Recommended Reading and Viewing

[Raven]

The dragonbone chair did immediately make me think of the iron throne.

Growing up, with long black hair and running through the woods, I always related to the hero of stories. Then one day, I realized I was a bald man who played the harp and other instruments and tells stories, and I realized I was more like the bard. Now adays, I'm starting to feel like it won't be long before I am more like the older man who gives advice to the young adventurers. Lord help me gain the wisdom for that.
All that to say, I get what you're saying about young protagonists. I started writing a book series years ago, and one of the elements is that two characters grow up and get old throughout the scope of the books. But the main characters are always kids because the books are intended for kids.

On the other hand, I'm working on another book where someone is older.

Personally, I wouldn't mind more fantasy works about older protagonists, or from the perspective of older characters. There's been this myth knocking around for a while that people in medieval times did not live long, which I suspect may have influenced a lot of our fantasy stories as a result. Of course, it is typical to tell stories about young people, anyway. The whole coming of age thing, identity crisis (though the mid-life crisis is an identity crisis too, I suppose), etc.

Those books sound like something to check out sometime, at any rate.

[Coír Draoi Ceítien]

Well, it's a new month and a new year, so although everyone may already be knee-deep in books already, I have some new recommended reading and viewing for you.

Recommended Reading for January - for those who want a break from the norm: The Gormenghast Novels by Mervyn Peake

Here's one of the towering achievements of classic fantasy that's also one of the most underrated. The three novels - Titus Groan, Gormenghast, and Titus Alone - are dense, rich exercises in eccentric Dickensian characterization and surreal social commentary, forgoing the usual tropes of magic and mythology common in, well, every other work considered fantasy. I've heard that this Gothic tour de force takes its sweet time getting through plot, but for those of you who love sophisticated writing styles and richly crafted prose, you may very well be rewarded.

Trade (Book 1): https://www.amazon.com/Titus-Groan-Mervyn-Peake/dp/1585679070/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1515179352&sr=8-2&keywords=mervyn+peake
Trade (Book 2): https://www.amazon.com/Gormenghast-Book-Two-Trilogy/dp/1585679453/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1515179352&sr=8-3&keywords=mervyn+peake
Trade (Book 3): https://www.amazon.com/Titus-Alone-three-Gormenghast-Trilogy/dp/1585679925/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1515179352&sr=8-5&keywords=mervyn+peake
Kindle (Book 1): https://www.amazon.com/Titus-Groan-Gormenghast-Book-1-ebook/dp/B019EH6RCE/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1515179352&sr=8-2
Kindle (Book 2): https://www.amazon.com/Gormenghast-Mervyn-Peake-ebook/dp/B00X76SB00/ref=tmm_kin_title_1?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1515179352&sr=8-3
Kindle (Book 3): https://www.amazon.com/Titus-Alone-Gormenghast-Book-3-ebook/dp/B019EH6R0G/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1515179352&sr=8-5
Trade Omnibus: https://www.amazon.com/Gormenghast-Novels-Titus-Groan-Alone/dp/0879516283/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1515179352&sr=8-1&keywords=mervyn+peake



Recommended Viewing for January: The Adventures of Baron Munchausen (Terry Gilliam, 1988)

If you have a soft spot for Monty Python's surreal humor and a taste for imaginative adventure, I would seriously recommend this movie to you. An initial box office disappointment with a troubled production history, this cult classic has been warmly received by critics and subsequent audiences, following the legendary aristocrat and his crew of eccentrics from the midst of a war with the Ottoman Empire to various spectacular locations. It's a tribute to the power of imagination that I shouldn't be missed.

DVD: https://www.amazon.com/Adventures-Baron-Munchausen-20th-Anniversary/dp/B0011E5M66/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1515182475&sr=8-1&keywords=the+adventures+of+baron+munchausen+dvd
Blu-Ray: https://www.amazon.com/Adventures-Baron-Munchausen-Blu-ray/dp/B0011E5RXO/ref=tmm_blu_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1515182475&sr=8-1
Amazon Video: https://www.amazon.com/Adventures-Baron-Munchausen-John-Neville/dp/B0038KJCPS/ref=tmm_aiv_swatch_1?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1515182475&sr=8-1

[Raven]

Oh dear.
Great recommendations, Coir.
As for my participation this month -- Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell from last month is 1,000 pages long. I'm afraid I'm no where near done with it yet. I may be delinquent this month, as I expect, what with current life events, the aforementioned 1,000 page novel will occupy me for some time to come.

[Coír Draoi Ceítien]

I knew that when I recommended it. I just felt that I should make an entry for January, even though I suspected everyone would be occupied. Should I hold off on February? I don't want to cause a buildup of titles that no one's going to be able to get to.

All I would ask is that you keep the books is mind for future reference. For more quick entertainment, at least you got a movie to consider.

Question: should I move this January recommendation to a later month and let the topic go silent for a while until you've caught up on your reading?

[Raven]

I wouldn't worry about it for this month. In future, I think it may be beneficial to keep all recommendations to 1 book and 1 movie, rather than series of such. Just a thought. There's little chance of me reading or watching a series in a months time, really. I may  not even participate in every month's recommendations, but at least it may help some of us to pick titles. And if we grow here (which I'd really like) it might be nice to have as well.

Do you think that it may be worth having a new thread for each month? I.e., "February's Recommended Book and Movie" ?

[Coír Draoi Ceítien]

I think I'll try that - making a separate thread for each month.

Considering series, I can't really bring myself to recommend just one book if it's part of a bigger whole, hence why I've done what I have. I find it awkward to put up just one book for the month and then not necessarily pick the next installment for the following month. For example, if I were to recommend The Lord of the Rings, I personally would feel compelled to post all three parts as is rather than piecemeal; I think I would be cheating readers if I put only one installment up for one month, then doing a completely different book next, as you would lose the momentum of the story at large by being distracted with other stories. The best I could think of would be to post only standalone novels, as that may be less taxing on concentration.

Also, while I really want to recommend books, I think I should probably stick only to what I've read myself. It's probably not fair to just recommend on speculation, as that would be doing a disservice to the writers' hard work and our viewers' trust in our opinions. This really limits what I have to work with, but I think it may work better for all parties that way.