind of magic enters the stage— Allomancy, a magic of the metals. – Blurb from Goodreads

My current excuses for not finishing books I’ve started reading

I’m supposed to be doing my assigned reading post for the month, but alas, I did not finish Childhood’s End by Arthur C. Clarke so instead here are my current excuses for not finishing books.

11 Best Fantasy Books of 2017

In our previous post we looked at the 11 Best Science Fiction Books of 2017, and were surprised to find we hadn’t read ANY of them. So did we fare any better with the Best Fantasy Books of 2017?

11 Best Science Fiction Books of 2017

The end of the year is fast approaching – how quickly has this year gone by? – so I thought I would take a look through the best science fiction books of 2017, as voted by readers on Goodreads. Now we were never going to have read many of these, as over half of them are later books in series, but I was shocked to find we have read exactly none of the books that made it in to the top science fiction books of 2017.

November Round Up

November was our second full month of the blog and man, it went by quickly!

Thanks to everyone who stopped by and told us which fantasy or sci-fi worlds they’d love to visit. There are some fantastic suggestions – Neverwhere, Earthsea, Hobbiton. My favourite comment has to go to Widdershins for wanting to live in The Fast and the Furious Franchise.

The Book Buying Dilemma: Go Local or Global?

As you guys know from our previous post, 10 rules for living with a book collecting sci-fi nerd, Mr NW is a pretty avid collector of books. I’m sure I don’t need to tell you guys this hobby can get quite pricey quite quickly. Not as bad as skiing or building miniature railroads but it definitely adds up.

The Palace Job – Such Fun!

The Palace Job by Patrick Weekes is one of the most hilarious and fun books that I have read in a long while. It is a heist novel filled to the brim with interesting and humorous yet compelling characters. While it doesn’t take itself too seriously, it doesn’t overdo the humor to the point where it just becomes plain slapstick and no substance.