I like to credit myself with having an excellent long-term memory. It isn’t uncommon for my wife to give me the look of shock and amazement when I mention something obscure we did together years ago. Despite my good memory, I can’t think back to a space in my childhood and see the point where I began reading for absolute pleasure.
I suppose if I cobble together all of my early memories of books I could piece it together but, no one single moment stands out in my mind. I can, however, say with absolute certainty that my favorite books as a child were King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table, Dracula, and Scary Stories to Tell In the Dark.
The frequency in which I read changes throughout the year. In the winter I don’t tend to read as much as I do in the warmer months. I find it to be peaceful to sit outside with a book and a cigar to unwind after a stressful day at work. Over the past couple of weeks I’ve been reading American Sniper: The Autobiography of the Most Lethal Sniper in U.S. Military History.
I tend to struggle with books outside of the Fantasy genre but on several recommendations, I made it a point to read Chris Kyle’s autobiography. It held my interest and accompanied several cigars on my deck. In fact, I came across a mention of cigars in the book, which inspired this little blurb today.
Head down to the comments section below and suggest a book for
my next quiet outing on the deck – with a cigar of course.
Many of books have been read and had ash dropped on them. Recently I finished the first 2 books in the Fire and Ice saga (Game of Thrones) and am about half way through the 3rd book.
Corey,
For a long time I thought of myself as one of those people that would never be able to give up paper books. There was just something about them that digital couldn’t match. Besides, a full bookshelf is an impressive sight.
Then I tried an eReader for the first time. I wasn’t sold on the Nook but when I got a Kindle Paper White, that was it. These days I get annoyed if I can’t get something in digital. Don’t get me wrong, I still like getting hardbacks of books I really enjoy but for day to day reading I’ve gone digital.
If you like A Song of Ice and Fire (and wind up getting stuck waiting for the last few books to be written and published), give Joe Abercrombie a try. His stuff is really gritty and well written. I started with the First Law trilogy and have bought every book he has released since (even the Young Adult stuff is pretty good – although it is light reading)
There’s nothing like summer reading, drinks and cigars to still the mind. Big fan of The Malazan Book of the Fallen series by Steven Erikson. Recently finished Neil Gaiman American Gods and Ocean at the end of the lane. Great article Walt!
Teunis,
Malazan has been on my list of things to read for some time now. The vast size of the series has kept me from diving right in.
Have you read the Stormlight Archive by Brandon Sanderson? I bought the first book (The Way of Kings) because it was deeply discounted for Amazon Kindle (I think it was $2.99). I wasn’t a huge fan of the Mistborn trilogy but for the cost it as worth a shot. I wound up enjoying it so much that immediately after reading The Way of Kings, I ordered Words of Radiance and started in on that. They are long novels but I enjoyed them a great deal and am eagerly waiting for the third book in the series.
Thanks for the comment
I’ve been reading Dickens while smoking for the past 2-3 years. Only have two more to check off the list.
The “Game of Thrones” books.
The Lord of the Rings and The Silmarillion.
The Bernard Cornwell “Sharpe’s” books. Highly recommended.
Hey Walt,
Cigars and books are a great pairing!
Fantasy-wise, here are a few I highly recommend:
Prince of Thorns by Mark Lawrence ($5.18 on kindle): Dark, but if you can get past that, an original and extremely well written book and series.
The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss ($5.99 on kindle): Get through the first 100 pages to where the real story starts and you’ll be hooked. Incredible series.
The Magicians by Lev Grossman ($7.99 on kindle): a four and half star book and series.
Sam,
I’m a big fan of Patrick Rothfuss and his King Killer Chronicles. It is one of my favorite fantasy series. Now, if he would only finish and release the final book….
I also purchased The Slow Regard for Silent Things. I never did finish it but intend to go back and try again. Auri was interesting in the series but a novella dedicated to her was a bit much.
I’ve had a few people recommend The Magicians to me. I’m going to give that a try.
I recently picked up Joe Abercrombie’s second book in the Shattered Sea series. It is Young Adult but still very gripping. I didn’t expect to think much of it but was pleasantly surprised.
PS – Very nice to see someone stepping out of the box and talking about the joys of reading paired with a tasty stick. How about pairings! Darker writing paired with an earthy, gritty, Connecticut broadleaf. Lighter prose with a medium bodied habano wrapped stick. You get the idea.
I will have to read Joe Abercrombie. He gets recommended often. If you liked Name of the Wind, I definitely think you’ll like The Magicians. Thanks for the article.
Sam,
When reading Abercrombie, it kind of makes sense to read them in order. You don’t have to but some of the novels will make more sense if you know the back-story.
For instance, I would read The First Law trilogy before The Heroes or Red Country (all set in the same world with character overlap).
Best Served Cold takes place in a different part of the world and can be read stand-alone. Coincidentally it is my least favorite of his books.
Half a King and Half the World are the YA Novels that don’t overlap with any of the others.
Talking about these books makes me want to re-read The Heroes and Red Country – they are both fantastic. Very dark and gritty, I struggled to put them down.
And YA books can be great. The Hunt by Andrew Fukuda was hard to put down.
If you want a psychological but easy read, Scary Close by Donald Miller