HBO is creating a show based on the series A Song of Ice and Fire by George R R Martin, A Game of Thrones being the first novel in that series. From what I gather, each novel will be one full season.

In NanoNews, I broke the 25,000 word mark yesterday with only 25,000 more words to go. Halfway there!

So what’s my novel about? It’s complicated. I can tell you that it falls squarely in the fantasy genre. At least I think it does. It takes place in another world, there are various types of humanoid races each possessing a unique ability (although I won’t go as far as to call in magic), there are great battles, lots of deep lore… so yeah, fantasy, right? As I write this fantasy story, this story that’s been kicking around inside my head for years, I realized that I have no idea what I’m doing. The story is crystal clear in my mind, but when I try to convert my brain waves into written words, I quickly realize that I am at a loss for those very words. Then I realized why. I never read fantasy. I read sci-fi, classic literature, history, science, philosophy… everything but fantasy. This became clear to me when I tried to describe various parts of a soldiers armor or the weapons they carried or the ancient watchtower overlooking the sea. I didn’t have the right words. Sure I could do a little research, but it’s more than that. I’m lacking the proper tone in my story that one expects to find when reading fantasy. So that’s when I decided, five minutes ago, to throw some fantasy into my literary mix.

I just finished reading Vonnegut’s Cat’s Cradle, Sirens of Titan, and Mother Night (which I may elaborate on in another post). I still have Breakfast of Champions and Slaughter House Five on deck, but I’ve decided to put them on the back burner and take a sharp detour into the realm of fantasy. By the way, I cheated in the middle of my Vonnegut spree and read How to Win Friends and Influence People and The Definitive Book of Body Language. Both were fantastic. Sorry Kurt, I’ll get back to you shortly.

Game of Thrones by George R R Martin is the fantasy title I have chosen to help hone my fantastical story telling skills. It’s part of his highly acclaimed A Song of Ice and Fire series and, from what I understand, is extremely well written and epic in scope. It also looks pretty damn cool.

Finally, I want to throw out links to two podcasts I’ve been listening to for the last three or four months which have been invaluable to me as a new writer, I Should Be Writing and Writing Excuses. Check them out and may they be a light to you in dark places, when all other lights go out.

My plan is simple; I will pick one author at a time and read their work. Most likely not all of their work (at least not this time around), but definitely their most influential works, perhaps with a few obscure titles thrown in for good measure. The first author on my long and illustrious list, if you haven’t guessed it already, is (was) Ernest Hemingway. Here’s how it went:

The Old Man and The Sea – My first real venture into the mind of the man who is Hemingway. There’s a good chance I read this little novella in high school, but there’s an equally good chance that I didn’t. What I am sure of, however, is that I really enjoyed the salty tale this time through, and Hemingway’s fantastic portrayal of his protagonist, Santiago. Living in the Northeast, with the Atlantic Ocean at my door step, I could almost taste the salty air on my lips as I read this. A must read –even if you think you read it in high school, but can’t quite remember…

A Farewell To Arms – This was my second adventure down Hemingway Lane. Alas, it was my least favorite. I’m no literary critic and I don’t play one on my blog, but honestly, I never connected fully with this work. With that said, I still enjoyed it for the most part, and I think it was a good introduction to the simplistic and straight forward prose that Hemingway is so famous for.

The Sun Also Rises – This book grabbed me right from the beginning and never let go. This was Hemingway’s first novel that he ever wrote and, from what I understand, it’s considered to be one of the best “first novels” of all time. I can’t speak to that, but I can say I thoroughly enjoyed it. Hemingway’s portrayal of Paris nightlife is fantastic, as well as the festival in Pamplona, but the characters and their wandering lifestyle are what kept me coming back for more. Hemingway’s novels are said to be the voice of the Lost Generation; this may be why I can relate. I truly think that Generation X may be a lost generation itself. Maybe I should go to Pamplona.

