New Year, New Reading List!

Well, it’s January First again. I am here to help you ring in the new year on your favorite geeky blog!

But I have to be honest with you, I’ve spent most of the last week sleeping, playing with my Christmas loot, and thinking about Flash Gordon. So this week, I just want to talk to you all about books, and the stuff I want to read in 2013.

1. The Kingkiller Chronicles by Patrick Rothfuss I read the first book in this series and I’m about to dive into the second. I am not kidding when I say that Rothfuss’ writing is so good it will make you cry. Not the events of the book, mind you; the writing itself is SO GOOD you will WEEP. The series will be a trilogy when it’s complete. It follows the life story of Kvothe, a man who has become so legendary that it is nearly impossible to separate fact from fiction without talking directly to the man himself. His life story takes him three full days to tell to a man named Chronicler, who has arrived a Kvothe’s Tavern to transcribe Kvothe’s life story. Kvothe started his life as a gypsy child; his parents were lovely people, his mentor believed in him and magical skills came easy. But his luck doesn’t last long, and the real excitement lies within how the facts of Kvothe’s life have since become EPICALLY exaggerated–or perhaps discovering that they’re no exaggeration at all.

Additionally, Rothfuss’ blog and facebook page are, put simply, amazing.

2.  The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit… again. I like rereading books before the movie comes out, and if all goes according to plan, by this time next year we’ll all be fawning over The Desolation of Smaug. Before that happens, however, I’m traveling back to Middle Earth.

3.  Game of Thrones; which is the only exception to my “books before movies and/or television shows” rule. I finished watching season one of the HBO series by the same name as the first title in the Song of Ice and Fire series, and even though it’s not my FAVORITE thing in the universe… bitches won’t get off my back about reading the book *COUGHCOUGHleiaandkaitlynCOUGHCOUGH* so I’m going to give it a try.

One of two reasons I’m still watching; the other is small and rhymes with…Shmyrian.

4. Catching Fire and Mockingjay, again because the movies are coming out. I am not the biggest fan of The Hunger Games, either, but I feel somehow incomplete by not finishing the books.

5. Alton Brown’s Good Eats: The Early Years was one of the items in my Christmas haul. It is a cookbook that goes beyond just being a cookbook; it’s also a guide to Alton’s television show Good Eats, which looks at food from an academic standpoint. Another appropriate title for Alton’s show and books would be “The Geek’s Guide to Anything You’ve Ever Eaten”.

As I go on through the year, I’m sure I will add more books to the list, but this is the first few months worth. If you’re somewhat invested, you can follow my progress (and whether or not I make good on my …resolutions…) at goodreads.com.

What are you going to read this year?

Jen Schiller
Staff Writer
twitter.com/Jenisaur