my Project Reread

A few posts back an offhand mention of "winter is coming", and that phrase's relationship to George R. R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire series, got me thinking about my favorite fantasy books and series. While there are quite a few I have enjoyed over the years, there are really only three series which I would consider my favorites - The Wheel of Time, The Lord of the Rings, and A Song of Ice and Fire. Each of these three series means something a little different to me, but all make it onto my favorite books list (ok, some of the books don’t, but each series taken collectively does).

Surprisingly (or maybe not), it was The Wheel of Time series which got me hooked on fantasy books as a teenager, not The Lord of the Rings as is the case with many fans… the true sense of wonder and discovery I felt while reading The Eye of the World opened up my imagination and it has been used as something of a benchmark which I measure my enjoyment of works of fantasy by ever since. No matter where the series went from that first book, or where it ultimately ends up, it will always be my first, and one of my favorites.

Not too long after I read the first two books of Robert Jordan’s series (the only two available at the time), I discovered The Lord of the Rings and devoured the series. The Lord of the Rings provided a depth and breadth to my appreciation of fantasy. Of course, this was discovered by a whole generation of fans before me, but being relatively new to the genre at the time, reading this classic was a true grand experience.

It was years later when I stumbled upon the first book of A Song of Ice and Fire. I had read many fantasy novels in those years, but none had the ability to take hold of my imagination and mind like The Wheel of Time and The Lord of the Rings did until I picked up A Game of Thrones (thanks in part to the “It’s Brilliant” blurb by Robert Jordan). At a time when I was becoming bored with the redundancy of the genre, A Game of Thrones showed me that fantasy could still be fresh, intelligent, and a freakin’ great read.

Of these three, only Lord of the Rings is a “finished” series... George R.R. Martin is still working away on the fifth book of his series, and the sad of news of Robert Jordan's passing put his series in jeopardy of not being finished (since then, it has come out that he had extensive notes, and Brandon Sanderson was tapped to write the final book of the series using Robert Jordan's notes with the assistance, I am assuming, of Robert Jordan's wife and editor). Nonetheless, the sense of wonder I felt for these works of fiction upon my first reading each is something that I often yearn for - sadly, I have learned that the feeling is not one that can be forced, it just happens, it just is, and it occurs when you are not looking for it (sounds kind of like the generic love advice you'd give a heartbroken friend, I know). Anyway, so here it is - my Project Reread - I plan on rereading all available books (core books - I cannot even contemplate reading all of Tolkien's LoTR related works) of my three favorite fantasy series over, let's say the next year... it may take longer, as I will be leaving lots of room on my to read pile for new books - of course, I can only hope to finish off this project by reading A Dance with Dragons and A Memory of Light… one can always hope.

As a testament to my love for these series, feel free to search my library and see how many copies of each I happen to own (I somehow have difficulty not buying books I really like when I see them for cheap at a book sale or new editions comes out - hey, this is a madness, after all)… uh oh, I just checked and it seems I actually only have one copy of The Eye of the World (not counting the first part freebies they were giving away years ago), so it looks like I must have given away all my copies and have to get more - woohoo, a trip to the bookstore is needed!!!

OK, first up will be A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin… check back sometime soon for my thoughts.