For Whom the Bell Tolls – All of Hemingway’s books that I’ve read thus far pale in comparison to this one. Admittedly, it took me a little while to get into the groove of it, but once I did I was absolutely mesmerized. There were a few scenes between Robert and Maria that actually gave me goosebumps. And of course, El Sordo’s last stand was riveting and emotional. Pablo, Pilar, Robert(o), Maria, and the rest of the band were some of the most fascinating characters that I have ever had the pleasure of reading.

The Complete Short Stories of Ernest Hemingway – I picked up this book when I was on vacation in Maine, near Belfast, in a great little book store called Left Bank Books. I only read three of the short stories in this book, including one of Hemingway’s most famous, The Snows of Kilimanjaro. Although I really enjoyed reading them, I decided to put the book down for the time being and focus solely on novels and novellas. For one of my upcoming author selections, I plan on cheating a bit and I will read short stories from a handful of authors, such as Hemingway, Salinger, Chekhov, Wolff, Munro, Asimov, etc…

So as I said, Hemingway, check. Vonnegut on deck. I’ve already started reading Cat’s Cradle. From there I will move to The Siren’s of Titan, Mother Night, Breakfast of Champions, and finally Slaughterhouse 5. If I am missing any “must reads” by either of these two authors, by all means chime in. Until then, happy reading.

The ideas that Eagleman puts forth in each of his forty essays are not to be taken too seriously, but are indeed, meant to stimulate a more pliable way of pondering the mysteries of life after death. It’s an approach that, for some, offers a bit more intellectual freedom than that of atheism (no God, no afterlife) and theism (one God, one afterlife). But don’t get too caught up with the topic of the hereafter. The vignettes presented in this little thought experiment are really more of a study of life than of death, albeit, cleverly disguised in varying incarnations of the great beyond.

One of the things that drew me to this book was Eagleman’s use of a term he invented called Possibilianism.

According to his definition, possibilianism rejects both the idiosyncratic claims of traditional theism and the certainty of atheism in favor of a middle, exploratory ground.

He pretty much summed up my own personal philosophies on the subject of death and spirituality. And, although I don’t plan on running out and joining the church of possibilianism anytime soon, it is a refreshing alternative to the awkward and uncomfortable term of agnostic that people like me are so often labeled.

The possibilian perspective is distinguished from agnosticism in that it consists of an active exploration of novel possibilities and an emphasis on holding multiple hypotheses at once when no data is available to privilege one position over the others.

If you’re like me and love reading interesting perspectives on all kinds of interesting topics, I would put this little book on your reading list. It’s a short read and can be easily finished in one sitting. You’ll most likely enjoy it, but even if you don’t, just throw it on your coffee table — it’ll be sure to spark some interesting conversations.

The Victorian Internet — This book was fantastic. My daughter bought it for me at a library book sale for 50 cents. The Victorian Internet chronicles the rise of the telegraph, as well as the astounding effects it had on the world. The most fascinating aspect of the book, to me anyway, was the comparison of the telegraph to the modern day Internet. The cultures surrounding these two technologies were/are eerily similar, each having their own bevy of underground elites. Remember the heyday of IRC? Yeah, like that. This is a must read for any geek.

The Alchemist — First, let me say that I knew nothing about this book, except that it seems to be on every self-help bloggers “favorite books” list. Eventually, after reading about it for the hundredth, I bought the book. I’m really glad I did. The Alchemist is an inspirational (and motivational) book about a young shepherd boy named Santiago and his journey to fulfill his personal legend (aka: his dreams.) And that’s the exact message the story is trying to convey, always follow your dreams! Excellent book if your looking for a good story and a little motivational pick-me-up.

The Dip — Ahh, The Dip. Here we have a well thought out collection of common sense. Yes, common sense. There probably isn’t much in this book that you don’t already know, but it’s good to have a refresher course every now and then. Seth Godin tells us that whatever we do in life, be the best at it. And anything that we can’t be the best at, quit. That’s kind of a crappy summary of the book — Seth actually does give good advice on how and why to live by the aforementioned guidelines. It’s a quick read, less than 100 pages, and could easily be read in one or two sittings. Or in my case, a week. It’s definitely not the best self-improvement book I’ve ever read, but for the money and time invested, it was well worth it.