I’m reading fantasy again! I haven’t in ages. I probably shouldn’t admit that, but there it is. It’s partially spurred by the marketing need of working out who my writing’s most like so I can be marketed properly, but it’s also nice to see it’s not quite the same field as it was the last time I read.

Right now I’m reading George R. R. Martin (no relation to J. R. R. Tolkien despite the pair of “R”s). I quite like his work and am definitely finding certain similarities between his style and mine; though the differences are at least as numerous as the similarities, the brutal honesty of his stories are something I’m fond of in my own writing, and that may perhaps be the strongest tie between the two. I’ve zoomed through A Game of Thrones and A Clash of Kings quickly enough before I realized much time had passed; that said, they are large books, and I’m finding the third book, A Storm of Swords, slightly slower going — not the author’s fault, I don’t think, it’s just been almost three thousand pages in a row of the same story and I think I’m feeling a little fatigued by it all. That’s not stopping me from putting it in my bag and devouring it eagerly as I wait for my trains in the morning, but it’s definitely worth taking a short break between this book and the next (good thing, too, as it’s not out until November). Any rate, I’m probably the only fantasy reader who hasn’t read him yet, but if you haven’t, do.

I’m also playing World of Warcraft. A lot. Probably too much. They should probably have an ‘Online Gamers Anonymous’ where people are forced to sit in a room together without any internet and stand up to say ‘Hello, my name is Chris Finch and I am a MMORPGaholic.’ Seriously.

I’ve also got Arx Fatalis loaded on my laptop. Great game, if a little older now, and it runs like a champ on my laptop so it’s a cool gaming fix when I’m on the train. Doesn’t even require the CD in the drive, bless ‘em.